1.1 Scaled and Shiny - Anya, Marcus, Cardamom and Masala

“Can I come in yet?” Anya called out from the opposite side of the barn door. She had her arms crossed while she waited for her husband to finish messing with his costume.

“Hold on… yeah, we’re good! Masala’s just being a bit fussy.” Marcus’ voice called out from within. Anya finally stepped in, her eyes going wide at the sight of her husband, their new mare Cardamom and her colt Masala.

“What do you think?” Marcus had the biggest grin on as he tried to keep the two horses from messing with their costumes. He was dressed in a homemade knight’s armor, the whole thing covered in something that gave it the appearance of metallic sheen. Cardamom was dressed similarly, with a gorgeous knight’s horse ensemble. However the armor had “engraved” dragons and scales on it, everything covered in the same metallic sheen. Masala’s little outfit was a lot more simple, it was a homemade dragon costume with a shiny fabric covered in a scale pattern fitted to drape over the little foal. His halter had a dragon head piece but he kept trying to shake it off his head now and then. It was incredibly cute and fit the knight theme perfectly.

“Oh my goodness, how did you keep this secret? It’s perfect!!!” Anya circled them and leaned down to give their new foal scritches under the fabric. “I love that you dressed him up as a little dragon, I need photos of this.” She laughed and stepped back, pulling her phone out to snap a few. Masala continued to squirm against his halter as his mother cocked a hoof and was practically falling asleep standing beside them.

“I knew you’d just love it. I got a bunch of the event volunteers involved, they’re incredibly talented.” He smiled as Anya took several more photos before she helped take the costume off of Masala and held it. “I’m not sure if he’ll want to wear that through the whole parade but we’ll see how it goes.” Marcus chuckled and gave the foal some pets.

“I think all the kids will freak out seeing a unicorn, knight and his horse and a baby dragon all in one place.” Anya giggled. “We might want to prepare in case they want photos with us. Though I don’t know how well Masala will handle it. Did you lead him around much while everyone’s preparing to get him used to all the people?”

“Yep, he did really well at first but I think he got overstimulated near the end. I’ll work him some more before the parade to figure out his limits. Worse case we’ll just have to leave before the end but I think most folks are pretty understanding around here.” Anya nodded in response and gave the foal some quick butt scritches before she helped lead him back towards the barn with his mother.

“I’ll make sure some of the grooms are available in case we need a helping hand. You’re planning on riding Cardamom right?”

“Yeah, I do have someone already available for leading Masala but I agree. Just in case he gets feisty or Cardamom gets upset I want a back up plan to get them out of there and out of costume.” Marcus spoke as they entered back inside and got Cardamom out of her costume. “This was an excellent test though. Masala got a bit frustrated with the head piece so we’ll either need to drop it or adjust it. I’ll check with the person who made it, she did an excellent job with the rest, he didn’t mind the fabric flapping. I think he might just not like it around the ears so maybe we can find something more comfortable for him.”

“Sounds like a plan hun.” Anya took a handful of parts from Cardamom’s outfit and leaned over to plant a quick kiss on her hubby’s cheek. “Don’t forget we gotta get pictures too. I can’t wait to see your reaction to our costume.” She grinned.

“Unfair you’re making me wait to see you and Razz till the parade.” Marcus pretended to pout but soon joined her in a smile. “But you know I’m looking forward to it. Razz will make such an excellent unicorn and I’m sure you’ll be a perfect princess.” He chuckled and carried the remainder of the costume out to put it away for the evening.