this is a short story in which a little girl wants a pony for her birthday, but is given a demon instead. and is cranky about it. 
 because little girls lack perspective. 
 i never understood the whole "little girls and ponies" thing, even as a little girl myself (which is probably for the best, because no way were we affording a freaking pony) i mean, i understand the fantasy of the pony, and the joy and freedom of riding with the wind in your pigtails and all that. but you don't need to own a pony for that. that's why god made riding lessons. giving a little girl a pony is a terrible idea, and is more about the parents wanting to flash status than anything else. ponies are a crapload of work, and even as a kid i recognized that - always needing to be fed and curried and have their mud-caked little hooves scraped out with that terrifying implement: 
 GACK! 
 you might as well just give them a human baby to raise. 
 and little girls are just not equipped to take care of a pony's needs. or baby's. a college friend told me a horrifying story of what happened to her childhood pony, involving a tether, a tree on a hill, and the short attention span and forgetfulness of a young child. and that's all you need to know, because it is too sad. 
 add to that the possibility of being thrown or kicked or trampled by a gigantic beast, and the fragility of those little pony legs, and what has to be done to the animal if anything happens to those little pony legs. it all seems like too much potential grief and emotional scarring to thrust in the sticky hands of a child. 
 but a demon? a tiny, self-sufficient creature with which you can actually verbally communicate and which can do cool shit despite being just a teeny little robed figure in a terrarium? with tiny little clawed hands? 
 SO MUCH AWESOME! 
 but little girls lack perspective and are more into the traditional fairytale visions of flowing tresses on horseback. 
 which is just too bad. 
 because this story is very much one of "don't know what you got til it's gone" 
 and it is genuinely sad. 
 loved the story, and now wanting a demon of my own. 
 great. 
 link to read it yourself: http://www.tor.com/stories/2013/10/br...