Fairy Tales of Equestria Volume 2

The King and His Donkey Ears

Once upon a time in a kingdom far away, there lived a unicorn king named Neighsay. And his wife, Queen Cinch, ruled their kingdom very strictly and nopony ever dared to break the rules they made in fear of being brutally punished. One day, the King was in his room, staring at himself in the mirror as he was fixing up a new hat he was wearing.

"There. No one will notice them now." He said to himself.

"Neighsay, darling?" A female voice said.

Neighsay quickly turned around to see his wife, Cinch standing in the doorway. "Yes, Cinch? What may I do for you, dear?"

"I just came to tell you that it's time for your scheduled haircut." The Queen said.

"It is?" The King asked nervously.

"Yes. However, I received word that your original barber has the flu and won't be able to make it for fear of you catching it, too. So they've sent somepony else."

That was when a young filly with a light brown coat, a red mane, yellow green eyes, freckles on her cheeks, and a pair of scissors for a cutie mark stepped in; she was carrying a saddle bag filled with brushes, combs, scissors, and other mane styling tools.

"Hello, Your Majesty." She greeted.

"A filly? They sent a mere FILLY to cut my mane?" The King asked in disbelief and disgust.

"I'm afraid so." The Queen answered. "And don't even think about trying to get another barber. Everypony else is busy with other clients and Miss Babs Seed here is all you've got."

"I may still be an apprentice, but I'm really good. Just give me a chance and I'll prove it." Babs Seed said.

Neighsay was growing incredibly nervous at this point. "Uh, you know what? Let's not do this today. Just send her home."

"What are you saying?" Cinch asked, sounding shocked. "She's come for you. Besides, as King, your appearance is VERY important. Just let her give you a nice, easy haircut and everything will be fine."

The King put a hoof to his head and looked away, not saying a word. The Queen shook her head before turning back to Babs.

"Now, Miss Seed. Be a dear and give my husband a decent haircut, won't you?" She asked.

"Of course, I'll do my best." Babs said with confidence.

"You'd better, or you know the consequences."

"Uh... yes, ma'am."

And with that, the Queen walked out of the room and closed the door behind her, leaving the filly mane stylist alone with the King. Acting fast, Babs set her saddle bag down and got her things ready for Neighsay's haircut. Finally, she was all set.

"Okay. Go and have a seat, Your Majesty." Babs instructed; Neighsay reluctantly sat down on the cushion with his back turned to the filly. "Now if you'll just remove your hat, we'll get started right away."

"I can't do that." Neighsay said quickly.

"What? But I can't cut your mane with this hat on."

"No! You must cut my mane with it on!"

"But I said I can't do that."

"That's why I said not today!"

Having enough with the King's childish behavior, Babs decided to take matters into her own hooves. She reached up behind and snatched the King's hat with her teeth, but he used his magic to keep the hat on his head. And after a few seconds of pulling back and forth, Babs finally managed to pull the King's hat off, but she gasped when she saw what was underneath. She saw that King Neighsay had the long ears of a donkey.