Now, it is time to make No. 1 give an account of; himself, his species, and the other Seven.

Dr. Avtómatos Telephónoi stepped out of the secluded Seat of the Three Hosts, and approached the aloofly troubled, discontented Horse, shoving a microphone near its panting mouth.

Dr. Avtó: "Mélanos, tell us about yourself."

Blackie: 'What, Human?'

Dr. Avtó: (clears throat) "Do you know what I mean when I say, 'describe yourself', Horse?"

Blackie was thinking almost deeply to himself. "Describe" ...

Blackie: 'What is, "describe"?'

Dr. Avtó: (disappointed) "Who, are, you?" (pokes mike at Blackie)

Blackie: (shudders) 'I ... I am "Blackie", the Horse. Wha-what do you want?'

Dr. Avtó: "Good. What kind of Creature are you?"

Blackie: (starts calming down) 'I told you that I am a Horse, Human!'

Dr. Avtó: "Now tell me what is a Horse like? What do they do?"

Blackie: (puzzled) 'What, you Humans have not even seen us Horses, do you? Where did you even come from?'

Dr. Avtó: "I can't tell you now, but I want you to tell me and my friends here, 'what is a Horse like?'"

Blackie: (upset) 'Alright. (inhales) A Horse is an Animal, with fur and four long legs, to help it escape Creatures that kill and eat Horses.'

Dr. Avtó: "And what are those murderous Creatures? Share them to those who've never even seen Horses and Creatures like you."

Blackie: 'Cougars, bears, wolves, ... I can not think about any other ... simply anything that hunts, kills, and eats Horses and Meat, even Humans."

Dr. Avtó: "What is the mind of a Horse? How do Horses like you think, and what are in their minds?"

Blackie: "We eat grass, fruits, and flowers; we run from the evil Creatures who hunt and eat us; we live only to eat, rule and create herds, and breed with mares, and fight for as many mares as possible to breed with.

Nevertheless, if we are kept by Humans, and we cannot escape their Mastery, we must work for them, or else they will attack and kill us for no reason. Yet, some Humans are good Humans; they protect and love us, saying in their Human speech, 'we-try-to-understand-their-feelings'.

Yet they never will. Sometimes, they disturb us, place strange things on our backs, expose us to strange things to our skins and mouths. I know many of these things: they taste cold and dirty, like a Fence or a Trough, and they are placed on my mouth to control my movement. Another thing is on my back, almost squeezing my belly and back together at times, and the Human gets up to sit on me so that he can control me. Sometimes, they make us do strange things, and we are very ready to learn those actions. We can even understand what times they will come and feed us, if not simply come to us!'

(Dr. Avtó pulled out one of the remotes hidden in his vest, and pointed at the ceiling. Two huge television screens lowered down, displaying images of bridles and saddles. The crowd then jeered at the professor, ridiculing him for supposedly thinking that they are too "forwards" to forget those things.

Rhegionos Paraskopou: "I already know those; historical things used up to a few centuries ago, aren't they?"

Dr. Avtó: "This episode is also for those who never knew those things; nonillions of viewers from various conquered, brain-washed civs, right?"

Reggie: "Then why are we here? To watch some dumbed-down antics of yours, Commander?"

Dr. Avtó: (coldly) "SILENCE, in the name of the Emperor."

The dissent died down. The audience already knew horrific fates too terrible to describe, beyond their level of cruelty, if anyone dares to defy an Imperial officer uttering such words.)

Dr. Avtó: (to Blackie) "Were all these from your own experiences, Horse?"

Blackie: 'Yes.'

Dr. Avtó: "Excellent. What would you think of ... "

The doctor pressed another button on his remote, bringing Blackie's wobbling cage to No. 2's cage.

Dr. Avtó: " ... this morbidly obese bagpipe? He likes to eat sandwiches, and he sounds funny."

Blackie: 'It is a Horse like me, but smaller. I saw Horses like him, but this one sounded very gruff. His neighings squealed like that of a Pig. Yet he calls for "semmitch". Why?

Shelby: 'Oh, I love sandwiches, the most delicious food in the World! Grumbling belly of mine! Dear Human sir, can I call for a Sandwich? Please?'

Dr. Avtó: "No."

Shelby: (very sad) 'Why not?'

Dr. Avtó: (to himself) "Normally I am very cruel, but ... " (gets a tuna sandwich prepared by his servant, feeds Shelby) " ... take it. And be quiet!"

After a little combination of buttons, Blackie faces Mr. Tatters.

Inky Tatters: "Oh. A big Earth Pony. Yet he looks dumb. Go on, barbo. (tauntingly) Sniff my snout with your nostril hair."

Dr. Avtó: "Mélanos, what do you think of this colt? He thinks like a Human, and gets very angrily easily."

Inky: "That's because of disgusting insulters like you, Human."

Blackie: 'He looks like one of those poor "poni" I had seen in a Fair. He does not even look like a colt to me. Even sounds like a Human stallion, anyway!

Inky: "Now, Human, this barbarian over here is convinced. What about you?"

Dr. Avtó: "I'm just doing it for fun. Now, Blackie, talk to the Pony. It'll be nice."

Inky: "Don't underestimate me."

The doctor backed off, allowing the horse and the Pony to have a short talk.

Blackie: "Why are you very loud and angry, all the time?"

Inky: (anger reduced) "I can't take it when Ponies and Humans dare ... er ... say bad things about my Master, Princess Celestia! She treats me very well, bro, and she is also the Chief ... no ... Great Mare of ... my Herd! All the Ponies do what she says, and she knows everything! She also loves you very much! Now, whatcha say?"

Blackie: 'My Master is also a good and loving Master, caring for me, feeding me, keeping me safe from any danger. But there are other Masters who treat their Horses badly: one fed his Horse to a trock, where he is toornd intoo gloo. Another beat his Horse and it dropped dead in a BENG! But I have no time to talk about the other evil Masters.'

Inky: "So, Krasty has visited your world as well, huh? But nevermind that. I'll share to ya some more when this ordeal's over, filthy savo."

Blackie: 'Human, this Horse is very strange, yet knowledgeable.'

Now, he faces Burr.

Dr. Avtó: "This is Burr, the Horse who also thinks like a Human. He knows much more than this boy down there does."

Burr: (gets up) ' Ah, you. The half-Yahoo . '

Blackie: 'I am not even a Human, am I? And why do you think Humans are bad? You sound like one.'

Burr: ' No, seriously, Houyhnhnnm . Not all Humans are bad. Have not I told you about Gyuhlvrf ? The Good Human of the Western Ocean, never did any harm, tried to understand us, just like your Master did so to you but failed, alas . '

Blackie: 'That is because they do not understand what is going on in our minds. Whatever we say always sounds strange to them. Could we come back, and speak in their language, now that those blue Humans helped us understand it?'

Burr: ' Nay, my fellow Houyhnhnnm . There is no way to escape from this place . Never, my friend, never . We might as well go to return to the First Mother from here . '

Blackie: 'I really wish we could do so.'

Burr: ' We cannot . The bars of the cages here are very strong, just look at what they had done to the colt beside me . '

Inky raged again.

Burr: (muttering, to himself) ' Silly colts . They never know who they really are . '

Then, he was electrocuted once more. Another scream. Another vain curse, all moaned from his hateful mouth.

Burr: ' Just look at this, Burr-le-ki . Look . They would have killed him by now ... '

Blackie: 'Human, this stallion is a good friend of mine.'

Dr. Avtó: "Just call me 'Avto.'"

Blackie then meets the Human-eating Horse.

Kynó: 'Aaargh!' (furiously attacks and bangs head at Cage, biting and screaming) 'I want to kill that delicious Human! You are next, Horse!'

Blackie: (terrified) 'Wha- What ... is that monster? Addor, please ... take me away from that creature!'

He is then taken towards Hurr.

Hurr: (sniffs Blackie)

Blackie: (snorts) 'Get away. I want to get out of this place!'

Hurr: "What's the matter?" (sniffs)

Blackie: (snorts irritatingly)

What about the Unicorn?

White Streak: 'You! Disgusting blue Human! I want to kill you.'

While the doctor backs away ...

Blackie: 'What is the matter? What dumb Human put this white cone on your head, and shaved your poor tail?'

White Streak: 'What are those things?'

Blackie: (sad, screaming) 'Addor! This poor stallion is a victim of Human abuse! Can you save him?'

Whitey: 'No Human has ever taken me, or even hurt me! I do not need any Human to continue abusing me, that is what!'

And last of all ...

Pếgasos: (sad, respectful) 'Greetings, lowly Horse. You are here to have a talk with me? About my wings, no doubt, boy?'

Blackie: 'Yes. What creature are you, though you look like a Horse?

Pếgasos: 'A flying horse, the Colt of the Master of the Great Water, and of all Horses. All Horses, including you, are His friends.'

Blackie: 'But what of all those Humans, if not the Great Stallions and Mares? Are not they also Masters and Great Horses?'

Pếgasos: 'My friend, and my brother, they are less than Him. He, His always-and-ever-good-and-holy name is Lord Poseidon, is their Master, too. He is the Master of all Masters, and He rules all Great Waters. But Lord Zeus, His brother, is His Master, and mine too, and is Master of everything. He and Lord Poseidon can also help you, my friend.'

Blackie: 'Are Lord Poseidon and Lord Zeus good Masters, too? And how can I go to them?'

Pếgasos: 'Yes, they are. But they have things and work to do, and there is no way that you can simply go to them very easily: Lord Zeus is above Mountain Olympus, and He listens to the cries of Humans, not Horses. Lord Poseidon is in the Great Waters: I know that Horses like you cannot even go down to Him. But, you can talk to Them. They will listen. Trust me.'

Blackie: 'I have to go now. I ... felt like it.'

Pếgasos: 'Then may Lord Poseidon, and Lord Zeus protect you, and bless you, my friend! May they do so! And may they lead your path well!'