Mesa Pegasus

One of many variations of pegasus, the mesa pegasus is a breed which eschews the forests where other pegasi live in favor of the tall cliffs and dry air of warm deserts. These unusual creatures are even less likely to make their homes on the Material Plane than other pegasi, but live in abundance on planes such as Celestia and Arboria, filling the skies with their reflective wings. The subtle coloration of their feathers, which are capable of catching the sunlight the same way that glass might, makes spotting a group of them flying above an incredible and sublime sight.   Hardy and Lean A mesa pegasus chooses to live on cliff sides and at the tops of large rock structures often found in deserts, where even predators with wings would be hard-pressed to travel. While a mesa pegasus does prefer to live in areas as temperate as possible, they are also adapted to the high heat and dry climate of the desert. To cope with the intense days in these areas, the mesa pegasus has grown lean and sturdy, to both deal with the heat and to better catch a swift ride on the weaker air currents.   Herd Mentality Contrary to expectations, the mesa pegasus is not fit to life as a loner. Other pegasi prefer to be on their own, or with only small groups. But the mesa pegasus seeks safety in numbers, more like a normal horse, living in large and secretive herds at the top of enormous cliffs. This group lifestyle encourages cooperation in most aspects of the pegasus’ life, including raising young as a group, and tight-knit social bonds. When faced with a threat, a mesa pegasus is capable of working incredibly well with its herdmates, moving and fighting in tandem until the threat is driven off. A mesa pegasus’ favorite tactic is to use its feather to shine glaring sunlight into a creature’s eyes, temporarily blinding them while another pegasus uses its hooves to kick at the offender.   Exotic Menagerie Because most are unfamiliar with the various breeds of pegasi in existence, many assume that the common woodland pegasus is the only one. For this reason, a mesa pegasus is very appealing to those with the money necessary to own and run a menagerie. The beautiful red and blue coloration on the mesa pegasus’ feathers often makes them an instant hit with the morally-questionable elite. Being roughly as intelligent as a human, but incapable of speech, the keeping of a mesa pegasus in captivity is of a highly suspect moral nature, but despite this, their trade on the exotic market is still all too frequent. Because most lands do not know of the mesa pegasus’ intelligence, there are very few laws which forbid them from being kept; a fact which is not likely to soon change. A mesa pegasus kept in captivity is often kept alone, making the situation even worse for a creature of such a social nature.