For Sale! Apple Driven Technology for $30 or less!

[Farael]

Originally Posted by Mnemosyne

Of course, that begs the question of why these particular ponies didn't already have names

If you are referring to the fact that Tom Bombadill called them "Sharp-Ears, Wise-Nose, Swish-Tail, Bumpkin and White-Socks" I believe that it's said that (paraphrasing) "after that they never replied to another name" which implies they HAD other names before

As to how Merry got the ponies, I think we also need to consider the duration of their "conspiracy". It wasn't an overnight deal, I have always been under the impression that it was over a year in the making. So if over time a wealthy young man takes an interest in ponies and buys a few more (I'd assume he owned at least a couple) it would not raise THAT many eyebrows

And of course, by the time they realized Merry had disappeared with five ponies and three friends there were greater things to worry about than why he got the ponies in the first place