17: Stable
"… And this is the girl you've come to see - our prize filly, Saffron."
Where am I? Is this hay? Am I… naked?
"I call her Saffy for short." The woman looks like a farmer, dressed in denim overalls and a plaid shirt. She stretches her arm into the stable and makes a clicking sound with her mouth. Is she trying to beckon me?
"She's a little green. But, with a bit of training, she'll make a fine show pony."
"Sophie, did you say?" There's a man with her. Is that… "Wow! She's a beauty." Mark? "Hello, Sophie…" He peers down at me over the gate of my stable. And he's wearing a stetson! Heh, he looks so dumb.
"Aye, she's definitely the prettiest of my lot," she nudges Mark with her elbow, "but don't tell the other ponies I said that, eh?"
Suddenly I'm very aware of my nakedness. I curl up, trying to cover myself. I try to call out, "Mark! What the hell is going on?!" But the only sound that comes out of my mouth is a whinny. What the actual fuck?
"She's very talkative," Mark laughs. He holds out his hand and I… I want to go to him. I hesitate onto my hands and knees, and I crawl towards his hand. I want to feel his hand… I want to feel it stroking my hair.
"She isn't normally this friendly with new people. She must like you."
"Yeah, yeah". Mark pulls back his hand, and I feel my heart breaking. "Let's see how she performs, before you start giving me the hard sell."
"Ha! Fair do". She opens the gate and enters my stable. I back away, crawling into a far corner. "Mark!" I try to call out again. Another whinny. Damn it!
"Settle down, Saffy," the farmer says. She grabs my arms, and roughly wraps thick leather cuffs around each of my wrists, joined by a heavy chain. She tries to pull me up onto my feet. No! "Mark, please…" I look at him and he's smiling expectantly. He mouths some words that look like 'come on, Sophie. For me?'
Damn it…
"There's a good girl," says the farmer. "Let's get ya kitted-up, eh?"
Hobbled
"I'll get her shoed first."
I'm all the way up on my tiptoes. My cuffs are being held above my head, hoisted towards the ceiling of the stable. The farmer kneels in front of me with two strange leather boots - like high-heels without heels, the bases broad and round like hoofs.
She taps the back of my right leg and I instinctively raise it, trying my best to balance. She guides my foot into the boot, and it slides all the way up to my knee. She laces it up tight, and when I push my weight down I raise off the ground, taking some of the tension out of my arms. She repeats with the left hoof, and I can stand at ease. I can't believe how comfortable they feel.
"Those are some strong looking legs." Mark stands back, watching with a casual intensity. I hate being so exposed in front of him. He won't take his eyes off me. It's so embarrassing… "Beautiful haunches too," he says as his eyes continue their scrutiny. I feel myself blush.
The farmer takes a mass of leather and wraps it around my waist. She buckles it in the back, pulling the straps tight like a corset. She lowers my cuffs and removes the chain, and my chest relaxes. The top edge of the corset pushes up on my boobs, my nipples standing to attention. I wrap my arms around them.
"Give us a hand with these, Mark?" The farmer holds up a pair of black latex objects, shaped like the base of the boots - like hoofs.
"Sure." Mark pulls my arm away from my chest and firmly holds it out towards the farmer. The farmer tries to force a hoof over my hand, the latex dragging against my skin. As it inches along, the glove forces my hand into a fist, until it finds its home at my wrist. Another glove, and my hands are lost to me. Just these useless hoofs. They're going to make me into a real pony, and I can't do anything about it.
The farmer pulls my wrists up to my sides, half way up my torso, bent at the elbows. She takes padlocks, looping them through the ring on my cuffs and joining them to rings mounted on the side of my corset, locking my arms in that awkward position. I try to move my arms, but only manage to flap my elbows like a dumb chicken. Ugh.
"You ever heard of 'gingering'?" says the farmer. Mark shakes his head. "Back in the day, if a horse seller wanted to make their tired old mares look more lively," he takes something out of a box, "they'd stick a peeled ginger root up the horse's backside."
Oh God!
"Christ! That's horrible."
"Aye. Wouldn't catch me doing anything that nasty. Besides, our Saffy's already plenty lively - aren't you, girly?"
She turns to reveal a metal egg, with long, straight, brown hair attached. She lathers the egg in a clear gel. Lots of it.
"But a pony isn't complete without her tail."
She walks behind me, and I try to step away. She catches hold of my corset. Why is she so strong? She kicks my ankles apart, and presses down on my back, forcing me to bend. I shiver, as the cold, wet metal touches my rear. "Easy, girl," she says, pushing the egg into me, "just a little more."
She straightens me back up and gives me a pat on the back, and I think I'm in shock. I'm shaking and the long hairs of the tail - of my tail - keep brushing across the back of my legs, making me itch.
"There's a good girl". Back from her box, she pulls out a bundle of leather straps. As she gets closer I see a pair of folded ovals that look almost like… horse ears.
"Mind if I do that one?" says Mark.
"Be my guest."
Mark stands in front of me, running his fingers through my hair. The sensation is so… familiar. I lean forward, trying to keep my balance as my face meets his chest. I rub my cheek against him, nuzzle him. "Heh. Such a sweetie." He pulls my hair back, gathering it in his hands, and wraps it into a ponytail. He pulls me away from his chest, holding my head in both hands and lifting my face to look at him. "You really are a stunning creature." My heart melts.
He takes the bundle of leather from the farmer and wraps it around my head; straps running around my crown, and down my cheeks, and under my chin. He takes the time to align everything, gently fastening the straps. He stands back to check my ears are even, making small adjustments so that the blinders line up with my eyes.
"Perfect," he says, looking at me with so much pride. "So listen," he moves in close, "I really want to take you home with me. So do your best out there, okay?"
His eyes are so warm. I look down, away from him, and give an embarrassed nod.
"Atta girl," he says, scratching my chin. It feels so nice. I close my eyes, get lost in his attention. I turn my head up towards him, parting my lips. I try to lean in for ki-- What? No! Cold steel in my mouth. My eyes shoot open to see him clipping the bit-gag to my bridle. How could he… He turns his back and walks away.
"Now then, girl," the farmer clips reins onto my bridle and gives them a firm tug, "let's show the man what you can do."
Horseplay
My chin is high, my ears are proud, my tail is… uncomfortable. That's fine, try to ignore it. I'll be the perfect pony! And Mark will take me home, and everything will be perfect. I can do this.
My hoofs clip-clop and my tail tickles the back of my legs as I'm led along the concrete drive-way towards the training field. The farmer pulls me along by my bridle and it's hard to keep up; with the boots, and the butt plug, and trying to balance with my arms pinned to my sides. We pass by another field where more ponygirls are frollicking, but Mark isn't interested in them. He only wants me. I'm going to make him proud.
"Oh, I almost forgot," says the farmer. She pulls something from her pocket, metal things that make a tinkling sound. Bells? Wait, are those…? Oh no. I try to pull away. No way is she putting those on me. But she's gripping my bridle too tight. She pinches my nipple, pulls at it and clips one of the bells on. I bite down on my gag as the clamp bites into me. She clips on the other one, and my boobs jingle as she lets go.
"Right then, Mark, I'll let you do your thing."
"Okay, Sophie," Mark says, unclipping the reins from my bridle, "let's start with a little dressage. Can you lift your leg for me?"
Easy. I lift my right foot off the ground - an inch, a foot. Is that okay? Is that good? "A little higher." I keep going until my thigh is parallel. I start to sway. That has to be enough, right?
"Higher, higher…" he says, tapping the underside of my thighs with a riding crop. I lift my leg as high as I can, until my knee is above my waist. I feel my down leg quivering, my knee shaking. "Good girl! Now hold…"
My legs tense, my toes curl inside the boots. I can do this. My muscles burn. I breathe deep and cringe as my chest jingles again. I can-- oh no…
I topple, falling sideways towards Mark. "Whoa there," he catches me in his arms and I almost knock him to the ground. But I feel so safe now that his arms are around me.
"Alright," I feel him stroking my hair, "that's okay." I wish I could just stay like this for a while. "Let's get you back up and we'll try again, yeah?"
My failure gets the attention of the other ponies. A group of three gather at the fence, and I hear the black-haired one saying "this should be good…" Hmph. I'll show her…
I lift my leg confidently. I don't even need Mark to whip me (not that I want him to). I raise my knee as high as I can and Mark looks so proud. I give the pony on-lookers a smug grin; as much as the bit-gag will let me grin. "Wait for it…" the black-haired pony whispers, and suddenly my ankle wobbles…
I land hard on my butt, slamming against the plug and letting out a cry of pain. The other ponies are in hysterics. "Toldya". I wish I could move my arms. I wish I could cover my face. That was humiliating.
"Okay," says Mark, helping me back to my feet. "Well, maybe dressage isn't your thing. Let's see how you do at the steeplechase."
I feel the nip of the riding crop against my butt and I start jogging. My bells ring and pull achingly at my nipples with every stride. Mark chases after me, and Ow! Stop whipping me, you jerk. I'm going as fast as I can! I feel like I'm moving through water. The boots… maybe they're weighing me down? Why do my feet feel so heavy?
I get to the first fence and it's barely an inch of the ground. Easy. I hop over it, clearing the bar, and land with another jingle. Easy. I've got this.
"Perfect, Sophie! Let's keep going, next one."
He whips me again, a little too hard. I wince and bite down on the gag and it feels like my teeth are ringing. The next fence is only a foot off the ground. I leap…! And I clear it. But did my boot clip it? It felt like, maybe… I look back and I see the bar wobble. No, it's fine. I made it. It's good.
The other ponies are muttering to each other, "she's gonna blow the next one."
I turn and the next fence comes into view. A little higher. I need to jump higher. I try to speed up to get a better leap, but I still feel like I'm moving through sludge. I jump and… I feel my hoof catch the bar; it hits the grass with a thud. Damn it.
"That's okay, Sophie. Don't get discouraged."
"Better get your shit together, Saffron," the redhead pony shouts, "that cowboy's not gonna want a clumsy pony."
"Hear that, Saffy," says the farmer, "Ginger's cheering you on. Do us proud, girly."
I try to leap the next fence. I catch it again, knocking the bar to the ground and almost falling along with it. Too close. With my arms locked to my sides I'd literally fall flat on my face. Not good.
"You suck, Saffron!" the blonde pony shouts. They all start laughing.
I turn my head and shoot them a poisonous look. I try to shout, "VACK EE-UH!" That just makes them laugh more. ARGH…! Stupid gag.
Just tune them out. You can do this. Mark wants to take you with him, you just have to make this last… I get to the final fence and it's as high as my chest. There's a trench on the other side. I… I stop running. I can't do it. I can't make it. It's too high. It's… impossible.
I falter backwards, drop to my knees. Defeated.
"Poor girl," says the blonde, "I was really rooting for her". The black-haired pony snorts, "you're such a bitch". Then the redhead, "hey, let's go fuck with the hucows!" They all turn away, "ooh yeah, they get so sensitive around milking time," then walk away giggling. "Bet you three sugar lumps I can make one of them cry…"
I feel Mark's hand on my shoulder, "that's okay, Sophie, good effort." And I know everything is going to be o--
"But I'm sorry, I won't be able to keep you."
W-what…? I feel a tear trickle down my cheek. Why would he say something so horrible? I… I tried my best. He can't just…
"Aye, I expected better, myself," says the farmer. "Sorry for wasting your time."
I look around for Mark. His face is blank, an empty void. Why won't he look at me?
"Suppose I'll just have to find another use for her."
Husbandry
I'm in a paddock. My reins are tied to the fence. The cool breeze makes my skin tingle. I hear a gate open behind me. Footsteps? No, hoof-steps. My ears prick as the steps get louder. I smell him, his pheromones.
The stud.
I lean forward and spread my legs - I present myself to him. Why am I doing this? I feel the warmth of his body, his breath on my back. I feel his presence brush against my leg. I shake my hips, flicking my tail out of his way. Is this really what I wanted?
He moun--
Hypnic
Sophie jerked awake, the shockwave knocking me out of my own sleep. She was shaking, sweating. She seemed… haunted.
"Woah, there." I wrapped my arms around her, stroked her hair, "you're okay," tried to comfort her, "just a nightmare."
She shoved me away, her face filled with a scared, confused fury, "I don't know HOW you Inception-ed me, but I'm going to make you regret it!"
… What did I do?