Dark Horse: Tales from the Ranch Ch. 04

Velvet was proud of herself when she realized that her run with Beau today was an opportunity, and not a punishment or a test. She hadn't known what to say to Peep because she didn't understand the problem. The problem seemed to be on Beau's end... or at least that's how it looked to Velvet. She could try talking to Beau!

The only problem was that Velvet and Beau didn't talk. Ever. Velvet studied her running partner surreptitiously as they ran. Beau's face was a hardened mask.

"Velvet is sorry for raping you and your brother." Beau turned her head, enraged, and-

Velvet frowned.

"So... how awesome is sex with Peep?" Beau turned her head, horrified, and-

That wouldn't work.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Beau turned her head, enraged, and-

Most of the time, Velvet was proud of her reputation. Not for the first time, however, it was getting in the way.

"Why do you keep opening your mouth like we're gonna talk?" Beau glared at her, eyebrows arched and lips turns down at the ends, as they hit the top of the incline and turned along the spine of the hill.

"...Velvet thought-"

"Yeah, well stop."

Velvet exhaled through her nose, sensing the window closing on her. Fast. "Don't hurt Peep," she blurted.

Beau drifted to a stop. "What?!"

"Peep," Velvet said, as she slowed and turned. "She's deserves to be treated well... so... don't hurt her."

"Oh my god," she said incredulously. "Are you really trying to give me advice on how to treat someone?"

"Velvet..." Velvet sighed and furrowed her brow.

"No, go on!" Beau took an angry step forward. "Velvet what?"

Velvet took a deep breath. "Velvet is sorr-" Beau's full arm slap was not unexpected, but that did nothing to soothe the incredible sting. Velvet kept her head turned to the side as she wracked her brain for a path forward. She probed the inside of her cheek with her tongue and tasted blood. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth to try ag-

The second slap spun Velvet a bit, and she had to blink away the stars. Beau's eyes were shimmering when Velvet finally managed to face her again. Their jog was over.

"How dare you," she inflicted, lips trembling. Velvet winced as she rubbed her cheek. Beau reared back again when she opened her mouth, but she caught Beau by the wrist and leaned in until the two race ponies were nose to nose.

"Beau has many good reasons to hate Velvet," Velvet said. Beau wrenched her arm loose and backed away, but Velvet stayed close. "Velvet knows, but that doesn't make what she's saying untrue."

"You're a monster!"

"Sometimes," Velvet said, her eyes drifting down. "She doesn't want to be."

"Can't you see how she manipulates you?! She's got you all fucked up, and you're just sooooo happy to do her bidding!"

"Velvet-"

"Do you even remember that you're a person under there?" Beau yelled. Velvet blinked and took a step back and the angry asian pony followed her, gesticulating wildly. "Do you remember having a life before this fucking place? Beau does! Beau remembers!" Both ponies gasped, and Beau slapped a hand over her mouth. "No! No!!"

"Beau! Wait!"

But Beau was gone. Velvet cursed as she threw herself down the trail, but the fleeing pony was a frighteningly fast sprinter. "No no no no no," Velvet whined, as she rounded the corner at the top of the hill. Beau was already almost halfway down, although she seemed to be staying on the path; the underbrush on either side was very dense the whole way to the lake. The path, however, was not straight. Velvet frantically tried to calculate how far they'd already run, and what she thought Beau could manage before she burned out. Briefly, she saw Beau darting between trees ahead of her, the blue on her bra standing out. Still on the path. Fuck. Counting the downhill slope, Beau should... another flicker through the trees... it must be the fear, she decided. Fear is giving her wings. Velvet ducked her head and pushed herself as hard as she ever had.

"Beau!" she cried futilely. "Beau please!" She knew there were two quick turns ahead before the final straightaway to the lake, but as Velvet rounded a-

The only thing that saved Velvet from a severe concussion, when Beau stepped out from behind a tree swinging a branch hard enough to make Babe Ruth proud, was that the swing was a little low. Velvet barely heard the terrifying crack over the ringing in her skull, as the limb splintered and shattered against her upraised arm and shoulder. Her feet ran out from under her, and Velvet hit the ground hard, bouncing and skidding almost ten feet from the point of impact. She cried out as she rolled off of her injured arm, and through the bleary haze, she heard Beau charging and raising the remains of the branch high overhead. But Velvet also heard something else. Something falling and landing messily on the forest floor.

Beau screamed, a painful yelp that interrupted her battle cry, and then screamed again as she dropped the branch. Velvet grimaced as she rolled onto her knees, looking around. A quiet kind of roar was building not far off the trail, and Velvet's mind went blank except for one thought; hornets. There are hornets around here!

Beau screamed as she flung her arms in useless defense, and started to turn back the way they had come. Velvet growled as she launched herself up off her knees to grab at the back of Beau's sports bra. The first hornet stung her right thigh as she dragged Beau to a stop. "Water," she screamed, as the roaring intensified. "That way!" Another sting, on her forearm. Beau let herself be thrown down the path toward the lake, taking all of Velvet's momentum with her. Velvet shrieked as she got a third sting on the back of her neck and started running. Down the path they ran, pursued by a cloud of fury.

Twenty feet in front of Velvet, Beau wheeled to her right as she broke into the clearing and dove, head first, into the water. The forest in the corners of Velvet's eyes blurred as she ran, fading from green to a swarming black. The roar was all around her, and getting louder. She could feel the feel them brushing her elbows every time she pumped her arms back, nipping at her shoulders. Her mane flowed turbulently behind her, she followed Beau into the water two seconds later.

Velvet swam as far as she could underwater, in a straight line. Distance was all she cared about. She needed to get far, and she only popped up for air long enough to exhale, look around for Beau, and inhale again. Beau was nowhere to be seen, and Velvet cursed as she ducked under the surface. Her arm ached where Beau had struck her, and she did as much of the work as she could manage with her feet. The cool water had very little visibility, and she was only able to keep her eyes open for short bursts. No sign of Beau.

Her lungs were on fire when she crawled on all fours onto the opposite shore. Her mane hung thick and heavy around her as she coughed and gasped. Her running shoes were completely waterlogged. The stings on her forearm and neck were painful, but the one on her thigh was worse, and she winced as she stood up and looked around. She could just barely make out the terrible buzzing of the hornets, still milling in rage on the far side of the water, but couldn't make out anything except maybe a moving shadow. No sign of Beau, and then...

Way out in the lake, heading lengthwise along the center, she saw a small brown ball break through the surface a half mile away. Velvet puffed out a breath and waited for her head to dip back below before moving. Everything ached, and even a light jog was an effort. Every time Beau popped up for air, Velvet slowed to a stop and caught her breath. Not for the first time since they'd started today, Velvet wished she'd worn her running shorts. Her balls were very angry with her.

***

"Noooooooooo!" Beau was on hands and knees in the short grass by the shore as Velvet puffed through the treeline, and her face fell. "Pleeeease just let me go!"

"Velvet can't," she said as she slowed to a stop and doubled over.

"I can't go back there," Beau sobbed. "I can't take it."

Velvet nodded her head. "You can."

"Nooooooo." Beau rolled back on her knees and huddled into herself.

"We have to go back, Beau."

"Please don't take me back to her," she pleaded. "I can't take it any more. Just let me go!"

"Why the fuck would you want that?" Velvet snapped. "Do you know what's out there? Out there is... taxes. Out there is a job." Velvet stood up straight and pointed, bewildered. "Out there is... is... all of the people who have failed you, and used you. And they will do it over and over."

"We had a life out there!"

"You... you sold your body, and pimped your brother! You lived under cardboard, you ungrateful little..." Velvet paused as Beau began crying harder. "Oh. Oh yeah, Belle told Velvet about that. It's so bad to have a roof? Walls? Exercise? Regular fucking meals?"

"It's terrifying!" she screamed, descending into complete hysterics. Velvet sighed and slumped down into the grass a few feet away from her, sighed and waited. After several minutes, Beau finally added, in a tiny voice "I don't want to like it."

"Velvet knows," she said simply, softly.

Beau finally raised her head and glared at Velvet through the tears. "You don't know anything!" she said, her voice dripping with venom. "You do whatever she says, no matter how horrible it is. She's awful, Velvet!"

"Velvet knows," she said simply, softly.

"You-" Beau's eyes widened, and she recoiled. "If you know, then why?"

"She takes care of Velvet," Velvet said with a shrug. Beau sobbed uncomprehendingly, her shoulders jerking roughly. "Peep needs you, Beau."

"She was doing fine before I got here," Beau said, shaking her head. "She'll be fine again."

"Belle needs you too."

"He has you."

"Velvet can't replace his sister, no matter how much Velvet loves him."

"You..." Beau's face began to harden. "You love him?" she said quietly, and Velvet nodded. "You love him?" Velvet nodded again, and Beau chuckled darkly. "Love." Pure acid. "Why am I the only one fighting this?" Suddenly, she looked up at Velvet, and Velvet despaired that she'd sat down too close. "It's you. You fucked them until they loved it. You have magical spunk, don't you?"

Velvet's eyes widened dramatically as Beau began to crawl toward her. "Of course Velvet doesn-"

"But you fuck everyone else. What's the matter, Velvet?" Velvet leaned back on the palms of her hands as Beau crawled over her. Beau hovered above her and whispered against her cheek. "Come on, Velvet. Fuck me until I like it."

"Belle-"

"-looks just like me," Beau finished, straddling the shocked smaller latina. "What's the matter, Velvet? Are my tits not big enough for you?" Velvet swallowed hard. "Am I not old enough for you?"

"Beau-"

"I know I just have this little cunt here," she whispered, grinding her sex against Velvet's groin, "but that can be just as warm and tight. If I get it nice and wet for you, will you fuck me until I love it here too?"

"Velvet doesn't..." she said, her voice cracking hard.

"Come on, stud," Beau said, reaching down between her legs to grab Velvet's cock. "Fuck the pain away."

"Beau, stop."

"Come on," Beau said, her voice rising. Her red-rimmed eyes narrowed to slits as she laid Velvet's cock down flat and pushed herself down around it. "I'm fucking wet for you, Velvet."

Velvet's eyebrows knitted together. "You swam across a lake." The friction was... very distracting.

"Just fuck me, you freak." Velvet recoiled as if struck, and Beau angrily pressed her advantage. "Fuck me like you fuck my brother."

"No one fucked Belle," Velvet snarled, "better than you. Velvet makes him cum, but you fucked him stu-"

Velvet's head spun under another slap, and her arms gave out beneath her. She followed the slap and rolled onto her shoulder, but Beau pounced forward and pushed her flat against the ground. Velvet gasped as Beau kissed her fiercely, lips pressed messily together as she tried to wriggle away.

"You don't want to do this," Velvet slurred, as Beau fought for ingress into her mouth.

When that failed, Beau bit down on Velvet's lower lip and pulled back hard. "Come on, freak."

Velvet's snapped, and planted her fist hard into Beau's short ribs. Beau groaned through gritted teeth and Velvet struck again, this time dislodging the dripping asian. They rolled away from each other, each wincing and gasping for air. A minute later, Velvet was the first up to rise up onto all three good limbs. "Velvet loves her body," she said, touching her lip and pulling away a bloody fingertip. "She doesn't hate herself like Beau does." She ran her tongue around the inside of her teeth and spit. "She's sorry she hit you, but that word-"

"Freak," Beau screamed, tears streaming from her eyes.

Velvet shook her head and lifted herself up on her knees. "You think you can drive Velvet to this, but you can't. Velvet can't do this for you. She won't."

"Freak," Beau cried, but it lacked strength as she dissolved into tears again.

"Velvet thought she could break your brother like that," Velvet said tiredly. "She pushed him and pushed him because she didn't want him to leave. If she could break Belle, he would stay. He'd have to stay, and Velvet would have someone who was hers. Someone who would never leave." Velvet shook her head. "There's plenty of reasons to hate it here, Beau, but Peep is worth it. Worth it and more."

Beau's sobbing slowed as she lay on her side, her back turned toward Velvet. Velvet squinted as she looked up. "It's gonna be late when we get back no matter what," she said. "Are your ribs ok?"

"Don't think they're broken," she said softly.

Velvet nodded and flexed her hand through the pain. Beau was tough. "Velvet doesn't mind being the bad guy, but... she also wants to make Belle happy, so... Velvet is going to give Beau more space." She looked over at the prone stallion and frowned pensively. "She doesn't know if we can be friends, but maybe not trying to kill each other is a start?"

Beau sighed and nodded.

"Are you just gonna lay there until Velvet drags you back?"

"I thought you said you were gonna give me more space?!" Beau rolled slightly to glare over her shoulder when Velvet started laughing. "You're not funny."

Velvet groaned through the laugh as she got up. Beau reluctantly followed suit, although she needed help to get on her feet.

"Wanna hear a joke?" Velvet asked, as they started down the return trail.

"Peep warned me about your jokes."

"It's funny!"

"I hate knock knock jokes."

"It's not a knock knock joke," Velvet said eagerly. Beau sighed and nodded. "Ok, so... this guy, his bar just closed down..."

***

It was late afternoon when Beau and Velvet finally stepped out of the forest and back into the large field. Beau had made it most of the way without help. Although she had leaned on Velvet's shoulder the last third of the return trip, Velvet hadn't taken it personally when Beau wanted to be limping on her own as they reemerged. Velvet had her own limping to do, as the sting on her thigh was throbbing angrily.

Ms. Winters had been reclining on the porch when Velvet first saw her, and she promptly got up and strode across the field toward them, but Peep and Belle got there first. Beau tried to put up her hands to stop him, but Belle ran into her and hugged her at full speed. Beau yelped in pain when he squeezed, but she didn't let go either. Peep came to a stop a few feet away, although Velvet couldn't tell if she was respectfully waiting for the sibling reunion to be over or waiting to see if Beau really wanted to see her too. Velvet smiled and limped past them, to where her owner was waiting with folded arms.

And a smile. Velvet sighed happily.

"You did say we should do something about that nest," Ms. Winters said with a smirk.

"Velvet did," she said tiredly.

"Was this what you had in mind?"

"It is not." Velvet looked back over her shoulder just in time to see Beau fling herself at Peep, wrapping the shocked blonde in a warm embrace Peep was only seconds in returning. "Was this what Ms. Winters had in mind?"

"Something like that," the older woman said with a deeply satisfied smile. "Thank you, Velvet."

Velvet merely nodded. "Velvet is glad that she's yours," she said as she turned back to her owner. "She doesn't say that enough."

Ms. Winters smiled oddly. "Glad that I'm here to make all your decisions for you and control you, or glad that I took you away from all that and gave you this place to be yourself?"

"The second one," Velvet said after a moment of thought.

The steel-haired woman nodded thoughtfully, looking over Velvet's shoulder. "They wanted to go looking for you two hours ago."

"That might have ruined everything," Velvet said, ruminating. "Velvet had to do that alone."

"You don't have to do everything alone, my sweet little pony," she said as she took a step back. "Incoming." Velvet looked up at her quizzically, but the sound of Belle running over to her answered her question in it's own way. Velvet winced as Belle crashed into her, and she did her best to hug him tightly with her one good arm.

"We always knew you were coming back," he whispered sadly. "so when she-"

"You don't have to explain," Velvet whispered back. "It's ok." Belle pulled out of the hug slightly, and leaned his forehead against hers.

"Welcome home, Beau." The way Ms. Winters said the word home tickled Velvet's memory. Beau nodded as she and Peep walked up beside Velvet. Not happily, per se, but not sullenly. "You look like you had an eventful jog."

Beau swallowed hard and looked down. She made a small sound in the back of her throat, and swallowed again. "Beau tried to-"

Ms. Winters silenced her with an upraised palm. "We'll have time for that later. Peep, will you assist me in applying some first aid to our wounded little racer?" Peep nodded enthusiastically, and the three of them began to walk toward the house. "While we're doing that, you can tell me all about your near miss with Dr. Atcher's narcotics." Peep missed a step as she walked, and laughed nervously.

Velvet held Belle back, knowing Ms. Winters would take the other two to her room for care and time in the playroom, and that they could use the first aid kit in the grooming room. Ms. Winters wouldn't punish Beau until Beau was healed, but Peep...

"Thank you for bringing her back," Belle said softly.

Velvet nodded, and smiled as her tears made him all blurry. She hugged him again, whining as she used her bruised arm as well, and buried her face against his neck. The tears continued for some time.