Girls and Bridle Ch. 03

Tiantang Zhi Ma turned her head sidway, looked deeply in Xiuying's eyes for a moment, and then kissed her. There was nothing else to do.

***

"As per your last x-rays, you are making an incredible recovery. Sophie must have been taking great care of you."

"She wouldn't let me do anything."

"And it worked. Why don't you stand up for me without your crutches..."

"NO! WHAT IF HER ANKLE BREAKS AGAIN!"

Sophie wasn't mentally prepared for this. It was a routine checkup at the doctor's office, but now he asked Morning Star to walk again, so soon. As small as it could be, another injury would send their Triple Crown hopes right to a coffin.

The doctor just chuckled at Sophie's overreaction and adopted a different approach to defuse the small driver crisis.

"Her ankle is not going to break. She healed quickly, but it's not unheard of. It varies from people to people. Morning Star is a very healthy woman, so I'm sure it helped. It's up to her... If she wants to walk now, good, else we can wait another week. But it is only going to improve.

"I want to walk now!"

Sophie was preventing Morning Star from getting off from the examination table.

"Are you suuuure?"

"Let me go, Sophie! I want to walk."

"I know you! You want to run! You can't run yet!"

"I won't run. Let me walk!"

"No!"

Rolling his eyes at this childish scene, the doctor chipped in once more.

"The sooner she walks, the sooner she will complete her recovery. She is losing muscle mass by the day."

"Don't encourage her! What kind of doctor are you to encourage her to move!?"

"Sophie, that's enough! Let me walk now!"

Morning Star was way stronger than Sophie and could have pushed her away sooner, but she didn't like to roughen her driver as it was not very pony-like. But she also heard what the doctor had said, so she effortlessly moved Sophie aside.

"Heeey! You can't do that! You have to obey me!"

"Just let me walk, okay?"

"Fiiiine! But... be careful!"

The brave pony cautiously slid off the table and put all her weight on her good foot. Then she slowly transferred to her injured one, hoping nothing wrong would happen; it just felt stiff and uncomfortable.

"It's going to be awkward at first, but the more you will move, the more it will get back to normal. Here, go walk a bit in the hallway to see how it feels."

The doctor opened the door to let the ponygirl out. In the waiting room was Moonlight, eating a cookie, who noticed her pony friend standing on her own.

"Hey! Morning Star. You can walk now?"

"I think so... it's stiff, though."

After a few backs and forth in the hallway, things were already feeling much better. Her leg was weak, but it wasn't painful. She accelerated to a normal pace, but she attempted to jog after five steps, sending Sophie to panic mode.

"NO! STOP! You can't run yet! Moonlight! Help me stop her!"

"Leave me alone! I want to run! Let me go, Moonlight! Let me go!"

***

"Thanks for making a scene in the doctor's office, Star. It was just embarrassing for all of us."

"I want to run!"

"Yeah, but you've done it. I will ensure you are not escaping at night and get yourself injured again."

"..."

"That's right. You are going to sleep in your stall until I decide otherwise."

"But..."

"No buts! It's time to change your regimen a bit. I've been spoiling you with that comfy bed and magazines, so if you want those again, you are going to listen to me."

Moonlight, who was sitting on the back seat, was a bit puzzled. Was Sophie really going to make Morning Star sleep in the barn? That seemed a bit harsh.

"You'll make her sleep alone in the barn?"

"Ah! I'm debating about making you sleep there too, Moonlight."

"What? Why? What did I do!?"

"Where did you find that cookie?"

"The nurse gave it to me. She said she didn't want to get fat."

"And you thought it was okay? You don't care that I'm the one in charge of feeding you?"

"But..."

"Argue again, and you know where you'll sleep."

Sophie was in a foul mood after the Morning Star's unwanted stunt at the clinic. She felt as if she was losing control; her ponies weren't listening recently. It was time to regain that control, or else things would not end well for anybody.

"Also, Moonlight, I'm going to find you a race for next week. It's more than time for you to show off your skills."

"... I'm... going to race?"

"Yes, probably one of those amateur Saturday night races."

"But... Morning Star is not ready... How..."

"It's just going to be you and me. You'll pull my cart alone."

"But... I never pulled a cart."

"You will as soon as we get home. And tomorrow, we will get you a real bridle."

***

"BREAST IMPLANTS!?"

"What? I thought you would be happy! What's the problem?"

Hemlock and Nightshade looked at each other as soon as they heard what Paul Clover told them. They were summoned to his office, unsure about the reason, but then he dropped that bomb on them.

"Don't make that face, that is a great and generous gift from me. Do you know how much those things cost?"

"But..."

"Listen... Brittany came to see me the other day, saying that you would like bigger breasts. You should thank her. She said that from a promotional standpoint, it would be a great move. So she proposed that we get you breast implants. Going up in size won't change much to your performance, but fans will drool all over you, which means more money for us."

"But... our breasts are already bigger than average... I think."

Hemlock squeezed her own boobs to make sure that what she had stated was accurate...

"Are you saying you don't want bigger breasts?"

"Well... Yes..."

"..."

Hemlock never considered such a thing, but unfortunately for her, Nightshade remained silent and looked down at her feet.

"Nightshade! Tell him we don't need to do that..."

"Well..."

"..."

"... I kinda like the idea..."

"You cannot be serious! I told you, you are beautiful as is!"

"Yeah... I know... But... I think I would like bigger breasts... It's kind of hot."

Paul stood up from behind his desk and clapped his hands loudly, snapping the ponies out of their private conversation.

"Good! I'm glad you agree to it because you have an appointment for your operation this weekend. The sooner, the better. That way, you can recover from the surgery before your first race."

"We... We didn't agree to anything!"

***

"This is not a cart."

"No, it is not. It's called a sled. And those grey things are called concrete blocks."

"I know what concrete is..."

Once they came back from the hospital, Sophie was still furious at Morning Star for attempting to run. She had locked her in her stall after placing her arms inside an armbinder. The bridle went on, and she tied her up to the wall with a short rope. There was no way she could run now. Morning Star would have to wait for Sophie to interact with her later.

As for Moonlight, she was back in the interior paddock wearing her pony boots and a sturdy training harness. Sophie had attached two big ropes from her hips to an old wooden sled. They were both standing in a corner next to a pile of concrete blocks.

"So, once you are used to pulling this thing, pulling a cart will be easy. Give me a lap with the sled only, so that you get a feel for it before we add weight."

"Okay..."

Moonlight quickly got her legs moving, and the sled followed closely.

"Keep your hands to your side, or else I'll have to cuff them!"

"Well... It's not very hard..."

"Yeah, you make it look easy, but wait till we add a few blocks on it."

It looked easy, indeed. The empty sled just dragged on the dirt without offering any challenge. It was heavier than a cart, even without the extra weight, so, to Sophie, this was secretly encouraging. Since day one, she knew Moonlight was exceptionally strong for a girl her age, but now she was about to discover how strong she really was.

When Moonlight finished her first lap, she stopped in front of the concrete blocks pile and demanded more weight.

"Yeah, that was too easy, Sophie. You can add a couple. Let's start with four."

"FOUR!?"

"Is... is it too much?"

"Well, it won't be light, but you are strong... Okay, worst-case scenario, you won't go very far."

Sophie went to the pile of concrete and brought one block at a time, placing them on the sled. Moonlight didn't seem overly concerned but obviously expected this to be harder.

"Oof! That was a good workout. Alright, try to pull it if you can. Hehe."

"MMmph!"

The first step looked hard, but then the sled started to move, and not just a little bit. Moonlight seemed to have more in common with a tractor than a ponygirl. Her new boots were working perfectly well, and her ankles seemed so very strong.

Her second lap was slower than her first, but still. Sophie had seen many pony girls who had failed to pull an empty sled; the good ones pulled two or three blocks on top of it. Morning Star managed to pull six on a good day but very rarely completed a full lap.

When Moonlight came back from her second lap, she parked in front of the pile.

"Okay, how was it?"

"Not bad, it's not that I'm not strong enough, my feet are sliding."

"That's because you are turning your hooves sideways. Your horseshoes will lose grip if you do that. Try keeping your feet straight, okay? I'll add another block, but if you have trouble, let me know, and I'll help you."

Sophie added another concrete block on the sled. This time around, she made sure to coach Moonlight who was still turning her feet unconsciously. Quickly enough, the lap was over.

She added another block for a total of six... and after a short break, moonlight restarted to pull... successfully. It was hard for Sophie to keep such a poker face, but Moonlight had less difficulty doing it than Morning Star ever had. This was getting exciting a bit too quickly.

After another lap, much more strenuous this time, Moonlight was panting quite a bit and crouched down. Sophie rubbed her warm back and chuckled.

"Not that easy anymore. Hehe. Let's call it a day."

"... No."

"What do you mean no? Pulling six blocks is amazing. You really improved your technique too. You are so strong."

"I want to try one more."

"Really? Do you think you can do more than this?

"Yes. Just let me rest for a few minutes."

"Okay... Hey, why are you rubbing your jaw?"

"It hurts a bit... I may have clenched it too hard."

"Ah... That's what I thought. Let me go grab a bridle. Biting in rubber will prevent that. I don't want you to get injured. I'll get you some water too."

Sophie headed back to the barn and murmured to herself her astonishment.

"Oh my God! This is unreal! She is so strong! And she didn't even do any strength training yet. This is ridiculous. I better go get Morning Star so she can witness that."

She immediately went to Morning Star's stall... and the ponygirl was mad. As soon as Sophie approached, she tried to headbutt her.

"Hey! Calm down! You can be angry at me later if you want, but I'm not joking right now. You MUST come see this. I'm going to untie you, but please, don't try to run. It's not the time, okay? It's about Moonlight. You have to see this. Do you promise you won't try to run?"

Morning Star rolled her eyes and sighed. Then she nodded. Her trainer made it sound more important than usual, so she decided to obey... for now. Perhaps if she behaved, Sophie wouldn't tie her with such a short rope later on.

"Okay, follow me. You won't believe it."

There was no doubt that Morning Star would appreciate what she was about to see, and maybe even get jealous.

Sophie grabbed the training bridle and filled a bucket of water, and then, she went back to the paddock with her elite ponygirl.

As soon as they entered the training area, Morning Star went a bit crazy and started to pull on her reins to get free. It was the first time since her accident that she was standing and wearing boots in this place where she used to run all the time. She just wanted to bolt and sprint. Sophie had to drop her other items and grab the reins with two hands, almost being dragged by the yanks.

"STOP! You promised! Stop! You'll hurt yourself!"

Morning Star had lost it. Her endless convalescence got the best of her, and the urge of galloping was just too strong to contain. She was determined to get away from Sophie and run, no matter what the consequences would be.

The poor trainer didn't expect that kind of attitude and was really struggling to hold on. Morning Star was way stronger than her so she had no chance to win this tug of war; she had to react quickly to prevent a disaster. Out of sheer luck, she saw an old forgotten riding crop leaning against the wall; it was just out of her reach, though. There was only one option...

"COME HERE, YOU!"

She pulled only on one side of the reins, painfully forcing Morning Star's head to turn. It was just enough distraction to cause her to make a few unbalanced steps in the right direction.

Sophie fingers wrapped around the crop and then she returned a severe gaze at Morning Star, who froze for an instant. It was too late for the ponygirl to have remorse.

THWACK!

Without any hesitation, Sophie whacked the frenzy ponygirl on the side of her thigh, causing her to twist due to the sharp pain.

"MMMPH!"

"That hurt, right? Now CALM DOWN!"

Morning Star really wanted to run... She just wanted to run... She knew it wouldn't happen now, and her thigh was on fire. But she still yanked one more time, just in case she would get lucky...

THWACK!

"MMMPH!"

Another hit right where the previous one had landed brought her to her knee. Sophie didn't feel guilty one bit. She had done what was necessary to protect her pony against herself.

The last time she had to use a riding crop that way on Morning Star was when she lost her cool after being disqualified from her first Super Cup. They had accidentally bumped into Fifty Shades of Hay's cart, causing them to abandon the race. Morning Star believed that she was not responsible for the incident and tried to charge Fifty Shades. Sophie had managed to regain control before something ugly happened.

"ARE YOU DONE?"

"Ffff fffff."

"Right... Just try pulling on those reins one more time, and you'll see what happens. Stand up! I said, stand up! I don't care if it hurts."

"Ffff"

"What were you thinking? Do you want to break your ankle again? The doctor said you could only walk... But no... You stubborn pony, you want to run! I get that. But you'll run when I say you can run. Not a second before. Is that clear?"

"FFFF!"

"IS THAT CLEAR?"

Morning Star felt defeated. Her dream had been crushed, and she had been moralized in front of Moonlight on top of it. Because of that, she knew the next few weeks would turn into a nightmare. Sophie wouldn't let her do anything fun and wouldn't give her any slack. She lowered her head and let go of all resistance.

"Good. I'm glad we have an understanding. Now follow me. I still want you to watch Moonlight. She was on a roll, so I hope you didn't break her good mood with your shitty attitude. What a good example you give her. You should be proud of yourself."

As Sophie was tying Morning Star to a wall ring, Moonlight, at the other end of the paddock, had witnessed something she had never expected to see; Sophie battling her Elite pony and even hurting her with a riding crop. It had been a scary sight, and she couldn't help but wonder if it would happen to her one day. The girl who was coming back to her had been so nice as of yet but was suddenly a bit more intimidating.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Moon. Morning Star had been in a bad mood recently and finally lost it. I'm not that surprised."

"..."

"Ah, don't worry. I won't hit you like that so early in your training. You'll understand Morning Star's feeling later on when you start competing. Being unable to run can be very frustrating when you are addicted to it. Here, drink a bit of water, do you still want to try seven blocks?"

"Yes... I can do it."

Using a metal ladle, she cupped some of the water from the bucket and brought it to Moonlight's lips.

"No... don't touch it! Let me take care of you, okay?"

Every little action could be used as a training opportunity. Making Moonlight drink was just another way to promote trust between the pony and the trainer. It was a friendly gesture and Sophie's habit; she liked doing this kind of work a lot.

"So, ready?"

"Yes!"

As Sophie loaded the seventh concrete block on the sled, Morning Star was miserable. Her thigh throbbed with pain, and she wanted to go back to her stall to crash on her haystack; she didn't want to be here anymore. Watching Moonlight run would just make her feel worse. She pressed her forehead against the rough wooden wall, refusing to look and almost crying.

Sophie pulled her out of her self-loathing.

"Hey Morning Star, look at me one sec! Come on! Stop feeling sorry for yourself and look! That's why I brought you here."

Sophie insisted... Did she want to moralize her some more in front of Moonlight? Resigned, Morning Star turned her head around just enough to see Sophie from the corner of her eye... and her heart skipped a beat when she saw what she was doing.

The small trainer had her two arms lifted in front of her. On one hand, she extended five fingers, and on the other, two more fingers. Seven? It couldn't be. Did Sophie really mean...!?

Morning Star squinted at the sled while Sophie attached the training bridle to Moonlight's head. She counted seven blocks... Was this young girl that much more powerful than her? If it were true, it would be insane. The only ones on the circuit who could pull six blocks were Hemlock, Tiantang, and herself. Hemlock was the strongest and only managed to do seven once during a promotional event, and only on a very short distance. Nobody else could pull that much weight. Particularly not a young untrained girl.

"Alright, Moonlight. Just focus on your technique. I'm taking care of everything else. Imagine yourself as a strong workhorse, and you need to transport those blocks for me. When you are ready..."

Sophie, holding a rope attached to Moonlight's bridle, stood in front of her with a confidence-inspiring smile. The young ponygirl took a deep breath and tried to pull the sled.

"Mmmmph!"

It was not moving. It felt so much heavier with that seventh block on. Moonlight wasn't so sure if she could do this anymore.

"Come on, Moon. Remember what I taught you. Focus on pulling. Not on me and not on the sled. It's all in your head."

"MMMPHH!"

The sled jerked forward by about a few inches, which was a feat in itself. But it stopped immediately. Sophie walked up to Moonlight and pressed her two hands on the side of her warm head. Her face was so close...

"Trust me, this time. It WILL move. I promise. Give it all you got."

Moonlight frowned and bit her gag hard.

"AAAAmmmpph!"

"GO GO GO! You GOT IT! Keep pulling hard! Pull, pull, PULL!"

Morning Star couldn't believe what she was seeing. Moonlight was pulling seven bricks and not only on a short distance. Sophie kept yelling at Moonlight and encouraging her after every step she made. This was absolute insanity!

"ALMOST HALFWAY! Don't stop! If you stop, it's over! Go Go Go! Focus! Focus on pulling! Follow me!"

"AAaaaammph!"

"I know it hurts, but keep pulling! You can do this, Moon!"

Moonlight's entire body was burning when she crossed the halfway mark. But she didn't stop. Sophie's intention was crystal clear; she aimed at a full lap, which was unheard of.

"COME ON, MOON! Only a few more meters."

The sled came to a stop, three-quarter of the way, but it was not over yet. The strong ponygirl drew on her resolve and got it moving again, even faster this time.