Girls and Bridle Ch. 05

"Hi!"

"Hello... oh... Poor you, did you fall in the water?"

"... Uh? What? Oh... No, this is just sweat!"

"Eww!"

The women frowned and stepped back, repulsed. Hemlock was indeed not looking too fresh, and their reaction made her feel self-conscious about it. Brittany had always been the one making sure she looked good and appealing, it was a bit shameful for Hemlock to understand that a lot of her attraction power came from it.

She tried to go back to her topic, knowing it would probably not go too well after such a first impression.

"I... I am Hemlock..."

"The racing pony?"

"YES!... I mean... yes... It's me."

"Are you lost?"

"Heee... No, but ... I wondered if you'd like an autograph... or a picture?"

"That's something our husbands would like, but without the pony outfit, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't care that much."

"Well, if you give me a few dollars, I could—"

"What? Are you asking for money on top of that? If you want to get paid, at least make an effort to look presentable! Alright, girls, let's go. There is a strange smell around here."

"But... wait!"

The women just ignored Hemlock's plea and walked away. They were not entirely wrong; who would like a picture of a ponygirl who wasn't looking like one.

Depressed, she walked back to the fountain and sat back on the ledge, trying to think of a solution to gather the money she needed for her secret plan.

"Dad! Look... Look... Is that... Hemlock?"

"I think you may be right... It looks like her."

"..."

Hemlock lifted her chin to look at the people who had seemingly identified her. It was a father and a daughter of ten or twelve years old. The young girl had such a happy expression on her face. Hemlock recognized that emotion as she has seen it on so many young girls since she became famous.

"What are you waiting for, go see her, hehe."

"Yes, one sec ..."

Encouraged by her father, the young girl placed her backpack on the ground and unzipped it. She dug out a colorful pen and a magazine... a racing magazine. The girl jogged toward Hemlock with a shy look on her face.

"You... You are Hemlock, right?"

"Yes, I am!"

"I .. I am... a HUGE fan of you and Nightshade. You are the best. You are so pretty."

"Thank you. You are beautiful too... Nice meeting you."

"Aww! Can... Can you sign my magazine?"

This was the one scene that was supposed to happen from the get go. Fans were supposed to converge to her, and it was a relief to see that the magic, even if weaker, had not entirely vanished. A young kid like this was one of the targets that Paul and Brittany would dive on like falcons to strip it from its money.

"Do you have any money?"

"... You... You need money for your autograph?"

"..."

"... I don't have money... but... I will go ask my dad... but I'm not sure he has any either because he lost his job last month."

The young girl placed her magazine and pen on the ground in front of Hemlock's hooves and started to walk back to her father to obtain currency.

Hemlock's heart sank. Her eyes landed on the magazine resting at her feet, and on its cover, was a photo of Nightshade and her sitting on a haystack. This image came from their latest photoshoot, and they looked stunning and inspiring. In bold, the big title was burning her eyes with the flames of shame.

"Hemlock and Nightshade: Role models of a generation."

"How girls and women of all ages felt empowered by the success of the two beautiful ponygirls and took back ownership of their body!"

Hemlock got hit by a wave of pain. Inside her head, the words from Stardust resonated like the bell of good luck. "You'll be fearless and resilient. You'll never give up!" She remembered those words that had changed her life. The name she had received on that day turned her into something extraordinary.

What would this small girl remember from this special day? What words would be engraved in her soul for the rest of her life? "Do you have any money?" That was so wrong and disgusting. What was this? Why did she even think this would be a good idea?

What Brittany and Paul did during all those years was to shield Hemlock from this dark side of the business. They accepted the devil's role to allow her to act genuinely with her fans without carrying the burden of shame. Now that Hemlock had tried to wear the devil's hat, it was not feeling good at all. It was a huge mistake.

"WAIT! Come back!"

"... But... The money..."

"No, no. I misspoke. I'm sorry about that, come here, can you show me this magazine? I haven't read it and would like to see it."

"Sure! Haha! That's so great!"

The young girl rushed back to Hemlock, picked up the magazine, and sat on the fountain's ledge close to her idol. She flipped a couple of pages, showing her the pictures she liked best.

"See, this one is my favorite. It's you and Nightshade hugging Brittany. Brittany is so awesome, I think."

"She can have some good moments, yes."

"I mean... What she said to Tiantang Zhi Ma was not okay, right? And they banned her for it, right? But I'm sure she regrets it very much. I'm sure she is not a bad person, right?"

"Yes, you are right. Brittany is not a bad person. But she makes very big mistakes sometimes."

"I wish I could meet her, and Nightshade too."

This discussion was full of innocence, of course. The young girl had no idea who Brittany was or how nasty she could be, nor knew anything about Nightshade. But in her heart, it was real, and it fuelled her passion.

"I'll tell you what. Do you want to become a ponygirl?"

"Yes. I train hard already."

"Oh, you do? Hehe. Do you have a ponygirl name?"

"No... I can't choose one."

"I'll give you a name then. You can keep it if you like it. Then, when you are old enough to race, I'll go watch you. So make sure you send me letters to tell me."

"... You... You are going to give me a name?"

"Yes... Athena. You'll be intelligent and full of wisdom. You will win because of this."

"A... Athena?... I LOVE IT! THANK YOU!"

"Hehe... Let me sign this magazine now."

Hemlock felt good. She had corrected her wrongdoing and provided someone with the same goodness that she once had received.

She signed the magazine, taking one last good look at the beautiful picture of her and her lover, and gave it back to Athena.

"Thank you so much, Hemlock, you are the best!"

"Athena, can you give me a big hug before leaving!"

"YES!"

She didn't have to ask twice. The small girl jumped in her arm and squeezed her really hard and long... until...

Flash!

Hemlock looked at the person who just took the picture, and it was not the girl's father. She let Athena go and sent her away.

"Goodbye, Athena, we will see each other again soon. I'm sure of it."

"Byyye, Hemlock! I love you!"

Hemlock stood up and turned to the man.

"You are a reporter, aren't you?"

"Yes... I didn't know it was okay for ponies to beg for money in exchange for hugs."

"That's not what happened..."

"Well, someone from the village gave me a quick call saying that a famous ponygirl was walking around asking for money. I was around and found you here, Hemlock. This is going to be one juicy headline."

"... What do you want from me?"

"Well, do you still need money?"

"..."

"I can help... I'm a huge fan of ponygirls, you know. How much do you need?"

"... a hundred dollars."

"Oh, a nice sum for a ponygirl... I'll tell you what. We can rent a hotel room, and if you are acting nice, I'll give you your hundred bucks."

"You know I can reach your head with my hoof. Would you like to have a horseshoe embossed in your forehead for the rest of your life?"

Hemlock had a lover, Nightshade. Since they were together, she was not remotely open to having sex with anybody else, and clearly, that offer was abusive. Blackmailing her wouldn't be enough to abandon her principles.

"Alright, alright, no need for violence. Don't blame a man for trying. Alternatively, I think you own something that I would love to have, and it's probably worth a hundred dollars."

"What is it?"

"Something rather exclusive... and it's even more valuable since you ran from Paul's stable all the way here on a very hot day."

"What are you talking about? What do you want from me? I have nothing."

"Ah, Hemlock... Think hard before you say no. For the hundred dollars, and my silence about all of this, well... I want your sweaty panties."

Hemlock developed a new trauma.

***

"That's it, Moonlight! You got it. Listen to Morning Star's hooves. Stay with her! Perfect!"

All day, Ivory showed Morning Star and Moonlight how to work as a team. After her little demonstration, which had been a game-changer, the two racers had acquired enough conviction to start listening and take the class seriously.

Ivory had made them do many beginner exercises to learn the basics, and now, they knew enough that they were both wearing a training harness and pulling a small cart together. A hay bale acted as a fictional driver for weight purposes. Sitting on the fence, Ivory directed them around, but she didn't have much more to say. The two ponies had learned quickly and were doing great.

Some trials and errors had helped Ivory determine the best configuration for them to practice with; Morning Star would be the leader, meaning that she would be the left pony who would dictate the pace. On her side, Moonlight would be the right pony who would focus on matching the gait and providing extra power.

Neither one of those roles was easy to fulfill, but practice would make it more comfortable over time. After a few hours with Ivory, they had made immense progress already, and their hooves pretty much hit the dirt in sync most of the time. The cart didn't jerk around anymore and didn't pull awkwardly on their harness either. Racing as a team was so much more fun than before.

Ivory, very satisfied with the training session, jumped down the fence and clapped her hands a few times to put an end to it.

"Alright! You got it! Let's call it a day. Anyway, we have to clear the way because the carriages are coming back. They are so big that they have to go through the paddock's gate. Come this way."

"Can we stay a bit longer and watch them?"

"Absolutely. I don't think Sophie is back yet. We have all the time in the world."

***

After putting the equipment away, Morning Star, Moonlight, and Ivory went back to the paddock to open the large gate. In the distance, the two large carriages, pulled by six show ponies each, were coming back from their trip. Six identical blue ponies pulled the first one, and the second one was taken care of by ponies of all colors.

"That's so cool! Why are they not all the same color, though?"

"Just variety. Some clients prefer to have identical ponies, while others want something different. I have to admit that we, show ponies, like playing with our looks a lot. It's really fun."

"Ah, that's neat. We have a limited color choice, and we have to keep it until we stop racing. Morning Star got black, so we are wearing black all the time. Under the sun, it's very hot."

Morning Star looked at Moonlight with a smile.

"It didn't prevent me from winning three Super Cups in a row."

"True..."

"Alright, look at how synchronized they all are. If they had not been, it would have been impossible for them to pull big carriages like this."

As the two vehicles were approaching, the beauty of the scene hypnotized Star and Moon. All those small hooves beating the dirt road at the same time were so entertaining to watch. Never in a thousand years, the two powerful racers had expected to get a lesson from those small and delicate creatures. Working together as one was a winning formula; there was no doubt about it anymore.

After the two carriages passed in front of them and entered the barn, Morning Star whispered something in Moonlight's ear and got a nod back along with a smile.

Ivory was about to close the gate when Morning Star stopped her.

"Wait, Ivory! There is a little something we would like to give you. A thank you gift for all your help today."

"A little something?"

"Yes, bring one of the carriages back here."

"Uh? Why?"

"We want to pull it around with all of you inside it."

"Hahaha! A carriage with a dozen passengers in it? Forget it, Star, you two alone won't be able to do it."

"Oh, no. I'm not going to try to. My ankle is still recovering. Sophie would never let me tax it that much. So, Moonlight will pull it alone."

"..."

"Yup!"

What Ivory had just heard was hard to believe; this proposition was madness. But Moonlight confidently confirmed that it was what she was going to do. Ivory walked to Morning Star and looked into her eyes. Their height difference was obvious; Morning Star was a head taller.

"You're joking, right?"

"No. We thought you would like a little demonstration of what we can do. Pulling heavy things is part of our training."

"I bet Moonlight can't! I know she is strong, but a single pony cannot pull a carriage with a dozen passengers. It's way too heavy."

"Okay, what do you want to bet?"

"If you do it, I'll give you free tickets to our show tonight."

"And what if we can't do it then?"

Having smelled a good opportunity to cause chaos, Moonlight jumped into the conversation with a firm proposal.

"Ivory, if I can't do it, Morning Star will go on a date with you!"

"DEAL! DEAL! DEAL!"

"WHAT!? Moonlight! Come on! You can't offer me as a price."

Ivory didn't waste a single fraction of a second before accepting that bet, leaving Morning Star in the dust.

***

BAM! BAM! BAM!

"Brittany, open the door!"

"Go away!"

"Come on, please. I need to talk to you! It's important."

Hemlock just got back from the village and rushed upstairs to Brittany's bedroom. Her insistence had paid off. The door handle unlocked, turned, and the door cracked open just enough to see half of Brittany's face.

"What do you want? Insult me some more?"

"No, I want to fix this mess. Let me in! We need to talk."

"You are such a pain, Hemlock. Alright, make it quick."

The small trainer let Hemlock push the door open and went back to her bed on which she sat, hugging a pillow. Her elite pony stood in front of her bed with a determined look, but Brittany couldn't do anything else than frown when she noticed how dirty she was.

"Here, this is for you!"

Hemlock tossed five twenty dollars bills on the mattress, puzzling Brittany to a great extent.

"Money? What do you want me to do with money? And where did you get it?"

"No! It's not money!"

"It's not money?"

"Well, it is, but that's not what I want to give you. Oh!...Right!...I forgot to show you this too."

She pulled a pamphlet from the back of her shorts; it was all flimsy because it had absorbed so much sweat.

"Ew! Gross... Why are you all sweaty anyway? What's the big deal?"

"Look... Read!"

Brittany pulled open the moistened document from the tip of her nails and attempted to read it.

"A Chinese buffet? Is this a bad joke? I think I'm banned from that restaurant too."

"What!? No! Not that! Look at the bottom... the ad."

"A show?"

"Yes! Show ponies! It's tonight. You love those, right? I found some money, but I don't know how to buy tickets. You always buy everything for us. So I give you the money, and we can go together! You can get us tickets with the money, right?"

The innocence of the ponygirl forced Brittany to take a long breath in and exhale slowly, appreciating the gesture but not its purpose.

"... Hemlock... Why are you doing this?"

"Because I care, and I don't want to leave Paul's stable. Nightshade will leave tomorrow if you don't let her be with me. I don't want that to happen. I will follow her if that's what it takes, but I don't want to lose you. That's not what I want! So, I'm trying to fix this! Nightshade gave me twenty-four hours."

"Hemlock..."

"I know you love show ponies! Please! Just drive us there and buy us tickets. I know I hurt you badly with the harness thing, but I didn't mean to. I'm sorry. I want you to give me a chance to apologize. I care about you."

Brittany let another long sigh out in her pillow. Hemlock could be so stubborn sometimes. She looked back at the sweaty pamphlet; she did like show ponies a lot more than she cared to admit. When she was little, she wanted to become one, but it never worked out. She was way too bossy to listen to anybody, and probably not pretty enough, at least that's what she told herself at that time.

"Fine, let's go watch a show."

"REALLY!? YAY!"

Hemlock jumped on the bed and started hugging Brittany, who couldn't fight back!

"Get off me! Get off me! You are all sweaty! Let's go clean you a bit first. I don't know what you did to get that money, but you reek!"

***

"Sorry I can't do it! It's too heavy!"

"AH! Morning Star, we are going on a date!"

"..."

"Hey! A bet is a bet!"

"Mmm... It seems fishy..."

"Hey! We had a deal! You can't say no!"

Ivory was ecstatic when Moonlight announced that she couldn't pull the carriage containing the twelve small show ponies despite a series of attempts. But something was off... Morning Star didn't believe Moonlight gave her all.

"Moon... You are going to pay for this. You failed on purpose."

"What? It's too heavy. What do you want me to do? Maybe if I had my real pony boots with my horseshoes, but those pink thigh-high boots are just not made for that."

Morning Star grumbled and looked back at Ivory, who had constellations in her eyes, and her hands cutely squeezed up to her chest.

"Fine, Ivory, deal. You have my word. We will go on a date."

"YAY! It's going to be so fun!"

"Alright, ponies! Did you all hear them? They are going on a date. Now hang on to your hat!"

"... wait ... what? MOON! I KNEW IT!"

As soon as Morning Star promised to honor her lost bet, Moonlight had a mysterious surge of energy and got in position to pull on the large carriage again. Morning Star had apprehended this; she knew Moonlight was full of shit and had been playing her. She had that gut feeling that she should have listened to.

"Mmmph!"

The powerful ponygirl engaged her massive leg muscles, and immediately, the cart got moving as if it was not even that hard. The cute pony passengers who were sitting on top of each other all started cheering in awe in the face of this feat of strength.

"Gooo! Moonlight!"

"You are amazing!"

"Moonlight, you are so strong!"

"We love you, Moon!"

"Are you single, Moonlight?"

"I hate you so much, Moonlight!"

Among the cheers, there was only one dissonant voice, and nobody wondered who it belonged to.

***

"This place is packed!"

"Yes, but we have money, so we will get good seats, right?"

"It doesn't work that way, Hemlock. If there are no seats available, we won't be able to buy tickets. From what I see, it's a full house."

Brittany and Hemlock were waiting in line at the tent entrance, where the show ponies would perform, in an attempt to buy their tickets. As promised, Brittany gave her pony a good bath and then disguised her with a hoodie and sunglasses; if the crowd were to find out that Hemlock was here, it would be enough to turn this place upside down. If that were to happen, that would be yet another building from which Brittany would be banned.

It didn't look good. The line up was slow-moving, and everybody who had talked to the cashier so far had retreated, either angry or disappointed. Show ponies enjoyed a regain of popularity recently, mainly because of ponies like Hemlock and Nightshade, who were teaching people that it was not a crime to be beautiful and good at the same time. Most girls couldn't become racers because it required a particular genetic, but they could still have fun being show ponies. Only the best ones were able to perform in front of a big crowd, though.