Girls and Bridle Ch. 06

"Stardust? Who is Stardust?"

"..."

Instead of answering Moonlight's question, Morning Star quickly ran to her bedroom and returned with an already sorted pile of old magazines that she spread throughout the table in chronological order. Each and every cover featured Stardust.

"She is a legend! She won six Super Cups and countless other famous races and tournaments. This is absurd! How did this happen? How come she became their owner? Why them?"

"I like her bridle with the mask... She looks intense. Oh, and she wore the same color as us, black."

"Yes, when she retired, nobody dared to pick her color as she was considered a Goddess. But Penny wasn't shy about it and went to get it when she became my owner."

"Well, Morning Star, you are a champion too. You deserve to wear that color."

"I don't know... Stardust was way better than I will ever be. I never broke her Super Cup track record and probably never will. She is amazing!"

Morning Star's admiration toward Stardust was without boundaries. Avid reader of racing magazines, she had memorized every single stats and history of the former champion. Moonlight, her, was simply amused to see how passionate her companion was about this news. Other than that, she had never followed racing before, so she didn't care too much about fame and stuff like that.

The main question remained, though. How did Stardust end up buying Paul's stable, and why did Paul even sell it in the first place. Not long ago, he was determined to prevent them from winning the Triple Crown. Shedding some light on this was why Penny and Sophie left early to the city this morning.

"Oh! Star! Sophie and Penny are coming back! Let's go meet them outside."

"Yes!"

The two civilian ponygirls rushed to the front door and walked up to the car that had pulled in the long dirt driveway. Morning Star went to help Penny out while Moonlight started questioning Sophie right away.

"So? Did you find anything?"

"Oh, yeah... It was all true. Paul sold his stable to Stardust."

"But... Why?"

"Not too sure... We went to Pony Exchange to check the paperwork, it was all legit, and then we asked people around and guess what ... Stardust, Nightshade, and Xiuying were seen together shortly after the transfer of ownership was signed."

"Xiuying!? With Nightshade?That's not possible..."

When Sophie had suggested that Tiantang's stable could potentially have an involvement with this whole story, both ponygirls were shocked. Xiuying hated Paul's team so much because of all the racist comments she had to endure, so how could she even be able to breathe in the presence of one of their members. Nightshade wasn't the meanest one, but still.

"Well, that's what we thought too. So, Penny suggested that we go straight to Tiantang stable and ask them directly about this whole thing."

"So? What did they say?"

"Nothing!"

"N... nothing?"

"They confirmed what we already knew, the change of ownership, but that everything else was a private matter. You know, I'm not overly surprised. Tiantang and Xiuying have such a strong code of honor. They wouldn't betray their worst enemy even if they had a decent reason to do so."

It greatly puzzled Moonlight, of course, but she was new in this pony business; at the end of the day, she wouldn't care too much about any of this as it was more than likely not that relevant to her situation anyway. The one who seemed to have a problem with this turn of events was Morning Star. She looked anxious, and her rapid eye movements betrayed her overthinking, forcing Sophie to nudge her out of that zone.

"Morning Star? What are you thinking?"

"... nothing."

"It's bugging you, I can tell... You can tell us, you know..."

"It's... It's because it's... Stardust..."

"Ah, yes... Why am I not surprised? Are you... jealous?"

"..."

"Do you want to change stable and be owned by her?"

"NO! Sophie! Don't say things like that... It's mean... It's just that she is a legend and—"

"Hahaha! Fangirl! Come on, you two. Let's get you ready for training. It will take your mind off this quick enough. You will have to show me what you've learned with Ivory two days ago. Today we start training with the double cart... It's time to get serious!"

***

"Would you stop acting like an idiot, Hemlock! Look at Nightshade... She didn't give me any trouble when I prepared her. What's the big deal?"

"Mmphh!"

Brittany, Hemlock, and Nightshade were back at Paul's stable, which was now Stardust's stable. Yesterday, when Nightshade and Xiuying bumped into Stardust in town, they received shocking news; Paul had sold his very lucrative stable to Stardust, turning her de facto into their new owner.

Instead of explaining everything on-site, Stardust decided to give the big bundle of keys to Nightshade and told her to return to the stable with Brittany and Hemlock, which they did. The place felt like a ghost town, and Paul's limited belongings were already gone. It was such a surreal and somewhat creepy sensation to be back there so soon after the heavy drama that had unfolded the day prior.

The three girls were scared that Paul would show up out of nowhere with an axe to slaughter them, so much that since they came back, they kept guard on a rotation; while one stayed awake, the two others were resting. It would be like this until Stardust showed up to officially invest the property and hopefully shed some light on this whole transfer.

They expected her arrival this morning. For the occasion, Brittany thought it would be appropriate to prepare her ponies to make them look perfect. Brittany had no illusions; she knew she was not the most liked person around, and if someone risked being fired right off the bat, it was her. Hence the reason why she spent so much time on Nightshade a moment ago, making her stand out, and was now trying to do the same to Hemlock.

The small driver had literally transformed one of the stalls into a grooming station and used all her most expensive products to turn Nightshade into one good looking racer. Starting with the boots, she had replaced the standard crisscross lacing she usually used by a very fancy woven lacing. Nightshade had never seen one of those before. Even if she still had ill feelings because of what Brittany had done to her, she still couldn't help but be impressed by her skills.

Brittany had also given the pony a complete and durable shine of her pink catsuit, making it almost glow. The harness had been next on the list. After being thoroughly cleaned and conditioned, Brittany had replaced one of its buckles that didn't seem to sparkle as much as the others. As usual, she had fitted the harness on the ponygirl in a perfect way.

Because the goal was to show off racing ponygirls and not cute and delicate show ponies, Brittany had decided against applying makeup. Instead, she had spent a lot of time perfecting Nightshade's ponytail. For a ponygirl, the long hair was an iconic source of pride and admiration.

The bridle had been the last thing to go on Nightshade before Brittany led her out of the stall, where she would keep an eye for Stardust's arrival or a potentially murderous ex-owner. However, the trainer had warned her not to do anything that would risk undermining the end-result or her look. A bit of dirt on the freshly polished hooves would be nothing less than catastrophic.

It was Hemlock's turn to be groomed, but things were not going smoothly. Even her bit between her teeth hadn't calmed her down.

"Stoooop! Stardust can show up at any minute, and you are nowhere near ready. For the last time, stop moving!

"Mmmph! Mmmph!"

"I know you can't wait to see her but control yourself, damnit! It's the third time I'm trying to lace your boot, and you mess it up every time. Stay!"

Hemlock couldn't help it. She continuously tried to peek out of her stall to see if Stardust had arrived, forcing Brittany to pull her back so she could complete her makeover.

The prospect of being owned by her idol, who was more like a Goddess to her, was almost too much to handle emotionally. How did this happen? One day, she had risked her entire career to protect Brittany, and the other, she had learned that the person she admired the most in life was now replacing the man she hated the most.

"Done. Now let me give you a quick shine. You are all dusty."

"Mmm!"

Brittany sprayed some latex conditioner on a soft pad and started working the smooth surface. Since this task was less demanding on her mind, it was a good opportunity to acknowledge what her ponygirl had done for her during the past two days.

Even after being harshly punished and separated from her lover for an extended period, Hemlock had shown Brittany compassion. The ponygirl had sensed that something was very wrong with her trainer and had tried, in her own special way, to breach her walls. If she had not done that, having faith in her training one last time, Brittany would have lost everything she loved; without her two ponies, she would have left as well and probably would have abandoned her trainer career for good. So this little trip to see a ponygirl show, which turned into something much more emotional, had really saved her. Hemlock had saved her.

"Hey, Hemlock... I don't think I've said... thank you. You did everything a ponygirl should never do, but in the end, it was a good thing. Right?"

"Mmmph!"

"I'm sorry about everything I did to you and Nightshade. I was just angry... mostly angry at myself... for being so damn weak."

A pair of hands softly landed on Brittany's head. That, too, was not allowed. Touching a trainer without permission or grabbing things such as the harness or reins were prohibited. But this time, it was the right thing to do; it was better than words. Nothing Hemlock could have said could have sunk into Brittany's brain more than this gentle touch.

"O... Okay... That's enough, Hemlock. Lift your arms now, we need to finish this."

***

"Alright... I think we are good to go? Ready to stretch your legs?"

Sophie slapped Morning Star's butt playfully after making sure the double cart had been secured properly to the ponygirls' harnesses. It was a slightly different setup than what she was used to, but she was knowledgeable enough to figure it out.

The small driver climbed on her springy seat, put her little helmet on, and grabbed the reins. Piloting two ponygirls at once would be the challenging part. Not only she had to learn how to tug two sets of reins at once, but she would also have to train her ponies to react the same way to her commands.

She decided that Moonlight would be the one that would have to adapt. Morning Star was a fully trained and conditioned pony, and her habits would be too hard to break; it was much easier to work with Moonlight, who was a clean slate.

"Yup... to the track, girls! Let's find out how this thing works."

Penny's stable had a generic four hundred meters dirt track near the barn. It was the standard size for short races like the Super Cup, two 400 meter laps. The Triple Crown was quite different, and the tracks were huge, respectively 3000 and 3500 meters.

All the pre-season and qualification races would occur on 3000 meters tracks, then the Triple crown would consist of two races of 3000 meters, and the last race would be an extremely demanding 3500 meters. Performing well on the shorter ones didn't guarantee success on the longer one, which was the main reason why it was so rare for a team to win the three races.

"Er! Stop pulling me side to side like this... you are going to make me sick. I thought Ivory taught you how to pull a double cart properly."

As they went down the gravel road leading to the track, the ponies made the cart jerk uncomfortably because they were not working together. There was a lot of sarcasm in Sophie's voice since she was fully aware that the two ponies had never pulled a real cart together, and it would take some getting used to. It was just funny to watch Moonlight trying to sync her feet to Morning Star's. The jerking motion came from Moonlight, who looked at her companion's hooves instead of in front of her. Her body was simply trying to go where she was looking.

Slowly but surely, the little cart reached the dirt track where the real training would take place. Today, there would be no need to perform. It was merely a first attempt for everyone to find out how it felt to work as a team of three.

"Alright, ponies... Show me what you've got. Trot!"

It took a few seconds for the pony girls to get synchronized. Right away, Sophie saw a lot of flaws, errors, and mistakes but didn't mention any of her observations during the first lap. Instead, she just studied and made mental notes for later. Having a comforting and casual chat with them was a better calming treatment.

"We will need to groom that track soon. Maybe you can help me with that later, Moonlight? If you are not too tired, that is. You like pulling things, right? That rake is not light."

It hadn't rained forever on Penny's stable, causing the dirt to be extra dry and dusty and forcing Sophie to pull up her scarf to cover her mouth. She was not that much bothered by this, it was part of the job, but she couldn't help but think about the pony cleaning she would have to do at the end of the day. They both had long hair that would need thorough brushing and washing.

After a full lap of trotting, the small driver began the real work. The trick for Sophie was to pick certain elements to work on and ignore others. A rolling fire of criticism would be counterproductive, and she risked discouraging her ponies. Morning Star and Moonlight were not always the most cool-headed beings, so Sophie had to gauge her words carefully to prevent making them feel like victims.

"That wasn't bad at all. Is Ivory that good? Okay, Morning Star, remember, you are the lead pony, so stop trying to accommodate Moonlight. You just make her life more difficult. Let her adapt to your gait. And you Moonlight, stop looking at the ground. Your hooves are not going away. Use your ears instead. Your hooves are noisy enough. Don't get frustrated. It's just practice. Keep those knees high too. I don't want you to trip. Good... Good! That's what I like to see. That's my girl!"

For a little while, the trio kept riding around the track casually. It could have been qualified as a light workout for the ponies. The dual cart was barely heavier than the single one, but since two ponygirls pulled it, it was effortless. Sophie barely weighed more than a bag of feathers too, so it was not even close to being a challenge for her tractors.

Sophie then guided her ponies to the center of the track where there were a bunch of rusty metal barrels. This zone was dedicated to control and obedience training. They would zig-zag around the barrels, which was good for both Sophie, who was learning how to use two sets of reins at the same time, and for the ponies who needed to learn how to negotiate turns together; they had to work in sync like never before, and it was not as easy at it looked.

Saying it was challenging would be an understatement. Large turns were not much of a problem, but the tighter ones were a nightmare. Everybody tried their best, but if this was an omen of what was to come at the Triple Crown, it was not a good one. Particularly when Sophie sent the ponies straight into one of the barrels, making it fall and roll on the ground.

"Aaah! I'm so sorry! That was my fault! I'll go pick it up! Sorry!"

***

"MMPHH! MMMPH!"

"What? Stardust is here already? Okay, well. You look great. Come, we will go meet her."

Hemlock was so excited that she kept jerking on her reins, trying to make Brittany move faster. She wanted to get out of the barn now to see her idol.

"Calm down... Hemlock. You don't want to give her a bad first impression. Nightshade, come here. Let's do this the way we discussed."

Nightshade trotted to Brittany, who grabbed her reins with her free hand. The small driver now had the two powerful ponies on each side of herself and headed toward the big barn door. Even though she suspected that it could be her last day being a trainer, she was proud to have made her two ponies look fabulous for their new owner; at least Brittany knew she had not messed up that part.

A black pickup truck had parked near the house, but nobody had stepped out of it yet. Brittany and her pink ponies reached the outside, and a burning dry wind put their blonde ponytails in motion, enhancing their charisma. They slowly walked toward the truck and then paused about ten meters from it.

For a long moment, they stayed in front of the vehicle, waiting for its occupants to step out, but they seemed to take their sweet time looking at some paperwork first.

"What are they doing? Nightshade... posture!"

It was her bad habit. Nightshade straightened her back to regain an additional inch of pride.

After an additional minute of ignoring the ponies, two women, dressed formally, exited the car and loudly slammed the steel doors. The driver was someone they didn't know, and the passenger was someone everybody knew, the legendary Stardust. The former walked up to Hemlock, who took a step back. That person was familiar to her, but she couldn't really recall where she had seen her before.

"You don't remember me, do you?"

"Mmmph?"

"I'm Cassy... We met when you were a small teenager. I'm the one who led you to Stardust at the fair. Do you remember?"

A lightbulb instantaneously turned on in Hemlock's head. What the woman named Cassy said happened over a decade ago, but it all made sense now. That girl was Stardust's sidekick back then and never stopped to be even after that long. Hemlock thought it could be neat if Nightshade and Brittany could stay together with her forever too.

"You became one magnificent racer. You know that?"

"..."

Hemlock didn't want to be rude, but a stranger complimenting her about her racing skills wasn't what she wanted at the moment. Her idol was so close... She wanted to interact with Stardust, not her helper. Maybe it was not the best thing to do, but she ignored Cassy and stepped toward Stardust without being told to do so. Brittany reacted right away by yanking on her reins.

"Hemlock! Stop it! Step back!"

"Mmph!"

Stardust, who had her arms crossed until then, smiled a little. Having hardcore fans was something she was very familiar with, and that included many of the ponies of Hemlock's generation, the ones who were now in their late twenties and grew up watching her. That said, it was rather flattering to see such an elite pony being so excited about her presence.

However, Stardust's first words were not the ones anybody had expected.

"So, what do we have here? Is this a beauty contest?"

"..."

"I guess I would have preferred to see you training hard instead of playing dolls with the ponies, Brittany. That's what you should have done if you intended to impress me."

"..."

Screw you, bitch! Those were the words that resonated inside Brittany's head after hearing such a snarky remark from the new owner. Having good looking ponies was an important aspect of Paul's stable, and it was not only for marketing purposes. Brittany knew her ponies at a personal level and knew that looking good boosted their confidence greatly. She wasn't sure if Stardust had said that to insult her or because of ignorance about the stable she had just purchased.

Brittany didn't have a specific opinion of Stardust until now. Being a legend or not didn't do anything to her and didn't make a person more important in her eyes. For example, she knew Sophie was a solid trainer, but she would never go for a drink with her because she was an idiot. The same went for Morning Star. Accepting that she was a tremendous pony didn't mean she would like to train her.