Girls and Bridle Ch. 07

"What is this?"

"Money."

"But... I shouldn't have money."

"It's a special occasion. Take it."

"Is it really necessary?"

"Of course it is. When was the last time you went out on a date?"

"Oh, I've never done that."

"Exactly. So go out and enjoy your day off a little. Stop being so anxious."

Sitting in the old rusty pickup truck, Sophie handed some paper money over to Morning Star, which was a first for the elite ponygirl. Her sweaty palms and twitching fingers betrayed her uneasiness about this unusual situation.

"There, she is over there across the street. You see her?"

"Yes, but can you tell her that I can't go."

"Come on, Star! Ivory has been waiting for this moment for weeks. You promised her a date. I won't go tell her that you are canceling it while you are sitting with me in the car. That would be rude."

"Maybe she can't see me."

"Don't be ridiculous. Look. She is waving at you right now. Alright, that's enough. Get out of the car and go talk to her."

"Are you coming too?"

"Of course not, silly! It's a date between you and her. I won't go with you. Out! Out! Don't make her wait. It would be weird."

"Hmmm..."

Having no other choice but to obey, Morning Star pushed her squeaky door open and stepped out of the vehicle. For the occasion, and since it was a warm day, she was wearing a pair of jean shorts, a cute green top, and a pair of white sneakers. Looking like a normal woman was not something she was used to.

On the other side of the street, Ivory wore this cute white summer dress with a matching round hat. She held her little purse in front of her belly and twisted her roman sandals on the walkway due to her apparent nervousness. Going on a date with someone so famous had not been something Ivory had ever expected to happen one day.

Morning Star turned to Sophie one more time, begging for mercy.

"Sophie... I think my ankle hurts. Can we go do some physio instead? Physio is very important, right? You keep telling me that."

"Enough, Morning Star. I know you hate physio. Come on! Ivory is nice. Go spend the day with her as you promise. That's the end of it!"

"Mmm..."

The elite pony sighed one more time, understanding that she had no way out, and started walking in the direction of the delicate girl. She crossed the road, making sure not to get hit by a car, and quickly arrived in front of Ivory.

"Hi, Morning Star!"

"...Hi, Ivory."

"I'm so glad you came! I was looking forward to spending time with you. I could hardly sleep last night. I must look so tired."

"You look... normal."

"Normal? Hehe. Well, that's good, I guess."

"Here, this is for you."

"For me? What is it?"

Ivory opened her hands, and Morning Star dumped the money Sophie had given her a minute ago in them, confusing the poor girl.

"Money? What... is this for?"

"Sophie said it was to pay for our date."

From across the street, Sophie had observed how inappropriate her clumsy pony had been right off the bat. So she honked a few times to catch her attention and yelled through the window.

"STAR! You idiot! Don't give her the money! Put it in your pocket right now!"

Fortunately, Sophie's scolding was enough to make her understand that she had done something wrong. She pointed at the pile of ragged money and asked Ivory the strangest questions.

"Can... can I have the money back?"

"Hehe. Yes."

"Okay."

With one hand, she grabbed the whole pile of green papers and pushed it deep inside her short's pocket. She actually put her other hand in her opposite pocket, lifted her shoulders, and looked aside, which caused Ivory to giggle.

"Hehe. So, are you going to compliment me on my dress? I'm wearing it just for you, you know!"

"..."

Ivory twirled cutely on one foot, making her dress float lightly in the wind, but Morning Star was not sure what to say. She thought her white pony outfit suited her better, but she didn't want to say that out loud.

"It's... It's fine."

"Fine? Haha."

"Yes. Sophie said I had to wear my street clothes too. But it feels weird."

"It's good to see you without your pony uniform for once. You look amazing!"

"It's... just shorts..."

"So, where are we going? Any good ideas?"

"Sophie said that we should go to a coffee shop."

"But, you are not Sophie. What do YOU want to do?"

"..."

In need of assistance, Morning Star turned around to look at Sophie again, but the car was gone. She was truly alone with the fragile ponygirl and didn't know what to do anymore.

"I... I don't know. Usually, Sophie decides for me."

"You are incredibly well trained. Haha. Right now, it's just you and me. But it's okay. Coffee seems like a good idea. Come on, give me your hand! I know a good place!"

"O... okay."

Used to just obey, Morning Star placed her hand in Ivory's, who pulled her toward the main street where most small shops were located. It would be an interesting day for sure.

"Where is Cassy? I wouldn't mind if she gave me a hand with my luggage. I'm paying her to help me, after all."

"Oh, she is in Hemlock and Nightshade's bedroom."

Stardust had just arrived at the stable with her pickup truck full of belongings, ready to move in, and had expected Cassy to assist. But she was nowhere to be found until Brittany pointed at the bedroom oddly annexed to the kitchen. The door was closed to allow Cassy some well-needed rest.

"What is she doing in that bedroom? I thought she said she would sleep on the couch."

"Well, she probably didn't know how twisted my two ponies were. They dragged her to their bedroom last night and had intense sex with her. Hemlock and Nightshade definitely have good stamina. It will probably take Cassy half a day to recover."

"Oh, great. I don't want to tell Cassy what to do with her private life, but if this is hindering my ponies' performance, I won't allow it."

"Believe me, Stardust. Hemlock and Nightshade were fired up like never before. I don't know what Cassy did to them, but they are so ready to race now."

"So, you don't mind?"

"Absolutely not. A short while ago, I would have cared, but now, I'm kind of happy that they had some fun. If they do well today, I will be able to use Cassy as a reward to motivate them."

"Alright. Whatever Cassy can do to help, she should. That's her role, after all. She is a helper."

Brittany, too, was in a good mood. When she woke up this morning, she entered Hemlock's room to wake her ponies up, but when she discovered Cassy crushed between two massive pairs of boobs, she noticed that something in her heart had changed. Something good.

Since Hemlock had closed the door to a romantic relationship with her, the small driver always had trouble digesting this rejection. She had kept her feeling bottled up until recently, when she confessed her problem to Hemlock after the pony show. Hemlock showed her resolve to stay friends with her, no matter how hard it was. The blonde pony was convinced that time would make things better between them.

So, this morning, when Brittany found the three naked girls piled up on the bed and that a sex odor still floated in the warm air, she felt some joy. In the past, she would have raged and yelled, but this time, she had accepted that it was time to move on.

After waking up her two ponies, seeing how energetic they already were, it was a good sign for the training to come. As for Cassy, Brittany didn't give a damn about her. As long as Hemlock and Nightshade were happy, she couldn't care less about that new helper's health status.

Brittany grabbed her racing hardhat and exited the house. Yes, today would be a good day. She would push her ponies to their limits, and they were better to work hard if they wanted to sleep with their new toy again tonight.

"Let's sit on the terrace, Morning Star. It's a beautiful day today."

"Oh, I don't think Sophie would let me do that."

"Aww... Again, Sophie isn't here to tell you what to do. Just sit with me, okay?"

"Okay."

After a short walk along the main street, Ivory had selected a cozy coffee shop where they could sit and sip a warm coffee outside while getting to know each other. It would be a warm day, but this early in the morning was the perfect time to get some fresh air before it became suffocating.

Ivory sat down first on one of the four chairs surrounding the small cast iron table, leaving the onus of the next move on Morning Star, who chose to sit on the one facing her.

"You... You don't want to sit next to me, instead?"

"Oh, I didn't think about that."

"It's okay, don't change seats just for me."

"Okay."

"So, were you looking forward to going out on a date with me?"

"I..."

"OH MY GOD! ARE... ARE YOU MORNING STAR!?"

The awkward duo didn't even have time to engage in a basic dialogue before a woman who was passing by recognized the elite pony and started screaming in excitement. She quickly jogged around the terrace's railing and kneeled next to Morning Star.

"Oh my God! It IS you!"

"Yes."

"Can I get an autograph?"

Usually, Sophie was the one handling the excited fans. It was not something Morning Star was remotely comfortable doing. She had never understood why people adored her this way; she was just a regular pony. The only thing she had ever wanted was just to run and win, not become famous.

Not knowing what to do, she looked at Ivory, who was more than likely better at dealing with people.

"It's okay, Star. It's important to take care of your fans. You can do it."

"O... okay."

The woman dug out a piece of paper from her bag along with a pen and placed it on the table.

"My name is Sammy. Can you write something with my name in it?"

"Yes. How do you spell it?"

"S.A.M.M.Y."

Morning Star had never received a big education and barely knew how to write. But Sophie had taught her how to do the minimum; signing her name and memorizing a few messages that would match the everyday situations she would encounter when mingling with her fans. In this case, the woman wanted her name included in the message. The first step was to ask how to spell it. If it was too complicated, she would ask for a shorter nickname. Then she just had to include it in the generic message she had written a thousand times during autograph sessions. Sophie had also told her to say out loud what she was writing so the fan would feel more important.

"Thanks for being my #1 fan, Sammy! Yup! Yup! Morning Star!"

"AWWW! Thanks so much! It's adorable!"

"No problem."

"Can I give you a hug?"

"Yes."

The fangirl stood up and leaned forward before wrapping her arms around Morning Star's neck.

"Awww! Thanks so much! You are the best! Good luck at the Triple Crown! I'll make sure to watch your races!"

"Thank you."

Ivory, across the table, just smiled, being patient while her famous date finished with the stranger. Only one thing had bugged her, and it was that she had not received a hug yet. So, seeing Morning Star not hesitating to give one away to someone else stirred some strange feeling in her stomach.

As the fangirl walked away, all proud of her signed piece of paper, Morning Star returned her attention to Ivory.

"I'm sorry about that."

"Oh, it's all good... I mean, you are famous and..."

"WOW! IS THIS REAL!? YOU ARE... MORNING STAR!"

Another woman passing by noticed the elite pony and walked around the railing while pulling a marker and a magazine featuring Morning Star on the cover. Ivory rolled her eyes this time and crossed her arms.

"Can... can you sign my magazine? I'm a HUGE fan! I'm so lucky."

"Yes. No problem."

"My name is Liza."

"How do you spell it?"

"L.I.Z.A."

"Thanks for being my #1 fan, Liza! Yup! Yup! Morning Star!"

"Awww! That's awesome! Thanks so much! Can... Can I get a hug?"

"Yes."

Ivory started to have regrets for having chosen to sit outside. Today was supposed to be her special time with her special date, but she had not managed to place a word so far. Yet, she knew she had to be patient because Morning Star was not an average person. Her fame was limitless, and accepting that fact was the right thing to do. Asking her to reject her fans would just be selfish.

Once Morning Star finished with her fan, they attempted another discussion.

"Sorry. That's why Sophie says we can't sit outside when we go out."

"Oh, so that's what you meant earlier."

"Yes."

"Well, it's okay. It's nice to see that your fans love you and..."

"MORNING STAR! OH MY GOD!"

Ivory's fists and teeth clenched when a group of three excited teenagers ran to the railing to talk to Morning Star.

"So... sorry, Ivory... I'll... I'll be quick..."

"No... no problem, Star... It's... It's okay. Maybe we should go inside after."

"Yes. That's what Sophie would do."

The cart was flying on the dirt track, pulled by the two racing machines that were Hemlock and Nightshade. Brittany's intuition had been spot on. Her two ponygirls were blazing today. A stopwatch in the small driver's hand showed that they had just achieved their best 3000 meters time. And not only was it their personal record, it was also a very competitive one.

Hemlock and Nightshade, after weeks of hard work, had almost fully adapted to their new reality. They had learned to pace themself and perform well on the longer track instead of the short and insane 800 meters used at the Super Cup.

"Way to go, girls! That's amazing! You would have won a race with that last lap time.

Neigh!

"That's right. I'm proud of you. You went from useless to amazing in such a short amount of time. Okay, let's back to the barn and take a break. I'll go get you some food."

Elite racers like those two could eat a large number of calories in a day. Brittany precisely knew how to balance their diet so they would not run out of juice in the middle of a race.

The small driver guided the cart back to the barn. It was only 11 am, but it was scorching outside. There was no cloud in the sky, and the temperature had risen to a cooking temperature already. It was essential to find some well-needed shade to prevent the ponies from overheating.

After untying the cart, she gave her racers some water and let them rest in their stall before heading back to the house to get their lunch.

"Woah, it's so hot today. It's rough."

Sweat pearled on Brittany's forehead and fine dust clouds stayed still in the air behind each of her steps. The dirt didn't contain any more water to weigh it back down to the ground. While racing, at least there was a bit of wind, but staying still or just casually walking was more than unbearable. Nobody in the right state of mind would remain still in a temperature like that. Fortunately, it only took a minute to reach the house's front door.

Coincidentally, as soon as she stepped into the house, Cassy exited the bedroom, visibly still very asleep. The ponies had drained from her lifeforce in the most immoral way. Brittany's first reaction to mock her was well-deserved.

"Ah! That will teach you to flirt with my ponies!"

"Oww... I didn't flirt with them... Nightshade didn't leave me a choice."

"Right. Poor you. I have to feed them. Give me a hand instead of complaining."

"Oh, I think I'll stay here instead... maybe take another nap. I'm exhausted."

"That won't be acceptable!"

That last voice was from Stardust, who entered the kitchen with a pile of documents in her hands. There was so much paperwork to take care of and get familiar with that she would be swamped for the next few days. Seeing her helper, who didn't want to help because of an erotic night, wouldn't fly.

"But, Stardust... I'm really tired and..."

"That's your own doing, Cassy. You are going to do everything Brittany tells you to. Everything! Getting our ponies ready for the first Triple Crown race is our absolute priority. Don't forget that. If there is something you can do to help, you will. Is that clear?"

"Aaaalright! Alright! Let me have my breakfast at least, and I'll meet you at the barn after, Brittany."

Brittany smirked again and shook her head.

"No no no! You just had to wake up at a reasonable time like everybody else. Help me with the ponies first, and then it will be lunchtime."

"Aaah! Come on. Stardust, you'll let her make me skip a meal?"

"Yes. Brittany is right. It's your own doing."

As Cassy grumbled and leaned against the wall to sleep a bit more, if only for a few seconds, Brittany rummaged in the fridge and pulled out two food baskets that she had prepared the previous day for her two ponies. This meal would be tuna sandwiches, cheese, and fruits—proteins for their muscles, carbs for energy, and fat to keep them happy and pretty.

"Alright, let's go, Cassy. The ponies are starving. Oh, since you have a free hand, can you grab the rope on that hook for me."

"Sure. I'm a helper, after all... That's what I do... I'm helping!"

"That's right!"

The two girls exited the house and walked down the crackling wooden steps. This house was quite old, and it still annoyed Cassy not to know why a rich man like Paul had not indulged in something more luxurious.

"Tell me, Brittany. Why did Paul never buy a better house?"

"What's wrong with our house?"

"Well... Look at it. It must be over a hundred years old. It doesn't really fit your needs anymore."

"You only say that because you don't have a bedroom, Cassy."

"Seriously, Paul was rich. Couldn't he have improved it?"

"Yes, Paul was rich. You are right. But do you know why he was rich? Because he didn't improve the house. Say what you want about that rat face, and I won't give a damn, but don't argue with his financial management. He was ready to sacrifice his comfort to build wealth. Many people don't get that and are poor, like stupid Sophie and that almost-dead Penny. If they had not built that nice interior paddock, I bet they wouldn't be on the verge of bankruptcy. Crushing them at the Triple Crown will teach them the lesson they deserve."

"Even if it's a bit harsh... You got a valid point."

"Damn right I do. Alright, we are here."

Curiously, instead of going to the barn, Brittany led Cassy to the only tree of the complex, the one sitting in the middle of nowhere between the house and the barn.

"Uh? Are you going to feed your ponies under the tree?"

"Are you nuts, Cassy? It's way too warm. You'd have to be a fool to stay outside in the middle of the day when it's hot like this. Give me the rope, and put your wrists together."

"... my wrists?"

"Yeah... Give me your wrists."

"But... why? What are you going to do?"

"Look, Stardust said you had to help me. Do you want to help or not?"

"Well, yes... but..."

"So, stop arguing and give me your wrists!"

Quite puzzled, Cassy reluctantly obeyed and placed her wrist together. As expected, Brittany started winding the rope around them tightly enough to prevent an escape and ended her work with a strong knot. She then tossed the bundle of rope over the biggest branch and pulled on it, forcing Cassy's arms above her head to the point where the cute girl had to get on her tiptoe. She then proceeded with tying the remainder of the rope around the base of the tree.

"ACK! Brittany! What are you doing?"

"I'm setting up a bait."

"A bait!? What are you talking about!?"

"You'll see later. Thanks for your help!"

"Wait! Hey! Come back! Don't leave me here! It's super hot outside! I'm sweating already."

Ignoring Cassy's complaints, Brittany emotionlessly headed to the barn with her food baskets. Her ponies were starving, and it wouldn't be a good idea to make them wait.

"Hehe. That wasn't a good place for a coffee, it seems."

"I'm sorry, Ivory."

"No, not at all. It just means you are popular, that's all. So, what do we do next?"

"I don't know. Sophie gave me money. I think she wanted me to spend it."