Girls and Bridle Ch. 07

"Aaah. Sophie again, uh? Why don't you forget about her just for a day? It's our date. Not hers."

"I'm... I'm sorry. It's just that... she is the one taking care of me and..."

"It's okay, Star. I get it. You are not used to being on your own."

"No. But, Ivory..."

"Yes?"

"Do you have to hold my hand when we are walking?"

"I like it. Don't you?"

"I... I don't know."

"You don't know?"

As much as the small Ivory tried to stay positive about her special date, it was hard not to admit that things weren't going as smoothly as she had expected. Despite her awareness of Morning Star's sheltered attitude, she had hoped that the elite pony would have been a bit more joyful. Instead, Star had been anxious since the first second they met. It was as if she had never learned to have fun. Was her training so strict and harsh that she had never been allowed to smile or enjoy life? Did she receive this rigorous training regimen since she was a young teenager? Had Penny and Sophie turned her into a perfect racing machine purged of all joy?

Those were obviously not questions she could ask, but she sure would have liked some answers, not to satiate her curiosity, but to find a crack in Morning Star's armor so she could reach her soul.

Determined not to abandon so easily, Ivory was willing to give her date more time to express herself. But at the moment, something caught her attention; Morning Star was looking around as if she was searching for something.

"Star? What's wrong?"

"Oh... nothing."

"You can tell me, you know. Are you looking for someone?"

"No. I'm okay."

"Okaaay. So, what's next, then? Oh, I know. Do you want to go to the theatre and watch a movie?"

"Do they have food over there?"

"Well, they have popcorn... Haven't you been to a theatre before?"

"No. Sophie never took me to a movie."

"Well, Sophie is not here, and I am. So let's go there together."

"Okay."

"And you know what? You can pay for me with your money. Hehe."

"Okay."

Ivory grabbed Morning Star's hand back and pulled her in the direction of the theater. Perhaps the darkness and freshness of the room would make her date relax a bit, and it would be another great opportunity for more hand-holding. Maybe it could be the spark that would start a fire.

After a five-minute walk, the two women arrived at the destination and headed toward the ticket booth.

"Alright, Star. I will let you decide on the movie."

"Hmm... I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Tsk! You can do it. I believe in you!"

"No, please... I'll give you the money, and you can pay for us."

"Star! That's enough. Do it for me. It would make me happy!"

"O... okay..."

At that point, Ivory was willing to rough up Morning Star a bit to feel like it was a date and not just an obligation. The elite pony, trembling a little, approached the window where the smiling clerk waited for customers.

"Hi! Welcome to the Reflector!"

"Hello. We would like to watch a movie."

"Haha. You are at the right place, then. Which one would you like to watch?"

"Oh, I don't know. Any movies, I suppose."

"Hmm... We have American Graffiti that is starting in fifteen minutes if you are interested. It is really funny."

"Okay."

"Perfect, that will be 2 dollars each. So 4 dollars."

Morning Star plunged her hand in her pocket and pulled out a handful of bills that she placed on the counter under the clerk's confused gaze.

"Well, that is way too much. I just need 4 dollars."

"... Is there a 4 dollars bill in there?"

"Hehe. No."

Embarrassed, stuck in an apparent dead end, Morning Star turned to Ivory, who quickly understood why Morning Star had been reluctant to purchase the tickets herself.

"Ivory. I don't have the right money. Do you have a 4 dollar bill?"

But before Ivory could even open her mouth to answer, the clerk solved Morning Star's embarrassing issue compassionately instead of judging her.

"No, no! Look! I will take this 5 dollar bill, and I will give you 1 dollar back. Do you understand?"

"You can do that?"

"Haha. Yes. It's okay. Don't worry about it. We do it all the time. And here are your tickets. It will be Room number 3 at 11:30 am."

"Thanks."

"Hey! Come back! You left all your money on the counter!"

"Oh... sorry."

Morning Star collected her money and stuffed it back in her pocket before returning to Ivory, who looked down, saddened and shameful.

"Hey... What's wrong, Ivory? Did I do something wrong again?"

"You... you could have told me, you know."

"Told you? Told you what?"

"That you didn't know how to use money."

"You said I shouldn't talk about Sophie anymore. She usually buys everything for me."

"I'm sorry for having forced you to embarrass yourself like that, Morning Star. I didn't mean to."

"It's okay. It was way worse when I tried to attack another pony on the track, and I got whipped in front of a huge crowd."

"Hehe. Alright, then. What movie did you choose?"

"The clerk has chosen for me. It's called American Graffiti. She said it's funny."

"Perfect. Let's go inside. I will help you buy popcorn this time."

"Okay."

After feeding Hemlock and Nightshade, Brittany had reattached the double cart to their harnesses and led them outside the barn. The temperature had quickly risen to an almost unbearable level. This next session wouldn't be too long as she didn't want her ponies to get a heat stroke. Their shiny pink latex suits would protect their skin from the harsh sun, but they wouldn't do miracles. They had a good day so far, and having a pony faint because of dehydration would hurt their self-confidence.

"Damn, I almost forgot. Before we go back to the track, I want to show you something."

On a trot, the team headed toward the only tree of the stable. Brittany parked her cart right in front of Cassy, who was still suspended like a criminal and trying to stay up on her tiptoes so the rope wouldn't pull as much on her wrists.

Right away, when Hemlock and Nightshade saw who it was, they got all excited, remembering the terrific time they had with the pretty girl the night before. Hung to the branch like this made her look like a delicious ripe fruit. The small driver jumped out of the cart and walked to her victim.

"Aaah! Brittany, it's so hot! My calves are hurting, and I'm very hungry! Please, untie me before I pass out!"

"Shhh! Just do your job as Stardust asked you to. Don't whine in front of ponies, or else you are going to ruin my whole plan. Just endure it a bit longer."

Brittany turned to Hemlock and Nightshade and told them about the game.

"Listen to me, pony heads! I know you fucked Cassy hard all night, and that's why you were so pumped this morning. So, my question to you is... Do you want to have sex with her again?"

Hemlock and Nightshade briefly looked at each other before nodding energetically. There was no question about it, Cassy was a premium fuck, and they wanted more of it.

"Good. So, here is the deal. We are going back to the track. It's going to be very hard because of the heat, but we will do two laps, and then we will simulate a real race. If you run faster than this morning, we will call it a day, and I'll let you do whatever you want to Cassy until tomorrow. But if you run slower, I'm going to let her hang there until dinner time. Deal?"

The two ponies nodded again, bouncing in place. This was an amazing reward, and they wouldn't waste that golden opportunity. Only one person didn't think it was a good idea.

"Oh, come on, Britt! You can't use me like that!"

"I just did! You are a bait."

"How long will that practice take? I'm dying of heat here. I'm all sweaty."

"It will take the time it takes. Alright, I'm not that cruel. Let me make it more comfortable for you."

"Wait... what are you doing?"

Without warning, Brittany pulled down Cassy's shorts, exposing a cute pair of sweat-soaked pink panties, and then opened her shirt before tying the ends into a knot behind her back, exposing her cute perky breasts to the ponies and the elements.

"Aaaah! You can't leave me like this!"

"What? You want me to take off your panties too?"

"... NO!"

"Good. I'll see you soon, then... or at dinner time. And keep quiet, or else I'll make you squeeze a cactus between your buttcheeks."

"Wait! Aaarrrr!"

"Alright, girls... YUP! To the track!"

It was not surprising to see Hemlock and Nightshade drooling that much. They would certainly give their all so that they can get this womanly reward.

"You should have told me."

"I'm sorry. Sophie usually feeds me four or five times a day. I was very hungry."

"You didn't watch the movie because you were too busy devouring your popcorn... and mine."

"You didn't seem to eat it, so..."

"That's not it, Star. It's just that... I was looking forward to our date. But so far, everything went wrong. You have to be honest and tell me how you feel when you are around me, okay?"

The movie turned into a nightmare. A starving Morning Star who had almost skipped two meals in a row had not been able to endure it anymore and wolfed down her very unsatisfying bag of popcorn before sneakily stealing Ivory's. Even that second bag had not been enough to calm down her hunger. Halfway through the movie, not being able to cope with the pain anymore, Morning Star confessed to Ivory that she really needed to eat something else before passing out.

A very frustrated Ivory led her out of the theatre, and they went to buy a bunch of hotdogs from the nearest stand. Now, the two women were sitting behind Pony Exchange to hide from all the fans who repeatedly interrupted their date and to get some needed shade. The heat was just unbearable today.

"Did you even want to go watch a movie with me, Star?"

"... Well... Not really... The reason I have never been to a theatre before is that I never wanted to go. I don't like watching TV. I prefer reading magazines."

"Aaah! You are missing the point! The goal is not just to do the things you like. The goal was to have fun with ME!"

"... I'm... I'm sorry, Ivory. I've never been on a date before. I don't know these things. I'm not very smart."

"Don't say that! You are smart. It's just a different kind of smart."

"Mmm..."

Ivory hugged her knees for a moment as Morning Star ate her fifth hotdog, nothing too ladylike. It was not her fault, she was an athlete in serious need of calories, but still, Ivory would have liked this day to be a bit more romantic, like in her dreams. She concluded that it wouldn't happen today.

"Alright, Star... When you are done eating, I'll call Sophie, and she will come to pick you up."

"..."

"It's okay... Don't worry. I guess it's my fault. I expected something that wasn't there. I thought you would have been happy to spend the day with me. I shouldn't have forced you."

"But... I am happy. I just don't know what to do."

"Yes, you do. It's easy. You just do what you want to do, and I'll follow you. It's simple, right?"

"I don't like many things... I like magazines... and running... and... and..."

"You don't want to date me, do you?"

"..."

"You can tell me, you know."

"... No."

Ivory's heart sank as she received this last blow. This date has been a total disaster, and it was entirely her fault for having insisted so much to make it happen. She should have spent more time with Morning Star to get to know her better before trying to pull off something like that. Their first one-way kiss after the show had been precipitated, and she should have known that it had meant nothing to the elite racer. All Ivory had managed to do since she met Morning Star today was to embarrass her and herself. Thinking that there could have been something more to it had been a foolish little girl's dream.

"Maybe later, Ivory."

"... later?"

"Yes. I'm sorry about today. I'm very anxious. More than I have ever been in my life. In fact, I'm terrified."

"... But... why?"

"Because I'm a racer. At the moment, that's all I am. That's all I must be. If Moonlight and I fail to win the Triple Crown, I will lose everything, and I'll make everyone lose everything. Penny will have to sell our stable, Sophie will be out of a job, Moonlight will return to Tiantang Zhi Ma's stable, and I don't know... I might retire."

"Morning Star! Don't put all that pressure on your shoulder. You can only do your best."

"No... You are wrong, Ivory. I must take all the pressure and stay silent about it. That way, Sophie will be able to focus on her work, Moonlight will be able to race without worrying, Penny won't feel guilty. Nobody else can do that... but me."

"... So, this is why I'm too much for you right now?"

"Yes. I am saturated. I cannot breathe anymore. When I flip the pages of my favorite magazines, I can't even read anymore. I spend all my free time controlling this big ball of pain in my chest, so it doesn't explode or consume me."

"But... How long can you keep going like this? You are hurting badly, Star. It's not fair."

"I will keep it until the right moment. I can feel it... I can envision it... in the upcoming weeks, on the road to the Triple Crown, I will need to release everything I have in order to go beyond what I'm capable of. I cannot fail. I won't allow myself to fail. I won't let my owner down, I won't let my trainer down, I won't let Moonlight down. I won't allow it. I can't!"

"Hey, give me your hand."

Ivory's delicate fingers sneakily forced their way between Morning Star's ones. The elite pony was trembling as if containing her pain was so difficult. Racer or not, she was just a woman, a powerful one for sure, but a woman nonetheless. She would have loved to love. She would have loved to be happy. She would have loved to feel free. But none of this was possible at the moment.

It was not Ivory's place to decide what was morally acceptable or if Star's attitude was excessive. Ivory didn't know how it was on the race track. What mattered was that Morning Star had expressed her deepest desire, and it commanded respect. There was no room in her heart for love since the pain and self-imposed responsibilities took all the space.

"Do you know what, Morning Star?"

"..."

"I love you even more now than before, and I want to give you a little gift."

"... A gift?"

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"You'll see... Open your hand for me."

2900 meters completed... 100 to go. The cart exited the last turn, drifting slightly on the dusty track. If they wanted to beat their best lap, they would have to give all they got... More than all they got.

"YAAAAA! YAAAAAAA! COME ON! YAAAAA!"

Legs burning like molten lava, lungs unable to absorb any more oxygen, almost spitting blood, eyes itching from all the abrasive dust in the air, it was as if Hemlock and Nightshade were racing inside an apocalyptic scenario where everything was dry and yellow. The undulating atmosphere rising from the overcooked dirt was all they had to go through if they wanted to have a chance to win their price. The harsh crop hits they received and Brittany's yells were more than ever desired and welcomed.

This was Brittany. Her racing style had more in common with a western action movie than a typical race show. The violence of her energy and her ability to push beyond what was possible allowed her to accomplish incomparable results. She was a winner, and her ponies became what she was. Precariously standing on her cart, which would have been an automatic disqualification during a real race, she wanted to give her ponies the best chance possible to break their record. There were no rules here on this damaged track, only speed and madness. Using her legs to let the cart float freely above the bumps, she put her life on the line; a nasty fall was probable, and the consequences would be serious. But she had no fear. What would a few broken bones feel like in comparison to the euphoria of victory?

"YAAAAA!"

The ponies and their cart flew over the finishing line, and immediately, Brittany pulled on the reins to slow them down.

"WOaaaah! Slow down... slow down... Walk... Walk..."

Without their bit, Hemlock and Nightshade would have screamed of pain. The race was over, but it would take a moment for their body to calm down enough and their panic to subside. The only thing that felt good was Brittany's words bossing them toward recovery.

"Good girls... walk... You're okay.. You're okay... Okay... stop, stop."

The ponygirls stopped but kept their legs moving to prevent them from ceasing. Brittany quickly jogged to the side of the track and returned with a large bucket of water. It certainly was lukewarm by now after being heated by the harsh sun, but when she splashed her ponies with it, destroying their good look and turning the dust covering their body into mud, it saved the day.

Hemlock shook her head to remove her long wet hair from her face, and Nightshade basked in the cooling feeling that the water had procured her body.

One side at the time, Brittany unhooked the cart from their harness and uncuffed their hands from their waist. Immediately the two ponies let themselves fall on the burning ground to recover a bit.

"Tough one, uh? That was fucking intense. I LOVED it!"

"Mmph?"

"Oh, you want to know if you beat your best time?"

"Mmmhmm!"

"Haha... Well... I'm sorry, I reset the stopwatch by mistake. I don't know what your time is. We will just do the race all over again."

NEIGH!

Both Hemlock and Nightshade stood up and rushed to Brittany. If this was a joke, it was not funny. They pushed her to the ground and tried to steal her stopwatch.

"HAHA! Stooop! I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Get off me stupid ponies!"

Of course, there was not a chance in the world that she could have stopped them. They snatched the stopwatch off her hand and read the needles.

1.3 second faster. Hemlock and Nightshade had beaten their record and now wanted their reward.

"Yeah! You nailed it! Come here. Let me take your bridle off before you go see her."

Lying flat on her back in the dust, Brittany extended her arms and reached behind Nightshade's head to undo the buckles. And then it was Hemlock's turn.

The two ponies helped each other wiping their drooly chin after spitting out their bit, and then they looked at Brittany, waiting for something very specific.

"Ahhh... yeah yeah... That's fine. Go get her!"

"Thank youuuu!"

"Thanks, Britt!"

Leaving only a cloud of dust and a small driver behind, they were gone, as if rest wasn't even necessary. Brittany looked at her dirty stopwatch and mumbled something that didn't have a chance to reach the ponies' ears.

"Good thing I stopped the timer a bit before we crossed the finish line, or else they would have been pissed."

Estimating how much time should be added to reflect the real result, she resumed the stopwatch for a brief moment.

"1.8 seconds slower... That won't do. They gave their all, but they need to do better... much better."

"Cassyyyy!"

When Hemlock and Nightshade arrived at the tree, Cassy was just hanging limp, covered in sweat, overheated by the afternoon sun, and no longer strong enough to stand. Her head hung over her chest, and she barely reacted when Hemlock called her name.

"Hmmm...?"

"Cassy! We made it! We can play together for the rest of the day."

"Oooh... Niiice... I'm glad... to hear."

"We can't wait. Nightshade, let's lick her all over like last night. She loved it, and now she is all sweaty too. She is going to be delicious."

"W... wait... can you... untie me first. I'm... kind of... exhausted. Maybe we could go get... some water?"

"Don't worry about it, Cassy. We will do all the work for you!"

"That was... not exactly... what I meant... but okay."

Not having enough strength left to argue and knowing that the rest of the day would be out of her control, Cassy just gave up. A set of wet tongues slid along her ribcage, all the way up to her armpit. A faint smile appeared on her face. This treatment felt very good.