Girls and Bridle Ch. 09.1

But the physical pain wasn't the worst thing. Based on what Stardust said earlier, both Penny and she agreed not to lift a finger to help them. Despite blaming each other for this humiliating fiasco, Sophie and Brittany knew they had messed up big time inside their hearts.

On her side, Sophie had lost her cool like never before, and the consequences of her bad behavior were way too heavy to carry. Because of her, the chances for Penny's stable to win the Triple Crown were pretty much zero, and Penny would have to sell everything. What would happen then? She would lose her job, but who would hire her back knowing she had caused such a disaster? The answer was simple, nobody. And what about Morning Star and Moonlight? Morning Star wasn't that complicated as she just loved to run and win. It wouldn't be too hard to find a different stable to continue her career happily. But what about Moonlight? She had Tiantang who would take care of her, but since she wasn't too much into pony racing, there was no telling what a Triple Crown humiliation would do to her. Only a week ago, the young girl had abandoned everything before miraculously coming back in the oddest of ways. She could do it again. Despite how physically strong she was, Moonlight's heart hosted a certain fragility.

For Brittany, things weren't much brighter. Training Hemlock and Nightshade was the only good thing she had going in her life, so being unable to do that was depressing. But in her case, there was more. After being banned from the Super Cup circuit, the last thing she needed was to receive the same treatment on the Triple Crown one. If she were to get evicted from that one as well, her career as a driver would be truly over. What Stardust thought of her was not important. Only Hemlock and Nightshade mattered, and maybe Cassy a little bit because she had never been a bitch around her.

Staring at each other from across the cell, the two girls didn't know how to behave. If they were to open their mouths again, it would be to fire some more insults, which would quickly escalate again. As Stardust said, picking a fight at the police station wouldn't do them much good.

Yet, Brittany risked a question, this time with less ill intention. Despite the drama following the race, one very specific thought had not left her brain since.

"So... How did she do that?"

"Uh? What are you talking about?"

"Moonlight. How did she manage to pass us at the last second like this?"

"Because your team sucks, Brittany."

"You are an imbecile!"

This time, Brittany wasn't wrong. As soon as Sophie replied to the legitimate question with an insult, she kind of felt guilty. She, too, had asked herself the same question, after all. Her desperate strategy had failed, and they were not supposed to win the duel. Hemlock and Nightshade were extremely strong, and what had happened in the end wasn't normal. Moonlight had taken on herself to win... somehow.

"I don't know."

"... You don't know? Isn't Moonlight your ponygirl?"

"Yeah, kind of. But I don't know her much... She is the less typical racer I've ever met. She is not supposed to do what she does."

"I know..."

"You know?"

"Yes. I was present during her first race when she rammed the gate."

"That was embarrassing."

"Yeah, but who cares. She won her second race even if you held her back like crazy."

"So, you saw all that from the stands, Brittany? You might be more intelligent than I thought, after all."

"I know my shit."

Who would have thought that two enemies would have made peace just long enough to appreciate their professional skills? It wouldn't fix anything between the two of them, but at least they had something other than hate to discuss while waiting for the sheriff to work on their case. Where was he anyway?

But Brittany's question remained unanswered. They had performed an observation of the young ponygirl that had explained nothing, and it was kind of hard to leave it at that. So Sophie dropped a single word, the one that would summarize Moonlight the best.

"Seven."

"Uh? Seven?"

"Yeah... Seven..."

"Did I punch you too hard, or are you going to tell me what it means?"

"... Blocks. Seven blocks."

"Ah! Hemlock did that too."

"She did a full lap of the paddock while pulling seven concrete blocks."

"..."

That was enough to catch Brittany's attention. During a charity event, Hemlock had pulled a sled with seven concrete blocks on a short distance, a few meters, but it had been considered an exceptional feat of strength, and it had required such intense training, something a rookie would never have been able to achieve. So if Sophie was telling the truth and Moonlight had really dragged a sled with seven blocks around a standard-sized paddock, it only meant one thing.

"That's not possible, Sophie, and you know it."

"She did it. Morning Star was there too and saw everything."

"..."

"She is strong, Britt. Impossibly strong."

"I knew she was... but... if this is true... It would mean that..."

"... yeah. Exactly... If Moonlight awakens, Morning Star and Hemlock will never win another race again."

"..."

***

"Moonlight, Morning Star. Meet your new driver."

Penny had given a few tasks to keep her ponygirls occupied. Since Sophie wasn't around, a lot of work wasn't getting done. At least Penny was taking care of their food because it would have been a catastrophe. Morning Star, who probably didn't even know what a spatula was, wouldn't have known where to start with cooking.

As they were in the process of replacing the hay in their stalls, Penny arrived with a guest... a rather familiar one.

"IVORY!?"

"Hello, Morning Star! Hello, Moonlight!"

It wasn't possible. Sure, Ivory was small and light, a perfect driver weight, and yes, she had a lot of experience in teamwork, but she wasn't a driver. She was a ponygirl too... A SHOW ponygirl who knew nothing about racing.

"But, Penny... Ivory can't be our driver."

"You don't like her?"

"I do like her, but she is not a driver."

"That's exactly why I asked her to be your driver."

"... I don't understand."

Morning Star scratched the back of her head. She didn't want to insult Ivory, but even she probably knew that she wasn't qualified for this job. An inexperienced driver at the Triple Crown? It would be nothing less than suicide.

"Calm down, Star. I picked her because she is small and she knows you. She doesn't need to know about driving because you are going to do all the work for her."

"..."

"Is that a problem?"

"YES! I'm... I'm a pony! I can't manage a race. Sophie is the one who watches the other teams and decides on a strategy to win. I... I can't do that. I'm too busy running."

"Good, because that's all you'll have to do."

"Uh? Moonlight! Tell Penny she is wrong... I... I can't do Sophie's job!"

"Mmm... I don't know, Star. I know nothing about pony stuff. I mean, we did decide to sprint during the last race because Sophie was too busy trying to decapitate Brittany."

"That wasn't the same. It was the end of the race. We always sprint at the end of the race."

It was definitely a bad idea. Morning Star's reasoning wasn't flawed. A ponygirl was a ponygirl, and a driver was a driver. Once her bit was in her mouth, she was trained not to think and only focus on running and breathing. What Penny proposed was insanity.

Ivory cutely walked to Morning Star and wrapped her arms around her waist, pressing her cheek on her chest.

"Star, you are amaaazing! You'll win everything!"

"That's not the point, Ivory. You don't understand. I can't come up with racing strategies as Sophie does."

This time, Penny put an end to this arguing.

"Star, stop."

"But..."

"Stop panicking and listen."

"..."

"Do you know how to run?"

"Well... yes..."

"Do you know how to sprint?"

"I do, but..."

"That's all you have to do then. There won't be any strategies until Sophie comes back. You'll run, and when you feel it's time, you'll sprint."

"Racing... without strategy?"

"Yes. No strategy is better than a poor strategy. If I were to get you another driver, they would try things that will throw you off balance. We don't have time to teach you a new style. So Ivory is going to sit in that cart, and you are going to run and sprint. End of discussion."

"..."

"And you Moonlight, any objection?"

"No. I'll just follow what Morning Star is doing."

"Good. Come on, Ivory. I'll show you how to attach the cart to their harness. You'll have to do it by yourself on race day."

"Yay! I'm going to learn how to tie up Morning Star! Can I wear a small helmet like Sophie?"

"Yes. It's mandatory."

"Oh? Is racing that dangerous?"

"Yes. Very."

***

"Mmmph!"

"Cassy! You are always so delicious."

"Mmm!"

With a bit between her teeth, Cassy rested on her haystack, fully dressed as a pony. In her case, that included that fantastic green suit with open boobs that Brittany had carefully selected for her. Her restraints were also the reason why she couldn't do anything but moan at the moment. Hemlock and Nightshade laid next to her and had been nibbling on her tits for a while now. What had happened earlier was very dramatic, but for the two elite ponies, it was not a reason to stop having sex with their favorite helper.

While Nightshade rubbed Cassy's firm belly, Hemlock fingered her to keep her in that beautiful state of excitement. With her hands attached to her waist, there was nothing Cassy could do to stop them, but since her role was to keep the ponies happy, she had no issues enduring this pleasant treatment.

When Stardust purchased Paul's stable and invited Cassy to be part of the adventure as general help, she had not expected to be transformed into a sexual distraction. It was far better than just carrying water buckets all day and doing boring paperwork. To be treated and pushed like this at any time of day and night made her so incredibly happy. Why didn't this happen earlier in her life? She would have dropped her unsuccessful racing career way earlier if she had known that she could have made people happy this way.

"MMMPH!"

"Oooh! Cassy came hard again. We are getting good at it."

"Yes, and it was my left hand too."

"Let me try with my tongue."

"MMPH!"

It was always the same. Hemlock and Nightshade totally disregarded the fact that she may have needed a break, and that was the best part. Every time she felt like she was done, those two found a way to push her over the edge again. At that relentless pace, her mind would become blank, and she would turn into a mere orgasming body with no trace of humanity left.

May this day arrive sooner rather than later.

As Nightshade buried her face in Cassy's crotch, a repulsed voice interrupted everything.

"EEEWWW! WHAT IS THIS!?"

Everybody turned to the door and saw the most improbable person ever standing next to Stardust.

"XIUYING?"

"Yes! But what in the world are you doing!? Since when are orgies in stables allowed? Grooosss!"

"Oh, it's not an orgy. Hemlock and I are a couple."

"Then why did you have your face buried in this girl's crotch?"

"Oh! That's Cassy. She is our helper. We just use her for sex. Hemlock and I love it. We can do everything we want with her. Stardust said so."

Xiuying stared at Stardust for a moment, and the latter simply shrugged before returning to a more serious topic.

"Hemlock, Nightshade. Xiuying accepted to be your replacement driver."

"But, she hates us..."

"She doesn't hate you. She hates Brittany."

"Mmm... But she is not Brittany."

"Obviously not, but she is very talented and will do a great job until Brittany comes back."

"Only Brittany knows how to lace my boots the way I like."

"Hemlock, you don't have a choice."

"Aww... Okay."

Of course, Xiuying wasn't Brittany, but for Stardust, having managed to pull that one off was the best thing that could have happened. There were only three drivers on the circuit that stood out, and Xiuying was one of them. Since there weren't any Super Cup races at the moment, the Asian driver had accepted the contract. She didn't come cheap, but Stardust was willing to spend what she had to in order to give her ponies an opportunity to succeed.

That said, she would demand a good return for her money.

"Alright, you two. Get up and go train right now. You have some chemistry to build with Xiuying, and there is not a lot of time left before the first Triple Crown race."

"Okay. We will finish playing with Cassy, and we will go run."

"No, now. You've played enough with her already."

"She only came twice... We wanted to try another way of..."

"I said, now!"

"Aww. Okay, okay!"

Pinching Cassy's naked nipples one last time, the two pink ponies stood up and exited the stall, passing by Xiuying, who was seriously scratching her head. She knew these two pink ponies were sexual in nature, but that was something else. She just followed them silently. Perhaps some racing would help her erase what she saw from her memory.

Stardust also followed them to return to the house. On her way out, she told her helper to get off her butt.

"Cassy, now that you are done playing, I want you to go back to the house. I need you to prepare their food."

"Mmmph!"

What Stardust had not noticed before leaving was that Cassy's bridle was attached to the wall ring. With her hands fastened to her waist, there was no way she would be able to go anywhere anytime soon. She just let herself fall back in the hay. At some point, someone would probably notice she was missing and come back to free her.

***

"Aaah! You are going so fast!"

"..."

"It's so scary!"

"..."

The good news was that Ivory had learned how to use the racing gears very quickly, which was not too surprising since she was also a ponygirl who dressed up by herself every single day, but the less good news was that she wasn't remotely used or comfortable with the inhuman speed they were going on the track.

Ivory's role was supposed to be simple. Sit in the cart, learn to make the ponies go left and right, and that was it. As Penny explained, there would be no race management, no strategy, no nothing. Perhaps small words of encouragement would be good as well. But right now, the only thing that came out of Ivory's mouth was terror.

The white show pony knew that Morning Star and Moonlight were very strong, but she did not expect their full speed to feel like this. There was no comfort as the cart rattled violently on the poorly groomed practice track, it was much harder than she thought it would be to keep balance on the small seat, and little rocks and dust flew left and right, threatening her cute face.

For a little show pony used to looking pretty, this was far from a relaxing experience.

Morning Star and Moonlight had enough of the high pitch screams, so they stopped on the side of the track to give Ivory and their ears a break.

Ivory climbed down the cart and used her wobbly legs to reach Morning Star and give her another big hug.

"Aaaah! It's going to be so hard! I didn't think it would be like that."

"Mmm..."

"Oh, right. Your bit."

Using her little fingers, Ivory untied and removed the bits from the two panting ponies.

"There you go. You did so well, Morning Star! You are amazing."

"We didn't do well at all."

"No?"

"We couldn't go too fast because you were screaming too much. It hurt our ears."

"Oh, but that was scary. You were going so fast."

"We didn't even sprint."

"What? You can go even faster than this!?"

"Yes. Much."

"Awww... I'm sorry. This is new to me. I didn't know it was going to be this hard."

"Sophie also gives us water when we take breaks."

"Oh, right! Let's go to the house then. I'll give you a glass."

"Sophie usually has a bucket with a ladle."

"Really?"

"Yes."

No, Ivory wasn't Sophie, far from it. Racing ponies had nothing in common with those delicate show ponies who refreshed their makeup between two acts. Sure, what these colorful women did was impressive during a show, but they were not powerful machines like Moonlight and Morning Star. Racers needed to be treated very differently to give them the best chances to express their skills.

But here and now, things didn't seem too promising. What was Penny's plan exactly? The older woman had extensive experience of the racing pony world, so why did she think it was a good idea to ask Ivory to be their driver for the Triple Crown? She could have selected any other drivers from the amateur class, one who, at least, wouldn't have been terrified to sit on a racing cart. If the goal were not to use any strategy, it would simply have been a matter of instructing the driver not to implement one.

Moonlight was incredibly silent as if she didn't share her teammate's distress. Her racing knowledge was poor, but she could still clearly see the skill difference between Sophie and Ivory. That said, her recent adventure with Tiantang in the desert had changed something inside her. Everything seemed possible. To her, if Penny had decided to take that route, who was she to argue with someone possessing such vast experience.

Additionally, the plan was simple. Run, sprint, and win. Repeat three times and save Penny's stable. The young girl liked that language. There was no obscure discussion about what it meant to be a ponygirl, no discussion about race management, no discussion about racing psychology that could be used against their opponents.

Run, sprint, and win. Simple and efficient. She could do these three things.

Moonlight nudged Morning Star with her elbow.

"Let's try again. I don't need water."

"Okay. But Ivory will scream again. I can't focus."

"It's okay. I have a plan for that."

"What is it? I don't think we can do anything about it."

"We will run until she stops screaming."

"Oh? That might work."

Yes. Sometimes, the most idiotic and straightforward ideas were the best.

***

"Holy crap, You two, perverts, are good."

"Brittany trained us well."

"I see that, Hemlock. She might be a moron, but she obviously knows a thing or two about training."

"Xiuying. We love Brittany. She is not a moron. It makes her sad when people call her that. That's why she isn't nice to you."

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry. Give me your other foot now."

"Brittany doesn't remove my boots before my harness."

"Well, I'm not her. So give me your foot."

The habits of a ponygirl were not easy to break. During all their career, Hemlock and Nightshade have been used to a very specific routine, and for the first time, they faced a different one. Something as simple as the order they took their gears off was enough to cause anxiety.

Hemlock moved her foot forward and placed it in Xiuying's hands. She couldn't help herself but look sideways. It felt as if she was betraying her real trainer, who had spent years getting her to that point in life.

"Would you relax, Hemlock? I'm not here to take over. I'm here to help you."

"I know."

"I think you two have a serious chance to win the triple crown."

"I know."

"Well, you do not lack self-confidence. That's good."

"Are you going to make us lose?"

"Uh? Why would you say such a mean thing?"

"You are friends with Penny's stable. You want them to win."

Xiu looked up at Hemlock, who was still looking away, before returning her attention to the boot she was unlacing.

"Look, Hemlock. Penny called me to replace Sophie. I declined because Stardust offered me more money. I'm a professional. I don't let my emotions get in the way of my job."

"You... you did?"

"Yes. I did. And honestly, I would have declined Penny's offer anyway. I have a reputation to preserve as well. Morning Star and Moonlight have a great potential to win, but they also have a great potential to fail miserably. The last thing I want is to get labeled as the worst driver in Triple Crown history."