Horsepower Ch. 01-03

"Well, maybe one more thing also." Mark added. "David, did you ever have a job anywhere?"

"Yes, I worked in a warehouse one summer." He replied.

"Ok, how often did you try and have sex with your coworkers at work?" Mark asked abruptly.

"What? Never!" David stammered.

"Ok, well now imagine your coworker is wearing nothing but a little bit of leather straps. These help with keeping us from walking around...aroused. Guys wear the cages, girls wear the belts, and the stable master keeps the keys. The tails last function as I mentioned, also prevents any extracurricular activities from happening either willingly or unwillingly back there." Mark finished.

David's head was spinning, only now it was from all the information he had just learned and not from being malnourished feeling. "I, uh. I'm not really sure what to think of it all. I guess I always expected you guys, ponies I mean, to be depressed and feel degraded. But you guys, you all seem like...like you really enjoy being ponies." The three ponies just let him talk through his thoughts. They knew what he was going through. "I'm just not sure I'm cut out for it." David conceded.

"Many unfortunately are not cut out for it David." Rick said. "There are alternatives to being a pony as well. We have a wonderful support system that employs people as well. If you were to look at a hierarchal model, ponies would be one pyramid with the lead pony being the top, all the way down to newer ponies at the bottom. The second pyramid is the support pyramid, and the stable master is at the top of that. Under him are all the "stable hands" as they're referred to. It's tough work and it doesn't pay great, but it does offer employment when others cannot currently. They're given that small wage to live off and the stable provides one meal a day to them at no cost. The lunch you're eating today is that meal. For many of the stable hands, this is likely the only meal they'll eat today but they're thankful for that opportunity."

Continuing he said, "The stable hands are broken up into several different jobs from medical, tack prep, massage therapists, and pony care to name a few. Without these incredible people, we could not function. They help get us tacked up at the beginning of our workday, make sure we're fed and watered throughout the day, and then they work with us to make sure our arms and other parts of our bodies are getting the work the need to not atrophy." Rick paused, seeing the wheels turning in David's head at the thought of doing this line of work. "Both ponies and stable hands is tough work and even with the opportunities, many can't hack it for very long as a stable hand. Many quit when they learn they'll not become a pony."

"Why wouldn't they be able to become a pony?" David asked.

Mark answered, "The pony is the ultimate goal. Three meals a day for free, the housing in the stable is free, and the stable hands cater to our needs to ensure that we're in top condition. This is how much emphasis is placed on us by society. General society balks at our outfits, not understanding their function, but in secret they gladly employ us just the same so they can continue living with their electrical and labor needs." Continuing he said, "To be a pony you must meet the minimum requirements, like height for starters. Ponies must fall within a certain height parameter so that they all fit onto the same power pole and cart setups. This unfortunately precludes many short people. Others fail the fitness portion."

David sat quietly, his plate now empty. Rick moved over to him. "David, you are under no obligation to join us in any capacity. Take some time, think it over. We'll be here if you decide you want to join. I don't know what your life story is, and I cannot promise that this will be an easy one should you choose to join. But I can guarantee you, if you join, you'll at least feel that you belong somewhere and you'll have a roof over your head for a little while."

Chapter 3

The sun was setting as David walked through the empty streets. Only in the absolute centers of town did the streetlights remain lit. As he had wandered aimlessly away from the Horsepower recruiting station his mind had been reeling from the conversation. Rick, Mark, and Carla had all made it seem like a much better life than what he was currently living. David's mind tripped over the positives that Mark had brought up.

"There's no way they're telling the truth, they're just a bunch of recruiters." David told himself. Yet, in the same breath of that thought, all three of them seemed truly content with their decision and were thriving. Thriving despite giving up use of their arms and...the things around their dicks. David wasn't thrilled with that idea. As he wandered, he slipped his hands out of his pockets. Slowly, he interlocked his fingers behind him as he walked.

This was a strange sensation, and not a comfortable one. He felt decidedly vulnerable with his arms behind his back. His animal instinct was to protect his front and yet he walked on this way. The food had done wonders and he had been thinking more clearly than he could remember being in the past several days. As he continued thinking about the day's events, he found himself turn down familiar streets. His parent's street.

David had not been to his parent's house since they had told him he could no longer live there. It had been an emotional event and did not help with his already strained relationship with his parents. Walking down the street he noticed that his parent's house was dark. No lights came from inside and the yard was grossly overgrown. The family car which hadn't moved in years sat on flat tires with weeds growing up around it.

At the front door David paused. He debated on even attempting to knock or just walking away for good. He decided on knocking and rapped his knuckles on the door. Hearing a small amount of movement inside the house he took a step back. A few moments later the front door opened revealing his mother holding a candle. "David!" She exclaimed. "Come in!"

David could see that his mother had lost weight. Her cheeks were starting to sink in, and she moved slowly. As he stepped into the dark house, he saw that there was only a few more candles lit to provide any source of light in the house. His father sat across the room on his chair, the clothes hanging off him limply. David could see how malnourished they looked. The sight of them made him feel less anger for them kicking him out. How much quicker would they have run out of food if he had still been there, he wondered.

"David." His father said. David wasn't sure if it was a greeting or merely an acknowledgement. David thought about it and realized his father was likely wondering if David had stopped by to try and come home or scrounge what little remaining food they had left.

"Hello, father." David said to him. He felt like a stranger in this home despite having lived his entire life here. "Don't worry, I'm not here to try and get food or to stay." He said, trying to calm any fears of his presence there. Yes, he was hungry again but after the lunch he'd had, his mind was clearer now than it had been in weeks. His mother ushered him to sit on the couch. Having done so, she sat nearby him, afraid to lose him for any longer than she was forced to.

Looking at David she asked, "Did you hear about the Fredrick boy?"

"Brandon? No, I haven't been back to the neighborhood for some time now."

"He died the other day." She said simply. Many people had been dying lately. The balance of food production and distribution to the number of hungry people was still largely offset. Some people estimated that an even larger percentage of the population was likely going to die before society reached an equilibrium with the supply and demand for food.

David looked down, "No, I hadn't heard that. His family must be going through Hell right now."

His father leaned forward in his chair, "It was only a matter of time with that family, one of the other children had died the week prior. They had such a large family and no way to sustain it." The comment stung David. His father was praising his own actions of kicking David out so that he could survive. Whether it was true or not, it still hurt.

"Have you found any work?" David's mother asked him. David could see that she was really asking if he had been getting fed and had found a place to live. He knew she did not want to kick him out, but they had been left little choice. David debated about telling her the truth. He had been living homeless since the moment he was kicked out and living off the daily government rations. He couldn't hide that he had lost weight. If David had to guess, he was probably down nearly twenty pounds already.

Figuring that she would be more devastated with her decision to agree to kicking him out, he lied to her. "Yeah, I've found some work. It's only just starting but it's given me at least some real food." It was a slight fabrication; he hadn't agreed to join Horsepower yet but just the idea of it gave him an out.

"Good for you David." She said, relief clear on her face.

David's father gave a "Hmph." Sound. "It's a good thing you're resourceful, just the way I raised you." This angered David. You threw me into the deep end without teaching me how to swim. I'm tough despite you. You always did take credit for anything positive I did. David thought all these things, but only slowly nodded his head, not making eye contact with his father lest he verbalize his thoughts.

"If your mother didn't already tell you, we're moving to the country." His father stated. "Yep, got us both a farm laborer job that should set us right again." He had a smug look on his face. "Pulling ourselves out of this misery, showing people that hard work does pay off and not have to degrade yourself in public doing so."

David didn't know for certain, but he suspected he knew what his father was getting at. "Degrade yourself?"

"Yeah, like those damn idiots pulling wagons. Each of those suckers didn't know the meaning of hard work and watching out for yourself." He father said, his voice raising as he spoke. "I don't know what kind of fool would put themselves through that just to be laughed at."

The line of thinking that David's father was moving down created an anger inside of him. Along with the anger he was conflicted. He wasn't a pony and a few hours prior he didn't understand them either. Now, having met them and interacted, he wasn't so sure how he was supposed to react. "I don't know, they don't seem humiliated to me. Look to be well fed too."

"Food isn't worth it boy. You should know that, you've been out fending for yourself for a while now. How low can one's dignity get?" David knew his father's last question was rhetorical. He answered anyway.

"I'd be willing to bet that Brandon Fredrick's family would be just fine with his dignity of becoming a pony if it meant he was still alive."

His father jumped at that, eager to contradict David. "That's no way to live. That's not even a possible solution, I bet he considered it and decided that dying was a better option!" At this David's father laughed at himself.

David stood up. "Well father, you've helped me make my decision. I came here, maybe looking to get some advice. You're right, I do know what it's been like fending for myself. Do you want to know who has been the only people to show me kindness and feed me? Well, I'll tell you, it was a group of ponies. They fed me the first real food I had in weeks and treated me with respect when it was me that had no dignity. I am a starving, smelly, homeless person. None of them had lost any of their dignity or class in treating me nicely. So, I've decided to join Horsepower. If you are unable to get past this, then I guess this is goodbye."

Silence marked the room. David heard his mother start to silently weep in her chair. His father's mouth hung open in shock at first at David's outburst. This shock quickly morphed into anger and resentment and the lines of it shown on his face. With down pointed eyebrows and a scrunched eyes his father said, "Then you are not the son I raised. He would have found a way to adapt."

David nearly laughed, incredulous at his father. "You can't see it, but I am nothing like you and never have been. I am finding a way to live and the only way to live with less dignity would be to stay here with you." He made his way to the door and looked back, making eye contact with his mother. The dim light from the candles created deep shadows that hid many of her features from him. As she turned her head, he could see the candlelight glisten off the tears that were making their way down her face. "Goodbye mother." He said and opened the front door to walk out.

As he was shutting the front door he heard his father shouting, "Go on then, shove all that up your ass with the tails!" The door clicked shut and the yelling became muffled. Without the streetlights on, it was now very dark out, but the moon had begun to rise which provided a little illumination. David shoved his hands into his pockets and began slowly walking down the street back towards where the Horsepower recruiting building was. It was past the office hours, but his mind had been made up and he would sleep in front of the building if he had to. He was not about to do anything that would change his mind on this now.

The night was quiet. All that David was left with now was his quiet thoughts and the sound of his footsteps on the pavement. He began to wonder how long it would take him to get used to the sound of his footsteps on the pavement making the recognizable clip clop sound from the hooves he would hopefully soon wear. He had hoped to bring up the Horsepower service to his mother and father and have a normal conversation regarding it with them. He had been weighing the pros and cons of being the pony or the support stable hands for the ponies.

He was definitely leaning towards trying for the pony position. Sure, there were drawbacks, but the idea of having your needs catered to like food and housing was a big lure. Rick and Mark had both mentioned how difficult it would be to get through the program as a pony and that many weren't cut out for it. It couldn't be that difficult, David decided. There were a ton of people that had become ponies already, so it was definitely achievable.

With that context in mind, David began to formulate a mental plan of attack. He would become a pony. That he decided wasn't even a question, if others could do it then he could as well. He had a friend growing up who's father had been in the military. When David had learned that his friend's father had served in special operations, he had asked him what drew him to that. The man had simply said, "Because, I wanted to play for the varsity team and fuck the cheerleaders." The phrase had made David and his friend laugh at the time but now it was making more sense to David. He didn't want to be a support person, he wanted to be the main effort.

Rick had been gracious to make note to David that he could not do his job without the tremendous help of the stable hands. Still, David decided that he wouldn't consider even entertaining the thought of being a stable hand. He knew that if he used the ability to become a stable hand as a safety net, it would make quitting when things got tough that much easier. If he had no back up plan, when things got tough, he knew he would push himself to new limits.

He would become a pony. That was all there was to it.