Horsepower Ch. 04-06

Chapter 4

The bus ride was quiet for many reasons. First, the electric engine driving it made it so the only noise being heard was a small whir of the electric engine and the tire noise along the pavement. The second reason was that the bus was full of people just like David. Far from home, unsure of what was ahead, and the dreaded unknown of what it was going to be like living their life as a pony.

It had been a long time since David had ridden in a vehicle of any type. Vehicles of any kind were reserved for the most critical functions in society now. He suspected that being given a ride here both helped drive home to the pony recruits how important their role was in the world and to speed up the process enough making it difficult for those to potentially change their minds during a long travel to the training center.

David glanced at the driver of the bus. The man had made several disgusted faces at them as they got onto the bus and David had immediately taken a disliking to the man. As he looked up to the front now, he could see that the man had wrapped a cloth around his face leaving only his eyes open. David understood in that moment why the man had been making faces. Like David, most everyone on the bus was filthy. Clothes were disheveled and though he could no longer notice it, he was certain that everyone smelled awful. The self-awareness of his smell now ate at him. He couldn't wait to shower and remove the embarrassment of it all.

The training facility that he was going to would change him from the smelly person he was into a hard-working and sought after pony. At least, that was the intended goal. The training had been designed by those who were absolutely familiar with the process of breaking a person down and rebuilding them into something completely new to be used for whatever purpose. The military.

The military was still very much in existence and active. Service for it was highly selective and not available to many. Those ending their enlistments had an opportunity to help run the training for the soon to be ponies. The drill and order was needed in such spaces. The bleed over from it all was noticeable from one that knew where to look.

The name for the training facility had become known as "Pony Boot Camp". The name borrowed from a tradition with the Marines calling their new recruits "boots" and for the fact that the pony's hoof boots they wore with the high heel like stance and the horseshoe bottoms were often the defining item that made that click in the pony's brain that solidified their new identity.

Late that evening the bus arrived at their final location. Like everyone else on the bus, David kept his eyes glued to the windows anxiously trying to take in all the sights he could of the new place that would be his home for the near future as he trained. The darkness made this impossible and everything flashed by in dull blurs with the occasional yellow hue light casting grossly long shadows across courtyards.

At the final stop, a man stepped up onto the bus and gave the recruits directions as to where to go and how to line up outside the bus. David decided the man either no longer had a sense of smell or was so used to this barrage on the senses that it no longer affected him as it had the bus driver. David felt a small ping of guilt thinking about how long they'd have to air the bus out after they had all left. He shook the concern out of his mind though. He had more important things to focus on at this point. With a deep breath, he stepped out into the cool night air.

David found himself in what looked like a large parking lot. Within moments a man with a clipboard began yelling at them, calling off names and telling them to get into some semblance of a formation. David had no idea what the man was talking about. The man's yelling only increased, now filled with frustration. The man quickly set them up in columns front to back that was four deep and a row that was ten people long. A convenient box of humans.

"This is a formation, and this is how you will form up every single time you are told to, understand?" The man shouted to the group. Four separate formations of people all replied that they did. The man was not impressed and yelled louder than ever before asking if they understood. The group, understanding the man wanted to be shouted back at responded in a much louder tone this time. David stifled the urge to smile at this, thinking it was ridiculous.

A few people filtered out of the building that the formations were facing. The man with the clipboard yelled to the formations, "These are your stable leaders. I am the Stable Master, and these stable leaders report directly to me. Underneath the stable leaders are many stable hands in training. Together, you and the stable hands will work towards graduating and joining the workforce to provide services to this great country and keep it from failing as several other countries already have." The man paused. Nobody in the formations said a word. Turning to the stable leaders the Stable Master said, "Stable Leaders, take charge of your groups and start getting them inprocessed."

A tall man with a medium build and dark hair walked up to David's group. In the equestrian theme of things, the man looked like he was wearing riding pants and riding boots. "Ok pony recruits listen up. I am Stable Leader Andrews and this is pony group three. The next several days are going to be a blur as we push you through the various stations. At the end of getting in processed, you'll look like a pony but it'll take you the next few months to get you to actually be a pony." Stable Leaders Andrews said, stressing the word "be".

Looking to a paper he had in his hand, Andrews said next, "Our group will be going through medical and finance first." Looking up from his paper he then added, "You will see other groups that are doing things ahead of you. Do not worry about them. You will get through all the stations eventually and if you work hard, you'll make it through this program." He checked his watch and then said, "Also, you will treat my stable hands with respect. You do not outrank them in any way, shape, or form. You are equally useful in your own manner. You cannot do your job without their support, and they wouldn't have a job without ponies. It's mutually beneficial so get that through your heads now." As he was saying this last part, he checked his watch for a final time and then said, "Ok, it's our time follow me. Our first stop is the showers and epilation." With that, Andrews turned around and the group began following him into the building.

David thought to himself, "What the hell is epilation?"

Chapter 5

David hadn't brought any personal items with him. In fact, he had very little to his name anyway since he had left his parent's house to live out on the streets. So, when he removed the clothes from his back and dropped them into a bin to be thrown away, he effectively had no remaining trace of his soon to be former life. He stood there in a large shower room naked with numerous other males. The females had been separated to their own shower room and David suspected were going through their own version of what he was experiencing.

As David stood there with the other males waiting to get into the showers, he noted that each had their genitals covered with their hands. All avoided eye contact with each other, trying to discourage any awkward conversations from being struck up. David shivered as a cool breeze drifted through the room and he began to try and think of something to take his mind off of the situation. Immediately, his thoughts drifted to just moments earlier.

As Pony Group Three was all moving into the shower area the hallway narrowed and bodies had been shuffled together in an abrupt manner. David side stepped to his left to avoid the wall and in doing so had stepped on the back shoe of a dark-haired girl. The back of the shoes slipped off the back of her foot and as she was about to take a step the raggedy shoe tore as her foot attempted to pull through the now stuck in place shoe. The sudden stop from the girl's shoe caused her to stumble forward and bump into several other people.

David stepped off her torn shoe and looked up at the girl. She was a tall and yet thin Hispanic girl. The color in her pupils was nearly black which was exceedingly fitting he decided with the venomous look she was glaring at him. David felt a heat rising in his ears as she stared at him. The people around them had paused briefly and then continued down the hallway, slipping the way past the two of them. David reach down to grab the now damaged shoe for the girl while saying, "I'm sorr-"

"Nobody cares." she said firmly, glaring. She bent down quickly and swiped the damaged shoe off the floor before David could grab it. David stood there in silence watching the girl. She held the shoe now in front of her and looked at it as if it was a dead friend. David looked for the right thing to say, wishing he could make it better. What came to mind next could have been used with more tact.

"Well, on a good note. We're all going to be throwing away all these old clothes soon anyhow and getting our hoof boots." He said the last part with a smile and tried to sound more cheerful than his anxious mind let on. He eyes rose from her torn shoe and burned a hole into him.

"Unlike you, not all of us actually want this and are ready to just toss off our old lives. Keep your cheerful outlook on this to yourself and stay the hell away from me." She had stopped talking but she was still staring at David. Everyone else was down the hallway at this point. She broke her stare away from him and hobbled down the hallway with that awkward step one takes when only wearing one shoe. David followed, this time at a safer distance.

A door opened and David snapped back to the present to observe this new person come in. It was a middle-aged female wearing what looked almost like medical scrubs. David wasn't sure that the lady even noticed that the room was full of naked men. She wasted no time in getting to business. "Ok ponies, listen up. You are going to go through a process of epilation, or hair removal for those of you that don't know what that is."

She stopped by a bag near the door and lifted a tube out of the bag. "In this bag you will grab one of these tubes. You will lather your entire body with the exception of the hair on top of your head. You will be wearing tight fitting harnesses and other items at times and if you've got hair along these, you'll be more likely to develop infections from ingrown hairs. The epilation will last a few years, or the length of an initial contract. The trainee stable hands will assist in getting your back and your facial hair areas. If there are no questions, then file through and grab a tube before moving into the next room." She then turned and walked into the next room. "Any questions" was a joke David decided because she had not actually allowed for any.

The recruits were already moving through the door, grabbing their tube. David followed suit and moved into the next room with his tube. Numerous shower heads hung from the ceiling in this well-lit room. David found his shower head and stood underneath it and opened his tube. A stable hand stepped up to him and said, "I'll help you with your back and face. From there, everyone will wait for about 10 minutes for everything to take effect and then the shower heads will be turned on for you to rinse off. I brought a little bag that has various soaps for your hair and body. When you're done, just head on over to the side wall where the towels are."

David nodded to the stable hand and then both set about applying the contents of the tube to David's body. It was cold to the touch and David shuddered when the stable hand applied it to his back. They were both moving quickly and soon David was completely covered aside from the upper portion of his face and his hair on the top of his head. "Good luck." The stable hand offered and stepped away. Moments later the shower heads turned on, first spitting out residual cold water in the lines and then quickly turning warm.

Warmth coursed through David's body as he soaked in the heat. He felt tension in his shoulders that he wasn't aware he had begin to drain away like the dirt on his body. Opening his eyes, David decided to get to work and washed his body off twice feeling that the first attempt wasn't enough. Any semblance of hair on his legs, arms, and pubic area simply wiped off leaving a perfectly smooth surface underneath. Looking around, David saw other guys were feeling up and down their hairless legs feeling the smoothness for the first time. David smiled, mimicking their actions yet wholly focused on the feeling of his legs. They really were smooth he thought.

Reaching up he touched his smooth face. He wouldn't miss shaving his face every day, he decided.

Chapter 6

Dressed in what felt like a pair of paper pants and a paper shirt that clung to his slightly damp body, David shuffled along in a line through the next hallway. Stable Leader Andrews had returned and was waiting at the front of the line by a door. He was handing out a stack of papers to the front person in line. "Alright ponies listen up. This is going to be your medical station and locking. Everyone gets locked. No exceptions." David immediately thought to the plastic cages he saw containing the cocks on every male pony he had encountered. None of them complained about it he decided. He would just do his best to not think about it.

The problem was that he was thinking about it and becoming excited. David's anxiety of standing there with the barely covering paper garment clinging to an erect penis mortified him. He could feel his heart pounding as his dick betrayed his desire and continued to engorge. The Stable Leader was walking his way down the line of men talking to some here and there explaining things. David had nowhere to turn to hide the obvious protrusion in his pants, the Stable Leader was definitely going to see it and David feared that the Stable Leader would say something out loud about it and humiliate him.

The Stable Leader was now two steps away from David. He could feel the heat rising up in his face and hear his pulse in his ears. Suddenly, the man in front of David turned and handed a set of papers to David. "Here take one and keep passing back." He simply said and turned back around. David had the stack of papers in his hand and strategically placed them as the Stable Leader walked by in a manner that blocked his tented pants from view. The Stable Leader kept walking past David without saying a word.

David took the top copy of papers and passed the rest back to the guy behind him and told him the same thing that the man in front of him had said. Looking at the paper David could see that it was a series of medical questions, a lot of questions. As he read through the detailed and decidedly mundane questions, he felt his dick losing its battle to stay rigid and was quickly going away the more he focused on the questions. The Stable Leader then spoke once everyone had their papers. "As you file into the room, grab a clipboard and pen. You'll fill these papers out completely and give them to the person at the station you're sent to. There you'll receive a series of shots which will help boost your immune system, kill off anything you may have brought here in or on your disgusting bodies, and also, it's the second part of the shower you just took. The last shot will activate the epilation process so that the hair does not grow back for several years."

The door at the end of the hallway opened and the paper wearing recruits started to filter in through it. As David entered the room, he saw that there were several people standing around a raised table filing their paperwork out. David followed suit and located a pen and clipboard. He diligently filled his information out and once finished he made his way to the desk where a female was typing information into a computer. She didn't even look up at David for nearly a full minute as she typed. Eventually, she paused and looked up at him. "All finished?" she said, extending a hand to take his paper. "Move on to stall seven." she said and then went back to typing.

David walked towards a booth with curtains around it and had a hanging sign that said "Stall 7" on it. While waiting to be called inside, David began to wonder why the people here even bothered asking questions like "All done?" if they weren't even going to bother with getting a response. Noises like the release of a sudden burst of air pressure came from inside the curtains and a low stifled moan. David's curiosity piqued but he figured he'd know soon enough what was happening.

The curtain pulled aside, and a lady said in a impatient tone, "Next." David walked in and saw there were three people in the curtained stall, two standing on either side of him and a larger lady sitting on a wheeled stool on the far side of a stand. The stand had a padded "U" shape where it looked like he'd stand in and he'd rest his arms on top of the stand. Up on the wall across from where he entered was a small, screened television playing something about food. The lady who had called him into the room said in a bored, monotone voice as if she was reading off as script that she had already read thousands of times, "You are going to receive several inoculations as well as your lock. Two shots will to in your right cheek and one in your left. We will also conduct a blood draw from your left arm, and you will get one final shot in the shoulder of your right arm. During this, please pay attention to the tv in front of you. The tv will have critical nutrition information surrounding the pony diet. The items on the tv are going to be testable later so pay close attention. At this time, remove all your garments and place them into the receptacle to your left."

The two ladies and the man in the room all exuded a bored impatience. David supposed these people were essentially feeling like working on a factory line. Man comes in, gets shots, gets locked, leaves, repeat. Despite that David was throwing the paper garments away, he gently pulled the shirt off and tossed it in the receptacle instead of just tearing it off. Next came his pants which he slid to the floor and immediately felt the coolness of the room on his crotch.

Looking down at his now hairless crotch, David was still surprised at how it looked without any hair. It felt bald, yet the smooth feeling of the pubic area was a new sensation, similar to his hairless legs which had an intensely strange feeling brushing up against the paper pants. Without the hair there to interfere, the body took on entirely new sensitivity to everything.

Now, fully naked he stepped into the U shape of the stand and rested his belly against it. The medical people in the room took no time to get started in on him. The man on his left moved around the table and began to find a vein to draw blood from on his left forearm. The lady on the stool pulled gloves on and judged what size cage would fit best over David's penis. The lady behind him who had read the monotone directions to him began to prep the various shots on a tray with a cloth covering it. With so much going on, David tried to focus fully on the television in front of him. If there was a test later, he didn't want to somehow miss something.

The crew in there was efficient. David heard the television talking about the differences between various types of hydration and liquid diets. It was difficult to concentrate however, as the lady unceremoniously grabbed his balls and his dick with a lubricated hand and with a swift motion pulled the three of them through a plastic ring. Next, swiftly came a tube which was pushed into place over his lubricated dick. The lubrication ensured that it slid fully to the end of the tube. As David tried to focus on the various typed of vegetables he needed for daily intake he felt the lady let go of his now caged member and it hung there, numb feeling and trying to now expand unsuccessfully within the confines of the tube. She patted the area around his cage with a small towel wiping up any excess lube.