Human Interest

Twilight peeled off the decal and wiped her skin with the solvent-soaked pad the assistant handed her. What emerged was the most incredibly beautiful tattoo Irish had ever seen. It was just like looking at a photograph of Twilight in full pony dress framed by a large bronzed horseshoe. Around the outside of the horseshoe it said, "Pampered Pony Ranch" and under her picture in flowing freestyle script was "Twilight Girl". Twilight smiled at Irish, walked over and put her arms around her neck and said, "I want to see your beauty preserved forever. Please do this for me." Twilight kissed her on the forehead and stepped back.

How could she say no to her? Irish nodded.

Ella said, "Let me unlock your cuffs so you can at least lay comfortably for this."

Irish stepped up on the platform and lay down on the table. Christine and Ella quickly strapped her down before she could change her mind while the assistant tended to the machine. Ella undid the cams holding Irish's converter in and wrapped it in a paper towel. Twilight bent down and kissed Irish as she long to be kissed then shoved a gauze wad between her teeth. "I'm right here with you," she said gently stroking Irish's cheek.

Irish's body went rigid the second the assistant hit the button. She felt like she was in electro-shock therapy and then it was over and the warming sensation began and she spit out the gauze. As soon as she was freed from the table, she lost herself in Twilight's waiting arms. Christine peeled back the decal and sponged off the excess dye while they kissed and she and Ella looked in astonishment at the new tattoo.

"Wow," was all they could say. This new technology was fantastic. What would have taken hours by hand was done flawlessly in seconds by the machine.

"This is a story in itself," thought Christine, "I'm glad I recorded it."

"Next pony, please,' called the assistant as a line was beginning to form outside the booth. The four of them headed outside. Irish and Twilight walked hand in hand, giggling like a couple of teenagers.

"Look," said Twilight, "The line is not too long. Let's get pictures taken together. Is that okay, Sis?"

"Okay but put your bits back in. If we have to listen to you two giggling at least you can sound like proper ponies."

The photographer took a minute to admire the beautiful tattoos that his new machine had created then he hit upon and idea. "If you two will pose for my advertizing brochure, I'll do your portraits for free. All you have to do is sign a model release so I can use the pictures. Do we have a deal?"

The girls nodded yes and the photographer directed them into position. "Okay ponies, turn away from the camera about 45^o and bend forward putting your hands on your knees. That's it, now lift your heads up and look back over your shoulders like you are trying to see your tattoos. Smile." Flash!Flash!Flash!

With the promo shots out of the way, Twilight and Irish spent the next couple of minutes hamming it up in front of the camera. For the final pose, they faced each other with their belly buttons touching and leaned their shoulders back slightly so that their bells hung freely between them. They rested their hands on each other's shoulders and stared into each other's eyes. Flash! Flash! Flash!

"I want an 8x10 copy of that one," said Mistress Ella.

"Me too," replied Christine. "Now let's get some lunch before the Derby begins."

Lunch was served out on the lawn again and for most of the ponies and drivers it consisted of a light salad with a bowl of fresh fruit on the side. Other guests enjoyed hot dogs and hamburgers done over the barbeque pit as they weren't going to be the ones running in 90^o heat. As they sat eating, Christine and Ella couldn't help smiling at the number of guests who were craning their necks trying to get a look at Irish and Twilight's butts.

"Look there's Bronze Lily," said Irish, "May I show her my pretty tattoo, Mistress Ella."

"Yes, dear....." Irish jumped up from the table......"Not so fast, Irish, ponies must be escorted at all times on Derby weekend. Twilight, dear, here is her leash. Would you please take her over there so I can finish my salad?"

"Yes, Mistress Ella."

Excitedly they sprinted across the lawn to where Master Ramirez and Bronze Lily were about to sit down. Twilight said, "Irish Rose would like to show something Master if she may.

"Certainly, Twilight, what is it?"

"Turn around, Irish." She turned sideways so they both could see her new tattoo.

"That is beautiful," said Master Ramirez, "I had heard that they were going to try to do some here this weekend but this is the first one I have seen. May I?"

"Certainly, Master."

Master Ramirez reached out and touched Irish gently on her butt and leaned closer to exam the fine detail that had been rendered. "This is truly amazing. Her beauty will be preserved forever. What do you think, Lily? Would you like to get one?

"Oh, yes please, Master, may I. It is so lovely."

"Of course, my love. How could I refuse a request from a Grand Champion Show Pony? You will be the envy of the Caribbean. Forever Young." He gave Irish a loving swat on the rump and said, "Thank you, Irish. Thank you, Twilight. I will see to it that you each get something special for being so kind as to think of us and want to show us that."

Twilight said, "Thank you Master Ramirez." Irish just bowed. "Rise, ponygirl, I have to get you back to Mistress Ella so you have time to practice before the Derby."

When they got back to the table, Twilight handed Irish's leash to Mistress Ella and told Irish that she had to help clear the lawn and set up for the winners' reception but she would come down to cheer her on.

"Aren't you running in the Derby too, Twilight," inquired Irish.

"No, dear, one Derby winner in this family is enough," replied Twilight winking at her sister.

"Now, Twilight don't be giving away all the family secrets," and she kissed her on the cheek as she got up to leave. "Come, Irish, let's go get warmed up. Are you coming, Christine?

"No, I'm going to do some more editing but I'll be there for the race."

Chapter 11: I Told You So

Ella and Irish found their cart after a brief bathroom break. Many of the teams were already out on the track but Ella assured Irish that she wouldn't need that much warm up. Ella clipped the handles of the sulky to Irish's wrist cuffs and Irish started to kneel. Ella grabbed her bridle and said, "Wait. I want you to wear your blinders for the race. Yes, I know most of the teams out there aren't wearing any and that is a big mistake. Every year there are collisions because a pony will veer left or right as another pony tries to pass and get run into by someone coming up on the other side that they didn't see. All of the truly experienced drivers know that their ponies run better if they can only see what's ahead of them. Okay?"

"Yes, Mistress, you're the boss."

"You'd better believe it, Sweetie," Ella said and gave Irish a quick swat on the rump. She securely attached the side blinders to Irish's headgear and gave her a quick sip of water. "Not too much, now. I'll give you another sip just before post time." Ella took Irish's head in her hands and planted a big one on her lips. "My little sister is crazy about you, you know. Win this one for her. Now open up."

Irish smiled and opened her mouth so Ella could insert her bit and converter, then knelt down so she could get in the cart. "Up," said Ella and then she glanced at the supplemental weights hanging on the sides, "73 pounds! Master Jones has got to lay off the desserts."

Irish laughed a big pony laugh, Ella shook the reins and they were off.

The official at the gate held them up until all of the carts had passed and it was safe to enter the track. They started out at a brisk walk and Ella talked about pacing, strategy and where she would be asking Irish to try to pass as the race progressed. Irish listened carefully to every word and then there was silence and she could listen to the clip-clop of her ponyboots on the hard packed track surface. Master Tom had done an excellent job, the track was perfect and the cart rolled along smoothly.

Ella gave a whistle and Irish picked up the pace a little. She looked at her stop watch and counted the poles going by. Thirty seconds later she whistled again and restarted her watch. "This is a perfect pace, Irish. I know you can go faster but we have to be very careful the first couple of laps because that's when all the accidents happen. Once the carts get spread out, we will begin to make our move and pick them off one at a time. When we hit the three-quarter pole on the last lap, I'm going to turn you loose and it's all on you at that point." Finishing her little pep talk, Ella pulled back softly and Irish slowed to a canter and then to a walk.

After a lap and a half, they pulled off the track into the paddock area where the water misters were working overtime. Irish titled her head back as much as her posture collar would allow and let the sprays hit her full in the face. After a minute, Ella gave the down command and got out of the cart. Coming around to the front, she gave Irish another sip of water and then lead her over to the rail and said that this would be a great spot from which to watch the first three races.

B-U-Z-Z-Z-T! Irish's head popped up suddenly as the vibrators sprung to life and then stopped.

It was Twilight coming and she was laughing as she held the remote in her hand. "Here's your remote back, Mistress Ella. I wonder what it's for," she giggled. Twilight was always careful to call her sister, Mistress whenever there were other ponies and drivers around.

"I think you should hold on to it for me, Twilight, I suspect you may need it later."

"N-n-n-n-g-g-h-h!" nodded Irish.

"I also brought you a towel so you could wipe Irish down before and after the race."

"Thank you, dear, but I think you should do it, don't you?"

"Yes, Mistress," responded Twilight and she gently began dabbing the sweat off Irish's face and body.

"N-n-n-g-g-h N-g-h"

"You're welcome, Irish." Twilight was fluent in ponyese.

"Senior ponyboys to the staging area, please," came the announcement over the loudspeaker. "All rise and gentlemen please remove your hats for the playing of our national anthem. Post Call was sounded on the tenor bugle and the ponyboys, men really at this age, paraded by the grandstands to the starting line.

"Bang!" "And they're off," said the announcer who called the race post by post. In the end, it was no contest as Digby Lad won by more than 10 lengths in just over a minute twenty for the quarter mile. The senior ponygirls had a much closer race but at the wire it was Sin City Sister by just over a cart and a half. The open ponyboy division proved to be more of a demolition derby than a race as six of the carts piled up in the first turn as they jockeyed for position. The heat took its toll as well and even the winner cramped up and came limping down the homestretch to win in a disappointing time of almost eight minutes. A win is still a win, they say and Mama's Boy gladly accepted the prize and the cheers.

Irish fidgeted nervously almost dreading the moment and then there it was, Post Call. Twilight gave her a quick kiss on the nose and Ella lead Irish out of the paddock onto the track before jumping into the cart and shaking the reins. Everyone cheered as the contestants were introduced as they passed the stands and before Irish knew it she was standing at the starting line.

"Relax, Irish," said Mistress Ella sensing Irish's tension, "Wiggle that cute butt of yours for me."

Irish giggled in ponyese as she shook her booty.

"BANG!" The announcer started in again and the race was on.

Ella pulled back slightly as they approached the first turn as they were fifth from the rail and she knew from experience that the first two turns were the most dangerous. They were a good four lengths back just trotting along when it happened. One of the new ponygirls, not wearing blinders like Ella said they should, saw someone closing in on the right and drifted left pushing Lilith's left cart wheel into an inside fence post, flipping the cart sideways and roughly throwing Lilith and her pony, Annabelle, to the ground. Irish immediately came to a stop next to them and dropped to her knees which completely amazed Ella as no one had ever done anything like that before. Ella jumped out and helped Lilith and Annabelle up. Lilith's nose was bleeding but Annabelle was unhurt.

"Get going," shouted Lilith, "You still have a race to win. Thank you, Irish."

Ella jumped back in the cart and without a word Irish was to her feet and began to trot. They were now 300 yards behind and Ella shouted, "All of our strategy has just gone out the window, Irish, it's all on your shoulders now. Regardless of the outcome, I am very proud of you. That was very selfless of you to stop to help another pony and driver in trouble." Ella whistled and Irish picked it up.

By the end of lap two Irish was moving smoothly along apparently under no strain and she had managed to make up 100 of the 300 yard gap but 200 yards was still almost half of a lap behind. The crowd realized the sacrifice that that they had just witnessed Irish make and led by Christine and Twilight had taken to chanting, "I-rish!...I-rish!...I-rish!"

The third lap is the one that separates the men from the boys as they say, or in this case, the ponygirls from the pretenders. The 95^o heat was taking its toll and they began to fade one by one. This was very fortunate for Ella and Irish Rose as it is much easier to pass carts one at a time than when they are two and three wide.

One lap to go and another 100 yards closer to the leaders but time was running out and the cart was getting heavier. It was then that Irish heard the crowd chanting for the first time. All of a sudden she let go of the handles and the clips on her cuffs took the load off her hands which were beginning to cramp up. She shook her arms to ease her muscles. She shook her head and whinnied what must have been the equivalent of "Hang on Mama!" grabbed the handles again and picked up the pace once more. By the time, they reached the first turn, she had gained another 30 yards and coming out of the second she passed two more and was behind by only 30. Between the third and fourth turns, Mistress Ella showed two more teams what a difference an experienced jockey can make as she successfully guided Irish around them as they tried to block her path.

They hit the home stretch and Ella wondered how Irish could have anything left after that miraculous comeback. They were 20 yards behind with only 100 yards to go but she gave one final whistle just to let Irish know that she believed it was still possible. Bolstered by that single vote of confidence, Irish dug deeper and as they say in auto racing, "She found another gear." Out of nowhere came a kick that would have made Jesse Owens proud. The leader heard the jingling of bells and caught a glimpse of Irish coming out of the corner of his eye and spurred his ponygirl with his quirt as they lunged for the wire. Both ponygirls thrust out their chests to try to break the tape and then it was over.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, your patience please, we have a photo finish. After what seemed like an eternity while both ponygirls tried desperately to catch their breath and get their hearts back in their chest cavities, the announcer came back on......."and the winner is......IRISH ROSE...BY A BELL!

"HUH?" "WHAT?" The crowd loved the victory but what the heck did that mean they wondered.

A silence fell over the crowd as the head judge made his way to the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, this has been the closest race in Derby history but the photo is conclusive. The bell on Irish's left nipple ring bounced straight out at the exact moment the two ponygirls reached the finish line. Since the bell is part of a surgical implant it has been ruled to be a part of her body and therefore Irish Rose has been declared the winner.

First the crowd broke out in laughter at the verbal image of a bouncing bell on a nipple ring crossing the finish first and then in thunderous applause for the courageous effort she had put forth and the chanting began again as Irish received her garland of roses.

Twilight was the first to reach Irish and gave her a big kiss. "I told you so," she said, "I told you you'd thank me some day for making you get those rings."

"N-n-g-g-h N-g-h"

"You're welcome," laughed Twilight and everyone joined in.

"Let's put our cart away and get your bit out. It's much easier to drink champagne without it," said Ella.

Chapter 12: Separation Anxiety

The grandstands emptied quickly as everyone headed to the reception to congratulate the winners. The champagne flowed freely and hundreds of pictures were snapped as the winners huddled together under the shade of the reception canopy. The vendors were making their final call before packing up their remaining merchandize and many of the teams were gathering their stuff and loading their trailers in preparation for the long ride across the Mohave to get home. All in all it signaled the beginning of the end to the most wonderful experience Irish had ever had and a feeling of melancholy started to come over her. "What will become of me and Twilight?" She began to worry.

Master Don stepped up to the portable podium and began, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Masters and Mistresses, Ponyboys and Ponygirls, I want to thank all of you for coming this weekend. This has been the biggest turn-out in Desert Derby history and the most exciting racing we have seen so far. Let's have another hand for our competitors."

"I would also like to thank all of our vendors and in particular, Mr. Randal Klaw, our ace photographer, and his assistant, Dean Morris, for bringing their new computerized tattooing machine out here, all the way from El Paso. It has been so popular that they have promised to bring it back next year. As they are not leaving until tomorrow morning, they have offered to keep the booth open until dinner time in case you are having regrets about not having one done earlier." The crowd applauded their approval and Master Don began again.

"There is one more ceremony before we can wrap up today's formal program. Twilight Girl, come here please." Twilight came bouncing out of the crowd and threw her arms around his neck. "Next weekend is Twilight's birthday but she has to leave to go back to college next Sunday so her mother and I decided we should celebrate it this weekend when all of our extended family is here."

At that announcement, a spontaneous chorus of 'Happy Birthday' broke out and everyone cheered.

"Tell everyone how old you are, Twilight."

"I'll be 20 next weekend."

"Assume the position, dear." Twilight smiled at Irish, pulled down her leather panties and bent over the podium much to the delight of those assembled. They all oo-ed and ah-ed as they saw Twilight's tattoo for the first time or maybe for some it was her perfectly round cheeks they appreciated.

"I told your mom she could do the honors this year, Twilight. Lilith, my love, are you ready?"

By now Irish was used to surprises but this was too much; Mistress Lilith is Twilight and Ella's mom? Twilight saw the stunned look on Irish's face and winked and laughed.

Mistress Lilith walked around in front of Twilight and showed her the single-tail in her hand. She cupped Twilight's chin in her hand and asked, "Do you think you can take 20 lashes without cumming, dear?"

Twilight shook her head 'No'.