Pony Tales - Clover - Day 24

By the time Alexandria had returned to the mansion proper, her tack hung over her shoulder neatly and her boots bundled in her hands. She nudged her way through the door, pausing to smile at one of the maids who curtsies to her, "Good morning Clover!" The girl had said rather enthusiastically, making her blush visibly. Because of course, the maids would address her by her pony name. That was likely Aria's doing. She moved down the main hall, turning towards Aria's office through the grand hall. She had grabbed the extra item left for her, the black and forest green trimmed collar bearing her the name 'Clover' Embroidered skillfully beside a four-leaf-clover. She knew a collar came with becoming an official part of the farm, but the sight of it still brought butterflies flitting about in her stomach.

She slipped into the side room and walked up to the door to Aria's office, raising a hand to knock just as Hayley was walking out. She offered the woman a soft smile. Hayley patted her on the shoulder, "See you soon, Pony." She said with a smile before heading out to prep the house tack room where she would tend to Clover shortly. Alexandria smartly did not enter the office immediately, raising a hand and knocking gently on the doorframe. Aria looked up from a handful of paperwork, "Ah, come back with the proper tack this time have we?" Aria asked with a raised eyebrow.

Alexandria stomped once in response.

"Good, come on in. I'm afraid I only have one piece to tend to before you're off into Hayley's care for the day. I am rather sure you know what it is by now?"

Alexandria smiled and nodded, walking forward and offering the collar to Aria who took it and undid the intricate and ornately designed buckle, "Now, you understand then. What this collar means. You submit to the barn, to tall tails, to the staff who run it, and to me as the Stable Mistress. From this point forward, you are Clover. An animal to be trained, cared for, and challenged in many ways. There are days you are going to be so tired that you'll fall asleep before you get to your bed, there are going to be days where you sit in tears. But, as I'm sure you've learned. Those needs will be taken care of. Whether it's daily feed, a massage of tender hooves, or sitting with you while your emotions overflow, much like I did on your first day. This collar holds as much responsibility for us, as it does for you. Should you ever feel that care is lacking, or that our end is not being held up. You are permitted to speak up. Is all of that understood my dear, sweet Pony?"

Alexandria couldn't help but smile at the spiel. It certainly did well to both excite and calm the butterflies in her stomach. She stomped her foot a single time again and in response, Aria pointed to the floor in front of her, "Kneel then Pony. And accept your official Tall Tails collar."

Alexandria stepped forwards and despite the many pieces of tack she held, she managed to sink down to her knees. Aria crouched down, a finger raising Alexandria's chin so she was looking her in the eyes. She spoke softly as she wrapped the leather collar around the woman's neck, "You know, bringing that tack earlier might have been a mistake. But, thank you." She patted the woman's cheek and then cinched the collar snugly in place before climbing to her feet.

"Welcome once more to Tall Tails, Clover."

Clover beamed and let out a happy whinny, or as best a whinny as she could at this point. She was still practicing.

Aria giggled, "A good try my dear. Keep working on it. Now, on your hooves and get yourself to the last door on the left heading out of the mansion towards the barn. That's the tack room we keep at the house, you will be in Hayley's hands there. She will tend to your re-tacking and getting you ready. I hope you didn't expect to relax today because the real work begins now as we take you from a newbie and turn you into a champion."

Aria grinned a bit, "But with hard work, comes results." She swatted Clover's backside and pointed to the door, "Now be on your way, Clover. I will be down to check on you a bit later today, try not to disappoint me, will you?"

Clover stomped once confidently and then turned, hurrying out of the room and off down the hall in search of the tack room she'd been directed to.

The tack room in question wasn't particularly hard to find. There were only two doors near the exit into the stable area behind the mansion. One of them was closed and was surprisingly dusty like it hadn't been opened in a very long time. The other however was wide open, flooded with light, and had soft classical music spilling out into the hall. Either it was that room, or Clover had completely misunderstood the directions given to her.

Approaching the door, Clover would poke her head into the room. There was Hayley leaning against a similar 'dressing rack' to the one that Sophie kept in the tack room in the barn. This one looked a bit older and more worn though. Hayley raised an eyebrow at Clover and tilted her head, "You going to stand at the door, or are you coming in so we can get to work Clover? I don't have all day you know."

Hayley motioned to the padded bar on the dressing rack.

Clover smiled brightly and then slipped into the room, walking up to Hayley with all her tack gathered in her arms and hanging on her form. Hayley took a moment to take all the pieces from Clover and lay them out on a table next to the dressing rack. She tugged experimentally on one of the horseshoes on the bottom of one of Clovers boots and frowned, "Hm. That's a bit looser than I'd like. When we are done here, you'll go see Christoph so he can resecure that shoe. Understood?"

"Yes I--"

Hayley grabbed her chin suddenly and forced her to look at her.

"Did Mistress Aria say you are in pony mode officially? Or after you're done tacking? You may speak to answer."

"She said...I was in pony mode officially..."

Hayley grinned a little bit, "That's what I thought. So if I hear you utter so much as another word, you'll be spending the rest of the day with the addition of a blindfold. Am I understood, Clover?"

Clover squirmed slightly at the rather intense stare that Hayley was boring into her. She had expected a different level of firmness upon her return but this was a little intense. However, she did relent and stomp her foot once in understanding. Hayley's stern demeanor melted away before she slapped Clover on the butt and nudged her towards the dressing rack.

"There's a good girl. Now lean over on that bar so we can get to work. Based on the schedule I saw laid out at the barn you've got a really busy day ahead of you. Mistress Aria is not going easy on you it would seem." Hayley said this as she pulled a leather leash off the floor which was attached to an anchor set into the floor, once Clover was bent over the dressing rack she'd clip it onto the girl's collar. It was just long enough that Clover could raise about half an inch before the leash was taut.

Clover nickered softly in response to Hayley, tilting her head a little bit at the comment.

Hayley picked up a brush and began to brush out Clover's very long hair as she spoke, "You need to work on that nicker. It's cute, but not quite there yet. Are you surprised you have such a busy day ahead of you? Mistress Aria I imagine explained that your trial and the real deal are quite different. The trial was to acquaint you with the things that come with being a pony at Tall Tails. Now that you are an official pony here, you'll be held to very different standards. A bit of a different ruleset. You'll have training goals, your life will be a bit more structured. You'll also have days where you'll be given free choice to choose an activity, trainer or otherwise to spend your time in. Keep that in mind because as you discover what skills you enjoy most, you can spend any free time you have practicing. Alternatively, you can engage a bit now in the social aspect of being a pony. There are times when you'll be left to your own devices. Playing with other ponies, cuddling and the like are good ways to get to know those around you."

Hayley paused to set the brush down before picking up a green silken ribbon which she wrapped around her wrist before she began to bundle Clover's hair up into a rather high ponytail, "During your trial, you were a slight bit isolated. This was so you didn't get overwhelmed. Now, you'll be expected and encouraged to engage with the farm and those around you. This includes other ponies beyond the adorable Daydream. Following me so far?" She asked as she tugged the ribbon from her wrist and used it to secure Clover's new ponytail which Hayley was a bit jealous of. Even in a ponytail, Clover's mane fell to almost her butt.

Clover couldn't help but smile at the description that Hayley was providing her. She was meant to be a bigger part of the farm now. This was both exciting and a bit nerve-wracking to her. She however did turn and smile over her shoulder, stomping her bare foot once and wincing slightly as she slammed it into her floor. She needed to develop some restraint when she did that. But she'd gotten so used to the well-padded hooves that stomping hard to make noise wasn't much of a big deal.

Hayley stifled a bit of a giggle at Clover's wince, "I'll tell you a little secret. Mistress Aria used to be as bad for that as you. She even sprained her ankle once from stomping too hard. So please be careful, you've gotten injured enough as it is." Hayley huffed at her.

Clover huffed back at her but stomped once to agree.

It was good to be back.