Pony Tales - Clover - Day 27

It was fairly warm for a fall day. The sun was high in the sky, there wasn't much breeze so to speak and the temperature was likely the highest it was going to get before the cold of fall and winter truly set in. It was summer's last hurrah and what a day it was to leap back into the life of a pony. The water buckets were being changed constantly by trainers, ponies were being given heat breaks fairly often, with exception of the pair in the whip circle.

With the sun beating down on her, Clover had been quick to work up a sheen of sweat. Her once tidy ponytail fell in a blonde mess down her back and she panted heavily as Eden finally signaled for a small stop. Clover panted around her bit as a cloud of dust drifted across her form that she'd kicked up in her trot. They'd only gotten up to a trot at this point and already Clover's entire body was on fire. But not in a bad way. Her adrenaline was through the roof, her excitement was palpable, and even as she stood there, trying to catch her breath. She was ready for more.

"Need a water break, Pony?" Eden asked, panting a bit herself. She was a bit more of an active trainer than most. Following ponies step-by-step as they trained. So she too was suffering in her trainer's outfit in the hot sun.

Clover snorted and stomped into the dirt twice.

"Good. Because you're not getting one until we push you into a gallop and you make it so dusty in this ring we can barely see each other! Now, straighten up and to the ready position." Eden grinned.

Clover huffed playfully at Eden and stomped once. Trotting over to the position marked as 'A' in the circle by a small plastic marker on the ground. She turned to face clockwise and waited for the signal, she could hear her heartbeat echoing in her ears, and even now she still hadn't fully caught her breath, but that wouldn't stop her. She was a motivated pony, to say the least.

Eden stepped to the center, speaking as she walked, "We proceed past a trot this time. The third crack is gallop. And I better see you raising those knees. I don't want half-assed galloping. I want grace. I want elegance. And above all, speed. Understood, Clover?"

Clover stomped and dug her hoof into the dirt confidently.

"Atta girl..."

CRACK!

Clover took off at a walk. In the few hours her and Eden had been at this, she'd gone from a little unsure of her hooves to walking like she'd been previous to her departure. Her knees came up high, her back was straight and her chin was proud and up, even if she was squinting slightly from the stinging sweat that dripped in her eyes. She walked the circle once fully, Eden's eyes never once leaving her form. She didn't say anything which told Clover her form was correct.

CRACK!

Again came that sound and this time Clover pushed into a trot. In a trot, she was permitted to not bring her knees up as high. She leaned forwards just a little to compensate for the change of pace, her hooves making a satisfying 'clip-clop' on the hardened earth she was tearing up. Dust was beginning to rise now as she trotted around the circle several times. Again, no word came from Eden and this instilled a level of confidence. Confidence enough to suddenly stumble and catch herself.

Eden chuckled from her position at the center and grinned, "Too much confidence can be as much a bad thing as a good thing. Focus, Pony."

~That was stupid on my part. Sure was! But listen, focus!~

CRACK!

Here it was. The moment the pair had been working towards. The all-out gallop, or in some trainers terms, a lope. She dug her hooves into the earth and Ran full out. Keeping in mind her posture. Keeping in mind her movements...

...And immediately ate dirt. So many things to focus on. One step landed slightly in front of the other and before Clover knew it the dirt rushed up to greet her. She slid to a stop in the dirt, coughing and spluttering in the dust, a small scrape visible on her cheek.

Eden hurried over and crouch down, "Nice tumble. You still alive in there Clover?"

Clover eased open her eyes and sat up slowly, shaking dirt out of her mane and nodding.

~Of course I wipe out on my first go.~

Eden patted Clover on the shoulder and helped her to her feet, "Do you know what you did wrong there?"

Clover looked to the hoof prints in the dirt where she'd wiped out and then shrugged, tilting her head a little bit and looking at Eden.

Eden poked her in her forehead, "A ponies best friend and worst enemy is her brain. You went in thinking about everything, didn't you? Posture, movement...etcetera?"

Clover furrowed her brow and stomped once, huffing slightly around her bit as she took the reprieve to catch her breath a little bit.

"Exactly. Now I'll let you in on a secret. Some things, you don't need to think about. In fact, a lot of things as a pony don't need you to think. A gallop should just be a gallop. It's my job as a trainer to correct you, get you into the right posture, get you moving the right way. So next time, when you push into that gallop. Don't do what you think you should do. Do what comes naturally, and we will correct as we go. I remember struggling so much with that when I put on my first pair of hooves. Don't think. Just do." Eden clipped her crop to her waist and held the long whip in her right hand as she stepped back from Clover.

~Don't think. Just do. I think I can do that...~

Clover stomped a hoof once to show her understanding and without being prompted to, she walked over to the starting position. Ignoring the scrape on her cheek, ignoring the scrape on her shoulder, and raising her chin up proudly.

"Alright, Clover. One more time. Get it right and we can stop for a bit of a water break. Avoid wiping out and there's even a sour apple candy waiting for you. Ready, Pony?"

Clover drew in a deep breath and after a few seconds, she stomped her hoof.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

The three cracks of the whip came in quick sequence and Clover knew that usually meant left and so she immediately turned left to face the other direction.

Eden grinned and cracked the whip one more time, "Good. You're already differentiating the different strikes. Now go!"

CRACK!

Five steps into her walk and another crack of the whip followed pushing her into a trot. Clover did her best to simply let herself stop thinking about things. She just ran how it felt right and Eden, true to her word spoke and corrected.

"Chin up Clover. Relax into the trot. Keep those knees high, but not too high that you overbalance. Let's make some ballerina's jealous!"

Clover stifled a bit of a giggle at the woman's demeanor as she made the right corrections.

"See. Think less. Just be natural. You're holding your posture and moving right without even thinking about it. That's what we want our ponies here to do. To perform without thinking. To be champions without blinking. Now. One more time. Here we go Clover!"

CRACK!

Clover exploded into a gallop. But this time she didn't try to auto-correct herself. She just went into the run, running as her boots would allow and focusing on nothing but moving forward and following the curve of the circle. It certainly wasn't pretty, but she wasn't eating dirt. It was an incredible feeling, and the slight breeze from running felt good on her sweat-soaked body.

"Very good Clover! Now. Try not to step so heavily, we need your hooves to last more than a week. Be light on your feet, like a dancer. Relax your shoulders and roll them back."

Clover ran forwards. She hadn't noticed how heavy she was slamming her feet into the ground like she was angry at it. She did her best to bring it back, slowing her gallop ever-so-slightly and trying to not slam her hooves into the ground so heavily. Once she'd got that sorted she simply let it slip from her mind, relaxing into the movements and letting her shoulders lower and roll back, forcing her to stand a bit straighter.

"Alright Pony. Final bit. I know you're probably aching. I know you're hurting. But lift that chin and on my whip, break from the circle and jump the lone steeple to the left of the field. Take it in whatever way feels best to you and when you land, return to me and finish."

Eden knew Clover couldn't confirm much of what she was hearing. But she was confident that the pony understood.

~She wants me to jump the steeple.~ She stole a tiny side-long glance at the steeple in question. It was a pole about a foot off the ground held by two white-painted standards. She'd never done too much of a jump in her hooves before so a hint of nervousness bubbled up in her stomach at the idea of doing so. But when that crack of the whip came she turned slowly and adjusted her course, aiming for the center of the jump. She felt the ground beneath her hooves go from hardened earth to soft, plush grass as she raced towards the steeple.

Eden stood and watched as Clover approached the jump, appraising her approach. Watching how she shifted her form slightly on the approach.

The jump was ten feet away. Then five feet. Then two. She did the only thing that came natural, driving her hooves into the ground and pushing off as hard as she could, raising her hooves slightly in the air to make sure she didn't hit the pole, and for a moment there was just...freedom. Like the world was stopped at that moment.

~Just a pony. Jumping over an obstacle.~

It brought a slight smile to her lips and as she landed she managed to, without a stumble, catch herself and slow her pace. She didn't immediately return to Eden, instead pausing for a moment and standing and panting on the spot as she collected her faculties. She'd done it! She'd cleared the jump!

Eden glanced to the side at the form of Aria leaning against the fence enclosing the whip circle field. The woman had been there for a good ten minutes and Clover hadn't noticed. Aria cast a grin at Eden and nodded her approval. It would seem Clover was galloping back into being a pony with little effort. Aria watched as Clover finally straightened up and trotted over to Eden, dipping into a curtsy as she'd been taught.

Reaching out and running fingers over Clover's sweat-soaked mane, Eden would smile and look into Clover's eyes, "I think your audience approved of that display."

Clover tilted her head before Eden gave her chin a bit of push, directing her gaze to Aria smiling over at them. A pink flush immediately formed across Clover's cheeks. Someone had been watching, and it was Aria of all people. The woman didn't say anything as their eyes met, but she gave a small but-approving nod before waving a hand over her shoulder and walking off towards the barn.

Clover looked back to Eden.

"The fact that you didn't notice her. Means you were focusing, and I like that." Eden reached into a pocket, digging around for a moment before she produced a plastic-wrapped green candy which she unwrapped and pushed around Clover's bit into her mouth.

Sour apple candies. Clover's favorite and apparently one of the barn favorites too.

She clacked on it happily as Eden led her over to water buckets that had been filled not long ago. One bucket was labeled 'Clover' with a piece of duct tape on it. Eden chuckled, "Don't worry, we'll get you an official bucket soon." She said with a giggle as she undid Clover's bit and encouraged her to drink up.

...And this was just the beginning of Clover's first day back!