Pony Tales - Clover - Day 35

Part 41: Second Chances

By Firefly

Clover felt like eternity itself was passing her by while she stood outside Aria's office door, In reality, it was at best thirty seconds. She wondered who was going to answer after what she had witnessed outside. She heard shuffling inside the room, the jingle of something like ice in a glass, and then a voice, "Come in".

Clover drew in a deep breath and cautiously pushed the door open stepping inside. She found herself facing Hayley sitting in Aria's chair the one she had been in the day they'd first met. Clover tilted her head a little bit making Hayley stifle a small chuckle, "It is surprising to me as well my dear Clover. Now sit, we have a fair bit to discuss." She motioned to the empty chair across from her.

Clover moved forward, slowly easing down into the chair, making note of the file sitting in front of Hayley that had her name on it.

Hayley leaned back, clasping her fingers in front of her, "First things first. You're two minutes late..."

Clover opened her mouth to protest but Hayley held up a hand to stop her.

"...However. Your cute ass shows up in nothing but a towel. So I will forgive you those few minutes. I purposely gave you a relatively small timeframe in which to clean up so you didn't stink up 'my' office." Hayley cast a grin across the table, helping to alleviate the nerves bubbling around in Clover's stomach.

She leaned forward and flipped open the green folder, shuffling through the paperwork and pulling out the original contract Clover had signed.

"I'll be frank, what you did was incredibly hurtful. Not only to Aria but to every one of us close to her. The biggest shock is that this was also extremely out of character for you, a pony so full of kindness and smiles. Now that you have had some time to think about it, what do you think I want to hear from you?" Hayley asked, raising a well-plucked eyebrow at Clover.

~There's a lot I want to say..~

She searched her thoughts for a long moment, "I guess the most important part is that I'm sorry. It was immature and borne out of frustration with myself. I just... got so wrapped up in myself pushing forward in everything that when I couldn't get that one technique down, be the best, it just kind of bubbled over. None of those are excuses, however. My behavior is not excusable." Clover nodded as if assuring herself those were the words she wanted to go with.

Hayley stared right at her "You're correct. Your actions WERE inexcusable. However, I feel sufficient punishment for your actions has been rendered. Mare isolation as you are now painfully aware is not the most pleasant of experiences and I respect you for not safewording out of it, but let's be frank, there are clear relationships in this lifestyle, not just ponyplay. BDSM as a whole, is built on respect and trust. Both in one another and trusting others with your needs. This outburst of yours, only gets to happen once, well at least while I'm in charge." Hayley tugged a pen out of a little holder on the side of the desk and tapped it on the contract.

"However, second chances can be warranted. You're going to have to re-earn your place again. People will look at you differently, but given time and effort...I think you'll find yourself part of the stable again. Ultimately the choice will be yours. You can re-sign this contract, submit yourself to Tall Tails once more, and work extra hard to earn your place again. Or, you can collect your things, get off the property, and never set foot here again. The choice is yours." Hayley tossed the pen across the table to Clover who caught it deftly.

She looked at the contract for a long moment.

~Do I deserve to go back after what I did? That's the choice she's offering me here. To decide whether I deserve a second chance.~

Happy memories of her time at Tall Tails flashed through her head, bringing a small smile to her lips. Her successes, all her firsts, the sleepy days leaning on a trainer's leg as they worked other ponies. How could she just throw all that away?

Clover clicked the top of the pen and leaned down, scribbling her name a second time right below where she'd signed when she first arrived.

Hayley nodded, taking the contract and tucking it into the folder, she wandered over to the filing cabinet tucking it right beside another green folder with the nameTwilight, she muttered to herself 'I hope you know what you're letting yourself in for' as she brushed a finger over Twilight's file.

When she came back to the desk she looked across at Clover.

"Don't make me regret this decision. I like you, Clover, many of us do. We all get frustrated, and we all have our ups and downs. But it's what we do in those moments and afterward that matter most."

"I won't. I promise."

Hayley smiled, "Good girl. It's still early in the day, and I've arranged for all your tack to get a bit of a deep clean, so what to do with you is the question..."

Clover chewed her lip gently, letting Hayley mull things over. But that's when a question popped into her head.

"Hey...ehm. Did I walk by Miss Aria on the way in?"

A wry grin spread across Hayley's nude-painted lips, "No. It was not."

Clover tilted her head, she was one hundred percent sure it HAD been Aria.

"You walked by another pony, her name is Twilight. Mistress Aria has decided to go on.... holiday. Hence why I'm meeting with you in her stead."

It took her a minute to put the pieces together and the result she came to had her blinking at Hayley.

"Clover we all need to get back to our roots once in a while, you should understand this as well as any of us. Now run along to the barn. I will call ahead and make some arrangements for your arrival. There will be no training for you today, but that doesn't mean we can't check some monthly requirements off your list."

Clover nodded and climbed to her feet, letting out a small sigh, "Thank you, Hayley...You won't regret it."

Hayley narrowed her eyes, "That's Miss Hayley to you while I'm in charge. Also, you're right, I won't regret it, because you're not stupid enough to do what you did twice...right?"

Clover stomped once in response.

Hayley nodded, "Now off with you..."

The blonde turned and headed towards the door without further words, but was stopped at Hayley spoke off-hand.

"Oh. And you can leave that towel behind, Pony."

Clover froze in her tracks, feeling butterflies flit up in her stomach. The nudity part of things was NOT her strong suit. She shuffled her feet nervously, not turning around to face Hayley.

She felt the woman behind her, fingers hooking into the back of the towel, "Livestock, does not care who looks at it. You're a ponygirl. Elegant, Graceful, Beautiful. Eyes on you is a perk of the, let's call it, job description." She gave the towel a small tug and smiled when Clover let it slip from her form.

"Good girl. Now off with you!" She gave Clover's ass a sharp slap and sent her out the door, closing it and locking it behind the girl so she couldn't change her mind.

Clover stood stock-still outside the door after being sent out. If running here in a towel had been completely embarrassing, then this was completely humiliating. Like a walk of shame.

Clover let her eyes drift to a comforter on one of the lavish couches in the study, for a moment, she considered it. But then she decided against it, this had to be some sort of test...right?

She made her way out into the halls, her cheeks glowing bright pink as one of the maids eyed her up and down, and then dipped into a polite curtsy as she hurried by, Clover tried desperately to cover herself up, for once she was rather glad they kept her waxed as it made her hurried walk towards the barn a lot smoother.

By now the training fields were busy with a mixture of ponies, grooms, and trainers, Many eyes fell on her as she walked, and she felt like all of them were looking at her, all at the same time. Her chin was nearly pressed into her chest as her cheeks flushed bright red in embarrassment.

It was Christoph who broke the silence for her, he shattered the tension by sticking his fingers in his mouth and letting out a sheer whistle, "Looking good Clover!" He jeered at her playfully, bringing about a huff in his general direction. A few giggles erupted from about before everyone went back to their activities, giving Clover time to hurry her way into the barn.

Looking down as much as she could, she headed towards the barn quickly, she ran headlong into none other than the sandy-haired Veterinarian, Victoria.

"Whooooa, easy there ponygirl!" she said, pulling Clover into an inescapable hug as the girl ran into her.

Clover huffed, "Ehm...Sorry, Miss Victoria."

Victoria gave her a small squeeze and then released Clover, stepping back, "Nothing to worry about. I can see why you were in such a hurry...not all ponies are comfortable being exposed. However, it's quite useful for me as a vet and as it so happens I was heading out to look for you, so you ran into the right person!"

Clover looked up with those bright eyes of her, "For me?"

Victoria nodded, "Yes. You're due for an oral exam and a checkup. Things we are going to take care of before I hand you off to..."

Victoria lifted her clipboard and took a look at it, "Sunset, for what? I have no idea." She shrugged and wrapped an arm around Clover's shoulders.

"Come along then my dear, let's get you into the office before too many others get to appreciate that body of yours." She grinned a little bit and led Clover along into the vet's office to take care of her exam.

Two rooms down in the tack room Clover could hear some frustrated voices echoing through the closed door...