Part 7
I whistled to myself as I stood in the queue. Despite being back here for a while, I had never gone out into the town, I was either at Chloe's apartment or at Harriet's Stables. This morning, I woke up before my friend and decided to go to the local coffee shop to grab some food and a drink for breakfast. The events of yesterday landed me in good spirits, I felt like I accomplished something with Jade and started to strive into a new direction. Despite the small amount of time we spent doing it, I really enjoyed the idea of being a dressage pony.
My eyes travelled around the shop as the queue steadily got shorter. Pictures of the town throughout the years were hung onto the deep brown walls, people sat at the cubicles, either talking with a friend or staring at their computer screens.
The shop was new, and must have been built within the last few years as it was a clothing shop when I was last in the area. The town was littered with expensive clothing stores that no one went into because of the outrageous prices, which was probably the reason why they had to close. Half of the high street was now closed down shops, a far cry from the busy street I used to know.
Another person left the queue and I walked forward in unison with the rest of the people waiting. The person in front of me was now ordering, she was a young woman around the age I was and had energy in her voice despite the early morning.
If there were more people like her around when I was here before, maybe I would have stayed. One of the contributing factors to me leaving was no one around who was my age or shared the same interest. Apart from Chloe, most of the people I knew growing up had left the moment they could and I must admit, I wanted to join them.
"Would you like anything else?" The person behind the counter asked the lady in front of me.
It took a while, but my zoning out had worn off and I was more aware of the people around me. My brain knew I was next to have my order taken and probably kicked me out of my thoughts for me to concentrate.
"No, thank you… that is everything," she replied.
"No problem at all, what would you like?"
I looked up, realising the woman behind the counter had both started the order for the lady in front of me and wanted to take my order as well.
"Oh, Can I have two coffees and two croissants, please?" I asked, struggling to think of what Chloe would like to have this morning.
"No problem."
The lady in front took notice and turned around to take a quick glance. Usually I would have kept my head down but I decided to look up at the woman and smile at her, she smiled in return.
She was a cute, young woman around the same age as me, her long brown hair hung down her shoulders and her eyes looked at me through a pair of glasses, it took me a moment to realise the pair did not have any glass in the frames.
As soon as the smiles wore off, we went back to minding our own business. It was the mutual understanding you had with a stranger, where you are both in the exact situation, however; you knew nothing about the other person.
We were both young people, getting coffees in a small shop in the early morning.
Something continued to gnaw at me, the feeling that something was familiar about the girl without me actually knowing her personally, maybe she reminded me of someone else? Perhaps having the same features or characteristics as someone close to me. She seemed similar to Chloe in a few ways, however this girl's hair was a lighter shade of brown, her figure as slim and they were similar heights, but her posture gave off a more timid vibe than my friend; who was already a rather shy person.
I didn't have much time left as the barista behind the counter had almost finished with the woman's coffee and I didn't want the woman to leave before I realised where I knew her from… or atleast where I thought I knew her from, otherwise it will be the only thing on my mind all day and would drive me crazy.
"Here you go" the lady behind the counter finally placed the lid onto the coffee cup before it exchanged hands and the woman turned to leave, giving me a soft smile as she turned and passed me.
It suddenly hit me.
"Lily?!" I asked, unable to hide the shocked tone in my voice.
It took my brain the longest time to process, but now I saw it clear as day, without the latex hood around her head, without the gag between her lips, this girl had the small amount of human features I saw in the emerald pony. Her eyes seemed to grow much wider than I could have imagined and her lips pursed, her eyes quickly flicked over my face and body, trying as fast as she could to understand who the stranger was in front of her. So far, I was just a stranger who somehow knew her name.
She finally relaxed and I heard her voice for the first time, "He-Heather?"
Her voice was just as timid as her frame, it was really easy on the ears and almost bounced through the air, despite her nervous tone.
We continued to stare at each other for what felt like hours, before it became too much for the young woman and she almost ran out of the building, leaving me to stand alone at the front of the queue.
It was the most confusing feeling, we spent an entire night holding each other intimately, I woke up with my head on her warm stomach and yet, we were practically strangers.
"Here you go!" my order of two coffees and two croissants landed on the counter.
"I'm home!" I yelled through the apartment as I steadily pushed my body through the front door.
I had no reply from the rest of my temporary home.
"…Chloe?"
I glanced over the living room, where the takeout was still on the table from the day before and none of the chairs or the sofa showed any signs of being sat on recently. I turned to the short corridor where her room and mine sat opposite each other, my door was wide open and my friend's was closed.
I knocked a few times before opening the door, Chloe was still in bed with the covers over her entire body, I placed the coffee and food on her bedside cabinet and shook her arm. The lump under the blanket moved slightly before Chloe's face emerged from underneath. Her eyes were straining to see in the bright light in comparison to the dark cave it was probably used to.
"You okay? I was expecting you up sooner," I asked, placing myself on the bed next to her.
She moaned to herself as she sat herself up, "God, I feel terrible. Don't think that takeout was a good idea."
"Here, have some coffee, I also got you a bite to eat."
Chloe took a sip before groaning once more, "The room is spinning."
"Do… Do you think you are ill?"
"No, I just need a minute."
I placed my hand on her head, "You are very warm and you look like crap."
"Thank you, you are so nice." She took another sip.
"I mean it, I don't think it's the food. You genuinely look sick."
"I have no time to be sick, give me another few minutes and I'll be right with you."
"Chloe, rest. I'll go in your place."
"Heather, no. It's your day off, you rest."
"It's fine, I'm more than happy to do it."
Chloe drank more, looking like she was feeling sorry for herself, "I've never had a sick day at Harriet's."
"I can imagine, It's okay to take one."
"Thank you."
I smiled and grabbed my coffee, "I-I saw Lily today."
Chloe's eyes widened, "You… you went down to the stables already?"
"No, she was at the coffee shop, in her normal clothes."
"…oh."
"She's very pretty… you have good taste."
"Oh, stop!" She giggled softly.
"Stay here, have some rest and don't worry about a thing. Hell, I'll even pick up dinner tonight."
"Oh, no. Not more takeout please," she groaned.
"We'll figure something out."
She repeated herself from before, "Thank you."
The cool air running through my hair felt amazing as my motorbike flew down the country roads. This was the first time I was on my bike since I had arrived at the town and I didn't realise how much I had missed it. The machine roared as I turned off the road and eventually came up to the large gate that held Harriet's Stables behind it. I clicked the small remote that Chloe gave me and the gate grumbled to life as it slowly opened, allowing me to enter the property.
I decided to turn the engine off once I got past the gate and walked alongside the bike into the main square; I didn't want to cause a noise so close to the ponygirls who were probably still waking up.
The square was empty but the stables were only half closed with the bottom half being locked and the top open, allowing the girls behind them to get some fresh air. From what I could see, Lily, Saffron and Kathia were all in their respective areas and the sound of me dragging the large machine had quickly caught their attention.
There was no sign of Harriet or Jade, despite Kathia and Saffron showing interest that I was in the square, I noticed Lily had disappeared from the door frame.
I nodded in their direction before walking to the entrance of Harriet's house and knocking on the door. There was still a few minutes before the stables opened and it wasn't uncommon for the square to be empty until then, however, I felt the need to check up on Harriet and make sure she wasn't asleep again, I doubt it was something she did often, but it was just to ease my mind.
I was shocked to see the door open quickly after my knocks and Beth being the woman to open it.
"Well, hello there stranger," Beth smiled as her eyes looked me up and down.
"Stranger? It hasn't been that long since we had seen each other" I laughed, the nice memory of her taking me and the dark skinned pony to the tree was still fresh in my mind.
Beth pretended to think, "I believe I saw the pony Heather the other day, but it's been a while since I've seen the human Heather."
"Ah, my apologies."
"Well, come on in, Harriet is in the other room… I assume she was the person you came to see."
"Who's that?" I heard Harriet's voice call from her living room.
I followed my trainer further into the house to find Harriet sitting on her sofa, a chair opposite her and two empty cups between them.
"Oh, sorry. Did I disturb you two?" I apologised.
"No, nonsense, you didn't disturb anything" Beth wrapped her hands over my shoulders.
"What's the matter? It's your day off, isn't it?" Harriet asked, a layer of worry travelled over her face.
"Chloe is ill, she wasn't looking too great this morning, so I decided to come instead," I said, for some reason I felt nervous, as if I was overstepping my position.
"I'm sorry to hear that she is ill, but you didn't have to come in, I'm sure Jade could have managed on her own."
For some reason, hearing Jade's name made me even more nervous. The memories of yesterday were still clear in my mind and I felt that we both got much closer due to the events, but that was the ponygirl Heather, I didn't know how to interact with her in my human form.
"Thank you for telling us," The stable owner continued, "But why don't you head home and take care of Chloe, she hasn't missed a day of work yet, so she must really be ill."
"How about she stays for a while? Only a few hours?" Beth said as her hands began to rub my shoulders faster, "She doesn't get to see the human side of the business, so maybe it will be a learning experience for her?"
I chuckled nervously, it was odd that I was more comfortable in this area when I'm locked in the outfit, even though I'm practically naked with everything on show, the layer of latex and the gag in place made it feel as if I had protection from the outside world. Here, fully dressed in front of the two older women, I felt more naked and exposed.
"You don't have to stay if you don't want to," Harriet stated, giving into her friend, "Beth is right, it would be good for you to see both sides."
"…Okay, I'll stay for a bit," I agreed.
Beth finally let go of me, "Perfect, I'll keep you company for the day! It's either stay here or go home and watch tv… so far this place has been much more entertaining."
"That's fine" The stable owner tried to calm her friend down from her sudden high, "But only until midday, you should go home after that, Harriet. I don't like the idea of Chloe being alone, agreed?"
I nodded, "Agreed.”
The cool morning air hit us again as me and Beth walked across the square, my trainer's hand was kept on the small of my back the entire time, once we had reached the stables, I noticed Abigail had also joined the group of girls, placed in her own stall and staring out of the hatch, she seemed to be happy seeing me walk up to her, trying her best to clap her hooves together.
"Okay, girls! Looks like we have Heather here with us for the morning!" Beth stated to the group, "She's helping out instead of Chloe, so please be careful with her."
An echo of horse snorts filled the air as the women all 'cheered' at the news of me being there. Despite being with the girls many times before, it was odd standing in front of them in my civilian clothes, it was nice seeing them so supportive of my presence but I wasn't confident standing in front of them; with all their eyes on me.
"Alright, girls seem to be happy!" Beth continued, "Okay, Heather, if you open up Abigail's and Kathia's stables, I'll open Lily's and Saffron's."
"Okay," I nodded.
Abigail pounded her hooves onto the bottom door, almost seemingly eager to be let out, I laughed with the nerves clear in my voice as I unlatched the door and swung it open. To my surprise, instead of running out of the room as I thought she was going to, the ruby red pony wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into a tight but loving hug.
I forgot she was the more motherly out of all the animals. I wrapped my arms around her in return with the tips of my fingers running through the back of her stomach harness, the urge for them to go lower and over her plump butt burned in my mind.
"This is nice, but I need to unlock Kathia's stable" I moaned between her bound breasts.
I let my arms drop back to my sides and expected for her grip to ease, but they didn't, she continued to hold me close and even going as far to place her head on top of mine.
I began to guess what got into the tall creature, but I was distracted by the entrance of the green girl. She stood to the side of Abigail and looked like she was struggling with her thoughts once more, as if she wanted to join in with the hug, but something was stopping her.
More hooves wrapped around me, this time around my stomach. I pulled my head away from the red girl's chest to see Saffron was behind me, hugging me tightly but separately from Abigail's embrace.
"Guys, this is really sweet, but is it necessary?"
Another set of hooves scraped against me, this time it was Kathia joining in, I didn't have to look at her but her hugs were very specific, Kathia would always wrap her arms around your shoulders but lean herself fully into you, usually ending with her head on your shoulders and a nice sigh escaping her gag.
"Kathia, it's nice to see you too."
That's when Lily finally decided to dive in. With my head in Abigail's bust, Saffron was still holding me from behind, Kathia was resting on my left, giving Lily the entire of my right side to be included. As the Emerald girl embraced me in her arms, I felt odd. I was literally surrounded by girls who I was very close with: Saffron, Abigail and Lily were all girls I had now met outside of these stables, the two taller girls I had more interactions with than Lily.
Kathia was the one girl I had not met outside of the costume, I knew nothing about her personality apart from her fondness of cuddles… I didn't even know what she sounded like.
Lily, I had multiple questions for her, I could see how much it pained Chloe for her being distant, she was even distant and awkward around me.
Whilst I hadn't spoken to Saffron much outside of work, her attitude had completely changed since that time with her and Beth.
Despite being in different places with all of them, it was still nice being held by all four women.
"Are you girls ready?" Beth interrupted the moment between us all.
"Huh? Ready for what?" I murmured.
The room suddenly went dark, Beth must have pushed the stable door closed.
"Beth!" I screamed.
The hooves stopped hugging and instead moved around my body, Saffron's hug around my stomach began dragging upwards, exposing my stomach, Abigail's hooves helped her. Kathia's and Lily's hooves pulled at my sides, dragging my leggings down.
"Wha-What the hell is happening?" I screamed into the darkness.
Saffron quickly got the shirt off me as my leggings reached the floor, somehow in the struggle, my boots were also knocked off. I struggled as I was completely confused as to what was happening. My body fell to the cushioned floor as the door was reopened partially and the four ponies escaped.
As they scraped through, the room was once again plunged into darkness. I struggled to my feet and ran towards the door, once I pushed it open I fell to my knees as the cool air hit my more exposed body.
My eyes scanned the square to see Kathia running out towards the fields at the bottom of the property, my boots clearly in her hands.
"Kathia…KATHIA!" I screamed.
I glanced down… I was completely naked.
"Shit!" I screamed as I covered my exposed body, "Kathia!… Lily!… Abigail!… Fuck, Saffron!… Come back here!"
I looked behind at the now empty stable behind me, there were no signs of my clothes behind me.
With one hand covering my vagina and the other covering my breasts, I ran across the square back to Harriet's house.
First I tried the door handle, it was locked. Then I tried knocking on the door, but no one came to answer it. I even ran to one of the windows that lead to the living room and it was clear it was empty, Harriet must have gone to the guest-house.
I swore once again, I didn't have time to run all the way to the house in her garden, a part of me didn't want to see anyone in this state.
I heard the large gate open, it was opening time at the stable, as if I didn't have the worry of being seen naked by one of the other ponies or Beth or Jade, I now could have a random stranger walk into the square and see my exposed form.
I once again looked around, the storage cupboard was the only place I could think of going. I ran back across the square and practically jumped into the room, closing the wooden door behind me.
I didn't know what was happening, a moment ago I was getting excited about spending the morning with the ponies, the next I was stripped of my clothes and left alone in the darkness.
As I backed myself into the room, a crate caught my eye, the crate that held my pony outfit. It wasn't the best solution and I wasn't sure I could put the entire outfit on myself, but it was better than being nude.
I dragged the crate off the shelf and placed it on the ground, but the sound of metal clicking on the front of the box made my heart drop… it was padlocked.
"Shit!" I screamed at myself.
What other choice did I have now? I had nothing to cover myself with, maybe no one was in yet? Kathia didn't look like she ran too fast, maybe I could catch up with her and force her to help me get the rest of the outfit… It wasn't a good plan but it was better than nothing.
I worked up the courage to run back outside, I pushed against the wooden door and the bright light of the sun crept into the room. As soon as the cool air hit my skin once more, I immediately regretted my decision.
I yelped, once again placing my arms over my delicate areas.
I opened the door to see Jade and James walking towards the storage room, it was clear the two were in the middle of one of their usual arguments. Jade's eyes opened up wide as she saw me, James' did too but he immediately turned away, trying to shade his eyes away from me. I wanted to scream in embarrassment.
"Heather?" Jade asked, looking completely confused at my situation.
I wanted to cry, "I'm sorry! The girls took my clothes. Sorry, Jade… Sorry, James."
"It's okay," James continued to hold his hand over his eyes.
Jade took initiative and dragged me back into the storage room. She slammed the door shut and hugged me. I was taken back, the girl who used to scowl at me all the time was now trying to protect me with a hug.
"I'm sorry!" I repeated myself.
"It's okay."
"I was in the stable with the ponies, then suddenly the door closed and they all took my clothes… how did they even do that?! They have hooves, not fingers?!" I screamed in my hysterical state.
"It's okay… it's okay."
"Now James has seen me like this, how am I ever supposed to talk to him ever again… he saw everything!"
"If it makes you feel better, the outfits don't exactly hide anything, I think he's seen everyone naked in one way or another."
"Why? Why did they do that? I thought they were my friends?"
"They are, the girls care about you a lot."
The hug finally ended and Jade continued with a question, "Why are you here today, anyways?"
"Oh, Chloe is sick."
"Is she okay?"
"She'll be fine, just a bug, but I decided to come down in her place."
"So… you are working as a stablehand?"
"Yeah… I guess so."
Jade chuckled, she partially turned away from me with her hand over her mouth, trying to control herself.
"What? What's the matter?" I was still standing naked in front of the clothed woman.
"It's nothing… it's just…" Jade continued to chuckle.
"Spit it out!"
"It's an initiation, it's like a right of passage for the workers here to go through this."
"What?! But I'm a pony, I'm only working temporarily."
"It doesn't matter, everyone went through the same thing, it happened to me and the same with Chloe."
"She never mentioned that."
"Oh, it did. I was here when it happened."
"So, what happens now?"
"The girls have hidden your clothes around the property, you have to go around and find them."
"What?! All my clothes are just scattered around? My bra just left somewhere, my panties probably hanging from a tree."
"The girls hide them well, they aren't in the open… but, it will be tough to find all your clothes. Chloe really struggled to find any of her clothes, she drove home in just her jeans and a jacket I leant her."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I would lend you my jacket now but it's short and not going to cover up anything."
"Can I borrow it for a bit? I'll run around now and try to find everything, also give me a chance to hit any of the ponies I see."
"Umm… that's not a good idea, there were customers waiting at the door when I got in. So, it's pretty busy out there and someone will definitely see you."
"Oh, shit!"
"I have an idea, you walking around naked would draw attention." Jade had a slight smile as she spoke, "However, no one would pay too much attention to a ponygirl walking around."
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking."
"Okay, I'll help you get into your suit and if I see any of your delicates hanging around, I will be sure to grab them."
"Okay."
Jade got out her set of keys and unlocked the crate. She placed each part of my suit delicately on the floor until she got out the familiar latex suit. She stood up and opened the suit up, allowing me to step into it.
I finally let my arms down, I've done this before with Harriet, Beth and Chloe, it was surprisingly comfortable being dressed by someone. Even though Jade had never seen me naked before today, earlier I was embarrassed with the situation but the process of being dressed was being placed into a neutral state. I had complete trust in whoever was dressing me, as if they were the one in control, placing me into my bound form.
I smiled to myself, it was odd that I had never actually spoken to Jade, despite enjoying the day before, no words had left my lips that she had heard. This was the first time we had a conversation… and I was completely naked for it.
By this time, Jade was pulling the outfit over my torso, helping my hands through the sleeves.
I looked at her, catching a glance from her at the same time.
"Thank you," I smiled at her.
A grin appeared on her face, "What for?"
"For helping me."
"It's okay, the same thing happened to me too, so I know how embarrassing it is."
"I also wanted to thank you… for yesterday."
"What? Why?"
"It was… nice, you were open with me and because of you, I tried dressage for the first time and I really enjoyed it… I want to try it more often."
Jade's grin expanded to a smile, "Freak!"
I exploded in laughter, placing my hands over my face, Jade joined in with the laughter as she tightened the suit at the back.
She continued, "I…I liked it too."
"Thank you for telling me that."
"Maybe we can do some more? If you find your clothes quickly and the school is free?"
"That sounds nice."
Jade opened the door, pulling me into the outside world, bound in my familiar form. It was an odd feeling that being locked into a tight-fitting latex outfit would have been more accepted than being completely naked. Jade went all out with the outfit, not forgetting to place one thing on me. I probably didn't need the gag on, or the hooved hands but Jade made sure they were locked on anyways.
She turned around, giving me a look up and down with a soft smile spread across her face.
"Okay, your best bet would be to look around the fields, I don't think the ponies would have ventured any further than that. I need to clean out the stables, but I will keep an eye out around here in case any of them came back to hide anything."
I nodded, now that I lost my freedom, that was the only thing I could do.
I trotted away from the stable and headed towards the entrance to the lower fields. The moment I turned the corner, I was glad that Jade had locked me up. The first thing I saw was Kathia on the step to one of the huts, with an older woman in her arms. The woman seemed in a completely different world with the purple creature in her arms, but it didn't look like it would take much to catch her attention.
The moment Kathia saw me, I noticed the laughter in her eyes, it probably didn't shock her that I resorted to being locked in the ponysuit to get around.
Her stare didn't last long, as the girl soon got lost in the world of cuddles with the woman, it seemed like hugging was a different experience to Kathia than it was to the rest of us, to her, it looked like she went to a completely different world when she is in full embrace with someone, as if it was a drug to her.
I continued walking along, glancing into the open door of the hut… Nope, no underwear, leggings or shirt… nothing.
I continued further down, making sure to glance in the direction of the main gate. I doubted any of the ponies would place my delicates anywhere a client could have seen them.
That's when I noticed him, James. Walking back towards the square with a wheelbarrow of his tools, the moment he saw me his cheeks turned red and he pretended not to see me, I was the exact same; feeling the burning heat of my cheeks against the harness. He made sure to move past me quickly, saying a quick 'Hi' as he travelled past.
The embarrassment only stayed for so long as I realised I could have had a proper conversation with the young man, if the ponies didn't take my clothes, I would still be human Heather and would be able to finally speak with him.
I snorted in frustration.
Even if I was able to talk to him, what would I say? Would I really have the courage to talk to someone that good looking? Sure, I spent a bit of time with him in my pony form, but being in my normal clothes was a completely different step. Being bound and gagged allowed me to not have to speak to him using words, nodding and using motion was much easier than forming words in my head.
I was getting distracted, so I continued looking around the field. Abigail was in one of the paddocks with a client, Lily and Saffron were nowhere to be seen, but I saw one of the other huts was locked and assumed one of them was in there with a client too.
I could not see a single piece of my clothing anywhere from where I was standing at the top of the field, I knew I wasn't going to find them all at once but a single clue from here would have helped. Jade was right, the girls most likely stored them in some hard to reach areas.
I started by walking around the huts, as the wooden structures were on stilts, I made sure to look in the space between the ground of the floor of the huts… nothing.
I walked down to the paddocks, looking at the fence that divided each section and still nothing.
I managed to catch Abigail's eye as she skipped around with her client, finally embracing them in a hug. Despite spotting me, she quickly ignored me and got comfortable with her friend, ending on a cuddle in the grass.
I doubted the girls would have gone past the bottom of the fields, even though Saffron and I were taken past that point with Beth, it still seemed like a restricted area to the rest of the ponies, with that thought in mind, the only other place would be the school.
I took a few steps down the field until the school came to view. So far, I had multiple memories with the place, Beth training me and more recently, learning dressage with Jade. At this moment in time, none of those came to mind as I frantically scanned the area… still nothing.
I clocked two people, Beth and Lily both occupied the space. The emerald pony was trotting around the entirety of the school as Beth stood in the middle watching her, it was reminiscent of when I was being trained.
I helped myself into the school and dragged my feet to the trainer. I couldn't talk with her but I made sure she was aware of how angry I was.
As soon as the trainer noticed me, a large grin stretched across her face, I walked up to her with my hands on my hips and placed my hooved hand on her chest as if prodding her, if I wasn't gagged, I would be yelling at the older woman. Despite my clear emotion, her large grin remained, it was partially annoying to see her so happy at the situation.
"Awww, this is the Heather I know." She placed both of her hands on my shoulders, "I'm sorry, honey. Did Jade help you get the suit on?"
Even though I was angry, it frustrated me that I couldn't vent to the woman with the gag in my mouth, instead, I let out a long sigh and nodded my head.
"Baby, come here!" She enveloped me in a large hug.
That's when I noticed a piece of clothing hanging out of her shirt, between her breasts. I held the woman back and pointed at her boobs with my hoof. She looked down and continued the smile and waited a moment before pulling out my leggings out of her bra.
"That's the only piece I have, I'm not sure where the rest are."
The trainer must have noticed my deflated look, it felt like I was running around frantically to find the rest of my clothing and the only piece I could find so far were the leggings. She placed her hand on my arm and rubbed it gently before placing the pair of leggings on my forearm.
By this time, Lily walked over to join in the conversation, I wanted to keep my distance from her but at the same time keep in Beth's company. Yes, they were both partly to blame for my recent circumstances, but Beth didn't force me out of my clothes.
Lily placed a hoof on my other shoulder, mimicking what the trainer was doing. The first instinct was to push her away, but as I looked up into the emerald pony's eyes; I could see they were filled with guilt.
I only then noticed Lily was pointing to something with her other hoof, I followed to where she was 'pointing' to and noticed a pair of white panties caught on the top of a bush that surrounded the property. The bush was high enough that it stopped any of the neighbouring fields from seeing into it.
My heart dropped as I noticed my underwear was at the very top, way out of reach for anyone to get it, even if I stood on Beth's shoulders, it would still be a few inches away.
"Lily's sorry," Beth said in a quiet tone.
Lily nodded.
Beth continued, "She was going to place it near the bush, but the wind grabbed it and took it much further up than she anticipated".
I sighed behind my gag, placing my bound hands at my hips whilst I looked at my underwear flapping in the wind, it didn't take too long until the wind completely took it off the bush. Within seconds, Me, Lily and Beth were all looking up to the sky as my panties flew into the distance.
"Well… they are gone, sorry Heather," Beth turned to me.
I huffed again, no matter what I was going home with no underwear now.
Despite the initial laughter from the two women, they did try and help me retrieve the rest of my clothing. We searched through the entirety of the property and didn't find anything, with each passing second, Lily became more and more sorry that she had lost my underwear. We searched the bottom fields, all the paddocks, the private huts and even went around the large gate at the entrance but not a single item of clothing was found.
For a group of helplessly bound creatures, they did surprisingly well at hiding my outfit. Beth, Lily and I returned back to the square to continue the search, but I was defeated. I knew I was going back home with only my leggings to cover myself.
I dragged myself back to the stables, the loud clomping of my hooves dragged across the concrete. Jade met us outside the storage room, as she noticed my defeated look, she walked up to me to embrace me in her arms. It was odd seeing her so polite and caring, a complete contrast to the Jane I had met when I began.
"Did you not find anything?" She asked the older woman.
"No, all we found were her leggings," Beth held them up to show her, "We checked everywhere but the girls hid them well. I'm going to let Heather go home for today, Harriet didn't want her staying too long."
Jade unbuttoned her jacket and took it off, giving the piece of clothing to the older woman, "Here, Heather can borrow this to get home in. I'll see if I can find anymore whilst I'm doing my jobs."
It felt odd the two women were talking about me as if I wasn't there, but to them I was just a horse in my latex outfit, I was so thankful to Jade for lending me her jacket that I went in for a second hug, she reacted to it in a more awkward way than the first hug we had, but I couldn't give her my gratitude in any other way.
"C'mon, Heather," Beth almost had to pull me away from the dark haired girl, "Let Jade get back to work."
Jade chuckled softly as our bodies left each other. My heavy footsteps continued to echo through the square, which was amplified with Lily by my side. I would have thought the emerald girl would have taken her place by the fountain, or get snatched up by one of the visitors, but she followed me and Beth into my own stable, standing awkwardly in the corner as the mature woman placed the clothes over her shoulder and used her free hands to unbuckle the harness.
"Chloe is lucky to have you to look after her" She hummed in my ear, "I remember the time you thought you were a burden on your friend, do you feel any different now about it?"
She undid the last buckle and pulled the entire head harness away from my face, a small string of saliva was caught between my mouth and its gag as it was pulled from me.
I took a moment to clear my throat before talking, "I feel better about it, but I still think she deserves better."
Despite Beth making me feel better, I still thought I was a burden on my friend, as if I uprooted her entire life to be with her. She had done so much for me and for the stables and never asked for anything in return.
I watched Lily as she turned her head as me and the older woman talked. It felt unfair that I had seen the beautiful woman without her harnesses or latex suit on… I even heard her voice too, something Chloe never managed in the year she had been working here.
I felt for Chloe, she deserved so much more than what she already had, she welcomed me into her home, she worked hard and hardly ever took any time off, even having a sick day was torture for her as she loved spending time with the ponygirls. I knew she cared for the emerald girl more than she was letting on, not being able to interact with her outside of the costume was deeply hurting her, I needed to help make things right for her.
"Lily?" I asked.
She stopped watching me getting undressed as her eyes connected with mine, even behind the head harness and gag, I could tell I had the young woman's attention.
I suddenly felt heavier than before, knowing what I was going to say next would completely change the relationship between the two. It wasn't my place to say anything, but who would speak up between the two of them?
"Chloe… likes you…" My mouth turned dry, "She really likes you and she is hurting that she cannot talk to you. I know there is a rule about not seeing each other outside of the stables, but I can tell that it is tearing her up inside."
Beth stopped undoing my outfit. By this time she had removed the hand hooves, the stomach harness and began to unzip the back of the latex suit. Her eyes went between me and the green pony, expecting something to happen.
"Please, can you just say something to her? Just one sentence?"
Lily's eyes flashed as I admitted my friend's biggest secret and the look of curiosity faded as her expression went completely blank. Beth joined me as we watched the girl's confidence completely disappear with her bound hands covering the bottom of her face and her hooved feet turn inwards. She looked as if she wanted the floor to completely swallow her up.
"S-she really is in pain," I continued the one sided conversation, "I wouldn't say otherwise, I know you wouldn't want to break the rules."
"I… I didn't know that was a rule?" Beth added in a whisper.
Lily continued to think, I could tell the mental struggle that was waging war in her mind. Her eyes dotted across the floor before meeting with Beth, it was almost scary to see the girl so torn with herself, as if both sides of her brain were fighting different sides.
As her eyes locked with the older woman, the war in her brain stopped and her body calmed.
In complete silence, the emerald girl pointed to her gag with her bound hands, clearly telling Beth that she wanted it removed.
Beth, who was shocked by the young woman's body language, swiftly moved across the room towards her. With a few adjustments, the gag came away from her mouth in the same fashion mine did earlier.
Even with the head harness in place, I was still shocked by how beautiful Lily was, her large eyes were the most prominent part of her, along with a small, curvy nose and a small but full mouth; she almost looked like a human porcelain doll.
Her tongue separated her lips for a brief moment, licking them before going back into her mouth, she still took a moment to fill the room with uncomfortable silence before breaking it with a single sentence.
"What shall we do?" she asked.
I didn't expect anything else from her, but it was still weird that I was talking to her. Before now, she was always gagged in my presence and this morning she left quickly once she realised it was me behind her. Now, she was engaging me in conversation, person to person.
"I… Umm…" Now I was the one filling the room with silence.
Both Beth and Lily were now staring at me.
"Can you come with me?" I asked Lily, "Chloe would probably feel much better if you were there by her side."
"That's probably not a good idea," Beth interrupted, "Today is a busy day already and it's still the morning, Harriet wouldn't be pleased if Lily went home early."
"Ah, that's annoying." I returned to my thoughts, "Ah! I got it! Beth? Can you grab my phone from my bike? I have an idea."
"I'm all over it!" The mature woman suddenly got a burst of energy and ran out of the stable, it seemed that she was just as invested in this situation as me and Lily were.
Even with the gag out of her mouth, Lily remained silent. The war was over behind the young woman's eyes, but it was clear she was still doubting something. Was I wrong for asking this of her? Should I have kept out of the relationship?
"Do… Do you like Chloe?" my voice broke as I asked the question.
"Yeah," She was short with her answer.
"Like… like her?"
"What?"
"Chloe likes you alot, do… you feel the same way?"
"I… I don't know," She turned herself away slightly, "I'm not sure I'm into girls."
"Oh…"
"Chloe… She's on my mind a lot."
"Yeah?"
"More often than I think about anyone else."
"Chloe's the exact same, I think you two have more in common than you realise."
"Does she… like girls?"
"She doesn't know, but you are on her mind a lot… more than a lot actually."
Lily smiled as her face went red, she continued to stand with her body turned to the door, as if waiting for Beth to return with my phone.
I continued, "I think I see what Chloe likes in you?"
"Hmm?"
"Well, you are beautiful, you seem smart and very caring. You were the first ponygirl she saw here and it was because of you that she stayed and got the job here."
She smiled again, but remained silent.
"I feel as if I should apologise" Beth stated as she walked behind me.
We walked to my bike, my body only covered with Jade's jacket and my pair of leggings. I felt super conscious that a lot of my body was on show as a keen eye would be able to see through the thin material that covered my legs.
"Apologise?" I asked, "For what?"
"Well, I have a feeling I know where the rule where two people cannot date came from."
"I've been told two ponygirls here started dating, but it was a disaster when they broke up and it affected everyone so much that the entire business almost died."
"Yeah, that is true… it wasn't pretty."
"Why do you feel like you should apologise?"
"Can you keep a secret?"
"Of course."
"You know that I was one of the original ponygirls?"
"Wait? It was you?"
The older woman nodded, her stare went to the large house that sat against the stables, "However, it wasn't another ponygirl I fell in love with."
"Who was it?"
Just Beth's look answered my question. I travelled along her gaze to see her looking at the big house in front of us, the house that Harriet owned.
"I had never loved anyone as much as her, it was pure, contagious love. It was an addiction just to be in her presence."
"You and Harriet?"
She nodded, "We got together before she decided to use her properties for ponyplay. I was up for the idea of being one of the ponies and it was nice for the first few months. Wearing that outfit and cuddling up to the visitors was almost as addictive as being in love with her and when I wasn't in the suit, I began training the new ponies."
"What happened?"
"We encountered many problems that ended our relationship. I was only supposed to be a pony temporarily, until we got some new blood in, but I loved it so much that I didn't want to stop. I also had some ideas of expanding the stables to include other fetishes and fantasies… Harriet wouldn't hear it and she began to get jealous of all the visitors that came to see me. As our relationship got strained, I focused more and more on receiving affection from others and it completely killed the romance between us."
"I'm really sorry to hear that."
"It's okay. We took a long break apart from each other, Harriet asked me to come back as I was good at training the newcomers and we remained as friends, so it wasn't too bad in the end."
I glanced over at the green pony, after our time in my stable, she returned back to her position on the fountain, almost falling asleep whilst taking in the early afternoon sun. What would happen if the rule wasn't in place? Would Lily and Chloe break up like the stable owner and the trainer? Would it affect everyone in the same way?
I knew deep down it was the right thing to do, most days I've been here, I've seen Chloe's heart break in silence as she couldn't get closer to the girl that she liked and I couldn't bear it any longer, she deserved better.
"Beth… thank you for telling me," I wrapped my arms around the older lady before jumping onto the bike.
The best thing about hugging Beth is that she will always hug you back in the same way, you hug her lightly, she does the same, if you hugged her passionately, she would treat you in a similar way.
It made you feel as loved as you loved her and it always made me feel close to her.
I nodded to her as the bike roared to life, turning the machine around, I waved goodbye to Beth and I watched Jade and James have an argument outside the gates, stopping momentarily to give me a wave back. Within seconds, I was out of the stables on onto the road, with the town steadily approaching me.
Although I was happy with the events that happened today, I wished they turned out differently. I wanted to see what it was like to look after the ponies, to be a human above them. Even though I had a conversation with Jade, I wished I could have spoken to her more, spending the day as a human to find her interests outside of looking after the ponies.
I wished I could have spoken to James, it was a silly crush but one conversation with the young man would have steadied my nerves around him.
If I thought for a second, I would have also asked Beth about that latex girl in Harriet's guest house, but at this moment in time, I had more important things on my brain.
I returned home to a sorry sight. Chloe had made her way to the living room where she fell asleep on the sofa with the tv on. A thin blanket covered the bottom half of her body as a thin layer of sweat covered the top of her shirt. She was a far cry to the beautiful, energetic woman that me and the ponies knew.
Her eyes fluttered as I closed the front door, before slowly realising where she was and locking onto my figure as I entered the room. She rubbed her face with her hands, removing the tears and saliva from her almost green face.
"Hey," she croaked, her voice sounded as if a collection of rocks gargled in her throat.
"Hey, how do you feel?" I asked, not removing myself from the doorway.
"Better. How did today go?"
Better? If this is her better, I dreaded to think how she must have felt earlier. I, however, did not answer her question, but instead walked further into the room, giving my friend a twirl of the clothes that were currently hiding my body.
She took a moment to glance at the two pieces of items, Jade's black jacket hung close to my body but showed off my stomach and the leggings did the bare minimum of hiding my shame down below, as I did the motion, I was sure that Chloe could have easily seen the outline of my bare butt beneath the fabric.
"What happened to y-" My friend started before covering her face one more, "Oh, I'm really sorry, I completely forgot."
"It's okay," I had to smile.
"No, it's not, I should have remembered… were they nice?"
"They were good, I don't think I'll be able to find the rest of my clothes, but it's okay."
She repeated herself, finally removing her hands from her face, "I'm sorry."
"It's okay, here let me join you."
I walked across the room to the occupied sofa, I lifted my friend up and manoeuvred my body underneath her, trying to be as gentle as I could. When I was done, I lowered my friend's head onto my lap, leaving the rest of her frame to lie on the furniture. I began to stroke her dry hair as she continued to watch the tv in silence, taking in the daytime viewing.
I looked down at her, even though she was sick, she still looked as beautiful and happy as always. One half of me was hoping that me coming back to her had put her in a good mood, but the other part of me knew that she was always like this, it took alot to dowse her spirits.
"Hey, Chloe?" I interrupted my friend's tv viewing, "I have something for you."
She turned to look up at me as I took my phone out of one of the many pockets Jade's jacket held. I flipped through the menus and apps with her big eyes studying me, just out of sight of my peripheral vision.
Lily's bound frame appeared on screen, with the ponysuit on and gag off. I stared at the image for a second, with the white play button begging me to press it. For now, it was all I could do for the two girls, I recorded a video of Lily talking to Chloe through the camera. No one knew apart from me, Lily and Beth. Once I gave my friend the phone, I knew I would have changed their relationship forever, I'd already done enough telling Lily what my friend thought of her; but this was the final stretch.
"Here, play this," I passed the device to my friend.
She audibly gasped as she saw the screen, taking in the bound pony as I did moments before. She turned back towards the tv so I couldn't see her face, but the phone screen was in full view. Even with the tv on in the background, I could feel the silence in the room. Chloe's thumb gently glided over the sides of the mobile, as if telepathically rubbing the emerald girl's face. I could see the tremble in her digit as it made its way into the middle of the screen and tapped the white button in the middle.
Lily's body finally came to life, waving her bound, hooved hand at the camera before opening her mouth, "Hey Chloe. I hope you are feeling better soon, we all miss you here at Harriet's."
Chloe's hand that pressed the play button had now covered her mouth as the video played right in front of her.
The green pony continued, "I just wanted to say that the last year working here… with you, had been the best year of my life. You are a kind and thoughtful person and it makes my day everytime you are here. When you next see me, I will still be the bound ponygirl that you know well, but I want you to know… I really care about you, I love… I want you to feel better and get back soon, okay?"
Lily awkwardly looked off camera as she struggled to say what was on her mind, despite the young pony's hesitation, I could see that her words still meant alot to Chloe.
The video continued, "When you come back, give me an extra long hug, I… love your hugs. I hope you feel better really soon… bye!"
Lily waved once more to the camera before the video ended, remaining on a still image of her with her hoof in the air.
"Heather?" My friend asked, staying exactly in the same place.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you… for this."
I ran my hands through her hair once more, "It's no problem at all."
As my hands patted Chloe's head, I took a moment to look at the jacket that covered my arm, the jacket that Jade gave me to cover myself. The girl that wouldn't even say two words to me a few days ago had given me her clothes to wear. I noticed the smile that crept onto my face as I could smell the faint scent of the girl's perfume on the leather material.
Why was I smiling so much?
"Chloe. I hope you are feeling better soon, we all miss you here at Harriet's" Chloe pressed the play button once more.