Pony Tales - Clover - Day 08

Now while Christoph was in the middle of unlacing her boot, the blonde woman in the white doctor's coat came over and spoke with Christoph, "Chris, her foots busted. She's going to need actual medical attention. I'll leave her boots for you to repair, can you help me get her to the clinic?"

Christoph sighed and gently set down Clovers still booted foot, "Yeh I'll y' a hand." He turned his gaze to Clover, "I'm goin' t'leave just that single strap on. Don't go runnin' off in my absence." He nodded, happy with his warning, and walked over to the crying pony. The two of them unstrapped her, Christoph bundled the pony up in his arms before they both disappeared into the barn leaving Clover laying over the padded barrel and listening to nothing but the crackle of the furnace for heating up shoes.

While she sat there, her eyes scanning around the area, none other than the red-headed pony she kept running into dropped down from the roof, landing very gracefully in her red-trimmed hoof boots. She redhead offered a wide grin in Clover's direction and trotted over, laying her chin down on the padded barrel, almost nose-to-nose with Clover and blowing at the few loose strands of Clover's mane that had escaped the high ponytail at the back of her head.

Clover giggled softly and smiled. She hadn't heard the other pony make much in the way of words or even gestures. But she just kept appearing at the right time to make Clover smile. And she always seemed to have unbound hands.

The redheaded pony lifted her head up, looking around for a quick moment and then leaning down, digging around in one of the thicker parts of her leather harness and tugging out a 1/4 slice of an apple. The redhead beamed widely and broke the piece in half, popping one half in her mouth and then reaching forwards pausing and holding the bit of apple up in front of Clover, but not approaching further as if she was waiting for permission.

Clover tilted her head a little at the pony's actions. Going cross-eyed as she looked at the apple and then smiling, giving a consenting nod.

The redhead beamed happily and reached out, tugging down Clover's bit and pushing the still-fresh piece of apple into her mouth. The redhead pointed to the back of her jaw and made chewing motions.

Clover understood her meaning, pushing the piece of apple to the back of her mouth where her teeth would still be semi-closer together and chewed at the piece of apple. She smiled brightly, unsure of how else to show her appreciation.

The redhead tapped her chin thoughtfully for a moment and pressed a button on the side of a little tiny speaker clipped to her harness, a cute whinny echoed through the area. But it wasn't exactly a horse whinny. It was clear it was a person making the noise. She then reached out and tapped Clover's throat softly, clapping her hands together and waiting expectantly.

Clover furrowed her brows a little bit. Did the redhead want her to try and...whinny?

The redhead made a pouty face at her.

How could she not at least try when she'd given her a nice piece of apple? Clover cleared her throat a little bit and then let out her best impression of a whinny.

The redheaded pony clapped her hands together and rocked her hair back and then pressed her hands to her chest and moved them upwards and outwards like she was expelling something from her chest.

Clover drew in a deep breath, understanding the pony's advice and this time whinnying from her chest. What came out could have easily passed for the whinny of a pony. She blushed vividly and squirmed a bit in her strap.

The redhead looked delighted, leaning down and stroking Clover's hair softly and offering an approving nuzzle before she stood up, hearing footsteps approaching. Clover looked over her shoulder towards the footsteps and then back to the redhead. But she was already gone without a trace. Almost soundlessly. There was a slight scramble on the roof above and then nothing but a man's voice echoing through the area.

"Was tha' you tryin' t'whinny Clover? Not half' ba' for yer first attempt. Y'just give it time and you'll be makin' noises with the best of em' I'm sure of it!" Christoph said this as he rounded the corner into the area, carrying a pair of ankle-high hoof boots in one hand, the left of which was completely in pieces. He set them down on a workbench strewn with metalworking tools before taking a heavy seat on the stool beside Clover again, his back to her front.

"Now...where were we?" He asked, lifting her foot, which she obediently lifted and allowed him to work at the laces.

Christoph liked to talk as he worked, he found it helped keep most ponies calm, "Feel ba' for that other pony. She busted her foot up righ' good. Likely a few days in the clinic and time off of her foot for a while. " He frowned a little bit as he finally tugged the boots off of Clover's foot, sneezing slightly as the talc found his nose, "Feh. Every bloody time." He complained gruffly, giving Clovers backside a swat as If it had been her fault.

Clover let out a sharp squeak and glared at him.

Christoph's big grin put her back at ease though as he lifted her foot, taking a few measurements, scribbling a note on a small pad of paper, and then took his time, rolling his knuckles into her sore foot. It was painful but also felt extremely good. Clover furrowed her brow, the barrel creaking a bit as she settled.

"Tha's a good girl. The first few days can be hard on a pony's feet. Yer in for quite a bi' o' pain. I'll make sure th' vet leaves yeh some painkillers for tonight. It'll at least help y'sleep." He continued rolling his knuckles into the arch of her foot for a moment and when she was fully relaxed he smiled and completed the same process on the other side, by the time he'd finished with her second foot she was practically sleeping atop the barrel. He gave her flank a soft pat and tousled her hair.

"There's a good pony. Ah always like it when I get ones like yerself." He said this as he walked to his workbench and using several different stretching tools he began to shape the interior of the hoof boot a bit so it fit her foot better, he also rebuilt the arch in the hoof to support the elegant arches in her feet. She'd have made a good ballet dancer with feet like that and he'd seen a few pairs of dancers' feet in his lifetime because while he was a humble blacksmith here, he also specialized in foot care. Hence the surprisingly skilled massaged.

He tinkered for a good hour, coming back to put the boot on her foot and then huffing and dragging it back to his bench. Finally, after leaving her boots in a warming oven for several minutes, he talced her legs and feet again and then pulled the hooves out of the over, pushing the now very warm leather onto her feet, tugging them up and snugging them into place, "Th' heat'll help th' boot mold to yer foot. Kind of like the same way ice skaters get their skates heat molded." He held each of her feet tightly until the leather and interior cooled and then took his time, lacing them back up properly and clipping tiny heart-shaped padlocks on the end of each lace, "Can' have ponies takin' their hooves off on their own.." He mumbled.

Next came another interesting process, he secured each of her feet in turn to a padded stool, measuring her leg and foot and then going back and forth from the forge, working a fresh pair of horseshoes. He opted for the usual silver shoes, though he polished them up a little extra for her since she'd behaved.

Much like shoeing a real horse, he placed the shoe on the base of her boot, and carefully, using specialized nails he hammered them into the thick rubber, stopping to comfort her as the hits made her cry out in pain from her feet. He took his time, making sure she wasn't in too much duress. But eventually, it came to an end and Clover was left with a pair of perfectly shaped boots with a stunning pair of silver horseshoes on the bottom.

Christoph released the strap holding her to the barrel and helped her to stand up straight, "Stand up straight fer a moment so I can check yer posture with em'."

He stepped back and watched. The slight arched he'd built into the shoes forced her legs a little forward and definitely improved her posture and based on the way she stood, her feet were a lot more comfortable within the boot. Christoph nodded in approval and pointed to a 10' long concrete path, "Give em' a try. I know most ponies really enjoy that first...sound." He beamed hooking his hammer over his shoulder.

Clover stumbled to the concrete path and after a moment of catching her balance, took a few tentative steps. The noise that hit her ears, the clop of the fresh shoe on the concrete sent tingles down her spine and bringing a smile to her face...

...She really was a pony. As a reaction that even surprised her, she let out a happy whinny and blinked. Blushing brightly.

Christoph chuckled from the side, "Sum one is certainly findin' their inner pony. Good girl Clover."

Clover was smiling around her bit as she took a few more steps to test her hooves and it wasn't long before Christoph had to scoop her up and toss her onto a comfortable but dusty couch at the side of the shop, "Tha's enough fer now Clover. Now rule number 4 here is that ponies are not permitted t'sit on any human furniture. But you were a good girl t'day so y'can sit with my permission that couch and rest until th'vet picks y'up ok?"

Clover landed on the couch in a cloud of dust, sneezing a bit and listening to Christoph speak. She nodded in understand and laid back against an extremely soft pillow, surprised how quickly sleep came to take her.