They say after a storm comes the calm. A time when all the chaos and the craziness settles down and things grow calm. Clover got to live that quite literally. Her entire world was sealed away in darkness, unable to sit down, unable to see, barely able to hear. It was both intense, painful and to her, surprisingly enjoyable in a way. She'd come into this whole experience more than a bit vanilla, still roughly unsure of the major things she liked beyond Ponyplay at its core, and over the course of the few days she'd been here she'd definitely discovered things about herself that she'd been unaware of. It sucked a little bit that she had to spend her final day at the barn, locked away.
Admittedly, she didn't spend it completely alone. She was pretty sure it was Daydream who snuck into her stall and nuzzled her apologetically, a little tinny-sounding nicker finding her ears. Even Christoph the blacksmith made an appearance, slipping one of her favorite candies into her mouth and sitting and just kind of chatting to her for a little bit. He told her about how he'd come to Tall Tails after failing as a farrier in the world of real horses, how he'd always loved the alt-lifestyle, and that he was never ungrateful for his luck in discovering Tall Tails while browsing through several alternative websites. He sat and talked for a good few hours. Maybe it was for his benefit, and maybe it was for hers. She was grateful though. It helped her endure the extremely warm heat permeating the barn on the intensely hot day outside her stall.
Eventually, though, responsibility came knocking. An unfamiliar voiced groom came and informed Christoph that he had a few ponies in need of shoeing. The big man stood up, giving Clovers flank a 'pat' which was more of a smack with his spade-like hand, and smiled, "If I don't ge' t'see ya off tomorrow. It was a pleasure meetin' ya Clover. I hope y'come back. This lifestyle suits ya based on how much I've heard of yeh. Yer always welcome in m'forge. Have a g'day pony." He slipped one final sour apple candy past her bit and then headed out. Clover focused, listening to his steps fade off into the distance of the barn and when they were finally gone she slumped in her bonds a little bit.
It was back to sweating and losing herself in her thoughts.
The day itself was extremely hot. Like the storm, the previous day had been followed by a heatwave of epic proportions. It was hotter on the farm than it had been in years. Hot enough that the old rattly air conditioning units attached to the well-insulated barn had been turned on to push in some cold air and force out the heat. It didn't help much and made Aria realize she needed to put some new ACs on the budget. Generally speaking, the weather in the UK was nice enough with well-insulated buildings mostly not using air conditioning units. But a big steel box like the barn at Tall Tails definitely needed it some days.
So as the heat cranked up, the sweat on Clovers form did as well. She glistened visibly with it and each time a groom came in to check on her and allow her a thorough drink of water, they were quick to towel her down and splash some cool water across her face. She nickered thankfully every single time before greedily drinking at the water. A few others came to visit her too, Hayley came by to give her mane a bit of a brush and even Eden showed up to say she was disappointed at not being able to train her today. Clover had huffed playfully at Eden who lifted the edge of her blindfold and winked, "I'm not concerned Pony. You'll be back." She'd said before leaving.
'You'll be back.'
It seemed to be the general consensus from those she had gotten to know a little. They were sure she'd return. That this life was a life she could do well in. Admittedly, Clover's mind was a bit all over the place when it came to this. Part of her missed her bed, her apartment. But another part of her loved everything that she'd experienced. It was a different and wonderful place to lose yourself in. She sighed a little at Eden's words. Would she disappoint them if she didn't come back? Either way, it was a conversation she'd have with herself tomorrow. Her final day at Tall Tails. Well, final morning. Her flight left in the early afternoon.
Clover leaned against the wall of her stall, her legs and feet achy and sore, her world nothing but a sea of noises and smells. She eventually found herself succumbing to the heat, to the isolation, and even though she was standing, she leaned against the wall for support and slumped a little. Nodding off and managing to sleep standing up. It wasn't until that evening that a gentle prod stole her from her slumber. A gentle hand tugged the blindfold from her eyes and the smiling face of Aria standing in front of her was visible in the thankfully dim lighting of the barn. No sunlight filtered in through the windows and the air in the barn was cool and relaxing.
Aria ran a finger over Clover's cheer and sighed, "Nobody woke you up to shower you off did they?" She asked in a disappointed voice.
Clover stomped twice.
Aria let out a long sigh, "You know, sometimes I wonder if the grooms just shirk their responsibilities on purpose." She unclipped Clover's bridle from the wall and rolled up her sleeves, "Well, everyone is asleep now so let's get you cleaned up.." Aria mumbled as she tugged Clover along out of the stall and towards the wash bays which were empty although the steam of a recent final cleaning lingered in the room. Aria led Clover into the first of the stalls, shoving open a window to let a nice cross-breeze in from the cool night air outside.
Aria led Clover to stand in the center of the stall taking a few moments to peel off each piece of her tack and hang it on the nearby rack, right down until the pony was naked with exception to her bit and bridle which remained in place. She couldn't help but chuckle as she tried to figure out the right knobs to turn. First soaking Clover in ice-cold water and then managing to turn it onto warm, "Sorry sorry! It's...been a long time since I've used these." She said with a laugh.
Clover huffed at her grumpily.
Aria tousled her hair and chuckled, "Oh hush Pony. I could turn it to cold the whole time if you want to keep complaining..."
Clover mumbled and looked down.
