Pony Tales - Clover - Day 22

Clover made her way through the mansion towards the back door which was the quickest route to the barn, but as she slipped out the door, a familiar fiery-haired pony dropped down from the balcony above and landed in front of Clover. A cute little nicker eliciting from the speakers that Clover still had yet to locate amongst the girl's tack.

She offered Daydream a bright smile. Daydream moved up to her and nuzzled into her neck affectionately and looked at Clover and then towards the barn and back, tilting her head curiously and letting out a curious whinny from her speaker setup. Clover giggled a little bit and looked around quickly to make sure nobody else was around and then stretched a little bit, "Yes. I made the decision to return. But I have to go grab my tack! Aria doesn't like to be kept waiting apparently..." She mumbled softly.

Daydream whinnied happily and then stepped to the side, motioning for Clover to hurry along.

With an excited smile, Clover hurried off towards the barn, only glancing back over her shoulder once to smile at Daydream. But she found that the pony was gone. She was quick, that one. She wondered where she'd run off to so quickly. Maybe she was secretly some sort of ninja pony. She WAS always climbing on things and coming out from places you'd least expect so perhaps she was more agile than she let on.

Down the path Clover went, glad that it was a bit of a cooler day and that the recently cemented path was not boiling hot. Flats did not offer much protection against the heat after all. The barn it seemed was relatively quiet at the moment. It was still early in the morning and so most of the ponies were likely still eating breakfast with the exception of the few that had spent the night outside overnight and the pair currently being worked by the trainer Jade that Clover had only met briefly during her short trial period.

Jade was training them on the whip circle, they must be fairly new to it because they were slow to listen to the commands.

'I remember being there.' Clover thought to herself, a small smile spreading across her face as she fondly remembered the day she'd been brought out to 'observe' and was then asked if she'd like to try. Looking back at it, she got the impression she hadn't had much of a choice that day. Getting herself in a bit of trouble and ending up leashed to a pole out in the hot sun. To the barns credit though, they'd made sure she was well kept. Sunscreen, water, and plenty of spot checks.

'But it was so hot.' She stared at the pole she'd been tied to and huffed slightly, turning and hurrying towards the barn as Jade's eyes fell upon her. She had no interest in getting tugged into something and being late getting back to Aria. She moved up to the barn, her mind wandering as she stared at the man door. Aria HAD said that the rules now applied to her, did that mean she couldn't open doors? But then, she wasn't in tack yet, so how was she supposed to get her tack?

'C'mon. Be brave, she wouldn't set me up for failure. Would she?'

She wondered this before moving forwards and pushing open the man door and slipping into the barn. The scent of the barn washed over her and made her smile. The smell of fresh hay, of freshly oiled leather. The sound of Christoph tapping a set of brand new horseshoes onto a rather noisy pony echoed in through a side door and for a moment Clover kind of let herself get lost in the ambiance. Already her mind was slipping back into that place that had made her come back.

...But alas. Nothing can last forever and she nearly jumped right out of her ballet flats as Sophie's voice came up from behind her, "Ah. The blonde-haired pony has returned I see."

Clover turned to see Sophie, holding a cup of steaming aromatic tea and smiling down at her, "Here to get tacked up?" She asked with a curious raise of her brow while she took a sip of her tea.

Furrowing her brow slightly, Clover tried to work out HOW to answer the question. She stomped once, then twice after a short pause.

Sophie tilted her head a little bit, "Hm. Is that you being unsure? Aria did mention something about three stomps being her permission for something..." Sophie teased, obviously knowing exactly why Clover was here. She glanced towards the locked door into the tack room and then back into Clover's eyes, "Tell you what. You give me one really cute curtsy and your best proud whinny, and I'll let you collect your tack and hurry back to Mistress Aria. Deal?"

Clover blushed and then smiled. A bit of a challenge it would seem. She took a single step back from Sophie and dipped into a polite curtsy, tilting her head to try and make it a bit cuter, and then stood straight and puffed out her chest slightly, letting out the best whinny she possibly could. It still sounded a bit silly, it needed refinement. But she did it loud and did it proud, a chorus of whinnies from the many stalled ponies echoing up from behind her in response.

"Ah...music to my ears. That's a good girl. Come along Clover." She gave Clover a soft tousle of her hair and motioned for her to follow, unlocking the door to the tack room and pushing the door open, "If you don't know, yours is the green set on the wall over there." She motioned lazily across the tack room as she turned the light on, "Don't mess with anything else. Unless you'd like to spend your first week as a mare. I've got some pony tack to check on this morning. But I have a feeling I'll be seeing you soon."

Clover stomped once and was about to curtsy, but Sophie was already off down the main corridor, stopping a few stalls and taking some notes on the clipboard she held under one arm. Clover slipped into the tack room and crossed to the opposite wall. She had to hurry, Aria had put emphasis on not liking to be kept waiting and in her haste, she grabbed the first set of green tack she came to. Not bothering to read the nameplate or note that the tack in question was well kept, but very clearly well worn. With leather silky soft like butter and metals that were glowing with recent polish.

She slung the many pieces of leather over one shoulder, even hooking the collar hanging in the center over one wrist, that must be the new piece Aria was talking about. The woman had mentioned that a collar typically came with joining the stable officially. She scooped up the hoof boots, not even noticing they were a slight bit taller than the ones she'd worn with horseshoes on the bottom that had seen many beautiful days in the sand ring, in the competition ring.

After collecting all the tack, Clover headed back out the door and up towards the mansion once again.

Sophie on the other hand, finished her rounds fairly quickly. Circling back around, hoping to see Clover's collecting of her tack, but by the time she returned, the blonde pony was already gone. But as Sophie stepped into the tack room, she stared at the empty spot on the wall and the gleaming nameplate above it reading 'Twilight'. This elicited a soft chuckle from her lips as she took a sip of her tea, "I should say something. And yet I won't..." She said simply, walking to her desk and sitting down. She had a lot of tack work to do today.

Meanwhile, Clover was making her way up to the doors of the mansion, careful to open the doors without bumping any of her tack and making her way through the house, not worrying about the dirt she tracked in behind her. Thanks to Aria and Sophie, her brain was already slipping back into that pony state of mind. Those animalistic tendencies. She wasn't Alexandria anymore, she was Clover. A pony looking to make her place in the world.

She turned in the grand hall and headed through the intricately carved oak door to the waiting room where Hayley was sitting with her feet kicked up on the table, reading a magazine titled, 'Hearts and Hooves'.

"Ah welc..." She stared at the tack set Clover was holding for a long moment. There was an awkward silence that made Clover tilt her head curiously.

Hayley glanced over her shoulder at Aria's office and then motioned Clover through the door, "Go on then. Present 'your' tack to Mistress Aria." She said simply, putting a slight emphasis on the word 'your'. Hayley looked back to her magazine and wondered how this encounter would go.