Pony Tales - Clover - Day 26

It didn't take Christoph long to sort out Clover's hooves. A few hammer strikes, a few straightened nails, and presto. She was re-shod with little to no effort. Christoph talked during most of the encounter, telling her about all the stuff that had happened since she'd left, got injured, and returned to the farm. Which really wasn't all that much except for the pony who'd fallen and busted her elbow up pretty solid. A new rule had been implemented because of that particular incident.

As he tapped the final nails into Clover's shoes, Christoph set her foot down and stood up, undoing the strap around her midsection and letting her stand up. She was quick to shuffle her hooves back and forth a little bit. She certainly felt more balanced with the wobbly shoe fixed and Christoph was grinning ear to ear as she took a few confident steps, "Bet y'were gettin' frustrated when you were makin' yer way up t'the barn huh?"

Clover huffed softly and stomped a foot down.

"Yeh, bein' rusty n' having a loose shoe'll do tha'. But yer fixed up now n' should be good fer at least a few trainin' sessions." He glanced at the clock hanging above the entrance back into the barn. They'd used about 45 minutes sorting out Clover's hooves.

"Hm. Long n'uff fer ya t'have some lunch I think. Don't think I didn't hear yer stomach growlin' in my ear the whole time." He patted her head with his shovel-sized hand and grinned, "Growin' pony has t'eat! I bet they've got some breakfast mash still kickin' around. Think it was bacon n' eggs. Y'were quite fond o' tha' one right?"

Clover stomped a hoof again. She remembered her first time trying to strange 'mash' substance they used to feed ponies at the barn. How the chef at the barn could make fortified oats taste like so many different things was beyond Clover's comprehension. All she knew is the texture was delightful and the flavors had been great. Breakfast was where it shone especially. It really was like eating bacon and eggs, albeit with the texture of mashed potatoes.

~I could live on that stuff the rest of my life and die happy...~

Christoph chuckled at Clover's thought-filled face, "Yeh. th' chefs're pretty good at they do aren' they?" He said this like he was reading her thoughts a bit. He attached a lead line to her bridle and gave it a soft tug, heading into the barn and down the main aisle until they came to Clover's stall. It had been kept the exact way it had been left, with its soft cot folded up against the wall, and thick bedding of hay and wood shavings strewn across the floor. Without a hint of dust, the nameplate with the name 'Clover' written on it in green accented letters hung on the front of the stall. It brought a smile to both of their faces before Christoph tugged open the stall and nudged Clover in, unclipping her lead.

"Now gime minute, I'll go reconstitute y'some mash."

Clover trotted to the front of the stall as Christoph closed the door and laid her chin on the door of her stall, watching with dark green eyes as Christoph slipped into a side room. There was the beep of buttons being pressed followed by the hum of what Clover guessed was a microwave. She stretched her shoulders a bit. Remembering now those familiar aches and pains that came with wearing tack. Her shoulders were already a little achy, her feet while feeling better after having her booted sorted out, were achy. And even her jaw was already sore. She sighed and blew a few strands of blonde hair out of her face that had dared to escape her ponytail.

"Mmm...Sore already?"

A familiar voice drifted across to her stall. There stood Victoria, coming out of one of the stalls with a messenger bag labeled with a bright red cross. She eyed Clover with a soft smile as she posed her question.

Clover rocked her head back and forth and then stomped once.

"Any unusual pains? Or just...general soreness? You've been out of tack a little while after all."

~How am I supposed to answer that? Whinny? Snort? Three stomps...?~

"Sorry. Guess you can't answer that question. Are the pains abnormal?"

Clover stomped twice.

Victoria nodded, "Good. You'll survive then." She pulled a clipboard out of her messenger bag and peeked over it, "Seems you're with me before you're done for the day. You're getting long-term vaccinations. Yuck, the needles for those kind of suck. Sorry pony."

Clover snorted in response and then sighed a little bit.

Victoria suddenly giggled, "I'm kidding Clover. Don't look so defeated. See you tonight! I've got a pony who needs a checkup." She waved a hand lazily over her shoulder and then walked off towards the clinic she had set up in one of the side rooms. At the same time, Christoph emerged from the nearby break room and held up a bottle of mash, "Bacon n' eggs! I was righ'!"

Christoph made his way over, inverting the bottle and clipping it into the holder inside of Clover's stall, "Now be careful, I put it in th' microwave on low but it may be a bit hot still." He reached out towards Clover's head and for the first time, she pushed her head into his hand, giving it a nuzzle. He smiled, "Someone is letting 'erself settle into th' pony headspace huh?" He asked, giving her scalp a scratch with his stubby nails and then patting her on the head.

"Now I'm gunna go n' finish my lunch. If y'need anythin' just whinny down the aisle. If not, Eden'll be along t'pick y' up shortly. So best nibble at tha' mash while y'still can!" He gave her one final pat and after Clover gave him a quick stomp of agreeance he turned and headed off down the hall to eat his own lunch, glad the blonde-haired pony was finally back on her feet. More than a few of them had been worried for a little while there whether or not she'd recover from the gate incident.

Yet here Clover was, leaning up to the end of the tube coming out of the mash bottle and sucking at it cautiously. She had no interest in burning her mouth. She was glad she'd figured out how to get a 'seal' on the tube even over the top of her bit. She pulled gently and found thankfully that the mash within was warm and not boiling hot. As per usual, the cook had outdone himself. It really was like eating bacon and eggs. Plus it was fortified with all the goodies that a pony needed to keep up all the hard work.

It wasn't the longest of rests, but Clover had managed to suck down most of the mash and then flop down on a pile of hay she kicked into the corner. It was at least a few minutes' rest for her feet. It felt like it was her first day all over again when Miss Aria had sat in the shower with her while she'd cried about how much her feet hurt. It was curious how emotional such things could make you. Luckily, those at Tall Tails were pretty good at the 'aftercare' part of the day. Making sure ponies were tended to, calmed down, feeling better about things. Clover had never been left wanting in that regard, that was for sure.

Before long there was a knock at her stall door as Eden kicked the door, startling poor Clover into a sitting position. Half-lidded eyes looking up at the short-haired woman grinning down at her, "Getting lazy on me already? And we haven't even started yet." Eden shook her head in a disappointed way. Luckily Clover knew Eden enough at this point that she was likely just trying to wind her up before she got her out to one of the training pens.

'Being flustered makes you determined.'

She remembered that line.

Eden swung the door of the stall open and crossed her arms over her chest. She was tapping her foot rather impatiently, "Look. When I show up at your stall door. You get that cute butt to the door immediately. I have no interest in waiting for a lazy pony." She tapped the crop hanging off her belt.

Clover hurried to her feet, shaking the hay off of herself and hurrying to stand in front of Eden.

"Better. But next time I won't be so forgiving."

Clover sighed softly.

"So dramatic."

Eden leaned in and gave Clover's cheek a playful pinch, "I'm glad to see you back on your feet though Clover. I'm happy you've decided to return. But don't think your injury means I'm going to go easy on you. We've got a lot of ground to cover today while we get you up to speed. We'll get you confident on your hooves again and then we'll get into some of the basic skills you're going to need for the man disciplines we teach here. Miss Aria is even running a dressage demonstration later today, so we'll go over and give it a watch. I don't have much of a head for dressage, but many ponies find they enjoy the challenge."

Eden leaned down and squeezed Clover's calves a little bit, "But whether or not someone drags you into dressage. I maintain my original assessment. With legs like those, you're either a jumper or an obstacle pony for sure. Even is Miss Aria disagree's with me." Eden looked up at her and winked.

Clover wiggled her butt a little bit and nickered softly. She knew she was in for a hard time and while Eden was a hard trainer, she was a fair one. She wanted the best out of those she taught and nothing more.

~Jumping or obstacles huh? I wonder if Miss Aria is actually teaching the dressage demonstration or just overseeing it? That'll be fun. I wonder if I'll ever get to see her in hooves?~

"Hm. No tail? Sophie hasn't got ahold of you yet. Well then! No time like the present. Off you go pony, lead me to the whip circle field! We'll start there. Get a nice sheen of sweat on that body and get those hooves working!" A sharp smack of encouragement landed on Clover's backside as Eden wielded her crop like an extension of her arm. Clover let out a snort at the sharp smack, which of course, earned another. She didn't snort again after that.

Instead, Clover lead the way towards the exit of the barn. The whip circle was right across from the main entrance so it wasn't too far of a walk. She did however stop in front of the man door, waiting for Eden to open it for them.

Eden grinned, "Ooooh! Someone has a brain underneath that bridle. Most ponies fall for that one a few times. Good girl." Eden chuckled and walked over, nudging open the man door and holding it for Clover.

So the day was to begin!