Pony Tales - Clover - Day 34

"Wakey wakey, Pony." Came a firm voice followed by the thump of a pillow shocking Aria from her sleep.

The woman shot upright and shook her head, "Who in the hel--" She was cut off when the pillow came around again, thumping her in the face hard enough to make her think twice about the choice words she was just about to spit out. She turned her gaze to the form silhouetted by the slight sunlight coming in through the nearby window.

It was none other than Sophie, the in-barn leatherworker, Tailor and Intake Coordinator. She was grinning down at Aria as she tucked a few strands of brown hair from her eyes, "Don't give me that look. You signed the paperwork, you know exactly why I'm here."

Aria narrowed her eyes slightly but Sophie was having none of it, another thwump of the pillow had Aria narrowing her eyes further.

"One more time and I--"

WHUMP!

"SOPHIE!"

Sophie hit her again with the soft pillow, "You will not speak to me in that tone, Twilight. You've been part of this facility longer than I have. Don't think that just because you've run the place for a decade you can just wiggle your way around protocol and the rules put in place. I'll have none of it and if you keep up this nonsense I'll leave you to trot the whip circle barefoot for the entire day and THEN I'll tack you and leave you to sweat. Now, let's try this ONE more time. You're going to get up, with no complaints. Pull on some pajamas and come with me to the barn. Am I understood?" Sophie's voice was firm and not lacking conviction.

Aria opened her mouth and then eased it closed slowly. She gave a quick nod.

It was a strange situation for her. She'd been in charge for so long that she had forgotten what it was like to submit, to give in a piece of yourself and fall into that strange and confusing head space.

~Should I be this intimidated? Was this a poor decision?~

She glanced at the tattoos on her arms, showing years of achievements as a pony. She let a smile slip onto her lips.

~No. Twilight has been in retirement much too long. Time for her to feel the wind in her mane again.~

Sophie stepped back from the bed and twirled a leather lead line around her finger lazily while leaning against the doorframe.

Aria meanwhile was climbing from bed. She was in her nightclothes still. She wandered towards her wardrobe and opened it, reaching for a pair of socks and a housecoat to stave off the morning chill outside.

Sophie stifled a chuckle, "What was that thing our ex-employer used to say? Oh right, Ponies don't wear socks. You can leave those behind Twilight. The coat I'll accept, for now. It's a little chilly out this morning anyways."

Aria turned her gaze at Sophie again, narrowing her eyes.

Sophie just tapped the crop clipped to her belt and grinned back at her.

~Are they all this cheeky? Ugh.~

Aria tugged the housecoat on and wandered over to Sophie, using her fingers to try and smooth out her silvery moonlight-touched strands of hair from looking like a mess.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that too much. We've got quite a bit of tending to do anyway. Hair included." Sophie offered a wink and held up a leather collar to Twilight.

"You've GOT to be jo--OW!" Aria cried out as the crop found the outside of her thigh with a hard crack. Not once, but twice in the same spot.

Aria growled.

Sophie simply smiled, "First rule, which you've clearly forgotten. Ponies don't speak. Plus, the collar is to make a bit of a point. So let's get it on that neck and get you to the barn. You've got a long day ahead of you!" Sophie stepped forward and this time, Aria gave no complaints as the smooth and basic leather was wrapped around her neck and secured.

A small tug of the lead would have her following Sophie out the door of her room and further towards the exit of the house...

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Clover stumbled about her stall, fumbling the keys several dozen times as she tried to find each key's matching lock. Eventually, she was free from all the tack that had been added to her, free from everything but her hooves which she left on temporarily. It had taken a good thirty minutes to get it all off and she was standing there, clad only in the crisp white catsuit clinging to her form.

She let out a slow sigh, "That's a strange feeling..." She mumbled, stumbling out of the stall. She'd keep Hayley's words in mind about not stinking up the house. She was quite sure with how much she'd been sweating the last few days she was more than a bit ripe with no major groom care having happened except for the basics. She moved towards the far end of the barn, setting all the tack neatly on the table outside of the tack room and then hurrying towards the Groom Room.

With hooves clip-clopping merrily on the cement she moved into the room, staring at the various wash bays. Almost regretting her lack of a groom. She'd grown quite fond of the intricate tending almost every day. Then again, she was here because of her own words. Her own actions.

~How could I have said something like that?~

She let her thoughts roam a little bit as she flicked on one of the dozen showers and tugged over a groom cart. Mostly for the soaps and shampoo as she'd have time for little else with Hayley's time limit.

Sitting down on a stool she'd undo her boots and ease them off, letting out a small whimper as her sore feet were allowed to stretch. That was one ache you could never get away from. It was the reason hooves were removed every night. Lest they cause permanent damage to ponies feet. Clover pressed her feet into the cool rubberized mat in the wash stall, cherishing the long stretch for a moment.

Once her feet had settled she climbed to her feet and with one smooth movement, unzipped the catsuit from neck to ankle, peeling it off to reveal glistening skin beneath. The cool air on her skin was a bit of a shock, making her shiver slightly as she gave the inside of the suit a quick rinse and set it on a nearby rack, Hopefully, a groom would find it and tend to it as she was running out of time.

Under the hot water, she went, fully naked and in the open as she cleaned herself up. She'd barely finished rinsing off when a groom walked in leading a tall brown-haired pony clad in sleek black tack, a tight black catsuit with red stripes running up the sides clinging to her body beneath.

Clover blushed brightly and tried to hide behind the groom cart. She'd still not gotten used to the nudity part of things. Hence why she wore the catsuit.

The groom stifled a giggle, "Oh don't be so shy Clover, we've all seen your cute butt plenty of times."

Clover huffed.

The groom hooked her pony up to the cross-ties and turned, pointing to a cabinet, "Towels are in there. Best hurry, you're running close to the wire." She pointed to the clock on the wall that told Clover she had five more minutes before her hour was up.

Clover looked to her boots and her catsuit and to the groom, almost pleadingly.

The groom nodded, "Not all of us harbor a harsh dislike of you because of your actions. I'll take care of them. Now off with you." The groom offered a curt nod before turning to care for her pony.

Clover hurried to the cabinet, haphazardly drying her hair and then wrapping the towel around herself. That's when she realized she had no clothing whatsoever. Whatever she'd come with had long since been put in storage with her name attached to it...at the house.

Would Hayley be upset...?

~This is going to be the second dumbest thing I've ever done.~

And then she took off at a run out the front of the barn and down the main pathway towards the house. In the distance she saw a trainer walking a figure towards the barn, tugging her along on a leather lead. It was none other than Sophie and...ARIA!

Clover ran headlong into a fencepost and crumbled to the ground beside the pair painfully.

Sophie widened her eyes as Clover climbed to her feet, stumbled, and winced.

"C...Clover!" Sophie called out after the woman as she ran off towards the house at a fast pace.

Clover had no mind for Sophie at the moment.

~Why was Aria on a leash? And headed to the barn? What's going on?~

So many questions bubbled up in her head as she ran full tilt towards the back door, which was graciously opened by one of the staff, Bare feet slid a little bit on the wood floor as she got inside and while huffing and puffing loudly she skidded to a halt outside of...well...Aria's office. Her legs were shaking visibly and she was shivering from the cold.

She knocked on the door, her heart thumping in her ears. She was a mess of questions, hopefully, some of them would find answers inside.