Upon Catherine and mine's return to the stables, I tried looking around for Lily and Isabella. I was hoping to have been able goodbye to them while still a ponygirl, but I could see them as Catherine quickly directed me into the tack room. Her hustle explained by our need to be getting on the road back to the city soon to be in good time.
The processing of un-tacking with Catherine had quite the different energy from my time in the tack room with Isabella. The almost sensual rhythm of her work contrasting with the quiet efficiency of Catherine's as she stripped away my various layers of restraints.
Where Isabella had talked me through the process the whole time, constantly checking in with me, Catherine simply transformed me back into just a girl. To be fair, this time I did now know the parts of a ponygirl's tack. Thus removing any real need for Catherine to explain it to me again, and I certainly already knew want it was like to be just a girl. Plus she was working to free me from my restraints rather than the much more daunting task of binding me within them as Isabella had.
But I would have really appreciated it if Catherine had warned me of the effects freedom would have on me. Beginning where Isabella had ending, Catherine started by unclasping the ends of my bit from my bridle and sliding the whole device out of mouth. Finally releasing my tongue from beneath the plate that had kept my sounds to that of a pony for the last day. Now with it free I was eager to tryout that returned freedom and immediately went to speak,
"Ank ou..."
"Hold on darling, your tongue will need sometime to recover."
"..Uh"
Catherine gave me a sympathetic smile before continuing onto unhitching the rest of my bridle while she explained,
"Your tongue has been kept in one position for a while now so moving it about while speaking is going to take some warming up."
My tongue's response to being freed also turned out to be a foretelling of how the rest of my body would react. A feeling I next experience in my arm as the arms binder and underlying straps were removed. But I hadn't yet heeded my tongue's sputtered warning and once more went to test the freedom of my newly unbound arms. Initially just trying to return them to my sides, I only managed to do so about half way. Stopped by the tension pulling at my upper arms and shoulders on the way forward.
Instead of the lack of control in my tongue, which I could still move, this was more like simply hitting a limit. Not an acute painful one but more like trying to stretch my muscles past their natural extent of motion. An extent of motion right now that I knew to not be natural. I expressed this feeling without much eloquence,
"Arrgh!"
"Hold on honey." Catherine said with a bit more of a schooling tone than before. "Those arms are going to be sore as well after so long in their binder. Try holding your hands together behind your back for now."
It was a bit of a disappointment to have my arms free yet still required by my body to remain restrained. But I did so never-the-less as it hurt my arms and shoulders to bring them even a little out from their previous position.
"There you go. If you want, you can start rolling your shoulders to start getting the blood moving."
I followed Catherine's suggestion as she continued her process in removing the rest of my harness. But as she worked, I began to worry. I hadn't thought about such a consequences to agreeing to try out being a ponygirl. I'd so focused on whether it was a ploy to kidnap me, I hadn't considered the effects when I would be let go. Moreover if such effects would carry on into tomorrow when I was expected back at work. On much later reflection, I did find it funny that as soon as my pony tack came off, I immediately started stressing about my job as usual.
These thoughts were interrupted when Catherine finished with my harness and now instructed me to lean over the bench for the final step in my re-human-ification, the removal of my pony boots. Unlacing my hooves, I could feel Catherine's fingers against my second leather skin, and once more noted how different they were from Isabella tender touch. These feelings mingled with the fresh touch of air finally being able to work its way onto my skin as the shafts of the boot were pulled apart.
After Catherine slipped off my boots, my feet could once more come to rest directly on the ground. Although the height of the bench forced them to still remain up on point. Catherine left me in this position for a moment to return the pony hooves to their storage.
This time alone, bent over the bench, gave me a chance to make my final mistake in the removal of my tack. I thought I had learned my lesson with my mouth and arms, that things would be stiff but I could slowly start getting them moving again. Thus, without Catherine to tell me not to, I decided to start working movement back into my feet.
Slowly, I started leveraging my self back to transfer more of my weight from the bench to my legs, aiming to bring my feet down from just standing from just the balls to the rest of my foot. But instead of resistance or stiffness as I felt in my arms and tongue, I was instead greeted by pain. Enough pain to very quickly transfer me off the bench and onto the floor in shock. Searing pain lancing up through my heels and calves.
Moments after I touched the ground, I was wrapped from above my Catherine's arms and the quick petting of her hands across my brow. All of which I only felt with my eyes still screwed tight from the pain.
"There there pet, you're alright. I should have told you not to get up. Your feet are put through the most as a ponygirl and need the most recovery."
Through a sudden flow of tears and a somewhat recovered tongue, I was able to stammer our the reply,
"But... but work tomorrow. I'm broken"
"No no... No you're not honey. This is my fault."
"But I got off the bench..."
"Yes but you didn't know, I was my fault I didn't strap you down. New ponygirls are always so eager to get moving and don't realize how much they've worked their body as a ponygirl. You transfer so much power through your hooves, all of which is supported by your boots. But once you lose that support, it takes some work to readjust to your human feet."
Catherine paused for a moment, seeming to collecting her thoughts while idly fixing stands of my hair that had splayed across my face in my fall. Being able to just lie there and listen to Catherine's smooth voice as she talked to be a good distraction from the now throbbing pain lower in my body. The gentle touch of her fingers helped as well. Continuing on from her interlude,
"It has be quite a while since I have had a new ponygirl at the farm. The regulars, like Lily, have all been coming for years and know all the process in changing back. I guess I've gotten use to not having to teach my girls the process. I'm sorry.
"It seems like the tack room hasn't been kind to you. Isabella told me getting on your tack was a bit hard too. But it also sounds like she was really helpful..."
I gave a shallow nod to this,
"So I'm sorry I didn't follow her example. I forgot there's as much of a process in becoming human again as becoming a ponygirl."
I felt bit begrudged that Catherine had failed to warn me of all these complications, not only before taking off my tack, but before I put it on. But right now wrapped up in her arms I couldn't help but feel she was being genuine. Despite her whole cool aristocratic presentation, I had gotten the sense he was also one to jump into things half prepared. It was endearing.
"It's okay. I was also too quick to my feet assuming I had figured things out."
Catherine helped me up to a sitting position on the bench, my legs dangling over the edge. My feet still needed to remain pointed, even while hanging in space, to avoid the pain. Once she was satisfied I was stable, Catherine stepped away for a moment to retrieve a pair of heeled sandals from near the boot storage section in the room. Regularly looking back at me with a worrying gaze. I return her glances with a wan smile.
Returning, she place one of the pairing onto my lap for my inspection, while dropping down on one knee to affix the other on my foot, explaining,
"These have the same heel angle as the boots so your feet should be okay in them and allow you to walk."
I gave the flat reply of, "Okay."
Seeing the sandal up close was quite shocking. Finally being able to see the height and angle my feet had been subjected to for the last day. The sandals were like the kind I would have enviously gawked at on other, sexier, women at parties. Jealous of their confidence to pull them off, not to mention their skill to balance in them. And now I had just done a track workout in them.
Granted these sandals were not as stylish, definitely not having the looks for going out, but their height more than made up for that. I got an odd sense of delayed vertigo looking at them now. No wonder I was in such pain.
While I had been pondering these feelings, Catherine had finished slipping on the other sandal.
"There, how does that feel."
Dropping my focus down to this foot, I found the sandal helped. Instead of having to actively hold my foot it a pointed position, I could once again rely on my footwear to enforce that shape. Nodding my approval, Catherine took the second sandal from my grasp and laced it onto my other foot.
Now with both on, I took a moment to get use to the feeling of the sandal. Familiar yet not quote the same as my pony boots. Eventually I turned back up to Catherine looking for what to do next. Despite now lacking any pony tack, I still felt myself deferring to the guidance of my handlers. Although now I wasn't sure if Catherine thought of herself still as my handler. Had she reverted back to an acquaintance?
"Let me help you up, then we'll get you fixed up."
Lifting me by my armpits, she transferred me to a standing position, place me onto my new high sandals. Getting up a second time from the bench went much better as to my surprise my new sandals worked quite well at replicating the foot placement of my hooves. I didn't even have the wobble I usually had in normal high heels. As I was testing my footing, Catherine draped a loose tench coat over my shoulders.
Coming around to my front, she closed the coat's front and secured it with the waist belt. Covering my breast and sex for the first time since I'd become a pony. Though wearing the coat still didn't make me feel fully human yet either. With my hands still loosely clasp behind my back, the sleeves hung limp at my sides creating a similar silhouette as I had had an hour ago.
