Grall stared sheepishly at Izzy's butt the next morning. "Still doesn't look good. Well, I mean the wounds, not... you know." He blushed slightly. At least he hadn't lost all sense of shame, Izzy realized, yet she rolled her eyes.
He had come to her first after getting up in the morning with a healing paste and had taken the horse bit right out of her mouth. Her arms were still bound, but that didn't surprise her - as Grall had warned her, she was now considered a ponygirl on the farm. There was no exception when it came to safety - especially not with her - but at least he was trying to make the situation more comfortable for her. Not that it would, or could, change Izzy's decision. He still had too much power over her, even his sheepish smile couldn't change that.
"Don't wriggle around like that," Grall complained, but that was easier said than done. Her bottom still ached - which was why the night hadn't been very pleasant - and the rough skin of his green fingers wasn't particularly gentle on her bruised bottom. She shuddered at the thought of his fingers; life as a horse had brought some changes, but this intimacy with Grall still unsettled her deeply. Of course, she knew that something like this could happen, but it was different when you were actually confronted with it. Oozol had also touched her in this way, but Grall had been her friend and lacked the necessary distance and professionalism. She pushed the thought aside. None of that mattered to a horse, and Grall would soon be her owner anyway. If they couldn't find a way out for her, she would probably have to get used to moments like this.
She sighed.
Grall looked past her wide bum. "I'll be done in a minute. It's quite a lot of space to cover." He laughed, and Izzy couldn't help giggling too. There was nothing actually funny about it, but the sight of the little goblin disappearing almost entirely behind her mighty buttocks was strangely entertaining. "You're sure you don't want to change your mind?"
Izzy tilted her head. "To make you feel a little better? If you want to know how I feel, take a closer look at my bum."
"It would be quite pretty without the welts," Grall replied as he spread some ointment right between her legs. He almost choked on his own words. "I mean, for a horse, of course."
"Of course..."
"But seriously, it's not just about me. I'm sorry that..."
"You've said that before. Thank you, but that doesn't help me. Besides, I don't believe you don't take some pleasure in the fact that I might always be your horse."
He put on a mischievous smile that he used to have when he was caught doing something forbidden. "It's great to have a horse in the stable. But you're not like the other ponygirls. I'm only happy if you are too. We're friends."
"We were," Izzy interjected harshly.
Grall swallowed. "You're still important to me, and that hasn't changed. Even if you don't see it that way."
"I didn't say you aren't important to me. But we can't be friends like this. We just can't. You have too much power over me and I don't know if I can trust you."
"Then I'll prove it to you. I promise!"
"That I'm worthy of being your horse, or your friend?"
He thought for a long time. "If it's up to me, then both. That's my dream. Don't laugh, I'm serious!"
Izzy actually had a big grin on her face. Grall was a dreamer, she knew that. But how was something like this supposed to work? The strangest thing about this pondering for Izzy, though, was that she hardly cared about her life as a ponygirl anymore. Something about it felt almost normal by now, even if it hadn't been her first choice. But in a life like that, there was simply no room for friendship between animal and owner. She didn't even know what Grall could do to help her. How could she be human again if the whole neighbourhood knew she was a horse in Grall's stable? The hope of one day being human again was too tempting not to cling to, but now it seemed more like a burden that kept her from acknowledging the truth. But even if she could be human again, albeit on a part-time basis, Grall was still officially her owner, and such a thing required a great deal of trust - or outright submission, but at least Izzy was sure he wouldn't demand that of her.
A few hours later, Grall saddled Izzy himself to ride her to the village. Izzy put up with it, after all, this was her designated role, at least for the time being. Besides, it wasn't the first ride of its kind - and yet it still felt strange that Grall was using her as nothing more than his means of transport. He brought her to her knees with a short "Tack!", climbed into the saddle and gave her the spurs straight away. His wallet jingled and she guessed that it would be another short ride to the shops.
But she didn't really mind - at least she got out of the stable and could enjoy the warm summer sun, and Grall was usually a friendly rider, especially when he spared the whip - even if, as she would never tell him, she now understood when this form of motivation made sense from a rider's point of view. Even if she was the horse he was spurring on with it.
Not all horses had the luck of a careful rider that day. The loud neighing of a ponygirl made Izzy stop. Grall also turned round at the sound.
"Animal abuser," he growled gruffly, forgetting that he too had ridden Izzy hard. But something about the neighing was different, more pleading. They both caught a glimpse of it through the trees; it was Kreks, who was charging through the forest on Lisande. The poor animal was being whipped by its rider and driven on at a fast gallop. It was a terrible sight that broke Izzy's heart, but with the horse's bit in her mouth she couldn't even say anything about it. Grall seemed to share her thoughts. "Bastard. Lisande is still too inexperienced, she needs guidance, not beating." Izzy neighed in agreement and Grall stroked her head. "Unfortunately there's nothing I can do, she's his. Poor thing."
He gave Izzy the spurs again and she trotted on with her head down. Poor Lisande, she thought, nobody deserves this. When she arrived in the village, she was again the centre of attention, even more than on the previous days. Word must have got round by now that Izzy was a local girl. Such a thing was extremely unusual, but even if Izzy would have liked to have done without this attention, the reactions were at least positive - which in essence almost made it worse. Izzy saw a glint of hope in their eyes, and she could well imagine that most of the goblins in the village were wondering how they could get more girls under saddle for free. The thought of receiving a valuable animal at no cost from the human ranks had to be like a godsend, especially for the poorer goblins. Izzy could only hope that she hadn't led any of the other girls from the area down this path. It wasn't always good or right to be a trailblazer, some doors were better left closed.
Without giving it a second thought, Grall tied her up outside the sweet shop, as was required of a ponygirl like Izzy, and disappeared briefly into the shop. The wait was awful, especially being secured to her breast rings in public was hideously humiliating. The light chains offered her little room for manoeuvre and pulled on her sensitive nipples with every movement. She could only stand bent forward and wait while her rider chose sweets for himself at his own whim, while only oats and water awaited her. The sun burned hot on her skin; without shade, even the best weather soon became too much. Hurry up, Izzy thought, before Grall came out of the shop again. He had already taken one foot out of the door when Kreks rode past at the edge of the village with Lisande.
"He's been doing that all day," the shopkeeper said. "You wouldn't wish it on anyone. Poor thing. I hope he loses the fun of it soon."
Grall nodded in agreement, as did Izzy, though of course no one noticed. Only now did Izzy realise that Grall had two bags with him - she immediately straightened up a little, until the chains stopped her painfully. For a moment, she pushed the gloomy thoughts aside; two bags could really only mean one thing...
"Don't mix up the bags, otherwise you'll only end up with sweets for ponygirls. And don't eat too much, I'm sure your horse doesn't want a fat rider," shouted the salesman, and Grall got a little smaller as Izzy whinnied with laughter. She had indeed noticed that Grall had become a little chubbier due to the lack of exercise - unlike Izzy. My little chubby one, she thought, and went down on her knees even before the "Tack!". As much as the situation annoyed her, she had been trained well.
"He was joking," Grall grumbled to Izzy, but she shook her head vigorously and poked him in the stomach with her nose. "Don't do that!" He was obviously embarrassed, but Izzy didn't care. After all, it was his own fault - as was the fact that her own legs had become much more muscular in the meantime. It was probably only natural that horses were more trained than their riders. When she thought about it, Grall had always been a little wirier than goblins with ponygirls; but that time was probably behind him now. "If you're not good, you don't get a treat." Izzy huffed angrily, but Grall just grinned and gave her two sweets at once. For a moment, they really were just horse and rider; and Izzy couldn't deny that it almost felt right. It certainly had its good parts at the best of times, she mused, savouring the taste of the treats on her tongue as they spread around the horse's bit and filled her whole mouth.
When they arrived at the yard, Grall tied Izzy to a post near the training area and left her there for a short time. This gave Izzy enough time to have a look around. As usual, some of the newer horses were being trained at this time: they ran behind their goblin trainers, had to trot with practice saddles or obey real riders. Some also pulled small training carts behind them. But their real attention was focussed on Titan, who was being led across the yard again. This didn't seem to be a coincidence, Izzy realised, but part of the training. The mares were probably supposed to deliberately ignore him and concentrate on their task, and it seemed to be his job to distract them from that. Izzy, on the other hand, had enough time to take a closer look at the magnificent stallion. Titan soon realised this too, giving her all his naked attention. The goblin on his lead apparently didn't care, and so Izzy and Titan gave each other more than a few clear glances. Perhaps the vigorous wiggling of her bum in his direction was a little too much, but his attention did her good. The unaccustomed attention of a man - even if he was a pony stallion - made her skin tingle pleasantly. Some of the ponygirls giggled at the sight of the more than excited Izzy, and her behaviour had not escaped the attention of a few of the trainers either.
