Izzy watched the morning activity on the farm thoughtfully from her stable, as she had done dozens of times before. All of this had become her new normal; she was a part of the farm, and the farm was a part of her.
But there were differences, she knew - things that applied only to her, but not to any of the other horses. The chastity belt was wrapped around her groin again; Grall had promised her that he would always take it off when she was travelling as a human, but as a horse on the farm he insisted on it - and as her owner he was allowed to. She was also the only mare who was occasionally allowed to be in the stable without a horse bit, and only she was sometimes asked for her opinion. Even Lisande, who was now Oozol's horse, would probably not enjoy these advantages. But no matter how you looked at it, she was still standing with her arms tied in a stable whose door was locked so that she could look out, but she couldn't go anywhere without her owner's permission. This was not a punishment, as it would have been for a prisoner, but simply practical thinking on the part of the goblins, who always wanted their property - their valuable possessions - to be exactly where it belonged. Just as you put a shoe outside the door, an unused ponygirl belonged in a stable. Even though Grall wasn't lying when he called her his best friend, she was also his ponygirl, and for him - and for all goblins - she belonged in a stable. The separation of ponygirls and humans was quite clear in this way, not to mention the other clear signs. She could still hide them, but how long would it be before there were marks that remained visible? Her way back would be blocked forever. She thought of Bastian again, and something deep in her heart tightened. That strange look...
"Good morning," Pexo fluted, snapping her out of her thoughts. "How's your leg?" He opened the stable door and patted her on the bum, but of course didn't take the horse bit out of her mouth. Instead, he ran his hands down her leg and lifted her foot to examine the joint. In fact, the pain had almost subsided by now, but she wished she could just tell him that. "That looks good. This calls for a little surprise! Close your eyes. Tack!"
Izzy looked at him uncertainly, then got down on her knees and squeezed her eyes shut. She felt his rough fingers on her face and a gooey liquid that he was spreading all over it. She would have liked to see what he was doing, but she didn't dare open her eyes for fear that something might drip into her eyes. More and more of the liquid covered her skin until Pexo was finally satisfied. She felt him drying her face with a cloth, then heard him take a few steps back on the straw, which to her deep shame was a little damp.
"Open your eyes."
She blinked and stared in shock at the small hand mirror he held in front of her face, in which her brightly painted face was reflected with her eyes wide open. Pexo hadn't left a single piece of skin untouched, and fine patterns adorned her cheeks and forehead. She swallowed. In this part of the island, it was customary for humans and goblins to paint their animals brightly once a year and parade them through the villages so that everyone could marvel at the wealth of their owners. Izzy had never liked it much. She could understand it with cows, chickens and horses, but this close to the goblin border, it was mostly half-naked women who were paraded through the villages by their owners. The pride in the goblins' eyes when dozens of colourfully painted women followed them on a lead was etched deep in Izzy's memory, and yet she hadn't thought about it for a long time. Oozol was one of the few who had never joined in, though with so many ponygirls on the farm it would probably have been impractical.
More importantly, Izzy had completely forgotten the date; or rather, it had lost all meaning for her. There was no calendar in a stable, and there was nothing to plan when you were an animal. Only humans and goblins did that. It was more proof of how far she had drifted away from it.
"Is something wrong?" asked Grall - wearing his finest school clothes again - from the doorway, then he stopped abruptly. "No, Pexo, I wanted to ask her first!" He ran to Izzy and hurriedly took the horse bit out of her mouth.
"Really? I thought it was a joke. I know she's different from the others, but why would you ask her first?' Pexo said uncertainly and patted Izzy lightly on the bottom again.
"What's wrong with that?" Izzy snapped at him.
"It's not the sort of thing a horse should decide," Pexo said, and it didn't escape Izzy's notice that he had said it to Grall and not to her.
"It's too late now, but it looks good, you've got talent." Grall took Izzy's face in his hand and looked at Pexo's work from all sides. "What do you say Buttercup, do you like it? It's the best colour I could find." Real pride resonated with his words, and again Izzy realised that as a goblin he had such a completely different view on such matters. For him, it must be a sign of love and devotion to see her painted in this way - after all, he would be out in public with her like this. He smiled as if he had given her precious jewellery and not had a clear sign of submission painted on her skin.
Izzy grumbled and turned her head to examine the whole work in the mirror. Her lips were obscenely red, as were her ears, while her cheeks were covered in a surprisingly intricate pattern that she wouldn't have given Pexo credit for. On her forehead, he had painted a simple version of Grall's mark that made their connection all too clear. She hardly looked like a human in such colourful make-up; but she would certainly hardly stand out in a herd of similarly painted cows.
"There's a little celebration later, and as the winner of the race, I wanted you to be especially pretty," Grall squeaked. He rubbed his arm and avoided her gaze, like a little boy who had given his mother a bouquet of flowers, but had briefly forgotten that you weren't allowed to steal flowers from your neighbour's garden even for such noble purposes.
"Wash it off," Izzy demanded brusquely. ""Right now." She stamped furiously, enjoying the little jump Grall and Pexo made at that. She might be Grall's horse, but she was a horse that couldn't be easily ignored.
"I'll do it myself," said Grall and sent Pexo to fetch a bucket of water and a sponge. But no matter how hard he rubbed, the colour remained stubborn. It may have faded a little, but it was still clearly visible. "It won't come off," he whined. "This colour is worth the money..."
"You didn't test it first?" Izzy shouted in anger. "You..."
"Is there any trouble here?" asked Oozol from the doorway. "Why aren't you in school yet?"
"The paint won't come off!" grumbled Izzy.
"And why exactly is that a problem? The colour lasts a few days, or longer. Besides, you look really good with it, as you should. Get on your way, I don't want Grall to be late for class."
"I'm not going out the door like that!" shouted Izzy. "No way!"
Oozol crossed his arms. "And why not? Because then everyone would think you're a ponygirl?" His smug grin annoyed Izzy, partly because he had hit a sore spot.
"It's humiliating!"
"Buttercup, it's a tradition here, you know that. Besides, it's a bit silly to complain about a bit of colour while your ponytail is swaying between your legs. Get going, you're already late." He gave her one of her favourite sweets on the flat of his hand and stroked her head.
Izzy's gaze could have lit a fire, but as always, the ponytail was too clear a sign of where she belonged. The tail was both a curse and a blessing: she loved the feeling, but it also left no doubt that it was far too late for shame.
Grall hurriedly saddled Izzy and rode her at a fast gallop to the school. Mexi must have ridden ahead as the gate to her estate was open. At the school itself, unfortunately for her, Izzy was the only painted ponygirl that morning, although she guessed the others would be painted later that day. Still, it felt strange for Izzy to be particularly recognisable as an animal even amongst the other ponygirls. Albaea seemed oblivious to Izzy's worries, always bouncing around excitedly and looking at Izzy's colour with great curiosity; as Izzy suspected, it was her first festival of this kind - such a thing was by no means common everywhere. Sunshine, on the other hand, just grumbled.
The only bright spot of the day was that Izzy soon learnt that Kreks hadn't turned up at school today. After the defeat, he had probably switched to home schooling for the time being, and Izzy wasn't particularly unhappy about that.
"You look good," said Matheus. Grall had just taken Izzy to the stables, where her father was already waiting for her. He gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead. "Grall can paint well with his fingers, I wouldn't have thought he was capable of that. His father is a complete failure at everything artistic. A good man and friend, but he couldn't even draw a house if his life depended on it. He simply lacks imagination. He's very practical, but I'm sure you've realised that by now." Izzy tried to correct him, but with the horse bit in her mouth, she couldn't. Instead, he patted her lightly on the bottom, as was customary with ponygirls. A simple gesture of comfort that didn't require an intelligent response. "You'll be the most beautiful ponygirl in the whole village." He noticed her uncertain look. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be able to be human again. Your trip to Udamos was very unfortunate, but it doesn't always have to be that way. He told me about the travelling horse bit, that's a good idea. That way you can wander around the forest, but if necessary ride back quickly. You have to adapt a bit, life doesn't always take the straight path; sometimes it takes twists and turns that we don't foresee."
He still hadn't taken the horse bit out of Izzy's mouth, and she was beginning to suspect that he was doing it on purpose. Maybe it was just his way of making her life easier by treating her "appropriately", but it didn't make a real conversation any easier. She mumbled something through the horse bit and wiggled her linked arms.
"Better not, Grall told me he wants to take you for a ride soon. He's your owner now, you have to listen to him. You two are good friends, I'm sure you'll find a way for you both to be happy with it. I trust you will." Izzy rolled her eyes, but her father just grinned at her. "Smile for me. Just once." She grimaced as best she could with the horse bit. " "That's good." But Izzy grumbled again and looked over her shoulder at her bottom. Matheus was clearly skilled at interpreting the words of a ponygirl with horse bits in her mouth. "I'm sorry, my angel, but the whip is just part of it. You know your mum was my everything, but sometimes she was also Oozol's ponygirl. I often saw her with a red bottom after a ride. She never complained because she knew it was normal for a horse. You'll get used to it and maybe even miss it. Once Oozol didn't need her for a while, I had to whip... no, let's not go into that," he said so Izzy's eyes widened. "There'll be lots of painted ponygirls in the village today, but you'll be the prettiest. Make Grall proud. Goblins care a lot about their ponygirls, you know that. Always remember, you are his ponygirl. And he is your rider."
Izzy neighed.
