Izzy's Ponygirl Journey

Izzy's heart was racing. 'You might as well have lit the fire for the brand,' she thought, biting her tongue. Grall, on the other hand, was still beside himself with joy, but he hadn't exactly given away his entire future either. He jumped around like a little bouncy ball and fell into the arms of anyone who didn't dodge him fast enough. His happiness was infectious, but Izzy didn't catch on to it, partly because he kept pointing at her bottom and making burning noises, which really annoyed her. Her friend just never knew when he was going too far.

But she couldn't and wouldn't blame him, this was her own fault. Once again, her stupidity had set off an avalanche that was now dragging her down into the valley - whether she wanted to was no longer important. She could only wait and watch, but in this case, she knew what was waiting for her at the end of the journey: a branding iron with Grall's mark, which he himself would press onto her arse with a broad grin so that it would proclaim for all time that she belonged to him.

To make matters worse, the goblins gave their friend a lot of good advice, which made Izzy even more nervous: 'Don't be shy, it has to smoke!', 'She'll be a bit loud about it, but you have to keep it steady until it takes effect' and 'Make sure your mark isn't too small. She needs to feel it well, so she knows you're her master.' Izzy grumbled. Goblins... 'She's submitted to you, now make sure she stays down,' said a goblin in dirty armour.

But here, at least, Grall clearly disagreed. 'No, she's not like other ponygirls, I won't do that!'

Izzy nodded silently, but it didn't change anything. Even as her friend, she had submitted to him and now he was going to do what was natural for goblins in such situations. She was already his property, of course; after all, she bore his number on her bosom, which was also filed in an official register with her horse's name, but this mark was even more personal; above all, more painful. The idea that he would press a burning hot metal mark into her skin with his own hands so that it would leave a scar made her stomach revolt. To make matters worse, she would soon be wearing his gold nose ring, making it impossible to hide the truth about her status.

She felt slightly nauseous again. It wasn't that she didn't feel love for Grall, and she had to admit to herself that it felt good to show him her own affection so clearly, but the price was too high. Until now, she had had at least some hope of being able to be human occasionally, but there was nothing left of that after the kiss. Besides, she still had the taste of his feet in her mouth.

She looked around; the world was divided in two.

The humans stood at the back and kept as far away from Izzy as possible - their faces showed nothing but disgust and sometimes even hatred. That was unusual even for the people in this village, but no girl had ever been stupid enough to allow herself to be humiliated and domesticated voluntarily before. Allegedly, a few young men had occasionally allowed themselves to be turned into stallions, but that didn't surprise Izzy, as it offered the men their own special appeals. Besides, they were virtually invisible to the human world later; quite unlike the ponygirls who walked half-naked through the villages every day. Without a doubt, the kiss was just the last straw that broke the camel's back.

She raised her nose in the air rebelliously; this wasn't all her fault after all; Grunhilda had provoked her to the brink, as she often did, and had given her the idea in the first place, but no one seemed to care.

The goblins, on the other hand, still reacted completely differently; they cheered and celebrated; the voluntary devotion of a girl as a ponygirl for a goblin was seen as a great honour, and it was celebrated thoroughly. It had to be a good precedent for them, one they hoped many would follow. Izzy knew by now how expensive ponygirls could be; they were beyond the reach of some goblins. The prospect of getting one for free must have seemed like a godsend. Of course, it didn't matter to the goblins that a girl would have to give up her dreams and her freedom, they were only thinking about the benefits.

Izzy couldn't even blame them, who would refuse a gift? Apart from the comments about the brand, the goblins were kind to her, stroking and praising her incessantly; there was hardly a spot on her that wasn't patted, even those that made her blush. There were also all kinds of treats, which Izzy was only too happy to devour. She felt like she was at the centre of this celebration, which was slowly and steadily taking her away from life as a human. Her colourfully painted face, reflected in the windows of the houses, left no doubt about it, too.

'That was wonderful,' Mexi whistled, jumping around almost as excitedly as Albaea. The playful mare kept trying to get down on her knees, but Mexi stopped her. 'Don't do that, sweetheart, you just want to copy her. That doesn't count. Besides, you're too immature for that.' She gave her pouting horse a little kiss and then turned to Izzy. 'You're a good horse too. Grall is very lucky you like him so much.' She stroked Izzy's head the way Izzy used to pet dogs. It was humiliating, but at least Mexi obviously meant it nicely.

Grall gave Mexi a kiss and hugged her. Over her shoulder, he gave Izzy a strange look, as if his neck was aching and his eyes were twitching. He turned Mexi round to face Izzy and kept looking at her feet. 'Oh, I'm sure she likes you just as much.'

Izzy breathed in heavily. So that's what he wanted. It was almost cute how desperately he bobbed his head, but at least it wasn't an order, she had to give him credit for that, just a plea between friends. It was a pitiful sight, how much he wanted to impress his crush, and Izzy rolled her eyes. 'What could possibly happen now,' she thought, 'It doesn't get much worse than with Grall.' She smiled at Mexi, got down on her knees, looked up at the surprised girl once more and kissed both of her clean shoes. It was an impressive sight, not least because the difference in height between the two of them surpassed that of Izzy and Grall. It was like an elephant bowing to a human.

Just as soon as Izzy was back on her feet, Mexi jumped around Grall, squealing and cheering. 'That was so great, that was so great!' she shouted, stumbling into his arms and their lips locked. Only Albaea whinnied unhappily, as if a toy had been taken away from her. 'I've never seen such a well-trained horse.' Izzy grumbled softly. 'I bet your brand will look great.' She tapped the spot on Izzy's bottom and Izzy flinched under the touch. 'Do you think she'd like my brand too?'

Grall was clearly still in a good mood and before Izzy could object, he said, 'I'm sure she'd love it.' Izzy would have liked to kick his ass, but there was plenty of time for that later.

The humans still hadn't come any closer, with one exception: a little girl had squeezed past the goblins and was looking at Izzy with wide eyes.

'You're beautiful,' the girl said, beaming.

'Thank you,' Izzy stuttered after remembering that she didn't have a horse bit in her mouth. She looked at the girl sheepishly; she wasn't used to people thinking she was beautiful. Not as a ponygirl, and not as a woman either.

'Do you like doing this?'

Izzy gazed into the girl's bright eyes, not daring to say anything bad. 'You get used to it. Some of it's quite nice,' Izzy said, unconsciously wiggling her bum.

Grall smiled proudly. 'When you grow up, you can be a ponygirl too,' he said and Izzy gave him a brief evil glare. The thought of other girls following her example made her deeply nervous. She didn't want to be a role model, especially not for this.

'That's not going to happen!' hissed a plump woman, pushing past the goblins. The goblins had nothing to oppose her mass. 'Careful, greenlings, peace ends with our children. You can have that stupid girl there if you like, but keep your hands off the rest.'

These words should have offended the goblins, but most of them just rolled their eyes or shrugged their shoulders. 'We'll see about that,' said a wiry goblin next to Izzy. 'The young women can decide for themselves later. If we're lucky, we'll never have to pay for a ponygirl again.' The other goblins cheered at the idea and it became very clear to Izzy that perhaps she hadn't just condemned herself to this fate.

Grunhilda watched the spectacle open-mouthed; she hadn't said a word since the kiss, much to Izzy's delight. It was obvious that the shock had worked, but unfortunately that was no longer the case. The girl shook herself and, after clearing her throat loudly, exclaimed: 'Disgusting! Revolting! Crazy!' She spat on the floor, but unfortunately for her, she hadn't realised what was happening behind her. Saxea had untied Sunshine and was leading her straight past Grunhilda. Neither of them took Buttercup's insult lightly; a quick tap on Sunshine's bottom was all it took for the horse to give Grunhilda a shove with her wide bum. It wasn't hard enough to get her in trouble, but it was enough for Grunhilda to lose her balance and land face first in a large pile of very heavily used straw. The girl screamed, but nobody helped her, even the humans preferred to keep their distance.

Izzy laughed uproariously, and Grunhilda's angry looks didn't change that - in fact, it made it even funnier.

Grall also grinned broadly. 'How clumsy of you, dear sister.'

Grunhilda wiped a brown piece of straw from her face. 'That horse attacked me! That's forbidden, I know your laws. Punish her!'

Grall climbed into the saddle, put the horse bit in Izzy's mouth and leaned over her shoulder so that he could look down at Grunhilda. 'Thank you, but we know our laws very well. No ponygirl will be punished for your little mishap. Sunshine is a good animal. You just have to be a little more careful around horses.' He turned to the other goblins and waved them over. 'It stinks here, let's go to our side of the village, the air is certainly better there. The pack of goblins ran off and Grall rode ahead on Izzy. 'Hopefully we won't see them again so soon.' Izzy neighed in agreement, she'd had enough of humans for the time being, but unfortunately Grall didn't make it that easy for her. They didn't take any shortcuts, but even made a few detours so that every human could see the girl who had voluntarily submitted to a goblin. Izzy would have gladly done without it, but at least the ride wasn't far. Grall tied her by the reins to a post at the very edge - but didn't release her from the horse's bit - and rejoined the other revellers; jugs of ale appeared out of nowhere, while wine, cheese and bread were served everywhere. It was a lively party and after a short time a small band was playing a catchy tune. The spontaneous party was in full swing and Oozol arrived a little late.

Saxea, on the other hand, was still fully occupied with Sunshine, whom she had even taken the bit out of the mouth. 'Please, it's just a little thing!' she squeaked, but her horse just shook her head. 'Buttercup did it too!' Sunshine visibly rolled her eyes, and Izzy understood how the other horse felt about it, but she didn't make a sound, as a good horse should. 'I command you!'

Oozol laughed with a rumble. 'That's one of the few things you can't order a ponygirl to do. She does it because she wants to, or not. You can ride a ponygirl, hit her with a whip, tie her up somewhere, and generally control her whole life -' Izzy gulped at these words '- but you can't force it to like you. If you want Sunshine to submit to you like Buttercup, you should try to be kinder.'

'Even more?' Saxea grumbled, then nodded. 'Good, I'll be even nicer to her. Then she'll really like me!' Sunshine neighed contentedly and gave Saxea a kiss on the forehead before the horse bit went back into her mouth.

'Sister, you still have a long way to go. Buttercup doesn't just like me, she loves me,' slurred Grall from further away, who was already far too drunk again after only a short time. The little goblins couldn't take much. 'She was my best friend, and now she's my best horse. Sunshine is wonderful, but the bond between Buttercup and me is something special.'

Saxea crossed. 'Sunshine will do the same for me, you'll see.' Behind her, Sunshine shook her head vigorously and Izzy had to grin. Sunshine was tied next to Izzy and they both shared meaningful glances, but Izzy was busy with her own thoughts. Lisande and Albaea were also tied next to Izzy again.

''One small question,'' came an unfamiliar voice from the side. It was a goblin Izzy had never seen before. His clothes were as unusual as his accent, and she quickly realised that he must have come from far away in goblin land. 'This horse, is it something special?' He emphasized the S in a very strange way that Izzy had never heard before, almost like he was a snake.

Since Grall was already celebrating, only Saxea could answer his questions. 'She's my brother's mare. Not as good as my Sunshine, of course, but something special. She's a girl from the village.'

'Is her pedigree known?'

Saxea thought for a moment. 'My father told me that her mother came from far away.'

'So the hooves are no coincidence?' he asked with interest, moving to the floor to trace the royal pattern left by Izzy's shoes with his fingers. She didn't like it at all, something about this man made her nervous. Why was he interested in this? 'An extinct noble line. Very unusual. Is she for sale?'

Izzy snorted uneasily, but Saxea paid it no mind. 'No, I don't think so. But my father has lots of other horses. Come on, I'll introduce you to him.' With that, the girl pulled the man along with her, who continued to look thoughtfully at the hoofprints.

Again, Izzy felt like a commodity, something to be bargained for. From that point of view, perhaps it was better if Grall gave her the ring after all. Sure, a nose ring wasn't very pleasant, but at least then she would belong to him in a way that nobody could buy her anymore.

The party turned even wilder at midday and really came to life in the evening. As the sun went down, the goblins' spirits rose and new guests joined them. Sunshine and Izzy's peace ended when old Hersia joined them. The goblin lady wore an old apron and yellowed jewellery in large quantities, and she had coloured the tips of her ears. Izzy had often noticed that the old woman cared little for the opinions of other goblins, but she had always been friendly to Izzy and she often had a few sweets with her. Even now she handed Izzy a handful of treats, which Izzy was more than happy to eat. Her sweets were still the best sweets in the village, but Izzy now wondered if they had the same effect as the ponygirl treats.

'Look at you, standing here proud and gorgeous.' Hersia patted Izzy's bare bottom lovingly and smiled warmly at her - something she didn't do with many others. 'I've delivered many foals over the years, but you've always been something special. No wonder with a mother like that.' Izzy snorted at the word 'foal', but old Hersia just giggled. 'It's the truth! You were a little foal, so cute and full of potential. Luckily you ended up under a saddle, as you should have; it's in your blood. Don't look so harshly, you were born the daughter of a ponygirl, so of course you were a ponygirl from birth. The line is passed on through the mother!' Izzy raised her eyebrows in astonishment. She had actually heard that before, but had never thought that it applied to her, after all, her father wasn't a stallion, but a normal man. She shook her head vigorously. 'You probably think this old woman in front of you is out of her depth, but you're wrong, as everyone is! Your father doesn't matter, neither do the ponyboys. It's always about the mother. No, no, you've always been a ponygirl, but it just took you a little longer to realise it.' Hersia winked, giving Izzy time to process this news before she continued. 'Luckily for you, Grall is a few days older than you. You can't imagine how happy Oozol was when he was able to gift his son his very own ponygirl so soon after birth. You were officially registered on the same day, as is customary for all foals, with Grall's birthday as your number.' Izzy took a step back in horror, only the reins holding her in place. She gave a startled neigh. No words were needed for Hersia to understand her thoughts, Izzy's eyes shouted them out to the world. 'It was your destiny, or did you think a man like Oozol would pass up an animal like you? How well do you know him anyway? But your father was stubborn; brought stupid new ideas to this village. He wanted you to live as a human first and then make up your mind. He insisted that no one should know about the registration, not even Oozol's own son; what a waste of time, hopefully he has realised that by now. A horse like you will always long for the saddle.'

Izzy was only half-listening, her mind was racing. Why hadn't anyone told her? Not even now? Had Grall really not known? So was it all just a game for Oozol to make her what she already officially was? But then was the emergency registration also just an excuse for Izzy to accept something that was already a reality?

Everything around her was spinning, but Hersia kept talking. 'Most people think I'm cranky, but take it from an old woman: always live your life the way you want to. Don't listen to anyone and don't bow to anyone.' Those were terribly silly words to say to a ponygirl, but Hersia didn't seem to notice. 'I would have told you all this much sooner, but I had to promise not to at the time. And I know when to keep my mouth shut. Still, hopefully my sweets have helped you on your way. You always loved eating them, just like a good horse should. If I'm lucky, I'll deliver your foals too. I hear you're not opposed to Oozol's stallion Titan.'

The old woman gave the rigid Izzy a pat on the butt and marched off. Sunshine neighed and cuddled Izzy for comfort, but she was completely detached from the world. So she really was born to be a ponygirl; she had always been Oozol's property. Everything else was just an illusion - and if she didn't do something about it, Grall would very soon press his brand into her skin.

Izzy swallowed.

The following conversation with the other horses was unpleasant for Izzy. Not that it took many words to have this discussion - and with the horse bits in their mouths, no real talking was possible anyway - but even so, Izzy clearly saw in the eyes of Lisande and Sunshine what they thought of the development. Betrayal was written all over their faces. If Grall and Oozol were lucky, they would only spit in their faces, but Izzy wasn't sure about that. She had some trouble calming the other two mares, while Albaea just howled under the angry snorting of the other horses. She was probably not used to so much upset. But Izzy was grateful to the two mares, at least she didn't have to feel this betrayal alone. A deep sting went through her heart. Oozol and her father had kept the truth from her all this time; and even if Grall hadn't known, it felt like the last few weeks had been built on a big stinking pile of lies.

She had never been free.

Not when she took her first steps.

Not when she drew her first scratchy letters at school.

Not when she sat on the grass one summer and watched Bastian bathing and realised what the difference was between a boy and a girl.

And certainly not when Grall had put a saddle on her back for the first time. So even then she had been his horse, legally speaking. His date of birth was listed in the register as her number from the day she was born.

Lisande and Sunshine stamped their feet angrily, and Izzy did the same. Until now, she had only thought about running away because she feared the brand. But now it seemed madness not to. But she was also well secured as a ponygirl. She needed a way to escape, but there was nothing to be seen far and wide. No goblin would help her. Albaea's eyes were still wet, and Izzy would have loved to comfort her, even though technically it was her pain. But the mare was so affectionate that Izzy would have happily hugged her. But now she had to think of herself first and find a way out.