With a heavy crack of the whip, the goblin drove Izzy up the stairs to the grandstand. The rotten wood creaked with each step like the wailing of the many ponygirls who had already travelled this path. She followed the goblin's reins until he stopped her right in the centre of the platform. The eyes of dozens of goblins were fixed on her; most of them scrutinised her with interest, as one would a piece of livestock - and she had to admit that in this case that applied to her - while others hid their faces under hoods. It was probably not a place you wanted to be seen in; horse theft and dealing with stolen goods was undoubtedly a serious crime. As Izzy had expected, all the goblins were men; it was common among the goblins to keep women out of the horse trade - probably one of the reasons, apart from their beliefs, why the goblins preferred to ride women, they just liked it that way. Perhaps a human male reminded them too much of themselves. Of course, they also feared the strength and ferocity of human men, Izzy thought, there were good reasons why Titan was so well secured at Oozol farm, but that left the hard lot of the mounts to the human women.
"Number 16, a horse from the forest. She's registered, but I'm sure that won't bother anyone here," said the auctioneer, and the crowd laughed. "She was given to us from a good source. Her origin remains a mystery, but as you can all see, she is a magnificent animal. She is healthy, young and strongly built, with a powerful body suitable for any task: be it riding or working. A noble animal, no doubt from good breeding."
Izzy blushed as the interest in her increased. Most of them came a little closer to the stage to see more of her. Their gazes literally undressed her, had she not already been naked. But those eyes were piercing through her flesh just to judge whether she was worth the money.
"Really magnificent," said an old goblin right by the stand, scratching his chin. "She reminds me a little of a horse I saw many years ago in the king's stables in the neighbouring kingdom. What was she called..." The old man stared into the distance, then a light seemed to dawn on him. "Of course, the prince's gorgeous mare, Buttercup! I wonder if she's one of her foals. Her stature and facial features are practically identical. I never forget a good horse." Izzy's heart almost broke at the mention of her mother; why did he have to bring this up now, but to make matters worse, the interest of potential buyers increased.
"Are you sure? The prince was killed, wasn't his horse murdered with him?"
"I wasn't there, but as far as I know, the horse was never found."
The auctioneer had listened carefully and looked extremely satisfied. "There are real connoisseurs here. It was presented to us with hooves of the royal mark of the old house."
"Anyone can nail them to a horse," grumbled another goblin, but a hooded goblin brushed him aside harshly. The new goblin didn't say a word, but he held up a gold coin like the ones Izzy had seen before. It showed her mother and the prince, and Izzy already knew the resemblance was undeniable.
"They really are like sisters. Or mother and daughter," said the auctioneer after he too had studied the gold coin. "Who wouldn't want to buy the foal of a princess mare? But that's not her only advantage. Come closer and take a good look at her. Tack!" Izzy only went to her knees after a hard blow with the flat of his hand. His ring scratched her skin and she yelped. "Their udders are large and full, they will give you plenty of milk if you want it. Human milk is healthy and nutritious. But she can also feed many foals. Look at her wide hips too. Perfect for any saddle, but also giving birth, she will throw you foal after foal and make the buyer rich and respected. Find the right stallion and you'll be drowning in royal horses!"
Izzy shuddered. The possibility of being mated against her will was not new to her, but so far it had only been a theoretical danger, but now it seemed terribly real. Not that she disliked men, she still got warm just thinking about Titan, but there she had some choice. But not here.
"Look how much she likes that idea," the auctioneer mocked, grabbing Izzy's stiff nipples and her wet crotch. "I'm sure you don't even have to tie her down, she'd just bend over for him herself." Izzy lowered her eyes, what more insults did she have to endure? Was there no hole in this world where she could hide? To these goblins, she was just an animal that could be mated to throw them children to sell. What a terrible idea; and yet maybe it was her future. And to make matters worse, the goblin was right, as much as it shamed her, it also excited her. Her thoughts flitted to Titan, and the short time in his stables; it was enough to make her blush. "She probably hasn't had any foals yet either, surely yours will be the first." He lifted Izzy's head up by the chin and looked her in the eye, and Izzy shook her head to the cheers of the crowd. "There you see it. Open your mouth." After a crack of the whip, she obeyed, and the goblin stepped aside. "This animal has healthy teeth, and as I'm sure you can see in the front row, her back teeth have already been removed, so she can wear a horse bit permanently."
Izzy closed her eyes and tried to just endure all this humiliation, but whenever she thought it couldn't get any worse, the auctioneer found a new humiliation.
"Turn round and bend over," he ordered, and lashed out before she could hesitate. She yelped and turned her bottom to face the spectators. Her trembling didn't seem to bother anyone, especially not when she slowly bent over to present her most private parts to the goblins. For the first time, she wished she had her chastity belt back. She had so often disliked the metal, but now the protection would have been even more welcome. "She's already used to ponytails, even the biggest ones will suit her. Just how well it fits." The auctioneer grabbed the hair of her tail and pulled. Izzy moaned, the large plug sucking at her insides, but her ass held it with an iron grip. The goblin yanked on it with all his might, but the plug stayed in her bottom. "Impressive, isn't it? I'm sure your stallions will have fun with it." He winked and Izzy would have liked to put her hands over her ears, but as usual they were tied behind her back. The crowd whistled and clapped; there was no doubt that these men knew what he meant.
"She seems to like it," shouted someone from the crowd.
"I'm sure she does," the auctioneer confirmed, running his finger between her moist lips directed at the crowd. Izzy shuddered, and to her own misfortune, she pressed herself against him. "Don't be so hasty, big girl. I'm sure your new master will get you a stallion for this." He addressed the crowd again. "As you can see, she's an obedient animal, all she needs is a little encouragement. Certainly not a sign of resistance, more of low intelligence. But who needs a clever horse, am I right?" People sniggered and Izzy hated it. Did these people think ponygirls were stupid? Only someone who didn't know them could believe that - but that was probably the problem. Grall and Oozol knew about the ponygirls' intelligence - but they still used them for their own purposes, but maybe here it was different. Anyone who never talked to a ponygirl could quickly believe that they really were just dumb animals. "Would anyone like to examine the animal more closely? Only seriously interested buyers, please!"
A goblin in the front row raised his hand and came onto the stage. "Beautiful beast, big and noble. Could it actually be from noble stock?" He examined Izzy closely, who still knelt. He felt her breasts - more intensely than was really necessary - and looked into her mouth. When he'd finished, he went to her other end and, to her shock, stuck two fingers in her; one in front, one behind, and slowly pulled them out, then pushed them in again. "She's responding well. I have a dozen stallions I loan out for breeding, but a mare on the farm might bring some calm. The stallions are too aggressive, but with a mare like that in the stable, they'd be able to let off steam more often. If the price is right." Izzy barely listened to the words, her whole world consisted of his fingers, and the shame she felt at how much she enjoyed his touch, pressing against him in rhythm. "When can we bid for her?"
The auctioneer looked down at her with great satisfaction and casually tucked the whip under his arm. "Right away. Please climb down and we'll start right away." The bidder wiped his fingers clean, and Izzy had to stand back up. Most of the goblins had dirty grins on their faces, but some just seemed to look at it with an almost business-like indifference. They had probably, Izzy thought, watched many horses being mated before so this wasn't new to them here. "Turn round again for your audience," he ordered, and Izzy turned slowly on the spot. It was awful, everything about her was being ogled and rated. She was just a commodity for sale, not a human being; above all, she was not their equal. She was just an animal, something useful with which these men wanted to make money.
"We'll start with the first bid. Who offers 5,000 thalers for this magnificent animal that will undoubtedly make the buyer rich. Don't forget, it comes from the stables of a prince. You won't find anything this special for sale anywhere else."
"My stallions don't care," the goblin from earlier remarked; his fingers were still a little shiny. Nevertheless, he raised his hand. "If I buy her, I'll name her Oxolia, after my ex-wife. At least one with that name who will listen to me."
"And the only one who will squeal with joy! Or why did she leave you?" another goblin quipped, almost starting a brawl.
Izzy, on the other hand, was still shocked. Now they even wanted to take her name - or rather, the name Grall had given her. She had hated it at first, but that was before she knew it was her mother's name. It was one of the few connections to her, and now even that was in danger. But as always, no one asked her for her opinion, and once she was sold, that would probably never happen again. Not since she had become a ponygirl had she ever missed Grall as much as she did at that moment. If she was to be a ponygirl, then only for him! Not even Oozol could change that. But now this was probably not her future.
"Excellent. We'll increase the bids in increments of 1000. We'll start with 5000 thalers, who'll bid 5000 thalers?" The figure in the dark cloak, still clutching the gold coin, raised his hand. ""5000 was bid." More hands quickly shot into the air and Izzy's eyes widened in amazement as the numbers poured in: 6000, 10000, 15000, 20000, 30000, 40000... The crowd was unstoppable, even the auctioneer was surprised. "We've already reached the highest bids ever at these auctions, but I see an even greater hunger among you. Whether a mount or a broodmare, this horse will serve you well. Or should she share your bed?" The crowd booed - at least some did, while others blushed slightly. "40000 was bid, who offers more?" And they bid more. 50000, 60000 and it went on and on. Many hands went up, but no one raised their hands as quickly as the cloaked figure and the man with the stallions. Both only lowered their hands so that they could raise them again immediately afterwards. It was a tough battle, and the goblin with the stallions began to sweat. Both raised their hands again and again until they were the only ones left to make a bid. 70000, 100000 and it went on. The other goblins watched in bewilderment as the bids continued to rise into the sky. Izzy's head was spinning as the numbers went on and on. Was she that valuable? She knew the price Krek's father had offered, but that was an official bid, legal and therefore high. This was about a stolen ponygirl - herself! - which was supposed to bring the price down, as it excluded many legal uses for her. But that didn't seem to bother anyone. In the end, the man with the stallions gave up - he shook his head and left the yard with a fuming head.
""We have a winner, with a bid of an incredible 150000 thalers. As I have to remind you, we expect a quick payment, until then the animal will remain in our custody. Where would you like the animal delivered after payment?"
The figure under the hood remained unrecognised but called out in an unusually croaky voice: "Take her to the nearest blacksmith. She shall receive my brand there immediately." Before Izzy could resist, her legs were tied together, and the desperate girl was taken back to the stable.
"Wake up, you sleepyhead!"
Izzy rubbed her eyes tiredly. She was still lying in her bed - it was the weekend after all, and she didn't have to help on the farm today - but someone must have thought she'd had enough rest. She yawned heartily and stretched out in all directions when there was another knock on her window. The shutters were still closed, so she couldn't see who it was, but even so she had a suspicion. She poked her ears with one finger and scratched her itchy back. 'Leave me alone, Grall, I don't have to get up yet." For her eight years, Izzy was already quite tall, which her bed reflected. Her room, on the other hand, was that of a little girl: there were dolls everywhere and everything was a bit more colourful than the boys'. But Grall didn't stop, so she opened the shutters and looked out. The little goblin boy had to jump to even reach the window; he was tiny compared to Izzy, as was usual for goblins of his age - he was also eight years old. They didn't grow very tall as adults, but as children they were even easier to overlook.
"Come on, I'm bored."
"Go play with someone else."
Grall grimaced. "They all don't like me and are stupid. They think I'm a fool for playing with you. It's your fault!"
"But it's the weekend and I want to sleep."
