Izzy's Ponygirl Journey Pt. 20

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.

"You're right, you are different from the other ponygirls. I'll talk to him so he doesn't forget that. I promise. Your mum wasn't a normal ponygirl, and neither are you. You're special."

"Where's Buttercup?" Mexi's lofty voice rang across the courtyard. Izzy lifted her head and saw the smiling goblin girl waving to her. Next to her stood an already very excited Albaea, but also Saxea with her Sunshine, who was clearly very unhappy. A couple of pots of colour stood next to both horses. Grall took Izzy out of the stable and tied her up next to the other two ponygirls, while Pexo brought Lisande. She didn't seem too keen either, but all four ponygirls had no say in the matter - except perhaps Izzy, but Grall's enthusiasm had already provided her with plenty of colour. Oozol was nowhere to be seen, which was no surprise to Izzy after her father's explanation.

"Who's going first?" Mexi asked, but before Saxea could say anything, Albaea had already jumped forward and knelt in front of her owner. "I guess that means we have a volunteer." Lisande and Sunshine rolled their eyes and both looked briefly at Izzy, who understood perfectly well that they were both lumping Izzy and Albaea together as breed ponies. Izzy couldn't even blame them, after all she was standing in front of them with her already colourful head.

"But red is mine!" Saxea said and brought Sunshine to her knees with a Zhrak. Sunshine took her time, it was almost comical how long Saxea had to wait before Sunshine was on her knees, snorting and grumbling. "Little drama queen. You'll see, you'll look great!" It didn't take a mind reader to realise that Sunshine disagreed, but what difference did it make when you had a horse bit in your mouth and your hands tied behind your back, Izzy thought. After all, she herself was no different. Bit by bit, the girls spread colour on the faces of their ponygirls while Grall painted Lisande. To her surprise, he achieved an astonishingly attractive result.

Soon the faces of the other ponygirls were as colourful as Izzy's. Albaea's skin was adorned with a filigree light-coloured pattern that alternated with dark lines and followed the natural shapes of her finely cut face. Mexi looked rightly proud of it, and Albaea was also delighted.

Sunshine's mood had not improved, partly because Saxea had turned her into a fiery red dragon. It wasn't a very good job, but at least Sunshine would still be easy to recognise from a great distance. The mare couldn't breathe fire, but her look was enough to scare away even the bravest knight.

Lisande, on the other hand, just seemed relieved to have it over with. Her pattern was similar to Izzy's, but with the colours and shapes of Oozol's own mark.

The three goblins looked at the ponygirls with great satisfaction.

"You should colour Izzy a bit more, she is the winner of the race after all. You should celebrate that!" Mexi suggested, smiling warmly at Izzy, who only grumbled.

"That's a great idea," said Grall, but then he noticed Izzy's look and added hastily. "But I should lead her behind the stable first. Wait a minute!" He untied Izzy's lead, which was attached to her breast rings, and led her behind the stable, where he hurriedly took the horse's bit from her mouth. "Lesson learnt, I promise! This time I'll ask you first. Will you allow it?"

"No, of course not!" hissed Izzy. "The colour on my face is bad enough. Why do you want it anyway?"

Grall squirmed and scuffed his feet in the dirt. "I would like to write a little message on your bottom... something for Mexi, if you know what I mean."

"I don't know!" Izzy barked, and would have liked to cross her arms, but of course that wasn't possible. Not for a ponygirl.

"Oh come on. Please. Please, please. Please!" he begged, prancing in front of her. It was a bit annoying, but also cute, she thought.

"No!"

"What do I have to do to get you to allow it?"

Izzy grinned. "Tack!"

He dropped to his knees in front of her. "Hey, wait a minute...!" he stammered, looking up at her from below with wide eyes. He immediately jumped up again and patted his trousers clean. "Come on, don't be so mean."

Izzy struggled to swallow her laughter. "It's okay, you can, but only because I like Mexi. Don't think you're always allowed to do that, it's an exception!"

"Thank you! You're the best friend in the whole world!"

"Tack!"

He went down on his knees again, letting go of her lead. Before he could say anything, Izzy rushed back to the others, laughing, while Grall ran after her with dirty knees.

"Done!" said Grall proudly and finally Izzy was allowed to turn round. Her whole body was adorned with splendid colours, only her breasts were painted in a single, bright yellow that made them stand out clearly from the rest of her body - even more than usual. She was a little ashamed of it, but as a horse you had to put up with it. More important, however, was the large heart emblazoned on her bum, bearing the initials of Grall and Mexi.

"You're hopeless romantic," Mexi whispered and gave Grall an intense kiss, which visibly disgusted Saxea in particular.

"Enough, or I'll puke!" Saxea said loudly. "Mexi, that's my brother. Eww!"

But Mexi just smiled. "We'll continue this later. Come on, let's show the village our beautiful horses. They'll be amazed!"

Izzy neighed unhappily, but it was clear that she had no choice either. Grall dressed her in her mother's pony boots - to calm her down a little - which once again had the hooves with the royal coat of arms nailed to them.

"You'll be fine. Don't worry, this is normal for a ponygirl," Grall reassured her, and strangely enough, these words did not fail to have an effect. Here, in this group, it really was normal; and normality brought stability and security. "Later, we'll see how we can get you back into a dress, all right? Don't think I've forgotten. As long as you want that, we'll find a way."

Oozol joined them and the four goblins gave their horses a kick. It was strange for Izzy to be ridden in such a large group, but being around the other horses actually gave her some strength. She had never been a member of such an intimate and strong group as she was with these ponygirls and goblins. Before, she had been a loner whose only friend was Grall, but now everything felt so much bigger and more meaningful. Life as a ponygirl wasn't all bad, she thought.

While Grall led the way with the reins, her gaze wandered a little. The streets were crowded, but as usual, the humans kept their animals away from the goblins to avoid any trouble. Nevertheless, Izzy noticed a farmer and his daughter chasing two cows along a forest track further away from the road. He too must be on his way to a festival where there were certainly no goblins present. Like Izzy, the cows were brightly painted, their heads shining and their coats painted with elaborate patterns all over their bodies. The daughter, on the other hand, wore a simple dress and gave the cows a good reason to run with her whip. Although the girl herself was quite stocky and strong, it didn't escape Izzy's notice that she herself now had more in common with the cows than with the young woman. Like the cows, she was a farm animal that had been controlled by someone and was now being led to the celebration, brightly painted so that everyone could marvel at her owner's wealth. One of the cows looked over at Izzy and their eyes met; never before had Izzy looked into the eyes of a cow, and never before had she felt the thoughts of another being so clearly, even without words.

Grall gave Izzy a light tap with the whip as she slowed outside the village. "You don't need to be afraid. Get it over with and you'll feel freer afterwards," he said.

Oozol agreed. "Sooner or later, they'll have to accept you as a ponygirl." That wasn't Izzy's problem of course, she didn't doubt that they would accept her as a ponygirl, it was more that she didn't know if she wanted that herself. But goblins were goblins, and thought differently to humans - or ponygirls. "I'm sure people have heard about your victory, no one will be surprised to see you under a saddle. Keep your head up, show them that you're proud to be a horse." That was easier said than done, yet he was quite right; her best chance was not to draw any attention to herself. She walked slowly into the village and felt the first glances on her. People turned round to look at her, whispered and pointed their fingers at her. Some even ran off to tell others about it. With every meter there were more people on the street, obviously the gossip had faster legs than Izzy - which was a surprise in itself.