A Sixpence for your Thoughts? - by PONYSAMSA
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>In the morning, after you have woken up and grazed with Blanche, Anna comes out to the pasture.
>”Morning Sixpence! Are you ready to go?”
>You trot up to her legs and rub your head on her.
>She gives you a quick pat and the two of you head out of the pasture to other parts of the farm.
>You idly stay near her as she works, grazing on the occasional bit of grass, chasing a chicken or two that strayed too far from its friends, or getting a closer look at a pig through the fence.
>The day goes by uneventfully, ending with you and Anna observing the night sky.
>Days go by like this, until one night, you’re woken up by something cold hitting your back.
>Your eyes crack open and you look backward, but there’s nothing there.
>Then it happens again.
>Oh, it’s raining.
>It had rained before, but usually it was a light sprinkling of wet.
>This was heavy rain.
>Large droplets that splashed as they landed.
>Soon there is a chill wind blowing and your back is soaked through.
>It was cold, but your coat kept you fairly comfortable.
>You’d slept in the rain before you were a pony, so it wasn’t a big deal.
>You didn’t have a nice fur coat to protect you those times, either.
>Once your clothes got wet it was nearly impossible to sleep, but before that happened you’d been dozing in and out.
>With Blanche next to you adding her body-heat to your own while you were a horse, it should be no problem sleeping in the rain.
>You close your eyes and try to sleep, but the rain keeps getting heavier and heavier.
>It looks like you have a full-on storm on your hands.
>You see a flash through your eyelids and your eyes fly open.
>Was that lightning?
>Oh great, a thunderstorm.

>There were enough trees around for you to not be at risk of getting hit.
>Not to mention all the other horses were taller than you.
>You were perfectly fi-
>BOOOOM!
>Thunder roared across the farm, the other horses nickered a little, you could hear cows moo, chickens cluck, but none of that mattered. 
>You were already halfway across the pasture, running for your life.
>Irrational fear squeezed your heart and drove every other thought from your head.
>You were too open here!
>Something could see you from the sky, and you couldn’t hide from it!
>It was night, clouds covered the sky, and the rain was obscuring everything else.
>You could barely see anything, and that meant you must be in danger!
>You ran for where you thought the gate to the stables was, rain stinging your cheeks and eyes.
>Another flash tore through the sky, and you could see for the briefest of moments.
>The gate was further to the left, you were only a little bit off course.
>You had to get underneath something fast!
>You adjusted your path just before everything went dark again, and galloped harder, hooves pattering on the wet ground.
>BOOOOOM!
>Thunder crashed, rolling over you and then back again as it echoed off the mountain before being swallowed by the trees.
>Your legs locked up in fear, causing you to trip over your own hooves and fall to the ground.
>You slide through the wet grass for some distance, soaking your coat.
>You can’t lie here, you have to keep moving. Something is going to find you!
>You pull yourself to your hooves and begin galloping again, desperate to get somewhere safe.
>You see something in your path and feel a faint hope behind the haze of terror clouding your thoughts.
>You’d made it to the gate!
>As you get closer, your heart drops.
>It was just fence!
>Where was the gate!

>You’d lost it in the dark when you fell!
>No! They were coming!
>Something was coming!
>They were going to catch you!
>You look left along the fence, but can only see so far before everything is swallowed in darkness and rain.
>The same thing to the right when you look there.
>You run along the fence line to the left, hoping to find the gate there, but you discover nothing.
>You turn around and run back to the right.
>Another flash of lightning rips the darkness apart, and you can see the gate.
>You’d chosen the wrong way!
>And now more thunder was coming!
>You try to brace yourself for the coming crash of thunder.
>BOOOOOOOM!
>You whinny incoherently as it hits, bowling you over from the proximity.
>The storm was almost directly overhead now, and you were still stuck out in the open!
>You pick yourself up and gallop down the fence line to where you saw the gate.
>You finally get to it just as another lightning strike hits, accompanied by a deafening crash of thunder.
>You’re knocked over once again as the deafening roar thunders across the pasture.
>Whinnying loudly in abject terror, you kick at the gate with your hooves.
>It shakes, but doesn’t budge.
>You see a light come on somewhere behind the stables.
>Anna!
>Anna was coming!
>She could help!
>She could keep you safe!
>You continue to whinny as loud as you can, bucking at the gate.
>Another flash and rumble knocks you down, and you scream wildly, face in the mud.
>You pull yourself up and move to the fence.
>The gate wasn’t moving, but you needed out!
>There’s just enough space for you to squeeze underneath it, and you don’t even hesitate.
>You squeeze your head under the bottom log, gravel and mud scratching and smearing your face as you force yourself through.
>You get your forehooves under, and your torso follows, until you hit your hips.
>Your hips refused to come underneath.

>You whinny as loud as you can, desperate for someone, anyone, to come help.
>Your front hooves dug and scraped at the ground outside, pulling as hard as they could.
>You back legs kicked and flailed at the grass, but you couldn’t get good enough purchase to make any headway.
>You were stuck under the fence and you could no longer run.
>Another crash of thunder split the night, and you ducked down into the mud at your feet.
>You whinny again, mud spilling into your mouth as you slowly drag your head back up.
>You see a light blink on in the distance, and a human-shaped form starts running in your direction.
>”Sixpence?” Anna yells.
>You whinny wildly, desperately trying to get her attention.
>Anna, her lantern swinging at her side, runs up to you.
>She kneels down and places the lantern at your side, and holding your muddy head in her hands.
>You whinny at her, hooves pulling frantically at the mud and slipping uselessly through it.
>”Sixpence, stop! Stop! Hold on, let me get you out!”
>”PA! Gonna need your help!” Anna turns and yells back toward the house.
>A beam of light comes on and starts heading out toward you.
>”Anna? What’s going on?” Pa says.
>A bolt of lightning forks across the sky, followed by a peal of thunder, and you whinny in terror again.
>”Is that yer pony?!” Pa yells.
>”Sixpence got herself stuck under the fence, Pa! She’s scared of the thunder! Get inside the pasture and help me get her backside free!” Anna yells back.
>Pa clicks off his flashlight and pockets it, then climbs over the fence.
>Anna keeps her hands on your head and strokes your mane while you snort in terror, hooves kicking at the mud in futility.
>You feel something grab your back legs, and you panic.
>Something has you! You couldn’t run and now they’ve caught you!

>You kick frantically and feel your hoof strike something hard and solid.
>The grasping on your back end is gone, so you were successful for the moment, but they’ll be back.
>”Pa! She’s terrified! Be more careful!” Anna says, and strokes you firmly.
>”Oof! Yer pony has a kick on ‘er, that’s fer sure!”
>You feel something grasp your legs again, and you try to kick them off.
>Whatever has you isn’t going to fall for it again, though.
>Both legs are held tightly.
>Whatever has you is using its size to its advantage.
>You whinny in fear, hooves digging deeper in the mud beside you while Anna tries to hold you still.
>The thing at your rear pulls your legs apart and spreads them flat on the ground. 
>You feel something pulling you backward!
>It was taking you! Oh god!
>You grasp at Anna with your hooves, flinging mud everywhere.
>Another flash of lightning, and you whinny in terror, knowing the thunder is mere moments away.
>Anna gets a grip around your shoulders, and pulls.
>You feel yourself slowly sliding under the fence, with the thing behind you keeping your legs spread out.
>You grip at Anna harder, kicking your back hooves to try to push yourself the rest of the way through.
>Finally, with a wet *schluck*, your back end slides under the fence, and you’re free.
>You frantically pull yourself up to your hooves and crawl into Anna’s arms, hiding inside her coat on her lap.
>You shove your face into her armpit and close your eyes, shivering from fear and cold.
>”Yer pony is quite the fearful little thing, isn’t she?” You hear Pa say.
>Anna strokes your muddy head, heedless of the mess you’d probably made of her clothes.
>”Mitch said she was skittish, but I’d only ever really seen her act scared around his dog. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, I guess.” Anna says.
>You don’t see it this time, but another peal of thunder rolls over you, and you twitch in fear, but you keep your face buried in Anna’s arm.

>”Let’s get her inside. We can all wash up, and I’ll watch her until the storm blows over.” Anna says.
>Oh thank god.
>You’d been so worried she’d make you stay outside.
>You rub your face into her, and you feel yourself start to cry.
>You didn’t even know horses could cry.
>Your tiny body shakes with silent sobs, in addition to the shivers.
>Anna lifts you up, carefully keeping you close to her, and you feel her walking.
>You no longer feel rain pattering against you, so you assume you must have entered the house.
>You hear a door shut, and you guess you were right.
>”Did you want to go first, Pa? You can probably get done a lot faster than me, then you can head back to bed.” Anna asks.
>”Oh, no. I’ll wait for ye ta finish. Yer pony needs attention sooner than ah do. Just let me have a towel to dry off.” Pa says.
>You move some more, and eventually you hear another door shut, and Anna stops.
>Your shivering had almost stopped, but your silent sobbing hadn’t.
>She pets your wet mane, cooing into your ear.
>”Shhh, calm down Sixpence, you’re fine. I’ve got you.”
>There’s another rumble of thunder, and you flinch in Anna’s arms.
>”Okay, I’m gonna put you down now, but I’ll be right here, okay?”
>You really don’t want to, but you think you have enough control of yourself to handle it.
>You take a deep breath, and nod into her armpit.
>Anna gets an arm under your rump and the other under your front legs and carefully hefts you away from her.
>You feel a slight twinge of fear, but you suppress it, and she places you on the floor of the large square shower they had.
>You can see her wet, mud-spattered, smiling face, and that helps a lot.
>She was also covered in mud.
>There was mud everywhere.
>On you as well.

>It caked the entire front of Anna’s clothes, and there was a weird pony-shaped section of it on her pajama front.
>It looked like she’d come outside without changing at all, and her only concession was a coat and rubber boots.
>You felt really bad about waking them up.
>You look up at her, put your right hoof to your chest and move it in a circle in a clockwise motion.
>It was one of the few signs you knew, and you had no idea if Anna knew them at all, and you couldn’t do the shape with your hand because you lost those, but you had said sorry.
>You could just say the words, but you didn’t.
>Because you were a coward.
>Afraid of everything.
>Anna takes off her coat, and begins peeling off her own muddy clothes.
>Woah, what?
>She strips off her pajama pants, and you can see everything.
>You quickly avert your eyes.
>Anna takes no notice, or pretends not to, tosses her clothes into a laundry hamper not too far away and then she’s in the shower with you.
>She closes the doors and cranks on the tap, and soon a hot spray of water is coming out of the shower head falling down on both of you.
>The water is warm and relaxing.
>Thunder rumbled outside, but you were safe now. Anna was here. 
>You were warm and safe.
>You almost forgot Anna was naked in here with you until you feel something cool and slimy hit your mane.
>”It’s not pet-grade, but I don’t think it’ll hurt you.”
>Ah, she was washing your mane.
>It probably needed it.
>You notice her out of the corner of your eye, and you get an eyeful of her bare snatch.
>You avert your eyes again and blush.
>Could she tell you were blushing under your coat?
>Whether she did or not, she figured it out.
>Probably your body language.
>”Are you embarrassed being nude with me, Sixpence?”
>She bends down and you get an eyeful of her breasts.
>You try not to look.

>”Oh my goodness you are!” She laughed.
>”Well you’re going to have to get used to it. You can’t wash your mane properly by yourself, and we’re all girls here.”
>Oh…
>Well, that was true now, but it wasn’t before.
>You never had the privilege of getting comfortable around other naked women.
>You didn’t really have the privilege of getting comfortable around naked women period.
>Now you were getting the full monty from an attractive young redheaded woman… and you were a female horse.
>Figures.
>Anna doesn’t seem phased in the slightest, and continues lathering and rinsing your mane, then moves on to your tail.
>Once she had rinsed off your tail, she slapped you lightly on the flank.
>”Stand up, Sixpence, gotta get all the mud off.”
>You obediently stand up, and she pulls the showerhead down to rinse off your inner thighs and rear end.
>You jump slightly at the odd sensation, and she giggles.
>Once she was done with you, Anna shampoos her own hair.
>While she’s looking up with her eyes closed, you blatantly stare at her.
>There was no other way you could say it; she was hot.
>Had the country girl charm, and the toned working body to back it up.
>Freckles dotted her shoulders and breasts, with a few on her ass as well.
>You were a little disappointed you were a pony right now.
>She’s certainly taking a long time to wash her hair…
>Oh god.
>She was watching you sideways out of the corner of her eye!
>She winks at you with a smile.
>You turned away quickly, scrunching your nose up in embarrassment.
>”Aw, you make the cutest faces when you’re embarrassed! Don’t worry, I don’t mind. It’s kinda flattering actually.”
>She rinses herself off, and shuts off the water.
>Opening the shower up, she grabs her towel and steps out.
>You start to follow her, but she puts a hand on your muzzle and pushes you back in.
>”Ah ah! Shake off inside the shower first!”

>You do as she says, shaking off as much excess water as you could before stepping out.
>She greets you with the towel, wrapping it around your head and rubbing your mane as dry as she can, before rubbing down the rest of you.
>She ties the towel around herself, securing it just above her breasts, then pulls out a blow dryer.
>She dries her hair carefully, then turns it on you.
>Your nostrils flare as the warm air hits you, and you close your eyes while she rubs your mane.
>she goes all the way down your body and dries out your tail, then clicks the dryer off and puts it away.
>”C’mon Sixpence. Gotta get a little bit more sleep before dawn. You can stay with me tonight.”
>Anna steps out of the bathroom and walks through the house, with you at her heels.
>She finds her pa sleeping in an armchair with his coat wrapped around himself.
>Anna shakes him gently until he wakes up.
>”Pa.” she says softly, “I’m done. Get cleaned up and get some rest before morning”.
>He pulls his head up straight and looks at her blearily.
>”Oh, thank ye Anna. Is yer pony doing alright?”
>”She’s fine, Pa, she just needed me is all. I’m going to let her stay in my room tonight.”
>”Alright. Sleep well, Anna.”
>Pa gets up out of his chair, tosses his coat onto the coffee table and stumbles off to the bathroom.
>Anna leads you to her room, which was just a few doors from the bathroom back the way you’d come.
>She shuts the door as you walk inside, and you take a look around.
>You were inside a girl’s bedroom, and it wasn’t at all what you’d imagined.
>Probably because the girl was a farm girl.
>She had saddles, ropes, a bunch of leather things you had no idea about, and lots of horse paraphernalia.

>You could call it kinky, but it was presented in a completely functional way, so you’d be reaching.
>She was really interested in horses, and had anatomy charts, and piles of books on horse care.
>Anything you could imagine, if it was about horses, she seemed to have it.
>”As you can see, I’m working on becoming a horse doctor like Dr. Whitman. Getting licensed is difficult, what with Pa needing my help on the farm. But even if I can’t help others, I can help my horses, and that’s good enough.”
 >That’s a little depressing.
>You rub against her leg and smile at her.
>”Yeah, I can help you too.”
>She drops the towel on the floor and walks over to her bed.
>”Well, let’s get some sleep, Sixpence.”
>You watch her walk over there and resist the urge to bite your bottom lip.
>You fail.
>Thankfully, she doesn’t notice.
>She crawls into bed and climbs under the covers, then pats the spot on the bed next to her.
>You jump up onto the bed and sit looking at her.
>”Come on, Sixpence, lie down.”
>You look down at the covers, but you know what’ll happen if you’re out in the open when she turns the lights off, so you chance offending her as you nose your way under the blankets.
>Thankfully she just laughs and holds them up so you can climb inside with her.
>You peek out at her from under the covers, and she drops the blanket down, laying a hand over your withers.
>You hear a click, and darkness descends.
>But you’re safe now.
>They can’t get you here.
>Darkness descends, but you safely and dreamlessly sleep.

>A rooster call and a blaring alarm both wake you up in the morning.
>You poke your head out of the blankets and look over at the clock.
>You see a number that starts with 5 and immediately disregard the rest.
>Anna, however, diligently silences the alarm and pulls herself up out of bed.
>Her hair was a fright, but she was out of bed and dressing herself for the day in less than two shakes of a lamb’s tail.
>You watch dat ass disappear into her underwear, then curl back up and try to go back to sleep.
>”Oh no you don’t, you little rascal! It’s your fault I didn’t get a full night’s rest, so you get to keep me company while I work.”
>Anna picks you up off the bed.
>You kick your hooves in protest, but she just sets you on the floor.
>You harrumph as best you can and glare at her while she finishes getting dressed.
>”You can have one of my eggs as an apology.” She mumbles through her shirt.
>Your ears perk up.
>You could dig that.
>Anna hurries down to their kitchen, and you clop along the wooden floor behind her.
>She starts cooking breakfast and you soon smell bacon and eggs sizzling away.
>She slices up some melon and holds a slice out for you, which you greedily take.
>You didn’t even know what kind it was, but you ate it.
>Your experience with different foods was… lacking, to say the least.
>Once the first batch of food is done, Anna places it on the table.
>”Pa! Breakfast!”
>”Thank ye dear, be right out!”
>Once the second batch was done, Anna places a little plate on the floor for you.
>Oh my god! There was half a slice of bacon on it!
>It’s gone in an instant.
>It was too hot, and you’re pretty sure you burned your tongue, but you didn’t give any number of shits.
>You hadn’t had fucking BACON in so long!
>It was delicious.

>You were awake now.
>Anna sits down at the table with her own plate just as her Pa comes down the hallway, freshly shaved, and patting his cheeks.
>”Morning Pa.”
>”Mornin’ Anna. And mornin’ Sixpence.”
>You lay down at Anna’s feet under the table.
>The two eat in silence for a short while, while you wait patiently.
>Anna stands up and takes her Pa’s plate, then starts washing up while her Pa gets his boots on.
>”Hey Pa?”
>”What is it, Anna?”
>”Would it be alright if I let Sixpence stay in the house with us?”
>What?
>You thought she wasn’t going to try until winter!
>”Ye mean like an actual pet, then?”
>”Yeah. After last night, I’m afraid she might try to run away from something and get herself lost.”
>”It’s true, she’s a right cowardly little creature. Ah don’t see why not. Just don’t let her be botherin’ me too much.”
>Hey…
>It was true, but hey…
>”Thanks Pa! I don’t think we’ll have a problem. If I can find a male for her, we can put her back outside. But until then, I think this is best.”
>She was real intent on that.
>Oh well.
>Maybe the sex will be good.
>Anna finishes the dishes, while Pa is already out the door.
>She ties her hair up in a ponytail, puts on a red baseball cap and pulls her hair through the back, then puts on her boots and jacket, and you both head outside.
>You were going to stay inside, though!
>That was gonna be nice!
>No worries about Digger beating you, no scary things in the dark.
>Ohhh. No staring at the stars…
>You needed to convince Anna to do that with you still.
>You really liked the stars.
>Anna bustles about the farm taking care of business, and you follow along at her heels, watching as she worked.

>When lunch arrived, Anna and her Pa went inside, while you stayed near the back door, grazing a little.
>When they came back out, more of the same happened, and you just stayed near Anna’s side while she worked, occasionally stealing food meant for the other animals.
>Suppertime rolled around, and all three of you called it a day, heading back inside.
>Pa cooked supper, and you breathed in the delicious smells.
>You really hoped you’d get some of that.
>You jumped as you received a smack on your rump.
>Turning around, you see Anna running away giggling further into the house.
>You chase after her, and round a corner only to have her tackle you, flip you onto your back and tickle your belly.
>You righted yourself and ran away, glaring at her as you peer around a corner from the living room.
>She walked slowly toward you, nonchalantly looking up and humming.
>She knows you’re here and that you totally see her, what the hell is she doing?
>When she gets to the corner, you’re looking up at her and she has her eyes trained on you.
>”Boo!” Anna yells, jumping at you.
>You whinny in fright and bound backward, hooves kicking up.
>Anna is just laughing her ass off.
>Pa chuckles from the kitchen.
>You hang your head in embarrassment.
>You kinda freaked out, and it was just a simple jump and a boo.
>”Awwww, don’t look so sad, scaredy pony.”
>She tousles your mane, and a corner of it falls in front of your eye.
>Huh, your mane was pretty long now wasn’t it?
>Your tail certainly was.
>It actually covered your private parts properly.
>You should check yourself out now that you had access to a mirror.
>”Dinner’s ready, Anna.” Pa said.
>”Okay, Pa.” Anna said.
>She gives you a pat on the head, and goes to sit down with her Pa at the table.
>You take this opportunity to go have a look at yourself in the mirror.

>You walk into the bathroom and prop your hooves up on the counter, examining yourself in the mirror.
>Looks like your mane grew out rather nicely.
>It was kind of fluffy, too, which wasn’t bad.
>It still only came halfway down your neck, but the part in front had a nice jaunty angle and curled back around your face a little bit.
>You still really liked your freckles, too.
>They matched Anna’s.
>Freckle pals.
>You exit the bathroom and walk back to the kitchen table, where Anna and her Pa were chowing down on something delicious.
>You didn’t really care what it was, but you wanted some.
>Sadly, it never came.
>Guess Anna didn’t want to feed you in front of her Pa.
>Instead, Anna clears the table after they’re done, cleans the dishes, and places a bowl of some sort of porridge on the floor for you.
>Looks gross.
>You take a small bite.
>Tastes great!
>You slurp it down and lick the bowl clean, pushing it across the floor a little bit with the force of your tongue.
>Full and without any more food to eat, you look for Anna.
>She doesn’t appear to be in the kitchen anymore, so you go seek her out.
>You take in the house, since you hadn’t had your faculties with you last night, and you hadn’t had time this morning.
>Pa was in the living room in an armchair reading a novel.
>You try to get a look at the title, but he has a hand over it, ‘Storm of…’ by George R. R. martin. 
>Never heard of him.
>Probably some sort of western novel.
>The man was old enough to still like those.
>His chair was near a nice big fireplace.
>That would be super comfy come winter.
>You imagine yourself sitting around the fireplace with Anna and her Pa.

>You’d be laying directly in front of it, with Pa in that armchair, probably reading, cause that’s all you really know about him, and Anna would be fixing some sort of horse… thing?
>You don’t know what farm folk do in their time off.
>You shake your head and trot out of the living room, down the hall to Anna’s room.
>Sure enough, she was in here.
>She was at one of the three tables she had in her room, and from your vantage point she appeared to be working on something.
>You couldn’t see what, but most of the other stuff on the table looked to be made of leather.
>The other tables appeared to have metal, and fabric on them respectively.
>You weren’t sure what any of it would be for, but she was apparently a very crafty girl.
>You smiled at your pun.
>Anna hears your hooves tapping up behind her and looks back at you.
>”Hey there Sixpence. Did you enjoy your dinner?”
>You try to shrug.
>It’s difficult and weird without human shoulders.
>You nod instead.
>”Good girl.” She rubs your head.
>”I’m making something for you. You wanna see?”
>She was making you more things? Damn this girl was nice.
>You nod enthusiastically. 
>She holds up an inch-wide strip of dark-brown leather with holes punched on one end, and a buckle on the… oh.
>That was a collar.
>”I figure if you’re a pet, then you should wear a collar. I make a lot of these for fun and sell them here and there, so I thought you should have one. Purely cosmetic of course. The halter would be for when we’d need you on a leash. I just think a proper leather collar would be cute.”
>Yeah… you guess.
>She was really getting into this whole pet thing.
>It must be the tiny obedient pony thing you had going on.
>No training required, dog-sized, cute, and a horse.

>You were convenient, and one of her favorite things.
>It must be a dream come true for her.
>”I should have it done tonight. I just need to adjust a few more things.”
>You make a face.
>”What? You don’t like it? I do. It’s good and thick, not too prissy, not overly macho. Simple, I thought. Unless you want studs or spikes or something?”
>You don’t think you were fierce enough for that, so you shake your head.
>”Well let’s try it on!”
>She reaches out and slips it around your neck, buckling it shut.
>Not tight enough to choke, not loose enough to slide.
>Anna sits back and looks at you, hemming and hawing.
>”Looks good! I like it!”
>You paw at it a little bit with a hoof.
>There was no way you could get this off by yourself.
>Anna reaches over and removes it.
>Oh thank god.
>”I just need to finish engraving your name into the leather, and you’ll be good.”
>Ugh.
>You’d feel this was degrading if you hadn’t already lost your right to that.
>You were hers, though, so what she says, goes.
>You hop up on a chest nearby, so you can get a better look.
>She puts the collar into a small dish of water, then pulls out some other tools out of a drawer, including a little mallet.
>After letting the collar sit in the water for however long, she pulls it out, flattens it on her workspace and takes some metal pieces out of a container.
>It looked elaborate, but she moved like she’d done this a lot.
>She took one of the metal pieces, places it on the collar until she was satisfied, then she takes her mallet, gives it a good whack or two, then pulls it off to check.
>Looks like she had literally hammered the letter into the leather.
>It was a fancy, cowboy-esque capital S.
>Looked nice.

>She repeated the procedure along the collar until she had your name fully spelled out in that same font.
>Sixpence.
>It was… pretty nice.
>She was really good at that.
>”You like it Sixpence?”
>You nod slowly.
>Yeah, it was pretty.
>It was still a collar though.
>She reaches over, gets her arms around your neck, and buckles it on, with your name facing forward.
>”Perfect! Now let’s go do some stargazing.”
>You perk up at that, jump off the chest, and bounce around her feet happily.
>You didn’t even have to remind her.
>Anna puts away her tools, shuts off her desk lamp, and you both head out to the front door.
>”I’m gonna take Sixpence for a little walk, okay Pa?”
>Pa doesn’t say anything, but waves from his chair to indicate he heard.
>Anna gets her boots and coat, grabs her lantern from the hook, and you head outside.
>You take in a big whiff of the cool night air and run in small circles excitedly.
>”Well aren’t you excited? Did you want to go visit the pasture, then?”
>That sounded great, so you trotted off in that direction, with Anna walking slowly behind you.
>You’re at the stable gate long before Anna, and you walk in small impatient circles while you wait for her to catch up.
>She finally gets there and opens it up for you, and you hurry inside the stable to the far end, where yet another gate blocks your path.
>Anna laughs at you, while you put your hooves up on it and look back at her, trying to get her to hurry.
>She slowly catches up, and takes her time opening the gate to let you in.
>Once you’re in, you nicker happily and gallop off into the field.

>Anna’s still walking slowly, so you take the opportunity to run over and say hello to Blanche.
>She nuzzles you affectionately, but thankfully doesn’t try to stand up and nurse you, instead content to keep lying down.
>You then gallop over to Anna in the middle of the pasture.
>Anna sits down with a *whuff* and looks up.
>You run up next to her, rub against her arm, and sit down.
>You look up at the evening sky with her, sitting in comfortable silence.
>You didn’t think you’d ever get tired of this.
>You had been here about two months, and every night you had this to look at, and every night, it was breathtaking.
>If the nearby mountains were gone, you can only imagine how much more beautiful it would be.
>On clear nights, you would have nothing but stars stretching in every direction.
>You could see the Milky Way as it extended from horizon to horizon.
>That would be amazing.
>Anna hugs you, and you rub your head up against her side.
>After a while, you both wordlessly agree that it’s time to go back inside, and you follow Anna at her heels back through the stables and back inside.
>Pa seems to have gone to bed, as only his book remained in his chair.
>Anna kicks off her boots and hangs up her coat, and you make your way to her bedroom.
>Pa had done the laundry, so Anna had her pajamas this time, but you still got a look at her panty-clad bottom as she changed clothes.
>Amazing.
>You jump up, and climb under the covers and wait while she turns out the lights and feels her way back to bed.
>The two of you cuddle close as you fall asleep.
>You, at least, do not dream.

>Days pass, and you become a regular fixture in the household, with bowls always there for you in the kitchen for water and food.
>Sometimes you even sit in Pa’s lap as he reads, he’s gotten so used to you.
>It was a very comfortable life.
>You actually got to a point where you were looking forward to the fair.
>Which was good, because when the day finally came, things became rushed and a little frenzied as Anna and her Pa made the final arrangements.
>They’d hired a guy from David’s farm to handle things while they were gone for the few days of the fair, and they had all the animals they wanted to show and sell in their trailers.
>Unfortunately, that also meant you, since there wasn’t room for you in the cab of the truck.
>You got to stand next to a few pigs and one horse that they were selling.
>It wasn’t Digger, more’s the shame.
>You don’t know where you are or what’s going on for quite some time, but you feel the vehicle start, stop, move, shake, and other things, and sometimes Anna and Pa get out and do something or go somewhere.
>After an interminable amount of time, the back doors of the trailer finally open.
>Sadly, you’re the last one out.
>When it’s finally your turn, Anna pulls out your halter and leash.
>She’d told you that you had to act like a pony as much as possible while you were here, because you really couldn’t afford to slip up and let someone see you as anything else.
>Your ears flatten, but you stand still while she slips it on and fastens it.
>Anna whispers to you: “I hope you have a good time, but if anything goes wrong, please let me know somehow.”
>You give her a nod, and she leads you out of the trailer.

>Your nose is assaulted by all the scents coming at you from everywhere.
>This was the day before the actual fair, when all the farmers were to get set up in their respective areas, so there weren’t many casual folks about.
>That meant you had animals running about everywhere, wafting their smells up into the air.
>You snorted and shook your head, trying to get some of it out of your nose.
>It was a little overpowering.
>Some of the other farmers stop and stare for a bit as you go by, which makes you a little self-conscious.
>It wasn’t like you were common, so you get it, but you really hoped you weren’t going to be swarmed.
>Thankfully, Anna doesn’t have to take you far.
>Parking was allowed near each farmer’s designated section for dropping off animals and getting them penned up.
>It would have been cool to see some of the stuff they had set up.
>Oh well.
>Anna slows to a stop, and opens up a small gate for you to slip into.
>Not very big, but it’s not like this was meant to be comfortable.
>In the pens next to you, you could see a goat and a cow.
>No sooner had you been placed in your pen than the goat tried to bite at your collar.
>You snap at it viciously.
>No one bites at your only possession in the entire world.
>If this kind of thing kept up, this was gonna be a long fair.
>Anna removes your halter and hangs it up behind you on the wall, then steps out and latches the gate.
>”You be good, Sixpence. I’ll be stopping by to check up on you.”
>Then Anna was gone, and you were alone.

>Well, as alone as you could get in a crowded fairgrounds barn.
>There were rows upon rows of cages, pens, and stalls for every sort of livestock under the sun.
>You could see ostriches, llamas, chickens, pigs, cows, if you could name it, there was probably one here.
>Fair’s of this sort were apparently the place to be if you wanted to invest in any type of livestock.
>Good place to make connections, too.
>Hence why Anna had brought you.
>Despite her intent, however, you didn’t get much from the other farmers for the remainder of the day.
>Other farmer’s came by and looked at you, and one of them actually caught Anna when she came back to check on you, and they discussed you, your shape, and your health.
>None of them knew what you were, though, and hadn’t seen any others like you.
>Night came, Anna visited, but you couldn’t go stargazing, which got you a little sad.
>Anna stayed with you for as long as she could, but she needed to be up early to work with the other animals and handle business.
>She left, and you tried to bed down yourself.
>You slept as best you could in the noise, and dreams never found you.

>Morning brought with it even more noise.
>The first day of the fair was officially beginning, and people were coming in hard and fast.
>Busy merchants bustled past, looking for livestock for trade, breeding, and for eating.
>Farmers discussed prices, genetics, health, and trade secrets.
>Some of the secrets discussed near you were probably illegal even!
>Too bad no one would ever believe a pony.
>Too bad you didn’t care enough to tell anybody in the first place.
>Anna came by to say good morning and make sure you had enough food and water, but she didn’t stay long.
>She was wearing the same outfit as yesterday, and it was slightly rumpled, meaning she likely slept in her clothes.
>Hardcore.
>You eat breakfast and people watch for a while, when some children find you.
>”Oh my gosh it’s so cute!”
>”I want one!”
>”C’mere pony!”
>”I wanna pet her!”
>They all stick their hands in the pen with their palms up.
>They wanted to pet you.
>Children.
>You really weren’t a child person.
>Dare you allow them to touch you?
>Would a pony let them touch it?
>Probably, if they were nice.
>Okay, follow the pony code.
>You step forward carefully, and sniff at their outstretched hands.
>They rub the side of your muzzle as your face passes by.
>One child gets his finger up your nostril, and you snort on his hand.
>”Ewwwwww! Pony boogers!” He yells as he rubs his hand on his shirt.
>Yeah, well keep your hand out of my nose, bitch.
>One girl proffers some oats she’s carrying a bag of.
>Oooo, smart girl. Bait the things you want to pet.
>You’ll oblige her.
>You ignore the rest of the kids and go eat food from the smart girl’s hand.
>”Lemme have some!”
>”I want to feed the pony!”
>The smart girl ignores them and continues petting your head.
>She sees you have a collar and bends down to read it.
>”Sixpence huh? That’s a pretty name.”

>She gives you another handful of oats, then pats your nose and walks off.
>Smart kid, you like her.
>The rest of the kids gather around you and pet at you for a while before they get bored and wander off.
>You were even nice enough to let some of them touch you
>Other children replace them throughout the day, and even some adults stop to gush and pet you.
>You’re rather popular in the community it seems, as you hear some people call you; “That strange pony with the butt coin.”
>Some people are even curious how much it would cost to buy you, but when Anna finally speaks to them she lets them know you’re not for sale, but she is hoping to find more like you.
>Later on in the afternoon, though, one guy sees you, and he gets a little too excited for your liking.
>He’s a pudgy fellow with a good amount of cushion on him, but not enough to make him overweight.
>He has a bolo tie and a white shirt with a vest on top, smart and shiny boots that don’t look like they see much work, and nice slacks.
>Overall he looked like a man who delegated ranch work to everyone else, and reaped all the benefits.
>The kind with too much money, and not enough reality, and he was looking at you with a Cheshire grin that sent chills down your spine.
>”I heard people talking about the pony with the coin marking and thought it too good to be true!” the man said happily.
>He looks at the sign attached to your pen with interest.
>”I’ve spent way too long looking for another one of you, and I knew it was just a matter of time. Who’s your owner? Savannah Flanagan. Is she here? Savannah Flanagan! I gotta talk to you! Savannah!” He yelled.
>He looks around wildly for Anna, and when he doesn’t find her within five seconds, punches the sign on your stall.

>”Tarnation! These country farmers got no money sense. I’m lookin’ to buy!” He fumed.
>The smart girl from earlier had been hanging out with you on and off all day was here and she turned to him.
>”Oh, Anna was here earlier, but Sixpence isn’t for sale, she said. She’s just looking for information on other ponies like her. It says so on the sign.” The girl said, pointing to the little sign on your stall.
>He gives it half a glance, but brushes her off.
>”Nonsense. Everyone has a price. Now do you know where she is or not?” He said to her.
>Ew.
>You didn’t like this guy.
>More money than sense.
>”I don’t. She stops by rather often, if you wanted to wait.” The girl said.
>”Hmph! I s’pose I can.” He said, folding his arms.
>He waited only about ten more minutes before Anna showed up, bringing with her some feed for you.
>”Hi Sixpence, how are…”
>”You must be Savannah Flanagan, am I right?” He interrupted loudly.
>Anna spilled a little of your food as he pushed up to her.
>”Uh… yes, I am. How can I help you?” She said.
>Anna extended her hand to shake, but he ignored it.
>”I want to buy your pony, here. I’ll give you three thousand for her.” He offered.
>Anna was more than a little shocked, you could see it on her face.
>Not only had he not given her any time to think, but he’d offered a huge sum of money all at once.
>”Uh… sir, I’m sorry but…” Anna started
>”Five thousand. There’s no way you paid that much for her, and I’ve been looking for one of these for a while now.”
>Anna was confused and trying to collect her thoughts, but he seemed practiced at this, and wasn’t giving her time to think.
>”Sir… uh… that’s really, very generous but I simply…”
>”Six thousand. That’s twice the amount you’d get for most of the ponies I’m sure ‘you’ would encounter.” He pushed.

>”Sir, please. You’re not listen-“
>”Seven thousand! I told you money is no object!” He leaned forward, almost a head taller than Anna.
>He was being really pushy, and people were beginning to stare.
>Anna really didn’t look comfortable.
>You needed to do something.
>”I don’t think-“ Anna began.
>”You can’t possibly think this animal is worth anything more than that? How many offers of this magnitude have you gotten? I’ll tell you how many: None.”
>You prop yourself up on the gate, reach out to his back pocket, and nick his wallet with your teeth.
>You make a big show of it, too.
>Holding it in your teeth for a moment, you make sure a bunch of people saw you take it.
>Some start to giggle and you see a few people cover their smiles, not wanting to say anything.
>You snort loudly and drop back into your stall, then you prance about a bit, shaking your mane back and forth and flicking your tail, like you’re super proud of yourself.
>Then you drop it in a corner, whinny, and start to bury it in hay like a cat would bury it’s business.
>People are laughing now.
>One person actually tries to tap him on the shoulder.
>Satisfied you’d done your job, you wait.
>He brushes off the man trying to get his attention.
>”Can’t you see I’m in the middle of some business, son?”
>”Now what kind of deal can we make, here? You’re not giving me a lot to work with, Miss Flanagan.”
>The young man taps him on the shoulder again.
>”That’s because I’m not willing to work with you, sir. You still haven’t even given me your name.”
>”It’s Sheffield. Bruno Sheffield of Sheffield ranch!” He puffed proudly.
>”Well Mr. Sheffield, the pony took your wallet.” The young man told him.
>You hear Anna giggle, but you’ve put your head down and pretended to not be paying attention anymore.

>”Wut?”
>He pats at his back pocket, and sure enough, he discovers his wallet is gone.
>The little crowd is roaring with laughter at this point.
>”You damn monster! How dare you!” He yells at you.
>He starts trying to open your stall.
>Anna pushes him back, firmly, but gently.
>”Mr. Sheffield, don’t enter the stall without my permission. Sixpence is very skittish, and you going in there could cause her to bite. I will bring you your wallet, THEN, we will discuss, CALMLY, what you want. Agreed?” Anna says, her hand on his chest.
>He looks apoplectic, but he nods.
>Anna carefully opens the stall door and slips inside.
>You go to the corner you’d placed the wallet in and lay down on it, looking up at her with big innocent eyes.
>Anna smiles, but puts her hands on her hips in mock anger and walks over to you.
>As she gets closer you lay down even wider, feigning disinterest.
>She comes up to you and puts her hand on you head, scratching you behind the ears.
>”Now Sixpence, I know you have it, and I know you’re on it, so you gotta get up or I’m gonna have to move you.”
>You nicker, but don’t move.
>Anna grabs you by the barrel, picks you up, and places you on your feet off to the side.
>She digs in the hay for a moment and pulls up Sheffield’s wallet, covered in filth.
>Yeah, you put it where you dropped your business.
>It was hilarious.
>You rub up against Anna’s legs while she gingerly stands up and hands Mr. Sheffield back his wallet.
>”Here you are. Sorry about that. Sixpence can be a little bit precocious sometimes.”
>Anna wipes her hands off.
>”Thank you Miss Flanagan, now, how much-“
>Anna holds up a finger.
>”No. Mr. Sheffield, we will not talk price. We will discuss everything BUT price about the pony, or we will not talk at all.” Anna said in a no-nonsense voice.

>”Hmph. Alright Miss Flanagan. As an apology, let’s get lunch. On me, of course.”
>”Alright, I’ve been very interested to meet someone else who knows about these kinds of ponies.” Anna said.
>”As have I, so we will have plenty to talk about.” Mr. Sheffield said.
>Then they walked off.
>Damn them!
>That Mr. Sheffield knew something, and now you’d have to wait and hope Anna shared it all with you!
>Damnit!
>Damnit! Damnit! Damnit!
>You trotted in small circles anxiously.
>How did he know about you?
>What did he know?
>Why was he so intent on buying you?
>Oh god, this was killing you!
>This was going to eat at you all-!
>Oh, the smart girl was back.
>You let her pet you and she gave you more oats.
>Eventually she left.
>This was going to eat at you all day!
>What were you supposed to do?
>You couldn’t really do anything!
>Argh! This was frustrating!
>You needed to let off some steam.
>You were so nervous.
>She wouldn’t sell you would she?
>No, likely not, but then what kind of agreement could they come to?
>Did he actually own another pony?
>Who would possibly let themselves be treated like an animal?
>Was it someone else just as down on their luck as you?
>What are the chances of that, eh?
>You were chowing down on someone’s funnel cake when you realized, that entire time you’d been taking stuff, and people were starting to notice.
>You had a little pile of knick-knacks, watches, and a couple wallets buried in the straw in the back of your pen.
>Oops.
>They were just holding out junk food for you, so they didn’t know their valuables were missing yet.
>You should probably stop.
>You lay down and try to sleep to forget everything that’s going on.
>This had you so nervous, though.
>God, the day couldn’t go by fast enough.

>Later on, Anna finally came back.
>You jumped up when you noticed she was here and propped your hooves up on the gate and licked her face.
>She smiled and hugged you.
>It wasn’t a good and proper smile.
>Something strange was up.
>You stopped hopping and waited while she thought about something.
>Finally, she opened the stall, grabbed your halter and started putting it on you.
>”C’mon Sixpence, we’re going to go meet someone.”
>Someone?
>Mr. Sheffield?
>Probably not him, but someone else entirely?
>A pony?!
>She gets your halter on, attaches the leash, and walks you out of your stall and into the crowd.
>Did he actually have a pony like you?
>Wait…
>How did he get a pony like you?
>You get a chill.
>You didn’t really like the feeling this gave you.
>Judging by Anna’s face, she didn’t either.
>You stay close by her heels as you trot through the fairgrounds.
>You weren’t even looking at anything.
>A pall had been cast over your time at the fair.
>You walked out to the edge of the parking lot, where Mr. Sheffield had apparently paid for a large portion of land to keep himself.
>He had an RV, and a trailer that you assumed is where he’d kept his livestock.
>Both looked expensive.
>The door of the RV swings open and Mr. Sheffield stepped cheerfully down out of it, a glass of some drink in his hand.
>”Howdy Miss Flanagan. Glad you and little Sixpence here could come pay us a visit. Now, let’s not beat around the bush. Are you ready to meet my little pony?” Sheffield asked.
>No way.
>He actually had a pony?
>Were they like you?
>How did he find them?
>Mr. Sheffield steps inside his RV, and after a moment you hear the sound of hooves on tile.
>Holy shit.
>You were going to meet another pony!
>You didn’t think this was ever going to happen!
>You thought you were alone!

>Sheffield steps out of the RV with a leash in his hand.
>He cleared the steps, moved out of the way, and there, on the other end of the leash, was another pony.
>Your heart skipped a beat.
>He wasn’t kidding.
>The pony was pure white, from their mane down to their hooves, and their coat seemed to glisten cleanly.
>Their mane was long and curly, falling in waves down to about shoulder height.
>The pony was very well groomed, that much was plain.
>Their hooves were cleaned and shone as well.
>Sheffield smiled that Cheshire grin again.
>”He’s a beaut, ain’t he? Caught him in the wild flyin’ about my ranch. I’d just about given up finding any others like him, but I ain’t a quitter, and here we are, you with a female, and me with a male!” Sheffield smiled wide.
>”You mentioned he had wings, may I have a closer look?” Anna asks.
>”Absolutely! Also, you can see he has one of those marks on his rear. That’s the main identifying mark I was looking for. His is a Cirrus cloud or something. One of my ranch hands told me that’s what it was, so his name’s Cirrus.” Sheffield said.
>Sheffield whistled through his teeth, and Cirrus hopped out of the RV and trotted up to his side, head held high.
>You could see now that Sheffield was right. He had wings.
>They were currently flat against his sides, and they looked like they were impressively large.
>You weren’t going to hazard a guess at his wingspan, but it was probably amazing in flight.
>The mark on his butt was some sort of cloud, and you supposed if you had any knowledge of meteorology it would be a cirrus cloud.
>You didn’t know.
>It was set against a mountain peak, with the cloud passing in front of it, just a slightly darker shade of white than the rest of him.

>Anna moved closer to them, and you obliged her, keeping your head low.
>Cirrus didn’t move, nor did he look at you.
>His nostrils flared slightly, but he didn’t otherwise acknowledge your presence.
>That was strange.
>You get all up in his face.
>He was a good two inches or so taller than you, so it was hard.
>Anna pulls on a wing, extending it a little bit.
>”So you said he can actually fly?”
>”Mmhmm! That’s how we caught him. He was flying about above the ranch, got him with a tranq when he landed after following him for hours.”
>You look into Cirrus’ eyes.
>He looks straight ahead.
>That’s not normal.
>Not even for a horse.
>Something’s fucky.
>You boop him in the snootle with your nose.
>He pulls back slightly.
>There’s something.
>You boop him again.
>Nothing.
>He got used to it.
>”He’s awfully well-behaved isn’t he?” Anna said.
>”Oh yeah. Months of training. We’ve just barely gotten to a point where I can let him fly indoors. Still not sure how well I can trust him outside, though.” Sheffield says.
>No way… amazing wings and not being allowed to fly?
>You’d go crazy!
>This isn’t normal.
>None of this is.
>Even if Sheffield trained him like a horse, he’d still act like a person.
>Unless…
>No way.
>No fucking way.
>You look into Cirrus’ eyes.
>He stares straight ahead.
>You look over at Sheffield.
>He sees you looking.
>He winks at you.
>Oh fuck!
>Holy fuck!
>He fucking knows!
>He knows and he broke the poor thing!
>You want to go.
>You want to go now!
>Anna! Come on, Anna come the fuck on!
>You pull away from Cirrus and get to the end of the leash.
>Just enough to send the hint.
>Come on, Anna, come on!
>Anna looks at you, then back at Sheffield.
>She slowly stands up and turns to Sheffield.

>”Well, looks like Sixpence is feeling a little jittery, but I think we can talk more, Mr. Sheffield. I’ve been interested in finding a stud for Sixpence, so please, give me a call sometime and we can come to some arrangement. I won’t be selling Sixpence, but breeding I’m interested in.” Anna said.
>”Well that’s mighty kind of you Miss. Flanagan, You’ll probably hear from me shortly after the fair, then, while I’m still in town.” Sheffield said.
>Anna nods and they exchange contact information, then you’re finally on your way.
>As you leave, you feel like something is crawling down your spine, and you resist the urge to turn around.
>He’s totally looking at you.
>You walk back through the campgrounds, passing by people here and there.
>Some of them try to pet you but you’re not paying attention.
>Thoughts whirl through your head, the whole thing a giant mess of incoherent panic and fear.
>One thought sits on the top, though.
>What had Sheffield done?
>There were two possible reasons for Cirrus’ behavior: Either Sheffield had done something, which, according to his stories, seemed the most likely, or Cirrus just acted like that normally.
>That seemed unlikely, and according to Sheffield’s story, Cirrus had to be caught.
>You shivered in fear.
>That seemed to be the worst case scenario of your type of situation.
>If Cirrus had attempted to call for help or escape before, he wasn’t interested in doing so now.
>You find yourself back at your stall.
>It was late in the day at this point, and not many people were around.
>Anna opened the stall and cocked her head at it, telling you to go in.
>You look left and right along the path.
>No one was watching.
>You shake your head.
>”No?”
>She squats down next to you.
>You shake your head again and look down.
>You didn’t want to be here alone.

>Sheffield did something to Cirrus, what if he decided to try to steal you?
>He could probably find a chip and remove it easily, and Anna couldn’t afford to fight him legally at all.
>By then, you’d be broken like Cirrus, and bred.
>You weren’t going to give him the chance.
>Anna lifts up your chin and looks you in the eyes.
>”Yeah, I know. Let’s go. You can stay in the trailer until tomorrow, and I’ll try to get Pa to take us home early.”
>You breathe a sigh of relief, and walk with Anna to where they were keeping the trailer.
>It was way out in the boonies, snug up against other rows of trailers.
>Anna unlocks the back, opens it, and lets you jump inside.
>”You can have free reign, and there’s food and water in every stall, just don’t make too much noise, okay?”
>She removes your halter and gives you a little kiss on the head.
>”We’ll talk tomorrow night.”
>Anna closes the door, and leaves you alone in the trailer.
>It’s dark, but you find yourself a nice comfy spot to lie down, and you try to fall asleep.
>The fake monsters cannot find you tonight.
>The real one is out there on the other side of the parking lot, and he dominates your fears.
>Your dreams don’t find you this night.

>Morning arrives and you wake up inside the trailer.
>You get some food and water, and wait the day away.
>Thankfully, Anna and her Pa are okay with leaving slightly early, and they come find you in the trailer around what feels like noon.
>Anna secures you in your stall, and Pa brings the truck around to get it hitched up.
>Pa takes the trailer to the barn pickup to get the rest of the animals, and you wait patiently while they bring them on.
>It appears that Pa was rather successful at the fair, as there were a lot fewer animals in the trailer with you on your way home than there were coming out here.
>That was okay with you.
>It doesn’t take long for Pa and Anna to finish everything up, and you’re soon swaying along in the trailer on the drive home.
>When you arrive, Anna gets all the animals out and puts them away, while you can hear Pa talking with some young fellow about how the farm is doing.
>Eventually it’s your turn, and Anna just lets you out of your stall and lets you run free.
>Freedom.
>That’s important, and Cirrus doesn’t have it.
>You don’t really feel like running.
>Wings.
>He had wings!
>Beautiful wings, and he was stuck on the ground, flying only at the whim of someone else.
>You rub against Anna’s leg as she shuts the trailer.
>She bends down and scratches your head.
>You smile up at her, and she smiles back.
>She cares.
>She always asked you if you were okay with everything she’d done.
>She never did it without making sure you were comfortable, and if at any point you became uncomfortable, she wanted to know.
>You had that.
>For the first time in your life you had that.
>It was amazing and you never wanted to let it go.
>You stayed by her side for the rest of the day.
>When night came, you walked with her slowly out to the pasture, head hanging low.
>Cirrus didn’t have this.

>Even if Anna seemed tired, she brought you out here so you could look at the stars.
>Stars that Cirrus would be able to touch, but wasn’t allowed.
>Flying in the night sky…
>That sounded amazing.
>Nothing at all between you and the stars, fully exposed to the elements.
>Just you and the sky.
>And he couldn’t have it because someone didn’t want him to.
>Anna and you are sitting in your usual spot, staring up at the sky.
>She looks exhausted.
>You pat her thigh with your hoof.
>She looks down at you gratefully.
>She cared.
>Even that Unicorn on TV had someone who cared.
>You hadn’t ever had this before.
>Not to this degree.
>She made you feel safe, and went out of her way to help.
>This was what everyone needed, what everyone deserved.
>Cirrus didn’t have that, and you didn’t know if anyone knew to even look for him.
>This wasn’t about you anymore.
>This wasn’t about your safety or your new life.
>You had it, and you knew Anna well enough to know she wasn’t going to change just because you said something!
“Anna?”
>It was the first time you’d heard your new voice.
>You had a rich alto.
>Anna looks at you in shock.
>”Sixpence?!”
>Tears come to your eyes.
>You look up at her.
“He’s not okay.”
>You sob.
>Anna reaches out and picks you up, hugging you to her chest.
>You wrap your hooves around her neck.
>”Who’s not okay?”
>The first time you’d spoken, and she only wanted to ask you about what was wrong.
>She was amazing.
“Cirrus. He’s not okay.”
>You feel her sigh heavily.
>”I know, Sixpence. I know.”
>You cry into her shoulder for a while, and she just strokes your back.
>You hug her tighter.
“Thank you.”

>”You’re welcome, Sixpence.  What say we go inside, okay? I think we’re both a little spent.”
>You nod.
>Anna continues carrying you as she walks back toward the house, her heartbeat heavy against your barrel.
>”How come you didn’t you speak before?”
“I wanted to be a pony.”
>Anna gives a small ‘heh’ at your answer.
>”Can’t say I can blame you.”
>You reach the house, and Anna opens the door and kicks her shoes off.
>She puts you down, and you trot ahead of her to her room and jump up onto her bed, digging under the covers.
>Anna comes in afterward and laughs when she sees your face peeking out at her from under her blankets.
>She shuts her door and undresses, then flips the lights off and crawls into bed with you.
>She rearranges the blankets and cuddles you close.
>”So, the only way we can help Cirrus, is if we can get close to him.”
>You turn your head to look at her in the dark.
>Your nose boops hers.
>”Trouble is, the only one who can do that is you, and the only way we’ll be able to get you two together is if we promise to try to breed you. Are you okay with that?”
>Again she asked you if you were okay with it.
>Yes.
>Yes you were.
>You had freedom, Cirrus did not.
>This was about someone else.
>You didn’t have to actually let him, you just had to promise to try.
“Yes.”
>”Good. I’ll talk to Mr. Sheffield tomorrow, and we’ll go from there.”
>She kisses you on the head.
>”Goodnight Sixpence.”
“Goodnight Anna, and thank you.”
>You close your eyes, and you dream of clouds.

>You wake up the next morning cuddled up in Anna’s chest with a face full of breasts.
>Even if it wasn’t as exciting as it used to be, boobs were still amazing.
>Soft, too.
>You rub your head against them, jiggling them back and forth.
>”Hah, stop that Sixpence.”
>Oh, whoops.
>Should have figured she’d be awake, too.
>Caught red-hooved playing with her titties.
>Anna grabs you and sits up, carrying you along with her.
>She tosses the blankets off and crawls out of bed, you dangling from her arms in front of her.
>”Back to the ol’ grindstone to wait for a call from a questionable man. It’s like he’s some sort of threatening version of Mitch. Only it’s not my booty he’s calling about, it’s yours.”
>Anna places you on the floor, and slowly begins to dress herself.
>You shake yourself out and take a moment to actually check how you look in a floor-length mirror Anna had in her closet.
>Your mane was now long enough to dangle just past your chin, your tail almost looked proper as well.
>You smiled at yourself.
>Turning away from the mirror, you notice Anna is already gone, probably in the kitchen making breakfast.
>You trot out of her room and head to the kitchen.
>You bump into Pa coming out of the bathroom on your way.
>He’s wearing nothing but pants and a smile as he steps out of the bathroom, patting his freshly shaven cheeks.
>”Mornin’ Sixpence.” He says cheerfully, whistling to himself as he walks back to his room.
>The man was old, but farm work must do a body good, because he was chiseled.
>You’d always been able to appreciate the male body even as a dude, but now you had a good excuse to stare.
>For an old man, he looked good.
>You blatantly stare until he shuts the door to his room, then you continue on to the kitchen.

>There’s a bowl full of oatmeal waiting for you.
>It even has apples and raisins in it. Sweet!
>You devour your breakfast, then occupy one of the two chairs at the table and watch Anna work.
>She’s skillfully chopping up various fruits for a nice healthy breakfast.
>She prepares something that looks like granola mixed with yogurt and the fruit.
>It doesn’t look bad, but it’s not something you’d really have made yourself.
>You’d take a good plate of bacon and eggs any day.
>Pa comes out fully dressed and looks down at his bowl.
>”Where’s a good plate of bacon and eggs when ya need it?”
>Yes! Thank you Pa!
>A man after your own heart.
>Anna gives him a stern look.
>”You have to eat fruits and vegetables sometimes, Pa. We have roast beef sandwiches prepared for lunch.”
>Pa sits down with a grin and eats his breakfast with gusto despite the complaint.
>Anna slips you the last spoonful of her own breakfast which you eat happily, then she cleans up and washes the dishes while Pa heads out to begin work.
>You wait patiently for Anna and relax on the floor while she works.
>You kind of expect her to start drilling you with questions about your life now that you’d actually spoken to her, but she doesn’t.
>Once she’s done the dishes she gets her boots on, grabs her coat and makes sure she has her cell phone for when Mr. Sheffield calls, then she pats her leg at you and the two of you head outside.
>There are plenty of opportunities as the day passes that she could ask you anything about your life.
>Her and Pa separate chores out on opposing sides of the farm so they can cover more in an efficient manner, only calling the other one for help if it’s absolutely necessary.
>That means that you’re alone with her for much of the day, and Pa is outside earshot.
>She could have asked you anything, but she didn’t.

>It’s kind of eating at you, but it’s nice that she respects your privacy that much.
>Shortly after lunch, Anna’s phone rings while she’s mending a chicken coop.
>She pulls it out of her pocket, gives you a look, and answers.
>”Hello Mr. Sheffield.”
>That’s the call.
>You don’t really want to listen to only half of the conversation, so you run off and chase some chickens, trying to ignore the life-changing conversation going on about you.
>It is difficult, to say the least.
>You can’t get very far away without Anna to open the gate for you, so you hear bits and pieces.
>”…last heat was about two weeks ago…”
>Ah, great. Probably trying to get you near him while you were receptive.
>”…go to you, you’ll… set up a place on our farm.”
>Oh thank goodness.
>Sounds like it’ll be here.
>Then there was something about money.
>Of course he’d want to talk about money.
>It was all he was in this for after all.
>Thankfully you were the mare here, which meant Anna had the better bargaining chip.
>She’d be the one taking care of you and making sure that the foals were born successfully.
>Unless Mr. Sheffield could find another pony female, Anna had all the cards in her hand but one.
>Maybe two if you counted the fact that Sheffield was filthy stinking rich.
>Anna started raising her voice.
>”No Mr. Sheffield, I will not artificially inseminate!”
>You hadn’t even considered that.
>It could have just been a tube, then boom! Pregnant.
>Anna had her head on straight, though.
>”Of course I artificially inseminate my horses, but these aren’t horses… Yes I know they’re similar, but they’re nothing I’ve ever encountered before, and I intend to learn everything I can about them, which includes breeding habits!”
>Clever girl.
>”Yes I am aware it’s probably a lot like ponies, but I’ll never know unless I observe, will I?”
>”Of course. You can bring the paperwork and Cirrus on Monday, and I’ll look over it then.”

>”Goodbye Mr. Sheffield.”
>She hangs up and grabs her head with her hands, dragging her fingers over her face in exasperation.
>You were back at her feet in an instant, looking up at her.
>She looks down at you with a sigh, then rubs your head affectionately.
>”He knows what he wants, and he’s all business. He just wanted to send some semen for artificial insemination once we’d gotten the contract set out.”
>She scoffs derisively.
>”Contracts. He wants me to either pay a huge stud fee, or he wants a cut of the eventual money from the foals as they’re born and sold. It’s all just an investment to him.”
>She looks you in the eye.
>”Not gonna lie Sixpence, I do not want to sign any contracts with that man if I can avoid it. I have an appointment with Mr. Sheffield on Monday, and you’ll be meeting with Cirrus up close then, try to get something from him, or I don’t know if we can continue trying. It could end up costing us more than we can handle.”
>She sighs heavily.
>”I need to talk to Pa.”
>She picks up her tools, leaves the coop unmended, and you follow her out of the chicken pen.
>You find her Pa busy with the sheep, fixing some thing you don’t understand.
>”Pa, I got some favors to ask you.”
>”And what sorta favors are ya talkin’ here, Anna?” He answers, without looking up from his work.
>”Well, that fellow I mentioned from the fair with the pony? He’s coming on Monday to visit and he’s having a contract written up for an agreement about offspring.”
>He looks up from his work at that.
>”Ye’re signin’ a contract with some rich fella about yer pony’s foals?”
>”Well, that’s the thing. I don’t want to. However, he allowed me to see the pony he has, and I think he is mistreating it. I wanted to see it again to try to do something for it.”

>”Oh Anna, that’s a terrible tragedy, but there’s not much ye can do about somethin’ like that.”
>”Please Pa. All I want you to do is read over the contract, and find out something, anything, to disagree about, so I can stall any decision about the signing.”
>”Hah! Is that all? Well whatever ye have planned, Ah’ll leave ye to it, but ah can do that much at least.”
>”Thanks Pa. I’m gonna get the breeding pens set up so Sixpence and the visiting stallion can meet alone.”
>”Alright Anna. By the way, when this chap visits, don’t ye let yer eyes off him any longer than ye must. I don’t like rich folk, and I suspect he’ll be lookin’ fer loopholes and any advantage he can get. That may lead him to less-than-legal behavior, so be watchin’ him.”
>”Will do, Pa.”
>Pa turns back to his work, and you and Anna leave him to it.
>Anna leads you to a smaller, but still quite big, fenced-in section of the farm.
>This must be the breeding pen.
>You’re aware that Anna does artificial insemination, but she’s also a big proponent of natural breeding.
>Hence this smaller pasture.
>This was where you and Cirrus were going to be penned up together to get to know each other.
>Anna walks around checking the fence for loose boards, holes, and any dangerous bits.
>Once she’s satisfied the pen is up to her standards, the two of you head back to the chicken coop and Anna finishes fixing it.
>You meander about the farm until evening, when you have supper and Anna brings you out to the pasture to stargaze.
>Once you’re both seated, Anna turns to you.
>”Alright Sixpence, we need to discuss what our plans are for the meeting on Monday.”
>You nod at her.

>”Okay, so the main thing is that we get you and Cirrus in that pen together. This isn’t going to be a breeding thing, so there’s no need to be concerned about that. I don’t know how your type of pony handles sex, but we need to get Sheffield to bring Cirrus back as many times as we can.”
>You nod in agreement.
>”Sheffield has Cirrus by the balls, so first you need to get through to him. Make him realize we can help and that our helping even has a chance of him seeing freedom again. Second, Sheffield is going to have his wings belted or tied down somehow, so you’ll need to see if you can figure out how to remove it.”
>You nod.
>”Okay, seriously Sixpence, I’ve heard you speak and I want your opinion here. Mute nodding is not going to be enough.”
“Oh, sorry. I am used to only listening.”
>You clear your throat.
“I suppose I can’t guarantee I’ll ever get through to him, but I can have a look at whatever is going to be used to bind his wings. I might want to practice on something you have here beforehand.”
>”Yeah, we can get you some practice on buckles of different types. I have some in my room you can look at.”
“Do you think you can get Sheffield away for a short time? I am pretty sure Sheffield knows I can talk. He knew Cirrus could, and he still did whatever he did to him, so he will be wary.”
>Anna taps her chin in thought for a moment.
>”I can talk with Pa, and have him bother Sheffield with minor things about the contract. I don’t know how successful it will be, but we’ll try.”
“Okay.”
>You look up at the stars.
>Anna sighs next to you, and you lean against her.
>It was stressful, and awfully scary to think about, but you were going to do this.
>For Cirrus and his freedom.
>The two of you sit a while longer, then head back inside and crawl into bed.
>Preparations needed to be handled with care.
>You fall asleep and dream of blue skies.

>In the morning, Anna is up and preparing breakfast as usual, but you were left in her room with the door shut, fussing with buckles.
>True to her word, Anna had several different types, and you were practicing with them.
>It was really hard, honestly.
>The buckles weren’t particularly easy to move without fingers, and your tongue and teeth were not very dexterous by themselves.
>You quickly discovered, before it was time to head outside, that you could do it, but you needed to press really hard on it to get it to unbuckle.
>It wasn’t something that lent itself to stealth.
>Anna needed to distract Sheffield, or this wasn’t going to happen without him seeing it.
>That was also only if he used a buckled you could conceivably open.
>Anna only had so many styles.
>You’re fussing with one of the few types you hadn’t been able to open yet when Anna walks in.
>”Time to head outside Sixpence. You can graze while we work, but I can’t leave you in here all day.”
>The two of you head out and work all day, then you come back in for supper, and get right back to your work on the buckles.
>You even forego stargazing that night, and Sunday night as well, just to prepare for your meeting on Monday.
>When Monday morning finally comes, though, you feel ready.
>There were so many things that could go wrong, and you would be lying if you said you were confident, but you were going to try your hardest.
>Anna had briefed her Pa on what his role was going to be, and Pa laughed, but he agreed.
>You were in the pen as soon as breakfast was done, and you could do nothing else but wait.
>Nervous energy kept you jittery all morning.
>You were running to and fro, kicking your hooves about and shaking your head in nervous excitement.

>Your teeth clicked in mock practice for when Cirrus would be here and you’d have to try to get whatever was holding his wings down off him.
>Mostly though, you waited.
>Finally, your waiting paid off, and Anna, Pa, and Mr. Sheffield came around the farmhouse toward you.
>You feigned disinterest and walked around, grazing lightly while watching out of the corner of your eye.
>You caught sight of Cirrus, and your heart ached.
>He held his head high, and stepped high next to Sheffield.
>His expression was completely neutral, and his wings were indeed strapped down with something.
>Every movement he made screamed that he had spent days perfecting how to move and how to act around Sheffield.
>Yet his eyes were blank, staring straight ahead at nothing in particular.
>He saw you, but… he didn’t ‘see’ you.
>He knew you were there the way a cyclist registers a bump in the path: With careful disinterest.
>”So here is where Sixpence and Cirrus will be kept in order to mate. Since sixpence isn’t current in estrus, we just want to see whether or not the two of them get along. If it looks like they don’t, and either one of them presents a danger to the other, we’ll have to pen them up and prepare Sixpence to breed without letting her see him.” Anna explained.
>”I know how natural breeding works Miss Flanagan, I just don’t care for it. It’s messy and it takes too long with little guarantee the mare will actually take. However! If this is what you want, then I’ll humor you.”
>Anna opens the pen, and Sheffield walks Cirrus inside, then removes his halter.
>”Now you go meet that little filly over there. You’ll be a good boy and get along won’tcha?” Sheffield says.
>When he says that you see the barest flicker of life inside Cirrus’ eyes.
>Fear.

>Probably fear of punishment if he didn’t get along with you.
>He then pats Cirrus on the cheek and steps back outside of the pen.
>All three of them are watching you now.
>No pressure.
>You look at Cirrus for a moment, then go back to grazing.
>This needed to take as long as possible, so you’d wait for him to make the first move.
>”Well Mr. Sheffield, Ah’ll head inside and look over the contract. Ah’ll come out if ah have any questions for ye.” Pa says, and heads toward the house.
>Sheffield waves him off dismissively and leans on the fence, watching you and Cirrus.
>Anna was a short distance away from him with a pen and paper out, ostensibly documenting your behavior.
>This all needed to play out in a very exact manner.
>Anna had an excuse to stay out here while Pa pulled Sheffield away, and your role was to act like a pony might.
>So you got down to it.
>Cirrus stood there, posture perfectly aligned, staring straight ahead.
>It was honestly very disturbing.
>You meander about grazing for about ten minutes more, keeping an eye on Cirrus.
>He didn’t move beyond an occasional tail or ear twitch.
>Finally Sheffield, who was looking more and more bored about the entire thing yelled at him.
>”Cirrus go meet that damn mare!” He shouted, thumping his fist against the fence.
>Cirrus started, and with a light whinny walked forward, carefully lifting his feet in that weird walking pattern.
>You were pretty sure it was entirely for show.
>Cirrus walked all the way up to you and stopped.
>You lift your head and look him in the eyes.
>He meets your gaze and looks unsure of himself for a moment, before his expression returns to neutral as he stares at you.
>You graze for a while longer while Cirrus follows you around, always staying about two feet away from you with his head held high.

>Sheffield, meanwhile, was getting extremely bored.
>The man must never actually take part in any of his farm’s work.
>”Well Miss Flanagan, I must ask, since I’ve never done this ‘natural breeding’ thing. How do you know if the two are going to actually mate when the time comes? Looks to me like the two of them are getting along just fine.”
>”Well Mr. Sheffield, Cirrus is behaving rather erratically. Sixpence nor Cirrus, however, have shown any outward signs of hostility. Things might change come Sixpence’s estrus, but so far it seems promising. I do need to ask though, what kind of socializing has Cirrus experienced since you acquired him?”
>”He’s been around plenty of other horses. I couldn’t tell you how well he got along with them, though. None’a that was something I was involved in. I just went to train him.”
>”Hmmm. If you could find out who was involved with his socialization I’d like to know how well he was treated by the others. If he did not socialize properly after being brought in from the wild, it could affect his behavior during mating season.”
>”How do you figure?”
>”If he does not think of himself as the stallion in charge, depending on how these ponies handle their pecking order, he might not think it is his right to mate with a mare.”
>”That seems like a completely ridiculous notion Miss Flanagan. No offense, but I don’t think that would stop a stallion from ruttin’ a perfectly good mare placed in front of him.”
>”Oh I don’t believe it will be a problem, but I cannot rule out the possibility, so if you could get me in contact with someone in charge of his socialization, I would enjoy the opportunity to speak with them.”
>Sheffield sighs in exasperation.
>”Will do Miss Flanagan. But if it does become a problem, just so we’re clear, we’re still going to artificially inseminate.”
>”If it comes to that, yes, Mr. Sheffield.”

>Anna was very clever.
>You were really proud of her.
>Sheffield knew you could talk, and he knew you were sapient, but he couldn’t open his mouth about it until Anna gave away that she also knew, otherwise he’d look the fool.
>Anna could just deny it and nobody would believe him, so he had to play along.
>He was getting extremely frustrated though.
>As if on cue, Pa came out of the house and tapped Sheffield on the shoulder.
>”Excuse me, Mr. Sheffield. If ye can spare a moment, Ah’d like to chat with ye about somethin’ here in the contract.”
>”Sure, what’s up?”
>”Well, it may take a bit, would ye care to join me fer a cup ‘a tea?”
>”If it’s all the same Flanagan, I’d like to keep an eye on m’horse.”
>”That’s quite all right. Ah understand perfectly well. Well then, if ye’d just take a look here, it says…”
>You tune him out.
>You’d kind of expected this.
>Sheffield wasn’t willing to leave his pony alone, so you’d have to be quiet.
>You weren’t sure you could get the belt off his wings, but you could sure as hell talk to him.
>You trot over to the far side of the pen, and Cirrus follows close behind you.
>You turn around, get your nose up touching his, and breathe into his nostrils.
>It was weird, but Anna told you it calmed horses down, so maybe it would work the same for you.
>She demonstrated on you, and it made you feel pretty good, so you’d hoped it would work on Cirrus.
>Maybe it was your imagination, but it looked like he relaxed a little bit.
>You rub your face up against his and speak as quietly as you can into the ear opposite Sheffield.
”Hey there Flyboy. You feeling okay?”
>He immediately tenses up again, eyes flickering toward Sheffield.
>You put your nose up against his and breathe, hoping it will calm him down.

“Calm down, Cirrus. Just trying to make sure you’re okay. Look, I don’t know when I’ll get to say this again without Sheffield noticing, but I can help. Just be friendly with me. Do whatever you want with me, literally, so that we can get you back out to the farm again, okay?”
>It was a little uncomfortable telling him that, but you needed him to believe you could help.
>You plant a tiny kiss on his cheek.
>Anna said appealing to his basic instincts would help get him interested, and you hoped she was right.
>His nostrils flared and he looked at you.
>He actually looked you in the eyes!
>That meant he was at least listening!
>You give him a sultry smile, turn around, and flick him in the nose with your tail.
>You could see his erection peeking out from under his belly.
>Well, you’d had an effect at least.
>You bend down to graze some more and nibble lightly at the grass.
>He growled, pushed up against you and jumped up on your back.
>What the…!
>Oh fuck.
>This was not at all what you were expecting!
>He was supposed to act friendly, maybe nuzzle you a little, but you had said anything.
>After being told what to do by some asshole for months on end would get you a little pent up as well.
>He slams his cock against you and keeps missing.
>You hear Anna give a little gasp.
>”Yeah! That’s my boy!” Sheffield yells.
>You hear Anna recover.
>”Fascinating. Sixpence isn’t even in heat.”
>You see her scribble something in her notebook.
>This was extremely disturbing and uncomfortable.
>You could feel Cirrus hammering at your entrance, but it wasn’t going in.
>You didn’t want to push him off, because you needed him to come back, but this was not comfortable for you at all, emotionally or physically.
>You kind of wanted to cry.

>You bit your lip, and remembered Anna had told you that you had a lot of control over your vaginal muscles, so you reluctantly relaxed.
>His member slipped in, painfully.
>You were dry, and you didn’t want this, but he just kept pounding away.
>Mercifully, it was over very quickly.
>He lasted about twenty seconds once you let him in, and he came inside you, ejaculating copious amounts of fluid that you felt spill out of you and down your legs to the grass.
>Cirrus hopped off of you before he was completely done, the last few spurts spraying the ground beneath you.
>You looked over at him, and he bowed his head and looked away from you, refusing to look you in the eye.
>He was ashamed of what he’d done.
>You feel hopeful at that, despite the awful experience he’d forced on you.
>Those were the actions of someone who was trapped under someone else’s thumb, and the first moment they get to freely express themselves they release all their frustration.
>He steals a glance at you, and you try your best to give him a reassuring look.
>It’s tough, but you hope you manage.
>Sheffield, meanwhile, was wolf-whistling.
>”That’s my boy! You think we got a chance then, Miss Flanagan?”
>Anna looked shaken up.
>”I think we do, Mr. Sheffield. However, until my Pa is satisfied with the contract, we won’t be signing anything, so if you don’t mind keeping in contact with him about it, we can come up with something soon enough. Now, if you could, I would like to check on Sixpence, so please collect Cirrus and be on your way.”
>”Shore thing. Cirrus! C’mere you stud.”
>He whistles a command whistle, and Cirrus looks you in the eye briefly before he adopts his stiff posture again and prances off to Sheffield.
>You just stand there with your back legs slightly spread, clenching your teeth.
>Sheffield puts the halter back on Cirrus, and takes him out of the gate.

>Pa walks with him back around the building to the front, and Anna approaches you at a normal walk.
>As soon as Sheffield rounds the house, she rushes over to you and hugs you tightly.
>You start to sob as soon as she grabs you and you bury your face in her chest to muffle the sound as you start to bawl.
>Anna strokes your head while you let yourself cry.
>After a few minutes you start calming down.
>”Ye gonna be okay there, Sixpence?”
>Both of you jump and look up to see Pa standing over the two of you.
>”Before ye ask, yes, ah’m quite aware of what’s goin’ on with ye. Anna talking to ye gave it away quite a while ago. Now c’mon. Sheffield’s gone and we should get ye cleaned up.”
>You sniffle while Anna carries you over to the stables.
>Pa fetches the little pouch full of tools while Anna washes your rear end, then she examines you carefully.
>It’s tender down there and you flinch at her ministrations.
>”Well Sixpence, you have some minor tearing and abrasion, so I’ll need to keep an eye on it for a few days, but you’re otherwise fine. No pregnancy is possible, so you don’t have to worry about that, but I can’t believe he’d go from so calm to completely aggressive like that.”
”That was my fault.”
>Pa smiles.
>”Well, it’s good to hear yer voice at last. Ah don’t think it’s entirely your fault, though.”
>”Anna, you told me I should get him to express himself somehow, so I deliberately told him to do whatever he wanted with me.”
>”Sixpence, why would you do that?” Anna said.
”I figured shameless sexual advances would get him hot and bothered, and then he’d be too horny to think about following Sheffield’s orders. It worked a little too well I think.” You say, wincing.
>”Still, though. Who would do something like that?” Anna said.

>”Someone stuck under the thumb of a cruel and spiteful master, ah’d say. Ye get angry and frustrated, and the moment ye have access to any sort of power, ye let it all out. Ye’re a clever girl, Sixpence.” Pa says.
>You blush at the compliment.
>You try to sit down, but it hurts, so you stay standing.
>Anna sees your discomfort and picks you up, damp rear end and all.
>”Let’s get you inside, Sixpence. You need to rest, especially since you should be going into heat again next week sometime.”
>”Ah’ll go feed the animals, Anna. Ye can stay with little Sixpence there.”
>”You sure, Pa?”
>”Ah’ll be fine. Yer pony needs comfort after gettin’ used like that.”
>”Okay Pa. I’ll come out and help if I can.”
>Anna carries you inside the house, and gets you all wrapped up in a blanket in her bed.
>Then she goes and fixes you a lovely roast beef sandwich and brings you a bowl full of water, which she places on the bed near you.
>She seats herself at her desk nearby and watches you eat.
>”So you don’t think he’s a bad pony himself, then? Despite his behavior?”
>You shake your head.
“After he was done and came to his senses, he looked ashamed of himself until Sheffield spoke to him, at which point he resumed his stiff posture.”
>”Well that’s good to know. You didn’t get a good look at the wing bindings, I take it?”
“Not a very good one, but it looked like a simple enough buckle. I could get it if Sheffield could be pulled away.”
>”Then I’m going to see how far I can lie to Sheffield. If I can get him to agree to let Cirrus stay here with you overnight, I’m positive we can help him escape.”
>You eat your sandwich and drink some water, then lay your head down on the blankets.
“You can probably go help your Pa if you want to. I should be fine.”
>”Are you sure?”
>You smile at her.
“I’m positive.”

>”Alright. I’ll come check on you in a bit.”
>Anna gets up and heads outside, leaving you alone in the house.
>With your head laying on the blankets, you rest your eyes and body until supper comes.
>Anna and Pa come back inside and wake you up.
>Pa starts cooking supper while Anna comes to check on you.
>You’re feeling a lot better, but your poor abused nethers still hurt.
>It would have been easy to stop him, but you were really hoping this gambit would pay off in the long run.
>You stand up and hop out of bed to go visit with Pa and Anna in the kitchen while they work.
>Pa had kindly pulled a folding chair out of a closet somewhere so you could sit at the table.
>”Ah figure it’s yer choice though. Ye can be treated like a pet if ye like, but ah’d be far more comfortable having conversations with someone ah can treat like an equal.”
>You hop up on the chair and nod at him.
>Your withers barely clear the table though.
>Anna notices and brings you a phone book for a booster seat.
>It felt kind of childish, but oh well.
>You were a part of the family now.
>A weird child/pet hybrid.
>Dinner was some sort of potato-like vegetable you’d never heard of, but was pretty good, with gravy and turkey.
>Delicious.
>After dinner Pa sat and continued reading a new novel he’d picked up.
>You came over and jumped up on his lap and curled up.
>Then you remembered he knew you could speak.
>That made you feel a little awkward.
>It was easier when you’d thought he only knew you as an animal.
>You raise your head and look at him.
“Oh, um, is it alright if I sit here? I just, feel kind of awkward, now that you know.”
>”Oh ye’re fine Sixpence. Ye don’t need to speak if you don’t want to, and ah’ll not be treatin’ ye any different.”
>You lay your head back down.
>Anna was in her room hammering away at something.
>You sigh and relax, and you fall asleep in Pa’s lap.
>You dream of mountains.

>The next few days are relatively unexciting.
>Your minor injuries heal quickly, and by the time the next week comes around, you’re fit as a fiddle.
>Barring, of course, the burning itch of your estrus driving you to distraction.
>Sheffield had apparently been waiting around for you to go into heat, as he was on his way the same day Anna contacted him.
>Pa and Anna had carefully read through and signed a contract that entitled Sheffield to half the price of any foals sold that were sired by Cirrus specifically, and only while he was in possession of him.
>Sheffield was a little too excited to really care, because he didn’t see anything happening to Cirrus while he was in control.
>The idea was that the contract would be void once you freed Cirrus.
>With Pa using the excuse that they didn’t want Sheffield selling him, and Cirrus being the only stud around, Sheffield would keep getting money despite not owning him.
>No possible loopholes could be allowed.
>Nothing else on the farm would in any way be affected by the contract, and no reparations would have to be paid for your failure to take.
>So the contract was managed, you were in the enclosure awaiting Cirrus, and Sheffield would be here soon enough.
>Anna told you to try to keep Cirrus at bay as long as you could until Sheffield got bored, then you should have your opportunity.
>You waited as patiently as you could, pacing back and forth in the enclosure while thinking about that stallion headed your way.
>To be honest, you weren’t really looking forward to ending up pregnant, but you couldn’t deny the promise of sex was tantalizingly delightful.
>You just had to delay it.
>That was all, just delay.
>Where the hell were they?!
>God damn you were tired of waiting.
>You irritably march back and forth, stomping and kicking at the grass.

>”Calm down Sixpence. You need to appear as bored as you can when Cirrus arrives.” Anna said.
>You snort at her.
>”Now don’t you take that tone with me. This all hinges on you, so focus.”
>You go back to pretending to graze and wait.
>Finally, goddamn finally, you see Pa and Sheffield stroll around the corner.
>Okay, you had to play this just right.
>You really just wanted a good fuck, but you had to manage this carefully.
>Too soon and Sheffield would be away faster than you could sneeze, with Cirrus in tow.
>You had to drag this out.
>Let him get a whiff of you, but feign disinterest, and if he tries to fuck you, you’d have to push him off this time.
>Not too hard, or they might separate you two, but just enough.
>Ugh. This was going to get annoying.
>Anna opens the gate and Sheffield leads Cirrus in.
>He pulls the halter off him and slings it over his shoulder, then leans up against the gate and sighs.
>”G’day to you Miss Flanagan.”
>”Good morning Mr. Sheffield. How has your week been?”
>”Pretty miserable all told. Haven’t been sleeping well since last Monday.”
>”Well, you’ll have plenty of time to rest, this could take all day depending on how the two of them decide to handle it.”
>”Well if Cirrus is as quick as he was last week, that shouldn’t be a problem.”
>As for Cirrus himself, he was acting pretty much the same as last week.
>He had himself planted where Sheffield left him and was looking straight ahead like a good little soldier.
>Wait…
>That’s a different belt.
>Shit.
>You’d identified the kind of buckle that was on the last one, and had been practicing all week on it.
>That’s not gonna be cool.
>The smell of Cirrus hit your nose and you felt your clit wink out.
>Oh god you were ready for that shit.

>This was going to make concentrating real difficult.
>”So why the lock on Cirrus’ wings? Been having trouble with him?” Anna asks.
>”Yeah, he figured out how to pull the last belt off by himself. Had to put him through the wringer for that one. So now he gets a lock.”
>It was a lock?
>A full on lock?
>Well that ruins almost everything.
>Everyone involved was going to have to improvise.
>Everyone heard it, so Pa was going to have to try to get him away so you could at least talk to Cirrus, then Anna might be able to find the key…
>But who was going to steal it? You were the only one with any sort of practice in that regard.
>Uuugh!
>You had to reevaluate the entire plan while you had a virile stallion standing nearby!
>You didn’t want to fucking think right now!
>UGH!
>At least Cirrus was still standing there like a bump on a log.
>Sheffield shooting himself in the foot with that one.
>You’d probably have to make the first move like last time.
>You can wait.
>And you do.
>You stand where you were when they arrived, moving slightly from side to side to graze lightly at the grass.
>Pa has taken off to take care of work, but Anna waits with you and Sheffield.
>Sheffield meanwhile, seems to be having a tough time staying awake.
>He’s leaning on the fence, with his head in his hand, nodding off.
>”Mr. Sheffield, you can feel free to go rest in your trailer if you need to. This could take all day.”
>”Nah, I’ll be fine for a while yet. I don’t think this’ll take much longer so long as Cirrus gets off his ass and fucks that mare!”
>Cirrus starts, and walks in your direction.
>His nostrils flare as he approaches and from your vantage point near the grass you can see his member slip out of its sheath.

>Hot damn that got you going, and you felt your clit wink again.
>You’d take it in a second if you weren’t trying to stall for time.
>You couldn’t let him stay near you or you were going to let him go full Discovery Channel.
>Raising your head, you look him in the eye, give his nose a sniff, then turn and trot away, flicking him in the nose with your tail as you went.
>His nostrils flare again, and you know he got a huge whiff of you from that.
>Good.
>That means it wouldn’t just be frustrating for you.
>After a moment he follows you again.
>You repeat the motions, making sure to tease him with a raised tail, a wink of your clit in full view of him, or a brush up against his side every time you left him behind.
>”Oh my god, she’s being a damn tease!” Sheffield yells.
>Anna had her notebook out and was writing in it as she watched.
>She laughed.
>”She is indeed. It’s kind of amusing.”
>”Amusing hell! Last time it only took about twenty minutes at most. What’s different now?”
>”Now she’s actually in estrus, Mr. Sheffield. She’s going to act differently to make sure he’s the one she wants to sire her foals. If a better option were to come along, and this is pure conjecture because we only have the two, then she would want to see which one is the better choice.”
>”But there’s only him, so why wait?”
>”Mr. Sheffield, I mean no offense, but you really need to get involved with the workings of your farm more. Your knowledge of the animals seems… lacking.”
>”Miss Flanagan, I also mean no offense, but leaving the breeding up to the animals is dangerous and honestly a waste of time. If you’d agreed to artificial insemination, I wouldn’t even have to damn well be here.”
>You look over at the two of them arguing.
>This was amusing.

>”Mr. Sheffield, understanding horses, ponies, and the like, is what I wish to make of my career, and these ponies are no exception. I want to understand their behavior and document this, so you’ll forgive me if knowledge is more important to me than money.”
>Sheffield looks at you looking at him.
>”Well then you’re gonna want to document this.” He says, and points at you.
>What was he…?
>Then you felt a weight on your back.
>Aw shit, you’d gotten distracted.
>He wasn’t wasting any time, and he had his cock pressing up against your entrance.
>Ohhh geeze that felt good.
>The flare rubbed against your clit and you got shivers up your spine.
>You felt the tip slip inside and you prayed for more.
>Come on you bloody beast, fuck me!
>Then you noticed Anna’s panicked face.
>Sheffield was looking at you with a grin on his face, while Anna was trying her hardest to keep her expression neutral, but her eyes bored into yours.
>Her pencil and notebook were shaking in her hands.
>She was right.
>You couldn’t do this right now.
>You really couldn’t.
>If Cirrus finished now, you might end up pregnant, and you’d be subjecting him to a possible eleven more months of suffering.
>And that would be no one’s fault but your own.
>With great effort, you walk forward, pulling yourself away from Cirrus’ amazing cock.
>You feel him slip out of you, and he hops to try to keep up, humping at your rear end.
>Aw man you missed the feeling of that thing.
>It would be so easy to just give up!
>Get yourself more of that impressive dick.
>Cirrus was still on your back so you just kept walking around until he fell off.
>He nipped at your tail, so you whipped him in the nose with it, then went to the other side of the pen.
>He’d lost his stiff posture and just stood there, head bowed snorting in frustration.

>You could see some precum dangling off the end of his shaft, dribbling onto the ground.
>You could smell it too.
>Wooo, you’d given that up?
>You were a mental powerhouse right now!
>”Why’d she do that? Why did she do that!”
>Anna was scribbling furiously in her notebook.
>”As I mentioned before, she’s testing him.”
>Sheffield grabs his head in his hands and then throws them up into the air in frustration.
>”That bitch is a fuckin’ tease is what she is!”
>”Mr. Sheffield, I would really prefer it if you could be more professional. She’s a pony, and she does what she does based on instinct. Now please, you don’t have to wait here if it’s going to frustrate you like this.”
>Just then Pa comes running around the corner of the house.
>”Anna, ah really hate to pull ye away, but ah have a problem with the pig pen. One of the posts has rotted through and snapped off, and ah need yer help to repair it and corral the pigs.”
>”Oh, well shit.”
>Anna looks at you, then at Sheffield, then fusses with her overalls.
>”Alright, Pa. I’m coming.”
>Then she was gone with Pa around the corner.
>That left you with Cirrus and Sheffield.
>Juuust cirrus and Sheffield.
>This was not a comfortable situation.
>Sheffield looks over at where they’d run, then he looks down at you.
>He walks around the pen to where he could be as close to you as possible, then leans down and looks you in the eye.
>Geeze he had hella bags under his eyes.
>He really must not be sleeping well.
>”I know you know what I’m sayin’ ‘Sixpence’.” He said, his voice dripping venom as he spoke your name.
>”Cirrus here, y’see, he cried when I caught him. I thought about cutting his wings off, but scars like that would cause people to have a less than favorable reaction.”

>Sheffield snaps his fingers at Cirrus and points down in front of him.
>Cirrus obediently adopts the stiff posture again, his penis quickly becoming flaccid, and he walks over to where Sheffield pointed.
>Sheffield then looks back at you standing next to Cirrus.
>”I won’t be having any of this ‘teasing’ bullshit. Now you stand there and take his cock like a good little broodmare, or I’ll deal with you myself.”
>You look him in the eye for a moment longer.
>You could pretend to not understand him, or you could act like you understood.
>Tough choice.
>Pfft, no it wasn’t.
>You turn away, flick Cirrus in the nose with your tail, causing him to lose his posture again, then you wander over to the other side of the pen.
>”Don’t you turn your back on me, bitch!”
>Geeze. 
>What crawled up his ass and died?
>Sheffield follows you around the pen, telling Cirrus to follow you.
>Cirrus did, but it was plain he was more than a little freaked out.
>Poor Cirrus.
>His dick kept fluctuating between erect and limp.
>You had an obvious effect on him, but Sheffield kept him too nervous to do anything.
>Eventually it got to a point where the poor fellow couldn’t even get it up anymore.
>He was too scared of Sheffield.
>”Oh goddamnit Cirrus! I shoulda gelded you, you useless cunt.”
>Sheffield punches a fencepost and walks off.
>”You can do whatever the fuck you want. I’m gonna have a drink.”
>You watch him until he’s out of sight, then wait a few minutes to make sure he’s not just hiding.
>Once you’re satisfied, you turn to Cirrus.
“So Flyboy, thought you’d just get another easy lay like last week, eh?”
>He looks at you like a deer in headlights, eyes flicking to where Sheffield had disappeared.
>You follow his gaze, then step in front of him, getting your face up in his.

“Yeah, there’s always the possibility he’ll come back, but that’s why we’re here isn’t it? I’d hoped it would be as obvious to you as it was to Sheffield.”
>He averts his eyes, but he’s got a boner again, so at least with Sheffield gone he was functional.
>Damn that smelled good.
>You’d really like to be as easy a lay as last week, but you needed to focus.
“So are you okay with me calling you Cirrus, or should I call you something else? You’re the first other pony like me I’ve met, so please, let’s be friends.”
>Let’s be really good friends. 
>With benefits.
>And freedom, of course.
>Then the benefits.
>He doesn’t respond, sadly.
>This must be what it was like for Anna dealing with you.
“Let’s make this easier for you, simple yes or no questions, you can just nod or shake your head. Is that okay?”
>He nods slowly.
“Good. Let’s start you off easy. You wanna fuck me?”
>You turn around and present your dripping pussy to him and wink, spurting a little more fluid down your legs.
>He nods vigorously and tries to hop on top of you, but you move forward, leaving him to drop back down.
>He looked painfully erect.
“Ah ah ah, not so eager. Maybe we can do that later. Maybe. My objective, sadly, was to make sure you were paying attention to me and not to Sheffield’s orders. Now, does he treat you poorly?”
>Cirrus looks down, but he nods slowly.
>You walk over to him and place a hoof on his neck comfortingly.
“Do you want to be free again?”
>He nods, and you can see tears start to well up in his eyes.
“Then please be patient and trust me.”
>You kiss him on the cheek, then go back to grazing.
>Cirrus walks up next to you, looks down at you, exhales, then begins grazing with you.

>The two of you pass the afternoon like that, and Cirrus actually gets friendlier with you.
>Not even for sex, though his erection comes and goes regularly.
>You might actually have to get him off somehow after this is over, because he is probably going to have a hell of a case of blue balls.
>Sheffield comes back with Anna a while later, ranting about something.
>Anna has her little pouch with her.
>Ah, he must be insisting she check you out to see if you’ve done the deed yet.
>”Mr. Sheffield, calm down, I’ll check her out and see if they’ve had at it yet. Cirrus’ behavior last week indicates they will, but they’ll do it on their own good time. You can’t rush these things.”
>Anna opens the gate and comes inside.
>You trot over to her, Cirrus staying close to your side.
>Anna rubs both your heads.
>Cirrus smiles.
>Woah, he actually smiled!
>Sheffield couldn’t do a damn thing with Anna here, so Cirrus got to enjoy himself.
>You were really glad it was working out.
>Just needed to get him free, and that was going to happen tonight.
>Patience was needed, on both your parts.
>Anna finishes petting you, then gets behind you and grabs your tail.
>She pulls it gently to the side, then softly probes at your vagina.
>After a moment more, she lets go and stands up.
>”No, Mr. Sheffield, they have not yet ‘done the deed’.”
>He punches the fence again, and you see Cirrus flinch.
>”God damn it.”
>”Mr. Sheffield, please. You’re making this very uncomfortable for me. You need to have patience. Come inside, and we’ll get some supper, and you can forget about them trying to breed for a while.”
>”Fine.”
>You watch them go, and once they step inside the house, you turn to Cirrus and nuzzle his neck.
“You need to calm down. Anna says I’m the skittish one, but around that fatass you’re jumpier than a junebug.”

>He gets an erection again.
>Well, can’t blame him, if you had a dick, it’d probably have been erect all day the way you feel.
>You rub up against him a little harder.
>God he smelled good.
>You nip at his neck and ears, leaning on him lightly.
“Mmmm, you smell good.”
>You feel yourself winking constantly, juices dripping down your legs.
“Oh my god you smell good.”
>You rub your side against him, inhaling deeply, rubbing your muzzle up against him, pushing him until he stumbles.
>He looks at you and snorts.
>You stop yourself.
>Right, patience.
>You clear your throat and blush.
“Oh, right. Can’t be doing that right now. Sorry.”
>You feel yourself wink again, dribbling liquid down your leg.
“It’s gonna be a long day.”
>He smiles tentatively at you, his erection bobbing up and down as he walks back to your side.
>You stare.
>He boops you in the nose with his muzzle.
>You scrunch your face at him in mock disgust.
>He chuckles.
>You’re glad he was just afraid and not completely broken down.
>That would have been terrible.
>Just a few months of mistreatment was only enough to instill fear.
>The two of you graze idly next to each other for a while, until the sun goes down.
>Sheffield comes out to check on you, and Anna checks you out, but nothing had happened, so Sheffield gets to go away mad once more.
>Night falls, and you sit and stare up at the stars, with Cirrus sitting next to you.
>You stay there for what feels like hours, and the night deepens, but you really don’t feel like sleeping.
>Both the itch in your nethers and the nervous excitement kept you awake.
“I don’t know all the constellations, but the obvious one is Orion there. The fact that we can see him means it’s not summer, but I haven’t actually been keeping track of the month. Being a tiny horse changes a lot of your priorities.”

>He nods and keeps staring at the sky.
>You lean on him.
“It’s beautiful out here, and I love the freedom I have. Anna makes sure I’m okay with everything that’s going on. It was actually both of our idea to try and get you away from Sheffield.  She’s a lovely girl.”
>He looks down at you.
>”Um, thanks.” He says.
>He had a rather high tenor voice.
>It fit him rather well.
“Aw, look at you talkin’ and everything! Anna is going to help you out okay? So trust her. I love her very much.”
>”Awww, Sixpence, that’s so sweet!” Anna says from behind you.
>You jump in surprise and turn around.
>Anna is leaning on the fence watching the two of you.
>You’d almost been crawling all over Cirrus, too.
>You probably looked super cute and lovey-dovey.
>”Don’t let me stop you two, you were super cute together.”
>You blush and look down.
>Anna opens the gate and walks over to you.
>”Aw don’t worry, I won’t stop you, but just remember Sixpence, my feelings for you are purely platonic. I still love you dearly though.”
>She picks you up and hugs you tight.
>”But enough of that, we have pressing matters to take care of. You two haven’t done it yet have you?”
>Cirrus goes red and looks away, his erection pops out again, though.
“No, though I’d really like to. It’s been hell trying not to jump his damn bones.”
>Cirrus was at full mast, and redder than ever.
>”Okay. So we have two options: We can try to get the key from Sheffield, unlock Cirrus’ belt and then put the key back, or I can just cut the damn thing off.”
“Well why not just cut it and get it done with then?”
>”If I cut it, he could sue me for releasing his horse, and I’d have to explain a missing belt and pony, and there’s no way I can afford a lawyer expensive enough to win.”

“So what about the key?”
>”If we have the unlocked belt, Sheffield has less of a solid platform to sue me on. Our pen is solid, you’ll still be here, and the only way Cirrus could have escaped is by flying, which means it was Sheffield’s negligence that let him go.”
“So do you know where the key is?”
>She nods.
>”Sheffield has it in his trailer, and it’s in his jacket pocket. Now I know you used to be a thief of some kind Sixpence.”
>You look at her in shock.
>”Don’t look at me like that, I found the stash you’d left at the fair. You’re our best bet to get it. If I try, he can get me arrested. If you get caught, he’ll have a hell of a time convincing anyone to take him seriously in a court of law.”
>You swallow heavily.
>Breaking and entering and then stealing a key, then putting it back afterward?
>This was a tall order.
>But okay. For Cirrus.
>You nod.
“For Cirrus’ freedom.”
>Cirrus looked at you shocked.
>You see tears well up in his eyes.
>”Thank you so much. Both of you.” He says.
>You smile at him and kiss him on the cheek.
“Happy to help, Flyboy.”
>Anna scratches his ears.
>”I don’t take kindly to horse abuse of any kind. Doubly so when the horse is sapient.” She says.
>Anna stands up and walks back out of the pen, and closes the gate.
>”Alright Sixpence, I need to stay out of this as much as possible, so I’m heading inside. You’ll have to get out on your own and get that key.”
>She blows you a kiss.
>”Good luck sweetie, and holler if you need me. I’ll come running.”
>You wave at her, and watch as she goes back inside.
>Once she’s gone you look over at Cirrus.

“If anything happens, get Anna to cut the belt off you no matter what. She’ll do it in a heartbeat if there’s trouble. I’ll be back.”
>You kiss him on the mouth, then go over to the fence.
>It was similar to the pasture, but it had chicken wire on the outside of it to prevent smaller animals from getting in.
>Probably to avoid spooking the horses mid-coitus.
>You clamber up the logs, hooking your hooves around them and step up slowly, one by one.
>At the top, you look down for a moment, wiggle your rump, and leap off the top.
>You land and stumble slightly, but you’re good.
>Looking back at the pen, you see Cirrus at the edge looking out at you.
>You give him a wink, and then a second wink.
>He starts getting slightly erect.
>You giggle and trot off around the house.
>Sheffield’s trailer is obvious.
>The thing is huge and obnoxious sitting there in Anna’s driveway.
>There would barely be room to leave if they ever needed to.
>You sneak across the gravel as quietly as you can.
>Being lightweight had its advantages, as you barely scuffed any rocks at all.
>Once you got up to the little door and stairs, you survey what you’re working with.
>This wasn’t a distraction-type bit of thievery, this was full-on thief activity.
>He had nice fancy stairs leading up to the door.
>Thankfully the handle was a latch, which meant it would be easy to turn with hooves.
>Hopefully you weren’t heavy enough to cause it to tilt, but the RV was expensive, so you don’t think it would be prone to that.
>You walk up to the stairs.
>Metal, which meant you’d have to be extra careful since your hooves would clang.
>They were flush with the gravel, though, so they shouldn’t creak.
>Now if only the door was left unlocked.

>You carefully step up next to the door and press your ear against it.
>Your fancy hearing helped you out here, and you could hear Sheffield inside, breathing evenly.
>The only problem you’d have was the darkness.
>You remembered his jacket, but you’d have to find it inside his trailer by only the light of the moon and stars.
>That was gonna get tricky.
>No sense waiting, though.
>You slowly reach up and pull down on the handle.
>Carefully and slowly, you turn it, double-hoofing it to make sure it doesn’t snap back up, and you pull on the door.
>Sheffield was rich enough that this thing was probably super new and upkept really well, so nothing creaked.
>The door swings open, and you slip slowly inside, hooves tapping lightly against the floor.
>Once in, you hold a hoof against the door to make sure it doesn’t quite shut.
>Once you’re satisfied, you stand up and take a look around.
>It’s dark, and you can barely see, but you can make out some basic shapes.
>You’re looking for a jacket.
>Off on one side, you can see what must be Sheffield’s bed.
>The thing was huge and looked really soft.
>You don’t think it even folded up. 
>This was a really expensive RV, so that made extravagant sense, you guess.
>You quietly tap over there and check to see if he’s hung his clothes on anything.
>Not finding anything there, you clop over to the other side and look around the little kitchen.
>There was… something hanging up on a hook near the driver’s seat that looked like a jacket.
>You walk quietly over there for a closer look.
>Yeah! This was the pattern on the jacket he was wearing!
>You start messing around with the pockets with your tongue.
>It was a little gross that you were licking something Sheffield had been wearing, but it was this or nothing.

>You were so focused on the jacket that you don’t hear the shuffling at first, then you turn and look over at Sheffield’s bed in time to hear a soft *fump* and feel a sharp pain in your flank.
>You jump and squeal in pain.
>Oh shit he’s awake!
>Oh shit you’ve been shot!
>You try to dash for the door, but he’s far closer than you are.
>He’s at it, shut it and locked it by the time you get to his feet.
>He’s dropped whatever he’d used to shoot you and then he throws a blanket on top of you.
>You yelp and try to whinny for help, but he jumps on top of you and grabbs your head just as the first squeal comes out of your mouth.
>”I told you I was having trouble sleeping didn’t I? I guess you didn’t take the hint.”
>You struggle against him, but he was way bigger than you and had all his weight pressed down on top of you.
>”I don’t really care, though. I kind of knew you’d be coming. I ain’t stupid, lil’ missy, and I can’t honestly tell if Anna knows about you little shits or not, but that don’t matter at this point.”
>You’re starting to feel sleepy, and you know you shouldn’t be.
>Shit, that was a tranquilizer.
>Your back legs weren’t working as well anymore.
>”You should know before you pass out, I don’t even need Cirrus anymore. I milked him for all he was worth shortly after I had him obedient. Got containers of that jizz bottled up and frozen, waiting for you back home.”
>Your struggles were a lot weaker, you couldn’t get your limbs to move the way you wanted, and your eyelids were falling closed.
>You whinny weakly through your teeth.
>”There’s a good girl. I ain’t gonna hurt ya cause I need you, but you’re gonna have to learn to mind. Can’t have you actin’ like a person around your little foals. Need them to be animals or they won’t sell.”
>You stop struggling entirely, only twitching here and there as your muscles stop responding.

>Your eyes close and the last thing you hear is Sheffield’s voice:
>”Yeah, I got her. Come pick me up, we need to abandon this RV.”
>You slip into a dark and dreamless sleep.

>You wake up in darkness.
>You try to yawn but your mouth won’t open.
>Something’s covering it.
>You try to pull a hoof up to move it, but your hooves won’t move.
>Pulling with your hooves tells you that something has your hooves tied together.
>Then you remember what happened.
>Shit! You’d been caught!
>Middle of the night, too, so nobody would know when to expect you to report in.
>How long was too long?
>Anna probably hadn’t gone to sleep, and neither had Cirrus, but would they have noticed soon enough?
>He’d called someone and told them to come pick him up, so his RV would still be there, but that meant they wouldn’t know what kind of vehicle to look for.
>Oh god, you’d been kidnapped.
>How long had you been out?
>It was pitch black.
>You felt some movement, but it didn’t quite feel like walking, so you were driving somewhere.
>Maybe not that long?
>You shuffle about to try and feel the limits of your little cage.
>You bang your head on one wall of the cage, and stretching out your tied up legs tells you it is really quite small.
>You hear movement and some light stabs in as someone lifts up the edge of a black cloth of some sort that must be covering your cage.
>”Well good mornin’ little Sixpence, we got ourselves a fun day ahead!”
>You glare at him from your tiny prison.
>”Now don’t look at me that way. You don’t actually think I’d take you so far away from home did you?”
>He removes the dark cloth and lifts up your cage and places you on his lap.
>You can see out the window, and you can still see the mountains that were visible from Anna’s farm.

>”Y’see, those Flanagans know my name and all that, so I can’t take you all the way to my main ranch, so what you do, is you use all those millions of dollars you earned through hard work and use it to buy space at a shitty farm here through a cover company, then we keep you here until you’ve had all them little foals.”
>He grins at you through the cage.
>”After Miss Flanagan proved reluctant to sell you, I had planned on stealing you from the start. I’m not sharing the money with anyone. She’d let your children grow up intelligent, and people don’t want pets that complain. Not ones that can talk, especially.”
>The car stops, and Sheffield gets out, pulling your cage out after him.
>”We’re about fifty or so miles away from your happy little family, and the best part? They’ll never even know we’re here, cause this farm has underground facilities. Built for drugs and all that. Cirrus will be no help at all, as I’m sure he’ll be looking.”
>He looks down at you and smiles.
>”You ready to see your new home? I sure am. Let’s go!”
>He walks toward one of the bigger barns, and you look around from your cage.
>There were several other people around. Most of them looked like normal farmhands, and you couldn’t tell if any of them were happy, but they must be paid well.
>You can’t imagine doing this kind of work without adequate compensation.
>Either that or he had some influence over them of some kind.
>Could be either one.
>Upon entering the barn, you get the smell of rows upon rows of cows wafting toward you.
>This wasn’t one of those nice happy farms like Anna’s.
>This was one of those sweatshop style farms, with cows in cramped conditions doing whatever it was cows do.
>They were probably milked to exhaustion and then slaughtered or whatever.

>This was probably a good place to keep you if he wanted to keep you hidden now that you thought about it.
>Busy, lots going on, no way anyone could chance to hear any unusual noises, and if they had a basement area, well, that’d be even harder to find and gain access to.
>This was going to suck.
>You’re taken to a corner of the barn, and a trapdoor was opened that was hidden in a stall.
>Stairs led down to a rather wide open area with a few stalls on one wall, several heavy-duty pillars, a shower and toilet that were both exposed in one corner, and lots of tables and chairs that had been pushed off to one side.
>In the center hung a chain that was attached to some pipes on the roof.
>”Ahhh, I hope you like it Sixpence, ‘cause this is where you’re gonna be staying for a long while. God willing of course. We might have to move you if things get dicey, but that doesn’t seem likely.”
>Sheffield carries you to the chain in the middle of the room, sets you down and opens the cage to pull you out.
>Once you’re out, he removes the muzzle he had on you and replaces it with a halter.
>Unlike the other halters you’d had on, this one had a bit in it.
>He seems like the type, you suppose.
>Shit, what the hell?
>The bit was extremely uncomfortable.
>It felt like it was twisted and it irritated your gums where it sat in your mouth.
>You shake your head instinctively trying to get it out.
>Of course it doesn’t go anywhere.
>”Don’t like that, do you?”
>You glare at him.
>”That’s a twisted wire snaffle, little lady. Uncomfortable by design to make a horse more willing to listen when it’s not pulling against the horses gums. In you, of course, it’s just there to be as annoying as hell so you’ll appreciate it when a regular one is put in there.”

>You snap at his hands as he’s fastening the halter.
>He cuffs you upside the face.
>It didn’t really hurt, but it was startling.
>”Just because I need you in good shape doesn’t mean you can get away with that. You’ll treat me like royalty when we’re done here missy, so you’d best get used to the idea.”
>You snap at him again.
>He cuffs you again.
>As he’s pulling his hand away, you snap at him a third time and actually catch his hand, leaving a large gash.
“Fuck you, bro.” You say as best you can with the bit in your mouth.
>It actually sounds more like ‘fuck ye, vro’.
>He probably got the message.
>He looks down at you.
>You’re probably in deep trouble.
>It’s not an angry look.
>It’s that look you see in movies when the bad guy knows he’s got someone under his thumb and just really wants them to realize it.
>He’s in control and he knows it, and you’re about to get the sharp end of the stick.
>Worth it.
>He ignores the blood for the moment and attaches a leash to the halter, then unties your legs.
>Before you can even try to stand up he reefs on the leash straight up.
>Pain flares through your gums as the bit digs painfully into them.
>Oh shit that hurts!
>You stand up to try to alleviate the pain.
>Sheffield drags you in a circle, keeping the leash pulled tight while he leads you around.
>He drags you over to the chain that you’d seen hanging and attaches your halter to it.
>Then he removes the leash.
>It only slightly relieved the pressure on your mouth, and it kept you holding your head as high as you possibly could.
>You were almost forced to stand on tip-hoof.
>”So this little exercise here won’t hurt you too much physically, but it is designed to exhaust the horse. Again, we don’t want you damaged.”

>He walks around you in a circle, injured hand dripping blood.
>You took some satisfaction from that at least.
>”Y’see, I’m gonna leave you here all night, and maybe a good portion of the day tomorrow. I’ll give you time to eat and drink enough to keep you going, but not enough to satisfy your hunger or thirst fully. Then you’ll be put right back here.”
>He glares at you.
>”Then, maybe you’ll learn to mind your master properly!”
>He waves his damaged hand in your face.
“Mah, fuck ye wif a cactus!”
>He cuffs you upside the head one last time, then turns and walks away.
>When he gets to the exit, he turns and looks back at you one last time.
>”Also, Anna mentioned you were a skittish little thing. Hope you don’t mind the dark. See you later Sixpence.”
>Oh god no.
>He flips the switch, and the last light you see disappears with a clang as the trapdoor is shut, leaving you immersed in black.
>You panic.
>Comfort doesn’t come.

>You don’t know how long it has been, but when the light finally breaks the darkness, relief floods through you.
>Your fear has had you lathered for hours from the panic, and your posture has you exhausted.
>Your throat is dry and hunger gnaws at your belly.
>You feel the briefest feeling of joy at seeing Sheffield arrive, but you quickly squelch it down.
>You’re only happy because someone, and it could have been anyone, arrived to turn the lights on.
>It has nothing to do with Sheffield.
>This is the game he’s playing, he wants you to associate the end of the pain and suffering with him.
>He’s the one who needs you alive.
>Remember that, he needs you alive and well.
>Sheffield walks slowly over to you, carrying a bucket of something in each hand.
>He gets up next to you and you can see the buckets are filled with water and some oats.
>Your stomach growls at that.
>Sheffield puts them down and strokes your head gently.
>”Mornin’ Sixpence. I hope you didn’t have too bad a time yesterday. But you see, I need you to come to terms with how things are going to work around here.”
>He reaches into the bucket of water and pulls up a cup filled with it.
>”Now I know you must be hungry and thirsty, so let’s get you some breakfast.”
>He reaches over to you and grabs you by the muzzle, and attempts to get you to drink.
>You close your mouth and just let the delicious water splash on your face and fall to the ground.
>He cuffs you upside the head.
>”Don’t be wasting water, Sixpence. I need you alive.”
>Damn right you do.
>He tries again, and once more you let the water splash uselessly over your face.
>Sheffield sighs.
>”I see what you want, alright then.”

>He pulls a leash out of his back pocket and attaches it to the halter, then unhooks you from the chain attached to the roof.
>Relief floods you as your neck finally gets a break.
>You stretch your neck one way, then the other, and shake yourself out.
>Ugh.
>That feels amazing.
>Sheffield looks down at you, then cocks his head toward the buckets of food and water.
>You look at him, then down at the buckets.
>He steps away from them to give you some space.
>That’s right motherfucker.
>You lean down to the water and get your nose right up next to it.
>You feel a sharp pain in your gums as Sheffield reefs on the leash, pulling your head away from the bucket.
>Motherfucker!
>You glare daggers at him.
>He just stares coldly back at you.
>The leash is lax once more and you go back to the bucket of water, staring at him out of the corner of your eye.
>As soon as you get close he reefs on the leash again, pulling you away.
>Oh my god.
>You didn’t know if you should be impressed or disgusted with how well he knew how to torture a horse.
>On the one hand he seemed to have it down to a science.
>On the other hand it was a completely deplorable talent to have.
>Once more you slowly move to the water, and sure enough, you get close and he pulls you away sharply.
>This time, he pulls sharply up on the leash, bringing your head up to a painful angle.
>He walks past you to the bucket, and scoops up a glass of water.
>Then he walks away again and crouches with the water outstretched toward you.
>Ah.
>You see what he’s getting at.
>You need to pick him, or he’s gonna keep doing that.
>Sick bastard.
>Well fine.
>You shall make no choice at all.

>You stare back at him, and lie down on the floor.
>Felt good to lie down.
>He waits a moment, then reefs on the leash upward, forcing you to stand.
>You sit down.
>He reefs the leash to one side, forcing you to walk.
>It’s clear he wants you to remain standing.
>So you stand, and you stare at him.
>After a while, he stands.
>”Very well. Eat and drink.”
>Seriously? He was giving up?
>Cautiously, you lean toward the water and your lips touch it, but nothing happens.
>You greedily gulp down mouthfuls of the delicious cool water, soothing your parched throat.
>Then you lean toward the food, and once again nothing happens.
>It’s only halfway through the bucket that you realize what happened.
>He’d given you permission to eat, and you did!
>Your head whips around to glare at him.
>He had a small smile on his face.
>”Figured it out, didja? I’ve been at this for years, missy.”
>You’re not particularly hungry anymore.
>He pulls you back up and attaches you to the chain again.
>He removes the leash, leaving you nearly hanging from the chain.
>He splashes you with the remaining water in the bucket, then grabs a mop and broom to clean up the floor around you where you had dropped your business by necessity, then leaves you in the darkness once again.
>There is no solace today.

>The next time Sheffield arrives, he brings the buckets of food and water, but he also brings a pair of scissors and a brush.
>Well shit.
>You really liked your mane and tail.
>”Now I’d really rather not cut you Sixpence, so just sit still while I do this.”
>You’re really exhausted, and you would also prefer to not get cut, so you let him cut your hair.
>You look at your tiny little stump of tail hair when he’s done and waggle it sadly.
>”You remove all sense of individuality in a person so they feel more like they need to do something else to belong to the group. I don’t have a group here for you to blend in with except for me, but I figured it’s worth a try. Doesn’t hurt you either way.”
>He sweeps up your hair with the other messes you left on the floor, then places the buckets of food and water down for you.
>He attaches your leash to the chain in the ceiling, then to your halter, and lets you run freely in the circle afforded by it.
>He was giving you permission right off the bat.
>Motherfucker.
>Either you eat the food and do what he wants, or you don’t eat the food, and he figures out another way to do it, and leaves you exhausted.
>Shitty choice, but you suppose that’s what he wants.
>It’s only a matter of time.
>Time, though.
>You needed time.
>Time for Anna, Pa, and Cirrus to search for you.
>You weren’t sure how many days had passed, but they’d probably got the police on the job, called in their friends and the like, and were out searching.
>It’s not like you were just a pet, you were family.
>They’d keep looking.
>Police might not, depending on how much Anna told them they might think you’re just a pet, but Anna wouldn’t stop.

>You needed to keep going to see her again.
>You couldn’t starve yourself to death.
>You stare bleakly at the buckets.
>Being spiteful wasn’t going to get you anywhere, and you were really tired.
>He could keep you alive against your will for as long as he needed.
>Just eat it, and then wait.
>Wait for the right time.
>You eat and drink your fill, and you choke back tears.
>”Good girl, Sixpence.”
>Your dignity didn’t belong here, you could use it when you got home.
>Survival was what mattered.
>Sheffield chained you back up, and left you in the dark once more.
>Exhaustion finds you, and you pass out several times while standing up.

>Sheffield comes back and you glare at him weakly.
>Your few moments of respite were short and staggered, and ended with the pain of the bit digging into your mouth.
>He has the buckets with him.
>He looks at you for a moment, then picks up the scoop and serves you some water.
>You drink it.
>He feeds you some oats.
>You eat them.
>”Good girl. Now let’s get you some rest.”
>Oh god yes.
>Your neck was past the point of pain and was just a mess of dully aching muscles.
>He releases you from the chain and attaches the leash.
>Your head drops immediately, and you nicker in relief, head hanging weakly to the ground.
>He reefs on the leash, and you whinny faintly in protest, but move where he’s pulling.
>He leads you around the room one direction, then turns around and goes back the way you came.
>You follow along mutely, too exhausted to make much protest.
>He leads you back to the food and water, and lets you drink, but when you go to eat he yanks the leash, pulling you away.
>Oh my god Sheffield, what the fuck do you want?
>You wait for him to say what he wants.
>He looks you in the eye for a moment, then motions toward the food.
>”Now you may eat.”
>Oh, you get it.
>Bastard.
>You stare blearily at him for a moment, then go eat.
>Once you’re done, you sit there on the floor, waiting for him to do whatever he’s going to do.
>He looks at you for a minute, then tosses the leash on the floor.
>You look down at it, not quite comprehending.
>After a moment you figure it out.
>He wants to see if you’re going to run or attack him or whatever.
>It’s a good plan, because if you do, he’ll probably hook you back up until you’re pliable enough to listen to him.

>If you don’t, he figures you’re accepting of your fate, or you understand your position at the very least.
>Sadly, you’d have to go with the second option.
>You could try to fight, but how were you going to get the trapdoor open, and then how were you going to escape the farm full of people who know to keep you here?
>You really didn’t want to go back on the chain, and you needed more information before you could try an escape.
>As much as you hated the idea, you needed him to treat you nicer so you could even afford the slightest chance of escape.
>”Well, this is a good sign. We’re making some progress.”
>He yawns.
>Progress to my ass and kiss it.
>You give a tiny ‘heh’ at your own joke.
>”Hm?”
>Oh fuck.
>”I don’t think I appreciate you laughing at me Sixpence.”
>You look at him in fear.
>He walks up to you and you put your hooves over your head.
>God damnit, you don’t want to go back on the chain!
>He promised you a rest!
>”But, since I’m feeling particularly good about our session today, I’ll let it slide.”
>Oh thank god.
>”On the condition that you remember; so long as you do what I say immediately from now on, you don’t get a punishment. No room for negotiation. Do you understand?”
>You nod slowly.
>”Good.”
>He picks up the leash from the floor and leads you over to a stall.
>He opens it, attaches the leash to a locking hook, and closes you in.
>”Sleep well Sixpence.”
>He turns out the lights and leaves.
>An exhausted, dreamless sleep comes.

>You’re awoken some time later by the sound of the trapdoor opening.
>Judging by the way you feel, you didn’t actually get a significant amount of sleep.
>Not enough to fully satisfy you, but enough to pull away the shroud of exhaustion.
>You lay there waiting and you finally see Sheffield look down at you over the stall’s door.
>You hear a second set of footsteps coming and a second head appears.
>”Howdy Sixpence. We’re probably coming up on the closing days of your estrus, so we gotta get you inseminated. Dr. Thomas here will be taking care of that.”
>What.
“Yeah, nah. Don’t think so.”
>”She does talk! That is absolutely fascinating.” Dr. Thomas said.
>”Yeah, and I need her bred, so stop gawping and get preparing.”
>Dr. Thomas disappears and Sheffield opens the pen.
>”Now listen here Sixpence, you have one choice here. Cooperate with the breeding; or I can make your every moment for the next month an absolute hell.”
>He grabs your leash and yanks you to a standing position.
>”Choose wisely, missy.”
>Sheffield leads you out of your stall and over to the little setup Dr. Thomas has going on.
>He’s got some giant plastic syringe thing filled with what you can only assume is semen, attached to a long hose.
>That’s probably gonna go up your junk.
> The whole setup is underneath the chain, which Sheffield attaches you to, then takes the leash off.
>”Now be good Sixpence.”
>Dr. Thomas gets his tools ready, then puts on some sterile gloves.
>He investigates your rear end, wipes it down with something, then comes back to his little table and picks up the syringe and hose.
”Tell you what doc, how about you don’t do this.”
>”Oh I’m terribly sorry, miss horse, I am being well paid for my services. Very well paid. It is nothing personal. Surely you understand?”
>You nod as best you can.

“Yeah, I suppose I do. Can’t really blame you.”
>”I’m glad. Now please just hold still, this will only take a moment.”
>He gets behind you, takes the hose, and just as you feel it touch your opening, you kick as hard as you can.
>It’s only a split second, but you pull your right leg up and let her fly straight backward with as much force as you can muster.
>You feel the bit bite into your gums as your position shifts, but you are rewarded with the feeling of an impact on your hoof.
>You hear a heavy crack.
>Probably broke something.
>Fuck yes.
>Dr. Thomas is screaming.
>You turn around to take a look and he’s lying there on the floor with his right arm cradled in his left.
>You think that’s bone.
>Fuck yes!
>You laugh.
“Nothing personal doc! Surely you understand!”
>You get cuffed hard upside the head, but it doesn’t stop your laughing.
>Sheffield cuffs you again, but you just laugh harder.
“Hahahahaha!”
>Sheffield straight up punches you in the face.
>”I told you to behave, Sixpence!”
>He helps Dr. Thomas up.
“Hahahahahahaha!”
>You laugh even harder.
>Sheffield glares murder at you.
>”Hope you had fun here sixpence, because next month is going to be painful for you.”
>He picks up Dr. Thomas.
>You laugh in his face.
“HA HA HA HA HA HA!”
>You’re just hamming it up now.
>Or maybe not, but this is fuckin’ hilarious!
>Maybe you’re just exhausted still, but whatever.
>You glare at Sheffield, eyes wide.
>Fuck ‘em all!
“HAAAA HAAAA HAAAA HAAAA!”
>Sheffield turns the lights out and you’re left alone in the dark.
>Just you and your echoing laughter.

>It was a very long time before Sheffield came back.
>Didn’t matter, you had that little table of the doctor’s stuff, some of which you were pretty sure was sharp, so you spread it all out over the room.
>You were hoping you’d get a chance to search and find some of it eventually.
>You didn’t know when, but you hoped.
>Your throat was parched, and you were feeling a little dizzy from exhaustion and hunger.
>Sheffield didn’t say anything as he fed you and gave you water.
>You took it, because you didn’t want to die, and fighting wasn’t going to do anything.
>After a few more visits of hanging you from the ceiling chain he tried something new.
>He obviously couldn’t keep you there permanently, as the lack of sleep and stress would cause damage.
>He attached a small customized… thing… To you, where your head was tied to your side and forced to stay that way, then he’d leave you in your stall.
>It was uncomfortable, but you could rest your aching legs at least, and it got the bit out of your mouth.
>On the few occasions where you weren’t held in an uncomfortable position, he would lead you around and drill you on different activities.
>Any of them where you balked or didn’t get it right, he would whip you with a crop.
>Severely.
>These were not nice whips.
>These were savage, unrelenting, punishing whips.
>Sometimes he would let you sleep normally for a few hours, but it was never enough to give you full rest.
>You were exhausted, and you had no concept of how long you had been down here.
>Days must have passed.
>Sheffield himself looked more and more haggard as time went on.
>The more haggard he looked, the less tolerance he had for your mistakes.
>The less tolerance he had, the harder he beat you.
>The harder he beat you, the more exhausted you became.

>It got to a point where it didn’t even feel like he was trying to train you anymore and he just wanted to vent his frustrations.
>He seemed like he was losing it.
>You still tried to do what he wanted to avoid getting beaten, but the smallest thing would set him off.
>’You’re not lifing your legs high enough!’
>’Your posture isn’t perfect!’
>’You didn’t do it quickly enough!’
>Nothing pleased him.
>Now you know why Cirrus might have lost it.
>Depending on Cirrus’ life before becoming a pony, this kind of treatment could really get somebody down.
>Day in and day out, you eventually just want to avoid getting beaten.
>But this went both ways, and Sheffield was getting sloppy.
>He’d come in today to take care of your hooves, and he’d only leashed you to the wall since you’d been behaving pretty well.
>Well you’d noticed Sheffield carried around a knife in his pants.
>It was fancy, and he’d pulled it out a couple times to carve an apple in front of you.
>You wanted it.
>You waited until he was trimming your back hooves and you reach down and deftly slide the knife out of his pocket.
>Shit, it didn’t fit in your mouth very well with the bit in there.
>You shift it around in your mouth a little bit, unfortunately it clacks against the bit.
>Sheffield stops what’s he’s doing.
>Oh shit.
>He turns around slowly and sees you with the knife in your teeth.
>He reaches out and takes it from you.
>You don’t resist.
>It’s not like you could stop him.
>He throws his tool down on the floor with a clatter, and flicks the knife out, waving it in front of your face.
>”Is this what you wanted, Sixpence?”
>You nod slowly.
>”You wanted my knife, eh?”
>You nod again.
>Lying would only make him angrier.

>”Well guess what? You can’t have it. You can’t have anything. That collar you had? Cut and destroyed. Your home? Lost to you forever. Your friends and family? Never going to find you.”
>He flicks the knife out and starts waving it around your face to punctuate his sentences.
>”You’re an animal missy, and you need to start acting like it!”
>His face suddenly twists into red-hot rage.
>”AN OBEDIENT! FUCKING! ANIMAL!”
>You feel a sharp pain in your left ear and hear a soft splat, followed by a pattering like rain.
>Sheffield is rubbing his eyes with his free hand.
>You’re shaking.
>You don’t want to look down, but slowly you do.
>You slowly tilt your head down and see a grey triangle on the floor in a small pool of blood, with more red droplets falling onto it.
>You hesitantly raise a hoof to your ear, but Sheffield curses and stands up, so you lower it.
>He goes over to the first-aid kit he now kept down here, fetches some gauze and bandages, and comes back to clean you up.
>”Now look what you made me do Sixpence. If you’d just be obedient, none of this would have happened.”
>You look down at the grey triangle.
>That was your ear.
>He cut your fucking ear off.
>That motherfucker cut your ear off!
>Sheffield finishes patching you up and cleaning you off, then digs the heels of his hands into his eyes and sighs in exasperation.
>He drags you over to your stall and leashes you in there, then shuts the gate and leaves, forgetting to turn the lights out.
>You spit the hoof knife you’d snagged onto the floor.
>Your tongue was bleeding, but someone else was going to be bleeding soon.
>You begin sawing away at the leash and halter.
>An ear was a small price to pay for freedom.
>When you finally stop in order to get some sleep, you dream of the morning twilight.

>You keep the knife hidden in your stall, and over the next few days take special care to be as quick and obedient as possible.
>You cower appropriately when he threatens you and kowtow to his every whim as hard as you can.
>It’s not enough to avoid everything, but it’s enough to keep him from beating you very hard.
>You spend your time slowly weakening the halter and leash to a point where you could snap them if you needed to.
>Sheffield, in his bleary-eyed state doesn’t notice, and doesn’t care so long as you obey.
>Unfortunately, any plans you’d had have to be moved up in urgency one morning, as you notice that familiar itch in your nethers.
>You’d hit estrus again.
>Had you seriously been here a full month?
>Fuck this ear-slicing asshole.
>You wait for Sheffield to notice, not willing to give it away any earlier than you had to in order to afford yourself the most time to act as you could get.
>Thankfully he doesn’t notice the first time he comes to visit and you go through the torturous motions of the day as normal.
>The second time he comes, he does notice, and he spends that day setting up some weird apparatus.
>Looks like it’s some strange set of restraints.
>You’re going to have to make your move before he puts you in that thing.
>Then the next day he comes down with a determined look on his face, and you know this is it.
>Do or die.
>You pick up the hoof knife and hold it in your mouth carefully.
>Your ear stump throbs in anticipation.
>You were acutely aware it was time for some well-deserved payback.
>Sheffield opens the stall and you stand at attention, just as you’d been trained.
>The very picture of a good little horsey.
>Sheffield leads you toward the apparatus and you make your move.

>You wrap your hoof around the leash and pull down.
>You hoof hits the floor with the leash under it and you yank your head backward.
>The weakened leather strips hold on for a split second, before the halter falls apart and your head springs free.
>Sheffield turns around in surprise and when he sees what’s happening bends down to grab hold of you.
>You whip around, plant your fore hooves on the floor and deliver a double-legged buck straight to his motherfucking skull.
>You feel the impact in your spine and hear a satisfying crack, and Sheffield crumples to the floor.
>You jump onto his chest and extend the hoof knife out of your mouth.
>You hold it to his throat, but stop yourself before cutting.
>He wasn’t moving, and his eyes were closed.
>Did you really want to kill him?
>On the one hand he’d stolen you from Anna, tortured you, and technically attempted to rape you.
>If you left him alive and you escaped, he would probably attempt to ruin Anna’s life, and yours, and possibly Cirrus’s.
>Yeah you did.
>For your continued safety and health, you had to.
>You press the knife against his neck, but before you can begin, Sheffield’s body begins to twist.
>His teeth press outward from his mouth, splitting his cheeks open as they turn yellow and fuse into one lump.
>His fingers similarly turn yellow and grow pointed.
>His shirt rips as something pops out of his back and splits it apart, growing feathered and long.
>Oh shit.
>Sheffield had said he had trouble sleeping for the past month!
>That’s what had happened to you, except he was turning into some kind of bird of prey!
>A large bird of prey!
>Oh shit, you were prey!
>His eyes shoot open and he looks at you with undisguised hate.
>Too late!
>You hesitated!
>Time to go!

>You gallop for the door, hoping against hope that it was left open.
>You hear an angry eagle screech from behind you and spare a look enough to see that Sheffield has become some bird-cat hybrid.
>And he was huge.
>Shit, how come he got to be a full-size lion-bird?
>He was currently trapped by the remnants of his clothes, but he was angry and his claws scraped at the ground trying to get to you.
>”Sixpeeence! I told you to obey!” He growls, his voice now a deep sonorous bass.
>You drop the hoof knife when you reach the door and push against it.
>It doesn’t budge.
>You turn around and buck it as hard as you can.
>It rattles and you hear a voice on the other side.
>”Hang on Sheffield. This is hard with only one functional arm!”
>Oh c’mon doc, c’mon.
>You wait, hopping back and forth impatiently on your hooves.
>You spare a glance at Sheffield, and you see him rip the remainder of his clothes to shreds and clamber on to all fours.
>He turns and advances on you with sinister but dangerous catlike grace.
>”Just obey me and it didn’t have to end like this, but for crimes past and crimes recent, you’re going to pay Sixpence.”
>You hear the trapdoor opening and you push against it.
>As soon as the space is big enough you slip through, tripping up Doctor Thomas.
“Hey doc, thanks doc, bye doc.”
>You run for it and you hear an eagle’s screech and the clanging and creaking sound of the trapdoor getting brutalized.
>You hear poor Doc Thomas scream in terror before it is cut off by violent gurgling.
>Holy shit!
>He didn’t even hesitate before killing Doc Thomas!
>Sheffield was totally out of his mind!
>You gallop down the stalls of the cows, sparing brief glances backward when you feel like you can spare them.

>It was impossible for you to see over any of the cows around you, so you couldn’t tell where an exit was.
>You see an intersection up ahead, along with several workers staring and pointing at something behind you.
>You swivel your remaining ear back around and hear the flapping of large wings getting closer.
>Waiting until the last possible second, you dive sideways under a cow’s hooves.
>Something swoops past you and you hear the scrape of claws on concrete, followed by more human screaming and dying.
>You don’t want to go back out there, so you hop onto the feeding trough, avoiding the fearful cow’s hooves, then clamber up onto the cow’s back.
>From your new vantage point, you can see Sheffield tearing the workers apart.
>Most of them have backed up or are running, but a lot of these guys take part in unsavory activities on the side if Sheffield’s stories were correct, so they’re willing to fight.
>They have pitchforks and assorted tools at the ready, but no one is attacking him directly.
>Sheffield sees you watching and screeches at you spreading his wings out.
>Impressive wingspan.
>He crouches to leap, but is interrupted by a gunshot.
>Whoever fired it missed, sadly.
>Sheffield turns toward where the shot came from and sure enough, the wielder of the revolver was standing there, staring down the winged lion-beast, his hands shaking in front of him.
>Poor guy.
>Can’t blame him, though, at least he’ll die knowing he faced down a horse-sized Griffon.
>But you don’t want to stay and watch.
>You can see an exit from up here, so you hop over the stall walls onto some other cows until you reach the right aisle, and gallop hard for the exit, your tiny hooves pattering a staccato beat on the concrete.
>You break out into fresh air and head for the trees, running across a field of waving grain as the sun dips below the horizon.
>The light stabs your eyes, but it’s so beautiful to see even the last few minutes of sunlight.

>Then you get a feeling of déjà vu.
>You feel a cold fear grip your heart.
>This was familiar.
>This was almost exactly like your dream.
>You felt panic welling up inside you.
>You were almost at the treeline when you heard an eagle screech far behind you.
>He had taken to the air, and now this definitely was your dream.
>A flying hunter coming for you as night falls.
>It’s getting dark, and the evening sky is cloudy and foreboding.
>You break through the tree line, and the light darkens around you.
>Your breath heaves in your chest as your hooves pound against the forest floor.
>Sometimes you thought you saw a shadow of something against the sky above.
>You needed to keep running as long as you could, you just needed to keep running.
>Keep running.
>Run as far and as fast as you can.
>’Faster! If they’re here they’ve already finished off everyone at the house! We need to get deeper into the trees!’
>You look around for the source of the voice.
>But there’s no one but you.
>Your heart pounds in your chest from fear and exhaustion.
>Your legs burn from lack of proper use and weeks of forced standing.
>The dark encroaches upon you, becoming blacker and blacker as time goes on.
>All while Sheffield circles above, seeking any indication you’re down here.
>No.
>Don’t run.
>Don’t flee.
>Don’t panic.
>You slow down to a trot, and take a deep breath.
>You find a small ravine filled with blackberry brambles, and crawl inside the bush.
>You get scraped and poked, but it was better than getting eviscerated.
>You push through as far as you dare, and lie down.
>Sheffield had the advantage at night, and running blind wasn’t going to do you any good in the dark.
>You’d break your leg.
>Wait.
>Wait patiently.
The demons are out to get you, but they’re not imaginary anymore.
>You stare out of your bramble bunker as night falls, and fall asleep.
>You dream of the rising sun.

>You wake up with the sun, and find yourself host to a napping rabbit pile.
>They’d all curled up next to you for warmth.
>That was adorable.
>Sadly, you had business to do, and you shift, causing them all to wake up and scatter.
>Now that you had light, and you were properly refreshed, you could take on Sheffield properly.
>Now he didn’t have a vision advantage over you either.
>You scoot forward to the edge of the brambles and look around.
>Up especially.
>Thankfully you don’t really see anything, and you pull yourself the rest of the way out.
>You’re a little scratched up, but it was a lot more tolerable than the last month you’d lived with Sheffield.
>Oh man, if it weren’t for the fact that he was a literally insane horse-sized Griffon out to murder the fuck out of you, you’d be ecstatic that you were out of that damn dungeon!
>You carefully walk about, making sure to keep yourself underneath the cover of the trees and bushes while you forage for some food.
>Plentiful plants provide you more than enough in a short amount of time, and then you start looking for the right direction.
>Unfortunately you didn’t know where Anna’s farm might be in relation to this place, but it was directly next to the mountains, and Sheffield said you were fifty miles from it, give or take.
>So you should follow the mountainside.
>The ground slopes up in that direction, so you decide to keep the upward slope at your right.
>If you came from the farm and the flat farmlands are all that direction, and the sun rises in the east, you are currently headed south.
>That will have to do for now.
>You spend the majority of the day walking through the woods.
>There are several occasions when you had to take detours to avoid losing your cover, but you think you make pretty good time.

>You pass by several farms you can see from the edge of the woods, but none of them belong to Anna.
>You almost wish Anna had taken you to visit some of her neighbours so you’d know if any of these people were friends with her.
>Honestly, it was probably a safe bet that most of them were, or at least weren’t in cahoots with Sheffield’s goons, but the possibility of exposing yourself to a deranged Griffon kept you under the cover of the trees.
>You continue walking until the evening, when you stop at a tiny stream for a drink.
>You’re in the middle of drinking when you hear the heavy beats of wings.
>You stand perfectly still.
>Thankfully you were mostly covered by foliage.
>The stream was slightly exposed, so you’d come at it from the most concealed point you could find.
>You see a ways downstream, Sheffield had had the same idea as you and flown down for a drink.
>Could he see you?
>You could see him.
>You pull your head in and flatten your ear and tail against your body.
>He was just drinking water and didn’t seem interested in looking up.
>Thank goodness the front half was the eagle.
>It literally had the eyes of an eagle, but bird sense of smell was terrible.
>You could smell him, though.
>He smelled terrifying.
>After he had drunk his fill, he climbed a nearby tree and curled up in it.
>Oh god damn it.
>Seriously Sheffield?
>Just casually sleeping near the stream?
>No sleep for you tonight.
>You stood stock still and watched Sheffield through the leaves of the bushes hiding you as he slept.
>You debated trying to kill him, but you had no way to climb the tree, and the slightest movement would probably wake him up.
>You opted to wait.
>Watch and wait.

>Come morning, Sheffield stretches languidly, gouging the branch with his claws, then climbs down for a drink before flying off again.
>You give him a good hour headstart before you finally feel comfortable enough to move.
>You get yourself a drink and start walking.
>You were tired, but Sheffield had given you enough of a workout that you could function pretty well even when you hadn’t had any sleep.
>You’d thank him for it when you finally had the chance.
>Thank him real hard.
>You travel along the mountain for a large portion of the day again, when you hear something.
>It was the bark of a dog.
>It sounded… familiar.
>Paco?
>You head down to the treeline and peer out at the field in front of you.
>You see a dog playing in the field with another… dog? Thing?
>The thing looked like a bulldog, but was kind of like a gorilla?
>You didn’t know what it was, but the other dog, that was definitely Paco!
>Where the hell was Mitch, then?
>You look around, then snap back to the dog-thing.
>It was tossing a Frisbee for Paco.
>It had opposable thumbs?
>Weird, but you weren’t really one to talk.
>Even if Mitch wasn’t here, Paco’s presence meant that whoever lived here was at least vicariously acquainted with Anna.
>You had to get to that house.
>You crept up to the edge of the treeline and looked at the sky.
>You couldn’t see anything currently flying about, but that meant extremely little.
>Sheffield could be perched anywhere within a reasonable distance and still see you with those eyes of his.
>You’d have to chance it.
>You were honestly pretty lost, and the residents could help you.
>No slow skulking here, there was nowhere to hide, so you’d have to book it.
>You gallop out of the forest and start yelling.
“Miiiiiiitch!”
>The dog-thing and Paco both turn toward you.
“Miiiiiiitch! I know you’re here, I can see Paco! Where the fuck are you!”

>”Sixpence?”
>The dog-thing can speak?
>You hear a screech behind you.
>You don’t bother to look back.
>It wouldn’t help you in any way.
“Mitch I swear to god you need to get your fucking ass out here, or I am going to die and Anna will never forgive you!”
>The dog thing looks behind you and its jaw drops, then it runs toward you.
“Get out of the way! Out of the way!”
>”Paco, home!” It yells.
>It runs straight at you, you try to swerve, but it changes course to match.
>You were gonna run into it, why the fuck?
>You collide with it, and it wraps a disproportionately large arm around you, then thrusts the other one into the ground beneath you.
>Dirt flies around you at dizzying speeds, coating your mane and tail in soil.
>Before you can fully process what happened, it stops and you find yourself underground.
>It’s very dark.
>”Right, whatever the fuck that was. So… hello again Sixpence!”
“Hello again?”
>You furrow your brow in though, then your eyes widen as you figure it out.
“Mitch?”
>”Hah! Got it in one. Anna always said I was a dog person, eh?”
“Heh, the irony is delicious on that one. I guess this is why we stopped seeing you?”
>”Yeah, things get a little difficult when you turn into a dog. I can now fully appreciate your situation. Sans the hoof issue.”
“Well, I would love to catch up, but there is a deranged Griffon out to kill me. Can we please get to someone who has a big enough gun?”
>”Yeah, sure. After you disappeared, Anna called everyone she knew and we’ve been combing the area ever since. She wouldn’t let us stop. I figured I could come out of hiding to help a friend, for better or worse.”
“Less talking, more digging.”
>”Right, right.
>You feel the dirt around you shift as he tunnels through it with ease.

>”David calls me a Dig-Dog. I didn’t figure him for a gamer, but he knows enough to make a pretty good pun at least. He says there’s some more living in the mountain. He was going to introduce me once this mess is all over.”
“Well we need to get to him quick, then. Sheffield has gone literally insane, and will kill anyone and anything he encounters, so I really hope Paco is okay.”
>”Paco should be fine. He’s quick, and smart enough to avoid dangerous animals.”
>He burrows a little further, then stops.
>”Okay, I’m still trying to figure this underground direction sense out, but we should be under the driveway.”
>He grabs you tight, then burrows straight up.
>You pop out in darkness.
>It smells musty and you can see a line of light in most directions.
>You’re in the crawl space.
>”Almost. I’ll figure it out one of these days.”
>You squirm out of his arms, shake yourself off and trot for an opening.
>He follows you on his belly, his massive arms pulling him easily forward.
>”You mind telling me why a griffon wants you dead?”
“As silly as it sounds; because I wouldn’t have his babies.”
>”His babies? What?”
“Not ‘his’ his, but foals in general. He wanted to sell them, I wasn’t cooperating. Then the same thing that transformed you and me transformed him, but he didn’t take it very well.”
>”Okay then. I want further explanation later.”
>You hear glass shattering and some wood splintering above you, then a gunshot followed by an angry shriek.
>”Mitch, where are you? What the fuck is happening!?” You hear a muffled voice yell.
>That must be David.
>It sounded like he was right above you.
>You knock on the underside of the floor with a hoof three times.
>There’s a brief moment of silence, then you knock again.
>You get three stomps in response.

“Break through the floor.”
>Mitch looks at you in confusion.
>”What?”
“I can see those massive arms. Rip the floor open so we can get to David.”
>”O-kay…”
>Mitch rolls over onto his back, then punches upward.
>His fist easily rips through the wood of the floor, and once it’s through he claws it a little bit wider.
>Shit, why couldn’t you have been one of those?
>Once he removes his hand from the hole, you see the barrel of a rifle pointed down it.
>”Mitch? That better be you.” David says.
>”It’s me, Dave, chill. Better news than that, I found Sixpence!”
>”Sixpence?!”
>”Well, technically, she found me.”
>”Get her up here, man! There’s a fucking crazed bird-lion outside!”
>Mitch reaches over and picks you up, stuffing you through the hole.
“I could have done that myself, but thanks.”
>David grabs you and pulls you up into a brief hug, then sets you on the floor.
>”You talk too, eh? I shouldn’t be surprised, but it’s great to see you alive!”
>He rubs your face and briefly touches your missing ear.
>It doesn’t really hurt anymore.
>”Oh Sixpence, what happened to your ear?”
“That psychopath outside cut it off in a rage.”
>”The bird-lion?”
“Well, Sheffield. He wasn’t a bird-lion then. He just transformed today and went completely off the deep end.”
>”That thing is Sheffield?!”
>You nod somberly.
“Was. I’m not sure he’s right in the head anymore.”
>”Probably not. He’s ripped my house to shreds.”
>You take a look around.
>You’re in what must have been David’s office or living room.
>The floor is scratched to hell and back, and the television and bookshelves are all overturned.
>David had set up a little fort behind a tilted desk and had probably been firing at the giant hole in the wall where Sheffield must have busted through.
“He must have come in here looking for me when Mitch grabbed me. I heard gunfire, I don’t suppose you hit him?”

>He shrugged.
>”Tough to tell. I can’t see any blood on the floor, and I’m a little wary of going outside to check. Thing like that could tear me apart in an instant.”
>You nod.
“Well, can you at least phone Anna and let her know what’s up?”
>”Oh yeah, sure!”
>David pulls a cell phone out of his pocket and dials.
>He sets it to speaker phone and places it on the floor for you.
>”You should be the one on the line, eh?”
>He winks at you.
>The ringing seems to last forever and your heart races in your chest.
>Finally you hear a click.
>”David? What’s up?”
>You start to tear up at the sound of her voice.
“Anna, it’s me.”
>”Sixpence!? Oh my god, you’re okay!”
>You can hear her start crying on the other end of the line.
>”Sixpence, oh my god! Where are you? Are you at David’s? I can come immediately. Please tell me where you are.”
>As much as you would love to just listen to her voice, there are very pressing matters to attend to.
“Anna, I need you to stop and listen for a moment. I’m okay, and I’m at David’s, but there’s a problem.”
>You hear her sniffle a little bit, and you can just imagine the way she looks as she composes herself.
>It makes you smile.
>”Okay. What’s going on?”
>She sniffles one more time.
“Sheffield is still chasing me, and he has turned into a huge griffon bent on murdering me and everyone and everything he encounters. We are in David’s house, but he has destroyed a couple of the walls and-“
>You hear the sound of squealing metal and breaking glass.
>”Ah, shit, he’s on my fucking truck!”
>David steps away to peek through the kitchen toward his truck, and there’s a single gunshot.
“-And David’s truck. Probably some of his livestock as well.”

>”Holy shit. Okay, Pa and I will be on our way with what guns we have. We’ll call in some other neighbors once we’re on our way. Be safe Sixpence. I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“See you soon, Anna.”
>She hangs up.
>David comes back to pick up his phone and kneels down to watch the exits.
>You hear a bark from below and Mitch sticks his head up through the hole in the floor.
>”Hey guys, I got Paco down here with me. He was hiding under the truck which is probably why Sheffield attacked it. Sorry ‘bout that David.”
>”No worries, Mitch. I’m insured against wild animal attacks.”
“Well, Anna and her Pa are on their way, and they’ve called the neighbours, so I guess we can just wait until they arrive.”
>”Not much choice, really. Going outside is a surefire way to get yourself killed.” David says.
>”Why hasn’t he attacked the house directly yet?” Mitch asked.
“He wants me specifically, and despite his brute strength and size, guns are still enough to kill him if he gets shot in the right spot. Coming in toward the gun is suicide so he’s waiting for us to make the first move. How long a drive is it to here from Anna’s?”
>”Half an hour, give or take?” David says.
“Damn.”
>”Ah, we’ll be fine.”
>And you are, for about fifteen minutes.
>You’re just sitting down to eat some sardines David had in his overturned desk when you hear a splintering sound from upstairs.
>You all turn and look at the roof.
>You hear nothing for a moment, then more splintering, some glass breaking, and then silence.
>David puts a finger to his lips and grabs his gun, pointing it at the ceiling.
>David puts his hand down the hole in the floor and snaps his fingers.
>After a moment Mitch pops his head up through the hole.
>David has his finger on his lips and points up at the ceiling.

>Mitch nods.
>David points at you, then Mitch.
>Mitch reaches up through the hole and grabs you just as you hear a crash from upstairs and the ceiling falls in.
>You disappear down the hole with debris raining down around you.
>You hear a deep voice yell as another gunshot rings out.
>”Sixpeeeence! You think your friends will save you? You think your precious Anna will be able to help you? You’d best come out, or you know what’s going to happen when she arrives.”
>You hear wingbeats and dust is blown down the hole in the floor.
“David?”
>You didn’t hear any tearing of flesh, so Sheffield probably didn’t kill him, but the whole roof fell in, and that might have.
>You squirm out of Mitch’s arms, hope onto the dirt and turn to glare at him.
“You can dig, get him out!”
>Mitch stares for a moment, before he reaches up into the hole and starts trying to move some of the debris.
>The floor creaks in protest and he stops.
>”I can’t do it without possibly bringing the whole house down. I could probably survive it, but Paco and you definitely couldn’t. Not to mention David.”
>You feel yourself start to tear up again.
>You’d just gotten back and Sheffield was still trying to ruin everything.
>What the hell was his problem?
>You stamp a hoof.
>Not today.
>You’d put up with his maltreatment for a month, and Cirrus even longer than that.
>He was going down one way or another!
>…
>But you really didn’t know how.
>He was four times your size, and had way more natural weapons than you did.
>Not to mention his ability to fly.
>You walk quietly to the edge of the crawl-space and look out toward the driveway.
>David’s truck sat there, hood ripped off, doors torn out, and all the tires slashed.
>Mitch scoots up next to you and points off behind the tree cover.
>That was Anna’s truck!
>They must have been speeding, but you don’t mind at all!

>They turn in to the driveway, and no sooner do they hit the gravel than Sheffield swoops out of the sky and crashes heavily into the side of the truck, tipping it over.
“Anna!”
>You dash out of your hiding place and gallop over toward the overturned truck.
>”Sixpence no!” Mitch yells, following you.
“Anna!”
>Sheffield is pulling at the driver side door, slowly tearing the metal out.
>You hear a gunshot and he hops off the side, then pushes the truck over onto the hood.
>You’re still galloping toward the truck.
>You have no idea what you’re going to do when you get there, but you can’t leave them!
>Everyone’s doing this for you!
>Sheffield finally spots you running toward him and turns to look.
>”Hello, Sixpence.” He rumbles.
>He climbs onto the undercarriage of the truck and idly tears something out of it and tosses it aside.
>He’s trying to intimidate you.
>It works.
>You skid to a halt.
“What do you want, Sheffield?”
>He taps his beak thoughtfully.
>”You know, I don’t know anymore. I wanted money, but now that you turned me into a giant fucking bird of prey, I think I’ll kill you and everyone you love!”
>He screeches and dives toward you.
>You hear a creak from behind you.
>”Duck!” Mitch yells.
>You duck as the hood of David’s truck flies over your head and smacks into Sheffield, stunning him for a moment.
>He crashes to the ground in front of you.
>Then you hear gunfire from behind Sheffield.
>This shot you know actually hit something as you get hit in the face by a spray of blood.
>”Sixpence, run!” Anna yells.
>You blink away the blood in your eyes and turn to run back the way you came as Sheffield’s talons gouge viciously at the gravel.
>He takes off again, and you hear Anna rattle off another shot, but you don’t know if it connected.
>”Shit. Pa!” You hear Anna yell.

>Sheffield flies higher, soaring around in circles as he shrieks and looks down at you all.
>You’re hiding behind the truck, peeking out at Sheffield while Anna reloads.
>Sheffield must have seen that, because he dives in her direction.
“Anna, look out!”
>She looks up from her rifle to see Sheffield swooping down at her, talons outstretched
>Pa had his wits about him, though, and pulls Anna down, causing her to lose her grip on the gun.
>It clatters out on the gravel.
>Sheffield circles around and dives back down at Anna and Pa, forcing them to seek cover on the other side of the truck.
>You look at the gun.
>It stopped about halfway between you and Anna.
>If you could time it right, you might be able to grab it and run.
>Sheffield was waiting for someone to make a move for it, that much was certain.
>First one to stick their head out was going to lose it.
>Pa is actually the one to make the move.
>Pa dashes for the rifle, and Sheffield dives.
“Pa, no!” both you and Anna shout.
>Pa grabs the rifle and tosses it to Anna just as Sheffield hits him, you can see his talons dig into Pa’s shoulders as he carries him into the sky.
>You run out of your hiding spot as Sheffield carries him up over the nearby field.
“Anna quickly!” You shout back at her.
>To her credit, Anna caught the gun, and had just finished reloading it when you shouted at her.
>Every one of you ran after Sheffield as he carried Pa over the field,
>…and then tossed him.
>”Pa!” Anna yelled, her voice choking.
>Mitch ran for where Pa was falling, and you stood there numbly as it happened.
>High above you, you see part of a cloud break away and fall.
>What?
>It picked up speed as it came, a white streak against a blue background, and it was aimed at Sheffield.
>Cirrus, you glorious bastard.

>You hear a loud crack as he strikes Sheffield, and carries him violently into the ground.
>You gallop over to the impact site, Anna at your heels.
>It wasn’t over yet, though.
>A loud and angry screech echoes from the impact site as Sheffield rears up, and you see blood spatter against Cirrus’ white coat.
>Cirrus rears up, hooves flashing at Sheffield’s face.
>The two of them are locked in a furious melee, wings beating furiously against each other other.
>Anna has her rifle raised, but couldn’t fire into the fight without risking a hit on Cirrus.
>Cirrus wasn’t going to win that fight alone.
>You dash around to Sheffield’s side and plant your hooves.
>You turn, push your forehooves down and kick at him as hard as you can.
>You hear a satisfying snap and are rewarded with an angry screech, followed by a growl.
“Get away Cirrus!” you yell, and turn to face Sheffield.
>As soon as Cirrus breaks away, Sheffield turns toward you, hate blazing in his eyes, he coils up to leap and you close your eyes and flinch.
>You hear the crack of gunfire.
>…

>Then a heavy thump.
>You open your eyes slowly and see Sheffield slumped over on the grass, a neat hole punched into the side of his skull, red spattering the grass on the other side of him.
>You look over at Anna, her rifle still raised, a thin trail of smoke rising from the barrel.
>She lowers the gun and drops it just as your legs give out beneath you.
>”Pa? Pa!”
>Anna runs to where Pa had been thrown.
>You look over and see Mitch helping Pa up.
>Oh thank goodness.
>He probably broke something, but he was alive.
>You look at Sheffield.
>Or his corpse at any rate.
>He was huge.
>Huge, imposing, and incredibly dangerous.
>And he was dead.
>You hear sirens off in the distance and breathe a heavy sigh of relief.
>”It’s good to have you back Sixpence.” A voice says off to your side.
>You catch a flash of white in the corner of your eye and smile.
“It’s good to be back, Flyboy. Nice dive, by the way.”
>You look up at him.
>He has several slashes on his face and chest, blood clotting his left eye shut, and his right wing is dragging on the ground.
>You stand up in alarm.
“Oh lord, Cirrus! Why didn’t you say anything?”
>You hurry over to him and check over his wounds.
>”Don’t worry, none of them are deadly, and my wing is probably just broken.”
>You look him in the eye skeptically.
“JUST broken? It could be serious! What if it cripples your wing?”
>Cirrus laughs.
>”There’s the reason I never stopped searching.”
>He nuzzles your face, wiping blood on your nose.
>You blush.
“Thanks, Flyboy.”
>Anna, Pa, and Mitch get back to you.
>Pa is walking on his own, but he’s bent over in pain, clutching at his chest.
“Pa, are you okay?”
>You run over to him and look up.

>”Ah’ll live Sixpence, thank ye. Probably a few cracked ribs. Ah called 911 before we headed out here, so they should be here soon. It’s a little terrible living so far out in nowhere when you have an emergency.”
>”I’m gonna go see if David is okay.” Mitch says.
>”David? What happened to him?” Anna asks in alarm.
>”His house fell on him.”
>”Oh god! Pa, will you be okay here?”
>”Oh ah’ll live. Go find the poor boy. Ah’ll stay with Sixpence and Cirrus.”
>Pa collapses next to you and hunches over, grimacing in pain.
>”Ye’re lookin’ a mite worse for wear there Sixpence. Lost most of yer hair and an ear.”
>Pa rubs your head and runs a finger along the stump of your ear.
”Ah’ll live, ye know.” You say.
>He chuckles, and it quickly turns into a cough and a pained grimace.
>”Well, it only hurts when ah laugh and cough, then.”
>Pa looks down at you, then at Cirrus.
>”C’mere Cirrus, let me have a look at ye.”
>Cirrus obediently walks up to Pa, who takes his wing in hand.
>He pokes and prods at the limp appendage, Cirrus flinching every so often.
>”Well, it’s definitely broken, but it’s a clean break, so a simple set will fix it right up.”
>Pa lets go of the wing and Cirrus lets it fall back down to his side.
>The sirens are much louder now, and you see all three types of emergency vehicles arrive, crowding into the driveway one at a time.
>You watch as the emergency teams pile out and head for David’s house first.
>Two paramedics head over to where you’re sitting to check on Pa.
>They give you and Cirrus strange looks, and are taken aback by the body of Sheffield, but they’re professionals and tend to Pa.
>They pester him with questions, and he answers, then they help him up and lead him to the ambulance.

>You sit there with Cirrus as firefighters and paramedics run back and forth until you see them come out with someone on a stretcher.
>That must be David.
>It’s not a black bag, so he’s okay for now.
>You see Anna follow it to the ambulance and look inside for a moment, then she waves and steps back, letting it drive off.
>The police ask her a bunch more questions, and she leads them up to where you and Cirrus stand next to the corpse.
>”Hoo boy! This is quite a thing!” a bearded officer says.
>”Well I’ll be a monkey’s uncle, a griffon!” The lanky officer says.
>”A what?” Beardy asks.
>”It’s a griffon. Fantasy creature. I’d be more surprised if a unicorn hadn’t been on TV so recently.” Lanky says.
>”Well whatever you want to call it, it attacked us, destroyed our vehicles and David’s house, so we had to shoot it.” Anna says.
>”Looks like this little guy took him on, eh?” Beardy says, looking at Cirrus.
>”Oh hey! A Pegasus, too!” Lanky says.
>”What, another fantasy creature?” Beardy says.
>”Yeah! Must be some kind of Shadowrun thing going on lately. This is kinda neat.” Lanky says.
>”I’m not even gonna ask. Take the photos, I’ll get a medic up here for the flying horse.” Beardy says.
>”Thank you officer. He’s very dear to me.” Anna says.
>Lanky begins taking photos of Sheffield, marking the ground and everything.
>”If he’s willing to fight something three times his size to protect you, then I can bet.”
>”This is what you killed it with, ma’am?” Lanky asks, pointing to the rifle she’d dropped.
>”Yes it is.”
>”Thanks.”
>He takes a photo of it.
>Beardy eventually comes back with a medic.
>The medic is taken aback by the griffon corpse and Cirrus himself, but he proceeds to patch him up.

>”Alright, I’m no vet, so you’re probably going to want to get him out to a professional for his wing, but I can set it and splint it for the time being.” The medic says.
>”I will. There’s someone in the area who can come check him out.” Anna says.
>Cirrus doesn’t get any anesthetic, but he stands still while the medic stitches up the wounds that need it, and bandages the rest.
>When he gets to Cirrus’ wing, Cirrus gives a small whimper while he sets it.
>”He should really be washed properly, but take care when doing so, making sure to avoid pulling on the stitches.” Medic says.
>He turns to you and checks out your ear.
>”This looks like an older wound, and it’s been properly taken care of, so the female is fine. Guess the male did a good job of protecting her. He should be right as rain given time. Looks like good stock, too.” He says.
>You nudge Cirrus in the side and he smiles shyly.
>”Thank you very much for your help. Once we are done here, if it’s not too much trouble, could we get a ride back to the farm?” Anna asks.
>”We?” Lanky asks.
>Anna motions to you and Cirrus.
>”Oh, right, your trucks. Well the animals are small enough, so sure, we can get someone to take you home. Did you want to go now? Everyone appears to be accounted for.” Lanky says.
>”Yes, please. It’s been a far too exciting day following an exhausting month.” Anna says.
>You are lead to a squad car and Anna helps you and Cirrus in before climbing into it herself.
>One officer climbs in the driver’s seat and you’re on your way.
>It’s a quiet ride.
>The officer doesn’t really say anything and Anna doesn’t volunteer any information, so it is spent in silence.
>Anna rubs your head and touches your scar lightly.

>You can tell she really wants to say something, but doesn’t want to do so with someone else nearby.
>You sit in her lap and lean on her for comfort and hope that’s enough for now.
>You arrive at Anna’s farm shortly and the officer drops you off.
>Anna hops out first with you on her heels, and she helps Cirrus out.
>The officer says they’ll call if they need anything else, and leaves you alone.
>Anna holds on to her composure until the officer gets around the bend, then breaks down and hugs you, sobbing.
>You’re not sure why, since you’re really just happy to be free, but you do the same, crying into Anna’s chest as she holds you.
>”Sixpence I was so worried!” She sobs. “Cirrus came to get us when you didn’t come back for three hours!”
>”We didn’t know where Sheffield had gone, or where he’d taken you, and he never went back to his farm!”
>She pulls away and looks you up and down.
>”Now you come back and your mane and tail are shaved and you’re missing an ear! Sixpence what happened to you? What did he do?”
>In between emotional sniffles you recount the story of what Sheffield had done and what he had planned for you. Ending with his transformation into the huge griffon-beast that had terrorized David’s house.
>”That is accurate to what Sheffield did to me. It wears on you after months upon months of it.” Cirrus says.
>”That’s terrible, and really doesn’t sound like the behavior of a mentally stable individual.” Anna says.
“Well, if his transformation was any indication, he wasn’t mentally sound at all.”
>Anna looks at you and smiles wide.
>”But you’re back, and you’re alive, and you’re not pregnant! Oh Sixpence, I missed you so much!”
>She hugs you tight, then sees Cirrus standing alone nearby, and pulls him in for a hug as well.
>”Ow, careful.”
>”Oh, sorry Cirrus.”
>Cirrus wraps his good wing around you all and you stay like that for a moment.
>You were so happy you could burst.

>Unfortunately it couldn’t last, and you’re interrupted by a phone call.
>Anna lets go of you and pulls her cell out of her pocket and answers it.
>”Hey Pa!”
>…
>”Oh that’s fantastic news, I’m so glad.”
>…
>”Yeah, I’ll handle it, take as long as you need. Love you Pa.”
>She hangs up.
>”David’s going to be okay. A couple fractures and a concussion, but he’s stable. Pa’s fine, but he’s waiting for them to tend to David since Pa isn’t in any danger.”
>She stands up.
>”But, I still have to feed the animals, so come on you two. I’m not letting you out of my sight any longer than I have to!”
>Anna rubs your head, and you smile.
>The three of you walk about the farm while Anna takes care of the chores.
>She chatters endlessly about all the little things that had been happening on the farm since you disappeared.
>Blanche had gotten pregnant again.
>One of the chickens had stopped laying.
>The guard llama had killed a fox.
>Normal stuff.
>When she’s out of earshot for a moment, Cirrus leans over to you and whispers in your remaining ear:
>”She talks big, but she hasn’t smiled since you disappeared. You’re her best friend you know.”
>That brings a bit of a frown to your face.
>Anna never left the farm, did she?
>In the months that you’d been here, she didn’t really go anywhere or see anyone else in a purely casual fashion. It all had to do with work.
>You trot over to here where she was feeding the pigs and rub against her leg.
>She looks down and smiles, then scratches your head.
>”I’m glad you’re back Sixpence.”
>You smile at her.
>You’d be the best companion you could possibly be if that’s what she needed.
>Evening comes and the three of you are just sitting down to supper when you hear a knock on the door.

>”Who could that be?” Anna says and gets up to answer.
>”Savannah? Are you there? It’s Mitch.”
>”Mitch!”
>She opens the door and Paco bounds inside happily.
>Anna gives Mitch a hug then motions he should come in.
>”I was wondering where you’d disappeared to!”
>He places a backpack on the floor with a thud and rubs at his shoulders.
>”Well I figured I didn’t want to give the police something else to gawk at, so I made myself scarce.”
>Anna motions to the backpack.
>”Probably a good idea. What’s all this, then?”
>”I went back to David’s place after they’d left. They took the griffon’s corpse, by the way. I grabbed a bunch of items that I thought David might want protected from the elements and came here, hoping someone was home.”
>”Well that was mighty good of you. Pa should be home soon enough, and David is fine. He can leave the hospital in a few more days.”
>”Oh, that’s good to hear. So what’s for supper? I’ve been walking all day.”
>Paco runs up to you and barks.
>You pat him on the head with your hoof.
>”Hah! We’re having roast beef and potatoes. We’re out of chairs, but you can just grab a plate.” Anna says.
>Dinner is delightful, and after the dishes are washed, you sit down and watch a movie.
>Mitch rummages through the DVD’s in David’s pack until he finds one he likes.
>Tombstone.
>It’s good, and it’s just finishing when Pa arrives home.
>Anna runs over to hug him but he stops her short.
>”Now, now, Anna, ah can’t be huggin’ anyone really hard for a while. Just a light one’ll do.”
>”Right, sorry Pa.”
>They share a tiny hug.
>Pa comes in and sits in his favourite chair and Mitch picks another movie: Django Unchained.
>The man likes his action films.
>You were done watching movies for now, though.
>You nudge Anna in the leg with your head.

>She smiles knowingly and picks you up, and the two of you head outside.
>She carries you out to the pasture to your favourite spot, and sits down with you in her lap.
>It’s slightly cloudy, but the moon is just starting to wane so you have a lot of light.
>You look up at the sky and breathe a contented sigh.
>You lean up against Anna and close your eyes.
>You were home.
“Thank you Anna.”
>”No, thank you, Sixpence.”
>You stargaze for a while longer until Anna starts to shiver, then she picks you up and carries you back inside.
>Upon getting back in, you see Pa has gotten himself some cushions and is sleeping in his chair sitting up.
>Cirrus Paco, and Mitch are all curled up at his feet in a sleeping pile.
>The DVD is still running, and it looks like it’s almost at the end.
>Anna grabs the remote and shuts it down, then turns out the lights and goes to her room.
>She places you on her bed and you crawl under the covers while she dresses in her pajamas, turns out the light and crawls in next to you.
>You poke your head out and look out at the darkened room, then down at Anna.
>She kisses you on the forehead and snuggles her face up against your barrel, then quickly pulls away.
>”We need to bathe you tomorrow, Sixpence. No offense, but you smell atrocious.”
“Heh. Sorry.”
>You close your eyes and drift to sleep.
>You dream of the noonday sun.

>The next morning you wake up to the smell of bacon and eggs.
>Anna is in bed next to you, so it’s not her.
>You hop out of bed and shake yourself out, then head to the kitchen.
>Pa is at the kitchen table, his posture a little more stiff than usual, and Mitch is fussing about in the kitchen.
>He’s barely too short to make it easy to cook, but he’s managing.
>Paco runs up to you and licks you good morning.
>You rub his head with a hoof and lick him back.
>He looks confused.
>Also dogs don’t taste very good.
>”Well you’re getting along a lot better, aren’t you?” Mitch says.
>He flips an egg and some bacon, then tosses them onto Pa’s plate.
>”I remember when you couldn’t stand to even be in the same house as Paco.”
>Huh, he’s right.
>You hadn’t even worried about Anna’s room being dark last night.
“Well, you spend enough time with real monsters, and suddenly the imaginary ones don’t seem so scary I guess.”
>”Well, that’s one good thing to have come from this. Silver linings!”
>Mitch starts frying up some more bacon and eggs.
>You look around but you don’t see any of Cirrus’ white coat anywhere.
“Where’s Cirrus?”
>”Oh he’s outside. Need me to get the door for you?”
“Yeah, sure.”
>Mitch shuffles over to the back door and opens it for you and you head outside.
>”I’ll leave it cracked so you can come back in if you want.”
“Thanks, Mitch.”
>You spy Cirrus standing at the gate of the pen where the two of you had been kept, and you walk over to him.
>He looks up.
>”Morning Sixpence.”
“Morning Flyboy.”
>”Do you mind if I ask you something personal?”
>Ah. Everyone’s feeling really emotional lately, you guess.
>Can’t blame him.
“Sure, what’s up?”

>He breathes a heavy sigh.
>”What were you like before you… y’know…?”
“Before I turned into a pony?”
>”Yeah…”
>You look down.
>Even Anna didn’t know that. Not fully.
>Why was he so curious?
“I’ll tell you on one condition: That you tell me about yourself first.”
>He sighs again.
>”Okay.”
>He clears his throat.
>”I am… or was… a barely twenty-three-year-old young man fresh out of college.”
>You raise your eyebrows and listen.
>”I didn’t have a lot of friends and I didn’t feel appreciated. I was pressured by my family to start one of my own. Find a nice girl, have kids, settle down.”
>He looks at you.
>”When I changed I thought I could get away from my annoying family and do something different. I was scared too, but here I had a brand new chance to change myself and no one had to know who I used to be.”
>”Then I got caught.”
>He starts to tear up.
>”I’d never encountered anyone like Sheffield before in my life, and suddenly I wished I had all my old problems back.”
>”They were tiny problems. Insignificant compared to him! I had given up hope when suddenly you appeared and without knowing anything about me, you tried to help. You put everything on the line for someone you didn’t even know.”
>”That’s why I never stopped looking for you.”
>You walk over and touch his hoof with yours.
“I’m glad you didn’t. Thank you.”
“You still want to know about me?”
>He nods.
“You sure? You might not like it.”
>”Please. I want to know why you tried so hard to help me.”
“Well… I wasn’t really the reason I helped you. I used to be a thirty-year-old slob with no job and no money, who picked pockets for his daily bread.”
>Cirrus’ eyes widen.
>Heh, saw that coming.

“I was on the cusp of losing my home when I changed. Mitch found me in the city, and tried to find my ‘owner’. When he couldn’t find anyone, he brought me to Anna for a checkup, and then she bought me. I pretended to be a pony in order to make sure I had a place to live and regular food.”
“I also used my transformation to try to start a new life. I was just lucky enough to find someone who was willing to care about me.”
“At first I used Anna for free room and board, but when she inevitably found out I thought it would be over. But she didn’t care. She didn’t pry into my past, nor did she mind giving me food.”
“Anna is the reason I wanted to help you. Anna gave me a reason to live for someone other than myself. Is that enough?”
>”Yes. Thank you.”
>You looked him in the eye, but Cirrus avoided looking at you.
>”Sorry I… y’know… that first time.” He mumbled.
>You smile.
“Hey, don’t worry about it. I wasn’t expecting ‘that’, per se, but I invited you to do it. I needed to make sure you weren’t completely lost.”
>”Thanks. I really mean it.”
>You whop him in the side lightly.
“Thanks yourself. You assaulted a griffon three times your size to protect me. I think we’re even.”
>You can see he’s starting to get erect and you’re conspicuously reminded that you’re still in heat.
>”Oh geeze. Sorry.”
>You chuckle.
“I lived with one for thirty years. I know what it’s like.”
>You punch his dick with your hoof.
>”Hey!”
>You snort in amusement.
“Maybe later Flyboy.”
>You stand up and walk away, giving him a wiggle of your flank as you head back inside.
>You reenter the house to the smell of pancakes in addition to the bacon and eggs now.
>Anna was up and had taken over the kitchen, while Mitch sat at the table digging into his food with gusto.

>You hop up on the remaining chair and start eating whatever was on the plate in front of you.
>Anna turns around and gasps.
>”Sixpence! That was supposed to be mine!”
“Shawrry.” You say between mouthfuls.
>She punches you playfully in the withers and gets herself a new plate.
>Cirrus comes in shortly after you.
>Probably had to wait until his erection went down.
>After breakfast is done, Pa and Mitch offer to wash up, while Anna heads out to begin the difficult chores.
>Pa couldn’t very well do them in his current condition after all.
>”Come on Sixpence, lets go!” Anna calls, and pats her leg.
>You obediently follow.
After the day’s work, you’re all sitting down to a dinner that Mitch had prepared of steamed veggies and spaghetti with meatballs.
>”So Anna, ah spoke with the hospital today, and David should be able to leave in the next couple days. Ah was thinkin’ we’d put him up here until his house is properly repaired. He can’t properly move with his left arm and leg busted, so we’d be helpin’ him out. He can pay us back later ah figure.” Pa says.
>Anna looks at him in surprise.
>”I think that’s fine, Pa, but where’s he going to sleep?”
>”Ah think he can use my bed. I can’t sleep very well lyin’ down as it is.”
>”Well, if you’re sure.”
>Pa nods, and everyone goes back to dinner.
>After your time stargazing with Anna, everyone falls asleep.
>Pa in his chair, Cirrus on the other one, and Paco and Mitch curled up next to each other.
>The noonday sun sits high in the sky in your dreams.

>Soon enough, the truck is repaired, and Pa takes it into the city to take care of business, coming home later with David.
>He gets him set up in the bed, and encourages Anna to take care of him while he handles the menial tasks of the farm.
>You could see what he was doing.
>Clever old man.
>You made sure to leave them alone during those times, following Pa around instead, or hanging out with Cirrus.
>Anna called Doctor Whitman and he came by to look at Cirrus’ wing.
>He approved the job the medic had done, but reapplied the dressing to help it sit a bit more comfortably against Cirrus’ body.
>You tried to spend more time with Cirrus.
>He was acting awfully quiet still, and you thought it would be good to get him out of his shell, so you invited him along to help Pa out in any way you could.
>You talk, but Cirrus always seemed to be far away.
>A month passes and Cirrus’ wing is functional once more.
>David is able to be moved around, and Pa’s ribs are almost fully healed.
>Everyone is gathered outside to watch Cirrus take flight again.
>Doctor Whitman had given his approval, and Anna was doing the honors of undoing the bandage.
>She carefully unwraps the bandages and removes the splint holding it in place.
>Cirrus unfurls his wings to a unanimous ‘oooooh!’ from the audience.
>Cirrus looks over at you.
>He had an amazing wingspan.
>That combined with the pure white coat and long smooth flowing mane made him a beautiful stallion.
>Meanwhile here you were with a speckled grey coat and fluffy mane and tail, and no wings or horn to speak of.

>Cirrus walks over to you.
>You look him in the eyes and he looks back, then he kisses you on the lips.
>When he pulls away you’re too shocked to say anything.
>”Thank you.” He whispers.
>Then he turns around and takes off, wind buffeting you as he gracefully takes to the sky.
>Everyone watches and gasps in awe as he flies around in circles, performing rolls and dives with effortless ease.
>”Man, I wish I’d become one of those instead.” Mitch says.
>Yeah, that’d be nice, wouldn’t it?”
>Then Cirrus waves down at you all, and starts flying off into the distance.
>Alarm sets in and everyone starts yelling in confusion.
>”Wait, where’s he going?” Anna says.
>You’re confused for a moment as well, but then a small smile creeps onto your face.
>”Sixpence, where is Cirrus going?” Anna asks.
>You feel yourself tear up.
“Home. He’s going home.”
>”Does he know where he’s going?” David asks.
>”Ah think so. He was askin’ to look at some maps a few days ago.” Pa says.
>”Will he come back?” Anna asks.
>You touch a hoof to your lips and smile.
“Yeah, he will.”

Epilogue.

>Months pass and winter comes.
>David recovered just fine, and with Anna’s help was back to riding horses.
>He got a new truck and frequently went back to his own farm to oversee the care of his animals and repair of his house, but ended up moving in with Pa and Anna when he and Anna got engaged.
>Mitch went back to his own house once everyone got settled into their routine.
>He was easily able to continue his metalwork and carpentry, and found it a simple matter to make a living.
>He was introduced to the other ‘Dig-dogs’ in the mountain and they hit it off really well.
>They invited him to come live with them, and he has a home away from home.
>He even met a nice girl and they began a relationship.
>The winter was harsh, and you were really grateful that Anna and Pa let you stay inside.
>Because of that, Christmas was amazing.
>Anna made you a new collar, and this one was even fancier than the last.
>The buckle was made of actual silver, and your name was sewn into it in cursive stitching.
>Pa played his blues harp during the winter months, just like Anna had said he would.
>If she’d just said Harmonica, you would have figured it out sooner, but she was right, he was amazing.
>Anna tried to do so as well, and she was okay, but it was nothing compared to her Pa.
>As the winter months pass, though, David and Anna became closer.
>You were happy for her, but it meant you were now relegated to sleeping in the little bed David had gotten for you for Christmas.
>It was a nice gesture, but the message behind it was clear:
>You were a pet.
>Anna had friends now, and a lover.
>You were just a pet who could talk.
>You’d never assumed you were going to be anything more than that to her, but she spent less time with you, and it kind of hurt.

>Some nights she’d be out with David and you didn’t get to go stargazing with her.
>That got to you more than it should have.
>She wasn’t trying to hurt you, and you knew you shouldn’t take it personally, but you couldn’t help it.
>She was your family.
>David was nothing but kind to you as well, so you couldn’t fault him, either.
>To them, though, you were just a pet.
>A pet who could talk.
>Winter passed by slowly, and when the snow finally began to melt, you were grateful for the time you could now spend outside.
>You even asked to be left in the pasture some days once the weather warmed up.
>Blanche was ecstatic to have you back, and even tried to get you to nurse again.
>You actually could at this point, since she was super pregnant, but you still didn’t want to.
>Digger tried to be a dick, but you hoofed him a good one in the nuts and he left you quite alone after that.
>It was one of the days you’d asked to be left in the pasture when it began to rain again.
>The clouds were heavy and dark, and you could smell a thunderstorm was coming in.
>Anna and David had taken the day off to go have a nice dinner in town, so she couldn’t save you from it this time.
>Lightning flashed and you watched and waited.
>When the rumble came you stared at the mountains as it rolled off them and came back.
>Your mane hung wetly in front of your eyes and you just watched as the clouds sparked and roiled, thunder crashing overhead.
>Mitch had brought Dune over during winter once he found out you hadn’t seen it, and you’re reminded of the quote about fear: ’I will not fear. Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration.’

>After your transformation you’d been afraid of everything.
>You’d run at the slightest provocation, and cried for someone else to help you.
>And they had.
>You needed it then.
>It was invaluable to you, but you couldn’t live like that forever.
>Just like Anna had needed you.
>She needed companionship, and you were there for her during her time of need, but she also wanted more than that, and you couldn’t give that to her.
>You closed your eyes and tilted your head back, letting the rain wash over you as yet another crack of thunder breaks through the wet pattering.
>You needed to let Anna go.
>Let her go and do something for yourself.
>You’re deep in thought when you hear a sound behind you.
>You open your eyes and start to look back.
>You catch a flash of white, then suddenly you feel something grab you and lift you up, the ground quickly receding.
>You’re startled, and you yelp in surprise, but the grip shifts and your body is turned to face a white face in the darkness.
“Cirrus?!”
>Cirrus grins as you fly higher into the sky.
>You look down at the quickly receding ground, then up at the clouds.
“Cirrus, it’s not that I’m not happy to see you, but isn’t this dangerous in a storm?”
>”Not at all! We’re not flying very high, and I’ve only been struck by lightning once!”
“Oh, just once!”
>”Relax and look around! I’ve got you!”
>You try to relax and you look around at the stormy valley you’d lived in for the past three-quarters of a year.
>From up here you could see the whole thing, and it looked much smaller than it did when you were in it.
>You could see a colourful circle standing next to the pasture waving up at you.
>Was that Pa?
>”I went to the house first but you weren’t there. Pa directed me to the pasture and you just looked so sad sitting there alone in the rain I thought you could do with a little lift.”

>Yeah, you probably could.
“I’ve been… coming to terms with Anna and David needing me less and less.”
>”So Pa said. You know it’s not that they love you less, right?”
“I know. I just miss having Anna all to myself. It’s a purely selfish sentiment.”
>Cirrus nods.
>You fly in circles above the farm and the nearby mountains.
>It’s cold and wet, but Cirrus is very warm, and he holds you tightly.
>”Hold on to my neck, this is going to be fun.”
>You wrap your hooves around his neck, and he begins a dive.
>The wind whips the rain into your face, and you blink furiously to try to keep your eyes clear.
>He’s heading straight for the mountain and the trees, and you gasp and hold on tighter.
>He grins, and at the last second he pulls up, skimming the two of you just above the treetops, the wind from your passage rustling them back and forth.
>He pulls up and you fly lazily about, the storm crackling around you every so often.
>”So I went back home.”
“I figured you had. How was it?”
>”Nobody recognized me at first, and when I finally proved it to them they wanted to use me for popularity. So I ran away again.”
“Oh… I’m sorry.”
>”Don’t be! With that, I was free of them! I left and traveled the country! I saw everything I’d ever dreamed of seeing! You wouldn’t believe how easy being able to eat grass and having nigh-immunity to the weather makes traveling!”
>He laughs.
“Yeah, it must have been great.”
>”Hey now, don’t you get all sad again on me. You want to know what my travels didn’t have?”
“Are you going to say me?”
>”You bet your ass I am.”
>You scoff.
>He flies you up high, then straightens his wings and starts gliding down in a slow spiral.

>”I met a lot of people while traveling, Sixpence, and I saw a lot of great things, but there was one place, and one pony I knew I’d return to when it was all over.”
>You feel tears building up behind your eyes but you blink them back.
>”My family only cared what I could give them, be it children as a husband, or fame as a Pegasus. But you only cared what you could give me.”
>You land softly in the pasture and he sets you down gently, holding one of your hooves in his.
>”This is home, Sixpence, and I would like to stay with you if you’ll let me.”
>You look at him.
>He’d grown slightly since you last saw him.
>Either that, or he’d filled out.
>His coat and mane were still pristine white, and even when wet still looked perfect.
>You had an ugly stump for an ear, and a mottled grey and white coat, and he still saw you as amazing.
>He and Anna both.
“I think I would like that very much.”
>He smiles wide, rain pouring down his face.
>You smile too, your eyes locked on his.
>This time you do cry a little, but they’re tears of happiness, and he can’t see them in the rain anyway.
“C’mere Flyboy!”
>You wrap a hoof around his neck and pull him in for a kiss.
>When you finally pull away, he smiles down at you.
>Geeze he was big.
>”Flyboy. God I’ve missed that.”
>You grin impishly.
“Let’s go inside. It’s cold and I’m wet, in more ways than one.”
>”What?”
“Nothing. Now carry me over the fence.”
>Cirrus picks you up and you fly over to the front door.
>Anna had installed a pet door so you could enter and leave as you wished, so you shake yourself as dry as you can and crawl inside.
>Cirrus does the same, struggling to get his wings through the Sixpence-sized door.

>Pa was sitting at the table with three cups of tea set out, and fresh biscuits baking in the oven.
>From the smell of it, the tea was freshly poured.
>Cheeky old bastard.
>He looks up in mock surprise.
>”Well Cirrus, ah cannot believe ye’ve arrived so suddenly. Sixpence and ah were about to sit down for tea. Please join us!” Pa says, and motions to the chairs around the table.
>You smile and laugh, something you haven’t felt like doing in days, and you feel like a great weight has been lifted from your shoulders.
>You hop up on a chair that has been placed suspiciously close to another one, and Cirrus hops up next to you.
>You enjoy tea with your family, and you feel at home.
[spoiler]Your dreams are filled with sunshine.[/spoiler]