Seven Tails: Tail 04

We had been inside for about an hour when I decided to go check on the lads and see how they were progressing or if they were just out there dilly-dallying. I was all for learning new things but if they were just wasting valuable training time then I was going to call it to a halt.

Nathan told me later that it was just bad timing and really bad luck. I don't remember much. It's all pretty fuzzy. Whatever it was they were doing wasn't working very well and Daniel was getting frustrated. I remember hearing raised voices and an angry shout as I turned the corner and stepped out into the corral. From what I heard later was that Daniel had gotten angry with himself and, in a need to take out his frustrations on something besides Nathan, he had picked up a rock and threw it as hard as he could. It looked from it's initial trajectory that he was trying to throw it out of the corral and into the grass. Unfortunately for him, and me, it struck a fence post and rocketed sideways and clocked me just above the left temple, knocking me to the ground just as I entered the corral.

Like I said, I don't remember that part very well. It's kind of a blur.

What I do remember is suddenly being back in the arena and seeing faces all around me and blood all over my hands. Worried faces and voices. Somebody pressing a wad of gauze to my head to stop the bleeding. Somebody crying. Somebody shouting Daniels name.

When I finally came back to my senses a little I realized that I needed medical attention. There was no way I could have stitched that up myself and none of my pets had any real medical training other than rudimentary first aid. Collecting my wits, I raised my hands for quiet and sat up a little straighter on the artificial turf. I pointed towards the locker room and said "Quickly now. Out of the harnesses and into some clothes. We are going to have company from outside. Move!"

While they were gone changing I pulled out my cell phone and hit #2 on my speed dial. That number belonged to Jock MacGregor, my man in town who did my shopping and picked up my mail. The only person outside who could get inside without my permission. When he answered I told him that I'd had an accident and needed a ride into town to my doctor. After assuring him that I didn't need an ambulance he told me he could be there in fifteen minutes and I thanked him and hung up.

Nathan was the first to come trotting back dressed in sweats, a t-shirt and sneakers.

"What happened?" He gave me a quick rundown of the events.

"Is Daniel in the locker room with the others?"

"No, Master. I don't know where he is."

"Okay." I nodded my head and immediately regretted it. The motion made me nauseous. The others were quickly filtering back into the arena. Last to arrive was Gael on her crutches. I instructed Sarabeth to grab me a folding chair out of the storeroom and bring it outside. Then I had Nathan and David help me up and out in front of the arena. Mr. MacGregor tried hard not to see anything he didn't want to and I wanted to make sure that he didn't see anything he didn't need to.

"I have someone coming to take me into town. I will be gone for probably a couple of hours. In the meantime, fan out and search the grounds for Daniel. Do not leave the compound. If you find him tell him to come back and wait for me."

Nathan clenched up his fists and I snapped my fingers at him sharply. That also hurt my head. "Do not touch him, Nathan. It was a stupid accident. If you find him do nothing more than tell him to return to his cage and wait for me. Understand? And don't leave the compound. I don't want you wandering around in the woods and getting lost. If you don't find him by the time I come back I will track him myself."

I looked around at the knot of anxious faces. They all needed to be busy to take their minds off of the accident. "Wendy. You stay here with me. Gael, you go search the stables. That will be the easiest for you on your crutches. Sarabeth, take the house. David, the arena. Nathan, cover the garage and all the smaller outbuildings. If you don't find him there take a quick trot around the inside perimeter. Go!" They all scattered except for Wendy who just stood there looking anxious and a little nauseous herself. I guess she didn't care for the sight of blood. She was so tender hearted.

I almost gave her a reassuring pat until I realized that both of my hands had blood on them. Instead I said "Go into the kitchen and get a small plastic bag and put some ice in it and bring it back to me quickly, love." She darted off to do my bidding, a bit relieved to have something to do.

An hour and a half later I was back home with five stitches in my head and a bottle of painkillers. Nathan had grabbed the extra cell phone from my office and had sent me text messages that they had no luck finding my lost pony. I told them to return to their cages and wait for me.

One of the things I had carried in my "capture kit" when I was hunting ponies was an injector that inserted a tiny chip just under the skin of each of my pets. They all carried one beneath the tattoo of my mark on the nape of their necks. I had, up to this point, never needed to use those to track one of my pets. But now it seemed that forethought was wise in this case.

After MacGregor dropped me off and drove away I stood in front of the house and pulled out my remote. Scrolling through the touch screen I went to the tracking app and put in Daniels number. It popped up quickly. I hadn't figured that he would have wandered too far and I was correct. Unless he had managed to dig the chip out from under his skin, Daniel was at our picnic place down by the stream.

Moving carefully, I pulled out my little ATV from the garage and started down the road towards the picnic area. The jostling was almost enough to make me sick even though I drove slowly and carefully. When I drew near I couldn't see him anywhere at first. Then, as I got closer, I could see a huddled figure under the willow tree. Dressed only in his harness, collar and tail, Daniel lay on his side on the ground curled up in a little miserable ball. When I pulled up next to him, Daniel opened his eyes and looked at me. When he saw the bandage on my head he burst into loud sobs and covered his face with his arms.

I knew he was scared and upset, but frankly I didn't want to stay here all day. I still felt sick and queasy not only from the blow to the head but the painkillers as well. I wanted nothing more than to be in my own bed and sleep until the pain went away. But I had to do something with Daniel to bring him back home quickly. Even if he was hotheaded and impetuous at times, he was still one of my beloved ponies and I didn't want to lose him.

"Daniel!!" I put all of my force and personality into that one word. He jerked like I had slapped him and stopped sobbing and stared at me. Putting that much effort into it made me queasy again.

"Get on, Daniel."

"B-but..."

"Now!" He scrambled to his feet and climbed onto the seat behind me. Reaching back, I grabbed his hands and put them around my waist as I popped the clutch and started back towards the house. He held onto me tight and I could feel his head against my back and his body shaking as he sobbed into my t-shirt.

When we got to the stables I said "Soft shoes, leash, tail, house. Move!" He leapt off the seat and in the stable door as I pulled back into the garage. I remembered to pop open his cage door and his cabinet as I walked towards the house.

Despite being frightened and ashamed, I don't think Daniel had ever moved so fast before in his life. By the time I had walked slowly from the garage to the house he was already there on the front porch kneeling with his leash held up in the air. His ribs were heaving as he panted and his whole body gleamed with sweat. I grabbed the handle of the leash, said "Do not speak, Daniel." and led him inside.

There was a small round braided rug in one corner of my bedroom. I kicked it closer to the bed until it was inches away. I pointed to it and Daniel knelt, his eyes on the floor. Sitting on the edge of the bed I held up one foot and then the other. Daniel removed my shoes and socks in silence. I turned my body and lay back on the bed, cradling my head gingerly against the soft pillow with a sigh.

With my eyes closed I said "I am going to sleep for a few hours." Pointing towards the bathroom I added "Go in and get yourself cleaned up. Then back on that rug. Stay there until I tell you otherwise. If you need to use the bathroom or anything do it quickly and get back there. Go quickly and quietly, Daniel." Wisely, he rose in silence and closed the bathroom door gently behind him as he went. I rolled to my uninjured side and drifted off to sleep.

I vaguely remember waking up some time later in pain when the anesthetic had worn off. As soon as I rolled over Daniel was there handing me another pain pill and a glass of water. I patted him on the head and went back to sleep again.

It was nearly 6pm by the time I opened my eyes again. I don't think I had slept so much in one day in years. Crap. And there were things we were supposed to do this evening. I sighed heavily. I was in no shape for anything. Especially something as fun and important as a double tailing. It would have to be postponed. Daniel was still there kneeling on the small rug, his eyes on the floor. In front of him were my shoes and a fresh pair of socks. I decided those could wait a few minutes. My cell phone was softly vibrating on the night stand. Picking it up I could see several text messages from Nathan, mostly just asking if I was okay. In response I popped open his cage door and sent him a message saying "Come to the house." He was there in seconds.

When Nathan entered my room he looked at Daniel and I could see him frown down at the kneeling boy. Before he could even open his mouth I said "Stop that, Nathan. He made a stupid mistake and he will be paying the price for it very soon, trust me. But Daniel is still your brother. You need to remember that. Besides, you could have stopped him. Why didn't you?"

That question caught him off guard. He stammered "Master, I... I..." I waved a hand for him to stop.

"It is no matter, Nathan. What happened is in the past. We need to make sure that it does not happen again so we can get back to our lives. As I said, this was a stupid accident. It changes nothing." I paused then asked "You still love Daniel, don't you?"

Nathan took a deep breath and his shoulders slumped. He looked down at the boy who wouldn't meet his gaze and said "Of course I do, Master. He is my little brother and I will always love him. Just as I will always love you." He laid a hand on Daniels head gently and Daniel sighed.

I nodded and swiveled my legs off of the bed. The lad at my feet slid my socks and shoes on while we talked.

"Naturally, tonight's festivities will have to be postponed. It's unfortunate, but I don't feel good enough to participate or even referee. I'll need you to send David and Wendy my regrets on that and tell them that we will be back on for tomorrow evening."

Daniel finished tying my shoes and I set my legs more firmly down. I was still a bit groggy and shaky. I had a feeling that I wasn't going to be moving around a whole lot this evening.

"I want you and Sarabeth to take charge of the morning training. Make sure Gael walks at least one lap, either on the track or in the arena. I don't want her getting lazy. Get some work done on your dressage routines. You get with David and see how he moves and find out what sort of theme might fit him. Have Sarabeth do the same with Wendy. Make sure everybody knows that I will be watching."

"I won't be seeing anybody for the next 24 hours. Nobody except young Daniel here. We have some issues to attend to." He blanched and looked back down at the floor, a worried look on his face.

"If it's an emergency, of course, feel free to call me. Keep the phone handy and pick up the extra remote. Tell Gael that she is free to come over to her studio any time she wants. But she is not allowed inside the house any farther than the studio and make sure she understands that completely."

"Of course, Master. I'm just happy that you're okay."

"Just a little banged up. None the worse for wear. And I'm sure by the time we are done here that this will never ever happen again." I raised an eyebrow at Daniel and he looked down at the floor again.

"Any questions? No? Then come down here, boy." Nathan leaned down and I slipped a hand behind his neck and kissed him. I was acutely aware that he was naked except for shoes and his collar and it made me grumpy that I wasn't able to respond to that.

"Give your brother a kiss before you go as well. That will be a reminder to him of what he will be missing. And it will probably be the nicest thing that happens to him in the next 24 hours."

Nathan crouched down and took Daniels chin in his hand and looked him in the eyes. There seemed to be some sort of silent conversation going on for a few seconds. Then they both nodded and Nathan leaned in and kissed Daniel softly and said "I will still be there when you come back, little brother." Daniel looked like he was going to cry again.

Once Nathan had gone I stood and held out my hand. Daniel placed the handle of his leash in my palm then rose and followed me out of the room. I led him down to my office and pointed to the perch in the middle of the room. Silently he crawled up on it and knelt there, his eyes once again on the floor.

Thinking back, I couldn't recall him speaking a word since we got back to the house. I decided that was a good thing and decided to go with it for the time being.

"Look at me, Daniel." His eyes were brimming with tears again and he blinked them away. There were little tremors in his chin. His mouth came open and I raised a hand to stop him.

"Do not speak, Daniel. Unless it is a dire life or death emergency, you will not speak to me for the next 24 hours. Do you understand?" He nodded, looking miserable.

"For right now you will just sit there and listen. I am very angry with you, Daniel. Very angry indeed. That was a stupid childish thing to do. What if you would have hit Nathan? What if I would have sent David or Wendy or Gael out to fetch you? What if you would have hit Sarabeth with that rock?" His face went white as the thought crossed his mind. Daniel held Sarabeth especially in a very high regard. Sometimes I think he respected Nathan and Sarabeth even more than he did me. It was no matter. Whatever motivated him the best was fine with me. As long as he was polite and respectful and willing to perform in the arena and in my bed.

"If you would have injured one of my other ponies with your stupidity I would have found it very hard to ever forgive you, Daniel. I am not angry that you hit me with a rock. It was a stupid accident. But I am very angry that you don't have the self control to keep from injuring somebody else because you were having a temper tantrum. If I have to, I will stripe your ass every single day for the rest of your life to keep your temper in check." He swallowed hard and shivered.

"So here is what is going to happen for the next 24 hours. First of all, you will not speak. If you need to get my attention or go to the bathroom, raise one finger. Secondly, that little rug by the side of my bed will be your home until tomorrow evening. If I do not have need of you at the moment, you will be there, on your knees, eyes on the floor." Daniel sighed hard with a little catch in his throat.

I decided I had to give him something to look forward to. A little something to ease his mind, anyway. I could tell the boy was about to burst with sorrow and regret. If I allowed him to speak I'm sure he would have been bawling about how sorry he was and how it would never happen again. I'd afford him that opportunity later. Right now I wanted him to concentrate on learning some self control.

"I am not thinking of selling or getting rid of you, Daniel. You are one of my ponies and I do not give up or give up on what is mine. You are mine and I love you and you will be mine for the rest of your or my life, depending on which comes first. So if that thought is bothering you, let it go. I am not getting rid of you, period. I am, however, going to make you dearly regret hitting me in the head with a rock."

He managed to look relieved and a little more frightened both at the same time.

"For the next 24 hours you will not be a pony. You will merely be a household slave. An object, nothing more. If I need or want something, you will fetch it. If I make a mess, you will clean it up. You will prepare my food but you will not be dining with me. When you eat it will be nothing but kibble and water. Your dish will be on the floor by your rug and you will not make a mess or I will stripe you. If I am going somewhere you will be right behind me at the end of your leash. If I am sitting down you will be on your hands and knees in front of me, offering your back as a footrest."

"The only thing you will not be providing for me is sexual relief. If I find myself needing release I will either take care of it myself or call somebody else over here to attend to my needs. And you will sit and watch, either way."

"This morning you were one of my beloved ponies. An object of desire. Every time I saw you I wanted to take you to my bed and make love to you and that exquisite body of yours. Today and for the next 24 hours you are nothing more than a piece of furniture to me." Daniel hung his head and a little sob escaped his lips.

"If I wanted to make this easy on you, I would just beat you and have it over with. But that would be much too easy. You will learn to control yourself, Daniel. You will not be a danger to anybody else because of your temper." I softened my voice and added "I have always been proud of you, Daniel. And I want the chance to be proud of you again."

"Now," I said "Before we begin I offer you the last chance to speak before tomorrow evening. Do you have anything to say?"

Daniels chin quivered and his eyes were brimming again. He looked at me and whispered "I want you to be proud of me again, Master."

Six

For all of that evening I kept Daniel busy doing one thing or another. He brewed a pot of coffee and I employed a little toy I had been waiting to find a good use for. It was a tray that strapped around his waist and connected to his collar by a chain. He was instructed to place a cup of coffee on the tray and walk back to me with his hands behind his back. He was also assured of dire consequences to his tender backside if he spilled so much as a drop.

I sat at my desk for awhile catching up on some of my emails and he was on all fours in front of me with my feet propped up on his back while I held the keyboard in my lap and typed.

Although Daniel had been working in a diner when I took him, he knew nothing about working in a kitchen and was pretty much hopeless when it came to preparing food. I assured him that he would be learning from Sarabeth and Gael in the very near future. After a few false starts and messes, I settled for a grilled ham and cheese sandwich and a bowl of tomato soup. I wasn't really all that hungry, anyway. But I knew I had to eat something and it was soft enough I could eat it without hurting my head. Daniel knelt with his head and hands locked into the center of my new little table while I ate. Like Wendy, I set a glass of water with a straw by his head so he could drink. And also like Wendy, I couldn't resist running my foot up and down the inside of his thigh while I made my way through my meal. He wriggled and groaned a few times at my touch.

"Are you hard, Daniel?" He nodded.

"Don't you wish you could climb into bed with me after dinner?"