Perchance to Dream

by David Silver

41 - Down on the Ranch

When we pulled up into the parking lot for the ranch, one thing jumped out at us. This place actually had customers, or at least a lot of workers. There were plenty of cars in that lot besides ours.

Starlight hopped out, covering her head with her arms. "Already starting to pony up, as Twilight used to say. Be right back!" She hurried around to the back.

"What'd I used to say?" asked the sudden shimmer of Twilight's presence.

Kevin made a placating gesture. "So you told her about the girls in Equestria High?"

There was a brief delay. "Your knowledge of my life is still unnerving... It's a good thing you've shown yourself to be a pony with good intentions thus far. What about them?"

I undid my buckle and stretched upwards. "She's reapplying her human spell, and we're about to visit a horse ranch."

"She is taking notes of all this, I hope?"

Kevin flipped his phone out and pulled out a video of some of the things we'd seen at the last stop. "I'll be sure to get some good footage from here too."

"What a clever idea! I should have thought of that... It's easy to forget the magic of other races. Well, I won't keep you. Tell one of my quasi ancestors hello for me." The glow of her faded from the windshield, and we stepped out into the warm sun.

Starlight was there, looking less worried about showing off her equine attributes. "Is that them?" She was looking at a few horses milling around in a field in the distance. One was grazing on grass while another two seemed to be playing and cavorting. "They're not that different."

Of course, they were also very far away. "I imagine your tune will change once we get close to them. A horse and a pony are not the same creature."

"Not by a long shot," agreed Kevin as he looked around. "That looks like where we want to go." He had found the building that looked like the office and we headed over there.

Starlight's nose danced. "It's difficult to remember they're... animals."

"So are we," I countered. "We're just more polite about things."

The office had a distinct 'wild west' theme going on, clearly for the enjoyment of the guests, such as ourselves.

When we entered, there were two cowboys chatting about something. The younger of them, perhaps in his mid-twenties, waved the older off and turned to us. "Welcome! Now this looks like an interesting sight. No offense but none of the three of you look like you're serious equine handlers."

Starlight put her hands on her hips. "Appearances can be deceiving. I've handled more equines than I bet even you have."

"Oh ho! Some fire, that's good. You'll need it when they throw you to the ground. Are you here for riding lessons, trail hikes, just to browse, or are you signing up for a full vacation?"

I wasn't sure if I was entirely comfortable with his rough and tumble attitude. "Excuse me, but what kind of place is this?"

He lifted his shoulders. "That depends on who you are. We try to tailor the experience for the guest. If you're new to horses, we can take it light and easy. On the other hand, we pride ourselves on offering small group sizes and advanced hikes for those that are comfortable. We won't get up to a full gallop, afraid there are a thousand liability issues, but we won't have you head to tail at a snail's pace if that's not your speed."

Kevin let out a relieved chuckle. "You had me worried a second there."

"Why?" Starlight hiked a brow. "I want to see the horses, if you don't mind?"

"Just looking, riding, short, long?" asked the man. "Come on over here, we'll sign you up for something little missy. You said you have experience with horses?"

"Certainly," said Starlight with confidence. "Walking, trotting, cantering, galloping, I've done all of those."

I put a hand on her shoulder. "Easy there, Starlight. We're just visiting for today, so no extended packages. I think a tour of the pasture and the stalls would be more than enough, really."

"Starlight?" He set down the brochure he was about to show. "Well, if it's just a tour, we can do that. Fifty a head for a private, spontaneous, little tour. As it turns out, I have the time free today, so yer in luck there."

Out came the card. A car trip was not a cheap alternative, do not be fooled by anyone who says otherwise.

Starlight had her eyes on the prize, or rather the horses she could see through the window. "How do we begin?"

"We do what many cowboys have done through the ages, we walk." He grabbed a length of rope and some gear that looked liked it was for a horse and got to moving out the door. "This way." He led the way across the gravel to where it turned back into grass, moving directly for the horses closest to us. "Hard to miss you eyeing them. You want to say hello?"

Starlight got quite the grin as she danced ahead. "I do!" Her eyes only got wider as we came closer and closer and it became clear those horses were massive creatures. One of them trotted up towards us. It was a mare. I knew that instantly. I blamed my pony half.

She gave a little querying wicker. The oddest part, I understood it. Not like words. Horses did not have words. But I knew she was basically curious about us. She was relaxed and seemed to be alright with our presence.

Starlight looked over the great mare. "You are a large one, interestingly built..."

"Interesting?" Our host sounded confused. "She's a classic is what she is. One of our best." He reached up and patted her on the side of the head and the pony returned the affection with a little nuzzle and began sniffing at him hopefully. "Sorry girl, no sugar cubes today. Yer on a diet." She snorted with disappointment, then looked back at us.

Kevin stepped closer with less certainty. "Hello, girl. Does she have a name?"

"Black Zephyr," offered our host.

Starlight reached up and made her own little nicker of a noise. I could understand it as well as the horse. She was basically just greeting it, saying she was peaceful. Again, there were no words there. Emotions were all that were conveyed. Emotions were enough, and the horse allowed her presence. Soon Starlight was giving that horse a gentle hug. "This is amazing..."

"You say you're trained, and you have her relaxed like a pro, but you look like you're surprised by the whole thing." With a sudden vault, he was on the other side of the fence. "I'll get her tacked and we'll see how you do." He slipped the bit into her mouth and soon had the rest of the bridle in place. He grabbed a saddle that was resting on the fence and tossed it on the horse on top of a cushioning blanket. "Now, she's a good girl. You treat her nice, she'll take you for a smooth ride.

Starlight tilted her head a little. "Do we need all of...that?" She gestured at all the bits of leather and metal that made the horse ready to ride.

He blinked at Starlight like she was from outer-space. "How else are ya plannin' on riding? Did you have a pony as a girl or something, rode it bareback? You musta been spoiled something else. That ain't even good for the animal. No, here we don't do that." He hiked a thumb at the saddle. "If ya were trained on a pony, she may be a bit tall fer you. Can ya get up?"

The first obstacle was the fence itself. Starlight pulled herself up and almost fell right over the top. Fortunately, our host caught her before she could crash to the ground and had her back on her feet. He was laughing at the whole thing. "Ah'm gonna hope you ride better than climb. Here, let me help you up."

He offered a spot for her foot, then hefted her right up onto the horse, and almost off the other side, but Starlight grabbed on tight and pulled herself straight with a loud sigh of relief. From atop her mighty perch, she looked around with a grin like a giddy little girl.

"Watch it, ya look like a real greenhorn." He grabbed Black's reign and passed it up towards Starlight. "Get her into a little walk."

Starlight did not pull the reign. She reached forward and patted Black on the withers and head, making those quiet little sounds. She was giving some impression of movement, but it wasn't making the horse go at first until Starlight did, half by accident, give the proper tug. "She's very well trained..." commented Starlight with an impressed tone.

Kevin was videoing the whole thing as Starlight led her equine ancestor in a slow circle.

Another of the horses, a gelding, came prancing up to Black Zephyr and nipped at the mare without warning. Black gave a loud whinny of annoyance and looked ready to nip back at the male. Our host was moving to intercede, but Starlight was talking them down. Not actual talking, of course, but she was.

It was impossible for the host to not notice. "Where did you learn to deal with horses? Ya don't know how to handle the reigns, but calming them down, that you got down pat. Shoot, I hearda people just talking to 'em, but ah ain't never seen the like up close before. I usually just give 'em a quick swat across the nose."

Starlight bristled at that. "Why would you hurt one of them?"

"It don't hurt them none," he assured. "Horses can be physical and violent creatures. Ya just saw it fer yerself. A nip like that could have one of us hurt real bad, but to a horse it's just annoyin'. Some of 'em react best to a quick show of what they did not bein' appreciated none."

Starlight shook her head. "Well I don't plan to hit Black Zephyr here. She's a perfect mare. Aren't you? Yes you are." She spoke like a proud parent to their child and began stroking the horse along its mane, fingers dancing to scritch at the hide beneath the fur. "Where do you get them from?"

"Get what? The horses?"

"Yes. Where are they from?"

He raised a brow. "We breed 'em. Ya see, when a daddy horse and a mommy horse--"

Starlight colored a bit. "Y-yes, I know where foals come from. So all of these horses are foals of other horses you've had?"

By that time, I had found the way into the pen that didn't involve hopping the fence, but I didn't charge in there. Those were horses, real horses. I didn't quite trust myself to just wander among them and assume everything would be fine. He had invited one of us to go riding, not all three of us.

"Most of 'em. We got a stud on loan, but the rest are all ours."

"Stud on loan?" Starlight looked perplexed at the very idea. "Why would you want to borrow one of those?"

"Why not?" He shrugged. "He's got good genes, a real champion lineage. He'll help our mares make good foals. We're hopin' to win a few tournaments if we keep at it."

Starlight looked ready to object, but, to her credit, she swallowed it. "Thank you for letting me meet her."

He helped Starlight reach the ground and gave Black a fond pat on the side of her barrel. "She's a good girl. I wouldn't trust any other mare more than her to treat a guest right." He turned to Kevin. "You wanna go next?"

Kevin started with surprise, as if he hadn't actually considered try it. "Oh, uh, I'm the cameraman."

He didn't take a no that easily. "Come on. One of the girls can hold that a second while you give it a try. We'll take it easy, promise."

I offered to take over camera duties, if only to see him in there, and soon he was up and over the fence. Starlight was grinning at him as he came, "Just take it easy. She knows what she's doing."

"That's pretty good advice. You're not jumping or doing anything tricky. A horse knows how to walk, just let her do it and don't fall off." He helped Kevin up onto Black. "Now take hold here." He offered the reigns. "Failing that, grab the saddlehorn and keep your balance, but that shouldn't be an issue."

"I... god this is high..." Kevin was led along by the cowboy. As they went, his nervousness began to melt bit by bit. "This is kind of amazing."

"Ain't it? How 'bout we try a little faster?" With his own little nicker, he swatted her side and asked her to go into a canter, and she did faithfully, jostling Kevin in a new way as she circled the field with him.

The host came back to us, leaving Kevin to go for the moment. "I think he has it for now. So, what brings you hereabouts, just like horses?"

I nodded as I kept the phone directed at Kevin. "That's a fair way of putting it. We have a kinship you could say. We wanted to see them up close, instead of in pictures."

"What, a power animal kinda thing?" He raised a brow. "You're not the first, believe me. Most of 'em freak out once they realize what a horse really is. Still, yer posse seems to be handling it just fine. Wish all my tours were this smooth." He gave a sharp whistle and all three horses, including Black, turned and began ambling over to him. He petted each gently on the snout. "Alright, that's enough circling the field. Ya wanted to see the stalls, right? We'll take them in with us. It's about time to switch out the horses."

I hadn't gotten a chance to ride, but I wasn't really complaining about it. Watching them had been more than amusing, and I was ready to move on to the next stage in the tour.

Author's Note:

Oh... oh my... I thought I was far from the goal, nope, far overshot. I hope it's liked!

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Comments

[Booster Spice]

Ridin, ridin, ridin, keep those ponies ridin, keep those ponies ridin, faux leather.

[Gargon94]

Nice. I use to go horseback riding so I understand how some people feel about riding houses. I like how all three of them can understand what the houses are feeling, it's a nice side effect of being a pony I guess.

[Bloody_Tofu]

Fun chapter. Still waiting for someone to drop a "Oh your just looking forward to riding a mare aren't you Trueshot." comment to Linda.

[Daremo]

but one of the three - but none of the three

mid twenties - mid-twenties

cartrip - car trip

snorted with dissapointment - snorted with disapointment

grab the stirrup - grab the saddlehorn

---

Due to their extra-planar nature, Linda and Starlight must qualify as pony elementals. They both speak equish, and gain a +5 modifier when interacting with any sort of equines.

Now that that's out of my system, I like where this is going. Linda, Starlight and Keven are all thinking and making sure that there is no unavoidable drama or conflict to deal with, beside the challenges inherent in hosting a pan-dimensional pony as an unexpected guest.

[David Silver]

7981899 Only one riding typo, that's good. I did some research to not botch this up entirely.

[Wolfren]

Out came the card. A car trip was not a cheap alternative, do not be fooled by anyone who says otherwise.

It is a cheaper alternative if you plan and budget whatever attractions you are going to ahead of time. Not to mention the value of good memories.

[Warrior Kitten]

7981456
Not all three. Kevin can't.

[Gargon94]

7982798 Ok, thanks for letting me know.

[tsaukpaetra]

That's really cool she effectively has equine empathy. Not terribly useful, but hey, you don't complain about talents!
It was really funny when Starlight called the bog-standard mare "unusual". Also that she didn't catch herself referring to her pony habits, riding a horse doing the motions isn't the same as doing them yourself after all!
Keep going! ;)

[Daremo]

and pat her - and patted her

Can't sleep, typos will get me... found one more.

[David Silver]

7983073 A classic error on my part.

[Sylica telca]

Hm I wonder if starlight can create an anthro transformation spell?

[David Silver]

8169710 It would take longer, since it would be turning someone into something that doesn't otherwise exist, but I see no canon reason to say she couldn't do it.