That evening in the stable, the others, all of who commiserated with the ordeal I had been put through, petted me. None of them knew of such a thing ever happening to a ponygirl but quite a few were apprehensive.

“If they branded you, Rainbow, then they could do the same to any of us”, Eden said.

All were pleased to see that I now had a real name.

After a few more days, I became quite used to my real name, and realised that now I had one, I was happier than I had been before.

Here, I suppose I should mention the stable girls who were all quite young, some obviously local girls from the villages on the Estate and some from England.

All were named after flowers and all the local girls understood English very well indeed.

Those from the villages were called, Petunia, Iris, Daisy and Marigold whilst the English girls were Fleur, Blossom, Angelica, Lily, Bryony, Poppy and Rose.

Work continued however, just the same, but I now knew that I had new harness and wondered when I would be allowed to wear it. It was at the end of that week that I found out.

Harnessed in some of my new harness I was put between the shafts of a light carriage, and then driven by Daisy to the castle.

Miss Black awaited and after I had shown my deference to her, she mounted the carriage, slapped the reins and directed me away from the castle along a track running through fields.

She kept me at a steady trot, allowing me to set my own pace, quite happy to just flick the reins across my shoulders from time to time.

It says a lot for my fitness that I was able to trot for so far that day. I had not, up until then known just how fit I really was.

I think I pulled Miss Black for at least 4 miles before I began to feel my legs get heavier and heavier and my breathing start to labour.

Then, suddenly I knew that I could not continue at that rate and it must have shown somehow, because Miss Black started a gentle pressure on my bit to slow me down, finally stopping me.

I leaned forward in the shafts, head almost on my breasts as I gulped air down past my bit.

My leather corset creaked as I drew vast quantities of air into my lungs.

The carriage jerked and my Owner stood in front of me, a small bucket of water offered up to my gaping mouth.

“Here, Rainbow, you have done better than I ever thought possible, so have a drink and I shall rest you”.

It took me almost half an hour to recover and all of that time; Miss Black stroked my body and murmured things in my ear.

“Clever Rainbow, you make a perfect ponygirl”. “I’m so pleased to have you now”. See what I shall do for you “. “I shall make you the prettiest ponygirl on the Estate”. As well as other soothing statements that indicated to me that I would be well treated and cared for.

At last, she deemed me fit for the return to Castle Brno.

The first half mile she had me high step, followed by a slow canter before settling me to a steady, easy trot once more.

Back at the castle, she drove me into the Servant’s Courtyard and dismounted. Immediately there appeared the usual peasant, complete with water and towels and groping hands.

As I stood, cooling down under a large towel Susan and Elizabeth appeared in the doorway.

I could hardly believe my eyes as they crossed the floor to me.

Dressed as though they off to a gymkhana, they both wore full dressage outfits, even to ladies top hats.

They smiled at me, and Susan said, “Well now, what have we here”?

“A real ponygirl, I see”, said Elizabeth.

Susan slid the towel from me and they started to examine me minutely.

When Elizabeth saw my brand, she became ecstatic, “Oh, my, look Susan, look what I have found”, she exclaimed, her fingers touching my still tender flesh. I flinched at her touch and Susan snapped at me, “Now then, Rainbow, stop that”.

So they knew about us and they knew my name. I felt really embarrassed at that, more so as we had worked so well together.

Elizabeth started to check my harness, inspecting my corset and commenting on the flower petal shaped bra cups. They checked my chains and bit and bridle, pulling on my reins to see how I was forced to turn this way and that. This they thought great fun.

My shooves they regarded with great interest. “So, there really are shooves”, said Susan and laughed. “To think that that Amelia thought that was an error”, said Elizabeth. Bitted as I was, I could not tell them that Amelia was a ponygirl as well.

Anyway, if I had tried to speak to them, I would have been punished.

It was Susan who dropped the bombshell. After all the comment and inspection, she said, “I can’t wait to try her out, Elizabeth, won’t it be exciting to be in charge of our very own ponygirl”.

Elizabeth laughed, “Contain yourself, my darling; we shall have to wait until there are less Members here”.

So saying, she turned back to me. “Now Rainbow, sweetie, we shall see you soon and we look forward to seeing how you perform”.

They left at that point and shortly after, Daisy appeared and drove me back to Home Farm.

At no time during that inspection did either of them give the slightest indication that they knew me and had worked with me, nor did they seem to show any surprise at all that I was here and not in London.

When, later that evening, I asked Bryony, she told me that because there was limited leisure pursuits at the castle, the Members Committee has agreed to buy a ponygirl for the use of the secretariat and that I had been the one decided on.

“So your name was decided on by Miss Black”, I was told.

Even though I was now Owned, I still spent most of my time working for the greater good; in other words,

the Members and the Estate.

Most days, my harness was the usual work tack, with occasional changes of bridles and bits and I settled down to a life in which I was not allowed to make any decisions.

All I had to do was do as I was told and do it when I was told to do it.

Then one day when Petunia was putting me into the shafts of a waggon, she tugged on my harnessing so hard that it hurt me. Without thinking, I kicked out with my shoove and caught her on the side of her leg above her ankle, drawing blood.

She cropped me hard for that and then went to have her wound attended to. I must say that I knew it would have hurt her, these shooves were metal shod and had sharp edges.

Another girl completed the task and I saw that she stood well clear of me as she finally fastened the last chain to my waist belt.

That day I spent in the woods with a peasant and I thought that was it. I forgot about the incident, but it seemed from subsequent actions, that the stable girl had not forgotten.

I knew by the way I was harnessed, early one morning several days later, that I was to be used for leisure purposes, but by who I did not know.

Petunia, the stable girl who I had kicked, appeared as I stood in the shafts of my carriage, gave me a rather malevolent glare before checking my harness and couplings quite roughly.

Seated in the carriage, she slashed her whip over my shoulder and shouted, “Move, Rainbow, get going”.

That drive to the castle was painful for me as she flicked me time and time again even when I was obeying her instructions.

The rest of the day was busy, for, as that day was the first I had actually been handled by Susan and Elizabeth, they behaved like little girls with a brand new toy. Which, I suppose, I was.

I was driven by each in turn in the morning, as they learned how to handle me. Then, after the noon break during which I was watered and rubbed down, they both mounted the carriage and drove me through the woods to several villages, stopping in each to wonder at the locals and the houses, or, rather, the hovels.

It was quite late when we returned to the castle and there we found Petunia waiting rather impatiently in the yard.

A quick drink of water, a hasty rub down and once more I was moving, this time to Home Farm.

Petunia was obviously angry that she was working so late and once we were in the woods she pulled me to a halt.

Stepping down from her seat, she tied my reins to a branch then stood back.

“This is the last straw, Rainbow”, she said, “I’m sick of you and anyway, I owe you for kicking me the other day, so now it’s my turn”.

Her crop rose and slashed across my hips, burning into my flesh as she laid stroke after stroke after stroke

Across my unprotected body until I was absolutely on fire all over.

I screamed behind my bit; I twisted and turned in an attempt to lessen the viciousness of the strokes and I jerked away from her as much as I could but the shafts were a hindrance and so was the fact that I was hitched to a tree. Even if I had been free, I knew I could not do anything other than take that beating.

Then, succour. I heard a voice call out, “What in the name of Heaven is going on here”?

My beating stopped although the pain and fire still burned across my body.

Drawn up beside us was another carriage, with Blaise and Eden in the shafts. Standing up in the carriage, a Member, hands on hips, demanding an explanation from my stable girl.

My driver, realising she was in trouble, replied, “Madam, Rainbow has been misbehaving a lot over the last few days and today it has become totally unacceptable”.

The mistress replied, “Whatever Rainbow has or has not done, you know perfectly well that you do not have the authority to punish her. Drive her back to the castle and take it slowly and I shall follow you”.

My driver cursed under her breath as she unhitched me, turned me round then mounted her seat and allowed me to make my back to the castle more or less at my own pace.

Back in the courtyard, I stood and waited as she dismounted and followed the mistress into the servant’s area. Blaise and Eden stood beside me, their eyes taking in the angry welts on my body and the seeping blood which had trickled down me during our return to the castle.

I could only stand; my head hanging low as I waited to see what would come next.

Two peasants appeared and each climbed onto our carriages.

A slight flick of my reins across my shoulder and I once more moved off, followed by the other carriage.

We made our way back to Home Farm, so slowly that by the time we arrived back at our stable, it was quite dark.

There, we were quickly unhitched and I was led straight to the Pamper Suite where I found Iris and Poppy waiting for me.

They made a minute inspection of the whole of my body then put me on a massage table and very carefully started to attend to my wounds. Washed with antiseptic balms, then perfumed salves and unguents were smoothed over my body and slowly, carefully, rubbed into my burning skin.

It took a long time for them to complete their task and when they had, the Farm Director appeared and as carefully inspected their efforts.

She declared herself satisfied and that night I spent in a room with a real featherbed and a standard of luxury that I had forgotten even existed. I slept the sleep of the dead that night.

For the next three days, I was rested, and had sessions in the Pamper Suite every afternoon.

On the fourth morning, I was bridled, bitted and shooved, by Iris before being led to a side room at the end of the stable block.

There I found Petunia, my attacker, strapped to a punishment block.

She now wore a bridle and bit and her blouse had been removed, revealing a pretty black lace bra enclosing her breasts.

Her arms were folded up to her chin at her elbows, her wrists secured to the bit rings at the sides of her mouth. Her legs were folded up from her knees, the heels of her riding boots touching her buttocks.

She turned her head as we came into her view, making gurgling sounds from behind her bit.

It was quite hard for her to turn her head as her wrists were secured to her bit rings and it meant that she put pressure on her tightly strapped arms as she moved her head.

I stood with Iris as we waited, my shooves scratching on the stone floor as I moved my feet.

Then, through the door strode the Farm Director, dressed all in black, from her rubber hood to her knee length high heels.

In her hand she carried a long riding crop.

Without saying anything, she strode over to the captive on the block and raising the whip, she slashed the poor captive stable girl across her tightly stretched buttocks. Poor Petunia hardly had time to realise what was happening to her; only time to scream and scream again as fire raced through her body.

Madam Director struck again and again and again.

The poor girl writhed and screamed and never knew from which direction the next blow would come, or where it would be directed.

Even though she had beaten my severely, I felt really sorry for her and just wished that I had not been brought here to see her treated so badly.

I tugged against my reins, not wanting to see the beating Petunia was being subjected to and Iris had to hold my reins hard up against my bit rings to be able to control me and force me to watch. I could only close my eyes, but not my ears as the beating continued.

Then it was all over. Madam Director threw down the whip, turned and walked out of the cellar as swiftly as she had entered, having said nothing at all.

Petunia was left secured immovably to the punishment block and I was led back to the stables, harnessed fully and joined a team of three who were leading more firewood to the castle.

And so life for us all returned to normal, if it could be said that we led a normal life, now.

I saw Petunia three weeks later, being exercised by William on the training field and one of the other stable staff told me that she had been ordered to serve a year as a ponygirl for her sins. Actually, when she was through her training and allocated a stall in our stable, I found that we got on really well together and at the end of the year, she asked to remain amongst us as a pony. Once she had been auctioned and had an Owner, she took the name Snowflake.

One morning, we were told that the twice yearly draw was to take place and all of our names were put into the hat, and drawn by one of the trainers.

This was a system to ensure that we circulated with each other, rather than only being with one of the teams, as we were known.

My name was drawn and I was told that I was to join Team 1. Others were drawn; some stayed in Team 2, and others moved with me to Team 1.

The morning was spent moving all of our meagre belongings to the other stable and being allocated a new stall.

I found that I was now housed next to Nyteflyte and Fyrestorm who shared a stall as well as an Owner.

Oh, how pleased I was to see her again and we spent the first few evenings catching up with everything that had happened to us since our days in the secretariat.

Fyrestorm was with us the whole time and I realised quite soon that she was jealous of our friendship.

But it was oh, so lovely to actually know another ponygirl from our old life.

It was at that time that the Trainers had us paraded in front of them and told us that the Showtime’s were to start in the near future and that we were to undergo such things as Spanish Dancing, Concourse de Elegance and a number of other equestrian movements.

The Showtime’s were something I had heard about that started towards the end of the year, to provide winter entertainment for the Members and exercise and work for us.