Astra enjoyed her life as a quad pony-girl and wife. She trained hard during the day and lived easy at night. She and Tony were truly happy. Tony took her to many pony-girl events and she always brought home the awards. Her style, grace, endurance and speed always made her the hit of the show. Everything was going so well for Astra that it could only get worse, and that is just what it did. It started with a letter that Tony received one day from his father. Tony's father had been the groom of Astra's parents. Although he had not had a really high paying job, he lived frugally and had saved a nest-egg for his retirement. He had moved to Florida before her parents were killed, and had been living in a nice house in the Keys for several years.

His letter to his son told of the terminal illness that he had, and since Tony's mother had died several years earlier, he felt obliged to go to be with his father until he died also. Astra didn't want to break training or she might have gone also, but Tony had an acquaintance at the pony-girl club who he lined up to cover his job as a groom for Astra. Tony expected his dad to pass on fairly soon, and assured Astra that everything would be all right. And it would have, except Tony's arrival gave his father a new will to live, and although still terminally ill, he improved greatly in his day-to-day health.

Astra's life continued much as it had before, with one main difference. Jack, the new groom, came to work every morning and went home every evening. Astra spent the nights alone in the house.

As time dragged on, Astra's training session became a bit more erratic. Jack was often late for work, and was either high or hung-over. The maid had a vacation planned, and offered to postpone it, but Astra felt she could manage on her own. One day Jack was so stoned that he could barely pull up Astra's boot zippers. He tied her to the carousel, set the speed at a medium trot and went to sleep in the barn. Astra spent the whole day in the sun trotting around in circles, and was furious when he came out of the barn at quitting time. Instead of taking her tack off, he just led her to her stall and tied her reins so tight to the ring on the wall that she could barely move. Astra pawed the ground and whinnied loudly, but Jack just laughed and walked away. The last thing she heard was the sound of his truck speeding out the driveway. She was left alone, and knew she would sleep standing up that night. She was glad, at least that the water trough was full, and there was granola in the feed tray, and most of all that she was not wearing her mask.

Astra stood in her stall all of the next day, as Jack did not appear. Two more days passed, and still no Jack. Astra had given up trying to hold herself back, and had wet and soiled the hay in her stall several times. Fortunately he had removed her tail. The granola was almost gone and she decided she better ration it a bit. She had tried to undo her boots by rubbing against the sides of the stall, or by hooking the zipper on a nail, but the short reins prevented this. Although there was lots of water in the trough, it was warm and stale, and she didn't have enough line to get to the bottom of it. She knew that someone better find her soon, or she would die of hunger and thirst. In the afternoon of the fourth day, Jack arrived in a stranger's pick-up, with a horse trailer in tow. The man was short, fat and bald, and was smoking a large stinky cigar. He held his nose as Jack untied Astra and tried to lead her out of the barn. Astra tried to stop him and dug in her hooves as best she could. Jack yanked on her bit and nearly ripped her mouth apart. The man made some comment about knowing how to handle a frisky little filly, and then went back to his truck. When he returned he had a riding crop in his hand, and told Astra that he would use it if she didn't co-operate. Astra didn't move. One whack, two, three, four, each one harder than before. That plus the bit soon made Astra realize that resistance was pointless.

Astra was led to the trailer and tied in. Jack threw her mask in beside her. As they drove out the driveway, she saw Jack go into her house. Tears rolled down her face as the truck moved along. Why couldn't Tony have come home sooner? What was going to happen to her? And most of all, where was she going? After almost an hour on the highway, the truck turned into a gravel road, and it seemed like another ten minutes before it finally stopped. The man got out and walked to the house leaving Astra standing in the trailer. A few minutes later he returned with a woman and a young girl in tow. He put the mask on Astra, untied her, and backed her out. What a shock awaited her as she was turned to face them.

The woman and her daughter were both dressed in latex riding jodhpurs and tight latex tops. They both wore black riding boots and long black gloves. Except for the very large figure on the woman and the lack thereof on the girl, they were carbon copies of each other. They both had the sourest expressions on their faces that Astra had ever seen on any two people, and she cringed to think what was going to happen to her. This might prove to be the type of situation Astra had never wanted to be in. Happy Birthday Darling, said the man, and the girl came as close to a smile as Astra would ever see from her. The wife, however was not happy at all. She held her nose, berated the man for the poor condition that Astra was in, and all the work that she would have to do to get her cleaned up. The girl also held her nose and turned and went to the house. The man led Astra to a stall, and tied her in. She had water in the trough, but only raw oatmeal in the feed tray. Astra cried herself to sleep.

The next morning the woman came into the barn with a hose, a pail with soapy water and a large sponge. Astra pawed the ground and whinnied and shook her head in hopes that the woman would take out her bit, and let her talk, but that was not going to happen. It was clear that she was going to wash Astra down in the barn, in her tack. That had never happened before, as she had always taken it off and gone for a shower. Her new owners were definitely treating Astra as 100% animal, and she was very sure she didn't like that. She was also not too keen to be co-operative to this woman who dressed like a dominatrix and had a miniature copy for a daughter. Astra had to admit, however the the water from the hose did feel good. Her week of inattention had left her hot, sweaty and dusty, not to mention soiled. The soap and water made her feel clean again, even if she now felt waterlogged and clammy.

This new family, she could see, had a small hobby farm similar to her own, complete with barn and stable. The woman led her to a carousel, and the routine started again. After a couple of hours, she was detached and a long lunge line clipped to her bridle. The woman had the line in one hand and a long bullwhip in the other. She knew how to use it. Most of the time it cracked beside her, but when she least expected it, it striped her backside with unbelievable pain. The woman just laughed, and so did her daughter, who had joined her and now was watching the training of her pony.

This routine went on for several weeks. Astra was treated like an animal, correct that, mistreated like an animal, for the sadistic pleasure of her new owners. One day there was a change in the routine. She was led into the tack room, and there on the saddle stand was a small English style saddle. Instead of a belly band it had four clips that fit exactly into the D rings on her corset. The mother clipped it on to Astra, and the girl jumped on. For this event the mother had snapped on Astra's mask also, and the girl and her horse rode out the door. Actually, Astra didn't mind this new event, as she was a quad pony, and the stiff boning in her corset distributed the weight from her shoulders to her hips. The girl was not very heavy, perhaps just under 100 pounds, and the riding was proceeding quite well. Astra was trotting along at a steady pace, and beginning to really enjoy it, but the girl wanted to go faster. She jabbed her boots into Astra's side, and when that didn't get enough speed for her, she began to whip her with the riding crop. Astra could trot all day and not be tired, but, like a real horse, she could not maintain the gallop that was being demanded of her. She had the choice to throw her rider, risking injury to both of them, or slow down to a trot and take the whipping. She chose the latter. Finally the frustrated girl took her back to the barn, jumped down, and sulked to the house.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Jack had taken over the house. When the maid returned from vacation he led her to believe that Astra had moved to Florida with Tony, and sold him the farm. She had no reason to believe otherwise, but was very sad to lose her job. Whenever Tony managed to connect with Jack, he was told everything was going well, and that Astra had chosen to sleep in the barn that night and was letting him use the spare bedroom. Finally Tony's father passed away, and he headed home. You can imagine his shock as he came into the master bedroom and found Jack passed out in their bed in a jumble of sheets and blankets that obviously hadn't been washed in months. With fear and trepidation, Tony ran to the stable to look for Astra. It was a mess. Jack hadn't been in there since Astra had been sold, and her stall was just as it had been after her week of abandonment. Tony was livid. He went to the house, and dragged Jack out of bed. He put an armlock on him and led him to the large water trough and dunked him in. Jack woke up and sobered up in a hurry, and when he looked into Tony's eyes he realized he better co-operate or he might be killed. He explained how he had run up debts from drugs and gambling, and the loan shark was going to kill him if he didn't pay. He remembered seeing the man offer to buy Astra from Tony, contacted him, and sold her for enough to satisfy the loan shark.

Tony tied Jack's hands behind his back, tied him to the carousel and turned it on, and then went to the house to call the police. When two patrol cars arrived, he delivered Jack to their custody and after getting the directions, set off with two of the officers to bring Astra home. As they were driving there, one officer radioed to his headquarters to have another car join them, and when they approached the house, there were two police cars with lights and sirens coming down the driveway. The family came out of the house to see what was happening, and were surprised when the officers began to read them their rights. Tony had run to the stable and untied Astra. She stood up on her rear hooves and wrapped her forelegs over his shoulders, pressing her hooves into his back in a big hug. After as deep a kiss as can happen with a bit in place, he led Astra out of the stable toward the officers.

One officer was busy explaining to the family why they were under arrest.

Kidnapping, he said.

But I bought her, said the man.

Possession of stolen goods, said the officer. Jack stole her, and therefore had no right to sell her to you.

But we love her and took good care of her, said the girl.

The officer asked Tony to remove Astra's bit and bridle and asked her if she was well treated. Astra had difficulty speaking at first, but finally made it clear that she had been mistreated, beaten and whipped while in the family's possession.

Assault and battery, said the officer.

But she is my pony, said the girl.

Animal cruelty, said the officer.

But we paid good money for her, she is ours to do with as we wish, said the man.

Unlawful confinement, conspiracy to practice slavery, said the officer.

Will you two shut up, snapped the woman, before you have us guilty of every charge in the book. Astra smiled to Tony, perhaps there was some justice in the world after all.

One patrol car took the family off to jail. The girl was taken to juvenile detention and then to a foster home. The parents were held in jail until their preliminary hearing and then let out on bail. Eventually they were found guilty of several of the charges, fined so severely that they had to sell their farm and move into a rental unit. They were forbidden to ever keep animals or human “animals” again. By the time their daughter was finally returned to them, wearing the normal clothing of a teenager, they barely knew each other. Jack had been picked up and charged with kidnapping, theft, trafficking in stolen goods, and other charges relating to his poor treatment of Astra. The court also mandated that he participate in compulsory programs to help with his drug and gambling addictions.

Tony and Astra returned home to a terrible mess. The first thing they did, after getting Astra out of her tack, was to go to the bedroom and not surface for twenty four hours. The next was to contact their maid. Fortunately she had not yet secured a new job, and was overjoyed to get her old one back. Tony cleaned up the stable, with its badly soiled stall, and filled it with fresh clean hay. Tony promised Astra that he would never leave her again. Life finally returned to the normal routine of training and loving. When Astra first put her tack on again, they realized that they were now the owners of a nice little English saddle. They decided that if the family ever came for it they would buy it from them. Meanwhile, Astra concluded that it would be useful for teaching her children, or even grandchildren, how to ride.