Beast of Burden

The story of Nala

Nala’s life as a pony has become a routine, tied to the rhythm of the mining enclave and its needs. For two years, she has been working tirelessly, pulling the village's supply cart on the long, arduous journey to the mine and returning with the mined ore. The enclave itself is made up of hardworking men from the tribe, their focus on extracting the rich ore deposits discovered in the eastern lands. Each morning, the cart she pulls is filled with the necessities: food to nourish the miners, tools to replace the ones worn from constant use, post to keep them connected to their families, and any other provisions the mine might request. It’s a heavy load, and the journey takes the entire day. By the time she arrives at the mine, the sun is sinking low in the sky. The next day, after the men have loaded the cart with freshly mined ore, she begins her return journey to the village. Occasionally, if the miners strike a rich vein or need urgent supplies, the village sends another cart.

Nala lives in the stall of the mining enclave in the main village. The stall houses at least 12 ponies, even though Nala cannot be sure, because the ponies are isolated from each other. Otherwise, they are treated pretty good. After their two days journey, the girls have a break of one day and will be massaged to reduce muscle pain and cramps. Moreover, the girls will be fed regularly.

On the downside, the life is boring. Left in the stall they have nothing to do, and their blinders are always closed. They will be rarely cleaned, so the only thing that keeps them company is their awful smell. The work is hard, as the cart is intensely heavy when filled with the goods. It takes four ponies arranged in two lines to pull it at a reasonable pace. And this pace needs to be kept, as the cart must arrive on time every day regardless of the heat or weather conditions. Even in an awful rain shower the cart must be pulled through thick heavy mud.

But today the weather looks friendlier, maybe a little too much sunshine, which will result in minor sunburns, but otherwise pretty good. Nala is led out of the stall to the heavy cart. Her blinders are still closed but she got used to it and developed some kind of sixth sense to predict the weather or even the mood of the stable hands. Both feel pretty good today. She is placed in front of the cart in the second row, now her vision is even more restricted by two female bodies in front of her. She recognizes both, even though she does not know their names. For today’s standards those two backsides are regarded as bombshell material. They own a thin athletic body and, through the tip toe position, they got incredible long muscular legs and a well-formed ripped ass. The only downside is their scarred and marked skin. Nala also recognizes the pony next to her. Her name is Tara and they both were converted to ponies in the same season. Through that they worked together in one row multiple times already. This is a good thing, as blind communication is a key in pulling this heavy cart and each pony has worked with Nala in the past time.

When each pony is in their position and the cart is fully loaded, each girl gets a little breakfast in the form of a hardboiled egg, pealed and fully shoved in their mouth. While working the ponies should not eat a big portion of food but a lot of little snacks distributed over the day. This is the signal that their journey will soon start. Like synchronized each pony now spread their legs and do their business. Like every pony in the tribe, they do not possess any sense of shame anymore and do not care that everybody could watch. With the last bit of egg swallowed and empty guts the workday starts for Nala and her “coworkers” by pulling on the reigns of the ponies in front.

Every pony knows that the hardest part is getting the cart moving, as it requires the most force. However, when all the ponies pull at the same pace and in unison, the task becomes much easier. This level of coordination demands a strong team spirit, where each member understands and supports the others. Thanks to this shared understanding and cooperation, the cart started to move with surprising ease.

The ground was dry and hard, allowing the cart an easy ride. The multiple carts that were pulled to the mine and back had formed a natural rack. The panorama is always the same and Nala recognizes everything immediately as she has made this trip over a hundred times. As every time it is an exhausting painful and boring experience. All she does is to watch the steps of the ponies in front of her to keep them synched to her steps.

Before the sun reaches its highest point, the ponies are allowed a first rest. The girls are watered and fed with sticky oatmeal. The noon sun will be harsher than Nala has forecasted it this morning. As soon as the girls started to move again, she feels the intense heat. All four girls are defenseless against the heat and the mighty sun. Nala knows that she will get a major sunburn on her chest again. The stable hands that accompany the cart know that in such heat the girls need more breaks and more water to prevent sunstroke. But nevertheless, the journey has to continue.

But only now, shortly before she is reattached to the cart, she realized that there are two more women tied to the back of the cart. Their hands are bound in front of them around the wrists and are then connected to the back of the cart, literally pulling them behind. They seem to be older than Nala and are completely naked, safe from hoove boots similar to Nalas one. Both of them own a big saggy pair of breasts with swollen teats. One even seems to be pregnant. Nala knows that some girls that fail to be a pony girl are used as cattle. They will be used to bear many children and their milk will be used as nutriment for the tribe. She does not recognize the girls, but her thinking process gets interrupted by the feeling of a crop that strikes her butt.

Through the many unscheduled breaks, the sun starts to set before the cart arrives at the mine. The stable hands know that the only way to make up for lost time is to take advantage of the coolness before dusk, pushing the already exhausted ponies to increase their speed and gain back precious time. This means for Nala and the others that the crop gets a lot more use to provoke the ponies. Nala feels her ass already burning from the hits and sees that the ponies in front of her also got a glowing red butt with blue stripes. They all know and have experienced this kind of procedure many times and know that each hit will hurt more than the one before, because every hit tears the skin a little more. Their only hope is to increase the speed and keep it to the liking of the stable hands, while keeping the rhythm and preventing themself from falling. But this gets more and more difficult, the legs are already heavy, and every step is painful. Nala cannot enter her ponyspace anymore, the pain overshadows everything. Her will is also broken only by the fear of the consequences and the expectations of so much more and worse pain, if she ever fails to please her stable hands, drives her and the others forward. When they finally saw the mining ground in the distance, it had grown too dark to even see the ground in front of them. The stable hands knew they had to slow the pace again, the cart now crawling along the rough path. The darkness filled Nala with fear, amplifying her sense of vulnerability. She could no longer see where she was walking, unable to avoid obstacles or uneven terrain. Worse yet, in her bound state—secured tightly to the cart—she had no ability to react to anything unexpected. The night pressed in on her, the shadows feeling thick and suffocating, leaving her exposed to the unknown dangers lurking in the pitch-black wilderness. It was different from the sensation of wearing her blinders. When they were on, Nala couldn't see anything at all and offered a strange kind of isolation. In the night, however, with the faint reflection of moonlight or the distant glow of the mine flickering on the horizon, there was always just enough movement visible to unsettle her. The shifting shadows, barely perceptible shapes in the darkness, made her feel more exposed. Every flicker, every vague outline, heightened her fear, as if something unseen could jump out at any moment. The small glimpses of the unknown were more terrifying than complete blindness.

When they finally arrived at the mine, Nala was not only physically exhausted but also mentally. As soon as the stable hands allowed the ponies to stop, she fell to the ground as much as the reigns allowed it, pulling Tara with her and nearly bringing the ponies in front of out of balance as well. She started to cry and sob uncontrolled. This trip was one of the hardest she ever had to take, as it leached her out in every way possible.

The workers, who had been waiting all evening for the cart to arrive, set to work almost immediately. First, the lead row of ponies was unhitched and led to the stable, followed by the second row. Nala, too exhausted to walk, was carefully carried to the stable. Their experience had taught them that Nala now required special attention to ensure she could function on the journey back. To begin with, Nala was simply too drained to pull the cart tomorrow. Tara and the other two would need a replacement pony, one that was always kept ready at the mine for situations like this. Next her mind needs to calm down a bit. The best way for that is with physical closeness and cuddling, therefore Nala is brought to the human cattle. Those individuals are even lower than the ponies and are held together in one stable chamber to comfort each other. As soon as Nala is brought to them, she feels the comforting bodies pressed onto her sweaty and dirty flank. The touch of another human body in such a cozy way calms her immediately. One of them even offers her a teat and Nala is able to drink as much as she needs. Saturated, warm and comforted, it does not take long for her to fall asleep. 

to be continued....