As usual, Janey was exhausted when they reached the creek. Sweat streamed down her nearly-naked body from the late-spring heat wave, though a sanitary napkin tucked under the forehead strap of her bridle prevented the perspiration from getting into her eyes. Master got out of the cart, unhitched the young ponygirl from the front, and led her to a tree, where he tied her reins to a limb slightly above her head. He took out a bottle of Gatorade and attached it to the front of her harness before getting his fishing gear. The tall, athletic, small-breasted blonde sipped slowly from the straw he had placed between her bit and upper teeth as she watched him stroll down to the banks.

Only a year before, Janey had been a college freshman training for a track meet, jogging down the quiet country roads surrounding the campus. It was a beautiful spring morning, perfect for taking in the fresh rural air, quiet atmosphere, and lush vegetation. She knew she shouldn't have been running alone, but then again, maybe it wouldn't have made any difference. She had been snared in a trap like a small animal and taken by an older man to a farm, where she had been stripped, held prisoner, and trained like a pony.

Of course, she had resisted, but it did no good. He was very strong, and kept a close eye on her. She was kept naked, bound, and under lock and key. It seemed only a matter of time before someone came looking for her, and she would be freed, but it never happened. He seemed to own a large parcel of land, and they never left it, never encountered another human being. Hope led to despair, and then grudging acceptance of her fate.

It could have been worse. He never molested her, he fed her well, and he kept her clothed, even if only in sports bras and thong panties. In winter, he dressed her in a moisture-wicking catsuit and bondage hood to keep her warm. Still, she could never get used to the creepy feeling of him bathing her, dressing her, and taking care of her most intimate needs.

Under the cooling shade, she soon stopped sweating, and the sports drink gave her strength. The ponygirl looked around. Master was nowhere to be seen, and she knew he would be gone for a few hours, at least. The only sound was the buzzing of insects and the sighing of the wind. It was time to make her move.

The reins were tied loosely right above her head. She had been planning and preparing for this for months. Janey crouched down as far as the reins would let her and jumped.

Her first few attempts were failures, as she banged her lips and nose on the rough bark, but on the fifth try her lips grabbed a loose loop of leather, yanking it down a couple inches. The second one was a little harder, taking nearly two dozen tries before that one hung slackly. The hard part was almost over. After another ten minutes, she had pulled them down to where she could work away at them without jumping or stretching. Thank God he no longer hobbled her legs. Janey backed away from the tree, tugging at the reins with aching mouth until finally they dropped away.

Free! She was free! After a year of captivity, she could finally get help and join the real world! Janey glanced around and listened carefully. Master was nowhere nearby. Now was the time to go for it!

The young girl struck out toward the nearest road, hoping to eventually encounter some familiar landmarks. She was hindered by the reins trailing behind her and the half-empty bottle of Gatorade bouncing on her chest, but there was nothing she could do about that, as her arms were bound behind her.

She knew she wasn't far from the women's college she had attended. Perhaps she could even reach it before Master realized she was gone. After reaching the trail, Janey followed it to a two-lane road, then headed east. Based on what she had known of the area and information she had been able to gather after her abduction, she believed she was headed in the right direction.

The ponygirl stayed off the road because she didn't want to encounter anyone who would take advantage of her, and she avoided seeking help at any of the farms because she didn't know if anybody was friends with her captor. He had been very careful and had apparently kept her presence a well-guarded secret, so she had no clues about the locals.

She jogged through the undergrowth. Though she had not navigated rough terrain before in her pony boots, she was finding it surprisingly easy. In a way, this distressed her, as it meant she had become so used to the unnatural footwear that walking in them had become second nature, just as she had become used to sleeping in shackles and bondage hood, or eating her meals out of a feedbag. Only the reins, which snagged on an occasional bush or rock, hindered her rapid progress.

At first, she was concerned about what a spectacle she would present to whoever saw her - a young coed dressed only in sports bra and thong panties, over which was an elaborate set of pony tack. What if they laughed, and Master was able to convince them that she was into kinky games and should be returned to him? Then she'd be a prisoner forever.

No, she had to find someone who would believe her, someone who would recognize the gravity of the situation. After all, she had been missing for a year. Surely, her case would be well-known by now, perhaps been the subject of a TV news show or best-selling book. And the anniversary of her disappearance was near, which was bound to revive interest.

Janey estimated it was nearly three hours before she encountered familiar landmarks. Her heart soared. Before the sun set, she would be free of the hated restraints that had held her body prisoner for so long, free of being treated like an animal. She would have to learn how to use her hands and arms all over again, how to speak without fear of being shocked by a dog-training collar, how to act like a normal human being.

And then through the trees, she saw the familiar outlines of the campus buildings - the dorms, the sports arena, the science hall. For the first time in twelve months, she felt true joy.

She heard voices. Yes! Freedom! But then she stopped. They were male voices. Shouting. Janey crouched down behind a bush and waited.

A crowd of women ran by - naked, harnessed, bridled, fear in their eyes, their bare tits flopping freely. Men on Segways shouted for them to keep moving. A few female stragglers sobbed uncontrollably as a few more men on Segways whipped them with riding crops. The ponygirl was horrified. What the fuck was going on here? Had the whole world gone crazy?

She backed up and circled around the campus. What she saw horrified her even more - naked ponygirls being trained in corrals, hitched to hitching posts, and pulling men in carts and wagons. No nightmare could ever compete with such a dispiriting tableaux.

Janey knew now that she had no other choice than to return to Master. What she saw had to have been just a small part of a major societal shift in attitudes toward women. To think that in the past year she had been living the good life was something she found hard to comprehend.

She returned to the main road leading to the college, and she saw a pick-up truck with a horse trailer parked by the side of the road. A familiar figure stood nearby, arms folded. She turned back to the college, and it was then that she saw the newly-erected sign:

               Female
               Institute for
               Lassoed and
               Leather-tacked
               Imprisoned
               Equine
               Sluts

So, it was true - there really was no hope. With tears in her eyes, she bowed her head and trotted back to Master, her pony boots clip-clopping on the pavement. She was vaguely aware of a truck pulling a large horse trailer as it drove by, and instantly knew what it contained. By the time she reached Master, she could barely see him through misty eyes.

"I thought you'd be headin' this way. Of course, the GPS in your tack made it easy for me to follow you. I knew you would try to escape eventually, though I was hopin' you'd be too smart to pull something like that."

He took her reins and led her back to the trailer.

"Normally, I'd whip your ass raw for pullin' such a stunt, but I see you've already learned your lesson. I hope you appreciate the kindness I've been showing you."

He guided her into the trailer and began strapping her in. Janey stood there docilely as her freedom of movement was taken away bit by bit.

"I had my eye on you a long time before I got you, and it was a good thing I acted when I did, or you'd be herded around and mistreated like your classmates. They don't know how to train ponygirls there. They think they have to break them psychologically first. Me, I prefer to use a kinder, gentler approach."

He finished restraining her, then put a blindfold over her eyes. The former coed could not see, nor move her body more than an inch in any direction. "Welcome back, sweetheart," he whispered in her ear before pushing the earplugs in. He gave her a pat on the butt before jumping out and locking the back gate.