Bernard Williams is a sick man. Unfortunately for him, he's been sick his entire life. No, not sick in the head but physically sick. You see, he was born with a rare condition that destroys all the joints in his body; very slowly, but very surely. This degenerative disease is not contagious, but it's not curable either. The 33 years he's been on this Earth have not been easy. He's only about 120 lbs, with brown, balding hair and a very fair complexion from being inside most of his life.

When he was a boy he could walk with the help of leg braces and crutches. Those days are long gone and now he's confined to his wheelchair. The tiny dump of a place that he's forced to call home has been modified to help a disabled person live as normally as possible. Still, it can be difficult when you're living half as tall as everyone else.

Lately, Bernard has started having problems with his speech. It's just the latest round in a fight that he has no chance of winning.

The pain that he feels on a daily basis can be excruciating. Like many crippled people, he has good days and bad days. Today is a good day, it's Tuesday. He's been completely pain-free for the last four Tuesday mornings in a row.

Sara Billingsly is a 22 year old senior here at the local University. She'll be graduating in the spring with her BA in nursing and is looking forward to getting out there in the world to make her mark.

You see, all her life Sara has been a giver. She took in all the sick animals that came around, was active in church, helped with the elderly and on school projects. This was in-between her studies and the many athletic activities that she was involved in. Yessir, her life has been pretty full for as long as she can remember.

She's driving along in her little convertible car looking like the all-American girl. The thick, long, gorgeous blond hair is put in a classic pony-tail as it blows in the breeze. Sara is wearing her favorite UCF jersey, sneakers, and a pair of shorts that show off her strong, never-ending legs. At a cool 6'1", 155 lbs, blue eyes, with a beautiful inviting smile, she always gets plenty of looks from admirers. She sure gets plenty of other kinds of looks from opposing volleyball players when she blasts them for yet another kill shot. The athletic scholarship she received from the college certainly helped out with the high price of tuition.

Sara pulls into her destination and goes to ring the doorbell. It takes a few minutes for the answer but eventually the door opens up.

"Hi Bernard! Are you ready?" she asks with a huge beaming smile. Then she leans over to give the man a big hug as he answers back, "Yyyes, I am. I'm feeling much better nnow, thank you."

"Great, let's get a move on then! Out you go." She then pushes the wheelchair to her car, opens the door and helps him get into the front seat.

"Hey Bernard, check out these cool sunglasses I picked up for you. Try them on and see what you think. Whoa, those fit you just great. You look super in them! It's really bright and sunny today so you'll need them. Always looking out for you, studley."

Sara pushes the wheelchair back into the house and locks the door. She then hops in the convertible, starts up, and off they go.

"Listen buddy. We're gonna check out that new place today that just opened up. They've got good selections and excellent prices. What do you say to that?"

"Sounds gu good to me. I wwant to get a nice ssteak."

"You got it ace, anything you want today."

After a short drive they pull on up to their destination. The parking lot is packed with cars. Sara picks a parking spot all the way to the side, kind of far away, right up against a freshly mowed field that will probably be phase number two for this development. "Looks like we won't be needing this today," as she puts away her handicapped parking rear view mirror placard. "NNope, not this time," Bernard answers.

Sara hops out and goes to the back of her car to pull out some things. First goes on her knee pad supports that she uses for volleyball. Then, she proudly puts on a bright yellow vest over her jersey and those magnificent breasts. The big, blue capital letters on the vest spell out only two words: SERVICE PONY. There's also the universally known handicapped symbol of the wheelchair on it. It's the same symbol that goes on car license plates to enable the owners to park in handicapped spots.

Next, she puts on the saddle pad and the special saddle that costs over $1000 even with the discount from the saddler. It's smaller than a regular horse saddle because it's designed for the human back. The seat of the saddle is reinforced, elongated and curved. This is because the saddle is used vertically on the human back and not horizontally, like on a regular horse; it kind of looks like the back of a shoehorn. Sara then puts in the bit and fastens the reins onto it. Her bit has a chin strap and a strap that goes back behind her neck to keep it in place. It's a very simple, yet efficient, set up.

After getting on her knees beside the open passenger car door, she hands the crop to Bernard and helps him to mount her. Bernard taps her lightly on her stomach with the crop when he's ready and Sara rises up. "Gget up nnow, pony," and Sara receives a light tap on her butt to move her along. She pushes her remote for her car which automatically closes the top and locks the doors as she heads towards the supermarket.

They go through the door and Sara grabs a cart. She pushes the cart while Bernard steers her with the reins. He maneuvers her over to the bakery as stunned shoppers gawk at both of them. The gal behind the counter is looking at them with her mouth wide open when she finally says, "may I help you?" "Nnnot just yet, thank you," Bernard replies. He lightly taps Sara continuously on her right hip with his crop. She responds by moving horizontally to her left as Bernard scans the case of sweet-smelling goodies. When he stops tapping, she stands still for him. "Those lllook really gu good, I, I'll have three, please."

The gal picks up the three Danishes and goes about the business of wrapping them up. Just then, a man comes up to both of them. "Excuse me; I'm Joe Morris, assistant manager of this store. I'm going to have to ask both of you to leave immediately. We're a family store and we can't allow this type of behavior here, I'm sorry."

Sara reaches into her pocket and brings out a paper explaining what her purpose is and gives it to Joe. He looks at it perplexingly when Bernard mentions, "are you sssure you want to throw out a handicapped person from your bbbrand-new store? Dddo you really wwant to go there? Ttthink about this."

Joe's mouth just hangs open as he realizes he may have bit off more than he can chew. "I'll get back to you on this," as he hurries off to talk to his superiors.

The gal hands Sara the package of Danishes and she drops it into the cart. "Tthank you vvery much," Bernard says to her. Then he reins Sara to turn, taps her butt with his crop, and goes about his shopping.

People are staring at them, of course, but many come over to talk. Bernard answers their questions to the best of his ability. Sara helps out as well. Even with a bit in her mouth, she can still communicate quite effectively.

A darling little girl about five years old asks her mother if she can come over to them. Bernard looks at her and tells the Mom that it's OK. "Hey mister, can I pet your pony, please?" "Sssure, you can. She's vvery affectionate." He then taps Sara on the back of her leg with the whip and she gets down on both knees as the little girl comes over. The girl starts petting her head and her face as Sara makes happy horse sounds for her. Then, Sara starts rubbing her face against the girl's chest. "Look mama, she's nuzzling me!" the girl squeals out. "When I grow up, I want to be a Service Pony just like you." Sara gives her a wink as she scampers back to her mom.

Bernard taps on her stomach to let Sara know to rise up. They then go on about their shopping.

After passing towards the front of the store near the cashiers, both of them can't help but notice Joe and the store manager pouring through the store handbook. Both of them laugh knowing there probably isn't a paragraph covering ponygirls! They get the hard stare from both of them as the store manager grabs the phone to make the big call.

After continuing through the aisle picking up Bernard's necessities of life, a younger man approaches. He's probably had a few drinks already as he stands there with his twelve-pack in hand, staring at Sara's hot body. "Hey there baby, why don't you dump that cripple and come over here to a real man?" Sara harrumpfs her disapproval and continues to push the cart. "Hey, I'm talkin to you, sugar. Why don't you tote me around?" Then he moves on over closer. Sara responds by lifting her index finger and waggling it back and forth in the NO mode your teacher gives you in elementary school when you're misbehaving. The man then grabs her hand, "c'mon baby, we'll have some fun." Sara's response is to stomp on his foot, turn around, and then lift her foot slightly to let the jerk know he's about to be kicked very hard. "Oww bitch, you didn't have to do that! OK, I get the hint. It's your loss, though." He turns around to leave, slightly favoring his non-stepped on foot.

A woman comes on over to them and introduces herself. Her name is Amanda; she's pretty, about 30 years old, and has a good figure, even though she's a little overweight.

Amanda talks to both Sara and especially to Bernard. They chat it up for about five minutes or so when she looks over at Sara and proclaims "Oh, I'm so sorry. I forgot that you're holding his weight. You've got to be getting tired now." Sara responds by lightly slapping her big thighs, shaking her head no, and then flexing her arm bicep like the traditional weightlifter pose. "Ddon't worry about hher, she's tough. Ssara really enjoys the workout. I'd nnever abuse hher. She'll llet me know if she ggets ttired" Bernard replies.

They talk for a few more minutes before Amanda says her goodbye. Before she goes though, she gives Bernard her phone number and asks him to call.

"Ddid you see tthat? Sshe wants me to ccall her!," Bernard exclaims. This certainly doesn't happen to the man very often. Sara beams her happiness for him even through the bit she's got in her sexy mouth.

After paying for his groceries, both of them head out to the front door. Believe me; they've got plenty of eyes watching them go.

Juan Rivera is the cub reporter on the local news station. He's young and just starting his career, so all the crap assignments go to him. Cat in a tree, storm drain backed up, tree falls on car, and especially, grand openings seem to all have his name on it. He's covering another opening of a new supermarket when lo and behold, look what is coming out of the front door!

Juan can hardly believe his eyes when this stunning blond comes walking out carrying a man sitting in a saddle on her back! This dreary assignment has just gotten way more interesting.

"Excuse me sir and miss, would you be willing to tell our viewers exactly what is going on here? I'm sure everyone is curious about this," Juan asks. He's crossing his fingers and just praying that they will agree to an interview. "I'm Juan Rivera, from WESH news team. Can we tell your story?"

Bernard looks down to Sara, "what ddo yyou think? I'm ggame if yyou are."

Sara thinks about it for a moment and realizes the time is probably right. There are four girls in the state that have been trying out this experimental program of rehabilitation. It's only been a month now and obviously, there're still many bugs to be worked out, but maybe this interview can be a good thing.

She pulls the bit from her mouth and looks at Juan. "OK, but only if you don't cut too much out and tell the entire meaning of what we're doing. Is that all right with you?"

"Trust me; I'll give you as much time as I can. I think our viewers are really going to be interested in what you two have to say."

They move on over towards the field and Juan holds the microphone up to Sara and Bernard as the cameraman counts down, "three, two, one and go."

Juan goes into his start-up spiel, introduces Sara and Bernard, and then starts to ask the serious questions: "just what is this all about, Sara? Why the kooky get-up?"

Just that line of questioning immediately irritates her as she responds, "it's not kooky, Juan (sarcastic tone on his name.) You have to understand that this is a form of both physical and mental therapy. Bernard is confined to a wheelchair and can't walk. By me carrying him, he can enjoy what normal people do every single day. Instead of constantly looking at people's belt buckles or straining his neck to look up at a person's face, he can actually look them in the eyes as an equal. In my case, he looks down at them because of my height. This is a very powerful experience for a wheel-chair bound person."

"OK, I can see that. Tell me Bernard, I notice you have a whip. Do you beat Sara on a regular basis?"

Both Sara and Bernard laugh at this stupid statement. "Of course nnot, Juan. The wwhip is simply a form of ccomunication to hher. I'll ddemonstrate in a minute ffor you and the viewers. She's mmy friend, I'd nnever hurt her."

"Listen Juan, what I do for Bernard I do out of compassion and caring. I'm not in it for pay or because I'm forced to do it. We, at the Service Pony Association, believe that this is a legitimate form of therapy. We have taken what has been a secret, behind closed doors fetish, and are making something good out of it. I'm very proud of what I'm doing and will continue to strive for recognition of this valuable medical procedure," Sara proclaims.

"Juan, you hhave no idea wwhat it's like to llive like this. It's difficult to ffind any friends at all. Mmost people shun mme and look away. Hhow would you feel if people avoided you llike you were a Leper? Today, mmore people talked to me than would've in an yyear's time. I ggot to look ddirectly into people's faces. This is a big tthing for mme."

"Perhaps I've been a little too judgmental. I apologize for some insensitivity on my part. Could you tell us and show us some more Sara?" Juan asks.

A crowd has been gathering all during the interview. There're about forty people watching with more on the way as they park their cars and come out of the supermarket. It seems no one wants to be left out of this spectacle.

"Of course, Bernard has a disease that destroys his joints. He used to be able to walk with the help of braces and crutches. Sadly, the degenerative process has taken that away from him."

"Yyes, I could walk as a kkid. However, my braces didn't fall apart and I ccould magically run like Forest Gump's did. Just the opposite happened tto me."

"You're going to run right now though. C'mon Bernard, it's time to show everyone what we can do together. It's showtime, buddy!" Sara exclaims as she puts the bit back into her mouth.

The larger crowd starts to buzz as it hears what the sexy blond just said. They all want to watch what happens next.

Sara reaches back to wrap her arms around Bernard's legs to help steady him. Both she and Bernard are now ready as he gives the command, "Giddy up, pony!" A couple of good swats from his crop and his steed is off and running.

She hops easily over the curb into the field with Bernard lightly using the crop on her fine ass. He maneuvers her with flawless precision on some turns. Then he stops her with a rein pull. A light tap on her back leg and she drops to both her knees, another tap on her stomach and his pony stands up quickly. A few taps on her right hip to move her to the side and then WHAP on her butt as the fine blond is again running at a good clip.

The audience is buzzing with excitement as they watch the two work in perfect tandem. All eyes and the camera are following their every step as Bernard maneuvers Sara into the parking lot while she runs at full speed.

Just then a man walks up to Juan and grabs the microphone as he stands in front of the cameraman. "Hello everyone, I'm Farley Finkelstein, district manager of Save Some Dough supermarket and bakery. I just want to say emphatically that our chain absolutely, positively," just then Bernard has Sara jump over a car parking stop and then up and over the curb back into the field as the crowd oohs and ahhs over the maneuver. There's about 100 people watching now and they all erupt into a big applause. Finkelstein looks over at them with his mouth open when he stammers out the words, "has no problem whatsoever with Service Ponies and their handicapped riders. We believe this valuable program is extremely helpful to the persons involved. I'll be talking to the board of directors soon to see how we can become part of this exciting new therapy. In the meantime, let me tell the TV viewers about our grand opening specials right here at the newest Save Some Dough store on Michigan Avenue in the South Side shopping center."

Juan interrupts as he wrestles the microphone away from Finkelstein, "thank you for your thoughts and we'll get back to you."

"Did you see how effortlessly Sara took those two jumps, everyone? Mind you, this is with a full-grown man on her back! I'd say this lovely young lady is as athletic as they come and here they come now back over to us."

Sara is breathing a little heavy as Bernard reins her to a stop. "Whoa, pponygirl. Gu good girl! You did great."

She pops the bit out of her mouth and starts to catch her breath. "Hey Bernard, how's it feel to be able to run now?"

"Ggreat! I, I'm 33 years old and tthis is the closest I've ever come tto actually running. What a a beautiful feeling it is. Thank yu you so much," he answers as he wipes away a small tear from his cheek.

"You're so very welcome, I was happy to do it. You can see Juan how important this is to disabled people. This man has never run his entire life and I was able to help him to experience this through my legs. This also helps work out unused muscles and is a great emotional boost for him. If anyone is interested in helping out, the e-dress is Servicepony.com or you can call 407-Service. OK Bernard, we've got more errands to run. Off you go. Thank you Juan, for listening to us."

Sara taps the remote to her car and the top starts to come down and the doors unlock. She then helps Bernard into the front seat as onlookers start loading their groceries into the convertible for them. Sara looks over at Juan, "your turn," pops the bit back into her mouth and gives him the come hither motion with her index finger. Juan hesitates somewhat but figures what the hell, and mounts the hot blond. Sara gives him a very spirited lap around the field with the camera rolling as he reins her to a stop, "this is Juan Rivera, WESH news, with Sara Billingsly, Service Pony. Thank you all for watching."

Sara and Bernard make a couple of other stops on the way back home with equal amazement from the other store patrons. It's been about one hour since the interview with Juan. Just then, her cell phone goes off and she answers it. The voice on the other end is Barbara Spear. She's one of Sara's professors at UCF and is heading up the experimental Service Pony program.

"Sara, I just saw the interview on the Noon News. You two were great. The phone has started ringing off the hook! People are volunteering all types of things. Two of the sororities from UCF have signed up to be Service Ponies. I've got a saddle shop interested in making the saddles for cost. A local paper is willing to give us advertising for free. Best of all though, Sixty Minutes called and wants to do a story on us! This is fantastic, and we owe it all to you and your idea of becoming a Service Pony. What do you think about all this, Sara?"

"That's fabulous! I'll see you this afternoon after I drop off Bernard. Goodbye, Barbara."

All of this is of course, great news for Sara and she's very happy about it. However, there's one thing that brings her even more joy: simply looking over at Bernard and seeing the smile on his face. That's the thing that Sara loves the most.

The End