by Van © 2020
		Chapter 5

What the hell?

Naked, tape-gagged, pony-collared, bound in the top half of a pony-harness, and with a leather lead clipped to her collar, Effie found she had been led into a large, luxurious bedroom tastefully decorated in the Modern style, like the rest of The Ranch House.  She assumed it was Kyler Drāgon's sleeping chamber.  There was a ginormous bed (of course), a conversation area with comfy-looking chairs facing a small fireplace, and a writing desk and chair.  A pair of closed doors led to what Effie assumed were a ginormous bathroom and an equally ginormous walk-in closet/dressing room.  What else could they lead to?  Also, a window-wall with a sliding glass door afforded a pleasant vista of the lawn, border of trees, the distant wooded hills, and the even more distant mountains.

Oh-by-the-way... a petite, naked brunette was sitting in a Modern, stainless steel, ladder-back, sled-base chair, and she was facing the bed and bound to the chair with black leather straps.  Effie and Tasha crossed the bedroom towards the bed, and as they came even with the chair's occupant (and not to Effie's great surprise), the prisoner-of-the-chair was revealed to be... Lady Jo Gladburn.

Jo's hands were encased in black leather mitts and strapped to the chair-back on either side and even with the seat.  Additional straps bound her upper arms against the sides of the chair-back—her torso to the chair-back, passing above and below her breasts and around her waist—her splayed thighs to the chair's seat—and strapped her ankles to the front legs of the chair with her feet flat on the floor.  Also, Jo's head was pinned back against the chair by a pair of thin straps snapped to the side-rings of her pony-collar.  Finally, her lips were sealed by a wide strip of Microfoam tape (like Effie).

Jo's eyes followed Effie as she padded in Tasha's wake, and Her Ladyship's tape-gagged expression was one of brave defiance.  Defiance, Effie mused, after six months of ponygirl crap and being singled out for special attention by The Dragon Lady.  Impressive.

They arrived at the neatly made bed, Tasha gave Effie a rather impolite shove—Hey!—and she bounced onto the bed.  Effie remembered her collar was set on "inside voice," so she added a scathing rebuke (in her inside voice).  "Mrrrf."

"Easy, Effie," Tasha chuckled as she grabbed Effie's ankles, folded her legs into a half-lotus, looped the pony-lead/leash around her ankles, and pulled out the slack.

"Mrrrf," Effie reiterated... then repeated the complaint—"Mrrrf!"—in a slightly more emphatic manner.  The gesture cost her a low-level shock, but she decided it was worth it.  Effie was now sitting on the mattress, balanced on her butt and crossed legs, and leaning forward in a mild crunch.  She watched as Tasha took a second loop around her ankles, then secured the leash with a flat, well-compacted hitch.

"There," Tasha purred as she stood upright, took a step back, placed her hands on her hips, and smiled (gloated).  "Now, you girls play nice with Mistress," she quipped, then turned and strolled from the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Effie heaved a tape-gagged sigh.  'Play nice with Mistress.'  As if we have a choice.  Effie turned her head and gazed out the window at the scenic Western vista beyond.  It was late afternoon... possibly very late afternoon... possibly even very early evening.  The sun was low in the sky, but the overhang of the Ranch House roof kept its direct rays off the bed and out of her eyes... for now.  She turned back to Jo and her chair and noted additional details.

The cute little brass bells still dangled from Jo's nipple-rings.  They rose and fell, ever so slightly, as she breathed, but were silent... for now.  Four small, circular pads with trailing wires were adhered to Jo's breasts, one on either side of each nipple.  Also (Effie's eyes widened) something was embedded in Her Ladyship's private parts, and it also had a trailing wire!  All the wires—the four thin wires from Jo's boobs and the one slightly thicker wire from her pussy—trailed down to a black plastic box resting on the carpet beside the chair.  The box, in turn, was plugged into a wall socket by means of a long electrical cord, and a tiny LED light glowed red on its top surface.

The pads were obviously electrical contacts, as was the thing in Jo's pussy.  The setup had all the hallmarks of what Effie believed was called "electrical play," during which shocks were delivered to the one wearing the pads and phallic-probe for "entertainment purposes."  Effie wasn't personally familiar with such activities (not counting the ponygirl-shock-collar currently locked around her neck), but what else could they be?  And their presence did not bode well.

Effie gazed sadly at Jo.

Jo gazed back, still bravely defiant.

Time passed.  The shadows lengthened and merged as the sun continued its inexorable march to the horizon.

It was full night the next time the bedroom door opened.  The lamps on the bedside tables on either side of the bed flashed on and Kyler Drāgon strode across the threshold.  She was smiling, but largely ignored her captive guests.  Kyler's blond, wavy hair was loose about her shoulders and she was still wearing the same brown riding boots, British-tan riding pants, white cotton blouse, and designer scarf.  Her destination was one of the closed doors Effie had noticed earlier.  She opened the door and entered the space beyond, there was a pause of something like two minutes... then she reemerged, only now she was completely naked.

This was Effie's second opportunity to objectively evaluate the tan, toned, very feminine curves of their captor's body, the first being in the luxurious bedroom of that penthouse suite back in The Four Seasons in New York—but Kyler wasn't on display for long.  She padded to the second door that wasn't the door to the hallway and disappeared into that space.  About ten minutes passed, during which the sound of splashing water could be heard.  Effie penciled in labels for the two spaces on her mental floor plan of The Ranch House: (A) Ginormous Walk-in Closet (no doubt crammed to the gills with a fortune in designer clothing, accessories, and who knew what) and (B) The Bathroom Suite (with commode, washbasin, shower, tub, and possibly a sauna or steam room).

Still saying nothing, Kyler padded to Jo's chair, crossed her arms under her breasts, and smiled down at the captive aristocrat and personal nemesis/obsession.

The bitch does love to gloat, Effie thought.  And then, the bitch in question turned her gloating gaze to Effie.  Uh-oh.

"Such a pretty little thing," Kyler purred, her blue eyes focused on Effie, "but so annoyingly persistent."

Effie watched (with mild alarm) as Kyler padded to the bed, sat on its comfortably firm surface, and continued gazing at Effie's naked, harness-bound, and tape-gagged form.  "That idiot Eve should have given you the brush-off when you first started pestering the Gladburn organization for information.  That's Drāgon press policy.  If reporters aren't writing puff-piecees and giving us free publicity, they can all just buzz off."

'That Eve idiot.' Effie noted.  Eve Darlington, of course.  So, Eve and Kyler are, in fact, in cahoots.  She glanced at Jo, noted her unchanged expression, and surmised that Eve Darlington's status as a filthy traitor wasn't news to the captive CEO.

Meanwhile—"Mrrrf!"—Kyler had climbed onto the bed and draped her right arm over Effie's shoulder.  "Mrrrrr!"  Also, her left hand was busy cupping and gently squeezing Effie's left breast!  Effie squirmed and tried to pull away, but her bondage was a severe handicap (to say the least).  Also, Kyler was strong.  Not as strong as Tasha, but strong enough to control a bound Effie Dennings.

"By the time I became aware that you were snooping around," Kyler continued, "it was too late.  My first instinct was to have my people... shall we say... handle the situation."  Her hand continued kneading Effie's breast and the reluctant object of her attention continued squirming.  "Don't get me wrong," Kyler purred in Effie's left ear.  "I'm not a murderer.  You'd have been the victim of a brutal mugging and spend a few days in the hospital, and meanwhile, your apartment would be burglarized and your laptop and notebooks stolen."  She kissed Effie's left cheek, just above her tape-gag.  "But then they showed me your photograph... and I had a much better idea."  She shifted her hand to Effie's right breast.  "Brave little Effie, stalwart reporter, wants to find out what happened to Lady Jo Gladburn?  Why not?  Such a pretty face.  Such a pleasing little figure.  Such a perfect little pony-waiting-to-happen."

"Mrrrrr!"  Effie continued squirming and complaining, but not loud enough to trigger a shock from her pony-collar.

"Stop wiggling," Kyler chuckled.

Effie did not stop wiggling—"Nrf!"—or complaining (somewhat petulantly).

"Such a feisty little pony," Kyler chuckled, continuing to knead Effie's breasts.  "Allow me to explain the way things work in my bedroom," she purred.  "Ponies who are fortunate enough to spend the night with their Mistress behave themselves and do as they're told.  And if they don't..."

Effie watched with alarm as Kyler leaned to the left, reached out, and lifted a smartphone from the bedside table.  Kyler tapped and slid her way through a menu on the phone's tiny screen, then stabbed a virtual button.

"MRF!"  Effie's collar had just given her a serious but mercifully brief shock!  Her vocal reaction had been involuntary.  Also, her entire body had gone completely rigid in response to the pain.  It was all over in an instant, but had hurt like hell!  Effie would like to glare at her naked captor/torturer in brave defiance, but all she could manage was a little shivering and fearful blinking.  Effie wasn't terrified, mind you, but she was definitely scared.

"That was just to demonstrate the serious nature of the game," Kyler explained.

Bitch!  Effie was still afraid, but her defiance was slowly reasserting itself.

Kyler nodded towards Jo and her chair.  "And remember... there are three players.  Observe."  She stabbed the phone's screen, again.

Effie watched in horror as Jo flinched in her bonds and squeezed her eyes tightly closed.  Her bells tinkled briefly, then she relaxed and reopened her now sad brown eyes.

"That was only a mild shock," Kyler purred, "but my favorite pony knows it's only the beginning."

Jo began panting, shivering, and tugging against the straps.  As the seconds ticked by she flinched in her bonds several times, and on each occasion her bells tinkled softly.

"More shocks," Kyler explained, "with semi-random, unpredictable timing.  All low intensity, of course, but they'll gradually escalate to serious pain."  She planted a quick (and very unwanted) kiss on Effie's cheek.  "Slowly... intermittently... over a very long period of time.  And meanwhile..."  She pointed at Jo's crotch.  "Her Ladyship's steel friend is both electrified and a computer-controlled vibrator.  It will both punish and do it's very best to entertain Her Ladyship with waves of modulated stimulation, assisted by carefully orchestrated low-level shocks that are below the pain threshold but can definitely be felt.  Teasing, tickling, buzzing sensations."

Effie stared at Jo in profound horror.  Her fellow ponygirl continued fighting her restraints, and now her bells were quietly chiming nonstop as her breasts heaved between the straps and she panted for breath through flaring nostrils.  Her brown eyes were wide and fixated on Kyler, the continuing cause of her captivity and torment.

"Nrrrrrm!" Effie complained, appalled by Jo's horrific ordeal.  She shifted her pitying, desperate gaze to Kyler.  "Nrrr!"

"Just look at the hate in those pretty brown Bambi eyes," Kyler purred, smiling at Jo.  "And there's nothing she can do about anything.  She's my prisoner and completely at my mercy, and will remain my prisoner until I tire of watching her suffer."

"Mrrr!"

Kyler's smile became even more evil (which Effie hadn't thought possible).  "What's that, Effie?  You want me to stop playing with Jo?  You want to be the center of attention?  That's rather selfish of you, don't you agree?"

"Mrrrfh!"

"Oh, very well," Kyler chuckled.  "Stop begging."  She tapped the smartphone.  "There.  No more shocks.  Jo is still enjoying the teasing little buzz-shocks, of course, but no more painful jolts."

Effie watched as Jo continued squirming and tugging on her bonds, as well as panting.

"And the vibration, of course," Kyler added.  "It would be no fun without the vibration."  She then leaned forward, released the hitch in the strap/lead/leash enforcing Effie's involuntary semi-lotus crunch, unclipped the other end from her collar, and tossed the leather lead aside.  Next, Kyler piled the bed's pillows against the headboard and reclined against the improvised backrest, taking Effie with her.  Once again, her right arm was draped across Effie's shoulders.  They both had an excellent view of Jo and her chair.

Jo was no longer squirming and fighting her bonds, but was still panting and her bells quietly chimed.  Also, she had begun to glow.  That is, her skin was flushed and shone with a patina of sweat.

"This particular program is heavy on the frustration," Kyler lectured.  "It will take Jo a very long time to cum... but she will cum in the end, no matter how hard she fights.  And we have enough experience with this particular game for me to know that she is fighting."  She gave Effie's shoulders a squeeze, then kissed her cheek.  "Watching Her Ladyship's humiliation is just as much fun as watching her writhe in pain.  Don't you agree?"

No, Effie emphatically did not agree, but fortunately, Kyler's question was rhetorical, so she wasn't required to either lie or give the truthful response that would have earned her (and/or Jo) additional pain and humiliation.  We have to get the hell away from this place! Effie resolved.  We have to escape!  This wasn't a revelation, of course.  Effie was simply underlining what was already at the top of her things-to-do list.

"Let's relax and enjoy the show," Kyler purred, squeezing Effie's shoulder, once again.  "Shall we?"

Another rhetorical question.  Effie lay (somewhat stiffly) at Kyler's side, doing her best to ignore the unavoidable skin-on-skin contact with their captor while simultaneously beaming sympathetic thoughts in her fellow ponygirl's direction.  And Effie very much feared she wasn't being entirely successful in accomplishing the later.  Jo seemed to be increasingly... preoccupied.  As for the former, Kyler Drāgon was a loathsome creature.  Effie just had to hope she was being successful in not communicating the depth of her disgust for the perverted billionaire.  Let her think of me as 'feisty' as much as she wants, Effie thought, as long as I don't piss her off and she starts hating me the way she hates poor Jo.

Eventually, Kyler was proven correct.  That is, Lady Jo's naked, sweaty body went rigid in her bonds, her eyes squeezed tightly closed, and she repeatedly shuddered and flinched.  Obviously (in Effie's appalled opinion) Jo had experienced an orgasm.  Whether it was a crashing orgasm as opposed to a run-of-the-mill orgasm was another matter.

"She is beautiful," Kyler purred.  "Naked, her petite little body strapped down, her pretty skin dripping with unladylike sweat.  Beautiful.  And so strong.  Just look at the fire in those pretty brown eyes."  She kissed Effie's cheek, again.  "Feisty ponies with unbroken spirits are a lot more fun than simpering weaklings."  She gave Effie's right boob another squeeze, then whispered in her ear.  "Don't disappoint me, Effie."

What the hell is she talking about? Effie wondered, then watched with alarm as Kyler twisted away to the left, again, reached out and opened a bedside table drawer, then rolled back with...  Gulp!

In Kyler's hand was a wireless, wand-style vibrator with a rounded business end the size of a doorknob!

She wants unbroken spirit? Effie resolved, I'll give her unbroken spirit!

Before Kyler could react, Effie shrugged her shoulders and broke Kyler's loose hold, rolled away to the right, planted her bare feet on the floor, and made a run for it!  She had no idea where she was running to, but she certainly wasn't about to stay on the bed and let Kyler—

"MRRR!"

The pony-collar had shocked her again!  And it was enough of a shock to leave Effie stunned, dazed, and semiconscious on the bedroom floor!

The next thing Effie knew (clearly)... she was back on the bed, on her back, and Kyler was using a length of hemp rope to lash her right ankle to her right thigh.  "Mrrr," Effie moaned as loop after loop of rope tightened around her folded leg, all the way up to her knee, and the closely spaced loops were repeatedly cinched, tight enough to make her flesh bulge.  Effie didn't bother trying to fight.  She also didn't fight when Kyler folded her left leg and tied it in an identical fashion to her right.

Kyler then climbed back onto her bed, reclined against the piled pillows, and hauled Effie's helpless form up against her body and into a tight embrace.  Effie was pinned against her captor's body with her leather encased arms against Kyler's breasts and Kyler's legs around her waist and draped over her folded and bound legs, leaving her crotch totally exposed and vulnerable.

"It happens every time," Kyler purred in Effie's ear.  "No matter how patient I am with my new ponies... they always have to try."  She retrieved the vibrator and held it to the side, where Effie could see it.  "I'm not angry with you, Effie," Kyler continued, "but you will have to be punished.  Ponies need to learn obedience.  Ponies need to learn their place."  She clicked on the vibrator and it began to buzz.  "This isn't your punishment, naughty pony," Kyler explained.  "That will come afterwards."

And with that, the Dragon Lady proceeded to use the buzzing wand to gently caress Effie's band-aid-protected, pierced, and ringed nipples... both of them.  She then lowered the wand to Effie's flat tummy and upper thighs.

"Mrrr!"  It was a protest, not a moan.  Okay, it was both.  Effie couldn't help herself.

Kyler toyed with Effie's breasts and thighs and tummy for several very long seconds... then moved on to the main event.

"Mrrrf!"

The throbbing vibrator teased Effie's labia, gliding up and down the glistening pink folds.  Then, Kyler pressed the knob against Effie's clitoris and held it there!

"Mrrrrrrr."

"Isn't this better than being naughty, Effie," Kyler purred.  "Aren't you sorry you foolishly tried to run away?"

No! Effie silently retorted, I'm not sorry!  This sucks!  Totally!  And I'd tell you that to your stupid face if it wasn't for this damn tape-gag!  Also... 'sucks' might give you ideas.

The "massage" continued, concentrating on Effie's increasingly flushed, bothered, and moist private parts... then returning to tease her boobs, tummy, and upper thighs... then concentrated on her pussy, once again.  This pattern continued, but gradually Kyler shifted her efforts almost exclusively to Effie's crotch.  She also used her free hand to squeeze Effie's breasts—when they weren't being vibrated—and kissed and licked the exposed skin of Effie's neck and face.  She also nibbled on Effie's ears.

Finally... inevitably... Effie went totally rigid... her body quaked... and she "suffered" an intense orgasm.  It was unavoidable.

Kyler clicked off the vibrator and set it aside.  "And now for your punishment," the Dragon Lady purred.

ONE HOUR LATER...

---

The bedroom was dark, lit only by the weak, feeble, greenish glow of a pair of nightlights, one on either side of the bed.

Kyler was fast asleep on the bed, still naked and with her head resting on a soft pillow.

Lady Jo was also still naked and strapped to her chair.  The sweat had long since dried on her skin and she was no longer panting.  Her eyes were closed and she appeared to be asleep... or maybe dozing.  Suddenly, she flinched in her bonds and a shiver shook her petite, helpless frame.  Kyler had set the vibrator still lodged in her private parts to vibrate on low power for exactly 60 seconds every 29 minutes.  It was enough to wake her up, every time, but nowhere near enough to bring her off.  Lady Gladburn was not in for a restful night.

Effie wasn't in for a restful night either.

After extracting an involuntary orgasm from her new pony, Kyler had dragged Effie's still harnessed, tape-gagged, and frog-tied body off the bed and positioned her on her stomach on the plush carpet, more-or-less equidistant between the bed and Jo's chair.  She then padded away, gathered more hemp rope, returned, knelt at Effie's side, and set to work.

Minutes later, Effie's already folded and bound legs were bound together as well, and she was in a hogtie, a very stringent hogtie.

Kyler had used the D-rings sewn into the shoulder straps and the sides of Effie's pony-harness to weave a web of tight strands that pulled her shoulders back, bent her spine, and left her balanced on her taut tummy with her breasts and knees off the carpet.  The D-rings were part of the system that "normally" harnessed a pony so she could pull a cart, which meant they were perfectly positioned and easily strong enough for Kyler to craft Effie's rigorous predicament.  But that wasn't all.

Adding an element of overkill, Kyler had wrapped Effie's ponytail with thin cord, folded in back on itself, then wrapped it with more cord.  She then tied Effie's big toes together, passed the toe-cord through her bundled hair, pulled out sufficient slack to pull Effie's head back, then tied a redundant knot.  The hair-to-toes refinement was more irritating than agonizing (at the moment), and the hogtied prisoner could breathe without difficulty, but she was not happy.

Satisfied with her handiwork, Kyler had smiled sweetly and leaned back on her haunches.  "There.  Such a pretty punished pony you make, Effie."  She stood and padded back to her soft, comfy bed, then lifted her arms and reached for the ceiling in a back-arching, full-body stretch.  "Eyah!"

Effie's position was such that despite being barely able to squirm, she could see Kyler and the bed and Jo and her chair, so she was able to "appreciate" the spectacle of Kyler's nude, beautiful, stretch, as well as her infuriating smile.

"Oh by the way, ladies," Kyler said as she climbed between the sheets, "I've set both of your collars on 'hush' mode and slaved them together.  The means if either of you make noise that might disturb Mistress' sleep, you'll both be punished for it, instantly.  Good night."

And with that, the Dragon Lady tapped a button and turned out the bedside lights.

That had been an hour ago... one very long, increasingly painful hour for Effie.  She assumed Jo wasn't having a good time either.

Day one, Effie thought.  This is only day one.  She heaved a constrained sigh, then focused on Jo's dimly, eerily, green-lit form.  This can't possibly be the norm around here.  Jo can't possibly suffer like this night after night after night.  She'd be a broken wreck if she'd been tortured like this night after night for six months!

The stringently enforced immobility continued... and Effie drifted in an increasingly pain filled daze.  It wasn't exactly sleep, but it couldn't be called consciousness, either.

The painful limbo continued and Effie dreamed.  However... they weren't vivid dreams... nothing she'd ever be able to recall.

At one point she opened her eyes to find the dim green radiance of the nightlights had been replaced by the glow of early dawn shining through the window wall.  The drapes were open.  Effie was pretty sure they'd been closed before, soon after Kyler arrived in the bedroom.  Also, the bed was empty.  No Kyler.

Effie closed her eyes.

A little later... (Effie was finding it difficult to judge the passage of time.) ...she opened her eyes to find Kyler striding across the bedroom from the direction of the walk-in closet and towards the door to the hallway.  Effie reasoned the sound of the closet door slamming might have been what woke her up.  Also, The Dragon Lady was no longer nude, but was fully dressed in one of her hideously expensive and custom tailored business ensembles: tan high-heeled pumps, nude stockings, dove-gray skirt and jacket, and white cotton blouse.  Her blond curls were loose around her shoulders and a smile curled her lips.  She ignored her ponies completely as she made her exit and closed the bedroom door behind her.

Effie closed her eyes, again.

Sometime later... (There was that "time" thing, again.) ...Effie heard a rhythmic thumping noise.  It grew louder... and Effie realized it was the sound of a helicopter... and it was coming in for a landing... And then it sat there with its rotor slowly turning...  But not for long.  The engine whined, the thumping noise accelerated... and the helicopter zoomed away and faded into the distance.  Effie could see none of this as it happened, of course, but the sounds made it quite clear what was happening.  The noise faded... and then was gone.

Effie closed her eyes... then opened them again, almost immediately.

Tasha had stormed into the bedroom, wearing black riding boots, taupe riding pants, a black tank-top, and an angry scowl.

"She does this to me every damn time!" Tasha huffed.  "She flits in here, totally disrupts my training program, then flits back to New York and leaves me to put everything back together again."  She pulled a knife with a long, thin, narrow blade from her right boot-top, severed the cord linking Effie's bound toes to her bound hair, and returned the knife to her boot in one fluid motion.  She then knelt at Effie's side and began untying the ropes enforcing her hogtie.

Effie shuddered with relief as her boobs and knees settled onto the carpet and she blinked back tears as Effie continued untying the ropes binding her folded legs together... then untied the ropes enforcing the folds themselves.  The cinches and loops melted away, Effie's was now completely rope free, and she straightened her legs.  The change was painful, but welcome.  She was still bound in the black leather pony-harness from the waist up with her arms folded and encased in leather behind her back, but she was rope free.

Oh!

Tasha had lifted Effie into her arms and was carrying her towards Kyler Dragon's unmade bed.  She gently deposited her burden on the soft, rumpled, gazillion-thread-count sheets, and Effie stretched and squirmed, relieving her cramped and sore body as best she could.

"Stay!" Tasha ordered, then strode to Jo's chair and began unbuckling and releasing the straps binding the naked Brit in place.  She also peeled away the electrical pads on either side of Jo's ringed and belled nipples, helped her to her bare feet, then helped her ease the steel, electrified vibrator/phallus from her pussy.  Jo was still naked, of course, as well as pony-collared and tape-gagged, but at least she was out of the chair.

Jo's bells tinkled softly while all this happened, but Effie didn't mind.  The little brass bells were... musical.

Tasha left the tit-pads and phallus on the chair's seat, then took Jo's right hand and led her three steps to the side.  "Stretch," she ordered.

Effie watched from the bed as Jo carried out her orders, reaching for the ceiling, arching her back, and executing a long, full-body stretch.  Effie noted that the entire time, Jo's brown, accusing eyes remained locked with Tasha's.

"None of that, Your Worship," Tasha huffed, then returned to the scene of Effie's hogtie, picked up a length of hemp rope, and strode back to Jo.  "You know how she gets when she decides to honor us with her presence, and there's only so much I can do about it.  I'm not about to forget who signs my paycheck."  She spun Jo around, pulled her hands behind her back, crossed her wrists, and rapidly lashed them together with deft competence.

Effie heaved a sigh and continued watching.  Obviously the "she" Tasha was referring to was Kyler Drāgon, and obviously it was the sadistic bitch in question had departed on the helicopter and was on her way to the nearest airport where, logically, a private jet would be waiting to whisk her to New York.

Tasha took Jo by the arm and led the naked, petite, bound, tape-gagged, and pony-collared Brit to the bed.  Effie gazed up at Jo and Tasha.  Jo and Tasha gazed down at Effie.  Tasha's lips were now curled in a smile.  Jo's lips were still sealed behind a Microfoam tape (like Effie's).  Apparently, Tasha was done venting about her employer's lack of consideration and was back to being her happy-go-lucky pony-handling self.

"I have to take Jo to the stables and see that she gets breakfast and is tucked into her stall for a day of rest," she explained, "but then I'll be back to take care of you, Effie, as quick as I can."  She turned and led Jo from the bedroom.  "Oh-by-the-way," Tasha added, pausing in the threshold and still clutching Jo's arm, "as you're our newest herd member, just a friendly reminder that every exterior door and certain of the interior doors in the ranch house are strictly off limits to any and all ponies unaccompanied by myself.  If you go near any one of them, your collar will shock the bejesus out of you, and that includes both that door,"—she pointed at the sliding glass door in the window-wall across the bedroom—"and this door."

And with that, Tasha closed the bedroom door and Effie was alone... naked, pony-harnessed from the waist up, pony-collared, tape-gagged, but sprawled on a soft, luxurious, exquisitely comfortable bed.  She decided to take Tasha's word for it that the sliding glass door and the door that led to the hallway were booby-trapped (so to speak), closed her eyes, and—

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