It was just before lunch the next day when Maria and Melissa got back from the city. Melissa had taken Maria there so she could fulfill Joseph's wish to have her piercings redone.
She was especially pleased to find out that despite not having worn any rings for over a month, none of her piercings had closed up. All she had needed to do was pick up another set of rings, and with Melissa's help she now wore them.
At first it felt strange to have all that metal adorning her again, but the feeling quickly passed.
As they got out of the car in front of the house, Maria spotted Joseph in his wheelchair on the porch. With him was Robert, who had come over to visit. Maria was happy with the way Robert and Joseph had come together, for Robert was the only person she knew in town that approached Joseph's age. It also helped that Robert was the kind of person that wanted to be your friend. It was hard not to like him.
Coming up the porch stairway, Maria noted the half full bottle of whiskey sitting on the table between them, and the glasses in their hands.
"Joseph, you haven't!" she cried out. "You know your doctors told you to lay off the hard stuff!"
Any other man would have looked guilty at being caught out. But not Joseph Booth. Looking her directly in the eye he lifted his glass and took a long swallow.
"I suppose you brought the bottle?" Maria asked his drinking companion.
"Hey now, I didn't know it was against doctors orders!" Robert replied in self defense.
Melissa, coming onto the porch with an armful of packages, laughed at Robert's obvious discomfort, before going inside. Maria shook her head and picked up the bottle.
"You aren't going to take that away are you?" Joseph asked her. He sounded stone cold sober and again Maria wondered how he did it. She had seen him drink other men under the table while barely showing a drunk himself.
"Maybe I'll let you have some later." she replied with a sigh.
Joseph smiled. "Alright. Just don't go watering it down like you did the last time."
Maria blushed and Robert laughed.
"Was your quest successful?" Joseph asked.
"Very. All I needed were new rings, I didn't have to get pierced again at all." Maria said proudly.
"I'd like to see."
"Sure. I can show you later."
"No." Joseph's voice grew stern, his command voice. "I'd like to see now." Maria's smile faded a little and she glanced over at Robert. "From what I've been told, you won't be showing him anything he hasn't seen before." Joseph had caught the movement of her eyes.
Maria realized then that another aspect of her life with Joseph was about to be reintroduced. He had always had no qualms about showing her off to his New York friends. In public he would dress her in lavish gowns that, with her figure, would catch the eye of every man and some of the women that they passed. In private, that is with those in the BDSM community, her attire was usually considerably a lot less. Most of the time her jewelry would be all she would wear. At first it had terrified her to be so exposed in front of so many, but after a short while she took confidence in how proud of her Joseph was, and it also helped that she almost never heard an unkind word from anyone who saw her. She became a lot more comfortable with her body and eventually thought nothing of strolling through a crowd of people with nothing between herself and them but the clothes THEY wore. Now it seemed that he had no hesitation toward displaying her here in much the same manner. Yet what had grown to become so easy in New York, seemed a different matter here.
Her shyness had come back.
Joseph sat waiting, his drink now placed on the table at his side. Robert sat still, his drink in his hands, watching the both of them.
With another sigh, Maria put down the bottle and began to undress. All she wore besides her pumps, was a loose blouse and skirt, in case she needed to be pierced. In a matter of moments she had cast them aside and stood nude before the two men.
Joseph raised his eyebrows in admiration. Maria had picked out silver rings as close as she could to the original rings that Hiro Atamo had cut from her body. Except for her clit ring. It was smaller, barely big enough to fit through her piercing, but attached to it was a short thin chain about three inches long. The other end had a larger ring which Joseph thought to be at least an inch wide.
Joseph could see the affect this chain was having on her. As she moved the chain would sway and pull on her clit in a way that no single ring could do, bringing her to a low level of arousal that would be maddening in the long run. That she had chosen this herself greatly impressed him.
Maria took a pose, standing with her legs slightly apart and with her hands behind her head. The initial shock of undressing in front of the men had passed and she began to feel comfortable with it once more. Her smile returned and her poise improved as she showed herself off. Both men nodded in admiration.
"Come. Kneel." ordered Joseph.
Maria dropped to her hands and knees as she had been taught when given this particular command, and crawled forward to Joseph's feet. She then sat back on her heels and returned her hands to the back of her head.
"Here, I got you this." he said warmly, and drew out of his pocket a silver chain with seven large diamonds embedded in it. "I bought it a long time ago, and thought it was about time I gave it to you."
Maria held her breath in amazement as he reached down and attached each end of the chain to her nipple rings. When he let go, the chain pulled lightly at her nipples, arousing her still further.
Maria couldn't believe the gift she had just received. It was, in her mind, incredible! Joseph thought the chain paled in comparison to the beauty of the smile that lit her face.
Then suddenly she was up and in his arms, something he quite enjoyed as the naked girl hugged and kissed him with all her might.
Melissa chose this moment to emerge from the house again, and saw Maria naked and in Joseph's lap in what she thought was a lewd display of affection. Her estimation of Joseph Booth went down another notch.
"Are you staying for lunch, Robert?" she asked, pretending to ignore Maria and Joseph. Robert's reply was lost in the excitement as Maria pulled herself off her lover's lap and showed Melissa her new gift.
Melissa was impressed with the cost of the diamond chain, but that was about all. She faked an enthusiasm she didn't feel and left after saying she wanted to prepare lunch.
Robert did stay, and the noon meal was filled with discussion as to what Joseph would be doing during his stay in the valley.
Conversation grew strained when it grew obvious that because of his being in a wheel chair, the number of places Joseph could go was limited. Joseph did let on that he had ordered an electric wheel chair built to handle rough terrain, which helped. But it would be a while before it was delivered and until then Joseph was basically house bound.
"It's a pity." he said. "From what I've seen this place is beautiful, and I was hoping to see a lot more of it."
"Well, I don't want to push you up and down these hills in that chair of yours." Maria answered. For lunch she had put on her sarong, wrapping it around her waist but staying topless so that her chain could stay visible.
"Then pull it." joked Robert. That's when everybody but Joseph stopped what they were doing and looked at each other.
"What's up?" Joseph asked, once he noticed how quiet the table had gotten.
"How would you like a tour of the entire valley, Joe?" Robert asked.
Maria began shaking her head. "It's been too long, I might not be in shape for it."
"Nonsense!" Melissa said, the first real smile since they had come home appearing on her face. "You look fit enough to me, and I'm sure he won't push you very hard."
"Push hard how?" asked a confused Joseph, then it dawned on him. "Wait. You mean use Maria's pony girl rig?"
"Sure." said Melissa. "I'm sure Robert will help you into the cart, won't you Rob?"
"Anytime."
Maria smiled weakly. "It's up to you, I guess. I can show you at least the lower valley trails."
"I've never been a fan of pony girls." said Joseph, firmly.
"But at the moment, Joe, it's the best game in town." Robert countered.
Joseph took another fork full of food and chewed on it and the proposal he had been given.
"Alright. When can we do it?"
"No time like the present." said Robert. "The carts are in the barn aren't they? I'll drag one out and make sure it's working okay."
"And I can get Maria harnessed up." added Melissa.
Maria felt ganged up on, but that didn't upset her at all. "Fine with me." she said.
"Well, let's finish lunch first." Joseph suggested.
An hour later, Robert wheeled Joseph out of the house to see his lovely Maria in full pony harness. The sun was shining, the air warm and there was little wind. It was a perfect day to be out and Robert was glad that his new friend would get a chance to enjoy it.
Maria stood in the middle of the yard, attached to the pony cart and done up like she had been done many times before.
She wore a basic leather harness, not much more than straps crossing over her body with a wide waist belt and some supporting cups for her breasts. On her head was a bridle but without the bit gag that prevented her from saying anything clearly. On her feet were the pony boots that shaped her foot so that she was on her toes and made pony tracks in the dirt.
Finally, in her rear was the pony tail. This made Maria squirm and shake because it had been a while since she had worn anything back there, the last time being Atamo's chastity belt. Her hands had been bound high behind her back, almost between her shoulder blades, and the cart itself was attached to her belt. Left off was the usual blinder because for this trip she was to be the guide. The reins ran as usual down from the bridle, through her nipple rings (the diamond chain had been removed) and labia rings and between her legs to the cart. Joseph had to admit that she looked very good, her bound arms and strange footwear forcing her body into an S curve.
"Let's get you in there." Robert said, and with no effort at all the big man reached down and lifted Joseph from his wheel chair.
Maria couldn't look behind her to see Joseph placed in the cart, the reins kept her head movement in check because they were also attached to her nipple rings.
"There's a seat belt." she heard Melissa say, and Maria heard the click of it connecting.
"Now," Joseph said. "how do I drive this thing?"
Melissa gave him a quick run down of the commands and a few minutes later Maria felt the familiar flick of the reins on her bare behind and started walking. It was a learning experience for both of them. Maria had to relearn how to walk in her pony boots and the bondage she was in put strains in places she wasn't used to. Also the clit chain she had chosen instead of a ring was making itself felt very clearly indeed. She had known when she chose it that it was going to make her life interesting, but in combination with the reins rubbing against her labia it was exquisite torture.
For Joseph it was easier. He quickly learned how to steer and start and stop Maria using just the reins alone. He had been given the whip as well, but looking at the scars on Maria's back and buttocks made him reluctant to use it.
"Okay, Pony girl. Show me your valley!"
Maria smiled. "Yes Sir!" she called out and away they went.
It turned out to be a pleasant afternoon. Maria kept her pace to a walk and that, combined with not having the bit in her mouth, kept her from getting thirsty. It also kept her arousal to a manageable level, the action of the reins on all her private parts and the clit chain was very distracting, and she thought that Joseph kept the tension on them just to generate the feelings she was going through. Alan used to do the same thing, and that memory dimmed her pleasure a little bit, but she kept on going.
The load she pulled was easy to handle, so well balanced was the cart, and she even was able to navigate some of the medium grade slopes that wound through the hills on either side of the stream that ran through the valley. She towed the cart from one end to the other, occasionally climbing out of the tree belt into the open grassland in the upper half of the valley so Joseph could get a broader view.
He was impressed. The place exuded privacy and was worlds away from the crowds of New York where he had lived since leaving the Navy. Even at sea he had never felt this isolated, the hundreds of sailors on a warship made that impossible.
He was glad Maria had brought him.
He was also glad at being so mobile again. He couldn't admit to Maria or anyone how frightened he was at spending the rest of his days in his wheel chair. The couple descended to the valley floor and were part way back from the downstream end of the valley when they got a surprise.
As they rounded a bend in the trail they saw up ahead two people walking.
Hand in hand the man and woman strolled casually along in the same direction Maria and Joseph were traveling. What was really surprising was that both the man and the woman were naked, not even shoes on their feet. Curious, Joseph used the reins to urge Maria to go faster, and she reluctantly began to trot.
After a moment, the couple must have heard them, for they turned and the woman uttered a short scream and hid behind her partner. Maria recognized him at once, and so did Joseph. It was Thomas. He stood looking again with amazement as Maria pulled the cart near, apparently forgetting about his own nudity. His companion shielded herself behind him, but also couldn't take her eyes off Maria.
In moments they closed up and Joseph pulled Maria to a halt.
"Hi, Tom!" Maria said brightly, wishing that her hands were free. She was impressed with Thomas's young build, now that there was enough light to see him by.
"Hi. Wow!" Thomas replied.
"Thomas. I'm Joseph Booth." said Joseph, holding out his hand. Thomas moved to shake it his companion moving with him.
"Hi. This is Trina." Thomas replied, stepping aside so that Trina was visible. She put her arms around herself but there was no hiding her figure. Joseph held out his hand, and red faced, Trina took it briefly.
"Maria told me that you were given the run of the valley. How do you like it?" Joseph asked.
Thomas turned to his companion, who didn't know whether to keep up the futile attempt to cover up her nakedness or not.
"It's great, isn't it Trina?"
Trina nodded quickly, her voice lost for the moment.
Maria knew what she was going through and smiled in encouragement. The first time Joseph had brought her nude into the company of strangers had been excruciating. "Oh. I hope you don't mind if I brought Trina. We're getting married in a few weeks and this is one of the things we like to do together."
Thomas looked back and forth between Maria and Joseph, unsure as to who was in charge. He had heard about pony girls on the internet, but had never seen one before. He was completely blown away.
Both Maria and Joseph offered their congratulations and assured the couple that it was fine if Trina came with him.
"I promise that I won't bring anyone else." he added.
"That's good Thomas. But if you will excuse us, we want to get back to the house."
"Sure, and thanks again for making this place available to us."
"Say," said Maria, "Perhaps we can have you guys over to dinner sometime." "That would be great," said Thomas as if he received dinner invitations from bound and naked women all the time, "wouldn't it?" he finished, again asking his fiancee.
"Er...sure, great." Trina whispered, obviously uncomfortable with the situation, yet unable to take her eyes off the pony rig Maria wore.
"Good. I'll call sometime and set it up." Maria said.
Joseph smiled and flicked the reins to get Maria going again, and the nude couple stood on the trail and watched until the pony cart disappeared round a curve.
"You didn't tell me that they were into that kind of stuff." Trina said, finally relaxing.
"I didn't know?" Thomas replied honestly. "Does it matter?"
"No. I guess not. They seemed nice. Just don't get any ideas."
Ideas were in fact spinning through Thomas's head, and Trina would have been surprised at their content.
"Let's head back to the food," he suggested, "I'm hungry."
Hand in hand, they turned and walked back down the trail.