The Horrors of Handling Horses

As a couple of weeks passed by, far more uneventful than the encounter with Morgan’s ex, and the couple had become closer than they had before. With far fewer distractions in place, the two began sharing stories with each other. They weren’t terribly personal stories, simply funny stories from their past. It seemed that even with a portion of Morgan’s past revealed, she seemed quite secretive. 

Still, David did not pry. After all, she wasn’t going too far into his life, which was perfectly fine in his eyes. He simply prepared a plate of chicharrón for the pair as he listened to her humorous tale of her servants.

“And the imps managed to get me out of that stupid ball just acting as a ladder! My father was so mad when he found out I vanished, but it was worth it~”

David chuckled as he began the chicharrón on it along with the salsa it was cooked in. “Those imps sound like the perfect party crashers, honestly.”

She giggled and leaned back with a nod. “Indeed. Those formal events were such a drag back then, I’d have done anything to get out of them. Sadly, I could really only get away with it once. Now, I’m required to go to those things…” She sighed and sipped her coffee. “If only I had the guts to do the same back then.”

David added refried beans and rice cooked in onion and tomato sauce to each plate. “Well, you had the guts to come to the human world when you were supposed to be in hell. That has to count for something.”

“I suppose, but coming here is expected of the Devil…” She looked at the plate set down before her and poked at the sauce-soaked pork rind with a fork. “I feel like I missed out on my chance to be wild.”

“Honestly? Likewise…” He muttered as he sat across from her. “No one would want to see anyone in their mid to late twenties acting like a teenager. So, I’m just stuck being Señor Boring for the rest of my life.”

“Hey…” She reached out and tenderly cupped his cheeks into her large hands with a smile. “You’re MY Señor Boring.”

He looked away and smiled back at the remark. Moving away, he returned to his meal with his tan cheeks a little redder. “E-Either way, I never really considered being a wild horse a particularly good endeavor. At least we have some structure and focus, as opposed to spending so much time wandering around with no clear path.”

She nodded, swallowing the corn tortilla in her mouth. “I suppose you are correct. At least with my training, I had washed all my flaws away.”

She gave a confident smile to her fiancé as she held her head high. David could only chuckle. Even he knew that his wife wasn’t flawless considering the obliviousness that radiated from her. Still, he nodded to her. He cared about her too much to bruise her ego.

Suddenly, the two would hear the familiar sounds of demonic magic coming from the living room. Morgan was immediately suspicious and ready to attack, but David moved out first nonchalantly. He figured that whatever was there, Morgan could react fast enough to get it.

However, what he did find standing in his living room was not some sort of demon, but a small, red creature with pointed ears, sharp teeth, and a wispy sharp tail.

He blinked and called out. “Baaabe. There’s a small thing in our living room. I don’t know what it is, but it’s just standing here.”

Morgan quickly walked into the room, spotting the tiny creature with a shocked expression. “Sebby? What in the nine circles are you doing here?”

“Mistress Morningstar…” The creature bowed, speaking in an elegant and refined manner.

David looked at the creature in confusion. “Morgan, who and what is this guy?”

“Oh! Right,” She turned to her fiancé. “Darling, this is Sebastian, my personal assistant. He’s an imp, one of the lower classes of demons, but his family has been assisting mine for eons.”

“I have come on behalf of your father to inspect the newest potential member of your family. I was not aware that they would be residing in the mortal realm.”

“Oh, Sebby. Is it really important where he comes from if he makes me happy?”

“Actually it does, Mistress,” Sebastian’s hands moved behind his back. “As per the rules within Hell, the only true way one could marry you is if they were just below you in rank. He is clearly not worthy.”

Morgan rolled her eyes. “Well, guess what, Sebby? I’m not following the rules. I’m in charge and I can pick who I marry and who not to marry.”

“Mistress, if you do not, then the fears of nobility marrying peasants will come true, and our house of cards will come down.”

“Rrrrrgh! Stupid bureaucracy!” She shouted, kicking the couch without breaking it.

David realized the potential trouble. If he could not marry Morgan, it was likely that she would lash out in the most destructive way possible. He needed to find a way to up his rank. “Is there any way I could improve my rank? Just boost it really fast?”

Sebastian shook his head. “The ranking system would take centuries to-” He paused as he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. His face took on a contemplative shape as if he were puzzling something in his mind. “Unless… Perhaps there is a way.”

Morgan perked up. “Oh please, Sebby. Tell us what it is. We’ll do it, whatever it is.”

The imp took a breath. “Technically speaking, one of the quickest ways to be elevated through the ranks is becoming the official instructor of a demon.”

Morgan paused in confusion. “I’m… Sorry, Sebby. For once I am not following. I’ve got a perfect record. How can he teach me anything?” She thought about the conundrum before snapping her fingers in realization. “That is it! I shall make him my official instructor of Integration into the Mortal Realm!”

The imp servant chuckled. “Sadly Mistress, such things aren’t part of the royal curriculum. However, there is one thing that he may be able to teach you.”

She stared in confusion for a moment. Then, the realization hit her, and her face flushed what little color from it. David was amazed such a thing was possible, but he witnessed it before his very eyes. Before he could ask what was wrong, she darted towards their room. This only caused more confusion, especially with Sebastian’s unusually gleeful expression and chuckle.

“Sebastian… What exactly is she missing?”

“Oh? You aren’t aware? It’s something that is quite present here.” He turned to David fully. “Horseback riding.”

~~~

David rarely crossed the border. Not because he didn’t want to, far from it. Rather, he was more focused on work than anything else. That was just the way things were with him. Today would be a rare occasion, though. He would sit upon an old bus seat as he looked out the windows.

“Sorry, we had to resort to the bus, Sebastian.”

“It is quite alright, Mister Moreno,” Sebastian replied, disguised as a short, middle-aged man. “Between you and I, I would prefer not to have to wrestle control of the limousine and crash from her a third time. At least here, none of us are in control.”

He nodded. “And Morgan? How is she holding up?”

They both looked at Morgan, who had been struggling against the shimmering, silver chains she’d been bound in. “She will be fine. The chains simply keep her from running off again, and none of these humans will be aware of what is happening to her. To them, it will appear as if she’s just sitting there.”

“Jesus, demon magic scares me sometimes…” The programmer shook his head with a tired expression. “Okay, so… Why was the Devil herself afraid of horses?”

“It is a long and… amusing story.”

David shrugged. “Hey, like we’re going anywhere. It’ll be a bit before this bus manages to get where we need to go.”

With a nod, Sebastian began to speak. “Well, it is like this…”

~

Sebastian had just been assigned to Morgan as her personal assistant. For an imp within the Pride circle, serving the firstborn of Lucifer himself was a massive honor. Perhaps he was lucky. Had he known of Morgan’s rebellious nature, he might have settled for the second position.

He had gotten her to cooperate in many of the fields. Battle tactics, sword fighting, magic, proper etiquette, debate, negotiations… So many subjects in order for Morgan to be the best candidate to represent Pride in the final decision of who would take the throne. All that remains was the equestrian arts.

Sebastian suggested that she take on a smaller, easier horse first. Unlike other subjects, handling horses was difficult and unpredictable.

“Hush now, Sebby! Bring me the strongest steed and watch as I tame him with ease!”

“M-Mistress, are you-?”

She gave him a glare. “Are you defying the future ruler of Hell?”

Sebastian flinched. The gaze was always a signal that a Morningstar would snap. He sighed in resignation. “N-No ma’am.”

He provided her with what she wanted. The biggest, strongest, scariest stallion that they could find. It was a 10-foot-tall behemoth with muscles that appeared as lava flows across his body. All in all, a beast who should not be messed with.

When the young Morgan slipped onto the stallion, she would continue to poke and proded the beast when it would not cooperate. Each time, Sebastian and the instructor would plead for Morgan not to cooperate, but they would always receive the same response.

“I am a Morningstar, best of all time! No beast shall overpower me!”

Finally, it was getting clear that the beast was about to snap. Sebastian had to say something. “M-Mistress! Please, I implore you! Get off the best before it causes you serious injury!”

“Ha! As if some simple steed can lay a single hoof upon me! Watch, I have clearly tamed it! Onward, Ramses!”

Whether it was the name she gave him when he already had one, or the whipping of his reigns, something in the stallion snapped. He would only give a simple, mighty buck to send Morgan flying backward. Normally, she would have caught herself. However, the hellsteed’s hind hooves caught her first in the forehead and sent her flying across the stables.

~

David stared at Sebastian, then at Morgan, then at the floor. He tried his best to process everything that was given to him. He tried to understand the pure absurdity of it all. In the end, he chose to simply take a sip from his water bottle. “Refreshing…”

Sebastian smirked. “Indeed.”

David rubbed his chin. “So, the reason she doesn’t like horses is that she got kicked in the face by one so hard, it sent her flying?”

“That is the long and short of it. This is why I believe that this is an excellent opportunity for you. If you can give her the proper training, you’ll officially qualify to marry her.”

David nodded then looked over at Morgan. She had a look of shame on her face. It was as if the story itself carried such weight that she couldn’t bear to hear it retold. It was true, this was by far the funniest thing he’d heard, and just visualizing it in his mind was making it hard not to crack up laughing. However, he steeled himself from doing so. Instead, he took a slow, deep breath, and patted her on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry. We’ll get you the help you need. Where we’re going, we’ll have plenty of horses to help.”

~~~

When they arrived in the dusty little village of San Diablo, Morgan was more terrified than ever. She did everything to try and break through the chains, from magic to pure bite force. When none succeeded, she began to plead.

“P-Please, Darling! I promise to be good! W-Would you like me to send your parents to Hell again?? I can do it! Just promise to take me baaaack!”

David simply walked down the street, pointing to a distant, single-floor ranch house. “Right there.”

Sebastian nodded, holding the chain like a leash as he dragged the Devil through the dry, dusty streets. All that Morgan could think was to beg Grandpa to help her, even giving a half-hearted promise to convert if he freed her. Needless to say, they would soon arrive at the front door with Morgan still bound.

The one to introduce themselves at the door was a small, aged woman with tan, leathery skin and a soft smile. The moment she spotted David, her smile became radiant. “Mijo~ How are you doing?” Her accent was very thick, indicating English was definitely a second language.

David hugged the woman with a smile and kissed her cheek. “Hola, abuelita! I’m here because I need the horses. She needs to learn and I’m going to teach her.”

“Ohhhh, okay,” she nodded and stepped aside. “Come in, come in… I get grandpa. Go back to stables.”

David nodded and walked with Sebastian and a still resisting Morgan through the hot home and into the backyard. There, the trio would find a large pen filled with horses of many breeds prancing about on a large patch of dusty earth.

“I’m impressed,” Sebastian remarked. “How did your family manage to have such a variety of horses? Surely this would cost a fortune. Some even look to be half-breeds.”

David crossed his arms. “Hard work. They’ve been busting their asses for 70 years. Grandma ran a restaurant and grandpa worked construction… Before long, they had enough money to retire.”

“¡Chamaco!”

The two turned their heads as they saw what could only be described as an old Mexican cowboy. A man, aged like wine, with a body that was athletic but still showed signs of being up there. Despite that, he carried himself tall, like nothing was wrong. He wore a dirty button-up shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots with a matching hat. He approached them.

“How’s it going? ¿Qué necesitas?”

“Hola abuelito,” David hugged his grandfather tight. “I need some help. This is my fiancé, Morgan. She needs help learning to ride a horse.”

“Ohhhh, fiancé, eh?” His grandfather chuckled as he eyed the woman up and down. “You gonna get married? Surprised. When you going to tell us?”

“I’m telling you right now!” The two shared a laugh as Abuelo guided them toward the stables. There, they found many horses of many breeds resting in their pens.

Sebastian spoke. “My word. How can you maintain so many horses at once?”

“I get up early, eat a big breakfast, and I work. Es todo.”

The disguised imp turned toward his mistress’s fiancé. “David, I must say, your family seems to have pure strength in their bones to work this much at such an old age by themselves.”

David chuckled. “Honestly, I think it’s just my grandpa. No one works as hard as him, no matter how much we tell him to slow down.”

Soon enough they made it to the end of the stables, where a very large pen awaited them. Abuelo quickly undid several bolts and locks from the pen. “Most horses won’t fit her. She needs a big horse. You’re lucky, cause I got one right here.”

As the last one became unlocked, the grandfather stepped back. The pen door burst open to reveal a behemoth of a horse walking towards them. Its height was above even Morgan, and its muscles made it look like it was on steroids.

David turned to his grandfather with wide eyes. “Abuelo, what the fuck?!? What is this thing??”

“A horse, what does it look like?”

“Like a monster!!”

Abuelo simply laughed as he grabbed a stepstool to put reigns and saddle on the horse. “This is Mateo. I bred him so that I can be number one.”

David facepalmed. “Oh, fuck… Not this again…”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “Number one?”

The young man looked at the imp. “My grandfather has always wanted the world record for the biggest horse. He must have bred large horses until he got the biggest one.” He looked up at Mateo and Abuelo. “Grandpa, my fiancé is scared of horses. I think this one might be too much of a step forward.”

“Naaaah, it’ll be fine,” the old man hand waved the concerns away. “No worry. Mateo won’t hurt anyone.”

That was when Mateo kicked the pen door, shattering it splinters. Morgan only watched and nearly fainted. This was where she would die.

~~~

Morgan stood perfectly still, watching Mateo as he towered over her. She wouldn’t dare move. What if she did and she’d be trampled? What if she did, and she’d get her head kicked off? None were likely to hurt her, but it would still be frightening.

David took her hand. “Alright. What you want to do is be very gentle. Even an aggressive-looking horse like this follows the same rules. Just relax and feed the horse.”

He handed her a carrot and stepped back. Morgan was so worried that her fingers would be bitten off that she held the carrot at the very end. She held out the carrot and shut her eyes…

CRUNCH

She flinched. Was that her fingers? Did she just lose them? It didn’t feel like it. She gingerly opened her eyes to see Mateo chomping on the carrot. He got closer and closer before removing the carrot from her hands to finish it off. Morgan was shocked. Was that it? All that was it?

David handed her another carrot. “Do it again, this time gently stroke his snout as you do. It’ll help him trust you.”

Morgan did as he instructed, making sure to not go too coarse. The fur was soft and delicate, despite the roughness of the horse’s appearance. When that carrot was finished, David produced another. It was all a means of building a small bond.

When David exhausted the carrots, he nodded as he motioned to the side of the horse. “Okay. Now let’s try and practice your riding.”

Morgan froze. She felt all the progress she was making fade away. Ride the horse? She thought. Why not ask me to set myself on fire?? That I’d prefer!!

She suddenly felt a nudge. Surprisingly, it was Mateo who coaxed her to the side. Was this creature aware of her fears? Why did it seem so tender? Nevertheless, she made her way to his side, where David would help her onto the saddle.

As Morgan sat there, she wiggled. She recalled it was a little uncomfortable to ride a horse. It hadn’t changed after all those years. She watched as David motioned with his hands what she should do. She followed, and Mateo would comply. She got the horse to move forward, turn, speed up, slow down, and even come to a stop.

David smiled. She could see those fears starting to melt away. The smile on Morgan’s face made his heart feel warm inside. Was he always able to feel this? Why had it been so long? The last time he could remember was…

He froze. Shaking his head, he did his best to forget. He still needed to help her practice.

~~~

They worked together for hours, making sure that Morgan mastered the basics. By sunset, they had everything down well enough. Morgan giggled as she leaped off Mateo. It felt like a burden had fallen from her shoulders. She picked up her lover and hugged him tightly. “David, thank you! I can’t wait to come back and ride more!”

David laughed a bit and hugged her in kind. “Any time. Hopefully, that qualifies?” He turned to look at Sebastian.

Sebastian nodded with a smile. “Managing to get the basics down in one day is suitable enough, I should say. I believe that I can return to Master Lucifer with news that you had succeeded.”

David gave a sigh of relief. Armaggedon was delayed another day. Now he just needed to do that every other day, indefinitely. He wiped the sweat from his brow. Even with the setting sun, the heat was intense.

Morgan set down David and smiled. “I’m going back inside for some water before we leave. I will return.” She left him with Sebastian as she walked into the house. Looking around, she soon found the kitchen. There, Abuela was just finished pulling out what looked to be some sort of turnovers. The elderly woman looked up and smiled.

“Hola, señora. Empanada?” She held one of the treats out.

Morgan, in an attempt to not be rude, took the item and inspected it. It smelled of a crust and felt smooth and warm in her hands. Odd. She moved it into her mouth and chewed it. There, she felt a sudden rush of apple and cinnamon dance along her tongue. Her mouth became a wide smile.

“Mmmm… These are delicious! You call them… Empanadas?”

Abuela nodded with a smile. “Sí… It is David’s favorite.”

Morgan put her hand to her chest. “Awww, that’s so sweet… Do you make them often?”

Abuela shook her head. “Only when David comes… He has not been here in long, long time… But he comes thanks to you…” She paused, looking up. “You are demon, yes?”

Morgan choked as she tried to keep it down. “W-What?? No, I’m no demon, I-”

“Está bien… It is fine… I know what happened. My son, he told me. How you make him go to Hell…”

“Your… Son…” She cursed as she bit her thumb. She should have added something to say that they couldn’t say anything. Too late for that now though.

“My son…” Abuela continued. “He lose his path a long time ago. Fought all the time. Married a bad woman. Hurt David. I tell him, ‘Mijo, if you keep doing this, you will go to Hell.’, but he no listen…” She looked up at Morgan. “You, you help David. Take him outside of work. Visit family… Stand up to his father. You are…” She paused as she was trying to look for the words. “Un ángelita…”

Morgan blushed. “Thank you… So… You are okay with us…?”

Abuela nodded. “Be good to him, and it will be okay.”

Morgan took a breath. There was something satisfying about getting permission from the grandparents. Even if David’s parents didn’t approve, their say mattered little now. She only hoped that he could pull off the same. Then again, if he could make her like horses, then maybe he could pull off the impossible.