Turning A Page

“M-Miss Whitestar?” Flora mumbled, playing with her tail. “When...w-hen are we gonna stop for the day?”

“Hopefully soon, Flora.”

“I hope so, my hooves are killing me” Vine complained. “Some of us aren’t so lucky as to have freaking wings.” Paige grumbled something softly to herself as she flittered and glided between the large branches just beneath the canopy of the Everfree. The small band had set out from their campsite nearly 5 hours ago. Soon before their departure, they’d grabbed whatever edible nuts and leaves had been nearby for some semblance of a meal, and each drank as much as they could from the river. After making sure their tracks were covered, they headed deeper into the forest. Whitestar led the group on the ground. She claimed to have seen a perfect clearing for a more permanent campsite when she first entered the forest, and knew the way back. A lush clearing, shrouded in bushes that would be perfect to hide the lights of fires, make a camp, maybe even a small society until they got back on their hooves... Vine constantly looked over their shoulders for any threats the forest could pose, while Paige kept an eye out from above to scout anything Vine would’ve missed. Flora, however, stayed between the two mares on the ground, having little more to do than keep quiet and fiddle with her hair and horn.

“My wings aren’t faring much better” Paige called down. It didn’t look like it to the other races in Equestria, but prolonged flying did take a toll on pegasi that weren’t used to it. Not everyone could be a wonderbolt or weatherpony, the posterponies of the skies, after all. Being just a regular townspony, and without a decent meal and rest, the best Paige could do was hover, glide and coast on a good push, less so with a heavy pack on her shoulders.

“Quiet, both of you” Whitestar hissed. “We don’t want to make any noise.”

Whitestar’s horn glowed a dim white, illuminating the naturally worn paths through the brush while also serving as a minor deterrent to the creatures that called the forest their home. Even with all her training, the specialist was reaching her physical limits, and taking a quick glance at the others who followed her, gave a small sigh at how hard everything must be for them. As she looked around to voice a request to stop for a break, Paige’s voice filtered down from above,

“Hey, look! I think I see a clearing!” She said, pointing ahead and to the right. A renewed sense of hope spurred the mares to start trotting, almost galloping forward with anticipation while Paige broke out of the forest, giving her wings one hard flap to glide down to the vacant spot.

Buried half-way into the ground were the stone remains of an old series of structures, weathered down and broken by the winds of time. Moss and grass grew through the cracks in the brickwork while vines slowly attempted to raze the structure and return the clearing to its natural state. A cracked, circular platform was at the center of the ruins, the crumbled conglomeration of what used to be a statue piled in its center, unidentifiable.

“Not… not what I had in mind…” Whitestar breathed, a wide smile breaking on her face, “But fucking hell, I’ll take it!” The group ran forward as Paige slowly glided down in a circular motion to land on top of the statue’s platform.

“I’ve heard about these!” Vine smiled. A giddy smile had her almost skip over to the largest building. It was no bigger than a one bedroom house, even smaller on the inside as bricks had fallen in, closing off some sections. “This has to be an ancient unicornian outpost, or even from the late earth pony tribes! And it’s still standing; so, awesome!”

“Whatever it came from, it’s beautiful...” Paige mused. She lowered herself to sit, shrugging her backpack off her shoulder beside her. She sat back, folding her wings as she watched the others poke their heads into the buildings, taking a breather as she watched the treeline. Whitestar took a few steps back, hand slowly coming to scratch her chin as she looked at what they had now.

A big building could hold a lot of supplies… or people. Maybe the smaller… huts? Yes, the smaller huts could hold stuff, we could all stay in the big one. Her face scrunched up. But what if something finds us? We’d be all trapped and--

“W-Whitestar?” Flora asked, snapping her from her thoughts. The smaller unicorn held her hands close to her breast, one hoof crossed over the other. “Can… c-can we take a break?”

“Yes… yes, we can, for a bit.” She nodded. “But I think we’re going to be here a while.” She turned, panning from Paige to Vine. “Get a few minutes rest. Then Vine, see if you can’t find a good moving water source near here. You’re quicker on the ground, anyway. Paige, you look around for something, something big, we can start getting food from.” She motioned with her hands. “Large patches of wild grass, some ground vegetables, whatever you can carry, and Vine’ll look over them when you get back to make sure they’re okay to eat or boil.” The guardsmare turned around, walking over to Flora. “You find a good place to sit down and rest for a while longer.” After brushing aside some hair in front of her horn, she suggested they could work together to clean the insides of the buildings, and that it’d perhaps help her magic by working on a smaller task.

After a much-needed half hour break, the mares began their respective tasks. Paige looked over to watch Vine vanish into the greenery of the forest while Whitestar and Flora disappeared into the largest building, the small twinkling of magic the only indication someone was inside. She looked down to her pack, slowly emptying it and setting the contents on the platform beneath her. Clothes, socks--Oh, I did have some! Reaching into the side pocket, she pulled out two small knives she used for cutting her quills. I’m sure Whitestar could use these... She set the knives off to the side, but hesitated before slipping one into her pocket, and continued to rummage through her backpack, setting on top of the clothes a few bits and a hairbrush. Paige scratched her head with a sigh, wondering how bad her hair looked having not been brushed for what was closing in on a week.

Satisfied at the empty bag, Paige slung it over her shoulder, gave a few quick breaths before pushing up with her wings, quickly taking flight to the top of the forest, out, and over opposite the way they came. Without the restraint of her full backpack, the pegasus’ wings gave just enough lift to keep her flying a meter or two above the tallest trees; enough to avoid crashing on a branch, and as she worried, hopefully low enough no one would see her. Paige flew absentmindedly, enjoying the cool breeze against her face and wind beneath her wings. A welcome change from the past few days, she thought quietly. Up in the skies, at least this far out from any city, there wasn’t a care in the world for the free pegasus.

A small break in the treeline caught her eye, leading Paige to descend to the edge of a small pond. Cattails lined the edges, surrounded by other long green weeds, all dancing in the afternoon breeze. As she opened her bag, Paige landed and knelt down next to the pond’s edge, using her knife to sever the long, brown fuzzy pods from atop their stalks, tucking them with care down into the bag. One of the few things she remembered from her youth, other than how to market cookies to stallions and mares, was that the brown little bastards could set a whole forest on fire with a well controlled spark from a unicorn’s horn. At least they’d have another fire tonight. It brought her some glimmer of pride to know she’d help with the fire and be actually contributing to their struggle out in the forest.

Getting up from her knees, Paige began to explore her surroundings. Like a young filly in a flower patch, Paige leaned down and snatched whatever caught her eye in the immediate area; some long wild grass, some short, yellow and red flowers, and even thick conglomerations of roots forming near trees. None of it was as delectable as an outcrop of carrots or turnips but as the hour ticked away and her bag got heavier, Paige began looking up towards the sky with a sense of accomplishment, and minor exhaustion. The sun had coasted along its path, starting to dip below the top of the trees above her. Not wanting to be caught in the wild at night, Paige slowly coaxed her wings to spread before hoisting herself into the air, beginning a slow drift back towards the camp. The return trip took almost three times as long as her initial journey. As she got closer, beads of sweat clung to her fur as her wings beat less frequently, straining with every flap to keep her aloft. Her shoulders began to ache as the strap of her backpack pushed down in the depression between her wings, and her ragged hair kept dipping in front of her eyes and muzzle at the slightest breeze. Finally Paige saw the outline of stone buildings against the dark green bushels of forest around them and landed near the ruined statue’s base; the pegasus skittered and nearly fell over herself at the sudden stop, her bag swaying and nearly tossing her forward. She dropped to her knees, panting as the cease in physical activity overwhelmed her, her body begging for a break.

“Paige are you okay?”

Paige looked up with a weak smile to see Whitestar approaching with a handful of vines that had been stripped from the structure behind her. “Did you fall? You need a hand?”

“Nah” Paige shook her head. “Just… hah… just tired”. Whitestar nodded, looking down to the bag.

“Anything good?”

“Ehhh…” Paige grimaced, pushing the bag in front of her, opening it, before scooting the bag’s previous contents closer to her to put back inside. “I found some grasses and roots that look… edible” she began. “I found some stuff by a pond that’s a great firestarter. Nothing big though.” Paige looked back up, forcing a smile. “I’ll look again tomorrow. There’s got to be something.” The unicorn nodded, helping Paige to a shaky pair of hooves, before they shared a mutual laugh as Paige sat down again. “Gimme a bit, and I’ll get up, I promise… say, where’s… where’s Flora?” Whitestar gave a light sigh, looking over her shoulder.

“She’s inside, using a leaf to scrape some of the moss off the wall. It’s edible. Tastes like the oldest lettuce you’ve ever smelled, but edible. It’s a good task for her. She’s getting a bit more… I guess what she used to be?” Paige gave a sympathetic nod. “Her magic though...”

“What about it?”

“It’s there, but using it… it’s not like it’s causing her pain. It just doesn’t work right, and she got dizzy after less than a minute of using it. I had to clear out all the tough plants while she’s just… scraping moss”.

“And Vine?”

“Not back yet. Maybe she found some decent food too and is bringing it back, but no sign of her. The two mares stood and sat in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the peace and quiet while it was there.

“Anything you want me to do?” Paige questioned. Whitestar looked over the platform and the crumbled remains, then down to the plants.

“You know how to make a firepit?”

An hour ticked by as Whitestar and Paige began to move and shape a firepit from the remains of the crumbling statue on the platform. With a little unicorn magic, Whitestar softened the edges of the fragments, helping them nest together in a circle. Paige gathered hand and armfuls of soil from the outskirts of the camp, tossing the deep brown earth in the middle. A short time later, and a small fire kindled on the platform. The three mares took their time mulling over their short pickings of edible food, making sure to leave some for Vine on her return.

Silence sat over the campground for some time, before the rustling of leaves and quick pattering of hooves alerted them. Eyes wide in fear, foliage in her mane and marks up her arms, Vine came rushing out of the thicket and into the warmth of the fire, panting. The green mare threw herself to the ground in safety, chest heaving in relief. Flora and Paige ran to her immediately, while Whitestar shot up, horn flaring to life with magic as she took up a defensive stance. The forest remained still. Thirty seconds passed… then a minute. Whitestar lowered her shoulders as she turned around to glance at Vine, who had been sat back on her hooves and rear by the other two.

“Are you alright?” She questioned, kneeling down. Raised elongated bruises encircled Vine’s arms and lower legs, with a few on her neck. Her mane and tail were a mess, and the same to be said for the condition of her clothing: dirtied, torn and tousled. Paige tried to remove some of the broken leaves from her mane, brushing the soiled locks from the emerald face, while Flora had stepped back, fiddling with her own hair.

“I… I ah…” Vine stammered, rubbing her arms. “I… don’t know…” The strong visage of the wilderness-inclined mare had vanished in her time away from the camp. She carefully slowed her breathing down as she recalled what had happened. “I found a river but, on my way back I took another path, and there was… were…” She winced. “It looked like they were freshly planted bulbs.”

“Bulbs? Like crops??” Whitestar asked, a glimmer of hope coming to her. “Like from other mares?”

“Goddesses, fuck no” Vine blurted out, gritting her teeth. “Those bastards weren’t nearly as tame as that.” She thrust out her arm, displaying the ringed and matted fur. “Those things had vines… or limbs. They latched onto me, tried to choke me.” Flora squeaked in fear, clinging to Paige’s side. The lavender mare winced herself, continuing to try to comfort Vine. “One… some even…” She reached down to her leggings, brushing at the ripped fabric. “It…” The mare left it at that, a sickness coming to her stomach as she recalled the events in silence.

She had been bright and grinning ear to ear, sprinting back towards the camp with renewed vigor. Her parched muzzle and throat had been satiated a thousand times over with fresh, cold running water, diluting the hunger pains that had plagued her earlier. Her green hooves were a blur against the dark foliage, stepping this way and that to avoid pitfalls and fallen tree limbs. Though the hoofsteps stopped as she screeched to a halt to gaze into a nearby clearing. The treeline had started to thin at this point, the Everfree forest beginning to disperse as it neared civilization, and in a clearing lay carefully planted pods. Her mind fluttered through dozens of books on flora and fauna found all across Equestria, but the large, swollen, green, fleshy leaves that sat upon their thick roots were a foreign sight. Carefully, Vine made her way over to them, setting the scuffed knees of her pants on the ground to look at them, gingerly stroking the outside bulb with a pair of fingers; firm, thick...wet? She blinked, distracted as she looked to the others before her.

A long tendril of plant vine began to inch its way towards her, twitching as it sought a new toy to hold. Slowly the plant began to curl around the exposed left hoof. As it slid across the softer flesh, Vine yelped in surprise, covering her mouth as she rolled to the side, hands in fists ready for a confrontation. The vine had curled on the ground, motionless before it was spotted. Vine panted, looking back and forth for whatever had clutched her foot, slowly turning over to her hands and knees before getting to her feet. As she brushed the dust from her palms, two more firm vines began to snake towards her, and with a surprisingly quick lunge, latched onto and around her calves. They curled around her vigorously, chafing against the fabric. Vine gave a panicked gasp, reaching down as she began to try to pry them off her. A bulb behind her slowly folded open, the bright red interior glistening wetly as a pair of longer, thicker vines extended forth. One raised, gripping the base of her tail tightly, the other wrapping around her left wrist. The smaller pair tugged sharply, bringing the mare to her knees as her hand was forced back, and her tail up.

“The fuck is going on?! Get off!” She ordered. Vine slammed her elbow forcefully into one of the pods beside her, bruising and splitting open the folds of the immature plant. It shuddered, the moisture pooling in the bottom giving a gurgle and sputter before the attached roots and leaves fell slack to the dirt. Before she could thrust a powerful kick behind her, another pod exposed itself. The duo of vines twisted their way up, one sliding over her shoulder to begin coiling loosely around her exposed neck, dripping wet as it slithered effortlessly over the jade-toned fur. Its twin swirled around the thick knot gripping onto her tail, before slipping down into her jeans. Vine froze with shock, her leg muscles paralyzed with fear as the thick pear-shaped end of the tendril pressed itself against her tight asshole, pulsing as it tried the unwilling entrance. The vine holding her neck pulled taught, forcing Vine to fall forward to the ground. Dirt flew into her face and mane, coughing as her breath was further restricted with the heavy stench of plant life.

In desperation, Vine braced herself with her free hand, and with all her earth pony strength, squared her shoulders and thrust herself back. The thick vine around her neck snapped at the sudden resistance, but as she moved, those holding her tail pulled tighter and the thickest root pushed forward into the virgin ass. The tip swelled in the moist, warm cavity, diving in further as it twisted and grinded against the tight walls around it. As it slide inside her it began to secrete a warm, wet liquid to help itself travel further. Vine’s eyes snapped open, wide with a mix of surprise, pain and pleasure as an uncontrolled moan left her throat, echoing in the empty woods; her shoulders quaked, sending a shiver down her limbs as the tendril began to slip back and forth in preparation for more to join it.

“Hnn...gggaaahhhh” She groaned. Her body rocked back and forth, pivoting on her knees as she felt her anus stretch at the pulsing vine quivering inside her. Vine’s eyes darted around for anything to help her, an eternity passing with every second that ticked as a numbing sensation began to spread from her lower body, already leaking towards her hooves and chest. “...n-no I...Get..!” She started to say before the rest of the pods around her began to awaken fully from their slumber. Thick, wet rope of foliage after another found their way to her limbs, pulling her down onto her chest, plump green ass held high in the air as a second, thinner vine joined the thicker one. It slid in without hesitation, spiraling around its parent to further stretch the earth pony’s ass and resolve. Another thick one found its way to her muzzle, tipped much like the first one to have entered her but as it approached, the bulb blossomed into a dripping sanguine flower like the inside of the pods, and latched itself onto her muzzle, petals creeping to cover almost all of her face, sparing her eyes to allow her to watch. Vine’s muffled scream was quickly silenced as a girthy appendage slid past her tongue and deep into her throat, pulling back, and repeating the action with encouraged vigor. The paralytic drippings from the plants had completely immobilized her now, save for the twitching and spasming muscles of her ass and throat, making her all too aware of the violations of her form. One after another, the tentacles began to inject something more viscous inside, hot and heavy secretions filling her stomach and ass as each tendril relieved its pressure inside her in waves. Satisfied to have filled the writhing female form, the pods recalled their extensions slowly, soon leaving Vine to have silent streams of tears leak from her eyes, waiting for her body to be able to move.

Whitestar offered Vine a small leafy plate of her portion of food, nodding with understanding as she saw the trauma evident in the jade eyes.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to say a word. We’re safe here. Nothing will bother us.” And thankfully, the unicorn’s words came to fruition.

Days passed and the campsite flourished, become more clean, organized, productive. The group of mares began to stockpile food, make sealed baskets to haul water back to the campsite, and with the help of Paige’s wings, were able to fix the patches in the roofs of the crumbling houses with swatches of large leaves and branches. Small creatures had learned to avoid the immediate area, thankfully, decreasing their chance of timberwolves, or worse, leading something to them. Though, as they began to near their third week of survival, guests soon arrived at the camp.

One, then two, then three shadows approached the campsite not soon after dusk, the moon shrouded from Equestria as a thick cloud cover kept Everfree in the darkness. All of the intruders were hunched low to the ground, anxious of being discovered first by the potential wild ponies inside. Two were armed with short rod-like weapons, hooves silently parting the thick grass as they stepped closer to the clearing before them, pushing the leaves and branches of a bush aside. A fire burned atop a stone platform, roaring, even, as fresh leaves and branches caught on the licks of flame. They shivered with delight at the warm fire. The residents had to be home, but they had to try.

“On three.” A tentative voice nodded.

“One.

“Tw--AHHH!”

A pre-emptive step snapped a dried vine on the ground, unleashing from above a net, weighed down on all sides with large stones, ensnaring the camp’s invaders.

“By the name of Celestia and the Canterlot Army, I comma--” Whitestar yelled, rushing out from her hut, horn alight with magic and weapon in hand. Her muzzle was pulled back in an angry snarl as she thrust the pike forward, the stone tip coming within centimeters of the bindings of the net. “Reveal yourself!!” All of the ponies inside the net cried out at once.

“P-please, don’t hurt us!!”

“Help us!!”

“We’re sorry!” Whitestar slowly pulled the pike back as Flora, Paige and Vine ran over, each armed with some make-shift weaponry, Flora’s horn giving a pitiful sparking.

“Who the fuck are you?” Vine spat, cocking her head down at the group of mares. Whitestar put a hand out to usher her friend back, shaking her head in dismissal, before kneeling down to get a better look at their uninvited guests. Two earth ponies, one unicorn. The unicorn’s horn had been shorn from her head, leaving nothing but a small stump of the magical appendage among her mane, and the back of her neck glistened with a silver metal collar. One earth pony sported a black collar, while the final one was unclaimed by aggression. All their clothes had been ripped from their bodies, only one of them, the one without a collar, having the decency of possessing a bra and underwear.

“We came from Manesfield!--”

“The caribou came--”

“And we escaped--”

“Been running for days--”

“Do you have food??”

“Please don’t turn us away!”

Whitestar bit her lip as she, with the original survivors’ help, lifted the netting off the naked and afraid mares, who continued to spill their story in broken segments.

“Paige” She interrupted, looking to the pegasus. “Get whatever extra clothing we had for them.” Paige nodded and galloped off, returning a few minutes later with a pair of shirts and pants, which were divided up against the other unclothed mares. Flora and Vine helped them sit around the fire, offering small handfuls of water and leftover nuts, which the ponies eagerly inhaled in their hunger. After their shivering and starvation were sated, the strange new ponies began to recite their tale with coherence.

“T-There was a guardsmare, flying into our town” The uncollared earth pony began. “We’d seen the smoke from Canterlot, but…”

“B-But we didn’t assu--AH” The other grunted, rubbing her collar angrily. “Assume that something this bad… t-this bad…”

“Had happened.” The original mare picked up. “She told us to pack up and run, that there was an invasion of antlered creatures called ‘Caribou’. Before half of us could even get to our houses…” She paused, seeing the ensuing chaos flash along her eyes. “Manesfield was overrun. A bola took her out of the sky, and they pounced on her. One tried to grab me, tore my blouse. I escaped, fled down the street and out of town.” She took a cursory glance to the other mares. The unicorn winced, rubbing her forehead.

“They, t-the Caribou, grabbed the rest of us as we fought back. They bound our wings a-and cut our horns.” She looked up, eyes crossing as she tried to catch sight of the once magnificent horn that had adorned her head. “Took our clothes and threw us into cages… t-those of us who tried to resist.”

“Some didn’t resist?” Vine asked, turning her head in confusion. The third pony nodded, still playing with her uncomfortable collar, desperate to relieve her neck of it.

“Some of the Caribou were aggressive, didn’t care, but others… others didn’t hurt if we didn’t hurt first. They didn’t get caged.”

“All got collared, though…” The unicorn sadly added. The uncollared pony said nothing, looking off into the fire to hide the hot wash of shame that fleeing had given her. The night slowly crept by as the seven mares began to share their own tales of escape from the invasion. From Canterlot, to Stableton, to Manesfield and the valleys and forests in between. Every story, though, was the same to start. Mostly unannounced chaos flooding over their peaceful Equestria as every mare was verbally and physically put down below the rank of anything with antlers or cocks. No magic, no princesses, or elements of harmony were there to save their world this time. After an introductory pass over the camp was given, all the mares retired to their assigned buildings, ready to start a brand new week of continued freedom.

Another two weeks passed, and more mares beginning to join their resistance against nature and dominance. First a solitary mare, then a pair, then a small group… then they trickled in, one at a time, until a week had passed with no new arrivals. A majority of mares coming to join their tribe had received the displeasure of a collar, but no new addition could bring with them the secret of removing the banded pieces of leather and metal, nor any remedy to soothe the ache of those marked with black collars. The dismal ruins had grown into a small community, thatch and wood houses being erected alongside the stone structures to house all the new recruits, store supplies, and to give a sense of accomplishment as what felt like a true community had arisen from the ashes of the plundered. Makeshift clothing had been crafted by what unicorns had kept their magic, pegasi contributing stray feathers for modesty and down for warmth, all anticipating for the fluctuating temperature of the nights in Everfree’s summers. Though, even as their campsite had begun to feel like a safe environment, Whitestar had begun to get antsy. It had been too quiet, their enemies were continuing fortifications of their own. They had to start acting before the Caribou became so entrenched that Equestria would never be free. A meeting was called that evening, each mare dragged from her house into the dim waning sunlight as Whitestar stood atop the ashes and stones of last night’s fire, recently polished set of armor adorning her snow-white fur.

“Ladies, women of Equestria!” She called out, horn amplifying her voice for all to hear. “We’ve been in the shadows of this forest for too long. If the Ever Free Mares of Everfree are to survive, we must begin retaking this land, which belongs to all Equestrians!” A cheer and roar of approval came from the gathered crowd. “Not the antlered menace which has driven us from our homes, our families, our livelihoods! The overmorrow begins a new step towards returning to our lives, to rise out of this primitive station we’ve allowed ourselves to thrive in. By the goddesses, we shall crumble the Caribou’s grip on Equestria, and do what no one else could!” Another round of cheers came from every mare, even Flora bouncing on her hooves like a giddy filly to go back home. “We shall scout our enemies tomorrow, and strike at their places of establishment, to erode their hold on the boundaries of our forest, our towns, our capital!” After bathing in the confident response of her peers, Whitestar stepped down, lost in conversation with mares eager to join the attack against the Caribou. Paige, however, tired after another long day of foraging, stumbled off to her place of rest in the far thatch house. She shifted and stretched her wings for makeshift support as she leaned against the wall, allowing her heavy eyelids to fall as another vivid dream began to plague her, resurrecting a nightmare from weeks ago.

Paige blinked to find herself in a cold, unforgiving jail cell; the bars before her were thick, shining bright and new without trace of rust or deterioration, the floor a hard smooth concrete. Her hands were bound by handcuffs, a bar holding the place of a chain between them, though a chain connected the metal bindings to a now similar metal ring around her neck. As before, her clothes were gone, leaving the pegasus to shiver as her body was exposed to the air. Vine was with her, in the corner of the room, feral burning eyes staring up at the caribou that held her by the wrists without effort, with a single hand as he observed his most recent capture, licking his lips hungrily at the black bar around her throat, another hand poised to shred her tattered, muddy, useless clothes from her. Words fell from his large muzzle, but in her daze, Paige could not decipher a single command, nor any resistant snap from Vine.

Another command, her name, had Paige turn her attention back before her. The world swirled, the bars disappearing as she was knelt on the ground, alone in a room save for the caribou standing before her. His muscled form towered over her, antlers furthering his dominant height over the mare. In the large, cocoa-furred hands was held a thin black rod with leather attached to the end. Paige gave an audible swallow in fear as it was tapped against an open palm. For the first time that night, the words spoken actually reached her ears.

“You heard them… good mares don’t get hit.” He promised, reaching out with the crop. Paige shuddered as she felt the surprisingly warm touch of the tool grace against her cheek, along her jaw and collar, undeniably feeling the strength behind it as it lifted her head. “Just obey, and you won’t… get… hurt…” The spare Caribou’s hand slid around to the back of her head, coaxing the Pegasus forward on her knees, wings twitching in fear. She felt… dizzy, as she stared up the abdomen and chest of the man, breath short and hot. Her thoughts couldn’t form right, but going through whatever motion the man before her presented made things easier. She wasn’t held up like Vine was, or captured, or beaten. Paige wasn’t even cold, or hungry… she could run, if she wanted. But why would she? Paige snapped out of her foggy thoughts to see the man had dropped his leggings, revealing, though flaccid, a massive length hidden behind his zipper, sitting on an impressively sized pair of unattended balls.

“Don’t you want to be a good girl?”

Paige felt the hand cupping her head nod for her, and guide her forward as it pressed her nose and mouth against the shaft. As she pressed her tongue against the underside of his cock, the hand pulled away to allow Paige unhindered exploration. It was invitingly warm, twitching with every stroke of her lips and tongue, as grunts of approval left her superior. She raised her pair of bound hands, straightening her back as she placed her palms on his muscled thighs to steady herself, an unexpected moan leaving her throat. She traveled up, licking the wet dew drops of pre that had already begun to leak from the Caribou’s tip, her tongue tingling with the new sensation. That word echoed in her mind, that mantra that had woken her weeks ago: Obey. Obey. Obey. Paige’s mouth opened wide, inviting the Caribou inside as he slid without effort into the waiting mare’s throat. It wasn’t long before her lips were flush against the man’s fur, gagging suppressed as she circled and ran her tongue’s width against the heavy sack resting on her chin, chains jinling with delight with every bob of her head. Muddled words whispered to her mind, every nod of her head agreeing with them as she closed her eyes, pressing her body forward eagerly to offer it to the man before her.

No, I don’t need to fend for myself...

Yes, I am happier serving than surviving…

I don’t need to run.

Paige’s throat squeezed tight as she felt the warm relief she provided to the Caribou trickle down, stomach filling as the ache of hunger and rarity of meals vanished. Her deep purple eyes, fogged with satisfaction looked up at the caribou, his face impassive. Was he pleased? Disappointed?? Would she be hit??? The long agonizing moment passed as the man nodded his approval, hand stroking her mane affectionately. Paige smiled as she pulled away, allowing herself to breathe with a dazed, dumb smile across her face.

Morning came less than an hour later, reminding the mare once again as she woke to the cold, windy sunrise what kind of luxuries and life she once had before the invasion.