The Manor in the Woods

The weather began to sour the moment the carriage passed under the first gnarled boughs of oak that stood in phalanx at the forest's border. Things were different here; trees bent low under the weight of great sheets of hanging moss; fallen, split logs that teemed with disgusting vermin; thorned vines that grew in brambles both unkempt and sprawling, meshing together to form imposing banks that flanked the road as it wove through the increasingly rugged terrain.

Rarity could scarcely believe anypony could choose to live in such a place willingly, so isolated from even the rustic Ponyville. She glanced across the carriage's fine interior toward her cobalt chaperon, himself presently slouched back into his seat, eyes shuttered, forelegs crossed over his lap. Her thoughts were interrupted as a splotch of water burst against the window from which she had been viewing the forest at a safe distance. A moment later, another splashed down on the windowsill, followed by another, and another. The sky opened, and within moments the carriage was filled with a tranquil symphony as rainwater drummed against its paneled exterior and rolled down its windows first in thin branches, then in sheets, and finally in a torrential cascade. If the ponies pulling the carriage were bothered at all by the sudden downpour, they gave no indication. Though Rarity could only make out vague shapes through the skin of water sliding down the dark glass, she was certain that the trees themselves seemed to be swaying back and forth under the combined lashing of wind and rain.

A flash of white lit the sky above the treeline, and for the briefest of moments Rarity saw her own contemplative stare mirrored in the illuminated pane. She blinked and it was gone, the only evidence of its passing the dour crescendo of thunder that arrived first as a distant crackle before rapidly maturing into a deafening boom that rattled the windows and shook the hanging lantern illuminating the carriage's luxuriant interior. Rarity tapped her forehooves together- she was beginning to have some serious misgivings about her decision- but dismissed them with a single stalwart hmph! She certainly had undergone greater trials for her work in the past, and she wasn't about to let a little inclement weather throw her into hysterics.

She heard a rustle at her side, and turned to see the cobalt pony blinking at her in confusion. Rarity lifted a hoof to her mouth. "Oh dear, quite sorry, I forgot you were sleeping." He didn't care to correct her. "It's just the rain, and dreadful lightning..."

"You have questions," he intoned, eyes bored.

"Oh yes, many, about you, about your employer, about our destination," she burst, excited to finally have somepony to talk to after such a long and dreary journey.

His mouth curved into a sliver of a smile. "Ask away," he drawled before leaning back into the velvet upholstery.

Rarity's back arched as the griffon's chest rose and fell under her with each breath. Her own breathing was growing increasingly difficult, her nostrils flaring rapidly in time with each fearful gasp. Each heave brought her chest into the muscled wings clasped firmly over her pale form up to her neck, trapping her under a low ceiling of coarse flight feathers that brought her down with each attempt to rise and pull away from her captor's grasp. Her forelegs were trapped up to the hooves, which wiggled over the feathered rim into the open air with diminishing vigor as exhaustion began to take hold in the mare's thudding heart.

He shifted under her. Blind and mute under the padded silk, Rarity's only recourse was to heave her chest and moan her muffled protest, which he quietly shushed before laying his massive hands on her shoulders. The tips of his fingers met over her sternum, his thumbs over the back of her neck. She stifled a sob as his fingers rolled in short, controlled arcs over her collar bones, while his thumbs likewise massaged across the back of her shoulders and the nape of her neck. He spread his fingers across her ivory fur and felt out the contours of her upper body, tracing her musculature as she lay spread beneath his wings.

His left hand lifted away and came down softly upon her hoof, squeezing it gently. "It's okay," he murmured, his wings clutching her closer to his chest. Rarity shook her head and struggled to pull her hoof from his grasp, but he was insistent, and she lacked the leverage or strength to deny him. He held her hoof in silence for a time longer. "I'll be done soon."

A muffled cry rang out as Rarity bucked her head back in sudden, frantic abandon. She could feel the Griffon twist under her as he released her hoof to fend off the horn flailing inches from his face. His wings constricted tightly around her, cutting off her breath only to drive her to greater depths of frenzy. Once or twice he managed to brush his fingers around its ivory surface, but each time Rarity swung her head back the other way and slipped from his grasp. He swung his other hand from her shoulder to her neck, suddenly stopping himself moments before making contact. At that instant, Rarity threw her head back and felt her horn scrape against a hard surface before burying itself with a thock into something far softer. The griffon shuddered beneath her, inhaling sharply.

There was a moment of stillness before he twitched and wrapped his fingers around her horn, the tip of which had gouged a shallow line along the underside of his beak and pierced the flesh below his cheek. With a grunt, he leaned his head back and off the mare's horn, swallowing heavily before cautiously angling her head away from his. His wings relaxed, and oxygen flooded her burning lungs in massive gulps. There was stillness.

She twisted in sudden terror at what he might do to her, but was unable to make headway pinned as she was between his wings and chest. Her legs flexed but, weakened as she was, buckled against the taut muscles that curled like iron against her body. The creature was silent as he returned his one hand to her shoulder, the other slowly relaxing its vice-like grip on her horn. She felt his grasp lift her up slightly and then turn her slowly onto her belly before letting her drop back onto him.

Rarity came down among the feathers with muted thump, the wet patch between her thighs brushing up against his erect penis. She reared up with a whimper- this time, his wings relented and allowed her to rise to her knees before clasping over her back. He tilted his head forward and brushed the tip of his beak against her nose, an island of white poking out between the dark material that swaddled the upper and lower portions of her face. He cupped her jaw firmly in his hand- she strained, but it was pointless, so secure was his hold- and released her horn. She heard a lapping noise, and moments later felt his hand return, wet, as he wiped the blood from her horn's ivory tip. As he finished, he again licked his fingers and ran them through the mare's mane, slicking down the bits that had become disheveled in the struggle.

He withdrew and clacked his beak- pinching the tip of her dainty nose briefly. A surprised yelp pierced the air as he curled his body up beneath her and braced his upper back against the headboard. She was tilted back by the sudden change of position, but his wings clutched her close to his chest just as she was about to fall away from him. Her flailing forelegs were pushed over his shoulders; her head past his neck. He exhaled softly and buried his head in her flowing mane. His hands slid down her body and closed around her soft flanks. She drew breath.

Her captor slowly curled his fingers around her thighs and gingerly pulled, spreading her legs apart. He slowly lowered her onto his member, pausing for the screams of terror that never came. She slumped in his grip, utterly exhausted by the struggle, her forelegs barely even twitching in their attempt to shove away from him. His hands gently caressed her thighs, parting her lips and easing her down onto the head of his shaft. Even in her resigned state, the unicorn couldn't help but gasp as the griffon rolled his hips and loosened his hold on her haunches, allowing her weight carry her opal flank down his length in one slow, enormous stroke.

"Hnnnnfhhhnnh!" Rarity trembled in fear and anticipation as she felt herself take him in, eased somewhat by the wetness that he had forced from deep within her with his probing fingers. She clenched her legs together as tightly as she could, reduced to muffled whinnies of protest as she struggled to contain him, to slow his unwanted advance into her fragile body. The increased pressure on his body drew a rumble of pleasure from the creature's throat, and he relaxed his grip almost entirely. For a brief moment Rarity's eyes widened in shock as she perched unsteadily atop him; then, with a horrific realization, she fell, engulfing him entirely.