The Only Painless Path

Despite her incessant complaints, Luna had very little to truly complain about over the next couple of days. It was the longest period she had gone without being raped since the fall of Equestria and the worst that happened was occasionally being leashed and forced to crawl behind Alseric as he went about his business. She hated these excursions but she still played the part of the subservient slave, in her mind all she was doing was escaping unnecessary punishment. The thought often crossed her mind that that was exactly what submitting to the caribou was: giving up her free will to escape the pain of the lash. She did her best to ignore these thoughts. Above all she came to desire nothing more than maintaining the situation she was in. Alseric was almost *kind* to her and she cherished the feeling of safety from his kin that her caribou master provided. Although she accepted the arrangement in her mind, Luna still bucked against even Alseric’s commands from time to time. Sleeping in the dog bed that was provided to her was a major point of contention, yet when push came to shove she would always yield to him.

Some part of Luna’s mind even enjoyed yielding to the caribou warrior though she tried to vehemently deny that fact. The major shifting point was at a military meeting that her Alseric had brought her to, as was customary for high-ranking officers and their slaves. Kneeling beside him, Luna watched and listened as they discussed events, rebellions and successes in lands that she had only heard of. Every once in a while one of the officers would lift up their mare to use their holes as they spoke, or would simply shove their faces onto their crotches until the poor mare would start sucking. Alseric did none of this. What he did do was slip a hand onto Luna’s head and begin to slowly stroke her mane, rub her neck, and scratch behind her ears. The alicorn’s initial reaction was one of utter indignation; the caribou was treating her like a dog! Yet as he continued she found that she couldn’t resist his touch, she leaned into it, relishing the feeling of his rough, calloused fingers running over her fur. The gradual shift in her attitude towards the caribou she promised she’d never obey worried her, but she couldn’t find a reason as to why it should, he did nothing bad to her really.

Waking up on that third day was just as unpleasant as ever for Luna, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Alseric who commented on her distressed face as soon as she awoke. “Was last night a bad one?” He asked, referencing the constant nightmares he’d learned she suffered from.

“Mediocre, though that doesn’t say much. Thank you for your concern.”

“I'm sorry you’re going through that, if there’s anything I can do to help…” he offered as he once more donned his signature ceremonial armor.

“If there was a way I knew of to help me, I would have already done it.”

“Figured.” Alseric finished his outfit before pulling Luna’s leash off his nightstand and walking towards her to click it on. “C’mon girl, today’s the big day.”

Reluctantly but with little resistance, the collared mare crawled behind her master as they made their way to the palace’s courtyard where a host of caribou nobles waited for them.

For once the gazes of the dozens of stags weren’t on her. Instead they focused on Alseric, their praises washing over him, congratulating him on the entire day about to be dedicated to his honor.

All except Ivangir

The most savage member of his race never broke his gaze away from Luna. Every time she glanced in his direction his eyes pierced holes into her soul, threatening to pull her back to his grasp. The terrified mare instinctively shifted closer to Alseric as the caribou nobles surrounded the pair to give their congratulations personally.

It was at this time that Luna’s worst fear came to pass. As she was not part of the triumph, the dark alicorn was taken by a pair of caribou guards to await her master’s arrival at the city’s center. The only assurance of her comfort that Luna received was one simple command from Alseric to her handlers that she not be touched - she prayed to whomever would listen that they heeded their superior’s words.

The carriage ride through what was once the seat of alicorn power left Luna feeling disgusted. All around the road they traveled on were ponies and caribou celebrating the event, drinking, dancing, and of course helping themselves to any female they could find. Seeing the city that had once felt so grand, so homely, turned into a metropolitan brothel broke Luna’s heart yet she steeled her nerves, denying her escorts the chance to see her true emotions come to light.

Upon reaching the city’s center, Luna was greeted by the newly elected colossal statue of a nude Dainn holding the battle standard of his new empire: a chained moon and sun. Much to Luna’s disgust, kneeling at Dainn’s feet were larger-than-life statues of herself and her sister worshiping the caribou tyrant’s cock with their hands and mouths. It was under this statue that the high-ranking caribou had gathered on a raised platform, the real Dainn seated in the middle of the group, Celestia, chained and naked like Luna, was made to kneel next to him.

Once they stepped out of the carriage, Luna’s handlers exchanged some words with their king before chaining her to the makeshift throne he sat on, opposite of her sister. Despite the divide, the two of them ducked behind the throne to steal the first precious words they’d spoken in far too long.

“Tia!” Luna whispered with incomparable joy, “oh Celestia I’ve missed you so much!”

The two alicorns embraced each other tightly, savoring the tender moment. “Dear Luna… I’m just glad you haven’t given in to them.”

Luna laughed a bit despite herself, “don’t worry Tia, I can endure any amount of pai-UGHK”

A caribou council member grabbed Luna’s collar, pulling her back by the neck. “Damned whores,” he swore, “I’ll teach you what you get for speaking without permission.” His free hand immediately went to his belt buckle, almost opening his trousers up before suddenly stopping.

Luna followed her would-be rapist’s gaze to Dainn holding up a hand to halt his subject. “You are not to touch her.” He commanded calmly yet sternly. “She has been declared off limits.”

“Oh fuck off!” Shouted the last voice Luna wanted to hear. Stumbling out of the crowd, an almost empty bottle of whiskey in his hand, Ivangir continued his protest. “That damned low-born piece of shit is treating her like a calf! Fuck the cunt, that’s all she’s good for!

“Ivangir,” came Dainn’s reply, “hold your tongue.”

“No!” Ivangir’s drunken state clouded his judgment as he began a tirade directed at his king. “Look at her! She’s calm, unblemished! I bet he hasn’t taken a whip to her once! I bet her isn’t even fucking her!”

“That is none of your bus-“

“Oh yes it is… she BELONGS to ME! You can’t take my mare and give her to some nameless commoner! His father was nobody, his grandfather was nobody, what right does he have to take MY prize!? And then he does nothing with her, nothing!” He turned to Luna now. “Am I correct, cunt? Has he even touched you?” She didn’t respond, mostly from fear

“Are you finished?” Asked his king.

“Fuck you. You’re a damned thief.”

“And you are a fool, a fool who is responsible for the deaths of good caribou, a fool who would have been dead had it not been for the commoner that you are so jealous of. He gets his choice of a prize because he earned it, what have you earned?”

The two caribou stared at each other, the tension in the air contrasting with the joyful attitudes of the festival’s attendees like black on white. Finally it was Ivangir who broke, the larger caribou whirling around and storming out of the crowd, somehow finding another bottle of alcohol on the way out.

Everyone in attendance was shocked, even Luna couldn’t hide the surprise on her face as she stared with open-mouthed awe at the scene that had just transpired. Dainn sighed a deep, sorrowful sigh and retook his seat. “Anyway,” he chuckled, attempting to lighten the mood, “while the moon slut is off limits, this bitch here can and will be punished!” In an instant he lifted Celestia off the ground with one arm, his seated position doing nothing to inhibit his strength. With his free hand the caribou king undid his belt and released his rapidly hardening shaft. To the horror of Luna watching helplessly from the sidelines, Dainn impaled her sister on his cock, bottoming out in her cunt on the first thrust and forcing a scream of pain from the solar sibling’s mouth. Still lodged inside of Celestia, Dainn twisted her around so that she faced him, placed a powerful hand on each side of her waist, and began lifting and smashing her down on his cock like she was a living fleshlight. “You should know by now…” he grunted as he thrusted, “not to act out, especially not fraternizing with another cunt!”

Luna couldn’t stand watching her sister suffer. With a rage that consumed her mind she lunged at the caribou king - only to get effortlessly swatted to the ground by his hand. Without stopping his relentless thrusting, Dainn glared at her. “You’re lucky I respect your master enough to honor his request, whore, but if you try that again just know that my patience is limited. Or have you forgotten what happened the last time you attempted something so stupid?”

Memories of the terrible pain of the branding iron surged through Luna’s head. Lacking another option, she was forced to listen to her sister’s involuntary moans, cries for help and pleas for mercy as she was raped before a gathering crowd. The younger sister refused to face the brutal scene, a single tear breaking through her stoic face as some members of the crowd chanted for her to replace Celestia on Dainn’s cock.

Finally the wretched king finished inside of his living fleshlight and dumped her on the ground without an attempt at being gentle. The crowd cheered at the sight of the former princess leaking the king’s cum from her abused hole. Attempting to comfort the limp body of her sister, Luna crawled over to her before being quickly stopped by the king's voice. Without even turning to face her, he launched into a miniature monologue. “Whore! You wouldn’t even face your sister as I used her, why try now? What gives you the right to console her? I could ignore your master’s request, I am king here, but I have a much better idea: turn away from your sister. If you so much as look for her I’ll toss her to the crowd and I won’t collect her for hours.”

His threat worked. Immediately the lunar sister turned away, staring into the crowd with tears in her eyes.

And that was when the parade came into view.

A convoy of chariots drove into view each one carrying zebra males who had embraced the caribou regime or caribou warriors who had fought in the conquest of zebrica. Each chariot was pulled by a team of naked zebra mares, their muscles straining as they hauled the chariots forward trying to escape the bite of the whips on their backs. At the head of the pack was Alseric, balls deep in the former queen of the zebras who was trapped in a stockade. He waved to the cheering crowds as he rode, encouraging them to join him with any female they could find.

Finally Alseric’s chariot stopped in front of the platform Luna was on, the rest of the convoy following suit. Dainn stood and held a hand up, silencing the crowd completely. The only noises that were heard were the sounds of Alseric pounding his zebra and the moans that flew from her mouth. The caribou warlord increased his ferocity, fucking the striped mare with all his might. He grabbed her tail and pulled on it, slapped her flank till his handprint was branded into her ass, and pulled on her hips to deliver some of the most powerful thrusts that Luna had ever seen. The zebra, for her part, acted exactly how anyone who noticed the red collar she wore would assume. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as her tongue lolled out of her mouth. Cries for Alseric to pound her harder and faster were cut up by moans and screams of pleasure that only grew in volume as she came again and again.

The spectacle held the gaze of everyone in the crowd, none more so than Luna. Despite everything that had transpired her eyes were glued to the zebra and the caribou rutting her. As she stared something started to happen that Luna despised. As she watched her master slam into the zebra pussy, fucking her through chains of orgasms, Luna felt the last thing she wanted to.
Luna felt jealous.

The party that followed back at the palace was just as full of hedonistic debauchery as the rest of caribou culture. Every stag and stallion in attendance engaged in some sort of sexual act with a mare. All except for Dainn, who sat on his throne overlooking the festivities like a researcher studying animals, and Ivangir who sat in a corner downing yet another bottle. The only silver lining was that after a half hour Alseric came to collect her.

“Dainn told me you tried to attack him.” He informed her.

“He was raping my sister.”

The caribou slapped his forehead in frustration. “So you tried to provoke him to do the same to you? What would that have accomplished?”

Luna’s resolve remained firm. “I had to do something.”

“So you did something that accomplished nothing?” Luna you can say anything and act however you want when we’re alone but we have to play the part out here. I thought you understood that. Dainn expects me to punish you and damn if I’m not considering it just for endangering your own place in this system!”

Luna went quiet for a minute before making a request. “I want to go back to the room.”

“Dainn can’t see me leave my own party this early.”

“I hate it here.”

Alseric sighed before signaling for a guard to approach them. “Take this cunt to my room.” He ordered. “She’s off limits. If you touch her I’ll find out!” The guard saluted and turned to escort the mare back to where she slept.

To the guard’s credit, Luna remained unmolested all the way back to the room. She waited alone for hours laying on the bed, engaging in her almost routine contemplation session, the alicorn slave reflected on the day’s events. Her hate for Dainn had reached its peak; she deplored the tyrant with every fiber of her being. The way he had used her sister in front of her, the promise that he would have done the same to her if it were not for Alseric’s wishes… Alseric… if it wasn’t for Alseric her recent days would have been a continuation of the hell that she’d been trapped in since the fall. He had done his best to ensure that she retained a shred of equine dignity, and her treatment today had proven it.

Luna hated to admit it, but thinking about him so much set something stirring in her nethers. Maybe it was his dominating yet gentle attitude, maybe it was that she had gotten used to the constant sex and its prolonged absence had left her wanting, or maybe Dainn’s promise of turning the previously prudish pony into a sex-addicted slut had begun to come true. Luna didn’t care. Her desire for the caribou who held her as his property went beyond lust; she wanted him as another being. The conversations they’d shared for the past few days had been intriguing, his treatment of her would have been charming if not for the aspect of slavery and, most importantly, he made her feel like a mare. No male in all her long life had made her feel feminine and safe as he held her. This was most likely because she had never been so vulnerable, yet it didn’t matter to her. All that Luna was thinking was how much she hated how much she loved the caribou.

It was as these thoughts circulated through her mind that the door flew open with a bang. Expecting to see Alseric returning to his quarters, Luna turned towards the noise only to be greeted with the last caribou she wanted to see instead. Ivangir stared at her with murder in his eyes. The overwhelming scent of alcohol reached across the room and the implied lack of impulse control terrified Luna. He charged the mare, screaming obscene threats as he grabbed at her. Luna scrambled over the bed to try and put something between them but she was a second too slow. The barbarian caught her ankle in his iron grip and yanked her back towards him. Luna kicked and clawed at her assailant with no success as he began to taunt her.

“You stupid… cunt…” he managed to groan out. “You belong to me! Not that upstart rat…” easily pinning her down with one hand, Ivangir used his other to quickly remove his clothes. “I’m gonna remind you of your true master…” Luna was panicking. No matter how hard she tried, none of her protestations or struggles managed to gain her any headway. He flipped her over onto her back, choking her with a powerful grip on her throat as the cock that had tormented her so many times flopped out onto her. “I’ve been waiting for this for days…” he muttered as he lined his marebreaker up with Luna’s unwilling hole.

It was at that moment that the brute was tackled to the ground. Luna scrambled up to see Alseric on top of Ivangir, trying as hard as he could to pin the arms of the larger caribou. “LUNA RUN!” He half pleaded, half commanded but she could not obey his order. She was stunned from the ordeal and left to back up further and further till she slid off the bed and up against the bedroom’s wall. She looked on as Ivangir’s superior strength started to give him the advantage.

Realizing that he couldn’t win in a contest of brute strength, Alseric jumped off of Ivangir they both rose to their hooves. The latter took the first, powerful swing as he shouted at his opponent. “You traitorous piece of shit! I’m gonna fucking kill you, and then take that bitch back to where she belongs!” His strikes missed due to Alseric’s and his own inebriated brain, the alcohol acting as a saving grace for the younger caribou as he dodged and struck back at his attacker. Alseric didn’t attempt to respond, his entire focus was on not getting hit as Ivangir’s assault failed to slow down. Eventually his luck ran out, and one terrible swing connected with his skull sending him sprawling to the ground.

Ivangir capitalized on his success instantly, lunging on top of the dazed caribou and pinning his arms under his powerful legs. Alseric managed to get one arm out but it was quickly subdued by Ivangir’s grip as his free hand went to his belt and drew a wicked-looking jagged dagger of obsidian metal. “Never… cross… a caribou lord…” he grunted out as they struggled before plunging the dagger down. At the last second it was caught by Alseric freeing his other arm and grabbing Ivangir’s wrist, the blade hanging only inches from his throat as the would-be murderer pushed it down slowly.

Luna couldn’t take her eyes off of the brawl as Ivangir, failing to make much progress, raised his dagger hand up again to bring it down faster and harder. As she realized what was about to happen Luna made up her mind. With a cry of “Master!” She ran at the two caribou and jumped onto Ivangir, furiously pounding on his head with all the strength she could muster. Her assault did almost nothing to the caribou and he launched her away with a flick of his arm but the distraction allowed Alseric to grab the dagger and twist Ivangir’s wrist to wrench it from his grasp. Managing to push him off, Alseric turned Ivangir around to get the dagger at his throat before throwing him out of the room’s open door and into the hallway.

From her landing place in the corner of the room Luna could hear the sounds of struggles, the shouts of pony and caribou guards, and the unmistakable buzz and crackle of shock batons being used on flesh. It went on for minutes as Ivangir’s roars echoed throughout the palace, drawing more and more spectators. She crawled over to the door to watch the chaos. The drunken monster was fighting off a dozen guards, Alseric, and another caribou council member whose name was unknown to the mare, and despite the difference in numbers, Ivangir was winning. He had confiscated two shock batons from fallen guards and used them to pummel any who dared approach him.

The ruckus attracted the attention of a particular caribou who intended to stop Ivangir’s rampage immediately. Dainn strode into fray and shouted at the frenzied titan. “Ivangir! You’re drunk! Drop your weapons and submit to the guards! That is an order!”

Ivangir turned to his king and shouted a reply of “YOU!” before charging the despot. This decision proved to be his undoing as within moments of the two reaching striking distance Dainn summoned some hidden strength to grab the taller caribou by the neck and slam him into the ground with a thud that cracked the floor. He rose to his feet as guards rushed the now unconscious Ivangir and walked away shaking his head.

After the commotion ended, Alseric rushed back to the room where he was almost tackled by Luna in a hug that he reciprocated. Neither of them spoke for a while after he closed the door to the noise of the outside world until finally, he broke the silence with an observation that caused Luna to freeze.

“You called me master.”