The Strix

Chapters

The Forest
The Kingdom
The Discovery
The Rescue
Prologue
Epilogue

The Forest

It wasn't too much to ask was it? Maybe he was overthinking it a little but he thought he was being more than reasonable. It was coming up to the end of the school term and the whole school had some big friendship exams coming up, while Sandbar was sure that everyone was studying, he didn't understand how they possibly ever could with all of the noise of other students, even in the library there was always some sort of hustle and bustle. Sandbar had tried studying in his dorm but his pal Gallus was in there being a nuisance so no luck there, he tried Starlight's office and Twilight's office but even when he managed to convince them that he needed some peace and quiet, the small noises they made as they slurped their tea or scribbled notes on pieces of parchment distracted him.

Maybe total silence was asking too much but these exams were important! They might completely change the direction of his entire life for all he knew, that's why he was so desperate to find somewhere quiet to study and he couldn't believe other students found it so simple to just block out the noise and concentrate on whatever they were working on. He knew that it was possible that he was a little bit too worked up about the exams, even some of his professors had assured him that it wasn't a big deal and that, if he really wanted to, he could re-take the tests at some point but that didn't change how he felt. What kind of tests existed that were not important tests? If the test wasn't important, why have it? He was sure that the professors were just trying to placate him and ensure he wouldn't make himself sick with worry about the exams.

Due to the fact that he had to stay on campus for the duration of the school day, he couldn't leave to find somewhere quiet to study, not that the town was much better. Even from the hoofball fields you could hear that there was always something going on in Ponyville, not even Sweet Apple Acres provided the kind of clear peace and quiet he needed and if a place as remote as a farm outside of Ponyville couldn't provide him with the silence he needed, maybe nowhere was good enough. Everywhere he went there would always be some noise from other students or teachers, the school toilets were a definite no-go, especially considering that during the time in which he had attempted to study inside a cubicle, a randy and impatient couple had snuck into the cubicle next to him and blow job sounds weren't exactly relaxing him. They must live in separate rooms if they're willing to risk getting caught.

Sandbar gave up on studying that day and figured he'd have to see if he could find somewhere quiet to study that evening at home or maybe even leave it until tomorrow, the exams were still a couple of weeks away after all, so he could afford to put his studies off just a little bit. When the school bell rang to signal the end of the day, Sandbar, exhausted from scurrying around to find somewhere to concentrate on his studies with some modicum of peace, decided to wind down and met up with his friends in the hall, Gallus, Yona, Ocellus, Smolder and Silverstream. All of them seem fairly tired from the days events, Smolder kicked off the conversation, saying "Geez, I'm guessing from our collective boredom that we've all spent the whole day studying, huh?"

Sandbar tried to hold back his urge to roll his eyes and go on a rant, he'd been trying to study all day! Gallus interjected "Ugh, tell me about it! It sucks that I had to use all my free time here at the school to study but worse is that Grandpa Gruff, as my legal guardian, is doing the whole "responsible parent" thing of forcing me to do nothing but study when I get home or else there'll be no dinner, it super sucks!"

Smolder replied "Well at least I'm spared in that regard! I think I deserve a rest after a hard day of work, just gonna head to the castle and chill with Spike. He's still trying to figure out how to fly properly, cute kid"

Yona joined the conversation and all but yelled "Me no need study! Yaks best! Me still study anyway because Yona study best! Me gonna go out have fun! See if I can get boyfriend!" They all shared a chuckle, Yona was always so adorably blunt with her words, so to hear her just so brazenly say that she was gonna go out clubbing to see if she could catch the attention of some young stallion was kind of funny in a way.

Sandbar decided not to mention that he hadn't been able to study that day and, in a chill relaxed tone, casually said "Meh, exams are a couple weeks away, I'm not too worried about them to be honest, we got time"

Silverstream just nodded and said "Same"

Ocellus, ever the book worm, went "Well I'm pretty sure I'll ace it because, unlike the rest of you, I actually pay attention in every class! Only reason I'm so tired is that I've been studying twice as hard as usual! I even got every teacher in the school to give me a pop quiz on every subject that we need to know about for the exams!"

It clicked in Sandbar's mind, that was why every teacher was noisily scratching away at parchment and distracting Sandbar, they were preparing and marking Ocellus' work! Gallus rolled his eyes, going "Sheesh, the way you say it makes it sound like you find studying really fun, maybe you could ask the princess for some private tutoring!" Ocellus just scowled even though she was already considering his sarcastic suggestion as a serious option, she wasn't gonna feel ashamed to be knowledgeable and find studying really fun.

Yona returned to the conversation, saying "Looks like we all have plan! Except for Sandbar and Silverstream"

Ocellus chuckled and said "Oh we all know they've got their own private plans, right you guys?" They all shared a laugh, here it was yet again. For some reason, and neither of them knew why, the rest of the group had come to the conclusion that they'd make a good couple and had been shipping them ever since despite them showing no such interest. It didn't help that the "ship" name also worked so perfectly, Sandstream.

Sandbar went "Oh come you guys, this again? It ain't happening!"

Silverstream joined in "Yeah, me and Sandbar are not a thing! I don't know why you see us as boyfriend and girlfriend material anyways, we're not gonna become an item just because you guys insist on it!" They all had another laugh together, they had both meant what they said but they all knew it was just good plain fun, no malice in their teasing.

Smolder smirked and said "Well, like Yona said, we all have plans except for the two lovers there! Let's leave them to it and get going!" Everyone minus Sandbar and Silverstream all chatted over each other after agreeing to go their separate ways, leaving Sandbar and Silverstream walking out of the school together.

Sandbar sighed "Ugh, honestly, what are they seeing in us? I don't get it, I mean it's not like we've ever shown any hint of being into each other have we? What do you think Silvy?"

Silverstream agreed "I'm with you on that Sandy, you'd think that signs of affection like pet names or something would be really obvious to us if it was obvious to them as well, I think they're just messing around a bit"

As they continued to walk side by side, Sandbar said "I noticed you didn't say much about exams back there, you nervous?"

Silverstream stayed silent, seemingly weighing up in her mind how she should respond to the question, something was obviously weighing heavily on her mind because her walking slowed until she came to a complete stop, no creature ever did that unless they were having some deep contemplative thoughts or feelings. Eventually Silverstream broke the silence and said "Sandbar... can you keep a secret?"

Intriguing, Sandbar nodded and replied "Of course, you can trust me. What's bugging you, is the amount of studying overwhelming?"

A vein throbbed on Silverstream's temple, her face twisted and contorted into an angry glower, her face reddened until finally she boiled over and almost screamed "ARGH!!! WHAT FUCKING STUDY?!?! I swear I've spent the whole day just tearing around the school looking for somewhere to study in peace but no matter where I went there was always some little annoyance distracting me! I couldn't things done! These exams are so important but how can anyone expect me to focus when there's just so much fucking noise in this crowded school!?!?" Silverstream breathed heavily as she finished her rant, Sandbar was astounded, he assumed that he was the only one who felt this way and yet here Silverstream was acting and feeling just the same.

It was true, every room in the school had one or multiple creatures in it and none of them had the courtesy or necessarily the ability to be quiet while someone else tried to study for an exam that may well have been life-altering in some fashion, no matter what the professors told them. Once Silverstream calmed down, Sandbar just asked "You... you too?"

Silverstream, confused by his answer, just turned her head with a raised eyebrow and went "Huh?"

Sandbar repeated "You too? Like, you spent the whole day looking for somewhere to study where there wasn't any noise but no matter how hard you looked, you couldn't find anywhere?"

Silverstream, similarly amazed, said "Yeah... that's exactly right, you've been doing that all day as well? I'm glad I'm not alone! I swear I couldn't find a single silent place to study and it just wasn't happening, I thought the school toilets would give me some decent solitude but some bitch and her boyfriend got into the cubicle next to mine just so they could bang in secret, I hope that slut had to bend over and take it in the ass! Ack... sorry, TMI right? I bet you didn't have to deal with that kind of thing, what was the worst room for you to try and study in?"

Sandbar was dumbfounded, how had he and Silverstream had such similar experiences? Sandbar went "Well actually... I tried the toilets too and... by sheer coincidence, I was disrupted when some dude and his girlfriend got into the cubicle next to mine for some sex... well, I say sex, from the sounds of it he was getting sucked off... do you think it could have been the same couple?"

Silverstream, just as shocked, waited for a moment before simply going "Well if it was... I hope after you left that she was forced to swallow!" There was a long pause, though with the town nearby it still wasn't a silent pause, then they both burst out laughing at how ridiculous it all was, now the only question was how they were going to do any study. Once they were done laughing, Silverstream suddenly gasped out loud "Wait... I know a place! The tree house at the castle of the two sisters!"

Sandbar processed that information, that wasn't a bad idea, that place was even more remote than Sweet Apple Acres and it did technically belong to them and their friends, they had made the thing after all. Sandbar went "You know... that's not a bad idea! When are you going, today or tomorrow, I wouldn't wanna disturb you"

Silverstream went "Well... I was gonna go right now but... you could come with me if you want, I know it's daylight but I wouldn't wanna walk through The Everfree Forest all by myself, I might get ambushed by a wild predator or get lost, will you come with me? We could study together! I swear to be super duper quiet, the only thing you'll hear is me turning pages in a book!"

Sandbar considered his options, he was surprised that Silverstream was suggesting this, they didn't need their friends having more evidence and ammunition to use in their "Sandstream" jokes and they had both been hoping to study alone and without any distractions. Sandbar continued to think, slurping tea and quills on parchment weren't very loud but they were still displeasing sounds, if turning pages was all he could hear he probably wouldn't mind, he'd be making the same noises anyway. Then there was the fact that he didn't have to study with her, it was just a suggestion she made if he escorted her to the tree house and made sure she was safe from whatever wild animals lived in the forest... screw it. Sandbar stopped overthinking it, going "Sure, sounds like a plan!"

After fighting their way through the raucous crowds of Ponyville, passing by the sounds of trees being bucked and livestock being herded at Sweet Apple Acres and went beyond the surprisingly loud sounds of various different animals making an absolute racket at Fluttershy's cottage, they soon found themselves wandering through The Everfree Forest. As they ventured further into the thicket of the strange woods, more and more sunlight was blocked out by the vast canopy of the trees above, Silverstream stuck to Sandbar's side and her eyes darted back and forth constantly, occasionally turning her head or even flinching at the slightest noise.

Silverstream's only comfort was that Sandbar was actually surprisingly level headed as they pressed onward, confident that if some sort of savage beast leapt out of the bushes with the intent to devour her body, he would step in like a knight in shining armor and save her from death. Not a knight in shining armor as in like... being a knight inside Shining Armor, the prince Shining Armor of The Crystal Empire, that was a whole different.... that wasn't the scenario and... Silverstream got confused in her own head and simply took a breath and summarized what she meant in her own mind "Sandbar would be heroic, not have sex with a prince!" Yeah, that sounded about right, if a beast jumped out to kill her, Sandbar would be heroic but wouldn't fuck a prince as well!

Having got lost in thought, she was surprised to find that they had suddenly arrived at the tree house, all with plenty of the day time left! They made their way inside and, after getting settled, they hunkered down on opposites sides of the room to get out all of the various books they needed to read and started studying for as long as they could. Though best of all, they could do it in complete and utter silence, which is exactly what they had needed in the first place, tranquility and bliss.

six hours later -

Celestia had set the sun and Luna had raised the moon, it was now ten o'clock at night and the pair had only just realized that they had spent far too long studying all alone in the tree house, so worried were they about the exams that they had read and re-read every single book on the subjects they needed to know, every single book on the subjects they didn't need to know because they had learned them last year and every single book on things they didn't need to know yet because they were for next year at least three times! So intensely paranoid were they that they had crammed as much studying in as possible to a point where they could memorize whole paragraphs and even entire pages of the books they had read. If anything, they were now TOO prepared for it!

As the two of them saw the stars lighting up the sky, they turned to each other with pale faces, realizing that they now had to walk back through The Everfree Forest at night, when all the most dangerous creatures felt comfortable crawling out of their dens to prey on any unsuspecting little morsel that happened to cross their path. Sandbar tried to diffuse the fear filling the room as he went "We should... probably go, it's getting late and we can both pick up where we left off tomorrow, it's the weekend so we could spend some time with the others or come back here to study, you know? We can't stay here, luckily it's not too cold outside so we'll be fine, you ready to head out Silverstream?"

Silverstream, visibly still uncomfortable, stood up and hesitantly replied "Yeah... yeah you're right, we're all finished up here for now so we should probably head back to Ponyville, mind if I crash at your place? My dorm room is a mess and I find the school way too eerie to sleep"

Sandbar similarly packed away his school supplies and stood up ready to go as he said "Sure, I think the spare room should be free for tonight. I'll probably stay at my house as well to be honest, my dorm room is also just a mess and I get what you mean with the spooky school vibe"

Although they never intended to go anywhere with it, they both acknowledged that they did seem to have a fair amount in common and that the nicknames of "Silvy" and "Sandy" could have been misconstrued as being affectionate and cutesy rather than just friendly. As they began to walk away from the castle ready to use nothing more than memory to navigate the pitch black of the forest, they each took a brief moment to steal glances at each others bodies, not because they were interested in becoming intimate but more for the sake of satisfying their own curiosity, they did have to wonder if they found each other attractive in a purely objective and platonic sense.

Sandbar was somewhat average by pony standards, though his hair was shaggy and unkempt it looked as though it had been specifically styled that way rather than the possibility that he didn't care about his looks. Silverstream knew from sports excursions where they had to wear nothing more than a t-shirt and shorts that despite not being big and bulky like some other stallions, Sandbar did have enough muscles to show a very soft six pack which was offset perfectly by his body having exceedingly smooth looking skin and a few supple curves that added a faint hint of femininity to his otherwise masculine build.

Silverstream's body spoke to her aquatic side, lithe and streamlined without a blemish in sight. She didn't seem to be too small or too big in any way, she had a respectable bust, a well proportioned butt, in fact she seemed just about as perfectly average by hippogriff standards as Sandbar was by pony standards! The only thing neither of them could really comment on was the more... private areas... of each other's body, that was a line they never intended to cross. They may well have been more than compatible with each other but they just didn't consider that to be something they wanted, enough to a point where they didn't feel it was worth having a discussion. They were perfectly happy being friends, Nothing more and nothing less, no matter what others said.

Sandbar and Silverstream walked close at hand as they left the tree house and castle behind to unwillingly embrace the inky shadows of the forest, the night air chilled their skin and an uncomfortable silence fell. The sounds of their feet on the ground and their panicked breathing even failed to reach their ears, as if the sounds themselves were being blocked by some invisible and terrifyingly dark being that sucked the light from everything, not even Luna's moonlight penetrated the murky depths of The Everfree Forest, they may as well have been entirely blind.

The sound of rustling leaves made them stop dead in their tracks, frozen with fear of the unknown. Silverstream whispered as quietly as possible "Sandbar... what d-d-do you think that was? Are we in danger here?" neither of them even knew from what direction the rustling had come from, their ears could only inform them so much and without the aid of their eyes they weren't able to fully grasp what had even made the noise in the first place, something on the floor? In a bush? In a tree?

Sandbar, attempting to reassure her, said "Don't worry... for all we know it could have just been the wind or... some kind of small forest critter. Besides, even if it is a pack of timber wolves or some such other dangerous wild animal... we can handle it. For now, let's just stay together and focus on getting back home... it's gonna be OK..."

Silverstream seemed to relax, if only a little, as they continued walking. The rustling was probably just the wind, even though there wasn't any wind blowing... maybe it was just a squirrel or something, it was all fine. Another rustle sounded out, seemingly even closer to them than the previous one, they both swallowed their fear and continued walking, confident that not too far ahead were the outskirts of the forest even if their only indication was the feeling of soil under their feet rather than the twigs, leaves, stones and grass that blanketed the ground in the deeper parts of the forest where threatening beasts tended to reside. The further into the forest you were, the more danger you were in, that was the general consensus and so the pair kept walking onward.

A few seconds later the two came to a standstill as they noticed what they could only describe as a shift in the air, call it intuition or instinct but they both felt that there was a sense of displacement, as if a seemingly empty space that was previously unoccupied now housed a dark and unknown presence. Goose bumps rose all over their bodies. What transpired next was something that they had not at all expected as some figure leapt out of the bushes and grabbed onto Sandbar, clamping a leathery hand over his mouth to silence him as he struggled against what he assumed was some kind of bipedal attacker.

Silverstream yelped and went "Sandbar! Are you al-mmpph!"

She too was silenced when a second attacker appeared and wrapped its arms around her, neither of them knew whether the things that had ambushed them were male or female or even what species they were, it was far too dark. Silverstream's knee-length skirt precluded her from being able to effectively kick at whatever had grabbed onto her and with said creature keeping her arms pressed to her sides, she simply writhed and screamed into its hand. Sandbar was in a similar situation, although he had on some fairly baggy jeans he wasn't able to kick his attacker and so he went with the same technique as Silverstream.

Evidently, their squirming was making a difference, the creatures were finding it difficult to keep hold of them as they continually wriggled and tried desperately to break free from their grasp. This gave the two of them a little time to discern a couple of features for if they managed to escape and alert the authorities in Ponyville. The ambushers were both wearing dark hooded cloaks that obscured their features though Sandbar and Silverstream had both felt the definite presence of feathers, though that only narrowed it down to either griffons, pegasi or hippogriffs, not a whole lot to go on... however, they had also felt claws digging into their faces when the attackers had clamped their hands over their mouths to silence them... this ruled out the pegasi at least.

Unfortunately, their analysis ended rather abruptly when the two figures got tired of trying to keep hold of them, angrily pushing them both to the ground and striking them both on the head with some kind of blunt wooden object. While it didn't knock them unconscious, they were far too dazed to be moving or making too much noise, so the two creatures tied up Sandbar and Silverstream before dragging them away into continuously darker and deeper reaches of the forest where, no matter where you turned, there was nothing but trees and in every direction you went all there was as far as the eye could see was a forest of dangers... how could to the two possibly navigate their way home now? That was, of course, assuming they could escape their attackers at all.

After minutes of being dragged through the rough terrain of the forest, they were eventually tossed to the ground in what seemed to be a clearing about the size of a bath room, only just big enough for Sandbar, Silverstream and the two creatures to reside in. As the creatures started plunging some wooden sticks into the ground, Silverstream whispered "Sandbar... what's going on? Who are they and what do they want?"

Sandbar, who was equally terrified, replied "I don't know Silverstream but... we're too deep in the forest for anyone to hear us if we scream, we don't wanna be too loud in case we attract wild animals who might kill and eat us... we should stay silent for now and figure out what's happening and who our two assailants are for when we escape..."

The figures starting lighting the sticks, fire illuminated the area, then one turned to the other and in a scratchy hissing voice, simply asked "You don't think these torches will give away our position do you?"

His friend, who had a much deeper and smoother voice with just a slight rasp, went "Don't be ridiculous, we've spent most of the night slaughtering every timber wolf pack we've come across and we are so deep in the forest that any locals from the pony village could not possibly notice us! Not even that striped one who lives in the tree!"

Not even Zecora would know?! They were doomed. Once all the torches were lit and their eyes came into focus, Sandbar and Silverstream got a better look at who had captured them. They were right that they were bipedal, they could see some feathers and the fact that they talked indicated sentience but beyond that they didn't see any other features. They were both male, that much was certain, they appeared to be carrying crossbows, daggers and... a camera? The clothing other than the cloaks consisted of some kind of metallic belt adorned with several unidentified animal pelts to create a tribal looking genital covering. Eventually, the moment came where the two figures finally revealed their faces, pulling back the hood of their cloaks to show what were extremely bird-like heads... in fact, they looked like they were owls.

Silverstream, convinced that they were certainly not hippogriffs, said "Who... who are you? What would you griffons want with us?"

The scratchy voiced male furrowed his brow in anger and screeched "You dare compare us to those moronic eagle-headed barbarians?!?!" The irony was blinding as he moved forward with the the intent to strike her before his friend held him back, to which he went "Let me go Nok!"

At last a name, Nok. Nok chuckled and said "Easy Tuwa, the hippogriffs and ponies are not aware of us, we exist in the shadows and our kingdom is hidden. Consider it lucky that we didn't have to infiltrate the village to capture our prey, especially considering we did it rather skillfully whilst still carrying torches and a camera... educate them"

Another name, Tuwa. Tuwa humphed before he very proudly proclaimed "We are The Strix! A proud warrior race hailing from the secret northern kingdom of Rapax! Sent here by our noble ruler, King Horrum, to hunt for the most delectable of prey to satiate our undying hunger for flesh!"

Sandbar and Silverstream went pale with terror, these two beings were intending to eat them?! For a moment the roaring of the lit torches was the only sound in the air before Nok went "Excellent Tuwa, though in future perhaps you should hold your tongue as to the direction of our kingdom! I digress however, you two, remove your clothing"

Sandbar and Silverstream looked at each other, they certainly hadn't expected to be naked... though if they were food it would make sense that Nok and Tuwa wouldn't want any fabric covering up their meals. Nok, despite being the nicer of the two, raised his crossbow and pointed it directly at Silverstream's face before saying "Strip, take them off!" Tuwa adopted the same stance with his crossbow pointed at Sandbar. Reluctantly and with tears rolling down their cheeks they both removed all of their clothing, keeping every item in a pile next to them, which turned out to be a futile effort considering that Tuwa grabbed a nearby torch and immediately burnt the clothes until they were nothing but ash.

Sandbar and Silverstream covered their private parts with their hands, eyes closed, blushing, cold and sobbing next to each other on the floor. They had never before felt so humiliated in their entire lives and turned away from each other out of shame and respect at being so utterly bare. Nok turned to Tuwa and asked "Which one do you want?"

Tuwa didn't even think twice before responding "You can have the hippogriff female, I'll take care of the effeminate male pony!

Sandbar whimpered "My name is Sandbar and... h-her name is... is Silverstream but... please... you don't have to do this! I'm sure if you talk to Twilight Sparkle she could give you food! Don't kill us and eat us!" Nok and Tuwa looked at each other, seemingly bewildered by Sandbar's statement, before bursting into rapturous laughter... what was so funny?

Tuwa wiped a tear from his eye and looked at Sandbar as he asked "What makes you think that Nok and I would devour you and your surprisingly silent friend over here? That would be a waste of time!" Now Silverstream and Sandbar were confused, if these two hadn't kidnapped them to kill and eat them in the forest, then the question was what exactly did Nok and Tuwa see in them if they weren't a food stuff? Bartering items? Valued commodity? Victims of a hunt? Pets? Slaves?

Silverstream gave voice to the question running through their heads and asked "Well... if you're not gonna eat us then... what will you do to us?"

Nok and Tuwa gave each other a knowing smirk before Nok went "That's what you're about to find out now, isn't it? So quit talking and you'll get the answers you want whether you like it or not, understood?" Sandbar and Silverstream remained silent, if Nok and Tuwa weren't going to kill them, then maybe they could survive whatever ordeal they were about to go through and finally escape The Everfree Forest alive. Nok and Tuwa took off their cloaks and cast them aside as they each advanced on their selected prey, prey who were about to realize their purpose in the eyes of the two Strix that had so expertly captured them.

Tuwa brought himself down to Sandbar's level and said mockingly "Look at you huh? Think those pathetic muscles you got makes you butch and manly? Well you're wrong boy, there's nothing about you that makes you seem like you're even male at all!" It was then and only then that Sandbar came to a horrific realization as he felt Tuwa's cold and clammy fingers glide up his thighs before he felt them wrap around his flaccid cock. Tuwa was about to molest him and almost certainly......

Tears streamed down Sandbar's cheeks more than ever before, squirming at the feeling of Tuwa pumping his soft member. Through his terror and desperate sobbing, Sandbar pleaded with him "No! Please! Please s-s-stop touching me! I'm begging you! I'll do anything!"

Tuwa responded by grabbing hold of Sandbar's throat whilst his other hand kept busy fondling his junk, Tuwa said "You shut the fuck up boy! You should consider yourself lucky that I deem your poor excuse of a dick worthy of my attention! What other creature would want you when there's such a plethora of other more worthy specimens out there? You're looking at a prime example of one right now! Shall I show you?" The question was rhetorical of course, as Tuwa removed his animal pelt belt to reveal his own genitalia, forcing Sandbar to look at them. Tragically, Sandbar had to admit that Tuwa was right, his own limp length and average sized balls could never compare to the set of fat nuts and large rod that Tuwa had between his legs, his heart sank.

While this was going on, Silverstream was whimpering in both pain and sorrow as Nok roughly handled her breasts squeezing them so hard that his claws threatened to break the skin. Silverstream tried to appeal to Nok's better nature and went "Please, I'm a virgin and so is Sandbar! Don't do this to us! We won't tell! I swear! You're hurting us! Let us go!" Nok responded with a predatory smile whilst he tenderly gave Silverstream's face one long and sadistically tender lick, clearing her cheeks of tears and replacing them with his saliva almost like he was marking her as truly his. Nok seemed nice but that was what made his cruelty all the more twisted, it was worse that he feigned his kindness. After licking her face, Nok moved down Silverstream's body, applying licks to her neck, her collar bone and then focusing his attention back on her bust, licking the soft globes while he pinched and twisted her sensitive nipples, only increasing the pain Silverstream was feeling.

Tuwa was still enjoying himself because, unavoidably, Sandbar's penis had reacted to being handled and though Sandbar was far from aroused, his body seemed to think that what was happening to him was enough to make him at least slightly erect but not even halfway hard. Tuwa on the other hand was already at full mast, sporting a rather frightening boner that he intended to make good use of, Strix females always played hard to get and often the ensuing sex with them was beyond pleasurable... but Nok and Tuwa were disgusting perverts who, at the order of their king no less, had pursued easier and equally serviceable sexual alternatives to their own hard-to-impress women. Nok's own equipment was the thing that made him remove his belt and he was just as well endowed as his friend.

Though it seemed "friends" was the wrong word as Tuwa turned to Nok and said "What do you say brother? Shall we indulge ourselves?" Whether he had called Nok brother in a familial sense, a military camaraderie sense or just a "we're the same species" sense was unclear. Whatever the case though, Nok smiled and simply nodded at him. Unfortunately, one thing was made clear to Sandbar as Tuwa flipped him over onto his front, his worst fear had come to pass, Tuwa was going to do the unthinkable and claim his innocence.

Sandbar struggled to escape and shouted "No! You can't do this! I'm-" before going silent, his head was tugged back by the hair and he felt the sharp blade of a dagger pressed against his exposed throat.

Leaning forward, Tuwa whispered into his ear "Stop fucking whining and stop trying to stop this from happening, we're not backing down or negotiating, we could have our pick of Strix females but it's more fun for us and more amusing for the king to prove that we are more powerful than any other race. You know the best way to do that? Kidnap a couple of wimps like you to keep as fuck meat forever... now prepare to find out what it feels like when girls let their partners fuck their behinds......... you better hope I don't pull out to find my dick covered in shit because if I do... I'll gut you like a fish while I force you to suck it clean!"

None of those options sounded good, it was either allow Tuwa to sodomize him or die... Sandbar chose life and stopped trying to get away, it seemed like this was happening and he couldn't stop it. Meanwhile, as Nok forcibly opened Silverstream's legs, she asked "Why? Why are you doing this? Where's your compassion!?"

Nok, not missing a beat, answered "We're doing this because shut your bitch mouth and our compassion is get ready to have your cunt split open! Now be quiet or you'll soon find an arrow being fired from my crossbow straight into your stupid little whore face! You got that slut?!" Silverstream finally came to the conclusion that despite Nok being the more level-headed of the two, he was just as mean a monster as Tuwa. Nok was far from a gentleman when it came to sex, ignoring the fact that he was raping her anyway, Nok didn't bother to engage in any form of foreplay before the impending intercourse, ensuring that Silverstream's first time wouldn't just be uncomfortable, it would be excruciatingly painful. The joy of embracing her first lover would be taken away and instantly in its place would be a damaging and traumatic sexual assault.

Sandbar wasn't in a much better situation, he was in exactly the same set of circumstances except he was going to be forced into enduring an anal attack from someone who wasn't the gender he found attractive. The two of them knew there was no escaping what was about to happen, they silently put on brave faces and did their best to wait it out. Tuwa, being the more impatient and impulsive of the two, prepared Sandbar in the same way that Nok had prepared Silverstream in that he didn't do anything at all and shuffled forward to aim his erection at his untouched pucker, one hand tugging on Sandbar's hair and the other still gripping the dagger pressing up against his vulnerable neck.

Tuwa's cock head pushed at Sandbar's back door before sliding away, Tuwa's second attempt to penetrate the young stallion ended the same way, as did his third. Tuwa struggled to keep his cock steady enough to focus all his energy on such an unyielding target, realizing this, he tossed the dagger aside and pushed Sandbar's face into the dirt before taking hold of his shaft and once again tried to gain entry to his bottom. After seconds of grunting through gritted teeth, scrunched eyes, refusing to give up or reason that either Sandbar was too tight to accept something so large inside him... his tip finally popped inside.

Sandbar's groans of agony were muffled by the dirt he was face down in as Tuwa slowly but surely sank inch after throbbing inch into Sandbar's hot rump, sighing with utter satisfaction when he was finally balls deep. Sandbar was given little time to rest or even attempt to get acclimatized to suddenly having several hard inches of cock forced into his ass, Tuwa gripped onto his head with both hands, keeping him face-down in the dirt while he began to pound him like there was no tomorrow, relishing the delicious friction that made anal sex so pleasurable... pleasurable for Tuwa, nothing but uncomfortable aches, a burning stinging sensation and inner emotional turmoil for Sandbar.

Things weren't much better for Silverstream, the only privilege she was granted was the ability to speak and even then she doubted Nok would be too happy about it if she decided to chat away during his conquest of her body, invading and conquering some fresh pussy wasn't really the sort of situation to have a chat, especially when it wasn't consensual. Luckily for Nok, Silverstream just bit the bullet and allowed him to do whatever he wanted, she just shut her eyes, kept her mouth shut and decided to tough it out until being granted her freedom afterwards.

Nok had the same kind of trouble as Tuwa had, Silverstream had never been penetrated by her own fingers let alone a boy, so to suddenly have a fully grown owl creature trying to force his intimidatingly large erection into her virgin cunt was quite a lot to handle for her first time. Nok of course, being the rapist in this scenario, didn't stop trying to cram his cock inside until her pussy finally opened up just enough to allow a thick log of fuck flesh to stretch it out almost to breaking point. Nok chuckled to see Silverstream's body shudder from the sheer painful aching of her fuck hole as it was gaped open wide, almost creaking in protest, though Nok's arousal was heightened further when he heard Silverstream almost squeal.

Her face twisted and contorted in a display of pure agony as she struggled to ignore the stinging feeling of Nok's member tearing through her hymen and showing no signs of slowing down at all, sympathy was not part of Nok's desire to plow her moist caverns. Only when Nok's bitch breaker had pushed at her cervix did he stop straining against her quivering love tunnel, the muscles of her hot hippogriff hole clamping and clenching on his dick which he had entombed in her in its entirety, allowing a short break as he panted like a wild dog. Now he could concentrate on the fun... his fun, not hers.

Nok was just as savage with her as Tuwa was with Sandbar if not more so, he was violent with his thrusts and he always went harder if he could, almost like he was intending to wreck her pussy rather than pleasure it, not that being raped was pleasurable for Silverstream in the first place. Nok and Tuwa took note of how both of their victims were so surprisingly quiet, Tuwa laughed and said "As silent as kirin huh?"

Nok replied "You bet! Surprising for this annoying talkative hippogriff, looks like it only takes some abuse to get her to shut the fuck up!" Sandbar screamed into the mud that threatened to cut off his air supply, Silverstream remained strong and held her tongue, biting her lip and doing nothing more than silently whining in the back of her throat and letting the tears flow as she took the rough treatment of her body.

Tuwa breathed heavily as he continued to savagely fuck Sandbar's behind so hard that it made his tender pony buttocks jiggle from the force that was put behind those hips with every thrust, not to mention that every thrust was also accompanied by the fleshy sounds of Tuwa's fat nuts slapping against Sandbar's comparatively less imposing set of churning fuck sacks, Tuwa wouldn't be lasting much longer at this rate.

Tuwa obviously sensed this and figured he might as well do a little more commentary before busting his nut, Sandbar was definitely not quite as aroused or close to orgasm as his abuser was at that particular time, the only semblance he got was from his prostate but even that was uncomfortable considering that his first foray into anal play was being pinned down and raped by a weird owl creature who had abducted him. Speaking to no one in particular, Tuwa said in a husky tone of voice "You know... I'd heard rumors in my home land that the ass of a pony was the only thing comparable to the pure elation of being inside the exquisite rear of a Strix female... now while I assumed that it would actually pale in comparison, I have to say that ponies do have very fuckable butts! I can certainly understand the appeal right now!"

The fact that there were supposedly other Strix that had insider knowledge on the sexual merits of other creatures spoke volumes, were Sandbar and Silverstream just two of many kidnappings that had happened? If so, how long had kidnapping been going on? Weeks? Years? Also, how many had been kidnapped? Twenty? Fifty? Ninety?
None of those question had answers, not that Tuwa was capable of answering them anyway as he buried his boner as deep into Sandbar's derriere as he could and screeched into the night sky, unloading thick heavy ropes of warm and sticky spunk into the depths of his victim.

The Kingdom

Tuwa held himself there for several seconds until he'd filled Sandbar's guts as much as he could, then pulled his softening member out of the poor pony's pucker, red, sore and gaping as streams of blood and jizz rolled down his thighs. Tuwa moved away and Sandbar gasped as his face was finally freed from the mud, though his face was certainly not one of relief... he was just shell shocked, he didn't say any words at all. Nok was still hammering away at Silverstream's cunt, though he himself was reaching his release and he welcomed it gladly, they couldn't stay in this clearing forever and they had to leave before the sunrise.

Nok doubled down and grunted "Nng... fuck, I'm about to cum, get ready to receive my payload in your young fertile womb you annoying whore!" It was Nok mentioning fertility that brought Silverstream back to her senses slightly, more specifically she thought about her genetics. Ponies and zebra could have babies, ponies and donkeys could have babies and although it was extremely rare she had heard that hippogriffs and griffins had a one in a million chance of having a baby because they both shared bird-like attributes... what about The Strix?

Silverstream, trying and slightly failing to ignore the inescapable fact that Nok was still fucking her, asked "Wait... is our DNA... compatible?"

Nok shrugged and went "I dunno, maybe" as he carried on rushing towards his slowly building climax, grabbing onto her tits so hard that he left red claw marks on the soft flesh, though he didn't pierce the skin.

Silverstream, wide-eyed, exclaimed "No! Wait! What if you get me pregnant?! I'm not ready to be a mom! Don't impregnate me!"

Nok gritted his teeth in anger and said "Shut the fuck up! I don't give a shit about what you want! Besides, if a baby starts growing in your cum dump uterus, I'll just give a swift kick in the stomach, problem solved!" She probably imagined it but the timing made it seem like the prospect of impregnating her and then beating her up like a punching bag to kill the baby, rinse and repeat, was what made Nok ultimately blow his load. Nok cranked his thrusting up to eleven, making sure that he was still pumping Silverstream's cunt while he emptied his nuts inside her, battering her cervix and flooding her baby chamber with his seed.

Nok had been serious about not allowing children between him and Silverstream, they couldn't have other creatures tainting the purity of the Strix bloodline after all, though that was a thought for another time as he wrenched his dick out of her ruined pussy which, much like Sandbar's butt, leaked nothing but blood and semen. Silverstream hadn't derived any pleasure from being raped whatsoever, not even the slightest hint of an orgasm no matter what the throbbing of her clit tried to communicate, the only solace she drew was that if the chances of a hippogriff and a griffin producing offspring was as minuscule as she had been led to believe, then maybe the same was true of the Strix and she wouldn't have to go through the method of "aborting" her unborn baby.

Once the two of them had pulled out and started putting their belts back on, Silverstream and Sandbar, even after experiencing such terror and torment, felt a slight sense of relief that they were done. It was over...... that relief quickly vanished to make way for confusion as they heard a click from behind them, followed by the clearing being lit up by a bright light for a split second, Nok and Tuwa were taking pictures of them.

Nok and Tuwa chuckled as they reviewed the picture they had taken, Nok said "Ah, a perfect shot if I do say so myself! It shall make a fine record of our joint conquest of these two weak and pathetic creatures that provided a mere adequate service with their bodies! A trophy even!"

Tuwa nodded before an evil grin adorned his features as he added "Quite right Nok, though we still have some time left, what say we have a little fun with them? Take a few more pictures so we can truly bask in our victory over them and be the envy of our friends back home, eh?"

Nok smiled in appreciation of the idea and turned to Sandbar and Silverstream before barking "Alright you two, get up!" The two of them were mortified but were out of tears for the moment and they were too exhausted and in pain to have their emotions expressed on their face, was being kidnapped and raped not glorious enough for these guys? The damage had been done, what was the point of now forcing them to pose so they could take humiliating photographs? Blackmail perhaps? Nok grimaced as they failed to comply, repeating the order "Get up!"

Sandbar and Silverstream slowly got to their feet, they didn't bother to try and hide their shame. Nok and Tuwa had already seen and touched everything so it didn't make sense to bother trying to cover up what was on show, especially considering that Nok and Tuwa would force them to show themselves for their viewing pleasure and for the sake of getting some juicy pictures. They both just stood up and waited for what was coming next, hopefully after this ordeal they would be free to go at last. Nok took a couple of pictures of them just standing there before Tuwa said "Come on you two, strike some poses for us! You think just standing there is gonna make you look good? Come on, show us something we can fap to or maybe we actually will eat you instead!"

Neither of them knew if his threat was an empty one but they didn't want to chance it, Silverstream leaned up against a nearby tree and stuck out her bottom while Sandbar sat on the ground with his legs splayed to display his genitalia. Nok took quite a few pictures while Tuwa looked on in admiration, seconds later Tuwa said "Alright, let's try another look shall we? Make yourselves look tasty in a sexual way otherwise we might think you look tasty in a more food-like way you weaklings!"

Eager to not be a snack for these owl men, Sandbar got on all fours and spread his cheeks, begrudgingly having to show just how well Tuwa had destroyed his ass hole. Meanwhile, Silverstream faced towards to camera and held up her tits, though couldn't bring herself to actually look into the lens and turned her head away in total embarrassment. Another round of clicks and flashes signaled yet more pictures of them having to make themselves seem sexually appealing lest they face the wrath of Nok and Tuwa, which may well lead to the end of their lives. Tuwa cackled and said "Alright you two, one more pose, get to it!"

Silverstream, seeing no way out of it, got on her back on the ground and opened up her legs to show the aftermath of Nok drilling her sweet cunt. Sandbar struggled to think of a pose but eventually settled on just opening his mouth and letting his tongue hang out, like he was showing the one hole on his body that hadn't been defiled yet, the feeling of having to demonstrate their sexual worth was a harrowing experience. Yet more pictures and then... it was over, surely it had to be over...

They thought that maybe they were actually going to be set free when Nok put the camera away and started to pack up their gear and kill the flames of their torches. They soon found out that this wasn't the case when Nok and Tuwa picked up one of the last two torches they had left alight for viewing purposes and smacked Sandbar and Silverstream on their heads again. As they crumpled to the floor, Nok and Tuwa grabbed them both by their hair and started dragging them through the forest to lands unknown. In a whisper, Silverstream spoke to what little of Sandbar's face she could see and said "Sandbar... I'm scared..."

Sandbar went "I know... me too...

Silverstream, teary-eyed once more, asked "Are we gonna be OK?"

Sandbar replied "Yes... we're gonna be OK..."

Sandbar didn't fully believe it himself but he had to comfort his friend somehow, though that wasn't to say there was no hope because while Nok and Tuwa had been distracted, Sandbar had arranged a series of leaves and twigs in an arrow pointing north. It was when they started dragging him away that he realized that his arrow was indeed pointing in the right direction, so if anyone happened upon that clearing in search of them... then maybe that little clue would be enough to go on. With nothing else that either of them could do, they allowed the pain in their heads to swallow up what little consciousness they had left.

The next morning, everyone in the school was waking up as the warmth and light of Celestia's sun spilled into their rooms to usher in yet another day of fun, education and the magic of friendship. As students began to groggily force themselves out of their beds and fill the halls to roam around a bit before class, Gallus, Smolder, Yona and Ocellus did the usual thing of meeting up after having breakfast in their dorms. Gallus yawned and said "Hey guys, sleep well? I know I didn't, Grandpa Gruff had me burning the freakin' midnight oil to get in some more studying, he doesn't get the idea that the point of a boarding school is that you spend most of your time at the school!"

Smolder chuckled and said "Sounds like you had fun then huh? I slept alright, teaching is just as hard as being a student though, Spike is having a tough time adjusting to flight and he just isn't quite there yet"

Yona, who was the most tired out of all of them, said "Uuhh... Yona party too hard last night... even if Yona did get girl friend eventually... so tired!"

Ocellus turned to Yona, confused and saying "A girl friend? Since when were you bi? You've always talked about boys before"

Yona grimaced and said "Just because Yona prefer boys don't mean I no like girls! Bi since always! Girlfriend name is Vacca, she is best! Thanks for asking!"

The rest of them waited to hear Sandbar and Silverstream add to the conversation only to notice that they weren't there with them. Gallus was the first to point it out and asked "Huh... where are Sandbar and Silverstream? Think maybe they're still asleep or something?"

Smolder smirked and went "Maybe they eloped yesterday after school!"

Yona added "This not first time they wake up late, me never late getting up! Yaks be-"

Ocellus interrupted "Yes Yona, we know! Yaks best! Anyway, lessons start in five minutes, if those two are gonna sleep in and be late for classes then that's on them but exams are coming up! We should all get going, it's hard to navigate this place so we should make a move, we don't have time to wake them up. We'll see them after school, right?" The whole group agreed and swiftly separated as they all started making their way to where their first lessons were... if only they knew the truth.

The day progressed as usual and even though none of them saw Sandbar or Silverstream during recess, they didn't think anything of it. Their absence didn't strike them as an odd occurrence because every one in their circle of friends went and did their own thing during that time anyway, they were only ever all clumped together in a group before and after the school day, never during. They had other things to do! As the school day came to a close and they all met up again, it was this time that the presence of Sandbar and Silverstream, or lack thereof, was the first thing that they noticed. Gallus rolled his eyes, sighed and said "This is ridiculous, have they seriously spent the whole day asleep? Were they up all night studying?"

Smolder tried to hold back a laugh as she went "Up all night doing something alright! Ends with I-N-G and begins with an F! Any guesses?"

Yona, not quite getting it, looked confused and guessed "Flying?"

Ocellus cut in before they could laugh at Yona, going "Look, maybe we should just go to their dorm rooms and wake them up OK? They've missed a whole day of lessons! Sure, most of it was revision but they might wanna catch up on some of that stuff!" The rest of the group grumbled and joined Ocellus as she went to check on Sandbar and Silverstream, accepting but not liking the fact that she was always the voice of reason and often the one that led them to their good decisions. Ocellus got to Silverstream's room and politely knocked on the door.

Seconds passed, no answer. Ocellus knocked harder, same result. Ocellus pushed open the door and headed in only to find that the room was completely empty, no sign of Silverstream anywhere. Seeing that Silverstream was nowhere to be found, they went to Sandbar's room and found themselves in exactly the same situation, no answer when knocking and upon entering, no sign of the usual occupant. All of them were baffled as to why they weren't there, Gallus shrugged and said "Meh, maybe they just took off early or something"

Smolder agreed "Seems legit, sometimes Silverstream crashes at Sandbar's place anyway, makes you wonder why they find it so surprising that we ship them so hard"

Yona just nodded and so did Ocellus, then they left the school ready to either study or have fun before they inevitably would return to the school to go to sleep in their respective dorm rooms and get some rest. Meanwhile, Sandbar and Silverstream were in the claws of the Strix.

The journey from The Everfree Forest to the kingdom of Rapax was clearly a long and arduous one, Sandbar and Silverstream had been fortunate enough to be knocked out whilst being dragged through the woods and so didn't feel the sharp and prickly ground or the various small insects and tiny carnivorous plants that had left them with small cuts and bruises all over their body from how carelessly they were dragged through the area. With the fortunate came the unfortunate however, as when they woke up they were shivering and numb from being dragged through knee-deep snow whilst the wails of snow storms and blizzards rang in their ears, the far away glimpse of civilization they had was none other than Yakyakistan, Yona's secluded little home land.

Considering that they were getting further away from Yakyakistan, Sandbar and Silverstream surmised that the kingdom of Rapax was so far north of Equestria that it wasn't in Equestria at all, they were about to enter a place on the planet that, according to Nok and Tuwa, was so remote that only the natives were aware of its existence and had managed to keep it that way despite the fact that they were capable of communicating with other species and travelling to other lands. Sandbar and Silverstream were almost literally in uncharted waters.

With only each other for warmth they managed to survive the harsh conditions of the tundra and with nothing better to do, tried to sleep. Going to sleep turned out to be a mistake because when they awoke, the only thing they could feel was the wind and the only thing they could see was clouds, they were in the sky! Clearly the kingdom of Rapax was either high up or across a large ocean because it seems Nok and Tuwa had taken to the skies to get there. Sandbar probably would have been more worried had he not reminded himself that, as a hippogriff, Silverstream could fly... so if Nok and Tuwa accidentally dropped them, at the very least she wouldn't plummet to her doom and could escape.

After finding themselves not being able to do anything other than sleep, they eventually woke hours later to discover that they were back on dry land being dragged along a very uncomfortable cobblestone street. Looks like they'd reached the kingdom of Rapax at last.

As they were dragged along, several Strix stared at them in intrigue like they'd never seen another creature before in their lives until just then. Upon seeing some female Strix, Sandbar and Silverstream could both see why the men of this species would probably choose them ninety percent of the time, they were outrageously attractive but from what they'd heard Nok and Tuwa saying, they seemed to have high standards when it came to who should have the honor of copulating with them. The kingdom looked to have a similar structure to that of Ponyville, it was very much a village that had several stalls with merchants selling their wares, whether it be food, clothing or weaponry, then there were some buildings which mainly consisted of nothing more than shops and houses... then of course there was the castle where the king resided.

They were dragged into the throne room of the castle, where Nok and Tuwa threw them to the floor in front of them while Nok bellowed out "Your majesty, Tuwa and I have returned from our journey to the south. As instructed, we have taken these two creatures hostage to prove that we are worthy and capable warriors with skills and techniques which sets us apart from other Strix soldiers in your glorious Rapax army..."

So that's why the king wanted them to do it? To prove they were good enough to be in the army?! What kind of fucked up quest was that!?

The king descended from his throne, Sandbar and Silverstream stayed on the floor but were brave enough to look up and see what the Strix monarch looked like rather than admire the decorative architecture. King Horrum was quite a sight to behold, he was clearly larger than any other Strix in the kingdom, he wore long flowing robes made from the finest material available and adorned with jewelry that matched the spiky silver crown that sat on his head. He approached and focused his attention on Sandbar and Silverstream, staying stock still as he judged if Nok and Tuwa had truly achieved what they had initially set out to do.

After a minute of silence, he finally spoke in a loud, deep and commanding voice that sounded like ultimate authority incarnate. "These lesser beings you have captured must be bathed, they are positively filthy, the fact that they are not Strix is disgusting enough! However, you have indeed shown that you have... potential. As reward for completing your test, you are permitted to train in order to become true warriors in my armada and build the strength of our kingdom!"

Nok and Tuwa bowed in respect while Tuwa said "The creatures we caught your majesty, do you wish us to dispose of them permanently?" Oh no, this was bad news, Sandbar and Silverstream instantly couldn't even think what to do or say in what may have been their final moments, they could be mere seconds away from death! They weren't ready yet!

Surprisingly, salvation came from King Horrum himself when he replied "Nonsense, you obviously went to a lot of trouble to get these things... you may keep them as prisoners, no doubt you'll have plenty of fun ideas on how to utilize them. Just know that even if you fail to make it in the ranks, you two are the best assassins in the kingdom"

Nok and Tuwa were assassins? They must have valued the idea of becoming soldiers very much if they were willing to give up that job. Nok and Tuwa simultaneously went "Thank you your majesty" before grabbing Sandbar and Silverstream by the hair again, dragging them out of the throne room and to wherever Nok and Tuwa saw fit to keep them as prisoners and, presumably, use them for sexual gratification again. After a few minutes of being dragged through the streets, Sandbar and Silverstream found themselves in an extremely run down house, though the word "house" was hardly the best description for whatever building they had entered, it certainly wasn't a place any creature could live in.

There were three rooms in total, a very rudimentary kitchen, a bed room and what seemed to be a bath room. The bed room was exactly what it was, just a room with a bed, an old and torn up mattress sat on a rusted and dusty bed frame. The bath room was essentially just a massive metal bowl in the middle of a room that happened to have two taps sticking out of the wall, the bowl itself was dented and was clearly not designed with bathing in mind and the taps were just as bad, so weathered with age that you couldn't tell what kind of metal they were even made out of, let alone which one was hot and which one was cold! The kitchen had a few crooked cupboards, beaten up pots and pans that clearly hadn't been washed between meals if the stains and little moldy pieces of uneaten food were any indication and a single gas cooker.

The floors, walls and ceiling were all the same, small scraps of paint that had yet to peel from the rotting wood they sat on. Everything creaked and there was only one single light fixture in the middle of the living space, a light bulb that flickered and made the occasional buzzing noise... this place was as decrepit as decrepit could get. Sandbar and Silverstream let out small noises of both surprise and pain as Nok and Tuwa threw them to the floor, Nok simply said "Wait here" as he made his way into the bath room, the metallic squeals followed by the sound of water denoting that he was preparing a bath for them both.

Tuwa prepared to join him and sneered at the two frightened teenagers "You just wait here, make any sudden movements, any loud noises or even just piss me off, then I'll fucking gut you both like fish right now!" Playing it smart, they both remained still and silent while Tuwa went to assist Nok in preparing a bath so they could clean their prizes, just like the king had ordered. A bath was probably the nicest thing that these two were ever going to do for them, how bad could a simple bath be?

They were both about to find out, once the "tub" was filled with water, Nok and Tuwa once again grabbed them by the hair and dragged them into the bath room to be bathed without any soap in sight, just water. Sandbar was first and it seemed that not even being cleaned was going to be a pleasant experience as Tuwa practically threw him into the tub, the water was ice cold, the shocking drop in temperature was actually painful and it made Sandbar's skin crawl. Sandbar gasped as he raised his head out of the water, shivering violently and panting until Tuwa pushed his head back under the water and shook him violently as if he were intending to drown the poor boy rather than clean him up.

She knew that she might have been better off staying quiet but Silverstream just had to speak up in defense of her friend and cried "Stop it! You're hurting him! Why can't you at least treat us to a nice normal bath? Isn't it enough that you treat us like objects to satisfy you?! How can you both be such heartless, cold, unfeeling monsters!?"

Tuwa kept himself busy subjecting Sandbar to what felt like a punishment for bad behavior rather than the treat of a bath. The young pony couldn't have fought back if he wanted to, his muscles had gone into shock and right now he was struggling to hold his breath long enough to survive as he thrashed about wildly, water splashing over the edge of the tub and onto the floor. Tuwa pulled Sandbar's head out of the water, finding amusement in the way he coughed and retched while he tried to blink away the water in his eyes, this was clearly not meant to be a bath designed to make them clean, it was plain and simple torture. It was as Tuwa plunged Sandbar's head back into the water that Nok finally responded to Silverstream's rather defiant emotional outburst.

With a frown and a raised voice, Nok said "You listen here you little slut! We kidnapped you and raped you just for the mere opportunity of a more respected form of employment as soldiers in the king's army rather than assassins for hire! What makes you think we were ever nice to begin with? What makes you think we care about how you feel? Besides, the second you were within the borders of our kingdom you lost whatever rights you may have had and became nothing more than belongings, plus, since the king verbally allowed us to claim you and your little pony friend as property, you are officially owned by us now. Just to be clear, let me be more concise and address the things you said. Tuwa will stop whenever he wants to. He is very aware that he is hurting your friend but is unlikely to kill him. We can't treat you to a "nice normal bath" because you're both meaningless and worthless fuck dolls who only serve one purpose that doesn't necessitate us being kind to you. No it isn't enough that we treat you like a set of holes to have fun with because we want to keep you subdued, submissive, obedient and miserable. Finally, it's easy and enjoyable for us to be heartless, cold, unfeeling monsters. We are Strix and you are nothing!"

Once Nok's rant was over, Silverstream went back to being quiet, trying and failing to hold back tears. It seemed like even if Nok was the "fairest" of the two, he didn't have a good nature she could appeal to. Tuwa dragged Sandbar out of the tub and threw him into the corner of the room with a loud "thud", earning a grunt of pain from the stallion amongst the constant shuddering of his extremely freezing cold body. Tuwa walked over to Sandbar and once again grabbed onto his hair, dragging him out of the bath room and going "Now that you're fucking clean, we can prepare you and that hippogriff bitch for your new jobs!"

Nok called after him and said "Make sure he is warm before they arrive! We can't have him quivering like a climaxing pussy the whole time!" Silverstream didn't get time to question what they were talking about before Nok grabbed onto her hair and started dragging her towards the tub, she tensed her whole body and braced herself for the impending nightmare of going through exactly what she had seen happen to Sandbar. The idea that the two of them may never be found and would have to continue to exist in a life where they had to pledge their bodies to these two brutes and exist purely for servitude in this broken down hovel was something that filled both Sandbar and Silverstream with a dread that couldn't possibly be matched, super villains weren't this cruel and at this point, they would welcome a giant bug bear attack.

After the rough "cleaning", the two of them were thrown into the bed room to warm up somehow, or simply because that's where they were going to be predominantly needed for whatever would come next. Sandbar and Silverstream reasoned that it would most likely be sexual in nature, not just because that's what had happened to begin with but it seemed that Nok and Tuwa genuinely wanted to raise their body temperature until it was back to normal. Cold water didn't exactly do wonders for the sexual parts of a creature unless you counted stiff nipples and testicles that had retracted for the sake of warmth.

After spending just under an hour simply sitting in the bed room in silence whilst Nok and Tuwa busied themselves with food and drink, there came a knock at the door. Nok beamed and excitedly exclaimed "Aha! Those will be our esteemed guests no doubt!"

Tuwa, similarly enthralled by the new arrivals, replied "Show them in!"

Nok opened the door and racous laughter rang through the house as two new Strix came in only to be embraced by Nok and Tuwa, showing the only shred of affection that they had ever seen from the two of them. Nok turned to Sandbar and Silverstream, his arm round one of the other Strix and said "Meet my brother, Nix! He's here for some entertainment!"

Well, that seemed to confirm that Nok and Tuwa were just close friends rather than siblings, seeing as how this "Nix" character had been introduced as such, to be fair they did share a striking resemblance and it seemed that the whole pelt belt look was the generally accepted fashion for Strix in the kingdom, for the males at the very least anyway. Nix observed them and in a voice that almost perfectly matched the voice of his brother said "I can see that these two will be sure to be very interesting indeed! I don't think I've ever seen such creatures, so to watch them before experiencing them will certainly be enthralling!"

Tuwa then introduced the second Strix by saying "You two will also be sharing the privilege of putting on a pleasing show for my other friend here! What do you think of them huh? Pretty good catch eh Magna?"

The second guest, apparently a Strix named Magna, seemed to have a voice much like Tuwa, though lacked the hissy and raspy tone, his vocals were much smoother despite having a slightly higher pitch. "There's no denying that you have outdone yourself by capturing these two things, I doubt we will leave unsatisfied if they do as you promised!"

Nok re-entered the conversation, going "You can relax gentlemen, being that they are sentient they may need a little convincing but as you know, we've never failed to be very effective when it comes to persuasion!" Sandbar and Silverstream had no idea what they expected them to do but were scared anyway, not to mention that the way these four Strix were looking at them made their flesh crawl, what was their plan here?

Tuwa said "They are lesser beings, they'll know their place soon enough and if they are too defiant, we can always apply a stricter teaching method. Now, I think the time for talk is over, shall we begin the fun?" Nix and Magna nodded, Nok and Tuwa stood aside to let them control the situation, Sandbar and Silverstream waited with bated breath.

Nix was the first to speak and pointed straight at them as he demanded "You two, get onto the bed, we wish to be amused!" Sandbar and Silverstream did as instructed but were still left clueless as to what exactly they were supposed to do. After a minute of silence, Magna was the one to enlighten them as to what they were expected to do for "fun".

Magna impatiently went "What are you waiting for? We didn't come here to see you do nothing, get the show on the road and fuck her already!" Sandbar and Silverstream weren't surprised that sex would be part of this endeavor but these two wanted them to have sex with each other for their viewing pleasure?! Neither of them were OK with this idea, beyond being forced to do this they didn't feel comfortable with it, they were friends after all, it would make things between them very awkward and even if they were alright with having a more intimate relationship, they certainly didn't want to join flesh in such a voyeuristic manner.

Sandbar was either brave or stupid to speak up and tentatively stated "We... us two are friends... we... we can't just have sex with each other!" Nok and Tuwa wore scowls, Sandbar was making them look bad in front of Nix and Magna, who were equally unimpressed with the response.

Silverstream followed suit and added "Yeah... it would... it's weird!"

Nix, much like his brother, was the calmer of the two and sarcastically went "Awww, the poor things are too shy! Well that's alright isn't it Magna? Shall we suggest something else to do with these things?"

Magna caught on to what Nix was saying and cackled "Yeah! After all we haven't had breakfast yet, these creatures do look really delicious!" It seemed the threat of being eaten was enough for Silverstream and, much to Sandbar's surprise, she just curled her fingers around Sandbar's soft member and gave gentle squeezes to encourage him to get hard so that she could deliver a proper hand job to her dear friend.
Nix and Magna relaxed, smug smiles on their faces as they realized that these creatures were willing to cooperate if their lives were on the line.

As Sandbar began to gradually become more and more erect, Silverstream got into a steady rhythm and began to pump his boner quite effectively. In any other situation Sandbar might have stopped her and insisted that she didn't need to do this, that they could remain friends but consider romance some time in the future... though this wasn't exactly a classic "two friends becoming closer" scenario, they were being forced to do this and if Silverstream giving a hand job meant their survival, then it had to happen... maybe it wouldn't go as far as sex. Although Sandbar didn't really have much to compare it to, Silverstream was doing a really good job at stroking his dick, she never went too fast or too hard, her grip on his throbbing member was perfect and just the feeling of her fingers on his rod felt nice and comfortable.

Silverstream had been nervous about giving her first hand job, though she was happy that Sandbar seemed to be enjoying it, he was clearly aroused at least and the fact that he was lightly panting made her feel safe that she was doing it correctly... though she herself had to admit it had a bit of an effect on her as well, there was a weird sort of therapeutic vibe to just methodically gliding her fingers up and down Sandbar's cock and she could feel her pussy twitching and steadily lubricating itself... jerking off Sandbar was actually turning her on. However, the strange feeling of enjoyment was cut short as Nix huffed "Alright weaklings, congratulations. You've completed the most basic step of preparing to do each other, think you can move this along?"

Magne continued "Yeah! We're on a schedule believe it or not and while this is fun to watch, we do eventually want to do other things today!"

Silverstream released Sandbar's tool and asked "Um... right, shall I... well I mean I have to I guess but Sandbar, do you want me to... just as a friend and stuff but... can I... will you... I... shall I just... y'know, suck it?"

Sandbar was about to reply to assure her that she only had to do it if she wanted to, when Magna cut in to go "Why the fuck are you asking?"

Nix nodded in agreement and asserted "This is hardly the time for meaningless chit-chat and niceties! If you're going to use your mouth for anything, then use it in the way you are clearly intending to use it!"

Sandbar, again being the outspoken one, furrowed his brow and said "She can ask me first if she wants to! It's her body you ugly bastards!" All four Strix were taken aback by Sandbar's sudden defiance, Sandbar ignored their reaction and turned his attention back to Silverstream "You don't have to give me... a blow job if you don't want to... honest..."

Silverstream, her eyes welling up with tears of joy for how he had stuck up for her in the face of such danger, smiled and whispered in his ear "Oh Sandbar... I do... I really do want to put your thingy in my mouth..." before leaning down, preparing to deliver her first blow job, the same way Sandbar was preparing to receive one for the first time ever. Sandbar was glad that there was at least some form of consent between them, sure the Strix were forcing them to do this but if they could draw at least some form of comfort, joy and hope between just the two of them, then eventually their existence might be more tolerable and they could make it through this or escape from this prison instead of bending and buckling to the disgusting perverted whims of violent owl rapists.

Silverstream opened her mouth and took Sandbar's tip into her mouth, taking care to not accidentally scrape his sensitive flesh with her beak or, even worse, her teeth. Sandbar allowed himself a little gasp as Silverstream tenderly sucked the head of his fuck stick, her mouth felt warm, wet and as soft as silk, he grit his teeth a little and clenched his fists as he tried to deal with the onslaught of this new kind of pleasure and not just immediately cum down her throat. Silverstream, winced a little as she suddenly felt pre leak from his tip and unavoidably making contact with her tongue, it wasn't until she had tasted it for a few seconds that she came to the odd realization that the flavor wasn't all that terrible, it was quite agreeable in fact! Did all guys taste this good?

Confident that Sandbar was enjoying it and that she herself was also fond of this new sensation, Silverstream moved further down until she reached the halfway point and sucked a little harder, using her tongue to explore every pulsating inch of Sandbar that she had in her mouth and relishing the earthy and primal taste of his skin. Sandbar was breathing heavily, he didn't know what he had expected a blow job to feel like but this kind of explosive elation running through his body was far beyond anything he could have comprehended, it was only made even more difficult to deal with when she started bobbing her head up and down in a very steady motion, it took all of his will to not just grab onto her head and fuck her face and he was determined to remain a perfect gentleman.

A full minute of Silverstream gently sucking off Sandbar passed by until Nix interrupted "OK, as romantic as this seems I think that's quite enough of the foreplay, get on with claiming the real prize you idiots"

Silverstream removed herself from Sandbar's dong and went "Huh?"

Magna rolled his eyes and said "The main event you dumb peasants! Making the beast with two backs! We want to see you fuck each other for our amusement and in order for that to happen, you need to fuck!"

Sandbar and Silverstream went pale, they don't know why but neither of them had expected this to go as far as having to be quite that intimate. Sandbar asked "You mean like... actual, real and penetrative sex?"

Nix, very sarcastically, proclaimed "Oh no! Of course not THAT kind of sex! Goodness me no! We mean the kind of sex where you just sit there staring at each other! What gave you the idea that when we told you to have sex that we meant that we wanted you to have sex? The very idea!"

Sandbar went "I... but we can't ju-" shortly before being interrupted by Silverstream who grabbed his arm firmly, Sandbar looked at her.

Silverstream just shook her head and said "Sandbar, I appreciate it, I really do but... you know as well as I do that it's no use..." as she lied on her back with her legs open, blushing as she continued "Just take me..."

Sandbar didn't want to do this to her, she'd already had that hole violated by Nok and he didn't want her to have to go through that again, not that he would approach the same way of course... but he had to make sure that it was alright and asked "Are you... absolutely sure?"

Magna groaned and said "Again with the asking thing! She's offering up her pussy on a fucking silver platter you dense green horse! What's the matter with you!? Are you some kind of fucking faggot or something?!"

Sandbar, trying desperately to ignore the fact that Magna had used such an awful word as "faggot" decided to retaliate by stating matter-of-factly "It's polite to ask a lady if she's ready! I actually care about her wants!"

Nix scoffed "Lady? Please, that hippogriff has already had her innocence taken from her, it's not like her virginity is yours to claim anymore, she's just another whore. We've spent enough time arguing with you, she's told you to have sex with her, so just plow her already! We are getting very impatient and we expect you to perform for us now!"

Remaining dignified and unwavering in his morals, Sandbar got in between Silverstream's legs and looked her in the eyes as he asked once again "Silverstream... please tell me truthfully... are you honestly OK with what is about to happen? What they're making me do to you?" For the first time in forever, Silverstream actually considered that there would have been a future back in Ponyville where she and Sandbar were romantically compatible, the way he was so gentle with her made her feel cherished and loved in a way she had never felt in her life before...

With tears of joy trickling down her cheeks and a small smile on her face, she nodded and said "I promise... we're gonna be OK, aren't we?"

Sandbar just went "Yeah... we're gonna be OK..." and began pressing the head of his cock at her entrance. Luckily, the slight semblance of enjoyment she had gotten from pleasuring Sandbar had made her slick enough that he would be able to get inside her without too much effort, though the troubling fact of the matter was that Nok had also forcibly stretched her out well enough already with his rather hefty equipment. After no more than two seconds, Sandbar began to slide into the wet quivering depths of one of his best friends, he felt sick to his stomach because despite giving her consent, he felt that he was no better than the Strix at this point and that he was basically raping her like Nok had.

Silverstream similarly had to hold back the whimpers she desperately wanted to make, the injuries she had sustained from being raped were still there and Sandbar couldn't avoid his cock gliding past them as he entered her. The jolts of pain that ran through her brought forth terrible flashbacks of when Nok had first defiled her, she tried desperately to remain calm not just for her own sake but also for Sandbar's, she couldn't imagine how terrible he felt having do to this to her just for the enjoyment of the Strix when his virginity could have been spent in the arms of a girl he was actually in love with... Silverstream had to admit that at this point, she wouldn't have minded if she was, in fact, that girl.

When Sandbar bottomed out, he could feel Silverstream shivering and Silverstream herself managed to remain remarkably silent despite the tears rolling down her face. Sandbar just hugged her, held her close and did whatever he could to comfort her as he began to gently thrust in and out, going at as gentle a pace as he was able so as not to scare her. Sandbar had never envisioned that this would how he would lose his virginity, he envisioned either a big party night out with the lads where he'd get drunk, have a one-night stand and spend the whole of next day high-fiving everyone or maybe he'd find true love and whatever girl he'd fallen in love with would have the honor of being part of his first sexual embrace... it seems that future had all been taken away from him now.

He kept a steady and consistent pace, which Silverstream was very thankful for, though they both recognized as the sex continued that even the pleasure they experienced was tainted somewhat by the circumstances... this sex wasn't emotionally enjoyable and that affected how they felt about the physical aspect as well, there was stimulation for sure but it was stimulation they hadn't asked for or really wanted. The Strix of course were having a wonderful time, mockingly chuckling at Sandbar's pitiful performance at pleasing a woman and being such an amateur in the bed room, though that didn't stop Nix and Magna playing with their own junk as they both became slightly hard at the spectacle.

The Discovery

Obviously, endurance forced the performance to end early and sticking to sexual etiquette, Sandbar whispered "Silverstream... where do you-"

Silverstream interrupted him and quietly begged "Just do it inside and get it over with... please... I care about you but this feels wrong! End it!"

Sandbar hilted and breathed heavily as he came inside Silverstream's pussy, he felt terrible that Silverstream hadn't enjoyed a second of that but to be honest neither did he. All the sexual stimulation in the world couldn't have made them enjoy what had just transpired on that bed. Sandbar pulled out as soon as he could and just cuddled Silverstream, desperate to make her feel cared for... as usual, the Strix ruined it.

Cackling, Nix said "That pathetic pony couldn't even make her cum before he fired off his own load! You were completely useless boy!"

Magna followed up with "Yeah, I've seen corpses with better sex skills!" Nok and Tuwa exchanged glances, hoping that Magna had either been joking or just didn't think through what he was saying when he talked about the sexual prowess of dead bodies, that was a line that not many crossed unless they accidentally killed their rape victims halfway into it.

Once Nix and Magna had wiped the tears of amusement from their eyes, Nok cleared his throat and asked "So gentleman, now that you've enjoyed seeing them in action, would you like to sample them for yourselves? I can tell you myself that their insides feel quite gratifying!"

Tuwa cut in and said "As can I! Magna, considering your distaste for those of us who don't care about the gender of our fuck meat, I assume you'll want the female? Unless you're feeling adventurous of course"

Magna grimaced, replying "How long have we been best friends Tuwa? You know all too well that Strix or not, I only fuck females! That's it!"

Nix shrugged and went "I guess I'll have the boy, can you tie them up?" Nok and Tuwa just nodded and retrieved some ropes to tie Sandbar and Silverstream to the bed in a way that kept them trapped but also easily maneuverable, it wouldn't do to have them be incapable of movement.

As Nok and Tuwa approached, Sandbar turned to glare at them and ask "Are you serious? Can't you give us a minute to come to terms with-"

Silverstream interrupted "Sandbar... don't... just don't... it's pointless anyway, they'll do whatever they want to us no matter what, arguing will just make it worse for us than it already is... I know you're only trying to defend me but you shouldn't... trust me, you're already doing everything you can and providing everything I need to cope without making them angry... besides, I don't like it when you're aggressive so just let it happen instead of desperately trying to delay the inevitable... I'll be OK..."

Sandbar let Silverstream's words sink in before going "Alright Silvy... just know that I'm here to protect you and keep you safe... alright?"

Silverstream smiled up at him as she said "Thank you Sandy...

Nok and Tuwa shared a chuckle while they began to tie them to the bed, Nok glanced over at Sandbar and went "Looks like your little girl friend has finally accepted her place! Got anything to say now you little prick?"

Sandbar scowled but said nothing, Tuwa rolled his eyes and sighed "Yes yes, it's all so very sweet. Enough with the mushy, romantic and lovey-dovey shit, time to serve your purpose yet again as our sex pets!" Their purpose? Sex pets? Being the servants of two assassins and their pals was their fate? Just to be constantly raped and abused until death? Neither Sandbar nor Silverstream were willing to accept that their destiny was to be subservient little cum rags for their Strix masters, they could escape this tragedy eventually and maybe be happy again. For now, however, it seemed that freedom was not an available option.

Nix and Magna removed their belts, their strong erections coming into view and alerting their soon-to-be victims that they were just as well endowed as Nok and Tuwa, it would seem Strix women weren't satisfied with just a big cock when it came to who they took to their beds if these four were resorting to seeking sexual pleasure from other species. Sandbar let out a small grunt of disorientation as Nix grabbed him and got him to lie on his back rather than on his side, Silverstream yelped as Magna did the same to her, though he forced her to lie on her front rather than her back... the terror of being raped again filled their souls.

Magna smirked and went "Ha! Look at the ass on this bitch!" Silverstream cried out in pain as Magna gave a swift smack on her right butt cheek, the tender skin stinging from the impact, turning red and even threatening to bruise while Magna continued to mock her "Obviously no mere hippogriff could ever compare to the divine beauty of a Strix female but she has a positively laughable pair of buttocks! Perhaps having such a flat rump is normal for her race, thoughts Nix?"

Nix pried open Sandbar's legs and got down on his knees between them before going "I'm more focused on this puny pony's pitiful package! Sure it looked small from a distance but up close and compared to my own decently sized tool, it looks absolutely pathetic! It's almost sad to think that any creature would have such an ill-equipped breeding partner like him! No wonder he couldn't make the hippogriff cum!" Magna spread Silverstream's cheeks and leaned down to drag his warm slippery tongue across her pucker, making her breath hitch at the alien sensation while simultaneously shuddering in disgust, not necessarily at the action itself, more the fact that it was Magna who was doing it.

Nix, knowing that Tuwa had already broken Sandbar in, decided against any form of foreplay or preparation and angled his dick to Sandbar's slightly gaped ring and started pressing forward to enter his frail body. Meanwhile, Magna spat on his own cock and spread his saliva around to make his member slick and shiny, once he was satisfied, he shuffled forward and aimed himself at Silverstream's tight virgin back entrance. Once Silverstream felt the head of Magna's cock pushing at her ass hole, her eyes went wide and she looked back at him to pleadingly say "Wait! I... I've never taken anything back there before! You'll never get it in my... i-it won't fit! You're too big! Please... p-please fuck my pussy!"

Magna, aware that Nok had claimed Silverstream's cunt, just remarked "Call me fussy but I'm not a fan of sloppy seconds and considering you have barely any junk in the trunk, I'm hoping it's better on the inside! True that size difference provides a challenge, though if this were easy it wouldn't be so fun! So shut up and try not to piss yourself as I fuck you"

Silverstream, panicking wildly, wailed at him "No! Please don't! I can't!" Her begs of mercy fell on deaf ears, Magna kept trying to gain access. Nix was having a much easier time with his own prey, he was already inside Sandbar by the time Silverstream had started complaining and was now smoothly sliding every inch of himself into Sandbar's ass, Sandbar, as could be expected, wasn't enjoying himself in the slightest. The penetration was easier than before but that didn't make it any less agonizing due to the pain and more importantly, the fact that he hadn't consented to it, not that he would've wanted a guy to fuck him anyway, let alone a fully grown adult owl man who was using him as a play thing.

Guttural groans emanated from Sandbar's throat as Nix continued to almost effortlessly glide his erection deeper, after a few more seconds of Sandbar gritting his teeth and scrunching his eyes, he felt a pair of feathery hips meet his thighs, Nix had bottomed out inside him at last. Nix hummed and went "Not bad, not bad at all. Snug, warm, soft and a nice firm grip... all fine qualities for milking cock, I dare say that this male pony you've captured would have been better off as a slutty girl!" Nok and Tuwa shared a chuckle before Nix gripped onto Sandbar's shoulders and started thrusting away, his heavy balls clapping against his butt as he began to drill Sandbar with all the might he could muster. Sandbar just closed his eyes and tried to hold back his whimpers as he once again found himself sobbing, tears rolling down his somber face.

Meanwhile, Magna was still attempting to stuff his fuck stick into Silverstream's exceedingly tight booty and refused to give up, he knew that with the right amount of pressure, some perseverance and a little patience, he would eventually be rewarded when her bottom would stretch open wide enough for his stiff member to be squeezed inside. That moment came only a few seconds later, Silverstream winced as her pucker conceded defeat and reluctantly opened up to allow the head of Magna's cock to pop inside her previously untouched anal fuck hole. Before Magna could make any further progress, Silverstream began to cry heavily as she whispered "Please... I'm begging you... it hurts..."

Magna whispered back "I know it hurts, that's part of why it's so fun" and grabbed onto her head, pushing her face into the mattress to muffle her squeals as he slowly began to ease the rest of his erection inside. Minutes went by as Magna focused on his arduous effort to bury himself down to the hilt in Silverstream's backside, eager to be the one to claim her anal virginity and show how dominant a sexual predator he was.

Magna's hard work was not in vain and eventually his entire length was being hugged by the walls of Silverstream's ass from tip to base, his churning nut sacks resting comfortably against the lips of her cunt. Magna let out a breath and went "Phew! That took a while but we got there in the end! I'm glad to say that while the outside leaves a lot to be desired, the inside is very stimulating indeed! More than adequate!" With both Nix and Magna now balls deep inside their respective victims, the room was filled with the sounds of clapping flesh, muffled screams, heavy breathing, grunts of discomfort and squeaking bed springs, all mixing together in a cacophonous symphony of carnal debauchery.

Nix and Magna focused on their conquest while Nok and Tuwa were content to just watch with smug lecherous grins on their faces, though both were unsure of what they liked more, the sex itself or the sheer malice that had fueled the sex in the first place, deriving some form of perverse pleasure that the cruelty of it was what made it so enthralling. In the midst of his fucking, Nix decided to look down at Sandbar's junk to see if having his ass pounded was having any sort of effect on him, he smirked to see that whatever pleasure Sandbar might have been feeling from the constant presence of a thick log of fuck flesh bashing against his prostate, it was clearly being cancelled out from the physical and emotional suffering he was having to endure because he was only partially erect and even then he wasn't getting any harder than that.

Nix cackled "This boy is so weak and worthless that he can't even get hard when his body is being used, maybe he really is meant to be a girl! His ass sure feels decent enough for me to blow my load into his guts!"

Magna responded "If you think he feels good then this hippogriff female has an ass that would make you nut instantly! There's nothing quite like an unused and unabused bitch like this, so fucking warm and tight!" Magna's balls continued to collide with Silverstream's pussy, a pussy that was only the slightest bit wet due to the stimulation to her g-spot through the walls of her ass, again it was the pain, the turmoil and the torment that stopped her body from reacting more favorably to it all.

Nix paused his thrusting briefly to let go of Sandbar's shoulders and instead grab his ankles, forcing the legs down until Sandbar's feet were practically next to his ears, Sandbar groaned from the feeling of his legs stretching further than they'd ever had to shortly before he started groaning for an entirely different reason when Nix's motivation for pushing his legs down became clear. Nix took a deep breath and resumed the pace and strength of his fucking, though in this new position he was able to delve just that little bit deeper inside, which gave him just the edge for his orgasm to build. He was about to cum.

As Nix kept pounding, he huskily went "Look at me boy... open your fucking eyes and look at me, I have something to say to you..."

Not seeing that he really had any other options at that point, Sandbar reluctantly opened his eyes and look at the Strix that was currently ramming his wrecked behind with wild and reckless abandon like there was no tomorrow. Nix grinned as disgusting a grin as he could, saying "You listen here, I'm very close to my climax but I'm going to give you a little choice here just because I'm so fucking nice. So here's the deal, I'm fucking you, destroying you, I'm pulverizing you and annihilating you sexually with my superior strength and superior dick... now, you can either keep being a little silent sissy bitch or you can simply thank me. Now if you decide to carry on trying to ignore that I'm raping you, then I'll hold back my release and keep this going for a while longer... but if you're willing to thank me, then I might be persuaded to end it now. What's it gonna be pony boy? Be a useless little wimp, or be grateful?"

Sandbar didn't want to do it, it would feel so wrong, though in the interest of putting a stop to it, he just whined "I... th-thank... thank you"

Nix barked "Speak up! What are you thanking me for you pussy?!"

Sandbar projected and replied "Thank you for using my hungry ass!"

Nix basically roared "Fuck yes! Take it you greedy jizz pig!" as he gave a few more violently rapid thrusts until slamming himself as hard and as deep as possible and holding himself there as he fired fired thick heavy ropes of cum inside Sandbar, coating his insides with Strix spunk. While Nix was coming down from his finish, it seemed that Magna wasn't far behind and was breathing heavily as his thrusts became faster and faster, which consequently made Silverstream's muffled screeching louder and louder from the increased anal pain she felt.

Magna laughed and said "Oh yeah! Time to mark you as mine skank! Know that no matter who buries their rock hard member in your hot ass, I was the one to truly claim it! I was the first to take it! No creature can take that achievement away from me nor can any creature restore your innocence! I've taken your anal virginity and to solidify my victory I'm going to sully your innards with my load! Take it you worthless cunt! Submit to me and my glorious raping of your unworthy ass! Fuck yes!"

Silverstream let out one long yet still muffled cry of despair as Magna gave one last thrust and emptied his nuts. The heaving and swinging sacks tensed with each shot he pumped inside her, packing her rump with his seed, ultimately robbing her of and breaking her self respect. When they had both come down from their respective orgasms, they both concluded that they were ready for a break before doing anything else with the two creatures they had conquered, or more accurately, been offered up to by the ones who had caught them to begin with.

Nix pulled out, leaving Sandbar's ass empty and leaking small trails of semen whilst the majority of it stayed in the warm depths of his derriere. The same could be said of Silverstream when Magna yanked himself out of her backside, though it appeared that the main thing trickling from her rear end was blood, a result of her ass being so forcefully fucked.

Nok finally piped up as he asked "Despite having such fun with those two, I assume you'll both be wanting another round in a moment, right?"

Nix nodded and said "Of course brother, though while we wait I do hope we can have a conversation and maybe something to eat perhaps?"

Magna concurred "Good call, I must say I'm famished! Thirsty too!"

As they began to leave the room, the last thing Sandbar and Silverstream heard was Tuwa going "Excellent! Food and drink!"

A minute or so of silence went by as Sandbar and Silverstream were left alone without any of the Strix watching them or listening to them. Sandbar turned to see Silverstream's face soaked with her own tears, she didn't even want to open her eyes. Sandbar felt an ache in his chest, he whispered "Hey Silverstream... are you... are you um... like... alright?"

Alright? What a stupid question, how could she possibly be alright at this moment? She'd been whisked away from her home, raped, taken to a foreign kingdom, beaten, tied to a bed and raped again, it wasn't OK! These were thoughts that ran through both of their minds but they both recognized the question came from a good place, which is why Silverstream just shook her head. She wasn't alright, how could she be?

Sandbar shuffled closer to her, feeling sad to see Silverstream flinch, he got as close as he dared and whispered "Silverstream... please open your eyes and look at me, just look at me OK?" Silverstream blinked a few times before opening her eyes and looking directly at Sandbar. Sandbar went "Look... these guys, these Strix... they can take a lot away from us, they can take our self esteem, they can take our freedom, they can take our lives but there's one thing they can't take away, something that we'll always have no matter where we go... we have each other. Understand? I know this might sound really selfish on my part but... I'm glad I'm not alone here... more than that... I'm glad it's you here with me"

Silverstream had just one question on her mind, how was he so perfect? Her adoration for him grew as he managed to make her crack a small timid smile as she whispered back "Yeah... me too... we may struggle to survive this and cope with what they do to us but... we're together..."

Sandbar smiled back, he had to admit to himself that even though he was generally a nice guy, the way he felt about Silverstream made him want to be more protective of her. He wanted to care for her, comfort her and make sure that no matter what happened, that he would always be there for her through it all to make her at the very least feel safe.

Unfortunately their brief solitude was shattered when all four Strix returned, seemingly ready to move on to part two of the "fun" in store. Nok and Tuwa untied Sandbar and Silverstream, most likely for convenience rather than kindness, then coerced them to sit on the edge of the bed side by side facing the four of them. Nix was the first to speak "You know, fucking you two proved to be quite a messy ordeal didn't it? I certainly know that when I was done, my cock was all but drenched in my own fluids, not an ideal look if I want to impress a worthy female"

Magna nodded "That's right, my own equipment is covered in not just my own semen but also my saliva and hippogriff blood! Disgusting!" Silverstream's eyes widened, apparently unaware that Magna's forced entry into her bottom had actually caused some noticeable bleeding. Magna continued "That's why before we leave, we expect you two to clean us up ready for when we seek out a Strix female who can truly satisfy us and sate our most primal needs! Clean our cocks! Capiche?"

Sandbar and Silverstream were slightly confused, that is until Nix rolled his eyes and said "With your mouths you simpletons, suck us off!"

Silverstream cringed and went "Our mouths? We can't suck them! Those things were just in our... our... it's gross! It's dirty! Disgusting!"

Nok sat behind Sandbar and said "Exactly! Their dicks are filthy!"

Tuwa sat behind Silverstream, continuing "That's why you're both gonna open up your mouths and polish their fuck poles, right now!"

Nix stepped forward and gripped onto Sandbar's hair as he presented his erection to be sucked. Once again discarding all notions of choice, Sandbar began to obediently open his mouth with Silverstream doing the same with Magna. Just before they got to work, Nix glared at Sandbar and bellowed "If you bite or so much as scrape me with your teeth, I will tear your fucking head off and fuck the stump of your neck!"

Magna did the same with Silverstream, saying "If you vomit on me even the tiniest bit, I will rip an eye out of your skull and fuck the socket!"

Sandbar and Silverstream didn't know if what they had said were empty threats or not but they weren't willing to disobey in order to find out. Considering that neither of them had any blow job skills in any capacity, they were equally terrified of accidentally angering them either way, which is why Sandbar just opened up his mouth and allowed the slick cum-coated length in front of him enter his mouth, closing his lips around the throbbing tool and starting to suck as well as he could.

Silverstream had been forced to give up her pussy and her ass to these creatures, what point was there in delaying the inevitable truth that there was no hole on her body that she wouldn't have to sacrifice to survive? She followed Sandbar's example and took Magna's cock in her mouth, true she had already sucked on an erection earlier but she doubted that blowing a Strix would be just the same as blowing the boy she admired, she certainly hadn't built up any real technique, she was still a novice.

Nix grunted as he moved Sandbar's head back and forth, immersing himself in the moist warmth of his mouth, letting out a sigh of relaxation before saying "My goodness, such a soft silky mouth, obviously it pales in comparison to a Strix woman but this young pony has such a tender tongue! Have you not tried to defile this one's face my dear brother?"

Nok grinned and replied "Correct! It wouldn't be fair for Tuwa and I to claim every hole and leave you no chance to train them now would it? You just enjoy yourself while I occupy my time with something else..."

Sandbar soon found out what Nok intended to do when he felt his clawed hands gliding down his stomach only for them to start fondling with his genitals, it wasn't humiliating enough that he was sucking off a guy who had been banging him minutes prior? He had to also sit there and have the guys brother molest him as well? How could they do this?

Silverstream didn't get much better treatment as Tuwa decided to busy himself with her bust by playing around with her tits, squeezing her sensitive melons and pinching her nipples. No part of her body was too sacred for the Strix to have their way with, not even her chest was safe. Magna groaned "Damn... as nice as this feels, it really is a shame that she's such an amateur! No skills or technique! No sense of finesse!" Magna gripped onto Silverstream's head, deciding that much like Sandbar, she'd have to be slightly guided into delivering what was likely to be an extremely unimpressive and simply mediocre blow job at best.

Silverstream had gotten the short end of the stick, ignoring the fact that she didn't want to be held captive and forced to give blow jobs to owl people, she was having to taste the slimy and salty layer of Magna's cum, the remnants of the spit he had used to lubricate his member and to top it all off, the metallic taste of her own blood, it was bad enough that the thing had been shoved in her butt and was now in her mouth!

Magna decided to turn things up a gear and started pushing her down, going "Take it into your throat bitch, I want to feel the wet flesh of your esophagus rippling around my prick as you stupidly struggle to breathe! I want to choke you by bulging your neck with my cock! I'm not gonna stop pushing until I feel my fuck sacks connect with your chin! FUCK!" Silverstream clamped her eyes shut, her face going red upon feeling the tip of Magna's strong bitch breaker tickling the back of her throat as he was once again tasked with cramming his dick into a hole that simply wasn't designed with pleasurable non-consensual sex acts in mind.

Magna, of course, didn't accept that. To Magna, her only function was his satisfaction and if that required him to be a little rough then so be it, she was a toy, a doll, an object, her feelings were not his main concern. It was mere seconds before Magna was able to breach the entrance to her throat and despite how she gagged and retched, he kept his promise and didn't let up until her face was pressed right against his crotch. Magna sighed "Ahh... that's right, deep throat me... little slut..."

Magna held her there for a few seconds then started to thrust, not at all removing his turgid length from her throat. Tears of exertion rolled down Silverstream's cheeks as she coughed and spluttered, unable to properly cope with the fact that her air ways had been cut off by an enormous cock in her throat, her lungs burned in desperation for oxygen but Magna kept up his relentless actions with Tuwa doing nothing more than continuing to handle her breasts and grope her.

Nix chuckled at the spectacle and looked down at Sandbar to ask him "Think you can do better than your little hippogriff girl friend? Hmm?" Sandbar didn't even get a chance to register the question and was caught off guard when Nix somehow managed to launch his entire cum cannon down his throat and start hammering away at a feverish pace. Meanwhile, Nok was still focusing on Sandbar's junk though had moved on from simply touching him up, one hand was now cupping and gently squeezing the balls while the other was stroking and massaging Sandbars erection, an erection he had gained when his body naturally responded to a pair of hands attempting to stimulate and arouse him, no matter the species or gender... Nok was gonna force Sandbar to cum.

Similar to Silverstream, Sandbar wasn't exactly well equipped in dealing with a large rock hard member pumping in and out of his throat and he found himself making the typical *gluk gluk gluk* sounds he had heard back at school when he had gone into the toilets to study, only to be interrupted by two horny students rushing into the cubicle next to him for an impromptu bit of hanky panky where no teachers could find them.

While Sandbar had decided to let his arms hang limply by his side and just accept that Nix was gonna use his face like a personal flesh light, Silverstream gripped onto Magna's hips to see if she was able to push him away whenever he pulled back for another thrust. The unfortunate thing was that the main reason she desperately needed Magna to show her some mercy was that she still hadn't been able to breathe and the oxygen deprivation prevented her from having enough strength to even attempt to stop him, her eyes rolled, she began to feel weak and dizzy, she didn't know how much longer she could stay conscious like this.

Magna saw what was happening to her but didn't care, she was a pleasure tool and so he felt no remorse... that being said, he wasn't too keen on actually killing her when he was so close to cumming either. Magna begrudgingly pulled out and idly played with himself as he watched his best friend Tuwa continue to have fun with the hippogriffs hefty milkers. The hippogriff herself gasped lungfuls of air, strings of spittle hung between her lips and Magna's shaft, drool dripped down her chin and she could finally breathe again... for about thirty or so seconds.

Once Magna was satisfied that she wouldn't pass out on him, he slapped her in the face to bring her back to her senses then just immediately picked up where he left off, holding onto Silverstream's head and once again ravenously fucking her throat like it was nothing.

Nix wasn't quite as close to orgasm as Magna but he was getting there, though someone who was closer to climax than both of them was Sandbar himself. Sandbar didn't like that Nok was touching him but his body had stopped caring, Nok was effectively giving him a hand job and he wouldn't stop until he had forced the poor boy to blow his load, mockingly making him feel pleasure at the absolute height of his misery. Sandbar moaned, mainly in discomfort, around the mouthful of Strix cock he was enduring as he nutted, each shot of his ejaculation threading through the air and landing on floor directly in front of him.

Despite Sandbar's obvious finish, the hand job continued, looks like Nok intended to "pleasure" him until Nix was done using his throat. Then it was just as Tuwa had squeezed Silverstream's breasts enough to make her lactate that Magna shouted "Aww fucking shit yes! Take it!" Silverstream found herself involuntarily swallowing Strix seed as Magna blew his load, making sure she gulped down almost every drop before pulling out and savagely jerking off as a final jet found it's place on her face across a, luckily, closed eye. Another sign that he had claimed her, the perfect compliment from the hand shaped imprint and small claw marks on her face from when he had slapped her a few seconds ago.

Nix carried on for a further one minute and though he didn't say a word, he did grit his teeth and growl as he hilted in Sandbar's face and deposited his baby batter into his stomach, deciding that every drop should ultimately end up inside the tender belly of this young pony boy. After Nix pulled out, Nok and Tuwa stopped touching up their respective captives and then... it appeared to be all over for now... Nix and Magna were putting their belts back on and their cocks were flaccid. Done.

Nok beamed and asked "Well then gentleman! What did you think?"

Tuwa added "I trust that their performance was satisfactory?"

Nix and Magna shared a glance at each other, engaging in a silent conversation before they both turned back so that Magna could say "Despite their lack of sexual prowess they are... good enough prey"

Nok and Tuwa would have kept smiling had Nix not gone on to say "However... we will be hesitant to recommend others considering that both of them have shown worrying levels of defiance... you need to reign them in a bit more if you want us to consider inviting friends"

Sandbar and Silverstream went stiff, others? Friends? There was going to be more of them next time?! Were they eventually just going to be sat in a room like submissive sex servants surrounded by six Strix dicks!? Nix and Magna left with Nok and Tuwa bidding them farewell that day... then things got worse, they were angry... and they became violent.

Tuwa punched Sandbar so hard that he fell from the bed and onto the floor, his eye swelling and turning a shade of purple. Nok went slightly more extreme and actually picked Silverstream up to throw her at the wall, she too also thudded to the floor, the two of them shivered in pain, shock and confusion. Tuwa yelled "You insignificant pathetic cunts!"

Silverstream, finding the courage to speak, asked "What did we do?!"

Nok explained "Both of you! How do you have the gall? How do you dare stand up for yourselves and each other!? We are Strix and we are superior, maybe even the most supreme race of creatures in the world! You should know your place! Not only that but you made us look bad in front of the others! You made us look like fools incapable of hunting!"

Tuwa rejoined the conversation "You'll learn to obey! You'll learn fear! We have just the punishment to crush your spirits and humble you!"

Nok dragged the bed away to reveal a large door on the floor, he opened it to reveal a staircase and stood aside to allow Tuwa to grab both Sandbar and Silverstream by the hair and started dragged them down the stairs to what they assumed was some kind of secret basement. From what little light they had available, they could see that the basement was as simple as four black stone walls, the air was damp and musty and they could have sworn they heard the squeaking of rats. The next thing they saw was chains, chains which were promptly used on them to keep them trapped and pinned to the wall the chains were attached to. The punishment was simply prolonged imprisonment.

Tuwa said "Now... Nok and I are going to leave for a while, don't even bother trying to escape because even if you somehow manage it, you won't get too far before Nok and I track you down, bring you back here and not only will we just torture you... but we'll fucking kill you both..."

With those final chilling words, Tuwa left the basement and the door was shut, leaving them both in pitch black darkness with nothing but a cold void and a broken spirit... it was hopeless, they'd never be set free. Once that realization hit them, their thoughts of what was happening to them, what had already happened to them, the fact that they would likely never see their home, their friends or their family again... it all became too much to bare and they both just broke down and began to cry. Several long minutes of the two of them sharing this one singular moment of pure and utter despair with far too many tears shed, it all culminated in a conversation that only lasted for a few sentences.

Silverstream went "Sandbar... I know you said it sounds selfish but... it's just like you said, I'm glad I'm not here alone... all by myself... in Rapax"

There was a pause before Sandbar said "Yeah... I feel the same way... we still have each other... perhaps, maybe... just maybe... we can make the best of this... but we gotta stick together OK? You understand me?"

Silverstream contemplated his words for maybe only a couple of seconds before replying "Yes... I understand, we'll stick together and try to make something of our new lives... it'll be fine, we can adapt and make it work as long as we're together... we're gonna be OK, right? That's what you mean isn't it? Tell me please... are we gonna be OK?"

Sandbar, staying true to his promise to look after her, said the only thing that he really could say in that moment "Yes... we're gonna be OK..."

It had been six days and school was progressing as usual, though Smolder, Gallus, Yona and Ocellus were still mystified at Sandbar and Silverstream's persisting absence that had no possible explanation yet. At the end of the school day when they all met up, Smolder just went "OK, I know we joke around about it a lot but... I dunno you guys, what if they really did run off somewhere to be together? We did that before"

Gallus rolled his eyes and replied "Well yeah but that's because we wanted to hang out, not to get hitched and bang. Besides, they said time and time again that they weren't into each other so it makes no sense for them to run away together, especially without even telling anyone!"

Ocellus, ever the voice of reason, cut in and went "Look, I think we are all getting way too worked up about this. I'm willing to bet that with exams coming up that maybe the stress of it was getting to them a little and after hanging out together they got ill. They didn't feel like coming to school and since Silverstream couldn't fly to Mount Aris, she crashed at Sandbar's place and they are both resting up and trying to get better!"

Yona smiled and said "Maybe we visit! Check in see how they doing!" The group seemed to agree that visiting Sandbar and Silverstream to see how they were doing was a great idea and would put them at ease.

However, it was just as they were leaving that head mare Twilight approached them with a look of concern etched on her features, clearly she felt troubled about something and her worries were made clear when she asked "Hello students, I don't mean to pry but I've noticed that two of the friends in your group, Sandbar and Silverstream, haven't been attending classes and in fact haven't even been coming to the school at all. Considering that exams are coming up, I've made it a priority to find out why this is, do you happen to know the reason?"

Gallus answered on behalf of the group "Yeah, no worries your majesty, we all figured that the reason they haven't been coming in is because they're sick and have been staying at Sandbar's house. We were just about to go visit them actually! Hopefully they'll be feeling better soon"

Twilight relaxed and went "Oh! Well, thank goodness for that! I'll have to get in touch with Sandbar's parents at some point and see how they are doing, maybe send them some notes on the lessons they've been missing out on. I'm sorry to say that if they are ill then I don't think you should visit them, I understand that may not seem fair but if they infect you during the visit and then you bring the infection to the school well... you can imagine that's a scenario we need to avoid at all costs, alright? I promise you that I'll check in on them and let you know if you like"

The group let the info sink in and couldn't help but agree with Twilight's logic, so they left the school to have some fun before they inevitably would have to return to their dorms when evening set in to go to sleep.

Meanwhile, Twilight returned to her office and after looking through the student records, found Sandbar's home phone number and starting to dial so she could speak to him or at the very least his mother or father. After the phone rang a couple of times a female voice answered "Hello?"

Twilight grinned said "Hi! This is head mare Twilight from the school of friendship! Can I assume I'm speaking to Sandbar's mother?"

A little flustered, Sandbar's mom got over the shock of speaking to royalty before going "Oh yes! Yes certainly, forgive me for being so unprepared your majesty, it isn't often that the princess of friendship gives me a call! To what do I owe the pleasure on this fine day?"

Twilight tittered, she still wished people didn't treat her so differently just because she happened to be the newest monarch but accepted that her title and alicorn status couldn't be ignored forever, she continued "Well if I have my facts correct, Sandbar and Silverstream are currently not feeling well and have decided to not come into school for the past week, so I thought I'd just give you a call to see how they are doing and let them know that even if they fail to make it to the exams, they are more than welcome to take them at a later date that suits them. They aren't in trouble or anything, I just want to make sure they are OK"

There was an uncomfortable silence, Twilight furrowed her brow and went "Hello? Are you still there? Is everything alright?"

Eventually she got an answer, a frightening answer. With a trembling lip and a shaky voice, Sandbar's mom swallowed the lump in her throat and replied "Your majesty... I... um... I d-don't know how t-t-to tell you this but... I haven't seen Sandbar or Silverstream at all this past week, they're... they're not here, I just assumed Sandbar was staying at the school to study during his free time, or was hanging out with his friends, he hasn't even come home for a visit... is... is he missing?!"

Twilight could hear Sandbar's mother was on the verge of tears and tried to calm her "Don't worry, I'm sure everything is fine and that there's a rational explanation for this, just to be safe I'll converse with the other teachers and set about a course of action, I promise you there is nothing to worry about. I'll keep you informed, I advise that you stay in your home in case Sandbar or Silverstream happen by"

Sandbar's mom, still getting quite frantic, nodded her head and solidly stated "OK, I will! Thank you..." as she hung up the phone shortly after. Twilight put the phone down and took a deep breath in and then out, in the past she would have ordinarily reacted to this kind of news in a rather negative and non-productive way by going absolutely mental and trying to fix things by finding out what happened in a haphazard fashion, if anything was going to get solved she needed to remain level-headed, strategic and professional about this and approach it nice and calmly.

Twilight pressed a button on the intercom and spoke into the microphone, her voice echoed throughout the school as she announced "Attention all staff members, please make your way to the staff room area as soon as possible for an emergency staff meeting, thank you"

The Rescue

Moments later, the element bearers plus Starlight were gathered in the staff room and ready to discuss whatever emergency had unfolded. Twilight said "OK everyone the reason I've called you here is something that is of the utmost importance. Two of our students, a pony by the name of Sandbar and a hippogriff by the name of Silverstream, have apparently gone missing and we need to make a decision to find these two students quickly, efficiently and without spreading panic amongst the students or their parents. Any suggestions on what we should do?"

Applejack went "Well isn't it obvious? We do a town-wide search!"

Twilight nodded "Good call but I don't think we should be sending out search parties just yet, we'd need the help of at least one platoon of royal guards from Canterlot and at this point we haven't got sufficient enough cause to request that from Princess Celestia. Plus, we need to keep this contained initially, if there comes a point where a town-wide search becomes absolutely necessary, then we can contact Canterlot"

Fluttershy proposed "Um... we could insist on a stricter curfew..."

Twilight came back with "Again, excellent idea, though I think that if there is to be some sort of curfew then it can't simply be "stricter", we'd have to have all students stay in their dorms until this is resolved. However that is something we should implement once we decide what to do in order to find these students, anything else?"

Pinkie Pie asked "Why don't we simply call their cell phones?"

Twilight shook her head "No not possible. If we assume they went missing on school grounds then they wouldn't have their cell phones on them because it's against the rules, not to mention that Sandbar's mother and Silversteam's friends might be trying that right now, considering they're still "missing" we can assume they don't have them"

Rainbow Dash groaned "Look if we really need to keep it "contained" why don't I just do a quick fly around town and use my eagle eyes to scout it out? No one will be suspicious of me flying around Ponyville!"

Twilight hummed before going "It's not a terrible idea but we can't rule out the fact that they might be inside a building, so unless you have perfect x-ray vision I'm not sure that's sufficient enough at the moment"

Rarity sighed "Twilight darling, I love that you are approaching this so calmly but we need to come up with something! What do you think?"

Twilight was about to reply when Starlight accidentally cut her off to go "Look, why don't we just tell all the students to stay in their dorm rooms tomorrow while all of us do a search inside the school to make sure they aren't just trapped or hidden somewhere, then if we don't find them we just tell Princess Celestia the situation and search all of Ponyville?"

The rest of them all looked to each other, silently agreeing that Starlight's idea was the best way to start, Twilight finally concluded "Alright, that seems to be the way forward, staff meeting adjourned!"

As the students were waking up to the sound of the school bell the following morning, Twilight once again put out an announcement "Attention all students, please stay in your dorm rooms and do not exit unless absolutely necessary. In light of a recent discovery, lessons and exams have been cancelled for the foreseeable future"

The news that lessons had been cancelled was actually quite dissapointing for most of the students, they found the lessons at the school of friendship rather fun unlike traditional schools which were only fun if you happened to have a particularly nice teacher around. Every one stayed put while Twilight and co. spent the entire day searching every nook and cranny of the school for any sign that Sandbar and Silverstream were still in the building, including checking dorm rooms if, for whatever reason, some creature had decided to hide them away and not reveal their location to any one. No such luck.

Twilight met up with the rest of her friends, turning up empty-handed and saying "Alright... so they aren't in the school, time to contact Celestia and conduct a search of Ponyville... though if they aren't in Ponyville either then we may have to start searching other kingdoms as well, I just hope it doesn't come to that! We start the search tomorrow"

As instructed, the entire student body made the school their new temporary home and only exited their dorm rooms for the sake of going to the bathroom or getting something to eat and drink, no social visits were permitted between students, much to the chagrin of those who had really close friends and those who had a partner they couldn't resist.

The next day arrived and after Twilight got Spike to send a letter, Celestia obliged Twilight's request and deployed one regiment of the royal guards to Ponyville to do an extensive search for the missing students, checking every single home and business in the area, searching high and low in the most likely and unlikely places ranging from Twilight's castle to every orchard at Sweet Apple Acres, no stone was left unturned in their effort to locate Sandbar and Silverstream.

They reported back to Twilight, regrettably informing her that the two teenagers had yet to be found, another letter to Celestia later and it was decided that every kingdom should be investigated... it would take a very long time but it would be worth it to find Sandbar and Silverstream whether they happened to be dead or alive, if dead then at least there was closure and if alive then they could be rescued and returned home.

As time dragged on, every kingdom was questioned and searched but there was still no sign of them anywhere, they had searched Manehattan, Las Pegasus, Baltimare, Fillydelphia, Canterlot, Yakyakistan, Maretonia, Saddle Arabia, Afriquestria, Prance, Trottingham, The Dragon Lands, Kirin Grove, The Changeling Kingdom, The Crystal Empire, Cloudsdale, Griffonstone, Sire's Hollow, Seaquestria, Shireland, Trotland, Whinnyapolis, Vanhoover, Horstralia, they even went so far as to go exploring Discord's chaos realm, the den of the diamond dogs and also taking a look around the human world. Everyone was growing concerned, there was no evidence to suggest Sandbar or Silverstream were anywhere to be found in Equestria.

Twilight was starting to become frantic as she paced back and forth in the school trying to keep parents and students calm enough that they could remain methodical in their attempts to locate the missing friends. Twilight suddenly had an epiphany... friends, hadn't they ran away to the castle of the two sisters once to stay with their friends? It was obvious! Twilight summoned a group of guards and asked them to accompany her on a journey through the Everfree forest, no guards had searched the forest because they assumed that no teenagers would be stupid enough to be in the forest when dangerous creatures started to wake.

Halfway through their journey to the club house, Twilight noticed a disturbance in the dirt path, unfamiliar foot prints and different shapes, scuff marks... the clear sign of a struggle and their one and only clue. They followed where the markings led, seeing that they veered away from the path and into a deeper area of the forest, perfect for hiding illegal activities such as kidnapping, even if they had accidentally left behind evidence of it in an area that they knew was generally avoided.

Following the markings, Twilight and the guards found the clearing where the captors had clearly kept Sandbar and Silverstream for a while as evidenced by the piles of ash that still had scraps of intact fabric so that they could be identified as what was once clothing and the few torches that, although had been lit at some point, were just stuck in the ground and were stone cold. Not a lot to go on, had they reached a dead end? That was Twilight's thought until a very observant guard pointed out to her and his comrades a very clear arrow assembled out of leaves and sticks pointing north... it wasn't much but it was something at least.

Twilight and the guards all spread out as they headed north, they wanted to make sure that they covered all bases because it wasn't a guarantee that whatever or whomever had captured Sandbar and Silverstream had traveled in just one direction, so they needed to be certain that north was still the right way to go to find the missing students and also the villains who had decided to capture them. Eventually they came across the frozen wasteland east of Yakyakistan, going further north would have meant goodness knows how many moons of trekking through the mountains, they'd need some concrete proof that the trail continued that way before even thinking of organizing such a treacherous journey... and evidence was exactly what they found.

Two rows of foot prints identical to the ones in the forest and two large trails which could be assumed to be remnants of when Sandbar and Silversteam had been dragged through the snow... further north it was. Twilight was slightly worried and so were the guards, no creature had ventured any further north than Yakyakistan, not even the yaks themselves, it was too harsh a climate and there was no documentation of what dangerous animals may or may not have been hiding in the mountains, like the large and supposedly mythical Bighoof monster. They persevered however, the students had to be found no matter what.

They didn't know how long they had been travelling, they lost all sense of time as they trudged through the valleys without proper protection from the biting blizzards, little to drink or eat, hardly any sleep and maybe only one or two caves where they could catch some rest if they were lucky. The only thing that kept them going was the refusal to give up, to fulfill their duty and put the minds of the parents at rest and if they were honest... there was a certain sense of adventure in boldly going where no pony had gone before and discover what lay beyond the white empty void of the northern tundra, what would they find in this uncharted landscape of ice and snow? Where were the missing teens?

What Twilight and the guards did find out was that as they got further and further north, the climate defied all leaps of logic and actually got warmer. It wasn't a dramatic shift like they just stepped out of the white snow and onto the white sand of a tropical beach but it was warmer than before to a point where instead of feeling frozen it was just a little bit chilly, still cold but a very bearable almost nice cool temperature. What surprised them even more though was that in the distance they spotted structures, actual buildings that were built by intelligent beings and, presumably, were still populated by said beings, an unknown race! This had to be where Sandbar and Silverstream were being held captive, a hidden away civilization was the perfect place to hide kidnap victims.

Slowly but surely they reached the village, finding that it had an odd air of familiarity what with it being so similar to other villages like Ponyville, the two major differences being the presence of weaponry which indicated that these creatures were some kind of warrior race and that the race in question were all very owl-like, not too different from griffons though their bodies stuck to only having the characteristics of owls. As Twilight walked through the town with guards following close behind, the citizens all shared looks of confusion, fear, interest and even slight fascination, what were these weird horse creatures doing in Rapax?

Having already noticed the castle before even entering the town, Twilight confidently strode up to the doors where two of the owl creatures were standing guard, wearing armor and holding spears. Twilight cleared her throat, hoping that they spoke the language as she said "I wish to speak to the monarch of your kingdom please"

The guards exchanged a glance before one of them replied in a voice that sounded like poison "Lucky for you, the king is available to talk!"

The other followed in kind "He doesn't like strangers... you may enter!" Twilight nodded her head in thanks and entered the castle, again with the royal guards following close behind and remaining vigilant in case these intimidating and mysterious owl people decided to attack them. Upon reaching the throne room, Twilight laid eyes on King Horrum in all his glory, a big hulking owl creature with a sharp angular crown and very regal and certainly expensive robes, a king if ever there was one.

King Horrum took note of Twilight's presence and simply bellowed "Enlighten me purple horse creature, by what right do you presume that you should be granted the privilege of speaking with me after having the gall to invade the kingdom of Rapax? We Strix are a proud race and we don't take kindly to strangers waltzing about the place as if they were invited! State your identity and business, I have a kingdom to run!"

It was rude but it answered a couple of questions, Twilight remained calm and went "Forgive me your majesty, I didn't mean to offend and I assure you I have not come here to conquer your land... however, we have reason to believe that two citizens from my kingdom have been kidnapped by two of your citizens and are currently holding them captive here, we simply demand that they be returned to us"

King Horrum, knowing all too well who Twilight was talking about, played dumb and scoffed "Oh really? Do tell, what reasons do you have to believe that such a heinous crime has taken place my dear?"

Twilight, unimpressed, declared "We have very substantial evidence, we don't consider this a theory, it might as well be a fact. There were foot prints that can be linked to your species, small overlooked details that link our citizens to whomever took them and more than that, a trail that led directly to your kingdom. Is that sufficient enough proof for you?"

King Horrum contemplated what Twilight had said, he was thoroughly displeased that Nok and Tuwa had been so stupid as to leave a trail leading to the kingdom's location, the point of hiding a kingdom was that it remained hidden unless forced to be made known! King Horrum thought deeply about his next move before he calmly stated "Apparently... it would seem you know as well as I that two of your citizens are indeed being held here and I am willing to hand them over to you... but there are a couple of conditions that I would like to impose"

Twilight nodded, giving him the go ahead to lay out the terms by which he would agree to hand over Sandbar and Silverstream. King Horrum said "The kingdom of Rapax does not exist, you never found our kingdom, you never discovered our race, you found your citizens cold and alone in the southern mountains after being taken by two unknown assailants who went missing and could not be found. Presumed dead. Furthermore, these non-existent assailants were not handed over to you and were instead left to deal with the consequences of their actions in their equally non-existent home land. Therefore, you found your missing citizens and you held no doubt in your mind that a non-existent kingdom wouldn't allow it's non-existent people to visit your lands in the south again or indeed any fear that a certain non-existent king would break that promise. I assume you have understood what I'm asking for here?"

Twilight smiled "Very clearly, now, where can I find them?"

Sandbar and Silverstream had no idea how long they had been in their new home, all they knew was that it was longer than days but shorter than years, whether it had been weeks or months they hadn't a clue. They didn't realize it was so easy to lose track of time, then again they also didn't realize the bliss of submission and forever promising to obey their beloved Strix masters, Nok and Tuwa. It seemed that being locked in the dungeon was just the thing they needed to have their minds and spirits broken enough to develop some good old stockholm syndrome.

Of course the way they were treated by Nok and Tuwa was the same, constant sexual abuse, though their duties as slaves had extended to cooking and cleaning in the house and although romance between the two was forbidden, they were at least allowed to rely on each other as best friends and were perfectly content with the whole arrangement. Silverstream was cooking some soup while Sandbar was cleaning up some pots and pans, they kept up some conversation as Sandbar asked "Sorry I woke up late, did our masters deal with the baby situation?"

Silverstream grinned and nodded as she went "Yes, as soon as the bump started showing and I admitted I was pregnant, they were kind enough to beat me up this morning, focusing on the stomach to ensure the death of my child! Our masters treat us so well don't they Sandbar?"

Sandbar agreed "Yeah they really do, I think that your pregnancy is part of the reason they've started to concentrate their violent tendencies on my balls, they don't want us procreating after all, even though one of them could have been the father. I guess we'll never know!"

The cheerful conversation abated slightly as Nok and Tuwa finally came out of the bathroom after having cleaned themselves in a much more pleasant manner than the baths they gave to Sandbar and Silverstream. It was at exactly that point when the door was suddenly kicked down and several royal guards flooded into the building, immediately subduing Nok and Tuwa by pinning them flat against the floor. Silverstream stopped cooking and gasped as she screamed loudly "Hey! You leave our masters alone! You monsters! Get away!"

The guards were very confused to suddenly find that the victims they had been searching for were wildly attacking them in order to try and free the individuals who had taken them in the first place. It was at this point that Twilight entered and decided to intervene, lighting up her horn and sending Sandbar and Silverstream into a calm and relaxed sleep. Twilight cleared her throat and proclaimed "Gentlemen, we have found the students, though clearly they are somewhat... disturbed at the moment, we can explore the full extent of this when we get them back home but for now let's arrange a safe way to get them back to Ponyville and send those two sick perverts to face the wrath of their king!"

Nok and Tuwa looked at each other with fear, evidently they had fucked up somehow if the king had allowed them to be found out like this. Twilight and the guards left with Sandbar and Silverstream finally rescued after escorting Nok and Tuwa to the castle. Nok and Tuwa were stood before King Horrum, awaiting whatever verdict would befall them.

King Horrum shook his head, clearly very disappointed as he went "Such potential. It's a shame boys, you could have made fine soldiers... but you've failed at your original job of being assassins, it seems that being slightly past your prime and remaining as arrogant and brash as you were when you were youngsters has made you both increasingly slow, sloppy, incompetent even... your bumbling actions caused our kingdom to be discovered and your prey to be rescued. Such an act... such a misdeed... simply cannot go unpunished... therefore I am charging you both with treason, your mistakes have cost you your lives. Tomorrow the whole of Rapax will bear witness as you are hanged! What a pity that recklessness betrayed you of your worthlessness"

The following morning, Nok and Tuwa faced the consequences of their actions as nooses tightened around their necks and choked the life out of them, the rest of the Strix watched them suffocate and slip into death. They were left there for the rest of the day to serve as a symbol, to show the Strix the risks of attempting to become a soldier in the king's army. Nok and Tuwa were killed while Sandbar and Silverstream slept.

Silverstream yawned, her vision blurry and feeling groggy as she slowly opened her eyes, the last thing she remembered was standing with Sandbar to protect their beloved masters from royal pony guards. Silverstream lifted her head up and blinked until things came into focus, she noticed that rather than the dark and dreary house she was used to, she was in a painfully bright and white room adorned with beds and what she recognized as medical equipment. Silverstream only became more confused as, upon trying to get up, she found that her arms and legs and been strapped down onto a bed and she was wearing some sort of white gown instead of being naked like she was accustomed to.

Though the one thing that terrified her was that when she looked around, Sandbar was nowhere to be seen, she was all on her own. Something was clearly wrong here, once she saw that Sandbar wasn't with her she began to try and wriggle herself free, desperate to find her friend, without him she wouldn't survive being sexually abused every day once they returned to their masters in Rapax! She needed him! Silverstream began to scream, her shrill cries of terror reverberating off the walls, her body seeming to convulse and twist in unnatural ways in an effort to get off the bed and seek out Sandbar as soon as possible.

A doctor, accompanied by a couple of nurses, burst into the room and were both shocked and concerned at Silverstream's reaction to waking up in a hospital. Before they could say or do anything, Silverstream shouted at them "Where is he?! You've taken him away! Take me to him! I need him! I don't care what you do to me just let be with him! Please!"

A split second after she'd finished her sentence there was suddenly similar horrific screams coming from across the hall, it seems Sandbar had woken up and was just as displeased that his beloved friend was not with him and he was attempting to flee in order to try and find her. The doctor, in a panic, turned to the nurses and said quite vehemently "Bring him in here, clearly they aren't used to being separated after spending so long together, we need to calm them down immediately!"

The nurses rushed out of the room only to return pushing a hospital bed into the room with Sandbar still writhing around and strapped to it in the same way that Silverstream was. Once the beds were right next to each other and the two of them noticed that they were together again, they instantly stopped thrashing around and screaming, calming down and smiling as they realized that they were with each other once more. Silverstream adopted a dreamy tone of voice as she went "You're here"

Sandbar, in a similarly light and airy voice, replied "Always"

They stared into each others eyes for a moment before turning their attention back to the doctor, large scowls on their face as Silverstream snapped "Who are you? You may think that just because you've got us trapped that we are yours to use! Nice try! We'll always be loyal to our true masters! Only they have the right to fuck us all day and all night!"

Sandbar agreed "That's right! As lesser beings it is our duty to service the superior Strix! We won't even fuck each other for your viewing pleasure! You're not worthy masters for us to serve with our bodies!"

Twilight had mentioned that Sandbar and Silverstream would likely be acting irrational and would likely be under some delusion to help their minds cope with the terrible events that had befell them but the doctor hadn't expected the damage to be this extensive. Everyone left the room and walked down the hall to where Twilight was waiting to hear the verdict on what could be done to help the two students return to normality as they once knew it before being taken away by the Strix.

Twilight nervously asked "Well?"

The doctor cleared his throat and stated "The two of them... will need some work ,certainly. At this juncture it would be unwise to separate them, that course of action sends them into hysteria... it would also be prudent to say that suddenly exposing them to everything they knew from before the kidnapping would be a bad move, it seems they believe their assailants to be lovers, so no form of touch should be attempted, this needs to be a gradual re-introduction. Considering the state they are in, I doubt they would be willing to trust any of our psychiatric specialists. They need to talk to someone that, whether they remember it or not, is someone that they know they can trust on some level"

Twilight soaked in what the doctor had said and then said "I see... despite being the princess of friendship i don't think I would be the best candidate to talk to these two right now, I doubt I'm necessarily qualified to do any kind of therapy... Although, maybe... yes, it makes sense!"

The doctor, bewildered, went "What makes sense? Who?"

The following day started with Silverstream and Sandbar looking bemused beyond belief as Starlight grinned and very chirpily just said "Hello! You must be Silverstream and Sandbar, right? My name is Starlight but you can call me "Miss Glimmer" OK? I'm a counselor and I'm here just to introduce myself so that we can have a nice chat and just get to know each other, is that alright with you?"

Silverstream and Sandbar didn't know what to make of this person, to be honest they were still wondering why no males had been brought along to force them into sex yet, true they wouldn't accept it because only their Strix masters were permitted to torture them but they didn't understand why these creatures were being so... so not Strix-like, they both recognized that these were ponies and therefore lesser beings but they figured even lesser beings would desire to have them both submit. After assessing the situation, Sandbar was the first to reply as he tentatively came back with "Conversation... that's odd but... sure..."

Starlight nodded "Excellent, so first I know your names but I don't know anything else about you! Why don't you both take it in turns to tell me about yourselves? It doesn't have to be anything complicated, it can be your favorite color or favorite food, hobbies that you might have or pretty much anything you like to do in your spare time, I'm all ears!"

Sandbar, once again being the more welcoming of the two, just stated "My name is Sandbar, I am a pony and as such am a lesser creature but was lucky enough to be deemed a suitable pleasure device by the Strix. I've been their property for as long as I can remember alongside my beautiful hippogriff friend, who I'm not allowed to love romantically"

Silverstream said almost exactly the same thing Sandbar had, saying "My name is Silverstream, I'm a hippogriff and am a lesser creature but I was lucky enough to be deemed a suitable pleasure device by the Strix. I've been their property for as long as I can remember alongside my handsome pony friend, who I'm not allowed to love romantically at all"

Starlight decided that acting casual would be the best approach before touching upon the issues they brought up and simply asserted "Excellent! Like I said before, my name is Starlight Glimmer, I'm a unicorn and my job is to talk to people about various different problems they might have! My favorite color is orange, my favorite food ever is onion rings and in my spare time I like to fly kites with my friends!"

This time, Silverstream spoke up with a question "Wait, Miss Glimmer... I don't understand something... like us, you are a feeble and unworthy being... why is it that you are not bending to the sexual will of one or multiple Strix males? You aren't serving your natural purpose..."

Starlight went "Well... that's because where I live and where you are right now... no creature is considered to be better than any other, it is not my obligation to sexually pleasure anyone and I'm free to love whomever I wish... the same goes for you two as well, understand?"

Their eyes went wide as they looked at each other before returning their attention to Starlight, Sandbar looked for confirmation from her by going "So Miss Glimmer... you're saying that Silverstream and I... we are not restricted to pleasuring the Strix? We may love each other as well?"

Starlight beamed "Exactly!"

Silverstream wasn't convinced as she said "You're not kidding are you? You're not attempting to trick us so you can mock and degrade us afterwards or just because you want to watch us have humiliating sex? If you are that's not fair! Only Strix males are supposed to do that to us!"

Starlight went "No no, I'm not lying, this is what you need to understand. You are not under the care of your... um... masters anymore, so it's OK. They've let you go because... while you were very good at what you did, they couldn't keep you because us ponies asked them very very nicely if we could have you and because your Strix masters are so benevolent... they gave you back and decided to stick to their own species... alright?"

Sandbar and Silverstream listened to every word...... it made sense. Their masters were indeed kind to a fault, why wouldn't they give the ponies their servants if they were so nice? Not to mention that they were aware that Strix women were far superior in every way, so it was fair. Once they processed that, they still struggled with the idea that there weren't any rules or anyone they had to bow down to, the kingdom of Rapax was all they knew, they couldn't remember anything before that time of their lives. The trauma had forced their minds to block out the unpleasant memory of their capture as a coping mechanism so that they could deal with the events by simply not knowing they had happened.

The only problem now was the simple fact that since they didn't remember anything before being in Rapax and now their life in Rapax was over... they faced a very simple yet still worrying existential crisis. Sandbar and Silverstream were left questioning their own existence, they didn't know who they were outside of the borders of being the play things of Nok and Tuwa, their adoring masters who had apparently relinquished control of them... they had each other true but other than that they couldn't recall anything about their past, not a single thing.

Sandbar decided to bring this up with Starlight to see what she thought "Miss Glimmer... Silverstream and I... we don't know anything outside of our love for each other and the time we spent in Rapax... what are we supposed to do? What direction do we go in now? Neither of us know anything about our past... are our lives just... just pointless right now?"

Starlight gently affirmed "No, your lives are not pointless, never will be. In fact, there may be a way to restore your memories and if you like we can start doing that tomorrow, would that be OK with the two of you?"

Sandbar and Silverstream looked to each other, the two of them always agreed on things but would often look at each other and have a silent conversation with their eyes before agreeing on something. Silverstream went "Can we have the straps released if we promise that we won't try to escape? We want to know who we are..."

Starlight simply said "I'll see what I can do" before walking out of the room to report back to Twilight about the mental state of her students.

Twilight, rather eagerly, approached Starlight and asked "Well?"

Starlight answered "It's going good so far, there's definitely been some progress and they're ready to start learning about themselves now. Starting tomorrow I think we should start introducing people and objects of significance to them, that way we can ease them into it"

It was going as well as could be expected, which is why Twilight worked hard to convince the doctors that the straps keeping them confined to their beds was no longer necessary, they had to just trust them at least. The following day started off somewhat awkwardly, Starlight couldn't enter the room immediately because through the door she could hear the pleasured moans of her patients and the thudding of a hospital bed, looks like they were making the most of being able to make love and not have someone nearby watching and insulting them while jacking off. Once Starlight could hear nothing but heavy breathing, she opened the door slightly and peeked through the opening to make sure she wasn't barging in on any post-coital cuddling or anything, glad to see that they were simply lying on their respective beds with their hospital gowns on.

Starlight walked in and said "Hello, how are you two doing today?"

Silverstream smiled and replied "We're fine, thank you Miss Glimmer"

Sandbar asked "Will we be trying to get our memories back today?"

Starlight nodded "Indeed, let's start with you Silverstream, you already know that you're a hippogriff so hopefully the object I'm about to show you should help you to reconstruct some key memories from your life!" Starlight reached into her pocket before pulling out what appeared to be a very simple necklace with a small gem as the only decoration on it, she handed it to Silverstream and said "Now... do you recognize this?"

Silverstream stared at it for a moment, somewhat bamboozled at how a simple piece of jewelry could be so important to her... though she couldn't deny that the longer she stared at it, the more she felt a certain familiarity with it... she just couldn't quite get it, she had a feeling that this thing was certainly something she had a connection with but the answer was just out of reach. She turned to Starlight and said to her "I'm... I think I know it but... I'm not sure why, is it a magic crystal?"

Starlight corrected "It's a pearl shard actually"

Upon hearing the words "pearl shard", Silverstream's eyes lit up as she experienced an epiphany, memories of everything from her birth right up until before she was kidnapped flooded her mind. After calming down from such a reeling experience of suddenly having an influx of knowledge restored, she grinned and said "Of course! My pearl shard! It's what everyone on Mount Aris uses to travel to Seaquestria! Yay!"

Starlight grinned "It's good to have you back Silverstream, do you remember everything now? I understand that's a difficult question but we should make sure your memory is fully functional again"

Silverstream nodded and proudly proclaimed "Yep! I remember... well, I remember almost everything I guess. The only thing I can't remember is how we got to Rapax in the first place... were we on holiday there?"

Starlight calmly replied "Not quite... though I think it's best we save that information for another time. Sandbar, I think it's your turn now, OK?" This time Starlight turned to a nearby desk that had a stack of papers and books on it, which Silverstream and Sandbar had almost completely ignored based on the assumption that it was probably just a bunch of medical data and text books describing different diseases and such. Starlight handed the books and papers to Sandbar as she simply said "Alright Sandbar, look through these and let me know if you recollect anything, anything at all. You can ask for help if you feel it necessary"

Sandbar shrugged and started looking through all the sheets of paper and books, carefully scanning each paragraph of text for any clue as to who he was before the whole "servant to the Strix" thing had started. The information he was reading did seem vaguely familiar, almost as if he already knew it and was now just confirming that he had the knowledge already... the word "friendship" cropped up a lot which very nearly got him to remember but it still wasn't quite within his grasp. Sandbar went "Miss Glimmer...I can't quite... wait, what are these for?"

Starlight said "It's revision for a friendship exam you were going to be taking at the school of friendship, apparently you were very worried"

Just like it had happened with Silverstream, Sandbar's eyes flew wide open as his mind was suddenly bombarded with every memory he ever had from the day he was born right up until he was revising at the club house with Silverstream, it was all there in his head, he beamed and said "Of course! The friendship exam! How could I have forgotten it? I don't know how long we were in Rapax but I'm sure we'll be able to take them regardless, Silverstream and I have spent so much time studying!"

Starlight, again pleased with the results, asked "Your memory is back?"

Sandbar, rather bashful, admitted "Well... not really, I mean I remember everything sure but the only thing I don't remember is what happened between me and Silverstream studying at our club house near the forest and us performing and serving our Strix mas... the Strix in Rapax, at all."

Looks like the trauma of being kidnapped and raped was something that would require a more direct stimulus... not yet though, it wasn't the time. As days turned to weeks, Starlight continued to visit and just have regular conversation with them as well as exposing them more and more to the things they cherished in their old lives, namely people. Though it had been tricky at first because as soon as Sandbar's mom had seen her son safe and alive, she had immediately rushed forward to try and give him a hug... to which he responded by cowering and snuggling up next to his girl friend, they were still getting used to seeing their loved ones again and they certainly weren't ready to be touched.

All of their friends visited and upon Sandbar and Silverstream revealing that they were now romantically involved, all of them were actually surprised that their jokes about them being made for each other had become a reality, congratulating them on finding love during such an ordeal and keeping the light and playful teasing to an extreme minimum, especially since they were finally introduced to Yona's girl friend, Vacca. Things continued to improve, Sandbar was actually now willing to hug his mother so long as Silverstream was involved in the hug or at least very nearby and the same was true of Silverstream and her parents, who had experienced the same thing with their daughter upon their initial attempt of embracing her once they knew that she was safe and sound.

Clothes had been another hurdle, they had gotten so used to being naked that even the loose hospital gowns felt wrong on their bodies. They had to work up the courage to wear a full set of clothes bit by bit in their own time, starting with undergarments before moving onto adding socks, wearing pajamas, then finally wearing casual clothes, it was a simple process but it had taken them a very long time to acclimatize to being clothed again in any way and even then it still made them feel uncomfortable, there were some things that couldn't be fixed.

Location had actually been the easiest, Rapax hadn't been too different to Ponyville so when they were permitted to leave the hospital, they were actually more comfortable even if, to them, it seemed like there was far too much space and fresh air unlike the room they'd been kept in whilst still at the service of the disgusting but dead Nok and Tuwa.

There had been great progress and though they were still uncomfortable in clothes, felt odd being around other people, didn't liked to be touched in any manner and still refused to even be in separate rooms anywhere, it had all gone well... except, that was when Starlight had to admit that it was time to fill in the one blank they both had in their memory by taking them to the place where it had all started and hoping they didn't revert. A lot of effort had been put in to restore who they were before the Strix, well enough to a point that Twilight let them finally take their exams, exams that they passed! Looks like the studying actually paid off.

Eventually, after they were more or less ready to be released from the hospital despite the mental and physical damage in the aftermath of the time spent in Rapax, it was deemed necessary... to go to the forest. Sandbar and Silverstream had already had nightmares about the place and Starlight hadn't been able to stop them from happening as of yet, she feared that their desire to find out what had happened to them would only make the nightmares more vivid and detailed afterwards.

As Starlight led the two of them to the entrance of The Everfree Forest, they were close at hand and were feeling very nervous, looking around at all the trees with a sense of dread, though they didn't know why yet. Silverstream asked "Um... Miss Glimmer? Do we have to do this?"

Sandbar backed her up by going "Yeah... this place feels... evil"

Starlight glumly replied "I'm afraid you have to if you really want all of your memories back... I can't promise that the memory will be pleasant"

They continued on their trek until eventually reaching the clearing, the torches were still there and it had been left practically untouched. Sandbar and Silverstream took in their surroundings, utter horror etched onto their features as harsh images of what Nok and Tuwa had done to them flashed through their minds, their brains rejecting the notion of fully remembering it all... but the basic picture of the events that had taken place here so long ago was, unfortunately, very clear.

Prologue

Sandbar darted from class room to class room, from dorm to dorm, Starlight's office, Twilight's office, looking for somewhere, anywhere in the school where he could escape it. Everywhere he went it was there, the halls, the lunch room, he couldn't even get away from it in the library of all places! Wasn't there anywhere he could hide? His future... no, his very LIFE was on the line here and yet he couldn't get away, no matter where he went in the school it was waiting for him, he was sweaty, panicked and borderline hysterical, it was a nightmare!

He couldn't believe that all the other students were so calm about it, how could they possibly ignore it? Maybe he seemed like the crazy one but he was probably the only sane one amongst them, they were all comfortable with a threat that no creature could escape! Nevertheless, Sandbar kept searching, he had to find a way to be free from this dangerous presence that was lurking in every room of the school, surely he wasn't the only one who noticed it? There had to be at least one creature who wasn't oblivious to it! Why weren't more students worried? Never mind worried, terrified in fact! This was a serious problem!

It was hopeless, it seemed that no matter how he tried, he couldn't get away from all the damn noise!

Epilogue

Starlight turned away, giving them some privacy and shedding a tear as the duo fell to their knees and wept deeply, holding each other in the throes of their despair as they recalled the cruelty of the two Strix. Sandbar's lips quivered as he whispered "Why... how could they?"

Silverstream, in an odd twist, went "Actually... in a weird kind of way... I'm not completely upset... after all, if this hadn't happened to us then maybe... we wouldn't have developed feelings for each other, if this hadn't happened then it's possible we might not have ever fallen in love with each other... do you understand what I'm saying here Sandy?"

Sandbar couldn't help but agree "Yeah Silvy... I suppose that's right, it's true that this whole thing brought us together... we can't forget that..."

There was a moment of silence, they didn't know if they'd ever fully recover from what had happened, they could live their lives but their lives had fundamentally changed in a big way and there was only so much therapy could do... they didn't revert but they couldn't be sure they'd ever go "back to normal" either... the damage was too great.
Finally, Silverstream asked Sandbar "Are we... are we gonna be OK?"

Sandbar replied "Yes... we're gonna be OK..."

The End

Author's Note

Thank You Anonymous for this story idea! I hope you enjoyed it :)