“Get up you whorse!”

Fleur flinched as Captain Ray lashed out at her again, striking her in the face with his claw. Thankfully his claw was clenched shut, leaving a bruise on her cheek instead of yet another tear in her skin. She struggled to get up into the position she had taken countless times before, severely weakened by her time in captivity. With her head almost touching the ground and her flank raised in the air, she spread her hind legs as wide apart as she could, giving Ray an unobstructed view of her sex.

Ray walked up behind Fleur, staring at her body with a bored expression. He wondered how many times he had fucked this mare as everything was becoming dull. ‘At least that rainbow bitch put up a fight and made things fun.’ he thought. He unceremoniously spit on Fleur’s ass, the majority of his saliva landing right on her puckered hole, and in one swift motion he mounted the abused unicorn and sunk his cock all the way into her anus with one thrust.

Though far from her first time being fucked there, Fleur couldn’t help but scream out in pain as her ass was stretched violently. The first time being violated in her ass had of course been the most painful, causing her to pass out from the shock. Ray wasn’t amused by her reaction then and had stopped and waited until she regained consciousness as he wanted her to experience every painful moment.

Now, the only major pain came from when Ray would first penetrate her ass. Sometimes he would lube her ass with his spit but most days he didn’t bother. He must be in a good mood today. As Ray would continue fucking her Fleur could do nothing but close her eyes and pray that he would finish soon, and today was no exception. Ray pounded away at her ass, digging his sharp claws into her flank as he growled angrily.

“Tighten up, you cunt! You’re looser than that other pegasus whorse.” he snarled.

Fleur winced at the words, trying her best to do what he commanded. Even though trying to make her ass tighter would result in more pain it was nowhere near the amount of pain Ray would inflict on her if she disobeyed his orders. Her efforts were rewarded by an increase in the burning sensation around her asshole but Ray seemed to enjoy it as he let out a groan of satisfaction.

“Better.” he simply said as he pounded her harder. Fleur moaned as Ray thrust himself deeper into her tight hole, at no time giving her any pleasure… not that he cared at all. He made no effort to announce his nearing orgasm, instead simply shooting his cum into her body when he hit his peak.

Fleur bit her lip as she felt his warm seed begin to flood her ass. No matter how many times she was filled with the griffon’s fluids she could never get used to the disgusting feeling of being used as a cum dumpster. The only relief she had was knowing that she wouldn’t get pregnant thanks to a birth control spell she knew.

Ray gave one last thrust, making sure he emptied every last drop into his sex slave before withdrawing his cock from her ass. Looking at a small trickle of his cum leaking from her slightly gaping hole, Ray lashed out and hit Fleur on the flank, sending her sprawling to the floor.

“Disgusting slut.” Ray said, spitting once more on Fleur’s body before leaving the room to attend to other matters.

Fleur didn’t move for a long time, and though she no longer cried after being raped and abandoned afterwards, the emotional abuse still took a toll on her mind. Though she had tried looking around her sparse room for anything to help her escape there was no way for her to break free from her room, let alone the castle. There were times where she thought that the only way out would be to take her own life, but again she was unable to find anything to assist her with that.

The sound of her door being unlocked and slowly opened caught Fleur’s attention, finally making her struggle back to her hooves. A black and dark yellow griffon carrying a tray of food entered the room, but unlike the other griffons who would rush over and force her to suck them off, this one made no move to do such a thing. Instead, he placed the tray down on the one table in the room and went over to a spigot in one corner of the room and filled a bucket of water for her and brought it over to her.

“Thanks, Thunderbird.” Fleur said softly.

Though the griffons who ‘attended’ to Fleur when Ray was out were under strict orders not to use Fleur, almost every single one still had the captive mare give them blowjobs whenever they came in. However, this one griffon never made a move to use her. At first, Fleur thought that he was too afraid to use her like the others did. But after one especially rough session with Captain Ray, she mentally snapped when the griffon walked in the room. She had jumped on top of him, going straight for his cock and attempted to engulf his member in her mouth like all the other griffons had forced her to. To her shock, the griffon pushed her away and quickly made his way to the door, almost as if he was scared of her.

“Don’t you want to violate me? Make me suck your cock like all your friends make me?” Fleur had yelled at him, tears pouring down her face.

She expected the griffon to come back and strike her, maybe even kill her, but he simply shook his head and said “no” before leaving the room, leaving Fleur alone to sob uncontrollably.

The day after her breakdown Fleur’s luck seemed to change as Ray didn’t come to use her, but the same black and yellow feathered griffon did return. Fleur apologized to him for her behavior, partially in hopes that she wouldn’t be punished for her actions but mostly to try to retain some form of dignity. She did not expect the griffon’s response at all; he smiled and forgave her almost instantly.

The next few days, Fleur and the griffon spoke to each other more and more. She learned that his name was Thunderbird and was a tribal griffon from one of the territories now under Captain Ray’s control. He was conscripted into the Griffon Army and was one of the few lucky conscripts to be assigned to the more mediocre tasks around the castle, one of them being attending to the prisoners when there was one. Surprisingly, he did not buy into all the anti-pony propaganda that almost every single other soldier openly embraced and was even asked to join a group of griffons who were planning on seeking refuge somewhere in Equestria, away from the madness of the griffon ruler. He was unable to join them, though, due to conscripts being given a mandatory curfew and were locked in their rooms each night at a certain time due to Ray’s lack of trust.

What Fleur found most surprising was Thunderbird’s absolute refusal to take part in violating Captain Ray’s pony prisoners. He had said that he was present in the barracks when Ray had forced Rainbow Dash to service every griffon present in a sick contest to promote a single soldier to sergeant. Though he was ineligible to be promoted, Thunderbird was still given permission to have his way with Dash, but he had skillfully managed to slip out of the barracks without any griffon noticing before his turn came. He had also been present during Spitfire’s punishment and was disgusted by Ray’s interpretation of justice. There was no option of him publicly voicing his views, though, as doing so would mean his immediate execution.

There were some days Thunderbird was tasked somewhere else, and his replacement would eagerly jump at the chance to use Fleur’s mouth however he pleased. But the majority of the days Thunderbird managed to be the griffon to care for her and he tried his best to sneak her anything extra she may need, ranging from soap and shampoo to extra food.

The most valuable service he provided, though, was a companion that she could talk to. Before, Fleur was almost driven mad by not having a companion to talk to, to release her emotions to. But with Thunderbird, she was able to tell him everything, from talking about her life before in Equestria to simply crying into his shoulder. Not once did Thunderbird ever ask for anything in return, proving beyond a doubt to her that he truly meant every word he said.

Looking at the state Fleur was currently in, Thunderbird grabbed one of the soiled rags that snuck in and dipped it in the cold water. “Hold still.” he said, gently dabbing the wet cloth around Fleur’s sore asshole.

She flinched at the stinging sensation, but she knew that it was a small price to pay to prevent any infections from the small tears in her skin Ray had caused. Thunderbird wiped away as much of the cum away as he could before finally applying a herbal ointment he had stashed beneath one of his wings, gently applying the soothing remedy to her ass, Thunderbird hoping Ray wouldn’t use Fleur’s ass again before it healed.

Just as he finished his work, the guard outside Fleur’s cell banged heavily on the door. “Hey! Hurry up in there! We don’t have all day, you know!” the guard shouted impatiently.

Thunderbird hid the rest of the ointment under Fleur’s pillow before rushing to the door. “Sorry.” he mouthed silently to her.

Fleur quietly thanked him as he left her room, the guard slamming the door shut as soon as he left and locking the door with a loud ‘click’. Settling down on the bed, Fleur closed her eyes to try to sleep, knowing that there was a very high chance of Ray returning at the end of the day to claim her, just like he did most nights. He would savagely beat her if he had a tough day before having her brought to his bedchambers for his personal use. After using her to his heart’s content, she would have to sleep with him all night, available at any time should he awaken and need additional release. Come the morning, she had to bathe and groom him, paying special attention to certain areas with only her mouth. The routine was finished with her being dragged back to her cell and raped once more before he would go off to conduct his business for the day, only to repeat everything again that night. But through all the darkness thrown at her day after day, there was at least one tiny glimmer of hope that visited her almost every day; Thunderbird.

The following week proved to be miserable for Fleur as her one friend failed to show up. Ray proved to be in an especially bad mood, taking out his increased anger on Fleur’s body. But that wasn’t what had the poor mare on edge. Each day another griffon would enter her room, quickly putting down whatever he food he brought for her and instead fed her the contents of his scrotum. As if being forced to swallow their cum wasn’t bad enough, Fleur swore that the griffon had never had a bath his entire life, each day his cock tasting of something absolutely vile. By the time the griffon left her room on the ninth day in a row, tears began to find their way back into Fleur’s eyes as dark thoughts began to cloud her mind.

‘Where’s Thunderbird? Why hasn’t he come at all? He’s never been away for more than two days. Oh Celestia, did they catch him doing something? Did they execute him? I can’t survive without him…’

The answer she was seeking finally came on the tenth day. After an especially aggressive session with Ray, Fleur looked up in fear as the door once again opened, but her expression of fear changed to happiness and then shock as she saw the griffon that entered.

Thunderbird was back, but he was in poor condition. His right leg and claw were heavily bandaged and he sported three large gashes in his left flank, no doubt inflicted by another griffon. His left eye was red as if he had been hit there, and patched of feathers were missing from various parts of his body.

Ignoring her own pains, Fleur rushed over to him, horrified by his condition. “Thunderbird! What happened to you?” she asked in a panic.

Thunderbird grinned, trying to play off his injuries. “It’s nothing, just a little accident.” he lied.

There was no way Fleur believed that obvious lie. She desperately wanted to take care of the griffon for once, but she didn’t have the knowledge or materials to do so. Instead, she was forced to lie on the bed helplessly as Thunderbird once again soothed her pain and cleaned her body.

Looking at the griffon with tear filled eyes, she asked once more what had happened to him. Thunderbird couldn’t say no to her sad look and gave in. “I got caught taking supplies from the infirmary by Lieutenant Talon. Thankfully he didn’t report me to Captain Ray or he would have had me executed. Instead I got off easy and only had to spend a week in the dungeons.”

“But what happened to you for the other three days?” Fleur asked, noticing the slight gap in his timeline.

“I was… I was in the infirmary, recovering from being tortured in prison.” he finally admitted.

Fleur was speechless by his answer even though it was obviously expected. Guilt began to build up inside of her knowing that despite all his injuries, here he was still taking care of her and her needs. She wracked her mind for how she could repay his kindness, but in her situation there was only one thing she could think of. She sat up, gently pushing the injured griffon down so he was on his back and gently brushed his crotch with her hooves.

“Fleur… wait. You don’t have to do this.” Thunderbird tried to plea, but Fleur shook her head no.

“I want to do this.” she said. She gently rubbed his crotch and watched as his body responded to her touch. His cock soon became semi-erect, enough for Fleur to do what she wanted. She leaned down and extended her tongue, giving the head of Thunderbird’s cock several small, quick licks before sliding her tongue the entire length of his dick. The moan from the griffon’s beak let Fleur know that he was enjoying the treatment as she licked his now fully erect cock up and down. Precum started to dribble down his shaft and Fleur greedily lapped up each strand of liquid as it slowly fell, finally reaching the tip of his cock once more. Twirling her tongue around the circumference of the tip of his cock a few times, Fleur then opened her mouth as wide as she could and slowly lowered her head, engulfing his shaft into her mouth until it reached the back of her mouth. She could feel that she had just over half of his cock in his mouth, but that wasn’t good enough.

She had taken the other griffon’s cocks all the way to the hilt, but it was never by choice as they had all rammed their members down her throat. Now, she was voluntarily trying to deep throat the griffon in front of her and she was having more trouble than she thought. Each time she tried to get another inch of him into her, her gag reflex kicked in and stopped her from going any further. She was intent on her goal, though, and with a deep breath she forced the griffon’s cock into her mouth one more time, suppressing the urge to gag as she felt his cock finally slip into her throat.

The feeling of Fleur’s throat wrapped around Thunderbird’s cock overloaded his senses, making him gasp as his balls suddenly tightened. Without any warning, he hit his climax and sperm erupted from his cock, pouring straight into Fleur’s throat. The unicorn coughed a few times, still not used to the force of the ejaculation hitting her throat but did her best to swallow every drop of his cum.

After shooting four sizeable shots of cum, Thunderbird slowly slid his cock out from Fleur’s mouth, a thin strand of cum hanging from her open mouth as she gasped for breath. Wiping the stray strand away with a hoof, Fleur cuddled up to Thunderbird, softly whispering “thank you” to him.

Before he could reply, a heavy knock reached their ears. “Hurry up, conscript! We don’t have all day to wait for you!” the guard outside bellowed. With no other option, Fleur sat up as Thunderbird hopped off the bed and tried to clean himself up the best he could, his cock thankfully softening and disappearing back into its sheath.

“Thanks.” Thunderbird said, unsure of what else to say before he left. He had absolutely no intentions of forcing Fleur to ever do that for him, but he was caught off guard when she had initiated the contact. Fleur herself couldn’t quite believe what she just did either, but she did know that she owed the griffon a lot more than just a simple blow job. If not for him, she probably would have been dead long ago.

The next few days were uneventful- well, as uneventful as they could be, under the circumstances. Captain Ray seemed to be in a lighter mood, only striking Fleur a few times. Everything seemed slightly better until Thunderbird came running into Fleur’s cell, gasping for breath almost as if he had been running a marathon.

“Fleur? Oh jeez… I made it in time.” he panted.

Fleur made her way over to him, walking slightly awkwardly due to Ray once again deciding to use her rear hole. “Thunderbird, what’s wrong?” she asked.

“I gotta get you out of here. You need to get out now.” Thunderbird said in a panicked tone. “It’s Ray, I overheard him talking to his command. He’s sending out a patrol to abduct another pony to replace you.”

Fleur felt slightly sickened that there may be another pony who would soon share her fate, but a slim glimmer of hope for herself rose from the bleak thought. “Does… does that mean I’ll be set free?” she asked.

Her griffon friend shook his head morbidly. “No, there’s no good way out if you let them choose. They’ll… well, Ray will probably have you take that pony’s place… what was her name, Rainbow, right? That’s what he’ll probably do to you.”

Fleur froze, recalling the stories Thunderbird had told her about Rainbow Dash’s time in captivity. He had wanted to spare her the horror stories, but Fleur had insisted that he tell her. Images of Dash being raped and tortured flashed through her mind and soon the thought of her taking Dash’s place in those scenarios began to come alive. Her elated thoughts of possibly being freed came crashing down, and a forlorn look clouded her mood.

“There’s no hope, is there?” she said, now depressed.

“There is! I may have a plan to get you out of here.” Thunderbird said, causing Fleur to raise her head in surprise.

“You… you do?” she asked, wanting to be careful not to get her hopes up but couldn’t help being optimistic.

Thunderbird nodded. “Yes. I don’t think it can fail. Ray won’t be coming for you tonight since he’s leaving soon to spread more propaganda in some of the more remote griffon villages. He told his second in command that he wants the new pony by the time he gets back, so you’re being moved down to the dungeons later tonight. I managed to bribe the dungeon sergeant to let me be the one of the ones to bring you down there, so that will be the time for you to escape. Also, well, um, I was hoping I could go with you. I can’t stand being here knowing what Ray is doing, and I was hoping you could help me seek refuge in Canterlot, maybe with my friends who escaped there.”

Fleur nodded her head. “Of course. After all that you have done to help me, it’s the least I could do.” she said. “But won’t there be another guard with us when you escort me? How will we get away from him?”

“I made sure that the other griffon is a friend of mine. He also wants to get out of here so I was hoping he could come with us.” he said. Thunderbird noticed the look of doubt on Fleur’s face. “Really, he’s okay. We’ve talked about running away from here before. He could of reported me for treason plenty of times, but he didn’t. Besides, I’ve known him almost forever. We’re from the same village.”

“Okay, if you trust him, so do I.” she agreed.

A familiar bang on the door interrupted any further conversation. “Get some rest. We’ll get out of here tonight. I promise.” he said before leaving.

Fleur didn’t know whether to laugh or cry in joy. Finally, her imprisonment here was over! There was a way out! Curling up on her bed for the last time she fell asleep, conserving her energy for the escape.

So far Thunderbird’s information had been correct; Ray never returned that day for Fleur, and as night fell Thunderbird and another griffon entered her room. Thunderbird whispered to her that this was his friend, Iron Rook, and that everything was in place for their escape. Iron held up a leather leash and moved to attach it to the collar still around Fleur’s neck but she backed away in fear, remembering how Ray would choke her by dragging her around his room with a similar leash.

“Fleur, it’s okay. I promise he won’t hurt you. We have to put it on you for now. We’ll take it off once we’re outside the castle. I swear.” Thunderbird pleaded.

Fleur nodded, not having much of a choice if she wanted her freedom. She let Iron attach the leash to her collar, though she was still apprehensive about having this unknown griffon with her despite Thunderbird’s vouch.

Thunderbird took hold of his end of the leash, gesturing that they should leave. The trio made their way out into the castle hallway, the guard outside the door eyeing the unicorn as they passed. He reached out as she passed, slapping her ass with a sly grin. “Can’t wait to fuck your pretty little ass.” he said, licking his beak.

Fleur shivered, praying the plan worked so his words never came true. Thankfully they didn’t pass any other griffons in the hallways. It didn’t take too long until they reached their destination, but as they approached the desk for the dungeon sergeant both Thunderbird and Iron swore under their breath.

“Oh fuck, the lieutenant’s here.”

Along with a bored looking griffon, another griffon in a highly decorated uniform awaited Fleur’s arrival. Though Fleur had never seen him, both Iron and Thunderbird knew perfectly well who he was; Lieutenant Talon, Captain Ray’s second in command. His presence was completely unexpected by both lowly griffons, especially Thunderbird who could have sworn that the lieutenant would be heading the expedition to acquire a new playtoy for Ray.

Both griffons snapped to attention as the intimidating griffon approached them. “At ease, soldiers.” he said as he looked over Fleur. His gaze frightened her and she could see nothing but lust in his eyes. A bad feeling was cemented in her stomach and was confirmed as the griffon walked behind her, lifting her tail to look at her ass.

“Hmm, looks like he didn’t completely ruin her.” Talon muttered. “I guess you’ll be some fun for a little bit.”

“Sir?” Thunderbird asked, afraid that his plans for escape were collapsing very quickly.

“Take her to the far cell and stay with her. You two can hold her down while I have my fun.” he ordered.

The two conscripts led Fleur down the cell block, both panicking that their plan was now ruined. “Oh crud, what do we do now?” Iron asked.

Fleur sensed that the situation was worse than she knew. She asked both of her escorts who he was, Thunderbird responding with anger in his voice.

“That’s Lieutenant Talon, the griffon that caught me stealing before. He’s, well, he’s a lot more violent and twisted than Captain Ray is, especially when it comes to sex. He’s the one who came up with the idea to use that other pony as an offering to that dragon. Even female griffons are scared of him. The last female he mated with almost died.” Thunderbird explained, Iron nodding in confirmation.

As the three reached the last jail cell, Fleur felt her heart drop as she looked at what was already inside. A wide array of tools and equipment littered the floor and walls, everything clearly intended to be used on Fleur in very painful ways. She looked helplessly at Thunderbird. “Is there any way out of this?” she pleaded.

Thunderbird shook his head. “I can’t think of anything. It’s going to take a miracle to get Talon away from here. I really thought he’d be gone.”

Their discussion was cut short by the sound of another griffon walking towards them. Lieutenant Talon entered the cell, his presence easily dominating the small area. Both Iron and Thunderbird backed away slightly, unsure what their superior intended to do. Talon grabbed the end of the leash from Thunderbird’s grasp, yanking on it hard and causing Fleur to stumble forward toward the officer.

“That’s a good girl.” Talon taunted, tugging her leash yet again. Caught off balance, Fleur tumbled to the floor in front of the lieutenant as both Iron and Thunderbird looked on helplessly. Before Fleur could stand back up, Talon lashed out with one of his powerful limbs and struck the defenseless pony in the stomach. Fleur gasped as the air in her lungs was knocked out of her, making her struggle to regain her breath. Right before she could resume her normal breathing, Talon began pulling the leash upward, causing the collar to cut into Fleur’s throat and begin to strangle her.

A blistering feeling of anger and hatred began coursing through Thunderbird’s body. He took a step forward to confront him but found himself being held back. Thunderbird glanced over at Iron, his friend having placed a claw on his shoulder. Iron shook his head slightly, silently telling him that intervening now would only get them both killed. Thunderbird reluctantly backed down, knowing that Iron was right but still felt enraged.

Talon finally dropped Fleur back to the cold floor right before she reached the point of passing out from lack of oxygen. Her forehooves flew up to her neck, pulling at the restrictive collar as she greedily sucked air back into her body. She was only given a few seconds of rest before the cruel lieutenant grabbed her tail and dragged her backwards to a chair in one corner of the cell.

“Lean over the back of it.” Talon commanded. Fleur was too scared to move, though, causing the griffon to lash out once again at her. His claws were thankfully closed, but the force of his punch to Fleur’s face had its desired effect. With tears falling down her face, Fleur mounted the rickety wooden piece of furniture, her front hooves resting on the rough seat.

Lieutenant Talon turned to his two subordinates. “Tie her down.” he commanded. With no other choice, both griffons grabbed a few lengths of rope that were left on the ground and proceeded to tie Fleur’s legs to the chair, immobilizing her. Thunderbird’s eyes met Fleur’s briefly, her tear-filled eyes seeming to ask ‘why’. He looked away in shame and depression, hating himself for having failed her in securing her freedom.

Once all four of her legs were tied down the two lowly conscripts backed away, allowing Talon to inspect his prey uninterrupted. He unceremoniously stuck two talons into her dry pussy, feeling her tight hole wrap around him.

“Hmph, you’re not as loose as I thought.” he commented, genuinely surprised. He withdrew from her pussy but then shoved his claw back into her body, this time into her ass. Fleur grunted in discomfort, but Talon smiled as he felt her puckered hole easily give way.

“Ha, so that’s why! He fucked your ass mostly, didn’t he?” he hissed into her ear. Receiving no response, the lieutenant curled his talons inside of her, digging his sharp claw painfully into her flesh. Fleur cried out and finally nodded in reply, and thankfully Talon released her and withdrew his claw once more.

Lieutenant Talon glanced at the wide selection of toys at his disposal. He was obviously in no rush as he picked up one piece at a time, carefully looking them over before shaking his head and putting it back down and moving on to the next one. His eyes lit up as he finally found what he was looking for; a large butt plug with a hollowed out center. Talon rubbed the pointy tip of the rubber tool against her pussy, barely getting it wet with her slick juices. Fleur was confident that there was no way she would be aroused by his erratic rubbing.

Unfortunately for Fleur, Talon had no intentions of trying to arouse her pussy. He glanced at the rubber plug, satisfied that it was wet enough for his intentions even though it was barely wet. He withdrew the butt plug from against her body, but quickly shoved it all the way into her exposed ass.

While the plug was slightly smaller in circumference than Ray’s cock, the sudden shock of having the plug inserted caused Fleur to scream out in pain. Both Iron and Thunderbird winced as they heard her cries, but they knew they were still powerless to help her. Talon seemed to enjoy hearing her in pain, though, not making any moves until her voice began to quiet down. He peered down into the hole in the middle of the butt plug and nodded in approval. “Good, you kept yourself clean.” he snickered.

Fleur turned red in embarrassment as she felt the griffon’s breath penetrate into her exposed ass, though something much worse was on the horizon. She gasped in terror as she saw him walk back in front of her and pick up one of the candles lighting the room. Since the candle had been lit hours ago, a massive pool of molten wax had collected in its glass holder and now Lieutenant was eyeing it gleefully. Bringing it back around behind Fleur, he let a single drop fall. As the wax drop made contact with one of her flanks she could do nothing but groan painfully as the hot liquid burned her skin.

“Hurts, doesn’t it?” Talon asked hypothetically. “Just wait until you see how it feels inside of your ass.”

Panicking, Fleur struggled to free her hooves and squeeze the plug out from her ass in an attempt to stop Talon’s sick, twisted idea. Her attempts all failed, left exposed for whatever cruel intentions Talon had planned. He lifted the hot glass above her gaping asshole and began to tip the glass over, the molten wax beginning to creep towards the rim…

“Lieutenant Talon, Sir!” a voice called out.

The griffon officer scowled as he turned around. A small stream of hot liquid wax managed to fall from the candle but missed its target thanks to Talon’s movement. Fleur cringed as she felt the wax hit one of her legs but thanked Celestia it didn’t fall where Talon was aiming.

Talon set his eyes on another griffon who stood in the cell doorway, standing at attention. “Sir!” the newcomer said smartly.

“What is it, soldier? I’m a little preoccupied with another matter.” the lieutenant said impatiently.

“Sir, one of the scouts has reported that he found where the group of deserters ran off to.” the griffon informed him.

“So? You know what to do. Have them rounded up and put in the dungeon.” Talon said, unable to believe that he was interrupted for such a trivial matter.

“Sir, we can’t do that. They’re all dead.” the griffon said.

Talon was shocked. “They’re what?” he asked again. He quickly put down the candle and motioned for the messenger to follow him. Talon didn’t care at all that the cowardly deserters were dead; it was the fact that something had managed to kill every single one. He had always thought that the ponies weren’t capable of such a barbaric act, and maybe this massacre was carried out by some monstrous creature.

Finding themselves left alone, Thunderbird and Iron waited until they heard the jail door slam shut, signaling that the lieutenant had indeed left. They both moved quickly to free Fleur from her bondage. Once free, Fleur hugged Thunderbird, crying hard as she let out her pent up fear and pain from the torture.

“Guys, we can’t stay around here. We need to go.” Iron Rook said, looking nervously in the direction Talon left.

Though he wanted to hold Fleur longer, Thunderbird knew his friend was right. Making sure she was ready to run, the three made their way back to the dungeon sergeant’s area. Once they made sure the area was clear, they went through a small service door and entered a small hallway primarily used by the castle’s servants. Thunderbird carefully lead the way, Iron brought up the rear and Fleur securely between them. It didn’t take long for the three to reach an exit, and for the first time in many days Fleur found herself outside. She took a deep breath of fresh air, overjoyed to finally have something besides the stale, heavy air of the castle in her lungs. She wanted to cry again from the elation of being finally free, but Iron reminded her that they were still far from freedom.

Sticking to the shadows, the trio snuck around the castle grounds, heading for what Iron and Thunderbird knew was an unguarded exit. Their planning finally paid off as they slipped through the unguarded door, and with one last quick dash across an open field they melted into the tree line, safe from the watchful eyes of the castle guards.

“We… we did it. We actually did it.” Iron Rook panted. Thunderbird listened for any signs of pursuers, but the castle remained silent.

“Okay, let’s go.” Thunderbird said.

Fleur nodded, but her legs gave out and she fell to the ground. Thunderbird wasn’t surprised; her poor diet and constant torture while in captivity took its toll on her body, though he was amazed that she was able to stay on her hooves until now. She looked up sheepishly, unsure if she had the strength to continue right now.

Thunderbird bent down in front of Fleur. “Climb on my back. I’ll carry you.” he said.

Fleur shakily climbed onto his back, assisted by Iron. She wrapped her forehooves around the base of Thunderbird’s neck, careful not to squeeze too hard. She was surprised by the softness of his feathers, and for the first time since her captivity she allowed herself to take a deep breath and relax.

“Hold on.” her carrier said. Spreading his powerful wings, Thunderbird took off into the air, closely followed by Iron. Fleur had never flown before, and she gripped her griffon tighter and clenched her eyes shut as the ground quickly grew farther and farther away. He was careful not to take any sharp turns, but just in case Iron followed close behind at a slightly lower elevation, ready to catch the unicorn should she lose her grip. Fleur’s hold held strong, and after a while she finally relaxed again and started to enjoy the feeling of the wind in her mane, loving the feeling that only pegasi usually got to experience.

“Thunderbird?” she said softly

“You okay back there?” Thunderbird asked, unsure if something was wrong. “Do you want me to land?”

“No… no, that’s not it. I’m fine.” she said. “I, well, I wanted to say thank you. For everything. For risking your life to get me out. Nopony has ever done so much for me, not even Fancy Pants. I think I… no, I do love you.”

Her eyes soon started to become heavier, and soon she fell asleep on Thunderbird’s back, her head nestled against the strong back of her protector. Thunderbird was slightly caught off guard by Fleur’s confession for him, but he was happy that he didn’t just make his life better by escaping the chaotic empire he called home, but he was able to help her escape.

Hours passed until Fleur finally woke up. She found herself still airborne on Thunderbird’s back, but now she started to recognize some of the landscape far below.

“Hey T, she’s awake. You can ask her now.” Iron called out to his buddy.

“Ask me what? Where are we?” Fleur asked.

Thunderbird turned his head to look back at the unicorn. “We’re over the Foal Mountain, east of Canterlot. We were going to head there but, well, there are too many guards around the city. They’d kill us before we could explain who we are or why we have you.”

Fleur nodded, understanding their hesitance to go straight to the pony capital. “So, what do we do now?”

“We have to go somewhere and speak to some pony about our situation. Preferably one who knows your leaders well enough so they don’t think this is some sort of trick.” Thunderbird said.

Fleur only had to think for a few seconds before she knew exactly who she could go to for help. “Ponyville. We have to go to Ponyville.” she decided.

They set off once more, headed for the small town. Another uneventful hour passed, and soon they found themselves over the Everfree Forest, the last landmark before they arrived in Ponyville. However, Iron thought he saw movement just behind them, and as he stopped to turn around he saw something that made his heart sink.

“Thunderbird! Patrol!” he shouted out. Thunderbird also turned, expecting to see a group of pegasi bearing down on them. Instead, he saw something far worse; five griffon soldiers were flying straight at them.

Both griffons flew as fast as they could as Fleur hung on tight. “They must have followed us from the castle!” Iron said, beginning to panic.

Thunderbird knew that if that was true, they would have been apprehended hours ago. “No, it must be a patrol or… they’re the search party for the deserters.” he correctly realized.

Despite being burdened down by their heavy armor, the pursuing griffons began to slowly close the distance between them and their prey. Iron Rook once again fell behind to try to distract their pursuers, but there were more than enough of them to overpower him while the others would go for Thunderbird and Fleur.

Luck seemed to finally be on their side as the soft glow of the pony town could be seen in the distance. “We’re almost there!” Thunderbird called out.

Unfortunately, the five other griffons had finally caught up, and with a strong body slam one of the pursuing griffons attacked Iron, knocking him down to the ground below. Before Thunderbird could react, another griffon attacked him and Fleur, sending them hurtling to the ground as the attacker went straight for the griffon’s vulnerable wings.

Fleur screamed as they both fell from the sky while Thunderbird struggled to regain control. He managed to slow their descent but couldn’t do anything to stop the fall completely. Making sure his body took the worst of the impact, he gasped as his body slammed into the treetops and shortly after the ground and Fleur was knocked off his back. She was uninjured from the fall and got back to her hooves, rushing over to Thunderbird to check up on him. He tried to push her away and insist he was fine, but the fall had taken its toll on his body. One of his wings throbbed painfully and deep gashes from the tree branches covered his stomach and chest. They both froze as they heard rustling in the nearby bushes, but sighed with relief as they saw Iron emerge.

“You two okay?” he asked. Fleur saw his body was just as badly hurt as Thunderbird was, but before she could move to help either of them they all heard the shouts and yells from the five griffon soldiers getting closer.

“Fleur, get out of here! Go get help. We’ll hold them off.” Thunderbird grimaced, getting back up. Iron Rook hobbled over to stand next to his friend, nodding in confirmation.

“But… but…” Fleur stammered.

Thunderbird shook his head. “Go!” he commanded.

Fleur felt like her heart had just been ripped out, afraid that she would never see him again. There were so many things she wanted to tell him, so many things she owed him… but here he was, once again risking his own wellbeing to protect her. She walked up to him and kissed him, a hoof gently caressing his bruised cheek. She wished she could stay like this all day, but she broke away after a few seconds, trying to hold back her tears.

“Fleur, go. Please.” Thunderbird said once more. Fleur nodded, running off towards Ponyville as fast as she could while the two griffons turned towards the sound of their pursuers. Unarmed and already injured, neither griffon had much hope of survival. “If we die, we at least die free.” Thunderbird said.

Fleur stumbled over the countless branches, bushes, vines, and rocks littering the forest. Gasping for breath, she wondered if she was even going the right way. The lights from the town couldn’t be seen through the dense trees so she couldn’t use that to determine her direction. She told herself over and over again not to panic, but heeding her own words began to become harder and harder.

“I think… it should be over here.” she said softly to herself. Tearing through yet another bush, she let out a small ‘eep!’ as she bumped into something. Something warm. And alive.

She looked up and almost fainted with fright as she saw a giant lion’s paw reach out for her. She shut her eyes and prayed her death would be quick and painless, but when nothing happened she risked a quick peek. She nearly fainted again as she saw a dark figure loom above her, his body appearing to look like it was composed of various animals.

“Um, excuse me, are you okay?” a timid voice said. A yellow pegasus with a butterfly necklace peeked out from behind the dark mass, slowly coming out when she saw that the unicorn appeared injured.

Fleur was overjoyed to finally see another pony, especially one she knew, though she had only met Fluttershy briefly. “Hel- help us.” she weakly said.

Fluttershy rushed over and supported Fleur with her smaller body, looking back at her companion. “Discord, I think there’s somepony else lost in the woods. We saw two ponies fall, right?” she asked.

Discord stood with his arms crossed. “For the last time, Fluttershy, I told you that she was riding on the back of a griffon. She’s a unicorn, there’s no way she could fly on her own.”

Fleur nodded. “He’s right, I was. He’s in trouble… him and his friend. They rescued me from being a prisoner and they’re holding off our attackers. Please… please help him.”

Fluttershy looked up at Discord. “I’ll take Fleur back to my house. You need to save her friends. Um, please.” she said.

Discord refused to move, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy, but I’m not helping some griffon. I obeyed your wish not to kill those others, but I won’t do this.”

“Discord!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “I’m shocked you could say such a thing! Just because that group tried to attack me doesn’t mean they’re all bad. Especially when Fleur here said that those two are her friends and they rescued her.”

Acting more like a spoiled filly than the God of Chaos, he stamped his foot in frustration. Fluttershy looked sternly at him, causing him to sigh dramatically in defeat.

“I’m really starting to dislike this whole friendship thing again.” he muttered. Snapping his fingers, he disappeared in a cloud, leaving Fluttershy and Fleur alone.

“That… was that really Discord?” Fleur asked, astounded that the draconequus was listening to what Fluttershy said.

“Yes, he’s reformed now. He saved me a while ago from a few griffons, so that’s why he’s upset by my request.” Fluttershy said. “But I know he’ll do the right thing. Your friends will be fine.”

Thunderbird and Iron both were seriously injured while their five attackers didn’t have a single scratch on them. Both the panting griffons knew that they were being toyed with and that they would be killed once the soldiers were bored.

“Sorry, Iron, looks like I wasn’t able to get us out of trouble this time.” Thunderbird said.

“Shut up, traitor! We’ve had enough, it’s time you pay for abandoning your King.” one of the soldiers yelled out. They all began to advance on the wounded pair but stopped as their feet became tangled in the heavy vines lay littered on the ground. As they stepped over the plants the vines seemed to come alive and snared every single one of them, tangling themselves around each of their feet and claws. The griffons swore as they struggled to free themselves from the flora but the vines refused to budge or break.

Suddenly, one griffon felt himself being sucked into the brush and quickly disappeared with a scream. Before any of the other griffons could react they too felt themselves being pulled into the blackness of the woods, eventually leaving just Iron and Thunderbird alone to wonder what had just happened. They fell back in surprise as cloud of smoke burst in front of them and a strange creature appeared in front of them.

“Hmm, guess you must be the ones she was talking about.” Discord said dryly, looking over the pair of injured griffons and pointed towards the forest exit. “Go that way, you’ll reach Fluttershy’s house. That’s where your unicorn friend is. Tell them I’m headed back to Canterlot after I finish with these other vermin.”

With another snap of his fingers he disappeared. Iron and Thunderbird looked at each other somewhat dumbfounded before heeding Discord’s advice. They found a river after a few minutes and took the opportunity to wash the blood off of their bodies.

“Looks like we really lucked out this time.” Thunderbird said, dunking his head into the water to cool off. Iron Rook wasn’t listening too closely; instead he was searching the bank of the river for something. Thunderbird finally lifted his head, refreshed by the cold water. “Okay, let’s get a move on to that hou…”

Thunderbird never got to finish his sentence. Just as he turned to his companion, Iron Rook slammed a large rock into his head. Thunderbird collapsed, his head bleeding from where the rock struck. Iron struck Thunderbird’s head once more but saw no movement from his friend. Confident that he wouldn’t be getting back up, Iron dumped the body into the river, watching it being swept downstream.

“Sorry, T, but your traitorous actions towards our future new King will not be tolerated.” he said under his breath. So far everything had gone as Ray had commanded; follow Thunderbird and see if he had any plans of escaping with the unicorn whorse to Canterlot or any other pony city. Once there, kill Thunderbird and become a spy. He washed the blood off of his talons and continued on towards Ponyville. Alone.

Days passed since then. Iron Rook had limped his way to Fluttershy’s cottage where she and Fleur were waiting. Fleur collapsed in tears when she heard the news that Thunderbird had died after being overpowered by the pursuing griffon soldiers, and that he himself would had been killed too if it weren’t for Discord’s arrival. He also told Fluttershy that Discord wanted to return to Canterlot which didn’t surprise her.

Twilight came over the next day to escort Fleur back to her library where she would stay for the next few weeks after a quick trip to the hospital. Twilight also wanted to meet the griffon that supposedly saved her, and while she was hesitant to allow a griffon to stay in Ponyville, she granted Iron permission to stay for now after hearing how he had risked his life to help Fleur escape. Before she left she quietly warned Fluttershy to remain vigilant and not take off her Element of Harmony, but Fluttershy insisted that Iron Rook wouldn’t hurt a parasprite.

Iron waved goodbye to Fleur and Twilight as they walked off, unable to help putting a large grin on his face. Though she had some suspicions, he felt like Twilight was too trusting for her own good. As far as he was concerned, he was free to wander around the town and select a new fuck toy for his leader.

Back at Canterlot Castle, Discord was relaxing back in his old room. Though he loved Fluttershy, he couldn’t help but be disgusted by how much effort went into the whole friendship thing. Still, that wasn’t the main issue at hand that was bothering him.

“I could have sworn I’ve seen that griffon before.” he said to himself. The yellow and black griffon was new to him, but the other one… something seemed so familiar.

Shrugging, Discord laid back on his lounge chair for a nap, pushing the worrisome thought out of his head. “I guess they all just look alike.” he said before falling asleep.

Had Discord imagined Iron Rook with a snake for a cock, he would have recognized him immediately.

Author's Note

Finally! Chapter 7 is done!

Special thanks to Cybertwin for allowing me to use his OC griffon, Thunderbird. Originally, Gilda was going to rescue Fleur but I absolutely hated the ideas I had on how. Thankfully, Cybertwin messaged me and his OC fit perfectly for the part... though probably not the ending he was expecting.

Also, in case anyone missed the earlier news, illustrations are now in the works. Check out The Fire in Her Eyes and Two of a Kind to see what I mean. And yes, there are some for this story in progress!