FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

In the forge of the desert, beneath the glare of the sun and the unrelenting winds that sent sand to tear at the skin of those foolish enough to travel it, were small dots of peaceful isolation where green flora flourished and called out sweetly to strangers. It was one of the few places in the world that still called to explorers with hopes of making a name for themselves. The hidden tombs of the mummies filled with gold and jewels that could be sold or kept as heirlooms. The temples and pyramids that promised there would be old relics of long gone years, protected by the fierce desert riders and strange Egyptians, who could be bought out with good British money. All of this and more called out to those with the wealth and means to travel, despite the dangers that lay hidden in the white gold sands.

Even in his dreams, Lowell was entranced with his ideas of finding a lost valley of the dead, the same sort that had been discovered just a handful of years before him. Where he would find gold and rubies and wealth enough that he could break from his family and form his own dynasty. It was all he ever wanted out of life, to leave behind the old fashioned rules of a minor noble house and rise up to shine on his own. At least, that's all he thought he wanted out of life. As he stared up at the flapping canvas above him and licked his dry cracked lips, he wondered if he should have been content at simply being comfortable in his own home. In his own land. With his own servants.

"Silana?" He croaked and pushed his elbows beneath himself so he could try and push himself into sitting up.

"Sleep, you are too weak to do anything else." The accented voice was neutral as he blindly looked around the tent to see the woman sitting in a far corner with a cat curled in her lap.

"Water?" He hated the way he sounded, like a querulous old man, but he was so thirsty, so very thirsty.

The woman gave him a long look, but moved to shift the glossy grey cat from her lap so she could stand up to offer him a drink. He would be dead if not for her. He might have made it to the oasis, but he would have still lacked food, transportation, anything that could have delivered him from this hell. The men he had paid good money to act as his caravan and to work as excavators had seemed good enough at the time. They had taken his partial payment and promised him that they had been raised in the desert, they knew all of it and would lead him to the likeliest place to dig. They had gotten five days out when the bandits attacked and he had called his men to arm themselves, only to find himself and those few loyal to him surrounded. His companions, dead, he should have been dead, his side had been wounded, but his mother had always said he was too stubborn to die.

He had stumbled through the brutal heat of the desert and the chilling nights day after day, his entire mind focused on walking west to Cairo, not that he had much hope. He couldn't even recall how they had found the oasis' they had used to refill their water, only that the guide had kept those a secret from everyone as a way to ensure future employment. He thought it was only three days, but by the second day he was feverish and confused, he couldn't see straight. It was God's good grace that led him to the small oasis and a woman who had her tent set up with a band of five horses that were picketed out around the water hole. Silana had welcomed him, dubiously, but at least she hadn't turned him away as he stumbled with sore feet and an aching body into her midst.

"Sleep now." The woman gave him a long look, her high boned cheeks making even her frown look attractive. "You will be well soon enough."

"Because of you." He dropped back down onto the makeshift bed and stared up at her, her lips were so full and attractive, inviting him to kiss them if only he could stand. "You have my thanks."

"I will take my thanks in your money," she answered shortly and stepped away from him. A small smile quirked his lips as he closed his weary eyes.

Silana helped him because she was willing to take the last half of the payment that he was going to give his caravan, or at least that's what she told him. He had no doubt that she was interested in the money, but he also saw the way that she watched him. Her eyes were on him more often than not, he sometimes awoke to her sitting beside him, she showed every sign of denying her own feelings. He wasn't at his best, true, but he knew he was handsome. She was alone in the middle of the desert without a man in sight and tending horses without any help, of course she would resent those feelings. She was lovely and exotic, her long black hair reminded him of the midnight sky and her body was toned like a dancers. He would have her, he would court her and draw her out of that lovely shell inch by inch once he was well. He wasn't at his best now, but he would recover soon and they would spend nearly a week together making it back to Cairo.

_Like a love story out of one of those dime store novels my sister loves to read. I will bring her home with me and she will forget this savage place. I will show her horses that aren't wild beasts barely tamed down, but bred with beauty and strength... _Lowell nearly chuckled to himself as he allowed his mind to drift back into dreams.

~ ~ * ~ ~

"We will move out when we move out," Silana barely looked up at him as he gritted his teeth and tried to maintain a pose of relaxation.

"I would do better with a date, my people must surely worry over me and word will be sent to my parents if I do not return," Lowell answered as he always did.

It had taken him the better part of a week to recover with food and water and away from the heat. She had tended him closely and never failed to be waiting with water or food or clothes. As he grew stronger he tried to engage her in conversation about herself, about how she had come here, about her horses, but each time she diverted the topic away from herself. The aura of mystery had only made his determination to win her grow. He was used to the calm and primped women of his homeland, not this self sufficient vixen of the desert. His attempts to do chores were met with disdain as she side stepped them neatly and went about her day. She required nothing out of him and made it abundantly clear that he would only add to her work as she had to redo what he had done wrong. He had never quite felt helpless before a woman and he was not enjoying the experience in the least bit.

He spoke often of his family, of his estate, of what he was doing out here and why. He spoke of how he wished to return home to start things anew and change the old ways. He spoke of everything he could think of in an attempt to draw her out of her shell, but she rarely responded to him. Yet, she still watched him, her eyes would carefully travel over him when she thought he wasn't looking. From the way she acted, Lowell assumed that she had spent most of her life building a reputation as being self sufficient and alone. It would bruise her pride to fawn over him like other women, and he didn't truly want that. He wanted only to have her admit her fascination and desire for him.

"At least let me help with the horses, I can take them water." He offered after several minutes of silence had passed.

"No. They would not like you and I do not enjoy dealing with a stampede." Silana shot him down again, but she did look up at him. "Those are not horses that you are used to."

"No, I can see that." He turned to look at the small roped in paddock and admired the fiery mares that grazed on the feed she had tossed in to them.

What he had thought were wild caught horses of some sort or poorly bred ones, were truly unique and beautiful. They were finely bred and graceful, light on their hooves with small dainty heads boasting alert ears and bright spirited eyes. They were all mares, but they would have rivaled any stallion ever captured for the way they carried themselves. Their coats were brilliant copper, almost like polished metal and their manes were deep fiery crimson that fell down nearly to their upper legs. In England they would have been snatched up in a heart beat for their weight in gold, pampered in the stables and near worshiped as glorious examples of horseflesh. The only softness he had seen in Silana came from her time with them, she spoke in a musical language and brushed them each day, caressing them and treating them as she might a person.

"Did you breed them yourself?" He asked, attempting to draw her into conversation on something she felt some passion about. "They are lovely, Silana, like nothing I've ever seen."

"They are an old line, bred from by my family for hundreds of years." She stopped working on a bit of halter and gave him a long look. "It is only recently that we have achieved the results we sought after and they are it."

"Are you going to the city to sell them? I would give much to have such a lovely creature within my stable." He leaned forward a little, trying to come closer to her as she turned her eyes to the horses, one of the mare's was sniffing the wind curiously.

"To be kept in a stall, harnessed up to pull a cart and never feel the wind and grass? I would not sell to your kind." She made a derisive sound. "You do not have the wealth to afford one and I would not dishonor what my family has done by selling them away. I go to find a new stallion, new blood lines to enhance them."

"I don't think they could be enhanced." Lowell licked his lips and moved a hand out to lightly rest on her arm, just his finger tips. "They are as perfect as she who owns them."

Silana stiffened under his touch and lifted her head to give him a long look before drawing back. He allowed her, but he fancied that he saw a bit more color in her high cheekbones. It was so hard to tell when these people blushed, their coloration was naturally dark enough that he wasn't used to it, but he could imagine her flushing. He grinned victoriously and leaned back to allow her stand up while he continued to watch the horses. Soon enough he'd be able to take her into his arms and embrace her, to watch all that distance melt away as his lips went down to her own. The way her body would relax in his hold, it would be perfect, better than any tomb that he might have found. He just needed more time.

He let his eyes slip along her body as she ducked beneath the rope fence and into the midst of the horses. Even from a distance he could hear her voice soften as one of them frisked up to her and pushed a soft nose into her palm. Her entire body changed, relaxed and leaned forward as she talked and stroked the silky forelock. He itched to go over and slide behind her, to wrap his arms around her and hear that softness for himself. He loved her, and one day she would love him as well. He only had to coax her into admitting it to herself.

~ ~ * ~ ~

It was three more days until the chance arose for Lowell to try and press the issue of his affection. He tried, daily, to court her. He offered her compliments on her dress, on how she tended the cool pools of the oasis, how she trained the horses. He made a meal for them, trying to show her the cooking style he was used to and he fancied that she began to unthaw. She spoke more often to him and with more warmth, she would allow him to tend the horses as long as she watched him closely. He believed she only did that as an excuse to watch him work, and so he did his best to show his lean body off to her. He wanted her to know everything that he could offer her and more. And eventually she even told him that they would leave soon for the city, that she believed there was going to be a rare desert rain that would allow them two days of relatively cool travel.

The night before they were to leave, she offered to make a meal for him, one that used some fruits that she had been holding back. She offered to let him help her and he had enjoyed the closeness of the small cooking area, the way that her body would occasionally brush against his own. The signs were there and he couldn't keep the smile from his face. She wanted him, they would eat a meal of small decadent tidbits, and then they would enjoy one another thoroughly. They would come together in a rush of passion shared until she was quivering beneath him. It made every small brush against him a treat and torture until the meal was done and they were able to settle down beside the fire. He settled close beside her, nearly brushing against the line of her body with his own.

"Such interesting spices here..." He murmured and nibbled at the edge of a pear stuffed pastry that was spiced with something hot. "And mixtures."

"Your own food is bland." Silana hooded her eyes and watched the fire. "Here, we enjoy tempting our senses with various spices so that it feeds more than just the stomach."

"And it truly does." He finished the pastry with relish and shifted so that his hip pressed a bit more firmly against her own. "Temptations are something to be savored."

Lowell tilted his head to watch her finely sculptured face, the way she was staring at the flames and the length of hair as it fell down along the line of her shoulders. With a slow smile he moved his arm out and slipped it along the curve of her waist, caressing lightly as he pulled her in close to his body. She went tense and leaned away, but he let out a low laugh at her stubbornness. She wanted him, that much was clear, she just wanted to be independent as well. He lowered his head and brushed the line of her neck with his lips, nibbling lightly while his hand moved up to run along the curve of her side, caressing and squeezing while she squirmed in his grasp.

"Stop that!" She pulled and pushed hard against his chest while he grazed his teeth down his neck.

"Why? After you've flirted so much, it's clear that you want me." He deepened his voice and maintained his hold on her. "I could give you everything, if you wish to be in charge, then so be it, I would let you control all of me."

"Clear?" She tried to pull away again as he licked lightly along her neck.

"Yes, how you watch me, how you talked with me, opened up to me..." He trailed his fingers delicately down her arms. "I would welcome you to my home, I would make you royalty if I could."

"Fah!" A sudden shove hit him against his chest and made him release her. "You think that because I speak to you I wish to be your bride? Because I do not cringe away from you that I want your body in mine?! How dare you!"

"I.." Lowell pulled back and blinked his eyes rapidly. "I thought it was a game, I saw you watching-"

"Like I would watch any stranger that could harm me." Silana pulled back and got to her feet while his cheeks flushed a hot red. "You are like a stallion, you smell a mare and think they must want you on their back heedless of the signs she gives you! All that matters is that she's female and hasn't kicked in your nose for coming close."

"It wasn't like that!" He surged to his feet with outrage. "You were touching me earlier, you-"

"I am no man's possession! I rescued you, gave you shelter, food, water and now you think that you can take my body?!" Silana snarled at him, seeming larger then she already was as he backed away in angry confusion.

"I made a mistake, nothing more!" He tried to explain as the smoke from the fire seemed to blow towards him, choking him until he was coughing around his attempt to speak. Silana's eyes flashed and seemed to glow while he stumbled away from the fire.

"If you think like a stallion, then perhaps your outside should match your inside!" She snapped out as he tried to get out of the path of the smoke, but it seemed to follow him.

The smoke twisted and twined around him while he watched the lovely girl seem to transform under the haze. Her eyes grew more almond-like and larger, her ears tapered and her hair curled instead of hung straight and pure. She looked strange and ethereal while he choked on each breath and dropped down to his knees in front of her. The flames shifted and brightened, changing to a vibrant red so that it flashed over his body and reached towards him. He tried to struggle away, his scream stolen by the choking smoke as he was engulfed and his body twisted about. They didn't burn him, not truly, they heated him and sent flashes of fire through his veins. He opened his lips and let out a screeching cry that turned into a strange high pitched squeal.

The fires engulfed his legs, blocking them from view, but he felt things changing and shifting. The bones started to thicken and ache, the joints popped and cracked while he kicked out and sent up great sprays of sand behind him. He twisted about, rolling onto his back while he realized that his pants were being torn apart as the legs started to grown and thicken. The seams split and showed pale flashes of his skin beneath the dark fabric and his shoes fell off. The thickness of his lower legs extended all the way down to his ankles which were starting to pull upwards and grow more pronounced. He saw his toes, briefly, but they were starting to thicken and pull together, the nails were darkening and spreading along the top of the joints. He let out a ragged noise and arched his back upwards as his knees began to shift and the joint reformed as they looked higher up. He kicked out roughly in the air and felt his entire leg bending strangely, the joints no longer where they should have been.

His pants fell down into the sand, splitting apart into rags as he let out another wild squeal. It didn't sound human, it was high pitched and almost equine like as he arched his back higher in the air and watched as his toes disappeared. A thick hoof was forming, changing the joints and weighing him down as his breath came out in short labored gasps. The skin suddenly started to darken, a fuzz growing out, dark in the firelight that didn't cast enough of a glow for him to see the color. He tried to turn his head away, but he couldn't, his body was starting to grow heavier and weighed down. His hips started to shift and change, popping and cracking so that he cried out in shock.

"I thought I'd I have to go to the city to find a new stallion," Silana murmured down at him as his breathing started to grow more labored. Her eyes glowed like emeralds. "It's been too long since I've had new blood in my herd..."

"HELP!" He tried to cry out, but instead he let out another squeal that sounded more like a horse than a man.

"I am..." Silana reached down and touched his head, the firm press sent a roll of darkness through his mind as he realized she looked smaller than he had been before.

~ ~ * ~ ~

Salina sent the fire back down with a gesture, the flames pulled back into the embers until there was only the faintest glow that spilled over the unconscious form that was still twisting and growing. It was better this way, he was growing large enough that he could do some damage if he managed to get onto all fours. She crouched down next to his head where his dark hair was lightening to burnished gold, it spilled past his eyes as she trailed a finger down and chased where the line of a mane was growing down his neck. His ears had already started to taper, but not the full length of a horse's ears. They were more like her own that ended in sharp points. His haunches were already fully equine, the powerful glossy hind quarters of a stallion complete with the heavy dark sheath that barely showed the mottled tip in the pouched opening and a set of heavy orbs.

_To think, he fell right into my hands.. _ She stroked her fingers down his cheek before shifting up onto her toes before standing. One of the mares whickered restlessly and she looked up at their reflected eyes.

"Be at peace, children, we'll have your new stallion set soon." She called back to their whickering voices and turned back to the tent.

It was time to have new blood in her herd. She had been breeding up her horses for centuries, trying to create the perfect horse. When she had been human she had loved her father's horses and seeing them storm across the desert in a multi-hued river, after she had been cursed as a djinn she had continued her love for them. She had carefully bred them for years, making them exquisitely graceful and beautiful, easy to train and intelligent, but that was as far as she could go. That was when she had happened upon a man who had wanted to claim her as his personal slave and whore. She had changed him into a stallion and, on a whim, used him to breed a mare. The foal had been intelligent and beautiful, far beyond that of a normal horse and so she had started to breed up what she had now.

She didn't always keep a stallion that had once been human, that would be worthless, for their genes would become far too human and they would cease being true horses. No, she sought one out once ever fifty years to turn, and this time she had gone nearly seventy five years. The horses were still intelligent and beautiful, but they were far more equine-like now. The five mares that she had picked out were the best, they were the brightest and they were the ones that she wished to set to one of her modified stallions. She had a vision in her mind, not of her fiery mares, but of flaxen gold, the color of the desert sands and sun. She had thought she would be forced to go to the city and the dives where men of low morals would linger hoping to rape and murder, but one had fallen into her lap.

Lowell had seemed so nice, so sweet at first. He had stumbled in on death's door and had seemed quiet enough, but as the days continued he treated her different. He crowded her and followed her, hinted after his interest in her and would barely let her walk away without following behind her. It was annoying, but more importantly, it reminded her of a stallion when he scented a new mare. He wouldn't allow her out of his sight and when he could, he pressed his advantage. She'd given him many chances to change his ways, never given him any real indication she was interested, ignored him when she could, but still he tried. When he went further, it was time, she knew he would be her stallion and she didn't have to brave the increasingly populated cities to bring him to her. His genes would spark a new breed within her mares and then...

And then, my bold stallion, She stroked along the flaxen mane as the half-horse rolled onto his side with a groan. Then someone will make you a fine addition to their stable, won't they?

~ ~ * ~ ~

"UP! Up you get!!" Silana's voice made Lowell's ears hurt just before something hit right against his hip.

"Whreee-eee-ee!" He tried to ask what, but his voice came out as a whickering cry only to feel the slap hit him on the hip again.

Lowell came awake with a groan, his legs shifting beneath him so that he nearly toppled over onto his chest. Legs under him? With a jerk of his head he came fully awake and looked around, he stood on all fours in the middle of a rope pen, not on his wool blankets in the tent. He stumbled backwards with a squeal and heard hooves clattering against the ground loudly behind him. He twisted around only to see a flash of a golden tail spilling down along his haunches as he swung about. The edges fluttered against his knees as the memories from the night before came back to him. His tail lashed faster and faster as he threw his head back and found a spill of hair falling down past his nose. It was longer than it had ever been in his life, and the wrong color.

"That's quite enough of that!" Silana reached up and caught his hair to give it a yank, forcing his head down as the woman appeared.

He tried to squeal his anger out at her, but the next tug cut it off before it could escape. She stood before him, almost the same woman, but subtly different with her ears pointed sharply and her eyes too large for her features. They were bright green, almost glowing in the light as she shrugged a bridle off her arm with a smile on her face. He tried to jerk backwards, stumbling over his unfamiliar hind legs and lifted an arm up to push her away. Except, his arm didn't work quite right. The hands were there, but they were numb and hard feeling, he couldn't flex his fingers at all. The position of his arms had changed as well, they were built more like a horse's forelegs, though they lacked fur, and wouldn't bend up when he wanted them too. Or at least, bend the right way.

Silana ignored his attempts to get away and pulled his head all the way down so that he was nearly bumping against her stomach. The bridle was dropped down over his head with a hard feel of metal clattering against his cheeks. He tried to twist his head away, but the hold on his forelock kept him in place as the leather was pulled up and over his head. He had no idea what was going on, all he knew was that he didn't want the damned bridle on his head. The woman was some sort of witch, something that had changed him, just like the old stories that the people told around the campfire. He stepped back again and yanked, but the leather pulled up and behind his head with a hard enough tug that he felt cold metal hitting against his lips. He let out an angry snort as the grip on his forelock was released and he could throw his head back.

"Easy, old boy, no need for such a fuss." Silana murmured and her agile fingers buckled the bridle behind his head before moving down to grip the bit against his lips. "We have a long way to go today and I don't think we're going to make good time with you getting so upset."

_Go?! Go where! _ Lowell snorted angrily and suddenly one of her fingers dug along his cheek and curled forward into his mouth.

To his shock and indignation the finger slipped between a gape in his teeth and plunged forward over his tongue. He let out a muffled noise as the finger pushed down hard and pulled downwards roughly. He'd never had missing teeth before! Except, they didn't feel like teeth were missing, more like things had shifted around in his mouth. She pulled down hard until he was forced to open his mouth and the cold metal bit slipped into his mouth and pushed over his tongue and a chain slipped beneath his chin. The bit wasn't straight and smooth, but arched up in the middle so that it pushed against the roof of his mouth. A curb bit! He snorted and jerked his head back while she struggled to fasten the cheek straps into place.

The bridle fit him perfectly, despite the fact he had the horse sized head of a human, it was short enough that it ran over the bridge of his nose and fastened tightly along his cheeks. He shifted and chewed the bit on his tongue, trying to push it out from his mouth angrily. He shook his head roughly back and forth to try and get it off, but it was stubbornly held in place because of the buckles. With an angry squeal he tried to push up onto his legs to stand up properly, but he only reared up like a horse, stomping on his hooves while Silana controlled the reins and pulled down against them. The bit shifted in his mouth, putting pressure over his tongue so his mouth was forced open. He twisted and tried to straighten up all the way, but his body no longer wanted to bend the way it should have. He dropped back down with a slapping noise of his hands against the ground so puffs of dust rose up in the air.

"You will learn, by pleasure or pain, but the choice will be yours." Silana gave another pull that forced him to take a few steps forward, his tail lashing wildly behind him. "Today, we move."

The reins tugged him forward closer to the pole that made up a part of the rope bridge. He gave his head a rough shake back and forth while she wrapped the reins around the pole and forced his head down close to the wood. It was an awkward angle with his neck not long enough to be like a horse's, but it did limit how he could get away. Silana moved around him and gave him a rough stinging slap to his rump cheeks so he startled forward a bit closer and squealed out with outrage. Her laughter made him flush as she moved to pull a thick silk pad from the rope fence, one that was stuffed until it was two inches thick with a fringe around the edges and two looped stirruped that hung down loose at either side of the saddle.

He shivered as she threw it up and over his bare back. He twisted his head a little to see the silk drop down along his back. The golden coat only covered the edges of his rump and about to midwaist before it turned into smooth skin again. His chest and belly were changed into a barrel, more like a horse than anything else, and fit the saddle perfectly as it swept along the line of his back. Silana worked swiftly and easily, obviously well versed in how to saddle up a horse. She ducked beneath him and pulled the band beneath his chest and belly and pulled it through the buckles so that she could fasten them up. He shifted and stomped a hind hoof roughly against the ground while she moved to pick up fluttering silk bands.

One was looped over his chest and joined up to the saddle and the next was pulled down and behind his haunches. Lowell shuddered a little and strained his head when he pulled his tail upwards into the air, yanking it higher so that the fluttering band could be secured beneath his tail. He caught a glimpse of something heavy and pouchlike beneath him, the swaying weight swung back and forth beneath his barrel. Not his own shaft, but a heavy dark edged sheath that he could just catch a glimpse of it. His nostrils flared with panic and he jerked backwards with a squeal, yanking against the reins so that the bridle dug down along his cheeks. They cut painfully against him while he tried to get himself free.

"Easy on!" Silana ducked down and caught the reins just beneath his chin so that he was forced to stop struggling, his nostrils flared open wide, breathing faster as she untied the reins from the pole. "I do enjoy a spirited mount."

The reins were flung up and over his head before he could react, the leather draped along his shoulders and partially over the silk pad. He didn't have enough time to react or back away, the woman moved gracefully to swing herself up and over his saddled back. Her weight settled on the silk pad as he pranced backwards and gave his head a rough shake back and forth. The reins were pulled taut and forced his head down while she secured her feet into the stirrups making him squeal and buck his haunches up in the air. He wasn't going to be ridden by this damn woman! He wasn't a horse! Even if she had made him almost look like one. The yank of the reins shifted the bit painfully in his muzzle, making him twist his head back and forth to try and relieve the pressure.

She gave the reins a forceful tug, forcing him to turn a bout in a circle as he bucked and squealed out angrily. His hands slapped on the ground, he knew the sand was hard and hot, but he couldn't feel it. His hooves kicked up bits of sand as her heels dug roughly into his sides and she let out a high pitched cry urging him forward. He let out a higher pitched squeal and launched himself forward, bolting around the ring as she guided him with the reins and bit both. A bit of foam formed along the edges of his lips while he fought the reins and bucked up into the air trying to get her off him. She clung to him with practiced ease, her legs clutching either side of him so he couldn't shake her no matter how he twisted.

The bit was a brutal thing when he tried to fight it, it bruised the edges of his lips and dug along the roof of his mouth. The chain pinched his chin as he tried to rid himself of it, but he couldn't, she controlled his head and led him no matter how he fought it. He kicked and let out high pitched squeals, but he couldn't get her off him. He couldn't shake her from his back, the only relief he did get was when he stopped fighting and let her guide him. She controlled him, utterly and completely, no matter how he tried to get her off him. He ran himself in circles until his sides were sweaty and foam formed along his cheeks where he fought the bit. His mouth hurt and was sore, his entire body trembling and exhausted, but she didn't let up on him. Not until he was so tired that he was forced to walk three times around the rope ring, his legs almost shaking as he did so.

"There's a fellow..." Silana murmured and leaned forward to stroke a hand along his neck while he trembled. "We just had to understand one another."

_I am not a horse! _ He tried to get the will to bolt, but it was too much effort. He was so tired, so very tired that all he could was let her guide him to the opening of the rope door.

"We shall need a name for you, won't we?" She shifted in the saddle as she spoke and he felt her hips pressing a bit further back on his back as she relaxed from her tensed position. So secure that he wouldn't fight. "Atlas. I think Atlas will do. I've always enjoyed those old legends, they even reached me here when I was a girl. Come along, Atlas, we have to make the next oasis by nightfall and we've already lost most of the day."

Lowell was so tired he hung his head and plodded in the direction she indicated. For the first time he realized that the lovely free spirited mares were saddled up, but were halterless. They all bore packs from the tent and supplies, but it was divvyed up among them so none of them took a great weight. At her whistle they started off and formed around him as a group, with himself at the lead. Some part of him, some strange unnamable part, preened at being in the lead. Without thinking about it, he arched his neck and picked up his legs into a brisk walk as they set out from the oasis.

~ ~ * ~ ~

The day was long and hot, like every day, but for Lowell he found a new hell in trying to walk with the weight of a woman on his back. The sand churned around his numb hands and hooves, but he had to keep up as Silana encouraged him from his back. The heat of the sun baked him, but he found the energy to keep going while the mares followed behind them and helped use the track that he broke in the sand to make their way behind him. He had fought, whenever he found the energy he tried to throw the woman from his back, but she kept her promise. Every time he fought the bit it was drawn taut and twice she brought him to his knees cruelly, but when he behaved... he was well rewarded.

She called him sweet names and encouraged him, she got off and led him over a dune when he struggled and even gave him some dried fruit when they paused for him to catch his breath. Her words, so soft and gentle, were something he strived for. He hated himself for enjoying those kindnesses, but he was so tired. It was so hard to keep going, but he still managed it, eventually it became harder to fight her, because the moment he did he would be punished. Why would he fight when he could be rewarded and cared for? By the time they had sighted the next oasis he was exhausted and his head was dropped down low, while the mares frisked about him and kicked up their heels as if they hadn't known the hard passage through the dessert at all. He could only glare after them and put his ears back as Silana led him to the cool pool hidden in the green growth.

"Don't drink so fast, Atlas," her voice murmured while he pushed his flat face into the water and was forced to bend his knees to do so.

He unashamedly sucked the water down, cooling his parched throat while the mares took their turns drinking, but they did so far more neatly then he managed. Their lips were made for this, while his human nose was plunged into the water and at times he choked and snorted. In the end he managed to get enough down that he felt some amount of relief and lifted his head up with a sigh before pushing himself back up onto all fours. The water ran down from his chin and coated the leather of his reins, not that he cared. They could rot for all he cared and the bit had made the water taste metallic. At least it had cooled and helped the bruises that were forming along the edges of his lips.

Silana had used the time he was drinking to unsaddle the mares and take off their burdens. Her gear was piled to one side while the fiery looking mares shook themselves out and let the air cool down the darkened patched of sweat. She had erected the rope pen, though it was a bit larger due to the way the trees were spread out. It confined the entire oasis so they would have the run of the place, but not be able to head off into the desert. He knew what the strange woman would do, she would groom them and tend them, pamper them like little queens. She came to him with a smile, reaching out to catch his dangling reins while he tried to shift the bit on his tongue into a comfortable position. She stroked his neck gently, fingering the long spill of the mane that had grown down the line of his spine.

"Let's get you taken care of first, you've had a hard day." Her voice was kind, but he rolled his eyes a bit as she gave a tug of the reins to lead him away.

What was she? It had plagued his day, trying to figure out how she had done this to him, how she was making him behave. She seemed to know exactly how to make him react, even when he tried to disobey, she knew what would get him to react. Even now, only a light tug of the reins that pressed against his poor bruised mouth had him following her instead of struggling. It made him snort and high step when she pulled him away from the pool. He was so tired, so very tired, he didn't want to be tormented anymore, he just wanted to lay down and sleep. He had been run ragged, far worse than any of the mares who seemed to be content to crop what little foliage they could find and ignore their mistress.

She didn't take him far, only away from the pool before she stripped him of the saddle and bridle both. It was a relief to have the metal bit pulled from his mouth and he worked his jaws a few time to relieve the soreness. He could feel the damp spots on his skin and hide both, the wetness felt cool in the night air and it was all he could do not to drop down to the ground and rest. Silana crooned wordlessly to him as she set aside the gear to dry and left to soak a rag in cool water, wringing it out well before approaching him again. He didn't have the heart to jerk away, he just lowered his head as she started to wipe the sweat from him, running down his back and sides ever so gently and cleaning the sweat from him.

Her touch wasn't harsh or cruel, but as gentle as they were with her mares. She stroked down his legs and shoulders, keeping care not to make him wet with cold water, but just enough to get it off him. The dust and sand that he had churned up were wiped away as she went countless times to the pool and back to him, scrubbing against his skin and hide both. He let himself lean into it, it felt so terribly good to be stroked and cleaned, to not be hurt or afraid. Her hands were the kindest of things, leaving his golden hide almost glowing gold while his skin was freshly cleaned. She paused only to start a fire nearby as the sun started to go down and the air grew chill. He watched her, his mind feeling slow and relaxed so he lifted a hind leg up to rest his hoof tip on the ground.

The mares had started to roam and graze, and he automatically swept his eyes around the area to keep them in sight. He tried to twitch his ears up, but his ears wouldn't move, still he made sure that he knew where they were. He wanted to make sure that they didn't stray too far, and he even looked past them to ensure that there was no danger lurking past them. The crackling of the fire, the way that the woman tended the blaze were almost distracting, but he knew his duty. Despite how exhausted he was, he lifted his head up when one of them slipped out of his view and took a step towards that direction. Without thought he whinnied out to her to ensure she hadn't gone far, after a few breaths there was a whicker back and the roaming mare frisked back into view so he could relax again.

"Keeping an eye on your ladies, hmm Atlas?" Silana laughed as she came back from the fire duties with a large bowl. "We've had a long day, haven't we? But I think your mouth will be too tender to want to risk hard hay or grain."

Atlas blinked his eyes slowly as the bowl was brought up beneath his muzzle for him, she held it close to her body, but the scents made his nostrils flare. He could smell apples, and grains, mingled together richly. Without a thought he pushed his flat face into the bowl and used his tongue to scoop up the mixture. To his surprise it was warm grain, oats and quinoa mixed together and mingled with dried chopped apples and a hint of sweet molasses. It was warm and soft, easy for his lips to scoop up and didn't hurt his aching mouth. It soothed it, he worked his jaws drawing it in as fast as he possibly could while his stomach let him know just how hungry he was. He pushed at the bowl, bumping it up against his owner while she stroked along his forehead.

He kept his eyes open, watching for his mares while he tried to eat as much as he possibly could. The mash was rich and heavy, made to replace a heavy meal for all the energy that he'd managed to burn in the last day. He was so involved in dividing his attention that he barely heard her murmured words, all that mattered was eating and keeping the mare's safe. He pushed his mouth further into the bowl while the mare's started to draw in closer, their eating starting to come to a close they were coming together for the night. Bits of grain clung to his lips as he lifted his head and finished off his meal, his eyes going heavy while his owner caressed under his chin. His mouth felt so much better, it was hardly sore at all, and he was tended and warm. What more could he wish for?

"Now let me see to your ladies, vain one." Silana stroked his neck lightly and moved away, taking the last bit of mash with her. The mares seemed to know it well, they crowded her and attempted to push their noses into the remainder.

Atlas gave himself a shake, his tail sweeping back and forth while he considered his little herd and snuffed the air delicately. Their owner was moving among them with a brush, giving them a rub down and getting the worst of the dust off while leaving the bowl to their slurping tongues. It gave him a chance to step among them and whicker softly, bumping noses here and there. That was how he should do it, let them know he was here, in charge, greet them to renew bonds. He pressed his strange flat nose to their own here and there, exchanging warm puffs of air while he arched his neck for them. Some of his exhaustion melted away and he lifted his hooves up higher in the air as they whickered and gave him their own snuffling bumps, curious about him.

It wasn't until he was near one who was still going after the grain that he paused and bumped his nose against her haunch. She smelled warm, rich and sweet, a scent that made him take notice and push up against her so that she let out an annoyed snort and stomped a hoof against the ground. His upper lip twitched a little bit as the stallion drew in a deep breath, he lifted his head up and filtered out that scent, warm and welcoming, it clung to every thought. His heart started to beat faster as the mare lifted her head and took a few steps away from him. He followed while her long fiery tail swept back and forth above her haunches while she high stepped. He couldn't let her get away, he knew that smell.

His sheath started to bulge and spread open wider, he could feel his glans oozing out from the opening and spilling downwards as he reacted to that warm fertile scent. He whickered out and trotted a few steps towards her and slipped his nose just beneath her tail. He saw a flash of the soft puffy folds, the winking that flashed the vulnerable clit to him as a glistening of her wetness clung to her outer folds. The sweet fertile scent of estrus assaulted his senses. It made his stomach tighten as his girth started to inch outwards, swinging back and forth, but the mare kicked back just as he tried to push his lips to her folds. He reared back to avoid her rear hooves, but followed when she danced away from him again.

Each breath filled him with desire, his cock was swinging full and heavy beneath his body and starting to smooth out where the flesh was swelling. He let out an enticing whicker to the fertile mare as the rest of them started to shift and prance away from him as he followed the object of his interest. He would have her, he would leap up and catch her haunches with his forelegs and feel her bucking beneath him. He would grip her neck while his cock plunged into that fertile passage and laid claim to it. He arched his neck and threw his legs out in front of him, extending his stride as the thoughts made his cock flex beneath him, it slapped up with a lewd wet noise against his chest, splattering a bit of precum against the bare skin. The mare stopped just in front of him, her tail swung up high baring those winking folds at him as he closed in on her. His haunches started to tense up, prepared to lunge up onto her while he had the chance.

Laughter stopped him, high pitched laughter made Lowell freeze and jerk backwards in horror as Silana's merriment and mockery rang in his ears and startled him out of the lustful thoughts. His cock hung down full and heavy between his hind legs as he struggled to back up and twisted around to confront the woman. She stood there, a grin on her face and a brush in her hand, watching him intently. He bared his teeth automatically while he tried to get a few more steps back away from her. He wasn't going to do this! He wasn't! The mare that he'd been following let out a little whicker that made him jerk and he backed away even further. His entire body tense and trembling with a primal need that itself felt in the tightness of the heavy equine orbs between his legs.

"Ahh, my mistake." Silana murmured softly. "I've never had one of my changelings give in so easily. They normally fight longer."

Lowell squealed out angrily at the mockery and stomped a back hoof, which only made him aware of his bobbing cock. It was almost painful trying to make it soften, trying to still the desire that was beating through him and translated into the thick dribble of precum that was running from his aching tip.

"Don't worry, Atlas, she's not ripe yet, but soon. In a day or two, you'll take her, and the next one and the next. And with each one, you will become more my own." Silana placed the brush down with the rest of her gear. "Sleep well, dear stallion, do try to enjoy yourself. I'm sure that they won't mind if you have a sniff or two, but we ride out at dawn."

Lowell glared at her and turned away, his cock slowly, almost painfully, softening so that he could draw it up into the sheath. He stormed away from the mares, his entire body trembling with the need to turn back and go back to the one that was so sweetly scented. His instincts screamed out that he should be near her, protecting her, staying at her side where he could ensure that she wouldn't be able to take any other mate but himself. In the end, he dropped down onto his stomach, ignored his aching orbs and tried to sleep pressed against some brush. So low to the ground that he only caught the barest scents of the mares as they formed up in a group pressed against one another. It wasn't much, but it was some protection, for now.

~ ~ * ~ ~

Sunrise. The glorious spill of red light spilling along the edges of the desert and lightening the night sky into shades of violet and pink and peach and every warm color there was. The spill of sunlight ran along the curve of Lowell's haunches, warming his trembling form from where he remained pressed against a tree, as far away from the band of mares as he could possibly get. The wetness from the pool had chilled him, made it hard to think and hard to do anything except chatter his teeth, but it had stilled the hot desire that ran rampant through him as the night had become redolent with the scent of mares. A scent that had made his thoughts waver towards something bestial and frantic, a scent that had driven him as far away from them as he could possibly get.

He had known so many types of arousal in his life. The feeling of a body against his own, the sight of a warm body unclothing itself in front of him, the suggestion of words, but he had never experienced scent in this fashion. Girls had always smelled lovely to him, but this scent had made it impossible to think of anything except sex. No, not sex, breeding. A base desire to clamber onto their backs and possess them one by one, mark them with the scent of his body against their own. The pool had stilled some of those desires and his misery had helped calm down the rest of it as he remained against the tree on his belly. The sun brought warmth and relief with it as he lifted his still human head up and drew in a deep breath of relief.

What does she want of me? Why should she want me like this? There are a thousand stallions that could breed her mares. _ He blinked his eyes a few times and glanced towards the tent and all the human comforts that were there. _I don't deserve this.

_ _

That last thought was thick with anger, enough anger he fought past the scents on the air and heaved himself up onto all fours with a groan. His legs trembled slightly as he pushed himself up on his numb hands first and then got his hind legs beneath him. It was awkward, but he managed to get back to all fours without embarrassing himself. The sand that encrusted his side itched so he shivered his skin instinctively to let some of it fall free. His forelock fell forward between his eyes before he shook it out of the way and carefully stepped forward towards the pool.

The mares had taken a spot near the center of the oasis, the group of them had crowded together so that they were nearly pressed side by side sharing their warmth. He felt an urge to go near them, to press along their sides and be warm, to protect them and watch over them. He stifled it and turned his head away as he made a wide circle to go around the pool as far as he could get away from them. The sun started to rise higher in the air, warming by the moment, soaking into his body and loosening his tensed muscles up into a more normal state from a night spent tensed and shivering. He'd get a drink of water before they were up, then he would look for some food and go back to the other point of the oasis. He would stay away from them.

The mares, the draw of them, the need to be near them was a danger he needed to avoid if he wanted to keep his sanity. It was his sanity that would see him through this. He would allow her to get him near a city so he could bolt away and seek someone that could help him. At the very least, he would be able to expose her for what she was doing and see her imprisoned. He would teach her a lesson that she would never forget. With those solidified thoughts he went to the edge of the pool and lowered his head so he could drink, except he couldn't quite do it properly. His legs bent strangely so he could get his face down to the water and plunged it forward into the clear cool pool.

His lips worked to suck up the water, awkwardly, but he managed to make the best of it to slake his thirst. He flicked his ears, naturally, so he could listen to the sounds of the oasis around him, listening for anything that might be a predator sneaking up on him. His throat bobbed a few more times before he felt satisfied and heard the mares starting to stir from their rest. He lifted his dripping lips and heaved himself back up onto all fours before shaking himself out. He couldn't stop himself, he lingered on the sight of the fiery looking mares shaking themselves out, their coats gleaming like newly minted pennies as they started to cast about and cropped on the various plants nearby. They were graceful, light bodied, gorgeous looking by any judge of horse flesh. Even an untrained eye would stare at them with enjoyment.

He turned his head about and regarded his own body critically. The human skin looked strange, his chest was barreled like a horses, but still skinned like it had always been. The glossy hind quarters were brushed smooth, though, even beneath the sand and golden colored. His tail was platinum colored and spilled down behind him towards the ground. He was lovely looking, though perhaps handsome was a better word, perfectly proportioned with muscles that were honed and tensed up. He lifted a hind hoof and watched them ripple beneath the golden fur before placing it back down on the sand. He was just as well built as the mares, but he was heavier, at least he thought he was.

With a snort he stepped forward along the pool and stared down at it curiously, looking over his mismatched body and saw that his hair had grown long enough to spill down along his shoulders into a real mane. He looked well built and proportioned. His arms had changed and looked wrong on him, but they were proportioned well enough that there was a strange sort of gracefulness to them. He lifted a hand up and saw his fingers remaining flat and firm, pushed outwards instead of curling as he tried to will them to do. It was as if they were entirely numb or as movable as his hooves. He couldn't even really feel his hooves, he felt the pressure of standing on them, but little else.

"Admiring yourself, Atlas? You are handsome, any wealthy man would pay a vast fortune to possess you." Silana's voice was rich with amusement, but it made him jerk backwards with his ears pinned to his head.

The strange woman was pulling her hair back, the tent flaps pulled open to reveal the luxurious insides as he glared at her. She was fully dressed with her tapered ears bared to the light as she tied her hair back into a tail at the nape of her neck. Her ethereal form was highlighted by the rising sun, the clinging silk hung to her chest and spilled down towards the curve of her hips. She wore a brilliant gold silk, almost the same color of his coat, with a large gold belt wrapped just above her hips. The looseness of the skirt swayed back and forth, whipping around the length of her legs by the early morning breeze.

He flared his nostrils a little bit as he looked her over, she was still lovely, even with her strange eyes that nearly glowed, and her ears, she was beautiful. She was lithe and graceful, like a wild creature of the desert caught in human form. Silana ignored him as she stretched and plucked up a few buckets to go down to the pool, but his eyes were on her, his heart started to beat faster as he rumbled low in his throat with carefully contained desire. She was lovely, she was perfect, she was what had got him into this body, but he was drawing in deep full breaths of her scent. His ears flicked up as she came closer to him, a small smile on her face as she passed by and he turned to follow her, but immediately stopped.

The scent on the air wasn't her. It was of the mares. The sweet inviting scent of them coming from one in particular who had come down to the watering hole. He had been drawing it in while staring at the woman and the moment he moved he felt something swaying beneath him. Part of his shaft had dropped free from his shaft to sway back and forth beneath his broad belly. Lowell let out an angry snort and stepped back away from her, turning his haunches towards her and away from the warm scent that was flooding his senses. He didn't want to deal with it anymore, he refused to deal with it. He wasn't going to get turned on by a band of mares, damnit!

"Poor fellow, just wait, you'll be fed soon enough and then we'll get you saddled up," Silana assured him, but it was no reassurance at all.

~ ~ * ~ ~

That day, and two days after that, were the same as the day before, a repeat that got him fed with some sort of grain and sparse hay, brushed out with firm strokes over his glossy hide and then saddled up. The camp was broken down, the mares seen to and packed up before he was forced to endure the weight of a rider on his back and the feel of the bit on his tongue. He fought against it each day, struggling and kicking beneath her to escape, but he was never allowed that. The more he fought, the crueler she was with the hold on the bit and the more his mouth was hurt by the yanks downwards. Each day he fought less against the weight of her settling on her back. He couldn't fight as long as each day he knew what it meant. The more he disobeyed, the more he was punished, but when he behaved, he was treated nicely. He was called sweet names and offered treats, he was pet and fussed over.

It was easier to give in. It was easier to just behave. The thoughts crept through his mind without him knowing about it. Once he was settled they would go from oasis to oasis by a track that only she knew. And she devised a new way to torture him as he carried her across the desert. At some point, each day, she made him drop back so the mares were leading the way through the sands. Her voice would guide them, turn them with a foreign tongue that he couldn't understand. And he was left trailing them with the scent of heat rising on the air so it filled his senses and made his mind fog over with a hot desire that burned through his soul and mind. The scent wasn't one he could escape, the east wind blew it towards him so that he couldn't get away from it. Any attempt to prance away to either side and he was guided back forcefully.

It didn't matter how he tried to evade it, the longer he remained where he was behind them, the more his body reacted to that scent. That hot enticing scent. A scent that made it impossible to do anything but drink it in with his lip twitching up. Invariably his body would react, there was no way around it. The feel of the woman on his back, her legs gripping around his chest, the way she murmured to him mingled with the hot scent of mare on the air. His sheath would fill out and start to drop, it would swing beneath him until his cock was exposed and swaying under him with each step. It was torture, a horrible torture, as he watched the mares walking in front of him. Their tails naturally carried high so at times he would see glimpses of the soft folds.

It was always one mare that he watched the closest, one the scent came off of, the one who pranced and frolicked in front of him as if she were teasing him. Always he tried to surge towards her, his shaft bobbing beneath him when she dropped back, but Silana held him back. The grip of the reins yanked her backwards onto his haunches so he would be forced to hold back no matter how his mind screamed at him to pursue the mare before anyone else could get at her. The bit would hit his tongue and yank him backwards so he pranced and high stepped behind them, humiliated, but his body reacting no matter how he felt.

She didn't say anything, she didn't mock him, she didn't talk to him, she only held him back as he tried to fight the bit. He'd fight until there was a froth formed along the edge of his lips and his sides were lathered with sweat. He stopped caring that he was human, hours of walking behind a tail bobbing in front of him, the scent of fertile need, drove him mad. Even his shaft ached as it stiffened beneath him and when he tried to lunge her laughter and the pull of the bit forced him back again. She could have let him walk up front, she could have spared him this humiliation, but she never did. She seemed to enjoy it. She wanted to taunt him. She wanted to make him work for something he didn't even want, at least not mentally!

By the time they reached their destination, he was sweating and exhausted, panting and shaking as the mares went to the heart of the oasis and Silana picketed him well away from them. Then, the worst part of his day happened. She would unsaddle him and brush him over, stroking and sweeping along his sides, cleaning off the days sweat from his body and soothing his muscles. It was then that he found it hard to control himself, it was then that he found it hard to remember who and what he was. Her gentle touch, her words, the taste of warmed mash on his sore mouth, they all coupled together to make sure that his guard was down and his mind drifted. He tried to keep his focus, he tried so hard to keep his focus on who he was, what he was, what he truly was.

And no matter how he tried to hold onto it, he always drifted off. He would be so exhausted, to overworked, that it was too hard to fight. He would lose himself, so briefly, under the touch of her hands and gave himself over to her keeping. He hated himself for doing it, but he always did, he would lean into the strokes and savor it. He would feel the brush running along his mane, his tail, he would feel her competent hands lifting up his hooves to tend them. Cool water would wash away the sand and dirt, tending him until he nearly shown gold and all he felt was comfort and exhaustion. Those times, those times were the worst, because he lost himself and who he was.

The evenings were spent trying to escape the mares and the scent of them. Each night it became harder for him to remember what he was doing and why he should keep away from them. He didn't sleep well, because when he slept, he lost the grasp on his higher mind. His body was in control, all it took was the scent of the mare in heat to stir him from his dreams and he would start to move towards them. Any moment of weakness threatened to overcome him, and each day became harder. Each day became more torturous as the scent of the mares grew sharper, more enticing, more tempting. It no longer became a battle to not give in, but when he would. That was the thought he took with him on the fourth night of his change and capture.

~ ~ * ~ ~

_I can't do this anymore. _ Lowell lifted his head from where it had been drooping and watched as Silana moved around the camp tending to the mares.

He was tired, but not exhausted, they had only traveled for half of the day to get to the next oasis. He had only struggled through being behind the mares for part of the morning before they had reached their destination, but today was worse. His body was alive with energy still, he wasn't spent and ready to drop, he was shifting and stomping a hind hoof as he watched the lovely mares at one end of the room. They were being brushed out first tonight, he had had his saddle taken off, and his bridle, but he hadn't been washed down. The sand was a bit irritating, but not terribly, not when his mind was focused on the woman who was tending the mares.

She was wearing only a small top today and a set of loose pants, her trim stomach was bared to him and shifted lightly as she brushed out the last tangles from the mare's tail. She was lovely, and pressed against the backdrop of the mares it made his body flush with a hot rush of need that had become familiar. He wanted to turn away, he wanted to walk to the barrier she had erected and leave them behind him, but he couldn't. He only watched them, his ears up and his focus entirely devoted to the way that her hands moved, the way that the mares shifted beneath her touch, and the way one mare was apart from the others as she grazed.

Why is she torturing me? _ He tried to pull his eyes away as Silana went back towards the pool to set down the bucket she had used for water. _What does she want from me?

_ _

"Atlas, are you so restless you are not hungry?" Silana called to him as she straightened up and chirped out something to the mares. The horses shifted and started off, their tails bobbing behind them as they left to presumably graze and forage.

The strange woman came to him with a smile lingering on her face and paused only to pick up a container of water from the packs that had been set out so they could be erected later. He flicked his ears back and moved his head to look towards the desert, away from her, away from her approach. He could have moved away, she hadn't left his bridle on him or tied him in any way. He could have just pranced off free as a bird, but he didn't. Because the humiliating fact was, some part of him wanted to be groomed and brushed over. He wanted to be cleaned and offered a soothing mash that would fill his belly. He wanted to be tended.

"Here, let us give you a true work out, Atlas. Easy, now." Her hands brushed along the curve of his cheek before he could jerk away.

He snorted angrily as the leather of the bridle suddenly slipped up and over his head. He jerked backwards, but her hold was firm as she pulled it up and over his changed ears, no matter how he held them pinned. Why was she putting his bridle back on? The mares were set loose, they were at the oasis, she was done with him for the day. He stomped a hoof and stepped backwards before the metal bit suddenly pushed into his mouth and pressed along his tongue firmly. He'd just gotten the damned thing out, it was even still damp from his spit, and it was back while he chewed angrily around it. Was she going to saddle him up and leave him this way for the night? A new way to torture him.

"Easy, easy, lad." She crooned at him as the reins were flung over his neck. "Let us see how you dance, eh?"

Lowell let out an angry shrill noise as she released the hold on the bridle to throw the saddle up and over his back. He was just tired enough that he didn't buck it off, but he did stamp a hoof as the girth was fastened and it was tightened along his chest and stomach. He wanted to be groomed and given mash, not to be worked even more after he had already been working in the desert. She ignored his snorts and shifting movements, instead she got him tacked up and talked to him as she adjusted straps and bits of leather. Her words were amused, soothing, calling him a fine fellow and handsome as a desert storm. He had worked like a donkey, not like a true horse, he should be worked like a real horse. He should be taught what it meant to be a dancer of the desert.

The words were soothing, they were a murmur that normally came when she groomed him, not when he was being saddled. The soft murmur made him relax ever so slightly, and he tilted his head when she scratched right along the line of his jaw with the softest of touches. She even offered him a dried date, something that tasted so sweet on his tongue that he nearly fluttered his eyes in enjoyment. Eventually she mounted him, her leg slipping over his back and knees hugging firmly against either side of his chest, but he didn't try to buck her off him. He only pranced in place, flicking his ears back a touch in annoyance that he was being worked again. He didn't know what she wanted from him, they were already here, after all.

"HYAH!! HYAH!!" The shrill voice came with the startling dig of heels against his sides and something striking right against his hind quarters.

The long leather edges of the reins snapped against him and made Lowell squeal out in shock before launching himself forward to escape them. It wasn't a sedate walk or trot, but an all out run that was urged on by Silana's voice. The snap of the reins cut against his rump cheeks with a light sting that sent a wave of panic through him as she guided him through the oasis at a break neck speed he had never before experienced. His legs were flung out in front of him, and then gathered up so that they all left the ground together before he cast them out again. His tail whipped behind him as his rider leaned forward and her weight shifted along his saddle.

She didn't bounce against his back, she moved naturally as he tore through some scrub brush and saw the flapping of silk that marked the barrier she had erected to keep the horses in. He didn't think, he didn't have to think, he was controlled by the sudden dig of the heels and the high pitched call of his rider urging him on. He dug his hind hooves into the ground and launched himself upwards, his front legs tucked in beneath his chest tightly as he kicked off and felt his body soaring through the air. It was a glorious moment where he hung between earth and sky, leaving the barrier behind him before extending his forelegs out. He was the Pegasus of legend, the flying horse of heroes, only to come to earth with the thud of his flat hands and the cry of his rider.

She didn't turn him back towards the oasis but urged him into the desert itself. The high sun beat down on his golden form as his hooves kicked up great sprays of sands while he ran. The wind blew through his mane and fluttered down along the powerful curve of his shoulders as his muscles started to tense and relax. The slow plodding pace that he had used before, even the sharp trot, were nothing compared to this. The world was flashing beneath him as he stretched his body out and felt his rider moving with him. Her body shifted along his back, another part of him, something that became a part of who and what he was. A creature of sand and desert, of sky and wind. He flicked his ears back and strained himself to his furthest gait as she guided him through the dunes.

He didn't think, she controlled the reins, she knew where he could run safely and where he had to be guided around. And so, when the reins suddenly pulled his head to one side he didn't think. His body twisted around, his haunches curved beneath him as he twisted in a tight circle, almost chasing his own tail before she drove him forward again. He'd never known he could be lithe, his body was so large, but she showed him as he ran forward five paces and twisted in a circle again before going back the other way. Her hands on the reins controlled him, each step, she planned them as he ran in circles that twisted and began to slow down. She pulled on the reins so his head long run became a slow canter, his muscles rippling beneath him as she guided him through a figure eight.

He knew what she wanted, he knew the signals of her body as she slowed him and forced his chin down so his neck arched. He threw his legs out and lifted his hooves up high as she began to change the beat of his gait, but not slowly. She guided him with reins and heels to change his gait midstride, his body rocking and swaying back and forth while his tail lashed behind him. He danced, his hooves frisked over the sands in a strange dance that came with the changing of his gait. She made him lift his hooves up high and moved him in a circuit before she allowed him to stop, the reins pulling back and turning his body forcefully.

He heard her music, he heard the soft sound of her humming a strange song, as he turned about in a tight circle. He didn't walk it, but walked in place as he turned, lifting and dropping his hoof in place as she encouraged him with her body. He turned a full circle one way and then the other, swinging to the sound of her music and the lyrical voice that urged him on. He could feel his body moving, the grace of the strange form that he had been forced into stretching and relaxing time and again before she turned him loose into a smooth cantor again.

Atlas had never felt his way before, a dance without a partner, without real music, a dance made of the falling of his hooves and the body of his rider as she guided him. The subtle cues that took him from one gait to another beneath the heat of the desert sun, and he became a part of the music. No, he became the music. He was the music. The beat of his hooves, the pounding of his heart, the fast heavy sound of his breaths. They were all a part of the dance of earth and sky, of her body and his body, joined together seamlessly as she turned him in another circle. His golden coat gleaming under the sun and he lifted his hooves up higher. Responding to the sudden laughter that burst from her lips. He would dance for her. He would be with her. They were one creature, one soul, they were joined together and he would dance the best he could.

"Go, Atlas, go! Catch the wind!" Her murmured words came with her body leaning forward against his body. He let out a short whickering cry and reared back as her heels dug in, his hind legs taking his weight before he lunged forward.

Through the sand he ran, his legs churning it up as she used the touch of the reins on his neck to guide him towards the oasis. He saw the green there and he surged forward, ignoring everything but the beat of his heart and the flapping silk in front of him. He had no doubts that he could take it, he could jump double it. His tail flagged up high behind him as he launched himself towards the marker and stretched his neck out, his rider leaned forward just before he surged upwards and kicked off with his hind legs. Just as it had begun, he ended with the feel of the earth being left behind for a precious heart beat and dropped back on the other side of the barrier.

The feel of the earth beneath his hooves was harder, the growing plants had twined to make it harder and easier to run on. He shook his maned head a few times while his rider pulled on the reins, her laughter musical as she said something to him. The words didn't make sense, but he didn't mind, there was joy there and he high stepped as she forced him to slow down instead of run. Why was she slowing him down? He could run further. He tugged at the reins a few times, hinting that he could still go if she would only let him go. She didn't allow him, she only leaned forward to slap against his neck fondly while he slowed to a walk and gave himself a shake.

He aimed for the cool pool, but stopped as the mares whickered questioningly. He pricked his ears up and turned about while his rider shifted in the saddle. She pulled the reins and made him stop, a fact that made him snort unhappily. He pawed the ground restlessly, throwing his head back while the mares whickered towards him. Why was she stopping him? He had mares to tend, they were alone and he didn't smell any other stallions. Not that any stallion would dare to approach his herd, he was powerful, strong, cunning. He could drive off any stallion that attempted to claim his mares. He arched his neck while his rider dismounted and left the reins resting on the back of his neck.

He didn't wait for her to take the tack off, he was annoyed at having been asked to stop, he had other plans in mind. Her hand slapped against his rump so he picked his hooves up and snorted hotly while trotting towards the gathered mares. Their scent was on the air, that hot scent that flooded his senses and made him lift his head up higher in the air. He peeled his upper lip back to drag it in deeper as he focused his eyes on the small band. They were all so alike, but he could tell them apart easily. One of them stood with her tail awkwardly twitched up behind her as she cropped at the sparse grass. He would have her first. She was ripe and ready.

No no... damnit no! _ Lowell struggled back to himself, or he tried. He tried to get his legs to stop and to keep his body from reacting. _I don't want to do this. God she smells so good, so perfect...

_ _

The thoughts trailed off as he stalked towards the mares and kept his ears up. One of them snorted and stepped away from him, but he wasn't aimed at her. The little red mare, like a bright copper penny, with fire in her mane stood in his view while he lifted his head to draw in the scents again. He could smell himself, the sweat he'd worked up from his run clung to him, but it was her scent he wanted. He had been so good, he had stopped himself so often, he had held back. It was almost a relief to feel his thick glans spill out from his sheath, the weight of it dragging downwards as he approached the mare and shoved his head forward to push against her haunch.

He chewed around the bit awkwardly as he sucked in the scent of her, the heat of her body could be felt against his nose as she tossed her head and tried to step forward away from him. No, he wasn't going to let her get away, he had waited too long. He lunged forward and nipped her haunch firmly in warning before crowding against her. He bumped her with his chest as he pushed forward and shoved against her haunches hard enough that she nearly kicked back against him. The mares scattered as he nipped against the base of her tail and nosed at it firmly. His heavy mottled girth filled out, every beat of his heart gorged it with blood until it was throbbing and swaying back and forth lewdly beneath him.

He could feel the weight of the tip holding it down, it was too large, too heavy, to remain jutting forward for long. Viscous dribbles of precum oozed from the tip as he used his flat face to push her tail up and rubbed his lips right along the soft dusky folds. They winked against his nose, fluttering and glistening wetly with her heat while he drew in the scent of her and threw his head back up into the air. He sucked it down and lidded his eyes as he could almost taste the readiness of her body for him. She needed him, wanted him. He lowered his head again and lipped lightly against her soft folds so that his cock flexed up against his belly to slap lewdly. He knew he should be running away, he should stop himself, but it was too hard to fight. He was so tired of fighting. He didn't want to fight. He wanted her. Her folds were so slick looking, swollen with her heat, and each time they winked her clit flashed out towards him before they pursed together again.

The little mare pranced forward, kicking out slightly towards him when his lips brushed against the back of her leg and he let out a short frustrated squeal. As she made to bolt away, he lifted his head up and nippe against her haunches again. Her tail lashed near his nose, but he didn't care about it hitting him. She wasn't getting away from him. He lunged forward, rearing onto his haunches as he had with his rider, but this time it wasn't to run. He only hopped forward enough that his chest hit her hindquarters and his legs hooked against either side of her hips. She bucked and pranced under him, but he had her, he knew what to do. He stepped forward, pushing more of his weight over her while he strained forward to grip the back of her neck with his flat teeth.

His cock flexed upwards wildly and slapped against him as he hunched his back and jabbed blindly towards her haunches. His forehooves hooked against either side of her hips and tried to pull her back as he lunged forward. His swollen cock slipped up against her tail base and ended up against his belly, but the next stroke went too low beneath her. He couldn't think, he could just jab blindly, bumping his blunt cock against her hips and hind legs, leaving wet patches of precum behind as he tried to find his mark. His tail flagged up high as he felt his tip nearly brushing against the soft wet folds before slipping up too high. He clung to her with legs and teeth, trying desperately to find his mark, but it wasn't working, he had been teased for too long, he was too worked up, too new to his body, too everything.

A hand suddenly gripped right behind the tip of his cock and he lunged forward, just the sensation was nearly overwhelmingly pleasurable as she held him. The touch was firm though and his cock was pulled down until his next thrust pushed up against something soft, almost feverishly hot and slick. He muffled his squeal and pranced on his hind hooves wildly before lunging forward as his cock tip spread open the tight clutching passage. It was like nothing else in the world, the silken muscles caressed around him and clutched tightly, caressing and squeezing eagerly as he stepped forward sinking inch by glorious inch into her body. His precum spilled from his tip as he hunched his back and gave a hard thrust forward that drove his medial ring in with a wet noise.

He felt the stirrups on the saddle slapping wildly against either side of his body, bouncing and bobbing here and there as he drew backwards and then gave a rough thrust forward again. He pulled along her passage, caressing it as the medial ring popped free of her hold and then he buried himself once more. He pushed in until his sheath was snugged up tight against her winking folds. The muscles contracted and relaxed, her slickness coated around him as he claimed his mare. He was vaguely aware the other mares were prancing about and snorting while he made his claim, and even that aroused him. They would be his too, in time. He gave a leaping thrust forward so his cock drove in deep enough that he felt his orbs bumping against her.

He curled his forelegs against either side of her and gave a rough pull backwards that forced her to step back against him. His tail flagged up high as he began to saw himself in and out of her, every movement was another brush of pleasure. She was so wet, so incredibly wet, and tight. When he drew back the muscles protested the pull and contracted around him, trying to draw him back into her passage again before he nearly pulled free. He flicked his ears back against his head, flattening them as he lunged forward again and felt her body spreading open wide. The rippling muscles caressed around his mottled girth, each movement threatening to push him over the edge. And that scent, that lovely, scent, it flooded him.

Fertile, his fertile mare, her body ripe and willing as her tail was pinned up against his broad stomach. And she was all his, not even the faintest scent of another stallion around. The little mare splayed her hind legs open wide as his thrusts grew shorter and more wild, driving himself in, rocking her forward so that her legs were shaking. He felt her winking outer lips being pushed in on themselves and then pulled outwards, forming a lewd O around him while his cock tip started to swell and fill out. Each throb made it grow larger and larger, straining open wide enough that he could feel her body almost painfully tight wrapped around him. He gave another thrust, a harder one, that drove him forward enough he barely brushed a silken barrier deep within his passage.

With a groan he gave a final shuddering thrust forward, her muscles contracted down greedily as he pushed inwards and felt his cock flaring open its full length. His urethra jutted out, almost connecting with that slender passage that led to her fertile womb and his orbs drew up tight between his legs. The pleasure rushed over him, so sharp it was almost painful, as the first throb erupted along his shaft and sent up a hot thick rope of seed spilling out of his tip. It was a rush that splattered deep into her body, rope after gooey rope that was flung against the barrier, pushed up by his heavy orbs. His tail twitched in time with his release, rising and falling while the mare trembled beneath his weight. Filling her with the assurance that she would swell with his foal, the first of many foals he would have from her.

First foal.. Lowell thought the words slowly, he knew he should be horrified, but it felt so good. It felt so terribly good after he had been waiting for so long to feel this.

His cock softened slowly as something thicker oozed out of the tip, a gel that clung to her passage to help seal in his seed. After a few moments the mare gave a short jerk beneath him and he snorted, releasing her neck with a groan. He stepped backwards and slid along her haunches while she stepped away from him. His slippery cock spilled from her passage, pulling free with a wet popped sound before it swayed beneath him back and forth. A thin dribble of cum oozed from the winking folds as the mare stepped forward with her tail arched unnaturally high behind her and Lowell blinked his eyes slowly. He'd done that.

_I fucked her. No.. oh God forgive me, I bred her... _ He swallowed, his tongue rolling beneath the bit as the little mare walked, a bit awkwardly, towards her sisters.

He wanted to feel horrified, and he did, but it was beneath a rush of triumph that he had put a foal in her belly and ensured that his line would continue. Silana's hand moved up and wrapped around his reins before he could pull away. Her gentle touch turned his head and gave him a new reason to feel ashamed, it had been her hands that had guided him into the mare's body. She had watched his shame, the entire thing. He shivered his skin and tried to feel as badly as he should have, but all he could think was, he had bred the mare. And that made him arch his neck with pleasure. What was he becoming?

"Come, Atlas, I knew a run would loosen you up." Her hands tugged the reins. "Let us get you properly brushed and cleaned, so you will not rub her with the girth the next time."

Next time... He followed behind her, his slippery cock drew up into the pouch of his sheath as he did so. He should feel more ashamed, he really should.

~ ~ * ~ ~

The golden sun spilled over the stallion as he surged through the desert, his legs stretched out as he went his full length and strained beneath the body of his rider. Her form rested against him, urging and turning him about in tight circles, testing his body in every way that she knew how. Making him turn about time and again, in ways that made him strain, but it was glorious to feel his body moving so freely. His tail flagged up high behind him as he heard her chirruping call above him, his ears flicked up high when she turned him about again and brought him to a neat stop, his sides heaving and a slight sheen of sweat lingered along either side of his body. He wasn't spent, he wasn't even that tired. For her, he would run the length of the desert and back, if only she would call his name so sweetly.

"He is magnificent, Silana!" The new person, the strange man, with the harsh smells, applauded as Atlas high stepped a bit and allowed himself to be guided towards the oasis.

"Isn't he?" She moved his hand down, caressing the line of his neck. "I have not had a stallion like this in many years. I was surprised when you approached me about having him as a stud for your little mares."

"He isn't for me, my dear one." The man of the harsh smells approached the stallion and Atlas gave his head a short toss up in annoyance. "There are so few of us that hold to the old horse races, the ones you helped found, and my son wishes to begin himself. The mares I brought are two from an older line that he thinks will do some good having him set to your fine fellow there."

"Atlas has proved himself worthy of that." Silana brushed a hand down his neck before he was allowed to stop and he turned his head to snort when the stranger touched his face. He hated when strangers touched him. "He's got endurance, he can travel the desert for a day and a night easily with little water. He works hard, never have I had a horse so willing to please."

His mistress pulled on his reins as she stepped down and he allowed himself to be led back to the broad estate that was her home. At least for part of the year. He pricked his ears up a little as the man followed beside them, but he didn't come close so Atlas ignored him. It wasn't often that he saw other two leggers here. Even though he didn't like the man's smell, he was happy to have someone else to admire him. It also got him out of the harness, he hated pulling the cart. He hated hauling water back and forth, back and forth. It was hard work and it was demeaning. He should spend his time watching his mares, but he wouldn't deny his mistress when she wanted him to work. He wanted to please her, good things happened when he pleased her.

"I was surprised you would allow him to stand at stud for anyone but yourself, my dear. You are known to be quite possessive of your lines." The man continued as they passed through the large gate.

"Ahh, but I do not wish to geld him, not yet. He might be the last of his kind. The world is becoming too small, soon they might know what we do here and our horses will fade away to dumb beasts without a new stallion to enhance the lines." Silana guided him past the corridor that led towards the small oasis that was the heart of his home. "We want you to sire many, do we not, my fine lad?"

Atlas felt her hands on his cheek and he turned his head to nuzzle her gently, the strokes caressed along his lips briefly before her fingers hooked under the band of his bridle. His attention wasn't on the pair of them, not any longer. His gaze was drawn towards the small patch of green and five fiery mares who were grazing. Three still had swollen bellies, though two had young foals close to their sides. His herd, but there were additions, additions that had his ears up and nostrils flaring. Two matched greys were cropping grass, their bodies slim and sleek, mares that made him paw at the ground with his flat hand as the bridle was peeled off him.

"Away with you!" The leather snapped against his haunches, but he was already in motion. He knew that soon he would have to work hard, he could smell the rains and he would be in charge of carrying his mistress across the desert. But for now, for now he had eyes only for the two greys cropping grass. The newest members of his growing herd.