Discoveries - Fate of the Herd Chapter 3
#3 of Fate of the Herd
Brokke learns the real reason he has come to the city, as a new companion helps him adjust. Meanwhile Valeria has some adjustments of her own to undergo, as the connection between herself and the stallion becomes alarming.
Brokke
I awoke, slowly taking in more of my surroundings. As my senses returned, I became alert instantly, my nostrils flaring at the scent of another stallion close by. My memory returned, the last desperate moments by the shrine, and I tried to stand and take up a combat stance. I was too dizzy for that though, and fell on my back as the world spun in my head.
Taking things slower this time, I felt for my knife, but instead found my belt missing. I was wearing a loose tunic of some unknown fabric, its feel so soft and gentle on my fur. It was nothing like the crude furs I was used to. Then as I took in more details, I fell back in shock. The walls, the ceiling both glowed with lights, and I saw symbols on the walls that I recognised. This was the place; I had returned to the place in my dreams.
"Hello?"
Ears twitching in alarm, I sought out the voice. Across from me, sitting on a strange seat of off white material, was a stallion, the one I had first scented. He was a blue roan, a rare one amongst the stallions of the plains, his coat almost shimmering as he moved slowly towards me. He looked older than me, though not by much, perhaps in his twenties. I could sense him moving hesitantly, with almost exaggerated care, as if he was trying not to spook me. I didn't spook easily, in spite of the circumstances.
"Hello"
"Welcome fellow stallion. What is your name?"
"I am Brokke, of the White Arrow herd. Who are you?"
"I am Thoerdek. I was once of the Golden Hoof herd, Elbern's band, from the twin hills."
"I do not know your herd stranger, but I welcome you as brother."
He looked sad then, as if my words gave him great pain, but he responded according to the rite, though with a catch in his voice.
"I...do not know your herd either stranger, but I welcome your brotherhood."
He took the last steps towards me then, and I felt his hand on mine, his strength helping me to sit first, then stand on my own hooves. I let the strange feelings seep from my mind slowly, until I felt at least able to face this new world.
"Tell me Thoerdek, where are we? Are we by the Great Mare's side?"
"Brokke there...yes, I guess that is the closest thing to it. We are in a city of mares, there are so many here it is beyond the count of all the herds I knew before I came here. I was taken four years ago from a shrine near our lands, and when I woke I was here, like you now."
"So this is what I remember. This place...it is in my mind and now I find it real. I can remember these walls, the sounds of the city. I almost think I could find my way around..."
That made him start, and I saw his eyes widen as he took a step back.
"You remember? No one remembers. They wipe the minds of those they send back, colts and stallions to ensure they have no memory of this place."
"What...what do you mean? How can your mind be made to forget?"
"Forget I said it Brokke. I have said too much already. Just...enjoy your time here. Hopefully it will be brief and you will return to the Lands of the Stallions soon and have no more memories to haunt you."
"Why should I want it to be brief? This is what I remember as home..."
"Just trust me. I am not allowed to say...just wish for a speedy return. And do not make them like you. Spit, kick, curse, be the roughest stallion you know, but to not let them like you."
I was worried now, this was not what I had expected from being at the Great Mare's side. I still wanted my answers, but I suspected I would not be getting them from Thoerdek. Instead, I would try to find what he could tell me.
"So what are you here for? What am I here for?"
My new friend gulped, picking up my paw again and holding it, before he reached out almost unconsciously for my mane. He stroked it, and I nickered approval, liking him in spite of his dire warnings. He gave a nervous smile before his frown returned, and he looked in my eyes. His own were deep pools of brown, and they were not reassuring.
"You are here for the mares. The need us...or at least, they need our seed."
I instinctively reached for my groin, the thought disturbing. How...how would they do this?
"What do they need our seed for?"
My companion gave a long sigh, his hands now resting on my shoulders as he looked into my eyes.
"Brokke, much of what you have known through your life is a lie. We were not banished by the Great Mare for our sins. We were banished by the mares because of our warrior ways. They still wanted foals though, or at least fillies, so they bring us in to take our seed so they can make more of them."
The visions began to swirl again, memories of my time before I joined the White Arrows. I could feel the truth in what he said, though I did not want to believe.
"How? How does it work?"
"They harvest our seed, and plant the seed in their mares. If they have a filly, she grows up here in the city. If they have a colt, he is returned to us and our herds. They are like farmers, tending crops. They sow, and sometimes they reap."
I almost choked on the bitterness in his voice, not wanting to believe. And yet...the visions I had, not the memories but the visions of here and now. They told me he was right. I had not wanted to believe, but it was becoming harder not to. Now that I was in the city again, my mind could wander into places with ease, and I tested the bounds of my sight under the influence of Thoerdek's words. I saw what I did not want to see; mares, everywhere mares, and colts
"What will they do to me?"
"You will be looked after for a time. I am here to be your guide, and give you a friendly muzzle to see while you are here. There will be painful things, and then...and then you will be sent back, and you will not remember this place. Just remember, do not hope to stay."
"You stayed. You said you have been here four years."
"Yes...and I wish some days I had died. I miss...so many things."
I took him in my arms then, as the stallion beside me shook with emotion but did not weep. Stallions did not weep. I kept the fears in check for now, but wondered what his terrible portents could mean. It did not make sense; for everything I remembered of the city told me this was where I truly belonged.
"What about the Great Mare?"
"I have come to believe she does not exist. I am sorry my new friend, but it is easy to lose faith here. I hope...but I do not expect to be by her side one day. I think she is another way the mares keep us under their control."
Great Mare, is this truly who you are?
We just held, two lost stallions, as my mind rebelled against the new reality I had found. With all my heart I wished I had not sought answers now, but it was too late for regrets.
Valeria
The night with Melisanna was everything I had hoped for, our lovemaking a perfect sensual delight. Her muzzle always felt incredible on me, and she knew just when to increase the sensations, building from my outer lips, to the inner folds, to the hood of my clitoris, until I was ready to throw her down and force my quim onto her insolent tongue. Only then would she peel back the hood, teasingly, and let her tongue tip flick my swollen bud. She would amuse herself, random licks making me lift bodily off the bed, before burying her muzzle in me and pleasuring until I came and came.
Then I would use my favourite strap-on, so glad to find another mare who enjoyed the feel of a stallion's length inside her, even if it was a fake one. As I enjoyed her depths, I wondered absently how that stallion would look, whether he would feel even better. I knew the answer of course; I had enjoyed Thoerdek's attentions enough to know that the real thing was infinitely preferable.
With the morning came the news I feared and craved at the same time. The genetic analysis was in, and there was little doubt. With that many alleles in common, the stallion was a very close relative. Given his age and appearance, there was little doubt. I had found my nephew, my beloved sister's colt. The one who's mind sometimes reached out to mine, in the dark watches of the night.
I turned on the visor screen, bringing up the breeding suites. It had become an amusement for the city populace, being able to see these savages in the flesh while they were here, like a zoo from the time before the Great War. Now my fellow mares enjoyed watching them, their bodies and their antics, and sometimes the special shows they gave. Since we had allowed stallions to stay in the city after breeding, and use them as helpers, there had been plenty to enjoy without the knowledge of our unwitting 'guests'.
I watched the stallion, and my Thoerdek as they began the day. Thoerdek was washing him, preparing him for the viewing and the first seeding. If he was doing his job, he was also trying to prepare the stallion's mind for the upcoming ordeals.
Reaching for the screen, I touched the surface, imagining myself touching that body, the sweet stallion who was my only physical link to Narissa. Water flowed over his mane, Thoerdek running his hands through it and over his back, washing the dirt and grime of his barbarian existence from his body...the same body I had wanted all night even as Melisanna writhed under my thrusts...
The water soaks into my body, bringing warmth and comfort to weary muscles. I flex my legs and arms, feeling my strength returning, pushing back to feel the other stallion against me, his body hot and close to me. I can feel him there, still partly clothed, but I long to remove this last garment, exposing his stallionhood to me, the feel of another...
I stared at the screen, my vision returning to normal quickly as I stared in shock.
I had been inside his mind! And he had been in mine....a name comes to my mind, one familiar from the past. Brokke...yes that was his name. Oh Great Mare, what am I to do?
Brokke
I had become accustomed to the unfamiliar sensation of the shower. Shower...how did I know that was its name? It felt so good on my body, the stream of deliciously warmed water flowing over me like liquid pleasure, making the fatigue melt away. I felt something else though; the presence of my companion, the mysterious Thoerdek. He had explained the need, that I must be clean for the next stage in my ordeal, and I had let him take charge. Then he had undressed me, standing to stare at my body for uncomfortable moments, before ushering me into the strange yet familiar room.
I had recoiled at first, when the water first flowed over me, but then I remembered the old sensations, when I was a colt...memories just like this, with my mother washing my mane and telling me to make sure I cleaned out my ears ...
Mother...that word again, like a pain made physical. I could picture a face with that word, though no mind that I could reach. She had colouring like mine, though she was beautiful and pretty where I was rough and untidy. Her mane had been a cascade of white, with golden bands holding it together...
"Stay still Brokke, I will make sure you are cleaned. It will not hurt I promise."
I knickered an absentminded affirmation while I felt hands on my coat, the memory evaporating as fast as it had come. Instead, I became acutely aware of the stallion beside me; his scent, his touch, the warmth of his presence. I felt hot, and not just because of the water.
Water soaked into my body, bringing warmth and comfort to weary muscles, and I flexed my legs and arms, feeling strength returning as I pushed back to feel the other stallion against me, his body hot and close. And yet...there was someone else here with me, as I tried to concentrate on my stallion companion.
I am watching two stallions bathe, their bodies so fascinating and so powerful, one that I know well, one that has haunted my dreams. Their figures fill the screen, and I let out a low moan, imagining those bodies pressed to mine, the hard edge of muscles and the soft touch of manes and tails and feathering, as I caress the one who holds part of my sister in his being...
I give a sudden start, my body jerking against Thoerdek, one hand over his garment as he shudders under my touch. I am so close to his stallionhood, and I know I want to touch it, but the vision fills my mind still, and a name lingers on my lips...Valeria.
"Who...who is Valeria?"
Thoerdek fell back suddenly, his muzzle open in shock and terror, eyes wide and ears flat.
"How did you know that name? I have not told you anything, I swear. How?"
"Relax Thoerdek. I just know the name, it came to me then. Who is she?"
"How...?"
"I cannot explain...but I know her."
He looked stunned still, his eyes never leaving mine and an expression as if I was mad covering his muzzle. Maybe I was; I was beginning to have doubts.
"She is my mistress. She...owns me. And she was the one who assigned me to care for you while you were here."
Owns?...oh Great Mare, what have you done to your stallions? I will have some questions for this Valeria...if we ever meet.