Beyond Charybdis

by Bruce McLachlan

  The nurse finished her chores and departed, leaving the pony-girls plugged once more as they awaited the arrival of their owners.

  Tethys and Oceanus appeared a few minutes later, once again clad in seductively modified riding outfits. Both wore tight white breeches with tall leather boots and a close-fitting leather vest with matching gloves. Riding crops and helmets tucked beneath their arms, they preceded a pair of slaves carrying saddles. The leather seats were of a far different configuration to those used for normal equestrian riding, for they were crafted in such a way that they could rest across the shoulders of a human.

  ‘Today we’ll be going out for a ride, slaves,’ Tethys informed them, ‘with both of you providing the transport, of course.’ She pushing open the far doors to expose the pens, where already several Nobles had risen to begin the task of training their mounts. There seemed to be more activity than usual, no doubt as preparations for the big party began in earnest, and those with private steeds sought to have their behaviour fully modified before the critical eyes of fellow guests fell upon the pony-girls they had created.

  ‘Saddle them,’ commanded Oceanus, putting on his helmet and adjusting it on his head as he wandered out into the warm sunlight. The smell of moisture was heavy in the air, the rains having ended some time during the night. The warm and sunny morning was coaxing a soft mist into the air from the wet grass, the shifting luminous veil skimming across the fields carried on a languid, pollen-scented breeze.

  The saddle bearing slaves moved forward together, and set the leather seats across the shoulders of the pony-girls. Mina did not resist as the soft interior settled over her, running around the back of her neck and falling into place as a harness of straps was wrapped tightly around her body, affixing to her corset and bridle to ensure it did not come loose. A set of stirrups fell from the front, ready for the boots of whichever noble decided to mount her. Mina was tingling with excitement. This was the culmination of her transformation into an animal. She was going to be used as a steed, used to carry a dominant owner. Another human being was going to swing up into the saddle and ride her as though she were no better than a pony. The concept made her stomach flutter with excitement and her mind swim with libidinous desires.

  The maids stepped back and Tethys grabbed her reins as her husband took hold of Trisha’s. The two pony-girls were then led out into the open air, their hooves sinking into the wet soil as their owners conducted a brief but thorough check of the various straps holding the saddles on them, pulling on a few to ensure all was in place and secure.

  ‘Down girl,’ Tethys ordered, pulling on the leashes so Mina wilted before her into a tight crouch. The dominatrix then swung a leg over her slave and settled into the sculpted arms of the seat, taking up her hat and setting it upon her head before getting a more effective grip on her crop. ‘Okay, up!’ she cried, hauling at the reins.

  With a hiss of exertion, Mina pushed up with her legs, bringing herself erect and accepting the full burden of Tethys’s weight. The saddle made it much easier to carry her mistress on her shoulders, the soft leather soothing the areas on which the curvaceous form rested. It was a strain but also a distinct pleasure to bear her beautiful owner in such a way. The stretch cotton breeches clinging to the magnificent legs around her rubbed gently against her cheeks, the warm thighs entering her vision after clearing her blinkers. Her smooth crotch was against the back of her head, resting in the nape of her collared neck, pressed to her by the demands of the saddle. With every movement Mina made, she felt the satin folds of taut fabric brush against her, causing her to sigh with pleasure, her mind filled with the lingering image of her mistress swinging up and straddling her just like a pony, transforming her into a lowly beast.

  Tethys’s boots were marked with soft spiralling lines of lingering moisture from the tongue that had cleaned them this morning, making Mina a little envious that she herself had not been able to perform the task. With a small shuffle, they caught the metal stirrups and stretched into them, pushing down to drag at Mina and ensure that she was kept properly under control.

  ‘Come on, slave, let’s see what you can do.’ She flicked her heels back to nudge her spurs into her pony’s hips. The sharp flash of pain made Mina squawk and pound her hooves against the soil. She bolted forward as the crop swung down in long arcs to savagely kiss her buttocks, smacking soundly against her cheeks as she ran. Yet Tethys’s weight upon her was a burden she willingly revelled in, the feel of being forced to support her mistress as she punished her goading her on, the harsh swipes to her bottom encouraging her lively trot.

  With her world blinkered, the reins served to guide her more effectively, the pulls to the corners of her mouth steering her though the maze of pens and onto the grass. Mina could hear a second set of hoof beats behind her as Oceanus rode Trisha.

  ‘Come on, husband, you’re lagging behind,’ Tethys laughed, slamming the leather tip of the crop against Mina’s buttocks with more force, the hot lines being burning into the pony-girl’s bottom as she increased her efforts, forcing her body onwards. Her chest heaved against the corset, her breaths pouring over the bit as she gurgled with effort. Her legs were hot, the muscles taxed to their very limits as she continued to meet the demands of her owner.

  ‘I’ll beat you to the beach yet!’ Oceanus retorted with a merry shout, the sounds of the scourging crops and the pounding of artificial hooves nearly drowning out his words.

  ‘Maybe you’re getting fat!’ his wife taunted him. ‘Your laziness is putting too much of a burden on that poor sweet pony you’re riding and slowing her down!’ She steered Mina into the trees and towards a narrow path. The dirt track was occasionally obstructed by lush foliage, the vegetation creeping furtively back over it, stretching its green fingers to slap against the pony-girl’s leather-bound legs as she thundered past.

  Mina gave up trying to negotiate her own route and placed herself totally at the whim of her rider. Turning her head, she let her eyes soak up the vision of Tethys’s white legs. Her hungry eyes devoured the image of taut material stretched over shapely limbs, and of polished boots brushing their sharp spurs against her flanks when she required a sterner means of being steered.

  ‘And Oceanus the Great takes the lead!’ he proclaimed with a jubilant shout.

  Mina forced her head against the reins, defying Tethys’s wish that she not catch a glimpse of her left side where Trisha was being whipped past her, her nubile form diverted from the path and forced into the brush to overtake Mina. Oceanus’s crop danced back and forth, clapping against the girl’s bottom, driving her on towards victory. The undergrowth snapped and broke beneath her hooves as she negotiated the uneven terrain at a wild pace, desperate to meet the demands her rider was placing upon her.

  A yank to the reins hauled at her bit, making the strut dig into the corners of her mouth. Mina emitted a whinnying sound of discomfort as control was once more taken from her, and Tethys’s crop became even more energetic in its lambasting of her bottom.

  ‘Come on, girl!’ Tethys barked, her arm bringing the weapon down with force and sending blasts of agony into Mina’s straining bottom cheeks. ‘Faster! Faster!’

  Oceanus turned Trisha and drove her back onto the path ahead of Mina, her slender form running beneath the weight of her owner, her buttocks quivering in front of Mina’s eyes as she struggled to stay ahead of her rival. Squeaking beneath each cruel stroke of the crop, incensed that she was possibly going to lose, Mina fired her legs into motion, accelerating her pace with a groan of strain.

  ‘That’s it, girl!’ Tethys shouted ebulliently, overjoyed as her mount once more gathered fresh speed and began galloping even faster. ‘Come on, faster! You can do it!’

  ‘See you at the beach!’ Oceanus laughed, thrashing his hapless mount, demanding she keep up the mad sprint he required to stay ahead of Mina and his wife.

  ‘Come on, pony, you can go faster than this!’
Tethys growled, applying her own weapon with more celerity, fuelling Mina’s strength and stamina with lucid streaks of suffering.

  With a mewling cry Mina threw herself forward, her body awash with intense sensations from her own efforts and from the rhythmic beating applied by her mistress. Defying the reins, she wove briefly into the undergrowth, half running on the path, half careening into the dense foliage seeking to snag her hooves and topple her and her rider to the ground. Ignoring the branches trying to bar her way, she drew level with Trisha and nudged her fellow pony’s shoulder. She adored Trisha, but there was no way she was going to lose this race. With another resentful nudge Mina started capturing more space on the path, running neck-to-neck with Trisha and demanding access to the path’s smoother terrain. The crops continued pummelling their bottoms, making them gasp and moan as they struggled to catch their breath.

  ‘You bloody cheat!’ Oceanus declared angrily, but there was an edge of amusement in his voice.

  ‘Out of the way, slowcoach!’ Tethys retorted, allowing Mina to fight for position by barging against Trisha and forcing the girl deeper into the vegetation lining the narrow path.

  ‘Come on, girl, move those hooves!’ he demanded, trying to force his struggling mount back against Mina’s aggressive physique, but the brief diversion into the undergrowth had pulled and dragged at Trisha’s boots, slowing her down a crucial fraction and letting Mina streak ahead.

  Trisha jumped back onto the path and tried to keep up, chasing after her fellow pony as she furrowed her brow and chewed on her bit, applying her full fury and strength to the task of running as fast as possible with a man’s weight straddling her shoulders.

  Mina flew down the trail, the feeling of being driven to such extremes making her giddy with satisfaction, her pleasure and pride accentuated by the torrents of adrenaline and endorphins pumping through her raging veins. With a growl of exertion and triumph she fired herself forward, pushing further and further ahead of Trisha, who was unable to keep up with her. Oceanus eased his use of the riding crop, obviously realising there was no hope of beating Mina.

  The hard dirt of the trail suddenly gave way to soft sand, her hooves giving slightly against the new environment. The sun’s light glinted on the ocean’s rolling waves, the beach gleaming beneath the luminous rays. Trotting nimbly across the sand Mina was driven towards the sea, where the salt spray splashed her legs and belly, soothing the heat in them as Tethys finally allowed her steed to slow down.

  Her heart thumping against her ribs, Mina walked through the surf and let herself be steered around towards a set of beach umbrellas and lounge chairs placed near the tree line. Her legs trembled beneath her, and exposed to the sun she felt her leather hide warming up fast as the waters of the ocean evaporated along with her perspiration. Her hair was damp against the back of her neck, and jewels of perspiration glimmered on her eyelashes.

  Several men and women were relaxing in the sun, served by the chaste submissive slaves. Other slaves were bound with straps and applying themselves in different capacities to the pleasuring of the dominant caste. Some were curled up in tight balls on the sand so they might bear the feet of their owners, while some had a circle of glass on their backs upon which drinks and plates of food were arrayed, along with implements of correction.

  Closing in on the hedonistic scene, Mina was driven aside by her rider towards a pair of empty lounge chairs. Two maids stood a step behind the reclining seats, and another pair knelt to attention before them, ready to accept the boots of the approaching noble couple.

  A wooden post had been driven into the sand with steel eyelets placed around the top. The apparatus had been set near the chairs with a small trough running around the base of the post, the circular vessel currently empty.

  ‘Down,’ Tethys commanded, pulling at the reins until Mina lowered herself to the ground. The dominatrix dismounted, easing herself off the modified saddle with a subtle and elegant creaking of leather. She flicked the crop across her steed’s smouldering buttocks and drew her towards the post, where she then threaded the reins through the eyelets and tied a swift knot to secure them. A child could have picked the simple weave, but denied use of her hands, and unable to even lift her arms, the elementary knot constituted an insurmountable barrier to Mina.

  Standing beside the hitching post, Tethys ran her hands down her pony’s heaving chest, delighting in her mount’s tightly bound curves. ‘You performed admirably, slave, I’m proud of you,’ she whispered, her finger pulling at Mina’s crotch strap and manipulating the plugs a little, making them rock gently back and forth. The sedate shuffling of her ribbed dildos caused Mina to stiffen and groan softly, relishing this slim but welcome reward for her efforts.

  ‘Such a sweet filly,’ Tethys crooned, continuing to play with the strap, making Mina moan, her eyes closing as pleasure flooded her. The soft pull of the intruders against her sex dissolved her thoughts and left only the growing need for physical relief.

  ‘But a vicious one,’ commented Oceanus as he led Trisha up to the same hitching post. The girl looked exhausted, her body quaking from the stresses she had endured in a useless bid to defeat Mina.

  ‘You’re just pissed I beat you,’ Tethys rebuked him fondly, continuing to toy Mina’s crotch strap as a reward for her victory.

  ‘And I suppose you think it was all due to your superior equestrian skills?’ Oceanus sneered as he tethered Trisha to the other side of the post.

  ‘Of course.’ Tethys raised her nose and waved her crop in a regal manner. ‘What else could it have been save my superlative riding ability?’

  ‘Well, next time we’ll trade ponies and then we’ll see who’s the better rider.’ He walked over to one of the inanimate tables, and taking up a tall glass of water quickly drained it.

  ‘Don’t pout, lover.’ Tethys let go of Mina’s crotch strap, and sidling up beside her husband, caressed his body with hers while he stood rigid and defiant. ‘I’ll let you have Mina on the way back if you really want her,’ she smiled, kissing his neck and then blowing softly against his earlobe.

  Oceanus wriggled and laughed softly, giving away the fact that his dour temperament had only been an act as he turned and embraced his wife. They kissed lovingly, their hands wandering over each other’s alluring bodies as their steeds watched hungrily, increasingly aroused and frustrated by the fact that they were powerless to sate their desires.

  The couple reclined in separate chairs holding hands, their fingers interlaced as they set down their riding crops and accepted drinks from the serving slaves. Putting their feet up on the living footstools that obediently crouched before them, they sipped the extravagant cocktails on offer.

  ‘Water our mounts,’ ordered Oceanus, indicating Mina and Trisha, and a dark-skinned female procured a plastic container of water and carried it over to the post. Unscrewing the nozzle, she poured the contents into the trough, filling it to the brim before returning to see if the noble couple needed anything else.

  Mina and Trisha sank to their knees and began lapping up the crystal-clear water, which flowed cool and refreshing down their parched throats, a wonderful soothing delight. They drank as much as they wished over the obscuring bits, and then sat back and rested their weary bodies, lounged in the shade of the trees as their breathing gradually slowed and returned to normal.

  Mina watched her owners relaxing beneath the umbrellas and folded a leg beneath her. Resting on her own shin, she slowly drew herself along it, rocking the crotch strap and shifting the dildos inside her. She could not gain enough motion to grant herself release, but she could enjoy this hesitant pleasure.

  A serving slave clipped the ends off a pair of cigars, and once the two Nobles accepted them, she lit them, Oceanus’s first and then Tethys’s.

  Smoking cigars, the couple talked idly, running over the events of the past week in low voices, relaxed and content.

  Mina mo
ved closer to Trisha, but the girl shuffled away from her with a sullen look, clearly still upset by Mina’s aggressive behaviour during the race. Feeling a little guilty, Mina pursued her, moving over and brushing up against her, but Trisha kept her back turned, refusing to meet her apologetic stare. Mina tried to offer her regrets, running her features across Trisha’s shoulders and pressing them gently against the back of her neck, trying to draw her out of her brooding mood. Making an effort to speak around her bit would have been more trouble than it was worth, the garbled outpouring inevitably requiring constant repetition to be understood. So instead Mina moved around and tried to assuage Trisha’s anger with her body language even as the pony-girl continued to ignore her.

  Finally, she started succumbing to Mina’s efforts at reconciliation, and slowly turning back towards her stable mate, nestled against her nylon-coated cleavage, her eyes looking up at her with meek solicitation.

  Trisha’s flickering smile made Mina’s heart leap with joy, and she straightened up to press her lips against those of her fellow pony. Exchanging their hampered kiss, they leaned together in the shade, feeling comforted by the presence of another body. They were partners in slavery, there for each other when they were not being made to compete, emotionally united by their submissive caste. Kneeling together, they marvelled at the beauty of the sea and of the tropical paradise nurturing them.

  Chapter 9

  The sun was beginning to set, the mountain spreading its shadow across the island. The umbrellas and trees ceased to provide shade as the sun’s lowering rays slipped beneath their canopies, and a slight chill crept into the warm ocean breeze.

  Two of the slaves knelt before Oceanus and Tethys, drew open the Nobles’ breeches and serviced each of them slowly and diligently. The orally skilled young women drew out the couple’s pleasure, making it last for nearly an hour as they savoured a relaxing ascent towards orgasm whilst enjoying the sensual beauty of their environment.