Rarity loosed a deep, throaty moan, her voice stifled by a thick rubber bar that suspended her maw open. Her blinded eyes rolled in their sockets, her teeth digging into the rubber bit as hot pain fired up the side of her body. Her legs strained against their entrapment, the muscles in her shoulders and thighs sore from the stress of their confinement and battering. A hard strike on the other flank sent another stinging wave up her side, and the tightly bound mare wailed into her gag and squirmed violently.
Something cold and metallic touched her, making her rigid. The hard object slid around her haunches, poking at her on occasion, until it found its mark and suddenly thrust forward. The alabaster unicorn screamed, struggling against the bar that secured her wrists between her ankles and whipping her head left and right. A rather hard strike from the switch made her tense again and pull at her trapped forelegs, crying into her bridle and grinding her masked face against the bed. She fought the unseen attacker, violently shaking as heat and pressure in her stomach and loins made her more desperate to escape her binding. She twisted and squirmed, groaning loudly as the full length of the metal rod was forced into her, and felt the fight against her coming climax quickly become a losing battle.
She screamed, twisting violently as a final thrust of the rod hit her in just the right spot, and—
“Rarity, can I borrow your—uh, UH!?”
Rarity’s entire body tensed. She had heard the door open, heard her sister speak, but it was too late to stop herself. The shock of her predicament made her lose control of the switch, striking herself much harder than she’d intended, and she shrieked as the sharp sting of crop and dong threw her into a gushing orgasm. She flopped onto her side on the bed, her head rolling wildly and voice spastically letting out moans and squeaks as the painful feargasm enveloped her being. The metal dong shot out of her marehood and struck the wall with a bang, making the stunned filly in the doorway jump and dart out of the room. Rarity tried to call after her, but could not form words for either the bridle that gagged her or the sensation that muddled her thoughts and reduced her to whines and groans.
After nearly a minute, Rarity finally managed to shake off enough of the lingering tingle to regain control of her magic. She unbuckled her gimp suit, throwing off her mask with a gasp, and squinted around the room for her sister.
“Sw...Sweetie Belle,” she called hoarsely.
She unlatched the spreader bar and gently massaged her wrists, blinking the blur from her eyes and attempting to sit. A soreness in her rump prevented her from sitting upright, and she instead shifted and shuffled her way off the bed onto unsteady hooves. She wobbled and shook, holding onto the bed for balance as she continued to recover from her self-laceration, and took a readied glass of water from her nightstand in her magic.
“Sweetie Belle?” she called after a sip, massaging her throat. “I-I can explain this!”
She stumbled down the hall to her sister’s room only to find the door open and space vacant, then hesitantly continued down the stairs. Her mane and tail were a mess, and her rear, sides, and sweat-soaked face were a bright, blushing red, but she cared much less about her appearance than finding her sister and clearing up whatever trouble she was sure she had just gotten herself into.
“Swe – Ahem! Sweetie Belle??”
A quick glance at the open front door shut her up. She groaned and covered her face, reaching out with her magic and shutting the door, and began to massage her sore and stretched jaw as she considered her options.
“Okay, Rarity, be calm,” she instructed herself, resisting the urge to sit. “This is a misunderstanding, surely. Sweetie didn’t know what you were doing.” She ran a hoof through her flattened and frazzled mane and took another gulp of her water, floating a brush over to herself as she sent the glass off to refill itself. “I...suppose she must have known it was...painful though. But then, she certainly saw I was in control of the situation, right? She’s not going to go the police about this, is she?”
The monologing unicorn wandered over to a mirror, distractedly brushing her mane as the now-full glass returned. She drank greedily from the tall glass, letting its cold contents spill out and trickle down her neck as her mind raced to anticipate her sister’s movements.
“No,” she choked, pushing the glass away from her face. “Certainly not the police. She’ll...oh, what’ll she do? She’ll probably...” Rarity’s eyes shot open, the brush jerking suddenly. “She’ll tell her friends! Oh Celestia, she’ll tell the Crusaders!”
Rarity threw the brush away from herself, opting instead to risk a spell to set her mane and tail in order. She checked them both quickly in the mirror, hastily coating herself in powder to hide the marks on her rear and sides, then bolted out the door and past whatever customer had been about to enter in search of Sweetie Belle.
It wasn’t agony. Not really. But it was painful as all hell to push and nudge and bump through the midday crowd at the farmer’s market. Even more than Rarity remembered, it seemed that no one in Ponyville understood the concept of personal space. She’d been stopped twice by ponies shoving samples in her face or throwing an arm around her and walking uncomfortably close for a few steps as they advertised. On any other day, she might have only been slightly annoyed. Today the pain was physical, more so than the usual mental exhaustion that came from being polite to the many touchy-feely denizens of her hometown.
After the first six such encounters she finally dropped her polite veneer and shrugged off or sidestepped those that approached her. The salesponies were quick to catch on that she wanted to be left alone, but she managed to catch glimpses of them glaring at her as she passed. She would be sure to do something to restore her public image later, but time was of the essence.
Eventually she managed to find the stall she sought, and groaned as she found not only the mare she’d hoped to find, but the town crier as well.
“Hiya, Rarity!” Pinkie squealed as she saw her.
Applejack looked up from the stall and grinned at her as well. “Howdy there, sugarcube. Lookin’ to buy?”
“Have either of you seen Sweetie Belle?” Rarity asked quickly, ignoring both of their greetings.
“Yeah, she just came by and grabbed Apple Bloom,” the farm pony nodded. “Seemed frazzled about something. I think sh—“
“Where would they have gone, do you know?” Rarity cut her off.
Both her friends frowned. “Probably their clubhouse on the farm,” Applejack shrugged. “’S Sweetie in trouble for somethin’?”
Rarity glanced in the direction of Sweetapple Acres, considering the question for a few seconds, then let out a deep sigh and lowered her head.
“I think I’m the one in trouble, actually,” she groaned, rubbing her face.
“What do you mean?” Pinkie asked, her head cocked curiously.
Rarity looked sideways at her, then up at Applejack. The farmer picked up that something was wrong, more so than she wanted their mutual friend to know, and stepped around the cart-turned-counter.
“Pinkie, can you run the cart for a minute? I think I need to talk to Rarity alone.”
“Aw, why? I can help. I’m great at helping, y’know. I even helped Gan—“
“Please watch the cart, Pinkie,” Applejack said, firmly but not angrily.
Pinkie Pie shut herself up and nodded, flashing her friend an apologetic smile, and slipped around the counter to take Applejack’s place. That done, the farmer nodded toward an alley and wandered over to it, Rarity wincing as she followed her out of the street. Once they were definitely alone and away from prying ears, Applejack sat and faced the unicorn.
“Okay, what’s wrong,” she asked, crossing her arms. “You’re not actin’ like yourself.”
Rarity held her mouth open for a moment as she chose her words. “...Sweetie Belle returned home earlier than I had anticipated today,” she started.
Applejack nodded. “Some colt threw up in the schoolhouse. They were let out early.”
Rarity returned the nod, silently hoping whatever illness the colt had was terminal. “Right, well...I had planned some activities that I would have hoped she...not be privy to,” she continued.
Applejack cocked an eyebrow. “She was what now?”
The unicorn creased her brow. “Uh, she...” She rolled her jaw, looking for words. “Well...suffice it to say, she...caught me in a...very unladylike position,” she explained, meaningfully leaning into the words.
Applejack’s confused expression vanished, replaced by surprise. “Uh...o-oh.”
“Yes, and she...well, she didn’t give me a chance to explain,” Rarity went on, “she just up and ran out of the house.”
Applejack uncrossed her arms. “Oh. S-so she’s...probabl—“
“Probably telling her friends what she saw as we speak,” Rarity finished with a sigh. “Yes.”
Applejack looked around, then nervously leaned closer and lowered her hat beside them to further drown out her question.
“Uh...about how unladylike are we talkin’ here?”
Rarity closed her eyes and huffed, knowing the question would come but hating that it had to be addressed. “You remember that bridle I bought from you last year?”
Applejack nodded. “For your horse?”
Rarity stared flatly at her, hoping her expression alone would answer the question, then groaned as Applejack seemed oblivious to her meaning.
“Applejack, I don’t have a horse,” she whispered. “That bridle was for me.”
The orange farmer still seemed confused for a few seconds before realization visibly spread across her face and she sat up with a hard, frowning blush.
“O-oh,” she mumbled, glancing sideways. “A-Ah uh...n-never...um...”
Rarity rolled her eyes as her friend started to fan herself with her hat and stepped closer. “Whatever you’re imagining right now, I can assure you that what Sweetie Belle just walked in on is worse. I need to find her and shut her up before the whole town is talking about this!”
Applejack was snapped out of her embarrassment by the thought of Apple Bloom hearing about whatever had happened and slapped her hat back on. “Well I know where they’ll be. Let’s get over there n’ get this sorted out before...well, before anything happens.”
Rarity nodded and followed after her, hissing every time the muscles in her rear complained at being worked as she ran.
“But she was alone.”
“Right?”
“So she could’ve gotten out if she wanted.”
“Could she?”
“I think so. It was her magic holding everything.”
“She could have been struggling, Sweetie,” Apple Bloom said seriously, fixing her friend’s gaze to meet hers. “You ran all the way out here to get us when she could be in trouble??”
The little filly fidgeted uncomfortably. “But...I don’t think she was in trouble,” she defended. “I really think she was doing that to herself.”
“Well that’s just even more reason to worry then, isn’t it?” Scootaloo interjected, buzzing over to the door. “She might have someone messing with her head or be sick or something! We gotta go help her!”
“Or we could go to the police,” Apple Bloom suggested, joining the young pegasus at the door. “If someone’s doin’ mind control ain’t nothing we’d know how to do to help.”
“Her idea’s better,” Scootaloo conceded, focusing on Sweetie Bell. “C’mon, we need to go get help.”
Sweetie Belle scowled, appearing as though she might protest, but sighed and trotted over to join them at the door. “I still think we should check on her first.”
“We’ll split up,” Apple Bloom decided. “Scootaloo, you’re faster than us, you go to the police. We’ll meet you at the boutique.”
“Got it.”
The trio opened the door and filed out, only to pile up on the ramp out of their clubhouse. Rarity and Applejack saw them exit and rushed to meet them, skidding to a stop at the end of the ramp and startling the three fillies into tripping over each other. All five took a moment to recover from the encounter, Rarity and Applejack gasping for breath while the Crusaders untangled themselves and got to their hooves. After all was arranged once again, the fillies and mares fixed each other with a long, awkward, silent stare.
“H-hello girls!” Rarity grinned, breaking the silence and stepping forward. “Ehm, Sweetie, can I talk to you for a minute?”
The young unicorn shied away from her sister, glancing hesitantly at her friends. The other fillies stepped between the two of them and puffed out their chests, sizing up the confused and anxious looking elder sibling.
“How do we know you’re not some mind-slave to a foalnapping pervert nearby?” Scootaloo asked, crossing her forelegs and leaning against the railing.
Rarity’s grin dropped off her face, a hoof shooting up to massage her temple as she processed what she’d heard. “Oh no. She told you, didn’t she?” she groaned.
“Be careful, Applejack,” Apple Bloom warned. “There’s somethin’ fishy goin’ on here.”
Applejack shot a glance toward the farm, ensuring they were alone, then stepped closer, her face flushing red.
“Apple Bloom, Ah can assure you there’s nothin’ ‘fishy’ goin’ on here,” she said in a hushed tone. “Sweetie Belle just had a...misunderstandin’ of what Rarity was doin’.”
Sweetie Belle raised her head above her friends. “Do you know what happened?”
Applejack’s face reddened more and she removed her hat, shifting her weight awkwardly. “Not er....details,” she shrugged, looking away. “But I do know Rarity ain’t bein’ mind controlled by somepony.”
The fillies relaxed slightly. If there was anyone they knew they could trust, it was surely Applejack.
“Well...okay...” Apple Bloom said, sitting down. “But what were ya doin’ then?”
Rarity continued to massage her temple, her mind working overtime to find vague metaphors for the action. After a moment’s thought she let out a long sigh that ended in a groan.
“I was...” she trailed, looking off to her side and rubbing her neck. “I...” She pursed her lips, frowning at a nearby tree, then turned to Applejack. “Have you and Apple Bloom talked about...?”
Applejack stared at her briefly before catching her meaning and blushing harder. “N-no, Ah...uh...no.” Rarity asked a silent question and the farmer quickly put a hoof over her mouth, very obviously thinking hard about something. After a glance at her sister, she loosed a sigh and shrugged. “Ah mean...Ah guess you know better than Ah do...but, uh...” She covered her face with her hat. “Um...Ah need to hear what you tell ‘er.”
Rarity rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the Crusaders. “Could we all go up to the clubhouse? Evidently there’s something I need to tell you all.”
The three fillies frowned at each other. “There’s...not a lot of room in there,” Scootaloo murmured.
“The barn then?” Rarity asked, motioning with her head.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders filed down the ramp and toward the barn in silence, shooting nervous and confused glances at each other as they walked. Rarity and Applejack followed a few paces behind, exchanging hushed words with each other.
“You’re not gonna tell them everythin’, right?” Applejack hissed, once again fanning herself with her Stetson.
“Only the very basics,” Rarity assured her. “Though I certainly won’t dismiss any questions they have. I don’t want them to be afraid or confused.”
“But what if they ask about...?” Applejack finished with a pantomime of holding something in her mouth and Rarity fixed her with an unamused stare.
“As I said, I don’t want them to have any confusion. A little healthy exploration never hurts, you know. What does hurt is going into something completely unprepared and with no idea how to be safe about it.”
Applejack’s eyes widened. “You’re actually gonna teach them about that stuff??”
“Not unless they ask!” Rarity shot back.
“Ask what?” Apple Bloom asked, looking back.
“NOTHING!!” Applejack snapped, making the filly flinch. “Ah, uh...just...two seconds.” She stopped outside the barn and held Rarity back. “You are not teachin’ my little sister about...whatever it was you were doin’ with that bridle!” she hissed.
“I’m not going to deny them information if they ask for it,” Rarity hissed back. “I’m certainly not going to show them how to do it, if that’s what you’re so worried about.”
“A-Ah just don’t want...”
“What if it’s something Apple Bloom would enjoy? Have you considered that?” Rarity asked, sassily cocking her head to one side. “Or you? Have you ever tried it?”
“Rarity, Ah just think she’s too young to know about that kind of stuff.”
“Should she be your age before she even hears the word sex, then?”
Applejack’s mouth flew open, but no words came out. Instead, her entire face down to her neck became beet red and she quickly turned her focus somewhere else. “A-Ah think...uh—“
“I mean, surely she’s asked you questions by now, right?” Rarity went on. “Sweetie’s been asking me things for months, I’ve just been busy or predisposed. It certainly takes precedence over work now though.” She sighed and looked back at her friend, frowning to find her still red in the face and slightly sweaty. “Applejack, are you feeling alright?”
The farm pony glanced at her before looking elsewhere, wiping hair out of her face with the brim of her hat. “A-Ah’m fine. Ah guess...Apple Bloom has been askin’ me a few things recently, but...”
Rarity narrowed an eye at her friend, readying a question, but blinked and straightened up.
“Oh my gosh...you’re a blu—you’re literally a blushing virgin, aren’t you?”
Applejack leapt forward and clamped her hooves over Rarity’s muzzle. The startled unicorn stumbled backward, glaring daggers at her companion, but realized she did not meet her scornful gaze. She glanced sideways, twitching as she realized the fillies had wandered back out when they heard their words escalate in volume and that all three were staring at them in shock, all red in the face. She took a very long breath through her nose, clamping her eyes shut and gently tugging herself out of Applejack’s grip, then turned to the fillies with a look of exhaustion.
“Please let me explain this time.”
The sound of creaking wood, the walls of the barn settling as a breeze swept through and changed the pressure within, broke the heavy silence. Rarity's eyes scanned the room, settling on each of the fillies present for a moment before leaping to the other mare. Applejack sat quietly behind the younger ponies, doing her best to look anywhere but at the pearly white unicorn, fanning her intensely blushing face with her hat and sweating anxiously. Rarity glanced sideways, looking for something to claim had caught her attention if asked, then looked back at the confused and red-faced fillies. Her question, "Is there anything you need me to explain?", had gone unanswered for nearly a full minute.
Apple Bloom finally looked up from the floor, her mouth open, and awkwardly shifted and cleared her throat. All eyes fixed on her, making her hesitate, but her curiosity and confusion outweighed the nervousness everyone's stares brought her.
"Um..." she twiddled her hooves, looking away, "You said...it felt like..."
She looked up at the older mare, and Rarity pursed her lips and answered with a cautious nod. "Well, it's nothing I have any experience with, thank Celestia, but...from what I understand, it...yes."
Apple Bloom adjusted again, afraid of her question, but swallowed hard and continued.
"So...do you...want to be"
"No!" the unicorn answered quickly, startling the fillies. "No, no nono, I...there's..." She chewed her lip as she tried to phrase her explanation. "There's...a considerable difference between...a little...non-con role-play and actually having somepony...ehm...well, force himself onto you. Or herself, I suppose," she added under her breath.
"Non-what?" Sweetie Belle asked quietly, leaning closer.
"Non-consensual role-play," Rarity repeated.
She made to describe it, but hesitated as she chose her words, her usual calm and quick witted demeanor hampered by a desire not to overload the fillies with overly adult information.
"It's...well, it's like...a game?" she asked more than told, shrugging. "A very...ahem, sexual game. You...one of you...plays the part of a...damsel in distress, we'll say," she laughed, "Or a...whatever a stallion would be in that position. A mansel?" she mused, rubbing her chin. She frowned as she tried to think of a better word, but the look on the fillies' faces told her to postpone the search. "Er, one partner plays the victim and the other is the ah...aggressor."
"Is..." Scootaloo started. She scratched her head, unsure of how to ask her question. "Is it...like, do you...is it dangerous?" she eventually asked.
Rarity rolled her head, taking a slow breath to organize her thoughts. "Well...it can be." she conceded, "But not if you plan properly and communicate with your partner. They have to be someone you can trust, and they need to be able to trust you."
"Even if you're the victim?" Sweetie Belle queried, cocking her head.
"Yes," Rarity nodded, "It's equally important that you can trust your su- er...the victim. If they can't communicate properly what their limits are or what they really want, you can end up really hurting them. If they can't, you walk a very thin line between role-play and actually vio...ehm...violating them," she finished quietly, looking away.
The Crusaders all reacted uncomfortably, turning their attention to the floor or shifting in their seats. Behind them, Applejack fidgeted as she fought with herself whether to cover her little sister's ears, her blush almost bordering on a medical emergency. Rarity pursed her lips as she considered her words, wondering if she had said too much or worded the explanation wrongly.
"H...H-Have...uh..." Scootaloo stuttered, making the others flinch. "Have...you ever...vi...uh..." she adjusted herself, leaning closer and looking around as though she might be overheard by a passerby, and whispered her question. "I mean, have you ever... done that?"
She looked at Rarity for a second before turning away, unable to face her for her question. The other ponies in the room seemed to grow more uncomfortable Applejack especially, but with Rarity as a close second. The unicorn pressed her hooves together in front of her muzzle, focusing on a spot in front of her as her brow furrowed in thought.
The other ponies turned their focus from their imaginary distractions to their lecturer as the span of her silence lengthened. Rarity tried to shut out their faces as she brought up memories, examining them for their content, and eventually made her decision.
"Once," she admitted quietly. "Only once. I was...new to the whole concept, and well, not new," she corrected, "Not like you three. Or four," she added, making Applejack scowl and fan herself harder. "No, I'd known about the whole idea of non-con and pet play and domination, I just hadn't had a chance to try it. When I found one, I jumped at the opportunity, but..." Rarity's head dipped slightly, her usually well-maintained facade fading slightly as a tired expression overtook her face, "I...I was a terrible domme," she murmured. "Not that I didn't try, I mean, but...I didn't really understand what I was doing. Or why. I didn't take the time to talk to my...sub my submissive and...I ended up doing something they weren't comfortable with, and I hadn't prepared properly so they couldn't tell me..." She took a very slow breath, running a hoof down her face. "I didn't know there was a problem until it was over, and he...he never spoke to me again after that. I never even saw him. I'm still amazed he didn't have me arrested, honestly."
Rarity had to force herself to stop talking. The silence that followed was longer, more awkward, and, for Applejack, more morally conflicted than any other that day. Rarity kept her focus on her forelegs as she distractedly rubbed her hooves together. The three fillies glanced around the room as they processed her words. Applejack repeatedly started to say something and repeatedly caught on her dry throat and lack of articulate thought.
After what may well have been several minutes, Sweetie Belle finally broke the silence.
"What's a 'blushing virgin'?"
Rarity's hooves stopped grating past each other as her eyes fixed on her sister. Applejack's heart nearly stopped, her mouth hanging open in some failed attempt to speak. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo both glanced at their friend, faces red and expressions concerned.
"Ah..." Rarity lowered her hooves and titled her head, "Well, a virgin the blushing part is really just a uh...ahem, a virgin is just somepony who's never..." she leaned slightly looking off to Sweetie's side as she chose her words, then looked to her and shrugged, "...had sex."
"Oh," the younger unicorn frowned. She thought for a moment. "Is that bad?"
Rarity blinked and waved her hooves. "No. Not at all. Don't ever let anyone tell you that it is," she impressed, her tone suddenly stern. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with being a virgin."
"Well..." Apple Bloom spoke up, flinching as Rarity turned her gaze to her. "Well then...why did you act so surprised whe"
"Probably," Applejack cut her off, her voice hoarse, "y'all mistook Rarity's tone for uh...um..."
"No, Applejack, she's right," Rarity interrupted. "My reaction was entirely inappropriate, I'm sorry. It just...caught me off-guard," she shrugged, her face screwed up in an uncertain way. "I just think...with Applejack being the eh, rather handsome mare that she is, I suppose I'd just assumed that she's had plenty of suitors. I hadn't given it much thought before, honestly, but it surprised me that my initial judgment was wrong. I'm usually very good at reading people."
"She is," Sweetie Belle vouched, a little unnecessarily.
"Regardless of the reason, the way I reacted gave exactly the wrong impression. It's not a problem or a weakness or a fault to abstain from sexual activity," Rarity went on. "It's also nopony's business but your own whether or not you actually do. I was out of line announcing it like that."
All was quiet for a moment before Scootaloo raised a hoof, making Rarity smirk and nod to call on her.
"Why...or, can I ask about...?" Rarity lowered her head slightly and motioned with a hoof for her to proceed. "Why are you not?"
Rarity blinked, the other three sets of eyes in the room drifting to focus on the orange pegasus.
"Not what?"
"A virgin."
Rarity blinked again. "W...what do you mean?"
Scootaloo shrugged. "Well, you're the same age as Applejack, right? How come she's a virgin and you're not?"
"Actually, Applejack's a little older," Apple Bloom corrected. "I think."
Rarity looked up to her friend and met with wide-eyed, red-faced stare. Silent questions passed between them for a few seconds before the unicorn cleared her throat and fluffed her mane.
"Well, uh, I can't really speak for Applejack," she began, "but I um...well, it just sort of...happened. The first time, I mean. We had been dating for quite a while and we were...ehm, conveniently alone one evening and...things escalated quickly," Rarity half-laughed, blushing lightly. "We were on his couch, talking about the weather I think, and ah...well, I'll spare the details, but," she grinned and shrugged, "what started as a kiss..."
At some unknown point in the brief dialogue between fillies and mare, some ineffable degree of discomfort regarding the subject at hand had suddenly and subtly fallen away, and the three fillies responded to Rarity's story with curiosity rather than embarrassment or shock. Each considered her words, slightly varying thoughts passing through their minds. Even Applejack seemed to have slowed her furious fanning, and her nearly blood-colored face, Rarity found, worried her considerably less.
Once again, Scootaloo broke the silence.
"How old were you?" she asked as though thinking aloud.
This time it was Rarity that seemed uncomfortable. "Um..." she turned her head and gnawed on her lip, "I was...thirteen? Fourteen?"
The jaws of Rarity's audience members nearly hit the floor.
"Thirteen??" Sweetie Belle squeaked. "But, bu-you we-" another stroke of realization played across her face, and she became slack-jawed again. "THUNDERLANE!?"
Rarity winced, hoping her sister wouldn't remember the timeline of her romantic life she'd once told her about, and once again found something else to look at. "Ah...no," she confessed quietly. "N-not...not Thunderlane."
This almost seemed to shock the younger unicorn even more. "What do you mean not Thun " Sweetie Belle stopped her question short, her eyes wide, and anxiously glanced in either direction at the fillies beside her. Rarity looked back at her, noting her worried look, and quickly turned to face again.
"Wait! No no no, I didn't cheat on him!" she asserted, "I...well..." She sighed. "I actually never did have a relationship with Thunderlane," she admitted nervously, wringing her hooves. Her sister's face flashed confusion, then surprise and disappointment, and Rarity lowered her gaze slightly. "I...did always sort of like him," she shrugged, "he's a competent flyer and a skilled athlete. I just never...well, told him. I've heard that's for the best though," she mused.
The assembled ponies stared at her, and Rarity turned her attention away from them for the latest in an uncounted number of times.
"You...never dated Thunderlane?" Sweetie Belle asked quietly, making her sister flinch.
"N-no. I didn't," she confessed. "He was...just a cover story. Mom and dad liked him and we were friends and...he was convenient."
That made some of the color drain from Applejack's face. "You lied to your parents?" she almost whispered, incredulous. "About who y'all were datin'? About the stallion that took yer virginity?"
"I didn't say I was proud of it," Rarity huffed with a scowl. "You don't have to be so dramatic about it. I feel bad enough as it is."
"Who was it?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Rarity turned her frown down to her sister, then blinked and rubbed the angry expression off her face. "Ah...I'd actually prefer not to talk about it," she groaned, continuing to massage her face. "He was older than me, I'll say that much, but he's since left town and it wouldn't do any good to give his name."
Applejack seemed like she might force the issue, but a quick look down at her sister made her quiet. Sweetie Belle fidgeted, also offput by her sibling's sweeping aside the issue, but nodded in quiet acceptance. Rarity waited to gauge their reactions, then let the subtle tension drain from her shoulders.
"Is there anything else you'd like me to talk about?" she inquired, running a hoof through her mane.
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom adopted thoughtful expressions. The mare behind the group of fillies regained some of her redness as her indignance was replaced by her earlier embarrassment. Scootaloo wet her lips and looked to her friends, hoping they would think of something to ask before her question found its wording.
They did not.
"So..." the little pegasus started, drawing everyone's attention, "You stopped after that?"
Rarity blinked. "Stopped what after what?"
Scootaloo scratched her head. "Uh...stopped being the dom after you...y'know..."
The unicorn blinked again, the others present looking up at her expectantly before very slowly turning back to Scootaloo with confused expressions.
"Well, I mean," she started, shifting uncomfortably under their collective gaze, "You said the dom is the aggressive one and the submissive is the victim, right? And you were all tied up and stuff, and being...uh..."
Rarity held up a hoof to stop her (much to the filly's relief). "I think we all remember the position I was found in clearly enough not to need to recount it a third time," she sighed. "To answer your question: no. I was, and still am, ashamed of how my first attempt went, but it only made me more interested in learning to do better. In fact I usually am the domme in any BDSM I partake in nowadays."
"Why?"
Rarity raised an eyebrow at her sister's sudden question. "What do you mean?"
Sweetie Belle shrugged. "Well...don't you have to be...agressive to be an aggressor?"
Rarity pursed her lips. "'Aggressor' really isn't the right word to describe the role, in hindsight," she mused. "A domme is more someone that...well, she they, I mean are really more like...well, it depends on the type of play, I guess."
She furrowed her brow and rolled her jaw in thought, tapping a hoof as her gaze drifted upward. Another breeze flowing through the barn set a rope hanging from a nail in a beam above her head swaying gently. Rarity watched it swing as she searched for words, more thoroughly at a loss than at any point before, then blinked as another idea flashed through her mind. She zeroed in on the rope, judging its length and durability, and slowly let the hoof that had been rubbing her chin lower to the floor.
"Applejack," she began, taking the rope in her magic and pulling it down beside her, "come take this rope."
The farmer blinked, rearing back slightly. "Why?"
"To illustrate a point," the unicorn nodded. "Come on."
Applejack stared at her friend, completely at a loss as to what she was trying to do, but a collective look from the fillies in front of her prompted her to her hooves. She wandered around them and approached the other mare, and Rarity nodded toward the rope sitting on the floor next to her. Applejack looked at the rope. Then her friend. Then the rope. Then she dipped her head and took the length of cord in her teeth before straightening and staring expectantly at her friend again.
"Now put it over there," Rarity commanded, pointing at a hook on a beam to her right.
Applejack glanced at the hook before wincing in confusion at her friend. Rarity motioned at it with her head, adding a hushed "Do it", and the farm pony quietly acquiesced once again. The fillies watched as she walked over to the hook and set the coiled rope in place before turning back to Rarity for more instruction.
"Sit," Rarity ordered casually.
Applejack kept her skeptical expression but obeyed quickly, bring a small grin to Rarity's face.
"Now speak."
"What in the hay are you makin' me do?" Applejack blurted.
"Pet play," Rarity answered with a smile. "It's a very simple form of domination wherein one party the domme is the 'master' and the other acts like the domme's pet."
"I didn't agree to play pet for you, Rarity," Applejack huffed as she stood.
"Ah-ah, no. Sit," Rarity demanded, turning a scowl to the orange farm mare.
Applejack hesitated, momentarily confused, then scowled and finished rising to her hooves. "Now you're just messing with me, aren't you?"
"A little," the fashionista giggled, "But it's a real thing."
"And that's...sexy?" Apple Bloom frowned.
"Well, not that," Rarity shrugged. "Ordinarily the pet wouldn't just be moving things around or sitting on command. Even though I guess that is a part of it," she murmured to herself. "Usually the pet does something embarrassing or demeaning for some kind of reward from their master. 'Tricks for treats' as it were."
"So like...you tell someone a secret and you get chocolate or something?" Sweetie Belle asked, scratching her head.
Rarity chuckled at her sister's idea of 'embarrassing' and 'reward' and looked around as she searched for another means of getting her point across. "Not quite. Though everyone does it differently, so what do I know?" Her eyes landed again on the rope next to her assistant, and a new idea for its use came to mind. "Typically it would be more something like this."
The rope uncoiled itself from the hook, floating above the unsuspecting farmer, and slowly and discreetly looped around her neck before fusing to itself to form a makeshift collar. Applejack flinched, realizing only too late what was happening, then lurched as the rope pulled at her neck and urged her forward.
"Rarity," she said warningly, leaning into the rope.
"This is as far is it goes," the unicorn promised, raising a hoof. "Just go along with it."
Applejack stood firm, staring down the other mare. She glanced sideways at the three fillies, who had adjusted themselves to give her their full attention. She sighed, closing her eyes and shutting out the burning sensation in her ears, then slowly started forward at the leash's behest.
"Whatever point yer tryin' to illustrate"
"Mm, no talking," Rarity interrupted.
Applejack stopped, the leash snapping taught. "Oh come o"
"Ah-ah, quiet now."
"Rarity"
The end of the rope slipped into her mouth as she spoke before coiling around her muzzle and fusing to itself, forming a very primitive sort of gag. Applejack blinked in surprise as she was silenced, straining to open her mouth once it was in place, then leered at her friend.
"If you can't follow instruction, things get taken away," Rarity said matter-of-factly. "That's how it works."
The farm mare continued to glare at her, once again standing resolute, but a tug on the rope pulled at both her neck and face and she had to step forward to keep from being dragged. Applejack winced and shot a glance at the fillies, her face once again adapting blush. The rope tugged, and Applejack stepped, her cheeks growing hotter in frustration and embarrassment. Some unknown and altogether unpleasant sensation washed over her as the pull of the rope became constant and she began following it at a steady pace. The sense of discomfort only grew the longer she followed the rope's pull, every second spent walking as it pulled her forward making her skin crawl as she thought of how somepony was controlling her movement.
The rope turned, jerking Applejack's head rightward, and she stumbled as she adjusted to follow it. Rarity's tongue clucked in disapproval behind her, making the red-faced farmer dig her teeth into the makeshift gag. She straightened herself, following the rope's pull so that it left slack in the leash, but without the tugging without its pressure steering her another change in direction caught her more unawares than before, and she tripped over her forelegs correcting her course.
Applejack groaned and looked to Rarity. The pearlescent unicorn loomed over her, her head cocked to the side and face plastered with a bemused grin. She very gently shook her head, an imperceptible motion from any distance further away than Applejack sat, and the apple farmer's blood started to boil. She jumped to her hooves, her jaw set and eyes steely, and met Rarity's joking disapproval with stalwart resolution. Rarity's smirk became concerned for a moment, before a sly grin cracked her joking demeanor. She could see that Applejack's pride had been injured, and that she was now fully committed to earning back her perceived loss of respect.
She needed to continue. More than that, she needed to show Rarity that she was the best damned pet a pony could be.
Rarity sized up her new pet, a conjuration spell already at the tip of her horn, but a hushed word made her seize up. She looked back at the Crusaders, making the fillies freeze in place and stop whatever they were fussing about, and the magic quickly left her. She glanced at Applejack, noting that she shared her embarrassment at having forgotten the presence of their younger siblings, then cleared her throat and turned to face them.
"Ahem, pet play," she announced as though finishing a speech. "Simple, but...that's about the jist of it."
"I still don't get it," Sweetie Belle mused.
"Well, either you're not thinking creatively or it simply isn't for you then," Rarity shrugged.
"Why isn't Applejack the dom?" Apple Bloom scowled.
"Yeah, she's stronger and stuff. Shouldn't she be in charge?" Scootaloo added.
Rarity started to answer before a tap on the shoulder drew her attention to the farmer in question, who met her with a muted grin reading something akin to "Excellent points." She rolled her eyes and removed the gag and collar, returning the rope to normal and setting it back in the rafters where it first hung.
"Strength isn't the only thing to consider when establishing a relationship like that," she explained. "In fact, a lot of the subs I know are actually larger and probably stronger than their dommes. It has more to do with frame of mind and what you want to get out of the interactions." She sat and fluffed her mane. "Plus, while Applejack may be physically stronger than I am, a unicorn's strength isn't limited to her muscles."
"Relationship?" Apple Bloom asked, a hint of worry in her voice. "Does that mean y'all are...marefriends now?"
The two mares blinked, staring at Applejack's sister, before Rarity snorted and fell to her side laughing. Applejack glowered at her before stepping closer and clearing her throat.
"Ah don't think that's what she meant by 'relationship'," she answered. "And no, we most certainly are not."
"Oh, how cold you are, Applejack," Rarity giggled. "After all the intimate time we've just shared?"
Applejack shut her eyes, ignoring her resurging blush. "Ah thought the whole point of this was to prevent misunderstandings, not make them worse."
Rarity cleared her throat as she stood, still chuckling as she made her way over to the other ponies. "You're right, I'm sorry. You can all rest assured we haven't entered into some kind of contractual pet-centered relationship because of this," she nodded to the gathered fillies.
That seemed to relax Apple Bloom and Applejack somewhat. Rarity swept her eyes over the other ponies, judging their states of mind, and found, much to her pleasant surprise, that all seemed well within the barn. Whatever awkwardness they had brought in had been dispelled, or at least lessened, and the misunderstanding that had had started this whole lecture seemed to have been cleared up. She nodded in satisfaction, glad to be rid of that problem at least, then straightened up.
"I think that's about all that needs to be explained for now. If you girls ever have questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Er, but, please be discreet about it, if you can," she added with a laugh. "It'd be hard to keep sales up if you all started barging in asking about sex when I have customers in the shop."
"Okay," the fillies answered in unison.
"Should we...not tell anypony else?" Scootaloo asked after, blushing slightly. "What you told us just now?"
"Ah..." Rarity pursed her lips, considering that thought for the first time. "It...might be better if you didn't," she conceded. "You can, obviously, there's nothing I could do to stop you, but I think you'd get a fair amount of odd looks if you started casually talking to others about it. Plus, depending on who you tell, I might get in trouble."
"Why would you get in trouble?" Sweetie Belle asked, now distressed.
"Well, everyone has their own sensibilities regarding sex," Rarity shrugged. "Applejack's a great example."
The mare in question blinked and scowled at her. "And how's that?"
Rarity turned her head and whispered something in her ear, and Applejack's face down her neck immediately flushed crimson. Rarity giggled at her reaction, Applejack's scowl deepening as she once again removed her hat to fan herself with it, and she looked back to the fillies and gestured to her friend.
"Case in point."
"Wha'd you say?" Apple Bloom asked in amazement.
Applejack quickly covered Rarity's mouth, drawing a bemused look from the unicorn. "Nothin'!"
Her sister frowned and nodded. Rarity, meanwhile, pushed the restrictive hoof away from her snout and scoffed.
"Honestly, Applejack," she sighed. "At any rate, yes, you should probably keep this to yourselves. And like I said, I'm always available for questions." The fillies, as Rarity had expected, immediately sat started thinking of questions. "Later. Now I need to get back to the boutique and find out who it was I may have lost business from getting over here. Sweetie Belle, you can stay and play with your friends if you like, but be home by seven."
"Okay," the younger unicorn groaned.
"Uh, before you go?" Scootaloo ventured, raising a hoof.
"Yes?"
The little pegasus hesitantly lowered her hoof, suddenly unable to meet eyes with the elder pony. She glanced at her friends, then stood and approached, and Rarity tilted her head as the filly made to whisper something to her. Rarity blinked as the question was asked, then straightened and smiled at Scootaloo.
"Is it alright if I answer that out loud? It's a good question."
Scootaloo's face flushed and she fidgeted before giving a meek nod.
"It is perfectly alright," Rarity assured her, then turned to the other two fillies, "to masturbate."
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom immediately went red in the face, and Applejack nearly choked on a gasp behind her.
"Rarity " the orange farm mare coughed.
"It's a safe, healthy, private," Rarity added, shooting a glance at her tongue-tied friend, "solution to any sexual urges you might feel."
Apple Bloom gulped, glancing at her sister, before leaning closer and asking, "D-doesn't it... give you back problems?"
"Oh please," Rarity scoffed, "I'd wager that demonising excuse is older than Celestia herself. And you know what? No one's ever proven it."
Applejack stepped between her and the fillies as she finished her fit of coughing. "O-okay, ahem, I think we've all eaten up enough of Rarity's time! Lots o' dresses an' such to make, right?"
"It's a slow day," the unicorn shrugged with a grin, making the apple farmer glare back at her before turning a forced smile back to the fillies.
"Why don't y'all go play in the clubhouse? Ah really need to get back to the market."
"Y-yeah, okay," Apple Bloom piped, motioning for the others to follow her. "Come on, girls, let's uh...write up a new induction speech."
The others mumbled agreements and followed after her, glancing nervously at the two mares as they left. Applejack waved a little too enthusiastically as they left, then turned to find herself face to face with Rarity.
"You really should learn to relax, darling," the milk-white unicorn mused, meandering past her friend toward the exit.
"Hold up, Rare," Applejack caught her. "Listen, Ah get that you're...experienced and what-have-you, but... y'think you could maybe check with me before you tell Apple Bloom somethin' like that?"
"You do understand what the alternative is, don't you?" Rarity sighed. "If she if any of them start developing sexual urges and don't know how to handle them, what are they going to assume?" Applejack frowned and shook her head. "That their only option is sex," Rarity impressed, leaning closer. "And of course they know the outcome of sex, or they will soon if I remember the curriculum, so it'll seem like they have no options at all. None that don't get them in trouble, at least."
"You can't say any of that for sure, Rare," Applejack argued. "It's not like they're stupid"
"When did I imply they are?" Rarity hissed. "I...look, I'm only saying they need options, and if you discourage them from using the ones available to them you're only going to make them feel bad about themselves when they do it anyway."
Applejack rolled her jaw, considering Rarity's argument.
"I guess," she nodded after a moment. "Uh...you aren't going to teach them more of that...domination stuff, are you?"
"Not unless they ask," Rarity smirked.
"Rare"
"I'm joking, AJ, calm down. I honestly didn't mean to actually show them anything today. I'll make sure they understand the idea, if they come asking, but I won't actually teach them anything specific."
"Unless they ask?" Applejack finished flatly.
Rarity sighed and massaged her temple. "No, not even if they do. They're too young to be trying anything more advanced, let alone more sexual, than what we did, and I'll make sure they know that."
Applejack's ears twitched as she was reminded of her brief time spent as Rarity's pet. "Right. Uh...thanks."
"It's no trouble," Rarity assured her. "Quite the opposite, in fact."
They both nodded quietly, then looked around the barn for a moment before Rarity cleared her throat one last time.
"Actually, I should be getting back to the boutique. Never know when there might be a customer," she shrugged.
"Yeah, alright. Ah'll see you around, Rarity."
The unicorn nodded and turned to leave, but paused in the doorway. She glanced sideways at a rack on the wall, an evil grin lighting up her face, then turned her head out the door.
"I suppose I can be back later though, granted there isn't too much work today."
Applejack blinked. "Uh...okay. What for?"
Rarity daintily flicked her head as though setting her mane in order, and one of Winona's spare collars leapt from a hook on the wall and landed at Applejacks feet. The farm pony stared at it for a moment, confused, then felt a great heat fill up her face as she looked back up at her friend. Rarity turned her head only enough to expose her muzzle beyond the quaff of her mane, a thin smile showing past the purple ribbon of hair.
"You have some obedience issues," she stated in a low pitch Applejack hadn't heard her voice reach before. "Tonight...we start training."
The burning sensation spread from her cheeks up Applejack's ears and down her neck, beads of sweat forming at her hairline. "...Ah..."
Rarity turned only slightly more, exposing an eye from behind her mane. "You wanted to prove yourself, right? Here's your chance."
While Applejack sputtered and gawked, Rarity looked ahead and casually trotted out of the barn. Briefly, she caught a glimpse of the Cutie Mark Crusaders making their way through the orchard toward their tree house, chatting idly, doubtlessly about all they'd just been exposed to, as they went. The pearlescent unicorn hummed a quiet, merry tune as she meandered down the long road out of Sweetapple Acres, nodding at Big Macintosh as he passed in the opposite direction with an empty cart. She grinned after he had passed, realising that Applejack would indeed have a fair amount of free time now that Pinkie had sold out her daily stock of apples, and began to canter back to her home.
'Sexy or not, this will definitely be fun.'