Madame Jubilee's Barn of Lust

By Naughty_Ranko

Chapter 1: The Rodeo Blues

Applejack had only one thing on her mind as she raced along the track. “Faster! Gotta go faster!”

The hay toss had cost her some time. The palms of her hands had taken a beating during the roping events. As a result she had slipped up during the toss in the final obstacle course and had to repeat tossing the large bale of hay.

“In the lead for the final event of the Equestria Rodeo is Leaf Runner from Mustangia, closely followed by Applejack from Ponyville!” the announcer's voice boomed over the speakers while the audience cheered loudly.

“Gotta catch up. This is my last chance!” the farm pony thought to herself. She could see the flowing green mane of her opponent in front of her.

She jumped, clearing the last hurdle with a slight tap of hoof against wood. No problem. She had cleared that height a hundred times and it had never fallen.

Then Leaf Runner turned her head. The doubt in her eyes told Applejack that she could catch her, she had to catch her.

Every muscle in her legs protested as she put every ounce of energy left in her into that final sprint and inch by inch she closed in on the leader.

Applejack had always been a hard-working mare, but now her vision blurred as she taxed her tired body beyond its limits. But she couldn't slow down. Everypony back home was counting on her.

Panting heavily, she stubbornly plowed on towards victory and recognized the finish line only when the band caressed her bosom like a gentle lover. Turning her head to the right she could see her opponent half a step behind her.

“Yehawww!” All the pain, all the bad luck and the setbacks were forgotten. She had finally done it.

“The winner is Leaf Runner!”

“What!?” She couldn't believe her ears as the announcement came and looked up in disbelief at the scoreboard. There was her name. Applejack. Second place. Second! Behind her time in seconds was a +1 marked in red. “Plus one?”

With the elation of victory replaced by a cold, hard fear, she looked behind her, panting as if her lungs only now realized that they had some catching up to do. They burned.

Then the realization hit her like a freight train. On her track the crossbar of the final hurdle was lying on the ground. That single bump had caused it to fall and netted her a one second time penalty and ended up costing her the victory.

“Tough luck,” Leaf Runner said while also catching her breath. The mare approached her for a handshake. “It was really close.”

Applejack was bent over resting her hands on her knees. She felt like she was going to throw up. Eventually she pulled herself up, but her eyes remained shaded by the rim of her stetson as to not show the bitter tears standing in them.

“Yeah, congrats,” she finally said with a lump in her throat, returning the gesture.

Probably more than during the victory announcement before, the crowd cheered and began to break into a standing ovation as the announcer commented on the two mares. “That's true sportsmanship, fillies and gentlecolts. Miss Applejack from Ponyville, who was the only pony to enter every single event at the Equestria Rodeo and has become something of a fan favorite, congratulates the victor. Many would have liked to see her honest, hard-working attitude pay off with a final success. But maybe she's stretched herself a little too thin after all. Still this is her applause.”

Yeah, only applause didn't come with prize money. Applause wouldn't fix Ponyville's broken town hall. Applause wouldn't make the disappointed looks of her family and friends upon her return home any less painful.

The awards ceremony was torture. Even though she was showered with ribbons, the one she really wanted, the blue ribbon for first place, always went to somepony else.

“And now the MVP award for the most valuable pony across all disciplines will be handed out by our Canterlot sponsor, Mr. Fancy Pants!”

The Canterlot society pony stepped up onto the stage, handing Applejack the trophy in form of a golden cup. “Congratulations, Miss Applejack,” he said, shaking her hand. For a stallion it was unusually soft, much different from her worn appendage. “I guess you do justice to your name, a jack of all trades.”

“Yet master of none,” she replied bitterly. Receiving the MVP award was nice, but it didn't come with a cash prize, which everypony back home was relying on.

Fancy Pants stopped and regarded her for a moment, yet he had always been a hard one to read, his thoughts seemingly hidden behind that monocle of his. But eventually the corners of his mustache lifted up in a smile. “Well, I have a feeling you're resourceful enough to figure something out. Please do give my regards to Rarity and your other Ponyville friends.”

“Uh, sure. Ah will,” Applejack replied, momentarily a little flustered by the fact that he had actually remembered her from the Canterlot Garden Party a few weeks ago.

“And thus this year's Equestria Rodeo is concluded. Our thanks go to the participants, the helpers and of course you, the audience. Get home safely and we'll see you next year.”

Applejack hardly took note of the final announcement. “What in tarnation am ah gonna do?”

* * *

“Hit me again.”

The bartender of the pub in downtown Canterlot looked at Applejack and the row of empty tankards in front of her with a raised eyebrow. “Don't you think, you've had enough?”

“Don't cha think, that line's kinda old?” AJ grumbled back.

The brown stallion frowned and swept the empty containers off the bar, drawing another mug of hard cider. “Can you pay?”

The farm pony rummaged around in her pockets, only now realizing that the few bits she had brought on this trip for sleeping and living expenses were gone. Looking around, she spotted the MVP trophy by the foot of her stool, picked it up and placed it in front of her. “Trade ya.”

The stallion sneered. “What am I supposed to do with that? Use it as a holder for bar-food?”

Suddenly a few bits were dropped in between them. “I'll pay for it and the usual for myself,” somepony said in a slight country accent that wasn't unlike Applejack's, although it sounded more refined.

The bartender snatched up the bits and placed the mug in front of Applejack. “Right away, Madame Jubilee,” he said, suddenly sounding a lot friendlier, and began mixing a cocktail.

Applejack looked over at the mare. She had a cream-colored coat and a deep red mane, tied up by a golden headband with several cherries stitched into it. Her emerald eyes, accentuated by a beauty mark under the left one, spoke of a mare who had seen a lot in her life, although she didn't look a day older than twentynine. The crimson dress hugged her in all the right places. Her figure was full in all the right places, but her waist still slim.

The mystery mare folded her hands on the bar and rested her chin on them as she gave Applejack a sideways glance. “Do I look good naked?”

“Pardon?” Applejack asked flummoxed.

“You were undressing me with your eyes, dear.”

Applejack began to blush and tipped her hat. “Ah'm mighty sorry. Ah was just wondering whether we'd met somewhere before.” Clearly they hadn't. Applejack had never met somepony with that kind of an aura. “Thank ya kindly for the drink, by the way. Miss … ?”

“Cherry Jubilee,” the mare replied as the bartender placed a cherry martini in front of her. “Although most ponies call me Madame Jubilee.”

“Ah'm Applejack.”

“I know,” Madame Jubilee replied with a smile, picking up the cherry by the stem and stirring her drink with it. “I saw you at the rodeo.”

“Ah see. Well, here's to ya.” Lifting the cider mug to her lips, Applejack tilted her head and drank it down in one go. She sighed, when she finally put it down and wiped a few drops that had spilled over from the corner of her mouth.

“My, that's an impressive draw,” Cherry commented, taking a sip from her own drink. “I guess whatever you do, you do it seriously.”

The farmer from Ponyville gave her a self-deprecating smile. “If that were true, ah would have won at least one event and didn't have to drown mah sorrows in this dump.” The bartender gave her a venomous look. “Uh, no offense. Anyway, ah was supposed to bring back the prize money to help mah town.”

“Well, that's a shame. What are you gonna do about it?”

“Ah don't know. Ah guess, ah'll have to get the money some other way.”

There was a bit of silence as Madame Jubilee continued to drink. “I do admit that I'm not here by chance. I was actually looking for you.”

“Oh?”

She nodded, looking Applejack up and down. Now it was her turn to be undressed by another's eyes. Not that there was much to undress. In order not to be restricted in the rodeo, she had worn a plaid shirt, knotted under her breasts to leave her stomach exposed and a pair of tight-fitting jeans. It wasn't so much to draw attention. It simply was her usual way to dress for farm work.

Madame Jubilee laid a hand on her arm. “Would you mind flexing your muscles for me?”

Applejack shrugged and did as she was asked. Years of manual labor had left an impact on her upper body strength, though she was by no means bulky. Her biceps had texture rather than raw mass.

“Oh yes, that's wonderful. There's not a hint of excess fat on that beautiful body of yours, is there?”

She jumped a little as Madame Jubilee's delicate fingers trailed down her side, caressing her stomach as they lovingly felt the hint of a six-pack. Beautiful wasn't a word Applejack was used to hearing in relation to herself. Sure, ponies praised her for her honesty, work ethics and dependability. But physical beauty wasn't among the virtues she usually associated with herself. “Uh … erm … not that ah'm not flattered or anything … but ah don't really swing that way,” she finally said with a blush.

Madame Jubilee chuckled and withdrew her hand. “Neither do I. Actually I was just admiring your strength. I own a cherry orchard in Dodge Junction. The reason I came to see the rodeo was to look for new farm hands. I'd like to hire you.”

Applejack blushed even more due to the misunderstanding and turned away. “Right, sorry. 'Scuse me while ah find a deep hole to sink into.”

“Oh, don't be embarrassed. The way I see it, you're looking for an opportunity to make some bits and I'm looking for a hard worker. It's a win-win situation. I do pay quite well and there's even opportunities to … make some money on the side.” The way she emphasized that last part and that smile of hers, which seemed to be just a little devious, worried Applejack. But at the same time it was also a little intriguing. She had never met a mare like this. Her eyes seemed to be inviting, promising things beyond a mere business proposal, yet not giving away what those actually were.

Then there was the practical side of things. Here she was, at the bottom of the barrel so to speak, and being offered a chance to fulfill her promise to Ponyville after all. Was there really any good reason to refuse? Perhaps it was curiosity. Perhaps it was wanting not to come home ashamed of herself or simply the alcohol consumed this evening. But Applejack had made up her mind.

“When can ah start?”

Author's Note

Commission for Nightmare_Shinigami. Thanks for your support.
Chapters 2 and 3 coming soon, so stay tuned!