Author's Note

For those of you who don't know, or who want to know, this story is inspiration from a set of pictures that an artist by the name of Kinkyrainbowdash (on Furaffinity.net) did. (KRD on Derpibooru). I can't link any pictures here, but you can search for them on the respective sites. Her style is adorable and her work with making latex materials as enticing to wear as it is to look at is unparalled in my eyes.

Soft Surroundings

Ticker woke up, or at least that was what he thought happened. His head was throbbing and a nervous hoof clopped around on the floor for his glasses. Everything felt odd, it felt tight. He had a broken rib before, but this tightness he had never felt before. From his neck down, everything felt like it was under the compression of a bandage. He still didn't find the glasses, and the cold floor felt like something different.

The carved stone floor had morphed into something soft. It pushed easily under the softest caress, eliciting a nearly mute squeak as his hoof passed across it. His world was more than blurry, it was a blurry black and it still tasted like black cherries. What happened?

Ticker rose to his hooves, deciding that was a bad idea as his stomach pressed up into his neck, ready to spill out the contents. Bad idea, bad idea. His body didn't respond as normal, every limb felt stiff, but on the outside. It wasn't a muscular feeling, or skeletal, something was holding him back. His skull thumped pain into the rest of his body, he needed to lie down, yea. His feeble hooves sat back down into the floor, his weight sinking into it and cradling his torso.

His hoof failed to find the glasses in the dark, but he did find out that he was in a small room, his sniffles and grunts bounced back quicker than before, muffled, but faster. If his head hadn't begun to twist his vision and stomach when he tried to do anything more than exist, he would have been exploring the area. His friends were still out there, and he needed to find them. To help.

"Lilly, Skye?" he whispered softly, expecting to hear nothing.

"Shh!" a hurried gasp of air passed by his right side, the only one he felt he could hear out of at the moment. "Ticker, is that you? I think there is something here, I d-don't know where we are."

"Yea, it's Ticker. I think we are in a room somewhere. It's small, the.." he paused as a wave of nausea passed over him, "They echoes are... small. I think I have a concussion."

"What happened? It feels hard to move and the floor is... squidgey." Skye grunted as a thick hoof hit the floor, sending a light thud through the room

"I know, the floor is wierd." Lilly chimed in at full volume. "It's like a body; it has almost the same feeling. When you step on one that is."

"SHHH!" Skye hissed.

With a bright flash the entire room was cast in a soft glow at first, but then the lights became jarringly bright. Soon the entirety of the room was bright, the trio could see perfectly, even if the world was a bit blurry for Ticker.

The walls were a very calming blue; it wasn't a light blue, neither was it a foal blue. They looked as if they were quilted, large squares on the wall. But they weren't the wall. They protruded from the surface of the actual wall by what looked like two hooves width. The material had a thick sheen to it, where the light was closest it shone a bright white, near the darker areas it was a deep blue, in between the two colors was a rich creamy reflection layer, dazzlingly brilliant with a flat blue, a perfect contrast with the other colors.

The room had a high pitched odor, one that tingled the sinus passages of the occupants. Silently they all agreed that it was a scent they had smelled before, the stench of tires. The smell of latex. Odd that it would fill a whole room, causing their heads to swim in its intoxicating odor.

Ticker squinted, light was hurting his eyes, he couldn't tell if it was from the lack of glasses, or the pounding in his skull. He reached his hoof up, after feeling the telltale tickle of blood under his fur. His hoof slowly made its way up, the potential reason why they felt thick and dumb glared as tonal as the walls.

His entire body, as much of it as he could see had been coated in an Ark colored blue, the meduim/dark tint. A paly tellow band ran around his waist and up the center of his chest. The rear hooves were cast in heavier dark grey material than the rest of his body, thick rear hoof boots. He shifted from the sunken position in the floor, peering between his legs. A thick sheath capped his member, causing the material to bulge otuward. It pinched as he prodded it with his hoof, sending a slight pain through his member.

"What the Buck?" he gasped. "What am I wearing?" he asked, peering over to his two friends. They were encased in the same style of suit. How they found a monster mare sized one was a mystery, but Skye and Lilly were wrapped in the same suit.

"I don't know, it's uncomfortably tight, and it pinches my lips something terrible." Skye answered.

"Hold still, " Ticker gasped as a wave of pain shot through is skull, "I think I see a collar." The stallion slowly trudged through the vacuum like 'sludge' that was the floor, each hoof stifled by the suit and then the gel-like surface. He moved his head closer to Skye's neck, trying to focus the thick band and box at her throat.

There were no markings that could be made out, nothing to hint at it's purpose. It did have a small, unlit diode covered by a polycarbonate bubble and a rather small keyhole. The suit's neck looked like it flared up under the collar, ribs of padding barely protruding from the tight grip.

"It's locked on. I can't see too well, but it seems to be keeping the suit on. Also, there is something on your ear." he cautiously moved a hoof up to the mare's ear, flicking the tag.

"OW! That hurts!" she shouted, her own hooves shooting up towards the thing. "You have one too." she frowned. Ticker reached up, he did have one as well. A light tug and the tingle of flesh bleeding caused him to stop.

"The buck?" he asked again. "Do you have anything on your flank? My... stallion-hood feels weird."

"The suit pinches back there, can you see it?" She asked, turning around in place, her plot now right near his muzzle.

He carefully pressed a hoof against the little bumps. Four half-rings were stacked around her lips, biting into the folds tight. An odd clitoris protruded too far to be natural, it was either enlarged or there was something by it as well.

"I didn't know you were pierced." he mused, "They must be catching on the suit."

"I'm NOT pierced!" Skye snorted. She turned back around and sat firmly down on the floor, wincing as she did.

"It looks like you are now..." Ticker informed her, his muzzle turned down. "What happened when we got seperated anyway?"

"I want to know what has happened just now. I wake up in some kind of suit, I have labial piercings now and a Bucking ear tag. The walls are pillows and there is something around my neck. Also, you have..." she paused, counting in her head, "... you have two… no that is three bars on your flank." She looked at her own and over to Lilly who had become bored with the two talking and had found a way to sink herself between the two floor cushions, her back and head poking out like a Lake Scraper emerging from the water. She had the marks as well.

"I think we have found the Ark." Ticker said. "But it seems that we are in a small antechamber somewhere. I think we are inside it."

"Hello Ark citizens!" a scratchy voice boomed from somewhere in the room. The thick window and door-less walls seemed to speak from nowhere.

"Can you hear that, or have I broken down into Etherial Kerotine Rabidus? The first stage of that is hearing voices..." he whimpered.

"What? No, I can hear it too." Skye stood up, her eyes wide as she backed into a corner. "It's coming from... everywhere..." she gasped.

"You have been chosen as one of the lucky few to wait out the apocalypse in the safety and security of Equestria's most comfortable vault. Now you can sit back in luxury as the world above strangles the life out of itself. Count yourself lucky, the mare and stallions up on the surface are boiling in a sea of torrential fire as you enjoy the constant cool temperature of the Ark!"

"Does it know it's close to three hundred years too late?" Ticker retorted. "It's an audio recording, a welcome message."

"Food, sleep and the best activities anypony can enjoy are waiting for you. Enjoy the 'REDACTED!' Lounge and our select cigars and cigarettes to entice your tastebuds and tingle your muzzle. Take a refreshing dip in the 'OMITTED!', several laps and water settings are there for your comfort. And finally, after dinner you can lay down in your new bed and you and your favorite somepony can 'FORBIDDEN!' throughout the night in the sound proof walls of your luxurious new apartment."

"What the buck is going on here? The tape is wrong... Why is it screaming at us?" Skye whimpered, neither of the two ponies had seen her like this. Her hooves were shaking, her teeth chattering, horror spread across her muzzle.

"Calm down," Ticker moved over to her shape, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "It's going to be allright."

"N-no it's not, I HATE small spaces, I need to get out of here... It's... it's too much..." Skye murmured.

"Close your eyes." The stallion said, "Close them and tell yourself that you can leave whenever you want. You want to be in here now. Can you do that for me?"

"I want to be here, with my friends. I want to be here..."

"Due to several accidents and other residents of the Ark befalling a fate best left to those surface dwellers, the Ark has changed from its original design into a more pony friendly environment. We at Arkitechture are happy to report that these improvements to your living space have reduced casualties and accidents to zero. For the last one hundred and fifty years, the residents have enjoyed the serene peace that only Arkitechture can bring you."

"Due to the past transgressions of the previous Ark inhabitants, a new set of rules has been instated. Please check your digital Arkitechture hoof book on your Pip-Buck for the standard guidelines as well as the updated guidelines, provided to you by the Ark's intake team."

"Now, some of these rules may seem harsh, but any upstanding Equestrian citizen like yourselves should have no problem quickly adapting to these new rules. New residents will be given a one hour leniency for all transgressions, security will come for a visit, let you know if your transgression and then ask you to have a nice day! After the one hour period, punishment will be applied swiftly by security staff."

"These rules help protect Arkitechture property. Everything you see is Arkitechture property, any harm to this property will be marked, recorded and appropriate punishment measures taken to instill that such a transgression never happens again. Any interference with punishment will be met with a mark and punishment of the offending pony."

"Once a pony has accumulated too many marks with the same transgression, harsher punishment is required, accompanying longer punishment periods. An excess of fourty marks in the same transgression will result in permanent loss of offending sense."

"Continued offenses that require more than one permanent offending sense be revoked, that pony will be removed from the general population and permanently stored safely where their aggressive behavior cannot harm the rest of the residents."

"Comply with security at all times, disobeying will only extend the punishment length. Refer to your Pip-Buck for the amended rules and regulations. You can also ask your fellow residents for tips, if they are capable of communication!"

"Welcome to Ark One-eleven!"

A hiss filled the room and a double tile of the wall peeled away, revealing a large hallway, decorated in the same way as the small antechamber. The same blue rubber, floor to ceiling.

Skye immediately bolted from the room into the wide hallway and stood there for a few seconds, breathing deeply, muttering to herself what Ticker had told her.

The stallion felt better, the dizziness and sickness had passed. He helped Lilly, who had become stuck in the floor panels, to her hooves and out into the hallway.

"Feeling better?" he asked to the gasping mare.

"Marginally." Skye replied.

"Let's stick together for the time being. This entire place gives me the creeps. That recording was very odd, it has me concerned for these rules, as most of the recording mentioned them."

A loud buzz pierced the air and the door they entered from closed behind them. The padding on the exterior of the door melding seamlessly into the wall. A low beep came from their collars in unison, the lights blinking a strong yellow.

"The collars are blinking! I hope they don't explode." Lilly frowned. "That would be bad..."

"Let's try to get out of these suits, it's rubbing me the wrong way." Skye said, putting a thick hoof onto her chest and pulling down. The material screeched and stretched, but didn't give. She raised a rear hoof and took the material between her teeth and bit down hard. The latex moaned under her grip, stretching but never tearing.

The collar emitted a rapid set of three beeps.

"OH BUCK! IS IT GOING TO EXPLODE?!" She yelled in terror.

The collar beeped another three times rapidly.

"BUCK BUCK BUCK!"

The collar emitted three sets of three beeps.

"Stop! Just be quiet!" Ticker clamped her muzzle shut.

"Resident, please remain where you are. A securtiy bot has been dispatched to your location. Comply or face punishment." Her collar squeaked in a tiny voice from within it somewhere.

"What? I thought we had a free pass for an hour!"

"SHHHH!" Ticker hissed. "We don't know what this means, stay quiet and we can figure out what is going to happen. Don't make it worse!"

Skye nodded, wide eyed in fear. "Don't let it take me." she whispered.

"Quiet!" he reminded her.

A gleaming metal sphere approached the group. In one of its long arms it held what looked like deflated squid. It floated towards them, scanning the three. Skye then was singled out, and it approached she dropped to the floor, gasping in small quivering shakes. A humm was being emitted from somewhere, it was impossible to tell where, but it was affecting the large mare enough to cripple her from speech.

"Resident, you have one count of violating rule number 75, subsection C, article 8. 'Tampering with Ark equipment and/or apparel'. You have four counts of violating rule number 2, subsection D, article 98. 'Verbal profanity and/or language' unbecoming of a proper mare like yourself."

"There are fifty four minutes left in your probationary period. These two offenses are punishable by a muzzle and or gag being applied for a period of four hours. Tampering with punishments will result in a longer period of punishment. Have a good day, Resident!"

Skye remained on the floor for a few minutes. Ticker gulped, the expediency of the bot's arrival, the shrewd announcement of the offenses and the fact that it had the muzzle with it. This place was going to be... very interesting.

"What happened? You fell over, what... what did that thing do to you?" Ticker asked.

"I think... there is something inside me. It was humming, like a fan. I couldn't stand anymore. It..." her cheeks blushed a hard shade of red. "It felt really... good..."

"What?" Ticker was dumbfounded. "What is inside you?"

"It's... I don't know. It feels good." Her cheeks continued to turn a bright crimson.

Ticker moved to her rear and pressed the latex against her plot. What he saw greatly baffled him. He saw the rings again; the large clitoris and a small tube emerge from between her folds. It had a twisted appearance, as if a hose had a wire around it. Her pucker just below the short tail sheathe had no defining features, it was a dome, truely odd.

"You don't feel anything odd?" He asked. Skye shook her head, no. Ticker pressed in on the dome covering her pucker.

"OH CELESTIA! I FELT THAT! What... is it?"

The stallion's collar beeped three times.

'Buck' he thought to himself, a frown sliding down his inquisitive muzzle downward.

"It's a covering on your rectum, I think we all have it."

"Turn around, let me see." Skye swirled her hoof. She inspected the back end of her companion and found a domed cover over his rectum. She inspected his member, carefully touching it. Instead of the soft flesh of a sheath, she felt a stiff material encapsulating it. Ticker grunted as she touched it.

A security bot floated over to the group. Ticker sat up strait, his muzzle twisted in confusion, teeth gritted tight and painful groan escaping from his nostrils. He didn't want to move, that might make this thing growling inside him worse.

"Resident, you have one count of violating rule number 102, subsection R, article 1,435. 'Eliciting an unsolicited pleasurable response from another Resident."

"There are fourty nine minutes left in your probationary period. This offense is punishable by stimulation for two hours and a straitjacket being applied for a period of four hours. Tampering with punishments will result in a longer period of punishment. Have a good day, Resident!"

The robot floated off and Ticker collapsed to the floor.

"What type of Bu-... place is this? It felt like a melon is inside my lower colon. It's... I w-want it out." he stammered, rolling into a position where it felt less intrusive.

Skye blushed, she was not alone in her awkwardness.

"We've been here ten minutes and have been cited over five times. This is going to get horrible rather fast. We need to find a way out, either of these suits for the time being and the Ark itself eventually. I have no glasses either, I'm afraid to ask for some, as I might wind up mummified for a week." Ticker said. He stood up, still feeling a pressure from deep within his flank.

"Let's see if the rest of the place has anymore ponies here!" Lilly said, her nimble frame bouncing on the pads as she was light enough to not sink in.

"Good idea. We need to find these rules out before we never see each other again." Ticker smiled in discomfort as he moved forward. This was embarrassing.

The three moved through the padded hall out into a larger area. It seemed to be a large hall, what once was a large hall anyway. The normal Ark railings and benches had been replaced with the padded rubber. Stairs were gone; instead a large cushion and a tube replaced them.

Lights far above in the ceiling cast a sheen over everything and everypony in the area. A quick head count had the immediate population at fifty ponies. All were clad in the same thick latex suits. Unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies, all were inside. Some of them sported tattoos on the visible flesh of their heads, while some ponies had no flesh visible at all encased further in latex garb. Rounded hoods, tight fitting hoods, muzzles, blindfolds and straitjackets all made of latex adorned the various other residents.

The padded walls were great at muffling conversations between the groups of ponies, the grand room was filled with muffled voices. Propped against a large couch like objects, the more fettered ponies grouped together, nuzzling each other and giggling between themselves.

This entire set up had Ticker and Skye blushing. It was some sort of twisted Ark. A pre-war, hyper sexualized nut house. There were no upstanding citizens here, these ponies all looked like the rough wastelanders who would skin your hide as soon as look at you.

Lilly was, thankfully, oblivious to the quite blatantly mature atmosphere. "They are all so shiny!"

Her reply elicited a small laugh from Skye and a stern look from Ticker.

"I don't see a single terminal anywhere. I only see... rubber. I think we are bucked- MMF!" his hoof wasn't fast enough to stop the word from escaping.

His collar beeped and a bot showed up, citing 'Language unbecoming a stallion' and threatened a muzzling for four hours. At least this time the thing inside him shrunk once the bot left. They had to escape, they just had to.

"Hey hey hey hey hey hey! ...HEY! Sorry!" a voice repeated from behind them. Skye and Ticked turned around, Lilly had wandered off to see all the shiny ponies. There was medium framed zebra pony, his blue eyes searching the two new comers, then focusing elsewhere. His long mane had seen better days, it was unkempt and a part line behind his cheeks in the mane told of a strap constantly sitting there.

"Hello?" Ticker inquired, sitting down beside the zebra.

"Hey!... What?... Who are you?" he stammered. stomping a hoof into the thick floor.

"Um, you talked to... us?" Skye trotted over to him as well.

"NO! Um... Yes. I think so. Yes."

"Are you all right?" The unicorn asked.

"Sometimes, yes. Hey, you're a unicorn! You need to be careful, the silver guards take that away really quick if you miss use it. Bye bye!"

"I think he's... crazy." Skye whispered into the stallion's ear.

"I used to have a fix for that... yea. Boffle Flowers. They stink, but it helps, it helped, it will help. And it's not here anymore, well it never was here and it's making things really bad. But, but but... You are new here. And the silver guards are looking for ANY excuse to do things to you, odd things, weird things. They WANT it to happen and get some sort of perverse pleasure from it. Just stay away from them. Even if you DON'T say anything, they still get you in trouble." The zebra droned on, it seemed like he was saying the first thing that entered his mind.

"We... could use somepony to help us with the rules. How long have you been here?" Skye asked, speaking slow and trying to catch the gaze of the zebra who appeared to be watching everything BUT them.

"There IS no time down here. It's always just... now. There are pads, dinner, pads and then another dinner then the bed, which is a pad but a pad you can't move. The hole is scary at first, but it becomes normal. The WORST part is the stimulation, they build you up and up, but it rarely comes down."

"Anything we'd need to know, what to do and not do?" Ticker placed a hoof on his shoulder, trying to draw the gaze of the zebra towards him.

"No, um... yes. If you curse they make you unable to talk. If you run too fast your hooves stop working. Sometimes it's dark, but nopony is in bed. And there are points, you can't eat them and they probably taste horrible anyway. But when you have points, sometimes your curses can go away."

"We know about the strikes-"

"NO! The strikes are bad, they taste like the floors and walls and my hooves. The points are good, you want those. They are like... not... strikes? It's confusing. I have some of them sometimes."

"How does one go about getting these points?" Ticker had caught onto a lot of what the zebra was babbling about, and he would fill Skye in later.

"You HAVE to be punished!" the zebra exclaimed.

"No, that is a strike. What is a point?"

"Yes... no. Um. Points are when you ask to be silent or in the dark. But they always tease you when you ask for points. It's frustrating."

"I think he is saying that the Ark rewards 'good' behavior. Having seen a trend of violence in the past, if you willingly curb your 'bad habits' by asking for the punishment, it builds up a rappour. Points that can be used as a free pass as you willingly want to get better."

"What?" Skye and the zebra said in unison.

"It's circular logic, self fulfilling prophecy. You have to be bound or stifled to avoid being bound or stifled."

The two continued their stare at the unicorn.

"It makes sense to me." Ticker shot them a look of confusion, now he was beginning to doubt his line of thought.

A bot approached the three.

"Unusually high vocal decibles detected in this area. Verbose Resident, identify yourself."

"It was, wait... Yes, it was me!" the zebra shouted and raised a hoof.

"Do you need assistance in reducing this volumetric transgression? This is not a strike. It is a learning opportunity to make yourself better for the entire Ark to enjoy your presence." The bot held up muzzle, edging it closer to the zebra's head.

Before he answered the bot, the zebra leaned over to the mare. "Stay away from that unicorn right here," his hoof pointed to Ticker who was all of a hoof's length away, "I think he's a bit... off. I can't understand what he says."

Skye couldn't help but giggle, as they shared the same sentiment most of the time.

"Resident, the previous inquisition still stands."

The zebra turned his head sideways, as if he had just seen the bot beside him. "What... Yes?" he answered.

The robot beeped and the two arms simultaneously pushed his head into the thick rubber muzzle and secured the straps at the rear. The metal clasp at the rear clicked shut and emitted a low tone. A numerical display began to count down from twenty four hours. The zebra was confused as to what just happened, he had his mind in another place when he was asked, unaware that he was agreeing to a voluntary muzzling.

"You now have two points, resident. Have a nice day!"

As the bot turned, Ticker stopped him,

"Um, robot... thing. I have a question?"

"Inquiry detected. Resident, finish your line of inquiry."

"I need glasses, I can't see that well without them."

The bot paused for a second, floating silently.

"Resident was not admitted with spectacles. An appointment has been set with the Ark optometrist. You will be collected when your presence is required. Have a safe day, Resident."

The bot floated off.

"Well, that was blunt." Ticker grunted. "Skye, let's go find Lilly and start looking around. And, I'd ask your name," he said to the zebra "But it seems that you can't tell me. I will try and find you later then."

The zebra furrowed his brow and huffed through his nostrils. He felt whole heartedly that the unicorn was to blame for his predicament. If he wasn't there, the bot wouldn't have snuck up on him and he wouldn't have been muzzled. He'd make sure that the unicorn got his due, besides dinner was nearly ready. He was hungry.

The Trio re-united and began to slowly explore the ark. Slowly they wound around the entire complex. Ticker building a mental map in his mind.

There was a central causeway, a ten pony wide hall that formed a circle around the large area. In six equal increments there sat huge gathering halls, larger than the lounge they had been in previously. They were roughly five stories tall, the large area at the bottom was where the ponies gathered. The upper levels and smaller rooms that used to be game rooms or lounges and a smaller walkway the further up one traveled until it was the top story balcony. All the places where a pony could fall off were covered by a thin mesh net that was surprisingly strong.

Off of the identical large halls were three, ten story circular towers. A vacuum lift was the only way up. These were the 'apartments', the large rooms having been converted into massive bunk houses for the population. From all the space they had in there, Ticker guessed that there were upwards of one thousand residents at any one time.

In the center of the ring was a two story structure at the ground level. The area that looked like a warehouse had thick walls running down its length; holes were set into the walls at head level. Neither of the three dared to stick their head inside. This room was accessible at ground level from the massive halls in any direction. Later on it was revealed to be the kitchen, the ponies were not even trusted enough to feed themselves.

The level above that was the pool, but had been converted into an inset lounge. Water was too dangerous. The padding inside this room had extra volume, nearly reaching up to the ponies’ torso. It was as close to a pool as the residents were going to get.

Above that room was dark, though lights slowly flickered to life. The room was laid out into quarters. One quarter of the room had small spheres dotting the wall. There was no way to know what was inside them, as they were devoid of windows or doors. They evacuated the room once a bot floated toward them and asked if they were in need of temporary isolation, then informed them that anypony in this room could not stop. It was a travel through room; anypony found inside that lingered was scooped up and isolated for a period of time.

After several hours they groaned at the aching hooves. They were no strangers to walking, but this wasn't walking. This was trying to gallop through molasses with a gale force wind blowing at them. They collapsed on the 'couch', back in the same smaller lounge they had met the zebra in. He was nowhere to be found, in fact, most of the ponies seemed to have disappeared.

"Is it bed time?" Skye asked, looking around at the near barren room.

"Probably dinner." Ticker replied, his stomach growling angrily at him. "I didn't see a kitchen though."

"I think it was that room with all the holes in the wall. I looked inside one; it had two arms inside and a place for your head. It was odd, but I think it's the cantina."

"It is," Ticker confirmed, after having trotted over to the door and peering down the long hall. "Let's see what they are serving. Maybe talk about... some things."

They made their way to the odd room and saw the flanks of hundreds of rubber clad ponies without heads, as they were stuck into the wall. Lilly stepped behind Skye.

"What is wrong with them?" the small mare asked, her voice dripping with anxiety.

"They are eating." Skye explained. "And Ticker is going to show you that it's all fine. He's going to stick his head in there and stomp twice to let us know its fine. Aren't you Ticker?"

"Yes...” he replied flatly, pausing as his muzzle started to enter the black area. He took a deep breath and put his head inside the wall.

Nothing happened at first, but then again he wasn't trying to back out.

"I think it's bro..." he stopped, his head would no longer move backwards. The two panels in the wall had slid shut, trapping his head inside. He squirmed for a bit, and then stomped twice. The show hadn't even begun yet.

The arms from the wall came forward, one using its two rubber coated pinchers to carefully grasp the top of his muzzle, the other on his bottom, holding his mouth open. It would have been wrong to use a euphemism to describe that object heading towards his maw, in the simplest words, it was a long cock that was being pushed into his muzzle. He got a glimpse of the end of the shaft; it had two large holes in it.

He gagged as the thing pushed down into his throat, the arm slowly gliding it in. It stopped once it ran out of length to push and the arm retreated, the second one returning with a limp piece of latex and a clear hose in its pincers. The rubber was a hood, and it was placed over his head, leaving only the ears uncovered. The hose pressed into the hood port that had attached itself to the cock gag.

Ticker waited, glad that nopony could see him; see the large cock down his throat, head stuck in a wall and totally vulnerable. It felt as if the machine was taking too long, as if ten minutes had passed already. A rush of air pushed down the tube, followed by a hot liquid that poured directly into his stomach.

This was an overt display of how bucked he was. A cock down his muzzle, hot liquid of what he HOPED was food pouring down his throat from the member no less. It was uncomfortable, embarrassing and disgusting. His stomach felt full and the machine stopped. He gagged as the cock retreated, spurting out some of the still hot liquid into his throat, in his muzzle and on his nose.

It tasted... Really good actually. It was a thick and chunky applesauce, a smooth liquid filled with small diced apples that fell apart when he mashed them with his tounge. There was another taste, another flavor as well. He had tasted it before, but not this strong. It was cinnamon, Celestia it was real cinnamon! And it was amazing!

The machine released him, the hood, tube and the feeding cock dropped down to the floor of the alcove, rolling inside and down a hidden line so it could be cleaned and ready tomorrow. All by the bots of course.

"Well, that was..." Skye trailed off.

"Disturbingly delicious?" he replied.

"You got the... member... too?"

"Yea. I think this Ark has everything taken care of, caring for the ponies inside, but in a sick twisted way. I think it's just bucking with us, everypony."

Ticker's collar beeped three times, he sighed nervously.

"You're the first!" Skye giggled.

The bot appeared, as it always had when their collars beeped.

"Resident, you have one count of violating rule number 2, subsection D, article 98. 'Verbal profanity and/or language' unbecoming of a proper stallion like yourself."

"This offense is punishable by a muzzle applied for a period of four hours. Tampering with punishments will result in a longer period of punishment. Have a good day, Resident!"

He couldn't run if he wanted to, his colon felt ready to burst. He let the bot do its thing as he gritted his teeth.

The muzzle slipped on easily, the inside padded region and the stiffer outer shell provided a comfortable but firm encasement. The rear strap was tugged tight against his skull, the toggle lock padding kept it from digging into his bone, as it should have been with the level of tightness the cold machine reached. It did a good job, he couldn't swear, or make any verbalization beyond a long string of "M's"

Ticker waited till the bot turned around before puting both hooves up to his muzzled muzzle and pressed against its surface, trying to get it to sit better. He didn't realize that it was meant to be that tight. His collar let out a short 'whooping' beep, having detected his hooves near his muzzle for longer than the time it takes to rub one's nose. He froze, that was a new beep.

'Tampering detected, muzzle will remained locked on for an additional 24 hours.' the collar informed him.

"MMMM?!" He screamed, but a mere two trots away, no pony heard a thing. His hooves kept hovering near to the muzzle, falling slightly then moving closer again. He had to stop himself from trying to rip the thing off. If he touched it again, it would add another ridiculous amount of time that he didn't need. The good thing was that now that nopony could make out what he was saying, his furious curses were going unpunished.

"Twenty eight hours." Skye whistled. "Going for the gusto then?"

A look of pure distain bore right into the mare. He took a bit of solace in the fact that she would buck up sometime. Hopefully her mess up was worse than his. This Ark had worse than a zero tolerance for these phantom rules. He imagined her in isolation, a fitting retaliation for being so smug.

"Aww, you look adorable in that." She cooed, closing in to his muzzle and giving his nose a small kiss. He flare his nostrils and huffed at her harshly.

Four hours was agony enough. The total of twenty eight was going to be a nightmare. A quick calculation in his head meant that this time tomorrow, plus four hours, he would be out. He would be able to get it off right before bed. Hopefully the bots were as spot on with their removal as they were with application. Somehow he didn't feel that they were. Somewhere deep inside he knew that he was going to spend longer than the twenty eight hours muzzled.

Ticker was at a loss, both for words and an activity for them to do. So far, their entire trip around the Ark, or the few places they had managed to visit he had not seen a terminal, a door or a single piece of what should have been there. It was just miles and miles of floors, ceilings and walls laid with thick padded blue. Every inch of the Ark.

"No terminals and no doors." Skye sighed, she peered over to her friend and couldn't help but crack a smile. It was hilarious because of the stallion's intelligence, as much as he knew about most subjects, all was for naught. A champion of the circuits and wires, defeated by the same. However stifled he was now, Ticker was their only chance at an attempt to escape. It was still funny.

Ticker had a look of being regal. The tight suit around his body, accentuating every shape, around every muscle. His head held high, so that the bottom of the muzzle didn't press against his neck and cause a choking sensation. His breathing had to be controlled; any rapid succession of breath produced a light headed feeling. He had to remain calm, move with a purpose. A silent sentinel.

He felt like an utter foal. He couldn't speak with the damned piece of latex locked to his head. Communication was key to survival, and he couldn't do that for the next couple of hours. Glasses were another issue; all he could see were blue fuzzy shapes of ponies against a blue background. The low tone of failure began to ring hard, and it stung.

Questions began to rattle in his mind. Ones that never came up before. Survival, hunger and safety were always a priority before. The amount of physical and mental faculties used to make sure you wake up the next day, find food and keep from getting your head ripped off. They were 'safe' now, even though it was stretching the meaning of the word.

Yet with the security about them, the only thing he could think of doing was to escape. This type of setting didn't match his vision of being safe. Safe was having enough caps to not worry about food. Safe was thick walls that radiation and bullets couldn't get through. It was a roof over your head and floor under your hooves. It was good times with your friends. It was...

It was everything he had here, a perfect description of it. Minus the latex suits, the nut house re-decoration and bindings when you disobey the phantom rules.

Ticker let Skye lead them through the Ark, where ever she wanted to go, he silently followed. From their path, he was able to tell she was looking for a way out. She had an odd method of exploration, picking the left hoof wall and following it endlessly.

By the time the group had fully explored one of the large halls and a single apartment complex. All they managed to find was a brand new level of exhaustion from quagmire of a floor and restrictive suits pulling them back every trot of the way.

The oddest room they found had road dividing like rubber cushions; one was meant to sit on them, hooves on either side of the structure, barely touching the floor. The unicorn was their test subject, the two mares deciding that his current situation was warrant enough. Any further hindrance on his part would not hinder them or their overall goal.

Ticker huffed in defeat as he mantled the structure. Instantly small doors opened up near his hooves, latex bands shot across them, pinning him completely to the structure. He groaned in disapproval as a fifth belt brought his head down to the divider, pinning him to this... thing. The rear section of the furniture rose up, hoses snaked from the interior of the open section and to the rear of his suit.

Ticker grunted as the twin hoses attached to him, seemingly melting through the suit to attach to the plug in his rear and the cage around his member. The plug inflated, started to vibrate, causing a string of constinents to emerge from his mouth. His eyes crossed as a second part of his binding began to stimulate him as well.

His cock began to push out against the cage and he began to feel what it was. A tight silicone cap over his head and collapsed shaft, a thick catheter snaked through the urethra and into his bladder, which had been mercifully drained before the stimulation.

A scalding sensation filled his colon, the heat holding fast within. He quickly realized what it was for; catheter for urination and enema for the excrement. He whined, groaning wasn't doing any good.

"What is it?" Skye asked. "What is it doing?" She edged in closer to his flank, trying to discern the purpose of the tubes. She moved back to his restrained head. "A bathroom?"

"Mmm hmmm."

"That's good to know, I've been needing to use it myself. Does it.. hurt?"

"Hmnnn..." he whined.

Skye mantled one of the bathrooms across from Ticker, she wanted to watch him. His squirms and moans had made her quite... aroused. The mare gasped as her hooves were restrained, her head pulled down. There was one difference though; her head was covered with a hood, a cock gag shoved into her muzzle.

She felt what Ticker did, the emptying bladder, the swelling rectal plug, but a devious little surprise made her tug at the bonds. Mare were different, they could become fully aroused without much organ expansion. Her lips still expanded, thickening against the new piercings and becoming slick, rubbing together in the vibrations from a small silicone toy protruding into her nether.

Skye groaned into the gag, pulled at the straps. She was certain that everything had been drained and cleaned, but still the machine still teased her. It built her up and up, the struggles rocking the thick latex suit, its hindquarters smeared with her lust on the interior made it slip and glide over her throbbing lips. The whole Ark would have heard her; perhaps that was why the hood and gag was applied.

Her breath caught in her throat, her burning flank tightened, hooves pulled against the traps as the ripples of orgasm began to arc across her nervous system. Her brain seemed to disconnect from the mental aspect of her life, the Ark disappeared, bindings dissolved and her entire body poured every spare neuron to the highway from the pleasure racking her flank.

Traffic jam. Dead stop. The toy died within her, the power turned off, subsequently her arousal came to a halt. She screamed into the gag, rocking her back side against the padded seat. Cleverly it had dropped away and she was merely waving her tail and nether region in the air.

It took several minutes for her to stop, the sensation had faded and she was culled off. The experience had left its mark, poured some whiskey in her glass, but kept it away from her lips. Heart rate slowed down, and she settled into the bonds in an exhaustion set in. It was only then she was released, from the bonds.

Ticker had been out just thirty seconds prior to her. His muzzle dripping with what appeared to be saliva or nasal discharge that was slowly making it's way down to his chin. Skye hadn't fared much better, her muzzle was smattered with pent up anger from being denied. The two locked eyes, almost communicating their experiences, or at the very least they understood.

"That was... fun." Skye giggled nervously, trying to wipe her muzzle clean while using her hoof to hide her reddening cheeks at the same time.

Before anything more could be said, their collars beeped twice in rapid succession, then again.

"What do you think that means? We didn't do anything wrong."

Ticker began to look around, for an answer. Ponies passed the doorway, more than usual. It would seem that they were all going somewhere. The three moved out into the hallway with them, sticking together as they waded through the sea of ponies.

A quick and brief conversation made it clear that it was time for bed. The lights in the Ark began to slowly dim, the low chatter that was ever present had died down. The less mobile ponies were picked up by a fleet of the bots, carried off to bed.

The apartments were the destination. An age ago, the buildings here would have seen gold and gem inlays, paintings and furniture most decadent. A large chandelier used to hang from the highest level. Crystal daggers of Damoclese reflecting lights brilliantly, now a polycarbonate cover concealing large flood lamps. Sensible, safe lighting. The wallpaper was removed, rubber in its wake.

Ticker began to panic. Ponies were going INTO the apartments, but as they passed the always open doors, there was nothing, nopony to be seen. He began to nuzzle Skye's flank, grabbing her attention. She saw his wide eyes and they stepped out of line. He tried to get across to her that the rooms were empty, despite the occupants that had filed in earlier.

Skye tried to decipher the actions. The pony had pointed to the line, to the room and then he walked around the entire space. She gave a frown and pulled them back into the line.

They followed the pony in front of them, doing as they did, moving and turning. The way everypony had the rhythms down made the actions even more unsettling, and the three of them stand out.

A rush of air filled the room, light began to stream from the spaces between the padding as they moved out from the wall. It looked like one of those prewar beds, a trundle stuck in a wall. Instead of a mattress, even a rubber one, it was two square rubber sheets over a frame, spaced apart enough so that the two ponies that would go in each would not be able to touch eachtoher.

A bot came in, dragging a rather un co-operative zebra wearing a muzzle. He was writhing in the metal arms of the machine, his hooves and torso swaddled in a blue and pale yellow straitjacket. Without a word, the bot edged in beside Ticker and placed the flurry of hooves between the sheets, holding him there as a whine filled the room. Soon the sheet stopped being effected by the zebra as it collapsed around his form. It hugged every curve on his body, sucking tight to show the seams of the suit he was wearing, the jacket's hold on his hooves.

No matter how hard the zebra pulled, the latex was there to pull equally as hard. The best he managed to do was get the encasement bouncing, by only a few inches. His muffled cries had turned into the groans and creaks of latex. The bot affixed an air hose to the muzzle piece and then stood still.

Ticker gulped, looking over to Skye. She had begun to slowly back up, intent to slip from the room. He shook his head at her, knowing what she was going to do, her hatred of small spaces. She then collapsed, her eyes curled up in her head, her rear hooves began to 'paddle'. From the outside she had a pained look across her muzzle, in reality she had fallen over from the rubber hooved sensation of the toy inside of her springing to life.

It over powered her as the bot carefully picked her up, placing her in one of the beds adjacent to Ticker's and then he watched as the air was removed, the muzzle air hose hooked up and then the small movements from the mare inside. It was a playful tugging, wishing her hooves were free to assist in building the sensation between her rear hooves. The 'tray' she was in had another occupant inside and it slipped closed, the door hissing as the padding returned to its omnipresent state.

Ticker slowly made his way inside the bed. The taught lower sheet supported his weight. He looked at the frame, rubber coated pipe with holes drilled into it. Very little light was streaming inside, the zippered slit clacking in the pinchers of the bot's appendage. Soon there was nothing but black.

Ticker heard a whine and began to move his hooves nervously. He couldn't see the black walls closing in, but he felt them. The sheet fell over him, his stomach, the nostrils protruding from the muzzle and hoof tips felt it first. It was cool, but became warm after a few seconds of contact.

The sheet became heavier and heavier. It wrapped around his suit and ears, drawing tight. A decision that the didn't want his hooves at his side cause them to move. But they only moved a few inches, as if he was placed inside a pocket, or a doll, only have the boundary of the outer shell to move.

An extreme sense of claustrophobia set in. It was quite moot to say that it felt as if the walls were pushing in, as they were. The pocket around his head began to shrink, causing him to breath in the same recycled air. Faster and faster, it seemed that his pace in breathing made it consume himself faster.

Soon the two sheets were touching themselves or the occupant. Every inch felt cramped, stuck. The latex stretching to encompass Ticker's frame, pinning his body into an immobile position. He sucked in the latex around his nose, trying to draw in air, but failing. A tickle touched his nose and air was let in, along with anchoring tubes, to make sure that they didn't fall out to have him suffocate.

The now airless sheets had drawn the sagging body tightly upwards, sitting perfectly in the center of the frame. Ticker tugged everywhere he could, hooves, elbows and head. The latex prison had a tiny bit of give, but the rubber's stretch had vanished with the lack of air. He was pulling against two sheets of latex that were sandwiched together, each effort pulled the entire frame. The immense friction of the binding kept him perfectly frozen.

The two ponies inside wobbled as the tray slid into the wall. He could hear the frantic creaking of latex from the zebra beside him. Instead of struggling, Ticker relaxed. There was a constant pressure on all portions of his body, cradled in a binding and warm hug. He was used to the hard ground, a spring tattered mattress or a cloth and always woke up sore.

He let his body meld into the bed, his joints relax and his spine popped, eliciting a moan from his muzzle. The air that escaped from the latex piece and into the bed was quickly ferried away by a silent, constant pull. Ticker's eyes were already closed; the air tubes were pumping in and drawing out. Stress faded, worry was gone and for once in his life, everything let go.

The state of pure blissful rest wasn't even distrubed by the electrical powered toys meand to stimulate and tease to no end couldn't detract from what he felt. The unnerving feeling that started to grow deep inside was even suppressed. The feeling that he was going to like it here, and that was something that he didn't at all feel comfortable with.