“An’ that’s mah virginity story!” AJ concluded triumphantly.

“Goodness, darling. I never took you for such a… romantic,” Rarity remarked as she continued to stroke a hoof along her erect shaft.

“Say what?”

“Well, no offense-”

AJ was already readying for full offense.

“-but you’ve always been the rough and tumble sort. The kind of mare who’s content with a quick roll in the hay with little regard for the finer things. But the way you laid out the scene…” Rarity swooned and fanned herself. “That was worthy of a romance novel!”

AJ blinked. “Seriously?”

“Indubitably. If only we were all be so lucky.”

“Yeah. What she said,” Twilight added as a levitating quill scribbled on some parchment.

“Uh, Twi?” AJ gestured at the floating implements.

“Oh, uh, just making some hoof notes. For my report to Molestia. She really gets off on stories like these,” Twilight explained distractedly.

“She’s not the only one,” Rarity tittered.

Curious what her white friend meant, Twilight followed the mare’s line of sight to where a puddle of juices was leaking around her groin. Purple smart tensed, feeling strangely mortified at having climaxed without even realizing in front of her friends. “It’s AJ’s fault!”

AJ giggled and flipped her mane back with a proud smirk. “Guilty as charged,” she boasted. “What’s mah sentence?” Her brows wiggled suggestively, yet she was still preoccupied with Rarity’s words. That compliment sounded genuine, and even the backhanded part didn’t seem as bad as it could have been. What was going on, here?

Twilight scrunched her expression in thought. “Um, do you think we can put a pin in that? I’m still trying to think up a story that can follow that one, and my own first time wasn’t…” she rolled her hoof in a gesture of apprehension.

“Ah still don’t see how it’s possible ya didn’t do what Ah did ‘n’ fuck yer brother,” AJ admitted. “Ah mean, Ah never met the guy, but Ah’ve seen his picture in the papers.” She pulled off her hat and fanned herself. “After Big Mac, that’s easily the hottest stallion Ah’ve ever seen.”

“I’m inclined to agree with both sentiments, darling,” Rarity added. “Both that your brothers are exquisite specimens of all that is stallion,” she fixed a pointed look on Twilight, “and my disbelief that you two never made love. After all, I was Sweetie’s first.”

“An’ Apple Bloom showed how much more responsible than Ah was at that age when she asked fer mah help with the first colt she brought home.” She beamed fondly at the memory of her guiding the nubile and inexperienced youths through their first time.

Twilight gave a defeated sigh. She’d always done her best to make herself scarce when this question had come up. However, Spike wasn’t here to act as a decoy, and she didn’t like her odds of escaping from mares as skilled with rope as these two were. “Fiiine,” she acquiesced, finding interest in the floor as she tapped her hoof. “It’s not like we didn’t want to. I mean, like you’ve said, siblings fucking is kind of expected.” She snorted a laugh. “But, thinking back, I guess we just never made the time for each other.”

“How’s that?” AJ asked.

Twilight shrugged. “Well, I had applied to Molestia’s School for Erotically Gifted Unicorns pretty much the day after I learned what it was. I’d poured myself into my studies, learning all sorts of techniques in the hope of being accepted. Shiny and my parents encouraged me, and even volunteered to help me test some of the more advanced spells.” She giggled. “One time I made my mom climax so intensely that she squirted hard enough to shatter a lamp that was on the other side of the room!”

AJ and Rarity exchanged intrigued looks.

“So when I was not only accepted, but made the Princess’ star pupil and fuck toy, well you can guess I started studying all the harder,” Twilight explained passionately, recollecting all that the princess had taught her. “Molestia would always encourage me to use my magic instead of my hooves to keep my casting in peak condition. Whenever my classmates would invite me to join in their ‘extracurricular’ activities,” she said with air quotes, “I… think I kind of missed the point by just blasting them with different super orgasm spells and then leaving. Not exactly what you’d call… intimate.”

“Surely not,” rebuked Rarity. “Such spell craft is impressive, but overreliance ignores the nuances that make sex truly worthwhile. The bristling of your partner’s fur as you run a hoof down their back,” she explained sensually.

“That little wink she gives ya when ya’ll pass in the mornin’,” AJ added with a confident smirk.

“A pony’s expression as their face twists from pain to ecstasy.”

“Takin’ the same gal until ya learn ta read her breaths like a book ‘n’ guess what she wants next.”

“The subtle tensing of the groin as your captive understands they are completely at your mercy.”

“Feelin’ a mare’s smile against yer ass as she eats ya out ‘n’ realizes she’s never had anythin’ sweeter.”

“Their pitiful whimpers as they learn that the line between pain and pleasure isn’t as clear as they once believed.” Rarity’s tone was growing dangerously sadistic.

“The way she cries out when ya show her there’s nothin’ more delicious than an Apple.” AJ’s panting grew heavy as she wiped a bit of sweat from her forehead.

Both mares swayed slightly as their imaginations ran rampant. When they came back to reality, they once more looked at one another, only to quickly avert their gazes. Twilight didn’t understand this, but did mark it down in her notes as a thing to be explored later.

“Point taken,” purple smart acknowledged. “I guess I saw the subtleties of sex as more of a theory than a practice. In fact, I’m starting to wonder if maybe Molestia might have deliberately skewed my education from the… I guess you could call it the manual applications.”

“That’s another thing,” AJ interjected. “How can ya’ll be Molestia’s fuck toy if’n she never actually fucked ya?”

Twilight blinked like a deer caught in the headlights. “I… Well, we’d always just use magic on each other. It was like a competition. We’d take turns shooting spells at one another and try to hold out as long as we could. Molestia would always win, obviously, but I’d get a little stronger each time. She also invited Spike and the occasional guard or servant to act as our target practice, but there just wasn’t much touching. At best she’d use my body as a masturbation aid whenever she felt like it, stroking all along her crotch, but without any penetration, save for our tongues.” Even as the words left her lips, Twilight ruminated on AJ’s question. “Still though…”

“I know the Princess’ princesshood is a monster,” Rarity began, “but surely there were spells that could have made intercourse with one of your size possible.”

“There werehrhr,” Twilight whined despondently, smacking her face into the floor. “She never offered and I never thought to ask. We’d just do our lessons and never anything more.”

“Spike weren’t kiddin’,” AJ observed. “Ya’ll really do have blinders on.”

“Spike? Spike!” Twilight shot up and snarled. “Why didn’t he ever tell me? He always teases me by saying his job is to be my common sense, so why didn’t he do that?”

“Now that ain’t fair, sugar cube,” AJ chided. “The little guy might have a good head on his shoulders, but ya can’t go blamin’ him fer not doin’ all yer thinkin’ for ya.”

Rarity nodded. “Most certainly. You’re a grown mare, Twilight. It is most uncouth to hold others accountable for your own shortcomings, especially a minor.”

Twilight fumed a moment longer, holding onto her ire, only for it to fizzle. Her head hung low in defeat. “You’re right. Spike already does so much for me. It’s not his fault I have tunnel vision,” she perked up, “but I’m still holding the theory that it might be Molestia’s. With all her centuries of wisdom and how much time we spent together, she really doesn’t have any excuse.”

“That’s fair,” Rarity agreed.

“Uh huh.”

“And it also sounds like exactly the sort of thing she’d do,” Twilight continued, her ire building. “Get me to spend all of my young life focusing on one kind of thing, only to spring a test over a whole other subject just to watch me squirm.” She squirmed and twiddled her hooves as she explained. “Never challenge the princess to a BDSM contest,” she said sternly to Rarity. “I don’t care if it’s your element. There is nothing you can do that can compare to some of the stuff I’ve seen.”

Rarity was almost ready to laugh at Twilight’s joke. The very idea that there might be a bondage queen that could surpass herself was absurd. But the longer she stared into Twilight’s eyes, the more her confidence ebbed. “Perish the thought,” she dismissed, maintaining an air of sureness. “Making such a challenge of the princess would be unforgivably rude. Win or lose, such audacity would reflect poorly on my social standing.”

“Whatever helps ya sleep at night,” AJ said out of the corner of her mouth, not buying Rarity’s BS for one second. Twilight, exemplifying her earlier point, was not as aware.

“I mean it, Rarity. For the sake of your sanity, don’t do it!”

***

On a whim, Molestia had decided to pay a visit to the dungeon. Although he was able to walk again, Spike was apprehensive. However, he didn’t bother voicing any protests. He knew such things would only encourage the princess more. His only option was to just go along with whatever was asked of him and hope that whatever he saw wouldn’t be too traumatic to repress later.

The dungeon was the name of a hallway with a rich variety of rooms branching off, each with its own purpose. Some were the traditional dungeons with iron bar doors, cold stone floors, and only a bucket to poop in. These were more like holding cells to put the fear in ponies who weren’t meant to stay long. Most rooms, however, more closely resembled things from Rarity’s magazines. They had everything from silken beds to metal restraints to all manner of spanking and penetration implements. Ponies were sorted based on the nature and severity of their crimes and put through a rigorous ‘rehabilitation’ program designed to tease and torment while offering minimal release. Punishment without pleasure. It would be counterproductive if ponies became repeat criminals just so they could keep getting imprisoned, after all.

And it worked, too. Ponies were almost never pushed beyond their limits, reducing their minds to so much mush as their personalities were replaced by the unquenchable thirst for pleasure by torment.

Spike and Molestia’s destination was a room at the end of the hall. Even as they neared, the moans from the other side quickly drowned out those from adjacent rooms. Each step made Spike grow increasingly nervous, as evidenced from his fully erect cock. Molestia pretended not to notice, her face the very picture of regal stoicism. With her magic she reached for the key, which was hanging right next to the door. She inserted the tiny piece of metal into the heavy lock, turning it with a powerful thud that shook the ground beneath Spike’s feet. The moans on the other side increased in volume and longing.

“Are you ready, Spike?” Molestia asked coolly.

Spike scowled up at the great white mare. She knew he knew he didn’t have a choice, but she asked anyway. This, like most things with this sadistic princess, was a test of some sort. Spike knew that she knew that he knew what he was expected to say. The list of lines confirmed to not get him thrown into this particular dungeon was distressingly short. At the same Time, Spike knew that, depending on Molestia’s mood, picking from the safe list could yield to even worse results. That she’d brought him here in the first place was all the proof he needed that she was in such a mood. But saying something different, something she didn’t expect, might just be his best hope.

“Well, Spike?” Molestia asked again.

Spike turned to bodily face the princess with the bravest face he could muster. His head held high and chest puffed out in a show of strength, he daringly… gave a gracious bow. He even gave his tail a little flip as he bent his body at a 90 degree angle. “Age before beauty, your highness.”

Even over the screams and moans, the clenching of the guards’ butt holes was audible. Time seemed to freeze as all awaited Molestia’s verdict. Seconds passed into hours, only to go right back to being seconds. Linear time became an amusing theory, like the idea that the world was round or that the sun and moon were actually giant cosmic bodies moving outside of alicorn control. Spike dared not show any emotion, but on the inside he was calculating his odds of escaping successfully if he broke the guards’ legs and threw them at the princess. Then the silence came crashing down and time decided to get back to work and off its lazy ass.

“Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-HA!” Molestia’s laughter echoed down the hall. It echoed until the dungeon’s denizens – already half mad from their treatments – joined in. A chorus of manic laughter filled the air and even leaked out into the halls beyond. Spike even found himself laughing, although he could not say when he’d started. Then, as quickly as it began, Molestia snapped her jaw shut and all laughter came to a dead halt and all butt holes resumed their clenched position.

“Clever little drake,” Molestia beamed slyly. “We just might make a dragon out of you yet.”

Before Spike could inquire what that meant, Molestia snapped her hoof. He didn’t know how she’d snapped her hoof, but that was the sound it made as the world turned in on itself. Everything was runny, like wet paint, and smelled distinctly like purple mixed with cinnamon. Spike swayed and spun in a desperate bid to maintain balance. By the time the world sobered up, they were back in one of the castle’s regular halls. “Wh-what was…?”

“I was just curious how you might react,” Molestia replied flippantly. “You did well, fuck toy of my fuck toy.”

With a slow swivel of his head, Spike turned the full force of his WTF expression upon the much larger pony. On top of screwing with him, she didn’t even have the courtesy to just walk him out or even use regular unicorn teleportation. This overstuffed, blubber butted bitch thought it’d be funny to use that weird alicorn space folding spell instead. Even the guards were left woozy and wobbly after that ordeal. If Spike were as big as the dragons in the books, he’d wrap his razor claws around her plush body and show her what it was like to be the little guy for a change.
“You know I can read minds, right?” Molestia reminded.

“And?” was Spike’s curt reply as he continued thinking at her.

Molestia tittered. “Oh, you are good.”

***

Once Rarity had convinced Twilight that she wouldn’t challenge the mad and depraved genius that was Molestia, conversations returned to more benign topics.

“So, I guess the short answer to why I never fucked my brother was the afore mentioned tunnel vision,” Twilight concluded. “And I guess he never pressed the issue because, at around that time, Cadence came into our lives.”

“Well, with the Princess of Love around, I suppose you can all be forgiven for being a little distracted,” Rarity allowed.

“She was yer foal sitter, right? How come she didn’t fuck ya, neither?” AJ asked in her apparent refusal to just let this topic die.

“I guess she was trying to encourage my education the same way Molestia did,” Twilight offered. “We’d sixty nine a lot and I got some practice sucking on her big alicorn cock.” Twilight paused to swallow a bit of drool, recalling both the flavor and the feel of having her throat stretched. “But it was mostly magic with us, too, although Cadence had a way of making everything into a fun game.”

AJ sighed in disappointment. “Ah don’t know what Ah was hopin’ fer, but that was kinda what Ah was expectin’.”

“As sad and slightly scary as that story was,” Rarity began, “I see no reason why it should remain so.”

Twilight lifted an inquisitive eyebrow at Rarity.

“Live for today, as the saying goes,” Rarity cheered. “Just because your first first time was with a bunch of mangy mutts, you can still have a proper first time with your brother.”

“Hey, yeah!” AJ agreed. “Jus’ write him a letter ‘n’ tell ‘im yer horny. Ah’m sure that’ll send ‘im runnin’.”

Twilight pursed her lips. “I’m not sure about that. He’s awfully busy with his guard duties. Last I heard, he was actually being considered for a promotion to Captain. I don’t want him distracted.”

“That’s why you send a letter darling,” Rarity stressed. “Inform him that, at the earliest possible convenience, you wish to rectify the mistake of your youth. In fact, why not celebrate his promotion with a victory rut? If he’s half as capable as he looks, that promotion might as well be his already.”

“That, an’ he’s fuckin’ one o’ the princesses,” AJ added. “Sounds ta me like his promotion is a sure thing.”

Rarity gasped as she snapped to face AJ. “Do you mean to imply that one of the alicorn princesses, living goddesses and guardians of the land, would intervene with something as serious as the military, just to return a sexual favor?”

AJ blinked, beguiled by Rarity’s dramatic tone. “Uh… yeah?”

“Oh, okay,” fashion horse chirped daintily. “Just checking.”

AJ narrowed her gaze at the vexing mare, vexed beyond words by such vexing behavior, and also hoping she was using the word ‘vex’ correctly. Anyway, she just didn’t get Rarity sometimes.

Twilight touched her hoof to her chin, completely unfazed by the accusation of nepotism amongst the land’s rulers. “Come to think of it, I think I just finished my turn for storytelling. That means you’re next!” She pointed at Rarity and retrieved her book. “Afterwards, we can choose to either start a second round, or move on to a whole new activity.”

Rarity giggled. “Goodness, darling. Such foalish enthusiasm is most endearing.” She used her magic to straighten her quaff. “But very well. Let me see here.” She clucked her tongue in thought. “I fear that the story of my lost virginity isn’t much of a story at all. My foal sitter, by the name of Glass Half Empty, wasn’t the most responsible of mares. She’d brought her little brother over to play, but I’m certain that was just an excuse for her to ignore us while she drank and raved about how she couldn’t keep a boyfriend. Well, sometime after she passes out, Squeezed Liquor and I, that was her brother’s name, get it into our young heads that, in contrast to this lush of a mare’s behavior, drinking was a grownup activity, and so partaking would automatically make us grownups as well. Being so young, a mere foal of,” lightning struck yet again and made everyone jump, “well, I trust you can forgive my acceptance of such reasoning.” Rarity rolled her eyes at her past self’s foolishness.

“One thing led to another and two thirds of a bottle later we wake up in, well, much the same state as you and your brother,” Rarity said to AJ with a feminine titter. “The differences included, but were not limited to, the first hangover of my young life, and a complete lack of memory of everything that had led up to that moment,” she groaned in embarrassment. “We couldn’t even enjoy the afterglow because it felt like ravenous beasts were trying to claw their way out of our skulls.”

AJ nodded sympathetically. Given that one of her family farm’s chief exports was hard cider, she knew well the dangers of the fire water. Twilight, by contrast, only had second hoof experience with such things. Intoxication did not make for ideal studying, and she’d never been daring enough to try and swipe any of Molestia’s booze.

“Once the pain subsided, Liquor and I tried to at least cuddle in the hope of salvaging the situation,” Rarity continued. “At the very least I can confirm that my first time was with a well-mannered colt. However, any chance of us meeting up for a more sober rendezvous were tossed into the incinerator when Liquor’s family saw fit to move to Vanhouver. We tried to stay in touch with letters, but we quickly agreed such a long distance relationship wasn’t feasible and parted on amicable terms.”

“Sad, but that’s also kinda sweet,” AJ offered. “Kinda surprisin’ comin’ from you.”

Rarity huffed. “Just because I have a fondness for bondage, that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a gentle spooning from time to time. Liquor was the perfect gentle colt, as far as either of us could tell, and I’m grateful to him for that. However, that time I got blackout drunk and woke up next to a colt I never saw again isn’t much of a story, if you ask me. I’d much rather tell the story of how I had found my calling as a mistress.”

AJ rolled her eyes. “An’ here we go.”

Rarity pretended not to notice AJ’s rudeness, nor whatever it was that Twilight was writing down. She made a mental note to talk to Spike later to ensure that nothing unflattering made it to the princess. Then again, knowing him and his cute little crush on her, he was probably courteous enough to already do that. “It was actually just a few months after Liquor moved, if I recall. Memory or no, simply the knowledge that I’d had my first time had given me a newfound confidence. I was putting myself out there, making myself open to all manner of experimentations. My classmates were just as eager. In fact, I think that trying new things was even more important for us than the sex itself.” Rarity swooned at the fond memory. “Coincidentally enough, it was actually Berry Punch who brought out my second sexual awakening.”

“The town drunk?” Twilight asked.

“That’s what it says on her business card.” AJ whipped out the card for emphasis. Where she’d pulled the card from or why she was carrying it on her person in the first place would forever remain a mystery to all… All except for Pinkie, who definitely wasn’t thinking about restricting her stalking to only fair-weather days as the rain continued to pour. Regardless, the business card in AJ’s hoof did indeed confirm the mare to be a licensed and practicing town drunk. How one became a licensed town drunk was also a mystery, but since the card said that there could only be one per town, it must have been a highly competitive field.

Rarity nodded. “Indeed. She didn’t have her license yet, but everypony in town knew she was on her way.”

“And she was how old at the time?” Twilight asked. “For my notes.”

Rarity gave her answer, once more as a lightning bolt struck, the thunder conveniently muffling most sound, thought Twilight was still able to hear.

“Ah. Thank you.”

“Anyway, it was she who first introduced me to Bondage Monthly. Some of us fillies had taken to getting together and reading some of our parents’ magazines after school, and homework of course. I really can’t say what it was that first drew me in,” Rarity ruminated. “The cover depicted the latest in bondage tables. The lighting was carefully measured to be dim and the background was a rather striking red. Upon the table was a silhouette of a rather scrawny mare while a much larger stallion loomed menacingly in the shadows, his only visible features being a sadistic grin and a riding crop.” She squealed giddily. “Just the thought of it sent shivers down my spine.”

“Ah think we all know where this is-”

“Shhh!” Twilight shushed. “We’re just starting.” And she turned her full attention back to Rarity, ears perked in full attentiveness.

Rarity nodded her gratitude. “I didn’t understand it at the time, but I knew I wanted to be that stallion, or at least in his position. Luckily for me, we were a rather industrious group of fillies. If we couldn’t have a proper bondage table, then we’d make do with what we could build ourselves.”

“Now that’s somethin’ Ah’d have liked ta see,” AJ commented, not getting a shush this time.

“We all pitched in, but it was my idea to use fabrics in place of ropes,” Rarity continued. “Berry said that she would volunteer as our test sub, but only after we helped her into her parent’s liquor cabinet afterward. Oh, and for the record, the combination was 1-2-3-4-5,” she informed with annoyance. “Anyway, since it was clear just how excited I was, Amethyst and the others decided they’d just sit back and watch while I tried my hoof at being a mistress.”

***

Little Rarity was, as Pinkie would one day describe, nervouscited. Her heart was performing backflips in her chest and her skin was prickling beneath her fur. She didn’t know why. She’d never been this excited about the other things they’d tried, but this time was different. She didn’t know how, but she was eager to find out. “Are you sure a feather duster is okay?”

Amethyst Star skimmed through the magazine until she found the relevant page. “Yeah. Tickle torture is pretty popular. Also the feathers feel good when you… tease them?” She flipped the magazine around to show the dom pony applying a feather to the sub’s pussy. “Seems kind of weird to me.”

“I’m up for anything if it gets me shit-faced,” Berry announced proudly. The pinkish maroon filly had been tied down to her own bed with strips of velvet binding her hooves to the bed posts. She was excited as she squirmed around, and made sure the others knew. “I’m so excited,” she giggled. “This is gonna be fun.”

Rarity’s gaze flipped between Berry, the duster, and the magazine. “This isn’t right,” she said with a pout. “The mare on the table is supposed to be afraid. Stop being so happy,” she demanded with childish petulance.

“Make me!” Berry challenged.

“I think she’s right,” Amethyst cut in before Rarity could offer a rebuke. “The mare on the table is scared because the stallion is scaring her.”

Rarity swore under her breath. “And I just read that, too.” The whole point of the sub-dom relationship was that the dom was willing to take full responsibility for everything, especially the sub’s feelings. And since she had elected to be the dom, the onus was on her to guide her sub through the process, of demonstrating the pleasure of submission. But like she’d once read, any queen who had to say “I am the queen” was no queen at all. Brute force was the tool of amateurs, of the inept. The doms of the magazine were glamorous. They commanded obedience through sheer willpower. They dominated because dominating was who they were, and who their subs needed them to be.

***

Like Twilight, AJ’s ears were also pivoted forward in full attentiveness. She’d gone soft after Twilight’s story, but now she was almost back at half-mast.

***

Little Rarity then rolled her shoulders back and trotted in place to loosen herself up. Remembering her teacher’s words that time she tried out for the school play, she tried to channel her character, to put herself in the horse shoes of the pony she wished to imitate. She was the stallion on the cover, the master of the domain. She ruled, controlling her subjects because that was what they wanted. And they let her control them because she, plain and simple, deserved it. “I’m big, scary, sexy, and you will do as I say,” she murmured under her breath.

“Not from where I’m standing,” Berry taunted, only to give a pained hiss when something jabbed her in the gut.

Rarity had used the duster’s blunt end against Berry’s undeveloped teat. She’d known from previous experiments that teats were still sensitive, no matter the size. A careful caress could make a young mare light on her hooves, but this was something else. “What did you say?” she asked coldly.

“Uh, I-I-I…”

“I, I, I,” Rarity taunted back with a disgusted sneer. “Is that all you have to say to me?”

“Well… I… Rar-”

“That’s ‘mistress’ to you.” Rarity stabbed the dusters blunt end under Berry’s chin, applying just enough pressure to compress the skin without actually blocking her air way. “Remember that.”

Berry nodded fervently. “Y-yes, m-mistress.”

“Oh, she’s good,” Amethyst appraised. “How the hell did she not make the lead role in the play?”

Rarity smirked as she removed the pressure from her captive. “Simple, really.” Little did she know it, but in emulating the posh and refined mares from her favorite romance novels, little Rarity was inadvertently molding herself into the archetype of propriety that her future self would become. “I-”

***

Lightning struck outside, causing all three mares to jump in fright, right into one another’s arms. The lights went out, leaving them all in the dark.

“The lights went out!” Rarity cried.

“We’re aware o’ that,” AJ deadpanned as the great white priss attempted to strangle her. Luckily for the earth mare, Rarity’s work required more magical labor than physical, leaving her actual strength lacking. AJ doubted fashion horse could even crush a grape. Twilight wasn’t much better in that regard. “Ya’ll got electricity?” she asked evenly.

“I, um, yes,” Twilight replied, trying to calm herself down. To help in this endeavor, she took advantage of AJ’s proximity by sniffing her mane. Apple horse felt flattered to be used as a comfort object, and wasn’t creeped out in the slightest. “Ponyville isn’t hooked to a power grid like Canterlot, but I do have a battery powered fuse box.”

“Neat.” AJ replied. “Where is it?”

Twilight gulped. “Um…” She pointed out the window, to where a box had been implanted into the ground, about four yards away from the house.

“Now who the hell came up with that design?” AJ demanded.

“I believe Mayor Mare gave the contract to renovate the library to the lowest bidder,” reminded Rarity.

“Oooh,” AJ and Twilight said together.

“That makes sense,” purple smart added, hoping no one would ask why she hadn’t gotten around to fixing this obvious architectural blunder. “So… Rarity. Want to continue?”

The posh mare whickered her disappointment. “Sorry darling. Much like designing, I’m afraid my muse for story telling is a fickle thing. I just don’t have it in me,” she whimpered dramatically, finally releasing the others.

Twilight hurried to light some lanterns.

“Figures.” AJ’s eye roll was as audible as her words.

“Come again,” Rarity said.

“No thanks to you,” AJ snapped. “Why is it ya’ll are always so uptight ‘bout things bein’ all neat ‘n’ proper-like, but ya fizzle out the moment ya actually need ta do somethin’.”

Rarity flipped her head back with a huff, causing her quaff to bounce. “If I can’t do a job correctly, I don’t do it at all. I would have thought that you of all ponies would understand that.”

“Ah understand that when push comes to shove, yer as flighty as that muse o’ yers. Hell, Ah bet even Pinkie could hold a thought in her head longer than you.”

Rarity gasped in horror. “How dare you!”

***

On a completely unrelated note, Pinkie tilted her head, causing her ears to flop adorably. “Did AJ just use me as an insult? And did Rarity actually take it as an insult?” She contemplated this quandary a moment. “Wow. My friends are kind of bitchy.” With this immutable truth reached, Pinkie resumed her spying.

***

“I’ve got it!” Twilight declared, once more reading from her book. “It says here that a wholesome game of truth-or-dare is ideal for relieving tension.” She beamed proudly at what she was so certain would be the solution to her friends’ problem.

Purple smart didn’t even notice the cartoonishly long stick poking up through the floor boards and turning the pages back to the front, where the author’s photo was presented. The stick withdrew, it’s wielder having confirmed the author to be a literal troll.

Rarity and Apple Jack saw none of this. All they could see was a ripe opportunity to take their frustrations out on the pony that had so irked them.

As the mare once voted most likely to be a mean girl, only to later persuade the judges to reconsider their decision, Rarity acted the swiftest. “I dare Apple Jack to do something carefully and neatly for a change.”

“Oh yeah? Well Ah dare Rarity ta lighten up, and stop obsessin’ over every last little detail, fer a change.”

“Invalid dares!” Twilight countered. “It says we’re supposed to rock paper scissors for who gets to be the first asker.”

And so they did. Without magic, AJ and Rarity both used paper while Twilight won with scissors. At least that’s what they all seemed to think.

“Yay. I win!” Twilight clapped her hooves giddily. “Now let’s see here. Ummm… AJ. Truth… or dare?”

“Since Ah don’t want ta be called a frufru pussy, Ah’ll let ya dare me,” the earth mare accepted, loving the way Rarity steamed.

“Great. In that case, I dare you to… wear this!” From a nearby closet, Twilight levitated out a rather unexpected costume. There were four white socks spackled randomly with black blotches resembling a cow’s fur. A headband included plastic cow ears and horns and there was a big yellow bell that tied around the neck. The one piece swimsuit, also with a cow pattern, had holes cut in the groin and rear, and even had little socks added to hold a mare’s teats while allowing the nipples to poke free.

“Where’d ya’ll get that?” AJ asked apprehensively. She was distracted from the costume when she noticed Rarity whistling and averting her gaze.

“Not important. Hurry and try it on.” Twilight’s tone was urgent and her eyes had a slight twitch that put the others ill at ease.

AJ acquiesced and put on the costume. She hummed thoughtfully as she turned around to examine herself in the mirror. A measured bounce of her rump caused her teats to noticeably sway in the soft fabric. “Huh. So Ah’m a milk cow, now?” She gave the bell an experimental ring.

“It actually suits you better than I expected,” Rarity appraised. “Normally your ass is your best feature, but the inclusion of the belly socks draws the eye down to the oft neglected teats. Yours are most certainly a good size to warrant such attention, although I think this look might be better on Fluttershy.”

AJ chuckled. “Probably.” There was no arguing that yellow quiet had some of the biggest mammaries any of them had ever seen, even compared to literal cows. “Though, Ah guess yers are a pretty good shape, too,” she added reluctantly.

Rarity blinked. “You… think so?”

“Ah never lie ‘bout the important stuff,” AJ snorted. “Fluttershy’s got ya beat in size, but yers are more… perky. They ain’t much fer pillows, but Ah wouldn’t mind motor boatin’ them some time.”

Rarity swallowed. “That… is very nice of you to say. Thank you.”

“So Ah guess it’s my turn now?” AJ asked hurriedly. She had no idea what was going on between her and Rarity, but she desperately wanted it to end.

“It sure is,” Twilight chirped.

The earth mare’s grin grew gleefully wicked. On the one hoof, she now had the power to make Rarity get as dirty as she liked. On the other, Twilight had clearly put a lot of thought and money into this costume. The amount of drool falling from her lips was nothing short of flattering. It would be a shame not to return such affection. On the third hoof, after that last exchange, she was starting to question if Rarity actually deserved the full force of the country mare’s wrath.

Author's Note

And with the conclusion of part 2, we build a little more on the dynamic between AJ and Rarity. The two are opposites in a lot of ways, so it’s logical for there to be a rivalry. And while the function of this episode was to build a bridge between the two, I think improvements can be made. For starters, I’m doing a bit more to explore the pair’s ideological differences. Each has their own way of viewing the world and gets frustrated at the other’s inability or unwillingness to understand. Also, some brief cameos from our favorite drake and stalker. Let’s see where things go for next time.

Big thanks to my Patrons.
Tier 1: Magetsu
Tier 2: Jonathan Applewhaite
Tier 3: kent