Entrapment

Fluttershy was uneasy. She'd only barely slept. Malak's muscular arms had held her tightly all through the night, keeping her from wriggling away. She wouldn't have minded so much if she was allowed to wear her clothes and the arms holding her were familiar, but a strange stallion was caressing her exposed chest. At least he was wearing his own clothes, she thought. Things would be significantly worse if both of them were in the nude.

Her eyes shot open as she heard the clank of cast iron against wood. From over Zylah's shoulder, she could see Kayson moving around the fire pit in the dim light of dawn. He knelt down, dropping from her view. She heard a light scraping sound, followed by a soft crackling. He stood back up, now better illuminated by the light of the fire.

"You should not yet be awake," he said, looking right into her eyes. "I hope you're rested, for your own sake."

She somehow managed to sit up and shake her head. "I couldn't stay asleep. I'm really scared."

Kayson smiled and walked over to her. He lifted her over Zylah and set her down next to the fire. "Calm your fears, my little pony. Soon, you'll see that they're quite phony. If you're good, a pleasant life will be all yours, free of strife."

"Promise?"

He nodded. "It will be as you saw last night. Don't tell me you've forgot that sight?"

She shivered and shook her head. "That's what frightened me. I had nightmares about it."

"Perhaps if Malak hears you weep, he'll help you with your lack of sleep. If, by chance, he is inspired, he'll be sure to make you tired."

"I don't really remember your names. I only just heard them a few times last night. You're Jax, right?"

Kayson let out a laugh, a bit louder than he was intending. "No, my dear, that is not me. Kayson's the name. Jax is he." He pointed to Jax, who was still sleeping in his own tent, which he had shared with Kayson that night. "Zylah is the only mare in our group. She's over there." He indicated the tent where Applebloom had slept. "Malak's on the other side. He is going to be your guide."

"My guide?" Fluttershy was confused. "What do I need a guide for?"

"You are untrained, your biggest flaw. You're to do what your master says, by law. You're to be his newest slave. He'll treat you well, if you behave."

"A slave?" she asked. "Doesn't that mean I work for no pay and I'm kept in horrible conditions?"

"If you do all that he asks, no matter what the scale of task, he will treat you with respect. I hope your attitude will reflect. That said, you're under his ownership. Try to leave, or make a slip, he has the right to punish you." He leaned in closely, making her even more uncomfortable. "So take care in all that you do. He can sell you if he so desires, when his interest in you expires. Your next master might not be so kind. Like Jax, who would whip your behind."

She shivered again at the thought of the whip. The cracks it made as it lashed across Applejack's back still echoed in her head. "Is he going to be guiding Applejack, too?"

With the fire now where he wanted it, Kayson set up a small grate, on top of which he placed a cast-iron skillet. "Applejack will be set aside, until our rules she can abide. If she cannot, then Jax will come and beat her ass until it's numb. She belongs to him alone. His skill so sharp, he needn't hone. He will bring her to her knees, begging for a cock to please. When he hears that line spoken, he will know that she is broken. Then he'll put her back together, And that's a skill he'll never weather."

"So I'll never see Applejack again?"

"If your owners see it fit, then in her presence you will sit."

After a breakfast of eggs and toast, the Zebras packed up the camp. Fluttershy was given an opportunity to relieve her bladder before being loaded in, but Applejack was afforded no such luxury. After the fire was put out, Zylah tossed Applejack into the compartment, but Malak stopped her from doing the same to Fluttershy. As he slipped her into her panties and bra, now dry, he asked her what her riding preference was.

"Since you have performed so well, my hope for your stability swells. As you now are in my service, I'd like you to be less nervous. If you wish to ride above, or below with your friend, tightly shoved. This is the choice you have to make. Hurry, you haven't much time to take."

Fluttershy thought hard. If Kayson was right, it would be a long time before she saw Applejack again, if ever. Riding below might be the last time they ever spent together. On the other hand, if they could stay together, riding up top would give her a view of the countryside. Malak seemed nice. If he would let her visit her friend, maybe Applejack could bust them out. Then she could recall the path that lead them into the city, and use that knowledge to lead them back to this spot. That's one step closer to home.

"I want to ride in the wagon with you."

Hearing these words, Applejack's heart skipped a beat. She didn't want to be alone. Fluttershy was all the comfort she had now. She was the strong one, she was supposed to protect her friends from their captor's corruption. But Fluttershy had made her choice. As the door swung closed, she began to weep softly.

As the wagon started to move, Fluttershy knelt between Malak's knees, as she had been instructed. She looked up at him, and he looked back, smiling as if this were a pleasant experience. For him, it was. He reached down and caressed her cheek, directing her face to press against the interior of his thigh. She maintained this position for a few minutes, then lifted her chin so as to rest on his leg. This gave her a decent view behind them as the clearing they had camped in grew smaller and smaller in the distance. The zebras talked among themselves, but Fluttershy wasn't listening. She was focused on the road.

Soon, she lost her concentration, and her mind began to wander. She worried that her animal friends would starve without her around. She wondered if her other friends were out looking for her. While Applejack was capable of worrying about her own family, Fluttershy took it upon herself to think about what must be going through Big Mac's mind at this very moment. And of course, poor Apple Bloom...

Tears began to flow down her cheeks as the dread set in. She pressed her face against Malak's leg. Her breathing became irregular and laboured. But she couldn't bring herself to make a sound. A strong hand gently began to rub her shoulder, and Malak pulled her up into his lap. Before long, she could hear Zylah singing softly to her, with Kayson accompanying her with a soft drumbeat. She felt a chunk of something wooden against her back as Malak let go of her, and a lute joined in. Malak wasn't as skilled with the instrument As Jaxton, but he was decent enough to calm her down.

When her breathing finally normalized, Malakai gently shook her shoulder and pointed out of the front of the wagon. "The capitol can now be seen. Gaze upon it's lustrous sheen." Fluttershy looked up. It was a fairly large city, surrounded by yellow plains of wheat and red-violet fields of amaranth. In the distance, she could see fields of corn, orchards full of trees she didn't recognize, and a plant that she swore she'd seen before, but couldn't name. As the wagon neared the fields, she could hear a choir of pony voices singing together. Numerous ponies with stripes painted on their backs worked the fields, seeming to be perfectly content to do so. In fact, they were smiling, and their song was joyous.

"What's that song they're singing?"

"They sing a song of harvests past, confident that our stores will last. You can learn it, too, and then I might just let you farm with them. But first, before you're able to roam, you must settle in to your new home." Fluttershy nodded in response to Malak's words. Whether temporary or permanent, this would be her new home for awhile. She may as well adjust to it. She'd be no use to Applejack if she didn't at least learn her way around. For her friend beneath the wagon, she would brave the terror of this existence.

Big Macintosh wiped the sweat from his brow as he stood up. Applejack's boot prints ended here. They went no further, nor did they go back. At this exact point, she had boarded a vehicle. Judging by the most recent tracks, a wagon. She had been telling him that she was sure Fluttershy had been kidnapped by the zebras that had come to town, and the tracks that lead away from this spot were headed in the direction of zebra territory.

He turned around. "She's been taken, too. Zebras, I reckon." He approached Granny, who was now in tears. As he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, he whispered into her ear. "I'm gonna go bring them back. Don't you worry, Granny." He gave her a peck on the cheek, then turned and strolled down the road. "In the meantime, Why don't you ask cousins Braeburn and Cosmic Crisp to come help out? Goodness knows you'll need an extra hand with Applejack and I gone."

He looked down at Applejack's stetson in his hand. She'd never leave this behind. Not unless she had no choice. Pulling it down atop his brow, he set out for the zebra kingdom armed only with a hatchet and a knife. He wasn't one to take a violent stance, but he was not coming back without his sister.