Survival Through Resignation

“This is it,” breathed Applejack. “This is the big day.”

She looked in the mirror and took a deep breath. She wore little more than a veil and skirt, both transparent enough that everything could be seen beneath. Her body had long since been forfeit to her husband, but today, she was giving away something that mattered to her far more than her looks and will. Still, it was something she had to do.

“How do Ah look, Bitch?” she asked, turning her head.

“You are as radiant now as you were on your own wedding day,” she answered, bowing to her. “Then again, I’m kind of biased. Maybe you should ask the new girl.”

Applejack nodded and turned to her new slave. She was still keeping one slot open for Apple Bloom if ever she found her, but her good behaviour meant that she had earned yet another servant to wait on her day and night. It wasn’t so bad a thing to have after the age of fifty, especially considering that several other wives had so many other servants. Zaka’s first wife had almost two dozen. “What do you think?”

The new hire was a gryphon who’d previously belonged to a lord near Appleford. It had originally been Whinnyapolis, but she couldn’t remember the new name at this time. He’d suffered a heart attack, and while most of his stock stayed there, the new operator had beaten her for his own amusement. While that was a normal thing to happen, Applejack still didn’t like it, and had purchased her then and there, threatening to enact any further damage done to her property to the owner tenfold in return. Thankfully, she had Zaka’s personal guards to back up her claim, and the gryphon had suffered no more harm.

“How should I know what you looked like on your wedding day?” she shrugged. “I wasn’t there.”

“Just, how do Ah look?”

“Your breasts are hanging a little low, but otherwise, you’re fine.”

Applejack chuckled. “You try havin’ eight kids and never bein’ allowed ta wear a bra, Gen. Gravity ain’t exactly mah best friend.”

“And I imagine having a heavy chain hanging from your nipples isn’t helping,” she chuckled back. It was good to know that she could speak freely. “Other than that, you’re great.”

“Thanks,” smiled Applejack. “Ah’m just glad it’s green and not white. Can you imagine if I wore a white veil and skirt to somepony else’s wedding?”

“Yeah, that was a kind of stupid suggestion,” sighed Bitch. “I don’t know what she was thinking. I guess that’s why you’re the one being picked as the replacement.”

Applejack nodded. “Ah never said she was smart. The prettiest wife, maybe, but the wisest? Not a chance.”

“I don’t even think she’s the prettiest,” admitted Bitch. “That’s you, through and through.”

“Your bias is showing,” warned Gen. “She had a smashing arse and a lovely set of tits. Yours are okay, Applejack.”

“Well, Ah appreciate the honesty, on some level. We should head on down, though. They’re prob’ly waitin’ on us.”

They left the room, walking down the hallways together. Despite Applejack’s assertion that they were heading “down,” their destination was up a few flights of stairs on a balcony. It was the very same balcony that Applejack had been married on, and now it was all cleaned up and ready for a new wedding.

She walked right on in. It turns out she wasn’t the last to arrive, as a few key members were still missing. The priestess had yet to arrive, and the groom was also missing. Zaka was already there, sipping away at an alcoholic beverage of unknown origin.

“If either of ya wants to wait outside, ya can,” sighed Applejack. Ah’m the only one of us that actually needs ta be here.”

Gen and Bitch bowed and stepped aside to kneel in front of the wall. They were under the watch of the guards, so even though there had been a brawl in the chambers today, they were sure to be protected.

“She’s simultaneously exactly how I imagined her, and also not at all,” said Gen, looking over at her mistress.

“What do you mean?” asked Bitch.

“Well, when her sister would tell me about her, I always imagined that she was all about kicking arse and taking names. She seems so docile, and yet even some of the zebragriffs are stepping out of her way. She has this kickass aura to her, but she doesn’t act on it.”

“She does,” answered Bitch. “When she has to, that is.”

As if on cue, the father of the bride grabbed Applejack by the nipple and yanked her into his lap. Zaka jumped up to make a complaint, but before he had even come to his feet, Applejack had twisted the offending arm behind the striped bird’s back, and was threatening to break it. Several zebra guards also jumped up, but none of the other zebragriff guests gave a shit. Not even the bride came to the aid of her own father, chastising him for trying to drive off her backup suitor.

“See?” smirked Bitch. “She has it all handled. Applejack knows what she’s doing.”

“So she does,” breathed Gen, licking her beak. “Is it just me, or is she somehow hot when she’s threatening some arsehole’s life?”

Bitch rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty sure that’s just you. She’s always hot.”

There was a loud snap as the zebragriff’s arm broke. All Applejack had asked him to do to be released was apologize for grabbing her tits, and he’d opted to call them saggy, instead. Normally, such a strike toward a guest would stop the wedding once again, but this was not unheard of behaviour for zebragriffs, and the guest of honour, the bride, had approved of Applejack’s retort, almost commending it as she sat down between Zaka’s legs.

There was a general dull roar of many quiet conversations as the rest of the guests walked in. Applejack had a hard cider, a drink she had about once a week before having sex with her husband. Today was not supposed to be one of those days, but she had her drink, regardless. She was about halfway through it when her son walked in.

“There ‘e is!” she called out, standing up and waving him over. He came over with no hesitation, wrapping his arms around his mother. “There’s my Malak. Ya nervous?”

“Mother dearest, nervous is an understatement,” he whispered. “I’m terrified of the earlier abatement. What if the same should happen to you? If a fight breaks out, what will you do?”

“Oh, don’t worry ’bout me, Sugarcube. You see that guy they dragged outta here with a broken arm? That’s ‘cause he decided to make a big ol’ stink about yer momma’s boobies. Just a jackarse with a big mouth. Ain’t nopony gonna try ta strike me down, an’ if they do, Ah’m gonna show ‘em what it feels like to be in the rodeo.”

“Mother, you speak of things I do not understand. Can this day just go off exactly as planned?”

Applejack stroked her son’s face. “Sure thing, dear. You go on an’ take yer last steps a’ bein’ unhitched. When ya’ come back in, the two a’ ya will be one.”

With a kiss on his mother’s cheek, Malak strode over to his bride. He was half zebra, half pony. She was half zebra, half gryphon. At the very least, they had some common ground. Perhaps this wouldn’t be so bad, after all.

Finally, the priestess arrived, and she took the couple out onto the balcony. Despite this being a royal wedding, the turnout was pretty small. Not a lot of zebras had come to see this, as the zebragriffs had a reputation that made it uncomfortable to be around them, especially with little to no guard presence in the courtyard. They’d all been called up to the palace, again for the typical behaviours associated with zebragriffs.

The wedding went about the same as Applejack’s had, with the main difference being that Malak was the one swearing his life to his bride, rather than her swearing her life to him. Malak’s stripes had been painted on for so long that having them removed and repainted to match his new master, a thought she considered to be an unnecessary addition, but waited for, regardless, barely looked like any change at all.

Once the vows were completed, and he’d licked her pussy as the seal for his fealty, things took a turn. According to the zebra traditions, he was supposed to stand up and pump a baby into her right away. The ceremony could not come to a close until he had cum inside of her. But what no one had expected was that she would reach behind her, slip a hidden strap-on out of her arse, and peg him with it.

“Is that allowed?” asked Applejack. “Ah know the traditions are not always followed in extenuatin’ circumstances, but how’s she supposed ta end up pregnant like that?”

“Worry not for the marriage, my dear,” smiled Zaka, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Worry for the stretchiness of your son’s rear.”

“Yeah, but wouldn’t this void the marriage or somethin’?”

“The tenets only state that he must give her a child. It does not declare that the sex can’t be wild. As long as his cum goes into her womb, he‘ll not be regarded an ignorant buffoon. Besides, she is the one who gives his commands. He’s just sworn an oath to fulfil her demands.”

“Ah guess Ah’m just bein’ his mom again. Ah don’t think Ah’ll ever stop carin’ ‘bout his well-bein’. Comes with the territory, Ah guess.”

“Closeness to one’s kin leaves one feeling divine. But since she’s having what’s hers, I shall take what is mine.” Zaka slapped his flaccid cock against Applejack’s shoulder, the tip dribbling a bit of pre onto her breast.

Taking the hint, Applejack turned her head to the side, licking up and down the shaft, not taking her eyes off of her son. He was bent over the railing, just as she had been, but he had not been granted a rope to keep him from falling off the balcony. Granted, his wife had a large and seemingly powerful set of wings, and her claws seemed to have a very tight grip on his hips, but she couldn’t help but wonder why such practises were not performed regardless, as they were a safety measure.

Zaka’s hand commanded her back to attention. She was to suck him off, not watch the display. That was his job. If something were to happen, Malak was not only his son, as well, but a valuable bargaining chip. He essentially served as Zaka’s signature at the bottom of a contract that would guarantee that peace between his forces and the zebragriff tribe he was dealing with, one of the larger ones, thrived. He would gain a task force, they would gain the ability to move through his territory unhindered, and an offspring of royal blood would grant them extra permissions to most other slaves, albeit on a temporary basis, and only in lands that he controlled.

“Can you keep a secret, Bitch?” asked Gen, watching the orgy breaking out in front of her. Following Zaka’s lead, many of the higher-ups of the zebragriff tribe had commandeered a slave each from Zaka’s collection, as leaving slaves behind was a common practise for zebragriffs.

“You know we’re under watch, right?” asked Bitch. “Even if I can, the guard standing on your other side may not be so inclined.”

“Fuck you, Bitch,” grunted the guard. “You’ve been flaunting your win since the day Applejack opted to take you in.”

“It’s not a secret from him. Even if he said it to Applejack, It’s pretty common knowledge.”

“What did you want to say?”

Gen took a deep breath. “Did Applejack ever go looking for her sister?”

“That’s not really a secret, you know…”

“No, that’s not… Look, the secret is that Apple Bloom never stopped believing that Applejack was coming after her. Even now, she’s probably thinking that. I know, it’s been a decade and a half since I saw her last, but I’m sure of it.”

Bitch smirked. “We did go looking, yeah. As far as Zaka would let her, which was never very far. There’s a reason she doesn’t have as many slaves as the other wives and kids. Despite more than twenty years of marriage, he doesn’t trust her to not run off. That’s not unfounded, either. If she had her sister, she’d probably pack up and go on the run, just the two of them.”

“What, and leave you behind?”

Bitch lowered her head and smiled. “For all of the love that she has shown me over the years, her sister still matters more to her. I would only slow them down, which is why I would be willing to stay behind and throw the pursuers off the trail. In the end, while I may be a favoured tool, I am a tool, all the same.”

“Well, that was… dark…”

“What can I say?” shrugged Bitch. “I love her dearly, and I want to see what is best for my mistress. It would be the first time she’ll have mistreated me in decades, and I’m ready to accept that.”

Another zebragriff approached Applejack, tossing his own gifted slave aside. He grabbed the king’s wife by the tail and yanked her up and off of her husband’s cock, much to their chagrin.

“What the buck do ya think you’re doin’?” demanded Applejack, looking behind her.

“Taking what I’m owed, and that’s a good fuck,” answered the zebragriff, shoving his cock into her arse. “That whore I was given doesn’t know how to suck.”

“Normally, I’d have my guards take you down for your dare,” grunted Zaka, standing up. Applejack looked around, and four of the guards had crossbows trained on her arsehole invader, and two more had long spears just ready for stabbing. It was a crime to take Zaka’s personal belongings without permission, and they were just waiting for him to give the order. “However, it’s my son’s wedding, so I’ll elect to share.”

Applejack wasn’t particularly happy to be railed from both ends, especially as the zebragriff had sharp barbs that she was sure were damaging her colon. They certainly hurt enough. Still, she had already made a scene with the one that insulted her tits. Gen had insulted her, too, but her jab was harmless, whereas the zebragriffs meant every bit of damage they had done.

Then she felt a slap on her arse cheek. While she wasn’t afraid of a bit of spanking, that one was more than just a sting. Her husband kept a firm grip on her head, and her vision was restricted to his growing abdomen. He’d maintained his fitness in his fifties, but now that he was almost seventy, his years were catching up to him.

Another slap, harder this time. She was sure that this one left a welt. “Ease that hand, or I’ll have it removed,” threatened Zaka. “Striking her does not see her tightness improved. All it will do is cause damage beneath. And you,” he said, turning to Applejack, “need to watch what you do with those teeth.”

As soon as he was finished, the hand came down again, and it took all of Applejack’s concentration not to bite down accidentally. Zaka raised his hand to call down a rain of crossbow bolts, but before he could, the offending party flew across the room and crashed into a wall with a loud thud, a red mark in the shape of Applejack’s foot forming on his gut.

She turned and walked toward him with a scowl. He jumped up and pulled out a knife, swinging it at her. She managed to dodge the first few slashes, then cried out as the tip punctured her flesh.

She grabbed his knife wrist in her left hand and the attached shoulder in her right, slamming it to the floor. There was another loud crack, but this wasn’t his wrist. She’d broken his wing in two places. He let his grip on the knife’s handle slip, in too much agony to hold on.

She climbed on top of him and swung her fist across his face. Then again. She blocked his punch at her and struck again, then again and again until he stopped moving.

“Is he dead?” called Gen.

Applejack pressed her hand to his neck. “Nope.” She pulled the knife out of her gut and stabbed it into his unbroken wing. “Ah ain’t one for takin’ others’ property. You can have this back.”

Zaka sat back down as Applejack kneeled in front of him. “If you kill all of our guests, this will not end well,” he warned. “I was intending just to give him a cell.”

“An’ Ah’m gonna need one a’ them there witch doctors ta patch up the hole he made in my lung,” responded Applejack, picking up her husband’s cock and jacking it off. “If ya don’t want any more a’ your guests needin’ medical attention, tell ‘em all ta keep their hands ta themselves. He had a perfectly good slave ta use, and he decided that he deserved ta grab me. Ah ain’t on offer today.”

“Perhaps not today, but possibly soon,” scolded Zaka. “It depends on that bitch who came from the moon.”

Gen shot a confused glance at Bitch.

“Princess Luna of Equestria is starting to falter,” she whispered. “If we can claim her by the end of the year, Zaka plans to marry her as a status symbol, declaring his divine right to rule. The same is true of Celestia, but she’s holding the line.”

“Good for her.”

“Yeah, but that’s probably because most of Zaka’s forces are being sent to beat Luna into submission to force Celestia to surrender herself and the rest of Equestria to him.”

“Ah. Not so good for her.”

The groom let out a yelp as his second load splattered all over the balcony. His bride pulled him backward and pushed him onto the floor, face-up. Her strap-on had popped a seam and was now firmly planted in his arse as she climbed on top of him.

“Ya know, when Ah was growin’ up, Ah thought for sure that, if Ah ever decided ta have kids, Ah wouldn’t be watchin’ ‘em havin’ sex in front of a live audience. This feels weird. This is weird, right?”

Zaka shook his head as he pressed his erection against Applejack’s cheek. “Sounds like you ponies had very sheltered lives. My father watched me lay all of my first five wives. It’s a level of care that I’m glad that he showed, as doing so set me on this bountiful road. Ah, but enough of my whimsical musing. You should finish me off while our families are fusing.”

Applejack sighed and sucked the cock slapping her in the face. She wasn’t happy, but she wasn’t the one who made the rules. She couldn’t really object to this unless she had the backing of the guards, and they were all backing Zaka. It was his will that would be enacted, and while there was much that he would protect her from, watching her son having rough sex was not one of them. Rather, he would, but only by turning her head away.

It wasn’t particularly long before Zaka came down her throat, holding her down with her chin resting against his twitching balls. Of course, she swallowed every drop, actually locking eyes with Gen as she did so. It almost made the gryphon wish that it was her choking down the cock, both for her own sexual pleasure, and because she was in awe of the display of power earlier. Much like her life growing up with Apple Bloom, she wanted to be Applejack.

After drinking everything down, Applejack turned around to see Malak’s face contorted in a bursting grimace. Her first thought was that he was in agony, but with the mild swelling in his new wife’s abdomen, she reconsidered. As she stood up, Malak’s seed dripped from her, and she walked back into the room, snapping her fingers. Two slave girls immediately rushed to the young prince’s side and hoisted him up on their shoulders, dragging his defeated form out of the room, cum trailing behind him.

“We done now?” asked Applejack, turning to Zaka. He nodded, and Applejack stood up, still holding her stab wound. She motioned for her slaves to follow her, and out the door they went.

A gruesome scene greeted them in the hallway. The bride and groom had left to the right, as Applejack could clearly see them and the dripping trail they left behind, but she had gone to the left, and had come face to face with the very zebragriff whose arm she’d broken, surrounded by a string of guards. Two guards and a slave girl were dead, the slave disemboweled and the guards ripped apart. The zebragriff himself had been impaled against the wall with a long spear, and one guard in particular was badly scratched up, leaning against the wall and panting.

“What in tarnation?!”

The guards all looked her way. “Mistress Applejack,” one said, stepping forward. “There’s no cause for alarm. This one grabbed a slave and brought her to harm. While it’s not unheard of for slaves to see use, it’s a rule that they have to survive the abuse. She was already dead when we arrived on the scene. I shall inform your master as soon as it’s clean.”

Applejack took a deep breath and kneeled down next to the slaughtered mare. Her face was filled with terror and anguish. Applejack reached down and closed her eyes, letting her face be at peace. “What was her name?”

“We don’t really know,” answered the guard. “We don’t really keep track. Such things aren’t important when under attack.”

Applejack growled and gnashed her teeth, but despite her protests, the guards were able to pull her away from the scene and she returned to her room.

“Does that happen often?” asked Gen, still relatively new to living in this palace.

“More often than it should,” sniffed Applejack. “All Ah wanted was ta know her name. She had a family, and they deserve ta know what happened to ‘er.”

Gen took a deep breath. “I can find out.”

Applejack looked up. “You what?”

“I can find out. Having been in both sides of the system, I know how to find out what her name was and who her next of kin was. Of course, it’ll be dangerous, bu–”

“No,” interrupted Applejack. “Ah don’t like leavin’ her unmarked, but Ah like even less the idea that you very nearly ended up sharin’ her fate. Ya can’t help anypony if you’re dead.”

Swallowing hard, Gen nodded. Applejack really was all that Apple Bloom had said.