Apple Bound

by Penalt

Rating: mature
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Applejack, Drama, Porn, Fetish, Rarity, Sex
Length: 12354

A dark secret from the Apple family past snares Rarity in its inescapable coils, leaving her fate in Applejack's hooves.

While looking on the Apple farm for new fashion ideas Rarity falls into the clutches of a dark secret from the Apple family past. Harnessed, hooded, bridled and helpless Rarity is forced to entrust herself completely to the care of Applejack, who finds herself more and more enamoured with her power over the lovely unicorn on the end of her reins.

Cover image by MiryElis

Published 2023-01-31 04:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2023-01-31 04:50:01 UTC

Apple

“Consarn it, Rarity,” Applejack called out in exasperation toward the pristine white flank of the mare in front of her. “It’s almost noon, and Ah ain’t got a single chore done yet on account o’ your fool errand.”

“Oh pish-tosh, Applejack,” replied Rarity as her manicured hooves lightly trotted over twigs and fallen leaves in a far and nearly forgotten corner of the vast Apple farm. “Finding the accents for a perfect ensemble is far from being a foolish errand.”

“Fine, but you gotta keep yer promise of running the quality control station during cider season. Granny's eyes ain’t what the used to be,” stated Applejack, somewhat morosely.

“But of course, Applejack. After all, a promise is a promise and I’m more than happy to repay you for all the help you’ve been today,” Rarity assured the stalwart earth pony. “And I just know that somewhere here, I’ll find the perfect inspiration for my ‘Rustic Equestria’ line of clothing.”

“Rustic, eh?” Applejack remarked, raising an eyebrow. “Ah thought you were lookin’ for old stuff. ‘Retro’ is what ya called it.”

“Indeed, but ‘Rustic Equestrian’ has a certain cachet to it, don’t you agree?” Rarity asked, as the duo passed through a dense thicket among some very old trees.

“Whatever,” Applejack replied dismissively, only to get a face full of blue tail as she ran into the backside of the suddenly stopped fashionista. “Hey. What gives?”

“Sorry Applejack. I was looking for rustic and this certainly qualifies, don’t you think?” Rarity asked.

“What the hay you talkin’ a—” Applejack began, falling silent as she came around her friend to see what had stopped the unicorn in her tracks.

There, set into the side of the hill and surrounded by overgrown bushes and ancient apple trees was an old, decrepit looking structure. Too big to be called a shack, yet too small to be called a barn. The old building had a curved roof with actual sod and grass set into it, while the only opening was a firmly shut door that looked wide enough for three ponies to walk abreast through.

The sides and front of the building were of wood so old it had turned silver grey, except for a few surviving streaks of dull brown and green paint. The rear of the building seemed to be the actual front of the hillside, and Applejack frowned in thought as she took in the details of the odd structure.

“I didn’t realize that the Apples went into mining,” Rarity said, using her magic to clear a path through the overgrown bushes around the building.

“Yah know, it does look like the front of a mine, and there’s supposed to be an old connection between us Apples and the Pies,” Applejack noted, using some powerful bucks to send a few more bushes flying. “But Ah don’t recall Granny saying anything about a mine up here, or anything else for that matter.”

“You haven’t been here before?” Rarity asked, working on clearing away some debris from the front of the structure.

“Nah, Granny usually handles this area of the farm. ‘Old trees for an old mare’ she says,” Applejack replied, clearing away the last of the bushes and some old boards along with it.

As she did, her eyes spotted a curved bit of metal poking out of the ground and it was the work of a moment to bring an old brass padlock back into the light. The lock was old and blocky, with its thick shackle hanging open.

“Well, we should go in. We’re burning daylight,” Rarity stated, drawing a laugh from Applejack

“Hoo-whee!” exclaimed Applejack. “A countryism? From you? We’d better get right on this before you go full farm gal on us.”

“I think we’ve both learned that I am simply not cut out for farm life. Put it down to picking up a few things from my very dear friend. Namely you,” Rarity declared using her magic to tug at the building's door. “Be a dear and lend me a hoof?”

“Sure thing Rares,” Applejack replied, her momentary embarrassment at the intimacy quickly forgotten in the need to help with a task.

Working together, the two mares opened the double doors with the squeal of long unused hinges, and the early afternoon sun poured into a room filled with various types of bric-a-brac.

“Oh!” cried Rarity, practically squealing in delight as she dove into the piles of discarded debris. “I am sure to find something here to inspire.”

“Uh yeah, sure thing,” Applejack replied, apprehensively following in the unicorn’s wake.

Now that she was in the structure, there was something unsettling about it. The rafters of the building were festooned with old rotting ropes, lengths of rusty chains with multiple iron loops bolted directly into timbers that were as thick as the torso of the earth pony. The floor was covered with stacks of ancient bales, old rusty tools and iron bars collapsed into various piles.

Something about all of it twigged at her memory like a popcorn kernel stuck between her teeth.

“Why Applejack, I never knew your family had an interest in the carnal arts,” Rarity called back with a laugh, holding up the nearly rotted remains of a bridle, complete with bit, in her magic.

“Wait, what?” the orange mare asked, the kernel of memory growing stronger in her mind as the bridle added to the growing unease she felt, but the unicorn was already scampering toward the rock wall of the building’s back in search of more items of interest.

Applejack started to investigate one of the piles of rusted iron bars in earnest, hoofing through them, studying what remained of their structure and the pattern in which they lay on the ground. The way the bars had attached to each other and the way in which they lay kindled a suspicion in the pony’s mind. So she went to a second pile, and then a third. Each one confirmed her suspicions of what the bars had formed.

They had been cages. Cages large enough to hold a pony, and the kernel of memory grew into a sudden fear.

Frantically, Applejack began to dig through the piles of tools to confirm her fears while Rarity continued to look for inspirational items at the very rear of the structure. Barely a minute later, Applejack had her confirmation in the form of a simple iron rod with a perpendicular circle at one end. A circle made from a ring of welded chain with the silhouette of an apple in the middle and the sight of it brought into full focus the memory Applejack had been trying to grasp.

Because the rod was a branding iron.

“We gotta go, Rarity,” Applejack stated, tossing aside the iron as if it was red hot at that very moment. “We gotta go, right now.”

“In good time, darling,” replied the fashionista, digging deep through an ancient crate holding barely intact clothing. “Why look at all these divine things I’ve found.”

“Rares, we gotta git right now,” Applejack repeated, dashing over and putting a leg over Rarity’s shoulder in an attempt to guide her away from her newly found treasures. “C’mon.”

“Why Applejack!” exclaimed the unicorn, resisting the pull. “Whatever is the matter?”

“Ah’ll explain later, but we gotta get out of here,” Applejack repeated a third time, starting to drag her friend by main force.

“Applejack! I will not be mare-handled in this fashion,” Rarity stated, stomping her feet into place in an attempt to prevent herself from being removed.

Rarity was a unicorn and a fashion designer. Her skills lay in her eye for detail and fashion, as well as her incredibly fine touch with magic and the ability to multitask. None of which gave her the strength or physical power of an earth pony, but what she had was enough to break the hold that the centuries old wooden blocks had on the flooring on which both ponies stood. The sound of breaking wood filled the air and the two mares had just enough time for a look at each other before they both fell into the vast darkness that lay below.

Applejack woke up with the smell of rot and decay in her nostrils and pitch black darkness in her eyes. Groaning, the earth pony realized that her head and much of her body were buried in something, and it was the work of a moment to toss her head and shake off the smelly somethings that were around it. A motion Applejack deeply regretted a moment later as her head throbbed in time with her pulse.

A throb that was echoed by the rest of her body.

Feeling around, Applejack felt the remains of burlap and realized that her landing had been cushioned by a huge pile of old rotting sacks. Even so, the fall and landing had taken their toll and her body was more than willing to let her know about the abuse it had suffered. Applejack looked around, and as her eyes adjusted, she realized that the darkness wasn’t quite total.

“Rarity? Is that you over there?” Applejack asked out loud, carefully making her way toward a massive shape some yards away. The object appeared to be faintly lit by a point of green glowing light.

As the earth pony grew closer, her eyes resolved the shape into a massive structure of clockwork, timbers and chains. The glowing point turned out to be a large earring with a small green stone and the gem’s radiance grew as Applejack held it until it was almost as bright as a lit match. The light continued until Applejack put the stone back down, and its light faded until the earth pony picked it back up again.

“Gotta be next to me, huh?” commented Applejack, who lifted the stone back up and set it in her mane so that the glowing gem rested above her eyebrows.

A groan from within the structure beside Applejack caught her attention.

“Rarity? Is that you in there?” Applejack called out, doing her best to peer into the tall cat's cradle of wood and chains. A groan answered.

“Don’t you worry none. Ah’ll find a way to get you out of there!” Applejack called, frantically looking for a way to access the giant contraption, tripping over a couple of iron bound chests as she did so.

“What? What’s going on? Why can't I see?” came Rarity’s voice, and Applejack could hear the frustration rising to panic in the unicorn’s voice as she cried out, “LET GO OF ME!”

Applejack could hear the sounds of hooves striking wood as Rarity lashed out, quickly followed by sudden movement in the great mechanism and the sound of clanking chains and grounding timbers sounded in the cavern that held both ponies. Rarity’s screams of fear blurred with the thudding impacts of old counterweights completing final journeys until at last a door on the device big enough for a barn swung open to reveal a sight that made the earth pony gasp in shock.

Rarity was in an alcove just inside the machine, suspended a foot off the stone floor by chains that were attached by what looked like locking pins to a harness made of chains whose links were so close they almost touched. A spiral of chains rose up around the white mare’s throat, covering it from bottom to top, where it attached to a chain halter that lay over a hood of fine chainmail that covered most of Rarity’s head, leaving only her mouth, horn and ears free.

“You okay Rarity?” Applejack asked the still panicked and panting mare, whose legs were still pawing at empty air.

“Applejack? What’s going on? What’s on my head?” cried the mare, futilely thrashing about and tossing her head blindly.

“Gimme a sec,” replied Applejack, moving into the alcove with her friend and looking for a way to free the unicorn, before noticing a tell-tale azure glow and giving a warning of, “Wait! Don’t!”

It was too late however, and Rarity ignited her horn in an attempt to use her magic to free herself, much as any unicorn would try to do in her position. The moment she did however, the harness around her responded by tightening even more around the mare’s body and the coils of chain around her throat constricted like a serpent, cutting off the captive pony’s air.

“Gkh!” gasped the stricken pony and the choking chains around Rarity’s throat drove all thought of using magic out of her head. As her magic faded away the chains slowly relented and allowed the mare to breathe again, leaving her panting for breath and hanging limply in her bonds.

Meanwhile Applejack started to hear the sound of cracking and breaking timbers up above, driving her search to find a way to free her friend into overdrive.

“Apple… Applejack?” Rarity asked again, and the question came out more as begging than anything else. “What’s happening to me?”

“Ah think,” Applejack began, pausing to look at the much wider chain that climbed up between Rarity’s thighs, over the length of her sex and encircle her dock before rejoining the main body of the harness. “Ah think yer in something called a ‘Unicorn Breaker’.”

“A ‘Unicorn Breaker’!” gasped Rarity, again using magic in a panicked attempt to free herself.

This time Applejack was in position to see the tightening rear chain slip between the soft folds of the unicorn’s labia, drawing another gasp from Rarity, until that too was cut off by the spiralled collar of blue-gold chain choking a slender white throat.

“Don’t do that again,” Applejack commanded, and her order was punctuated by the loud snap of a timber breaking, the sound of chunks of wood cascading downwards that stopped as a flurry of splinters fell on the two ponies.

“Please Applejack,” begged Rarity, once the chain had slackened again after literally strangling the unicorn’s magic. “I’ll do whatever you say, just get me out of this horrid thing. Whatever it is.”

“Just gotta find something to trigger these releases,” the orange earth pony replied, stroking a calming hoof along her friend’s side. Above the two, the sounds of creaking timbers and rattling chains was becoming louder and louder as the ancient clockwork device began to come apart.

Scanning the walls of the alcove, Applejack saw that one side was covered in a variety of bits of metal with a loop of chain that connected at either end. On the other side of the wall were several tapered cylinders of various lengths, each with a small chain attached to their base by which they hung on the wall. Applejack might not have been the most erotic of ponies, but she knew reins, bits and dildos when she saw them.

Pieces of broken wood, larger than the splinters from before, fell into the alcove and Applejack realized that they were running out of time.

“Sorry Rares,” said Applejack, and with one swift motion the earth pony grabbed the straightest, least dominating bit she could find and pushed it into Rarity’s mouth. Applejack felt a “click” as the bit attached and locked into place on the bridle, effectively pinning Rarity’s tongue underneath it and forcing her mouth to stay slightly open.

“Glk! Apple’ack wha he meanin’ of ‘his?” Rarity managed to garble out. Applejack’s face burned crimson with embarrassment as she took the attached reins in her hoof, and in turn took control of one of her best friends. The orange mare’s embarrassment vanished a moment later as a tug on Rarity’s reins punctuated popping sounds as locking pins pulled free, allowing Rarity’s forelegs to drop to the ground.

However, only the unicorn’s front half was freed by Applejack’s actions with bit and reins. From the broad band of chains circling Rarity’s belly, to the lengths encircling her hips, lines of chains remained attached to the larger device, as larger bits of wood began to thunk down to the ground. As a piece twice the size of Big Mac landed outside the machine, carrying yards of chain with it, Applejack realized there was only one course of action.

Items from both walls were going to be needed to free Rarity before the device above them tore itself apart. Choosing quickly, Applejack grabbed the smoothest and shortest dildo she could find from among the arsenal that hung on the wall.

In this case though, “smoothest” and “shortest” were relative terms.

While the implement Applejack had snapped up was indeed lacking in the bumps and spurs that most of the other devices had, it did have the imitation of a fat medial ring about two thirds of the way down its length. What’s more, “shortest” was relative as well, with the length of polished material extending a full eight inches from tip to screw cut base.

Applejack moved to Rarity’s rear, where the unicorn’s rear hooves were still paddling in the air as the unicorn tried to escape the increasingly deadly trap she was in. The earth pony had to force herself to ignore how good the curved white flesh of Rarity’s hindquarters looked, captured as they were in their blue-gold prison. Instead she focused her vision to study the wide thick rings of chain that lay over Rarity’s sensitive parts, comparing them with the spiral cut of the dildo’s base.

To her relief, they matched. The dildo was meant to screw into the ring, burying itself deep inside Rarity, and in turn free her from the suspending chains that still held the back half of the harness. As if to say, “time to stop dawdling and get working” a chunk of the machine the size of a wagon fell and crashed to the ground nearby, eliciting another squeal of fear from Rarity and almost another try at using her magic.

“Sorry Rares, no time ta do this slow,” said Applejack, guiding the shaft into Rarity as best she could. For her part, Rarity whinnied in outraged surprise as her inner core was introduced to the intruder, grinding its way past her defences without any hint of preamble or foreplay.

The bitted unicorn, her ability to speak greatly reduced, continued to whinny in outrage as Applejack pushed the shaft all the way home and began to screw it into place. Rarity’s rear hooves lashed back, delivering a solid kick to Applejack’s midsection, and the air “whoofed” out of the earth pony as she was taken by surprise at the power the usually dainty unicorn used.

“None of that,” Applejack shot back, recovering herself and delivering a firm swat to Rarity’s rump. “Ah gotta do this to free you before this Celestia damned machine kills us both.”

Rarity continued to squirm, but otherwise obeyed as Applejack’s sure hooves spun the dildo until it too, locked into place and the last chains holding Rarity in place began to let go one after the other.

“C’mon!” shouted Applejack, grabbing Rarity’s reins in her own teeth and pulling the mare forward even as the device began its final collapse. Rarity, having no other choice, but more than willing to follow the pull of the reins, ran desperately in Applejack’s wake and the two barely outran the mass of falling timbers, chains and rocks.

“You okay?” Applejack asked, as pantingly she recovered her breath, leaning against what looked like the remains of an old wagon in the wan light.

“Yeff,” Rarity answered, trying to pull away a bit only to quickly be jerked short by her reins. “Appwejack, why am I on a weafh? Why am I bitted with fomething fhoved up in my puffy?”

“Ah can’t get that hood offa ya, and without you being able to see ya might wander off and get hurt or worse,” the earth pony responded, using the gem in her hairline as a flashlight to look around. “As for the rest, gimme a couple of minutes here to scavenge around for anything Ah can use as supplies and then Ah’ll tell ya about the heap of trouble we're in.”

“Fine,” huffed Rarity, sitting herself down, only to immediately adjust her position as her motion served to drive the dildo into her a little deeper.

The white mare tried to calm her nerves as best she could despite her growing realization of exactly how helpless she was. Rarity shuddered to think what some ne’er do well would do to her if they found her like this. As if to mirror her thoughts the shaft deep inside of her gave a little shudder of its own and for a moment Rarity’s imagination switched to thoughts of things Applejack could do to her.

“Well, we got a bit of luck there,” Applejack stated a few minutes later, making Rarity jerk in surprise, lost as she was in a pleasant erotic daydream. “Found my saddlebags, which means we’ve got some apples for food and a canteen of water to drink. And, Ah found a whole box of those little light stones from earlier.”

“Miff—Applwejack,” Rarity began correcting herself as she switched her mind back to reality. “What'f going on? Pweafe?”

“All right, you deserve to know,” Applejack began, taking a moment to really look at her chained friend. “Dang, you look real pretty in all that.”

Applejack could neither see Rarity’s blush, nor feel the small, momentary shudder the dildo gave against her sensitive nerves, but she did see the mare duck her head in a recognizable expression of pleased embarrassment.

“This is a little bit of a long story, so Ah’ll guess Ah’ll start at the beginning,” Applejack said, using scraps of the old sacks she had found as improvised rope to tie a harness around herself while she talked. “You okay to walk?”

“Yef,” Rarity replied standing, and involuntarily turning her head one way in response as Applejack fastened her reins to the new harness.

“See, Equestria ain’t always been all the way in Harmony. Sometimes things jes’ happen. Sometimes some ponies do things to other ponies, and sometimes those other ponies go looking for revenge,” Applejack began, giving the lines that now connected the two ponies together a quick test. “Now just start walkin’ and let the bit and bridle guide you, okay?”

Rarity’s response was a sigh and a resigned nod that traveled down the reins to AJ’s hoof.

“Right, anyway let's get going, and Ah’ll tell you the story as we follow this tunnel,” continued Applejack, and as she started forward the leads pulled on the reins.

“Why awen't we ftaying hewe?” Rarity asked, trying to pause, but finding herself pulled back into line by the bit and bridle.

“Cause it ain’t safe, and if you just hush up and give me a chance to talk Ah’ll explain everything,” Applejack growled, there was more than a little annoyance in her voice as she added, “Do Ah hafta add a gag to that bit?”

The only response was a muted growl, and it was a mollified Applejack that continued her story.

“Good. Anyway, as Ah was sayin’, not every pony in Equestria has always lived in harmony. Some ponies have been downright mean to other ponies. Especially unicorns,” Applejack said, pausing to give Rarity a chance to comment but all that she heard from the leashed mare was an understanding sigh.

“Welp, near about 300 years ago a buncha earth ponies decided that they were gonna teach all the ‘snooty unicorns’ that had looked down on them a lesson. Started with random beatings in small towns and the like. A bunch of earth ponies would bushwack a unicorn and beat the tar out of them,” Applejack related, using several of the glow lights she had round to light her path. “Of course, then the unicorn would go straight to the constables once they could talk and a lot of ponies found themselves in the hoosegow. That was bad enough, then things got worse.”

“Oh?” Rarity asked, right before tripping over a rock she couldn’t see and nearly falling.

“Better highstep a bit there. Ah’ll try to guide ya around anything Ah see though,” Applejack said, after making sure Rarity was okay and still securely tethered to her. “Anyway, so things got worse, ‘cause a lot of unicorns started accusin’ any earth pony they knew of beating them up, which added even more bad feelings to the mix. And then a pony named Vermillion Apple came up with a way to get back at the unicorns and make sure they couldn’t bring in the law.”

“You ca’ mean…” Rarity gasped, before adding. “Muwdew.”

“Nope, but yer wearing the end result of what he came up with,” Applejack replied, taking the time to steer Rarity around a pile of rocks that had fallen from the ceiling. “Vermillion figured that if a unicorn weren’t around no more, there’d be no victim to call the constables or anything, but he didn’t want to kill anypony, so he came up with the idea of kidnapping unicorns and…”

“And?” Rarity asked, as Applejack’s voice trailed off.

“And selling them as slaves, either to the Diamond Dogs or outside of Equestria,” Applejack continued, deep shame in her voice.

“Fo that’f why they came aftew me!” Rarity exclaimed, clenching her nethers a moment later as another rumble rolled through her most sensitive place.

“Yeah, why do you think they had a pony harness for their mine cart?” Applejack asked rhetorically before carrying on. “Anyway, pretty quick Vermillion figured out the only way he could keep a unicorn a slave was by making sure they couldn’t use their magic. So he came up with what you’re wearing. Orichalcum.”

“What if Owichawcum?” Rarity asked, surprised at finding herself hanging on Applejack’s every word like a lifeline.

“It’s an alloy Vermillion made. It shrinks anytime magic touches it,” Applejack explained. “So when you tried to get yourself out of that getup yer in, the collar tightened like a snake and choked you. If you’d tried to keep on using your magic it would have kept going until you passed out.”

“Fo, how did I wind up weawing thif… fwave hawneff, and mowe impowtantwy, how do I get out of it?” Rarity asked, finding it harder to remember to keep her legs high with the constant distraction of the dildo in her pussy that moved and shifted with every step.

“Short answer, ya don’t,” Applejack replied, which had the effect of focusing Rarity’s attention away from the growing heat between her thighs. “Vermillion made his ‘Unicorn Breaker’ to pressure fit the chains that make that harness to the body of any pony put in it. And he made it so the whole thing worked with clockwork so a unicorn couldn’t see who was chainin’ them up. The whole kit and kaboodle is one big chain that hooks up to itself in places, so there ain’t no locks or buckles to open up, and ‘cause it’s fit to yer body, there’s no way to slip out of it.”

“Fo I’m youw fwave fwom now on?” Rarity demanded, then her outrage was muted by the realization that if she had to be a slave, Applejack certainly would take good care of her. That thought combined with her growing instant obedience to Applejack cause her to start wondering what Slave Rarity would do for Mistress Applejack

“Well, just we get out of here,” answered Applejack, stopping as she stuttered to add, “Not that yer my slave now. Ah just meant until we get out of here and get to some tools.”

“It’f okay Miftweff Appwejack,” Rarity said, stressing the title and stopping as she felt herself come in contact with the mare who held her reins. “If I had a choice of ownewf, I wouwd choofe you evewy time, dawwing,”

“Um… uh, that’s awful nice of you to say,” Applejack said, feeling something in her heart lurch toward the helpless beauty that was literally hers to do with as Applejack chose. “Ah swear Ah’ll do mah best to take care of you.”

Applejack just stood there, trying to sort out her own feelings, as Rarity took the moment to nuzzle and rub the side of her bridled and hooded head against Applejack’s shoulder affectionately.

A light went on in Applejack’s mind as it dawned on her the whole of what Rarity was offering her. A heady rush of power, affection and desire swept through the earth pony, who gave a light tug on the reins to draw her pony closer still.

“You sure you wanna do this?” Applejack asked, her voice slightly husky.

“Miftweff, ciwcumftancef have taken the choice away fwom me. I am compwetewy in youw powew, whethew I want to be ow not. Fo af wong af we awe hewe, we may af weww pway the wowef fate haf pwaced uf in,” the slave answered, vainly trying to slurp back some drool cause by the bit in her mouth. “If you’ww have me that if?”

“Ah’ve always thought you were the prettiest mare Ah ever laid eyes on, and now yer mine,” Applejack replied, sealing the pact with a small kiss, before pulling away. “But we ain’t got time to play right now. We got a long way to go and not a lot of supplies to get there with.”

“Of couwfe, Miftweff. Whewe awe we going?” the slave responded, trying for another nuzzle but failing as her reins pulled tight and drew her along in the wake of her owner.

“Well, all this stuff Ah’ve been telling you is from old stories that I used to hear from Burnt Oak when Ah was a filly. According ta him, there should be an exit to these tunnels near Canterlot, which is gonna take us two or three days to get to,” Applejack informed her pony, adding. “Save yer breath for trotting for now, we gotta make some distance.”

“Yef, Miftweff,” was all the unicorn slave had time to garble out, before her owner picked up the pace.

Author's Note

I don't know why, but for some reason I love putting Rarity into bondage and peril. Anyway, the idea for this story has been kicking around in my head for several months and thanks to my patrons it's finally out in the wild.

It is my hope that you find it satisfactory.

Bound

It had been a long hard day, filled with surprises, trials and tribulations, and Applejack could feel even her fabled earth pony endurance beginning to run out. As she stepped forward again, a tug reminded her that there was another pony on the end of her tether, literally. Looking back, she could see Rarity following closely behind her, not that Rarity had any choice in the matter.

The normally proud and somewhat vain fashionista had found herself harnessed, hooded, bridled and bitted following a run-in with an old machine called a “Unicorn Breaker '' and as a result was now wholly dependent on Applejack for… everything.

And to her own surprise, Applejack found herself loving every minute of it. She loved the way Rarity hung on her every word, loved how responsive the unicorn was to each and every twitch Applejack made on the guiding reins, and she loved how Rarity had decided to call her, “Mistress”. The power of being in dominant control of such a vital and vibrant creature like the fashionista was a heady wine and it had gone straight to Applejack’s head with thoughts of all the wonderful things she could do with Rarity.

Which also meant taking care of the exhausted unicorn.

“Hang on there, Rares,” Applejack said loudly. “Ah think Ah smell water up ahead. If there is, it’ll be a good spot to rest a spell.”

A quiet nicker was the only response Rarity gave, having given up trying to form coherent words around the bit that held her mouth open and her tongue down. Tired as she was, it was easier just to keep walking and only respond when she needed to.

Applejack led the pair through a narrow gap in the stone passageway and paused in surprise as they entered a huge grotto. The ceiling arched high upward into an eternal darkness beyond the light of the glowstones the ponies’ had, while the bottom of the cavern spread out wide before them. Off to one side, Applejack could see a large pool of water, nearly a small lake in size, and even what looked like an old camping site beside it, complete with firepit and a small stack of what looked to be coal..

“Hoo Wee, we hit the jackpot!” Applejack declared, urging Rarity forward with a gentle pull on the reins. “Just a bit farther and you can have a good rest.”

A minute later, Applejack was tying off Rarity’s reins to a hole carved into a stone and then quickly went over to check the water. The two of them could last quite awhile once they ran out of food, but only a day or two without water. A quick taste assured the earth pony that the water was indeed good to drink and as she turned back, Applejack was forced to pause again.

Rarity was sitting on the ground, head bowed. The various glowstones Applejack had hooked into her chain harness glowed like a constellation of emeralds, lending an otherworldly and submissive beauty to the fashionable pony. Applejack swallowed to clear a suddenly dry throat before deliberately diverting herself with setting up camp.

For Rarity the day had gone from a fun outing with a friend, to near mortal peril, to being rendered completely helpless and at the mercy of another. Considering it was Applejack who had her as a helpless captive, Rarity had happily thrown herself into the role of a submissive slave mare who had been sold off to a stern yet kind mistress. However, as the day wore on several things combined to make Rarity’s position less a role and more a reality.

First off was her dependance on Mistress Applejack for direction and guidance. With a hood of fine chainmail covering her eyes and most of her head, she couldn’t see a thing and had to rely on Mistress’ guiding pull on the reins for all direction and guidance.

Second was the dildo that had been screwed into her pussy through one of the broad links that cleft the cheeks of her ass from top to bottom. The evil device locking into place on the ass chain had ironically been the key to releasing her from the clockwork that had bound her in the harness in the first place. As Rarity walked along the shaft slid back and forth against her sensitive walls, doing its level best to ignite a fire in her loins.

Worse, the shaft had an imitation of a medial ring that kept tapping against Rarity’s G-spot, both stimulating her and reminding her that she was a bound captive, who was not only unable to control her baser urges but was not allowed to control them. And to top all of that off, roughly every five to ten minutes the dildo would rumble away inside of her for roughly a minute or so before coming to a stop.

Combined, the dildo had turned Rarity into a hot, sweaty, needy mess of a mare whose every other thought was about how badly she wanted Mistress to bring her to a stop and put out the fire in Rarity’s pussy with her tongue or her hooves or… anything. Anything at all.

Third was the bit that trapped her tongue down and her mouth open, which had the effects of making certain word sounds impossible and causing her to droll a great deal. Eventually, Rarity had given up the unequal struggle to sound like an intelligent being and had reverted to the grunts, nickers and neighs of a beast of burden. All of which were perversely ungarbled by the oval metal rod locked to the back of her mouth.

All told, the pony that had been Rarity Belle at the start of the day was now a blind, inarticulate animal who was wholly dependent on her Mistress and was literally aching for some form of release from hours and hours of low to mid-level arousal.

“Easy girl,” came the voice that the bound pony had been heeding for hours, followed by the soft touch of a wet cloth.

So heated was Rarity, that the cool cloth passing over her head and along her back was like a cold fire that seared away all conscious thought, leaving only the blissful pleasure of relief in its wake. Back done, Rarity was unresistant as she was rolled onto her back, moaning as the gentle touch of her Mistress continued to spread the wonderful coolness onto her chest and belly.

Applejack paused the sponge bath she was giving Rarity for a moment. She’d only meant to clean her friend a bit and give her a bit of a cool down, but the open mouthed moans that let Applejack see the whole of the bit in Rarity’s mouth were more than simple relief. Much, much more, and with Rarity on her back and cushioned in the earth pony’s lap Applejack could see and smell just how heated the unicorn had become during their subterranean hike.

Applejack knew that the two of them were at a crossroads, and while she tried to resist the urge to take advantage of the beauteous mare in her thrall, a treacherous thought reminded her that Rarity had literally asked for this. Had asked Applejack to take possession of her. That there was no other pony she would rather give her reins to.

Almost without thought, Applejack soaked the cloth again and began to use it to gently caress Rarity’s teats, bathing them in the cooling waters, and the unicorn’s reaction was immediate and wanton.

“Ah Ah!” Rarity wordlessly cried out, arching her back and pressing her lower body up against Applejack’s circling hoof.

Applejack’s head swam with feelings that seemed to reach deep inside of her, to touch her very soul. The feeling of power she had over the writhing beauty in the grasp of her chains, her control over Rarity’s responsiveness to her every touch, of how the harnessed pony shifted her hips back and forth to try to grind her teats against Applejack’s hoof, and it was in that moment that the earth pony truly accepted her role as Rarity’s mistress.

“Yer mine, aren’t you?” Applejack asked huskily, feeling desire fill her even as she moved the cloth to scrub away the sticky residue of hours of unfulfilled arousal that coated the area around Rarity’s labia.

“Pweath!” Rarity mewed in her need, desperately trying to push the dildo trapped within her even deeper.

“Hey, none of that,” Applejack commanded, pushing aside Rarity’s reaching hooves, and the whine of complaint from the white mare was followed by an answering growl. “Ah’m in charge of you, you do what Ah say, when Ah say, and right now Ah’m saying you aren’t allowed to get yourself off.”

A pleading sound of garbled words and desperate need for fulfillment escaped from the chained throat of the mare. A noise both inarticulate and clear as a shout. Rarity would do anything, anything at all, if only Applejack would quench the fire in her loins.

“Now don’t you worry none. Yer mine, and Ah take good care of what’s mine,” Applejack said, as her hooves began to move in deliberate circles over Rarity’s clit and nipples.

Due to the chain that cleaved Rarity’s slit, Applejack wasn’t able to get a hoof direct onto her target, but the buttery smooth links easily slid over the raised button of flesh beneath them, and as the chain moved on its slight amount of slack, it caused the attached dildo to twist and churn inside of Rarity. Rarity’s moans and cries of delight were like music in Applejack’s ears, driving her to “stir” up her pony even harder, leaning even further over the white mare’s body.

“Pweath!” Rarity begged again, and as fresh nectar began to leak out around from the dildo Applejack moved forward until she was standing low over the length of Rarity’s body.

“Not yet girl, you can’t cum y—” Applejack broke off as a soft muzzle began to nose its way into her own soft folds.

“Clever girl,” Applejack murmured, as the generous mare beneath began to give as good as she had been receiving.

Rarity’s tongue began to caress Applejack’s own delicate nub of flesh, drawing it out with gentle licks and flickering teases with the tip of her tongue, and the burning heat between the bound mare’s loins began to be joined by an equal fire from within Applejack. A smell like sweetly stewed apples began to rise from the sugar walls of the earth pony, prompting Rarity to plunge her nose even deeper into her mistress, who responded with gratifying moans of her own.

“Sweet Celestia!” cried out Applejack, increasing the intensity of her own ministrations, spreading Rarity’s lower lips even further to try to get as much access as she could. “Just… just drive in for the core, why don’tcha?”

Rarity’s generous nature and need to please the pony that was doing her best to pound her plot with tongue and shaft drove her to plunge in as far as she could into Applejack’s tunnel, creating a flow of syrupy goodness that thoroughly coated the muzzle of the unicorn. Thick and heavy oozed the nectar of the aroused earth pony, rich with all the fertility and potential that was the hallmark of all earth ponies, and the Apple clan in particular.

For her part, Applejack’s efforts were being steadily rewarded with a fresh flow of Rarity’s own juices, oozing out from around the orichalcum dildo that Applejack was now repeatedly pistoning back and forth along Rarity’s chain barred passageway. It was only an inch or so of movement, but combined with what Applejack was doing to Rarity’s teats and clit, it was a very important inch of movement.

Rarity’s mind had been mazed with both exhaustion and low level arousal before the duo had arrived at the campsite, but now, the tidal waves of powerful stimulation and overwhelming sexual energy served to drown all conscious thought from the unicorn. For the unicorn, there was no “Rarity” anymore. There was only a pony, who only felt pleasure and the need to give it in return, an animal who was bound to serve the one who held her reins and be rewarded in turn.

It was a race then. A sexual race of arousal and desire to see which pony could bring the other to their finish first. Applejack had the advantage of the low level edging that Rarity had been suffering through the day, as well as having a dildo in place that was literally made to drive a pony wild. Rarity however, was able to plunge herself deep into Applejack, spreading the earth pony wide with her muzzle and her flicking tongue that seemed to touch every pleasurable nerve in Applejack’s core.

The two ponies writhed around as they licked and sucked and fondled each other, creating a strange music of moans, gasps and small outcries of pleasure. A small syncopation of the chains and rattling pendants fastened to Rarity sounded a rhythmic counterpoint as both the bound unicorn and her earth pony worked at each other's bodies to the best of their abilities.

“Rares! Ah’m close!” gasped out Applejack, causing Rarity to redouble her efforts and stepping up her attack by bringing her hooves into play as well.

“Ah AH!” gasped the earth pony, working the shaft locked in Rarity’s pussy for all she was worth, driving it with all the speed and force of a stamp mill running at full capacity, and it was the sledgehammer that shattered the last of Rarity’s control.

A massive whinny exploded from Rarity as she came with the fury of a small star, juices gushing from her in a torrent as her long pent-up orgasm finally tore free from a place deep within her very soul. That cry of realized pleasure echoed within Applejack’s womb like an earthquake, triggering an orgasmic avalanche that ended with her own devastating climax moments after Rarity’s, her own flow of nectar being so thick and heavy that the unicorn had to suck and swallow desperately lest she drown in the tide.

Slowly the two ponies drew apart by the barest amounts, panting for breath as they did so, the swell of afterglow filling both of their thoughts with a pleasant golden haze of pleasure. A pleasure that refused to fade, but instead spread through the bodies and limbs of the pair, settling into a lethargy akin to being covered by a warm, soft blanket.

Eyes drooping, orange and white fur merged as Rarity and Applejack came together again, snuggling against each other and nuzzling gently with soft sounds of sleepy endearment. Both ponies had been through much that day, and sleep came to them both on swift wings.

Some time later Applejack awoke, stiff and sore from sleeping on the hard ground and a need to answer the call of nature. With all the care she could muster, the earth pony disentangled herself from her partner, at one point stopping just in time to prevent herself from tripping over Rarity’s reins, which were still looped through the rock they had been attached to.

By the light of the body heat driven glow stones Applejack made her way over to one side of the cavern and dealt with her body’s needs. As she turned to head back her eyes fell on the sleeping mare that was now hers in nearly every sense of the words. Love, affection, worry, combined with a strong desire to protect the chained alabaster beauty rose up within Applejack, and as Rarity gave a slight shudder in her sleep it was all Applejack could do not to sidle up against her once more.

The thought of taking those reins in her hoof again, of pulling Rarity against her and driving her unicorn into a frenzy again filled Applejack’s mind with pleasant thoughts, but the practical nature of the earth pony asserted itself. There were chores to be done, and Rarity was depending on her to get both of them through this.

Applejack had anticipated the need for torches or a fire on their journey through the subterranean caverns, and had made a point to salvage some of the rotted cloth and timbers from the remains of the “unicorn breaker”. It took some coaxing, but the farmer managed to kindle a small fire into life, which she slowly fed bits of coal until they too came to life.

Fire going, Applejack set a pair of apples to roasting on wooden spears while she had a quick dip in the cavern’s pool in order to wash off. Emerging some minutes later, she found that Rarity had been awoken by the fire and rolled onto all fours, orienting herself toward the fire by feeling its heat.

“You okay there, Rares?” Applejack asked. For some reason it felt right to call her pony by the diminutive instead of her full name.

A gentle nicker and bob of a hooded head was Applejack’s answer.

“Don’t feel like talking?” the earth pony asked, and the mute answer was a wide opened mouth that allowed Applejack to see the green gold bit that crossed Rarity’s maw, with its attached spoon keeping her tongue pinned.

“I getcha, hard to even try I bet,” Applejack commented, which garnered a confirming nod. “Well food’s about ready.”

Applejack was forced to chuckle as Rarity’s stomach growled an answer.

“Here, hold out yet hooves. It’s roast apple on a stick,” Applejack said, waiting until Rarity obeyed to give the warmed treat with its attached holder to the bound pony.

Mission accomplished, Applejack wasted no time in sinking her teeth into her own apple, with its slightly caramelized flesh almost melting in her mouth she could practically feel her energy levels climbing in response. With almost savage relish the earth pony took another bite that halved the apple, shearing it almost in half. A sound of deep satisfaction came from Applejack, but as she lined herself up to annihilate the remnants of the fruit another sound came to her ears.

It was a sound unlike any Applejack had heard before, a sound of frustrated misery. An anguished growl that ended with a hiccoughing sob of anguish. Turning, Applejack saw that Rarity had taken a single bite out of her apple, but instead of consuming the nourishing food, it instead lay on the ground in half masticated chunks.

“Rares? What’s wrong, girl?” Applejack asked, moving to lay beside her captive almost before the faint echoes of Rarity’s complaint faded away completely.

Mutely, the enslaved fashionista opened her mouth again, pointing with a hoof to the bit with its attached spoon.

“I don’t get it. Show me,” Applejack gently commanded, holding the apple up to Rarity’s mouth.

With the care befitting her usual nature, Rarity took a bite from the apple, and how the chained mare accomplished the usually simple task gave her mistress all the information she needed. Instead of closing her teeth completely, Rarity’s bit and bridle were allowing her mouth to only close most of the way, forcing the unicorn to rip the piece off with a small toss of her head.

“That bit isn’t letting you close your mouth all the way, is it?” Applejack asked, receiving an affirming nod. “And cause you can’t close yer mouth all the way, you can’t chew that apple right, and the spoon on the bit ain’t letting you swallow either, is it?”

The second piece of the apple fell from Rarity’s mouth as she shook her head despondently, and Applejack could see tears sliding out from underneath the close-linked chainmail hood bound to Rarity’s head.

“Don’t you fret none, Rares,” Applejack stated confidently. “Ah’ll figure this out. Ain’t no pony o’ mine going hungry. No sir, no how.”

Applejack began to ponder on how to feed Rares while the white unicorn settled down and patiently waited. The earth pony first considered making an apple broth or soup and pouring that down Rares’ gullet around the bit, but lacking a cooking vessel that was impossible. Other ideas came and went, but they were all either impractical or were like the soup idea, impossible due to lack of tools. After several minutes, inspiration came to Applejack in the form of the times she had helped Fluttershy with some of her bird friends.

“Okay Rares,” as Applejack had taken to calling her pony. “I’ve got an idea. Do ya trust me?”

In response, the harnessed pony rolled onto her back, hooves up to her chest to reveal her soft white belly and throat.

“Ah’ll take that as a ‘yes’,” Applejack replied. “You just stay like that, keep yer mouth open and whatever ya do, don’t fight me at all. Just let me do what ah gotta do to get food into ya.”

An open mouthed nod was Applejack’s answer as the earth pony bit off the rest of her apple into her mouth, but instead of promptly it Applejack instead continued to chew, turning the fruit into mush in her mouth. Then, pulling Rares into her hooves, she pressed her mouth to the bitted mouth of her property, and began to push the masticated apple into the unicorn’s maw.

Despite being warned and wanting to obey her mistress, the captive unicorn began to struggle and fight. However, Applejack was not only an earth pony, but a pony who worked and exercised daily and whose soft coat hid sinews of iron with a will to match. Rares was no match for Applejack’s strength and the reins on her bridle prevented her from moving her head at all.

With the unicorn fixed in place, the mashed fruit passed over her bit to the top of her throat, and for a moment the unicorn convulsed as her gag reflex was triggered, but the sweetness of the apple told the unicorn what was happening and through a supreme effort of will she managed to suppress it.

Applejack felt the unicorn go limp in her hooves as she forced herself to relax, and daringly the earth pony lifted one hoof off the unicorn’s body and used it to work Rares’ chain covered throat, encouraging the muscles there to swallow. And swallow they did, pulling the nourishment down into the hungry pony who was by now in desperate need of calories.

Applejack couldn’t help but feel possessive pride in the unicorn. Rares was submitting herself utterly to Applejack, allowing herself to be used in the deepest ways possible. Even more than the previous day's intimacy, even more than the wearing of a bridle and collar, this was the unicorn surrendering her body utterly to the will of her mistress and the sweet perfume of Rares’ arousal began to fill the air around the pair.

The feeding seemed to go on forever as Applejack continued to push semi-solid apple down into her pony, using the full mouthed, deep throated kiss that conquered the mouth of the pliant and submissive unicorn. At last, the final bits of the fruit were passed through, and as Applejack went to break the lip lock, she felt her unicorn’s hooves snap to action, wrapping themselves around her body.

Applejack let Rares take control for a few moments, enjoying the feel of the fashionista’s chains grinding against her as the unicorn made an attempt to get herself off using the harness along with its attachments. Sadly for Rares, she was most definitely not the one in charge and Applejack had a strong sense of priorities.

“None of that now,” Applejack gasped out, a string of saliva connecting the two mouths as the earth pony used her superior strength and the leverage of the reins to pull back the head of the unicorn. “We got a long way to go and not a whole lot of supplies to get us there with.”

A needy whine and a grind of hips against hips was the answer Rares gave.

“Maybe later,” Applejack said, drawing a hum of pleasure from beneath the chainmail hood as she nuzzled the point of the unicorn’s jaw. “But we gotta get going.”

The only further delay was Applejack leading her pony into the cave pool for a quick wash, and then two set out again. As they travelled Applejack realized that the path they were following was one that had been well used in the past, complete with rest and resupply locations. Sadly, all of the supplies were long since rotted with nearly every piece of metal rusted to uselessness. The only exception being a long coil of orichalcum chain, which seemed to be immune to the passage of time.

The end of the “day” found the pair at another rest stop with a small supply of coal and an underground spring for water. In the warmth of a coal fire, Applejack gave Rares a second intimate feeding that led directly into another bout of passionate lovemaking causing both ponies to fall asleep in each other's hooves.

Upon waking Applejack and her unicorn shared the last of their food before setting off in what they both hoped to be their final day of travel, though in truth both ponies could no longer tell whether it was day or night outside. They were lost in a timeless void where all that mattered was each other. Some hours later however, their voyage of the pair bid to near its conclusion as Applejack began to see reinforcing timbers again.

“Just around this corner, Rares,” Applejack was saying. “We gotta be close to the surface now. Any second and we’re gonna be— Aw shoot.”

Rares gave a nicker of annoyance as she walked into Applejack’s rear.

“Ah.. Ah’m sorry, Rares. The tunnel’s collapsed. We’re maybe a hundred lengths from the entrance, but it's full of rocks and dirt,” Applejack explained, dropping to sit on the cold stone floor. “Ah got no idea how we’re gonna get through that.”

Rarity’s answer was to summon up her magic in an attempt to blast their way out. An attempt which lasted the length of one choked off breath as the orichalcum harness, collar and bridle contracted in response to the touch of the arcane, strangling the attempt to use mystic force before it even had a chance to act.

“It was a good try,” Applejack said, comforting the recovering unicorn as she sucked air back in as the orichalcum loosed its hold on her throat. “Ah’m gonna try to dig us out. Maybe Ah’ll get lucky.”

“Perhaps the pony would like to make a deal?” asked a voice from out of the shadows.

“Who’s there?” Applejack demanded, spinning around.

The eerie light of the harness mounted glow stones illuminated the form of a truly ancient diamond dog as he stepped out from a hole he had just made in one of the tunnel walls.

“Who are ya, and what do you want?” Applejack demanded again, pulling Rares behind her.

“Rock Hound wants to make a deal. An old deal. You are Apple clan, yes?” asked the old dog.

“Yeah, Ah’m an Apple, what of it?” Applejack asked, her voice unflinching and uncompromising.

“Rock Hound’s grandsire told him of old pony deal. Of Vermin, who sold horn head ponies to diamond dogs so pack could find gems. Rock Hound wants to buy,” stated the sibilant voice of the old dog. “You are Apple clan. You have pony.”

“No deal. She’s mah pony,” stated Applejack. “Ah ain’t selling her. No way, no how.”

“Not even for a way out of tunnels?” Rock Hound asked, smiling slyly. “You give Rock Hound horn head and Rock Hound will dig through cave-in for you.”

“No way. We’d rather star—” Applejack stopped as Rarity put her hoof against her owner’s mouth.

“Ik's ekay. Sell ne ke hin, and khen cene hack fer ne,” came the garbled voice of the generous pony, offering herself so that her friend could get free.

Applejack instantly balked at the idea however. Not only did she flat out refuse to sacrifice one of her friends to save herself, but Rares… Rarity had been counting on Applejack to get her out of this, letting Applejack lead her, feed her, command her, love…

Applejack wasn’t sacrificing Rarity. Period.

“Ah’ll make you a counter-offer,” Applejack replied, taking a moment to think. “You open up the tunnel and me and my pony will both come back here in two weeks to help y’all mine gems for a day.”

“Rock Hound could just wait until you are too hungry to stop Rock Hound from taking horn head pony,” countered the big grizzled hound.

“Ya could,” Applejack reasoned. “But then you would have to feed her back up until she was strong enough to do anything for ya. This way, you get two strong ponies working for ya for a day.”

“Three days,” the old dog shot back, which made Applejack smile.

“Two days, and you feed us,” Applejack counter-offered.

“Done,” replied Rock Hound, holding out a paw.

“Done,” Applejack responded, touching hoof to paw to seal the deal, and less than an hour later the pair once more walked in the light...

Author's Note

And now, for the epilogues

Epilogue 1: Applejack and Rarity

After Rock Hound had dug out an escape tunnel for Applejack and Rarity, it had only taken a few more hours to come across the rail line that ran between Ponyville and Canterlot. From that point on it was almost ridiculously easy to flag down a passing train and free Rarity from her days long bondage using a pair of the bolt cutters that the train crew carried to break the seals on freight cars.

Rarity’s gasping shudder as the quivering metal shaft was removed from her nethers was a sound that Applejack would treasure for the rest of her life, as was the look that the unicorn gave Applejack when the hood of fine chainmail was lifted off her head. Which lasted all five seconds as Rarity realized what her face looked like after the better part of three days without any sort of care at all.

After a long grooming session with the train’s primitive facilities, Rarity barely said two words to Applejack about what they had gone through, choosing instead to politely deal with the incessant questions from both the train’s passengers and staff. Some of whom had caught a glimpse of Applejack leading of Rarity on the end of a pair of reins, and wanted to know more about what had happened, while one pony had shyly asked Applejack if she could take Rarity’s place.

Rarity’s face at that moment had been a crazy mix of embarrassment, masked desire, and what Applejack thought looked like a streak of pure out and out jealousy. Luckily, the train pulled into Canterlot just then and a contingent of Royal Guards piled on, the train crew having called ahead to let everypony know that the lost ponies had been found.

The train crew must have also mentioned something about the state the two ponies had been in, because the guards had arrived with orders to escort Applejack and Rarity directly to the castle, and they refused to take no for an answer. Once the two arrived at the palace, Rarity had been led off by a pair of ponies wearing medical caps, while Applejack was instead taken to a private audience with Princess Celestia, who was in the angriest mood the earth pony could ever remember seeing her sovereign in.

The solar monarch had demanded to know every bit of what the pair had been through, and Applejack had honestly replied to each and every question in full detail.

“So you don’t intend to pick up where Vermin… I mean Vermilion Apple left off?” Celestia asked at the end, her demeanor tense but calmer now.

“No ma’am,” Applejack had firmly answered. “No way, no how. Keepin’ other ponies as property just ain’t right.”

“I am very glad to hear that Applejack. Keeping ponies against their will is wrong. And as for the orichalcum, do you intend to make more of it?” Celestia queried, and the earth pony felt the briefest wisps of something sweet tickle her nose as the royal alicorn spoke.

“No ma’am. Ah ain’t got no idea how to make the stuff,” Applejack had replied, keeping to her policy of complete truthfulness. “Ah know what it is, but Ah ain’t got no idea how it’s made.”

“Then Vermilion did take that knowledge to his grave, as he promised he would,” Celestia said, nodding in satisfaction. “Very well. You may head home with a voucher for the train ride back. Rarity will be along as soon as the doctors clear her.”

Now, five days later, Applejack wondered if it had been all some sort of weird dream. The Royal Guard had gone into the cave system and had scoured it for every trace they could find of the ancient slaving operation, removing every piece of metal and scrap of wood, no matter how small. After which they had sealed over the shaft that Rarity and Applejack had fallen down and put up warning signs to avoid the area.

Applejack sighed as she worked oil into a pulling harness. Rarity had gotten back a few hours after Applejack and to all reports had disappeared into her boutique, sending Sweetie Belle out to do the shopping and refusing to talk to anypony about what had happened. Especially Applejack, who she avoided in particular.

As for Applejack’s family, Big Mac had kept his curiosity to himself, while Applebloom had asked some decidedly uncomfortable questions that Applejack had refused to answer. The last thing anypony in the family wanted was the Crusaders trying to get cutie marks in slavery. Granny Smith had taken Applejack aside the second night she had been back, asking probing questions that were decidedly embarrassing.

Questions that had ended with Granny telling Applejack that she had done right by Rarity and wouldn’t mind seeing the fancy pony around more.

“Do you still plan on going to work for Rock Hound at the end of next week?” asked a cultured voice from behind her, breaking through the memories Applejack had been replaying in her head.

Whirling around, Applejack saw Rarity standing in the barn’s doorway, her horn aglow with something, though all Applejack saw was the beauty of the white unicorn as she glided forward. Mutely, Applejack nodded as her throat was suddenly too tight for words.

“Good, I’d hate to make you a liar,” Rarity commented, and as she reached Applejack the earth pony finally noticed what the unicorn was carrying in her magic. Suspended in the field of blue were a harness and bridle with reins, as well as a blued steel collar.

“You had best harness and bridle your property,” Rarity said, putting the mentioned items on the railing beside Applejack, “and get to training her properly. After all, you’ve barely got a week to make sure she doesn’t bring shame to the Apple clan.”

“You… you sure you wanna do this?” Applejack asked, heart pounding in her chest. ”Me, keepin’ you, as mah property? As mah pony?”

“Read this,” Rarity replied, producing an envelope with Celestia’s sun symbol seal.

”Applejack,” began the letter. ”If you are reading this, it means that Rarity is offering herself to you as your property of her own free will, to do with as you choose and with my blessing. If you choose to accept, I will view this on the same level as a marriage, only with you being the one legally responsible for both of your well beings. Choose wisely, and remember to be honest with yourself as well. Celestia, Sol Invictus.”

“Well?” Rarity asked, a trifle nervously after Applejack had read the letter. “I did say that if I had to be owned, I could think of no better owner than—”

Rarity’s words were cut off by the closing of the steel collar around her throat. It was, of course, a perfect fit as befit something made by a master of her craft. The collar had been shaped and sized precisely to the neck it now surrounded, with a dangling name tag that simply said, “Rares.”

“This… this might take awhile,” Applejack said huskily, lifting up the white silk bridle with encrusted aquamarines and sliding it over Rarity’s… Rares’, muzzle.

“We have all the time in the world, darling,” Rares answered, shivering slightly as the headgear’s straps began to tighten. “All the time in the world.”

Epilogue 2: Celestia

Celestia allowed herself a small smile as she worked. It always gave her pleasure to be a part of the lives of her little ponies, and she could tell that although what Applejack and Rarity had been through had changed them, it had not damaged them. Applejack was still as open and honest as ever, while Rarity was still more than willing to give of herself to help others.

When word had first come of what Rarity had been wearing before her rescue, the solar princess had felt a rare chill go down her spine. The times of the earth pony pushback had come far too close to becoming a full scale rebellion for Celestia’s liking, and it had been decades before unicorns roamed the streets again without fear of being snatched up by Vermin and his slavers.

The reminder of those dark times had indeed been a foul memory of one of the eras where Celestia had made mistakes. She should have listened more back then, because if she had, she might have seen the building resentment and taken steps to nip it in the bud before over eight thousand unicorns had been captured, bound and sold into slavery to the various other races in and around Equestria.

At least Vermin had been true to his word once he had turned himself in. The pony behind it all had helped her dismantle the very criminal empire he himself had built up, as well as destroying the secret of how to make orichalcum. In return, the Apple family was given a clean slate, with all records of their involvement destroyed. All that had remained were a few links of the dread alloy, until today that is.

Celestia inhaled slightly as she continued to work on the chains held in her tools. So long as her magic did not directly touch the metal it would remain as simple chain, allowing her to create a safeguard she had long desired to have, but thought impossible. There simply hadn’t been enough orichalcum for what Celestia had wanted to create.

Now however, with the remnants of Rarity’s bindings, as well as the lengths that her guards had recovered from the tunnels, there was more than enough for a harness, collar and bridle large enough to fit her frame. Satisfied with her creation, the alicorn began to shrug herself into the bindings.

First came the harness. The chains tightening fiercely as the alicorn used simple padlocks for the last links, the orichalcum in contact with her body reacting to the barest touch of telekinesis. Next was the bridle, and the magic needed to secure the lock at the back of Celestia’s head, contracted the chains of her harness to the point that the alicorn nearly passed out from lack of air as it squeezed her body.

At the last there was the length of chain that would serve as her collar. Fortunately, Celestia was able to wind it around her throat and close its lock using only her hooves.

“Guard,” Celestia called cleanly through her door, not having equipped her bridle with a bit. “Please find Princess Luna and tell her I need to see her immediately.”

“Yes Princess,” replied the guard. “Is there anything else?”

“Yes. Do not allow anypony other than Princess Luna to enter. Is that understood?” Celestia asked, cheeks heating slightly at what the guards might think at seeing their princess in such a vulnerable position.

A few minutes later there was a soft knock at the door, followed by the voice of her dear sister asking to enter.

“Come in Luna, and close the door behind you,” Celestia replied.

“Very well, Sister,” Luna said, stepping into the room. “I do not see what was—”

Luna froze as her eyes registered the harnessed, bridled and collared form of her sister standing in the middle of the room. The eyes of the lunar alicorn darted all over the room, looking to see who had done this to her sister, and Celestia noted with some amusement that each veer aside was followed by a glance back at her chained body.

“Come in, shut the door, and put a privacy spell over it while you are at it,” Celestia gently ordered.

Luna did as she was bid, sealing the room before blurting out, “Sister, what has happened to thee? What is the meaning of this?”

It took more than a few minutes for Celestia to explain the entirety of things. Of Vermillion Apple, orichalcum, the near rebellion by earth ponies at being treated as second class citizens and of recent events.

“But Sister,” Luna complained, circling her sister to closely examine the chains that formed Celestia’s bindings. “None of this explains why you have bound yourself in this fashion.”

“Orichalcum is strong enough to hold either of us, and it doesn’t let us use our magic. Which means it’s the perfect material to keep either, or both of us, under control,” Celestia stated, as Luna picked up a pair of reins in her hooves, smoothing them in her grip.

“So thou art truly helpless in the grasp of these chains?” Luna asked, her expression becoming unreadable to her sister.

“Exactly. It means that if one of us goes… bad, again, we don’t have to be exiled to the moon, or worse,” Celestia continued. “With these chains on, I’m completely at your mercy if I become Daybreaker, or— Luna, what are you doing?”

While Celestia had been going on with her explanation, Luna had simply reached up and attached the reins to Celestia’s bridle. All it took was a slight tug on them to pull Celestia’s head toward Luna.

“And so, you are at my mercy now?” the dark alicorn asked, her voice husky. “In my power, to do with as I wish? Many times as Nightmare Moon, I dreamed of you bound like this. Unable to resist my strength. Forced to submit to the might of the Moon. And now, you have given yourself to me.”

“Um… yes?” the new solar slave answered hesitantly.

“Excellent,” Luna responded, her fur darkening to a pitch black as she pulled Celestia’s head close and whispered, “The safe word is ‘Cake Flank’. Remember it well, and use it if you have need.”

Author's Note

And that concludes a story idea I had kicking around my head for months. I'd like to thank my patrons for voting to allow me to get this story completely finished. Especially as it grew from a single, 4000-word chapter into this monstrosity.

I would also like to thank Lady Lightning Strike for stepping in at the last moment to help edit things for me.

I hope you have found it pleasing in some small way.

Every month my patrons get to vote on which story they would like to see me work on following, my commissioned story.

If you want a vote on what I write, join my Patreon and for as little as a dollar a month and cast your ballot for whichever story you would like to have me update. February's voting will begin on the 1st.