Author's Note

This chapter only contains depiction of slurs and discrimination towards country folk, brief descriptions/mentions of violence and death.

Contains general setup, anger issues, pent up horniness, introduction to griffon studs and submission education, importance of consent via school protocols, stripping of clothes, briefly witnessed blowjob, sexual repression/mental conflict, rejecting sex.

Honesty About Happiness

“Sir, if you’re not going to buy anything, then ah suggest ya move aside and allow the mare behind you to look at my apples…”

Applejack stood at her stand in Ponyville Square, wearing a red plaid shirt that covered her rack and stopped right above her stomach whilst also wearing her signature hat as she had crossed her arms at the stallion in front of her and narrowed her eyes at him. Over the past several weeks, the powerful orange mare’s temper had ignited more and more as she saw how blatantly Twilight had changed and Equestria had accepted it. The purple alicorn didn’t dress up in long-sleeve shirts or tennis shoes half as often anymore, and had bat ponies following her around everywhere looking at her for long periods of time. Applejack still didn’t know for certain what it meant, but if Twilight could lean into her personality more, why couldn’t she? Applejack was tired of keeping up “appearances” for the sake of her family, cause what good did that mean being the Element of Honesty?

So when a customer scoffed at her or a merchant gave her a dirty look, Applejack lacked interest in avoiding the conflict and would pry. Provoke. Tell them if they have a problem with her, to just say it. The orange mare was banned from half the stands now, and some of them had even turned her family away, which Applejack used as reasons to pick fights with them again. Several complaints had been brought up to Mayor Mare now, and Applejack didn’t care anymore. Why did Twilight get to act how she wanted? Why couldn’t she?

The stallion narrowed his eyes at Applejack, glancing at the pony woman behind him and watching as she looked away to avoid the situation. Applejack snorted loudly at her cowardice, why couldn’t the damn lady assert herself? Why did Applejack have to do it for her?

Then, the stranger looked at Applejack.

“What even happened?” the stranger groaned. “You used to be the talk of this town with the other Elements of Harmony? You were such a standup mare, or you at least acted like one, but over the past several weeks you’ve practically got the whole town turned against you.”

“Guess ah stopped caring about what everypony thinks of me for a change,” Applejack shrugged. “And the town’s still talkin’ about me, aren’t they? And they certainly ain’t stoppin’ buying mah apples anytime soon. Now is there anything else ah can help ya with? Cause for somepony standing at mah stand, ya sure ain’t focusing on the product ah’m selling…”

“Great fucking Celestia,” the pony man groaned as he slapped his forehead with one hand, shaking his head. “Guess even if you’re an Element, doesn’t change that you were raised by a bunch of dumb hicks.”

Applejack’s mind went completely paralyzed for several moments, her eyes widening as her eyes twitched and she kept her arms desperately at her sides. It was certainly true that she didn’t care what anypony thought of her anymore, but what was said about her family was a different story entirely. She loved them with her life and would do anything to make sure they were fed and taken care of, still working hard on bucking apples no matter how her day was. No matter what energy she did or didn’t have. Her emotions warred with her logic as she physically willed herself to stay still and not act impulsively this time. If she ended up hurting this stallion, she knew that it could put the financial stability of the Apples at risk with the consequences.

Much to her horror, the stallion pulled his hand away from his face and grinned at the orange pony woman as a sharp contrast to how sympathetic he looked earlier.

“Huh, apparently something hit a nerve, didn’t it?” The stallion persisted. “That’s the truth, huh? The one that you’re afraid of? That your family don’t know common Ponyville decency livin’ on a farm? Is this how they all act? Like the pigs in the mud? Don’t know how to bite your tongue, or grin and bear some rudeness, because y’all fight back at home like animals? Is that why your parents are gone? Cause one of ya took it too far-”

“Stop-”

“Don’t tell me what to do, lady,” the stallion talked over the mare behind him, who had finally spoken up before she turned around and ran off towards the courthouse. Applejack barely registered the customer behind him bolting off, anger and fire boiling in her blood at the absurd yet degrading insults the stallion was saying, and imagining her parents Bright Mac and Pear Butter who were long gone, they couldn’t defend themselves from the slander the stallion was saying.

But she could.

“-and buried those two six feet in the-”

Fire ignited and exploded as Applejack’s fist connected with his face.

“Have a seat, Applejack.”

Applejack sat on the chair on the left in Mayor Mare’s office, with Granny Smith on the right. The older mayor of the town saw dozens of citizens of the town right outside her window staring daggers at the orange earth pony woman and talking amongst each other in shock. The pale amber pony woman shook her head as she walked towards the window and closed the curtains as the three of them couldn’t see anypony outside anymore. Granny Smith had a hand clutched over her chest, her eyes wide as she struggled to breath in her chair as she looked at Applejack like she might have a heart attack. Mayor Mare, despite the angry mob outside, had her gaze cool and composed as she pulled out her chair and sat down.

“Normally, if this were like the Trixie situation, I would have ensured that you were out of town,” Mayor Mare explained, her tone as if she was talking about the weather. “After paying the hospital bills, of course. Unless you can somehow prove this is a one-off incident, I’ll have to deem you as a danger to the town and act accordingly. But considering you’ve been an Element of Harmony, and have helped save the entirety of Equestria, we have a unique situation here. I’ve invited our local Princess, Twilight Sparkle, to join us and help determine a solution that’ll bring everypony’s minds at peace.”

“Ah can only think of sending her back to finish a proper education, not just high school,” Granny Smith added the last part of her sentence before Applejack could protest, the orange mare’s nostrils flaring up at any more indications that her family might be dumb or illiterate in some type of way. Mayor Mare stayed quiet as the older green lady continued. “Ah swear to Celestia we’ve tried everything from talking to her, to accompanying her for support, tryin’ to get her to go to some kind of family counseling, even the other Elements have tried talkin’ some sense into her! But she keeps screaming up and down about how she can act how she wants now because Twilight can.”

“And what does Twilight have anything to do with this?” Mayor Mare’s ears flickered, and her eyes jumped towards the door at its perfectly timed knock before she made a beeline towards it. “I guess we’ll be finding that out, won’t we?”

Opening the door, Twilight Sparkle entered in all her lavender-furred glory with her horn and long wings showing her power as she wore a white blouse and black high heels that was paired with a black skirt that reached her knees. On top of that, the white blouse had a black crescent moon in the center that reminded Applejack of how close she had become to Luna over the past several weeks. The outfit was certainly not anything overly suggestive, but Applejack narrowed her eyes as she knew that Twilight wouldn’t have been caught dead wearing such a getup months ago, let alone when she had first met the purple pony. Mayor Mare pulled out a chair from behind her desk that Applejack hadn’t even noticed, pushing it to the side as Twilight sat down and looked at the Ponyville Mayor expectedly.

“Granny Smith was just explaining to me how Applejack is acting up because you are acting differently, and I have no idea what she is talking about,” Mayor Mare explained with a shrug and a shake of her head as Applejack glared at the purple alicorn.

“Are you kiddin’ me?!” Applejack snapped. “She leaves for a few weeks and all of a sudden, she comes back no longer wearing turtlenecks and has half a dozen bat ponies followin’ her! Does anypony else notice this nonsense because ah do! If she gets to have a whole new personality that makes her happy then why can’t ah?! Why ah’m ah the one who just has to accept mah life ain’t ever gonna change?!”

“Applejack?” Granny Smith looked at the tall orange mare, powerful in her muscular appearance but mentally no more than a mouse as her grandmother looked at her intently for the first time in years, her eyes blinking fast as she reached a frail hand towards her granddaughter. “Are you meaning to tell me that you’re not happy?”

“Ah…” Applejack looked to her grandmother, the shattered pain all too clear in the green pony woman’s watery eyes as she saw Twilight was looking at her dear friend with flattened ears and a small frown. The accusations about her new staff seemed to mean little to the purple alicorn, who could only stare at Applejack like she was a wounded animal. Applejack took a deep breath, wanting to bolt off were it not for the angry mob that would make that near impossible. Granny Smith didn’t bother to wait for Applejack to tell the truth as she looked at both Mayor Mare and Twilight Sparkle.

“As much as ah think school would help the poor girl, we don’t have the money,” Granny Smith deflated, her heart even more stricken by the revelation of her granddaughter’s longtime misery as her ears flattened and she stared at the floor. At the mention of school, Twilight’s ears perked up and her long wings flashed out from her sides as she smiled from ear to ear, the sudden brightness catching both Mayor Mare and Applejack’s attention as she raised one finger.

“Well, over the past several years, Griffonstone has been rebuilding itself and just finished setting up a school that ponies and griffons alike go to as a form of unity and cultural enrichment,” Twilight babbled as she squirmed in her seat, the excitement in her body at the idea of education was palpable. At least, that’s what Applejack assumed she was excited about. “Having an Element of Harmony as a successful student for their new class? Think about the publicity for pony-griffon relations! And of course, I would have no issue with paying for the entirety of the school semester and paying for that stallion’s hospital bills. And whatever costs that the family feels they are entitled to. It all goes away~!”

“Listen, if ya want to pay the hospital bills and such, that’s a mighty fine favor for you to do for me,” Applejack nodded, though she gripped the sides of her chair as she narrowed her eyes at the purple alicorn. “But ya have no right to be stickin’ yer muzzle in mah personal business upending mah life with this education bullshit. Ah’m already gonna have my hands full with damage control here anyways.”

“Applejack, you screwed up,” Twilight said flatly, her ears slowly falling as her expression turned blank and her wings dropped. “Almost all of Ponyville is seething at your continuous attitude problems and straight up assault of an innocent citizen. What he said isn’t going to matter at this point, and if something isn’t done to display you’ve changed, then this incident is going to affect your family’s business horrendously. I’d highly recommend you take this opportunity at least for a couple of weeks to show how seriously you take what you’ve done, and to show everypony you’re sorry and let them cool down from this tension. Otherwise, it could endanger your entire family. Sure, I could use my bat ponies as bodyguards as a temporary measure, but I can’t exactly do that forever because they’re needed back at my castle.”

“And is this some kind of boot camp school?” Applejack scoffed.

“Applejack, please, you need to take this generous opportunity that Twilight is offering you,” Granny Smith begged. “Especially if you’re not even happy with us in the first place, you just seem like you wish you had what Twilight has now.”

Applejack’s eye twitched, and Twilight stared at the orange farmpony knowingly as a small smirk grew on her muzzle. Though Granny Smith had no idea what Twilight even had in the first place, Applejack had a few ideas and she felt her face explode in a wild tomato red blush at Twilight’s smile.

“I’m very confident that the school would be a wonderful experience for you if that is the case,” Twilight explained to Applejack. “Both me and Princess Luna have looked over the lesson plans for this school, and the consent of the activities is number one priority. If for any reason you don’t want to participate in the school setting anymore, and you’re certain it’s not a good fit for you, all you need to do is write a letter for me to come get you and I will. It’s important that you enjoy yourself above anything else, Applejack, and I’d never send you anywhere where I’d suspect they’d hurt you.”

Twilight smiled a little wider, blushing a little as she said something underneath her breath as Applejack ignored her and looked to Granny Smith looking down at the floor as if she wanted to disappear in it. She then looked up at Mayor Mare, her expression impartial as always and then stared at the desk in thought. No matter how much Twilight might’ve changed, Applejack knew deep down in her heart that the purple alicorn would be certain of where she was sending the orange mare, and that their friendship of many years had never lost its true strength in heart. Exhaling, the pressure of hiding that one icky truth that she hadn’t been happy in a really long time starting to fade with the new opportunity presented to her, Applejack relented.

“Fine, ah suppose tryin’ out this griffon school couldn’t hurt,” Applejack groaned, and Granny Smith looked up from her chair as she burst into tears and smiled for the first time since walking in that room. Mayor Mare smiled at the same time, nodding as she walked out the room to presumably share the news. Twilight got up from her chair, with Applejack getting up at the same time, as she rushed forward in a few steps and gave the orange pony woman a firm hug.

“Off the record, I’m truly sorry about how that jackass acted,” Twilight sighed. “But you know I can’t just be thinking about you and your family, I have to act in the best interest of Ponyville.”

“Ah know, but it means a lot to hear you say that,” Applejack sighed, before she continued. “Ah sure hope you know what yer doin’, Twi.”

“Trust me, Applejack,” Twilight patted the muscular pony woman’s shoulder. “After admitting what you did, I’m confident these classes will set you free~”

Applejack gave a loud sigh as she sat on the train by herself, feeling the loneliness of not having her dearest friends alongside her. Not even Twilight was beside her as the purple alicorn insisted on the orange pony woman needing to make this journey herself, not with somepony else holding her hand. And with the sudden realization that she might not have been nearly as happy as she would’ve liked dedicating her whole life to others, Applejack thought about how precariously little she decided for herself and just allowed herself to work endlessly for her family and Ponyville without allowing any of the pleasure or spoils to go to herself. She certainly didn’t date beyond hookups, let alone even entertain what she’d want in a partner as she simply worked and worked. She didn’t really consider her life a waste because she had played a crucial role in saving Equestria over and over again, but Applejack had felt a small twist in her heart at the idea of letting any of this go on. She could only hope that the school would give her some much needed release of her pain, and that the griffons known for being selfish and greedy would end up surprising her and proving her wrong.

She looked to the various ponies talking amongst themselves in the train, and saw that while they had glanced at her, it was with smiles and friendly pointing before they looked away. The rampant discussion amongst the citizens of Ponyville hadn’t spread beyond the town yet, and Applejack could only hope that Mayor Mare and Twilight’s reassurances to Ponyville would dissuade them from spreading any rumors. Applejack watched as the Ponyville trees shifted to the far view of Canterlot in the distance, and eventually after a few hours, the landscape of Griffonstone came into view as Applejack’s jaw dropped.

The orange earth pony woman had seen plenty of pictures as well as hearing the descriptions from Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, recognizing that the land of griffons was torn out and in desperate times before Equestria had offered to extend help to the feathery nation that was in ruins. The buildings that were once broken and incomplete had been bulldozed down with the blessing of the civilians, replaced by more modern and completely furnished houses. The ground was no longer littered with stray branches and unkempt grass, but was clean with multiple griffons even moving around and cleaning stray pieces of litter and vigorously scrubbing public buildings. While the vast majority of the citizens were still griffons, there were a few ponies and even Kirin that inhabited the land. And as Applejack slung her backpack of belongings over one shoulder and walked off the train, she had stopped and stared at the large building in the distance that easily exceeded the houses in size. The building was certainly no laughing matter in appearance, a steel building that stood at least five stories tall and had big white letters that said Griffon Values Finishing School. The fact that the griffons had finally stopped wallowing in their own lack of care for their nation and even created a school that asserted their values was admirable to the farm pony woman. She could only hope that their values would improve her life somehow.

Griffons that she passed by as she made a direct beeline for the school stared at the orange farm pony, in different ways. Some of them looked at her bust, which out of all the stuff Applejack took offense to, that was pretty low on the list. She was relatively self-aware of her bigger rack and thought such occurrences were natural, though she enjoyed it more when the griffons stared at her muscles. Years of hard work gave her a more durable body than most stallions back at Ponyville, though Applejack was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of the griffon males had muscles just as big as her muscles if not respectively bigger. The sight made Applejack pause for thought, and to stare at them for a few moments longer than planned as she had felt an unexpected flash of pleasant warmth at how better they looked in appearance to the scrawny stallions of Ponyville. The griffons stared at her short shorts and some stared directly into her eyes, likely the few that actually recognized her as an Element of Harmony. Though, despite the unspoken exchanges, Applejack was there to see what this school was all about, and never slowed down in her pace even for the powerfully built predators that were the griffon studs she saw.

Applejack blushed a little.

Did ah really just think that?!

Applejack shook her head as she approached the school grounds, the door being blocked by two bulky griffons with their wings wide open to block entry. They both looked at Applejack and nodded with blank expressions, seeming as though they were fully expecting her to be there.

“Adults only beyond this point, we’ll need to see your ID please,” the first griffon stated.

“Formalities, you understand,” the second griffon sighed, knowing full well that Applejack was well into her 20s at this point. Applejack fished her ID out of her backpack with a nod, showing it to both of them as they examined it for a few moments before looking up at her.

“And of course, we’ll need to be inspecting the backpack for weapons,” the first griffon waited for Applejack to slowly hand over her backpack as he glanced through it.

“Sorry again,” the second griffon rolled his eyes. “There’s been a select few radicals that don’t approve of the school’s way of teaching, and have snuck in with weapons. Prudes essentially, you get the idea.”

“Prudes?” Applejack asked, the statement leaning more into her suspicion of Twilight than anything else. She certainly had a few ideas of what could be going on behind the walls of the school, especially clued in by the ask of her ID, though she had zero idea how far the griffons’ teachings would go. The orange farmpony gulped as she felt a rush to her loins that she wouldn’t dare admit to, though she knew it was better to feel aroused than horrified at what she might be getting herself into.

“Yes, prudes,” the first griffon agreed, staring down at Applejack as he handed her back her bag. “Are you fully comfortable with participation in this so far? The school is firm in their lessons, yes, but the most important part is that you enjoy any activities you witness or partake in. The school takes pride in that, ma’am.”

Applejack was tempted to ask the guards what exactly the activities were, but the question felt rhetorical at this point. Deep down in her gut feeling, she knew what she was walking into, even if her brain was still trying to come up with other possibilities. She felt a surge of juices getting her underwear wet, and Applejack desperately contained herself as she nodded.

“Yessir, I’m more than okay with seeing what this school has to offer,” Applejack stammered, trying her damndest not to explode into a blushing mess. The two griffons smirked, both of them opening a door as the busy building was revealed to the orange farmpony. Applejack walked into the building, gulping as she still had no clue what she was getting into. Just hearing one of the griffon guards behind her mutter a “Thought you might say that~” before hearing the doors shut behind her. Much to her surprise, all the students that she was able to see were either griffonesses, mares, or Kirin. She didn’t see a single guy in sight, but a long table of griffonesses with a big sign that said New Students at least gave the pony woman an idea of where to start. Taking a deep breath and making a beeline for the table, Applejack saw the griffonesses’ eyes light up as they nodded at the orange pony woman.

“We heard you were coming!” the griffoness chirped, pushing a paper towards Applejack as well as a pen on top of it. “Special pony around your parts and all, you’ll still need to fill out the form like everyone else. And of course, none of the information will dictate your roommates which have already been decided for you. Though if for some reason you need to make changes there, we’ll make it work.”

“Ah, thank ya ah guess,” Applejack nodded as she grabbed the pen and filled out the obvious. Her name, place of residence, age, and so on. Of course, her heart beated fast in her chest as she saw a signature to a consent to removal of clothes and seeing others in the nude. She could feel the griffonesses’ eyes on her, possibly drinking in her chest and her figure as well as the conflict dancing on the orange pony woman’s face. Seeing such a muscular mare squirm had to be a hoot for them to say the least, though Applejack wouldn’t allow them to gloat in it as she bit her lip and signed the paper. She knew that signature and whatnot, she could still change her mind if she wanted, though she couldn’t pretend that she didn’t want the other mares and griffonesses to see her figure.

Ah wonder what mah roommates are into, if nothing else.

Then, Applejack’s jaw dropped at the Preferred Kinks at the bottom of the paper with several blank lines below for her to write whatever she wanted. She looked up at the griffoness lady right across from her, who shrugged.

“Hey, we’re not Santa Claws fulfilling your wishlist,” the griffoness laughed. “And we can’t guarantee anything too crazy, but the studs and rest of the staff will definitely be informed and you’ll likely find others who suit what ya like.”

“Ah, uh,” Applejack sputtered (studs?), feeling more like a blushing virgin in the moment rather than a muscular powerhouse. She looked to the dantier mares and more floofy griffonesses, imaging scissoring them as she had done with a handful of mares back at home. She certainly was no stranger to fooling around with the same sex, even though when it came to guys she hadn’t really gone beyond a prolonged kiss. Writing down “girls, ropes,” as the only two words, Applejack thought of those bulky griffon studs she saw at the door and instinctively grabbed the pen and added “open to studs” before she could think twice and stop herself. Covering most of her eyes with her hat and pushing the paper towards the griffonesses, Applejack stared at her boots as she felt her tail involuntarily flag up in the air.

“Erm, ah just need to know what room ah’ll be stayin’ in,” Applejack muttered.

“It’s going to be the third floor and the second room to the right,” the griffoness stated, pushing a key towards Applejack as the orange farmpony woman took the key and barely muttered a “thanks” before turning around and walking past everyone. She didn’t know how to handle the unexpected tone of the school, that Twilight had strongly encouraged it, or that she even agreed to go despite her suspicions she had before even getting on the train! Was she that stressed for action, or even something remotely exciting in her life, that she’d sign her life away to a school only a few steps above a brothel?

The muscular and well-built orange pony woman was able to walk up two sets of stairs without so much as breaking a sweat in which several of the students failed to achieve such a feat, something that gave Applejack comfort after the red-faced embarrassment that was filling out Preferred Kinks on a form. She made it to the third floor, seeing that past the stairs, it split into two hallways full of rooms. One to the left, and another to the right, so Applejack remembered the directions and turned in the latter direction and approached the second door down as she put her key in and turned it. Opening it, Applejack saw two griffonesses waiting for her on the bunk bed that was across the regular bed. Turning around and closing the door, Applejack took in the griffon ladies that she was going to be sharing a room with.

On the top bunk was a black griffoness who appeared to be a bit shorter than Applejack, her amber eyes bright as she took in the new roommate with a wave of her talon. Having a short shirt that exposed her stomach, Applejack saw that while most of her fur and feathers were black, the griffoness had a white stomach as well as three white stripes running downward between her eyes. The griffoness on the bottom bunk was a tan color, appearing to either be equal height to Applejack or an inch or two taller, as she had black stripes running throughout her body. Her green eyes were narrowed, and her expression was otherwise blank as she remained almost still. Applejack looked to the bed on her left, presumably for her as there were only three beds in the somewhat compact room, as she dropped her backpack on it.

“Uh, ah take it y’all are mah roommates?” Applejack shrugged, not really knowing what else to say to the two. She couldn’t know if they were going to be gal pals, neutral, enemies, or scissoring each other by the end of the week. Applejack certainly found them both to be pleasing on the eyes, but the tiger griffoness on the bottom bunk brought a little chill down her spine. Before either griffoness could respond, Applejack looked at the nightstand that was in the middle of all their beds. There was a golden idol on the nightstand, of a griffoness in the throes of euphoric passion as she was riding the lap of a male. Applejack blushed, though only a tiny bit surprised as she had a hunch what reeducating her meant in Twilight’s eyes, that her own alicorn friend saw fit to send the farmpony woman to be set right by griffons and their domination.

So why did Applejack feel like her legs were trembling?

“Yo, pony butt,” Applejack flinched before turning to look at the tiger griffoness as she shook her head. “Really? That quickly huh? You’re not even going to try and resist a little?”

“Huh?” Applejack stammered, and the black griffoness giggled as she looked down at the tiger griffoness.

“Hey, we all agreed to come here having some idea of what this school is about~” the black griffoness explained, before jumping off the top bunk bed and throwing a talon towards Applejack. The farmpony woman extended her hand back and shook the griffoness’ talon, her higher pitched voice reminding her of Pinkie almost right away as she continued with a laugh and roll of her eyes. “My name is Songbird, and that grumpy kitty over there is Tabby. She’s acting like she wants it any less than me or you do, just because she went through a pretty bad breakup a few weeks ago. It’s why she was encouraged to come here. I mean, what kind of griffon doesn’t want to fuck his henfriend?”

“You didn’t need to tell her all of that,” Tabby groaned as she threw her face in her talons.

“You learned all of that from her in one day?” Applejack asked almost at the same time.

“I have that sort of talent of getting information out of others!” Songbird chirped with a shrug, walking up to the door and listening for any sound. Much to Applejack’s surprise as she pressed her ear to the door, she noticed that the sound of the griffonesses and mares entering the school had died down into complete silence as Songbird moved away from the door and grinned. “I wonder when orientation will start! They wouldn’t give me any details, except that they would let us know when it's about to start, oh my goodness I’m so excited to see what they have planned~!”

“Do you think he’ll take me back if I beg a fourth time?” Tabby asked, her talons still covering her face as Songbird pulled the tan griffoness’ talons out of her face and glared at her.

“Listen, that loser didn’t know how good he got it when he had you, and from what I’ve heard, the other school has the best studs that Griffonstone can offer!” Songbird insisted. “Probably better studs than even Pony Land can offer!”

“It’s actually called Equest-”

“Irrelevant,” Songbird scoffed with a flap of her black wings and a roll of her eyes. “But even though I’m excited, I still care about you both. Whatever you two decide to do, I’ll follow along. Even if you two decide to do nothing and come back here, I’ll do the same.”

She…she would?

Applejack smiled, feeling a lot less alone in the school as this Songbird proved to bring up the mood significantly and make the farmpony woman feel better there in Griffonstone than she had felt at home in a really long time. Even Tabby seemed to smile a little bit more than she did when Applejack walked into the room, and with near perfect timing, the three ladies heard a trio of heavy knocks against the door.

“Um,” Applejack walked towards the door, looking over her shoulder and getting affirmative nods from both Songbird and Tabby before bringing a hand to the door and opening it wide to see a group of five griffon studs of various colors and sizes. Some were smaller than Applejack and others looked like they could crush watermelons with their talons, causing the orange farmpony to gulp as the silver one with rippling arms pointed at the farmpony woman’s chest.

“Strip,” he commanded, his voice deep and honeyed as a surge of mare juices flooded Applejack’s panties involuntarily. Applejack felt her chest getting warm as she instinctively took off her plaid shirt and bra, even tossing aside her beloved hat, before pulling down her shorts and underwear really fast in hopes that the griffon studs wouldn’t see the damp spot that she had left. Or the fleeting hope that they would take her right then and there, and set her free from the hopeless life she led only working for her family with no payoff for herself. Instead, two of the griffon studs placed a bitless bridle over her muzzle and around her face and ears as they tightened it and the silver griffon took the reins that were attached to it.

“Let me know if it's too hard,” the silver one muttered, suddenly pulling Applejack forward. The pull was firm but not painful as Applejack followed his command and walked out of the room, this time naked and showing off her orange-furred breasts and apple cutie marks as she began to blush and try not to drip on the floor. She glanced over her shoulder, barely able to do so with the bitless bridle on her face, as she saw the griffon studs assisting in taking off the clothes of the griffonesses. Applejack could see them getting hard at the exaggerated glare Tabby tried to put on, even though she was just as wet as the farmpony woman if not more, as they placed the bitless bridle over Tabby’s beak and face before one of them took her reins and pulled on it. Tabby rolled her eyes as she stood up off the bed and followed the griffon stud holding her reins out of the room and stood beside Applejack. Even though Songbird seemed the most enthused about the whole situation, she walked out last with the griffon studs giving her strange looks at how much she was wiggling and smiling with the bitless bridle on her. She even brought her talons to it and gasped at the bridle.

“Wow, here I thought it’d be too tight for my beak to move, but it's just the right amount of snug!” Songbird rambled.

“Alright, take it easy over there,” the silver griffon muttered, causing Songbird to contain herself even though she was still smiling brightly. Applejack, Songbird, and Tabby all followed their rein-holders and the two griffon studs flanking them to the orientation room on the bottom floor. As the three were heading towards the big doors that were wide open, Applejack looked to her left and right and was able to see all the griffonesses and mares she saw before completely naked just as she was. At least all of them being naked made Applejack feel less weird about it. Though instead of there being seats, they all stood with their “handler” holding the handles to their respective reins as a tall and sleek white and black griffoness with piercing yellow eyes entered the room as she surveyed everyone.

“Good evening, mares and griffonesses of the second semester of Griffon Values Finishing School, as the first semester was a booming success that we’ve gotten four times the amount of students this year!” the griffoness spoke, wearing a red button up shirt and a long black skirt that reached past her knees. “My name is Principal Osprey, and I’ll be the one overseeing the progress of each and every one of you into mind-numbed, horny, needy submissives. And not just accepting being submissives, because most of you have already done that by arriving here, but being good at it. Though based on the forms I’ve gotten from each and every one of you, I know some are going to need more time than others. And that’s more than okay, because not everyone learns at the same pace. Though we do reward good behavior in this school. You’ll all be generously fed either way, this is a school of learning and not a boot camp. But you can either refuse learning and accept gruel, or you can embrace making an honest effort and be fed the best food we have to offer. And the best treatment, as our studs are the kindest and best paragons of masculinity Griffonstone could find. They have been vetted very thoroughly on several different qualifiers, and aren’t the pump-and-dump chumps some of you might’ve had the displeasure of encountering in the past.”

Tabby huffed loudly at that last sentence, and Applejack felt a pang of sympathy for the striped tan griffoness as Principal Osprey continued.

“However, these studs are going to be from a neighboring school since this school is for submissive ladies,” Principal Osprey chuckled. “They have had a chance to read all your forms thoroughly and discuss amongst themselves, picking out a specific griffoness or mare that they believe they’ll get along with best. Or whatever one looks hottest to them, honestly, I can’t pretend like I know what goes on in those heads of theirs. Regardless, here are all of them on the stage right now. Before you can eat our fine cuisines, your first lesson will be sucking off the dom that has picked you. If you have any problem with the griffon stud for whatever reason, just go to our staff in the lobby and we’ll pick out one that is more agreeable for you. Or feel free to return to your room, our lessons are entirely optional~”

“Yeah, I’m not doing this,” Tabby decided as the griffon stud nodded and pulled the bitless bridle off of her, walking in the opposite direction as her as the tan griffoness made a beeline for the door before Songbird could protest. Applejack felt for the fierce griffoness, even though she had never really gone through a breakup herself. The farmpony woman knew it had to be far from easy to make the decision to move on from a lover, let alone to put herself out there and enjoy the carnal splendors that griffon studs had to offer. And Applejack was put through a conflict of her own as she looked at the tall and muscular griffon studs that had walked on stage in a single file line and showed off their various cocks. Several of them locked eyes with the griffoness or mare of their choice, and gave a “come hither” gesture with their talon as several of the ladies walked up their with buckled knees and blushing faces, clearly excited at the thought to surrender themselves to superior griffon studs that would release them from the tedious repetition of their boring lives and into the golden ecstasy they all saw in their rooms.

Though Applejack noticed more than a dozen of them refused to participate, the griffon studs removed the bitless bridles off of them and allowed the griffonesses and mares to return to their rooms. Staff members were at the door to tend to any serious concerns they might’ve had, though the refusing students seemed to be leaving more out of a lack of interest or readiness than anything else. Applejack felt her arousal spiking, especially watching a pony woman getting on her knees and began sucking a griffon’s cock on stage. Though, she hadn’t ever done that before, and despite her heart and body’s excitement and desire to get up on stage and see which griffon stud had picked her out, she heard Tabby’s voice in the back of her head as well as Songbird staring at her and waiting for the farmpony woman to decide.

Really? That quickly huh? You’re not even going to try and resist a little?

Applejack huffed as she turned to the silver griffon.

“Nice try, thought a tough woman like me would just get on her knees and suck cock like a whore?” Applejack scoffed. “Take this stupid shit off of me, ah’m goin’ back to mah room.”

“And me too, I want to make sure she and Tabby go to sleep okay,” Songbird chirped, staying true to her promise. Applejack felt a little bit bad with the flash of concern in the silver griff’s eyes, wanting to assure him that she wasn’t actually mad. But her pride kept her muzzle shut. The griffon studs nodded and took the bitless bridles off of both of them, and the two left the auditorium room as Songbird placed her wing over Applejack back and looked up at her.

“Are you okay, Applejack?” Songbird asked. “You seemed a little tense back there, and I want to make sure you’re still fine being here.”

“Yeah, ah am,” Applejack sighed as she wrapped her arm around Songbird’s shoulders in return. “Ah just…have been an Element of Harmony saving mah land several times over, and everypony back home has recognized me to be this pillar of heroism and strength. How would they see me if ah just chose to be at the command of a guy? Just submitting to him and debasing mahself like that.”

“Well, I don’t think it's debasing yourself if it's what you want in here,” Songbird remarked, placing a pointed talon underneath Applejack’s boob and right over her heart. “If anything, I think it's pretty cool to decide what you like against what others think of-oh wow.”

Applejack had opened the door, and besides seeing Tabby glaring down at her bowl of gruel, they had saw that besides the big bowls of gruel being on their beds…

…the rest of their possessions were gone.