-THWACK- The sound split the air as an orange Earthpony gave a swift backwards kick into an apple tree. The apple fell into buckets placed carefully by her sides, and not a single apple escaped this time. Applejack took a good look back at the fruits of her labor, but this time she did not smile. Normally, a perfect catch of apples would give her a little pleasure or satisfaction, but today she could not even muster these feelings.
Instead, she wore a permanent scowl, and nothing even resembling pleasure or the satisfaction of a job well done entered her eyes. She was filled from her hooves all the way to the brim of her favorite hat with flaming agitation and stress. Her heart burned with the desire to kick somepony’s face in, and all she could do to calm down was move to the next tree and give it what for. One too many good days had gone wrong, all because that stupid Pegasus needed to win and win everytime. The Earthpony shook her head in annoyance. That other mare would do anything to win too, even cheat (‘But it wasn’t cheating! We never said I couldn’t fly!’ Had so often been an excuse. It was a load of crap, for record.)
In a fair fight, that Cyan filly wouldn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of beating her. She was the stronger of will, the stronger of heart, and in all but mathematical calculations the smarter of the two. Rainbow Dash, however was gifted her birthright, the unfair advantage of flight, which the earth pony could never have. As such, she won their little contests more often than she should’ve in a fair world.
Applejack, in turn was sick of her, and her antics. In fact, Applejack was downright mad. It wasn’t that Rainbow dash was competitive, she loved competition. It wasn’t that she could fly, Applejack in truth didn’t mind being bound to the ground. No, what bothered Applejack was Rainbow’s ever so annoying sense of entitlement, her sheer pride, her nonstop bragging when she really had nothing to brag about. That pegasus made her blood boil!
Who did that gosh darn filly think she was? Applejack pondered irritably, as she bucked another apple tree. Her legs shot backwards, hooves striking the tree with just the right amount of force, a skill trained from all her years of work at it. Her bucks were never too hard, and rarely too soft, just enough to make the apples fall but to leave the tree unharmed.
This was not something Rainbow Dash, that weak little Pegasus could do. To be fair, Rainbow wasn’t that weak, but her legs did not have near the strength that Applejack’s legs possessed. In fact, one of the only times Rainbow dash faced defeat to the Earthpony was in Applebucking, where she faced dismal failure in the face of her ground-bound companion.
They’d actually been getting along better than usual lately. Things had been going really well, with fewer actually fights and more friendly banter. At least, they had been up until a very specific contest had occurred. It had started innocuously enough. A friendly (well, as friendly as Rainbow and AJ ever got) wrestling match. No pain, just pinning. Three rounds, as long as it took to get the other to submit. No wings! At least, those had been the rules. Somehow, by the end of this ‘friendly’ wrestling match, Applejack and Rainbow Dash had both suffered a couple foot drop after the Earthpony nailing Rainbow with a kick to the wing because she broke the no flying rule. It was a harder kick than AJ had intended. Rainbow and her plummeted downwards, lucking out on the landing being almost directly on Applejack’s rear end, and somehow neither of the two had broken anything, but the incident had sure ticked them both off, Applejack in particular.
THWACK! Applejack moved on, and bucked another tree. Generally, this was work her and Big Mac would do together, but she was too worked up over her current standing with Rainbow. She felt anger rising up in her gut, just thinking about the situation with Rainbow Dash fueling her annoyance and making her careless. How dare that damned Pegasus act like she did! That showboating, attention seeking, obnoxious, ostentatious –THWACK- immature, jerkish, bickering, fight-picking, self important little –CRRRRACK!- Applejack fell backwards as she felt the tree she’d just kicked giving way. She paused for a second, dazed, and then heard the tree groan. Her eyes shot wide and the Earthpony scrambled to her hooves and dashed out of the way as the formerly proud apple tree hit the ground. She sighed as a startled family of Sparrow who’d been living in the tree flew off, chirping irritably and glaring daggers at Applejack who glared right back. “You were livin’ in mah tree anyway.” She muttered, pawing the ground, before hanging her head. This whole thing had her in a right rotten mood. She didn’t want to feel this sick from anger anymore, and Rainbow was a darned good friend of hers. Heck, that may have been part of the problem.
Truth be told, Applejack hadn’t always flown exactly straight as an arrow, so to speak. Sure, she leaned towards stallions, but it could be right hard to find one available, ‘specially in the parts she lived in. Sometimes a mare had to make do with what she could find. Sometimes though, there was another mare that was just plain special, and AJ had to admit, Rainbow was sure special. She was gorgeous, those athletic little flanks and back muscles so toned from her flight work. Her colors were nothing short of captivating, every shade of the Rainbow represented. Those rose eyes too… They were to die for. On the flip side, she was also hard-headed, frustrating, always had to be right… And just like that, the Earthpony found herself annoyed with Rainbow Dash again.
Rainbow’s biggest problem was that stubborn streak. That total unwillingness to let anypony else take control. The thought of it alone made Applejack’s blood hot, but for more than one reason. If only she could tame that wild mare... It’d sure knock her down a peg or two. Something about this idea was extremely appealing to AJ. Yes, that was it. Rainbow needed to be knocked down. She needed to be taught a lesson. She needed to be in a situation where even her precious wings couldn’t get her out. She needed to be dominated, completely and totally. She needed to give herself over to someone, someone who was stronger than her and had the muscle needed to take control.
She needed to be tamed.
The Earthpony finished her applebucking, and made her way back to the main farm. She opened the door to the largest barn, the dusty scent of hay rising in the heat as she did so. Applejack slid off her applebucking gear, before going to the side of the barn. Hay covered the entire area, which she cleared off, exposing the basement doors. Gingerly, the Earthpony hooked the doors in her jaws and pulled them up. A great puff of damp, cool air accompanied the now opened doors.
The basement was a little used part of Sweet Apple Acres during the summer, as it contained the equipment used during cider season, which wasn't for a good few months when winter hit. When that time of the year came around, all the cider gear would come out and this basement would be almost bare. In the meantime, large pieces of machinery covered almost every surface. A slim path led through the room, and around something resembling a giant hamster wheel. Behind the giant wheel, there was a door. It was large, heavy, and made of a dark wood. As things stood, you couldn’t open it. If one tested the handle, they’d find it locked.
AJ made her way back to this almost hidden room. She looked around, feeling up under the wheel with her hooves until she reached something small and metallic. “Bingo!” The Earthpony exclaimed, as she pawed out the object. It was a key. Taking it gingerly between her teeth, she inserted it into the lock and the door clicked open. Quietly, she snaked into the newly revealed space.
In here, it was even cooler than the basement. While in the other basement chamber, small mice and other things inhabited it, this room remained entirely devoid of any sort of life. It held an unnatural, almost disturbing stillness made all the more unnerving by the total and complete blackness. AJ took a step forward, and began shaking her head lightly, seeking a string which she found quickly, and pulled with her teeth. Overhead, a singular light bulb flickered to life, casting a dingy glow about the room.
It wasn't a large space, but it wasn't too cramped either. It was about the size of a larger walk-in closet, and about as decorated. Applejack gave a quick look around, though she remained sure she was alone. No one was likely to be looking for her soon, and they’d have even less of a reason to go into the basement. This room was even less used than the rest, an extra storage area in case of storms or an exceptional harvest. In one corner, there was a coil of rope, a few baskets, and some strange strap-looking things underneath what appeared to be a saddle.
AJ smiled. This would do just fine for what she had in mind.
