“It is best to save your energy and wait for the Tykes to finish. Once the victim is captured and bound, the pack will immediately initiate sex. Due to their small size, they are unable to have full intercourse and in turn rely on foreplay. Tykes are very greedy and will constantly argue and fight over the lead role. However, the arguing and fighting over the precious sexual energy does not stop them from providing great service, and is an an important part of the feeding.” - The Equestrian Explorer’s Encyclopedia of the Equine-Monstrum

The smell of apples was heavy in the air, apples and leaves and soil. The smell of the earth. Behind her, the cart wheels squeaked and clacked as they trundled over the dirt path of the orchard. The harness dug into her back, but it was a good pressure. A heavy cart meant a full load of apples, and that made Applejack happy.

Today, she was harvesting Jonagolds. A mix of Jonathan Apples and Golden Delicious, the Jonagolds were new to the Apple family orchard. This was their first full harvest since the saplings had been brought over by the Fillydelphia Apples four years ago. Applejack looked over her shoulder at the barrels piled high with the red-and-gold apples. Granny Smith was going to make some great pie with those!

Tugging on the harness, Applejack pushed on, heading for home. The barn was out of sight, hidden by the mass of apple trees. Here in the younger section, the trees were short, with long branches that grew low to the ground and blocked the path ahead from sight. AJ enjoyed walking through the orchard more than just about anything. The sun up above casting shadows, the sound of wind rustling the branches and the occasional solid thump as a ripe apple fell to the ground. It's enough to make a gal feel downright poetic, AJ thought.

A shout broke the farm quiet. It sounded to Applejack like it came from close by, maybe a few rows away. "Ah hope those Crusaders ain't getting themselves into any trouble," she muttered as she slipped the straps. Leaving the cart, AJ pushed through the branches of the short Jonagold trees, cutting through the lines of plants. But as she neared the source of the sound, she stopped. It definitely wasn't the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"Be quiet!" a voice snapped. It was hushed, like the speaker didn't want to be heard, but forceful. A threat of some kind lingered beneath it.

"Fuck off." The statement ended in a laugh. "Brimstone! Grab me another one of those apples!"

"Get it yourself, bitch!" There was more laughter and the sound of branches shaking as apples were picked off of them.

"It's a bunch a' rotten apple stealers!" AJ whispered. "Probably them high-schoolers from last month again." She pulled at the wall of leaves, but stopped short when she caught sight of the intruders. It wasn't the high-school ponies. She wasn't even sure they were ponies at all.

On the one hoof, the five mares did look like ponies. They had lavender manes and purple coats, four legs all present and accounted for, eyes and ears, mouths that were currently being stuffed with apples. But they also had two bat wings, a long, thin, fleshy tail with an end like a spade, and two curved horns like...

"Devils."

Granny Smith didn't have much to say on the subject of Hell, but Applejack had seen pictures in books of the things that ruled there, with cloven hooves and bat wings and wicked-looking horns. And then Twilight had told her it was a real place called Tartar Sauce, or some such, and the three-headed dog showed up, and now these things!

Unconsciously, she took a step back. If these monsters were from Hell, she was in no position to deal with them herself. She needed to get Twilight. Twilight would know what to do.

"Hellfire, Brimstone! The farmhouse is up there. If you two would stop eating, we'd have been there already!"

“Mmmm…” muttered one of the monsters. “Maybe we’ll find something even better to eat up there.”

Applejack's blood ran cold. Apple Bloom was up at the house, and Granny Smith. Big Mac wouldn't be back until late, they'd be completely defenseless! She tried to edge backwards, to cut around the group and beat them to the barn, but a stray branch caught on her side. "Ouch!" she yelped as it dug into her skin.

"Quiet, all of you! Somepony's watching us." As one, the five devil mares turned to look at Applejack.

Not hesitating a second, Applejack sprung into action, kicking off with her back legs and leaping forward and to the right, trying to dodge around them. Two tried to tackle her, but she ducked around them, making for the next line of trees. If she could get through those, she could probably make it home.

One of them dived at her from the air, grabbing at her with her hooves. AJ rolled, somersaulting beneath the devil. She had made into past them, was just about to enter the trees, when she heard one of them yell, "Sleep!" Her limbs stopped responding and she collapsed into a heap, her momentum sending her tumbling into a tree trunk. She hit hard, but her eyes were closed and she was out before she noticed.

***

"She's gorgeous," a voice was saying.

Consciousness returned to Applejack all at once, not like being asleep. One moment she was floating in blackness, and the next she was blinking in the harsh sunlight as the bark of an apple tree scraped against her fur. She was in a sitting position, her back bent awkwardly against the trunk. She could taste apples, and she coughed as she tried to remember what was happening.

"Hell yeah. There's no way we could-"

"She's awake."

Oh, right.

Somepony was shaking her roughly. AJ tried to push them away, but her limbs wouldn't respond. She was bound to the tree by an incandescent blue light that she recognized as magic. Immediately, Applejack tensed, straining her limbs, testing the limits of her bindings.

"Stop struggling." A face swam into view. One of the purple demon ponies was standing over her. "You're only making this harder for yourself."

Applejack stared back. "What in tarnation do ya want with me?" she said, as she continued to struggle. "Let me go!"

"You're Applejack, right? One of the, is it... Elements of Harmony?"

Applejack blinked. How do these things know about the Elements of Harmony? she thought. "Uh, yeah. Yeah."

Another mare pushed the first out of the way. "Which one is she, Hecate?" she asked enthusiastically. "I bet she's Pride. No! Gluttony!"

Hecate shoved the interrupter. "Back off, Brimstone!" Brimstone flew up and, when Hecate had turned back to AJ, made an extremely rude gesture behind her back. "You'll have to forgive my companions. They find it difficult to control themselves around such a beautiful mare." She stroked Applejack's cheek with a hoof, and the earth pony flinched. Hecate laughed gutturally.

"Ah'm Honesty," Applejack said, her anger bubbling to the surface. "and if'n y'all know about the Elements, ya know Ah've got five friends that'll come and tear y'all to pieces." Now that she could get a clear look at them, they didn't seem to dangerous. They were small, about Apple Bloom's size, though AJ could tell from their proportions they were full-grown mares.

"Tear us to pieces?" Hecate giggled again. "You could try. I'm not sure that Fluttershy would present much of a challenge."

Applejack growled. "You stay away from her! She ain't done nothin' to you!"

All five of the demons were laughing now. Brimstone and another that had to be her twin went back to picking and eating apples.

"Why d'y'all want me then?" Applejack spat, frowning. "You one of Discord's? He trying to get back at us for turning him to stone?"

"Discord? Goddess, no. We're-"

"Hungry..." Another one of the monsters butted in. Licking her lips, she ran a hoof down Applejack's stomach.

"Get back, Abyss. You'll get your turn."

"I better. It's been a long time since we've been on the surface." Abyss crouched over Applejack and pulled her cowpony hat off with her teeth. "We have our orders, but I say we enjoy the dish that gets put in front of us."

With a growl, Applejack kicked up with her back leg. She caught the mare square in the stomach, sending her rolling away with a screech of pain. "Ah've fought changelings and dracon-exes and crazy moon alicorns. Ya'll don't frighten me none."

Her expression a toothy grin, Abyss flew into the air, where she hovered and sent kisses towards the earth pony. "I like my meals feisty," she said.

"As I was saying," Hecate continued, "we're what you ponies call 'tykes'."

"Ain't the word Ah'd use for ya," Applejack grumbled. After her successful attack on Abyss, she'd been unable to make any headway on loosing her bonds.

"Yes, yes, I know, 'demon' and all that." Hecate began to circle around the tree Applejack was tied to. "But we're really not that bad," she reached her tail around and tickled Applejack's chin with it, "once you get to know us."

Applejack recoiled from the tyke's caress. "Ah was gonna say 'bitch'."

Hecate pursed her lips and lifted up into the air. She looked at her assembled group questioningly. They nodded in return. “You need our help," she said.

“You can take your ‘help’ and stick it where the sun don’t shine.”

Blinking absently, Hecate said, “You seem quite hostile.”

“Ya think?” AJ spat at the monster. Hecate watched her through slitted eyes.

“I don’t suppose our natural charms have much of an effect on one such as yourself. In that case, we’ll have to use our unnatural ones.” She chuckled darkly and whistled. “Styx?” she called. Another tyke, who had been hanging back from the others, stepped forward at the summons. “Abyss is right, it’s been entirely too long since our last… meal. Fix me up some horsemeat, would you?” Hecate grinned widely, exposing two rows of sharp canines. Applejack shuddered as Styx approached.

“Listen!” AJ said with as much bravado as she could muster, which admittedly wasn’t much. “Y’all can hurt me all you want, but when mah friends get a-hold of you-”

“Hurt you?” Abyss laughed. “Maybe just at first…”

Applejack started to ask what she meant, but was distracted by a glow coming from Styx’s horns. A pale blue miasma shone from them, rising in intensity until Applejack saw a matching light surround her own crotch. “Woah nelly!” she shouted, trying to scramble away from the magic, but the restraints held her in place. A tingling began in her crotch, like somepony was running a brush over it. The sensation grew until it became painful, more like needles sticking into her. Pressure built up just below her tummy, pressing against the underside of her skin. Then, with a burst of pain, something erupted out of her.

“Nicely done,” Hecate said. Abyss nodded in agreement, and Hellfire and Brimstone had stopped gorging themselves to stare open-mouthed at Applejack. Styx muttered her thanks weakly, but none of the other tykes were paying much attention to her. Nor was Applejack, who was much more concerned with the seven-inch cock that had just sprouted from her crotch.

Her dick was solid black, rising up out of the orange sheath. Beneath it, a pair of enormous balls dangled, bouncing back and forth as Applejack shifted uncomfortably. The dick wasn’t actually that impressive in size. Most stallions had about fifteen inches, and AJ knew - entirely by accident - that her brother was packing over twenty. But the fact that it was there at all, regardless of size, was enough to throw Applejack for a loop.

“What the hay is this doin’ here?” Applejack yelled. She stared down at her cock. It twitched under her gaze, and a small drop of precum dribbled out of the tip. It was rock-hard.

“Don’t worry,” Hecate said. “You’ve still got a pussy.”

“Weren’t really mah concern,” Applejack said. Abyss was leaning in, staring hungrily at the erection, which throbbed painfully under her gaze. The tyke opened her mouth, letting her tongue loll out languidly, saliva dripping down and landing with a splash on AJ’s skin. Her lips were plump, and Applejack had a sudden desire to bury herself into that mouth. Her hips bucked unconsciously, bringing her cockhead within inches of Abyss’s mouth, but Hecate was pushing her away.

“I’m first!” Hecate said petulantly, gripping AJ’s cock protectively. Applejack gasped at the sudden contact as hundreds of nerves that hadn’t even existed before were all stimulated at once. “You all can wait your turn.” She looked Applejack in the eyes and began to stroke her dick slowly. It felt better than AJ could have imagined, and she rewarded Hecate with a high-pitched moan. “We need your help. Are you going to hear us out?” Hecate asked. Through the haze of pleasure, Applejack glared at the tyke. “I guess you need a little more persuasion.”

With a renewed vigor, Hecate rubbed AJ’s cock a little faster, starting at the base and working up to the flat head. Applejack was leaking large amounts of pre-cum now, the sticky fluid dripping down her shaft. Hecate gathered some in her hoof and smeared it over the rest of Applejack’s cock. “Oohhhh…” Applejack moaned as the pleasure mounted. She could feel the blood pumping into her cock, making it pulse as it hardened even further. She was practically bursting now.

Hecate gently cradled AJ’s balls with a hoof. “Mmmm,” she muttered. She was lying in front of Applejack, staring up at her with a sultry expression, eyes slitted and her pink tongue flicking out to moisten her lips. “I can feel your sperm in here. You want to let it out, don’t you?”

“N- no!” AJ gasped, but Hecate was right. She could feel the pressure building up inside her as Hecate continued to slide her hooves up and down her rod. She knew she was making the same expression that stallions did, right before they came. "Ah’ll never listen to you!”

“Fine by me,” Hecate said. She shrugged and let go of AJ. Her dick flopped down onto her stomach, precum running off into her fur. Applejack let out an involuntary whine as the erotic sensations disappeared, leaving her cock harder than before and aching for a touch. The orgasm denied was pure agony for her. Applejack resisted, trying to think of home, of her friends, of anything but the seven-inch length of horsecock jutting out from between her legs, but the blood pumping through it made that impossible. Every beat of her heart sent a throb of desire through Applejack and through her dick. The feeling of so many fuckable mares being so close, their flesh practically touching Applejack’s, was intoxicating. The heady scent of apples, sweat, and the tykes’ arousal swept over Applejack, and her answer was out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

“All right, all right! Tell me what you want, whatever! Just… please…” She clamped her mouth shut, but the cows were already gone, so to speak.

Hecate smiled victoriously. She put her hooves on the dick and stroked it, hard. The orgasmic pleasure returned in a rush, like water bursting through a dam, and AJ was cumming, harder than she ever had before. With the first spurt, AJ felt her thighs tense, and a thin ropey stream of jizz squirted out of her cock, hitting her squarely on the nose. Applejack gasped in surprise, and the second spurt landed directly in her mouth. It was salty and warm, and didn’t taste very good at all. AJ swallowed in surprise as her dick continued to spew cum on her neck and chest, until at last the final few dribbles came out to land in a pool on her stomach. Applejack breathed heavily, letting the afterglow of a good orgasm wash over her.

“You liked that, didn’t you?” Hecate said, grinning. AJ wanted to say no, but she was the Element of Honesty after all. Applejack nodded. “Good. Can’t let all this go to waste.” Hecate bent to AJ’s crotch and sucked up the semen that had collected there with an obscene slurp. She moved up Applejack’s body, licking up the rest of the cum even as it cooled on Applejack’s fur. With a final kiss, she licked the jizz off the earth mare’s nose and sat back on her haunches, her tail flicking contentedly.

A dark purple glow formed around the tyke, radiating energy. “That was delicious,” Hecate said. “You truly are a master at this, Styx.” The small tyke blushed at the praise. Hecate flapped her wings and rose up into the air. “Well, I’m full. The rest of you can have your fun.”

“Wait, what?” Applejack said in surprise. “Ah just-” she looked down at her crotch “-came.” Her dick was poking straight up, just as stiff and ready for action as before. “Magic…” she said.

“The best kind.” Hecate now sitting to the side, watching cheerfully while munching on an apple, Abyss had swooped in to take her place at Applejack's cock. “Styx, let her go." Styx’s horns shimmered and the magical bindings holding AJ disappeared. Applejack sat up straight and rubbed her wrists. "Mm mmm," Abyss said, pushing AJ back up against the tree. "You stay right where you are. And you two,” she stared at the circling twins, both watching Applejack, “back off.”

"What're you going to do to me?" Applejack asked nervously. The look of hunger on Abyss's face had an intensity that AJ had never seen before, not even on Rainbow Dash.

The tyke leaned in close, licking her lips and gripping Applejack's dick tightly. "Whatever I want." She stroked it slowly, and AJ felt electricity shoot through her crotch again. "You really do like this." Abyss chuckled lowly as Applejack's hips started bucking, trying to increase that delicious friction. "Then you're going to love this."

Abyss lowered her head into Applejack's lap and gave the meat a long lick from the bottom of the shaft to the flat rim of the head. AJ yelped, and Abyss grinned deviously. "Thought so," she said, and then she did it again, and again, faster and faster until her head was in constant motion over her dick. AJ clutched at the ground with her hooves, pulling up grass and dirt. Abyss's hoof reached underneath Applejack's giant sack and found the wet hot center of her marehood, which had become aroused along with her dick, and was now leaking marecum into a puddle. Abyss began to massage it in light circles, while continuing to bathe her cock with saliva.

"Ohhhh yes," AJ was moaning. "Please... More..."

Nodding her head in consent, Abyss opened her mouth wide. AJ could see her small pink tongue, her thick lips, and then she shut her eyes tight as a thousand firecrackers went off in Applejack's head. Abyss had slipped AJ's dick into her mouth and was sucking on it fiercely. It was like nothing Applejack had ever felt before, hot and wet and completely encircling her. She had sucked a few dicks in her own time, of course, but she'd never thought it felt this good. "Ah can see why colts like this so much," she groaned. Abyss mmmmed in agreement, sending vibrations running through her shaft, and then started to move.

Even though this was her first time receiving a blowjob, Applejack could tell Abyss was a master. The tyke was bobbing her head, running her tongue along the underside of the cock while keeping a tight seal with her lips. Every few strokes, she licked the tip gently, before continuing down. And she could go all the way down, deepthroating Applejack on every stroke.

That pressure was building up in Applejack again, recognizable from her last orgasm. She thought Abyss could sense it too, because she redoubled her efforts, going faster and harder. Applejack moaned, staring down at her dick disappearing into the mare’s mouth. Abyss’s long hair hung down, perfectly framing the picture as Applejack took one last look before

“Ah’m comin’!” Applejack grabbed onto Abyss’s horns and shoved her horsecock as deep as it could go. Her hips bucked as she let loose a torrent of sperm down Abyss’s throat. Spurt after spurt flowed into Abyss as the tyke hummed with satisfaction, swallowing as fast as she could. Abyss’s throat muscles squeezed around AJ’s dick, milking out every last drop. A violet glow emanated from the tyke.

When Abyss finally let Applejack loose with a loud pop, the earth pony felt like she had been completely drained of all fluids in her body. She lay back, smiling widely. “Whoowee,” she sighed. “Don’t that just beat all.”

Abyss leaned in and kissed Applejack full on the lips. Applejack could taste herself as Abyss pushed her tongue into her mouth. "Sure does," Abyss said, letting AJ loose. She stared into Applejack's eyes with an expression of lust sated, but something violently pushed her out of the way.

"All right, all right, you've had your fun. It's my turn now!" A short-haired tyke had taken over. Was this one Brimstone, or-

"Hellfire! I'm next!" The tyke that had to be Brimstone was growling at Hellfire, tugging at her shoulder. "You always get to go first!"

Hellfire laughed. "That's because I'm the oldest!" She pushed Brimstone away and sat down directly on top of Applejack's dick, which was stiffening surprisingly fast. The shaft slipped just north of Hellfire's hole, sliding between the slick pussy lips. Applejack moaned. "You like that?" Hellfire asked, giggling. She began to shift her hips back and forth, grinding her marehood on Applejack's cock.

"Get off!" Brimstone tackled her sister. Hellfire slid forward, rubbing Applejack's very sensitive cockhead. AJ squirmed, trying to maneuver herself into the tyke. Brimstone grabbed AJ's dick and pulled it out from under Hellfire's ample rear. She took it into her mouth and sucked furiously, grinning up at her sister.

"Hey!" Hellfire spun around on AJ's chest and bent down, shoving her ass into AJ's face. The scent of wet pussy wafted into AJ's nostrils, only enflaming her passions further. Hellfire pushed at Brimstone and licked the horsemeat herself, nibbling gently at the medial ring.

"She wants me," Brimstone whined, butting her horns against her sister. She licked the underside of the cock, and the two tongues bathing her dick nearly pushed Applejack over the edge.

"No!" Hellfire and Brimstone pushed hard against each other. Their fight became more and more involved, until they had forgotten AJ completely, and her dick was standing up straight, spit drying coolly on the shaft.

"Enough!" Applejack said. Straining, AJ sat up, spilling Hellfire over. Hellfire collided with her sister and the two fell backwards onto the ground, Hellfire on Brimstone with their legs spread wide. Applejack stood over them, her dick jutting out proudly from between her legs. "Y'all two need to learn to get along." She crouched over the two wrestling sisters and lined up her cock. Wrapping her forelegs around them, AJ nudged her dick between the two sopping cunts.

"Oooooooh," all three mares moaned, as the thick meat pushed forward. The broad head bumped against the tykes' clits, triggering more groans of pleasure. AJ pulled back, and started to thrust in earnest. The two pussies sandwiching her dick were leaking profusely, their juices mixing with precum to lubricate AJ even more.

The now-familiar pressure was building up in Applejack's crotch now. She could feel her cum pushing through her shaft, and she redoubled her efforts. With a cry, she came, spurting jizz onto the stomachs of the writhing tykes.

"That was fast," Abyss said. She was hovering above them, her wings flapping lazily as she munched on an apple. Applejack glared at her as best she could in the afterglow of her orgasm. The heavy panting and tongue hanging out of her mouth betrayed her stern look.

The two sisters wriggled apart, the sperm joining them in a sticky mess, ropes of marespunk connecting their crotches. Brimstone flipped over to put her head in Hellfire's lap and began licking up the juices. Hellfire did the same, and soon the two emitted a dark purple energy, like Hecate and Abyss had.

"Thanks for the meal," Brimstone said. She rolled over onto her back and closed her eyes.

"Delicious," Hellfire agreed. She let out a contented sigh and patted her stomach. "Mares taste the best."

Her thighs aching from being used in new ways, Applejack sat down heavily, leaning back against the apple tree. Her thoroughly-used dick, still in a state of semi-hardness, rested on her leg, dribbling out small dollops of sperm onto her orange fur. By all rights, she shouldn't have been this tired from a little exercise. "Must be the magic, taking somethin' out of me."

"Applejack," Hecate whispered. She was standing behind Applejack, her snout right in AJ's ear. "I know you must be tired, but you're going to have to do one more thing for me." She twisted Applejack's head until the mare was looking at the fifth tyke, whose long purple hair hung down, demurely hiding her face. She seemed a little bit like Fluttershy, actually.

"Ah can't," Applejack said, breathing heavily. "Ah'm-"

Hecate bit her hard on the shoulder, sharp little teeth sinking into her fur and flesh.

"Ow!" AJ yelled. "What was that fer?"

"Get over there and do her!" Hecate commanded.

AJ nodded angrily and stood up. Her legs shook, but AJ was a strong mare, and she forced them to steady. She walked over to the tyke, who she recalled was named... Styx? "Hey," she said. Styx turned away shyly. "Look," AJ continued, "Ah don't know much about this magic stuff. Ah mean, Ah do quite like havin' a pecker, even if'n Ah don't really know how to use it."

"You're doing great with it!" Hellfire cat-called from one of the apple trees.

AJ ignored her. "But if you wanna... Do it with me, Ah guess Ah'm game fer that." Styx made no move, but continued to look anywhere but at Applejack. Applejack sighed. "That's fine, hon. I could go fer a nap anyway."

The tyke turned suddenly and stuck her flanks up in the air. Her tail swished out of the way, and she was presenting herself to Applejack. Her pussy was red and swollen, her feminine juices leaking out of it profusely. The scent of wet pussy, with its unmistakeable tang, brought a mist over AJ's mind. Her dick, which had been receding into its sheath, grew outwards, engorging with blood and becoming as hard as a rock. AJ snorted with desire, and then she was on top of Styx, gripping her fiercely around the barrel as she lined up their parts. She hadn't even been aware of getting up there. Is this how stallions feel? AJ wondered dimly, before the flat head of her horsecock touched the wet heat of Styx's marehood.

After that was something of a blur. AJ was vaguely conscious of sliding inside the mare, of her cock being encompassed in a warmth and tightness she had never felt before. There was a hint of resistance, but Hecate slapped her on the ass and she pushed through it. She began to rock back and forth, quivering and moaning with ecstasy as she felt the walls of Styx's pussy clench on her hardness.

Beneath her, Styx was tensing her legs, trying to bear the weight of the earth pony pushing down on her. Abyss was holding her head and brushing her hair with a hoof, while staring Applejack in the eyes. Hellfire was lying to their right. She had reached a hoof underneath the pair and was rubbing Styx's clit in gentle circles - AJ could feel the pressure through the front wall of Styx's marehood.

AJ jumped and gave an off-rhythm thrust as a sudden wet sensation enveloped her balls. A strong tongue began lashing her balls, and AJ groaned. She craned her neck and saw that Brimstone had slid between her outstretched legs and was sucking on her sack. The whole scene was very surreal, and Applejack couldn't wrap her head around how she had gotten to this point. But another thrust into the inviting warmth of the mare writhing beneath her, and Applejack stopped caring.

Styx's moans changed pitch and started coming with a greater frequency and urgency. AJ recognized them - they were the same ones she herself made when she was about to come. She sped up, bottoming out inside the tyke as her cockhead pressed against the entrance to Styx's womb. Styx's shouts converged to a scream as her pussy clamped onto AJ's dick, squeezing it relentlessly. The motion pushed Applejack over the top, and her own orgasm hit. She shot her white marecream into her partner, filling her to the brim with the sticky juice. Wave after wave of orgasm washed over Applejack, and she continued shooting her cum into the tyke until it overflowed, spilling out of her hole and dribbling down Applejack's shaft to cover her balls. The sensation became too powerful, and AJ pulled out, spraying cum all over Styx's ass and pussy lips, which dripped down her legs and into Brimstone's waiting mouth. Even as AJ watched as her cum mixed with Styx's juices continue to spill out of the mare's twitching hole, a dark purple glow swirled around the tyke.

Styx sighed and slumped forward into Abyss's waiting lap. Applejack staggered backwards and fell onto her back. Staring up at the sky through apple tree branches, she realized she had never felt so tired in her entire life. Even when she'd tried to buck all those apple trees by herself and had collapsed out of nervous exhaustion, it hadn't been as bad as this. She felt like the very life had been drained out of her body.

"You're fortunate. That was her first." Hecate had moved into her field of vision.

Applejack stared up at her. "Hooray," she mumbled weakly.

"You're going to be pretty tired for a while," Hecate said. "We've drained your energy." Applejack shifted her eyebrows to try to convey her confusion. She wasn't quite up to speaking. "Don't look at me like that," Hecate said. "It's not my fault you had so much to give. And don't blame yourself. I had Styx add an aphrodisiac to her spell."

The other tykes were gathering in a circle around her. He could see Hellfire and Brimstone shoving each other, Abyss grinning down at her, Styx hanging back, but smiling. "Hey, we're going to stay here for a little bit," Hecate said.

"What...?" AJ's eyelids were heavy. She could hardly keep them open.

"Yeah, we can't really go back home now."

"Yeah, thanks!" Abyss bit into an apple.

"Twilight," Applejack muttered. "Gotta get Twilight..."

***

Twilight was expecting another monster when she opened the door to the barn, but the sight of five creatures right off the page of the Guide was startling, to say the least. “So, all of them?” she asked tentatively.

“Eeyup.” AJ surveyed the tykes, all in various states of play. Styx had taken to examining the plow and the other farm tools, while Brimstone and Hellfire were hovering in the rafters, tossing a pitchfork back and forth at each other with magic. Abyss was lying in a pile of hay, doing something AJ probably didn’t want to know about. “Only seemed right to take ‘em all in, seein’ as they can't go back to their home.”

“Wait, that wasn’t what I meant-”

“But Ah’ll let them tell you all about it. There’s Hecate now.” Hecate had noticed the entrance of the two mares and was walking towards them.

“Cute place you’ve got here, Applejack,” Hecate said. She grinned pointedly at Twilight. “And cuter friends.”

“This here is mah friend Twilight Ah told you about.” Applejack put her leg over Twilight’s shoulder and pulled her in for a hug. “She can help ya’ll with just about any problem ya might have.”

“Good, good.” The other tykes had taken notice of Applejack and Twilight and come to witness the conversation. Hecate led the way out of the barn. “Twilight Sparkle,” Hecate began, “We've traveled a long way to speak with you and your friends. We believe that-” She stopped, seeing that Twilight was staring intently at her wings and tail. “Yes?”

“Sorry, but… what are you?”

“Tykes,” Hecate said plainly.

Twilight nodded. “Thought so.” She pulled a thick leather-bound book out of the saddlebag she had slung over her back. She flipped open to a dog-eared page with a short list of names, dates, and places. “And what’s your name?”

“Hecate,” Hecate answered, plainly confused.

Twilight jotted down a few notes in the book, then closed it and replaced it in her bag. She looked up expectantly at Hecate, who stared back with her forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Please continue.”

“Don’t mind her,” Applejack said, chuckling. “She’s just like that.”

“Ah.” Hecate nodded, and continued. "We tykes hail from the planes of Tartarus, as do many... Other things."

"So why aren't you there now?" Twilight cut in.

Hecate cut her a sharp glance. "I was getting to that." Twilight grinned, abashed. "We come here rarely, when we can sneak past the guard. Cerberus is a strict watchdog."

Applejack chuckled, remembering the easily-distractable yet oversized pup that had come into Ponyville a few weeks before, but Twilight nodded in agreement. "But I returned Cerberus to the Gates. How did you get out?"

Hecate stopped and stared up at the sky, clearly deep in thought. Finally, she said, "How much do you know about Tartarus, Twilight Sparkle?"

Twilight answered immediately, as though she'd been called on in class. "Tartarus is an ancient cavern far beneath the surface of the earth, where Celestia imprisons all sorts of monsters that could bring harm to Equestria. Err, not 'monsters'... Um..."

"No, we are monsters," Hecate said, sensing Twilight's hesitation. "Tykes are just fun ones."

"Oh. Right. Heh heh."

"But you're not completely right. Tartarus also holds spirits, the souls so vile, so full of hate and malice that they refused to pass on."

"You mean, like ghosts?" Applejack asked.

"That's ridiculous," Twilight said. "There's no such thing as ghosts." She looked sideways at Hecate. "Is there?" Hecate nodded. "Oh. Fine, but what does that have to do with anything? What about Cereberus?"

"You returned Cerberus, yes, but you were too late. In his absence, something much more terrible than us escaped. A soul that had been trapped in Tararus for eons broke free and establish herself here in Equestria. She freed many of us 'monsters' from the pits. She sent us here to kill you, Applejack."

Applejack whinnied in surprise. "To kill me? Y'all didn't tell me that."

Hecate nodded. "We might have done it too, if you weren't so damn cute." She kissed AJ on the lips, while a scandalized Twilight looked on.

"Uh, okay then," Applejack said. She coughed and adjusted her hat.

"Hecate," Twilight interrupted. "If this spirit was sent to kill Applejack, does that mean there were others?"

"Why, yes. I assumed you would have defeated them already. We were one of the last groups to leave for Ponyville."

"Rarity and Fluttershy both met a monster, but-" Twilight paled. "Oh Celestia, Pinkie!" Her horn flashed, and then Twilight disappeared in a blink of white light, leaving behind a scorched patch of dirt and two confused mares.

Author's Note

Wow, that one took forever. Combination of school and apathy, but here is the next chapter. Things are heating up! Plot is getting explained and pounded! Mysteries are being solved! New questions are being posed! Mainly sex!

As always, if you enjoyed the story, a thumbs up is appreciated, a favorite is welcomed, a follow is loved, and a comment is best! If you have an idea for a monster-pony pairing, leave a comment recommending it. I have the monsters for Pinkie Pie and Twilight chosen, but Rainbow Dash and any other side/background pony are up for suggestion. Thanks for reading!

• In_The_Sun