The morning rain was still drying off the leaves of the apple trees. Under one of the largest
a golden yellow pony was already back at work, mud splattered up her hooves. She gave
the trunk a hard kick. The branches shuddered, and several apples fell neatly into the
bushel below, already nearly full.

Applejack stopped a minute, taking a deep breath in. The smell of the orchard after a
rain was really something. Fresh and eager, full of life. She was sure the crop this year
would be one of the best ever.

A wet splash came suddenly from behind her, and the farm pony whirled around to see
a dusty brown unicorn emerging from behind one of the trees. He gave an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you. Are you Applejack?"

She gave an easy smile, leaning back against the tree. "That's me. And who might you be?
Don’t remember seein’ you ‘round Ponyville before." Something about the unicorn made her
slightly uneasy, but she couldn't put her hoof on it. No use in jumping to conclusions again
though, Twilight kept telling her that. Mind over gut. Anyway, no need to be rude. Unicorns
were always a little strange, it was probably just on account of that.

The unicorn returned her smile. "Glad I finally found you. My name is Haze-" He took a small
bag from his back. "Twilight said you might know something about this-" And pulled a worn leather
book from it.

Applejack gave the book a puzzled look as the unicorn held it out. "Ah'd be glad to help,
any friend a Twilight's a friend a mine and all, but Ah'm not sure there's much Ah can do.
Books are really more her thing, livin’ in a library and all-" She glanced over the volume
as Haze turned it for her. The leather was heavily scraped and bruised, and in a few places
it had what looked like claw marks cut into it. The only label was a title written in faded black
ink across the front. Applejack didn't recognize the language.

"Ah'm sorry sugar, none of this is really ringin’ any bells. You sure she said Ah was the one to ask?"

"I was surprised too, but she insisted." The unicorn replied, opening the book to a page near
the middle. "Right here, take a look. Can you see the apples there?"

The page on the left was blank, so the farm pony's eyes went to the right. There were no
apples on the paper there though, only a whirlpool of lines twisting around the center, passageways
threading back and forth.

"You sure this is the right page sugarcube? All that's here is a mess of lines-" She blinked.
Had the world just BENT, in and out a bit? Had she been out bucking longer than she
thought? She did forget a break or two once in a while, and forgetting several in a row
did have an…interesting effect on her sight sometimes. But that couldn’t be, she
had only started a few hours ago, so what in the hay-and were the lines MOVING on
the page now? Applejack started to back away from the book. "Ah really think you should
take this back to Twilight-" Nevermind the unicorn, something was definitely not right
with this book. As she backed away Haze followed her, keeping the book close. She
realized she couldn't get her eyes to leave the page. The lines were spinning now.

"Please, ya really need ta’ put that away now-" "But it's right there Applejack. Just look
a little closer."

The farm pony's head stopped with a thud and she realized she had backed up on to the tree.
She was up on her back legs now, and when she tried to slide away to the right she found
she couldn’t. The same for the left. Her hooves scraped frantically at the tree, trying to find
some grip to help her pull away, her mind not processing what was wrong. Panic ran over
her like ice, stetson falling from her head as she jerked helplessly against the trunk.

"Please, close it! Close it! For the love of Celestia, close the book!" Her eyes were starting to
tear up, neat ponytail fraying against the bark.

The unicorn stood his ground, those horrible pages still hovering in front of her eyes, swirling
and twisting and pulling at her. "But you're so close AJ. So close-" She could feel it pressing
against her mind as the lines swirled on the page, pressing in like a hoof against her mouth,
cutting off the air, the life. She could feel her mind struggling and losing, slowly going dim,
going limp.

"What’re you…doin’…." The words were barely audible, a choking gasp. The world was a
confused mess of whirling colors now, all of it slowly fading. From somewhere far away she
heard the unicorn's voice.

"Sshhh. It's time to rest now."

She felt her body give a shudder, and everything sank into inky black.

************

Haze watched in satisfaction as the earth pony slumped at the base of the tree, front legs
sprawling limply. Her head had tilted back, and glazed eyes now stared blankly at the
open sky. He reached out with a hoof, stroking the straw-colored hair, gently pressing her
mouth closed then watching as it slowly slipped open again, drool running from one of the corners.
Never got old.

He had been concerned with the earlier catch; Everything about her had seemed fragile, as if
she might shatter like a glass figurine if he closed his grip too tightly. He didn't want that,
not this soon anyway. The breaking was fun, but after it was over there was nothing left
to enjoy. So he had been gentle.

This one though, she radiated strength. Her whole body was toned with muscle and
endurance from her daily work, and he could sense her mind was even stronger.
She wasn’t fragile glass. She could handle some real fun. Turning over the book, he
confirmed that the farm pony’s three apples were tightly interwoven with the lines
of the maze, then turned to the blank page and began to write.

*****

Applejack stopped, head tilting as she tried to re-orient herself. Her train of thought
felt like it had wandered off the rails and sunk into a swamp. She shook her head,
trying to clear the fog, then turned back to the tree she had been working on.

The three baskets she had brought to collect her apples caught her eye. Full already.
How in the-how had she managed that without noticing? Maybe she really did need
more than four hours of sleep like Twilight kept saying. Then again, the apples had
still been bucked, one way or th’ other.

As she pondered this, loading up the first bushel onto a nearby cart, a voice called out
behind her.

"Hello there!" A brown unicorn the farm pony didn't recognize waved to her.
"You know where I can find Applejack?"

"Speakin' and present!" She smiled, tilting her hat slightly. "Now why would you be
lookin' for me?"

"Well, as it turns out I've heard you may be able to help me with something
important."

"Always glad ta help where Ah can. What didya-" The unicorn plucked an apple from
the basket, took a small bite from one side, a similar one from the other, then set
the apple on a nearby barrel with a firm thud.

"Oh." Applejacks eyes were fixed on the apple, the cheery smile melted from
her face by fear. All of the friendly had just drained from the unicorn.

"Where's the money Applejack?" The words were calm, but sharp like a razor.

She took a step back. "It's comin', honest, Ah just-"

"Where's the money Applejack?" The unicorn stepped forward and Applejack retreated,
back toward the tree. "Ah'm almost there, really, I just need time ta-"

"You needed time three months ago Applejack. And three months before that." The
farm pony realized she was up against the cart now, as the unicorn pressed in on her.
He held up his hooves, as if showing a child they were empty. "There’s no more time.
It’s all gone."

"Ah can pay, really!"

"Then you should have, before I showed up." The unicorn growled, inches from her face.
"Now there are new rules. Let me lay them out." He plucked the hat off her head and
took a step back.

"You're going to work your debt off. How we say, when we say.” He turned the hat in his
hooves slowly, examining it. “And if we have trouble with you, bad things will happen.
To the orchard-" He crumpled the hat- "To the farm-" a burst of magic flickered at the base
of the stetson, and suddenly flames engulfed it. "And to your family."

Rage flickered in the farm pony's eyes at this last mention. "You leave them out of this.”

“I didn’t bring them into it, you did.”

Eyes still afire, she lowered her head, like a bull considering a charge. “You sure tanglin’
with me is a good idea sugar?” The unicorn stayed where he was. “I’m not here to
tangle. I’m here to collect. Either from you now, or from what you care about later.
Your choice.” He dropped the flaming mass that had been her hat, stamping it out
with his foot. “There’s not a third option. Because you won’t take it. Because if you asked
your friends for help, you’d have to tell them why you need it. Why you took out that
loan. And if you could do that, you would have, six months ago.”

"And you know their help wouldn’t matter in the end, even if you could get it. No pony can
be everywhere, all the time. One way or another, Mr. Core always collects on his debts. Pay
what you owe, or watch as we take it."

He lowered his face to her angry glare, utterly cold as he looked into her eyes.
“Which is it going to be?”

The farm pony tensed, every muscle ready to tear the unicorn apart for what he was saying.
Tense. Ready. And then it collapsed. A moment later she was standing limply against the cart,
staring blankly at the dirt.
He was right.

"What kinda work?"

*****

Applejack sat on the dusty floor of the supply shed. In the dim light filtering through
the gaps in the crude siding, she could see the unicorn standing over her, leaning
back against the wall. She could see his length, hanging inches from her nose. She
could smell him. She glared up at him in disgust and he glared back with something
terrifying in his eyes, with the look a lion gives a rodent trapped in its paws. Hungry
contempt. She felt something in her go cold and afraid, and the growl slipped off her
face, her gaze falling to the floor.

He grabbed her hair and jerked her forward, mashing her nose against his balls.
Told her to lick. She did. She could taste his sweat, his skin, every detail. Thank Celestia,
it wasn't as awful as she had feared. She could keep going, barely. She could make
this bastard happy. She had to, or he would take it all. Burn it all. She couldn't let
that happen, had to keep going, keep licking, keep rolling over the skin, lapping here
and there, sucking and licking and rolling her tongue over the horrible unicorn's
warm, heavy sack...

He pressed her muzzle up, told her to start on the shaft. She felt a brief spark of anger
but it quickly sank into the quagmire of hopelessness that was filling her mind.
She started at his base and worked up, doing her honest best, eyes closed in
Concentration, trying not to think about what she was doing as she twisted and lapped
along the flesh, clumsy but earnest. She could feel him stiffen under her attention
until he was hard and hot under every stroke of her tongue.

When he told her to take it in her mouth there was something dangerous in his voice,
and she had barely begun to try sliding down his length when he grabbed her hair and
yanked back, throwing her into the dirt. Pathetic. What a worthless pony. If she
farmed like she sucked cock he could see why she needed the money so bad. Well he
wasn't one for farming, but he could sure teach her one thing-

The hoof grabbed her hair again, pulling her forward, forcing her to hobble awkwardly
and painfully where he pulled her. He brought her back to his length, the tip pressed
to her lips, pressed in. And then he pulled forward, hard, forcing her down deep.

Applejack panicked, gagged, hoofs instinctively going to the unicorn's waist to pull back.

Sure you want to do that?

He gave her a look that could cut iron. The tone of his voice matched. Still choking,
she slowly lowered her hooves, letting them hang uselessly at her sides.

Good girl.

He pulled back slightly, gave her a brief moment to recover, then pressed back in. The
farm pony did her best to give the unicorn what he wanted, but her body still twitched
and tried to strain back involuntarily as the thick flesh hit the back of her throat. He didn't
let it. His hooves held her head firmly in place, both of them now, as he pressed into her.
She gagged, choked, shuddered as he coldly pressed into her, tears filling her eyes as her
mind reeled.

...

She was gagging less now. He had taught her, taking his time, giving brief gasps of air
when she did well, twisting her ear and getting rougher when she did not, until her
nose finally pressed against his belly. All the way down. She could feel his tip twitching
deep inside her.

She looked up at him. He smiled down at her, stroked her hair. Good girl. She gave a
muffled moan, smiling pathetically, stupidly around the flesh filling her mouth. Smiling like
something was broken. Everything was limp now, body and spirit. She would do what she
was told. She would be a good girl.

Now suck it the right way.

She felt the command in his eyes more than she heard it. She let it burn through her.
Closed her eyes. Slipped back, just far enough to take a gasp of precious air. Then
came down again, all the way down, hilting him in her throat. Just obey. Don't fight.
Don't think. Just obey. Carefully, she started to bob and twist her head, working along
his length as he had taught her to, her tear-stained face a picture of pure exhausted
surrender.

...

Applejack sat on the dusty floor of the supply shed. In the dull, late afternoon light
filtering through the boards she could see Haze's cock in front of her, held in her
hooves, tip resting against her outstretched tongue. She had pleased him. She could
feel the warmth of his pleasure running down her cheek, her neck. The reek of sex
filled the shed, filled her nose, filled her mind. She ran her hooves tenderly back and
forth over his length, trying to please him again.

This was her work now. She would please stallions. He had taught her, over and over.
She had learned. She was a good pony. She would please stallions and everyone would
Be safe. If she was stupid and bad it would all go away. But that wouldn't happen.

Why not?

"Ghuughd Puuonee" She slurred against the hot flesh resting on her tongue. He gave a
pleased nod, then tensed, pressing forward a little into her stroking.Hot, filthy pleasure burst
over her tongue, into her mouth, against the back of her throat. Burst after burst. She froze,
every thought focused on the cock in her hooves, on catching every last drop.

As Haze finally finished and pulled back, Applejack's hooves sank to the ground.
She gazed blankly ahead a moment, then gave a breathy, faltering sigh. Relief.
Satisfaction. The corners of her limp, open mouth twitched into a dumb smile. She looked
up to Haze, as if to say something. Then a brief look of confusion flickered over her face.

The next moment the pupils in the farm pony's eyes rolled up, her eyelids fluttered shut,
and with a gentle groan her body toppled over, coming to rest against the side of the
shed. A clump of unswallowed "pleasure" slowly traced down her tongue as it hung limply
from her open mouth, hovered a moment at the tip, then fell to the dusty floor.

The unicorn gave a satisfied grin. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out something that sparkled
in the dim light, flipped it toward the collapsed farm pony and left the shed, closing the
door behind him.

The five-bit piece clanked along the floor, spinning for a moment in front of Applejack, then
toppled over, sinking into the white pool forming beneath her mouth.