“Applejack?”

“Yes Babs?”

“Say I want a colt to find me irresistible… what do I do?”

Applejack felt the first few drops of sweat bead up along her neck. “Er… what?”

Babs, sitting at the table, looked over at Applejack. “I want colts to notice me the same way that Silver Shill notices you or Big Mac notices Cheerilee—”

“Now hold on a second, yer too young for that!”

“Apple Bloom is dating Rumble—”

“That’s different!” Applejack felt a cold clamminess creeping up her neck. Reaching up with her right hoof, she began to rub her neck and she looked over at Babs. The dishes from dinner were still on the table. “Now I don’t want to talk about this no more. Help me clean off the table.”

“I keep having strange dreams… dreams about colts… sometimes they’re confusing,” Babs said, a faint drawl creeping into her voice. She was out of the city now, and back in the orchard.

“Those are just dreams. You don’t pay them no nevermind.” Applejack felt queasy and the kitchen felt far too warm. Her throat felt dry and hot.

Letting out a nervous cough, Applejack went to the sink to get a drink of water.

“Apple Bloom said she was wrestling with Rumble and he unsheathed—”

Applejack did a spittake into the sink, spraying water everywhere. She coughed and spluttered, unable to breathe. She banged her hoof on the edge of the sink.

“I’ve been kinda curious about colts and I’ve been wanting to see what they look like,” Babs said, now staring out the window. “Apple Bloom tells me they’re veiny… are they veiny?”

Now strangling, Applejack tried to suck in a lungful of air and failed. She hacked and coughed. Stars bounced around in her vision.

“Anyway, if you could tell me how to make a colt find me irresistible, I’d appreciate it. I have a date coming over and I want it to go well—”

“YOU AIN’T GOIN’ ON NO DATE!” Applejack whirled and faced Babs. “AIN’T NO WAY, AIN’T NO HOW, YOU AIN’T EVER GOIN’ ON NO DATES. NO LITTLE COLTS FOR YOU!”

Slumping down in her chair, Babs looked crushed, like an apple squeezed for cider.

“Why?” Babs asked in a small squeaky voice.

“Just… because… that’s why. Now shut up and help me clear the table. You ain’t goin’ on no date,” Applejack replied.

“But I want to fall in love… I think Apple Bloom is in love. Or maybe it is a crush, I don’t know, but it is romantic…”

“Babs, yer testin’ my patience. Shut yer fool mouth and help me clear this table.” Applejack stomped one hoof down onto the floor and scowled.

The doorbell rang. Applejack felt an icy feeling of dread form around her heart.

“My date is here!” Babs cried.

“Don’t you dare move,” Applejack said as she went to answer the door.

“Sentinel… howdy. How do you do?” Applejack looked down at the colt standing at her door. “Now go home!”

“But I am here to escort Babs out on a date.” Sentinel, peering through his glasses, looked hurt.

“Well, she ain’t goin! Now go on, scram! Get! Go on and get on outta here!” Applejack waved her hoof at Sentinel and tried to shoo him off.

“But I brought chocolates…”

“That’s nice… you can leave those here,” Applejack said as she tried to shove Sentinel off of her porch.

“And I brought condoms…”

“DAGGUM POLECAT EATIN’ FOOL! I KNEW IT! I KNEW THAT ALL LITTLE COLTS WERE ONLY AFTER ONE THING! NOW GET OUTTA HERE BEFORE I APPLEBUCK YOU INTO NEXT TUESDAY YOU LITTLE BAT WINGED PERVERT!”

“But I got here first… I wanted to get to her before anypony else did…”

Looking out, Applejack saw hundreds of colts standing around in her yard. Some of them had boxes of chocolates. Others had flowers. Others held boxes of condoms in their mouth and did nothing to hide them.

“We can all smell her… she’s a juicy apple that is ripe for picking,” Sentinel said.

A breeze blew Applejack’s hat off and her ears pinned back against her skull.

“Oh feck me… I have a whole orchard full of little perverts I gotta go applebuck!”

Sentinel, his voice a growl, his teeth bared, said, “We wont go until we have her!”

“Oh there are so many colts to choose from! I don’t know where to start!” Babs looked out over the colts gathered in the yard. “He brought balloons!”

“Oh shite,” Applejack said, her voice now a fearful whimper. She grabbed Babs, flung Babs over her back, and took off running.

Behind her, the colts were also running. Applejack’s hooves thudded against the earth and she felt Babs squeezing her neck, holding on for dear life. Hatless, Applejack went streaking off into her orchard, determined to preserve whatever scraps were left of Babs’ innocence at all costs.

Her lungs burned with hidden fire, her sides heaved, and snot dribbled from her nostrils. Sweat lathered and foamed along her sides. Behind her, hundreds of colts ran after her, all of them hoping to have a chance at Babs.

Applejack turned her head to have a look.

The colts coalesced, becoming something else. A dark shadow. Some dark, horrible, unspeakable, nameless dread. It was the most terrifying thing that Applejack had ever seen.

“You can’t save her!” The voice of the darkness was a serpent’s hiss. “Her fertile earth will know much seed!”

“NO! I WON’T LET THAT HAPPEN! SHE’S DONE BEEN HURT ENOUGH!”

Applejack kept running, almost panting now, reaching the limits of her endurance. The orchard seemed endless; a neverending stretch of trees loomed before her and behind her.

The darkness sent out tendrils. Applejack felt something cold and icy touch her hind legs and then her hindquarters. A freezing chill ran from her dock and up her spine, ramming into her brain and threatening to pop her eyes out of her skull.

The sulfurous stench of rotten eggs filled the orchard.

“No!” Applejack cried, her words a pained pleading whimper. “No no no! I’ll not let the darkness have her again!”

Overhead, clouds swirled around the moon. The wind picked up. There was a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder.

Princess Luna descended from the clouds, lightning arced from her hooves. Her eyes blazed white and terrible. Her whole body shone with a silver light.

“TOUCH NOT MINE SUBJECTS! GET THEE HENCE, FOUL DARKNESS!”

With a terrific crash, Princess Luna slammed into ground, sending fissures and cracks out from where her hooves impacted the earth. Her wings still spread, she stood defiant before the darkness.

Applejack went streaking past, glad for once to see Princess Luna, knowing that Princess Luna would give the darkness a good what for. Behind her, Applejack heard thunderclap after thunderclap. She dared not turn around. Whatever was going on back there was not for mortal eyes.

When she felt like she was a safe distance away, Applejack came to a skidding halt. Babs was still on her back, still clutching to Applejack’s neck. She sucked in air like a pony just coming out of a desert sucks in water, drawing in great wheezing gasps.

“Applejack?”

Turning, Applejack faced Princess Luna. “What?”

“I have protected her from the darkness… but who will protect her from you?” Princess Luna asked.

“I don’t get whatcha mean,” Applejack replied.

“Not all love is bad… does not Silver Shill nibble most pleasingly upon your dock?” Princess Luna folded her wings to her sides and looked at Applejack with blazing teal eyes.

“What does that have to do with this?” Applejack looked up at Princess Luna, a defiant gleam in her eye.

“She was hurt once, but keeping her from love will hurt her far more. Would you deny her the sort of love that you and Silver Shill share?” Princess Luna tilted her head and studied the orange earth pony.

“But… but… but there is no guaranteein’ that she’ll get that sort of love!” Applejack shook her head. “It’s too risky. Colts are careless and they all have but one thing on their mind.”

“Silver Shill was once a colt,” Luna said in a soft almost teasing voice.

“Well, he grew out of it.” Applejack braced her legs and curled back her lip.

“So you will let her go when she is older… robbed of the many happy chances available in youth?” Princess Luna stepped forward.

Applejack stepped backwards. “No. Because let’s face it, most stallions are only after one thing as well. Even Silver, kind and considerate as he is, there are moments where he is just as lustful and reckless as can be.”

“But he does love you, does he not?” Princess Luna’s muzzle held the ghost of a smile.

“Well of course he does!” Applejack took another step backwards.

Princess Luna took another step forwards. “Silver Shill knows what I know… you like it rough. You like aggression… you like competition… you like rope.” Princess Luna’s last word was a drawn out whisper.

Applejack sucked in as much air as her lungs would hold and she realised that Babs was gone. She felt panicky and scared. Princess Luna’s eyes flashed with silver light.

“Silver Shill is a stallion that knows what you like… you have bared your soul to him. You have had him tie you up in the bedroom and the barn… you have had him make you helpless, to take away your ability to fight… you trust him. You trust him to be just rough enough that it hurts in a good way, but never so rough that it leaves lasting harm.”

Applejack swallowed.

“You have found the love of your life. Could you imagine life without him?” Princess Luna asked in a cold voice that was almost a screech.

An owl swooped in and perched in the branches of a nearby tree.

“No… I would never want to live without Silver… he completes me!”

“But you would deny Babs Seed the chance to find this sort of happiness?” Princess Luna drew herself up to her full height and began to stalk forwards.

Applejack began retreating.

“Love is fraught with risk, of this there can be no doubt. Babs may get hurt. Babs might suffer. But she also might find the love of her life… somepony that is good to her, mindful, careful, somepony that loves her more than life itself and would never be rough with her… would never cause her harm… and would be considerate of her needs!”

Applejack stumbled over her own hind hooves and collapsed into a heap. The owl hooted, sounding almost as if it were laughing. Applejack cowered as Princess Luna towered over her, now larger than life.

YOU MUST LEARN TO LET GO!” Princess Luna’s voice echoed through the orchard. “You lost your parents… that is a terrible pain… everypony around you felt the pain of their passing, and you did everything you could to ease their suffering. Try as you might, you cannot prevent others from feeling pain. It is a part of life. You even enjoy it, but you do everything you can to shield others from experiencing it. No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, you cannot prevent others from getting hurt! Keeping them from harm is also hurting them… you will cause Babs to endure unspeakable suffering if you do not change your ways!”

Applejack tried to stand up, but couldn’t. Her legs were wobbly and didn’t work. She realised she was a foal again. She tried to say something, but no words came out. A wet soggy feeling crept around her backside. She looked down and saw a diaper, now soiled. A terrible smell wafted up to her nose and Applejack realised she had done more than wet herself.

It was terrible being a foal…

“This is what you do to others!”

Applejack, now a tiny foal, threw back her head and wailed, unable to do anything else, unable to say anything, unable to protest what had been done to her.

Princess Luna was gone.

Applejack looked around, still wailing, helpless, alone in a dark orchard.

“There there, youngin’, now ye stop yer crying,” Granny Smith said as she approached. “Some little filly done ruined a perfectly good diaper.”

No, not this, anything but this!

“I guess it’s time to take ye to the house, get you changed, and then put ye to bed.” Granny Smith sniffed. “Yer a little stinker, just like yer pa.”

Applejack screamed, a foalish cry of fright, and wondered when she would wake up.

Author's Notes:

There was a lesson taught.