((A/N: Warning: The following chapter contains extreme elements - Rape, Mind Break, and drunk fillies doing implied things with other drunk fillies. Reader discretion is advised. If you don't like it, tough.))

Of course there was rope all over the barn. It was a farm - more importantly, it was Applejack's farm and she had always extolled the virtues of having a good coil of rope around at all times. What was a little more surprising was how Dash knew how to tie all those knots. She'd made some noise about 'Wonderbolt training' but Twilight didn't buy that for a Manehatten minute. But that was something to explore another day, or perhaps later tonight once she'd dealt with the immediate problem at hoof.

Applejack was always going to be the most difficult - unconsciously, Twilight had known that from the very beginning. The tricky part was going to be convincing her it had all been her idea - once it was all over. Breaking Dash had been a half-willing, half unwilling event that pushed them both to the extremes. This? This was going to be a breaking in the medieval sense. She half wished Pinkie Pie was here - Twilight had the vague notion that Pinkie would make this whole process much easier, but keeping Big Mac occupied was just as important right now.

Twilight sighed dramatically. Never enough help around to get the job done properly. she thought testily, tapping her foot on the ground as she watched Dash work the ropes. It was a rather artful approach she'd taken, building the rope strands into a tight harness which would use the earth pony's musculature and joint configuration against her. Applejack was strong, but bursting the ropes on that thing ought to be physically impossible for her. "Really, Dash - Where did you learn to tie rope like that? I hardly think the Wonderbolts call for bondage quite that often." Twilight kept her tone amused - a little comedy was going to be needed, given the... extremity of what she was about to do.

Dash gave her a stubborn sort of look. "Not telling." She mumbled, having obviously given up trying to obscure the origin of the skill. "So how'd you get rid of the squirts?" She hastily continued as she tied off a large, central knot near the center of Applejack's back. Dusting off her hooves, she turned to admire the hoofwork that now bound Applejack to a discarded cider barrel as a frame.

Twilight rolled her eyes a little, then felt a slow smirk crossed her face. She swayed over to where Dash stood and stroked her own hoof across her cheek. "You will tell me. Later." She purred softly, darkly - and enjoyed the sight of her pet shivering uncontrollably for a moment. "For now, we have work to do." She ignored her other question. The children were out of the way for now, and that was ultimately all that mattered. She could deal with them in more detail once the task here was done.

Dash bowed deeply to her. "Yes, Mistress. How are we going to wake her up?" Dash eyed the heavily bound dash with barely restrained lust. "She won't feel much all conked out like this." Twilight was quite amused. Dash had been nigh certain mere hours ago that Applejack was not into mares - and now she was looking at the poor earth pony like a plate of fresh hay fries.

Twilight gave a tittering little laugh. "Oh, we're not going to wake her up." She purred, running her hoof down Applejack's cheek. "She might end up too scarred for us to make use of. No. We're going to go inside this pretty little head of hers and make her mine." Twilight called the Shadow, as she had so many times before... this time though, she had other things in mind than crude physical manifestations. If Tantalus could do this... she thought softly, reaching out her power to Dash's and grabbing it without so much as a word. Perhaps with a little help, so can I.

Dash's eyes widened as the faint shadows cast by the moon slowly oozed out towards the bound applejack. Something tugged at that inner darkness - some power Dash couldn't immediately identify until the answer became obvious. Oh...Yes, Mistress. I will follow you... Her thoughts whispered gloriously as she could feel her mind becoming one with the shadows beneath her hooves, chained to the power of Twilight - the world around her went blurry for a moment and then suddenly dark.

~~~~~~~~~~

Applebloom felt funny. Not funny like the one time she'd spun around too much and ended up dizzy for almost an hour, but more light headed funny. Like her body didn't weigh as much as it ought to, and everything around her blurred a little at the edges. She felt a bubbly giggle come out - one that was answered by her two closest friends. "Whoa, this is kinda neat." bubbled up Scootaloo, who had taken to gently rolling about on the floor. "It’s like goin' super-fast on the scooter! Everything’s all blurry! Whee!"

That set off more giggles from Sweetie and Applebloom, both of whom were now leaning against one another while Scootaloo wobbled about. "Hey Applebloom..." murmured Sweetie Belle, a muzzy twinge to her voice. "Yer so soft." She giggled again and nuzzled a little closer.

Applebloom couldn't suppress her own giggle and nuzzled back into the bright white unicorn. For a few minutes, that was all they did - gently cuddling against one another while Scootaloo rolled around on the ground laughing to herself. Eventually though, Scoots stopped - and with nothing but a big stuffed doll for a pillow, fell fast asleep tangled up in her sleeping bag.

Sweetie Belle smiled at the sight of that and nibbled a little at the bemused Applebloom's neck. Applebloom gave off an adorable but very quiet squeak, turning to gaze in surprise at Sweetie Belle, who had a little pink blush on her cheeks. "Um...I just.." She tapped her hooves carefully together, even though she missed half the time. "I thought you might... um... Oh dear." She blushed an even brighter red.

Applebloom couldn't help it. She blushed in return and tapped her hooves together in a similarly awkward manner. "Um. Ah wasn't complaining..."

~~~~~~~~~Applejack's Mind~~~~~~~

For Twilight. this was a familiar sort of feeling - for Rainbow Dash, not so much.

Light slowly returned to Dash's world, and she found herself standing on a vast grassy plain, full of apple trees. "Fwah?" was about the only comment she had - each tree was rich with hanging apples, nearly all of them a bright shiny red and ripe for plucking. Twilight stood next to her - Twilight as she had been before that night so long ago. Dash stared for a moment at the mare next to her, drinking in the sight. Those kindly eyes, the soft gentle body and determined gaze. It was like the last six months had never happened to her.

Twilight didn't seem to much notice this though, she exhaled deeply. "So, I was right. Mindscapes are much different depending on the pony." She turned a little, eyeballing each apple. "These must be her memories." and off Twilight trotted into the endless fields of apples. It was then Dash noticed one thing that was different - Twilight's shadow looked like her new form did, casting a dangerous and deadly looking darkness behind her as she walked.

Dash swallowed and took to her wings, flying to keep up with the quickly moving Twilight. "H-hey! Slow down! What do you mean memories?" She barked out, glancing around in confusion. "Is this inside Applejack's head? I thought brains were squishier than this!" She grumbled, perching herself in the branches of a tree that felt... familiar somehow. It was also a little bigger than the rest around her, which meant she could watch Twilight move from tree to tree.

Twilight snorted - and her voice, dash noted, was completely back to its normal pedantic state. "Every mind visualizes how it stores memories different. My mind is a giant library, for example." She rubbed her chin, examining the trunk of the tree. "It makes sense that Applejack would choose something very familiar and important to her to store her memories. Of course, this is going to make finding what we want difficult." The shadow Twilight was casting on the ground suddenly flexed and began to grow rapidly, lifting Twilight up towards the apples and allowing her to examine them closer.

Dash licked her lips in worry for a moment, then leaned forward. "Tw... Twilight?" It didn't hurt to say it this time! "Twilight are you sure we gotta do this?" Dash could feel the shadow she was casting suddenly surged up - trying to wrap itself firmly around Dash's neck. "Ack!" She proclaimed, until Twilight turned hard eyes onto Dash - and the shadow slowly retreated.

Twilight sighed. "Yes, Dash." She said softly, turning back to the apple. "This is the only way I can protect her - and you - from what is to come." She lifted up a hoof and the shadow twisted into an elongated limb, grasping the apple she'd been staring at and twisting it away before placing it in Twilight's hoof. "It won't last forever, Dash." She whispered softly, stroking the shiny red apple. "Once everypony is safe...I'll make sure you're all taken care of." Her voice was still a whisper, almost inaudible.

Dash felt something much like fear stab into her stomach as she flapped over to where Twilight stood in midair, supported by naught but shadow. "And what about you, Twi?" She asked - perhaps a bit more forcefully than Dash had intended. But it sounded like she was trying to do something stupid!

Twilight just smiled and suddenly the apple in her hoof burst into a bright light, and as Dash looked into it - she could see what looked like a movie of Dash meeting Twilight for the very first time. "I'll be fine, Dash. I promise." she crossed her heart with a hoof and winked. "I think I've gotten this figured out." She tossed the apple back into the tree - where it mystically reattached itself to the branch.

Dash shook her head as Twilight trotted merrily off down the rows of trees, grumbling. "And Where's AJ anyway? You think her mind would have her in it too!" She flew lazily along behind Twilight. Despite the... surrealistic nature of the situation, Dash couldn't help but feel like it was just another day with her crazy unicorn friend.

Twilight actually giggled and the sound felt a little weird to Dash - who noted her shadow on the ground making a retching motion. "Ah, but she's unconscious you see. We've effectively shut down her mind, which is why we can rummage around in here without interference. For a little while anyway." She frowned and then turned right. "If she starts waking up, You'll to make sure her mind remains pliant."

Dash blinked at that one, zooming up close and asking in a slightly suspicious tone. "And just what do you mean by that?" She grumped, tapping her hoof in midair. Twilight turned and a slow, sexy smile crossed her face that was far more like the Twilight of today.

Twilight tossed her violet mane and marched up to a more organized grove of trees. "Oh, I'm sure you can find some way to keep her focused on the pleasure of the moment." were her arch words, enough to send a little shiver down Dash's spine. "Here we are." whispered Twilight as they walked into the center of the grove - here, a stand of thirty or forty apple trees were densely clustered together. And laying at their roots was Applejack, just as they had left her in real life - except for the tied up part of course. "Now, I'm going to start working on her.." Said Twilight softly - the darkness of her shadow slowly molding around her body. "Now, you need to close your eyes and will yourself awake. Just think really hard about waking up, and forcing your mind back into your body. It should work fairly easily. "

Dash blinked. "That sounds...complicated." She said with a sheepish tone. "You sure I shouldn't stay here? Maybe I can help you fight if you need to." Given how peaceful AJ looked, Dash somehow doubted that was going to be needed. Twilight's shadow was now encasing her up to her neck, like a sleek latex body stocking.

Twilight smiled softly. "No. I need you out there, Dash. Just in case." She purred softly, her eyes slowly morphing before Dash's very eyes. "Go." she whispered softly. "You don't need to see me do this."

Dash frowned but nodded once. She closed her eyes tightly. Okay you dumbass pegasus! WAKE UP!

Moments later, Dash vanished from the mindscape and Twilight exhaled deeply. She wiped the silvery tears from her eyes and then steeled her heart. The shadow began to spread from her body rapidly overtaking the ground all around her, encircling the central tree grove and Applejack's sleeping body.

For a brief moment, Twilight hesitated at the sight of the innocently sleeping Applejack. But she could not risk it. There was one, and only one way, to protect everything that she loved. I must do what I must do. she reminded herself, and commenced her attack.

~~~~~~~~

Back in reality, Dash awoken to the sound of a soft gasp of breath coming out of Applejack's mouth - all the memories of what had gone on inside her head rushed back into Dash's mind, and she blushed in shame. She had nearly betrayed her Mistress' wishes with her thoughtless concerns. There was no doubt in her mind now that Mistress was doing the right thing, and the best thing that Dashie could do was support her as ordered.

There she was, sitting in a circle of glowing violet Shadow power - little black tendrils slowly massaging over Applejack's scalp, occasionally lifting to quickly move to another part of the head. Applejack's eyes were still resolutely shut, but her breathing was coming heavier and quicker. A little musky sweat began to form on her brow, and her body was squirming from left to right. Dash knew those signs of course - she'd made movements a great deal like that when Mistress had shown her the proper way of things.

So it was her duty to make sure AJ stayed focused on the important bits - which Dash presumed meant she had to keep AJ focused on submitting to Mistress and not resisting the changes that would soon be infecting her sweet, hard body. Hmm. I can do that! she grinned proudly and slunk over to where Applejack was well and truly tied up.

Dash smiled softly. Mm, I wonder if Mistress will get us a pair of collars... she thought softly, her lips touching the gasping lips of Applejack and tugging at them in a kiss. So we can be locked together... Her thoughts kept purring as her hooves ran up and down Applejack's body, subtly massaging the growing kinks in her friends muscles. Ooo that might be fun. she giggled a little at the thought and rubbed cyan coat up against bright orange.

~~~~~~~~

This is kinda fun... thought Sweetie Belle as she and Applebloom kissed like they'd often seen adults doing. It actually felt nice - it was warm and squishy to press herself up against Applebloom. And the yellow earth pony made the cutest noises in between kisses. We ought to do more stuff like this...We've been completely missing a whole new way to earn our cutie marks! her thoughts continued, as Applebloom pulled away for a moment and they both breathed heavily.

Neither of them really understood what was going on. Neither of them understood these strange, alien feelings that had blossomed between them out of nowhere. But the Shadow power that had infected the liquor was relentless. It did not discriminate, and it did not judge. It cared not for innocence, or youth. The Shadow merely Touched, and made all creatures anew. All the two fillies knew was that this felt good. And since neither of them had learned the concept of self-denial yet, they wanted to keep doing what was making them both feel good.

Applebloom managed to pant out a few words. "Ah think... Ah think..." She gulped deeply, her young eyes burning with some unknowable emotion. "Ah think ya'll should do that thing with yer tongue again." She almost purred out in a voice that did not belong coming out of her young body.

~~~~~~~~

The Shadow surged.

Twilight could feel its power growing as it slowly seeped into the roots of the trees all around her. Soon enough, things began to become ever clearer to her logical mind. The Shadow power grows in strength every time new creatures are added to its fold. If they are important to me, or powerful creatures in and of themselves - the power growth is even larger. It was a fascinating process to watch - one she had only seen from the outside last time.

This time though, she could watch the oils-slick like powers slowly growing pulsing black veins up the trees of Applejack's mind. She could see the dark, emotion filled power slowly expanding outwards through the rest of the orchard. Applejack's sleeping body hadn't been touched - it had simply been encased in a rock solid bubble of the power. Hopefully enough to ensure that in her frightened mental state, she'd retreat to only focusing on the outside world - wherein Rainbow Dash would ensure she remained focused on other things.

it was a good plan, Twilight thought with a slight smile. No matter how twisted or demented, it was a good plan. Soon enough, Applejack would lack the capacity to resist her will. She would have to be extra careful with her too, Applejack was a stubborn pony at the best of times. Unlike Dash - who already harbored that inner subby streak - Twilight would have to invent an entirely new set of behaviors for AJ. It was a sad decision, but logically necessary. Like Twilight had told Dash - it wouldn't be forever.

So Twilight surged her strength into the shadows- the dark powers starting to reach into the thick branches and bright red apples that hung from the trees. Her mind focused and her eyes closed.

~~~~~~

Applejack's eyes shot open, staring upwards into the darkened barn.

She couldn't move - was her first thought. She couldn't see either, and that was her second thought. Something dark, and warm had been wrapped around her eyes and over her face. Her next thoughts however, were utterly bizarre. So Bizarre, she couldn't make sense of them.

Why - for example - were a soft pair of lips slowly kissing down her neck, a feeling that was becoming more intense by the moment due to her blindness? Why was a gentle hoof stroking at her inner thigh up and down, almost in the manner of a lover? Why was her body tightly tied in a manner she'd only read about in books that she was very certain nopony but Big Mac knew that she had?

And why was she so incredibly turned on?

It was madness. Applejack had to get out of here - Twilight had to be in serious trouble if they'd been attacked like that. "H-help.." She croaked out, trying to force the words past her lips and finding it difficult to do so. Some kinda spell! Her thoughts immediately processed, and Applejack grit her teeth. "H- Help!" She cried out louder, her ears telling her the sound had echoed off a number of wooden walls. They couldn't be that far from the farm. She hadn't been out long enough - the night breeze was still cool on her skin.

Then those soft lips were pressed against hers, silencing her next attempted cries. "Hush now.." The voice crooned. "Quiet now." It continued in a soft, singsong tone of voice. "It's all going to be okay. Mistress will make it all better." Applejack finally got over her disbelief. That was Dash's voice, and that had to be Dash's hooves pressing up her thighs and into her marehood, stroking delicately over her clitoris. "Just let her take your mind. It'll feel so good to let go.." Purred Dash, her tight athletic body pressing up against Applejacks.

Applejack could feel a thrill of electric pleasure race up her spine. She's right, Applejack... Give in. a little voice whispered into her mind. And Applejack tried to wrench her head away from Dash's silky sweet kisses. "S-Stoppit! Stop that! D-Don’t touch me! Ahn~!" Her cries were stymied for a moment as those too-talented hooves touched her sensitive slit, sending another bolt of pleasure up her body. "Dash! You don't gotta do this! You can fight em!"

That was the only logical explanation Applejack could come up with. Dash had to be mind controlled or something. Changelings. came the grim thought. Dash hadn't been around town for a good couple of days. And now? Applejack had no doubt it was going to do the same thing to her. Not on my life! her mind growled and she tried to fight the words out. "She ain't yer Mistress, Dash! She ain't yer nothin! Yer gonna be a Wonderbolt, not some changeling's cheap whorse!" Applejack's words were becoming steadily shakier, as she felt some warm blackness pooling up in her middle - threatening to overtake her rational thought.

Dash merely giggled softly, her hooves continuing to stroke Applejack's slit back and forth rapidly, driving spikes of pleasure into the earth pony's body. "Oh you poor little pony.." whispered Dash. "You really need to just give in...I'm a Shadowbolt now, AJ..." Her voice sent an icy dagger of fear into AJ's soul. The next words were even worse. "Soon we can be together AJ, Just like you've always wanted... We'll kneel at her hooves together, and you and I can make love for her pleasure.."

Applejack's mouth opened and a scream tore out of it of undesired pleasure. Applejack's mind clawed her way through the haze, and her words were raspy. "Help!" She half growled, half whimpered "Stop it, Dash! S-S-stop!" Applejack was not going to blubber. She wasn't gonna cry, even in the face of this horrible fate. She'd face it like an Apple.

Whatever this thing was, it was gonna have to break Applejack over its knee to get her to bow down to it. Her voice denigrated into mumbled, half muttered words - every muscle in her body tensed and straining against the ropes - hoping beyond hope that she could hold out long enough for help to arrive. Hoping that her family was safe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

In a small upstairs room in the Apple Family household, two fillies laid with one another on the thick soft comforter that was spread over Applebloom's bed. Their breathing heaved heavily, almost in syncopation with one another. Their coats were matted with sweat and their eyes seemed to glow in the dim light of the moon that streamed through the window.

Neither spoke. Neither needed to - the intensity of the experience they had just shared precluded all the words that could be said at this moment. They simply stared into one another’s eyes, tiny hooves stroking tiny bodies. Their lips met again in the dim light, and pressed passionately to one another’s as the Shadow claimed its newest converts.

Applebloom spoke first as the kiss broke. The word should have been expected of course. The shadow was nothing, if not insatiable. "Again."

~~~~~~~Applejack's Mind~~~~~~

Twilight growled in frustration - as those last few central trees seemed to be made of solid steel. Her shadow could find no purchase in them, and all of her power could not assail their branches. Applejack's sleeping form had retreated to the center of her grove after shattering Twilight's shield like it hadn't even been there. There, Applejack was making her stand against the invasion of her mind.

Twilight knew what she was doing. She had locked down one part of her mind, her core personality - her deepest, most stubborn pride. Everything else had been sacrificed to hold on to that stubbornness, as Applejack's mindscape was now a glistening sea of black power that coated and grew from every crevasse. It was maddening. Twilight had known Applejack's will was strong, but this went far beyond that. She was going to force Twilight to break her, literally.

Twilight sank to her belly and slammed the shadow-tainted grass with her hoof. Why couldn't she just give in?! Why couldn't she just let it happen, so she could fight back later!? It made no sense to Twilight, of course. When you were faced with a fight you couldn't win, you retreated. You fell back to fight another day. That was the smart thing to do. There was no sense in self-destruction, no logic in it.

And perhaps that was the point. Perhaps that was the Shadow making that point to her. That in order to do what she'd have to do, one day she might have to make a stand not unlike this. Knowing that it would destroy her, but also knowing that doing so was the right thing to do.

So Twilight pushed herself off the grass and walked past the darkened trees, to where Applejack was curled in a ball around one final tree trunk. Twilight shook her head in pity. I will rebuild you again, Applejack. I promise. She whispered silently in her mind and called forth her power. To save, she would have to destroy.

So be it.

~~~~~~~~~~

Dash watched the shadow suddenly vanish from around Applejack - and for a moment, she worried that Mistress had lost her nerve. And then she saw Applejack's eyes. They had gone blank. Dash could see nothing but green iris in her eyes, the pupil having completely vanished. It was an incredibly disturbing thing to see for those few long minutes it remained - until darkness began to bubble inside of those eyes again - a liquid darkness that wobbled and slowly grew into normal sized pupils.

A darkness Dash recognized immediately. She leaned in to softly press her lips to Applejack's - and this time, the lips kissed back, pushing lustfully up against her own. For a few long moments, they simply kissed in mindless passion. Dash wrapped her body around Applejack's and she knew the earth pony desperately wanted to do the same - but not until Mistress commanded her to do so. The two ponies writhed against one another for a time - as Dash could feel that inner shadow growing stronger and stronger as Mistress poured her essence into the earth pony.

A few moments later, Dash heatedly broke the kiss and spoke softly. "Welcome to the family, sister..." She whispered softly, not knowing what had inspired the words or where they came from. Only knowing that they felt sexy and right upon her tongue.

Applejack spoke softly, staring into Rainbow Dash's eyes with naked desire. "Sister..." she whispered, clearly savoring the word. "Mm...I love you." Her eyes turned to look behind Dash, and then suddenly dropped to the floor. "Mistress." was the last thing she said, spoken with a powerful reverence. Dash almost tittered in delight at the word - it had sounded beautiful coming out of AJ's mouth.

Dash turned and smiled sexily. Dash had her hooves still wrapped around Dash's neck as Twilight Shadow approached them both, Her every curve aching with Majesty - splendorous in her darkness and power. Her dragons eyes bored into Rainbow Dash's soul - and a slow smile came to her Mistress' face.

"Mistress." Dash murmured, with the same level of love and affection. "Can I keep her?"

Author's Notes:

For those of you wondering what happened with Pinkie Pie and Big Macintosh.... That's next chapter. I really, really needed to get the content of this chapter out of my system.