Cherry Treesby SleeplessBronyChaptersSeeds and StonesWithered on the BranchHanging RipeSeeds and StonesTrees. Cherries. Wagon. Baskets. Another day. Applejack paces around the tree, checking the layout of her baskets. For the hundredth time. Who does she think she is?! She glares off into space, stomping around in a tight little circle. Frou-frou sneaky sideways seductress. Tryin’ to take advantage of her workers. Ain’t right. Oh, let me just help you with that awful pain in yer back. No, no, don’t mind me, none o’ them alterior motives here. Applejack snorts, flaring her nostrils. Why, I oughta...I oughta... Do something. I mean...something. Right? And what did you do? Applejack pauses, hanging her head. The angry fire in her eyes dies down a little. Nothin’. Not a darn thing. Snuck off to my room with my tail between my legs. Why? Why did I do that? What is up with me? Stupid, stupid, stupid. Her head darts up again. Those green fires flare up, crowned by the angriest of eyebrows. NO. This ain’t my fault. Not this one. Naw, she did it. She came on to me. She did that. Inappropriate. Violation of trust, or some such. One of them fancy Twilight words, fer sure. Indeed. I got half a mind to...I dunno, sue or somethin’. “Eh...” she says out loud, still stomping around in a circle. Her glare softens. That don’t seem right. I mean...she just likes me, is all. Right? So what? It ain’t like she asked. Didn’t even ask if I was into mares. Because I am definitely not. Even if she is mighty fine. Applejack halts again, this time out of shock. Maybe she is. Don’t see how that really matters. Applejack retracts completely into her thoughts, a rare occurrence. It’s a weird, floaty feeling, totally lost in thoughts and memories and other not-real fancies. Wordless, smoldering anger blots out her vision, indignant and aggrieved. She can almost feel the older mare’s hooves on her back, the whisper of her breath, the fleeting tickle of her tongue. Applejack shudders. She shakes her head, coming back to reality. Look at me, all shook up. Out of sorts again. But it ain’t my fault. Not this time. She had no right. She ain’t gettin’ away with this! Applejack had taken off early this morning, heading out to work alone, early enough to hardly see anypony else. As usual. This time, it had felt like sneaking out. She hadn’t caught so much as a glimpse of Cherry Jubilee. Enough of this slinkin’ around. When I get back in tonight, gonna give her a piece of my mind. Damn straight. Gonna give it to her, straight up. Then we’ll see who has who by the mane. She nods to herself, satisfied. Now...what was I doing again? She looks around, blinking her eyes. She’s been standing by the same tree for minutes now, surrounded by empty baskets. She scoffs out loud. What is this, a road crew? Get to work! She nods again, chuckling at the ridiculousness of the whole thing. Applejack, letting some mare get to her. Letting it get in the way of work! Unthinkable. She turns around and sets up for a good hard buck. But something feels off. She shifts on her hooves, glancing over her shoulder. She shifts again, trying to line up against the trunk just right. Thinks she’s so lovely with that mane of hers. She snorts the thought away and tenses up, shifting her weight to her front hooves. Tremors of pain leak out from between her shoulders, subdued but still alive. How’s she even have a body that fine at her age? Ignore ignore ignore buckin’ time let’s go, aright head down, weight front, hooves are a-go... I bet she likes it rough Bucky McGilligan lands solidly against the trunk with a pleasing THUNK. Kicks Magee goes wild, sailing off into thin air. “Ah! Grrr...” Applejack growls as she catches her balance, wobbling on her hooves. A few pathetic bunches of cherries land around her, mostly missing the baskets and falling in the dirt. C’mon, girl, get it together. She takes a deep breath, clearing her head. Get to work. Just work. Do your job. Make ‘em proud. She adjusts her stance and throws out a solid kick. Thunk. A good hit. Back in the groove. Thunk. Cherries fall around her, slowly filling the baskets. Thunk. She pauses, wobbling on her hooves again. Something’s still off. Get her outta yer head. Do your job. But it isn’t that. There’s a funny tightness in her hindquarters, almost like the pinching pain in her back. She’s intimately aware of every brushing movement of her legs, and just now realizes that her tail’s been flicking around on it’s own. Fanning off the growing heat underneath. Applejack sighs loudly. Aw, just shoot me. Now? Today? She recognizes the feelings. It happens all the time back home, usually after heading into town and catching an eyeful of some handsome something-or-other. Don’t even think about it. But there ain’t nothin’ else for it. Come on, nopony’s around. Yeah, but... She ignores her own weak protests, glancing this way and that. She is alone, as far as the eye can see anyway. She rolls her eyes, hardly able to believe what she’s about to do. Why’d she have to mention he had eyes for me? Y’know, what’s his name... She still has no clue which one he is. I hope it’s that gray one with the big ears. He could ride me anytime! She gets a goofy smile for just a second. Then her face turns deadly serious. Still cautiously looking around, she backs up a step closer to the tree. This is crazy. Ain’t nothin’ else for it. You know you can’t work right when yer all riled up. Fine, fine, get it done. Make it quick. She lifts her tail and steps backward, shoving her rump up against the smooth trunk of the cherry tree. She sighs loudly, relishing the pressure against her netherlips. She was far more wound up than she’d realized, and instant relief washes through her body. She takes a long, slow, smooth blink, just standing there with her crotch flush against the bark. Huh. Skinny little things. Ain’t that somethin’. It’s wildly different than an apple tree. Smoother. More curved. The hard wood feels perfect against her folds, warm but not hot. The trunk is just smaller enough that the curve presses into her deliciously, parting her lips effortlessly. Aright...what’s it gonna be this time? She glances around again, giving her rusty imagination time to gear up. It isn’t often that she lets herself fly off on flight’s of fancy. Even here, it’s only allowed for the most utilitarian of purposes. How about that fella with the big ears? Bet that ain’t all that’s big about ‘im. She grins and flexes her hips a little, but it barely does anything. There’s nothing going on in her head—just a lonely mare doing a lonely tango with a most-likely lonely cherry tree. The stallion she’s trying to imagine is formless and wispy, barely there. I barely know that guy. Can’t even remember what he looks like, mostly. No dice. She frowns deeply, wiggling her hips against the trunk in a fashion that does absolutely nothing for her. That burning, pushy tightness between her legs is getting worse, a growling hunger just barely whet. Come on, come on... She thumps her hips against the wood, pressing herself open. It’s barely enough—she’s all kinds of wound up now, impatient and frustrated. Come ON already let’s DO this. And then an old favorite pops into her head. She remembers him. Oh, does she ever. Never talked to him, never knew nothing about him, never saw him again, but she remembers. A black stallion. All black, dark as night, with a shiny black mane. Never saw anything like it before, or since. She saw him just once, right there in town square, while she was stuck ringing up a customer. He walked by, nice and slow, and she’d stared and stared and stared and then gone home and done pretty much what she’s doing now. She bucks her hips, shaking the branches above her. A jolt of heaven shoots out from that special spot at the top of her mound as it brushes just slightly against the bark. She bites her lip, evening it out into a goofy grin. Aw yeah...there’s the stuff... She almost really does feel him mount her, strong hooves running up her back. She flexes her hips up and down, sliding herself along the bark of the tree, imagining a strong stallion there instead. Wonder what his name was. Probably something like...uh... I dunno. Beefcake SexyHooves? She would be the first to admit that she ain’t exactly a poet. Whatever. Beefcake SexyHooves is good enough for me. She picks up speed, grinding herself against the tree. Her make-believe stallion is running his hooves up and down her shoulders, pressing, prodding, resting his weight on all the right places. She stops grinding and lowers her head, pressing that special spot against the tree. She gasps, quietly, and her stallion lowers with her, sliding his silky coat along her body. His forelegs hook over her tired shoulders, she can feel his dusky breath in her mane, whispering nonsense. She wriggles her back end in tight little circles, a long-practiced habit by now, rotating around that perfect spot where it’s rested against the wood. Warm excitement spreads out from between her legs, hot and tingling, like feeling returning to a numb hoof. He runs his nose up her neck, pouring out hot breaths against her coat, and runs a tongue up her ear, right to the tip. She cringes in delight, rolling her eyes back a little. Suddenly, she slams her hips back and forth, bucking against the trunk. THUNK THUNK THUNK “Ah!” she gasps out loud, immediately darting her eyes around. Her heart pounds—someone could come walking along any second now. She reaches one hoof up and takes her hat off, shoving one side of the brim between her grit teeth. He presses himself against her, a big, solid, beautiful hunk of male teasing at her entrance. She jolts her hips back and forth a few more times, trying to take it, to make it hers. Leaves shake above her, sending light pink petals fluttering to the ground. “Mmmmm!” She bites harder on her hat, not even tasting it. He’s still just teasing, prodding with the tip, dangling satisfaction just out of her grasp. She bends down lower, her hind legs shuddering, and grinds just her nub against the bark again. He snorts into her mane, squeezing tightly with his arms as he bears down on her. Sweat runs down her temples as she rubs herself off, harder, faster, getting closer. Almost...come on...almost... She jerks her hips harder, wrapping her tail around the thin trunk of the tree, pulling it into her.She pants through her teeth, ramming her clit against the bark over and over again, trying to force the bark through the folds and hood protecting it, if she could just get the darn thing right on top of it... THERE. There it is! Her eyes bolt open as that magic spot feels a direct touch, sending tremors up her spine. She presses desperately against it, pulling furiously on her hat, stretching it against her teeth. HOOOO YEAH! Give it to me, stallion! Her bucking loses pace, getting erratic. She’s right there, teetering on the edge. He runs a tongue up her ear again, bathing it with warm breath. What else could I do fer such a lovely young mare... She rams her rump home one last time, taking in a sharp breath and holding it. Such as yerself? Her hips spasm and shake, clenching on the inside. She lets out a few gasps, feeling everything, the tension, the pressure, the wound-up distraction, hiss out of her slowly. Her hooves relax and sink into the dirt a little. A valve in her hips has opened, finally unwinding everything tangled up inside. Her stallion is gone, blown off with the rest of her steam. She lets out a few relieved breaths, putting her poor hat back on her head. She stands up straight and steps away from the trunk, dragging her tail away and letting it fall. “Phew!” She wipes at her forehead, feeling worlds better. I’d like to see a real stallion finish me off that quick. She snorts sarcastically. Was that quick? It ain’t like I would know. Ain’t like I’ll ever know, rate I’m goin’. She lets out one last sigh, just a quick one. She’s wasted enough time. Aright, girl. You know the drill. Back to work. She moves a few paces around the tree, away from the wet spot on the bark. She doesn’t pay it any mind. She quickly gathers up the stray cherries, tossing them into random baskets. The wagon is a few feet away, only about half full. She hasn’t even filled one yet today. Shoot, that’s almost as bad as one of them other workers. Her breath has just about caught up to her, eased along by the smooth relaxation in her hips and legs. Back in working order. All better. Back to work. Then I’ll sort that mare out. She grins, a glint of victory already in her eyes. She sets up again for a good, hard buck. Nothin’ to it. * * * Nothin’ to it, indeed. Then why am I still standin’ out here? She’s standing in a dark hallway, tensed, ready to spring at a moment’s notice. The house is sleeping around her, silent. A door looms ahead. Her door. The door to her room. Applejack had come back late, again. She had eaten alone, again. She had hardly seen another pony all day. Again. She gulps loudly, the sound echoing through the empty hall. She wonders why her mouth is so dry. Her heart pounds in her ears, pumping pure exhilaration through her veins. Just go knock. That’s right, just do it! Pound that thing right in! But her hooves refuse to move, struck deaf somehow. She hems and haws and fidgets, not quite sure how to do so—it’s an unfamiliar state of being. Yer puttin’ Fluttershy to shame here. Still, she holds on her hooves. Not moving an inch. Screw-up. Failure. Probably just botch this up somehow, too. Enough! She stomps her hooves quietly, walking in place. She glares, pure determination. She nods to herself, raising a hoof to take the first step... The doorknob turns. Applejack freezes. Her heart stops mid-pump and leaps up to huddle with her throat. The door slowly swings open, leaking soft light into the dark hallway. Cherry Jubilee is standing there, staring out at her, like she knew all along. Her face is weary but relieved, a mother tut-tutting as her foals finally come home. Applejack seizes up completely, one hoof hovering in the air. The two mares stare at each other for a long moment. Shoot. Caught. Caught with red hooves. Now what just a darn minute... “Uh,” Applejack says, the sound tumbling out her mouth from nowhere. “Well, are you gonna stand out here all night?” Cherry Jubilee says, standing aside and beckoning with a hoof. Applejack recovers, setting her face back to determined frown. She marches into the room, not nodding or greeting, dead-set with duty to be done. She gets distracted for just a moment as the door closes quietly behind her. Cherry Jubilee’s room is...well, it’s beautiful. Fancy, but rustic. Every piece of furniture is finely carved, from the dark wood of the vanity to the decadent canopy bed. Everything is shades of lacquer and deep red, a warm, storied place. Applejack starts to admire it, but tears her eyes away. She turns around. Cherry Jubilee is standing at the door, one hoof still up on the wood. She’s staring down at the hardwood floor, wistful and mortified. Aright, uh...gonna give her a piece of my mind. I guess. “I’m sorry,” Cherry Jubilee says, not looking up. Applejack startles a little before remembering her anger from before. “Good,” she says. “You oughta be,” she adds, narrowing her eyes. “I am.” Cherry Jubilee lets her hoof fall and finally meets Applejack’s eyes. “That was wrong of me, last night. Downright wrong.” “Didn’t seem to be stoppin’ you,” Applejack says. “I know,” Jubilee says, wincing and letting her hoof fall. “I know, sugar, I’ve done you-” “Don’t call me that,” Applejack barks, pure reflex. That word again—that good bad word that makes her feel funny all over when it rolls off Cherry Jubilee’s lips. Cherry Jubilee blinks a few times, her mouth hanging open. “Of course. Right.” She sighs and shakes her head, looking embarrassed by her own self. “I owe you every kind of apology. I didn’t mean to spook you like that.” “Spook me?!” Applejack stomps a hoof. “Spook me?!” She tenses up her legs, not quite sure where she’s going. “What exactly did you mean to be doin’, then?” “I’m so, so sorry sug—Applejack.” Applejack feels her glare start to harden at the sweet word, but it jumps into a haughty nod as Cherry Jubilee catches herself. Kinda miss the sugar, honestly. Cute little word. Felt like candy in my ears. I’ll bust out sugar cube and we can just have each other’s sugar. She furiously shakes her head, shaking off her thoughts. “So what? Sorry? That’s all you got to say for yourself?” “What else do you want me to say, Applejack?” Jubilee’s eyes glint, light green to match Applejack’s own fires. Applejack thinks of some choice words to suggest, but she gets caught up—her ears flick and burn at the sound of her own name. Almost as bad as sugar. “Just tell me what you need,” Cherry goes on. “I didn’t want you to leave before I got to make amends somehow. Whatever you want. A few months pay, a lifetime supply of cherries. Anything.” A few MONTHS?! Applejack’s mouth goes dry all over again. She can smell apples and hear the rustle of her trees, the laughter of her friends. No...no. Not like that. She sets her face up, grim and stark. “Don’t think all that sounds necessary.” “You can’t be serious.” Cherry Jubilee glares at her. “Yer gonna walk outta here with nothin’?” “I ain’t about to take nothin’ that I didn’t earn.” Applejack glares back. “Besides, who said I was walkin’ out?” Cherry Jubilee’s mouth drops open. Applejack balks a little—she had said it as a reflex, looking for an argument. The question itself honestly hadn’t crossed her mind. I’m...I’m staying? Course I am. ‘Til the job’s done. Ain’t like I got anywhere else to go. She takes a long, thoughtful pause, trying to sort out the mess swirling around in her chest. “I’d like to finish out here, if that’s alright with you.” Cherry Jubilee takes a second to look confused. “That’s fine with me. More than fine.” “Well aright then,” Applejack nods. We done here? “If all that’s settled,” Applejack takes a sure step, angling to leave, “I think I’ll...” “Wait. Applejack. Please.” She does wait. “About before, I...” Cherry looks plenty remorseful, but there’s something more there. Longing. “I thought you and me had a little spark between us.” Applejack snorts, loudly. “If I was wrong, that’s fine, I understand. I misread things, I s’pose. Probably ‘cuz I’ve taken such a shine to you. I hope you don’t mind me sayin’.” She looks up and they lock eyes, freezing the words in Applejack’s throat. “You’re a lovely mare. Inside and out.” Cherry’s eyes flash on the last sentence. Applejack feels her face go blank. Nopony’s ever said anythin’ like that to me before. That ain’t true. Rainbow said it. Twilight, too. That one time. Okay, but a stallion ain’t never said something like that. She feels heat in her ears and forces herself to admit the obvious. “Okay, that’s...well shucks, I’m flattered and all,” she says, only a little flustered. “But it just ain’t a good idea.” Cherry looks hurt, but just fine with being hurt. She asks why, with her eyes. “I came here to work, not get tangled up with some mother mare,” Applejack says. Cherry Jubilee cocks an eyebrow, everything but confusion disappearing from her face. “Beg yer pardon?” “Especially when that other mare is my boss, right? That ain’t on the level.” “I hope to blazes you don’t think of me like that. I brought you here as a friend,” Jubilee says. She looks hurt, real hurt. “A friend in need, maybe. But a friend. You ain’t some nameless worker to me.” Applejack grudgingly remembers when she first met the older mare—they’d hit it off instantly. But once everything went south-wise with the rodeo... I been pretty cold to her, haven’t I? Well, I’ve always been my own boss. How am I supposed to act to her? Never had a problem with my boss sexin’ me up back home. She almost chuckles. And what about a friend? The chuckle falls, dead. She scrambles for some kind of defense. “Besides, I don’t mean to stick around too long. No offense and all, I mean it’s nice here, but I do need to get home at some point,” Applejack rambles, trying desperately to fill in the silence. “It wouldn’t work out, what with me fixin’ to take off on you.” There. Let her down easy. Poor girl. Applejack nods, satisfied. “Is that all it was? I thought—” Applejack jumps to cut her off. “I mean, what kinda way was that to go about it, anyhow?” “What?” Cherry Jubilee cocks an eyebrow, again. “Sneakin’ it in all sly like that. I ain’t sore that you got a thing for me,” I ain’t? “But that ain’t no way to do it. Where I’m from, you like somepony, you let ‘em know, straight up.” “Is that what you...?” “Why, if I had a thing for somepony, I’d march right up to ‘em, look ‘em in the eye, and then I’d say somethin’ like,” Applejack glares into the other mare’s eyes, feeling her heart pick up, “I think you’re mighty fine! I wanna take you into that bed and make you a mare right here and now!” Cherry Jubilee puts a hoof to her breathless chest. She recovers quickly and gets a sly look, throwing a flirty flounce of her mane. Uh...y’know, if. Righ? Cherry Jubilee steps forward, prowling. Applejack feels cornered all of a sudden, but it’s strange—no panic. No discomfort. It almost feels... “Applejack?” Cherry Jubilee says, a husky whisper. “Miss Jubilee?” Applejack leans back, stuck on her hooves. The other mare stalks closer. Course, I forgot to mention that I don’t swing...that...way? Shoot, that’s the most important bit, ain’t it? You’d think I woulda said that first thing. Applejack’s thoughts trail off, dampened out as the other mare draws closer. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe it can’t work out. Between us,” Jubilee says, coming to a stop. Applejack leans back, as far as she can. Cherry is inches away, Applejack can smell some kind of sweet perfume and hear her breath. “But I think you’re mighty fine. And I wanna take you into my bed all the same.” Cherry Jubilee raises a hoof, just barely brushing it against Applejack’s chest. Applejack follows the hoof with her eyes, frozen in place. “Tonight? I wanna make you a mare.” Now THAT’S more like it! She rests her hoof against Applejack’s coat. Applejack can feel her heart pounding against it. It feels like red-hot blood is burning in her cheeks. It’s just...it’s just that somepony’s touchin’ me all lovey like. That’s all, that’s all it is. She darts her eyes up and down, leaving her mouth hanging open. “Whaddya say, sugar?” Cherry says. That word. With that voice. Husky, strong. But refined and delicate. A real lady. “I...uh...” Applejack stammers, caught and locked in Cherry Jubilee’s eyes. That hoof slides up, tracing a path up Applejack’s neck. It hooks, gently, around the back of her head, brushing through her mane. “I’m yours,” Cherry Jubilee whispers. “Whatever you want.” Boy, that sounds...but...I’m not...it...but she... Nervous sweat trickles down her temples. Craving pounds through head. Do I want her? I think I do. I want something right here. But she’s a... Well if I do, then I do. Ain’t no use bein’ coy about it. But I CAN’T, she’s a—oh, buck it, ah give up. Applejack’s mind checks out completely, exhausted from warring with itself. All that’s left is hunger, wrapped up in dark, unknown desires. That vicious hunger rears up in her chest with a snarl, tightly wound through years and years of lonely yearning. Before she can even recognize it, she darts forward, brushing her nose against Cherry Jubilee’s. She catches herself at the last second and jumps in place, coiling back onto her hooves. Cherry Jubilee freezes, eyes huge, mouth hanging open. Then she gets a knowing smile, pulling Applejack close again. Applejack panics and pulls her hat off her head, peeking out over the brim. She wedges it between them like a shield. “Ugh,” Cherry Jubilee scoffs. “What is holdin’ you back, girl?” Applejack winces from behind her hat, straining at a fraying leash. Holdin’ me back?! But I don’t even like mares or know what to do or how to do with I mean for Sun’s sake I ain’t never been with any— I like this mare. This is crazy. I’ve gone crazy. Just do ‘er already! Applejack quivers in place, fumbling with her hat. “Applejack?” Applejack winces at how good it sounds. “Oh, sugar. You’ve never been with a mare before. Is that it?” Applejack forces her eyes up, humbly mumbling her answer. “I’ve had a few mares come on to me, to be honest,” she says. “Never really stuck before, I guess.” “Never stuck, huh?” Cherry Jubilee smirks. “Well I’ve never looked at a mare the way-” The way I look at you. “...Like that.” Applejack holds her breath. “Y’know, uh...romantic like. Never felt that way before.” “You feel that way now?” Cherry Jubilee brings her other hoof up, hanging them both around the back of Applejack’s neck. She pulls in close, crushing the hat between them. “Uh,” Applejack begins, knowing she can’t lie to save her life. “I think...I...” She can’t say it. She can’t say anything, stuck in a doorway leading out into a whole world she never knew of before. Cherry Jubilee stares at her, into her, for what feels like a very long time. Applejack feels something starting to give way inside—maybe all this doesn’t exactly make sense. But it doesn’t feel wrong. She’s still blushing, burning up in the grasp of lovely, feminine arms. “Shucks, Miss Jubilee-” “Cherry,” she interrupts. “Call me Cherry. Please.” “Cherry.” The word feels lovely on her tongue, almost like eating the fruit itself. Applejack sits back on her haunches, dragging Cherry with her. She keeps creasing the brim of her hat with both hooves. “I’ve never, uh...” she falters, trying to wrangle more words. Cherry Jubilee just waits, letting Applejack dig herself deeper. “What now?” Applejack asks. “Now?” Applejack nods very seriously. “Well...that’s really up to you, sugar.” Cherry leans forward, gently placing her teeth on Applejack’s hat. She waits for permission, and Applejack gives a small nod. The hat is gently tugged from her hooves and carefully placed on a trunk at the foot of the bed. Applejack sits with empty hooves, hearing those words ricochet in her ears. Up to you. She tries to remember anything she’s heard from Rainbow Dash about how it goes down between two mares. Nothing comes—there’s nothing in her head but Cherry Jubilee’s sultry voice. The mare in question gives her a look that says she knows exactly what to do. “How about,” Cherry Jubilee begins with a glint in her eye, “We pick up where we left off last night? Would that be alright?” Applejack gulps loudly and nods once. Cherry offers her hoof, and Applejack takes it. Part of her, the part that still hasn’t caught on, throws it’s hooves up in consternation. The rest of her is slowly, gently, led over to the bed. They climb onto the mattress together, sinking into a thick quilt. Applejack sits upright, still not sure what to do. Cherry lies down next to her, just slightly on her side. Relaxed and regal. She reaches up and undoes the yellow ribbon keeping her hair in check, spilling the thick locks down onto her shoulders. Applejack stares shamelessly. Wavy hair. Curvy. Almost as curvy as those fine flanks of hers. Wha-? Well, how about that. She lets a sigh out, relief washing over her as hidden thoughts finally find a voice. Her eyes wander—Cherry isn’t wearing the bathrobe, just her usual pink ribbon around the neck. Applejack gets the urge to bite down and tear the thing off. “May I?” Cherry Jubilee asks. “Huh?” Applejack blinks, feeling caught again. She nods anyway. Cherry Jubilee sits up. Applejack holds still, tensed and alive, as the other mare reaches over and grips her red hair tie. Cherry looks up at her with a saucy grin, holding the fabric in her teeth, and tugs a few times. Golden mane goes spilling out all over the bed. Applejack’s eyebrows shoot up as Cherry dives back, and then she gasps at the feel of tugging on her rump. She looks back to see her tail fanned out, let loose on the world. Cherry Jubilee settles down next to her, close up against her side. Applejack steels herself up—that frilly little ribbon around her mare’s neck is getting in the way. It has to go. She leans down, barely brushing against Cherry’s coat. She takes one end of the ribbon in her teeth and pulls, slowly, not a tug but a long, even pull. The fabric slides and the knot comes undone, no resistance at all. Applejack can feel the silky sliding of the ribbon falling off the other mare’s neck as she pulls, calling goosebumps to attention all over her body. It falls free. It dangles from Applejack’s lips for a moment before she drops it unceremoniously, looking back up at it’s owner. The two mares stare at each other, naked in every way. Applejack gets lost in the pale curve of Cherry’s neck, long and elegant now without the ribbon there, curtained with that luscious violet mane. Cherry leans over, suddenly, and nuzzles against her neck. Applejack finally sighs and relaxes—she understands, now, why other ponies waste so much time chasing after this kind of thing. Why someone would drop anything and everything just to feel a lover’s touch. She shudders, feeling Cherry’s muzzle in her mane and against her cheek. Hot breath across her coat. A hoof slides over her shoulders, pulling her into it. She closes her eyes and lets it all wash over her. It’s so much more than she ever imagined it could be, just feeling somepony else there, touching her. Sorry, Beefcake. The real deal is just too good. It is good. So, so good. More gooder than....well...shucks. Who needs words, anyway? She snaps her eyes open, aiming to return all these lovely favors. Applejack goes to nuzzle Cherry back, her hooves trembling, and ends up damn near tackling her. They tumble over sideways, and Applejack finds herself hovering over a lovely mare laid out on her back. “Oh!” Cherry lowers her eyelids, her forelegs curled in close between them. “I don’t remember this part from last night.” “Me neither,” Applejack pants out. Every part of her is filled with a rush of, of something, alive and wound up tight. She feels like she’s running, sprinting her heart out, about to take a jump and win the whole darn thing. “Well?” Cherry’s lips turn up in an incredibly seductive smirk. “You gonna finish what you’re startin’ here, sugar?” Applejack licks her lips, panting harder. She can feel Cherry’s legs wrapped loosely around her midsection. Her tail whips around like crazy. This is it. You do this, there’s no turning back. She stares longingly at the mare under her—the shining eyes, her mane all splayed out across the sheets, that cute little mark on her cheek. What are you waiting for, idiot? She’s RIGHT HERE. Applejack’s eyes go wider as it sinks in. This is real. It’s all happening. Right there for the taking. For me. And then Applejack takes her. She pushes in, cramming their lips together in a fierce kiss. “MmmMMM!” Cherry moans, her forelegs trapped between them. Applejack just about dies. It feels so good, better than anything she can think of. Even better than a stiff drink after a hard day’s work. She holds back at first, just pressing their lips together, feeling the tingles of hot, wet breath. But Cherry isn’t having it—she darts her tongue out, drawing Applejack’s into a sultry dance across their mouths. It’s her first real kiss. She makes it a long one, never doing anything halfway. They fight back and forth, turning their heads this way and that. Applejack lowers her body, sliding her arms around Cherry’s shoulders and the back of her head, running her hooves through the silky curves of her mane. Cherry vises her legs around Applejack, trapping her close. She can feel Cherry’s thick tail lashing up at her, tickling the backs of her thighs. She fights back, their tails copying their tongues, flicking and lashing against each other. She can’t breathe. She pulls back, finally, feeling the other mare do the same, and opens her eyes. Cherry is under her, squeezed close, looking almost dazed. Both of them are panting, their breaths fighting to catch up. Cherry yanks her arms out from between them and pulls Applejack down by the mane. WHOA there! Applejack’s eyes go wide and stay wide as she’s pulled into a rough kiss. She closes them right away—it’s weird and uncomfortable, keeping them open. Harder to focus on all the wonderful going on around her tongue. Their bodies are pressed together, warm, so warm and close. Applejack feels Cherry’s lips pull away and then strike again, kissing all over her nose and muzzle and face. They’re tickling, wet little kisses, and Applejack chuckles blindly as they land all over and start running down her neck. Cherry’s hooves slide down, down Applejack’s sides, sending shivers quaking through her body. She starts kissing back, not quite sure where she’s hitting—somewhere in the neck/cheek region, most like. She feels Cherry’s lips up by her ear, feels hot breath blowing loudly right into her hearing. Teeth start nibbling on the tender skin right under her ear. “Ah...” Applejack almost moans, barely keeping a handle on it. She starts to squirm, to get away from that nibbling, it feels too good, but Cherry loops one arm around her back, holding her tight. The other arm slides up behind one of her thighs, locking their hips together. She struggles vainly, just a little, having fun with it. Shoot...she’s got me right where she wants me, huh? Cherry keeps nibbling and kissing, driving Applejack crazy. She can feel the older mare flexing her hips up, into her, rubbing their coats together. Mean trick, that. Well played. Actin’ all...come and get me, I’m just a tender flower of a lady. Now lookit her. Takin’ over. Cherry pulls her into another rough kiss, expertly massaging with her tongue. Applejack surrenders to it, loving every second. Boy, if only she could mount me! She smiles through the kiss, making her mind up to at least try to give as good as she’s gettin’. She slides one hoof down Cherry’s back and around her side, caressing her smooth coat. “Mmmnnn!” Applejack moans loudly as the other mare bites down on her lip, almost hard enough to hurt, sending her haunches shaking. She loses track of what her hoof was doing, just reveling in the action. It’s weird—somehow, distantly, she lets go. Just...letting Cherry Jubilee have her way. Shoot, if I was doin’ this with Rainbow we’d be fightin’ about who’s doin’ what by now. Heh, probably woulda been fun. But this is...I dunno, it’s... Cherry takes Applejack’s hoof in her own, still kissing and nibbling. She guides Applejack’s hoof, sliding it down her exposed belly. Applejack doesn’t have to do a thing. She hangs back and lets someone else take charge, for once. Cherry guides her hoof lower, and Applejack’s breath catches in her throat as she lands in the wet, tender valley between the other mare’s legs. “Ah~!” Cherry stops kissing and shudders at the touch, pressing her forehead against Applejack’s. ...It’s nice. Applejack starts to rub with her hoof, just tracing a clumsy up-and-down stroke. She tries to be careful but her hoof is shaking, full of pent-up wants. Cherry lets out a cute little squeak, the kind of sound you’d never expect to hear from a mare like her. Applejack remembers to grin. It doesn’t last long. “WHOA!” Applejack’s whole body jolts as Cherry slides her hoof down her belly, slamming right into that lovely special spot. There’s no eager shaking here—Cherry works her with a sure hoof, touching everything just right. “Guh! Ah!” Applejack gasps out, raising her rump up on her hind legs, giving the other mare room to work her magic. Cherry draws her into a furious kiss, not missing a stroke all the while, sending Applejack’s hoof into shuddering, clumsy spasms. Applejack growls into the other mare’s mouth, furrowing her brow. Cherry’s voice may be muffled, but it’s been replaced with that lovely tongue and that lovely hoof, doing all kinds of things Applejack’s never dreamed of. She starts bucking her hips a little, moaning as that hoof caresses between her folds. Cherry breaks the kiss and grins up at her, smug, predatory. She squeezes Applejack in closer, yanking at the base of her thigh, not giving her room to squirm. Her hoof dances around that special spot, now hard and quivering. “AH! D...da...ugh!” Applejack grunts, her upper body teetering on one hoof. Damn damn DAMN GodDAMN! Applejack grits her teeth and falls, defeated and happy about it. She shudders and groans, sweating all over the lovely lady mare under her. Her hoof fumbles around, tangled up in all kinds of limbs, still feebly fighting back. She can feel Cherry’s sly grin against her cheek, and then the quick peck of a kiss. Cherry’s hoof makes one last fierce, maddening push, sliding right against the clit... Holy bucking HELL is that good Jolts of pleasure shoot out from that wonderful spot, everything below her navel is tingling. And then suddenly it’s gone and Applejack is pushed, rolled over onto her back. She pants loudly, her mouth lolling open. Her legs spread on their own, ready and wanting, she’s sopping wet and chomping at the bit. But Cherry Jubilee, in what can only be madness, pulls Applejack’s legs closed. She sits up, still with that sly smile, and rolls Applejack onto her side. The feeling of her own thighs sliding together makes Applejack bite her lip. She looks up, wound-up and confused. What’s all this now? As if reading her thoughts, Cherry winks at her. I got this. Just lemme show you how it’s done. And then Cherry dives down, running her tongue roughly up Applejack’s flank and across three red apples. “AhhhhhhhhHHHH!” Applejack almost yells, digging her hooves into the quilt. Cherry forces her muzzle into Applejack’s flank, nuzzling and licking, drinking in the sweet red marks. Then she wedges her hoof between Applejack’s legs, and the orange mare decides now would be a fine time to lose her mind. She howls in delight. Her tail jolts out straight, all the stray blond coming together. Her eyes go wide as pie tins, pupils shrunk to barely anything, her whole body taken over by the pleasure down in her hips. It’s ecstasy, complete and absolute, better than anything else in the whole damn world. Cherry pulls back, roughly splaying Applejack’s legs open again. Applejack tenses up, barely able to, almost gone—and then Cherry bends down and dips her tongue inside, just firm enough, flicking it around the glistening need beneath Applejack's legs. This time, Applejack really does lose her mind. Her back arches, throwing her chin up towards the headboard. Her mouth hangs open, breathless. Cherry runs her tongue up and down, Applejack chokes on her own gasps, then she slides her way up, flicking left and right, she looks down and sees just a mop of lovely violet, she finds her way home, to the top of the mound, and then she feels a bolt of pure pleasure light up her whole mind. Applejack throws her head back in a silent yell, tensing every muscle in her body. A valve inside her breaks and blows open wide as she comes, really comes, for the first time in her life. * * * She lies on her side, lazily looking out the window at nothing. At stars. It’s quiet, and still. The room around them is dimmer than the stars outside, lit by just a few dying candles. One of Cherry’s arms hangs over her shoulder. She can feel the other mare breathing behind her. It’s nice. She feels... Wow. Most fun a mare can have, right there. Different. Loose. Unwound. Almost drunk, a good drunk, like havin’ friends over and just takin’ it easy. Different. A weak little smile teases at her lips. Didn’t know I had it in me. It’s better. It’s... Different. She almost chuckles, wondering why that word keeps whispering itself in her ears. Shoot, can’t believe I never did this bef— She freezes. Her heart lurches in place as words and thoughts and memories come blaring into her head. Family. Friends. Apples. What...what did I just DO? This ain’t me. This ain’t honest ole’ Ponyville Applejack, most dependable of ponies. What...what am I doin’? What would Granny say? What would Mac say? How am I ever gonna explain this to Applebloom? What the hay am I even talkin’ about? All my friends are gonna laugh, like they knew all along, me lyin’ to ‘em all this time... What would Momma and Papa say? She cringes, uncomfortable under the other mare’s arm. I can’t do this it ain’t me I can’t do this what was I thinkin’ oh sweet Celestia what am I gonna— Cherry Jubilee scoots closer, nuzzling against the back of Applejack’s neck. She murmurs some sleepy nonsense. Applejack tenses up at the warm body against her back, but she can’t hold it—it all slips out of her in a pleased sigh. But it feels so nice. Applejack curls against Cherry’s arm, clinging onto it. Maybe this is just some...I dunno, like a fluke weird kinda deal. I ain’t into mares. A noble part of her scoffs in outrage at the idea. That ain’t fair. Not to her. All she did wrong was want you. Care for you. Applejack twists herself up in a worried scowl. She doesn’t feel different anymore. She’s wound up, penned in, torn in a dozen stressful directions at once. Worn thin. It felt nice, for a just a little bit there. Like nothing mattered. Like everything was gonna be okay. She misses that feeling. This is all moot anyway, I’m gonna be headin’ back to Ponyville just another few weeks. Her eyes light up. That’s it! That’s it! It’s just...this place. Everything’s different. She wonders briefly if maybe there’s something in the water here. No, that’s cockamamie. It’s just... There is Ponyville Applejack. And there is Dodge Junction Applejack. And they are different things. And that is okay. There we go. Simple as that. She nods to herself, snuggled warmly against another mare. Nopony has to know. She smiles a little, happy to feel different again. Almost relaxed. Nopony’ll ever know. She can go home and stuff this whole lovely thing in the same bag as those damn every-color-but-blue ribbons and we can all move on same as before. That’s right. She nods again. She’s free. Free, here, for a just a little while. She stares out at the stars again, clear and twinkling in the dry air. She shuffles her back, snuggling against the warm body behind her. And she loves every beautiful second of it. Withered on the BranchDarkness. Hot, stuffy darkness. Applejack takes this moment alone to do something unusual. For her, anyway. Her thoughts are running over the last few days, just...going over things. And what a few days it had been. Out working hard, all day, every day. But she’d eased up a bit after that first night. The other ranch hands seemed nice, now that she actually talked to them. She even put faces to a few names. Making friends, if only in that fleeting co-worker sense. And at night...well, she’d been up late engaged in all kinds of interesting debauchery. She gets a sure, proud smirk, letting her head wander into just a few naughty details. Cherry sure does know her way around a bed, I’ll give her that. She snorts out a sly chuckle. That ain’t all I’ll give her. She chuckles again. It had been a plum fine couple of nights. At a price, though. She’s exhausted, worn out in the best of ways. A lazy burn buzzes from behind her eyeballs. Her limbs are heavy and creaky. I’d wager it was worth it. Besides, today was a nice day off. Cherry had asked for an escort into town. To do a little shopping and whatnot. And Applejack had been all too happy to come along. They’d shared a pleasant walk, huddled under Cherry’s lacy parasol. You look beat, sugar. Tuckered out. Aw shucks, Miss Jub— Cherry. A sly smile. Applejack giggles like a filly, just like she’d wanted to at the time. Cherry. A lovely, sweet little word. You should rest up when we get back. Take a nap. You orderin’ me around on my day off? You bet yer fine rump, I am. And while I’m at it... And then she’d leaned over and whispered a few suggestions concerning said nap. Suggestions that made Applejack’s tail practically spin in circles. She takes her time remembering every little detail of that voice in her ear, running her thoughts over the... “Hurry hurry hurry hurry hurry!” KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK “Hurry it up in there!” Oh, for the love of... Applejack rolls her eyes and finishes up. Can’t a gal have a quiet moment? She slams the door open and trots out, not even looking. “Some ponies. Sheesh.” See, this is why just goin’ outside is the way to do it. She trots on, barely aware that her head is sinking lower and lower as she does. Y’know, that really almost sounded like Pinkie. She sighs, looking down at the dirt. “Applejack!” Her ear twitches in disbelief. “I found her I found her I found her I found her...!” She snaps her head up, seeing five familiar pairs of eyes staring back. My friends! MY FRIENDS! Before the joy can even register on her face, panic takes its place. My...my friends. Oh. Oh jeez. ...uh... … Oh no. * * * “Uh...hey everypony...” Applejack says. What are you doing here? “...What’s up?” Brilliant. That’ll throw ‘em fer sure. “Why didn’t you come back to Ponyville?” I wish I could tell you. “Yes, why are you here?” Because I let everypony down. “Are you okay?” No. “Do you have any snacks?” Uh...? “Tell us what happened, Applejack.” They want to know. They want to help. They care. Would they, if they knew? I ain’t about to find out... But they’re all looking at her. She feels it, swollen in her chest, right at the back of her throat. I can’t, I just can’t but I gotta tell ‘em but I can’t but... Her mouth opens on its own, threatening to spill the beans whether she likes it or not. She can’t talk without telling them. How could she? “Applejack? Are these some of your Ponyville friends?” Salvation. Just in the nick of time. Cherry Jubilee chats them up, distracting them. Explaining. Wrapping it all up with a nice little bow. Wait a minute is she talkin’ about the rodeo? No no no NO STOP “Aw, shucks, Miss Jubilee. You don’t have to go into all that.” “She’s so modest!” Cherry puts a hoof to Applejack’s chin, triggering all kinds of dirty little memories. She cringes inside, tiny in the glare of a massive spotlight. “Anyway, I could always use a pony with quick hooves and a strong back.” Applejack glances around nervously, unable to contain the goofy little grin on her face. Her friends heard that. They heard it, for pony’s sake. “...I’ll let you catch up with your friends. See you back at the ranch!” No don’t go don’t leave me with them noooooooo “Change of scenery? What’s that supposed to mean?” Rainbow Dash says, getting right in her face. Of course. “It’s no big deal guys...” I am so, so sorry, Dash. I mean it. She rambles on, saying nothing like what’s going on in her head. She makes excuses. Puts up walls. Wraps things up in a tattered, sloppy bow. “That’s it. End of story,” she finishes with her nose up in the air. “That’s it? Well that’s a terrible story.” Yeah. Yeah, it is. She tries to walk away, but Rainbow Dash cuts her off, of course. Applejack barely hears the words between them, it’s all muffled, underwater and far away. “We didn’t travel all over Equestria...” Of course you did you guys are the best and I love every single one of no NO stop it. “...To come home without you!” Rage growls from deep in her body, sharp and mean-eyed. How dare they? How dare they? Everything was perfect, coulda just done this and come home and nopony woulda been the wiser... I ain’t worth all this. “Well I didn’t ask you to come lookin’ for me!” Why did you come lookin’ for me? “There is nothin’ to tell, and I am not goin’ back to Ponyville!” * * * It’s dark, again. Applejack lies in bed, wreathed in moonlight. One dim oil lamp flickers on a nightstand, washed out by the pale light from outside. She’s on her back, cradling a glass of schnapps on her belly. Sweat cools on her coat, still there from a pretty darn vigorous session of lovemaking. She’d been angry, before. Intense. Rough. Somehow, it had been even better than the past few nights put together. How could you? Bringin’ them on as workers. What’s wrong with you? I was trying to help you, sugar. You knew exactly what you were doin’! Cherry had replied with only a sly smile, that same damn smile that always makes Applejack feel all kinds of funny. And then the older mare had shown her some very creative ways of apologizing. Applejack sighs, taking a sweet, tarty sip at her glass. She isn’t angry anymore. “You feelin’ better, sugar?” Applejack looks over. Cherry is next to her, at her side. Nursing her own glass of sweet pinkish-reddish loveliness. “Whaddya mean?” Applejack turns away, glaring out the window. “Oh, come off it.” She feels Cherry against her side, snuggling closer. “You’re right. I shoulda talked it over with you. About those friends of yours.” Applejack snorts, intent on staring out the window at nothing. “I really thought I was helpin’,” Cherry almost whispers into her ear. Applejack can smell the sweet burn of schnapps on her breath, mingled with the unsavory smell of her own fleeting pleasure. “They seem like a good group of girls. Comin’ all the way out here on your account.” Applejack says nothing. A gust of wind howls outside, setting the wood of the house creaking in place. “Did they do you wrong?” Cherry asks. “Is that why—” “No, nothin’ like that.” Applejack grips her glass a little tighter in her hooves. “They really are great.” Every one of them. “Then what is it?” Something in Cherry’s voice forces Applejack to turn to her. “I didn’t want them to know,” she says. “About us?” “No! I mean...it ain’t about that. It wasn’t.” Cherry raises an almost offended eyebrow, drawing away from Applejack ever so slightly. “There’s a whole other mess goin’ on, honestly, and...this really ain’t helpin’, is the thing of it,” Applejack says, kicking herself the moment it comes out. Cherry’s frown speaks all the words she needs. Oh. Is that how it is? “Shoot, I didn’t mean it like that!” Applejack scrambles to patch it up. “But...y’know, they don’t know about this, or any of it, and I don’t know how...” she hems and haws, desperately casting around for words, getting more wound up by the second. “On top of everything else, and then this, and you, and me already in for it, and I don’t even—MMF!” Her yelp of surprise is muffled by Cherry’s luscious lips. It’s a quick, fierce kiss. Applejack doesn’t even have time to close her eyes before it’s over. “Sorry,” Cherry says. Simply. Softly. Then she finishes her glass with a rueful toss of her hair. She climbs halfway over Applejack, grabbing her glass as well, and stows both on the nightstand. But she doesn’t pull back—she stays against Applejack, nestling against her side, resting her lovely head in the crook of Applejack’s neck. Applejack loops one arm around her and holds her close, without even thinking. It feels too right to not do it. “You do what you gotta do, sugar,” Cherry says, pecking a light kiss into Applejack’s chest. “I can keep a secret with the best of ‘em.” It hurts. Applejack grimaces, glad that her lover’s face is buried into her coat. It hurts worse than when she thought Cherry was mad at her. A long silence stretches out, timed by the rise and fall of Cherry’s chest against her. “You ever done this before?” Applejack asks. “Hmm?” Cherry glances up at her, just a bit surprised. “You know...with a mare.” The question had been on Applejack’s mind for longer than she cared to admit. “Just once.” Cherry stares off towards a window, longingly. “Were you gettin’ naughty with some poor, innocent worker o’ yours?” Applejack says with a cheeky grin. “No.” That naughty little smile is back. “Nothin’ like that. And she was nothin’ like you, that’s fer sure. It was a long time ago.” Cherry stares off again, this time with a smile, and sighs. “Before I even met my husband.” It hadn’t even occurred to Applejack that there was no Mister to her employer’s Missus. “Say, whatever happened to him?” she says without thinking, immediately feeling rude. “Uh...if you don’t mind me askin’ that is.” “It’s fine. That was a long time ago, too,” Cherry Jubilee says. “He just ran off one day.” “Oh.” Jeez... “He just left you? With foals and the farm and all?” Applejack says, eyes wide with disbelief. Cherry Jubilee nods. “You never saw him again?” “Not once.” Cherry Jubilee glares viciously. “Lucky for him, too. I’d probably kill the son of a bitch.” Applejack’s eyes get wider. Dang...more grit to her than I thought. “I’m mighty sorry to hear all that,” Applejack says. “Don’t fret none about it. It was hard, but we got by. Made me who I am today.” Think I just might know what you mean there. She doesn’t say it. She realizes, now, that she had said all this to change the subject. Get away from the part that hurts. But it only led her to a different kind of hurt. Straight up. Tell her. Pony up and do it, for once. For her, at least. “I’m leavin’,” Applejack says. “Tomorrow morning.” She feels Cherry’s arms tighten around her. “S’pose I’m not surprised to hear that,” Cherry says. “Where you goin’?” “I dunno.” “What direction?” “I dunno. Away.” “And what are you gonna do when those friends of yours find you again?” Applejack glares at her. This damn mare—always hitting where it counts. “I dunno. Go somewhere else, I suppose.” “Applejack,” Cherry says very sternly. Young lady. Applejack perks up, suddenly listening very closely. “You can’t just keep running,” Cherry says. “Well I can’t go back with ‘em.” “Then stay here.” Cherry’s eyes look weak, for just a second. Alone. “At least here, we have each other.” “I’m sorry.” Applejack sinks back into the dark bed, her ears flopping against her head. “I made promises. Promises I can’t keep. I ain’t got no right.” “Sure I can’t change your mind? Nothin’ I can say?” Cherry trails a hoof up Applejack’s chest, teasing at her neck with it. “Nothin’ I can...do?” Her eyes send shivers all through Applejack’s thoughts. She looks alone again, hidden under all the overwhelming seduction. Almost desperate. It leaves a bad taste in Applejack’s mouth. She needs someone. Applejack sighs, stone cold in the face of Cherry’s temptations. Someone better. “I wish I could,” Applejack says. “I really do. But I was always gonna leave. Doesn’t make you any less lovely. Just how it is.” Applejack frowns, wondering if that hurt as much to hear as it did to say. “Well, listen to you!” Cherry drops her hoof and gives Applejack an almost proud smile. “I should be more careful. I might just have made you into a real heart breaker.” A bemused, dry chuckle escapes Applejack’s mouth. Applejack, the heart breaker. What a hoot. “I ain’t aimin’ to break any hearts. Least of all yours,” she says. They both pause, drinking each other’s gaze. It’s a fleeting joy, a fading echo of the last few nights—just the two of them and no other cares in the world. Cherry hugs her tightly, nuzzling against her neck. “First train leaves at seven-ten on the dot,” Cherry whispers against her coat. “Guess I should get to sleep, then.” Cherry slides up on top of Applejack, straddling her. She hooks her forelegs around the back of Applejack’s neck and presses their noses together, her smile growing all the while. “Yup,” Cherry breathes out in a husky whisper. “You probably should.” Applejack slides her hooves up Cherry’s sides, bringing them up and running them into the heavenly tresses of her mane. Her lungs tighten up, and everything else just kind of...melts away. “I reckon it would be pretty foolish to stay up all night,” Cherry says, batting her eyelashes. “Making the most of it.” She stares down into Applejack, so close that she’s blurred out, just holding there. On her. With her. “Yeah...” Applejack looks back, sure as sugar. About this part, anyway. “I reckon it would.” * * * Applejack thuds her way up a dusty dirt road. The sun is high, edging towards noon. Her hat keeps her comfy, but the bright heat burns into her coat all over. She normally wouldn’t mind, but memories of a lacy little parasol are fresh in her head. She’s unburdened. Her bags are back at the station, waiting with her friends. She’d told them she would just be a little while. An hour, at most. Saying a proper goodbye. She’s already passed the front gate of the ranch. The house looms up ahead. Cherry Jubilee is waiting, of course. Must’ve seen Applejack coming—it’s nothing but flat scrub and sage brush for miles along the road. The matriarch is standing out on the front porch, alone. Fanning herself with one of those fancy folding fans, dull pink in the shade of the covered porch. Applejack clops her way up a few steps and onto the porch, silently coming to a stop in front of the other mare. She doffs her hat and fans herself a few times, looking down at the worn planks she’s standing on. “Hoped I might see you again,” Cherry Jubilee says. “Yeah, me too.” Applejack replaces her hat, finally meeting Cherry’s eyes. Neither says anything for a moment. The wind picks up to fill in their silence, blowing dry and raspy through tufts of brittle grass out in the sun. “So,” Cherry closes her fan abruptly, making a show of nonchalance. “Did those friends of yours catch up to you?” “They did, indeed.” “And?” Applejack feels a hopeful smile bleed out, ruling out the slight ache in her ribs where Rainbow Dash tackled her. A wonderful ache. A perfect, forgiving ache. “We set things straight. I think,” she says. “I guess things weren’t as bad as I thought.” “I’m glad.” Cherry glows as she says it, a warm, genuine smile. “Things usually ain’t so bad, in the end. You goin’ back to Ponyville, then?” “That’s the plan.” “Mmm.” Cherry nods, still smiling. Applejack takes a second to chew on her lip, setting up what needs to be said. “I wanted to thank you,” she says. “Again. For...well, for everything.” She feels just a slight blush on that last sentence. “It was my pleasure,” Cherry says. She moves closer—Applejack isn’t sure if she’s going for a hug or a kiss or whatever. Applejack shoots a hoof out, holding the older mare back. She glances around, checking for witnesses, completely on instinct. “Sorry,” Applejack says. “I...it’s over. Best not muddy the waters, right?” “Probably smart,” Cherry says. She doesn’t look surprised. Or upset. “Just sayin’ goodbye,” Applejack adds. “I owe you that much.” “You don’t owe me a thing.” Applejack’s manners dictate that she protest, but they can’t quite muster themselves up. It’s been quite the morning. Instead, she just gives a weak smile and nods. “Would you mind if I wrote to you?” Cherry asks. “That would be nice,” Applejack says. She means it. “Well alright, then.” Cherry seems to relax a bit. “Best not keep yer friends waitin’.” “Yeah...” Applejack casts a wistful glance down the road. “Maybe I’ll see you again. Rodeo, or somethin’.” “I’d like that.” Cherry follows her glance, then fixes her right in the eyes again. “Goodbye...” ...sugar? “...Applejack.” Applejack’s breath almost catches in her throat, but she keeps a handle on it. She sets her face up, plain and blank, and politely tips her hat. “...Miss Jubilee.” She turns without another word and sets out, back down the dusty road she came. * * * THUNK. A good hit. Apples land all around her, spreading the huge smile on her face wider. She rears up again. THUNK. Solid, ungiving wood. Just beautiful. THUNK. She throws every muscle into it. THUNK. Buckets slowly fill with apples. Famous for miles around. Applejack wipes at her brow with a hoof, grinning proudly. She looks around, taking a well-timed breather. Sweet Apple Acres. It’s just as beautiful as ever, here in the cool shade of hundreds and hundreds of Equestria’s finest apple trees. Here, at home. A distant echo of laughter drifts through the trees. It’s Applebloom and her friends, of course, probably getting into some kind of mischief. And somewhere off yonder she knows that Big Mac is pulling stumps out of the rich, dark earth. And past that, back at the house, Winona’s takin’ a nap right by the porch. And Granny’s inside, baking or napping. Take your pick. She knows this, all of this, sure as her own hoof. Almost every day, her whole life. She looks around, not really at anything, just...taking it in. The thick grass, the rolling, gentle hills, and the trees, of course the trees, stretching out as far as the eye can see. She knows and recognizes each one, somewhere deep in the back of her mind. That one way off there is the first one she ever bucked apples out of. That one over there is the one Bloomberg’s seeds came from. This one’s the one she was buckin’ the first time she met Twilight. She heaves a sigh, heavy with contentment. Even the smell of the air is better than anything else in the world. Home. Something shakes and rattles it’s way through the branches above her. She knows who it is without even having to look. “Rainbow?” She does look up. “Hey.” Rainbow Dash picks her way into the lower branches of a tree from above, perching in a low crouch. “‘Sup, AJ?” “You, from the looks of it.” “Heh, yeah.” Rainbow Dash prowls around the branches for a second, licking her lips. She quickly finds one she likes and helps herself to an apple, crunching and smacking loudly. Applejack forces a glare, overdoing it on purpose. “Don’t s’pose yer gonna pay for that?” “When have I ever?” Dash reclines on a branch, somehow making it look comfortable. “Just put it on my tab.” “Think I lost track of your tab a long time ago.” Applejack grimaces, only halfway forcing it. “All I know is you owe me a whole bunch of bits. Or a few days honest work.” “Pffffft. Yeah, right. Work.” Rainbow Dash rolls her eyes. Then she grins down from her branch, arching her eyebrows as suggestively as a pony can. “I don’t know about this farm stuff. But I can think of a few ways I could pay you back.” Applejack startles a little. Dash always throws out lines like that, ever since that talk they had long ago. It always, always throws Applejack, even if just for a second. Which is, of course, why Dash does it. Applejack is about to throw back one of her usual witty rejections, but...somethings different. Is it? She takes a long look at her friend, leaving her mouth hanging open a bit. Rainbow Dash is above her, bright and beautiful, sleek as always, her wild mane hanging haphazardly with the leaves. I mean, she’s always been pretty, but... Is there...? … Nope. Nothing. Applejack, a little surprised, feels nothing but her usual friendly fondness for the mare above her. Huh. Maybe it really was the water. No, that’s crazy talk. “Yeah, whatever,” Rainbow Dash rolls on, as if Applejack had thrown out a comeback. She takes another noisy bite, talking with her mouth full. “You know, it’s weird. When you were gone, I could come here all the time and nap wherever and take as many apples as I wanted. And nopony gave me any crap about it.” Applejack raises an eyebrow, not sure where the pegasus is going with this. Rainbow Dash wipes at her mouth and rolls over a bit, peering down at her again. “It’s good to have you back,” Rainbow Dash says. “It’s good to be back,” Applejack says quietly. “How ‘bout Rarity and Pinkie? How’re they holdin’ up?” “Oh, Pinkie’s fine. Rarity, though...man. You’d think I cut off her mane or something. Jeez.” “Didya tell her how we looked for ‘em?” “Course I did!” Dash throws her hooves up, done with the whole situation. “It’s not my fault they went the wrong way.” “Where’d they even end up?” “Las Pegasus. Rarity was demanding that I pay her back for their tickets home. Do you have any idea how much it costs for a ride all the way out to Las Pegasus?” “Heh, can’t say I do.” Applejack chuckles. “So...did you pay up, or...?” “Naw, she calmed down.” Rainbow Dash huffily folds her arms. “I took her out to dinner. One of her stupid fancy restaurants.” “Oooooh, sounds romantic,” Applejack jeers. “Don’t even.” Rainbow Dash rolls her eyes again. “Although I feel like I should’ve gotten some action, after how much it cost. Which is why I appreciate all these free apples you’re giving me.” She finishes off her apple, nibbling it down to it’s skinny core. Applejack wonders why they even pretend anymore—not that the act isn’t fun, but it’s been a long, long while since she would’ve let Rainbow pay for anything. “I think I owe you one, actually. After all that,” Applejack says. “Don’t mention it. It’s cool.” Rainbow Dash carelessly throws her apple core down, letting it thud to the ground right at Applejack’s feet. “I gotta say, it was kind of exciting. Never figured you would do something like that.” “Whaddya mean?” “You know, you. Honest old Applejack. Boring farm pony, running off all mysterious. Crazy stuff.” Applejack glares up at her, not sure what to make of any of that. “Oh, come on. You know what I mean. And you’re not really boring, honest,” Rainbow Dash adds. “I was kind of impressed, actually. Once I wasn’t mad at you.” “Huh,” is all Applejack manages to say. “Just don’t go all crazy and run off on us again.” “Wouldn’t think of it.” A full second passes before Applejack realizes that they’re just staring at each other. The trash at her feet is forgotten, lost in a warm moment. “Hey.” Rainbow Dash breaks the bond, darting her head into a nearby branch. She snatches an apple with her teeth and drops it down, expertly landing it next to the already-eaten fruit. It’s small and green, not quite ready. But then again, it is off-season. “This one’s on me,” she says. “And even if you did run off again? I’d still want you back.” Applejack looks up and down, speechless. Rainbow Dash is staring down at her, with some kind of calm, heavenly smile. When Applejack looks up, she doesn’t feel any romance. But she does feel love. Somehow, impossibly, Rainbow Dash seems to not notice Applejack’s fawning look. “Anyway,” she says, like she always does. “I’m takin’ off. I’ll catch you later, cool?” “...Sure,” Applejack almost mumbles. A few branches rattle, and a few leaves fall, and then she’s gone, somewhere up in the skies above. Applejack tries to follow with her eyes, hopeless from beneath the canopy. She stands in place for a long while afterwards, alone with her silent thoughts. A few birds sing sporadically. Random pieces of a song, never put together. She tries, against her instincts, to puzzle out some of this. Of all of it. She wants something, any small piece of this bigger picture. There’s something great and important here, she just knows it, something worth sitting down and thinking a spell over. But it’s just out of grasp. And what did it matter, anyway? They’d found out. They’d found out about... ...Everything? Would it matter, if they knew? I don’t even know. She’d been found out. All had been forgiven. All would be forgiven, she was sure. They are her friends. Her family. She knows, now, that she can tell them anything. Then why don’t I want to? There’s the rub. Why not? Why? She glares at the ground, scrunching her muzzle up in concentration. Maybe I just don’t want to. Maybe that’s just it. That ain’t a crime, after all. Maybe... Maybe this one’s just for me. It makes sense. Everyone’s got secrets. Nopony is perfect. Ain’t none of us at our best all the time. A shy, tender thing can make her friends cry. A smart unicorn can go crazy over nothing. A rodeo champion can choke and lose the prize. But they aren’t like that every day. Was it...wrong? It feels wrong to think so. Cherry was too sweet to be ashamed of. Maybe it’s just mine. My own little secret. That’s better. Not wrong. Not bad. But why don’t I want to tell anypony? She shakes her head, not quite satisfied, but unable to put up with pondering for any longer. There’s work to be done, after all. And Applejack is a working pony, sure as sugar. She sets back to her harvest, the nagging thoughts shrinking so tiny that you’d have to stop and really try to listen. A sly smile sneaks out onto her lips, despite the muffled, wayward thoughts.. She feels strangely free. New. Alive. Exciting. Different. Even honesty can have a secret, here and there. Hanging RipeTHUNK. Cherries fall into baskets all around her, a pitter-patter of harvested fruit. She almost winces—the tree is still shaking, and she swears it even looks bent from the force of her bucking. Skinny little things. Nothing like my good ole’ apple trees back Home. This time she does wince. Don’t fret. Just a few weeks, save up the bits, I’ll be home lickety-split. She rears up to buck again. It’s always been the best cure for thinking too much. Thunk. More cherries. This tree is just about finished. Thunk. It feels weird, holding back. But the first time she bucked a cherry tree? Damn near tore it out by the roots. Miss Jubilee laughed fit to bust her corset. Thunk. I’m so sorry Miss Jubilee please take it out of my pay this week I’ll be careful with yer trees from now on I swear THUNK. She pauses again, making a conscious effort to ease off. The tree is empty of fruit. She sets about gathering up the few strays that didn’t land in a basket. Sorry? Why, Applejack, with legs like that ah do think I’ll be payin’ you extra. She carries the baskets to a wagon, one by one. Again, light little things. Nothing like a solid barrel of Sweet Apple Acre’s finest. Wimpy little fruit. Might as well be pickin’ flowers. Should be Rarity out here. She sighs and shakes her head. Enough o’ that now! Cherries are a fine crop. Maybe they ain’t apples, true, but they’re a fine crop. Nopony forced you to come out here to this... She looks around, supposedly scoping out her next tree. It’s a vastly different place from the Acres. Drier, most definitely, but not so dry as Appleloosa. She would call it Mediterranean, if she knew the word. She gathers up a few empty baskets, stacked together, and ambles off. The trees are pink—pink, can you believe it? Each trunk is topped with a silky canopy of light pink flowers, almost white, crowding out the leaves. She walks in silence. A gust of breeze picks up, and petals waft through the air all around her. It looks almost like snow. It looks kinda like Fall back home. She stops, glaring at nothing in particular. No it doesn’t. Less you think about home for the time being, the better. She forges on, doing her best to be unimpressed by the staggering beauty surrounding her. It’s a losing battle. Dusk is coming. The sky is just starting to fade into light hues of pink and red, shading the ranch in a dazzling rain of colors. It’s not so bad, as long as she’s in the thick of it. She can’t see too far in any one direction. She knows there are other ranch hands out and about, with wagons and baskets of their own, but none of them are near enough to see. She trudges up a small rise, keeping her eyes downcast. Petals dance through the air in front of her, throwing themselves to their deaths without a sound. Somewhere deep in her head, a poetic bit of her stretches and yawns, weak from under-use, and smiles at the sight. She crests the small hill. She looks up without thinking, and the baskets drop to the dirt. That forgotten poetry in her mind leaps out of bed and howls in delight. It’s beautiful. Heart-stoppingly, mind-numbingly beautiful. She can see for miles, looking out over a canopy of flowers, dotted with the reds and yellows of fresh fruit. Here and there, she can catch glimpses of the streams and brooks that keep this patch of land from being the desert it’s surrounded by. For a pony that rarely leaves home, Applejack feels like she’s been a lot of places. And seen a lot of things. But this here might be one of the prettiest. It’s definitely something different. Her ear twitches. A distant echo of laughter drifts through the trees. Probably Applebloom and her friends playin’ in the blossoms. No it ain’t, you dummy. Just another ranch hand, most like. She gets the weird urge to take her hat off and cover her face in shame. Instead, she picks up her baskets and turns her back on that most unsettling of vistas. She walks up to the closest tree and begins laying out the baskets, spaced in a loose circle around the trunk. Applebloom would love it here. Well, that’s neither here nor there. Mac would, too. He wouldn’t say nothin’ but he’d probably be pickin’ blossoms when he thought you weren’t lookin’. So what? Moot point. All of ‘em. Go home just go home I miss them oh goddess I miss them all That nauseous aching starts to creep out from her heart again. She stomps it down, eyeing the bunches of cherries above her and adjusting the baskets just so. At least write another letter or somethin’. No. No going home. Not until things have been set right. She heaves a long sigh, powerless to stop it. Instinctively, she looks around, feeling caught out for some reason. She’s still alone. She looks up and down, making sure she’s satisfied with her layout. All good. She turns, leans forward for a good hard buck, and- PAIN hooooooo boy howdy Sharp tearing, all up her shoulder blades. She falters mid-buck and takes a moment to steady herself. It’s been a few days. She thought that would be feeling better by now. You pushed and pushed and pushed and you still came in second. She snorts loudly. Screw-up. Failure. Buncha horse apples, that. Ain’t nothing you can’t make right with good, honest work. I bet Rainbow Dash is just losin’ her feathers back in Po- She snorts again and sets up, charging right through the burning in her shoulders as her weight shifts to the front. THUNK. A good hit. Fruit comes tumbling down. All of ‘em. Frettin’ and hemmin’ and hawin’ and what not THUNK. Fluttershy stopping by with eggs like she always does, all blushing and muttering THUNK. Stop by town, Rarity and Twilight havin’ tea or some such, swing by the bakery fer some THUNK. Little Applebloom. Big Mac. Granny. Poor lil’ Winona. THUNK. Bring back lots of money! THUNK. THUNK. THUNK. She stops, breathing heavily. Sweat trickles down her temples. The muscles in her upper back twitch and shiver. Cut it out. Focus. She does. There is no Ponyville. There are no friends or family. Just Applejack and a ranch and a tree with too many cherries. She’s squaring up her stance for another buck when a sound drifts through the trees again. A bell. It’s that big, tarnished old thing right outside the farmhouse. Miss Jubilee does right by her workers—in before sundown, hot grub for your troubles. She stares off through the trees, towards the source of the noise. She looks up at her tree. Bunches of cherries are practically weighing the poor thing down. You already filled up five wagons today. Not enough. Ain’t good enough. Her stomach growls. She barely notices. Back home, she would stop and have a few apples. Why not? They are hers, after all. It never even crosses her mind to do the same here. You wanna go home, dontcha? She nods, again at no one in particular. She sets up for a good, hard buck. I said I was comin’ back with money. And that’s what’s gonna happen. THUNK. * * * Applejack quietly closes the door behind her. It’s a huge farmhouse, practically an estate manor. Plenty of rooms, for workers and family. But on a work day, especially in season, things quiet down pretty early in the evening. You could even have a nice meal of leftovers all by your lonesome and never see another soul. It’s dark out, and almost as dark inside. Applejack darts her eyes around. She’s still not sure why she does this. The other workers seem plenty nice. But for some reason she’s been keeping to herself. She is alone. Thankfully. She’s washed up and fed, and all that’s left is to creep up to her room and sleep. And then another day of the same and another and another and another until Home Save it. Ain’t close yet, and if you start thinkin’- “Applejack?” “Oh! Uh...e—evenin’ Miss Jubilee.” Applejack instantly doffs her hat, wrestling with some strange kind of guilt. Cherry Jubilee lights an old-fashioned oil lamp on a table nearby and gives her a look that Applejack can’t meet at all. She fidgets in place, trying to meet her boss’ eyes but mostly looking at the rug. “Did you just get in?” Cherry Jubilee asks. “Uh...” Applejack replaces her hat and mindlessly moves on to rubbing the back of her neck. Cherry Jubilee’s face is killing her—the worry in her green eyes, the slight frown where there’s always a strong smile, the obvious concern. “Have you had supper?” Cherry asks. “Yes, Miss Jubilee. Thank you. Took care of myself just now.” “You know...” Cherry Jubilee interrupts herself with a weary sigh, almost shaking her head. I don’t care if you were out getting into trouble, I just want you home safe. “We served dinner hours ago. Y’all workers are all welcome. It ain’t even about your pay. It’s on the house.” “I know. Much appreciated,” Applejack says. Cherry Jubilee just cocks an eyebrow at her. “Sorry for not joinin’ you. I guess it’s just the way I like to work—twelve hours good hard work, light meal, keep on with the-” “Fourteen.” “Huh?” Applejack stops short, blinking a few times. “Fourteen. You worked fourteen hours today.” “Well shucks,” Applejack almost does her signature curtsy, but can’t quite muster it. “What’re you, keepin’ count?” “Well I am paying you.” Applejack opens her mouth to respond, but nothing comes out. “And plenty, too. Which reminds me—hard worker like you deserves a bonus,” Cherry Jubilee says. “What?!” Applejack almost leaps backwards. “But I only been workin’ here-” “No buts. I ain’t never seen a ranch hand works hard as you. You deserve it.” Cherry Jubilee crosses the room to a rustic little cabinet, all dark wood and years of varnish. She starts rummaging around inside, speaking over her shoulder. “And besides, this is my little way of tellin’ you it’s alright to take a break now and then. Maybe I pay you more, you don’t have to work so many hours. Nopony should.” Applejack can’t stop her thoughts running away. How much of a bonus? How many days could this shave off of her exile? Of course, she would never ask such questions out loud. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you, Miss Jubilee. Thank ya kindly.” She makes a show of doffing her hat again and even gives a little bow. “Don’t mention it.” Jubilee barely looks back, seeming very satisfied. “But I hope it won’t offend you if I keep on workin’ hard all the same,” Applejack says. Cherry Jubilee pauses and almost sighs, pulling out a tray and setting a glass on it. “If that’s the way you want it. I ain’t gonna complain,” she says. “Thank you Miss Jubilee. I got nothin’ against you and yours, this is just how I like to-” Applejack freezes. Her mouth waters. Her heartbeat picks up. How long has it been dear goddess how long must be a week since Cherry Jubilee follows Applejack’s eyes to the bottle she just set out on the tray. The older mare’s eyes light up a little, and her usual coquettish smile comes back. “Have you ever tried it?” she asks. “What is it?” Applejack says, still staring at it. It’s booze ain’t it? That’s what matters. “Cherry Schnapps. Old family recipe. Best in the valley. Maybe best in all Equestria,” Cherry Jubilee says with undisguised pride. “Can’t say I have,” Applejack says. She can’t take her eyes off the bottle, that size and shape that must mean alcohol. She barely notices, in the edge of her vision, the corner of Cherry Jubilee’s lips curling up into a sly smile. “Why don’t you have a glass with me?” her boss offers. “Love to!” Applejack says instantly. She has to fight to keep from licking her lips. “Good, good. You and me, I think we need to have a little chat anyway. Come with me.” Applejack follows wordlessly. Somewhere in the back of her head there are alarm bells going off at the words, “little chat”, but they’re being drowned out by a sudden onset of dire thirst. I mean it ain’t exactly Sweet Apple Cider but beggars ain’t choosers nope no sir. She’d been wondering vaguely what was wrong. Aside from the obvious, of course. There’s plenty out in the open. But even when deeply focused on work, a usually sacred state, Applejack has been feeling off the last few days. All kinds of screwed up can’t focus can’t think can’t work as hard as I should be Of course this is it. This is why. She’s used to having cider here and there most work days. And a nice night cap—some of her finest whiskey. Just a shot. Or two. Or three. Boy howdy can’t wait to get a taste of these cherries. She follows Cherry Jubilee, her eyes straining to stay on the bottle. Her boss is wearing a silky pink bathrobe, decorated with prints of flowers and cherries. It almost looks too silky, like it’s trying too hard, and ends up looking a little cheap in the process. That’s what Rarity would say anyway. Ain’t nothing wrong with it, it’s mighty fine. Wait...why am I thinking about her? There’s a stiff drink comin’ in any minute now. They enter a sitting room. Or a parlor, or something. Whatever you call a fancy room for sittin’ around and talking when you could be at an honest table. Cherry Jubilee lights a few oil lamps and wastes no time in pouring their drinks. She’s barely finished before Applejack snaps one up in her hooves. She stops herself before taking a gulp. Cherry Jubilee is watching her, looking just a little suspicious. “Aheh. Uh...thanks again. For all the hospitality,” Applejack says, willing herself to just hold the glass. “You’ve more than earned it,” Jubilee says. She picks up the other glass and clinks it against Applejack’s. And then, faster than a blink, there’s sweet liquid paradise in Applejack’s mouth. “Mmmmmm HMM!” Applejack almost moans as she takes down half the glass, loving the sweet, tarty burning running down every inch of her throat. “Ahh!” she gasps for air. her whole body relaxes instantly. “You can sit,” Cherry Jubilee says. Applejack just now notices that the other mare has settled onto a fancy couch of some kind. It’s like a rustic version of something Rarity would own. Why am I thinkin’ of that frou-frou fancy flanks again? Applejack sits down on another fancy couch. She’s stiff and uncomfortable at first, but she gulps down more of the Schnapps and almost melts into the cushions. It’s thick. And sweet. Sweeter than pie. Sweeter than one of Pinkie’s cakes. Just about the sweetest thing she’s ever tasted. It’s almost too much. But it’s still alcohol. And that’s what matters. “More?” Cherry Jubilee asks. “Huh?” Applejack looks down at her glass and is surprised to see just a tiny puddle at the bottom. “Uh...” “Don’t feel rude, honey. I’m just happy to see somepony enjoyin’ the family brew.” Applejack shrugs and offers her glass. Cherry Jubilee gets up and pours her another round. “Boy, you cherry ponies sure do know how to brew a drink,” Applejack says as Cherry Jubilee sits down again. She’s resolved, no, determined not to guzzle this glass down as fast. “You said you’ve done some brewing?” Cherry Jubilee asks. “Well, uh...cider mostly. I do some beer and whiskey on the side.” Mostly for myself. “Cider, of course,” Cherry Jubilee says, sipping slowly at her own glass. “I’d love to try some.” “Heh, maybe I’ll send you a case when I get home.” “And when will that be?” Applejack almost winces. Just as soon as I can. Instead, she gulps some drink down. “You said you wanted to talk about somethin’?” Applejack asks. “Mmm.” Cherry Jubilee just stares at her while sipping some more. Applejack shifts on her seat. Heavy silence stretches out—it usually wouldn’t bother Applejack, but she’s just on the edge of nervous, suppressing the urge to finish her drink off again. She’s just about to say something when Cherry Jubilee does it for her. “How are you liking the ranch?” she asks. “Huh? Oh, uh...it’s mighty nice. Pretty,” Applejack says with a hopeful grin. “How’s the work goin’? You settlin’ in alright?” “Sure, sure. Ain’t bad at all.” “You gettin’ along with the other workers?” “Ah guess so. They seem nice and all, but we ain’t talked much. I been keepin’ my nose to the grindstone for the most part. Ain’t much for wastin’ work hours with jawin’.” “Mmm,” Cherry Jubilee says again. That ain’t true. I’m always happy to take a break and shoot the breeze with a friend. You aren’t happy takin’ breaks around here. Aright, aright...it’s true now. Maybe it ain’t usually so, but it’s true now. “Shame you been missing mealtimes. You’re all anypony seems to be talkin’ about around these parts,” Cherry Jubilee says. “What?” Applejack somehow forgets the drink in her hooves for a moment. “Mmm-hmm. The other ranch hands won’t shut up about you. Showin’ up out of nowhere, fresh from a hot run at the Canterlot Rodeo. And then you get to work and put every one of ‘em to shame. Ain’t talkin’ much, ain’t takin’ breaks, don’t take but a few minutes for meals and then you’re off into the trees again.” “Well, shucks, that’s just-” “My sons are pushin’ me to keep you here as long as I can. Pay her whatever she wants, they say.” “Oh, well...” “And a few of the local colts are quite taken with you.” Applejack almost spits out the gulp of Schnapps she hadn’t realized she’d just taken. “You know Cedar Boughs? The big one?” Cherry Jubilee asks. Applejack starts to nod, but realizes she has no idea. She has a natural salespony’s knack for names and faces, honed through years of practice. But right now she’s drawing a blank. “He said you ain’t just the hardest worker on the ranch. Yer also the purdiest mare around. Blowin’ in from out of town, keepin’ to yer own self all mysterious. A beautiful stranger,” Cherry Jubilee says with a growing smile. “Um...uh...” Applejack mutters, doing a fine impression of her little sister. “And he’s right.” Applejack freezes, just fine with the impulse to gulp more drink down. “You are the hardest worker on the ranch,” Cherry Jubilee says. Applejack lets out a breath she hadn’t realized was being held. “I was hoping you would warm up to me and mine a bit,” Jubilee continues, “You know, ease up on all this ‘mare with no name’ business. Smile a little.” Applejack almost chuckles. Shoot, any pony in Ponyville heard all this they’d laugh fit to keel over. “I’m just a farm pony, Miss. I ain’t been meanin’ to keep to myself, I swear. Just wanna get the job done,” Applejack says. “When I first met you, you seemed like the friendliest pony I ever did see. So when you asked for a little work after the rodeo, I was happy to take you on...” No no dammit be friendly dammit keep your job! “I’m sorry Miss Jubilee,” Applejack cuts her off. “I like it here plenty. You’re right, it’s strange not joinin’ in on meals and not talkin’ and such. Ain’t proper. I promise I’ll ease up a little.” “A little?” Cherry Jubilee says with a playful smirk. “Aheh...well I ain’t gonna stop being yer hardest worker.” Applejack starts to chuckle, on sure footing again... “Why are you here?” ...which turned out to be quicksand. “Whaddya mean?” Applejack asks. “Why are you here?” Cherry Jubilee says again, looking almost sad. “Like I said, I just wanted a little change of scenery.” “Horse apples,” Cherry Jubilee waves a hoof in a most Rarity-like fashion. “Don’t you want to go home?” Applejack’s eyes dip down into her glass automatically, catching the sight of one pretty forlorn earth pony staring back. More than anything. “Don’t you miss yer family? Your friends?” Cherry Jubilee says. More. Than. Anything. Applejack says nothing, proud that the ache in her chest is producing nothing in her eyes. Almost nothing. Maybe just a little, tiny bit of moisture. She tries not to blink. “I could see it,” Cherry Jubilee says quietly. “When we talked before, I could see it. When you talked about that orchard. The way your eyes lit right up.” Applejack takes a long, solemn drink. She barely tastes it. “And now you’re just here. But you aren’t here. Workin’ hard, no doubt. But yer heart’s somewhere else.” Applejack sets up a nice, determined glare and shoots it right at the older mare. “Listen,” she says. “If you want me to be movin’ on-” Cherry Jubilee laughs, just once, a slightly mocking little guffaw. “Applejack. Honey,” she says. “It ain’t like that. You keep doin’ like you’ve been doin’, you can stay here long as you want. I was honestly just wondering.” Ever since she was a foal, Applejack can remember the feeling of holding back. Keeping secrets. Hiding things. It’s always been awful for her—like being sick. Like drinking too much too quick. Often, you gotta just have a good puke and get it out before it poisons you. She’s wondered sometimes, since Twilight showed up, if it’s the whole Element thing. Or if the Element thing happened because that’s the way she is. She’s never made up her mind. Wondering isn’t her strong suit. “But if you really are happy, then-” Cherry Jubilee starts to say. “I can’t,” Applejack interrupts her. “Pardon?” Cherry Jubilee says, visibly startled. “I can’t go home. Not yet,” Applejack says. “Not for a while.” Cherry Jubilee just stares at her, mouth slightly open. Applejack feels like hiding under her hat somehow, but she forges on. “And that’s all I gotta say about it. I’m sorry, I ain’t meanin’ to be cold or nothin’ but that’s all I can say. I just...” She trails off as Cherry Jubilee gets up from her sofa and crosses the room. It takes less than a moment—it’s a small, cozy room—and then the older mare is standing right in front of her, looking her right in the eye. Again, Applejack’s salespony instincts are failing her. She can’t read this face at all. Determined? Grim? Accusing? “Uh...” Applejack holds her ground, tensed, ready for anything. Except what comes. With a sigh of relief, the older mare hugs Applejack, nuzzling into her mane. She practically falls onto her, and Applejack is so surprised that she barely moves. “Um...you...what?” Applejack stammers, not returning the hug in the least. “You poor thing.” Cherry Jubilee pulls back, pouring a sympathetic look down on her worker. “You don’t have to say any more.” The older mare forces her way onto Applejack’s couch, scooting in close. Applejack scootches over obediently, still wrapping her head around this. It’s not a big piece of furniture—a loveseat, Applejack remembers. Meant for two. The two mares are seated close, practically snuggling, and Applejack can feel the soft fabric of the other mare’s bathrobe all along her coat. “You stay here as long as you want,” Cherry Jubilee says. “And if you need anything—anything at all—you just let me know. We’re happy to have you.” “What? I mean...I don’t wanna trouble you or nothin’,” Applejack says. Cherry Jubilee rolls on, ignoring her. “I knew something was up. Trust me, honey, I understand.” “You do?” Applejack’s ears perk up. “Mmm-hmm.” Cherry Jubilee goes to take a drink before realizing she left hers on the other couch. She recovers with all the grace and poise of a Southern belle. “Life ain’t easy for a mare on her own. Never is. We mares need to stick together. Look out for each other.” “We?” “We is right, sugar. I was a young mare once. Wasn’t always matriarch of my own ranch, neither.” Applejack almost giggles at the word “sugar.” The matriarch seemed to be in the habit of calling everypony “honey”, and for some reason sugar sounds funny coming from her mouth. Applejack tries to imagine calling her “sugar cube” and gets a wry, silly smile. “Well thank ya, Miss Jubilee,” she says instead. “Don’t mention it. You just keep on however you need to. Don’t think you don’t have ponies lookin’ out for you. Long as you’re here, you’re one of mine.” Boy, do I ever owe her one. Shame she don’t live closer to Ponyville. Real solid mare, right here. Bein’ so generous to a screw-up like me. Applejack feels a hoof on her shoulder and tenses up. She turns to say something, maybe politely brush the hoof away. But something about it just feels nice. She lets a long breath out, then takes a sip of Schnapps. Not a desperate gulp. A calm sip. It tastes wonderful. She relaxes, really relaxes, and feels like her old self for the first time since the rodeo. Boy, I haven’t been that churned up inside since...ever. Still not home. But I ain’t alone. She turns to the older mare, pleased at the reassuring foreleg draped over her shoulder. “Thank you, Miss. Really. I don’t know if I could ever-” “Hush with that, sugar. I know. Don’t you worry about anything.” That word again. Sugar. Normally Applejack would’ve gotten angry, just a little, at being talked over. Talked down to. As if she wasn’t a grown mare who’s done well for herself. As it is, she’s only vaguely unsettled, somewhere in the background. Mostly she just feels good. Safe. Almost like being home. “I’m sorry,” Applejack says, not sure why she’s saying it again. “I mean it. I been...I been out of sorts, lately.” Cherry Jubilee giggles, almost tittering, and gives Applejack a reassuring squeeze around her withers. “I can tell. You’re a good pony, Applejack. I’m glad you landed here. Even if you’ve been out of sorts.” Cherry Jubilee pulls her closer and practically cradles her. Applejack starts to go with it. What is this? What am I doing? Am I some kinda foal what in the buckin’ hell...? She pulls back, pushing Cherry Jubilee’s hooves away. “Uh...thanks. Again. Fer everything,” Applejack says. Suddenly the room feels very small and warm. She meets the older mare’s eyes and sees...something. Surprise? Disappointment? What is up with me? I’m all kinds of off my game. The look passes, replaced by that sure smile Applejack’s gotten so used to seeing. The moment stretches out, rapidly diving into awkward territory. “Ahem,” Cherry Jubilee quietly clears her throat. “Anyway. Just wanted to make sure you knew.” “I do. Trust me.” Applejack lays a hoof over one of Jubilee’s, more because she feels like she’s supposed to than anything else. She’s crushed against the other mare, pressed up against her with miles of spare space to her side. I thought I was startin’ to feel better. What’s goin’ on now? She consciously starts to scoot away, shifting her weight, when- “Ah!” she says under her breath, seizing up as a hot tear of pain spikes through the valley between her shoulders. “I heard that,” Cherry Jubilee says. Dang it. “Ah’m fine,” Applejack says with a hopeful grin. “Cherry pits,” Jubilee says flatly. “I saw when you took that tumble in the barrel run. Nasty bit of fallin’. A lesser mare woulda been laid up fer sure.” “Really, I’m fi-” “Real bold of you. Cuttin’ it close like that. Almost paid off,” Cherry Jubilee says. ...Almost. Applejack sighs, sinking down a little. “Lemme have a look see,” Jubilee says. “Huh?” Applejack doesn’t have time to react before her hat—her HAT—is taken off her head. Alarms ring out in her ears. She darts her eyes to follow it, expecting her hooves to fly out and violently reclaim the treasured article. Nothing happens. Cherry Jubilee gently places the hat on the back of the sofa and firmly, with sure hooves, pushes Applejack into place. The orange earth pony tenses up but goes along with it for some reason. A weird, giddy tightness wells up in her chest as she finds herself lying, face down, on the soft cushions of the love seat. I don’t like this. Uncomfortable. No, it’s comfy, I guess, but... Weird. Weird, weird, weird. She had actually been dragged to the spa by her friends a few times. She had reluctantly gotten massages on those few occasions. She had felt this same discomfort the whole time—blind, pinned, at the mercy of another pony. She nervously glances over her shoulder as Cherry Jubilee climbs on her back. “Really, it ain’t-” Applejack starts to say. “Come off it,” Cherry Jubilee says with stern authority. “Ah’m protectin’ my investment here.” She pokes a hoof into Applejack’s back, prodding at the steely muscles there. “I can work just fine.” Applejack turns back to the couch and narrows her eyes. “‘Til you bust down ‘cause you ain’t mended up.” Cherry prods and searches, running her hooves over Applejack’s coat. Applejack almost growls something back at her, but instead just glares at the couch cushions. “Does it hurt there?” A hoof presses into her right shoulder. “Nope.” Applejack rolls her eyes a little. “There?” “No dice.” Two hooves keep prodding and pressing and rubbing. Applejack lies there, anything but relaxed, counting the seconds until it’s over. “Honestly, I’m okay. It doesn’t really hurt any—AH!” She digs her hooves into the cushions, gritting her teeth. Cherry Jubilee’s hoof is a hot spike, driven right down between her shoulder blades. “Knew it!” Applejack hears the older mare’s voice from behind. She can actually hear Cherry Jubilee’s satisfied smile. “I...ah...AH!” Applejack’s whole body quivers, her eyes widening. The pain slaps her in the face, piercing her muscles. She feels another hoof press down, flattening the pain out a little. And then... Oh good GLORY Cherry Jubilee slides her hooves up and down, kneading the flesh of her back. “OHHHHHHhhhhhhh...” Applejack moans out loud. She had no idea how tight and rigid her back had felt until it was gone, melting away under the hooves of the older mare. She was made of stone, now molding back into a pony again. “I thought so,” Cherry Jubilee’s voice smiles at her. “Golly...” Applejack gasps quietly, her mouth hanging open a little. It’s glorious— absolutely, completely glorious. Fine as an apple from the branch. “I know you think yer a strong mare,” Cherry Jubilee interrupts herself with a wry chuckle, “And you are. But even you need a tender touch now and then.” “Mmmm,” Applejack manages to say. She isn’t listening. Her eyelids slip down to half-mast. Those hooves keep kneading and pushing, working life back into the battered muscles. This is...just...oh...wow. She can’t remember the last time she let somepony have this kind of free reign. Shoot, if those Spa Sisters were this good, I’d be there with Rarity every week. She lets a long, deep breath out. Her chin comes to rest on the couch. One arm hangs lazily over the side, grazing the cool wood of the floor. GOLLY. Cherry Jubilee bears down with her hooves, smoothing the pain out from deep in Applejack’s fibers. Applejack jumps a little at the wonderful strain, and a weird, almost high-pitched noise comes from somewhere. Cherry Jubilee lets out another dry chuckle. What’s she laughin’ at? Why’d she moan like that? It was you, idiot. What?! A bit of outrage wells up in her mind, but it has nowhere to go, no outlet to hook up with. It flares briefly and puffs out, escaping her with a long, low sigh. She can feel Cherry’s hooves alternating now, rubbing up and down along her shoulders in opposite directions. “Is that feeling any better?” Cherry Jubilee asks. Applejack nods silently, letting her eyes drift shut. Cherry Jubilee leans in closer and Applejack barely notices save for the cool, smooth fabric of the other mare’s bathrobe against her coat. She feels hooves slide up and away from the pain, running along her withers and dancing at the bottom of her neck. “Oh, sugar...when was the last time you took a vacation?” Cherry Jubilee says. Applejack doesn’t even respond. Her breath slows down to dozy puffs as her over-tight muscles unwind and let go. Vacation? What’s that? The ghost of a chuckle slips out from her lips. “I suppose you ain’t in the habit of slackin’ off like this, anyhow,” Cherry goes on. “No sir, no fancy massages or frilly hot baths for our mare Applejack.” No sir. None of that frou-frou nonsense. Applejack’s eyebrows narrow a little along with her smug smile. “But...” Cherry Jubilee slides her hooves back to where the pain had been and pushes down, hard. “Guhhhhh...” Applejack gasps out loud, winding it down into a low moan. “It ain’t all that bad now, is it?” Naw, you know what? It ain’t. Pretty fine, after all. Jubilee does something with her hooves, rubbing and pressing. Applejack’s gasp catches in her throat. She can’t even tell what’s going on anymore. It feels so darn good. “Sometimes you gotta just let yer mane down and be pampered,” Cherry Jubilee says, leaning closer to Applejack’s ears. Amen, sister. Applejack lets her face go slack, not caring at all that it stopped hurting minutes ago. Seconds? Hours? Shoot, one of my friends saw this, I’d never hear the end of it. They ain’t here. They’d all have that smile, like they knew all along. They aren’t here. They aren’t—huh. ...Huh. “And that’s just what I’m gonna do,” Cherry Jubilee leans closer. Applejack can feel the mare’s breath tickling in her ears. It sends funny tickles down into her chest as well, and she busts out a weak smile. You know what...this feels good! I like this! This feels good, darn it! It don’t hurt no more, AND it feels good to boot! Cherry Jubilee lies on top of Applejack, a silky weight sliding up her tired back. She rests her forelegs over Applejack’s shoulders and grazes her muzzle up Applejack’s neck and mane, summitting up by her ears. Hee hee...that tickles. This ain’t so bad. This ain’t bad at all. Nope. Dee-lightful. It’s all good. Everything’s good. Everything’s gonna be okay. “Especially for a lovely young mare...” Cherry Jubilee whispers into her ear. Jeez, she is layin’ it on thick, ain’t she? Land’s sakes girl, can you just swallow it and let somepony be nice to you? Fer once? “...Such as yerself.” Something wet and hot and tongue trails against the edge of her ear, and Applejack starts to cringe in delight. Whoa whoa whoa WHOA WHOA Her eyes shoot open wide. She feels a rush in her veins, every nerve on end. She jumps up and off the couch, sending Cherry Jubilee thudding onto her rump. “What was that?!” Applejack gasps out, her heart thudding in her chest. Cherry Jubilee stares back at her, her face nothing but blank shock. A long moment stretches out, the only sound Applejack’s surprised panting. Cherry Jubilee looks away and pulls the front of her bathrobe tightly closed. What in the...what...what?! Applejack stands in place, frozen despite all the buzzers going off in her head. Cherry Jubilee narrows her eyes—she looks almost angry. She turns to Applejack and opens her mouth to speak, but backs it up for another try. “Uh...” Applejack manages to put out. “Sorry,” Jubilee says, still not meeting her eyes. “I...” “Mighty tired I think I’ll be goin’ up to bed now thankyouferthedrink g’night!” Applejack trots her way right out of the room, keeping pace with the pounding in her chest. She doesn’t look back even once. What was she...did she...did I? Why me? Why always me? Get out get out get out She can’t run. She wants to run. She feels eyes on her, things chasing her, running only makes them chase faster. Awkward monsters. She keeps an even pace, just fast enough. Just a little farther... She crosses through the doorway and unwinds immediately. Cherry Jubilee is out of sight, in another room. Not that she looked back. She slows down just a bit. There. She halts mid-step, feeling a strange breeze against the top of her head. Oh, for pony’s sake! She starts to cringe but steels herself up. It takes a serious showing of will to keep from just going right on upstairs. Go back for it in the morning? Nuh-uh. No way. Leave no pony behind. And this particular soldier? Packs of Diamond Dogs wouldn’t stop Applejack. Flocks of dragons wouldn’t stop Applejack. She would risk life and limb for this old lump of stitched-up leather. Think I’d rather chew an arm off than go back in there. She turns around anyway and walks, slowly, like a scolded foal, back into the room. She pauses just inside the door. “Ahem...uh...” she says, barely lifting her eyes from the floor. “Hat?” she hears Cherry Jubilee say. Applejack says yes by way of a gruff clearing of her throat. Cherry Jubilee says nothing, but curtly slides the hat towards her along the top of the couch. Applejack quickly grabs it, averting her eyes from the mare-shaped blind spot sitting in front of her. She rushes out of the room and upstairs. Tired. Sleepy. Very tired. Yes indeed. Bed time. Yup, sleep. Sleep is all that is on my mind. Wide awake, she makes her way up to her room to settle in for a long, restless night.
Seeds and StonesTrees. Cherries. Wagon. Baskets. Another day. Applejack paces around the tree, checking the layout of her baskets. For the hundredth time. Who does she think she is?! She glares off into space, stomping around in a tight little circle. Frou-frou sneaky sideways seductress. Tryin’ to take advantage of her workers. Ain’t right. Oh, let me just help you with that awful pain in yer back. No, no, don’t mind me, none o’ them alterior motives here. Applejack snorts, flaring her nostrils. Why, I oughta...I oughta... Do something. I mean...something. Right? And what did you do? Applejack pauses, hanging her head. The angry fire in her eyes dies down a little. Nothin’. Not a darn thing. Snuck off to my room with my tail between my legs. Why? Why did I do that? What is up with me? Stupid, stupid, stupid. Her head darts up again. Those green fires flare up, crowned by the angriest of eyebrows. NO. This ain’t my fault. Not this one. Naw, she did it. She came on to me. She did that. Inappropriate. Violation of trust, or some such. One of them fancy Twilight words, fer sure. Indeed. I got half a mind to...I dunno, sue or somethin’. “Eh...” she says out loud, still stomping around in a circle. Her glare softens. That don’t seem right. I mean...she just likes me, is all. Right? So what? It ain’t like she asked. Didn’t even ask if I was into mares. Because I am definitely not. Even if she is mighty fine. Applejack halts again, this time out of shock. Maybe she is. Don’t see how that really matters. Applejack retracts completely into her thoughts, a rare occurrence. It’s a weird, floaty feeling, totally lost in thoughts and memories and other not-real fancies. Wordless, smoldering anger blots out her vision, indignant and aggrieved. She can almost feel the older mare’s hooves on her back, the whisper of her breath, the fleeting tickle of her tongue. Applejack shudders. She shakes her head, coming back to reality. Look at me, all shook up. Out of sorts again. But it ain’t my fault. Not this time. She had no right. She ain’t gettin’ away with this! Applejack had taken off early this morning, heading out to work alone, early enough to hardly see anypony else. As usual. This time, it had felt like sneaking out. She hadn’t caught so much as a glimpse of Cherry Jubilee. Enough of this slinkin’ around. When I get back in tonight, gonna give her a piece of my mind. Damn straight. Gonna give it to her, straight up. Then we’ll see who has who by the mane. She nods to herself, satisfied. Now...what was I doing again? She looks around, blinking her eyes. She’s been standing by the same tree for minutes now, surrounded by empty baskets. She scoffs out loud. What is this, a road crew? Get to work! She nods again, chuckling at the ridiculousness of the whole thing. Applejack, letting some mare get to her. Letting it get in the way of work! Unthinkable. She turns around and sets up for a good hard buck. But something feels off. She shifts on her hooves, glancing over her shoulder. She shifts again, trying to line up against the trunk just right. Thinks she’s so lovely with that mane of hers. She snorts the thought away and tenses up, shifting her weight to her front hooves. Tremors of pain leak out from between her shoulders, subdued but still alive. How’s she even have a body that fine at her age? Ignore ignore ignore buckin’ time let’s go, aright head down, weight front, hooves are a-go... I bet she likes it rough Bucky McGilligan lands solidly against the trunk with a pleasing THUNK. Kicks Magee goes wild, sailing off into thin air. “Ah! Grrr...” Applejack growls as she catches her balance, wobbling on her hooves. A few pathetic bunches of cherries land around her, mostly missing the baskets and falling in the dirt. C’mon, girl, get it together. She takes a deep breath, clearing her head. Get to work. Just work. Do your job. Make ‘em proud. She adjusts her stance and throws out a solid kick. Thunk. A good hit. Back in the groove. Thunk. Cherries fall around her, slowly filling the baskets. Thunk. She pauses, wobbling on her hooves again. Something’s still off. Get her outta yer head. Do your job. But it isn’t that. There’s a funny tightness in her hindquarters, almost like the pinching pain in her back. She’s intimately aware of every brushing movement of her legs, and just now realizes that her tail’s been flicking around on it’s own. Fanning off the growing heat underneath. Applejack sighs loudly. Aw, just shoot me. Now? Today? She recognizes the feelings. It happens all the time back home, usually after heading into town and catching an eyeful of some handsome something-or-other. Don’t even think about it. But there ain’t nothin’ else for it. Come on, nopony’s around. Yeah, but... She ignores her own weak protests, glancing this way and that. She is alone, as far as the eye can see anyway. She rolls her eyes, hardly able to believe what she’s about to do. Why’d she have to mention he had eyes for me? Y’know, what’s his name... She still has no clue which one he is. I hope it’s that gray one with the big ears. He could ride me anytime! She gets a goofy smile for just a second. Then her face turns deadly serious. Still cautiously looking around, she backs up a step closer to the tree. This is crazy. Ain’t nothin’ else for it. You know you can’t work right when yer all riled up. Fine, fine, get it done. Make it quick. She lifts her tail and steps backward, shoving her rump up against the smooth trunk of the cherry tree. She sighs loudly, relishing the pressure against her netherlips. She was far more wound up than she’d realized, and instant relief washes through her body. She takes a long, slow, smooth blink, just standing there with her crotch flush against the bark. Huh. Skinny little things. Ain’t that somethin’. It’s wildly different than an apple tree. Smoother. More curved. The hard wood feels perfect against her folds, warm but not hot. The trunk is just smaller enough that the curve presses into her deliciously, parting her lips effortlessly. Aright...what’s it gonna be this time? She glances around again, giving her rusty imagination time to gear up. It isn’t often that she lets herself fly off on flight’s of fancy. Even here, it’s only allowed for the most utilitarian of purposes. How about that fella with the big ears? Bet that ain’t all that’s big about ‘im. She grins and flexes her hips a little, but it barely does anything. There’s nothing going on in her head—just a lonely mare doing a lonely tango with a most-likely lonely cherry tree. The stallion she’s trying to imagine is formless and wispy, barely there. I barely know that guy. Can’t even remember what he looks like, mostly. No dice. She frowns deeply, wiggling her hips against the trunk in a fashion that does absolutely nothing for her. That burning, pushy tightness between her legs is getting worse, a growling hunger just barely whet. Come on, come on... She thumps her hips against the wood, pressing herself open. It’s barely enough—she’s all kinds of wound up now, impatient and frustrated. Come ON already let’s DO this. And then an old favorite pops into her head. She remembers him. Oh, does she ever. Never talked to him, never knew nothing about him, never saw him again, but she remembers. A black stallion. All black, dark as night, with a shiny black mane. Never saw anything like it before, or since. She saw him just once, right there in town square, while she was stuck ringing up a customer. He walked by, nice and slow, and she’d stared and stared and stared and then gone home and done pretty much what she’s doing now. She bucks her hips, shaking the branches above her. A jolt of heaven shoots out from that special spot at the top of her mound as it brushes just slightly against the bark. She bites her lip, evening it out into a goofy grin. Aw yeah...there’s the stuff... She almost really does feel him mount her, strong hooves running up her back. She flexes her hips up and down, sliding herself along the bark of the tree, imagining a strong stallion there instead. Wonder what his name was. Probably something like...uh... I dunno. Beefcake SexyHooves? She would be the first to admit that she ain’t exactly a poet. Whatever. Beefcake SexyHooves is good enough for me. She picks up speed, grinding herself against the tree. Her make-believe stallion is running his hooves up and down her shoulders, pressing, prodding, resting his weight on all the right places. She stops grinding and lowers her head, pressing that special spot against the tree. She gasps, quietly, and her stallion lowers with her, sliding his silky coat along her body. His forelegs hook over her tired shoulders, she can feel his dusky breath in her mane, whispering nonsense. She wriggles her back end in tight little circles, a long-practiced habit by now, rotating around that perfect spot where it’s rested against the wood. Warm excitement spreads out from between her legs, hot and tingling, like feeling returning to a numb hoof. He runs his nose up her neck, pouring out hot breaths against her coat, and runs a tongue up her ear, right to the tip. She cringes in delight, rolling her eyes back a little. Suddenly, she slams her hips back and forth, bucking against the trunk. THUNK THUNK THUNK “Ah!” she gasps out loud, immediately darting her eyes around. Her heart pounds—someone could come walking along any second now. She reaches one hoof up and takes her hat off, shoving one side of the brim between her grit teeth. He presses himself against her, a big, solid, beautiful hunk of male teasing at her entrance. She jolts her hips back and forth a few more times, trying to take it, to make it hers. Leaves shake above her, sending light pink petals fluttering to the ground. “Mmmmm!” She bites harder on her hat, not even tasting it. He’s still just teasing, prodding with the tip, dangling satisfaction just out of her grasp. She bends down lower, her hind legs shuddering, and grinds just her nub against the bark again. He snorts into her mane, squeezing tightly with his arms as he bears down on her. Sweat runs down her temples as she rubs herself off, harder, faster, getting closer. Almost...come on...almost... She jerks her hips harder, wrapping her tail around the thin trunk of the tree, pulling it into her.She pants through her teeth, ramming her clit against the bark over and over again, trying to force the bark through the folds and hood protecting it, if she could just get the darn thing right on top of it... THERE. There it is! Her eyes bolt open as that magic spot feels a direct touch, sending tremors up her spine. She presses desperately against it, pulling furiously on her hat, stretching it against her teeth. HOOOO YEAH! Give it to me, stallion! Her bucking loses pace, getting erratic. She’s right there, teetering on the edge. He runs a tongue up her ear again, bathing it with warm breath. What else could I do fer such a lovely young mare... She rams her rump home one last time, taking in a sharp breath and holding it. Such as yerself? Her hips spasm and shake, clenching on the inside. She lets out a few gasps, feeling everything, the tension, the pressure, the wound-up distraction, hiss out of her slowly. Her hooves relax and sink into the dirt a little. A valve in her hips has opened, finally unwinding everything tangled up inside. Her stallion is gone, blown off with the rest of her steam. She lets out a few relieved breaths, putting her poor hat back on her head. She stands up straight and steps away from the trunk, dragging her tail away and letting it fall. “Phew!” She wipes at her forehead, feeling worlds better. I’d like to see a real stallion finish me off that quick. She snorts sarcastically. Was that quick? It ain’t like I would know. Ain’t like I’ll ever know, rate I’m goin’. She lets out one last sigh, just a quick one. She’s wasted enough time. Aright, girl. You know the drill. Back to work. She moves a few paces around the tree, away from the wet spot on the bark. She doesn’t pay it any mind. She quickly gathers up the stray cherries, tossing them into random baskets. The wagon is a few feet away, only about half full. She hasn’t even filled one yet today. Shoot, that’s almost as bad as one of them other workers. Her breath has just about caught up to her, eased along by the smooth relaxation in her hips and legs. Back in working order. All better. Back to work. Then I’ll sort that mare out. She grins, a glint of victory already in her eyes. She sets up again for a good, hard buck. Nothin’ to it. * * * Nothin’ to it, indeed. Then why am I still standin’ out here? She’s standing in a dark hallway, tensed, ready to spring at a moment’s notice. The house is sleeping around her, silent. A door looms ahead. Her door. The door to her room. Applejack had come back late, again. She had eaten alone, again. She had hardly seen another pony all day. Again. She gulps loudly, the sound echoing through the empty hall. She wonders why her mouth is so dry. Her heart pounds in her ears, pumping pure exhilaration through her veins. Just go knock. That’s right, just do it! Pound that thing right in! But her hooves refuse to move, struck deaf somehow. She hems and haws and fidgets, not quite sure how to do so—it’s an unfamiliar state of being. Yer puttin’ Fluttershy to shame here. Still, she holds on her hooves. Not moving an inch. Screw-up. Failure. Probably just botch this up somehow, too. Enough! She stomps her hooves quietly, walking in place. She glares, pure determination. She nods to herself, raising a hoof to take the first step... The doorknob turns. Applejack freezes. Her heart stops mid-pump and leaps up to huddle with her throat. The door slowly swings open, leaking soft light into the dark hallway. Cherry Jubilee is standing there, staring out at her, like she knew all along. Her face is weary but relieved, a mother tut-tutting as her foals finally come home. Applejack seizes up completely, one hoof hovering in the air. The two mares stare at each other for a long moment. Shoot. Caught. Caught with red hooves. Now what just a darn minute... “Uh,” Applejack says, the sound tumbling out her mouth from nowhere. “Well, are you gonna stand out here all night?” Cherry Jubilee says, standing aside and beckoning with a hoof. Applejack recovers, setting her face back to determined frown. She marches into the room, not nodding or greeting, dead-set with duty to be done. She gets distracted for just a moment as the door closes quietly behind her. Cherry Jubilee’s room is...well, it’s beautiful. Fancy, but rustic. Every piece of furniture is finely carved, from the dark wood of the vanity to the decadent canopy bed. Everything is shades of lacquer and deep red, a warm, storied place. Applejack starts to admire it, but tears her eyes away. She turns around. Cherry Jubilee is standing at the door, one hoof still up on the wood. She’s staring down at the hardwood floor, wistful and mortified. Aright, uh...gonna give her a piece of my mind. I guess. “I’m sorry,” Cherry Jubilee says, not looking up. Applejack startles a little before remembering her anger from before. “Good,” she says. “You oughta be,” she adds, narrowing her eyes. “I am.” Cherry Jubilee lets her hoof fall and finally meets Applejack’s eyes. “That was wrong of me, last night. Downright wrong.” “Didn’t seem to be stoppin’ you,” Applejack says. “I know,” Jubilee says, wincing and letting her hoof fall. “I know, sugar, I’ve done you-” “Don’t call me that,” Applejack barks, pure reflex. That word again—that good bad word that makes her feel funny all over when it rolls off Cherry Jubilee’s lips. Cherry Jubilee blinks a few times, her mouth hanging open. “Of course. Right.” She sighs and shakes her head, looking embarrassed by her own self. “I owe you every kind of apology. I didn’t mean to spook you like that.” “Spook me?!” Applejack stomps a hoof. “Spook me?!” She tenses up her legs, not quite sure where she’s going. “What exactly did you mean to be doin’, then?” “I’m so, so sorry sug—Applejack.” Applejack feels her glare start to harden at the sweet word, but it jumps into a haughty nod as Cherry Jubilee catches herself. Kinda miss the sugar, honestly. Cute little word. Felt like candy in my ears. I’ll bust out sugar cube and we can just have each other’s sugar. She furiously shakes her head, shaking off her thoughts. “So what? Sorry? That’s all you got to say for yourself?” “What else do you want me to say, Applejack?” Jubilee’s eyes glint, light green to match Applejack’s own fires. Applejack thinks of some choice words to suggest, but she gets caught up—her ears flick and burn at the sound of her own name. Almost as bad as sugar. “Just tell me what you need,” Cherry goes on. “I didn’t want you to leave before I got to make amends somehow. Whatever you want. A few months pay, a lifetime supply of cherries. Anything.” A few MONTHS?! Applejack’s mouth goes dry all over again. She can smell apples and hear the rustle of her trees, the laughter of her friends. No...no. Not like that. She sets her face up, grim and stark. “Don’t think all that sounds necessary.” “You can’t be serious.” Cherry Jubilee glares at her. “Yer gonna walk outta here with nothin’?” “I ain’t about to take nothin’ that I didn’t earn.” Applejack glares back. “Besides, who said I was walkin’ out?” Cherry Jubilee’s mouth drops open. Applejack balks a little—she had said it as a reflex, looking for an argument. The question itself honestly hadn’t crossed her mind. I’m...I’m staying? Course I am. ‘Til the job’s done. Ain’t like I got anywhere else to go. She takes a long, thoughtful pause, trying to sort out the mess swirling around in her chest. “I’d like to finish out here, if that’s alright with you.” Cherry Jubilee takes a second to look confused. “That’s fine with me. More than fine.” “Well aright then,” Applejack nods. We done here? “If all that’s settled,” Applejack takes a sure step, angling to leave, “I think I’ll...” “Wait. Applejack. Please.” She does wait. “About before, I...” Cherry looks plenty remorseful, but there’s something more there. Longing. “I thought you and me had a little spark between us.” Applejack snorts, loudly. “If I was wrong, that’s fine, I understand. I misread things, I s’pose. Probably ‘cuz I’ve taken such a shine to you. I hope you don’t mind me sayin’.” She looks up and they lock eyes, freezing the words in Applejack’s throat. “You’re a lovely mare. Inside and out.” Cherry’s eyes flash on the last sentence. Applejack feels her face go blank. Nopony’s ever said anythin’ like that to me before. That ain’t true. Rainbow said it. Twilight, too. That one time. Okay, but a stallion ain’t never said something like that. She feels heat in her ears and forces herself to admit the obvious. “Okay, that’s...well shucks, I’m flattered and all,” she says, only a little flustered. “But it just ain’t a good idea.” Cherry looks hurt, but just fine with being hurt. She asks why, with her eyes. “I came here to work, not get tangled up with some mother mare,” Applejack says. Cherry Jubilee cocks an eyebrow, everything but confusion disappearing from her face. “Beg yer pardon?” “Especially when that other mare is my boss, right? That ain’t on the level.” “I hope to blazes you don’t think of me like that. I brought you here as a friend,” Jubilee says. She looks hurt, real hurt. “A friend in need, maybe. But a friend. You ain’t some nameless worker to me.” Applejack grudgingly remembers when she first met the older mare—they’d hit it off instantly. But once everything went south-wise with the rodeo... I been pretty cold to her, haven’t I? Well, I’ve always been my own boss. How am I supposed to act to her? Never had a problem with my boss sexin’ me up back home. She almost chuckles. And what about a friend? The chuckle falls, dead. She scrambles for some kind of defense. “Besides, I don’t mean to stick around too long. No offense and all, I mean it’s nice here, but I do need to get home at some point,” Applejack rambles, trying desperately to fill in the silence. “It wouldn’t work out, what with me fixin’ to take off on you.” There. Let her down easy. Poor girl. Applejack nods, satisfied. “Is that all it was? I thought—” Applejack jumps to cut her off. “I mean, what kinda way was that to go about it, anyhow?” “What?” Cherry Jubilee cocks an eyebrow, again. “Sneakin’ it in all sly like that. I ain’t sore that you got a thing for me,” I ain’t? “But that ain’t no way to do it. Where I’m from, you like somepony, you let ‘em know, straight up.” “Is that what you...?” “Why, if I had a thing for somepony, I’d march right up to ‘em, look ‘em in the eye, and then I’d say somethin’ like,” Applejack glares into the other mare’s eyes, feeling her heart pick up, “I think you’re mighty fine! I wanna take you into that bed and make you a mare right here and now!” Cherry Jubilee puts a hoof to her breathless chest. She recovers quickly and gets a sly look, throwing a flirty flounce of her mane. Uh...y’know, if. Righ? Cherry Jubilee steps forward, prowling. Applejack feels cornered all of a sudden, but it’s strange—no panic. No discomfort. It almost feels... “Applejack?” Cherry Jubilee says, a husky whisper. “Miss Jubilee?” Applejack leans back, stuck on her hooves. The other mare stalks closer. Course, I forgot to mention that I don’t swing...that...way? Shoot, that’s the most important bit, ain’t it? You’d think I woulda said that first thing. Applejack’s thoughts trail off, dampened out as the other mare draws closer. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe it can’t work out. Between us,” Jubilee says, coming to a stop. Applejack leans back, as far as she can. Cherry is inches away, Applejack can smell some kind of sweet perfume and hear her breath. “But I think you’re mighty fine. And I wanna take you into my bed all the same.” Cherry Jubilee raises a hoof, just barely brushing it against Applejack’s chest. Applejack follows the hoof with her eyes, frozen in place. “Tonight? I wanna make you a mare.” Now THAT’S more like it! She rests her hoof against Applejack’s coat. Applejack can feel her heart pounding against it. It feels like red-hot blood is burning in her cheeks. It’s just...it’s just that somepony’s touchin’ me all lovey like. That’s all, that’s all it is. She darts her eyes up and down, leaving her mouth hanging open. “Whaddya say, sugar?” Cherry says. That word. With that voice. Husky, strong. But refined and delicate. A real lady. “I...uh...” Applejack stammers, caught and locked in Cherry Jubilee’s eyes. That hoof slides up, tracing a path up Applejack’s neck. It hooks, gently, around the back of her head, brushing through her mane. “I’m yours,” Cherry Jubilee whispers. “Whatever you want.” Boy, that sounds...but...I’m not...it...but she... Nervous sweat trickles down her temples. Craving pounds through head. Do I want her? I think I do. I want something right here. But she’s a... Well if I do, then I do. Ain’t no use bein’ coy about it. But I CAN’T, she’s a—oh, buck it, ah give up. Applejack’s mind checks out completely, exhausted from warring with itself. All that’s left is hunger, wrapped up in dark, unknown desires. That vicious hunger rears up in her chest with a snarl, tightly wound through years and years of lonely yearning. Before she can even recognize it, she darts forward, brushing her nose against Cherry Jubilee’s. She catches herself at the last second and jumps in place, coiling back onto her hooves. Cherry Jubilee freezes, eyes huge, mouth hanging open. Then she gets a knowing smile, pulling Applejack close again. Applejack panics and pulls her hat off her head, peeking out over the brim. She wedges it between them like a shield. “Ugh,” Cherry Jubilee scoffs. “What is holdin’ you back, girl?” Applejack winces from behind her hat, straining at a fraying leash. Holdin’ me back?! But I don’t even like mares or know what to do or how to do with I mean for Sun’s sake I ain’t never been with any— I like this mare. This is crazy. I’ve gone crazy. Just do ‘er already! Applejack quivers in place, fumbling with her hat. “Applejack?” Applejack winces at how good it sounds. “Oh, sugar. You’ve never been with a mare before. Is that it?” Applejack forces her eyes up, humbly mumbling her answer. “I’ve had a few mares come on to me, to be honest,” she says. “Never really stuck before, I guess.” “Never stuck, huh?” Cherry Jubilee smirks. “Well I’ve never looked at a mare the way-” The way I look at you. “...Like that.” Applejack holds her breath. “Y’know, uh...romantic like. Never felt that way before.” “You feel that way now?” Cherry Jubilee brings her other hoof up, hanging them both around the back of Applejack’s neck. She pulls in close, crushing the hat between them. “Uh,” Applejack begins, knowing she can’t lie to save her life. “I think...I...” She can’t say it. She can’t say anything, stuck in a doorway leading out into a whole world she never knew of before. Cherry Jubilee stares at her, into her, for what feels like a very long time. Applejack feels something starting to give way inside—maybe all this doesn’t exactly make sense. But it doesn’t feel wrong. She’s still blushing, burning up in the grasp of lovely, feminine arms. “Shucks, Miss Jubilee-” “Cherry,” she interrupts. “Call me Cherry. Please.” “Cherry.” The word feels lovely on her tongue, almost like eating the fruit itself. Applejack sits back on her haunches, dragging Cherry with her. She keeps creasing the brim of her hat with both hooves. “I’ve never, uh...” she falters, trying to wrangle more words. Cherry Jubilee just waits, letting Applejack dig herself deeper. “What now?” Applejack asks. “Now?” Applejack nods very seriously. “Well...that’s really up to you, sugar.” Cherry leans forward, gently placing her teeth on Applejack’s hat. She waits for permission, and Applejack gives a small nod. The hat is gently tugged from her hooves and carefully placed on a trunk at the foot of the bed. Applejack sits with empty hooves, hearing those words ricochet in her ears. Up to you. She tries to remember anything she’s heard from Rainbow Dash about how it goes down between two mares. Nothing comes—there’s nothing in her head but Cherry Jubilee’s sultry voice. The mare in question gives her a look that says she knows exactly what to do. “How about,” Cherry Jubilee begins with a glint in her eye, “We pick up where we left off last night? Would that be alright?” Applejack gulps loudly and nods once. Cherry offers her hoof, and Applejack takes it. Part of her, the part that still hasn’t caught on, throws it’s hooves up in consternation. The rest of her is slowly, gently, led over to the bed. They climb onto the mattress together, sinking into a thick quilt. Applejack sits upright, still not sure what to do. Cherry lies down next to her, just slightly on her side. Relaxed and regal. She reaches up and undoes the yellow ribbon keeping her hair in check, spilling the thick locks down onto her shoulders. Applejack stares shamelessly. Wavy hair. Curvy. Almost as curvy as those fine flanks of hers. Wha-? Well, how about that. She lets a sigh out, relief washing over her as hidden thoughts finally find a voice. Her eyes wander—Cherry isn’t wearing the bathrobe, just her usual pink ribbon around the neck. Applejack gets the urge to bite down and tear the thing off. “May I?” Cherry Jubilee asks. “Huh?” Applejack blinks, feeling caught again. She nods anyway. Cherry Jubilee sits up. Applejack holds still, tensed and alive, as the other mare reaches over and grips her red hair tie. Cherry looks up at her with a saucy grin, holding the fabric in her teeth, and tugs a few times. Golden mane goes spilling out all over the bed. Applejack’s eyebrows shoot up as Cherry dives back, and then she gasps at the feel of tugging on her rump. She looks back to see her tail fanned out, let loose on the world. Cherry Jubilee settles down next to her, close up against her side. Applejack steels herself up—that frilly little ribbon around her mare’s neck is getting in the way. It has to go. She leans down, barely brushing against Cherry’s coat. She takes one end of the ribbon in her teeth and pulls, slowly, not a tug but a long, even pull. The fabric slides and the knot comes undone, no resistance at all. Applejack can feel the silky sliding of the ribbon falling off the other mare’s neck as she pulls, calling goosebumps to attention all over her body. It falls free. It dangles from Applejack’s lips for a moment before she drops it unceremoniously, looking back up at it’s owner. The two mares stare at each other, naked in every way. Applejack gets lost in the pale curve of Cherry’s neck, long and elegant now without the ribbon there, curtained with that luscious violet mane. Cherry leans over, suddenly, and nuzzles against her neck. Applejack finally sighs and relaxes—she understands, now, why other ponies waste so much time chasing after this kind of thing. Why someone would drop anything and everything just to feel a lover’s touch. She shudders, feeling Cherry’s muzzle in her mane and against her cheek. Hot breath across her coat. A hoof slides over her shoulders, pulling her into it. She closes her eyes and lets it all wash over her. It’s so much more than she ever imagined it could be, just feeling somepony else there, touching her. Sorry, Beefcake. The real deal is just too good. It is good. So, so good. More gooder than....well...shucks. Who needs words, anyway? She snaps her eyes open, aiming to return all these lovely favors. Applejack goes to nuzzle Cherry back, her hooves trembling, and ends up damn near tackling her. They tumble over sideways, and Applejack finds herself hovering over a lovely mare laid out on her back. “Oh!” Cherry lowers her eyelids, her forelegs curled in close between them. “I don’t remember this part from last night.” “Me neither,” Applejack pants out. Every part of her is filled with a rush of, of something, alive and wound up tight. She feels like she’s running, sprinting her heart out, about to take a jump and win the whole darn thing. “Well?” Cherry’s lips turn up in an incredibly seductive smirk. “You gonna finish what you’re startin’ here, sugar?” Applejack licks her lips, panting harder. She can feel Cherry’s legs wrapped loosely around her midsection. Her tail whips around like crazy. This is it. You do this, there’s no turning back. She stares longingly at the mare under her—the shining eyes, her mane all splayed out across the sheets, that cute little mark on her cheek. What are you waiting for, idiot? She’s RIGHT HERE. Applejack’s eyes go wider as it sinks in. This is real. It’s all happening. Right there for the taking. For me. And then Applejack takes her. She pushes in, cramming their lips together in a fierce kiss. “MmmMMM!” Cherry moans, her forelegs trapped between them. Applejack just about dies. It feels so good, better than anything she can think of. Even better than a stiff drink after a hard day’s work. She holds back at first, just pressing their lips together, feeling the tingles of hot, wet breath. But Cherry isn’t having it—she darts her tongue out, drawing Applejack’s into a sultry dance across their mouths. It’s her first real kiss. She makes it a long one, never doing anything halfway. They fight back and forth, turning their heads this way and that. Applejack lowers her body, sliding her arms around Cherry’s shoulders and the back of her head, running her hooves through the silky curves of her mane. Cherry vises her legs around Applejack, trapping her close. She can feel Cherry’s thick tail lashing up at her, tickling the backs of her thighs. She fights back, their tails copying their tongues, flicking and lashing against each other. She can’t breathe. She pulls back, finally, feeling the other mare do the same, and opens her eyes. Cherry is under her, squeezed close, looking almost dazed. Both of them are panting, their breaths fighting to catch up. Cherry yanks her arms out from between them and pulls Applejack down by the mane. WHOA there! Applejack’s eyes go wide and stay wide as she’s pulled into a rough kiss. She closes them right away—it’s weird and uncomfortable, keeping them open. Harder to focus on all the wonderful going on around her tongue. Their bodies are pressed together, warm, so warm and close. Applejack feels Cherry’s lips pull away and then strike again, kissing all over her nose and muzzle and face. They’re tickling, wet little kisses, and Applejack chuckles blindly as they land all over and start running down her neck. Cherry’s hooves slide down, down Applejack’s sides, sending shivers quaking through her body. She starts kissing back, not quite sure where she’s hitting—somewhere in the neck/cheek region, most like. She feels Cherry’s lips up by her ear, feels hot breath blowing loudly right into her hearing. Teeth start nibbling on the tender skin right under her ear. “Ah...” Applejack almost moans, barely keeping a handle on it. She starts to squirm, to get away from that nibbling, it feels too good, but Cherry loops one arm around her back, holding her tight. The other arm slides up behind one of her thighs, locking their hips together. She struggles vainly, just a little, having fun with it. Shoot...she’s got me right where she wants me, huh? Cherry keeps nibbling and kissing, driving Applejack crazy. She can feel the older mare flexing her hips up, into her, rubbing their coats together. Mean trick, that. Well played. Actin’ all...come and get me, I’m just a tender flower of a lady. Now lookit her. Takin’ over. Cherry pulls her into another rough kiss, expertly massaging with her tongue. Applejack surrenders to it, loving every second. Boy, if only she could mount me! She smiles through the kiss, making her mind up to at least try to give as good as she’s gettin’. She slides one hoof down Cherry’s back and around her side, caressing her smooth coat. “Mmmnnn!” Applejack moans loudly as the other mare bites down on her lip, almost hard enough to hurt, sending her haunches shaking. She loses track of what her hoof was doing, just reveling in the action. It’s weird—somehow, distantly, she lets go. Just...letting Cherry Jubilee have her way. Shoot, if I was doin’ this with Rainbow we’d be fightin’ about who’s doin’ what by now. Heh, probably woulda been fun. But this is...I dunno, it’s... Cherry takes Applejack’s hoof in her own, still kissing and nibbling. She guides Applejack’s hoof, sliding it down her exposed belly. Applejack doesn’t have to do a thing. She hangs back and lets someone else take charge, for once. Cherry guides her hoof lower, and Applejack’s breath catches in her throat as she lands in the wet, tender valley between the other mare’s legs. “Ah~!” Cherry stops kissing and shudders at the touch, pressing her forehead against Applejack’s. ...It’s nice. Applejack starts to rub with her hoof, just tracing a clumsy up-and-down stroke. She tries to be careful but her hoof is shaking, full of pent-up wants. Cherry lets out a cute little squeak, the kind of sound you’d never expect to hear from a mare like her. Applejack remembers to grin. It doesn’t last long. “WHOA!” Applejack’s whole body jolts as Cherry slides her hoof down her belly, slamming right into that lovely special spot. There’s no eager shaking here—Cherry works her with a sure hoof, touching everything just right. “Guh! Ah!” Applejack gasps out, raising her rump up on her hind legs, giving the other mare room to work her magic. Cherry draws her into a furious kiss, not missing a stroke all the while, sending Applejack’s hoof into shuddering, clumsy spasms. Applejack growls into the other mare’s mouth, furrowing her brow. Cherry’s voice may be muffled, but it’s been replaced with that lovely tongue and that lovely hoof, doing all kinds of things Applejack’s never dreamed of. She starts bucking her hips a little, moaning as that hoof caresses between her folds. Cherry breaks the kiss and grins up at her, smug, predatory. She squeezes Applejack in closer, yanking at the base of her thigh, not giving her room to squirm. Her hoof dances around that special spot, now hard and quivering. “AH! D...da...ugh!” Applejack grunts, her upper body teetering on one hoof. Damn damn DAMN GodDAMN! Applejack grits her teeth and falls, defeated and happy about it. She shudders and groans, sweating all over the lovely lady mare under her. Her hoof fumbles around, tangled up in all kinds of limbs, still feebly fighting back. She can feel Cherry’s sly grin against her cheek, and then the quick peck of a kiss. Cherry’s hoof makes one last fierce, maddening push, sliding right against the clit... Holy bucking HELL is that good Jolts of pleasure shoot out from that wonderful spot, everything below her navel is tingling. And then suddenly it’s gone and Applejack is pushed, rolled over onto her back. She pants loudly, her mouth lolling open. Her legs spread on their own, ready and wanting, she’s sopping wet and chomping at the bit. But Cherry Jubilee, in what can only be madness, pulls Applejack’s legs closed. She sits up, still with that sly smile, and rolls Applejack onto her side. The feeling of her own thighs sliding together makes Applejack bite her lip. She looks up, wound-up and confused. What’s all this now? As if reading her thoughts, Cherry winks at her. I got this. Just lemme show you how it’s done. And then Cherry dives down, running her tongue roughly up Applejack’s flank and across three red apples. “AhhhhhhhhHHHH!” Applejack almost yells, digging her hooves into the quilt. Cherry forces her muzzle into Applejack’s flank, nuzzling and licking, drinking in the sweet red marks. Then she wedges her hoof between Applejack’s legs, and the orange mare decides now would be a fine time to lose her mind. She howls in delight. Her tail jolts out straight, all the stray blond coming together. Her eyes go wide as pie tins, pupils shrunk to barely anything, her whole body taken over by the pleasure down in her hips. It’s ecstasy, complete and absolute, better than anything else in the whole damn world. Cherry pulls back, roughly splaying Applejack’s legs open again. Applejack tenses up, barely able to, almost gone—and then Cherry bends down and dips her tongue inside, just firm enough, flicking it around the glistening need beneath Applejack's legs. This time, Applejack really does lose her mind. Her back arches, throwing her chin up towards the headboard. Her mouth hangs open, breathless. Cherry runs her tongue up and down, Applejack chokes on her own gasps, then she slides her way up, flicking left and right, she looks down and sees just a mop of lovely violet, she finds her way home, to the top of the mound, and then she feels a bolt of pure pleasure light up her whole mind. Applejack throws her head back in a silent yell, tensing every muscle in her body. A valve inside her breaks and blows open wide as she comes, really comes, for the first time in her life. * * * She lies on her side, lazily looking out the window at nothing. At stars. It’s quiet, and still. The room around them is dimmer than the stars outside, lit by just a few dying candles. One of Cherry’s arms hangs over her shoulder. She can feel the other mare breathing behind her. It’s nice. She feels... Wow. Most fun a mare can have, right there. Different. Loose. Unwound. Almost drunk, a good drunk, like havin’ friends over and just takin’ it easy. Different. A weak little smile teases at her lips. Didn’t know I had it in me. It’s better. It’s... Different. She almost chuckles, wondering why that word keeps whispering itself in her ears. Shoot, can’t believe I never did this bef— She freezes. Her heart lurches in place as words and thoughts and memories come blaring into her head. Family. Friends. Apples. What...what did I just DO? This ain’t me. This ain’t honest ole’ Ponyville Applejack, most dependable of ponies. What...what am I doin’? What would Granny say? What would Mac say? How am I ever gonna explain this to Applebloom? What the hay am I even talkin’ about? All my friends are gonna laugh, like they knew all along, me lyin’ to ‘em all this time... What would Momma and Papa say? She cringes, uncomfortable under the other mare’s arm. I can’t do this it ain’t me I can’t do this what was I thinkin’ oh sweet Celestia what am I gonna— Cherry Jubilee scoots closer, nuzzling against the back of Applejack’s neck. She murmurs some sleepy nonsense. Applejack tenses up at the warm body against her back, but she can’t hold it—it all slips out of her in a pleased sigh. But it feels so nice. Applejack curls against Cherry’s arm, clinging onto it. Maybe this is just some...I dunno, like a fluke weird kinda deal. I ain’t into mares. A noble part of her scoffs in outrage at the idea. That ain’t fair. Not to her. All she did wrong was want you. Care for you. Applejack twists herself up in a worried scowl. She doesn’t feel different anymore. She’s wound up, penned in, torn in a dozen stressful directions at once. Worn thin. It felt nice, for a just a little bit there. Like nothing mattered. Like everything was gonna be okay. She misses that feeling. This is all moot anyway, I’m gonna be headin’ back to Ponyville just another few weeks. Her eyes light up. That’s it! That’s it! It’s just...this place. Everything’s different. She wonders briefly if maybe there’s something in the water here. No, that’s cockamamie. It’s just... There is Ponyville Applejack. And there is Dodge Junction Applejack. And they are different things. And that is okay. There we go. Simple as that. She nods to herself, snuggled warmly against another mare. Nopony has to know. She smiles a little, happy to feel different again. Almost relaxed. Nopony’ll ever know. She can go home and stuff this whole lovely thing in the same bag as those damn every-color-but-blue ribbons and we can all move on same as before. That’s right. She nods again. She’s free. Free, here, for a just a little while. She stares out at the stars again, clear and twinkling in the dry air. She shuffles her back, snuggling against the warm body behind her. And she loves every beautiful second of it.
Withered on the BranchDarkness. Hot, stuffy darkness. Applejack takes this moment alone to do something unusual. For her, anyway. Her thoughts are running over the last few days, just...going over things. And what a few days it had been. Out working hard, all day, every day. But she’d eased up a bit after that first night. The other ranch hands seemed nice, now that she actually talked to them. She even put faces to a few names. Making friends, if only in that fleeting co-worker sense. And at night...well, she’d been up late engaged in all kinds of interesting debauchery. She gets a sure, proud smirk, letting her head wander into just a few naughty details. Cherry sure does know her way around a bed, I’ll give her that. She snorts out a sly chuckle. That ain’t all I’ll give her. She chuckles again. It had been a plum fine couple of nights. At a price, though. She’s exhausted, worn out in the best of ways. A lazy burn buzzes from behind her eyeballs. Her limbs are heavy and creaky. I’d wager it was worth it. Besides, today was a nice day off. Cherry had asked for an escort into town. To do a little shopping and whatnot. And Applejack had been all too happy to come along. They’d shared a pleasant walk, huddled under Cherry’s lacy parasol. You look beat, sugar. Tuckered out. Aw shucks, Miss Jub— Cherry. A sly smile. Applejack giggles like a filly, just like she’d wanted to at the time. Cherry. A lovely, sweet little word. You should rest up when we get back. Take a nap. You orderin’ me around on my day off? You bet yer fine rump, I am. And while I’m at it... And then she’d leaned over and whispered a few suggestions concerning said nap. Suggestions that made Applejack’s tail practically spin in circles. She takes her time remembering every little detail of that voice in her ear, running her thoughts over the... “Hurry hurry hurry hurry hurry!” KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK “Hurry it up in there!” Oh, for the love of... Applejack rolls her eyes and finishes up. Can’t a gal have a quiet moment? She slams the door open and trots out, not even looking. “Some ponies. Sheesh.” See, this is why just goin’ outside is the way to do it. She trots on, barely aware that her head is sinking lower and lower as she does. Y’know, that really almost sounded like Pinkie. She sighs, looking down at the dirt. “Applejack!” Her ear twitches in disbelief. “I found her I found her I found her I found her...!” She snaps her head up, seeing five familiar pairs of eyes staring back. My friends! MY FRIENDS! Before the joy can even register on her face, panic takes its place. My...my friends. Oh. Oh jeez. ...uh... … Oh no. * * * “Uh...hey everypony...” Applejack says. What are you doing here? “...What’s up?” Brilliant. That’ll throw ‘em fer sure. “Why didn’t you come back to Ponyville?” I wish I could tell you. “Yes, why are you here?” Because I let everypony down. “Are you okay?” No. “Do you have any snacks?” Uh...? “Tell us what happened, Applejack.” They want to know. They want to help. They care. Would they, if they knew? I ain’t about to find out... But they’re all looking at her. She feels it, swollen in her chest, right at the back of her throat. I can’t, I just can’t but I gotta tell ‘em but I can’t but... Her mouth opens on its own, threatening to spill the beans whether she likes it or not. She can’t talk without telling them. How could she? “Applejack? Are these some of your Ponyville friends?” Salvation. Just in the nick of time. Cherry Jubilee chats them up, distracting them. Explaining. Wrapping it all up with a nice little bow. Wait a minute is she talkin’ about the rodeo? No no no NO STOP “Aw, shucks, Miss Jubilee. You don’t have to go into all that.” “She’s so modest!” Cherry puts a hoof to Applejack’s chin, triggering all kinds of dirty little memories. She cringes inside, tiny in the glare of a massive spotlight. “Anyway, I could always use a pony with quick hooves and a strong back.” Applejack glances around nervously, unable to contain the goofy little grin on her face. Her friends heard that. They heard it, for pony’s sake. “...I’ll let you catch up with your friends. See you back at the ranch!” No don’t go don’t leave me with them noooooooo “Change of scenery? What’s that supposed to mean?” Rainbow Dash says, getting right in her face. Of course. “It’s no big deal guys...” I am so, so sorry, Dash. I mean it. She rambles on, saying nothing like what’s going on in her head. She makes excuses. Puts up walls. Wraps things up in a tattered, sloppy bow. “That’s it. End of story,” she finishes with her nose up in the air. “That’s it? Well that’s a terrible story.” Yeah. Yeah, it is. She tries to walk away, but Rainbow Dash cuts her off, of course. Applejack barely hears the words between them, it’s all muffled, underwater and far away. “We didn’t travel all over Equestria...” Of course you did you guys are the best and I love every single one of no NO stop it. “...To come home without you!” Rage growls from deep in her body, sharp and mean-eyed. How dare they? How dare they? Everything was perfect, coulda just done this and come home and nopony woulda been the wiser... I ain’t worth all this. “Well I didn’t ask you to come lookin’ for me!” Why did you come lookin’ for me? “There is nothin’ to tell, and I am not goin’ back to Ponyville!” * * * It’s dark, again. Applejack lies in bed, wreathed in moonlight. One dim oil lamp flickers on a nightstand, washed out by the pale light from outside. She’s on her back, cradling a glass of schnapps on her belly. Sweat cools on her coat, still there from a pretty darn vigorous session of lovemaking. She’d been angry, before. Intense. Rough. Somehow, it had been even better than the past few nights put together. How could you? Bringin’ them on as workers. What’s wrong with you? I was trying to help you, sugar. You knew exactly what you were doin’! Cherry had replied with only a sly smile, that same damn smile that always makes Applejack feel all kinds of funny. And then the older mare had shown her some very creative ways of apologizing. Applejack sighs, taking a sweet, tarty sip at her glass. She isn’t angry anymore. “You feelin’ better, sugar?” Applejack looks over. Cherry is next to her, at her side. Nursing her own glass of sweet pinkish-reddish loveliness. “Whaddya mean?” Applejack turns away, glaring out the window. “Oh, come off it.” She feels Cherry against her side, snuggling closer. “You’re right. I shoulda talked it over with you. About those friends of yours.” Applejack snorts, intent on staring out the window at nothing. “I really thought I was helpin’,” Cherry almost whispers into her ear. Applejack can smell the sweet burn of schnapps on her breath, mingled with the unsavory smell of her own fleeting pleasure. “They seem like a good group of girls. Comin’ all the way out here on your account.” Applejack says nothing. A gust of wind howls outside, setting the wood of the house creaking in place. “Did they do you wrong?” Cherry asks. “Is that why—” “No, nothin’ like that.” Applejack grips her glass a little tighter in her hooves. “They really are great.” Every one of them. “Then what is it?” Something in Cherry’s voice forces Applejack to turn to her. “I didn’t want them to know,” she says. “About us?” “No! I mean...it ain’t about that. It wasn’t.” Cherry raises an almost offended eyebrow, drawing away from Applejack ever so slightly. “There’s a whole other mess goin’ on, honestly, and...this really ain’t helpin’, is the thing of it,” Applejack says, kicking herself the moment it comes out. Cherry’s frown speaks all the words she needs. Oh. Is that how it is? “Shoot, I didn’t mean it like that!” Applejack scrambles to patch it up. “But...y’know, they don’t know about this, or any of it, and I don’t know how...” she hems and haws, desperately casting around for words, getting more wound up by the second. “On top of everything else, and then this, and you, and me already in for it, and I don’t even—MMF!” Her yelp of surprise is muffled by Cherry’s luscious lips. It’s a quick, fierce kiss. Applejack doesn’t even have time to close her eyes before it’s over. “Sorry,” Cherry says. Simply. Softly. Then she finishes her glass with a rueful toss of her hair. She climbs halfway over Applejack, grabbing her glass as well, and stows both on the nightstand. But she doesn’t pull back—she stays against Applejack, nestling against her side, resting her lovely head in the crook of Applejack’s neck. Applejack loops one arm around her and holds her close, without even thinking. It feels too right to not do it. “You do what you gotta do, sugar,” Cherry says, pecking a light kiss into Applejack’s chest. “I can keep a secret with the best of ‘em.” It hurts. Applejack grimaces, glad that her lover’s face is buried into her coat. It hurts worse than when she thought Cherry was mad at her. A long silence stretches out, timed by the rise and fall of Cherry’s chest against her. “You ever done this before?” Applejack asks. “Hmm?” Cherry glances up at her, just a bit surprised. “You know...with a mare.” The question had been on Applejack’s mind for longer than she cared to admit. “Just once.” Cherry stares off towards a window, longingly. “Were you gettin’ naughty with some poor, innocent worker o’ yours?” Applejack says with a cheeky grin. “No.” That naughty little smile is back. “Nothin’ like that. And she was nothin’ like you, that’s fer sure. It was a long time ago.” Cherry stares off again, this time with a smile, and sighs. “Before I even met my husband.” It hadn’t even occurred to Applejack that there was no Mister to her employer’s Missus. “Say, whatever happened to him?” she says without thinking, immediately feeling rude. “Uh...if you don’t mind me askin’ that is.” “It’s fine. That was a long time ago, too,” Cherry Jubilee says. “He just ran off one day.” “Oh.” Jeez... “He just left you? With foals and the farm and all?” Applejack says, eyes wide with disbelief. Cherry Jubilee nods. “You never saw him again?” “Not once.” Cherry Jubilee glares viciously. “Lucky for him, too. I’d probably kill the son of a bitch.” Applejack’s eyes get wider. Dang...more grit to her than I thought. “I’m mighty sorry to hear all that,” Applejack says. “Don’t fret none about it. It was hard, but we got by. Made me who I am today.” Think I just might know what you mean there. She doesn’t say it. She realizes, now, that she had said all this to change the subject. Get away from the part that hurts. But it only led her to a different kind of hurt. Straight up. Tell her. Pony up and do it, for once. For her, at least. “I’m leavin’,” Applejack says. “Tomorrow morning.” She feels Cherry’s arms tighten around her. “S’pose I’m not surprised to hear that,” Cherry says. “Where you goin’?” “I dunno.” “What direction?” “I dunno. Away.” “And what are you gonna do when those friends of yours find you again?” Applejack glares at her. This damn mare—always hitting where it counts. “I dunno. Go somewhere else, I suppose.” “Applejack,” Cherry says very sternly. Young lady. Applejack perks up, suddenly listening very closely. “You can’t just keep running,” Cherry says. “Well I can’t go back with ‘em.” “Then stay here.” Cherry’s eyes look weak, for just a second. Alone. “At least here, we have each other.” “I’m sorry.” Applejack sinks back into the dark bed, her ears flopping against her head. “I made promises. Promises I can’t keep. I ain’t got no right.” “Sure I can’t change your mind? Nothin’ I can say?” Cherry trails a hoof up Applejack’s chest, teasing at her neck with it. “Nothin’ I can...do?” Her eyes send shivers all through Applejack’s thoughts. She looks alone again, hidden under all the overwhelming seduction. Almost desperate. It leaves a bad taste in Applejack’s mouth. She needs someone. Applejack sighs, stone cold in the face of Cherry’s temptations. Someone better. “I wish I could,” Applejack says. “I really do. But I was always gonna leave. Doesn’t make you any less lovely. Just how it is.” Applejack frowns, wondering if that hurt as much to hear as it did to say. “Well, listen to you!” Cherry drops her hoof and gives Applejack an almost proud smile. “I should be more careful. I might just have made you into a real heart breaker.” A bemused, dry chuckle escapes Applejack’s mouth. Applejack, the heart breaker. What a hoot. “I ain’t aimin’ to break any hearts. Least of all yours,” she says. They both pause, drinking each other’s gaze. It’s a fleeting joy, a fading echo of the last few nights—just the two of them and no other cares in the world. Cherry hugs her tightly, nuzzling against her neck. “First train leaves at seven-ten on the dot,” Cherry whispers against her coat. “Guess I should get to sleep, then.” Cherry slides up on top of Applejack, straddling her. She hooks her forelegs around the back of Applejack’s neck and presses their noses together, her smile growing all the while. “Yup,” Cherry breathes out in a husky whisper. “You probably should.” Applejack slides her hooves up Cherry’s sides, bringing them up and running them into the heavenly tresses of her mane. Her lungs tighten up, and everything else just kind of...melts away. “I reckon it would be pretty foolish to stay up all night,” Cherry says, batting her eyelashes. “Making the most of it.” She stares down into Applejack, so close that she’s blurred out, just holding there. On her. With her. “Yeah...” Applejack looks back, sure as sugar. About this part, anyway. “I reckon it would.” * * * Applejack thuds her way up a dusty dirt road. The sun is high, edging towards noon. Her hat keeps her comfy, but the bright heat burns into her coat all over. She normally wouldn’t mind, but memories of a lacy little parasol are fresh in her head. She’s unburdened. Her bags are back at the station, waiting with her friends. She’d told them she would just be a little while. An hour, at most. Saying a proper goodbye. She’s already passed the front gate of the ranch. The house looms up ahead. Cherry Jubilee is waiting, of course. Must’ve seen Applejack coming—it’s nothing but flat scrub and sage brush for miles along the road. The matriarch is standing out on the front porch, alone. Fanning herself with one of those fancy folding fans, dull pink in the shade of the covered porch. Applejack clops her way up a few steps and onto the porch, silently coming to a stop in front of the other mare. She doffs her hat and fans herself a few times, looking down at the worn planks she’s standing on. “Hoped I might see you again,” Cherry Jubilee says. “Yeah, me too.” Applejack replaces her hat, finally meeting Cherry’s eyes. Neither says anything for a moment. The wind picks up to fill in their silence, blowing dry and raspy through tufts of brittle grass out in the sun. “So,” Cherry closes her fan abruptly, making a show of nonchalance. “Did those friends of yours catch up to you?” “They did, indeed.” “And?” Applejack feels a hopeful smile bleed out, ruling out the slight ache in her ribs where Rainbow Dash tackled her. A wonderful ache. A perfect, forgiving ache. “We set things straight. I think,” she says. “I guess things weren’t as bad as I thought.” “I’m glad.” Cherry glows as she says it, a warm, genuine smile. “Things usually ain’t so bad, in the end. You goin’ back to Ponyville, then?” “That’s the plan.” “Mmm.” Cherry nods, still smiling. Applejack takes a second to chew on her lip, setting up what needs to be said. “I wanted to thank you,” she says. “Again. For...well, for everything.” She feels just a slight blush on that last sentence. “It was my pleasure,” Cherry says. She moves closer—Applejack isn’t sure if she’s going for a hug or a kiss or whatever. Applejack shoots a hoof out, holding the older mare back. She glances around, checking for witnesses, completely on instinct. “Sorry,” Applejack says. “I...it’s over. Best not muddy the waters, right?” “Probably smart,” Cherry says. She doesn’t look surprised. Or upset. “Just sayin’ goodbye,” Applejack adds. “I owe you that much.” “You don’t owe me a thing.” Applejack’s manners dictate that she protest, but they can’t quite muster themselves up. It’s been quite the morning. Instead, she just gives a weak smile and nods. “Would you mind if I wrote to you?” Cherry asks. “That would be nice,” Applejack says. She means it. “Well alright, then.” Cherry seems to relax a bit. “Best not keep yer friends waitin’.” “Yeah...” Applejack casts a wistful glance down the road. “Maybe I’ll see you again. Rodeo, or somethin’.” “I’d like that.” Cherry follows her glance, then fixes her right in the eyes again. “Goodbye...” ...sugar? “...Applejack.” Applejack’s breath almost catches in her throat, but she keeps a handle on it. She sets her face up, plain and blank, and politely tips her hat. “...Miss Jubilee.” She turns without another word and sets out, back down the dusty road she came. * * * THUNK. A good hit. Apples land all around her, spreading the huge smile on her face wider. She rears up again. THUNK. Solid, ungiving wood. Just beautiful. THUNK. She throws every muscle into it. THUNK. Buckets slowly fill with apples. Famous for miles around. Applejack wipes at her brow with a hoof, grinning proudly. She looks around, taking a well-timed breather. Sweet Apple Acres. It’s just as beautiful as ever, here in the cool shade of hundreds and hundreds of Equestria’s finest apple trees. Here, at home. A distant echo of laughter drifts through the trees. It’s Applebloom and her friends, of course, probably getting into some kind of mischief. And somewhere off yonder she knows that Big Mac is pulling stumps out of the rich, dark earth. And past that, back at the house, Winona’s takin’ a nap right by the porch. And Granny’s inside, baking or napping. Take your pick. She knows this, all of this, sure as her own hoof. Almost every day, her whole life. She looks around, not really at anything, just...taking it in. The thick grass, the rolling, gentle hills, and the trees, of course the trees, stretching out as far as the eye can see. She knows and recognizes each one, somewhere deep in the back of her mind. That one way off there is the first one she ever bucked apples out of. That one over there is the one Bloomberg’s seeds came from. This one’s the one she was buckin’ the first time she met Twilight. She heaves a sigh, heavy with contentment. Even the smell of the air is better than anything else in the world. Home. Something shakes and rattles it’s way through the branches above her. She knows who it is without even having to look. “Rainbow?” She does look up. “Hey.” Rainbow Dash picks her way into the lower branches of a tree from above, perching in a low crouch. “‘Sup, AJ?” “You, from the looks of it.” “Heh, yeah.” Rainbow Dash prowls around the branches for a second, licking her lips. She quickly finds one she likes and helps herself to an apple, crunching and smacking loudly. Applejack forces a glare, overdoing it on purpose. “Don’t s’pose yer gonna pay for that?” “When have I ever?” Dash reclines on a branch, somehow making it look comfortable. “Just put it on my tab.” “Think I lost track of your tab a long time ago.” Applejack grimaces, only halfway forcing it. “All I know is you owe me a whole bunch of bits. Or a few days honest work.” “Pffffft. Yeah, right. Work.” Rainbow Dash rolls her eyes. Then she grins down from her branch, arching her eyebrows as suggestively as a pony can. “I don’t know about this farm stuff. But I can think of a few ways I could pay you back.” Applejack startles a little. Dash always throws out lines like that, ever since that talk they had long ago. It always, always throws Applejack, even if just for a second. Which is, of course, why Dash does it. Applejack is about to throw back one of her usual witty rejections, but...somethings different. Is it? She takes a long look at her friend, leaving her mouth hanging open a bit. Rainbow Dash is above her, bright and beautiful, sleek as always, her wild mane hanging haphazardly with the leaves. I mean, she’s always been pretty, but... Is there...? … Nope. Nothing. Applejack, a little surprised, feels nothing but her usual friendly fondness for the mare above her. Huh. Maybe it really was the water. No, that’s crazy talk. “Yeah, whatever,” Rainbow Dash rolls on, as if Applejack had thrown out a comeback. She takes another noisy bite, talking with her mouth full. “You know, it’s weird. When you were gone, I could come here all the time and nap wherever and take as many apples as I wanted. And nopony gave me any crap about it.” Applejack raises an eyebrow, not sure where the pegasus is going with this. Rainbow Dash wipes at her mouth and rolls over a bit, peering down at her again. “It’s good to have you back,” Rainbow Dash says. “It’s good to be back,” Applejack says quietly. “How ‘bout Rarity and Pinkie? How’re they holdin’ up?” “Oh, Pinkie’s fine. Rarity, though...man. You’d think I cut off her mane or something. Jeez.” “Didya tell her how we looked for ‘em?” “Course I did!” Dash throws her hooves up, done with the whole situation. “It’s not my fault they went the wrong way.” “Where’d they even end up?” “Las Pegasus. Rarity was demanding that I pay her back for their tickets home. Do you have any idea how much it costs for a ride all the way out to Las Pegasus?” “Heh, can’t say I do.” Applejack chuckles. “So...did you pay up, or...?” “Naw, she calmed down.” Rainbow Dash huffily folds her arms. “I took her out to dinner. One of her stupid fancy restaurants.” “Oooooh, sounds romantic,” Applejack jeers. “Don’t even.” Rainbow Dash rolls her eyes again. “Although I feel like I should’ve gotten some action, after how much it cost. Which is why I appreciate all these free apples you’re giving me.” She finishes off her apple, nibbling it down to it’s skinny core. Applejack wonders why they even pretend anymore—not that the act isn’t fun, but it’s been a long, long while since she would’ve let Rainbow pay for anything. “I think I owe you one, actually. After all that,” Applejack says. “Don’t mention it. It’s cool.” Rainbow Dash carelessly throws her apple core down, letting it thud to the ground right at Applejack’s feet. “I gotta say, it was kind of exciting. Never figured you would do something like that.” “Whaddya mean?” “You know, you. Honest old Applejack. Boring farm pony, running off all mysterious. Crazy stuff.” Applejack glares up at her, not sure what to make of any of that. “Oh, come on. You know what I mean. And you’re not really boring, honest,” Rainbow Dash adds. “I was kind of impressed, actually. Once I wasn’t mad at you.” “Huh,” is all Applejack manages to say. “Just don’t go all crazy and run off on us again.” “Wouldn’t think of it.” A full second passes before Applejack realizes that they’re just staring at each other. The trash at her feet is forgotten, lost in a warm moment. “Hey.” Rainbow Dash breaks the bond, darting her head into a nearby branch. She snatches an apple with her teeth and drops it down, expertly landing it next to the already-eaten fruit. It’s small and green, not quite ready. But then again, it is off-season. “This one’s on me,” she says. “And even if you did run off again? I’d still want you back.” Applejack looks up and down, speechless. Rainbow Dash is staring down at her, with some kind of calm, heavenly smile. When Applejack looks up, she doesn’t feel any romance. But she does feel love. Somehow, impossibly, Rainbow Dash seems to not notice Applejack’s fawning look. “Anyway,” she says, like she always does. “I’m takin’ off. I’ll catch you later, cool?” “...Sure,” Applejack almost mumbles. A few branches rattle, and a few leaves fall, and then she’s gone, somewhere up in the skies above. Applejack tries to follow with her eyes, hopeless from beneath the canopy. She stands in place for a long while afterwards, alone with her silent thoughts. A few birds sing sporadically. Random pieces of a song, never put together. She tries, against her instincts, to puzzle out some of this. Of all of it. She wants something, any small piece of this bigger picture. There’s something great and important here, she just knows it, something worth sitting down and thinking a spell over. But it’s just out of grasp. And what did it matter, anyway? They’d found out. They’d found out about... ...Everything? Would it matter, if they knew? I don’t even know. She’d been found out. All had been forgiven. All would be forgiven, she was sure. They are her friends. Her family. She knows, now, that she can tell them anything. Then why don’t I want to? There’s the rub. Why not? Why? She glares at the ground, scrunching her muzzle up in concentration. Maybe I just don’t want to. Maybe that’s just it. That ain’t a crime, after all. Maybe... Maybe this one’s just for me. It makes sense. Everyone’s got secrets. Nopony is perfect. Ain’t none of us at our best all the time. A shy, tender thing can make her friends cry. A smart unicorn can go crazy over nothing. A rodeo champion can choke and lose the prize. But they aren’t like that every day. Was it...wrong? It feels wrong to think so. Cherry was too sweet to be ashamed of. Maybe it’s just mine. My own little secret. That’s better. Not wrong. Not bad. But why don’t I want to tell anypony? She shakes her head, not quite satisfied, but unable to put up with pondering for any longer. There’s work to be done, after all. And Applejack is a working pony, sure as sugar. She sets back to her harvest, the nagging thoughts shrinking so tiny that you’d have to stop and really try to listen. A sly smile sneaks out onto her lips, despite the muffled, wayward thoughts.. She feels strangely free. New. Alive. Exciting. Different. Even honesty can have a secret, here and there.
Hanging RipeTHUNK. Cherries fall into baskets all around her, a pitter-patter of harvested fruit. She almost winces—the tree is still shaking, and she swears it even looks bent from the force of her bucking. Skinny little things. Nothing like my good ole’ apple trees back Home. This time she does wince. Don’t fret. Just a few weeks, save up the bits, I’ll be home lickety-split. She rears up to buck again. It’s always been the best cure for thinking too much. Thunk. More cherries. This tree is just about finished. Thunk. It feels weird, holding back. But the first time she bucked a cherry tree? Damn near tore it out by the roots. Miss Jubilee laughed fit to bust her corset. Thunk. I’m so sorry Miss Jubilee please take it out of my pay this week I’ll be careful with yer trees from now on I swear THUNK. She pauses again, making a conscious effort to ease off. The tree is empty of fruit. She sets about gathering up the few strays that didn’t land in a basket. Sorry? Why, Applejack, with legs like that ah do think I’ll be payin’ you extra. She carries the baskets to a wagon, one by one. Again, light little things. Nothing like a solid barrel of Sweet Apple Acre’s finest. Wimpy little fruit. Might as well be pickin’ flowers. Should be Rarity out here. She sighs and shakes her head. Enough o’ that now! Cherries are a fine crop. Maybe they ain’t apples, true, but they’re a fine crop. Nopony forced you to come out here to this... She looks around, supposedly scoping out her next tree. It’s a vastly different place from the Acres. Drier, most definitely, but not so dry as Appleloosa. She would call it Mediterranean, if she knew the word. She gathers up a few empty baskets, stacked together, and ambles off. The trees are pink—pink, can you believe it? Each trunk is topped with a silky canopy of light pink flowers, almost white, crowding out the leaves. She walks in silence. A gust of breeze picks up, and petals waft through the air all around her. It looks almost like snow. It looks kinda like Fall back home. She stops, glaring at nothing in particular. No it doesn’t. Less you think about home for the time being, the better. She forges on, doing her best to be unimpressed by the staggering beauty surrounding her. It’s a losing battle. Dusk is coming. The sky is just starting to fade into light hues of pink and red, shading the ranch in a dazzling rain of colors. It’s not so bad, as long as she’s in the thick of it. She can’t see too far in any one direction. She knows there are other ranch hands out and about, with wagons and baskets of their own, but none of them are near enough to see. She trudges up a small rise, keeping her eyes downcast. Petals dance through the air in front of her, throwing themselves to their deaths without a sound. Somewhere deep in her head, a poetic bit of her stretches and yawns, weak from under-use, and smiles at the sight. She crests the small hill. She looks up without thinking, and the baskets drop to the dirt. That forgotten poetry in her mind leaps out of bed and howls in delight. It’s beautiful. Heart-stoppingly, mind-numbingly beautiful. She can see for miles, looking out over a canopy of flowers, dotted with the reds and yellows of fresh fruit. Here and there, she can catch glimpses of the streams and brooks that keep this patch of land from being the desert it’s surrounded by. For a pony that rarely leaves home, Applejack feels like she’s been a lot of places. And seen a lot of things. But this here might be one of the prettiest. It’s definitely something different. Her ear twitches. A distant echo of laughter drifts through the trees. Probably Applebloom and her friends playin’ in the blossoms. No it ain’t, you dummy. Just another ranch hand, most like. She gets the weird urge to take her hat off and cover her face in shame. Instead, she picks up her baskets and turns her back on that most unsettling of vistas. She walks up to the closest tree and begins laying out the baskets, spaced in a loose circle around the trunk. Applebloom would love it here. Well, that’s neither here nor there. Mac would, too. He wouldn’t say nothin’ but he’d probably be pickin’ blossoms when he thought you weren’t lookin’. So what? Moot point. All of ‘em. Go home just go home I miss them oh goddess I miss them all That nauseous aching starts to creep out from her heart again. She stomps it down, eyeing the bunches of cherries above her and adjusting the baskets just so. At least write another letter or somethin’. No. No going home. Not until things have been set right. She heaves a long sigh, powerless to stop it. Instinctively, she looks around, feeling caught out for some reason. She’s still alone. She looks up and down, making sure she’s satisfied with her layout. All good. She turns, leans forward for a good hard buck, and- PAIN hooooooo boy howdy Sharp tearing, all up her shoulder blades. She falters mid-buck and takes a moment to steady herself. It’s been a few days. She thought that would be feeling better by now. You pushed and pushed and pushed and you still came in second. She snorts loudly. Screw-up. Failure. Buncha horse apples, that. Ain’t nothing you can’t make right with good, honest work. I bet Rainbow Dash is just losin’ her feathers back in Po- She snorts again and sets up, charging right through the burning in her shoulders as her weight shifts to the front. THUNK. A good hit. Fruit comes tumbling down. All of ‘em. Frettin’ and hemmin’ and hawin’ and what not THUNK. Fluttershy stopping by with eggs like she always does, all blushing and muttering THUNK. Stop by town, Rarity and Twilight havin’ tea or some such, swing by the bakery fer some THUNK. Little Applebloom. Big Mac. Granny. Poor lil’ Winona. THUNK. Bring back lots of money! THUNK. THUNK. THUNK. She stops, breathing heavily. Sweat trickles down her temples. The muscles in her upper back twitch and shiver. Cut it out. Focus. She does. There is no Ponyville. There are no friends or family. Just Applejack and a ranch and a tree with too many cherries. She’s squaring up her stance for another buck when a sound drifts through the trees again. A bell. It’s that big, tarnished old thing right outside the farmhouse. Miss Jubilee does right by her workers—in before sundown, hot grub for your troubles. She stares off through the trees, towards the source of the noise. She looks up at her tree. Bunches of cherries are practically weighing the poor thing down. You already filled up five wagons today. Not enough. Ain’t good enough. Her stomach growls. She barely notices. Back home, she would stop and have a few apples. Why not? They are hers, after all. It never even crosses her mind to do the same here. You wanna go home, dontcha? She nods, again at no one in particular. She sets up for a good, hard buck. I said I was comin’ back with money. And that’s what’s gonna happen. THUNK. * * * Applejack quietly closes the door behind her. It’s a huge farmhouse, practically an estate manor. Plenty of rooms, for workers and family. But on a work day, especially in season, things quiet down pretty early in the evening. You could even have a nice meal of leftovers all by your lonesome and never see another soul. It’s dark out, and almost as dark inside. Applejack darts her eyes around. She’s still not sure why she does this. The other workers seem plenty nice. But for some reason she’s been keeping to herself. She is alone. Thankfully. She’s washed up and fed, and all that’s left is to creep up to her room and sleep. And then another day of the same and another and another and another until Home Save it. Ain’t close yet, and if you start thinkin’- “Applejack?” “Oh! Uh...e—evenin’ Miss Jubilee.” Applejack instantly doffs her hat, wrestling with some strange kind of guilt. Cherry Jubilee lights an old-fashioned oil lamp on a table nearby and gives her a look that Applejack can’t meet at all. She fidgets in place, trying to meet her boss’ eyes but mostly looking at the rug. “Did you just get in?” Cherry Jubilee asks. “Uh...” Applejack replaces her hat and mindlessly moves on to rubbing the back of her neck. Cherry Jubilee’s face is killing her—the worry in her green eyes, the slight frown where there’s always a strong smile, the obvious concern. “Have you had supper?” Cherry asks. “Yes, Miss Jubilee. Thank you. Took care of myself just now.” “You know...” Cherry Jubilee interrupts herself with a weary sigh, almost shaking her head. I don’t care if you were out getting into trouble, I just want you home safe. “We served dinner hours ago. Y’all workers are all welcome. It ain’t even about your pay. It’s on the house.” “I know. Much appreciated,” Applejack says. Cherry Jubilee just cocks an eyebrow at her. “Sorry for not joinin’ you. I guess it’s just the way I like to work—twelve hours good hard work, light meal, keep on with the-” “Fourteen.” “Huh?” Applejack stops short, blinking a few times. “Fourteen. You worked fourteen hours today.” “Well shucks,” Applejack almost does her signature curtsy, but can’t quite muster it. “What’re you, keepin’ count?” “Well I am paying you.” Applejack opens her mouth to respond, but nothing comes out. “And plenty, too. Which reminds me—hard worker like you deserves a bonus,” Cherry Jubilee says. “What?!” Applejack almost leaps backwards. “But I only been workin’ here-” “No buts. I ain’t never seen a ranch hand works hard as you. You deserve it.” Cherry Jubilee crosses the room to a rustic little cabinet, all dark wood and years of varnish. She starts rummaging around inside, speaking over her shoulder. “And besides, this is my little way of tellin’ you it’s alright to take a break now and then. Maybe I pay you more, you don’t have to work so many hours. Nopony should.” Applejack can’t stop her thoughts running away. How much of a bonus? How many days could this shave off of her exile? Of course, she would never ask such questions out loud. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you, Miss Jubilee. Thank ya kindly.” She makes a show of doffing her hat again and even gives a little bow. “Don’t mention it.” Jubilee barely looks back, seeming very satisfied. “But I hope it won’t offend you if I keep on workin’ hard all the same,” Applejack says. Cherry Jubilee pauses and almost sighs, pulling out a tray and setting a glass on it. “If that’s the way you want it. I ain’t gonna complain,” she says. “Thank you Miss Jubilee. I got nothin’ against you and yours, this is just how I like to-” Applejack freezes. Her mouth waters. Her heartbeat picks up. How long has it been dear goddess how long must be a week since Cherry Jubilee follows Applejack’s eyes to the bottle she just set out on the tray. The older mare’s eyes light up a little, and her usual coquettish smile comes back. “Have you ever tried it?” she asks. “What is it?” Applejack says, still staring at it. It’s booze ain’t it? That’s what matters. “Cherry Schnapps. Old family recipe. Best in the valley. Maybe best in all Equestria,” Cherry Jubilee says with undisguised pride. “Can’t say I have,” Applejack says. She can’t take her eyes off the bottle, that size and shape that must mean alcohol. She barely notices, in the edge of her vision, the corner of Cherry Jubilee’s lips curling up into a sly smile. “Why don’t you have a glass with me?” her boss offers. “Love to!” Applejack says instantly. She has to fight to keep from licking her lips. “Good, good. You and me, I think we need to have a little chat anyway. Come with me.” Applejack follows wordlessly. Somewhere in the back of her head there are alarm bells going off at the words, “little chat”, but they’re being drowned out by a sudden onset of dire thirst. I mean it ain’t exactly Sweet Apple Cider but beggars ain’t choosers nope no sir. She’d been wondering vaguely what was wrong. Aside from the obvious, of course. There’s plenty out in the open. But even when deeply focused on work, a usually sacred state, Applejack has been feeling off the last few days. All kinds of screwed up can’t focus can’t think can’t work as hard as I should be Of course this is it. This is why. She’s used to having cider here and there most work days. And a nice night cap—some of her finest whiskey. Just a shot. Or two. Or three. Boy howdy can’t wait to get a taste of these cherries. She follows Cherry Jubilee, her eyes straining to stay on the bottle. Her boss is wearing a silky pink bathrobe, decorated with prints of flowers and cherries. It almost looks too silky, like it’s trying too hard, and ends up looking a little cheap in the process. That’s what Rarity would say anyway. Ain’t nothing wrong with it, it’s mighty fine. Wait...why am I thinking about her? There’s a stiff drink comin’ in any minute now. They enter a sitting room. Or a parlor, or something. Whatever you call a fancy room for sittin’ around and talking when you could be at an honest table. Cherry Jubilee lights a few oil lamps and wastes no time in pouring their drinks. She’s barely finished before Applejack snaps one up in her hooves. She stops herself before taking a gulp. Cherry Jubilee is watching her, looking just a little suspicious. “Aheh. Uh...thanks again. For all the hospitality,” Applejack says, willing herself to just hold the glass. “You’ve more than earned it,” Jubilee says. She picks up the other glass and clinks it against Applejack’s. And then, faster than a blink, there’s sweet liquid paradise in Applejack’s mouth. “Mmmmmm HMM!” Applejack almost moans as she takes down half the glass, loving the sweet, tarty burning running down every inch of her throat. “Ahh!” she gasps for air. her whole body relaxes instantly. “You can sit,” Cherry Jubilee says. Applejack just now notices that the other mare has settled onto a fancy couch of some kind. It’s like a rustic version of something Rarity would own. Why am I thinkin’ of that frou-frou fancy flanks again? Applejack sits down on another fancy couch. She’s stiff and uncomfortable at first, but she gulps down more of the Schnapps and almost melts into the cushions. It’s thick. And sweet. Sweeter than pie. Sweeter than one of Pinkie’s cakes. Just about the sweetest thing she’s ever tasted. It’s almost too much. But it’s still alcohol. And that’s what matters. “More?” Cherry Jubilee asks. “Huh?” Applejack looks down at her glass and is surprised to see just a tiny puddle at the bottom. “Uh...” “Don’t feel rude, honey. I’m just happy to see somepony enjoyin’ the family brew.” Applejack shrugs and offers her glass. Cherry Jubilee gets up and pours her another round. “Boy, you cherry ponies sure do know how to brew a drink,” Applejack says as Cherry Jubilee sits down again. She’s resolved, no, determined not to guzzle this glass down as fast. “You said you’ve done some brewing?” Cherry Jubilee asks. “Well, uh...cider mostly. I do some beer and whiskey on the side.” Mostly for myself. “Cider, of course,” Cherry Jubilee says, sipping slowly at her own glass. “I’d love to try some.” “Heh, maybe I’ll send you a case when I get home.” “And when will that be?” Applejack almost winces. Just as soon as I can. Instead, she gulps some drink down. “You said you wanted to talk about somethin’?” Applejack asks. “Mmm.” Cherry Jubilee just stares at her while sipping some more. Applejack shifts on her seat. Heavy silence stretches out—it usually wouldn’t bother Applejack, but she’s just on the edge of nervous, suppressing the urge to finish her drink off again. She’s just about to say something when Cherry Jubilee does it for her. “How are you liking the ranch?” she asks. “Huh? Oh, uh...it’s mighty nice. Pretty,” Applejack says with a hopeful grin. “How’s the work goin’? You settlin’ in alright?” “Sure, sure. Ain’t bad at all.” “You gettin’ along with the other workers?” “Ah guess so. They seem nice and all, but we ain’t talked much. I been keepin’ my nose to the grindstone for the most part. Ain’t much for wastin’ work hours with jawin’.” “Mmm,” Cherry Jubilee says again. That ain’t true. I’m always happy to take a break and shoot the breeze with a friend. You aren’t happy takin’ breaks around here. Aright, aright...it’s true now. Maybe it ain’t usually so, but it’s true now. “Shame you been missing mealtimes. You’re all anypony seems to be talkin’ about around these parts,” Cherry Jubilee says. “What?” Applejack somehow forgets the drink in her hooves for a moment. “Mmm-hmm. The other ranch hands won’t shut up about you. Showin’ up out of nowhere, fresh from a hot run at the Canterlot Rodeo. And then you get to work and put every one of ‘em to shame. Ain’t talkin’ much, ain’t takin’ breaks, don’t take but a few minutes for meals and then you’re off into the trees again.” “Well, shucks, that’s just-” “My sons are pushin’ me to keep you here as long as I can. Pay her whatever she wants, they say.” “Oh, well...” “And a few of the local colts are quite taken with you.” Applejack almost spits out the gulp of Schnapps she hadn’t realized she’d just taken. “You know Cedar Boughs? The big one?” Cherry Jubilee asks. Applejack starts to nod, but realizes she has no idea. She has a natural salespony’s knack for names and faces, honed through years of practice. But right now she’s drawing a blank. “He said you ain’t just the hardest worker on the ranch. Yer also the purdiest mare around. Blowin’ in from out of town, keepin’ to yer own self all mysterious. A beautiful stranger,” Cherry Jubilee says with a growing smile. “Um...uh...” Applejack mutters, doing a fine impression of her little sister. “And he’s right.” Applejack freezes, just fine with the impulse to gulp more drink down. “You are the hardest worker on the ranch,” Cherry Jubilee says. Applejack lets out a breath she hadn’t realized was being held. “I was hoping you would warm up to me and mine a bit,” Jubilee continues, “You know, ease up on all this ‘mare with no name’ business. Smile a little.” Applejack almost chuckles. Shoot, any pony in Ponyville heard all this they’d laugh fit to keel over. “I’m just a farm pony, Miss. I ain’t been meanin’ to keep to myself, I swear. Just wanna get the job done,” Applejack says. “When I first met you, you seemed like the friendliest pony I ever did see. So when you asked for a little work after the rodeo, I was happy to take you on...” No no dammit be friendly dammit keep your job! “I’m sorry Miss Jubilee,” Applejack cuts her off. “I like it here plenty. You’re right, it’s strange not joinin’ in on meals and not talkin’ and such. Ain’t proper. I promise I’ll ease up a little.” “A little?” Cherry Jubilee says with a playful smirk. “Aheh...well I ain’t gonna stop being yer hardest worker.” Applejack starts to chuckle, on sure footing again... “Why are you here?” ...which turned out to be quicksand. “Whaddya mean?” Applejack asks. “Why are you here?” Cherry Jubilee says again, looking almost sad. “Like I said, I just wanted a little change of scenery.” “Horse apples,” Cherry Jubilee waves a hoof in a most Rarity-like fashion. “Don’t you want to go home?” Applejack’s eyes dip down into her glass automatically, catching the sight of one pretty forlorn earth pony staring back. More than anything. “Don’t you miss yer family? Your friends?” Cherry Jubilee says. More. Than. Anything. Applejack says nothing, proud that the ache in her chest is producing nothing in her eyes. Almost nothing. Maybe just a little, tiny bit of moisture. She tries not to blink. “I could see it,” Cherry Jubilee says quietly. “When we talked before, I could see it. When you talked about that orchard. The way your eyes lit right up.” Applejack takes a long, solemn drink. She barely tastes it. “And now you’re just here. But you aren’t here. Workin’ hard, no doubt. But yer heart’s somewhere else.” Applejack sets up a nice, determined glare and shoots it right at the older mare. “Listen,” she says. “If you want me to be movin’ on-” Cherry Jubilee laughs, just once, a slightly mocking little guffaw. “Applejack. Honey,” she says. “It ain’t like that. You keep doin’ like you’ve been doin’, you can stay here long as you want. I was honestly just wondering.” Ever since she was a foal, Applejack can remember the feeling of holding back. Keeping secrets. Hiding things. It’s always been awful for her—like being sick. Like drinking too much too quick. Often, you gotta just have a good puke and get it out before it poisons you. She’s wondered sometimes, since Twilight showed up, if it’s the whole Element thing. Or if the Element thing happened because that’s the way she is. She’s never made up her mind. Wondering isn’t her strong suit. “But if you really are happy, then-” Cherry Jubilee starts to say. “I can’t,” Applejack interrupts her. “Pardon?” Cherry Jubilee says, visibly startled. “I can’t go home. Not yet,” Applejack says. “Not for a while.” Cherry Jubilee just stares at her, mouth slightly open. Applejack feels like hiding under her hat somehow, but she forges on. “And that’s all I gotta say about it. I’m sorry, I ain’t meanin’ to be cold or nothin’ but that’s all I can say. I just...” She trails off as Cherry Jubilee gets up from her sofa and crosses the room. It takes less than a moment—it’s a small, cozy room—and then the older mare is standing right in front of her, looking her right in the eye. Again, Applejack’s salespony instincts are failing her. She can’t read this face at all. Determined? Grim? Accusing? “Uh...” Applejack holds her ground, tensed, ready for anything. Except what comes. With a sigh of relief, the older mare hugs Applejack, nuzzling into her mane. She practically falls onto her, and Applejack is so surprised that she barely moves. “Um...you...what?” Applejack stammers, not returning the hug in the least. “You poor thing.” Cherry Jubilee pulls back, pouring a sympathetic look down on her worker. “You don’t have to say any more.” The older mare forces her way onto Applejack’s couch, scooting in close. Applejack scootches over obediently, still wrapping her head around this. It’s not a big piece of furniture—a loveseat, Applejack remembers. Meant for two. The two mares are seated close, practically snuggling, and Applejack can feel the soft fabric of the other mare’s bathrobe all along her coat. “You stay here as long as you want,” Cherry Jubilee says. “And if you need anything—anything at all—you just let me know. We’re happy to have you.” “What? I mean...I don’t wanna trouble you or nothin’,” Applejack says. Cherry Jubilee rolls on, ignoring her. “I knew something was up. Trust me, honey, I understand.” “You do?” Applejack’s ears perk up. “Mmm-hmm.” Cherry Jubilee goes to take a drink before realizing she left hers on the other couch. She recovers with all the grace and poise of a Southern belle. “Life ain’t easy for a mare on her own. Never is. We mares need to stick together. Look out for each other.” “We?” “We is right, sugar. I was a young mare once. Wasn’t always matriarch of my own ranch, neither.” Applejack almost giggles at the word “sugar.” The matriarch seemed to be in the habit of calling everypony “honey”, and for some reason sugar sounds funny coming from her mouth. Applejack tries to imagine calling her “sugar cube” and gets a wry, silly smile. “Well thank ya, Miss Jubilee,” she says instead. “Don’t mention it. You just keep on however you need to. Don’t think you don’t have ponies lookin’ out for you. Long as you’re here, you’re one of mine.” Boy, do I ever owe her one. Shame she don’t live closer to Ponyville. Real solid mare, right here. Bein’ so generous to a screw-up like me. Applejack feels a hoof on her shoulder and tenses up. She turns to say something, maybe politely brush the hoof away. But something about it just feels nice. She lets a long breath out, then takes a sip of Schnapps. Not a desperate gulp. A calm sip. It tastes wonderful. She relaxes, really relaxes, and feels like her old self for the first time since the rodeo. Boy, I haven’t been that churned up inside since...ever. Still not home. But I ain’t alone. She turns to the older mare, pleased at the reassuring foreleg draped over her shoulder. “Thank you, Miss. Really. I don’t know if I could ever-” “Hush with that, sugar. I know. Don’t you worry about anything.” That word again. Sugar. Normally Applejack would’ve gotten angry, just a little, at being talked over. Talked down to. As if she wasn’t a grown mare who’s done well for herself. As it is, she’s only vaguely unsettled, somewhere in the background. Mostly she just feels good. Safe. Almost like being home. “I’m sorry,” Applejack says, not sure why she’s saying it again. “I mean it. I been...I been out of sorts, lately.” Cherry Jubilee giggles, almost tittering, and gives Applejack a reassuring squeeze around her withers. “I can tell. You’re a good pony, Applejack. I’m glad you landed here. Even if you’ve been out of sorts.” Cherry Jubilee pulls her closer and practically cradles her. Applejack starts to go with it. What is this? What am I doing? Am I some kinda foal what in the buckin’ hell...? She pulls back, pushing Cherry Jubilee’s hooves away. “Uh...thanks. Again. Fer everything,” Applejack says. Suddenly the room feels very small and warm. She meets the older mare’s eyes and sees...something. Surprise? Disappointment? What is up with me? I’m all kinds of off my game. The look passes, replaced by that sure smile Applejack’s gotten so used to seeing. The moment stretches out, rapidly diving into awkward territory. “Ahem,” Cherry Jubilee quietly clears her throat. “Anyway. Just wanted to make sure you knew.” “I do. Trust me.” Applejack lays a hoof over one of Jubilee’s, more because she feels like she’s supposed to than anything else. She’s crushed against the other mare, pressed up against her with miles of spare space to her side. I thought I was startin’ to feel better. What’s goin’ on now? She consciously starts to scoot away, shifting her weight, when- “Ah!” she says under her breath, seizing up as a hot tear of pain spikes through the valley between her shoulders. “I heard that,” Cherry Jubilee says. Dang it. “Ah’m fine,” Applejack says with a hopeful grin. “Cherry pits,” Jubilee says flatly. “I saw when you took that tumble in the barrel run. Nasty bit of fallin’. A lesser mare woulda been laid up fer sure.” “Really, I’m fi-” “Real bold of you. Cuttin’ it close like that. Almost paid off,” Cherry Jubilee says. ...Almost. Applejack sighs, sinking down a little. “Lemme have a look see,” Jubilee says. “Huh?” Applejack doesn’t have time to react before her hat—her HAT—is taken off her head. Alarms ring out in her ears. She darts her eyes to follow it, expecting her hooves to fly out and violently reclaim the treasured article. Nothing happens. Cherry Jubilee gently places the hat on the back of the sofa and firmly, with sure hooves, pushes Applejack into place. The orange earth pony tenses up but goes along with it for some reason. A weird, giddy tightness wells up in her chest as she finds herself lying, face down, on the soft cushions of the love seat. I don’t like this. Uncomfortable. No, it’s comfy, I guess, but... Weird. Weird, weird, weird. She had actually been dragged to the spa by her friends a few times. She had reluctantly gotten massages on those few occasions. She had felt this same discomfort the whole time—blind, pinned, at the mercy of another pony. She nervously glances over her shoulder as Cherry Jubilee climbs on her back. “Really, it ain’t-” Applejack starts to say. “Come off it,” Cherry Jubilee says with stern authority. “Ah’m protectin’ my investment here.” She pokes a hoof into Applejack’s back, prodding at the steely muscles there. “I can work just fine.” Applejack turns back to the couch and narrows her eyes. “‘Til you bust down ‘cause you ain’t mended up.” Cherry prods and searches, running her hooves over Applejack’s coat. Applejack almost growls something back at her, but instead just glares at the couch cushions. “Does it hurt there?” A hoof presses into her right shoulder. “Nope.” Applejack rolls her eyes a little. “There?” “No dice.” Two hooves keep prodding and pressing and rubbing. Applejack lies there, anything but relaxed, counting the seconds until it’s over. “Honestly, I’m okay. It doesn’t really hurt any—AH!” She digs her hooves into the cushions, gritting her teeth. Cherry Jubilee’s hoof is a hot spike, driven right down between her shoulder blades. “Knew it!” Applejack hears the older mare’s voice from behind. She can actually hear Cherry Jubilee’s satisfied smile. “I...ah...AH!” Applejack’s whole body quivers, her eyes widening. The pain slaps her in the face, piercing her muscles. She feels another hoof press down, flattening the pain out a little. And then... Oh good GLORY Cherry Jubilee slides her hooves up and down, kneading the flesh of her back. “OHHHHHHhhhhhhh...” Applejack moans out loud. She had no idea how tight and rigid her back had felt until it was gone, melting away under the hooves of the older mare. She was made of stone, now molding back into a pony again. “I thought so,” Cherry Jubilee’s voice smiles at her. “Golly...” Applejack gasps quietly, her mouth hanging open a little. It’s glorious— absolutely, completely glorious. Fine as an apple from the branch. “I know you think yer a strong mare,” Cherry Jubilee interrupts herself with a wry chuckle, “And you are. But even you need a tender touch now and then.” “Mmmm,” Applejack manages to say. She isn’t listening. Her eyelids slip down to half-mast. Those hooves keep kneading and pushing, working life back into the battered muscles. This is...just...oh...wow. She can’t remember the last time she let somepony have this kind of free reign. Shoot, if those Spa Sisters were this good, I’d be there with Rarity every week. She lets a long, deep breath out. Her chin comes to rest on the couch. One arm hangs lazily over the side, grazing the cool wood of the floor. GOLLY. Cherry Jubilee bears down with her hooves, smoothing the pain out from deep in Applejack’s fibers. Applejack jumps a little at the wonderful strain, and a weird, almost high-pitched noise comes from somewhere. Cherry Jubilee lets out another dry chuckle. What’s she laughin’ at? Why’d she moan like that? It was you, idiot. What?! A bit of outrage wells up in her mind, but it has nowhere to go, no outlet to hook up with. It flares briefly and puffs out, escaping her with a long, low sigh. She can feel Cherry’s hooves alternating now, rubbing up and down along her shoulders in opposite directions. “Is that feeling any better?” Cherry Jubilee asks. Applejack nods silently, letting her eyes drift shut. Cherry Jubilee leans in closer and Applejack barely notices save for the cool, smooth fabric of the other mare’s bathrobe against her coat. She feels hooves slide up and away from the pain, running along her withers and dancing at the bottom of her neck. “Oh, sugar...when was the last time you took a vacation?” Cherry Jubilee says. Applejack doesn’t even respond. Her breath slows down to dozy puffs as her over-tight muscles unwind and let go. Vacation? What’s that? The ghost of a chuckle slips out from her lips. “I suppose you ain’t in the habit of slackin’ off like this, anyhow,” Cherry goes on. “No sir, no fancy massages or frilly hot baths for our mare Applejack.” No sir. None of that frou-frou nonsense. Applejack’s eyebrows narrow a little along with her smug smile. “But...” Cherry Jubilee slides her hooves back to where the pain had been and pushes down, hard. “Guhhhhh...” Applejack gasps out loud, winding it down into a low moan. “It ain’t all that bad now, is it?” Naw, you know what? It ain’t. Pretty fine, after all. Jubilee does something with her hooves, rubbing and pressing. Applejack’s gasp catches in her throat. She can’t even tell what’s going on anymore. It feels so darn good. “Sometimes you gotta just let yer mane down and be pampered,” Cherry Jubilee says, leaning closer to Applejack’s ears. Amen, sister. Applejack lets her face go slack, not caring at all that it stopped hurting minutes ago. Seconds? Hours? Shoot, one of my friends saw this, I’d never hear the end of it. They ain’t here. They’d all have that smile, like they knew all along. They aren’t here. They aren’t—huh. ...Huh. “And that’s just what I’m gonna do,” Cherry Jubilee leans closer. Applejack can feel the mare’s breath tickling in her ears. It sends funny tickles down into her chest as well, and she busts out a weak smile. You know what...this feels good! I like this! This feels good, darn it! It don’t hurt no more, AND it feels good to boot! Cherry Jubilee lies on top of Applejack, a silky weight sliding up her tired back. She rests her forelegs over Applejack’s shoulders and grazes her muzzle up Applejack’s neck and mane, summitting up by her ears. Hee hee...that tickles. This ain’t so bad. This ain’t bad at all. Nope. Dee-lightful. It’s all good. Everything’s good. Everything’s gonna be okay. “Especially for a lovely young mare...” Cherry Jubilee whispers into her ear. Jeez, she is layin’ it on thick, ain’t she? Land’s sakes girl, can you just swallow it and let somepony be nice to you? Fer once? “...Such as yerself.” Something wet and hot and tongue trails against the edge of her ear, and Applejack starts to cringe in delight. Whoa whoa whoa WHOA WHOA Her eyes shoot open wide. She feels a rush in her veins, every nerve on end. She jumps up and off the couch, sending Cherry Jubilee thudding onto her rump. “What was that?!” Applejack gasps out, her heart thudding in her chest. Cherry Jubilee stares back at her, her face nothing but blank shock. A long moment stretches out, the only sound Applejack’s surprised panting. Cherry Jubilee looks away and pulls the front of her bathrobe tightly closed. What in the...what...what?! Applejack stands in place, frozen despite all the buzzers going off in her head. Cherry Jubilee narrows her eyes—she looks almost angry. She turns to Applejack and opens her mouth to speak, but backs it up for another try. “Uh...” Applejack manages to put out. “Sorry,” Jubilee says, still not meeting her eyes. “I...” “Mighty tired I think I’ll be goin’ up to bed now thankyouferthedrink g’night!” Applejack trots her way right out of the room, keeping pace with the pounding in her chest. She doesn’t look back even once. What was she...did she...did I? Why me? Why always me? Get out get out get out She can’t run. She wants to run. She feels eyes on her, things chasing her, running only makes them chase faster. Awkward monsters. She keeps an even pace, just fast enough. Just a little farther... She crosses through the doorway and unwinds immediately. Cherry Jubilee is out of sight, in another room. Not that she looked back. She slows down just a bit. There. She halts mid-step, feeling a strange breeze against the top of her head. Oh, for pony’s sake! She starts to cringe but steels herself up. It takes a serious showing of will to keep from just going right on upstairs. Go back for it in the morning? Nuh-uh. No way. Leave no pony behind. And this particular soldier? Packs of Diamond Dogs wouldn’t stop Applejack. Flocks of dragons wouldn’t stop Applejack. She would risk life and limb for this old lump of stitched-up leather. Think I’d rather chew an arm off than go back in there. She turns around anyway and walks, slowly, like a scolded foal, back into the room. She pauses just inside the door. “Ahem...uh...” she says, barely lifting her eyes from the floor. “Hat?” she hears Cherry Jubilee say. Applejack says yes by way of a gruff clearing of her throat. Cherry Jubilee says nothing, but curtly slides the hat towards her along the top of the couch. Applejack quickly grabs it, averting her eyes from the mare-shaped blind spot sitting in front of her. She rushes out of the room and upstairs. Tired. Sleepy. Very tired. Yes indeed. Bed time. Yup, sleep. Sleep is all that is on my mind. Wide awake, she makes her way up to her room to settle in for a long, restless night.
