The Apple of My (Familial) Eye

What he didn't expect was the soft touch of her lips on his own. Just of a soft touch of lips on lips, and she pulled back quickly, but still, he was surprised to say the least.

"What...?" he asked, dazed, Applejack looked up at him with teary eyes,

"Ah've felt it too..." she admitted, "Ever since Appleoosa." she paused and took a breath, "Y'all were preparing for the Pie War with the buffalo...and Ah realised that if you got hurt...it'd kill me. More than it would if it was Big Mac or Apple Bloom..."

"That's how Ah felt too." he said,

Applejack sighed, and looked up at him, tears in her perfect emerald eyes, "What's wrong with me, Braeburn?" she asked,

"Nothing." he replied, leaning closer to her, "Nothing at all. You're perfect."

"No. Ah'm sick, that's what Ah am." she said bitterly, "In love with mah own cousin."

"Ah am too." he pointed out, "And there's nothing we can do to change it."

They lay there in silence for a while. Not sure what to say to each other. Applejack was scolding herself for effectively calling Braeburn sick, and Braeburn was silently over the moon that his feelings were requited.

"Hey...Braeburn?" Applejack began eventually. Braeburn looked up,

"Yeah?"

"How're we related again?"

"Well..." he paused, "Ah believe your Granny's mother was mah granny's mother's sister." he said,

"So...we're third cousins." she said after a minute. "We share barely any blood at all."

Braeburn looked at her, "What're you saying?" he asked,

"Ah'm saying that even by Equestrian law, it's legal." she replied, "And that there's no chance of anypony walking in on us. And nopony has to know."

"Are you suggesting...?" he asked, dumbfounded. Not displeased, no, never. He was dumbfounded that Applejack actually felt the same way.

Applejack met his gaze, measure for measure, "Only if you want to, sugarcube." she replied truthfully.

"Ah want to." he said, "Ah want to more than anything. Ah want you more than anything else in Equestria."

"Ah want that to." she replied huskily, before closing the gap between them.

Braeburn had been unprepared for the first kiss, but for this second one, he was ready. He dug one foreleg underneath her and wrapped the other over her, pulling her tight against him, feeling her racing heartbeat right next to his own. They were kissing fiercely, Applejack's forelegs around Braeburn's neck, pulling his mouth onto hers. He pushed her lips open with his own, and the kiss deepened.

"I always thought you'd think Ah was sick because of this." Braeburn said against her mouth, "That you'd hate me and cut me off."

"Ah could never hate you, Braeburn." Applejack replied, breaking away from the kiss to whisper to him, "Not when all Ah want is for you to kiss me and never stop."

Braeburn obeyed her wish only too happily, rolling so that she was on top of him. Applejack could feel the hard, strong muscles of his stomach, and the dull ache of want stirred in her abdomen. She pushed herself closer to him, the couple wanting nothing more than to climb inside each other, where it would be safe and warm, and never, ever come out.

Braeburn's hooves were on her back, pressing her closer to him, sending shivers down her spine. He moved away from her mouth and placed a trail of kisses down her neck and collar bones, finally kissing the spot above her pounding heart before he found her lips again.

Applejack suddenly felt something very warm, solid and male against her stomach, and realised that he wanted her as much as she wanted him. He pulled away.

"AJ." he said breathlessly, "If we don't stop now...Ah won't be able to stop mahself..." he swallowed, "Do...do you-"

"Yes." she said, answering his question before he even finished asking it, her mouth found his again and they were kissing. She rolled around so that now she was underneath him. "Ah want you, Braeburn Alexander Apple." she said against his mouth, "Ah want you, right here, right now."

Her sentence finished with a gasp-slash-moan, and her eyes flew open in surprise as she realised he had done as she asked..

And it felt like Heaven.

Braeburn was fighting hard not to lose his self control. They were both whispering each others names against one anothers mouths as they started to move. In unison, they matched every motion, every sound, and Applejack felt a tight coil in the base of her stomach.

"Braeburn..." she gasped his name against his mouth as he moved, feeling every single motion he made inside of her. They were no longer kissing, their mouths just so close that they were breathing the same air. Braeburn felt himself getting close, very close, and knew it was only a matter of time... Applejack felt much the same, they were both teetering on the precipice of ecstasy. They gasped each others names over, and over and over.

And they they fell.

At almost exactly the same moment they fell deadly silent and saw stars at the edges of their vision. Braeburn felt himself go, and briefly enter that dark, wonderful mysterious place you only enter when absolutely ecstatic. They looked at each other, an expression of absolute bliss on their faces.

"Ah..." Braeburn said breathlessly. He licked his dry lips, "Ah've waited a long time for that."

"Was it as good as you hoped?" Applejack asked. Her mane and tail had come loose from their ties, and she looked every bit the ravished fair maiden from a romance film. Braeburn had never seen anything more beautiful in his life.

"Better." he replied, still mesmerised by her appearance.

Applejack smiled lazily at him, "Ah see you're not that tuckered out." she said dryly, with a glance to his crotch, and he blushed upon realising that he was standing to attention once more, "You hinting at something?" she asked,

"Depends." Braeburn replied, "You want to?"

"Oh Celestia, yes." Applejack replied, and Braeburn's mouth came crashing down on hers.

They spent the rest of the night exploring each other. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. They had never felt so close to another pony before in their lifetimes. It was a night they would both remember for the rest of their lives, even though they would not marry each other when the time came. When Celestia raised the Sun the next morning, it was an unusually hot, warm day, devoid of any snow. Applejack looked down with a mixture of relief and disappointment. She was glad that they wouldn't be snowed in for days on end, but she had rather enjoyed her private time with Braeburn, and had been hoping for a little more.

Braeburn had never felt so happy. He had had a massive grin on his face for the entire night - even when he had finally fallen asleep, with Applejack in his embrace.

When he woke up, Applejack was still lying next to him, gazing out of the window at the sunny day. He felt slightly disappointed that he would not get to spend some more time with Applejack, but he knew it was for the best.

"Good morning, sugarcube." Applejack said to him. He smiled,

"Morning."

Applejack smiled back, but it was a sad smile, "Ah just wanna clarify something with you, if that's alright."

Braeburn nodded, "Sure."

Applejack looked steadily at him, but her eyes sparkled with sad realisation, "This," she gestured to herself and him, "Can't happen again." she said, "It was fun, heck, it was amazing," she kissed him lightly on the lips, then continued, "but it was a one off, okay?"

Braeburn nodded. He had expected as much, and if Applejack hadn't brought it up, he would have.

But it didn't stop his heart from breaking.

Nor did it stop Applejack's from breaking too.