Chapter One: Popping Her Cherry

About six years earlier (Before Love: Reassessed)

“So. June. Claire tells me your stallion is in town.”

“What?” Red June’s face contorted in confusion as she turned to Annie.

It was a sunny day at the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres, sunny enough for a day of applebucking. So it was no surprise that Red June and her cousin Golden Delicious were out bucking apples…

”Hehe…bucking apples…”

“Oh grow up, Whirlwind.”

They’re weren’t the only ones however. Starburst, always up to do work down at the farm, was there to help them, along with Cotton, Turquoise, Claire, and Anthea, who all had decided to help out that day as well. This wasn’t new, as they always lend a hoof from time to time...but this time around, they brought another pony with them…Valiant Heart.

”Valiant Heart? What in Equestria was the young prince of the Crystal Empire doing way down in Ponyville?”

“Visiting relatives, Créme. He is Starburst’s cousin, remember, darling?”

“Of course I remember. I do live in Canterlot, the capital of Equestria.”

“Then why you…ugh, never mind.”

“Um, might I get back to my story please?”

Valiant Heart had volunteered along with the others to help out with apple-bucking. While he was hauling apples in one area with Claire and Cotton, June was doing the same alongside her cousin, Anthea, Turquoise, and Starburst when Anthea dropped that remark out of nowhere.
“Prince Valiant over there.” Anthea smirked, pointing over to Valiant, who seemed to had been engaged in a conversation with Claire and Cotton…or at least, the blind mare tried to point, as she muttered, “Assuming he’s over there.”

“Oh…” Red June rolled her eyes and shook her head with a smile and laugh, “Ahaha, he’s just an ol’ friend of mine. Claire introduced us a long time ago.”

“Just friends?” Anthea smirked, not believing her, “I hear you guys send love letters to each other all the time.”

“They’re just letters.” Red June corrected, though a bit perplexed, “And who did ya hear that from?”

“Claire.”

Red June looked at Anthea incredulously, “…How does she know about that?”

”Yeah, how did you know about that, Claire?”

“Why, Whirlwind, I happen to have a knack for knowing these kinds of things…”

“Really? Because you told me once that you saw them lying on June’s desk-ouch!”

“That will do, Créme, darling, that will do.”

“So…” Anthea leaned on her apple cart, with a sly smirk, “Do you like him?”

Red June was a bit baffled by that also sudden question. It took her a second to recover.

“Oh, no.” Red June shook her head, “He’s very sweet but-”

“Do you find him attractive?”

That question, though, blindsided her.

“W-wha-” Red June’s face erupted into all sorts of red. It didn’t help that Golden Delicious and Turquoise were now listening in on their conversation. Trying to save face, she stammered, “Ah-Ah dunno…”

She mentally face-hoofed at that weak answer.

“Hmm.” Anthea mock-pouted, “Seems it wasn’t even a question.” She stopped leaning on the basket, “It’s so obvious you do! Who wouldn’t? Just look at him…” She gestured to the general direction Valiant was in, “…Are you looking at him?”

“Yeah, Ah-“ Red June tries to reply, but Anthea cut her off.

“Look at him, so nice and tall, flowy blue mane, his-”

“Um, Annie?” Red June interrupted, “Airen’t ya bli-”

She was interrupted when Annie put a hoof on the tip of her snout, as the unicorn shushed her.

“Shhhhhhhh, don’t speak…” Anthea whispered softly…before she frowned, “My hoof’s on your nose, isn’t it?”

“Mmhm.” Red June nodded.

“Just pretend I put it on your lips.” Anthea shrugged.

“Okay.” Red June giggled with a roll of her eyes.

“Where was I?” Anthea mused, before lighting up, “Oh yeah. His flowy blue mane, his gorgeous brown eyes…”

“He has blue eyes.” Red June deadpanned.

“Hey, I’m blind. Don’t have much to go off of.” Anthea shrugged, “His gorgeous blue eyes, his giant muscles showing through the royal regalia…”

“He’s not wearing anything.” Red June corrected. She noticed a frown growing on Turquoise’s face.

“Whaaaa?” Anthea light up even more, “Even better! Check out those big, big muscles and firm fl-”

“Okay, Anthea!”

Red June and Anthea glanced up to see Starburst, perched on a tree branch above them with an annoyed glance.

“I think that’s enough about my cousin.” Starburst declared with a frown.

“Hehe, my bad…” Anthea giggled.

“Annie does have a point though, June.” Golden Delicious smiled, trying not to laugh at Annie’s ‘compliments’ about Valiant, “If ya like the guy, ya should just go talk to ‘im. Ya two have barely talked since he came by. Go ahead and take some time off. You had been workin’ hard lately.”

“Ah know.” Red June sighed, “Ah just used to writin’ stuff in letters. Not sure how Ah do talkin’ to him face to face…”

“Oh, you can do it! He seems like a nice guy!” Anthea urged. T’s frown grew deeper as she made that remark.

“Hmmm…” Red June murmured to herself.

In curiosity, she glanced over at where Valiant Heart was, apparently still in conversation with Claire and Cotton…when suddenly, he looked back in her direction. Instantly, she snapped her eyes away.

“Well?” Anthea asked.

“Ah…Ah gotta take these apples back to the farm.” Red June muttered, “See ya’ll later…”

She hauled her apple cart off and left the four ponies at the tree without another word.

“That was odd…” Starburst mused in confusion.

“No argument there.” Golden agreed, such as confused.

“Do you think I came on a little too strong?” Anthea asked the others.

“Uh, yeah.” Starburst deadpanned, as she rolled her eyes, “As usual…”

Finally, T spoke, in a hurt tone, “How come you never go on about my muscles, Annie?”

”Wait, you weren’t around when he said that. How did you know that was what he said?”

“It was written all over T’s face, Whirlwind. We all know how he gets…”

“Oh, do I ever…”

“Hey, don’t go fantasizing about my brother while June’s telling her story, Annie.”

“Thank ya, Claire… after we all gone done applebucking for today, Ah headed back up to the farm, just as the sun was settin’…

With a turn of a knob, the shower turned on, raining warm water down upon a lone mare.

Red June let out a sigh as her aching muscles were soothed. As she began washing her coat under the spraying spout, her mind went back to what Anthea and the others had said about her and Valiant…

As far as she could recall, she and Valiant Heart had always been just friends…it had been that way ever since they met as young teenagers, when he and Illusion came down to Ponyville.

June wasn’t sure what to make of the alicorn when she first saw him. Claire and Illusion always seem to had speak highly of him, Claire more-so, but there was always that cliché about how royals are condescending snobs, especially towards Earth Ponies, and as wrong as she knew it was to assume somepony was like that before she met them, there was that funny feeling…

Fortunately, her fears were misplaced, as Valiant, or Lance, as Illusion and Claire called him, was, if anything, a great guy. Sure, there was a bit of that royal hubris he gave off at first, but he was a kind and gentle soul. As she hung out with him that day, she also found him to be funny and charismatic, and by the time he had to leave, it was made certain that a new friendship had been made.

Back then, they would try to hang out together whenever Valiant had free time from his royal duties in the Crystal Empire, but as time progressed, the amount of responsibility build up for the both of them, the prince moreso. It was then that they began sending letters as a means of keeping in touch. Nowadays, the letters were her only means of contacting the prince.

When Valiant came by earlier today, she was genuinely surprised. The last she had saw him was so long ago, she wasn’t sure what he had looked like anymore, but seeing him now…he had really grown into a fine-looking stallion that could easily turn the heads of many mares. In fact, she recalled in one of her earlier letters from him that he had given the dating scene a try…only to fail…twelve times.

”Wait, twelve times? My cousin dated twelve mares and ‘failed’?”

“And he told you that…in his letters?”

“Yes, Nidra. Me and Valiant usually tell each other everythin’…like how he used to date Créme over there.”

“Wait, you used to date Lance?!”

“Um…yes, but only for a little bit…we didn’t work out though…”

“Wonder why…”

“I really don’t know, Nidra…we just didn’t-”

“Sarcasm, Créme. Sarcasm.”

Soon, Red June stepped from the shower (and turned it off), taking a nearby towel to dry herself off. She went up to the bathroom sink, and after drying her mane off, she used the towel to clean up the foggy mirror.

Setting the drenched towel on the sink, Red June glanced at the mirror…and frowned. Why was it that her friends try to set her up with Valiant?

Sure, there was that factor that she was real good friends with him and that they exchange letters every so often, and being quite frank with herself, she did find him to be a very, very attractive…but honestly, what else is there?

Valiant was a prince, a handsome prince, a prince who could easily have any mare he wants.

And her?

Red June glanced at herself, noting her shaggy fetlocks, her freckles, and her somewhat muscular build. It was obvious that she inherited her father’s body type. If it weren’t for her eyes and the bit of feminine curves that her mother had passed down to her, she could easily pass for a stallion.

It’s not to say that she wasn’t attractive or anything, but compared to many other mares she knew, Valiant could do much better. Crystal had obviously been blessed with her mother’s beauty, her slender build hitting in all the right spots, Whirlwind had that perfect body of an athlete, Anthea had both looks and charm that could easily net her any guy had she not have Turquoise, Cotton was a sweetheart…heck, even Starburst had more appeal as a mare than her.

”Oh, come now, June, you were being too hard on yourself…”

“Ya really think that, Nidra?”

“Yeah…there is no way that Starburst could be more ‘mare-like’ than you.”

“Hey!”

In short, she was but a half-decent looking farmer girl. It made her sick to be so negative, a complete opposite of her nature, but she had to face reality: the chances of her ever having something that remotely resemble an amorous relationship with a prince like him was just…it just wasn’t possible. To even try would be compared to trying to touch the moon.

She knew her friends meant well, but things are as they are and it’s not like Valiant was going to suddenly decide to ask her out of the-

A knock on the bathroom door snapped her out of her depressing thoughts.

“June, one of your friends is waiting out on the porch for you.” Her mother’s voice called through the door.

“Ah’ll be there in a second.” Red June turned to the door, before glancing back at her reflection in the mirror. With a sigh and a shake of her head, she picked up her bandanna and placed on her head before leaving the bathroom.

Within seconds, she trotted down the steps, wondering who could waiting downstairs for her. She assumed that it was Anthea or the others, probably trying to get her to ask out Valiant again… fortunately, she had already rehearsed what she was going to say as she opened the door.

“Look, Ah don’t think Lance and Ah-” June began, only to trail off as she saw a familiar blue alicorn waiting on the porch. “Lance?”

“Oh, hey, June.” Valiant greeted, turning to face her…though he seem a little distracted.

“W-what are ya doin’ ‘ere?” Red June stuttered a bit, trying to recover from her initial surprise, “Ah figured ya would be hangin’ out with yar cousins or somethin’…”

“Well, yeah, but Star had this thing with that Starfall guy, and Nighty is playing with Cotton’s sisters, and the rest of the guys are off doing their own things.” Valiant shrugged, “So I thought I’d come see you.” Then he frowned, “Unless, of course, it’s a bad time-”

“No, not at all.” Red June shook her head, “Ah was just a bit surprised, is all.”

“Huh…” Valiant murmured.

Things went quiet between the two for a moment…Red June wasn’t sure what to say exactly…here was this colt that her friends had been pushing her to ask out, and she had nothing to say…and she’s always had something to say.

“…So…how ya’ve been?” Red June asked. That was seriously all she could think of for a conversation starter.

It took Valiant a bit to respond.

“Oh…fine...” Valiant nodded, “Just fine…you?”

“Good.” Red June answered, though a bit too quickly for her liking, “It’s been good.”

“That’s nice.” Valiant replied, though he still seemed distracted.

Silence ensued once more…

“So…June…”

“Yes, Lance?” Red June responded, a little too quickly again.

“There’s a reason I came here…” Valiant admitted, “You see, back in the orchard, I’ve been talking with Claire and Cotton and they brought up an important point…”

“Really? About what?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Valiant shook his head, “Look, I don’t want to go beating around the bush, so I am going to just come out and say it…Red June…do you want to go out with me?”

Red June’s eyes widen, as her cheeks adopted a red hue…

“Out? Ya mean…like a date?”

“Yeah, a date.” Valiant nodded, a blush appearing on his cheeks, “Nothing special, maybe a stroll through the park, dinner at a local café…maybe tomorrow night, before I have to head back to the Empire the next day?”

Red June didn’t respond…was this really happening? Was Valiant actually asking her out? Surely, this has to be some sort of prank done in collaboration with Illusion…had it not been for the fact that she saw no signs of deceit in Lance’s face. In fact, he seems just as frazzled as she was…what exactly did Claire and Cotton say to him to have him go through with this?

June must had taken too long to respond, as Valiant continued, “Unless of course you are busy tomorrow. If so, I completely understand and you can forget I even asked-”

“No, it’s fine…” Red June interrupted him, finding Valiant’s flustered face kinda cute, “I would like that.”

“Really?” Valiant lit up.

“Really.” Red June nodded in affirmation, “Tomorrow night, you say?”

“Um, yeah…pick you up at five?” Valiant suggested, sounding a bit…relieved.

“Sure…” Red June smiled, her cheeks the same color.

“Well, I guess I see you tomorrow then…” Valiant gave a small chuckle, “Till then…”

He gave a nod and flew off the porch, leaving Red June alone, staring out into the night after the alicorn.

The mare was still unsure of what just happened…a stallion whom her friends tried to get her to date just asked her out on a date…and she said yes…Red June wanted to try and make sense of how in Tartarus this came to be…

Unfortunately, it was all for naught.

”Oh, yeah! Operation: RedHeart was a success!”

“Annie, Valiant just asked her on a date. It doesn’t mean they’re together.”

“Oh, like how you try to say you and Prism were ‘just friends’ when you did ‘couples’ stuff together?”

“…That doesn’t have anything to do with this conversation, Cotton!”

“So what happened next, June?”

“Well, Starburst…before Ah knew it, the following night had come and Valiant showed up at five, like he said…”

The stars were shining bright over Ponyville, giving light to the warm summer night. Luna’s moon only began to rise, setting quite a beautiful atmosphere for anypony to enjoy. It definitely befitted the date Red June was currently on with Valiant.

However, the way Red June saw it, it didn’t really feel like a date.

Ever since last night, Red June’s mind lingered about this date that she agreed to. It bothered her all day, not even bucking apples or cherries could get that four letter word off her mind. She wasn’t sure what to expect, never really having the time to date other colts, and she didn’t want to bother her friends with this matter (or worse, have them say ‘I told you so’ or asking numerous questions). So when five p.m. came around, Red June quickly took a shower, being more thorough so not to sport any dirt stains or give off the stench of a farmer and told her family that she was going to hang out with her friend (and not going into any details as to whom she hanging out with).

Valiant showed up on her front porch right on schedule, greeting her with that smile she liked, and a gentlecolt-like ‘good evening’.
From there, the two took a lovely stroll, straight from the farm, through the park, and eventually through town as business for the evening began to pick up.

All through that time, the two did what they usually did whenever they hang out…they’ve talked. From ‘how life’s back home’ to ‘how’s your family’ to even the mundane ‘how’s the weather’, stuff that didn’t entail their outing as a date. However, as they did talked, there seemed to be a sense of awkwardness between them. At first, Red June figured it was understandable, this was practically her first date, and it was with a pony she had a crush on, and the typical ‘he’s a boy, she’s a girl’ spiel.

However, as the date wore on, she noticed something odd about her supposed ‘date’. She couldn’t put her hoof on it, but as she glanced at Valiant throughout the night, he always seemed…nervous. For as long as she knew Valiant, he was never nervous. If anything, he was the most confident pony she knew. It was that same confidence that earned him the admiration of any mares that came his way. To see him in such a way…seemed alien.

Soon, the two eventually ended their walk at the ‘The Daffy Daffodil’. The meals they served weren’t all that great…it wasn’t bad…but it wasn’t great. However, it allowed the two to focus on the other aspect of a meal…more talking.

Red June and Valiant Heart sat at one of the lone tables in the outer part of the café (so that they could continue to enjoy the starry sky), no sounds except that of silverwares forking into the subpar salads that they ordered. The only contact they had so far was them awkwardly exchanging glances at each others, and it only seem to make the silence between them even worse.

It really bothered Red June. If Valiant was some other pony, she would be talking the night away. She was by no means a ‘Chatty Kathy’, but she had never failed to have a conversation starter on her mind should her current conversation reach a dead end. Yet right now, she was drawing blanks. It was as if she used up all of them during their stroll.

She just didn’t get it. Valiant was one of her oldest friends…so why was she having so much trouble talking to him? This was never a problem with Claire or Illusion… then again, neither of them were ponies she found incredibly hot and gorg-where the heck did that come from?

“June?”

“Yes?!” Red June’s head snapped to face Valiant, before realizing her jumpy reaction. She cleared her throat, “I mean…yes?”

“You’re feeling it too, huh?” Valiant said, following up with a chuckle, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make things awkward-”

“Oh no, ya didn’t.” Red June insisted, before sighing, “If anythin’, it was me who made things awkward. Ah’m the one who never really dated before…”

“Really?” Valiant raised a brow, “I mean, you never mentioned anything in the letters, but I only figured you wanted to keep some things private.”

“Well, with the farm and all, Ah never really have the time to get out there.” Red June admitted, a little blush appearing in her cheeks.

“Wow…and here I was, telling you how horribly my dates went…” Valiant said, shaking his head, “I guess me asking you out was out of the blue, was it?”

“Yes and no…” Red June shrugged, “Ah mean, Ah didn’t expect ya to ask me to go on a date last night…but Ah had a feelin’ that Claire and Cotton had a part in it…”

“You mean your friends tried to get you to go out with me as well?” Valiant asked.

“Eeyup.” Red June gave a nod, “Annie was goin’ off about how just ‘cause we send letters back and forth and are real ol’ friends that we should…” She raised her hooves, making quotation marks, “’Get together.’”

“Seriously?” Valiant couldn’t hide a smile.

“Yeah…she even went on to say how ya had flowy blue mane, blue eyes, and hulking-” Red June stopped herself before finishing that sentence, clearing her throat again, blush worsening, “Well, ya get the picture.”

“I see.” Valiant softly smiled. Oh, how Red June liked that smile of his, “To be honest, Claire went on about the same things…though she was more focused on how we are good friends.”

“Yeah, the nerves of those guys, huh?” Red June joked.

“Hey, at least they meant well.” Valiant pointed out.

“Ah know…but let’s be frank here, can’t a mare and a colt exchange letters and hang out time to time without everypony assumin’ that they’re an item?” Red June said in exasperation.

“Apparently not.” The alicorn stallion said with a laugh…however, that laugh soon trailed off, not that June noticed.

“I mean, you and Ah’ve been nothing more than friends since we were just teenagers.” Red June reasoned, “But that doesn’t mean you an’ Ah have’ta go beyond that…”

“Why not?”

“Excuse me?” Red June gasped. Did her ears deceived her?

“I mean, why can’t we be ‘more than friends’?” Valiant questioned, “I’m not taking sides or anything, but maybe your friends did have a point…”

“Wait, are ya bein’ serious?” Red June stammered, “Did ya stayed out in the sun too long?”

“No. But since that talk down at the orchards, I got to thinking…and I realized that Claire was right…”

“Right about what?” Red June asked, trying to make sense of what was happening.

“Look, June, it is no secret that when it comes to dating, I had failed loads of time-”

“Twelve times.”

“Twelve times.” Valiant cringed a bit at the exact answer, “And I’m the son of the Princess of Love for crying out loud. But you…you and I knew each other for a long time…all this time, I have been dating high-society mares that I didn’t even know…when I could had been with a mare that I know and trust…”

“But Lance…ya’re a prince! Ah’m a farmer! It…it…” Red June took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure, “It just wouldn’t work…ya know that, right?”

“…Yes, the thought did occur to me.” Valiant admitted, “And honestly, I agree with you…but…I don’t know…I feel as if it would be a waste if we didn’t at least…give it a shot.”

“Valiant…that’s a bunch of crazy talk right there.” Red June said, looking at her friend as if the food had somehow made him split into two.

“Is it, June?” Valiant challenged, “I mean, we are on a date right now, aren’t we?”

“Well, yes…” Red June nodded, mentally knocked off balance by the retort, “Look, don’t ya get me wrong, it’s not that Ah don’t like the idea…Ah just don’t wanna make things weird between us…”

“It won’t be weird. I won’t let it happen.” Valiant said in assurance, “I mean, look at your friends Prism and Whirlwind. They dated, yet they are still best friends.”

“Yeah…after that breakup of theirs almost destroyed their friendship.” Red June deadpanned.

“You’re missing the point, June.” Valiant shook his head, before letting out a sigh, “Look, I get what you are feeling. I am having second doubts about this as well…but something is telling me that if we don’t at least give ‘us’ a try, we will spend the rest of our lives thinking what could had been.”

Red June remained silent. This was an interesting turn of events…and an even more interesting question. A part of her was actually interested in where she could go with this, should she begin dating the young prince. Claire and Anthea were always so happy when they were with Illusion and Turquoise respectively.

However, it was common fact that relationships don’t always work out. She always thought Prism and Whirlwind was so happy together, yet they broke up, just like that.

It didn’t help that Valiant had garnered up a reputation for being a ‘player’ after dating and eventually breaking up with those twelve mares.

She knew that Valiant wasn’t that kind of pony for real, but still, she didn’t want to be yet another mare whose heart was broken by him, and she didn’t want to think about the fallout that would ensue should a breakup happen.

But then again…she was being a tad bit unfair assuming that she and Valiant would end up like Prism and Whirlwind. For starters, Valiant was way more mature than Prism was, and they were both practically adults, so it’s not she was going to pull up a half-baked excuse to break up like Whirlwind did…

”…Excuse me? My reason for breaking up with Prism before was not some ‘half-baked’ excuse!”

“Ah’m sorry, Whirlwind, but Ah think Ah speak for all of us that we all found it strange that you two broke up.”

“That is a load of bull! My reason for breaking up with Prism was-”

“Sorry, Whirlwind, darling, but I want to hear what Red June’s answer was.”

“Yeah, I wanna know how June and Lance have hot, sweaty sex!”

“Cotton…please leave the blunt stuff to Annie.”

Red June soon came to a decision…though thinking about it made her nervous.

“Ah suppose…it wouldn’t hurt to try…” Red June shrugged.

A smile grew on Valiant’s face.

“Thanks, June. I promise you, we will take this thing one hoof at a time.” Valiant said, reaching his front hooves across the table to rest on hers.

Red June’s blush grew stronger at the touch of hooves. She hoped that she knew what she was getting into.

After that particular conversation, the rest of the dinner went by quickly. The two continued to talk about other things, Red June having rediscovered her ability to strike up conversations again, and the fact that they are now ‘dating’ soon became an afterthought.

Soon, it was getting late, and the couple made their way back to the Sweet Apple Acres. Though the date itself was awkward beyond all words, both stallion and mare were feeling more…happy.

Once the couple stepped onto the porch, both laughing merrily as Red June was the first to speak.

“Well, thank you, Lance. Tonight was very nice.” Red June smiled.

“It was nothing, June. I only hoped that next time will be a lot less…well, awkward.” Valiant said with a shrug.

Next time…there was actually going to be a ‘next time’…

“Then it’s a good thing that we got all that awkward stuff sorted out tonight, ain’t it?” Red June smiled.

“Indeed.” Valiant nodded, “So…keep in touch through letters as always?”

“Of course.” Red June replied with a nod of her own, “When ya think ya will have time off next?”

“Hard to say. But try to keep sometimes next month open, okay?” Valiant responded with a smirk.

Red June returned with a smile of her own…when something in her mind prompted her to do something rather crazy.

“Um…Lance?” Red June began.

“Yes?” Valiant crook his head a little.

Red June took a step forward, her eyes level with Lance’s neck. Good Faust he was a lot taller than she remembered. Must be because of all that fancy alicorn genetics the princesses had.

Red June arched her neck so her eyes made contact with his.

“Ah…Ah think…” She slightly stammered, trying her best to keep calm with what she was trying to do.

“Yeah?”

Valiant propped up a front hoof, lifting her chin up a little higher. Red June felt her entire body heating up as she gazed into those light blue eyes of his. She wanted to go a bit further…she wanted to do what every couple always do at the end of a date…

However, her mind and body were not on the same page, and because of unsynchronized thinking, she lost all her nerves.

“Ya have something in your teeth.” Red June said, turning her face away to hide her embarrassed face.

“Oh.” Valiant went mute, his cheeks flushed, as he took his hoof from June’s chin and put it to his own, chuckling nervously, “Sorry about that.”

“Guess Ah’ll see you ‘round?” Red June didn’t bother to glance at Valiant.

“Guess so.” Valiant nodded, as he spread his wings, “See ya, June.”

With that, he flew off into the night once more, as Red June look on after him, like the night before. She wanted to curse herself for chickening out at the last minute…but for some reason…

She just gave a breathy sigh.

Silence graced Anthea’s bedroom, as everypony glanced at Red June in shock…

“That’s it?” Anthea broke the silence, “’You have something in your teeth?’ No kiss? No naughty stuff?”

“It was mah first date, Annie. Ya didn’t honestly ‘pect me to sleep with him just like that, didja?” Red June said, exasperated.

“Yeah, otherwise, this would be just another cruddy clopfic.” Cotton pointed out.

“No…but come on! I expected so much more than that!” The blind unicorn stammered.

“Wait, so you and Valiant had been dating?” Claire asked, raising a brow, “For how long? Because this is the first I am hearing of this…”

“Oh…” Red June rubbed the back of her head, “Well…” She closed her eyes and muttered, “Six years as of this summer.”

All the mares’ jaws dropped.

“SIX YEARS?!” Nidra said, her mouth agape, “You and Lance dated for six years?”

“Dating. Me and Valiant are still together.”

The jaws dropped deeper.

“Wha…I…what?!” Whirlwind tried to get her words out.

“You’re telling us that for six years, you had been dating my cousin…” Starburst began, trying to process everything.

“And this is the first time that any of us is hearing about this?!” Claire yelled in shock, “Six years hanging out together and going to the spa, and not one word?!”

“How is this possible?” Cotton asked, “I mean, every time we saw you two together, you acted like pally-wally. And what of everypony else in Ponyville?”

“Cotton’s right.” Whirlwind agreed, “I mean, obviously, somepony would’ve notice a prince and a farmer’s daughter having a romantic dinner at a fancy restaurant!”

“And the paparazzi. How did you go six years without the paparazzi knowing?” Créme wondered, “They seem to know everything!”

“Everypony, calm down!” Red June said, holding up her hooves, “Ah’m sorry Ah didn’t tell y’all about this…but Ah had my reasons.”

“Such as?” Nidra challenged.

“If ponies were to catch wind that Prince Valiant was dating a ‘run-of-the-mill’ farmer, Lance and Ah would be hassled endlessly by those dad-gum vultures. We would never have an ounce of privacy!” Red June pouted, as she turned to Claire and Starburst, “Ya remember when ya both started dating Illusion and Starfall?”

“Yeah…” Starburst frowned, “Unfortunately, Starfall just ate up all the attention. Made his ego swell a ton.”

“Really? Can Starfall’s ego get any bigger?” Nidra joked.

“At least you don’t receive death glares from mares every day.” Claire deadpanned, “Ponies don’t take kindly to ‘hybrids’ dating royalty.” She let
out a sigh, “But I guess I could understand where June is coming from.”

“Again, Ah’m sorry. We just wanted our privacy…and we went great lengths to keep it. Heck, Lance mastered that there disguise spell Illusion always casted on Nidra and him whenever they hang out just so nopony’s the wiser. We also made sure to not get too…affectionate, when around ya guys.” Red June explained.

“But I don’t get it. I understand not telling the world or anything.” Whirlwind said, “But why not your friends?”

“Well…” Red, Ah love ya all the same…but Ah didn’t want any of y’all to say ‘Ah told ya so’ or houndin’ me about mah love life…well, before now, of course.” Red June explained.

“Well, I suppose that is understandable.” Starburst said, shrugging her shoulders.

“Still, I wished you told one of us, darling.” Claire shook her head and sighed, “Did your family at least know about you and Lance?”

“Well, not at first, no…ya see, the other reason I didn’t tell ya guys was because…I didn’t think me and Lance were going to last that long…in
fact, Ah came close to ending it.”

“Oh no, you didn’t break his heart, did you?” Créme gasped, covering her mouth.

“Uh, Créme, Red June just said they were still dating.” Nidra explained, trying to not face-hoof herself, “Obviously she didn’t.”

“True, but Ah did come close…” Red June said ominously, as she cleared her throat, and was about to say something…

“When are you going to get to the good stuff?” Cotton asked, hinting with a slight smirk.

“Cotton!” Starburst hissed, elbowing her.

“Don’tcha worry, Ah gettin’ there as well.” Red June then took a deep breath, “Ya see, it all happened three months later…”

It was a particularly cloudy day at Sweet Apple Acres, the overcast blocking out the sun every so often.

Red June sat anxiously on the couch in the living room, her eyes shifting focus between the door of the house and to the grandfather clock, ticking away and reading half past four.

She was the only one up at the house, as her father was helping her mother by doing repairs on the schoolhouse, her aunt Applejack and cousin Golden Delicious was working the apple stand in town, along with her aunt Applebloom and cousin Api.

The mare was thankful for this rare occurrence, for she was about to do something she really wasn’t looking towards to doing.

For three months, she and Valiant had been attempting to have a long-distance relationship, if she could call it that. At first, it seemed like nothing had changed, as if it was business as usual for the both of them. There was no flowers, no chocolates, no fancy dinners, or any of that lovey-dovey crud ponies do when in a relationship. Heck, they haven’t even kissed yet.

”Wait, you mean you been dating for three months and you hadn’t kissed…not even once?”

“Eenope. Valiant was serious when he said we would take it one hoof at a time, Star.”

It seemed that things were going quite fine…but as time went by, Red June began to notice small changes in the relationship.

It all started with the letters she been receiving from him. Normally, when Valiant wrote to her, he would tell her how’s life been up at the Empire, how’s his family doing, and anything important that had happened lately. All typical stuff that pen pals would say to each other…
But after Valiant and she began dating each other, his letters began to take on a different tone…for starters, Valiant wrote that he missed her. The first time she read those words, she didn’t think much of it, for that letter was sent a month after they last saw each other. However, those words became a common occurrence in the next couple of letters.

Not only that, he also expressed how he looked forward to seeing her. Normally, she would’ve chalked it up to him wanting to see his friend again, which is understandable…but how he put it was what got her…in one letter, he said that he looked forward to see her smile again to brighten his day. It’s one thing to be excited to see his friend again…but to see her and her smile?

That was only the tip of the iceberg, as he began getting real personal in his letters. Personal as in one letter, he literally went into details on a bad day he had while serving as captain of the guard, and how he sometimes wished to be somepony else. It was concerning how much Valiant was enclosing to her while she had been keeping her letter as impersonal as possible…

But the last letter was what really set her off…the letter began innocently enough, with Lance telling about how he was pranked by a few of the new recruits, and usual yet still weird expressions of missing her and hoping to see her soon…but nothing major…until she reached the end…

At the end of the letter, Valiant always wrote ‘Sincerely, Valiant Heart’ or ‘Your friend, Lance’, something along those lines…but when Red June saw the closing part of the letter…it said:

‘Love, Valiant Heart’.

Love…it was at that moment that Red June soon felt the weight of reality crash down upon her…she and Valiant were actually dating…and they were becoming more than friends.

She knew that by choosing to date Valiant, that things would change between them…but it had never really occur to her what it actually entailed.

The further she thought about it, she recalled all the time she hanged out with Valiant over the past three months, he acted…rather affectionate. Whenever she and Lance were walking side by side, Valiant would gently rub against her body with his own. Whenever they shared eye contact, it would last a lot longer than it should.

And to top it all off, whenever Valiant bid farewell to Red June after one of their secret dates, rather than kissing her (as both side felt it was too soon), he would give her a hug and nuzzle her face with his own.

Every time that had occurred, Red June felt as if the world around her had slowed down, and all that she could hear was the breathing of the colt embracing her and the rapid beating of her own heart. The feeling of Valiant’s body against her felt like a thousand volts coursing through her veins, and made her legs weak.

It ultimately left a feeling in her, a feeling that she could not explain…but whatever it was, it made her think thoughts…thoughts of Valiant caressing her, looking at her with those soul-piercing blue eyes, his warm body against hers and his lips locking with-

Before her thoughts could traverse any further, a knock sounded from her front door. Red June let out a sigh, it was a good thing that knock came when it did, or she would had lost the nerves to do what she set out to do…

The mare made her way to the door, and opened it to find her ‘coltfriend’ standing on the porch.

“Lance, Ah’m glad ya’re here.” Red June greeted.

“I came as soon as I got your letter.” Valiant said, concern lining his face, “It said you needed to see me face to face.”

“Yeah, come on in and Ah’ll explain everything…” Red June gestured inside.

Red June led the alicorn to the living room, and pointed to the couch for him to sit on. As Valiant did so, June went to the kitchen and returned with two mugs of apple juice.

“Here. Made a fresh batch just last week.” Red June passed a mug to him.

“Thank you.” Valiant nodded, as he took a sip, giving a satisfied murmur, “So…why did you want me to come over here on such short notice? You didn’t exactly specify in your letter.”

“Well, Valiant…” Red June began, as she took a seat right beside him, setting down her mug, “Ah wanted to talk to ya…”

“…Don’t we already do that in the letters?” Valiant gave a wry smirk, “Not that I’m complaining. I’m flattered you wanted to see me so bad.” He gave a chuckle, which soon faltered after seeing Red June’s frown, “Sorry, just a little humor there…”

“It’s alright…it’s just…Ah wanted to talk…about this thing we have goin’ on between us…” Red June explained, a bad feeling growing in her guts.

“Oh. Is that all?” Valiant asked, amusement apparent in his voice, much to her confusion, “I must say, I am pleasantly surprised that we managed to keep this from the others for so long…”

“True, but…” Red June began, but Valiant continued.

“And speaking quite frankly, I had my doubts. Long-distance relationships rarely last this long, but you and I seem to be getting along quite smoothly…”

“Yeah, but that’s what Ah wanted to talk…” Red June tries to say, but Valiant cut her off once more. Red June tried to stifle her frustration. If she did not say what she had to say and soon, things were going to get ugly.

“I am thankful you had given us this chance, June. The last three months had been wonderful. You had been wonderful…” Valiant smiled.

…Too late.

Red June withheld a sigh, as she glanced at Valiant directly in the eyes, and said the words. Oh, how she was going to miss that smile of his…

“Lance, Ah think you and Ah should break up.”

Immediately, Valiant’s smile faded away.

“…What?” Valiant said, shocked.

“Look, it’s not you, it’s me.” Red June explained, trying to keep the conversation short and brisk, hoping Valiant wouldn’t make something of it, “Ah think we be better off just as friends, so-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down!” Valiant held up his hooves, “You’re breaking up with me?”

Of course, Valiant would make something of it.

“Yes. Ah figured it would be best-” Red June began.

“Why though? I thought…I thought we were doing fine.” Valiant stammered.
Red June grunted, the bad feeling getting worse, “We were, but-”

“Then what’s the problem?” Valiant insisted, “I mean, did I do something wrong? I know I might had went a little too far with the hugs but-”

“Look, Lance, it’s nothing you did…Ah wouldn’t worry about it…” Red June’s patience was slowly ebbing away, the frustration leaking bits into her words.

“Well, I am anyways.” Valiant said indignantly, “You don’t just break up with somepony, at least not without giving a reason to the poor guy.”

“Lance, please, Ah don’t want this to be harder than it has to be…” Red June said tersely, her voice lowering.

“Then why are you doing this, June?” Valiant asked, as his voice registered hurt, “…Did you not enjoy the past three months like I had?”

Red June stifled a groan. If she just walked away now, she could end this conversation before losing it…but then, she would end up hurting Lance, something she was trying to avoid…

“Ah did. Really, Ah did enjoy it…but…but…” It was happening again. Words were failing her.

“But what?” Valiant pushed.

It was then that Red June couldn’t keep it in anymore.

“It’s just too much!” Red June shouted, stomping her hoof.

Valiant’s brows raised, “Too much? What’s too much?”

“Everything!” Red June leapt to her hooves, walking to the middle of the room, as she started to pace, “Ya and me dating! Ya takin’ me out to fancy places! You tellin’ me stuff that only your ma and pa should know, not your friends! You brushin’ me with yer gosh-darn hot body and making me feel stuff Ah shouldn’t be feelin’ ‘bout my best friend! You puttin’ ‘Love, Lance’ instead of ‘Sincerely, Valiant Heart’!” She ranted. “Ah just can’t take it all!”

“So…you’re breaking up with me…because I did stuff coltfriends usually do when in a relationship?” Valiant asked, his expression showing disbelief.

“It’s more complicated than that, Lance…” Red June let out a groan, “Please, Ah only doin’ this fer the best of everypony…”

“Everypony?” Valiant repeated, “One, we’re the only ones that knows we’re in this relationship, and two…how is this best for me?”

“Because…” Red June began…before fading into a defeated sigh, “Because…Ah think it’s best we get off this boat while it’s still afloat…” She then turned away, “It’ll save us both the trouble when it sinks.”

“But June, we’ve been only dating for three months. It’s a little unfair to assume that we are going to have some nasty breakup later.” Valiant tried to reason, rising from his seat.

“Maybe so…but why take the chance?” Red June said with a bitter glance back.

Valiant gave a scoff of disbelief, “June, this isn’t like you, being all pessimistic and gloomy. Where’s the happy-go-lucky June I know and love?”

“Ah’m not bein’ pessimistic, Ah’m bein’ realistic.” Red June corrected, her voice growing moreso bitter, as she turned to face him, “Ah doin’ this ‘cause if Ah don’t, it will hurt too much later on…”

“Hurt too…” Valiant began, a little confused, before he paused. Judging by the looks on his face, he seemed to had figured something out, and gave a sympathetic frown, “June…”

“Ah know…” Red June muttered, trying to choke down the tears that were trying to build up. She was really hoping that she wouldn’t cry tonight, “Ah shoulda know better. The moment Ah started datin’ ya, Ah always thought that things wouldn’t change…Ah was so stupid…”

“June, there’s nothing wrong-” Valiant held a hoof forward to try and comfort her, but June pulled away.

“Yes, there is! You’re mah best friend! Ponies don’t fall in love with their best friends! ‘Specially if said friend is a dadgum prince!” Red June yelled.

“And just why not?” Valiant challenged, “Love doesn’t discriminate.”

“Lance, please, don’t you sell me some bull-crap about love, ‘cause it ain’t helpin’ nopony.” Red June shook her head.

“No, I really think you should hear me out.” Valiant said, keeping his face stoic.

“Why?” Red June spat.

“Because I feel the same way about you, June.” Valiant pressed forward, “I love you, and I’m not getting all out of sorts over it.”

“Well, ya shouldn’t!” Red June shouted, pushing Valiant back a step, “Ah don’t want to feel this way about ya, Lance…Ah just want us to go back to bein’ pen pals and all, and act like the past three months never happen.”

“But they did happen, June…and like it or not, breaking up with me just because you are afraid of what you are feeling won’t change that.” Valiant said sagely.

“Dagnabit, Lance!” Red June groaned, as a few tears fall from her face, “Ah don’t want to lose ya! Ah don’t want to lose my very best friend because Ah was stupid enough to fall for him! Whirlwind and Prism almost ended up falling apart because of their breakup-”

“Well, Whirlwind was an idiot!” Valiant cut her off, his expression suddenly hardened.

”Say what?!”

“His words, Wind, not mine.”

“I can’t believe Lance actually call you an idiot. Didn’t think he had it in him.”

“Oh, shut up, Cotton.”

“Whirlwind and Prism had a wonderful thing going for them.” Valiant continued, “And for some reason that I’m sure nobody knows, she breaks it off. Total bullcrap if you asked me.”

“Whirlwind had her reasons, Lance.” Red June said, sniffing a bit.

“Look, the point is, we are not Prism and Whirlwind…and you won’t lose me.” Valiant said firmly, “I can promise you that.”

“There, ya see?!” Red June let out a frustrated groan, “Ya shouldn’t make promises ya can’t keep! Ya don’t know if this will last!”

“Well, maybe I don’t, but I won’t know unless I try.” Valiant said, standing his grounds, “What I am not getting though is why you are so certain that we won’t work out…I mean, we made it this far, hadn’t we?”

“Yes but…” Red June then gave a defeated sigh, trying to not look Valiant in the eyes, “Ah’m just not the one for you…”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Valiant asked, noting the tears in her eyes.

“Ah mean…look at us, Lance! You’re a prince, destined to rule a kingdom someday…Ah’m just a plain ol’ farmer, who still goin’ to be buckin’ apples ten years from now. We just ain’t meant to be, and you’re better off datin’ some other mare with a higher standing.”

“But I don’t want ‘some other mare’, June.” Valiant said, shaking his head, “I’m happier being with you…”

“Ya don’t mean that.” Red June scoffed, “Ah mean, Ah’m not fancy, Ah smell like sweat and crap most of the time, and…Ah’m not pretty…”

“None of that matter, June.” Valiant replied, his brows furrowing, “I have you know, I would rather date a smelly farmer over any of those high-societal snobs anyday...no offense to Créme, of course.”

”None taken.”

“Créme, shush!”

“Lance…why can’t ya see that we’re not right for each other? Ya said so yourself that you had doubts about us.” Red June let out a small groan, trying her best not to scream again.

Valiant paused for a moment, before letting out a sigh.

“Yes, I did. To be completely honest, I thought the very same way you are thinking right now. I believed that you were better off with a stallion around here, and I with a mare from Canterlot or the like.”

“Then why…” Red June challenged, tears building up in her eyes once more.

“Because it didn’t work for me. I dated twelve mares before you, and not once had I ever felt a connection of any sorts…but whenever I was with you…I felt that something was different. It is like whenever I think that you and I aren’t meant to be…I wanted to be wrong.”

“What?” Red June said in confusion, narrowing her eyes.

“I wanted to be wrong.” Valiant repeated, giving a small smile, “Wrong about you and me not working out, wrong about us being better off with ponies of our ilk, and wrong about my feelings for you.” He stepped forward, as he then put his hoof under her chin, lifting it up so that she and him were seeing eye to eye, like they were at the end of their first date, “June, I want to continue being wrong with you…”

“Now, ya say that now…” Red June muttered, sniffing a bit, trying not to blush from looking into those blue eyes of his, “But what if we end up regrettin’-“

“June, the only regretting that I’ll be doing was not doing this sooner.” Valiant leaned closer, “I love you, Red June Apple, and I’ll prove it right now.”

Red June was about to pull away, and make a probably half-baked rebuttal to his ‘declaration’…but before she could, Valiant pressed his lips against her.

And when her lips was met with his…everything went blank. It was just like when Valiant hugged her before, her legs growing weak, her heart beating louder, eyes fluttering shut, and the thousand volts through her veins…but somehow, it felt a lot better. Of course, she could attest that to letting out all the negativity she had been thinking the past months, but either way, it felt good…real good.

The first kiss, as big and meaningful as it was, lasted for a few seconds before the two parted, leaving the mare a blushing mess, as she gazed into the taller alicorn’s eyes.

Then, just like magnets, the two went in for another kiss. Valiant’s front hooves left her chin and the floor as he wrapped them around Red June’s barrel.

Red June did the same, slowly lifting her front hooves to hug Valiant’s body, while focusing ever so much on the kiss. Red June felt her body being held closer to Valiant’s, feeling not only her heart beating out her chest but his as well.

The second kiss lasted a little longer than the first before the two pairs of lips parted, as Red June parted away from Valiant, panting from the temporary lapse in oxygen flow. But the earth pony mare only took a few seconds, her eyes matching Val’s once more. She didn’t know what it was, but looking into those light blue eyes of his just made her melt…and there was his scent…with her face so close to his, she could smell...deodorant? Hmm, Valiant always did had a thing for looking and smelling his best. Either way…she couldn’t resist…

She kissed the alicorn once more, only more briefly than the first kiss, but as soon as she parted from that kiss, she went in for another one, and as soon as that one ended, Valiant kissed her…it soon began a repeating cycle, as with each kiss ended, another continued. Each kiss was so intoxicating, to the point that she couldn’t get enough.

It wasn’t till the seventh or eighth kiss that Red June began to feel rather hot under the collar. As she tried to catch her breath, she looked up to Valiant, who was trying to do the same…

“W-wow…” Red June muttered.

“You took the words…right out of my mouth…” Valiant said, nodding absent-mindedly, rubbing his hooves around Red June’s midsection softly, “I can’t believe that was the first time we actually kissed…”

“Ya tellin’ me…” Red June sighed, resting her head on his right shoulder, “Ah can’t believe what Ah have been missin’…and that yah one helluva kisser.”

“Thanks.” Valiant smirked, though his blush seemed to be lingering, “You aren’t half bad yourself…”

Red June wasn’t sure how it happened, but the way he said that, even if it wasn’t intended, made her want more…much more. This was made more apparent by the weird sensation within her nethers…

“Lance…are ya gettin’ a funny feelin’ like Ah am?” Red June asked, her voice filled with uncertainty, “Or is that just me?”

“No…I feel it too…it’s weird…but somehow…I’m rather curious as to where this feeling takes us…” Valiant gave a small smile, before blushing harder, “Of course, if you are as well…”

Again, Red June wasn’t sure…if this was leading where she thinks it was leading…oh boy, she would be heading deep into uncharted territories. Not to mention it feels like it would be rushing things. She did just almost break up with him and had her first (and subsequently, second to seventh) kiss. And doing this would most certainly forever change the aspect of their relationship. Pass the point of no return, that’s for sure.

But then again…why not? She’s a grown mare, and he’s a grown stallion, and her parents weren’t due back at the house for a few hours. And for crying out loud, they had been dating for three months, so the excuse of things being rushed would be rather groundless.

Besides, she would be lying to herself if she wasn’t curious as to where this could lead them…all she did know was that she loved him and he loved her…

And that was good enough for her.

“Yes…yes Ah am.” Red June nodded, softly nuzzling Valiant’s cheek, “But Ah think we should take this somewhere more private…”

Valiant only gave a small nod and grin, as Red June broke from the embrace (much to both their chagrin) and grabbing one of his hooves, lead him out of the living room and up the stairs to her room, while keeping her eyes on the light blue alicorn.

This remained so till the couple entered her room, when Red June, after bringing him inside, turned around to shut the door to her room.

As soon as the door shut and she turned around, only to be quickly pushed against the same door as Valiant pressed his lips against hers. It caught her off guard for a moment, but she quickly recovered as she began kissing back.

Now, Red June never had much hooves-on experience (if anything at all) when it came to kissing and intimate relations, but she did read a bit from those…novels…that Claire lend to her at one point and it gave her a small idea of how to proceed about things.

Red June’s maw soon parted, as her tongue reached out a bit to greet it’s new neighbor, as Valiant’s own tongue met and soon, their kiss turn into something very sensual. June felt Valiant pressed into her, as his front hooves did the same against the door they were leaning against. Her nostrils flared as her tongue was easily being dominated by the foreign invader, beating it back into her own mouth. However, it only made Red June hummed softly, as her tail began swaying back and forth.

Their somewhat heated make-out session only lasted for a minute or so, when Red June began to feel a little lightheaded from very low flow of oxygen getting in through her nasal cavity. She moved a hoof to Valiant’s chest, and applied a little force. Though it was nowhere enough to push the male alicorn off of him, Valiant pulled away nonetheless.

Red June took a second to catch her breath. She was right when she said he was one hell of a kisser. Though in hindsight, she couldn’t expected any less, Valiant did share a few kisses with a few mares back then...a lot of kisses now that she thought about it…

Before she could think any further, she felt a pair of lips on her neck, and her mind went a complete blank. She gave a small moan as her neck is peppered by a flurry of small but rather affectionate kisses and bites, trailing down to the nape, and back upwards and so on.

“Lance…” Red June whispered softly, her body growing limp against the door, her hooves involuntarily clutching at the male’s midsection ever so often, as the alicorn continued his ministrations on the mare’s neck area.

Her heart rate outmatched that of her breathing, as with each shuddering breath she took, her heart beaten tenfold. Her body began to take on a sheen of sweat, and her nethers, as she felt earlier, began to tingle, and she felt a bit of wetness trickling down the side of one of her back legs.

She buried her snout into the taller stallion’s neck, taking in more of that antiperspirant smell (which was still doing a good job in preventing sweat), continuing to take long and raspy breaths, trying her best to stave off the tingling feeling in her groin, that being made hard to do so with each second of Valiant’s assault on her neck.

Suddenly, Red June felt something hard press against her lower body, right around her teats. It did not take much for June to deduce what that hard thing was as she lifted her head from Lance’s shoulder and took a small glance down south…and there it was…there he was. His stallionhood was unsheathed and practically rarin’ to go.

“Oh mah…” Red June murmured, unable to take her eyes off it. She had only ever saw a stallion’s male bits in biology books and often read descriptions of them in those novels, but to see a real one in close vicinity, pressed between her and Valiant. It was not as big as erotic literature usually make them out to be, but it certainly wasn’t something to shirk off. Just feeling the warm rod against her body made her clench her back legs reflexively.

The kisses and nibbles stopped as Valiant glanced at what she was looking at, and immediately went red.

“Oh…eheh, I guess all the kissing got me a bit worked up …” Valiant nervously chuckled, “Sorry about that…”

“Don’t be. Ya ain’t the only one…” Red June said blissfully, clenching her legs a bit as more juices coated her thighs. She craned her head, as she began kissing along Valiant’s lower jaw-line, mixing it up with a few small licks here and there.

This obviously earned her a silent moan, as the alicorn leaned his head back a bit, giving the mare more room, as she nuzzled deeply into his neck. As she did so, she felt Valiant’s malehood thrust upwards, twitching against her teats, as if it was by accident, but either way, the feeling elicited a hiss from the stallion.

His pride wasn’t the only one twitching, as Valiant’s wings nearly sprang out, locking and unlocking against his will, as the male rubbed his hooves up and down Red June’s sides, being careful not to trail down too far…Red June always knew him to be a gentlecolt.

Then June felt Lance’s hooves stopped in the middle, and gripped her sides tightly. Before she could ask what he was doing, she felt her back leaving the door and her hooves the floor, as Valiant hovered across the room. Instinctively, Red June hugged Valiant tightly, inadvertently sandwiching the alicorn’s stallionhood tightly between them, the warmth making her nethers tingle more, as well as becoming more slick.

Red June was caught off-guard by Valiant’s actions, and a bit frightened, she might admit, but when she glanced back up at Valiant, he gave her that smile that she could not get enough of, and her grip slackened to a point where she could comfortably hang onto Valiant. It was a wonder how Valiant could get off the ground with his wings acting the way they were, but Red June was in no state of mind to question things.

The two remained airborne for about a few seconds, before the alicorn placed Red June on her bed gently, before landing on his hooves, standing atop her, his wings spread wide and rigid, his light blue eyes boring into her and her body.

The mare felt her already rapid heartbeat pick up, and her body temperature increasing, as she could sense Valiant observing the mare that he was going to take for his own. Her entire body was in a complete state of arousal, drenched in sweat, her teats painfully erect, and her slit drenched with pre-cum, and if the look in Valiant’s eyes were any indication, he liked what he saw.

Then, she felt a bit of magic grasping her bandanna, as Valiant levitated the bandanna off of her mane, and placed it on the bedside table. Though it was unnecessary (courteous, yes, necessary, no), it somehow made her feel more exposed than she was already in her position.

Speaking of positions, after setting the bandanna down, Valiant lowered himself towards her body to a point where their chests were nearly touching. Red June would had loved to maintain eye contact with him, but he was certainly taller than her, made evident by the fact that June was faced with Valiant’s slightly red and love bite-ridden neck.

She could feel the heat radiating off Valiant’s body, making her sweat even more, and it only got hotter as she felt ‘it’. Valiant’s length was now pressing against the soaked gateway that lead into her velvet-like tunnels, as the stallion made to steady it so he could line it up. The mare stifled a moan into the base of the stallion’s neck as the flared head of Valiant’s member rubbed against the outer lips of her soaked core, a rather squish-like sound ensuing with each press.

Soon, the alicorn’s length stopped rubbing, and was now thoroughly pressed against her slit properly, moments from prying it open and plunging into its hot, drenched depths. Red June withheld a breath as Valiant moved his snout close to June’s ear…

“Are you ready, June?” The alicorn whispered softly, nuzzling against her ear shortly after.

Though it was very kind of Valiant to ask a question before he went and took her virginity, Red June knew that it was pretty much a pointless question. Even if she was having second thoughts, they would easily dissipate as she saw Valiant atop her, with his wings spread far and wide and his body prime and ready to go. He was like an angel sent down from far above, with one sole purpose…to take her, and her alone, for his own…and it made her want this…want him even more.

Leaning her head up a little so her mouth was close to Valiant’s ear, she whispered two words…

“Take me…”

After giving her consent, Valiant gave a small smile as he braced himself and drilled his length forward, spreading her love canal open, entering at a slow but steady pace. Red June stifled a yelp as Valiant continued inserting more and more of his pride into the tight crevice of her mounds.

“Gah…Lance…” Red June moaned, placing her front hooves on his shoulder, wincing a bit in pain from the slow penetration. She could hear small mutters coming from Valiant, though she had trouble making it out…the only words she could make out was ‘tight’ and ‘warm’…and with the grip her walls had on his length, she could see where he got those words.

However, she felt a jolt as Valiant’s member was partway in, having made contact with a particular obstacle…her hymen. She tried looking up at Valiant (only managing to look up to his chin), who seemed to had paused for a moment, hesitant in what he was about to do…but it seem to had passed within seconds, as she felt Valiant’s length pull from her vaginal tunnels…then he thrust.

Red June always thought herself to be tough when dealing with pain, but when she felt the hard member break through the hymen, she let out a yelp, hugging Valiant tightly, as she felt tears comes to her eyes, trying her best to cope with the agony of her lost virginity.

She let out a small sniffle, when she felt lips pecking her forehead and the warm breath of the stallion above her.

“It’s alright…it’s alright…” She heard Valiant whispered, as she felt his one hoof stroke her side tenderly, trying to sooth her. It did work somewhat, as June soon felt her grip on Valiant’s body weaken, but it did nothing to sooth the pain.

Nonetheless, the pain in her nethers did eventually faded, as June took a deep breath. Valiant dared not move since the penetration (which she was grateful for), not until June finally said,

“Go ahead, Lance…” June murmured, nuzzling softly against his lower neck, “Just please be gentle…”

Valiant gave a small smile, and with a nod, he pulled out his member, coated with pre-cum and a bit of blood from the lost virginity, and thrust back in. June felt the sting of pain come back, but not as strong as before, and it was soon replaced by a pleasant jolt. This was the same story when Valiant thrust the second time, a bit of pain turning into pleasure, and still the same on the third thrust.

However, as Valiant buried his length into her for the fourth time, Red June felt no pain…only the most wonderful of sensations as quiet moans and gasps left her lips as the alicorn thrust at a higher pace, making an odd squishing sound.

Red June’s breathing took on a new pattern as her breathing became rapid. She clenched her eyes shut and let out a particular long moan, the decibels changing erratically with each hump Valiant gave. She could finally feel sweat gleaming off Valiant’s body, it finally overcoming the deodorant he had used, and smell his musk, driving her senses wilder.

June went back to kissing Valiant’s neck, going as far as to taking small love bites and licks. Each nip she gave his neck, she could feel her partner shudder a little as he continue to thrust into her steadily. The colt decided to repay the favor by doubling his kissing efforts on everything he could reach in his position, be it her forehead, the sides of her face, and even one of her ears. He even went on to wrap his tail around hers, tugging it inadvertently with each buck he gave.

Things went this way for what seemed like forever…even though in reality, it had been mere minutes since they began. As June laid there, her body rippling with each rock of Valiant’s hips, she felt everything around her melt into nothingness. All she could smell was Valiant. All she could taste was Valiant. Heck, all she could see and hear was Valiant. As for what she was feeling…it was indescribable.

Here she was, being mated by her best friend…no…her coltfriend. She was always taught that she should give her virginity to the stallion (or mare, if she ever did swing that way) she loved…and honestly, she did love him. She loved how kind he was…how down to earth he is…and she especially loved how he would do anything just to make her happy…

And to think she was going to end it all out of fear of losing him. Well, now, she wouldn’t end it, even if doubts about her and him still persisted. Valiant was making it perfectly clear that he loved her and only her… and she would be as damned to let it go just as Whirlwind was when she left Prism…

”Oh, for Faust’s sake, would you let it go?! Me and Prism are married now, no need to bring it up anymore, okay?!”

“Sorry, Wind. Last time, Ah swear…”

Red June opened her eyes bleakly, pulling away from Valiant’s neck and leaning her head back to see Valiant’s face looking down on her, giving her a small but strained smile, as he continued thrusting forward, panting up a storm while his wings were locking and unlocking constantly, almost in sync with his bucks.

Soon, Red June felt her legs twitching, and an impending pressure in her loins, just about ready to give…

“L-Lance…Ah’m…Ah’m getting close…” Red June said, her pants making it hard to get out proper sentences.

“Is that so?” Valiant panted, also having trouble formulating sentences, “Then let’s make this finish a big one.”

With that said, Valiant then began thrusting into her core faster. Red June let out louder moans as the stallion pounded against her marehood with lesser relent, even more so as she began to feel something toy with her clitoris. June looked down quickly to see her joy buzzer being wrapped in a blue glow, indicating that Valiant was using his magic, as the stallion’s length continue invading her tunnels right beneath it. Yup, like she said to herself before, he would do anything to make her happy…really happy.

The pressure in her nether regions continue to grow and grow as Valiant’s thrusts grew faster and deeper, to a point that Valiant’s jewels was slapping against June’s hindquarters with each thrust forward. Red June’s moans soon turned to howling, as her body writhe in all the sensations she was feeling. It was only a matter of time before something gave…

And sure enough, something did. After one powerful thrust from Valiant, June let out a mix of howling and screaming as her orgasm came flooding out of her marehood, her girlcum drenching Valiant’s stallionhood and scrotum, as well as the area of the sheets that was under the two interacting organs.

Red June’s scream eventually died out along with the copious amount of her juices that flowed out of her flower, as she fell limp against the bed, trying to catch her breath. However, Valiant was not finished yet, as he stop grasping June’s clit with his magic and put more emphasis on his thrusts to achieve his own release.

Valiant would not have to wait much longer, as he gave a few more strong and deliberate bucks of his hips, before he let out a loud groan as his erection spasm deep within June, shooting streams of his essences inside. June gave a small shudder as she felt her stallion’s member filled her marehood to the brim, so much in fact that some of the cum squirted down the side of his length.

The alicorn’s thrusts soon reduced to slow humps as his length continued giving off more and more fluids. June was not sure as to how much he was releasing, but all she knew was that it seem to have no end…

But it did end. Valiant’s length gave off one last jet of his semen, and soon as it did, he pulled out till half of his now-half mast length was visible, covered with a glimmering sheen of both his and June’s juices, and Valiant’s face was level with June’s, content lined in both their faces, as the stallion laid atop his mare.

“Lance…” June whispered, as she limply wrapped her hooves around Valiant’s neck, “Oh mah stars…that was wonderful.”

“Not half bad for the first time… huh?” Valiant panted, bringing his snout closer to June, “I’m glad it was with somepony as beautiful…as you…”

“Me? Beautiful? Naw…” June denied, a blush appearing once more on her face.

“I mean it.” Valiant insisted, “To me…you are the most beautiful mare in the world…both outside and inside…the one true reason I wanted to be wrong about everything…”

“Oh, Lance…” Red June gave a small smile, as she then pulled Valiant into a tender kiss, “Thank you for being wrong…”

“Being right is over-rated anyways.” Valiant chuckled softly as he kissed back.

The two shared the loving kiss for a minute, before Red June gave a slight moan of satisfaction. She pulled away and glanced down at where they were still joined, and saw her mating partner’s member was returning to full rigidity.

“Oh my…” Red June gasped, her blush worsening, “Ya still…”

“Apparently so…” Valiant glanced down as well, before turning to face June, giving a smirk, “So…June, you think you are up for a second try?”

Red June didn’t respond at first, still looking at the two joined organs, before facing Valiant, a small smile creeping on her face, “Well, mah parents aren’t due back for a while…” She then gave Valiant a small lick on the cheek, “Why not?”

That was all that Valiant needed to hear. Valiant slowly rose to his knees, and adjusted his hips so he could prepare to make more love to his beloved. Valiant then began to pull his erect member from June’s marehood, smiles of excitement and love lined across both ponies’ faces.

With just the tip of Valiant’s length still inside her, Red June prepared for the next onslaught of passionate sensations that would greet both of them….just her and her handsome stallion…

When suddenly, the door to her room opened, as none other than her father Big Macintosh came in.

“Sugarcube, are ya in hereeeeee…” Big Mac trailed off, as he saw the two young adults on the bed.

Both Red June and Valiant nearly went rigid with terror, Red June herself moreso. She knew her father was not a violent stallion, but she could not comprehend what was going through his mind when he sees his own daughter, laid about her bed, with a young stallion atop her, about to take her for his own…again. It certainly didn’t help that Valiant’s member was still in her, though now limp in terror.

Instantly, Valiant pulled out of her, quickly trying to cover his soaked stallionhood, while Red June flipped onto her stomach to hide her erect teats and covering her equally soaked flower with her tail, both of them trying to save face.

“Pa!” Red June gasped, dying of embarrassment, “What are ya doing here?!”

“Sir, this is not what it looks like!” Valiant stammered, probably scared out of his mind.

Big Macintosh was silent.

“Lance and Ah were…then…gah…” Red June tried to formulate a proper excuse, but words were failing her once more.

“Please don’t kill me, Mr. Apple!” Valiant pleaded.

The older Earth Pony said nothing still.

Red June grimaced. She was afraid of what her father might do to the stallion who took her virginity. Best case scenario, he would chase Valiant off and make it to where he would never want to see her again. Worst case scenario, Big Mac would go bat-crap insane and murder him right here and there. Either way, things didn’t look too good for Valiant or her…the two looked at each other, both thinking the same thing, and prepared themselves for what might come…

“Eenope.”

“Huh?” Red June and Valiant said in unison.

The two glanced at Big Mac, and they were surprised to see on his face, not contorted in anger, but limp with horror, much like theirs.

“Pa?” Red June asked tenderly.

“Eenope.” Big Mac said once more, his voice emotionless, though he looked like a deer in headlights. Then he began to slowly back out of the room, saying ‘eenope’ once more, and saying it repeatedly as he exit out into the hall, closing the door behind him, his ‘eenopes’ fading away.

Red June and Valiant only looked at each other in confusion, wondering what the hell just happened there…

All the mares in Anthea’s room were beyond all words shocked.

“Oh my gosh…” Whirlwind said, trying to keep her jaws from going slack.

“Your father walked in on you and Lance right there?” Crystal Clarity asked in disbelief, “And did nothing?”

“Eeyup.” Red June nodded, “Ah tell ya, it was one of the most awkward moments of mah life.”

“Holy crap…what happened next?” Starburst asked out of curiosity.

“Well, me and Valiant went downstairs to find mah ma and pa, pa still saying ‘eenope’. Apparently, they came home because they forgot some supplies for the schoolhouse.” Red June explained, before shaking her head, “Knowing full well that we were caught doin' it, we all sat down and we told them about us…”

“And how did they take to you having your cherry recently ‘popped’?” Nidra questioned, giving a slight snicker.

“Ah thought Ah said no ‘cherry’ puns.” Red June said with a glare, before it faded, “But anywho, they took it quite well. Ma was all excited that Ah had a stallion in my life, a prince no less, and Pa…he looked like he wanted to forget that he saw anything.”

“But what of Valiant?” Créme asked.

“Lance? Oh, after we got all cleaned up-and no, Annie, there was no shower sex.” Red June cast a small glare at Anthea, who was about to raise her hoof, only for her to deflate with a pout, “Valiant had to get home…but Ah tell ya, that day was just…” She gave a content sigh, “It was a big step forward for both of us, and we had been happy for the next six years…”

“That is certainly wonderful, June…” Crystal Clarity said with a smile, “And from the looks of It, it seems like you and Valiant are not only more than friends…but I might say you two are a lot more than just coltfriend and marefriend.”

“Well, Ah guess ya could say something like that…” Red June rubbed her mane.

“I’ll say.” Anthea gave a small smile, “So when can we expect you two to get married?”

Immediately, everypony burst into laughter as Red June went beet red.

“Whoa, there, Annie, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Ah’ll admit, me and Lance are awfully close now…but we hadn’t talked about marriage or anything…” Red June stammered.

“Aw…but why not?” Anthea gave a cute pout, “You two had been dating for six years now, haven’t you?”

“Annie’s right, besides, it would be nice to see that Operation: RedHeart came to very romantic and very good conclusion.” Cotton sighed wistfully.

“Ah’m sure it would. But me and Lance are just content with where we’re at now…” Red June explained…before giving a sincere smile, “But…if Lance were to propose or something…Ah might be inclined to say yes.”

“Ooh, dibs on the reception planning!” Cotton raised her hoof excitedly.

“Of course. Ya the first mare Ah would go to.” Red June smiled.

“I still can’t believe that pretty boy alicorn called me an idiot.” Whirlwind said, her voice taking a rather peeved tone.

“Can you blame him? He envied your and Prism’s relationship.” Nidra said, shaking her head, “Heck, he was half-tempted to get over his fear of using his love magic just to get you two back together again.”

“I still wish that you had told us sooner about you and Lance.” Crystal told Red June, “I mean, all this time, just your parents knew about this?”

“Yeah…although Ah think his mom might know about us… just the other day, Ah got a book in the mail from her that read ‘How To Spice Up Your Love Life’.” Red June gave a small shudder, “It was kinda creepy.”

“Well, aunt Cadance was never one for subtlety.” Starburst said with a small smirk on her face.

“I agree with Claire.” Créme declared, “I don’t see why you hid your relationship from everyone. I mean, you and Valiant loved each other, and had very intimate relations…as I can see, you two had nothing to be ashamed of. If I was dating someone that was of a different class, I wouldn’t be ashamed, in fact, I would be proud that I am in love with a stallion far different from me.”

The other mares stared at Créme.

“…What?” Créme asked, a bit perturbed by the stares.

“Why, Créme, you sound like you were speaking from experience just now.” Crystal said with a wry grin.

“Yeah…is there a stallion in your life we don’t know about?” Nidra added on with a grin of her own.

“Well…” Créme trailed off, a blush appearing in her cheeks, “There is this cute stallion…”

“Ooh, care to tell us who?” Cotton asked.

“Yeah, June is done with her story. Maybe you like to be the next to tell us your story?” Anthea followed up, quite intrigued.

“Um…I don’t know…” Créme muttered, rubbing her hoof nervously.

“Don’t ya be shy, Créme.” Red June assured with a smile, “We’re all friends here.”

“Yeah, I wanna know who this guy is.” Whirlwind insisted.

“Oh…okay.” Créme let out a sigh, as Red June stepped away from the center of the circle so she could take her spot, “I must warn you though, things might get very steamy real quickly…”

Chapter End

Author's Note

Hey, everybody, Ebony is back after a month working, here to give you the first contender of the Like A Virgin story.

I'll tell ya, Red June and Valiant Heart has to be my favorite pairing right after Prism and Whirlwind. I just love the chemistry between those two. I personally believe that this couple should be canon in kilala's universe, since there is absolutely no other pairings for either of the two (unless someone tries). But unfortunately, that is but a pipe dream. But I can hope, can I?

I want to give big thanks to kilala and Borsuq for helping me out with this story as I worked on it, and an extra shout-out to Borsuq for pre-reading and having me correct the chapter. You rock, man.

I hope this chapter is to your liking, and I will try not taking little over a month to finish the chapter.

READ AND REVIEW!