Springtime in Ponyville: A Heat and Desire story.

by The Incognito Brony

Rating: mature
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rarity, Sex, Big Macintosh, Applejack
Length: 11020

A story of the heat in Ponyville and coping with mistakes made.

Spring has come to Equestria and, with it, the annual heat. Precautions were in place, but a mistake leaves Macintosh trapped, fighting his own body and Applejack to try and find him help.

A side story to Heat and Desire.

Published 2012-04-17 13:24:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-04-17 13:24:00 UTC

Springtime in Ponyville

Springtime in Ponyville
A Heat and Desire story
By
The Incognito Brony
(Brony Incognito elsewhere)

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan made work of fiction written for fun and to finally get this idea out of my head.

Fair warning, this is a very strange story with badly written sex. You have been warned.

I do not own My Little Pony in any part, nor is this intended to infringe on any copyright or license owned by Hasbro or anyone else. If you actually read this disclaimer, you deserve a cookie.

************************************************************************

Foreword: This story takes place between chapters 4 and 5 of Heat and Desire, but stands alone. For those new to the series, all you need to know for this story is that Big Macintosh met an artist who currently lives in Canterlot.

If you are interested, the rest of the story can be found here.

************************************************************************

"Spike?" Twilight's voice echoed through the empty library. "Spi-ike! Where did that dragon get off to now?" The unicorn went from room to room, poking her head through every door and into every nook and cranny. She had just checked 'napping in the oven again' off her mental checklist when she heard the front door open and close. The unicorn returned to the main room in time to see her baby dragon set a large bowl down on the table.

"There you are. Where did you go?"

"To get lunch." He pointed at the bowl. "Like I said I was going to?"

"Oh... right." Twilight came over. "What is that?"

"Something Pinkie told me about. This new pony in town makes it. It's called a stirfry." Spike pulled out a fork. Where he pulled it from Twilight neither knew nor wanted to learn.

"Okay, so what is it?"

Spike stuck his fork into the noodly mass. He drew out a tangle, stuck it in his mouth and slurped until all the dangling bits disappeared between scaly lips. "I don't know," he said around his food, "she stirred it and fried it."

Twilight eyes narrowed into an irritated glare. A soft grumble rumbled in her throat.

He shrugged. "What?"

A knock on the door interrupted. A violet flash of magic engulfed the mare and she was gone. She reappeared next to the door and opened it.

"Oh, hello, Mayor Mare."

"Twilight, what is the meaning of this?" She brushed past the unicorn.

"Excuse me?" Twilight's voice was low. Her eyes followed the mayor.

"Why is this baby dragon here?"

Twilight was silent a moment. "He lives here," she said, her voice deadpan.

"Miss Sparkle, this is unacceptable. Spike has to leave town immediately."

Twilight looked between the mayor and Spike. The dragon looked back at her with wide, worried eyes.

"Why?" they both asked together.

The mayor's eyes locked on Twilight, her head slowly canting to the left. The unicorn shrunk back and averted her gaze from the older mare.

"You don't know?"

************************************************************************

Applejack slipped the end of the rope through the steel ring. An expert twist of her tongue looped it around itself into a knot. A quick pull with her teeth set it fast.

"Applejack?" Twilight's voice called from above.

"Ah'm in the apple cellar, Sugarcube."

"Thank goodness." Applejack had her back to the stairs, her attention still on the rope, but she heard Twilight's hooves on the wood. "Applejack, I need a favour... what are you doing?"

"Tyin' mah brother to the support timber," she said. "That too snug there, Big Mac?"

"Nope."

Twilight said nothing. Applejack set another knot.

"Something you need, there, Twi?" Applejack pressed the rope between her tongue and palate, drawing back until she was satisfied with the length between the ring and Macintosh’s bridle before snugging it up with a sharp tug.

"Why are you tying Big Macintosh up in the basement?"

The edge of Applejack's mouth twitched up, threatening a smile. She dropped the rope and turned to where Twilight and Spike stood by the stairs. "Well, Twi, when a filly and a colt..." A sudden knot in her gut stole the rest of the sentence. She took a breath. "Twi? What in tarnation is Spike still doin' here?" It was a near thing, but she didn't yell. It still came out harsher than she'd meant.

Twilight blushed a pretty scarlet. A hoof came up to rub at the back of her neck. She let out a nervous laugh. "That's the favour. Can Spike stay with Applebloom for a few days?"

Applejack's eyes darted from the unicorn, to the dragon, and back again. "Well, shoot. ‘Course ya can, Spike. Bloom and the others left yesterday. Granny’s still here, though. Why don’t you run up to the barn an’ let her know you’re comin’ too?"

Spike rolled his eyes, but obediently picked up his suitcase and started back up the stairs. "Yeah, yeah. Don’t see what the big deal is."

Twilight let out a breath when he was gone, her head and ears drooping as she did. She gave Applejack a weak, but grateful, smile. "Thanks, Applejack."

"You best be thanking Granny Smith, but ah’m sure it ain’t no hassle." She paused. "Twi, ah gotta know. How in the hay does a pony clever as you forget to get a young’n outta town before the heat?"

"I didn’t know! This doesn’t happen in Canterlot."

Applejack cocked an eyebrow, then furrowed her brow. "Right, ah knew that. Still, you’ve been in Ponyville more’n a year, ain't ya?"

"I had exams last spring. Spike and I were back in Canterlot for almost a month."

"You reckon the princess did that on purpose?"

"I don’t know. Maybe." Twilight looked to the square of sunlight at the top of the stairs. "Where’s Spike going, anyway?"

"Never been out there, have ya?" Applejack said. "Got some cabins other side of the Whitetail. Keeps the colts far enough away from the marefolk when they’re in need." She gently thumped Macintosh’s chest. "They get a bit wild if we don't. We send the young’ns out too. Don’t need ‘em learning the ins and outs ‘til they’re ready."

Twilight nodded. "Okay, so why are you tying up your brother?"

Applejack stifled a groan, her eyes slipped away from Twilight to a corner of the cellar. "’Cause ah lost a bet."

"Eyup."

"Hush up, Big Mac." Applejack sighed, then nodded. "Alright Twi, here’s the story. Cheerilie decided she wants a foal..."

"Cheerilie's not married, though."

"Twi, how many ponies d’you think are in Ponyville?"

"Last year’s census was four thousand fifty three."

Applejack blinked, then rolled her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Right, so how many colts you reckon are in town?"

"Three hundred seventy-eight... oh."

"Yep. This here ain’t Canterlot, Twi. Here, you want a foal, most fillies ask real nice and maybe the stallion’ll oblige." She nodded over her shoulder to her brother. "Or, you put your name on the list to get a visiting stud to do it."

Spike’s head appeared in the doorway above. "Granny Smith said it’s okay. I guess we’re leaving already."

"Oh, I’ll be right there." Twilight went up the stairs.

Applejack watched her friend until the last of her disappeared into the sunlight, and kept on after she was gone.

"If you’re not planning on letting her go through this blind, now’d be a good time," Macintosh said.

Applejack let out a small laugh. "You gonna be okay down here for a bit?"

"Eyup."

"Alright then. Don't do anything ah wouldn't do 'til ah get back."

"I’ll just be thinkin’ about fillies."

Applejack thumped him in the ribs and got a small chuckle in return.

"Eyup."

The farm mare went up the stairs. The bright sunlight forced her to squint as she broke the surface and left a lingering blur in her vision. Twilight, Spike and Granny Smith talked nearby.

"Oh, it’s no trouble," Granny said. She wore the smile of somepony who’d just drawn to an inside straight. A youthful glimmer danced in her old eyes when Applejack emerged. "It’s just one more in the heap. Don’cha worry about him none."

The old Apple gently nudged Spike with her muzzle and the two were off.

Slowly.

Spike good-naturedly stayed beside Granny’s slow, shaking stride. Applejack came up beside Twilight. The pair waved them off until they disappeared over the little hill down the road. Applejack’s leg was tired long before she could put it down. Twilight let out a relieved grunt when hers finally dropped.

Applejack saw Twilight gingerly roll her shoulder.

"So, why are you tying up Big Macintosh?"

Applejack turned to the unicorn. She knew the expression on her friend's face. She never told anypony, but in her mind she called it Scientist Twilight. The mare wore a cross between grimace and a smile, and her eyes danced; flitting almost imperceptivity every half-second or so. Applejack imagined the twitches as her friend’s mind running through data, searching for connections and filing the results. It was the same expression Pinkie wore whenever somepony let her into Poco’s Party Palace, but less animated and without a running commentary.

"There’re rules for this, Twi. Lots of ‘em. Ah’m tying him up because stallions left in town gotta stay put. Fillies ain’t so good at saying no when they’re thinking with their hindquarters, and stallions’re no better." Applejack’s rump hit the ground. She stared off down the road at nothing. "Lot of foals no one meant to have, lot of rules. Big Macintosh ain’t married, so he needs at least three fillies in case one or two changes her mind. Needs a handler. Needs to be locked up..." She sighed.

Twilight sat down beside her.

"Who are the other fillies?" Had there been a stiff breeze, Applejack wouldn’t have heard Twilight’s voice.

"Rarity and Rainbow." Applejack saw Twilight jump to her hooves out of the corner of her eye. "Now calm down. The doctors gave Rarity some kinda pills to keep her from getting in a family way, and Rainbow’s barren as it is."

Twilight nodded, then her brow creased. She opened her mouth, then closed it. Opened it again, this time raising a hoof. She stopped mid-gesture, then closed her mouth and brought the hoof down to rub her chin. Finally, her rump thumped back down onto the turf.

"So Rainbow..."

"Yep."

"And she can’t..."

"Nope."

"With Big Macintosh?"

"Uh-huh."

"But she’s not going into heat?"

"Nope."

"But she still..."

"Yep."

"But I thought she was..."

"That too."

"So Pinkie...?"

"Friends with benefits."

"Oh." Twilight's hoof scratched the back of her mane. "If she isn’t going into heat, why is Rainbow going to..." Twilight rolled the hoof in the air, "...this?"

"Cheerilie needed a favour and, c’mon Twi, don’t tell me you never clopped one out in the off season."

Twilight’s face turned that pretty scarlet again. Applejack tried to catch her eyes, but the unicorn averted them.

"Heh, heh... Yeah, okay." Twilight cleared her throat a few times. "So... who’s the handler?"

Applejack groaned. "Ah am."

"He’s your brother!"

"Yes, Twilight, ah figured that one out a few years back. Like ah said, ah lost a bet." She shook her head, sighed, then nodded. "Sure, ah'm probably gonna see more'n ah ever wanted of Big Mac, but all ah gotta do is make sure they all get fed, cleaned and get to the bathroom. Doctors gave me some pills too so ah won’t get hit near as bad." Applejack shrugged. A silence fell over the field.

"Speaking of bad. Twilight, do ya’ll trust me?"

"Of course." There was sincerity in the unicorn’s voice, along with a twinge of what Applejack thought might have been hurt.

"This here’s your first time with this, right? Get yourself whatever you need and lock yourself in your basement for the next two weeks."

"Why?"

"Don’t get me wrong, Twi. Ain’t nopony gonna do anything to ya you don’t want. But that’s the trouble, you’re gonna want them to do it. Best you know what you’re in for before you dive in. Save yourself a broken heart and a lot of guilt."

************************************************************************

Dawn's first light on her face woke Applejack as it had every day for as long as she could remember. She rolled obligingly out of bed and stumbled, half-blind, to the bathroom. Her tongue clucked idly against her palate as she went. Her mouth tasted vaguely like old cheese.

The shower went a long way toward waking her up. Hot water on her body warmed her bones and washed tension and sleep from her muscles. It ran down her body, down the lines of her proudly toned legs and down the crease of her rump to play tantalizingly against the sensitive flesh between her thighs. Other tensions no mundane shower could hope to wash away made themselves known. A subtle knot, akin to an itch, nested between her shoulder blades; another rested beneath her heart. They nagged at her for relief.

Applejack reveled in the heat, her head low under the stream. Her breath came deep and slow, almost sighing on the exhale. All on their own her thighs rubbed together, drawing out the tension and teasing at release.

She prodded the tap with a hoof. The cascade stopped and left her standing in the tub, dripping with rapidly cooling water. She got out and toweled off.

Her morning routine had always been quick: a quick brush through her hair, another across her teeth and a pair of bands for her hair and tail. Today she finished by opening the medicine cabinet to reveal a small orange bottle holding twenty-eight little white tablets. The label echoed what nurse Redheart had told her: One in the morning, one at night. She swallowed one with a mouthful of water and closed the cabinet.

In the kitchen Applejack went to work baking an apple betty for her and her brother. The dish was in the oven when the pill kicked in, easing tension from the young mare's body. Stubborn traces still lingering in the sinew, but they were little more than a distraction.

The oven timer dinged.

She donned her trusty Stetson from its hook by the door and made her way to the cellar with the betty and a pot holder between her teeth. She hit the lights to find Macintosh already awake and waiting for her. He stood up from his temporary bed. Ropes tied to his bridle and harness tightened. At his full height the ropes left him only the barest inch of slack.

"Mornin,' AJ."

Applejack came in and set their breakfast down in front of her brother. Rarity had lent them a device that doubled as a table. Applejack called it a table and refused to call it anything else, no matter what anypony said or how many times they explained what the hole was for.

"What're you doin' up so early? Ain't like you're gonna be buckin' or ploughin' today."

Applejack saw the hint of a smile play on the edge of Macintosh's mouth. He was trying to hide it, but the Apple Family Pokerface was having none of it. "Don't know, AJ, reckon I'll plough a couple of furrows today."

Applejack's groan didn't quite make it out her throat. "Well, you're an Apple. Ah know you'll do 'em right and they'll be the prettiest in town."

"Nope."

Applejack's head pulled back an inch. "Excuse me?"

"Pinkie Pie."

A mental image Applejack did not need popped into her head and sent a shiver down her spine. It was surprisingly pleasant, which gave her another shiver that wasn't.

"Eyup," Macintosh said. He wore a knowing grin.

Applejack nodded to the newly added door in the corner. "You know ah can forget to let you go to the bathroom, right?"

******

Applejack nosed the baking pan toward her brother. "Ah'm done."

Macintosh shrugged and dug into her share.

******

Applejack returned to the cellar after doing the breakfast dishes.

"They still ain't here?" she said.

"Town ponies."

"Right..."

******

"Got any threes?"

"Nope."

******

"...seven...eight...nine..." Applejack nudged the thimble with her hoof. "Aw, horseapples."

"Eyup, Boardtrot and a hotel."

"How much?"

"Reckon more'n you got."

******

Applejack hopped a red chip over a black one. "King me."

******

Applejack lay on her back on one of the cots. "What'd you like for dinner, Big Mac?" She kept looking at the earthen ceiling, not really seeing it or bothering to turn her head.

"Apple turnovers?"

******

Applejack stood on the top stair, head poking up out of the earth. She scanned the moonlit fields, the horizon and the pinpricks of light from Ponyville. "Where in the hay are those ponies?"

"Maybe they thought they were supposed to come over tomorrow," Macintosh said, behind and beneath her.

"Maybe." Applejack backed down the stairs. "Ah'm gonna find out tomorrow. You need to use the bathroom again before ah turn in?"

"Nope. I'm good."

Applejack nodded and climbed the stairs again. At the top, she closed the heavy storm door and set the six-inch timber across it and into the hooks. Macintosh was sealed inside.

"Cheeilie probably had an emergency," Applejack muttered to herself on her way into her home. "Dash probably slept through the day and then got caught by Pinkie. Rarity..." She spat out a hollow laugh. "Probably had to go to the spa an’ get gussied up to get rutted. Like it'd matter. Flank'll still be one of the prettiest in town even after Mac's done with it, and that ain't even startin' in on her horn."

The pill was wearing off, the edge was coming back. Applejack closed her eyes against it, promptly walking headfirst into the stair rail.

"Ow."

She went upstairs, purposefully stepping past the bathroom door and into her room. She closed the door behind her and locked it, then pulled the curtain shut. She sighed and pulled a box out from under her bed. It opened to reveal a plastic unicorn horn.

She'd ordered it in a moment of weakness. The catalogue had so many options and she couldn't resist when she'd seen the perfect colour. She reached a hoof down to it, but stopped herself short.

"Ain't right," she said.

She shut the box and went to the bathroom to take her pill.

************************************************************************

Midmorning saw Applejack making her way down the road to Ponyville. Already she'd showered, taken her pill, fed herself and Macintosh, cleaned up, played three rounds of canasta and still nopony arrived.

Vague musk and the smell of sweet sweat hit her nose long before she reached the town proper and it only grew stronger as she went. Ponies in town still went about their daily business, though the lack of stallions felt off to Applejack. A festival atmosphere had taken hold, so apparently nopony else thought so. Everywhere Applejack looked she saw mares in pairs or small groups. The younger ones giggled or whispered conspiratorially to each other. Older couples openly, often proudly, brushed up against one another as they went. The few lone mares moved with purpose. One mare in particular was being stalked by a couple with predatory looks in their eyes. Rose didn't seem to mind.

She passed Lyra, who carried a nondescript paper bag between the teeth of a self-satisfied grin. Her eyes dared Applejack to ask.

She didn't.

She passed a bush that danced, giggled and smelled of sex. A maroon tail sprouted out into the street and twitched in time with each new fit of giggles.

Applejack didn't need to ask.

The Carousel Boutique came into sight. Applejack ran the last block and knocked on the door. It opened. A bouncing, pink bundle of energy stood in the doorway.

"Hi!"

"Pinkie? What're you doing here?"

"Rarity."

Applejack's eye twitched. She'd walked right into that one.

"Pinkie, darling? Who's there?" Rarity's voice came from deeper inside the house. The white unicorn appeared from behind one of the boutique’s many curtains. "Oh, Applejack. What brings you here?"

Applejack shook her head. "Hold up there, what am ah doing, nothing. Why aren't you over at the farm spread fanny-up on the table?"

"First of all, darling, that's not a table."

"Ah don't care what it is!"

Rarity walked purposefully to the door to stand beside Pinkie. "Second of all, I cancelled two weeks ago."

"You did what now?"

"Cancelled, darling, do try to keep up."

Applejack's eye twitched again.

Rarity waved it off. "I had a huge order come in and I just couldn't take the time. I went to town hall that day and told them. I'm surprised you didn't get a letter. But, really, Applejack, I don't see the problem. You still have Rainbow Dash and Cheerilie... oh!" Rarity put a hoof to her mouth and blushed a very light pink. "Is it breaking poor Macintosh's dashing heart that I'm not with him?"

A wistful smile spread across Rarity's face. "Oh, do tell him I'm sorry. I'll make this up to him soon."

"That ain't the problem."

"Oh?" Rarity's smile widened and she bat her lashes at Applejack. "Is somepony else missing my elegant flank on the farm?"

Applejack grit her teeth. "Rainbow an' Cheerilie didn't show up!"

"Oh!" Pinkie's eyes danced with excitement. "You should check the hospital. Two days ago my tail was twitch-a-twitching and my tongue got all 'blah!' and my head went all noddy. That usually means Rainbow Dash crashed."

Both ponies looked at Pinkie with raised eyebrows.

"Is that what that was?" Rarity said after a moment. "I thought you were just excited."

"Nopey Dopey, well, I mean I was, but I mean come on! I've never been with a heaty unicorn. I mean there was that one time the Cakes let me stay, but that was just awkward. I mean, who lets a filly stay at their place and doesn't want a wake up surprise? It was totally a misunderstanding and that police pony took it too far, so I was with a unicorn then, but that was just bondage and no sex, and, seriously, what’s the point of that? Totally doesn't count! But Rarity, she had like six vibrators in the air, and they were all going 'BZZZZ!' and she..."

A pedicured white hoof suddenly appeared in Pinkie's mouth.

"Hehe... yes... Pinkie, a lady doesn't kiss and tell." Rarity turned her gaze back to Applejack. The door glowed white with her magic and started to close. "Now Applejack, I wish you the best of luck."

Applejack caught the door with a forehoof and forced it back open. "Now wait one apple pickin' minute. If you're too busy, what's Pinkie doing here?"

Rarity released her magic causing Applejack to lurch forward, very nearly falling flat on her face. She recovered and glared at the unicorn.

"Really, Applejack, I don't see how that's any of your business, but Pinkie needed a place to stay, away from the Cakes. She was going to housesit for me, but the order came in and she really is marvelous company. Keeps me clear headed, as it were.

"Most of the time."

"...Pinkie?"

Rarity deliberately rolled her eyes at Applejack. "Darling, you really should get out more. Pegasi are wonderful for stallions, or so I've heard, but their wings do get in the way so dreadfully when one tries to be creative. Especially when they're excited. Unicorns are fine, of course, but horns aren't as fun as the stories make them out to be. Simply impossible to look your lover in the eye. But for a mare? Earth ponies are simply divine."

"Earth ponies?"

"Stamina, darling."

"And you know all this how?"

Rarity laughed. "Oh, Appleja-a-ack..." Her voice became a smug deadpan. "I go to better parties than you do."

******

Applejack kicked the door to the hospital room so hard it swung around to mark the wall. She stormed through, eyes spitting fire at the blue pegasus mare in the bed.

Rainbow Dash let out a nervous laugh and put her book onto the side table.

"Hey, AJ," she said, slowly. "You, Big Macintosh and Rarity must be pretty miffed at me, huh?"

The filly had a cast wrapped around one wing and another on a hind leg. A cord running to a pulley over the bed kept the leg off the sheets.

"What in the hay did you do?"

Dash gingerly rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, I was really excited. I mean, I've never been with a stallion before so I just had to know what it's like. So, I wanted to ask somepony." Rainbow Dash laughed again.

"And?"

Metal shrieked across metal as the privacy curtain opened. There, on the other bed, was Cheerilie; three of her legs in casts. A series of cables kept them elevated. She looked like a broken marionette.

"She missed my balcony."

******

The moon was rising when Applejack walked back through the door to her home. She set about making some supper. Macintosh would need something to lift his spirits. Soon after, she opened the door to the cellar and descended into the earth with a pie balanced on her head.

"Big Mac? Ah'm back," she said.

The second she saw him she stopped dead, the pie bobbled on her motionless skull.

Macintosh was frozen in place, on his back, his face staring dumbly at the stairs. His forehooves were clasped on either side of his member. The ropes, still attached to bridle, ring and harness, splayed everywhere. The big stallion's face burned hot with a blush that nopony besides an Apple would have seen under his red coat.

"Um..."

"Eyup..."

A blush warmed Applejack's cheeks as well. The siblings stared at one another a full minute before Applejack sputtered and broke into a peel of laughter. The pie fell and spattered, unnoticed, on the ground.

"Ah got news," she said between fits and breaths, "but ah reckon it'll keep. You have fun. Holler when you're good to eat."

The mare backed up out of the cellar and into the night. She fell over laughing at the absurdity of it all. Rhythmic grunting from below kept her going long after it was funny.

************************************************************************

Applejack woke with an insistent knot of need beneath her heart and an all too familiar itch between her legs. Her mind went to the toy horn under her bed, to her own hooves. It went to a pony in town right then who, she knew, wouldn't refuse her. Not today.

She shook her head and rolled off of her mattress.

"Ain't right," she muttered to herself.

The mare stumbled off to her bathroom, immediately throwing open the medicine cabinet to get at the pills inside. She swallowed one, pausing just long enough to fill her mouth with water straight from the tap to help it down. Relief came soon. The edge ebbed away before she was out of the shower. She finished her routine and went downstairs to make breakfast.

The scent of sweet sweat greeted her when she opened the door outside, overpowering the apple and cinnamon from the pies she carried. The heat was picking up. She savoured it for a moment, eyes closed in a moment's personal fantasy.

A thought caught hold. Her eyes snapped open.

"Horseapples."

Applejack kicked the heavy beam off the hooks and yanked the door open with her teeth. She was in the cellar seconds later, the pies left, forgotten, above. She hit the lights and found her brother huddled on his bed. His breathing came deep and ragged. His body was taught, muscles and veins pressing against tight skin. He didn't open his eyes to look at her.

"AJ?"

Applejack crept cautiously over to her brother. "Ah'm here, Mac."

"That's Big Mac." He managed a laugh.

The worst of Applejack's fear melted away. "Can't be that bad off if you're still up on that." She cuffed him in the shoulder. Her voice softened. "You holding up okay?"

"Eyup. Starting to hurt, but I'll be okay." He looked up at her and gave her a hopeful smile. "Only one more day, right?"

"Yep, ah'm heading in right after ah feed you. They'll have something for you." She reached out with a hoof and gently brushed back his mane. He closed his eyes again and pressed into her touch. "You're taking this whole thing better'n ah thought."

"Don't have much choice," he said. "Where's breakfast?"

Applejack gently cuffed him again.

******

"What do you mean, 'no'?" Applejack yelled. Redheart was nowhere to be found. The two nurses she had found backed away from her. One of the nurses was an older mare past her heat, the other was Applejack's age. Both had coats of a stark white with manes and tails hidden under their uniforms.

"We don't have anything in stock for stallions," the older mare said.

Applejack's vision turned red. Her head lowered like a bull set to charge. "This here's a hospital. Ya'll got at least a dozen out of town stallions pulling stud under town hall, Celestia knows how many married colts in town, and ya'll ain't got nothing for a stallion?" She advanced on the two. They kept backing away.

The younger mare swallowed. "Y-yes? We already ordered and prescribed everything we can give to town hall. Everything else we have to do here."

"Then ah'll bring Big Mac here!"

"Y-you can't. It's illegal to bring a stallion through town right now."

"Ah'll tie him up!"

"It's still illegal," the older mare said. "We can't admit him unless he's injured."

"Ya'll will let mah brother suffer just 'cause he's not suffering enough?"

The two nurses looked at each other, then back to Applejack. "Yes?"

******

Applejack knocked on the door to Town Hall. There was no answer.

She knocked again. No answer.

She tried the door. It was locked.

She heard somepony laughing inside and bucked the door to splinters.

Nopony came to stop her as she marched in over the shattered wood. The laughing was louder now. It came from under the floor. She realized that it was the out of town colts and the mares they were studding. There was nopony in the room, or even on this floor.

Nopony stopped her when she marched up the stairs and threw open the door to the mayor's office.

She found Mayor Mare there, on her desk, on her back. Another mare, a light green Earth pony Applejack knew as the town notary, had her muzzle buried between the mayor's beige thighs. Both jumped when Applejack came in.

The mayor not so gently pushed the other mare away with a hind hoof. She slipped herself off of the desk, adjusting her cravat as she went. Her eyes were dark as she looked at Applejack, but she kept an even expression on her face.

"Rani, excuse us please," the mayor said. The other mare nodded, an ashamed blush bloomed on her face. She slipped past Applejack and out the door without meeting the mare's eyes. The mayor turned on Applejack. "Miss Apple, what gives you the right to barge in here like this?"

"Mah brother needs to get to the hospital, but some stupid law says ah can't take him."

"Applejack, you and your family have always been a pillar of this community, but those laws are there to protect the ponies of this town. Do I need to remind you what happened when Wild Oats got loose? Snips, Silver Spoon, Berry Pinch, Bloo, Dinky!"

"No, Mayor," Applejack said. She let out a breath and pushed out some of her anger with it. "But this here's different. Ah just need to get mah brother someplace he can get this handled."

"I'm sorry Applejack, but I can't allow it. You, of all ponies, know what your brother is capable of." The mayor's brow creased in thought, a worried look crept into her eyes to replace the anger. Her voice softened. "Why is Macintosh still in town?"

"Cheerilie wanted a foal. Now don't you bring that up. We did everything legit."

The mayor shook her head. "I remember. But Cheerilie went to the hospital three days ago. I sent the evacuation order myself."

"You did what now?"

Applejack watched as the mayor walked quickly over to a filing cabinet set against the wall. She opened a drawer and pulled out a folder. From there, she drew out a piece of paper with the words ‘File Copy’ stamped on it in red. She handed it to Applejack.

"I gave it to Ditzy myself."

Applejack read over the paper. It was an evacuation order for Macintosh to leave town and head to the cabins immediately. It was dated three days ago. She read it again, then again, then again. Finally, she turned the paper to the mayor and pointed a hoof at the letterhead. "Ya'll ain't got a name up here. And this here ain't mah address."

******

Applejack walked the long road out of town back to the Acres, and then kept right on going. Another mile up the road she stopped in front of the lane to the Carrot Family Farm. The place was deserted now. For as long as Applejack could remember, the Carrots had spent the winter in Hoofington, returning long after the heat.

She popped open their mailbox. Inside she found a letter telling Macintosh that Rarity had cancelled, Macintosh's evacuation notice and a letter telling the Carrots that they may have already won ten thousand bits.

******

"AJ?" Applejack heard her brother say as soon as she opened the cellar door.

The mare descended the stairs in silence. She didn't want to meet her brother's eyes, but forced herself. She saw the hope in them gutter and die.

"AJ? What'd they say?" His voice wasn't just hopeful, it was a prayer.

She shook her head. "Ah'm sorry, Mac."

Applejack's shoulders slumped when he didn't take the bait. She went over to him and wrapped her forehooves around his neck. She felt one of his forelegs land on her back and pull her close. He buried his face in her mane.

"Big Mac, you're the best pony in this here town and don't you forget it. You can do this."

He squeezed her tight. She smiled against his neck.

Her guts turned to lead when she realized he was sniffing her hair. She forced herself to laugh and gently cuffed his shoulder. "Unless you plan on eatin' it, you'd best stop before you get mah mane wet."

He let her go and pulled back the inch the ropes allowed him. She stepped back for him and kept a smile on her face. He looked away.

"Come on, Mac. Ah'm your sister. Ah gotta put up with ya and love ya. It’s the law."

Applejack got a begrudging, sideways smirk for her trouble. "I told you. It's Big Mac."

******

Night came at last. Macintosh was fed, been taken to the bathroom and otherwise sorted out for the night. Applejack hated treating her brother like a pet, but the day caught up with her and she was too tired to think about it.

She put one sore hoof in front of the other as she climbed the stairs to her room's promise of bed. She went to the bathroom first. Fatigue helped keep the need at bay, but her morning pill had nearly run its course. She took another and swallowed it dry before trudging to her room.

She hit her bed with all the grace of a bag of potatoes. Sleep beckoned, but her pony waited for her when she closed her eyes. She shook her head to chase her away, begging her to give her some peace. It didn't work. She cracked her eyes and peered over the edge of the bed. The box poked out under her mattress.

She slipped out from under the covers and pulled the toy out, holding it between her hooves in the moonlight. It really was perfect, even if the measurements she'd provided were a guess.

A switch on the base would make the whole thing vibrate, ‘simulating magic,’ the catalogue said. She didn't want that. Not yet. She pulled the toy close and kissed the tip. It slid in between her lips, the tip of her tongue ran along the spiral groove. In her mind, a certain somepony was attached to the other end, begging for more.

She slowly pulled the horn out. When she opened her eyes her pony wasn't there. The horn glistened, ready to be broken in. A flash of Macintosh tied up in the basement came unbidden. She put the toy back in the box and nosed the whole thing out of sight.

She crawled back into bed and rolled onto her back, waiting for the pill to kick in. Her pony was still there, waiting in her mind, teasing her. She pulled a pillow over her head and held it there until the fantasy smothered and she drifted off.

************************************************************************

An enraged whinny jolted Applejack awake. She struggled to get free of her covers, failed and fell hard onto the old floorboards. She kicked her hooves under her and hit the stairs at a canter.

The first finger of dawn greeted her as she exited her front door. The sweet scent from town hit like a hammer without her medicine. It staggered her. She shook it off.

Another whinny. Definitely Macintosh. She opened the cellar door and found him with a rope between his teeth. He pulled, straining for all he was worth. The ring, bolted clean through the timber, held fast. The timber, however, began to crack.

"Big Macintosh!" Applejack yelled. He didn't stop. She went over, grabbed the rope and pulled back, wrenching it out of his mouth. "Macintosh!"

He whinnied loud and wild. He drew himself back to rear. The ropes stopped him. He tried again without success and neighed in frustration.

"You need to..." she started. He surged forward. The ropes stopped him again, creaking and whining their protest. Applejack stumbled back.

"Ah didn't wanna have to do this," She reared back and brought one forehoof hard across Macintosh's cheek. His head snapped to the side.

He stopped.

The stallion rubbed his cheek and blinked. He looked her way. Applejack sighed with relief. She recognized the pony behind those eyes.

"What did I do?"

She gave him a nuzzle. "Nothing ah can't fix."

She felt him sniff at her neck, then quickly pull away. "AJ, this won't work."

"Ain’t failed yet."

"AJ..."

"You sure?"

"Eyup."

************************************************************************

Applejack woke to the familiar gnawing need. She rolled to her hooves and stumbled to the bathroom. There, she dry-swallowed her ninth pill and stumbled out again. She didn't shower. No brush touched her hair. She let her hooves carry her downstairs to where she'd left a tray of turnovers the night before.

She opened the door. The sweet scent of thirty-seven hundred fillies in the height of their heat flooded her nose; the aroma carried in from Ponyville by the wind.

Applejack opened the cellar door and walked down into the earth. A cocoon lay on Macintosh’s bed. The big stallion had been wrapped in every blanket, sheet and curtain the Apples claimed as theirs and then roped firmly to the floor. Only his head and tail were free, and the head still wore his bridle.

Granny Smith’s bedpan was under there somewhere. Going by the smell, it hadn't seen use. Yet. Small favour.

She didn't speak as she approached. His body shivered as if with fever and thick veins bulged from his neck. His eyes watched her come.

"Ah brought breakfast."

He shook his head. "Ain't hungry."

She reached down and stroked his mane. He pressed up into it. "Ain't nopony ever going to hear about this Big Mac, ah promise. And ah sure ain't gonna let mah big brother starve just cause he thinks his sister can't take a smell."

They looked at each other. Eventually, Macintosh opened his mouth without a word. Applejack slid a turnover inside. He chewed slowly, shame plain on his face. Finally, he swallowed. They repeated the process until the tray was empty. Applejack put the tray aside and pulled up a cot, folding the legs down so it rested on the ground. The mare laid down on it, her head near her brother's.

They laid together throughout the day. Neither said much. Applejack tried a few times, but Macintosh wasn't up for conversation. The mare left him only twice, both times to make a meal. The rest of the time she stayed there with him as a feeling of helplessness built in her chest and nagging cramps settled into her muscles.

Night finally came and she made her way out of the accidental prison, up into the moonlight and into their home. She went up the stairs to the bathroom, opened the medicine cabinet and stared at the little orange pill bottle.

Her own heat was returning. Soon her loins would burn, her mind would numb. The bottle promised relief.

She grabbed it between her teeth and ran back downstairs, back into the earth. Macintosh looked up when she returned. His eyes went from hers to the bottle and back again. She opened the bottle and shook out a pill.

"Open," she said. He didn't argue. She got him some water to help him swallow.

It took time, more than Applejack would have liked, but her brother's eyes softened. Not much; just enough for her to see the good stallion she'd known all her life. His shivering lessened. Eventually, he fell asleep.

Applejack watched him through the night, making sure he was alright. His breathing never evened and he still shivered constantly, but he stayed asleep. Her brother's eyes opened again when the first light of dawn streamed in through the open cellar door.

She didn't let him speak. Instead, she took the pill bottle, shook two tablets out onto her hoof and said, "open."

************************************************************************

Applejack found her brother sitting right where she'd left him. No ropes held him in place and the door was only closed to keep him from wandering off. He didn't look at her when she arrived, he just kept staring at the wall in a stupor.

"Ah brought supper," she said. Dead eyes turned her way. He opened his mouth. A line of drool ran from his tongue down to the floor. She wiped it off with a cloth, then placed a tart inside. He remembered enough to chew and swallow.

Two tablets were pushed into the last of his tarts. He didn't notice.

She led him to the bathroom. He remembered the toilet and how to use it. If she waited outside the door and reminded him, he cleaned himself afterward.

Gentle nudging got him to his bed. A little more and he laid down. She sat down beside him with another cloth and wiped his face. One of her hooves stroked his short mane, the other ran the cloth down his neck. He murmured, almost a purr. As she was cleaning his strong shoulders, his nose found her tail and nuzzled into it. Electricity ran through the needy knot under her heart.

She was three days off her medicine. All of it went to Macintosh. Her eyes pinched shut, she shook her head to clear it.

She could handle it.

"You best not be gettin' used to this, Big Mac," she said. "When Bloom got old enough ah didn't figure on havin' to do this for anypony else until ah had a foal of mah own."

Shaking hooves ran the cloth down her brother’s toned body, cleaning off the scabs where ropes had cut into flesh, wiping off bruises that showed purple through the coat. She lifted a foreleg and ran the cloth through the pit.

"You know, when ah was younger ah thought ah'd have one by now." Applejack felt each bump as she ran the cloth down his spine. Her eyes followed her hoof. The stuffy cellar smelled of apples, musk and the ever present sweet of the fillies. Her heart hadn't stopped pounding for days. She could barely hear over the rush of blood in her ears.

Beside her, Macintosh started gently nipping at her tail, burrowing deeper to do it. Applejack's breath caught, her eyes closed. The cloth kept tracing the stallions body, blind now. Powerful muscles passed under her hoof until she hit the crook of his knee. A light push moved the leg out of the way. She let out a whimpered sigh and looked down. Her brother looked back at her; drugged and barely aware.

She felt sick.

******

Ice water ran down Applejack's body, cold enough to hurt. It forced the burning in her body back, deeper. It felt right. Applejack pushed the tap shut before her hooves shook too hard to stand, but not before her tail had gone numb.

Immediately, the knot grew in her belly again.

The pills were still in the cellar. They would let her ignore it.

Macintosh needed them more.

She looked through the open door to her bedroom. She could just see the edge of the box under her bed.

"Ain't right," she said.

Her mind treated her to a flash of Macintosh exposed in the cellar not twenty minutes ago. She walked to her room, head hung low.

She pulled out the toy horn without ceremony and held it in front of her again. Its finish sparkled in the dim moonlight. That made Applejack laugh, but there was no joy in it.

"Ain't right."

She hit the switch anyway. The toy came alive, vibrating so strongly that her hooves tingled. She stared at it, almost letting herself believe it would start to glow the familiar burgundy. It didn't. She set it on the bed, still on, and climbed up after it.

She laid on her back, took the plastic horn in her hooves and, again without ceremony, lowered it to her nethers. She took a deep, fearful breath and thrust the toy into her body. Her eyes went wide in the dark. She bit her lip to keep the scream that forced its way up her throat to a squeal. There was pain, but it was only a faint backdrop to what took place in her inexperienced body.

Never had anything been inside her during her heat, her own hooves and only two mares had ever touched her. They had been kind and gentle with her while they taught her to know her body. The toy was neither. It worked relentlessly and tirelessly inside her. Her own hoof pressed down, keeping it in.

Her hips bucked as the pressure built beneath her heart. Her eyes closed and the mare who'd inspired her to buy the damned toy waited for her behind the lids. When release finally came, it wracked her body. Hind hooves dug into the bed. One forehoof held the horn in place, the other scratched at her chest and neck. Her back arched and a fluttering sob slipped out of her mouth.

When it passed, she came back to earth and lay sprawled on the bed. She stared up at nothing. Her breath hitched. She tore the plastic out of her and flung it hard against the wall.

She curled up on the bed, alone in the night with only a shameful afterglow and the siren buzzing of the horn across the room.

************************************************************************

The last two pills fell from the bottle onto her upturned hoof. She looked longingly at them as she had every time. She looked down at her brother and his glazed expression, an ignorant smile on his face as he looked vaguely up at her.

Her hoof trembled. She swallowed the saliva that gathered under her tongue.

"Open."

******

Few ponies walked the streets of Ponyville. Those there were moved quickly or lay in the sun with satisfaction painted on their faces. Some looked up as Applejack passed, a handful called invitations to her.

The air here was thick and wet. Applejack felt like she was breathing molasses and she longed to drown in it. She forced herself to think of her brother, tied down and in pain. It kept her sane long enough to knock on the door of the Carousel Boutique.

Rarity answered the door. Her usually pristine mane disheveled and damp from perspiration. Her eyes had a far off, dreamy look to them. They sharpened only slightly when she saw Applejack. She smelled like honey.

"Applejack? What are you doing here?"

Applejack licked her lips.

"Applejack? Applejack!"

"What? Right. Rarity, ah need you to come to the farm. Macintosh's in a bad way and ah’m all outta medicine."

"I see. Applejack, I believe you and I have already had this conversation..." The door glowed white and started to close. On the other side, Rarity had already turned back inside.

A swift tan hoof hit the door and shattered the magic on it. A second later Applejack was three steps inside the Boutique. She glared at Rarity. When she recovered from the shock, Rarity glared back.

"Now you see here, Miss Froufrou. Come tomorrow mah brother's gonna be curled up in pain. That is, he would be if ah didn't have to tie him to the floor to keep him from hurtin' himself. Now how's about you go and put a few of them pills you got down that pretty little gullet and go spread your haunches for him like you said ya would."

The words flowed out before Applejack knew she'd said them. She hadn't expected them, but she expected the slap across the face even less. She rubbed her cheek and stared, dumbfounded, at Rarity who was herself staring at the offending hoof.

The unicorn cleared her throat and let the hoof hit the floor. "Yes, well... Applejack, I returned the pills to Redheart. And were I to still have them, they take a week before they have any effect."

"Maybe ya'll could do it without the mountin'?"

Rarity shook her head. "I'm sorry Applejack. I feel simply dreadful about Macintosh, I truly do, but no matter what he's going through, it will be over in three or four days. If I go to him, I'll be hounded for years to come."

Applejack opened her mouth, then decided to take an interest in a floorboard. "Right. Ah... ah'd best go."

The farm mare made her way back out the door. Her first hoof was on the earthen road outside when Rarity called out, "Applejack, wait."

Applejack turned around.

"I can't do anything your brother, but you I can help. You look a mess, darling." The unicorn came over to Applejack and brushed a messy blonde lock out of Applejack's face with her muzzle.

Applejack shook her head. "Ain't..."

Rarity silenced her with a kiss. Applejack stared when Rarity pulled away again. The farm mare started to shake. She squeezed her eyes against the shame.

"Pretend I'm her," Rarity whispered in her ear, then gently grabbed it to pull the other mare inside. Applejack obeyed. "I don't mind."

The unicorn nuzzled her cheek against Applejack. The unicorn's coat was soft, inviting. Applejack begged her body to resist. Her cheek pressed back anyway. She stopped fighting.

Rarity's mane tickled her nose and she indulged in the smell of it. She felt Rarity kiss at her neck, at the places storemares kept trying to spray perfume the few times she went shopping in Canterlot. It made her heart flutter and sent electricity to every needy corner of her body.

Applejack followed the line of Rarity's mane up, found her horn and let it slide into her mouth. Rarity froze.

"Applejack? That's a little forward, isn't it?"

The farm mare ran her tongue down the length, intentionally slipping the tip down into the first crevice of the spiral groove, pulling gently back and letting her tongue pop into the next, and then each in turn.

Rarity's body quivered. She let out an unladylike squeak. "Applejack, d-darling, a unicorn's horn is much more sensitive than most ponies..." Applejack ran the tip of her tongue through the groove, coiling it around the horn in her mouth. "...thi-hink!"

Rarity pressed her head up, into Applejack's muzzle. Applejack suckled, one of the unicorn's hooves began tapping rhythmically on the floor. She let out a tiny, blissful whimper with every movement of Applejack's tongue and lips. Rarity's knees buckled, she melted down onto the floor. Applejack stayed standing, but followed her down, not letting go.

"S-stop..." A white hoof pressed against Applejack's muzzle, half-heartedly pushing the farm mare away. Applejack brushed it aside with her own. "Applejack, I'm... Yaha!"

The taste of saffron honey filled Applejack's mouth for an instant before a mass of force puffed out her cheeks and blew her jaw open. She dropped Rarity, who slumped to the floor with a purr, and stumbled back, coughing. Her teeth buzzed and tingled, her lips and tongue were numb. The taste of honey lingered.

Applejack shook her head. She poked a hoof at her lips to try to get feeling back. "What in the hay was that?" she said, or tried to anyway.

Rarity raised her languid head to Applejack, her half-lidded eyes coy. "I did try to warn you." She nodded past Applejack. "She's all yours."

"Okie dokey lokey."

A pair of hooves landed on Applejack's back before she could turn around. The pony behind her bucked forward, something long and hard abruptly split her nethers and buried itself inside her. Glorious pressure rushed through her. Her front legs caved under her, forcing her to a knee and bringing her muzzle to muzzle with Rarity.

"Ooo... you were ready!" Pinkie said. Applejack felt lips nibble at her ear and soft curls brush against her shoulder.

"What is...?"

Rarity gave Applejack a smug smile before kissing her. "It's called a strap on, darling. Do try to keep up."

************************************************************************

The movements of the mare underneath her woke Applejack. Her muzzle was still buried in somepony's mane. She cracked open an eye. She was laying half on top of Rarity, her hooves holding her close. Their hips were still pressed together. Past Rarity, Pinkie hung half off the bed, all four hooves sticking straight up into the air.

One of Applejack's hooves glowed white and lifted up on its own, settling again in the space between herself and Rarity. The process repeated for the hind leg draped over Rarity's. Applejack watched as Rarity wriggled herself toward the headboard, extricating the strap on Applejack still wore from her body. She let out a series of stifled squeaks as she did.

Applejack let the mare free herself, then put a hoof onto the unicorn's shoulder and pulled her back.

Rarity laughed, "Really, Applejack?"

"You said Earth ponies were good for stamina."

A hoof brushed Applejack's own from the unicorn's shoulder. "Yes, I did, but as much fun as yesterday was, I really do need to get back to work." She stood up on the bed and stretched. "Right after I freshen up."

Rarity stepped down from the bed and walked from the room. Heat rose in Applejack's cheeks as her eyes watched the departing flank.

Applejack was left alone in the bedroom with a snoring, inverted Pinkie Pie. She unbuckled the toy from her hips and soon found herself staring at her friend. She really did have the nicer flank.

"Wait, yesterday?" Applejack said to nopony in particular. Pinkie stirred at the noise.

Her brow creased in thought. Everything after arriving at Rarity's was a blur of lovemaking and napping to recover before starting again. Buried in there were the memories of daffodil sandwiches and, possibly later, a lasagna. She didn't remember coming upstairs, only one last spirited bout before they all collapsed into an exhausted pile on the bed.

She looked to the clock on Rarity's beside table. It read eight o'clock.

"Horseapples!" She sprang from the bed, knocking Pinkie to the floor in the process.

******

She arrived to find the door to the apple cellar cracked, but still closed. As she came up the lane she heard a great crash from below and watched the wood bow outward, the oak beam splitting and threatening to snap in half, then it fell flat again.

A minute passed, another great blow struck the wood.

Applejack threw open the door. Macintosh stood below with maddened eyes and a battered head, lining up another charge. She put herself on the stairs between him and freedom.

"Macintosh, stop it," she said. "Ah'm sorry ah wasn't here. Ah shoulda been, but ah was weak."

Macintosh scratched at the earth with a hoof, lowering his head.

"Ah'm sorry, but you have to stay here, just for a little while longer." She shook her head. "Big Mac, you listen here, this is your sister Applejack sayin' this. Ah’ll make you all the pies you can eat and ah’ll get a parade a fillies linin’ up jus’ as soon as this is all over. Don't know how yet, but ah promise. Please. You just gotta keep it together a few more days."

Three times her weight in charging pony knocked her from the stairs onto the dirt floor. The impact made her grunt and, when she looked up, her brother was gone. She climbed the stairs and looked out. Macintosh was already halfway down the lane from their home. She sighed and let herself fall down onto her belly.

"Alright Mac, you find yourself a filly. Ah reckon ya did better 'an most."

He turned onto the road, Applejack watched him go. He kept on, limping as he ran. When he hit the turn toward Ponyville, however, he kept going straight, towards the Whitetail Woods.

"Now what in tarnation does he think he's doing?" Applejack's eyebrow cocked up. "Oh, horseapples, the cabins..."

Her hooves hit earth. Five strides later she was running full tilt. She cut a straight path through the Acres. She lost sight of her brother in the trees, but knew the road he followed. Mere minutes later, she'd reached the end of her land and kicked over the fence into the Whitetail.

In an instant the going became treacherous, but still she beat her hooves hard against the ground. Her heart pounded twice as fast; her veins burned. The trees grew at random here, but her lithe body snaked between them. Wild branches and underbrush grabbed at her, cutting her. She pushed through.

Through the trees, she began to catch gasps of red on the road. She poured herself into her legs, pushing past him. She saw the trees line up ahead and moved, diving out of the treeline and onto the road directly into Macintosh's path. She braced her front hooves hard, coiled up her body and bucked as hard as she could. Her back hooves struck perfectly into her brother's barrel chest.

Every bone and joint slammed into one another in succession from the point of impact. Pain rippled up her spine, knocking the air from her body, robbing her of any strength. She fell, boneless, to the ground, some small part of her brain marveling that she hadn't broken a hip. Macintosh fell to the ground beside her.

The farm mare rolled over onto her back, her lungs pinched shut but begging for air. She managed to cough, then suck in a lungful. More coughs followed. Beside her, Macintosh clutched at his ribs as coughs wracked his body too.

Applejack rolled over again, pressing hooves into the road and lifting herself onto unsteady legs. She looked to her brother and found steel for her voice. "You can head back to town or to the cellar, but ya ain’t getting to the cabins. Ah ain’t lettin’ ya near them fillies the way you are."

Macintosh got to his hooves. He shook his head hard, then snorted like a bull. He surged forward, past her. A hoof from her sent him sprawling again. He was back up quickly, his face twisted into a vengeful grimace and blind rage in his eyes. He dove at her, a forehoof coming wild at her head. She ducked under it, though her hat was knocked away.

She popped her head up as her brother spun around from his own attack. "You can't whoop me on your best..." She saw it too late. The hoof she'd ducked had planted into the ground, the other forehoof had joined it. His body was already coiling up. She twisted to get out of the way. "Aw, horseap..."

And then her brother was ten yards away and she was curled up under a tree. Her back was warm and wet. Her shoulder burned with what she knew to be torn muscles. Again she tried to force air into empty, but unwilling, lungs and wound up wracked with coughs. She watched Macintosh approach, cautious. She tried to push herself up again, but her shoulder rewarded her with a white-hot spike of pain. She collapsed again with a cry.

Macintosh had closed half the distance then. He looked between her and the path, his hooves edged him sideways, past her. He looked ready to bolt.

An image of tangerine eyes came to Applejack, of the screams of a filly pinned under the large stallion.

His eyes looked down the path again, his muscles tensed.

"Alright Mac, you win," she said. Macintosh stopped, maddened eyes turning to her. She pushed herself up, bracing herself against the tree to keep weight from her injured shoulder. She pointed her rump his way. "Ya done caught your filly."

She closed her eyes tight. She heard him approach, felt his breath on her rump as he drew her in. She moved her tail out of his way. A second later she told herself it was intentional. His nose traced up the line of her spine until his chest was pressed against her rump.

"It's okay." Her voice cracked. "Ah can take it. Jus' you be quick, alright? This'll make it all better."

He stopped.

"AJ?"

She felt him rear and surge forward.

Crack

He was off of her. Her tree shuddered and creaked a protest. She looked up. The tree was broken clean through mere inches above her head. It was already toppling over. Above her, a cacophony of pops and snaps sounded as branches broke and rained pieces of wood down onto the mare.

She looked back. Macintosh was there, her brother, not the maddened stallion she'd chased. He stumbled, unsure on his hooves. Blood covered his face from a wicked gash on his forehead.

"AJ," he said. "I can't."

Proud tears filled the mare's eyes and she gave him a smile. "Ah got ya, brother."

He lowered his head for her, her hoof struck clean and he fell. Another spike tore through Applejack's shoulder and she fell to earth beside him. The tree crashed into the underbrush just after.

Applejack dragged herself over to her brother and laid an ear on his chest. He was still breathing, and breathing strong. She buried her muzzle into his side and laughed.

"You're a good pony, big brother, but there ya go again: hurtin’ yourself and leavin’ me with all the hard work. How in the hay am ah supposed to get you home?"

************************************************************************

Applejack found her brother sitting on the hill just outside the barn. Bandages still covered most of his head. He looked off to the northeast, towards Canterlot. She limped over and set one of her pies down in front of him. The other she set in front of herself and sat down. He gave her a nuzzle in thanks.

"You enjoy, ah think you earned it. 'Sides, you know ah keep mah promises."

He gave her a smile and dug in.

"Ah had a word with some ponies in town. They're gonna fix some things after this. Heat's done, but you ain't allowed in town until the foals and other stallions get back." She paused. "Talked to Rarity too. She and Pinkie said they'd be by in a few weeks, ah'll see who else ah can rustle up."

He stopped eating.

"Something ain't right about that, AJ."

She shrugged, and immediately regretted it. "Consarn it... Look, it ain't perfect, but ah promised, so ah will."

"Not what I mean. There're two foals in town that're mine, but aren't mine. Been doin’ this too long, AJ. I don’t even like myself when I’m like that."

"Ah know. Darn near had another Apple on our hooves. She’d've been a sight to see."

He gave her a long look. "Too close that time. AJ, thank you. For stopping me."

"Anytime ya want a kick to the head, you give me a holler. It’ll be my pleasure."

A large hoof to her ribs sent Applejack teetering, but didn't hit hard enough to hurt. Her brother looked off to the horizon again. She followed his gaze up to Canterlot Castle.

"What’cha thinking, Big Mac?"

"Thinking maybe I should get into the arts." He looked at her again. "Thinking it's time you do something similar."

Applejack blinked, confused, then laughed. "Alright, you get up the nerve, and I’ll do the same." She lifted up her good forehoof and spat on it, then offered it to Macintosh. He spat on his and pressed it into hers.

The two looked out at the castle a while longer. A smile spread, unasked, across Applejack's face. "So... reckon you’ll get started on that soon, or can I count on ya for Winter Wrap-up?"

The hoof cuffed her in the ribs again.

************************************************************************

A/N: Well, that was a long one. It sounds odd to say, but contemplating this chapter is actually what started the whole endeavour for Heat and Desire.

I debated for a while about making this a separate story, but eventually decided to do it because of how much it stood alone and, I feel, massive difference in tone.

As per usual, hope you all enjoyed and thanks for staying with me so far.