You kissed her furry snout out of sympathy. You told her it was alright, but she had to calm down then.

"C-calm?" Careful blinked, then paled, her ears going flat. "Oh! I just keep doing things to make this worse." She hopped up to her hooves, tail tucked down. "Please don't report this, please... I may not agree with some of their methods, but I do want to help with the stud program."

You gently assured her you wouldn't tell anyone else, stroked through her soft mane, and hiked a thumb. She may want to retire to her own room.

"Y-yes... I suppose I can't be trusted beside you right now. I'm too... everything." She reared up to be on your level as you stood and quickly stole a kiss before she fell back down and raced for the door. "Please don't be mad!"

She was gone, and you were left alone and stiff. Though tempted, you kept your hands well away from that alien tool you sported. Alien or not, the sensations it provided while free of your sheath were more than enough to convince you that you were looking forward to actually putting it to use.

Tomorrow.

It had been a long day. Without fanfare, you crash into bed, and everything goes away.

"This him?" You were awakened by a female voice. Even as you sat up, you saw an orange earth pony approaching. "Don't look like much, but ah guess ah don't get t'be picky." Applejack? For sure. She had her usual stetson on and red ribbons. "Ya awake? Good. Let's get this over with." She turned from you and lifted her tail up and to the side. "Ah know what the score is, don't need to waste time with the particulars none." Despite her obvious display, her nethers didn't wink like Careful's had.

You quickly scrambled out of bed. The covers that had been on you slid off, exposing you to the world.

Applejack peeked over her shoulder at you. "Huh." And that was her entire comment. Her expression was the same as someone waiting in line at the DMV for a license renewal. There was no energy there.

You asked if something was wrong.

"Wrong?" Applejack snorted softly. "Well, since ya asked. Ah'd rather find a nice stallion that wants ta work the farm with me, not, well, you. Ah mean, no offense or nothin', but yer just a foal maker, not a stallion. We ain't in love. We ain't even friends. Shoot sugarcube, ah don't even know your name any and maybe that's fer the best."

Was this why Applejack hadn't found a stud despite being one of the mane six and listed highly? You asked her if there was something you could do to make things better.

She arched a brow high. "Ya can take that pony prick ah yers and put it back there." She tossed her head to indicate her back end. "Ya know how foals are made, right? Git to it."

This wasn't what you imagined...

Author's Note

A short chapter today... I didn't even need to enter the votes yesterday. You all made it very clear. The hive mind was adamant in gently letting Careful down and waiting for AJ.

And here she is, at last! But... something seems off. She is far from happy to see you. What to do? To declare this outright, you can vote for more than one, just make it easy for me to parse (I vote for 1, 2, 5). I love the reasons that go with! I do read each and every one, and it does influence the hive mind's thoughts and moods.

1) Proceed with the insemination.
2) Try to get to know Applejack better.
3) Emphasize with how shitty the situation is.
4) Forget this, you aren't sleeping with her and you make that clear.
5) Alright, let's make this more romantic!
6) Invite her to get a nibble to eat first before jumping straight to this part.
7) Ask her what she knows about this situation. She is probably privvy to all kinds of details.