That wasn't how you planned to start the day. You approached the stoic Applejack and gently nudged her tail back down.

She looked back at you with a scowl. "Look, sugarcube--"

You pressed a finger to her snout. That could wait.

She recoiled at the touch. "W-what? Ah done waited plenty." She brought down a hoof with a clop. "Look, ah know ya don't want to be here none more than ah do."

Who said that?

Applejack pointed out the door. "What, ya don't think ah talked to the Princesses none before ah came in here? Ah know ya know. Yer probably mighty riled up. Ah know ah'd be."

You walked past Applejack. You had a pressing need that only the restroom could resolve. As you went though you asked what she thought you felt.

Applejack followed, some confusion in her eyes. She let you retreat into the bathroom though. "Ya know the studs ain't going back home anytime soon, if ever. Ya know we're terrible ponies what took ya just for ya to do things fer us."

You emerged, less about to burst. As a note, going to the bathroom with a horse tool is more complicated than one might think. You had to basically lay down, belly down, on their bidet to do it properly. It cleaned you! Soapy water spraying your bits a moment before being washed and dried with little jets of warm air. It was bizarre, but hey, all nice and clean.

Applejack looked you over curiously. "Look, sugarcube... Ya know the score, so do I. Can we just..." She rolled a hoof. "Git on with it and go along our day?"

You spoke your name clearly.

She blinked. "Is that a human word?"

You explained that was your name, and it was nice to meet Applejack.

She recoiled a little. "Ah done told ya..." Then she slumped. "Nice to meetcha... Look, this is awkward for everypony involved. Shoot, they done told me most studs were positively eager to jump on anything with a raised tail." She cocked a brow at you. "Then again, they also said you just wouldn't stop asking questions. Guess ah shoulda known better."

Was that a good or a bad thing, in her opinion?

She quirked a little smirk on her face. "You keep on being you, pardner. Still... look..." She sank down to her haunches. "Ah done been on that infernal list fer months. Dozens of studs come and go and do they pick me? Shoot, 'course not." She raised a brow at you. "Speakin' ah, since we're talkin' and all, why did you pick me?"

You began regailing Applejack on her positive features. You went over her genuine personality, her strength and determination. You explained how she was a great friend for those around her and a big sister for Apple--

"How do ya know all that?!" Her eyes were wide and she looked spooked as anything.

Were you really? Were you the first brony they dragged into this? You would have thought Luna would have fixed on bronies first for this project, but maybe she didn't even know they existed before? Of course, maybe she did and it was just kept quiet? You weren't sure, but that wasn't relevant to Applejack.

You started to explain that, in your world, she was part of a production, to entertain foals and teach good morals.

She flushed dark. "M-morals... Here ah am goin' 'long with this hogwash..." She hung her head. "Ah ain't fit for teaching no morals to anyone."

You reached for her and gently brushed your fingers through the velvety soft fur of her cheek and assured her it's alright.

"It ain't alright!" She took a half-step back. "Look, Ah appreciate what yer sayin', ah do... But, look..." She took a slow breath then advanced forward. Her nose went right for a hanging ball and nuzzled it. "There's another half o' this process. They done got me ready for this. Ah do need what's in these. Ah know ah started off a bit... Shoot! Please?"

Being a tall human, you could lean over her and have a peak. She still wasn't winking. You informed her she wasn't as horny as she was pretending.

Applejack staggered back, caught in her fib. "Don't make me say it..."

Say what?

Applejack's blush was intense enough to start creeping down her throat. "Look, ah... never been with a stallion before. Ah was always busy handling the farm t'find time for that sorta thing. Ah... Ah...." She squirmed in place. "Ah'm scared. Ah figured... if ah just kept this t' business, well, ah know that. Ah come in, do my part, you do your part, done, ah go home." She thrust a hoof at you. "It just gets more awkward with you not being a pony and all."

You reminded her gently that she said she was alright with that.

Applejack hung her head. "Ah was tryin' to be brave, set a good example. Ah thought... Look, ah made some mistakes, alright?" She sat up fully. "Ah ain't lyin' 'bout being ready though. They hit me with the spell to help make sure mah insides were ready for foal makin'. I don't get you to take part, ah gotta wait at least a whole year! Don't leave a mare hangin' here." She rose and turned from you, shaking her rump. "Ya done said ya liked these strong thighs, well, they'ze waitin' for ya."

About that... What happened if a stud didn't do their thing with a mare?

Applejack blinked at you, looking over her shoulder. "Well, for the mare, just told ya. It's at least a year before we can try again. For the stud, well, this is your job. They did tell ya that, right?" She arced a brow. "Way I hear it, first time gets you a lecture. Second and you get tagged as expended. Ya don't want that, trust me."

A shiver ran down your spine at the implications there. What do they do with the expended?

Applejack's tail lowered. "That ain't... Look, shoot, ya really are fulla questions." She turned back to you and stepped up to you. "Ya must think Ah'm just some creepy lookin' alien."

You gently stroked over her head, knocking her stetson off. You assured her she wasn't creepy. You had been looking forward to meeting her since you had arrived. You just... didn't want your time together to be like that. To be a soulless exchange of goods.

Applejack's ears danced as she staggered back half a step. "Ah ain't whatever ya saw in yer world... Maybe ah'm terrible... How can ya know?"

You reached for her faintly trembling form and drew her closer. She didn't resist the effort and soon you were petting slowly down her spine.

She squirmed at the petting. "Ah... heard studs were mighty good at massage, what with those fingers an' all..."

The way her muscles reacted under your care implied you were doing it right. They tensed and released in powerful spasms as you worked at her, slowly getting her to lay down under you care. The moment became peaceful and quiet, at least until you heard a faint sniffle. You peeked at her face to see tears rolling down her snout.

"Ah'm sorry..."

What for?

She perked an ear up at you, but remained sprawled as she was. "Fer tryin' ta make ya just a... foal maker. Look, ah don't know ya. Ya don't know me." She rolled, belly up, tail limp. You could see everything as her hooves hung in the air. "Ah reckon... ah can afford a little time. Ya got so many questions n' all. So... ma name's Applejack, of the Apple clan. We..."

She began giving her life story, her eyes only leaving your own as a memory dragged her away. She explained how she got her cutie mark, and how she became an Element, and everything else besides. "But right in the middle of all that... The sterilization. Suddenly and without warning, bang... Just like a cannon shot heard all through Equestria." She cringed a little. "Got me t' thinkin'. The Apple Family needs another generation... Ah done signed up on that list, made a big deal of it. Ah was tryin' to encourage other mares to do it too. If we didn't get others t'sign, well... We didn't want to force nopony. So ah smiled and tried to act like it was a great idea... Ah hated it..."

She suddenly reached out and brushed a hoof along your new sheath. "Look, ah ain't no biological science mare, but even ah can see that ain't natural on ya. Does it hurt?"

It didn't, and you said as much.

She smiled gently. "That's good at least. So... do you want to... do that, with ponies at all?" She sat up slowly. "Never could figure out why. Ah mean... besides having to, ah... would rather a stallion. Ya know, another pony."

You ran a finger down her snout, brushing away some of the tears. You wouldn't mind at all with the right pony, like Applejack.

Applejack smiled awkwardly. "Ah done lied t' so many ponies. Ya still want to be with me?"

Only if she wanted it too.

She nodded firmly. "Ah do, ah mean..." She snorted loudly. "Apple Bloom would be tickled pink t'have a niece."

You might be convinced...

"If?"

You wanted to do it right. You rose to your own feet and asked Applejack what she wanted for breakfast, reminding her that you haven't had anything at all, being woke up straight to business.

Applejack started. "O-oh. Look at me, being rude. S-sure, we can get somethin' t'eat." She looked around before approaching a bell you hadn't had time to examine. "Ya just ring this thing and room service comes." She took it in her mouth and gave it a shake.

Almost instantly, a smiling unicorn mare was at the door. She seemed surprised to see Applejack there, but it faded quickly. "How can I serve you, stud?"

She could call you by your name, to start. After that you gave an order of food and asked Applejack what she would like.

Applejack tossed in a few things in on the order, and soon the unicorn was off.

She returned in just a few minutes with a wheeled tray loaded with the order and left without waiting.

You mentioned it being odd she hadn't asked if they needed anything else.

Applejack gave a nervous little laugh. "She probably assumed we, uh, were gonna use this ta play with. She was gettin' out of the way." She approached the tray and took some of the platters down carefully, popping each open to reveal the tasty-smelling food within. "Well, come on. Let's eat. To tell the truth, ah ain't eaten much either. Ah... was in a hurry and tryin' not to be scared."

So you did just that. The two of you ate side by side, sharing little chit chat between nibbles. She seemed to be loosening up as she accepted you as a person, and not just a painful reminder of how things had gone wrong.

"So.... have any plans fer afterwards?"

Hmm?

"Ah know ya know. When yer done expended, yer gonna be a pony, right?" She sounded hopeful, and a little scared. "Mare or stallion?"

You were quite happy hanging.

She snorted at the phrasing. "Even if ya know ya won't shoot proper no more?"

It wasn't as if doing that with someone would suddenly stop feeling nice, even if no kids could come from it. Heck, by the time that happened, you'd technically have a lot of kids, right?

Applejack raised her brows together. "Huh, guess ya got a point there, sugarcube. Ya'll have more foals than any actual stallion can hope t'have these days. Good attitude ya got there. So, stallion? Going with earth pony?"

You had a choice in that? It seemed obvious thinking back on it. Of course they'd give you that choice at least. You hadn't considered it yet, and told Applejack as much.

She smirked a little. "Or... ya gonna go unicorn and join the big heads up here tryin' the fix things? Y'are a curious pony."

A sudden thought struck you, leaping from the void. Had many studs gone on to join the research program?

Applejack raised a brow. "A few, why? Ya alright?"

Was Careful? You dismissed the thought for the moment. That day was Applejack's. You gave her head a soft pat and asked if she felt better.

"Ya know what... Ah do, thanks." She smiled, a real smile. "Look, we ain't a couple. The way ah see it, we may never be. However, and this is a biggun, ya seem like a decent pony. We both know the score, let's... try to be 'dults about this, right?" She stood up and shook herself off. "Ah'm ready... Now, are ya? Ah'm trustin' ya to do it right. Ah wanna have that foal." She smiled a little. "You'll be his or her father, so you'd better be a pony after this, so I can be yer friend. Ah don't want no awkward conversations, and ya deserve to know them, and they deserve to know their father. Got it?"

Author's Note

https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-K7BPCV3N/

As fit the last chapter, you are very mixed in your feelings! The votes reflect this perfectly. One thing is sure, your mood is pretty broke, unless you can work things out? Maybe just a little talking, get to know her, talk about the situation a bit...

Phew, a long one! Many things were discussed. I think progress was made.

1) Do it gently and lovingly.
2) Show her how a cowgirl rides a bronco and encourage her to let loose.
3) This still isn't right.
4) Show her a powerful stallion was worth a little ache in the morning.
5) Warm her up first with a full examination of her form.
6) A little revenge fucking to work out that frustration couldn't hurt...
7) We have all this food here... maybe it should take a part just like the waitress had suspected.