Chapter Two

Twilight being cooped up inside her castle researching and experimenting wasn't new by any means, but the desperation, the intent, and attention she was putting herself into was.

Spike had been assisting; Helping her find the books and supplies she needed to do her work, but besides that was left to her own devices.

No matter what, Twilight Sparkle was an introverted mage at heart, but what magic was worth could only be determined in the friendship one had.

Which is why after a long stint of calculating and note taking she decided that was enough.

"Spike, do me a favor? Scribe a letter to the girls asking if they want to meet for lunch tomorrow. It should be a nice day so why not at the park and we can all bring something. I'll bring some hay fries and dandelion sandwiches."
Spike went to gather the paper and quill for the letter, but Twilight was sure he mutter something about how he would be making the hay fries, since Twilight's cooking wasn't amazing.

Taking that for what it was Twilight went back to reading, her nose wrinkled in concentration as she lost herself to the complex algorithms of genetic recoding.

***
Rarity hummed to herself as her newest order came together.

Silk and lace; the bodice held tight to the barrel with a subtle flaring at the hip reign to give illusion that the bottom was curvy than in actuality. Pale cream and gold would be perfect for her client in Canterlot.

What was her name again?

Rarity fiddled with the dress; tucking, hemming and trimming any imperfections out of her design. It's intention was rather clear, to get attention, the right kind.

Oh. That's right. Twilight's friend, Lemon Hearts.

Satisfied that the dress would draw a besotted glance from Lemon Hearts’ special somepony; she finished up her last touches and sighed.

Sure the dress was perfect, it met all of the rules of Rarity, but that wasn't what was troubling Rarity.

A special somepony…

Applejack's stubborn and dirt smeared muzzle came to mind, her lazy country drawl (the only thing inert about her) and her natural honesty that cleared any doubts she ever had.

Pausing she shook her head.

All but one.

What they meant to one another for starters.

Being a romantic, her heart rested on her sleeve and only the knowledge she had of romance was books.

Most books don't tell what to do when your bestfriend becomes your lover and they happen to be a mare.

Not that Applejack being the same sex as Rarity even registered.

Sure. She had fantasized about her stallion clad in fancy armor coming to her rescue or her prince strolling over during a Canterlot party and asking for a dance, but life wasn't a fairy tale or a book.

Feelings for Applejack had steamed from a long time mutual disagreement of each other that began in foalhood. Both coming from different lifestyles and family structures, it was hard to get along with somepony who seemed so different from yourself.

Rarity finally recognized what her turmoil and perceived opinion over Applejack had been.

Admiration and lust.

Laying next to Applejack after they had gotten the tree out of Twilight’s library and went back to bed, Rarity’s eye caught sight of Applejack, her breath stilling. AJ was beautiful and Rarity was jealous of her effortless beauty, even while toiling on the farm all day, she was still gorgeous.

And Rarity had tried to take Applejack down a peg, forcing her to defend her cleanliness and intelligence; ashamed at her actions she even had gone out of her way to apologize to Applejack by mending her hat and taking her out to brunch.

Really that had been a sly one, she used the time to really get to know her and to assess her own feelings about AJ.
She came to the conclusion that Applejack had really pretty eyes and she wasn't any more sure of herself.

The Gala had been awful and embarrassing while laughing over the whole ordeal helped tremendously it still had depressed her.

Although burying it under a false pretense until when the night was over and the girls started to split to their each respective places to stay in Canterlot; Applejack had offered to walk her to her hotel room.

They talked.

Applejack's calming voice and understanding mindset put Rarity at ease more than anypony had.

She told Applejack what happened in detail, how Blueblood had treated her, what she felt like it meant, how she didn't know what she did wrong.

And Applejack listened until Rarity had no more to say and they were at her hotel room door.

Rarity remembered the words that solidified Applejack's standing in her life.

“Sugarcube, you are a beautiful, strong and savvy business mare.Your worth is what you make of yourself and you can do that and then some. Don't let another soul tell you otherwise.”

Scarlet flushed her cheeks, Rarity saw an opportunity and even being emotionally distraught and not fully sober, it clicked.

“You think I'm beautiful, Applejack?”

She had been flustered but couldn't deny the truth.

She opened the door to Rarity’s room and nudged her inside saying how they were both tired from a long day and needed sleep.

Rarity stalled Applejack by leaning into her, sniffing her scent of apple smoked wood and then kissing her chastely on the cheek.

“Goodnight, Applejack.”

That had been the begin of their flirtatious endeavors, then almost a year ago Applejack had ended up at her doorstep in the middle of the night drunk and admitting that Rarity was the prettiest little filly she had ever seen.

Apparently hard cider was the only thing that gave her enough courage to express herself intimately.

Rarity’s multiple near death experiences during the Stormking invasion had given Applejack the insensitive to finally tell Rarity that she liked her more than in a friend way.

That was the first time they made love, Applejack's coat and mane soaked from the outdoors, Rarity's gentle coaxing and guiding to her couch as they comforted and acquainted with one another's body.

That's how it always had been.

No words, just action.

Never before had that left Rarity with anything other than elation, she trusted Applejack and knew that AJ cared about her but as time went on, she craved more.

Without knowing when or how, Rarity had fallen in love with Applejack.

Panic consumed her when she thought of that and the possibility that Applejack felt nothing more than desire and friendship for her, making Rarity nauseous.

She needed some insight and some advice.

As if Celestia herself answered her thoughts a swirling smoke of purple and green hovered above her face before a scroll dropped and landed on the floor.

She opened it and smiled.

A picnic with the girls?

Perfect.

***

Applejack was just finishing up with the market. Closing up the stand and counting the days earnings when Pinkie came bustling out of Sugarcube corner a cheerful squeal leaving her lips.

“Aaaapplejaaack. Guess what?! Twilight invited everypony to a picnic tomorrow and I was told to let you know since you'd be right out my door. Did you wanna pick up something to bring?”

Applejack chuckled, and thought on it. She could whip up a nice apple Brown Betty and some cider, but she knew the extent of Rarity's tolerance to overloading apple flavor, she was hoping to stop by there tonight anyhow.

“Nah, Pinkie Pie, Ah think Ah can manage but do y'all have any cookies and cream pie?”

“Sure do Applejack! Follow me!” She giggled and started to trot back towards Sugarcube corner. Once they entered the store, Pinkie flipped the sign to ‘closed’ and came around the front counter.

Pulling from its display was the vanilla cream and chip cookie pudding pie with chocolate graham cracker crust, Pinkie started to package it, singing a melody.

“So, heading over to Rarity's for the night?”

Applejack being who she was didn't faze with answering honestly.

“Yup, Ah figured after all her dress makin’ today she'd want…”

Applejack trailed off, her throat constricting and her pulse beating like a jackhammer. Pinkie still continued to wrap her cake up, but now with a smug little smile in the corner of her lips.

Applejack gulped.

“How did y'all know Ah was goin’ ta Rarity's?”

Pinkie finished boxing her pie and gave Applejack a wide grin.

“Rarity's favorite treat is cookies and cream pie, she also comes into Sugarcube everyday you visit her to get a small box of coconut and marshmallow mallow puffs; she only started to order those within the past year and only when she's happy. If she isn't she gets something full of dark chocolate like fudge or brownies. You never use to get anything other than Applebloom’s birthday cake every year but ever since Rarity started buying the mallow puffs, you've been buying the cookies and cream pie and I noticed when you buy her favorite pie, she comes in the next day to buy the mallow puffs, so I put two and two together and got four. You're seeing Rarity. And you guys like like each other.”

Never had the pink curly haired pony surprised Applejack into stunned silence before, but there was a first for everything.

Coughing, Applejack tried to process but all that she kept thinking of was Rarity and her reputation. How Applejack tried to keep her distance from Rarity so she wouldn't ruin her career. How Applejack ached with longing for the nights she got to hold Rarity while she slept and how she couldn't lie to her friend even if it might make Rarity upset.

Thinking of Rarity always twisted Applejack up on the inside, having her so close yet so far away hurt her. And not being able to openly be with her was more painful than that. She was coming closer to when she would need to say the thing she dreaded to say.

That they had to stop seeing each other, because having her only half way hurt more than not having her at all.

Applejack would never push the issue to have Rarity become emotionally involved with her. There was too many social issues for her and her fashion business but she still wished she could voice the words that hung so close to her lips, it was torment.

I love you.

Applejack knew Pinkie was waiting on her, and she sighed being unable to deny it.

“Alright you caught me, I'm heading over to Rarity's but what makes y'all think we're a couple?”

Pinkie cocked her head to the side confused.

“I mean two ear flap, one twitch of my tail and three eye flutter usually means somepony has developed romantic feelings for somepony else and how intense it was I assumed it had to be one of my friends so I just waited for somepony to act weird. Besides, it's hard not to tell Rarity gives you that far off stare when you're not looking and you're always making sure she's safe and calm when we're out on adventures more so than typical Applejack does.”

Applejack couldn't believe Pinkie figured all that out with only her Pinkie sense and her knowhow of her best friends.

“Okay, Ah’m gonna level with ya Pink. Rarity and Ah have been kinda seeing each other, but not in the romantic sense, ya
know?”

Pinkie falter for a moment before understanding dawned on her, she then giggled, a light blush staining her cheeks.

“What like sex? Applejack I knew that, that's what the Pinkie sense told me, I'm not as innocent as you think besides you have to of been seeing each other romantically, you care about Rarity, don't you Applejack?”

Applejack chuckled embarrassedly, rubbing the back of her neck nervously and frowned.

“Ah think a lil’ too much Pinkie. In any case, could we keep this between the two of us? Rarity and Ah haven't told anypony about us or even talked about what us even is. So?”

Pinkie smiled and hugged Applejack, handing over the pie, she nodded and spoke her Pinkie oath and stuck a metaphorical cupcake into her eye.

Leaving Sugarcube Corner to head to Rarity’s filled with dark thoughts, she didn’t noticed that Pinkie covered the pie’s expense.

Or that she was plotting of ways to get her best friends to smile their very best smile.

***

Tia was fast asleep, the moment the sun had dipped below the horizon and they had their evening tea together; her elder sibling swayed off to bed, smelling of blackberry and apple whiskey with a fond, “Pleasant night, Lulu.”

Noting that Tia was losing up a tad, she wondered if such a thing was good or bad. Sometimes when Tia let loose, she becomes…The most devious prankster and plotter; making those schemes and tricks work in favor of the other ponies, but also giving Tia the best entertainment she could have.

Sighing into her tea, Luna stared out at the moon, her charge and prison all in one. Here in Equestria she had freedom, sure responsibilities and lack of social interaction was similar to the moon’s thousand year banishment, but she tried not to dwell, tried not to think that Tia was once again, ignoring the issue at hoof.

Luna wanted to explore and make friends, Twilight Sparkle had been instrumental in helping her connect to the civilians of Ponyville and she felt a sort of serenity when she was there. Twilight could be called a friend.

A blush stained her royal blue cheeks.

If she didn’t find the Princess of Friendship so beautiful and logical, her hips lush, her lips full and her stare so mind numbing, she might of stood a chance of having a normal relationship with her.

Knowing that was a lie.

Twilight was an alicorn created by ascending through the power of friendship’s wisdom and inner growth, she was similar to her sister and self in biology, although just like Cadence having been created, she too responded to the closeness of a viable alicorn mate.

That had been a surprise when Celestia had introduced Cadence to Luna and promptly had to tear a sex crazed alicorn wanting to rut with another alicorn off.

Months of research went by before the answer had been found.

She snorted in derision.

Basically because of all the magic pulsing through their bodies since birth and the alicorns that are ascended are trained at a young age to retain and grow their magical reservoir; their bodies react to one another without either's desire. Trying to find ways to become compatible and breed.

She acted like a young colt in front of his very first mare in heat and might as well bucked poor Cadence into submission if
Tia hadnt been there. Cadence was no more of a match against the insane magical surge than Luna was, if they had been alone…

Things might have progressed very strangely.

Thank the gods it only seemed to be a one time incident with Cadence so when Twilight became an alicorn; she didn’t pay
much heed to her burning lust and insatiable imaginations of a purple princess. For the first six months.

Then she knew something more was going on and couldn’t handle the implications.

That Twilight might just be made for her.
***

Celestia was laying in the middle of her feather stuffed bed, her hooves at her sides and wings tucked under her back, her eyes closed, she tried with little success to sleep. That was typical, her mind was very hard to shut down and allow rest to happen, but tonight was especially hard.

Not only had Luna barely talked but she wouldn't hold eye contact with her, the soft teal gaze of hers never staying in one place for very long. That hadn’t been a good sign, her plan must start tomorrow if she had any hope of saving Luna and making amends with Twilight.

Twilight…

Forbidden thoughts flooded to Celestia’s mind and she groaned with the severity of it. Heat rushing to her loins and chest; she shouldn't, she needed to put it away. The desire she felt for her faithful student, so her sister could learn to live and love somepony worth her.

Who other than the one that captured my own heart?

Needing closure, but feeling nothing but dirty for it, her hoof slithered down her body until she found her bundle of nerves wet with her excitement. She started slowly, almost lovingly, imagining smooth lilac hooves caressing her and a gentle probing in the center of herself had Celestia shuddering as she arched towards it. Warmth slipping inside of her as Celestia imagined Twilight’s tongue slipping in and out of her, the pleasure over turning any terrible emotions, she quivered before seizing up in an orgasm that was both relief and sorrow.

Releasing control of her magic, the warmth left her and she became chilly once more. Blanket pulled over her head, Celestia buried her muzzle into the pillow, shutting out reality.

Sobbing herself into a restless slumber.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading. I have a lot of this already written out in my head, hope you like and criticism for plot or character use is always appreciated. ~FlutterPon