Intensive Training

The echoes of Applejack's disbelieving yelp rang around the barn, creating a silence of their own that lingered long after they had died away.

Shock etched itself into Spitfire's face. "You don't know? I - I'm so sorry, I can't - oh Celestia, I'm so sorry." Twisting around, she put her back to Applejack, and added in a strangled voice, "I should have been clearer. I can't apologise enough."

Staggered by the realisation, it took Applejack a second to remember she was still naked. Yelping, she lunged across the barn to where her discarded clothes lay and grabbed her shirt, pulling it on hurriedly and tugging it closed around her with both hands. "Ah don't understand! Rainbow kept talking about how she was doing training sessions with you-"

"It doesn't matter. I don't have any excuse for how things got to this point, and I should leave. Please unbar the door." Spitfire's voice was hard, leaden. Applejack glanced over at her, and saw that her wings were shaking as she bent to pick up her bag.

...this is all my fault.

Taking a deep breath, tugging the ends of her shirt lower to give at least some semblanceof covering her bare sex, Applejack shook her head. "Wait. Spitfire-"

"I should go."

"Wait, please. This is mah fault, not yours." Applejack looked down at the floor, feeling a horrible twist of guilt in her chest. "Ah wasn't straight with you. Ah'm so sorry. Please, let me explain."

Spitfire let go of the bag and turned, very slowly. Her arms folded over her chest, she asked in a tight, brittle voice, "What do you mean?"

Applejack hung her head, unable to meet the other pony's eyes. "Look, Ah... Rainbow's mah best friend. She's a hothead, and a jerk, and Ah love her. We're always getting at each other, y'know? Races, and contests, and jest - pushing each other. So then she's got something going on, and she keeps hinting about training sessions, and whatever it is, it sure seems to be working for her, and..."

Hands clenched, Applejack forced herself to keep going, despite feeling like she wanted the ground to swallow her. "She wouldn't tell me what was going on. Ah hated that."

"She thought you understood what was happening. That's what she told me." Spitfire's voice was quiet, toneless. "She told me that you might want to try it, and asked me if I'd be interested in training you. She promised me she would have a clear conversation with you about it. Are you telling me she didn't?"

"Not... kinda. She came to me this morning. Started talking about her training sessions, but couldn't find her way to the darn point. Ah said Ah wanted to do it, but... she must've worked out from what Ah said that Ah thought it was all something else. So she tried to wriggle out've it. Said it weren't for folk like me. It was f'r pegasi, and Ah wouldn't enjoy it, and all this. Then she shot off. Got me good'n mad, Ah'll say that. So when you came by, Ah reckoned you were this mystery trainer, and... Ah lied. Ah wanted to do what she did, so Ah could catch up with her. Ah really am sorry."

Spitfire nodded slowly. "You don't need to apologise, Applejack. I should have stopped and made sure you understood what was involved, before we started. That is my responsibility. It was unreasonable of me to expect Rainbow to have that conversation for me."

Holding her shirt together with one hand, Applejack took a step closer. "No, look. This is mah fault. Ah'm apologising to you."

Lifting her head, Spitfire frowned. "No, this is my fault, and I am apologising to you."

"Now look here, you. Ah was the one that-" Applejack broke off, then rubbed a hand over her face and shook her head. "Alright, alright. Ah'm not going to accept that this whole thing isn't mah fault, and you're not gonna either. Everypony screwed up."

Spitfire tensed, visibly ready to keep arguing, then controlled herself. Her arms still folded tightly, she gave a small, sharp nod. "I apologise for touching you. It won't happen again. Please open the door."

Applejack bit her lip. The other mare was still visibly upset, and it was her doing. She couldn't just leave things like this! But all the same, it surprised her to hear herself say quietly, "Ah mean, if you want to go, you can. But... Ah'd like to know more. About what this was meant to be, Ah mean. What it should've been."

There was a silence. Spitfire gazed at Applejack's face, seemingly searching for something. There was a look in her orange eyes that Applejack couldn't decode, something hidden behind the hard lines of her expression. Then, she said slowly, "Is that what you want, Applejack? There's no need to talk about this ever again, unless this is for you."

"It... it is. Ah want to know," Applejack replied slowly, nodding once. "Please."

"...okay." Spitfire took a deep breath, then walked up the length of the barn, sitting on one corner of the tarpaulin-shrouded fermenting equipment. "Where do you want to start?"

Somewhat awkwardly, Applejack tugged her shirt a little straighter, moving to lean against the wall. "Well... Ah don't know. What is it? Is it all about the, uh... y'know. The screwing?"

"No." Spitfire shook her head. "It's not about that."

Applejack blinked. "It's not? Ah mean, with the no clothes right out the gate..."

"Sex is usually part of it. It is for Rainbow and I," agreed Spitfire. "But that isn't the point. It's-" she hesitated again. "Look. When I put recruits through their paces, they have to learn to trust me. When I tell them to do something, they try, even when they don't think they can do it. They want to show they're trying their hardest. And when they've gotten used to training under me, they start to believe that if I ask them to do something, it's because I believe they can do it. And they end up achieving things they never thought they could do."

Furrowing her brow, Applejack chewed her lower lip, then shook her head. "Ah'm not sure Ah get it. You said it wasn't about jest enduring things until it's over."

Spitfire ran a hand through her short, fiery hair, ruffling it upwards. "It's not that, either. I'm talking about trust. Really letting somepony in, letting them show you things you didn't know about yourself. Wanting to please somepony, so that when you do well, you feel fulfilled. When you said you wanted to make me proud - that felt real. Did you mean it?"

Yes.

Applejack blinked, taken slightly aback by the strength of the certainty that surged up within her. "I... yeah, Ah did. Ah really... really did want to make you proud of me. Show you what Ah'd do f'r you."

"Why?" The question was simple, asked lightly, but Spitfire's gaze pinned her to the wall.

"Well, because... because it was a challenge?" Applejack frowned, then shook her head. "Nope, that ain't right. Doesn't feel like that was it at all. Ah'm not sure. Ah've always wanted to do right by mah friends and family. Ah've always wanted to make folk proud. Wanted to feel proud of mahself. It was... something."

"And when you were naked? How did you feel?" Spitfire's words came softer, this time.

Applejack couldn't hold Spitfire's gaze anymore, a rich blush heating her cheeks. Tugging her shirt around her a little more tightly, she mumbled, "Land sakes. What sort've a question is that to ask a gal? Ah felt... y'know, embarrassed. Taking mah clothes off like that."

"Is that all you felt?"

"I... no. When you were, like, jest assessing me, Ah felt..." Warm. Proud. Calm. I wanted your approval, more than anything. Her blush deepening, she muttered, "...not sure Ah c'n put it into words."

"I see. That's good," Spitfire said quietly. "It makes me feel better about what happened."

Trying to distract herself from the feeling that Spitfire could suddenly read her mind, Applejack asked hastily, "But - what about you? What d'you get out of all this? Ah mean, don't tell me it's nothing t'do with what you want."

It was Spitfire's turn to hesitate. "Yeah. Part of being with Dash is like training a new recruit. Pushing her, seeing her do better and better. She loves it. I can't set her a task that she doesn't want to excel at, even when she's being a rude brat." She gave a soft snort of amusement. "She likes to do really well, then mouth off and get punished."

Applejack frowned again. "She gets punished on purpose?"

"...there's two kinds of punishment. Some of it is really meant to express you've done something wrong. But the rest is the fun kind. The kind where she's pushing the boundaries just for the fun of feeling me push back, enforce them. Dash works best when she's given structure."

"...Ah guess."

"Other than that, though. What's in it for me?" Spitfire looked off to the right, where a chink in the wall let in a shaft of sunlight that caught the dancing motes of dust. In a matter-of-fact voice, she concluded, "It feels good. Having sex with a gorgeous mare. Making her bend to my will. I'm not sure I should thank her for showing me how much I enjoy making mares like her obey, but I can't deny it. I make sure that it doesn't leak into my professional job."

"Mares like her, huh?" Applejack demanded, with a tinge of protectiveness.

"She's the only one I do this with."

"Oh. Uh, right. Then... why me?"

Spitfire pressed her lips together, then met Applejack's gaze. "Dash suggested it. But it wouldn't have gone anywhere if I hadn't wanted it, too." Shaking her head once, she added briskly, "Do you feel like I've answered your questions?"

Was that enough? Applejack closed her eyes, tugging her shirt a little lower with one hand. The other mare had at least tried to explain. It wasn't that she could picture it, but at least there was some idea of what she meant. If Spitfire left now, was that all she wanted to know about her and Rainbow?

Did she understand what had happened between Spitfire and herself?

Did she know why she hadn't even gotten dressed yet?

...was this about Rainbow at all anymore?

"Ah still... don't think Ah understand," she answered slowly. Her eyes flicked open, her gaze meeting Spitfire's. "But Ah want to understand. And... Ah want you to show me."

Spitfire blinked. "...I'm not sure what you're saying," she said slowly. "What are you asking for?"

Oh, darnit... Applejack felt another blush start, one hot enough to run all the way to the tips of her ears. Screwing up her eyes, she clenched both hands by her sides. "Will ya just - show me what it's like? Ah felt... Ah don't know, something. Don't know if this is f'r me. But Ah'd have never tried it, otherwise, and - if Rainbow trusts you, then Ah trust you."

The flier pushed herself to her feet and took a few steps closer, moving with the careful gentleness of somepony approaching a nervous animal. "I need to ask a few questions, Applejack. You don't have to answer them, but they'll help me decide if this is right for me."

"Right. Hit me," replied Applejack, keeping her eyes closed and concentrating on keeping her breathing steady. Her whole body was tense as a bowstring, flooded with a tingling, painful uncertainty. She hadn't been this nervous going into battle!

There was a quick, surprised laugh from Spitfire. "That's - yes, we'll get to that. But first; Applejack, are you attracted to mares?"

Her ears had to be glowing red. Her hat was going to catch fire. "Not... every mare, not every stallion, but - yeah. Some."

"Does that include me?"

Applejack's eyes flickered open. The other mare was real close now, and before she could stop herself, her gaze raked over the lithe flight instructor's body. The dark blue flight suit was cut like a Wonderbolt's performance suit, made of the same stretchy fabric that outlined every inch of Spitfire with the dedication of body paint. Small breasts and pointed nipples were very obvious through the material, as were the tightly-honed minimalist curves of a professional athlete. She exuded the same natural confidence as Rainbow did, without the latter's brashness.

"...yeah," she confessed in a low tone, looking down again. "Hadn't really thought about it before all this, but... yeah."

"Do you want me to touch you?"

Applejack was suddenly very aware of the roughness of her shirt's fabric against her bare nipples, and the coolness of the air on her inadequately covered sex. Unable to speak, she gave a jerky nod.

Spitfire's voice was low, oddly gentle. "Do I have your permission to strike your body?"

"I... Ah guess. Yes. If you need to." A flash of pride fought through her nervousness, and she added, "Ah can take a lot of punishment. Been through a lot."

"Alright. Applejack, if you need to slow things down, or you want me to back off, you tell me 'I need a breather'. Is that clear?"

"...yeah. Clear."

"And if you need everything to stop, right that minute-" there was humour in Spitfire's voice, "-let's just go with 'Whoa'. I shouldn't have told you to say 'I quit'. You'd never."

Applejack gave a wobbly laugh, nodding. "Ah wouldn't. Gal's got her pride, y'know."

Spitfire reached out and touched the back of Applejack's hand. Their eyes met.

"Applejack... help me not to hurt you. Never hesitate to tell me you're in trouble. Understood?"

Complete trust flowed between them, along the arc of their gaze, filling the unspoken spaces in the air. When Applejack finally murmured, "Ah do," it was an afterthought to their shared understanding.

Iron entered Spitfire's tone. "Take your position in the centre of the room."

"...yes, Ma'am," Applejack whispered.