A Totally Natural Nature Walk - Starlight’s Perspective

Starlight hummed to herself as she trotted next to Anon. It was great knowing that she didn’t have to leave his side just yet as this would be her final day of freedom (until next week) and she was really wanting to spend more time with him. She needed to put off those documents that she needed to stack neatly in a pile on her desk for as long as possible to retain her peaceful state of mind. After all, being a headmare for a school brimming with friendship and subsequent chaos (no thanks to Discord) could do anypony’s head in if they weren’t too careful!

Luckily, she had mapped out a plan to stave off this duty of hers.

She sketched it out in her imaginary notebook in her head, lines darting and wiggling all over the place. In-between the lines weaved her actual plan: she’d spend some time walking through the orchard with Anon, only to then cuddle under one of the apple trees and enjoy their time together. She could even imagine a cute little rabbit scurrying across the ground and ask Anon if she could pet it. He’d probably say something goofy like: Starlight, it has rabies, and she would just tell him that he’s dumb and kiss him lightly on the lips before grabbing the rabbit and giving it all the nuzzles it deserved. She also would talk about their future together, watch as the sun began to set, and at the end of it all, she’d give him a peck on his cheek before telling him she’d see him soon. Then she’d gallop straight for the school before the sun set behind the treeline.

It was a perfect plan. Very easy going, with no ponies to interrupt them along the way. Besides, it would be a great day to absorb some sun!

Starlight looked up and grimaced.

If only Celestia’s sun didn’t make Anon a walking pariah that blinded everypony in his vicinity.

Starlight let out a brief blow as she continued her trot, still matching his pace despite those two long legs of his. She spied another glance up at his face, seeing that mark glaring back at her as it basked in the sunlight. His eyes were focused forward, oblivious to her stare. His lips were unmoving and flat, partially like his nose, which wrinkled a bit. The rest of him was smooth, reflecting that sunshine like it meant something. Unfortunately for her, it would only serve as a reminder to look back at the path as she was starting to see spots.

She kept herself forward thinking, her eyes glued to the dirt path ahead. Just what was going on inside Anon’s head?

Mentally, Starlight shrugged at the thought. The mini-her on her shoulder shrugged too, and then dissipated into fuzzy magic sprinkles that she was all too disappointed in seeing them poof out of existence.

If only she could get a read on him… Based on what little she knew, the last time Anon was in his head, things went downhill and fast. He would think about Twilight and how she rejected him, and then he’ll talk about how he felt and how it pained him so much. Starlight didn’t like seeing him in that state of mind. She liked it when he cuddled with her instead on his couch. He could see his loving gaze, his toothy grin as he said something to her so heartfelt. As they had kissed, time became a spell methodically cast on her, her lips sliding with his. She could feel his arm wrap around her midsection, and he let those fingers of his dance on her back, before pulling her into a full-blown make out session like they did last night and—

She gulped that memory away, while in her mind, she waved her hooves frantically trying to change the scenery. Maybe she should keep last night’s escapades under lock and key somewhere. Deeper in the recesses of her mind. That way she could unlock the door when she needed to, for later.

Starlight frowned. She still had to do something about Anon. She didn’t want him so spellbound like he was before!

Hmm…

…

…maybe she could coax something out of him? Like a laugh of some kind?

She could feel her disappointment flatline, her lips forming flat, while a dissatisfied yet soft growl echoed in her ears. Starlight knew she wasn’t a comedian, Trixie told her this several times, so that thought might as well have been dead on arrival. But she needed to do something…

Her eyes widened. She could feel the hairs on her back stand up on end.

It was later.

“Hey, Anon…?”

Those beady eyes looked down on her. “Hmm?”

She smiled, even though on the inside she was as nervous as can be, as she wiggled herself closer to her human, rubbing her side up against his denim-covered leg. “What made you want to go on a nature walk with me?”

As those words escaped her, she could see his lips form into an ‘O’. He then forced them back down and licked his upper lip, which made Starlight’s muzzle shrivel up. What type of reaction was that?

He drew his right hand from his pocket and played with his chin. “No reason, really.”

“Really?” She raised a brow.

“Yeah,” Anon began, sighing. He sniffed a bit and added, “Felt like a good thing to do on a day like this.”

“No other motive?”

He shook his head. “No—er, maybe to do something different. Different is always good.” He looked at her for a moment and smiled. “Right?”

Starlight looked away, her mind processing those words. “Guess so…”

He was definitely hiding something from her. There was no doubt in her mind. But, some part of her thought about him, about that man locked in his house who was alone and afraid, and for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to find the words she needed to prod him further. She could only take a deep breath and continue to soak up that sun.

Maybe she needed more time. Just like him.

Just like Twilight.

Starlight sighed, her own nerves burdening her spine. The canopies of the trees surrounded them, unlike the ones they were going to ‘visit’. The ones that dotted the world around them, typically taller, interweaved with the bristles of thorns of the bushes. Leaves scattered on the ground, mingling with the grass fenced off of entry. The dirt beneath her hooves crunched with each step she took. She kept her head held somewhat high, but her gaze fell to the wayside, just like before, which is why she took in the world around her, to distract her from whatever this feeling was.

This wasn’t what she expected. They weren’t even in the orchard yet and she already felt some imaginary tension. Was this normal? She hadn’t been in a real relationship before, and navigating this with someone like him added an even more distant element to it.

Frustrated, she pursed her lips, let out a little growl that was lodged in her throat, and—

“Hey, Starlight?”

She stopped herself from glaring at him. She felt her eyes widen, but she kept herself in tact as she tried to crack a smile, even though her ears were probably spasming uncomfortably.

Still, she croaked out a response, “Yeah, Anon?”

Those words left her and it was like time slowed. Anon’s flat expression remained the same, but his gait became slow, just like hers. She could slowly feel the tenseness trickle down her spine like the water dripping into his kitchen sink, and she was worried he was going to say something that would completely be lockstep with the negativity that swirled inside her just a few moments ago. Now, it stayed still, presenting her a metaphorical edge of a cliff, looking down at a valley of a gravesite.

She nearly whimpered. She needed to stay strong. For Anon’s sake—

“Do you eat grass?”

Suddenly, the grave looked like an entry to a circus.

Her brows slightly furrowed. “No?”

She blinked rather rapidly. Why was he asking her that? Yeah, ponies ate grass, but not off the ground! Only those ones who want to return to tradition or something… Besides, nopony knew what was walking on those blades of grass! It was unsanitary. And the one time she did try it raw, it had this particular taste that… well… didn’t sit right with her stomach.

For some reason, though, Anon tilted his head. Why was he looking at her like that? Did she have grass growing on her head? “You don’t?”

“N-No? Why would we—”

“Why are you hesitating?”

“I don’t know!” Starlight said-shouted. “I’m just… startled. I’ve never been asked this before.”

She watched as he hummed to himself again, grabbing his chin with a hand. He kept it there for a few moments, messaging his chin and pursing his lips. Then, he stopped, closed his eyes for a moment, and then, when he opened them, a very pronounced smirk graced his face. “So when do you eat grass?”

Starlight groaned. “Anon, I don’t like grass. It hurts my stomach.”

He tilted his head the other way this time. “It does?”

“Yeah.” Just thinking about it was making her stomach gurgle. “I try to avoid it unless it’s the only thing that’s around to eat.”

Anon pointed a finger at her. “But you’re—”

“Herbivores, I know,” Starlight began, waving a hoof at her human. “But just because we eat plants doesn’t mean we eat all plants. You won’t see me or any pony eating raw grass because it grew too long or something.”

“Can’t blame me for thinking otherwise,” he replied, looking back at the path.

Rolling of the eyes. That’s what Starlight gave him and a sneer for his comments. “Funny. Next you’ll say we graze in fields.”

Anon, to her surprise, chuckled. She glared at him, but that didn’t stop the laughs from funneling out of him. “I-It’s just too good o-of a mental picture!”

His chuckles drew out belly laughs that made Starlight wonder if she should stop first, let him get it all out of his system, and then circle back to the topic at hoof, but then she realized this was Anon she was talking about. The human. The one who was goofy when he was happy, the one who could be absolutely upset with the world when he was sad, and the one who she met to befriend but accidentally fell head over hooves over with him.

…

She let out a sharp whine, before growling and harrumphing. She’ll let him have it this time, but not without a well-deserved return.

She smiled and continued walking beside him, but she changed her gait to a much more slow trot, like she was observing the scenery around her. Progressively, the distance grew between them. He hadn’t noticed yet. His feet carried him farther ahead, one foot in front of the other. The change in his height became more apparent with each step he took, especially when he turned at a fence post that led to the apple orchard closest to Ponyville. From the angle she had, she saw him barely miss the sign with his head as he walked past. Ramming head first into a fence post with directions marked in white paint would’ve definitely not tickled him. Not that those colors mattered. Just an observation.

Sighing, Starlight continued her trot behind him. She didn’t exhale so softly because he failed in the department of checking if she was there. No, she had a different reason to do so. Her heart told her so, and she wasn’t very happy that she left him on an island all on his own. A trot turned into a canter, directed towards him. She needed to stop this, she had her little fun. She just hoped that this little ‘well-deserved return’ wouldn’t bite her in her rump later. Just like if the Apple Family saw the two of them in their orchard. Mr. Visitor here probably didn’t consider that this whole part of Sweet Apple Acres was off-limits, but Starlight hoped the Apples already cleared this part of the farm. She didn’t want to deal with an angry Applejack.

Starlight shook that thought of her head and looked up at one of the nearby apple trees that greeted them. She saw that her hopes and dreams were crushed by a few happy apples attached to the trees’ branches.

“Looks like the apples haven’t fallen yet, huh?”

Anon’s voice had peeked through the brush. She snorted and spotted her human. “Glad you noticed I wasn’t near you.”

“Sorry,” he muttered, turning back to check on her. His gaze flickered right back to the trees. “Didn’t know I was getting tested on this date.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t mark you down a grade just yet.” She giggled her snort into a tizzy of magic and happiness, bundled by the bushel. Her hooves tickled by the blades of grass bristling under them. “You’re lucky you’re my type, Anon.”

He turned to her again, only half of his face visible to her. She could see his smug expression, his lips showing those pearly whites of his. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“And don’t you forget it,” Starlight teased, flicking her tail against his pant leg. She smiled as he let out a little chuckle. “You’re right though. Looks like none of the Apples have been over here just yet.”

Internally, those words kept her on her toes, but she couldn’t show it to Anon. He didn’t need him to be alarmed.

“Is that…”

“A bad thing?”

He nodded. “Means Miss Jackie Daniels could be working right now.”

“Who?” Starlight asked, tilting her head.

Anon facepalmed. “Forgot, you don’t know I give some ponies random nicknames.”

“Just a you thing?”

“Makes it a little less tense.”

Starlight felt her heart race a bit. Right… “R-Right…”

Anon gulped. “Think Applejack would be on this side of the property?”

“Maybe. We probably shouldn’t be worrying about her this much.”

“Why?”

Starlight smiled and trotted ahead of him. She bounced around, bucking her back legs out just to twirl. The world gently blurred around her, but she could hear the trees respond through a gust of wind that left a few travelers to drift down toward her.

Then, she stopped, almost perfectly. A smirk shot over at her human, who was staring at her intensely. “Because we have a lot to enjoy out here, don’t we? Why worry when we have all this to look at?”

At first, Anon stayed there, spellbound. Then, his mouth unhinged a bit, just for a moment, before he closed it and walked toward her. He wrapped a hand around her back. “You’re right, we do.” He kept his arm there, while his lips curled upward. “In that case, I’ll take us to this spot I know, and then we can lay down and relax, okay?”

She wanted to ask him how he knew of a spot, but she knew it would be answered in due time, so she nuzzled into his leg, letting out an excited whinny. “Sounds great, Anon.”

That’s all it took for Anon to lead her through the maze of the orchard. They walked in-between rows of trees, up a hill, and even down into a valley still dotted with all these apple trees. Just how big was this orchard again?

That question couldn’t be even quantified yet—the hill they just traversed was an example of that. Even with its slope, trees made residence there, and now with her hooves planted at the top, she could see that she severely misunderstood what Applejack’s world was like.

Up there was a tree. A large tall tree, with its base tendrils spread out. The canopy of the singular tree snuffed out some rows, while the rest escaped and grew outside its bounds. Those sprouted some apples, from what she could tell, while this one stood there happily soaking in all the sunlight it could get.

She looked over at Anon, panting a bit. He saw him too, gasping for air, hunched over with his knees palmed in his hands. They stood there recovering for a few moments more, her mind drifting like the clouds above, some fluffy, some small. The wind carried them overhead, just like a periodic gust grazed over the leaves and the apples too.

Starlight sucked in a deep breath and licked her lips. Then, she glanced over at him. He was doing the same, but his eyes were centered not on the big tree like she thought. No, there was one on the edge, different from the rest of the apple trees too. A pocket formed around, where none grew except this one, and its little coverage meant something that Starlight knew all too well.

He wanted to lay there, didn’t he?

She blinked, and suddenly she felt Anon’s presence near her, her ears perking up to the sounds of his shoes skirting between the leaves and the grass.

“Mind taking a load off over there?”

She looked up at him and grinned, pointing a forehoof at the much bigger tree. “You don’t want to lay under this big one?”

He snorted. “There’s a difference between being with nature and being smothered by it.”

“Pfft, I see what you mean.” She eyed the smaller one further, and saw it had just enough room for them to flop down and cuddle next to it. “This one seems perfect, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah…” he muttered. He wasn’t looking at the tree. He was looking right at her.

She felt a distinct heat pierce her cheeks, and it definitely wasn’t the sun. She looked away and saw the view that they had. On top of this hill, she could see everything. The orchards, Sweet Apple Acres, and everything in-between. It was… breathtaking. Something she hadn’t done in years—she couldn’t recall a time that she just took in nature like this.

And then she felt Anon’s hand graze her back. It took all of her willpower to not let out a soft coo.

“Taking it all in?”

“Yeah…” She turned and faced him. Surprisingly, he had already sat down, laying his back against the tree’s trunk with no problem at all. His legs were folded inward, creating a pocket for her to lay in.

“Well, you can enjoy it more by laying down right here.”

He patted the little spot he made just for her.

“You’re right,” she said with a giggle. She plopped herself down gently, being extra mindful of Anon’s groin (she didn’t need him maimed). She curled into him and rested her forehooves where his legs were extended somewhat out, staring out at the expanse in front of her.

She sighed and laid her head on her forehooves. “Thanks for taking me out here, Anon.”

She could feel his fingers play with her mane. “I should be thanking you for going along with this sudden walk, Starlight.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” she asked, craning her head back at him.

“We have an image to maintain, don’t we?”

She let out a brief blow for that one. “Don’t remind me. Even though you probably should.”

“Which is why I said it,” he said with a chuckle.

“Good thing. I almost forgot about it.” Kind of a lie. “That’s what happens when you feel like this.”

Anon stayed silent.

“Anon?”

“Hmm?”

“You think she’ll sneak up on us?”

“Who?”

“Applejack,” she whispered.

He rolled his eyes. “Maybe. Apple horse can be stealthy when she wants to be.”

Starlight giggled. “Just hope she doesn’t have her lasso.”

“I—” Anon interrupted himself with a grunt and wrinkled his nose. “I’ll count the seconds then.”

He tapped her side, which made her roll over to see more of him. However, in her scooting and shuffling, she didn’t know that this would expose more of her belly to him, which Anon was definitely looking at, eyes wide as can be.

She smiled. She had to tease him. “See something, Anon?”

Anon shook his head rather rapidly, before trying desperately (and failing miserably) to look elsewhere. His cheeks turned a faint red. “I-I wasn’t…” he managed to stammer out, but his words fell to his side. He gulped and added, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“Don’t apologize,” Starlight replied, inched closer to his other side now. She nuzzled into him, wrinkling his shirt. “Good to know you’re just like a stallion.”

He blinked. “Is that some dig at me?”

She shook her head and pecked his cheek. “No, not at all.”

He looked elsewhere, but a hand reached out to scratch one of her ears. She leaned into it, humming to herself while he massaged that ear. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

He sighed and nuzzled her cheek. “For being you.”

“Could throw that right back at you,” she responded, returning the nuzzle. “I’m honestly happy I came here with you. We needed this little alone time away from my place. It was getting…”

She stopped herself, her thought dying on the hill she was on. It was like the words didn’t want to come out. She knew what she wanted to say. But all she could think about was last night and—

“It was getting too much, wasn’t it?”

She blinked. “You too?”

He sighed. “Last night was… a lot.” He let out a nervous chuckle. “And seeing what I saw earlier…”

“It wasn’t intentional, just know that.”

“Good to know,” Anon said dryly. “Not that I didn’t like either of them, but…” She could see him take a moment to swallow whatever saliva he had. “We crossed a few boundaries, didn’t we?”

“We did.”

A cloud drifted on by.

“And are you okay with that?”

Starlight’s muzzle wrinkled up at that. “Sorta.”

“Sorta?” Anon asked with a raised brow.

“Mmhmm. Last night was wonderful, but…”

“It’s too early.”

“That and we nearly—”

Anon flinched. “I know. We nearly did it on my couch.” She let out a giggle, which made her human tilt his head. “What’s so funny?”

“N-Nothing!” It wasn’t nothing. She was imagining him getting grabby again, and for some reason, visualizing Applejack saying ‘Down, Mr. Handsy!’ made her burst out laughing inside her head.

“You’re lying.”

She stifled a giggle, but it escaped anyway. “I’m sorry—”

“Don’t be. It better make me laugh, though, otherwise I get to tickle you.”

“I’m not sure if you’ll laugh. Probably will be too horrified to do anyth—”

“What were you imagining just now?” Anon said with a raised brow.

She twiddled with her forehooves. “Has anypony ever called you Mr. Handy?”

Those same brows now furrowed in tandem. “No?”

“How about Mr. Handsy?”

“No.”

“Mr. Hands On?”

“Oh God no.”

Starlight chuckled. “That’s all you need to know, then.”

His eyes widened. “Are you implying—”

“It would be funny though!”

He groaned. “Starlight, that’s wrong on so many levels.”

She burst out laughing. “Come on! Applejack walks up to you and she just starts—” A giggle-snort escaped her. “S-Starts calling you that and you just go—”

“She wouldn’t call me that!”

“Oh? Then what would she call you?”

…

“Mous, maybe.”

“She doesn’t call you Anon?”

“Rarely,” Anon said with a shrug. “Usually to try and sound more authoritative, I guess. I did work for her for a little while, that’s why I can come here anytime I want.”

She scooted closer to his chest and laid her head down, watching the world around them pass by. “Another thing to know about you.”

He brought his hand down on her mane, his fingers flowing through them. “Guess so.”

She closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and snuggled deeper into him. “Do you think we should start over?”

The words left her before she could even consider them. And now that they were out there, she wondered if he heard her.

She peeked up at him. His hand had stopped moving, staying in place while he watched her, frozen.

Suddenly, time stood still.

“A-Anon?”

“No. No, don’t even suggest that.”

“Don’t suggest it?”

“Yeah, no, that’s the last thing I’d want.”

She blinked rapidly. “Then what do we do?”

He cupped her cheek and scratched her chin. “You stay right here.”

“That simple?”

“Mmhm…” he hummed. He kept his fervor on her chin, before lowering it down to her neck. She cooed and smiled at him. “I don’t want you to ever think this was wrong. It wasn’t. We just…” He took a deep breath. “We almost went way too far, twice—oh don’t look at me like that. Your little accident doesn’t count—all we need to do is learn how to take it slow.”

“Slow how?”

He shrugged. “Let’s not stay at my place at the end of this one.”

She rolled her eyes. “So you’re saying you don’t want to make out here?”

Chuckling, Anon shook his head in disbelief. “Let’s schedule that a few months from now.”

“A few months from now? That works for me,” she sang, pecking him on the cheek. She let her head fall against his leg. She watched the world around her and Anon drift. Just like the clouds above, just like the winds pushing them, just like the trees swaying in the breeze, just like everything here.

She closed her eyes.

A little nap wouldn’t hurt.

She woke up to the sound of rustling.

“A-Anon?”

“Shh…” His voice carried a bit of anxiousness with it, making her shoot up suddenly, her head popping off… from wherever it was.

She rubbed her eyes and craned around the corner, only to stifle a gasp as she caught a tired, hazy glimpse of somepony. Somepony familiar.

“Thought I heard somethin’ up here…”

Applejack. That voice, and that stetson on her head was unmistakable. She was here. What in the hay was she looking for? Was she looking for them?

Starlight held her forehooves close to her chest, while she still laid in that pocket that Anon made for her with his folded legs. He shimmied them closer to the tree, hoping that it covered even the spill over of her tail from Applejack’s view.

“Consarn it!” A pained whiny sounded off. “Probably some critter makin’ a fuss. I don’t got time to be messin’ with all this.” A grunt soon followed. “If this was some kind of prank from Rainbow Dash, I’ll ring her feathers!”

Starlight and Anon stayed there, still as can be. Anon had his arms wrapped around her, while she kept herself against his chest.

Slowly, hoofsteps retreated away from their spot. They could still hear Applejack grumbling, but it wasn’t as loud as it was before:

“If anypony's in this tree, I’ll make sure you’ll feel it!”

A loud crack echoed in the air.

At first, nothing replied. Just the breathing of two totally-not-about-to-run-for-their-lives creatures as they cuddle under one of two non-apple trees in the immediate area.

And then, a second kick, followed by a gasp and a sudden thud.

“Hay! What’s the big idea, Applejack?”

Starlight gasped. “Rainbow Dash—”

Anon cupped his hand around her. He hushed her once more, even though her voice was not even that loud. She was whispering. Applejack didn’t have that good of hearing!

“Big idea? I’m not the philosopherin’ type!”

“What?”

“What?”

…

“AJ, you kicked me out of a tree!”

“Sure did. Gotta stop you from eatin’ my merchandise!”

Starlight felt her hairs sticking up on end. Nervously sitting there, fidgeting in Anon’s embrace. Meanwhile, she tried to restrain herself from laughing. She couldn’t believe Applejack just suddenly kicked a tree and Rainbow Dash was up there—wait how long was she up there?

“I was sleeping!”

“Clearly dreamin’ something fierce enough to sink your teeth into one of these while soundin’... whatever noises you were makin’. Were you fightin’ a manticore up there?”

A groan, this time from what sounded like Rainbow Dash, echoed in Starlight’s ears.

“I just… got to the good part of my dream!”

“That was the good part?”

“Ugh, AJ!”

“I’m just sayin’! Mare-to-mare, you sounded awful. What the hay were you dreamin’ about that made you sound like that?”

“I’m glad you asked! I was doing this ultra-cool Buccaneer Blaze into a tight Wingtip Flip in this arena the Wonderbolts were performing at, and you know me, being awesome as usual, I had to show them who was boss. When I was done with the trick, everypony around me was cheering, and I think Spitfire grinned at me or something while flying by me. Anyway, that’s not the point! As I was flying up, I suddenly had this great idea to do a fallback, which, while it wasn’t in the routine, I just had to do it! So, I flipped around and flew straight down to the ground, and then I saw somepony…”

“Somepony? Wonder who that coulda been!” Suddenly, Applejack yelped in southern. “What was that for?!”

“Returning the favor!” Rainbow Dash growled before she continued, “So anyway, I saw Soarin’ and—”

Starlight peered back up to Anon. She was welcomed by his own gaze looking down at her. She blinked a bit, before whispering to him,

“Wanna leave?”

He gently nodded. “Before they see us.”

His whispering tickled her ears. She slowly got up and backed away from him so he could unfold himself too. Once Anon got up, she returned back to him again, standing as close as they could.

Starlight looked around the tree again, just to see if they were still there, arguing with each other. She peered and—

“Gotcha!”

Applejack happily shouted as she hopped around the corner to see Starlight and Anon being super close together. Starlight gasped and huddled closer to Anon’s leg.

“Wow, you weren’t lying, AJ!”

Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and landed right beside Applejack, who was glaring at her like she was about to throw her hat at her. “Lyin’? Me? If I lied, I’d probably lose my element!”

“Oh puh-lease! Telling a half-truth is not the same as telling a lie, AJ. You tell those when you gotta!”

“It’s still half a lie, featherbrain!” She furrowed her brows at the ‘featherbrain’. “I avoid those too. I’m an expert on being honest, and I can tell any type of lie just by lookin’ at ya and—”

Starlight looked back up at Anon, who just facepalmed and was now letting out a frustrated groan. “Agh, alright, enough! Can you two ladies do what you actually wanted to do instead of bickering like an old lesbian couple?”

The two froze and sighed simultaneously, Rainbow Dash fluttering her wings before folding them against her sides. Applejack, on the other hoof, let out a cross between a trill and a growl. “You make a good point, Mous. We’ll stop delayin’.”

Starlight raised a brow and Anon patted her mane. “See, I told you she calls me Mous!”

“Of course I do—” Starlight interrupted Applejack with a flash of her horn. “Alright, put the magic away, Starlight.” Applejack let out a neigh as Starlight muted her magic. Sighing, Applejack continued, “I was just searchin’ for whatever was chompin’ on some of the apples we had in the trees. Thought it was a squirrel, but it turns out it was Rainbow Dash teething one while she slept.” She gestured a hoof to Starlight and Anon. “You two talkin’ wasn’t what I heard initially.”

Rainbow Dash frowned. “Yeah…” She tilted her head. “Were you two resting up here too?”

Starlight anxiously laughed. “Y-Yeah. Right, Anon?”

Anon rubbed the back of his head with his other hand. “Yeah. Just… resting.”

Applejack blinked at them like a strobe light at a crazy Pinkie Pie party. “Uhhh… Dash, do you buy that?”

“No,” Rainbow Dash said dryly, shaking her head. “Not even a bit.”

Anon peered down at her. “Looks like the jigs up, Starlight.”

She gulped her nerves and sighed. “Guess so—eep!”

Anon pulled Starlight close, causing her to fall into him. She looked back up at him, seeing his face as determined as it could be. And with a deep breath, he announced:

“We’re dating.”

…

Starlight’s eyes darted between Rainbow Dash and Applejack. They weren’t the types to talk about dating other ponies, so she didn’t know how they’d react and—

“What?!”

Gobsmacked. Rainbow Dash’s wings were extended outward, a blush smeared on her face, while Applejack’s jaw was hanging fairly low, which she tried picking up with one of her forehooves but was desperately flailing at her muzzle instead.

Starlight hid behind her forehooves.

How could this get any worse?

Author's Note

Four drafts during two weeks. I hate how long this took. I think that trip I had really took the writing spirit out of me or something. Idk. Back on track though. Hope you all enjoy this one!

Oh, and sex tag added to cover my ass. Last ones have been pretty suggestive, but no actual sex has happened so... just as an fyi. Noting this in the desc too.

Song for this chapter:

Edits completed on January 3rd, 2025.