Big Mac turned an ear back as they went. "One thin'. Ain't no expert on how mares work, not bein' one an' all, but there ain't no point plowing a barren field, as they say. Are ya in season?"

Rainbow stopped at that, crossing her forelegs over her chest. "In season? What?"

Big Mac frowned at Rainbow. "Are you fertile? Ya know. Can I even put a foal in you?"

Rainbow colored, her eyes darting away. "How would I know?! I'm a mare, so I should be, right?"

Big Mac sighed and chuckled at the same time. "That don't always go together none. Been talkin' with Sugar Belle about her cycles. Ya know mares are tied to the moon, don'tcha?" He could see the clueless look on Rainbow's face. "We should talk to a smarter mare, so we can figure it out. We ain't, um, doin' this fer fun. Let's make sure we do it right."

Rainbow stepped backwards, color rising in her cheeks. "But I already told Applejack!" She waved her hooves and flapped her wings anxiously. "I promised her a foal!"

Big Mac furrowed his brow at Rainbow. "Ah ain't sayin' no. Ah'm sayin' coverin' you every day for who knows how long until it sticks is bein' disrespectful t' Sugar Belle. We want to do it once and it'll stick, ideally."

Rainbow slumped slightly. "Yeah, but how long would that be?"

Big Mac shrugged. "Week or two, seems like? C'mon. Let's talk to Twilight. She'll know how mares work, sure as sugar."

Aborting their approach of the house, they turned about to head into town. Rainbow zipped around Big Mac like a flying jackrabbit, constantly changing direction to vent her nervous energy.

Big Mac smiled awkwardly at the occasional passing pony. He saw Sugar Belle down the road, in conversation with Carrot Top. His ears shot up and he hurried over to her. "Hey, um, ya visitin'?"

Sugar Belle said her goodbyes to Carrot Top and turned to Big Mac. "I was planning to come today anyway." Her eyes went to the flitting Rainbow Dash and she colored at those implications. "Are you two, you know?"

Big Mac darkened in return. "We were goin' to talk to Twilight. Rainbow don't know what a mare's cycle is, or where she is on it. Don't want to waste our time none."

Sugar Belle rubbed behind her head, her blush growing furiously. "Oh! Um, okay. Yeah, we should, uh, figure that out." She leaned in, brushing her cheek against his, whispering into his ear. "Let me talk to her. I don't know who you were planning to go to."

Big Mac reached over and took Sugar Belle's hoof gently in his. "Thanks." He watched as she hurried off after Rainbow.

Rainbow frowned at the sight of Sugar Belle chasing her. "What is it?"

Sugar Belle pointed to the ground. "Sit."

Rainbow crashed to her haunches, confused but compliant. "Yeah?"

Sugar smiled. "It's time to go over the wondrous life of a mare." She poked Rainbow gently. "Which you are, on the inside. It sounds like you've been ignoring those parts. Too busy flying around to care about them, hm? It's time to slow down and think about them."

"Why are you so invested in this?" Rainbow gave Sugar Belle a perplexed look. "No offense, but—"

"Because if my husband is going to be intimate with another mare, she's going to know exactly how that works." She hiked a brow. "And they're going to do it as few times as they have to, which means knowing your timing."

Rainbow pointed at Sugar. "Well, you're here. Why don't we use your timing?"

Sugar Threw up a hoof at that. "Every mare is different, Rainbow. I am happy to report that there isn't one day when all the stallions and all the mares need to get... busy... to make the next generation. Now, let's talk, calmly. This is an intimate and personal thing, which you should know."

Rainbow relaxed back into the grass, tossing her head in embarrassment. "So, what's first?"

"I guess we start with how a mare's cycle works." Sugar Belle settled down on her haunches as well.

And so the discussion began, going over how the estrus cycle worked for grown mares, ways to identify where one was in the cycle. "One thing to note, ponies are not shy. When we're deep in heat, we give a few signals. We get sensitive, for one. Ever have a day when every little touch felt like fire? When you wanted to be close, but also hated it. Maybe you snapped at ponies on days like that. Remember any?"

Rainbow shot up at that, almost slamming into Sugar Belle. "Wait! You mean Applejack— Ohmygosh I was such a jerk!"

Sugar Belle kept calm as she nudged Rainbow back to the ground. "So AJ's been in heat before? Good, than you know that hint. You'll both experience estrus many times. As mares, you can help each other through them. That's what special someponies do. Now, there are other, even less subtle, hints." She made sure there were no other ponies about, save Big Mac In the distance looking awkward. "Down there, we get redder, plumper. Around that special stallion, you may even feel the need to wink at them."

Rainbow winked an eye at Belle with a snicker. "Why would I do that?"

"Because it's a sign that we're interested in him. Think of it as winking back to tell a stallion they've got our attention." Sugar giggled. "We start dripping, as well. Mind, I'm talking about back there, not your eyes. Put them all together and you have a very good idea of when you're ready to get a foal." She took a slow breath. "Do you understand?"

Rainbow just nodded quietly. "I had no idea this was so... complicated."

"All nature is complicated." She went in to kiss Rainbow's cheek. "Be good to Big Mac."

Rainbow looked over at him with a sigh. "Ya know, we don't have to do this. You don't have to let us."

Sugar shook her head. "If it makes my husband happy to do a good deed, it makes me happy." She put a hoof at her chest. "And it involves Applejack too. I know you want it, and she wants it. I won't be the one mare sitting in the way. That wouldn't be fair to any of you." She squeezed Rainbow's shoulder. "Now go ahead. The sooner we get this started, the sooner it's over with."

"And the sooner I'll get to see a little Rainbow and an Applejack," Sugar added softly.

Rainbow snapped a sharp salute and flew in a streak back to Big Mac. "Okay! Got the talk."

Big Mac nodded. "So, is this a good time?"

"N-no..." Rainbow worried her hooves together. "But now I know what to look for. So, um, let's make it a date. When I'm feeling it, I'll come over, and then we'll do what needs to be done."

Big Mac furrowed his brow suspiciously. "Sounds like Sugar talked you out of it."

"No, no! I still want this. We'll wait until we can do it right." She turned back towards Sweet Apple Acres. "You said it yourself, we want to get this done on the first try, if we can, right?"

Big Mac clicked his tongue. "Sure enough." He followed along with her, silently, lost in thought.

Rainbow looked around at all the work they had ahead of them. "Hey, Mac?"

"Mm?"

Rainbow threw a wing over him. "You are a good brother."

Big Mac huffed and leaned into Rainbow Dash. "You're a good sister."

"Aw! See? We'll make great parents." She laughed softly. "Right now, let's get ready to finish our chores." She lifted into the air. "Which, for me, involved some cloud busting."

She launched into the air without waiting for replies.

Sugar Belle took her place, shaking her head. "One thing." She gently nestled at his side. "This got me thinking about our foal. I was ready to wait a little bit before, but..."

Big Mac snorted with a smile. "My thinkin' exactly. Let's talk 'bout that later."

Sugar grinned, running a hoof along Big Mac's barrel. "Do you have to be somewhere else?"

He threw an arm over her, drawing her close. "Ain't nowhere ah'd rather be than where you are."

"Aw! Are you talking to me, or—"

"Ah'm talkin' to you, silly mare." He kissed her, pulling her into a soft embrace. "Only you."

She leaned into his lips, her eyes fluttering shut. They smooched a soft moment of mutual delight. "I want to set the same appointment. When I'm feeling it, really feeling it, I'll come by."

Big Mac hiked a brow at that. "Just don't drop from the sky on me."

Sugar Belle smirked. "I thought there was no other place you wanted to be. That means wherever I am is where you'll be."

Big Mac tipped his head to her. "Touche, mare. Touche."

With dates set with both mares, Big Mac got back to chores around the orchard. The days ahead seemed full of things to do.

Elsewhere, Applejack huffed to herself. "Why am ah gettin' the feelin' somethin's goin' on?" She looked around, but could see no hint of the source of those notions.

She moved along the grassy knoll, stepping between apple trees as she made her way across the field. She paused to gently pat at one of many trees. "How ya feelin' today, little lady?" The little lady was much larger than Applejack, not that this seemed to bother her at all.

Applejack continued on through the fields, gently checking at each tree in her path. She only paused to make a note on a small notepad. She considered which tree looked healthy, which looked sickly, and everything in between. Being an apple farmer was an active job. She snorted at the ponies that thought they just planted them and magically apples appeared on shelves ready to buy. "Ain't nothin' good that don't come from work."

She spent several hours going through the trees, marking every few feet as she worked her way back to the farmhouse. Her family was not merely farmers, but also ecologists and caretakers. Each tree was as much a family member as anypony else.

She had little clue that other ponies were scheming to grow trees of a very different variety.

As she neared the end of her trip, Applejack stopped, puzzled by a half-open barn door. She flicked her ears, and felt the breeze flowing through the building. She stepped in and glanced around, finding nothing out of place. "Hm." She went about her chores, unable to entirely throw off that funny feeling.

Author's Note

Back from a convention(Everfree NW) and we get a new chapter. Could this day get better?

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