Warnings: Plot, No Sex, Sappy and Romantic, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, Exposition

The sun was warm against your skin as you walked through Ponyville, the occasional wave and smile coming from the ponies of the town, which you returned as you passed by. Who’d have thought it, bipedal, almost humanoid “ponies”...

The walk through town was simple, pleasant, and distracting. A way to forget being the only human in all of Equestria.

You’d had a good feeling about today since breakfast. You had no idea why, but for some reason, you felt that today would be a good day. Nothing out of place had happened yet, and you didn’t have anything unusual planned, but the feeling just wouldn’t go away.

Breakfast had been simple and the same, you didn’t have any actual work to do today as it was off season for Sweet Apple Acres and didn’t have had any “handy-man” appointments for the day. That didn’t mean you didn’t have things to do though.

It had started simple, after the Princesses had cleared you of having any diseases or carrying any terrible things which might hurt their ponies, you’d been given a small home in Ponyville. It had been awkward at first, the sudden, inexplicable appearance in Equestria, the tests and difficulties setting up a translation spell, adjusting to seeing “ponies” that seemed far more human than they had any right to be... even after the Princesses and their scientists had done their best to ease your transition to Equestrian society, it had been very strange.

Sure, once you got past the bright colors of the thin coat of fur that covered most of their skin, you could almost mistake a pony for a human at first glance. They stood on their hind legs, they had hands and faces, a body structure similar to a humans...

But for all the similarities, they were still distinctly different. Not only did they have hooves instead of feet, tails, and equine ears, but the ‘pegasi’ had sizable, feathered wings, and the ‘unicorns’ had horns several inches long on their foreheads. The most uncanny part though had to be their faces; their facial structure was subtly different, depending on the pony it might come across as beautiful and exotic... or uncannily familiar yet terribly alien.

Speaking of “beautiful and exotic”...

Glaring at the phone in your hands, you tried to resolve the scheduling conflict that had arisen. All sx of your close friends here in Ponyville had ended up trying to schedule a meeting with you on the same day for various reasons.

Applejack wanted some help shoring up one of the silo’s on the Apple farm, Dash wanted some help with the weather plans for the next season, Fluttershy wanted some help bringing in a load of feed for her animals, Pinkie wanted some help getting things ready for a birthday party tomorrow night, Rarity wanted to fit you for your custom tux she’d made for the Gala in a few weeks time, and Twilight wanted your help with a spell since Spike was out.

They were all things you’d done a number of times before,and they all had a good reason for you being there today. Dash and Rarity had both scheduled for today quite some time ago, Pinkie had expected the Cutie Mark Crusaders to help her out, but they’d gone and taken Spike off to go crusadin, which had left both Twilight and her without their expected help. Fluttershy had been trying to get this shipment of feed in for almost a week and had been rationing out the food until it’d come in, she’d need almost as much help keeping the animals from swarming the food as to move the heavy bags, and while she’d hoped to get either you or Big Mac to help her out, the large Earth Pony was taking a delivery of apples to Manehatten and wouldn’t be back until later tomorrow. And the silo was making noise, so AJ wanted it worked on ASAP.

They all had good reasons for them needing things done today, as inconvenient as it was that it had happened like this. Regardless, you needed to decide on which of your friends to help out first, as any one of them could take up your entire day...

Would it be Twilight Sparkle? Your first friend since you arrived in Equestria?

o-Flashback-o

Still uncomfortable around the various multicolored ‘ponies’ around you, you followed the brilliant multicolored hair of Princess as she led you through the halls of the castle. You’d only recently been cleared of quarantine, and it seemed that neither of the Princesses wanted to keep you cooped up in the castle with them and their entourage.

You didn’t know what they had in mind, but... well... anything would be better than the hours of testing and waiting beforehand, especially since you could understand and be understood.

That had been a rather unsettling time, being poked and prodded by various, obviously inhuman and yet unsettlingly familiar scientists. Sure, you’d found out after the fact that they were just trying to help and make sure you were safe for everyone, but... well... that was after the fact.

You were still a bit jumpy around needles and physical contact. They’d been as gentle as they could, but... well... being held down as they examined you and tried to calm you down... didn’t work out that well.

Your musings were interrupted by the Princess saying your name. Looking up, you responded, “Yes Princess?” The Princesses were nearly half again as tall as the other ponies, you yourself only came up to their chests.

“I am going to be introducing you to my student, Twilight, who shall be helping ease your transition into everyday life among my little ponies. We shall be moving you to a small town nearby to give the press some time to adjust to your existence and give you somewhere calmer to adjust to being among us. What you do after that is up to you.”

Somewhat overwhelmed, you could only stammer out, “I–... thank you, Princess...”

“You are welcome young one, now,” with a gesture of her hand, the doors in front of you began to open, the slight shimmer of magic upon them, “Allow me to introd–”

There was a slight *pop* of displaced air and purple filled your vision. Jerking back, you didn’t get far before a soft hand closed around your own and began pumping it up and down in a vigorous handshake, “Twilight Sparkle, it’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m really happy for this chance to work with you, it’s a revolutionary opportunity to speak with an actual example of convergent evolution–”

Wait, what?

Blinking, your brain started to catch up with the situation, an attractive ‘unicorn’ was in front of you in a blouse and skirt, “–there are probably massive numbers of things that we can learn from one another, the simple cultural exchange alone will likely be awe-inspiring–”, she was wearing a simple if neat tie and thigh-high socks over her light purple coat.

“–with any luck. Of course we’ll need to study quite a few things together to ensure that we’re not getting our facts mixed up but I have no doubt that it’ll be fantastic–” she’d stopped shaking your hand and had instead switched to grasping your hand with both of hers, her twinkling lavender eyes locked with your own as she spoke, “I really hope that our time together is productive and delightful! I hope we can be friends.”

The unicorn beamed at you, her long dark purple hair bouncing slightly as she gave your hand a squeeze, and you were stunned. Thus your ever so eloquent response, “Um... thanks?”

“Twilight Sparkle.”

At the Princess’s voice, the unicorn’s back straightened and she let go of your hand, her face flushing a bright red, “Oh! I’m sorry! Really sorry! I’m just– this is the first opportunity I’ve had to meet a real alien and– um, sorry...”

It was then that you decided that she was cute. Despite the light coat of fur, the several inch long horn, and any number of other things... she was cute, “It’s alright... it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

oOo

“–oh my but the History of Everything: Abridged is so dry, maybe, no, it’s the quickest way. But what about the important parts?! Oh dear, there’s still Barker’s History of Magic and–”

“... is she always like this...?” you asked the purple dragon beside you.

“–this would cover the more recent cultural norms, but oh ponyfeathers, what would allow for the best analysis of the contrast between the cultures? Cloudy Day’s or Cracked Parchment’s version of A Pony’s Psychology–”

“Only when she’s excited.”

The unicorn stood in the center of the library, her horn alight with magical power as she bit on her knuckle, muttering to herself as a constellation of books floated around her, each one brought before her before being analyzed and either discarded or placed onto the stack of books for you to read.

A stack that already reached from the floor and up past your waist.

The three of you had very recently arrived in Ponyville, it had been later in the evening when you’d gotten here, and apparently they’d gone out of their way to avoid broadcasting your existence as no one had been there to greet you. You’d be staying in the library with Twilight and her assistant Spike while they finished building and furnishing your new home at the edge of town.

What had started as asking your guide for help choosing a book to read had become... this.

Not that it wasn’t adorable, an attractive female biting her finger, her other hand on her hip as she worried over the best books for you to read as she talked to herself. As intimidating as the stack of books was becoming, the worked up ‘unicorn’ made a pleasant warmth fill your chest.

It was then that you had the distinct feeling that your time here in Equestria, however long it may be, would be rather interesting.

o-Present-o

Admittedly, as sweet, adorable, and kind as the Unicorn had been to you, her request didn’t seem as urgent when compared to the others. But if you knew Twilight, and after over a year living in Ponyville you suspected you did, she’d been working herself to the bone over the past week working on this spell... again.

She’d worked herself into a stupor a number of times since you’d known her, and by this point she’d need someone to check up on her.

Though, admittedly, you might’ve had other reasons for wanting to help her...

o-Flashback-o

The door to the library opened easily as you slipped inside and announced your presence, “Twilight? I’m here.”

There was no answer from the unicorn, something you’d sadly expected given the state of the library. Stacks of books were everywhere, sheafs of paper littered the floor, covered in handwriting ranging from ruler straight to chicken-scratch-illegible. Notes and small-scale experiments were scattered around everywhere,

Carefully picking your way through the stacks in the direction you suspected your friend resided, you mentally laughed at the situation as you spoke again, just to be sure, “Twilight? You there?” this was all too familiar now.

You’d spent more than a few days sitting in this library with Twilight, either describing your world or listening to her talk about hers. There’d been a number of times that you’d come to the library while she was in the middle of one of her research binges and had listened to her talk at length about magic. It was hard to keep up with a master in the field (despite any protests of hers otherwise) when you yourself had little grounding in it, but... the look on her face when you asked a relevant question... the way she just... lit up...

Well, it was nice at the very least.

It was about then that you found her, settled on a bean-bag chair, Spike curled up not far away, a book in her lap and a cathedral of books around her... and fast asleep.

The normally elegant unicorn, perfectly proper and immaculately dressed and groomed... was a mess. Her hair was frazzled, her clothes wrinkled, the top few buttons of her blouse undone, one of her socks was scrunched up near her ankle, and even fast asleep there were bags under her eyes. Not only that, but both her tie and coat had disappeared to parts unknown, more than a few coffee stains on her outfit (though none on the books or notes of course).

That said, the line of drool that was starting to fall from her mouth was worrying. Not because it hadn’t happened before, but because it was going to fall onto the book she was hunched over.

Moving quickly and quietly, you stuck out your hand just in time to catch the strand of drool before it stained the book. It was with a bemused and affectionate smile that you shook your head and used the back of your hand to gently wipe away the sleep induced dampness on Twilight’s face, whispering more to yourself than anything, “What am I going to do with you Twilight... this is the second time in as many months.”

Twilight leaned into your touch and your name escaped her lips in a soft, husky sigh, a tender smile on her face.

Your face felt like it was on fire as you withdrew your hand, a small pout crossing Twilight’s face.

Right, so that happened. Still. Um... it might be best to get her somewhere more comfortable to sleep, like her bed. Mind out of the gutter! Not what you meant to do!

Casting your eyes about, you found the stack of bookmarks that Twilight had on hand and took one. Swallowing down the sudden trepidation and awkwardness, you reminded yourself that this wasn’t the first time you’d done this. Slipping an arm under her knees and another between her shoulders and the beanbag chair, you carefully lifted the smaller unicorn up, tilting her into yourself.

Her head fell against your shoulder, and it took some shifting to ensure that she didn’t accidentally stab you with her horn, the magical thing resting against the back of your neck as she pressed her face against your skin, another soft, happy sigh escaping her.

With a bit more shifting of her in your arms, you were able to slip the bookmark into the still open book in her lap, taking it away from her and setting it on the beanbag chair. This, unfortunately, had to be done in this order, because otherwise she wouldn’t let go of the book.

Her hands freed, one of them balled up in your shirt as she leaned against you. Acutely aware of how soft and warm she was, you did your best to ignore it as you carried her bridal style up to her room.

It hadn’t been this awkward to do this in a while, but... she usually didn’t say your name at all when you were helping her like this, let alone like that. It’d reminded you rather acutely of the fact that she was an attractive female, one who was soft and warm and nice, who went out of her way to hang out with you and just spend time with you... and that made you acutely aware of the fact that you were carrying the exact same person up to her bedroom in your arms.

Clutching at your shirt, the lavender unicorn groaned softly before beginning to mumble against your skin, muffled equations and principles. You vaguely recognized some of the principles and equations of transformation magic, but only somewhat, whatever she was doing was some really advanced stuff. But the detached mumbling, despite it involving her hot breath against your neck, helped you calm down.

Of course, she’d just been acknowledging your presence, even in her asleep state. Nothing more or less. It wasn’t her fault that she sounded sexy, nor was it a sign of her wanting anything, you’d gotten worked up over nothing. Reassured, if slightly saddened, you carried her the rest of the way to her room, pulling open the door with your foot before slipping inside. The room itself looked clean, and unfortunately, had probably not been used much if at all in the past few days as she’d studied.

Shaking your head, you carried Twilight to her bed. With some awkward shifting, you used your foot to push down the covers before setting her down. However, a pressure on your back kept you from standing back up, Twilight letting out a small, unhappy sound as you made the attempt.

Confused, and awkwardly leaning over Twilight, you felt behind you to figure out what was happening. You discovered that, sometime during climbing the stairs and your own musings, Twilight had wrapped her arms around your shoulder and torso, her hands laced behind your back.

You pulled your arm from around her knees, using it to prop yourself above her some, your other arm moving around behind you to try and unlace her fingers. An unhappy sound escaped Twilight before she tugged you closer, her surprising strength almost crushing the two of you together, chest to chest.

Flushing brightly, you tried to ignore the feeling of her soft breasts pressing against you, keeping yourself propped above her as best you could, her name escaping your lips unbidden, “Twilight…”

“Mmnng…” another squeeze, her face buried against your neck nuzzling against you gently as the sleepy sound escaped her.

Flushing, you decided against trying to wake her, squirming slightly in her arms to try and pull free. This failed miserably, only earning an unhappy groan from the unicorn.

With a resigned sigh, you relaxed in her arms, trying to figure a way out of this situation. She was your friend, not your lover, despite how appealing that thought was... and you doubted she’d appreciate waking up like this...

A happy sigh escaped Twilight, her warm breath washing over your neck as she snuggled against you, holding you close to her. Her blunt teeth grazed your neck before your name slipped from her lips, the unicorn pressing her lips to your skin, humming happily.

Your face felt like it was on fire, you had to get out of here, casting your gaze around desperately for a solution as your friend continued to place soft, sleepy kisses against your neck. Your eyes landed on the book on her dresser nearby, needing a way to escape from your predicament, no matter how pleasant it may have been, you reached over and grabbed the book. It took several awkward moments of shifting and squirming as well as awkwardly close brushes with certain parts of Twilight’s anatomy before the large book had taken up your place in Twilight’s arms.

Without a doubt, your face was multiple shades of red at the moment as you stood near Twilight’s bed, trying to get your breathing and heartrate under control, telling yourself again and again that Twilight was your friend, that she was asleep and not thinking clearly, that she hadn’t shown any indication of wanting anything more...

With a soft groan, you face-palmed, you had to get out of here before you did something that might ruin your friendship with Twilight or spontaneously combusted.

You turned, sending a quick glance back at your friend to make sure she was asleep. A lock of her hair had fallen across her face when she’d rolled onto her side, a small pout on her face despite the book she clutched to her chest.

Hesitating for a long moment, you finally reached out and brushed the lock of hair back and tucked it behind her ear... your heart soaring when her pout melted into a serene smile.

Your fingers lingered, tracing her cheek for a moment before what you were doing reached your brain. Almost jerking your hand back, you spun on your heel and walked out as quickly as you dared. You’d check back in on Twilight later, when she was awake, and never mention this situation to anyone ever.

… though it would remain in your heart and dreams for quite some time.

o-Present-o

So... there might be reasons other than concern for Twilight working herself into a total stupor guiding your decision... but what about Pinkie Pie? She had that party she needed to get ready for tomorrow with no help at all...

o-Flashback-o

“... oh no.”

“... what just happened?” you turned a confused look to your guide, finding the lavender ‘unicorn’ to be facepalming.

“Pinkie Pie just happened.”

You turned back towards the dust cloud left by the pink blur that had been there moments before, “... is that bad?”

“Not really, just... this could be problematic later.”

“... problematic how exactly?”

Twilight sighed, rubbing her temples, “Most likely? It’s going to throw off the schedule horribly and introduce you to more ponies than you’re really ready to meet right now.”

You stared after the pony that you’d just met. Bright pink, a big... ‘froof’ of hair and tail, a simple if colorful outfit with a custom apron... blue eyes. Deep blue eyes. That had stuck in your head. Your eyes had locked with hers for a moment and there had been this look of... surprise... wonder... and... something else you had no way to identify in those eyes before she’d let out this exaggerated gasp and zipped off at speeds that had left a dust cloud behind her.

Well... that all didn’t sound too bad...

oOo

You were right, it wasn’t that bad.

And no, it wasn’t worse either.

But... it probably was a bit much.

Banners, streamers, sparklers, cake... lots of cake... and ponies.

A whole lot of ponies.

It was one thing to meet a couple of ponies at once, it was another to meet half the town with your name and “Welcome Alien!!!!” scattered around everywhere... with four exclamation points. You were struck by how much taller you were than the average pony. You stood anywhere from half a head up to a full head taller than the average pony.

Still, while it wasn’t all that bad. The sudden press of multicolored bodies so soon after getting out of the palace was unsettling. You still weren’t entirely comfortable around ponies, though there were exceptions. The testing prior to the translation spells development would probably bother you for some time...

So you’d taken the time to work your way over to the edge of the party, as far away from the mass of the party as possible.

There was a sudden blur of pink and color before an arm wrapped around your shoulder, pulling you up against the side of a pony, “Wha–?”

“How’re you liking the party so far?” Turning to the voice, you found yourself nearly face to face with Pinkie Pie, the instigator of this party, “Because the whole point of the party is for you to have fun but if you’re not having fun then the whole party would be pointless you know? And that’d be bad, ‘cause even though I went into a lot of work for it I didn’t know what kind of parties you like so I couldn’t get it exactly right for you as much as I might’ve wanted to get my first party for an alien perfect I know it’s pretty much impossible but if I’m gonna improve on it I need to know whether you like the party so far or not~”

“Um...” your brain tried to catch up with the sudden stream of consciousness that had come from her, latching onto what you guessed was the key question, “It’s okay... I’m not all that comfortable with crowds though...”

“Really?! Oh pooh,” the pink pony turned a pout towards the multicolored mass of bodies that was the party, humming thoughtfully to herself. You were still too stunned to really react to her being so close and still leaning against you.

Just as you opened your mouth to question why she was so close, the party-pony flounced off into the mass of others, her tail and hair both bouncing freely as she did.

Now thoroughly confused, you just shook your head at the strange person.

Suddenly, there was a flash of pink at the edges of your vision and you turned a bit to find Pinkie Pie somehow above the crowd... ah, she was standing on Applejack’s shoulders, the farm-gir–... farm-pony was the tallest of the friends that Twilight had introduced you to. And then out came a megaphone from... somewhere. How’d she hide that in her apron...?

“Okay everypony~ It’s time to start closing out~! We’ve all had a long day so let’s head on to bed~ We’ve got some new guests that’ll need some time to settle in okey dokey~? Just don’t forget to grab your stuff before you go~”

There were more than a few sounds of disappointment from the crowd, but when Pinkie began to make shoo’ing motions and sounds of encouragement, they began to disperse. Groups of ponies began to peel off from the crowd, most of them grabbing some piece of party decoration or another as they did, quickly leaving the place clean aside from a few streamers, confetti, and a table’s worth of food and drinks.

Surprised at the speed which the group had dispersed, you were still looking around and taking it in when an arm wrapped around your shoulders once more, “Better~?”

Blinking, you turned to find Pinkie once more rather close to you, and behind her was your guide and her friends, the party had dwindled down to just you, a baby dragon, and six (if you were honest with yourself, very attractive) humanoid ponies.

“Yeah,” a previously unnoticable pressure seemed to lift from your chest, you felt less confined and more... at home, without the large multicolored crowd, “Much better,” you admitted with a small smile, “Thanks.”

Pinkie beamed at you, “No problemo~ Anything to make a pony smile– oh well...” she giggled, “An alien smile~”

You couldn’t help but smile back at her, “Heh... I’m a human, by the way.”

She blinked owlishly at you before cocking her head to the side, “A Hy-men?”

You snorted, covering your mouth, “Close enough.”

“Okey dokey lokey~ now let’s get this party started properly~” quite suddenly you found yourself dragged off to the deserted dance floor by the arm around your shoulders, “Who’s ready to dance~?!”

Oh boy...

oOo

You’d lost count of the number of parties you’d been roped into going to, but... well... Pinkie could be persuasive. And it’s not like you didn’t enjoy them or that you were the only one getting ‘roped into it’, Twilight and Applejack both shared the dubious honor of ‘most roped into parties’.

That said, you didn’t really mind it, especially when it involved a bit of hard cider.

You were on number... actually, you’d lost count. It was probably time to stop.

Sure, you held your ‘liquor’ better than any pony, what they called the hard stuff took a good number of full glasses to get you buzzed. But... well... you’d been drinking for a while now... and as safe as it was to drink at one of Pinkie’s parties, you didn’t look forward to the pounding headache you’d have if you didn’t start drinking some water.

Meandering your way through the crowd, you made a wobbly beeline for the drink table to get yourself some water. But... something caught your eye...

There, off to the side, was Pinkie Pie, her party hat lost somewhere with no search party being gathered, a cup of cider in her hands... and worryingly, no smile on her face...

No... you reconsidered that as you approached her, there was a smile on her face... a small one and distinctly sad... her deep blue eyes watching the ponies the party was for....

You didn’t know what had happened or what she was thinking about that made her sad... but it didn’t really matter. All that mattered was that something was wrong with the world and no one was even trying to fix it. Pinkie Pie wasn’t happy.

Maybe you couldn’t fix things... but that sure as hell didn’t mean you weren’t going to try.

Downing the last of your cider, you crushed the paper cup and tossed it into the trash as you changed course, determinedly walking up behind the contemplative mare.

For just a moment, you could understand her completely. Someone wasn’t smiling, and you were willing to do whatever it took to change that... to see them happy once more...

Your arms wrapped around Pinkie’s waist as you pulled her back to your chest, the party pony stiffening and letting out a little squeak as her head came to rest just beneath your chin, “Hey,” she relaxed some, tilting her head back to look at you, “Aren’t you supposed to be the Queen of Smiles?”

Okay, maybe it didn’t make the most sense, but in your defense, you were thoroughly buzzed and it’d sounded good in your head.

Still, she relaxed into your arms, her head looking back at the ponies as she leaned back into you and giggled softly, “Silly willy...” her voice was far softer and nowhere near as bubbly as you’d come to associate with her, but it wasn’t truly sad, “If I’m a queen, then where’s my crown?”

You blinked before resting your head on top of her head, smiling at the ridiculous thought that slipped from your mouth, “I’m the crown?”

There was a moment of silence as Pinkie tilted her head to the side enough that she could lay her head back on your shoulder and look up at you, her eyebrow raised and the corner of her mouth quirked up in a clear question of ‘Are you that drunk?’

So you grinned, giving your head a little wiggle, “Ta da~? Or would ‘sparkle sparkle shiney’ be better?”

There was a moment of silence as she absorbed the statement, but then... well... it might have been the booze talking... but... the smile that came across her face could have been the most beautiful thing you’d ever seen, like the warm sun peeking out from behind the clouds on a cold, dreary day...

She started to giggle, leaning back into you more as her body shook, her laughter was infectious and soon you were both having trouble keeping upright as you laughed together, using each other as support.

Eventually, the laughter died down to chuckles, Pinkie resting her head back against your shoulder, a surprisingly serene smile on her face, “Thanks... I needed that.” Her arms came up over her head and behind her to wrap loosely around your neck, holding on to you as she leaned back against your chest.

“It’s no problem at all,” your face felt warm, though from the booze, laughter, or embarrassment you weren’t sure, “If you ever need help, feel free to ask.”

Whatever Pinkie was about to say was lost to time as her name was called, her head lifting from your shoulder, “Yepperoonies~?!”

“We’re ready for the cake!”

“Okey dokey! I’ll have it out in a jiffy!” and with that, she’d somehow bounced out of your grasp and off towards the crowd.

Your arms felt rather empty, but when Pinkie spun around as she bounced off, that same radiant smile on her face, thanking you once more before she headed off to manage the party... it made your chest warm for reasons entirely unrelated to the booze.

o-Present-o

She really had taken you up on that offer, roping you into helping her out with her parties and occasionally her baking more than once.

If she’d always asked in that hyperactive and energetic way she often did it’d probably have started to get on your nerves but... well, she wasn’t always like that, and more than a few times she’d asked for your help sedately like she had this time.

And it wasn’t like she never gave you anything in return for your help...

o-Flashback-o

You walked into Sugarcube Corner, ignoring the closed sign as Pinkie had requested before. You’d done this a number of times to help her with things for parties, though this time was a bit different. She hadn’t asked you to come in to help with a party, just to come in during the Sugarcube Corner’s off hours...

“Pinkie?” there were the familiar scents of baking, of sugar and flour and a dozen other delicious smells.

“Be there in a second!” There was a clatter of dishes before the party pony stumbled into the main part of the bakery from the kitchen. She was honestly a bit of a mess, powdered sugar and flour coated various parts of her body and clothes, there was some batter on her cheek, and she honestly looked exhausted... exhausted and nervous... but happy, “Heya~ Take a seat wherever ya want~”

Smiling, you did so at one of the tables, “So... what’s the occasion?”

Vaulting over the counter, Pinkie bounced over to you to give you a hug, accidentally smearing some of the baking goods on you and your outfit as she rubbed her cheek against yours, “I just wanted to thank you for all the help you’re always giving me and the others!”

You weren’t worried about the mess she’d gotten on your clothes, because you kinda sorta just maybe had totally been expecting something like this to happen and hadn’t worn anything you minded getting dirty.You got messy working with Pinkie almost as much if not more than you did working with Applejack.

Still you smiled, wrapping an arm around her waist and hugging her back as she sat down beside you, still hugging you tight, “It’s nothing big Pinkie, I don’t mind helping.” This was more than a bit normal, Pinkie did this to you all the time, the pink pony loving physical contact, oftentimes just hugging you or one of your friends and staying there while everyone talked.

Pinkie placed her hands on your shoulders and pushed you back enough to look you in the eye with a pout, her deep blue eyes staring into your own as she pouted, “Nuh uh! It is a big deal! You do so much for the others and me... you deserve to be rewarded!”

Before you could respond, there was a ding from the kitchen and Pinkie was off like a rocket, “Berightback~”

Sighing, you shook your head, an affectionate smile on your face. Pinkie would be Pinkie. There was a number of sounds from the kitchen as the baker worked, within a few minutes, she had returned with a tray in hand, a single cupcake on it.

… well this was new.

The cupcake was set in front of you, Pinkie beaming as she bounced in place. Glancing between her and the cupcake a few times, you stared at the pastry... The little wrapper was a tie-die blue and yellow and there was a swirly mass of dark pink icing on top of it.

Picking it up, you studied it for a moment, noting Pinkie flopping into the chair beside you and leaning against your side you glanced over at her, raising an eyebrow. “... it’s a cupcake.”

“Yuppers! I made it special just for you! It’s fun and sweet and pink, I call it the Pinkie~”

She... was giving you... herself...? No... that can’t be right... “Pinkie...” you hesitantly ventured as you unwrapped the cupcake, finding it to be moist and a lighter pink than the icing, “Have you given all your best friends these?”

“Nope~” she said with a smile, her head laying against your shoulder as she leaned against you, “Just you.”

“I–... thanks...” no words would come, you were just overwhelmed, unable to do much more at the moment other than take a careful bite of the cupcake.

It was delicious.

Slowly, you ate the cupcake as Pinkie just lay against you there, the two of you alone in the closed bakery, a serene smile on her face.

Not much later, Pinkie headed off to the kitchen to clean up and you, still overwhelmed by the potential implications of what PInkie had just given you... could think of nothing to say and had quietly left. Unfortunately, in doing so you lost any real opportunity to discuss it with her, as from then on, she’d dodged any attempt to bring it up in her normal, exuberant way...

o-Present-o

And the Cutie Mark Crusaders had basically ditched her... leaving her to prepare for a sizable surprise party by herself, and Pinkie’s tasks would probably take the least amount of time, you’d have the best chance of getting her stuff done and getting to the others that needed help by today...

Well, aside from maybe Rarity... and she had taken the time to schedule this with you beforehand... and she was making this suit for you for free...

o-Flashback-o

“Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, how may I– Ah! It’s you darling, whatever can I do for you?” the recent acquaintance of yours smiled as she greeted you personally.

“Well, I kind of need some help...” you rubbed your arm a bit awkwardly, it was a bit of an uncomfortable topic.

“With what dear?”

“Um... well... I need clothes...” An elegant eyebrow was raised, clearly asking for elaboration, “A lot of clothes... almost nothing’s my size and... well... it’s made for ‘ponies’... “

The unicorn turned back to her work area with a small grin. "Ah, missing something?" she said while flicking her tail meaningfully, which did very interesting things to her hips.

Dragging your eyes back to a more modest level you see her looking over her shoulder. Her small grin had been replaced with a full smirk. “Among other things,” you say as you try to control your burning cheeks.

Not only were you bigger than the average pony, they had a slightly different body structure, including their hips and tail among other things. While not visibly different, it meant a lot when trying to get pants that fit properly, it was tight in weird places and loose in others. While the pants that the Princesses had gotten you fit, well... they chafed.

Badly.

Her smile was gentle, “Well then darling, I’ll need some measurements to make a proper set, but I do believe I can modify what you have within a few minutes.”

“Thanks, I could really use it,” you admitted.

“It’s quite alright dear, I’d be happy for the challenge, working for an entirely new species! It’s a rare opportunity and one I’m glad to have!” a measuring tape seemingly appeared from nowhere and hovering beside her, “Now, come on, where is it uncomfortable?”

oOo

You walked towards the park with Fluttershy in a companionable silence, the two of you were meeting up with Rarity there. It was nice to hang out with the two of them, it was far calmer and less mentally intensive than trying to hang out with any of the others, a wonderful chance to just relax.

However, as you approached the park, you got the distinct feeling that the relaxing would have to wait.

“Snow Flake, I quite assure you, I am not interested. I have not been interested and will not be interested.”

A scowl crossed your face and you sped up your pace, that was Rarity’s voice.

It didn’t take long for Rarity and the stallion to come into view. Your friend’s arms were crossed and her back to you, her tail pressed tightly against the back of her legs and a number of other smaller signs that you recognized. Rarity didn’t want to be talking to this guy and he wouldn’t go away.

Your scowl deepened as you sped up a bit more, a dozen very nasty thoughts flashing through your head as you approached them. It’d be better to just give Rarity a chance to disengage tactfully rather than confront the idiot directly, but you were tempted. Oh so tempted.

“Come on Rares, y’know you can’t resist all of this,” the stallion smirked and reached out to grab Rarity’s shoulder.

The stallion’s eyes jumped up from Rarity to you, his eyes widened in unmistakable fear. Belatedly, you realized that you had made some form of noise to draw his attention, and that you were outright snarling at him.

You didn’t stomp, you didn’t run, you didn’t rage, you just kept walking towards them, schooling your face into something less violent. You doubted you kept the anger from your face entirely, but you tried, your hands clenching into fists briefly before you loosened them.

The stallion let go of Rarity’s shoulder and took a step back as you came to stand beside her. Rarity looked over at you and several emotions crossed her face in quick succession: confusion, surprise, gratitude, affection, and then a smug smirk. Her body language changed entirely as she spoke, “Dearest, how wonderful to see you.”

Your eyes were locked on the stallion as you approached, trying to school your expression into something a bit more pleasant, but you’re pretty sure you failed.

“Hey Rarity, good to catch up to you, ready for our picnic?” you found yourself quite grateful that you were bigger than most ponies, standing almost a head taller than Rarity herself and half a head taller than this idiot. The work you’d been doing for Applejack didn’t hurt either.

There was a slight tug at your hand, you glanced down to see the briefest flashes of magic about your hand tugging it upwards. A glance up confirmed that there was a mischievous twinkle in Rarity’s eyes.

Humoring her, you raised your hand and placed it on her shoulder, and the change was subtle but instantaneous. The tension that had kept Rarity taut as a bowstring seemed to melt away under your hand as she spoke, “Quite ready for our day together dearest.”

“H-Hey-!”the stallion’s voice had started strong, but had become nothing more than a squeak when Rarity and you both turned to glare at him, “N-Nevermind, I-I’ll just be going now.”

“That would be for the best, yes.”

The stallion turned tail and fled, he didn’t actually run or anything ridiculous, but there was no other way to describe the hurried walk of his. It was a bit bad of you, but you couldn’t help but feel very satisfied about that.

oOo

Covering your mouth, you tried to stifle your laughter as you walked beside Rarity towards the spa. You’d been roped into going there with the girls, again, not that it really bothered you to spend time with them. Let alone when it meant being with them in just towels.

An amused smirk was all that Rarity showed of her own amusement, obviously winning the game between the two of you. You didn’t remember when it’d started, but the two of you had started trying to make the other laugh without laughing yourself.

‘Unfortunately’, Rarity seemed to be considerably better at it than you. She had an iron control of her facial expressions when she wanted to and a surprisingly wide array of jokes, ranging from tame to raunchy. The way she could deliver the most outrageous punchlines with a perfectly nonchalant attitude tended to make them even funnier.

Turning the corner to the spa you felt a bit whimsical. Speeding up just a bit, you got to the doors before your companion and opened it for her, sweeping your arm and bowing slightly as you held the door for her, smiling openly in your mirth, “M’lady.”

When she didn’t immediately respond, you looked up, finding a contemplative look on her face. Then she nodded to herself, a small smile crossing her face, “Of course... dearest, thank you.”

And then she swept beside you and a realization washed over you.

She was beautiful.

Her light coat of fur was a beautiful white, her hair perfectly curled and shining in the sunlight, and her eyes… they truly were like two gemstones, sparkling in the light. The simple black skirt hung perfectly from her hips, the ruffled ends brushing against her ankles, the long-sleeved blouse complimenting her perfectly, hugging her just right.

Her tail brushed against you as she passed by, just a little extra sway to her hips, “Come along, our friends await.”

“R-Right…” your cheeks warmed as you followed her inside.

oOo

“Now hold still dearest, I can’t exactly work if you squirm.”

“That’s… easier said than done,” you murmured. And it was true.

She’d had you remove everything except your pants so that she could adjust them properly, but for some reason, in order to get her measurements, instead of using her magic to move the tape measure, she’d taken to using it herself, citing that her magic wasn’t precise enough for such delicate work.

You weren’t sure about the validity of that statement, but her warm breath against your stomach and the soft brushes of her fingertips against your thighs tended to make thinking a bit hard…

Difficult, made thinking difficult. Not hard. Never hard. Hard would be bad right now.

“Still dearest, don’t make this more difficult on yourself than it needs to be, just do as I say and I’m quite sure you’ll… enjoy the results,” the measuring tape was cinched tighter to punctuate the sentence.

You flushed at the double meaning as the unicorn grinned up at you, completely in control of the situation despite her being the one kneeling.

More than any of the others, Rarity was most able to turn you into a quivering puddle of awkward jello. She seemed to love teasing you, responding with coy innocence whenever you’d tried to bring it up.

Taking the tape from around your thigh, she placed a hand on your bare side for support before standing, her cheek barely brushing against you and the delectable smell of her perfume wafting over you before she turned, her fingertips lingering against your side before being pulled away.

It’d probably be a bit easier on you if she didn’t have to keep making you new clothes or tailoring the ones you already had since your physique had been improving from working at the Apple farm. And any complaints you might’ve had were dispelled by the simple fact that she’d been doing all of this work for you for free.

She was beyond generous, literally giving you custom made outfits for special occasions and modifying the normal clothes you bought... all for a bit of teasing and a little of your time.

Your eyes were unable to pull away from the sashay of Rarity’s hips as she walked over to get some tools.

Quite possibly best excuse to spend time with an attractive female ever.

o-Present-o

Rarity had scheduled for today considerably earlier... and it wasn’t like you didn’t enjoy spending time with her...

Then again, Fluttershy would need some help, she could handle the animals and could, with some difficulty, get the bags of feed... but doing both when the animals were hungry? It’d be hard for her... and you didn’t want her to go through that...

And with any luck, you’d be able to talk to her about something in particular...

o-flashback-o

“Thank you very much for helping me out, I really appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem,” you returned Fluttershy’s gentle smile as you dropped the last of the feed bags into the shed behind her house.

You’d been roped into taking the feed bags to Fluttershy from the apple farm. Not that this was a big deal considering that you were getting paid for your time,and besides, you got to hang out with Fluttershy for a bit as well.

Sure, it involved manual labor and the pegasus fending off any number of hungry animals. Usually with just polite words, but there had been this one bear quite eager to get into the apples you’d brought over... and Fluttershy had gotten a bit more... physical with the bear than you’d thought was possible from the beautiful mare.

Seriously, she could’ve tucked her head under your chin while you were both standing, and had the body of a model... and yet she’d thrown that bear around like a rag doll!

You made a note to yourself to never make her mad.

“Oh... no, I insist,” she said softly, her voice barely audible in the shed, “Thank you very much. It would’ve been much harder without your help.” She bowed her head slightly, her long, light pink hair cascading over her shoulder as she did.

For a moment, you wondered at the fact that she seemed to have remained almost entirely clean despite wrestling a bear... but then you noticed a few scuffs on her sweater and pants as well as a few twigs and pieces of grass in her long hair and tail. It seems even she couldn’t get out of it entirely ‘unscathed’.

“I’m just doing my job, literally,” you chuckled, dusting off your hands, “And really, I don’t mind helping at all.”

“Oh, well... if... if it wouldn’t be too much trouble...” her hands were clasped together in front of her as she looked away, hiding most of her face behind a curtain of hair, “It’d be really nice if you could help me clean up the chicken coop tomorrow, one of the beams has fallen and it’s hard to put it up by myself...” her toe began to trace circles in the dirt, her tail pressing against her legs and her wings pressing against her shoulders as she shrunk in on herself, “I mean, if it’s not too much trouble... I’d really appreciate it...”

Doing some more not-so-hard work or missing out on spending time with a sweet, soft-spoken, and very attractive (if shy) female? One that you’d just seen wrestle down a bear? Not that hard of a decision. Besides, it wasn’t like you had much else to do tomorrow...

“Sure, it wouldn’t be any problem at all.”

… and seriously, bear wrestling, she’d just done that. No matter any other feelings about her or the work, you weren’t about to risk upsetting her in the least.

oOo

“Oh come on, even I know that three bits is too much for that many carrots,” you scowled at the pony behind the stand.

“I-It will be hard to feed all of the pets with just that many carrots...” Fluttershy said from beside you, looking down at the ground.

The pony behind the stall groaned and palmed her face, “Alright... alright, two bits.”

You and your companion both smiled as you handed over the bits and accepted the carrots.

You still weren’t sure how you’d gotten roped into helping Fluttershy shop. It had something to do with the fact that none of the others could help her today, and despite still adjusting to the whole bartering thing you were better at it than Fluttershy. And maybe it had something to do with how Fluttershy didn’t seem all that scared of you, shy and quiet sure, but not all that scared.

Sometime over the course of the day, the two of you had had slipped into a comfortable habit of being a good-cop/bad-cop duo of bartering. And it was working so well that you’d started picking up the things you needed for your own home, which Fluttershy was happy to do.

Was this all emasculating? Maybe, but for all the parts of your brain that might’ve said ‘but she’s a pony!’, she was a beautiful, sweet, and not all that different from a human when you got down to it, and you got to spend time with her.

So as you put the carrots into the bag over your shoulder, adding it to your burden, you didn’t even think about complaining. The soft feathers of Fluttershy’s wing brushed against your arm as you headed to the next thing on your lists, the pegasus walking beside you, carrying some of the lighter items you had gotten today.

The brush of a touch against the back of your leg made you turn to your companion, finding her blue eyes flicking to your own before she looked away, her hair falling in front of her face as she said softly, “Thank you for helping me with shopping... I’m still not very good at it... could... could you help me shop from now on? I-If it’s not too much trouble...”

“Fluttershy...” blinking in surprise, your brain tried to catch up with the sudden request.

But before you could think up a proper response, she looked up at you with those beautiful blue eyes, and there was a tug at your leg from her long tail wrapped loosely around it as she breathed out, “Please...?”

Whatever thought processes you’d had before, they were completely gone as you stuttered out, your face heating up, “S-Sure...”

She smiled at you, her face lighting up brilliantly and your heart skipping a beat, “Thank you,” and with that, she walked forward, her pulling away from your leg and swaying back and forth with her hips as she walked, her wings flaring out in a gesture that could only be called happy before tucking back against her.

It took a moment before you realized that you had stopped walking, at which point you shook your head and walked quickly to catch up. You’d heard about women being called ‘stunning’, but that was ridiculous!

… good ridiculous, but still.

oOo

The cool drink was pressed into your hand, and you sent Fluttershy a grateful smile as you accepted it, sipping it as she sat down beside you. Her soft wings brushed against your arm as she adjusted them, her ankles crossing as she tucked them beneath the bench, a serene smile on her face as she cradled her own drink.

The two of you sat on the bench in the shade, just relaxing after a hard day’s work. Somewhere along the line, you’d been unofficially given the job of helping Fluttershy out with the deliveries of feed to her animal shelter. Occasionally, Big Mac would help as well, but most of the deliveries over the past year and a half had been handled by you.

You’d just finished hauling around those large feed sacks that her shelter had delivered to it while Fluttershy had handled the hungry animals.

Now you were enjoying a cool drink with her as the animals napped in a comfortable silence. It was a warm day, and despite normally being reserved, Fluttershy had forgone her usual sweater and pants in favor of a light pink sundress that complimented her soft yellow fur and equally pink hair and tail.

There were more than a few ‘not so decent’ thoughts that a supermodel’s body with large, amazing wings in such an outfit inspired, alongside the more decent ones like ‘angelic’...

The sound of your name, softly spoken, shook you out of your musings, a slight flush on your face at the direction your thoughts had gone as you turned to the right, looking at Fluttershy, “Yeah?”

“I–...” she had set her drink aside, her hands clasped together in her lap as she stared down at them, “I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your help...”

“Hey,” you responded gently, an amused and long ‘suffering’ smile on your face, “It’s noth–”

“No!” her head snapped up, her blue eyes boring into your own, “No... I... you always help me so much...” her hand closer to you came to rest on your shoulder, “I really can’t thank you enough... you’re such a big help... but...” Her other hand came to rest on your knee as she leaned in, her scent washing over you, a subtle mix of grass and strawberries. Her hair brushed against your skin before you felt her lips press lightly against your cheek at the corner of your mouth.

Your face felt like it was on fire as she slowly pulled back, “Thank you, I...” she sat back, her touch lingering for a moment before she pulled her hands back to her lap, looking away, “I don’t really deserve you or all the help you give me...”

Brain considerably fried, you still took offense to that bit, “What?”

“I–...” as if realizing what she had said, she stood quickly, “I should go.”

“Fluttershy, what do you mean–”

“S-Sorry!” dodging away from your hand reaching for her wrist, the pegasus took off like a rocket, leaving you there, staring after her departing form.

o-Present-o

In the time since then, any time you’d brought that up, Fluttershy had found a way to either avoid the conversation, excuse herself, or Stare you into changing the topic.

You’d been hoping to get a chance to talk to her about it, that was taking self-esteem issues a bit too far...

But... Dash had scheduled with you today for a reason, it was only a day before the plans for the next seasons weather were due in... sure she’d been putting this off, but neither of you had expected the others to need help today as well... and she was the pony to warm up to you fastest other than Twilight...

o-Flashback-o

"You're reading Daring Do...?"

Blinking, you looked up at the blue 'pegasus' above you. Wearing a tank-top with a jean jacket over it and loose jeans, she stood with her hands on her hips, looking down at you in surprise.

"Um... yeah?" it was one of the fiction books among the pile of books Twilight had offered as an alternative to TV since the translation spell didn't work on the pseudo-magical television. It had been pretty good so far, and you'd taken the first book outside into the nice weather to read it, you'd found a nice tree in the park to sit beneath as you worked your way through the book.

The pegasus' face split into a beaming grin, "Heck alien, you're not so bad," the pegasus did a little twist before flopping down beside you, leaning against the tree, "So, what chapter you on?"

"Um," surprised by her sudden reaction and the warmth of her so close to you, it took you a moment to process the question, "Chapter six..."

"Ooh! The next chapter's one of the best! You'll totally love it!"

"Um, thanks...?"

"No problem! Now come on! Get back to reading," she nudged you, gesturing at the book in your hands.

Confused, but not seeing a reason to argue, you turned back to the book, noting that Rainbow Dash leaned over some to read over your shoulder, her wings tucked behind her back. It soon turned out that she was right.

oOo

“Alright, your turn, my throat’s getting sore,” Dash laughed a bit, handing off the book to you. With a smile of your own, you began to read the next chapter of the surprisingly good Daring Do series aloud as Dash leaned in to read over your shoulder, the two of you were propped up against a tree.

Her warm wing was wrapped around you like a blanket, a shield against the autumn wind. The sun was bright in the crisp air, warming your skin where it touched, Dash’s presence warming anything it didn’t catch.

Little days off like this... just hanging with a beautiful and energetic mare... they were little slices of heaven...

“Hey y’all!”

oOo

“Bet’cha can’t!”

“Oh you’re on!” you called up from below, soaked to the bone by the weathermare’s efforts with the cloud she held.

“Pfffft, you totally can’t get me!” she grinned teasingly down at you, laughing as she flew off.

A small scowl settled on your face. You’d said that you’d get her back, but how? She did kinda have the whole ‘flying’ thing...

An evil idea crossed your mind, making you grin, time to go see Pinkie.

oOo

“Hey, Dash?”

“What is it big gu–” *SPLASH* “-pbbbttthhhh!!! What?!”

There was definitely a massive, shit-eating grin on your face as you leaned against the instrument of your revenge, “So, what’d I win?” you patted the borrowed, repurposed Party Cannon - Water Balloon Edition, “Because if I remember correctly, you bet me I couldn’t get you back.”

Dash hovered there for a moment, stunned and dripping wet, before a devious grin came over her face, “You won yourself a prank war with the most awesome pegasus ever! That’s what!”

Aw crap.

oOo

“Agh! Alright! I give I give! I know you’re there Dash! I give!” furiously, you scratched at your back, desperately trying to sate the terrible itching. Two weeks of escalating pranks, but this one was horrendous! It hadn’t gone away since this morning! It’d only gotten worse!

Dash’s triumphant laugh confirmed what you’d suspsected, and the blue pegasus flew over, “So, you admit I’m the better, more awesomer, and all around cooler pegasus?” she teased.

“Yes! Now how do you stop this?!”

Giggling, Dash flew closer, “Easy, stop scratching for a sec.”

With a supreme effort, you follow her instructions, pulling your hands away from the crawling sensation along your back and chest. With a grin, the pegasus grabbed a hold of the bottom of your shirt and yanked it off. Your face reddened slightly in embarrassment, but the itching had only lessened, not gone away.

Smirking, she reached behind her and between her wings, grabbing a small, dark cloud that she’d somehow tucked between them. You raised an eyebrow at her even as she squeezed the cloud in her hand, grinning broadly at you. You’d already tried to change shirts and wash off your chest, you weren’t stupid.

Then she gave the little cloud a squeeze, and a small bolt of lightning jumped out to your chest, making you yelp at the sudden shock, sending Dash into a fully belly laugh, falling to the ground as you jerkily patted at your chest where you’d be struck.

“Hey! How’s that-... supposed...” you touched your chest, realizing that the itching had stopped, “What the hell...”

Dash pushed herself back up, still giggling, “Pegasus itching powder! Stuffs hard to get since it takes some ground up pegasus wing primaries to make,” she flexed her wings, fanning out the large end-feathers, “But... if you know how to make it, it’s the best itching powder out there! Only shocks can cancel it out!”

“Devious...” you muttered, still rubbing your chest where the bolt of lightning had struck you. You’d just thought that it was just a trick of the light that your shirts were a bit blue...

Still giggling, the pegasus grabbed your elbow, “Come on, let’s head to your place. I made sure to get all of your shirts just to be sure you’d wear one.”

“At least you hadn’t done my underwear...” you muttered, ‘causing the pegasus’ face to turn red.

“H-Hey! I wanted to win the prank war, not screw you over!” she glanced at your chest before her grin turned teasing, “Though seeing you try to scramble out of your pants would’ve been fun to watch.”

Flushing, you grumbled something unintelligible under your breath about sexual deviant pegasi, but all Dash did was laugh as she dragged you off towards your home.

oOo

“Okay girls, I need to get going, I’ve gotta help Applejack in the morning,” you smiled gently at the group of pegasi of the weather team, happy to have been invited for their party, Pinkie Pie still dancing off to the side.

Dash smiled at you from her place beside you, “No problem big guy, I’m gonna stay here for a while longer though, gonna help Pinkie clean up after it’s all done.”

Returning her smile with a small one of your own, you downed what was left of your drink and turned to head out, “Alright, see you tomorr-ow...?” a tugging at your thigh made you stop in confusion, looking down you found a multicolored tail wrapped around your thigh. Unbidden, your eyes followed it up to the ass it was attached to, covered in a tight pair of jeans. Your eyes went up to her face where, instead of its normal sky-blue, Dash’s face was a solid shade of red.

“Dash...?” the tail whipped away from you so quickly you could almost hear the crack.

“Not. A. Word.” she ground out.

“R-Right...”

There was a tittering from the pegasus mares that the two of you had been talking with, earning a snarl from your friend. Wisely, you decided that discretion was the better part of valor, “I-I’ll just be going now–”

“Good.”

oOo

Another pony to talk to... that had only happened a few days ago even... ugh...

But what about Applejack?

o-Flashback-o

“How am I going to pay for this...”

You stared at the apple in your hand. Technically, you didn’t have to pay for this apple since it was a gift, but... it had made you realize that you were only being given a home, not the money for the rest of your life.

Sure, the house was yours, but you still had to pay for food, for water, for the equivalent of electricity that their magic-based stuff worked off of... and that was probably only the start...

“What’s the matter sugarcube?”

Startled, you looked up from the apple to the pony that had given it to you a little while ago, “Ah, well…”

“That one’s free Sugarcube, so don’t you worry ‘bout that,” Applejack smiled gently at you, putting a hand on her hip while tipping her hat back with the other. You schooled your expression into your best rendition of pleased embarrassment, but before you could speak, her expression changed, both of her hands going to her hips as she scowled at you, “But that ain’t what’s got you worried now is it…?”

Flushing at being caught, you looked back down at the apple in your hand, “… yeah… I don’t have a job and I can’t live off of everyone’s generosity forever…”

“Well ah don’t know about the rest of the girls, but ah know that the farm almost always needs another helpin hand. If you were willin’ to get y’er hands dirty, there’s plenty for ya’ to do around here and we’d pay ya’ right.”

Surprised for a second time in as many minutes, you turned back to the farmgir– mare. Her hands were on her hips… she’d ditched her usual chaps and gloves for the party, leaving her in jeans, a tied off shirt, and a vest in addition to her ever-present hat… and she was smiling. This beautiful, strong, independent woman was offering you a job and a way to dodge the job market entirely (as well as the whole ‘alien’ thing).

“That sounds great,” would it be hard work? Definitely. But hard work was better than no work.

oOo

Okay… maybe you could understand why Applejack and her family wore chaps or long jeans whenever they were working. The gloves had always made sense, but it was hot enough that it seemed just a bit silly to wear the chaps and jeans.

And then you’d encountered the briars, the thorns, the goats, the nastier sheep and any number of other things that just wanted to tear up your legs. It’d taken one day of the work before you’d asked for a pair of chaps of your own. You’d borrowed a pair of Big Macs until Rarity had made yours (the hat, vest, and scarf were complementary to ‘complete the look’).

This didn’t change the fact that it was hot to wear boots, pants, chaps, a long sleeved shirt, gloves, and a hat.

Necessary? Sure. But if there was a day working at the farm that you weren’t sweating then something was wrong.

Setting the ax aside, you slung your hatchet and rope into your belt before grabbing onto the lowest branch of the tree and heading up. It had been suggested by Twilight, during her studies of your anatomy, that your arms were far better structured for throwing things as well as swinging tools. Jokingly, Dash had suggested that you’d be better at climbing since you were a ‘monkey’, which Twilight had confirmed.

That had been worth a few chuckles… until you’d proven able to out-climb all the rest of them put together.

This had translated into you being given a number of tasks at the farm. You weren’t as good at hauling things as Big Mac, and all of the Apple siblings were stronger than you, but chopping down trees? Building things? Long hauls? On those things, you had them beat and you’d only gotten better with time.

With a loop and a tug, you’d wrapped the rope around the trunk of the tree about half-way up, “Ready down there AJ?!”

“Eyup! All good up there Sugarcube?”

A quick double check of the knots confirmed that you were, “Tied up tight!”

“Then come on down! We’re all clear!”

“Sure thing!” looping the rope around the hatchet you, you tossed the tool out of the tree, straight away from the trunk, the rope spooling out after it. There was a soft thud as the hatchet hit the ground and you started to pick your way down the tree. The rope started to go taught as one of the Apple siblings took a hold of it and started to pull it tight.

Once you were down there, you’d finish chopping at the base of the tree where you’d started as the Apple family (minus Granny) pulled, making sure the thirty foot tree came down where everyone wanted it rather than anywhere else.

Just another day on the Apple Farm.

oOo

“… how’m ah gonna do this…?”

A sudden sense of Déjà vu washed over you at those words.

Turning, you found your ‘boss’ staring at a sheaf of papers in her hands, obviously the source of the whispered words. If that’s what you’d looked like when you’d said a similar phrase while staring at an apple those months ago you could understand why Applejack had been determined to help you out.

“AJ?” you stepped up to your friend, wiping off your hands with the handkerchief you’d taken to carrying around while working on the farm, the farm-mare jumping slightly in surprise, “What’s the matter?”

She tried to turn the papers away from you, but looking over her shoulder, you quickly found the source of her problems. Accounting.

“It’s nothin’ worryin’ y’erself about sugarcube,” it looked like Canterlot was going to start requiring some more information from its farmers. At a glance, it didn’t look like it’d take much more counting while working than you already did, if any, but it’d take a fair bit more math.

“Applejack.” It was probably better for you to do this for her for a number of reasons, ranging from you being less likely to mess it up, to you just wanting to help your friend, to the fact that you still owed her for giving you a job so easily.

“Sugarcube, it’s nothin’ to worry y’erself over.”

You sighed, “AJ, you helped me out by letting me work here, I can handle this for you.”

“Ah can handle it just fine!”

“Yeah, but you don’t want to,” she scowled at you but didn’t deny what you’d said. With a small smile, you reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, “AJ, you don’t have to do everything yourself, that’s why I’m here remember? I’ll take care of it and you won’t have to worry about a thing. Promise.”

“Ah–....” she glanced at your hand before staring at the ground for a moment. Then she sighed, holding out the papers, “Alright sugarcube... ah’ll let ya do it.”

Taking them from her, you smiled, “Just relax for a bit AJ, I’ve got it handled.”

oOo

A yawn drew your attention from the paperwork in front of you. Blinking wearily, you looked up to find Applejack walking into the room. Was it really that late...? Well, early... “Sugarcube...? You’ve been workin’ all night...?”

Glancing between the papers and the cowpony a few times, you came to the conclusion that yes, you had been working all night, “Guess so...”

You smiled at her, your brain finally starting to catch up with the fact that she was rather... underdressed. Denim short shorts and a tied off button up shirt, her stetson was on its string, hanging against her back... and that was it. You flushed in embarrassment, though whether it was from how much skin she was showing or from being caught working so late you weren’t sure.

“Sugarcube...” she sighed, walking over to you.

Still, your smile didn’t falter, “I’m done, I was just double checking everything,” and you were. The math wasn’t all that hard, mostly simple arithmatic, there was just a lot of it and thus, a lot of places to have messed up, “I just have to put it all in a folder and hand it off to the mailmares at this point.”

“Ah can’t bel–... wait... what’d you say?”

“... that I’m done? Just have to put it in a folder and send it?”

Her mouth worked silently for a moment, a hand on her hip as she stared at you, “Ya’–... you’ve got it all done?”

“Yeah, I told you I’d handle it didn’t I?” you couldn’t help the smirk on your face as you shuffled the papers together in front of you.

However, Applejack’s reaction was different from what you’d been expecting, instead of indignation, irritation, or even teasing or just appreciative... she got quiet. She stared at you for a moment, a contemplative look on her face, “Yeah... ya’ did tell me that...” a small, tender smile spread across her face at that as she walked over to you, ruffling your hair with a hand, “Now why don’t ya get some sleep? You’ve been up way too long.”

“Yeah, like you haven’t done worse. I’m going to get this sent. I told you that you wouldn’t have to worry about it and you won’t.”

She slowly ran her fingers through your hair, the motion was soothing, “Thank you... Ah... Ah really appreciate y’er help...” After a moment, she pulled away, heading to the kitchen counter, and for just a moment, you couldn’t help but stare. Her taut muscles flexed under her skin as she walked, her hips swaying as she reached back and tied her hair into it’s customary ponytail, “Now... how does breakfast sound to ya’?”

This time your flush was definitely because of her lack of clothing and rather indecent thoughts, “S-Sure...”

o-Present-o

And, well... it wasn’t like you didn’t care about her...

o-flashback-o

Usually, Big Mac would be the one doing this, but he’d been needed to take a large delivery of apples halfway to the other side of Equestria.

There was a good reason why he’d usually be the one helping Applejack right now, and that reason was a simple one. It was a fucking stampede.

A stampede you were running on one side of as Applejack ran on the other.

Seriously, a stampede. Why were you doing this again?

Oh, right, because no one else could. Damnit.

You shouted again, a wordless “Yee-aahh!” to make the mass of cattle turn, herding them away from Ponyville. You just had to keep them on course right now. The hardest part was working with Applejack without talking to her and keeping up with the herd. The ponies had an easier time keeping up with them, but you could keep going longer than they could.

Later, you’d find out that it’d been an animated and automatic garden hose that had horrendous timing, but at the time, all you knew was that the stampede of cows suddenly veered in your direction despite your screams and shouts otherwise.

Suddenly in the middle of a rampaging mass of bodies and hooves and horns, you dodged and ducked and weaved desperately, vaguely, you could hear your name being shouted, but it took all of your concentration to not get gored. Even then, it was only moments later that a horn clipped your shoulder, tearing open your shirt and skin and sending a flash of pain through you.

There was another flash of pain as something wrapped around you and a mighty lurch–

–sky, the clouds above you, tumbling–

–the mass of brown and black and tan and white below you, the herd of cattle stampeding–

“Ugh-!” “Oof!”

Another bit of pain, this time less as you slammed into something soft and yet tough and went tumbling once more.

Still disoriented, being sat up quickly wasn’t much of a help, “Sugar! Hun! Are you alright!” there were hands on your shoulders as the world came back into focus, orange and yellow and two orbs of green gaining clarity in front of you before your world became warm, orange softness, arms wrapping tightly around you and clutching you tight, “Oh Celestia, Ah was so worried!”

There were drops of wetness on the top of your head as the world kept returning to you. Your face was pressed into soft flesh, your skin rubbing against a thin coat of orange fur, “Celestia, Ah thought you’d been–...”

Slowly pushing yourself up, a pair of soft hands settled on your cheeks, tilting your face upwards. You found yourself face to face with Applejack, tears streaming down her face as she softly said, “Ah don’t know what Ah’d do if Ah lost you...”

Your eyes locked with her own a brilliant emerald green ones, her warm breath playing against your skin, “A-Applejack...” you were both on the grass of the hill, you atop of her as her thumbs slowly traced circles on your cheeks.

A particularly loud bellow from the stampede of cattle broke the spell over the two of you, the farmmare’s face lit up with a bright blush and both of you quickly pulled away, scrambling up to your feet, the lasso she’d used to pull you out of the stampede falling to the ground, “T-Thanks! I’d have been in some real trouble if you hadn’t gotten me out of there.”

“R-Right! A-Ah’m just happy you’re okay sugar! You’d better get that checked out and Ah better get back to handlin’ the stampede an’ all!”

“Y-Yeah, you’re right,” you covered the wound you’d gotten, wincing in pain. She was right, it wasn’t terrible, but you needed to go to the doctor, Applejack could handle things from here, the herd had been deflected from the town...

It wasn’t like you had much of a choice, as moments after you finished that sentence, Applejack had already dashed off after the herd.

o-Present-o

Applejack was your boss and her message had said that she was afraid that the place was going to fall down...

Still, you had to choose which one of them to help first, you couldn’t exactly be in two places at once...

Choices:
Would you help Applejack? Go To: “First Up - The FarmMare” Warnings: Estrus Excuse, Vanilla Boinking, Wall-Banging

Would you help Dash? Go To: ”First Up - The Athlete” Warnings: Estrus Excuse, Vanilla Boinking, Mild Wingplay

Would you help Fluttershy? Go To: ”First Up - The Caretaker” Warnings: Estrus Excuse, Passionate Boinking

Would you help Pinkie Pie? Go To: ”First Up - The Baker” Warnings: Estrus Excuse, Mild Foodplay, Vanilla Boinking

Would you help Rarity? Go To: ”First Up - The Fashionista” Warnings: Estrus Excuse, Mild Dominance-Play, Vanilla Boinking

Would you help Twilight? Go To: ”First Up - The Librarian” Warnings: Estrus Excuse, Cute-Overload, Vanilla Boinking

Author's Note

AHAHAHAHAHA!!! You thought the next chapter would be Chapter 2! You were wrong! It was Chapter 0!

More seriously, in order to ease the transition into a Choose Your Own Adventure Story, I wrote this up so you, the reader, could pick which of the Mane 6 you'd be with first.

That said, I have a poll for you! Should I add the rest of the Mane 6 "First Up" chapters at once? Or as I get them done? There's a comment below to vote on it!

And as always, Critiques and Comments are appreciated!