To Run a Hundred Miles in The Heat.

Chapters

Early Start - Get the Blood Pumping.
A Jog Through Town - Greeting the Neighbors.
A Heated Race - Watch Out For Apple Trees.
A Walk Along The Lake Shore - A Walk Down Memory Lane
Slowing Down to Help a Friend - Kindness is Unsatiable.
Choosing to Run in Circles - Choosing to Stop Running.
Ready, Set, GO! - Trying to Keep Up With Laughter.
Another Jog Through Town - Avoiding The Neighbors.
Reaching the Finish Line - Never Stop Moving.
Packing Up After the Race - Moving Forward
Setting Up For The Next Race - Better Get Training.

Early Start - Get the Blood Pumping.

The sun shone brightly through the solitary window into your modest room, casting an intruding light that tore into your dreams and pulled you away from them. Your subconscious though, struggled against the calling of wakefulness, and dared to grasp at the flagging tendrils of that night’s dream.

And no one, let alone yourself, could honestly blame you for it.

It was a dream turned paradise by the simple fact that she was a part of it. That she was a part of something that in your waking mind you knew would never be possible. There were too many factors to take into account. Too many obstacles in your way. But none the less, you clung to it. And as always, it was a losing battle with an ending that, through repetition, you knew all too well, and would never change.

In the final moments, as the fading shadows that clouded your mind recessed further into nothingness, you caught one final glimpse of her. And it burned itself into the back of your eyelids, as most dreams tended to, so that you could view it every time you closed your eyes.

Her blonde mane, styled into a ponytail, billowed in a lingering breeze as she turned and focused here emerald green eyes onto yours, and her features were made bright by a warm loving smile.

Your eyes slowly opened, and with a sense of dismay, longing, and most of all, hatred for the orbiting ball of gas outside, you allowed consciousness to fully take you.

_________

What greeted you in your first waking moments, as you blinked away the last few tendrils of sleep, was a sight that you were all too accustomed to.

“Ugh, I should really put a coat of paint on that at some point… or maybe a ceiling fan at the least.”

Above you lay the same sight that you always woke up to since you purchased your home. A simple roof … strong, sturdy, well insulated to keep out the rain and other bothersome elements. It was of sound construction, composed of wooden boards supported by a wooden beam that ran the center of the room. You had to admit though there was a certain charm to the natural look of bare wood.

Yes, it was charming, simple, and yet effective. Built to last many years and give those that dwelled beneath it a place to call home. And, a place to create memories with those they choose to spend the rest of their lives together with.

“Dang it… I’m doing it again.” You said as you rose to a sitting position in your bed and rubbed the back of your neck before giving it a quick rotation to pop it and work out some kinks.

It was true, it always fascinated you just how capable these ponies were. But if you were truly honest with yourself, a well built roof was not the sight you hoped to wake-up to each morning. At least, it hadn’t been for a couple of months now.

No, you only started to think of the roof like that when you dreamt of her. It was rather odd, yet…

A conflicted smile took hold of your face as you pushed back the covers and swung your feet around to dangle off the edge of the bed. The cold wooden floor greeted you as coldly as cold floors often did. But that did little to damper the small feeling of happiness that dared to well up inside of you.

You dreamt of her again. You had dreamt of her with an increasing, and rather confusing, frequency over the past two or three months.

But you couldn’t help it though. And as you began to think about the mare in question, you couldn’t help but ask yourself…Why would you want to?

To say Applejack was beautiful would have been a great disservice to her, for in your eyes, she was way beyond gorgeous. And not just physically, but in character as well.

That flicker of an image from your dream suddenly became firmly implanted at the forefront of your mind. Her emerald eyes always seemed to shine a bit more when she looked at you, and her smile always seemed to grow a bit wider and more welcoming, approachable... inviting. You could talk to her for hours on end, and that was something you really loved about her. She was never afraid to speak her mind and she was smarter than most gave her credit for. Most often than not, you had whittled away an evening after work talking to her while sitting next to her, enjoying her company and warm closeness as she tended to lean against you.

These of course, where just a few of the things you loved about Applejack. But the thing that caught your attention first, and stood at the top of your list, was that she always tried to do her best to help out her family and friends… and even help out a strange creature like yourself.

You could never thank her enough for that. When you first started trying to get your life going again in this new world you had found yourself in, Applejack was one of the first ponies who openly offered to lend you a…

Your train of thought had suddenly come to an abrupt stop as it impacted an all too clear obstacle on the tracks.

“…hoof.” The word left your lips as you raised your hands to look at them and wiggled your fingers. “She gave me a helping hoof…”

You kept on looking at your hands as you ran through everything you had just thought about.

For a few minutes there, in your mind, it had all sounded so natural… so simple… so plausible. But as always, you had come to realize that it was all so frail and hinged on one simple truth.

“She’s a pony... you know that, right?” You asked yourself in all too familiar defeated tone of voice as you leaned back and supported yourself with your arms behind you on your bed.

“And you know you’re human, right? It would never work… It shouldn’t work… It can’t work…”

The simple truth was that you and her were completely different species.

Heck, you weren’t even sure if you were from the same dimension. At least, Twilight wasn’t completely sure about that, and you had decided not to participate in any more of her test after you had to re-grow 60% of your hair. And not all of it was from your head.

No, it was plain and simple… You were a human, and she was a pony.

“Oh son of a…”

And as you looked at the clock next to your bed and jumped out, scrambling to get your work clothes on, you suddenly remembered that Applejack was also your boss and you were about an hour late for work.

Yup, pony or not, you were sure to win some hearts with that punctuality.

Author's Note

So I have made some editing and tried to fix some of the spelling issues that jumped out at me, or were mentioned. I can't believe I didn't notice that "feather" typo. Hmm, maybe I should write something with Rainbow Dash at a later point.

Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro.

A Jog Through Town - Greeting the Neighbors.

For someone to say Ponyville was a quiet town would have been a blatant lie. Within the first couple of months that you found yourself living with its residents, you had experienced more life threatening situations than you ever thought possible. That is to say unless you decided to make your home in the middle of a war zone, and even then, you couldn’t help but feel the experience would still come up short.

No, by this point in time, Dragon rampages, parasprite swarms, crossed eyed Pegasus mailmares, over powered unicorns, angry gods, and a plethora of fairytale-like creatures had become the norm for you. So much so, that it had even gotten to the point that every day you stepped out of your door, you truly expected to find some new form of mayhem taking place in the small town.

And even then, if you chose to ignore all those life threatening things, there was always something going on in Ponyville.

“Whoa… I didn’t wake up that late, did I?”

Perhaps that is why, when you finally managed to leave your home at a semi-leisured jog, it struck you as odd that everything was so quite.

The sun was already well into the morning sky and, admittedly, this was not the first time you were late for work. Sure, you had never been THIS late for work, usually just a few minutes or so. But even then, there was already a bustle of activity taking hold of the waking town.

It only made sense that the later you woke up, the more activity would begin to take place, right?

You kept your semi-leisured jogging pace as you went through town, looking left and right at the vacant looking buildings and down every vacant alley and street that you passed by. The town looked deserted. No signs of life anywhere.

“Wow…” You commented to yourself as you made a left turn onto the main street of the town. Repetition told you that it would lead you out of Ponyville, and towards Sweet Apple Acres. “It’s almost as if everypony is out of town on vacation or-”

You suddenly came to a stop as you realized something.

“That’s right. Applejack told me to take a 3-day weekend to prepare for the next 2 or 3 weeks. But, that was already 3 days ago.”

Another cursory look around town told you that indeed, no pony was out and about. Perhaps your math was a bit off?

“No…” You turned around to look behind you, down towards the other end of Ponyville’s main street. “I’m pretty sure I was lazy for 3 days. Hmm, maybe the ponies decided to adopt the university student ethic and make it a 4-day weekend?”

A small smile tugged at your lips as you tried to suppress a laugh at that little quip. However, as you turned to look at the front of the road again, that smile came out as a scream.

“KYAAAH!”

Another manly scream to add to your track record, to be sure.

In front you, blocking your path and seemingly having come from nowhere, stood a pony with a cream colored coat and a red mane with pink highlights in it. She was staring at you as if she had never seen you before. As if this was the first time she had ever laid her eyes on you. You knew that was not true though.

“Oh hey, um, Rose, how’s it going?” You managed to push out a greeting as you swallowed back down your frantically beating heart.

You always bought flowers from her and her sisters when you were roaming the marketplace. You felt somewhat obligated to, seeing as her and her sisters had been running around screaming in a panic when you first arrived. You loved to tease them about it though… so that only made her unrecognizing stare more confusing.

“You, um, okay there, Rose?”

The pony in question simply continued to look at you as she slowly cocked her head from one side to the other before she began walking slowly towards you. Your name left her lips in a voice that managed to send oddly enticing chills down your spine.

“Y-you’re a… a male, right?”

Your pride immediately took a hit and those enticing chills died at the source.

“Oh come on! You’ve heard me scream like that only twice! Twice!”

You raised your arms in mock offence.

“I can guarantee you that I’m a male! That I’m-“

“Prove it.”

Your attention suddenly refocused on the pony that had now been examining you from head to toe for a while. She had gotten very close to you now, her head and muzzle easily reaching the top part of your waist. This close up to her, it was easy to notice that she didn’t look like she was feeling well. Her mane had not been brushed, and neither had her coat. Her eyes also seemed distant, and somewhat pained.

“Um, excuse me?”

“Prove it.”

Rose suddenly pushed herself into you and nuzzled the right side of your hip, causing you to jerk to the left side in surprise and circle around behind her to get out of her way. As you did so, her expression changed to excitement, and you caught a glimpse of her tail twitching and flicking as you moved behind her. However, as soon as you moved away from her, that excited expression quickly soured.

You began moving away from her, walking backwards, towards your original destination. She in turn turned around to face you and began following you.

“Um, okay, Rose, I’m sorry I can’t stay and chat but I’m really late for work and-“

You quieted down as you noticed that a few other ponies were coming out onto the street from their homes, attracted by the commotion. You could not help but notice they were all mares.

Your paced quickened slightly.

“An-and um, you know how disappointed Applejack gets if I’m late for work. And I hate seeing her like that. Plus I-I think you-“

You quickly noticed that more ponies had made their way onto the street. All of them were still mares. And all of them were looking at you with the same expression Rose had when you bumped into her.

“Y-you aren’t feeling well. Maybe go see a doctor? Like I said, I’m running late, otherwise I’d totally take you-”

“You can take me right here, right now if you want.”

This time she did not even have to say your name, her tone of voice alone was enough to cause your spine to tingle pleasantly.

Wait, is she implying that I should…? Your mind raced to catch up with the signals your body was sending.

Out of the corners of your field of vision though, you caught sight of her two sisters, both moving-in from either side as if to cut off your escape route. An unpleasant chill quickly replaced the prior one, causing you to wonder why you just thought of it as an escape route.

“But, I’m p-pretty sure your sisters here, Daisy and Tulip would-”

“It’s Lily.” Lily corrected you.

“Right, sorry Lily.” You said apologetically.

“It’s alright…” Lily said your name in that same tone that Rose had said it in. The effect of it had not been diminished in the slightest.

“Umm… right...”

The sight before you had changed drastically. You had no longer been moving back, away from one single mare, but you were sure it was now the entire encroaching mare population of Ponyville. The whole scene was unsettling, but not as much as the murmurs you had begun to hear.

“He’s a male, right?”

“I think so, yeah.”

“How exotic.”

“But can we?”

You suddenly came to a dead stop. Not because you wanted to, but because you had just retreated back straight into the side of a building.

You had been pretty sure you were retreating down the main road.

The thought of being herded into a pen suddenly played across your mind.

“Umm okay, well, this has been a nice chat and all… but I should really get going to work and umm, so excuse me…”

You tried to move off to the side, but one of the many mares blocking your path, Aloe if you recalled correctly, simply began nuzzling into your hip as you tried to push past her. You immediately cancelled your retreat and moved back into your cornered mouse position, but unfortunately Aloe’s head followed. You now found yourself pressed against a wall with a pony sighing contently as she nuzzled further into your hip.

You were beginning to blush, and your face wasn’t the only thing that was suddenly having an increase in blood flow.

Suddenly your head jerked up from the scene in front of you as you caught a glimpse out of the top of your field of vision. On top of the roof of the building across the street from where you were currently being surrounded, a pony’s head was sticking out looking down at you.

You immediately recognized him.

“HEY CARAMEL!”

Caramel’s head suddenly shot up from its hiding place, quickly followed by the rest of him. Every mare there, including Aloe, jerked their heads around in unison to look at the top of the roof. You couldn’t be sure, but you could have sworn he blanched a bit.

“YOU MIND TELLING ME WHAT’S GOIN-”

“GET HIM!”

It all happened so fast. No sooner had those words left your mouth that every mare around you stampeded towards the house Caramel was standing on top of. To his credit, Caramel vanished as quickly as he had appeared. You swore you heard the sound of trashcans being tipped over as something heavy fell on them. You couldn’t be sure though. It was hard to tell among all the thundering hooves and screaming mares as they rounded around the back of the house and vanished from sight.

All that was left was a cloud a dust.

And you covered in it, of course.

“Okay…” You commented to yourself as you spat out a crunchy bit of dirt and spittle, and began to try and pat yourself free of dust. “Not sure what’s going on, but if this is another one of Ponyville’s weekly disasters… I think I’m going to sit this one out.”

A breeze blew by and carried with it an all too familiar scent that snapped you out of your thoughts for a moment. It smelled of apples. You slowly looked off towards your destination, and let out a loud sigh.

“Maybe Applejack can let me spend the night in the barn like I did when I first got here. Only while this whole… whatever this is, spends its fury and blows over. But…”

You let out another heavy and loud sigh as you finally finished patting yourself down, and noticed what a shoddy job you had done. Applejack was going to be disappointed. And that was something you could not bear.

Not disappointed because you were dirty though, but because you were now later than ever.

You began jogging towards Sweet Apple Acres again, hoping that nothing else would make you later than you already were.

“GYAAAAAAAAAHHH!”

A blood gurgling scream that sounded oddly enough like Caramel’s voice, suddenly echoed through Ponyville. Your jog immediately turned into a full blown sprint.

Better late than never, right? Your thoughts spurred you on as you tried to put as much distance between you and what you had just heard.

Author's Note

Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro.

A Heated Race - Watch Out For Apple Trees.

Contrary to what you had expected, given the odd morning you had, the run towards Sweet Apple Acres had been rather uneventful. Well, with the exception of the one or two more screams you heard echoing from Ponyville. But the further you got away from it, the easier it was to shove into the back of your mind. Your focus now could be solely placed on the road and scenery that lay in front and around you.

Don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this… You thought to yourself as a slight smile splayed across your lips.

You loved taking this road to get to work, and for more reasons than one.

The road ran right along the fringe of one of Sweet Apple Acres’ apple orchards, just tight enough to blur the line between the road and the property, if not for the white fence. In the mornings, when you walked to work and were actually on time, the sun would just have barely peeked over the mountains, causing the leaves of the trees to play a beautiful contrast of shadows and light on the road as the sun shone through them. In the evenings, when you were done with work, the trees on the side of the road burned an auburn color as the sky itself was set ablaze by a sea of oranges and reds.

In truth, the natural beauty of it would have been enough for some, but for you, it held something more.

It had been on an evening like that, right on that very road so many months ago, that you had found yourself walking with Applejack when she offered you the job on the farm.

By that point, about three weeks had passed since you gracelessly found yourself on that dirt road in the park, wearing your pajamas. The panic that followed from the ponies that fateful morning only subside once a purple unicorn ran in and levitated your flaying form off the ground and dragged you away as if she were a small child with a balloon.

It did wonders to restore the peace for the ponies, but it sure as heck didn’t help your own panic.

The days that followed that event were spent with you being studied, interrogate, and prodded by that purple unicorn you soon came to know as Twilight Sparkle. It had been the most intense couple of days of your life. You had to recall every detail about yourself and your species in order to answer her questions as honestly and completely as possible, especially because you weren’t too sure of what she would do if she found out you had lied to her. The display at the park though was enough to fuel your imagination. And plus, you were pretty sure you were going to be sent to some prison, or zoo anyways.

Especially after she asked you about your diet… A powerful unicorn grimacing at you was not a very nice sight, but, you at least had to make sure you got fed right at your new home. You really weren’t looking forward to the prospect of thrown peanuts being your only source of sustenance.

It should go without mention then that you were rather surprised when she deemed you safe, and informed you that she had arranged for one of her friends to provide you with a temporary housing arrangement.

The place she took you too was outside of town. And honestly, it only made sense seeing as you caused such a huge panic when you first arrived. The town and its citizens would have to get accustomed to you one step at a time.

And, thinking back on it, you couldn’t help recall that being the best step you ever took.

As soon as you set foot on the property, you were greeted warmly by its residents. An elderly pony with a green coat, a giant pony with a red coat, a small one with a red bow, and an orange coated pony wearing a Stetson hat.

“Howdy sugahcube!” The pony with the hat had called out to you as she smiled and held out her hoof towards you. “Mah name’s Applejack. Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres!”

Standing there, taking hold of Applejack’s hoof and feeling her shake it vigorously, it had been the first time since you arrived that that you had been able to smile honestly.

And, as you approached your destination, that morning’s events washed away, and that same smile splayed itself across your lips.

_________

That smile though, soon gave way to a confused scowl as you wondered around the seemingly empty property and called out.

“Hello?... Applejack? You out here?”

You called out for her for the third time as you began making your way towards the barn.

“Big Mac? Granny Smith? Applebloom? Anypony in there?”

You stopped just outside of the barn, your hand extended towards the doors. You did another cursory look around, checking to see if anypony had come into view. The events from earlier where starting to replay in your mind. Everything was just too eerie.

“Heh, yeah right…” You suddenly let out in a humorous guff as you pushed the door and walked inside the barn. “Like Applejack would let anything like what’s going on in Ponyville threaten her family and farm.”

You let the door close behind you, and walked further inside.

The inside of the barn looked oddly… organized to you. The buckets for the apples were still where you left them, so Applejack had not gone out to the orchard yet to buck the trees. The plow was still in its place near the corner, so you knew Big Macintosh wasn’t out plowing the southern field like Applejack had asked him to do once they resumed work. And even your tools that you use to do repairs around the property were still in their place, so that meant Applebloom and her friends hadn’t borrowed them to use in their latest attempt at getting a cutie mark.

Indeed, the inside of the barn began to adopt that same eerie feeling you got when you arrived. You had figured that this late in the morning, everypony would already be out working. It wasn’t like Applejack or Big Macintosh to sleep in late though.

You were starting to get an uncomfortable nagging sensation in the pit of your stomach as you walked further into the barn. A few steps in though, and the door to the barn suddenly opened and closed behind you, causing you to spin around to see who had come in.

Applejack was standing right at the entrance of the barn, looking at you in shock.

“Oh, hey Applejack, was wondering where everyp-”

“What are you doing here…?”

Her voice was shallow, but loud enough for you to hear. You could detect a hint of the shock that she wore as she kept looking at you. It was enough to stop you in your tracks as a dark pit formed in your stomach.

“Sorry Applejack…” You said in honest shame as you rubbed the back of your neck and tried to ignore that sensation that was gnawing at you. “I just got here and figured I’d jump straight to work to try and make up for being late.’

“No, nononono! Oh, why are you here now? I thought ya weren’t coming today!”

Applejack’s voice was louder this time as she began to quickly pace back and forth in front of the door, her eyes focused intently on her hooves.

“What? Applejack, why wouldn't I come today?” You began to take a few steps towards her. “Listen, if it’s about me being late, I can explain. I woke up late and got mobbed while crossing Ponyville and-”

“NO YOU DOLT! YOU NEED TO GO! LEAVE NOW! GET OUT!” Her head flung around to look at you as she snapped at you.

You stopped and took a step back, as if trying to literally step away from what you had just heard. That dark pit in your stomach suddenly felt like it had swallowed something important. You had a pretty good idea of what it was.

That remnant of the dream from the night before flickered through your thoughts, and faded a bit.

“I…” Your hand reached out towards her, but you forced it to clench and brought it back down. “Listen, if you want to fire me, I understand.”

“WHAT?! No! I’m not firing you sugahcube! It’s the heat you idjet!”

Whatever you were feeling at that point, suddenly vanished in the only way things like that often could.

You blinked.

“What?”

And you cocked your head to one side.

“Applejack, its… not really that hot outside.”

To her merit, Applejack only balked a bit at your response and allowed herself a second or two to try and compose herself.

“No, sugahcube, it means ah’mmMMHAAH!”

Without warning, Applejack suddenly shuddered and fell forward on bent forelegs, a low pained moan escaping her lips. Whatever was confusing you about the events that just took place got thrown towards the back of your mind as you rushed towards her and knelt down to help her.

“Applejack!?” Your voice was leveled but filled with concern as you wrapped your arms around her and held her. She leaned her full weight into you and you allowed her head to rest on your shoulder as her hat tumbled to the ground, forgotten. With her pressed against you, you could feel she was burning up and that her coat was damp with sweat. Her breathing was also heavy and sounded pained.

“Oh Applejack… you’re burning up. What’s wrong?” You ran a hand down her back as she shuddered more forcefully. “I need to get you to a doc-”

You froze. Applejack had suddenly begun to nuzzle your neck, and let out a heavy dreamy sigh as she pressed further into it, and allowed her hot breath to wash down your shoulder and down your chest. Your mind followed your frozen state and went blank as something inside you stirred.

“Ah’m okay sugahcube. Ah’m just… in heat s’all.”

Slowly, gears started to turn again and little, blatantly obvious, pieces of information began to fit into place.

“Um, ApplejAH” Your voice suddenly caught a bit as Applejack went from just nuzzling to nibbling slightly on the underside of your jaw. You had to forcefully clear your throat to snap your vocal cords free of their shock.

“I-I didn’t know ponies went into heat…”

“Mmmhmm…”

A biologist you were not, but that didn’t seem to bother Applejack in the least bit as she slowly worked her way around either side of your throat. She was no longer leaning against you, but pushing herself against you with her hind legs. Her forelegs were now draped on your shoulders, holding herself in place as she pushed you further and further back. Your body definitely knew what was happening, but your mind was having a bit of a problem accepting it.

“Ah, mmm-Applejack, I-I think we should really talk about this before you-”

“Ah’ve dreamt about this for so long…Oh why it have to be you sugahcube?…”

You were pretty sure your heart skipped a beat and did a somersault at the same time as your mind tried to make sense of what your ears had just heard.

“Wh-what did you just say?”

You felt Applejack let out a trembling sigh as your question caused her to tense and her grip on your shoulders tightened. After a pregnant pause, she managed to say your name with such emotion behind it, that it immediately commanded your full attention.

“For… for months now, a-ah haven’t been able to get you out of mah mind. Ah can’t stop dreaming about you sugahcube. These past month have been torture…”

Something inside you reacted, and you managed to put your hands on her shoulders, forsaking what little balanced you had left… and fell back as you managed to push her away enough to look at her face. Her warm breath washed across your lips as you took in the sight of the pony that now had your full attention.

And also had you pined to the ground.

“Ah’ve wanted to tell you, ah just didn’t know how... But…”

All those emotions you had, all those fragmented dreams suddenly found themselves thrown to the forefront of your mind, and an ember of hope looked ready to spread like a wild fire. Had you really been so caught up in your own doubts about a pony and a human being able to be together, that you never took into account how Applejack might view the topic?

A smile spread across your face as you looked at Applejack with baited attention.

“But… not like this. Not while ah’m in heat… Not while ah can’t control mahself like this…”

That smile vanished, and was instead replaced by bitter realization as that that small ember of hope fell into an ocean of doubt, and you forced yourself to look closer at her. She looked pained… distant. Her mane was disheveled. Her eyes were half-lidded, but what you could see of her usually beautiful emerald green eyes were nothing but a cloudy and faded shadow of their former beauty.

“Listen, Applejack, maybe we should wait and MMM!”

You had dreamt of this.

Applejack had taken advantage of your open mouth and had flung herself into a kiss, her tongue finding no resistance and greedily tracing every outlined detail of the inside of your mouth.

But, no matter how much your body and heart desired what was happening, you didn’t allow yourself to be swept by it.

She was right, she wasn’t thinking straight. She wasn’t Applejack. Not right now. Not during the heat. She wasn’t the same pony you had fallen for. Applejack would never push herself on you like that… And you would never take advantage of her like this.

That hope you felt and the remnant from that morning’s dream became a slightly bit more faded.

The events in Ponyville suddenly made much more sense.

Applejack was beginning to grind against you as she pressed further into the kiss and ran a hoof down your chest. You couldn’t let this get further… you needed to do something before it got out of hand.

“mmMMAPPLEJACK!”

You managed to summon enough strength to push her off you. Her reaction to it only confirmed what you thought as she growled in protest and tried to lunge into a kiss again. You couldn’t hold her off for much longer. She was a pony after all.

You reached into a reserve of strength and pushed her off to the side as you rolled out from under her and staggered to your feet. You took a couple of steps back to put some distant between you and the heat hungry Applejack. She did not look happy.

“We need to talk about this! You aren’t yourself right now and I don’t’ want to take advantage of you like this!”

“Aww, sugahcube, that’s noble of yah… But who’s to say ah won’t take advantage of you?”

Yeah, that wasn’t Applejack anymore. That wasn’t the same mare that had walked into the barn in the beginning. This one was slightly more crazy.

You looked to your left and right, trying to find an escape route. You didn’t want to look behind you for fear of taking Applejack out of your field of vision, so instead you looked behind her.

There was a window right behind her, but there was no way you were going to be able to get right behind her to reach it.

Not with your pants on at least if she had any say in it.

A very bad idea started to form in your head as you took more steps backwards. You really hoped you were judging the right distance to the wall behind you, if not, this was going to be the shortest escape attempt in history.

“Okay…okay, maybe we can talk about something else then?”

Applejack didn’t reply, but simply lowered her head as her eyes focused intently on you and a devious grin spread across her lips.

“Like, how about symmetry?”

This venue gave Applejack a small pause as one of her eyebrows raised.

“Take that window behind you for example.” You told her as you took one step to your right and placed yourself right in front of the window across the barn. Applejack simply cocked her head to the side, not entirely sure at what you were getting at.

“Symmetry in construction, especially in something as simple as a barn, dictates one simple rule…”

“Yeah? What’s that sugahcube?”

“That if there’s a window on that side of the barn… THEN THERE’S ONE RIGHT BEHIND ME TOO!”

You turned around and jumped, and Applejack let out a gasp.

… You jumped right into the wall, the window you were aiming for being just slight off to you left. You shouldn't had taken that step to the right.

“HA!” Applejack’s shocked gasp turned into a mock laugh. “We let Caramel help build that wall last time we raised the barn! He made it too big! That whole wall if off by one foot compared to the one behind me!”

You staggered as you picked yourself off the ground and rubbed at your forehead, trying to realign the double image you were seeing.

“Ok, wow that hurt…” You grunted as you placed your hand on the molding of the window you had been aiming for. “Guess that explains why the barn always looked a bit off from afar…”

Applejack simply smirked as she started walking slowly towards you, adding a rather enticing sway to her every step.

“So yah done stalling now sugahcube?" She said with an alluring smile. "Yah ready to be mah stallion?”

“Umm, yeah, about that…”

You tightened your grip on the windowsill as you jumped and pulled yourself through it.

“COME BACK HERE!”

Applejack’s voice was drowned out by the pounding of your feet as they struck the ground running. You were heading straight into the orchard, and you weren’t going to risk looking behind you, let alone stop if she was calling your name in anger.

______

Damn it! Why did I have to look behind me!?

Apple trees zoomed by you as you ran as fast as you could, your legs burning from the exertion. You were desperately trying to figure out how this particular turn of events had come about.

I don’t know why I thought this would work!

Your thoughts though were easily drowned out by the sound of pounding hooves right behind you.

“You know yah can’t outrun me sugahcube!”

Right, Applejack was one of the fastest ponies in Ponyville. And you, you were a decent runner as far as humans go, but you knew from experience you couldn’t outrun her.

Why you thought you’d be able to outrun her now, well… that was just a mystery.

You risked looking behind you again, and were greeted by a sultry grin from Applejack.

“Applejack! Can’t… we… just… talk… about-”

“I’M DONE TALKING SUGAHCUBE!”

“But we haven’t really discussed anyOOOF!!!”

Applejack tackled you off the path you were running, sending you both rolling. You both only stopped when you slammed into a tree with your back, and a good portion of your head. To your own merit though, by instinct or conscious effort, you twisted your body around during the roll and took the brunt of the impact against the tree.

That warm liquid-like sensation you felt running down your neck though was by no means comforting.

Your head swam as you tried to refocus on the sight in front of you and forced one eye open. Applejack was on top of you, not looking as dazed as you.

To your relief, aside from her heat crazed look, she didn’t have one scratch on her. And, as she began to stir, you couldn’t help but smile a bit… even if your current head trauma caused you to drool a bit.

“Su-sugahcube?!”

She immediately stood up and placed her hooves to your face as her eye focused on you. They were the beautiful emerald green you knew.

“Oh, hi Applejack…”

You tried to widen your smile, but Applejack simply looked horrified.

“Glad you’re okay Apple-”

You froze as you felt her hoof caress your cheek, her eyes never leaving yours. You could see a tear begin to run done her own cheek.

“Hush yah idjet… Oh Celestia… what hav’ah done?”

You tried to bring your hand to her cheek to wipe away that tear. Something like that had no right to besmirch such a sight. But Applejack instead took it in her other hoof and pressed it against her chest. You were shocked by how frantic her heart felt.

“W-wait right here sugahcube!” She commanded as she kissed your forehead, but pulled back when you grunted in pain.

“Ah’m gonna go get help!” She bit her lip as more tears began to flow. “D-don’t move! Don’t move yah hear!?”

And with that, Applejack got off you and was already galloping at full speed down the path she had chased you through.

You laid there in a daze and saw her disappear around a bend, the trees obscuring her out of sight.

“Sorry Applejack…”

Another grunt escaped you as you forced yourself onto your feet and your head thumped like a drum.

“I-I can’t deal with this right now…”

Your feet began to move of their own accord as you walked further into the orchard, weaving around trees, and disappeared out of sight.

Not if I can’t be certain that this heat isn’t making you say and do things you don’t mean…

And, as your thoughts settled, a dense fog encroached further onto that remnant of last night’s dream. Funny what a bump on the noggin could do…

Author's Note

I have to admit that this chapter was a huge step out of my comfort zone. But practice makes perfect I suppose, right?

Constructive criticisms are welcomed. Nonconstructive criticisms can be politely thrown out the window at the cat that wouldn't stop mewing the whole time I tried to finish this chapter.

Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro.

A Walk Along The Lake Shore - A Walk Down Memory Lane

The crystalline water of the lake you had knelt in front promised to be a welcomed relief, even if your thoughts refused to let you get too comfortable in that notion. The frustrated groan that escaped you was just one of many as you tried to quiet your mind and splashed a bit of water on your face, spreading some of it down the back of your neck. The coolness of it was indeed welcomed and you immediately submerged your hands into the water again. You kept repeating the same actions until you could no longer see the water tint red as your hands were cleansed by it.

Everything had gone so wrong, so horribly wrong. Bells should have gone off when you had been surrounded in Ponyville, especially after you heard Caramel scream.

But no, instead you had chosen to ignore the signs, to mark them off as another one of Ponyville’s little weekly disaster quirks. And as a result, you were certain you had managed to mess everything up with the mare you had begun to care for.

It had been bad enough for the past two months or so, having to deal with your own emotions about her and your uncertainties. But now, when it seemed like a candle of hope had been lit, you couldn’t be curtain if it stemmed from her heart, or the influx of hormones brought on by the heat.

Her actions had spoken volumes about her intentions. But because of the heat, you couldn’t be certain of the honesty in her words, and perhaps, that’s what hurt you the most as you kept thinking back to what she had said in the barn.

She had sounded sincere, her voice charged with emotion as it became tinged with the same hope you had felt in those brief seconds. But she had also sounded pained, forced... as if her voice had not been her own.

She had acted crazy and aggressive… chasing you down like a predator does it’s pray. And yet, she had acted and sounded concerned when she injured you.

Trying to unravel the events that had taken place only about an hour ago simply made your head hurt more, and you submerged your hands again to splash some more water on your face and neck. A wayward finger grazed your cut, and you let out a pained grunt.

“OW!!”

It was a small cut, that much you had been able to find out.

“Oh wow that hurt like hell!”

Although that sure didn’t stop the pain from being any less… painful.

You repeated the action a few more times. Splashing water on your face, not poking your cut, you weren’t a masochist after all. And on that note, you knew you needed to make yourself scarce if you wanted to survive this long enough to figure out what to do.

So, slowly standing back up and taking a few quick glances around, you quickly spotted a small shed a bit away from you on the shore line.

“Yeah, you know what… given all that’s happened, walking into a scary looking shed to hide ACTUALY seems like a decent idea for once.”

Famous last words, right? Your mind commented right before you set it free to wonder and you slowly began to make your way to the shed. Things had been so much simpler so long ago…

Well, as relatively simple as it could get once you take into account waking up on a different world.

________

Your first day at Sweet Apple Acres had been a rather eventful day, and very tiring as well.

You had spent a good part of the day getting to know your hosts, the Apple Family. In the afternoon, right after Twilight dropped you off, you spent most of that time in their modest, yet by no means small, living room making light conversation with them. Most of the questions though came from the smaller member of the family, the small filly with a pink bow named Applebloom. The rest of the family though, perhaps knowing all too well how inquisitive Twilight had been, seemed content to instead let you acclimate and keep their questions to a minimum and the most basic.

During this time, Applejack mentioned that a friend of hers, Rarity, had stopped by to drop off a gift for you, but was unable to stay due to a busy schedule. To say the least, you were a bit surprised. But you were even more surprised to find out the gift was a change of clothes. You could only assume Twilight had something to do with it, seeing as one of her questions pertained to your clothes, and you had been wearing your pajamas since you arrived.

Apparently Rarity had also left instructions for you to try them on immediately to see if they fit. And, as you put them on and walked back out to the living room, you couldn’t help but think Twilight had something to do with the measurements too. She had been very thorough and exact about measuring you while she ran tests on you.

“So, how they fit sugahcube?” Applejack asked you as you gave an experimental bend and twist of your arms and legs.

“Um, from the waist down, they’re a bit tight, kind of like Yosemite Sam pants… but they’re surprisingly comfortable.”

At the blank stares you got, you figured it would be for the best not to make any more Looney Tunes references.

“Um, right… well, you just make sure to tell Rarity and she’ll more than gladly, um, fix’em for ya sugahcube.”

After that, Applejack offered to give you a tour of Sweet Apple Acres, and you graciously accepted. Throughout the whole tour though, you had not been able to shake off the shock of finding out that only her and her brother worked the fields. At your comment though, she simply smiled and told you that she didn’t mind as long as it was for her family. You couldn’t help but find that sort of honesty and dedication refreshing.

By the time you got back from the tour, it was already well into the evening, just as the sun was almost done setting and its last rays of light still managed to lash out at the sky in hues of oranges, purples, and reds. She was leading you towards the barn, your new home for the time being till something more permanent could be arranged. That was when the craziest of ideas decided to pop into your head.

“So like ah said, Applebloom n’Big Mac fixed up a small area for ya’up them stairs, so sleep in as late as ya’want sugahcube.” She told you with a smile as she opened the barn door for you.

You took one step forward and stopped as you looked at her, and then looked back at the field of apple trees.

“Miss Applejack?”

“Oh no need to be so formal sugahcube, you can just call me Applejack.”

You turned back to look at her, and was greeted by her genuine smile. That was all it took to cement your crazy idea, and you smiled in return.

“You and your family have been kind enough to offer your home to me. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay you for this… Actually, I’m not even sure how the currency works here but- ”

“Nah, think nothing of it sugahcube.” Applejack cut you off with a dismissive hoof, seeming to sense where you were going with this. “Figured after what ya been through, you could use some hospitality.”

“Yes, but this is not nothing for me…” You said as you looked into her eyes and continued to smile. It was the first time you noticed their color, an emerald green. “I’m truly grateful for it… and that’s why I want to ask you to let me help on your farm while I’m here.”

Applejack opened her mouth to say something, but something stopped her as she kept looking at you. After a second or two, she simply smiled again and nodded her head.

“Alright, if ya sure then, you should hit the hay right away cause ah’m gonna need you to be up bright’n early sugahcube.”

“You can count on me Applejack!” You said with a self-sure smile as you walked into the barn and winked at her.

“Good to hear sugahcube!” She responded with a smile of her own, the same warm smile from earlier that day.

“Goodnight Applejack.”

“Goodnight sugahcube.”

You were so sure of your decision when you said your goodnights, and now, as you slowly stirred awake as the morning light of the sun greeted you through a window in the barn, you couldn’t help but question your decision to go through with such a crazy idea. It was early in the morning, far earlier than what you were used to waking up at. You assumed that was only natural though, seeing as last night you had gone to sleep at a far earlier time as well.

Still, you quickly made your way out of bed, got dressed, and walked out of the barn. To your surprise, Applejack was already outside waiting for you.

“Morning Applejack!” You called out as you approached her.

“Morning …” She called out your name as she noticed you and smiled politely.

“Thought I’d have to come and wake ya… Come on, everypony’s already sat down for breakfast.” She turned around and headed back the way she came, that polite smile not leaving her lips. For some reason though, that smile made you feel like you had done something wrong, so you immediately followed her back to the main house.

Once inside though, it didn’t take long for you to figure what that was.

Everyone had already finished eating breakfast.

“See ya after school sis!”

You moved off to the side next to the door to let the little filly rush on by. Applejack immediately took up the empty space next to you and called out to her.

“Applebloom! Where did Big Mac go?”

“He went on out to the east field already!”

“Ah ponyfeathers…” You heard her say before she suddenly remembered you were there and looked a bit ashamed. “Heh, sorry, he was supposed to take you on out with him so you could help.”

“Oh… I’m so sorry Applejack, I mean, Miss Applejack. I didn’t think I woke up that late.” You weren’t entirely sure why you felt the need to change how you addressed her, but something inside told you to.

“Nah, don’t worry about it...” She said your name again. “Go on and have breakfast. I’ll take ya to him once you’re done.”

And there it was, that polite smile again, the same one you had seen just outside of the barn. That sensation that you had done something wrong came back in full swing. And it was only reinforced by the fact that she had not corrected you on how you addressed her and how she now began to call you by your name. You were pretty sure that right there outside the barn, was the first time she had used it since you introduced yourself to her the day before.

“Um, it’s okay Miss Applejack… I, uh, usually don’t eat this early in the morning. I can go catch up to him.” You said with a forced grin hoping your stomach didn’t betray you.

Applejack simply looked at you as if you had grown a second head which, granted you were a new species to her, she might have actually thought that a possibility.

“Are ya sure about that? Granny Smith made quite a spread.”

“That depends… does the sun still rise to the east?”

“Um… yeah?”

“And is east still opposite to west?”

Applejack simply nodded, and raised an eyebrow, not sure what to make of your odd line of questioning.

“Oh good then, our planets aren’t that’ different, I know which way to head and I know which way to head back so I can have some of Granny Smith’s delicious food after work.” You said as you stepped back out the door and began to walk away.

As you heard the door closed behind you though, your pace immediately quickened and the sensation that you were somehow all too far out on thin ice became all too present on your mind.

___________

Lucky for you, the walk out to the eastern field was relatively quick, and you soon found Big Macintosh strapped to a plow and getting ready to pull it.

“Need some help with that?” You called out as you approach the field. Big Macintosh stopped what he was about to do and looked back at you.

“Well howdy! Thought you were sleeping in today, so figured I’d head on out.”

“Yeah, um…” You walked out to him as you rubbed the back of your neck. “Not on purpose though… Sorry Mister Big Macintosh.”

The giant work horse just paused and looked at you before he let a healthy chuckle.

“Applejack told me ya were a bit formal, but you can just call me Big Macintosh, or Big Mac. Ah reckon same goes for Applejack too. She ain’t too big on all them formalities and what not anyways.”

“Alright Big Macintosh, I’ll keep that in mind…” You said with a forced smile as you tried not to think about what it meant that Applejack hadn’t corrected you on the way you addressed her then. Good thing though you eventually noticed Big Macintosh staring at you before you got too lost in your thoughts.

“So… how can I help?”

“Well…” Big Macintosh muttered more to himself than to you as he looked at you from head to toe. “Ya can help me plow this here field to start.”

“Plow?”

“Eeeyup!”

The word rolled around a few more times on your tongue as you looked at the plow Big Macintosh was hitched to. Twilight had told you about Equestrian technology when you told her about your own, but you never imagined it’d be this far behind. You were starting to feel awkward about just staring, so you decided to give it a shot.

You moved to the side, took your position behind the plow and took a hold of the reigns that hitched Big Macintosh to the plow.

The silence was awkward and palatable as you looked at Big Macintosh, and he looked at you with a raised eyebrow.

“Umm…” You looked at the reigns in your hands and gave them a light shake as you looked back at the red pony on the other end.

“Hiya?”

Big Macintosh just blinked at you and then looked at the reigns in your hands.

“What are yah doing?”

“Apparently…” Your mind ran, trying to figure out what you were doing wrong. You were pretty sure you were doing just like you’d seen other… people… do… You gave yourself a mental slap as you realized your mistake.

“I have no idea.”

“Right… say, why don’t ya go and hitch yah’self to that other plow over there.” You followed the hoof he pointed with and spotted another plow on the other end of the field. “Work your way on over here and we’ll meet in the middle.”

You simply nodded and walked towards the plow, not really sure what you were going to do with it. Besides the obvious though.

How the heck am I supposed to move this thing without a horse or engine? You asked yourself as you looked at the archaic device in front of you. Admittedly, the device didn’t look as heavy as you thought it might be. But then again, it did have a huge metal blade in front meant to rip the ground open, so there was a reasons humans used horses instead of just hitching themselves to the plows.

You walked to the rear of it and gave it an experimental push. Although the plow refused to move, your feet were okay with that notion and they slipped right out from under you. The unceremonious bang of your forehead on your way down against one of the handles made it all too obvious you needed to try something different.

“Ya okay ovah’there?”

“Yeah, no sweat.”

Trying to look as unfazed as possible by what just happened, you stood up and walked to the front of the plow and grabbed the reigns. You fitted your arms through them and set them on your shoulders before you gave them an experimental pull. You immediately felt you had more purchase and brought your body closer to the ground and pulled harder.

“Come one you old piece of…”

Slowly but surely, the plow began to move. At a snail’s pace…

“Ha… hurk… piece of cake! I-I can do this no problem!”

For an hour you worked the field, and there had clearly been a problem.

“Hmm…”

“Eeeyup…”

Big Macintosh stood next to you on the side of the plowed field. Both you and he shared a perplexed expression as you gazed upon the sight in front of you. In an involuntary glance, perhaps the fourth or fifth one, you kind of lost count, you looked at his half of the field and compared it to your half.

His half was finished, plowed as straight as an arrow. In fact, you were pretty sure you could use the lines he made in the dirt to test the quality of a straight-edge ruler. Your side on the other hand though, held one single solitary line.

“Wow… that um, came out really crooked…”

“Eeeyup…”

There was a long pause between the two of you as you tried to figure out what had happened. The plow had shifted to one side while you struggled to pull it, so you shifted opposite to try and correct it. That whole hour you worked your one line had been like that, and the end result was obvious… You were horrible at plowing fields.

“Say um…” Hearing the giant red work horse call your name immediate snapped you out of your thoughts, and focused on him. “Why don’t ya go help Applejack with the apple trees? She aught’a be out in the northern orchard by now.”

You looked at him, and then looked out at your mess of a line, the feeling of disappointment suddenly setting in again.

“You sure you don’t want me to umm, help you straighten that?”

“Nnnope…”

His reply had been quick and simple, and you immediately felt that your conversation with him was done.

You turned around and began making your way to the northern field. That feeling of disappointment only getting stronger as you tried not to think about the extra work load you had given the farm pony. You could only hope that your next task turned out better and that feeling would go away.

_________

That feeling of disappointment had only gotten stronger throughout the day. And now, as you sat on top of a small grassy hill, you were surprised at how little such a beautiful sunset was doing to alleviate it.

Your attempt to help Applejack buck apples had been a disaster as well. Sure, you had been surprised when she told you to actually kick the trees to get the apples down. But you had been even more surprised when you actually did it.

You weren’t all that surprised when you nearly broke your ankle though. Even less surprised when no apples fell down.

Applejack had been concerned at first, but you had insisted that you’d be able to do it. And you did. You plucked every apple you saw and could reach, and put them in the wooden baskets set next to the trees. Unfortunately though, that meant you didn’t get the ones you didn’t see or reach, and Applejack had to follow behind after you had finished 3 rows of trees, kicking them herself to get all the apples off.

Not only had you managed to delay or increase the work on the orchard for Applejack and Big Macintosh in a span of a few hours. But you nearly cost them a cart of apples when you offered to help take it to the barn, and a hill proved too much for you and sent the cart rolling back as you tried to push the cart over it.

You knew too well that you had never felt this disappointed about anything in your life, and you had a pretty good idea why.

Back home, you could do anything you set your mind to.

Here though, you were an over grown hairless monkey trying to do pony things.

You could not be further removed from your element than you were now, and that only brought to bear a thought you had been desperately trying to not focus on since you arrived in Equestria.

You were an alien on an unknown world. Perhaps unable to ever go back home… and you were at the mercy of the creatures that lived here.

And the only one that had openly offered you shelter, you couldn’t even properly repay…

So, as you sat on that small grassy hill looking at a new world, you could do little to prevent the desire to breakdown. Even though you had to admit… this new world you found yourself in had a much prettier sky and sunset.

And, if Twilight Sparkle was to be believed, you’d soon meet its creators, and that at least allowed you to think of something else.

Strange world indeed where actual deities control the heavens…

“Ya know, when Applejack told me you offered to help out, I thought that was mighty fine of yah… Ah have to admit though, you kind of did the opposite of that…” You heard a deep voice come from behind you, and turned around to see Big Macintosh standing there like a stone. You couldn’t help but wonder how a pony that large snuck up on you like that.

You opened your mouth, but didn’t reply, and just kept looking at him.

“I’m not all too sure where you come from… but I figured I should let you know that here, when you promise to help somepony, you do it, you do it right and you do it to the best of your abilities…”

Okay, that remark stung more than a bit.

Yet, no matter how much it did, all you did was let out an annoyed sigh and turned back to look out into the open sky. Your dislike of that comment though, became all too apparent in your voice as you spoke up.

“What would you have me do then? Huh?” You asked in earnest as you let out another deep sigh and closed your eyes to let the events of the day replay again in your mind.

Big Macintosh though, simply remained quiet as he walked up next to you and sat down.

“Yah don’t have to do anything… Applejack offered to let you stay here with us cause she felt sorry about what you were going through. Not cause she wanted you to feel indebted to her.”

You heard him pause, and felt him looking at you, maybe trying to figure out what was going through your mind.

“You can just as well say thank you instead… Ah think most ponies would be happy with just th-”

“No, it’s not that simple…”

You surprised yourself at how easy the reply had come out. You weren’t entirely sure where you were going with this, but decided to let it go, couldn’t be any worse that what you had done all day.

“It’s not enough, she… when I first got here, scared, confused… everyone was running around screaming, me included... I-I doubt anyone here would have even considered doing what she did… Even with Twilight Sparkle saying I was safe, some of the looks I got from the other ponies in town on my way here were… fear, mistrust, dislike, and more fear….”

You and Big Macintosh sat there quietly, perhaps expecting the other to say something, but eventually you found the words you were looking for.

“No, I want to help…”

A smile spread across your face as you turned to look at Big Macintosh. He just kept looking at you as he chewed on his straw.

“Good… cause given what I saw today, weren’t all too sure ya were honest about it…”

Your smile disappeared as he shifted his stalk from one side to the other, and you tried to fix him with a level stare. You were pretty sure you were imitating his stoic expression. To your surprise though, he began to smile.

“But, you sounded mighty honest to me right now though… So mah next question is, what are ya gonna do?”

“Ugh… I don’t know Big Macintosh… is there anything I haven’t messed up yet?”

The deep laugh that followed was, needless to say, not the answer you were expecting.

“Yeah, laugh it up Mr. Ed… maybe I’ll just make it a habit of helping you plow those fields, make sure you never grow crops in a straight line again.” You couldn’t help but laugh at your own hollow threat, and joined the big red work horse until both your laughter and his began to wind down.

“Ah have to admit… neva’have ah seen such a crooked line in mah life.” You both tried to suppress another fit of laughter, and just barely managed.

“I’m serious Big Macintosh, what’s left for me to do?”

“Ah, hehe… ah don’t know, but ah think it’s obvious the way we ponies do things don’t fit you.”

Well there was the understament of the year for sure. There was another moment of silence as you both wracked your brains trying to figure out what you could do.

“Well, ah’m not sure, guess we could teach you or sum’thing… What do humans usually do?”

“Well…” You let out a sigh as you paused for effect. “We conquered our planet and rode around horses for a few centuries. Guess I could try that.”

Big Macintosh just raised an eyebrow and looked at you in disbelief. Judging by all your screw ups throughout the day, you would have been skeptical about that comment too.

“Jokes aside, you’re right Big Macintosh, what can I do? I’m a human, the only one of my species in a world of magical talking horses.”

“Ponies.”

“Really? Hmm, guess you do sound a little hoarse to me…”

Your hands suddenly became the most interesting thing in the world as you tried not to groan for having made such a horrible joke. Oddly enough though, inspiration came to your from the simplest of places.

“Say, got any tools and stuff that needs fixing?

“Big’ol property like this with only Applejack, Granny Smith, Applebloom and me? We got heaps of stuff around that needs a fixing. Tools though are in short supply.”

The big red work horse though, fixed you with a stare that conveyed more than he was willing to admit. You immediately caught on to it and waved a dismissive hand at him.

“Hey, I may be somewhat of a goofball, but I can at least swing a hammer.” You said as you oozed confidence. Big Macintosh wasn’t buying it though, and that just made you want to try harder. Besides…

“I want to at least make it up to Applejack, one way or another… especially after today.”

“Ya know she don’t blame you for today, right?”

Your hands suddenly became interesting again and your eyes wondered over them.

“Look, she understands you were only trying to help, even though she didn’t ask ya to.”

You lost interest in your hands, and instead looked at the looming sky over a dark forest in the distance.

“She was mighty worried about you when ah left to find ya. Told her not to worry, that ya simply got lost on the property and to wait for when you got back.”

“Well then…" You paused as you mulled over what he had just said. "More reason for me to try harder and make it up to her, right?”

Big Macintosh simply shifted his wheat stalk from one end to the other. You supposed that might have been his way of telling you to just do what you felt you needed to do.

“I have to follow through on it Big Macintosh, even if it kills me.”

“Ah suppose ya do, but no need to go that far though. Besides…” He said with a pause that made you look at him. “I’m sure Ms. Sparkle won’t take too kindly to your species going extinct on our farm.”

As you continued to look at the stoic work horse, you could barely detect the hint of a smile trying to take hold. You began to laugh wholeheartedly, and he joined you in it as you turned back and looked at the burning sky.

“You know… I think you and I might become good friends, Big Mac.”

“Heh, then ah guess ah could say you’d be one of a kind.”

Big Macintosh stood up with that smile still on his face and turned to make his way back.

“Ya coming along then? Gonna be dark soon.”

“Nah, I think I’ll watch the sunset on a different planet… Besides, what’s the worst that could happen in a world filled with magic and talking ponies, hmm?”

Big Macintosh simply let out a chuckle and began to walk away.

“Ya might be surprised.”

_________

To say you were surprised when you entered the shed, was perhaps rather inadequate given how much confusion you felt at what you saw inside.

Hanging on the walls of the shed from hooks, you saw straps, bits, blinders, and crops. Off to the side, on top of some tables, saddles were neatly aligned and ready to be fitted. Some of the saddles though, looked worn out, like their owner had made sure to ride them till they were about to fall apart.

The whole scene before you was confusing, but that only deepened as you thought further about it and picked up one of the worn saddles. You turned it in your hands as you looked at it.

“Why in Equestria would ponies have saddles and all this? It’s not like they ride each other. Unless…” You eyebrows shot up in an attempt to reach the moon, although it was most likely the horror you felt from your realization. “Oh son of a-”

“MMMPHFF!”

The muffled sound caused you to snap your head around and drop the worn saddle to the floor as your eyes set on a pair of drawn curtain on the opposite corner from the door. You could hear some moment coming from behind the curtains, and against your better judgment, you moved towards it.

“MMMPHF! MMHPPF!”

Your hands trembled as you reached for the curtains and let out a shaky breath as you readied yourself for what you might find behind them.

In one swift move, you pulled the curtains back.

“BIG MAC?!”

Before you lay the giant work horse, strapped to a table, wearing every piece of horse riding paraphernalia you had seen in that shed. The saddle though, was oddly placed on his stomach instead of his back like a normal horse, and that only drew your attention to it, and what lay below it.

“Oh… Oh wow, eww… Big Mac, why do you look all sticky? What the hay is that all over your-”

“MMMPFFH!”

“Yeah, you’re right… I don’t want to know.”

“MMMPPFF!! MMMPPPFF!”

“Excuse me? Oh right, the bit in your mouth. Let me just…”

You carefully leaned over Big Macintosh, careful not to come into contact with the sticky mess that was all over his lower extremity. The bit was actually hard to un-strap, but once you did…

“Ok, there we go, now what were you say-”

“YA IDJET! AH WAS TELLING YOU TO RUN! SHE’LL BE BACK ANY MI… nute…”

Big Macintosh’s eyes suddenly widened and turned into fearful pinpricks as he looked behind you. With a mental curse, you followed his eyes towards the door frame.

“Oh… Oh my…I-I’m sorry you had to see this…” Said the shy yellow Pegasus with a bashful smile as one of her teal colored eyes looked at you and the other hid behind her long pink mane. Her wings were extended, blocking the door and diminishing the light that shone in through it.

For some reason though, you were finding it very hard to believe she was sorry.

One of her hind legs suddenly kicked out and closed the door behind her with a slam. A lustful hungry smile quickly replaced the bashful one as she walked towards you and Big Macintosh, her tail swaying from side to side as it emphasized her sultry walk.

“Mmm, I guess I should have told you to stay out of my shed.”

The wall behind you came all too quickly as you found yourself with no more room to back up into, and single thought immediately dominated your mind.

Right, let’s hide in the spooky shed, genius…

Author's Note

Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro.

Slowing Down to Help a Friend - Kindness is Unsatiable.

[Heads up! This chapter has something that could, if you use your imagination, be considered clop. You have been warned!]

There were many things you had to learn in order to fit in Equestria. Well, fit in as much as you could fit in being the only human in a world populated by magical equines and other magical creatures. Every day you spent among its citizens though, had brought with it a new lesson, if not more. You had actually felt rather proud of yourself that you had been able to adapt with such few mishaps.

Especially when you ventured into a nearby forest by yourself, and learned to never go into that forest alone again. Unless you wanted to die horribly that is. It still confused you as to why they would build a town next to such a horrible place. You could easily blame that forest for eighty percent of the disasters that happened in Ponyville.

Today though, you had been privileged enough to have learned perhaps the most important lesson in your life...

“… What?”

Big Macintosh simply kept looking at you, disappointment clearly the only expression on his face.

“She’s got wings!”

Big Macintosh still kept looking at you, and was now slowly shaking his head.

“She’s faster than she looks!”

You had learned that no matter how meek, shy, and unassuming the animal loving pegasus was throughout the year, she was completely the opposite when in heat. In fact, she was kind of crazy. And she had somehow managed to remove your shirt during a period of time you could only describe as Fuzzy.

“She used that freaky stare on me!”

Maybe that was why, hmm…

Big Macintosh must have gotten tired of looking at you though, and instead focused on the ceiling of the shed, that being the only thing he could look at since he was still strapped onto the table you had found him on.

You decided to ignore him as well and gave the shackles that held your hands above your head another experimental pull. Yup, you were still firmly shackled to the wall of the shed.

“Okay… what’s your excuse then?! Your marriage needed a little spice?!”

The giant pony didn't reply, but simply kept looking at the ceiling, and what you saw next shocked you to say the least. He was starting to slowly smile.

“Fluttershy and ah want to have a foal…”

Your eyebrows shot up in shock and you looked back and forth between the prone form of Big Macintosh and Fluttershy, who was standing next to him. Both were smiling at each other, and you had to admit Fluttershy looked incredibly cute as she blushed and hid behind her mane.

“What?! OH WOW! Congratulations you two!” You said in earnest as you processed the news.

“Why thank you! Macky and I are very happy about our decision.” Fluttershy replied with a smile on her face as he came out from behind her mane and looked at you. You couldn’t help but smile back at her as you watched her finish tightening one of the straps that hooked her stockings to her pink garter and corset.

She then took the strap in her mouth, gave it a tug, letting it go so it could smack against her flank.

“Mmm…” You heard her slightly moan as she relished the slight sting of it. You had to admit the garter and corset look suited her very nicely.

It’s always the quiet ones. Although, I bet Applejack would look even better in it…

There was a slight pause as you caught yourself staring and tried not to think too much about the thought that just ran through your mind. Instead, you decided to look around the shed with its… toys.

“Looks like you two sort of went to the extreme though, huh?” The shackles jiggled as you tugged on them for emphasis.

“Eeeyup…”

“Things got a bit out of hoof then?”

“Eeeyup…”

“And I um, assume you have a safe word right?”

“Eeeyup…”

“But she’s not letting you go, huh?”

“Nnnope…”

“So umm… how do I fit into all this?”

“Oh, umm…” You turned to look at Fluttershy and saw her scratching a hoof at the ground in an incredibly cute fashion as she blushed deeply. “Well, you see…”

What she did next left you speechless. She made her way to the table were Big Macintosh was strapped into and, with one hoof, began to caress his forehead in a loving matter while her other hoof began to furiously rub him down south. Big Macintosh visibly began to pant heavily and let out a pained groan, but none the less, his body reacted.

“Damn it Big Mac, I didn’t need to see that!”

“Dang it Fluttershy! Banana! Banan-GAH!”

It was all Big Macintosh could get out before another pained groan escaped him. Fluttershy though, simply looked at her hoof work and smiled as she slowed down her pace.

“After the 10th time, Macky began to get tired and, oh, my poor dear needs a break… So, um since you two are really good friends… if you don’t mind… I mean, if you are okay with it… I know Macky and I would really appreciate it if you bucked my brains out while he takes a wee break.”

It took you a moment to process what the shy Pegasus was asking you to do. You could only things a few scenarios were such a proposition would make sense, and all of them included cheesy background music and bad acting with a lot of close up shots. You didn’t know how to reply, but eventually your mind made you blurt out the thing that was furthest at the forefront of your thoughts.

“You do realize I’m not a pony, right? A human and pony can’t…”

The words died in your throat as you realized where this was coming from. It was not something you wanted to deal with right now. Not in such a situation as the one you found yourself in.

Fluttershy though, just smiled at you and let go of Big Macintosh. There was a small sigh of relief from the table bound stallion as you both observed her walk towards you. Maybe it was easier for him to relax, but you only wound up pushing yourself back further against the wall, and your shackles rattled as you involuntarily tried to move your arms.

“Oh you poor dear…” She said as she came to a stop in front of you and placed her hoof on your thigh. You reflexively raised an eyebrow, unsure if the confusion you felt steamed from her motherly tone or the fact that she was now massaging your thigh. Perhaps a combination of both?

“You being different never bothered Applejack before. She wants to be with you either way…”

Her smile was one of encouragement, and her rubbing of your thigh grew in intensity at the same rate her smile did. However, the confusion you felt only gave way to that familiar dark pitted sensation you felt in your stomach when you were in the barn. And you knew the reason all too well of why you felt that.

You couldn’t help but to glance at Big Macintosh, as if asking for forgiveness, before you turned to look at the not so shy pegasus rubbing you down.

“Fluttershy… Applejack doesn’t know what she’s saying. The heat is making her say and do things that she doesn’t mean. Just like you are right now…”

“Oh no, it’s not just because of the heat…”

Your eyebrow arched a bit more as you waited to hear her reasoning behind why she thought that.

“Applejack hasn’t been able to stop talking about you for weeks, months even. Oh and some of the things she says about you… just like Macky and me when we first started out…”

Fluttershy let out a dreamy sigh as she began to blush, perhaps recalling some rather romantic, or given your current situation, kinky things. Your face though only grew serious as you tried to process the information she just gave you.

Applejack has honestly been thinking about me for a while? Is she confirming this, what Applejack said in the barn? Or is she just trying to bait me into-

Your thoughts where cut short as you heard Fluttershy gasp lightly and felt her hoof remove itself from your thigh. You suddenly realized your pants were a bit tighter than before, her ministrations clearly having had some kind of effect.

“OH! I’m so sorry! Applejack asked me to keep that a secret! Ooh! I’m such a loud mouth…” She suddenly let out before she turned around and pressed her rear against you and began to grind into you. You immediately became aware of a particularly damp sensation.

“Mmm! You should punish me, hard, for being such a bad filly…”

Your mind immediately went into overdrive as you tried to process the information she had divulged about Applejack and tried to desperately ignore what she was currently doing to you. The distinct stirring down below though made it obvious which of those two you were failing at. Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed Big Macintosh staring at you. His expression was unreadable.

“I swear I’m not getting into it!” That was a bold-faced lie if you ever heard one.

Big Macintosh though, simply raised an eyebrow and kept looking at you, and you immediately decided you had to think of something else, and fast. You closed your eyes as you tried to drown out the world around you, but your mind decided to betray you as it replayed the words Fluttershy had said, and what Applejack had told you in the barn.

That small candle of hope from before, found itself re-lit anew and shone a bit brighter against the tendrils of doubt that encroached upon it. That remnant of a dream about the mare you adored, you loved, slowly became less faded, and a single word rang out through your mind.

Applejack…

“Come on sugahcube…”

Your eyes flung themselves open as you were certain your ears had betrayed you as well, but what you saw in front of you made your voice unable to come out in anything but a disbelieving whisper.

“Applejack?...”

What you saw in front of you was indeed Applejack.

Her head was turned to look back at you, and she was smiling at you as she ground herself into you in the same fashion as Fluttershy had been doing. Her emerald green eyes followed your own as you took in the sight of her. She had her mane cascading down her withers, her traditional pony tail looking like it had long since been let loose. Her tail was raised and lay limply off to her side, giving you an unobstructed view of what she was doing. And it only made what he was wearing stand out more. She was wearing a corset and garter as Fluttershy had been, but hers were both black with a single green line as highlights along the edges. Her stocking were also black but had little red apple markings on the side.

She looked gorgeous and sexy… But you knew that already, without her having to dress up.

Her emerald green eyes didn’t leave yours as she bite her lower lip, blushing, as she began to grind harder into you. Your eyes had said it all, and the hunger you showed for her only served to make her more excited. You could clearly feel how excited she was getting.

You brought your hand down to her haunches and relished the velvety feel of her coat before you gave them a firm squeeze. The texture of her toned rear from years of apple bucking was amazing, and your touch sent a visible shiver throughout her body that ended in a lustful, dreamy, and approving moan. It only helped to spur you further in your ministrations, and your massaging quickly found a rhythm to her grinding and your own.

Slowly her tail began to twitch as you continued, and before you knew it, it slowly trailed a path up your exposed chest and only stopped when it caressed the underside of your throat in a loving manner. It always amazed you how dexterous her tail was, and, as she continued to caress you with her tail, you realized that it was better than you could have ever imagined.

Her scent was all over it. You couldn’t help but to inhale deeply of it, and felt your lust for her only increase. Instinct took over and you grunted as you tighten your grip on her haunches and pulled her closer to you. The warmth and moistness that you felt on your exposed skin below your waist and excitement only made you grind into her harder as well.

“A-Ah sucahcube…” A moan escaped her as she felt your excitement against her. “T’ain’t polite to tease your mare like that.”

Applejack’s voice was filled with lust, and you were more than happy to comply as you pushed yourself away, and aligned yourself with her.

Her emerald green eyes were sharp, alert, and filled with lust as she looked back at you and waited through half-closed eyelids and open mouth, panting. She didn’t have to wait too long as you gave one powerful thrust and a low grunting moan escaped her.

“Mmm, yes… that’s nice…”

The sound of Fluttershy’s voice coming from Applejack immediately caused you to open your eyes. Applejack was not there. In her place though was Fluttershy, smiling lustfully as she looked back at you and still continued to grin into you, quivering lightly.

Had she just…?

You realized your hands were still shackled above your head and immediately looked down. Thankfully, your pants were still on, although they did little to hide your now clear arousal.

A relived sigh escaped you and, after a few seconds of silent panting from the shy pegasus, Fluttershy turned around to look at you. Her tongue was slightly sticking out as she smiled at you, her eyes noticeably hazy from her quivering episode and the heat that still drove her.

“W-were you thinking… of Applejack?”

The question left you speechless. How had she known? All you could do was silently stare at Fluttershy as you felt exposed. The blush you felt run across your face came a bit late given your daydream, and you felt yourself give in. There was no point in hiding it anymore.

Your neck lost all rigidity as your head hung low and you glanced towards Big Macintosh out of the corner of your eye. He had been a good friend, and you could only imagine his reaction at finding out you, a weird creature from another world, had feelings for his sister.

Fluttershy called out your name, and you replied by nodding your head.

What happened next though, surprised you.

You felt Fluttershy push away from you and immediately after you felt her hoof lift your chin and your eyes met hers. She was standing upright on her hind legs, using her wings to balance herself. Her other hoof though, kept rubbing you arousal.

“Is this for her then?” She asked as she gave it a particularly hard rub to emphasize what she meant. You were only barely able to nod and grunt out as a reply as she kept smiling. “I thought so…”

She moved in and began to nuzzle and nip at your neck as she sunk further into you, the hoof holding your chin migrating to caress the side of your head.

“You really got into it at one point. Like Macky does when he’s with me…”

You could only close your eyes as you allowed her to continue, unable to stop her. She worked her way to your ear and you felt her let out a hot lustful sigh that sent a particularly pleasant feeling down your spine.

“Mmm, Applejack is going to love it.” She whispered right before she gave your earlobe a nibble and pulled back. Her other hoof suddenly stopped rubbing you, and you felt her pull away as her hooves wrapped around your neck for support. You could feel her hot breath on your face, and you instinctively opened your eyes to meet hers. They didn’t look as hazed over as before, and you could distinctly see their natural teal color peeking through.

“If you want, I can teach you how to treat her right… but only if you want… I mean, if you don’t mind…”

This new proposition took you by surprise and your eyes searched her face. The blush across her face was adorable, and the smile across her face made you understand why Big Macintosh had fallen for her.

“We’re not that different… your species and mind. You just have to listen to your heart… and hers.” She spoke to you in a low whispering tone as her hooves tightened around your neck and she pressed herself against your exposed chest, still standing upright. You could feel her heartbeat against your own, and, as you felt her warmth spread through you, you immediately began to understand.

Like this, the way she was standing, comforting you, embracing you, sharing her warmth with you… it was no different than a human being. You had found Applejack beautiful. You loved everything about her. So why should something like being human or not matter?

Your mind ran through every excuse, every reason you had found to not confess yourself to her. And what you saw made you feel ashamed as you realized why you had thought as such... It had been fear.

... fear that you'd turn me down, Applejack.

Your mind called out as you thought further about it and your heart swelled when you realized that there was a difference that could not be overlooked. A single truth among all the lies you had told yourself.

The heart that beat behind the warmth that spread through you now, was not the one you wanted. And it was a bittersweet realization as you immediately felt your chest get tighter.

Doubt and uncertainty had made sure you had squandered that opportunity.

And now, as you stood there shackled to a wall in the kinkiest shed you’d ever been in, you realized another simple truth.

Even if you didn’t know how believable the words of a heat crazed pegasus could be. Even if you still had your doubts. None of that mattered. You would do anything to be with the mare you loved, to make things right and find out for yourself.

Even if it meant doing the unthinkable…

I-I’m so sorry, Applejack… Your mind called out as you nodded your head and accepted Fluttershy’s offer.

Fluttershy though, didn’t wait long after your reply and immediately pushed into you, kissing you aggressively. You allowed her tongue full range of your mouth as she explored it, your own tongue rubbing the side of hers as encouragement. A sign of willingness for her to continue, and she in turn did not squander it.

It felt like an eternity before your lips parted. The hot breath you felt against your face clouded your mind and you instinctively moved your hand to hold her. They were stopped by the shackles though, and a bit of lucidity returned to you as you turned your head up to look at them. The shackles had begun to dig into your wrist, and they were getting slightly numb.

You didn’t have much time to process this as you felt Fluttershy push her head into your neck and felt her hooves fumble with your pants. They weren’t going to stay on much longer at this rate.

“Um… FluttershOW!” You flinched as you felt her bit your neck.

“IT’S MISTRESS FLUTTERSHY TO YOU!! I mean, if you’d be so kind as to address me as such…”

Shock was all you could express as you looked at her and then turned to look at Big Macintosh. He simply nodded his head, but his eyes though screamed a warning that you should do as she said.

“Mistress Fluttershy?”

“Yes my pet?”

“Um, okay...” You tried your hardest not to raise an eyebrow at your new title.

“Would it be possible for you to release my hands?”

She paused and pulled back to look you while she cocked her head to one side.

“Why pet?”

“Well, thing is, my hands are starting to feel numb and if I’m going to be with Applejack, I want to treat her to the fullest of my abilities… and human hands are very dexterous.”

She continued to look at you, her face taking on a slightly skeptical look. You only hoped the heat had made her crazy enough to fall for it. Her skepticism though quickly turned to hesitation, and you decided to go all in and stop it in its tracks.

Your lips locked with hers again and you begged entrance with your tongue, slightly flicking at her lips as they parted and greeted you. The moan that escaped her was palatable and after subduing her tongue with yours, you slowly moved your ministrations from her lips, down to her jaw and neck.

“Please…” You licked and nibbled. “Mistress…” You blew a bit at the spot you had just left. “Fluttershy…” You nibbled again, slightly harder.

Fluttershy visible trembled with each word you spoke and you heard her breath become forced as she tried to subdue a moan or two. She didn’t reply though, but instead you felt a sudden breeze as your lips trailed down her silken corset and ended on her exposed lower tummy as she flew over you. The scent of her arousal was obvious.

You felt your hands set free and wasted no time as you wrapped your arms around her waist, pulled her down, spun around, and pinned her against the wall. A barely audible “EEP” was all she managed to say before you locked your lips with hers again, and her hooves wrapped around your neck. Your eyes closed, and your left hand quickly lowered and grabbed her rear, giving it a firm squeeze. Admittedly, it had a nice supple give, and the moan Fluttershy let loose into your mouth only showed her approval.

You were fully committed to what you were doing… with one exception.

Your right hand was nowhere near her and instead slowly travel across the wall away from her, searching for something you only hoped was not too far away. Lucky for you though, it wasn’t, and your hand took hold of the metal rod that held the curtain that had hid Big Macintosh when you first came in. It felt sturdy, so hopefully that would be enough for what you needed to do.

However, you were snapped out of your devious plotting as you felt Fluttershy break the kiss and breathe heavily against your face. Your eyes opened and locked with hers. She was smiling. That was going to make what you were about to do hard.

“Let’s get you out of those clothes.” She said as she once again began to fiddle with your pants. Your left hand though took a hold of one of her hooves and she paused as she looked at you confused but still smiling.

“It’s okay, just pretend its Applejack…”

Well, that just made this a whole lot harder. Yet, you smiled at her as you held her hoof tenderly in your hand and leaned in to whisper into her ear, your hot breath again making the pegasus visibly shiver.

“I know. Let me do it… to you though.”

You felt her smile and that was the queue you were waiting for as your hand tightened around the metal rod. It was all over in a flash. All she managed to let out was another startled “EEP” before you had overtaken her.

In one fluid motion, you had torn the curtain from the metal curtain rod and tangled the shocked pegasus in it, dropping her unceremoniously onto the ground struggling.

What? It wasn’t like you were going to bludgeon her with the curtain rod. You were better than that.

“I’m so sorry Big Mac but yourwifeiscrazy!” You let out in one quick breath as you quickly turned to make for the door.

“Wait!”

You froze at his outburst and looked at him, your feet still stuck on flee mode as they ran in place.

“Take me with you!”

“What!?”

His request only confused you as you looked at the shed and its contents.

“NO! HE’S MINE! ALL MINE!!” Fluttershy yelled out as she continued to struggle with the curtains. She was not a happy pegasus.

“I thought you wanted all… this.” You waved your arms for emphasis on what you meant. The big red work horse though just looked away, a bit of shame clearly edged on his otherwise stoic face.

“Ah know… but ah’m so sore and tired, that if she keep’s at it, ah’m sure she gonna rip it off!”

The color in your face disappeared as you blanched at the prospect. Given what you had see up to this point, from Ponyville till now, you were pretty sure that was entirely possible. You were not about to leave a fellow male to that fate.

“Okay! Dang it, hold still then!”

“Ah ain’t got an option…”

Not wasting time, you rushed to the table and began undoing the straps. Every second you reflexively stole a glance out of the corner of your eye at the struggling form of the curtain wrapped pegasus. That was no longer Big Macintosh’s wife, it was no longer Fluttershy, but instead a wild animal judging by how she trashed around inside her confines.

That thought gave you pause though as it gave way to a sudden realization.

“Wait…”

“What!? Hurry up!”

“Nonono, wait… wait… I just want you to know that what happened between Fluttershy and me meant nothing. It was all a ruse and I didn’t enjoy it at all!”

“WHAT?!”

“I just don’t want you to beat me up after I let you-”

“JUST HURRY UP YA’IDJET!”

Time ran out. You were too late. Out of the corner of your eye you barely caught sight of fluttering wings and the curtain being cast aside.

“Dang it she’s on the ceiling!”

“Damn it! This is worst than Aliens!”

“What!?”

You didn’t answer his question though, or dared to look up for that matter. You knew if you made eye contact, she’d use the stare on you and it would all be over.

“I’ll get you yet my pretties…”

The blood in your veins froze as you heard her voice. She was right above you, and she was quick.

“KYAAAA!”

The sudden flutter of wings was enough for you to react ,and you reached for your next weapon as you let out a scream that was certainly not girly at all. You tore the second curtain from the other end of the curtain rod and turned in time to catch her in it. The force of the impact threw you on top of Big Macintosh and you could do little but cringe as you felt his abused Big Mac Jr. smack you on the face before you thankfully rolled off of him onto the floor on the other side.

You struggled to wrap her again in the second curtain, but a wayward hoof hit you hard across the jaw and you barely managed to hold on to consciousness. However, that right hoof brought with it an unexpected, yet desired effect.

“OH! Oh my! Are you okay?” You heard her ask from within the curtain.

“Yeah, ouch, I’m okay, it’s just a-HA!”

“EEP!”

You grabbed the upper hand as you literally grabbed the distracted pegasus and managed to tie the curtain around her.

“What? What happened!?” Big Macintosh called out as you pushed the struggling pegasus off of you and stood up wobbly and immediately began to finish undoing the straps.

“I think your wife is not going to want us to hang out anymore…”

Within seconds, you had freed Big Macintosh and he now stood next to you on wobbly hooves. You were both staring at the fidgeting curtain on the floor.

“You okay Big Macintosh?” You asked him as you tried not to laugh, or rather hide it.

“Eeeyup, ah’ll live.” He answered as he still wore the blinders, straps, and saddle.

There was a moment of silence as you both continued to stare at the curtain. The fidgeting was getting less and less pronounced, and in its place, you could hear heavy and angry breathing.

“Does this happen to all the mares during the heat?”

“Ah don’t rightly know. She and I though, really do want a foal. She just has to give me a break.”

There was another pause as you both looked at the curtain again. Fluttershy had stopped trashing around and all you could hear was panting. You gingerly places a hand on his withers as you spoke.

“I’m sorry Big Mac… Maybe we can try and talk some sense into h-KYAAAA!”

A butter yellow hoof suddenly shot through the curtain and ripped it. You both immediately scrambled towards the door, and finding it lock, kicked it down. The door hadn't even hit the ground before you both were already through it and running for dear life.

You ran straight into the orchard, hoping that the trees would at least provide some cover from the lust filled predator you were sure had taken to the skies.

________

Trees zoomed by you as you ran at full speed, your heart pounding in your ears and your second wind long since having come and gone. In front of you, you could still see Big Macintosh running. He was a bit further ahead, and seemed to be pulling further away. You weren’t sure for how long you both had been running, keeping to the shadows of the trees. Your mind though, felt hazy, of that you were certain, and you could feel your body burn and protest with every step you took.

Your head had been swimming for so long, your vision was blurring as well.

Without even realizing you had swayed off to the side, your foot caught the root of one of the many trees around you, and you tumbled forward. You immediately realized how much it sucked to fall chest first without a shirt on. But you had had no other choice. You had to leave it discarded in Fluttershy’s shed when you made your hasty retreat.

Big Macintosh stopped as he heard you tumble and ran back towards you as you began struggling to get back up on your feet.

“You okay there?” He asked as he offered you a hoof, which you took, and immediately pulled yourself up on wobbly feet.

“Yeah, I think so…” You paused as you tried to focus your vision. “I think between your wife giving me one heck of a buck to the jaw and your sister bashing my head into a tree, I think I’m a bit-”

“Applejack did what to ya now?”

The blurry image in front of you finally took form, and you failed to reply, your focus set on the giant red work horse. He was still wearing the whole riding getup from the shed. You hadn’t been able to stop running long enough to try and remove it.

A sudden idea, perhaps fueled by the mild concussion you’ve had all day, began to take form and you figured desperate times called for awkward measures.

“Say, Big Mac?”

“…”

_____

That day, the setting sun of Equestria saw the end to a rather chaotic day, and also a rather unexpected sight. One which would perhaps had never been possible until you came along.

“Ah think we both can agree to keep this between us two, ya hear?!”

“Fine by me!”

You replied as you settled further into the saddle and held the reigns firmly. You were trying very hard not to yell heya again seeing as Big Macintosh had nearly thrown you off when you did that the first time.

Admittedly Big Macintosh was nowhere near the size of an actual horse. But given that you could barely stand up, let alone run, this seemed like the best option.

“As long as you don’t say anything about what happened in the shed. Especially my screaming!”

“Ah think we can both agree to that one as well!”

The sun made its way further down the horizon as you both made your way out of Sweet Apple Acres, and rode further away from Ponyville towards safety. You were all too glad to put it all behind you for the day. That is, with the exception of one thing.

Applejack… I’m sorry. So sorry I didn’t take into account how you might have honestly felt… So sorry it had to be Fluttershy that told me… Your mind called out as the image from that morning’s dream burn brightly in your mind.

I promise I’ll come back, and try to figure this out…

And with that, you rode past the last apple tree that marked the property of Sweet Apple Acres.

Author's Note

Again, another chapter that took me outside my comfort zone. However, I felt slightly more comfortable about this one than I did the prior one. Maybe because I had a bit more time to plan this out.

Honestly though, I'm sort of glad with how it turned out. But I'm sure ya'll be glad to make me see the error of my ways.

*PSST!* That was an invitation to give me feedback...

Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro.

Choosing to Run in Circles - Choosing to Stop Running.

Night time in Equestria, to say the least, was a beautiful sight to behold. Each and every night brought with it the full majesty of the cosmos. On some nights, it was as if all the stars, constellations, galaxies, and other beautiful heavenly bodies were all on display as part of a grand masterpiece. A masterpiece that some divine artist had put on display so that all creatures inclined enough to look up would be able to enjoy it.

In any other settings though, such simile would perhaps be nothing more than that, a figure of speech used by a writer to fill some space. But, on a setting like Equestria, the sky at night was indeed a grand masterpiece, and the artist responsible for it was Princess Luna.

And her work had been a constant source of pleasure and fascination for you to gaze upon.

Yes, ever since your arrival to Equestria, you had constantly been fascinated by how detailed and beautiful the night sky was. The fascination with it though, had only doubled when you found out it was the work of a princess, let alone a demigod. The story behind each of the governing celestial sisters had been one of your first lessons once things had settled down after your arrival and your own panic had subsided.

That landmark had been marked mainly by the point in time when you didn’t yelp like a stepped on Chihuahua when something levitated around you.

Human adaptability and ability to cope, as Twilight had pointed out, was a wonderful thing to observe and study.

Seeing actual magic had been freaky at first, but that had quickly been replaced by fascination and curiosity. And, as stressful as those first days with Twilight had been, you often thought back to them as having been a welcomed learning experience for you both.

Now though, as you sat reclined against a log you had dragged into a cave, looking at the campfire that burned in front of you inside its makeshift pit, you couldn’t help but feel that you were learning about something rather important, a tad bit too late.

“So this happens every year? For about eighteen or twenty days?” You asked as you still tried to wrap your mind around everything Big Macintosh had just told you.

“Eeyup…” Big Macintosh replied as he lay on the floor with his legs folded underneath him.

After you both had made your way out of Ponyville and were sure that you were far enough to avoid detection for the time being, you started to look for a safe place to spend the night. Luck had been on your side, and in what little dwindling light remained from the day, you were able to find a cave with some trees covering the entrance from wondering eyes in the sky. To anypony flying up high, it would have simply looked like the trees where hugging the mountain side.

“So that’s why everypony got 3 days off from work, to flee somewhere safe?” You continued to ask as you reached down and finished off the contents of your leaf turned makeshift plate, popping the last bits into your mouth.

“Eeyup…” Big Macintosh replied as he finished off his own meal.

You had also been lucky enough to find a fresh water stream nearby, and were able to replenish some fluids, as well as catch a fish. Big Macintosh had found a nice patch of daisies and grass for himself. Out of respect to him though, and to your own chagrin, you cooked and pulled apart your fish till it didn’t resemble an animal, and joined him inside the cave to eat.

He had insisted you didn’t have to do that.

You had insisted he didn’t need to see that.

As you both ate, he had been resting on the other side of the campfire, across from you as he gave you a lesson on the heat that had overtaken Ponyville and most of Equestria. It was a good thing you had been able to remove the blinders, saddles, and straps off of him. If not, the conversation you had just had would have been harder to take seriously.

“So…” You began as you threw your empty leaf into the fire and watched it burn. “Applebloom and everypony not old enough, are off at a sort of summer camp run by mares, like Granny Smith, that are no longer affected by the heat?”

“Eeyup...”

“And every stallion is off somewhere secluded to try and stay safe?”

“Eeyup, ah reckon so… some might even be out here in these very woods, though perhaps a bit too close to town still.”

“Great… And how are you and I supposed to survive this again?”

“Well, like ah said… Earth ponies will run ya ragged till ya can’t run anymore, and that goes double if they catch you. So try’n and out maneuver them or keep up high.”

You nodded your head, letting him know to continue.

“Pegasus’ll swoop down from above and can be very agile and flexible, and trust me… they’ll make you pull something, if not all of ya somethings if they catch you. For them, best to keep to cover’n try’n jump out of the way t’last minute of their dive.”

You nodded your head again, realizing now how lucky you had been with Fluttershy and that you had been inside the shed where it limited her movement.

“And for unicorns, well, they’ve got their magic. Ain’t hear of many non-unicorn stallions being able to escape them, but ah’ve heard of the aftermath… things can get pretty intense if you get caught by one of them. Best thing for them is t’keep your wits about you… remember their magic’s specialized to their talent so that there is their strong point. Don’t let them catch you in it.”

You immediately groaned again, no matter how often he had told you this, you had spent enough time around unicorns to know there was a flaw in that plan.

“Yeah, but, even if I know the special talent of every unicorn I come across. Many, if not all, have basic spells like levitation.”

“Pretty much… just remember not all of’em might be good at it, or strong. Ya might get lucky.”

“Greeeat…” You replied dryly as you turned to look at the flames in front of you.

There was a long pause as you continued to look at the fire and digested all this. The parallel to your own world in this respect was so skewed, you couldn’t help but wonder just how different your world would be if this was the norm there. In fact, you were pretty sure that if the male to female ratio was as bad as it was here, death by snu-snu would had been at the top of the list for cause of death.

Hehe, good’ol Futurama… You thought as you let out a small chuckle. Big Macintosh though, simple raised an eyebrow as he looked at you, and you shook your head and waved your hand at him as a sign to not worry. That however sparked an interesting question on your part.

“Hey, wait one apple picking minute… if it’s so dangerous, then why was Caramel still in town?”

The reaction that followed surprised you, a chuckle from Big Macintosh was not what you had expected, and your faced managed to show as much. The stallion though, quieted down after a few lighter chuckles, and used a hoof to wipe his eye.

“That idjet and Thunderlane make ah bet each year t’see who survives the longest.”

“Oookay?...” You prompted him to continue, one raised eyebrow as you tried to figure out why it had been so funny. Big Macintosh caught on though, and continued.

“Thing is, a few of us had a pool going. Caramel was the favorite for this year…”

Realization at his words dawned on you quickly and you were barely able to force out a reply.

“Oh… I, see… buck…”

“Eeyup… ya cost a few stallions ah lot of bits. I reckon they’all won’t be too happy about that...”

“Right, well, after the mares are done with me, tell them to get in line so they can pick at my corpse in an orderly fashion.” You said in a mock humor tone as you stopped looking at the flame and instead looked at the ceiling of the cave.

“Well, ah don’t know if ah’ll rightly have time for that seeing as Sweet Apple Acres needs a lot of fixing and you just won me quite a few bits to do it with…”

Your head gyrated down to look at Big Macintosh. You could clearly hear the smirk hidden in his voice.

“Will admit won’t be the same without ya, but ah’ll make sure to say a nice eulogy for ya.”

The chuckle you both let loose slowly grew in crescendo as it turned into laughter. The echo emanating from the cave thanks to the both of you could clearly be heard outside, but neither of you cared. It had been one heck of a day and it felt good to unwind a bit. You were glad you had a friend like him to suffer along with you.

After a bit though, the laughter died down, and you both remained silent as you looked at each other from across the campfire. You knew what was coming next, it had been gnawing at you since you left the shed near the lake, and you were pretty sure Big Macintosh saw it coming to. If there was a time to do it, that time was now. You pushed off the log and sat up.

“Listen, Big Mac, what happened with Flutter-”

“Nnope!”

Big Macintosh’s voice rang clear as he cut you off and raised a hoof at you. His face had returned to that stoic state it always seemed to find itself in.

“Ya don’t need t’explain. Ah understand why ya did it… and ah thank you for it…”

Your mouth opened to say something, but you found your words were lacking. It was understandable though. He had just thanked you for making out with his wife.

A few pregnant seconds passed before you remembered how to use your mouth. The obvious question was already at the tip of your tongue, and it only needed a small push.

“Why?”

Big Macintosh just stared at you as he chewed on his straw thoughtfully, before passing it from one side of his mouth to the other side. After a few more moments of silence, he looked away and instead looked out the cave entrance, towards the night sky. Through some of the tree foliage, you could clearly make out some of the stars and a bit of the moon.

“Ah’ve heard of stallions getting overrun by mares. They panic, fight back. T’ain’t pretty… They neva win though, but as ya can imagine a mare or two can get hurt.”

He turned to look back at you as you kept looking at him, processing the information for a bit. He was obviously waiting for it to sink in. After what you had seen and heard throughout the day, you could understand why and how it could happen.

Big Macintosh simply let out a heavy sigh, perhaps content that your face showed some acknowledgement to what he had said, and turned back to look out at the sky again.

“In a situation like you and ah were in… many stallions would have gone and given up. Ah did, thought you did too… but you didn’t.”

You watched him as he paused again, perhaps choosing his words. His face had remained unchanged. Slowly, your eyes traveled from him, to the flames of the fire in front of you. You threw in another piece of wood and didn’t look up when you heard him continue.

“Yah instead found ah way to get out if it and you didn’t hurt her. Made her angry, yes… but ah’m sure she’ll be a might embarrassed once this all settles down.”

The wood you threw in finally caught a flame, and you watched as the light emanating from it grew brighter. Big Macintosh’s features became more detailed as the light contrasted against the shadows of the cave. He was smiling, relieved, looking at you again.

“Thank you for not hurting mah Fluttershy…”

He punctuated the end of that sentence with your name, and you couldn’t help but smile and nod as you leaned back against your log.

“You are welcomed Big Mac…”

Big Macintosh nodded and turned once again to look out at the sky. After what he said, it didn’t take a genius to know what, or rather whom he hoped to see out there. It was a rather odd thing, seeing as you both had spent most of the day running like mad, and at one point even riding like mad to escape.

Love sure is a complicated thing…

Your thoughts rang out as you failed to suppress a slight laugh, your own convoluted love story coming into the forefront of your mind. You knew what you wanted as well. Or rather, whom you wanted to be with… if you hadn’t destroyed your chances of being with her yet that was.

You let out a sigh as you sat forward again and joined Big Macintosh in looking out the cave entrance, your own mind traveling far beyond the confines of the cave like his was. The remnants of that morning’s dream were still strongly present in your mind’s eye, no longer faded like before. However, there was a new Applejack related dream joining in, or rather, fantasy. What you had dreamt, or hallucinated, or perhaps both thanks to your head being bashed into a tree, was slowly bleeding into your thoughts, and you found yourself getting lost in it.

You weren’t sure for how long you were out, but a word managed to bleed through your thoughts.

“… Applejack?”

Your head snapped towards the source of the voice with your eyes wide in shock and surprise. Big Macintosh was staring at you as he repeated his question.

“Were ya thinking about Applejack?”

Damn mind reading horse… Your mind tried to make sense of it as you blinked at him a few time. Your mouth though, jumped ahead and put out the obvious question that seemed to elude your higher functions.

“How did you…?” You asked, a bit of shame and hesitation coming through your voice as clear as a bell.

Big Macintosh just kept silent as he chewed on his straw and his eyes began to scrutinize you. It was as if he was looking at you for the first time, like he had when you had offered to help him plow the field almost a year ago. He was sizing you up.

The silence eventually broke as he finally spoke, his stoic stare unbroken from your own.

“So Fluttershy was right… Ya had that same look on your face as ya did in the shed.”

You immediately felt your face flush. If he was a mind reading horse, you really hoped he didn’t venture a guess at what you had thought about doing with Applejack. About what you had done with her in your fantasy.

“Were ya really thinking of doing it with mah sister?”

… Oh crud.

That was the only thing that echoed through your mind as you realized what was going on. His voice had take on a slight edge that made your blood run cold, and your mind raced to find an answer that would not result in your immediate beating. You had spent so much time thinking about what Applejack might think about the matter… the thought of what her family might think about it hadn’t even crossed your mind.

Everything had turned. Whatever bonding moment you had shared with the giant red work stallion had come and gone. This now involved his little sister, Applejack. Not his heat crazed wife, Fluttershy.

“Ah asked you ah question…”

You blinked at the sound of your named being called our right next to your ear, and turned to your right. Big Macintosh had managed to sneak up on you again, snapping you out of your thoughts. His face looked stern and his brows were furrowed as he sat next to you.

There was a slight pause as you took in the sight. For some reason, contrary to what your survival instincts told you, seeing his face like that turned the lump you didn’t even realized had formed in your throat into something else. You suddenly felt yourself relax.

“Yes…”

His eyes narrowed and bore into you as his head lowered and met yours.

“Why?”

“Because I love her…”

Your eyes locked with his, and your voice remained unchanged. You knew what that something else was. Determination... Determination to stop running.

“Yah ain’t a pony.”

Running from your doubts…

“If what I’ve heard so far is true, then she doesn’t care about that, and neither do I…”

“Really now? And what can you offer her?”

Running from your insecurities…

“Nothing… but my love, my whole self, and a promise that every day I will do what I can to make her happy and help her and her family out no matter how many times I fail…”

“And if ah let ya see her again, what are ya gonna do?”

And now, above all, you were done letting your hesitation hinder you in what you felt for her…

“If I survive this, I’ll explain why I ran and beg forgiveness. And, if she’ll have me, well then, whatever happens afterwards will be between her, me, and Nun-ya…”

“Nun-ya?”

“Nun-ya business…”

The cave had grown silent, the only fading sound being that of his words and yours as they echoed in the cave. The giant red work horse had remained staring at you the whole time, as had you. Neither had broken contact. His expression had remained the same, unchanged. You could feel yours had held up as well.

Without warning, his right hoof raised and he placed it on your shoulder. You tried not to flinch and succeeded in not having let your shoulder tip to the side as the new weight being put on you settled more and more. It felt like a beam of steel had been left on your shoulder. His eyes though, had only continued to narrow as he looked at you.

“Ah see then…”

Your mind was at peace though. Whatever happened next, you knew you had at least done something right.

“Tell Applejack I love her…”

Big Macintosh simply nodded.

Within a second, it was over. To his merit, he was rather quick for such a huge pony.

“Tell her ya’self, Ha!”

“…What?”

It had not turned out how you expected it to. His hoof had hooked around your neck and pulled you into a hug so fast you were sure you had whiplash. His other hoof had then wrapped around you and he had begun to sway you from side to side in an extremely tight bear hug. You knew something was about to break as every bone in your ribcage popped in protest. You started finding it hard to breath as you heard and felt him laugh.

“Haha, took ya long enuff ya idjet!”

“…Wh-at? Loosen GASP grip!”

Big Macintosh immediately let you go and you fell on the ground. You sucked wind like if it were your last chance to do so before you were thrown out an air lock.

“Sorry…”

Hearing him say your name though, made you look up at him. He was smiling.

“No… GASP… it’s okay, it just GASP that was not the reaction I-I was expecting.”

“Eeyup… ah didn’t’ expect that from ya either.”

There was a slight moment of silence, only every now and then interrupted by your gasping.

“Wait, what ya mean it wasn’t the reaction ya was expecting?”

“I-I thought you were going to… you know what?... GASP… it won’t work unless you know who Bane is and saw the last Batman movie…”

“… This one of’em odd things you say, ain’t it?”

“Yeah, I’ll save you GASP the trouble…”

There was a long moment of silence as you continued to recover from the hug. You were pretty sure something had bruised inside your ribcage, or your neck for that matter. But given the alternative of how that little interaction could have gone, you were pretty sure you preferred this one. Eventually though, after a few more seconds, you had finally managed to work yourself into a sitting position once more in front of Big Macintosh, and asked the obvious question.

“Why are you so okay with this?”

Big Macintosh just tilted his head and shifted his straw to the other side of his mouth. Eventually though, he just smiled and shook his head in disbelief as he patted you on the shoulder. His hoof remained there as he spoke.

“Cause even if Applejack don’t confide in me for all them mare things like she does with Fluttershy and her friends, ah ain’t blind. Ah’ve seen how she looks at ya, and how ya look at her when neither of ya think the other’s looking…”

You opened your mouth to speak, but his voice easily blocked yours out as he continued.

“Now, ah had mah doubts about ya. And ah’ll admit, when you first came to our apple orchard, ah honestly didn’t know what to think about such ah strange creature as you…”

Your face deadpanned at that comment but you didn’t interrupt. There was no point in it, you were pretty sure he’d just easily talk over you. It was best to just let him finish.

“And, as ah big brother to them fellies, not knowing meant I kept my eye on you. And over time, I learned one important thing about you…”

There was a long pregnant pause as you waited for the giant red work horse to finish what he wanted to say. He seemed to be enjoying himself while making you wait, but you just found it slightly annoying. Eventually though, he had his fill and spoke again as he cleared his throat.

“Ah learned that ya are determined. Whatever ya set your mind to, ya work hard towards it, and you reach it no matter how hard it is. So when ya say ya’ll do everything in your power to take care of Applejack, ah believe ya’ll do just that… Ah’d be honored t’have ya as part of mah family.”

Big Macintosh’s giant red hoof lifted as he said those words, and then settled back down as he patted you again on the shoulder. It was solid, and you felt a sense of respect emanating from that one gesture.

“Thank you Big Macintosh… I just hope Applejack still feels the same way about me, even after I ran out on her at the barn.” You managed to say before the silence in the cave grew again as it had before. Big Macintosh though, simply patted you again in a reassuring matter. You couldn’t really understand why you had been worried at the beginning.

After another long pause, and figuring everything had been said and sorted, Big Macintosh nodded as he stood up and walked over to the opposite side of the campfire before he lay down with his hooves underneath him and his head to the ground. A subtle way of saying that it was enough talking for one night, and that it was time to sleep. You couldn’t agree more with him than that as you felt whatever small surge of energy you had left leave you. It was certainly time to hit the hay, and given everything you had learned and experienced, you were all too glad to copy him and lay back as you rested your head on your log.

The day had been way too long and chaotic, but you couldn’t help but feel that that had been a rather adequate note to end on.

Well, with the exception of one thing…

“If she felt the same way, then why didn’t she say anything till today? Before things got so out of control?... I doubt a pony like Applejack would have needed that big of a push to speak her mind.”

You didn’t bother to get up or made any attempt to, suddenly having found yourself too comfortable to do so. Big Macintosh must have felt the say way as he didn’t bother to look up from his resting position.

“Well, ah reckon she didn’t rightly know how to approach ya about it. Pretty sure she even asked her friends for advice…”

That did explain how Fluttershy came to know about it. But that just made things more difficult, and the events from the shed more complicated. Knowing her friends, if they had seen what Big Macintosh had, then she would have received nothing but kind words, advice, and encouragement from them. Perhaps they would have even done something to help it along.

“Ah think though…” Big Macintosh continued after you didn’t say anything. “How she felt didn’t really hit home till ya told us ya were getting your own place after Heart’s Warming Eve. She seemed pretty thoughtful about something for a while too… Was pretty sure she was gonna tell ya how she felt then.”

At this, you tried to think back to those days of winter, but your thoughts were too laden with sleep to come clearly. Nothing really stood out that would have indicated as such. At least nothing definite as far as you could remember.

“No, she never did…”

“Well, ah wouldn’t worry too much about it right now. Not much ya can do from out in this here cave.”

You didn’t reply immediately, your eyelids suddenly having become heavier than you remembered. You did manage to put on a slight grin as you thought of your reply though.

“Easy for you to say… you already have the mare of your dreams.”

“Eeyup…”

Big Macintosh’s reply came out heavy, and laden with sleep. It was hard to phantom just how tired he was after what he had been through, even if he had not shown it.

“Goodnight Big Mac.”

“G’night… try and not dream about mah sister. Ah don’t want to wake up to that sight.”

You barely chuckled as you nodded your head once or twice and you allowed sleep to take you with one final thought.

Yeah, try and stop me…

__________

Your first Hearts Warming Eve in Equestria had been a really enjoyable experience for you. Even though it held a strong similarity to a certain holiday back home, you couldn’t help but feel like a small child experiencing it for the first time.

Everything had been new to you. The food, the carols, the traditions, the food, the decorations, the seasonal foods… You admittedly probably gained a pound or five during the days leading up to the event, but it had all been worth it for one simple reason.

It marked the end of a long road for you...

It had taken months, well over half a year. Months of studying with Twilight Sparkle at the library. Months of learning to fit in among your pony neighbors. Months of small sacrifices such forgoing all red meat and only eating fish when you had to. And months of only having one simple focus, and one simple goal to aim towards…

Establishing yourself as a member of the Ponyville community.

Many, if not most ponies, were no longer afraid of you and accepted you with open hooves. Parties at Town Hall, celebratory gatherings along the way to mark the progress of the year seasons, and even a newspaper article or two.

All had been indicators that your hard work to fit in was paying off.

So why shouldn’t you have enjoyed the food along the way?

Being able to attend the Heart’s Warming Eve pageant in Canterlot, and being able to celebrate it along with the ponies of Equestria had been a sort of graduation for you.

“I always knew you were a Smart Cookie…”

A graduation that let you know you would be okay in your new home.

“Ah already told ya to stop saying that sugahcube!”

And a reminded that, no matter what the family that took you in, would always be a part of your new life.

“I know you did, but I can’t help it if you were the best actress on stage… Secretary Smart Cookie.” You waggled your eyebrows in an exaggerated matter at Applejack as you spoke, carrying a blanket under one arm.

“You know sugahcube, that was funny and cute the first time… kiiiind of lost its charm on the train ride back.” Applejack replied with a groan as she hid her face under her hat and did a great job at hiding her blush from you.

The train ride to and from Canterlot had been spent with you, Applejack, and her friends talking about various things. For the most part, Applejack had been content to just sit next to you and watch you talk. The others though, had been more interested in asking you about your impressions on what you had experienced, mainly in regards to the pageant.

Some of them though, like Rarity, had been more content in asking you about your impressions of Applejack while on stage. More than once, you had caught Applejack blushing, and had thought it strange. You had thought she had been incredible on stage, even rather cute.

Now though, as you both walked alongside each other through the orchard on one of the snow covered paths, you couldn’t help but notice that she seemed more relaxed. You wondered if perhaps she just didn’t like talking too much about her own performance on stage, not wanting to be the center of attention.

After a few more minutes of light conversation and walking on crunching snow, you eventually reached your destination, and you began to set down the blanket underneath the branches of a tree. Applejack though, didn’t waste any time, and sat down in the middle of it, forcing you to sit off to one of the sides of the blankets as you leaned back against the tree.

For some reason, Applejack looked slightly disappointed at this, and moved a bit closer to you once you had settled into your spot. You had noticed a bit of hesitation as she moved, and thought the whole thing strange. She knew you didn’t mind. Yet, she didn’t say anything about it, so neither did you.

Both of you remained like that for a long time, and a semi-comfortable silence lingered between the two of you as you turned up to look at the tree.

That tree had become a regular spot for you to take in the setting sun from time to time after work. As you and Applejack became better acquainted though, she had started joining you from time to time, and it eventually became a regular, if not nightly routine for the both of you to enjoy as friends.

Friends…

That word rang out in your mind as you began to let your mind wonder. In recent weeks, that simple word had given rise to an issue that had begun to eat at you. That issue being that you wanted to be more than just friends. There were obvious reasons for which you couldn’t though.

“Do you really want to move out sugahcube?”

Your thoughts left you as soon as you heard her speak and your head automatically turned to face her. She was looking up at you, expectantly. She had sat so close to you now that you could easily feel her warmth radiating through your jacket into your side. It was rather comforting.

“Well, yeah… I doubt you want me to mooch off you forever.” You said with a chuckle.

Applejack though simply looked at you for a bit longer, and then let out a sigh as she looked away. Her Stetson hat came into your field of view as it hid her face. You tilted your head to one side, confused, but then became aware of her leaning into you a bit more. You felt a slight shudder from her.

“You know, you ponies may have your coats, but if you’re cold you can borrow my jacket Applejack.”

No reply came from Applejack though, and you couldn’t really tell what was going on since her face was hidden from you. Curiosity was getting the better of you, and after a second or two, you leaned over to try and take a peek under her hat.

Her hoof suddenly stopped you as it moved to push against your chest.

“N-nah, it’s okay sugahcube…” You heard Applejack finally reply, and her hoof moved away from you. “Besides, you ain’t got a natural coat like me, I don’t’ want you getting sick and then using that as an excuse to miss out on Winter Wrap-Up.”

Your curiosity immediately dispersed and you smiled at that comment. You still kind of thought it was a joke, even after all you had seen. Ponies cleaning up winter though? You guessed anything was possible by that point, but that was still something you wanted to see with your own eyes.

“I wouldn’t worry Applejack. That’s something I really want to see. Besides, Rarity threw in two free sweaters when I bought the jacket…” You said as you rubbed your jacket to emphasize.

Applejack just lifted her head a bit again, and looked at you. This time, you only caught a slight glimmer of her emerald green eyes from underneath her hat. Something was off about them.

“Did she now?”

“Yeah, I’m wearing one on them now too. I told her she didn’t have to, but she insisted they were a marvelous ensemble and that it’d be a shame to separate them.”

Applejack simply kept quiet as she kept looking at you from underneath her hat. Something was definitely off, and you were now determined to fix it.

“Will admit though, it’s much more stylish then what we have back home… I look simply fabulous!” You feigned bouncing a curl like a certain white unicorn as you said this. You were very grateful to Rarity for helping you make sure your wardrobe consisted of more than just your pajamas. But sometime a small joke was the means to an end.

Applejack chuckled a bit as she leaned into you a bit more and looked up at you again, this time with a grin on her face.

Your end had been met.

“Come on now sugahcube, that’s not a nice thing to do.”

“I know, but you laughed… And I’d rather see you happy and smiling, you look much prettier like that.”

The pregnant pause that over took you both and the surrounding area came quick and sudden. Applejack had pushed away and was still looking up at you. You could tell something was working behind the scenes as her eyes scanned your face. Your eyes began to do the same, and you could feel something trying to force itself out of your throat. Time seemed to slow down as your jaw muscles began to move on their own.

“Applejack I…”

She looked away from you, and instead began to look at her own hooves on the blanket. Time suddenly sped up again. You Noticed she was still trembling.

“…come on Applejack, like you practiced or you’re gonna lose him…”

“I’m sorry Applejack, what did you just say?” You asked as you tried to make out the whisper you had just heard.

“I-I said I’ll take you up on that offer to lend me your jacket…”

“Oh! Okay, give me a second.”

Whatever was running through your mind in regards to that whisper, suddenly went somewhere else as you began to pull the buttons loose on the front of your jacket to open. Once you got the last one undone, you opened it up to take it off, but froze as something unexpected happened.

No sooner had you opened up your jacket, that Applejack had pushed herself into your chest. Her head had nestled into your neck while one of her forelegs pressed against your chest and the other wrapped itself around the side of your waist. Her trembling had stopped.

“That really is a warm jacket sugahcube…”

No words came out of you as your arms moved of their own accord, and you closed the jacket around you both. It didn’t close all the way, but your arms wrapped around her were enough to keep it snug.

You both stayed like that for so long, you could definitely tell it was starting to get colder as the sun sank further off into the horizon. Neither of you had said anything. The only clear sound emanating from the both of you had been the sound of your breathing. Both oddly relaxed, even though your thoughts were doing a mile a minute.

“… Ah can’t do anything right.”

“Hmm?...” Your mind managed to blurt out as you slowly broke free of its thoughtful stride.

“Applejack? What’s wro-”

“How do you do it?...”

By the sound of her voice, it had been obvious hers had been doing the same.

“Do what, Applejack?”

You felt the mare in your arms push off your chest, and you looked down to meet her gaze. Her eyes looked... like she had been crying?

“This…” Her hoof pushed against your chest again as she spoke, as if trying to squeeze something out of you. “Become ah part of all our lives… become an important part of mine…”

Something in your thoughts tripped and you suddenly found it extremely hard to think as she kept her hoof on your chest, over your heart. You could see her eyes scanning your face, looking for something, for some kind of sign that you understood her question. That you understood what she was trying to say.

Unfortunately though, your mind hadn’t processed everything properly before it had decided to take a leave of absence… and you blurted out the first thing that even showed a glimmer of being a possible answer.

“Applejack, I’m just moving out. I’ll still be working here at the orchard… I’m not going anywhere unless you want me to.”

Nothing happened for a while. Applejack just stayed as she had been, pushed away from you on one hoof as she gazed upon your face. Slowly, her green emeralds eyes had been disappearing underneath her Stetson hat as she lowered her head, and her whole body trembled.

“Applejack? I just don’t get why it’d be so bad for me to mov-”

“No… just… don’t say anything you idjet.”

You couldn’t see her face anymore, just her trembling. So without saying anything, you pulled her back into your chest and wrapped your jacket around her like you had before. She didn’t resist or anything.

Both of you stayed like that till the sun finished setting. After that, you walked her home, and then you spent the night in the barn, for the last time at Sweet Apple Acres.

__________

Oh son of a...

You suddenly woke up with a startle as your hand flew to your forehead and gave off a resounding smack as it contacted. It stung, a lot, but after a second or two you opened up your eyes and looked around. The filtering light of the morning sun through the cave entrance greeted you. The camp fire was already lit, and on the opposite side of it was Big Macintosh with a raised eyebrow and confusion clearly on his face as he looked at you.

“Is that how ya always wake up in the mornings?”

You simply looked at him and shook your head as you realized what the dream had been about.

Applejack had tried to tell you how she felt back then, right before you finished moving out into your own place. You had completely missed the meaning of her actions and words, and had ended up saying the most idiotic thing you could have come up with.

“No… no… only when I realize I’m an idiot.”

“Ah… so then ya do wake up like that every morning.”

A nod of your head was the only reply Big Macintosh got in return. After that little revealing dream, you didn’t really feel like arguing, or coming up with a comeback for that matter.

Big Macintosh seemed oddly disappointed at that as he chewed his straw in thought. But none the less, there were more important things to take care of first.

“So, what ya’ll reckon we should have for breakfast?”

“I don’t know Big Mac… maybe we can find some fruit?”

“OH! OH! How’s about some cupcakes!?”

“Well ah don’t reckon we’ll find cupcakes growing on ah bush out here.”

“OH! OH! Then how’s about some birthday cake?”

“I think that’s the same problem Big…Mac…”

Your eyes widened as you stared at Big Macintosh across the campfire. You were certain that your expression was an exact copy of his horrified one, if only in human form. In unison, you both looked off to the side, towards the back of the cave.

“WEEEEE!”

“KYAAA-OOF!”

It all happened so fast…

“OHMYGOSH!I’VEBEENLOOKINGEVERYWHEREFORYOU!IEVENWENTDOWNTOSWEETAPPLEACRESTOSEEIFYOU-”

All you were able to register was a pink blur, laced with the smell of sweets and confectioneries…

“SOTHENIWENTTOASKBERRYPUNCHBUTSHESAIDSHESAWYOUINTHEMORNINGSOTHENISTEPPEDOVERCARAMELASINCEHEWASSTILLTWITCHINGONTHEFLOORAND-“

And now, all you could register was a stream of words as you noticed that a certain pink earth pony was currently pinning you the ground, her face inches from yours.

“RUN BIG MAC! SAVE YOURSE-“

You had managed to look away from Pinkie Pie long enough to shout a warning… only to realize that Big Macintosh wasn’t in the cave anymore. He was easily now about thirty yards away from the cave, running at a full gallop.

“TRAITOR!!”

“EEYUUUPPPPP!”

“LOVE ME!!”

It all happened so fast… again. A butter yellow comet with a pink mane had shot down from the sky as soon as Big Macintosh had broken out from underneath the cover of the trees. He was gone in the blink of an eye, tackled into some bushes and out of sight by his heat crazed wife.

You felt your heart slightly sink with grief at the sudden lost of your friend.

“NNOPE FLUTTERSHY! BANANA! BANA-GYAAA!”

Only slightly sink with grief though. He had just abandoned you to a fate worse than death. And speaking of which…

You turned your face to look back at Pinkie Pie, and your nose bumped against hers.

“OH MY GOSH! You and I are going to have sooooo much fun back at Sugarcube Corner, I can’t wait for you to see the party going on in my room!”

Oh crud…

Author's Note

Would like to apologize for the blank update. Apparently when you're tired, Edit and Publish look extremely alike. Especially if they're right next to each other. This chapter was written while sick, so i may come back to fix a few things. Not sure how it'll hold up with my other updates.

Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro.

Ready, Set, GO! - Trying to Keep Up With Laughter.

[Heads up! This chapter has something that could, if you use your imagination, be considered clop. You have been warned!]

Although you had acclimated well to Equestria, within certain aspects at least, there were always uncertainties around every corner. Early on you encountered sickness, having gotten sick with a very bad cold. But lucky for you, the hospital had an extremely capable doctor that was able to make up for your physiology, and they actually had a cure for the cold.

Food was always a challenge. You could never be certain of what would agree with your system or not, and on more than one occasion, trying out something new had not been a pleasant experience. For you or those that had to witness it.

And of course, there was always the issue of fitting in, constantly trying to make a conscious effort not to be involved in any cultural faux pas.

Not an easy thing, to cram a childhood of learning cultural and social norms into the span of a few months.

However, if there was an uncertainty that was always at the forefront of your mind, it would have to be the first one you ever encountered when you first arrived in Equestria…

Was it all real?

It was a logical concern to have, the worry of being crazy. As far as you knew, you could be in a padded cell running around in circles, lost in your own head and a delusional world.

You knew that wasn’t the case though.

Between being experimented on by Twilight Sparkle, the town you lived in constantly being under threat of destruction and peril, you being able to live among its citizens like it were normal to be around talking ponies, and now you being chased by horny said citizens… You were pretty sure that not having lost your sanity so far was a good sign you hadn’t lost it before.

At least you hoped it was…

“More punch?”

“Yes, thank you Pinkie.”

Given what had happened though, you were pretty sure you should just drop the issue all together.

“OH OH! Maybe Gummy wants to have another go at pin the tail on the pony!”

But then again, Pinkie Pie kind of always had that effect on you.

“I’m actually surprised he’s so good at it…”

“Hehe, you should see him dance!” Pinkie Pie replied with an infectious giggle

You gladly accepted that infectious giggle as you looked across Pinkie’s room towards the wall with the poster of a pony. Gummy, blinking unevenly, was still hanging off a tail that had been near perfectly pinned on the pony.

The sight only made you smile more as you slowly began looking around the room and took note of everything you saw. You weren’t really sure how you got there, it was all kind of a blur. You seemed to recall there being a floating cow and doors along the way. But that didn’t really matter though. She had not been kidding when she said there was a party in her room, even if it was just you, her, and Gummy.

All around you, streamer, balloons, and confetti littered the room like if some kind of explosion had gone off. On the ceiling, banners were hung with festive ribbons holding up the corners. You read one of the banners and looked back at Pinkie Pie as you made to grab your glass of punch.

“Pinkie? Who’s birthday is it?”

The pink pony just began hoping in place in her chair as her ever present smile grew even bigger.

“Why silly, it’s for all the new babies being made of course!”

“Oh… I see…” You managed to utter out as you kept looking at her and took a sip of your punch.

“Yeah, I thought calling it a ‘Happy Messy Fun Time’ party wouldn’t fit too well. But aren’t birthday parties the best?!”

“Yeah… I guess they are.” You replied as you looked down at your empty plate and set down your glass of punch.

That had been your third slice of birthday cake. You couldn’t help but wonder if that was really the best choice for a breakfast. But then again, it was really good cake.

However, party food aside, that did spark and interesting question on your part.

“Pinkie, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure you can silly! OH! I bet you want more cake!”

“What? No no, I’m good for now. It’s just that-”

“Oh Oh! Do you want more ice cream then?”

“No, it’s not food related. I want to ask-”

“OH! I know then! You want a different color party hat!”

You didn’t even get a chance to reply as you felt something pull tight and smack against the top of your head. You turned to get a cursory look at a mirror near her bed and you saw that you now had two party hats on. You were pretty sure the pink pony hadn’t even moved, and you could feel something twitch on your face, around the region of your eye.

Maybe it was your eye.

You couldn’t be too sure though, because your gaze didn’t linger on the mirror as you slowly turned to look at Pink Pie. She was still sitting across the table looking at you contently. A sigh was all that managed to come out as you gave up and just went for it, side treks be damned.

“Pinkie?”

“Yes?”

“Why aren’t you trying to boink me like everypony else?”

The pause that followed your question lingered as you both continued to look at each other. Pinkie’s smile didn’t even falter as her smiling eyes lingered on yours.

“Okie dokie loki!”

“Hu-WHAT!?”

You blinked.

You freaking blinked!

She was gone…

Your head swung left to right in a vain attempt to find out where she went. The only thing you saw move was Gummy when he let go of the fake pony tail and fell to the ground. You looked behind you, not wanting a repeat of the cave. Yet, you saw no pony, so you ventured a guess and looked at the next place you may not expect her to be. The ceiling…

“P-pinkie?” You called out as you scanned the rafters and tried to look around the happy birthday banners.

Something under the table moved and suddenly grabbed your waist and pulled you down halfway off the chair. Your arms slammed on the table to stop your sudden decent, knocking over cups and decorations. Your mouth opened to try and scream a manly battle cry, but didn’t get far as your chin did a much better job at stopping you from being pulled down further.

Your consciousness faltered a bit. You could swear you saw stars as things became blurred.

However, as soon as you felt your pants get pulled down and off your ankles, as something warm and wet licked the inside of your thigh, you managed to force the darkness away if only enough to utter a few words.

“P-pinkie stop!”

No reply came and no matter how much you kicked your legs, you couldn’t get enough purchase or force to break free and pull yourself up. The position you were in didn’t leave you much to work with.

Something nuzzled you between your legs, and the hot breath you felt radiate through your boxers left no doubt in your mind as to what it was. Your body reacted almost immediately and you regretted not wearing the boxers with the button-up fly in the front. That open fly wasn’t so convenient now.

“Boop!”

Your eyes shot wide as you felt her poke your arousal with her nose and her tongue caressed the front underside of it. For whatever reason, that sparked something, and all communication from your brain to your legs suddenly shut off. Your arms held on to the table like if it were the last lifeboat on a sinking ship. Your body knew what was about to happen as much as you did.

Should’ve just shut up and had more cake!... Was all your thoughts could shout out before those too decided to turn off with what happened next under the table.

“Mmmm…”

That was the only sound you were able to discern as a pleasant sensation shot up your body and made everything tingle. Your entire focus became firmly set on what the pink pony under the table had just done and kept doing to your arousal. Against your will, your body was reacting and really getting into it. Your own thoughts weren’t too far off either.

It was really starting to feel good. Way better than when Fluttershy was rubbing you down in the shed, and a vague thought told you that she was barely getting started. It came from a part in your mind that demanded you find out how the rest of her party down below went. And that part of your mind was starting to overcome the rest of you.

Involuntarily, you let out a grunt and your hip threatened to thrust forward as you barely restrained yourself. Whatever little control you had left, you were quickly losing.

“Oooh, you liked that, huh?” You were barely able to make out as she cooed and continued to lather you up with her tongue.

Again you felt it, this time traveling up the opposite side, up and down in deliberately slow successions. More grunts emanated from you and your guard dropped as you lost the last bit of control you had left.

Without any more restraint, you thrusted forward, and what greeted was the realization that she had been waiting for you to do that. The warm wet sensation that greeted you lingered at the end of your arousal and your eyes closed as your primal instincts forced you to focus on the twirling of her tongue, followed by a kiss. That other part of your mind took control, and you realized what part it was. The part that told you it was tired of being blue balled since the day before.

And you honestly found yourself not caring…

Wow, when was the last time I felt this?

Why had I been running from this in the first place?

Why hadn’t I just given in at the shed with Fluttershy?

The twirling stopped and instead you felt the culprit press itself against the underside of your arousal. You felt her lips, soft and moist, and felt them part as an encompassing warmth took you in. Pinkie Pie didn’t take you in far, only the first inch or two. She had other plans for you.

That part of you that now held on to the reigns was eager to find out.

You didn’t have to wait long though as you felt the pressure on you arousal, and then a slight suckling sound emanated from underneath the table. The slight suckling-like motion she employed on you made you drag your nails across the table as you grunted again. She was like she was trying to coax something out of you, and you knew your body would comply if she continued… and you didn’t want to stop it.

That sucking sensation lingered at the edge for a second or a millennia, you really couldn’t be sure, before it pulled back and left you twitching down below, wanting to experience more of it.

Should’ve just given in at the start of it all, when it was…

“Mmm, Applejack would have loved how you taste!”

A neuron fired somewhere in your mind and lit a spark as a single word rang out through the primal fog that engulfed you.

… Applejack…

“I bet the frosting tastes even better!”

NO!

Your eyes immediately shot open as your arms let go of the table. The chair you were half leaning on shot out from under you as your full weight fell on it and you hit the ground. Your head gave a resounding bounce and you felt your wound from the day before re-open, but you didn’t care.

The sudden fall had loosened Pinkie Pie’s grip around your waist and you weren’t about to waste that opportunity as your elbow slammed against the floor and you used the momentum to roll out from her grasp.

“Hey! WHOAAA!” Was all Pinkie Pie managed to yell out as she fell off of you.

As soon as your stomach touched the ground, you used your non-banged up arm to push yourself up and get your feet underneath you. A grunt emanated from you as you tumbled out from underneath the table and forced yourself upright, immediately regretting it as a bout of nausea overtook you and the floor welcomed you again.

There were only so many times a human could bang their head like that before it caught up with them. But you weren’t about to let that stop you.

You managed to lift yourself up on your knees and began to crawl and drag yourself across the spinning room.

You needed to get away, and fast. Pinkie Pie was likely getting ready to pounce on you again and finish what she started.

You weren’t too far off.

“WEEEEE!”

You barely managed to turn around, and for your troubles you received the full impact of an earth pony landing on your waist. Lucky for you though, she missed what you assumed was her intended target. Something like that would have probably snapped it in two.

There wasn’t really much time to think about ‘what if’ scenarios though. Pinkie Pie, by the looks of it, wasn’t about to wait for you to recover from that body slam as her fore hooves pressed down on your shoulders and she pinned you down.

“Aw, don’t worry your pretty little head… Auntie Pinkie is going to make you feel good.”

The adrenaline coursing through you must have had a weird effect in regards of survival instincts as this comment triggered a memory that didn’t paint a pretty picture.

You suddenly remembered what your aunt looked like back home.

“Hey, what happened to your thingie?” The pink pony asked in disappointment as she pushed herself back and found you lacking enthusiasm.

Thank you Aunt Myrtle…

There was no time to linger on that thought though. In fact, you were still trying to get rid of the horrible image that comment had painted, but you were going to have to fight through it. Pinkie Pie was still distracted looking at your boxers like if they were some kind of puzzle. If you were going to do something, now was the time to do it.

“Pinkie!” You raised your voice as you took a hold of her face and forced her to look at you.

You weren’t trying to be mean, but in your previous interactions with the party pony, you had found this was the best method to get her to pay attention.

“I don’t want to have sex with you!”

“You don’t?”

“No!”

“Oh! Okie dokie loki then!”

Her reply had come swift as she simply shrugged her shoulders and jumped off your waist. You closed your eyes as you winced, thinking she was going to make another attempt at your non-existent arousal, but instead you opened them to see she was bouncing merrily back towards the table.

Something in your mind came to a screeching halt as you watched Pinkie Pie take her original seat and settled into it. She was smiling at you contently, like before, as if she had not just tried to break your hip.

“Pinkie…” You said as evenly as you could as you managed to sit up and not feel like the room was spinning.

“Yes?”

“Why are you being so coherent about this?”

“What’ya mean silly?”

What DID you mean by that? If your interactions with Fluttershy had been any indication, Pinkie Pie should have been bouncing on top of you like if she were trying to break the floor beneath.

Yet, there she was. Pinkie Pie, the pony that had made Big Macintosh run away in fear was, against what would be expected, just sitting in her chair. She had stopped when you managed to get her to listen. And, as far as you could tell, it wasn’t a trick.

Something in your head began to pulsate with the telltale signs of an oncoming headache, besides the one you already had from banging your head… again. Your mind tried desperately to make sense of what was going on.

“I thought the heat drove all the mares crazy…”

“Uh huh?”

“Then… Why aren’t you, you know, heat crazy?” For some reason you felt you had to be specific on what kind of crazy you were referring to.

“Oh! I’m not in heat right now silly! Mine was two months ago!”

You only blinked as you kept looking at her and saw her give you a wink as she began to clean up the mess you made on the table. That familiar twitching eye sensation from before came back in full swing as you tried your best to understand what that meant. You knew what SHE meant, but you couldn’t figure out what IT meant… if that made any sense at all.

Eventually though, you decided the best approach would be to jump right into the crazy pool.

“Then if you aren’t in heat, WHY were you trying to boink me?!”

“Oh, well, you asked me to and umm…” Pinkie Pie suddenly spoke in a whisper as her smile disappeared a bit and she looked at you from across her room as if she were looking at an injured puppy. “I just thought you might be available cause you turned Applejack down and didn’t want to be her stallion anymore…”

Minutes slowed to a crawl as you processed what she had just said. You hadn’t turned Applejack down. If anything, it had been the opposite of that, you had desperately wanted to be with her, but, the only thing prevented you from doing as such had been that you were too doubtful and insecure about yourself to properly respond.

“Pinkie, I didn’t turn down Applejack... She told me how she felt and she was pretty determined to make me her stallion…” You said as you rubbed the back of your head and winced as your finger grazed your wound.

“OH MY GOSH! She told you?!” Pinkie Pie practically squealed out between giggles as she began to bounce in her chair and clap her hooves.

“Yeah, excep-”

“OH! I should make you two a party to celebrate!”

“Pinkie wait a-”

“We can call it a, ‘I Finally Told My Special Somepony How I Felt’ party!”

“No, Pinkie wait-”

“Oh you’re right! Too long, how’s about a ‘How I Meet Your Mother’ Party!”

“Wait, what?! Pinkie just be quiet for-”

“I bet you two had a lot of happy messy fun times after she told you!”

That did it. What little patient you had left for this particular conversation vanished as you crossed the room towards the table, reached across said table, and took a hold of her cheeks to get her to look at you.

“Pinkie…”

“Yesh?” She replied as you pressed her cheeks together.

“Applejack and I didn’t have happy messy fun times…”

“You didn’t?”

“No…”

Pinkie Pie’s expression changed to one of confusion as you kept a firm hold of her face. You swore you could hear the gears turning inside her noggin.

“Then why are you here trying to get into my pants silly, when Applejack is looking all over for you?”

“Pinkie, you aren’t wearing pants…”

“Right, and that says a lot about you failing to get into them!”

“I wasn’t trying to get into your non-existent pants! I was simply trying-wait… What?”

“What what?”

Well, apparently Pinkie Pie’s gears weren’t the only ones that needed to be put through their motions. Although this could perhaps be attributed to you constantly banging your head like if you were at a rock concert. It did take you a few seconds longer to reword the phrase in your mind, extract the information you needed, and then word it into a comprehensible question.

“W-what did you mean Applejack is looking all over for me?”

Pinkie Pie’s face suddenly changed into one of concern as she brought one of her hooves to her chin in a thoughtful manner. You let go of her cheeks to let her contemplate your question. You needed her to answer, and you didn’t want to give her any excuse to not answer it.

“Well…” She let out as her voice matched her concerned expression. “When I saw her she looked really really sad and worried. Said she couldn’t find you anywhere…”

“S-she’s been looking for me?”

“Uh huh, Applejack said she had been looking for you all day and night.”

“All night? Pinkie, w-when did you see Applejack?”

“Right before I found you… I think she had been crying for a long time too.”

You didn’t saying anything. You really couldn’t say anything. A lump had formed in your throat when you heard these words. Applejack had spent a whole day and night looking for you. She had, and still was worried, sad, and crying.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Applejack look like that before either. She didn’t look very Applejack-like. I even asked her to come to the party, but she didn’t say anything.” Pinkie Pie finished saying as her ears drooped and hear smile turned into a sigh.

The full extent of your actions had come into light. And what you saw, made you feel like you were drowning in quick sand, unable to escape and afraid to struggle for fear of a quicker demise.

You thought you would only have to apologize for running away from her and being so stupid on Hearts Warming Eve. But the reality of it was you had been ignorant to her feelings on that day, and now, you had run away from her, twice... in the barn, and at the orchard.

In your urge to get away and try to not confront what was going on, you had trampled her feelings. Worst of all though, she had accidentally injured you and you had wondered off after she left. You could not imagine how she had felt. She had told you, through tear soaked eyes… through those beautiful emerald green eyes… not to move, that she was going to get help.

And you had left. You had ran away like every other stallion in town, faraway into the woods.

But she did not know that.

As far as she knew, something from the Everfree Forest had come out and snatched you away.

And now, here you were, back in Ponyville near the opposite side of town, eating cake and drinking punch at a birthday party… before nearly giving in to your lust and into Pinkie Pie’s ministrations.

Many emotions were running through you, now that you knew what you had done. Hopelessness, self-disappointment, self-loathing, anger… all of these seemed ready to tear you down. But, oddly enough, you found yourself putting one above all, and it was enough to make up your mind on what you had to do now.

“Pinkie…”

“Yeees?”

“I love Applejack…”

There was a long pause after you said this. Saying that emotion aloud was more than enough to set your mind at rest, and filled you with determination. And, by the looks of it, that was not lost on Pinkie Pie. For the first time that you could recall, Pinkie Pie looked at you with what could only be her version of a serious expression. It made you feel oddly even more relaxed about what you were about to do.

“And I need to go find her and apologize… at Sweet Apple Acres… on the other side of town…”

Pinkie Pie’s smile grew at your words and she began nodding her head eagerly as you stepped away from the table and walked towards the door to her bedroom. You stopped as you reached out to grab the doorknob, and a grin appeared across your features.

“Thank you for the birthday party Pinkie… and for bringing me back to Ponyville.”

“Oh you’re welcomed silly wily!” She replied as she waved a dismissive hoof and used the other to grab a piece of cake and tossed it into her mouth.

“Couldn’t you have at least, you know, brought me back to Sweet Apple Acres instead of Ponyville?”

“OH! I guess I could have huh? But that wouldn’t be as much fun though!”

The only replay that came from you was a disbelieving shake of your head as you let out a slight chuckle and pushed the door open. You stepped through it, and closed it behind you as the dark hallway welcomed you.

Oh, yay… a dark hallway. This seems fitting…

____________

The walk down the hallway and stairs was deliberately slow. There had been no urgent need to rush. You were pretty sure you’d be doing plenty of that in a few minutes. Right now though, you just wanted a moment to go through your half-assed plan in your head.

Applejack was at Sweet Apple Acres, assuming she had not gone to look for you elsewhere or worst yet, given up on you.

That thought alone made your stomach suddenly feel tight, but you fought it off as you tried to continue laying out your plan. You would make things right with Applejack, but to do that, you needed to get to her first.

Between you and her, stood a town of horny mares ready to have their way with you over and over again till you were senseless. Many of them were earth ponies, although there was still a healthy mixture of pegasus ponies, and unicorn ponies. Thanks to Big Macintosh, Celestia rest his poor spent and abused namesake, you had a basic idea of how to 'combat' each of them… if you were a pony that is.

You were a human, so that complicated things. You had a far more limited stamina reserve but, to your surprise, you were slightly faster, if not on par with, most earth ponies. With a few exceptions, of course. So running as fast and as long as you could would have to be your main weapon.

The next issue of course, was that you didn’t have wings. Pegasus ponies would easily overtake you by flying. But, lucky for you or at least you hoped, your bipedal form lent you with a bit more agility than what you had seen most ponies be capable of. So hopefully that would be enough to dodge a pegasus once or twice.

The only real concern for you though, was magic. Aside from a few sly of hand card tricks you knew, you really didn’t’ have anything to use against it. You would pretty much be done for if you got caught by unicorn. Even more so if it was with a levitation spell. Your only hope to survive them would be to use your head and your speed as most unicorns were not known for physical finesse. You also knew most spells, not all though, worked on line of sight principle. So maybe, if you got lucky, you could hide behind something before a spell took full effect.

So that’s the plan, huh? Dodge, hide, and run as fast and as long as I can... Your thoughts called out as you stopped in the middle of Sugarcube Corner.

As far as half assed plans went, you had to admit that the one you were about to employ was rather basic. Still, there was no point in stressing about it. You needed to do this. Not just for you, but for Applejack.

That thought alone was enough to fill you with determination, and you took in the sight around you as you relished the calm before the storm a bit longer.

The lights were off and a warm glow from the outside sun shone through the windows, casting a comforting still light across the room and its displays. The display cases were empty, of course, a sure sign that Mr. and Ms. Cake were either not here or were too busy to open for the day. Even if that was the case though, the room was still filled with the fresh smells of a bakery, and you could almost picture the throng of ponies lining up to get the freshest selections first right before they went to join their friends at one of the tables that were scatter across the shop.

A small smile formed across your face as you looked at these very tables. Many months ago, those tables had been stacked with pastries and decorations. Fruit punch, cakes, muffins, donuts, pies, everything had been put out for everypony to enjoy as they gathered around the tables and talked among themselves and the guest of honor.

You had stood back then, right in the same spot you stood now, below a giant banner that displayed your name and warm message of “Welcome to Ponyville!” written in Pinkie Pie’s mouthwriting.

It had been your welcome party, skillfully planned and carried out by Pinkie Pie and her friends after things had settled down after your impromptu arrival, and the ponies of Ponyville had lost most of their fear of you. Many ponies had shown up. Some had been as eager as Twilight to find out about you, asking you all sorts of questions. Other had been more reserved, choosing to approach you cautiously but determined to at least say hello.

Many of them had become very good friends in the months that followed.

Almost all of them were likely outside those doors, ready to chase down the first stallion they saw.

And it was time to give them what they wanted, but by Celestia, you were going to make them work for it.

You calmly walked towards the door and stretched out your arm as you took the doorknob in your hand and turned it to pull back the bolt. You didn’t open it yet though, choosing instead to take another second or two to calm your nerves.

To your surprise, you didn’t find any nervousness, but instead determination. Set strong and firmly at your core because of the mare that occupied your final thoughts.

I’ll see you in a bit, Applejack…

With that final thought, you flung open the door as the light from outside blinded you and you stepped outside. The door closed behind you with a resounding click.

____________

It didn’t take long for your eyes to adjust, and already you could see colorful blurs taking shape.

As you blinked a few more times, you could see that the colorful blurs were increasing in quantity, one or two at a time with each blink. You could see what you assumed to be the blurs’ heads looking in your direction. Your ears had begun to hear slight murmuring voices as soon as the door had closed behind you.

Eventually though, your eyes adjusted and you looked at what was in front of you. You kind of which you hadn’t waited that long to let your eyesight adjust to the bright light.

“Um… Hi everypony…” You said lamely as you suddenly found yourself with a plan B.

“I don’t suppose you’d all be willing to just ignore me and let me go about my business, huh?”

“GET HIM!”

And like that, you were back to plan A as you broke out running at full speed towards the exit of town that led to Sweet Apple Acres. The ground beneath you shook like an earthquake, but the shrills that came from behind you were enough to convince you not to stop.

“HE’S MINE!”

“I SAW HIM FIRST!”

“HEY YEASH, SHTOP *HIC* RUMMING!”

“GO HOME BERRYPUNCH YOU’RE DRUNK!”

“STOP RUNNING HOT STUFF!”

“FAT CHANCE!” You yelled back as you poured more speed and stamina into your stride.

Plan A was going to need a revision soon, and your thoughts were currently too preoccupied with something far more important.

Oh crud oh crud oh crud…

Author's Note

This chapter had a lot of rewrites, thus the lapse in a sort of weekly update. I think I'm doing weekly. Not sure... One factor in this was that I'm moving, so that kind of broke my train of thought a few times. However, I hope everypony enjoys this update. Things are about to get interesting for you... Bwahahaha.

Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro.

Another Jog Through Town - Avoiding The Neighbors.

[Heads up! This chapter has something that could, if you use your imagination, be considered clop. You have been warned!]

The town of Ponyville by comparison to some of the few other towns you had had the privilege to visit during your near one year of residency, was not a very big town. It was a decent sized town, yes, without a doubt. But when compared to cities like Canterlot and Manehattan, which were of course required stop sites for a new species such as yourself, both for political and tourist reasons. The size of a town like Ponyville was, to put it bluntly, diminutive.

Now of course, that is not to say that the town was without its charms. It was well beyond that and more. The town of Ponyville, like most towns its size, had the required infrastructures to properly function and prosper, and in and of itself, Ponyville was a rather beautiful town.

It was simplistic, yet complex enough to have something for everypony to enjoy. It was rustic, yet modern enough to have the latest fashions and forms of entertainment. And, above all, it was filled with plenty of tasty restaurants and incredible shops for somepony to whittle hours away perusing.

Like the store that sold sofas and quills. Although admittedly Twilight dragged you that one, but you still managed to find a suitable sized sofa. So it wasn’t a total lost.

Yes, Ponyville was great! It had its Town Hall, located in the center of town. There, the administrative duties of running the town could be handled by the capable hooves of the ponies that worked within, like Mayor Mare. It even functioned better than any government building back home, without computers, imagine that.

From there, only a few blocks away, was the market district. There, ponies like Rose, Lily, Daisy, and Applejack could sell their produce and wares to the townsfolk. Haggling though, was still something new and alien for you, but if you needed to find something, the surest place to find it was there.

And from there, intersected between the two and around in a radius, were of course the residential districts. Two and one story houses made of wood and thatched roofs, each with its main entrance facing the street, while a humble a back entrance led to the alleyways that intersected all around town like a spider’s web.

And all around these areas and in between, without any semblance of planning involved, were of course the shops and restaurants that made up the entertainment for the town.

Damn it… I can’t believe they did that!

And, if you were inclined enough to make it your home, as you had been, it was a rather easy town to get around in if you took the time to learn the major streets and locations of certain destinations.

I-it’s almost like they planned it…

Now of course, if you were forced to take the smaller streets and alleyways repeatedly, that was a different story. Experience had thought you that that was a surefire way to get lost.

I can’t even tell where the buck I am!

Apparently though, the day was turning out to be a double experience day for you to enjoy.

“Damn… clever…girls…” You let out in ragged breaths as windows, doors and trash cans zoomed by you.

So far, your plan to run towards Sweet Apple Acres through a town of heat crazed mares had not gone, well… as planned.

Although admittedly, seeing as you stepped out of Sugarcube Corner into a street filled with horny mares while barefoot and just wearing your boxer shorts, it was easy to see your plan had some glaring faults to begin with.

Oh buck! That’s the same door I ran by minutes ago!

The alleyways were starting to look familiar to you, but after running for what felt like hours on end, your mind was so tired and bogged down you probably would not have been able to tell the difference between an apple and a banana. So many left and right turns had made sure you didn’t know which way or which street you had just ran through.

But thankfully though, that had made it difficult for the mares to pinpoint your location as well, even with pegasus ponies flying above. Losing sight of you for extended periods of time had obviously had its toll on them as well... even if it had led to some interesting developments.

They had been resourceful.

Instead of hunting you blindly, the heat crazed mares had now taken to roaming the streets and alleyways in groups of three. Admittedly, the prospect of running away from a threesome had never crossed your mind when you lived on earth, but you really didn’t want to know what would happen if they found you.

Well, you had a basic idea, but still...

“GET HIM!”

“OH BUCK!”

Firsthand experience was something you were very determined not to take a part in.

Three mares suddenly blocked the exit to the alleyway you were running through. No unicorns, all earth ponies, so that was a small relief for you.

You immediately threw the brakes and felt the skin on your bare feet scrape against the ground as you kicked up a cloud of dust. Your legs and feet burned with the sudden deceleration and strain on your muscles, but you didn’t care. Adrenaline had long since become your fuel to keep moving, second only to the emotion that drove you to your goal.

Please wait a bit longer Applejack! I swear I’ll at least reach you to apologize…

You wasted no time in doing an immediate turn and headed back down the path you had just come from. Your legs pumped as hard, and as fast, as you could to make up for the lost speed. Every breath you pulled into your lungs made your throat feel like you had swallowed needles and every frantic beat of your heart resonated with every pained thumping sensation in your head.

A familiar corner suddenly flashed through your vision and your arms slam on the opposite wall, quickly followed by your body as you force yourself to make the turn and go down that alleyway. Only a small fraction of your speed was lost, but you quickly regained it.

The sound of scrapping hooves attempting to make the same turn, only to fail and overshoot it, was not too far off behind you and you immediately heard the familiar echoes from your pursuers ring out through the alleyway.

“Don’t lose sight of him again!”

“Sweet Celestia he’s nimble!”

“Mmmhmm, can’t wait to try him out!”

“GIRLS… PLEASE… RECONSIDER… WHAT… YOU’RE-OH BUCK!”

You came to a screeching halt as your mind raced to come up with a solution to what had just happened. Another group of mares had suddenly appeared in front of you, running at a full gallop towards you from the other end of the alleyway that led to a street. There was a unicorn with them, and you knew all too well who she was.

“WAIT! I JUST WANT TO ASK YOU A FEW QUESTIONS!” The sea foam colored unicorn suddenly called out as she ran towards you.

“Not now Lyra!” You yelled back as your feet danced on the ground, begging you to move.

You looked behind you at the 3 earth ponies closing in fast, and then back at Lyra and the two earth ponies with her, closing in equally as fast.

Three Earth ponies or two Earth ponies and a unicorn?!… Your mind practically screamed out in a frantic pitch as your body began to move in the direction it felt survival was more attainable.

You began running towards Lyra and her group.

“Wait! What are you doing?!”

“Get out of my way Lyra!”

“No!”

“MOVE LYRA! I DON’T WANT TO HURT YOU!” You screamed out as you regained your speed and momentum, and the gap between you two got smaller and smaller at an alarming pace. You had grown tired of running away, and what you were about to do, was to be expected if what Big Macintosh said had been true.

You were done running away. You were well past your endurance point, and your body screamed for survival at any cost. The time had come to pull out all the stops.

“W-wait! What are you doing?!”

You didn’t listen to her. Your feet simply pounded harder against the ground as you forced yourself to move forward. The two earth ponies with Lyra visibly poured on more speed as well, as they caught on to your plan.

“Looks like we got a rammer girls!” The mare to the left yelled out as she lowered her head and readied for impact.

“Oooh, I hope he rams me first!” The mare to the right yelled out as she too lowered her head for the impact.

You did the same as you pushed your left shoulder forward and readied for the impact. Mass was not on your side, but you hoped the momentum you were quickly building would be enough to clear you through it.

“MOVE!”

“S-Stop!”

You could clearly see Lyra’s eyes become smaller and smaller, almost to the point of pinpricks. She was starting to panic, but the two mares behind her made it impossible for her to stop he own charge or change course.

Too soon, the gap quickly vanished.

“N-No! STOPAAAHH!”

“KYAAAAA-OOF!”

The impact was tremendous and your whole body reverberated with the force and implications of what you had just done. Something in your shoulder had snapped, or at least it had felt like it, but the alternative had not been something you would have preferred.

Lyra was a good friend… even if she had been somewhat of a stalker when you first arrived.

And you weren’t about to hurt a friend, or anypony for that matter if you could avoid it.

Plus, what sane person tackles a horse? Especially one with a pointy horn?

At the last possible moment of your charge, with your traditional battle cry, you dove clear over Lyra’s head and well behind the two mares that followed her. You had dived head first, and as you impacted the ground behind her and the two mares, your shoulder had taken the full force of it. You managed to follow through with the dive though, and rolled into it. The momentum, unfortunately, had been enough to add an extra roll that had been nowhere near as graceful as the first one, and it had only served to aggravate your new injury.

As you came out of the second roll, you managed to push against the ground and got on your feet running, albeit with a noticeable wobble.

Your right hand flew to your left shoulder as it protested in pain, but you simply pushed it as far back into your mind as you could, and filed it along with the other protests your body was throwing at you. You needed to keep going, the exit of the alleyway was only a few steps away and a quick glance behind you told you your plan had worked better than you had thought.

You now had five mares chasing you, and one looking at you in shock. None of them had been hurt, especially Lyra. She instead stood in the middle of the alleyway, looking at you amazed as her horn glowed a golden hue and your boxers floated… next to her… head…

“OH COME ON!”

The exasperation you felt was clearly evident in your voice. You didn’t need to look down at yourself, the brisk breeze was enough to tell you that you had been pants mid-jump. You probably gave her a full view as you jumped over her and dangled it right in front of her eyes.

You hadn’t even noticed her horn flare up.

You did however notice that a delighted smile had begun to slowly spread across her face, right before you looked away and back towards the end of the alleyway.

An immediate shudder ran right through you, and it was well justified too. You knew that smile all too well. Lyra always got it when she had thought about something new to ask you about your world and your species. In some ways, she was just as inquisitive as Twilight, if not a bit more. But where Twilight’s questions were scientific and research-like, Lyra’s questions were just… random and born of sheer curiosity.

You were not looking forward to the questions that would stem from this little incident. But that little concern would have to wait. The end of the alleyway was approaching quickly, and that meant a whole new heap of problems for you.

You ran out into the small street. Out into the open… where your problems were swift, and dove from the sky in the form of horny pegasus mares.

The alleyways had made it too risky for them to dive down at you when they managed to spot you. But out in the open streets was a whole different matter.

“SHI-!”

You barely managed to dodge out of the way as you turned right on the corner out of the alleyway and immediately regretted it. A pegasus, whom you sparsely recognized as Flitter, had dove at you almost immediately. She missed, but her outstretched hoof as she reached for you still managed to hit you on the thigh. You could only imagine what she was reaching for, and was all too glad it hit you where it did. Yet, much to your annoyance, it was enough to cause you to lose your balance to the point that you were desperately trying to catch yourself from falling face first on the ground.

Your arms flayed around as you tried to keep yourself from falling forward, naked, which was much to the delight of some of the horny Pegasus mares flying above like vultures.

“Look ladies! We don’t have to unwrap our gift!”

“Why does he always wear clothing?”

“Mmm, dunno, but I like him a lot more without it!”

“GET HIM!”

You really needed to figure out who kept yelling that so you could share some choice words with her.

In your frantic flaying, out of the corner of your eye to the right, you saw a shadow dive at you. You cringed as you employed the only tactic available to you and forsaked the little balance you had maintained and dropped to the ground on all fours. The wind rushed past over your exposed self as Raindrops missed you by inches.

You couldn’t help but let out a hiss as your body protested the sudden meeting with the ground.

“Ssssweet Celestia my kneeAAHH!”

Your hands flew to your buttocks as you suddenly stood rigid on your knees. In your moment of weakness, a gray pegasus dove down and gave you a resounding spank. The heat radiating from the attack site on your posterior only allowed you to suck wind through clenched teeth and fixate your vision on the sky, where you immediately spotted your assailant as she took her position above you again.

“Oooh yes, nice and firm, just how I like it!”

“HOLY CRAP! DERPY WAI-!”

You barely managed to hop out of your kneeling position and fell to your left as you got out of the way. The ground where you had been kneeling shook with the force of the impact one second later and you dared to look back with barely contained horror.

What greeted you was the soured and scrunchy face of Derpy as you looked over at you.

“AW! No fair! I wanted you to taste my muffin!” Her voice had suddenly changed towards the end to one of lust as her expression also changed and gave you some of the most enticing bedroom eyes you’d seen... even if one eye was looking at the building off to your left, behind you.

You looked at the ground beneath her “muffin” and felt the color drain out of your face. Her rear had cracked the ground beneath her. You were no longer sure if they weren’t ACTUALLY trying to kill you with snu-snu, but Celestia be damned if you were going to stick around to find out.

The ground underneath you felt like liquid as you clawed at it to get yourself back up again and moving, running. More shadows were closing in on you, and as panic set in, you finally rose and broke out into a full sprint... or so you would have liked.

You immediately found yourself, literally, dancing out of the way as pegasus after pegasus dove at you.

There was no other option but to dodge, move forward, dodge again, move forward again. One agonizing step at the time. It was too late to turn back or head in a different direction. The commotion from the pegasus mares had only served to attract more mares, and both ends of the street were starting to look pretty filled with horny ponies running at you.

You needed to get off that street, and fast. You needed to get back into an alleyway to deter the skydiving pegasus mares and hopefully funnel the rest to prevent them from all chasing you at once.

But there was none to be seen. At least none you could see as you desperately continued to look back and forth between the sky filled with pegasus, and ground level as you dodged diving said pegasus.

Your body screamed in protest as every muscle burned with exertion and your injuries became more and more pronounced. You were also becoming increasingly aware that your vision was blurring with each painful thumping sensation that shot through your head. As a result, your reflexes became more and more muddled. Pegasus were increasingly landing more hits, bumps, and some even had the flare to lick you as they dove.

Suddenly, your worst fear came true. You hadn’t even noticed that the other mares had gotten so close.

It had only been a matter of time, but even knowing that, it was still frightening to say the least. That sensation of suddenly having control of your limb wrenched away from you like that had haunted you since your arrival.

A green magical field had coalesced around your left leg, right below the knee, and forced your leg down. You fell into a half kneeling position as the pegasus ponies stopped their attack, and some of them landed around you, smirking.

More magical fields of different colors began to coalesce all around your body. Legs, arms, chest, and even your exposed self became coated in these colorful hues as you valiantly tried to struggle against it.

The strain on your body was unbearable, but then again, humans were not meant to fight against magic.

Your body was slowly beginning to feel like it was being compressed in a giant vise from every possible direction and angle. But still, you did not stop struggling against it. Not even after it felt like your heart was about to explode.

But you had not come this far to stop, not now. It was all in or nothing at all…

I have to… apologize…

Slowly, so painfully slow, you began to rise to your feet.

“I have to… get to… her…”

And inch by inch, you slowly rose to a standing position.

“I have… to get… to…”

You rose to your full height, and forced one foot in front of the other as it dragged on the dirt.

“Applejack!”

“Okay Girls! Give him a few more!”

More magical fields coalesced around you before you suddenly found yourself lifted into the air and slammed against the ground on your back. Whatever unfathomable strength had pushed you forward, it left your prone self as you felt the all too familiar sensation on the back of your head and shadows closed in.

“D-Damn… it…”

As your thoughts faded to black, you could barely make out the sultry murmurs of the mares as they gathered around you, around their prize.

“He looks tasty!”

“I wonder how big he gets.”

“He sure put up a fight. You sure he’s okay?”

“Oh yeah, definitely... I think.”

“Think he has enough energy left?”

“Mmm, don’t care as long as his tongue works!”

Slowly, the voices started to fade more as you slipped further into unconsciousness. The pain that you suddenly realized was coursing through you body began to slowly fade as well. Oddly enough though, you found yourself not really carrying about it. It was a small comfort given what was about to happen to you.

I failed… You thought out as an image began to take form in your mind’s eye from within the shadows that now surrounded you. Little by little, it seemed like the shadows themselves fell like curtains on a bigger picture, and you soon found yourself staring at a star filled night sky.

“Maybe I can ask for you forgiveness after I’m done being pony-handled for the next two weeks…”

“Aw, don’t yah worry sucahcube, you tried…”

The image finally solidified, and you were no longer in the middle of a street in Ponyville, naked as the day you were born.

Instead, you found yourself sitting in an all too familiar area of the orchard. Applejack was looking up at you as you leaned against your usual tree. Her head was resting on your chest while your hand caressed and brushed her side in a loving manner. Her forelegs were wrapped around you while your other hand rested against her lower back, nestled, almost cradling her.

“I should have tried harder…” And you felt yourself hug her harder as you said this.

“Sugahcube… yah did more than any’ol pony worth their horseshoes would have…”

“Pony…” You paused for a second or two as the word left your lips with a heavy sigh.

So many of your current predicaments had stemmed from the meaning of that simple word, and how it contrasted with another simple word.

“Applejack, that’s because I’m a human, not a pony…”

“Yes, and ah still found mah’self wanting you, …”

Her hoof rose to your cheek as she said this and allowed your name to leave her lips in a dreamy whisper. You in turn moved your hand up from her side and placed it on her hoof, holding it against your cheek as you gave it a gentle squeeze and tried to convey as much emotion into that gesture as possible.

Applejack only smiled at you as her other hoof rose and hooked itself over your shoulder. She pulled herself up until she swung a hind leg over your waist and nestled against you. Your other arm followed her and wrapped around her to hold her against you, enjoying the warmth of her being so close to you.

“Then sugahcube, you’ve done more than any human would have … you’ve done enough…”

You found it impossible to stop yourself from looking at her emerald green eyes and getting lost in them. The storm had past. It was peaceful there with her, and you wanted to stay like that with her…

But the question that lingered in your mind, that prevented you from enjoying the moment, had already taken form long before you even knew it existed.

“Have I really?...”

The question broke out of your mind and found its way out through your lips as you held Applejack tighter against you.

You had run for hours on end. It had been close to the morning hours when you stepped out of Sugarcube Corner. And by now, last you to remembered, the sun had already crossed overhead and begun to make its path towards the horizon to the west.

Your muscles had felt exhausted, torn from the strain of running for so long. Your chest had burned with every frantic breath you had taken and with every fevered pounding of your heart. And above all that, your head had made sure its own plight had not gone unnoticed. You had been sure your vision had blurred more times than any neurologist would have ever deemed healthy.

And, although the bouts of nausea had been effective at keeping the mares away, it had been nowhere near enjoyable for you…

The repercussions of your actions for the last two days were going to weigh heavily on you. Not just physically, but mentally as well.

And yet…

You looked down at Applejack and focused again on her beautiful emerald green eyes, and you immediately knew what had to happen.

“Applejack, I…”

You knew she wasn’t really there, that you weren’t really there. You were laying in the middle of that street, naked, about to take part in the most unbalanced male to female orgy in history.

But was that really what you wanted?

Here, lost in your subconscious, you felt fine.

You felt no pain.

You felt no exhaustion.

Was it really so wrong to give up and rest for a while?

You paused as you rolled the question back and forth for a bit in your mind. Again, like the question from before, you found that this time, the answer to a question you didn’t even know was coming was already well cemented.

Applejack kept smiling at you as you continued to look into her emerald eyes. There was a sadness behind that smile that made your heart ache, but you knew there was not getting around it.

“You’re always so stubborn…” She suddenly spoke in a low whisper.

You couldn’t help but smile at that comment as you replied with an easy you knew came from the simplicity of knowing the right answer.

“Some would call that determination, you know?”

“Oh yeah? Well mah brother’s an idjet and so are you. No wonder you two get along as thick as thieves.”

Your smile broke out into full blown laughter as you hugged Applejack tighter. She wasn’t laughing though, but after a few seconds of trying to calm down, you managed to speak again.

“Oh Applejack… it’s not enough.”

“Ah know that…”

“I can still do more. I can still push harder… I think.”

“Ya’ll only end up getting more hurt then yah already are…”

“Yeah, I figured as much ...”

There was a long pause as you stared at each other in silence. You took the opportunity to take your hand off her hoof and run it through her mane. She looked away from you as a tear ran down her cheek, and was swept away by your thumb.

“Yah know ah may not be waiting for yah at the end of all this, right? Yah were kind of an inconsiderate dick to me…”

You broke out in laughter again as Applejack scrunched up her face and moved off of you and to the side. You slowly stood up and dusted yourself off as your laughter slowly died down into a knowing sigh.

“I know Applejack, and that’s why I have to do more than what I have so far, to make things right with you, with her. Even if it’s not a fairytale ending…”

Applejack simply kept looking at you and smirked at your comment before slowly shaking her head in disbelief. Eventually, her own laughter broke out and you found a certain determination stemming from it.

“Whatever happened to the guy that was too afraid to accept the possibility of a pony and a human being together?”

Your smile only grew as you knew this answer all too well as well, and closed your eyes as you tried to focus.

“Heh… he fell in love with a pony and now wants nothing more than to be with her.”

You were forcing your mind to look through the image in front of you. You could faintly hear whispers coming from all around you. And, even if your eyes were closed, you could still see Applejack looking up at you from her spot next to the tree. Her own smile had grown to match your own.

“Right then yah idjet… let’s do this!

The world around you began to fade again, to recede back into the shadows of your subconscious as you began to stir from being knocked out. You could scarcely feel the ground beneath you and whatever little breeze seemed to move around you. You were also starting to make out the murmurs from before, and they were getting louder.

A few of them began to come in clearer and clearer as your senses began to wake up further.

“Why isn’t it working?”

“I dunno, don’t ask me! I’m out of ideas anyways...”

“Are you sure that’s the right part?”

“Well, that’s what she said! Lyra, are you sur- take those off Lyra!”

“No! Finders keepers! And yes, that’s the right part…”

“Are you sure? Cause it isn’t doing anything…”

“Yes, I’m sure, just… don’t hurt him please.”

You slowly forced your eyes to open. All you could see was a yellow blur hovering over you. You couldn’t make out the face, but she was winking at you.

Slowly the rest of your body continued to wake up. Your hand twitched a bit as you forced some feeling into it. It must not have gone unnoticed because the pony looking down at you drooled and you felt it drip on your lips right before you head an excited shout.

“He’s awake!”

“Finally!”

Your eyes finally focused and you looked at the pony looking down at you, except… it wasn’t a pony.

It was a pony’s rear end hovering over you. The winking was coming from the pony’s arousal and what drooled onto your lips had been the liquid arousal of said pony. Your mouth opened reflexively to shout, but immediately regretted it.

“Holy Cele-mmmmhhh!”

“Hold him down!”

“My AHHH… p-pleasure…”

The pony on top of you had let herself fall on your face, and you got a second helping of her liquified arousal as your mouth contacted squarely with her winking lips. She let out a delighted moan as she began to grind against your mouth, squirming every time her lips forced themselves to brush against your teeth.

“AHHmmmhh g-good boy! Enjoy your aaahh m-mmmhh-meal!”

You struggled to get out from underneath her, but that only seemed to make her grind harder against you.

Surprisingly though, you realized you were no longer being held down by magic as on reflex, you threw your arms around her hips and grabbed on tight. If there was an opportunity to get out of this mess, this was it.

“Yes! That’s it! Eat my puAAAHH!”

You managed to summon up enough strength to roll her and yourself to the side. As soon as you rolled on top of her, you made to move off of her and only managed to get a knee underneath you before that all too frightening sensation overtook you again.

Magical fields began to coalesce around you again, as they had before, and you found yourself fighting to get up as that invisible force pressed on you from every angle. The strain you felt on your body was worst than before, but you grunted and ground your teeth as you poured every ounce of strength you could muster up. The pony beneath you moved out of the way and quickly blended in with the rest of the mares surrounding you, as your eyes began to scan the faces in the crowd.

In your entire time running, throughout all the time you spent dodging and weaving through corners, it was the first time that you got a good look at them. It was an honest look, through a not so frantic gaze.

Eyes, lost in a haze, stared back at you, unblinking. Not a single mare in the crowd had any semblance of a combed mane or coat. Some of them were sweating, while others panted and let out pained grunts and moans. The musk in the air was mind numbingly bitter.

Fear was threatening to overtake you as you realized that they all saw you as their chance for relief. And, as much as it pained you to feel as such, you didn’t care.

You only cared for one mare, and if she was even in half the state that these mares were, and not just because of want, but because of worry as well... you knew deep down that it was all your fault for not being honest about your feelings for her.

“Girls… listen… I know you t-think I’m the answer to this craziness…” You managed to force out as you felt your teeth barely part wide enough to get a sound out. “B-but I’m sorry… I’m n-not…”

No reply came from the crowd of mares.

“R-right now though… you are s-standing between me… and a m-mare I wronged… a mare I love…”

Still no reply came from the crowd.

“So believe m-me… when I-I say… that no matter what y-you do… I will not stop fighting you…”

Some eyes in the crowd slowly began to blink at you, and shallow murmurs began to reach your ears.

“Not until I reach h-her… Not until I’m by her side… N-not till I-I make things right… with Applejack!”

The strain was too much, and you felt something drip from your nose. You didn’t care. You meant every word of what you said, and you only continued to pour every last bit of whatever it was that kept you going. Even that though, was not going to last long.

Out of the corner of your eye, a pony came into view, and she was wearing an all too familiar pair of boxer shorts. Lyra stepped in front of you, and was looking down at you with a very concerned expression. You could only look up at her as you focused on not letting the strain and pain in your body overtake you.

Other faces in the crowd looked at you with concern as well.

“Umm, g-girls?... Maybe we should ease up a bit.” Lyra suddenly spoke to the crowd.

No immediate replies came from the heat crazed mares, but all around, the murmurs from before began to grow in volume and quantity. It gave you a small bit of comfort and hope. Perhaps you had some allies in all this horrible mess.

“Lyra… help…” Was all you managed to force out as you felt yourself slowly loose the battle for freedom.

Lyra didn’t answer though, but instead looked around at the crowd with clear uncertainty. Other faces in the crowd showed the same reaction, and some of the force behind the magic holding you down diminished. You immediately found yourself slowly standing up till you were half-way up… until a mare from within the crowd shouted in a lustful shriek and rushed at you.

You didn’t know who it was, you’d never seen her before, but it didn’t matter because she didn’t reach you…

Lyra had stood in front of you and had managed to cast her levitation spell on the heat crazed mare. You were shocked to say the least, but not as much as she clearly was at her own actions. The murmurs that had sounded throughout the crowd suddenly turned into arguments.

“Uh…oh…” Was all Lyra was able to get out before a full blown battle broke out… and you suddenly became caught in the middle of it.

Shouts and arguments were coming from all directions as heat crazed mare battled heat crazed mare. Some of them seemed to be on your side, screaming that you should be with your special somepony. Others though screamed that they had waited long enough to scratch the itch. And others seemed to just be in it for the joy and distraction of it.

Lyra was doing her best to subdue any pony that made a charge at you while you fought to get back up on your feet. A lot of the magic holding you down had dissipated, but some of it lingered and your abused body was finding it harder than it should have been. From the sky above, Derpy was diving and landing on unsuspecting unicorns whose horns shimmered to keep a hold of you. Needless to say, they were not match for her iron backside.

Little by little, the magic fields holding you were disappearing, thanks to Derpy and the other mares that had sided with you as they fought against the other heat crazed mares.

Off to your left, the flower sisters where doing their best as Lilly and Rose held down Cloud Chaser, while Daisy to your right, dangled off the hooves of Raindrops, trying to prevent her from taking off. You were going to have to make sure you bought their whole cart of flowers as a thank you next time you were at the market.

Finally, the last shimmer of magic vanished from you and you managed to struggle up on your feet as you continued to take in the sight in front of you. There was so much chaos going on around you that you didn’t even realize that Lyra was waving her hoof frantically at you. With all that was happening, a small group of mares had gotten between you and her. She was desperately trying to clear a path for you through them, flinging one mare out of the way after the other. But it was like trying to cut through water. As soon as one mare was out of the way, another would take its place.

“Jump!”

“Are you crazy!?”

“Do it!”

“Damn it!” You shouted back as you began running towards the encroaching mares. There was no way you were going to build up enough momentum in that small stretch of clear ground before you to clear one mare, let alone all of them. But you’d be damned if you didn’t try after coming so far.

“WORST WEEK EVER!”

“NOW RAINBOW DASH!”

That shout came out of nowhere. But what came next was near impossible to miss.

A rainbow streak shot clear over the crowd of fighting mares, and what followed not even a fraction of a second later, was the most horrifying thing you had ever experienced.

Almost in slow motion, a sonic explosion caught you in mid-jump.

All around you, you saw mare after mare be thrown into the air and off to the sides as you were suddenly flung clear over to the other side of the street with a resounding thump as you hit the wall of a building.

Your senses were suddenly shot to hell and useless as you bounced off the ground and settled onto the ground after rolling twice. You couldn’t hear anything around you with the exception of a horrible ringing in your ears. The world around you looked fuzzy and without shape as it spun and swayed around you. Slowly, unsteadily, almost as if you were using your limb for the first time in your life, you forced a hand in front of you and clutched at the ground.

You wanted to hurl all over the ground, but even that felt impossible as your body tried to settle from the shockwave.

Through the fog that occupied your vision, you could see mares picking themselves up and resuming the fight. Apparently they had not been as harshly affected by the explosion as you had. Slowly, the question of whether such an event was a common thing for them lurched forward and you found yourself laughing a bit.

“Hahaha Ponyville and its weekly disasters! HAHA!”

Clearly, you were still rather dazed by what had happened.

And yet you recovered quickly enough to scream out as a purple magical field fully enveloped you and dragged you off the street towards an alleyway as you left groove marks in the dirt with your fingers.

“KYAAAA-Oh hey TwiligAAHHaahhAAHH!!”

“RAINBOW!” Twilight obviously didn’t hear you as she picked you up in the air with her magic and shook you around like a rag doll while yelling at Rainbow Dash. “You did it too close! You could have hurt him!”

“Could have?!” You suddenly yelled out, not realizing you were yelling thanks to your ears not working properly.

Rainbow Dash did another fly by over the mares, at a much lower speed and simply winked at you.

“Chill-lax Twilight! He’s a tough one! He can take it!”

Obviously she didn’t know just how much abuse your body had endured.

“That’s not the point Rainbow Dash! We’re supposed to be helping him!”

Twilight continued to shake you as if to emphasize to what or whom she was referring to. Rainbow Dash just shrugged and shot up into the sky again.

“Ugh, that mare… I swear sometimes she just does it to get under my coat.”

Mercifully, she had stopped shaking you around and instead settled for just floating you in the air. Out of the corner of your eye though, you caught two mares that had stood up and began to charge towards the both of you as Twilight stood at the entrance of the alleyway and you floated next to her.. They did not look happy.

“Twilight, behind you!”

“Oh! That’s right…”

The glow around her horn intensified and the two charging mares stopped dead in their tracks and fell to the ground, writhing in pleasure and moaning. You weren’t sure what had just happened, but you were shocked to say the least.

But not as shocked as with what happened next.

Without warning though, and even less time to process what was going on, you suddenly found yourself being tipped towards the ground. Your mind ceased to function as you then found yourself being aggressively kissed by Twilight Sparkle as some invisible object fondled your suddenly awakened arousal.

It didn’t take you long to realize it was Twilight’s magic that was fondling you, and you had a firsthand understanding of why those two mares were writhing and moaning, and now grinding against each other, in such carnal pleasure.

You were pretty sure there were no words back on earth to describe what you were feeling down below. Not many could have claimed to have been fondled by magic either, so…

You felt Twilight pull away from the kiss and felt your lower lip get pulled away along with hers as she bit down on it. You’d be lying if you said you hadn’t felt a certain rush from it as she looked at you through half closed eyes and held you immobile in her magic. Her hoof ran down your bare chest and stopped less than an inch from your awoke arousal as she continued to fondle you.

“Ooohh, the experiments I could do on you right now… and not a single thing you could do to stop me.”

An excited tingle shot down your spine as you felt her hot breath cascade across your face and her sultry voice penetrated your ears. She was right, compared to other unicorn magic you had felt, her magic was at a whole different level. You couldn’t move an inch. You were completely at her mercy. And, as if to prove the point, she lowered her face down again and licked your lips right before nuzzling against your face as she let out and excited whimper.

“Endurance… strength… virility… ahhmmhmm… taste and texture…”

Beats of sweat were starting to form on your forehead as you fought the sensation down below. You had never imagined that Twilight would be so eager to “experiment” on you as such.

“Tw-Twilight? Applejack is-”

“Yes, I know…”

You suddenly found yourself flung back onto your unsteady feet as the magical field around you dissipated and a magical bubble enveloped the both of you. Another explosion reverberated through the air as Rainbow Dash flew by again at breakneck speed. Any mare that had managed to get back up was immediately thrown to the ground again.

“And that’s why we’re here to help you!” Twilight added to her comment with a smile on her face as if nothing had just happened.

You slowly turned to follow the rainbow streak as it shot back into the sky and made a u-turn towards you.

“I-Is that… are those the sonic rainbooms she’s always talking about?” You asked as you leaned against a wall near the entrance of the alleyway to support yourself.

“Hmm? Oh no, these are just smaller versions of it that only serve to slightly displace the air molecules in front of her enough to create a wave, or wall if you will, of air to knock ponies down but hopefully not hurt them... kind of like a strong gust of wind.” Twilight finished her explanation as she looked up at you and smiled.

You could only blink at what she said.

“Bees are just smaller Persians that are only served to unsightly places on hairy moles at what storefront now!?”

The silence between you and Twilight was dense as her smile turned to confusion, and then concern. Obviously you were still a bit deaf from the first explosion as you stared back at her with matching confusion.

“… What!? I didn’t say anything about bees! Where did you ev-”

Thankfully though, before anything else could be said and further confusion ensued, Rainbow Dash landed right next to you both and interrupted.

“Hey you two, what’s the hold up?!”

“Umm…” Twilight began to speak as she turned towards the cyan pegasus but kept her eyes firmly set on you. “Change of plans Rainbow Dash. I think you may have to take him over towards the main road… I don’t think he’s okay enough to go alone.”

Rainbow Dash simply arched an eyebrow and looked up at you as you looked down at her and rubbed one of your ears and opened your mouth wide to try and stop the popping sound.

“Right, okay… Umm, maybe I did fly a bit too close. You got this then Twilight?”

At that point, 3 more mares fell to the ground writhing in pleasure as Twilight smirked at Rainbow Dash and her horn continued to glow.

“Yes! Just go already!”

“Right!”

Before you knew it, Rainbow Dash was up in the air and pushing you forward through the alleyway. You wanted to look behind to make sure Twilight was okay, or for that matter any other pony that had helped you, but the speed with which Rainbow Dash pushed you onward made it dangerous to take your eyes off the path in front of you.

It also didn’t help that as you tried to work your legs along with her speed, after so much abuse, they were near impossible to coordinate. They felt numb, almost as if they weren’t your own.

Too soon, a corner came up and Rainbow Dash pushed you around it and further down the new path before making another turn. You could see a street coming into view from the other end and you immediately recognized a store that came into view.

You ran by it every day. That road led straight out of town. It was Ponyville’s main street.

“Was I really this close?” You asked as you began to pull away from Rainbow Dash, finding some last bit of endurance in the sensation of being so close to your goal. It spurred you onward.

“Yeah! You almost made it buddy! We were waiting for you on the other end of the alleyway because Pinkie Pie told Twilight what you set out to do.”

“Pinkie Pie huh?”

“Yeah, pretty stupid of you though…” She replied as she pulled ahead from behind you and flew next to your head as you ran through the narrow alleyway.

“And I don’t have to tell you how stupid it would be if you hurt Applejack again…”

The comment caught you off guard for a bit and you nearly ran into a trashcan when you turned to look at the cyan pegasus. What greeted you were her violet eyes as they firmly bore into your own. She wasn’t even looking at where she was flying, but her gaze alone told you more than spoken words could.

And you picked up on it, loud and clear, and for some reason, that only made you grin back at her as you recovered your balance and kept running.

“Dash, if I hurt her again… I’ll hand myself over to you girls on a silver platter.” You replied while continuing to grin at her. She in turn only smirked and hoof bumped you on the shoulder as she flew past you and settled in front of you. You were somewhat glad she didn’t notice the pained expression on your face.

“Well that’s no fun! You gotta at least let me hunt you down BEFORE I beat the stuffing out of you! Gotta stretch the wings you know!”

Your grin quickly broke out into a smile and then into a quick and short lived laugh. You suddenly realized your ribs had joined the list of aching body parts, but honestly, what else was new

Everything hurt, and you didn’t care, your goal was in sight.

Once you reached that street, you’d be able to make a direct run towards the town exit and down towards Sweet Apple Acres. And from then onward, well… that would have to remain to be seen assuming you got that far.

“Uh oh…”

“What? What do you mean by ‘Uh oh’?”

“That!” She called out as she turned upside down in mid-flight and pointed a hoof at the sky. You followed it with you gaze and uttered a curse under your breath. Some pegasus mares had broken away from Twilight and were following overhead, waiting for you to exit the alleyway.

“Was this part of your plan?”

“It is now! Keep running and whatever happens don’t STOP!”

You didn’t argue, there was not time to. Both you and Rainbow Dash exited the alleyway almost at the same time and she immediately shot into the air where you were of no help whatsoever.

Another quick curse was all you were able to get out before you made a quick right and nearly lost your balanced as you abandoned the scene as fast as you could. If the past few minutes had been any indication, you had a pretty good idea of what was about to happen.

“Crud! Crud! Crud! Crazy showoff pegasus and her explosions!”

To your surprise, no explosion came though, and you dared to glance back at the sky. Rainbow Dash was still up there, but she wasn’t exploding all over the place like before. Instead, she was using her superior speed to catch up to any pegasus heading towards you, mount on top of them, and…

“What the heck is she doing?”

Whatever she was doing with her hooves while riding the pegasus mares was causing their wings to go as stiff as a wooden board. From your vantage point on the ground, it looked like it caused them to lose all ability to control their flight pattern, and instead, they flew towards the nearest roof and collapsed, panting. Some of them looked pained, while others just simply lay there on the roof with their tongues lolling out.

“Odd… if I didn’t know better… I’d say they looked like they just-”

“GET HIM!”

“OH FOR CELESTIA’S SAKE! WILL YOU QUITTHATALREADY!”

More heat crazed mares poured out onto the street behind you from the alleyways, chasing you. You recognized some shrills that were reaching your ears. Some of these mares were the same ones that were supposedly being kept at bay by Twilight, and that only meant one thing…

And that one thing weighed heavily on you.

Twilight had been overrun.

“Come on girls! We almost got him!”

And, judging from the shadows that were catching up with you, and the rainbow streak you glimpsed shooting off into the sky, Rainbow Dash had been overrun too.

She had been forced to retreat and leave you behind to your fate.

And honestly, you understood why.

“Damn it! It wasn’t enough…”

There were just too many of them, too many horny mares to escape…

The town exit was only a few yards away in front of you, but you knew that you would never reach it.

You knew that from the start…

“It’s wasn’t enough to make it…”

And even if you had… what then?

They weren’t going to simply stop there…

They’d just chase you all the way towards Sweet Apple Acres.

“But I have to make it…”

And yet, even knowing all this, you had still continued to move forward.

“I have to run faster damn it…”

Even when your body had told you enough had been enough you had still continued to move forward.

“Run faster damn it! RUN!”

Spurred on by one simple thought… by one simple dream that you hoped you could make into a reality.

“APPLEJ-”

“GET TO APPLEJACK!”

A split second after Rainbow Dash’s voice reached your ears, your eyes barely turned up to see her rainbow streak shoot down from the sky, and land behind you.

The rainbow colored nuclear explosion that followed far outweighed your previous experiences as the most horrifying thing you had ever experienced.

There was no sound. Not even a gentle breeze.

For a whole second, time froze.

Everything was still and at peace.

And, if you were truly honest with yourself, it was the single most peaceful second of your entire existence.

“NOT AGAIN!”

Some unfortunate mare yelled out as time sped up again and you found yourself enveloped in a blue hued magical field and flung into an alleyway. You caught a glimpse of a white figure with indigo hair blinking out of existence as the field of magic around you disappeared and you fell to the ground.

No sooner did you hit the ground that you suddenly felt the shockwave of the explosion threaten to break every bone inside your body as windows exploded and buildings shook. Your vision blurred from the sheer force of it and through the haze you were barely able to make out the figure of ponies running by the alleyway entrance in sheer panic. They were but fading specters as the sun became blocked out and a wall of wind and dust picked them off the ground and enveloped them… and pushed into the alleyway itself.

You had enough of a mind left to cover your eyes as you too became another victim of it…

You awoke with a startle to find yourself face down in the dirt, and your eyes found it hard to adjust to the sudden darkness that enveloped you. Everything around you was still as dusk settled into the horizon, and the only sound you could make out was that of the gentle breeze that blew through the alleyway.

It was oddly refreshing on your exposed back side as you forced your hands in front of you, and pushed one beneath your chest to push yourself up. The whole range of motion felt alien to you, almost as if your limbs were not really there to begin with. But eventually though, you had enough space beneath you to push a knee forward, and further assist yourself to get up.

“What the… buck Dash…” Was all you could manage to force out through a throat that felt like you had swallowed sandpaper.

You could feel layer after layer of dirt fall off of you as you slowly pushed yourself further and further up into what resembled a standing. The wall to your left suddenly became your best friend as you leaned against it for support after you tried to take a step and tumbled forward.

Your balance was shot to hell.

“Seriously Dash… what the buck?” You managed to force out again as you continued to lean against the wall and began to move forward towards the entrance of the alleyway. And the world around you though, seemed intent to not stop spinning
.
The whole process was slow, accentuated now and then by you asking the same question over and over again. But eventually though, as you finally reached the entrance to alleyway, that single question had an answer, and you let go of the wall as you walked further out into the middle of the street.

All around you, mares littered the street as they moaned and twitched.

Many of them were covered in dirt, while others were buried under more twitching mares. Their color mismatched twitching hooves were the only indication they were buried under there at all.

Some of them even, mainly pegasus, were sticking out of the thatched roofs of the buildings.

"Yeah... okay..." You commented to yourself as you looked away from the chaos and began to make your way through the mares, swaying back and forth like a naked corpse with a limp.

"I'm done..."

You swayed and limped a bit to your left as you avoided one mare.

"I am so done..."

This time you swayed and limped to your right as your avoided a pile of mares.

"When this is all over, I'm selling my house here and moving to the Everfree Forest..."

Finally, you cleared the last group of prone mares, and the dirt road towards Sweet Apple Acres opened up before you.

"Seriously... it has to be safer than this town..."

Author's Note

Wow... How long did that take? Moving and having to wait for your internet to be connected is by no means a fun experience.

Well, its done with, so hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter up faster than this one. And speaking of this chapter, it came out way longer than I had originally planned. I hope I managed to keep some coherency throughout it. SO... lets see what you ponies think.

Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro.

Reaching the Finish Line - Never Stop Moving.

Night had long since descended on the land of Equestria, blanketing every tree, hillside, dirt path, and stream in a veil of peace and relative silence as the stars above played a melody of twinkling lights for the dreaming world to see. Many animals and creatures that would roam throughout the day had now long since sought shelter and rest for the night, while those that would roam through the night had already settled into their nightly routines.

The sounds of a frog near a stream could be heard in the distance, while the hoots of an owl up in a tree sounded much closer and played an ominous lullaby with the added sounds of the leaves rustling in the light breeze that refreshed the night. Here and there, a branch would sway and allow the moonlight to filter through and cast its beauty upon an all too familiar road.

It was a really beautiful night, worthy of pride on behalf of its creator, Princess Luna…

Too bad though that you didn’t pay much attention to it as you continued to walk in a half stupor down the path that led to Sweet Apple Acres.

Ever since you managed to leave the town of Ponyville, the walk down the all too familiar path had been nothing more than an increasingly painful blur as your body seemed to move automatically down it towards your goal. The entire walk had been accented by a few bouts of nausea here and there, one of which left a very unhappy gopher with no desire to return to its hole in the ground. And cold sweats so severe that they made you hazily curse your evolution for a lack of fur, and your lack of willingness to skin the aforementioned gopher for the sake of having something warm on your person.

Obviously your thoughts weren’t all too coherent, and for obvious reasons too.

Your body, it would seem, had decided that since you were no longer in relative kinky danger, that it was then time to make you feel every bump, scraped, bruised, and torn cell that made up your body. Your legs had become increasingly heavier along the way, almost to the point that you had to drag them forward very other step you took. Your left shoulder had become so swollen that it made it incredibly difficult to do anything with your left arm but to let it dangle like an overcooked noodle.

But above all, what had been affecting you most had been your head and its plethora of bangs and thumps. The pain the coursed through your perception with every thump that resonated through your head, had been enough to make it difficult to keep your eyes open and focus long enough on any single thing. Especially the road beneath your feet which felt bumpier than you recalled. The blurry vision that seemed to come and go as it pleased at the drop of a hat, had been to blame more than once for nearly causing you to trip and fall flat on your face.

Still, through all this though, through every complaint that your body threw at you and pleaded for you to take care of, you had kept moving forward. You had not stopped moving, and had no intention of stopping until you reached your destination. Until you confronted and made things right with the one pony that had been at the start of all this, the one pony you had hurt in your carelessness.

“Stupid bucken *grumble grumble*… Celestia damned horny horses…”

No pony had said that you couldn’t grumble and curse along the way though, much of which could be heard echoing through the night. Perhaps a good thing the owls and frogs and whatnot were making such a racket.

Neither Princess would likely approve of what you were saying.

Thankfully though, your journey was coming to an end, and the fence to Sweet Apple Acres was slowly coming into view.

And just in time too.

You had pretty much run out of curse words and explicit things to say.

“Applejack!”

Your voice rang out through the seemingly empty farm for the third time since you had hobbled your way past the fence gate. Since you entered the farm, many things had struck you as odd, and many of those things were nothing more than a haunting reminder of the day before.

Nothing had changed since you left.

The farm still had the same ominous silence that had permeated every corner of the property the previous morning. The only sound that could be heard was that of the light breeze, and it was only interrupted by a small wind chime that hung out on the porch of the Apple family home. The squeak of the barn door as it swayed slightly with the breeze only served further to set the ominous mood. And now, in the dark, it was easy to see that not a single light shone through any window of the farm house.

There were no signs that anypony had been walking about.

No signs that anypony had even been around there.

And worst of all, there were no signs of the mare you sought.

“Applejack!” You called out again as you walked further onto the property. No reply came like before, and you immediately found yourself fighting against the sensation of defeat that had been nipping at you since you set foot on the farm.

That sensation felt like poison after everything you had done, everything you had been through. But no matter how much you tried to push it back, its hold just seemed to have gotten stronger and stronger with every step you took. With it, thoughts and memories had been set loose, and everything you had done wrong had begun to replay back and forth through your thoughts with much more ease now.

“Celestia damn it.” Your voice echoed throughout the empty property as you suddenly found yourself standing in front of the barn, your feet having apparently taken you there automatically. You placed your right hand on the slowly swinging barn door and held it as you stared at it, more memories from the day before flooding back.

“If only I had…” You shook your head before you finished your sentence. You knew deep down that there was no point in thinking like that. Not at that moment, no matter how much those memories refused to go away.

The time for regret had long since passed. Now was the time to keep moving forward, to keep searching, to try and set things right again.

You opened the door enough to let yourself in, and hobbled your way inside into the dark interior of the barn. It took a second or two for you vision to adjust to the slightly darker inside, but after a bit, you were able to see clearly enough.

It looked no different than it had before. And, as you stepped further inside, you knew that nopony would be there.

The inside of the barn, as far as you could make out in the dark, looked as empty and as untouched as it had that morning you walked in. The plow was still near the corner, where it had been the morning before as its owner had left it, and would likely search for it there, assuming he had survived. The buckets for the apples where still stacked where you had left them a couple of days ago, before you so foolishly had left for what you thought was a three day weekend. And your tools, how you wished that you had to go look for Applebloom and her two friends to get them back so that you could get to work on the repairs for the farm, just for the sake of feeling it was just another normal day for you.

But of course, you knew it wasn’t.

Instead, your tools hung from the wall and rested on your work table, not a single one missing.

Everything was as it had been that morning… with the exception of one thing.

“Applejack’s hat…” You spoke softly as you hobbled further into the barn and knelt down to pick it up. The act was a lot more painful than you would have liked, but it had barely registered as you took the hat in your hands, and began to dust it off.

“She would have never just left it behind…”

Your hands gripped tighter around it as you brushed off the last bits of dust on it, and looked at it. It still smelled like her, although it was very faint. It was a scent all too enjoyably familiar to you because of all the time you had spent with her. It was a mixture of a strong apple scent, mixed in with a faint hint of cinnamon from her shampoo. There was also a small hint of sweat, but you had never found it offensive.

Her scent was enough to make your chest tighten, and you felt a burning sensation begin to spread around your eyes.

“Celestia… what did I do?”

Automatically, your head turned towards the barn doors, the pained part inside of you hoping for a repeat of the day before, hoping for a chance to do it right from the start. But alas, after a few minutes, it was obvious that that was not going to happen.

“I really am an idjet…” You let out in a barely discernible whisper as you forced yourself to stand back on your feet and held her hat firmly in your hand. You were going to make sure her hat was back with whom it belonged.

Just another thing to add to the list… You thought to yourself as you tried to steady your wobble.

Eventually though, after managing to steady yourself, you slowly began to hobble your way towards the barn doors as the moonlight from outside shone faintly through the one you had left open when you came in. As you got closer though, something off to your right behind a bale of hay glimmered, and you found yourself hobbling towards it instead.

The bale of hay was pushed against the wall, and whatever was glimmering was tossed between it and the wall, hidden. You stopped in front of the bale of hay and reached for the glimmering object.

It was a button, attached to a pair of pants. They had at one point been yours.

They were worn and torn, riddle with holes and tears, courtesy of your earlier days of working on the farm. The button had been the last piece to break off, and that had been the only reason you had left them behind when you moved out. You faintly recalled asking Applejack to throw them away for you but, as you looked at them further in the moonlight, you couldn’t help but notice they had been fixed.

The repairs were shoddy, ghastly at best, yes, but they had been thorough and it was obvious a lot of attention had gone into the task even if the end result had not been presentable. Upon further inspection, as you studied the button that caught your eye, you could feel a small, tired smile tug at the corners of your mouth. The button had the faint design of an apple on it.

A faint notion crossed your mind, and it gave way to a silly thought, but you were too tired to follow it through.

You had somewhere to be, and somepony to look for after all. So instead, you began to put the pants on…

“... Oh crud…”

And you immediately fell face first to the ground as you lifted a leg to slide it through one of the pant legs.

The fall had in no way been graceful. You tried to stick out your arms, but for some reason some signals hadn’t gone through to your arms and you instead fell rather hard onto the floor. But, oddly enough, it didn’t hurt. Not as much when compared to everything you had been through.

That and everything else already hurt, so it just barely registered as a mild annoyance which you expressed as you let out a sigh from down on the floor.

Slowly, you forced yourself to roll over onto your back and gazed at the barn’s ceiling. Your body was rather tempted to just lay there and rest as you felt a slightly tingling and numbing sensation begin to spread out into your limbs.

This won't do...

You didn’t say anything as you began to work the pants on while you lay in your new “less likely to fall flat on your face again” position. It took a few tries, having put it on backwards the first time and not being able to figure out where the other pant leg had wondered off to the second timed, but you eventually managed to put them on like a grownup.

It did admittedly take longer than it should have, but before you could dwell on that thought, and its implications to your physical and mental state, and how you were going to retell the incident later to make you look less foolish. You slowly found yourself on your feet again, heading out the barn door.

There were still two more places you could look for her in, and the Apple family house was just outside the doors.

The Apple family house had been as empty and as quiet as the barn had. It had been hard to tell, but as you roamed through the house trying to find any sign of the mare you sought after, it had looked like nopony had been inside for while.

The kitchen you found to be spotless, courtesy of Granny Smith and whichever pony’s turn it had been to do the dishes last before they all went into hiding to escape horny mare hell. While at a first glance, Applejack’s bedroom had given you a small spark of hope, having stepped inside to see something beneath the covers only to realize it was the shape of her unmade bed and pillows. She had slept there, but how long ago, you could not be certain.

Something inside you though, told you it had not been recent since your encounter with her in the barn.

The search through the house had been disappointing, to say the least. But you had not lost hope of finding her, of finding Applejack. Not yet at least…

There was still one more place you could look for her. And, as you walked along another familiar dirt path and got closer and closer to that place, you’d be lying if you said you didn’t feel an old familiar spark of hope burn brighter.

Even if it’s only fuel was a sense of desperate optimism.

“Applejack!”

You called out as you stepped off the dirt path and walked onto a small clearing in front of you. The clearing held a familiar tree that stood slightly spaced out from the others. Only far enough for its shadow to play with the moonlight from above and cast a small ring of light that went around the border of the clearing.

“Applejack!” You called out again, this time forcing your right hand to rise up to cup around your mouth as your left hand dangled and held firmly onto Applejack’s stetson hat and you walked further onto the clearing towards the tree in the center.

You kept calling out a few more times, but as you got closer and closer to the tree, the strength of your voice had diminished slightly to the point it had finally come out as a whisper. No reply had come back through the night. And now, as you stood in front of the tree, all you found yourself able of doing was to lean your right arm and head against it as you tried to fight off a horrible sensation.

“I don’t know what I was expecting…” Your voice grew heavier, pained, as that horrible sensation revealed itself as being the sense of defeat, and you unwillingly allowed your knees to buckle and drop you to the ground.

Applejack’s hat remained in your hand as you knelt in front of the tree you and her had shared so many conversations and pleasant nights underneath. The burning sensation in your eyes felt like an insult after everything you had been through.

“I should have tried harder!” Your voice raised as you managed to will your right hand to pound against the tree trunk once, before it fell to the ground to join the rest of you.

That horrible sensation of defeat had begun to give way to the sensation of utter and complete exhaustion. Your body wanted to rest, to stop, even if you did not want to. Even if all you were able to do now was grasp at the blades of grass as you continued to try and fight off the exhaustion that threatened to claim you.

You had failed to finish what you had set out to do, to find the mare you loved, and your eyes soon settled on your hands as you failed to hold back tears. Your breathing began to come out in shallow sighs as your chest begun to feel heavy, but hollow at the same time. Your throat now felt drier and more pained than it ever had while running.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as you continued to look down at the ground through tear stained eyes while your hands clutched at the grass, and ran your fingers through the dirt underneath. You felt one of your fingers grasp something that did not feel like grass, and you slowly brought it up to look at it in what little moonlight managed to break through the tree’s foliage.

“Applejack…” You whispered as you looked at the object in your hand, and felt your eyes burn more as tears fell freely.

What you held in your right hand was unmistakable…

“Y-you slept her?” You mumbled a bit louder to yourself as you continued to look at it. What you held was one of the red ribbons that Applejack used to tie her mane and tail with into her characteristic ponytails.

No other words came out as you held the red ribbon and continued to look at it before you intertwined it through your fingers. Your hand closed around the ends to keep it in place as you became aware of the sound the wind made as it rustled the leaves around you, almost as if you were afraid it would blow the ribbon away.

The sound though, was oddly comforting as you continued to listen to it, sounding almost like any other day, as if nothing was wrong. And your nose soon caught the scent of apples that traveled with it from the orchard that surrounded you. For some reason, you soon found a smile forming across your lips, and a dream from what felt so long ago began to play out through your thoughts.

“Applejack, I don’t know where you are…” You suddenly found yourself saying in earnest in a loud clear voice. “But I’m not going to stop looking for you… no matter how tired I am and no matter how much by body complains.”

You no longer felt the breeze, but the scent of apples still lingered and you found a small bit of strength left, enough to push one knee forward and off the ground as you held tighter onto her ribbon in your hand.

“B-because I know you’d do the same … and b-because… because…”

Your nose caught something else intermingled with the scent of apples... cinnamon.

“I’m so sorry Applejack!” The volume of your voice caused it to resonate through the clearing as your knee gave out and you slumped back to the ground.

“I’m sorry I ran away from you… I-I never meant to hurt you bu-”

“But yah did…”

The words died in your throat as you heard the rustling of leaves behind you and focused on the voice. It sounded strained, and tired, a perfect match to your own, and you slowly turned to face the source of it…

“Don’t yah dare turn’ah round…”

And immediately stopped as you kept looking at the tree in front of you.

“Don’t yah DARE turn’ah round right... Ah’m so angry at you ah don’t even want to look at your muzzle.” She commanded as her voice took a sharp edge...

“Yah ran away…” And she spoke your name with such finality to it that it conveyed just how hurtful an act that had been.

You remained quiet as she now held and commanded your full attention.

“Now, ah’m used to a stallion o’two turning their muzzles up at me, but ah’ve… ah’ve never had one run away from me…”

A strained, painful pitch that wasn’t there before suddenly appeared in her voice and the image of her about to cry suddenly took hold of your thoughts.

“Applej-”

“SHUT UP!”

Your mouth clamped shut immediately at her outburst and you heard something slump against the ground. You could hear her sniffling as she tried to not to break out crying. And even though she had just lashed out at you, no aggression stirred inside of you.

“Yah the first stallion ah’ve evah opened mah’self up to like that, even if ah w-was… n’heat.”

“…”

“And yah ran away…”

“…”

“Yah were injured… Ah came back and all’ah found was your blood on that tree!”

Finally, her voice broke, and so did her restraint as she began to cry, and your chest tightened at its very core.

“AH DIDN’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED T’YAH AND DROVE MAH’SELF HALF MAD LOOKING FOR YOU!!”

“Applejack-”

“SHUT UP! AH WON’T TELL YA’GAIN!”

Minutes passed by lethargically slow as you remained kneeling looking at the tree, quiet, not another word leaving your lips. You could still hear her behind you, and although her sniffling had gotten louder and more strained, you had not moved or said a word.

Eventually though, her voice grew shallower and you could no longer hear her crying like before. Instead, she spoke again with a shallow, calm, and yet tearful voice. And what you heard only left you more pained.

“W-was it really s-so horrible tah be with me, …?”

Your head slowly turned to the side as she spoke your name and her voice broke out in a gentle sob again before she continued.

“A-ah mean… ah know ah’m not as smart a-as Twilight, or as pretty as Rarity… o-or as cute and gentle a-as Flu-Fluttershy… or as… as…”

Her voice gave out as all you heard now was the sound of her crying. And at that moment, the escalating ache in your heart felt like nothing when compared to her own.

Slowly, gently, you forced yourself to turn around to look at her, and what you saw, was enough to force yourself to your feet one final time. Painfully, you bent down to pick up her hat, and forced one foot in front of the other as you walked towards her.

Applejack’s head was hung low, looking down at the ground beneath her hooves as she sat on her haunches and trembled with every pained sob that left her. Even from only a few feet away, you could see her tears glisten in the moonlight as they rolled down her cheeks and fell onto her hooves. Her mane looked a mess, scattered all over as it hung from her withers and down her back as some twigs stuck out of it and her tail. Her coat was dirty and you could faintly see in the moonlight signs of scrapes that had dirtied her coat.

Your very core trembled as you imagined what she went through looking for you, as you replayed every word she had just said, and the shame you felt reverberated in your voice as you spoke her name and got closer to her.

“Applejack…”

“Don’t… p-please…”

It was all she could get out through the sobs and tears that wrecked her. But you didn’t listen, and kept hobbling towards her.

“P-please…”

She didn’t even look at you as she spoke again, her voice sounding so pained that you were afraid she’d run away. But if she was going to, it was too late.

“Applejack…” You said her name again as you stopped in front of her and dropped to your knees. You landed harder than you had intended, and the realization that that had been the last act of movement from your body settled in your mind just fine.

It had been a final act. You wouldn’t need them anymore.

You were too tired to continue, and your goal had been met…

“I-I… I ran away because-”

“D-Don’t say it… p-please…”

Her tearful crying got even harder as every breath she took sounded as pained as if it were her last. You wanted to continue, even if you didn’t understand what it was that she didn’t want to hear.

You knew what you needed to say, but…

“A-Ah know… ah know ah’m just a s-silly… stupid pony that’s o-only good’nuff to work on ah farm…”

But realization soon hit you, and you could only stare.

Before you was the strongest pony you had ever known. Devoted to her family and friends to a fault, honest in her work and hard working, unshakeable…

“A-Ah don’t n-need tah h-hear it f-from the one… the one…pon- person ah love…”

And yet, still a pony, a mare. Pained and crying because she saw her self-worth as not being anything of worth at all. Because she saw herself as not being of enough worth for someone like you…

A notion you fed by running away.

You never felt like such a prick in your life.

“Ap-Applejack…”

She didn’t reply. She didn’t even look up at you, and you really hoped she wouldn’t back away from what you were about to do.

Slowly, you forced your hand to rise up, and slowly, gently, placed it below her chin. She must have had her eyes closed as she faced towards the ground below her. She startled a bit, but didn’t resist as you raised her chin so she could face you.

What you saw then in front of you only made you more determined.

Her lips were trembling as she tried to fight back sobs and hiccups. Tears had soaked her cheeks to the point that her coat had stains on it like rivers leave on the ground. And her eyes, her beautiful emerald greens eyes, shone through the tears that had yet to be shed.

You didn’t speak, and only looked at her as your hand rose from her chin and caressed her tear stained cheek. You felt her hesitantly want to push into it, but she was fighting, a look of hopelessness besmirching her features.

That all changed though as you neared your face towards hers, and her eyes grew slightly bigger as a bit of hope shone through them, and tears broke free to roll down her cheeks and onto your hand. Her lips, although trembling, slight pushed out as if hoping against the impossible to meet yours, but they didn’t find them, and that slight glimmer of hope in her eyes faded a bit.

Instead, you paused a bit and pressed you forehead against hers, and your eyes sought hers as hers only looked back in sad confusion. They widen a bit at she felt your other hand rise and gently place her hat back where it belonged.

You left your hand there, and pushed her against you with what little strength you had left. Her trembling only seemed to grow stronger and you felt her strained breath caress your lips.

“Applejack…”

More tears flowed from her eyes.

“I-I ran away because I was afraid…”

She closed her eyes and her head lightly jerked away from you, but you held it with your hand.

“Afraid that I was not good enough for you…”

Applejack remained silent as her eyes slowly opened and she looked into yours, tears still gently streaming as a slight spark of understanding and hope glimmered for a second.

“Afraid of what it meant for a human to fall for a pony… afraid of just how much I could disappoint you…”

Her eyes got slightly wider, searching your face as if trying to find something, some sign that she had heard you correctly.

“I told myself that… because of that, because I was different you would never want to be with me. So much so that when you told me at the barn, I didn’t know if you were saying it from your heart, or just because of the heat… and I hurt you because of it.”

Applejack’s lips were still trembling but they were moving. She was trying to form a word but only a gentle sob managed to come out as your other hand joined in caressing her cheeks and you pulled away slightly so you could look at her better. You could feel tears roam down your own cheeks as well, but for some reason, the sensation felt alien and your limbs were beginning to tingle.

“You are not stupid or silly Applejack… You are hardworking, devoted to those around you… beautiful beyond anypony I’ve ever met… I-I don’t understand why somepony as wonderful as you would ever fall for somepo-someone like me.”

“Sugacu-” Her voice cut off as her hoof rose to settle atop one of your hands. It felt pleasantly warm, and you became aware your extremities felt cold even to you. Her eyes had gotten slightly wider and you caught her other hoof raise and press against your bare chest, over your heart.

Odd, you couldn’t even feel it. But it was only a passing thought as you continued speaking.

“I-I’m not strong Applejack… not like you. I-I can’t do what you do, not like a pony at least, but only as what I am. I have limits, barriers that will never let me be what you d-deserve Applejack.

You quieted down for a second as you realized her other hoof had moved to your forehead while the other one continued to press against your chest. You couldn’t feel any of it. When did your hands stop caressing her and fall to your sides?

“But I know now… that never mattered to you…”

Her lips were moving but no sound was coming out. Your mind was feeling fuzzy, unclear. When did the world become slanted? Were you leaning to the side? For some reason your words just kept flowing out, no matter what was going on around you.

“You took me in when no pony else would have… you gave me a chance to prove myself before anypony else did… and you gave me your friendship and love before I even knew such a thing was possible…”

Something fell on your face, a tear. Applejack was leaning over you, crying, frantically saying something. When did you lay down? Her hoof was pressed against your chest as she leaned over you, her other hoof was near your head. Your hand moved of its own accord and grasped the hoof on your chest and she looked at it before looking at you. She looked panicked, and shadows were creeping into your vision.

Your fogged mind realized what was happening. Your treacherous body had called it quits. Human endurance could only go so far... You had pushed too hard.

She had her forehead pressed against yours now. You couldn’t feel it, but only saw her emerald tearful eyes looking at yours, pleading. Her mane was cascading all around you, and her scent was enough to lift the fog a bit, if only for a second or two before that too started to fade. Your voice sounded odd in your ears, and no other sound seemed to filter through.

“I’m so sorry Applejack… But, i-if you give me… a chance. I will spend… my life doing… what I can to be… the one you deserve. Not… because of what you’ve… done… But because… of who you are…”

Your eyes settled on hers as shadows overtook everything around you, but you knew you were smiling because what you were about to say, came from your heart.

“Because… I love you… Applejack.”

Something pressed against your lips, and you caught a glimpse of sparkling green as your vision faded, and all went black.

And a single thought faded with your mind.

Damn it… going to have to apologize… for this… too.

Author's Note

Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro.

Packing Up After the Race - Moving Forward

[Heads up! This chapter DOES NOT have something that could, if you use your imagination, be considered clop. It actually has clop in it! You have been warned!]

That dream had felt so real. Much more real than anything you were accustomed to dreaming. It had at times been chaotic, accentuated by events and challenges that you in no way would have wished upon your worst of enemies. The many events that took place had been illogical, impossible for you to have endured and let alone continued moving forward afterwards. And yet you had…

Even for a dream, it had been hard to believe it as such.

A rainbow colored nuclear explosion had devastated Ponyville, caused by none other than Rainbow Dash. Contrary to what one would have expected though, buildings were left standing. Nothing had been destroyed with the exception of every window surrounding the impact site and Mr. Davenport’s Sofa and Quills Store.

It had been an unexpected, but necessary action. The entire mare population had gone mad with heat and had desperately tried to get you to satisfy it. They had been rather forceful on the subject too.

The oddest part of the dream though, would have had to been your subconscious’s portrayal of Fluttershy as some sort of sex crazed predator. She had captured you and shackled you to a wall before attempting to get you to take Big Macintosh’s place while he rested his abused Big Macintosh. You and him were good friends, but even in a dream, that had been way too much of him than you would have cared to see.

And of course, there had been Pinkie Pie. No nonsense dream would be complete without her. She had somehow found you out in the middle of nowhere and dragged you back to Ponyville for party. A party that celebrated, as she put it at one point, the happy messy fun times that the heat crazed citizens were engaged in.

Or trying to engage you in, for that matter…

The dream had indeed been odd and painful at times. But in the end, it had been worth it. Through all your challenges and pains, you had along the way found the courage and determination to accept and do what you had never thought yourself capable of.

You had been true to your emotions, and told Applejack that you loved her.

It had been a good dream in the end.

And now, as the morning sun filtered through the window in your bedroom and cascaded across your bed. Your eyes slowly began to flutter open as you pushed away the dark dreamlike fog from your mind, and found yourself wishing it had all been true.

No matter how horrible and painful some of the events had been.

Slowly, you blinked as your eyes adjusted to the waking world, and eventually, though in a haze, you found yourself falling into a regular routine. One you always carried out when your dreams involved the pony you cared for.

Your eyes slowly focused on the ceiling in front of you, and you began to look at the details of it.

The ceiling was slightly faded, worn from age. The rafters were evenly spaced and made of a fine grained wood that gave the green, sage like paint coating a rather simple and gentle look to it. It was rather faded, but it held a homely and rustic look about it as well.

“That’s not my roof…”

You gently mumbled to yourself as you continued to look at it and suddenly realized your feet touched the footboard of your bed.

“And this is not my bed… and why am I naked?” You said a little louder as you forced yourself to sit up a bit and found out your body felt rather tired from the action itself, and confusion immediately set it.

Then, something suddenly sprang into your field of view from the right, covered in a white fur.

“OH MY GOODNESS YOU’RE AWA-”

“KYAAAAAAHH!”

The speed with which you sat straight up and reached behind you to grab your pillow only paled in comparison with the speed and force with which you struck the assaulting mare across the face with it. Whatever she was saying was lost to the wind as her face turned to one side with the force of your swing and her pink hair bun came undone as she fell to the floor.

The only thing that remained of her where she stood was a little white cap with a red cross on it that slowly flittered down to the ground behind its owner.

Well, so much for not hurting anypony…

Your heart was pounding in your ears as you clutched the pillow in your hands and became aware of mild sparks of pain shooting throughout your whole body. Among that though, you felt something wrapped tightly around your fingers and looked at it in shock.

It was Applejack’s ribbon. The one you had found near the tree.

“It-it wasn’t a dream… T-They’re still after me!” Your voice came out in shallow forced breaths as you tried to calm down and process what was going on.

“Oh crud, did I just… did I just knock out Nurse Red Heart? I-I, oh no! I left Applejack in the orchard!”

Panic began to set in as you began to fight with the bed sheets to gain your freedom. You had gone through so much and had finally found her, but…

“I need to find Applejack! I need to… I need to…”

You suddenly paused in your panic as you took in your surroundings and became aware of a certain familiarity with the room you were in.

“Wait a second, this is Ap-”

Your head snapped towards the door as it flung open and a butter yellow pegasus with a pink mane stepped through it. Whatever was running through your mind died at its source as pure fear immediately trampled those thoughts as it ran like ice through your veins, and your grip tightened around the pillow you still held in your hands.

“Oh my, what hap-”

“KYAAAHH!”

Gears snapped into place and you immediately let out your worn battle cry as you pulled back your arm and let loose of the pillow with all your might. All Fluttershy managed to let out at your sudden attack was a meek “EEP!” as the pillow flew at her…

“What in tarna-OOFF!”

And ducked just in time for your pillow to hit Applejack square in the face as she came running in through the door behind the shy pegasus.

Time slowed to a crawl as you tried to work out what had just happened and your arm remained outstretched in that incriminating position. You observed as the pillow fell gently off her face and gave way to her scrunched up expression as her golden mane gently fluttered back around her withers, towards the ground, unrestrained due to the lack of the ribbon you held. Her eyes were closed and slowly opened as the pillow finally hit the floor with a fluffy bounce.

“A-Applejack?” You spoke softly as time sped up again and her emerald eyes focused on your own, shock immediately overtaking her features.

“I-I-I-”

“Why yah no good…” Her expression suddenly became unreadable as her voice cut off right before she reached down and took the pillow in her mouth, and returned in muffled profanities as she charged at you. Her eyes were still deadlocked onto yours, right before she closed the gap and leapt at you as her hat flew off her head.

“Oh crud! Applejack wait!” You suddenly yelled out as you raised your arms for protection from her impending fluffy pillow counterattack. Much to your surprise though, no swing came, and after a few seconds, you dared to look at the pony that now stood on the bed you were sitting up in.

Her emerald green eyes were tear stricken, red and puffy as if she had been crying for hours on end. They wasted no time as they focused on yours, and you saw her whole body tremble as her ears pulled back and a strained hiccup filtered through the pillow in her mouth. You gently reached out for it, and took the pillow in your hand and gave it a gentle tug.

She simply let go of it, and looked away from you towards the pillow you held as more tears rolled down her cheeks and the hiccups threatened to turn into sobs.

“Applejack, I’m so sorry for the pillow…” You spoke gently as you set the pillow down and gently took a hold of her chin before you raised her beautiful face up to look into her eyes. She didn’t’ resist you. She didn’t say anything, but instead flushed furiously as she lunged into your bare chest and broke out crying in earnest, her forelegs wrapping around you tightly.

Your arms automatically moved around her, to embrace her, as if it was the most natural response your body could rely on, and the warmth you felt radiate into you only made you hug her tighter.

“And I’m sorry for what happened at the orchard…”

“Y-Yah scared me half ta’death yah idjet… twice!”

You could only let out a sigh as you closed your eyes and tried in vain to fight off the burning sensation in your eyes from hearing her pained and tired voice.

“I never meant to Applejack.”

“Ah know that… ah just…” You felt her nuzzle against you more deeply as her forelegs held you tighter, as if afraid you’d go somewhere and her voice instead came out in a whisper, sobbing and hinting of shame as she spoke again.

“Th-they told me what y-ya did… even after a-ah accidently hurt you… You shouldn’t have to have suffered through what yah did! Not for ah pony like me… not for ah-”

Her voice suddenly left her as you kept your eyes closed and began to run a hand up and down her back while the other one, the one in which you held her red ribbon intertwined between your fingers, ran through her golden mane.

“Applejack…” You spoke softly as your hand found its way through her mane and began to tie the red ribbon around it from sheer memory alone.

“You are worth that and much more… I would endure it all over and over again, just to be able to tell you, over and over again… that I love you, with all my heart.”

No reply came, and instead, there was a long pause. You could still feel her in your arms, but…

You opened your eyes to look down at her, and what greeted you were her emerald eyes searching your own as her cheeks shone red with a deep blush. You both stayed like that for what felt like hours, but in truth, it could not have been more than a few seconds before you felt her wrap her forelegs around your neck.

She was still searching your eyes as her warm breath radiated up against your face, and she gently pulled your head towards her. You were more than happy to oblige as she closed her eyes, and you soon found your lips meeting hers.

For the first time since the whole ordeal began, your lips met hers, untarnished. There was no heat driven want or emotional and physical exhaustion behind it. The only emotion that shone purely behind that kiss was the love you each felt for the other, and you felt yourself melt into her lips as she pushed deeper into your own.

“Ah love you sucahcube…” She managed to say as your lips parted for a second or two, and your eyes opened slightly to look at her. She was looking back into your own with half lidded eyes, blushing furiously. She looked beautiful.

“Ah love you more than ah can eva’put into words…”

“This works for me…” You spoke as you both closed your eyes, and you gently pulled her in for another kiss.

“I love you Applejack.”

“AWWWWW!”

The sudden chorus of “aww” that echoed through the room caused both you and Applejack’s eyes to shoot open, and your focus immediately fell on the source of it.

“Oh darling! I knew you two would finally end up together!”

“Dagnabit, not now Rarity…” Applejack spoke up as she continued to blush furiously and buried her face into your bare chest again. You could only continue to look in surprised shock at the ponies that had piled in through the door.

Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy stood looking at the both of you with gleeful glimmering eyes. Rainbow and Twilight had a few bandages wrapped around different parts of their bodies though, and you couldn’t be sure because of her purple coat, but it looked like Twilight had a black eye.

Admittedly, even if two of them looked to be in no fighting condition, the sight of so many mares blocking the door sent a newly conditioned shiver down your spine, and you began to hug Applejack tighter against you.

“Sugahcube? Yah kind’a chocking me…”

“Uh huh…” Was the only thing you could force out that resembled a reply as you looked off to the side and slightly wondered about the possibilities of you jumping out the window with Applejack in your arms. It was only the second floor, and if you recalled correctly, there was a cart of hay near there. Or was it on the other side of the building?

As if reading your thoughts, or perhaps to prevent further injuries, Rarity’s horn flared with a blue aura and you heard the latch on the window lock into place. Oddly enough though, that only made you smirk a bit.

“You know that’s not going to stop me, right?”

“Oh I know that darling, you don’t have to worry about us. We won’t make you run like you did in Ponyville.” She replied as she bounced one of her purple curls in her hoof and winked at you.

Somehow, as your gaze slowly drifted towards Fluttershy, you found that hard to believe.

“Uh huh… Say, umm , Fluttershy, where’s Big Mac?”

“Oh, he’s back home at the cottage resting…”

“Really? You sure he’s not strap-”

“He’s back home at the cottage resting…”

The tone and stare that she fixed upon you was more than enough to make you aware just how thin a line you were threading with that particular line of questioning.

“Sucahcube… yah squeezing me again.”

“Uh huh…”

Your reply was the same as before as you swallowed a sudden lump of fear that had formed in your throat. An awkward silence permeated the room as the present mares shared confused looks between you and Fluttershy.

“Well, yes, quite alright darling. But I assure you we didn’t go through all that trouble to get you out of Ponyville in one piece just to gobble you up ourselves.”

“Hooves off Rarity…” You heard Applejack speak softly from her spot on your chest.

“Oh Applejack, don’t worry. We only made sure he found his way to you. Even though Rainbow Dash was a bit reckless in the matter.”

“Oh for Celestia’s sake, come off it Rarity! I already said I was sorry! Besides, it was the only option I had left!”

“Yes, well, be as it may dear, you should have been more careful. If I hadn’t pulled him into that alleyway when I did, he’d probably still be laying on that dirt road! Not to mention you made a mess of my windows!”

“Uggh…” Was the only reply Rainbow Dash gave her as she sat on her haunches and ran her hooves down her face.

“Girls! It’s okay, he’s fine… sort of. And we managed to do it according to plan with only minor alterations.” You heard Twilight suddenly voice into the discussion, trying to placate things between the white unicorn and rainbow pegasus before it could escalate. It wasn’t really working and both of them were starting to bicker.

Oddly enough, you found the whole exchange refreshing given what you had endured. It almost felt normal. And, as you looked down at the pony you held in your arms, the one you loved, and smiled, you could only hope some sense of normality eventually returned once the heat dissipated.

With a few welcomed changes of course.

“You have wonderful friends Applejack…”

“Ah know sugahcube…” She replied with a hint of sleep to her voice as you moved your hands to rub up and down her back. You felt her immediately relax more into you, and relished the feel of her breath against your chest. She had her ear pressed against it, and the other seemed to flicker every time your heart beat and a smile splayed across her tired features.

“Poor thing…” Your head suddenly jerked up to look at Rarity as you heard her voice. They had stopped arguing. All the ponies present were looking at you, and you felt yourself blush a bit as you realized you didn’t know how long you had been lost in happy thoughts while looking at Applejack in your arms.

“She spent all week looking after you at your bedside.”

“I was out for a week?”

The shock in your voice was evident as you looked between all the faces of the mares present, including Applejack’s.

“Well, technically it was close to four days that you were out.” Your gaze fell on Twilight as she spoke up, and grinned before shyly looking away from you and instead looked down at Applejack.

“You were seventeen hours and twenty four minutes shy of the ninety six hour mark required for it to have technically been four days… Rarity just wants to push the romance angle a bit.”

“Well, not exactly romance darling. I am simply trying to make it obvious what a devoted lover Applejack can be.”

You heard Applejack mumble something, but you weren’t able to make it out. Her breathing had become more rhythmic the longer you rubbed her back, and it was starting to affect you as well. Sleeping with your love in your arms did hold a really appealing allure to it. But as your mind wound down, you found there was something that kept nagging at the back of your thoughts, and it eventually forced its way out through your lips.

“Say, umm… not to poke the hornet’s nest or anything…”

All the mares in the room suddenly looked at you with confused and questioning stares. Self preservation told you that your next words had to be selected rather carefully lest you find yourself in boiling water.

“If I was out cold for four days, naked, in this room... How come none of you, umm, lovely beautiful mares tried to, you know?”

“Have happy messy fun times with you till we broke the bed and your hip?”

Every pony, and you, turned to look at Pinkie Pie as she jumped up and down where she stood, smiling and apparently oblivious to just how exactly she had described your fears.

“Um, yeah, wow, thank you Pinkie for being so blunt about it… It was actually super easy! Twilight here know this really kinky spell that-”

“RAINBOW!” Twilight suddenly interrupted as her cheeks flared red beyond any ability of her purple coat to properly hide.

“Oh Twilight, no need to be ashamed darling, what you do with your magic is simply divine!”

Twilight just got redder and redder as your eyebrows rose higher and higher while you looked at her.

“Besides, without it we wouldn’t have been able to focus long enough to help this strapping, handsome, mmm, tasty looking stallion.”

“Uhh…” You voiced out as you felt that the room suddenly had too many mares in it again, and an awkward silence took hold of the room.

“Ugghh… my head.”

That quickly changed however as a white hoof reached up from the other side of your bed, away from the door, and grasped at the bed sheets to pull its owner up. Applejack suddenly lost all signs of sleepiness as she lifted her head from your chest to look at what had disturbed hers and your bed.

“Nurse Red Heart?”

“Oh sweet Celestia I am so sorry Nurse Red Heart! I-”

“No no, ow, it’s okay sweetie...” She cut you off as she finished standing up and tried to fix her hair into a bun again while she leaned against the bed. She wasn’t having much success with it and seemed to give up as she instead reached down to pick up her nurse’s cap. You felt incredibly horrible for what you had done and for having completely forgotten you had done it in the first place.

“No, Nurse Red Heart, it’s just- I’m really sorry! That was reflex and-and, I don’t know why I-well, I do but I-”

“Oh sweetie, don’t worry about it. You’d be amazed at how many traumatized stallions we get each year.” She continued as she reached down towards the floor again and came back up with a thermometer.

“Re-really?”

“Why yes, I should really have known better. I mean, you are still a male after all. Only makes sense you’d react like one too. Poor things though, they -say ‘ahh’ and keep this under your tongue- they jump up and scream whenever I walk into their rooms.”

You and Applejack listened intently as she spoke and took your wrist in her hoof and measured your heart rate while taking your temperature with the thermometer. Hearing her explanation and retelling of prior events with traumatized stallions though didn’t make you feel any less guilty for what you did. Still, you kept quiet until she took the thermometer out of your mouth and looked at it while still holding your wrist.

“Still, no excuse for me to go smacking you across the face with a pillow…”

“Oh sweetie, don’t worry about it, I’m not angry, okay? But just be mindful for next-oh dear…” Nurse Red Heart suddenly stopped as she looked at your temperature on the thermometer.

“What? He’okay nurse?”

“Oh yes Applejack, silly old me though, this is the rectal thermometer I just used.”

“WHAT?! I had what in my mou-”

“Here you go sweetie, these two pills are for your headache.” She interrupted your outburst as she placed two white pills into your outstretched hand…

“Huh-what? But I don’t have a head-”

"NNNNNGGAAAAH!"

And then proceeded to uppercut you square through your jaw so hard with the pillow, you were pretty sure you saw the back of your own neck. The instrument of your demise slowly feel to the floor with a downy soft bounce.

“Nurse Red Heart!” Applejack suddenly blurted out as she stood up on the bed and took a hold of your lolling head with her fore-hooves. All three Applejack’s in front of you wore expressions of sheer concern, but after a few blinks, they eventually coalesced into one beautiful mare.

“Oh don’t worry, he can take quite a bit of abuse.”

“That ain’t no reason to go on n’test how much he can take!”

“Trust me Applejack, you got yourself a keeper with that one. Just make sure to teach him how to treat a mare properly and not to go around hitting them with pillows. He's not a foal for crying out loud.” Nurse Red Heart finished with a definitive “harrumph” as she walked towards the door and every mare except Applejack watched her in silence and shock while she walked past them and out of the room.

Another awkward silence filled the room, no mare being entirely sure what to say after such a display of aggression on behalf of a caregiver. Eventually though, Twilight was the first to break the silence as she cleared her throat to get everypony’s attention.

“Well, um, I think we should head back downstairs girls and let them rest a bit.”

Everypony present simply nodded and began making their way out the door as Twilight’s horn flared and she drew the curtains to the window and made the room a bit darker. She turned towards the door and fell in behind Rainbow, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy as Applejack’s hat shone a blue hue and hung itself on the footboard of the bed.

“Oh I agree darling, let us leave these lovely couple to enjoy each other’s… cumpany.”

Your eyebrows rose as you heard the emphasis she put on the last word and made it sound like something completely different. The sensual gaze she cast in your and Applejack’s direction though made it obvious it had been intentional. So, embarrassingly enough, the blush that overtook you only served to make Applejack raise an eyebrow at you before she too blushed and turned towards Rarity.

“Rarity, just what’re ya imp-”

“Oh Applejack, darling, I’m just teasing you two a bit…” She replied with a smile on her face as she turned and walked towards the door as well. She was putting a rather enticing sway to her haunches.

Needless to say your eyes wondered a bit and, although Applejack didn’t notice, Rarity sure did as she turned to look back at you and batted her eyelashes.

“I’m just so happy that you were finally able to get him Applejack…”

Your jaw dropped as you watched her walk out the door right before her horn glowed and your old worn pants floated off a chair.

“Oh dear, these are rather… worn. Did you want me to spruce them up a bit? I’m sure I won’t make them too ‘Yosemite’ tight this time around…”

You didn’t reply, but just kept staring while Rarity smiled and folded the pants in her magic and placed them back on the chair. She then simply walked out the door and you watched as the door became enveloped in a blue aura and it closed behind her.

It took you a second or two before you realized Applejack was looking at you strangely now.

“What was that all about?”

“I… I’m not sure, but I think she tried to kill me.”

“Huh?” Applejack’s face turned into one of shock as she looked at you and then back at the door.

“Rarity? Have yah spit your bit’o sum’thing sugahcube?”

“Applejack, I don’t even know what that means…bet Big Mac does though…”

“Maybe Nurse Red Heart hit ya'harder than she wanted.”

“No, pretty sure she hit me as hard as she-”

“Where’re the pills?” She interrupted as she began looking around on the bed.

“Did yah take’em already?”

“Applejack I’m fine, I don’t need them.”

“Don’t matter, yah need to take’em!”

“Applejack.”

“Maybe ah should go n’bring her back to check you.”

“NO! Sweet Celestia, NO! Applejack!”

“Ah knew t’was a bad idea to bring yah here. We need to get you to the hospital!”

“Applejack!”

You raised your voice as you took a hold of her shoulders and turned her towards you. There was a slight bit of shock in her expression, but it vanished as soon as you took your arms off her and used one hand to caress her cheek.

“Applejack, I’m fine, really. I’m fine. Nothing hurts.” It was a lie, of course, a few things did hurt but you didn’t want her to worry as you put on your best smile.

Unfortunately though, as soon as those words left your lips, tears welled up in her eyes and you got a hint of what was about to happen. You immediately wrapped your arms around her, and gently pulled her towards you. Her hooves wrapped around your chest as she buried her face into your shoulder and neck.

“Ah was so worried about yah sugahcube… ah-ah can’t stop thinking’bout how yah passed out at the orchard and… n’how you hit hour head against that tree because… because of… me and-”

She stopped talking as you rubbed her back and tried to calm her down. Both of you remained embraced like that for close to an hour.

Eventually though, all you felt and heard was her steady and rhythmic breathing, and found it comforting that she had calmed a bit… and worrisome that she would get into such a state because of you.

Gently, you leaned your head down, and softly kissed the top of her head as you whispered into her ear.

“Applejack, I don’t’ think I’ve ever seen this side of you before…”

“Quiet yah idjet n’let me sleep.” She replied with a slight grumble and rubbed her cheek against your chest and shoulder.

“It worries me is all, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen this side of you before. It’s rather caring and-”

“And yah don’t get to make any remarks about how ah act aftah what you pulled off…”

“What did I pull off?”

She didn’t reply immediately, but only hugged you tighter and began to slowly nuzzle into your neck again. Once more you felt her warm breath radiate across it rhythmically, as she sighed and took her time to think about what she wanted to say. When she finally spoke though, she sounded tired, but also sounded surprised.

In a good way that is.

“Yah ran through a town filled with heat crazy mares, to get back to me, the one you love… No stallion’s evah been crazy enough to that for ah mare…”

You only smiled and laughed quietly as you felt sleep threaten to take you again. Too much had happened in such a little span of time, but you didn’t care.

“Well, no stallion’s ever been madly in love with a mare as beautiful and wonderful as you, Applejack.”

Admittedly you were expecting her to laugh a bit at your cheesy remark, but what she did instead surprised you none the less. A smile and a nibble on your neck was the only reply she gave. Well, and also…

“Nevah thought you’d be this corny.”

You smiled as you heard her voice, and relished having her in your arms.

“Yeah, guess I am a bit corny.”

“Uh huh, n’cheesy and a huge idjet that makes me worry about him...”

“Sorry… wish I could promise it won’t happen again. I mean, I am only human after all.”

“Then don’t, because by Celestia, ah love you sucahcube. I love ya because of who you are. Just… just promise me yah’ll be careful. A-ah don’t wanna loose you.”

Silence took hold of the room as Applejack waited for your reply, and as the minutes wore on, it looked like you might not give her one…

Not in the form of words at least.

“Sugahcube, you’re crying…”

Tears had indeed snuck up on you, tears that you happily allowed to roll down your cheeks because of the sensation you felt inside of you.

“No matter where I am, or what stands between you and me… I promise I will always come back to you Applejack.” You whispered back your reply only loud enough for her to hear you, and a comfortable silence fell between the two of you as your last words faded, and remained embedded in your heart and hers.

“I will always come home to you, Applejack… Because my home is where my heart is, and my heart… will always be with you, my love.”

Hours must have gone by and you found yourself slowly drifting off to sleep. It had become obvious a while ago that Applejack had been as well.

You had not stopped rubbing her back since everypony left and, if you had to take a guess, you were almost certain she had indeed fallen asleep in your embrace.

“Mmm, don’t stop sugahcube…”

So for obvious reason, her mumbling reply startled you a bit as you stopped rubbing her back.

“Thought you fell asleep.”

“Mmhmm…” Was the only sleepy reply she gave you as you switched from rubbing her back, to running one of your hands down her mane. She immediately pressed further into you as she made herself more comfortable against your chest.

Your back had been hurting for a bit already from having been sitting up for so long, so as you leaned back against the headboard to get more comfortable, Applejack followed suit and wasted no time in draping one of her hind legs across your waist so she too could be more comfortable. She moved completely on top of you, and was now straddling you.

Needless to say, it was a rather compromising position, and if not for the bed sheets that separated your naked body from hers, things might have started to get interesting.

“Applejack?” You spoke softly as you saw one of her ears flicker, but no reply came. Instead, the only sound that emanated from your love was the sound of her rhythmic breathing.

Well, so much for making things interesting… You thought as you relaxed a bit more and relished the sensation of the pony you loved sleeping on top of you.

“Can’t argue with you though, I think you have the right idea…”

You eventually joined her in the realm of drams after a minute or two. There was no rush to push thing further that you had.

Besides, you had all the time in the world now.

Night had completely covered the land as hours went by with you sleeping on Applejack’s bed. The room had remained dark as to not disturb you two, but even though the curtains had remained drawn, a bit of moonlight shone through the edges of the fabric.

It was enough to cast a calming glow within Applejack’s bedroom. And little by little, your body had begun to wake up as you felt something hot and moist spread across your body. Whatever it was, it was starting to make you sweat as well, and eventually, your eyes fluttered open as wakeful consciousness over took you.

It was only but a second before you realized that the source of the heat you felt was coming from the mare that lay on top of you. The moisture was her profuse sweating.

“Applejack?” You called out as you ran a hand from her withers to her lower back. She was burning hot. No reply came from here and you became alarmingly aware of just how rapid and heavy her breathing was.

“Applejack!” You called out again as your voice took on an alarming pitch and you placed your hands on her shoulders to push her off a bit so you could look at her better.

Her head simply lolled slightly to the sides in a horrible fashion that made your heart leap into your throat.

“Applejack!” You spoke louder as you gave her a shake. No reaction.

Seconds felt like hours as you called out her name once more and shook her more vigorously.

“Sweet Celestia, somepony hel-”

Your voice died in your throat as you felt her shift in your grasp. To your relief, her eyes slowly fluttered open and focused on yours.

“Hey sugahcube…” She spoke almost in a whisper as she smiled and you were finally able to swallow your heart again.

“Thank Celestia… so not fair to get revenge on me like th-mmm!”

Without warning, Applejack wrapped her forelegs around your neck and pulled you into a rather aggressive kiss. You were a bit surprised to say the least, but before you could reciprocate, you found yourself being pushed harder against the headboard as she pushed herself harder against you. She wasted no time in grinding her hips against your crotch, and your own arousal became apparent as you realized and felt how soaked the bed sheets had become the more she ground into you.

This had been building up while she slept next to you, taking in your scent. The scent of the one she desperately wanted.

Her kissing was growing desperate, like if she was afraid you’d run away. No such thought had crossed your mind, and your hands quickly found their way to her shoulders to hold her firmly.

Breathing though was starting to become a commodity.

“MmmhhmwaAPPLEJACK!” You called out as you pushed her away and managed to separate your lips long enough to take a deep breath. You could feel her struggling to make you lips meet again with hers. You couldn’t help notice a familiar hazed quality to her eyes as she pushed against your arms harder and harder.

“Applejack hold on a minute! Let me-OW!”

A sudden forceful push caused your left shoulder to shoot off a spark of pain. The involuntary pained cry to let out had an immediate sobering effect on Applejack and her vibrant green eyes suddenly started back at you in shock.

“Oh no sugahcube, ah-ah… did it again! Horseapples!” Her expression changed to one of shame and exasperation right before she tried to get off of you. You stopped her as one of your hands shot up to her check, but instead, she tried it to push it away as she kept trying to move away from you.

“Ah’m s-so sorry!”

“Applejack it’s okay, the shoulder was ju-”

“No it ain’t! You’re in no condition for me ta’go and loose it and try to have my way with yah!”

“Well that’s my decision and I’m fine! I want to Applejack!”

“Ah need to go and get Twilight so she can help me with this stupid heat!”

She wasn’t listening to you. Whatever lingering emotions or thoughts she had from bashing your head against a tree, even after everything, were clearly still weighing heavily on her. She was afraid of hurting you. A valid concern given you were a human, and yet, one you felt you should have a say in.

“Applejack!”

So if she wasn’t going to listen, then you’d just show her that getting injured by her was the last thing on your mind.

Your hand moved from her cheek to the back of her head while your other hand found it was to her back and pulled her towards you. She let out a squeak as you met your lips with hers, and conveyed just how willing you were to participate. Sheer desire was all you conveyed as your tongue forced its way into her mouth and was greeted eagerly by her own.

For the first time since your ordeal had begun, you found yourself eagerly participating as you explored every nook and ridge of Applejack’s mouth. Her tongue was all but too eager to caress yours as it worked on the underside, sides, and top of your own. Eventually though, air became a necessary commodity and you were forced to separate amid heavy breaths.

A strand of your intermixed saliva linked you both as her green emerald eyes shone clearly though half closed eyes in desire.

“I want to… I want you…” You spoke as clearly and as honestly as you could. You felt her hot heavy breath caress your face as her eyes opened a bit more and focused on yours. A deep red blush had taken hold of her features.

“Sugahcube, I-I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Applejack, you won’t, I trust you not to. And I will not deny you anything… I want you.”

The blush on her face intensified as she looked away from you and considered your words. If she didn’t feel like continuing, even after you told her you’d be okay, then you would not push the matter further. But if you were honest though, you really hoped she didn’t take that route.

“O-okay sugahcube…”

Although as you looked at her eager eyes, you got the sensation a part of her was thinking the same as you.

You moved in and kissed and nibbled her neck as she eagerly exposed it to you once your intentions were clear. You could hear her breath catch every time you alternated between the two and made your way to every reachable spot on her neck and withers. She wasted no time as well as you felt her forelegs wrap tenderly around your neck and each hoof found its way to your hair and back. You found your hands doing something similar as the one around her neck traveled down her back and the other made it way down her mane.

Once you found your target, with a quick flick of your wrist, you pulled one of the ends and undid her ponytail.

The next thing you heard was a lustful moan from her lips as your hand joined your other hand on her lower back and pulled her towards you. What she felt then was the underside of your eager and waiting arousal as it pressed against her soaked petal and rubbed against them.

The sensation was overwhelming. It was obvious both you and her had been anticipating this as soon as her neck became your playground.

“Sugahcub-ahh! Mmm!” She managed to force out as your hips began to grind against one another and she managed to pull her neck away from you.

“Ah want you. Oh Celestia ah want you! Mmahh!”

You could feel her hot breath on your face as you looked into her clear green eyes, filled with lust, right before she dove in to kiss you with as much passion as she was trying to convey.

“Ah want you to be mah’stallion… ma-mah’first and only…”

She kissed and bit your lip tenderly as she pulled away.

“Ah want to be your mare… and only yours…”

She spoke heavily through hot breaths as she ground particularly hard into your arousal, coating your length in her nectar. She was picking up speed and force. You were more than eager and happy to add your own to it as your arousal and desire for her grew.

“Applejack, I-”

“Ah want… Ah want nopony, nobody but you sugahcube! Mmmahhh! I want you! Oh Celestia ah wantMMMMAAHHHH!”

She brought herself to orgasm on top of you as she pressed particularly harder against you and you felt her drench your arousal in it. You had to fight to hold your own at bay, simply brought one by her delightful grinding. You could only gaze into her half closed green eyes as her gaze also refused to leave your own. Her hot breath caressed your face every time she exasperated from the convulsions that wrecked her body and made her gently trash against you.

You wasted no more time as you dove in and locked her into another kiss. Her tongue quickly met your own as she continued to ride out her orgasm. Eventually though, it subsided, and your parting lips were a sorrow you both felt.

But, as you looked at her blushed and loving face, you knew it was not over. Even if did take a bit for the both of you to catch your breath.

Especially since neither of you could stop diving at each other to kiss, and your arousal cooled down a bit.

“Ha… ha… wow… that was so not fair.” You finally spoke as you got enough air in your lungs.

Applejack though only smiled devilishly as a hint of confusion flashed across her face and she felt your hands move to her hips. You answered the unspoken question as you leaned in closer to her and pressed your forehead against hers.

“You should let your stallion do some of the work too…”

Her eyebrows raised a little as you pushed into a kiss, but quickly changed into a squeak and a giggle as you pushed her further back with your kiss and pulled her hips closer to yours. You gently guided her onto her back as you continued to kiss, and as you leaned over her with your hips pressed in between her hind legs and against her own hips, you found it very difficult not to go all the way.

“Applejack.” You spoke her name between kisses that began to trail down her neck, and down her chest. Your eyes never left hers as she looked at you with her lips parted in baited anticipation.

Her breathing came in faster as you passed her chest, then her stomach, and down towards her breast, and…

“Sugahcube, hold on a bit.”

You stopped as you moved and hovered over one of her nipples. Your hot breath cascaded across it and you felt her shudder in your grip.

“Ah-ah don’t want you to force yah’self to do something yah don’t want to. Most stallions don’t… don’tHAA!”

She lost her voice as you took her nipple into your mouth and ran your tongue across it, around, and suckled on it lightly while caressing her hips. You felt it stiffen and could only smile as you pulled away and tugged it lightly along for the ride. Her eyes were quick to refocus on your own as she blushed at her body’s honesty and breathed heavier than before.

“Yeah, but your stallion just happens to be human…”

You grip on her waist shifted and you felt the toned muscles of her haunches tighten and relax as you caressed them. You heard her moan as she continued to look at you with lust filled, half lidded eyes, and baited breath.

“So just relax…”

No sooner did the words leave your lips that you tightened your grip and pulled her wait up to your head as you sat up. Her back was pressed against your bare chest as her head now rested between your legs. She continued to look up at you as you moved your arms and wrapped them around her waist and held her still. Her hind legs were spread apart and dangled above your shoulders.

She was completely exposed to you, and what you saw, made your arousal as hard as steel.

You felt her fidget a bit as it pressed against her upper back and saw her bite her lip as she continued to watch you intently.

“Mmm, ah take it then ya like what you see?” She asked as you felt her tail caress your arousal and failed to hold back a grunt. The sensation of her surprising silky, yet satisfyingly rough tail travel up and down it was almost unbearable.

You had to force yourself to refocus and hold her tighter before planting a trail of kisses on the inside of her thigh. Mercifully, that seemed to have disarmed her a bit as her hind legs bucked and spurred you onward as you moved closer to your target… and completely missed her glistening and winking lips.

Instead, you skipped over to the other side and began to do the same.

“Sug-sugahcube, ain’t polite to tease your marAHHMMM!”

Well, if anything you were polite. You could have sworn your tongue was made of pure electricity. Her hind legs immediately tense up and held your head in place. You eagerly continued to lap up her nectar while parting her petals further apart and pushed in deeper to get as much as you could.

Applejack's legs slowly relaxed a bit but continued to tremble overhead as her lust filled moans came out between squeaks and happy sighs with your name intertwined among them. The feeling of your lips against her winking lips made you want to just go deeper, almost as if she was kissing you back. You had other plans though, and, as you lapped up further, you found your mark and wasted no time in wrapping your lips around it and sucked on it.

Her moaning scream as her hind legs wrapped around your head and pressed your face deeper into her only served to spur you even further in your assault as you lightly and gently nibbled on the fleshy protrusion. Your ministrations were relentless, eager, and spurred further by your mare’s rising vocal and lusty approval.

It didn’t take long before you were rewarded by Applejack’s high pitched moan as her body began to spasm and your chin and chest became coated in her orgasm. You hungrily lapped everything you could, and didn’t stop or let her rest. You lost yourself among her moans of pleasure as you alternated between focusing on her lips and her pearl.

The pressure around your head from her trembling hind legs felt numbing, but you kept going till your jaw and tongue felt numb as well. You weren’t sure for how long it went on, but Applejack’s moans had diminished little by little along the way. Her hind legs had not let up though, so as you eventually let her rest and looked at her, you could not help but think you might have gone a bit far with it.

Applejack lay trembling on the bed. Her chest rose and fell with every forced breath she took. Her eyes were unfocused as they stared up at the empty space between her and the ceiling. her unrestrained mane lay scattered around her as evidence to her carnal trashing as a result of each orgasm you have her. She looked satisfied…

“Applejack?” You called her name as you kissed the inside of her thigh and caressed her stomach.

She was burning hot and sweaty.

Slowly though, she began to react, and a small smile formed across her lips as her beautiful emerald green eyes focused again and met yours.

“You okay love?”

“My turn…”

“Huh-GAH!”

In what could have only been a move that would have made any wrestler proud, Applejack’s legs tightened around your head and rolled you over to the side with frightening ease.

Once the room stopped spinning, you found yourself pinned to the bed as Applejack startled your face and smile down at you. Her eyes had not changed to the heat crazed fog state you had come to fear, so your new position was… exciting to say the least.

She must have read your mind though, as the only things visible from underneath her were your eyes filled with curiosity and surprise.

“Ya had your fun, but ah think’s about time this mare claimed her stallion...”

She spoke with a voice that only conveyed love and lust for you as she slowly lifted and began to move back along your chest. You felt a slight shiver course through you as you felt the slowly cooling trail of her moist arousal spread further and further down. And your hands rose and settled on her hips to help guide her before you both gasped as your arousal suddenly poked her entrance. Her eyes though, immediately sought yours as she began to breathe heavier and flushed crimson.

“And ah think it’s time for you to claim your mare…”

No sooner did those words leave her lips that she pushed back and you felt her petals part as you poked harder against her entrance. The pressure and heat radiating from her as your arousal twitched against it made you want to push back and bury yourself deep inside her.

By the looks of it, Applejack wanted the same.

Instead though, she trembled as you glided your hands from her waist up towards her back and helped her lean over you. She smiled as her head neared yours and she rested her forehead against it, her golden mane cascading around you, limiting the world to just you and her. Your eyes desperately sought her and found them as she closed them and pushed her lips tenderly against yours, lovingly… and you felt yourself enter her.

Her breath caught through your kiss. Only the tip of your arousal had gone in, the tightness and heat was incredible as her silky walls and folds contracted around you. It felt like she was pulling you in with every beat of her and your heart. She was breathing harder as your kiss grew in intensity and you added your strength as she slowly lowered herself further.

Every fraction you felt yourself slip in caused the both of you to breathe harder and harder until suddenly, you felt something stop you and Applejack gasped painfully, breaking the kiss.

“Applejack… ha… ha… w-we can stop if you-MMMM!”

Applejack made her reply painfully obvious as she kissed you and pushed down with all her weight. Her hips slammed down against yours, taking away the resistance with it as she screamed painfully into your mouth. It took all your focus not to reach your peek there and then.

You now felt the tip of your arousal delightfully pressing against her deepest part.

She was trembling on top of you as a few tears fell on your face and her emerald eyes opened to look into yours. Although she looked a bit pained, she was smiling at you lovingly and did not speak.

Honestly though, no words needed to be said as you both kissed deeply. Everything you felt for each other was conveyed in that kiss. And, as you held her, caressing her, joined with her as only lovers could, you felt your heart beat with hers and little by little you felt her trembling subside… and the kiss broke.

She smiled at you as she whispered your name and pushed off of your chest till she was sitting on top of you. The new position simply served to add more pleasure as you felt yourself push harder against Applejack’s core, and you quietly observed as she pushed her hooves against her lower stomach, as if trying to feel you deep within her.

Celestia damn that’s sexy… You thought as you smiled up at her and moved your hands back to her hips. Her coat felt damp and incredible against your hands, and she too smiled as she relished the sensation and gave you a very sexy smirk while her beautiful half lidded eyes studied your prone form beneath her and she licked her lips.

“Ah hope yah ready for ah pony ride sugahcube…” She spoke as without warning, you felt her lift off of you and your arousal nearly went with her as the velvety moist tightness around it refused to let it go.

The pace was agonizingly slow. But soon the only part of you that remained in her was the tip of your arousal, and you immediately tried to focus and prepare for what was coming next.

Applejack’s hind legs trembled as she lowered herself down on you again, smoother that the first time. But it was no less breathtaking as once again you bottomed out in her before she rose once more.

Little by little, her speed increased as her moans found less and less restraint. And, as her moans came out louder, so did your own.

Soon, the only sound in the room was heavy breathing, moans, squeaks, and the slapping wet sound of your union. Every time she slammed down on you, her golden mane cascaded around your joined forms as her lustful and loving eyes closed, trying to focus, and only opened to look into yours.

It made you want to go further, to push harder. To show your mare just how much you loved and desired her.

Your hands around her waist added your own strength as you began to thrust up and met her as she fell.

Applejack’s moans began to cut out as her body slammed against yours and her breathing became strained and ragged. You were nearing your peek, you weren’t going to last much longer at this new pace.

“Ah-Applejack I’m not going to – I can’t hold-”

She fell on you, kissing you frantically as she moaned into your mouth, asking you to hold a bit, before her tongue rushed in to meet and wrestle with your own. Her heart was beating frantically against yours and you felt every pulse radiate into your arousal as her velvety walls began to tremble.

That was all the warning you got right before she pushed painfully hard against you and reached her orgasm. The contractions that surged through her velvety walls destroyed whatever restraint you had left as they sucked you deeper against her womb and attempted to milk every last drop you had to give... and you were more than eager to comply as you pushed deeper into her and drenched her womb with everything you had to give your mare.

The kiss had not broken through either of your orgasms. And, as you remained inside her, relishing the sensation of your union and afterglow, you could only hope that it never did.

Sadly though, you felt an all too familiar encroaching darkness. Both from the sudden strenuous activity on a still recovering body, and maybe also due to lack of oxygen. And before you knew it, you felt yourself grow tired and relaxed.

“Ha… ha… sugahcube?”

You suddenly became aware of Applejack’s lips no longer being in contact with yours, and blinked a few times to try and clear the shadows away before you felt fit enough to speak.

“… wow…”

Well, nopony said it would be a scholarly conversation that came out of your lips.

Still though, Applejack simply smiled and giggled cutely as her flushed face came to rest against your and nuzzled into your face. No other words were really needed as you both relished the sensation of each other and minutes passed.

Too soon for her though, you felt yourself slip out of her as she let out a dreamy sigh and cuddled closer to you. Somehow, you managed to will your arms to grab the covers and drape them over your sweaty forms as you felt spent and tired.

“Not just wow sugahcube… but amazing.”

That made you smile, and you happily kissed her as you hugged her tighter against you.

It was a tender kiss that soon turned into loving pecks as both of you relaxed more and more.

In such a state though, it was easy for you to let your mind stray, replaying everything that had led to that moment.

Your journey, in all honesty, it had been tough, painful, and yet wonderful for the sheer fact you were finally where you wanted to be… with the pony you loved. With the one you wanted to remain with. So, as you began to stare at the ceiling, an idea began to take form.

“Applejack?"

"Hmm?"

"I want you to stay with me.”

“Of course ah will sucahcube, ah-”

“No, stay with me at my house in Ponyville.”

Well that came out of left field.

Applejack fell quiet, but after a few seconds, you felt her move on top of you and her eyes soon came to a stop in front of your own as she leaned over you. She was intently searching your face as you instinctively began to search hers as well.

After a few more seconds though, she smiled, and you felt your heart soar…

“No…”

And crash into the ground like a cannonball.

You blinked a few times, as if to clear the debris of your face plant, and eventually, you found your voice again.

“Okay, ouch…”

“Sugahcube-”

“No no, it’s okay. That was a bit too sudden and-” And now she was kissing you with a fevered passion. Needless to say you were confused, which clearly showed as she pulled back and looked at you.

“You are such an injet sum’times.”

“…”

“Ah want YOU to come live with me… here.”

“Huh?”

She remained quiet for a bit before simply resuming her position on top of your chest, and pressed her ear against it. You saw a sad smile form as she listened to your heart for a while, and then looked up at you.

“Ah want you to come home… like if you never left… like before.”

It was your turn now as you remained quiet. But she didn’t need a reply though, as she could clearly hear it in your chest. You knew your heart was racing, and she knew it was racing because of her. That was honestly all she needed to hear as you slowly began to caress her. Your answer was pretty obvious, and you both remained like that till sleep came to claim you.

And it did.

Little by little, you felt her breathing grow more and more rhythmic, matching your own, as sleep began to take you once more. It was peaceful and quiet. A perfect ending for everything you both had been through.

Yet, one final thought did manage to force its way out through your lips as you closed your eyes, and mumbled into her ear, causing it to softly twitch.

“No, it won’t be like before love…”

“Hmm?...”

“It’ll be better.”

Finally, in your last waking moment, the last thing you felt was the mare you loved cuddling against you as a warm happiness spread through you from knowing you had finally reached your destination.

You were finally home…

Oh shoot! What about my home in Ponyville?... Wow, that was not the final thought you were hoping for before you fell asleep.

Author's Note

Well, this is by far the longest thing I've ever written. Aside from school work that is.

Anyway, point is that for those that have been following this little story of mine, you already know that this particular subject matter is not my particular strong point. You've seen me slowly waddle into it throughout some of the chapters. But this is the first time I dive head first...

Which I guess in retrospect is not the best way to dive into a pool that is filled with... well, this. Things might get messy and you might end up swallowing something you don't want to.

But I digress.

Actually, no, I don't. I don't have anything else to write so hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Next one should be sometime in the following weeks.

Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro.

Setting Up For The Next Race - Better Get Training.

You had made many fond memories since your arrival in this weird world filled with magical talking equines. Sometimes, as you thought back on some of these, you often wondered just how you had come to live such an odd life. The conclusion of such wonderings though, always turned out to be the same. And those conclusions were, as far as you knew, the most logically sounding conclusions any person could have come up with.

Simply put, if someone had told you that one day you would wake up in such a world, you would have brushed it off as a joke and fanciful chitchat. And as such, your conclusion was that fate had a twisted sense of humor.

Now though, more than ever, you were happy that fate had defied logic with such a joke, and that it had instead had other plans for you.

And you were more than happy to see where those plans took you.

The days that followed were perhaps the happiest, and more exhausting, days of your life up to that point. To say that you and Applejack had hardly left her room would have been an understatement seeing as you were pretty sure neither of you left the bed. Needless to say, her heat had been well kept under control, and then some, once you recovered more from you ordeal that is.

Of course, that’s not to say you actually didn’t leave the bed. That would had been silly, and likely dangerous to your health. You had to do other things beyond making bunnies jealous.

When you were hungry and needed to replenish your energies, you and Applejack ate together. When you needed to wash up and freshen up, you both showered together. And of course, when you had to sleep, you and Applejack slept together.

Okay, admittedly two out of three necessary daily routines that didn’t lead to boinking was better than none.

Unless you two felt creative and frisky while partaking in those daily activities…

Point was though, that you both had enjoyed and cherished your time together over the days that followed. And, as the days went by, and the heat died down and loosened its grip on a few members of the population, some of your friends even came to visit more often.

Applejack’s friends, when they visited throughout the week, had nothing but congratulations for you two. Even if they had been there when you woke up and you had your “sappy moment” as Rainbow Dash had referred to it teasingly at one point. Others, like Lyra and Fluttershy, had heartfelt apologies to give you for their behavior during the prior days.

Admittedly though, Fluttershy did feel the need to do hers in private with you. And, even though your questions concerning Big Macintosh’s whereabouts went unanswered, you were glad she had apparently snapped to her senses again.

Apparently was the key word. You weren’t too keen on testing that theory out.

Lyra’s apology caused Applejack to look at you funny as she took off your boxers, which she had been wearing up to that point, and levitated them over to you. She was however ecstatic when you told her to keep them. She had, after all, earned them fair and square.

Plus, the point of the whole matter was that it was still a heartfelt apology, and she had helped you in the end. Without her standing up for you in front of the mare mob, Celestia only knew how things would have turned out.

Although, you’d be lying if you said you didn’t find it entertaining to watch Applejack become flustered as Lyra assaulted her with questions about your “mating habits,” so that was a plus. Nothing wrong with letting her enjoy herself a bit, right?

But of course, nothing compared to watching Applejack in those rare occasions when Rarity would whisper questions into her ear, and then she would flush as red as the apples on her cutie mark. She never told you what they were, and sometimes couldn’t even look you straight in the eyes, and Rarity would only smile at you seductively afterwards. So, you figured that sometimes, things were better left unheard. Or as some would say, ignorance was bliss.

And plus, you told Applejack you were willing to try some suggestions. So if she felt up to it, you’d find out eventually.

Yes, things seemed to be slowly returning to normal. Well, as normal as they got in Ponyville.

And now, nearly two weeks later, as you walked towards town alongside your mare, wearing the pants she had fixed for you, you couldn’t help but feel a bit curious about what your future would be like.

You had a basic idea though, but…

“Sugahcube, ah told ya you don’t have to do this.”

“Do what love?”

“Yah know dang well what! Yah worked too darn hard for it ta’simply sell it.”

You smiled and let out a sigh as you and Applejack began to walk across the bridge that crossed over a little river near the fringe of Ponyville. The town itself was just a few yards away, and you could already see the buzz of activity taking place there. A lot of mares were going around from place to place fixing windows, setting up new flower pots, and patching holes on the roofs of some of the buildings. No stallions were in sight though, not yet at least, not out in the open.

As much as you would have hated to admit it, it was hard to hide your hesitation to go into town as the sight of so many mares gave you a literal pause, and you stopped on top of the bridge. You could feel an icy cold chill run down your spine, and your fight or flee response had already sent messages to your legs to prepare for the oncoming horny mare storm.

But it would not be necessary as a more overpowering part within you told you had nothing to be afraid of for one simple reason.

“Sugahcube?”

You turned to look at the mare beside you and without a word, dropped to her level and took her beautiful face in your hands right before you kissed her deeply. She was a bit shocked at your sudden show of affection, but that immediately wore off as you felt her push into it and she reciprocated your kiss.

You both heard wolf-whistles sounding out from town, and blushed and smiled as you broke your kiss. You couldn’t stop looking at each other, even as the whistling turned to approving hoots and howlers.

“Applejack, I’m doing this for one simple reason. And that is because some things… are worth a lot more to me…” You spoke tenderly as you caressed her and felt her push into your hand, showing she understood what you meant.

“Besides…” This time, you smiled as you caught a welcomed sight out of the top corner of your vision, in the sky, and rose to point at it. “I don’t think we have to worry about this little trip seeing as I’m not the only male in town anymore…”

Applejack followed your finger and joined you in looking up at the sky as you both stood together on the bridge. Off in the distance, a group of pegasus stallions were flying towards town, and it was a rather beautiful sight to behold. Their ability for flight had always fascinated you to some extent.

The way their wings moved effortlessly…

The way they seemed to glide through the wing currents…

Truly, the form of a pagasus in flight was a beautiful thing.

Unless it was a heat crazed mare and she was dive bombing at you. That sight was traumatizing and scary as heck.

“Guess that means it’s safe for me to be in town now if they feel it’s safe enough to come back.”

“Uh oh…”

You quickly snapped out of your thoughts and looked back at Applejack, only to snap your attention back towards the sky as something shot out of Ponyville towards the flock of pegasus. You had to squint your eyes a bit to see it, but once you realized what it was, you felt a familiar fear creep into the back of your mind. It was Thunderlane, flying like a bat out of Tartarus as he dragged behind him torn ropes and wore a visibly horrified expression even from where you stood. Behind him…

“Holy shit…”

Pegasus mares were launching into the air seemingly out of nowhere, like some horrible swarm of horny bugs that threatened to block out the sun with their sheer numbers.

You could feel your blood run cold as you looked at the scene unfolding in front of you. Events of your own ordeal were flashing through your eyes, and before you knew it, you were at the rail of the bridge screaming.

“NO!... NO!”

Your arms waved in the air as you frantically tried to get Thunderlane’s attention to no avail. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw the leading pegasus in the stallion flock suddenly throw out signals with his hooves in a panic to the other pegasus. The flock broke into different, seemingly practiced, formations and prepared for contact. It almost looked like they had prepared for the worst.

In a matter of teeth grinding seconds, the swarm of horny mares made contact with the flock, and a hellish chaos broke out in the sky. It was something that would be burned into your memories for the rest of your life.

The brave squadrons from the Flock were doing their best to keep their respective formations as they flew at breakneck speeds. It was incredible. Years of having lived through the heat seasons had turned the stallions into some of the most breathtaking flyers you had ever seen. It was like watching angels fly as they dodged, banked, dove, and climbed towards the heavens within the swarm of horny mares, trying to break away and flee.

Through their lifelong trials, they had been forged into incredible flying machines!

They had agility! Speed! And above all… they had bravery and nerves of steel!

“GYAAAHHH!!”

… All of which quickly vanished in the blink of an eye.

No sooner did the first stallion fall from the sky, screaming, tangled in the hooves of two mares, that panic quickly spread throughout the Flock like scattershot. Formations broke. The Swarm had proven to be too large. Ponyville’s pegasus population was relatively small, but it was easily still three mares to every stallion.

Whatever hope you felt for them quickly faded among the panicked screams of the stallions that fell from the sky. Their own screams only seeming to fade among the screams of the stallions still trying to survive through the Swarm.

“GYAAHH!”

“STAR HUNTER! YOU GOT ONE ON YOUR SIX!”

“I CAN’T SHAKE HER WHIPLASH!”

“DO A BARREL ROLL!”

“NNNGYAAHH!”

“STAR HUNTER! NOOOOAHH! AHHH! GYAAHHH!”

You watched in horrified amazement as two stallions covered in mares fell from the sky and crashed beyond a tree line. A sudden billow of smoke became the only marker to their ruin.

And they weren’t the only ones.

The brave Flock never stood a chance…

Stallions were spiraling towards the earth, trees, and even some of the buildings in Ponyville, screaming as the latched on mares licked and nibbled on them. It gave a whole new horrific meaning to joining the mile high club.

Without realizing it, your hand had found its way towards Applejack’s withers as you fell to your knees and hugged her. The sight that played out before you had left you speechless, and what had now begun taking place in the sky had humbled you deeply.

The Flock was lost, and the surviving pegasus stallions knew this, and were now instead trying to save some of the spiraling and plummeting stallions. Bravely, they were sacrificing themselves, trying to pry off the mares off of their fellow stallions to give them a chance to escape, only to get caught themselves and plummet too.

Bravest among them, was mighty Snowflake…

No matter his diminutive wings, he had already saved two stallions as five horny mares clung to him, and he showed no signs of stopping.

“HELP ME!”

“YEAHH!!”

He dove and pried two mares off of a plummeting stallion. The mares quickly lost interest in the skinny stallion and latched on to Snowflake instead. He now had seven mares latched on to him, and only barely seemed to slow down.

“HELP ME SNOWFLAKE!”

“YEAHHH!!!”

Another stallion was saved as he pried three mares off of the poor colt. Ten mares now clung to him!

“HELPAAHHH!”

“YEAAHHHH!!!!”

A last burst of effort.

One final stallion was saved.

Mighty Snowflake tore three more mares off of him and began to spiral out of control. Heroic as he was, he had fallen like any other warrior that had fought up in that sky… and now plummeted towards earth with thirteen horny mares clinging to him.

“YEEAAHHH!!”

Straight at the bridge where you and Applejack stood.

“YEAHHHOLY SH-”

“GET DOWN!”

“What th-”

Instinct took over. You immediately threw yourself over Applejack and pushed her to the ground as you lay on top of her to protect her. With a bit of hope and Celestia given luck, perhaps your body would be enough of a cushion to take the brunt of the impact from the steroid-grown pagasus covered in mares, and protect the mare you loved.

Fate though, had surprised you once again as it threw you a bone, and instead, all you heard and felt was a tremendous splash that sent a tidal wave of water over the bridge. You and Applejack were soaked to the bone as you slowly stood up, and adrenaline coursed through you. Your breathing came out hard and fast as you neared the side of the bridge and peered over the rail to look below.

“NO! NO! GYAHH!”

“MMM! Always wanted to try beefcake!”

“NOO! GYAHH! HELP ME!”

You watched as Snowflake struggled in the shallow river against the horny mares that swarmed all over him, trying to get a piece of the beefcake. It was like watching a train wreck. You couldn’t look away as you realized just how lucky you had been that they had not gone after you as they had the Flock.

Soon though, you became aware that Applejack was standing again next to you looking over the bridge at the unfolding scene as well. She looked oddly nonchalant about the whole thing, even if she was dripping wet from the splash of water. It was only obvious that she looked a bit confused by your questioning stare as she turned to look at you.

“What’s wrong sugahcube?”

“What do you mean what’s wrong?” You replied in disbelief as you pointed towards the battle in the sky and then at Snowflake in the river.

“NO! NO! DEAR CELESTIA! WHY AREN’T YOU HELPING ME?!”

She followed your hand gestures and looked at where you pointed. There still seemed to be no reaction coming from her. And, after a few seconds slowly ticked on by, all she did was shrug as she turned to look back at you.

“Happens every year.”

“Huh?”

“Yup, usually the pagasus go and send sum’scouts first t’check on how the heats progressing. If they all come back, then the rest of them go n’fly on in. If none of them come on back, then they’ll stay away ah’bit longer.”

You blinked a few times as you tried to process the new bit of information that she had divulged. It was unavoidable to look once again at the struggling pegasus in the river now that you knew how it had all come to be. Was everything really so organized within all that chaos? Did every pony have a plan like that to avoid getting caught? Was the fact that you survived just dumb luck?

Too many questions were racing through your mind. Your only plan had been to run like an idiot for as long as you could and hope for the best. Hope that you’d be able to fix what you had done, correct what had happened. These poor stallions on the other hand had a system, a plan, years of experience… And they had still failed miserably!

“W-why? How the heck did I escape? How was it that by some stroke of dumb luck I escaped?! What-”

You became quiet as you felt Applejack place her hoof over your hand in a comforting gesture, and you turned to see her next to you. Her expression was concern, fear… similar to what you had seen when you woke up in her room. And just like then, you felt yourself calm down, and you understood why things had turned out the way they had.

Your hand shifted as you took a hold of her hoof and gave it a squeeze.

What had pushed you onward had been one simple desire. One simple thought, one simple dream of a mare with a golden mane, and emerald green eyes that lifted you up every time you fell.

“Sugahcube, ya made your way back home to me’cause some things are simply worth ah’lot more...”

Even if you had not realized it then, it was easy to see now what your source of strength had been. To see what had fed your determination through your ordeal. And even though she had had her doubts, her moments of not accepting you would risk so much for a pony like her, she now understood too. She understood how much she meant to you.

The only reply you could give her now was a simple calming smile to show her you were okay. Even if you actually still felt like running away from what was going on around you.

Hey, just because you had figured out the reason behind the unfolding chaos, it didn’t mean it made it any less horrifying.

“So what do you supposed happened?” You asked as you looked once again at the scene before you.

“Ah guess this year them fillies got smart. Must’ve let the scouts go back so they all could get at the rest of’em…”

“Clever girls…”

“FOR CELESTIA’S SAKE! WHY ARE YOU JUST STANDING THERE?! HELP!!”

You both remained there on the bridge looking on as the chaos seemed to be entering its final throes before the curtain fell on the whole thing. There were not many stallions left from the Flock up in the sky. Some had managed to escape, but it had been nowhere near a noticeable fraction of the Flock. And those that still remained, were literally dropping like flies.

“NO! NO! GYAHH! HELP!”

You felt Applejack’s hoof pull free from your hand and she nuzzled into your hip as she gave you a gentle push towards town. It startled you a bit, but it was enough to tear you eyes away from the trashing pegasus in the river.

“Come on sugahcube. Don’t ya fret either, your mah’stallion and if ya really want to do this, ah’ll make sure no mare lays a hoof on you.”

Without another word, you smiled and began to walk alongside her as you left the bridge. Yet, right before you took the final step off of that bridge, you stopped and turned around to look at the sky and the river. Applejack stopped too and looked at you as you gave a small salute, like you’d seen in the movies, and turned to walk away.

“What was that all about?”

“Spirit.”

“Spirit?”

“Eeyup, to show I’m with them in spirit.”

“Ah, ah guess that makes sum’bit of sense…” She paused for a second as she looked at you and let loose a devilish smile. “But, ya sure ya don’t want me to just go on and leave ya here, alone, so ya can be with’em physically? Sure’em mares would love another go at you.”

“NO! I mean, no, not really, no, thank you… Umm, say? Have I told you lately how much I love you?”

You and your mare fell into a pleasant conversation as your voices faded, and you both walked further into town, leaving that horrific scene behind you.

“NO! DON’T GO! HELP ME!”

“I FOUND THE BEEFCAKE GIRLS! MMMM!”

“GYAAAAHHH!”

The walk through town towards your destination had been interesting to say the least.

Although most mares walked around like if it were any other day of the year, and they had not spent the major part of a prior day hunting you down, you could plainly tell that some mares were still slaves to their primal urges. Quite a few mares, not many, still looked at you with a hunger and glazed over stare that more than once made you reconsider postponing your plans and going back home with Applejack.

However, Applejack on the other hoof, had done nothing but stick to you like caramel on an apple as soon as you set foot into Ponyville proper. Throughout the whole walk, she had done nothing but constantly rub and nuzzle against you while sighing contently. A few times, she even nibbled at your sides and caused you to laugh and giggle. It was all very confusing to you, the sudden change in her behavior around you, and questioning her about it only returned a smile.

You were starting to wonder if being around other mares in heat was starting to affect her, sort of like turning a switch back on. But as you observed closer, you began to realize something that you never thought possible.

Although a few mares looked ready to take a very kinky bite out of you, none of them had made a move for it. For reasons you could only guess, Applejack’s actions seemed to have some sort of sobering effect on the mares.

Throughout the whole walk, although you got plenty of hungry looks, no mare had dared to touch you or chase you. Heck, some of them even seemed to snap out of it and waved at you in greeting.

Admittedly, being chased and hunted down again had been one of the major concerns on your mind when you first proposed the little trip into Ponyville. Even then though, you had wanted to go alone, for reason you didn’t want to share with Applejack. Not yet at least.

She had been dead-set on coming with you however. And now, as you stood with her in front of town hall, untouched and still with your clothing on, you were glad she had been so stubborn. Even if it ultimately meant that your surprise was going to be a bit lacking in, well, the surprise element.

“What we doing here sugahcube? Ah thought we was going to your house.”

“Oh, we are. I just need to do something first. You’ll see love.”

Applejack just raised an eyebrow as you walked inside through the double doors. She fell in behind you as soon as you cleared the doorway. It was a huge mistake.

The mare behind the reception desk visibly lit up and let out an almost primal lustful roar as soon as she saw you. You froze like a deer in headlights, but that vanished as soon as she jumped on top of the desk and her horn glowed. You had forgotten that Raven, the Mayor’s aid, was a unicorn.

Too little too late did you manage to turn around and make for the door, only to have your legs go stiff as Raven’s magic engulfed them and held you rooted.

“Howdy Raven!” Applejack suddenly called out as she walked nonchalantly next to you and nuzzled into your hip. Raven’s magic immediately broke and you fell forward with a surprised yelp.

“Oh, well hello Miss Applejack!” Raven happily replied as she got off her desk, walked back behind it, and smiled at the both of you. You could only stare dumbfounded as you wiggled your legs to make sure the spell was actually no longer active.

“Welcome to Ponyville Town Hall! How may I help you?”

Slowly, you stood back on your feet and watched her carefully. It had to be a trick. If you had learned anything, it was that there was no way it was that simple.

“Sugahcube?”

“Huh?”

Hearing Applejack’s voice though, snapped you out of your thoughts and you turned to look at her. She had a reassuring smile, encouraging you to go on and do what you had come to do. It was enough, for the time being at least, as you nodded and slowly approached the reception desk while never taking your eyes off of Raven. She was smiling as if she hadn’t just tried to hold you down with her magic.

“Um, okay, so we are pretending that almost didn’t happen then? Okay, know what, I give… when in Rome.”

Both ponies just blinked at you, confused. Something twitched in your forehead and you just threw your arms in the air in defeat and walked over to the reception desk. One thing at a time, you did have plans after all.

“Yes, hi Raven. I’d like to apply for a business permit.”

“Huh?”

Oh how that confused stare from Applejack made that whole little incident worth it. Not as much though as when you kept it just outside of her line of sight while filling it out. She was like a little curious foal trying to see.

“That was mean sugahcube.”

“Not as mean as you leaving me alone with all those mares for like two minutes...”

“Yeah? Well ah still don’t get what you’re planning sugahcube. Ah thought ya wanted t’sell your house.”

“Oh, you’ll see in a bit what I have planned love. I just need a visual aid, that’s all.”

You couldn’t help but smile as you pushed the door to your house open and stepped inside. The whole walk from Town Hall to your house had been nothing but Applejack asking questions about your plans. You had avoided giving her any specific answers, and only replied vaguely enough as to not give any specific information, but still with enough information to hold her curiosity.

Now though, as you stepped further into your house and took in the state of it, you could finally give her the answers she wanted. Good thing too, you were starting to feel she might buck you for teasing her for so long.

Your home still looked the same as it had on that day so long ago, when you left ignorant and unafraid of mob sized groups of mares. The living room was still cast in darkness, because you had left in a rush and had not bothered to pull back a curtain to let any sunlight in. There had been no point, nopony else was going to be there while you were away. The kitchen had fared no better than the living room either. Cold and still, shrouded in shadows, you had left without eating anything for breakfast seeing as you often ate lunch and dinner at the farm after work. It had honestly seen very little use since you bought the house. And, as you walked further into the house, you could not help but pause for a bit and look around. It wasn’t just those two areas of the house that were cold, but even the bedroom and its incredibly comfortable bed felt frigid as you looked at it.

It was strange, you had to admit to yourself. At one point it had felt welcoming, like a home should, if a bit lacking, but now it felt...

“… rather unwelcoming.”

“Ya say sum’thing sugahcube?”

You turned around to see Applejack standing in the middle of the living room while she looked around. She had drawn the curtains and allowed some warm sunlight to filter into the room. Some of the beams of sunlight bounced off the wood floor and up towards the ceiling, suddenly adding a golden detail to its surroundings. She looked beautiful in the light as her orange coat shone slightly brighter and her golden mane bounced a bit in the light as she looked around. For some reason, the room and the house itself suddenly felt more inviting now, warmer. But perhaps, it was just the sunlight.

It was easy to smile as you walked over to her and sat on the couch, motioning for her to join you. She only looked at you a bit strangely, but still hoped up on the couch next to you and got comfortable as she nuzzled and rested her head against your shoulder. She let out a slightly relaxed sounding sigh as you draped your arm around her and pulled her closer towards your side.

The both of you remained like that for at bit, relishing the comfortable silence that permeated the room. It was a real shame that you had to go and disturb it.

“Right here, in front of us, in front of those two windows, I’ll set up the front counter.”

“Huh?”

“And right behind it, on that wall partition between the two windows, I’ll put up some shelves.”

“Shelves?”

“Yeah, they’re these pieces of wood that you-HURK!”

You suddenly became quiet as you felt Applejack hit you rather hard on your side with one of her hooves. It was hard not to smile mischievously a bit, even though it had been a bit hard.

“Okay, ah get yah opening up a store, what with the business permit yah just applied for. But just what will yah be selling sugahcube?”

“Well, thanks to my latest adventure with the mares of Ponyville, I have decided that I will be selling my services to Ponyville.”

“… come again?”

It took you a second to react to the tone of her voice and you immediately turned to see her glaring at you.

“What? OH! No, no no, not that kind of service!”

Her glare visibly softened, but she was still looking at you skeptically. You supposed given current events, better context would have been appreciated.

“I only meant that while I was running for my life through town, I noticed a lot of places that could use some fixing up or other small repairs. That being the case, I’d simply be selling my services to help with that.”

That explanation appeared to remove the rest of Applejack’s skepticism and she remained quiet for a while as she seemed to carefully roll around your idea in her head and looked around the room. She seemed to really be in deep thought over the matter, but after a bit longer, she eventually shared her two bits with you.

“Sugahcube, that’s great ya wanna provide such ah service for Ponyville. To be honest, yah’real good at that sort of thing… surprised us all ah bit too.”

“Okay, a rather backhanded compliment… but?”

“But ah suppose that means yah won’t be working on th’farm anymore, huh?”

It was your turn to be silent in thought as you looked at the pony sitting next to you. She looked visibly sad as her ears pulled back to lay flat on her head and her eyes focused on her hooves. You wasted no time as you gently placed your hand on her cheek and turned her face towards you before lovingly kissing her. You felt her hesitate for a second before pushing deeper into it and added a bit of passion to it before pulling away to look at each other. Her face was visibly flushed and her hot breath cascaded down your neck and chest. Her heat wasn’t completely done with yet, but her drive had decreased a great deal and was almost back to normal. Or what you assumed was normal seeing as a few times things did get rather pleasantly, and strenuously, heated between the two of you.

Not that you complained.

“Applejack, of course I’ll be working on the farm. I would only be taking one or two big jobs around town per week, and whatever little small ones fit in between. Only enough work to earn some extra bits to help out.”

She only blinked at you, and you took it as a sign to continue.

“I’ll turn the bedroom into my workshop and be here only one or two days out of the week. Every other day I’ll be home fixing up things and helping out like I always have since I got here.”

She smiled at you as her flushed features only got more pronounce. She loved hearing you say that, calling the farm your home, so it was no surprise when she pushed into another passionate kiss with you as she closed her emerald eyes. You felt her waste no time as she move on top of you to straddle you on the couch. She had to take a few seconds to catch her breath after she finally pulled away and tried to speak again.

“Are… are yah sure sugahcube? Are yah sure yah want to turn your place into a repair shop?”

You only smiled as you leaned in to kiss her neck, and spoke as you trailed a few kisses and nips. You could hear her sigh dreamily as you answered her and she exposed more of her neck to you.

“Not just a repair shop love, but a store too… your store.” You stopped as you felt her hooves gently place themselves on your head as she pulled you away to look at you. She looked a bit confused.

“I know you love setting up over at the open marker, but if you want, this can be your store too. I’ve heard you speak to Big Macintosh a couple of times about maybe pooling some funds into getting a small permanent shop in town. So…”

Slowly, you began to move your hand around the living room as you pointed to certain areas, and Applejack’s eyes followed every move you made.

“Behind the counter on the shelves, you can display some of the jams and other goods your family makes on the farm. Over there, near the wall that separates the living room and my soon to be workshop, I could build some bins for you to display the apples. Over here I can set up some spouts for when its apple cider season, probably a few tables too. And over there, where the kitchen is, it will remain untouched if you or anypony else feels the need to cook some apple treats to sell.”

You tried to smile at her as you finished. Her eyes had settled on yours for a while even before you had stopped talking. You couldn’t make out her expression.

“All of it of course, only if you want to Applejack… It’s your decision. And, ahem, well… um, it’s only an idea. I do intend to make it into a repair shop, but making it into a store too is only if you wa-mmmh!”

Without so much as a hint or warning, her forelegs had wrapped around your neck like a vice and she had pulled you to meet her halfway in what resembled a lunge at your lips. Although there was obvious force in the act, her lips had made contact with yours tenderly before it divulged into an intense and passionate kiss. Her tongue had wasted no time in forcing your lips open and subduing you own without any resistance whatsoever.

You were all too eager to let her do as she pleased. Breathing though, had become hard as you both lost yourselves in each other, and eventually you had to breathe.

“I-I take it you agree?”

“That all depends, what we calling it?”

“Well, I was thinking ‘Apple Barn Repairs and Goods’ but it a working name s-mmm!”

Okay, so she may have liked the name or not. You weren’t too sure. But honestly, at that moment, it didn’t really matter. All that did matter were her lips against yours and her hooves running down and up your chest. It wasn’t long though before you felt her hooves find their way to your belt to get it undone. After a few seconds of blind fumbling though, she separated her lips from yours to look down at what she was doing, and you took that opportunity to take off her hat and set it off to the side as you began to pull your shirt off. She in turn took that opportunity to begin peppering your chest with hot breathy kisses as you finally pulled the shirt off your head and moved your hands to her waist.

“Sugahcube, mmm, yah gonna ha-have to take that belt off. Ah can’t get it right yet…”

You only smiled as your hand slowly, teasingly slow, glided down her waist, down her thigh, and over to your belt buckle. Her breathing had intensified with every inch of her coat that you had caressed along your way to remove the annoying clothing item. She seemed ready to lose herself within her first orgasm right there and then, only from your touch. And it was likely not going to be the last if you had any word in it.

Slowly, you pushed the belt into the buckle and tugged to get it loose before-

“Come’er you! Yah taking too long!”

You suddenly found yourself being dragged down to the couch by a pair of orange hooves and lips.

“Well well… somepony is eager.” You spoke teasingly as you broke free from her lips and smiled down at you mare.

“Yeah? Well, all that nuzzling n’rubbing ah did to keep yah safe while in town got me all like this.”

“Oh, really? Well I think I forgot to sign some papers at the Town Hall. Maybe we can go right now an-”

The sensation of her lips against yours and your tongues wrestling made it all too difficult to finish your teasing. She was making it really obvious that in her current state, she didn’t need any more warming up. Especially when she pulled away, bit your lip, and pulled it along for the ride.

“Enough…Your pants sugahcube. Take’em off and rut your mare properly.” She suddenly demanded in a sultry and needy voice, and you were all too happy to comply. You were growing rather tired of the painful confines of your pants anways. And besides, it simply meant that it’d be your turn next time to be in charge.

She watched you intently as you undid the belt buckle and then undid the button for your pants right before pulling them down as you kneeled over her. Your boxers did little to hide your fully exposed arousal and it sprang forth through the front opening. So, it was only obvious that you wasted little time in removing them too and cast the remainder of your clothes off into an unseen corner of the room, and resumed your position over her. Her eyes were glued to it as you leaned down to kiss her forehead and lined yourself up. The heat and moistness spreading against your tip as you pushed lightly against her opening only seemed to feel more enticing than any other time before.

Slowly, you applied a little bit of pressure and soon enough, you felt a now familiar rich warmth and tightness begin to envelop the tip of your arousal. You couldn’t help but moan in pleasure as you buried yourself deeper, fraction by fraction of an inch. You could feel your mare shudder beneath you as you continued to enter her. And, the deeper you went, the harder it seemed to be for her to control it. She had told you to rut her properly though, so it only felt natural that you complied and helped her along so you could begin.

You began to pepper kisses along her forehead, and found your way to one of her ears. You nibbled on it as you added more pressure and force, and you felt her return the sensation by nibbling and kissing your exposed neck as she reached up and wrapped her hooves around it.

A sudden nibble, turned bite on your neck, let you know she was done taking it slow, and you slammed more than a third of your remaining arousal into her. Her spasming walls around your length as your tip pressed deeply against her womb let you know she was really close to her first orgasm, and that she had obviously been more eager than you thought.

“Hard.”

You heard her breath into your neck as she began to kiss the area she had bitten.

“Hard. Rut your mare hard n’fast.”

Drawing yourself out proved to be more difficult than you thought as she held you tightly inside of her. The pleasing sensation made it hard to keep your focus on the motion, but with a bit of effort, you pulled out far enough to leave just the head of your arousal inside of her. You found it hard not to look down at Applejack as kneeled over her ready to do as she asked. Her mouth was slightly opened as her half lidded, lust filled eyes, shone as she looked up at you, and then looked down at your union.

You had to look down as well, and only grinned lightly right before you buried yourself in her again with a hard resounding slap of your hips. The hungry moan she let out only spurred you forward in your actions as you pulled out again and slammed right back in again with more force and speed. Each time you slammed yourself inside, she moaned out in pleasure and called out your name. The couch had begun to make noises as well as it protested, and creaked and slammed on the hard wood floor.

Guess you were going to have to add replacement of flooring to your list of things to do to get the place looking ready for business. But that would have to wait a while… a good long while.

It wasn’t long before her hooves hooked around your arms and shoulders as she prepared for what was about to wreck her.

“AH!...Mmm… sugah-AH!... oh Celest-AH!... so close… ha, ha… faster… harder… ah… AH!!”

You were close too, dangerously close. But not as close as she was, and that worked perfectly for what you had in mind.

“Mmmm!...Ha!... AH!... NNAAAAHHH!!”

Her hind legs wrapped around your waist as she held you deep within her, tightly pressed against her womb and spasmed as she lost herself in her orgasm. You had to focus intently as you felt her walls try to milk you, and brought you dangerously to the edge. It nearly threw your plans out the window. But you couldn’t deny though that you wouldn’t have cared either way.

You felt her forelegs pull you down to lay on her, and you happily complied as you fell on top of her and felt her heaving chest and rapid heartbeat against yours. You took no small measure of delight as you heard her labored, yet content sounding breathing in your ear. It had, in a way, become the perfect complement to let you know you had done well in pleasing your mare.

Honestly, how many could say they could make Applejack winded without her bucking any apples?

You wasted no time in kissing and nibbling on her neck, just the way you knew she loved it, to help her come down from her orgasms. You were still buried deep inside her, hard as a rock, and it was a fact that wasn’t lost on her as she began to recover further, and kissed you back.

“Yah didn’t finish sugahcube… yah still hard as a rock.”

“Yeah…”

“Well…” You felt one of her forelegs move and rest against your chest as she lightly pushed you back and smiled delightedly. “We gonna have t’fix that, ain’t we?”

It was hard not to smile guiltily as you plan came to fruition and you allowed her to push you back. You slowly pulled out of her and watched her moan slightly, still sensitive from your intense rutting session. The first of many for the day if things kept going the way they had.

Once out, you moved back on the couch to allow her some room to move, and watched as she shakily stood up on all four hooves, and turned to rest her head and forelegs on the armrest of the couch. She turned to look back at you with a sultry smile as she lifted her tail off to the side to give you a very sexy view.

“Ah ain’t no dummy, so ya’ll have to pay the toll if yah want to use the other barn door…” She said with a wiggle of her rump as she stuck her tongue out at you.

Damn, she saw through your plan, clear as day. You had learned that in her state she wouldn’t be as satisfied unless she felt your warmth inside her womb. And, of course, you had no intention of leaving her unsatisfied, but it was just that sometimes a little of variety and naughtiness was needed to keep things fun.

“Sorry Applejack, I’ll make sure yAHHMMM!”

Too little, too late, did you realize Applejack’s tail had snaked itself around your neck right before she pulled your head down, and buried your face between her well toned cheeks. Her evident arousal greeted your lips, but you played along and let her have her fun as your eyes barely reached out far enough to look at her playful smirk.

“Ah didn’t say yah could talk sugahcube… mmm, so how’s about yah use’em lips and tongue for sum’thing we’ll both enjoy?” She said as she wiggled her rump and you smiled as you felt her lips rub against yours. Your tongue immediately shot out to part them and lap at her nectar as your hands took hold of her waist to give you at least some sort of control.

Her, once again, approving moans was all you needed to know she didn’t mind you taking a bit of charge in your pleasuring of her. You felt her winking, trying to suck in your tongue more than what you were already doing.

Her actions became more vigorous as you began to massage her rump, constantly rubbing around her cutie mark, right before you pulled a hand away and brought it back in a resounding spank. You heard her suck in wind through a hiss, but she was quick to show her approval as she pushed harder against you. You left your had caressing the now slightly warmer area you had spanked and felt her shiver a bits as you made your way towards her pearl with your lips and tongue. No sooner did you reach it, that you began to nibble, lick, and suckle on it a bit.

“OH! Mmm!... ha… ha… mmm!”

Yup, nothing but approval for what you were doing, and judging by how soaked she was, it was about time to get started on properly paying your “toll” as she had put it.

Another resounding spank caused her to push further and your wasted no time in bring an arm around, between her legs, and lifted one of her hind legs over your shoulder as you lifted her waist up. Her other hind leg dangled a bit off of the couch as you held her and she gripped the armrest of the couch for better support.

She almost spasmed out of your grip as you took you other hand and began to massage her lips, getting them coated in her arousal as you continued to lick and nibble on her pearl. Her moans and sighs never let up as you felt her hind legs twitch with each stroke of your tongue and fingers.

After only a few moments of this, you felt her spasm as she held her breath, cutting off a moan, and coated your chin with her nectar. You didn’t let up as you drank greedily from it, and continued your assault on her twitching form. You almost didn’t hear her speak because of how out of breath she sounded.

“E-enough sugahcube… ha… mmmah… any-any more n’ah won’t… be able… t-to keep standing.”

You only smiled as you caressed her back with the arm you were using to hold her hind leg over your shoulder, and continued to gently massage her winking lips with your other hand… right before you took your nectar coated fingers, and brought them up to her other entrance. You felt her tense a bit as you made contact with her ring, but your continued massage of her back, quickly caused her to relax again, and you found it easier to work the lubrication in so as to not hurt her. Every time you stopped to get your fingers nice and coated again, you returned and pushed a little bit harder, finding that she was relaxing a bit more every time.

Soon enough, you were able to push in the first knuckle of your finger, and you began to massage her from the inside as you heard her take a deep breath, and let it out in a moan as she readjusted to the new sensation. She no longer needed you to be stimulation her lips or pearl to keep the flow of her arousal, your actions alone were now enough to keep her hot, aroused, and eager for you to get to the next step.

You gently lowered her down onto her hind legs and observed as they trembled a bit. Once she had her balance, she slowly parted them to give you a bit more access to the entrance below her tail, which now lay limply, raised off to the side. You allowed your hand to continue massaging her ring, slightly tugging it a bit wider as you took your position behind her, and looked up to see her staring back at you with nothing but want in her eyes.

She may not say it, but you were pretty sure she enjoyed variety as much as you did.

Gently, you pushed the tip of your arousal against her back door, and held it there as you took a certain position you knew she enjoyed. Lovingly, you removed your hands from her rump, and wrapped them around her waist so that your hands now rested on her stomach and lower belly, right over hear breast. Slowly then, you allowed your weight, your warmth, to descend on top of her back as you brought your head next to hers on the armrest and kissed her on the cheek.

You had tried this position a few times before, having found it odd at first and hard to get into a proper rhythm. But during one odd conversation with Twilight, she had explained to you that most mares were used to feeling the weight and the warmth of their stallions over them as they mated. You had been willing to give it a try, and were pleasantly surprised to find out that Applejack found it just as pleasing as when you faced each other.

Variety, right?

Not surprisingly at all, you felt Applejack relax even more in this position and you nibbled on her ear as you as you whispered into it.

“You ready love?”

“Unnh huh…” Was the only reply you got as her tongue slightly lolled out of her mouth.

Gently, you brought your hips forward, and felt your arousal slip past her ring, and bury itself deeper in her tail hole. You slightly bit your lip, trying to hold back a moan, as you realized just how hot she was, and how ready she was to take you in this way. And, even though her eyes opened a bit wider as she adjusted to your girth inside of her rump, each fraction of it the disappeared into her, only made her moan longer and louder… till it was only one long, loud moan as you bottomed out in her.

She was panting heavily, and you began to massage her stomach with your hands as you felt her contract around your intruding arousal. One of your hands made its way down to her breast and began to massage it as you tried to help her relax a bit more. Soon, her panting subsided a bit and you felt her nuzzle her cheek against yours, and felt her smile as she pressed further into you.

“Don’t stop sugahcube… ah won’t deny yah anything…”

“Odd, I think I said something similar to you once.”

You only felt her smile wider as she continued to press her cheek against yours and let out a happy sigh as she clenched harder around your arousal. Things were about to get interesting and messy.

“So don’t deny me what ah want... get to itAAHHH!”

Without warning or hint, you began to pull back and felt her walls spasm and clench around you because of the sudden motion. What she wanted, after all, was the same thing you wanted.

She relaxed again as soon as she felt you almost reach the end, and let out a slight squeak as you pushed back in. The squeak suddenly ended with her breathing heavy and moaning as you bottomed out once again. With the hand you had on her breast, you continued massaging it but also began to play with her erect nipple as you began to pull out once again. And, as you trusted back in, your other hand found her pearl and began to massage it as you felt her nectar drip down and coat your fingers. You alternated hands, and used that collected moistness to cause her nipple to shine and cool, causing her to coo softly.

After a few increasingly faster and harder trusts, she had stopped pressing her head against yours, and had instead rested it on the armrest as she turned to face you. With each trust and sudden slapping of your hips against her well toned rump, she let out a hot, breathy moan and closed her eyes. All you could see now was a tiny sliver of green as it glistened through her almost completely closed eyes, and her tongue slightly lolled out with every hot breath she let loose. She knew you enjoyed watching her beautiful features as she enjoyed what you did to her, just as you knew she enjoyed the current position you two were in.

You could feel her tightening, clenching as she got closer and closer to her orgasm, and allowed herself to moan louder and louder in abandonment as she repeatedly called out your name. You pressed harder, trusting in and out as fast and as hard as you could. Again, the couch began to protest, louder than before as it creaked and slammed against the already abused floorboards.

“Oh sugahcube! Ah! Ah! AHH!... Mmm, sweet Celestia keep going… ah’m so close!”

It was getting increasingly harder to keep your focus on not reaching the edge before her. Every second that passed, every breath you took, felt like the countdown to a major explosion. But you put forth more effort… perhaps a bit more than Applejack could handle. Without warning, you felt her hind legs give out and you had to act fast without losing rhythm as you removed your hand from her breast and pushed it against the armrest of the couch, holding yourself and Applejack as you continued thrusting. The added strain doing little to hinder you while being so close to the finish line.

“Su-sugahAH…cube… ah'm cumming… ah’m cummmAHHHH!”

And so did you.

No sooner did her orgasm take a hold of her that you were no longer able to hold back, reaching your own peak. You had to close your eyes to bare the sensation. The tightness that you felt as she convulsed and clenched around you felt incredible, almost to the point that you thought you might not be able to stop emptying everything you had into her.

Slowly, gently, you felt her nose touch yours as her satisfied moans continued to escape her lips, and you guided yourself into a loving kiss. You could feel her struggle tiredly to return it as your arms relaxed and allowed you to lay her down on her belly on the couch. You tried to pull out your slowly relaxing arousal so as to not have to put your entire weight on her, but a gentle bite from Applejack on your lips told you to remain as you were. So instead, you remained inside her as you settled your weight on top of her, and felt her sigh contently into you kiss.

“Ah-ah don’t rightly think ah’ll be able to walk back home after this sugahcube…” You heard her say teasingly, yet tired, as you remained on top of her, relishing the warmth of her body against yours. It was hard not to smile goofily at the comment as you slightly, and tiredly as well, opened your eyes to look at her. Applejack still had her head turned to the side as she stared back at you lovingly with her glistening emerald green eyes, and you felt yourself slip out of her as she smiled relishing the sensation. You couldn’t help but smile back at her with an even goofier smile than before.

“Don’t ya smile like that yah idjet. Ah’m being serious…”

“Well then, more reason for us to stay here at my house for the rest of the day and night.”

She only gave you a sultry grin that conveyed just how right you were about that, and then proceeded to turn onto her side as she faced you and leaned into another kiss that lingered long enough to make you wish you didn't need to breath. Yet, she pulled away and closed her eyes as she nuzzled into your chest. That was an acceptable compromise to a kiss.

“Don’t ya mean stay here at our store?”

“Really? I don’t think you ever said yes to the ide-ow…”

The jab was light, and well placed to let you know she was only teasing with you. You countered her jab by quickly wrapping your arms around her and pulling her in close, where she couldn’t do much damage, and began to nibble on her ear.

“Ha! No, stop! Yah tickling me! Quit it sugahcube, ah’m-mmm Celestia, why are yah so good at that? Ah’m-ah’m trying to be serious here sugAHcube. Ah didn’t think ah needed t’say much more after what we just did.”

You relented your assault on her ear as you allowed her to calm down and instead switched to kissing her head as you felt her being to kiss your chest in return. Oddly enough, you could think of one thing she could say. But, as it turned out, Applejack was quite the mind reader as she said what you honestly knew didn’t really need to be said, and your name linger at the end of her words.

“Ah love you...”

And, as you returned the sentiment with your own words and a kiss, you knew that was all you'd ever need to keep you moving forward in your new life… and traverse through whatever new adventures and trials came your way.

Author's Note

Well, that was a long time coming, wasn't it?

Not the boinking. That already happened in the previous chapter. This was just me trying to practice it a bit more while also giving an ending to the first part of the fanfic.

Honestly, there was going to be a lot less boinking in this chapter and more, well, stuff. Odd how that got turned around. But hey, any ending you can walk away from, right?

Like the previous chapter, this one went through some major revisions. Heck, I almost didn't include the aerial battle at first, but then it almost ended up being one huge chapter about it. The ending was also going to be different. More hinting to what was going to happen in the next part of your story with Applejack. But then again, I figured simpler would be better.

So yeah, there you have it. The ending to the first part of this story has come and, since you are reading this, I assume gone as well. And, if you enjoyed it, keep an eye out for the next part of this story which should, given some miracles, appear sometime beginning of June. Along with my other fanfic that is in the works.

Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro.