“So what exactly aroused you?” asked Twilight.

“I don’t know…” said Applejack, suddenly trying to avoid the subject. As if she could at this point.

“Was it just the sounds you heard? Or is there something deeper going on?”

Twilight’s choice of words gave Applejack a brief image in her head of Big Mac thrusting deeply into Braeburn, making the blonde stallion moan sweetly. Applejack shook her head.

“Well shoot! Ain’t it natural for a full grown mare to get a little hot and bothered at the thought of two stallions buckin’?”

“Yeah, but…they’re—”

“I know. I know. They’re related to me. But I couldn’t help it. They’re a couple of attractive young stallions, and I dare anypony to argue with that.”

“I guess. But—”

“And what they were doin’ was… a beautiful thing. And I shouldn’t feel ashamed for how I felt.”

“Wow,” said Twilight. “You’ve given this some thought.”

“Yeah well… It is what it is I suppose.”

There was a long silence. Neither of them really knew what to say at this point, until Applejack tried to shift the conversation over to Twilight.

“So have you ever caught— or…um, thought of your brother in that way?”

Twilight quickly straightened her back and looked at Applejack with shock.

“I’m not even going to go there, Applejack.”

“C’mon,” said Applejack. “I just told the truest of truths to you. I just want to know if I’m not the only one.”

“I just don’t even want to think about that. Okay?”

“So you have thought of him like that.”

“No!” Twilight was starting to get annoyed.

“Then what you’re saying is that thinking about your brother like that would be weird, and so I’m weird.”

“Of course not. Well…maybe, but not really… I don’t know. Let’s just keep this about you for now, alright? We’re supposed to be making you feel better.”

“I’d feel better if I knew how you felt about your brother too…”

Twilight sighed. “Fine. No, I’ve never caught him having relations with anypony, and I’ve never thought of him in a sexual way. Happy?”

“Thank you.”

“But how does that make you feel better? I assume you were hoping I was in the same situation as you.”

“I just want you to be honest, Twilight. That’s all.”

Another long silence crept up on the two friends. Once again, Applejack was the one to break it.

“And so to clears things up,” she said. “I’d never thought of Big Macintosh in that way until I overheard him and Braeburn. I don’t even know how I really feel to be honest. There’s probably nothing more to it than a bit of shock and curiosity. Sure, what they were doing was arousing and all that, but it’s not like I’m gonna marry my brother, right?”

“There are many different kinds of love, Applejack. I guess all you have to do now and slowly figure out just what kind you feel for your brother after this incident. And Braeburn too I guess.”

“Only time will tell for sure I reckon…”

“Who needs time when you have books!” Twilight suddenly lit up with enthusiasm and rushed over to her large bookshelf. Without even having to search for it, she immediately pulled a large pink book off of the shelf with her magic and made it float over to Applejack.

“What’s this?” asked Applejack.

“Just read it and find out,” Twilight said with a giggle.

“Love: A Practical Guide to Warmth, Tenderness, and Sensual Pleasures…” Applejack looked up from the book and gave Twilight a confused look. “I don’t know, Twilight. How is this going to help me?”

“It’s a great book! Cadence gave it to me. It covers all different kinds of love and different ways of approaching love-related situations.”

“Is that really something a book can teach you?”

“Of course!”

Applejack opened to a random page. “Forgiveness: An Important Part of Love… As everypony knows, love is not easy. Forgiveness often becomes a necessary part of the healing process (see chapter 17). It’s important to consider the following… I guess this sounds interesting. I don’t think I really need a book to tell me how to love, but it couldn’t hurt to read some of it I guess.”

Twilight smiled and pranced over to Applejack’s side. “A lot of it is common sense, Applejack. But it goes into so much detail. I’m sure reading parts of it will at least help you grasp some of your own feelings and even the feelings of Big Macintosh and Braeburn.”

Applejack continued to flip through the book. “Chapter 27: Relationships Between Homosexual Stallions - Section 4: The Passion of—” Applejack was too embarrassed to continue reading the chapter heading out loud, which read: The Passion of Anal Sex and the Intimacy of Oral Sex. In the middle of the page there was a picture of a stallion mounting another stallion. “Cadence gave this to you?”

“Yeah,” said Twilight. “It was sort of a special gift between sisters kind of thing, but I think you need it now more than I do.”

“That’s awful kind of you, Twilight. I’ll take good care of it.”

As Applejack took one last look through the book, she noticed a bookmark near the last few pages. She opened up to the marked pages and found a full-color drawing, which took up the entire page, of a naked stallion lying on his back. He was fully erect, and his stallionhood rested on top of his stomach. Twilight quickly pulled out the bookmark and flung it across the room. She blushed and looked away from Applejack.

“Heheh,” Twilight laughed nervously. “How’d that get in there?”

Applejack gave her friend a playful smile. Twilight tried to smile back. Applejack closed the book with a chuckle.

“Thanks again, Twilight. For everything.”

“No problem,” said Twilight, still trying to hide her sudden embarrassment.

“You really are a good friend.”

Twilight smiled and walked her friend to the door. “Don’t mention it.”

Once Applejack had left, Twilight locked all of the doors and ran up to her bed. She snuggled up under the covers and immediately started rubbing her hoof between her legs, but she was quickly interrupted by a loud knock at the door. She groaned and got up to see who it was. It was Applejack.
“Hey, Applejack,” she said, trying to hide her annoyance. “Did you forget something?”

“Just something I forgot to tell you… Don’t you dare write to Princess Celestia about any of this,” said Applejack, leaning in towards Twilight. “…please.”

Author's Note

Sorry that it's kind of getting away from Big Mac and Braeburn's side of the story. I'll have some chapters dedicated to them soon enough. :)