Twilight's Research

"Woah... where?"

It took a few blinks of my eyes, but... I definitely felt warm. A milky haze took up everything as I looked around, but the faint images of... trees stood around me. Ok, I *know** I was just in the library... now I'm in a forest?* It didn't make sense... but, I was supposed to be there, right? Something about...

"Well there y' are, sugarcube! About time you made it!"

"WAH!"

I was pretty sure I jumped at least six feet during that scream. At least it snapped everything into focus and got rid of that nasty haze... but it didn't do much to solve the heat problem. I crashed down on my flank in front of a pony, her familiar Stetson covering her face with a shadow.

"Uh... Twilight? Y' sure you should be sittin' there in the middle a' the road?"

"Uh, um, uh, ah, oh uh..."

"Calm down, girl, y'all give yerself a heart attack. C'mon," the mare said in that drawl of hers as she offered her hoof to me. Yep, definitely knew where I was at that moment, and I let out a sigh at the realization, taking her offer to be helped up.

Sweet Apple Acres... right, I was coming by to help AJ out with some of the trees, and build up my strength. I grinned at the thought, feeling rather silly, "S-Sorry, Applejack... you surprised me."

"S'aright. 'S a good thing you offered to help out, actually, since Big Mac's off with m' little sister at th' market, sellin' apples." Applejack smiled to me as she tipped her hat up, a toothpick stuck out the corner of her mouth. Weird... she seemed a lot more... radiant. The sunlight bounced off her blonde mane, making a sort of angelic 'glow' around her... "Uh... Twi'? Equis t' Twi'?"

"H-Huh? Oh, um, sorry... spaced out for a second there." I offered a small chuckle and a sheepish grin, but I don't think she bought the peace offering. A raised eyebrow and quirk of the mouth were returned by her, defeating my small ploy.

"Uh huh. Welp, c'mon. Ah'll show ya where we're workin', then we can get started on that other thing y' wanted t' do today. Somethin' t' do with runnin'?" Applejack turned and started moving away from me, heading down the road towards the farm. What was with the sun though? Her tail shined like her mane, casting a light glow outward from it... and her walk had a more... feminine touch? Why am I staring...? I-I shouldn't be! Get your head on straight, Twilight! A quick shake of my head set my mind straight as I jogged to catch up, but my brain complained.

"Yeah, running. I wanna participate in the coming Running of the Leaves," I quickly nodded as I spoke, which was a bad idea as my brain just complained more. Stupid finicky organ! Rainbow Dash hits harder things with her head, why can't you take a small beating!?

"Runnin' of th' Leaves? Didn't you skip out on that last year?" Applejack simply looked over at me with a raised eyebrow. She wasn't wrong, though; I didn't participate in the Running a year ago. It was pretty nice the first time, but after seeing AJ and Rainbow act like that... I wasn't about to get between them again, to give it a term.

"Yeah, I did. Just... wasn't up for the whole running thing again, I guess. Bogged down with studying and... everything..."

"Twilight, seriously. You alright?"

I felt my legs stop moving, so we must've stopped, but my mind was just... stuck. Her eyes were never this bright before... It was like staring into two brilliant emeralds, the shadow draped over her face by the lone guardian of the hat simply accentuating it, an almost ghostly quality.

"Twilight."

"H... uh..."

"Twi'?"

"Uh..."

"Ugh. Twilight!!"

"AH!" I jumped again and landed straight back on my bruised flank. Oh, jeeze, that hurts! Great, now my rump was complaining along with my brain, and my mind was freaking out! It was like sitting on a hot stove, my rump burned so bad!

"Seriously, sugarcube. This is gettin' kinda weird... you sure you should be out here?"

"I-I'm sure! Just, um..." Losing my mind. "H-Haven't had anything to drink in a while. Probably dehydration, heh."

Great lie.

"Well, go sit under one a' th' trees. Ah'll get us some drinks, and we'll talk, alright? An' you stay in that shadow. Ah don't want anypony droppin' on this farm." So direct...

"Uh, yes ma'am." I managed a nod and walked under one of the apple trees, sitting down a bit too hard for my sore rump, sending another bolt of pain up my spine. "Ouch...!"

"An' try not t' hurt yourself, ok?" Applejack sighed and tipped her hat, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Yes..." Milady. "Right, AJ."

"Good. Ah'll be back in a sec." She nodded to me and turned away, walking off. But... there was a lot more to each step than she usually had. Normally, when I watched her walk, it was more tromping on the dirt, like she was trying to get somewhere in a hurry. Here, it was more... deliberate, savoring each movement, enjoying the flexing in her legs. How does she get so fit...? So sleek? So... so... my eyes followed every movement of her body, every sway in her hips as the steps had just an extra bit of care. Everything moved so slowly... the world letting me take in the sight of her cat walk, tasting it, savoring her glow and moves. But as soon as it began... it was gone, along with her around the bend.

"What... was that?" I whispered... I think I did. I heard it, barely, so it was a whisper. It had to be, since she didn't turn around... I leaned to try and catch another sight of that wonderful machine, but... she was just gone. Maybe she ran back to the barn... and maybe I'm really losing it. I turned around and laid my head on the stalwart trunk of the tree, moaning slightly. "What's wrong with me...? I just... stared at her as she walked away. One of my friends... and..." A sniff broke off my track of thought. That smell... Oh no... no... s-seriously? But it couldn't be! She was a friend, nothing more. Just, just another trick of the body, that was it. All it could be! "Calm down, Twilight, just be calm! It's the heat. Gotta be... same thing happened with the bench... I felt warm, my body started heating up, then that smell got out. It's fine, the sun's just a little bit hotter today than it usually is."

I shut my eyes, letting the darkness sharpen my focus as I took a deep, calming breath. As my chest expanded, the banging of my racing heart beat away at me, but it slowed down as I held the breath. Just a bit more... bit more... alright. Now just let it out, slowly... Following my thought, air ran out of my nose, in no rush to rejoin the atmosphere. Sadly, it wasn't a way to describe my mind as it ran a mile a minute, trying to figure out what just happened. What *did** just happen!? I-I've never looked at AJ like that! No, no! It's like I said, dehydration! I lose focus when I'm dehydrated, it's why I drink lots of water. Perfectly natural! Perfectly normal! So stop worrying so m—*

"Sugarcube?"

"Huh?" Oh, thank goodness that train of thought was broken. I looked over my shoulder at Applejack, looking back at me with a... well, look of concern. A tray was carefully balanced on her back, two glasses of water standing up from it like crystalline towers. "Oh... sorry, I w-was just thinking. Thank you."

"No problem, Twi'. But..." she sighed, walking up beside me and leaning down a bit, letting me take the tray off her back. I must've stalled as my eyes caught her toned f—

"Twi'. Equis t' Twi'."

"Oh! Sorry!" I quickly pulled the tray off her back and held it up over my head, letting her take a well-needed seat. Her wonderful eyes burrowed into mine with an incredulous stare, as if demanding that I say what's gone wrong. As if anything's wrong, Milady...

"Twilight, y'all better put the tray down. Yer gonna tip over." She reached out with a hoof and stopped me from, indeed, tipping over. The contact was quite nice, actually... I subconsciously leaned into her hoof, but the rigid limb never gave an inch. So strong... "Twilight Sparkle, put the tray down."

"Yes ma'am." I quickly nodded and set the tray down, looking down at the grass below me. Even the ground was burning! Darned sun...

"What's with the 'ma'am' stuff, sugarcube? Ah've never heard you talk like this."

Just keep staring at the ground. Don't... just don't look up. My mind was being driven by my heart. I had no idea what to do! That radiant glow, how she walked, her voice rocking my soul... e-even her touch... "I-It's nothing, I-I haven't been s-saying 'ma'am', hehe, y-you're just, uh..."

"Twilight. Talk to me."

"I..."

"Listen, Ah know when a pony's tryin' t' hide somethin'. But you can talk t' me, you know that." Even if I couldn't look up, my ears tracked her voice as she walked to my side. I felt two powerful legs pull me towards her, trapping me in an even stronger heat. The sun couldn't compete... not even an open flame could battle this heat burning inside... my eyes only widened a bit more as her gentle whisper fell into me, "You can tell me..."

"Well, I, uh..." I struggled against my urge to turn to her, but with her hoof slowly rubbing up and down my leg... so hard to resist... Can I really tell her...? About my issues?

"You can tell me. You know that. Ah'm here t' help you with anything you need. If that means being a pillar for you to lean on, then Ah'm more than happy to oblige." How did this mare speak so well? She didn't need volume, or some kind of magic enhancement to make herself more convincing or demanding or... even sound better...

"I... Applejack, I don't know what's happening to me... I don't know if it's the sun, or i-if it's you, or... me... but I just... feel really warm." I bit my lip as that smell came back to me. It was like some insane truth I couldn't get away from... something I wanted to get rid of, or escape, or cover up... I couldn't even think straight.

My eyes slowly turned toward the field of fur beside me, bearing the same color of the horizon at sunset. A heartbeat pounded in my ears, mine out of tune with hers as it raced. I looked up toward her face, suddenly feeling so small... so out of control. Like the world was going to come down on me, all alone... but she was there to help. Dependable, powerful, commanding... yet gentle, caring... I fell into her eyes as they locked with mine, and I just felt my body relax. I burned, I begged for release from whatever nightmare had taken me... I leaned in closer, trying to see deeper into the emerald pools as I returned the hug.

"AJ... I need help..."

"That smell... Twilight, are you?" She leaned back a bit to look at me properly, but her gaze seemed to soften slightly... inviting me in. Coaxing the truth out...

"I can't... hide it very well, no. But I know what the reaction is... I just don't know why, but... I don't know how to deal with this." I looked back down at her neck, feeling so guilty. I always had the answers to every question ever asked, and if I didn't, I'd study until I found it. But this one question, this one problem... the answer wasn't obvious, and it couldn't come from some equation. It bothered me on such a deep level, I couldn't stand it! Why can't I figure this out!?

"Well, like y' showed me, Twilight... you just need a little help."

And, as if responding to some signal I'd sent out, she leaned in, tightened her embrace... and I felt a sensation as she pressed against me, feeling a warmth against my lips. The emerald pools were closed off to me, the answers to my problems lost in them... but I was given another respite in the embrace of my guardian, a mare I could trust to always be there for me, and never tell a lie. I fell into the kiss, submitting as she held me close, the fire in me growing to an inferno. All I could let out was a little 'squeak' as I felt myself falling backwards, yet never leaving her grasp...

The grass felt like ice along my spine as she laid me out, my legs barely functioning enough to hold her close. My heart was beating a mile a minute, but I could pick out the slow, deliberate beating of another against my chest as another heat was added to my own... a single hoof held me up against her lips... it was indescribable. I simply melted in her grasp. I could barely resist as she broke the kiss, following her lips, her burning breath for as far as I could before falling back onto the grass behind me.

The goddess simply smiled down at me, blonde mane cascading like a waterfall down from her. "See...? All y' need is a little help..."

"Yes milady, please..." that heat was ripping me up every second I was away from her, but my forelegs just wouldn't let me get any closer. I was going insane! "Please, I-I need this!"

"Ah know... and like Ah said. Ah'm happy to oblige..." she leaned back in and joined with me, the burning leaving once more as I felt her lie down. It was a noticeable weight, but I didn't care; another body against mine helped alleviate the inferno, helped distract me from my own chaos. Despite my moans, cries into her, she barely responded with a sound, simply letting her actions speak for her. The scent only got stronger as I felt her lips open just a bit, something poking against my own mouth. She raised an eyebrow at me, conveying the request... order... command in a mere look.

But as I felt her tongue pass into me, my vision went dark... somepony cried from within the dark as a new vision rushed to me like an angered train.

I gasped, raising my head from the table just under my chin and looked around. Kitchen. Definitely a kitchen... my kitchen... my kitchen? And that heat from before, it was... gone?

What just happened...? I was... at Sweet Apple Acres, with Applejack, and she... she brought drinks, and... a-and... my already-fragile train of thought was broken by something very physical, and such a strong scent, I was amazed I'd missed it before. But it usually accompanied heat, didn't it? When my senses finally came back, I felt something resting against my... lower section, something wet. I leaned back and looked down.

"What...?"

Below me was the very obvious source of the smell: a small puddle had grown under me, clear, but catching the moonlight so well that it shone like a mirror. And my hoof was covered in the same liquid that made the puddle... still rubbing up against my—

"Oh my... d-did I j-just...?" The thought struck me harder than the fantasy, or even the question itself. I had no idea the answer to this question would be so... s-so...

Terrifying...

I quickly looked around for any prying eyes; I couldn't deal with another pony, or dragon, seeing me like this, let alone what I just did it to! After a quick survey revealed nothing, I didn't let myself relax, reaching out with my magic for some kind of... thing to dry all this stuff off with. Towel, paper towel, toilet paper, *something!*** Before I could even consider my search complete, I teleported to the bathroom and collected a roll of toilet paper, warping straight back to the kitchen. I couldn't be bothered to check if my locational algorithms were right, short-range hops were easy enough anyway, right!?

I quickly mopped up the mess on the chair and below it, then wiped what I could off my hoof and very sensitive area! "Gah, that doesn't feel good!" I hissed. With the soiled paper dealt with, as well as the moisture problem, I warped back to the bathroom and chucked the waste paper in the toilet, giving it a good flush. Then another flush. Then another, just to be sure! Please please please *please** don't let anypony smell that!* I zipped over to the sink before my thought finished, frantically washing off my hoof. Once it had been thoroughly cleaned - it actually sparkled when it caught the moonlight -, I let myself take a break on the floor.

I... can't... believe I did that. My eyes couldn't leave the sight of my soiled hoof, as well as my... I quickly shook my head to get the last of that fantasy out of my mind, looking up into the mirror. A thick blush was still present on my cheeks, only adding more pressure. What would this mean? What did it mean!? Was I 'into' Applejack? Did I find her attractive? And it was just a kiss, nothing more... I'm sorry, AJ. I-I didn't mean to... t-this is so wrong! The implications of doing such a thing, what it was meant to be, who it was meant to be with... I took everything and chucked it out the window when I saw that puddle under me.

"I at least got an answer. An answer to what's been happening to me for all this time... but what does it mean? If I were to take it literally, it would mean I'm..." I gulped, biting my lip at the thought, I-In love with... Applejack? B-But it doesn't make sense! She's my friend, and she's a lovely mare, sure, but I could never be in a relationship with her! But, what was that dream supposed to mean, then? If it doesn't mean that I love Applejack, then... ohhh, why does this have to be so confusing!? I snorted out a breath, gritting my teeth as something cooked in the back of my head. I wasn't in love with Applejack! The two of us would never go together, so it couldn't possibly be an answer! And without that, I was back to square one!! Alright, calm down, or at least *try** to!* After a few calming breaths, my brain stopped broiling in my skull, letting me think straight.

Alright. What question was I asking? 'Why did my body heat up when it did, and how?' Well, that's three question. Anyway. 'Why' is related to arousal... the specific triggers will have to take some experimentation, as it's still kind of random. 'How' is related to ponies, definitely, but it's any number of reasons... too soon to draw a conclusion. 'When' is related to 'how', so I can't draw up something on that, but it's usually when I see a pony in a certain way, or when I'm near a heat source. That's 'when' figured out, at least. My mirror image nodded in acceptance of the thought. Just 'why' and 'how' to figure out... but it would take a lot of experiments to nail down those. And hopefully, it wouldn't be locked to my biased mind.

It was a start, at least, and as I walked out of the bathroom and toward my bed, I started planning for the next day. It seemed my free time would have a use, after all.

And it couldn't have been devoted to a more urgent cause.