“Dang,” said Applejack.
Twilight stared back at her, grinning sheepishly—and next to Twilight, Trixie rolled her eyes in contempt, and said, “Trixie has agreed to stay with your Twilight just long enough to create a replacement, yes.”
“That true, Twilight?” said Applejack.
“You heard her!”
“No, I mean… when she said you couldn’t do it on your own! Is that true, or is she jes’ lying again?”
That got a glare from Trixie. “Trixie remembers you. You feel better than any of the other ponies… but you look better with an apple in your mouth.”
“Is that so?” snapped Applejack. “Twilight, you sure about this?”
“I’m afraid so, Applejack. Trixie has explained it to me. It’s my hope that, by using my magic, we can produce a sort of hybrid bit, with different characteristics.”
Applejack’s ears perked up, and before she could think twice, she blurted out, “Kin ya make Dashie’s as big as mine?”
She gulped, to see Twilight Sparkle’s angry and hurt look. Trixie watched this exchange, and began smirking to herself.
“That… wasn’t the first thing on my mind,” said Twilight.
“I’m sorry, Twi, I’m awful sorry, can ya forgive me? I done hurt your feelin’s, is what I done…”
“It’s okay, Applejack. Take it easy. I know it’s complicated. But… I know you care, put it that way.” She glanced angrily at Trixie.
Applejack hastened to reassure Twilight. “Hell yeah I do! Twilight, you got a very special place in my heart, sugarcube.”
Trixie smirked, and nodded. Quietly, as if to herself, she said—“Second place.”
Applejack turned on Trixie, snarling, eyes flashing. “I’m gonna kick you into next week!”
“Please do. Trixie is certainly not going to stay in this miserable little town one second longer than necessary. By next week, Trixie will have completed the magic tasks assigned to her, and will be long gone!”
“Good!” snapped Applejack. “An’ good riddance! Twilight, are you sure we can’t jes’ kick her out right now?”
Spike was standing behind Trixie, strangely disciplined, much like when he’d protected Twilight from the other ponies when Discord had greyed them. An odd light was in his eyes, and his chest was stuck out. He said, “Just say the word.”
“No, Spike,” said Twilight. “Stick to what I said. I hope I’m not losing your loyalty?”
“No way,” said Spike. “No way!”
“Good. I’m counting on you. And Applejack, yes, I am sure. I understand your feelings, but it’s not just a matter of raw ability. If we’re going to get that thing back the way we know it, we need to go to the source.”
Trixie sneered, her head proud and high.
“Is that so?” said Applejack, turning to Trixie. “Mind explaining what’s in it for you, missy?”
“Trixie is not merely the most powerful unicorn…”
“You ain’t.”
“…not merely the most powerful unicorn, but capable of feats others cannot dream of accomplishing…”
“You ain’t,” repeated Applejack.
“It’s complicated, Applejack,” said Twilight. “Trust me on this?”
Trixie continued. “…and is also benevolent and generous with sharing her unique gifts.”
“You ain’t,” said Applejack for a third time. “There’s got to be something in it for you, I reckon. I don’t believe you give a damn about Twilight, so why are you doin’ this?”
Trixie fell silent, but not to think—the haughty unicorn looked like she was trying to repress something, and then her head came up with the unkindest of smiles.
“You, pony, you think Trixie… does not love your Twilight?”
“Yep,” replied Applejack, staring at the unicorn as Twilight, beside her, cringed.
Trixie’s lip twitched in another sneer.
“Trixie defers to the expert on that,” she said, as Twilight’s face fell and her head drooped.
Applejack’s ears went back in shock—and then, staring into Trixie’s eyes the whole time, she stepped forward a few paces, and said, “Defer this.”
With that, Applejack reared and hugged Twilight passionately, nuzzling her face, coaxing her to lift her head, and then kissing her full on the lips. Twilight blinked, and sat back onto her haunches in surprise, but Applejack had already released her and was confronting Trixie, her tail flicking in obvious rage.
“How dare you,” said the country pony. “How dare you! Jes’ because it’s over-complicated… well, damn you, try this on for size. I love her. Make us our damn magic dick thing again, and git out!”
“Trixie will be delighted to do just that.”
“Why?” demanded Applejack. “Y’all just boastin’? Is it just so you can say you can do somethin’ Twi can’t do? That it?”
“That’s a good excuse… Yes! You will have to admit that Trixie is superior to all unicorns in something. Twilight Sparkle, explain to her! Tell her she must bow to Trixie and admit how cruelly she has misjudged the grandest of unicorns!”
“I don’t think she’s going to bow to you, Trixie,” said Twilight, “but will it help if I know that you’ve been indispensable to the project?”
“That… will suffice,” said Trixie. She turned, and stalked away. Spike moved to stand between her and the door, with an air of great seriousness.
Twilight turned to Applejack again. “I think you’d better leave us to work. This might not be the most fun fun afternoon I’ve ever spent—but I’m going to put everything I’ve got into it. The hope is that if I let it resonate with my own personality and direct the forces as Trixie channels them, we can bring a little bit of love into the huge quantity of lust and hungriness the bit requires as a magical reservoir, and alter its recoil condition so instead of acting through everypony we can make it resonate with the immediate users…”
Applejack looked blank. Twilight sighed.
“It’s going to be a lot of work. Check back this evening. Leave us to it for now…”
Before Applejack knew it, she was trotting down the street leading away from Twilight’s house, her head spinning. She broke into a canter, and then a full-on gallop, because she knew what she’d left behind at home.
As she burst through the front door of Sweet Apple Acres, Rainbow Dash jumped on her, rearing and hugging her much as she’d grabbed Twilight. “I saw you coming! What happened? Is she gonna do it? Can she do that magic that Trixie did?”
Applejack hugged back. “It’s more than that, Dashie. Trixie is still there! Twi’s got her workin’ on it! I don’t know how. It’s like she’s tryin’ ta show off by it or somethin’.”
“You’re kidding!” blurted Dash. “Boy, that’s typical, isn’t it? Do you think they can do it?”
“I’m sure Twi can,” said Applejack. “I jes’ know it. Uhhh… I kissed her some more, Dashie. Trixie was ridin’ her like a wore-out bronco. Tryin’ ta break our Twi’s spirit. I, uhh… I tole Twi I loved her, Dashie. I kissed her all fierce-like and tole her I loved her, I kinda lost my head.”
“Hey. AJ. AJ! Look at me. You do.”
“But…”
Rainbow Dash kissed her lover. “I don’t want you to be any other way. We’ll get through this just fine. I don’t want you to go all cold to everypony else we care about. Right?”
Applejack still looked distressed. “But… Trixie told her she was second place. In my heart. Dashie, she is! I can’t help it, I’m so dang hung up on you…”
“Listen to me,” said Dash. “Calm down. You do stuff with me that nopony would ever do, okay? A pegasus can feel it in her wings when she’s got the one who’s going to become her whole entire life. You can do all the body sex stuff and I want you to still love Twilight…”
“An’ her horn sex stuff?” said Applejack.
That stopped Rainbow Dash. “Mmm. You had to mention it. I’ve been trying not to worry too much about that.”
“Ah’m sorry!”
“It’s okay, it’s something we’ll have to deal with. Pinkie might be able to help, she’s got a really good heart. Hey, Applejack, do earth ponies even have a thing like that? A sexual thing where you do them right and then you just sort of own their soul, kind of thing?”
“Uhh… that time y’all went so stallion on me, bit me an’ stuff…”
“I thought you said you didn’t want that,” teased Rainbow Dash.
“Got to be practical, sugar—but maybe ya saw what it done to me.”
“I’ll never forget. Never.”
“We’ll git it back,” said Applejack. “I swear, I’ll find a way. I, uh, I asked Twi if we could make yours bigger. Weren’t exactly the most popular question I ever asked…”
“Whoa. Now you tell me you don’t like it?”
“No, no! Jes… if it were like mine, you know?”
Rainbow Dash smirked, though she looked a little hurt. “The truth is out. Well, I can still teach you a few lessons on how to use it…”
Applejack reared and hugged her again. “No complaints. None. Ain’t we all a lil’ crazy when it comes to stallions, sometimes? Din’tcha want Fluttershy? I did end up seein’ her, remember. Thing about you, Dashie, is I can have you and not end up in th’ hospital for my trouble.”
“If you can get the bit away from Twilight.”
Applejack sagged. “Yeah. Might be harder if she done made it herself an’ all. Maybe since I do love her, we can just talk it out?”
“You should talk everything out. You can’t do the bodysex thing with a group of friends unless you talk about everything. I mean it, Applejack, that’s one thing Pinkie taught me. If you haven’t been talking to Twilight about exactly how your relationship works, you need to start. It’s more than just you at stake. Her happiness depends on you being honest.”
“An’ yours.”
“That’s right. Because I’m yours. I need you to do this right,” said Rainbow Dash.
Applejack sighed. “Sugar… when I said I loved her, I was honest. I meant it. But how do I explain all this to her when I can’t rightly understand it myself?”
Rainbow Dash kissed her lover. “You try. Okay? Just try.”
They fell silent, Dash nuzzling her fretful, worried mate.
Applejack trotted hesitantly up the street. There had been bangs and strange flashes of light from Twilight’s house, but it had been more than an hour since the last one. She hadn’t seen anypony leaving the house, and her ears were pricked forward anxiously as she approached. It was so quiet.
The door was open. Had Trixie left it open when she left? Applejack peered inside, and gasped—Twilight Sparkle lay in the middle of the floor, alone, her head in her hooves, sobbing.
“Twilight!”
Twilight’s head jerked up, and Applejack was looking into her tearful, forlorn gaze, and all she said was, “Nothing… it was for nothing…”
At that, Applejack ran into the house, dropping to the floor to hug and console the despairing unicorn. “Oh, Twi, I am so sorry…”
“It’s okay. At least I know where I stand. It’s just horrible, though… I’m so horrible…”
“Darlin’, it does not matter! I love you anyhow, bit or no bit! I promise, it’s okay. I think we need to spend a lil’ time together—I ain’t nearly an expert, sugar, but I’ll do anythin’ to make you feel better.”
“What?” said Twilight, blinking away tears.
“It is okay that you failed. Listen, Twi. Ya can’t win ‘em all. You still got me. I love you, don’t cry.”
“I what? You what?” stammered Twilight, her eyes very wide.
“I love you,” said Applejack. It seemed like a horrible time to qualify that in any way. “Even if I can’t make love to you like we enjoy, I swear, I do love you.”
“You will?”
“I would. I would take you to heaven, sugarcube, and delight in it. I’m sorry you done failed, but do not cry, did ya really think it was jes’ about me dickin’ you?”
“But…” said Twilight in a little voice, “I… didn’t.”
“Pardon?”
“I didn’t fail,” said the little unicorn pony.
“Ya wanna run that by me again? You sayin’ you got the new bit thingy?”
“Yes,” said Twilight Sparkle. “It’s right here.” She rolled to the side, moved her foreleg, and there it was, glinting on the floor. She’d been hugging it to her and weeping.
“Land sakes!” exclaimed Applejack. “If you done that, why in Equestria have you been carryin’ on so? I thought you failed with it!”
“Well, I, I, I… It just seemed like you couldn’t possibly love me and Trixie was right and I had time to think about it all and I kept thinking about how you didn’t really want me or anything…”
Applejack stopped her with a kiss, and then spent a moment just sinking into Twilight’s huge, vulnerable eyes. Such a powerful unicorn, thought Applejack, and yet so fragile and tender, so capable of getting caught up in bad thoughts and losing her way… she’d been sobbing on the floor, convinced that she’d made the magic toy only to turn it over and be shunned for her trouble. It seemed as if she hadn’t even planned to argue. She would have turned it over, and gone to bed alone, thinking of her love being with another pony…
“The hell I don’t,” said Applejack. “Dry your tears, girl. I’m takin’ you to bed and teach you how I really feel, since you apparently din’t get the message them last two times.”
Twilight’s eyes widened, flooding with joy, and then she was hugging Applejack with the strength of a drowning mare, her body shaking as Applejack petted it.
When she looked up, her lip quivered, and she only said, “Please?”
Applejack nodded. “Come up to bed, sugar, I’m thinkin we should do it like that first time, you’re shakin’…”
“No!” protested Twilight, looking up at her loft. “I mean—you mustn’t! Please, show me right here and right now, show me why I should go through with this, I, I, I shouldn’t have to be lying on my side in bed like some filly…”
“Happens I liked it,” purred Applejack.
“Well, I don’t want it like that. I want to be like a big mare, not some little pony.”
“But you are a little pony—‘least you’re a mite inexperienced. Ain’t that right?”
Twilight’s eyes went half-lidded. “Maybe you’re just a big stallion.”
Applejack smirked. “I swear, I can’t work out whether I like that or not. I got mare-ly feelin’s too, ya know. But I mus’ confess I like hearin’ it from you, Twi.”
Twilight smiled, her ear twitching fretfully.
“Now, c’mon, we’ll stand, and then we can cuddle in bed after…”
“Sp.. Spike’s up there,” said Twilight, blinking rapidly.
“Pardon? Whoa, nelly. I kin see why… wait a minute. He seemed to be up to speed, sugar, what’s that about?”
“I explained everything. I’m counting on him. He’s okay with us,” said Twilight, “but I really don’t want to do this in front of him…”
Applejack squinted in thought, perplexed. “Well now hang on… if y’all tole him to move his dragon butt down here out of th’ way and all…”
“Please, Applejack!” begged Twilight. She batted her eyelashes, and her lip quivered.
“Aw… well, if it means that much to ya…”
Twilight leapt to her hooves, face still streaked with tears, and began frisking in a circle around her stallion. “Yes! Oh yes! Right here!”
“Whoa!” said Applejack, staring in disbelief. She got up in haste, for Twilight seemed to have gone nuts, and was all over the place. Her nostrils flared, both at Twilight’s scent and at the wild behavior, and since the lavender unicorn’s rowdiness was approaching Rainbow Dash levels, Applejack’s instincts offered a quick answer.
With a flash of her eyes, Applejack lunged forward and nipped Twilight Sparkle on her curvaceous, bouncing rump.
Suddenly, there was silence, as Twilight froze in her tracks in shock. Her mind didn’t understand right away, but her body did, and her ears picked up Applejack’s forehoof stomp on the floor and stallionish snort, and then the clink of teeth seizing the magic bit. And then, the silence was broken, as Twilight let out a bray of eyes-crossed frustration and desire—and then, Applejack was upon her, right where she stood.
Up in Twilight’s loft, Spike stared at the wall, with a grim expression. He winced as a taut squelch echoed off the ceiling, and unheard over Twilight Sparkle’s ragged, shuddering cry, he said, as if to himself, “Way to go, Applejack, that was awesome, you really…”
Further squelching noises were drowned out by another squeal of ecstacy.
Spike’s eyes didn’t leave the wall.
“Awkward.”
At this, Spike seemed to realize he was wallowing in something—not so much distress, for he loved both Twilight and Applejack, but the corruption of his innocence. Twilight had trusted him with everything, and had even dragged out books to teach him—books with illustrations—and had educated him until he folded his arms, shut his eyes, and demanded she stop.
It pissed him off more than he could express, that Rarity had THAT between her legs. It seemed weirdly degrading and clinical. He preferred her as a vision of loveliness, and did not wish to picture his loveliness with her THAT doing THAT to make a little THAT for receiving the THAT which would then THAT holding it in place for the oh sweet Celestia not THAT.
“Pull yourself together, soldier,” Spike told himself. “Nobody ever said the job wouldn’t be… dirty.” He squared his chin, and continued to stare at the wall, resolutely refusing to picture the little demonstration taking place downstairs, remaining staunch and unshakable.
Downstairs, Twilight’s vagina had slickened and become aroused even before Applejack had nipped her, and had made a scandalous little winking nook for receiving the penis, and Applejack had long since pressed forth the magic stallionhood, wedging Twilight’s vagina wide and squeezing into her body, and Applejack’s flare had indeed swelled out to its full blunt mare-ruiner scale, holding it in place for the ejaculation—but it didn’t feel clinical to them, in the least, and neither pony had a hope of imagining Spike’s feelings on the matter.
Twilight bit her lip and stamped a hind-hoof, gritting her teeth. Applejack was clinging so tenderly, even gently, but there was something about the way she breathed, the way she nudged that equine hard-on deeper, that told two stories. One was the lovingness of the grasp, but the other was the raw power of Applejack’s hindquarters, the hot bulkiness of her unnatural erection, upon which Twilight squeezed and clenched. It could have been the fact of two previous experiences, one of which had seen Twilight drunk, but the country pony was obviously not frightened of her own powers any longer. She was making sweet love, but she was doing it with hunger—obviously savoring every thrust into her wriggling, taut unicorn—pushing hard and getting the most out of the sensation.
Applejack had thrown caution to the wind, and she nuzzled the back of Twilight’s neck as she allowed her potent hips free play. It was delicious, there was no other word for it—Twilight was tight as ever, but so slick and wet as to pose no resistance, a supple tunnel of a marehood that yielded deliciously to pressure, the engorged stallionhood prying her wide and slurping deeply into that enfolding tightness, squeezed gently out by the pressure of Twilight’s body around it, then yielding again to the gentlest thrust, Twi’s fevered flesh giving slippery way to the heavy solidness being nudged deeply into her at the tender suggestion of powerful equine muscle. There could be no resistance to such strength, and the only resistance Applejack met was the pure physical resistance of pressing a thick stallionhood into a relatively small marehood—a marehood that quivered and oozed slipperiness like mad, a marehood that all too obviously ached for every last inch of penetration.
Applejack nudged and pushed joyously, letting the pressure squeeze her out and then lovingly sinking to the hilt again, balancing the pressure with her strong hips. She felt Twilight trembling, and heard her cries go more breathless, and with an adorably wicked grin, Applejack bore down on the bit harder, and gave Twilight a couple firm deep thrusts, filling her marepussy completely, bottoming out in her with gentle thumps to Twi’s insides.
Twilight reeled, her head falling forward as if she’d been sandbagged, and nearly staggered and fell at the first subtle internal thump. A second thump, and the tendons stood out on Twilight’s neck as she hissed breath through her teeth. Then, as the stallionhood plunged into her for a third mare-filling, psyche-rattling thud, Twilight threw her head back and shrieked, her body exploding with clenches and shakes—and a fountain of magic spewed from her horn, blindingly, arcing high into the air and spilling across the floor before it evaporated.
Applejack grinned harder, and let herself go. Rather than penetrate Twilight so cruelly deep again, she just drew back and began humping eagerly, letting the clenching and hysteria carry her along, drinking in the madness and passion of it all as Twilight writhed in her grasp and kept spewing magic for second after second as she ran out of air and her scream went cracked and feeble… and as Twilight went silent, Applejack hunched and came in three huge spasms, thrusting deep, her stallion-come gushing into her lover’s frantic womb.
Two bright things happened.
One of them was right before Applejack’s eyes—Twilight’s magic-squirting hadn’t let up, but the intensity of Applejack’s climax took it to another level. The jet of magic-come thickened, then flared to the sides in a little shockwave that briefly scorched Applejack’s face, though it wasn’t solid enough to do more than singe her eyelashes and some of her mane. Twilight shuddered and made a croaking noise as if trying to scream with no breath, staggered, and collapsed, Applejack on top of her.
The other bright thing was in Applejack’s mouth. The bit, clenched between Applejack’s teeth, fizzed into a shower of magic sparks even as Applejack felt her body unload joyously into Twilight’s. She barely had time for her eyes to widen, before her teeth met against each other, and then she was spitting the taste of magic out of her mouth, sticking out her tongue. It was a weird cold burn that tasted of starlight, and in seconds the bit was gone—and with it, the stallionhood.
Applejack rolled to the side, off Twilight’s prostrate body. “Darlin’!” She quickly eyed Twi’s pussy, and saw that it gaped with recent hard use but didn’t seem injured. Her attention returned to Twilight’s face. “Let me put you to bed…”
That got a reaction. Twilight struggled suddenly, lifting her head, and managed, “No! Spike, remember? I’m fine…”
“Uh… the bit thingy burned up, Twi. I’m sorry. I guess I came too hard with it or somethin’?”
Twilight looked at her in wonder. “What did you say?”
“I done broke it or somethin’. Otherwise I’d still be in your sweet body, darlin—din’cha notice? Why would I withdraw from you less’n I had no choice?”
Twilight’s eyes widened further. “You’re right. That’s true. It was true! She was right—and also, she was so wrong! So, so wrong!”
“Beg pardon?” said Applejack, and then oofed, for Twilight was embracing her with surprising strength for a unicorn who’d been laid to waste seconds before. “I reckon you’re feelin’ better, huh?”
“Oh, Applejack! It was all worth it! Yes, I am—all I’m saying is, Trixie thought my modifications would lead to an altered bail-out condition. She said this wouldn’t happen with you. Hah!”
“Altered what now? Twilight, explain in lil’ pony words.”
Twilight Sparkle took several deep breaths, her eyes huge and glowing with adoration and love. Applejack could feel the heat coming off her overburdened horn, from a foot away, and Twi’s gaze was about two notches too worshipful for comfort. She seemed to be trembling with joy at Applejack’s very presence, and couldn’t look away even if she’d wanted to.
“The spell is broken… with love.”
Applejack blinked, her eyes going wide as well.
“And you DO love me,” breathed Twilight Sparkle, and melted into an open-mouthed kiss—her lips meeting Applejack’s, savoring the touch, tenderly pressing against and parting with Applejack’s… Twilight’s full attention lost to the sensation of her lips pressing those of her lover.
Applejack’s eyes stayed wide, though Twilight’s were closed. The country pony had never kissed a mare, or anypony, quite like that before. Her thoughts strayed to Rainbow Dash, though it embarrassed her—Dashie didn’t go romantic like that, and Applejack wasn’t so sure she liked it. It felt like quicksand, a damn sight too girly for comfort—but her heart went out regardless.
When they broke for air, Twilight’s eyes opened, and they were to drown in. It seemed that the powerful unicorn had lost all capacity for anything except loving gazes, and Applejack had a sneaking suspicion that Twilight would’ve kissed and stared all night long, but that probably wasn’t the best way to spend the evening. It certainly wasn’t the only thing Applejack wanted to do. She unexpectedly found herself desperate to go tell Dashie the night’s news—Dashie, whose love didn’t feel like quicksand, Dashie who was so complicated but so oddly dependable, Dashie whom she understood. Yet how rude would that be?
“Oh, Applejack!”
“Aw, darlin’…” said Applejack, scratching at the floor with a forehoof. “Y’all embarrassin’ me or somethin’. I really am sorry I broke th’ bit thingy.”
“I’m not,” said Twilight.
“But it’s gone!”
Twilight smiled, smugly. “Leave that to me. Now that I know how things stand, everything is okay again. I’ll make another. I swear it. I’ll get right on it.”
“Really? Gosh. Do you want me to put you to bed, sugar, and you can get to work tomorrow?”
“No!” snapped Twilight. “I mean—oh, Applejack, I want to get to work on it right now! Can you blame me? How do you think I feel?”
“Then… ya want me to stay with you an’…”
“Do you know what?” said Twilight brightly. “I really have to get to work. And you know something else? I, um, that is, you… maybe I’m being foolish, but I’ve just had you sunk so deeply in my body that I’m all quivery, even now, and maybe it’s got me sentimental and silly and I shouldn’t be saying this…”
“Huh?” blinked Applejack.
“…isn’t there some pony that you’d like to tell about this? How it went? Maybe even… right now?”
Twilight’s eye twitched, as she saw Applejack’s whole face light up.
“A-ha. Ha. Well, Applejack, my love, let me be generous and encourage you to go and talk to her—and I’ll be here, working on MY bit for you. Okay?” Twilight stood, wobbling, and hugged Applejack. “Off you go!” she said, and swatted Applejack on the bottom with a hoof.
The country pony was so excited at the prospect that she trotted out the door barely hearing a word of it, only to stop outside the threshold, and say “Now what in the hay jes’ happened?” But there was no answer to that question, so Applejack tossed her head, and cantered off home, where she knew Dashie awaited.
As Applejack burst into Sweet Apple Acres, Dashie said “Yeah? Yeah?”
“Dashie, she tole me to tell you! It works! She sure as sugar done it—our Twi pulled it off! It was jes’ like before!”
“Have you got it?” squeaked Rainbow Dash, bouncing on her hooves.
“Aw! Not really—she done it, but I came an’ it went! It done exploded in sparks, Dashie.”
“Noooo! I was counting on you to steal it!”
“Well now hold on… she tole me to tell you, maybe I won’t have to do no such thing? I wouldn’t like to, darlin’, seems like she got a point. If she’s makin’ it, ain’t it hers now? Gosh, like things couldn’t get any more complicated.”
Rainbow Dash sulked. “WE shared OURS. Maybe I can fly off and find where Trixie went? She’s no pegasus, she can’t have gone that far in a couple days.”
“There’s another thing, Dashie, and it’s worryin’ me. Twi said th’ spell is broken—with love. She thinks the bit thingy blew up ‘cos I love her.”
“You do. I explained that,” said Rainbow Dash. “I know what’s right and what’s wrong, and you’re supposed to love people you fuck. Otherwise, what’s the point?” She seemed to be getting more and more exasperated and stressed-out.
Applejack shuffled from hoof to hoof. “Yeah, I know. But there was a lot that I din’t get to explain… and when she said ‘my’ bit she said it in this funny way… and when I made her squirt magic even harder… and th’ way she looked at me afterwards…”
Rainbow Dash’s voice was suddenly little and fillylike. “Harder?”
“Buckets,” admitted Applejack. “Never saw the like.”
“And you l… love her?”
“Uhh…”
Dash trembled, her wings fluttering anxiously, and then suddenly she’d rushed into Applejack’s embrace, and Applejack held her tight, petting her as she shook and sobbed.
“This is sc… scaring me, b—b—boss!”
“It’s okay, baby, it’s okay…”
“Yeah well what if it’s not okay? I can’t lose you now! I can’t l—live without you now!”
“You won’t. You won’t, Dashie. It’s you I always loved. I run all the way from Twi’s to tell you what happened—still don’t know why she let me go do that, it’s like she wanted me to. That’s good, right? We’ll figure this out.” Applejack gulped. “Somehow.”
Dash’s eyes were hurt. “I’m scared, Boss.”
Applejack sighed, and held Dash closer.
“Me too, darlin’, me too.”
Twilight Sparkle walked slowly up the stairs to her loft, where her bed awaited. She felt wrung out like nothing she’d ever experienced, but with a determination that carried her on.
“It’s worth it,” she told herself. “She loves me. We proved it. She loves me.”
She glanced tiredly at Spike. “Everything under control? No trouble?”
“Of course not,” said Spike, loyally. He wrinkled his nose at the stink of pony lust, but made no further comment, and even set his little jaw as if to say, ‘good, that’s what we were fighting for, and we got it’.
“You’re relieved, buddy,” said Twilight. “Go sleep. Heck, do anything you want. I can’t even tell you how much I’m relying on you now. You’re my hero, Spike.”
Spike nodded, proudly. “When will you need me again?”
“Maybe some parts of tomorrow. I’ll let you know. I should be good for now.”
“Got it,” said Spike, saluted, and marched downstairs. Twilight smiled to watch him go. Such a change, from the insecure little dragon who’d fought against Owlowlicious. Her smile faded, and she turned to her bed. She concentrated, and her horn glowed.
The air shimmered, and from a haze of dissipating invisibility appeared Trixie, lying on the bed, hogtied, and gagged.
“You were wrong,” said Twilight Sparkle. “She does love me.”
She concentrated again, and the gag unwound itself, leaving Trixie’s mouth free. However, Trixie only glared, and said nothing.
“We need to try again,” said Twilight. “I have some more ideas.”