*This chapter was written by Portal82.

It was early in the morning when I found myself eating breakfast with Spike. It was just the two of us, as Twilight herself was in Canterlot. She had left yesterday under the pretenses of getting some books from the Canterlot Royal Library, and she was likely not to be back until later today.

Before she had left for the train, she had had a small talk with me about the usual things, such as keeping myself out of trouble. Truth be told, she was acting like a mother hen, of sorts. I had just waved my hand at her and told her that I would be fine until she got back.

She seemed unconvinced, though, and had left me a checklist to follow.

I glanced down at it again as I sipped at my coffee.

[ ] Don’t hurt yourself

[ ] Keep the library clean

[ ] Don’t follow any mares home

[ ] Don’t follow Mrs. Cake home

[ ] Don’t, under any circumstances, go into the Everfree Forest (again)

…

The list had a few more of items with similar topics, but I was still too tired to read those, let alone care. Spike was beside me, happily munching on a topaz. As he finished off his current mouthful, he glanced up at me.

“So, what are you going to do today?” he asked, taking another bite. I just shrugged, giving him a bored look.

~Don’t know. Still too tired l to care~ I replied.

I had just picked up my cup to take another sip of coffee when the sound of someone knocking on the front door reached my ears. Or rather, more like banging on it, hard.

Spike turned his head towards the door, a small frown on his face.

“Wonder who that could be?” he asked around a mouthful of crushed gem. That question was answered when we heard the knocker speak.

“Twilight, ya there? Ah need tah speak tah ya!” A voice cried out. I recognized it instantly as Applejack’s.

Spike jumped down from his chair and wobbled up to the front door to open it. “Hi, Applejack. Sorry, but Twilight’s not here right now. She’s in Canterlot, getting some books from the Royal Library.”

“Horseapples,” Applejack said, scuffing her hoof on the welcoming mat. “Ah needed tah talk with her. Was wondering if she would let Max visit mah farm.”

“Well,” Spike said, tapping his chin with a claw. “Twilight might not be here, but Max is if you want to speak to him.”

Lowering the cup from my lips, I frown nervously as I saw Applejack walk inside the library, a large grin on her muzzle. She trotted towards me, an almost eager hop in her step. What’s got her in such a good mood?

“Heya, sugarcube. Ah was wondering if y’all would like to visit mah farm today. Maybe take a tour or do some testin’? Ah have some equipment that can test a human’s strength and endurance, and was hopin’ y’all could try it out!”

I stared down at the mare, my eyes narrowing slightly as I chewed on the inside of my cheek. I was unsure of how to respond; I was still a little nervous around Applejack as she was still a human breeder, and had even tried to get Twilight to breed me (before she had learned I was intelligent). Plus there was that whole incident I had witnessed with Sunny in the barn that one day. I knew she wasn’t like Mrs. Cake, but it was just close enough to make me uneasy.

Placing the coffee cup on the table, I picked up a piece of paper and scratched out my answer.

+No+

Upon seeing the written word, Applejack pouted but tried again. “Mind if Ah ask why not?”

+I don’t trust that you won’t try any funny business+ I replied bluntly. Her ear twitched and she scrunched up her face in a cute manner.

“Why all the…” she muttered before shaking her head. Looking back up at me, she gave me a hard look. “Ah’m the Element of Honesty, sugarcube. Doesn’t that count for somethin’?”

I sighed as I looked down at her. She stared back up at me, trying her best to give me those stupid puppy dog eyes that ponies seemed to love to give. She had one hoof in front of the other, and was trying her best to look cute. She could only pull it off about halfway. If it had been anywhere near what Pinkie and Fluttershy could pull off, then she probably would have succeeded.

However, she did look mighty cute and adorable standing there with her little stetson hat and big green eyes.

Finally, I looked away before releasing another deep sigh.

+Okay, okay. I’ll go. Just stop with the eyes+ I wrote before flinging the paper halfheartedly at her. Picking the paper up off of the floor, she glanced at it quickly before a large smile spread across her face.

Turning, she exited the library, a little skip in her step as she did so. Shaking my head, I gathered my things before following behind her. Before leaving, I turned and pointed at Spike.

~Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone~

Before he could reply, I reached out and closed the door behind me with a snap.

We walked towards the farm in silence during the trip. Mostly because I couldn’t speak, and it was hard to write while walking, so Applejack’s conversations would have been one-sided the whole way.

The silence was fine by me, as I was still nervous about the whole thing. However, seeing Applejack’s happy expression, I was slowly beginning to think that this wouldn’t be so bad. She wouldn’t try anything funny, would she?

Passing under the wooden signed gateway, we continued walking down the wide dirt path at an even clip.

After a few minutes, Applejack suddenly turned and took a side path off of the main road, heading towards some buildings in the distance. Pausing, I gave the buildings a quick look before following after her. They looked like barns, but painted white instead of red.

We came to a stop outside of the first one. It was relatively small compared to the other barns I’ve seen on her property. It had an enclosed pasture, which appeared to hold some form of obstacle course inside. Bales of hay marked out different boundaries, while wooden obstacles provided ramps and hurdles.

As I studied the course, Applejack moved forward and unlocked the barn’s door. As the door swung open, she glanced back over her shoulder at me and called out, “Come along, sugarcube!”

Entering the barn, I saw that the inside was designed almost like a small gym of sorts. There were treadmills scattered around, as well as several dozen sets of weights.

As I studied the room, Applejack trotted forward before turning around and, with an almost coy smile on her face, said, “Alright then, big guy. Ah need ya tah take yer clothes off. Ah need tah take some measurements.”

I froze, my eyes widening in shock. Turning my head slowly, I gave the mare an incredulous look. Pulling out my notebook, I quickly scribbled out my reaction.

+Care to run that by me again?+

Applejack glanced at the note before looking back up at me, that damnable smirk still on her face.

“Yer clothes, sugarcube. Lose 'em.”

I stared at her for a few more seconds before slowly shaking my head. There’s no way that’s going to happen.

At my refusal, Applejack’s eyes narrowed and a playful smirk shot across her face.

“We can do this the hard way, or the easy way, hon,” she said. “Ya know those little love tussles y’all have with Rainbow? Well, Ah’m stronger than she is, so ya can probably figure out what Ah’m gettin’ at.” The smirk slowly turned into a coy smile as she purred, “Ah like it rough, too, by the way. So, what’s it gonna be?”

I raised an eyebrow at the ‘love tussle’ comment, but continued to stare at her with a blank expression on my face. If what she said was true and she was stronger than Rainbow, then I didn’t really have much chance of winning. However, I took solace in the fact that being stronger didn’t mean that she was faster. If push came to shove, I could probably get away from her.

Sighing, I grabbed my notebook.

+Fine, but no touching+ Applejack nodded and—reluctantly—I began to remove my clothing, feeling my face heating up.

It’s just like when Rarity measured you, I told myself. It’s not that big of a deal. Ponies are naked, other humans are naked. It’s not that big of a deal.

Soon enough, I was standing there, naked, with my hands covering my groin. My face heated up even more as Applejack ran an appraising eye up and down my body. Her tail swished back and forth as a smile spread across her face.

“Like Ah said before, you really are a fine breed of human,” she said as she began to circle me, reminding me briefly of a shark circling a swimmer. “Fine muscle tone, sturdy limbs, and fair complexion. The scars aren’t too bad on the eyes, either.

“Right,” she said, hip checking me as she passed. “Let’s get started!”

Applejack lead me around the room, stopping at each different station to collect some data. She measured my weight and height, had me lift weights to get a reading on my strength, and ran me through some stretches to test my flexibility. She seemed a little surprised to see that I lacked much in the latter, but I was just overjoyed that I could finally touch my toes, even if I was straining slightly to do so.

During the tests, Applejack kept a close eye on me. It was rather unnerving, and occasionally I had to snap my fingers in front of her face to get her to stop.

The worst had been during my time on the treadmill. I had been running at a steady pace for about thirty minutes and was showing no signs of getting winded. After being chased through Ponyville on an almost daily basis by Rainbow, this was child’s play. Applejack had been watching me run, a smile slowly spreading across her face the longer I ran. Glancing down at the clipboard in her hooves, she had muttered something that I couldn’t quite hear, but sounded pleased.

During all the testing, I was slowly becoming aware of a faint odor in the air. At first I had thought that it was just me sweating, but that idea was quickly ruled out when I realized that I didn’t recognize the smell. It was a weird, almost tangy smell with a bit of spice behind it.

Eventually we finished testing and Applejack sent me into the back to wash up. The shower was larger than I needed, but that was due to the fact that it was designed so that a pony could bathe the human.

Making sure that I was completely dry, I quickly put on my clothes before exiting back out into the main room again.

“Y’all ready tah go?” Applejack asked, cocking her head to the side. I gave her a quick nod of my head as I strapped my saddlebags back around my waist.

Exiting the building, Applejack lead me off down the dirt path again, heading towards the bigger of the barn-like structures. It was the same white color as the first, and as we drew nearer, I became aware of a gentle murmuring coming from within.

Applejack halted in front of the main door and glanced back at me in almost a shy manner. I slowly approached, eyeing the large building in front of me. If that last one was a testing facility, what is this one?

As I studied the building, Applejack scraped her hoof on the ground nervously.

“Alright, partner. Here’s the deal,” she said, glancing up at me. “This here is the barn where we keep all of our female humans. Further down, in the next building over, we have the males, followed by the other two buildings… which I’ll get to later, but first—” she paused, gesturing up at the building with a dramatic flourish “—allow me to welcome ya tah the Sweet Apple Acres Human Breeding Barn, or just SAA HBB for short. Or, as we like to call it around here ,the Applebucking Barn!”

Turning, Applejack shot me a large grin before pointing a hoof at the entrance to the building. “So, get yer sweet flank in there and pick a female that catches yer eye!”

I stared down at the smiling mare, my mind still trying to catch up with what was happening. Looking back, I probably should have realized what was gonna happen.

As my brain finally started working again, I started to sign out in hoof-language before I remembered that Applejack couldn’t understand it. Taking a step back, I flipped open my notebook and began to quickly write.

+You said there wouldn't be any funny business!+

Reading the note, Applejack’s ears splayed backwards and she looked to the side, scuffing her hoof as she did so.

“Well… Ah had mah hooves crossed so it didn’t count,” she muttered, trying to look serious but only succeeding in looking mildly adorable as she pouted. Looking back towards the barn, she scrunched up her face before glancing back at me. Her expression morphed from embarrassed to pleading.

“Please, sugarcube,” she muttered. “Ah'd be grateful if y’all would just consider mah offer and mate with a few of mah females. With your looks and body structure, ah’m sure that the offspring would be a fine breed. And of course, you’d get somethin’ out of it as well.”

+I’m not in a breeding mood right now+ I wrote, handing her the note with a deadpan look.

Looking up from the note, Applejack gave more of those goddamn puppy dog eyes. “Would ya at least go through and look at 'em? If ya see somethin’ ya like, you can always come back at a later date.”

I stared down at the mare, causing her to shuffle nervously under my gaze. Her back hooves kneaded into the earth beneath her as she looked up at me. After a few seconds, I sighed heavily. I can’t believe that I’m even considering this.

+I’ll look, but no promises+

Applejack 'squee'd before she quickly stepped behind me and pushed her head into my back, directing me towards the barn. As she pushed, she began happily talking about all the females she had inside, starting with their names, ages, if they’ve had any offspring before, and so on and so forth.

As she talked, I couldn’t help but feel the sinking sensation that I had made a terrible mistake. Even more so when she began listing off information about their hips, breast and their childbearing traits.

It got even more awkward when I saw that all the humans inside the barn were naked.

It was another hour before we exited out the other side of the barn. My face probably looked like it had been sunburned with how much I had been blushing. As I stood there, staring off into the distance, the farm pony sat down beside me, looking up with a small pout on her face. “Y’all turned down every human Ah’ve shown ya. Did none of 'em strike yer fancy?”

Slowly, I shook my head, not looking down at her. There were some humans in there that were definitely in the ‘nope’ department. I don’t care if Applejack claimed they were mature enough to mate; some of those females could have passed for a twelve-year-old back home. That, coupled with the fact that every single human was naked, had made me feel uncomfortably like a perverted salesman browsing for a hooker.

That being said, however, there had been one or two humans in there that weren’t half bad looking, but I would never tell Applejack that. A mental image of Applejack locking me in a cell with the girls and telling me that she wasn’t going to let me out before I had bucked all of them hard and good had crossed my mind. Though, why Applejack had a black cape and false mustache in that image I would never know.

Blinking, I shook my head to clear it before glancing down at Applejack. Shrugging, I gave her a weak smile.

She stared back at me, her green eyes seeming to bore into my soul for a few moments before she sighed. A smirk slowly began to spread across her face as she stood up. Trotting slowly over to me, she bumped her flank against my hip in a teasing manner, her tail flicking slightly. That strange odor hit my nose again, slightly stronger than before.

“Ah understand,” she said, looking up at me with a coy smile on her face. “Ya want tah see the more prized females, don’t ya? The more exotic ones? Nothing but the best for you, right?”

I didn’t have time to respond before she grabbed a hold of my shirt with her teeth and began to drag me down the dirt path, towards the other two builds we had yet to see.

“Come along, partner,” she grunted through her teeth. She dragged me along, my sandals throwing up a dust cloud as we headed towards the smaller of the two barns. As she pulled me along, I eyed the new barn nervously, wondering if I could make a break for it when she released me.

Unfortunately, Applejack didn’t release me until we were inside the barn and the door was shut behind us. The inside was darker than the other barns, and I had to wait for my eyes to become accustomed to the dim light. Applejack trotted down the corridor of holding cells, her hips swaying from side to side. Against my better judgement, I followed her.

Just like the other barn, this barn was filled with cells of females. These ones were different though; more curves, some with darker skin tones, and different shades of hair. With the wider hips, and bigger busts, I couldn’t help my eyes lingering a little longer than was necessary as I walked past. This whole thing was making me really uncomfortable.

The females were looking at me as well, following my every movement closely as I passed them, walking further inside. Some were eyeing me with a neutral expression, sitting within their enclosures. A few, however, were looking at me with interest. One of them even turned around on all fours and presented her backside to me, looking back over her shoulder with a needy expression.

Oh, momma… Turning my eyes away, I blushed heavily before following after Applejack. Thankfully, she didn’t stop at any of the enclosures. She kept on walking down towards the end of the barn, heading for a door on the far wall. She stopped me before I could enter, holding up a hoof and shaking her head.

“Wait here a sec, partner. Ya can go in when Ah say so, okay?” Raising an eyebrow, I nodded my head slowly. As the door clicked shut, I thought about saying "fuck it all" and making a break for it. Curiosity stayed my feet, however.

After several minutes, a muffled voice called out from the other side of the door, “Y’all can come in now!”

Grabbing the door handle, I twisted and pushed the door open and entered. Immediately, my nostrils were hit by a large wave of the strange scent from before, causing me to feel slightly woozy.

Shaking my head slightly to clear it, I glanced around the room’s interior. It was a small room with lots of what appeared to be tools. Ropes, farm tools, saddles, horse whips (the fuck?!) horseshoes, brushes. Everything you’d expect to find inside of a barn. Several stalls lined the far wall.

I didn’t see Applejack anywhere within the room. Taking another look around, I saw some movement within one of the stalls. I swallowed nervously before tentatively approached the stall door. Slowly opening it, I glanced inside.

What I saw would unfortunately be forever imprinted within my mind.

Applejack was inside the stall. She had a saddle strapped to her back, the straps pulled tight against her barrel. Her front hooves were resting against the wall, a horse halter wrapped around her muzzle. Her tail, neatly bound around the base, was pulled to the side, giving me a clear view of her—obviously wet—marehood.

She was swaying her hips back and forth as she glanced over her shoulder at me, her green eyes hooded in a ‘come hither’ look. A sultry grin touched her muzzle as she said huskily, “Here’s yer breedin’ mare, ya stud.”

I stood there in the stall doorway, my brain unable to comprehend what my eye was seeing. I felt my right eye twitch once, twice, three times as I stared at the sight before me, looking like a deer caught in a pair of headlights.

Then, Applejack winked at me, but not with her eye.

Nope!

Big Mac was in a fine mood, strolling lazily down the road, heading towards the farm. It had been a slow day at the apple stand, but that had been fine with him: the nice weather and the good company of the other ponies that were out and about had left him in high spirits.

Just as he was about to pass under the wooden signed entrance, he saw a human running towards him in the distance. His eyes narrowed and his muscles tensed for just a second as the human drew nearer. His cautious expression soon turned to confusion, however, when he saw the fear on the human’s face.

Stepping carefully to the side, Big Mac just chewed on his straw as the human rushed past him, not even sparing him a passing glance as he ran as through Cerberus himself was after him.

Now that he had gotten a good look at the human, Big Mac realized that he was Twilight Sparkle’s human. Glancing over his shoulder, the large stallion took a few moments to stare after the human, and the dust cloud that he was leaving behind him.

The sound of hooves pounding down the road towards him caused Mac’s ears to perk up. Turning, his eyes widened in shock as he saw his little sister—wearing a very questionable getup—gallop past him. “Git back here, ya varmint, and breed me!”

As Applejack disappeared into the distance, Big Mac stood there, blinking stupidly.
Shaking his head, he tried to remove the image of what he had just seen from his brain.

Sniffing, he moved the straw from one side of his mouth to the other before uttering a single word, “Nope.”

Continuing his way towards the farm, Big Mac decided that it was not his business who his little sister bucked.

Also, there was now a large bottle of hard cider calling his name.

I had managed to sprint back to the library in record time, reaching speeds that would have made Rainbow impressed, had she not been napping somewhere at the moment.

Reaching the tree, I saw that the door was open and proceeded to rush in, badly startling Twilight who appeared to have just arrived back from her errands.

“What the—” she yelped as I dove behind her.

~Save me!~

“What’s going on?” she asked, looking back over her shoulder at me, a confused expression on her face. Her ears perked up as the sound of galloping hooves drew near. Turning her head, Twilight glanced at the open door just in time to see Applejack rush inside.

Both ponies froze, each staring at the other with varying degrees of shock. Getting over the surprise first, Twilight blinked a couple of times, trying to understand what was going on. As her eyes landed on Applejack’s outfit, her cheeks instantly turned a lovely shade of red. “Applejack, what in Equestria are you wearing?”

Applejack glanced down at her chest before her own cheeks lit up. She had clearly forgotten what she had been wearing before she had chased me all the way from her barn.

Glancing back up, she smiled awkwardly, trying to act like nothing was wrong, but failing utterly.

“Well, howdy, Twi,” she said, giving her an awkward smile. “Fine weather we’re havin’ today, right?”

Twilight stared at Applejack for a few seconds before glancing back at me as I continued to remain crouched behind her, a confused look on her face. A few seconds later, her eyes lit up as she put two and two together.

“Applejack, we’ve talked about this,” she sighed, turning her head back to glare at her bashful friend.

Applejack gave her a sheepish smile, one of her front hooves kicking an imaginary pebble as she slowly lowered her head in shame.

“Ah know, Twi. Ah’m sorry. Ah couldn’t help myself.” Glancing off to the side, Applejack fidgeted slightly before returning her attention to Twilight. “Could… could Ah possibly get the two of ya tah reconsider? Ah'd be willin’ to pay ya a good sum o’ bits. Ah just think that it’s such a shame to let his genes go tah waste!

“I can even pay ya six hundred bits up front!” Applejack pleaded, giving Twilight a hopeful look. I couldn’t help but scoff softly at that. What was she going to do? Take my sperm out of her and use that?

Twilight glanced back and forth between me and Applejack, her face scrunched up in a cute manner.

“Applejack,” she said slowly, choosing her words carefully. “I don’t even know anything about this kind of thing, and Max and I have already told you that we aren’t interested. Besides, I’d have to look into this a little, and I don’t know how to calculate the cost because I don’t know what Celestia paid for him to begin with.”

Applejack just looked at Twilight, pouting slightly. “Can’t ya just send a letter to the princess then, and ask her about it?” Twilight chewed on her bottom lip, looking unsure.

“I don’t know if I should bother her with this…”

“Please, Twilight. Ah'm sure she’ll respond for you!”

I’m not sure if it was the weirdness of the situation, or the fact Twilight just wanted to get this over with, but she agreed to write the letter. As she did so, I made sure to keep as much distance as possible between me and Applejack. I didn’t care what Celestia’s answer was, I was gonna make a break for it if she tried anything again.

It took only a few minutes for us to get an answer. Twilight looked surprised as the letter flashed into existence right in front of her. Slowly uncurling the scroll, she began to read the letter aloud, her cheeks growing redder and redder as she continued reading.

Dear Twilight,

It always brings a smile to my face to receive a letter from you. I am doing well; thank you for your inquiry.

I was a little surprised to see that you’re even considering something like this. Not that it’s a bad thing; sharing is caring, after all.

To answer your question, I do believe that I originally bought Max for two million bits, despite the fact that the human trafficking ring—as you know—weren't a legal seller. Anyways, to finish your calculations, I would say that based on the average price range of humans, Max’s breeding price would be around twenty to eighty thousand, depending on the female and the situation.

If you want, you could have other mares mate with him. A couple of hours could cost upwards to fifteen-hundred bits. Of course, you could just do it for free. After all, he is your human.

I hope that this information helps. Have a splendid day.

Princess Celestia

Twilight glanced up from the letter, her cheeks glowing red. I was torn between being relieved that I had such a high price, and being annoyed that Celestia had implied that Twilight should go through with this.

Applejack’s cheeks were as red as Twilight's, although she had a thoughtful look on her face, chewing on her bottom lip as her eyes darted back and forth.

After a few seconds, she shook her head, muttering, “Dagnabbit, that’s way too expensive for mah taste.” Glancing up, she cleared her throat before tipping her hat to us. “Welp, sugarcube, Ah need to get going, sooo see ya!” With that, she was out the door and off down the street in a flash, leaving me and Twilight staring after her.

Slowly, Twilight turned to look at me.

“Do you think I should have reminded her of what she was wearing before she left?”

Several days later found Twilight walking through the market, heading towards a spot just outside of Ponyville that was the decided location for a picnic with the girls.

As she walked, she caught a glimpse of a couple of mares looking at her, whispering quietly to one another, both sporting light blushes on their cheeks. This caused Twilight to groan inwardly, shaking her head.

Somehow, the content of Celestia’s letter had spread around Ponyville, and now mares (and a few stallions) had been gossiping about it. She even had a couple of mares come up to her and ask about the breeding fee. She had—naturally—declined them.

To make matters worse, Max had taken to barricading himself inside the library during the day, refusing to leave, much to Rainbow’s chagrin; her almost daily wrestling matches being put on hold.

Applejack also appeared to be in hiding, her brother having to take her place at the stall in the market for the past couple of days. Twilight had heard the stories about how she had chased Max through town, and she could see how Applejack would want to keep a low profile for a while.

However, she had promised that she would be there for the picnic.

Making her way through town, Twilight couldn’t help the twinge of jealousy she felt as her mind wandered to the fact that mares seemed to flock to Max. She knew he was one of the better looking humans, but that didn’t mean that he was going to act on the first raised tail he saw.

Speaking of such mares, Twilight realized that she had just passed by Mrs. Cake, out walking with her husband. She felt her eye twitch when she caught snippets of their conversation.

“Why are we trying to save bits again? We don’t have any debts to pay, do we?”

“Nothing for you to worry about, dear.”

Stopping for a quick moment, Twilight glanced back at the retreating form of Mrs. Cake. The feeling of anger and jealousy flared up inside of her. That mare…

Twilight shook her head, trying to clear it, before continuing on her way.

At least Max knows to stay away from that… that mare! Twilight thought. Suddenly, she paused, glancing back at the mare once again, a look of uncertainty on her face.

...he would stay away, right? If a mare presented herself to him, begging him, he would ignore them, right? Twilight eyed Mrs. Cake closely as the mare in question bought some goods from one of the stalls.

Mrs. Cake is far from ugly… but, there was what happened with Applejack the other day as well…

A pang of doubt wormed its way into Twilight mind, but as quickly as it came, she shook it free. A determined look spread across her face as she resumed walking.

I will not allow it. I won’t let them use him like that. He is my human, after all. With a loud snort, Twilight continued towards her destination.

As she crested the hill, she saw that Pinkie had already spread out a large red and white blanket on the ground. A quick glance around told her that she was the last of her friends to arrive.

As she trotted up, she called out to them with a smile, “Hello, girls!”

Each greeted her in turn, although Twilight instantly noticed that Applejack couldn’t meet her eye.

Sitting down on the blanket, Twilight placed the picnic basket she had been carrying down. As the mares began to dig into their food, Rarity glanced at Twilight, flipping her mane out of her eyes before asking, “Max not with you, darling?”

“No,” Twilight sighed heavily. “He still refuses to come out of the library.” Applejack winced, lowering her head, ears splaying back.

“Man, that sucks,” Rainbow huffed, crossing her forelegs over her chest. “I haven’t had a good scuffle with him in a while!”

“Well, it can’t be helped, I suppose,” Rarity said. A slow smirk spread across her face as her eyes narrowed. “Especially with that juicy piece of gossip flying around.” Twilight huffed before glancing at Rarity with an angry pout.

“What?” the unicorn asked, giving Twilight an innocent smile. “Don’t be like that, darling. It can’t be helped that it is the only thing the mares of Ponyville are talking about.” Her smile turned into a teasing smirk as she glanced over at Applejack.

“Although, it’s only slightly more popular than a rumor of a certain mare chasing a certain human around town in a scandalous and daring outfit.”

Applejack groaned loudly, her cheeks turning red as she pulled her hat down over her face.

“Ah’m never gonna live that down,” she muttered.

“Oh my,” Fluttershy gasped, blushing as well. Rainbow just looked surprised before bursting out laughing.

“Oh man, AJ. What, was it like your secondary heat time or something?” Another groan from the farm mare caused Rainbow to laugh even harder. “Oh my gosh, it was, wasn’t it!? Oh, that makes it even funnier!”

Rarity fanned her face with a hoof in a dramatic fashion, the smirk still on her face. It waned slightly as she glanced back over at Twilight.

“In all seriousness, though, I heard a group of three mares talking together last time I was at the spa. It sounded like they were thinking about polling their bits together to have a little fun with the ‘human that lives in the library'.” She then put a hoof on her rosy cheek, still looking at Twilight.

"Oh, I wonder if they will succeed?” she giggled. “Twilight, are those rumors true about the fees?"

Twilight glanced at Rarity, before stomping her hooves on the ground, growling angrily, "I will not use Max like that and let those mares get their hooves on him, fees or no fees!"

"Easy darling, your fangs are showing," Rarity said with a smile. "But I am curious. Wouldn’t it be a good source of income?”

Twilight paused at that, thinking a little about all those rare books she could buy. But then the thought of Max putting his arms around another mare flashed through her mind, or worse, him kissing a mare, or him and a naked female human or a mare. She shook her head, her cheeks red.

"No, it's not worth it." she said, those thoughts still dancing through her mind.

"A pity,” Rarity tsked, smirking slightly. “Well, I don't have the bits anyway, so it doesn't matter. Maybe in the future, though." Twilight glared at Rarity, her ear twitching.

"Ah don't have any bits to spare at the moment either," Applejack mumbling from behind her hat. Twilight quickly looked towards her, her eyes narrowing.

Rainbow just shrugged, before pulling out her money bag and turning it upside down. A few moths fluttered out as a cloud of dust erupted from it.

"I'm broke, but I will have enough bits when I become a Wonderbolt," she chuckled. She then pointed a hoof at Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, on the other hoof, has enough bits."

Twilight whipped her head around and gaped at the shy pegasus, who gave of a cute little 'eep' when she saw Twilight glance over at her.

"Y-Yes, I do,” she stuttered. “I have been saving those bits in case an emergency happened to one of my visiting animal friends... or to Max. That, and my parents tend to be a little generous." She 'eep'ed again and hid behind her mane, seeing the expression on Twilight’s face.

Pinkie leapt and twirled around her friends before stopping, mid-step.

“I have enough bits as well, but I don’t know why you have to pay so much just to have a few hours of fun with Maxie! I mean, wouldn’t it be better to hang out with your friend for free?” Twilight stared at Pinkie, a strained smile slowly spreading across her face as her eye twitched.

“I think our dear Max wouldn’t have any time for us if he was free, darling,” Rarity tittered from behind a hoof. "Also, based on the rumors, I think there will be a long waiting line as well.” Pinkie’s ears drooped as an unhappy expression flashed across her face.

“Awww, but that won’t be any fun! I want to play with Maxie!” she whined, sitting down and crossed her forelegs, a small pout gracing her lips.

“Speaking of free, have you been doing anything, Twilight?” Rainbow added quickly, smirking over at the flustered mare. Twilight froze instantly, her eyes widening as her cheeks burned red.

“W-what?!”

“You know, havin’ a little fun with him!” Rainbow snickered, elbowing Twilight in the side.

“N-no, I have not!” Twilight stammered, an ear flapping against her head.

“Eh, that’s cool,” Rainbow said with a shrug. “No need to rush, right? You can take your time.”

Twilight groaned loudly before slamming her head into the blanket, burying her face into her hooves as Rainbow roared with laughter.