If she were a more educated and cultivated pony, Applejack would probably have described her current situation more eloquently than ‘heavenly’. It was a perfect assessment, though. Here, dancing in the great hall of the palace, wearing a fancy dress and holding Melody’s hand with her hoof while she led them over the marble floor, was bliss incarnate. The slight buzz from the imbibed refreshments didn’t hurt the atmosphere as well. For the most part, it was just the both of them and the music. Right now, it didn’t matter that there were other ponies around them. They were just patches of colour in the corner of her eyes. In the centre of her focus was Melody. The woman smiled down at her, still a head higher even when the mare was on her hind legs.

In the back of her mind, Applejack made a note to write a nice letter to her aunt and uncle to thank them for the dancing lesson they had forced her to take while she had lived with them in Manehatten.

Applejack returned the smile and turned her right hind leg as the two of them began another slow turn, following the rhythm of the music in the background. Melody wasn’t a good dancer. Her feet sometimes found its way between Applejack’s hooves, causing her to stumble a bit, but she had gotten better since their first try. She wouldn’t have expected that sort of clumsiness from someone who looked so nimble like Melody.

With one last twirl, the music ended and the ponies in the room parted, fell back on four hooves, and bowed to their partners. “That was nice,” Melody said as she also bowed slightly to Applejack. “And again, I’m sorry for nearly making you fall. Twice. Dancing with a pony is slightly different than with another human.”

Applejack, a bit curious, tilted her head. “How so?”

The woman started walking towards the buffet, near which was a small area with chairs for ponies to sit down. “Well, for one, we don’t make a game of balance out of it. Don’t take it the wrong way, but you’re pretty heavy.” Applejack blinked, not understanding what her marefriend meant, something Melody seemed to pick up upon. “You see, when you’re on two hooves, you still tilt slightly forward. The only thing to hold you up was me.”

“Isn’t that how you’re supposed to dance? My teacher always told me that holding your partner up was all about trust and all that. Makes it romantic and whatnot. How do you humans dance?”

Melody sat down in one of the chairs and grabbed one of the glasses of water laid out for the thirsty dancers. “We hold each other, press together, feel each other up. It’s about being close.” Applejack tried to picture that as she also sat down. Two humans holding each other close, their legs intervened and hands running down each other’s body. Well, no surprise then that they had had trouble, with Melody trying to get closer while Applejack tried to hold her up. Seeing the smirk on her lips as Melody sipped her water, she must have realized it as well. “Next time we should talk about it before we actually do it,” she finally said.

“Would probably for the best.” Applejack looked past Melody into the room. Another group had started dancing to a new piece of music, while others mingled amongst themselves. She could see Princess Cadance standing together with her future husband, talking with an older mare and stallion they seemed to know well. They weren’t the ones she hoped to find. She had to look up the stairs where Twilight was with her parents and Princess Luna. The latter must have snuck in since nopony else seemed to have noticed her. The cobalt alicorn smiled at something Twilight just said and looked towards Velvet. However, the important detail was that Twilight seemed happy again. It had been a long time since Applejack had seen her like this.

“You’re a good friend, Applejack,” Melody said. The woman’s elbows rested on the table. “She needed this. Not the fancy party, but her family and her friends. Humans often seem to forget that. It was also one of the first things I learned about you ponies: the value you put on family and friends. It’s like Princess Celestia was literal when she said friendship was magic.”

“It was your idea coming here. That would make you a good friend too.”

“Am I?” Melody sounded thoughtful.

That was a loaded question. “Well, I can’t rightfully answer that. I’m biased, you know. I’m terrible in love with the woman in question.” Applejack leaned over the table and planted a kiss on Melody’s lips, only a slight peck to cheer her up. Two hands grabbed her head and held it in position, their lips locked. After what seemed to a minute or more, Melody pulled free. She smacked her lips, savouring the kiss they just shared.

“That was for coming here with me and for the dance. I know you don’t like any of this.”

“No, but I like you,” came out of Applejack’s mouth faster than she could think.

“Somepony ate a smooth talker this morning.” Melody giggled slightly. “Go on, see where it gets you.”

The door slammed open as they stumbled into their shared room. Melody hands ran though Applejack’s mane while the latter held onto the human to remain bipedal as they kissed. The couple, still clinging to each other, made their way over to the closest bed and dropped onto it, where Melody finally released her. If they had done this only on the way up here, Applejack wouldn’t have minded, but they had already made out for fifteen minutes in a random closet they had found. “Wooh-wee, girl, what’s gotten into you?” Applejack adjusted her position on the bed and brought her legs under her. The pony loaf position, as Melody had called it once.

The woman, lying on the bed with her arms stretched out as far as they could, stared at the ceiling. “The atmosphere, I guess. All these couples, dancing, the engagement—it does things to a girl.”

Not only to a girl. Applejack could feel her own body getting pretty heated. Her tail swished agitatedly, something Melody seemed to have noticed since she tried to catch it with a hand. “I agreed to your terms, Melody. I won’t try anything, and you don’t have to feel bad if you don’t want to continue. A cold shower’ll take care of my problem.”

“Applejack, you wouldn’t believe how horny I am right now.” The mare gulped. “I was really considering taking you right there in the closet, regardless of how uncomfortable it would have been. And I’m fighting with myself right now as well. You saying nice things like that doesn’t help at all.” She finally managed to catch Applejack’s tail and brought it to her nose. “Apples…”

“I’m sure Princess Celestia would give us a second room to get rid of the temptation.” She looked at the Melody, who seemed rather subdued now, and freed her tail with a slight pull. “I won’t break the promise I made to you.”

“Do you know why I made that rule?” Melody asked, locking eyes with the mare. Applejack thought about it for a moment, but had to shake her head in the end. There were many possibilities, but none sounded right. “Because I tried to fill the emptiness in me with sex. I used it as a substitute for love. Worse still, I wasn’t the only one hurt by that decision. Twilight made me see that. We humans say the first step to get rid of a problem is to acknowledge that you have one. The truth is that that isn’t even the only reason. I’m planning something very egotistical, something very selfish… something very human. It’s a plan benefits mostly myself, and I know that you could end up hurt because of it.” Melody sat up on the bed and grabbed Applejack’s hooves from under her body. “I also know you love me, and I don’t want to use that against you. I don’t want to use sex to lead you along with what I’m planning to do.”

Applejack waited for a moment for Melody to continue before speaking. “You’re a bit dense, are you, Sugarcube?” Melody’s brown eyes looked into her own green ones with mild surprise in them. “I want you to be human. If you’re a little egotistical, then be that way. I want you, Melody, because of who you are, not what you are. That’s just something that comes along with you. You could be a griffon, dragon, or even minotaur for all I care. I love you because of who you are, not what you are. You’re a considerate, kind, and funny girl. You always try to think of others. You even hurt yourself because of it. I saw how you were with Apple Bloom. Foals know when somepony isn’t nice, like some sort of instinct. You’re everything I could—” The farmer’s rant was interrupted when Melody pressed her lips against hers with surprising force. She couldn’t remember her ever being this insistent about anything. Melody forced her upon her back and was crawling on top of her.

“Melody…” she mumbled in the kiss, trying to make her stop. She wouldn’t let her break her own rule and her promise along with it. Right now, it wouldn’t take much more for her to do so. Her face flushed red as there was an audible squelch when her nethers winked, her tail swishing around and spreading her musky scent around in the room.

Finally, Melody parted, but her head stayed close to Applejack’s. “I won’t make you break your promise. I won’t break my rules. Just lay back and enjoy.” Melody’s hand grabbed the hem of Applejack’s dress and peeled it off her body, leaving her on the bed like the day she was born. She threw the fabric aside and then loosened the knot behind her neck, allowing her own dress to drop from her waist. For the second time that day, the mare was treated to the sight of her marefriend’s chest. This time, the nipples on her teats were hard, slightly pointing outwards. Melody slipped all the way out of her dress, now as nude as Applejack. Bending her knees, she shot the mare an alluring smile, a wicked glint in her eyes. Applejack gulped as her heart pounded in her chest. This was a rather intimate daydream of hers come to life.

Melody smiled as Applejack brazenly ogled her for a moment, before she leaned forward again, her hands now next to her belly. Her mouth wandered to her neck, where she planted a kiss, then another a bit lower. The mare twitched, electricity running through her body. Melody went further south with her teasing, reaching her chest. She buried her face in the fluff of fur and pinched her skin with her teeth. “Melody…” Applejack groaned and dug her hooves into the fabric of the bed. One of her hind legs twitched and rubbed on the inside Melody’s calf. Using one of her hands, she scratched her fingers along Applejack’s side and down towards her cutie mark. She reached the first of the three apples, circled to the second, and then to the third, all the while still nibbling and kissing her chest. Suddenly her fingers groped the flesh around her cutie mark, squishing and pulling at it, Applejack’s breath catching in her throat.

Melody’s head travelled further down to her stomach, kissing around her navel a few times before tonguing the small hollow, making Applejack growl. Her mind was hazy with the sensations coursing through her body, unable to concentrate on a single one. Her body ached deliciously as she could feel her core heating up. Her flanks were raised high in the air, gripped by her marefriend’s hands, and the next kiss landed right between her teats, breaking the dam. Her entire body jerked as ecstasy overwhelmed her, the pressure finally released in a crescendo. Stars blinded her vision as her vulva winked like crazy, her inner muscles futilely trying to grip something that wasn’t there.

After what felt like a few minutes, the sensation ebbed away and Melody came back into focus. The human was caressing her flanks as she watched her ride out her orgasm. “That…” Applejack was finally able to say, “was something else.”

“Oh, I’m not finished.” Melody granted her a sensuous smile, a lazy little thing that spoke of unfulfilled promises. “That was just foreplay.” Applejack’s eyes widened as Melody lowered herself again before she could protest, this time between her legs. She rubbed her thighs together, feeling the mess she had left. Her marefriend didn’t seem to mind as she lowered her head right to her core, her tongue teasing the outer lips of her marehood.

“Woah nelly… be careful, I’m still sensitive!” Applejack cried out, her hips shifting and arching.

Melody looked up and grinned, the sight of her sharp teeth sending a thrill through Applejack’s body. “I’m counting on that.” She went back down again, bathing her sensitive flesh with kisses. Applejack released a low moan, gripping the bed sheets harder. She could feel herself winking furiously, the squelching sounds echoing lewdly in her mind. Melody continued her assault, adding two fingers that slid into her with ease, her inner core firmly gripping them before bathing them in a light massage. Her mouth and fingers alternated and were rewarded by Applejack’s copious juices, eventually seeping out to the sheets. Good sex was messy, after all. It was half the fun.

With a final lick, Melody ceased her ministrations. “Did you know that the clitoris is more than just this nub of flesh?” she asked before planting a kiss right on it as Applejack winked again, causing the farmer to give a ragged shout. “It goes along the inner walls of the vulva and even inside the vagina itself, eventually forming what scientists call the mysterious G-spot?” Applejack didn’t get a chance to answer as Melody dove forward and planted another kiss on the sensitive bundle of nerves as it peeked out again. Both her hands spread open her marehood, exposing her to the world, before a short, thick tongue entered her. For a moment, it felt like it was darting around in her without direction, but she soon realized Melody was using a technique as old as ponykind and was writing the alphabet. Her thumb joined the fun and rubbed gently on her clit.

“Melody, I’m… I’m…” She came again, her entire body tensing, but the human didn’t stop. In fact, Melody began to eat her out with renewed enthusiasm, rubbing her love button for all it was worth. Applejack’s hind legs kicked in the air, her back arching and nearly lifting her off the bed. It seemed the human’s sole purpose was to prolong her climax for as long as possible. “Melody!” she cried out again and her muscles finally started to relax, but the human reacted instantly. She pulled her head back, her face soaked, and buried two her fingers where her tongue had just left, pistoning into her. Her body reacted and she could already feel a third orgasm coming. The two fingers were joined by a third one and then a fourth and finally, with a loud squishing sound, her entire hand vanished. At that moment, Melody leaned forward and forced her tongue into her mouth. Applejack could do nothing, her body jerking as pleasure was forced onto her ravaged body again and again. This time it wasn’t just stars that danced across her eyes. Instead, she saw white and then nothing.

Just Melody doing something nice for Applejack.
Next chapter will be an intermission of sort, from the point of view of Melody again. After that, the last part of this little story starts.

Thanks to JBL for editing this chapter.