Applejack sat on the edge of our bed. Her cowpony hat rested on the nightstand. It was kind of odd to see her without it on. It was almost like seeing her naked in some kind of naughty way, since she so rarely took the thing off. Her entire body was shivering, and that odd scent was strong in the air. I put the journal down and sat beside her. I felt awful for her. I didn't know what to do.

"I just don't understand why it's getting to you so quickly," I said. "You must have taken in more of the pathogen than I did."

"Maybe. Not like it matters now, anyway," said Applejack. "Um, but I do have a favor to ask, Twi, which is why I needed to see you in private. I... could really use a hug?"

I smiled. "Of course! That's what friends are for, right?" I said, and gently reached around her with my forehooves. She hugged me back, rather firmly, but just the act of making contact caused her trembles to subside. I marveled at how powerful a simple hug could be. It was making me feel a thousand percent better, too!

"Oh Twi, I love you so much," she whispered, her voice shaky. Her hooves gently stroked my back. A couple of weeks ago I might have considered this to be creepy, but all the crap I've been through has put things in a better perspective. I was helping her, and at that moment, that's all that mattered.

"I... um, well, I guess I love you too Applejack," I said. "You're one of my best friends, not to mention one of the best friends anypony could hope for." What I said was true. The use of the word "love" was weird, but no biggie. The stroking on my back was actually kind of nice once I stopped resisting it. I need to learn to be more comfortable with intimacy, I thought to myself... it's not always about sex, and being comfortable is so much better than feeling awkward all the time.

But then it started getting weirder. Applejack gently nuzzled at my neck, and slowly inhaled against my mane. "My sweet apples, sugarcube. Your mane smells so nice. Everything about you is so wonderful and nice and perfect. I just... I can't even begin with the right words. I don't wanna ever let you go, Princess," she said, and sighed softly.

"Um, Applejack? Are you... okay?" I asked, trying to pull away from the hug, but she wouldn't let go. Her strong forelegs held tightly to my body. I had zero chance of pulling out of any earth pony's grip, let alone the strongest, most muscular mare I've ever met: having pegasus and unicorn natures was still no contest. I could teleport out of her grasp if I needed to, but that would be rude.

I pushed back a second time. "AJ, please let go," I said, starting to get worried.

She released me, and looked startled by her own actions. "Oh! Oh, no, no, no. I... I'm sorry sugarcube, I really am, please forgive a dumb mare. I... I just need it so bad," she said, begging me with her eyes. "Could we maybe, just for a minute or somethin', like... lie down on the bed together? I mean you don't even need to hold me, I could just hold you and that'd be enough, I swear it, oh please." She had a look of desperation practically etched into her face.

I sighed. "Sure. I don't really understand it, but if it's what you need, then I'm glad to help. I only wish I could help more," I said. She was very relieved.

Applejack then pulled down the covers of the bed and slipped inside, which kind of surprised me. I didn't think she'd want to hold me in bed, like, actually where we sleep, but it seemed fine. We'd both prepared for bed already. The hug had been so comfortable before, I figured I might even fall asleep during it.

I climbed in next to her, facing away as she held my by the midriff. She tucked her muzzle in against my neck. Noticing that heady scent in the air, I decided to say something...

"Applejack?"

"Y-yeah sweetheart?" she said. I think I blushed something fierce.

"I just want you to know, you don't need to be embarrassed around me," I said, trying to reassure her.

"Oh. Well, I guess I am a little, because of this need and all... but it ain't bad. Feels right, actually. Real right," she said, whispering very softly in my ear. Actually, I'm sure I was blushing at this point. My cheeks were hot.

"That's... strange," I said. "I thought I had identified that scent as some sort of embarrassment-based pheromone which wards off ponies for smoothing out awkward situations. I guess it must have been censored from my books, or something? But I still can't believe that Celestia would—"

"Twilight," Applejack said, interrupting me, her voice back to a normal tone. "Are... are you kiddin', darlin'? Don't joke with me now, filly, this just ain't the time." She sounded nervous. I wanted to turn and face her, but it was incredibly comfortable lying there with her. I didn't really understand why, but it was like a prolonged hug from my brother. I mean, from before he went insane.

I gently cupped my forelegs over hers where they rested around my barrel. "I... well, it was only a hypothesis," I said.

The pony holding me inhaled in a timbre that could only have indicated surprise. "You poor, sweet little mare. I don't know how you could possibly confuse... wait," she said, pausing for an uncomfortably long moment. "Nah, it just ain't possible."

"W-what's that?" I asked. I was worried. I was certain I'd done something wrong without realizing it, yet again.

"Twilight, you DO know what that bite was doin' to ya, right? I mean, the feelings it was givin' you, you know what those feelings mean?" she asked. I felt her thighs flex against mine.

I gulped. "Well, it was itchy and annoying, like I said. And it would get worse if I flexed the muscle near the bite... and I'm starting to feel it again, too, so I'm kind of worried I didn't cure the whole thing, unless it's contagious through some kind of airborne infection—"

"Holy horsefeathers, filly. I can't believe this," she said, her voice thick with pity. "The scent has nothing to do with embarrassment, Twi. That's just what a mare smells like when she's horny, because of the juices and such down there. Haven't you, I mean, like... Haven't you ever, you know, touched yourself? Ain't Princess Twilight Sparkle ever masturbated before?" Applejack asked, clearly dumbfounded by my inexperience.

I felt a shiver run through my body. "I... I..." I started, blushing and on the verge of tears. "Yes, once or twice, okay," I answered, and sniffed. "It was a long time ago, and I felt horribly dirty about the self-abuse, so I never did again..."

"Oh Twilight," Applejack said softly, holding me tight. "Shhhh. Sugarcube, there ain't nothin' abusive about touchin' yourself. What's abusive is not doin' it, to be honest. Tain't normal to hold that kinda thing in. You need to be brave about this, hon. You're tryin' to fight a sensible war against whatever it is we're up against, but at the same time you're fightin' a crazy one against yourself. If you can't tell the two apart, we're all gonna be in a heap of trouble."

"Trouble?" I bit nervously at my lower lip.

"Twilight, whatever this thing is that we're up against, whether it's vamponies or perverts or changelings or whatever, sexual innocence is somethin' they'll be able to exploit," she explained. "It'd be sad, but admittedly kind of funny in a way, if the whole of Equestria fell apart due to the lack of Twilight Sparkle gettin' any."

"I have a hard time believing that saving Equestria has anything to do with me having sex," I said.

"Yeah, but on the day I met you, you were sayin' the same thing about makin' friends, as I recall," she reminded me. "You proved yourself wrong that night, and then you did it again a year later. Don't underestimate what sex can make a mare do, sugarcube. Right now it's hard for me not to close my eyes and think about switchin' sides and just lettin' your brother have his way with all three of my barn doors, if you catch my drift. Holdin' you here with me makes it a lot easier."

"You really think it's that important?" I asked. "Um, are you sure you're saying this because you think you're right, and it's not, you know, the bite talking?"

Applejack nodded; I felt the motion against my shoulder. "Yeah. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am powerful horny, maybe more so than I ever been in my life," she admitted. "But I wouldn't lie to you, sugarcube. I'm worried you're gonna be so confused with this mess that you might make some bad choices yourself."

I thought about it for a while. "Just tell me what to do, AJ. I'm confused, and I don't know why I feel this way..."

"Darlin', you're horny. Simple as that," said Applejack.

"But I cured the bite, I'm sure of it!" I asked.

"It's normal to get horny, Twi. You've had a whole lifetime of avoidin' this and now you're all bottled up and ready to pop. I mean, you're around me right now, and I'm horny, and probably my scent is affectin' you too and maybe... I dunno, maybe I guess you might like me, too," she said.

"AJ," I asked, my voice a soft whisper from embarrassment. "Are we, um, lesbians?"

Applejack chuckled and squeezed me briefly. "I dunno hon. Let's not get caught up in labels. I like cock just fine myself, but I guess I'm okay with mares too. This ain't the first time I been this close to another gal," she said. "But everypony has times when they do different stuff. So, maybe you like girls, maybe you like boys too, or you might just be confused or somethin'. It's impossible to say for sure, and in my humble opinion, it don't matter worth a lick."

I lay with her in silence for a while, willing myself to relax as much as possible. I think there isn't anypony I'd trust more than Applejack, not even my brother (again, I mean even before he lost his mind). I was surprisingly okay with this.

"Are we cuddling?" I asked.

"Sure are, darlin'."

"Can we sleep like this? Like, together?"

"You betcha hon. Just relax. Holdin' you close is almost enough to abate my urges by itself, but I might need to um, do a bit more back here. I'll be quiet as I can and won't get nothin' on ya," she said.

"Do you, um, need me to do something? For you?" I asked gingerly. I think the worry was apparent in my voice.

"I'll be okay Twilight, but I guess lemme give you a pointer or two," she said. "First off, sex is pretty messy and disgusting quite frankly, but because it feels so good, you learn to like a lot of the nasty stuff. Second, it's pretty natural to feel guilty about sex if you haven't had a lot of experience, so if you, pardon my fancy here, cum for the first time, you might feel awful about it at first. But that feelin' goes away pretty quick, so you gotta be brave and weather it through until you learn to accept it."

"Come where exactly?" (Yeah, this was pretty confusing the first time I heard it.)

"Oh, um, see-you-em. It's slang for havin' an orgasm. I think technically ejaculatin', but some ponies use it to mean orgasm in general," she said.

"But mares don't ejaculate," I said.

Applejack stifled a laugh. "Well sweetie, actually we do if you get it just right. Right out the pee-hole, actually, just like a stallion," she explained. "You gotta be old enough before orgasm causes that to happen, though; before that your climax is gonna be dry. But you're plenty old enough, so someday soon you'll know just what I'm talkin' about. It's harder for mares to cum than stallions, but we just gotta be tuned more carefully, sorta."

I gulped. "Can you show me?" There was a pregnant pause while my friend considered the request.

"You have no idea how much I want to show you everythin' under the Sun right now, but I can tell how nervous you are, and I'm not about to take advantage of you like this," she said. "How about this: I'll guide you toward pleasurin' yourself, and I'll be here right beside you. If you do cum, or even if you just feel bad about anythin', I'll be here to hold you safe. Okay sugarcube?"

Wow. I was so nervous, but I had to be brave. I know some things take more resolve to learn than others. Applejack wiped both of my hooves against the covers, just to be safe, though they were already clean. She guided my right hoof to my vulva, and gently stroked with it while I sat back and experienced it. She was right: it was electric, a feeling like eating sugar except all over my body and especially down there. It was moist, I guess ready to take a stallion inside, or something.

Applejack then left my hoof there and slipped hers under my arm so she could rub at my teats, very gently. "There y'go, darlin'. Just rub it like that, real gentle," she whispered in my ear. I could feel her body tensing and relaxing against mine, and I could tell how much she was enjoying being with me. I should have been creeped out by all this, but somehow it was flattering? I really don't understand it. I kept hoofing myself (well, just the outside of my labia), and I know I'm not very good at this but the pressure was building. I couldn't tell if things were getting better, or worse, but at some point it was like my hoof had a mind of its own. And AJ rubbing my teats, oh wow. I've never felt anything like that from my nipples before, I mean, maybe a little weird when I wash myself, but everything was singing at the same time. I hardly noticed it when I started moaning.

"Mmm, you're so precious," whispered Applejack, pulling another blush to my cheeks. Then she pushed her hoof a little lower, right next to mine, and pulled back at the tip of my labia. I could feel something there, pulsing, pushing outward against the skin again and again, a very sensitive something; she made the lightest possible touch to it, and then pressed gently downward with a sliding motion and I screamed. It was only for a moment, but it happened. My whole body bucked hard against the bed as my friend held me and whispered in my ear, reassuring me that everything was okay. I did feel guilt washing over me, yes. Kind of like how sensitive your skin gets from taking aspirin when you have a fever, but with shame tacked on. But then I also felt her holding me, and I knew it was okay, that I had done what I was supposed to. I'd passed.

"I am so proud of you, Twilight Sparkle," whispered Applejack, nuzzling my neck and gently rubbing my belly. My thighs were wet, so I don't know if I just made all that moisture or if I peed or what, but I didn't care. That was the weirdest thing, because if there's anything I know about my flaws, it's that Princess Twilight Sparkle is a total control freak about everything. Before this moment I couldn't have even imagined lying there in a wet messy bed, but I actually didn't care, and somehow the fact that I didn't care made it even better. This is the craziest thing I've ever done in my life, and I was able to do it with a friend despite how nervous and confused I was. I guess maybe I should be proud of myself.

I tried to turn around, but Applejack held me fast. I wanted to see her face. I felt... something different now, my heart was still pumping out of control, and being with her like this just felt wonderful in a weird, emotional way.

"No, no sweetie," she corrected. "I'm more than a little afraid if we start lookin' in one another's eyes we might, um, y'know, start fallin' in love or somethin'. And as hot as that gets me, I know that ain't a good idea at the moment."

"I think I'm feeling that anyway," I revealed, panting softly, my eyes watery with emotion.

"I know sugarcube. Just relax for now, take a load off," she said. "Just one moment though."

Despite her warning, Applejack started kissing at my neck and jawline, and it was making me feel happy in ways I simply can't put into words. I guess this is why there's so much poetry about love. I heard her grunt. I felt her shiver. Then she yelped out loud as something very warm and wet sprayed between my thighs. I couldn't believe how fast it had happened.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry," she said, still cuddling me close. "I, I didn't mean to..."

"It's okay," I said, smiling as I held her hooves in mine. "I'm really glad I make you happy too, Applejack."

I don't remember falling asleep in her arms, but I must have. I slept like an unweaned foal.