Chapter 16: Nigh Uncontainable

“Come on, Twilight, you’ve gotta do it!”

“I don’t want to, Spike,” Twilight said.

“Twilight, seriously, you need to ask the stallion out. Pardon me for being blunt, but of all my friends, you’re the one who most needs to get laid.”

Clearly he’s still clueless about Rarity, Twilight thought. Good.

“Spike, what am I supposed to do? Go up to him and say ‘Hey, Big Mac, how’s the weather. Would you like to get dinner sometime?’”

“Not exactly, Twilight, but you’ve gotta find a way to work it into the conversation. Try to be a little flirty for once in your life.”

“Spike, I know nothing about the art of flirtation! Seriously, the other mares make it look so easy. You should have seen the eyes Bon Bon was making at Lyra the other day. It’s like she’s a total natural.”

“Bon Bon and…huh?” Spike asked.

“Not important. The important thing is that it was hard enough for me to make friends. How am I supposed to ask somepony on a date?”

“It’s simple, Twilight. You just put your hoof down and do it.”

“Easy for you to say, Spike. You’re the one who’s got a dragon hanging all over you.”

“Leave Ruby out of this. She’s not a part of this conversation.”

“She should be. Why don’t you work up the dragon balls to ask her out?”

“Excuse me! I’m not about to ask someone out who I don’t like.”

“Listen to me, Spike!” Twilight exclaimed. “You don’t have to be madly in love with someone to ask them out. Just take her on a date and see how it goes. You might find yourself falling for her the more you get to know her.”

“Huh, you might have a point there…” Spike said.

“Of course I have a point! When are you going to meet another dragon as nice as Ruby? When are you going to meet another dragon at all? It’s not like there’s any here in Ponyville, and you didn’t like any of the ones you met while you were away.”

“You’re right about that…” Spike said.

“Of course I’m right!”

“Okay, okay. Chill out, Twilight.”

“Sorry, Spike, it’s just that the prospect of asking Big Mac out is really stressful.”

“Twilight, you’re overthinking it. You should just do it to have fun. Celestia knows you don’t have enough of it.”

“You’re right. I shouldn’t have complained so much in my last couple of letters.” That hadn’t been what Spike had meant, but he let it slide.

“Listen, Twilight, you know I’m always there for you, right? So go ahead and take a risk. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“I could make a huge foal of myself,” Twilight said. “What would Big Mac think of me?”

“He’d probably be flattered,” Spike said. “How often does that big lug get any attention?”

“That’s true, he is rather withdrawn,” Twilight thought. “In fact, he’s a little too withdrawn. He barely says two words to me when I walk past him.”

“Oh, Twilight, you know that’s just how he is.”

“That’s a good point,” Twilight said. “You know what, you’re right. No need to be so foalish. I’ll ask Big Mac out to dinner…”

“That’s the spirit, Twilight!”

“…on one condition.”

“Name it,” Spike said, happy he had convinced his friend to follow her heart.

“You have to ask Ruby out.” Spike shook his head.

“Do you know how easy that’s gonna be?” Spike asked. “It’s a deal.”

“Good. Let’s go seek them out. We’ll meet back here when we’re done to see how everything went.”

“That sounds good to me, Twilight.”

***

Twilight looked all around the marketplace, hoping that Big Mac would be shopping for more food for the farm, but he was nowhere to be seen. A quick glance at the crowd had told Twilight that, as Big Mac was a hard pony to miss. She decided that if Big Mac wasn’t around Ponyville, he had to be on the farm, so Twilight headed off to Sweet Apple Acres.

Along the way, Twilight’s stomach was jittery with nerves. Every step she took seemed to take a conscious effort, and it was all she could do to keep herself from turning around and galloping right back to the library. She could simply tell Spike he had said no, right?

But deep in her heart, Twilight knew that chickening out would be the wrong way to see this through. No matter what the answer was from Big Mac, Twilight would feel better knowing that she had at least tried. It was with this resolve that Twilight walked onto the farm and ran into Applejack.

“Mornin’, partner,” Applejack said, seemingly distracted as she rolled barrels of apples into the barn for storage, although her heart was far more troubled than her hooves. “What brings you to this here neck o’ the woods?”

“Oh, um…” Twilight said, feeling woefully unprepared to explain why she was here to Applejack. “Well, I was…”

“Spit it out, Twilight. Ah don’t have all day.”

“Sorry,” Twilight said. “I was just wondering if I could speak to your brother.”

“Huh?” Applejack asked. “You and Big Mac hardly talk. Why do ya suddenly want to speak with him?”

“Well…” Twilight said. “I kind of sort of maybe have a little bit of a crush on him and I want to ask him out.” Twilight threw in a wide smile for good measure. Applejack stared incredulously at her and then started to laugh.

“Whew, is that all? Shoot, ah thought it was somethin’ more serious!”

“It is serious…” Twilight muttered.

“Oh, Sugarcube, ah’m just teasin’ you is all. He’s stackin’ the apple barrels in the barn if ya want to see him.”

“Thanks, Applejack,” Twilight said.

“Yer welcome, Sugarcube. Good luck!” Twilight smiled as she slowly trotted into the barn. Applejack let out a sigh, hoping Twilight had better luck than she was having right now.

Twilight found the burgundy stallion hard at work lifting the barrels with his front hooves and stacking them atop one another. It looked like exhausting work. Seeing an opportunity to help, Twilight levitated one of the barrels to the top of a high stack for him.

“Shoot, Twilight, ya startled me,” Big Mac said, looking at the purple mare with a smile. “But thanks.”

“You…you’re welcome,” Twilight said, her heart aflutter. Somehow this was far more nerve-wracking than anything she had been doing with Rarity lately.

“So what’s up?” Big Mac asked, deciding that Twilight’s arrival was a good enough excuse to take a break.

“Oh, well…” Twilight said, mentally kicking herself for hesitating so much this morning. “I just wanted to see how you were doing…”

“Ya did?” Big Mac asked, confused. “Ya hardly ever come visit way out here on the farm. Must be somethin’ special fer you to be here. So what is it?”

Twilight had not planned to be put under the spotlight so soon. She began to shake and could tell she was starting to sweat. Twilight shook her head and decided it was best to just blurt it out.

“BigMacIreallylikeyouandIwanttogooutwithyouwouldyoucaretojoinmefordinner?” Turns out Twilight had blurted it out too quickly, as Big Mac was staring at her with confusion.

“Uh…beg yer pardon?” he asked. Twilight took a deep breath and started again.

“Sorry,” Twilight said. “Big Mac, I really like you and I want to go out with you. Would you care to join me for dinner?”

“Oh,” Big Mac said, suddenly flustered. He began to blush and decided to resume his barrel stacking in order to give himself time to think. Twilight’s heart plummeted. If he was taking this long to respond to her, surely that meant that he wasn’t interested and was trying to find a way to let her down easy.

Truth be told, Big Mac was glad that Twilight had asked him out, because he had wanted to get to know her better for a long time. He told nopony about it, but he had kept her Smarty Pants doll hidden under his bed, and once in a while would take it out and sleep with it. Until today, he had thought his interest in Twilight had gone unrequited, but suddenly here was a sign that this was more than just a wild dream. Somehow, things were coming together just perfectly. Big Mac wasn’t sure if he was ready for this moment.

He saw the look on Twilight’s face that told him she expected the worse, and his heart plummeted. Deciding that he was a full-grown stallion and that this was no time to get into such foalish misgivings, he took a deep breath and answered.

“Eeyup,” he said.

***

Meanwhile, Spike was looking around Ponyville for Ruby. She had told him where she was staying, but when he had asked the front desk at the hotel, they told him she was out. He had spent a good part of the morning looking for her, but had no idea where she could be found.

Come on, he thought. How hard could it be to find a dragon in Ponyville? Soon, however, Spike caught a glimpse of her walking down the road on the other side of a crowd. Spike made his way through the crowd as politely and as quickly as he could and caught up to Ruby on the other side.

“Hey Ruby,” Spike said, panting as he tried to catch his breath.

“Oh, hi…” Ruby said. The memory of Spike asking to be just friends still pained her.

“Look,” Spike said, deciding to cut to the chase. “I’ve been thinking about what I said a few days ago, and it really wasn’t fair of me to not give you a shot. If you don’t mind, I was wondering if you wanted to get dinner tonight.”

“What…?” Ruby asked, her heart skipping a beat. Surely she hadn’t heard him correctly.

“I’m asking you out, Ruby,” Spike said. “How often do I get to meet a dragon as awesome as you?” Ruby looked like she was on the verge of tears, but smiled wide and gave Spike a hug.”

“Of course I’ll go!” she said.

“Great,” Spike said, wondering what he was getting himself into.

***

Spike returned to the library first, while Twilight came back about half an hour later. It was now nearly noon, so Spike had prepared a lunch while waiting for Twilight, and now that she was back they sat down and started to eat.

“So how did it go?” Twilight asked Spike.

“She said no,” Spike said.

“What?” Twilight asked, shocked.

“I’m just kidding,” Spike said. “You were right, of course. It was the easiest thing in the world. I’m not sure if I’m getting a little over my head, though.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.

“I mean she seemed a little too happy that I asked her out. She was practically crying tears of joy,” Spike said.

“Oh, Spike, I think that’s a good thing. She really cares about you,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, but that’s a lot to live up to, especially on my first real date.”

“Oh, relax,” Twilight said. “You’re going to be fine.”

“So how about you?” Spike asked. “Did the big lug say yes or what?” Twilight could barely hide her giddiness.

“Yes!” she said, squealing and bouncing in her chair. Spike laughed.

“That’s great, Twilight! Where are you guys going?”

“We’re stopping by the Ponyville Inn for dinner.”

“No kidding! That’s where Ruby and I are going! Is this tonight?”

“Yes,” Twilight said.

“Then we’re gonna be at the same place!” Spike said. “Should we make it a double date?”

“Not yet,” Twilight said.

“Right, sorry. Guess I wasn’t thinking,” Spike said.

“Don’t worry about it, Spike. This is going to be so much fun!”

“I hope so,” Spike said. “I hope so.”

***

As Applejack continued to roll the barrels into the barn, her thoughts became more and more muddled about her fight with Rainbow Dash the day before. The pain of her rejection still stung, and along with that came the guilt Applejack felt about yelling at her the way she had. To be upset was one thing. To call Rainbow Dash a cunt was something quite different. Betrayed or not, there was no reason for Applejack to have used such language against one of her best friends.

It’s too late now, AJ, she thought. What’s said is said, and what’s done is done. But deep down in her heart, Applejack somehow convinced herself that she and Rainbow Dash weren’t done quite yet.

Am ah really considerin’ givin’ that backstabber another chance? she asked herself. Yes, it was true that Rainbow Dash had totally violated her trust. It was also true that Rainbow Dash was the most loyal of friends, and that she was bound to screw things up once in a while. Maybe Rainbow Dash had been confused about how she felt. Applejack certainly wouldn’t have blamed her for that; just a few weeks ago she’d been wondering if she liked other mares. But the enormity of Rainbow Dash’s lying was too much to just overlook.

Oh, what am ah gonna do? Applejack asked. She didn’t want to admit to her friends what had happened between them, as they would be disappointed that they were having trouble. Nopony else knew about them, especially not Applejack’s relatives, who would certainly not take kindly to the news that she was a filly fooler. Applejack felt lonelier than she ever had in her life.

She pushed another barrel into the barn and sighed audibly enough for her brother to hear.

“What’s wrong, AJ?” Big Mac asked.

“What?” Applejack said back. “Oh, nothin’…just tired is all.”

“Are ya sure?” Big Mac asked.

“Positive,” Applejack said. “Hey, did Twilight ever…?”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac said. “We’re goin’ out tonight to the Ponyville Inn fer dinner.”

“That’s just swell,” Applejack said, trying to mask her jealousy. She wished she could just go to dinner with Rainbow Dash again like the whole fight had never happened, even if it meant having to stomach her eating fish again.

“Sure is,” Big Mac said. “Ah’m really excited.”

“Ah bet you are, Big Mac. Good luck with that.”

“Thanks, sis,” Big Mac said. Applejack left the barn to grab another barrel, happy for her brother but miserable about her own situation.

***

Rainbow Dash was lying on a hilltop, the very same hilltop, in fact, where he had spent time with Pinkie Pie the day before. There were no clouds in the sky this time, however, so no shapes to try to discern to distract her thoughts. How could she have been so stupid to treat Applejack like that? How could she have let such a good thing slip away? And why were her feelings for Pinkie Pie starting to grow?

Rainbow Dash didn’t know if it was good timing or not when Pinkie Pie bounced on over to her.

“Hey, Dashie,” Pinkie Pie said, her voice more somber than usual due to Rainbow Dash’s visible unrest. “I saw you flying up here looking all saddy-waddy so I decided to follow you. I hope you don’t mind…”

“Not at all, Pinkie Pie, I need someone to talk to,” Rainbow Dash said. Pinkie Pie lay down next to her friend but decided to give her some personal space this time. Something had definitely gone wrong with Rainbow Dash, and she wanted to hear what it was before attempting to console her.

“So…is everything okay with Applejack?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“No,” Rainbow Dash said with a sigh. “Things are terrible. I lied to her and told her I loved her. Then, when I decided to come clean, she chewed me out and I just abandoned her.”

“What?” Pinkie Pie asked. “But…why would you do that?”

“Why would I do what?”

“Lie to her?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Oh, well…it’s kind of embarrassing…”

“Don’t worry, Dashie. You can tell me. You know how good I am about keeping secrets…”

“True,” Rainbow Dash said. “I suppose you’re safe. Well…let’s just say sex makes you do crazy things.”

Pinkie Pie thought about the time she’d spent with Fluttershy and had to agree with Rainbow Dash. “So…you lied to AJ so you could…have sex with her?”

“Pretty much,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Dashie, that’s terrible!” Pinkie Pie said, losing her temper and scolding her friend. “How could you do that to poor Applejack?”

“Hey, do you mind? Applejack already laid into me yesterday. I don’t need it from you, too. I’m really hurting here.”

“But Dashie, how could you be so insensitive?”

“I don’t know, Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow Dash said with a groan. “I just…I think I have commitment issues!”

“What do you mean?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“I’m not even sure,” Rainbow Dash said, “but it’s like I can’t get close to anypony without wanting to fly away as fast as I can.”

“Well, did you have sex with AJ?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“I did,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Well, I don’t know, Dashie, but maybe you moved things too fast and you were just scared. Maybe you should ask Applejack to start over and take things slow.”

“That’s…Pinkie Pie, that’s a great idea!” Rainbow Dash said. “I should find her right now!” Rainbow Dash made to take off, but Pinkie Pie bit her tail and brought her down to Earth. Rainbow Dash remembered all the times Applejack did that and realized how sorely she missed it.

“Not so fast, Dashie,” Pinkie Pie said. “You’ve gotta give it a few days. AJ’s probably still super mad at you, so can you wait it out?”

“I guess…” Rainbow Dash said.

“Great!” Pinkie Pie said. “Now, no more moping. I’ve got some baking to do and I want you to join me.”

“Okay,” Rainbow Dash said. The two of them left the hill and began to head towards Ponyville. Out of the bushes popped the three Cutie Mark Crusaders, who had also followed Rainbow Dash out to the hill and were now extremely confused.

“Um…what’s sex?” Applebloom asked. Scootaloo shook her head.

“I don’t know either,” Sweetie Belle said. “Every time I ask Rarity, she tells me it’s none of my business and that I’ll learn when I’m older, blah blah blah.”

“But…RD was goin’ out with mah sister, right?” Applebloom asked.

“It sure sounds like it,” Scootaloo said.

“But that makes no sense!” Applebloom protested. “Grannie Smith always told me that only colts go out with fillies. Ah ain’t never heard of two fillies gettin’ together like that.”

“Me neither,” Sweetie Belle said. “How about you, Scootaloo?”

“Nope,” Scootaloo said. “It seems really weird to me.”

“Me too,” Applebloom asked. “Ah wish there was somepony we could ask about it. Ah’m really curious and a little lost.”

“I know!” Scootaloo said. “We should see Zecora!”

“That’s a great idea, Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Let’s go right now!” Applebloom said, and the three crusaders made their way to the Everfree Forest.

***

Twilight was busying herself in the library when Rarity entered. Spike was upstairs cleaning Twilight’s room for her, but the look on Rarity’s face told Twilight that Spike probably shouldn’t be called down at this point.

“Hello, dear,” Rarity said. “Is your assistant around?”

“Well…yes, he is,” Twilight said, suddenly feeling incredibly awkward.

“Good. Let him watch,” Rarity said.

“What?” Twilight asked in shock.

“I’m just foaling, dear,” Rarity said. “You wouldn’t expect me to want Spike to see us, do you?”

“Well, I’m sure he’d appreciate it…” Twilight said. Rarity chuckled.

“I just figured I’d stop by while I was in the neighborhood and see if you were in the mood for a quick rendezvous, but I suppose that dragon of yours has gotten in the way. Are you sure you can’t send him on a quick little five-minute errand?”

“Um…” Twilight said, thinking about her date with Big Mac and realizing in horror the mess she had made for herself. “Probably not. My room’s a mess and I really need Spike’s help to clean it up.”

“All right. If you change your mind, I’ll be waiting at the boutique. Sweetie Belle isn’t with me today, and business is rather slow, so I’ll be ready…”

“Sure, Rarity,” Twilight said, mentally noting to herself not to go anywhere near the Carousel Boutique.

“Oh, and Twilight…” Rarity said. “There was something else I wanted to tell you. It will only take a minute…”

“Um…what is it?” Twilight asked, dreading the answer. Rarity looked extremely uncomfortable, and Twilight’s imagination ran wild about what she was going to admit.

“I think I might be…” Rarity said. “Forget it. I’ll see you later.” Rarity left the library without another word.

What was that about? Twilight wondered. She racked her brain trying to figure out what could be so important all of a sudden. She then realized that she wouldn’t be able to keep her date with Big Mac very secret, and hoped to Celestia Rarity somehow didn’t find out. It would be wrong for them to continue doing what they were doing if Twilight started dating Applejack’s brother, but until that was actually established she saw no reason to cut things off with Rarity. But what did Rarity want to tell her?

The sound of Spike walking down the stairs broke Twilight out of her thoughts.

“Was somepony at the door?” he asked.

“Um…just a patron,” Twilight said. “I checked out a book for him.”

“Oh, okay,” Spike said, not giving it another thought. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. If Spike found out what she and Rarity had been up to…it would be beyond bad, she decided. Groaning at all the secrets she was juggling in her head, Twilight decided to take her mind off it and return to her work cleaning the library.

***

Fluttershy had given it a lot of thought and had decided that before she tried to track down her mother in Cloudsdale, she needed to start some counseling. She wasn’t quite sure how she had made that decision. It seemed it had come to her overnight, but when she had awoken in the morning she realized that it was the only option that made sense to her. She was of course scared of the prospect of revealing her deepest feelings to a relative stranger, but she thought the risk would be worth it if she could get some relief from her own thoughts.

She was sick of hiding, sick of being afraid of her own shadow, sick of the other ponies not taking her seriously. Most of all, she’d been sickened by her own warped sexual fantasies and the way she had let Pinkie Pie use her for reasons unknown. This was a crossroads in Fluttershy’s life. This would be far more effective than Iron Will’s assertiveness training. If it worked, this would change everything.

If only Fluttershy knew where to find a counselor…

***

The moon having just risen, Luna was surprised to find Celestia waiting for her atop the tower they used to change day to night and back to day again. Luna’s heart fluttered with excitement at the look Celestia was giving her.

“Come with me,” Celestia said, leading her sister to her bedroom and locking the door behind them.

“I’ve asked the guards for some privacy, so we won’t be interrupted,” Celestia said.

“Um…” Luna said. “What did you have in mind?”

“Oh,” Celestia said. “Well, kissing you was so much fun the other day that I wanted to try something different tonight.”

“And what would that be?” Luna asked.

“You’ll see,” Celestia said, “or more likely feel…” Luna had no idea where this was going, but one kiss from Celestia told her she would like it.

Celestia leaned into her body as she kissed Luna, and Luna willingly slipped her tongue into Celestia’s mouth. The princesses moved to the bed and lay down next to each other, rubbing each other’s heads and making out passionately. After this had gone on for a while, Celestia moved her hoof down to Luna’s cutie mark and began rubbing it. Luna twitched with surprise but enjoyed the feeling of Celestia’s hoof against her flank.

“Are you enjoying this?” Celestia asked in between kisses.

“Very much,” Luna said.

“Then hang on…” Celestia said. She brought her hoof up Luna’s thigh, and Luna felt herself tighten up as Celestia’s hoof moved closer.

“Do you remember when I was trying to teach you how to masturbate?” Celestia asked.

“Yes,” Luna said, her excitement mounting.

“Well, I thought it would be easier if I just showed you…”

Oh, fuck yes! Luna thought as Celestia rubbed her hoof against Luna’s folds. The ecstasy was nigh uncontainable as Celestia began to rub harder. All too soon, Luna felt her juices secrete from her body and rocked back and forth in orgasm. Once she had calmed down, Celestia freed her hoof from Luna’s vagina and kissed the alicorns on the muzzle.

“See? There’s nothing to it,” Celestia said. “Care to try?”

“Huh?” Luna asked.

“Don’t you know it’s always polite to take turns?” Celestia asked. “It’s your turn now.”