Chapter 6: First Date

“Wasn’t that fun, Fluttershy?” Pinkie Pie asked. Having alternated between harsh Pinkie and tender Pinkie a few times, Fluttershy was titillated and eager to take things further. She hadn’t pushed it with Pinkie Pie however; Fluttershy knew what role she was supposed to play.

“A lot more than I expected,” Fluttershy said, surprised at how much she had enjoyed being spanked and then tenderly kissed over and over again.

“Well, I’ve gots to get going, so maybe we can do this some other time.”

“I would love it,” Fluttershy said.

“I’d better see you,” Pinkie Pie said, glaring at Fluttershy in a way that made her fearful and turned on. As strange as it seemed, Pinkie Pie’s harsh side was a formidable force. Behind that jocular exterior lay a surprisingly sinister sadist.

“Don’t worry, you will,” Fluttershy said timidly, but still sporting a grin. Pinkie Pie bounced up, immediately vanquishing her inner dominatrix.

“See ya around, Fluttershy!” she crowed as she bounced out the door. Fluttershy shut it behind her and began to reminisce about the time they had spent together. Was it unusual? Absolutely. Was Pinkie Pie’s darker side a cause for concern? Possibly, given that there had been no indication of its existence before. Did the whole thing turn Fluttershy on so much that she couldn’t wait for it to happen again, that she couldn’t bear not taking it to the next level?

Without a shadow of a doubt.

***

This is it! Rainbow Dash said to herself. She was waiting now at the Old Mare’s Inn, and the clock tower indicated at the time was 7:55 in the evening. Applejack would be arriving any minute now for their very first date. Rainbow Dash had known Applejack for years, but something about tonight had her stomach aflutter, as if there were a thousand little Rainbow Dashes trying to fly their way out of her body. Disconcerted by her anxiety, she tapped her hoof on the ground impatiently.

7:59. Rainbow Dash scanned the horizon, hoping to see any sign of Applejack’s impending arrival. The orange Earth pony was nowhere to be seen. Still, she’s not late, Rainbow Dash reminded herself.

8:00. Still no sign of Applejack. Rainbow Dash was beginning to feel dismayed. Was she going to be stood up after that passionate kiss? Did Applejack get cold hooves? What was going on?

8:02. Finally the Earth pony came galloping up the road and stopped just short of Rainbow Dash, desperately trying to catch her breath. Rainbow Dash, though peeved, waited for Applejack to recover before asking her why she was so late.

“What took you?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“You’re really going to do this?” Applejack snapped. “Do ya have any idea what ah had to go through to git my flank over here? Ah obviously can’t tell my family where ah’m goin’, on account of the shame and rejection ah’d face when they find out, so ah had to think up a pretty darned good excuse as to why ah was leavin’, and you know ah’m a terrible liar. Ah finally told them ah was meeting a friend, which was the truth, though ah didn’t tell them what fer, though they didn’t ask. And that was after all the chores ah had to do on the farm. Big Macintosh hurt himself again, so ah was stuck doing double the work and ah still got here within five minutes of the time we agreed upon. Are you goin’ to make a fuss now?” Rainbow Dash felt just like Fluttershy by now, so she meekly apologized, only to see Applejack smile at her.

“It’s okay, Rainbow Dash. Ah’d be just as peeved if ah were you. Late for the first date? That’s usually a bad sign.”

“Oh, well…thanks. And I know you well enough to know that you’re never late, so I guess I can let this slide.”

“You ‘guess’?”

“Maybe you find a way to make it up to me later.” Applejack chuckled.

“On the first date? Really, RD? Ain’t that a bit forward?”

“We’ve known each other way longer than that.”

“Let’s just go get our seats,” Applejack said. Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement and the two went inside the inn. They were seated fairly quickly; the sight of Applejack caused a stir in the wait staff, as her family was known to grow the apples used in the inn’s famous apple cobbler. Once seated, a waiter quickly flew over (he was a pegasus) and took their drink orders. Rainbow Dash ordered a daiquiri and Applejack went with her old standby of apple cider. While they were waiting for their drinks, they started to talk about them.

“Ya know,” Applejack said, “ah spend all day workin’ with apples and ah never git sick of them. Ah can still gulp down a frosty cider when ah’m in the mood fer one.”

“Frosty? I thought the cider wasn’t alcoholic.”

“RD, our cider isn’t alcoholic because we make it fresh. It hasn’t had time to ferment. The cider here’s been fermentin’ long enough to make it about twice as powerful as that little daiquiri you just ordered.”

“Don’t knock the daiquiri. It’s got great taste.”

“Wouldn’t know. Never had the misfortune of trying one.”

“Keep it up, and I might just force it down your throat.” The two of them glared at each other but then started to laugh.

“Fer a second there you almost sounded serious.”

“I know,” Rainbow Dash said with a deadpan expression. The two ponies began to laugh again. There followed a silence that was punctuated when the waiter returned with their drinks.

“And what would you like to order?” he asked.

“Make it some fettuccini alfredo for me, sir, garnished with daffodils,” Applejack said. Rainbow Dash scoffed.

“I’ll have the fish with carrots and lilies,” she said. Applejack glared at her.

“One fettuccini and one cut of fish coming right up,” the waiter said before swiftly departing. Rainbow Dash scoffed when she saw Applejack’s dirty look.

“What?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“You know ah’m a vegetarian,” Applejack said.

“So what? I’m an omnivorian…omni…”

“Omnivore?” Applejack offered.

“What you said,” Rainbow Dash said.

“You do realize that animal had a face and a life, right?” Applejack said.

“And I will enjoy it in death. You should really lighten up.”

“Whatever,” Applejack said before taking a sip of the cider. She shook her head.

“Not nearly as good as the cider ah make at home,” she said with a sigh. “I should have known…”

“Are you sure you don’t want to try this?” Rainbow Dash asked, waving the daiquiri at Applejack tantalizingly. Applejack rolled her eyes.

“Ah suppose not…” Applejack took a small sip from the daiquiri and smacked her lips with delight.

“That there is quite something! Delicious!” Rainbow Dash, eager to taste for herself, took a sip and gagged.

“Are you crazy? There’s way too much lime in this!”

“Do you want to switch drinks?” Applejack asked.

“Sure,” Rainbow Dash said. She exchanged her glass for Applejack’s tankard and took a sip from the cider.

“Not bad,” Rainbow Dash said. Applejack shook her head and took another sip from the daiquiri.

“It could be worse,” she said. “The cider, ah mean. It could be that Flim Flam filth.”

“Come on, AJ, their quality-controlled stuff wasn’t bad. Just ask your grandmother.”

“Ah beg yer pardon, but Granny Smith did not enjoy that cider!”

“That’s not what she told me…” Rainbow Dash said, leaning back in her booth and taking a sip of her cider.

“What in blazes did she tell you?” Applejack demanded.

“She wanted to know if I’d tried any of their cider before they put bark and shit in it.”

“Why did she wanna know that?” Applejack asked.

“She told me it was frighteningly good, and if they had sold that cider to the ponies of Ponyville, that she for sure would have lost the farm.”

“That’s horseshit and you know it!” Applejack said.

“Ask her yourself,” Rainbow Dash said. “Though she was a little tipsy when I talked to her about it.”

“Grannie Smith doesn’t drink,” Applejack said plainly. Rainbow Dash laughed.

“Wow, you still believe that? There’s a lot about Grannie Smith that you don’t know, then.”

“Can we just change the subject?” Applejack asked, looking uncomfortable. Rainbow Dash took pity on her and conceded to switch topics.

“It seems a little weird to be on a first date when we’ve known each other for so long,” she said.

“You’re the one who suggested it! What did ya think it was gonna be like?” Rainbow Dash allowed her mind a brief fantasy of how far this first date could go, but soon shrugged it out of her mind.

“Well, a first date is like a ‘getting to know you’ kind of thing. I almost wouldn’t even call it a first date, because we already know each other. This is more like a second date, where we’re past the q and a and we’re just going out to have fun.”

“Call it what you will, then,” Applejack said with a smile. “It’s still a first date to me.”

“Whatever, Crapplejack,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Excuse me?” Applejack said, startled. “What did you just call me?”

“Crapplejack,” Rainbow Dash said. “I was just teasing you.”

“Ah know, but you coulda said ‘Crabapplejack.’ You didn’t have to go that far with it.”

“Sorry,” Rainbow Dash said sarcastically. “Did I hurt the poor filly’s feelings?” Applejack kicked Rainbow Dash’s leg under the table.

“Yer an asshole,” she said, smiling.

“Don’t kick me!” Rainbow Dash said, aiming a hoof at Applejack and missing wildly.

“You need to work on your aim, girl,” Applejack said. The two of them proceeded to start kicking each other when their waiter arrived with their food, confused as to what he was seeing.

“Um…beg your pardon, madams, but your food has arrived.” The two mares stopped kicking at each other immediately and graciously accepted their meals. The pegasus floated off, just a little concerned. Rainbow Dash and Applejack began to eat, and they started playing hoofsies under the table. Rainbow Dash dug into her fish ravenously; all of her nervous energy had made her quite hungry.

“Yer supposed to savor yer meal,” Applejack said with alfredo in her mouth.

“You shouldn’t talk with your mouth full,” Rainbow Dash said. “Didn’t your parents ever teach you any manners? Oh,” she added, looking at the hurt in Applejack’s eyes. “I’m sorry…”

“Ah told you not to talk about mah parents, Rainbow Dash,” she said seriously, stopping her fooling around under the table.

“I forgot. It was an accident. I’m really sorry, okay?”

“Fine,” Applejack said, eating her food more dejectedly, not really enjoying each bite. Rainbow Dash felt terrible, until Applejack gave her another good kick in the shin and smiled at her.

“Chill out, RD. Ah forgive ya. Just don’t do it again.”

“Sure!” Rainbow Dash said, kicking Applejack back. They smiled and continued to eat.

There wasn’t room for much conversation in between the bites of food, so the two mares exchanged furtive glances at each other, pretending they were strangers. When their eyes met, they would quickly dart away from each other’s gaze. It was the stuff of school fillies, but the teasing nature of the glancing was a turn-on for them. It made Rainbow Dash’s wings quiver and her mind eager. Applejack was feeling the same vibes as well, though she was less clear about what they meant.

***

Spike had finally arrived at the dragon colony, and so far it was not impressing. The older male dragons were poking fun at him for being “Twilight’s little bitch,” as he was known outside of the friendliness of Ponyville. The younger male dragons were afraid to befriend him, given what the older dragons were saying about him. And the female dragons seemed to hold no interest in him.

What had followed as a result was a lot of awkward introductions and walking around trying to find someone to talk to, but it ended in vain. He spent the first day making absolutely no friends whatsoever.

Dejected, he went to bed that night thinking about home, about Twilight Sparkle and her friends, about Rarity. Oh, yes, his thoughts strayed to Rarity against his will. He remembered the kiss she gave him as a parting gift, and smiled at the thought that she was the most generous pony she knew.

I really miss her, he realized, and he buried his head in his pillow in sadness.

That night he had what he would never admit was a wildly erotic dream, but there he was in Twilight’s room, watching her masturbate. She was unaware of his presence, and so held nothing back as she rubbed her clitoris and squealed cries of ecstasy. Suddenly she turned and looked at Spike. Although she was surprised, she smiled sultrily at him.

“Would you care to help me out, my number-one assistant?” she asked him. Spike seemed to float on air towards her, and soon Twilight had him licking her clitoris as she used her magic to stimulate his penis. As the two of them engaged themselves, Spike suddenly heard a voice.

“What’s going on here?”

Spike and Twilight stopped immediately and turned to the source of the voice, guilty as teenagers. Rarity had just trotted into the room, and she looked affronted. Before either of them could spit out a word of explanation, Rarity spoke again.

“You and Twilight are…having sex, yes?” she asked.

“Well…sort of,” Spike said sheepishly.

“And you didn’t invite me to join you?” Spike cleaned out his ears with his finger to make sure he had heard Rarity properly.

“Well, this was a spur-of-the-moment thing…” Twilight said.

“Then consider me fashionably late,” Rarity said as she trotted towards them, smiling at Spike. Spike was paralyzed in surprise as he saw his one true love coming over to sleep with him. All thoughts of Twilight vanished when Rarity got up on the bed and started to make out with Spike. She stroked his member with her hoof as they made out, and Twilight took the opportunity to clop to them.

Just as things were getting really heated, Spike found himself pulling away from the dream. He desperately tried to cling to it, but his brain awoke him, and he lay in the unfamiliar dragon colony sweating and ashamed.

How could he think of Rarity like that? Of Twilight? And how could he enjoy it so much, even if it was only just a dream? Spike put his head in his hands and groaned before turning on his side and trying to go back to sleep to revisit the dream. It did not come for the rest of the night.

Spike didn’t know whether to feel relieved or disappointed.

***

Twilight had not slept well that night, as her thoughts and dreams kept drifting toward Rarity. The sweat that had gathered as a result of those dreams had long since evaporated with the evening moon, and as Princess Celestia raised the morning sun, Twilight felt as though she had never really gone to bed.

With Spike gone, she had to make herself breakfast and figured she could make due with some hay. The menial task of chewing left her mind free to drift to Rarity again.

This makes no sense! Twilight thought to herself with frustration. I don’t like mares! I like stallions and now I like Rarity―that can’t be right! It’s not like I’m in love with her. It’s just that she…she…

She’s available.

That can’t be it. Nopony suddenly becomes attracted to anypony else simply because they’re in heat.

Then how do you explain it, Twilight?

“Reading!” she said aloud, and the adrenaline that pumped through her veins reinvigorated her to search for the answer in a book. The topic of bisexuality had not really struck Twilight as relevant yesterday, so she desperately desired to find something else to explain it. As she searched, book after book began to pile up on the floor. There was nothing in A Young Filly’s Blooming Heart; no mention of Twilight’s predicament in Help! I’m Falling for My Friend, as it did not delve into same-sex friendships; and only a brief excerpt from Feeling Gay which read, “Sometimes, it is easier for a pony to tell if he or she is gay by imagining their same-sex friends in sexual situations.”

“But I’m not gay,” Twilight said aloud. A knock on the door startled her into dropping the half dozen or so books she had levitating around her. Panicked, Twilight neglected the sizable mess she had made and opened the door, only to find the last pony she needed to see.

“Hello, Rarity…” Twilight said, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

“Twilight, is something wrong?” she asked. Twilight didn’t notice it, but Rarity was quite uptight as well.

“Of course not, Rarity! Come on in!” Twilight said too loudly. She turned and saw the mess of books on the floor, and it felt like alarm bells began ringing in her head. She galloped towards the pile, desperate to put the heap of books away, but of course Rarity noticed this.

“Good heavens, Twilight. Up to your muzzle in research again?”

“Just some light reading!” Twilight said. In her panic, she was having difficulty concentrating enough to levitate the books, not to mention her stubborn attention to detail in making sure they were returned to their proper places on the shelf.

“Let me help you, dear,” Rarity said, lifting a book with her horn and examining the cover out of curiosity.

“Equine Urges?” she asked. “Twilight, what is…A Young Filly’s Blooming Heart? Why in heavens would you be reading all of these?”

“It’s…um…” Twilight said, scrambling for an alibi. “Well, what you said yesterday really intrigued me, so I thought I’d do some research on it and I guess I got carried away.”

“Oh, I’m flattered, dear,” Rarity said, which made Twilight blush. “Really, though, you shouldn’t go through so much trouble to help me when my problem is so trivial. I guess every mare has her season, and I’ve just discovered mine, that’s all.” Rarity, with no conscious intent, avoided catching Twilight’s eye.

“But I always enjoy helping my friends,” Twilight said. Nice save, she congratulated herself.

“I know dear, but sometimes I think you put yourself out too much. You need to learn how to rein it in and take care of yourself. Why, it looks as though you didn’t sleep at all last night, given the bags under your reddened eyes. Did my problem keep you awake all night?”

“You could say I had you on my mind a lot last night…” Twilight said, knowingly treading into dangerous waters but hoping her half-truth would hold.

“Well, you’re not the only one who had trouble sleeping…” Rarity said. For a moment, Twilight wildly wondered if Rarity reciprocated her emotions, but she shrugged it off as impossible.

“What was bothering you?” Twilight asked.

“The thing is, I don’t even know,” Rarity said. “I just feel so uncomfortable with my own body. All this talk of sex so suddenly coming up has made me very nervous.”

“I could tell at the sleepover,” Twilight said. “I’m really sorry we made you so uncomfortable.”

“No no, I should be a bit less sensitive, especially around the likes of Rainbow Dash. A mare has to have thick skin, as it were. But my problem seems to lie beneath the skin. Funny how we can take a lot of grief from other ponies but cannot handle the least amount of our own insecurities.”

“What insecurities are you talking about?” Twilight asked. Rarity’s flourishing speech was sometimes confusing to follow. Twilight wondered if this is how her friends felt when she was explaining something to them.

“Well, about my own…heat, I suppose. I’ve never felt so starved in all my life, and no food can satiate that hunger. But I told you all this yesterday.”

“So why did you come here again today?” Twilight asked.

“Well, I…” Rarity stumbled, but she couldn’t understand what had brought her here. “I just figured that…maybe you knew what I was going through.”

“I think I do,” Twilight said.

“Well, I’m sorry to have bothered you like this. Try to get some sleep today, if you can,” Rarity said, with all intent of trotting out the door, despite her heart telling her her unknown conflict had not been resolved.

“Sleep…sleep…Rarity, wait!” Twilight pleaded.

“What is it, dear?” Rarity asked, turning to face Twilight again.

“The thing is, I couldn’t sleep because…well, because of you.”

“Twilight, I already told you my problem is nothing to worry―”

“It’s not about your problem! It’s you. It’s been you all along! I don’t even know how to say it…it’s you, okay?” Twilight felt absolutely ashamed of herself, and without warning tears started to fall from her eyes. Rarity, confused and crestfallen, trotted over to her poor friend and started to stroke her mane.

“Twilight, I’m dreadfully sorry, but I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”

“I don’t understand it either, Rarity,” Twilight said. Rarity’s eye caught one of the books that the two of them had neglected to pick up. She remembered what all the titles of the books had in common, and then realization suddenly came to her.

“Twilight…you’re not…no, it’s ridiculous.”

“What’s ridiculous?” Twilight asked.

“Nothing, dear,” Rarity said. “Really, I should think it would be quite impossible anyway.”

“What’s impossible?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, I don’t know! Well, I do know, but I can’t tell you. Not that I’m unable to, but I won’t. Not that I don’t want to, but I―”

“Never mind, Rarity!” Twilight shouted. “Why don’t you just ask what you need to ask?”

“Are you sure? It might be awkward.”

“Please!” Twilight cried, feeling suffocated by the tension in the room.

“Are you in love with me?” Rarity finally asked.

“No!” Twilight cried, and though the tension broke the awkwardness hovered in silence around them, enveloping them in confusion.

“Then what’s with the…?” Rarity began to ask.

“The books?” Twilight responded. “The books…Rarity, I’m in heat, too, but I think it’s more specific…I want you, Rarity.” Twilight started to sob audibly now as she put her head in her hooves. Rarity felt like knives were stabbing her heart, she was so confused and upset that Twilight was so upset. She wanted desperately to comfort her friend, but at the same time felt affronted at the carnality of Twilight’s feelings for her. There was something deeper, too, something obscure enough to remain mysterious but powerful enough to be felt. Rarity lacked the insight to address it, so she instead said an awkward goodbye and trotted out of the library, feeling horribly guilty for trotting out on her friend.

***

The meal had ended, and now Applejack was walking Rainbow Dash to her cloud. Well, they were walking towards the cloud, but Applejack wouldn’t be able to bring Rainbow Dash to her door. Because of her family, Applejack had refused to let Rainbow Dash walk her to Sweet Apple Acres, so this was the only alternative.

“That veal was so good,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Don’t talk about animals like they’re pieces of meat, Rainbow Dash,” Applejack scolded.

“But it was a piece of meat, sitting right there on my plate. Believe me, AJ, you missed out.”

“Whatever,” Applejack said, grinning. “So what’s new with the weather, RD?”

“Really? Are we really trying small talk?”

“That’s what makes a great first date,” Applejack said.

“I already told you, this doesn’t count as a first date,” Rainbow Dash explained as if lecturing to a school filly.

“Yer so stubborn, RD,” Applejack said.

“You’re one to talk, Applejack! Remember when you tried bucking the whole farm?”

“Hooey, ah felt like ah was drunk during that whole charade,” Applejack said. “Ain’t never gonna try that again.”

“I hope not!” Rainbow Dash said.

“You ever get overtired?” Applejack asked.

“I flew a marathon once,” Rainbow Dash said. “I could barely lift my wings for at least a week after that. But that was more over exhausted, not overtired.”

“Same difference, ah reckon,” Applejack said, “only you felt it in yer wings and ah felt it in mah eyes. You know that feeling ya get when yer eyes feel like they’re being pulled down by giant weights.”

“Oh, yeah, cramming for a flight school exam will do that to you. Good thing I passed with flying colors!” Rainbow Dash said, hopefully enthusiastically enough to cover the lie.

“Speaking of flying colors, ah’ve never stopped to ask how you got such a beautiful mane.”

“Really, you didn’t just assume I dyed it like every other stupid pony in Ponyville?”

“No, ah assume it’s natural. What colors are yer parents’ manes?”

“You’re not gonna believe it, but they’re brown and blond.”

“Codswallop!” Applejack exclaimed.

“I’m dead serious. I’ll show you a picture sometime. They took me to a geneticist who told them that my mane color was the rarest. It only occurs once every three generations.”

“That is somethin’, RD. Ah suppose that’s why they named ya Rainbow Dash.”

“You bet! It’s one of the few things they did right.”

“Don’t talk like that about yer parents, RD!”

“Really? Well, if you knew them, you’d understand I’m being too kind.”

“Care to explain why?” Applejack asked.

“You want to tell me why your parents are gone?” Rainbow Dash countered.

“Fine. Ah won’t if you won’t.”

“Deal.”

“Well, this is it,” Applejack said, pointing up at the cloud containing Rainbow Dash’s house.

“Ah really wish ah could walk you to yer door. Ah’ll have to ask Twilight to help me with that cloud-walkin’ spell o’ hers.”

“Don’t worry about it, AJ. This is fine.” They stopped trotting directly underneath the cloud.

“Well, goodnight, RD.”

“’Night, AJ.” The two stared at each other, and as if on cue, both leaned in and connected in a passionate kiss. Their tongues were less shy now, and each pony used them to freely explore the other’s mouth. Rainbow Dash lifted herself off the ground, flapping with her stiff wings and not bothering to worry about the implications Applejack would make. Applejack’s Stetson fell off her head as she leaned her head up to take Rainbow Dash’s aerial kiss. The two finally disconnected after what seemed like an eternity as Rainbow Dash waved sultrily goodbye to Applejack. Applejack waved back, and once Rainbow Dash had broken the cloud line, she picked up her Stetson and made her way towards Sweet Apple Acres with a bounce in her step.