Applejack carefully adjusted her familiar cowgirl hat and her new flannel, checker-board scarf as she stood in front of Fluttershy’s house. This was basically the equivalent of their first real date - their previous “romantic” encounters had been unplanned and spontaneous. This time, things were really getting official.

After a small inner pep talk, she lifted a hoof and knocked on the door.

Fluttershy watched from her bedroom as Applejack made her way to the cottage. She’d been looking out that window ever since she’d finished cleaning up from her earlier encounter, despite the sun still being high in the sky at that point - her excitement was uncontainable. Angel was getting very tired of listening to her rambling on about how happy she was.

Discord was out of the house, as per her request - he had no issue giving his love some space when she needed it, no matter the reason. He was fully aware of her relationship with Applejack, of course - the two had talked it out the night she returned from the meeting - and all he really had to say in response was that he was surprised Applejack was the first one. Thinking about it more, Fluttershy supposed that was a bit of a surprise to her, too, though a pleasant one, to be sure.

She gasped joyfully once she saw her date finally approaching. Applejack looked just as she always did, besides the addition of a scarf - she couldn’t get a great look from that angle, especially with her hat in the way, but Fluttershy was sure she was going to love it. She giggled to herself as she watched the mare adjust every little thing, hesitating before knocking - it was unexpected for Applejack to be as nervous as she was.

It took her a moment to remember that knock meant she was supposed to answer the door.

“Oh, coming!” She called, quickly dashing down the stairs and heading for the door, trying to act as though she hadn’t been watching. She turned the knob and opened it up, greeting her guest with her sweet, warm smile. It was rare for her to wear much of anything, but today, she’d opted to try on a simple, creamy-white sweater, knit and braided. It matched her personality well, cute and fluffy, though not as much as her actual fur. Her hindquarters went uncovered, freely shown to the world.

“Hi, Fluttershy.” Applejack greeted her, smiling, red blush highlighting their cheeks.

“Hi, Applejack,” Fluttershy responded, matching the bashful energy with her own pink touch. “I love your scarf - it looks great on you!”

“Thank you, sugar - Rarity recommended it herself. I definitely like the pattern. Figured it would be nice to, uh, ‘dress up’ a bit for the occasion.”

“I had the same thought! What do you think?”

“I love it - it looks adorable~”

She giggled. The compliment tasted like milk chocolate. “Thank you~ Why don’t you come inside? I’ll make us a little tea.”

“Sure, darlin’, sounds fantastic.”

The two sat across from each other at the tea table, chatting away, their small, fancy cups both empty, except for the slightest bit of lukewarm leftover liquid. Their conversation had passed by in a flash - it was so easy to get lost in each other’s words.

“So, being polyamorous just means you can date other people?”

“Well, there’s a lot of ways a non-monogamous relationship can work. For us, we’ll have what’s called a ‘V’ relationship - I’m dating both you and Discord, but you and Discord aren’t romantically involved at all, and you don’t have to be. It’s also up to you if you want to date any other ponies yourself - we just need to talk about it if anything happens so we both know what’s going on. And, if we both want to date some pony, we can make a ‘throuple’ with them, which is like a love triangle, in a way, except we all just share the love between ourselves. Same thing goes with more sexual relationships - you’re free to explore your sexuality however you like, as am I, but we need to be open with each other about it and be willing to talk about it. Of course, if any of this doesn’t sound like something you’d be ok with, then we can always reconsider - even if you and I can’t go together romantically, we’ll still always be best friends.” She poured herself another glass of tea, carefully holding the handle between her hooves. It was hardly hot anymore, but she was thirsty.

Applejack nodded along; she was surprised at how much sense this was all making. “I get what you’re saying, and I’m definitely in for it - I love you a lot, Fluttershy, and I like the idea of keeping things open.” Conversations like this were always intimidating to her, but being honest and open with your partner about the affairs of your heart is always the right thing to do, as long as you keep their emotions in mind. That’s what Applejack had always believed, anyway. “So, if I were to want to date another pony…”

“You’re free to do so. Just let me know before you make anything official so we don’t have any misunderstandings between us - it’s all about communication. You know that better than anypony else.”

“Indeed, I do. Honestly, I… might already have somepony else in mind, though I’m not sure if that’s going to be a romantic thing or just a casual sexual one - still gotta talk it over with her.”

“Oooo~” Fluttershy leaned forward. “And who would this be~?”

“Well… it’s Rarity. See, when I went to get my scarf from her… well, things got a little flirty between us. I told her to hold off until I’d talked to you about it, but I think she’s got something for me, and I think I have it back.” She blushed like a schoolgirl admitting she has a crush, rubbing her front hooves together.

“Ooo, how fun~ That’s great, Applejack, and I hope you do decide to take it further. I appreciate that you waited to talk to me about this, but you have my blessing to be as open as you wish.”

“Great! I’m happy I could get a grasp on things here! This is all soundin’ very fun to me already.” She chuckled. “Well, then, now that I’ve revealed somepony I’ve got my eyes on, don’t you think it’s fair that you return the favor~? I’ve seen the way you look at some of the others in our little group~” Applejack held the teacup in her hooves, spinning it around mindlessly as she listened.

“Oh, um…” She giggled, eyes bashfully darting back and forth. “Well, honestly… um, all of them?”

The teacup froze, as did Applejack. Her mouth hung open for a moment. “A-all of them?!” She put the cup down and paused to think. “Is that… is that a thing you can do?”

“Well, why not?” Her blush got a bit darker. “We all go together so well, and honestly, I love everypony so much, for so many different reasons. I don’t know how they’d feel about it, but, well, if we could make it work…” She gently clinked the edge of her teacup against Applejack’s. “I think it would be… really nice. Oh, and I mean everypony loving each other, not just me! It’s ok if you don’t want that, of course, it’s more of a dream than any-”

Applejack held a hoof to Fluttershy’s mouth, her grin returning to place. “I’ve never thought about it before… but I think I’d like that, too. A lot.”

“Oh, that’s great!” Her tail flittered, full of passionate excitement. “Well, we’ll have to bring it up to them sometime when we’re all together! I’ve honestly wanted to ask for a little bit now, but I was always scared of doing it alone. Though, with you by my side…” She held Applejack’s hoof between her own hooves. “I think I could do anything~”

“Aww~” The two leaned over the table and shared a kiss, drinking love from each other’s lips like sweet wine. Both of them were careful to pull back before it turned into something more than a quick exchange. “I don’t think I could ever be happier than I am right now~ I love you so much, honey~”

“I love you too, darlin’~ But, if you wanna talk about being even happier than you are now… I might have an idea on how to accomplish that, if you’re in the mood for it.”

Fluttershy leaned over the table; her tail wagged faster. “I’ve been in the mood since the moment I saw you at the door~”

“Only since then? I’ve been in the mood since I lassoed you this mornin’~ And speaking of that, I think I remember you saying you enjoyed it more than expected~”

“Hehe, well, I did like it a little. I trust you a lot… and I do like thinking about what you’d do to me if you’d gotten more than just my wings.” Her face got a little hotter as she made that confession.

“Well then, why don’t we find out~?” She pulled her hat off with her hooves, revealing a spool of black rope. She grabbed it up and held it out to Fluttershy. “Rarity showed me a few things~” She stood up and walked over to the pegasus, suddenly putting her hooves on Flutter’s shoulders and getting their faces extra close. The yellow pony’s eyes widened, blush deepening, as she felt the warmth radiating off of her love. “Are you up to be a little helpless for me tonight, darlin’~?”

“Eep!” Her tail wagged fast enough to turn a wind turbine. “Y-yes!!”

“Good~” She grabbed the rope between her teeth. “Then why don’t we head up to your room~?”

“Oh, yes, please!!” Nervous excitement swirled inside of Fluttershy’s stomach, her heart beating faster and faster with every step she took. This was going to be amazing.

Next Chapter: Chapter 4: Sweet Paralysis Estimated time remaining: 45 Minutes