Halfway down the stairs, Fluttershy began fretting. "But...what can we say, Applejack? What can we do? And what'll everypony say about...about—?"

From the bottom step, Applejack looked back. On the landing, Fluttershy stood quivering and blushing so brightly, the glow shone clear through the pink mane covering three-quarters of her face. Still, AJ was quietly proud: she'd expected Fluttershy to fall apart like this afore they'd even got outta her bedroom.

"How?!" Fluttershy was asking now, her one partially visible eye rimmed with white, her luscious scent salty with panic. "How do we even start?! Do we say we're marefriends even though I'm not really a mare?! And do we...do we have to tell everypony about my...my...my—?!"

Bounding up to the landing, Applejack pressed her lips to Fluttershy's, stroked one hoof through the silken dream of her hair while running the other lightly along her neck, tense as Big Mac's after half a day of apple bucking. Fluttershy kept trying to talk for a second or two, but as AJ put more and more of the love and desire she felt for the beautiful pegasus into the kiss, the words lost their shape and turned to sweet little moans.

AJ pulled away just enough to say, "You're a mare if'n you say you're a mare, honeycomb, and whatever else goes on, you're still you. Now, settle down. Ev'rything's gonna be OK."

Fluttershy's chest rose and fell, her half-closed eyes the sexiest things Applejack had ever even imagined. "Please," she whispered, her wings brushing the wall behind her. "Tell me again why I'm your honeycomb."

Leaning closer, Applejack nuzzled the skin under Fluttershy's chin. "'Cause you're a thousand times sweeter'n sugar." She felt her own breath getting faster and harder. "And you got that perfect li'l stinger tucked away, don'tcha?"

A gasp, and Applejack heard the soft, wet crinkle of Fluttershy's lacinia folding open, the air suddenly thick with a musk that made AJ's nerves dance and sing like wind chimes in a summer storm. Pushing back a bit further, she let her gaze travel down Fluttershy's gorgeous curves from chest to waist to hips, and there, oh, there, jutting up between those shapely thighs now that her flaps had pulled themselves outta the way, yellow and pink and red and hard and glorious—

"No." The strangled note in Fluttershy's voice froze Applejack's lust faster'n spit in a blizzard. "Don't...don't look at it..."

"Honeycomb?" Applejack forced herself away from the beauty of Fluttershy's penis and found her friend had slumped cringing against the wall, her eyes clenched shut, tears leaking from the corners. "What...whaddid I do?"

Fluttershy shook her head so violently, AJ thought she might be having a fit. "Not you," she whimpered. "Me! You're being so nice to me and holding me and kissing me and saying such wonderful words to me! And I'm making you put my...my thing inside you, then making you look at it, too! Oh, I'm a terrible pony! A horrible freak and a monster!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Applejack caught the sides of Fluttershy's face and gently applied enough force to hold her still. "Whaddaya mean you're making me do all this? And stop saying them things about yourself, y'hear me?!"

Those blue-green eyes cracked open, more tears dropping out. "But—"

"No buts!" She touched her nose to Fluttershy's. "You wanna call yourself something, you call yourself a key. 'Cause that's what'cha are."

"A...a key?"

Applejack had to squeeze her own eyelids closed, the words like barbed wire in her throat. "I been locked up tight as a rusty gate my entire life is the thing. I mean, when we was in school, Rarity'd be mooning over some different colt ev'ry single week, but me, I just couldn't ever see it. Sure, some of 'em was good-looking, but I didn't..." Without looking, she found one of Fluttershy's hoofs and pressed it to her chest, the thud-thud-thud there picking up speed. "I didn't ever feel it here, didn't ever feel nothing here, not for no stallion and not for no mare, neither."

As AJ drew a ragged breath, Fluttershy's quiet voice asked, "Nothing?"

The simple sweetness of the sound made Applejack gasp, her lacinia sliding open, her vulva warm and wet and wanting. "My whole life, I been so closed up, I didn't have one single idea why ev'rypony got so hot and bothered about kissing and touching and...and loving and all. It didn't none of it make any sense, 'specially after...after what my poppa said just afore him and Mama got divorced."

"Divorced? I...I always thought— That is, aren't your parents... Dead?" The last word came out as quiet as the moon from behind a cloud on a late winter evening.

"They might as well be." The need in Applejack's middle became an ache, and eyes still shut, she inched forward till the tip of Fluttershy's penis touched her belly. Fluttershy gasped, and gritting her teeth, AJ flexed her hind legs, raised herself up so that the sweet, hard heat of the thing slid down to the edge of her open lacinia. "They weren't never friends, didn't have nothing keeping 'em together but raw, stupid lust. So when that ran out, they didn't have nothing at all!" Which was exactly when Fluttershy's penis slipped into the embrace of AJ's vulva, and Applejack plunged forward, impaled herself, moaned with joy at the glorious pressure filling her so completely.

Fluttershy gave a high-pitched and wordless cry that made Applejack's eyes shoot open, Fluttershy's right there in front of her and looking maybe four times their normal size. "Not like us!" Applejack hissed fiercely. "Not one damn thing like us!" Wrapping her front legs tighter around Fluttershy, she pressed her lips against her lover's and began pumping herself up and down over Fluttershy's perfect hardness.

"Yes!" Fluttershy whispered whenever Applejack had to pull back to gasp a breath, new waves of pleasure bursting through Applejack as Fluttershy's front hoofs dug into the muscles of her back. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Purest ecstasy built stronger and higher, Applejack's mind flooded with images of a little Appleteeny racing around inside her, flinging open the doors and windows of her heart and soul to let Fluttershy's light and warmth burst into rooms that had never had so much as a breath of fresh air stir through their mountains of dust. But the whirlwind swirling faster and deeper through her now as she lengthened her strokes, ramming herself down so hard, she coulda sworn she felt that penis slamming up between her tonsils, it made AJ open her mouth wider and wider against Fluttershy's muzzle, made her want to pull ev'ry square inch of that beautiful pegasus up into her insides.

Fluttershy was matching her strokes with thrusts of her own now, and AJ couldn't think, didn't want to think, just wanted to feel like this for the rest of her life. Except with each passing instant, the feeling grew better and better and better, every second brimming with bliss more incredible than the second before until one last massive push downward collided with Fluttershy pushing upward and—

Another fluting cry from Fluttershy, hot liquid explosions rocking Applejack's middle. Her whole body reacted the same way, and she buried her face in the crook of Fluttershy's neck, her brain whirling and sparking, her lips panting one word over and over into the sweet yellow velvet of her friend's skin.

"Love, love, love, love, love," Fluttershy heard as soon as the tremors of the most perfect orgasm of her life had trickled away enough for her to hear again.

Applejack lay sprawled against her, the tough farm pony soft as butter, her mane a cascade of golden corn silk from beneath her hat, her voice even huskier and more gorgeous than usual. "Love, love, love," she kept saying, the feeling of her lips moving against Fluttershy's neck so arousing, Fluttershy wondered if her penis might start puffing up again.

But no. Three times in the past hour or so, she'd made love to the pony of her dreams. Each time had been better than the time before, and now, utterly spent, Fluttershy sagged in joyful and complete relaxation against the stairwell wall, her little wiggler shrinking down and out of Applejack till her flap closed over it with a quiet rustle. "Oh, Applejack," she couldn't keep from muttering. "Could we just stay here like this for the rest of forever? Could...could we maybe do that, please?"

The hot gust of Applejack's sigh was followed by her lovely low chuckle. "Wouldn't mind a couple more minutes. Unless—" She began shifting over Fluttershy's chest. "I ain't hurting you, am I? Squishing you up along the wall like this?"

"Oh, no, not at all!" Fluttershy slid a hoof under Applejack's hat to stroke her mane and had to giggle when AJ settled herself back into the crook of Fluttershy's neck. "It's wonderful..."

And it was. So much more wonderful than anything that had ever happened to her. Even the nagging little voice in the corner of her mind, the one that told her—sometimes as quietly as her mother and sometimes as loudly as her father—just exactly how much of a monster she was, that little voice whispering right now that she should be ashamed of herself, Fluttershy found that she could ignore it so much more easily with Applejack lying solid and content between her legs. "If you're happy," she whispered into the crown of Applejack's hat, "then maybe I can believe I'm not...not...not that much of a monster after all..."

She could feel the muscles of Applejack's back tighten, and her friend rose to face her, those exquisite green eyes absolutely serious. "Then lemme tell you this, honeycomb." Applejack leaned forward and touched a kiss to Fluttershy's lips as soft and sweet as a butterfly brushing past. "In all my born days, I ain't never been happier'n I am right now."

Shivering, Fluttershy couldn't stop a squeak from escaping her throat, and for the first time that she could remember, that horrible little voice inside her went completely silent. Applejack gave her another quick kiss, then pushed away and jumped the last four steps to the living room carpet. "Now! We got plentya things we need to be doing, so best we get right to 'em, I reckon!"

"What?!" Sitting up, Fluttershy shivered again, this time from the sudden absence of Applejack's warmth. "But...what about sitting here forever?"

Applejack gave a grin over her shoulder. "Might be we'd get a little hungry. And I don't know about you, honeycomb, but I don't think neither your animals nor my apple trees'd much appreciate us never stirring outta here again."

It did seem a little silly now that she thought about it, but Applejack's grin made her want to keep being silly. "They could always come and visit us." Fluttershy pushed away from the wall and drifted down to the floor as well. "And whenever the trees stopped by, we could eat some of the apples off them." She nodded crisply. "Problems solved!"

"Well, now!" Applejack's eyes danced. "That's some powerful fine thinking there. In fact,—" She tossed her head so that her hat flew off, then she caught its brim in her teeth and flipped it right onto Fluttershy's head. "That there earns you the thinking cap. Corn-gratulations!"

Everything froze around Fluttershy, her eyes locking on Applejack. It wasn't just seeing her friend without her hat—she was sure she must've seen Applejack hatless somewhere sometime before this, though the only times she could remember right now were their two earlier sessions upstairs in Fluttershy's bed. But wearing the hat, the feel of it against her ears, the weight of it, the thought that Applejack would trust her with something as precious as...as—

A shadow of a frown touched Applejack's lips. "Something wrong, honeycomb?"

Her heart overflowing, all Fluttershy could say was, "I'm wearing your hat."

And the expression that came over Applejack—not just the warmth in her eyes or her strangely serious little smile, but the stance she took, her hoofs wide-set, her head held high and her chest puffed out so that she looked even more noble and beautiful than she usually did—Fluttershy couldn't look away, never wanted to look away. "That you are, darling," Applejack said, her voice soft and kind of rough. "That you are." She cleared her throat then and turned for the door. "Now, we got places to be and things to do, so if'n you're ready—"

"What?!" Fluttershy's knees went cold and quivery, but she swallowed and started again in what she hoped would be less panicked tones. "I mean, what do we...do we have to do?" A thought made her gasp. "I've kept you from your work, haven't I?! Oh, Applejack, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be so selfish, but everything's been so wonderful that I wasn't even thinking about—!"

Once again, Applejack's kiss stopped her words. "Settle down. Ain't nowhere and nothing I'm s'pposed to be doing right now other'n this right here with you." She nodded to the room behind Fluttershy, and Fluttershy turned, blinked, saw the meadow and the edge of the Everfree Forest through the broken remains of her front window. "Still, I reckon we better stop by Glazier Point's place and see if'n he can get that fixed up 'fore Dash and the weather team start bringing the April showers in."

For a moment, Fluttershy couldn't think why her window would be broken, but then the events of earlier in the day—before she and Applejack had gotten together—came rushing back to her: the date she'd forced Applejack to set up for her with Big MacIntosh; how horribly it had gone when she'd started to show and explain to him about her...her little wiggler; streaking home tear-blinded after he'd taken off, running away from her; crashing through the glass and lying on the floor till Applejack had rushed in to pick her up and show her who in the Apple family she was truly in love with....

"Honeycomb?" Applejack's voice shattered her thoughts, and she whirled, pressed her face into the side of the earth pony's neck, breathed deeply the beautiful scents of loam and clean grass that always lingered there. "You OK?"

Fluttershy swallowed. "Have I said how sorry I am yet? About Big MacIntosh and you and me and...and everything I made you do?" She pulled back, dared to dart her gaze up. "I was such a fool, Applejack."

Applejack's eyes went half-lidded, and with a sideways smile, she stretched over to plant another little kiss on Fluttershy's lips. "You just wait. The foolish things I reckon I'm gonna do the rest of our lives together, you're gonna forget all about whatever we done today."

Hearing the rest of our lives together made Fluttershy's jaw drop, and it dropped even further when Applejack started for the door again and said, "Besides, we still gotta tell our friends 'bout us, and that's gonna take just a little finesse."

The seesaw of Fluttershy's feelings crashed down hard on the panicky side. "Tell them?! Tell them what?! Tell them how?! Tell them—?!"

"Fluttershy?" Applejack's eyes when she turned back held an infinite patience, the sort of patience Fluttershy knew very well from her work with hurt, scared animals. "Do you love me?"

"Always!" She wanted to sink into the carpet and pull it over her like a blanket. "Please don't think I would ever—!"

"And do you trust me?"

Again, everything froze around Fluttershy, that horrible voice back in her head hissing that she should just run upstairs right now before she got hurt or hurt somepony else. Because she was stupid and worthless and—

No! she yelled silently at the voice. Applejack's too smart a pony to be wasting her time on something worthless! And look! I'm wearing Applejack's hat, aren't I?! Aren't I?! Why would Applejack let somepony worthless wear her hat?!

If the voice was shocked at Fluttershy's response—and she guessed it was, the way it vanished from her thoughts again—Fluttershy was even more shocked. Panting like she'd run all the way from Sweet Apple Acres, she forced her hoofs to move her toward Applejack and told her the truth: "I trust you in every single way I can. I just... Sometimes, you might have to remind me when I fall down crying—maybe you've noticed I do that a lot? But you quietly and gently whisper, 'Fluttershy, do you trust me?' And I'll remember that I do, and..." She took a breath so deep, she felt it all the way out to the tips of her wings. "And ev'rything will be OK."

Applejack nuzzled her neck. "That's my gal." She grabbed the doorknob in her teeth and pulled the door open, as gorgeous and blue a spring afternoon outside as Fluttershy thought she'd ever seen. Applejack gestured for Fluttershy to step through, and with another breath, Fluttershy did, the door clicking shut behind her and Applejack sliding into step beside her. "'Cause, yeah, there's things the others need to know about us, but there's things that just plain ain't any of their business, too. Follow my lead, and we'll—"

She stopped speaking all of a sudden; Fluttershy looked over in alarm and had to blink at the big, goofy grin on Applejack's face. "Seeing you in my hat," she said. "Sweet Mother of Mercy, I don't know how my heart ain't bursting outta my chest right here and right now."

Fluttershy's teeter-totter emotions whirled again, joy blooming like wildflowers inside her, and she felt a song coming on. "Hello, my friend the butterfly!" she sang, her only accompaniment the rustle of the trees and the chatter of the brook. "Can you guess what's on my mind? I'll ask the breeze that's dancing by: can you guess what's on my mind? The sun and all the sweet blue sky, can you guess what's on my mind? These thoughts I've never thought before and feelings never felt: it's, oh, so fine."

The music kicked in then, and Fluttershy couldn't help putting a strut in her step as she circled Applejack, the earth pony staring around with her eyes wide and her ears down. "Squirrels there jumping tree to tree," Fluttershy went on, "take a guess what's on my mind! Stream all laughing, wild and free, take a guess what's on my mind! Daisies grinning back at me, take a guess what's on my mind! These thoughts I've never thought before and feelings never felt: it's, oh, so fine."

She burst into the sky, let the music raise her more than she was sure her wings ever could. "Bunnies playing all day long, shall I say what's on my mind? Beavers working fast and strong, shall I say what's on my mind? My heart alive with joyful song: that's what's on my mind! And my ears perk and my eyes shine and the whole world is, oh, so fine!"

Lifting her voice as the music crescendoed, she arched her spine to thrust her chest at the sky, spread her front legs, and threw her head back. "Royal sisters, day and night, you know what's on my mind! And love, your niece, so warm and bright, she knows what's on my mind! My life at last is going right! At last, I know my mind, know thoughts I never thought before and feelings never felt!"

The music hit a chord and stopped as something moved between her ears, Applejack's hat slipping off. Without a thought, she spun into an outside loop she'd never even imagined herself doing, darted for the ground, and slid up next to the gaping Applejack just in time for the hat to plop right down into place again. Smiling at her perfect, glorious, beautiful marefriend, she whispered the final "And it's, oh, so fine," then leaned forward to touch her lips to Applejack's cheek.

A moment of nothing but the wind playing in the trees, a few birds chirping, the stream splashing away under the bridge that led to town, and self-consciousness suddenly crashed down over her. "Goodness," she murmured, letting her mane fall forward to cover her blushes. "I...I think maybe your hat's gone to my head."

Applejack pulled her mouth closed with a snap Fluttershy could hear. "That...that was...that was—" Bringing up a hoof, she brushed Fluttershy's mane away and gently kissed her. "Have I mentioned how you're the most amazing, gorgeous, fantastic pony that's ever lived anywhere? Have I mentioned that to you yet?"

Giggling, Fluttershy shook her head.

"Well, you are." Applejack turned for the bridge. "Now, c'mon! There's a couple other folks I wanna tell that to!"

Author's Notes:

In light of the recent little note from the moderators:

The musical number here is no longer "Feeling Good," written by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse for their 1964 musical The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd. I will admit, however, that the musical number is very much inspired by that song, especially Nina Simone's version from her 1965 album I Put a Spell on You.

Just as a warning, I've got one more musical number planned for the story, but not till the grand finale in chapter 10. Still, I do reserve the right to insert a musical number into any chapter at the drop of a hat, so again, please be aware.

Mike