As per usual, Twi and I had transported to the inside of her library home, where we were greeted by her #1 assistant, Spike. He seemed to be busy reorganizing a section of books before we showed up, as he was standing atop a ladder with a book in hand.

“Hey, Twi. Long time, no see, Ty.” The young purple-and-green dragon greeted.

“Good afternoon, Spike.”

“What up? How you an’ everybody else been?” we greeted back.

“I’ve been alright. The others are good too. Oh! That reminds me: Applejack stopped by looking for you, Twilight. I think she said something about needing a helping hoof on the farm.”

“Oh? How long ago did she come here?”

“Hmm, I’d say about a couple minutes or so before you guys showed up. She mentioned that she looked for Rainbow, but she’s been a little busier than she used to be because of her Wonderbolts training. The others are doing their own things as well.”

“Oh, that’s no good. But… I don’t think I could help her at the moment…”

“Why not?” I asked in confusion.

“Because I’m in…” she hesitated. “…need to get some studying done.”

“Hm… well, in that case, I could go help ‘er while you do that.”

“You could? That would be wonderful!” Twilight exclaimed, much to my surprise.

“Uh… sure. Lemme jus’ get properly suited up for the occasion,” I uneasily said.

“Do you want me to change you myself? Or should I just give you a magic sample before you complete the spell yourself?”

“Hmm… I think I’ll go with the latter option. For the sake of makin’ sure I got it down right.”

“Alright. Here goes…” With that, Twilight’s horn took on its usual magenta glow and in a second, she hit me with a spray of energy. Then, I stretched, took a deep breath, stood straight up, closed my eyes, and focused. During one of my previous visits to Equestria a month or so ago, Princess Celestia had informed me that she, with the help of a few high-level unicorns, managed to discover a prototype magic transference spell she said was based on the natural ability of a type of organism in this world called a Changeling; the ability to shape-shift. She let me know that the spell was only in its early testing phase, saying something along the lines of this:

“With this, you should have the ability to change into a pony much like Twilight has done for you in the past. It works in that I or any unicorn with enough power lends you a small amount of magic energy. From there, you will need to focus intensely, shutting out all forms of distraction as you mentally convert your physical form from that of a human to that of a stallion. Once you are able to successfully maintain one hundred percent concentration, the transformation should happen within a timeframe of a few seconds.

There are a couple of drawbacks to this type of spell, however: One, the amount of time you will be able to sustain your transformation relies on how much magic energy resides within you. You should understand that since you are not a unicorn, the energy in you only stays temporarily, as you are unable to generate natural magic energy on your own. Simply undergoing the transformation would considerably drain the already-diminutive amount of magic being lent to you at the moment. The more energy you have, the longer the transformation will last. Two, once the magic in you has run out, which there unfortunately isn’t any sort of limit counter for, you will instantaneously change back to your true form.

Be VERY careful in your travels around Equestria if you opt to use this spell instead of the one Twilight invented. One good thing I should mention is that the more you practice, the less time and energy-consuming it should be.”

Since then, I haven’t had much too time to practice utilizing this spell, but I’ve had enough that I didn’t strain too hard trying to transform (thanks to a certain SOMEONE, whose name will be withheld, making me do it over and over again at least forty times every time I came here, then another twenty for good measure.) I’d have to thank her for all the practice, though. The first few times we tried this, I’d wind up losing focus and only transforming parts of me rather than my entire body. Those failures were NOT pretty… Nonetheless, I was able to achieve the level of concentration I needed this time. Within seconds, I began to glow a luminescent white before I felt the warm, tingly sensation of the magic altering my form into that of an equine, shrinking me, and eventually giving me all of the qualities I had since the first time I was changed. The light around me dissipated, revealing me in pony form once again.

“Hey, something’s missing this time…” Spike pointed out.

“Yeah… no puffy mane,” Twilight added. “Or rather, it’s there but much shorter than normal.”

“Is that so?” I asked, raising a hoof to feel my head. Indeed, my afro-mane was much smaller. I guessed that hair length was consistent between forms, considering this was the first time I’d been transformed at all since getting a haircut. “Alright then. I guess I’ll take note o’ that. But I should prolly go out an’ look for Applejack now.”

“She should most likely be on her way back to Sweet Apple Acres. But before you go…” the unicorn charged up her horn before touching it with my forehead. Instantly, I felt a rush of warmth course through my being. “There. Your supply should last you a good day or so, by my prediction.”

“Okey doke, then. Thank you. Whelp, time fo’ me t’ be hittin’ the ol’ dusty trail…” With that, I leaned in to give Twilight a quick kiss goodbye before I turned to head out of the library.

“See you when you come back!”

“Later, bro!” Spike called.

“See y’all later. Have a good day!” I called back before I was out the door and headed to Sweet Apple Acres.

I saw Ty out of the library, on his way to go and help Applejack with whatever it was she needed help with on the farm. As soon as he was out of sight, I closed the door and promptly face hoofed, groaning loudly as I did so.

“What’s wrong, Twi?”

“Nothing, Spike. I’m fine.”

“I dunno. You seem like something’s up. What’s on your mind?”

“My gosh, am I THAT easy to read?”

“Well… It has to do with… love and a whole bunch of mushy stuff you wouldn’t want to hear,” I reasoned, hoping to coerce Spike to drop the issue.

“I’m all ears if you need me, Twi.”

“*sigh* of COURSE you are…”

“That’s sweet of you, Spike, but really. I’d rather deal with this on my own or when Ty comes back.”

“What’s so bad that I can’t hear it, but he can?”

“Spike… It really isn’t that important,” I implored, already feeling substantially more irritable than usual. “I just need some time alone to think things through. Just leave it be.”

“Alright alright, fine. But just a heads-up: I’m here if you need me.”

“Thank you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be heading upstairs…” With that, I hurried up the stairs and into my room, almost slamming the door before I unceremoniously flopped onto my bed, filled to the brim with a sudden case of anxiety.

“Maybe now I can use this time to think about how to tell Ty that I—!”

*bang bang bang*

“…can get up and scream at the simpleton knocking so loudly at the door!”

“I got it, Twilight!” I heard Spike call, instantly relieving me from the sudden, unwarranted feeling of anger I gained. Listening to the conversation, it sounded like Applejack came back looking for me. Spike informed her that Ty was on his way to Sweet Apple Acres to help her out, but she insisted on talking to me. Sullenly, I dragged myself off of the bed and trudged out of the room and down the stairs to meet my orange Earth pony friend at the door.

“Howdy, Twi!” the orange mare known as Applejack greeted brightly.

“Good afternoon, Applejack,” I replied, hiding my frustration behind a toothy grin.

“I was just wonderin’ if y’all could lend a helpin’ hoof Apple buckin’ down at Sweet Apple Acres. I understand Ty’s on ‘is way there now, but I could use a little bit more help if’in yer up to it.”

“As much as I’d love to, Applejack, I… I can’t.”

“Well why not? Y’all ain’t comin’ down with anythin’, are ya?”

“Kind of…”

“What’s the matter? Feather flu? Ponypox? Food poisonin’?”

“*cough* estrus *cough*” I tried to conceal my ordeal with an oh-so cleverly hidden message so as not to alarm Spike.

“Eh… Pardon?”

“I said… *cough* estrus *cough*”

“Didn’t quite catch that. Run that by me again?” I was losing my patience, and quickly. But still, I didn’t want my little assistant knowing about this, so I thought up another way to inform Applejack of my ailment.

“*sigh* Smell me,” I uncomfortably, yet brazenly suggested in a whisper.

“What?”

“Smell me,” I repeated more sternly, rasping this time.

“Why?”

“Just do it.”

“Alrighty then…” she uneasily replied, shooting me a look of perplexity before leaning in to obtain a small olfactory sample of my aroma. I could tell by the way she yanked her head back, looking at me in a poorly hidden sense of shock, that she got the message.

“Twi… yer in heat?”

“Yes, but keep your voice down…!” I whispered, suddenly feeling a little flustered. “I don’t want Spike to know. But you see why I can’t help you. Especially not when Ty’s on his way there… That and I don’t want to cause any problems involving Big Macintosh…”

“Did ya tell Ty when ya brought ‘im here…?”

“No… I was going to… but… I couldn’t.”

“Why not…?”

“I don’t know… It’s… It’s complicated, alright…? I’ll fill you in later, but you should probably go and catch up to him. And whatever you do… do NOT mention a word to him about my condition unless I say so, okay…?”

“You have my word, Twi…”

“Good. Now go…! Catch up to him…!”

“Gotcha…” With that, A.J. was off towards her farm looking for Ty, which gave me time to go back up to my room and contemplate my situation…

I was in the middle of Ponyville, trekking my way towards the farm. As far as I could see, no significant changes had taken place since I’d been here last. The same medieval-looking buildings, the same ponies going about their routine, et cetera, et cetera. I began to wonder if anything different happened with anyone other than Twi and her friends. Speaking of Twi… I wondered why she seemed so… out of sorts all of a sudden. She was all over me when she teleported to me. But then when I questioned her on it, she turned defensive and petulant. The part that bothered me the most was that question she asked me… about how I felt about our relationship. I mean, she should’ve known by now that I’m as comfortable with her as she is with me. But then… what if she WASN’T comfortable? What if she was starting to have doubts? What if she wasn’t happy with me? I shook my head at that thought, dismissing it as silly for the fact that we were together long enough to dispel feelings of discomfort or despondency. As I lost myself in my train of thought, my gaze met with the ground while I walked. I stayed that way indefinitely.

*bump*

“Oops! My bad…” I apologized as I shook off my lack of awareness.

“No no, that was my fault. I should’ve watched where I was going,” the stranger responded before turning her gaze from the ground to me. I had clumsily walked into a unicorn mare with a coat color of a vibrant minty green. Her eyes were golden like the setting sun. Her hair was a spiky mix of a very similar minty green to her coat mixed with white. “Hey… you look familiar. You come around here often?” she asked.

“Not quite. I’m usually only here on occasion. Why do you ask?”

“I’ve seen you around hanging with that blue pegasus mare a few times… Rainbow Dash, I think her name is?”

“Yea. She’s a—!”

“Lemme guess: you’re dating her?” the mare asked, cocking an eyebrow and smirking.

“Hm. Some things never change…”

“What?? No! Not at all!”

“Then why do you two always play-fight when the opportunity arises?”

“Tha’ss just somethin’ we do every once in a while. I consider her a rival of sorts, even though she beats the mess outta me most o’ the time…” At that, this strange mare giggled.

“Ha, I’ve seen how you two wrestle; especially this one time a while back where you threw a pie on her. You guys get almost as rough as me and my friend Bon Bon.” I was taken aback by her remark, but intrigued at the same time. I was unaware that she watched Rainbow and me fight that one time I was giving her dating advice. I could only wonder if she was the only one to see that little showdown or not.

“Well ain’t that somethin’…? Heh heh, wha’ss ya name?”

“Lyra. Lyra Heartstrings. How about yourself?”

“Ponder Memoir. And for the record, I’m actually involved with a unicorn by the name of Twilight Sparkle.” Lyra gasped in what appeared to be pleasant surprise.

“Ohh, so YOU’RE the one everypony keeps calling ‘Ty!’”

“Ha, yep.”

“Lemme tell ya: That mare is TIGHT with royalty. I was at her brother’s crazy wedding as a bridesmaid. Did you know she’s related to royalty?”

“Ya don’t say?” I said, feigning surprise.

“Yeah! Her brother Shining Armor is a Captain in Princess Celestia’s Royal Guard. He got hitched to a Princess named Cadence a little while ago.”

“Really now?”

“Yeah. As I said, I was a bridesmaid there. Although I don’t quite remember it being the most… pleasant experience. Hay, I hardly remember anything that went on that day… other than Cadence being a bit grumpier than she normally is… must’ve been wedding jitters or something…” she quizzically scratched her head. “Anyway, I bet that’s hard to believe, right? I’m actually good friends with Cadence and a casual acquaintance of Twilight’s.”

“There you are! Ty!” I heard someone call from behind me. I turned around to see Applejack headed my way. She galloped towards me posthaste, stopping beside me. “I heard y’all were on yer way t’ help me on the farm?”

“Yes. Yes I am. Shall we be goin’ then?”

“You betcha. We’re runnin’ behind schedule as we dillydally, so let’s git a move on, sugar cube!”

“Alright. Pleasure meetin’ you, Lyra!”

“Likewise, Ponder! If it’s okay, we should hang around sometime! Look me up! And if you’d like, you could bring Twilight. Make it a sort of double date!” she suggested.

“I’mma keep that in mind. Will do. See ya ‘round!” I said, waving as Lyra parted ways with me and Applejack.

“Bye!” she called back, waving a hoof and smiling. With that, Applejack and I proceeded to Sweet Apple Acres. On the way there, I noticed the orange Earth pony looking at me and grinning with this weird look on her face like she knew something that I didn’t. To be perfectly honest, I found it kind of irksome. At the same time, however, I wondered why she was looking at me like that…

“What’re you lookin’ at? Is there somethin’ on my face?”

“No, not at all, lover boy…” I was instantly flustered by her remark. ‘Lover boy?’

“What? You mean me talkin’ t’ Lyra? Applejack, you KNOW I wouldn’t do that to Twi. Ever.”

“Oh, I know. But that ain’t what I’m talkin’ about…” she winked at me. I went from flushed to confused in an instant.

“Then… what ARE you talkin’ ‘bout?”

“Oh, nothin’. Let’s just say a certain somepony is fittin’ t’ get a VERY special gift…” That served only to confuse me more.

“Mind elaboratin’?”

“Nope.”

“Oh okay. Go ahead then. Elaborate.” She raised an eyebrow.

“Pardon?”

“You said you don’t mind elaboratin’. So tell me. What are you talkin’ about?” she smirked at me.

“Nice try smart aleck, but yer fancy little mind tricks ain’t gonna work on me. Y’all know exactly what that ‘nope’ meant.”

“Bummer. You got me red-hoofed. Now tell me what you’re on about.”

“Nuh-uh. I already said too much…” she snickered. “Anyhow, here we are,” she said as we arrived at the entrance to her family’s homestead. Applejack was quick to lead me into one of the vast fields of apple trees where there were already buckets lined up under them. “Now Ty. Do y’all know even the slightest bitta info on apple buckin’?”

“Can’t say I do, Jackie.” She gave me a look of noticeable annoyance at me calling her that.

“Now Rainbow mighta warmed up to ya callin’ ‘er ‘Dashie,’ but I ain’t one t’ be quite as tolerant on nicknames ‘sides from A.J... Got it, pardner?”

“Y-yes ma’am.”

“Good. Anyway, c’mere.” I trotted over to the tree she was standing next to. “Turn around.” I turned around so that my tail end was facing said tree. “Now, what you’ll need t’ do here is plant yer front legs firm int’ the ground. Then, ya push yer back legs off the ground an’ wind up. Once yer ready, slam yer back legs int’ the trunk o’ this here tree as hard as y’all can. Got it?”

“I… guess so. Couldja gimme a demonstration though? So I know for sure what the technique is?”

“I s’pose I could do that. But I’m only gonna show ya once. We got a lotta work t’ do.” With that, she trotted over towards the nearest tree demonstrated her technique by doing exactly what she told me to do. With a mighty blast of her legs into the tree’s sturdy trunk, she managed to knock every apple out of the tree and into the baskets below. Now I’ve seen her do this time and time again, but she amazed me every time.

“Alright… I think I can see it. Quick question, though...”

"Yes?"

"Where's your brother? Doesn't he usually help you? Also, I don't think I've actually formally met the guy yet."

"Big Mac's workin' on the East field. We're on the South one. 'Sides, he ain't much for meetin' new faces anyhow. He's kinda shy..."

"Is that right? I've seen him before. Seems like a big guy. What would he need t' be shy for?"

"That's just how he's always been. You'd be lucky t' get more than a 'howdy, eeyup, or nope' out of him. But let's save that meetin' for another time. We got work t' do..."

"Roger that." With that, I prepared to buck my first tree. I made absolutely sure that I followed her motions as closely as possible. I pushed my forelegs into the ground. I bent and stretched a few times to maintain balance. Then, in one seemingly-fluent motion, I sprung my back legs off the ground, cocked them forward, and kicked the tree as hard as I could. To my disappointment, however, only a few apples came plummeting into the baskets below.

“Not bad for yer first try, Ty! Most ponies don’t even get one apple the first time. But yer form needs work. Try again.” I nodded without saying a word, and tried again.

*Thump*

Again, only a couple of the tree’s fruit fell in.

“Alright, I see where the problem lies…” Applejack informed. “Yer not puttin’ per whole body into it. It takes more than just yer back legs t’ get the job done. Like…” she trailed off as she moved to a different tree. “So!” she shouted as she gave the tree a mighty kick, once again knocking all the apples into the baskets below. “I’ll get the rest o’ the apples on that tree in a jiff. Move ont’ the next one.” I obeyed the orange mare and moved to a tree adjacent to the one I was practicing on, eager to show my strength.

“Okay… plant fore hooves, spring back hooves, wind-up, and— usin’ my ENTIRE BODY— release! Okay, I got this…” With a newly thought-up formula for this unusual, mystical art called apple buckin’, I tried again. I was ready this time. I was going to make A.J. proud. I was ready to take on this entire forest of apple trees and make them bend to my will… in short; they were going to be my BITCHES! Once I was motivated enough, I went through the preparation motions and … I reared up like I’d never reared up before. I cocked my back legs as far forward as I could, ready to do some damage… and then, throwing my whole body into it, I unleashed my fury upon that tree like it stole something from me… or at least, like it was going to steal something from me; which it did… my pride.

*SMACK* “AAAGH! Fuck!” I’d lost my balance in the excitement of proving my macho-ness to Applejack. In losing balance on my front hooves, my back ones lost their coordination and scraped off of the sides of the tree trunk, where my vulnerable pelvic bone (amongst some other vital body parts) were left wide open to meet a terrible fate at the hands of that tree.

"Owww!! Way t' go, dumbass! You know how sensitive I am!"

I fell over on the ground, writhing in absolute screaming agony (of course, being mindful enough to muffle my shouts of torment by clenching my teeth) as I brought my forelegs to the offended area. Ironically, the tree had given at least a couple fruit, which I’d taken as me hitting the tree really hard. I thought for a brief second during the aftermath of my horrible accident how it was possible for it to hurt so much as it did when my reproductive organs were seemingly hidden from view. Applejack quickly took notice and rushed over, looking very concerned.

“What in tarnation happened??”

“My… my fruit have been damaged…” I strained, trying to keep it subtle as I was hunched over on the ground in the fetal position. Naively, Applejack peered into the nearby baskets, clearly not understanding the admittedly egregious euphemism.

“Ah’ont see nothin’ wrong with those app…” she trailed off as she studied my cringing, agonized form, specifically at where I was holding myself. She didn’t even TRY to hold back her raucous laughter. “Now THAT’S a whole new first in apple buckin’! Those were the wrong apples, sugar cube…” she said through her laughter, VERY much to my chagrin. Jeez, how insensitive…

“Tee… nrgh…! hee…”

“*AHEM* I’m sorry. Ya should be a mite more careful, though. I’m pretty sure Twi wouldn’t appreciate it if—!” she hesitated, immediately stopping herself from saying whatever it was she was about to say to make this silly pucker face like she’d eaten a lemon.

“She… wouldn’t appreciate it if I what?” I quizzically asked as I steadily recovered. The pain had steadily sifted up into my stomach, making me feel a bit queasy for the moment.

“If… er… If’in you… hurt yourself too badly.” Already, I could tell she wasn’t telling me everything.

“Applejack, do I… look gullible t’ you?” I kind of regretted saying that, seeing as I moved to sit on my haunches, still cringing and holding my abdomen.

“Well… ‘gullible’ wouldn’t be quite the right word for it…” she admitted with a titter.

“Eh heh heh heh,” I falsely laughed with a contemptuous fake smirk. “What was you really about t’ say?”

“I already said it, pardner. She wouldn’t like it if y’all got hurt. That’s all.”

“That is bullcrap an’ you know it. You wouldn’t-a froze up an’ puckered up if tha’ss what you was really gonna say…”

“Well hardy hoof-clippin’s to ya if y’all don’t believe me. That’s my story, an’ I’m stickin’ by it,” she stubbornly contested as she turned her head away.

“God, how hardheaded can somebody be over a simple fib?”

“Now I reckon y’all should pick yerself up an’ get back t’ work,” she ordered. “We’ve been screwin’ around fer too long now.” Before I could get a word in edgewise, she marched her country self off to one of the nearby apple trees and continued her buckin’. I decided to do the same, figuring that if I was going to get any answers out of her, I was going to have to work for them…

Eventually, we finished as the sun disappeared over the horizon, being replaced by the moon. However, Applejack REFUSED to budge on what she meant with that little remark she made when I hurt myself. She always did seem the stubborn one, but this was a special case of her obstinacy. I just gave up and slaved through the rest of the odd job with her. By the time we were done, all four of my legs were shakier than a bowl of Jello during an earthquake. They may as well have been made of the stuff too, because I could hardly stand, much less walk. I said my goodbyes to the mare before staggering my way back to the library like a drunk…

Celestia’s brilliant, radiant sun had gone down, being replaced by Luna’s luminescent moon, which happened to be full and shining brightly as the stars sparkled and glimmered in the night sky. I spent the entire afternoon contemplating ways to tell him that I was in estrus and almost none of the scenarios I’d imagined seemed suitable. I paced around my bedroom for hours on end, taking breaks only to stare out of the window like a lost puppy as if one of the princesses or the air was going to give me a legitimate answer. I was wracking my heat-addled brain trying to figure out some way to tell him… The longer I pondered it, the more stressed out I’d become, frazzling my mane and giving myself a migraine to go alongside these… yearning feelings I’d been battling since this accursed heat cycle began.

Admittedly, telling him wasn’t my biggest concern despite it being in a close second. My most problematic concern was my anticipation of his reaction. I was unreasonably afraid of what he would say or do. The mere thought of it sent butterflies swarming through my stomach as I meditated…

“What if I just flat-out told him? Would he be okay? Would he be startled? He’d probably never want to see me again after scaring him like that… Or what if I kind of beat around the bush, dropping subtle clues as to what’s going on with me? Would he get the message? Or wouldn’t he? And who’s to say he wouldn’t be alarmed if he did? Even if he DID want to keep being with me after conveying the news, who’s to say things wouldn’t get uncomfortable in the case that he didn’t want to help me…? What if I had somepony else tell him for me? No, that wouldn’t work at all. If I did that, then he would likely perceive me as some kind of coward who’s afraid to convey her feelings to her own colt-friend...”

The excruciating stress inexplicably made me want to cry… so that’s what I did. I wept quietly, burying my pitiful face in my fore hooves as I sat on the bed facing the window. My anxious emotions largely got the better of me. I needed some way to vent my towering frustration over my uncertainty and apprehension, and crying was the only way I could let it out…

“Twilight? Are you alright?” asked my number one assistant as he entered the room. I couldn’t say yes. My face was soaking in my own optic fluid and I’d been whimpering and sniffling like a foal. I wiped the tears from my eyes, although fresh ones were forming in their place, and I turned to him.

“No, Spike… as a matter of fact, I’m not…” I sadly admitted. Spike was quick to make his way towards me, climbing up onto the bed and hugging me. He was such a sweet little dragon…

“I’m here for you. What’s wrong?”

“Well… um…” Expectantly, I had trouble configuring my thoughts into words. But I, with commendable mettle, managed to voice my concerns. “It… has to do with Ty…”

“What? Did he do something to you??” the dragon asked in alarm. “Because if he did, I’ll—!”

“No, not at all…” I interrupted, not wanting to cause any feelings of enmity. “It’s more of something I’m… afraid to do to him…”

“Oh… what are you afraid of doing to him?”

“Making him… mad at me…”

“Mad at you? I don’t see how he could be angry with you. He didn’t seem angry when you arrived here with him…”

“Y-you’re *sniffle* right. That wasn’t a good choice of words. I… I mean I don’t want him to… be afraid of me or uncomfortable with me…”

“What could make him uncomfortable with you…? Is it because he’s an alien?” I shot him the strongest glare I could muster through my tears. He knew how much I hated it when he called Ty an alien. “Oh! I-I mean uh… a human? While you’re a pony?” he corrected himself.

“Kind of… but… that’s only part of the predicament…”

“Oh… well I thought you two would be fine with the whole human-pony thing by now. It’s been almost a year.”

“We ARE okay on that…”

“…Twi, you’re not making a whole lot of sense right now. You’re afraid of making him mad or uncomfortable because of the species difference, but you’re comfortable enough that you don’t have to worry about it?” He had a point. I was only talking him in circles while he was trying to help me sort out my feelings. So I tried my best to rationalize my problem with an analogy of sorts.

“I’m sorry… It’s like this: You know how much Rainbow Dash loves flying? Or how Pinkie Pie loves sweets and partying?”

“Yeah…?”

“Okay. Well imagine if either of them… went through a period in time in which they wanted-- no, NEEDED to do those respective things more than they normally would for their own good. But at the same time, they can’t because hypothetically, Rainbow is injured and has to wait for the weather ponies to clear out a really bad thunderstorm. Or in Pinkie’s case, she needs to spend a week without eating so much as a strudel or attending or throwing a single party because she needs to better control her eating habits and learn how to focus on her duties as the clerk at the bakery…”

“I… I’m not following,” he admitted, to my aggravation.

“Okay, let’s just say I’m in a period of time where I need Ty… like, REALLY need him… but at the same time, I neither know how nor when to tell him. I also don't know what to expect when I tell him how much I need him or what exactly I need him for…”

“Oh. That’s all?” Spike asked. I guess I should’ve expected such naiveté out of someone so young… “You two have been great together. Whatever you need him for, I’m sure he’ll come around to it, no matter how unusual it might be. You wouldn’t be together if he didn’t understand you and your wants and needs, would you?” While his advice wasn’t quite the answer I was looking for, his words did have merit. I mean, for Ty and I to be together this long, he’d HAVE to understand me, thereby being more likely to help in a time of need. Of course, there was still the problem of telling him exactly what I needed. However, Spike’s advice gave me some leeway, lifting some burden off my shoulders.

“… You’re right… Thank you, Spike…” I lovingly nuzzled the adorable little guy and kissed him on the forehead. He returned the gesture by rubbing my back, which surprisingly didn’t cause me to flinch or spasm involuntarily.

“I’m always here, Twi… *yawn*” I took the yawn as a signal to release him from my embrace. “Well I’m gonna hit the hay. Owloysius is finishing the rest of the reorganizing… G’night.” Spike climbed into his basket-bed, got comfortable and in almost an instant, was out cold.

“Sweet dreams, Spike…” I whispered before letting out a yawn. I was just about ready to take a trip to the realm of dreams myself before I heard a knock at the door, followed by Owloysius’s hooting. I immediately knew who it was and made my way downstairs quickly, yet quietly. I opened the door to be greeted with a very exhausted looking Ty. “Well good evening!” I greeted with a smile.

“Hey, honeybun…” he greeted back, seeming to be entirely woozy. He staggered in as if he’d been dizzy on the way back from the farm.

“How was your time with Applejack?” I asked as I led him through the library and up the stairs.

“Miserably fun…” he mused, to my confusion. “I was NOT aware of how much work went int’ apple buckin’… My body wasn’t ready… Buuut, A.J.’s an entertainer.”

“Yeah, she and her family are working that hard on a daily basis, combing apple trees across the fields of their homestead by way of bucking them off.”

“Have you ever tried that?” he asked as we entered the bedroom. We trotted to my bed, where the two of us got comfortable lying juxtaposed to one another.

“Nope, can’t say I have,” I answered with a small chuckle. “Whenever I help, I just use my magic.”

“Is that right…? How come you couldn’t come with me, then?” I was almost struck with nervousness before I thought up a suitable reply on the spot.

“…A.J. says it’s a nice advantage when I use magic, but she also said that it takes away the quality of a hard day’s work. In fact, this is probably the first time she’s ever tried asking me alone for help.”

“I see… not sure why she didn’t jus’ ask you t’ use ya magic today, though… before we started, she was complainin’ about bein’ behind schedule. But i’ss whatever. How were you all afternoon?”

“Oh, I just spent time studying. You know, the usual… astrophysics, friendship, chemistry, trigonometric arithmetic, algorithm, magic, and the like. But… I’ve also been thinking…”

“About what?” I was just about ready to tell him right then and there. But I wanted to be patient.

“You see… there’s… something I need to… t-to share with you.” I stuttered.

“Oh no, my nerves are getting in the way already!”

“Wha’ss up?” he asked with an audible yawn.

“Well… um… I…”

“Just spit it out!”

“I’m in heat,” I blurted, scrunching my eyes shut. “I’ve started my estrus cycle yesterday, and I was wondering if you could help me. I mean, I know that this isn’t the most conventional way to inform you of this, but I’ve spent the last two days trying to figure out a way to tell you and it’s REALLY been stressing me out, but I’ve been mindful of any possible feelings you may have in terms of moving our relationship to such a level. So can you help me?” I took a deep breath after my short bout of rambling to hear his reply. I got no response. My heart sank to the pit of my stomach. I was terrified that I’d shocked him into a comatose state or something… until I heard light snoring coming from him.

“Unbelievable! He fell asleep before he could hear me out!” I supposed I couldn’t blame him, though. Applejack’s work does have a tendency to really take its toll on anypony not used to it.

“*gasp* Wuh…!” he grunted, suddenly waking up. “Oh, I am SO so sorry, Twi… A.J. really drained me with all that work she made me do… Group that up with no rest-up time at my REAL job an’ runnin’ on about five hours or so o’ sleep… not a good combo. What’d you say? Somethin’ about heat?” I sighed dejectedly. Any sense of resolve I’d managed to conjure up had dissipated, leaving me unable to repeat myself.

“I’ll… tell you tomorrow,” I told him, swallowing the statement with a grain of salt as I turned towards him to notice him blearily looking back at me, smiling. My goodness, was he cute…

“I’mma definitely be up at attention for ya in the morning… Night, Twi…”

“Good night, Ty…” With that, we shared a small, quiet kiss before snuggling close together, wrapping one another up in our forelegs. He fell asleep long before I did and I felt myself getting a bit warm as we cuddled. These… strange feelings of sensual desire I was harboring towards him were growing. I needed to get this off of my chest immediately, while at the same time delivering the news in a calm, orderly manner... or at least in some way that wouldn't likely startle the daylights out of him. Still, having him here to hold me gave me some miniature sense of ease. I took a deep, shaky breath as I nuzzled into him, getting comfortable myself and drifting off to sleep…