So I suspect next chapter will be more story focused, but I wonder where you'll take it next? Perhaps Rumble, then Diamond Tiara (with Spoon watching ), and finally Spike but maybe only after Discord is brought back to fix everything (or perhaps once before and once after, but I haven't gotten the impression Spike swings that way.
Hm... it seems a little problematic for ponies who have crushes on someone else to be sleepin with each other, under the assumption that it "doesn't count" for it because they both know they have crushes on other characters...
Seems like that might have a bit of a negative effect on actually starting a relationship with their crushes, should they ever find out.
But, it worked out okay in HMSS, and the conclusion was satisfying, so hopefully it'll work out just as well here. Although there's a mean part of me that wants to see some drama first.
5634069 I've long felt that if an intelligent species' biology includes an estrus cycle, they're probably a fair bit more lenient/accepting than humans are about casual sex, and/or are more easily able to separate sex and love from one another. That might just be me though.
In any case, if there's drama to be had, the CMCs banging each other probably won't be the source.
Well to be fair, I doubt there's currently an exchange program to get zebras into the classroom. What with the only one currently living alone in the everfree, with her masks, and her potions, and her lonely nights.
So, Carcy. You're making a story about Apple Bloom and her friends... ...beating the heat? And there seems to be implications of Spike getting a happy ending?
Love it just as I did the first chapter, except more! I love this story so much I...I... I could just explode... TWICE! (<_< sorry for the overused joke ) Still amazing!
5634932 You'd think so. Actually I suspect they would have figured out things like strapons. I remember it being mentioned in Xenophilia, they had hollow tubes that could be attached to a little bulb full of warm salt water to fool the body into thinking it had been seeded.
5634932 Not quite the same thing but there's a great fic on this subject called "Plucked from the Air" by Norm de Plume where Soarin' studs for Lyra and Bon-Bon, which goes into pretty impressive detail about it as an accepted cultural practice with contracts and lawyers and legal rights of all involved parties and everything. Kinda makes me want to explore the concept further, since the fic unfortunately ended after the sex without really covering the aftermath or even whether they got pregnant or not. Still a good story though.
I mean, I can see the hypothetical logic behind it, and if it did work then it would be a pretty quick and easy and effective way to quell heat in a mare, but does that actually work on real life equines? I'm no expert or anything but I've never heard of that before.
5636130 Well, real life waved bye bye a while ago here, but I would check with AnonponyDASHIE, since it was him and anonauthor working on xeno. It should in theory work though, the body cannot really tell one warm salty fluid from another.
5636130 5636169 In the story it helps, but does not actually satisfy like an actual male does... Neither method makes the symptoms just stop, though, instead just quelling them for a while, so I guess it's sorta up in the air whether the reason is psychological or not.
Either way, Dash gets pretty excited when she realizes she can screw the human protagonist all she wants, with fluids and everything, without worrying about pregnancy. Later it's a problem because they'd like to be able to have kids, but cannot.
It doesn't really matter, though, that story basically assumes there are no such thing as contraceptives (which is one of the sillier aspects of the setting), so that's the only safe option, you don't go that route so it's hardly an issue you should worry about.
Small Question? If Applebloom was taking regular doses of Moon Tea (every time i hear that term i think Luna created the stuff, or at least was the one who originally found it) i wonder what kind of effect it would have in a gender-swapped body? Girl turns into boy, contraceptive turns into pregnancy booster?
5636916 My first guess is that it would not be all that good for her/him. Modern-day contraceptive pills would play merry hell with a man's hormones. On the other hand, they would also likely render him with (ahem) performance issues, and AB doesn't seem to have any issues with that...
5636916 5637556 I never really thought too deeply about it, to be honest. The concept of Moon Tea, although it has real-world origins, is sort of fantasy-fluff, you may have seen it in other fantasy settings, and it tends to be just a sort of all-purpose contraceptive. The initial application of the idea of Moon Tea to ponyfic happened while I was brainstorming notes and scenes with another author for a different fic that has yet to see the light of day, and in that incarnation both genders could take it, and were generally expected to in any mate agreement.
I dunno it's sort of hard to extrapolate medicinal contraceptives on males. In our society condoms are so effective, simple to use, and readily available, there hasn't really been much of a need to develop a male equivalent of a birth control pill. So who knows how it would be for ponies. Maybe there's two different, gender-specific brews of Moon Tea!
5636169 Yes, yes it can. You forget the presence of other things that the body can detect in the liquid, saltiness has absolutely nothing to do with it.
5640039 You're proposing the body can sense microscopic sperm? I think it's more likely to be the feeling of release that brings on relief. Occam's Razor and what not. The body is a pretty sophisticated machine, but not quite that precise.
5637659 Male equivalent or no, I still maintain that something that works as a (hormonal) contraceptive on women would probably have different effects on a man's hormonal system. And Moon Tea is likely hormonal, since - going by the way it's used, i.e. it's drunk rather than (ahem) directly applied to the affected areas - it's definitely not mechanical or chemical. Of course, this is the MLP world (with a hell of a lot more sex) we're talking about, so "mystical" is always a possible alternative. (Which makes me wonder about the apparent lack of magical solutions to the heat issue - if it's as bad as described here, it would make sense for unicorns at least to have tried to develop one.)
5640420 spells may exist, but potions would likely be more prevalent, since having a unicorn around to cast spells on everypony would be rare, but tea is relatively cheap.
You'll note a lack of the word testosterone in there. Not trying to be mean here, I get what you're thinking, but yeah, you're kinda off base on this argument.
The body knows when it's pregnant, sure. But knowing one warm liquid from another is beyond it's basic design capacity.
5640690 I may have been wrong with the hormone part, but semen still has more stuff in it than sperm and water. Detectable substances, namely enzymes, that can cause a reaction.
5640769 Sure, if the female body was a laboratory. I'm not saying there is not a difference, just that a vagina is not equipped to tell. I guess if you want to write a story in which little micro-ponies test the liquids, by all means, I would find that oddly hilarious.
And let's go further. Let's say somehow, some way, the body could tell. There is still the placebo effect to consider. One mare tells another this will help, and lo and behold, belief makes it so. So yes, the body can be tricked just fine.
5641130 But the placebo effect won't last. And believe it or not, the body can detect trace quantities of lots of other chemicals, so why wouldn't it be able to tell the difference here? I think we are not on the same level, though. I am arguing the hypothetical, here...
5641718 You're right, in the sense that the mares all told each other that it wasn't quite as effective as being seeded, but it helped and was better than nothing. It again comes down to the placebo effect. Tell someone that their symptoms will be relieved for x time, and they will, for x time. It's only as effective as the belief of the practitioners and the ponies receiving said help.
The problem when arguing against a hypothetical is you have to be able to say beyond a shadow of a doubt that something cannot happen. Your argument is the body can in some cases sense some chemicals, so therefore the vagina can definitely do so. It's a little unsound to make that supposition.
And of course, at the end of all this you have to realize you're arguing about whether cartoons are capable of any of this. I think that makes both sides kinda moot, at the end of the day. So I guess we can just fall back on "It's friendship, and friendship is magic, and since it's magic, we don't have to explain it." Believe as you choose, friend.
Loving the story. I do hope you don't portray Applejack as the angry southern stereotype. I see her having reason to be upset / hurt that Bloom didn't come to her immediately after she figured out what was happening, but I'd hate to see AJ go all "sex is bad, you're bad, repent, feel guilty."
5650894 5658192 It's funny, I actually cut some stuff at one of my editors' suggestion to avoid implying that AJ's anger was because of the sexytimes, and it seems I still managed to do so.
I don't know if I'd say she'll be HAPPY about them getting frisky with each other, but no, AJ's anger was more in line with what Applebloom's been afraid of so far: she was told not to trust Discord and she kind of ignored that.
Sweet indeed!
5570139
Ok, god!
There, just for you.
This "Applejack overhears incriminating conversation" thing is starting to become popular for some reason.
5633967
At least I didn't make a lame pun about joysticks.
So I suspect next chapter will be more story focused, but I wonder where you'll take it next? Perhaps Rumble, then Diamond Tiara (with Spoon watching ), and finally Spike but maybe only after Discord is brought back to fix everything (or perhaps once before and once after, but I haven't gotten the impression Spike swings that way.
Hm... it seems a little problematic for ponies who have crushes on someone else to be sleepin with each other, under the assumption that it "doesn't count" for it because they both know they have crushes on other characters...
Seems like that might have a bit of a negative effect on actually starting a relationship with their crushes, should they ever find out.
But, it worked out okay in HMSS, and the conclusion was satisfying, so hopefully it'll work out just as well here. Although there's a mean part of me that wants to see some drama first.
5633775 Angryjack is Sexyjack
5634069
I've long felt that if an intelligent species' biology includes an estrus cycle, they're probably a fair bit more lenient/accepting than humans are about casual sex, and/or are more easily able to separate sex and love from one another. That might just be me though.
In any case, if there's drama to be had, the CMCs banging each other probably won't be the source.
5634106
... Alright. Seems like a logical thing.
Some humans are pretty lenient about casual sex too, but then they wind up eventually interacting with people who aren't.
DAMN!!! I say THIS for AppleBloom.
Well technically you already have be-
Gets shot.
Yaaaaaay you updated.
Now I just need to update again soon.
oh horseapples lol glad to see another chapter of this awesome story
5634209
Well to be fair, I doubt there's currently an exchange program to get zebras into the classroom. What with the only one currently living alone in the everfree, with her masks, and her potions, and her lonely nights.
Buuus-ted!
So, Carcy.
You're making a story about Apple Bloom and her friends...
...beating the heat?
And there seems to be implications of Spike getting a happy ending?
Alright, count me in for the ride.
Well now, this is an interesting development.
I can't wait to hear the "birds and the bees" talk from Big Mac. At least, I hope Applebloom learns how to control her cock from a true professional!
Given the male to female ratio, male prostitutes and sperm donors must make major moolah if estrus is this bad.
Love it just as I did the first chapter, except more! I love this story so much I...I... I could just explode... TWICE! (<_< sorry for the overused joke ) Still amazing!
Quick, play innocent.
5634932 You'd think so. Actually I suspect they would have figured out things like strapons. I remember it being mentioned in Xenophilia, they had hollow tubes that could be attached to a little bulb full of warm salt water to fool the body into thinking it had been seeded.
5634692
Goddamnit I just died a little inside, thanks a lot jerk.
5635977
This is the most boring solution to heat I have ever heard.
5634932
Not quite the same thing but there's a great fic on this subject called "Plucked from the Air" by Norm de Plume where Soarin' studs for Lyra and Bon-Bon, which goes into pretty impressive detail about it as an accepted cultural practice with contracts and lawyers and legal rights of all involved parties and everything. Kinda makes me want to explore the concept further, since the fic unfortunately ended after the sex without really covering the aftermath or even whether they got pregnant or not. Still a good story though.
5636041
5636041 boring, but effective.
5636102
Is it, though?
I mean, I can see the hypothetical logic behind it, and if it did work then it would be a pretty quick and easy and effective way to quell heat in a mare, but does that actually work on real life equines? I'm no expert or anything but I've never heard of that before.
5636130 Well, real life waved bye bye a while ago here, but I would check with AnonponyDASHIE, since it was him and anonauthor working on xeno. It should in theory work though, the body cannot really tell one warm salty fluid from another.
5636130
5636169
In the story it helps, but does not actually satisfy like an actual male does... Neither method makes the symptoms just stop, though, instead just quelling them for a while, so I guess it's sorta up in the air whether the reason is psychological or not.
Either way, Dash gets pretty excited when she realizes she can screw the human protagonist all she wants, with fluids and everything, without worrying about pregnancy. Later it's a problem because they'd like to be able to have kids, but cannot.
5636326 Shouldn't be too much of an issue. Twilight can just change your race now.
5636326
It doesn't really matter, though, that story basically assumes there are no such thing as contraceptives (which is one of the sillier aspects of the setting), so that's the only safe option, you don't go that route so it's hardly an issue you should worry about.
Commence read.
Looks like the CMC have all made up, among other things.
But now to see how Applejack deals with this turn of events.
Small Question? If Applebloom was taking regular doses of Moon Tea (every time i hear that term i think Luna created the stuff, or at least was the one who originally found it) i wonder what kind of effect it would have in a gender-swapped body? Girl turns into boy, contraceptive turns into pregnancy booster?
5636916 My first guess is that it would not be all that good for her/him. Modern-day contraceptive pills would play merry hell with a man's hormones. On the other hand, they would also likely render him with (ahem) performance issues, and AB doesn't seem to have any issues with that...
5636916
5637556
I never really thought too deeply about it, to be honest. The concept of Moon Tea, although it has real-world origins, is sort of fantasy-fluff, you may have seen it in other fantasy settings, and it tends to be just a sort of all-purpose contraceptive. The initial application of the idea of Moon Tea to ponyfic happened while I was brainstorming notes and scenes with another author for a different fic that has yet to see the light of day, and in that incarnation both genders could take it, and were generally expected to in any mate agreement.
I dunno it's sort of hard to extrapolate medicinal contraceptives on males. In our society condoms are so effective, simple to use, and readily available, there hasn't really been much of a need to develop a male equivalent of a birth control pill. So who knows how it would be for ponies. Maybe there's two different, gender-specific brews of Moon Tea!
Anyway, interesting thought exercise.
"What? You'd rather Ah got Big Macintosh to help them?"
"Uhh..."
"Eenope."
Audience: "EEYUP"
5636169
Yes, yes it can. You forget the presence of other things that the body can detect in the liquid, saltiness has absolutely nothing to do with it.
5640039 You're proposing the body can sense microscopic sperm? I think it's more likely to be the feeling of release that brings on relief. Occam's Razor and what not. The body is a pretty sophisticated machine, but not quite that precise.
5637659 Male equivalent or no, I still maintain that something that works as a (hormonal) contraceptive on women would probably have different effects on a man's hormonal system. And Moon Tea is likely hormonal, since - going by the way it's used, i.e. it's drunk rather than (ahem) directly applied to the affected areas - it's definitely not mechanical or chemical. Of course, this is the MLP world (with a hell of a lot more sex) we're talking about, so "mystical" is always a possible alternative. (Which makes me wonder about the apparent lack of magical solutions to the heat issue - if it's as bad as described here, it would make sense for unicorns at least to have tried to develop one.)
5640420 spells may exist, but potions would likely be more prevalent, since having a unicorn around to cast spells on everypony would be rare, but tea is relatively cheap.
5640069
No, but the body can detect the hormones that are mixed in with the sperm.
5640661 Which might have some bearing, if semen actually contained any hormones.
snag.gy/LfgMQ.jpg
You'll note a lack of the word testosterone in there. Not trying to be mean here, I get what you're thinking, but yeah, you're kinda off base on this argument.
The body knows when it's pregnant, sure. But knowing one warm liquid from another is beyond it's basic design capacity.
5640690 I may have been wrong with the hormone part, but semen still has more stuff in it than sperm and water. Detectable substances, namely enzymes, that can cause a reaction.
5640769 Sure, if the female body was a laboratory. I'm not saying there is not a difference, just that a vagina is not equipped to tell. I guess if you want to write a story in which little micro-ponies test the liquids, by all means, I would find that oddly hilarious.
And let's go further. Let's say somehow, some way, the body could tell. There is still the placebo effect to consider. One mare tells another this will help, and lo and behold, belief makes it so. So yes, the body can be tricked just fine.
5641130
But the placebo effect won't last. And believe it or not, the body can detect trace quantities of lots of other chemicals, so why wouldn't it be able to tell the difference here?
I think we are not on the same level, though. I am arguing the hypothetical, here...
5641718 You're right, in the sense that the mares all told each other that it wasn't quite as effective as being seeded, but it helped and was better than nothing. It again comes down to the placebo effect. Tell someone that their symptoms will be relieved for x time, and they will, for x time. It's only as effective as the belief of the practitioners and the ponies receiving said help.
The problem when arguing against a hypothetical is you have to be able to say beyond a shadow of a doubt that something cannot happen. Your argument is the body can in some cases sense some chemicals, so therefore the vagina can definitely do so. It's a little unsound to make that supposition.
And of course, at the end of all this you have to realize you're arguing about whether cartoons are capable of any of this. I think that makes both sides kinda moot, at the end of the day. So I guess we can just fall back on "It's friendship, and friendship is magic, and since it's magic, we don't have to explain it." Believe as you choose, friend.
My, what lively debate this has spawned.
5643898 You and anonauthor are responsible for some very weird headcanon
media.giphy.com/media/mmaMTz2eOsucw/giphy.gif
Loving the story. I do hope you don't portray Applejack as the angry southern stereotype. I see her having reason to be upset / hurt that Bloom didn't come to her immediately after she figured out what was happening, but I'd hate to see AJ go all "sex is bad, you're bad, repent, feel guilty."
Quick question to the writer. You're not going to portray Applejack as a soccer filly, are you?
Also great wiring, CarcinoGeneticist! You should consider publishing your own original book.
5650894
5658192
It's funny, I actually cut some stuff at one of my editors' suggestion to avoid implying that AJ's anger was because of the sexytimes, and it seems I still managed to do so.
I don't know if I'd say she'll be HAPPY about them getting frisky with each other, but no, AJ's anger was more in line with what Applebloom's been afraid of so far: she was told not to trust Discord and she kind of ignored that.
We'll cover that next chapter though.