Arc awakens early the next morning, even before the sun is up. He feels Applejack’s warm body on his chest and smiles. Looking down at her he strokes her hair gently as he muses to himself.
“She really is beautiful asleep.”
Slowly rubbing Applejack’s bare back, he sighs contentedly as he muses to himself.
“Great personality, great work ethic, strong, happy… and… I have to admit, she really does have a great body too.”
Smiling, he closes his eyes and continues.
“Never thought I’d be saying that about someone. Feels kinda perverted to even think it.”
Making a slight moan, Applejack slowly turns her head to look at him as the first rays of dawn shine through the window.
“Huh… Arc?”
Arc smiles at her. “Good morning, sleepyhead.”
Applejack appears confused. “Morning?”
She looks at her naked body and at the position they’re in before giggling.
“Guess that wasn’t a dream.”
Arc shakes his head. “Nope. Um… I didn’t do anything… bad last night, did I?”
“Not that I can recall, no.”
“Good.”
“Why do you ask?”
“I just… don’t want to hurt you.”
Applejack appears confused. “Hurt me?”
“You know… by doing something to you that you might not want.”
“Like what?”
“Um… you know…”
“Sex?”
Arc blushes slightly “…yeah.”
“No, we didn’t do that. I think I’d have remembered it had we.”
Arc breathes a sigh of relief. “Good. I mean… it’s good that I didn’t… um…”
Applejack raises an eyebrow. “What’s with you this morning?”
“Before you woke up I was doing some… thinking.”
“What about?”
“You.”
“I can tell you’re leaving something out, Arc.”
“Yes, well… I was thinking that… you… that you’re beautiful.”
“Anything else?”
Arc sighs. “And… that you have a nice body.”
Applejack grins. “Was that so hard to say?”
“It was actually.”
“Why? I mean… we’re real fiancés now.”
“Well… it just felt wrong.”
“Complimenting my appearance mentally?”
“I just felt kinda perverted for having those thoughts about you.”
“But why? You Honestly care about me, don’t you?”
Arc nods. “Yes, I do. However that’s the reason it felt wrong.”
“You’re not making much sense, Arc.”
“Sorry. It’s just… I really like you, Applejack. And I don’t want to do anything that might make you upset or feel bad.”
Applejack raises an eyebrow. “So you think that you looking at my body would do that?”
“I… don’t really know. This is all so new to me. The whole concept of… intimacy.”
“Well, I think I can help with that.”
Arc appears hopeful. “You can?”
“Sure.”
“What should I do?”
“First I have a question for you. How far have you gone with a human mare before?”
Arc shrugs. “Before I came to Equestria the most I ever did was hold hands with Shelly and Lily as a kid.”
“Nothing else?”
Arc blushes slightly. “Well… a couple times I kissed them goodnight on the forehead.”
“I ain’t counting that.”
“Then I guess I haven’t really done anything.”
“Okay. What you have to do is really simple, Arc.”
“Oh?”
“Just lie there and do what I tell you.”
“Um… okay.”
“Ready?”
“I guess.”
Applejack looks at him soberly. “Here we go then.”
Putting her hands down on the sheets, Applejack pushes herself up to sit on her knees between Arc’s legs. He turns away respectfully as she does so.
“Arc, look at me.”
“But you’re not wearing any…!”
Applejack interrupts him. “It’s fine, sugarcube. Now then, I want you to look upon me as I am.”
Sighing, Arc turns to look at the young woman before him. The weak sunlight from the windows cascades over her tan and toned body as she speaks.
“How do you feel right now?”
“Like I shouldn’t be staring at you.”
“And I’m going to help you with that. Just stay still.”
Scootching closer, Applejack crawls across Arc’s body to sit on his pelvis. Straightening up again she looks down at Arc as he raises an eyebrow and speaks.
“What are you doing?”
“Just trust me on this. Now, give me your hands.”
Slowly raising his hands Arc puts them in Applejack’s palms. She smiles and holds them as they look one another in the eye for a time. Eventually Applejack speaks again.
“Ready to move on?”
“I... guess.”
“Alright. Just let your arms go limp.”
As he does so Applejack takes them in each hand. Putting one on each of her hips she watches as Arc begins to blush slightly.
“Never went this far with Rarity, sugarcube?”
“Not as a human, no.”
“How does it feel?”
“Kinda… nice actually. But I still don’t feel like I should be doing it.”
“You’re probably wondering what it is I’m getting to, aren’t you.”
“Right.”
“I want to explain my body to you. And now that I’m uncovered I believe this is the perfect time to do it. Now then, I’m going to let go of your hands and I want you to keep them on my hips, okay?”
Arc nods as Applejack clears her throat and begins to speak. She puts two fingers to her eyes.
“These are my eyes. They let me see whatever it is my head is pointing at. Whether that’s an apple, a tree, or someone that I love, they only look wherever I point them. And I for one am not ashamed to look at a special somepony with them.”
Pointing to her nose, she continues.
“This is my nose. It lets me smell many different things from apple pie to rain on the breeze to the scent of the man I love.”
Moving on, she puts a finger to her lips.
“Next is my mouth. It lets me eat things, breathe, and taste whatever I put inside of it. Anything from apples to candy canes to the lips of the one I love.”
Putting a hand on one of her forearms Applejack gives it a squeeze before speaking.
“These are my arms. They’re used for lifting and pushing mostly. But I like to wrap them around the one I love the most.”
Grabbing her... um... chest, she continues.
“While not the same as my other form, these are my breasts. They’re meant to feed young’uns when I have them. But until then they’re free to be used by the one I love as he sees fit as a means to stimulate both him and I.”
Sliding her hands down to her stomach, Applejack grins.
“This is my belly. It holds my major organs along with the food and water that I eat. Someday it’ll also hold the foal I hope to make with the man I love.”
Moving her hands to her thighs, she gives them a squeeze.
“These are my legs. They help carry me wherever I want to go and support the rest of my body. But I like using them to stand by your side, Arc.”
Pointing a single finger Applejack gestures between her legs.
“And this... this is my vulva. It’s used to remove liquid waste from my body. And someday I hope it’s used by you to make me a mother. But even if that isn’t possible, I still want you to use it to pleasure us both.”
“Applejack I… I don’t understand.”
Applejack smiles down at him. “Look at all the parts I just listed, Arc. To me, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about here. So if you want to think about any of them in a way that makes you feel good, that’s just fine. And if you want to fantasize about us doing things together go right ahead.”
Tapping her pelvis Applejack smiles warmly.
“Or if you’d like, you can have sex with me right here and now.”
Arc shakes his head. “I… don’t think I’m ready for that yet. Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, Arc. That’s the whole point of this conversation.”
“You mean…?”
“There’s nothing on my body that you seeing would make me embarrassed, Arc. If we’re going to get married one day then my body will be yours and yours will be mine. Anything you want to do to this body will be, and currently is, just fine with me.”
Arc smiles. “Thanks.”
“It’s what a wife should do, Arc.”
“You really are beautiful, Applejack.”
“And you’re just so handsome, Arc.”
“I do love you, and want to have a family together someday.”
Applejack looks him in the eyes as she puts her hands on his chest as she leans forward. “I’d like that as well. Anytime you’re ready, I am too. Whether that’s right now, tomorrow, or even ten years from now. My body is here when you need it.”
Sitting up suddenly, Arc wraps his arms around Applejack. She gasps, clearly surprised.
“Arc?!”
“Applejack… you’re… you’re just plain amazing!”
Applejack grins as she returns the hug.” So are you, sugarcube.”
“Beautiful and nurturing too.”
“Thanks. But so are you.”
“I admit, I was kinda nervous about having children someday. But you’ve really helped to put my mind at ease with your frankness.”
“Just being the Element of Honesty.”
Arc puts a hand on her cheek and smiles. “You’ll make a great mother someday.”
Applejack does the same. “And you’ll be a wonderful father.”
Slowly moving toward each other to kiss, the sound of the bedroom door squeakily opening rings out. Looking past Applejack, Arc spies Celestia walking into the room. Frowning, he grabs a blanket and throws it over Applejack’s shoulders before glaring at Celestia.
“Ever heard of knocking?!”
Applejack gasps. “P-P-Princess Celestia?!”
Celestia sits down on her haunches at the foot of the bed. “Forgive me for… intruding. However, I believe that I’m ready to make my judgement.”
Applejack raises an eyebrow. “Judgement?”
“Regarding the experiment.”
Arc groans. “Are you STILL thinking about that?!”
Celestia nods. “Of course. Remember, that was the whole reason for me setting up your date.”
Applejack smiles nervously. “Well, it was certainly long enough.”
“I just wanted to give you both plenty of time to do whatever came naturally.”
Arc narrows his eyes. “But you chose to come here at just this time?!”
“I did.”
Applejack clears her throat as she attempts to diffuse the situation. “And what did you come up with, your highness?”
“That you two honestly care for one another. Well, I already knew you did, Applejack. It was the human I was concerned with.”
Arc clenches a fist angrily. “Why you…!”
Celestia interrupts him. “One moment please.”
Her horn aglow, she blinds both Arc and Applejack with its brilliance. Closing their eyes instinctively a strange feeling washes over the pair. Eventually Celestia calls out to them.
“You can open them now.”
Doing so, Arc and Applejack find themselves sitting in the grass under the apple tree where they started. Celestia stands before them with a lantern shining overhead suspended by a tree branch. Arc angrily gets to his feet and storms over to her.
“What did you do to us?!”
Celestia sighs. “Performed the experiment. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
Applejack takes Arc’s arm and pulls him back. “Let’s give the princess a chance to explain.”
“She can start by telling us why we were dumped off with no way back for starters!”
Celestia nods soberly. “Very well. To begin with, you weren’t on Earth.”
Arc grits his teeth. “I know that!”
Applejack gasps. “Arc?!”
“That place looked like Earth, all right. But I could tell it wasn’t.”
Celestia appears surprised. “That is true. It was actually the Celestia Realm. My personal pocked dimension.”
Applejack grimaces. “It was?”
“Yes. I modeled it after the memories found in Arc’s head.”
She turns to him before continuing.
“I am curious though. How did you know it wasn’t real?”
“A number of things actually. First day we were there Applejack’s footwear changed for some reason.”
Celestia nods. “Yes, I didn’t expect you to visit anything like that abandoned orchard. I worried she would hurt herself.”
Applejack nods soberly. “Thank you, ma’am.”
“Second, the fact that I couldn’t return to Equestria. That alone wasn’t that surprising. But the fact that Twilight didn’t try to contact me for the better part of a week was a dead giveaway.”
Applejack gasps. “It HAS been almost a week, hasn’t it?! Everyone must be so worried about…!”
Celestia smiles. “Not to worry. While you were in the Celestial Realm, time was sped up for you.”
“You mean… what exactly?”
Arc folds his arms over his chest. “That we were in there for a lot less time than we thought.”
Celestia giggles. “Indeed. A day in there was a little over an hour out here.”
Applejack looks around. “So it’s still the same day as when we left?!”
“No quite. It is just past midnight right now.”
Arc frowns. “That’s why no one tried to contact us. They’re all asleep.”
Celestia puts a hoof to her ear. “Even if she had, you communicator wouldn’t have worked. After all, it can’t penetrate my pocket dimension’s walls.”
Applejack shrugs. “Kinda makes sense.”
Celestia returns her gaze to Arc. “What other mistakes did I make?”
“For starters, my friend Shelly walking as she did.”
“Oh?”
“No medication would have reversed the damage to her body THAT much. And you made the mistake of letter her eat real food as well. She can’t do that anymore.”
Celestia puts a hoof to her forehead. “I suppose I did go too far there. What else?”
Arc narrows his eyes. “How about the waitress at the steakhouse?”
Applejack raises an eyebrow. “Tia?”
Celestia giggles. “Yes, that was me.”
Arc frowns. “Wouldn’t you directly interfering skewer the results of the test though”
“Normally, yes. However by that point I was no longer content to just sit back and watch you two.”
“You mean...?”
“Yes, I wanted to observe you two more closely. Face to face in a form that I thought wouldn’t be recognized.”
Arc scoffs. “Should’ve taken a different name then.”
“It was something Luna called me many years ago. Lacking any other ideas on what to call myself on the spur of the moment I chose the only name that came to mind. Any other mistakes on my part?”
“A few other minor imperfections. But the big one was during the second part of our date last night.”
Celestia raises an eyebrow. “Oh?”
Arc smirks. “I decided to prove to myself that you were in control of everything.”
“And how did you do that?”
“That private theater Applejack and I went to last night. It doesn’t exist.”
Applejack gasps. “What?!”
Arc continues. “Also, the movie that we saw came out when I was a little kid. There’s no way a theater of ANY kind would still be showing it.”
Celestia appears genuinely surprised. “Then why was such a detailed place of business in your mind? After all, it was a VERY complete memory.”
“Because I’ve been thinking about it ever since I was a kid.”
Applejack raises an eyebrow. “Arc?”
“It was a business idea I had back then. Private movie theaters so that you could watch something without being bothered by the people around you.”
“So Earth doesn’t really have those?”
Arc shakes his head. “Nope. And these days it wouldn’t even make sense if it did, as pretty much everyone has at least one big screen television in their home.”
Celestia chuckles. “And you used it to figure my plan out.”
“At the time I didn’t have any concrete evidence.”
Applejack takes his hand. “Why didn’t you say anything then, Arc?”
“Because there was nothing you or I could do about it. That and it would have just made you scared, Applejack.”
Celestia smiles. “And it helped me take some very good data on this matter.”
Arc waves a hand dismissively. “I don’t really care about your experiment at this point, Celestia!”
Sighing, he turns back to Applejack and takes her hands before speaking again.
“But I am still grateful nonetheless.”
Celestia smirks. “Are you now?”
“Yes. Thanks to your inexcusable deception I now know with all my heart that I want Applejack to be a part of my herd.”
Applejack grins widely. “And I’m not at all worried about my own future with him now.”
Celestia nods soberly. “Then I suppose everything was a success.”
Arc shakes his head. “Not really.”
“Oh?”
“You invalidated the test from the start with your own personal bias.”
“She did? How?”
“You didn’t notice, Applejack. Every time we were getting too close she would do something to throw a monkey wrench into it.”
“I didn’t notice anything like that though.”
“But I did. She made you sick, rained out our camping trip, gave you the idea to try meat, the thugs at the movie house, and she created the numerous thunder storms to try and derail our date.”
Celestia bows her head. “I saw it more as ‘equalizing’ at the time.”
“Are you sure that’s all it was?”
“No.”
She turns to Applejack before continuing.
“In truth, I was trying to break you two apart.”
Applejack gasps. “But why, Princess Celestia?!”
“To protect the you.”
“Arc does that though!”
“Back then I still believed him to be leading you on.”
“Why would he do that though?!”
“To take advantage of you. That’s why I sent you there as a human woman, Applejack.”
Arc glares at the alicorn before him. “So I would try to do what exactly?!”
Celestia narrows her eyes. “I think you already know the answer to that.”
Applejack gasps. “You thought he would try to RAPE me?!”
“Yes, I did. That’s why I watched both of you every second. My original plan was to spirit you two back here the moment he tried to violate you.”
Arc nods angrily. “Then she’d tell the others, including Twilight, and they’d all forget about the whole herd idea.”
“Correct.”
Applejack grits her teeth. “But why would you go to all that trouble?!”
“To prove once and for all to you, Twilight, and your friends that humans can’t be trusted.”
Arc looks Celestia in the eye. “And what have you learned from this?”
Celestia sighs and turns her head away. “That I... have much to learn about humanity.”
She looks Arc over before continuing.
“Human… I… apologize for my past actions against you.”
Applejack appears hopeful. “Does that mean you’re going to let us all form our herd?!”
Celestia shakes her head. “No. However there is little I can do to stop such a thing under these circumstances. At this point in time I am only admitting that there may yet be more to this human than I originally give him credit for.”
Arc raises an eyebrow. “So where do we go from here?”
“I’m willing to give you a chance to change my mind, human. That is all.”
Applejack glares at her. “But…!”
Arc interrupts her. “Fine.”
“Arc?!”
“It’s more than I thought I’d get.”
Celestia continues. “While my original plan was to break you apart, I found that the harder I tried to do so, with trials and tribulations aplenty, the closer you two became. The human passed every test I threw his way. However not once did he react in the way I had assumed he would.”
Applejack appears confused. “What do you mean, Princess Celestia?”
“When I made you sick I assumed he would, at best, put you to bed and continue on with his own tasks. However he instead chose to nurse you back to health by staying at your side. When I put the idea of trying meat on your mind I assumed he would jump at the chance to get some inside of you. Again I was surprised when he did everything he could in an effort to try and talk you out of it.”
Applejack grunts. “And the storm at the campsite was to ruin our trip, why now?”
“Humans don’t usually take adversity very well. At the time I thought it would have soured his mood and made you see a different side of him. But he went well beyond what I hypothesized by doing his best to make that evening comfortable for you.”
Arc chuckles. “The fact she liked rain didn’t hurt.”
“I suppose not. But the thugs I sent after you two were my last and best efforts.”
Arc folds his arms over his chest. “You thought I’d run away from six guys, didn’t you?”
Celestia nods. “Yes. Then Applejack would see human cowardice for herself. Afterwards I would have ended the date and summoned you two back where she would have broken up with you on the spot.”
Applejack frowns. “But when that failed…?”
“I decided to stop trying to break you apart and simply prove the vile nature of humanity.”
“How?”
“I assumed you’d watch a movie filled with violence, gore, and rampant sexuality. Applejack would have been horrified at such a display and forced to think twice about her future with a human. But he chose a movie that was very... befitting of you, Applejack.”
Celestia giggles a bit before continuing.
“And I must say that it was a very nice thing to watch.”
Arc makes a circular motion with a hand. “Anything else?”
“One last attempt on my part. I subliminally suggested to Applejack that she should take a shower during the storm to help calm her nerves. However when she was done I caused the lights to all go out just as she finished drying off.”
Applejack glares at Celestia. “You knew I would be scared and run to Arc, didn’t you?!”
“I did. And at the time I didn’t believe that he could have resisted the idea of ravishing a beautiful, young, naked, scared, female whom was literally lying on top of him.”
Arc frowns. “So you waited for me to start hurting her?!”
“As soon as she called out for you to stop I would have intervened, of course.”
“But I didn’t call out and Arc didn’t do anything other than comfort me.”
Celestia looks away. “That’s when I knew I was wrong. So this morning when you two woke up I simply observed. No subliminal messages, no storms, no interference of any kind.”
Arc raises an eyebrow. “You just let us do whatever?”
“And was most impressed with Applejack’s speech to calm you.”
Applejack nods soberly. “I meant every word.”
Arc blushes. “And my own… thoughts this morning?”
“That was all you, human.”
Applejack gasps as she looks over their fancy clothes and human forms. “Wait! What are we supposed to do now, Princess Celestia?!”
“Given the late hour I would suggest retiring for the evening.”
Arc scoffs. “But we just woke up!”
Applejack looks to him. “None of that was real though, Arc.”
“I know. But I’m not even tired.”
Celestia smiles. “A bit of a side effect from sleeping in the Celestial Realm. It rejuvenates you just like real sleep does. Therefore I’ve ordered sleeping potions left on your bedside table, human.”
Arc raises an eyebrow. “Potions? As in more than one?”
“Two, yes.”
Applejack puts a hand to her chin. “Because he’s bigger and needs more?”
“No. One for him and one for you, Applejack.”
“Me?!”
“You do want to spend the night with him, don’t you?”
“Why yes… yes I would!”
“Then two will be needed. You will both sleep until the sun rises in about six hours. Now then, I suggest you head to bed.”
Arc shrugs. “Very well.”
Applejack frowns. “Just one second, Arc.”
“Oh?”
Turning to Celestia, Applejack steps forward to stand before the monarch.
“There’s two things I’d like to say to you, Princess Celestia.”
“Yes, Applejack?”
“First and foremost, I wanted to say ‘thank you’ for sending Arc and I on the most amazing week of my life. We both learned a lot and became much closer thanks to you.”
Celestia smiles at her. “You are welcome, Applejack. And the second?”
“Just this.”
Looking the mare dead in the eye for a few moments silently, Applejack suddenly raises a hand and slaps Celestia across the face. Surprised, she takes a step back as Applejack speaks angrily.
“And THAT was for sticking your nose where it didn’t belong!”
Arc rubs his fist and grins slyly as Applejack walks back to him. “Was that supposed to be a private party, or can I get in on that?”
Applejack frowns. “Let’s go, Arc. I think we’ve all said everything that needs to be said.”
“Very well.”
Taking Applejack’s hand, he leads her back toward the castle as Celestia sits down under the tree and rubs her cheek. After a time she uses her magic to pull down the lantern. Sighing, Celestia looks up at the night sky for a long moment before speaking to no one in particular.
“It’s… been a long time since I sat here. This brings back memories.”
She smiles as a cool breeze blows over her.
“Most of which are good. However… not all.”
Sighing, Celestia looks around to make sure she is alone before continuing.
“I did everything you asked of me in your letter without question. At the time it seemed the least I could do. Now… now I wish I hadn’t.”
Looking up into the branches, she watches the leaves rustle overhead for a time before standing up, taking the lantern, and speaking again.
“The past… things happened so long ago. Equestria moved on… and I tried to as well, but… but something held me back. Was it this tree? The memories it shared with us? I thought we had an understanding back then. But I... I guess that was not truly the case.”
Turning to walk away, she looks over her shoulder at the tree one last time.
“I’m… glad we had this talk.”
Looking to the lantern, Celestia takes a deep breath and blows out the flame before walking slowly back toward the castle.