//------------------------------// // Experimentation // Story: The First Night // by ThisPonyIsNamedSinewave //------------------------------// "What's your safeword?" After minutes of... let's call it 'intense contemplation,' I returned downstairs to an overwhelmingly positive reaction to Rarity's work. Fluttershy's stunned silence was somewhat expected, but I didn't expect the same reaction from Rainbow Dash. Applejack's response was limited to a surprised "Yowza," Sunset's new habit of nervous fidgeting was driven into overdrive, and Pinkie capped it all off with a "Looking good, hot stuff!" which made me assist the blush Rarity had applied to my face. Rarity couldn't have looked more pleased with herself. Much later into the night, Rarity suggested a game of 'Truth or Dare,' which everyone else had enthusiastically agreed to, Fluttershy included surprisingly. Said queen of shyness was possibly regretting her earlier enthusiasm. "W-What?" Fluttershy nervously replied. Rainbow Dash chugged a bottle of cider that Applejack had brought, the popping of it out of her mouth suppressing an unladylike burp that made me unfortunately giggle. "You heard me. What's your safeword?" Rainbow repeated her question. Fluttershy looked like she was about to fall apart. "Um... I... uh... it's... well... it's-" "Fatal Lease." Fluttershy, surprised, turned to Rarity, who had answered the question for her. Rarity looked at her in kind, a sympathetic but cheeky smirk in tow. Fluttershy's response surprised Rarity: a shaking of her head, before turning back to the rest of us. "Fatalis," she proudly declared. "My safeword is Fatalis." While most of us responded with surprise and interest, Applejack responded with a stifled laugh. "Maybe that shoulda been Schrade's safeword," she joked, much to my confusion. Fluttershy clearly understood though, as she responded with her own soft, cute laugh. Fluttershy shifted her gaze to her immediate right, looking at whose turn it was next. Pinkie Pie scanned the room, before landing on Rainbow and smirking. "Truth or dare, Dashie?" she asked the prismatic girl. Rainbow shrugged and took another swig. "Truth," she responded, much to my surprise. "Don't wanna heat things up too early, right?" Rainbow turned to Rarity as she said that, who responded with a smile and a nod. Something between them was being conveyed that I didn't understand. Pinkie frowned and snapped. "Aw, drat. I had a really good one too!" Pinkie turned her head towards the air in thought, exaggeratedly tapping her chin with her knuckle. After a moment, she had an idea. "Who's the hottest, sexiest, absolutely most scrumptious person in this room?" "Rarity." All of us turned to her in shock. I, at the least, was expecting her to say her wonderful 6'4" buff lesbian girlfriend, but I was clearly mistaken. Rainbow turned to said girlfriend. "Right?" Applejack, continuing the path of shock, nodded in response. "Without question." Bathing in my confusion, I looked at Rarity. She looked very pleased with herself as if she was expecting Rainbow's answer. Pinkie, satisfied with the answer, twisted her head towards Fluttershy. "Your turn~!" Fluttershy blushed, before snapping to Rarity. "Rarity, truth or dare?" she said with unexpected confidence. Rarity, initially taken aback before quickly getting ahold of herself, closed her eyes and turned her head up with a high-held cockiness. "Dare," she responded, clearly not expecting anything too severe from her soft, literally-in-her-name shy friend. However, as a surprisingly dastardly smirk grew on the cream woman's face, her intentions were made clear. She was out for revenge. Fluttershy stood up and grabbed her bag from the couch before slowly turning back to Rarity with a smirk. Rarity's confidence fled as her face turned to one of nervous knowing. Fluttershy slowly walked back to Rarity, accentuating every step, before kneeling in front of her. Out of her bag, she pulled out a black-and-purple collar, a butterfly-shaped pendant clasped to its' front. Oh. Rarity, with her signature self-assuredness swept away, held her head out, stretching her neck. Fluttershy clasped the collar around Rarity's neck, before silently returning to her spot with a smile. A dare asked and fulfilled without a word spoken between either of them. Fluttershy turned to her left. "I believe that's your turn, Sunset." Sunset, recovering from what she just witnessed with the rest of us, cleared her throat before scanning the room, landing on Pinkie. "Uh, Pinkie, truth or... dare?" she asked, frizzled. Pinkie shrugged. "Not like I'm gonna top what just happened, so, truth!" she responded, ending in her trademark smile. Sunset thought for a moment. "What's all the whipped cream in your fridge for?" Sunset asked with a genuine tone of confusion. "All the what?" I added. Pinkie giggled. "Why don't you come over and find out," she responded with a sly smirk. "I... am over," Sunset responded with a confused look. Pinkie's eyes went wide in realization. "Oh! Then just cooking, though maybe we could use it for other stuff..." Pinkie's gaze slowly shifted to me as she gave her answer. "I'm sorry, 'we?'" I questioned. Pinkie merely chuckled as I was softly elbowed. I turned to Sunset, realizing it was my turn. Panicked, I decided to lock on to the person in my immediate vision. "Sunset! Truth... or... dare?" I nervously asked. Sunset, clearly not having expected me to choose her, thought for a moment. "...truth?" As she responded, a thought entered my mind. Finally, it was time for some answers. "What did you ask the Princess earlier?" I asked her. Sunset sighed. "I... can't tell you yet. But I promise I will, just... later. I promise." I looked at the rest of our friends, who were all agreeing with her. They all clearly knew what was going on between Sunset and the Princess, and I was stuck there, out of the loop. I sighed in frustration. "Fine. I believe you, but I'm holding you to that promise." I poked at her for emphasis, which elicited a chuckle from my bacon-haired friend. "Seriously, Twi, I promise." She smiled at me, and I smiled back, before turning to the next person: Rarity, who was fiddling with the butterfly pendant on her collar. Something had shifted within her when Fluttershy put on her collar, with Rarity becoming softer and more distant, but somehow more comfortable, more at peace. Even I could notice that. Rarity finally noticed me looking at her, the remembrance of the turn order dawning on her. "Right, yes, I..." Rarity looked around before locking eyes with Fluttershy, who after a moment gave her a small smile and a nod before motioning to Applejack. Rarity nodded back, turning to Applejack. "Applejack, truth or dare?" she asked her. Applejack shrugged with a smile. "Truth." Rarity gave her a knowing smile. "What are your intentions with our dear Twilight here?" Applejack smirked directly at me. I froze. "Truth or dare, Twilight?" she asked me. I stuttered. "Are... aren't you gonna answer Rarity's truth?" I struggled to ask. "Ah am." There was a confidence, a hint of knowing, a spark in her eyes that compelled my next word out of me. "D-Dare." With that, Applejack sat up properly, crossed her legs, and patted her thighs. "Dare ya to rest yer head on mah lap," she requested of me. Slowly, with much confusion, I shifted over towards her, eventually resting my head on her jeaned legs. The entire time, Rainbow watched me like a hawk, her expression unreadable as she took another sip of her cider. Applejack brushed some hair out of my face, smiling. "Twi, yer trans, right?" I blinked at her question. "Uh... yeah?" I answered, wondering what that had to do with anything. "I mean, it's pretty obvious." "How is that obvious?" I heard Rainbow chime in. I glanced over at her, making sure not to move my head. "I mean, my voice?" I put forth. "Pretty sure your voice is higher than mine, dude," Rainbow replied pointedly. "My face?" "Darling, what did we agree on earlier?" Rarity reminded me. I cringed silently. "My... shoulders?" Applejack laughed at that one. "Pretty sure mah shoulders are broader than yers', sugar." 'Sugar.' She didn't call anyone that but Rainbow. "I..." I let out a defeated sigh. "I give up." Pinkie breathed in harshly as if she hadn't been able to for the past few moments. "Ugh, thank you! No offense Twiggy, but that was really depressing," she stated a-matter-of-factly. "And for this, we want you to be in the best headspace possible!" She emphasized "best" by reaching over to me and booping my nose, a gesture that brought a smile out of me before my face went back to one of questioning. "Wait, best headspace for what?" I asked. Applejack answered. "Well, Rainbow and Ah were doin' some research and..." she trailed off. "We wanted to try somethin'. An experiment, if ya'd like." I raised my eyebrow. "An experiment?" "How'dya phrase it...? Ah have an action in mind, and Ah wanna see if it causes the expected... reaction?" Applejack stumbled through the sentence, but let out a breath of relief after I nodded my head in response. Softly, she asked me "Do Ah have yer consent, Twi?" My nervouscitement struck back at full force, but through it, I was able to nod my head. Applejack started petting me. Without conscious thought, I nuzzled into her hand, earning a small gasp from Applejack. "Oh wow, that was instant," I heard Rainbow say. When I was first exploring my gender, internet forums told legends of the 'headpat,' an act of physical touch sure to bring immediate joy to any trans girl around my age. Naturally, being the social worm that I was, I had never gotten to experience such an allegedly incredible thing as the headpat until this moment, and... wow, they were right. Warmth, love, joy, every single positive emotion flowed through my entire body with the single goal of bringing me one thing: peace. Applejack, however, wasn't done. "Good girl." I died instantly. Metaphorically, of course, but the way my breath hitched and my heart stopped momentarily was rather convincing. If there was anything that brought a stronger reaction out of a trans girl than headpats, it was being called a "good girl." The two together were almost too much. I felt the world fade away around me, the only things present being my drawn-out breaths and Applejack's sturdy but gentle hand. The game continued without me, with myself having completely tuned it out in favor of Applejack's angelic accented voice. "Good girl." Every time she repeated it, it was like reaching enlightenment, as if I climbed a mountain to obtain absolute knowledge, and at its' peak was a stone tablet engraved with the phrase "You are a good girl." Somehow, I was satisfied with that. If inner peace was headpats and "good girls," then I understood why it was so sought after. It took a moment for me to realize Applejack had stopped. I looked up at her, and she looked back down at me with a lighthearted smile. "Yer turn, sugar." The words snapped together as they flowed from our lips. "Applejack?" "Dare." "I dare you to kiss me." There was nothing blocking my mind anymore. Hell, there was nothing in my mind anymore, or at least it felt like it. All thoughts had gone away, replaced with complex and abstract emotions that I needed to please. Applejack smiled at me as she pet me one last time. "Ah want ya to remember, Twi, that Ah want this. We all want this. Just keep that in mind, okay sugar?" I nodded. And then Applejack kissed me. It wasn't like the past ones. It wasn't soft like Pinkie's. It wasn't brave like Fluttershy's. It wasn't erotic like Rarity's. It was just... real. An honest display of love. No tension, nerves, or even a hint of regret. Applejack wanted to kiss me, so she did, and I couldn't have been more happy. Except... As she broke the kiss, a thought entered my mind, and for the first time in a while, I looked up at the rest of our friends. Rainbow Dash was gone.