A Good Pony
~~~ A Good Pony ~~~
~~~ By Spinner of Tales ~~~
It was nighttime in the small town of Ponyville. The moon hung high in the sky, and the streets were totally deserted. Little fillies and colts were all snuggled in their covers, protected against the crisp breeze which blew leaves along the cobblestone pathways.
But not everypony was asleep. On the outskirts of Ponyville, in a small farmhouse at the edge of Sweet Apple Acres, there was one pony who could not find rest, no matter how hard Rainbow Dash wished for it to come.
Normally, the rise and fall of Applejack's chest and the faint scent of apples in her mane would be sufficient to lull Rainbow into a comfortable sleep. But that wasn't the case; not tonight, at least.
For you see, something was bothering the young pegasus. Something that had been on her mind for a few weeks now. At least once a week, Applejack had endeavored to try something… new in bed; something awesome and sexy. The ropes had been fun, and Applejack’s Bobbing for Apples game had been, well, a little odd. But that was beside the point. And the point was, even if Rainbow was completely content to let Applejack do all of those things to her (It was fun, after all, to let another pony, especially Applejack, take charge) there was still one small problem.
Every time, after all was said and done, Applejack would ask Rainbow if there was anything she wanted to do next time. Dash had, of course, agreed to think about it. And after pondering the question for a few days, she had in fact come up with something.
And that’s where that small issue came in. This one thing she wanted to do, this one amazing thing that she had dreamed about being able to do with another mare just so happened to be completely out of character for her. It was so… uncool, so not awesome, and every fiber of her being screamed at her to let it go, to bury it so far inside that she’d never even think of it again. But, at the same time, it called to her.
But what if Applejack thought less of her? What if Applejack thought she was... sappy? Rainbow couldn't suppress a shudder at that thought.
Rainbow let out a loud sigh and covered her weary eyes with her hooves. What to do? Tell Applejack and risk coming off as uncool? Or tell her and… Dash’s breath quickened a little bit. “And maybe get to finally do it with her?”
“If you don’t do it, then that means you’re afraid. That makes you a coward.” Part of her brain argued with her.
“Rainbow Dash is no coward!” The pegasus shot right back. “I just… I just don’t want to risk…”
“Sounds like a coward to me,”
Dash shook her head. “No! I’m not afraid! I just… I have a good thing going with her. And I don’t wanna risk losing everything I have here!”
If her brain could have scoffed, it would have. “You risk your life every day doing stunts and awesome tricks. How is this any different?” It asked.
“Because…” Rainbow whispered, looking over at her sleeping marefriend. Her ears fell flat against her head, and an unusual amount of emotion trickled into her quiet, raspy voice. “Having her love me is more important than a bunch of stupid tricks…”
Applejack shifted in the bed, and only then did Rainbow realize that she had spoken her thoughts aloud. Thankfully, the farmpony didn’t seem to wake up, and instead just hugged a pillow to her chest and smiled in her sleep. Rainbow had to avert her gaze; such cute looks from her marefriend threatened to melt her into a puddle of feathers and lovey-dovey goop.
“You should tell her,” Her brain said. “She cares about you, and she’ll listen to what you want.”
Her brain was right. Applejack had shared some of her deepest fantasies with the pegasus, some of which she had been almost mortified to even talk about. It was only fair that Rainbow trust her marefriend at least as much as her marefriend trusted her.
Nodding her head in determination, Rainbow reached over and poked the snoring farmpony beside her. "Applejack?" She asked. There was no response. "Hey, Applejack. AJ, wake up!" She repeated, nudging just a bit harder.
Applejack snorted, and her eyes opened a little. "Wha... sugarcube? Whazzup? What's wrong?" She sniffed and brought her hooves up to wipe her eyes. "We bein' robbed?"
"What?" Rainbow cocked her head. "No. No, Applejack. I just... I gotta talk to you about something."
The farmpony gave Rainbow the most deadpan glare she could manage. "Dash, it's three in the mornin'. We've gotta be up by dawn to get applebuckin'."
"I know!" Dash's ears splayed back and she looked away from Applejack for the briefest of moments. "And I'm sorry, but... I just can't sleep, and I need to get this off of my chest. I need to tell you."
Applejack regarded her for a moment, before a sympathetic look came across her face. “What’s wrong, sugarcube?” She asked, sitting up with Rainbow and taking one of her hooves into her own. “Are you okay?”
At first, Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I’m… I’m fine,” She said. But then, as the moments went on, she shook her head. “No,” She locked gazes with Applejack. “No, I’m not…”
“Tell me,” Applejack said. Sensing Rainbow’s apprehension, the farmpony leaned over and nuzzled against Rainbow’s cheek, a sign of affection which never failed to make Dash coo in appreciation.
“It’s… You know how you always ask if there’s anything… special I wanna do in bed?” Rainbow asked, and Applejack nodded. “Well, the thing is, I… W – Well, what I mean is…”
“I know,” Applejack cut in. Rainbow’s eyes widened. “I know that there’s been somethin’ on your mind for a while now. You ain’t exactly been subtle about wanting to say somethin’.” A hoof rubbed against the back of Rainbow’s head, stroking her mane. “I just figured you might wanna take your time. Whatever it is, looks like you’ve been tryin’ to chew it up in small bites for a while.” Applejack then kissed Rainbow on the cheek. It was a small peck, and the farmpony let it linger for just a few moments longer than necessary. “Whatever it is, sugarcube, you can tell me. I won’t judge, promise.”
Rainbow inhaled. “Okay,” She exhaled. She cast an uncertain glance at Applejack. “You promise you won’t… think less of me?”
“Promise,” Applejack affirmed. “Cross my heart, something cupcakes and something eyes.”
Rainbow let out a brief giggle, before the pressure returned to her chest. “Okay…” She said again, taking a few more breaths. “Thing is, I’ve always had a… submissive side,” She gulped. “I’ve always liked it when somepony else… takes charge.”
“You want me to wear one of Rarity’s ‘mistress’ outfits? Is that it?” Applejack murmured and licked the tip of Rainbow’s ear, making the pegasus shudder. “You want me to tie you up and punish you like a bad filly?”
Rainbow was forced to shove those images, however sexy, out of her head. “N – No!” Her wings pomfed a little of their own accord. “No, nothing like that… It’s just… I want to…”
“It’s okay,” Applejack reassured her. “I’m an open-minded pony.”
Dash inhaled one last time. She squeezed her eyes shut and she blurted out. "I... can you... can you snuggle with me?"
Applejack cocked her head to one side. "Wha?"
A heavy blush filled Dash’s muzzle. “I… I want to snuggle with you.” Celestia, she couldn’t have been more embarrassed if she tried! “I want you to hold me!”
Applejack’s face was a mixture of confusion and… something even she couldn’t identify. “Hold you,” She said. “Sugarcube, we snuggle near every day!”
“Never just for fun, though!” Rainbow swallowed a lump in her throat. “Sometimes, I use you as a pillow out in the orchard for a nap, but... But I never get to be the one who gets held..." Rainbow's ears drooped again, and she looked at Applejack with wide, pleading eyes.
“So, you just wanna be held?” Applejack asked. “That’s it?”
“Yeah, that’s… that’s it.” Rainbow’s body seemed to shrink away from Applejack’s. “Do… do you still love me?”
Applejack was silent for a moment. Then, a small chuckle escaped her lips. “Do I still love you, she asks,” She giggled in amusement.
Rainbow gasped as Applejack wrapped one of her forelegs around her back. “Dashie, if you wanna snuggle with me, all you gotta do is ask,”
With a caring, loving smile, Applejack nuzzled Dash’s cheek, sending the pegasus into a blushing frenzy. “I love you, sugarcube,” Applejack cooed into her marefriend’s ear.
Rainbow rolled onto her side, away from Applejack. “Can – can I be the little spoon?” She asked.
In response, Applejack scooted closer to Rainbow. One of her forehooves tucked itself in-between Rainbow’s foreleg and her stomach, and it rubbed at the fuzzy belly underneath. Dash’s giggles were like honey to Applejack’s ears.
Rainbow was the one to close the final bits of distance, snuggling back into her marefriend’s embrace and closing her eyes. Applejack buried her muzzle into Dash’s chromatic mane, and the pegasus heard her inhale.
“You smell fine, sugarcube,” Applejack hummed into Rainbow’s ear. “Like clouds, an’ a little bit of…” She yawned. “Clouds…”
Rainbow’s eyelids were getting heavier. Her greatest fantasy being achieved, combined with her previous lack of sleep, meant that Dash was slowly falling into a state of serene slumber.
“Am I a good pony?” She heard her voice ask. Applejack giggled, and her hoof went up to Rainbow’s mane and stroked at it.
“Yes,” The farmpony whispered. “You are.”
“Say it?” Rainbow turned her head just enough so she could see Applejack looking back at her.
“You’re a good pony,” Applejack’s hoof went behind Rainbow’s ear and began scratching, drawing a cute moan from the pegasus. “You’re a really good pony, Dashie,”
Upon hearing those words, Rainbow’s heart slowed even more. And yet, it seemed to flutter in her ribcage.
“Good pony,” Applejack said again, sounding a bit more tired. “Good pony… My Dashie…”
And then, the gentle rubbing stopped. From behind Rainbow Dash, Applejack began snoring. And yet, her marefriend’s hoof didn’t fall to the side. Miraculously, it tucked itself back between Rainbow’s foreleg and tummy. And Applejack snuggled into the crook of Dash’s neck and sighed in contentment.
Rainbow couldn’t have been happier. She could not have felt more secure. Held lovingly by the mare she had grown to adore, she was in heaven.
Rainbow smiled as she drifted off to sleep, feeling the gentle pressure of Applejack’s breathing against her back. And then, she spoke. It was so quiet, it was almost incomprehensible. And yet, against the backdrop of near-silence that permeated the room, it was a clear as the moon in the night sky.
“I love you, Applejack.”