Barn Cuddles
"Wow! You two really are best friends now!", Pinkie Pie says.
"Yup! And there's still more to be done!", Applejack responds.
"Indeed! Best friends are forever!", Pinkie exclaims.
What a great conversation during a beautiful evening in Ponyville.
You and Applejack had been doing better than great recently; she had gotten out of a guilt episode, and your broken leg was now completely healed. As a result, farm work commenced in a way it hadn't for a long time, and it felt awesome. When you're unable to do something for a long time, getting it back feels as sweet as the apples on the farm.
But it wasn't all sweet. While you found the work fun, it could get really strenuous. Even tough-as-nails Applejack succumbed to exhaustion every once in a while, and today was one of those days. It was still the peak of apple-harvesting season, and thus the tree-bucking didn't let up. Furthermore, with you having still been injured up until just a few days ago, she didn't have your help. You were healed now, but today there was a lot of animal care that needed to be done; harvesting eggs from the chicken cage, washing the pigs, etc. You were assigned to that, so Applejack was on her own with the apple harvesting.
After all that, it's difficult to describe how good it feels right now to finally be relaxing; you had a dark blue sky surrounding you as you ate Sugarcube Corner treats and had a hang-out with Pinkie Pie. It feels like you had finally been drained after being clogged with water.
Since you were chatting about your friendship, you and Applejack often embraced each other during this conversation. That was not anything new at all, but Applejack was wanting a different version of it.
A longer version.
Applejack noticed that cuddling was something you hadn't done before. While you two were really touchy-feely prior to this, it only lasted for a few seconds at a time, never going further than a basic hug, hoof-bump, or short petting. Long, continuous hugs on a soft surface were out of your league.
But today, Applejack wanted to change that. Upon realizing that cuddling had not been explored by the two of you since your friendship began, she realized she wanted to do it with you. And she wanted to do it even more the longer she delayed it.
Today was the day. With your friendship meter feeling the heat from the rough work day you greatly accomplished, and this evening carrying a beautiful portrait from the environment, she felt there was no better time than now. She was going to ask you.
You're now back at Sweet Apple Acres, all of you hanging out in the Apple family's barn, doing typical night things before heading to bed.
Until you veer off the path, in a positive way.
"Hey pardner, can ya come over here? Ah'd like to talk to you 'bout somethin."
"Of course! Coming right over, AJ!"
You were never worried when Applejack called you for a meeting; even if she was to talk about something tragic, you always listened to her with kind ears.
There's nothing like that today, though. What Applejack has planned is happy!
You follow Applejack's directions over to a quiet area of the barn, where she starts speaking.
"Okay, pardner. Ah've been thinking; there's something' ah've been really wantin' to do with ya.
"And what's that?"
"Uh... ah was wondering if you would... cuddle with me?"
Okay, so this was a bit surprising for you. You had never cuddled before. But you loved being close to Applejack; hugs happened all the time, and cuddling was just that except longer. What could go wrong?
"Sure, Applejack! Cuddling sounds great; we get to hug, but with more power!", you say.
She perks up in excitement.
"Thanks, pardner. Let's go up to mah bed."
You two arrive in Applejack's dark brown room; in your view, the best cuddling color. You then head under Applejack's green checkerboard blanket, landing onto her cushy bed. You're on the right side of the bed and she's on the left.
"Ya know, it's been a long time since I've had anyone else in mah bed...", Applejack says.
"Really? Not even Applebloom?", you ask.
"No, not recently. The only time she would come in here is when she had a nightmare, and she's been havin' fewer and fewer of those as time's been passin' by..."
"So is that why you wanted to cuddle with me? You haven't had it in a while?"
"That's definitely part of it. But also because ah realized we hadn't done it yet, when cuddlin' is one of the best friendship things you can do in my opinion."
"Well, here's the day! We'll cuddle like no tomorrow!"
Applejack smiles. She was highly grateful you agreed to do this with her.
"So, what should we do first?, you ask.
"How about you lay on your back, then ah lay down on you with our stomachs touching, and I wrap mah front legs around from there?"
"Sounds great!", you say.
This was going to be a new experience. You had never cuddled a single pony since arriving in Equestria. Nor had Applejack cuddled a human before. You didn't know if she had ever cuddled the other Mane Six, but whether she had or not, her biggest cuddling experience was most likely with Applebloom, since they live in the same house. And since Applebloom was a little filly, Applejack probably wasn't used to cuddling a creature so big, even though you weren't that much larger than her. The size difference between a grown mare and a filly is quite a bit more than a grown mare and a human of your size.
But whatever the size, this was new for both of you, as this was your first time cuddling.
You were feeling the conflicting anticipation. As you rolled over to lay on your back, you felt excitedly anxious. You had no idea what cuddling would feel like. Back at home, you never did it because you were unable to find anyone whom you felt comfortable enough with to do it. Applejack was the first living creature that you ever trusted to touch you a lot. And for that reason, you want to cuddle with her.
"You comfortable, pardner?"
"Yes. I'm ready."
Applejack, moving slowly as to not startle you, lowers her orange body on top of yours, stomach-down. She then waves her tail over to your left side (right side from your view) providing some extra cushion. Lastly, she lays her back legs right on top of yours.
"There we go!", she says. "Cuddles!"
You didn't know what to make of the sensation at first. But you figured this was normal; you needed time to process it.
You let your body feel Applejack's warm embrace. After you were tensed up because of the nervousness, you begin to relax as you discover that you like this. Her strong front legs wrapping around your upper body give off a tender tightness that you can't resist reacting to.
As Applejack notices you relax, she tightens the cuddle.
It feels really good. You're surprised at how positive your reaction to it is right off the bat.
You break out a smile from the satisfying feeling, which Applejack notices.
"You like this, pardner?"
"Yeah. Yeah I do, this feels so good", you slightly struggle to say with the oxytocin high overtaking you.
"Ah can tell, pardner!", she giggles.
Applejack adds another layer; she turns her head to the side and presses her yellow mane into your chin. Her mane texture is like soft silk; you find the unique composition to be pleasing on the skin.
You can't help but smile further as Applejack's cuddling washes over you even more.
"This is turnin' out really good, pardner; ah think we've found another activity to do."
"Yeah, we have.", you say in your happy voice.
Applejack giggles at this, hugs you tighter, and leaves it quiet for a while to let you experience the cuddling.
You're a bit surprised at how much you enjoy this; you thought that your history of having trouble with being touched would creep back up on you here. But it isn't doing so. You feel very relaxed, comfortable, and happy during this experience. The cuddling made it impossible for you to have any worries. It felt like AJ was squeezing them all out of you. And the squeezing itself felt wonderful. It's as if your touch receptors had discovered their favorite food. Your discomfort with physical intimacy back at home didn't translate to here. Applejack's touch was doing you good.
And it was about to do more of that. After a spell of silence, she reaches over and begins to run her hoof through your hair.
You hummed at this soft sensation. You couldn't help it.
Applejack continues to rub. You really enjoy it. Her gentle hoof movement across your head felt like a spa treatment.
After Applejack reverts back to her original position, with both of her front legs clasped around you like a bow, you return the favor by petting her. You start by stroking your fingers through her silky mane, having your fingers pointed outwards to give a special kind of it.
This was unlike anything Applejack had felt before. Normally when she experienced mane stroking, it was either done by a pony, or by a human who kept their hand flat. Your separate-finger stroking and light scratching is unique.
And nice.
"Ooh... that feels really good. Your fingers are doin' the trick...", she says.
You gently smile at her, continuing the mane petting, which she hums to in enjoyment.
You then slide over to her back, flattening out your hand and moving it back and forth across her back, then doing the same on her side, then rubbing all over her back and sides in circles.
She lets out a drawn-out "Aww, yeah..." as you work around her body. Given that she had worked a strenuous farm day, you can bet you were easing some pain off.
In fact, maybe that was another reason why she wanted this. There was no way you two would cuddle without including petting; it wouldn't make any sense. She would get a chance to not only hold you tight, but also have muscle pain soothed.
You were correct in this prediction. Applejack was hoping for a good rub. As you massaged her stiff, aching muscles, all the pain quickly dissolved. Applejack compared it to having mud washed off; extraordinarily satisfying.
Later on, things change.
"Hey pardner, can we change positions? Or do you want to stay like this?"
You were really enjoying the position of you on your back with AJ on top and hugging you from there, but you were willing to try something new. You'd have plenty more chances to cuddle, and you wanted to make sure you got a fuller experience.
"We can switch. I'll try something new. What were you thinking?"
"Ah was thinkin' we should spoon."
"That sounds good!"
"Good! But then... who's the big spoon?", AJ asks.
"Can you be the big spoon? I think being the little spoon would be easier, as I had never done cuddling before prior to now.", you say.
"Okay.", she says. Applejack preferred being the little spoon, but since you were a first-time cuddler, she let you take the choice on this one.
You shift over to rest on your side, facing the beautiful brown wall. Applejack moves up and presses her stomach against your back. She then wraps all four of her hooves around your upper body, which is different from last time.
The four-hoof huddle felt even better, which seems to indicate that you prefer tighter cuddling. Applejack's strength was enough to squish the soft parts of your skin, but you liked it.
"I'm impressed by this, Applejack. I've discovered that I really like cuddling. Your legs... I can't describe how good your hugs feel."
"Aww, thanks pardner. Glad to know ah'm doin' this well."
"You are, AJ. You're a great cuddler."
She nuzzles into the back of your neck as a thank-you for that compliment.
"Ah've come up with a cuddle name for us. We're apple seeds.", Applejack says.
"Indeed we are. We're two little apple seeds right now.", you respond.
Cast in the shadow of the moon, the two of you drift off to sleep with smiles.