Rudolph the Lucky Reindeer - Chapter 4 (Applejack)
#5 of Pony Stories
While out delivering presents with Santa on Christmas Eve, Rudolph somehow winds up crash-landing in the world of Equestria. He has no idea where he is or how he is going to get back home. Luckily for him, though, the ponies are all so friendly and welcoming, and they offer to do all they can to help him.
It's not often that deer visit Ponyville. A few of its residents have never even met a deer before, much less one who can fly and has a glowing red nose. Some of them seem a little eager to try out this new 'exotic cuisine' they've been given. In only a few short days amongst these curious mares, Rudolph is going to become a very lucky young reindeer.
~Cover art by the very talented Arkii Warki
Rudolph stirred. He felt warm and comfortable.
He inched open his eyes to find that the world was too bright to look at, and closed his eyes again. He slowly brought a hoof up to rub his eyes, and then opened them again. Soon, his eyes adjusted to the light.
It was morning. Rudolph could tell by the warm golden light streaming in from the window directly across from the bed. It was hard to see outside, but Rudolph could see clear blue skies tinted by the light of the sun as it slowly rose. The room was bathed in a gentle warmness with just a hint of spring chill.
Rudolph found that he was quite toasty and warm, and he quickly discovered it was because he was laying beneath warm bedcovers. The teal balloon-patterned covers and the somewhat pink décor reminded him that he was in Pinkie Pie's room. Had he fallen asleep here?
Last night's events were a bit of a blur, but they quickly came back to him when he focused on remembering. He felt his cheeks burn as memories of all the kinky, intimate things he had done returned to him. It was almost hard to believe the memories were real, as if he'd had the most spectacular dream.
It seemed like such a short time ago that he was eating dinner, and now it was the following morning. After the amazing experiences of the prior evening, he must have fallen asleep in Pinkie's bed and spent the night here. The thought was messing with his head a little. He didn't remember doing stuff under the covers, so how did he end up tucked so snugly beneath them.
Rudolph yawned, still feeling rather groggy but slowly becoming more awake. He laid his head back on the pillow and moaned softly as he stretched his joints beneath the covers. Even after what had no doubt been a rather long and peaceful sleep, he still felt stiff and worn out. Above all, he was starving.
He blearily rolled over to his right, trying to shake off his sleepiness. A grey face suddenly filled his vision, startling him. He blinked away the fuzziness in his vision and looked at this second occupant. Lying beside him, with the covers tucked warmly around her neck, her hooves laying gingerly before her, and a very content smile on her face, was Derpy. The covers shifted ever so subtly as she breathed softly, and her mane was frazzled and scruffy in an endearing way. She was fast asleep.
Rudolph sat up slightly as he looked at her. His blush had intensified upon the discovery that he had woken up sharing a bed with Derpy, and it sent a strange, exhilarating feeling through him. She seemed so at ease and so comfortable as she slumbered, and he couldn't deny that the sight was pretty adorable. He shifted himself more and looked past her, but there wasn't anybody sleeping on her other side. He felt the edge of the bed behind him, so that meant no-one was there either. He was in Pinkie's room sleeping next to Derpy, but where was Pinkie?
He brought himself to a full sitting position, though she remained fast asleep. He brought up one of his hooves and gently leaned towards her.
"Shhh~!"
Rudolph started from the quiet, yet stern voice from behind him. He turned around and saw Pinkie standing at the side of the bed.
"Don't wake her..." Pinkie whispered.
Rudolph glanced at Derpy, then out the window at the rising sun, and then back to Pinkie.
Pinkie grabbed one of his hooves with hers and gently tugged him towards the edge of the bed. "Just let her sleep...Okay?" she whispered.
Rudolph nodded. Pinkie helped him gently remove his covers without disturbing hers, and then he gingerly stepped out of bed. He stretched a bit more once he was standing, getting rid of those last lingering aches, and yawned once more.
He turned and looked down at the pegasus still slumbering in the bed. It was a colourful term often used in stories, but he could honestly describe her as sleeping peacefully. There was this calm, serene expression on her face that simply told the world around that everything was all right. He immediately regretted his earlier intention to wake her up and was thankful that Pinkie had stopped him.
He felt Pinkie's fluffy tail tap him on the side, and he turned to see her indicate towards the door. "C'mon," she whispered, and then trotted out of the room. Rudolph followed her, and the two traveled down the stairs to the ground floor that housed the restaurant. The place was deserted. The lights were out, there was no food in the display cases, and not a single pony could be seen.
"It's Sunday," Pinkie explained as they trotted out from behind the counter, "We're closed."
"Oh..."
She then led him towards the front doors, which she pushed open. Rudolph trotted out and she followed after him. The doors closed behind them with a resounding click. Rudolph guessed that they were locked on the outside.
Morning was arriving in Ponyville. The streets and buildings were bathed in the sunrise's colourful glow, and there were a few ponies milling about in the streets. There was the faintest chill in the air. It was not uncomfortable, but definitely noticeable.
"Thanks for not waking her, Rudolph."
Rudolph turned to look at Pinkie. "Yeah, no problem," he replied.
Pinkie glanced wistfully up towards her bedroom window. "I wanted to let her sleep in today. She really deserves it..."
Rudolph followed her gaze. "Yeah?"
"Mhm...She works so hard. She has to get up every morning, six days a week, before the sun even comes up so she can deliver everypony's mail. She does this so she can go back home and be there when her daughter wakes up, and so they can have breakfast together and Derpy can take her to school."
Rudolph turned to look at her. "She has a daughter?"
Pinkie nodded. "Then she works long_shifts at the mail centre, and she uses her break hours to pick up her daughter from school. Usually the sun's starting to set when she finally gets home." She turned to look at him. "She works _so hard every single day, even on her day off, but still she's always smiling. I wanted to let her sleep in today, so I woke Dinky up myself and made her breakfast."
He smiled. "That's really nice of you, Pinkie..."
Pinkie turned to look at him and smiled softly. "She's such a sweet pony. She deserves all the happiness in the world...She really does..."
She then turned and looked at him, an energetic grin appearing on her face. "And hey! Thank you for givin' her such a fun night!"
Pinkie elbowed him in the ribs and his face flushed. "Heheh, ah...N-no problem..."
She giggled, her bouncy, non-stop energy seeing to return to her. "I know that was s'posed to be an awesome welcome treat for you, but I think we can all say we had fun, huh? We should do that again some time!"
"Heh..." Rudolph was about to answer her, but the loud growling sound reminded him of just how hungry he was. He held a hoof to his belly and grimaced.
"Hungry?" Pinkie spoke up, "Boy, I'll bet you are! Follow me, Rudy, and I'll show you the bestest place in town to get breakfast!" She was up and moving away before she finished talking.
"Huh? Oh, okay..." Rudolph replied, tuning and falling in line next to her.
Rudolph watched the mare as she led him through the town, bewildered. Instead of trotting, she was bouncing up and down, basically pronking along. He could almost hear the cartoonish bouncing sound effects. He was about to ask why, but his instinct told him not to question it.
"You must be the hungriest that you've ever been after a total marathon like that!" Pinkie quipped as they moved along, "But don't worry! You'll probably remember this morning as the superest breakfast ever!"
A few stray jigsaw pieces in his head finally fit themselves together and he realized that it was morning. It was a whole new day!
"Fluttershy!" He turned to look at her. "What about Fluttershy? Is she back yet?"
Pinkie smiled, but shook her head. "Nopey-nope! I checked with Twilight before you woke up. Fluttershy sent a letter and said that hopefully she'll be back tomorrow morning, that she's doing okay, and that she misses you."
His face flushed again upon hearing the last bit. "Oh...Okay."
"Oooh, you really, really like her dontcha? That's great! I'm super happy about you two. Hey, you let me know if you ever want me help setting up a totally romantic date!"
"Whoa, hold on Pinkie..." Rudolph stammered, "I-I don't know about any of that...I just...She seems to really like me a lot..."
"Well who wouldn't? You're a total cutie!"
His face lit up in red in embarrassment. "I'm not that cute, am I...?" he grumbled.
"Yeah! Totally!"
"Y'know I'm gonna be a big, strong, not-cute stag pretty soon, right?"
"Ooooooooh..." Pinkie replied, lowering the tone of her voice, "A big stag you say? Make sure I'm there for that party..."
His embarrassment doubled. "Pinkie!" he griped, "N-not like tha- Well, I mean maybe, but- I- I mean, no-"
Pinkie giggled. "See? Cute?"
Rudolph shook his head in defeat. "Any_way. The only thing I know is that she likes me a lot and, well, I really feel like I don't want to hurt her. She's really nice. But then things happened with Rainbow Dash, and now you and Derpy; these things keep happening. I mean, they're _awesome things and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't super grateful that they did happen, but..."
"Rudy, you think too much."
He tilted his head. "Wha...?"
"You had sex with Fluttershy, and now you're getting all loopy and worried because you had fun with some other ponies? Fluttershy's not gonna get mad at you for having fun! She'd never do that."
"W- I...I mean, I guess but..."
"You're getting your cutie, red-nosed head into a silly tangle, Rudy! Look...I'm friends with everypony that lives here, but Fluttershy is the friend that I've known for the second-longest. I wouldn't be having a kinky threesome sex party with you if I thought it was gonna hurt her!"
Rudolph's whole face was red at this point. "You don't have filters, do you?"
"Nope!" she proclaimed, "I don't even know what that is!!"
"Figures..."
"Aw c'mon, you funny fawn...Are you gonna lie to her?"
"What? No!"
"Are you gonna abandon her?"
"Well, I have to go home eventually, but I'm not gonna abandon her..."
"Are you gonna be happy to see her when she comes home and spend lots of super great time with her?"
"Well, sure..."
Pinkie surprised him by landing next to him and wrapping a hoof around his neck. "Well, guess what! That makes you super duper, Mister Ruper! While she's gone, just have fun! Enjoy yourself!"
"Fun..." Rudolph murmured, untangling himself from Pinkie's hoof.
"Fun, fun, fun!"
A small grin appeared on his face. "Heh...I guess it was fun. Just...fun."
"Sexy fun!"
Rudolph groaned and rolled his eyes. He noticed that Pinkie had led him to the edge of town and now they were following a dirt path. His stomach growled loudly and he wondered where the crazy pink mare was taking him. He turned to look at her for a few moments, his eyes moving up and down as they tracked her nonstop movement.
"Don't you get tired of that?"
"Don't you get boring doing that?" she shot back playfully, "C'mon! Bound with me! Frolic with me! Do it, Milo!"
Rudolph simply gave her a strange look. "Who's Milo??"
"He's a cat!"
The reindeer blinked, then chuckled and shook his head. "You're nuts."
"Don't be a party pooper! Hey! Show me that cool nose again!"
Rudolph glanced away. "Ah, fine..." he mumbled, and then focused on brightening his red nose.
"That's so awesome!!" Pinkie shouted, "Ohmigosh, I have totally gotta get Twilight to come up with a magic thing that'll let me do that too! Imagine the possibilities!"
"Heh...What possibilities?"
"Tons! It's a shame you have to go eventually, Rudy, because you're really cool! The only deer I've ever met are the ones in the Everfree, and they're not very fun at all. Twilight kept calling you a Whitetail, and she showed me a picture 'cus I didn't know what a Whitetail was. And she told me all the stuff you told her! Hey! Do you guys have awesome fun parties on 'Christmas'? We don't really have parties on Hearth's Warming, although we do have them on New Year's and at the Summer Sun Celebration and tons of other times!"
"Pinkie..." Rudolph tried to cut in, though he knew it was useless. Pinkie was on another one of her non-stop tangents. He simply trotted alongside her, trying to keep track of what she was saying. His stomach was angrily reminding him that it demanded food, and so he hoped they would be arriving at wherever this destination was soon. Pinkie kept talking for at least two uninterrupted minutes, and had at one point somehow gotten onto the topic of what ponies around the town did for a living. Rudolph had missed the connecting flight on that one.
"-and Mayor Mare is the Mayor, and Rainbow Dash does weather. Ooh! You met Dashie! I almost forgot about that! Isn't Dashie awesome?? She said you were pretty cool!"
Rudolph chuckled, wondering if it would be a good idea to call the pegasus 'Dashie' the next time he saw her. "Yeah? Did she tell you I can fly?"
"Yeah!! She totally did! You gotta show me that right now, Rudy! You gotta- Oh hey, we're here!"
Rudolph turned to look at their destination, and saw that they were now at the edge of a farm. They stood in front of a plant-covered archway with a wooden sign hanging beneath it. Beyond that were fields upon fields of produce, a small well, a chicken coop and a collection of barns. Standing tall above its surroundings was what seemed to be a large crimson building that looked like a gigantic barn but was actually a house. What he noticed the most, however, were the seemingly endless apple orchards that spread out behind the house.
"Whoa..." he murmured, "That's...That's a lot of apples."
Pinkie giggled. "This is Sweet Apple Acres, Rudy! Hope you're hungry!"
He trotted forward, following Pinkie through the archway. "I'm extremely hungry..."
"Perfect!"
Rudolph took in his surroundings as they entered the property. Since he usually had a bird's eye view of the planet beyond Earth's North Pole, he had seen tons upon tons of farms. It wasn't often he got to visit any of them, however, and there certainly weren't any farms in Santa's village.
"Oh, wait..." he spoke, "Fluttershy said one of her friends was a farmer, right? Are we meeting her?"
"We're gonna meet more than just Applejack, silly!" she replied with a grin.
"Somepony say mah name?"
The two turned towards the left side of the house. There, inside of another fence that encircled the house, a picnic table was being set up. Standing next to it was an orange pony who appeared to be wearing a Stetson.
"I said a lot of words!" Pinkie called back, "I think one of them was your name!"
The earth pony chuckled and trotted towards the fence's opening to greet them. "Howdy, Pinkie. And you must be Rudolph! Pleasure ta make yer acquaintance!" She smiled at him and held out her hoof.
Remembering what Rainbow Dash had told him, Rudolph moved his own hoof in for a hoof bump. He was given a jolt of surprise when the mare suddenly grabbed his hoof with both of her forehooves and began shaking it up and down in what was definitely the strongest handshake he had ever experienced.
"Ah...Um, yeah," he replied once she finally relinquished his poor hoof, "I'm Rudolph. I guess somepony's already told you about me?"
She nodded. "Mhm! Pinkie came by this mornin', told us all aboutcha and asked if we could give ya a traditional Apple family breakfast!"
He turned and gave Pinkie a look. "How many things did you do before I woke up??"
"Well, I woke up, and then I stood up, and then I walked over to the-"
Rudolph held up his hoof to stop her. "Never mind."
Applejack chuckled and he turned to look at her again. "Well anyhow, mah name's Applejack! Welcome ta Sweet Apple Acres, Rudolph! Ah hope yer hungry!"
This time his stomach answered for him. "I hope that's the last time someone asks me that..." he mumbled with a sheepish grin.
Both ponies laughed.
"Ya joinin' us, Pinkie?" Applejack asked.
She shook her head. "Sorry, Jackie! I gotta go now and get working on Rudy's super-awesome-amazing welcome party! There's no time to waste!!"
"Aw, what a shame."
"Yup! In fact, Igottagorightnow! Bye, Rudy!!" She gave him a quick, suffocating hug. "See you soooon!!" Then, in the blink of an eye, she was gone.
Rudolph was left standing as if he'd just gone through the world's shortest tornado.
"Ya get used ta it after a while," Applejack quipped, elbowing him in the side.
"I'll believe it when it happens..." Rudolph mumbled with a dry chuckle.
She chuckled also. "Well, c'mon in then. Have a seat wherever ya like. Yer right on time, Rudolph. The food'll be here in faster'n you can say 'Yeehaw!'"
"Thanks, Applejack," he replied appreciatively, "And, uh...thanks for actually calling me 'Rudolph'."
"Yeeeeah, I betcha Pinkie's been callin' ya everythin' under the sun."
"The worst one was 'Bucko'."
Applejack laughed.
Rudolph trotted over and sat himself down on one of the picnic bench's seats. He noticed that the table was fairly large for only two occupants, and he remembered what Pinkie had said earlier.
"So, uh...Is someone else joining us?"
Applejack was halfway to the house's front door when she turned back. "You betcha! Breakfast 'round these parts is a family event, and since yer a guest, we'd be more'n happy ta letcha join." She then continued trotting away and disappeared inside of the house.
Rudolph's stomach sounded like an angry bear at this point, but luckily he didn't have to wait much longer.
Applejack trotted back out carrying with her two baskets, one on her back and on in her mouth. They were both filled to the brim with red and green apples. Rudolph recalled the apple Fluttershy had given him and how delicious it had tasted, and wondered if these would taste just as great. They certainly looked like some of the best apples he had ever seen.
He heard the door opening again, and turned to see another pony exiting the house. Rudolph's eyes opened wide as he looked at what was probably the biggest pony he had seen so far. It was a large red stallion wearing a heavy yoke around his neck. Rudolph could tell just by looking at him that this pony would win any test of strength against any opponent. He also marvelled as he watched the stallion carrying no less than four plates of pancakes at once. He easily managed to bring them all over to the table and set them down.
"Rudolph, this here's mah brother Big MacIntosh! Ya can call 'im 'Big Mac' if ya like," Applejack spoke as she helped him set the plates of pancakes.
"Hi..." Rudolph chirped, feeling more than a little intimidated by the imposing stature of this large pony, "Uh, I'm Rudolph. It's nice to meet you..."
Big Mac simply gave him a scrutinizing gaze and then said, "Eeeeyup."
"Gosh you're tall...and, uh, strong..." he murmured, trying to think of things to say, "Do you, um...work out?"
"Nnnope..."
Rudolph blinked and gave him a look. He was about to ask some more when he heard the door open again.
"Hey now, don't drop none-a that!" Applejack said.
"Ah got it! Don't worry!" a very young-sounding voice replied indignantly.
Rudolph watched as a small yellow filly trotted towards the table, moving slowly so as not to spill the plate full of toast she was carrying in her mouth. She was much younger than Applejack, looking to be at least half her age, and she wore a distinctive magenta bow. Her vision was blocked by stacks of toast on the plate, not to mention she was focused intently on not dropping them, but she managed to reach the table without any mishaps. As she passed by, he idly noticed that there was no cutie mark on her hip.
With Applejack's help, the plate of toast was safely placed on the table. "All right, then. Good job," Applejack praised her.
"Toldja!" the filly piped up.
"Now then, Apple Bloom..." Applejack said, turning the filly around, "This here's Rudolph, our guest for this mornin's breakfast." She then addressed him. "Meet mah little sister."
The young earth pony, Apple Bloom, gazed up at him with a touch of wonder in her eyes. "Whoa...Howdy!" she spoke with a big smile, "Ah'm Apple Bloom! Are...you a deer?"
Rudolph was smiling brightly as he gazed down at the young pony. He turned himself around on the bench so that he could lean himself down closer to her. "Well, hello Apple Bloom. It's very nice to meet you, and..." He chuckled. "Yes, I am. I'm a reindeer."
"Wow!" He could almost see a twinkle in her eyes, "Ah've never seen a deer before. I only know about 'em from what ah learned in school. Y'all look just like the pictures in the textbook!"
"Really?" Rudolph replied, a little intrigued.
"This is so cool! Wait 'till mah friends hear that I had breakfast with a Reindeer!" The filly did a little excited dance on her hooves. "It's so great to meet you! What're ya doin' all the way out here?"
"Well..." He caught a glance from Applejack. "I'm visiting your town. I'm staying with one of your sister's friends, and all of the nice ponies in town have been showing me around. I really like it here. Everyone is so friendly and kind. You have a very nice town here, Apple Bloom."
"Ah'm glad you chose t' come visit Ponyville, Mr. Rudolph! Are you really gonna join us for breakfast?"
Rudolph chuckled and gave her a warm smile. "Well, I'd be very happy to join you and your family if you'd have me. The food smells delicious. Tell me, Apple Bloom...did you help make some of this?"
"I sure did! I made this here toast an' helped with the pancakes. Ain't that right, Big Mac?"
"Eeeyup..."
"Well it looks delicious," Rudolph said, "I can't wait to eat!"
"This is great! Thanks fer comin' out t' see us, Mr. Rudolph?"
He smiled and lightly tousled her mane with his hoof. "I should be thanking you, young miss. Oh, but please don't call me 'Mister'. You can feel free to just call me Rudolph."
"Okay!" Apple Bloom said before happily trotting away to help some more in setting up the table. Rudolph smiled as he watched her.
"Wow..."
Rudolph turned and saw Applejack standing next to him.
"Ya seem like yer good with kids, Rudolph," she said, giving him an appreciative look.
"Heh..." Rudolph muttered bashfully, "It kinda goes with my job. Kids look up to me, and I always want to try and make them smile."
The sound of the door opening reached his ears yet again, and both of them turned to look in its direction.
"Aw, Granny!" Applejack groaned, "Put that down an' let one-a us carry that."
"Now, you quit'cher bellyachin'! I ain't useless just yet an' you know it!" the other pony replied huffily. It was another earth pony, green in colour, and she was carrying a platter of what looked like apple strudels on her back. She looked to be quite old, appearing wrinkled and frail, and moving rather slowly.
"Granny, you don't havta prove nothin'. There's no need for you ta hurt yerself-"
"Applejack, I'm not as old as you think I am, now stop treatin' me like an old fogey in front of our guest. Erm..." The old mare paused and squinted in his direction. "I thought you said 'e was a deer."
A moment of silence passed. "Uhh..." Applejack spoke, "He is a deer, Granny."
"He don't look like no deer I ain't ever seen..."
"Granny, have you even seen a deer before?"
"'Course I have! Why, my old friend from before you was born, Frieda! She was a deer!"
"But Granny, you told us Frieda was a donkey..."
"Eh, what? Did I?" She scratched her head. "Well then who was the deer?"
Applejack simply trotted over and grabbed the platter of strudels from off of her back. "Well, in any case, this is Rudolph and he is our _deer_guest." She trotted over to place the platter on the table, which was quickly filling up with so much delicious-smelling food that Rudolph wished he could start eating.
"If'n y'all say so!" the older mare replied, "Howdy Friedwulf! You can jus' call me Granny Smith!"
"Oh, um...Hello," Rudolph replied. He tried to give her a friendly smile, but his focus was being pulled towards the food on the table like a magnet. He was definitely not going to be rude and start eating before everything was ready, but his stomach was just about to eat itself at this point.
"Maybe deers look diff'rent now. Everythin' else in this crazy world is a-changin'," Granny Smith muttered as she slowly trotted to her place at the table.
"Speakin'-a which..." Applejack said as she set out the last few items on the table, "Did you say 'Reindeer', or did I mishear ya?"
Rudolph groaned and rubbed his forehead with his hoof. "Is this going to come up every time I meet someone?"
"Huh?"
"Yes, I'm a reindeer. No, I'm not a whitetail. Apparently the two look different between here and where I come from, but that's what I am."
"All right, all right..." Applejack said defensively, "I didn't mean nothin' by it. Jus' wanted to make sure is all."
"Where are ya from, Mist- I mean, Rudolph?" Apple Bloom piped up.
He turned and smiled at her. "I come from a place that's very, very cold."
"Really? How cold is it?"
"Well, where I come from it's winter all the time."
"No way! Where's that?!"
Rudolph glanced away wistfully. "It's really, really far. I'm a long way from home..."
Applejack was the last of the five to seat herself. "Well, Rudolph, I hope we can give ya a li'l bit-a that 'home' feelin' here today."
He smiled warmly. "Thanks for having me, everyone...You ponies never stop finding ways to show just how nice you are." A trace of a blush appeared on his face, but nopony noticed. Instead, they all noticed the loud grumbling in his stomach.
Applejack chuckled. "I think we'd better start eatin' or Rudolph's gonna collapse. He sounds mighty hungry!"
"I sure am!" he piped up, eyeing the food. It both looked and smelled amazing, and it was driving him absolutely crazy.
"Well, there's just one thing first, Rudolph."
He turned and gave Applejack a questioning look, trying to avoid looking desperate.
"Before we eat breakfast," she told him, "we always go around the table and each set a goal fer the day."
He tilted his head slightly. "...Oh?"
"It's an Apple family tradition. To us Apples, tradition's real important, y'see? So we'd, ah, really appreciate it if-"
"Oh, no! No, go ahead!" Rudolph quickly interjected, "I'm a guest here, after all. By all means! I..." He paused and gave the food one more longing glance. "I can hold out a little longer," he said with a resigned chuckle.
"Apple Bloom? Do ya wanna go first?"
Everyone looked at the filly, though she looked to be struggling to come up with an answer. "Uhm..." she mumbled.
"Aren't ya hangin' out with the Crusaders later today?" Applejack asked, "Ya got goals for that, don'tcha?"
"Well yeah, but that's obvious. That's a goal that don't need sayin'. Uhhh..." Suddenly she brightened up. "Oh, I know!" She turned to him and smiled. "Ah'm gonna find somethin' ta give ya that you can take home and remember Ponyville with!"
Rudolph immediately felt a warmth in his heart. "Really...? You don't have to do that just for me, Apple Bloom."
She gave him a toothy grin. "Nope! Mah mind's made up! Y'all are gettin' it whether ya like it or not!"
Rudolph couldn't help but smile. "Well, Apple Bloom...Thank you very much. Although, heh heh...I don't think I'm ever going to forget my time here. It's been wonderful!"
The others smiled and offered their agreements. They then went around the table, each of them coming up with some form of goal for the day. It was an interesting experience, but Rudolph found he selfishly could only focus on how hungry he was.
When they had all finished, Applejack turned to him. "So, Rudolph?" she asked, "D'you wanna set a goal too? Ya don't haveta if you'd rather eat."
He shook his head, "No, I'll go. It's tradition after all, isn't it? Now let's see..." He placed his hoof on his chin as he thought, trying to ignore the pains in his stomach. "I suppose it's pretty clear. My goal for today is to meet more ponies like you and get to know them."
"Sounds like a plan!" Applejack concurred.
"Eeeeyup."
"All right, y'all! Ready ta dig in?"
Everyone else happily shouted "Yes!" but Rudolph's voice was clearly the loudest. He eagerly looked towards the plates with delicious-smelling pancakes on them and reached out towards one. However, he couldn't even get his hoof halfway before Applejack interrupted.
"Oh, Rudolph! There's actually one more family tradition we all follow."
He turned and frowned at her. "Whaaat?" This time he couldn't keep the exasperation out of his voice.
Applejack laughed. "Don't worry, this one's easy. Just..." She reached for one of the baskets on the table and picked up an apple. "...Eat an apple first."
Rudolph blinked. "Oh." He glanced at the basket of apples, noticing that the other three ponies also had an apple of their own. "Oh, okay. Sure." He chuckled and leaned forward to pick up one of his own.
"Heh heh..." Applejack laughed after she bit into hers. "Don't ask me why that one's a tradition, 'cus I have no idea. We just do it."
Seeing her bite into her apple was all the permission he needed to start ravenously devouring his. He barely noticed the juicy, sweet flavour of the apple as he finally managed to get some food into his stomach.
"Applejack, ain't I told ya the story of why we eat apples first?" Granny Smith piped up.
"No, Granny. I don't think ya have."
"Well, it all started about seven hundred years ago in..."
The old mare dove straight into a rather long-winded story about the distant past, but nobody seemed to mind. Everybody simply ate their breakfast and listened to her talk, laughing a couple of times when she said something funny.
Rudolph had to fight to stay focused. His senses were being overwhelmed by the sheer deliciousness of the food he was eating. It may have had something to do with how hungry he had been before, but Rudolph wasn't entirely convinced of this. He had never eaten a more delicious breakfast in his entire life.
The apples were sweet and succulent. The toast was cooked to just the right consistency, and the bread it was made from was of very high quality. The strudels were a real treat and almost felt like dessert with how flavourful they were. Rudolph had to be careful not to eat too many of them, lest he end up feeling sick.
But the pancakes were the best of the whole bunch. He had grabbed a full stack on a plate with how hungry he was. When he took a bite of the fluffy pancake, he had definitely not expected it to taste like apples. The wonderfully sweet taste of the buttery flapjack was imbued with the taste of fresh apples, and Rudolph had no idea how. They looked like normal pancakes, but they were somehow filled to the brim with apple goodness. The entire stack was gone down his throat far too quickly.
After Granny Smith had finally stopped talking, everyone else took turns in discussing things. Many questions were directed at Rudolph, but none of them were pushing him or treating him like a celebrity. They simply asked conversational things such as his likes and dislikes, his favourite foods, and how he'd been enjoying Ponyville so far.
The Apples talked with one another as well, discussing farm work and chores that needed to get done. It sounded like all of them lived busy, hard-working lives, but it was easy to see why with how delicious their apples were.
Though the generous Apple Family had brought out quite a bit of food for them to enjoy, it seemed like the meal went by too quickly. Before long, there were only empty plates and crumbs left.
"An' after that, Spike's never brought up that 'Dragon Code' again, but hoo-wee! We barely got outta that one unscathed!" Applejack was saying as their collective conversation began to taper off.
"Wow...You sure have a lot of stories to tell about you and your friends," Rudolph remarked.
Applejack chuckled. "Ya might say that..."
Rudolph noticed that Big Mac was already standing and helping Granny Smith get up. "Well, um, thank you all for a wonderful breakfast," he said to them, "I wish I could have one every morning."
"An' thank ya fer joinin' us!" Granny Smith replied, "Ya was a wonderful guest. Why, yer sweeter'n a bunny in a beehive."
"Uh..." Rudolph murmured, "Thanks?"
The others began clearing the table, and Rudolph started to get up as well while reaching for one of the plates.
"No, no, no, Rudolph. You just relax an' we'll take care o' this," Applejack said, holding a hoof to his chest so he would remain sitting.
"But-"
"Nope! I won't hear it. Yer our guest, Rudolph. Cleanin' up is our responsibility."
He frowned. "Are you sure?"
"You just relax and enjoy the fresh spring air. It's especially nice out here on the farm."
He watched her as she picked up quite a few plates and expertly balanced them on her back, moving so smoothly as if they were glued on. "Heh...Is not having the guest clean up another tradition?"
She gave him a look and then laughed. "No, but it might as well be. I hope ah'm not offendin' ya, Rudolph, but it just don't feel proper."
Rudolph shrugged, settling back down. "If you're sure. Just ask me if you want my help."
"That's mighty kind-a ya, Rudolph. I think we'll manage, though."
So, the four Apples worked together to clear the table, after which they all disappeared into the house and left him alone for a short time. He heard the sink running and figured that they must have been cleaning the dishes and utensils.
He sighed in content and leaned on the table. He felt wonderfully satisfied now that he finally had a belly full of food. It was true in his mind that few places could beat the North Pole when it came to dessert, but he had a feeling he wasn't ever going to have a breakfast as good as this again.
He took a moment and gazed out at the farm. The slightly chilly spring air gave him a tiny shiver that felt rather invigorating. The sun was just above the trees in the orchard, casting a calm golden light through the leaves and branches. He could see a few blossoms here and there on the trees, which would no doubt become more delicious apples with just a little time.
Rudolph heard hoofsteps and turned to his right. He saw Apple Bloom trotting towards him.
"Heya, Rudolph!" she greeted him.
"Well hello, sweetie," he replied with a gentle smile. The filly started giggling, and so he asked, "What's so funny?"
"Oh nothin'," she responded, "It's just that one-a my best friends' name is 'Sweetie'. I always laugh when somepony calls me that."
"Ah, I see."
"So did ya like the pancakes?"
He grinned at her and turned himself around on the bench so that he was facing her. "Yes, I certainly did. They were wonderful. I know you said that you helped make them, but you must've put a drop of magic into the batter to make them taste so good."
She giggled again. "I just helped measure stuff. It's Granny Smith's recipe, an' Big Mac did all the cookin'."
"Well, I'm sure they wouldn't have tasted half as good without your help." He gave her a gentle pat on the head. "I like your bow by the way."
"Really?" She brightened up significantly, "It's mah favourite bow an' I hardly ever take it off. Ah've had it since before I c'n remember."
"It really suits you."
Apple Bloom gazed up at him, smiling ear to ear. There was a familiar, child-like wonder in her eyes. It was the kind of heart-warming smile that he had seen plenty of times before in his life, and he never got tired of seeing it.
"So, Apple Bloom?" he continued, "You ponies have a holiday called 'Hearth's Warming Eve', right?"
She nodded. "Uh huh!"
"Well, we don't have that where I come from, so I don't know a lot about it."
"Really??" She seemed shocked, as if the idea of someone not celebrating Hearth's Warming Eve was a foreign concept to her.
"Mhm. From what your sister's friends have told me, though, it sounds like a wonderful time to be with friends and family. Tell me, though... Is gift-giving part of the holiday?"
She nodded. "Most ponies will get a gift for everypony they love an' then we all open 'em on the mornin' after."
Rudolph leaned forward, bringing his head down closer to hers. "It sounds wonderful," he said, lowering his voice, "Is there something you'd like to get for Hearth's Warming this year?"
"Yeah!" she suddenly burst out, but then curbed her excitement. "Well, yeah sorta. I mean, I don't wanna just ask Applejack or Mac or Granny to get it for me, 'cus I don't wanna be greedy or nothin'..." Her gaze trailed off as she got a hopeful look in her eye. "But, I kinda hope that, well...somepony'll get me a winter coat...Sweetie Belle has this really nice one that I really like, and ah've always wanted one kinda like hers..."
Rudolph gave her a warm smile. "A winter coat, hm? I like wearing winter coats too, but my favourite is scarves. They're so comfy and warm..."
"Yeah, but I don't think I'll get it..."
"I wouldn't give up so easily, Apple Bloom," he said with a quick wink, "Keep on believing, Apple Bloom. You might be surprised."
She looked up at him in silence for a moment before they both heard a voice from inside the house.
"Apple Bloom! Can ye gimme a hoof in here?"
"Okay! Ah'm comin', Granny!" She quickly dashed back into the house, but turned and gave Rudolph a smile before she disappeared through the door.
Rudolph chuckled softly. He then stood up off the bench and trotted along the side of the house. He walked past the door and rounded the corner, finding Applejack standing there. He had seen her watching the two of them converse earlier, unseen by the young filly.
"Hi, Applejack," he greeted her.
"I gotta say..." she spoke, "When I first met you, ya seemed kinda nervous an' shy, but I didn't see none-a that when yer talkin' to Apple Bloom... Looked like you was talkin' to her as easily as if she was yer own..."
"Heh..." Rudolph glanced away and scratched the back of his neck, "I've been doing that for a long time now."
"Izzat so?"
He looked at her again and nodded. "What Santa and I, and our team...What we do, we do it in secret. We try not to be seen by anyone, because that just complicates things...But the reason so many people love Santa, it's because everyone still knows about him. They believe in him and they have faith in him and in what he does.
"So in those few rare instances when I end up interacting with someone, it's usually a child. I don't want to make them uncomfortable or unsure about something, and I definitely don't want to frighten them. To them, it's a special treat that they get to see me. I want to help them keep on believing...to keep their dreams alive."
He glanced away for a moment and muttered, "Does that make sense...?"
"I get what yer sayin'," Applejack responded, "Ya might be from a different world where things work different, but a child's still a child. Their hopes an' dreams are the most important, ain't they?"
"Yeah..." He nodded. "Applejack, do you want to give your sister a treat?"
"Sure. Waddaya have in mind?"
He glanced around to make sure no-one was listening to him, then leaned in closer to her. "Apple Bloom just told me she wants a winter coat for Hearth's Warming Eve, just like her friend Sweetie has, but she doesn't want to ask anyone for it. As far as I'm aware, that's like ten months away right?"
"Yup."
"Well, if you're able to, try to get that coat for her and give it to her on Hearth's Warming Eve, but tell her that it's not from you. Tell the whole family to say that no-one is responsible, and pretend you have no idea where it came from."
"Oh...Uh, okay."
"Hearth's Warming Eve isn't the same as Christmas, and I'm going to be long gone by that time, but maybe I can share with her a little bit of the magic..."
Applejack seemed puzzled, but then an expression of realization appeared a moment later. "I get it. Because you're the only one she told, and so she'll think..."
Rudolph winked and gave her a grin.
"I like it..." she replied, "It's full of, ah...whatchacallit..."
"Whimsy?"
"Yeah, that." The two of them laughed.
There was a moment of silence between them, and then Rudolph spoke. "Thanks again for the breakfast, Applejack. It was amazing."
"Ah, tain't nothin'! We sure as sugar weren't gonna let somebody come to Ponyville from so far away without samplin' some Apple cuisine!"
"That was the kind of breakfast that makes you want to seize the day!"
"I hear ya. So, what're ya up to now? Headin' back into town?"
"Uh..." Rudolph furrowed his brow. "I dunno. I don't really have any plans, especially since Fluttershy's not coming back today at all..." He found himself glancing around, taking in the views of the expansive farmland.
"How 'bout we take a walk around the farm?" Applejack spoke, "I think ah'd like ta get ta know ya a little better along the way."
Rudolph grinned. "Sure! That sounds great. Uh, I guess I'll just follow you."
So, the two headed off away from the house and walked towards the apple orchards.
"This is all your farm...?" Rudolph murmured as he looked at just how many apple trees he could see.
"Darn straight! We Apples pride ourselves on bein' the one and only place ta get fresh, quality apples around these parts."
"It must be a lot of work..."
"Buddy, you don't know the half-a it. But, it's rewardin' work, it is."
Rudolph nodded. A quick glance around confirmed that he was surrounded entirely by nothing but apples.
"From what I heard, though, y'all've got a hard job ta do as well. You and yer team, I mean."
"Well..." he chuckled, "It's only one night a year, but boy is it the toughest night you could possibly imagine. We have just about 24 hours to reach almost the entire world..."
"Yeah, I heard you was fast."
"Well, only when I fly."
"Ya almost beat Rainbow Dash. That's somethin'."
Rudolph chuckled.
"Land sakes, it really boggles the mind that ya ain't from this world. Ya can fly, ya come from a place that's all winter, ya have this crazy duty..."
"And I can do this!" Rudolph put on a cheesy grin as he made his nose glow brightly.
"And ya can turn yer nose into a magic apple! I know!"
"'Magic apple'?!" The reindeer couldn't help but laugh at that one.
Applejack laughed for a moment too, and then gave him a look. "Aren't ya worried? Don't ya miss home?"
His gaze fell slightly. "A little...But everyone seems to put so much trust in Twilight Sparkle, so I'm sure she'll be able to get me home. And the evidence points to the fact that the rest of my team is safe. Mostly, though, it's just this place. This world, this town, and all of you ponies. I mean, if I had to fall through a dimensional hole into a parallel world, this is probably the best place I could've ended up."
"Heh...I guess yer right about that..."
"It's not so bad, so I'm going to enjoy myself until it starts getting bad. If it starts getting bad."
"Highly doubt it," she said with a wink.
The two walked in silence for a minute or so. They had finally reached the far end of the orchard, and now Applejack was leading him around the edge back towards the farm. For the moment, though, he could still see nothing more than apples.
"I enjoyed meeting your family, Applejack," Rudolph commented.
"They all seemed glad ta meetcha too. 'Specially li'l AB."
"She was pretty excited to meet a deer...Do I really look like the deer from your world?"
"Pretty much..." Applejack turned and gave him a quick once-over. "Although, as ah'm sure you've heard a lotta others say..."
"Yeah, yeah. I look like I'm a Whitetail."
"See, we got deerfolk here called 'Reindeer', but they don't look like you very much. They're bigger, taller, a lot fuzzier, an' their horns are...I dunno whatcha call it...They're 'goofier'."
Rudolph blinked. "'Goofier'?"
"Yeah, they go all over the place, and they're sometimes broad an' flat. Not like yers, which look kin'a like a dragon's claw."
Rudolph glanced up, wide-eyed, even though he could only barely see the tips of his own horns. "A dragon's claw...?" he said with a small smile.
"Sure as sugar, sugarcube."
"Heh heh..." he tittered, "I like that..." He paused and struck a silly-looking dramatic pose. "I've got dragon's claws!"
Applejack laughed and patted him on the back. "Now don't let it get ta yer head...Even though it's already on yer head."
That comment brought a new wave of laughter for both of them. They continued walking, smiles on their faces, as the orchards finally gave way to fields filled with other produce. They trotted at a leisurely pace around them.
"But yeah, ta answer yer question ya look like ya'd fit right in here."
"Huh..." Rudolph remarked, "Because I'm still an alien from another world basically, and this is an alien world... I guess I just asked because there's definitely not anything that looks like you on our world."
"Issat right?"
"We have creatures called 'ponies', I guess, but to be honest they just look...weird."
Applejack snickered. "Gee, thanks."
Rudolph laughed as well and shrugged, earning him an elbow in the ribs.
"Have you meet another deer?" he asked her.
"Just the ones in the Everfree Forest, an' they're pretty much an entirely different cup-a soup. I ain't met anyone from Cervinidas, no, but when yer best friends with a librarian ya learn a couple things about the world."
"Cevinidas..." he murmured, "Fluttershy asked me if I was from there. Is that the, um, 'deer country'?"
"You betcha. It's about as far from here as ya can get. That's prob'ly why Apple Bloom was so excited. She probably never thought she'd meet anyone from so far away, though she really don't have no idea just how far away ya've come from."
"Yeah, she's really sweet." Rudolph then turned to her. "Now your brother, on the other hand..."
Applejack laughed. "Yeah, 'e's a character, ain't 'e?
"Does he actually...y'know...talk?"
"Trust me, Rudolph. When he does talk a lot, it's a little weird. He's about as soft spoken as they come."
"Yeah...But I still enjoyed his company. He was a little intimidating at first, but I get the feeling he's pretty gentle?"
"Oh you betcha. That boy wouldn't hurt a fly."
"They were all very nice. Thank you very much for having me. I know I've said it before, but this was really nice of you."
"Ah, it's the least we could do. We'd offer ya lodgin's if Fluttershy hadn't beaten us to it."
Rudolph felt his gaze drifting for a moment. "Yeah...I can't wait to see her again."
The two of them were nearing the end of their walk, drawing closer to where they had started in the first place.
"Well, I don't know how long yer gonna be here," Applejack said, "But feel free ta drop in on us any time. Food an' good company, we got both in spares."
Rudolph gave her a warm smile. "Thank you very much, Applejack." He gazed up and gave the barns a passing glance as they walked behind them. "I'll have to thank Pinkie Pie for introducing us and setting all of this up."
"Heh heh, yeah..." Applejack said in a somewhat distant tone. "Pinkie Pie..."
When she didn't say anything else for a couple moments, Rudolph turned to look at her. He jumped slightly when he found her already looking at him with a strange look. "Huh? What is it?"
"So, Rudolph..." she said as she continued to trot forwards, "You've obviously met Pinkie Pie and seen, well, how she is."
"Uh huh..." Rudolph replied, a little confused.
"So I'm sure ya've noticed that she don't exactly have...filters."
"Yeah?" It took him a moment for the realization to sink in. "Oh." His cheeks grew red. "Oh."
"Yeeeap...That girl ain't never heard-a the concept of 'keepin' it ta yerself'."
Rudolph had stopped walking. "Oh my gosh..." he murmured.
Applejack stopped ahead and turned around to look at him. Her expression was rather unreadable. "I sure as shoot didn't ask, but she weren't too shy about tellin'. Seems y'all had quite a 'tumble in the hay'."
Rudolph was burning up. He had no idea what to do with himself, and not much of an idea of what to say. "We...Uh..." His mind worked furiously, but came up empty. "Um..." He glanced around. "...Y-Yes?"
She gave him an awkward chuckle. "Well, at least I appreciate yer honesty."
His eyes shifted around nervously. "...Thanks?"
The two stared at each other silently for a moment.
"So, uh..." Rudolph glanced away and rubbed the back of his neck, "Is, um...Is that a problem...?" When he turned back to look at her, he saw that she was giving him that strange look again.
"No, no!" she quickly said, "No, t'ain't no problem... Naw, I ain't mad or nothin'..."
"Okay, um...Good..."
She blinked. He blinked. More silence.
Rudolph suddenly wanted out of this interaction, no matter how much of a good time he had been having with Applejack. Things had suddenly got awkward, and he hated feeling awkward.
"I, uh..." He glanced over his shoulder, trying to think of what to say, "I should probably..."
When he glanced back, he saw that she was looking at him strangely yet again. She was even leaned over to the side slightly, as if trying to see him from a better angle. Rudolph stiffened and gave her a confused look. "What?"
"What?"
He furrowed his brow. "Why do you keep looking at me like that...?"
"Uh..."
This was getting weird. Rudolph had decided that he was just going to leave before things became painfully uncomfortable between them. His first mission would be to find Pinkie and duct tape her big mouth shut.
"Well Applejack, I think I'm just gonna g-"
"Rudolph, could ya follow me for a sec?" Applejack interrupted him.
"Wh-" He gave her a perplexed look. "Follow you? Where?"
"Just...come with me, okay? I just wanna talk."
Rudolph glanced around. None of the other Apples could be seen. "Um..."
"I just wanna say one thing, Rudolph."
Rudolph sighed, splaying ears. "Fine."
"Thank ya."
She turned around and trotted off, and he followed close behind her. It turned out that her destination wasn't very far at all. The mare simply led him to one of the large barns off to the side of the house and gestured for him to step inside. The barn smelled strongly of hay, but thankfully nothing else. Even in the brightness of the day, the inside was dimly lit. There was only a single window letting in a stream of sunlight.
He was briefly examining what the barn had to offer when a loud sound made him jump. He turned back to see that Applejack had closed the door, though she hadn't closed the latch. A jolt of fear ran through him before he forced himself to calm down. Still, though, he was on edge. Applejack was suddenly acting very strangely, and it was definitely unnerving him.
"So Rudolph," she said as she trotted towards him, "Ya had an...'intimidate encounter' with one of mah friends..."
Rudolph gulped, certain alarm bells flaring in his head. "Y-yeah...?"
"I know it's Pinkie, and she tends ta go a li'l overboard with things, but still..."
Sweat ran down his forehead, and he slowly started backing up. "Uh huh...?"
"So, Rudolph? Ah'm gonna be...completely honest with ya..." she said, quickly closing the distance between them.
Rudolph got ready to run, but he had no idea where he could run to. Why had he come inside of here?! "O-Okay...?"
She was right in front of him, staring him right in the eyes. She opened her mouth and spoke.
"I...I'm curious."
A strange stillness settled over the entire barn. Somewhere a mouse slipped and fell off of a rafter, its squeak of terror being the only sound that could be heard.
Finally, Rudolph managed to mutter, "What...?"
Now it was Applejack's turn to glance away, blushing. "Well, ah'm just curious about the whole...shebang..."
"Y-you mean...about me and...Pinkie...?"
"A little, yeah," she spoke, "'Cus, I mean...Pinkie's always talkin' ta me about all the antics_she gets up to, even though ah'd rather she didn't. Usually I just roll mah eyes an' try ta change the subject, but when she told me she was with _you, it was diff'rent."
Rudolph simply gave her a confused look, his fear changing back into the uncomfortableness he had felt earlier. "It did...? Wh-why?"
"'Cus you're a deer," she said simply, "Yer a buck. Yer not a stallion."
Rudolph just tilted his head.
"What ah'm tryin' ta say..." Applejack said, awkwardly rubbing her forehooves, "is that Pinkie's never, well, 'shared' with me like that with someone who ain't a pony." She paused. "An', well...ah'm a little curious."
"...Oh," Rudolph muttered, not quite sure how to respond, "So you're curious...about me?"
"Well, heh heh..." Applejack chuckled dryly, "More about specific parts-a ya..."
His whole face flushed with embarrassment, doing a pretty good impression of Applejack's brother. "You're wondering about me when I'm- Wow, okay...Um..."
"Like I said, I ain't never even seen a real deer before..."
"Heh, right...I-I see..."
Another poignant silence filled the barn.
"So, um..." Rudolph spoke slowly, looking anywhere but at her, "Are...Are you asking me if we..." He trailed off.
"Well, honestly, mah curiosity's kinda got the better-a me...An' with what Pinkie said about ya-" She shook her head and looked straight at him. "If ya want to, Rudolph. But I ain't gonna make ya do nothin' ya don't wanna do, okay? The door's right there if ya just wanna head right on out."
Finally, Rudolph forced himself to look at her. He honestly wasn't sure if he was actually awake. If _this_was happening, it seemed more like a sexy dream. A really vivid sexy dream with enjoyable family breakfasts. Three times he opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. It didn't feel real; not at all. His brain was repeatedly saying, 'Her too?!'
"Pinkie told me ah'd be number five for ya."
"Huh? Wh-what...?"
She gave him a friendly smirk. "If we took a tumble, ah'd be number five right? Fluttershy, Dash, Pinkie and Derpy, an' now me."
Rudolph improved on his Big Mac impersonation. "I-I-I-" he stuttered, "Pinkie told you that too?!"
"Yup."
"Oh my gawd..." he murmured. The fact that Pinkie had told all of this to Applejack was definitely embarrassing, but the moment had come and gone. What he was presently concerned about was who else Pinkie was telling this to.
"So, uh...yeah," Applejack said awkwardly.
Rudolph just stared at her, his brain not quite working at full capacity. "Uhhh..." His wordless noises continued for a while before he finally murmured, almost under his breath, "I don't believe this..."
Applejack's ears fell flat. "I'm guessin' ya don't want ta then?"
"Well, um..." Rudolph quickly replied, "No, I...I wouldn't say that...Not necessarily. It's just that this is so...well, sudden!"
"I know, I know. This's a little weird fer me too...I jus' gathered from Pinkie that you were down fer this sorta thing."
"Well sure, I mean..." He trailed off.
The two fell silent. Rudolph gave the situation a little more thought, now armed with the knowledge that Applejack wasn't going to tie him up by his antlers. Here was yet another pony who straight up wanted to have sex with him. Even more coincidentally so, another one of Fluttershy's friends. His previous encounters were still fresh in his mind. With Rainbow Dash it had pretty much been by accident, and Pinkie'd had to convince him.
Yet, through it all, he was becoming more and more comfortable with the philosophy that Dash had told him. When he thought back to his romp in the clouds and his threesome in the bedroom, all he could think about was the sexy stuff. Honestly, it could have been with any pony and the memories would mostly be the same.
Now here was Applejack, who wanted pretty much the same thing that Pinkie wanted, though she was less confident about it. He and the farmer had enjoyed a nice breakfast and a really pleasant talk, but nothing much beyond that. Yet, the current situation was where they found themselves. He felt a little bit of confidence imbue itself within him.
"Okay," he said with a more solid tone to his voice, "This isn't gonna go anywhere if we keep being all awkward like this, so I'm just gonna...y'know, say it. Confirm everything." He took a step forward, his heart thumping in his chest but an expression of confidence remaining.
"Applejack, d'you wanna have sex?"
A shiver of nervous excitement passed through his whole body when he heard those strong words slip past his own lips. It sounded like another person had been speaking, and it gave him a strange thrill. He continued to look at Applejack, working to keep his resolve strong. The mare wasn't exactly nervous, but she wasn't confident either. If he wanted this to happen, which a part of him desperately did want, one of them had to take that bold step forward.
Crimson covered Applejack's face and she faltered for a moment, but then a sly grin appeared and she replied, "Yeah, sugarcube, I suppose I do."
"A-all right!" he replied, a nervous stutter sneaking itself in, "Sounds great!"
She rubbed the back of her neck and said, "I really don't normally do this, but-"
Rudolph snickered. "You think I do?"
She gave him a challenging look. "Well apparently as of late, yeah."
"That's because the ponies in this town are horny."
"Ah'm sure that has nothin' ta do with the exotic interdimensional Reindeer that suddenly appeared."
"Ah. So they're hot for deer, hm?" Rudolph quivered with excitement. He wasn't sure where these words were coming from. A strange, almost foreign sense of sexual confidence was coming to him. Now that he knew what Applejack wanted, a lot of that embarrassment that had plagued him before didn't seem to be there anymore.
Applejack chuckled. "I s'pose so. Anyway, why're we still talkin'?"
"Heh, I dunno. I'm ready to go whenever you are. Are we just gonna do it...here?"
"Unless ya wanna walk all the way back inta town and borrow Pinkie's bedroom."
"Uh...No thanks."
"Well, all ri' then." Applejack took off her Stetson and gave her hoof a flick. The hat twirled through the air and landed perfectly on a nail that jutted out of one of the barn's support pillars.
"Wow!" Rudolph spoke in an overly jovial voice, "You're naked!"
Applejack gave him a playfully unamused look. "Real funny, buck." She started to trot in his direction and walked past him, giving him a quick swat on the side with her tail. Rudolph just chuckled and turned around to see where she was going.
His eyes shot open when he saw that Applejack was walking away from him with her tail held up and off to the side. He was awarded a perfect view of what lay beneath, which made his face burn and his heart pound. There was that familiar embarrassment.
"Nopony uses this particular barn anymore," she commented as she walked over to the far side, "Which works out perfectly."
"O-oh yeah...?" He slowly started to follow her.
"An' that's why I can keep _this_here..." she said as she approached a particularly large pile of hay sitting off to the side against the back wall of the barn. She leaned down near the back of the pile and stuck her head in. As Rudolph approached, he was treated to a repeat performance of Pinkie Pie hanging out the window. He blushed furiously and sat down.
A moment later Applejack emerged, dragging along with her an unmarked black wooden box. He gazed at it curiously as she pulled it along and placed it between the two of them. She slid the top panel off, and Rudolph's eyes went wide once again when he saw what was inside.
"Whoa, what??"
Applejack laughed. "Yeah, Pinkie told me ya were a little inexperienced, as it were..."
"What are these?" he asked.
"Well first of all, they're somethin' that nopony else needs ta know are in this barn."
"Yeah, definitely. No problem," Rudolph reassured her, "But what...?"
Applejack grinned at his reaction. "They're mah toys, sugarcube."
Rudolph blinked. "What kind of toy is a...a cock?!"
"Ah, yer cute..." she murmured. She reached into the box and pulled out one of the distinctly penis-shaped rubbery objects. It had a very distinctive and unusual shape. Rudolph had to guess that it was what a stallion's equipment looked like.
"I, uh..."
"They're 'sex toys', Rudolph. The name says it all. They're toys fer sex."
He stared in both confusion and wonder at the toy she was holding up, and then looked back into the box at the other myriad of items inside. "How do they...how does it all...?"
"Didn't Pinkie use any-a these?"
He shook his head.
"That's crazy, 'cus her collection puts mine ta shame."
Rudolph still stared in fascination at the collection in the box.
"Now don't get concerned, sugarcube. Ah'll tell ya how they all work as we go."
He sat down. "So we're gonna use these as we...?"
Applejack chuckled and nodded.
He brought his gaze back up to the one she was holding. The one that was a replica of a stallion's cock. "O-okay, but what're you gonna do with that one...? I mean, don't we already have..." He briefly glanced down between his legs. "...one of those?"
"Weeeelll, not exactly," she said as she put the toy back in the box.
"Huh?"
"Sorry Rudolph, but ya ain't gonna be doin' any-a that with me."
He tilted his head. "Any of wha- Wait...You mean you're not gonna let me put my-"
"Unfortunately not, buddy." She sat down on the ground with her legs held slightly apart, giving a somewhat modest view of the prize in between. "In fact nobody's been in here yet..." she said, bringing a hoof to rest just above her opening.
"Really...?" he murmured, following her hoof and staring, "So, you're a virgin...? A-am I gonna be your first?"
"Not exactly," she replied, repeating that same phrase.
Rudolph gave her a somewhat flustered look and she held up her forehooves. "Okay, lemme explain. Ah've felt for a long, long while that the first pony that's gonna go in there is gonna be somepony I love. Somepony ah'm_married_ to. As ah'm sure ya've guessed, I ain't fallen head over heels for ya and wanna get hitched..."
"No..." he murmured, "But...Why?" The question was a little blunt but he couldn't think of any other way to phrase his confusion.
"Believe it or not, Rudolph, but that used ta be how all ponies did it not too long ago. Ponies these days are a li'l more free-spirited, as ah'm sure ya've seen. Ah'm not sayin' they're all wrong or nothin', but this is just how I personally wanna handle these things."
"Oh, really...?"
"Sorry if that disappoints ya, Rudolph. I hope ya understand, but until I find mah 'mate' it's closed fer business."
"I guess I understand," he said, mulling it over in his head. It was definitely a contrast to the ponies he had met so far. Even Fluttershy had done that with him and they certainly weren't married. He quickly reminded himself that folks were all different, just like he was different from other reindeer.
"But..." he continued, "I-I don't get it then. If you're not gonna have sex until you're married, then...what're we supposed to do...?"
She gave him a smirk, her eyes almost glinting in the darkness. "I didn't say that, Rudolph. I said I ain't havin' 'traditional' sex until ah'm married. Ah'm no fool, Rudolph. Everypony, an' I guess every_body_, gets urges an' desires. There's a lotta ways ta have sex without stickin' somethin' below someone's legs."
His eyes slowly shifted back to the box as the realization dawned on him. "And that's what these are for..."
"You got it, buck-o!"
His ears splayed back. "Please don't call me that."
"Right, sorry," she apologized as she shifted closer to him and bent down lower to the ground. Rudolph jumped back slightly as she pushed her head between his legs. "Right now, though, ah'm a little more interested in this."
Rudolph realized that his member was semi-erect already and moved his forehooves out of the way. He leaned back slightly, blushing furiously as he displayed himself for the curious earth pony. The act was feeling a little more familiar to him, though.
For a moment, Applejack simply eyed his genitals. She seemed to be just as red-faced as he was, but she didn't let that deter her inquisitive eye. Rudolph felt himself getting harder just from her looking at him like this.
"Um..." he mumbled awkwardly.
"Looks real nice," she commented, "Def'nitely a lot different than a stallion's, fer sure."
"...Cool?"
"Hey c'mon, indulge me a bit here," she retorted, "I ain't never seen another race's cock before. If ya don't mind me sayin', this is fascinatin'."
"Yeah, okay...Well, uh..." His cock twitched. "Th-there it is in, um...full."
He gasped as Applejack boldly brought one of her hooves forward to touch it. Before the act even registered, she slowly drew it upwards along the length until it reached the tip. His nose slowly burned to life like a light bulb with a dimmer switch.
As her hoof grazed the sensitive tip of his cock, now fully erect, he let out heavy puffs of breath and subconsciously opened his hind legs further to grant her better access. She gave him a quick smirk as she began to stroke him with her hoof. "Aahh..." he moaned quietly.
Her eyes, for the most part, remained fixated on his member as she worked her hoof. She had this look in her eyes that reminded Rudolph of a cat looking at a mouse it was toying with. He could feel her studying him, looking at him. It sent a chill down his spine and made his cock throb even more.
Applejack beat her hoof faster, slowly increasing the speed until she reached a moderate pace. Rudolph had his front hooves braced behind his back and his rear hooves spread open. He gazed down at her, panting and watching her play with his cock.
After another minute, she stopped moving her hoof. She stared at his cock some more, taking in every detail and watching the small droplets of pre run down the sides. Then, before he could complain that she had stopped, she leaned forward and placed her tongue against the base of it.
Rudolph cried out as she licked up along the entire length. The shivering sensation ran through his whole body, and it only got more intense when she kept her tongue at the tip and teased with it. She then began licking his cock repeatedly, moving her tongue around to different spots and drawing it along the full length. She treated his buckhood basically like a popsicle, and Rudolph loved every minute of it.
"Not bad at all..." Applejack muttered as she licked her lips. She only paused briefly before she continued attacking his cock with her tongue.
A couple of moments later, Rudolph watched as she opened her muzzle and took the top of his cock into her mouth. A drawn-out moan escaped his lips as he was introduced to the warm inside of her maw. She moved her head down only slightly, taking in the top third of his cock. She bobbed her head gently, suckling on the tip but not moving too wildly. For a few moments, she continued her simple oral treatment and Rudolph simply sat there and enjoyed.
Then, however, Applejack let his cock slip out of her mouth and she sat herself back up. She licked her lips again and gave him a bit of a satisfied look.
"...Huh?" Rudolph half-whined in confusion, wondering why she hadn't kept going.
She winked at him. "Be patient, Rudolph. We've only just started."
"Uh..."
"How 'bout ya give me a li'l somethin' first, and then ah'll help ya cum? Sound fair?"
"I, uh...I guess?"
Applejack gave him a wave of her hoof, indicating for him to back up a little. He scooted himself back along the hay-covered floor, and she reached back into the box of toys. From it, she retrieved what looked like a long, black paddle and tossed it to him. He awkwardly caught it in his hooves and gazed at it. It was made out of a material that reminded him of leather, and was long but fairly thin.
"Ah'll give ya a hint ta what yer s'posed ta do with that."
He looked up at Applejack, and his eyes shot open as she turned herself completely around so that she was facing away from him. She leaned her front half down, resting it comfortably at the bottom of the pile of hay, and raised her hindquarters up as high as she could. She pulled her tail out of the way and spread her legs just slightly.
Rudolph found himself staring at her exposed pussy. The lips remained closed, but he could see droplets of liquid leaking out and streaking down her fur. He licked his lips hungrily, finding it a little difficult to keep himself from diving straight in tongue-first. He gazed down at the paddle he had been given, then back up at her hindquarters. Her tail was completely out of the way, making sure that none of her backside was covered in any way. He looked at the paddle again.
Incredulity filled his voice as he asked his question. "Am I...supposed to hit you?"
Applejack laughed. "We prefer ta call it 'spankin'', Rudolph."
He looked up again and met her gaze as she looked back. "...Why?"
"'Cus I asked ya to."
A hesitant look appeared on his face. "I...I don't...Why do you want me to hurt you?"
"Buddy, ah'm a hard-workin' farmpony. Do ya think a li'l smack on the flank is anythin' compared ta hours an' hours of gruelin' work in the fields?"
"Uh, I guess not...But-"
"Just do it, Rudolph. It feels good."
He furrowed his brow. "When people hit me, it hurts..."
She sighed with a hint of exasperation. "Yeah, it hurts but it feels good too. It's both. Ah'm not a scientist, so I dunno why it's good, I just know it's good. Now c'mon! If yer doin' somethin' wrong, ah'll tell ya ta stop. Promise."
"Well...Okay..." Rudolph said, still unsure about what he was doing. He grabbed the handle of the paddle in his mouth and got to his hooves. He stepped towards Applejack hesitantly, though the welcoming sight of her waiting pussy had quite a relaxing effect on him.
"Unfortunately, yer hooves are a li'l small ta be spankin' me yourself so I figured ya'd better use that. Still, should be fun though. Now c'mon an' gimme all ya got..."
"You sure...?" Rudolph mumbled around the handle.
"All ya got!"
Rudolph gazed down at her behind, now standing right next to it. His eyes travelled along her well-toned orange flanks that surrounded her most intimate areas. True he had been looking at quite a few pussies these past few days, but he hadn't really been paying much attention to _butts_as a whole. Back home, it was considered very rude to look at one's rear end since reindeer had such short tails. Rudolph was always one to respect rules, and so had not once in his life stared at someone's butt.
So staring at one now was oddly thrilling to him. And Applejack wanted him to hit it? Rudolph mentally shrugged, still feeling weird about the whole thing, and pulled the paddle back. With a practiced twist of his neck, he brought the paddle down onto her left cheek with a loud, resounding crack!
"Ah...! There ya go..."
Rudolph stared at her in confusion. The reaction from her, both in the sound she made and the expression on her face, revealed nothing but pleasure. He glanced back at where he had struck her to see that it was already turning slightly red.
"But..." Applejack panted, "Ya gotta go way harder'n that!"
"Mn?!" Rudolph muttered in disbelief.
"C'mawn!"
Still utterly confused, he reared back in the opposite direction and brought the paddle down on the right cheek. He applied more force this time, and the resulting CRACK! was much louder.
"G'ahh...!" Applejack cried out.
Her reaction was definitely positive, so Rudolph had to assume he was doing something right. As if to test this theory, he switched back to the left side again and swung the paddle just a bit harder still.
"Yes!"
Her rear was already turning red, giving him a moment's humour as it reminded him of his own nose. "Uh, Applejack...?" he spoke, feeling slightly less uncertain but still confused, "Why'm I doin' this...?"
"Don't talk!" she shouted, "Just do it again!"
"Is it hard e'nuf, or should I-"
"Rudolph, please!"
He paused, hearing the desperation in her voice. There wasn't a hint of pain or displeasure in her voice at all, despite how hard he was hitting her. It was still incredibly strange to him, but he decided to continue. After setting his stance, he gave her backside a few more strong whacks.
"Mmmph...Aah!" Applejack moaned, "Harder...an' lower...jus' a tad..."
Lower?_Rudolph glanced down. He had been hitting the area near the base of her tail, around the level of her tailhole. As his eyes traveled down, though, he noticed that her pussy was noticeably wetter than before. He adjusted his stance and aimed a _whack a little bit lower, bringing the paddle horizontally across both sides of her rear and hitting the upper part of her moist opening.
"Augh!" she cried out in pleasure, her legs shivering a little after the impact. "Damn, that's good..."
There was now a small wet spot on the paddle. A fresh red welt was appearing on the lower part of her rear, looking like a stripe of red tape cutting across the top of her pussy. He could see the muscles hidden behind those lips clenching and squeezing from the stimulation, and still more fluids were flowing out and running down her legs.
"Rudolph!"
The reindeer jumped slightly, realizing that he had briefly stopped. "Sorry..."
"Ya can't...stop like that..." she said in a low tone, "Don't...don't leave me hangin'...pleeeease..."
The tone of desperation in her voice was unlike any he had ever heard before. She sounded as if she were starving to death and he held the only piece of food for miles around. She needed him. Rudolph slowly realized something.
He was in control.
"What do you want, Applejack?" he asked. Seeing Applejack bent over in front of him like that, panting and begging for him to hit her again, sent an exciting chill down his spine. In the end, it was up to him whether she received the pleasure she wanted or not. This small sense of power was something he was not usually in possession of, and it was undeniably thrilling.
"...What? Ya know what I want..." Applejack said.
"Well, just tell me," he continued, feeling another rush.
"Rudolph, come on..."
He laid the paddle on her backside gently. He could feel her shiver from its touch alone.
"D-do it..." She was panting like a hot mess and gazing back at him with desperate, pleading eyes. He felt like the most important one in the whole world right now, and to Applejack he probably was.
"Do what?"
"Swing it..." she murmured.
He gave her a light tap, barely loud enough to register a sound. Applejack moaned in protest.
Rudolph leaned forward, feeling nervous but strangely bold about what he was about to say. "Do you want me to spank you, Applejack?" he said in a half-whisper.
"Yes."
"Louder."
"Yes!!"
"What do you want, Applejack??"
She clenched her eyes shut and shouted as loud as she could. "Spank me!! Spank mah ass!! Do it hard! Do it now!!"
Applejack was rewarded with a sharp crack on her backside, the sound resounding through the whole barn as Rudolph swung the paddle as hard as she could. The farmpony let out an immensely satisfied groan.
"Waddaya say?" Rudolph prompted her.
"Yes! Thank ya!!"
Rudolph hit her again. And again. The barn was filled with the repeated _cracks_as he kept spanking her with the paddle numerous times. She cried out loudly in pleasure with every strike. Rudolph grinned, feeling satisfied at the elation he was bringing her even if he still didn't really understand it. By the time his neck got tired, her entire ass was painted as red as his nose.
With one final smack, her hind legs buckled and she collapsed onto the hay. She lay there panting, her eyes slightly unfocused and her legs and thighs slick. Rudolph dropped the paddle on the ground and sat down, having to catch his own breath a little as well.
"D-damn..." Applejack breathed, "Pretty good fer a beginner, I gotta say..."
Rudolph gave her a bemused look. "Does that hurt? A lot?"
"Like you wouldn't believe," she replied, "but it feels too good ta even notice..."
Rudolph just shrugged. "Well, I'm just happy to help."
"Mmmph...I appreciate it..."
"So, what next?" he asked eagerly, his cock having remained quite stiff from the kinky activity.
"Ya ain't done workin' yet, sugarcube. I believe the deal was ta give me somethin' first, and yer about halfway there."
At first he wanted to frown, but his eager grin returned when he started to imagine what other 'tasks' she might have for him.
He watched her place the paddle back into the box, and then once again pull out the rubber stallion cock. "This here's a dildo," she told him, anticipating his question.
"Is that really what a pony looks like...?" he asked, a little fascinated. Previously, he had only ever seen his own erect penis and had no idea what other species would look like.
"Yessir. Now then," she continued, holding it out to him, "All ya gotta do is use this here ta make me cum. Then it'll be your turn."
He reached out and took the dildo from her, giving it a quick examination. It felt heavy and thick, and was coloured in a spotted mix of brown and black. He noticed with curiosity the extruding 'middle' part of the fake organ, which really drove home just how different it was to his own.
When he glanced up again, he noticed that Applejack had returned to her earlier face-down, ass-up position. Beyond the deep red marks that he had given her with the paddle, he saw her pussy glistening with anticipation. It was leaking all over her inner thighs, giving Rudolph an idea of exactly what he was supposed to do.
"Is, um..." He trailed off, observing the other notable thing about the dildo. "...Is this gonna fit?"
"Buddy, you make it fit."
Rudolph was a little skeptical. It was definitely a lot larger and thicker than his own. Though he had definitely not seen any pony dicks, he hazarded a guess that few would naturally reach this size. "All right," he murmured, "If you say so."
"C'mon, Rudolph. Ah'm waitin'."
He shifted closer to her, bringing himself right up to her inviting pussy. Her tail was once again hiked out of the way, providing him with a completely open display of her nether regions. A twinge of desire ran through his body, begging for him to plunge his own needy cock straight inside. He shook it off, though, content to respect Applejack's wishes.
It was certainly a little difficult, however, with the strong and enticing smell she was giving off. Rudolph felt himself becoming lightheaded.
The reindeer carefully used his hooves to bring the phallic toy up to her waiting opening and carefully line it up. Much unlike his own cock, this organ's tip was not tapered and pointed. It was flat and broad, which made the initial penetration a little difficult for his imprecise hooves.
"Hang on, sugarcube," Applejack spoke, "Ah'll help ya out..." She spread her legs out a little further, grunting quietly in discomfort. Her lips were now spread a little further apart, and she followed up by leaning her backside down a little. Combined with Rudolph's attuning, they were able to guide the head of the false cock through the opening and inside of her.
There was a euphoric sigh from Applejack, while Rudolph stared in abject fascination. Thanks to the anatomy of his body, he had never had an opportunity to see a cock go inside of a mare this close up before. He was offered a detailed look at how her pussy walls stretched around the intruder and snugly accommodated it. Combined with how big the dildo was, it was an incredibly arousing sight.
Applejack brought her hind legs back to a more comfortable position, and then gave Rudolph a look. He knew what she wanted, and slowly began to push the rest of the dildo inside of her. He stared at watched as it disappeared inside inch by inch. He kept going until just over half of it was submerged, after which Applejack let out another satisfied sigh.
"That one's always been mah favourite..." she muttered.
"Wow..." Rudolph murmured.
"What?"
"It does fit..."
Applejack laughed again. "Heavens above, yer adorable."
"Heh heh...So, you ready? I just gotta shove it in and out, hm?"
"You got it, pardner." She gave her hips an enticing wiggle.
Rudolph grasped the dildo in his two front hooves, using the fake set of balls at the bottom as an impromptu grip, and pulled the dildo almost all the way back out. The reindeer knew what his job was. He had to pretend this was a real penis for her, and after three experiences thus far he knew just what one was meant to do. Without warning, he shoved the toy back in.
"Ahhh, yeah..." Applejack moaned.
He pulled it back out and pushed it back in, keeping it at about the halfway mark for the moment. He experimented with his grip and was eventually able to get into a steady rhythm. Once he did, Applejack's voice became much more satisfied.
"Keep...Hah...Keep goin'..."
Rudolph was quite engaged in his task. Even though none of this was bringing him any physical pleasure, he still found himself enjoying the activity. He was still totally fascinated with watching her pussy up-close as it took something inside. It was so easy to imagine his own cock in the dildo's place, while viewing it from an angle which would otherwise be impossible. Of course, Applejack's moans were amazing to listen to, and he loved watching her body's subtle twitches as it was wracked with pleasure.
He put on a determined look and brought things to the next level. He held on tighter to the base of the dildo and not only increased the speed, but also started pushing it down to the three quarters mark. Applejack's cries grew louder. Her whole front end was stretched out along the ground, and her head was pointed to the heavens as she yelled out in delight.
Rudolph kept on watching, his cock throbbing in excitement. He observed the way her tail occasionally twitched. Her hind legs were quivering, not to mention getting totally drenched. Every thrust of the synthetic phallus created a lewd, wet-sounding noise and sent a small splash of fluids gushing out. His hooves were getting just as wet, but he didn't mind in the least. He could see the muscles of her pussy clenching tightly against the dildo, and he knew that he was bringing her closer and closer to her climax.
He chuckled, noticing the glow from his nose that was borne from his excitement was painting her fur red and hiding the numerous red marks from the earlier spanking. She didn't look half bad in red.
"Fuck...fuck...fuck..." Applejack was murmuring with every thrust. He could hear the desire in her voice and could tell that she was close. Rudolph looked at the dildo as he thrust it in to his current depth, the three quarter mark. Getting it in there was one thing, but he was genuinely doubtful that the entire thing would fit inside of her. He didn't have a full biological understanding of vaginas, but he knew they didn't go on forever.
Every time he had asked, though, Applejack had just told him to stop wasting time and keep going. He had learned so many new things over the past few days. So, he decided to just go ahead and try, stopping only if Applejack told him to.
He adjusted his grip once more and pushed it up to the three quarter mark again. Before pulling out right away, he twisted it slightly and tried easing it forward. He didn't find much resistance, though he did earn a very pleasured noise from Applejack. Feeling a bit more confident, he pulled out and then pushed it in much harder.
The dildo sank another half-inch further into her this time. "Aaah!! Yes!!"
"Whoa..." Rudolph marvelled.
"Deeper!" she screamed.
Rudolph complied, bringing it out almost all the way once again and slamming it back inside. Only a small portion remained outside now.
Applejack cried out in passion as Rudolph continually thrust the dildo deep inside her. To his pleasant surprise, he still found that the dildo easily fit inside of her. It was yet another wonder of the female body that he was learning about.
"Are...Are you close?" Rudolph asked.
"Shaddup an' fuck me!" she replied.
Rudolph just grinned and put all of his focus into his hardest thrust yet. Applejack cried out to the heavens as he sank the entire length of the dildo into her. Rudolph was definitely impressed. She was letting out a few desperate panting noises and her whole backside was quivering. The reindeer gave her what she wanted, pulling the whole length out quickly and then slamming it back home one last time.
Applejack moaned loudly as the waves of a mind-numbing orgasm rocked her entire body. Rudolph held the fake cock deep inside of her while her pussy spasmed and gushed a river of the mare's cum all over the toy and his hooves. Rudolph just watched, still utterly fascinated by what he saw.
"Ahhhnnn..." Applejack groaned, "Gaaaw-lee..."
Rudolph panted lightly, his hooves aching from the constant thrusting. "You came a lot..." he commented.
"Ah, well...That's all thanks ta you, pardner..."
At that moment, she lost the strength in her rear hooves and collapsed onto the floor. The dildo remained buried inside of her. She let out a grunt of both discomfort and pleasure when she hit the ground.
"That was...a lot of fun," Rudolph said.
"Told ya it'd fit."
"Wow..." he murmured, "That was intense."
Applejack lazily rolled onto her side, murring in pleasure again as the toy jostled her insides. "Ya got that right, sugarcube. Gave me an intense ride...It's a lot better when someone else does it, that's fer sure..."
Rudolph grinned. "Glad I could help."
She glanced down. "You had both-a yer hooves holdin' onta that, didn't ya?" When he nodded, she asked, "So ya didn't even touch yerself the whole time?"
He glanced down as well, a rosy blush appearing on his face from the question. "No..." His fully erect cock still remained between his legs, practically begging for attention. Now that his focus was freed up, he realized just how much his member ached from the neglect.
"Now that's dedication I can appreciate," Applejack commented. She rolled back onto her stomach and crawled towards him. Rudolph saw her staring down between his hind legs and grinned, spreading them out for her.
She didn't hesitate and ducked right in, giving his needy cock a long lick from the base to the tip. He shivered and cooed in pleasure as she gave it a few more long, sensual licks. After being left alone for such a long time, the stimulation on his buckhood nearly made him pass out.
She gave him one more lick from bottom to top, making sure his whole cock was coated in saliva, and then pulled her head back. She grinned up at him as she used one of her forehooves to stroke him. He moaned just as loudly.
"All right, Rudolph. Ya've been a good partner," she said as she licked her lips.
"Mmmahh..."
"So, here's what we're gonna do."
Rudolph simply watched as she backed away from him over to her original spot, and then rolled onto her back with all four hooves hanging in the air.
Rudolph had seen that pose before and it still looked absolutely adorable to him, no matter who was doing it.
"C'mon over," she instructed him, "Climb on top."
His legs responded before his voice could. He paused for a minute to admire the treasure hidden between her hind legs. There was a noticeable spot of wet fur surrounding her pussy, and the smell from the damp area was nearly intoxicating. He subconsciously licked his own lips, feeling an almost primal hunger within him. Furthermore, it was such an inviting and erotic sight to see her on her back like this, waiting for him.
Rudolph stepped over top of her, staring down at her from directly above. His hanging erection was pretty much lined up with her pussy at this point.
"Now then," she said, giving him an enigmatic look, "Do ya know what a hot dog is?'
"Er..." Rudolph was caught off guard by the random question. "Yes?"
She gave him a smirk. "Hey, yer the alien here. I dunno what things y'all got back home."
Rudolph chuckled. "Yes, I know what a hot dog is."
"Perfect. So here's how it's gonna work. Mah cunt, if you'll pardon mah Prench, is gonna be the bun," she said while pointing a hoof down at her nether regions. "And, well..." she continued, "Yer meat is the meat. Ya get it?"
Rudolph gazed down at her pussy and was rewarded with a sharp pain in his neck. "Ow..."
"Do ya understand?" she asked him, "It's all right if ya don't do it right, just make sure ya don't stick it in, ya hear me?"
"Uh...I think I get it." Rudolph took a half-step forward so that he wasn't exactly lined up any more, and lowered himself down onto her. He came to rest comfortably atop her, bringing their heads closer and their hips together. His hard length pressed against the fur of her lower stomach for the moment.
"So...Like this?" Rudolph then carefully shifted his body backwards, sliding his cock along her belly and towards her legs. He first felt her slick fur, and then shivered slightly when he felt the base of his buckhood graze against the outer folds of her pussy. He continued downward, feeling the edges of her lips trace teasingly along his length until he was in position. He stopped with his cock sitting gently inside of her lips like a log in a canoe or, indeed, like a hot dog in a bun.
"Ya got it, sugarcube," Applejack spoke, giving him an approving glance.
He looked back at her, now that he was not afforded a view of where his cock was. He had to continue by feel alone. He shifted himself to get into position, and felt her slick opening rubbing against his length as he did so. Though he wasn't inside of her, it still felt rather exhilarating.
"Now, just slide that puppy back 'n' forth to yer heart's content. This one's your deal. Keep on goin' and don't worry 'bout the mess."
"Heh...Okay."
Rudolph shifted his hips back and pulled his member along the length of her pussy. A shiver passed through him from the teasing, tingling sensations it brought. He pressed forward, and his cock slid right back to its original position. He found that it was just like thrusting, but from a different angle.
"Mmmm..." Applejack closed her eyes and rested her head back on the hay.
With a grin on his face, Rudolph quickly adopted a consistent rhythm. He sighed and moaned in content as his over-sensitized cock slid along the slick, wet lips of Applejack's pussy. Her thick juices provided an enticing lubricant as he slid his meat back and forth, which only added to the surges of pleasure running through his body.
He pushed himself up on his forehooves, raising his head up in an upward arc. He braced himself on the ground and thrust his hips, moving faster and acting as if he were ploughing into her.
"Ahhh..." he moaned. His orgasm was already quickly approaching. He had been pent up for quite a while, and doing all of those kinky activities with Applejack had only built up his excitement. It was hard to focus on anything beyond the warm, soft feeling of her moist lips as they brushed against his sensitive buckhood.
He marvelled at the fact that he could accomplish something like this, and still abide by Applejack's rule against penetration. Landing in Equestria was quickly becoming the best thing that had ever happened to him, considering the magnitude of new things he was learning.
"Mmmmm..." Applejack moaned softly again. He looked at her, seeing the content smile on her face as she rested. She looked as if she were having a pleasant dream. With another quick thrust from him, he realized that he was also rubbing a little against her clit as he did this. He probably wasn't giving her any mind-blowing orgasmic sensations, but it made him happy to see that she was at least enjoying this as well.
"Applejack...I'm gonna...G-gonna..."
"'Ey buddy, ya do watcha gotta do," she said, opening her eyes to give him a wink.
"But I-"
"Jus' shuddup an' enjoy yerself." The mare playfully stuck out her tongue.
An intense wave of pleasure rolled through him, clouding his mind. He set his hooves into the ground and picked up the pace of his thrusting. He pressed down, rubbing his cock against her outer lips as much as he could.
"Ahh..." he moaned, feeling himself getting closer with every passing second.
Applejack reached up her hooves to hold onto his shoulders and give him better balance.
He grunted with one more powerful thrust, feeling his strength beginning to falter. "Ah...Applejack...I-" was all he could get out. His mind was so misted with euphoria that primal instinct took over. He simply thrusted forward twice more, plunging his cock into a pussy that wasn't entirely there, and then crying out as his climax hit.
He held his hips forward and his head up high, lighting the roof in a blinding red glow as he cried out in passion. His cock twitched, emptying spurt after spurt of cum onto Applejack's waiting belly. His body quivered as all of his pent up arousal was finally granted release. His orgasm lasted longer than usual, and by the end he could barely hold himself up. He had to focus hard on pushing back and returning to a sitting position instead of simply falling on top of her like a sack of potatoes.
He rested on his rump, panting and feeling delightfully dizzy. It took him a moment to recover from the strong climax, and he then looked at Applejack. She was still on her back, but her hooves were now resting on the ground. He gawked for a moment as he saw the huge mess he had made. Applejack's stomach and chest were covered in splats of sticky cum. A few drops even managed to land themselves on her face.
"Uh..."
Applejack grinned at him. "Thanks, sugarcube," she said with a wink, "I appreciate it."
He at first thought she was being sarcastic, but then he watched as she brought her forehooves to her midsection and started rubbing them through the goopy mess. Some of it was rubbed into her fur, where it would no doubt stay and mat her fur until she took a bath, and the rest collected on her hooves.
She then brought them up to her mouth and gently suckled on them. He watched her tongue work as she sampled his reindeer cum. She kept going until her hooves were completely clean.
"Gosh..." was all he could say.
"I told ya," she said, licking a stray strand of cum from her chin, "I was curious."
"Heh..." He blushed and rubbed his neck. "Ya could've asked Pinkie...or Dash...or Fluttershy."
Applejack laughed. "I don't blame 'em. Yer packin' a mighty tasty treat. I think I like 'Reindeer flavour'."
Rudolph was silent for a moment, and then he started laughing profusely.
"What?" Applejack asked giving him a bemused smile.
For a moment, he couldn't answer because he was laughing too much. "Ah...I just- I was just thinking...That's a flavour of ice cream you're probably not gonna find..."
Applejack joined in with him, and for a moment the barn was filled with laughter.
"Ah, man..." Rudolph murmured as the laughing finally died down.
"So, did ya enjoy that then?" Applejack said.
He grinned. "That was awesome! I still can't believe you fit that whole big thing inside..."
"I enjoyed mahself too...It was pretty fun tasslin' with a deer, I gotta say."
Rudolph put on a goofy, proud look. "I know. We're pretty great." He ducked as a plastic penis flew past his head.
"Don't you get smart now," Applejack playfully chided him, and the two started laughing again.
The farmpony sat herself up, stretching her joints and taking another look at just how messy she had gotten.
"I, uh...really did a number on you, huh?"
"No problem, sugarcube. I like gettin' dirty. I smell like sex an' I love it..."
"Yeah, no kidding..." Indeed, Applejack smelt strongly of musk and cum, which mixed with the scent of her damp thighs to create a very potent aroma.
The two both let out a satisfied sigh, after which a moment of silence passed. Rudolph gazed off at nothing, enjoying the new additions to his recent memories, while Applejack simply looked at him.
"Y'wanna do one more?"
"Huh?" Rudolph looked at her. "One more thing?"
"Nothin' big, jus' somethin' good fer both-a us."
"Um, yeah! Sure! I'm gonna need a big lunch afterwards, though."
She chuckled. "Go back inside the house after ya've cleaned up and I'm sure somepony in there'll throw food atcha."
"Cool. So, what're we doin' now?"
Applejack patted the hay to the right of where she was sitting. "Sit here."
Rudolph sidled over and sat down where she indicated.
"An' now..." Applejack said as she took hold of his left hoof. She guided it downwards, between her outstretched legs, until it was resting just above her pussy. Rudolph's pulse quickened.
She then moved her own right hoof down between his legs, criss-crossing against his own, and rested it right on his sheath. He jumped and shivered from the sudden contact.
"I presume ya've masturbated before," she said with a wily grin.
"Uhm...Y-yeah?" It was one of the few sexual things he had done before coming to Equestria.
"Well, now we're gonna do that, but to each other." She punctuated her statement by rubbing her hoof against his sheath, drawing out a quiet moan. "Ya get me?"
Rudolph followed his own hoof down and looked at where it was placed. "So, you want me to...?" He cautiously moved his hoof, passing over her clit and resting atop her opening.
"Yup. You got it."
"B-but I..." He glanced at her. "I don't know how to do...that."
She chuckled. "The principal's the same, it's just a diff'rent 'tool'. You'll do fine, I'm sure." When he still appeared unsure, she gave him a lick on the cheek.
"Ah...Um, okay..."
Rudolph thought for a minute about what to do. He couldn't really shove his hoof inside from this angle, and he wasn't sure if Applejack even wanted that. Instead, he thought about what else he had done before to pleasure a female, and recalled when he had given Derpy oral. He thought it was a longshot, but he decided to try transferring those skills from his tongue to his hoof and see what would happen.
Applejack was getting a head start. She was rubbing all over his crotch; teasing his sheath, caressing his inner thighs, and massaging his balls. His cock started to poke out before he got started with his own task.
Rudolph began by rubbing his hoof up and down along the length of her pussy, and then slowly switched to a more broad circular motion. He pressed his hoof inside just slightly, feeling his hoof rub against that sensitive flesh hidden within. It sent a shiver up his spine.
Once Applejack had access to his growing cock, she started rubbing up and down its length. When it was large enough, she carefully wrapped her hoof around it as much as she could and started pumping up and down with it. He was at full length in no time.
Hearing quiet murmurs from Applejack, Rudolph felt a little more confident. He continued to massage and press at her outer folds, continuing in his circular motion. After a short while, he moved his hoof up and pressed it against her clit. He felt her stiffen, and started to move his hoof in small circles from atop it.
Thus, both of them got into a familiar rhythm. Rudolph continued with this cycle, taking care not to do the same thing for too long at a time, while Applejack continued to pump away at his cock while occasionally giving some attention to his balls. They were both letting out slow, sensual moans.
Rudolph jumped slightly when he felt Applejack lick his cheek again. Without stopping his hoof, he turned to give her a confused look. She merely gave him a sultry grin. In turn, he returned the grin and leaned in to lick her cheek.
Applejack got a coy look and leaned in to give the tip of his glowing nose a tiny lick. When the red light flickered slightly in response, the two of them shared a quick chuckle. Rudolph leaned in to lick her nose back, but she caught him off guard. Rudolph's eyes opened wide when he felt Applejack's lips close firmly on the tip of his tongue.
"Mnuhf?" he tried to say.
Applejack simply smirked and leaned in further, pulling his tongue into her mouth. She toyed with it using her own tongue, and soon enough Rudolph got the picture and joined in the sloppy kiss.
Rudolph moaned into her mouth as she continued to work his shaft, picking up the speed of her hoof tremendously. The pressure was building deep in his loins. It wouldn't be a terribly long time before he was done for.
He redoubled his own efforts. While he made out with Applejack, he paid careful attention to which actions made her moan. He kept his hoof moving. He could feel it getting drenched as he rubbed furiously.
Rudolph was a little mesmerized by how her pussy felt. Touching it with his hoof as opposed to his mouth or cock was different in a way. It felt a lot more thrilling and exciting, like he was touching something that he wasn't supposed to. It felt so warm, moist and especially soft.
"Mnnn..." Applejack moaned as she broke the kiss. "Ya feelin' close?"
"Getting there."
"Well, yer doin' a fine job. Jus' stop with the big circles and keep on rubbin'..."
"Gotcha."
For the next couple of minutes, the two continued to pleasure one another. They leaned against one another's shoulders, giving the other better access to their intimate spots. They shared one more deep, tongue-wrestling kiss, but were soon simply moaning.
Rudolph played with her pussy like it was a toy. He kept on rubbing and occasionally paying attention to her clit, but he continued to explore and move his hoof in his own way. He was loving the positive reactions he was getting from Applejack, which spurred her to stroke his cock even faster.
He started to pant, feeling his next climax approaching. His hips twitched slightly, thrusting lightly into her hoof. He started to lose focus as euphoria returned, but he made sure not to stop working on Applejack. She was starting to moan loudly as well.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, his climax hit him. He gave a loud shout of pleasure and his cock started twitching. Spurts of cum erupted from it, landing on the ground in front of him. Waves of pleasure cascaded through him as the orgasm hit hard. Eventually, his cum simply dribbled down his cock and collected on Applejack's hoof and then stopped flowing altogether.
Rudolph had determinedly continued rubbing Applejack's pussy throughout the whole duration. After his climax was over, he could feel her legs shivering and closing together slightly. Applejack panted, satisfaction in her voice as she spoke. "Al...most..."
"Ahhhnnn..." Rudolph moaned in his afterglow. He turned his head slightly, gazing down between Applejack's legs.
Her other hoof was on the ground in front and her eyes were held shut. "Ah..." she moaned, "Ahhh, that feels good..." A moment later, her whole body tensed up. "Nnnnnahhh..." she groaned, and then yelled out as her own orgasm hit.
He felt her muscles clenching, even from the outside, as his hoof was drenched in even more of her fluids. Applejack moaned throughout the whole thing, staring out at nothing. When it was over, she slumped back lazily into the hay and let out a satisfied sigh.
"Mmmmnn..." Rudolph moaned as he followed suit and also collapsed into the hay.
"That was better'n winnin' the Runnin' of the Leaves..."
"...What?"
"Nothin'. Ya were great, sugarcube. I really enjoyed that."
"Yeah! That was pretty fun! A little bit different, but still really good!"
"Mhm. We're all a li'l different, I suppose. Well, thanks fer lettin' me fuck a deer."
He laughed. "Thanks for letting me spank your ass...You're gonna have to tell me what all those other toys do at some point."
"Heh, maybe some other time. Right now I gotta get us some water so's we can make ourselves presentable again. I'm sure ya have lots-a stuff ya still wanna do in town, so I won't hang onta ya anymore."
Rudolph didn't respond. He was looking at his left hoof, studying the copious amount of sweet-smelling juices that had collected on it. Without a second thought, he brought it to his mouth and licked all of it off.
Applejack laughed when she saw him. "Yer adorable, y'know that?"
Rudolph furrowed his brow.
"What?" she asked, seeing his confused expression.
"Huh? Oh, nothing..." he replied, shaking his head.
"Somethin' wrong?"
"No, it's just..." Rudolph sat himself back up, pausing for a moment. "Well, I..." He turned and gave her a sheepish smile.
"I thought it would taste like apples."