Muddy Meeting

EDIT: Added a scene animation!!
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Princess Skyla had been waiting for an hour at Sweet Apple Acres.

Her best Ponyville mane stylist, Magnolia May, had spotted a lone grey hair in Skyla's sleek mane and nearly fainted in horror. Magnolia had demanded that the princess take an immediate spa day to combat the stress of ruling, and to ward away any more dreadful early grey hairs. It had taken all of Skyla's willpower to take a one day vacation from princess duty and humor her friend with a spa trip together.

But an hour had gone by, and Magnolia May was still holed up in the bathroom, delicately applying her make-up. Skyla had had nothing to do but wait, and she detested waiting. Roaming the house out of boredom, she noticed that a family knickknack was thirty-six degrees off center on the kitchen shelf. She tried to ignore it, but after a few minutes of restraint, she leapt forward to adjust it into perfect position.

Then Skyla noticed a stain on the wall. Applesauce. She quickly wet a rag at the kitchen sink, then scrubbed the stain until the wall sparkled.

Then Skyla noticed a scuff on the floor. And a crack in the paint. One of the burners on the kitchen stove was rusty.

So many imperfections.

Really, the old house could really do with a proper sweeping and mopping. And a deep scrubbing. And a new coat of paint. But...that was none of her business. This was Magnolia's house, and Skyla was just a guest.

Skyla sat still, trying not to look at all the imperfections. Her skin began to crawl.

.....Surely Magnolia wouldn't mind if Skyla picked up a mop and bucket and did just a little tidying up? Just a teeny bit.

Five minutes later, Skyla was carefully slopping a mop across the kitchen floor. She might be a princess, but she loved cleaning. The new gleam of the wet kitchen floor, and the harsh chemical smell of her bottle of cleanser, brought a comfort that nothing else could. It was a distraction from the anxiety, from the ever-present feelings of bitter, bitter lonelines- 

"Hoo doggy!" A loud, melodious voice suddenly rang out. The kitchen door flew open, and in stepped the biggest pony Skyla had ever seen. Her hoofsteps shook the china in the kitchen cabinets, and she dripped rain and fresh mud all over the formerly pristine kitchen floor. Skyla froze, clutching her mop.

"Well butter my flank and call me a biscuit!" The newcomer flashed a megawatt smile at Skyla, so bright that the princess squinted. "Not everyday I come home and find a stranger cleanin' the house! Tell ya what, if you're a bandit tryin' to rob us, you sure ain't doin' it right, miss."

Skyla frowned. Everything about this mare was wrong. She was gargantuan. She was loud, her laugh ringing in Skyla's ears like church bells. She was covered in dirt and mud, and straw stuck out from her mane, and she smelled of sweat and rain. So many terrible, glaring imperfections.

She was the most gorgeous pony that Skyla had ever seen.

Sweet fucking Celestia, look at those MUSCLES-

No! Skyla took all her head. Look at all that mud! She's filthy! But at the same time, Skyla couldn't help but notice the hard muscles shifting under her peach pink pelt, or her warm, inviting smile, or her bright green eyes, like sunlight on grass....

"I...I'd like t-to-" Skyla tried, stammering. The giant mare peered down at her curiously.

I'd like to climb you like a damned tree.

"-draw you a bath!" Skyla said, a little too loud. "You're uh, covered in m-mud, Miss....?"

"Keen." The pony answered brightly. "I'm Peachy Keen! And it's awful sweet of ya to offer, sugarcube, but a lil mud never hurt anypony. I don't mind bein' a dirty girl for just a little bit longer." And she winked.

Skyla flushed crimson, and for the very first time in her life, her wings snapped open, completely involuntarily, in an awful, honest-to-Celestia wingbo-

Control yourself! You are a princess, not some lust-driven beast! Fold those wings before you put somepony's eye out!

"Are you a friend of Maggie's, miss? Confound her, it ain't right to have a guest waitin' around while she primps and preens in the bathroom!" Peachy's muzzle scrunched up irritably, and Skyla found it oddly adorable. "The least I can do is feed ya. You cleaned the kitchen somethin' fierce, you did. You like cobbler, hon?" Peachy smiled.

"Oh, er-no, no thank you, I'm really not very hungry-"

"Shoot, you ain't gotta be hungry to enjoy dessert!" Peachy laughed, a warm and wonderful sound. "Now here-I've got a fresh one in the oven-"

The mare yanked open the kitchen stove, and pulled out a bubbling peach cobbler. With unhurried ease, she cut a piece for Skyla and dumped it onto an old chipped plate. The piece of cobbler was an uneven golden brown, with bits of the crust flaking off in crumbled mess, and the gooey golden peaches in the core spilling out sloppily.

Skyla cringed, biting her lip. She was used to flawless, artisan meals prepared by the Crystal Empire's finest chefs. This....this cobbler was a sloppy, gooey mess. Disgustingly imperfect.

 Skyla forced a wobbly smile for her host. It would be r-rude to spurn somepony's....home-cooked slop. Trembling only minimally, she lifted her fork, and took a microscopic bite.

Her wings burst open again.

It was though all of heaven and earth and silky, juicy, peachy perfection had twisted together into a beautiful, magnificent rainbow of flavor on her tongue. It was all she could do not to moan, honestly.

Oh sweet fucking HEAVENS-

All princess dining etiquette flew out the window. Skyla flung her fork away, lifted the plate to her muzzle, and began wolfing the dessert down like a starving stallion.

"Whoa, hey now, shug!" Peachy stretched out a concerned hoof, "Easy does it! You'll give yourself a bellyache if you eat like that-if you're that hungry, I can just give you the whole thing to take with you-"

"Thank you." Skyla was breathing hard, and her muzzle was a mess of crumbs and peaches. Her plate was empty. "That was...I didn't even know food could taste like that good-" She gave a small, goofy smile. "Celestia above. My compliments to the chef, Miss Keen."

Peachy blushed, and held up a hoof to hide her red face. "Golly! I always figured my cookin' wasn't up to Auntie Applejack's quality-"

"It was amazing." Skyla asserted. She moved Peachy's hoof out of her face. "Utterly amazing. You are amazing." She said intently, and Peachy's cheeks reddened further while her eyes went wider.

"Aww, gee, you...y-you sweet talker-"

"You wouldn't happen to have a "kiss the cook" apron, would you?" Skyla said playfully. "Because after tasting that, I honestly might-"

Peachy Keen blinked innocently. "I dunno if that'd be the best idea right now, what with me all covered in muck..."

"Well, what was it you said before?" Skyla was feeling brave. "....'I don't mind being a dirty girl'?"

That earned her a deeper blush, and Peachy giggled happily, if a little nervously. "Landsakes! You're an absolute charmer, Miss...?"

"Princess!" Magnolia May suddenly appeared in the kitchen doorway, interrupting Skyla. "Whatever have you been up to, darling? Have you been....cleaning?" She looked with horror at Skyla's mop, then her eyes landed upon the peach cobbler. "Peachy-" Magnolia whirled upon her cousin, yipping like a tiny terrier. "How dare you insult the Crystal Princess' refined palette with your country bumpkin slop?"

"Crystal...Princess?" Peachy looked to Skyla, before her eyes went wide in terrified recognition, and she knelt into a clumsy bow, nearly upending the kitchen table. "P-Princess Skyla-! I am so, so sorry-I'd have never offered you that mess if I'd have known you were a princess! I was just tryin' to be hospitable, I didn't mean to offend your delicate sensibilities, honest!" Peachy was nearly in tears, humiliated.

"No, no!" Skyla squawked. "No, Peachy, please, don't do this, we were having a wonderful time before, please don't treat me like some-"

Magnolia stepped in between the pair. "It doesn't matter if you meant to do it or not-you did it! 'Hospitable', honestly..." Magnolia scoffed, before grabbing Skyla's arm with surprising strength. "C'mon, your highness. We'll go somewhere more up to your standards."

"Wait-" Skyla protested, but Magnolia was dragging her away. "Peachy Keen-"

"Goodbye, your highness." Peachy Keen said quietly, looking down at the floor. "Have a nice time with Magnolia."

Forget it. She's not your Prince Charming. She's just a farmer...you were foolish to have hope in the first place.

Skyla allowed herself to be hauled away. She felt a strange emptiness inside, even deeper than the kind that usually ate at her heart. Madly, to fight it off, she thought off all Peachy Keen's imperfections. Her scruffy, mud-splattered coat. Her messy mane. Her silly accent and odd euphemisms. Her enormous hooves with shaggy, unkempt fetlocks. Her enormous, clumsy body.


That gorgeous smile.

She found herself thinking of the peach cobbler, and how things could look and seem imperfect, but actually be amazing, not in spite of their flaws, but because of them. This was true of both peaches and ponies.

The thought of Peachy Keen made Skyla's chest feel tight and happy and sad all at once, so she pushed the feelings deep down, forced a smile, and tried to enjoy her afternoon out with Magnolia May.


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so skyla's crush is on peachy keen. Finally revealed haha. I didn't mean to make it this big secret for so long but I had trouble thinking of an entertaining way to reveal it. hope ya'll like

skyla is super mega gay for peachy keen but has angst about peachy not being the 'prince charming' skyla expected. peachy has angst about not measuring up enough for a princess

EDIT: Check out this awesome fan animation of Skyla devouring daintily tasting the peach cobbler! Made by the lovely , be sure to click the preview to watch the full GIF


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