”Darn it Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom grumbled, scrubbing at a stubborn spot on the floor. She had a bucket of soapy water next to her and a scrub brush around her hoof. It didn’t quite fit from the last time she put it on, of course because colts are going to be bigger than fillies. Apple Bloom didn’t think she was changing any more, and she still thought of herself as a filly despite... resoundedly proving that wrong earlier, but you don’t magically grow a few inches bigger overnight and not have a few adjustments to make. She was just glad her bow was the only article of clothing she wore, nothing that could end up tight or constricting.

The yellow sort-of-filly was busy trying to clean up the mess they’d made all over the clubhouse floor. Though it still made her heart flutter at the thought of what activity produced these fluids, it sure wasn’t much fun to clean up. It was all protein based which means when it dried it got sticky, and nothing could get it up besides good old elbow grease. The boy stuff Apple Bloom had produced was even thicker than girl stuff and had less water content in it, so it was mostly her mess. She couldn’t berate Scootaloo too much for not staying around to clean up, but what Scoots didn’t have in quality she made up for in quantity. Good gravy, did she get it on the ceiling?

Apple Bloom got on a chair and swiped off the ceiling just in case, but it thankfully turned out the pegasus couldn’t squirt quite that far. Still as soon as Bloom had got up there, she thought she saw another stain below that she could see from the new angle. Climbing down and keeping an eye on it, Apple Bloom leaned closer, trying to see if it was just the color of the floor or if there was anything left to scrub out. As such was her position, facing away from the clubhouse door, the resulting barrage of questions went straight to directly addressing her butt.

”Apple Bloom!” Applejack’s voice announced. Apple Bloom froze. She hadn’t even heard her sister come up the ramp. Applejack was probably so mad she jumped up here all at once.

”Why weren’t you at school? Cheerilee said you were sick? Were you playin hookey? Why does it smell like a colt in here? You been seeing a colt? What’d he do to you? Where is he? I’ll what the buck is between your legs?!”

Apple Bloom didn’t really have words for this kind of situation.

As it turns out Applejack had more than enough words for the situation. At the sight of Apple Bloom’s gently dangling testicles Applejack had backed up so hurriedly that she went right back over the railing, falling painfully to the ground with strong enough curses to kill a sailor on the spot.

”Horsenickety naggone no-good conflated asstrundling..” she stopped her quiet tirade, and holding her head with a pained hiss, when Apple Bloom poked her own head over the railing saying,

”I’m sorry, sis!”

“Apple Bloom! What happened to you?!” Applejack called up to her from below.

“Ah can explain!” Apple Bloom called down.

“Drop down the ramp!” Her sister shouted, stamping demandingly.

“Caint you just jump up again?” Apple Bloom said fearfully

“Caint I‒ I ain’t climbing up there again!” Applejack shouted, swiping her hat off the ground and jamming it on her head. “Drop down the ramp!”

Glumly, Apple Bloom rotated the crank letting the treehouse ramp come to the ground. She tried to go back inside but Applejack was just charging up that ramp. Apple Bloom ended up backed to the wall inside the clubhouse while Applejack faced her down looking, not angry? Nothing was on Applejack’s face but a mask of fear and confusion.

After a moment of stunned silence, Applejack broke the stare first, holding her hat and looking aside saying, “Are you gonna explain to me how in hobgoblin’s bunions you’re suddenly a boy?”

Apple Bloom took a deep breath then explained, “Diamond Tiara said I could get out of my estrus using my hoof but when I did it just got worse because she knew all along and I was taking a soak to cool off my nethers but I couldn’t get home when Discord told me he could fix my problem but he wasn’t really tellin the truth though I thought he was because he was with Fluttershy and then he said he was going to get me a colt but he said it in a weird way and ah didn’t notice and I fell for it then I woke up my estrus was gone and I didn’t notice until I got to school that Discord turned me into a boy!”

Applejack gave Apple Bloom a bewildered look and said, “You wanna try saying that in more than one sentence?”

“Discord turned me into a boy!” Apple Bloom repeated, “An it’s all his fault!”

“What??” Applejack exclaimed, knocking her hat off with the arch of the clubhouse door as she straightened up. “You mean Discord has been sneaking around behind our backs and attacking little fillies who can’t even fight back?”

“Well, not quite, it‒”

“He went and changed you into into this against your will! He’s a monster!”

“No he really‒”

“Who knows who he’ll strike next! Sweetie Belle? Archer? Pinchy? He might turn them into gryphons! Or, or pigs!”

“Ah don’t think that’s quite‒”

“Don’t you worry little sis,” Applejack said frantically tousling her hair like she hated. “We’ll get you back to the way you want to be. He won’t get away with this! We’re gonna turn him right back to stone for a thousand years!”

“What?? But he just‒”

“I’m so sorry,” Applejack told her with the sincerest look into Apple Bloom’s eyes, “We never should have trusted him. To catch you by surprise like that, and take away your maidenhood without even asking. No no don’t try to defend him there’s no excuse for that kind of‒”

“I asked for it!!” Apple Bloom shouted, throwing down the sponge.

Applejack paused, and stuck a hoof in her ear to make sure it didn’t have a cork in it, then said, “Want to run that by me again?”

One slower explanation later, Applejack was a lot calmer. A bit too calm in fact.

“Heh heh, last thing on your mind huh?”

“It ain’t funny, sis!”

The two had reached a neutral position, the larger pony fitting inside the clubhouse with little trouble other than its low ceilings threatening to knock off her hat again. They were both settled on the floor, with a throw pillow for Apple Bloom, and one she had tossed for her sister. Applejack crossed her forehoof, dangling it over the other, and said “Ah know but, you have to admit he’s right, right?”

Apple Bloom had to think about the answer to that one. Truth be told Apple Bloom had been thinking of just about nothing but estrus for the last half day. It just wasn’t her estrus she was thinking about. There was no way in Tartarus she was going to break her promise to Scootaloo, but Apple Bloom knew her big sister well. You don’t lie to Applejack without... consequences.

“...right?” Applejack prompted again with a nervous flick of her tail.

“Oh, right right!” Apple Bloom answered, “Discord was totally right. My estrus ain’t botherin me at all. It was like a ...breath of fresh air this morning. It’s so much easier just to think even. But ah didn’t ever think he meant me.”

Applejack shook her head. “Look Apple Bloom, this is a mighty... mighty weird fix you got yourself in, but I know one mare who can set it right.”

“Yeah?” Apple Bloom perked her ears curiously, “Who?”

“You know my friend Twilight?” Applejack asked with a familiar smile at the memory of her friend.

“Um... the librarian?” Apple Bloom asked more uncertainly.

“She’s a lot more than a librarian,” Applejack corrected her, “She knows all sorts of crazy hocus pocus. And who’s to say there isn’t a solution in one of those fancy books of hers?”

Apple Bloom gave her sister a strained smile, and said, “Applejack, remember the last time the librarian tried to help me?”

Sacre bleu! Plus de marques de cutie?! Qu'est-ce c'est?! Je parle français?!
My sister’s speakin’ in Fancy!
We gotta find somepony to mix up a cure, and fast!
Tut suite!

“As I recall that one was your fault after all.” Applejack said raising an unimpressed eyebrow.

Apple Bloom scraped her hoof on the floor of the clubhouse admitting, “Yeah... but‒”

“No buts missy‒ I mean sonny‒ Ah mean”

“Ahm still a filly,” Apple Bloom insisted sullenly.

“We’re gonna get you to Twilight,” Applejack insisted, standing up and helping Apple Bloom to her feet. She headbutted Apple Bloom out the door, almost losing her hat in the process. “And Twilight’s gonna know just what to do to fix this,” her sister said as they descended the ramp. “You just wait and see.”

“I have absolutely positively no idea how to fix this.”

“Twilight, please!” Applejack exclaimed anxiously.

They had got to the library without incident, and by incident Apple Bloom meant Diamond Tiara catching her like this. Sure enough that purple librarian was all too happy to help, and sure enough she was just as useless as she was the last time. Or the time before that when her sister got all teenyified. Oh, where’s Zecora when you need her? If only that zebra could show up at the most convenient of moments just when her services were needed as condusive to the plot sequence!

Apple Bloom looked behind her, but Zecora hadn’t walked into the library just now. It was a long shot, anyway.

While Apple Bloom stood closer to the swinging door outside, Applejack stood in the library’s central public area, right by that horse head thing, looking up at Twilight who was up above them, halfway up the stairs in the middle of shelving some books that had been checked back in.

“I told you, Applejack,” Twilight Sparkle said patiently. “Gender spells are high level magic. The only one I know of takes at least three unicorns at peak thaumatic output, and even if I could find two other unicorns on short notice who were just as practiced as myself, this is chaos magic we’re talking about! It interacts badly with other spellwork. She could end up with both genders, or no gender at all!”

“Ah’ll take that last one,” Apple Bloom grumbled quietly.

Applejack looked skeptically at Twilight’s wings. The library had expanded a lot recently and there were more books in those additions to the building than even the main library. “You sure there ain’t an answer in one of these new books of yours?”

Twilight fluttered down on her light fluttery hooves, descending from above down the wooden staircase along the wall. Her alicorn was just a bit longer than that of other unicorns, both a sign that she didn’t have it filed on a regular basis, and a subtle if cosmetic way to show everypony her power levels.

“Books are not the answer to everything,” Twilight said, grinding her teeth as if she had a very difficult time forming that sentence. “It’s just a matter of power and control. There’s only one way to safely undo Discord’s magic.”

“The Elements of Harmony!” Applejack exclaimed. “Of course!”

“Two ways,” Twilight facehooved. “There’s only two ways to safely undo Discord’s magic. I was referring to Discord himself, who unlike the Elements, presumably, can be reasoned with. The elements are even less predictable than Discord himself! There is no way to predict what effect they might have. Believe it or not Applejack, Discord really has reformed. I won’t trust him any further than I can telekinese and if anything he’s gotten even more infuriating toeing the line of chaos and harmony like a madpony. Does Apple Bloom look chaotic to you?”

“Well no, but‒”

“Unharmonious? Discordant? Anything the elements would even care about, like a threat to all of Equestria?”

“Ah get it Twilight,” Applejack said irritably. They both were pretty irritable for some reason. Apple Bloom was a little scared by their uncharacteristic reaction. Maybe they were Discorded? Maybe‒oh yeah, estrus.

The two mares fumed at each other as they faced off, one married to her work and the other simply too socially awkward to have any kind of reliable relationship. Both in a terrible mood.

“How about I make us some tea?!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, interrupting their little staring match. Causing both of them to look at her.

“What!” they shouted at her together.

Oops.

They both startled, and looked at each other. Twilight and Applejack both blushed lifting a hoof to their mouth embarassedly.

“Ah, Ahm sorry Twilight,” Applejack said, “It’s the season you know.”

“Tea would be nice, Apple Bloom,” Twilight said raggedly without looking in Apple Bloom’s direction, “I assume you know what kind. Spike! Show Apple Bloom where the tea is!”

“I didn’t do it! I’m innocent!” drifted a high voice from the second story. “Don’t come up, I’m armed!”

Twilight laughed nervously at the others and shrugged, “Typical colt,” she drawled. “You know how it is, uh,” Twilight fidgeted awkwardly saying, “no offense, Apple Bloom.”

“Just tell me where the tea is,” Apple Bloom said, not really liking where this conversation about her not really being a filly and what about a colt was typical, was going.

One tea time later—and that actually took a long time because you don’t want to sip at hot Moon tea. You had to cool it so you could slug it down without having to taste it. But one tea time later and Apple Bloom was once again the full recipient of Twilight’s attention. For whatever that might be worth.

“It’s fascinating really,” Twilight said the tape measure snapping up into its case as she noted down the measurements. “You not only have the anatomy of a colt but the build of one, well developed too.” She wrapped a blood pressure cuff around Apple Bloom’s elbow and started squeezing it shut. “Normally you would have the same build and have to grow into your new gender the old fashioned way so to speak.”

“I dunno Twilight I‒ow!” Twilight took the blood sample to her machine and eyeballed critically at the rainbow emanating from the spectrometry. “Either Discord is more creative than I imagined or he may have had a source for your new physiology. Stand on this scale please.”

Apple Bloom stood on the scale saying, “You mean I have some other colt’s body?”

“Not at all!” Twilight corrected, making note of Apple Bloom’s weight and average density. “It’s just much simpler to alter someone’s form if an existing physiological template exists.”

“Physio-what?”

“Are there any colts in your class with your approximate height and nose bridge width?”

“Can we get back on topic here?” Applejack said, kicking aside the measureomometer which rolled away from them across the room. “Your calculatin measurements are going to have to wait for another time when it isn’t my sister, and when the varmint who did it ain’t getting off scot free.”

“But how are we gonna get Discord?” Apple Bloom protested, pulling off the giant helmet with all the flashing light bulbs on it. Twilight’s ears went flat as the encephalogram cut off but she didn’t push the issue.

“You’re right Applejack,” Twilight said, then to Apple Bloom, “Well, my recommendation would be asking Fluttershy. She is Discord’s closest friend for some reason and she usually has him on a pretty short leash.”

“I talked to her already,” Apple Bloom sighed, “She said he went off to Canterlot and wouldn’t be back for days.”

“Wait a minute, you talked to Fluttershy?” Applejack said raising an eyebrow, “I thought you ran straight to the clubhouse and hid out all day.”

“I kinda did go to her first,” Apple Bloom admitted. “Ah went straight to the clubhouse when she couldn’t help me.”

“Why didn’t you stay with her and go to Twilight?” Applejack asked. “For that matter why didn’t Fluttershy come tell us right away?”

“I couldn’t stay with her because I‒” oh horse apples. Apple Bloom clammed up as fast as she could but it was too late.

“Because you what?” Applejack asked. The filly’s mind spun, trying to find a way to frame this in a positive light. Or in a not wanting Fluttershy as your special somepony light. Or in a not mentioning the penis at all light. Nothing was coming up.

“B-b-because I, you know, it’s part of the whole bein a colt thing,” Apple Bloom confessed miserably. “I mean she’s real pretty f-for a mare and my thing was ah- I started gettin you know excited and”

“Moving on then!” Twilight declared loudly, as Applejack didn’t seem to be able to find words at the moment. “We have a problem,” Twilight stated methodically, “Discord is the problem. We have to find Discord to fix the problem. You might be asking yourself how we will be finding this treacherous being?”

“How will you find this treacherous being?” Apple Bloom gasped, as Twilight exposited proudly.

“I might have just the thing,” Twilight Sparkle said with a sly wink. “C’mon Applejack, let’s gather the rest of the girls!”

“So wait,” Apple Bloom held up a hoof, “You are usin the Elements of Harmony?”

Twilight just smiled cryptically saying, “When we do use them, you’ll probably get a good idea why we shouldn’t use them on you.”

So the three of them set out to find “the girls.” Which referred to Twilight’s and by extension Applejack’s best friends. Apple Bloom only had two best friends, but these grownup ponies had lots more time to slowly develop their relationships together over a period of years before declaring their friendship, so it made sense that they’d have more. Of the remaining 4, Rainbow Dash was easiest to spot, but hardest to track down. You could barely blink before she was halfway across town high up in the sky. So instead, Pinkie Pie was the first pony they picked up. She was easy to find, locate and approach, and honestly, kind of hard to get rid of.

“Ooh does this mean you get a new birthday party or maybe a new body party or I wonder if there’s a cutecinera for boys did you get your cutie mark no that would be silly what would a being a boy cutie mark even look like? Do you still like sweets? I bet you don’t like that mean old Moon tea but who does? or maybe it tastes really good to colts does it huh? Do you have the same favorite color do you still like apples, oh tell me you still like apples! once I was”

Apple Bloom wasn’t a particularly old filly, but she was old enough to know not to try to keep up with a conversation from Pinkie Pie. Enough confusing tirades on topics ranging from parties to rock farms had convinced Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle of that. The pink pony didn’t seem to mind her conversation being one sided, but boy was she annoying to tune out. She had to have that high voice that just pierced whatever thoughts you were thinking about. But she was the first they gathered because, with Pinkie Pie’s spooky intuition they managed to track down Rainbow Dash’s latest napping spot, and while Dash went to get Fluttershy the rest of them went to Carousel Boutique.

Pinkie’s incessant badgering was annoying to Apple Bloom, but it was downright infuriating to Twilight, who eventually just snapped and started yelling at her over and over again to shut up. Of course Pinkie took that as a challenge and started making up silly ways to respond to “Shut up!” Applejack finally just stuffed her hoof in Pinkie’s mouth, and that ended that. But Twilight was still P.O.’d about it. Even if she didn’t admit it, now she was making venemous jabs at Pinkie Pie every other sentence, generally implying things about her mother. Which was downright cold because everypony knew what happened to Pinkie Pie’s mother.

Twilight did know that, right?

That led to Applejack laying into Twilight, and they were bickering at top volume when they walked up to the boutique. Enough so that Rarity shoved the door open looking rather dissheveled saying “Is there something I can help you with?” in a tone implying there was nothing she would help anyone with who walked into her shop with that attitude.

That stopped Applejack and Twilight from bickering long enough for Twilight to smile at Rarity and say, “I’m sorry to bother you Rarity, but we really need the Elements of Harmony. Discord is up to no good and we need to summon him right away.”

Rarity seemed hesitant at that, saying “As in, right away right away, or some time this afternoon right away?”

Twilight pointed at Apple Bloom who was trying to be invisible out there on the, thankfully unbusy streets of Ponyville. It was hard to be invisible when you were bright yellow with a bright red mop of hair on your head and tail. “Apple Bloom has been transformed into a stallion by Discord, and he’s nowhere to be found.”

Rarity stuck her head out the door, taking an uncomfortably long look at Apple Bloom, before turning to Twilight and saying “Sorry, I’m rather busy with a client at the moment. Are you sure this can’t‒”

“Who’s at the door?” came a stallion’s voice from inside the boutique. Rarity’s face immediately turned bright red, an impressive feat for a pearl white unicorn, and she slammed the door in their faces, shouting through it “I’ll be out in a moment! Do not go anywhere!” Then she could be heard running into the back room saying intelligible words but in a very chastising sounding tone.

“Well that wasn’t very friendly,” Twilight grumbled.

“Oh like you’re one to talk,” Applejack shot at her. Shots fired, their argument resumed immediately.

Apple Bloom was trying unsuccessfully to change her colors like a chameleon to the pink and lavender of Carousel Boutique’s walls, when alas and alack, she was at last spotted by one of the fillies from school, coming around the building from behind her.

“Apple Bloom is that‒you?” came a familiar voice behind Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom startled and spun around, goggle eyed. She saw before her, a pinkish white unicorn with a beautifully curled lavender and pink mane and tail, whose light green eyes gave her innocent appearance an eerie sort of otherworldliness. Apple Bloom relaxed with a sigh, “Oh, Sweetie Belle.”

Then she realized it was Sweetie Belle and she started to get nervous again.

“Is it really true?” Sweetie said, leaning toward her, peering fearfully at Apple Bloom, “You’re really a... a colt now?”

“Ahm a filly, and ah always will be,” Apple Bloom stated tensely as if it were the show bible truth. “But uh... Discord kinda... yeah he made me a... a colt.”

“Oh.” Sweetie Belle said, trailing off into silence. Well, as silent a silence as you could call a bunch of arguing grownups yelling at each other distantly, further around the curve of the wall of Carousel Boutike. Couldn’t Pinkie Pie stop arguing at both sides already?

“So...” Apple Bloom prompted, kicking a hoof against the dirt, looking at the soft furred compact unicorn who was her best friend, now having to look down just a bit to look Sweetie Belle in the eyes. Not that Sweetie Belle would look her in the eyes. While they stood there, Sweetie’s blush just deepened until even her knees were blushing. “What’s up?” Apple Bloom asked desperately.

“...” said Sweetie Belle eloquently. She wasn’t doing as convincing a beet impression as Rarity, but it wasn’t far off.

“Aw come on Sweetie Belle, relax!” Apple Bloom said, nudging her shoulder. Sweetie just squeaked and jumped away a little. Apple Bloom backed up from her worriedly saying “Y-you’re actin like I’m some sort of stranger!”

“But you’re a...” Sweetie Belle said, unable to finish her sentence.

“Ahm still me,” Apple Bloom insisted. She was pretty darn sure of it too. Heck Apple Bloom felt more like herself than she had since this stupid estrus thing had started. Sweetie didn’t seem convinced though.

“You mean we’re still...friends?” the little unicorn offered hopefully.

“Sweetie, we’ll always be friends,” Apple Bloom said to her in a level tone, “We made a pact!” It sounded more powerful when Apple Bloom said it with this voice. She just sounded so assertive and confident, but still totally like a colt. “Is it mah voice?” she asked, “I can’t help it it’s just part of the deal.”

“Well...” Sweetie looked Apple Bloom up and down out of the very corner of her eye.

“O.K...” she said at last. Her soft tones were as pleasant as they were melodious, but whatever she was trying to say it just wasn’t reaching Apple Bloom’s understanding. O.K. what? That Sweetie just beside herself in nervous anticipation. Was it her estrus?

“Sweetie, you gotta talk to me,” Apple Bloom pleaded, “Ah know your estrus is makin’ things really hard for you, but you gotta talk about it if you want to fix it. Ah know being a colt makes me look all weird and probably makes your undersides go off like Scootaloo’s but Sweetie, I’m your friend. I need you to talk to me!”

Apple Bloom stood there looking at Sweetie, not knowing what else to say. The exhuberant friend of hers was acting veritably fluttershish. Really, what was Sweetie afraid of? It wasn’t like Apple Bloom could do anything... bad to her. She could do something very good to Sweetie Belle, but Sweetie Belle wouldn’t know that yet. Apple Bloom wanted to tell her but, she promised Scootaloo she’d keep it secret. Scootaloo could tell Sweetie herself later, maybe.

“So you really really do have a p... a thing?” Sweetie Belle said suddenly. “A... a boy thing?”

“It’s called a penis, Sweetie Belle,” Apple Bloom said gently, and she kind of had to admit it now that she said that, “And... y-yeah yeah I got a boy thing. Three boy things really.”

“Boys have three peni‒!” Sweetie’s voice died in a shocked squeak. She didn’t fall over like a fainting goat, but she definitely looked like she wasn’t going to be walking away from leaning against the Boutique wall after a shocker like that.

Apple Bloom laughed tensely and shook her head, “No boys only have one. I mean the dangly things that boys have too. There’s the penis and then there’s two balls in a kind of sack that sorta hang there.” Apple Bloom started to drool at the thought of the good long look she got at Rumble’s three things. Even Featherweights were kind of... well... nah, still creepy.

Sweetie Belle was blushing again and looking down, relaxed but all quiet like and stuff. “C’mon Sweetie, I was just jokin with you,” Apple Bloom pleaded, to no response. “I wasn’t talkin’ about mine. I was talking about when ah saw Rumble’s junk... when I was still a... a filly, before all this happened.”

“So, you’re still Apple Bloom just,” Sweetie paused, struggling with her wording, “Just with boy parts.”

“That’s right,” Apple Bloom said, nuzzling Sweetie Belle’s shoulder again. Sweetie didn’t cringe away this time, thank Celestia. Apple Bloom wouldn’t know what to do if her friend just turned cold on her overnight. It was strange, but maybe they could still be friends even if Apple Bloom was stuck with, well, boy parts.

“Apple Bloom,” Sweetie said suddenly, a little more loudly. She fixed Apple Bloom’s gaze for the first time, a curious intensity burning in her eyes as Apple Bloom found herself captivated by the need that smouldered in those dilated lime rings, “I really,” Sweetie Belle said, “Really really”

“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity shouted galloping up to them. “What are you doing?!”

“We’re... talking?” said Apple Bloom breaking Sweetie Belle’s gaze to look at Rarity, and instantly regretting doing so. When would she get another chance to look into Sweetie Belle’s eyes like that?

“Enough from you,” Rarity huffed at Apple Bloom, then grabbed Sweetie by the ear with her magic. “Come along Sweetie Belle, we need to get you somewhere with less ...trouble.” Rarity left a strong emphasis on that last word.

“Ow, hey, Rarity!” Sweetie protested, digging her hooves in trying to stop herself from being pulled away.

“Rarity, Apple Bloom, come on,” Twilight said before Apple Bloom could react, approaching right behind when Rarity walked around to see them, “Rainbow Dash wants to meet us on the south green to perform the summoning.”

“What are they‒?” Sweetie asked looking at Apple Bloom confusedly.

“Discord did this, and he’s gonna undid this too,” Apple Bloom answered matter-of-factly. “I’ll be a filly again before you can shake your tail.”

“Do you have to?” Sweetie whined.

“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity shouted again in outrage. Apple Bloom couldn’t really process what she just heard. Sweetie wanted her to stay a boy? This time, Rarity managed to lift the young unicorn in the air entirely, leaving Sweetie to wave her hooves below her ineffectively.

“That is exactly what is going to happen,” Rarity said to Sweetie’s face, “And you’re going to your room!”

“What?!” Sweetie protested, swinging helplessly, “But I want to go with Ap‒ I want to go with you!”

“No arguing, sister,” Rarity sniffed, “This is for your own good. You may play with Apple Bloom all you like once she is a filly again. You know the rules. Colts are strictly off limits!”

“Rarity, no!” Sweetie protested, her horn sparking green as she fought with her sister’s magic.

“Twilight,” Rarity snapped, “A little help here?”

Sweetie had a full out tantrum when she saw Twilight’s magic wrap around her too. “Let me go!” she screamed, “Stop it!! Stop it!!”

Twilight smiled apologetically, but said “Rarity’s right. You should stay inside until we get this cleared up.”

“You’re wrong!” Sweetie yelled, “You’re wrong! You just want to hurt me!! I hate you! I just want to be with him! Why can’t you let me go! Why are you hurting me?!”

“I hate you! I hate‒” was the last thing Apple Bloom heard before the door closed on them and Sweetie’s protests drifted further inside. Apple Bloom wanted to... she wanted to run after Sweetie Belle, and ...stop them from hurting her, whatever they were doing. She really felt like they were doing something horrible to Sweetie, but what? Putting her on timeout like a baby? But she was kinda actin like a baby. Why was Sweetie so upset though? She just threw a fit the moment she got pulled away from Apple Bloom. Sure her sister’s being all snooty, but that never made Sweetie Belle flip her lid before, not even that one time when things got real bad.

That was the other reason Apple Bloom didn’t run after Sweetie Belle, because she’d never seen her that angry before. And it came right out of the blue. All blushing and quiet, then just... losing it. And... that scared Apple Bloom.

Apple Bloom couldn’t wait to get back to estrus if this is what Discord’s magic did to her friends.

Rarity and Twilight emerged from the Boutique without Sweetie Belle. You could hear her sobbing from inside though. They actually looked horribly guilty about it, like they had to take away her favorite puppy. Apple Bloom wanted to be mad at them, but they just seemed so concerned, like they were really trying to help Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom couldn’t stop trembling. It looked like Applejack wanted to comfort her, or hold her gently, but Applejack wouldn’t even let Apple Bloom near her like this. This whole situation was scaring Apple Bloom so much more now. She wanted to be out of this colt body right away, and never have to hear that heart wrenching sound coming from Sweetie Belle ever again.

Not nearly soon enough, they were all on the southern green by the park, and after passing out the element talismans, Twilight joined the 6 of them in a circle, her regalia firmly upon her head. Apple Bloom watched from outside the circle, open mouthed as a brilliant light began to shine from each talisman, and the six began to rise up into the air, pegasus unicorn and earth pony alike. The power in the air was so strong you could taste it. It made your bones vibrate without any sound. The ground was rumbling and a brilliant rainbow was lazily traveling from talisman to talisman, connecting each in a irregular hoop. Then it was all released in a torrentuous crash, a tornado of rainbow light that spun faster than the eye could see. Within it was manifesting...

...

A bathtub?

The light died quickly as the six returned to earth. Apple Bloom shivered in place, just full of a bubbly pleasant lit up feeling, like she could take on the world. But uh... what was up with the bathtub?

“Twilight,” Applejack said in a warning tone.

“That’s just his bathtub!” Rainbow Dash declared. “Wasn’t your spell supposed to summon Discord?”

“Rainbow has a point, darling,” Rarity observed.

“Um, he was in his bathtub last time,” Fluttershy mentioned, but nopony noticed.

Twilight walked up to the bathtub, then squinted at it. Then she walked around the bathtub and squinted at it again.

“I don’t know how he did it,” she hissed disgustedly, “But he managed to shift the summoning from himself to his bathtub.”

“So you mean,” Applejack piped up, “All that power and all we can do now is summon...”

“...his bathtub, yes,” Twilight said. That was Pinkie’s cue to fall over laughing.

“Pinkie...” Twilight said testily, giving the tub a vicious kick. Instead of putting a hole in it though, it appeared to be made out of solid rubber, not ceramic and it smacked her hoof right back. Pinkie didn’t even slightly stop laughing.

“Pinkie!” Twilight snapped a little louder, and it was clear that Pinkie was trying to stop, but all she could gasp out was,

“Can’t... bathtub... summon...” in between belly laughs and snorts.

When Pinkie had calmed down enough to stop laughing, Twilight added in a rather disgruntled tone, “You know for the element of Laughter you sure aren’t making anypony laugh.”

“You’re right Twilight,” Pinkie said sidling up to her slyly, “I’m not making anypony laugh... yet.”

Then she collapsed laughing again.

“Pinkie being Pinkie,” Rainbow admonished, holding a hoof up at Twilight before she could retort.

“It’s all in the set-up!” Pinkie screamed in between laughs.

Twilight rolled her eyes in acquiescence and sighed, “Well this was one collosal waste of time.”

“Is there any other way you could summon him?” Apple Bloom pleaded. “I can’t go to school like this I just can’t!”

“We’ll work something out, Apple Bloom,” her sister Applejack said reassuringly. Apple Bloom heaved a sigh of relief at that. Of course they would work something it. Applejack seemed just extra trustworthy right about now, and Apple Bloom just knew she could trust her with anything. She smiled at the reassuring calm that swept over her, saying,

“Thanks, sis.”

“Um, excuse me,” Fluttershy piped up quietly.

“Yes Fluttershy, what is it?” Twilight asked her pleasantly. “Any ideas?”

“Discord said um, that he was going to Canterlot, on an important mission for the princesses.”

A tick, and then Twilight announced, “A letter! That’s brilliant!”

“Oh um, thank you” Fluttershy said, drowned out by Twilight announcing,

“I’ll just send a letter to the princesses. If he’s not with them then they’ll know where he is for sure.”

Twilight called out loudly, “Spike, take a letter!”

Then she looked around and blushed, laughing nervously, “Eh heh heh, he must still be holed up in the library.” Looking down in shame, Twilight grudgingly admitted, “I may have been a little testy when I woke up this morning.”

Spike was a piece of work that’s for sure. It was Apple Bloom in the end who managed to coax him down from his surprisingly defensible bookshelf fort.

“They’re just ponies Spike,” Apple Bloom assured him, “Even if we get a little irritable this time of year, Twilight would never put you in danger. She loves you.”

“You didn’t see her before her morning coffee...” Spike grumbled sounding unconvinced. He let himself be led down, and Twilight even gave him his Friday sapphire today, promising to double it up when Friday came as an apology for snapping at him this morning.

“Heh... snapping,” was all he said to that.

Twilight wrote out her letter, leaving out Apple Bloom’s precise situation after Apple Bloom got on her knees and prayed to Twilight not to let the princesses of the land know that she had messed up so badly as to lose her very marehood. And after that there was nothing left but to wait.

“I need to work off some of this energy, or I won’t get any sleep tonight” Rainbow Dash announced, limbering herself up. She aileron rolled out through an open window on the west side of the main reading room, and disappeared into the sky.

“I should get back to Sweetie Belle,” Rarity suggested, “I did leave her a bit abruptly there.”

“Yeah. Abruptly.” Apple Bloom parroted sarcastically.

“This does not concern you!” Rarity said angrily to the little colt filly abomination. “If you were a filly you would understand!”

“I am a filly!” Apple Bloom shouted right back. “Why does that even matter? Is this about the estrus? Because I know it stinks!”

Rarity blinked, and then she looked at Applejack, who tried to find somewhere else to look at that very moment.

“You mean you haven’t...” she prompted to Applejack, “You know, you haven’t yet... talked with her?”

“It‒it’s only the first year anyway,” Applejack said nervously, “Better to wait until it’s you know, give her a chance to be a kid.”

“I‒I, you’re right,” Rarity conceded adding quietly that, “I can’t imagine Sweetie Belle would ever...”

“Eyup,” Applejack said, crossing a hoof again.

“What are you two talking about?” Apple Bloom exclaimed in sheer frustration.

“It’s just something for when you’re older, sweetie,” Rarity said, smiling congenially at her.

“Oh, so like a cutecinera?”

Rarity seemed nonplussed.

“Yeah,” Applejack cut in, “It’s... just some dumb thing about cutie marks, nothing worth mentioning really!” leaning back to rub her own cutie mark until it sparkled. “Gotta buff em good you do.” Rarity gave her a wan look.

“Hah, you just wait,” declared Apple Bloom. “I’ll get my cutie mark before you know it, and then you’ll have to tell me!”

“Anyway I really must go,” Rarity said. “Sweetie Belle simply can not wait nor take second priority a moment longer!”

Despite Apple Bloom’s grumbling, Rarity left without another word, in the dramatic fashion that she always left everywhere.

Twilight looked at Spike, who shrugged back. She started to say “I suppose you can go too, Pink...” and then looked around. “Where’s Pinkie Pie?”

“Suppose she left already,” Applejack offered. It was rare that you saw that hot pink ninja, whether she was coming or going.

“How are you doing?” came Fluttershy’s quiet voice next to Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom’s tail immediately went down and she forced a smile at Fluttershy saying,

“Oh, you know, fine.”

“I’m sorry about earlier,” Fluttershy confessed. “I should have known I would have that... I mean, it must be awful what you’re going through.”

“Yeah I’m doin alright though,” Apple Bloom smiled awkwardly, subtly crossing her legs if maybe that would help. Jeez Fluttershy was right there and

“Fluttershy, can we talk?” Twilight butted in. Apple Bloom was at the same time grateful and resentful. Twilight took Fluttershy off into a different room, and when Twilight came back she said, “Fluttershy had to head home too. Her uh, animals were calling.”

That left just Applejack and Apple Bloom.

“Listen, I don’t know if she’s busy or not,” Twilight said apologetically, “She is a princess and all. I could let you know tomorrow if she says anything.”

“Nah, we’ll wait,” Applejack said with a note of finality.

“You sure sis?” Apple Bloom piped up, “There’s that carrot field needs turnin and we gotta slop the pigs before it gets too late.” She couldn’t see outside enough to tell where the sun was, but Apple Bloom had a good sense for time, and it had been a long day already.

“I wanna get this over and done with,” Applejack declared, stomping. And that was that.

The four of them waited in the library. And waited. Applejack was too stubborn and Apple Bloom too terrified to do anything else, and Twilight seemed to want to keep an eye on both of them. Spike belched out the reply eventually, in a fiery blast that scared Apple Bloom half to death. Applejack assured her that it couldn’t burn anything though, and Spike said he was living in something that was a tree and a library, so he probably had a pretty good idea how to control his flame. With that, he opened the message and began to read.

“My faithful protegé, Twilight Sparkle,” Spike’s voice rang out brightly. It was kind of weird to hear the princess’s words being said by a baby dragon. But whatever.

“I am sorry to hear you are having issues that only Discord can solve. You can be rest assured that he is performing very well at his important duties here at the palace. My sister and I both appreciate your concern, but it is very important that he come right here, right now. He will be available to service you within a week of long, hard effort. Until that climactic time, unless it is a powerful and intense emergency that puts all of Equestria in danger without using protection, you will have to understand that I have needs, and the decisions I make are not done lightly. But rather, most gravidly.”

Spike paused here at an unintelligible part of the manuscript, where it looked like some mysterious force had dragged the quill across the page.

“On second thought,” he continued beyond that, “I have decided, that leaving you unaware of what this national treasure is doing for me would be unwise. You have to understand however that this information is top secret and must be heard by you and your friends alone. I have faith in you Twilight that given the truth you will always touch the right places and come through in the end. Discord has been performing the backwards double twist”

“Stop. Reading!” Twilight shouted, an inch away from the purple dragon. “Didn’t you hear what she said? This is big! This is top secret! This could be the end of Equestria as we know it. And you,” she snatched the manuscript out of his claws with her magic, “Don’t need to be reading that.”

She glanced at Apple Bloom adding, “Sorry, you too. This is strict Element business only.”

“You’re gonna have to round everyone up again to tell them,” Applejack said. “And it’s starting to get dark, so afor’n anything I gotta get Apple Bloom here outta town. Can’t just leave a colt wandering around after hours– I mean, you know what I mean.”

“Oh, right right,” Twilight said.

“What’s wrong with bein a colt!” Apple Bloom protested. “I can walk home by myself just fine!”

“Ain’t nothing doing,” Applejack insisted. “There are ponies who go after colts out there, especially this time a year, and you have to be extra careful as long as you’re... like this.”

“This is stupid,” Apple Bloom grumbled, “I’m a colt, not a big baby!”

“Just humor me on this, alright Apple Bloom?”

“...O.K. sis.”

And of course Applejack was worried over nothing. The walk home was completely uneventful. Sure a few mares were looking their way for some reason, but there wasn’t anything to be worried about. As they neared the farmhouse, Apple Bloom leaned against her sister lovingly and was startled when Applejack moved away at her touch. Actually, wasn’t Applejack sweating awfully hard for just a quick walk across town?

“You O.K. sis?” Apple Bloom asked, tilting her head contemplatively.

Applejack kept glancing at her furtively saying, “Oh ahm fine. No problems here.”

“You ain’t gettin sick are you?”

“What? Why? I’m healthy as a horse!”

“Well it’s just you’re not usually sweatin so much unless you’ve been bucking a lot.”

“Heh... buckin... yeah...”

“So?”

Applejack stopped and lifted a hoof thoughtfully, then continued on into the farmhouse. “Let’s just get you some grub Apple Bloom. You can do the chores tomorrow. Big Mac! Granny! You here?”

Well now Apple Bloom was sure there was something wrong with Applejack. This better not be a repeat of the Ergot incident.

Once inside, Applejack left Apple Bloom in the very awkward hooves of her older brother Big Macintosh. He just kind of stared at Apple Bloom with that expressionless face of his, while she stared back, his utter and complete shock betrayed by the fact that he usually didn’t go this long without inaction. But even as well as she knew him, Big Macintosh was a difficult pony to understand what was going on in his head.

“Ahm a boy now,” she said at last, thinking that’s what he wanted to know, maybe.

“Eyup,” he agreed.

“But ahm still a filly,” she added, “I just got magicked like this.”

“Right then,” he said, turned on his hooves and went to work on dinner.

Unfortunately Applejack couldn’t stay for dinner as she had that important Element stuff thing to deal with, and so late in the evening too. She just grabbed some leftover fritters on her nose and tromped out again, promising she’d be back as soon as she can and apologizing for the setbacks. It was hard running a farm with just two ponies, two and a half if you counted Apple Bloom. That’s why Bloom wanted to be a big pony, so that she could help with the bucking and make them a ton of bits and then they would stop worrying about missing a day or close shaves.

With her new colt body, Apple Bloom found herself eager to check her height, and maybe if she wouldn’t be a bit stronger about bucking trees. That sure would be a help!

After an uneventful dinner, and an awkward, monosyllabic conversation with Big Macintosh about any tips for being a boy (“Got any tips for bein a boy?” “Nope.” “Y’sure?” “Eyup.”), Apple Bloom had retired to her bed. She didn’t sleep easy though. There was this weird smell all over everything. The frustration of the events previous had been on her mind, not to mention what she was going to do about school. And Sweetie had acted so weird, like she thought Apple Bloom was an entirely different pony. Well, technically Apple Bloom was pretty different but she was still herself! She just couldn’t piece together why Sweetie Belle was walking on eggshells the whole time they were talking, and why Rarity up and snatched her away like that. Bloom could swear that look Rarity gave Apple Bloom when she took Sweetie Belle away had been almost venemous.

Author's Notes:

Oh no, original content! Everybody unfave this, quick!!