Rarity looked around the train station. Taking a deep breath of the cool air, she couldn't help but note how wonderful she felt, how full of life. "Okay, I have all my things, tapes, scissors, some test fabric…" Trailing off, the mare gave a little monosyllabic 'mmf' of approval.

"Rarity Belle?" The voice wasn't a guard's—or so Rarity was sure by the tone—but as the Ponyvillian turned to see who was addressing her she saw that it really was a guard, a female unicorn.

"Yes, darling?" Rarity batted her lashes at the mare, this seemed such an outrageously forward idea that she quite approved. "Are you here to escort me?"

"Gleaming Shine, at your service. Do you have anything I could carry?" Gleam only noticed the three huge cases behind the fashionista after she had offered. "Like those?"

"If you would?" Rarity selected one of the cases for herself. "I can take this one, but if you could help with the rest it would be darling of you." Plucking up the smaller of the cases with her magic, Rarity began to trot toward the palace in the distance.

Thanking her lucky stars for the work Captain Armor had put her through recently, Gleam hefted two of the heavy cases and started off after her charge. "I am at your disposal for your visit, so if you wish to see anything, after meeting with the Princess of course."

"Oh, that would be wonderful, but I absolutely can't do such things until my work is done." Rarity's eyes narrowed as she pondered something. "At my disposal?" Gleam was suddenly worried, a cold sweat rand down her back—a sweat that had nothing to do with lifting apparently half of the clothing supplies of Equestria—she gave a slow nod. "Wonderful, how are you with a needle and thread?"

"I fix my own uniform, when it is just minor things. I adjusted it too, they only had ones for stallions." Despite the fashionista being important enough for the Princess and Captain to call in 'as a friend', Gleam found herself relaxing with her. "It would chafe so much I could barely run half what I should have been…" She was rambling and she knew it, Gleam snapped her snout closed and blushed.

"Oh darling, you will simply have to let me take a look, I am sure we will have time. Particularly if I have somepony to help me." Rarity smiled, it was hard not to be relaxed and sharing, being the Element Bearer of Generosity, after all. "Do you have any clue on why I am here? Princess Cadance just sent me a letter saying there was a fashion emergency, when a princess sends that sort of letter, you drop things and gallop."

"Not a clue. But if she said emergency, she means it. I owe… well, my job to Princess Cadance. It was her insistence that the guard allow mares to join, for the first time in history." Despite the heavy load, despite keeping up the conversation with Rarity, Gleam pranced. Just the thought of the promises in her Princess' eyes made her heart burn with the resolve to protect her empire and carry out every order.

Reaching the main promenade, Rarity approached one of the big doors that would lead up into the palace. "I simply must offer to redesign the Guard uniforms, then. We can't have such disparity and having to rely on guards to adjust their own things. No, it simply won't do."

Gleam was in a kind of shock, the mare was offering so much and she hadn't even reached the Princess yet. "Uh, I guess… you should talk to Princess Cadance and Captain Armor about that, though. I am still a recruit."

"A recruit who has performed excellently so far, not only carrying my things, but keeping an eye out." At Gleam's shocked look, Rarity snorted. "Darling, you forget, I am no mere tailor. You carry the same awareness and attention to details as some of my friends do. And I assure you, that is a compliment."

"Rarity!" A pink blur of alicorn raced across the main hall. "You came so quickly! Wonderful!" Cadance gestured back to Shining Armor, sitting on his own throne and chatting with a unicorn stallion. "I need you to help do something with him."

"While Twilight's brother is hardly the pinnacle of high-fashion, what pray-tell were you thinking?" This was Rarity's job. Her calling. It was what her cutie mark told her. She narrowed her eyes at the stallion, trying to think of what to have him in.

"Well, the first thought was high-courtly fashion, but I know my husband, he would forget to change and next thing I know he is out running the guard through drills in it." Cadance trotted up to the two stallions talking; unlike Rarity of course, she knew one was a changeling and the other… soon would be. "Shiny, Rarity is here to start adjusting that new design."

"Rarity!" Shining bolted upright and out of his recumbent position. "Um, yes, you see, I have some new armor, and we were wondering if you could modify it to fit me a little better."

The fashionista turned to Cadance. "Your Highness-"

"Please, just call me Cadance." The alicorn gave a slightly worn smile, as if she had said that phrase a little much.

"Princess Cadance," Rarity had a twinkle in her eye as she managed to use a title still, "merely adjusting armor is one thing, but I take it there is more to this?" The question cut through a lot of diplomacy, sure, but Rarity was sure there was more to this and she needed to know everything. If only so that she could know everything.

"Recruit Shine, I will take Miss. Belle's things from here." The little unicorn Rarity had seen before approached Gleam and gave her his most winning smile. "I am sure you will be needed again shortly, please wait just outside."

Gleam knew the stallion had a lot of standing and was an adviser directly to both the Princess and the Captain, but she still turned her glance to Shining and got a nod from her Captain. "Of course." She was being asked to wait outside while something important was discussed. Setting the bags down, she turned and trotted for the big doors and left the room.

Waiting for the doors to close, Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Was that really-" She got no further, the blue unicorn with the vibrant orange mane and tail was gone in a burst of green flame, leaving a changeling. Rarity closed her snout and blinked. Then blinked again. Inhaling deeply, she opened her snout only to have a hoof pushed into it, a bright pink hoof, complete with a very stylish shoe.

"Please don't yell. Careful is a trusted friend." Cadance looked into Rarity's face, waiting until the white unicorn gave a little nod before slowly removing her hoof. "And for the record, no, we aren't changelings too."

"Yet!" Shining felt the chill pass over him, the nights spent cuddled with his wife, being reassured over and over didn't 'fix' him, of course. But it helped. "We need to hide me, will you do it Rarity? Please?"

"Hide you? Captain Shining Armor, you are a little too big to hide." Rarity felt mirth stain her emotions, despite the proximity of the changeling. They really weren't threatening in the least when they weren't trying to cocoon you and feed off your emotions. "Wait, 'yet'?"

"That is the problem." Cadance walked up to her husband and gently lifted one of his hooves. "These are getting bigger and while we plan to tell everypony eventually, this is not the right time." Her magic brushed back part of Shining's fetlock, revealing three holes, each big enough to fit a broom handle through now. "We tried corks, cotton wool, but something more… solid, is needed."

Rarity blinked and stepped closer, inspecting the offered hoof. "So let me understand this completely. Some sort of curse, or infection," Shining nodded to her, "is turning you into a changeling," more nods, "and you need to keep the smaller signs hidden until the right moment to present it?" Shining's ego was practically in the gutter, he was having to admit not only what is happening—to his sister's friend no less—but he was going to have to ask her to not tell anypony. He nodded. "A wise decision, and yes, I think armor would be best. Ceremonial-fit of course, you need to be able to wear it all day."

Cadance sat back and clopped her hooves together excitedly. "Thank you, Rarity, you are truly the very element of generosity."

"Two conditions." Rarity surprised both the other ponies with her sudden demand. "The first is I will need to see whoever does your armor. We are redoing the entire garrison's uniforms." Shining Armor blinked at this, then looked to Cadance for support.

"I certainly have no problem with that one. Although I would love to know why?" Cadance narrowed her eyes and tried to reevaluate what it was Rarity was fishing for.

"Personal reasons, and it is much better cover for why you got me here, rather than just an armorer." Rarity watched as even the changeling looked thoughtful at that. "And the second condition is, you do not keep this from Twilight for too long. If you tell your empire before your sister again, Shining Armor…" Rarity inhaled, appearing to grow in stature, although only in presence. "There will be words had."

Shining was terrified, he had heard about some of the scathing things Rarity could say, and the way things just wouldn't go that pony's way after she was 'upset' at them. "Yes, Miss Rarity."

"Good. So, Careful is it?" Rarity turned her attention on Careful Steps, making the changeling acutely aware of how perfectly she handled the whole situation, getting exactly what she wanted from both Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. He simply nodded to her. "Good, my guard will need to know all this, you have no objection?"

Careful knew it was a question, he hoped it was a question. Deep down, the poor drone understood one thing… "That wasn't a question."

"What? Of course it was, but it would be so much trouble to find a guard you do approve of, and that I approve of, and then we could start this conversation all over again and I still wouldn't have even started my task." Rarity flicked her mane. "Now, call her back in please, she will be assisting me in this and, if you have anypony else who can work a needle, I would like their help too."

Cadance lifted a hoof up to her snout. There was a rapport between the fashionista and the changeling that had tickled her beyond the usual pink. Rarity had every advantage over Careful and both of them knew it.

Flashing with fire—feeling more defeated than when he had been caught by Shining and Cadance—Careful turned as his unicorn shape took over from his carapace and trotted for the door.

"This will take a little while, of course, but your armor will be done first. Are there any other… changes, that will be coming?" Rarity opened her bag and lifted out her smallest notebook, a pencil starting to scribe down notes.

Prepared for this, Cadance summoned her list. "Fangs, you can't do much about those. Horn might be possible, we could have a sharpened cover for it. Mane and tail, we are not sure how they will go yet, possibly change to that ghastly green-blue, or maybe fall out completely."

"Not your lovely mane!" Rarity sounded like somepony had just told her that all of Equestria was going to explode in the next few days. "Oh darling I am so sorry. We really should get you somewhere nice to start working on it, the more prim and perfect it is now, the less anypony would notice it being dyed later, or replaced with a wig." Both Rarity and Cadance were scribing furiously.

"Your Highnesses?" Gleam walked in, feeling a little nervous. "R-R-Reporting for duty…"

"Recruit Gleaming Shine, you have been chosen for an important duty that will have you knowing the deepest secrets of the Crystal Empire. You can refuse and nopony here will hold it against you… not even Rarity." Shining turned and looked to Rarity and gave her the best 'will you' stare he could muster, which wasn't that great, or effective. "Are you prepared to take on the mantle of full Guardspony and more?"

This sounded way more official that Gleam had expected. She had thought she was about to be dismissed from her position, but this. "Sir! I would serve the Crystal Empire, my Captain, and my Princess to the best I can."

"That is a good answer." Cadance gesture with a hoof to Careful. "But you also have to carry our friend's honor, which is quite the load." Gleam didn't budge in her tight, parade-ground stance. "Oh this is all too serious, Careful, show her."

Gleam moved fast as she had been trained, she shoved forward, pushing Princess Cadance back a bit but managing to get between her and the perceived threat. "Your Highness, run! It's a change… ling…" She stopped and looked at the amazingly non-threatening drone, then to her Captain, then her Princess. "You knew?"

"There is a reason Careful is in charge of the more… sneaky things, an empire requires doing, as well as his normal duties. Gleaming Shine, this is Careful." Cadance grinned at the look of shock on the guardspony's face.

"Okay Gleam, calm down." She knew she was talking out loud, but this was quite a shock. "Right, I think I can handle this. It is no big deal, I assume you are loyal to the Empire?"

"My queens, I hold above all else." Careful lifted his hoof and put it over his barrel, a salute and pledge in one. "That is, Princess Cadance and Shining Armor."

"There was one more little thing you will need to know." Rarity couldn't resist this one, if meeting a changeling had surprised the guard, then she was sure finding out her Captain was turning into one… "Shining, how did this happen?" It was an odd way to tell the mare, she guessed, but at least it would spice up the gossip she could share… if she could ever possibly share this.

Shining inhaled deeply. "Well, it happened in Canterlot, at our wedding…" Shining's voice seemed to grow a little lighter, he felt a large—and likely pink—wing settle on his back.

Author's Notes:

This... is almost the most fun thing I have ever written. Rarity was on point, she wasn't taking anything poor Careful was selling, unless it was approved by Cadance or Shining.

I am starting something new. "Ask x", x can be any pony within the story. You can ask them anything and I they will definitely hopefully reply. Keep the questions appropriate to the age-rating of the stories and of course, I They will answer the best question(s) in the author notes of the next chapter. The more votes a comment has the more likely I will get it to the right pony to answer, try and keep it to one answer per post!

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Awesome ponies who are already helping to keep me in keyboards and rum:
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