Rainbow stretched and looked at her list of things to do today. At the top of her list was "Help Applejack For Cider Season." Dash stretched her large yellow wings and sighed. Sure she was planning on helping AJ with the apple haul, but this whole problem with being in a different body? That complicated things. She felt a light hoof on her back as Fluttershy stood on her to look at the mirror. She felt Fluttershy stretch a wing as she wrote quickly on the list- Teach Dash How To Dance. Dash grumbled to herself.

"Dash, you okay?" Fluttershy looked at Dash with magenta orbs and Dash sighed.

"Yeah, just seeing my schedule up here like this puts stuff in perspective. Like how in the world do I have all this free time to do whatever I want? How is that a job?" Dash pointed at the list of things for the next week or so. Her days flipped back and forth between lazing around, helping friends, and work. Work being the least prevalent on the list.

Fluttershy rested her head on Dash's. "Well maybe you do things too fast, miss ten seconds flat." Fluttershy giggled a bit at the little jab at Dash's well known speed.

"Hush you." Dash smiled a bit at the joke, but appearances helped.

Fluttershy ran a wing down Dash's back as she jumped off her makeshift stool and looked up at Dash. "Want to at least get a few dance lessons in before we have to help Applejack? I mean it seems like a decent idea.

Rainbow tried to shrug, but coughed instead, the unexpected touch making her mind not work exactly right at that particular moment. "Uh, sure." She weakly smiled at her friend.

Fluttershy grabbed a hoof of her friend- the blue hoof that she was currently the owner of was dwarfed by Dash's yellow ones. "Oh, well, I think we might have a problem, since I really was the one performing the male lead here in the dance due to the size difference I normally have, but I think I can at least try to guide you here." Fluttershy quickly tried to flip the script of her dance routines she knew upside down.

"Shy, do you even know what type of dancing happens in clubs? I definitely don't think you need to know the steps of a dance. Just like feel the music and jump up and down- that or just be all over a pony." Dash frowned as Fluttershy wasn't exactly listening to the advice she was giving out.

"Dash, its still good to know how to dance. What if you were invited to Canterlot and had to go to some fancy party with a date? You can't just translate something from a club and bring it to a high society ball. . .Rarity would have a fit if she heard you even think about dodging out of this."

"Fine, but this seems really stupid okay? Like when would we even touch a party like that? Aren't we like banned from gala events after our Grand Galloping Goof? Or maybe destroying a priceless statue is what got me almost banned."

Dash felt a boop on her nose. "Rainbow, that was years ago, and anyway I was the one that caused an animal stampede, that probably didn't help. At least you were trying to keep order in a disorderly way. I got too confident in my animal skills and caused outright stress to about five hundred animals. But let's just dance and forget that we've not had the best times in Canterlot, okay?"

"Okay, Shy. But can we like hurry this up cause I want to eat something before we go. I mean since your body takes so much more food than mine." Dash winked and put a hoof out to Fluttershy.

"I mean you just have a higher metabolism and are naturally smaller. You probably eat as much as I do since an athlete has to do so much hard work." Fluttershy stuck out her tongue at Dash and began to hum a nice melody that Dash thought she knew from somewhere- probably some weird pop tune that was all the rage currently. "Dash, since you are the larger pony, you have to lead by example so unlike somepony that can just follow a rhythm and generally get a sway in their hips and go from there, you would also have to make sure we don't have to turn around or run into any other dancers."

"Okay, so like I push and you pull or whatever? Also who taught you how to teach this cause this sounds like the highly stupid way to teach me how to dance cause as long as I get past the whole idea that I have to actually care about how I look on the dancefloor, like can we just show off yet cause like normal dancing already sounds so boring."

Fluttershy smiled, her magenta eyes looking up at Dash's slight blush. "Well, that's for another day, we can't get to the master class without at least a sense of the basics. Blame Rarity if you have to, cause this idea on how to do things the "highly stupid way" is what she came up with. But as I count- one, two, three, four, for example, we'll just do one of the basic steps- that of just moving on each in a square." She lightly began counting as she slid up close to Dash to make sure her form was correct- or at least slightly passable.

Dash heard the slight counting of Shy as she tried matching the movements in her head to the counting, slowly getting the rhythm as she walked back and forth, slowly guiding Fluttershy around her small bathroom. Not the best place to develop your dancing skills, Dash thought to herself, but it worked. She felt Fluttershy edge close to her and stop counting, her breath on her neck due to their new height differences.

"Dash, that was pretty good. I mean you were a bit stiff but I can chalk that up to you being in my body and all, but for your first attempt at dancing, I think we might have something to work with here. Also I think we have to cut this short if you want to get breakfast." Fluttershy turned and hummed to herself, absentmindedly swaying to the beat as she left.

Dash just stared at the sight of Fluttershy moving her body so effortlessly and smoothly. She felt a heat rise as she watched and her borrowed yellow wings rose in protest. She blushed as she tried to hide the feelings that her body showed off. Even if she was in a completely different body than her own, she did still want to keep the cool factor that she had carefully cultivated through a concerted effort of awesomeness- even if that meant hiding that maybe, just maybe, she might like Fluttershy. Just maybe though, not like an outright feeling of emotion. Dash sighed and walked into the other room, her stomach protesting its emptiness.

Applejack stretched as she opened her eyes, noticing that she was unusually late for her daily chores- the sun stretching into her room in the Apple Farm through the nearby window. She glanced at her clock and saw that she was four hours late, it being 9:00 am and not the more common before or right before dawn that the Apple Family was known for, Farming was hard work and usually there was no real way to get off that hard schedule.

Well unless somepony was in heat and had a chance at boning a fine specimen of sexual prowess. Or that was what Rarity termed himself after he, not she, appeared yesterday.

Applejack peeled off her bed and sighed, Rarity's dick stood at attention as he lazed about, his attendant face mask showing that yes, while this totally was one of those dudes that Big Mac would be right up next to if he had the choice, it was still Rarity. The prissy voiced stallion acted like Rarity, talked like Rarity, and even showed off like Rarity. Applejack smiled as she held his nose shut and waited.

Applejack was getting the most out of this that she could, and since the sheets were holding all the unmentionable fluids that one of them heating sessions unfortunately made, she did need to get the white unicorn out of the bed. "Come on, Rares, you can't just stay in my bed all the dang day."

Rarity groaned in protest as his eyes opened slowly and the slight effeminate voice laughed. "Why, Applejack that wasn't what you were saying when I came to see you to help you with your little problem. It was more of a "oh my Celestia" followed by a sweet night of tender lovemaking." Rarity waggled an eyebrow at the orange mare.

Applejack blushed heavily, the memories of the previous night rushing back in stereo, lightly surrounding her with sounds that Granny Smith would either call the most natural process in the world or sheer necessity but overall unenjoyable- Applejack was unsure which would be the case cause asking your old grandmother about advice for the birds and the bees led directly to uncomfortable silence and images of a terrible nature.

"Well i was totally not thinking with my noggin you little minx." Applejack kept blushing as she tried to pull off the bedsheets. "I mean you were supposed to come on a weekend, not the middle of the week. It's Cider Season- not the winter. If you wanted to come and say howdy do with your equipment then that's fine. But I have a job to do."

Rarity smiled and slidoff the bed, her magic bringing the rest of the bedsheets. "Oh, darling, I know what your job entails. But you know that reminds me of an old Mulish proverb- "all work and no play makes jacks dull mules." How much time off have you had recently, I mean besides our fun little romp in your hayloft a few days ago, it's been a while. And with you being in heat, then what does that make you? I know what. A pent up angry mare and while I enjoy a fair bit of what some call angry sex, I do see the point of letting loose every once in a while." Rarity sided up to Applejack and ran his tail through hers. "And anyway don't you have help on Cider Seasons now?"

Applejack snatched the bedsheets out of Rarity's magic and scowled. "I mean sure, but its not the point. It's the danged nature of the thing. I can't just skip out of family chores to go rolling about in my room, not when I told everypony this would be the best Cider Season ever."

"Which you say every year and barring if Flim and Flam come back for pointless revenge, yes, it will be. You've been working yourself ragged on this. I mean ponies have been wondering where you have been and asking me about it. I would have expected our Fluttershy to be the hermit, not you. Though of course she has a reason now thanks to Twilight. You just have your cute stubbornness to blame. Which I don't mind since I find that to be endearing."

Applejack sighed. "This conversation isn't going nowhere so I'll just stop it before we get into a round of talks again." Applejack lightly kissed Rarity on his cheek. "But I ain't a hermit, okay? Just been focused on the harvest. After this'll be done I'm swearing I won't be taking any other jobs that would be taking up my time."

Rarity smiled. "Oh I can't wait. Maybe then I can talk you into trying this out for yourself. It really does put some perspective after a while."

Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Rare, you've been a stallion for like a day, I wouldn't trust your 'perspective' even if I trusted it. And maybe. I won't be putting stock in this whole mess Twilight's been doing for magic as of late, but maybe, just so you can stop begging to see what you keep terming the grain silo of dicks. Which is first of all a bit creepy and secondly just a weird name."

Rarity awkwardly chuckled. "Well it came to me in a flash of inspiration and also there's only so many puns that you can find for stallionhoods. Especially farm related ones that come out so perfectly."

"Was this 'flash of inspiration' one of your sexual fantasies?"

Rarity smiled, his face blushing pink as he tried to demurely look away from Applejack.

"Uh huh, how didn't I figure that out sooner?" Applejack cantered out of her room carrying out the sheets. "Well fine, I promise to at least try out your little fantasy at least one time- but only on your birthday and for as long as you don't get all clingy and weird." Applejack could hear Rarity's voice crack with happiness at the thought and as she walked down the stairs, she wondered if every unicorn was a goofy idiot. A decently okay goofy idiot, but Rarity, underneath the prim and proper demeanor was a big goof. Applejack sighed as she glanced around the corner to the washing machine. Nopony there, thanking Celestia she started a load.

There was only so much awkwardness Applejack could handle in the morning and explaining the birds and the bees to her sister was so far off the list of things that were okay at this time.

Fluttershy and Dash walked into Sweet Apple Acres. The October morning was cold enough for them to be close together while awkwardly looking at the ground- their sense of awkward feelings trumping their cold hooves. Dash blushed heavily, her mouth holding one of Pinkie's muffins and she bit into it, thinking quietly to herself.

"Dash, please do try to not eat like you seem to when we are out in public." Fluttershy rolled her eyes at her friend's display.

Dash grinned. "Well if you weren't so big boned, then I wouldn't be as hungry so I think part of this is totally your fault. Plus I told you I'd train your body how to be awesome and what I have to do first is load up on calories and all that,"

"Yes, well at least keep your mouth closed while you eat. Its not a good look, I mean you just eating food without a care in the world, like isn't there a time and a place to do that stuff?"

"Pssh, i'm totally not that bad. But okay, I'll act sort of natural. Anyway lets keep our mouths both shut cause Big Mac looks super pissed right about now."

Big Mac cantered up slowly, a cool frown on his lips as he nodded to Dash and Fluttershy. He slid a cask of cider off his shoulders, the barrel thumping heavily as it landed on the ground. He wiped his brow with a handkerchief and slowly drawled out his hello. "Howdy."

Fluttershy tried her best Dash impression. "Sup. How's this whole farm gig going?" Fluttershy could see Dash's mouth quietly whispering out some comment about her choice of words. Fluttershy expected something like 'I totally don't sound like that' or something similar to be running through Dash's head. But she broke her thoughts when Big Mac spoke, his voice low and measured."

"Would be fine, if my sister hadn't told me that she'd be up doing all of her chores like she said."

"What does that mean?"

"Oh nothing much, just didn't sleep all that well. Wasn't like the walls are mighty thin up in the house. Nope, not my problem when I get to hear something out of a gay bar talking about how he'd do my sister. Totally not a big old problem for me."

The two friends awkwardly shared a look. Dash spoke up first, choosing her words carefully. "I mean it couldn't have been all that bad."

Big Mac stared at 'Fluttershy' and groaned. "It was bad. Thank Celestia that Applebloom was hanging out with her friends else it would be a mite confusing to tell her that her sister wasn't just playing around. Good thing Granny is so hard of hearing else that would have been a fun conversation. If I see Twilight soon, I'll tell her a bit of my mind."

"What was Twilight doing in your house?" Fluttershy stood there puzzled at the idea that Twilight, of all ponies, would be in Applejack's room at night.

Big Mac shook his head and sighed. "No, Dash, I mean that Twilight's the one making that spell of whatever you call it so its her fault Rarity came here in that stallion form of hers, or his, or whatever. This is way above my knowledge of things and the only magic I know how to do is to harvest apples and all that. Like this is weird, not as weird as when Twilight made me fall in love with a doll or my own little sister made me fall in love with her teacher. Which that conversation was fun on me and Cheerilee's end later, what with me having to say that hanging out with Caramel wasn't just a bromance thing. But its just the nature of the thing, its like Rarity was a dude and I'm all confused about what to do about that. Like this makes my whole head spin. I know she's a mare but you know it gets confuddling."

"Uh, well don't worry I think Twilight's over thinking this whole problem too. I mean Pinkie's a dude now so she knows the feeling I guess. Sure Pinkie doesn't care one way or the other but it was Twilight performing the spell. And that's been on her mind for at least a few days." Dash awkwardly tried to make the conversation less weird and not having weird images shot into her head.

Big Mac scratched his head. "Yeah." Big Mac turned and stayed quiet as he saw his sister and Rarity being way too close for comfort for his taste. Not that he was against the whole relationship, for somepony who tended in his circles that would be a bit counterproductive, but Rarity was still a stallion. He tried to not think of how much Rarity reminded him of Caramel and left it there.

"Why hello there all." Rarity smiled, his smile a demure smile as he tried to make the tension he could feel outright at this moment wash away with good intentions. He looked up at Big Mac, realizing that while he was now currently a stallion, he wasn't that much taller than before. That or the Apple family were related to horses. Rarity looked up and saw that Big Mac was quietly watching him, his face cool and distant as he kept his stare towards his sister. Rarity could just look away and cough. "Yes, well. I guess I should probably go check on how Coco is doing with the store. Nice seeing you all."

Rarity shuffled on out of there, his horn lighting up and performing the counterspell for the gender spell. Breathing in and out, it only took a moment as it took effect, the height gained from switching to a stallion being lost and the voice going from a light tenor to a low alto. Breathing out, she and now decidedly a she, smiled and teleported out of the Acres deciding the mood ruined by saying more than the required pleasantries.

Big Mac sighed and turned to Applejack. "Sis, I'm going to go see Caramel. Got the cider barrels for the party tomorrow all sorted out near the front of the barn, the north field is mostly clear and I slept bad yesterday night so I'm calling in a favor."

Applejack looked away, her cheeks blushing as she realized what her brother was saying between the lines. "Sure, thanks for not waking me up earlier."

"I mean I respect your decisions, AJ, but I'm just saying please don't just find one day every two months to go all out. Relationships don't really work that way. Also while I'm not saying much, please tell Rarity to stop acting out her little book fantasy cause I could tell through my wall that you weren't happy with it. Talk to her."

Applejack awkwardly laughed. "I'm fine."

Big Mac raised an eyebrow. "Well, talk to her. Or if you won't do it, I'll invoke big brother privilege and either force you to deal with this problem I've been noticing recently or just talk to her myself. And I think the first option might be better for everypony."

Applejack looked at both Fluttershy and Dash and sighed. "Okay, okay. I'll talk to her about this whole fantasy she got from that silly book."

"Good." Big Mac walked off silently.

"Man, I didn't even know your brother could say that many words." Dash chuckled, her voice light and airy.

Applejack scowled. "Well, uh, let's see, Dash. . .he just doesn't like talking much. But ironically enough put him in a situation he feels comfortable in and he'd talk your ear off. But seriously I totally want Twilight to fix your problem cause I can't keep you two in my head right. Cause you look like each other and act eerily similar to each other when you are in public but then Dash acts like too much like herself and my mind goes back to realizing how messed up this whole what, week or so, has been."

Fluttershy scratched her polychromatic mane. "Yeah, you are telling me."

"So you want to start helping me get some of the fields clear cause with him gone, it'd take me hours without some help."

Dash and Fluttershy chuckled. "Sure."

The sun streamed through the window in Twilight's study, making her current situation much harder to focus on. Pens and paper were strewn about in complete disarray as the purple princess tapped a hoof and looked down on her work that she was focused on.

Twilight threw another sheet of paper into her trash. Her mind raced with possible way to get Pinkie back into a stable form. She totally shouldn't have agreed to that enhancement spell Pinkie talked her into. She shook her head with that image of Pinkie smiling on her bed raced through her mind. She had work to do and no impressive dicks would deter her from making her life at least a little easier. Step one: Get Pinkie to normal or at least give her a way to switch between. Maybe an amulet could give her a way to let Rarity have some fun with magic for once. Garments were not Twilight's specialty and Rarity, for all her fashion focus, did give her pointers on how to make more stable spell matrices so as to not have Pinkie stuck in a body that made Twilight's life harder.

Cause while Twilight was currently pacing around like a mental patient, Pinkie was fine with this.

Twilight sighed and wrote a quick response to every one of these news organizations and other random small places that had been sending her hate mail for days. Being a princess sometimes felt like a step above a celebrity to Twilight. Maybe it was the idea of how divine alicorns were. Maybe Twilight was cynical or a realist, but after seeing Celestia eat two cakes in one sitting while Luna timed her for a dare- maybe the veneer of pure infallibility was lost.

Twilight turned to Luna who was currently asleep, the cans upon cans of coffee beans that the lunar princess had been eating to keep herself awake after the session of magical study had worn off and currently the blue princess was kicking a hoof and muttering about some rabbits preparing for a carrot war. Twilight chalked that up to Luna being connected to the entire dreamscape influencing her rambling dreams. That or princesshood brought out hidden mental illnesses.

Twilight had been shelving that academic paper since she had become a princess and realized how crazy they all were.

Twilight yawned and drank a bit of tea. Looking over her hasty scribbles, she ran off to bed. Performing crucial magical research was a long and arduous process and while she wanted Pinkie back to normal as soon as equinely possible, she'd rather cast the spell correctly and not have Pinkie turn into a cosmic horror or something awful out of Luna's nightmares.

Twilight muttered to herself as she stepped off to bed. "Can't do this spell without another alicorn anyway. Stupid alicorn magic being a mess. Nope, can't have just me running this cause if I mess up it'd make it worse true, but also with how I set up the spell its so stable that it needs another hoof or two. Thank goodness I weakened the spell for most ponies else we would have a whole problem of having ponies stuck in the gender they chose, since I built it to make it as stable as possible. Stupid, smart me. Though note to self, check fluid viability tests. If this doesn't work out for everyone then at least I could spin this as a medical spell for families."

Twilight learned that lesson from Celestia and years of magical research. Every spell had its use, but each spell could also be used for multiple unforeseen purposes. Twilight yawned as she thought of how easily she could use white magic to hurt and black magic to save ponies. Quickly sending her letter to Celestia's personal assistant, Raven, she itched her eyes to stay awake. Since she was both so new at her princess duties, she hadn't yet got her own assistant what with Spike currently deciding to open up some way to get Dragon Lord Ember to want to trade with Equestria.

Just another day being a princess, Twilight mused. She loved strategy and all that entailed, but balancing all these missives that people kept sending her about border disputes because that somehow fell into her domain of "friendship" was a bit worrying. Sighing and deciding that worrying about some possible war in some far flung corner of the world was completely pointless, she walked to her bedroom and turned off her lights. If there was some need for a mission involving the Elements of Harmony, that'd be put off until tomorrow anyway.

Applejack kicked a tree and apples fell in a giant cascade. Fluttershy carefully flitted around the trees, bringing each fallen apple into her basket, letting the ones that were too bruised to lay on the ground for the birds to pick at. Though the amount of apples in her basket outweighed the ones that stayed where they were. Apples knew how to grow apples, she guessed.

Dash was the one hauling the apple cart, each bucket load that passed inspection went to that cart. Dash was unluckily enough stuck in Fluttershy's body and with Big Mac gone was the only suitable replacement.

"Guys, this work sucks. Why can't I be the one kicking the trees or picking up the apples?" Dash breathed heavily as she tried to find a good footing on the gently rolling hills of the north field of the Acres.

"Dash, come on, if I let you kick a tree you'd probably break it. I mean this isn't very ideal what with you and Flutter here just being all bungled up. I mean I'd have preferred you doing your most Rainbow Dash thing here so I wouldn't have to spend all day here worrying about having to do the rest. But we work with what we got I guess and we are still making good time. And come on that can't be that heavy, you ain't sweating at all." Applejack grinned as she saw Dash's attempt at a scowl.

"Well fine. But if we have probably hours of this mess let's at least do something exciting." Dash yawned as she felt more apples fall into the cart. "Otherwise I feel like I need a nap."

Fluttershy piped up a question. "So Applejack, why were you so late anyway? Don't you have a consistent sleep schedule?"

Applejack blushed. "I mean it wasn't that late."

Dash scoffed. "Yeah, having your brother complain that you were five hours late was totally not late at all."

"Fine. I have been having some of those times where I need a bit of attention." Applejack kicked a hoof.

"So if Rarity was in your room at night and you were keeping your brother awake then-" Fluttershy muttered out.

"Oh I get it, you two were screwing like rabbits." Dash's smile grew wider as she noticed Applejack's blush deepen into a dark red.

"Yeah."

"But AJ, that whole cycle tends to be seasonal. It's October. Most of that stops during the summer so how could you be dealing with a problem like this now?" Fluttershy's basic knowledge of pony issues gained through years of solitude and general boredom welled up in her.

"Yeah, well I guess mine goes with the harvest season. It can't be that uncommon I know a lot of family members with birthdays in July. So its not that weird."

"It's super weird, AJ, come on most pegasi are born in December with that logic. Spring happens and everyone gets busy."

"Dash, be nice, it's at least abnormal to some thanks to each city having different altitudes, weather patterns, and festival dates. Cloudsdale has a mostly winter baby boom, and Ponyville seems to have their kids in the summer, Manehattan has their kids in the spring, et cetera, et cetera."

"AJ, you broke Fluttershy, now she's being a total nerd like Twilight."

Fluttershy set her bucket of apples down and crossed her arms. "Dash, I have my reasons learning about birthdays and I'm not that bad on this front. Pinkie's far more analytical about birthdays."

"Pssh, what reason do you have anyway? It's a birthday. It happens once a year and goes away its not that important."

Fluttershy's eye twitched. "Can we please get back on topic. I mean barring the hour long discussion about the importance of birthdays I don't want to get stuck in, Applejack, if you are on your cycle why would you even chance having an intimate moment with Rarity?"

Applejack chuckled. "Like Rarity told me since she was all switcharoo'd then we could do whatever."

Fluttershy tilted her head at that. "But it's a magic spell."

"Yeah, so? It can't be that bad, right. Twilight wouldn't make a spell that could like have horrible consequences like what you seem to be getting at. That'd be outright idiotic."

Dash chuckled. "Yes, Twilight tends to be an idiot when it comes to magic. I mean sure she waves a magic hoof and things disappear but like it wouldn't be out of character for her to accidentally forget to mention 'Rarity don't fuck Applejack with this spell, it might have nine month consequences.' I mean before Pinkie and her were going out she had to be the most virginest virgin ever cause why else would she be cooped up with boring old books anyway?"

Fluttershy rolled her eyes at that statement. "Dash, you have an entire collection of Daring Do first editions at my house. I don't think calling Twilight out for loving books would be fair."

"Yeah well, those books are cool and are totally rad. Twilight's books suck."

Applejack rubbed her temple. "Can we all get off the book talk. My sweet Celestia everypony has books on the noggin. Rarity's all about this stupid romance book that is kind of garbage and now you two are bickering like an old couple about birthdays and books and all this nonsense and now I'm worried that Rarity should have worn a condom and I really don't want to deal with that idea right now." Applejack breathed in and out, her breaths slightly ragged and hitching as her anxiety about what could be happening right inside her at that very moment hit her like a ton of bricks.

Dash and Fluttershy shared a worried look. Dash tried to lighten the mood first. "I think Twilight totally put a failsafe thing on that spell that makes it totally fine and if not, like its not like its the end of the world like, uh, that'd be nine months away and that's a super damn long time away and think of the bright side. I bet your family would love a new little Apple whatever the crud it is cause your grandmother is as old as dirt."

"I don't think that's really helping Applejack right now, Rainbow. Um, what about that book Rarity has been on about. . ." Fluttershy was pretty sure what book that was- she had wrote it for Celestia's sake, and Rarity hadn't been exactly quiet about her manic love for Six Shades of Hay.

"Just some silly book that Rare is making me have to play act out like a weird fantasy of hers. And its whole thing is kind of dumb- like I get why it could a best seller in one of them large cities. I know what Manehattan's like and it'd fit right in their culture of vapid dumb books, but like its weird. I want to say something to Rarity and I was going to last night but then I started having feelings down there and she came in as a dude and the idea that I might have done some dumb stuff just to get some of that dick keeps going through my head." Applejack sighed, her shoulders slouching as her pent up worry started to leave her once she started talking.

Fluttershy twitched awkwardly as she tried to keep her feelings in check. She knew Rarity had a bit of a problem with collecting romance novels and all that, she had been in the white unicorn's room and that had been littered with trashy romance novels. But hearing that her oldest friend was play acting some of the scenes in the book she wrote put her mind on edge. She knew making Quiet Breeze and Speed Dazzler a unicorn and earth pony respectively was something new in terms of how Equestrian romance novels worked. They used to be hyperfocused on how important having similar interests was- and sadly that also included how important looks were in terms of race.

Her publisher that picked up the book gushed about how fresh and new it was. But now looking back she might have a bit of a problem on her hooves that should be solved for another day. Harshwhinny had been pestering her in her mail recently about some book tour. That thought broke when she felt Dash's hoof on her shoulder.

"Shy, you okay?"

Fluttershy nodded and mouthed the words 'talk later' and turned to Applejack. "Well, uhm, sorry about that little lapse of thought. Was trying to compose myself. Uh, AJ, you should talk to Rarity about your feelings and like maybe don't confront her with all the stuff at once you might be feeling, but if you don't feel exactly comfortable with the whole thing she's been focusing one recently in your relationship, then just tell her. You'd probably feel better about it. Like Big Mac was saying earlier, it would make it easier to know where everypony is coming from."

Applejack sighed. "Well I guess that makes some sense. But what about the whole sex thing like should I be worried about that, Shy?"

"I mean Dash did say that Twilight probably thought of every possibility and made it so that can't happen. And if she somehow didn't then well, pregnancy tends to be like a small possibility with that."

Applejack hugged both her and Dash close. Fluttershy would have felt better at that moment if she didn't feel so small because of being in Dash's body, of course, but the other reason made her feel worse. It wasn't a small possibility. Twilight just hopefully thought of every possibility here cause if not, the chance that Applejack could have a kid from this wasn't small.

It was more like eighty or ninety percent if everything worked right. She knew enough of pony biology that if everything worked perfectly this could be problem. But she didn't want to ruin the moment and Applejack felt better and everything was going to be fine, fine, fine. So why did she feel so bad about a little lie like that? Applejack felt better at least. And if not, she guessed ponies would step up and help. It was Applejack, ponies knew her well enough.

Rainbow stared at Fluttershy as they left the Acres, the next few hours had been pretty uneventful so the conversation that had happened hours before still hung unfinished in the air. She waited until they were past the hill that hid the Acres from sight before she started talking, the lights that turned on during the night punctuating her face with light and shadow as she talked.

"So what was that whole birthday thing about, Shy, I didn't expect you knew that much about birthdays- that's Pinkie's department of crazy." Rainbow tried to laugh at her joke but was silenced when Fluttershy looked at her.

"When were you born, Dash?"

Rainbow scratched her pink mane with a large hoof. "Well, I was born like late December. Like Hearthswarming? A lot of my friends were too, that's kind of what school does. Right? Like I didn't know ponies months younger than me in Cloudsdale, had a whole ton of parties in winter. It was kind of a pain, you'd probably get it I guess."

"Yeah. I did. When is my birthday though?"

Dash laughed, this had to be a trick question. Everypony knew each other's birthdays. Applejack's was in July, Pinkie was in September, hers was in December, Twilight was a weird one in February, Fluttershy was in March. Wait. Rainbow tried to work that whole thing in her head. Fluttershy should have been born in Cloudsdale, most pegasi were but March was weird.

Dash tried to smile but was confused, maybe the math was off. Maybe she was older than she realized? Or was born somewhere else. "Is it in March?"

Fluttershy nodded. "It is."

Dash put a hoof on her friend. "So what, you are self conscious about your birthday? At least you don't have to schedule snowstorms on your birthday. December on the ground blows. March is like Winter Wrap Up time, seems like you got a better deal."

Fluttershy floated in the air lost in thought for a moment. "Yeah. I guess its not that big of a deal. You want something to eat, cause we are getting close to Hayburger."

"Only if that pony that hates all of us isn't working, sure." Dash twined her tail in Fluttershy's to make her feel better about something Fluttershy wasn't saying. She felt a tinge of a memory well up and pass as they walked into the Hayburger.

"What do you want Fluttershy?"

"Mom, look! I made a picture of you and your friends, see we have all the kids I know at my school and then their parents and then there's you. And a rainbow, and trees."

"Why aren't I smiling?"

"Cause you are super focused on being my mom."

Fluttershy saw her mom go through a mix of emotions that she didn't understand. Were those tears of happiness. They should be she worked really hard on the picture. Being four was hard, it took a long time to draw the stick figures right and the rainbow took all the crayons in her box to do. She was trying t be good, her teacher told to give ponies gifts when they felt sad and when ever her mom looked at her Fluttershy thought she looked sad about something. Being an adult had to be hard then, if they always looked sad or angry about something.

"Yeah, this is good, I'll put it on the fridge and show your dad the picture, he'll like it."

Dash drifted out of the memory when she was asked what she wanted to eat. Picking a simple burger and fries combo, she turned to Fluttershy who was taking out the bits to pay the bill, and she booped her on the nose once that was all done and finished. She would have done it sooner, but paying for food was more important.

"Sorry, Shy. I forget that other ponies might like birthdays."

"What is this about, cause I thought we were done with the conversation when you got all weirdly quiet." Fluttershy tilted her head in slight confusion, the polychromatic hair Dash was so familiar with falling over Fluttershy's eyes in this uncharacteristic motion.

"I mean I didn't really get what birthdays were when I was growing up, living in the circus makes every day a birthday when you could celebrate going to the next town with a performance or two. Like I never had a birthday before coming to Ponyville, I still kind of get weirded out when Pinkie throws me a party."

"Well she does kind of go all out when a party happens."

"Yeah, but I'm trying to say that maybe I might have been in the wrong for saying you were too nerdy about the thing you were trying to explain to Applejack, I guess I know a bit too much about the Wonderbolts and Daring Do, I mean I can get why you might be so interested in something like birth patterns, I guess you do work with animals."

Fluttershy lightly smiled, her eyes not entirely getting into the emotion. "Yeah, thanks, Rainbow."

They both heard an audible groan behind them. Turning they both saw a familiar purple unicorn that totally hated their guts.

"Get a room you two, if I wanted to be sick I'd do it somewhere that doesn't involve me being near food. Plus didn't I tell you to not come back here?"

Dash piped up, her outside appearance of a quiet mountain hiding her inner fire. "Well, Sparkler, if there wasn't three places to eat in Ponyville and if two stayed open past sundown then we wouldn't be here. But its cheap and quick and relatively painless. Plus I'm still peeved that I almost got sick eating here last time."

Sparkler scoffed. "Yeah, well, like that was your own fault, I gave you some side eye when you totally ate what normally feeds a family of eight. My bad you have a bottomless stomach and that you paid well. I mean six burgers what is that like thirty bits right there?"

Dash fumed. "Yeah well at least I gave you your tip like I totally didn't have to. Like there's a limit I can take for dealing with the worst employee here."

Sparkler laughed and pointed. "Read the Employee of the Month and weep cause look at that wonderful wall of organized perfection."

Dash turned and saw month upon month of awards for 'the best manager ever' awards. And every face besies the few from before Sparkler's new job held a recognizable smug purple unicorn. Dash huffed and turned back, Fluttershy staying quiet, not one for confrontations like this.

"Okay fine, whatever, but why do you dislike us so much?"

Sparkler twirled a pencil and smiled. "I dunno, like I guess I might just be really petty and hold a grudge against a blue pegasus who's Element of Laziness is annoying me and even if, even if, I didn't find your friend there slightly annoying thanks to my immaculate and perfect sense of organization and completely flawless ship here in this Hayburger I get to run, there's Princess Nepotism that totally took my job."

Dash facehoofed. "Yeah, I get it, you pretty much said that the first time but that's it. Like there's no reason outside of you losing your swanky, completely voluntary, glorified figurehead of Winter Wrap Up and that's why every time we come in here you make our lives go to Tartarus? Isn't that tiring and completely pointless?"

Sparkler floated over a nail file and began to do her hooves, slowly inspecting each one as she talked. "Sure, but like I don't care. Like I ran Winter Wrap Up perfectly for years and some silly pony came in and said 'look how completely important I am' and everypony went along with it. What has Twilight done since she took my job? I mean endanger the town and get wings nonwithstanding, by just being near Ponyville doesn't she also endanger the town I live in? Or what about the Elements themselves. Aren't you six idiots holding them protecting us from threats in this nice little town or like are you drawing them to us cause those stupid rocks are extra potent magical artifacts? Just a thought."

Dash tilted her head. "Wha- how did we get on this again cause that has nothing to do with how much of a jerk you've been acting."

Sparkler levitated the burgers that were done and slid them on a tray to 'Dash'. "It has everything to do with it, I lived through both Discord coming here and turning the town into his demented playhouse, then Changelings attacked once or twice, and then Tirek blew up your friend's library and almost murdered all of us cause he ate magic. I'm petty and hate Twilight Sparkle primarily cause she took my job, but she hasn't been running Ponyville great since she did, so maybe I have my reasons to feel something beyond some undying love for a pony that seems to cause way more problems than she fixes. Also here's your stupid food, hope you choke on it and die cause boy do I love talking to you about things I hate."

Dash nodded, her piercing blue eyes staring daggers at the purple unicorn before just sighing and giving up. The Stare was not going to come out to play today. "Fine, but like talk to Twilight cause this is beyond the most stupid and pointless thing ever and I've jumped off cliffs before to teach ponies how to fly. Like just freaking talk to her maybe Twilight might like some criticism every once in a while. That or once this is over like I just want to come in here and not feel like I have to defend myself to get food."

Sparkler smiled. A cold and distant smile. "Whatever, like get out of the Hayburger and I'll think about it."

And so Dash and Fluttershy did; both decided that going out into the night was better than awkwardly sitting there in silence as Sparkler stared at them. They had just wanted to get food to eat.

The two of them ate in silence as the day wound down. Dash awkwardly spoke, her voice echoing in the night, hanging pregnant in the air with thoughts unsaid. "So Shy, thanks for teaching me how to dance your way, but like just in case if there isn't some wine and cheese boredom event, how about I teach you how to dance a little bit."

"Dash I already know how to. You don't really need to do that."

Dash smiled. "Well its going to take like no time at all and I can't have you go to a dance and sprain an ankle trying to dance the modern way or something, that'd ruin the mood, right?" Dash prodded Fluttershy in the side to get her to move. "Seriously though this takes like ten seconds."

"You say everything you do takes ten seconds."

"Yeah, well, this is simple. Give me a hoof and I'll show you."

Fluttershy rolled her eyes. "Okay, Dash."

Dash grinned. "Club dancing number one, the general hop around to show you are getting into the music. This one is so simple even your horrible rabbit can do it. Just a bend in your knees leading up to your hips, a little shake to activate the muscles up top and hop."

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? That's it? That's almost criminally too easy."

Rainbow Dash crossed her yellow arms and frowned. "Yeah, its simple, ponies like feeling the music, and this is the easiest thing of all. Also some tend to be on drugs during this whole rave scene so the easier the better."

"Well that sounds not fun at all." Fluttershy's eyes widened at the thought of horrible drugged ponies surrounding her at this dance. Oh she knew that maybe dancing wasn't the best idea. She quickly took deep breaths to keep the thought out of her head.

"Eh, its probably fine. It's Ponyville, I'd be surprised if there wasn't anything harder than Poison Joke in the place. Anyway, since you think the first dance I showed you was so simple let's kick it up a notch or two." Rainbow lifted Fluttershy up and set her down as she centered herself on the hill. This next part took a bit more space than just a few inches. "Now Shy, this might seem a bit weird but we are totally too far apart right now."

Fluttershy looked at how close they were, both of their coats almost touching and she blushed. "Dash, are you sure? Cause this seems way closer than anything I've tried before."

Dash looked up as she inched closer. "Yeah this is going to be totally weird. Uh, Shy, get as close as you can and start rubbing yourself all over me."

Fluttershy stared up at Dash. "What."

Rainbow could feel her voice try and crack with nervousness. Her head started sweating as she tried to explain this the best she could. "Like its a dance and ponies get really, really, really close together and dance this way. Everypony does it, its kind of the way ponies dance now. I mean if you don't want to that's fine, but its going to be all over the place in the club and I just want to make you at least okay with that cause it'd probably be weird. But like why would it be weird, its like a dance and dances aren't all that weird I guess?" Dash's cheeks burned like the sun as she stumbled over her words.

Fluttershy craned her neck and laid her head on Dash's larger shoulder. The height difference between the two of them now was silly at points, she mused, but it felt okay. She fluttered her wings enough to add a bit of a jump and pecked Dash on the cheek with a light kiss. It felt right and it was at least her speed rather than this strange dancing that would probably give Rarity a stroke.

Dash touched her cheek, the yellow hoof laying there for just a moment as she tried to process what just happened, her mind racing at a hundred miles an hour as it ground to a complete stop, her hoof falling to the ground in surprise. She was in shock.

"Oh I shouldn't have done that. I knew I shouldn't have done that. Why did I do that?" Fluttershy curled up her hooves and sat down gingerly on the grass. "I just didn't know what to do and you seemed nervous and I didn't exactly want to do the whole dance you wanted and then I guess I misread the situation and now I feel awful. . ." Fluttershy peered out from polycromatic locks as she looked up at Dash.

"Well, okay, that was. . .unexpected. . .but okay I guess if you don't want to do that dance where we pretty much grind on each other that's okay." Dash felt the yellow wings of hers try to show her emotions at that very moment. "Well that was something. Not entirely bad, but like warn me next time."

Fluttershy peeked out from her hooves. "Next time?" Fluttershy could swear she saw Dash blush crimson when she asked that but she chalked it up to her rushing heart and the surrounding darkness.

"I mean I don't know exactly how I feel about all this, but warn me next time cause I really wasn't expecting that. It felt, well, okay." Dash crouched down and sat near Fluttershy, saying nothing more as both looked up in the night sky.

"Okay." Fluttershy lay her head on Dash's shoulder and sat there, her heart racing as she wondered what exactly the next day would bring.

Spitfire rubbed her eyes as she realized what time it was. Glancing at the piles of papers that littered her desk was trying to reconstruct organized chaos so she didn't even try. Grabbing her small notebook of tasks that Soarin' gave her one Hearths Warming as a way to organize her life, she flipped through it and was confronted by a list of ponies that she needed to talk to soon.

The Wonderbolt Fall Practices were coming up, and a few hadn't responded to her summons and so she took the approach she was most known for- tough love. Hitting the buzzer nearby, she signaled to her second in command, Soarin' to come and get ready for a little trip to Ponyville.

Rainbow Dash hadn't been focused on Wonderbolt activities for the past week or so, and Soarin' had been wanting to take a short vacation for fun.

Soarin's head appeared near the door as he came to see what was going on.

"Yes, Spitfire? What's up, Firebird?"

Spitfire rolled her eyes at Soarin's weird pet name for her. "You want to go to Ponyville tomorrow? I have some ponies I need to see there and there's also this weird party flyer I got sent by that famous DJ, I never really enjoy those things by myself so like you want to go as my plus one?"

Soarin's face lit up as he heard the news. "Of course, commander, can we get-"

"Pie? Sure, but I keep telling you to go on a diet or something, you aren't that colt anymore in Wonderbolt Academy that can eat whatever you want. . ."

Soarin' grinned. "Well of course not 'Fire, though you don't really seem to mind all that much."

Spitfire raised an eyebrow. "Well those are during off hours."

Soarin' laughed. "Sure. See you back at your place, I'm getting one of those doughnuts at Pony Joe's place, heard they have a pie doughnut or something equally my kind of dessert. You want me to turn off the lights here before you leave or you got those?"

Spitfire rubbed her chin and thought. "Nah, I got those, see you soon." Spitfire stretched her wings as he left. Sometimes she missed a more active role in the Wonderbolts, but running the whole show and being team leader caused her to have long hours like today. Finding time to have a normal life with Soarin', even if only a few hours each day due to protocol made her relax and stay focused on her tasks. Without him, she'd be a completely disorganized mess.

Spitfire yawned and looked up at Luna's night sky, the Canterlot skyline illuminating too much of the sky to make her feel at home. Felt too distant from the stars that had made her want to learn how to fly. Light muddled the darkness so you couldn't even see the constellations that she used to remember. Small towns had some benefits like that, she mused. The sky looked clearer at night.