What's on the Menu

Chapters

A Dish Best Served Crunchy
Bringing New Looks
Needs More Cowbelle
Have You HERD What's Happening?
Can't Cry Over Spilled Milk When There's No Milk to Spill

A Dish Best Served Crunchy

Sweetie Belle zipped about in Rarity's Boutique, looking quite excited. She was waiting for her friends to come by and go out crusading. Rarity was looking forward to an afternoon of mostly silence as she went about the town running a few delivery errands.

“Sweetie Belle, dear, please!” she exclaimed with an exasperated sigh. “Calm down; your friends won't be here for some time!” She watched Sweetie out the corner of her eye, making sure she didn't break anything. She briefly glanced back at the latest dress she was working on and, when she glanced back up...

“Sweetie Belle! Where are you?” she asked, getting surprised when a hefty weight landed on her back. She glanced back and sighed. Staring at her was the wide, bright eyed little unicorn filly.

“I want a piggy back ride, Rarity!”

Rarity just shook her head some and sighed again. “Sweetie, you aren't little anymore; you shouldn't play such foalish games. Besides,” she continued with a small chuckle. “Aren't you getting a little BIG to be wanting a piggy back ride?” Sweetie Belle frowned at that line. She wasn't that clever of a pony most of the time, but even SHE knew when somepony was making fun of her. Well, she thought she knew.

With a huff, Sweetie Belle flopped off Rarity's back and onto the floor before stomping out of the room. Rarity turned and watched the little filly as she left and gave a shrug. “Dear Celestia, what was THAT about?” She checked her watch and gasped. “Is it that late already!? I need to finish gathering up the gifts I've made! Sweetie!” she called out. “What time do your little friends come by? You need to get ready! Sweetie Belle? SWEETIE BELLE!”

There was no response from the little filly who had run off to her room and slammed the door shut. “Dumb sister!” she said with a slight, cracking squeak in her voice. She had completely misunderstood what Rarity actually meant. “I'm not getting chubby at all! And with all she eats late at night.. she's the one that's getting fat as... as a... cow!” She paused and blinked, a naughty smirk spreading over her face. “I'm so glad I've been having Twilight Time recently. With Twilight having helped me with my magic,” she laughed, rubbing her hooves together and levitating up a pair of carrots, “I'll get her back with a prank, and I know the PERFECT prank to pull!”

“Sweetie Belle! Get your flank down here; your friends just showed up! SWEETIE!” she called up the stairs, turning to give an apologetic look to the two little fillies standing in the doorway. “I'm so sorry, she should be down any second!”

“That's OK Rarity, we don't mind waiting,” responded Applebloom. “We're still tryin' ta' figure out what we wanna try ta' get our cutie marks THIS time!”

“Yeah!” Scootaloo happily said, rather enthusiastically. “It'll be something super sweet and awesome!”

Rarity just rolled her eyes some and shook her head. “Just don't bring her back all covered in something sticky like last time...”

“Sorry 'bout that,” apologized Applebloom.

“Yeah, sorry,” added Scootaloo. “Guess trying to make Equestria's largest pancake wasn't the best idea to get a cutie mark..."

“What would uh cutie mark in makin' huge pancakes even look like?”

“Well it was YOUR idea, Applebloom!”

“MY idea? YOU wanted ta' put all the syrup on it!”

Rarity sighed yet again and placed a hoof on her forehead. “I swear to Luna these fillies will drive me to insanity!” She stood in the door, a slightly irritated look on her face as Applebloom and Scootaloo descended into taunts of, “YEH-HUH! NUH-UH!” She turned, ready to yell at the two when she saw Sweetie finally coming down.

“SWEE... Oh! Sweetie Belle, there you are. You know it's not polite to keep guests waiting. What if it had been a colt calling? A colt!?” She laughed, shaking her head. “No, never mind, you're much too young to be thinking of things like that! Now run along with your friends, I have QUITE the busy day to finish.”

Sweetie turned and smiled, holding a couple of carrots in her magic. “Sorry I'm late girls, I was getting a small snack to share with my BESTEST big sister,” she apologized, her sarcastic tone and eye roll going unheeded by the older unicorn mare. She levitated one of the carrots over and faked a genuine smile. Rarity's stomach rumbled at that exact moment, a sheepish grin spreading over her face.

“Eh... I suppose a small snack before deliveries will be fine, though I suppose a short visit to Sweet Apple Acres for a meal wouldn't hurt either...” She took the offered carrot and held it there for awhile, sniffing over it.

“Well, enjoy the snack! Gotta go! BYE!”

Rarity thought nothing of the quick good bye and departure of the fillies. They were off to do more crusading and more importantly, that meant Rarity had them out of her mane for a good few hours. More than enough time to relaxingly make her deliveries. Of course, before of all that could happen, that quick snack.

“How thoughtful of Sweetie to make me a snack, she must know I tend to forget meals during the day when I'm working.” She levitated the carrot up and took a big, crunchy bite. “VERY crispy, just how I like it!” Unbeknownst to her, however, the fillies hadn't actually left yet. They were still there, peering through the window.

“Sweetie!” complained Scootaloo. “C'mon! We're wasting time!”

“What's so funny 'bout a carrot anyway?” continued Applebloom.

“Just wait girls, you'll see!”

They all waited, of course, watching Rarity through the window. Seconds turned to minutes and... nothing was happening. “What's supposed ta' happen?”

“What... but... I did it perfect!” complained Sweetie Belle, voice cracking a little with her whiny tone. “I put a prank spell on the carrot!”

“Guess you need more Twilight Time, huh Sweetie?”

“Shut up, Scoots.”

Before the pair descended into a loud, one syllable argument again, Applebloom poked them. “Sweetie, y'er prank was uh bust, so let's go on crusading!”

“Yeah, you're right,” Sweetie admitted, a look of dashed hope on her face. The three fillies turned tail and ran off to do their crusading, missing the first part of the prank firing off. Rarity seemed oblivious to the first change, but a few random black spots were forming on her body. She quickly finished the rest of the carrot then gathered up her deliveries for the day, walked out the door, and locked it, turning to head into town.

Bringing New Looks

Rarity happily trotted through the town, the gifts she had made floating behind her in a blue magical aura. Unaware of any changes that were taking place and quickly made her way to her first client, the owner of a shop with a yellow coat and bright orange mane. Of course, her mane hadn't always been that shade, not until an incident with the very pony that was now knocking on her front door.

“Oh, coming!” came the voice, along with the sound of clipclopping hooves approaching the door. Slowly the door opened and, as soon as the orange maned mare saw who it was, she frowned. “Oh... hello Rarity,” came the deadpan reply.

“Ah, Miss Carrot Top. Yes, I'm sure you're still quite upset at my comments about your, ahem...” she paused, remembering back to when her own mane had been turned an ugly shade of green. “Well, no matter. I simply did not mean those words as an insult to you, and, as an apology, I made you a green dress!” She offered the said dress, something very flowing and loose, that looked to be just Carrot's size.

“That was two years ago,” the mare replied in a deadpan tone. Carrot Top stared at Rarity for a bit, trying to see if she was being serious or not. She reluctantly accepted the dress, though, and made a small note of not one but three horns on Rarity's head. Two were stubby and didn't look at all like unicorn horns. No, the horns looked more bovine in nature. “Yeah, well thanks, I guess,” Carrot Top muttered, watching the mare as she trotted off with a wide smile. Once Rarity was far enough away, Carrot Top shook her head. “Element of Generosity or not, what was with those horns?”

"Hmmm... Now, who was next?” She paused in the middle of the street and flicked her tail a couple of times as she thought, not noticing her thick, luxurious tail wasn't as thick any more. She shrugged and started trotting happily through the town. “No matter! I'll remember soon, I'm sure.”

As she made her way around the town, the start of those bovine horn nubs continued to grow out and become a bit more pronounced. Her tail, though it changed slower, got thinner and thinner, most of her former tail ending up as a purple tuft at the end of the long, thin bovine tail. “Ah! I remember now! Miss Cheerilee mentioned something about a cute little dance for all of Sweetie Belle's little friends! She'll be the chaperon, of course, and if she's going to be at that little dance, she'll need a dress!” With a nod she turned tail and headed straight for the school.

Rarity flicked her cow like tail a few times as she walked, a smile on her face as she entered the mostly empty school house. “Miss Cheerilee? Are you in here?” The magenta mare looked up from her planning book and gave a sigh. “Oh, Miss Rarity. Parent/Teacher conferences aren't until next week,” the mare started, getting her words cut off by Rarity's quick interjection. “Oh no, yes, of course! I'm not here about that. It has come to my attention that you're holding a little dance here soon and, well, being the generous pony that I am, I've made you a dress for the occasion!”

Cheerilee was presented with a nice, flowy blue dress with brown trim along the bottom. “Oh, Miss Rarity, the dress is beautiful! How much?” she asked, pulling out a small bit purse from a nearby saddlebag. She was about to offer the mare at least a few bits when Rarity just shook her head a little in response. “Oh, no no, nothing needed in return,” Rarity responded. “Only your happiness is enough for me!”

Cheerilee glanced up from the dress after a few quick scans of the fabric and stitching to take a cursory glance at Rarity. What she noticed first were the smaller horns on the mare, followed by the thinner cow tail and dark spots all over her body. Being a teacher, Cheerilee knew a bit about tact and politeness, not asking directly the question she wanted to ask so as to not upset the mare. “Miss Rarity?” The mare in question smiled and glanced back up at the teacher. “Yes?”

“Have you... noticed anything different about you today?” Rarity shrugged and rolled her eyes a bit. “Besides my overwhelming generosity for all the things I've made for ponies? Nothing is out of the ordinary.” Before Cheerilee was able to ask any more questions, Rarity had turned and was walking out of the school house. “Well, I do hope you have fun with the little dance. Make sure Sweetie doesn't get into TOO much trouble.” The last thing that Cheerilee saw was the mare giving a wave with a leg that seemed a bit too small for a pony leg. “I swear to Celestia... Rarity looked like a cow...”

Rarity, despite having a few more items to deliver, took her time walking across the town to her next stop. “Now then, the next pony I have something to give is... hmmm, but should I wait? Knowing HER, she'll probably be either hungover or drunk. Poor dear, it must be dreadful never being sober.” She glanced up at the clock tower near the middle of town and sighed. “Well, judging by the time... she'll be in that state where she's not quite drunk OR hungover, it seems, so I'm in luck.”

Rarity trotted a bit faster, thinking if she was quick enough, the purple mare would be just sober enough to accept her gift. Unfortunately, it took her longer to find the house than she originally thought, though. Rarity went first to where she remembered the house being, confused when she found an empty lot. A quick inspection of the area led her to find a rather large drag pattern away from where the house was supposed to be. She followed the drag marks to the drunk mare's house; it didn't take long to see the house had been moved over a couple of blocks .

Rarity stepped up to the door and raised a hoof to knock. She hesitated a second, contemplating if she should knock or use the door bell. Either one was sure to upset the mare, especially if she was hungover. The last thing she needed was an irate, hungover mare screaming at her, and she knew if she was going to deliver her next gift, she was going to have to risk the mare's wrath.

The spots on her coat began to get darker; it was an obvious cow pattern made by them. Underneath her, and much more difficult for anypony to see, her breasts started to change. The pair seemed to be merging together and the nipples began to get a bit darker and a bit longer.

Despite being unaware of the continuing changes, the half transformed mare was caught quite off guard when the door opened without her needing to knock at all. Out hopped Pinchy, darting off to go play with Twist, followed by a rather drunk looking mare. It seemed having to hunt down the mare's house closed the window of soberness. The purple pony known as Berry Punch stumbled out and grinned wide.

“You're not the pony I ordered, are you?” she asked with a slight slur in her voice. She took a step toward Rarity, puckering her lips a little. “Eh, I'll take what I can get! It's still 50 bits, right?” She was about to kiss the startled Rarity, but she turned to the side at the last second. With a loud heaving retch, the poor, drunk pony vomited all over the ground. “That... that's no bearing on y-you, you see, I'm just a tiny bit sick today...”

Rarity, like any professional, snapped out of her shock at the sudden appearance of the mare as well as the attempted kiss. “Yes, right, well... I HAD hoped to talk to you before you became too inebriated, but since it seems you've moved since my last vis-”

“I didn't move!” the drunk mare interjected, cutting off Rarity's words. “Not on purpose! Some pony pulled my house with me in it!” Rarity blinked in surprise at the outburst. “ANYhay, regardless of if you moved on purpose or not, I'm here on business. I just so happen to have something for you.” She lit up her horns, her unicorn one much shorter than earlier in the day. Despite the magic splitting between the three horns, she was still able to pull out a bright turquoise and gold brooch from her saddlebag.

Berry Punch seemed to like the brooch, due to the smile that formed on her face. “Wow! Three brooches for me? You're a really, REALLY great, generous pony!” She reached out and grabbed the brooch, pinning it to the pink and purple dress she was half wearing. Rarity rolled her eyes, taking Berry's inebriated state in stride.

While the two were talking, Rarity's muzzle and tongue began to change. Her muzzle stretched out a bit and became more bovine in shape, her tongue widening and flattening out. It was about this time that Berry Punch actually got a good look at the mare. “Rarity?” came the slurred question. But before she could pose any more questions, she felt her stomach clench and roll. “Erk! Either my throat just got really short, or I'm gonna throw up!” Without another word after that, Berry turned and darted back into her house to a sink, the loud retching and splattering sounds sounds quite loud due to the door being left wide open.

“Ugh... well, enjoy the brooch, Miss Berry Punch!” Rarity called out as she made haste away from the house. She shuddered a bit and sighed, wiping her brow. “Friend or not, I do hate seeing the mare like that, she really should get some help.” As she walked, more changes occurred. This time it wasn't quite as obvious; her crotchboobs started to shift around and merge. She paused in the middle of the town square, and looked around at various benches. “Now, if I remember right, Miss Heartstrings is normally sitting on a bench this time of day.”

Lyra Heartstrings was one of Ponyville's odder residents. She seemed to get certain urges, one of which included a single, solitary bench. And there was the strange obsession with odd things called hands. Rarity was aware of those so called hands after hearing the stories told by Twilight after her run-in with creatures called humans, when she went through the mirror to get her crown back.

Rarity casually strolled up to the bench, not surprised to find the mare sitting right where she expected. “Right on time as usual,” she chuckled to herself as she approached the reclining mare. As she walked, her two breasts that had merged together took on a more pink hue and her nipples got darker and longer. Two more nipples also formed along with the the two that were darkening and elongating.

“Good afternoon Miss Heartstrings, how are you doing today?”the almost fully transformed mare asked. Lyra, who was lost in her own thoughts of hands and sitting, turned her head and blinked a couple of times, coming out of her little fantasy world. “Oh, Rarity?” she asked confused, looking over the mare. She held her tongue about the changes in Rarity, as she noticed something made of fabric floating behind her. “If you're looking for Bonbon, I'm afraid she's at work right now.”

“Darling, I'm not looking for her. I've brought you something!” explained the mare. “Bonbon told me recently about your, ahem, mooooooooore unorthodox dressing habits and I decided to make you something mooovelous!” She took the fabric and brought it around in front of her, showing off a nice pair of khaki pants. Lyra was going to mention something about the way she had started saying certain words, but when she saw the pants those thoughts left her mind.

“PANTS!”

“Yes well,” replied Rarity, “Out of my generosity I made these for you, but it was moooooooore Bonbon's idea. I'd suggest taking her out on a date in gratitude. Perhaps a cafe or a moooooooovie!”

Rarity didn't say much more after that and neither did Lyra. Lyra sat there, just staring at the pants and kicking her hooves. Lyra gave those pants a lustful stare, lost in her mind's world again. Suddenly she jerked up and stared at Rarity as she walked away. She noticed the pink udder swinging back and forth between Rarity's legs, watching each movement, before before she finally spoke up to thank Rarity.

“HANDS!?”

Rarity grinned wide, quite pleased with herself at how generous she was being. All that she had left was one giant hat box with a tag on it. The tag had only two words on it, 'To Derpy'. Derpy was one of the town's mailmares and, while clumsy, she was the best mailmare in the whole town. That certainly deserved a gift as generous as Rarity's. But there was one major problem: Where WAS the mailmare? Unlike most ponies, Derpy didn't really have a set schedule and so it was nearly impossible to find her. Most times she'd be the one to find you.

It didn't take long for the mare to find Rarity; Derpy was just about finished with her rounds and was headed to the boutique. Upon noticing her, though, Derpy dove down and nearly crashed into Rarity. “Hi Rarity! I brought you a letter!” the walleyed mare said cheerfuly, holding out the envelope. Rarity took a quick glance at the envelope and rolled her eyes. “This isn't a letter, Derpy, this is a bill...” she said with a sigh, opening the letter right there. “For mane recoloring? Sweetie Belle...” she muttered under her breath. “What did those fillies get into THIS time.”

Despite the scowl on her face, Rarity looked up and put on a smile. “Well, no matter.” Quickly she held the box up and out toward Derpy, the mare's derped eyes focusing on the box. She reached out and grabbed the top of the box and pulled it off. There was a happy gasp and wing flaring in excitement. “MUFFIN!” Derpy gasped.

“Not just any mooooooooooooofin,” replied the cow. “A moooofin hat! Now, I know it's not that aerodynamic for a pegasus with a job such as yours but... blah blah. Blah blah blah blah blah! Blah blah!” Derpy didn't even pay attention after the words muffin and hat because the first word was her favorite thing in the entire land of Equestria, and the second was a thing she could wear. Therefore, she would be able to wear to wear her favorite thing in the entire land of Equestria!

Despite her walleyed appearance, though, she was sometimes more clever than most ponies took her for. She noticed the mare that was talking and knew it was Rarity, but it certainly didn't LOOK like Rarity. It looked more like a cow that was TALKING like Rarity. But she DID just get a free muffin hat. So paying less and less attention to Rarity, she waved and smiled.

“Thanks for the hat! I'll wear it everywhere, even in the shower!” she thanked with her bubbly attitude. Derpy quickly took off as she sped away to make her next delivery. “What a nice cow...” she said happily to herself. “Oh! That reminds me, I need to pick up some milk to make more muffins!”

Rarity, on the other hoof, was still ranting and raving about the hat she had made, all the intricate stitching, the hours of work put in; she hadn't even noticed that the mare was gone until she looked up and glanced around, and found that she was talking to nopony at all. “Guess she had moooooore mail to deliver. I suppose I should be mooooooooooving along as well, I could use a well deserved nap.

With a flick of her cow tail she turned and slowly made her way back to the boutique, proud of herself for the generosity she had shown and happy to have seen the smiles on the ponies' faces at her gifts. As she got closer to the boutique, her unicorn horn finally shrank enough to disappear, and left only the two larger cow horn nubs on her head.

Author's Note

Chapter Title and editing done by BlacksmithSpark

Needs More Cowbelle

Sweetie Belle walked out of a mane salon near the edge of Ponyville. She sighed, looking over herself covered in black spots. 〈”Why did this happen to me!?”〉 She mooed, barely hearing the buzz of wings and rolling of wheels approaching her. She was lost in her own mind, remembering how she got to this point.

“Sweetie, y'er prank was uh bust, so let's go on crusading!” said Applebloom.

“Yeah, you're right,” Sweetie admitted, a look of dashed hope on her face. The three fillies turned tail and ran off to do their crusading, leaving Rarity to her own devices. The trio didn't even stop to look back, just heading toward a lake with a rather dense forest beside it. “So what are we gonna try today?”

Applebloom shook her head; Scootaloo shrugged. “We don't know,” the two said simultaneously.

“I was thinking some kind of super awesome water-tricks in the water,” said Scootaloo.

"Ah' was thinkin' of maybe buckin' the trees," continued Applebloom, pointing toward the forest.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes at the suggestion. “You always want to buck trees! Or build things!”

“But maybe y’all have an idea?” asked Applebloom to Sweetie Belle, surprisingly not pulled into a 20 minute argument match with Scootaloo.

Sweetie Belle shook her head, sighing. She was still upset with what her sister had said and, even more, she was still disappointed her little prank didn't even work. “You know, I'm not really in the mood to do crusading now... I'd rather go and hide an-”

Scootaloo suddenly popped up in front of Sweetie, her little wings buzzing excitedly. “OOH! Hide and seek! Let's play!” She and Applebloom suddenly dashed away from Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo calling back. “You get to be IT first! Count to 20!”

Caught off guard, Sweetie Belle blinked in surprise. She took a single step forward before raising a hoof and her voice.

“Hey! Wait I didn't want to-”

But she was talking to an empty lake, the other two already gone to hide in the trees. Sweetie Belle sighed and lowered her hoof then walked up to a tree at the edge of the forest; she covered her eyes. “Well... I guess it would be more fun than thinking about mean old Rarity!” she complained, starting to count.

1... 2... 3... 4...

As Sweetie Belle counted, her horn started to shrink and her tail began to change. Unlike with Rarity's changes, though, Sweetie Belle immediately noticed that something was wrong. She uncovered her eyes and looked around, trying to find her friends.

“APPLEBLOOM! SCOOTALOO! PAUSE THE GAME!” she called out. “SOMETHING'S REALLY WRONG!”

Applebloom, who had taken up a hiding spot in a nearby apple tree, and Scootaloo, who had the brilliant idea of hiding behind a rock just a bit too small to even hide her, both thought the same thing at the same time:

She just wants to trick me to win at the game!

Both fillies stayed where they were, not even looking out of their hiding spots to see what Sweetie was yelling about.

Sweetie glanced around again, surprisingly missing the magenta maned Scootaloo hiding behind the not quite large enough rock. By the time she looked back at herself, Sweetie Belle's equine hooves were starting to look more like... cow hooves? Sweetie Belle blinked in confusion at first, then let out a startled squeak.

“AH! MY PRANK! I ate one of the carrots and it actually worked!”

At first, her tone was one that sounded pleased, but after a few seconds ticked by, she gasped and realized what she had just said.

“OH NO! I ate one of the carrots and it actually worked! But it was only supposed to be on Rarity!”

There was only one thing the little unicorn could think of. Well, two, once her stomach started to rumble and thoughts of eating grass started to wander through her mind.

Boy, I could sure go for a nice, grassy little snack. It’s close to lunch time, isn’t it?

The other thought was to get to Twilight as quick as possible, since she would be the one to know how to undo the spell. That was her original plan, anyway, to get Rarity changed back into a pony. Remembering her lessons from Twilight, Sweetie Belle attempted a teleportation spell to get to Golden Oaks as quickly as possible. Unlike with Rarity, though, her unicorn horn was already gone and replaced with two small bovine nubs, both useless for channeling magic. As such, she panicked and ran out of the clearing, headed for Ponyville and Golden Oaks.

As she ran, her snout was the next to slowly change. Sweetie Belle looked down her nose and watched in fascination as it shifted from a little unicorn filly nose into a more square-like bovine one. She felt her tongue tingling a little, so she stuck it out. Just as it slid from her mouth, Sweetie Belle's tongue changed, becoming wider and more flat.

“Oh no! Thith ith changing to fatht!” she squeaked out, having trouble using her newly changed tongue. “I wan ma’e it in time!”

Sweetie Belle shut her eyes and sped up her running, nearly tripping over her own legs a few times as they continued changing. With her eyes closed, it was a small miracle she didn’t end up running snout first into a tree or large rock. Minutes passed before she opened her eyes to finally see where she was running. Luckily, she was just on the outskirts of town, panting hard and covered in sweat from the exertion. She saw a small little lake close to the path, so she walked over to it to get a drink.

“Whew... ahmotht there... but I'm thuper thirthty.”

She bent down to take a drink, closing her eyes. After a short time, she pulled back and licked her lips, giving a pleased sigh from the feeling of the cool water going down her throat. She opened her eyes and glanced down at the water, barely recognizing her own reflection. She stared hard, flicked an ear, watching as the reflection in the water mimicked her movement. Only her reflection was flicking an ear that was shaped more like a cow's and there was a black spot around her eye. That's when she turned to look along her body, seeing a pattern of black spots all over her.

“AH! Thith ith worth than I thought! I can't thtand around anymore! I need to get a moooooooooooooove on!”

Sweetie clapped a hoof over her mouth and looked around, noticing that there was nopony around. Nopony had heard her, but a quetsion came to her mind: had she just done that? She had to try again, removing her hoof from her mouth.

“Leth all go to the moooooooooovieth!”

Startled that she had heard exactly what she thought she did, Sweetie stood up from the pond and sprinted toward the town. She only made it a few steps before she finally took a misstep and tripped, tumbling onto the ground. She ended up on her back and, as she tried to sit up, was able to watch as something started to happen back near her filly bits.

Due to her size, her breasts merged rather quickly. Sweetie watched as the two breasts became one, fur beginning to disappear. The flesh underneath turned a bright pink; her two nipples became four and elongated, all of which happened in the span of two minutes. She quickly got up to her hooves and found she tripped and fell right in front of a mane and coat dying shop. Sweetie Belle decided it would be best to at least stop in, get her coat dyed white again, and head back to Twilight, all in time to quickly spout off her story.

She went in, quickly told the owner to send the bill to Rarity, and was inside the dye shop all of 10 minutes before she wandered back out. In that span of time, her mane thinned out, her tail finished changing to a more bovine shape, and her udder finished growing in. The dye job didn't seem to stick, either.

Sweetie sighed, looking over herself as the black spots re-appeared in seconds. 〈”Why did this happen to me!?”〉 She mooed, barely hearing the buzz of wings and rolling wheels approaching her. She was lost in her own mind, remembering how she got to this point.

Of course when an orange blur ran into her, her thoughts were broken. She looked up to see Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Scootaloo's scooter all laying on the ground in a heap. 〈”Scootaloo! Applebloom! What are you doooooooooing back here?”〉 All the pair heard, though, were a few loud moos, which seemed to be ignored.

“What happened, Scootaloo? What did ya' run into this time?”

“Why is it MY fault we ran into something?”

“Well y’all were the one steering!”

“MOOOOO!”

Both fillies looked at the cow, then to each other as they sighed.

“We shouldn't fight, we gotta go find Sweetie Belle. Ah' don't know why she ran off,” said Applebloom.

Scootaloo shrugged. “I thought she said something about us playing hide and seek wrong, or something.”

Sweetie Belle watched the two as they talked. Finally, she realized she had to do something! 〈”GUYS! It's ME! You're looking for me! You have to take me to Twilight Sparkle!”〉

Both Scootaloo and Applebloom turned to look at the calf. Applebloom was looking more closely than Scootaloo, noticing that the calf didn't seem to have any tags or markings to indicate she belonged to anypony. Of course, Applebloom figured out it was a she by lifting Sweetie Belle's tail and looking at her slit. Sweetie Belle protested with a loud moo.

〈”H-HEY! Don’t touch me there!”〉

“Well, Scootaloo, we may need to keep lookin' for Sweetie Belle, but we can't just leave this calf here. Ah' bet she wandered off from the farm! We don't tag 'em or brand 'em when they're this young.”

Applebloom rooted through her saddlebag and pulled out a length of rope. She tied it loosely around Sweetie Belle's neck and gave a small tug. Satisfied that the rope wouldn't slip off from around the neck, Applebloom gave a harder tug, enough to make Sweetie Belle take a step forward. Sweetie Belle, on the other hoof, tugged back hard to try and make her way to her intended destination, namely Golden Oaks and Twilight Sparkle. No matter what she tried to say, though, all her friends could hear were loud moos.

“C-come on, calf, we'll get ya' home,” grunted Applebloom as she tugged hard on the rope, the length held tight in an almost tug of war like state. She glanced over at Scootaloo and gave her an annoyed look. “Well? Don't yall' just stand there! Help me!”

Scootaloo rushed over and put most of her weight against Sweetie Belle's rump. With Applebloom's pulling and Scootaloo's pushing, the pair managed to get the cow moving, even if she refused to move her legs and walk.

EIGHT [BUY SOME APPLES] HOURS LATER

A trip that normally took, at most, 40 minutes from Ponyville to Sweet Apple Acres ended up taking much longer. After 8 hours of pulling and pushing, the trio finally arrived at the farm all covered in dust and sweat. As they entered, Scootaloo gave a small wave to Derpy, just as she was leaving.

“Hey Scoots, ain't it kinda late for Derpy to be deliverin' the mail?”

“I dunno, does Derpy ever deliver things on time, anyway?”

Before they could devolve into another fighting match like the one they got into while getting the calf to Sweet Apple Acres (which ate up a good hour and a half), Applejack strode up to them. She gave a smile and patted Applebloom on the head.

“Well, howdy Applebloom! Y'all's done playing for today?”

Applebloom gave a nod and a sigh. “But we're definitely gonna need a bath and-”

“Where's Sweetie Belle? Did she already go home?” asked Applejack, surprised that the trio was a duo.

Shaking her head, Scootaloo was the first to speak up. “We don't know, Applejack. She ran off while we were playing hide and seek, so we went to look for her, and we found this cow in town that looked lost, so instead of looking for Sweetie Belle we brought the cow here.”

Applejack gave the pair an incredulous look and raised an eyebrow. “And why, exactly, didn't one of you bring the cow and the other go off to look for Sweetie Belle?”

“'Cause!” answered Apple Bloom. “We had to push this calf all the way here 'cause she wouldn't walk!”

“And you couldn't have used the carrot to lead her?”

Applebloom facehoofed and shook her head. “Ah' course! Why did ah' forget the carrot?”

Applejack slowly smiled and gave another pat to Applebloom's head, laughing a little. “That's alright. You’re just a filly after all, plus you DID get the calf here.” Applejack began to walk around the calf and inspect her, reaching out to grasp Sweetie Belle’s cow tail and lift it up.

“Oh, it’s a little filly calf! Anyhay, I'm sure Sweetie Belle got home just fine. Now you two run on inside and get cleaned up, I'll get this calf to the barn and join y'all for something to eat. Git along now! Scoot!” She watched as the pair took off toward the house. “And Scootaloo, you can sleep over tonight. Y'all can go looking for Sweetie tomorrow!”

With the pair gone and out of her mane, she turned to the calf, still smiling. She looked over the young cow again and raised her eyebrow. “Say... you sorta look familiar...” she began.

Sweetie Belle's eyes lit up as she nodded at Applejack. 〈”Yes! Please recognize me! Please! Just don’t look back… well… back there again, ok?”〉

With Sweetie Belle mooing quite loudly and constantly, Applejack pushed those thoughts of familiarity to the back of her mind. “What's wrong, little one? I bet you're just hungry. Come along, we'll get you a nice comfy stable pen and all the hay and grass you can eat, how does that sound?”

All the hay and grass she could eat? To Sweetie Belle that sounded great, considering how long it had been since she had eaten. Deciding she could probably fix her mistake the next day, she followed after Applejack when she tugged on the rope.

Once they arrived at the barn and wandered inside, they passed by a pen with a cow already in it. Applejack took a glance at that cow, then at the calf, then realized why the calf looked somewhat familiar.

“OH! Right! Derpy's cow! You look just like her. I'll put you in the pen next to her.”

Sweetie was led into the pen next to the other cow. She bent down to grab some of the hay at her feet, munching on it contentedly.

〈”Well, I'm sure Applejack or my friends can help me tomorrow, today I'm just bushed. I sure hope Rarity doesn't panic when I don't get home.”〉

〈”Mmmm, yes darling?”〉

Sweetie Belle was surprised that she heard not only the moos of the cow next to her, but she also understood them. She looked over the cow in the stall next to her and gasped. The build was right, despite the bovine form, what little of her mane was left and the tuft of her tail was the right purple color, there was no mistaking it. Still she had to try and make sure.

〈”Rarity? Is that you?”〉

〈”Why of course, silly filly, you don't recognize your own sister? I’d recognize your voice anywhere, I don’t see why y-!”〉

Rarity was shocked when she realized somepony was actually able to understand what she was saying. Up to that point, she hadn’t been able to make any of her friends understand what she was saying. Rarity turned to look in the stall next to her and, despite the changes that had taken place on the unicorn filly, immediately recognized her.

〈”Sweetie Belle? You’re a... what? What's going on?”〉

〈”W-we're cows... I'm sorry it was a prank and-”〉Sweetie Belle began to apologize.

The older cow turned, now realizing there was a mirror hanging next to her. All of her facial features were that of a cow, not a pony. Rarity grew wide eyed and jumped as best she could before fainting.

〈”MOO-HOO-HOO!”〉

The calf rolled her eyes and went back to her eating. When Rarity regained her composure, they would certainly have some things to discuss.

Have You HERD What's Happening?

Applejack had rushed in to help Rarity after she fainted. She was taken her away and isolated for some time in case there was anything wrong with the cow. Applejack couldn’t risk infecting her entire herd if there was something wrong with the cow, after all.

A few weeks passed until Rarity was deemed healthy enough to be let back into the general cow population. She was also returned the pen next to Sweetie Belle. They began to talk and discuss the situation, turning to how Rarity had ended up at the farm. Sweetie Belle took note of an odd tone in Rarity’s voice as she talked, but listened nonetheless.

〈”And so, after I gave Derpy her delicious looking muffin hat, which I must say she looked dashing in, I went back home to take a nice rest.”〉

〈”No, Rarity, I mean how did you get HERE? You know, at Sweet Apple Acres?”〉

〈”Oh, yes, that. Well Sweetie, it all started after I got back home. I had just laid down for a nap when…”〉

The door to the Carousel Boutique slammed open followed by the sound of a loud yawn. The yawn accompanied the sound of clopping hooves as the mare turned cow entered the main room.

〈”Oh, what a delightful day of making ponies happy with my generosity. I do hope they all enjoyed my gifts. But being so generous sure has made me tired. Perhaps a nice nap would be a good idea.”〉 she said aloud before letting out another big yawn.

Rarity was more tired than she thought and decided to just curl up in a pile of her fabrics instead of making her way upstairs. Just as she laid down to take said nap and her eyes were just fluttering shut, her peace was disturbed by a very loud knocking at her door.

〈”Sorry! We’re closed!”〉 Rarity called out. She didn’t realize her speech was now just loud mooing sounds. To her, she was certain she was talking normally. The knocking continued despite her proclamation. Instead the knocking only got louder. Rarity realized the knocking wouldn’t stop until she answered the door. Rarity got up from her relatively comfortable pile of fabrics and groaned loudly., By the time she reached the door there was frown on her face. 〈”I SAID we are closed!”〉 Her tone was quite annoyed at the rude interruption. She reached out a hoof and grabbed hold of the handle of the door. She yanked hard and took a deep breath. Before she could tell off whoever it was pounding on her door, oddly, she found nopony standing there. Instead, what she saw was a carrot hovering in front of her now open door.

Well, I can’t pass up a free snack, I AM quite famished.

The cow took a couple of step forwards and bit at the carrot hard. The sound of clacking teeth echoed in the fairly empty boutique when she missed the carrot. In fact, it looked like the carrot was still just out of reach. She took two more steps forward and attempted again. Again she missed. So lost in her own want of a snack, she didn’t even notice when a rope was slipped around her neck. She also didn’t notice the slight giggle that came from a light grey pegasus who was hovering just above her, nor the fact the carrot was suspended from a stick. She stepped forward again and chomped. Again, nothing but air. The carrot was still just out of her reach. Another step, another miss. Rarity let out a very loud moo of consternation, trying harder to get the carrot floating right in front of her.

Step, clack, moo. Step, clack, moo. That was the pattern Rarity followed as she chased the floating carrot through the back alleys of Ponyville. All the while she was certain she would get her snack.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity for the mare, the carrot was finally close enough for her to grab it. She chewed on the tasty, crunchy snack as she half listened to Derpy.

“Welcome home cow! You belong to me now so you gotta make me milk for my muffins,” Derpy said loudly. Rarity glanced up when she was addressed and paused mid-chew briefly. Rarity had no interest in what was being said, though, so she quickly returned to her crunchy snack just as Derpy continued. “Free milk will make muffins cheaper, now everypony can afford to have them all the time! Wait there, I’ll be right back!”

Rarity paid no attention to how much time went by. She was content to keep munching on her snack. Rarity only glanced up when Derpy returned a short time later. She carried with her a large milk pail which she set down on the ground in front of Rarity.

"Ok, cow, there's a bucket, now give me milk."

Derpy watched the cow expectantly. She glanced back and forth between Rarity and the bucket. And then back at Rarity. And then to the bucket. She was quite confused; the bucket was still empty. “Why aren’t you filling the bucket, cow?” In her frustration, the wall-eyed mare gave Rarity a few pokes. “Come ON!” The commotion from inside Derpy’s house was loud enough to alert a pony walking past her house.

Within seconds of the loud outburst, there was a knock on her door. “I wonder who THAT could be,” she said to the cow, her annoyance turning into curiosity almost instantly. When she opened the door she was surprised to find Applejack standing there.

“Oh, hello Applejack! Why did you come to visit me?” she asked. “Did I forget that I ordered apples again?” Applejack just shook her head, a curious and concerned look on her face.

“Oh, no, Derpy, nothing like that THIS time,” she responded before adding on a quick, “But you DO have an order of apples coming in the next week. I was just passing by your house and I heard you yelling. Is everything alright, sugarcube?”

Derpy nodded quickly even while shrugging. “Well, sorta? I got a cow so I could get free milk, I gave her a bucket, and I told her to fill the bucket. But the bucket’s still empty! I just don’t know what went wrong…”

Applejack rolled her eyes and sighed. “Where in Equestria did you get a-” Applejack quickly pushed that thought aside and held up a hoof. “You know what, nevermind. I probably don’t want to know where you got a cow from. But you have to actually milk the cow, she can’t give you the milk herself. Do you even have space to keep a cow? Do you have the food to keep her fed?”

With each question, Derpy became more embarrassed and shook her head. Slowly her gaze shifted from Applejack down to the floor. “No… I guess I have to give away the cow,” she finally said with a tone of disappointment in her voice. “Goodbye free milk.”

“Now hold on there, Derpy! You might not be able to keep the cow here, but I think we can work out something,” interjected Applejack before Derpy could get completely upset. “I’ll let your cow stay at my farm, get fed, get milked, and you can have, let’s say…70% of the milk and 100% of the bits made from the 30% sold minus costs for feeding and keeping the cow healthy. In short, I’ll pay you to keep your cow at my farm!”

Applejack was taken completely by surprise when Derpy answered with a very enthusiastic, “Yes!”

“I… you don’t want to make a counteroffer?” she asked. She wasn’t used to getting a yes on her first offer, so it caught her off guard. Applejack shrugged and, wasting no time, led the cow from Derpy’s house to the barn on Sweet Apple Acres.

〈”And so, Applejack led me here and fed me. She also let me have a comfy place to sleep and nap. I’ve been meaning to talk to her about how I’m not a cow, but If what you told me is true, the prank you pulled won’t let me actually speak in pony.”〉

Sweetie Belle had a blush plastered on her face as she watched Rarity. In the process of telling her story, the gate to Rarity’s pen had been opened and a rather well hung bull entered. Rarity didn’t seem to notice the bull at all when he had mounted her and started to breed her.

〈”Sweetie, are you alright? Your face is all red!”〉

Sweetie Belle pointed toward Rarity and the bull roughly thrusting into the cow who seemed blissfully unaware of what was happening. 〈”R-Rarity… there’s… well…”〉 she mooed out. She jumped in surprise when Applejack opened the door to her own pen.

“Alright, Little Horn, In you go. I’m sure you’re anxious for your first mating.”

A rather eager and young bull bounded into Sweetie Belle’s pen. His cock throbbed and dripped with pre in anticipation of his first lay. Before Sweetie could react, the bull was on her and shoving his cock right inside her virgin slit. There was no care or loving, all he was concerned with was getting off.

〈”AH! A bull is mating with you! And me!”〉 After a few thrusts, though, Sweetie Belle became more aware of the bull mating with her, and how well hung he was. 〈”GAH! You should be called BIG Horn!”〉

Rarity nodded as she let the bull thrust into her hard. His speed made his balls slap against her clit audibly. Despite the roughness, though, Rarity seemed bored and nonchalant about the whole ordeal.

〈”Oh yes, it’s not as pleasurable as when I’m with a nice hung stallion like Big Mac, but it feels so good to get filled up. Plus, Applejack says my milk will start coming in soon.”〉 Sweetie Belle gasped at both the feeling of the bull cock pumping in and out of her and the realization that the prank had spiraled more out of control than she thought.

〈”Rarity! You aren’t thinking right! You’re a pony not a cow!” You’d never let a bull do... that to you!”〉

〈”Oh, it was surprising at first with my first mating, but Applejack was there to guide me and show my proper place as a cow,”〉Rarity explained. 〈”I’ve always been a cow, Sweetie, you know this. You’ll learn after a few breedings. And soon, even YOUR milk will start coming in.”〉

Before Sweetie could form the words she wanted to say, the bull's thrusting sped up. There was no loving in his rutting, no tenderness at all. To the young bull, Sweetie Belle was just another cow to rut and breed with. What Rarity had said about being a cow rang through her mind when she felt a pleasure building inside of her. The pleasure began to fog her mind and she began to think that perhaps, just perhaps, Rarity was right and she had always been a cow.

〈"Me being a pony? What an absurd-"〉 Sweetie Belle's words cut off and she shook her head. She tried to fight off the thoughts telling her she was a cow and push those thoughts to the back of her mind as best she could. That was until the young bull suddenly stopped his thrusting and left Sweetie Belle unsatisfied.

〈”HEY! Don’t just stop when I’m so clo-”〉 she mooed in complaint. Her words cut off and turned into a moo of pleasure when she felt the cock throb, twitch, and spurt out a rope of cum deep inside of her. The hot, sticky mess filling up Sweetie Belle set the young calf off herself. Her passage clamped down and massaged the cock buried inside of her as she rode out her first orgasm. She punctuated her release with a much louder moo, briefly forgetting she was not a cow.

Rarity, on the other hoof, had become so used to the repeated matings that her body barely registered any pleasure at all. The mating act was just for procreation, not pleasure. She didn’t even flinch or move when her bull pulled out, letting his thick cum drip out of her well used vagina.

Applejack stood at the entrance to the two pens and watched the ruttings. After years of helping her livestock mate, such sights didn’t affect her. She was only watching to make sure her new cows were kept safe.

"I see you two are adjusting nicely," she said as the two bulls quickly left the pens. Both cows had white cum dripping out their vaginas and down their back legs. "Well, in that case, let me add both of you to the roster.”

Applejack entered Sweetie Belle’s pen first, then closed the pen door and locked it. In her hoof she held a clipboard and an odd looking gun device. Sweetie Belle took a step away from Applejack as she watched her approaching. She didn’t know why, but she felt a mix of fear and anticipation. Just what was Applejack planning to do?

"First, I'm going to have to name you, then we'll tag you. So, what name should I give you?"

Applejack looked closely at the young calf and chuckled lightly. Sweetie Belle splayed her ears back in embarrassment as she was looked over.

"You know, you remind me of a certain pony my little sister spends time with. So I think I'll call you-" She paused briefly as she ran a few names through her head. She gave a nod when she had the name. "Cowbelle."

With those words, Applejack marked down the name on her clipboard and the tag. She then slipped the gun device over one of Cowbelle's ears and squeezed the trigger. There was a sudden sharp pain from the quick puncture which faded quickly. The sound of the punch was punctuated with a loud moo of surprise and pain. Once the pain had subsided, Cowbelle flicked her ear in curiosity and annoyance. She could feel the weight of her new piercing but with how it was angled, she couldn't even read what it said.

Cowbelle continued to flick her ear and play with the tag. She paid no attention to Applejack and didn’t see when she walked out of her pen. She also didn’t notice when the gate was closed and locked. Applejack then proceeded to Rarity's pen. Knowing how complacent she was, Applejack didn’t bother to close or lock the gate. Once inside, she circled the cow and looked her over, taking glances to her clipboard.

"Alright, so I didn't get to pick the name for you, I left that up to Derpy since she owns you. And she named you..." Applejack flipped through some papers until she found the info she was looking for. "Rarity Cow. Well that's... an interesting name. Amd quite a mouthful to say. I'm sure she won't mind me shortening that. So I'll mark you down as Raricow. Guess she had Rarity on the brain with how she was going on and on about that muffin hat."

Applejack then marked down the chosen name and attached the tag with little protest. "Just a few more matings and you'll be ready for the dairy farm." She told Rarity with a couple of pats to her flank. Applejack was about to say more when Big Macintosh came running up. "Applejack! Customer." She and Big Macintosh left with no words, leaving the two cows to their pens.

Silence fell over the barn and neither cow made a sound. Minutes passed without either cow saying a word. It was Cowbelle who finally spoke up.

〈"Wow... Rarity, what was that feeling?"〉 Cowbelle asked once her mind was clear enough for rational thought. 〈"It felt like-”〉

〈"Your true purpose? See? You're growing up to be the perfect breeder. If you're lucky, you might even become a milk cow like me!"〉

Cowbelle nodded at Raricow's words and was nearly believing what she was saying. But in the back of her mind she knew; she was a pony not a cow! Cowbelle had to figure out some way to snap Rarity out of it before she, herself, could devolve into a full cow's mindset. It was right when she realized the problem when Applejack returned with a rather large and husky griffin following behind her.

"You've come with your request at just the right time, Gabrielle," stated Applejack as the pair entered the barn. "Our milk cows just recently gave birth and are in the process of returning to their proper milk production rate."

"Good, good..." came the response before things went silent again. The silence was broken by the sound of a tongue licking over a beak. "While your prices are quite fair and honest, it's taken me some time to save up for this rare treat. Please, lead the way."

Applejack led the female griffin to the pens on the far side of the barn that held the newborn calves and bulls. Gabrielle stayed silent as she looked. With each of the newborns she saw, she shook her head and became more agitated. “No, none of these seem to meet my needs,” she said tersely. The annoyance in her voice was easy to hear. “These seem to be much too small. Do you have any more? Or should I take my business elsewhere? I’m sure the Appleloosans may have what I’m after.”

Applejack jumped at the mention of Appleloosa and quickly shook her head. “No!” she said quickly, mind working quickly. She couldn’t lose a sale, especially one with as high a price she was getting. “I er… mean... these are only the new ones born in the last few weeks,” she replied quickly before she blinked and paused. “But we DID just get a new one, I think she’s a bit older. Two of my little sister’s friends brought her in. Would you like to se-” She glanced over at the griffin and gulped when she saw the annoyed expression. “Of course you would! I have her penned on the other side of the barn!”

Quickly, Applejack led Gabrielle to the other pens and stood to the side. The griffin peered inside the pen and stared at the young calf. As soon as she set eyes on Cowbelle she licked her beak and nodded. “Yes. YES! This is the one!” Gabrielle squawked happily. Applejack was about to interject and say that she didn’t know much about the young cow but the glare she got when she took her breath silenced her concerns before they started.

“Alright then, I’ll have her marked and get started on the feeding plan,” she replied, leading the griffin out of the barn. “It shouldn’t take longer than three or four months once we get started.”

“You have made me VERY happy. If you exceed my expectations, I may add an extra tip to go with my payment. Your brother looks like he might be rather well hung~” There was a beat, then a VERY loud squawking laugh that echoed down the hall. “I’m kidding! Hahaha you should see the look on your face!”

Cowbelle was completely confused as to what was going on, especially who the griffin was and what was meant by feeding plan. At least from what Applejack had said she knew she’d have at least some time to figure out how to tell Applejack what had happened. With her thoughts bouncing around and trying to figure out what her next move would be, she lost track of how much time had passed. By the time she looked back up, Applejack had returned and thrown a loop of rope around her neck. The next thing she knew she was being lead out her stall and to a more remote part of the farm.

〈”Wait! Applejack! Where are you taking me!? Rarity! Help me!”〉

To Applejack, though, everything Cowbelle was trying to cry out sounded like moos. She wasn’t deliberately ignoring the young cow, she just couldn’t understand her. When Cowbelle started tugging back against the rope in defiance, Applejack gave a hard tug back. “Come! On! Cowbelle!” Applejack grunted out as she pulled. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be!”

Despite the fighting, Applejack was eventually able to lead Cowbelle into another pen. It was much smaller than the other one she had been in and in a much more secluded place. Applejack then tied the rope to a gate at the far end of the new pen. Cowbelle had very little room to move thanks to twin metal bars running down each side. The cool metal of the bars held snug on either side of her body which kept her from moving left or right. However, her head remained free and she was able to look around and take in her new surroundings.

Said surroundings included the metal bars, wood, more wood, LOTS of wood, some kind of wood shavings on the floor, no Applejack… Cowbelle stopped looking around when she realized she was standing in the pen, unguarded. She saw it as an opportunity to escape but, when she tugged to try and back out, she was held fast by the rope. She froze completely when she heard hoofsteps approaching.

Applejack reappeared but the first thing Cowbelle noticed wasn’t that she was back. No, what she noticed first was what Applejack was carrying in her hooves. Cowbelle had visited the farm enough times with Applebloom to know exactly what it was: a red hot, glowing brand. Applebloom didn’t really explain the different brand marks and what each one meant too well to Cowbelle. Or more, she hadn’t really been paying attention at the time.

“Well, Cowbelle, I guess it’s kinda lucky that we haven’t had much time to get attached to you,” Applejack said when she brought the brand close to Cowbelle’s flank. Cowbelle could feel the radiant heat of the brand as it got close and tried to step away to the side. All that happened was the feeling of cold metal pressing to her side that prevented her from getting away from the brand. The cow let out a loud, pained moo when the glowing metal pressed against her flesh. Applejack held the brand in place for some time. Once satisfied the mark was both permanent and visible she removed it to admire her handiwork; a large V burned on Cowbelle’s flank. Due to the excruciating pain, Cowbelle didn’t notice the brand approaching her other side nor did she feel the same pain again until she was taken out of the pen. It was only on the way back to her original pen that she felt the full effect of the pain. She began to cry softly.

Applejack led the softly crying cow back to the pen next to Rarity. Cowbelle, who was still in shock from the pain, didn’t notice or even care that her big sister was getting pounded roughly by another bull. All she wanted to do was fix the prank and get home with her sister. Have everything back to normal. Carefully she sat down and tried to not put any of her weight on her marks as she continued to cry.

〈“I just wanna go home… I’m so sorry Rarity…”〉

Wallowing in her mix of pain and self pity, Cowbelle didn’t notice when Applejack left the two of them alone. What did catch her eye was her crusader cape. She knew better than to think that perhaps her friends had figured out what had happened. More than likely, they just wanted to let the young cow keep warm while they searched for Sweetie Belle.

That was a search Cowbelle knew would be fruitless. It was impossible at this point to try and communicate with the ponies, and with the changes so far along, nopony would notice them as anything but cows.

〈”Oh, Rarity…”〉 Sweetie Belle said sadly. 〈”I’ll be more cow than pony soon, and I just wish I could snap you out of your own mindset and get your advice…〉 She clutched the cape tighter in her grip and snuggled against it. She remembered all the fun times she had with her friends which caused her to look down at the cape and sigh.

〈”I’ll never get to wear this cape again… Rarity was so mad we cut up her fabric to- WAIT!”〉 She stared harder at the cape excitedly. 〈”That’s it! Don’t you worry Rarity, I’ll at least fix your mind!”〉

Sweetie Belle’s plan had to happen when Raricow wasn’t distracted. But for the moment she was busy with another bull. The sight threatened to raise her cow urges and instincts back to the surface but she steeled herself against it. She shuddered and whined, nearly losing the battle.

〈”That looks… r-really fun… but I gotta fuck a bull! I mean fight these urges!〉

And fight she did. Cowbelle fought hard and repressed those base urges until the bull was done with her sister and had dismounted her. Rarity was once again the only cow in her stall, the white, creamy bull cum still dripping down between her legs. Sweetie Belle saw her chance and took it. She placed a corner of her cape on the floor and stepped on it to hold it place. She then took a different corner in her mouth and began to tug.

〈”I sure hope this works…”〉 she mooed out muffledly. She tugged hard on the cape and felt the taut fabric reach its’ limit. A small tear formed in the middle. The tear quickly got larger and wider, the sound of the tearing cloth echoing loudly in the barn.

Rarity, at first, just flicked an ear idly at the sound. As it continued, however, the flicking turned to swiveling and her body language took on a cringe. Her eyes blinked quickly and began to show more intelligence in them. With little warning, Rarity turned to glare at Sweetie Belle and raised her voice.

〈”SWEETIE BELLE! How many times must I tell you to not play with my fabrics? You’re going to-”〉 Rarity trailed off and looked around. 〈”Sweetie Belle? Why are we at Applejack’s farm? And why do you look like a calf?”〉she asked confused. She caught sight of herself in a mirror and screamed a loud moo. It was sheer luck that Applejack didn’t come running to see what the problem was.

〈”RARITY! Calm down! I’m sorry!”〉 Sweetie Belle yelled back. Surprisingly her voice managed to cut off Rarity’s screaming.

〈”Sweetie Belle? Why, Whatever is going on?”〉

Sweetie Belle steeled herself and took a deep breath before giving her explanation in one rather long, unbroken sentence. 〈”I may have pulled a prank on you and it got out of hoof and we ended up at Applejack’s and I can’t figure out how to fix things also you’re gonna be a milk cow and I got picked for something RARITY HELP!”〉

Of most notable to her was what appeared to be a cutie mark on her sister's flank.

〈"Sweetie Belle, whatever do you mean, prank?”〉 she asked. There was a brief pause before Rarity gasped loudly. It looked to her that her little sister had finally found what she had been looking for! 〈”If it's got you your cutie mark, I couldn't be prouder! Let me get a better look."〉

〈"It's not a cutie mark..."〉

Rarity leaned closer to get a better look. She studied the mark as it came into focus. There was definitely a mark there but it was no cutie mark.

〈”Why, you’re absolutely right, Sweetie. That’s not a cutie mark, it’s a brand! Wait… that’s a ‘v’ shaped brand.〉

Rarity quickly ran through the different marks in her head. She had learned quite a few of them due to spending a bit of time at the farm visiting Applejack. Rarity always thought the use of brands was barbaric but she would admit that they were a practical way of keeping track of the livestock. But at that precise moment, she couldn’t for the life of her remember that particular brand.

〈”A V brand? V…. I know that symbol is familiar but what is it?”〉 Rarity began to pace about in her pen.

〈”Rarity! Come on, spit it out! What do you mean, V brand?”〉

Before Rarity could answer, Applejack returned to the pens. She carried with her a feed bag, a length of rope, and a self piercing nose ring. She watched as Rarity paced back and forth. Concerned at the way she was acting, Applejack entered Rarity’s pen first

“Calm down girl, you’re gonna be alright…” she said as she brought the nose ring up toward Rarity. “We’ll have to use this for now til you get used to the farm and milking machines.”

Rarity stopped her pacing and stared at ring. This was one thing Rarity had never seen used at the farm, so she unsure of what it was used for. She watched as the clasp of the nose ring was opened and brought forward. She could smell the metallic twang of the ring as it slid in her nose, not flinching until she felt a sharp, white hot pain as the piercing needle cut through the cartilage and snapped shut. Applejack gave a couple of small tugs, watching the cow wince and moo in discomfort. Satisfied with the ring’s sturdiness, she looped the rope around Rarity’s nose ring and tied her to the side of her pen.

“There. That should keep you from acting up too much.”

Once done with Rarity, Applejack made her way over to Sweetie Belle’s pen. She filled up the feedbag with a highly nutritious feed loaded with fat. Once satisfied it was full enough, she quickly strapped the feedbag over Sweetie’s muzzle and smiled.

“Alright you two, let’s get ya’ll started. Raricow, we’re gonna take you somewhere comfy to lie down. With all the matings you got you must be pregnant. If you are, your belly and udder will swell up and you’ll be good to go to the milkers.” She then turned to Cowbelle and gave a light pat to her flank, careful to not hit her still tender brand marks too hard. “And as for you, Cowbelle, you eat up as much as you want. Once you start to plump up, we’ll change out the bag for a feeding tube. See, we gotta get you fattened up for Gabrielle. She’s wanting-”

There was a pause heard only to the two cows. Time seemed to slow and Applejack’s voice appeared to get deeper and distorted.

“Veal.”

Rarity went wide eyed when she heard the word. She finally remembered seeing the mark before and what it meant. She nearly fainted again from the realization. Unluckily for her, her movement caused the ring to tug her nose painfully. This kept her from fainting at all and from moving very far. All Sweetie Belle could ask was, 〈”What’s veal?”〉

Can't Cry Over Spilled Milk When There's No Milk to Spill

Months passed by while Twilight and the others spent their time searching for Rarity and Sweetie Belle; unfortunately, there had been no leads. Nopony in Ponyville had seen them and they were nowhere to be seen in Canterlot. Pinkie and Fluttershy went to the Crystal Empire to meet with Cadance. Their thinking was that Rarity might have gone up there for inspiration or to at least visit Cadance. Rainbow Dash and Applejack even made the trek to Manehattan. Knowing the CMCs, they could very well had popped up there to try for cutie marks or meet up with Babs. Yet, every time it ended the same: a dead end.

While Applejack was in Manehattan, Big Mac had taken charge of the care of the two ordered cows. Every day at the same time he would lead a bull into Raricow’s stall to let him breed with her. At first she had been repulsed by the sweaty and smelly bulls and less than satisfied by their thin cocks. But as time passed, whether by herself or as a side effect from the transformation spell, Raricow not only became more accepting to the bulls but eventually looked forward to her ruttings. She no longer cared about dresses, fashion, or that she wasn’t alone when she was getting bred.

Every day Raricow stood in the breeding stall and lifted up her tail. There was no longer any hesitation when her lover of the day was led in. As soon as the bull saw the cow presenting herself, his cock got hard and he quickly mounted up on her. A few rough thrusts pushed the thin cock against Raricow’s plump, plush rump before finally slipping in between her netherlips. As soon as the bull felt the soft, warm, velvety smoothness of Raricow’s vagina he began pounding away. Each thrust caused her plump body to jiggle and her udder to swing about underneath her.

After making sure the bull was properly giving their newest cow a good rutting he turned his attention to the young Cowbelle in the next stall. She was much too young to breed but was perfect to groom for the veal order the farm had received. Some days Cowbelle would eat everything she was given, but other days it required the use of a feeding tube. That particular day he didn’t need the tube; the young calf ate and ate and ate happily, barely paying attention to her sister getting a rough rutting.

If they were to stay on target to fill the order, he had to make sure the calf ate and the cow got pregnant. Big Macintosh glanced over the logbook, made a few marks, and gave a nod. Once satisfied that things were progressing properly for the day, Big Macintosh left the two to their devices; he had other chores around the farm to take care of. Just as he stepped out of the barn, he heard the bull grunt out as his seed spurted out into the cow underneath him; the first of many times for the next few hours. With the constant stimuli of feedings and breedings, thoughts of escape still lingered in both the cows but were effectively suppressed to the back of their minds.

The routine stayed the same for a few weeks with Raricow getting rutted hard and fast and Cowbelle getting fed more than she normally would have eaten. After what seemed like an eternity (and with Big Mac nearly at the point of attempting artificial insemination) it finally happened; Rarity became pregnant with her very first calf. Big Macintosh was proud of himself for being able to run the farm without needing his little sister’s help. He kept track of everything; in a logbook he wrote down how much he had been feeding Cowbelle as well as how much weight she had put on, Raricow’s weight, milk output, how far along her pregnancy was, and any abnormalities with the pregnancy. As far as he could tell there was nothing out of the ordinary. After just a few more weeks her milk came in, coinciding with the return of Applejack.

Big Mac was out in the barn early one morning making a check on the two cows when he heard a familiar pony’s voice carrying through the orchard.The voice sounded annoyed, tired, angry, and getting louder with every passing second. A small yellow streak zipped to the barn.

“Big Mac Big Mac!” yelled Applebloom as she hugged her big brother. “Applejack’s back!"

“Eeyup."

Big Macintosh was just finishing strapping Raricow to the barn’s milker and turning it on when Apple Bloom brought the news.They both listened as the angry voice drifted away from the barn and back toward the house.

“Half a month wasted searching for Rarity and Sweetie Belle! Nopony’s seen or heard from them in months but Twilight insists we keep looking! What about the problems here in Ponyville? What about our real jobs when we aren’t saving Equestria for the billionth time?” Applejack complained loudly as she stomped through the front door of the house. “Big MAC! What’s the status on our two orders?”

Unsurprisingly to her, Applejack heard absolutely no response. She checked the living room to find Granny Smith napping and upstairs to find that both Big Mac and Applebloom not in their rooms. “Guess they’re out at the barn.” A quick glance to the clock showed it was right about the time for checking on the cows again. “Yup, they’re gonna be out in the barn checking on the cows, I reckon. Just need to clean up from the trip.”

After putting her stuff away and taking a quick shower in her familiar bathroom Applejack made her way out to the barn. She was nearly there when she heard a shout and saw a small yellow streak coming straight for her! Before she knew what was happening, Applejack found herself in a tight hug.

“YAY! Applejack’s back!”

“Whoa there, Applebloom! I’m sure as shoot excited to see you too!”

“Did ya’ bring me anything?”

Applejack gave a small chuckle. “I’ve been gone for two weeks and all you care about is a gift?” she asked while rolling her eyes. She gave a pat to Apple Bloom's head. “Missed you too kiddo. Yeah, I gotcha’ a little something from Manehattan. But before that, how’s our two cows doing? Is Cowbelle still on pace to be delivered? And Raricow? She making us milk yet?”

Applebloom broke off the hug and gave a small frown. “Cowbelle is getting nice and plump but… you might need to go talk to Big Mac about Raricow. She’s pregnant but…”

Applejack gave a small nod and shooed Applebloom off. “Go get your present from your room, I THINK Babs sent you something as well.”

“Babsy Gift! Yay!” Applebloom cried out as she galloped toward the house.

Applejack gave another little chuckle as she turned to walk into the barn. She could hear two sounds that piqued her interest: the sound of their milking machine going, and the loud moos of Raricow as she was being milked. “Big Mac!! You in here?” Applejack called out as she stepped up to the pregnant Raricow, looking her over. Her belly sagged down and nearly touched the ground while her udder only looked half swollen with milk.

“Well, you sure as shoot got yerself knocked up!” she commented, turning when she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. It was Big Macintosh walking into the main portion of the barn. “Howdy, Big Mac. I just got back from the trip and it looks like it was a waste of time. Again.” There was a hint of frustration, anger, and worry in her voice. “Anyhay, just got finished talkin’ with Applebloom, she was saying something about a problem with Raricow?”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac responded, hoofing over the logbook he had been keeping. It wasn’t exactly the way SHE would have done it, but she was certainly impressed with the job Big Macintosh had done while she was away. Applejack scanned over it quickly. “Cowbelle’s intake has steadily increased, as well as her weight… she’s nearly at the target it looks like. eyes widening in surprise. “Are… are these numbers right?”

“Eeyup.

“And they haven’t been getting better?”

“Eenope.”

“Well, let’s give it a couple more weeks and see how those numbers go. She could just be a late bloomer like that one cow we had a few years ago.”

Applejack turned back to the cow and gave a pat to her flank. She started to take a quick look to make sure the cow was healthy. She poked at the udder and heard a small slosh of milk. A glance at her slit saw it was wet and winking, the poor thing horny despite being pregnant. She gave a light touch to the slit. The touch caused the cow to let out a needy moo. Applejack glanced over her shoulder to Big Mac. “Schedule a few more matings, I think she’s needy and that might be affecting her production.”

Applejack stood up and headed to the front of the cow, giving pokes and prods all the way. She made a few mental notes as she went. Eventually she made her way to the cow’s mouth and forced it open, taking a good, hard look. “She been eating everything?”

“Eeyup.”

She examined a bit closer and gave a poke to the teeth and tongue. “Up her food intake too, just in case. I don’t want to have to get in contact with Derpy if these numbers don’t improve.” Applejack trotted out from the milking stall and gave the clipboard back to Big Macintosh. “Get started on making sure the cow’s happy and well fed, whatever it takes, to get these numbers up. I’m going to take a look at how Cowbelle is doing, not just go by your logbook.”

Three more months passed by. Raricow fully enjoyed her daily bull matings now, the upscale feed, and the music piped to her stall. Applejack and Big Mac were doing everything they had heard of and could think of to make sure the cow was happy, healthy, and productive. Yet despite all the good food, the luxury, and most of all now owning the most content cow in all of Equestria, Raricow’s milk production just wouldn’t increase. A pony was never built to make as much milk as expected for her new cow form. As such, every milking produced much less milk than her care was worth.

It was quickly becoming apparent to Applejack that the cow was not turning a profit. Not for Derpy, and certainly not for Sweet Apple Acres. It was quickly becoming apparent that Derpy would end up owing more money than she could afford for taking care of the cow and much more than Raricow was worth. She had signed over the cow under the hopes of said cow actually turning a profit. She just didn’t know what could go wrong.

One quick letter Applejack had dreaded to send to the mare set up the inevitable meeting. She didn’t like giving bad news, especially to a pony such as Derpy

‘Derpy,
It is unfortunate that I have to write this letter, but it’s important that you know. Despite our best efforts, the cow you are currently housing at Sweet Apple Acres is not producing enough milk to cover the costs of housing and milking. We had hoped a few extra months might turn things around for her, but as of this letter, you now owe Sweet Apple Acres for the cow around 7,000 bits. Please come down to the farm so we may discuss how we can reconcile this.
-Applejack-’

“Thanks for coming Derpy,” said Applejack, a slight frown on her face. “I’m sure you read over the letter I sent.”

Applejack and Derpy stood in the barn right in front of Raricow. Derpy looked first at her cow, then to Applejack and saw her frown. She couldn’t help herself and mimicked the facial expression. “Yeah, I did,” she said softly. A soft tone of disappointment was mixed in with her generally bubbly voice. “There’s really nothing to be done?” she continued. “I was hoping for the milk to make more and more muffins.”

Applejack just shook her head slowly. “I’m sorry, sugarcube, but unless you’re willing to sell your muffins for nearly four times the cost, there’s just no way to keep her here.” She paused to let out a small sigh. “I know you don’t have anyplace else to keep her and any other farm will charge you even more than I’m offering. At least this way, you’ll pay off the care for your cow plus a bit of profit. It’ll probably be enough to buy another cow that would be productive.”

The cowpony draped a hoof around Derpy’s neck. “Don’t be too upset, these things happen sometimes, though eventually it’s the fate of all milk cows when they can’t produce milk. She won’t even really know what’s going on, you know?”

Derpy slowly shook her head. She DIDN’T know and made that known. “Not… really? Know what?”

“Well, the dairy cows we have aren’t like the other cows in town. These cows aren’t really that smart or aware of things. They work on instinct alone, so when we go to slaughter them they don’t really understand or know what’s going on.” She paused before giving a smile. “Besides, we use a bolt gun. One shot right in the middle of their forehead and that’s it. Effectively simple and painless.”

Derpy nodded and gave a small smile herself. “Ok… well, if that’s gonna be the best for me and the nice cow isn’t going to feel pain, I guess selling my cow for meat is gonna be ok.”

“Well then, sugarcube, let’s go into the house and we’ll take care of the paperwork. Once signed it’ll be a few…”

The voices faded away as the pair of ponies left the barn. Unbeknownst to them, the very cow they were discussing wasn’t quite as unaware of things as they thought. Raricow had listened to the whole conversation and she was not only shocked, but scared. Despite her desire for escape being suppressed, unless there was some way for her and Cowbelle could find a way to escape, their fates were sealed.