"Ugh, why won't they just get this over with, I hate waiting like this." Sunset was in the bathroom, alone, and angry.

Gel gave the girl a slight hug to reassure her. "Calm down, I am sure they are just looking for the right time. But you are right, it is taking too long. If nothing happens before the end of the day, we need to find a new plan." It had been almost a week now, since they had arrived.

Rainbow Dash walked into the bathroom, turning to the mirror to adjust her hair. It set off every alarm Sunset had, it was just a very not Dash thing to do.

"Oh, hi Sunset." The doppelganger looked at Sunset and, for a fraction of a moment, the flame-haired girl saw Dash's eyes start to glow green.

"Oops, none of that." Gel closed off Sunset's vision suddenly. "They are trying to mess with your head, relax, just act calm and docile."

"You are like, totally going to follow me." The changeling wearing Rainbow Dash's disguise grinned and almost let her form slip. She could have a lot of fun with this girl, no need to take her back right away. "Sunset, you belong to me now and are going to do everything I want you to."

Sunset was feeling uncomfortable with how the other girl's tone had gone from commanding to something that felt dirty. Gel picked up on both. "Don't worry, I won't let her do anything strange to you, let's act resistant."

The changeling watched as the girl struggled against the mental control. This was something new. A worried gasp came from her before she put more power into her eyes and stared deep into Sunset's own. "Ugh, damn it, just follow me. I should have played more with that pink one…"

Relaxing a little, Sunset wanted to thank Gel, to tell the guy how grateful she was that he and Twilight had come when they had, but that would give the game away. As she started following the other girl, her vision snapped back and she helped Gel with walking. Her hand drifted to a little round disk in her pocket. Squeezing it, she activated the tracking device.

Sleek trotted up to the castle. The summons she had gotten from Princess Celestia sounded important and she didn't want to be late for a special meeting with one of the rulers.

"Sleek." One of the guards on duty at the front gate was a fellow changeling and one the mare recognized. "We have been ordered to escort you directly, please follow."

This had the changeling mare gulp a little, it sounded a little more serious than she had thought! Nodding to the guard, she followed after them as they trotted off into the castle. Through winding halls and up stairs, they finally reached a doorway. "In there?" Sleek looked to her escort, who nodded.

Entering the dark room, Sleek saw Princess Celestia by the window. "Sleek Guise, I assume you know why I called you here?" The princess looked very serious about something.

"Uh… not really?" Sleek was almost shaking now, she was worried something bad had happened. The worst bit was she hadn't even done anything bad!

"I believe this pony knows all of it…" Celestia lifted her hoof and Cherry Stripe walked out from behind a curtain. She had a grin a mile wide.

"Happy birthday, and happy anniversary, Sleek." No sooner did her wife say the words than Sleek was suddenly surrounded by ponies cheering and congratulating her. She stood in stunned amazement. "C'mere…" Sleek trotted forward into Cherry's hug, feeling a wing curl around her broke the shock.

"What… how… but…" Taking a deep breath, the changeling just leaned in and kissed Cherry, something the pegasus was quite happy to reciprocate. There were more cheers when the party's target seemed to have recovered. "All this? Really?"

"Isn't it the best surprise birth-a-versary ever?" Pinkie Pie fired a cannon loaded with confetti over the pair.

"You hired Pinkie Pie to organize a party just for me?" Sleek looked at Cherry and couldn't stop herself nuzzling the best mare in the whole of Equestria, subjectively of course.

Cherry realized just how good her decision had been, regarding Pinkie's payment. "Yup, I wanted the best day ever for your party."

Not far away, Twisty was leaning against Celestia. The changeling nuzzled her mare. "Well handled." It was easy to be a happy changeling at a party like this, there was so much love in the air that even a queen couldn't go hungry. It was almost better than the cake she knew was coming.

"They really do make a cute couple." Celestia leaned back, feeling the stiff outer carapace of Twisty against her soft fur.

"Am I late for the party?" Luna trotted in the door, wearing dark shades and sporting a red heart mark on her cheek. As she trotted in, her legs were almost dancing to a beat that nopony could hear but her.

"You are but a princess gets to set her own times." Celestia held out a hoof and a wing, catching Luna in the wing and brushing her cheek with the hoof. "Who left their mark on you?"

"Just the greatest singer in Equestria. She used to call herself Countess something-or-other, but now she just goes by Rara, her music is amazing." Luna did a little dance in place. Celestia had not seen her sister quite this excited by something outside of her personal life for quite a while.

"Then we must go and see her all together." Twisty put a foreleg around each of the princesses, hugging them both to her. "When is her next show?"

Luna looked a little confused for a moment then she pulled a flier from somewhere. "Ah, here. She will be performing in Ponyville next."

"Then we are going to be visiting Ponyville." Celestia grinned with a more devious than usual curl to her lips. "And maybe do it a little under the radar."

Luna all but bounced in place.

Rara's coming back?" Applejack smiled at the thought, her little sister was all but vibrating with excitement, however.

"Yup, and she already sent us an invitation to sing with her!" Sweetie Belle was standing behind and to the side of her fellow crusader, letting Apple be the first to present the news to her sister. But the news about singing, it made Sweetie bubble inside and almost explode into song every time she thought of it.

Scootaloo twitched at the odd feeling, her wings ruffling a little. "What is that? Sweetie?" She looked to her friend and felt that buzzing music coming again, stronger from the other filly. "Sweetie, calm down a little…"

"I can't! Rara is going to be coming back to Ponyville and we are going to get to sing with her!" Sweetie Belle swooned, trembling a moment on her hooves before falling sideways. Unfortunately there was no fainting couch nearby, but Scootaloo was fast and had the filly cupped in a wing before the two Apple sisters could react.

"Ah just hope Twi and Gel are okay…" Applejack sighed and looked out over the farm. Granny Smith was working on cooking up some apple pies in the kitchen and Big Mac was out plowing the field… wait, no he wasn't. "Where is our brother?"

Apple Bloom looked out to where the plow sat in the field that should be lying fallow by now. "Ah don't know, maybe he is feeling sick?"

Applejack left her sister and her friend to care for the overexcited Sweetie Belle and marched to the loft bedroom in the barn where her brother slept. "BM, you in thar?"

"Ahnope." The reply from the stallion was startlingly unbelievable.

Lifting a hoof to the handle, Applejack let herself in. Big Mac was curled up under the covers of his bed, shaking like a leaf. The most startling thing about him, however, was that he was bright blue! "Blue Flu?" She got a reluctant nod from the big stallion. "Ah'll send Granny out with some soup." She stepped over to the bed and lifted a hoof to the stallion's forehead.

"The… the… the field needs…" Big Mac started to try to explain what he needed to do when he started to sneeze. Applejack pulled back quickly, knowing the problem with this particular flu. The tissue he had been using to block the sneeze turned suddenly blue. "The field needs plowing…"

"Ah'll get that too then, you rest and get better." AJ advanced back on him and tucked the big pony in a little tighter. "That's an order!"

She left the barn and headed inside, explaining to Granny her brother's condition. It wasn't until she was out and looking at the plow that she realized the problem. She could pull it, but it would be a lot of work and she would be feeling sore for a week. Worse still if her brother needed more rest than a day could give.

A dull grunting caught the mare's attention and she turned. Next field over was the special one with a high fence. It had three deer in it. "Oh no, no no no." But it was too late, Applejack's mind had caught on the idea. "I don't care if it would be a ton easier, ah'm not going to…" Her farm needed her to do it, though. "Well darn, darn darn darn." Her legs were already carrying the orange pony toward the fence and the gate in one side of it.

The paddock had been set up so that anypony could come and… use them. A constant counter-spell had been set up by Twilight herself to stop the invisibility, so Applejack could see one of the hinds was near the fence. "You hungry?"

Her hooves undid the gate and she slipped inside, closing it again behind her. When she lifted her head and turned she found her nose poking right under the tail of the deer and she grunted, filling her lungs with drugged air.

"Oh… uh… that smells…" Applejack didn't get any further, she felt a push on her plot and her nose pressed between the soft and supple folds. Magic seemed to wrap around the mare, pulling her inwards and stretching her body into the deer. With her head feeling fuzzy, Applejack couldn't even think straight enough to offer a token resistance. Besides, it felt so nice to be tugged inside, to feel her body curled up and snuggled within the warmth.

Confusion reigned as Applejack woke. He looked down at himself and his brain provided the needed back-story. He had come in here to be changed into a stallion so he could plow the field easier. "Consarn this…" He got his legs under him and shook his body. Nearby, a hind delighted in the taste of raw confusion coming from the former mare.

Applejack, on shaky legs, made his way out of the field and over to where the heavy plow sat. It looked a lot smaller now and as he leaned down and worked his head through the hefty collar. He set the guides and leaned forward. Behind Applejack, the plow bit deep into the earth and started to turn it. "Not so hard…" But it was, it was still hard work but the stallion was not fooling himself, it was a lot easier than if he was a mare.

The sun was slowly going down in the west when Applejack was finally done. Pulling the plow out and heading to the barn, he spent some time working on the ropes and making sure they were still nice and supple.

"Applejack?" Apple Bloom's voice came from behind AJ and he turned. "What happened big sis?"

"There was plowing ta do." Applejack held out a hoof and pulled his little sister into a tight hug. "Plowing is hard work, easier for a big stallion than a stocky mare." He ruffled the filly's mane, careful of her bow.

"Oh. Will you be back to yourself for the concert tomorrow?" Apple Bloom looked up at her big… brother.

"Oh darn, I knew there was something I was forgettin'." Applejack gave a sigh.

Coloratura sat down on the edge of the stage. It wasn't as flashy or showy as the one she had last been in Ponyville with, but it was one she preferred. There was no manager, there was no security, there was only her and a few ponies she paid to help her with the equipment. It was a lot better than when she had been 'Countess'.

"Hey, Rara." The voice was familiar, as was the slight drawl to it.

"AJ?" Coloratura turned and saw… a stallion… "Oh, sorry, I must have the wrong-" She didn't get any further, she was caught up in a hug from the pony.

"It's me, Rara, Applejack." AJ leaned back a little from the hug, realizing the mare was not quite into it. "I need to explain."

"You… you do. What happened, AJ?" Coloratura got up and started walking with her friend, very aware of how good the stallion looked.

"Well, ya see, we have these here deer, they… they mix a pony's gender up. Only for a day or so. And I needed to do some plowing, but Big Mac was sick and couldn't do it, and-" Applejack realized how silly it all sounded.

"And you figured a stallion could do the work easier. You are the most pragmatic pony I know, Applejack." Coloratura leaned over and kissed her friend on the cheek. She blushed as soon as she did it, realizing suddenly that this wasn't the down-to-earth mare she had been friends with since she was a filly. This was a stallion. A cute stallion.

"Well, Ah can!" AJ missed the hint the kiss gave, that her friend was a little turned on by the situation. "There's a lot more I need to tell ya too. I have a special somepony… well, two special someponies." The sudden lurch that her friend made finally tipped AJ off.

"Oh…" Coloratura wasn't even sure why she had been wondering if her best friend ever was interested in her, but hearing that she had a spe… no, TWO special someponies, it sunk any and all hopes she might get to play with her stallion friend. Not that she had a problem with mares liking mares, it just wasn't her thing.

"That 'oh' had weight behind it." Applejack lifted a leg up and over Coloratura's back. "Rara, tell me what is up."

Could she dare? The performer almost trembled, she knew her friend could smell a lie from three miles away, but could she really tell her… him, this?

Author's Note

Yay, Rara's coming to visit! Oh my, Applejack, that isn't how a nice stallion says 'hello'!

Also, Sunset has been kidnapped! Lucky it was all part of the plan...

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