Switch

by Professor_Blue

Chapter 1

Switch

by Professor Blue

pre-read and edited by Chigens, Applejinx

with thankful gratitude to
Shankveld, BraveTriforcer, Kaweebo, Chigens,
Andrew & Andrew,
and the supportive community of MLPforums.com

dedicated to
redacted

1
~

Trixie didn’t feel so Great and Powerful without the proper motivation. Ever since the fiasco with the Ursa Minor in Ponyville, her shows felt a little lacklustre, and she knew it. She kept feeling a little off, calling herself the Greatest Equine in all of Equestria while missing… something. Perhaps it was the fact that she never really did any complex or intricate spells. Perhaps it was the way she presented herself on stage. Perhaps it was her intentional avoidance of internalized problems which she ignored by the efforts of her magic show. Perhaps it was her appetite.

There were a few things she remembered about Ponyville since she last was there; two dimwit colts that ruined her show, one very specific purple unicorn that really ruined her show, and that some place in town made the best soft-grain smoothie with extra hay that she had ever tasted. Trixie had returned to Ponyville despite the risks of those former meetings, in the hopes that if she might find whoever it was that sold those delicious smoothies, assuming that maybe their flavor might restore motivation for her talents. She finally found the café that sold it, and spent most of the late morning savoring her smoothie, hiding under the disguise of a tall grayish hat and a boring, undecorated gray cape.

“Daily news! Hot off the presses, local and national news right here! Get the Canterlot Chronicle, Trottingham Tribune, Baydock Bugle! Two bits’ a broadsheet! Extra editions!”

A colt with a flat cap and saddle bag filled with papers walked past the eatery where Trixie sat. As he walked by and exclaiming his wares, she gently leaned away. She rolled her eyes dismissively, taking another sip from the smoothie.

“Ponyville Express headlined ‘Hectic Hearts & Hooves Day: Love Potion Vindicates Vandals’ Read it all, right here!” the vendor read aloud. Trixie’s eyebrow piqued at the description. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Express please.” Trixie held out an expectant hoof towards the paper held by the vendor, levitating a couple of coins towards him. She didn’t hear his thank-you as she focused on the main article, holding the paper aloft before her eyes with magic. “‘Hectic Hearts & Hooves Day… A stallion and mare were found responsible for property damage in… that town… on Hearts & Hooves Day, but charges were not pressed. It was discovered that three fillies had given the two ponies a magic blah blah blah… investigation led to the directions given by local magicia- Twilight Sparkle.’” Trixie’s eyes narrowed as the paper crumpled in annoyance.

‘The pony that humiliated me!’ Trixie fumed, slapping the paper on the table. ‘Twilight Sparkle doing love magic? Everypony knows that stuff is just smoke and snake oil- or extremely dangerous. She must be doing it for show. But having it reported in the paper?’ Her cloud of magic picked up the smoothie again, but dropped it when her train of thought crashed into a realization. ‘She’s trying to be a showpony!’
“So she thinks she can out-perform the Great and Powerful Trixie with a magic love spell and flaunt it in a newspaper? Nopony can top my show-stopping abilities. I’ll show her!” she said to herself, slightly louder than she intended. She looked around to see if anypony had caught her little outburst, but it seemed no one had.

“…for Hearts and Hooves Day…”

Her ear twitched at the mention from a group of three mares finishing lunch a few tables over. ‘Gossiping? Excellent…’ she rubbed her forehooves together, and nonchalantly approached a nearer table.

“…Lucky is out of town a lot, so I’m really happy he made a point of staying for Hearts and Hooves Day. The picnic we had in park right by the lily pond was really nice.” said the pink earth pony.

“I bet he had it there just so he could pull some pun about your name, Lily.” said the magenta pony.

“He did.” replied Lily with a smirk, rolling her eyes fondly. “He’s so cute even though he’s so silly.” She took a spoonful from her sundae. “So I talked about my Hearts and Hooves Day, Daisy talked about hers-”

“Yeah,” added the magenta pony. “What did you do, Rarity?”

There was no doubt that Rarity was a unicorn that liked to talk and loved attention, but only when it was on her terms- or at least ones she found agreeable. To her, special someponies were a matter of certain delicacy which she expressed only at specific times to her closest friends, let alone casually-met fellow shopkeepers. But of course, appearances and politeness took priority over her personal reservations. She feigned a smile, trying not to seem pressured by the question.

“Me? Well, I don’t have a special somepony.” she admitted. Lily’s jaw dropped in surprise.

“You don’t?”

“Why not?” added Daisy.

“You’re most fashionable pony in all of Equestria! How could you not have a special somepony?”

“I’m not exactly looking for one. And most don’t really seem to fit for me anyways.” said Rarity, looking at her mane resting on her shoulder. “Anypony can want a fabulous mare... But far fewer ever want to talk about things any deeper than skin-deep. If only there was-”
‘DAWNNNN’ A loud bell rang from the town hall clock, and Rarity immediately looked up at it.

“Oh my goodness, is that the time? Sorry girls, my lunch break is over, I still have lots of work to do.”

“Oh, but Rarity!” protested Daisy.

“Talk with you later~!” Rarity said sweetly, and trotted off. Daisy slunk back in her seat with disappointment. Lily watched suspiciously at the leaving white unicorn.

“Rarity without a special somepony? That’s not something you hear every day.” she quipped.

“Yeah.” replied Daisy. “In my book she’d be the last mare I’d have thought was single.” She fiddled with her empty milkshake glass while they sat in a ponderous moment.

“Do you think she’s afraid?” said Lily, taking another spoonful of her sundae.

“Rarity? Afraid of stallions? Ha!” said Daisy sarcastically. “That’s like the opposite of Rarity!”

Across the courtyard of town square, a lightish almost white pony with a reddish mane walked out of the post office, looking back to the fellow she was addressing.

“…Perfect, see you tomorrow!” she finished. She turned to face forwards as she walked, eyes closed with a pleased smile. She stopped and gasped with surprised as she heard an odd grunt and a lurch from one side. Directly beside her was an enormous red stallion, who had forced himself to stop suddenly. He was pulling a large cart and carrying bulging panniers filled with pulled flowers. The smaller mare recognized the stallion and her smile returned. “Oh- Big Macintosh, I wasn’t paying attention. Sorry, I’ll get out of your way.”

Big Macintosh gave a warm grin as if he didn’t mind. The other pony began walking again, slowly and looking with a timid sort of fondness back at the stallion.

“Beautiful day, isn’t it?”

“Eeyup.” replied Big Macintosh.

The mare continued across the square until she reached the café where Lily and Daisy sat.

“There you are, Rose! You missed lunch!” said Lily.

“You missed Rarity.” added Daisy.

“Have you girls ever noticed Big Macintosh?” said Rose. Daisy turned around to see where Rose had come from and Lily looked over her shoulder, and the three watched Big Macintosh stand there, taking a brief breather.

“Who hasn’t?” said Lily, entertaining the change in topic. “He’s tall and muscular…”

“Not even the Royal Guards are built like that.” said Daisy. The red stallion leaned gently into his yoke and the cart began slowly shifting forwards until he took a step and started pulling it away, a small smile on his large face. He turned his head back and nipped a buttercup out of one of the panniers and returned forward as he walked, suckling on the flower as the stem hung out his lips like a lollipop.

“Not to mention cute.” said Rose.

“I bet he has a great singing voice.” said Lily. The other two looked at her oddly. “…What?”

“What’d I miss with Rarity?” asked Rose.

“Rarity said she doesn’t have a special somepony.” Lily summarized, giving a very curt look.

“Did she do anything for Hearts and Hooves Day?”

“You know, I bet she didn’t do anything all day.” said Daisy.

“That’s terrible!” said Rose.

Lily suddenly tapped the tabletop hard, her face wide with excitement. “I just had an awesome idea!” she exclaimed. Daisy and Rose gave each other expectantly unimpressed looks before looking back at Lily.

“Is this anything like your ‘super-mega’ ideas?” said Daisy flatly.

“No way. This is like my super-mega-awesome foxy hot ideas!” said Lily jubilantly. Rose simply looked on with a raised eyebrow as Lily continued. “What if… we got…” She turned with a mischievous smile on her face and pointed towards Big Macintosh as he walked around the corner. “Rarity, and Big Macintosh… together.”

“You mean like… try and get them to spend time with one another?” said Daisy, thinking about the possibility.

“And make them fall in love!” finished Lily happily. Her voice changed to a sinister tone. “It’s the perfect crime…”

“I don’t know.” replied Daisy. “Don’t you think that’s kind of… not right, for us to do that to them?”

“Not fall in love, just- put them together in the same place and see what happens.” said Rose, picking up interest as she spoke.

“But they’re so unlike each other.” said Daisy.

“ExcUUuuse me, I couldn’t help but overhear that there are two special someponies out there who are made for each other but haven’t the daring to realize it?” interrupted a blue unicorn with a tall grayish hat and boring, undecorated gray cape.

“Well,” started Rose. “I don’t know about ‘made for each other’ but-”

“Who are you?” interrupted Daisy.

“Why, only the Great and Pow-er..r-Remarkable Ricksy!”

“Pleased to meet you, Ricksy. I’m Lily.” She offered her a hoofshake, and Ricksy accepted it.

“The Great and Remarkable Ricksy happens to be a magician who specializes in smoke and mirrors, powers of trickery and practical jokes; perfect for the things of your conspiring.” said Ricksy. Some magical source behind her shot sparkling confetti, framing the unicorn with a dazzling display.

“Sweeeet...” said Lily, distractedly following some of the trails of confetti.

“I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Don’t be such a stick in the mud, Daisy,” said Rose. “It’s all in good fun.”

“Of course it is.” said Ricksy admirably. “Just tell me where I might find these two… lovers to-be.”

~Ω~

Trixie strolled away casually but as soon as she was out of sight of the café, she leapt into a dark alleyway. Her hat and cape morphed with a spell, both to their proper star-spangled appearance and the hat back into a long pointy form.

“Hee hee hee… Now,” she procured a large black book from her cape. “Love spells… Love, L L L… linens, liqueur… lotion- aha!… Love… illusions, let’s see- Ooh, this looks promising.” Trixie conjured a mirror and it levitated before her as she placed the book on the ground and read the spell. ‘I’ll enchant this, and the first thing they say as they look into it will seal them at the “last verge of sundown”, then their minds will “intertwine”. If I read this right, they’ll fall in love immediately! ...Wait- “Enchanter’s Note”?... Hmm.. that’s a long list of details. Well, even if they don’t, it should be enough of a push to have them really like each other anyways. Ha!’

The mirror glowed with an intense pink sheen as Trixie’s horn fed a beam of energy into it, and with a bright flash the mirror’s metal edges faded, and small bits of tarnish seeped at the corners of the glass. Trixie smiled with her clever plan, and carefully placed the mirror into a paper bag. With a puff of magic, she conjured a saddle-pack filled with some vases, a pitcher and some other shiny-looking glassware, and re-morphed her hat and cape. She walked briskly but confidently out of the alleyway and after a large hay-filled cart down the street. As she caught up, she saw the first pony of her plan, who matched the description of the three at the café perfectly. His huge figure stood out like a statue from the street.

‘Hm hm hm!’ she laughed to herself through a closed smile, walking past Macintosh’s large flank. ‘Trixie can see why they gossiped about him so...’ She took a few longer steps and began walking ahead of him with a broad championing smile.

“Excuse me, fine sir! My name is Tr-Ricksy Reflector!” she said confidently. “I’m a salespony, might sell you a fine mirror?”

“Nope.” said Big Macintosh politely.

“Aha, but sir this is not just any mirror, no!” said Trixie, pulling the mirror out of the bag in the pack, thrusting it unavoidably in front of his face. “It is a magic mirror that- er… shows you the most spectacular things you could ever imagine! See?”

Big Macintosh stopped, as he looked at the reflection of himself. The green eyes gave no spectacular show and his red coat bore nothing fancy, which really begged a question about Ricksy’s claim.

“Ah don’t see anythin’ special.” he said, before leaning out of the mirror’s reflection and starting up again with the cart.

“Hmm!” said Trixie, pulling the mirror away. She heard a sharp ‘tink’ from the glass, but dared not look at the mirror’s face herself. She quickly gave a cursory glance at the back of the mirror before putting it in the paper bag. “Well, sorry for interrupting, sir! Perhaps the Remarkable Ricksy can interest you in another ware?”

“Nope.” replied the stallion.

“Oh. Well. Have a nice day sir!” said Trixie as she stopped, with a false tone of disappointment.

“Eeyup.” said Big Macintosh as he continued on his way.

Trixie curled away from his view with a wide, delighted grin. “Ehe he he he! One down, one to go.”

~♦~

Trixie rang the doorbell of a grand, elaborately decorated cylindrical building, which was labeled “Carousel Boutique” on both a sign above the front door and doormat below it.

“Coming!” said a polite but rather exasperated voice from inside, followed by a loud crash and possibly the thump of a pony tripping. Trixie raised an eyebrow at the odd noise, until it settled into a simple trotting, and the door opened by a force of magic. Before her stood a white unicorn that looked like one she might have met before- but why, she couldn’t put her hoof on it. “Ah, there. Hello-” said Rarity.

“Good morning, ma’am!” interrupted Trixie.

Rarity looked suspiciously at the unicorn before her. She looked… familiar. And her attire did not match at all- most unfashionable.
“..Welcome to Carousel Boutique. How may I help you, miss…?”

“Ricksy! Ricksy Reflector! May I interest you in some fine glassware?”

“Er-…”

“Such as this mirror!” The mirror was stuffed into Rarity’s face and she leaned far back to avoid poking her nose on it. “Never have you seen a finer mirror, I’m sure?”

Rarity took a step back and relaxed from leaning to avoid the mirror, looking at the edges and the handle of the mirror suspended by magic in front of her. Its braided bronze form did have a sort of fanciful charm to it, but it did look very old and in need of polish. And there was a tiny crack in the middle of the glass over the reflection of her right eye. There was another ‘tink’! sound and a chip appeared in the middle of her other eye. She blinked in surprise. The two chips began to form a small crack between them, growing across the width of the glass.

“Uh- I’ve seen finer.” commented Rarity. The mirror was suddenly yanked away and placed back in the bag. “Miss Reflector, I’m-” she stopped as Trixie wordlessly smiled and ran away, turning around a corner and disappearing behind a nearby building. Rarity simply watched until the pony had disappeared, bewildered. She grinned, about to laugh the interaction off, until something occurred to her, and she slammed the door shut so hard the window pane shuddered.

“…The nerve! Selling a mirror to a fashion designer?” she snorted. “What cruel irony of a joke. Hmph!” Rarity turned to continue back towards her inspiration room. It was filled with various foresty and spiky items, and her cat in one corner. Opalesence meowed as she batted a small tassel designed to resemble a tamarack branch.
“Pinecones.. pine trees… The Evergreens! Right. Back to work.” she said as her orangish-red glasses floated onto their proper place on her nose. Fabric and tools moved this way and that, pushed along by Rarity’s magic as she constructed new visual beauties, although her mind was still mixed with her imagination and the taken insult.
‘That Ricksy was such a ruffian. Oh, all this stress is starting to get to me...’ thought Rarity, setting down a needle stuffy and several yards of wool, looking at herself in a mirror mounted to the desk. She sighed and took a deep breath before returning to her various tasks. ‘But, no matter! I’ve certainly earned my day off tomorrow.’ Her eyes lazily drifted upwards at the notion. ‘All afternoon at the spa with Fluttershy will be exactly the relaxation that I need...’

~Ω~

By late afternoon, Big Macintosh had returned the cart to Sweet Apple Acres, checked most of the blossoms of the trees on the south field for pests, weeded the flower garden near the front porch and eaten dinner with his family. As he walked into the dining room after cleaning up the meal, he saw his sister Applejack looking somewhat tired and with a few drops of tree sap in her hair. She was focused on a funnel which she was sticking into the flappy end of an un-inflated party balloon. On the table in front of her were several other colourful balloons, a box of clothespins, a jar of confectioners’ sugar, a bowl filled with flour and a tall glass filled with what smelled like pickling water. Not the strangest thing he had seen his sister handling, but among the stranger.

“AJ, did you paint the acreage fence today?” said Macintosh.

“Nope.” said Applejack, finally sticking the funnel into the end. She took a tablespoonful of the sugar and poured it into the balloon.

“Ah thought you said you were gonna paint it today.”

“Nope. I said I’d convince Rainbow Dash to help me tomorrow.”

“Weren’t it gonna rain tomorrow?” asked Macintosh.

“Not if Rainbow helps me paint the fence.” replied Applejack. Macintosh wasn’t exactly impressed by that sort of answer. But he knew better than to pressure his sister against the sorts of things that involved her friends. Not that Applejack spending time with her friends was harmful to productivity, it just sort of took away from the time he could spend with his sister. He kept the thought to himself.

“What’s all this?” he said, looking at the implements on the table.

“Prank.” said Applejack tersely.

“For who?”

“For Rainbow.” She spooned some of the flour into the funnel.

‘That ‘splains a few things.’ he thought. He watched her fill the balloon with some of the pickling water with a separate funnel, then put a small kink in the balloon’s opening and put a pin on it. She started on another balloon.

“Did you take out the compost?” asked Macintosh.

“Nope.”

“Ah thought Ah said you were ‘sposed to take it out this mornin’.”

“You said take it out by tomorrow mornin’.” said Applejack with a little smile.

“‘Cause Ah need the bucket tomorrow mornin’.”

“Don’t worry big brother, I’ll take it out before you need it.” said Applejack. Macintosh rolled his eyes as he continued out of the dining room.

“Ah get up earlier than you do, AJ.”

“Eeyup.” said Applejack, her smile growing. Big Macintosh sighed, with half a mind to chuckle. Applejack knew how much it bothered him to mimic his speech, but he let it slide because it was the kind of thing that he knew both of them laughed about. He slowly strolled to the front porch where his littlest sister Apple Bloom sat, looking out at the sunset sky and drawing a picture with some crayons. Big Macintosh admired the view. He slowly looked down at Apple Bloom and her drawing, before looking out at the scenery before him again. ‘Apple Bloom could use more orange on her landscape if she wanted to, judgin’ from the sky.’ he thought.

“Apple Bloom,” started Macintosh, resigned at his other sister. The filly looked up. “Promise me you won’t be as difficult as your sister when you’re a teenager.”

Apple Bloom’s eyes flitting back and forth with thought, trying to avoid looking at her brother until she could come up with answer that she thought both of them would like. Macintosh looked down at his sister again, curious at her pause. “Apple Bloom?”

She returned his look, having apparently figured out an answer to his request.

“…Ah mustn’t tell lies.” said Apple Bloom cheerfully. Big Macintosh looked straight forwards blankly.

“That’s it, Ah’m goin’ to bed.” he said, turning and heading back inside the house. Apple Bloom laughed from outside as the red stallion plod up the stairs to his bedroom. He removed his trusty pulling yoke and sat down on the edge of the mattress, shutting one curtain to his room before settling himself under the sheets. ‘Might as well call it Fillyville…’ he thought to himself, undecided if he should’ve laughed or sighed.

~(!)~

Rarity slept that night with that perfect mix of deep relaxation and lucid thought that allowed her to imagine fashion ideas that she could never explore when she was awake. Since her day was already spoken for, perhaps she would write down some of the ideas she was having the day after, to explore them further. Wondrous odds and ends did their dance before her creativity, before she was suddenly slammed into consciousness by a loud ringing. She pressed her eyes shut as she reached towards the source of the sound, and felt a small domed bell like an alarm clock. She relaxed her forehoof as the bell stopped, and her hoof hung down.
‘Since when do I move around on my bed? Why am I so close to the edge of my mattress?’ she thought, before a bigger thought occurred. ‘Why is there an alarm clock in my bedroom?’ Her eyes crept open to see the dark room she was in, filled with the very faint bluish tinge of the night sky. Her sheets felt rough and patchy. With a small movement of her hoof she felt it more carefully. ‘A denim quilt?’ It was thin but warm, and a far cry from her downy duvet. She sat upright, which felt far easier than she expected for this late at night- and the motion pushed aside an unfamiliar stuffed doll. All over she felt rested, but not really relaxed. Any sort of soothing sensation that would have come from sleep felt like it had been replaced by a coarse vigor. She wiped her face to see if she had any makeup left over from last night, but felt nothing.

“Ugh-” she yawned groggily. “What a tragedy to be awoken from my slumber.” ‘And my goodness do I need a drink of water.´ she thought, hearing her voice crack deeply. She looked around and saw the room with a gasp. The room itself was wood paneled with some modest-looking older furniture, a stool with a large yoke on it and a pinkish apple-shaped night-light in one corner near the door. She could smell a crisp cool sort of air that one could smell when out-and-away from Ponyville.

She looked out the window and saw the thinnest edge of light on the horizon. ‘Goodness me, it must be over an hour before sunrise!’ There were trees everywhere, and she realized that she must be on Sweet Apple Acres, but viewing from some place she had never been before. ‘Why in Equestria am I here? Is this Applejack’s idea of a joke?’ Irritated by the scratchiness of the sheets, she imagined them moving away but nothing happened. Suddenly it occurred to her that her forehead felt very numb. She threw the sheets off at the disconcerting lack of sensation from her horn. Rarity crossed the room pressed her hoof against the light switch on the wall, and she froze. Frozen, staring at her hoof.
Her thick, burly, bare-haired-pastern, crimson hoof.

“Ah! How horrid!” Immediately Rarity stamped down as if to hide it from herself, and she was shocked at the sound of her voice. It was deep and thick and entirely unlike her normal voice. ‘What is going on? Do I have a disease?’ She pushed through the door and recognized- she was indeed in the Apple family house, but coming out of a room she hadn’t been in before. She walked down the hall to the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Flicking on another light, she turned around and the first thing she saw was the reflection of her eyes in the mirror. They were large and gorgeous, still reflecting her generous spirit, but with something else strange. She then realized that they had changed colour- instead of an enamouring sapphire, they were a noble and probing sea-green. The change immediately made her take better stock of the reflection and she realized that she must not have been looking at a mirror; she was looking at a window in which there was staring Applejack’s brother Big Macintosh. He was oddly returning the exact expression of surprise that she felt. She turned her head to the side, and the stallion replicated the movement. It occurred to her: ‘Am I seeing through his eyes? Am I controlling his body?’
Just short of screaming in shock, Rarity forced her composure and stayed calm.

"Alright Rarity this is not the time to over-react. Something has seriously gone wrong. You are a lady. It is time to act like one." said the stallion in the mirror. Somehow the verbal command didn’t inspire confidence, and the masculine voice only confirmed her thought further.

“Is this some kind of sick, twisted joke?” he said aloud angrily. “Is this a dream?” He ran his hoof through his mane and looked back into the mirror. ‘Thick, unkempt. Blech, all these split ends. Wrinkles under the eyes,’ Then he looked at his own hoof. ‘Edge chipped, dirt ingrained everywhere. Ugh. Regardless of what this is, joke, dream or whatever, I am thoroughly disgusted.’ He went back to the bedroom and lay down, hoping that if he returned to sleep, maybe he would wake up normally.

The more he lay, the more he felt about himself. It was apparent the musculature had never been exposed to a masseuse before, and if Rarity had ever felt a kink of tension being a knot in a rope, then this stallion was just a heap of chain links. The absence of magic was also extremely unusual. He tossed and turned, but every movement felt alien or improper. Not that usage of the body didn’t feel tingly or interesting (if those were the right words) but rather like it didn’t belong to Rarity, as if she was wearing somepony else’s gown or taking a sip from another’s drink. It felt a little criminal. It also felt a little fun.

“Grrrr!” After laying there with his eyes screwed shut for several minutes, he leapt up in frustration and stomped on the floor. Although Rarity was used to being small and spritely when she had a tantrum, the huge stallion’s bulk made up for that in droves, and the floor groaned under his stamping. There was suddenly a small couple of knocks on the door, a pause and the door cracked open, showing a drowsy looking Applejack peeking in.

“Big Mac, is somethin’ wrong?” she drawled groggily. “Shouldn’ you be out workin’ by now?”

“Of course something’s wrong, can’t you see what’s happened?” said Macintosh angrily, gesturing to himself dramatically.

“…You forgot yer yoke?” said Applejack, raising an eyebrow. That was the final straw for the stallion as he looked to the corner of the room where the yoke sat.

“My…” he didn’t even want to begin thinking about what it would feel like to wear. He looked down and noticed the stark farmer’s tan on his chest, as stark as if he were painted pink across the front. “Hmph!” he snorted, and walked straight out. Applejack looked on as she saw her brother walk down the stairs, still confused by his exclamation.

“…Stallions.” she muttered, and went back to her own room.

Comments

[honeyhoneyhoney]

This better get featured...

Absolutely brilliant, I bet my bits, this'll be a hit.

[CoastalSarv]

“…Ah mustn’t tell lies.” said Apple Bloom cheerfully. Big Macintosh looked straight forwards blankly.
Ahahahahaha! KIDS!

[SirNyanofCanterlot]

Applebloom reminds me of the scene from Korra.

[taokami]

Oh Apple Bloom, what are we going to do with you

[Magical Trevor]

“…Ah mustn’t tell lies.” said Apple Bloom cheerfully.

o.o

O.O

NOOOOOO!!!! NOT THE QUILL! *kills himself before he has to write moar lines*

[Fierce Feline]

Oh, I love Apple Bloom's response!
"I must not tell lies."

[Cascadejackal]

“…Lucky is out of town a lot, so I’m really happy he made a point of staying for Hearts and Hooves Day. The picnic we had in park right by the lily pond was really nice.” said the pink earth pony.

“I bet he had it there just so he could pull some pun about your name, Lily.” said the magenta pony.

Lucky and Lily, huh? Interesting pair... Not one you see very often, either.

[Verbose Soubriquet]

Picture was slightly misleading. I actually like the colour-swaps.
Other than that, this is already shaping up to be interesting.
You've got my attention

[Darrtaa]

I say, I did so enjoy this chapter! Good show old sport.

[Pecan Crisp]

"She sat upright, which felt far easier than she expected for this late at night- and the motion pushed aside an unfamiliar stuffed doll."

What you did there.
I see it.

[Blue Print]

Ahahaha! So Mac's natural coat is pink! Brilliant!

I'm imagining him about the same shade as Cadence.

[FacadeArt]

“…Stallions.” she muttered, and went back to her own room.

Weird remark from AJ...What does saying "Hmph!" in a feminine way and walking out of your room (also, no doubt, in a feminine way Rarity walks) have to do with being a stereotypical male?

I think he acted the opposite way a typical male would act!

Regardless of AJ's weird definition of stallions we had some good times here, onwards to the next part of the tale!

[SFaccountant]

Trixie didn't mean to do this, but it WAS a pretty awesome feat of magic.
A little editing, and she'll be able to weave a grand tale about it later! Assuming Rarity doesn't use Mac's body to trample her into chum.