“Do you ever want to... you know... be somepony else?”
Fae shrugged, jostling the waves of her inky-purple mane with those perfect shoulders. “Why would I? I think I'm quite the pony as I am.” She cocked a coy eyebrow at him. “Don't you?”
“Well, yeah, of course,” he said hastily, “but that's not what I meant.” His horn's orange glow made his arctic-blue fur look flushed and pale, and soon swirls of stardust coalesced into the simple form of a rabbit frolicking in the sky above them. “Don't you ever wish you could be something other than yourself for a day?”
“Do you mean 'would I like to be the Princess for a day?'” she asked, her eyes intent on the expanse of the night sky. Her horn lit with a pale white-gold haze, and soon another more refined bunny bounced across the air to touch noses with the first. Alpha lifted his head and their bottle for a deep swig of sweet and bitter birch beer. “Or a runway model? Something other than a student of magic?”
He just happened to place the bottle between her eyes and his suspiciously rosy cheeks. “I mean transformation spells.”
Under the careful guidance of her golden aura the rabbits above them melded and twisted. “That does sound like fun. I wonder what it would be like to spend a day as a dragon.” From the motes emerged the shape of a lithe pegasus... No, not a pegasus; not with those batlike wings.
“Turning into monsters?” he said nonchalantly. “I don't think we could handle that kind of magic. Think smaller.”
“I doubt we could handle any kind of transformation magic, Alpha,” she countered. “Those are high-level spells. Most of us will never have that kind of power.”
“But what if you could try it?” he pressed. “If you could, like, be a pegasus for a day.”
“A day without magic?” Her mouth twisted in distaste. “That would be a fair price to pay for the chance to fly, but I don't know.”
Alpha smoothed back his mane. “Or what if you could be a colt?”
The bottle between them was lifted in a cloud of golden motes to reveal Fae's wide-eyed stare. “Me, a colt?” she said, the words sharp and dry in her disbelief. “Alpha, have you met me?”
His cheeks turned red once more for no reason at all. “I think you might want to try being one, since you like them so much,” he giggled.
“Ha-ha,” she muttered, but she gave him a smile for his efforts. “I'm quite happy as a mare, thank you.” After a moment's thought her smile took on a coquettish slant. “But I suppose I might change just long enough to test out the new equipment, hm?” There was no way he could hide his blush from her that time; she giggled as he averted his eyes and lit his horn once more. “Yes... Perhaps it could be fun to try, just for one night.” The bottle tilted in Fae's grip and she took a dainty sip that became something more as her tongue snaked out to wrap around its underside.
“So yeah, I guess that might be fun!” he said loudly, distracting himself from her barely-discreet stare by sending purple and gold swirls across the sky. “Just for a little while.” A little purple gummy candy floated up from his other side. “Want one?” She nodded and murmured her thanks, and he placed it onto her waiting tongue. The swirls in the sky took on more hues, more complex shapes as the pair chewed their candies and wondered.
Fae swallowed it down and hummed in appreciation. “What are you driving at, Alpha?” she asked finally. Something in her tone made him turn to face her, and what he saw made his mouth dry. That grin had become all too knowing. “Do you want me to be a stallion for you?”
“No...”
“Or do you want me to turn you into a mare?” she teased, her golden eyes sparkling with delight.
Alpha felt his heart stop.
“...so you can chase down those cute colts you've been staring at?” Fae continued, oblivious to the goosebumps causing his guardhairs to stiffen and the sudden cold sweat Alpha feared might stain the grass beneath his back.
She was dangling a line in front of him, and he latched onto it. “How many times do I have to tell you I'm not gay before you'll believe me?” he said, feigning frustration to hide the fear.
“Oh, I've caught you looking at mares too,” she laughed.
He sighed inwardly at the change of topic and let out a relieved chuckle. “Maybe.” He focused once more on the sky above.
“No maybes!” she insisted. “You never could hide anything from me.” When he didn't rise to her bait, she poked his shoulder with a hoof. “So what were you doing, Alpha?” she pressed. “Were you studying? Were you trying to figure out why the other boys are off chasing mares when they should be chasing you?”
Panic disrupted his illusion and his hooves pulled inward to his chest. “No!” he said defensively. “I'm a grown stallion. I can ogle whomever I want.”
Fae snickered, flaunting her beautiful teeth in a wide smile. “'Ogle'? You're so old-fashioned.”
“It's still a word!”
“So is 'flaming',” she smirked. “You want those boys to stare at you, don't you? You'll do anything to catch their attention. You know, I could let you borrow one of my dresses if you'd like...” His breath hitched and his lips pulled back from his teeth. “That would catch many a stallion's eye, don't you think?”
“Don't be ridiculous!” he spat.
“Oh, come on, Alpha!” she beamed. “I think you'd make an adorable filly!” She rolled onto her belly and crawled closer, the stray blades of grass stuck to her almost-white coat looking black under the moonlight. “I'll help you with your make-up and curl this wonderful mane...”
He flinched away from her hoof. “Stop it, Fae!” he whimpered. “This isn't funny!”
“I know just what you should wear too!” She pulled her hoof from his mane and let it trail down his side. “You know the one; the red one-shoulder evening dress with the sweetheart neckline?”
The blood in his cheeks threatened to boil his skin. He looked away and pretended to adjust the glasses clamped onto the bridge of his muzzle. “You know, you're insufferable sometimes,” he mumbled.
Her smile only widened. “Alpha, you're turning redder than that dress!” she crowed. “What has got you so hot and bothered? Is it the thought of all the stallions you'll have to choose from when I'm through with you?” She gasped in feigned shock. “No, I've read it all wrong! You're not gay... You're a filly in disguise!”
His jaw dropped and his hooves drew up to his chin. “Wh— Fae, what in the name of—”
Gales of laughter drowned out the rest of his words. “Oh my stars!” She let her head fall to the grass, where it lay not even two inches from the soft flesh of his belly. “You are too cute, Alpha.”
Alpha whined into his hooves as the heat of her breath ruffled his coat.
“As cute as a filly!” Fae placed her hooves over his flank and pulled herself upward, leaning into his flesh. He could feel the laughter bubbling in her chest. She pushed both forehooves against his knees until they began to slide into the gap between them.“I told you you can't hide anything from me!”
“Get away from there!” He twisted his upper body but her weight kept his hips in place.
Her hooves pulled at his knees, not firmly enough to separate them but just enough to make him squeal. “Come on, filly,” Fae giggled. “Show me what you're hiding!”
A heave of his lower body tossed her gently into the grass, where she rolled from side to side, shaking with merriment. Free at last, Alpha twisted onto his hooves and darted away, his eyes narrowed to hold in the tears.
“Oh, Alpha, come back,” Fae called, rolling gracefully to her own hooves and taking care not to step on the crushed bag of candy. Her chest was still shaking with subdued giggles. “I was only joking. You're a fine young stallion! Any mare or colt would be lucky to have you!”
The words cut him deeply, sending a lancet of agony through his heart. The world blurred before him as he galloped.
“Alpha, I'm sorry! Please come back!” Finally Fae began to canter after him, but after giving him such a head start she knew it was futile. “Alpha?”