“Apple Bloom, do you want to be a boy?” Dinky asked, once the yellow colt had taken her aside.

“Well, it ain’t so bad,” he replied easily, “But it ain’t really mah thing. Once this estrus is passed, I’ll be glad to go back to bein’ a filly.”

“Being a—<i>back?</i>” Dinky squeaked.

“Yeah, you know ah’m a filly, right?” Apple Bloom replied. “Why else would you ask that?”

“Um, because, um, you just...” Dinky shook her head in confusion, “Because you seem so... weirded out by yourself. You talked, and then you looked surprised, like you didn’t expect to sound like a... colt.”

“That’s true in th’ literal sense,” Apple Bloom said, in an appreciative and warm boy’s voicu. “Ah’m surprised you noticed, though. You pay that close attention to ponies?”

“Oh, well, um—” Dinky said haltingly, looking away. “No. But you um... it was impossible not to pay attention to a boy thing pushing into me, so it did kind of let me pay attention to you. I kind of have an eye for... d-details?”