//------------------------------// // Truth Hurts // Story: I'm Not a Mare // by Redbook //------------------------------// Gleaming could hear voices, but they sounded muffled and she could only make out a few things like her name. The thing that she knew was there somepony touching her and before she saw who was touching her, she jumped out and was in attack position. After she looked up to see who had touched her, her heart felt like it had stopped. The pony in front of her was Cadence. The look on her face was one of kindness and love. Cadence loved everypony she met. There are many forms of love and she understood all of them. And the look of love that Gleaming got was one of a close friend. “I see why you were made captain of the guards. Ready to defend at a second notice.” Cadance gave a giggle as she moved closer to Gleaming. Gleaming just dropped to the floor. A second ago she was ready to fight and now she couldn’t even hold up her own body. Cadence rushed over and kept her from hitting the floor. “T-Thank you.” Gleaming could feel her face turn crimson. She couldn’t believe that she had gotten  this close to her once again. The last time she got this close was the first time they meet. Cadence smiled and giggled a little more. She helped Gleaming get back onto her bed before she returned to her chair on the right hoof side of the bed. Gleaming tried looking at her but found it hard to look at her without memories of everything they had done so far. So she rested her eyes on the foot of the bed. “So, is there anything you want to talk about?” Cadence sounded like a teen pony talking to one of her close friends and that was when it hit her, she was Cadence’s best friend. She knew that Cadence had a best friend, but she didn’t know how they talked when she wasn’t around. Gleaming blinked a few times when she noticed that Cadence had moved closer and had a look that sent a shudder down her spine. “Spill it.” “What do you mean? What do I have to spill?” Gleaming could feel her tail start to twitch. This only caused Cadence to move even closer. “I know something is going on between you and Twinkle. I’ve seen you two at the park, not walking like you two always do.” She moved back to give Gleaming some room to breathe once more. Gleaming tried to remember how they had been walking through the park. She remembered that they had been walking like they would any other day. That was when it hit her, they had been walking like they would have been if they were both still stallions and not a couple or a couple who enjoy walking in the park together. “I don’t know what you mean. How do we normally walk in the park?” Gleaming sighed mentally. Cadence did catch her off guard a bit but now was her chance to get some information about her and Twinkle’s relationship. She smiled a bit as she thought of this like one of the training drills they made her do. The task was simple, get information about target or targets without giving out any information yourself or letting them know that you didn’t have any useful information. “Well for one, you two usually walk next to each other with the occasional pumps to show affection.” Cadence gave Gleaming a weird look from the smile that was still on Gleaming face. Gleaming shook her head and look back at Cadence. “Well, Twilight was with us and we wanted to not weird her out.” Gleaming hoped that was a believable reason for things. “That has never stopped you two before and Twilight told me before that she thought it was cute how you two would act. She now thinks you are sick or something.” Cadence had moved back to her seat and just looked at Gleaming with a look that just asks for the truth. Gleaming wanted nothing more than to tell her the truth, but who wouldn’t sound crazy when they say that they were born a stallion and up till the other night was one. Only this morning waking up next to their best friend as a mare and then finding out that they are a couple. Also finding out that everyone thinks that they were always born a mare. She felt like she was nearing the breaking point hearing that this had caused Twilight to worry about her too. “I wish I could tell you, Cadence. But I’m still trying to understand things myself here.” Gleaming just looked down and hope that Cadence would just let it slide, but she should have known better than to think that. “Try me. Maybe I can help you. If something is going, I could help you.” Once again, Cadence had moved right on top of Gleaming. “You promise not to laugh at me too much?” She looked at Cadence and smiled as she was given a quick, but understanding nod. With a deep breath, she started. “Well, I don’t remember much, but I and Twinkle woke up as opposite genders the morning after my party. My name was Shining Armor and Twinkle’s was Flash Sentry.” She stopped and waited to see how Cadence was taking this all in. “So if I understand what you told me so far, is that you and Twinkle are really stallions. And that you woke up after your party as mares. Also due to the fact that both of you were drunk, you both don’t remember what happen after you left there?” Cadence eyed Gleaming a few times that Gleaming was started to feel a little uncomfortable in her body. But she just nodded her head. “Yeah and it seems that only me and Twinkle remember being stallions. Everypony else thinks that we always have been mares and even that we are dating as well.” She was about to say a little more, but a hoof had stopped her from speaking anymore. “Wait, not dating Twinkle?” Gleaming closed her eyes as Cadence had shouted. She mumbled something and nodded her head. Cadence closed her eyes as her horn started to glow. A warm and fuzzy feeling came over Gleaming and Cadence eyes shot open. “Cadence, are you okay?” She had moved Candace’s hoof from her mouth and looked worried at her. “No, I fear something is wrong. Love is something that is like time,” Cadence moved away from her seat and was pacing in front of the bed. The look on her face was something that Gleaming had never really seen on her face before. “But unlike time it usually comes to point of true love with one pony, but yours is different.” “What do you mean? Doesn’t mine lead to my one true love?” Gleaming couldn’t believe that she was so pulled in that she was about halfway off the foot of the bed. Cadence hadn’t stopped pacing. “You have two true loves. One leads to Twinkle and another pony, I can’t tell you who that other one is. Something is making it hard to see.” Cadence kept her head low as she was trying to think. With a loud thud, Gleaming had fallen to the floor. “I know who the other one is.” Gleaming gown as she got back to her hooves. She looked up only to find that Cadence was now nose to nose with her. “Who?” Cadence nose just pushed a little harder into Gleamings. “You.” Gleaming pulled away and try to move away. Cadence just sat there with a lost look on her face. The silence that followed started to painful and so Gleaming started to move a hoof toward Cadence. “Get away from me!” Cadence moved away from Gleaming hoof. Tears moved down her face and she turned away. Gleaming looked on with confusion and sadness. Had that last bit been enough to make Cadence believe her or think she was crazy. Before she could say anything, Cadence stood up and bolted from the room leaving Gleaming on the floor with an outstretched hoof. She looked down at the floor and sighed. This wasn’t what she thought would happen, but it was darn close. After what felt like hours came a knock at the open door. A nurse walked in and took in what was before her with years of practice. “I have a message for you Captain Shields from First Lieutenant Twinkle Scout. She needs you to report for duty as soon as you are well enough,” The nurse eyed Gleaming. “And it appears that you are. Once you are ready, please check out at the front desk.” With that, the nurse turned around and left the room. “Duty?” Gleaming furrowed her brow and then her eyes shot open. She rushed out of the room and past the front desk. “I am late for bucking duty.” She yelled as the nurse from before shot up from the desk. “They never bucking listen.”