It was another day of their group hanging out. This time, they’d gathered at Fluttershy’s place. Her parents wouldn’t be home for a few more hours, so it was one of the better spots to be.
Of course, that wasn’t the reason they were here. Fluttershy specifically asked them to come over. They’d been talking for a few minutes, sitting around the couch, but Fluttershy had been even more quiet than usual. And most of them noticed that she’d changed from her usual skirt to a pair of matching pants.
Rainbow seemed to be first to notice. She kept giving sideways glances at Fluttershy. Everyone else took notice of it and eventully everyone was glancing at her. Almost waiting.
“Uh, girls?” Fluttershy finally spoke up. “Can I- can I talk about something with you?”
The group gave general sounds of agreement before adjusting to be facing her. Rainbow jumped onto the arm of her chair, taking her hand in her own. Her expression looked oddly soft for her.
“You don’t have to tell them if you don’t want to,” Rainbow said.
“I know, but I want to,” Fluttershy said.
They waited, nervous that their staring would scare her into more silence.
“I-I love you guys,” Fluttershy began. “And-and I don’t want this to change us. But I, um, I-I’m trans?”
There was a pause as the group took that in. Fluttershy took a deep breath, preparing for the worst.
“Which way?” Applejack asked, breaking the silence. “Like, you transitioned before you met us and are just now telling us of your history, or you haven’t started at all and you want to start.”
“The second one,” Fluttershy answered, not daring to breathe.
“Female to Male,” Rainbow clarified. “He told me a while ago.”
“Oh, dear,” Rarity got up and sat on the other arm of the chair. “I do wish you told me before. Honestly, I feel bad for how many dresses and the like I’ve put you in. I always thought you seemed a bit uncomfortable, but I thought it was just your usual anxieties.”
“It’s okay, you didn’t know,” Fluttershy said. “So, you’re all okay with it?”
“Of course silly!” Pinkie said, turning upside down on the couch. “I mean, I totally get it! Like, some days I wake up and I’m like ‘yeah, I’m definitely a guy today!” but other days I’m sure I’m a girl! And then there’s days where I don’t really feel like either, and there’s also days where even I don’t know what gender I am!”
“Wait, I get Flutters not wanting to tell us about him,” Rainbow said. “But why didn’t you say anything about that?”
“Well duh!” she smiled. “You’ve never used the wrong pronouns on the wrong day! I mean, to be fair ‘she’ can be right more than half of the time. Like, obviously on ‘Girl Days’, but some of the ‘Neither Days’ too, and on the “I Don’t Know Days’ anything works!”
“Fair enough,” Applejack shrugged. “I don’t really ‘get it’, but I don’t have to. Honestly Pinkie’s ‘not a guy or a girl’ thing makes sense to me. But hey, whatever floats your goat.”
“I don’t completely get it either,” Twilight said. “But if I say the wrong thing feel free to correct me.”
“Same here,” Sunset nodded.
“Okay, this weekend, we’re going shopping,” Rarity announced. “You know I can help you wardrobe-wise. And trust me, it makes designing prom outfits so much simpler. And while I’ll miss your hair, I you want to cut it short I would be happy to style it for you!”
“Well, I’m thinking about it,” Fluttershy said. “If-if my parents handle it well, I will.”
‘Come on, Flutters!” Rainbow smiled, gently punching his arm. “You know they’ll be cool with it. And remember, if anyone at school says anything, I’ll fuck them up!”
“Usually I’d scold you for being so violent, but I’d probably do the same,” Rarity sighed.
“Thanks,” Futtershy sighed. “Other than my parents, I’m just worried about how Princess Twilight will react.”
“Well, considering I’m okay with it,” Twilight smiled. “I’m pretty sure my Counterpart is good too. Though who knows with cultural differences and-”
“She’ll be cool with it,” Sunset assured.
“I’m sure,” Fluttershy smiled. “But I’m going to worry about it until I know for sure.”
“Trust me,” she said. “She’s cool with it.”
Everyone raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to explain. She sighed, rolling her eyes.
“So, remember how I went back to Equestria last weekend?” Sunset began. “Well, apparently your Counterpart had just had this same conversation with his friends, and I noticed when they used male pronouns for him. So they already accepted him, and I was kind of expecting you to do this sooner or later. Honestly I was debating on bringing it up in private.”
“Oh,” Fluttershy said. “Thanks? It does help a bit to know the other me is doing this too. Is-is this stuff easier in Equestria?”
“Yes and no,” she answered. “Like, no because we still have jackasses who think it’s ‘wrong’, and I’m not sure if gender presentation is easier or harder in a society that doesn’t wear casual clothes. But the general opinion is much better, and LGBT stuff has always been legal.”
“Always?” Twilight asked.
“Upsides of having decent ponies as Immortal Rulers,” she nodded. “I mean, it’s kind of obvious that Princess Luna is gay, very gay. Like to the point that even though she was banished and ponies forgot about her they associated the moon with gay mares. And Discord is, well, I’m not sure on his sexuality, but when asked about his gender he just gave me a wiggly hand gesture and an unsure shrug. As far as I know Princess Celestia’s straight and a major ally, but honestly if she hasn’t found an exception in two thousand years I’d be surprised.”
“You know what I’m wondering?” Pinkie wondered aloud. “Technically there’s the rule of ‘girls only sleepovers’, but if Flutters isn’t a girl, and sometimes I’m not a girl, and Aj’s not exactly a girl, are we technically breaking the rule? Or does it only count for future sleepovers since we didn’t know before? I mean, that’d be dumb because we’ve already been to sleepovers together!”
“Okay, but that rule’s dumb anyway,” Rainbow said. “Adults think that if you put more than one gender in a room for a night they’ll bang. Which is dumb. Besides, considering most of you are some level of gay, I don’t think the group’s gender matters at this point.”
“On that note,” Rarity began, turning back to Fluttershy. “Since we’re on the subject of coming out and all, is it rude to ask?”
“Oh, uh,” Fluttershy stammered for a moment. “I still only like guys?”
“Congratulations!” Sunset said, leaning in for a high five. “Welcome to the ‘totally 100% gay club’!”