As the Pillar stood in silent shame after his admission, Rainbow looked absolutely bug-eyed in response to learning such a thing. Even though it certainly wasn’t what she expected, she could definitely understand why Magnus was so hesitant about letting her know the truth. It also may have explained why Twilight Sparkle was defensive about her wanting to ask him out, since she probably would’ve known about that kind of taboo practice from history books. But regardless, Dash still had to blink a few times to process what she just saw and heard.
“Ummmm… okay then,” replied the mare blankly, seemingly unsure what else she could say in that awkward moment. “Well… that certainly wasn’t mentioned in Wonderbolts history exams…”
Flash Magnus sighed painfully while keeping his gaze away from her, too loathsome about himself to even imagine how she may have looked. “Yeah, exactly,” he growled bitterly. “That’s… That’s why we can’t be together, Rainbow Dash. As much as it pains me to say that, it… it was the decision I made back when I first became a member of the Cloudsdale Royal Legion. Every stallion had to be gelded, no exceptions. It was the standard means to prove we were willing to sacrifice ourselves to the Royal Crown. And… and also to ensure we wouldn’t be swayed by temptation…”
Rainbow nodded silently with a bit lip, still feeling a little jarred that such a hardcore practice was more than just an urban legend. While she could understand why that may have been a thing over a thousand years ago, she could also sympathize with Flash feeling so much regret in an environment without it. Despite knowing how important that may have been in his own era, even she couldn’t help cringing at how much his situation sucked. The mare wanted to be supportive, but she was frozen in surprise long enough to hear Magnus continue.
“So you see,” he said with a deeply saddened tone of voice, “I… I wasn’t lying when I said I was just a soldier, Rainbow. Despite how we may feel for each other, I… I can never be the stallion you’d want. I… I’m barely a stallion at all…”
As the Pillar closed his eyes to keep from crying, he wasn’t able to see just how much Dash’s brows rose in response to that statement. Flash breathed out in painful regret before adding, “I… I can’t make you happy the way a proper stallion should. I can’t… be able to give you a family. Even if you wanted to adopt, I… I wouldn’t be able to satisfy you the way other stallions can. In the end, I’m… I’m not the stallion for you, Rainbow Dash…”
Magnus couldn’t bear to look behind him to see Dash’s expression, but he was sure she was just as saddened and understanding of the situation as he was. Even though he cared so deeply about her, he breathed out in solemn acceptance as he said with a tear streaming down his face. “I’m... n-not a stallion.... I’m just a soldier… And… That’s all I’ll ever be…”
A long moment of silence passed between the two while Flash kept his head hung low, waiting dreadfully for the mare’s response. Whether it was to hear her say she understood, or for her to start crying, the stallion already played out every possible scenario in his head as to how that admission would go badly for both of them. Even though he was the Pillar of Bravery, even he couldn’t fathom facing Rainbow after she learned such an emasculating fact about him. So instead, he just kept his head away and waited to hear for her response.
“... Mmmph… Gnnnnghhhhh…
“BbbbbbbbBBBWAAAAAAAAA, HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAA!!!”
The instant he heard Rainbow Dash start to laugh, Flash Magnus’ head pulled right up in absolute shock. When he turned around to face the mare, his mouth hung open in confoundment when he saw Rainbow kneeling down on the floor cracking up. With the way her legs were buckled over from her overzealous laughter, it looked like she just attended the live screening of some really cheesy B-Movie. Meanwhile, Flash wasn’t sure whether to feel confused, insulted, betrayed, or all three at the same time.
“Hol… Holy crap, dude! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” Rainbow fell onto her rump as she sat and kept laughing, unable to stay still after she heard what Flash said about himself. But before the stallion could start going ballistic on her, she struggled to keep a hoof up and control her breathing. “Wa… Wai… Wait a second! I… I sw… I swear I’m not laughing at you… I swear…”
As he wiped his earlier tears from his face, Magnus gawked angrily at the mare and shouted, “Well, what the heck WERE you laughing at, huh?! This is serious!”
“It… It’s not… It’s NOT about your situation, alright?! I… I would never laugh about that…” As she closed her eyes, Dash took a couple final breaths before feeling her giggling bouts settle down. “Whoooooo!! I… I needed that…”
After getting herself back in control, she kept a reassuring smile on her face when she looked up at Flash’s pissed-off expression. “I swear, it’s not about your whole… gelding situation, okay? That’s not what I found funny…”
Before the stallion could scoff or try to tell her off, Rainbow pulled herself back on her hooves while saying, “Buuuut… Holy crap was that speech a whole load of manure! I mean, seriously, dude?! Do you really feel that way about yourself?!”
Even though he was still mad as Tartarus, that statement made Magnus pause and stare at Dash confusedly. “Wh… Why not?! I’m a gelding, Rainbow!”
“So what?!”
Of all the things he expected Rainbow to say in response to learning that fact about him, the phrase ‘So what?’ was definitely not one he could’ve predicted. While the stallion stood in a befuddled state, Rainbow huffed before rolling her eyes at him. “Like… Okay, I totally get why you may think that’s a problem between us. I mean… there probably are a lot of mares who would see the whole ‘No Balls’ thing as a deal-breaker. And… yeah, it’s definitely not what I would’ve expected you to tell me.”
Flash sighed bitterly and nodded with a scowl on his face. However, Rainbow was quick to add in a strongly-worded tone while pointing at him, “BUT! If you think for a second that being gelded makes you ANY less of a stallion, then you seriously need your head examined!”
Magnus had to blink a couple times while staring at the cyan mare in shock. Even though he wanted to be glad that Rainbow wasn’t upset or judgemental about his condition, he was completely confused as to why she was acting so fine about it. After taking a moment to get his thoughts straight, he couldn’t help replying in shock, “Wait, you… you’re okay with this?!”
Rainbow sighed before giving the stallion an approving nod. “Well, I’m okay with that more than your feelings about it.” Before he could get a chance to retort to that comment, Rainbow motioned him over to the couch as she sat down. “Come on, sit down and have some coffee.”
Due to low long their discussion lasted, both of their cups of coffee were at the perfect temperature for drinking now. While Flash Magnus sat down and merely held his cup, not being able to stomach that bean juice without a buttload of sugar, Rainbow took a sip from her own before letting out a calming breath. “Alright, I… I feel like I should say a few things before we get to talking…”
After she placed her cup on the coffee table (and Flash did the same without even tasting his), Dash looked back at the stallion with a warm smile and held onto one of his hooves. “Okay, so… First thing’s first, let me just say that I’m really sorry for that fight we had earlier. I know we were both emotional about things, but… I completely understand why you didn’t want to tell me about that. Like I said, I don’t blame you for thinking I’d freak out. If the tables were switched, I’d probably feel the same.”
Magnus had to blink a couple times in surprise, not expecting Dash to begin their talk with such a polite and respectful statement. After taking a few seconds to let that apology sink in, the pony shrugged meagerly before saying, “Well, ummm… thank you for telling me that. And I… I’m really sorry about how things went too.”
“Don’t be. You didn’t do anything wrong, dude.” After giving him a reassuring smirk, Dash kept holding his hoof as she continued more sternly. “Now, what you are doing wrong is thinking all that crap about yourself! I mean, I guess I can understand why a guy would feel that way, but you’re not any less of a stallion for not having any berries under your twig, okay? Gelding or not, you still kicked a lot of butt when we stopped that Shadow thing together. And the fact that you did it for the sake of serving Equestria shows you’re a noble guy too.”
Magnus sighed and avoided staring back at her. “Well, thank you for that,” he admitted in a meek and honest voice. “It’s good to know you can understand it wasn’t so taboo back in my time.”
“Well, yeah,” she said while shrugging in reluctant acceptance. “Plus, you’re… you’re not wrong about what you said earlier. There probably aren’t a lot of stallions nowadays who would agree to do something like that to be a soldier. Heck, I bet even Shining Armor would consider you a badass for going through with that!”
That comment made the stallion chuckle in appreciation while rubbing the back of his mane. Even though he was happy to hear Dash speaking so strongly about him, Flash still felt hesitant about believing a lot of it. As his eyes stayed away from hers, he sighed and replied honestly, “Well, I… I wouldn’t say I’m not a good hero for Equestria, alright? B-But… But that doesn’t change how pointless I’d be as a coltfriend.”
With the way Rainbow was gawking at him with narrowed eyes, it would’ve been assumed that Magnus just said something unbelievably stupid. After huffing with an annoyed scowl, the mare glared at him and asked, “Dude, are you serious right now? What would make you think your… situation would keep you from having a special somepony?”
Flash just stared back at her like she asked what two plus two equaled. “Ummm… hello?! I can’t give you any kids! We wouldn’t be able to have sex! Why would you want to be with a stallion who… who doesn’t have those?!”
Flash let go of Rainbow’s hoof and motioned down to his crotch, emphasizing what he was too embarrassed to say properly out loud. Regardless of how frazzled the stallion was acting, Rainbow groaned and shook her head in disbelief. “Well… Technically speaking Magnus, it’s not like you’d be the first stallion I went out with who had a situation like that…”
Her muzzle wrinkled a little in slight embarrassment, looking surprised she admitted that so casually to someone she wanted to be her coltfriend. Meanwhile, Flash blinked a couple times while staring back at her in surprise. “R… Really?”
“Well, he… he wasn’t a gelding,” she added in clarification as she shrugged her head. “He was transgender. We met back in college, and he was still transitioning from mare to stallion. Of course, you never would’ve guessed since he had like, a really good hormone treatment.”
Due to being from a complete different era, Flash needed a second to realize what Rainbow was referring to. Even though he knew about trans-ponies a while back from Twilight’s lessons, Magnus still looked like he was trying not to become too confused on the matter. He certainly wasn't opposed to it at all, but it was still a new idea for him to process. However, he was still able to nod respectfully while Dash kept speaking.
“Well, we met back when he was a senior, and I was struggling as a sophomore. I actually knew from day one that he was trans, and it didn’t faze me at all! He was a really great guy, and we worked really well together. And since he was still in the transition stage, he hadn’t had any surgery yet, so…”
Flash may have been fairly uninformed on the subject, but he understood enough to nod his head. “Uhhh… yeah, I get it. So… he didn’t have any of that yet, right?”
“Exactly,” stated Dash with a confirming nod. “But despite that, I never saw him as any less of a man than any other stallion! He was buff, he was masculine, and no anatomy differences would’ve changed that to me. We’ve even, ummm… we’ve done stuff…” Even though she was a little more embarrassed to admit that, she knew it was an important detail to mention in regards to Flash’s situation. “So yeah, it’s not impossible for a stallion to have sex without the standard equipment! There have been a LOT of advancements in sex since you went into limbo, so I doubt you’d have any trouble either.”
Magnus sat in temporary silence as he processed all that information, seeing just how strongly Rainbow still felt about him despite his condition. He wanted to feel more optimistic, but his hesitance prompted him to ask sheepishly, “So, uhhh… why did it end with him?”
Dash didn’t expect him to ask something like that, but she only thought about it for a second before replying, “Well… it was a lot of little things, but none of it involving gender and stuff. I think in the end, we were… just too different, I guess. He was studying to be a doctor, and was planning to move to Trottingham to get his PHD. As for me though, I was struggling to keep my sports scholarships up while under academic probation. We were pretty different ponies, and I think at the end, we both realized things weren’t gonna last.”
“Oh…” Even though he was a little disheartened to hear that, Flash didn’t see much remorse or woe from the mare after she mentioned that ex-coltfriend of hers. “Well, ummm… he seems like a good guy.”
“He really was,” she said with a light nod while smiling up at him. “He may have not had the equipment between his legs either, but he was still just as much of a stallion as you are. And despite what you showed me, I… I really don’t think it’d be an issue at all.”
“Yeah, but… but why not?!” asked Flash in confusion, still needing a little clarity as to why the mare was okay with all this. While Dash groaned and face-hoofed in frustration, the stallion couldn’t help asking, “I mean, it really is great you can see the positives from him and all, but… do you really think that would work for us?! I mean… what if you ever wanted kids?!”
That question made the mare reel back with a face of legitimate disgust. “Ugh! Please tell me you don’t want kids!”
Despite his conflicting feelings about their conversation, Flash was quick to shake his head and sigh. “Well… not really. I mean, if I did want to be a father, do you think I’d agree to be gelded?”
“Fair point,” responded Dash with another shrug. “But yeah, to answer your question for me, I can safely say that I haaaaaaaaate kids! I mean, except Scootaloo, of course. But still, do you remember when we went out to that restaurant, and we were sitting next to that one family?”
Magnus grimaced a bit at that unpleasant dinner, completely understanding the mare’s hesitance about foal-bearing. With how loud and obnoxious those kids acted, and how inattentive their parents were while they wrecked havoc around the restaurant, it was one of the few moments that the stallion was grateful he could never knock up a poor mare and succumb her to that same fate. As he thought that night over, Rainbow smirked when she saw his unnerved shudder.
“Exactly!” she said while slapping his shoulder with a hoof. “Plus, that was also a big reason why things ended between me and my ex. He wanted kids, and I didn't. But seriously though... if anything, you not having any balls is a huge relief for me! Like, it would be really convenient to not need to use birth control anymore, you know?”
Flash sighed and nodded apprehensively, even though he felt like Rainbow was missing one of the bigger issues regarding his gelded status. After taking a breath, the stallion bit his lip before pointing out awkwardly, “Well, it… it doesn’t really change the fact that I… I can’t exactly… you know…”
With the way the pegasus’ face blushed in discomfort, Rainbow didn't need to ask what Flash was trying to explain. And given how sad his tone sounded, it seemed like he knew from experience. But while she could understand the stallion’s hesitance, she was quick to put up her hoof and say, “Okay, there are three things you need to know before you dismiss your ability to have sex. Number one: You have a tongue, and I have toys, so don’t you think for a second that we couldn’t have any fun!”
As he reeled back in shock, Flash’s face blushed immensely at hearing that detail. He certainly wasn’t expecting her to say something so blunt and explicit regarding the matter, but Dash didn’t even flinch as she continued with a firm stare on him. “Point number Two! The whole ‘castrated ponies can’t get hard’ thing is like, totally a myth! Like, I know I’m not the smartest pony around, but even I know that! And even if you couldn’t do it on your own, there are pills to fix that! Or spells! Or potions! Heck, I can bet you good money that Zecora has like, five different potions to get you as hard as a rock!”
Magnus sighed before shrugging reluctantly, his brows raised a little more in optimism at hearing that point. Even though he wanted to stay grounded, he had to admit that he really liked how dedicated Rainbow was acting with her points, as unabashed as they were. Of course, when he glanced back at her with a blushed smile, he was able to see just how warm her expression became as she explained her final point.
“And point number three is… Well… It’s not like I like you solely for the idea of sex! I mean, that’d be a pretty shallow reason for wanting to be with you, right?”
Realizing how correct that assumption was, Flash blushed in embarrassment as he looked away from her. Meanwhile, the mare giggled and said in assurance, “It’s alright dude, I get it. Like, sex can be important in a relationship sometimes. But that doesn’t mean I’d only want to be with you for that…”
As her smile grew more genuine and caring, Rainbow held onto Magnus’ hooves again while looking into his eyes sweetly. “I mean… you remember all that stuff I told you earlier, right? About… how awesome and caring you were, and how you always made me feel special?”
Flash couldn’t help smiling a little more genuinely as his felt his cheeks grow warner. As he stared back into those gorgeous magenta eyes of Rainbow Dash’s, the stallion held onto her hooves just as tightly while she kept speaking.
“Well, I meant every word I said, Flash Magnus… You’re such an amazing guy, and that fact that you came from a completely different time doesn’t matter at all to me! I know you’re self-conscious about what you had to do, but… I couldn’t care less, dude. I like you for you. Not for whether or not your sundae has a couple of nuts in it.”
Even though he was touched, the stallion had to look away and laugh at such a stupid joke. “Really, Dash? Did you really just say that?”
Dash’s muzzle wrinkled a bit, but it was mostly for her own statement than his. “W-What? You’ve seen who I’m friends with! Sometimes corny jokes stick.”
“Yeah, well…” After taking a calming breath, Flash looked back at Rainbow with a relieved and elated look on his face. “Rainbow, I… I was honestly worried that if you knew the truth, that I… I’d lose one of the greatest and most confident mares I ever met in my life. But… But it turns out that you finding out made you even better! I mean… what did I do to deserve someone like you?”
Dash sighed silently while her smile widened in response to such a sweet question. However, Magnus took a moment to think it over before adding jokingly, “Well… aside from that one thing, I guess...”
That made both of them laugh more comfortably, and their blushes deepend while they kept holding each other’s hooves. Rainbow was the first to let go of one of his hooves, but she then rested hers on the side of his face before leaning in. Flash, upon realizing what she was going to do, slowly closed his eyes and leaned in as well. Despite having thought he would never experience that kind of feeling again, the soldier was thrown into a world of relieving elation the instant he felt Rainbow’s lips touching his own.
Dash held onto Magnus as long as she could as the two experienced that first kiss, both of them feeling much closer than they had ever felt before. As their lips locked together in sweet embrace, it seemed like time stood still for that wonderful, albeit brief moment. By the time they pulled away, Flash’s face looked as red as Big Macintosh’s as his body quivered from such a long-missed feeling.
Dash almost wanted to check to see if Magnus was able to take things any further, but she knew that wasn’t needed right now. So instead, she waited until he came down from that moment before she asked in a cheeky tone, “So, Flash… do you still feel like you’re ‘Just a soldier’?~”
It took a moment for him to register what she asked, but he soon smiled wide with a chuckle while shaking his head. Both of his hooves came up to rest against Rainbow’s blushing face, and he replied to that question with a sultry-sounding, “Well… I think it’s better to say that I’m your soldier now~”
Dash giggled at such a cheesy line, but it was enough to lean in and nuzzle his snout lovingly. “You know what, big guy? That sounds fine by me~”