"Dinner? Like, an actual date dinner?"
"Well, yes, I mean, I could cook something, but I figured you would want to go out, see the sights of Ponyville and take a nice meal at one of the higher scale restaurants this little town somehow attracted."
Vinyl lowered her ever-present sunglasses and sighed at her companion, "Octy, baby... Do I look like the kind of pony who likes eating at fancy restaurants?"
"I was hoping maybe?"
The DJ rolled her eyes and put her glasses back up, "Listen, sweets, I'd love to go on a date with you, like, an actual date, but, I'd rather go to a nice deli or sandwich shop than somewhere where I'd have to wear one of your ties or Rarity's dresses."
Octavia put on her best pout and looked into this unflinching shades, "But I wanted to take you to this new place that just opened. They cook the food right in front of you like some kind of battle."
Pondering this for a moment, the unicorn decided it could be cool, "Alright, we'll go. What's this place called, anyway?"
"Oh, well, I think it's some weird Neighponese construction between French and Equestrian. I believe it is called..."
"Allez Cuisine!" shouted a pony dressed in a striking outfit that some would believe would look better on Liberace.
"Octavia, you are absolutely right. I love this place!" Vinyl nudged her date as the chefs grabbed the ingredient of choice, this time a pile of rather rare mushrooms from Zebrica.
The earth pony facehoofed, "I had expected a hibachi grill with some kind of act, not an actual challenge between two chefs."
The unicorn was entranced by the action below her, helped along by the announcers in the background. The point, as far as she understood, was that the two chefs would each create six dishes based on the main ingredient and be judged on taste, presentation, and a few other factors. While the audience wouldn't be participating in the judging, they would be getting two six course meals. It was quite a lot of food.
Two hours later, the couple emerged from the restaurant with the rest of the crowd, everypony staggering off back to their homes, "I brought some wine we could share, help digest those delicious dishes."
"I never experienced a 12 course tasting before. That was a ton of food," replied the DJ, swaying slightly as she staggered toward's Octavia's house. The two proceeded along slowly, occasionally groaning as something inside shifted or produced a bubble of gas released shortly after as a burp. Octavia blushed and excused herself while Vinyl tried to go for volume.
Rolling her eyes, the earth pony unlocked the door to her residence and entered, leaving the door for Vinyl to close as she moved into the kitchen to retrieve the wine and two glasses. Her date adjourned to the living room, relaxing on the couch and rubbing a hoof over her belly as the cellist entered, taking a seat close, but not too close.
Wine was served, drank, and refilled as they idly chatted about their mutual tastes in music, and anything at all that came to their minds. About halfway through the bottle, the earth pony took a deep breath and turned to her companion, "Vinyl... If we're... going to keep dating... or even living together, there's something you should know."
"Oh? What's that, Tavi? Do you have an identical twin trying to kill you and take your place? Are you really a human in disguise?"
"... You've been speaking with Lyra too much, haven't you?"
"She's a good laugh when she's drunk."
"I see, well, neither of those things, but it is rather important. Not many ponies know this, after all."
"You're not secretly Princess Celestia's granddaughter are you?"
"NO! Vinyl just listen," the cellist took another deep breath, "When you look at me, what do you see?"
Blushing from a combination of the wine and the question, Vinyl carefully picked the words for her next statement, "I see a beautiful mare with an amazing talent for the cello. I see a brilliant conversationalist and somepony whose Canterlot upbringing hasn't effected their personality too much."
"So you see a mare?"
"Of course I do! Why wouldn't I? The curve of your fla... face, the way you move when you walk..."
Octavia chuckled, taking a sip of a wine, "Well, that's the problem, isn't it?"
"Tavi? You're being really vague, and I'm too buzzed for vague."
Sighing, she turned her head toward her companion, "When I was born, there was a problem. The doctors didn't know what to do. There was something wrong, and nopony knew what. It didn't really come out until I started to grow up. I was a normal, active foal with a variety of interests and a love of the cello."
"So, you have some hereditary disease? That's no big deal."
"No, it's more complicated than that. Vinyl... I was raised as a colt. My parents named me Octavian. When I became a teenager and my body started to do its thing for puberty, I grew more feminine in most aspects. Everything about me screams that I'm a mare, and I accepted that. I had always felt awkward playing with other colts and wanted to play with fillies instead."
Vinyl waved her hooves around, "Whoa whoa whoa, back up. You were raised as a colt? So what?"
"I was raised as a colt because my parents thought I was one. I may look like a mare, act like a mare, and call myself a mare, but there are certain... aspects of my anatomy that disagree."
Removing her glasses, the DJ set them on the table, sipped her wine, placed the glass carefully next to her and calmly turned to Octavia, looking her directly in the eye.
Across town, Twilight Sparkle was in the middle of studying a particularly interesting piece on the interactions between dragons and griffons when she heard a shout. Looking around, she saw only her sleeping dragon. Inspecting the rest of the library, she found it empty. Left with a mystery of who had just shouted, "What?" at her, the unicorn returned to her studies. It was entirely possible that one of her neighbors had shouted, but at this point, she didn't care.
Back in Octavia's home, she picked herself up off the floor and turned back to the stunned unicorn on the couch, "I suppose you'll be wanting to leave then. I should have figured as much. I'll set aside a pouch of bits so you can find an apartment while you get back on your feet. My offer on that still stands."
Vinyl blinked a few times and shook her head, "No, no, no, that's not what I meant! I was just really shocked. So, you have a uh... little stallion?"
"I suppose you could call it that."
The DJ took another drink of wine while she mulled this over, "Well, I can't say that changes much. I like you for you, no matter what's between your legs. We all have secrets."
"Oh? What's yours?"
Taking a deep breath, Vinyl sighed and looked over at the earth pony standing nearby. Deciding that, since they were being completely honest with each other, it was time to drop the facade, "Well... if we're revealing ourselves... Brace yourself."
Octavia raised an eyebrow and nodded, smiling in what she hoped was an encouraging manner as she sat down on the couch. Her eyes were temporarily blinded by a bright green flash. Once they cleared, she took in what her date was showing her and immediately fainted.