Spitfire's words had Fleetfoot's attention in a vice-like grip. First she had used her full name, which was an extremely rare occurrence, as it was always "Fleety" or "baby," or her personal favorite, just "hon." Second, she had dropped a statement that was enough to put anypony on edge, especially when it came to their significant others. "We should talk." What does that mean? Does she agree with me? Are we really wrong together? In the momentary silence that followed the panic that came from the statement, she studied Spitfire's face. Nothing about her face suggested any malice or potential bomb droppings. No, her amber eyes were just as soft and caring as always, and her posture was relaxed. If anything, she looked concerned, and a bit.. disappointed. In what though? Me? Did I make her mad? There was only one way to find out. "A-About today?" she asked. She cringed at the stupidity in her question, but it was all she could think of.
"About today, yes," Spitfire answered. She was patient, which was a good thing. "But also about everything else. What's been happening, what's going to happen, and why that is." She was so calm about this, and it helped Fleetfoot relax slightly.
"What more about today? We've already gone over what happened." It was brief yes, but everything was covered. Or, most things were covered.
"I want to know what ponies said to you, and I want to know what else was happening around you today," Spitfire gently pressed on. Fleetfoot looked up to her right, remembering easily their gross insults.
"They thaid that we were dithgratheful to the military. They thaid that we had no thelf rethpect. They athked if we felt no shame in ourthelveth." She really wished that she couldn't remember them.
"Are their words the only things you remember about today? Or were you aware of the other things happening around you?"
"It wath all fuzzy. It felt like I wath thuffocating all day. I only thaw their fathes or heard them thay thothe thingth. It wath like I wath in thome thort of daze."
"Why is that Fleety? I know you're an anxious pony and you get like that whenever you start to panic," Spitfire ventured, hoping to get her marefriend to acknowledge and address the deeper issue at hoof.
"I gueth I didn't want anypony to think that I wath a freak or anything," Fleetfoot answered truthfully. Sensing that she was getting closer to what Spitfire wanted her to address, she continued. "I didn't want them to be right."
"Do you think they're right?" asked the amber-eyed mare, wasting no time in between her questions and Fleetfoot,s answers. Fleetfoot saw no way out. Spitfire was able to read her like a book, and all her mannerisms suggested that she already knew what she was thinking.
"You mean do I think we're freakth? Am I ashamed of uth? Kind of, yeth. Everypony elthe theemth to agree!" her voice rose steadily until a lump prevented her volume from rising any further.
"And who is 'everypony'?" Spitfire asked. She was so calm and collected. How can she be so cool about this? How is she so strong? How can she be so calm? As much as it confused her, her demeanor encouraged her to answer the questions being thrown her way.
"Our fanth. The military. My parentth." Her voice dropped so low at the end that even she had to strain to hear herself. For all she knew, the words had never exited her mouth and she had just said it in her head.
"What was that last part Fleety?" Her demeanor changed very briefly. She sounded concerned. Her eyes went from calm to worried in an instant. And then changed back again just as quickly.
"My parentth. They thent me a letter after the article came out." Spitfire's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, making Fleetfoot just a bit hesitant to tell her what they said.
"What did they say?" Her voice was calm, but just as Spitfire knew Fleetfoot, Fleetfoot knew Spitfire. She was already angry, and this was going to make it worse.
"They just thaid that after all they've done to teach me to be a dignified and honorable member of the military, I've just gone and flushed all their hard work down the drain. That I've jutht dithappointed them ith the general githt of it." Tears welled up in her eyes again. She'd cried a lot that day. She just couldn't help it. She heard Spitfire sigh and shuffle closer to her. She draped a wing over her back and looked towards the door knob.
"Look Fleet. Everypony who is going to hate is going to do it for all the same reasons. Because we're not 'traditional', because we're 'undignified', we go against what has been for the longest time. They're all going to say the same things over and over again. And to be perfectly honest, screw them! They're wrong." Her tone was full of strength and conviction. The wing she provided was warm and comforting. Even as the tears cascaded down Fleetfoot's cheeks, Spitfire had her full attention. Her words cut through the fog in her mind and reached her ears. "They can say that two mares shouldn't love each other. That we go against tradition. They say the same thing about stallions. But all they can see is the fact that two ponies of the same gender are in love. They don't actually see the love in between the ponies. They've let their traditional beliefs blind them from what really matters. They can't see how special we are to one another, just that we do mean something to one another. And it's so stupid. You know the saying 'love is blind'?" Fleetfoot nodded even though she knew Spitfire wasn't looking at her. "Love can see better than any of us can. It can feel better than any of us can. Love knows that what two ponies share is never a phase. It knows whether something is right or wrong, and it's unbiased. Tell me honestly Fleet, what is telling you that we're wrong?" Fleetfoot had a quick answer. Too quick.
"It'th jutht a gut feeling. Like thomething deep down ith telling me that thith shouldn't be happening." Spitfire shot out another rapid-fire quesition.
"Where is that feeling coming from?" Me. But.. is it just me?
"Mythelf I gueth. Becauthe everypony sayth that we're wrong. So it hath to be a little bit true. Right?"
"No." The word, just like all her questions, came out quickly, as though she had had her speech planned for some time now. "It's not true at all. Would you feel wrong if everypony was supportive? If everypony respected you for you and your feelings? If everypony made you feel valid, and never tried to make you question yourself?" It was a hard question to answer. She didn't know for sure, but she did know that it sounded so nice. It sounded like something she so desperately wanted. No, needed. She needed to feel accepted. To feel loved no matter what.
"It'th hard to thay Thpitfire. Maybe I'd feel totally valid, and confident in mythelf. Maybe there'd thtill be that doubt, but I don't really think there would be. I can honethtly thay though, that I want that. It would feel tho nithe to feel thupported by everypony. "
"Exactly. It's what everypony like us wants. What we need is to be one hundred percent comfortable in out own fur. And the environment we're in, in our line of work, we're held to different standards. Hear me out. If we weren't in the military, would we get so much backlash?" Again, she knew all the answers already. She knew Fleetfoot knew the answers already. She just wanted to hear them for herself.
"I don't think we would. Ponieth might look at uth funny, but there wouldn't be tho much upfront backlash." Spitfire nodded.
"Right. And that's really messed up. Because we're in this specific line of work we suddenly have to feel differently than the rest of Equestria? I mean come on." She laughed bitterly. "Say we were teachers. Doesn't matter what kind. If we were together and other ponies knew, they'd brush it off and leave it be for the most part. Our sexual orientation shouldn't and cannot be expected to change based on how me make a living. It's ridiculous." Fleetfoot nodded again. Spitfire's passion while speaking compelled her to come up with her own argument against what others thought.
"Like Twilight'th thcool of friendship? Creatureth there weren't welcome there by the EEA, even though they can't control the fact that they're different thpecies. It didn't matter to that Neighthay dude that they were pupilth upholding the ruleth, and were learning friendship anyway. All he thaw wath their thpecieth." Spitfire smiled at her. She pulled Fleetfoot into a full embrace.
"Yeah. Like that. They were exceptional students who were belittled because of their species. Something that they can't change. Just like we can't change our sexualities. And we don't need to. If they can't accept us, they are missing out on some amazing ponies. I do have one last question though. Pretend that everything's okay. That we're in Ponyville, the friendliest, most accepting place in Equestria. Someone stops you and asks who you're dating. Random I know, but tell me what you'd say in response." Her answer was very quick. Just like the last one. But this time, it was right.
"Thpitfire. I'm dating Thpitfire..." her eyes widened and her mouth formed a small "O" shape. The embrace tightened.
"What's the 'Oh' for hon?"
"I'm dating you. It''th the only right anthwer. I wouldn't anthwer 'a mare' to that quethtion. It doethn't matter your gender, becauthe I love you. For you and your fiery perthonality, your pretty eyeth, the love you show me. It doethn't matter that thothe ponieth try to convinthe me that who I love ith the wrong pony. It won't ever be the wrong pony becauthe it will alwayth be you." It was funny even to herself how her thoughts had suddenly become much clearer. How much strength her voice had obtained since the conversation had started. "We'll never be wrong becauthe you'll alwayth be right. You've been my betht friend forever. You being a mare ith an afterthought I gueth. You make me feel all the right wayth, tho who careth what you are? Who you are should alwayth be my number one conthern." Even more tears fell down her cheeks as she started to understand. She was still afraid of rejection and scrutiny, but today's revelation made her feel lighter. Spitfire just continued to hold her, and rub her back as small sobs escaped her lips once more. It was only when Fleetfoot felt droplets on her head that she noticed that there were tears running down Spitfire's cheeks as well. But there was a bright smile on her face. One with enough light in her eyes to start the fire that earned her her name.
"That-" she hiccuped. "Was really sweet first of all. And it's true. I know that you've known for a long time that you're gay. Hell Soarin and I have known as well. I can't speak for him, but I think that it was accepting you that helped me learn to accept myself so quickly when I found out that I was bisexual. You had nopony outside of yourself to see as an example. You've kept this to yourself for so long that you've let it hurt you so badly. " She gave her forehead a tender nuzzle. "You just need to know that no matter what, you just need to do what feels right. You are what helped me accept myself, but you've never learned to accept yourself. I mean you'd never think that there was anything wrong with me would you?" Fleetfoot shook her head.
"Heh. I wath thinking about that earlier. I would never hold your thexuality againtht you. I wath fighting with mythelf. The thcared thide of me and the logical thide of me. One wath telling me everything you are. The other wath thpeaking from the otherth' perthpectiveth. "
"See, you know that we're okay, you just let those mean ponies in. Don't let them in. Don't let them control us. If they were really fans of ours, they'd respect us and not try to control us. As for your parents, they have always respected you. It just changed when they found out you were dating me. You are no different than you've always been. It's just gonna take a bit for them to see that. Your parents are smart and reasonable ponies. They'll come around. I know they will."
"Thankth baby. And until ponieth thtart to come around, we have our Wonderbolt family. They've got uth no matter what right?" she knew she was smiling now. Thank Celestia for Spitfire.
"Of course, Fleety. Do you feel better now?"
"Yeah. I thtill need a lot of time, but I know what I need to tho that'th what matterth right now." Spitfire let her go and just sat next to her.
"I'm proud of you, hon. I love you and I'll be here whenever you need me. We all will."
"I love you too, Thpitty. I'm lucky to have you." The two mares smiled at each other lovingly. "Ready to get out of here?'
"For sure! It'th really thmall in here." Spitfire stood up and opened the door to let Fleetfoot out first. A grin suddenly broke out across her face. "Hey Fleety," she called.
"Yeah?"
"We totally just came out of the closet."
The laughter of the two mares could be heard down the hall as they enjoyed their joke. They rejoined their teammates, who were in the rec room, with smiles on their faces. While not completely comfortable with herself just yet, Fleetfoot felt better about herself than she had in a long time. She was ready to find peace within herself, and would happily start and end her journey with her wonderful marefriend at her side.