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// 7 - Coming Out 
// Story: Once Spiked, Now Barbed 
// by David Silver 
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With a thud of four hooves hitting the ground, Pinkie landed before Barb. "It's all planned," she cried out with a big smile. "I hope you are ready for a party, because this one is all about you." She thrust a hoof at Barb.

Barb blinked softly. She had been walking along with Fluttershy, shopping for daily supplies, and suddenly Pinkie. "You sure do love to pop out of nowhere."

"Nowhere? Don't be silly." She waved that away. "I'm from Ponyville, but not originally, I suppose. So are you ready?!"

Fluttershy put a protective hoof on Barb. "Is this about--"

"--Her new name, yep! Also her new... everything else! We're gonna tell the world! Well, at least Ponyville." She bobbed her head firmly at this. "I've invited everypony! And all the creatures I could find. Fluttershy, yours--" She pointed away. "is sitting in your mailbox if you didn't already get it."

"I didn't," she admitted, looking towards where her house resided. "But if you say it's there, I'm inclined to trust you." As if Pinkie would mess up party invites. "Do you need Barb?"

Pinkie curled on herself and came back with a big fancy letter. "Only to be there." She dropped the letter in Barb's waiting hands. "Be there!" Having delivered the last invite, she bounced away with a pleased expression.

Barb slit the letter open with a claw. "Let's take a look." She flipped it open, allowing confetti to burst free with a fwee of a noise. "Pinkie." She looked more amused than not at the festive burst. Inside was the when and the where and the what and the how, and even a why and the who! All the questions, answered. It was a party, for her, with a big Spike ▶ Barb header to make it very clear.

Fluttershy was peeking over Barb's shoulder. "How lovely. An interesting place she picked..."

The where was the site where the old library once stood. "Yeah..." Barb rubbed her chin, thinking about it. "The library ended, and... gave rise to that." She waved at Twilight's new castle. "Maybe this is the same kinda thing? Spike is dead, long live Barb?"

Fluttershy raised a hoof to her chin. "That sounds about right. I happen to like both Spike and Barb."

Barb raised a lone finger, but it curled and fell. "Uh... but I'm only one of those."

Fluttershy nodded gently. "But I remember Spike, who was a positive force in my life. I like Spike, and I like Barb. Both are wonderful dragons who deserve our love and support." She hugged Barb gently. "I will be there, at your party. I may... leave after long, but I won't miss wishing you well in your new life."

Barb returned the hug warmly. "Thanks... Heading off?"

"I should." She checked her saddlebag to be sure. "I have all my shopping done for now. Somepony has to help the animals, but I'll be sure to tell them the good news for you."

Barb waved at the departing Fluttershy. "Hm." It was Twilight's turn to handle dinner, so she couldn't really shop for that... She saw no further use in the marketplace, but spared the time to swing by the apple stall run by an Apple. Her favorite Apple was there. "Hey Mac!" She waved eagerly.

Big Mac nodded down at Barb. "Ayup. How's it going?"

Barb hopped/flapped up onto the counter. "Check this out." She flipped out the paper that had made it official.

Big Mac leaned in for a look. "Huh. Nice." He nodded with firm agreement. "Pleased to meetcha, Barbara." He offered a hoof to his small dragon friend.

Barb met it with a balled hand. "You already know me, but hey again! Oh, did you get a Pinkie invite?"

"Ayup."

Barb fired a thumbs up. "See you there?"

"They'd need at least three ponies my sized to keep me away." Big Mac thumped his chest firmly. "Ah'll be there, promise."

Barb clasped her hands under her chin. "Aw, thanks! You're the best, or at least one of. Gifts are not required."

Big Mac raised a brow. "You ain't gonna turn down mah gift."

"No..." Barb rocked in place. "Just, you know, you don't have to, but if you already did... I won't say no..."

Big Mac gave Barb a nudge, causing them to flap down to the ground. "So how's things treatin' ya?" He glanced left and right suddenly. "Yer the only other critter ah know that knows what I knew."

Barb blinked owlishly at that. "Knows what? What secret are we hiding?"

Big Mac pointed at Barb and himself. "We know what it's like both ways. Out and in. Stallion and mare. Ain't somethin' most ponies know."

Barb colored as the meaning became clear. "Oh! Right... yeah..." She rubbed behind her head. "I'm still learning, if we're being honest... I haven't even..." She came to an awkward halt. Big Mac was a guy. Who was sometimes a girl? She wrestled with that a moment. "Um... I..." She gestured downards over her belly. "You know dragons lay eggs, right?"

Big Mac slowly inclined his head. "Ayup?" He brought up two hooves. "A boy dragon and a girl dragon love each other very much..."

"Not like that!" squeaked Barb, their coloration only getting worse. "Lady dragons, like me, do it even when there aren't any boy dragons around. Um... Think of it like a practice run... Lucky us."

"Oh." Big Mac sat back and up. "Mares don't do that."

"So I hear," laughed out Barb. "But I'm not a mare. I'm a dragon. I have to deal with dragon things, for good and bad." She gave a thumbs up that turned into a thumbs down as she talked. "It is what it is."

Big Mac nodded at that. "Ayup... Yer still a little thing. Don't get too stressed about it."

Barb squinted at her large male friend. "It's kind of half of what I'm thinking about right now. How do I not stress about it?"

"Hm. Think of Twilight. Do what she wouldn't do." Big Mac nodded along with his words. "That should work."

Barb swatted at Big Mac, even if she had no hope of reaching from the ground. "That's mean! But also kinda funny... Alright, no Twilynanas today..." She performed the breathing technique Cadance had shown before, in and out. "One thing she learned that seems to help..."

Big Mac echoed the breathing, sweeping his hoof away with a whoosh of air. "Huh... That really does work." He brought the breath in and let it go in a slow motion. "Cadance knows a thin' or two." A thought struck him. "Maybe ah should visit her, princess to princess."

Barb blinked softly. "That's a long train ride." She pointed to the station. "The family alright with you doing that?"

"Ain't no thin'." Big Mac had a big smile, a knowing smile. "Ah'll just let Orchard Blossom stop by. Ah did say princess to princess."

"Oh. Ohhhh." Barb got it with a double snap. "That makes sense. How are you doing? Both of you." She hopped up, but didn't sit on the counter, instead landing with her elbows, legs kicking in the air behind her. "That must be rough. I went from one thing to another, but you went form one thing... to two things. If you wanna talk, I'm here."

"'Ppreciate that. It's, uh, complicated. But ya gave a good idea." Big Mac tossed his head northwards. "Maybe Cadance can help. She's 'bout the girliest princess ah know!"

Barb tittered, kicking a bit harder a moment. "You need girl advice?"

"Well, um, am one of those half the time. And yer still new at it, so ain't askin' you!" Big Mac folded his arms in firm denial of that option. "So there."

"Oh, fine." Barb slid to her feet. "But I am here. I want to help."

"Y'are helpin', promise." His eyes lifted to a pony approaching. "Howdy! What can ah get fer ya?"

Barb took the hint and departed with a wave. She pulled out the invitation as she jogged along. "This is gonna be great!" She could stop telling each pony one by one about things and just... tell them all. She came to a slow halt, realizing the magnitude of that. "Oh." Everypony would know, all at once. They'd all be together to tell Barb exactly what they thought of it.

What if they didn't like it?

Well... so far, the ponies she'd run into had been super supportive about it! They liked her before, and they still liked her. Don't be Twilight. Barb smirked at that thought. Poor Twilight... Still, don't that. She would try to have faith in her friends. They hadn't really let her down so far!

"Woah." Lyra had caught a glimpse of Barb and was closing rapidly. "Look at you!"

"Hey, Lyra." Barb waggled her fingers at the smiling unicorn. "Nice to see you."

"Nice to see me? I'm still the same boring unicorn." She waved the good words away. "Look at you. Little lady dragon. I love it." She grabbed Barb by the cheeks between her hooves, mashing them with a happy giggle. "Your fins look so soft." Which was the very next spot she went to pet over Barb with undiguised wonder. "I know soft fins aren't a lady dragon thing. It's a lady you thing, and I like it."

Barb was helpless, grappled and smiling awkwardly. "Th-thanks! I like the way they look too."

"Good!" She threw Barb up into the air, catching her in her magic. "I'd be real sad if you didn't like the new you, after all that. Besides, here I am saying how good you are, and if you were busy feeling sad about it, that'd make me a huge jerk. So... digging it?" She put Barb down on her back, looking over her shoulder at her new rider.

Barb fired an emphatic double thumbs up. "I am loving it, so no reason for you to feel bad about it. Uh, did Bon Bon tell you?"

"You bet she did." She curled to nuzzle at Barb with a happy giggle. "Also, I'll be performing at your party. I hope you're ready for some slamming Lyra lyre lyrical levity!"

"Awesome!" Barb threw up her hands. "I didn't know you did small things like that."

"I don't, but this isn't just 'some small thing.'" Lyra pffted softly. "This is about my favorite little dragon. I'll be there to throw down some serious beats. Still poking at Vinyl to see if she can't join, but she can be like that. She'll show up, or not, day of without any warning!" She laughed at the mental image. "She's like that... Anyway... Real talk, I didn't see this coming." She hiked a brow. "I thought you were... kinda super proud of the guy dragon thing."

Barb crossed her arms, darkening swiftly. "I was... but I was also kinda deflecting, you know? Defending myself, making excuses..." She worried her hands together fitfully. "Maybe I picked that up from Twilight."

Lyra shook her head. "Nah, pretty sure Twilight has no interest in trying out the stallion thing. You are still an adorable little she dragon. I can't not talk about that..."

"You're too much." Barb put her hands on Lyra's back, leaning forward. "But do go on."

"Subtle." Lyra giggled softly. "You liked being talked up before, and that hasn't changed. Well! I happen to agree with you."

"You also like being talked up?"

Lyra's giggles turned into an outright laugh. "Not that! I think you 'fit' better, as a lady dragon. Now this is just my opinion, so it's barely worth the air used to say it, but you're even betterer than before, and you were already pretty good, so this is a complete win in my book." She started down the street at a vigorous trot, bouncing Barb up and down in the motion. "You weren't the biggest, toughest dragon, but you are the sweetest and awesomest dragon."