Sweetie Belle finished gluing a pattern of green gems onto a piece of fabric that would go on the front of Sapphire Shores’ dress. She squinted while holding the fabric up to the sunlight coming through the window, rotated the cloth to see the front and back, and swapped out a blue gem with a much shinier teal gem. Then she set her piece of the dress on the counter and huffed. As much as she was enjoying sewing with her sister, it wasn’t easy to concentrate when a nosy question was bubbling inside her head.
“So, Rarity... can I ask you a question about all this?” said Sweetie Belle. “There’s something I’m really curious about, but, um... I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything.”
“You don’t have to worry about that, dear,” Rarity responded as she cut a piece from a roll of blue fabric with a swift precision that Sweetie Belle could only dream of attaining. “You are free to ask me anything about my transition!”
“Anything at all?”
Rarity smiled. “Yes, anything.”
Sweetie Belle gulped. “Did you ever feel, uh... you know, after I was born... since I was, and you weren’t...”
“What are you trying to say, Sweetie Belle?”
“Sorry... never mind.” Sweetie Belle hung her head low. “I was going to ask if you ever felt jealous of me, but—”
Rarity jumped back for a second, then laughed. “Jealous?! Why, that very notion is ridiculous! I was never the slightest bit envious of your upbringing as a perfectly ordinary filly, because you were raised by the same bizarre parents I was, and I’m sure you faced tons of challenges of your own with not having your cutie mark, and...” She let out a deep sigh. “On second thought, Sweetie Belle... you deserve to know the truth. I was always jealous of you when you were little.”
Sweetie Belle’s jaw dropped. “Wait, what? You were jealous of me?! But... that’s... I was always jealous of you! For practically as long as I can remember! Because you’re smart, and you’re good at sewing, and you have so many cool friends, and you’re the prettiest mare I know, and you know everything about everything!” She panted, then looked up to find an expression she had never once seen on Rarity before. “Wait. Rarity. Are you... blushing?”
“Oh, Sweetie Belle... when you said I am the prettiest mare you know, you could never possibly understand how much that meant to me. Especially from somepony who’s so naturally adorable, and doesn’t need to try at all to look like a lady.”
“Hey, that’s not true! I comb my mane twice a week.”
Rarity raised her eyebrows. “Really? I thought you would comb it at least twice a day, considering it looks so soft and poofy, but... I suppose you did just prove my point.”
“Sorry, Rarity,” Sweetie Belle said with a frown. “I didn’t mean to make you feel... well, I know I can’t really... ugh. I’m sorry I made you feel jealous all those years.”
“Oh, it’s not at all your fault! And besides, I did have some friends along the way who helped alleviate those feelings.”
“Ooh! Who were they?”
“I think you already know... but I will tell you anyway.”
It was another ordinary day at Sweet Apple Acres where Applejack invited her best friend over for lunch, and the two of them sat together in the second floor of the barn to have private conversations away from the rest of Applejack’s family. Today, Granny Smith had baked an apple pie, plus a bowl of apple-flavored pudding for toddler Apple Bloom.
“Urgh, it’s no fair, Applejack!” said Rarity, who had left her slice of pie untouched while Applejack was eagerly digging in.
“What ain’t fair, Rarity? I know you like to wait a lil’ longer for your pie to cool down than I do, but Granny Smith always told me that there’s nothin’ more rewarding than patience.”
“Oh, no, not the pie. I’m perfectly content with waiting before I start consuming it. I was talking about Sweetie Belle.”
“Yeah. What about her?”
Rarity leaned forward and put her elbows on the table, resting her head between her hooves. “She’s just so infuriatingly perfect!”
Applejack laughed. “She’s only three years old, sugarcube. She’s still got plenty to learn in life, just like little Apple Bloom does.” From the floor below, Applejack heard her sister laughing to the sound of one of Big Macintosh’s favorite old spinning toys. “And you don’t gotta feel jealous that your baby sister gets to play around all day. Someday, she’ll have to face troubles and challenges too!”
“Yes, but that’s the problem! Sweetie Belle gets to be my little sister. She gets to be a sweet little girl, with the softest roundest cheeks and the fluffiest mane, but while I was her age, I had to be a boy! Do you have even the faintest clue how painful that was for me? Or how long it took me to learn that transitioning was a possibility?”
“Uh, Rarity?”
“Ugh, and she’s not going to have to spend years convincing Mom and Dad she’s a girl, because she so obviously is one. And everypony will incessantly talk about how cute Sweetie Belle is, because she is cute, and I can only have any semblance of cuteness by rehearsing in the mirror for hours on end until I have it perfected.”
“Rarity?”
“And once she’s a full-grown mare, she will look much prettier without makeup than I ever could with it! She’ll probably land a glamorous career as a fashion model, and I’ll be stuck designing dresses for her without any recognition to my name. And it’ll be horrible. Just HORRIBLE!” Rarity started crying, her tears seeping through the cracks of the wooden table.
Applejack banged her hooves on the table and shouted. “RARITY!”
“Huh? Wha—” Rarity perked her head back up and wiped her eyes. “Did I say something wrong?”
Applejack put a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder. “Listen, sugarcube. I’m all for helpin’ out other ponies with their problems, and I’m always glad to hear how my best friend’s doing in life, but I’ve already told you plenty a’ times that you pass as a girl. if you’re still feelin’ unsure about it, then maybe you could get some extra opinions from your other friends.”
“But... um... who else would I confide in about my identity? It was already very difficult to admit it to you.”
“Well... hm. How ‘bout that quiet yellow pony who lent you that little kitten? She seems like an understanding one. And didn’t ya say there was a pink one who you had throw Sweetie Belle’s last birthday party? It sounds to me like you got a few options.”
Rarity rubbed her chin. “Hm... Applejack, you may well be on to something.”
Fluttershy finished her last sip of tea, and she gently set her tiny cup on the table in the middle of her newly renovated cottage. Though she was always nervous to invite other ponies over, Rarity proved a hospitable house guest.
“Fluttershy, darling, may I perhaps, um... tell you a secret?” Rarity said in the same singsongy tone she seemed to put in every sentence, whether needed or not. It reminded Fluttershy of a bird doing an especially melodious mating call.
“Oh, um... well... I’d have to promise my animals not to tell anypony, and I know Harry loves to spread rumors about other bears. I think that maybe you’d be better off telling somepony else your secret.”
“Oh, but Fluttershy, this is a secret of utmost importance to me, and I would love to have a second pony’s opinion on it! And plus... you seem like the type who wouldn’t judge me for it.”
Fluttershy turned her head to face the young bear in her room. “Did you hear that, Harry? Do you promise to keep this a secret?” Harry let out a deep grunt and gave a thumbs up. Fluttershy could hardly believe she adopted Harry two years ago, or that he was now bigger than a pony. She still remembered the day Harry was a lost baby bear in need of a home... but that wasn’t what Rarity came here for. “Harry promises to keep this a secret,” Fluttershy said.
“Okay. Um...” Rarity paused for a second to collect her breath. “You can do this, Rarity. You already told Applejack, and she supported you for it,” she muttered to herself, leading Fluttershy to raise an eyebrow. “I’m... a... I’m a transgender mare,” Rarity blurted out as quickly as she could.
“I knew it!” Fluttershy spat out, then gasped. Oh, no. Oh no, oh no, oh no. She covered her mouth with her hooves and tried her hardest not to look at Rarity, but her eyes diverted to her friend’s face regardless. She saw an expression of despair mixed with shock. “I’m sorry, Rarity. I didn’t mean to say you were—”
Rarity sighed. “No, I completely understand,” she said like a spider whose intricately crafted web just got stomped on. “I don’t pass for a mare as well as I thought I did, and I know Applejack was just being polite anyway.” Fluttershy noticed that Rarity’s right eye was twitching, and she was quite sure that wasn’t because a fly was getting in her eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Rarity. I just... your voice... well...” Fluttershy rubbed her hooves together, trying to get the right words out. “Your voice could be a little more... you see, um... this is just one pony’s personal opinion, and others may feel differently, but...”
“But what?”
“... but your voice could sound just a teensy-weensy bit more natural.” Fluttershy held her hooves so close that they almost touched.
Rarity gasped. “What ever could you mean by that, Fluttershy? I have the most splendid and realistic ladylike voice that I could ever conceive of!” Beneath Rarity’s theatrical shock at this criticism, Fluttershy could sense a tingle of curiosity in her eyes.
“Well, if you spoke just a little more gently... oh, I’m not saying you have to, it’s your choice and all, but... I think you should express yourself in whatever way makes you feel happy!”
Rarity lowered her voice to a near whisper. “But I don’t feel happy when somepony can tell something is off about me. So... if I need to whisper all the time to be seen as a mare, then so be it.”
“I didn’t mean you had to speak quieter,” Fluttershy said with a slight chuckle. “It’s about the pitch of your voice! You don’t need to make it rise and fall so much to sound like a girl,” she explained as she raised her right hoof up and down. “That’s the sort of thing you’re supposed to do when singing.”
Rarity’s face lit up with a bright smile. “Why, darling, I had no idea you liked to sing! You should have told me this far sooner, and we could—” Rarity delved into a fit of coughing, her throat clearly strained from the way of talking she practiced. “You’re right, Fluttershy. My tone of voice could indeed be a lot smoother,” she said while catching her breath. “But still, I’d love to hear you sing!”
Fluttershy squeaked and hid her face behind her tail. “M... maybe... some other time. W... would that be OK?” she stuttered while shaking.
“Oh, of course, dear.”
“Phew, thank you.” Fluttershy sat back up and resumed her placid smile. “Now, Rarity... could you try saying something without moving your pitch so much?”
“Oh, gladly!” Rarity cleared her throat. “My name is Rarity, and I am the owner of Carousel Boutique. How may I assist you today?”
“It’s better!”
Rarity grinned.
“Buuuuut... maybe you don’t have to emphasize your name and the name of your store this much.”
Rarity scratched the floor with her hoof. “Oh... well... I thought it was perfect, but... I suppose I could take a second attempt.” She cleared her throat again. “My name is Rarity, and I am the owner of Carousel Boutique. How may I assist you today?” she said in a smooth, natural tone. It was the least dramatic Fluttershy ever heard her friend sound.
“That was perfect!” Fluttershy said. She jumped out of her seat with a grin and flew for a few seconds.
“It... it was? But... I sounded so plain and drab.”
“Exactly! You sounded like an ordinary mare.” A trio of squirrels resting under Fluttershy’s chair chirped in agreement.
“If you say so, then, well... you probably do know better than I.” Rarity paused for a few moments. “Say, Fluttershy... could we continue doing this?”
“Doing what?”
“Practicing so I can sound more like a mare, of course!”
“Oh, um. That sounds nice, but... are you sure you don’t have anything more important to do today? I’d feel just awful interrupting your plans.”
“I do, but trust me. My plans can wait,” Rarity said with a grin.
“Well... if you’re sure this won’t get in the way of anything else today, then I’d be happy to continue.”
Rarity continued practicing her voice with Fluttershy for the next hour, hoping that someday, nopony would be able to tell she wasn’t born a mare.