“Now, are you absolutely certain Pinkie Pie won’t judge me for this?” Rarity asked, walking with a friend on the way to Sugarcube Corner to prepare for a difficult conversation.
“You ain’t got nothin’ to worry about,” Applejack responded. “I promise you, Pinkie’s the most understandin’ pony in all of Ponyville. She never judges anypony for anything.”
“Not even if they wear an aubergine-colored scarf with a beige buckball cap?” Rarity shuddered at the thought of such a horrendous combination of colors and fashion accessories.
Applejack chuckled. “Not even for that. Now go on in there and tell Pinkie Pie what you wanted to tell ‘er.”
“Aren’t you going to come with me? Er... you know, for some emotional support?”
“Sorry, Rarity. You promised me you’d do this alone. I’m just comin’ along so I can grab a snack when you’re done. And besides—” Applejack pointed to the building in front of her, decorated with its iconic wooden cupcake “—we’re already here.”
Rarity gulped. “Are you sure I should enter the building today? I mean, for all I know, Pinkie Pie may be preparing a surprise party that she doesn’t want me to know about, or she’s busy concentrating on baking the perfect gâteau for...”
As Rarity blabbered on, Applejack dragged her towards Sugarcube Corner, carrying her friend up each of the stairs until she reached the door. “Come on now, Rarity. You know how important it is for a pony to stick to her promises, right?”
“Y... yes.” Rarity entered Sugarcube Corner, triggering a bell and—
“Hi, Rarity! Aren’t you just so excited right now?” Pinkie Pie said as she hopped from shelf to shelf, squeezing raspberry frosting on each cupcake in sight.
Rarity laughed. “Pinkie Pie, darling, in the two years I’ve known you, I struggle to recall a single occasion when you weren’t excited about something.”
“Oh, Rarity, everypony knows I get excited a lot. But today, I’m extra super duper extremely ultra excited because in three days I’ll be celebrating your parents’ Welcome Back to Ponyville party! And I’m glad you came here right now, because when I listed out all the recipes for their cakes, I realized I had no idea whether they liked strawberry frosting or blueberry frosting better. And I thought you might know that, since they’re your parents and all, and Sweetie Belle probably isn’t old enough to know which cake frosting tastes the most spectacularly scrumptious.” Pinkie Pie narrowed her eyes and put a hoof to her mouth. “Though... now that I think of it, when Limestone Pie was three years old, she did say once that granite was her number one favorite flavor of rock soup. So who knows? Maybe your adorable little sister already knows her mom and dad’s favorite kind of cake frosting!”
“Wait, Pinkie Pie. I don’t think you had ever met my parents before. Why did you decide to throw a party for them? I mean, I do appreciate the gesture, but...”
Pinkie Pie laughed. “Don’t you remember Sweetie Belle’s third birthday party two weeks ago? I invited all the guests I could, but I couldn’t get a hold of your mom and dad! Then you mentioned that they were on another one of their long vacations, and that made me wonder, did Rarity’s parents ever get welcomed back home with a fancy fantabulous fiesta? I asked all around Ponyville, and it turns out nopony ever threw them such a party. So now, I’m setting up a celebration with some help from Mr. and Mrs. Cake, and it will be your parents’ most wonderful Welcome Back to Ponyville Party ever! Also their first Welcome Back to Ponyville Party ever.”
“Oh, you don’t need to do all that for them.”
Pinkie Pie narrowed her eyes, and her mouth turned to a stern straight line. “Oh, but I do.” Then she resumed her jovial smile while molding a lump of dough into the shape of a hoofball. “And that’s why it’s so important for you to tell me which flavor of frosting your parents prefer!”
“Which flavor of frosting, you say? Well... my parents have always been lenient with frosting flavors, and with food tastes in general, but... I do recall my mother mentioning an allergic reaction to lemon frosting. Perhaps if you had put it in any cakes, you could label them with—”
“Ooh, good idea!” Pinkie Pie pulled a deck of index cards out of her hair and put a card by each cake with lemon frosting, then drew a lemon on each one. Rarity watched in a mix of confusion and awe.
“Anyway, Pinkie Pie... is now a bad time for me to perhaps tell you a little secret?”
Pinkie Pie turned her head back to face Rarity. “Not at all. I love secrets! What kind of secret is it?”
Rarity scratched the back of her head, careful not to touch her combed mane. “It’s... well... a secret about me. And it is quite difficult to admit.”
“Wait...” Pinkie Pie narrowed her eyes. “That’s it! I KNEW somepony stole half of my vanilla extract. I remember I had thirty bottles of it lying in my cabinet last night, but then I looked today and there were only fifteen! If you wanted vanilla extract so badly, you could’ve just asked me, silly.”
“No, I did not steal your vanilla extract. Are you sure you didn’t use it for your own cuisine?”
“Ohhhhhhh, right! Silly me,” Pinkie Pie said with a giggle. “What’s your secret then? Are you a spy from Canterlot who wants to collect secret information about cake recipes so you can bake better desserts for the Grand Galloping Gala?” Pinkie Pie put on a fake mustache and wiggled her eyebrows up and down.
“Actually, the secret has nothing to do with cake. Or any other confections, for that matter. It’s... much more personal than that.”
“Oh. What is it then?”
Rarity quietly sighed. “I’m a transgender mare,” she slowly said under her breath, hanging her head down.
Pinkie Pie stopped squeezing blueberry frosting on the last cake and paused. “Wait... that’s it?”
“Yes,” Rarity said, raising her head back up and smiling. “That was my entire secret.”
“Well, it might just be me, but it kind of sounded like you were going to tell me a really big and important super-special secret that would forever change the way I thought about you. But I guess I was wrong!” Pinkie Pie hummed to herself, resuming her cake decorating operations.
“Oh, it is such a relief to hear that, Pinkie Pie.”
Rarity muttered a happy tune to herself as she walked outside of Carousel Boutique, having finished three productive hours of sewing... wait. Was that the sound of somepony snoring? In the middle of the day? She investigated her surroundings for this strange sound, and yep, there it was: a blue pegasus snoring all the way up on a cloud. She knew exactly who this was.
Rainbow Dash yawned and woke up. “Now that’s what I call a good nap,” she muttered from above.
“Who... are you talking to?” Rarity asked.
“Uh... nopony. I was just, you know... practicing a greeting for the Wonderbolts!” Rainbow Dash said with a nervous chuckle.
“Well, then, would you mind coming down, darling? I’ve been meaning to tell you something for weeks.”
“No, thanks. I can hear you fine from up here.”
Rarity sighed. “But this is something very important and private, and I’d greatly prefer to discuss it in the confines of my own home.”
“Look around you, Rarity. Can you see one pony who would eavesdrop on us?”
Rarity darted her eyes around, looking for other ponies in her vicinity. “I suppose I don’t.”
“Hah, of course you wouldn’t. I know nopony else ever sits around here so early in the afternoon. That’s why I chose it as my perfect spot to take naps! You’d know that if you were as cool as I am.”
“But... are you sure this is the most appropriate setting for a private conversation? I don’t seem to be with you one on one quite as much as with Applejack, or with Pinkie Pie, and—”
“Relax, Rarity. I promise you, whatever you tell me, it’ll be safe with me.” Rainbow Dash confidently crossed her arms, which was hard to say no to.
“Very well, Rainbow Dash. The thing I’ve been waiting to tell you for weeks is... that...” Rarity took a deep breath. “I’m transgender.”
Rainbow Dash’s head perked up. “Wait... what?”
“Yes, you heard me correctly. I’m transgender.”
“Uh... so... you’re... sorry. If I’m getting this right... you are...”
“Now, now, be honest with me. How surprised are you by this revelation?”
“Extremely surprised! I mean, it’s totally cool if you don’t identify with what you were born as. You were just the last pony I ever expected to be that way.”
“Really?! You... you really think that?” Rarity’s eyes widened and glittered in the sun.
“Uh, yeah? I mean, I never thought you of all ponies would identify as a stallion.”
Rarity screeched and smacked her face with her hoof, then took a few breaths. Don’t get mad at her, she had to remind herself. This was an honest mistake. “That’s not quite what I meant, Rainbow Dash. I very much identify as a mare.”
“Wait... so... if you said you’re transgender... and you identify as a mare, then...” Rarity could sense a few gears turn in Rainbow Dash’s mind, until her friend made the most amazingly flabbergasted expression she had ever seen. “Wait, WHAT?! Are you telling me you were born as a STALLION?”
Rarity tipped her head and narrowed her eyes with a smile. “It’s hard to believe, isn’t it?”
Rainbow Dash hopped off her cloud and eyed her friend up and down in shock. “But... you... you look exactly like a mare, and you sound exactly like a mare, and you do everything a mare likes to do. You’re, like, the mare-iest mare in Equestria!” Rainbow Dash leaned forward and narrowed her eyes. “Wait... are you sure you aren’t playing a prank on me?”
“Could you wait here for one moment, dear? I’ll gather some evidence for you.”
“Fine, but this better be good,” Rainbow Dash said as Rarity walked back into her boutique.
Ten minutes later, Rarity came outside carrying two photos, while Rainbow Dash was using sticks to draw circles in a patch of mud.
“Finally! What took you so long, Rarity?” asked Rainbow Dash, hastily throwing her sticks aside.
Without speaking, Rarity levitated a photo of herself on the first day of the acting club to the left of her, and a picture with her parents three days after earning her cutie mark to the right. Rainbow Dash darted her eyes between her friend and the two pictures until reality sank into her, and her jaw dropped. “Do you believe me now?” Rarity asked.
“I... um...” Rainbow Dash scratched a hoof behind her head and sheepishly smiled. “Yeah, I believe you. I have to admit, I think it is pretty awesome that you transitioned all on your own.”
Rarity smirked, staring at Rainbow Dash with coy eyes. “Say that again, darling?”
“Oh. Uh... n... nothing.” Rainbow Dash looked around to make sure nopony saw her say that. “Hey... can I admit something else to you?”
“Of course you can.”
“Uh... Alright. So... last week, I may have stolen half of Pinkie Pie’s vanilla extract,” said an unusually sweaty Rainbow Dash.
“What? Why?”
“Look, I know stealing is wrong, but I had a good reason! Early in the morning, the pegasi at Cloudsdale told me we had to set up an emergency thunderstorm, but I was barely even awake. I really needed an energy drink, but I was all out, so I figured, why not get some of the stuff that makes Pinkie Pie so hyperactive all the time? But I didn’t want to wake her up, so I went into her cabinet and took some of that vanilla extract. And when I drank it, I started to feel really dizzy.”
Rarity laughed. “Rainbow Dash, everypony knows you aren’t supposed to consume vanilla extract on its own. It’s a crucial baking ingredient used in Ponyville’s finest pastries!”
“I mean, I know that now, but come on. You can’t blame it all on me. Energy drinks are sweet, vanilla is sweet, they’re practically the same thing! Unless you’re like, a total baking nerd or something.”
“Says the pony who obsessively memorizes every flight move the Wonderbolts make at their performances.”
“Heh... point taken. Anyway, can you please not tell anypony I did this? If the other pegasi find out I stole a cake ingredient and drank it, my reputation would be ruined forever and I’ll never make it into the Wonderbolts!”
Rarity couldn’t help but sympathize with this statement. Perhaps she had more in common with this clumsy pegasus than she has thought. “Only if you promise not to tell anypony my secret. I don’t want to know what sorts of invasive questions the fashion industry would hound me with if they knew.”
“You are so awesome!” Rainbow Dash said as she pulled Rarity into a tight, almost suffocating hug. “Also, I won’t tell anypony.”