Rarity was in the middle of organizing her work space when she was interrupted by the sound of knocking on her front door. She trotted downstairs to the bottom floor, “I’m coming” she said as she approached the front door. She opened the door when she was greeted by Midnight on the other side, huffing as if he just ran a marathon. “Ah, Midnight darling, what brings you here?”
“Sorry to bother you so early in the morning" Midnight huffed as he slowed his breathing to speak clearly.
"Well I guess it's still technically morning, but it's not that early. Have you been up late gain last night?"
"Yes, but that's not important. I could use your help with something. May I come in?”
“Of course, darling, you know your always welcome.” Rarity stepped to the side making way for Midnight to trot right in.
“Okay, so bear with me here because I know that this is kinda weird and probably a little confusing... or really confusing. You see, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about myself, and I’m hoping you could help me nail it down. Ever since I met you and the others, I felt different, not just in the fact that my life has changed for the better, but also as if something in me feels stronger. This feeling that has lingered throughout my whole life but can’t comprehend.”
“Oh my, that’s an awful lot to take in darling. But change can be a good thing, maybe you're still adjusting to your new lifestyle here in Ponyville.”
“I think it’s more than that though. I’ve been trying to wrap my head around it for a long time. But now I’m starting to get an idea of what it might be, but I want to be absolutely sure.”
“With all due respect darling, what does all of this have to do with me? I sympathize with your situation darling, but I’m not so sure where this is going.”
“Well, this is where you come in.” Midnight paused as he gulped from the awkwardness of the request, his cheeks mildly blushed from the potentially embarrassing results. “ I… would like you to suit me up… in one of your dresses.”
Rarity’s eyes and ears perked up. With that one request, she had a strong feeling that she knew what was going on here. She was just surprised that somepony like Midnight couldn’t piece it together sooner. “Well, I’d be glad to darling, in fact, I might have just the perfect one for you”
Rarity gleefully rushed into the nearest storage closet, and came out with a large blue dress, with stars plastered on the back. A row of more stars was aligned on the bottom of the dress’ elegant poofy skirt. Midnight noticed however that the fit seemed a bit bigger than what would work for most mares. Some new line of plus-sized dresses? Midnight assumed.
Regardless of size, Midnight wasted no time and stood atop the step by the mirrors in the room. Rarity assisted Midnight in putting on the dress, being the element of generosity that she was.
“Darling, do you mind if I ask a few questions?”
“No, go ahead” Midnight replied.
“Have you been feeling like yourself?”
“Well.. no… I haven’t. Come to think of it, I think that’s exactly what’s been bothering me all this time. It’s like something is out of place all of a sudden, or that I’m realizing something but can’t even figure out what it is. Why do you ask though?”
“Well, I don’t know if I ever mentioned this before, but I think it will help you to know. I am transgender”
“Trans-… gender?” Midnight was puzzled, never hearing of such a term before, at least not as far as he could remember. “I don’t follow”
“Well I’m surprised that you've never heard of his before, or that nopony has told you about it”
“Well when you’re a shut-in like I used to be, you’re not much of a conversationalist.”
“Hmm, fair enough. Well, darling, transgender is when somepony, mare or stallion, identify as with the gender opposite of what they’ve been assigned at birth.”
“But if they’re born with… you know, doesn’t it make sense for them to just say that they were born as that gender? It is how they're born after all.”
“For some, yes, but there are those out there, myself included, who simply aren’t satisfied with the gender that they’ve been assigned at birth. Gender goes beyond how you were born, it’s all about how you feel darling. They may identify with the opposite gender for a variety of reasons, perhaps the way they're treated by society, the expectations that are brought upon them, or how they wish to express themselves, it’s a case-by-case scenario. But they often feel out of place from it all, in some cases feeling uncomfortable and discontent in their own skin.”
“Uncomfortable in my skin… that’s a good way of putting it now that you mention it.”
“Exactly, now you're starting to get what I’m saying. So naturally, us transponies will often choose to express ourselves in ways that better fit our true identity. As I said, it’s not about how you're born, but how you feel, a difference between the mind and the body so to speak. The body says one thing on the outside, but the mind is saying something else on the inside. And the mind is the true heart and soul of us all, never doubt what your soul is telling you, darling.”
The pieces in Midnight’s mind once again began to fit together. Midnight never felt all that comfortable in the masculine because it prevented her from expressing who she truly was; the feminine, the part of her who didn’t want to act broey, stoic, or rough and tumble, the side of him that was considerably more gentle and calmer. Although these were merely stereotypes and social expectations that were never truly exclusive, they still didn’t sit right with him.
As he continued to make sense of everything that Rarity had just explained, another thought crossed her mind. Her… yes, not ‘he’ but ‘her’ that word resonated more with Midnight and made her feel more welcome than the word he ever could, it just felt right to her. The word he only made her feel more out of place every time that it had been spoken, even if the effects were unintentional.
“Well when you put it like that, I think I might feel that way. What do you think Rarity?”
“Well, I can’t make that call for you darling, even as a fellow trans-mare myself. The only one who can decide how you feel and identify is you and you alone. But If you feel more like a mare than a stallion, I’d say embrace it, more power to you, and be proud of who you are.” And as if on cue, Rarity had finished helping Midnight put on her dress. “That should do it, darling, take a look and tell me what you think.”
Midnight turned towards the mirror to see herself. When she looked at the image reflected back at her, she was captivated. No longer stuck in the masculine image that had been haunting her all her life, instead, it was now a fraction of her true feminine self brought to life. She turned to get a look at her side, the elegance of such a beautiful dress that not only reflect her true gender but even matched her personality as well. The dress itself even fit so seamlessly despite her stallion body. She slowly trotted closer to the mirror, placing her right hoof against its surface.
“I… I love it” Midnight replied gazing at her reflection “I’m beautiful” A tear swelled in Midnight’s eyes as she tried desperately not to burst into crying on the spot. “This is me, this is who I want to be.”
Rarity gently places her hoof on Midnight’s shoulder “I’m happy for you darling. If this is how you feel, and it’s who you are, then don’t let anypony tell you differently.”
Unable to hold back her emotions any longer, she jolted towards Rarity with a big embracing hug. She began to sub vocally in a cathartic cry, finally letting her emotions be free “Thank you.”
“Your welcome darling” Rarity replied as she returned the hug.
Midnight continued to cry for some time, allowing her emotions to let themselves be free. As soon as her emotional jar was empty, she released her grip on Rarity and dried her tears “So… how do I tell everypony else?”
“Do so in your own time darling. When you feel most comfortable, you can tell them. Until then, I’ll keep this our little secret.”
But Midnight felt that this was too big to keep to herself. She wanted to tell others, and there was one pony in particular who came to mind. If anypony would understand, surely she would.