4. Vanhoover (Stop 3)
Rose could feel the light coming through the window, despite stubbornly keeping her eyes closed.
“Are we seriously going to do this every morning?”
Rose grumbled, pulling her covers over her head. However, she suddenly felt a creature materialize beside her underneath the covers. Opening her eyes she came face to face with the smiling intruder.
“Covers? Rather unimaginative,” Discord said. “Why not try getting rid of me with a nightlight next?”
Rose uncovered her head in annoyance, throwing the covers off the bed, Discord’s translucent form still lying beside her with an amused smirk.
“Tantrum over? Because I must admit it was getting really boring watching you lay there for hours,” he said.
Rose sat up, rubbing her eyes with her hooves.
“First of all, you don’t have to stick around me all the time,” Rose mumbled. “Second of all, don’t you sleep?”
“I do, but I like to keep my schedule aligned to Celestia’s rather than Luna’s,” Discord responded, “And yes, I know, but I hate traveling new towns by myself. If I could distort things and play with them it would be one thing; but as it is, it’s all so dreadfully boring. When you’re awake I can at least pester you, and with Celestia’s blessing no less.”
“Don’t remind me,” Rose said beginning to lie down again. “Look, if you promise to leave me alone to rest until my presence is actually needed, I promise to indulge you today rather than just ignoring you. Deal?”
“Deal,” Discord answered smiling.
The two shook on it.
“Hey Ms. Rose, are you up yet?” asked Dusk, knocking at the door. “We need you at the hotel’s restaurant for breakfast so we can discuss today’s events.”
Discord began laughing hysterically while Rose sat up again with eyes wide.
“You knew,” she whispered.
“No dear, I did not,” he said in between bouts of laughter. “I just have an impeccable sense of timing.”
Rose stared at him dumbfounded until further knocking ensued at the door.
“Ms. Rose? Can you hear me?” Dusk called again. “Because if you’re still asleep we WILL dump water on you; it’s tradition.”
“I’m up, I’ll be down in a minute,” Rose called back. “I just need to figure some things out.”
“The skirts go on the back half and the shirts go on the front half,” Dusk said from the other side of the door.
Rose threw a book at the door, which struck with a resounding bang.
“Fine fine, I’m leaving,” Dusk said, followed by the sound of fading hoofsteps.
“He’s right, you know. That is how those things are worn,” Discord said with a smirk.
“I meant ‘sort some things out,’ mainly whether or not you tricked me,” Rose said.
“You should have told him that then,” Discord said. “That you were trying to figure out whether or not to trust the mad god that only you can see. That would have gone over well.”
“Right,” Rose said, rolling her eyes. “Well, I do have to get ready. Any chance I can get you to leave while I change? I feel uncomfortable with you watching me.”
Discord scoffed.
“Fine, I’ll be waiting downstairs,” he said. “But just to clear things up, you’re not my type.”
“It’s because I’m just a single species, isn’t it?” Rose said, in a teasing tone.
“Yes, because you’re boring,” Discord said. “Now hurry up and don’t forget your promise. Today is going to be so much fun.”
Discord then snapped his fingers disappearing from the room.
Rose waited for a moment to make sure he was really gone before beginning to get ready for the day. She then proceeded to do so, all the while sighing and casting longing looks at her still unmade bed. Resisting the urge to go back to sleep, Rose looked herself over once more in the mirror before heading out the door.
When they had arrived the night before, Dusk had mentioned that things would be better here in Vanhoover, but it was not until now that Rose started to believe it. After all, the trip had been long and everypony had been extremely tired, meaning that Dusk’s statement could have been either an attempt to improve morale or self-delusion brought on by exhaustion after a rather hectic day.
“But there’s no faking his sense of humor,” Rose thought to herself. “He’s got to be pretty happy and relaxed for him to be this annoying before breakfast.”
The smell of food distracted Rose as she reached the first floor, steering her towards the hotel’s restaurant where the rest of the touring Triple-E group was already gathered. She looked around, letting her gaze shift between the table where Dusk and Organizer sat, apparently in the middle of a heated debate, and the table where Timetable sat alone, before suddenly spotting the breakfast buffet.
Rose served herself and then turned to find a seat, surprised to find Timetable waving excitedly at her.
“She seems a bit too chipper, don’t you think?” asked Discord.
“Yeah, not that it’s a bad thing,” thought Rose while making her way to the table. “Well, you seem to be in a good mood.”
“Yes, I am,” Timetable said, blushing. “I get to see my coltfriend today. I haven’t seen him at all since I had to move to Canterlot in order to assist with ‘Project Equestria’ in the summer, so I’m very excited.”
“Wait, you have a coltfriend?” asked Rose inquiringly, causing Timetable to narrow her eyes.
“What?” she said dangerously. “Let me guess – you figured that since I was helping the Equestrian Equality Envoy, that I surely must be a lesbian, right?”
“N..No,” stammered Rose. “I mean, that’s not wha-“
“ Well, I’m sorry to tell you, but I’m straight,” said Timetable. “I’m an ally; that’s why I help. Not because it affects me personally, but because I care about equality. My coltfriend does too. He’s the one leading the rally here today, and he’s also straight.”
“Yes Rose, how can you be so close-minded,” whispered Discord. “I am perturbed at how prejudiced you are, jumping to conclusions like that.”
“I didn’t think she, I mean, you were a lesbian,” Rose said.
“Then what?” asked Timetable, “Did you just think that nopony would be interested in me? Or that I couldn’t find a pony to meet my standards?”
“I thought you were after Dusk,” said Rose. “I thought you had a crush on him, so I was a bit shocked to find out you had a coltfriend.”
Timetable’s eyes widened before the room was filled with her laughter.
“You thought… Really?” she asked. “No, didn’t you hear me last time? I respect him as a leader and I follow behind him, but Dusk is one of the most annoying and frustrating ponies on the planet. He has redeeming qualities, sure, but not nearly enough to make up for his infuriating attitude. Why? Were you getting jealous?”
Rose began shaking her head frantically, aware of the blush on her cheeks.
“Dusk? No!” she exclaimed. “I would never. I’ve come to see how good of a friend he is but I could never date someone like him.”
“Tell her the good things about him,” suggested Discord.
“I mean, he’s smart, motivated, and very enthusiastic about things,” Rose continued. “But I only see him as a colleague and a friend.”
“Then why not more?” asked Timetable.
“You might want to tell her why specifically,” Discord said.
“He’s not really that attractive and he does get on my nerves,” Rose admitted. “And besides, you said it yourself, he’s very annoying and frustrating.”
“Why don’t you tell her what about his looks you find unappealing?” asked Discord.
“And not to mention…” Rose began before trailing off as a thought struck her.
“Why are you being helpful?” Rose thought. “You’re never helpful.”
“Maybe I turned over a new leaf,” Discord said. “I am reformed after all.”
Rose could not help notice the stifled laugh behind his words. She took a deep sigh before speaking.
“He’s behind me isn’t he?” Rose asked, turning around to find Organizer standing beside a very amused looking Dusk.
“Oh, please don’t mind me,” Dusk said. “I happen to think he’s a nice fellow but I’m curious as to what else you find makes him un-dateable.”
Rose nodded and turned back to face Timetable.
“How long has he been there?” she asked.
“Since the ‘jealous’ comment,” both Timetable and Discord said, barely restraining their laughter.
“Perfect.”
An awkward silence overtook the table for a while as Rose slumped in her chair.
“Well, if there’s no more juicy gossip I do think we should begin our planning meeting,” Dusk said as he pulled up a chair, followed by Organizer.
“Now, I didn’t get to read the reports last night before falling asleep and I neglected to do so this morning,” Dusk said. “So what are we looking at as far as progress, Mr. Organizer?”
“Looking at it from a pure planning perspective we seem to be in good shape,” the stallion responded. “The reports said all the preparations had been on schedule, the volunteer group is more than large enough for the event, and all the proper permissions have been acquired. It looks like Abacus actually did his job this time and we should expect a smooth sailing all things considered.”
“That’s very good,” Dusk said nodding. “Timetable, do make sure to thank your special somepony for his efforts on my behalf.”
“Why don’t you do it yourself?” she asked.
“Oh, I will,” he said. “But ponies always believe I just say things; you, he will believe.”
“Very well,” Timetable said.
“So we’re good on the planning perspective, but how about the city?” asked Rose. “Do we know what we’re up against? Is there anything I should be aware of?”
She had directed the questions at Organizer but he shrugged while directing his attention to Dusk, who simply smiled.
“My dear Ms. Rose, for the first time I feel like we have nothing to worry about,” he said grinning. “Vanhoover is almost the exact opposite of Cloudsdale in how progressive it is. A lot of very important movements started here and the populous reflects that. Here was the birth of the feminist movement, the beginning of the fight for LGB rights, and where our organization began to make changes first.”
“I thought the Triple-E was founded in Manehattan,” Rose said, causing Dusk’s grin to slide off his face.
“Well, yes, that’s accurate,” Dusk said. “It’s just that the fight in Manehattan was… unfavorable. We had a far easier time here, and after our time here we went back.”
“Hm… Where do you suppose the “trans” movement started?” Rose asked. “In Ponyville, because of the trial and my living there? Or in Canterlot, because that’s where this whole thing started and because that’s where our first stop was?”
“I don’t know actually,” Dusk admitted. “But that’s for historians to decide. Our job is to make history worth writing about, so let’s get to it.”
“Agreed,” said Rose. “So what’s on the schedule for today?”
Dusk looked at a few notes provided by Timetable before answering.
“To start off, Mr. Organizer,” Dusk said directing his attention at the stallion. “You will meet up with Dr. Theory after we’re done with breakfast and this meeting. He will be at the Psychiatric Institute for Developmental Study. He already knows you’re coming and he’s been briefed on ‘Project Blitzkrieg’ and has given his full support, offering his own team to conduct the research. Your goal is to have all the stages of the project ironed out and set in stone, that way we can go straight into that project after we’re done in Manehattan. I suspect it will take all day, but if you’re done early you can enjoy the city or come by the event.”
Organizer nodded, getting up from the table and going back to where his food was.
“So you’re already working on the next project after this?” asked Rose.
“Yes,” Dusk said. “The idea is to have something going as soon as this is done to keep up the momentum. This one revolves around doing a lot of research and getting as much data as possible in order to bring this fight to the field of psychology.”
“So ‘Project Equestria’ is only the first step,” Rose said. “This will get the public arguing about things and having the topic of transponies be something of debate, stirring up an emotional response. The pathos of our plan. Step two is to blindside the opposition by turning the experts in your favor through hard data like we did in the trial; the ethos and logos.”
“You’re getting it,” Dusk responded. “And we have a few more steps planned after that, but we like to take two projects at a time. Now, Ms. Timetable here will probably spend the entire day next to Abacus, so you can collect the report and help him run things for the event.”
Timetable nodded, leaving the table after her final bite of breakfast.
“And that leaves us,” Rose commented.
“Indeed it does, Ms. Rose,” Dusk said. “I must confess I’ll be rather busy talking to a few key players in town so you’ll be on your own for the most part. I’m assuming that you’re a big enough girl to stay on task?”
“I think I’ll do ok,” Rose responded. “So am I just doing the usual, speech and then autograph-signing and lounging?”
“Yep,” Dusk said. “Same old same old, although today you will also be doing a Question and Answer panel. It will take place on the stage after the last speaker.”
“Oh yes, you had mentioned that,” Rose said. “What exactly do I have to do for that?”
“What do you think you have to do?” answered Dusk. “You will stand at the podium, ponies will ask questions, and you will answer them to the best of your ability. There should be about 20 to 30 min worth of time for it.”
“Will there be ponies filtering the questions?” asked Rose.
“No, which is why we didn’t do this in Cloudsdale,” said Dusk. “But don’t worry, it will be fine here. Just speak from the heart and you will be fine.”
Rose nodded.
“Good,” Dusk said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go to one of those meetings I was telling you about. Be at the square in an hour or so for your speech; they’ll further direct you once you’re there. You can also go early if you want to watch the festivities. Other than that, have fun and stay safe.”
“Very well,” Rose responded. “See you around.”
Dusk nodded and left, leaving Rose alone with Discord’s disembodied voice.
“Well, this seems exciting, does it not?” asked Discord. “Just you, me, and a random crowd who will be asking whatever questions they choose. Maybe if I’m lucky I’ll get to see you thrust Equestria into a chaotic spiral.”
“Right,” Rose responded with her thoughts. “Well, the crowd isn’t going to incite a riot on their own. We should probably get going.”
Discord watched as she began walking away, amused at the response he had just gotten.
“I like the way you think!”
“I can’t believe you threw it.”
“You’re the one that gave it to me.”
“Yes, to tempt you and make fun of you later, not for you to use! You were not supposed to have thrown it!”
“Then just pretend I gave in to ‘temptation’ or something.”
“No no, I want to remember this exactly the way it happened.”
Rose smiled as the god of chaos beside her struck a pensive pose, taking great care to catalog this event into his vast memory.
The pair was sitting backstage, where they had gone after Rose concluded her speech, safely hidden from view of the crowd, the Tripe-E volunteers running the event, and a specific probably irate earth pony.
True to what Dusk had said, the crowd here was probably as supportive as the crowd found in Canterlot had been. The entire event had gone off without much problem or controversy up to when Rose took the stage, and the event continued to go smoothly throughout. Rose had been amazed at the multitude of ponies listening attentively as she spoke. Everything was perfect. Almost.
It was close to the ending of the speech when a lavender earth pony stood up, yelling at the stage.
“You do realize you’re wrong, don’t you?” he had shouted. “You talk about bringing equality but what you really want to do is legitimize an unnatural perversion.”
This outburst was immediately received with boos from the audience, but he seemed unfazed.
“You can boo all you want but that doesn’t change the facts,” he said. “Stallions and mares are different. It’s the law of nature and cannot be changed; the entire issue is very cut and dry.”
Rose had been about to respond when a filled water balloon materialized on her podium, hidden from the audience. The next second she threw it at the stallion. The second after that, the balloon made impact which was accompanied by the sound of water hitting its target. Then there was silence.
All ponies directed their attention to Rose, made mute by her sudden action. They all sought an explanation and, after a second, Rose gave them one.
“Do not forget that things change,” she had said. “Things that are cut can be mended, and things that are dry can be made wet again.”
The audience burst out in applause save for the angry stallion who walked away soaked and humiliated, after which the speech went by undisturbed, concluding with a standing ovation which Rose took a second to appreciate before rushing off stage.
“That was such a bad line,” Discord said.
“I know,” Rose conceded. “But I had to say something to justify it as something clever, rather than it just being the childish action of a mare aided by a chaotic god.”
“You mean a tantrum?” Discord questioned.
“Yeah, that,” Rose said.
“Well, they seemed to buy it, although I’m not sure how much it was that they believed that you meant to do that and how much of it was that they didn’t like that stallion and were willing to overlook your actions regarding him,” Discord said.
“Does it matter?” Rose asked. “I threw a water balloon at somepony and got cheered at for it. I’m not going to overthink it. I do want to ask though, why did you really give me the water balloon? It WAS to help me, I just don’t get why.”
“Oh alright, you caught me. It was not to tempt you,” Discord conceded. “But it wasn’t to aid you either. You know how I was trying to get you to lose your concentration through your entire speech?”
“Yes, vaguely,” Rose muttered, recalling the hundreds of times Discord had yelled, “I thought you weren’t ignoring me anymore,” while she had been speaking.
“Well, you did such a good job at keeping your mind on task and deflecting my distractions that I was a bit offended when all it took was one outburst from some random audience member to derail your speech,” Discord continued, “As for why a water balloon? I find they make great artillery, especially in libraries. Still, just because I was annoyed at the stallion and gave you a weapon does not mean you had to use it.”
“Aren’t you glad I did though?” Rose asked.
“Very,” Discord responded.
“Rose, are you back here?”
Discord and Rose turned in the direction of the voice, watching as Dusk rounded the corner.
“Oh good, you’re here,” he said. “There’s been a change of plans and the Q&A will take place after the current speaker, so don’t stray too far.”
“Whatever you say, Dusk,” Rose said. “Hey, you aren’t mad about the water balloon, are you?”
“Of course not, that was hilarious,” Dusk responded. “Just try to keep assaulting the audience to a minimum from here on out, ok? We do have to pretend to be grownups and all.”
“Right, I’ll keep that in mind,” Rose said.
Dusk nodded and walked away, off to another meeting leaving Rose alone again.
“Did you interpret that to mean that we get one free balloon throw every third stop? Or was that just me?” Discord asked.
“It wasn’t just you,” Rose responded. “We’ll have to see how well FillyDelphia treats us first though. Just have the next water balloon ready.”
“Will do,” Discord said.
The two sat in silence for a while, tuning in and out of the ongoing speaker. From what they could hear, the speaker was the parent of a transpony speaking about his experience in helping his transcolt. Rose found herself musing about Summer and his family, as their story had a lot of parallels to the colt’s situation. Before long applause rung out from the square, and a teary-eyed unicorn walked down the steps to the backstage area.
“Good job,” Rose said, clapping as he came into view.
“Thank you, Ms. Rose, that means a lot coming from you,” the stallion said, walking over to her and shaking her hoof. “You’re a hero and an inspiration to my son and me.”
“None of that now,” Rose said, blushing. “You’re as much a hero as I am. Your speech will have as much impact as mine, especially for parents, not to mention what you’ve done for your son. “
“I don’t know about all that,” the stallion said. “But I appreciate the compliment nonetheless.”
“And next on stage is the Question and Answer panel with Evening Rose!”
Both Rose and the stallion turned to look in the direction of the stage as the sound of anticipation and cheering carried over from the crowd.
“I do believe you’re up next,” the stallion said.
“I do believe you’re right,” Rose responded. “Once again though, wonderful speech.”
“Thank you,” the stallion said. “Break a leg.”
The stallion walked away as Rose made her way towards the stage.
“Can I pick whose leg?” Discord asked.
“Yes, as long as you don’t pick one of mine,” Rose answered.
“Fine, don’t let me have my fun,” Discord responded, causing Rose to chuckle.
“Just do me a favor, please be quiet during the Q&A session, ok?” she asked. “I need to be able to focus and you never know what they could ask.”
“Consider it done,” Discord said. “I’m actually looking forward to seeing how you deal with random questions.”
“Thank you,” Rose thought, now visible by the crowd.
Slowly she walked towards the podium again, setting the microphone at the proper height before addressing the audience.
“Okay, now we’re ready to begin,” Rose said. “As you all already know, my name is Evening Rose, and I will be answering questions for the next 30 or so minutes. Now, if you have a question, please raise your hoof.”
A wave of noise met her request as almost everypony in the audience raised their hooves while trying to get Rose’s attention. Rose in turn, was momentarily paralyzed by the shift in the audience. Thinking quickly, Rose pointed at a female unicorn sitting in the third row.
“Let’s start with you,” Rose said. “What is your question?”
“What is the hardest thing for you about being trans?”
“Not going to lie, I honestly thought that the first question was going to be about the water balloon,” Rose responded, causing a small ripple of laughter to form within the crowd. “But to answer your question… hm… actually, let me think for a second.”
The mare nodded as she waited for Rose to gather her thoughts.
“That’s a tough one,” Rose finally said. “Not to sound overdramatic, but I kind of have a lot of things to choose from, you know? I guess the first thing that comes to mind is the lack of acceptance from others. I’m sure you have all heard about the incident with Granite Boulder, right?”
The audience all gave a collective somber nod.
“That’s the more extreme case, but it’s not the only one. Not being accepted by my parents when I came out, feeling like I had to hide, the look of disapproval from ponies that don’t understand or are outright repulsed by my existence... it hurts. I saw it in Cloudsdale not too long ago, and I saw it on the face of somepony who is now one of my best friends. It’s strange to think that it’s not just ‘bad ponies’ who can disapprove. It worries me a lot to know. And yet, I don’t think that’s actually the hardest part.”
Rose could see the confusion on the mare’s face.
“As much as some may disapprove, and as much as Granite was repulsed by me, they cannot compare to the amount of hate I felt for myself,” Rose continued. “I couldn’t stand to look at myself in the mirror, it would send me into fits. I… I felt such pain and hatred every time I saw myself. And even when I couldn’t, I still knew. I hated being trans, to the point that even a few months ago I would not have wanted to be here and talk to you all. Now… well, I would still take a magical changing cure if I could, but I found that it’s ok to be me and, come what may, I need to enjoy this life as me. It was hard to accept myself, but it was worth it.”
“Thank you,” the mare said, sitting down.
“Next question?” Rose asked, causing a wave of hooves to shoot up again. “The red pegasus in the back.”
“Thank you,” said the pegasus standing up. “I was wondering, do you find that other ponies treat you differently as a mare than they did as a stallion? Ponies that do not know you are trans, I mean.”
Rose had to think for a moment.
“Well, because of recent influx of attention I’ve gotten, not to mention this ongoing Equestria transgender education tour, I think I’d be hardpressed to find a pony that does not know I’m trans by now,” Rose said, causing the audience to chuckle amongst themselves. “However, before I was universally known as a transmare, yes, I did find I was treated differently. As a stallion I found that I was kind of expected to be more confident and imposing, which I’m actually not. As a mare though, I can comfortably be myself without anypony expecting any different, which reduced a lot of the stress in my life. The same thing can be said with my likes and dislikes. I hated sports and liked writing and reading. I always hated conflict, so I would prefer to talk and listen instead. I find that as a mare this is more accepted behavior, so I don’t feel like I stick out anymore.”
“Ugh.”
Rose looked around surveying the crowd. The stallion had given a polite nod before sitting down, which had been accompanied by polite stomping of hooves, but Rose had heard a disgruntled noise coming from the audience. Quiet, yet noticeable.
However, as Rose looked throughout the audience, she could not find the source.
“Did you by any chance hear that?” Rose thought.
“I did, but I am not quite sure from where the sound came,” Discord said, “Could be trouble though, evident disgust and all. You continue on with your panel; I’ll keep an eye out for our critic.”
“Very well,” Rose thought, looking at the audience who had taken the initiative and raised their hooves.
“You, with the hat,” Rose said, pointing at an earth pony filly.
“Oh, um... I was just wondering,” she said shyly. “You mentioned a transcolt in your speech about the trial. Do you know if he’s ok now and if he’s happy being himself?”
Rose smiled as she watched the ponies on either side of the filly give her praise for being brave enough to ask that question.
“Yes, he’s ok and he’s happy,” Rose said. “He actually suffered from a lot of the same things I did. He told me that as a filly he did not feel like he belonged. There was an inherent awkwardness and wrongness. All he wanted was to be normal, and now he is, living the way he knows he was supposed to.”
“This is unbelievable.”
Rose heard the voice but ignored it.
“Oh, that’s good,” said the filly. “If you see him, tell him that I said congratulations please.”
“I found her,” said Discord, reappearing beside Rose.
“Good,” thought Rose, taking care to keep her focus on the filly.
“I will, sweetie,” Rose said. “Thank you for your question. Now, who’s next?”
The hooves went up again, and Rose used the moment to scan the crowd.
“Ok, so which one is she?” Rose thought.
“The blue unicorn with the earrings and a snarl on her face,” Discord said, “She looks rather feisty, oh and look! Her hoof is up in the air. What a trooper.”
“Hm…” Rose thought, “So I could call on her or ignore her in favor of some other pony.”
“You do realize that if you call on her she will probably lash out somehow, right?” Discord asked.
“Yeah, but if I don’t, how will I let her know what I think of her disapproval?” Rose thought.
“I take back what I said this morning,” Discord said. “I love the way you think.”
“You, the blue unicorn,” Rose called out. “What is your question?”
“How does it feel knowing that you are pushing mares backwards, destroying the progress so many have fought hard to achieve?” the unicorn said, standing up with a defiant sneer.
“Excuse me?” Rose said, taken aback.
“You heard me,” the mare said. “You were just talking about how it felt good that you weren’t expected to do sports or be assertive. Mares throughout Equestria are constantly fighting to be treated as equals and to receive the same treatment and expectations, and here you are bragging about how much better it is to be treated differently.”
“But… I-“
“Not to mention the ‘transcolt’ you were just talking about,” the mare cut her off. “Some filly doesn’t fit in and decides to become a colt. Why? Because fillies can’t do the things colts can? Because it’s not acceptable? Why not make her a colt so that everything will be ok, after all, it’s not like we should change it so that fillies aren’t discriminated against for wanting to do more than expected.”
The audience held their breath, listening intently at the speaker.
“Mares for years have been fighting to be treated as equals, and here you come along letting a filly succumb to the ideas of a male-dominated society in which colts and fillies are different, while you yourself preach about how great it is to live with lowered expectations.”
“That’s not at all what I was talking about,” Rose responded.
“No? You were just saying that you changed because ponies expected you to ‘act like a stallion’ which means that you see that as different.”
“I just wanted to live as a mare. It’s what I am,” Rose responded, rather irritably.
“Except you’re not,” the unicorn responded. “You’re not a real mare, and you know it. You don’t even know what it means to be a real mare.”
Silence followed this outburst and Rose had to choke back tears in an attempt to keep her composure.
“What do you want me to do to her?” Discord asked.
“Nothing,” Rose thought. “I’ll be ok, I just… She hit a nerve. I’ll be ok though, I can handle this.”
“Are you sure? No one would have to know what happened. I can make her regret that statement,” Discord said. “Just give me the order; Celestia will understand.”
“No,” Rose said. “Thank you, but I fight my own battles.”
Taking an extra moment to make sure her mask would not crack, Rose took a deep breath. Then she spoke.
“I’ll be honest,” Rose began. “I had not actually thought about the impact of transponies in standard gender politics. I can certainly understand your concerns, but I must disagree with you since I find your concerns to be unfounded.”
“You’re serious?” the mare asked. “You try to pass yourself off as a mare without having lived as one, while a filly you mentored resorts to identifying as a colt to fit in, and you call my concerns unfounded?”
“Yes,” Rose said defiantly. “But don’t worry, I can explain exactly in what ways you’re wrong so you don’t have to wonder. Let’s start with the transcolt that you like bringing up so much, shall we? Do you know what his favorite thing to do is?”
“I have a few guesses,” the mare said. “But why don’t you enlighten us.”
“He likes playing with his dolls,” Rose said, earning a look of confusion from the mare and the rest of the crowd. “Don’t get me wrong, he likes a lot of things. He likes painting, he likes running around, pretending to be able to cook, playing with his friends, things like that. However, what he likes the most is playing with his dolls. He has a Princess Celestia and a Princess Luna doll, and I also recall him being very excited about getting a Princess Cadence doll once they start being made. He carries these dolls in a saddlebag because they’re precious to him.”
“But…” the mare began.
“Oh, I’m not done yet,” Rose interrupted. “I’ll have you know that he didn’t think twice about liking dolls or keeping a rather feminine sounding name. In fact, the thought that those things even factored into what made colts and fillies different didn’t even occur to him. When I acted surprised he actually freaked out, thinking that he had done something wrong. The idea of having to give up feminine things, or to give up his identity or his name, I think that terrified him. No, scratch that, I’m sure it terrified him.”
Rose closed her eyes thinking back to when she had interviewed Summer.
“He wanted to be treated like a colt because he felt like a colt, because he is a colt,” Rose said, “And because he wanted to be treated as he knew he was, he did not see a reason to change who he is as a pony. His likes and dislikes were a part of who he was, and since he was a colt, finally living as one would have no impact on the same, or so he figured. The second that he thought that might not be true and that he was messing up being trans, he began to cry, and I had to comfort him and to give him advice. You want to know what I told him?”
The mare continued to stare but said nothing, so Rose continued.
“I told him that there was no wrong way to be a transpony, just like there is no wrong way to be a colt or a filly. A pony is a pony, and how they act and what they like is a personal matter, not dictated by gender. I believe that’s what you’re arguing for, right? Well, I will have you know that the pony that you’ve been demonizing is living proof that ponies are equal despite gender.”
The mare began to shift uncomfortably.
“It’s amazing to me, really, that you feel justified in attacking transponies for ‘hurting’ the feminist movement or any equality movement in general,” Rose said tersely. “The trial in Ponyville we fought, do you know what it was about? Fighting a system that would separate biological males and females in the eyes of the law. Yes, we fought it because it specifically targeted transponies, but fighting it also ensured that a system that assumes there are inherent differences between males and females would not be used to classify ponies. Isn’t that what you’re fighting against?”
Murmurs started growing in the crowd.
“Transponies could probably be your biggest allies seeing how we are the most affected by the binary you argue should not exist,” Rose said. “We are arguing that biological gender is so insignificant in regards to society that we need to be allowed to live as the gender we know we are, as it presents no major change to anyone but the pony him or herself. And yet you make it a point to attack us? I must say I’m unsure whether to be angry, or just disappointed.”
The murmurs had now grown to full-on talking. The mare looked around awkwardly, unsure of how to respond.
“I believe I answered your question,” Rose said angrily. “Now unless you have something else you want to add, I would suggest sitting down. I have legitimate questions to address.”
A flash of defiance appeared on the mare’s face, but rather than say anything she sat down, letting her head hang and her gaze wander.
“That’s what I figured,” Rose thought before turning to look at the crowd. “Ok, next question!”
The majority of the crowd raised their hooves, hoping to be the next one chosen, undiscouraged by the back-and-forth they had just witnessed. The scene brought a smile to Rose’s face.
“Ok then,” she said, looking at the ponies with raised hooves. “You, what’s your question?”
Applause followed Rose as she walked down the stairs to the backstage area. She was smiling but the second she had gotten out of sight of the crowd, her posture dropped, resembling that of a pony who had just finished running a marathon.
“Are you alright?”
Rose looked up to find Dusk staring at her with concern.
“I’m ok,” Rose responded. “Just exhausted. You told me that this would a cakewalk; I wasn’t prepared for that Q&A session. I’m exhausted.”
Dusk nodded in understanding.
“I can imagine,” he said. “To be honest, that really caught me offguard as well. I had no idea that there would be conflict between the local feminist movement and transponies as a whole. As you said in your response, I figured that since a lot of the goals overlapped, that the two groups would find allies in each other. I am sorry you had to deal with the questions you did due to my assumptions.”
Rose waved off the apology.
“I think it’s important that that mare asked that question,” Rose said. “It gave me the chance to respond and hopefully change a few minds. Besides, I probably would have had to deal with her even if you were completely aware of her intentions. You can’t blame yourself for the intolerance of others.”
“I know,” said Dusk nodding. “Still, it is not often that I find myself caught unawares.”
Dusk shuddered, causing Rose to stare at him curiously.
“Oh, well ok then,” Rose said. “Well, anything else I need to do?”
Dusk shook his head in order to clear his mind before answering.
“If I recall correctly, you are done for the day, Ms. Rose,” Dusk said. “Now you are free to go sign autographs and talk to ponies. You are also free to go back to the hotel and get some rest. We’re heading to Los Pegasus tomorrow and trust me, you will need your energy. I have things to take care of though, so just stay safe and I will see you later.”
Rose nodded, watching as Dusk left for the next appointment or activity in his schedule. Discord waited until the pony was out of sight before re-appearing, despite the fact that nopony would be able to see him in his current translucent form.
“Well I’m glad that’s over,” Discord said. “Now, what are we doing next?”
Rose thought for a moment.
“We could go back to the hotel,” Rose offered. “I don’t know about you, but I certainly need some rest.”
“I seem to recall something about signing autographs,” Discord responded, displeased with the course of action.
“Hm,” Rose muttered, walking towards the main tent, “We really should go to the hotel. The ride to Los Pegasus is going to be rough, not to mention the ponies there. I believe Dusk mentioned it as one of the hostile cities towards the trans community. If we’re going to go on against that, the responsible thing would be to go to sleep so we’re ready for them.”
“I agree,” Discord said. “That would be the responsible thing to do. I, however, asked what we’re going to do.”
Rose smiled as she caught sight of a group of fillies and colts waiting patiently by the backstage fence.
“We’re going to find a quill, marker, or pen and I’m going try to do my best to spread some hope.”
“I love the way you think.”