It was a dark and stormy night.
No, rather, it would soon be a dark and stormy night.
Not that this occurred to two ponies, who were currently busy inside a very distinct, very unique and very new carousel-shaped boutique in the town of Ponyville.
One, a vanilla-pudding colored Pegasus was holding an incredibly adorable, small kitty and slowly dripping drop after drop of worm-medicine into its mouth. Young Opal, curious cat, that she was, had eaten the wrong thing and gotten herself a few uninvited guests and it was a joy for the animal caretaker of Ponyville to ensure that those guests would leave quickly. The cat was, after all, her best friend’s.
The other pony, an alabaster unicorn, was busy lifting crates and mannequins with her magic and putting them away. It was mostly tedious work, necessary, since the unicorn in question had gone a bit overboard ordering fabrics, replacement mannequins and other items, not expecting the Equestrian Postal service to deliver not only on time, but all at once.
“I can’t thank you enough, Fluttershy.” Rarity, fashionista and future element of generosity, said after putting another mannequin away. “I don’t know what my baby did to deserve this fate, but I am so grateful that you are helping her!”
Fluttershy, still holding and softly stroking the kitty, put the pipette down with her mouth and smiled back. “It’s noting Rarity. Poor Opal should be fine soon.” She nuzzled the kitty with her cheek “Right, Opal? And don’t eat stuff you find outside anymore! Only what mommy Rarity gives you, you hear?”
Opal gave a loud mew and stuck out her tongue, disgusted by the medicine, but happy about the affection she received after every drop.
“Right, Opal! Mommy provides all you need!” Rarity stressed dramatically “You don’t want those horrid, disgusting parasites, right?”
“Oh, don’t be so harsh, Rarity.” Fluttershy answered softly “Those worms just want to live too…”
“They can live wherever they want, as long as it is not in my Opal!” the alabaster unicorn answered and stomped her hoof down to punctuate the issue. “My baby is not available housing!”
The soft spoken pegasus couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s outburst. Ever since she had moved to her small cottage on the outskirts of Ponyville two years ago, Rarity had been a wonderful and generous friend.
Their first meeting had been a tad scary, though.
Fluttershy had just moved in with her new friends (all of them animals) and set up the chicken houses. Admittedly, Fluttershy was not the kind of pony to go around without at least some grooming, but her new friends were hungry and she needed to get them something to eat, so she had ignored the straw in her tail, the fact how messy her hair was and the dirt and dust on her coat.
What she couldn’t ignore was the loud shriek that tore through her flesh and bone and would have sent her straight into the air, if it hadn’t been for her heavy saddle bags. Seconds later, a white and purple blur had seized her, demanded to know where she lived and told her, she would come over later to “serve the will of fashion”.
That later turned out to be a very nice afternoon of getting her hair done, her tail straightened and a relaxing cup of tea and conversation. Rarity had been entranced with Fluttershy’s elegance and gentle demeanor and the pegasus enjoyed the open politeness of the fashion loving unicorn.
Their tea parties had become more and more regular and ever since Lotus and Aloe had opened a spa in Ponyville, the two mares got together weekly to enjoy an afternoon of being groomed and treated well.
Two years had come and gone and now, the two mares were as close as two mares could be.
The pegasus gave Opal a final drop of the nasty medicine and finally closed the bottle. “You have been very brave, Opal!” she said, snuggling the kitty, who mewed proudly. “Now you can go and play with your mousy. Your rubber mouse, not Mr. Mousy who lives in my wall.”
The kitty mewed defiantly and jumped off the pegasus to run for her toy with gusto.
“Your hoof with animals is incredible, Fluttershy. Opal can be a bit of a rough kitty sometimes, but she is so gentle when you are around.”
“It’s no big deal…” the pegasus smiled back and waved a hoof.
“Can I offer you a cup of tea? You have been talking to the poor dear all the time, your mouth must be terribly dry.” Rarity offered as Opal zipped past her.
“That would be very kind.” Fluttershy admitted with a smile.
“Just take a sea, darling, the kettle is as good as on!” Rarity giggled and left the room.
The yellow pony did as offered, relaxing and letting out a long breath. As much as she loved taking care of animals and living amongst her friends, getting out and a bit away from all the noise and often bickering was nice.
It didn’t take Rarity long to return with a kettle and two cups with saucers and soon, the two ponies were engaged in a lively conversation about Rarity’s great plans for a new line for fall.
“I do like subtlety from time to time, but autumn is such a wonderful occasion to go all out with colors!” the fashionista explained happily. “Leave motives and chestnut earrings and maybe something like a nice grape brooch! Oh, so much possibilities!”
“That does sound pretty…” Fluttershy admitted softly but eagerly. The creativity and drive of the fashion pony did impress her every time.
Suddenly a strange glint appeared in Rarity’s eyes. “And it will be, because you will become the first to own a dress of this line!”
“I will?” Fluttershy asked meekly.
“Oh, yes!” the fashionista agreed eagerly and finished her tea. “Come, drink up, we have to take some measurements! I will make you a brand new dress of my line as a token of gratitude for taking such good care of my little baby! It’s the least I can do1”
“That is nice, Rarity, but I can’t accept that.”
“I insist, Fluttershy! I have so much spare fabric and more than enough time at hoof!” the unicorn pressed on and stepped closer to Fluttershy with gleaming eyes “Please, you would look so great in gentle green! Maybe a few blues to accessorize. Or maybe a red or two… not too much, though, it would clash with your mane… unless we put it up with a slightly bigger pin! Oh, I feel the ZONE approaching!”
The soft spoken pegasus had no more chance to react. She was literally grabbed by the fashionista and dragged her out of the kitchen and into the working area.
Fluttershy gasped softly, as Rarity set her down and told her not to move, while she grabbed a measuring tape with her magic.
The tape snaked out and around Fluttershy’s barrel, making the pegasus shiver for a second.
“Wait…” Rarity muttered in surprise “That can’t be right… Darling, would you spread your wings for a second?”
The pegasus obeyed and the unicorn gasped. “Incredible! Darling, your wings and you hair obscure it, but you have a model’s measurements.” Rarity stated. A hint of envy stung her for a moment. What would she give for such a body? Quickly, she pushed the thought aside. “Hm… something slimming and maybe wine red and you’d have to fight the bachelors off with a stick.”
“Then I don’t want it!” Fluttershy gasped and pressed her body flat on the ground.
“Oh, you don’t have to, my dear! I’m just teasing.” Rarity giggled and gently stroked the pegasus’ shoulder. “Then just a-“
Rarity was interrupted by a loud thunderclap.
“Goodness! Was a storm scheduled for tonight?” the unicorn asked with confusion.
Fluttershy looked up. “Yes, but not before seven.” She said quietly and turned towards the next clock. “Oh dear, I have completely overlooked the time! It’s already half past seven! I have to get home before-“
Another lightning struck and within a heartbeat, hard, heavy rain began falling.
“It starts to rain…” the pegasus finished.
“Oh dear, there is no way I let you walk outside in this rain!” Rarity stressed “If you go outside now, you’ll end up soaked to the bone!”
Fluttershy let out a soft whine, which made Rarity raise her eyebrows. “Is it about your friends, darling?” she asked carefully.
“Erm… no… not really.” The pegasus answered awkwardly “I knew that a storm was coming and made sure everything is secure and ready, so I could spend more time with Opal. I just…” she stopped herself. She couldn’t tell Rarity that she was horribly afraid of thunderstorms. So much that she couldn’t sleep through them without her Teddybear! It was much too humiliating! “I just would prefer going home…”
“I’m sorry, dear, but I can’t allow this!” Rarity stressed as another thunderclap tore through the sky. “I have more than enough place!” She stopped herself and looked at the stuffed place “Well, if we huddle up a bit, we have…” she admitted sheepishly.
Fluttershy bit her lip softly. “If you say so, Rarity.” She added. “Thank you for the hospitality.”
The evening came and the two ponies continued to take measurements and Rarity quickly drew a few sketches to give Fluttershy a broad picture. But as the storm refused to become calmer or less scary to the yellow pegasus, they soon decided to call it a night and go to bed. Even Opal was hiding in her basket, clearly uneasy with the weather.
Here, they faced a problem. Both the guest room and the living room were filled with the deliveries from earlier and Rarity felt bad about having Fluttershy sleep in the sales area, where she was basically on display for anyone who happened to walk by.
“We could just share your bed.” Fluttershy offered carefully and looked to the side. “We are both mares, right?” Maybe if she had Rarity close, she could ignore the thunder and the lightning.
For a second, Rarity became paler than usual. “Right…” she answered quickly and smiled as chipper as possible. It was just one night, right? No big deal!
Luckily her bed was big enough for Rarity to scoop to one side and keep a lot of space between herself and Fluttershy. She would just keep her magical scrunchie on and sleep through the night. Taking measurements on the pegasus had proven yet again that she was hardly into other mares. She envied their beauty and wished, she had a body like them, but she did not desire them. Or maybe it was because Fluttershy was such a good friend? Maybe she would bare her secret to the meek pegasus at some point. Deciding against using her sleeping mask tonight, the unicorn relaxed and closed her eyes.
Rain drummed against the windows and the roof.
A fork of lightning raced over the sky and white light filled the room. An earth shattering thunder roared and even the usually brave fashionista gasped at the loud sound. What were those weather ponies thinking? Had they allowed that wall eyed pegasus to line up the thunderclouds?
Lightning flashed again, but before the next thunderclap followed, Rarity could swear, she heard a sob from the other side of the bed. She shifted around to face the other pony, but yet another loud thunderclap shook the house and before Rarity could react, Fluttershy jumped and wrapped her fore legs around the unicorn’s belly. A teary cheek was pressed against her chest and sobs followed the next heavenly growling.
“Fluttershy?” Rarity asked in surprise but the only answer were sobs and gasps, following the growling outside.
The pegasus was clinging with a strength to the unicorn that went beyond what her small frame implied. Rarity tried to push her away, Fluttershy kept holding onto the unicorn.
This was bad!
No matter how much Rarity disliked her anatomy and how well the scrunchy hid it, it was still there! And biology dictated that when you rubbed that anatomy against something like feathers or a soft coat, like Fluttershy was doing, said anatomy reacted.
“Fluttershy, let go!” Rarity hissed and fought harder. And she had been so proud not to feel as much as a twich, when she had taken Fluttershy’s measures.
But the pegasus just let out several sobs and squeezed tighter. Another lightning cracked the sky and thunder shook the town. Fluttershy yelped loudly and buried her muzzle in Rarity’s chest.
“Fluttershy! I beg you! Let me go!” Rarity hissed louder and pushed against the pegasus head. But that just made her slide down on her body. AND THAT WAS NOT HELPING!
“Fluttershy! Please! In the name of Celestia! Let me go!” Rarity wailed, desperate and filled with shame. Was this the punishment for deceiving the pegasus for so long? Two years of friendship, gone in an instant, when Fluttershy would feel something invisible poke her.
But suddenly, the pegasus spoke. “I’m sorry, Rarity, but I can’t!” she whimpered “I am so afraid of thunderstorms! I never talk about it and I never mention it, because I am so ashamed, but I am so afraid! I know that it is a silly thing to keep a secret and I should have been honest to you, but I was too scared that you laugh at me, like they always did back in Cloudsdale!”
Those words struck Rarity hard. “Fluttershy…” the unicorn quietly said “You… you are not the only one with a secret.” She felt her eyes sting with tears and gently padded the pegasus head “Please, you need to let go… I have something to confess as well and I can’t let you touch me any longer until you know!”
Fluttershy calmed a little from Rarity’s gentle padding and let go. Luckily, the thunder had calmed down and gave the two a few calmer moments.
Rarity’s horn flickered and the light went on. The unicorn scooped back until there was a reasonable bit of distance between herself and the pegasus. “Fluttershy…” she said slowly and as calmly as possible. “When you said that we were both mares, I was not entirely honest with you.”
The meek pegasus only raised her eyebrows questioningly.
“You see… goodness… how to put it.” Rarity said loudly, feeling lost. “Let me start anew: I beg of you as your friend. What I will tell you now has to stay between us. Only my closest family knows this about me. You… you are my best friend and I think it is only right if I share it with you as well.” The unicorn bit her blip and swallowed “But please, even if our friendship doesn't survive this confession, please tell nopony!”
Fluttershy nodded meekly and a few strands of her hair slipped before her face. Was Rarity going to confess being into mares? Maybe she was into her! Goodness, how awkward! Rarity was a wonderful friend, but Fluttershy couldn’t imagine having a relationship with her! She became more and more nervous, but barely managed to let the unicorn speak.
“I am not sure how to say it.” Rarity continued slowly “I am not… I am… Oh, goodness!” Frustration won over and she blurted out “Fluttershy, I was not born a mare!” She closed her eyes and managed to appear calmly as she continued “I… I was born with the body of a stallion, but I never felt and acted like one. I am a mare inside, but no matter how feminine I feel or behave, I still have the anatomy of a stallion.” The unicorn averted her gaze, awaiting a storm of indignity.
Silence followed.
Finally, an almost inaudible voice broke it. “Erm… but… but you are so… beautiful and feminine.” Fluttershy said very quietly.
A sad smile crept on Rarity’s face. “Thank you, darling.” She answered softly “I assure you, it is not an act. I am the Rarity, you have known for two years. I don’t pretend and I don’t even need any magical means to change my appearance… well, besides for the absolute obvious…”
“And you… you don’t feel like being in the right body?” Fluttershy inquired.
Rarity nodded grimly “Yes. It is as if there had been some mistake at my birth. As fate had chosen poorly.”
Now it was Fluttershy, who looked away awkwardly. “I… I can kind of relate… at least a little…” she said very slowly.
“You can?”
“I… I am a pegasus.” Fluttershy answered softly “But I am afraid of heights. I am very bad at flying. I am afraid of lout weather and especially stormcloud.” She gave a pressed smile “In Cloudsdale, they always taught us how we pegasi are the heirs of a proud tradition of athletes and warriors. But I am weak and defenseless.” She let out a sigh “Its nothing compared to what you must go through, of course. But I just want to say that I won’t judge you.”
Rarity felt her eyes tear up. “Oh Fluttershy!” she cried “Had I known, I would have told you from the start!”
The two ponies hugged each other and Rarity sobbed softly into Fluttershy’s shoulder.
“Rarity… erm… just one thing.” The pegasus asked after a short while.
Rarity looked up, her eyes bloodshot and swollen.
“Erm… you are not… like… into me? Are you?” Fluttershy asked as carefully as possible.
A deep blush invaded the unicorn’s face. “Oh… äh… sorry, darling.” Rarity answered awkwardly “I love you as my best friend and I envy you for a body, I wish, I had…. But I am not really… into mares.” She admitted. “I guess, I am a filly in this way. I despise my own form, but the thought of a kind, princely stallion admitting his love to me… it makes my heart beat faster.”
The pegasus sighed with relief. “Thank goodness. I was worried that I completely missed the signs and that I had to reject you now and that it would be horribly awkward in the future!”
Rarity let out a soft laugh, but quickly turned serious. “Me being born a stallion won’t make things awkward?”
Fluttershy gave a small smile. “Erm… you see… it is much more common than you may expect.” She said with a bit of a blush “Even my animal friends are a bit unconventional from time to time. Like this nest you made for the swan couple last winter wrap up. It was for a very nice pair of guys. They don’t even need a nest for eggs, but they wanted one so badly, I couldn’t refuse them. I guess these things are more complex than one might expect…”
Rarity was about to answer when another lightning cracked outside and Fluttershy tensed with the following thunder. “Rarity…” she said, shaking heavily “Would you mind if I cuddle against you? I am so scared!”
“And you don’t mind me being a…”
“No, you are my dear friend and nothing can change that!” Fluttershy stressed quickly.
“Thank you…” Rarity answered, her eyes tearing up again. “You can hug me all you want.”
Fluttershy nodded and after Rarity turned off the light, the pegasus cuddled against her from behind.
The unicorn closed her eyes and allowed herself to enjoy the platonic embrace. When had she last allowed anyone this close to her? Just being appreciated by a friend who knew the whole truth? She could not remember, but it felt nice.
“You know..:” Fluttershy said after a few moments of calming down. “This does remind me a bit of that book, you borrowed me a month ago.”
Rarity let out a giggle. “It does have a bit of a cheap romance novel setup.” She admitted.
Or a crappy fanfic.