//------------------------------//
// 43 - To Be a Mare 
// Story: It's OK to Be a Pony 
// by David Silver 
//------------------------------//

Darrell squirmed on the couch, looking quite uncomfortable as she glanced around.

Lyra smiled gently. "Good morning, Darrell. You're looking a little... agitated today. Do you want to talk about it?"

Darrell rubbed her forehooves together slowly. "Well... it's kind of embarrassing."

Lyra made a gesture around the room. "This is a safe place. I'm not here to judge or laugh. Tell me about it."

Darrell squirmed a little. "Well what would you do if you were a, uh, stallion, and you couldn't turn back, and you found a mare you really liked. Would it be normal to... be a stallion with them?"

Lyra tilted her head. "Well, if you can't go back, then that's what you are. What would be wrong with moving forward? If you're really not... sure, you could tell them the truth, so they're making the decision alongside you."

Darrell slipped to the floor and sat up, leaning her back against the couch. "I did that. I did exactly that. Steven... became my boyfriend."

Lyra didn't expect that, though on reflection, she had little reason to think it couldn't happen. "Does he make you happy?"

Darrell flushed brightly in her cheeks. "He's... nice and..." She sank against the couch behind her, looking increasingly agitated.

Lyra approached, dismounting from her chair and closing the distance. She nuzzled into Darrell's cheek. "You are not a bad pony for enjoying yourself. I want you to know that. We're not forgetting you were a stallion, but you're not right now."

Darrell smiled, but it was a shy gesture that lasted a preciously small time. "He doesn't... mind. He say I'm pretty, and he loves taking pictures. He takes me out to places and doesn't let me mope around."

Lyra suddenly had a thought. "Weren't you a stallion before? I mean I cast the spell on you and everything."

Darrell waved a hoof. "It fell off. I was going... to complain, but Steven told me I was fine the way I was..."

Lyra sat up in place. "Well, do you agree?"

Darrell's tail swayed over the ground as she considered. "I... yes. At least with Steven. He makes it... not so bad?"

Lyra bobbed her head. "And that's fine. A good life partner will do that to you. Do you love him?" Darrell went tense and nervous. "Darrell, it's alright. There is nothing wrong with this. Hay, even if you were both stallions, love is love. You know my love is a mare, right?"

Darrell smiled. It was a genuine expression, but so full of obvious uncertainty. "Is it really alright? I... still feel like a man, but... when he..."

Lyra gently poked him on the shoulder. "The way I see it, you two just met in a curious circumstance. If he makes you feel this good, and you make him feel good, then stop worrying about 'should', because the answer seems to be a yes. I'm going to ask a very personal question. Have you two... been together?"

Darrell shrank. "Once..."

Lyra nodded lightly. "How was it? You don't need to go into the details, just... how did it feel?"

Darrell sat up straight. "I want to have a pony name."

Lyra tilted her head at the sudden topic shift. "You're welcome to have one. But you're avoiding me."

Darrell clopped his hooves together slowly. "Well... it was... fine... He was careful..."

Lyra perked an ear at him. "Just fine then?"

Darrell grunted, looking angry a moment. "It was... fine..."

Lyra felt she wasn't going to get past that block right away, and set it down. "Before you rush off to decide on a new name, you should bring Steven in here, and we can all talk about it. It's no small decision to change your name, even if Shattered Stone made it look easy."

Darrell gathered herself up to her hooves. "I'll get him!" And she was gone in a streak.

Lyra had meant for next session, but it was too late to correct it.

The two soon returned. Steven was unabashedly supportive and snuggly. Darrell seemed to enjoy it, but be embarrassed by it.

Lyra decided to try her luck with Steven. "Steven, have you been with Darrel, er, physically?"

"Yes, of course." He bobbed his head twice. "Why?"

Lyra smiled. "Could you tell me about it? I don't need the blow-by-blow, just... how was it?"

Darrell went rigid and clumsily grabbed at Steven, shaking her head quickly.

Steven pet over her mane and back, making soft 'shh' noises. "Lyra's not going to get upset. You know she's gay too."

Lyra quirked an ear. That's a word she hadn't heard before. "Gay?"

Steven nodded. "We were together while she was a he. I was his first like that."

Lyra colored in her cheeks. "Oh! Oh... But you're still attracted to her?"

Steven bit at one of Darrell's ears. "I'd prove it to her, but she hasn't let me since she turned back. Silly pony, I'm attracted to you, not an innie or an outtie."

Darrell squirmed in place. "You say that..."

Steven nodded. "I mean it. I want to be with you, forever if you'll take me. You're a wonderful person when you let go of these worries. The stallion I met while Lyra fixed you was an amazing person, and that person is still right there." He poked Darrel in the chest. "And I don't care if it's a he or a she. Just accept me, and yourself."

Darrell looked down a moment before she stood up. "Lyra, Steven, uh, thank you. I need to think about this." She turned for the door, but stopped. "Steven, come on. You're part of this." Steven was quick to hop to his hooves, and the two walked off together.

It wasn't settled, but Lyra felt quite positive about it. Darrell calling to Steven was a big step in Lyra's mind, and she had little fear that they wouldn't discover the spark that drew them together to start.