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.
interesting chapter choices are made and a helping hoof is offered.
Man, magic makes everything so much more confusing. Darrell must be confusing everypony around town, and I don't mean because of his/her relationship with Steven, I mean because he/she must've first started getting to know ponies for at least weeks or even months as a mare, then he/she got reacquainted with them as a stallion for presumably an even longer period of weeks or months, now he/she's back to being known around town as a mare. Maybe if they have kids they'll just have to save that confusing as heck conversation for until their kids are MUCH older and able to wrap their heads around it, cause I'm having a hard time myself.
Aww. They make a cute couple, regardless of gender.
Also, ironically enough, the only typo I found was in the author's note:
Closer.
6117790 Well isn't my face red! Fixed and thanks.
Although straight myself, I have had two bi girlfriends in my past (not matter how you take that statement it would be accurate), and one of my best friends is gay (and ironically named Steve). If there's one thing I've learned over the years is that you fall in love with the person, not the parts.
That's a LOT of character development right there. Basically a "I finally want to fit in at least somewhere".
Beautiful character interaction and also very few typos ;)
Me like.
6116151 Well to quote Josef Stalin "Quantity has a quality all its own."
While I love this fic overall, I'm ambivalent about how Darrel is being handled. It feels like Lyra has disregarded that Darrel still FEELS like a male, because Darrel has a female body now. "Who cares that you've always been male, and you still feel male, you have a female body now so you MUST internalize yourself as female". Sure, she did do the spell thing to let him spend time as a stallion, but other than that it seems that he's been continuously pushed to be female, even as he says "no, I am a man, this body feels wrong". Just my two cents.
6120156 When did she complain about any attempt to fix himself?
That statement must've been a bit uncertain of itself, for the word "if" to sneak in!
6120380 Typo thrown in the trash next to the chocolate wrappers.
6120326
She definitely doesn't go out of her way to help him much. And she keeps saying stuff like this:
She keeps referring to him as a mare, even to his face, even though she knows he's not comfortable with that. This is a real sour note in the story, since Lyra is otherwise so accommodating.
https://youtu.be/eyQca1cwe54