FemmeFiction

by J Carp

Hidden Femme

Here's how easy it ended up being.

The day was very mundane, which isn't to say it wasn't pleasant. Angel had done even more work at the sanctuary that he was supposed to, and so he'd been rewarded with an extra fresh carrot. Fluttershy had been rewarded with the chance to make her favorite new dish, chilled tomato soup, for when Rarity and Discord came over for dinner that night. Moon Dancer had been rewarded with the sight of Fluttershy happily puttering around the kitchen, singing to herself with that sweet, delighted little smile.

There was one moment that felt just a tiny bit special. When Moon Dancer arrived home from a quick trip to the market, and Fluttershy greeted her with a quick kiss, they both just looked into one another's eyes for a second too long. It was a tiny little thing, a brief pause between the smooch and resuming the daily routines. It felt warm and perfect, but a lot of things felt warm and perfect about living together. There was just a sense of quiet; a flash of there being nothing in the world at all but the happiness they had together, and then it was over. A very humble little instant in time.

Otherwise, it was just entirely mundane. Dinner was amiable and fun, and afterwards, they were planning to all have a cup of sweetened iced coffee (a treat Rarity had encountered on a recent trip to the Arabian peninsula, and which she was gleefully excited to introduce her friends to), but before they could sit down, a second Discord had barged in and frantically reminded the original that he needed to rush to visit the Kirins immediately to perform in a Noh play.

The two Discords had an elaborate "who's on first" style conversation back and forth hinging on misunderstandings of the word "Noh" which quickly escalated into an argument and then a swordfight. Chandeliers were summoned and then swung from. Roosters were thrown.

Eventually, one of the Discords vanquished the other, and there was a huge, emotional death scene: wailing and extended monologues about vengeance and sad harp music. The surviving Discord gave Fluttershy a quick hug, slung his defeated doppelganger over his shoulder, and teleported away.

So, completely mundane, yes. But still very, very nice.

Rarity was exuberant with creative, new ideas from her travels, and she was particularly inspired by what it would take to "highlight Moon Dancer's lovely eyes on a summer evening like this," listing off gown and dress ideas as fast as an auctioneer, growing animatedly determined to create her friend an ensemble, because Moon Dancer was just the ONLY one of her friends she'd never created anything for, and she is so lovely and so unique it would be a wonderful gift to them both to be able to work on something.

Fluttershy glanced at her special somepony very briefly; it was that familiar look of "Just checking if all this attention is more flattering or more embarrassing." Moon Dancer felt her face naturally shifting into a "flattering," and the two of them leaned against one another and contendedly listened to Rarity, carried away with her vision.

"...oh, of course I understand that dressing, ah, 'down' has its own homey charm," she was saying. "I've grown to appreciate 'Old Bertha,' but surely glamour has its own appeal! There must be something I could make for you!"

"Um, Old Bertha?" Fluttershy asked.

"Old Bertha," Moon Dancer replied, rolling her eyes, "is what Rarity calls my sweater."

"And a delightfully lived-in sweater she is!" Rarity said quickly. "She has a... um. A wonderful personality!"

Moon Dancer couldn't keep herself from laughing gently. "She thanks you. And look, I really do appreciate all these ideas, and I really do think you're a great designer! But..."

"Oh, think of Fluttershy, though!" Rarity argued. "Why, anypony who knows you can see how perfect you are together. Her calming kindness and gentle grace helping you to accept and manage your emotions! Your sincere curiosity and powerful intellect providing her constant challenge, novelty, and validation! But wouldn't you like even strangers to see it? Any dress I'd make would be specifically designed to look good on you... next to her."

"Oh." Moon Dancer blushed, both from the compliments and from Rarity's doggedness. "That does sound nice. But the thing is... I... kind of don't really like dresses?" She immediately felt terrible for saying this to Rarity of all ponies and winced. "I mean, I like your dresses! I just never think dresses look good on me."

Rarity frowned thoughtfully for two full seconds, and then her face brightened up with jubilant extroversion. "Oh, well, you don't need a dress to look sharp. What about a suit, then?" She gasped as if her own suggestion was the most wonderful surprise she'd received all week. "Yes! What about a suit?! Oh, Moon Dancer, please let me make you a suit; it's just the challenge I need to kick-start my creativity for the coming season. Urban-intellectual, post-classic, soft butch chic! Oh please do let me make it!"

Moon Dancer rubbed the back of her head, blushing. "Um. Well. I do like to wear suits sometimes. I... never really get a chance to, though."

"We'll find a reason!" Fluttershy barked loudly, before immediately blushing and covering her face with her hooves. At her special somepony's surprised look, she shook her head quickly. "You don't have to if you don't want to! But. Just if you did want to. I wouldn't mind. At all."

Moon Dancer smiled gently and leaned against Fluttershy, feeling warm. "Oh, all right," she said to Rarity. "If you think I can be, uh, soft butch chic, then who am I to say no?"

"Eee, how exciting!" Rarity enthused. "I don't think I've even seen you in a suit since... goodness, was it the party where the two of you met?"

Moon Dancer thought, then nodded. "Yeah, right before I moved here."

"Why, that was a year and a half ago!" Rarity exclaimed. "My goodness, even Old Bertha must think you should dress up more often!"

"Eh, I dunno," Moon Dancer replied, shrugging. "I only have that one suit. I just wore it at the party because I got it for my sister's wedding, and it felt silly to spend all those bits and then never touch it again."

"Hm," Fluttershy said, "Honeysuckle didn't have a problem with you not wearing a dress, right?"

"No, she was really supportive! She surprised everyone by wanting a really traditional Tarpanish wedding, so I was a little worried, but she was great about it."

"Oh!" Rarity exclaimed. "I didn't know your family was Tarpanish."

Moon Dancer nodded. "Mm hmm! I mean... we're not particularly great Tarpans. We pretty much just celebrate Rosh Horseshanah once a year and avoid truffles." She paused. "Well, I eat truffles sometimes, but I know I shouldn't."

"We lit the marenorah this year," Fluttershy pointed out. "Angel realy liked it."

"Yeah... that was pretty nice," Moon Dancer replied, nodding. "It helped me feel like I really lived here."

"I'm sure!" Rarity replied, eyes dancing with thoughts of romance. "Had you ever thought about whether you'd want a Tarpanish wedding?"

"Oh, I don't know. I guess there are some things that might be nice about it." Moon Dancer smiled gently. "It'd be cool to have a hoofah... recite the eleven blessings." She shrugged and nodded over to her special somepony. "But, I'm not the only one deciding. It's half up to Fluttershy, isn't it?"

"Oh, I think it'd be wonderful to include something," Fluttershy said. "I like the idea of having parts of the ceremony important to both our families. We should do it."

There was a very long pause.

Moon Dancer wasn't sure why they were pausing for the first part of it. The realization snuck up on her like a boogeyman. Her mouth fell open.

"Did..." Rarity sputtered wordlessly for a few moments, then finally collected herself enough to speak. "Did you just get engaged?"

"I... think we did?" Fluttershy answered, staring at Moon Dancer in shock.

"N...no!" Moon Dancer barked. "Engagement is... it's when you plan and..." She waved her hooves around, trying desperately to explain. "I mean, yes, we're gonna get married, right? We already pretty much knew it!"

"Right!" Fluttershy squeaked, burying her face behind her front legs. "I want to and I know you want to!"

"Yes! We agree about that! But... but engagement isn't just when two ponies agree they're going to get married!"

With a puff of smoke, Discord suddenly appeared, shocking Moon Dancer so badly, she fell over. "I forgot my bowtie," he explained, oddly calm given the circumstances. "And that is exactly what an engagement is."

"No! Engagement is when you agree to get married, not when you agree that you'll get married! It's an entirely different conjunction!"

"Discord," Fluttershy murmured in a daze, "I'm going to get married."

Discord clipped his bowtie on and frowned. "My dear Fluttershy, are you all right?"

"What does 'Fluttershy' mean?" Fluttershy asked, staring smilingly at nothing.

Discord took a step back, biting his lip anxiously. "Oh no, I think Fluttershy might have broken." He looked up at the other two ponies. "What should I do? My best friend is broken, but the delegate from the kappas won't sign the treaty unless this Noh performance goes perfectly!"

"Why even is this Noh thing your problem?!" Moon Dancer snapped.

"I may have, ah, misjudged how much sense of humor the kappa king has about his magic nightingale," Discord answered, not sounding very guilty. "And then I made some promises... well, let's just say there's a giant cucumber involved."

"I want precisely zero more details about this situation."

"Well fine, but..." Discord paused and looked down. Fluttershy had a gentle hoof pressed against his side.

"It's all right," she said. "I'm very, very surprised, but I'm also very, very happy. I'm so glad you came back so I could share this with you, but it's really okay if you have to go."

"Yes, and we're not even engaged!" Moon Dancer yelped. At Fluttershy's slightly alarmed look, she groaned and waved her hooves frantically. "No, I mean... we're going to get married! But the engagement is important! Like... Lyra and Bon Bon! They had their weird psychic connection mutual engagement thing."

Fluttershy frowned slightly. "We're not competing with Lyra and Bon Bon."

"No, I know! I just..." Moon Dancer sighed and stepped closer to her fiancee, giving her a tiny smooch on the forehead. "Look," she said, notably calmer, "we're going to get married. I've never been more certain of anything. But... you know I get weird about stuff sometimes, and I just want to do it right. I want to ask, and you say yes, and it's romantic. I don't want it to be just something that happens because it's tossed out in some random conversation."

Fluttershy looked back at her for a moment, then smiled. "I don't need anything big, but I do like it when you're romantic. It's okay if I tell my friends, though, right?"

"Of course!"

Fluttershy, grinning like a seraph, looked over at Discord and Rarity. "We're getting married," she announced.

Discord started to speak and then paused. "This warm feeling..." he murmured. "This... this is the feeling I've been waiting for!" He burst into the sky like a firework and swooped back down, embracing Fluttershy tightly. "Oh, thank you! This feeling of joy and friendship has finally reignited the spark of acting inspiration I've been waiting for! You've saved the kappa kingdom!" He twirled and vanished.

"Discord's life is really stupid," Moon Dancer remarked.

"Oh, hush," Fluttershy admonished without a hint of actual anger. She giggled, and they snuggled up. After a few seconds of canoodling, Moon Dancer felt Fluttershy's head turn to look to the side. "Rarity?"

Moon Dancer realized that their friend had not said a word since the whole thing had happened. In fact, Rarity looked utterly stunned, staring at them with a frozen gape. "Uhmmm... are you okay?" Moon Dancer asked.

Rarity did not respond for several seconds, but very suddenly, like a switch being flicked, her face lit up into an enormous smile. She ran at the fiancees, glomming onto them both in a huge hug. "Oh, I am just so happy for you!" she squealed. "I can't believe you're engaged, I can't believe you're engaged!!"

"We're not engAAGH!" Moon Dancer started to say before Rarity's hug clamped down even tighter.

Fluttershy closed her eyes, smiling softly (Rarity apparently instinctually knew to be gentle with her, even in ecstatic joy-pounces). "We're getting married, but we're not engaged yet."

"Well!" Rarity suddenly pulled back, still smiling. She poked a facetiously stern hoof at Moon Dancer, who was too busy catching her breath to get much out of it. "I certanly approve of romantic gestures, but I know sommmeeeee ponnniiieessss occassionally have the slight tendency to make big plans about something, and then to get so anxious and carried away by planning, they never end up doing the thing they planned."

"Uhm." Moon Dancer blushed. "Well..."

"I'm talking about Moon Dancer," Rarity clarified. "And Twilight. And, well, me, honestly. But Moon Dancer is the important one here!"

"Okay okay, message received," Moon Dancer said, sighing. "I promise I'll do it soon. It'll be..."

"Oh, there is so much to do!" Rarity sang. She skipped happily to the door. "I'll leave you two alone to celebrate, but don't worry: my mind is absolutely frantic with ideas for everything! Aaaaaaaaaa...." Still squealing, she pulled the front door open.

"Wait, you don't have to..." Fluttershy began, but Rarity had already trotted off into the night.

---

Trixie always felt ambivalent about waking up. On the one hoof, it was just unacceptably rude that her repose had to be interrupted by anything. On the other hoof, whenever she woke up, she got to remember that she was Trixie, and that was always one of the highlights of the whole day.

But that morning, waking was an unusually jarring experience. The bed felt unfamiliar, the clinking noises and tuneless humming were certainly unfamiliar; she opened her eyes and the entire room was new and weird. Everything was comfortable and pleasant, but it was all so different that she was just confused.

"I'm Trixie," she thought, and immediately things were centered again. She cast a tired gaze around and remembered: of course it's where she woke up, because it's where she went to sleep. That was not all she had done there, either.

The door opened and Rarity trotted in. "Good morrrrnning!" she greeted with almost terrifyingly cheerful perkiness. "I hope you're hungry! There's breakfast!"

Trixie did not fail to notice the tinge of mania in Rarity's eyes or tone. "Riiiiight," she replied cagily.

"Come on, sleepyhead!" Rarity yanked the comforter off the bed, nearly flipping Trixie onto the floor.

"Mnf!" Trixie glared, upset her comfy little lair had been destroyed. "Careful!"

"Oh dear, I'm sorry!" Rarity said with cheerful sunniness. "I'm just so excited for you to eat! Ricotta on toast with melons and berries!"

"Well. You've at least catered to my urbane tastes." Trixie hopped out of bed, trying her best to maintain normalcy. "Excuse me a moment to freshen up."

"Of course!" Rarity answered, grinning. Trixie slipped into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

She feared she might look less-than-amazing, but a glance in the mirror told her things weren't too bad. She'd had a chance to take a quick shower before sleeping, and except for a little bit of frizziness in her mane, things were up to par. She looked even more rested than usual. "Maybe sleeping in an actual bed is a good idea," she mumbled, splashing a little water onto her face and drying it, before turning the hoof towel into a teacup and teleporting it off to the teacup dump.

She didn't exactly regret the previous night's events; Rarity had lived up to her Avatar Of Generosity reputation, which meant they were nicely compatible there. She'd always found Rarity attractive, and she grudgingly even found her agreeable to spend time with when they tried to move past their shared history. But she just had an odd feeling in her gut about everything, and she couldn't quite explain it. It was with very slight hesitation she opened the bathroom door and walked out.

Rarity had not moved, her wide, toothy smile still frozen on her face. Trixie blinked.

"Breakfast!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Uh huh." Trixie glanced around, wondering, not for the first time, if Rarity was a serial killer. (She thought it was about a 40/60 chance that at least one of Twilight's friends was, but she'd always most strongly suspected the apple.)

"If anything, YOU'RE acting weird!" Rarity declared.

"Ummmm." Trixie began inching toward the window.

"Breakfast," Rarity repeated.

"Yeah. Uh, I think I'm just gonna go. Okay? I..."

"Don't you dare!!" Rarity immediately darted forward, glaring into Trixie's face and poking her in the chest with an angry hoof. "Listen to me. I am NOT the kind of mare who does what we did last night and then refrains from making the other pony breakfast. So go! Eat! My delicious! Toast!!"

Her frown instantly switched into the same smile from before. She turned and trotted off into the kitchen.

Trixie considered making a break for it, but again, that weird feeling loomed up even stronger than her surprise or alarm. She followed Rarity, not quite even knowing why.

The breakfast did look amazing, and as they sat down, Trixie could not help but be impressed by the spread. When she was seated, Rarity happily levitated the coffee urn up to pour into a delicate little mug, then followed it with almost as much cream. "I think I remember you like your coffee this way. No sugar, right?"

"Uh, right," Trixie replied as Rarity softly set the coffee mug down next to her plate. "Thank you!" she added, successfully battling the desire to brag that of course such a special pony as herself would be deserving of everyone remembering her tastes.

Rarity smiled genuinely in response and nodded to the food. "Please, have whatever you want!"

Trixie nervously brought some toast up to her mouth and took a bite. "Mmm!" she enthused, half-recognizing that it was quite delectable, and Rarity cheerfully began eating as well.

It was two bites in that Trixie's stomach really began to feel weird. She just kept looking up at Rarity taking her tiny, feminine nibbles and daintily wiping her mouth with a pearl-white cloth, and things weren't sitting right. She tried to ignore it, to focus on what was turning out to be quality pampering, but it was too distracting.

With a sudden jolt, she realized what the problem was. "Oh no," she said.

Rarity turned to her in surprise. "What is it, darling?"

"I care." Trixie set her toast down and sighed.

"...What?"

"You!" Trixie grunted. "You're obviously not doing okay, and I care about it. Nnnnggg, this is so annoying!"

"What are you talking about?" Rarity laughed very fakely. "I'm doing perfe..."

"No no no, quiet quiet quiet," Trixie snapped, pressing her hoof up against Rarity's mouth to close it. "Just tell me. Apparently we're in each other's lives, and so this?" She waved her hooves around vaguely, indicating the whole room. "All this? It's bothering me."

"Trixie... stoppit!" Rarity pushed Trixie's leg away. "...Trixie, really, I'm perfectly well!"

Trixie heaved an enormous sigh and rolled her eyes. "I should have known it last night. You picked me up... and of course you did, I'm the most gorgeous pony in town after all... but that's not the kind of thing you normally do. And you did say that thing about wanting a 'distraction.' And... look, could you seriously stop smiling at me like that because it is really starting to creep me out."

Rarity did stop smiling. She pulled back for a moment, then sighed. "Even you could tell something was wrong?"

"I'm a professional counselor, Rarity."

But Rarity just sighed and swooned and flung herself backwards onto the ground. "I can't believe I couldn't even keep Trixie from being able to tell!" she wailed.

"...Actually kind of insulted now."

"Everypony knows my life is a mess just from looking at me!" Rarity wriggled on her back, waving her hooves in the air pitifully. "Fluttershy is getting married and I've never even had a special somepony and I'm going to be alone forevvveeerrrrrr!"

Trixie froze for a moment, half suppressing her irritation and half deciding what to say. She did not get a chance to speak, however, because the door to the outside suddenly slammed open and an adorable filly bounced in, chanting, "Special Sister Saturday! Special Sister Saturday!"

Sweetie Belle came to a stop before them, Rarity still on her back, Trixie sitting at her place. She looked at them, tilting her head to the side quizzically. They looked back.

"Um. Rarity? Why are you on the floor? And why are you with Trixie?"

Rarity jumped to her hooves frantically. "Sweetie! You! What? Why! How do? What?"

Sweetie Belle tilted her head more. "That's a lot of questions." She pointed at Trixie. "Really, why are you with Trixie the first thing in the morning? You're..." She trailed off thoughtfully.

"How... you've met Trixie?" Rarity bleated, bugging her eyes out.

"I see her at the friendship school when I tutor! Did she... did she spend the night?"

"Ack!" Rarity gaped at her little sister. "Sweetie Belle, what do you even know about ponies spending the night places?!"

"Um. I know, like." She blushed cutely. "I know there's kissing and stuff." She suddenly gasped, her face blossoming into excitement. "Wait! Are you dating Trixie?! That's so cool!"

"No!" Rarity yipped immediately. "No no no. No! Absolutely not, no." She looked at Trixie, then back to Sweetie. "No."

"Then why are you acting so weird?" Sweetie began to frown, and even the slightest bit of sadness on her face was heartbreaking to see.

"I... I'm just surprised! Ha ha yes just surprised, ha ha. I didn't know you'd be coming!"

"You... forgot about Special Sister Saturday?" Sweetie sniffled, tears coming to her eyes. "We were going to go to the mane salon together. Did you not even make our appointments?"

"Sweetie! I..." Rarity calmed slightly, taking a deep breath and walking closer to her sister. "No, of course I didn't forget, and I did make the appointments. I just got my days mixed up. I'm still planning to go with you."

"Well... okay." Sweetie suddenly looked up firmly. "But why aren't you telling me what's going on with Trixie? You promised you wouldn't treat me like a foal anymore!"

"It's... it's not about that! This... I..." Rarity looked absolutely helpless as she sputtered, and Trixie was surprised that she wasn't surprised she came to her aid.

"Hey, Sweetie," she said, beckoning. "C'mere. I'll fill you in." Sweetie, with a glance to her sister, hesitantly walked over to the table. "Have a seat; pour yourself some coffee, if you want."

Sweetie smiled brightly at the offer, sitting across from Trixie. "Thanks, but I don't like coffee."

"Suit yourself." Trixie took a sip out of her own mug, feeling herself enter her workplace groove. "Hey. So listen, you have to forgive Rarity, okay? She and I did spend last night kissing and stuff, but it can be realllllly awwwwwwkward to talk about that kind of thing with your own family. You get it, right? She's not trying to keep anything secret."

"Yeah, but..." Sweetie glanced over at Rarity, who still looked gobsmacked. "But if I kissed somecreature, I'd want to tell her!"

"Maybe, but you'd still feel totally weird if she walked in right after you had the kiss, right? Even if it was with somecreature as gloriously attractive as myself."

Sweetie giggled, completely charmed. "I guess so. But... you said you were kissing, and Rarity said you weren't dating. That doesn't make any sense."

In alarm, Rarity started to babble something, but Trixie held up a hoof. Rarity, surprisingly, fell quiet.

"Here's the thing about that," Trixie replied carefully. "Usually, ponies are dating when they spend the night, and when they kiss and stuff. But sometimes, two friends might decide to do things like that, without it meaning anything more."

Sweetie blinked, looking more confused than anything else. "Really? Friends?"

Trixie realized she'd just called Rarity her friend without even thinking about it, but she didn't let the subsequent mixed emotions distract her. "Yes! It can be really fun. But it's also easy to get your feelings hurt. It's gotta be just the right kind of friend, and you have to make sure you're totally on the same page first! So it doesn't happen much, and you have to be careful. And some creatures really want to only kiss their special somecreatures, and that's fine, too. Get it?"

"Mm-hmm!" Sweetie answered, nodding happily. She idly picked up some toast and munched it.

Trixie grinned. "Now, I have to go. You have have a sister day to enjoy!" At Sweetie's nod, Trixie's grin became sneakier. "You're going to the salon later? I have an idea for you." She leaned over the table, whispering in Sweetie's ear.

Sweetie smiled brightly. "Ooh! That's a great idea!"

Trixie winked. "See you at school! I have to go say goodbye to your sister." She started walking off to the exit. "C'mon," she grunted to Rarity as she passed.

They walked out the doorstep, Rarity shutting the door behind her. She turned to Trixie, her mouth hanging open. "That was so impressive!" she sputtered. "How did you do that?"

"Um, it's almost like I'm a professional counselor, or something."

"Right." Rarity blinked at her, uncomprehendingly. "Yes."

Trixie sighed, rolling her eyes magnificently. "It's okay to be jealous of your friend for getting engaged as long as you're not a jerk about it. Your life is not a mess, and to remind yourself of that, spend some quality time with your little sister, who's great and who adores you. Last night was fun, I guess. Here." She levitated up a deck of cards, spread wide. "Pick one."

Rarity wordlessly complied. "It's the six of hearts," Trixie said. "Ta da." She snatched Rarity's card and swooshed the deck away. "Bye."

She turned, but Rarity's voice stopped her. "W...wait!" Trixie turned back, raising an eyebrow, and was frozen when she felt lips smacking lightly against her own. "Um. Thank you. Goodbye, darling." There was a pause, and Rarity began to blush. "Was that odd?"

"Yes. But it's fine. I'd want to kiss me, too." She smirked and received a wavering smile in response.

Rarity turned and opened her front door, but she jumped back when Sweetie Belle instantly stuck her head out, waving frantically. "Bye, Trixie! Thanks for the suggestion!! I think I will have them dye my mane green!"

As Rarity's jaw fell, Trixie chortled and walked away.

---

"Technically," Mudbriar corrected, "agreeing to get married is exactly what an engagement is."

"Oh, don't you start in on me," Moon Dancer grunted, rolling her eyes but unable to keep a grin completely off her face. "I just have to think of how to do it. And when. And where."

"I'll help!" Trixie offered. "I do know a little something about spectacle and splendor, after all!"

"Uh, I dunno about that," Starlight remarked, checking the water level inside the magic cauldron. "It doesn't need to be a big deal, right? Maybe just something quiet and intimate?"

The fifth pony present raised his hoof to get attention, but said nothing. Everyone stared at him.

"Uh, Snails?" Moon Dancer asked. Snails did not reply.

Moon Dancer glanced around nervously. "Uh, is he..."

Snails very suddenly sneezed, making a sound like a trumpet falling off a cliff. "Woo!" he mused, then turned to Moon Dancer. "Uh, what were you saying? I was thinking about how I was going to sneeze, and then I was thinking about sneezing, and then I was thinking about how I had just sneezed."

"Uh, how's that magic cauldron going?" Trixie asked, clearly trying to keep things from getting too derailed.

"It'll just be a minute!" Starlight answered. "The spell has to warm up, but we're almost set."

Moon Dancer looked around hesitantly. "So, when it's ready, we'll be able to just... talk to this student in the cauldron? We'll see her and she'll see us?" At Starlight's cheerful nod, she frowned. "And... she's not, really upset, is she? I'm not trained for this. What if I say the wrong thing and I mess up her psychological development?"

"Ug, it's fine," Trixie moaned, rolling her eyes. "She's just a little confused, and she said she's happy for you to be around. Nice try at changing the subject away from hiring me to do a magic show where you propose to Fluttershy, but it didn't work!"

"Uh. I... appreciate the offer, but I think it can't be something with so much preparation." She grinned anxiously, then fretted. "I've promised myself I've got to do it before our trip to Manehattan next week."

"Oh, that's right, Manehattan Pride is next week!" Starlight beamed. "It kinda snuck up on us, huh? It's so exciting! It's my first chance to go since I've been, um. Out." Her voice dropped to a near whisper when she said the last word, but she was still proud of herself for saying it.

"Maud and I would attend if I didn't hate traveling," Mudbriar stated. "However, I do hate traveling, so the decision not to attend is rational. It's nice when things work out."

"You're all missing out!" Trixie laughed. She tromped over to Starlight and threw a hoof around her best friend's shoulders. "Well, while the rest of you sit around being old and engaged and boring, the two of US are going to spend the weekend out, meeting ponies!" She grinned lacivously. "Meeting ponies. You know what I'm saying." Mudbriar and Snails both stared back at her, giving no indication at all that they knew what she was saying.

"Aahaha," Starlight mumbled, feeling the sweat already start. "Well. In theory yes! We will go and I will, um." Trixie raised an eyebrow at her. "Fffffffflirt? Uh. Hook upppppp?"

"Right," Trixie agreed, "except when we actually do it don't phrase it like an alien trying to blend in with Equestrian society."

Starlight suddenly gasped, her trepidation forgotten. "Moon Dancer!" she exclaimed. "I just had a great idea! You should ask Fluttershy to marry you at pride!"

"Gck!" Moon Dancer started backwards. "What?"

"It's perfect! Right? It can still be quiet and intimate, but the element of kindness gets engaged at pride?! It'd be such a wonderful story!"

"I..." Moon Dancer squinted in thought. "Yes, you're right, but... I just don't want it to be too complicated. It can't go wrong."

"We'll help!" Starlight nudged Trixie, who looked less than enthusiastic. "You'll have friends helping you! And Rarity's going, so she can help Fluttershy if she needs it!"

"....I'll think about it," Moon Dancer answered. "Please don't get ahead of yourself! ....I'll think about it."

Starlight grinned, entirely pleased with herself from having helped somepony, but a quiet tone rang out before she could say anything else. "Oh, I think we're almost ready!" She said, turning to the cauldron, happy to be reminded of yet another creature she could help. "Everypony just gather around here and I'll trigger the spell. We should be able to see her in the water, she she'll see us in her own cauldron."

"Um, Starlight?" Trixie said, nudging her best friend softly. "You are going to let me take the lead on this, right? You know... since it was my idea, and this is my job, and everything?"

"Of course!" Starlight promised. "I'm just here to work the spell. I won't even say anything, if you don't want me to!"

"Well." Trixie nodded huffily. "Fine then. I'll..."

"Just because you do things differently than I used to, that doesn't mean I want to butt in! I'm not the guidance counselor anymore. I know that."

Trixie stared at her with half-lidded eyes.

"You help the students, and that's the important thing. But. I mean, it's just different, is all. Not worse! Just different."

Trixie sighed. "Is it out of your system?"

"Almost! I am totally going to be going crazy wanting to jump in but I won't because it's not my job anymore and because I trust you and because I can't control everything!" Starlight took a deep breath. "Okay, that did it, I'm fine now."

Trixie nodded smartly and walked up to the cauldron, apparently completely satisfied. The others followed a few steps behind.

"Y'know, I always wondered how the two of you can be so close, but then also work together," Moon Dancer remarked, taking her place in the circle around the cauldron.

"The key," Trixie said sagely, "is when it's important, you learn to get good at listening. And when it's not important, you learn to get good at pretending to listen."

Starlight opened her mouth as if to argue, then just shrugged. "Everypony ready?"

"Wait," Moon Dancer giggled. "Mudbriar's making a funny face at me." She nudged him away with her hoof. "Stop it! This is serious! We have to help a student."

Mudbriar stared at her, making no facial expression whatsoever.

"Stop!" Moon Dancer coughingly gethered herself and took a deep breath. "Okay! It's fine. I..." She let one more chortle slip, then stood up straight. "I'm good! Mudbriar just knows he can make me laugh. Ahem. I'm ready."

Mudbriar stared at her, making no facial expression whatsoever.

"Uh." Starlight looked back and forth between them, then just gave up trying to think of a response. "Well, okay, I'm casting the spell now."

Her horn lit up, and the cauldron began to glow. After a few moments, the surface of the water shifted to the colorful face of a young changeling.

"Hi, Ocellus!" Starlight said. "Do you see us?"

Ocellus grinned and moved her lips.

"Wait... wait, we can't hear you," Starlight said. "Is... hold on, is the sound coming through for you?"

Ocellus nodded, moving her lips, She looked off to the side and said something, and the image of her in the water jostled slightly.

"Can you... hold on. Did you make sure the water was lukewarm? Um... wait, maybe the problem's on our end. Trixie, could you..."

"--UST TRY AGAIN?" Ocellus's voice suddenly boomed out of the cauldron, causing all of the ponies to yelp in surprise.

"Agh!" Starlight frantically adjusted the magic flowing into the cauldron. "You were..." She blinked at the water, which now just showed a blank hive ceiling. "Uh... Ocellus?"

A grizzly bear's head hesitantly poked back into the image. "...you yelled and it startled me."

"You were just really loud for a second, but it's fixed now. We're coming in clear?"

Ocellus quickly turned back into a changeling and nodded, rubbing her front hooves together nervously. "Sorry I asked to talk over summer break. I didn't know the magic would be hard to use."

"No no, it's fine!" Starlight assured her. "Even if you weren't one of our very best students, we've got to get used to using magic cauldrons, anyway; it's going to make parent-teacher conferences much easier. Now, what's..." She trailed off, noticing Trixie's glare. "Um. I mean, so I'm going to let Trixie step in, because she's the guidance counselor and this is her job."

Trixie nodded firmly but was able to instantly switch to a warm smile. "Hey!" she greeted. "I heard you wanted to talk about some identity stuff?"

"Y...yeah." Ocellus paused but only for a second. "It's just... I was thinking about a lot of stuff, and. Well, everyone here is really nice and open, but I think I picked up some really non-changeling ways of looking at things?"

"Which is fine!" Thorax's voice suddenly called from somewhere to Ocellus's left. "We just don't know how..." He trailed off. "Right, I promised I wouldn't jump in. Sorry."

Ocellus's glare turned into a forgiving smile, then she looked back down at the water. "Yeah. It's just... everycreature at school has been talking a lot about dating, and apparently there's all sorts of, like... THINGS you can be about that? Like, Smolder visited last week, and she told me she was 'pansexual,' and that she was a she. And that made total sense to her, but I had no idea what she was talking about! She also said she was a dragon, but I think I get that part." She blinked. "Although maybe not?"

"I understand," Trixie said warmly. "It makes a lot of sense you'd be confused about this. You see, ponies can't change their bodies with magic like you can, right? So we think of ourselves as being a certain way. Like how Sandbar is an earth pony, but I'm a unicorn."

Ocellus nodded slowly. "Okayyyyy. But what's that have to do with dating?"

"Well, there's all sorts of ways we can be there, too! Some ponies only want to date certain other kinds of ponies."

"Oh. So, like, there's some unicorns that only want to date other unicorns?"

"Ah, no!" Trixie replied with some alarm. "No! That... uh. That is not what I mean, and it is not part of a good friendship lesson to think like that. Uh, what I'm saying is... uh. Well, I brought some friends along to be examples, that might help!" She jumped next to Moon Dancer, pulling her close. "See, this is Moon Dancer! She teaches an advanced-level seminar at the school on Fridays, so you might have seen her around campus. And she is a cis, gay mare!"

"Um." Moon Dancer tried to fix her jostled glasses and grinned nervously into the cauldron. "Yes! That's me! Hi!"

"Hiiii?" Ocellus scratched her head in confusion.

"'Mare' means she's a she!" Trixie explained. "And 'cis' means she started out with a female body, which matches being called 'she.' And 'gay' means she's attracted to other shes. Like, she's attracted to me, but she wouldn't be attracted to Sandbar!"

"Well okay Sandbar is like sixteen, so please don't use him as an example!" Moon Dancer blurted. "And it is very awkward that you used yourself as an example! But yes! Pretty much that's right! Get it?" She grinned hugely, sweating bullets. The look on Ocellus's face showed that she did not, in fact, get it.

"Um, and this is Snails!" Trixie said quickly, gesturing to her left. "You've met him; he's the assistant hoofball coach. And he is a trans, straight stallion!" Snails waved at the water languidly. "'Stallion' means he's a he, and 'trans' means he had a body doctors called 'female,' which doesn't match him being a he. And 'straight' means he's attracted to shes!"

Ocellus blinked uncomprehendingly. "Um. I get that you can't just change like we can, but what does it mean to 'be' a he? Like... in your mind but not in your body?"

Snails stared, with glazed eyes, into the water.

"Uh, Snails, buddy?" Trixie whispered.

"Huh?"

"Any thoughts you could give would be helpful, I think."

"Oh! Uhhhhh." Snails blinked twice, slowly, then nodded with sage wisdom. "Don't try too hard to hold in a sneeze, or your head will explode."

Ocellus tilted her head, baffled. "What?"

"I just said a thought I had," Snails explained. "Is it true?"

"No," Moon Dancer answered.

"Oh well. That's a relief! I was scared for a minute." Snails resumed his blank gazing.

"I..." Ocellus began, but Trixie desperately darted over to the final member of their circle.

"And this is Mudbriar! He's a cis stallion, and he's, uh..." She paused. "He's a grey ace sapiosexual demiromantic?"

"Technically," Mudbriar explained, "I'm a grey ace demisexual sapioromantic."

"Yes! He's that. It means... something."

Ocellus looked off to the side where Thorax's voice had come from. Apparently receiving no help, she looked back. "I... think I'm even more confused than before," she said.

"Just... okay, don't get lost in the details," Trixie replied. "The point is, we ponies... and lots of other creatures... ARE things on the inside. The same way Yona is a yak but Gallus is a griffin. And there's a whole bunch of different things creatures can be. It's how we think of ourselves, and it's how we feel best about ourselves."

"Okay, so... um." Ocellus scrunched up her forehead in concentration. "Moon Dancer there is gay, and that's just how she is on the inside, like how being a unicorn is how she is on the outside? She feels best thinking of herself as gay and being a she, because other ways of thinking about it don't make sense to her?"

"That's right!" Trixie answered cheerfully.

"I'm going to marry Fluttershy but we're not engaged!" Moon Dancer yipped.

Luckily, Ocellus kept going with her thought without being distracted by that. "Okay, but... am I something on the inside, too? How would I know?"

"Just through experience, and from meeting a lot of different creatures," Trixie answered. "It's okay to find it confusing for a while!"

"That's scary, though," Ocellus muttered. "What if I'm something weird? What if I'm something I don't want to be?"

"Sometimes it is scary," Trixie confirmed. "But unless you're hurting other creatures, there's no way to be bad. In fact, Moon Dancer, Starlight and I are planning to go to a big celebration next week that's just meant to remind us of that!"

"Whoa, really?"

"Yes! It's called Manehattan Pride, and it's all about feeling good about all the different things I'm talking about. Sometimes, everycreature needs to be reminded of it."

Very abruptly, Starlight got an idea. It was a really great idea, and she very much wanted to blurt it out. She tried to remind herself that this was Trixie's show.

"Wow. That sounds amazing."

Yes, Starlight agreed that her idea did sound amazing. But she couldn't say it. She had willpower; she could control herself. She would not state out loud her perfect, awesome idea.

"Yeah! So..."

"You should come with us!!" Starlight bellowed, sticking her head into the circle and grinning at Ocellus. "You should come to pride!!"

Trixie stared at her. Starlight almost felt bad.

"...Go with you?"

"Yeah! You'll be able to see all the diversity firsthoof! And... wagh!" She felt herself being dragged backwards and looked back to see the characteristic glow of Trixie's magic yanking on her tail.

"Um please give us a moment, would you, Ocellus?" Trixie asked sweetly before galloping away, Starlight yanking her tail out of the telekinesis and following in annoyance.

"What's wrong?" Starlight asked quietly when they were a few meters away.

"Starlight!" Trixie waved her hooves around frantically. "Next week is our vacation. We can't bring Ocellus!"

"Sure we can," Starlight argued. "We'll just get her a chaperone! Someone responsible, like Applejack!"

"No, Starlight..."

"Trust me! You're the counselor now, but I've worked with Ocellus for longer. She's really mature!"

"That is not the point!" Trixie hissed. "The point is that you and I plan to... to do things that are very much not appropriate for students to be around! I don't want her to see some super-hot nonbinary griffon leaving my hotel room Saturday morning and tell her hive about it!"

"She wouldn't even be around us," Starlight assured her. "We'd just meet with her for a couple of parades, and the rest of the time, she's Applejack's problem."

"Starl..." Trixie put a hoof against her forehead. "No. Just no! It's too much! We can't take Ocellus to pride!"

"Excuse me," Mudbriar said, appearing like magic directly behind them, "Thorax wants to talk to you about how happy he is you're taking Ocellus to pride."

Trixie stared at him in shock. "Whu... bah..."

"Those are not words," Mudbriar pointed out helpfully.

"Trust me, Trixie," Starlight said. "She won't have a hotel room near us, we won't see her except a couple times during daytime, and she'll have a full-time chaperone. It'll be great! I promise." She trotted over to the cauldron, leaving her best friend in shock behind her.

"...so that's when I realized," Snails was saying, "the reason my ear hurt is because both of the chopsticks were still stuck right in there!"

Thorax and Ocellus, who both stared nonplussed out of the cauldron's water, looked very relieved to see Starlight return. "Yes, very interesting," Thorax said. "But I just wanted to thank Starlight for offering to take Ocellus with her next week. We changelings are still learning about love as a feeling and not just as a food; Ocellus's new experiences will help all of us!"

"I get to lead a discussion seminar about it when I get back!" Ocellus exclaimed, nearly trembling with happy excitement.

Trixie returned, glaring, but she saw the changelings' enthusiasm and just sighed. "We still need to find a chaperone," she declared. "You can only go if we make sure it's totally safe."

"I understand!" Ocellus replied, still beaming.

"Starlight will be arranging everything," Trixie added. "Because... she's headmare. And she's your guidance counselor, I guess."

"Okay! Thank you, Starlight!"

Trixie walked away without saying anything else. She was out of the room before Starlight realized she hadn't even said goodbye.

"Uh..." She blinked and looked back at Ocellus. "Right. Yes! I'll be in touch about arranging things, all right?"

"Okay! Goodbye! Have a good afternoon!" Ocellus waved, then glanced off to the side. "So, how do we..." The water went dark.

"I don't think I wrecked her development," Moon Dancer said. "Right?" She looked around hopefully. "I was good? I didn't say anything that'll leave scars or something?"

But Starlight barely listened. She just frowned at the door Trixie had gone through.

Snails sneezed again.

Comments

[Thought Prism]

Off to a strong start, here! Mostly fluff, with a hint of drama, which is nice. And the thematic throughline of what forms love can take is very appropriate. Side note: Snails being trans actually makes a lot of sense. Though I'm wondering why an event like Pride wouldn't just be a part of Hearts and Hooves day, given Equestria's culture of acceptance.

[SigmasonicX]

Great to see another part of this saga! Poor Moondancer, now having to plan a fancy proposal even though Fluttershy would have been fine just calling their agreement to marry that. Changelings having trouble understanding relationships and gender makes sense; people often play up their love absorption and thus assume they know everything about that, but creatures that can transform however they want would definitely have trouble wrapping their heads around a particular form being that significant. Rarity and Trixie is also a pairing I haven't seen in a very long time.

Looking forward to the rest.

[Autumn Colors Fall]

Ok this is going to be fun. This is the Trixiest Trixie since Trixe. I'm loving the comedy interwoven into everything!

[J Carp]

Why yes, I am very proud of myself about "hoofah."

[B_Munro]

I've enjoyed the first two parts of this series, and I'm quite happy to see it back. loved the Discord interlude. I've seen trans Snails before, but as a filly, not a colt.

Man, nobody likes to think of Maud and Mudbriar knockin' hooves.

[Reese]

Ah, using Luna in that outfit for the cover picture, I see. :)
...And it appears that since I first loaded the story, you've changed the image to focus even more closely on those obviously totally random colors with no meaning whatsoever... at least while the censor is looking. :)

Well, a good start, I think, and I look forward to seeing how it continues. :)
...Hm. I do find myself wondering exactly what the story and chapter titles refer to, though. Who is the Hidden Femme?
(Not expecting an answer this early, to clarify. :D)

10283895
I'm afraid I don't recognize the non-ponified word; what is it?

10283972
"Man, nobody likes to think of Maud and Mudbriar knockin' hooves. "
Eh, I don't know, they seem happy together. :)

[B_Munro]

10284696
I was just joking about the author giving him a highly limited and highly specific sex drive. (I will admit that the notion of two such emotionally closed-off ponies being passionately into each other is pretty funny, but I don't find it too realistic. Especially since the main social mode of one appears to be pointing out other people's errors. )

[J Carp]

10284696
"Chuppah," which is the canopy under which many Jewish wedding ceremonies take place. I tried to think of something for "ketubah" but failed. I think horse puns are like at least 45% of why I want to even write these stories, frankly.

10285293
I like the idea of Mudbriar having hidden depths which would be explored along with the development of Starlight's weirdo friend group. Or well... not exactly hidden depths. Hidden personality traits that aren't just that one joke.

[Reese]

10285293
Ah, okay; thanks for the clarification.
(I seem to have less difficulty with the idea, though; I think I find it more sweet than funny.)

10285412
Ah, thanks!
And heh. :)

[Typoglyphic]

☑ Mares in suits
☑ Cute not-quite-proposals
☑ Starlight and Trixie's upcoming pride schenanegans
☑ A whole cast of chaotic disaster gays

What more could you ask for out of a first chapter?

In all seriousness, very exciting start. The characters all sound like themselves and the identities you picked out for them seem to fit quite well. Also, some of those jokes landed hard--very nice timing.

I can't wait to see what Manehattan Pride is like.

[TCC56]

"Did..." Rarity sputtered wordlessly for a few moments, then finally collected herself enough to speak. "Did you just get engaged?"

Yes. Perfect.

before turning the hoof towel into a teacup and teleporting it off to the teacup dump.

Even more perfect and I'm shamelessly stealing the idea that Trixie has a spot somewhere outside of town she keeps teleporting accidental teacups to.

[Shrinky Frod]

10283972
I dunno - Maud sure seemed to like the idea, based on how she reacted while he was petrified!

[TheLaurent]

This is great. I'm going to do a read-through of what there is. It's annoying how all of the Pride and Positivity stuff (or at least a decent chunk of it that I saw) got downvote bombed.

Just as funny and thoughtful as the first two parts, though I don't see any adverb-based humor yet!

[nlinzer]

Yay Moondancer is not only Autistic she's Pony Jewish! Best Pony.
I now want to know the history of the mirror version of Judaism. Is it an enthicity? Culture? Religion? All three like Judaism? Tell Me!

[J Carp]

10780316

I thought seriously about how to answer this, got as far as wondering, "Wait so is Celestia the pony version of Jesus?" and then decided to give up.