Wish Fulfillment (Legacy Version)

by Boopy Doopy

(17) Sandy Shores

Shorey didn’t know how she felt.

Well, she knew how she felt right then as she closed her eyes. She felt more complete than she’d ever been, a feeling that never left her her whole time in Equestria. But of the future, she didn’t know how she felt or what she would do when Rally eventually asked the inevitable question.

What if we became a couple?

She knew the question was going to come up. She didn’t know if it would be in an hour or a year, but it was going to come, and she didn’t know what she would say. Despite what Rally thought many times, probably just now given the disappointment in her voice, she didn’t annoy her. She certainly wouldn’t have shared her secrets with someone who did like she did with Rally. She could safely say that Rally was a good friend, maybe even one of her best friends.

But could she be that kind of friend? Shorey didn’t know.

She guessed the stallion’s body that Rally inhabited was attractive enough on its own, although she knew both would agree that she’d be much better being a mare. But who knew how long that could take? If it could even be done?

Her current body could give her what she wanted; children. And even if it couldn’t, Rally was nice enough on her own, and already knew most everything there was to know about her. Besides, even if she never had children, she was still a thousand times more complete now than she was a few days ago.

She looked at Rally as she slept, noticing her frown. It would be nice to try something. The reason she never did before was because they were never together in real life. And yet, here they were, in real life, no longer separated by screens. She already knew Rally liked her, and she could say she enjoyed Rally’s company. She could say that out of the entire group chat, Rally was probably the one she’d be the most likely to form a serious relationship with. What other excuse did she have to not at least experiment?

Right now, it was everything else. Walking through this valley and up the large plateau to the Crystal Empire, and then getting to Ponyville from there. Survival came first. She wasn’t going to be bogged down with thinking of stuff like that until they got settled.

The other thing was Rally’s jealousy. Shorey didn’t have to ask to know that Rally was jealous of her. Not that she faulted her. In fact, she was sympathetic. Empathetic even. There were more than a few times on Earth when she could say she was jealous of Rally. It was to be expected. But Shorey didn’t know how well a relationship would go with how intense Rally’s jealousy felt. It was practically a physical feeling, one that made Shorey feel almost guilty, like it was her fault she was jealous.

She let out a breath, deciding that it wasn’t the kind of thing she should let occupy her mind right now. She should be sleeping, if she could overcome her insomnia. There was plenty of time to consider relationships and jealousy and what to do when they got to the Crystal Empire.

She couldn’t sleep though. She couldn’t find a good position in the grass, and moreso, Rally’s breathing wasn’t steady enough. She was letting out little half mumbles in her sleep that brought Shorey back to full awareness each time she heard it. It kept her tired mind awake, and after several minutes of this, she went to check on her friend.

“Rally?” she asked, carefully touching her leg with a hoof. “Are you okay?”

Her friend opened her eyes, blinking away the confusion before letting out a breath. “Nightmares,” she said simply. “About being a man. And then I wake up and I’m a stallion, as if that’s any better.” She paused for a second before adding, “And I still can’t cry, and it’s making me worried. I don’t want to lose my emotions.” Then she sighed and said, “I’m sorry that I’m being so depressing and annoying and pushing my feelings on you.”

“It’s okay, Rally. I’d be depressed, too. And you’re not being annoying or pushing how you feel on me. I’m glad it’s you I’m with and not someone else.” She sniffled, having to resist the urge to cry. She didn’t think being a mare would make her quite so emotional, more than she already was.

“Thanks, Shorey,” Rally said with a small smile. “I’m glad you’re always there for me.” There was a small pause before she stared, “Hey, um, I know now’s not really the best time, but…”

“Yes?” Shorey raised an eyebrow, knowing exactly where this was going. She was nervous, and still had no idea what she was going to say, but tried not to show it. Honestly, she was surprised Rally hadn’t asked the moment she got here.

“I… nothing,” Rally decided, changing her mind. “Now’s not a good time to bring it up. I’ll ask later.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’ll ask later, once we get to the Crystal Empire. I don’t wanna bog you down with random nonsense.”

With that, Rally said her goodnights and turned back over, Shorey letting out a tiny, silent breath as she squinted against the sun. She and Rally. Together. It was such a weird concept to think about, one that made her blush. She could imagine what the rest of their friends would say. It was something Rally joked about all the time, but Shorey was certain they’d be more than a little surprised if she said they were together.

Maybe she should just get it over with now. Even though it wasn’t love that Shorey had, Rally was a very close friend, and they had something to build off of. She definitely cared about her, and it would certainly make Rally happier.

No. That thinking was bad. She wasn’t going to ask out someone she had no romantic attraction for, full stop. Not only would that be basically lying about how she felt and giving Rally expectations that weren’t there, it would also be doing a disservice to her. Rally deserved better than what would be effectively a lie about what she was feeling.

So that was it. If– when– Rally asked, she would probably say yes and see how a relationship went. If she never asked, then Shorey would only ask when she felt something back. That was that.

Keeping that thought in mind, she closed her eyes and laid back down in the grass, taking care to lay on the side of her that wasn’t cut. She took a deep breath, sighing happily at the feeling she had. It might have been a lot of work dealing with all of this, walking to the Crystal Empire and seeing Rally hurting so much, but it was worth it because she could be herself. The thought of it made her cry happily as she did her best to fall asleep.

She wasn’t able to sleep for long. Before she knew it, she was feeling a drop of water hitting her forehead, and a clap of thunder in the distance. She opened her eyes to see dark clouds in the sky, and an approaching rainstorm coming in from the Crystal Empire.

“Rally, time to wake up,” Shorey instructed, touching her side. “It’s about to rain.”

Rally opened her disoriented eyes, looking up to see the rain and frowning deeply. “Come on. Can’t we just have one good thing?” she asked no one in particular. “Why does everything need to be as stupid as possible?”

“We’re going to be fine. But let’s not stand out here while it’s about to rain, please. I’d rather get to the Crystal Empire before we get soaked again.”

“It’s not gonna be fine!” Rally complained, stomping a hoof angrily before wincing at the pain it caused in her flank. “This cannot be just a bunch of Murphy’s Law bullshit! I’m fully convinced Lord Zulu is watching us and is trying to make things as difficult as possible.”

“I doubt it. Even if he is, you’re just giving in to what he wants if you stand here and get soaked.”

“I’m getting to a point where I just don’t care,” she said bitterly. “I feel bad enough anyway. I doubt standing in the rain is gonna make me feel any different.”

“Well, it’s going to make me feel different if I have to get soaked to the bone because we’re standing here, so let’s go, Rally.”

Shorey turned around and started forward once she finished, making Rally sigh and follow her, the two of them making their slow way to the face of the plateau. The rain began to pour on them anyway, the wind picking up some as they marched forward. Shorey could feel her mane becoming tangled from it, more tangled than it already was, and could see Rally wearing an absolutely hateful expression. If looks could kill and Lord Zulu saw her, he wouldn’t stand a chance of staying alive.

“It’s gonna be fine, Rally,” Shorey tried to console her, speaking over the weather. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to have to go through what you are after transitioning, but I believe in you to push through it. We’ll get to Ponyville or Canterlot or wherever we need to go, and before you know it, you’ll be yourself again.”

Her expression didn’t change in intensity, and she was only able to growl instead of speak as she walked. It was a long minute before she muttered, “I didn’t come to Equestria to be turned into a fucking stalltion.” Her voice slipped a little bit as she said it, Shorey hearing for a moment something more akin to what she thought her brother sounded like.

Shorey sighed at that. She hated seeing Rally so sad, but knew there wasn’t much she’d be able to do about it except encourage her to press on. It was hard to watch. She could only imagine what Rally was going through, and hoped something like it never happened to her.

The two walked in the rain, their hooves getting muddy as the skies released a downpour on them. They both sighed as they trudged along, hearing the thunder roll and lightning strike off in the distance, slowly making its way toward them.

“You don’t think we should be looking for shelter, should we?” Rally asked. “With my luck… actually, I’m not even gonna say anything since I’m sure Lord Zulu is listening to my thoughts.”

“We wouldn’t want to be next to any trees in a thunderstorm,” Shorey explained. “Ideally, we’d find someplace flat, or a ditch even, and get low to the ground. But I’m not really interested in doing that.”

“I wish I knew magic right now, so we could just teleport to wherever we needed to go. Once I figure out how to use telekinesis, that’s gonna be the first spell I learn how to do.”

“I’d agree, but I’m wondering how long that would take to learn. Twilight seemed like she was a bit inept at the beginning of the series, but a prodigy by the end. I also wonder how long ponies live.”

“That’d be good to know, but… insert complaint about how I want to die here,” Rally finished halfheartedly. She glanced down at herself before putting her eyes ahead forward to the approaching plateau again. She visibly shivered and grimaced, something that made Shorey sad to see.

“I wish there was something I could say,” she started. “We’re making progress though. Imagine how much better you’ll feel when we get there!”

“Yeah. Maybe.”

There was a long period of silence as the two walked ahead, nothing around them but the sounds of rain and thunder. After a while though, Rally finally spoke up again.

“I- I know this is a bad time,” she started. “I know we’re in the middle of all of this and that I’m the most annoying person possible and you don’t feel that way about me, but…”

Shorey stopped where she was in the rain, knowing exactly what was going to come next. She tried her best to face her, but only looked down at her hooves. She felt nothing but awkward.

“But, um, can we… go out together?” she asked, Rally looking at her hooves as well, blushing deep in embarrassment. “I know I, like, look terrible and it’s probably going to take forever to fix, but, um… yeah. I– never mind. I’m sorry.”

“We can talk about that later, Rally,” Shorey said politely, not giving the yes she thought she would. “Maybe when we’re settled in and not out here in the elements.”

“I’m sorry. I know I’m annoying and push things that you don’t want too much. I’ll stop.”

“It’s fine, Rally. You’re not bothering me. But I can barely keep my hooves under me in this rain and I’d rather get out of this lightning as fast as possible. I’m not going to die now, not after–” she stopped abruptly, feeling another wave of guilt.

“I understand,” Rally sighed disappointedly. “I’m sorry.”