(26) Showtime
“I know it’s like nine o’clock at night and we’re going to bed in a few hours, but would you be against me making cookies right now?” I asked as she and I walked back into the apartment. “That was stressful, and I need something to take my mind off of that.”
“Sure, that sounds good. Moberly, do you want to make cookies with us?” Shorey asked the mare, who was reading that book I checked out about magic.
“I guess, but what is it that you need to take your mind off of?”
“We were almost kidnapped.”
“We weren’t almost kidnapped,” Shorey said. “We did run into a couple of ponies who seemed like they were pretending to be royal guards, or looked like they were pretending at least.”
“And they were like, ‘you’re breaking the law and have to come with us’ and were probably trying to kidnap us for ransom or something. And now we know we need to be careful when we go out at night. Especially you, since you go out alone all the time.”
“Well that’s what I bought a sword for, so we can defend ourselves.” She said it as if cutting in half the first pony who stepped to her was a viable option, but I knew she was being completely serious.
“Shorey and I were thinking about learning some defensive spells if there are any out there,” I said. “But I kind of want to stop thinking about how we almost died and start baking. Let’s make some cookies.”
The three of us in and we got started, Shorey humming something I couldn’t place as she got out what we needed. Both she and Moberly were smiling, although the latter seemed like she was trying not to. I, however, stayed back a little bit and watched them, trying to keep my breathing steady as I replayed all of what happened in my head.
Despite what Shorey said, they were definitely trying to kidnap us. I could only imagine what would’ve happened if either she or I was alone. It wouldn’t have ended well, and put thoughts of previous incidents I didn’t like thinking about in my head. I was definitely going to be making sure our doors were locked at night, because the whole incident put me on edge.
“Can we add oatmeal to it?” I asked. “Oatmeal cookies would be the best.”
“Sure, I think we bought some,” Shorey said. “Can you go get it for me? Three cups worth should be good.”
Being on edge already didn’t help me to keep myself from thinking that I was secretly annoying her. I couldn’t help but imagine she only said yes to me because I pushed her into it with my annoyance, even though she was not the kind of person who would ever do such a thing through pressure. Even officially dating now for over an hour, we would only really be that in title.
I imagined we’d mostly act like friends still for weeks, or even months. And yet I was certain she thought I bugged her all the time and would hate me by the end of this and break up with me. And then I’d be alone in Crystal City cause she’d move away, and the next time I ran into guards like that, it might not end so well.
“We should buy cookie cutters,” Moberly said. “Like, of stars and trees and animals and stuff.”
“And hearts and flowers, too, so we can make the girliest cookies possible,” I offered up as a joke, getting a smile from Shorey in response.
“Oh, and also, we should go dress shopping tomorrow,” I said. “I mean, obviously we won’t be able to buy any, but it’d be nice to try on a few or go window shopping.”
Don’t let your thoughts spiral out of control, I told myself silently. If you were being annoying, someone would tell you. Moberly and Shorey especially would. And Shorey’s way smarter than you’ll ever be. If you’re ever in a situation like that again, she’d protect you, just like you’d try to for her.
I couldn’t let my thoughts spiral out of control. They’d had many times before, especially before transitioning, and I didn’t want that to happen now. If they did, I’d spend the night and part of the day tomorrow curled up on the couch crying.
“That sounds like a lot of fun,” Shorey smiled sweetly, one that helped me take a breath and calm down a bit. “I’d definitely be up for doing that.”
“What about you, Moberly?” I asked, already able to see her blushing and shifting around on her hooves before I even got the question out. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to though.”
“I’ll go,” she said quickly. “I mean, I might as well. I’m gonna need some mare’s clothes eventually.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything else from you,” I commented as I mixed the dough. “I just wanna see myself in something nice and cute and flowery.”
“It sounds like it’s gonna be very fun,” Shorey smiled. “In the meantime, do either of you know how to use this gas stove?”
Things were quiet after that, the three of us focusing on baking cookies, the smell of which helped take my mind off other things. It was a nice time, and a good way to end the day after that experience. It was made even more so watching Shorey smile as we worked, looking happy and content and perfectly at home. She tried to hide it, but I also occasionally caught Moberly smiling, too.
We got up early the next day and headed out, walking around to see what clothing shops we could find. There was nothing by Rarity that we saw in Crystal City, but there were a few high end shops, and we eventually found one to browse. It was almost completely empty except for the three of us and a mare who I assumed was the owner. The fact of that made me so much less insecure.
“Welcome to Dainty Dresses!” the shop owner greeted us. “Anything I can help you with? Or did you have an order put in already? I’m not very good with faces.”
For a shop named ‘Dainty Dresses’, a lot of these were not dainty at all. A lot of them looked fancy and complicated and like something you’d see in a fashion show. I didn’t draw attention to that fact though.
“We’re just looking for dresses to try on,” I told her. “We don’t have any money, but we wanted to browse to see if we could buy later. Is that okay?”
“Absolutely! Pick out anything you like, or I can help you choose? What were you two ladies looking for?”
“Do you have anything in pink and orange?” Shorey started immediately. “Something light and flowing would be nice to start. A sundress.” She was grinning from ear to ear as she said it.
“Well, if it’s okay, I might suggest something soft blue would work better with your coat,” she said. She hurried over to grab one, one that didn’t look exactly like a sundress, but still pretty. It was soft blue with yellow edges, something that looked like it would match her.
“I think this would look very well on you,” the shopkeeper said with a smile.
“I can start with this.”
“Excellent. And what about you, miss?” She turned to Moberly now, who was looking at her hooves and had her ears pressed against her head.
“Anything is fine,” she said shyly, looking like she was doing all she could not to smile. “I don’t care.”
“Well then I think we’ll find something orange or red for you,” the mare said. “Let me just look around here to see what would work.”
“Can I get one that’s violet or tan colored?” I asked as she looked. “Tan with violet colored flowers would be super nice if you had that.”
“I don’t have that specifically, but tan would go well with your coat, I believe, as long as it’s the right shade,” she said before she turned around to look at me. “But you want to put on a dress? Aren’t you a stallion?”
“If I were, then it wouldn’t make much sense for me to want to wear a dress, would it?” I said, mostly avoiding the awkward question. “But something tan would be very lovely, if I can have it.”
She only stared at me for a long moment, blinking at me like I was some strange creature. It was a simple reaction, but one that helped me to learn something important. Being trans wasn’t something that Equestrian ponies faced, or, at least, it was something that wasn’t known about very much.
“So uh, if you could get me that dress, please?” I asked, grinning awkwardly as she continued to stare. Being stared at like that was starting to make me dysphoric, and this was a moment I didn’t want to have ruined by dysphoria. And ruined it was being. The longer she stared, the worse I felt.
“S-sorry!” she said, finally shaking her head clear of whatever thoughts were in it. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable like that. L-let me see what I can find.”
She quickly hurried off, and I breathed a sigh of relief. “God, that was awful. That made me want to die.”
“You know, if you’re getting dysphoric now, then maybe you shouldn’t wear a dress,” Moberly said. “It’s just going to make you feel worse if you give into that kind of stuff.”
“Yeah, well, I tried not giving into it for about half a decade, and it doesn’t really help,” I said lightly, doing as best I could to not focus on how stocky my body was.
A minute later, she came back with two more dresses, giving each of us one to try on, although I watched her stare at me more with a confused and surprised expression. I did my best to brush it off as she showed us where the changing area was. There were dozens of mirrors, although no actual room, which I guessed made sense. It wasn’t like we were hiding anything anyway.
I focused on looking at Shorey in the mirror as I got myself changed, waiting until I was completely in the thing before putting my eyes on myself. I remembered when I was a teenager, before I transitioned, it was about a fifty-fifty shot whether seeing myself in women’s clothes would make me happy or sad because of dysphoria, and assumed the odds were roughly the same now.
Luckily, it turned out to be reliving, the fabric hiding my lack of a tail and somehow making my body seem slimmer. I wasn’t really a dress gal, opting for skinny jeans most of the time if I had to choose between it and pants, but it felt unbelievably nice right now. The soft fabric rubbed against my fur, and if not for my square face and clearly taller stature, I felt like I would’ve been seen as a mare. It made me feel so much nicer about myself.
I didn’t think Shorey’s smile could get wider, but somehow it did. She turned left and right, examining herself in the mirror, clearly liking what she saw. She looked absolutely beautiful, and seeing her looking so happy made my heart want to melt.
I wondered for a second what it would be like to get everything I wanted in one second instead of having to take years of time and energy and awkward stares and occasional harassment to get to. I quickly put that thought out of my head though. It was a nice moment, and I wasn’t going to ruin it thinking about things like that right now.
“You look very pretty, Shorey,” I said, watching her look down at herself and smile. “Absolutely amazing.” With how happy she looked, I almost expected her to cry, but she somehow was able to keep herself from doing so.
“Thanks,” she told me happily. “You look nice, too. I wouldn’t expect a color like tan to work with your coat, but it looks very well on you.”
“It feels nice,” I continued. “I feel much more like myself. I’m gonna buy this specific dress as soon as I can and wear it everywhere.”
“We’ll definitely have to ask how much these are, because I like this one, too. I think she was right about how it compliments my coat well. Do you like yours, Moberly?”
We both turned to see her quietly looking at herself in the mirror, sniffling and smiling to herself, the tears very obviously running down. We watched her for a long minute as she turned side to side, examining herself until she realized we were watching her. When she did, she went back to scowling, and tried her best to not look so embarrassed.
“Before you say anything, I’m only sniffling because there’s, like, pollen or something all on this dress. I don’t know where it’s from, but it’s making my allergies act up.”
“Ah, of course,” I joked. “There’s just been so much of it lately, hasn’t there?” I said sarcastically. “Especially since it’s winter.” My joke got Shorey to chuckle, too.
“See?” Moberly started, sounding upset. “I told you he was just gonna tease me because that’s all they do.”
“You make it too easy!” I laughed, ignoring the incorrect pronoun she used. “You can say it feels nice to be a mare instead of trying to lie. Being a girl is literally the best thing ever.”
“Yeah, well…” she started in a whisper, mostly talking under her breath. “I’m sorry you can’t feel it too.”
Okay, that one hurt a little bit, which meant it was time to stop pushing. “Well, for what it’s worth, I think you look very nice. The red against your navy colored coat reminds me of halloween colors. It’s pretty.”
Moberly took a breath and let it out as she turned her attention back to her reflection, unable to keep herself from smiling at it again. It was super adorable to see, and I hoped it would do something to help her attitude. I wasn’t entirely sure how it would do something, but I hoped it would.
“It looks good enough,” she agreed, trying to sound unenthused about it. “I’d like to try on a few more though.”
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Personally, (had I the ingredients) I'd make peanut butter balls. It requires no baking, and you can have fun doing it.
The fact that they taste good and are (relatively, anyway) healthy helps too.
Yes! But granola works better..
Heaven forbid that they have ones of clovers, hourglasses and pots of gold.
11309248
Should we throw in horseshoes, crescent moons, rainbows, and balloons too?
11309617
I didn't mention those because I figured they would probably have those anyway. But I'm glad at least someone got the reference.
11309808
Okay, so I didn't misunderstand where you were going with that, then. I thought I had it right, but the mention of hourglasses threw me off. It's been a while.
11309867
That said, if they were to make Lucky Charms, they would at least need marshmallow, so that option is out the window.
11321322
Actually I think we were both wrong. Because thinking back on it I'm pretty sure it should have just said our fur or both of our fur.
Also I looked at a number of different search results and a couple different English language dictionaries and they all agree that an apostrophe should generally be used on the last person's name when two or more people are referred to . And the only time mine would be followed by 's is when mine is used to replace a possessive noun phrase (e.g. "I have that same jacket. Mine's brown though.") or when mine is a noun but not a pronoun.
A few different sources also say that it's correct to say mine and Sally's or Sally's and my. Though some did say Sally's and mine can also be used, but it seemed like that was more a dialect thing or possibly be similar to how some people spell color as colour. (I'm never really sure if British English, Australian English, American English, etc are closer to different dialects of English or different languages that happen to all be named English)