Sweetie Belle Learns Rarity Is Trans

by cookiefonster

11. Conclusion

“Aww, that was such a sweet story,” said Sweetie Belle, still sitting next to Rarity on the latter’s bed. “But... it also made me realize something about grown-up ponies.”

“What would that be, dear?” Rarity asked.

“I’m sure this is going to sound silly, but... when I was younger, I always thought you and your friends knew everything. Like, you’d always go around fighting villains who wanted to take over Equestria, or get sent off somewhere to solve a friendship problem, and you always seemed to know exactly how to handle it. But now I know that Twilight didn’t know something as simple as what transgender means until last year!”

“Oh, Sweetie Belle,” Rarity said with a chuckle, “it’s not a simple concept at all.”

“I don’t know, Miss Cheerilee explained it pretty clearly when we learned about it in school. And now that I think of it... she did have an example to go off of.” Sweetie Belle poked Rarity in the side.

Rarity shrieked and jumped out of her bed. “Sweetie Belle, why in Equestria would you poke me?! You should at least have the courtesy to warn me before doing that.”

“Oh, I poked you because I wanted to say in a cute way that you are the example of a transgender pony that Cheerilee went off of.”

“Ah, heh heh... right. Of course.” Rarity sat back down next to Sweetie Belle and laid her head on her hooves. “It would appear... that’s one of the things I am most useful for.” She sniffled a little, tears starting to come out of her eyes.

“Wait, Rarity. Are you... crying?”

Rarity wiped some tears off her face with a tissue. “You could never understand it, Sweetie Belle! After all those years of looking and sounding and behaving like a mare, I still have moments where I dearly wish I was a real mare, like you are. But I am not one, and even my dearest, sweetest, most lovely little sister had to find it out eventually.”

Sweetie Belle smiled gently and put a hoof on her sister’s back. “Rarity, you are a real mare.”

“Oh, that is so sweet of you to say, but I just told you I am not—”

“I know that! But look at yourself.” Sweetie Belle used magic to pick up a mirror from Rarity’s nightstand, and levitated the mirror in front of her sister’s face. “Isn’t this the girl you dreamed of being when you were younger?”

Her horn glowing blue, Rarity pulled out a crumbled piece of paper from under her bed. She unfolded it, gently blew the dust off, and hovered it next to the mirror. On the left was her childhood drawing of a clumsily named character named “The Magic Mare”. On the right was a mirror reflection of a mare named Rarity. Her eyes moved left and right, alternating between the reflection and the drawing.

“Aside from the wings, and a slightly inaccurate mane color... it’s not too far off,” said Rarity.

“So, now do you see why you’re a real mare?” Sweetie Belle said as she turned to face her sister.

Rarity set her drawing and mirror aside. “While I am certainly glad that I can now look at a mirror without squirming in discomfort... that doesn’t change that I wasn’t born as a mare.”

“Well... think of it like this, Rarity. Rainbow Dash didn’t become a Wonderbolt on the day she was born. She had to work her way up to it to achieve her dreams! And me and Apple Bloom and Scootaloo... it took us years for us to realize who we were supposed to be, and now we’re helping out ponies and other creatures all around Equestria! You’re exactly the same way, except your dream was to be a girl.”

Rarity paused and put a hoof under her chin. “I’m not sure these situations are fully comparable. Nopony is born knowing their special talent, whereas most mares are already born into feminine bodies.”

“That’s the key word! Most mares. You’re a little different from them, but if you weren’t different from other ponies, then you wouldn’t be Rarity! Seriously, I don’t know anypony else who knows the names of this many colors and gems and types of fabric. Or anypony else who would soak themselves in mud just to make up with their little sister.”

“Hm... you do raise a good point,” said Rarity, slowly entering a smile.

“You should be proud of who you are! And that doesn’t mean you have to explain every detail of your life story to anypony who wants to know. It just means you don’t have to feel uncomfortable telling others about it. It might inspire somepony else to become the pony they want to be!”

“Part of me would still much rather keep it on the downlow, but... another part of me remembers how wonderful it feels to know I’ve inspired somepony. So, perhaps I would start by telling a few other ponies who I trust.”

“That’s the spirit! Also... I can’t imagine how good it must have felt to finally tell your little sister.”

“It feels more relieving than you could ever imagine. As though a massive rock was just lifted from my back, and now I can have an honest conversation with you without perpetually worrying that I’d let some silly old secret slip.” Rarity smiled warmly and wrapped her arms around her sister’s back, pulling her in for a hug. “I love you, Sweetie Belle. You’re exactly the wonderful sister I always wanted, and I don’t want you to ever forget that.”

Sweetie Belle looked surprised for a second, then hugged her sister back with a strong blush. “I love you too, Rarity. You’re the most amazing pony I know, and I’m glad you were able to share all this with me.”

“Do you... truly mean that?” Rarity asked.

“Of course I do.”

The two sisters held each other tight, saying no words for a minute until Sweetie Belle spoke up again.

“Wait a minute... I totally forgot I was supposed to help Apple Bloom and Scootaloo clean Cheerilee’s house!” said Sweetie Belle, still clinging tightly to her big sister.

“But... the dress! For Sapphire Shoes! I still need your help to finish it!”

“We have a few more days, remember?”

“Oh... yes, of course,” said Rarity as she awkwardly grinned.

Sweetie Belle let go of her sister’s hug and hopped off the bed. “We can continue tomorrow. Then you can tell me more stories about your life, and you can teach me more about how to sew!”

Rarity scratched her head. “Well... I hadn’t really planned for this week to involve spending so much time with you, but I could easily adjust my schedule to accommodate that.”

“I’d love that so much!” said Sweetie Belle with a broad grin. “See you tomorrow at the same time I came today?”

Rarity waved a hoof at her sister. “Tomorrow it is!”

Comments

[Daedalus Aegle]

A very sweet story

[cookiefonster]

11432723
Thanks so much! I'm glad I was able to finish it on a positive note.

[Zervon Tora]

Nice interaction between Sweetie Belle and Rarity. Well written and caring for a sensitive subject.

[cookiefonster]

11432861
It's my first time publishing a story about this difficult topic, so I'm happy you felt it was handled well.

[cookiefonster]

11432899
I did. I didn't have anything to say in response.

[Amethyst Dragonfly]

11433509
It was, especially since it was only about 5 to 8 months since I had started my transition.

[Bicyclette]

Her horn glowing blue, Rarity pulled out a crumbled piece of paper from under her bed. She unfolded it, gently blew the dust off, and hovered it next to the mirror. On the left was her childhood drawing of a clumsily named character named “The Magic Mare”. On the right was a mirror reflection of a mare named Rarity. Her eyes moved left and right, alternating between the reflection and the drawing.

it is a nice touch to bring it back around to the childhood drawing!

---

cute story! though i admit, i found Rarity being so jealous of literal children for so long a bit strange? some of her conversations with Sweetie Belle would make a lot more sense if they were a lot closer in age

[cookiefonster]

11654335
I'm glad you enjoyed the story this much and commented extensively! There are a lot of things I would have probably done differently now, but it was still fun (and challenging) to write this fic.

[ponieshaveears]

Stumbled upon this fic the other day and just finished! I love it, it's so sweet

Some things I admire:
- You recontextualize Rarity's unique way of speaking and canon obsession with being "ladylike" in a really neat way
- Also generally captured Rarity very well, she feels incredibly in-character even while exploring this new territory with her, I absolutely believe a trans Rarity would struggle with insecurity for so many years considering how important image is to her
- Continuing that thought, you handled all of the characters superbly! Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie especially shone for me in their brief appearances, oh and of course Rainbow Dash would be the one that misinterprets what direction Rarity is trans in lol, and oh my gosh mature Spike is a real treat!!!
- Her childhood drawing <333 and then you bring it back in the ending aaaa <3
- Your take on how Rarity realized she's a filly was excellent
- So many little details... like Rarity's parents' cooking, Rarity meeting AJ first of the Mane 6, voice training with Fluttershy, exploration of Spike's identity as a pony-raised dragon and him using that to understand gender identity... all felt so thought-out and true and satisfying!
- Seriously refreshing to read a trans pony fic that feels similar in tone in the show (and ends all heartwarming to boot!!! )

[cookiefonster]

11688414
I'm so glad you enjoyed my fic this much!!! Making it accurate to the spirit of the show was exactly my intention.

[pneu]

What a sweet and heartwarming story! You've written the characters so well, especially Rarity. Nice work!

[cookiefonster]

11724478
Thank you so much!