Sweetie Belle Learns Rarity Is Trans

by cookiefonster

4. Encounter with Applejack

Author's Note:

In this fic, Apple Bloom was born after Applejack got her cutie mark. I know a brief flashback in Going to Seed shows Apple Bloom was born before Applejack got her cutie mark, but Where the Apple Lies, which is a full-out flashback episode, strongly implies the opposite. In that episode, we see Filthy and Spoiled Rich engaged, and their daughter (presumably not born yet) is clearly about the same age as Apple Bloom; meanwhile, Applejack looks significantly older than on the day she got her cutie mark.

The show is inconsistent with the ages (and aliveness) of the Apple family in flashbacks, so there's a lot of interpretations you could go for. And I don't know about you, but I think it gets boring to pull out the "they were on vacation and took Apple Bloom with them!" excuse every time Applejack's parents and baby Apple Bloom were absent from flashbacks.

It was another ordinary day at Carousel Boutique—the makeshift fashion store where Rarity spent most of her time outside of school, and all of her time when her parents were on vacation, like right now. Calling it a “fashion store” was an admitted stretch, since she had never sold a single garment there yet. She had, however, crafted tons of dresses for her own usage. which she would spend hours on end trying on while making cute girly poses in front of the mirror. While putting on makeup to accentuate her dazzling eyelashes, she reflected on her revelations since earning her cutie mark five years ago.

Rarity learned the word “transgender” shortly after the play where she earned her cutie mark. One of the stage performers said Rarity reminded her of her favorite cousin, who was born as a colt but never felt right as one, and instead took it into her own hooves to present as a mare. Throughout the explanation, Rarity’s brain kept screaming “this is exactly like me!”—she was so relieved that there was a word for how she felt about her body. Although she never did meet that cousin, partly because she soon quit the acting club to focus more on dressmaking, that tale stuck with her since and inspired her to do the same... but with quite a few hurdles.

In the last few years, Rarity’s relationship with her parents had gotten uneasy. She frequently told them that she wanted to be called a filly or a mare, not a colt, but her parents would always forget the next day and go back to calling her “son”. On the bright side, her parents now let her stay on her own whenever they went on vacation, which was typically for three weeks at a time. During those trips, Rarity would bring her bed and all her favorite possessions over to the boutique—the perfect place where she could be she. And although she would bring everything back home the day before her parents arrived, this place was starting to feel like her true home.

Having finished with her makeup, Rarity tilted her head in the mirror and smirked, looking quite ladylike if she said so her—

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Could that be a customer? Before Rarity had time to think, she scrambled downstairs and rushed into her chair at the boutique’s entrance. “Come in!” she said in that melodious tone she had been trying to work into her everyday speech.

An orange earth pony about Rarity’s age slammed the door against the wall and walked in. She had uncombed yellow hair in pigtails and some patches of dirt and sweat on her face—perhaps she was in a hurry? “Scuse me. Are you by any chance the owner of this here boutique?” the earth pony asked.

“Why yes, darling!” Rarity smiled and flipped her mane back, the first part of a greeting that she had rehearsed countless times to make a good first impression. “My name is Rarity, and I am the owner of Carousel Boutique. How my I assist you today?”

“Well, me and my brother and granny need some black suits for tomorrow. My brother’s this big—” the earth pony spread her front hooves about as far as she could “—and my granny’s ‘bout the same size as me.” She paused for a second. “Name’s Applejack, by the way.”

“Hmm. Black suits, you say. What sort of occasion would you three need those for?”

“I, uh...” Applejack darted her eyes around and smiled nervously. “It’s for a... a family gathering, and we wanna make a good first impression to some relatives we’ll be meetin’ for the first time.”

Rarity’s eyes perked up. This was her chance to show off her fashion knowledge! “Oh, I know everything about making a good first impression. And I don’t think a black suit would be the most fashionable outfit for an event as simple as a family gathering. Perhaps an emerald green suit would be more to your liking? It would certainly complement your color better. Or I could use some of that extra chartreuse fabric I have lying around to design you an apple-themed dress!”

“That’s mighty kind a’ you to offer, but, um... you see... we’re meetin’ relatives in Manehattan, and they got a strict dress code over there. When visitin’ family there for the first time, you gotta wear a black suit! Else they’ll think you’re a clown or somethin’.”

“You have family in Manehattan???” Rarity’s eyes glittered as she put her hooves on her cheeks. “Why, that is only the most delightful megalopolis in all of Equestria! I will design the three of you the most fashionable ensembles I can, so that you can leave the best first impression for your elite Manehattanite relatives. Though... photos of your brother and grandmother would help.”

“Oh, right! Can’t believe I forgot to show you.” Applejack pulled three small photos out of her saddlebag and laid them on Rarity’s desk. She pointed to them one by one. “That’s Big Mac, that’s Granny Smith, and that’s me of course. I dunno much about fashion, but I trust you can make us some mighty fine suits for our f... family gathering.”

“I promise you I won’t let you down!” Rarity said, flipping her mane back again. “Now, um... if you don’t mind me asking, are your parents not coming with you?”

Applejack gulped. “Oh, them? They’re, um... they’ve just been takin’ a long vacation.”

“Well... alright then. I’d love to talk with you further, but I’ll need all the concentration I can get to design you the best possible black suits! I promise I will have them ready tomorrow before sundown.”

Applejack nervously waved her hoof, and Rarity eagerly waved hers in response. “See ya tomorrow, Rarity,” Applejack said as she walked out the door and slammed it once again.

---

Rarity fiddled with a hair brush at her desk, unsure what to do for the past three hours now that she finished crafting three black suits and checked and double-checked their designs. Perhaps she would be less bored if she could have a little sister already, who she could teach how to sew and draw and style her mane... but it was clear her parents would never give her one. She sighed loudly, waiting for somepony to—

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Wait, this sequence of knocks sounded familiar! Before her wall could get damaged further, Rarity walked up and gently opened the door.

“Howdy, Rarity! Did ya finish makin’ those suits?” Applejack asked.

“Why, yes I did!” Rarity tapped her hooves on the floor in excitement as she used magic to pull a rack with three suits out of her closet. “I hope these three suits serve you well on your voyage to the glamour and delight that is Manehattan!”

Applejack looked at the suits for a few seconds. Each was carefully stitched to match the body proportions of its wearer, and each had gems encrusted in an apple shape around the neck—one with red gems, one with orange, and one with green. “They’re... they’re beautiful,” Applejack said, tears welling up in her eyes. “These are gonna be perfect for what we’re doin’. Now how many bits do I owe you for these?” She rummaged around in her saddlebag and pulled out a sack of coins.

“You can get these suits for free, darling! They are my gift to you.”

Applejack chuckled. “Oh, Rarity, that’s so sweet of you to offer. But if you’re runnin’ a business, you’ll wanna charge some money for your products. That way, you can save up enough bits to make more products that you can sell later! It’ll also help if you wanna fix up your place or try some of our famous apple cider.”

“I insist that you take these suits for free, Applejack. I wouldn’t dare force anypony to give me money just to look like the fine and fashionable pony they so badly want to be.”

“Well, I insist that I pay you at least twenty bits for these suits! I reckon these are worth at least as much as one of Granny’s apple pies.”

“But wouldn’t you want some extra money on hoof for your trip to Manehattan? Calling a cab there costs at least ten bits per pony, not even to speak of whatever hotel you’ll be staying in.”

“Yeah... um...” Applejack scratched the back of her head. “Don’t you worry, sugarcube. Big Mac’s got plenty of extra bits for our trip! And when these suits look this good...” Applejack sniffed and got teary again. “It feels wrong not to repay you some.” Applejack dumped out all the contents of her bag—exactly twenty coins.

“Applejack, I’ll accept no more than eighteen bits. Believe me, when you want to try one of Manehattan’s famous back massages, you’ll be thankful to have some extra bits to spare.”

Applejack put two coins back in her bag. “Heh, if you say so. Eighteen bits it is!”

---

“Wow, I had no idea you and Applejack were friends before I was born,” said Sweetie Belle. “Kind of surprising, considering how different you two are.”

“Oh, darling, Applejack and I go way back,” said Rarity. “We are the only ones in our friend group from Ponyville after all. Twilight and Spike are from Canterlot, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash grew up in Cloudsdale, and... wait. Where was Pinkie Pie from again?”

“A rock farm!”

“Oh, of course. How could I have forgotten? Wait... how did you know that?”

“Oh! I memorized all the stories you and your friends told us about how you got your cutie marks, back when we were searching for ours. I actually tried out rock farming once, and... let’s just say, I still don’t understand what that even is.” Sweetie Belle blushed, recalling some of the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ most embarrassing mishaps. “This story makes me wonder, though... why did it take so long for me to meet Apple Bloom? We could’ve been friends far sooner!”

“You two are quite lucky, actually! You met her years before you got your cutie marks. I didn’t meet Applejack until after we got ours.”

“I guess you’re right. It probably isn’t right to complain much about the life I have anyway. Especially considering, um, you know...” Sweetie Belle twiddled her hooves together. “That I was born as a girl, and you weren’t. And that makes me feel kind of guilty.”

Rarity chuckled. “Oh, Sweetie Belle, there’s no reason to feel guilty about that. That is exactly the reason I wanted a sister so badly! So I could feel less lost and lonely in my foalhood and see first-hoof what the life of an ordinary filly is like.”

“So... did Mom and Dad eventually give in to your requests and have a second kid?”

“Erm... not exactly. I could continue the story upstairs if you’re willing to lend a hoof and help me finish Sapphire Shores’ dress.”

Sweetie Belle’s face lit up in joy. “REALLY??? This is the most exciting news EVER!” A burst of excitement popped from Sweetie Belle’s horn, and she teleported to the top of the stairs. She touched herself, surprised she just did that. “Well, second most exciting after getting my cutie mark.”

“I’ll give you some supervision, of course,” Rarity said with a gentle smile. “But if you’re old enough to learn I wasn’t born as a mare, then you’re certainly old enough to operate a sewing machine.”

Sweetie Belle grinned broadly and jumped around in circles. “I’m sewing with my sister! I’m sewing with my sister! I’m sewing with my sister!” she chanted.

“Sweetie Belle, you don’t have to... oh, never mind. I’ll let you have this moment.”

Comments

[Prettypony]

This story is nice so far

[Bicyclette]

The show is inconsistent with the ages (and aliveness) of the Apple family in flashbacks, so there's a lot of interpretations you could go for.

so true! and if flashbacks are the characters reminiscing, details are gonna get jumbled up!

“Well, me and my brother and granny need some black suits for tomorrow. My brother’s this big—” the earth pony spread her front hooves about as far as she could “—and my granny’s ‘bout the same size as me.” She paused for a second. “Name’s Applejack, by the way.”

oof, quite the moment for their first meeting to be about

And I don’t think a black suit would be the most fashionable outfit for an event as simple as a family gathering. Perhaps an emerald green suit would be more to your liking?

aww, Rarity’s too young to pick up on the implications here! what a faux pas

“You have family in Manehattan???” Rarity’s eyes glittered as she put her hooves on her cheeks. “Why, that is only the most delightful megalopolis in all of Equestria!

that is ironic that Applejack had a closer connection to Manehattan than Rarity did growing up

“I hope these three suits serve you well on your voyage to the glamour and delight that is Manehattan!”

very Rarity sentence

“But if you’re old enough to learn I wasn’t born as a mare, then you’re certainly old enough to operate a sewing machine.”

yay unpaid foal labor!

Sweetie Belle grinned broadly and jumped around in circles. “I’m sewing with my sister! I’m sewing with my sister! I’m sewing with my sister!” she chanted.

“Sweetie Belle, you don’t have to... oh, never mind. I’ll let you have this moment.”

aww!

[cookiefonster]

11653359
I had never thought about it, but it does make sense that Rarity's younger age in this scene is why she didn't put two and two together.