3. Play Date
3. Play Date
It was a late afternoon in the market square as the last of the vendors packed up for the day. A few ponies still walked through the square under the setting sun, but those who did were quiet and few and far in between. As such, it was not at all hard to hear the laughter coming from one of the houses overlooking the square.
Rose had invited Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Twilight, and Fluttershy earlier that day to talk about the interview she would be giving Summer Breeze later that week, as well as to bounce ideas off of them in terms of advice that she could give Summer’s parents. All of the girls had given great suggestions and listened intently as Rose spoke. They were all also extremely excited to meet the new ponies as well, with Applejack and Rarity promising to talk to their siblings about being friends with Summer. In fact, the only pony who did not seem happy about the news was Pinkie, who had begrudgingly agreed to postpone the welcome party until they had gotten settled and until Rose had had an ample chance to warn them.
With the more pressing issue tended to, the conversation had now shifted to the girls telling of their recent visit to the Wonderbolts Academy, which they had just returned from and where Rainbow Dash currently resided. This conversation was done in the company of Derpy, who had arrived at Rose’s place about halfway through the afternoon and had accepted the invitation to stay.
“I can’t believe she did that!” remarked Derpy. “Even when she was a filly being a Wonderbolt is all she’s ever cared about. I can’t believe that she told off Spitfire!”
“That’s what I thought too,” said Twilight. “I was about to tell her to go back, apologize, and beg for re-entry into the academy; but as it turns out I didn’t have to.”
“Oh?” asked Rose.
“Yeah,” said Twilight. “Spitfire came right up to us, yelling ‘How dare you storm out of my office without giving me a chance to respond?!’ She not only said that Rainbow was still an academy member, but that she was being promoted to a leading position on top of that while firing that Lightning Dust pegasus.”
“Serves her right,” added Rarity. “I may not approve of Rainbow’s risk-taking but at least she has the decency to ensure that her risks only endanger herself.”
“So she got to stay?” asked Derpy.
“Do ya see her here?” asked Applejack.
“Oh, right,” muttered Derpy, smiling sheepishly.
“You’re forgetting the most important part of all!”
“What is it, Pinkie?”
“After she did some laps, Rainbow opened her care package!” said Pinkie while grinning.
“Um... right,” said Twilight. “And then Rainbow received and opened her care package.”
“Oh, good,” commented Rose. “You hadn’t mentioned it so I was worried that she hadn’t gotten it and that Rainbow had forgotten all of you. Don’t scare me like that, Twilight!”
“I know, right!?” exclaimed Pinkie, to the giggles of those assembled.
“Um, girls, I don’t want to interrupt, but I have to go soon to tend to my animals,” muttered Fluttershy.
Twilight looked at the clock.
“Yes, I think it’s about time we all left,” commented Twilight. “As fun as this has been, it is getting to be fairly late.”
The rest muttered in agreement, grabbing their things before heading out the door. One by one they all said their goodbyes, thanking Rose for the pleasant evening with promises to meet again soon. In the end the only two left in the house were Rose and Derpy.
“This was a lot of fun, Rose,” said Derpy.
“It was,” said Rose. “I would’ve invited you to it but I have the lunch thing with Lyra, Bon Bon, and you next week and I don’t like taking up too much of anyone’s time.”
“That’s ok,” said Derpy. “If you had I would have probably said no. I was working all day and only just got done when I knocked on your door.”
“Well I’m glad you did, Derpy,” said Rose. “It was a lot of fun having you here.”
“I can’t wait to the lunch next week,” Derpy said as she prepared to leave. Then she stopped, pulling a letter from her saddlebag.
“Oh, I almost forgot!” she said, handing the letter to Rose. “Here you go!”
“Oh, what is it?” asked Rose.
“Your mail silly,” Derpy said. “It’s the reason I came here. It was my last delivery of the day, but then you invited me to stay and it was a lot of fun and I didn’t want to ruin the mood, so I figured I’d give it to you before I left.”
Rose stared at her with a confused look.
“Why would giving me my mail ruin the mood?” she asked.
“Oh, well I’m not sure that it would, I didn’t open it or anything,” said Derpy. “But the letter is from Canterlot, so…”
“Oh,” exclaimed Rose, reading the return address. It had been sent from the Rhyme estate.
“Well, yeah,” Rose thought to herself. “This certainly has the capacity to ruin someone’s day.”
She then turned to look at Derpy.
“Well thank you for delivering my mail,” said Rose. “See you next week, ok?”
“Ok,” affirmed Derpy. She waved goodbye and left Rose’s home, closing the door behind her. Rose looked at the envelope for a while, making her way to her couch.
Rose had received a lot of letters from Canterlot in the past months. Octavia, for example, made it a point to write at least once a week with extra letters to account for special events or circumstances (like warning Rose about the article). She even had gotten a few letters from the Rhyme estate, courtesy of her brother Perfect. However, he had yet to work on his penmanship, which meant one could identify his letters from his messy hoofwriting on the envelope alone. This was not sent by him.
“Well,” she muttered. “Let’s see what’s up.”
To: Sla Evening Rose
I know we haven’t talked since your last “visit” in Canterlot. Let it suffice to say that a lot of things have changed in that time, following my press conference which I’m sure you’ve read about due to the coverage it received. You used to mention that your dark robe kept you out of the public eye, and if that’s true then I would suggest keeping it with you at all times. On a more personal note, changes have happened in our household as well as a result of your actions, and while we still do not approve of your choices, your mother and I have agreed that it is important to establish a channel of communication with you since we are still family, even if only from sharing a bloodline. In any case, this is not what the focus this letter is about.
Your mother and I have business in Vanhoover this weekend. Usually we would simply employ a foalsitter for your brother or take him with us on our trip, both of which are possible options. However, we remember you extending your hospitality to him last time you were here, and your mother and I have agreed that it would be best for him to spend the weekend with you in Ponyville, if you find the idea agreeable that is.
I know it is short notice and we do not know what kind of plans you may already have. As such, we have not mentioned this possibility to him yet, to avoid getting his hopes up before we have your answer.
If you are able to take him he will be on the second train to Ponyville two days from now. If not, then we will simply hire someone to look after him or take him with us at our convenience. In either case, a response would be appreciated sooner rather than later. A simple yes or no should suffice.
-Rich Rhyme
Rose stared at the letter in confusion, re-reading it as she made her way upstairs to her work desk, questions flooding her mind.
Her dad had mentioned the importance of family in his press release, as Rose had read, and had mentioned that despite his disapproval they were attempting to keep the family together. However, she had been sure that had just been a scripted response for the press and an accommodation made for Perfect’s sake. And yet, here he was, writing about how both him and Ilene wanted to establish a channel of communication with her. Rose didn’t know what to make of it.
“Changes in the household indeed,” Rose muttered to herself as she reached the desk.
Regardless of her confusion, there was something that needed her immediate attention. Her parents wanted her brother to stay with her for the weekend. While they had talked through letters, she had not seen her brother since the invasion, a fact that she really wanted to rectify. If he came this weekend, he would be arriving a day before her meeting with Summer Breeze, and would be leaving afterwards, but Rose was sure she could make this work. What she needed to do now was respond before her parents could change their minds.
Grabbing a piece of parchment and her quill, she wrote a short letter for an overnight delivery.
To: Rich Rhyme
Yes
-Evening Rose
Rose found that waiting at the train station for her brother was a lot different than waiting for Octavia.
When waiting for the latter, Rose felt a certain calm and collectiveness bordering on boredom. For starters, Vinyl would always be there to help pass the time and to talk to. Then there was the fact that Octavia’s visits brought on a certain excitement despite the fact that they had become more commonplace in the last months. As for the former, all Rose felt now was anxiety.
She had refused to indulge the thought before, since she had just been shocked about Perfect’s coming visit, but this would be the first time Perfect would really spend time with Evening Rose. In all the letters they had exchanged back and forth, not once was the topic of Rose’s identity as a mare discussed. Their conversations had instead been based on the more mundane topics of the daily goings on of a regular life. They had talked about Perfect’s schoolwork, Rose’s weather team work, and about their friends, but had never discussed Rose being transgender or the fallout between Rose and her family.
She knew that the topics would undoubtedly come up in her brother’s three day stay, and while she knew that he had already proved very mature and accepting, she was still nervous at the prospect of discussing things with him.
“Give yourself some credit,” she told herself. “It’s not like you’re just nervous, you’re outright afraid that he’ll reject you once he’s spent time with you. Maybe you’re not who he remembers at all.”
Rose took a deep breath.
“And I’m talking to myself,” she muttered. “Perfect.”
Her attention was pulled to the tracks as the second train from Canterlot arrived, and her fear and nervousness only grew as the doors opened and the ponies traveling on the train started filing out.
“Hey! Over here!”
Rose barely had the chance to discern the direction of the yell before she found herself tackled to the ground by her younger brother.
Perfect Rhyme hugged his sister tightly as ponies passing by walked around the two, chancing a curious or disapproving stare. Rose normally would feel embarrassed after drawing so much attention to herself. She would also normally feel panicked at the fact that her favorite blazer was now getting crumpled against the train station floor. However, as she held on to Perfect, she could not find it in herself to care about much of anything but the hug she was receiving, and just like that her fears were gone.
“I really missed you sis!” Perfect said.
“I missed you too Perfect,” she responded. “But don’t you think we should stop being in everyone’s way?”
Perfect looked around as if just noticing the multitude of ponies going to and from the trains.
“Oh yeah,” he said, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry.”
The two got up, dusting themselves off. They then split up the luggage, with Perfect following behind Rose as they made their way into town.
Before long they arrived at Rose’s home.
“We’re here.”
“Wow,” exclaimed Perfect. “This is your house?”
“Yep,” said Rose, “Here, let me get it open.”
Rose unlocked the door, letting Perfect in. She then carried the luggage, placing it in the living room.
“Well, for the next few days this is your home,” said Rose. “The master bedroom is upstairs, which is where you’ll be staying. I’ll be staying here in the living room. The bathroom is upstairs and to the left, and the kitchen is here in the back.”
Perfect, who had been looking at the mirror next to the stairs, turned around looking confused for a moment.
“You’re staying in the living room?” he asked. “Why don’t I just stay in the guest bedroom and you keep your room?”
“Um... well, I don’t actually have a guest room,” said Rose.
Perfect looked at her for a moment before what she had just said clicked in his head. Then he began talking in a hurried voice.
“Oh, that’s fine!” he stammered. “It’s still a really cool place. It’s really cozy and stuff.”
Rose giggled.
“It seems like he was more receptive to the ‘be polite’ lessons than I was,” she thought to herself.
“It’s ok, Perfect,” she assured him. “I know it’s not much, but it’s mine and I like it ok. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah, it does,” he said. Rose was still not convinced.
“Then what’s wrong?”
Perfect looked around for a second, but eventually sighed and then talked.
“Well, it’s just… Why stay here when you could go back?” he asked. “This place is cool and all, and the town seems nice, but you could be back home, so why stay?”
Rose took a deep breath. While the question did not catch her unawares, she was still hesitant to discuss it. Still, she knew better than to try to avoid it.
“Did Mom and Dad tell you why I left, Perfect?” she asked.
Perfect thought for a moment.
“Yeah,” he answered. “You came out to them, they got upset, there was an argument, and then you ran away.”
“Figures that they wouldn’t tell him everything,” she thought to herself. “Well, it’s probably for the best that he doesn’t know. He still has to live with them.”
“Yeah.” Rose said. “There was an argument and I realized that I could not be myself around Mom and Dad anymore. I needed my space and Canterlot was not my home anymore.”
“But they’ve changed!” Perfect said. “They regret what they said and they want you back.”
He paused.
“Or at least, I think they do.”
Rose pulled up to her brother, giving him a tight hug. She hated seeing him upset, but she knew there was more than going on than she should really explain at the moment.
“I’m sorry, Perfect,” she said. “But I’m not sure that they do want me back, and even if they did, I have a life here. I have friends, and a job, and this house. This is where I belong.”
Perfect looked sad but nodded.
“Yeah, I guess I understand.”
Rose gave him a smile.
“Look, how about you get settled upstairs, and then I’ll introduce you to my friends,” she said. “One of them works in a bakery and the other in a sweets shop, and I may just have a few extra bits I don’t need lying around.”
Perfect perked up at the suggestion.
“Sounds good to me!”
The rest of the evening was spent going to the houses or workplaces of all of Rose’s friends. Perfect seemed genuinely excited to meet each of them, and each of them in kind seemed happy at meeting the little brother they had heard so much about. Perfect also seemed to enjoy the variety of locations the town had to offer, commenting how much he liked Sweet Apple Acres, Sugarcube Corner, the Carousel Boutique, the library, and Fluttershy’s cottage. Rose could not blame him; after all, everything in Canterlot tended to look the same. Compared to that, Perfect might as well have visited seven different cities that day, all in the company of entertaining ponies and, of course, his big sister.
Soon it got dark and they headed back to Rose’s home.
“I see why you like this town now,” Perfect commented as he got ready for bed.
“So you didn’t before?” Rose asked. “Does that mean you lied?”
Perfect’s eyes widened.
“No!” he said, “Well, yes, I did. But I mean it now, and this was only my first day here! I can’t wait till tomorrow!”
Rose stifled a giggle.
“Well, we’ll meet tomorrow when it gets here, ok?”
“Ok sis,” Perfect said, giving her a hug. “Have a good night.”
“You too, Perfect.”
Rose watched as Perfect went up the stairs before settling on the couch.
“Well it seems like nothing’s changed,” Rose thought to herself. “For all my fears that things would be different, he still sees me as his older sibling and he still idolizes the ground I walk on.”
As she covered herself with her covers, images of all of Rose’s mistakes quickly flashed through her mind.
“Yeah, I might need to do something about that,” she murmured before drifting off to sleep.
Rose and Perfect sat in perfect concentration on opposite sides of the living room table, sending glares at each other every few minutes.
“B3.”
“No!” exclaimed Perfect. “There is no way you’re doing this. You have to be cheating somehow!”
“So I take it that was a hit?” asked Rose, flashing a smirk at her brother. Perfect in turned mumbled something under his breath before nodding. Rose giggled.
It had been a pleasant morning for Rose and Perfect that day. After a slow start from sleeping in, the two got ready for the day and went out for breakfast. Perfect then accompanied Rose on her errands around town. Afterwards, they went to Twilight’s library to check out a few books for Perfect before heading back home, where they had spent the last few hours reading, talking, and playing games. Currently, the two were engaged in a very intense game of Battlecloud and, as Rose remembered, Perfect could be a very sore loser.
“That’s fine” exclaimed Perfect. “You know where one of my last pieces is but you haven’t destroyed it yet. I can still win this if I-“
A knock on the door halted his train of thought, and both of them turned to stare at the doorway.
“I’ll get it,” said Rose as she got up to answer it, finding Pinkie Pie on the other side.
“Hi Rose! Is Perfect ready? I have the most super awesome day planned for him. It involves sugar, and candy, and frosting! Unless you don’t approve of any of that like the dentist, in which case I’ll probably still give it to him anyway but then I’ll be forced to keep a secret from you and that wouldn’t be much fun at all.”
Pinkie stopped for a second as she thought through the problem.
“Actually, strike that, it would still be fun.”
Rose smiled.
“It’s ok Pinkie, Perfect can have treats every once in a while,” Rose said. “And he’s almost ready, let’s go inside.”
Rose turned to see her brother shuffling back into his seat.
“It’s my move right?” he asked.
“No, Perfect,” Rose said, narrowing her eyes. “Pinkie is here so you should get your stuff together.”
“Aw, but I was ready to show you that you’re not as clever as you think!” he protested.
“Fine,” said Rose. “Call it.”
“F5.” Perfect said smugly.
“Miss.”
Perfect got up from the chair in indignation.
“No way! I just saw…” he let the sentence trail off while Rose raised her eyebrow at him.
“Right,” he said, “I’ll go grab my things.”
With that, he headed upstairs. Rose watched him go before turning to look at Pinkie.
“Thank you so much for looking after him today while I ask Summer Breeze questions,” she said.
“No problem!” said Pinkie, “I already proved that I’m great at foalsitting foals, so now I’m going to prove that I can foalsit for older colts and fillies, and then I’ll see if I can foalsit adults, and I’ll be known as the greatest foalsitter ever!”
Rose stared at her for a minute.
“I’m sure you’ll do great,” Rose said. “And when you start foalsitting adults, I would recommend starting with Rarity. I’m sure she would love it.”
“Hmm, Rainbow Dash said the same thing,” said Pinkie.
“I’m sure she did,” Rose said, suppressing a grin.
“I’m ready to go,” said Perfect, rushing down the stairs.
“Yay! Well come on then!” said Pinkie, “We have a day of cupcakes and muffins ahead of us!”
Rose waved them off as they left her home. She then went inside, closing the door behind her, and began to clean the house in preparation for the upcoming visit.
She had not really planned anything in regards to how to approach this interview but, thanks to the girls, she had come up with some general advice to give the parents should she come up with nothing more catered to the specific needs of Summer Breeze. As such, she sat down on the couch and waited. After a few minutes there was a knock on the door.
“Well hello there,” said Rose, greeting her guests after opening the door. “I’m glad you could make it.”
“Thank you for taking the time to help us,” said Timber, shaking Rose’s hoof. Timber, Spring, and Summer all followed Rose to the living room after closing the door behind themselves.
“So, how long do you think this interview will take?” asked Spring.
Rose looked at her uncertainly, but answered nonetheless.
“I can’t imagine it would take more than a few hours,” said Rose.
“Oh,” said Spring. “Well, if that’s the case, would it be alright if Timber and I went to do a couple of errands while you two talk?”
“You’re not staying?” asked Rose.
“Well, we can if you think we’re needed,” said Timber. “But on the walk here we decided that it might be best to let you two talk by yourselves. Summer might feel more comfortable talking about things without us in the room and we don’t want to be in the way.”
Rose thought for a moment.
“Well, it’s not what I expected,” she said. “But if it’s alright with you then I don’t have a problem with it.”
“Great, we’ll be back in a few,” Spring said. The two then walked back to the door, waving goodbye to Summer as they left.
Rose watched them leave, turning her gaze to the filly in front of her once the door had closed. Summer was standing awkwardly with her saddlebag tilting her to one side, staring at Rose with wide eyes.
Despite not showing it, Rose certainly felt as awkward as the filly looked, unsure of how to start the conversation. In the end, she decided to start by trying to dissuade the tension.
“Hey there Summer,” she began. “That bag looks heavy. Would you like to sit down on the couch and put it next to you so you don’t have to carry it?”
Summer nodded, heading to couch and placing the bag next to herself. Rose, in turn, sat on a chair in front of the couch to be able to talk to Summer face-to-face.
“Ok, no sense in postponing this,” Rose said. “Is it ok if we begin?”
Summer waited for a second but then nodded.
“Well, first things first. What would you like me to call you?”
The filly looked at Rose with confusion.
“What do you mean?” she asked. “My name’s Summer Breeze. What else would you call me?”
“Oh, well,” Rose stammered, “Well, your parents told me that you’re trans and so I figured that you might have a name that you wanted to be called that reflected who you are better.”
The filly gave this some consideration.
“No,” she said. “I am trans, but I like my name. My parents gave it to me and I think it’s important. I don’t have to change it, do I?”
Rose stared at the filly for a while without answering. She had made it a point to not get any specific information from the parents in order to be able to look at Summer Breeze with an unbiased mind. As such, she expected to be surprised at some of her answers. What she did not expect was to be surprised after the very first one. Still, the filly had asked her a question so she could not afford to be lost in thought for long.
“Err, no,” Rose answered. “I don’t think you have to. If you’re happy with your name then you should keep it.”
Summer relaxed and smiled at the answer.
“Well, at least she’s talking and relaxing now,” thought Rose.
“Well, how about you tell me how you found this out about yourself?” asked Rose.
Summer looked at her for a moment before turning to dig into her saddlebag. From within it she pulled the same newspaper that her mother had shown Rose the previous week. Rose eyed it again before turning to look at Summer.
“This is an article about me,” Rose commented. “I’m guessing this has something to do with it?”
Summer nodded.
“Want to tell me about it?”
The both sat in silence for a while before Summer took a deep breath and spoke.
“I don’t know when it started,” she began. “But the day that article came out is the day I noticed it. A lot of what it said, especially about your foalhood, well, it’s what I feel all the time.”
Rose nodded, motioning for her to continue.
“I have friends, and I fit in with them alright, but I always felt different,” she continued. “I would always feel like I was broken, and I would get angry. I would get jealous over dumb things. Like, I would get a prize for doing just as well as a colt in my class even though I knew he deserved it more. I got it because I’m a filly and we’re not supposed to be as strong, and I got jealous that they expected more from him. I felt like they were babying me.”
Tears started to form in her eyes, but Rose said nothing for fear of interrupting her story.
“And my body doesn’t feel right,” she said. “Everypony tells me that it’ll be better when I grow up, get curves, and grow my mane, but I don’t want those things. I... I don’t know how I want to look but it’s not that. And I like my mane short.”
Summer began sobbing on the sofa, prompting Rose to sit beside her, placing a wing around her in an attempt to comfort her.
“Shhh, its alright,” said Rose, “Please don’t cry. I know it’s painful but what you’re telling me is helping me a lot. I just need you to be brave for a bit longer, ok?”
Summer seemed to fight back the tears but she was not making much headway in cheering up. Rose thought fast for a quick change of topic, at least until her feelings were in check.
“Hey, how about you tell me what else is in the bag?”
This seemed to pause Summer’s pain, if only out of pure confusion.
“In my bag?” she asked.
“Yeah,” said Rose. “When you pulled out your newspaper I saw that there was something else in there. You don’t have to show me what it is if you don’t want to, but-“
“No no, that’s ok!” said Summer. She quickly turned to her bag, pulling a Princess Celestia doll and a Princess Luna doll from within it. When she turned back to look at Rose, she was smiling.
“This is my Princess Celestia doll,” Summer said. “She’s the first one I got and I’ve had her for a very long time. This other one though is my Princess Luna doll. Don’t tell Celestia but I like both of them equally. I always take them with me to places and I like playing with them when I’m feeling upset. I know that I’m getting to be too old to play with dolls, but it makes me smile when I do. Oh, and I’m getting a Princess Cadence doll soon too! Once they start making them that is.”
“You like to play with dolls?” Rose asked.
She hadn’t meant to ask that question, it was a thought and nothing more. However, it had escaped through her lips and now she could do nothing more than to await an answer.
“Yeah,” Summer said, looking confused at the question, “Why?”
“Oh, nothing,” said Rose, “It’s just, since you told me you wanted to be a colt I just didn’t expect you to want to do things fillies do like play with dolls.”
Summer’s eyes went wide with fear.
“Can colts not play with dolls?” she asked in a terrified tone, “I’m sorry, I’m already messing up being trans aren’t I? Look, I love my dolls and playing with them but I’ll give them up if I have to. I have to be a colt, I have to fix this.”
Rose was shocked by the outburst.
“You idiot,” Rose thought to herself, “Just because you hated all colt-related things does not mean she’s going to work the same way. You can’t just assume that her situation is like yours.”
She would have continued scolding herself, but she had a mistake to rectify.
“It’s ok,” Rose said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. There’s no right way or wrong way to be trans, Summer, just like there’s no right way or wrong way to be a colt or a filly. You can play with your dolls and still be a colt. A lot of colts play with dolls just like a lot of fillies play sports. This is all about what you want, ok?”
Summer nodded slowly, calming herself down. Rose, on the other hoof, was sitting with wide eyes as her mind came to the realization that she had yet to consider asking what was probably the most prudent question to ask.
“Hey Summer,” she began, “What exactly do you want?”
Summer looked at her inquiringly, but said nothing so Rose continued.
“I mean, I know you want to be a colt, but what does that mean to you? What do you want to happen?”
Summer thought for a few minutes before answering, which was fine by Rose. She did not want to rush Summer with such an important question.
“I want to be treated like a colt,” she began. “I want the same expectations, and I want to be grouped with them. It’s where I’m comfortable being. I want to wear colt clothing, no dresses or skirts… and I want to…”
Summer faltered for a minute as she looked for the words to say.
“I’m not sure if it makes sense, but every time I get called a filly, or “she”, or a beauty, or anything like that… it hurts. I don’t know why, but it does. When we got talked to about growing up and how I was going to be a beautiful mare… it scared me. I started crying in class and I didn’t know why. I love my mommy and all, but when I think of who I’m going to be, she’s not somepony I think of. I think of my dad, or Shining Armor, but never any mares. And because I’m a… a filly… it hurts when I think that, because I always think that I’m broken. I shouldn’t want that but I do… If I’m a colt, then when I grow up I can be the… the stallion I want to be. That’s what I want the most, for the pain to stop and to feel like I’m right and normal. I’m sorry… I’m probably not making any sense.”
Rose could only stare as similar feelings echoed through her mind. Memories, forgotten and repressed, resurfaced. Rose wanted to say she herself had been felt the same things, that she had struggled with the same emotions and that she understood exactly where Summer Breeze was coming from. In the end she simply said:
“It makes perfect sense, and I’m going to help you get what you want.”
Summer could only smile as he wiped the tears from his eyes. He quickly noticed something in Roses eyes though.
“I’m sorry Miss Rose,” he said. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
Rose could not help but giggle.
“It’s ok, Summer,” Rose said, “It’s my own fault. Anyway, how about you wait down here while I go get something to write with, and then you and I can keep talking and come up with suggestions to make sure you get treated like you want?”
Summer nodded and soon Rose was back with the necessary equipment. The two continued to talk, with Rose writing down suggestions for Summer’s parents in duplicate (so she could keep a copy). This continued until there was a knock on the door.
“Well, your parents are here so start packing up your things,” Rose said as she went to open the door. When she did open it, however, she found Pinkie and brother talking excitedly, both of whom stopped when they noticed Rose starting at them.
“Ooh Rose, we had the most perfect time!” said Pinkie. “Tell her, Perfect.”
“Yeah!” Perfect said. “There was confetti, and ice cream, and cake!”
Rose could not hold back a laugh.
“Ok ok, come on in,” she said. “You can tell me all about it in a bit.”
As the three stepped inside, Summer came rushing towards the door.
“Mom! Dad! I had the…” he stopped talking as he noticed who actually had walked through the door.
“Oh right,” Rose said. “Perfect, I’d like you to meet a new friend. His name is Summer Breeze. Summer, this is my brother Perfect Rhyme.”
Perfect looked confused.
“Wait, ‘his name?’ But she’s…” he said, letting that sentence trail off as realization dawned on his face. After a second of hesitation, his face sported his usual smile. “Well, nice to meet you Summer!”
Summer, to his credit, took the whole scene rather well.
“Nice to meet you too,” he said. “Hey, want to play until my parents get here?”
“Sounds Perfect.”
Rose rolled her eyes at her brother’s favorite pun, but said nothing as the two started talking and hanging out in the living room.
“So did everything go ok?” Pinkie asked.
“Yes,” Rose said. “I got all the information I needed and I have a list of suggestions now. Best of all, I did it without doing any damage.”
“What are those?” Perfect asked pointing at the slightly open bag on the couch.
“Oh… well,” Summer stammered. “They’re my dolls.”
Summer hesitantly took out his dolls for Perfect to look at, and Rose could not help but cringe at the change in his demeanor regarding his favorite toys.
“Well... Almost any damage,” muttered Rose.
Perfect looked at the dolls curiously.
“Ok,” he said. “Do you want to be Luna or Celestia?”
Summer looked shocked.
“You mean you don’t find me having dolls weird?” he asked.
“I do a bit,” Perfect admitted, “But I’ve always been called weird for liking to read and write so… I don’t know, I don’t see weird as bad I guess. In any case, these dolls are awesome! I’ll probably get some when I get back to Canterlot and then I’ll be weird too!”
Rose could tell that whole thing had been an act for Summer’s benefit, but the colt in question did not and instead smiled the biggest smile of the night.
After deciding on which pony would play with each doll, the two played together while Pinkie and Rose talked nearby. It was not long at all before Timber and Spring knocked on the door.
“We’re not interrupting anything, are we?” asked Spring.
“Not at all,” said Rose. “Just my brother playing with your son.”
A second of confusion flashed across the parents’ faces, but understanding soon followed.
“So I take it things went well?” asked Timber.
“Yep,” said Rose, handing them a list written on a piece of parchment. “These are all the things your son wants you to do to feel more comfortable. You’ll notice my extra notes and thoughts on the back, but that’s just my interpretation of things. The list on the front are the things that he specifically said he wants from life and how you can help make it happen. With everything else, I would suggest asking him for his thoughts, but I’m always here if you need extra help.”
The two read over the list a few times before turning to look at Rose.
“We don’t know how to ever repay you,” said Spring.
“Just make sure your son is happy,” said Rose. “And we can call it even.”
“Mom, Dad,” Summer said. “I made a new friend. Can I stay and hang out?”
“Not right now,” said Timber. “We have to get you home. You still haven’t had dinner. But maybe tomorrow?”
Timber and Summer looked at Rose with questioning eyes. She in turn looked at Perfect who nodded.
“Yes,” Rose said. “Perfect needs to be on the third to last train to Canterlot, but there’s still plenty of time for you two to play before then. Just stop by tomorrow, ok?”
Summer nodded, turning to face Perfect.
“See you tomorrow, Perfect!” he said.
“See you tomorrow.”
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Summer is now in my top OCs List. Keep up the good work.
2467564
Aww, thank you
I will do my best
Herp, forgot to track this
2467593
Better late than never
I'm just glad you still find this story worth tracking
2468079
The parents just got started with the whole thing, and while it seems like something obvious, they wanted the advice before doing anything. As for Rose, she wanted to talk to Summer first and hear what he wanted in Summer's words (this being the first conversation the two have bad aside from exchanging hellos).
I probably could have had Rose assume Summer was ftm, but I thought that she'd be very hesitant considering how unsure she is of things.
EDIT: I just saw that your comment was on Chapter 2, not 3. My comment will make a lot more sense after reading chapter 3
So awesome! I love Summer Breeze.
i.imgur.com/epvkKi7.png
i.imgur.com/aaMPcZG.png
I was about to make that summer breeze joke again, but I forgot that it isn't funny
Wow...
This story REALLY stepped up the goddamn game. Throwing off gender binary and gender roles. I'm not sure if you know this about me, but I am a bit of a closet crossdresser and this shit hit home.
Pic relevant.
i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/435/434/cae.jpg
2469577
*hug*
2469577
*hug*
Also hit home, though I am of the opposite spectrum, but like Summer Breeze, I'm not very gender conforming by any stretch of the imagination. As I say, I am continuing my family's line of tomboys. I would definitely, if I had it to do over again, still have played american football in middle school and various other masculine activities. I didn't do any of these activities because I was expected (I had awesome parents) or to man up. I did them because for me, they were fun and enjoyable. Though, there were some activities coded feminine that I did miss out on that I would have enjoyed. I do shed tears over that, but not the masculine coded activities that I did.
2469645
Personally, for me, it's more of a relaxation thingy. (imma speak as if I was still in the army where both my wardrobe and frequency of it were at its peak) I would wake up at 0430, get dressed, do some hardcore manly PT, maybe a ruck or some awesome shit like that. Go eat three plates of man food. Come back and dude it up with good old boy's club all day and learn how to kill anything that would ever cross me. Testosterone through the goddamn roof. Wake up, assault of helicopters and shit, go back and drink whiskey with the boys.
Anyways, I found that it was nice to wear a skirt, maybe some feminine shirt dealie. I even occasionally tossed a bra on and stuffed it. I didn't (and don't) want to be a woman by any means. I just find it... nice, I guess? To take a break from being a Macho cock strong infantryman and you know, be submissive and sensitive and all that other shit for a bit.
I guess as manly as I am, I'm a bit gender queer m'self. I personally plan to get a Kilt, because, seriously? Fuck pants.
2469599
You were right about it making sense I guess.
But yeah, I'm good now.
2469785
Good that it is something relaxing. With the things you went through, relaxation is a very good thing indeed.
There is such a wide variety of gender feelings (identity, expression, some mash up of the two, etc.) really.
Interestingly, I feel kind of out of place and awkward in a skirt or dress. Might change at some point further along in my transition, but for now, not my things. Given that my favorite bra is my sports bra (by a long shot), I am definitely rather butch. No surprise, but Rainbow Dash really resonates with me, especially the one in Dash's Secret. Interesting thing, sports bras do a better job at shaping rice inside pantyhose ends breast forms than other types of bras.
Now, Evening Rose resonates in a different way. I mean, she analyzes everything and has a hard time stopping. A problem I am all too familiar with (hence avatar).
2469785 your so manly that nothing can hold you, not even a gender.
Your so manly that if you didn't be submissive at least once, the universe would die from testosterone overdose.
...alright, I'm done with the chuck norris joke ripoffs.
These jokes are bad and I should feel bad.
First:
AHAAHAHAHA you stupid asshole you got deleted again
why can't you ever post anything civil
Second:
I fear I may get severely chewed out by those possessed of extremely strong knee-jerk reactions, but... Rose seems to be rapidly heading in the direction of a Mary Sue. In the original arc, she (or whatever the correct pronoun would have been at the time... who gives a shit) was already suspect for several reasons:
1) the color scheme, as 'edgy' characters are almost always darker in color
2) the name, as 'Evening Rose' is not a typical pegasus name, although that can be forgiven for the fact that the character had a legitimate reason to have to choose her own name
3) any pony OC with a special talent in the arts is automatically suspect as a self-insert. There's actually a parody story (I forget the name) where it's mentioned that Equestria seems to have too many OCs with writing and music-making cutie marks and none with actual marketable talents like, I dunno, woodworking or accounting or something. But whatever, that's somewhat excusable because of the nature of the story, I suppose.
4) The fact that Evening Rose is transgender does not 'excuse' her from any of these flaws. Characters with such specific problems are easily identifiable as self-inserts, although the author admitted that, so it's not as bad as it could have been.
Now, the first story was pretty fucking good, and it's the reason I'm following this series. A little hamfisted in getting its messages across at times, and a little predictable, but overall it was enjoyable and worth reading, as was the second, and because there are so few stories about transgender characters it was an interesting and novel experience to read about even though I've known some TG people pretty well over the years and so am pretty familiar with the situation.
Then the third comes along, and it's pretty good, although I did start to get a little annoyed with the constant cliffhangers after a while where we would move half a step forward and then get a DUN DUN DUN at the end. But that's fine, I've done that too, and so do half the authors I read. And then suddenly it all blows up and I'm having flashbacks to this Choose Your Own Adventure novel I read as a kid where you get to follow Luke around in Star Wars and fight Darth Vader and blow up the Death Star and shit. Evening Rose is a mare living in a stallion's body? No, she's an epic hero saving Equestria from ruin that she sort of (but didn't really even though guilt lawl) almost brought upon it! Wait a second, wat...
I mean, obviously you guise liked it, but I didn't. I thought it was contrived and meh. And by now, the story just seems to have strayed so far from what it originally was that it no longer interests me. The summary alone screams 'Mary Sue'. I liked how personal the first story in particular seemed--it was about Evening Rose and how she was finally accepted by someone. This is just too large-scale, and it doesn't have the same man vs self (mare vs stallion's body?) feel that the older writings did.
Sorry, darkprep. I love the first dysphoria story--it's actually one of my favorite fim stories ever, i think, just because you made it seem so personal and engaging--and if you write anything else I'll be sure to take a look, but this one earns a downvote from me simply because I can no longer identify with any of the characters emotionally, and therefore it feels contrived and meaningless. I know this is personal to you, but you can't continue stories indefinitely. They have to end sometime. I think elements from this would have been better as a standalone or a new series entirely.
Yeah, so, I await the inevitable hate because omg I hated on teh darkparpz storeh. Pretty sure thedarkprep will understand and disregard the more extreme parts of my advice due to not being a complete idiot like some people who use this website, but i'm sure there are some people who will rage, call me a transphobe, etc. despite the mountains of obvious evidence to the contrary and the fact that i've been recommending dysphoria to people ever since i read it. god damn.
2484666
I really love this comment.
For starters, you gave me a legitimate reason, but you also went the extra mile and you supported your reason with specific examples from the text. I love it, and for what it's worth, I feel like every point you brought up is legitimate.
I will now explain the reasons for the things you pointed out, but I will not excuse them since they are legitimate concerns, regardless of the behind the scene stuff.
First, Evening Rose.
The problem starts with the creation of the OC, which began about a year before I even found FimFiction. My favorite colors are Purple and Black. The name was also chosen before I ever thought of making a story, and when I did, I didn't think of changing any of it beforehand, something I admit might have been a major lapse of judgment on my part, but I felt I could salvage the situation by how I wrote the character.
As for the special talent, I needed something that was unusual for a pegasus but that would fit in with a noble class, writing was just the first thing that came to mind (although it now has a specific purpose in the story, but I can't get into that yet).
And you're right, this is a self insert of my experiences (and those of a few close friends where my own experience lacks), which will come into play in a bit.
Now for the story.
The first story was the story of a trans pony coming out to her friends (or being found out, as it was in the story). I made it a point to not mention anything about the pony being trans, slowly building relationships with Script and Rose so that when the reader found out they were the same pony, they’d be as surprised as the characters. The whole thing was scripted in a way to get people to feel what it was like for someone they thought they knew to come out with something like this.
The second story was a lot more personal. This one was just meant to convey certain parts of the “trans-experience” as I call it. The stress of getting a job, dealing with unsupportive but not outright hateful friends, the threat of a relationship and the possible dangers, things like that. This one is probably my best Arc because it is the one that’s most personal and real, focusing on the characters more so than any theme or idea.
For the third, I was trying something new. I figured I’d try an adventure story with certain trans themes for the internal conflicts. The whole conflict was supposed to be about her dealing with her Gender Dysphoria and how failing to do so (as she did in Arc 2) led to making wrong choices. I meant to imply that the changelings would not have been able to carry out the invasion without her information (with the recon squad constantly getting delayed), and that her choice to help them was the thing that allowed them to do so. It was supposed to be understandable given the circumstances, but not excusable and completely her fault, which leads to her inner thoughts at the ending.
I admit I didn’t really do a good job with it, and so I decided I wasn’t going to do another adventure story, sticking to Slice of Life (which is what I know best).
I was going to end the story with Arc 3 until I got an idea for Arc 4 and Arc 5. As I said, this is very much self insert, and there was a point in my life recently that really stayed with me.
I was a fairly well known figure at my school. I had a habit of getting into publicized arguments with the college (the English Department, the Education Department, the club council, the popular programming society) and winning. I had also started my own club on campus and I was fairly sociable so I knew most people my year or younger. When I came out as trans and started living as such, I was pressured by some of my friends to help them fight certain battles. They also wanted me to help with education panels, public speaking events, and to help around the LGBT center, but more than anything they wanted me to spearhead their fights, given my success rate.
I didn’t want to.
At the time, I was really against people knowing I was trans. I wasn’t proud of it, in fact I hated it with all I had. I should also add that this site is the first place where I've willingly presented myself as trans, ever. Anyway, some of my friends talked and acted like their lives were defined by it, proud to be trans and to let the whole world know. If I could take a magical pill that would make me ok with being male, I would. However, that’s neither here nor there; the point is that I was being asked to do something that they really needed, but that I did not want to be a part of.
They say one of the markings of a Mary Sue is that everyone cares about them and they are more important than they deserve to be. That’s kind of how I felt. Yea, I was good at arguing and debating, and I happened to be trans, but I didn’t think I was important or good enough for people to try so hard to get me to help them. I shouldn’t be able to make a difference therefore they should just leave me be.
That’s Arc 4, the conflict of personal responsibility (taking care of yourself and your needs) vs civic duty (helping those who need it because you know you can). It’s a conflict for Rose, but it’s no longer about her being trans, it’s about making a choice between self and others, and honestly, I’m trying my best to ensure that neither choice is wrong. If you go against yourself you can’t help anyone. It’s a decision that has to be made, sure, but either choice is understandable and either choice is human (pony in this case).
The problem is that the scope for this is more universal, and the stakes keep rising, which makes the Mary Sueness of the situation even more drastic and harder to ignore. I wish I knew how to get my point across without falling in that particular pitfall, but I couldn't come up with a good believable way. Either the nation thinks that she is really important because of the reasons I've given in the story, to the point that an activist group HAS to have her join. Or she lacks importance and it deludes the importance and impact of her choice, which as I've said is the point of the whole Arc.
Arc 5 will deal with the ramifications of that choice and right now I don’t have another arc planned past that with the exception of Arc 0. This story wasn’t meant to go on forever, just as long as I had something to share with people (in terms of experience, not of story ideas).
So, there are my reasons. As I said though, every point you made is legitimate, and just because there was a reason behind it, it does not make it right. You don’t have to apologize for the dislike or for no longer being interested in the story. Honestly, I’m just happy that you were interested for as long as you were. I didn’t expect anyone to even like the first Arc, anything past that is already exceeding my expectations.
Thank you for the time you’ve given me, both in reading this really long comment, and in reading my stories up to this point.
P.S. I just received your PM, I’ll be working on that soon so expect a PM back
EDIT: *hug*
Perfect your so nice!
wish everyone was like that, but hey we'd probably all die of bottled rage eventually. oh well
Perfect is the perfect noble. Don't let him act like the others
A form of acceptance is revealed.
A dream of such bliss,
standing tall and no longer quite unreal.
We shall read on.
2485630
I don't like that people see self-inserts as a bad thing. If you have a proper story to tell then what is so bad about telling it? I feel that you did a good job of pointing out that, while others see her as important, in the scheme of things she is not important. I suppose it just comes down to preference and a persons definition of what constitutes a Mary Sue but for what it's worth, disregarding the color scheme which isn't important in the context of the story, I really like Evening Rose exactly as she is.
5231129 Personally, self-inserts are kind of a 50/50 thing for me. Depending on what the story is about, it could either make or break the story. Self-inserts about adventure, romance (primarily clop), or situations where the writer hasn't found themselves a part of, especially HiE stories, tend to be more likely to be extremely lacking in my experience. On the other hoof, self-insert stories about tragedies, sensitive topics, and romance (?!), tend to be better thought out and actually make you think. Yes, romance seems to go either way, but the subcategories are more cleanly divided.
The four points that seem to make or break a self-insert are:
-the emotions employed in the story (sadder emotions tend to be better I find, especially tragedies),
-the level of experience and skill the writer has in writing,
-the specific story told, lessons taught (or attempted to teach), and the topics brought up, but this one is probably
personal preference,
-and, most importantly if you ask me, the writer's experience on the topic.
Also, I like Rose's color scheme, personally. My only gripe is that black never looks quite right, but in real life, she'd be beautiful, I just know it.
Pessimist me was sorta expecting some sort of sexual abuse accusation against rose due to a plot the parents planned out. I would hate for that to happen. Would definitely be hard to read because nobody should go through a false accusation like that.
When kids make these kind of assumptions it's kind of cute. But when people hold them as absolute truths well into adulthood... Yeah not so much.
I had a guy friend come out as gay in his late 20s. Next time I invited him over to watch a football match he declined on the grounds that "gay guys shouldn't like football".
Yeah, for all of her good qualities Rose is still one hell of a bad luck magnet. At least fate has some mercy and she tends to find a rescuer in the very nick of time, but still, damn girl has been through a lot.