What Makes The Mare

by SNUFFLEZZ

Rating: mature
Tags: Romance, Fluttershy, Slice of Life, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 1813

Fluttershy has something to tell her friends, but she is afraid of how they'll take it.

All ponies have their unique personalities. They all have their own talents, qualities and overall lives. But what differences can make one an outcast?

Fluttershy is the best example. She wasn't always a mare, but she wanted to be. Is that a bad thing? Is she a bad pony for not feeling comfortable with the body she was born with?

In this story, Fluttershy wants come out to her friends as a transgender mare. But what will they think? And if the rest of Ponyville found out, what would they have to say?

This fic will tell how Fluttershy discovered her gender identity, came out to her friends and their reactions, and her background on how she was able to transition before meeting Twilight Sparkle, or any of the others (obviously except Rainbow Dash) and becoming one of the Elements of Harmony.

Cover aart done by Princess Glitzy: https://www.fimfiction.net/user/Princess+Glitzy

(WARNING: This story discusses gender identity, LGBTQ+ equality, depression, insecurity, self-harm, suicide and same-sex romanticism. If any of these topics make you uncomfortable, please do not read. If you continue to read and it upsets you, I am not responsible.)

Published 2016-11-27 18:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-11-27 18:40:01 UTC

Chapter 1

Ponyville is a villiage where all of its inhabitants can live in harmony with one another. From the fillies and colts playing throughout the fields, to the busy salesponies working the marketplace. Usually, this town is a happy and safe place for everpony. Everypony except one.

And that one pony is none other than Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus who moved to the outskirts of the small town once she had discovered her talents -and cutie mark- for talking to animals and other creatures. These were the ones that couldn't speak the conventional language their her kind could. This special talent allowed her to take care of the critters around her, which also gave her the chance of being Ponyville's go-to animal caretaker. Everytime somepony's pet had gotten hurt, she would be there in a heartbeat. She knew, along with the rest of the town, that they could count on her for help. They could rely on her.

However, there was one thing that only a very small number of others knew. She wasn't always a she. Her parents, her brother and Rainbow Dash were the only ones who knew about it, and they were supportive all the way through. Of course, the story starts today, where this will change. Fluttershy wants to finally come out to her friends after all these years. She was going to tell them about her past, and how everything happened until the day she met all of them. While it felt liberating to tell them her deepest, darkest secrect -well, one of them at least- it was also terrifying. Her mind was having a debate with itself.

"What if they don't accept me?"

"Of course they'll accept you! They're your friends! They've known your imperfections for years, and they won't care, they'll love you just the same!"

"But that was about being nervous around ponies and being scared of small things, this is a really big deal. I don't think they all support trans ponies."

"If they don't support you, or at least treat you with respect, then they're not real friends."

Fluttershy looked at herself in the mirror. She stared into the reflection of her eyes, trying to bring up as much confidence as she possibly could. This was interrupted by a knock at the door, whcih made her let out an "eep!" in response. The pegasus went to answer the door. Once she did, Raibnow Dash waved to her.

"Hey Flutters, what's up?"

"Oh, well, nothing right now, what brings you here?"

"Did you forget already? You flew by my house yesterday and told me to come here today."

"Oh, yeah." Fluttershy shook off her forgetfulness with a nervous chuckle. She gestured for her cyan friend to sit with her on the couch, in which she obliged.

"So, you okay, Flutters? You told me we needed to talk about something important."

She tried to gather her words as she sat down next to Dash.

"Well, um, I..um.."

"What is it, Fluttershy? You can tell me."

"I want to tell our friends about, my.. um.. transition.."

"Oh. Are you sure you want to do that? You don't need to. That's a really big thing to come out with."

"I'm sure. They're my friends and I believe they have the right to know."

"Flutershy, that's what you said about your parents. They told you they'd love you no matter what. You came out to them and they didn't talk to you or barely even look at you for a week!"

"I know, but that was then, this is now. Times are a bit different then they were when we were fillies. I'm sure they'll support me. We've done so much together."

"I have faith in our friends too, but I just don't want your feelings to be hurt if they don't accept you. If you're completely sure you wanna do this, I've got your back 100%. You won't have to worry, I'm not gonna hold you down."

"I'm sure, and thank you, Rainbow. I'm glad I know at least somepony won't leave me."

"Are you going to tell them about your.. preference?"

"I don't know yet, maybe. I might want to take this one step at a time."

"Well, do you want to go tell them now, or do you want to wait?"

"I've been waiting long enough. I need to tell them. Rainbow, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure Flutters, what is it?"

"Get the girls together, and ask them to come here so we can talk."

"Do you need me to say anything else?" Fluttershy shook her head.

"No, I need to wait here and think of how I'm going to tell them, so don't tell them anything else."

With a wave, Dash flew off to Ponyville, leaving a rainbow trail in her wake.

*One hour later*

Fluttershy sighed as she poured the fresh, warm tea into the various cups. She loved tea. Even in the most stressful situations, like this one, the scent of warmed chamomile made her feel somewhat relaxed. She put the cups onto a small tray, and walked into the living room. A knock came at the door, startling her and almost making her spill the tea.

She went to answer the door and saw all of her friends, including Starlight Glimmer and Spike, standing in front of her looking concerned. Twilight was the first to speak to her "Hello, Fluttershy, is something wrong? Rainbow Dash said you needed to talk to us about something. Are you okay?"

No, she was not okay. The confidence she had built up during the previous hour was gone. It took all of her power not to just rn and hide.

"Yes, I'm fine. C-come in."

The six mares -and dragon- came in and sat on the chairs that she had placed for them in the living room, while she and Rainbow Dash sat on the couch. She passed them their teacups as they sat down.

"So, I've gathered you all here because there's something important that I needed to tell you about." Fluttershy turned her ead to look at Dash, who gave an encouraging nod.

"You can tell us anything, darling. We won't be upset." Rarirty said with a smile.

"Whatever it is, you can tell us. It won't bother us, not at all, hun." Applejack added, followed by a nod from Starlight.

There was a silence for a few minutes while Fluttershy gathered her thoughts.

The pegasus sighed, and finally broke the silence. "We've been friends for years, and that's one of the most important things that has ever happened to me. You all have told me many things from your past, and now, I believe it's time I share the most crucial part of mine." Her friends' heads leaned in with curiosity.

"All my life, I wanted to be one of the girls. As a foal, I would style my hair differently, put on makeup, wear filly's clothes, and it would always feel right to me. I never wanted to play with the boys. They were always so rude and crass. But, when I was around the girls, I felt like I was in the right place."

The rest of the ponies looked at each other in confusion. They didn't really get what she was trying to say.

"You girls, and Spike, and have been my friends for so long, and we've helped each other achieve so much. I hope what i'm about to say doesn't send that all crashing down. What I've been trying to say is that.. I wasn't always a mare. I used to be a colt. I'm a transgender mare."

There was another brief silence before anypony spoke again.

"So, you're not a mare?" Twilight asked.

"I believe that I am, but I wasn't born one, I've had multiple surgeries and.. multiple spells casted on me. I couldn't stand the idea of being a colt. It felt wrong."

Rarity rose from her chair and walked over to Fluttershy to give her a hug. "Well, I, for one, do not see a difference here. Fluttershy. You will always be my best friend. If you were insecure about your body, and you did what you wanted to feel comfortable. I have no problem with it. Born a mare or not, I'll still treat you the same way I always have." This made the pegasus smile.

Pinkie started hopping up and down in happiness for her friend. "Me too! I'm so happy you told us! Now we can throw a coming out party!" to emphasize her happiness, she gave Fluttershy a tight hug, one that made it hard to breathe. She still smiled though, seeing that that was just happy for her.

Twilight was the next to speak. "To me, no matter what, you'll always be one of my best friends. It doesn't matter what you idntify as or who you like, or anything like that. Nothing will stop us from being friends. When we all met, and used the Elements for the first time, we made a special bond. I don't believe that something like this could break that."

Starlight wiped a tear from her eye. "I may not have known all of you for that long, but I'm grateful that you thought I was worthy of hearing something this important. As somepony who tried to.. destroy the lives of many ponies.. I didn't truly think I would ever deserve your friendship, but when this happened, it made me realize that friends always have to be there for each other. So, if we are friends, Fluttershy, I wanted to say that I respect you and thank you. And I'll make sure to be just as nice and kind to you as you have been to me." She walked up to Fluttershy with Spike and they both hugged her tight.

Applejack was the last to say anything. "I'm gonna be honest, I don't understand the idea of transgender that much, but I'm willin' to learn. I'm really glad that you were able to tell us something this important. You had your reasons for being nervous, and you don't have to be anymore. You've done so much for me and the rest of us, and I feel like I would be betraying you if I wasn't there for you now."

Applejack joined the rest of them in a group hug.

"I'm so proud of you, Flutters." Rainbow added.

After a moment, the seperated and went back to their seats. Twilight asked Fluttershy a question as she grabbed her tea cup. "So, when did you realize that you were trangender?"

"Well, it all started just before Flight School...."

Author's Note

Hi, thanks for reading the first chapter of my new story!

I hope you enjoyed it, I'll be writing the next one as soon as I can.