Birthday Gyrrlby shallow15ChaptersThe PresentThe FaceThe EyesThe RevealThe PresentFlash Sentry contemplated the panties sitting in the box. They weren't anything exotic. A simple black cotton pair of briefs from an 8-pack purchased from Value Mart, one of thousands of mass produced pairs that the retail giant sold every day. There was nothing overly sexy or fetishistic about them. And yet, they filled Flash with contradictory senses of excitement and dread. It was his 19th birthday and he had gone home for the weekend from college. A celebratory dinner with his mom had happened the night he got home, which left the rest of his weekend free to meet up with friends. Unfortunately, most of his friends were also away attending school, which was why the call from Sunset Shimmer was both surprising and welcome. “Hello?” “Hey there, birthday boy!” Sunset's voice was lively and vibrant. “How's it going?” “Not bad. Mom got me a GameStation 5.” “How the hell did she find one?” The envy was audible in Sunset's voice. “I've been trying to score one for months!” “You know mom,” Flash replied. “Probably just had to ask a clerk to hold on to one.” Sunset let out a snort of laughter. Flash's mother, Azure Flame, was ridiculously attractive and radiated sexual charisma for miles around her. Fortunately, Azure was also blissfully oblivious to the effect she had on men and women both and she wrote off the various favors she was able to acquire as just running into several very nice people. “Anyway,” said Sunset. “What are you doing tonight?” “No real plans,” Flash answered. “Why?” “Wanna get together for another birthday celebration? Rarity and I have a surprise for you.” “Really?” Flash blinked. “Yep! And you know Rarity. If you say no she'll be devastated and I'll be spending the whole night trying to keep her from drowning in ice cream and mascara.” “Well, we don't want that. What time and where?” “Say, six o'clock? I'll swing by and pick you up and we'll head over to Rarity's place.” “Since when do you have a car?” Flash asked. Sunset laughed. “See you at six.” True to her word, Sunset arrived at Flash's house, driving a small elderly car. It wasn't much to look at , but Flash noticed it was clean as he climbed in. “Nice car,” he said. Sunset smirked. “It's paid for,” she said. “Come on, mustn't keep her waiting.” The ride to Rarity's house didn't take long. Sunset parked in the driveway and the two of them walked to the front door. Rarity answered the door almost as soon as they rang the bell. “Sunset! Flash! Darlings!” Rarity wrapped them both in a tight hug. “So good to see you!” “Good to see you too, Rares,” said Sunset as the fashionista released them. Rarity stepped over to Flash and smiled. “Happy birthday, Flash, darling,” she said, air kissing his cheek. “I'm so glad you decided to come over.” “Thanks for the invitation,” said Flash. “Well, come in, come in!” Rarity stood aside, allowing them access to the house. She led them up the stairs to her bedroom. Flash had never been there before, but it was everything he expected. A four poster canopy bed. A desk with a sewing machine set up on it. A dressmaker's dummy in one corner and assorted scraps of cloth, ribbons, and spools of thread scattered haphazardly across every surface. A large gold gift box bound with a blue ribbon was sitting on the bed. Rarity picked it up and presented it to Flash with a dramatic flourish. “I know I'm being a terrible hostess, but I simply cannot wait any longer to give this to you. Happy birthday, Flash, darling!” Flash looked a the box in his hands, then back up at her. “Rarity, you didn't need to.” “Of course I didn't!” Rarity grinned. “That's why it's a gift. And you can thank Sunset as well.” “It's kinda from both of us,” Sunset confirmed. “I told her what I thought you'd like, gave her your measurements, and she went to work making it.” “'Making it?'” Flash stared at Rarity. “You made something for me?” “Well, the largest component of your gift. There's a few little... er... odds and ends I purchased off the rack.” Rarity flushed slightly as she explained, but Flash was looking back down at the box again and didn't notice. Sunset nudged him in the side with an elbow, bringing him out of his stupor. “Open it! I wanna see your face when you see it!” Flash grinned at her and went over to Rarity's bed. He put the box down, then undid the ribbon and lifted the top... … and stared. He reached inside and pulled a bundle of cloth out. It unfolded and billowed down, flowing from his hands and swinging freely in the air. It was a dress. A dress in lime green and black with cap sleeves and a flowing skirt that was guaranteed to billow out with the slightest twirl. It was soft and silky, but with just enough weight that signified its durability. The bright green was spread out across the upper half of the dress, deliniated in sharp lines by the black which over took the majority of the skirt. It was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen. He looked over to Sunset and Rarity. “How...?” he began, but he choked up. Sunset smiled at him. “You remember when we got drunk the night after graduation?” Flash nodded. Sunset had procured a bottle of rum from somewhere and the two of them had gotten merrily blasted in her apartment. During that time, the two of them had confessed some of their deeper secrets. It appeared Sunset had remembered one of his, and she now looked like she was unsure if it had been a good idea. “Well,” she continued. “I thought, maybe, you'd like this. So I asked Rarity to make something for you.” Flash looked back at the dress, imagining himself in it. How it would feel hugging his figure, the skirt swishing around his legs as he walked. Feeling the skirt shift and flutter as he twirled in place. It was everything he ever wanted in a dress. “Is it all right, darling?” Rarity asked. Both she and Sunset looked at him anxiously. He looked at them, then back at the dress, then put it back in the box. “It's beautiful... but I can't.” “What?” Sunset asked, surprised. “Why on earth not, darling?” Rarity said. “Look, it's really sweet of both of you, but I can't wear it. It's... it's too nice to waste on me.” “Flash, I can assure you it is most certainly not a waste!” Rarity leaned forward and took his hand. “This was made for you, darling, and I can tell you that you are not the first man I've made something like this for.” “Yeah,” Sunset added. “There's nothing wrong with wanting to wear a dress, Flash.” “It's not about wrong,” Flash protested. “It's just... I don't think I'd look good in it.” “Pfft-tsk-tch!” Rarity stood up and grabbed Flash's wrists, pulling him to his feet. “Darling, if there's anything I've learned, is that the right dress with the right accessories and makeup can make ANYONE look their most fabulous!” “But – “ Rarity held up a hand. “Ah ah ah! No 'buts,' Mr. Sentry. Or do you doubt my skills?” Flash flushed. “No! No, it's an amazing dress, Rarity. I'm just...” “Just what?” “Afraid... I'll... make it look horrible. Like the whole thing will look ridiculous and you'll have gone through all that trouble for nothing.” “Why don't you let us be the judges of that?' said Sunset, standing up to join them. “What do you mean?” asked Flash. “I mean, give us tonight. We'll help you with makeup, your hair, the dress, all of it. We'll see what the end result is, and if you still think you don't look good, we'll pack it all in and not talk about this again.” “Oh, wonderful!” Rarity squealed. “And Sunset and I will dress up with you. A good old fashioned makeover night!” “Yeah!” Sunset agreed. “Just the three of us. No judgment, no pictures, just fun. Sound good?” Flash looked at their eager expectant faces, then down at the dress. They had gone to all the trouble of doing this for him and it seemed unfair to just write it all off because of his own stupid insecurities. “Okay,” he said. “Let's do it.” Rarity clapped her hands together and picked up the box and put it in Flash's hands. “Wonderful, darling! Let's go upstairs. There's one or two more things in there besides the dress.” One or two more things. Like the panties Flash found himself starting at. He was in the bathroom and had been for some time, standing there in his boxers, waffling. The box had also contained a pair of thigh high black stockings, a black bra, and the panties. He continued to look at them, his mind wondering if this was really how far he could go. The stockings weren't a problem. They'd easily cover up the fact that his legs weren't shaved. And the bra, well, given he didn't really have anything to fill it out, it was more or less optional. But the panties... It felt like it would be crossing a line. A line he wasn't sure he was ready to cross yet. Rarity had assured him she had acquired the right size, so the risk of them being too tight or too loose wasn't the problem. His mind kept insisting that it wasn't right, that he was somehow breaking a sacred taboo by even considering putting them on. A knock at the door interrupted his hamster wheel of thought. “Flash,” came Sunset's voice. “You okay in there?” “Yeah, sorry,” he called back. “I just... um...” He trailed off, not sure what to claim the hold up was. “Listen, you don't have to wear anything in there you don't want to,” said Sunset. “We put all that stuff in there so you could go as far as you're comfortable. It's just for fun, Flash, so don't feel obligated to humor us, okay?” “Okay,” Flash replied. He reached down and picked up the panties, rubbing the material between his fingers. It didn't feel all that different from his own underwear, maybe a tad softer, and they didn't have the seams in the front that opened up that inexplicable hole that men's underwear had, since the only conceivable purpose for it was too awkward and cumbersome to work with, when you could save time and effort by just pulling down on the front waistband. So really, if it was the same material, and it was the right size, and they weren't much different from some of the pairs of black men's briefs he had at home, what was the big deal, right? Flash took a deep breath, dropped his boxers and quickly replaced them with the panties. Oh... wow. They were soft. Much softer and less coarse than the cotton used in his boxers. The fit was a little more awkward, since, of course, he had things where things wouldn't normally be if a woman were wearing them. But overall, he found them comfortable. Very comfortable. He let out a sigh of relief, pleased that he'd managed to get over the hurdle. He sat down on the closed toilet and pulled on the stockings. The tops squeezed his thighs slightly, but a little adjustment eased the pressure. He decided to forgo the bra, since it would require stuffing it, and he was worried he'd come off looking too artificial in that department. That just left the dress. He pulled down the zipper at the back and held it to his front, looking at himself in the large bathroom mirror. He frowned. Still looks like a dude in a dress to me. Maybe it'll look better if I put it on. He pulled the dress on over his head, and after a minute or two of fumbling around, managed to get his head and arms through the correct holes. He pulled the dress down the rest of his frame and looked at himself again in the mirror. The dress fit him perfectly, of course. Rarity had clearly made sure of that. The skirt actually started flowing from the body of the dress just above his navel and came to rest midway between his hips and his knees, covering the tops of the stockings. He rocked his hops back and forth a bit, watching how the fabric moved and glided with him. The neckline was high, similar to the collar of a t-shirt, making the need for exposed cleavage a non-issue. He became aware of the general airiness that came with wearing a skirt. His legs felt free and unencumbered, and the movement of the skirt sent pleasant little puffs of air across his thighs. The skirt was large enough and hung in such a way that the obvious bulge in his panties was invisible. The material felt wonderful against his skin and the colors complemented his skin tone and eyes. He reached behind his back to do up the zipper... … and immediately realized he couldn't reach it to do up the dress. It was too far down, nearly at the small of his back. He contorted his arms in several different and uncomfortable positions but couldn't even get close to the zipper. He sighed in exasperation and looked back up into the mirror. I still look like a dude in a dress. Another knock at the door. “You okay in there?” Sunset asked again. Flash stifled another sigh and opened the door. Then he blinked. Sunset had changed into a slinky black cocktail dress that hugged her curves in all the right places. It wrapped around just below her bare shoulders, leaving a tantalizing amount of cleavage. Her geode was still around her neck, resting just above said cleavage. “Wow,” Flash whispered. “You look pretty 'wow' yourself,” Sunset said, a similar look of astonishment on her face. That brought Flash out of his stupor. “If you say so,” he said, looking down. “I do say so,” Sunset said, tilting his chin back up and giving him a smile. “Looks a little loose though.” “I pulled the zipper down too far,” Flash admitted, blushing. “I couldn't get it back up again.” “Oh yeah, that's a bitch when you're dressing on your own. Easiest thing to do is unzip it halfway, then you've got enough room to get your head through, but still able to reach back and zip it up again. But for now...” Flash let out a yelp as Sunset spun him around, zipped up the dress, then spun him back again. “Done!” she chirped. “How does it feel?” “Um... airy?” he said, picking at a fold in the skirt. “Kinda weird but... comfortable too, I guess.” “It looks good on you.” “It does?” Flash gave her an incredulous look. “Come on.” “No, seriously, it does,” Sunset insisted. “I look like me in a dress.” “And I like you in a dress. But what I like isn't important. We're here to make you like yourself in a dress, and the next step in that is makeup.” She took Flash's hand and began leading him back down the hall to Rarity's room. “I don't know anything about makeup,” Flash protested. “I'll wind up looking like a clown.” “Nonsense!” Rarity appeared in the doorway of her room, having heard him as they approached. She, too, had changed clothes. Now in a blue sequined, off the shoulder gown with a floor-length skirt slit up to mid thigh on one side. Gold bracelets were around her wrist, and like Sunset, her geode was around her neck. “By the time I'm through with you, Flash, darling, you'll be the prettiest thing you've ever seen. And I'll be explaining everything I'm doing so you can do it yourself at home! Er... assuming you decide you'd like to do this again,” she quickly added, seeing the look of panic on his face. “But! As I say, tonight, I can guarantee you will be fabulous!” She stepped forward and took Flash's hand. “That is... if you trust me. I hope you trust me when I say that I am not out to make you look foolish. I want to help you become the most beautiful you can be. Will you trust me to help you do that?” Flash looked at Rarity's earnest expression, then over at Sunset, who gave him an encouraging look and a thumbs up. He looked down at himself, seeing the dress. It certainly did fit him well and the girls had been nothing but supportive so far. He looked back up at Rarity. “Okay.” Rarity let out a shriek of delight and yanked him back into the bedroom, causing him to let out a yelp of surprise. Sunset chortled and followed them in. The Face“Right,” said Rarity as she sat Flash down in front of her vanity. “First things first. Did you wash your face while you were changing?” “Yeah,” Flash said. He eyed the plethora of brushes, boxes, and tubes that were laid out like an arsenal on the surface of the vanity. There was so much, and he didn't have the slightest clue what any of it was going to be used for. Rarity picked up a tube from the table and flicked open the hinged lid on one end. “Hands,” she commanded. Flash obediently put his hands up and Rarity squeezed out a small dollop of cream into his palm. He looked at it, perplexed. “What's this?” Rarity smiled. “Lotion. Moisturizing is key, darling.” “Oh. Right.” Flash began applying the lotion to his face, hoping his hands would cover his embarassed blush. “Relax,” Sunset called. She was seated at the end of Rarity's bed. “It's not dental work, Flash. It's just makeup.” “Exactly,” Rarity affirmed. “There's just a few preliminaries we need to do first.” She handed Flash a mesh... “thing” was the only word he could think of. It was elastic and open at both ends. He looked at it and then back at Rarity. “Uh.” “It's a wig cap, darling. It will keep your hair out of the way while we work. Pull it over your head, all the way so it's around your neck.” Flash complied, stretching the mesh contraption over his head and down past his chin. “Good. Now bring it back up so the bottom is even with your hairline at the back of your head, then bring the rest of the bottom even with your hairline all around your head.” It took a minute but Flash managed to get the cap where it needed to be. He looked in the mirror and grimaced. His hair was sticking up in all directions thanks to the pressure the wig cap was putting on his skull. It wasn't uncomfortable, but firm. “Now,” said Rarity, “Grab the top and pull the rest of the cap to the top of your head and fold each side over at the crown.” This part was easy. The cap easily slid up and over his head, wrapping his hair in a secure mesh net. He looked back in the mirror. He still looked weird, and his ears were prominent, but he didn't look like he had a bird's nest on his head anymore. Rarity pulled her desk chair over and sat down. “All right, now we're ready to begin.” She reached down and grabbed another small orange tube. She flipped the cap open and picked up a small triangular sponge. She squeezed a small amount of orange cream onto the sponge and leaned forward. “So, we're going to start with some color corrector,” she began. “'Color corrector?'” Flash asked. “When you get up close, you find that your skin isn't one solid color, darling. There's little imperfection and blotches here and there. In your case, the orange is going to cancel out the blue-ish cast of your facial hair.” “But I shaved my face before Sunset picked me up,” Flash protested. “It's still there, darling, and it will come through when we put the rest of your face on without this. Just relax and trust me, okay?” “All right, if you say so.” Rarity brought the sponge up and began applying the corrector to Flash's chin, cheeks, and upper lip, spreading it around with the sponge until it was evenly applied. Flash glanced at his reflection and noted that his face did seem much smoother. Rarity picked up another sponge and a smaller tube and unscrewed the cap. “Can I see your hand, Flash?” “Sure.” Flash held out his hand. Rarity pulled on the cap on the bottle, which drew out a wand with the gold hued makeup on the swab like tip. She smeared a small amount of makeup onto the back of Flash's hand and examined it. “Good, this should match your skin tone. Very important for concealer and foundation.” “Ooookay,” Flash replied. Then a thought occurred to him. “Wait. Why do you have concealer and foundation that matches my skin tone?” “That would be me,” Sunset piped up. “It's mine. Rarity figured our skin tones were close enough this could work.” “And if you like what you see,” Rarity added, “We'll be happy to help you get something that is closer later.” “Um... okay,” Flash said. Do they think I'm gonna be crossdressing on a regular basis or something? “We're going to start with foundation.” Rarity reached up and began applying thick streaks of makeup to strategic locations on Flash's face. It felt slimy and cold on his face and he tried to keep from recoiling as Rarity applied it. She picked up a large teardrop shaped sponge and used the narrow end to begin spreading the makeup over his entire face, making sure to get into the creases around his nose and up to the edge of the wig cap. Soon, she leaned back and Flash looked in the mirror. His face looked almost jaundiced and his eyebrows raised in confusion. Rarity caught his expression and put a hand on his shoulder. “Don't judge until we're done, okay? This is only the first few steps.” Flash nodded and turned back to her. “If you say so.” Rarity nodded. “I do indeed. Next, concealer. This will cover up any odd coloration or small imperfections.” She grabbed another sponge and a smaller tube. She unscrewed the cap, revealing a long tapered nozzle. She squeezed some concealer out onto the sponge and began applying it to Flash's face, focusing primarily on the inner corners of his eyes and the sides of his nose. She then grabbed a smaller teardrop sponge and began blending the concealer into the foundation. Once that was done, she peered at Flash's face, then nodded to herself and began looking through the makeup. “Everything okay?” Flash asked. “Just fine, darling. Looking for the right shade.” Flash nodded and looked back at himself in the mirror. He still looked weird. His face just seemed off somehow, vaguely artificial. He knew they weren't finished yet, but he felt himself slumping in the chair at how he looked. “You okay?” Sunset asked, seeing his change in posture. “Yeah, sure,” he muttered. Sunset got up off the bed and came over to sit down on the floor beside him. She took his hand. “It’s okay, Flash. We’re your friends. We’re not going to make you look silly.” “I know,” said Flash. “I just… it’s… well, just look at me!” Sunset and Rarity exchanged a knowing smirk. “I thought you might feel this way,” said Sunset. “So, Rarity and I did something to make you feel better.” “Huh?” Flash blinked. “While you were changing in the bathroom, we did our makeup,” Rarity explained, pulling out her phone and tapping the screen. “Would you like to see?” She held out the phone. Flash leaned forward to look and burst out laughing. The girls had taken pictures of themselves in mid-application. Their hair was pulled sharply back from their faces and smears of foundation, concealer, and who knew what else were evident. Flash flipped through the pictures, each one showing the girls more ridiculous than the last. “You see, darling?” Rarity said, smiling. “A complete look takes effort. You may look foolish while you’re working on it, but so does everyone. My word, if I told you how long it takes me to get my face just so before school every day and the sheer grotesquery that happens while I do.” “And I don’t normally wear makeup except on special occasions,” Sunset added. “I’m only slightly less of a beginner than you are. So lighten up. It’ll all be worth it when we’re done, okay?” Flash nodded, deciding to trust them. He wished he wasn’t being so namby-pamby about the whole thing, but part of him seriously doubted makeup was going to do anything to make him look less like a dude in a dress. Rarity produced another tube, this one with a dark brown cream at the end. “Next, contouring. Now, we’re not going to go all out Countess Coloratura tonight. Just some basic contouring and highlights to take the edges off and thin out your face a bit.” “Check his flesh!” Sunset said, putting on a pompous accent. She grinned. Rarity returned the smile and replied with a similar accent. “As you can see, he has no flesh!” Flash looked from Rarity to Sunset. “Did I miss something?” Sunset shook her head, giggling. “Just an old ViewTube video we think is hilarious. I’ll show it to you later.” Flash decided to let that one go and leaned forward again so Rarity had access to his face. Rarity reached up and lightly touched his cheek, feeling for the bone underneath on both sides, then did the same to his jaw. She made a satisfied noise then quickly applied the makeup in a series of lines: one on each cheek, a long line just underneath his jawline, several smaller lines high on his forehead, and two L-shaped lines down the sides of the bridge of his nose and over the nostrils. “Now, we blend!” Rarity took her fingers and began smearing the lines upward. “When contouring, you generally want to blend upwards, so it doesn’t make your face droop,” she said. “I like using my fingers for this, but you can use a brush or a beauty blender as well if you don’t want to deal with washing it off your hands later.” “’Beauty blender?’” Flash asked. Sunset reached up to the vanity counter and held up one of the teardrop shaped sponges. “Beauty blender,” she said. “What’s the difference between that and a sponge?” Flash felt like he should probably be asking more questions. Or at least be a little more proactive in his participation. “About five bucks a pack,” Sunset replied with a smile. Rarity, without missing a beat while working on Flash’s face, lashed out with one foot and gently kicked Sunset. Sunset responded by sticking her tongue out at the fashionista before giggling again. Flash found himself joining along. “Hey, a smile!” Sunset cheered. “We’re gonna have to tell Pinkie Pie she’s out of a job!” “Oh, I doubt we’ll be replacing her anytime soon, darling.” Rarity took a look at her handiwork and leaned back. “There. I think that will do it.” She rummaged among the cosmetics on the vanity and brought up a large brush and a flat box. She flipped the lid open, revealing six compartments, each with a different shade of powder. She began rubbing the brush into a light cream shade. “Now, we’re going to highlight the contouring we just did. This will help emphasize the shadows we’ve just created and balance out your face.” She began applying the powder in similar lines, applying it as before, just underneath the lines she had originally done, then she blended everything until they had made the contouring a little more prominent, but not so prominent as to call attention to itself. “Can I look?” Flash asked. Rarity gestured to the mirror. “Just don’t judge yourself harshly,” she said. “We’re only about a third of the way done.” Flash looked in the mirror and stared. Even though he knew he was wearing makeup, the effect was amazing. His features seemed softer, his jaw rounder, his forehead less prominent. His nose looked both thinner and more sharply defined. He blinked a few times to make sure he was seeing things correctly. He still thought he looked ridiculous, but there was a definite change happening as Rarity worked on him. While he looked, Rarity had produced another palette from the myriad stacked on the vanity. This one was smaller with four shades of makeup ranging from a dark magenta to an almost white. She produced another brush and began rubbing it into the second brightest shade. “A little blush, I think,” she said, turning Flash’s face back toward her and leaning forward. She quickly swiped the brush over each of his cheekbones, leaving a trail behind, then she grabbed the beauty blender and began lightly going over them, spreading the blush out until there was just a faint suggestion on his cheeks. “Damn,” said Sunset looking up at him. “That’s really his color.” “Yes, indeed,” Rarity agreed. “I shall have to make a note for future reference.” Flash looked back in the mirror and his cheeks did seem to have more color in them. Whether it was “his” color or not, he couldn’t really say, but the girls liked it and he decided to take their word for it. Rarity stood up and leaned close to Flash, frowning in concentration. “Hmmm… I really should have had you pluck before we put the foundation on. Oh, well, we can work with it.” “Pluck?” Flash asked, confused. “Pluck what?” “Your eyebrows, darling. There’s a few stray hairs between them. But no matter. The concealer is doing its job on that front and we can certainly de-emphasize them.” She opened another palette, this one marked “Brow.” She pulled a tiny brush from inside. One end looked like a miniature paintbrush, the other was a small set of bristles. She looked at Flash then down at Sunset. “Which did we agree on? Number two?” “Three,” Sunset replied. “It goes with the dress better.” Rarity nodded, then looked back up at Flash. “Unfortunately, I don’t have any blue to match your eyebrows, darling. So we’re going to cheat a bit and turn them darker so everything works well together, all right?” “I guess?” Flash replied, not really understanding what Rarity was asking. He found out in short order when Rarity dipped the paintbrush end into the pallet and began using it to put the makeup on his eyebrows. She worked swiftly, applying it with precision, then she flipped the brush over and used the bristles to run it through the tiny hairs. Flash felt an odd scratching sensation as she worked, but it wasn’t exactly unpleasant. It felt like those times when his hair wouldn’t cooperate when he brushed it out in the morning. “There!” Rarity said, satisfied. “What do you think?” Flash looked in the mirror and blinked again. His eyebrows were popping out against the rest of his skin, a dark, almost jet black. They were sharply defined and made the blue of his eyes stand out. “Wow,” he said quietly. “I may start doing that to them on a regular basis.” Behind him, Rarity and Sunset smiled at each other. The Eyes“Right, darling,” Rarity said gently turning Flash back to face her. “Next up, the eyes. And one of the most important things with your eyes is you want them to complement the rest of your ensemble. So, since we have that delightful green in your gown, we naturally want…?” “Green?” Flash volunteered after nearly a full thirty seconds of Rarity’s expectant look. The fashionista smile and clapped her hands once. “Exactly! Of course, we can’t just slap some green on your eyelids and call it a day.” “We can’t?” “Good heavens, no! That would undermine the whole point of bringing out the best in yourself! No, we need something bold, daring… dare I say, sexy?” “Sexy? Me?” Flash repeated. While he hadn’t been a slouch in the dating department in high school, he usually thought of himself as more handsome than sexy. It was an odd adjective to use in regards to himself. “Yes, indeed!” Rarity began flipping several eyeshadow palettes open, rejected them all, then flipped open another three before she smiled. “Oh, yes, this will do nicely.” She grabbed another small palette, this one with a grid of sixteen squares with eyeshadow in a variety of skin tones and put it on top of the one she approved of. She picked out half a dozen brushes of various sizes and set them next to the palettes. She opened a drawer in the vanity and extracted a small roll of tape. She tore off two small pieces and placed them at the bottom of the outside corners of his eyes. “What’s this for?” he asked, looking at the tape in the mirror. “Oversplash,” Rarity replied, hunting across the detritus on the vanity top. She made a delighted noise and produced a black eyeliner pencil. “Close your eyes please, darling.” Flash obediently did so, and winced slightly as he felt the pressure of the pencil point on his left lid and eyeball. Rarity worked swiftly, coating the lid in black, making sure to follow the edge of his eyelid and into the crease. “Now, this is going to form the base for the eyeshadow. Most green shadows are very bright, so you want to give them something to work against to truly make them pop,” Rarity explained as she repeated the procedure on his right eyelid. “You don’t have to get the whole lid, because we’re going to blend once we have good coverage. Here, take a look.” Flash opened his eyes and sure enough there was a dark black ring at the top of his eyes. He winked one eye closed so he could see what Rarity was talking about. The lids were almost completely black and a small “wing” swooped off the outside corners of his eyes, above the tape. “Of course, you’ll need to keep your eyes open when you do this yourself,” Rarity continued. “But if you keep your eyes half closed, you should be able to cover everything easily. Now, we take our brush and we blend the eyeliner so everything is smooth and softer.” She did so, working quickly, until his eyelids were a soft uniform shade of black. She put the brush aside and picked up the skin tone palette. She picked up another brush and swirled it in a creamy brown color, tapping off the excess until there was almost nothing of the makeup on the bristles. “You can keep your eyes open for this part, darling.” Using a light hand, Rarity began applying the eyeshadow to Flash’s left eye, starting at the outer corner and lightly running it above the black, through the crease of his eyelid, thinning it out when she got to the inner part of the crease. She then worked the brush back and forth, blending the shadow into a solid arc, then she switched to a smaller brush and continued working. “”And we’re blending,’” Sunset said in the pompous voice from before, quoting the ViewTube video she and Rarity had referenced earlier. “So much blending,” Rarity said. She leaned back and looked at Flash’s eye. “Good. Let me just quickly do the other one and we can move on.” She quickly applied the same treatment to Flash’s right eye then reached down and stopped. “Oh, damn.” “What?” asked Flash. “What is it?” “Nothing major, darling. I just forgot something we need. I believe I left it in the bathroom. I’ll be right back!” Rarity left the bedroom. Sunset got up off the floor and sat down in the desk chair. “So, how you feeling?” Flash shrugged. “Honestly? I don’t know. I mean, the dress is great and I’m glad you two are having fun but it’s just… I dunno.” “Kinda weird?” “Yeah,” Flash agreed. “I don’t quite feel like myself, but it still feels right somehow. I guess that doesn’t make any sense.” Sunset reached out and put her hand on his. “It makes perfect sense to me. I felt that way when I first came through the portal. Everything was wrong, but it felt right too. Like it was some part of me that had been hidden had just been revealed.” “I guess,” Flash said, shifting in his chair. “I just… I dunno.” He looked at himself in the mirror and grimaced. His eyes stood out against the coloring on his lids, but rather than looking sexy or attractive, it looked like he had gotten in a fight with someone and lost. Even with the blush and contouring, his face still looked jaundiced. Thanks to the wig cap, his hair was pressed flat against his head and his ears looked like they were sticking straight out from his head. He felt his eyes begin to water and he frowned in anger. “I look ridiculous,” he said, standing up. “Who am I trying to kid?” She spotted a packet on the vanity labeled “makeup remover wipes.” He reached for them, but was stopped as Sunset stood up and put her hands on his shoulders. “You’re not trying to kid anyone, Flash. This isn’t about deception, or trying to be something you’re not. This is a part of you. The part of you who always wanted to be able to dress in something more interesting than the plain old suit and tie, or t-shirt and jeans, or button downs and khakis that guys are stuck with when it comes to fashion. I remember the night you told me you always wanted to try wearing girls’ clothes. You remember what you told me?” Flash swallowed and looked down at the floor. “I wanted to be pretty.” Sunset nodded and gave him a warm smile. “That’s right. You wanted to be pretty. You still want to be pretty. You want to wear pretty colors and feel comfortable. You want to try other styles of clothes that don’t conform to the expectations of gender. And that’s okay.” Flash looked back up at her. “But I don’t look pretty. My face is too square. I look like I caught something in the Amarezon jungle. I don’t see how anyone could find this…” He gestured up and down his body with both hands. “… pretty.” Sunset tightened her grip on his shoulders. “Because, Flash Sentry, you are one of the prettiest souls I’ve ever encountered… on either side of the portal. You’re kind, thoughtful, self-sacrificing… sometimes to a dangerously stupid extent, but still. You’re talented, and creative, and I kick myself every day that I was such a bitch to you when we were dating. “You are pretty, Flash. You are gorgeous. You are beautiful, and that’s why I set all this up. I want to help you see yourself like I see you. The most caring, strongest, prettiest person I know.” Sunset wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug. Flash felt a lump rise in his throat and his eyes watered even more. He tried to keep the tears from falling, not wanting to ruin Rarity’s hard work. Sunset’s voice whispered in his ear. “Trust me, okay? You’re pretty. You’ll always be pretty. And if you trust me and Rarity, you’ll be the prettiest boy you’ve ever seen. Can you do that?” Flash leaned back and nodded. He smiled as he saw Sunset’s own eyes were watering. She reached down and grabbed a couple of tissues form the box on the vanity and handed him a couple as she dabbed at her own eyes. “Oh, darlings!” Rarity’s voice chirped. They looked at the doorway, where Rarity was standing, a tube in one hand, her eyes also filled with joyful tears. She was fanning her other hand, trying to will them from falling. Sunset held out a hand and the fashionista came over, the three of them collapsing into a loving three way hug. Flash felt the tears roll down his cheeks as he and the girls held onto each other. He felt warm. He felt euphoric. He felt seen.It was the most wonderful thing he’d ever felt in his entire life. He was content to just stay there, being seen and held by two of his most supportive friends. But the hug came to an end all too soon. Rarity grabbed a tissue of her own and dabbed at her eyes. “All right, darlings,” she said, sniffling. “First things first, we need to fix the damage all three of us just caused, and then we’ll get back to where we were.” The corrections to their makeup took very little time and soon Flash was once again seated across from Rarity, who took a tapered brush and applied some black eyeshadow to it. She raised the brush and paused. “And just for the record, Flash,” she said with a smiled. “I think you’re one of the prettiest people I know too.” Flash felt his cheeks heat up as he began to blush. Rarity giggled and leaned forward. She applied the brush back to his lids, running it along the crease, between the eyeliner and the brown. “Now, we’re going to use this to apply some contrast and define your eyes a bit more. I’m only going to apply it to the outer corner, because that inner corner is where the green is going to go.” Flash made a noise of understanding. Rarity finished with his left eye, then gave the right eye the same treatment, before going back to the brown and adding a bit more to restore the color and blend it all together. “Oh, yes, lovely,” Rarity cooed. She turned Flash’s head so he was looking at Sunset, who had returned to the bed. “What do you think?” “Looking pretty so far,” Sunset affirmed with a wink. Rarity picked up a beauty blender and the tube she had brought back from the bathroom. She opened it and tapped out some powder onto the blender and applied it underneath Flash’s eyes. “Now, pigments like this tend to flake and drop residue onto your cheeks, so we’re using this powder to catch all that and we’ll get rid of it later.” “Okay,” Flash said. Rarity picked up the other palette she had selected earlier and opened it. Flash blinked at the sight of no less than eighteen different colors all glittery and vibrant. He was transfixed, his brain imagining how they would all look when properly applied. Rarity noticed his amazement and smiled. “I take it these meet with your approval?” Flash nodded, not taking his eyes off the glittery green shadow which he knew would soon be adorning his eyes. Rarity took another brush, swirled it in the green and began to apply it to the inner corner of Flash’s eyelids. She worked swiftly, tapping the makeup onto the lid at first, then swiping it out toward the outer corner of his eyes. Once that was done, she switched back to the black and used it to clean up and blend the two together, emphasizing the glittery emerald sheen. She then grabbed a small flat brush, dabbed it in the black and began running it along the edge of Flash’s upper eyelids near his eyelashes, filling in any gaps the eyeliner had missed. Next, she took another small brush, applied some glittery white shadow from the palette and lightly ran it along the gap between the eyeshadow and his eyebrow on each side. “Just a bit more and your eyes will be finished, darling,” she said, picking up a large clean brush and using it to brush away the powder under his eyes. She picked up the eyeliner pencil and ran it along the edge of his upper and lower eyelids, before getting the small brush and running more black shadow slightly underneath each eyelid and blending it outward. She reached up and peeled the tape off of each eye, leaving a clean, clear angled wing effect on each of his eyes. “Now, let me just apply your mascara and we’ll nearly be done!” Rarity said, plucking the appropriate tube from the vanity and extracting the wand inside. “Glance upward, darling.” Flash complied, and Rarity expertly swept the bristled brush through his upper and lower lashes, thickening and darkening them. It didn’t take long and she put the mascara down with a self-satisfied smile. Flash started to turn his head to look in the mirror but Rarity stopped him. “Ah, ah, ah, darling!” she chided. “We’re almost done, so from here on out, no peeking until we’re finished. There’s only a bit more to go. You can be a good boy for us and wait just a little longer, can’t you.” Flash nodded. The suspense was killing him, but he had said he would trust the two of them, and if they didn’t want him to look at the results until they were finished, he’d oblige them. “Sunset, while I do his lips, could you go get number three, please? It’s in my closet, second shelf down on the right. Oh, and grab the brushes you’ll find there as well.” Sunset nodded and got up and entered the cavernous depths of Rarity’s walk in closet. Rarity turned her attention back to Flash. She picked up a couple of things that Flash finally recognized; lip liner and a tube of lipstick. “We’re going to go fairly basic for your lips,” Rarity explained, uncapping the liner. “A simple nude color. It will make your lips stand out without clashing with your eyes. Ooh! As a matter of fact, let me teach you a little beginner’s trick I learned a while ago, since you don’t have a lot of experience with lipstick and such.” She leaned forward with the lip liner and drew an X on his upper lip, the upper arms of the X touching the peaks of his upper lip. Then, she repeated the process on his bottom lip, only this time the bottom arms of the X rested on the edge of his lip, which Rarity connected with a curved line that outlined the small section of that lip. “So,” she began, “the easiest way to work with lips is to draw these X’s, then use them as the starting points for your lip liner. Start at ones side of the X on your upper lip and then gently draaaaaaw along the edge until you reach the corner of your mouth, then do the same for the other side.” She did so, the liner spreading easily along the edge of Flash’s lip. It felt vaguely ticklish, but Flash managed to keep still, not wanting to ruin Rarity’s concentration. She repeated the process on his bottom lip, starting from each end of the curved line she had drawn. She uncapped the tube of lipstick and held it ready. “Open your mouth slightly, please, darling,” she asked. Flash complied and Rarity skillfully applied the lipstick. “Now, do this.” She pressed her lips together, bringing them slightly inward toward her mouth. Flash copied her, his lips making a comical popping sound when he released them. Rarity smiled, recapped the lipstick and put it down. “And your makeup is done, darling! But before I let you see it, we need to fix your hair.” Flash nodded and reached up to remove the wig cap. Rarity threw her hands up to stop him. “What’s wrong?” Flash asked. “We have something special in mind for you, Flash, dear,” Rarity replied. Sunset appeared holding a small plastic bag and a pair of brushes. “Here you go,” she said. She grinned at Flash. “We got you some beautiful girl hair.” Flash looked at the dark mass in the transparent bag she held. “A wig?” “Of course,” said Rarity. “That’s why we darkened your eyebrows, to make sure they matched the wig. Oooh, trust us, darling. This will be the piece de resistance of your entire ensemble!” Flash looked up into their expectant faces. Both were entreating him with their eyes to take this final step. They were also making sure he couldn’t see the mirror to decide whether he wanted to do it. He looked back and forth between them. Rarity was practically vibrating with excitement, while Sunset’s smile was sympathetic and encouraging. He looked at the wig in Sunset’s hands. He had no clue what it looked like, other than it was black. He looked back up at the two girls, then sighed. “Okay, I trust you.” Rarity’s “Eeeeee!” of delight almost reached a range beyond human hearing. Sunset chuckled at her friend, then turned her attention to Flash. “All right, close your eyes. We’ll tell you when you can open them again. Flash obliged. He soon felt a whirlwind of activity around him. Something snug was pulled over the crown of his head, there were some adjustments made. As that happened, he felt strands of the wig come down and brush his left eye. These were quickly pulled aside. Soon, the initial tugging and pulling was done, and Flash began to hear the girls dragging the brushes through the artificial hair. It was an odd sensation. Aside from the very slight tugging at his scalp, it didn’t feel at all the same as when he brushed his natural hair. He felt the bristles of a comb brush up against his forehead as what he presumed were the bangs of the wig were brushed into place. “Well?” Rarity’s voice said once all the activity had ceased. “I think we’re ready,” Sunset said, her voice confident and excited. He felt the girls take hold of his hands and pull him into a standing position. They led him across the room in a direction that Flash remembered held a full length standing mirror. The hands left his, and relocated to his shoulders, gently turning and nudging him into place. He felt the girls step back behind him. “All right, darling,” Rarity said, her voice breathless with excitement. “Open your eyes!” Flash did. And he stared. The RevealHe was staring at a stranger. A beautifulstranger. She was taller than most women his age, but her features were soft and defined. Her blue eyes popped against the glittery green and black eyeshadow. The dress hugged her frame and the skirt billowed out over her hips. The lime green sections of the dress surprisingly didn’t clash with the gold tone of her skin. Her lips were full and luscious, highlighted by the nude colored lipstick without overwhelming her face. Her hair was long and wavy, a black waterfall flowing down to just below her shoulders. A ringlet rested on her right shoulder. A mass of bangs swept across her forehead, forming a wave that partially obscured her left eye. She looked back at Flash with an identical expression of disbelief. Flash put out a hand and touched the mirror, staring at the apparition. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Somehow, the Flash Sentry he always saw when he looked in the mirror was gone and had been replaced by this somehow familiar stranger… … and she was pretty. “Do you like it, Flash?” Sunset asked, coming up and putting a hand on his shoulder. Flash looked at Sunset’s reflection in the mirror. He opened his mouth to speak, but all he got out was a choked squeak. He nodded at Sunset, and gave her a grateful smile. Tears started forming in his eyes again. “Oh no, please, darling, not again!” Rarity cried, producing a tissue and dabbing at his eyes. “We don’t want to have to redo everything!” “It's...” Flash managed to get out. “It's perfect! Thank you! “It was our pleasure, Flash,” said Sunset. She came forward and hugged him again. When they separated, they saw Rarity wandering around the bedroom, looking for something. “What's up, Rarity?” Sunset asked. “Looking for Flash's phone,” Rarity replied. Out of habit, Flash slapped his hips, before he remembered what he was wearing. “I think I left them in my jeans. Wait, hang on...” The fingers of one of his hands has found what felt like a slit cut into one side of the skirt. His other hand found a similar slit and both slid inside. He stared at Rarity. “Does this dress have pockets?” Rarity's grin was massive. “Yes! I started adding them to all my projects!” Sunset blinked and she looked down at the sheer dress she was wearing. “All of them?” she asked, skepticism in her voice. Rarity blushed. “Well... most of my projects. I'm still trying to figure out how to add pockets to dresses like yours without spoiling the line.” “Rarity, you said that my underpants were spoiling the line,” Sunset snarked. Flash's head snapped around to her. “Wait, what?” “Never mind!” Rarity said loudly. “Flash, darling, would you be a dear and go get your phone? I have something in mind.” “O... kay,” Flash said. He left the bedroom and walked back to the bathroom. His discarded clothes were still on the floor where he left them. He picked them up, folding his shirt and wrapping his discarded boxers in it. He reached into the pockets of his jeans and pulled out his wallet, keys and phone, putting them in the pockets of the dress. He looked in the mirror, marveling that the pockets of the dress were sewn into the folds of the dress in such a way that, even with his things in them, the pockets themselves were still invisible. He glanced upward to his face. He reached up and touched the mirror again. As he looked closer, he could see the illusion of femininity wasn't quite perfect. His chin was still fairly square, even with the contouring, and the foundation wasn't as smooth as it could have been along his chin. Tiny bumps of stubble could be seen if you looked close enough. Flash looked up at the fluorescent lighting in the ceiling, then took a step back. The little imperfections vanished and once again, he was looking at the beautiful stranger in the mirror. He shifted his weight, trying to lower his center of gravity to his hips, and rocked them back and forth, making the folds of the dress shimmy. He took a few steps, trying to imitate the way he had seen the girls on campus walk. It was awkward and he wasn't sure he would fool anyone in public, but he was satisfied with the experiment. “Flash, darling, is everything okay?” came Rarity's voice from down the hall. “Yeah! I'm fine!” Flash called back. “I'll be right there.” He folded up his jeans and took the whole bundle of clothes back to Rarity's bedroom. He put them on the bed and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Lucky,” Sunset said, folding her arms in a mock jealous pout. She was sitting on the vanity stool Flash had previously occupied. Rarity got up from the desk chair and took the phone from him. “All right, darling, stand over there, please.” “Okay,” Flash did as he was told, standing next to the mirror. “Now what?” “Spread out your skirt, please.” Flash grabbed the hem of the skirt on both sides and pulled it out, fanning it wide. “Like this?” “Perfect!” Rarity held up his phone. “Smile, darling!” “Wait, what?!” Flash dropped the skirt and reached for his phone, panic racing through his system. “What are you doing?!” “Taking pictures,” Rarity answered, confused. “I mean, you'll have to change eventually. I thought you might like a record of your first experiment with fabulousness.” Flash's eyes widened and he felt his heart begin to pound in his chest. His breathing became shallow and his mind began racing with images of what would happen if the pictures somehow became public. People will think I'm a freak... a pervert...some kind of sex weirdo! And that's just to start. What if someone gets angry? What if Mom sees them? Oh jeez, what if-- “Flash?” Sunset's voice cut through his mental flagellation. He looked up to see both girls looking at him with concern. “Flash, it's okay,” Sunset said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “We don't have to take pictures if you don't want to.” “Absolutely,” Rarity confirmed. “I just wanted to give you the chance to see yourself as we see you. To have a record that you could look back on with fondness, even if you never do anything like this again. That's why I was using your phone, so you have control over what happens to the pictures after we're done.” “We definitely aren't trying to make you uncomfortable or embarrass you,” Sunset added. “You know that, right?” Flash nodded. “Yeah... sorry. I just panicked a little. I mean, this has all be great, but it's also kind of overwhelming. I'm happy, but kinda scared too. I mean, it's one thing with you guys, but if anyone else sees me like this... I dunno... I don't want to seem ungrateful. I am, truly, but--” “We understand, darling,” said Rarity. “We all are afraid of ridicule when we put ourselves out there.” “But we're not putting you out there,” said Sunset. “This is all just between us. You keep control of the pictures. You decide where they go. We won't take any pictures with our phones, and we won't ask for copies. You're safe, Flash.” Flash blushed in embarrassment. He put a hand behind his head, but quickly brought it back, not wanting to dislocate the wig. He settled on putting his hands behind his back and looking down at his feet. “Sorry.” “You have nothing to be sorry for, darling,” said Rarity. She gave him a gentle smile. “If you don't want pictures, we don't have to take them.” “No,” Flash said quietly. He looked up at his friends. “Let's do it.” “Are you sure?” Sunset asked. “Don't do it just because you think you have to humor us.” Flash thought for a moment. The girls had been nothing but conscientious of his feelings all night. They had given him every opportunity to back out of doing this. They had offered words of support and encouragement. The work they had done had made him feel better than he ever had in his life. And that was the point, wasn't it? He felt fantastic in the dress. The makeup made him look prettier than he expected. He even was surprised by how good he looked in the wig. Yes, he'd had moments of doubt, but that was all him. Sunset and Rarity had never doubted he could have this, and they had spent the entire night trying to convince him of the same. There had been nothing but encouragement, support, and positive reinforcement all night. They had spent who knew how long to give him something he thought he would never be able to have. So why was he spending so much time pretending that he didn't want this? Flash shook his head. “No, you guys are right. I want pictures. I want to have mementos of tonight.” He moved back to the spot Rarity had indicated and smiled. “You guys have done so much for me tonight and I want you to know how much I appreciate it. This is just... amazing! Thank you so much!” Rarity smiled. “It was our pleasure, darling.” Sunset did likewise. “Now let's get some pictures!” Rarity raised Flash's phone and centered him in the frame. Flash held up his hands. “Wait! Wait! I want to try something!” He made sure he had enough room, then spun in place. The skirt billowed out around him in a flowing circle. Rarity let out a shriek of delight and tapped the screen, capturing a perfect shot of Flash smiling at the camera as he twirled. “Delightful!” Rarity squealed. “Do it again!” “What? You want another angle?” “Spin, then put your hands up by your smile. Like a princess!” Flash laughed and complied. Rarity snapped the picture and squeed again at the result. She leaned over and showed the shot to Sunset, who smiled at the picture then at Flash. She'd never seen him so happy. Sunset pulled her car up to the curb outside Flash's house. They got out of the car, both still in their dresses. Flash carried his other clothes in a plastic bag. He looked over at Sunset and smiled. “This has been great. Thanks, Sunset.” “No problem,” Sunset replied. “Happy birthday, Flash.” “This might have been the happiest one I've ever had.” He looked at her then grinned widely. “I gotta do it again!” He twirled on the lawn, laughing. Sunset came around the car and took his arm. “Okay, you, it's getting late and trust me, you don't want to keep that makeup on all night.” “You sure?” Flash asked. “I think I do.” “Well, let me ask you this. How much are you willing to spend on concealer for the zits and detergent to wash your bedding?” Flash stopped twirling and gave her a look. “Way to kill the mood, Sunset. Boooooo.” Sunset laughed and took his arm. “Come on. I'll help you get that stuff off and show you how to store the wig.” “Oh, all right.” The two of them headed toward the house. It was after midnight and they tried to keep quiet as Flash unlocked the front door. “We'll use the downstairs bathroom,” he whispered. “That way we won't risk waking up – “ “Flash, honey? Is that you?” “Mom!” Flash yelped as Azure Flame appeared at the top of the stairs. “Oh good,” she said. “I was starting to get worried.” “Yeah, sorry about that, Azure,” Sunset said. “Rarity and I kept him out later than we planned.” “Oh, Sunset, you're here?” Azure asked, sounding delighted. “It's been forever! Come into the kitchen, I made cookies earlier! We can catch up!” She reached out to flip the switch at the top of the stairs. Flash saw the movement then yelled “NO!” just as the lights came on. Azure's eyes went wide at the sight of her son at the bottom of the stairs. She blinked at the sight of the dress, the wig, and the makeup. “Flash?” she asked, concern in her voice. Flash sighed and looked up at his mother. “Hi, Mom.” “Flash... what are you wearing?” Azure asked, taking a couple of steps down. “My birthday present,” he answered. “Sunset and Rarity set it up. And, Mom, I love it. I love everything about it. I feel better than I have in years and – “ “You look beautiful,” Azure said, smiling. “ – If you have a problem with that, then I'm sorry but I... wait, what?” Flash blinked and stared at her. Behind him, Sunset began giggling. He turned to look at her. “Why do I get the feeling you know something I don't?” he asked. Sunset grinned. “Who do you think helped chip in to get you all this stuff?” Flash stared at her, then turned to face his mother, who had come down the stairs. “Wait a minute. You knew? How?” “Well, it was more Sunset came to me with this idea in the first place,” Azure said, sitting down on the steps. “And when she told me that you had expressed an interest in crossdressing, I decided to help out.” “You told her?” Flash asked Sunset. Sunset blushed. “Yeah, I'm sorry. But Rarity and I were short on funds and we wanted to make sure we could get you everything so I asked your mom if she'd help us out.” “And I was more than happy to,” Azure confirmed. “And judging from what I'm seeing, I'm glad I did.” Flash looked at his mom again. “You're... seriously okay with this?” Azure smiled. “I'm okay with almost anything that makes you happy. And if this does it, then I'm going to support you.” Flash looked at her for a moment, then smiled and hugged his mother. “Thanks, Mom.” “You're welcome. Now, cookies?” “Give us a few minutes,” said Sunset. “I need to show Flash how to take off his makeup and store the wig.” “Oh, sure! Just come down when you're done.” Azure got up off the stairs and made her way down the hall to toward the kitchen. She paused and looked up at the two of them as they started ascending. “Sunset? Use my bathroom. I have a facial scrub in there that will probably be better for him than that bar of soap in the main bathroom.” Sunset nodded. “Can do. Thanks!” Flash and Sunset went upstairs and through the master bedroom to the connected bathroom. As Flash stood in front of the sink, Sunset began looking through the assorted bottles on the counter, and through the medicine cabinet. “Ah! Here we go. This will make things easier.” Sunset produced a packet from the cabinet, similar to the one Flash had spotted at Rarity's earlier. She handed it to him. “Where's that bag the wig was in?” she asked. “I think I left it in the bag with my other clothes,” Flash answered. “I'll go get it.” “No, I'll grab it. Just take the wig off and lay it on the top of the hamper. Don't let it bunch up. Then go ahead and start using the wipes on your face.” “Okay.” “Back in a minute.” Sunset disappeared out the door. Flash reached up and gently lifted the wig from his head. He placed it on the hamper and looked back in the mirror. “Yeesh,” he said. Sunset had a point about getting the makeup off. It wasn't looking nearly as good as it had earlier. The lines were rougher and some of his lipstick was missing as a result of eating the pizza they had ordered. It wasn't going to be much longer before everything started smearing into an awful looking mess. He pulled the wig cap off his head and laughed at the way it caused his hair to stick straight up in all directions. He looked ridiculous, but unlike earlier when he was getting his makeup put on, he felt good about it. It was more like the way he felt back in high school when his band had had a good session or show. He'd made it through to the other side of the night, and it had been a great night. He opened the packet of wipes, took one out and began applying it to his face. The makeup came off easily, taking off everything he had put on. He used a couple to wipe half of his face and looked in the mirror, marveling at the differences between his natural face and his made up one. Both different, but both most definitely him. “Here we go,” said Sunset, coming back into the room. She held the plastic bag for the wig in one hand, and what looked like a thin hair net in the other. She put the plastic bag down on the counter. “Okay, so, pick up the wig and put your hand inside it. Hold it up like your hand is taking the place of your head.” Flash complied and held it up. “Now what?” Sunset fiddled with the hair net. It seemed to want to stick to itself and her hand. Finally, she got it completely unfolded and drew it over the top of the wig. “This helps keep it from tangling while it's being stored,” she explained. “Now, take the bottom of the net and bring down to the end of the wig and wrap all the ends in it.” Flash did so. “Finally, bring the end up toward the crown and kind of fold the wig on itself, but make sure all of it is in the net.” It took a couple of attempts, but soon, they got the wig secured and put back in the bag. As Sunset snapped the bag shut, Flash took a couple more wipes and removed the rest of the makeup. Sunset found a large bottle with a pump labeled “Skin Cleanser.” She turned on the sink. “Hands,” she said. Flash held his hands out under the pump. Sunset squirted a generous amount into them. “Wash your face.” Flash did, taking his time to make sure he scrubbed every inch. Sunset guided him when necessary, such as telling him to pay special attention to his eyebrows to get everything out of them. After a few minutes, Flash rinsed off his face and looked in the mirror. The beautiful stranger was gone, and he was back to himself again. Sunset passed him a towel. “How do you feel?” she asked. Flash dried his face on the towel and smiled at her. “I feel good. Thanks... for everything.” “It was my pleasure,” Sunset replied. She clapped her hands together. “I want cookies. Do you think she made those ones with the coconut flakes in them? Those are the best.” “Probably,” Flash said. “She knows how much I like them too.” “Well, come on then!” Sunset grabbed Flash's hand and dragged him out of the bathroom and back toward the stairs. She looked back at him and smiled. “Birthday girl.” Flash felt a surge of warmth run through him. He thought of the events of the evening and smiled back at her. This was definitely going to be a hard birthday to top in the future. Author's Note Thanks to Shortskirtsandexplosions for assorted feedback during the writing process.
The PresentFlash Sentry contemplated the panties sitting in the box. They weren't anything exotic. A simple black cotton pair of briefs from an 8-pack purchased from Value Mart, one of thousands of mass produced pairs that the retail giant sold every day. There was nothing overly sexy or fetishistic about them. And yet, they filled Flash with contradictory senses of excitement and dread. It was his 19th birthday and he had gone home for the weekend from college. A celebratory dinner with his mom had happened the night he got home, which left the rest of his weekend free to meet up with friends. Unfortunately, most of his friends were also away attending school, which was why the call from Sunset Shimmer was both surprising and welcome. “Hello?” “Hey there, birthday boy!” Sunset's voice was lively and vibrant. “How's it going?” “Not bad. Mom got me a GameStation 5.” “How the hell did she find one?” The envy was audible in Sunset's voice. “I've been trying to score one for months!” “You know mom,” Flash replied. “Probably just had to ask a clerk to hold on to one.” Sunset let out a snort of laughter. Flash's mother, Azure Flame, was ridiculously attractive and radiated sexual charisma for miles around her. Fortunately, Azure was also blissfully oblivious to the effect she had on men and women both and she wrote off the various favors she was able to acquire as just running into several very nice people. “Anyway,” said Sunset. “What are you doing tonight?” “No real plans,” Flash answered. “Why?” “Wanna get together for another birthday celebration? Rarity and I have a surprise for you.” “Really?” Flash blinked. “Yep! And you know Rarity. If you say no she'll be devastated and I'll be spending the whole night trying to keep her from drowning in ice cream and mascara.” “Well, we don't want that. What time and where?” “Say, six o'clock? I'll swing by and pick you up and we'll head over to Rarity's place.” “Since when do you have a car?” Flash asked. Sunset laughed. “See you at six.” True to her word, Sunset arrived at Flash's house, driving a small elderly car. It wasn't much to look at , but Flash noticed it was clean as he climbed in. “Nice car,” he said. Sunset smirked. “It's paid for,” she said. “Come on, mustn't keep her waiting.” The ride to Rarity's house didn't take long. Sunset parked in the driveway and the two of them walked to the front door. Rarity answered the door almost as soon as they rang the bell. “Sunset! Flash! Darlings!” Rarity wrapped them both in a tight hug. “So good to see you!” “Good to see you too, Rares,” said Sunset as the fashionista released them. Rarity stepped over to Flash and smiled. “Happy birthday, Flash, darling,” she said, air kissing his cheek. “I'm so glad you decided to come over.” “Thanks for the invitation,” said Flash. “Well, come in, come in!” Rarity stood aside, allowing them access to the house. She led them up the stairs to her bedroom. Flash had never been there before, but it was everything he expected. A four poster canopy bed. A desk with a sewing machine set up on it. A dressmaker's dummy in one corner and assorted scraps of cloth, ribbons, and spools of thread scattered haphazardly across every surface. A large gold gift box bound with a blue ribbon was sitting on the bed. Rarity picked it up and presented it to Flash with a dramatic flourish. “I know I'm being a terrible hostess, but I simply cannot wait any longer to give this to you. Happy birthday, Flash, darling!” Flash looked a the box in his hands, then back up at her. “Rarity, you didn't need to.” “Of course I didn't!” Rarity grinned. “That's why it's a gift. And you can thank Sunset as well.” “It's kinda from both of us,” Sunset confirmed. “I told her what I thought you'd like, gave her your measurements, and she went to work making it.” “'Making it?'” Flash stared at Rarity. “You made something for me?” “Well, the largest component of your gift. There's a few little... er... odds and ends I purchased off the rack.” Rarity flushed slightly as she explained, but Flash was looking back down at the box again and didn't notice. Sunset nudged him in the side with an elbow, bringing him out of his stupor. “Open it! I wanna see your face when you see it!” Flash grinned at her and went over to Rarity's bed. He put the box down, then undid the ribbon and lifted the top... … and stared. He reached inside and pulled a bundle of cloth out. It unfolded and billowed down, flowing from his hands and swinging freely in the air. It was a dress. A dress in lime green and black with cap sleeves and a flowing skirt that was guaranteed to billow out with the slightest twirl. It was soft and silky, but with just enough weight that signified its durability. The bright green was spread out across the upper half of the dress, deliniated in sharp lines by the black which over took the majority of the skirt. It was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen. He looked over to Sunset and Rarity. “How...?” he began, but he choked up. Sunset smiled at him. “You remember when we got drunk the night after graduation?” Flash nodded. Sunset had procured a bottle of rum from somewhere and the two of them had gotten merrily blasted in her apartment. During that time, the two of them had confessed some of their deeper secrets. It appeared Sunset had remembered one of his, and she now looked like she was unsure if it had been a good idea. “Well,” she continued. “I thought, maybe, you'd like this. So I asked Rarity to make something for you.” Flash looked back at the dress, imagining himself in it. How it would feel hugging his figure, the skirt swishing around his legs as he walked. Feeling the skirt shift and flutter as he twirled in place. It was everything he ever wanted in a dress. “Is it all right, darling?” Rarity asked. Both she and Sunset looked at him anxiously. He looked at them, then back at the dress, then put it back in the box. “It's beautiful... but I can't.” “What?” Sunset asked, surprised. “Why on earth not, darling?” Rarity said. “Look, it's really sweet of both of you, but I can't wear it. It's... it's too nice to waste on me.” “Flash, I can assure you it is most certainly not a waste!” Rarity leaned forward and took his hand. “This was made for you, darling, and I can tell you that you are not the first man I've made something like this for.” “Yeah,” Sunset added. “There's nothing wrong with wanting to wear a dress, Flash.” “It's not about wrong,” Flash protested. “It's just... I don't think I'd look good in it.” “Pfft-tsk-tch!” Rarity stood up and grabbed Flash's wrists, pulling him to his feet. “Darling, if there's anything I've learned, is that the right dress with the right accessories and makeup can make ANYONE look their most fabulous!” “But – “ Rarity held up a hand. “Ah ah ah! No 'buts,' Mr. Sentry. Or do you doubt my skills?” Flash flushed. “No! No, it's an amazing dress, Rarity. I'm just...” “Just what?” “Afraid... I'll... make it look horrible. Like the whole thing will look ridiculous and you'll have gone through all that trouble for nothing.” “Why don't you let us be the judges of that?' said Sunset, standing up to join them. “What do you mean?” asked Flash. “I mean, give us tonight. We'll help you with makeup, your hair, the dress, all of it. We'll see what the end result is, and if you still think you don't look good, we'll pack it all in and not talk about this again.” “Oh, wonderful!” Rarity squealed. “And Sunset and I will dress up with you. A good old fashioned makeover night!” “Yeah!” Sunset agreed. “Just the three of us. No judgment, no pictures, just fun. Sound good?” Flash looked at their eager expectant faces, then down at the dress. They had gone to all the trouble of doing this for him and it seemed unfair to just write it all off because of his own stupid insecurities. “Okay,” he said. “Let's do it.” Rarity clapped her hands together and picked up the box and put it in Flash's hands. “Wonderful, darling! Let's go upstairs. There's one or two more things in there besides the dress.” One or two more things. Like the panties Flash found himself starting at. He was in the bathroom and had been for some time, standing there in his boxers, waffling. The box had also contained a pair of thigh high black stockings, a black bra, and the panties. He continued to look at them, his mind wondering if this was really how far he could go. The stockings weren't a problem. They'd easily cover up the fact that his legs weren't shaved. And the bra, well, given he didn't really have anything to fill it out, it was more or less optional. But the panties... It felt like it would be crossing a line. A line he wasn't sure he was ready to cross yet. Rarity had assured him she had acquired the right size, so the risk of them being too tight or too loose wasn't the problem. His mind kept insisting that it wasn't right, that he was somehow breaking a sacred taboo by even considering putting them on. A knock at the door interrupted his hamster wheel of thought. “Flash,” came Sunset's voice. “You okay in there?” “Yeah, sorry,” he called back. “I just... um...” He trailed off, not sure what to claim the hold up was. “Listen, you don't have to wear anything in there you don't want to,” said Sunset. “We put all that stuff in there so you could go as far as you're comfortable. It's just for fun, Flash, so don't feel obligated to humor us, okay?” “Okay,” Flash replied. He reached down and picked up the panties, rubbing the material between his fingers. It didn't feel all that different from his own underwear, maybe a tad softer, and they didn't have the seams in the front that opened up that inexplicable hole that men's underwear had, since the only conceivable purpose for it was too awkward and cumbersome to work with, when you could save time and effort by just pulling down on the front waistband. So really, if it was the same material, and it was the right size, and they weren't much different from some of the pairs of black men's briefs he had at home, what was the big deal, right? Flash took a deep breath, dropped his boxers and quickly replaced them with the panties. Oh... wow. They were soft. Much softer and less coarse than the cotton used in his boxers. The fit was a little more awkward, since, of course, he had things where things wouldn't normally be if a woman were wearing them. But overall, he found them comfortable. Very comfortable. He let out a sigh of relief, pleased that he'd managed to get over the hurdle. He sat down on the closed toilet and pulled on the stockings. The tops squeezed his thighs slightly, but a little adjustment eased the pressure. He decided to forgo the bra, since it would require stuffing it, and he was worried he'd come off looking too artificial in that department. That just left the dress. He pulled down the zipper at the back and held it to his front, looking at himself in the large bathroom mirror. He frowned. Still looks like a dude in a dress to me. Maybe it'll look better if I put it on. He pulled the dress on over his head, and after a minute or two of fumbling around, managed to get his head and arms through the correct holes. He pulled the dress down the rest of his frame and looked at himself again in the mirror. The dress fit him perfectly, of course. Rarity had clearly made sure of that. The skirt actually started flowing from the body of the dress just above his navel and came to rest midway between his hips and his knees, covering the tops of the stockings. He rocked his hops back and forth a bit, watching how the fabric moved and glided with him. The neckline was high, similar to the collar of a t-shirt, making the need for exposed cleavage a non-issue. He became aware of the general airiness that came with wearing a skirt. His legs felt free and unencumbered, and the movement of the skirt sent pleasant little puffs of air across his thighs. The skirt was large enough and hung in such a way that the obvious bulge in his panties was invisible. The material felt wonderful against his skin and the colors complemented his skin tone and eyes. He reached behind his back to do up the zipper... … and immediately realized he couldn't reach it to do up the dress. It was too far down, nearly at the small of his back. He contorted his arms in several different and uncomfortable positions but couldn't even get close to the zipper. He sighed in exasperation and looked back up into the mirror. I still look like a dude in a dress. Another knock at the door. “You okay in there?” Sunset asked again. Flash stifled another sigh and opened the door. Then he blinked. Sunset had changed into a slinky black cocktail dress that hugged her curves in all the right places. It wrapped around just below her bare shoulders, leaving a tantalizing amount of cleavage. Her geode was still around her neck, resting just above said cleavage. “Wow,” Flash whispered. “You look pretty 'wow' yourself,” Sunset said, a similar look of astonishment on her face. That brought Flash out of his stupor. “If you say so,” he said, looking down. “I do say so,” Sunset said, tilting his chin back up and giving him a smile. “Looks a little loose though.” “I pulled the zipper down too far,” Flash admitted, blushing. “I couldn't get it back up again.” “Oh yeah, that's a bitch when you're dressing on your own. Easiest thing to do is unzip it halfway, then you've got enough room to get your head through, but still able to reach back and zip it up again. But for now...” Flash let out a yelp as Sunset spun him around, zipped up the dress, then spun him back again. “Done!” she chirped. “How does it feel?” “Um... airy?” he said, picking at a fold in the skirt. “Kinda weird but... comfortable too, I guess.” “It looks good on you.” “It does?” Flash gave her an incredulous look. “Come on.” “No, seriously, it does,” Sunset insisted. “I look like me in a dress.” “And I like you in a dress. But what I like isn't important. We're here to make you like yourself in a dress, and the next step in that is makeup.” She took Flash's hand and began leading him back down the hall to Rarity's room. “I don't know anything about makeup,” Flash protested. “I'll wind up looking like a clown.” “Nonsense!” Rarity appeared in the doorway of her room, having heard him as they approached. She, too, had changed clothes. Now in a blue sequined, off the shoulder gown with a floor-length skirt slit up to mid thigh on one side. Gold bracelets were around her wrist, and like Sunset, her geode was around her neck. “By the time I'm through with you, Flash, darling, you'll be the prettiest thing you've ever seen. And I'll be explaining everything I'm doing so you can do it yourself at home! Er... assuming you decide you'd like to do this again,” she quickly added, seeing the look of panic on his face. “But! As I say, tonight, I can guarantee you will be fabulous!” She stepped forward and took Flash's hand. “That is... if you trust me. I hope you trust me when I say that I am not out to make you look foolish. I want to help you become the most beautiful you can be. Will you trust me to help you do that?” Flash looked at Rarity's earnest expression, then over at Sunset, who gave him an encouraging look and a thumbs up. He looked down at himself, seeing the dress. It certainly did fit him well and the girls had been nothing but supportive so far. He looked back up at Rarity. “Okay.” Rarity let out a shriek of delight and yanked him back into the bedroom, causing him to let out a yelp of surprise. Sunset chortled and followed them in.
The Face“Right,” said Rarity as she sat Flash down in front of her vanity. “First things first. Did you wash your face while you were changing?” “Yeah,” Flash said. He eyed the plethora of brushes, boxes, and tubes that were laid out like an arsenal on the surface of the vanity. There was so much, and he didn't have the slightest clue what any of it was going to be used for. Rarity picked up a tube from the table and flicked open the hinged lid on one end. “Hands,” she commanded. Flash obediently put his hands up and Rarity squeezed out a small dollop of cream into his palm. He looked at it, perplexed. “What's this?” Rarity smiled. “Lotion. Moisturizing is key, darling.” “Oh. Right.” Flash began applying the lotion to his face, hoping his hands would cover his embarassed blush. “Relax,” Sunset called. She was seated at the end of Rarity's bed. “It's not dental work, Flash. It's just makeup.” “Exactly,” Rarity affirmed. “There's just a few preliminaries we need to do first.” She handed Flash a mesh... “thing” was the only word he could think of. It was elastic and open at both ends. He looked at it and then back at Rarity. “Uh.” “It's a wig cap, darling. It will keep your hair out of the way while we work. Pull it over your head, all the way so it's around your neck.” Flash complied, stretching the mesh contraption over his head and down past his chin. “Good. Now bring it back up so the bottom is even with your hairline at the back of your head, then bring the rest of the bottom even with your hairline all around your head.” It took a minute but Flash managed to get the cap where it needed to be. He looked in the mirror and grimaced. His hair was sticking up in all directions thanks to the pressure the wig cap was putting on his skull. It wasn't uncomfortable, but firm. “Now,” said Rarity, “Grab the top and pull the rest of the cap to the top of your head and fold each side over at the crown.” This part was easy. The cap easily slid up and over his head, wrapping his hair in a secure mesh net. He looked back in the mirror. He still looked weird, and his ears were prominent, but he didn't look like he had a bird's nest on his head anymore. Rarity pulled her desk chair over and sat down. “All right, now we're ready to begin.” She reached down and grabbed another small orange tube. She flipped the cap open and picked up a small triangular sponge. She squeezed a small amount of orange cream onto the sponge and leaned forward. “So, we're going to start with some color corrector,” she began. “'Color corrector?'” Flash asked. “When you get up close, you find that your skin isn't one solid color, darling. There's little imperfection and blotches here and there. In your case, the orange is going to cancel out the blue-ish cast of your facial hair.” “But I shaved my face before Sunset picked me up,” Flash protested. “It's still there, darling, and it will come through when we put the rest of your face on without this. Just relax and trust me, okay?” “All right, if you say so.” Rarity brought the sponge up and began applying the corrector to Flash's chin, cheeks, and upper lip, spreading it around with the sponge until it was evenly applied. Flash glanced at his reflection and noted that his face did seem much smoother. Rarity picked up another sponge and a smaller tube and unscrewed the cap. “Can I see your hand, Flash?” “Sure.” Flash held out his hand. Rarity pulled on the cap on the bottle, which drew out a wand with the gold hued makeup on the swab like tip. She smeared a small amount of makeup onto the back of Flash's hand and examined it. “Good, this should match your skin tone. Very important for concealer and foundation.” “Ooookay,” Flash replied. Then a thought occurred to him. “Wait. Why do you have concealer and foundation that matches my skin tone?” “That would be me,” Sunset piped up. “It's mine. Rarity figured our skin tones were close enough this could work.” “And if you like what you see,” Rarity added, “We'll be happy to help you get something that is closer later.” “Um... okay,” Flash said. Do they think I'm gonna be crossdressing on a regular basis or something? “We're going to start with foundation.” Rarity reached up and began applying thick streaks of makeup to strategic locations on Flash's face. It felt slimy and cold on his face and he tried to keep from recoiling as Rarity applied it. She picked up a large teardrop shaped sponge and used the narrow end to begin spreading the makeup over his entire face, making sure to get into the creases around his nose and up to the edge of the wig cap. Soon, she leaned back and Flash looked in the mirror. His face looked almost jaundiced and his eyebrows raised in confusion. Rarity caught his expression and put a hand on his shoulder. “Don't judge until we're done, okay? This is only the first few steps.” Flash nodded and turned back to her. “If you say so.” Rarity nodded. “I do indeed. Next, concealer. This will cover up any odd coloration or small imperfections.” She grabbed another sponge and a smaller tube. She unscrewed the cap, revealing a long tapered nozzle. She squeezed some concealer out onto the sponge and began applying it to Flash's face, focusing primarily on the inner corners of his eyes and the sides of his nose. She then grabbed a smaller teardrop sponge and began blending the concealer into the foundation. Once that was done, she peered at Flash's face, then nodded to herself and began looking through the makeup. “Everything okay?” Flash asked. “Just fine, darling. Looking for the right shade.” Flash nodded and looked back at himself in the mirror. He still looked weird. His face just seemed off somehow, vaguely artificial. He knew they weren't finished yet, but he felt himself slumping in the chair at how he looked. “You okay?” Sunset asked, seeing his change in posture. “Yeah, sure,” he muttered. Sunset got up off the bed and came over to sit down on the floor beside him. She took his hand. “It’s okay, Flash. We’re your friends. We’re not going to make you look silly.” “I know,” said Flash. “I just… it’s… well, just look at me!” Sunset and Rarity exchanged a knowing smirk. “I thought you might feel this way,” said Sunset. “So, Rarity and I did something to make you feel better.” “Huh?” Flash blinked. “While you were changing in the bathroom, we did our makeup,” Rarity explained, pulling out her phone and tapping the screen. “Would you like to see?” She held out the phone. Flash leaned forward to look and burst out laughing. The girls had taken pictures of themselves in mid-application. Their hair was pulled sharply back from their faces and smears of foundation, concealer, and who knew what else were evident. Flash flipped through the pictures, each one showing the girls more ridiculous than the last. “You see, darling?” Rarity said, smiling. “A complete look takes effort. You may look foolish while you’re working on it, but so does everyone. My word, if I told you how long it takes me to get my face just so before school every day and the sheer grotesquery that happens while I do.” “And I don’t normally wear makeup except on special occasions,” Sunset added. “I’m only slightly less of a beginner than you are. So lighten up. It’ll all be worth it when we’re done, okay?” Flash nodded, deciding to trust them. He wished he wasn’t being so namby-pamby about the whole thing, but part of him seriously doubted makeup was going to do anything to make him look less like a dude in a dress. Rarity produced another tube, this one with a dark brown cream at the end. “Next, contouring. Now, we’re not going to go all out Countess Coloratura tonight. Just some basic contouring and highlights to take the edges off and thin out your face a bit.” “Check his flesh!” Sunset said, putting on a pompous accent. She grinned. Rarity returned the smile and replied with a similar accent. “As you can see, he has no flesh!” Flash looked from Rarity to Sunset. “Did I miss something?” Sunset shook her head, giggling. “Just an old ViewTube video we think is hilarious. I’ll show it to you later.” Flash decided to let that one go and leaned forward again so Rarity had access to his face. Rarity reached up and lightly touched his cheek, feeling for the bone underneath on both sides, then did the same to his jaw. She made a satisfied noise then quickly applied the makeup in a series of lines: one on each cheek, a long line just underneath his jawline, several smaller lines high on his forehead, and two L-shaped lines down the sides of the bridge of his nose and over the nostrils. “Now, we blend!” Rarity took her fingers and began smearing the lines upward. “When contouring, you generally want to blend upwards, so it doesn’t make your face droop,” she said. “I like using my fingers for this, but you can use a brush or a beauty blender as well if you don’t want to deal with washing it off your hands later.” “’Beauty blender?’” Flash asked. Sunset reached up to the vanity counter and held up one of the teardrop shaped sponges. “Beauty blender,” she said. “What’s the difference between that and a sponge?” Flash felt like he should probably be asking more questions. Or at least be a little more proactive in his participation. “About five bucks a pack,” Sunset replied with a smile. Rarity, without missing a beat while working on Flash’s face, lashed out with one foot and gently kicked Sunset. Sunset responded by sticking her tongue out at the fashionista before giggling again. Flash found himself joining along. “Hey, a smile!” Sunset cheered. “We’re gonna have to tell Pinkie Pie she’s out of a job!” “Oh, I doubt we’ll be replacing her anytime soon, darling.” Rarity took a look at her handiwork and leaned back. “There. I think that will do it.” She rummaged among the cosmetics on the vanity and brought up a large brush and a flat box. She flipped the lid open, revealing six compartments, each with a different shade of powder. She began rubbing the brush into a light cream shade. “Now, we’re going to highlight the contouring we just did. This will help emphasize the shadows we’ve just created and balance out your face.” She began applying the powder in similar lines, applying it as before, just underneath the lines she had originally done, then she blended everything until they had made the contouring a little more prominent, but not so prominent as to call attention to itself. “Can I look?” Flash asked. Rarity gestured to the mirror. “Just don’t judge yourself harshly,” she said. “We’re only about a third of the way done.” Flash looked in the mirror and stared. Even though he knew he was wearing makeup, the effect was amazing. His features seemed softer, his jaw rounder, his forehead less prominent. His nose looked both thinner and more sharply defined. He blinked a few times to make sure he was seeing things correctly. He still thought he looked ridiculous, but there was a definite change happening as Rarity worked on him. While he looked, Rarity had produced another palette from the myriad stacked on the vanity. This one was smaller with four shades of makeup ranging from a dark magenta to an almost white. She produced another brush and began rubbing it into the second brightest shade. “A little blush, I think,” she said, turning Flash’s face back toward her and leaning forward. She quickly swiped the brush over each of his cheekbones, leaving a trail behind, then she grabbed the beauty blender and began lightly going over them, spreading the blush out until there was just a faint suggestion on his cheeks. “Damn,” said Sunset looking up at him. “That’s really his color.” “Yes, indeed,” Rarity agreed. “I shall have to make a note for future reference.” Flash looked back in the mirror and his cheeks did seem to have more color in them. Whether it was “his” color or not, he couldn’t really say, but the girls liked it and he decided to take their word for it. Rarity stood up and leaned close to Flash, frowning in concentration. “Hmmm… I really should have had you pluck before we put the foundation on. Oh, well, we can work with it.” “Pluck?” Flash asked, confused. “Pluck what?” “Your eyebrows, darling. There’s a few stray hairs between them. But no matter. The concealer is doing its job on that front and we can certainly de-emphasize them.” She opened another palette, this one marked “Brow.” She pulled a tiny brush from inside. One end looked like a miniature paintbrush, the other was a small set of bristles. She looked at Flash then down at Sunset. “Which did we agree on? Number two?” “Three,” Sunset replied. “It goes with the dress better.” Rarity nodded, then looked back up at Flash. “Unfortunately, I don’t have any blue to match your eyebrows, darling. So we’re going to cheat a bit and turn them darker so everything works well together, all right?” “I guess?” Flash replied, not really understanding what Rarity was asking. He found out in short order when Rarity dipped the paintbrush end into the pallet and began using it to put the makeup on his eyebrows. She worked swiftly, applying it with precision, then she flipped the brush over and used the bristles to run it through the tiny hairs. Flash felt an odd scratching sensation as she worked, but it wasn’t exactly unpleasant. It felt like those times when his hair wouldn’t cooperate when he brushed it out in the morning. “There!” Rarity said, satisfied. “What do you think?” Flash looked in the mirror and blinked again. His eyebrows were popping out against the rest of his skin, a dark, almost jet black. They were sharply defined and made the blue of his eyes stand out. “Wow,” he said quietly. “I may start doing that to them on a regular basis.” Behind him, Rarity and Sunset smiled at each other.
The Eyes“Right, darling,” Rarity said gently turning Flash back to face her. “Next up, the eyes. And one of the most important things with your eyes is you want them to complement the rest of your ensemble. So, since we have that delightful green in your gown, we naturally want…?” “Green?” Flash volunteered after nearly a full thirty seconds of Rarity’s expectant look. The fashionista smile and clapped her hands once. “Exactly! Of course, we can’t just slap some green on your eyelids and call it a day.” “We can’t?” “Good heavens, no! That would undermine the whole point of bringing out the best in yourself! No, we need something bold, daring… dare I say, sexy?” “Sexy? Me?” Flash repeated. While he hadn’t been a slouch in the dating department in high school, he usually thought of himself as more handsome than sexy. It was an odd adjective to use in regards to himself. “Yes, indeed!” Rarity began flipping several eyeshadow palettes open, rejected them all, then flipped open another three before she smiled. “Oh, yes, this will do nicely.” She grabbed another small palette, this one with a grid of sixteen squares with eyeshadow in a variety of skin tones and put it on top of the one she approved of. She picked out half a dozen brushes of various sizes and set them next to the palettes. She opened a drawer in the vanity and extracted a small roll of tape. She tore off two small pieces and placed them at the bottom of the outside corners of his eyes. “What’s this for?” he asked, looking at the tape in the mirror. “Oversplash,” Rarity replied, hunting across the detritus on the vanity top. She made a delighted noise and produced a black eyeliner pencil. “Close your eyes please, darling.” Flash obediently did so, and winced slightly as he felt the pressure of the pencil point on his left lid and eyeball. Rarity worked swiftly, coating the lid in black, making sure to follow the edge of his eyelid and into the crease. “Now, this is going to form the base for the eyeshadow. Most green shadows are very bright, so you want to give them something to work against to truly make them pop,” Rarity explained as she repeated the procedure on his right eyelid. “You don’t have to get the whole lid, because we’re going to blend once we have good coverage. Here, take a look.” Flash opened his eyes and sure enough there was a dark black ring at the top of his eyes. He winked one eye closed so he could see what Rarity was talking about. The lids were almost completely black and a small “wing” swooped off the outside corners of his eyes, above the tape. “Of course, you’ll need to keep your eyes open when you do this yourself,” Rarity continued. “But if you keep your eyes half closed, you should be able to cover everything easily. Now, we take our brush and we blend the eyeliner so everything is smooth and softer.” She did so, working quickly, until his eyelids were a soft uniform shade of black. She put the brush aside and picked up the skin tone palette. She picked up another brush and swirled it in a creamy brown color, tapping off the excess until there was almost nothing of the makeup on the bristles. “You can keep your eyes open for this part, darling.” Using a light hand, Rarity began applying the eyeshadow to Flash’s left eye, starting at the outer corner and lightly running it above the black, through the crease of his eyelid, thinning it out when she got to the inner part of the crease. She then worked the brush back and forth, blending the shadow into a solid arc, then she switched to a smaller brush and continued working. “”And we’re blending,’” Sunset said in the pompous voice from before, quoting the ViewTube video she and Rarity had referenced earlier. “So much blending,” Rarity said. She leaned back and looked at Flash’s eye. “Good. Let me just quickly do the other one and we can move on.” She quickly applied the same treatment to Flash’s right eye then reached down and stopped. “Oh, damn.” “What?” asked Flash. “What is it?” “Nothing major, darling. I just forgot something we need. I believe I left it in the bathroom. I’ll be right back!” Rarity left the bedroom. Sunset got up off the floor and sat down in the desk chair. “So, how you feeling?” Flash shrugged. “Honestly? I don’t know. I mean, the dress is great and I’m glad you two are having fun but it’s just… I dunno.” “Kinda weird?” “Yeah,” Flash agreed. “I don’t quite feel like myself, but it still feels right somehow. I guess that doesn’t make any sense.” Sunset reached out and put her hand on his. “It makes perfect sense to me. I felt that way when I first came through the portal. Everything was wrong, but it felt right too. Like it was some part of me that had been hidden had just been revealed.” “I guess,” Flash said, shifting in his chair. “I just… I dunno.” He looked at himself in the mirror and grimaced. His eyes stood out against the coloring on his lids, but rather than looking sexy or attractive, it looked like he had gotten in a fight with someone and lost. Even with the blush and contouring, his face still looked jaundiced. Thanks to the wig cap, his hair was pressed flat against his head and his ears looked like they were sticking straight out from his head. He felt his eyes begin to water and he frowned in anger. “I look ridiculous,” he said, standing up. “Who am I trying to kid?” She spotted a packet on the vanity labeled “makeup remover wipes.” He reached for them, but was stopped as Sunset stood up and put her hands on his shoulders. “You’re not trying to kid anyone, Flash. This isn’t about deception, or trying to be something you’re not. This is a part of you. The part of you who always wanted to be able to dress in something more interesting than the plain old suit and tie, or t-shirt and jeans, or button downs and khakis that guys are stuck with when it comes to fashion. I remember the night you told me you always wanted to try wearing girls’ clothes. You remember what you told me?” Flash swallowed and looked down at the floor. “I wanted to be pretty.” Sunset nodded and gave him a warm smile. “That’s right. You wanted to be pretty. You still want to be pretty. You want to wear pretty colors and feel comfortable. You want to try other styles of clothes that don’t conform to the expectations of gender. And that’s okay.” Flash looked back up at her. “But I don’t look pretty. My face is too square. I look like I caught something in the Amarezon jungle. I don’t see how anyone could find this…” He gestured up and down his body with both hands. “… pretty.” Sunset tightened her grip on his shoulders. “Because, Flash Sentry, you are one of the prettiest souls I’ve ever encountered… on either side of the portal. You’re kind, thoughtful, self-sacrificing… sometimes to a dangerously stupid extent, but still. You’re talented, and creative, and I kick myself every day that I was such a bitch to you when we were dating. “You are pretty, Flash. You are gorgeous. You are beautiful, and that’s why I set all this up. I want to help you see yourself like I see you. The most caring, strongest, prettiest person I know.” Sunset wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug. Flash felt a lump rise in his throat and his eyes watered even more. He tried to keep the tears from falling, not wanting to ruin Rarity’s hard work. Sunset’s voice whispered in his ear. “Trust me, okay? You’re pretty. You’ll always be pretty. And if you trust me and Rarity, you’ll be the prettiest boy you’ve ever seen. Can you do that?” Flash leaned back and nodded. He smiled as he saw Sunset’s own eyes were watering. She reached down and grabbed a couple of tissues form the box on the vanity and handed him a couple as she dabbed at her own eyes. “Oh, darlings!” Rarity’s voice chirped. They looked at the doorway, where Rarity was standing, a tube in one hand, her eyes also filled with joyful tears. She was fanning her other hand, trying to will them from falling. Sunset held out a hand and the fashionista came over, the three of them collapsing into a loving three way hug. Flash felt the tears roll down his cheeks as he and the girls held onto each other. He felt warm. He felt euphoric. He felt seen.It was the most wonderful thing he’d ever felt in his entire life. He was content to just stay there, being seen and held by two of his most supportive friends. But the hug came to an end all too soon. Rarity grabbed a tissue of her own and dabbed at her eyes. “All right, darlings,” she said, sniffling. “First things first, we need to fix the damage all three of us just caused, and then we’ll get back to where we were.” The corrections to their makeup took very little time and soon Flash was once again seated across from Rarity, who took a tapered brush and applied some black eyeshadow to it. She raised the brush and paused. “And just for the record, Flash,” she said with a smiled. “I think you’re one of the prettiest people I know too.” Flash felt his cheeks heat up as he began to blush. Rarity giggled and leaned forward. She applied the brush back to his lids, running it along the crease, between the eyeliner and the brown. “Now, we’re going to use this to apply some contrast and define your eyes a bit more. I’m only going to apply it to the outer corner, because that inner corner is where the green is going to go.” Flash made a noise of understanding. Rarity finished with his left eye, then gave the right eye the same treatment, before going back to the brown and adding a bit more to restore the color and blend it all together. “Oh, yes, lovely,” Rarity cooed. She turned Flash’s head so he was looking at Sunset, who had returned to the bed. “What do you think?” “Looking pretty so far,” Sunset affirmed with a wink. Rarity picked up a beauty blender and the tube she had brought back from the bathroom. She opened it and tapped out some powder onto the blender and applied it underneath Flash’s eyes. “Now, pigments like this tend to flake and drop residue onto your cheeks, so we’re using this powder to catch all that and we’ll get rid of it later.” “Okay,” Flash said. Rarity picked up the other palette she had selected earlier and opened it. Flash blinked at the sight of no less than eighteen different colors all glittery and vibrant. He was transfixed, his brain imagining how they would all look when properly applied. Rarity noticed his amazement and smiled. “I take it these meet with your approval?” Flash nodded, not taking his eyes off the glittery green shadow which he knew would soon be adorning his eyes. Rarity took another brush, swirled it in the green and began to apply it to the inner corner of Flash’s eyelids. She worked swiftly, tapping the makeup onto the lid at first, then swiping it out toward the outer corner of his eyes. Once that was done, she switched back to the black and used it to clean up and blend the two together, emphasizing the glittery emerald sheen. She then grabbed a small flat brush, dabbed it in the black and began running it along the edge of Flash’s upper eyelids near his eyelashes, filling in any gaps the eyeliner had missed. Next, she took another small brush, applied some glittery white shadow from the palette and lightly ran it along the gap between the eyeshadow and his eyebrow on each side. “Just a bit more and your eyes will be finished, darling,” she said, picking up a large clean brush and using it to brush away the powder under his eyes. She picked up the eyeliner pencil and ran it along the edge of his upper and lower eyelids, before getting the small brush and running more black shadow slightly underneath each eyelid and blending it outward. She reached up and peeled the tape off of each eye, leaving a clean, clear angled wing effect on each of his eyes. “Now, let me just apply your mascara and we’ll nearly be done!” Rarity said, plucking the appropriate tube from the vanity and extracting the wand inside. “Glance upward, darling.” Flash complied, and Rarity expertly swept the bristled brush through his upper and lower lashes, thickening and darkening them. It didn’t take long and she put the mascara down with a self-satisfied smile. Flash started to turn his head to look in the mirror but Rarity stopped him. “Ah, ah, ah, darling!” she chided. “We’re almost done, so from here on out, no peeking until we’re finished. There’s only a bit more to go. You can be a good boy for us and wait just a little longer, can’t you.” Flash nodded. The suspense was killing him, but he had said he would trust the two of them, and if they didn’t want him to look at the results until they were finished, he’d oblige them. “Sunset, while I do his lips, could you go get number three, please? It’s in my closet, second shelf down on the right. Oh, and grab the brushes you’ll find there as well.” Sunset nodded and got up and entered the cavernous depths of Rarity’s walk in closet. Rarity turned her attention back to Flash. She picked up a couple of things that Flash finally recognized; lip liner and a tube of lipstick. “We’re going to go fairly basic for your lips,” Rarity explained, uncapping the liner. “A simple nude color. It will make your lips stand out without clashing with your eyes. Ooh! As a matter of fact, let me teach you a little beginner’s trick I learned a while ago, since you don’t have a lot of experience with lipstick and such.” She leaned forward with the lip liner and drew an X on his upper lip, the upper arms of the X touching the peaks of his upper lip. Then, she repeated the process on his bottom lip, only this time the bottom arms of the X rested on the edge of his lip, which Rarity connected with a curved line that outlined the small section of that lip. “So,” she began, “the easiest way to work with lips is to draw these X’s, then use them as the starting points for your lip liner. Start at ones side of the X on your upper lip and then gently draaaaaaw along the edge until you reach the corner of your mouth, then do the same for the other side.” She did so, the liner spreading easily along the edge of Flash’s lip. It felt vaguely ticklish, but Flash managed to keep still, not wanting to ruin Rarity’s concentration. She repeated the process on his bottom lip, starting from each end of the curved line she had drawn. She uncapped the tube of lipstick and held it ready. “Open your mouth slightly, please, darling,” she asked. Flash complied and Rarity skillfully applied the lipstick. “Now, do this.” She pressed her lips together, bringing them slightly inward toward her mouth. Flash copied her, his lips making a comical popping sound when he released them. Rarity smiled, recapped the lipstick and put it down. “And your makeup is done, darling! But before I let you see it, we need to fix your hair.” Flash nodded and reached up to remove the wig cap. Rarity threw her hands up to stop him. “What’s wrong?” Flash asked. “We have something special in mind for you, Flash, dear,” Rarity replied. Sunset appeared holding a small plastic bag and a pair of brushes. “Here you go,” she said. She grinned at Flash. “We got you some beautiful girl hair.” Flash looked at the dark mass in the transparent bag she held. “A wig?” “Of course,” said Rarity. “That’s why we darkened your eyebrows, to make sure they matched the wig. Oooh, trust us, darling. This will be the piece de resistance of your entire ensemble!” Flash looked up into their expectant faces. Both were entreating him with their eyes to take this final step. They were also making sure he couldn’t see the mirror to decide whether he wanted to do it. He looked back and forth between them. Rarity was practically vibrating with excitement, while Sunset’s smile was sympathetic and encouraging. He looked at the wig in Sunset’s hands. He had no clue what it looked like, other than it was black. He looked back up at the two girls, then sighed. “Okay, I trust you.” Rarity’s “Eeeeee!” of delight almost reached a range beyond human hearing. Sunset chuckled at her friend, then turned her attention to Flash. “All right, close your eyes. We’ll tell you when you can open them again. Flash obliged. He soon felt a whirlwind of activity around him. Something snug was pulled over the crown of his head, there were some adjustments made. As that happened, he felt strands of the wig come down and brush his left eye. These were quickly pulled aside. Soon, the initial tugging and pulling was done, and Flash began to hear the girls dragging the brushes through the artificial hair. It was an odd sensation. Aside from the very slight tugging at his scalp, it didn’t feel at all the same as when he brushed his natural hair. He felt the bristles of a comb brush up against his forehead as what he presumed were the bangs of the wig were brushed into place. “Well?” Rarity’s voice said once all the activity had ceased. “I think we’re ready,” Sunset said, her voice confident and excited. He felt the girls take hold of his hands and pull him into a standing position. They led him across the room in a direction that Flash remembered held a full length standing mirror. The hands left his, and relocated to his shoulders, gently turning and nudging him into place. He felt the girls step back behind him. “All right, darling,” Rarity said, her voice breathless with excitement. “Open your eyes!” Flash did. And he stared.
The RevealHe was staring at a stranger. A beautifulstranger. She was taller than most women his age, but her features were soft and defined. Her blue eyes popped against the glittery green and black eyeshadow. The dress hugged her frame and the skirt billowed out over her hips. The lime green sections of the dress surprisingly didn’t clash with the gold tone of her skin. Her lips were full and luscious, highlighted by the nude colored lipstick without overwhelming her face. Her hair was long and wavy, a black waterfall flowing down to just below her shoulders. A ringlet rested on her right shoulder. A mass of bangs swept across her forehead, forming a wave that partially obscured her left eye. She looked back at Flash with an identical expression of disbelief. Flash put out a hand and touched the mirror, staring at the apparition. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Somehow, the Flash Sentry he always saw when he looked in the mirror was gone and had been replaced by this somehow familiar stranger… … and she was pretty. “Do you like it, Flash?” Sunset asked, coming up and putting a hand on his shoulder. Flash looked at Sunset’s reflection in the mirror. He opened his mouth to speak, but all he got out was a choked squeak. He nodded at Sunset, and gave her a grateful smile. Tears started forming in his eyes again. “Oh no, please, darling, not again!” Rarity cried, producing a tissue and dabbing at his eyes. “We don’t want to have to redo everything!” “It's...” Flash managed to get out. “It's perfect! Thank you! “It was our pleasure, Flash,” said Sunset. She came forward and hugged him again. When they separated, they saw Rarity wandering around the bedroom, looking for something. “What's up, Rarity?” Sunset asked. “Looking for Flash's phone,” Rarity replied. Out of habit, Flash slapped his hips, before he remembered what he was wearing. “I think I left them in my jeans. Wait, hang on...” The fingers of one of his hands has found what felt like a slit cut into one side of the skirt. His other hand found a similar slit and both slid inside. He stared at Rarity. “Does this dress have pockets?” Rarity's grin was massive. “Yes! I started adding them to all my projects!” Sunset blinked and she looked down at the sheer dress she was wearing. “All of them?” she asked, skepticism in her voice. Rarity blushed. “Well... most of my projects. I'm still trying to figure out how to add pockets to dresses like yours without spoiling the line.” “Rarity, you said that my underpants were spoiling the line,” Sunset snarked. Flash's head snapped around to her. “Wait, what?” “Never mind!” Rarity said loudly. “Flash, darling, would you be a dear and go get your phone? I have something in mind.” “O... kay,” Flash said. He left the bedroom and walked back to the bathroom. His discarded clothes were still on the floor where he left them. He picked them up, folding his shirt and wrapping his discarded boxers in it. He reached into the pockets of his jeans and pulled out his wallet, keys and phone, putting them in the pockets of the dress. He looked in the mirror, marveling that the pockets of the dress were sewn into the folds of the dress in such a way that, even with his things in them, the pockets themselves were still invisible. He glanced upward to his face. He reached up and touched the mirror again. As he looked closer, he could see the illusion of femininity wasn't quite perfect. His chin was still fairly square, even with the contouring, and the foundation wasn't as smooth as it could have been along his chin. Tiny bumps of stubble could be seen if you looked close enough. Flash looked up at the fluorescent lighting in the ceiling, then took a step back. The little imperfections vanished and once again, he was looking at the beautiful stranger in the mirror. He shifted his weight, trying to lower his center of gravity to his hips, and rocked them back and forth, making the folds of the dress shimmy. He took a few steps, trying to imitate the way he had seen the girls on campus walk. It was awkward and he wasn't sure he would fool anyone in public, but he was satisfied with the experiment. “Flash, darling, is everything okay?” came Rarity's voice from down the hall. “Yeah! I'm fine!” Flash called back. “I'll be right there.” He folded up his jeans and took the whole bundle of clothes back to Rarity's bedroom. He put them on the bed and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Lucky,” Sunset said, folding her arms in a mock jealous pout. She was sitting on the vanity stool Flash had previously occupied. Rarity got up from the desk chair and took the phone from him. “All right, darling, stand over there, please.” “Okay,” Flash did as he was told, standing next to the mirror. “Now what?” “Spread out your skirt, please.” Flash grabbed the hem of the skirt on both sides and pulled it out, fanning it wide. “Like this?” “Perfect!” Rarity held up his phone. “Smile, darling!” “Wait, what?!” Flash dropped the skirt and reached for his phone, panic racing through his system. “What are you doing?!” “Taking pictures,” Rarity answered, confused. “I mean, you'll have to change eventually. I thought you might like a record of your first experiment with fabulousness.” Flash's eyes widened and he felt his heart begin to pound in his chest. His breathing became shallow and his mind began racing with images of what would happen if the pictures somehow became public. People will think I'm a freak... a pervert...some kind of sex weirdo! And that's just to start. What if someone gets angry? What if Mom sees them? Oh jeez, what if-- “Flash?” Sunset's voice cut through his mental flagellation. He looked up to see both girls looking at him with concern. “Flash, it's okay,” Sunset said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “We don't have to take pictures if you don't want to.” “Absolutely,” Rarity confirmed. “I just wanted to give you the chance to see yourself as we see you. To have a record that you could look back on with fondness, even if you never do anything like this again. That's why I was using your phone, so you have control over what happens to the pictures after we're done.” “We definitely aren't trying to make you uncomfortable or embarrass you,” Sunset added. “You know that, right?” Flash nodded. “Yeah... sorry. I just panicked a little. I mean, this has all be great, but it's also kind of overwhelming. I'm happy, but kinda scared too. I mean, it's one thing with you guys, but if anyone else sees me like this... I dunno... I don't want to seem ungrateful. I am, truly, but--” “We understand, darling,” said Rarity. “We all are afraid of ridicule when we put ourselves out there.” “But we're not putting you out there,” said Sunset. “This is all just between us. You keep control of the pictures. You decide where they go. We won't take any pictures with our phones, and we won't ask for copies. You're safe, Flash.” Flash blushed in embarrassment. He put a hand behind his head, but quickly brought it back, not wanting to dislocate the wig. He settled on putting his hands behind his back and looking down at his feet. “Sorry.” “You have nothing to be sorry for, darling,” said Rarity. She gave him a gentle smile. “If you don't want pictures, we don't have to take them.” “No,” Flash said quietly. He looked up at his friends. “Let's do it.” “Are you sure?” Sunset asked. “Don't do it just because you think you have to humor us.” Flash thought for a moment. The girls had been nothing but conscientious of his feelings all night. They had given him every opportunity to back out of doing this. They had offered words of support and encouragement. The work they had done had made him feel better than he ever had in his life. And that was the point, wasn't it? He felt fantastic in the dress. The makeup made him look prettier than he expected. He even was surprised by how good he looked in the wig. Yes, he'd had moments of doubt, but that was all him. Sunset and Rarity had never doubted he could have this, and they had spent the entire night trying to convince him of the same. There had been nothing but encouragement, support, and positive reinforcement all night. They had spent who knew how long to give him something he thought he would never be able to have. So why was he spending so much time pretending that he didn't want this? Flash shook his head. “No, you guys are right. I want pictures. I want to have mementos of tonight.” He moved back to the spot Rarity had indicated and smiled. “You guys have done so much for me tonight and I want you to know how much I appreciate it. This is just... amazing! Thank you so much!” Rarity smiled. “It was our pleasure, darling.” Sunset did likewise. “Now let's get some pictures!” Rarity raised Flash's phone and centered him in the frame. Flash held up his hands. “Wait! Wait! I want to try something!” He made sure he had enough room, then spun in place. The skirt billowed out around him in a flowing circle. Rarity let out a shriek of delight and tapped the screen, capturing a perfect shot of Flash smiling at the camera as he twirled. “Delightful!” Rarity squealed. “Do it again!” “What? You want another angle?” “Spin, then put your hands up by your smile. Like a princess!” Flash laughed and complied. Rarity snapped the picture and squeed again at the result. She leaned over and showed the shot to Sunset, who smiled at the picture then at Flash. She'd never seen him so happy. Sunset pulled her car up to the curb outside Flash's house. They got out of the car, both still in their dresses. Flash carried his other clothes in a plastic bag. He looked over at Sunset and smiled. “This has been great. Thanks, Sunset.” “No problem,” Sunset replied. “Happy birthday, Flash.” “This might have been the happiest one I've ever had.” He looked at her then grinned widely. “I gotta do it again!” He twirled on the lawn, laughing. Sunset came around the car and took his arm. “Okay, you, it's getting late and trust me, you don't want to keep that makeup on all night.” “You sure?” Flash asked. “I think I do.” “Well, let me ask you this. How much are you willing to spend on concealer for the zits and detergent to wash your bedding?” Flash stopped twirling and gave her a look. “Way to kill the mood, Sunset. Boooooo.” Sunset laughed and took his arm. “Come on. I'll help you get that stuff off and show you how to store the wig.” “Oh, all right.” The two of them headed toward the house. It was after midnight and they tried to keep quiet as Flash unlocked the front door. “We'll use the downstairs bathroom,” he whispered. “That way we won't risk waking up – “ “Flash, honey? Is that you?” “Mom!” Flash yelped as Azure Flame appeared at the top of the stairs. “Oh good,” she said. “I was starting to get worried.” “Yeah, sorry about that, Azure,” Sunset said. “Rarity and I kept him out later than we planned.” “Oh, Sunset, you're here?” Azure asked, sounding delighted. “It's been forever! Come into the kitchen, I made cookies earlier! We can catch up!” She reached out to flip the switch at the top of the stairs. Flash saw the movement then yelled “NO!” just as the lights came on. Azure's eyes went wide at the sight of her son at the bottom of the stairs. She blinked at the sight of the dress, the wig, and the makeup. “Flash?” she asked, concern in her voice. Flash sighed and looked up at his mother. “Hi, Mom.” “Flash... what are you wearing?” Azure asked, taking a couple of steps down. “My birthday present,” he answered. “Sunset and Rarity set it up. And, Mom, I love it. I love everything about it. I feel better than I have in years and – “ “You look beautiful,” Azure said, smiling. “ – If you have a problem with that, then I'm sorry but I... wait, what?” Flash blinked and stared at her. Behind him, Sunset began giggling. He turned to look at her. “Why do I get the feeling you know something I don't?” he asked. Sunset grinned. “Who do you think helped chip in to get you all this stuff?” Flash stared at her, then turned to face his mother, who had come down the stairs. “Wait a minute. You knew? How?” “Well, it was more Sunset came to me with this idea in the first place,” Azure said, sitting down on the steps. “And when she told me that you had expressed an interest in crossdressing, I decided to help out.” “You told her?” Flash asked Sunset. Sunset blushed. “Yeah, I'm sorry. But Rarity and I were short on funds and we wanted to make sure we could get you everything so I asked your mom if she'd help us out.” “And I was more than happy to,” Azure confirmed. “And judging from what I'm seeing, I'm glad I did.” Flash looked at his mom again. “You're... seriously okay with this?” Azure smiled. “I'm okay with almost anything that makes you happy. And if this does it, then I'm going to support you.” Flash looked at her for a moment, then smiled and hugged his mother. “Thanks, Mom.” “You're welcome. Now, cookies?” “Give us a few minutes,” said Sunset. “I need to show Flash how to take off his makeup and store the wig.” “Oh, sure! Just come down when you're done.” Azure got up off the stairs and made her way down the hall to toward the kitchen. She paused and looked up at the two of them as they started ascending. “Sunset? Use my bathroom. I have a facial scrub in there that will probably be better for him than that bar of soap in the main bathroom.” Sunset nodded. “Can do. Thanks!” Flash and Sunset went upstairs and through the master bedroom to the connected bathroom. As Flash stood in front of the sink, Sunset began looking through the assorted bottles on the counter, and through the medicine cabinet. “Ah! Here we go. This will make things easier.” Sunset produced a packet from the cabinet, similar to the one Flash had spotted at Rarity's earlier. She handed it to him. “Where's that bag the wig was in?” she asked. “I think I left it in the bag with my other clothes,” Flash answered. “I'll go get it.” “No, I'll grab it. Just take the wig off and lay it on the top of the hamper. Don't let it bunch up. Then go ahead and start using the wipes on your face.” “Okay.” “Back in a minute.” Sunset disappeared out the door. Flash reached up and gently lifted the wig from his head. He placed it on the hamper and looked back in the mirror. “Yeesh,” he said. Sunset had a point about getting the makeup off. It wasn't looking nearly as good as it had earlier. The lines were rougher and some of his lipstick was missing as a result of eating the pizza they had ordered. It wasn't going to be much longer before everything started smearing into an awful looking mess. He pulled the wig cap off his head and laughed at the way it caused his hair to stick straight up in all directions. He looked ridiculous, but unlike earlier when he was getting his makeup put on, he felt good about it. It was more like the way he felt back in high school when his band had had a good session or show. He'd made it through to the other side of the night, and it had been a great night. He opened the packet of wipes, took one out and began applying it to his face. The makeup came off easily, taking off everything he had put on. He used a couple to wipe half of his face and looked in the mirror, marveling at the differences between his natural face and his made up one. Both different, but both most definitely him. “Here we go,” said Sunset, coming back into the room. She held the plastic bag for the wig in one hand, and what looked like a thin hair net in the other. She put the plastic bag down on the counter. “Okay, so, pick up the wig and put your hand inside it. Hold it up like your hand is taking the place of your head.” Flash complied and held it up. “Now what?” Sunset fiddled with the hair net. It seemed to want to stick to itself and her hand. Finally, she got it completely unfolded and drew it over the top of the wig. “This helps keep it from tangling while it's being stored,” she explained. “Now, take the bottom of the net and bring down to the end of the wig and wrap all the ends in it.” Flash did so. “Finally, bring the end up toward the crown and kind of fold the wig on itself, but make sure all of it is in the net.” It took a couple of attempts, but soon, they got the wig secured and put back in the bag. As Sunset snapped the bag shut, Flash took a couple more wipes and removed the rest of the makeup. Sunset found a large bottle with a pump labeled “Skin Cleanser.” She turned on the sink. “Hands,” she said. Flash held his hands out under the pump. Sunset squirted a generous amount into them. “Wash your face.” Flash did, taking his time to make sure he scrubbed every inch. Sunset guided him when necessary, such as telling him to pay special attention to his eyebrows to get everything out of them. After a few minutes, Flash rinsed off his face and looked in the mirror. The beautiful stranger was gone, and he was back to himself again. Sunset passed him a towel. “How do you feel?” she asked. Flash dried his face on the towel and smiled at her. “I feel good. Thanks... for everything.” “It was my pleasure,” Sunset replied. She clapped her hands together. “I want cookies. Do you think she made those ones with the coconut flakes in them? Those are the best.” “Probably,” Flash said. “She knows how much I like them too.” “Well, come on then!” Sunset grabbed Flash's hand and dragged him out of the bathroom and back toward the stairs. She looked back at him and smiled. “Birthday girl.” Flash felt a surge of warmth run through him. He thought of the events of the evening and smiled back at her. This was definitely going to be a hard birthday to top in the future. Author's Note Thanks to Shortskirtsandexplosions for assorted feedback during the writing process.
