Perfect. That was the word on Zipp’s mind. She had gone out of her way to ensure that everything would be perfect tonight.
She had chosen the perfect spot: a small hill overlooking the beach, giving the two a good view and relative privacy. She had chosen the perfect blanket, made from the finest Zephyr Height’s textiles. She had chosen to make the perfect meal… and then had Sunny help cook it when she screwed it up the first time, but whatever.
Today was going perfect.
“Zipp?” said Sunny. She was laying beside Zipp, nuzzling against her as the two watched the sun set over the sea.
“Yeah?” Zipp said, closing her eyes, feeling at peace in the moment.
“What are you thinking about?”
Uh oh.
Zipp’s eyes snapped open. “Nothing,” she lied. “Just enjoying the moment.”
“You sure?” Sunny replied. She then scooted away from Zipp so that she was sitting on her haunches. “Because you’re making the Face again.”
Zipp raised an eyebrow. “The Face?”
“Your thinking Face!”
“Hey,” Zipp retorted, sitting up on her elbows. “I don’t have a thinking face!” Zipp blinked once, twice. “Do I?”
“Aw, you don’t have to worry about it,” Sunny said while gently patting Zipp’s hoof. “It’s actually kinda cute.”
“...oh,” Zipp said. To her horror, her face suddenly felt really warm.
Ugh, stupid white coat! She then tried to cover her blush with a wing, only to stop when she noticed Sunny snickering at her.
“Heh,” Zipp chuckled dryly, before looking down at the blanket.
Sunny’s smile slowly fell into a frown. “Is.. is something wrong,” she said, anxiety creeping into her voice. “If… if it’s something I did I-”
“No!” Zipp instinctively scrambled onto her hooves. “You… you didn't do anything! Honest! It’s… it’s…”
Zipp then realized that she was hovering in the air. She sighed. “It’s me.” Her hooves touched the ground. “There’s something I never told you.” Zipp cast an anxious glace at Sunny, seeing that the mare was making a quizzical head tilt.
Gosh why does she have to look at me like that?
“Sunny…” Zipp took a deep breath. “I… I’m kinda…” Zipp glanced down at the blanket again, silently hoping that it would save her from having this conversation.
Now or never.
“...I’m trans.”
“Oh,” Sunny said reflexively, before her eyes lit up with understanding. “Oh.”
“I… I mean, I was born a colt,” Zipp explained, “but I came out when I was young. And… and my parents were okay with it, but then those stupid tabloids started leaking things, and then the press came along and…” Zipp trailed off, casting another anxious glance at Sunny.
To her surprise, she was smiling. “Aw, Zipp,” she said. Sunny then grabbed Zipp and pulled her into a hug. After a brief hesitation, Zipp leaned into it.
Zipp then closed her eyes, hearing the sound of waves crashing off on the distant shore. After a moment Sunny pulled away, still wearing the same smile.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
“Huh?”
“I said thank you,” Sunny repeated, “I know this is something very personal to you, and I’m glad that you trust me enough to feel comfortable telling me about it.”
Zipp blinked. “So… you’re cool with that?”
“Yeah!” Sunny beamed.
“... you sure?”
“Yeah?” Sunny tilted her head in that adorable way again. “Why would I not be?”
“I mean, you know…”
“Hmm, no. No I don’t.”
“I mean… I don’t know, this seems kinda… anticlimactic?”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Sunny said. She then began slowly pacing around Zipp. “I’ve spent most of my life literally preaching unity and tolerance for all ponies. Clearly I’m supposed to run away and call you a freak because you’re trans.”
“I… okay. Point taken,” Zipp conceded. “But… still! You’re not at all worried about… uhm…”
“Worried about what?” Sunny said.
Please don’t make me say it.
“How… how I…”
Zipp hesitated. Sunny’s face was unreliable. Zipp licked her lips.
Oh, for the love of…
“How I am…” Zipp bit her lip. She gestured with her hoof towards the lower portion of her body. “You know. Down there?”
Sunny shook her head to the side. “My, my. Thinking about that before even our second date…”
“Hey!” Sunny laughed, and Zipp felt her get hot again.
“I’m just teasing,” Sunny said. “Look, I like you a lot, and you like me a lot. Do we really need to make things more complicated than that?”
“I…” Zipp began, her analytical mind pouring over Sunny’s words. “...you know what, you’re right. We shouldn’t.”
Zipp felt a smile on her muzzle. She subconsciously puffed out her chest, standing a little taller. ”C’mon, we’ve got a sunset to watch!” Zipp said proudly as she sat on the blanket.
Then Sunny hugged her from behind and kissed her on the cheek. “Mind if I’m the big spoon this time?”
“S-sure,” Zipp, her face burning.
“Oh my hoofness!” cried Izzy. “It’s… it’s so romantic!”
“Izzy!” Pipp hissed, setting down her binoculars to glare at her. “We’re supposed to be hiding, remember!”
Izzy sniffled. “Sorry,” she said. “It’s just… so cute!” Izzy then wiped away her tears and readjusted her binoculars. “Wait.”
“What?”
“Zipp… she’s… she’s gone!”
“What!?” Pipp cried, frantically searching for her sister. “Gone? Where could she possibly be?”
“I told Sunny I had to go to the bathroom. She’ll be fine as long I don’t take too long.”
“Oh, that’s a relief to h- hey there, Sis! What’s up?”
“Oh, uh, hi Zipperdoodle!” Izzy said, trying her best to appear cute and innocent. “We’re, uh, bird watching! Yeah!”
“At night?” Zipp said.
“Bat watching?”
Zipp then landed in front of the pair. “...so,” Pipp said after a moment of hesitation. “...since we wouldn’t know b-because we weren’t spying on you, how was your date?”
Zipp smiled. “Perfect.”
Pipp and Izzy made a collective “aw.”
“That’s why I’m giving you five.”
“Five?” Pipp said.
“Four. Three. Two.”
“RUN AWAY!” Izzy cried as she trotted off.
Pipp swallowed. "Uh oh."
