Driver

I took a sip of Jack Daniel's and groaned, my head was pounding. It didn't help that DJ PON3 and her lover were playing some sort of jackhammer based metal single on the Crow Hop's stage.

A pair of very inebriated, very famous trans mares were sitting on the other side of the table. Rarity and Fluttershy had both gotten dressed before leaving Carousel Boutique, and while I didn't have any of my stuff lying around, Rarity had dug up a vest and some slacks, plus a bowler to hide my hair in. I was most grateful for the latter. The stupid stuff did nothing but fly into my mouth and stab me in the eyes.

A bright magenta mare sidled up to Rarity. "Hey girl, you want a drink?"

Rarity Hiccuped. "No thank you, I'm the T, not the L..."

The mare blinked, looking her up and down. "Are you suuuure?"

Rarity glared at her. "I woke up with a penis. So yes, I'm pretty sure."

The mare winced and backed away. The song changed to something slower and I idly waved down the waiter for a refill.

The waiter, a stocky, middle aged, earth pony with a concerned look in his eye, came over with coffee. Exactly what I hadn't ordered.

I groaned. "Rocky seriously, you're not our bucking mother. We wanted shots."

He grunted. "I know drinking for escape when I see it, and I'm afraid I care a bit too much for you lads to aid in the downward spiral. Don't worry, the coffee's on me. What's the matter anyway? I don't think I've ever seen you quite so glum."

I was really hoping to keep my job and my friends separate... I left the thought unspoken and downed the last of my actual drink. "What, I can't have secrets?"

The old bear rolled his eyes. "Fine, but I'm getting someone to walk ye' home tonight."

"Sure thing mom..." I stirred at my coffee and he went off to his next set of customers. He would be pretty cute if he didn't have such a stick up his ass. No gay joke intended.

"The ponies here seem really nice..." Fluttershy mumbled.

I hadn't even realized she was conscious. She'd taken one sip of hard cider and curled up on the table. Apparently she was tougher than she looked (not that that would be very hard).

I shrugged. "Welcome to the LGBT community I guess. From the outside we're a bunch of crazy party animals, but from the inside you see us for what we really are."

"And what's that?" Rarity asked.

"A refugee camp." I said, sipping my coffee. It was insufficiently Irish.

Fluttershy snuggled into the wood. "I don't think it's all that bad. I mean, ponies working together, helping each other... Maybe the shared hardship has brought out the best in them."

I shook my head. "It's a pretty sentiment, but let's be honest. After all the crap we've been through we're just looking for safety in numbers. Coming out is like puttin' a big fat target on your forehead. Especially if you're trans and you want to make a living."

Rarity sighed. "You sir are a very bitter drunk."

Fluttershy looked up at me, she had an absolutely heart melting expression on her muzzle. "Do you really think we only care about you for what we can get out of you?"

I felt my heart clench. This girl could be militarized. "Uhhh... I mean... No." I looked away. "But what you have to offer is really important. People wouldn't pay to see my disgusting plot trot around stage in a thong if they didn't like what they saw."

"You don't need to do that though!" Rarity cut in.

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh like you don't need to make lingerie?"

That shut her right up... I kind of felt bad about that.

"What I, *hic*," Fluttershy began. "What I don't get is why we can't get everything covered with insurance. I mean, seriously, do we look healthy? Did I pull out that stupid razor blade because I was healthy?"

I winced. I hadn't known about that and I didn't think now was the time to press for details. "I dunno," I said, stirring at my coffee. "It's like... Our shitty medical problems aren't obvious."

Rarity huffed. "Dear, how are suicide attempts and abject misery not obvious?"

I groaned. "Because from the outside, our problems makes us look like nut jobs who have some kind of brain issue and want to be fruit bats or something."

"I was a fruitbat once." Fluttershy mumbled. "I was a vampire fruit bat!"

Apparently she'd had way more to drink than I thought. I continued. "My point is, saying 'oh hey, we have a hormonal imbalance and a neurological body mapping that doesn't fit, caused by hormone spikes that set our brains to the other gender mode in utero so we're trying to fix it. But we're not delusional, we totally know how much our bodies suck we just hate them.'" I took a sip of coffee, "... is a lot harder to swallow than 'this person is a raving looney trying to hurt themselves'."

"Don't be mean to Luna." Rarity mumbled.

"You know a lot of biology." Fluttershy noted.

I shook my head. "Lilac knows a lot of biology. I just pick stuff up from her because she was the only person who would talk to me before you all showed up."

"You two are a cute couple..." Rarity mentioned.

I didn't quite do a spit take. "It's not like that! We just... Kind of needed to be there for each other. We're friends..." I let out a breath. "Honestly that's way more important to me than having someone to bang."

Fluttershy looked me in the eye. "You can have both you know. Even with the same person."

I blushed. She was cute and all in that whole 'wounded delicate flower' way, but I was going to chock that line up to alcohol.

Speaking of which, Rocky was probably right. I pushed in my stool. "We should head out. Tomorrow we have another long day of me whoring myself out for money."

Rarity huffed. "You're a model, not a prostitute."

I shrugged, counting up the empty bottles and piling a frightening number of bits on the table. "I might as well be... C'mon, we really do need some sleep."

Rarity sighed and packed up her things, Fluttershy hobbled after us.

Once we were out the door the crisp spring night engulfed us. I thought it was bracing, but I saw Fluttershy start to shiver as she swayed.

Crap. I shed my vest and passed it to the poor girl. She blinked, but eventually figured out what I was getting at and slipped it on. It wasn't much, but it would help.

I looked at my now exposed frame. My exposed soft, curvy frame... I sighed. I tell you, the things I do for gentleman points.

I shook myself. Whatever, It was late and cold so the streets were nearly empty. Its not like there were any back woods yokels around to give me a hard time.

"Howdy Y'all!" Came a voice.

Son of a...

The yellow mare behind me waved a hoof. "Hi AJ! Have you met Driver? He's suuuper nice, even if he's sad a lot! *hic*."

Applejack, a massive orange earth pony stallion, eyed me up and down and scratched the back of his head. "Him?"

I narrowed my eyes. "I'm a dude. You want to make something of it?"

To his credit, the hulking slap of meat winced and held up his hooves apologetically. "Nope, nothin' like that, didn't mean nothing, but... what are y'all doin' out this late?"

"We got drinks!" Fluttershy blabbed, giggling to herself.

AJ frowned. "I noticed. Maybe I should walk you back to the farm."

We had left without telling Rocky...

Rarity nodded. "Probably a good idea Applejack, do make sure she's okay." Rarity yawned.

Applejack tilted his head. "Do you need a walk home?"

The designer shook her head. "Don't worry darling, I have much more experience holding my liquor. Besides, I live close and Driver's with me."

The Pegasus mare sidled over to Applejack, presumably to plead her case for sobriety... and promptly fell asleep on his shoulder. The farm pony sighed. "Alright, you stay safe ya hear?"

Rarity smiled. "Of course dear." That said we parted ways, letting the Stallion guide the inebriated mare back home. Normally I'd be pretty worried about something like that, but Applejack was a massively trustworthy guy... Plus, I was pretty sure he was gay.

Rarity and I continued down the town's streets, mostly just recovering from the night. After a few blocks, she spoke up. "That was really nice of you, loaning Fluttershy your vest."

I winced. "Um... actually I sort of gave her your vest, remember?"

She waved it away. "I gave it to you, so it was yours. I don't claim ownership of my gifts."

I'd thought it was a loan, but I didn't feel like kicking up a fuss. She looked up at the sky, taking in the grandeur of the night.

"Can I ask you something?" She asked.

I snorted. "You just did."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't be trite, I meant to ask, what on earth does your cutie mark mean? Chariots aren't usually associated with modeling."

I tilted my head, was that all? "Uh... I do custom decals for carts, the occasional locomotive and.... Have you ever seen a ponyless carriage?" I asked.

She blinked. "Ponyless carriage? I'm afraid I haven't heard the term."

That broke the dam. "Well you'll be hearing it a lot soon! Ponyless carriages are the wave of the future. They're incredible feats of engineering. They're like the steam engines that pull trains, but their own independent cart without tracks. It's all about this thing called internal combustion... And they look pretty awesome with a sleek, shimmering paint coat and maybe a few Silhouettes of rolling flames."

She giggled. "So you do have an artistic side. I thought modeling was just for money."

I shook my head. "No, see... that part is just for money. And modeling isn't really art. It's like baking at best. Follow the instructions, do what you're told and at the end of the day you'll get what the guy with the camera wants. What you do, designing new stuff. That's art."

Rarity shook her head. "I appreciate the compliment, but I think there's a lot more acting involved and acting tends to involve more creativity than baking." She paused, "Actually, scratch that, I'm fairly sure Pinkie Pie expends too much creativity baking." She laughed.

I found myself laughing too. "Good god... That maple-pineapple chili pepper upside down cake. I dunno how the Cakes manage to keep up with her."

Rarity stopped. She was gazing off into the distance.

I tilted my head. "Uh... Rarity?"

She shook herself. "Sorry, I'm just lost in thought. Ever since my friends and I... Admitted that we were trans ponies, none of us have been on the top of our game. Twilight's sealing herself in the library digging for answers, Pinkie's down to a single bizarre kitchen creation a week and Fluttershy has recessed into her old terrified self... at least most of the time." She shot me a surprisingly nasty look. "You know she's off limits right?"

I held up my hooves. "Don't worry, I get it, drunken flirting is not real flirting. Besides, she might as well have a big neon sign around her saying 'detour, any other mare in existence'."

Rarity smiled. "Sorry, I just had to make sure."

We kept walking. The silence was nice, but something was eating at me.

"Say, Rarity..." I began.

She turned to me. "Yes?"

"How are you holding up?"

She gulped. "I'm alright... Well, I'm not alright obviously, but I'm better than I was before. At least now I know I'm moving forward... Even if the pace is ridiculously slow."

I smiled. "Yeah, the waiting's always the hard part... So I'm told. I still need to save up some more cash before I get things kicked into gear."

Finally we reached town square. I gazed to the left. "Umm... My house is that way. I think here is where we have to part ways, unless you want me to-"

She smirked. "I'm perfectly okay to walk a few blocks. I'll see you tomorrow for the shoot. Take care of yourself."

I nodded. "Always do."

#

Rarity

As I walked the last few blocks back to Carousel boutique I found myself pondering the puzzle that was Driver. We had similar issues really, though from the opposite side of things... It was odd sometimes, realizing just how many people in the world you could relate to.

I bumped into a stallion walking the other way. "Pardon," I mumbled, starting to move away, but he caught a hold of my foreleg and turned me around to face him. He had a big smile on his face.

I groaned, it was far too late in the evening for this. "Can I... help you?"

I heard hoof steps behind me. I turned to look and saw two more stallions and yellow mare with a red mane...

Oh no...

I dropped my saddlebag. "It's yours," I said, "just let me go."

The yellow mare smiled. "Oh you silly little he-she. You're not going anywhere..."