The stallion now standing before Sombra seemed so familiar, yet they were almost a stranger at the same time. The same purple eyes, same white mane with pink and purple streaks, same light lavender coat with white markings, she was all there. But now she was a he.

“It’s better that I show you. You may understand better that way.” Mystic’s words from moments ago bounced around in his head. They registered, but he still didn’t understand. Genderfluid? Is that what she called it? Questions swarmed the Umbrum’s head; how long had she hidden this from him? Was she actually always a stallion? What-

As the Umbrum stood silent, Mystic's heart began to pound in his chest. Anxiety welled up inside him. Sombra wasn't going to accept this, their relationship was over, he should have never showed him who he was, this was a mistake- The nagging fears poked and prodded at his thoughts like little pinpricks. The more he thought about how bad this would turn out, the more scared he became. He took a breath to steady himself.

“Sombra?” the Alicorn’s now foreign voice shook him from his thoughts. "Are you alright?" there was a quiver in Mystic's voice and Sombra's ears perked at the quake. That's when he realized he was focusing on his own thoughts, not Mystic's. What was she feeling? She was bearing herself to him, and he focused on what wasn't important at the moment. What was important was making sure she felt comfortable with what she was showing him. This was a struggle for her, he could see it in her eyes.

"Yes, yes, I" he cleared his throat to keep his own voice from faltering. "I'm fine. I just don't understand." he tried his best not to sound hurtful in his statement in any way. The Alicorn took a careful step forward at this.

"That's the thing, I'm not asking you to understand!" he replied, his voice clearly trying to sound understanding, like a mother speaking to her child. "You don't need to understand. I just," he paused to take another breath. "I just want you to accept me for who I am." his eyes fell and Sombra gave a look of concern. "I couldn't keep on in this relationship without telling you. I couldn't be happy, I couldn't be truely comfortable unless you knew." he explained, a hoof raising to rub at his leg nervously.

"You said you were genderfluid?" Sombra asked after a stretched moment of silence between them. "That's what it's called?"

"Yes." he nodded at this. "Essentially, my identity changes. Some days I'll identify as female, others I identify as male. There's no fixed time between me identifying as one or the other. It just," he looked off to the side and glanced at Sombra. "it's how I'm comfortable. And this male appearance helps me feel better about myself." another moment of silence hung between them.

"I," he started, and Mystic's eyes moved to look at him once more. "I can't say I completely understand." he saw the twinge of fear in his eyes and hurriedly spoke again. "However! That doesn't mean I don't accept you for who you are. I'll come to understand it over time." he stepped forward and gently touched his crystal horn to Mystic's own to comfort him. "What matters is you and your feelings. I love you, my little star, no matter how you look or feel."

A wave of relief crashed over the lavender Alicorn. Tears he didn't know he had been holding back welled up in his eyes at Sombra's words. A shaky smile graced his lips and he leaned into the Umbrum, his body beginning to quiver as the salty tears streamed down his cheeks. His wings slacked and Sombra put a hoof around him to draw him closer.

"I love you too, thank you."