I shook my head. "That's not how it works Thunderlane."

The pegasus winced. He'd shown up at my doorstep disheveled and miserable and now we were having a talk I had had way too many times.
I may not have been the most organized stallion in the world, but somehow I'd stumbled into being the local LGBTQ+ (our acronym changed every two minutes) outreach organizer. It mostly meant holding little meetings for stallions and mares who were nervous about their identities until they stopped coming and ended up hanging out at the local gay bar instead.

And, of course, it meant every so often I had a conversation like this... Even if this one had a different twist on it than usual.

The pegasus in front of me sipped his tea and sighed. "I just... I don't want to give up on stallions you know? I mean, I love mares so much and there's nothing wrong with that, but... How do you deal with having half of the awesome people in the world taken out of your dating pool?"

I chuckled. "Most of the gay folks I've bumped into have no trouble with that... Or the hetero folks for that matter."

Thunderlane groaned. "Celestia I need a beer."

I shook my head. "Nope, you're going to have this conversation with a clear head." Plus, I was out of beer.

Thunderlane pointed a hoof at me. "See! That's exactly what I'm talking about. There are stallions like you around that are smart, responsible and objectively handsome."

I blushed. "Flattery will get you everywhere."

He groaned. "But here I am, in your house in the middle of the night like something out of a dang romance novel, and I'm not even popping a wing boner!"

I looked away. "Uhh..."

He blushed. "Sorry, it's just..." He sighed. "I guess I would feel so much better about this if it didn't mean losing all the friends I've made at group."

My eyes widened. "What? Why the heck would the ponies in group care who you're into?"

He blinked. "Uh... Because..."

I narrowed my eyes. This would not stand. "Thunderlane, you can still come to group, you can still hang out with us. LGBT people are not required by law to only befriend other LGBT people. That is just some stupid, exclusionary BS right there and I'm not going to have it in my organization."

The pegasus winced. He looked unsure... Even a little vulnerable. "You'd really be okay if I kept coming?"

I rolled my eyes. "There is a big fat sign over the door that says 'Allies Welcome'. Plus, you have actively questioned your sexuality, maybe not in the same way as most folks that come to group, but it happened."

He looked away. "I... I guess that's true, but what the heck am I supposed to say during introductions?"

I crossed my forehooves. "You do know the format."

He took in a breath. "Hi, I'm Thunderlane. My preferred pronouns are he/him... And I'm straight?"

I nodded.

He smiled. "Man that felt good to get out there."

I shrugged. "Yeah... Forcing bisexuality is generally not a good idea."

Thunderlane chuckled. "You know I have to say... This night didn't end the way I was hoping."

I raised an eyebrow. "How were you hoping this would end?"

He looked away. "Oh, you know, standard trashy romance novel fare, I come over and realize the reason I'm not into other stallions is because I'm madly in love with just you and we end up banging on your coffee table."

I turned crimson. "For the record I would not like to do that. I'm not attracted to straight dudes." Also I was pretty sure my coffee table couldn't handle the stress.

He tilted his head. "Um... That's okay?" he said.

I smiled. "You're learning."