Holiday Blues

by Mathew_The_Raridash_Fan

Grey Clouds

Rarity walked into the warm air of the high school, which contrasted the frigid outdoors. Everyone wore more layers of clothes than usual. Colorful lights lit up the hallways, and pictures of elves decorated the walls. There was a gigantic fir tree in the main foyer in the corner next to the doors. Rarity was excited as she knew what was coming up. It was her favorite time of the year.

Rarity always looked forward to Christmas. Being with her friends and seeing the joyful expressions on their face as they opened presents, sitting beside the fireplace drinking hot chocolate, singing Christmas carols with her friends and family, and enjoying an assortment of delicious foods filled her with joy.

She made her way to the cafeteria where she found her friends sitting at a table. She went over to join them, but they greeted her half-heartedly. They were clearly not in the spirit. Not even Pinkie Pie was happy, and she shared Rarity’s love of Christmas.

“Why is everyone so…” Rarity searched for a good word to use. “despondent?”

“I don’t know,” Sunset Shimmer replied, “But why do you care?”

“I’m concerned,” Rarity answered. “I have never seen everyone so sad.”

“It’s probably just the weather,” Twilight explained. “Sometimes the weather can affect our moods.”

Rarity shook her head. “No, that can’t be right. I mean, you are right, but this hasn’t happened before.”

Rainbow told Rarity, “We’re not in the spirit this year, that’s all.”

Rarity shook her head. There was something going on, and she knew it. She needed to cheer them up. If she couldn’t bring them in the holiday spirit before Christmas day, she feared that the holiday was going to be a disaster.

It was time for everyone to go to their classes, and the seven girls went to their classes. Rarity walked to English class and sat in her seat. She knew she was going to have trouble concentrating with her friends on her minds. Luckily for her, the teachers never gave too much work on the last day of the semester. Instead, they had to play a game where each student said a word to create a story. The story went from a family spending the holidays together to a hampster who ate computer chips. Rarity was glad that she wasn't the only person having fun.

In Economics, Ms. Harshwhinney let everyone "sell" Christmas items with tickets. Each student got fifty tickets. Rarity, who had experience in selling, had the most tickets at the end of the game. As a treat, Miss Harshwhinney gave her a candy cane. Everyone had to return the tickets and items to the teacher.

PE was the only class where nothing changed. Everyone still had to do their stretches, The game for that day was kickball. Rainbow seemed more upset than usual, but Rarity knew that it was because of the game. Rainbow hated kickball because it required little movement. She was excited when it was her turn to kick the ball, though. Luckily, it was just one class.

In Stage Craft, they had a free day. Rarity acted as a model as Photo Finish took pictures. The teacher got onto Photo Finish, but Rarity didn't mind that there were real pictures. In fact, she was more than happy about it. It made her feel more like a model.

In Choir, they sang Christmas Carols. Rarity hit every note with precision which impressed the teacher, but many of the students were too down to sing joyfully. The songs weren't catchy anyways. Nevertheless, Rarity was having fun singing them.

When Rarity went to lunch, the cafeteria was much quieter than usual. Rarity got her food and sat next to Sunset Shimmer. She still hasn’t figured out how she would cheer her friends up. She figured that a compliment was always nice. “You look very nice today,” She told Sunset Shimmer.

Sunset ignored her and stared down at her food, which was untouched. No one touched their food.

“Applejack, I think it was great of you to offer Apple Bloom a ride to school this morning,” Rarity complimented.

Applejack, like Sunset Shimmer, ignored her. Fluttershy quietly said, “complimenting us won’t make us happy. Just stop trying."

Rarity stopped complimenting, but she didn’t stop trying to cheer them up. She needed to know why everyone was depressed and why she wasn’t. Regardless of what was causing it, she hated seeing her friends upset. In fact, she hated to see anyone upset.

There was still ten minutes of lunch left. Rarity knew she had enough time. She got up and walked at a quick pace to her locker. When she got there, she retrieved the six wrapped packages and made her way back to the lunch room.

With minutes to spare, she gave the packages to her friends. They opened it and pulled out the well-made dresses. Rarity could tell they liked them, but the gray clouds remained. They didn’t say anything and put them back in the packages.

“Sunset Shimmer, can I borrow that book you have been talking to Princess Twilight with?” Rarity asked.

Sunset Shimmer got the book out, “What for?”

Rarity answered, “I know there’s something wrong, but I don’t know what is going on.”

Sunset put the book back in her bag and explained, “Rarity, I know you think there is something wrong, but there isn’t.”

“This isn’t normal, dear. A lot of people are down, and there doesn’t seem to be any cause to it,” Rarity said.

Sunset Shimmer knew Rarity was right. She had no idea why she was depressed. Still, that didn’t mean magic was involved. “I noticed that, too, but we can’t automatically assume that Twilight would know what to do, especially when it may not involve any magic.”

"If it's not magic, then what is it?" Rarity asked.

Sunset shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe Twilight, well, the Twilight here, was right. Maybe it is just the weather. Or maybe it's because we're nervous."

"Why is everyone nervous?" Rarity asked.

Sunset Shimmer wasn't able to answer because the bell cut the conversation short. They agreed to continue their conversation after school. Rarity walked to her class while thinking of another way to cheer her friends up.

In fashion class, the students had to design an outfit that reflected the theme of the holidays. Rarity designed a sweater. The base color was white to resemble snow. The small red hands which surrounded the collar represented the family. Finally, the green cuffs represented a bond that will never break. Her teacher, Ms. Hemline, loved her sweater as she described the meaning behind her designs. The other students didn't care as much, so Rarity's sweater was chosen as the best sweater.

In Photography, the class went around the school taking pictures of the Christmas decorations. Rarity used everything she learned in class to take the best pictures she could. She knew she didn't stand a chance against Photo Finish, who was also in that class, but she still wanted the pictures to be splendid.

In special ed, they watched TV. Rarity frequently looked back to check if Rainbow Dash grinned at all. Unfortunately, she didn't. She hugged Rainbow who returned the favor. Unfortunately, Rainbow's mood didn't even elevate a bit.

The final bell rang, and Rarity went to the statue and waited for Sunset Shimmer. Sunset came just a few minutes after Rarity, and they sat at the base of the statue and continued where they left off earlier.

Sunset Shimmer stated, “Maybe the reason we’re all depressed is because we won’t be able to get many presents this year.”

Rarity’s brows furrowed. If what Sunset Shimmer said was true, then a lot of the students at Canterlot High didn’t understand what Christmas was about. It wasn’t about getting a lot of presents. It had different meanings depending on the belief, but none of those meant getting gifts. Rarity knew what she had to do. “Very well. I want to invite you over to my house on Christmas at two.”

Sunset Shimmer agreed. She then asked, “Are the others going, too?”

“I don’t know,” Rarity replied. She wanted everyone to be there, but there was no way of telling if they would show up.

“I’ll invite Applejack and Twilight. You can invite the others,” Sunset offered. Rarity smiled in agreement, and they parted and searched for their corresponding friends.

Rarity found Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash sitting together, all wearing heavy coats. She invited them to her Christmas party, and they all agreed to come. She was determined to lift her friends’ spirits, and a Christmas party was the best way to do it.

At last, Rarity drove home and started planning the party. She knew she wasn’t Pinkie Pie, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t plan a great party. She got out a piece of paper and wrote down what she needed.

The food was important. A Christmas party needed food, and lots of it, too. She was also going to need decorations. Pinkie told her that a party isn’t a party without decorations. Music was also a priority. If Rarity was lucky enough, her friends would join in singing Christmas carols.

The party wasn't for another four days, but Rarity had no time to procrastinate. She made a list of everything she needed to get from the store. Christmas wasn’t about getting gifts, but that didn’t mean Rarity should not give anyone gifts. Rainbow was going to be the hardest to cheer up since she lost Tank, but Rarity was determined to succeed.

She checked her list to make sure she had everything then drove to the store. She got everything on her list that she could. If she couldn't find something in one store, she went to another. She knew what she was going to do. All she needed to do was wait and hope for the best.

Author's Note:

This fanfiction was not written with the intent of forcing everyone to celebrate Christmas. It was written based on Christmas because that's what I celebrate.

Rarity is in special ed for OCD. Rainbow Dash is in it for ADHD and dyslexia. This topic is covered in previous fanfictions.