Friendship is Weird

by Local Loco

Heart Racer Part I

Inside the Cream Summer Home are three ponies: Cookies N Cream, Hopeful Journey, and Facing North. Cookies is casting the memory spell he had used on Hope a couple of days ago to show their green Pegasus friend what he had learned as well as Hope eagerly sharing his childhood memories to his friend.

“We’d always do fancy pancake diner every time Cookies came over. Mostly to make Cookies feel at home. Right Cookies?” Hope said with a smile

“Huh?” Cookies was left confused for a moment, losing concentration as the memory sharing spell dissipates. His eyes lacked the sparkle that it normally does. “I can’t say I’ve ever noticed the uhhhh… pattern I guess you could say.”

“What say you, Mareian?” Hope looked over at Facing North. The green Pegasus had her face scrunched up with a bit of a blush as she still stared at where the memory once was before looking away.

“C-cute.” She responded.

“KNOCK KNOCK BOYOS! MAMA’S HERE!” The front door bursts open revealing a rather larger Pegasus wearing a wonderbolts body suit. She looks just like the one in Hope’s memory.

“Ma!” Hope rushed towards the door to give the mare a hug. “What are you doing out here in Ponyville?” The earth pony asked.

“Eh, the young flier’s competition is coming up and wanted to see how my boys were doing athletically.” She looks around the room for a bit. “ALTO! MAMA’S HERE!”

“Alto Tenor is spending time in his music club on the outskirts of Ponyville.” Cookies explained, his eyes lacking any shine to them.

“Well, if it ain’t the older Cream boy! Ya figure out what you’ll be doing with your life, kid?” The mare got up in Cookies face that he could see the purple eyes behind her goggles. “Still learning spells, I see? Good for you. One of these days you’ll use that ingenuity of yours and make something of yourself. Cloudsdale wasn’t built in a day!” She laughed before catching Facing North in her sights. “And who must you be? Never met ya before today.”

“Oh. My name is Facing North, but most ponies call me Mareian because I’m a mare librarian.” Mareian sighs.

“Nah, Imma call you Shark Face. You got that menacing aura around you but when you get close you’re a real sweet treat.” The mare holds her hoof out to Mareian. “Speed Sound, Wonderbolt drill instructor and former captain of squad 33^rd Codename ‘Wonderwings’. You ever need a coach, Shark Face, I’m your gal.”

Mareian blinked in surprise at the new nickname given to her. She hesitated for a moment before extending her own hoof for a shake. “Uh, nice to meet you.”

“OH OH! Ma, the Running of the Leaves is happening soon too! Three days I think? Let’s run! It’ll just be like those training days you gave us!” Hope said excitingly before zooming off. “Come on guys! Race ya to the library! It’ll be fun!”

Cookies and Mareian both look at each other confused before Speed Sound pushed them both with her wings. “Shark Face, Cream. Get a move on! GO! GO! GO!” The drill instructor commanded them causing the two ponies to zoom out the door as well. Hope has a great lead with his head start, however Mareian is beating her wings to catch up with him.

“Hey, no fair I don’t have wings.” Hope complains.

“Sorry!” Mareian peeped out as she blushed. Her wings stiffen upwards as she starts slowly trots. This allows Hope to pass her as the two reach the library.

“First!” Hope cheered as he started a sweating dance after tapping the door with his hoof. “You can really keep up, Mareian.”

“Heart check!” Speed Sound came up from behind the library and went up to Hope, placing her wing on his chest. “Good heart rate, son. Stay healthy.” She then went to Mareian. “Woah Shark Face! Breathe, your heart’s racing, but you aren’t even beating a sweat…” She lifted her goggles, revealing her purple eyes as she looks at Mareian’s, following her eyesight over to Hope. “OH!” She says in realization as her goggles snap back into place.

“W-wait… up!” Cookies finally arrived, sweating, and panting up a storm.

“Cardio Cream, you really need work on that. Maybe eating more to give you that energy you need.” Speed Sound checked Cookies heartbeat before chuckling off to Mareian. “Hey, Shark Face! If you want to keep up with Hope here then I can help you out with that.” She said, placing a wing around the ever-smiling Hope.

“Oh yeah, Ma is a great source of encouragement! She can help you I know it!” Hope said.

“ARE YOU A WONDERBOLT!?!?!?” A blue blur with a rainbow dash following it zoomed in. It was Rainbow Dash.

“Sure am, Rainbow!”

Rainbow Dash gasped. “How do you know my name?”

“Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet. Those are the colors that hubby told me makes a rainbow.” Speed Sound rattles on. “He ain’t the fastest Pegasus I know, but he sure for one is the smartest.”

Hope and Mareian are both trying to catch their breath as Rainbow Dash fangirls over the Wonderbolt standing before them. “Wow! Could you make me a Wonderbolt? Don’t mean to brag, but I can clear the entire skies of Ponyville in ten seconds flat.” Rainbow Dash boasted.

“Ain’t my call to bring ponies into the Wonderbolts, but you could get the attention of Spitfire she might let ya in the academy. She’ll be at the Best Young Fliers contest coming up so make your mark, Rainbow.” Speed Sound responds as she heads over to Mareian, who is breathing irradically. “Besides, I got my eye on Shark Face right here. Gonna put her through the wringer to keep up with my son on hoof before I take her to the skies.” She gives Mareian a swift pat on the back, causing her to cough, getting her breathing back to normal.

“I-*hack* What?” Was all Mareian could say in her state of shock.

“My *gasp* fair *breathe* Hopeful *inhale* Journey *wheeze*” Cookies struggled to get on all four of his hooves as he begged over towards Hope.

“Don’t worry Cookies, I got you.” Hope lifted up his unicorn friend using his head. “Alright Ma, I’m going to head back. If you’re staying in Ponyville, we have a guest room that you can stay at. Love you!” And with that the earth pony carrying his unicorn friend trots back to where they had come from.

“Love-”

“Love you too, Sweetie!” Speed Sound waved her son goodbye before putting her attention back to Mareian. “Sorry were you saying something?”

“Oh no it was just a force of habbit.” Mareian said blushing a bit.

“Sure… habbit…” Speed Sound said skeptically. “So, Rainbow, some other day I’ll make room for you, but right now I gotta turn Shark Face into a trotting machine. Strictly working on that hoof work, you know.”

“Oh, like for the running of the leaves? Ha! I can run just as fast as I can fly.” Rainbow Dash boasted.

“Tell you what kiddo, if you can beat Shark Face then I’ll gladly take you under my wing to becoming the next top Wonderbolt.” Speed Sound held out her hoof to Rainbow Dash. “Deal?”

“Oh, you are so on!” Rainbow Dash without hesitation shook Speed Sound’s hoof before darting off. “Catch ya at the finish line, book mare!”

Mareian just stood there speechless. A bit shook from the events as well as being out of breath. “What did I sign up to?”

“You signed up to be my boy’s close friend.” Speed Sound said strapping her wing around Mareian, bringing her in close. “You’re a heart racer, Shark Teeth. That heart of yours tells your body to go hard especially when a certain red-headed loving little earth pony is involved.”

“W-What? No Hope and I are just friends and sometimes he needs some pony there for him and he practically drags me along. I don’t know why he does that, but since the others don’t go along with him side by side as he seems to want I use my generosity to… give… him… my hoof. Oh, sweet Celestia.” Mareian tried to explain before she had come to a realization.

“I can still feel your heartbeat, Shark Face.” Speed Sound laughed as Mareian scrunched up her snout as a ting of blush formed on her cheeks. “Come on, kid. We got some training to do.”

On the outskirts of Ponyville, Speed Sound sets an obstacle course that she’ll have Mareian go through. They go through a montage of attempts throughout the day starting with some slip ups and distractions by Hope as a punk rock rhythm begins to play.

With the montage ended, Speed Sound shows the exhausted Mareian a stop watch she had been holding in her hoof. “And that, Shark Face is a new record. Don’t think my boy can keep up with that pace. And in two days too. Now get some rest, Shark Face. Equestria’s gonna see a real athlete come tomorrow.” Mareian let out a couple of gasps as Speed Sound told her this before collapsing to the ground.

“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNINGGGGGGGGGGGGG PONYVILLE! Check one! Check two! Mic Check, not on the radio, but up in the skies today to bring you what should be an exciting Running of the Leaves ceremony. Now while this event isn’t supposed to be a competition, the mayor will be providing medals for the ponies that are able to run the fastest of them all. From first place gold to participation medals. Riding here on this hot air balloon with-”

“Bonjour. It iz I, Roma ze Romancer charmed to be with ze rather hanzome Mic Check in my balloon. Yes, so très bien!” Two voices could be over heard from the skies above Ponyville. A hot air balloon balloon that has a pink love heart shape emblem on it with ‘ROMA’ written inside of the heart floats above the bustling little town. Speakers have been installed on the sides as well as a satellite dish. “OH! I zee ma sœur in ze lineup!”

“Oh boy, Lucky’s in this one. Don’t be placing your bets on this race.”

“Non, non. Iz Ballét! She iz not normally ze competitive type though. But yez, Lucky iz in ze lineup as well.”

Bellow the balloon, several ponies have been lined up at a starting line with numbers taped to their sides. The only pony there that doesn’t have a number on their flank is Speed Sound. The Wonderbolt still has her bodysuit on as she gives Mareian a massage with her wings.

“You got this Shark Face. All the hard work is going to pay off right here. Win this race…” A sly smile appeared on her face “…and you’ll win the heart of my son too.” She whispered into Mareian’s ear.

“Hey!” Mareian swatted Speed Sound away with her wing as she blushed.

“Ha! You got some fight in you! Use it.” With that said, Speed Sound slaps Mareian on the back before trotting away. “See you at the finish line, kid.”

“I should be saying that.” Rainbow Dash stood in front of Mareian with an 11 marked on her side. “I should be the one getting trained by a Wonderbolt and not some bookworm like you.”

“Foal’s adventure books seem more your read. I’d recommend Daring Doo for you.” Mareian retorted. “Though, now that I think about it, those books don’t have any pictures for you ogle at to get the story.” Mareian gave a sly chuckle.

“UGH! Bookworms!” Rainbow Dash trotted herself away from Mareian. “See you at the finish line, kid.” Mareian looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Wonder what got her in a twist?” A voice from behind Mareian caught her by surprise. It was the Celestia bodied sky-blue Pegasus known as Sky Sonata and with her is Cookies N Cream, whose eyes look as though they have life to them as compared to the last time Mareian saw him.

“Oh. It’s just that she saw me training for this race with a Wonderbolt and she got a bit jealous.” Mareian responded, a bit relaxed.

“Yeah, yeah I saw you hanging out with my mom just a second ago. She wears that outfit so others would be able to recognize her status, but she hasn’t done any pro flying after Alto came to be. She keeps talking about how she isn’t ‘aero enough’ anymore. Practically retired outside of being a drill instructor.” Sky explained.

“Granted, Miss Sound is a very fast flier at her age.” Cookies added. Mareian stared at Cookies skeptically, causing Cookies to sweat and look around nervously. “I-is there something in my mane?”

“You look… different. I can’t quite nail it down, but you have some vibrant aura around you or something.” Mareian shook her head. “Nevermind that, I forgot to ask you about that memory sharing spell.”

“Memory what?” Cookies asked before quickly putting a hoof in his own mouth. “Oh yeah, that. Now’s not a good time though looks like the race is about to start. Ta ta!” The unicorn stallion quickly moves away from Mareian. Sky and Mareian exchange amused glances before Sky snickered over back to Cookies.

“Time to have some fun out there.” Sky nudged Mareian with her wing. “See you at the finish line, kid.”

“Am… am I… Do I look that young?”

"Fillies and gentlecolts!” Mic Check’s voice boomed from above. “You better line up because the Running of the Leaves starts in about sixty seconds!” Mareian shook her head as she heard the announcement. She checked her flank making sure that her number, 50, was there and it was. She got up to the starting line and prepped herself for the run of her life. “THREE! TWO! ONE!” a bang could be heard in the skies, causing all the ponies who had lined up to start running. “And they are off!”

“Excuse moi, but how are we able to commentate on zis auspicious event?”

“That’s easy. Reddish orange is in the lead followed by a pink and some blues and another orange with two yellows behind them… Hold on a sec… Do not tell me that Lucky Horseshoes is acting as a wall between 7^th place and the rest of the ponies because the gap between those places is IMMENSE! WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?!?”

Mareian couldn’t stop to think. She had closed her eyes and ran as hard as she could. She didn’t even hear the voice above her. When she opened her eyes, she saw that there was no pony in front of her. She looked behind her and saw nothing as well. In fact, it looked like she had climbed on the sheer mountain side along the trail. She looked over to her sides to find ponies running on each end. One pony she could recognize on pure size alone was gleefully trotting.

“Ha ha! Come on Cookies! Let’s make these leaves fall!” Sky Sonata said cheerly. Behind the massive mare is a small stallion struggling to keep up, unable to reply. “I think I saw Hope headed this way! Let’s go, Cookies!” At this point Mareian had caught up to and zoomed passed the two. Sky could only giggle. “Yep, mom did teach her, huh Cookies?”

“In-*inhale*-deed.” The unicorn managed to say.

Mareian couldn’t stop to chat. She had a goal in her mind and needed to be put on the right track. Her eyes were open. She could see ahead of her a yellow rump. As she got closer and closer, she noticed the number 7 taped to the side, but she is unable to pass it as every time she does so, she’ll trip and get sent a bit back.

“Oh heya, Mareian. Ya’lls in this here race as well?” The daisy yellow earth pony said. It was Lucky Horseshoes and she was in seventh place. “Ya get lost? I might’ve accidentally hit a signpost a way getting it spinnin’ and all. No one got hurt there didn’t they?”

Mareian could only shake her head as she stayed close behind Lucky. The two of them weren’t reaching the lead any closer. Her hooves pounded against the ground as she stayed closely behind Lucky. Despite her best efforts she couldn’t pass her friend. With time dwindling, Mareian had to come up with a plan to get further ahead.

“Ya’ll keep tailin’ me, girl. Ya must really wanna stick together, huh?”

A lightbulb went off in Mareian’s head. Instead of coming at Lucky from the side, Mareian directly positioned herself behind Lucky and started running as fast as she could, pushing Lucky as she does so.

“Woah there!” Lucky said shocked as the two of them rocketed forward. It wasn’t long until they reached the pony who was in sixth place. Mareian could only see the light blue hooves as she began to slink underneath Lucky to perform a perfectly timed switch from eighth place to sixth place while keeping Lucky in seventh.

“Hey!” Mareian took a look back at her victim to see a rather annoyed Rainbow Dash yelling after her. As Rainbow tried to speed past Lucky, she ended up tripping between her forehooves landing face first.

Mareian quickly looked forward with a twinge of guilt. With Lucky out of the way she could actually see the ponies in front of her. So far there are only three ponies though by her calculations there should be five ponies in front of her. The closest one is a light orange earth pony with a cowboy hat. Mareian doesn’t recognize the pony outside of a few passing glances as she gives the mare another passing glance. The mare has a surprised look which starts to turn into panic.

“Aww nah Sugarcube, ya ain’t putting me closer to that there jynx behind us!” The mare shouted at Mareian who at this point had passed Alto, who seems to be the most relaxed of the three and unbothered by the happenings around him. “Pardon me big fella, I need the distance.” Alto nodded as she let the mare pass him.

Mareian was reaching to the third-place pony who was another daisy yellow earth pony. He hooves had a sync going on with an elegance and grace of a dancer. She wasn’t struggling to keep her pace and as the two made eye contact, the mare smirked.

“Ah, it’s you. Some Wonderbolt paid me to make sure you wouldn’t get first place. I’m just surprised that you managed to pass my sister though. I won’t bother pushing myself so you can pass me.” The mare said as Mareian tried to pass her but struggled as her breathing became heavy. “That is if you have the energy to do so. See you at the finish line, kid.”

A nerve was struck as Mareian’s eyes began to turn red. Her anger brought her to a stomping fit as she rushed past the mare. The stomps causing some leaves to fall on her head and lose balance. Everything around Mareian was but a blur as her heart started pounding faster and faster.

“Hi there!” A voice said to Mareian. She couldn’t see anything but a pink blob that she had just passed. “Maybe this’ll sweeten you up, silly.” A cold splash of water doused the angry flames of Mareian’s rage. Mareian had to stop and take a few coughs and deep breaths. “It’s ok to take a break here. No pony around, so let’s get your heart resting before the real party starts.” Mareian’s vision finally comes back to her as she sees a pink earth pony smiling at her. She has a water bottle in her tail and a yellow and white sweatband across her forehead. Mareian can only recognize her as the pony that threw a party at the library and never came to get a book.

“Why-” Before Mareian could finish, the pink pony blasted water into her throat.

“No time to talk, silly. A Wonderbolt paid me to hydrate you when I could and I was like ‘no thanks I’ll do it for free’ and then I see Hope up in first place and he’s having the time of his life.” The pink pony gasped. “You’re his friend! You should be up there with him! Let me help you with that.” The pink pony lifted up Mareian and swatted her flank with her own flank causing Mareian to fly towards the correct path. “See you at the finish line!” The pink pony waved.

The brief moment in the air felt relaxing. Mareian spread out her wings to glide forward and safely descend as her hooves maintained her speed. She was breathing normally. Her heart had calmed to a normal pace. She was happy with her place.

“Oh hey, Mareian. Glad you could make it!”

*THUMP*

*THUMP* *THUMP*

*THUMP* *THUMP* *THUMP* *THUMP* *THUMP* *THUMP* *THUMP* *THUMP*

Mareian was trotting side by side with Hope. Despite being in first place, it doesn’t look like he is exerting himself to stay in his position. Or at least what was his position as Mareian took the lead away from him. He wasn’t upset that she did so, on the contrary he gave his happiest smile that he had ever given to Mareian. This smile would normally be a calming sight, but for Mareian it just made her heart beat faster than it had ever done in her entire life. She wasn’t able to respond to Hope as she had collapsed to the ground, her face a shade of pink.

“North!” Hope shouted in a panic. The orange stallion looked around, pacing his hooves together. In an instant he had decided to lift Mareian onto his back as he ran faster than any pony has ever seen a pony run. A run that would have taken roughly five minutes, Hope was able to cut it down to one minute as he reached the finish line. Before he actually crossed the line, he had tossed Mareian across the finish line as gently as he could. “MEDIC!” There were a few ponies waiting at the finish line and they began to scramble. Hope began checking up on Mareian’s health as best as he could. He started pressing his hooves onto Mareian’s chest to a rhythm as he counted down from five. He took in a deep breath.

“Hmf!” Mareian’s eyes opened as she felt something press up against her snout. Time almost stopped as she could see Hopeful Journey pressing his lips against hers. There was a brief flash of light coming from the corner of her eye. She could feel her heart skipping a beat before it got jolted by Hope exhaling all the way down to her lungs. Time moved forward as Mareian pushed Hope aside, blushing and coughing. “Hope, what in Equestria do you think you’re doing?” Mareian scoldingly stammered trying to cover up the smile on her face.

“North…” Hope’s eyes began to tear up before going into a hug. “You collapsed all of a sudden. You weren’t breathing. I-I…”

“oh, sweet Celestia I forgot to breathe.” Mareian thought to herself as a white earth pony wearing a hat with a red cross came up to the two giving them an awkward glance. “I’m fine, Hope. Just a little over exerted.” She reassured her friend before looking over to the mare that had come up to them. “I just need some water, thanks for the checkup.”

“N-North I’m just glad you’re ok.”

“Sheesh, calling me by my real name.” Mareian said rather meekly. “Only my brother ever bothers to call me by that name. Heh…” She sighs as she gives Hope a hug in return. The mare from before came up to them again, with a bottle of water. Mareian opens her mouth to receive a torrent of water from the mare as she slowly separates herself from Hope. “So where are all the other racers at?”

“UNBELIEVEABLE! A LANDSLIDE OF PONIES! A RAINBOW OF MULTICOLORED PASTEL COLORINGS! THE UNMATCHED FORTITUDE! ARE THEY EVEN RACING AT THIS POINT!?” The voice from above could be heard followed by a loud tremor. They all turn their heads towards the finish line to see a hoard of tumbling ponies dangerously approaching them.

“EVERY PONY GET DOWN!”

“We are gathered here today to commemorate the official end of the Summer season and on towards colder weather.” Mayor Mare spoke on a hastily crafted stage made out of broken materials. On the stage is a sports podium with three ponies on top. “Under normal circumstances I would have handed out participation prizes for those not in the top three spaces, but unfortunately we don’t have enough ‘7^th place’ medallions for all you ponies that tied for that position.” Groans could be heard in the audience. Bandaged ponies looked on in anger as the mayor placed a bronze medal on a daisy yellow earth pony. “3^rd place goes to Lucky Horseshoes.”

“Ya’ll sure I got 3^rd? I feel outta place.” Lucky asked as the crowd stared daggers at her.

“I can assure you that our photographers got every shot at every angle and most ponies can attest that you were the front of the pack.” The mayor says as she pulls out a silver medal and places it around Hope’s neck. “2^nd place goes to Hopeful Journey and if we had one laying around we’d give you one for excellence and bravery as well.”

“All I can say is that I’m glad that all of you had fun and in the end that’s all that matters.” Hope smiled, causing the audience to go from groaning to aweing.

“Last and most certainly not least, miss Facing North, over exerting herself to the point of collapse takes 1^st place.” She places the medal around Mareian’s neck as the Pegasus just raises an eyebrow. “I’d like to thank Mic Check for being able to broadcast this event for all of Equestria. We are eager to see more new faces come to our fine town. Have a wonderful day every pony.”

The crowd erupted into an applause as Mareian stares at her medal. Her face reflected unsure in the gold. She sighs and is the first one to get off the podium. Lucky and Hope tried following suite but were swarmed by an angry mob and an adoring public. The first pony to approach her was Speed Sound, a snarky smile upon her snout.

“Way to go, Shark Face.” Speed Sound said with a hint of sarcasm. “Not only kept up with my boy, but first place *whistle* can’t wait to see how ya do at the Young Flyer Competition, because I can tell ya the competition there will be tough.”

Mareian shook her head. “Why should I participate in that?”

“Because my boy will be participating…” Speed Sound says only getting a raised eyebrow from Mareian. “…And my girl too…” Mareian sighs as she begins to head off. “And if those two are there then my Hope will be there to support them.” Mareian gulped as her wings sprung up.

“Oh, hey mom. Congratulating your protégé on winning the race?” Mareian turned around only to find that Sky Sonata had approached Speed Sound. “Congratulations on winning the race! You go girl!” The large Pegasus gave a playful nudge.

“Oh, she’s deserving of some congratulations alright! You know why I was training her to begin with?” Speed Sound approaches her daughter and begins whispering in her ear, pointing at Mareian and then to the crowd surrounding Hope. Sky’s eyes widen.

“You can’t be serious! BA HAHAHA!” Sky laughs as her mother finishes whispering and joins in on the laughter as well.

“You should have seen it when they crossed the finish line. I think one of the photographers got a shot of it.” Speed Sound wiped a tear off her face. “Hey, Shark Face, I’m gonna get an artist’s interpretation of your victory so keep an eye out on your mailbox.”

“Mother that is the best thing I think you’ve said all my life.” The two continue their laughter as Mareian starts trotting away unamused.

“Learn anything today?” Mareian was approached by EC. She has a scroll and pen magically prepared to write down what Mareian is about to say.

Mareian sighs. “Learn anything? Like about friendship? I can’t say that I have. It feels… unresolved.” The Pegasus laughs. “I guess you could say I learned how to breathe, but don’t we all?” She looks back over to Speed Sound and Sky then over to Hope. “I may have gotten first place, but the victory seems hollow when things don’t go the way you want them to.”

“Can I help you?” Despite her preparedness to write down what Mareian said, during her answer EC had put away her things and waited patiently for her friend to let it out. “You sound like you could use a bit of help from your friends.” The sincerity in the unicorn’s voice had brought a smile to Mareian’s face.

“That would be nice, EC, thank you.” Mareian gave her friend a hug. The two were more relaxed than the hectic environment that they were in. “Heh, a Pegasus trained me to run and now a unicorn is going to train me to fly. Next an earth pony will train me on how to use magic.”

The two of them laughed as they separated from their hug. “I won’t let you down, Mareian. I’ll make you the best flyer out there. I promise.” Though Mareian couldn’t see it, she knew that under EC’s helmet was a bright smile almost as big as Hope’s.

“OH! IS THIS A SET UP FOR THE NEXT PART!?!?” The pink pony from before came up in between the two friends. “Can I say the line? Can I? Can? I Can I?”

“P-part? L-line?” EC stammered

“What are you talking about?”

“You know, when you guys end off one event by talking about another and then some pony comes into the scene and says…” Pinkie takes a deep breath, grabs ahold of some invisible object, looks at it, and screams: “FRIENDSHIP IS WEIRD!”