//------------------------------// // Pluralism Eclecticism (Slice of Life) // Story: Varia Visive // by journcy //------------------------------// Prompt #540: “Believe in the Heart of the Cards” “It’s all in the cards.” The door slammed shut. Rainbow Dash, sitting on the couch in the main living room, flicked an ear. She had been reading, but it sounded like there were matters that needed attending to. Sure enough, a teenaged unicorn, coat very brightly white, mane the color of a sunset, stalked into the room only a few seconds after her entrance into the house. "Hey, Sunny! What's up?" Rainbow called. Sunlight (for that was her name) turned to look at the pegasus. "I-- Well-- I have a problem, mom," Sunlight responded, sounding reluctant. "What's that?" Rainbow said, getting up and flitting over to Sunlight. "You know you can always talk to your mom about your problems, right?" "Yeah, I know," Sunlight said, putting her head down just a bit. "Doesn't make it any easier to do." Rainbow could agree with her there. "So? Let's hear it," Dash said. "Well, I've been hanging out a lot with Salt and Pom--you know that," Sunlight said. Dash did; Salty Sweet was Caramel's son, and Pomegranate Red, Mayor Mare's daughter. They were Sunlight's best friends. "And... I've been...thinking?" "You've always been like Twilight that way," Dash said, laughing. "Thinking up a storm. What'cha been thinking about?" "Well," Sunlight said, "About... Our friendships, I guess. I've just started having some...really...really weird feelings, about them both. And the other day I think I caught myself staring at Salt..." Sunlight's face lit up bright red at that, and she covered her mouth with her hoof. Dash almost, almost, started laughing, but she caught herself at the last second. If Sunny was trying to say what Dash thought she was trying to say, then laughter was the last thing she would need. Perhaps a good thing she had found Dash and not Pinkie sitting in the family room, then. Well. Mostly good. Rarity probably would've been better. Composed, Rainbow put her hoof on her daughter's shoulder. "And Pom?" "Well, I guess I've been noticing a lot more when she's wearing makeup--all gussied up, y'know?" Sunlight said, cracking a feeble grin at using one of Applejack's classics. "Yeah, I getcha," Dash said. "So you're thinking about being more than friends, huh?" Sunlight's head snapped around to stare at Rainbow Dash. "I-- I never said that!" she stammered. "All but, kiddo!" Rainbow replied. "I'm pretty sure I see what you're getting at here. I might not be as smart as Twilight, and I might not think as much--" here she winked at Sunlight "--but I can do two plus two. Or one plus one, am I right?" Dash followed up her wink with a kooky grin. Sunlight frowned at her. Right. Not laughing. "I... I guess you're right. But I have feelings for both of them! How am I supposed to choose?" Sunlight said tightly. "I just got back from hanging out with Pom at the spa... I couldn't stop looking at her! It's getting really frustrating, and I feel like my hooves are tied." "Hey, Sunny. I know that it seems like a lot right now," Rainbow said, "and trust me--it is. I should know. But I think you're forgetting something. You don't have to choose. Look at us!" Rainbow Dash pointed at the fireplace just a few ponylengths from the both of them. Atop the mantle sat a familiar portrait--one that had stared back at Sunlight her whole life. Six ponies--Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack--sat on a beautifully green hilltop. It was an old photograph, and it had meant something much different when it was taken compared to what it meant now. Once it was a reminder of a wonderful friendship. Now it was something much, much more. "We mighta had to choose. But we decided not to! And you can too," Rainbow said, smiling again. "Maybe it won't work out. Maybe your friends aren't gonna be okay with some wacko relationship. But you know what, kiddo? Maybe it'll work out. In fact, I'd bet on it!" Sunlight looked at her mother. "You need to spend less time with Fluttershy and more time with Applejack, mom. You're getting all sappy." "Hey! I'm right, aren't I?" Rainbow responded. Sunlight creased her brow. "I don't know that either. You do have a point. But it's... It's just a lot to think about. But I guess that's the point, right? It's a lot to think about." "Yeah, Sunny. It is. But like I said...It's all in the cards."