"Okay…” Pinkie twirled a lock of her hair around a finger. “Oh, got it! If you could have superpowers, what would they be?”
The five of them sat in a loose circle on the library’s floor, having ditched the tables and associated essay-writing.
“Easy,” Rainbow Dash said. “Flying!”
“Not super speed?”
Rainbow Dash smirked. “If I could fly, I’d already be super fast, I bet.”
Pinkie giggled. “‘Kay, Applejack?”
Applejack scratched her head. “I don’t rightly know.”
“C’mon, there’s gotta be something,” Rainbow scoffed. “What about being super strong? Or turning invisible? Or shooting laser beams from your eyes?”
“Why would I need to do all that?” Applejack’s eyes lit up. “Naw, I got a better idea. I’d want to control the weather. Then I could make sure the rains came in on time and never have to cancel a picnic, neither.”
“Booooring,” Rainbow Dash said. “Rares?”
Rarity tapped her finger lightly against her chin as she thought. “I’d like to be able to travel in time. I can’t begin to count how often I’ve felt that there are simply not enough hours in the day.”
“Oooh, that’s a good one,” Pinkie said. “You would never have to miss a party ever!”
The girls turned to Fluttershy, who was gazing at the clock on the wall as it ticked over to 3:30.
“Flutters?” Rainbow said.
She jumped at the sound of her name. “Oh! I’m sorry.”
“What sort of superpowers would you have, darling?” Rarity asked. “Hm. Perhaps being able to talk with animals?”
“Oh, yes. That would be nice,” she said. The girls waited for more elaboration, but Fluttershy had gone back to staring off into the distance.
“Weeeeell, I guess it’s your turn to ask a question, Fluttershy,” Pinkie said.
Fluttershy bowed her head, her hair hanging in front of her face as she paused for a moment. "What happens on Monday?" she said quietly.
"Huh?" Rainbow Dash said.
"What happens to us? When the bell rings Monday morning, are we still friends?"
“Of course we are,” Pinkie said. She grinned widely, but as she saw the hesitation on the faces of the others, the smile dropped away. “Right?”
Fluttershy’s head drooped lower, her face entirely hidden now. “I… I understand if not. I know you all have your own groups of friends and I’m not very popular or anything.”
“Naw,” Applejack said. She exhaled softly. “I like y’all. All of y’all. And if someone doesn’t like that, that’s their problem.” Her gaze drifted over to one member of their group, the other girls following.
Rarity bit her lip as she felt herself under the attention of several sets of eyes. “Y-yes?” she said.
“Are we still friends? No matter what?” Pinkie’s expression was more solemn than normal as she waited for Rarity’s response.
“Well, I certainly have treasured the time that we’ve spent together today…”
“You know what she means.” Applejack frowned. “What if me and Pinkie and Fluttershy come up to you in the lunchroom to say howdy. Are you just gonna blow us off in front of all’a your popular friends?”
“Lunch... Lunch is a lot of things.” Rarity looked down at her hands. “Lunch is difficult.”
“So that’s a yes.” Applejack’s mouth twisted in a bitter scowl.
“Look, I am just being pragmatic,” Rarity said. “It’s unfortunate, but simply the way things are. I’ve worked very hard to cultivate a certain level of recognition. The Blueblood fiasco was certainly a setback, but I am aiming for Princess of the Fall Formal, if not this year, then the next. I can’t throw that all away.”
“So, we’re not good enough, then?” Fluttershy whispered.
“No, no, far from it!” Rarity sighed. “You girls are a delight, and it is refreshing being able to speak openly without worrying about someone trying to twist everything to their own advantage. The politics of popularity are ugly and tiresome, I’m afraid. But I don’t make the rules of the game, only follow them.”
“Games are supposed to be fun,” Pinkie said. “That doesn’t sound like a game I want to play at all.”
Rarity turned to an unusually taciturn Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow, help me out here. We are not quite in the same circle, but I know your athletic endeavors afford you a certain cachet. Explain to them that this is really the only way things can be.”
Rainbow Dash crossed her arms tightly as she frowned. She looked up and met Rarity’s eyes. “No. They’re right. That’s a shitty way to treat someone and you know it.”
Rarity pulled back as if slapped. “That’s not— I’m not—” Her eyes screwed shut tightly and she took a deep breath. “I-I’ve just worked so hard. Don’t you see? I’m the girl that every boy wants to be with. The girl that every other girl simply wants to be.”
“I don’t want to be you,” Applejack cut in. “Don’t sound like much fun being friends with a buncha jerks like Blueblood all so… what? So you can be friends with a bunch of jerks like Blueblood.” She paused for a moment. “Do you even want to be you?”
Rarity didn’t respond. She sat still and silent, as if frozen in ice.
Rainbow Dash’s face was pale as she watched Rarity’s turmoil. Her hand shook as she raised it to touch the hairpin still in her hair from earlier, feeling the cool metal of the diamond insignia. She shook her head, barking out a short laugh.
“And what’s so funny?” Rarity asked.
“It’s just… so stupid. You’re already cool. Effortlessly so, always have been, and trust me – I know cool when I see it. It doesn’t matter what everyone else thinks. Why should it? You should… you should do what makes you happy.”
“It’s not that easy,” Rarity protested.
“Dammit, I know that. It’s never easy. It doesn’t mean that it’s not worth giving it a shot.”
“Oh?” A wave of purple hair had fallen forward again, obscuring one of Rarity’s eyes. The other watched Rainbow Dash, her expression enigmatic. “Let’s not put all this on me, now. What would make you happy, Rainbow Dash?”
Rainbow’s eyes drilled into the floor. Her mouth tightened.
“Rainbow Dash?” Rarity repeated.
Rainbow shook her head violently. “I want all this to matter,” she said, her voice firm but lacking its usual bravado. “I want today to count.”
Rarity’s eyes widened. Her mouth opened to frame a question but it died on her lips, unasked.
Rainbow looked around at the other girls before ending by gazing at Rarity. “I don’t care what anyone else says. All of you girls are my friends now. The only person who gets to say who’s cool or not is me, and I say you’re all cool.” She took a deep breath. “Rarity... I want it to count.”
Rarity didn’t answer, she just watched Rainbow Dash, her expression blank. Rainbow shivered and felt her face grow warm, even as she was unable to look away. “If… if that’s what you want too,” Rainbow said. “I just thought… you know… oh God, of course not, I’m sor—”
She felt the light touch of Rarity’s finger against her lips. Rarity smiled, a tiny, fragile thing. “Okay,” she said.
Rainbow Dash’s eyes lit up. In a flash of motion, Rarity’s feet left the ground as Rainbow scooped her up, twirling in a circle with a loud whoop. The others shared a smile at the odd sight, the normally reserved Rarity blushing bright red as she held tightly to the considerably shorter Rainbow Dash. Noticing the attention, Rainbow hastily set the other girl down, but Rarity kept her arms around Rainbow’s neck, her eyes sliding away from the others.
“There something y’all want to tell us?” Applejack teased.
Rarity ignored her, looking to Fluttershy. “To answer your question, I’m sorry, dear. I don’t know what will happen Monday. I truly don’t.”
“Oh...” Fluttershy whispered.
“But I’m looking forward to having my friends at my side as I find out.” She hesitated, frowning. “If you’ll still consider me a friend, that is.”
“Of course,” Fluttershy said.
“Sounds good to me, sugarcube.” Applejack tipped her hat, an easy smile on her face.
Rainbow Dash didn’t speak. Her hand found Rarity’s and squeezed gently.
Pinkie Pie stared off into space, confusion written across her face. “Have you ever felt like some things were just meant to be, like… destiny? But you don’t realize it until they’ve already happened?”
Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Hm?”
“You know,” she said. “Like we’re all connected, somehow. Friends in like… another lifetime?”
“Nnnnoooo?” Applejack said.
Rainbow snorted. “Seriously, you are one strange cookie, Pinkie.”
“Pie! I’m a Pie, not a Cookie.”
Rainbow smirked. “Close enough. Anyways, what matters is that we’re friends now. Right?”
“Right!” several voices agreed.
They settled down into a pleasant silence. Until Rarity glanced back up at the clock as a thought struck her.
“Oh dear. Did anyone actually write an essay?”
“Nope!” Pinkie said, a hint of pride in her voice.
“I was gonna do it,” Applejack said. Her eyes flickered over to Pinkie. “I got distracted.”
Rainbow groaned. “Maybe he’ll forget about that part.”
Rarity frowned, thinking. Then she realized that had only been three answers.
“...Fluttershy?”
Dear Assistant Vice-Principal Iron Will,
I accept that I have to spend my Saturday in detention for what I did wrong. And, you know, at first I thought it would be easy for each of us to write an essay about who we are. After all, the five of us are so very different. The jock and the princess. The farmer and the party girl and the wallflower. I saw it all so clear, the simplest possible terms, the most convenient definitions.
I was wrong.
What I learned today is that we're all different, but we're all the same, too. Even the bravest has fears to overcome. The most outgoing girl can still feel lonely. All I could see on the outside was the popularity, or confidence, or determination, and never realized that underneath each one of us still has doubts. Has worries. Has problems.
But I also found that we don't have to face those things alone. Friendship is not based on liking the same things or being in the same social circles. It's not about seeking the most benefit for ourself. No, it's about caring for one another. About taking the time to understand the struggles that we go through. Being willing to listen. Being willing to help. It's about seeing the good in people, the depth in people, and forming a connection that transcends everything else.
So, who am I? Another scared teenager trying to make it through high school. And you know what? In a sense I'll always be that. I'll get older, the scenery will change, but there will always be problems. There will always be something to worry about or be afraid of.
But we'll always have each other, too. We'll always be friends.
And that's what really matters.
Sincerely,
Fluttershy
P.S.
I was the one who put the cupcake on your desk. I'll see you next week, along with the rest of the girls.