> She with faith, and she without
>  by James Pwyll
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> She with faith, and she without
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Um...Rainbow?"

Fluttershy's voice was as quiet and sot as ever, yet it nevertheless managed to get Rainbow's attention, causing the tomboy to turn to look at her.

"What's up, Flutters?"

Fluttershy hesitated here, as if what she was about to say was something horrible. Rainbow could sense it, and so put down her soda. All sounds around them, here in their little spot at the local mall, faded away. They paid no heed to the steps of shoppers as they passed by, nor to the voices over the various speakers. No, this moment was for the two of them alone. And so Fluttershy, after mustering her courage, released a sigh, then looked her childhood friend right in the eye.

"...Do you believe in God?"

Naturally, a question like that took Rainbow aback.

"Where's that coming from all of a sudden?"

A blush crept onto Fluttershy's cheeks.

"It's just...when I go with my family to service, I never see you there, even though we live right next to each other. I know your parents go, and...well...I was just wondering..."

Rainbow winced a little here, and glanced away with a look of discomfort.

"Well, it's kinda complicated and..."

"Rainbow...please."

Fluttershy's words were as gentle as they always were, yet they pre-emptively cut through the myriad ways Rainbow might have thought of to try and turn the conversation in another direction. The sports lover knew this, and knew as well that her friend was serious about having this conversation. Difficult it might have been, but she owed her friend that much.

"...No. I don't think I do."

At first glance, it seemed as if Fluttershy began to look sad at the answer, and Rainbow especially was worried about having upset her.

"Are...are you angry with me?"

But her fellow magic-wielder, after giving it some thought, shook her head, and surprisingly started to smile, albeit only slightly.

"No, I'm not mad at you. I suppose I was just curious about it. We've known each other for so long, yet I don't think we've ever talked about this kind of thing."

Rainbow, for her part, cackled a bit, scratching the back of her head as she did so.

"Yeah, you probably figured this is kind of an awkward thing to talk about. Not really something I'd go out of my way to say."

Fluttershy nodded, acknowledging her point. But then her face became at least a little bit more serious, and she spoke again.

"Can I ask why?"

Most would have enquired what she meant by that, but Rainbow, already knowing her as well as she did, understood immediately.

"Why I don't believe?"

A nod from Fluttershy was her response, and so, after leaning back into her chair, the athlete thought long and hard about it.

"Hard to say really. I remember believing when I was little. Even went to service with my folks back then. But then you get older, you start hearing about...you know...all the bad stuff out there."

Fluttershy nodded, though she respected Rainbow enough to not speak as she carried on.

"I guess it just happened, little by little. It wasn't just me waking up one morning and deciding not to believe. My belief just sort of...I dunno...got worn down after a while."

Fluttershy, now hearing nothing but long silence from her friend, finally chanced a question.

"Were your parents upset?"

Rainbow snorted, clearly amused by the prospect.

"My parents? Nah! You know them, they've supported me no matter what I've done!"

She frowned a little.

"I kinda wish they had been a bit shocked about it though. It would have felt less weird that way."

Then, a new thought came to Rainbow, and she slowly turned to face Fluttershy, looking very much concerned.

"Er...you still believe, right?"

As before, Fluttershy nodded, and Rainbow, after twiddling her thumbs, spoke more nervously.

"This...this isn't gonna hurt what we have, is it?"

Fluttershy, perhaps having anticipated that question, gave her a genuine smile, reaching forward and patting her on the shoulder.

"Rainbow...we've been friends for as long as we can remember. We've been through thick and thin together. I promise you, it would take much more than this to hurt our friendship."

Rainbow, as evidenced by the long sigh she released, was definitely relieved to hear that, and she wiped away her brow, prompting a quick giggle on Fluttershy's part.

"I was honestly more worried that just me asking would be the upsetting thing."

Rainbow rolled her eyes.

"Please, as if I'd get twitchy over that!"

Another laugh between the two girls, but when it ended, Rainbow started to look a bit more thoughtful. She looked over at Fluttershy, who was busying herself with her cup of tea, and after letting her finish her sip, she finally broke the silence.

"...I've always liked what you guys do though."

Fluttershy looked back to her, tilting her head slightly.

"Hm?"

Rainbow shrugged.

"You know, believers? I always like how faith and belief and stuff leads you to want to help people. Charity and support, and all that good stuff."

Fluttershy regained her earlier smile.

"It's always been something I've liked too, that we're told how good it is to help. I like to think I'd have helped regardless, but it's still nice that it's preached."

Rainbow nodded in agreement, and this time, it was Fluttershy's turn to look thoughtful.

"But you know...I like how those who don't believe, like you, do good things for the sake of it. You don't help with charity or support a neighbour because you think you'll get some reward after your life ends, you do it because it's the right thing to do."

Rainbow too smiled when she heard that, and she decided in that moment that it was worth carrying on this line of thought.

"I've always respected how you guys can find peace when bad things happen to you. When I was little, my Mom told me a story about how her Grandma was falling ill in her last few days. She was bedridden a lot, so my Mom, when she was only a little girl, asked her why she wasn't afraid."

A pause, and then Rainbow' face softened.

"Her answer was that she knew she was going to be with her brother and sister again, and all the rest of her family that had passed away by that point."

She sighed.

"I wish I could have that sometimes. That feeling that something wonderful will come to me after it's all over."

Fluttershy reached forward, placing her hand on her shoulder again, though this time slightly softer than she'd done before.

"I've always respected how willing you are to ask questions about things you don't know or understand."

Rainbow's eyes met hers as she continued.

"I've known many who believe who will ignore something they don't grasp, just because they have faith it'll all work out. But people like you? Who don't have that faith? You try to work it out, try to make an answer for it. Some who believe are willing to just ignore the parts about our faith they struggle with."

Her smile widened.

"In fact, what you do is actually closer to what the faith would have wanted."

And arched eyebrow from Rainbow.

"Oh yeah? How do you figure?"

Fluttershy raised a finger, speaking as if reading for a sermon.

"Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened."

She gave Rainbow a quick wink.

"Asking questions isn't as sacrilegious as some think it is after all."

The two, as before, shared another laugh, which ended with Rainbow giving Fluttershy the lightest possible play-punch on the side of her arm.

"You know, I really like to think everyone who has these talks have them as good as we're having right now."

Fluttershy tapped her own chin, considering that.

"You think so? From what I've heard, things might not be as easy-going with others as it is with us."

Rainbow nodded, her smile dropping by just a touch.

"True..."

Then her smile made a triumphant return.

"...but I think this is one time I can have faith in something."

Fluttershy stared at her, utterly adoring her response, and before long, the two were hugging each other, oblivious to the number of people who were likely going "dawwww" from the sight of them like that. When the two parted, however, they silently decided to continue their conversation.

"Gotta say, I'm really liking all that art you believers make. That one painting in the museum we saw the other day? Oh, that was one of the most awesome things I've ever seen!" Rainbow remarked.

"And I really like how you never get worried about whether someone else has committed a sin. You don't judge them like we might. I think that's something we could learn more about," Fluttershy added.

"I love how you guys have such a feeling of community. Who wouldn't want to feel like they belong to such a group like that?" Rainbow continued.

Fluttershy fell silent here, sighing a little, before looking to her friend with a small smile.

"You know...we can't keep saying nice things about each others' sides forever."

Slowly, a mischievous smirk crept onto Rainbow's lips.

"Sounds like a challenge."