Friendship is Magic

“Rarity, why aren't your friends helping you?” Pinkie asked.

Rarity shifted uncomfortably before speaking. “They're not really my friends, just classmates.  I've...never really had true friends.”

“Why don't you consider them friends?  You're with them all of the time,” I said.

“I always help them whenever they ask, but when I need their help, like here at the refuge, they always find some sort of excuse.  I suppose I only hang out with them so that I don't feel lonely.”

“What are you doing here anyways,” I asked. “This is the last place I thought I'd find you.”

Rarity gave me a sly look as she cocked her head. “What did you think?  That I was some stuck-up girl, too popular and selfish to have real feelings?”

“Well...I...You see...”

“That's exactly what she thought,” Pinkie chimed in.

“PINKIE!”

Rarity laughed delicately. “A few years ago, you would have been exactly right.  I cared only about my appearance and being the center of attention.  I didn't have the slightest interest in helping anybody, much less the homeless.”

“What changed,” I asked.

“My mother was in a terrible accident and needed a blood transfusion.  She has a very rare blood type and the hospital simply didn't have any in stock.  Without the blood, she would die.  My father put out pleas in the newspapers, on the radio, and on television.  He even offered a reward but nobody came.  We were so scared.  I thought she was going to die.

“Finally, late one night, an old man came to the hospital.  I could tell he had been living on the streets for some time.  His clothes were tattered and filthy and he smelled horrible.  He told the doctors that he had the blood type she needed and, after a few tests to make sure, they began the transfusion.  He saved her life.”

Rarity took a moment to gather herself before continuing. “I asked the old man why he had done it, coming in to give the only thing he had when no one else would.  He said to me, 'Little girl, why shouldn't I have done it?  I have little to give but your mother needed only a bit of my blood.  That's all and I would gladly give it.  It doesn't matter if somebody is poor or rich, or what skin color they have, or if they're occidental or oriental.  We are all human beings and we all need each other.  Never deny your generosity, especially if others need you.'

“My father came to give him the promised reward but he was already gone.  I haven't seen him since and I haven't found out who he was or where he came from.  His words touched me in ways I never imagined.  I decided to do as the old man had and give what I have, freely.  I do this not only out of gratitude for his deed but because his words awoke something in me, something I never knew was there.”

I pulled the jewel mold from my pocket and popped Generosity from it's fitting. “I'm sorry that I ever doubted you, Rarity.  Please, take this.” I placed the jewel in her hand.

“You're giving me a jewel?  Why?”

I shook my head. “It was always yours.  I'm simply giving it back.”

Rarity met my gaze. “I'm not sure I understand.”

“I can't really explain here.  It's rather complicated.  Meet me in the park next to the school tomorrow and I'll explain everything.”

She cocked her head. “We've just met.  What makes you sure I'm going to meet you?”

I smiled. “I'm certain because you've always wanted true friends, friends you could trust completely.  I know that because I've always wanted that as well.  Pinkie and I will wait for you because I trust you.”

“And she?”

“Pinkie trusts everybody.”

x----x

The next morning, I was awoken not by my alarm, but by somebody knocking at the front door.  Groaning, I dragged myself from beneath my warm bed covers and straightened the hem of my nightshirt.

“Spike!  See who's at the door, will you?”

“Get it yourself!”

“I can't,” I called back, darting inside the bathroom and locking the door behind me, “I'm on the toilet.”

“Fine, fine,” he grumbled.

As I prepared my toothbrush, I heard the door open.  After some time, I didn't hear the door close.  I peeked out.  From the bathroom, I had a direct line of sight to the front door. “Spike, who are you talking to?” I took in the silhouette in the doorway and waited for the shape to become familiar. “Rarity?”

“Sorry to bother you so early, Twilight, but I couldn't sleep.  I kept thinking about the conversation we had last night.  Also, this jewel you gave me won't stop shining.  I don't know what's going on.”

“Don't worry about it.  Give me a minute to get dressed and we'll talk.  Spike, get Rarity some coffee, will you?”

Spike stood between us, his eyes locked on Rarity and his shoulders slumped.  I may not be a boy but I was pretty certain what was going through his mind.

“Stop daydreaming and get dressed.”

“Beautiful,” Spike whispered in awe.

x----x

Spike added the boiling water to the press pot and loaded the grinder with the good stuff, his parents' bag of Hacienda la Esmeralda Geisha.  This stuff was beyond ridiculously expensive and neither he nor Twilight were allowed to touch it.  He would get into so much trouble once they found out he had not only been into it but had made a full pot.  Still, nothing was too good for Rarity.

Adding the coarse grounds to the water, he stirred the slurry with chopsticks.  This was something Shining had patiently coached him in before leaving for Basic Training.  He had grudgingly accepted his new responsibility, mostly because Twilight couldn't brew coffee to save her life, but, now, he was grateful for his brother's tutelage.

After letting the coffee steep for a few minutes, he attached the plunger and began to press in slow, even strokes.  The coffee was carefully poured into a mug, placed onto a saucer with the cup's handle at the three o' clock position.  Spike placed the entire assembly onto a silver serving tray along with three of his mother's favorite Danish butter cookies and a single red rose.

“Back straight, shoulders back, chin up,” he chanted as he carried the tray in to Rarity, careful not to spill a drop.  With even steps, he arrived at the couch and presented the tray to her. “R-Ra-Rarity.”

She looked up and gave him a dazzling smile that nearly made him swoon where he stood.

“Oh, thank you so much, Spike.”  She took the cup from the saucer and raised it to her lips, taking a dainty sip and humming her pleasure.

Look at her, Spike thought.  Those eyes, that hair, that figure, the way she does everything so perfectly.  My God, she's incredible.  I'm looking at the most beautiful woman in the world.  I'm in love.

His heart stopped and a cold sweat broke out all over his body when he realized she was watching him out of the corner of her eye. Oh, please, don't look at me like that, he silently begged.

Rarity replaced the cup onto the saucer and turned to him, “Spike.”

“Y-yes?  What can I do for you?”

“Have we met before?  I have this unshakeable feeling of familiarity.”

He glanced away, “Er...I don't think so.  I would remember meeting somebody as beautiful as you before.” He froze and a bright blush crept up his face, “Did I just say that out loud?”

Rarity covered her mouth as she politely giggled, “You did.  Thank you, cutie.”

x----x

The scene that greeted me when I stepped out of my room, dressed for school, was Spike standing rigid with a brilliant blush while Rarity giggled behind her hand. “What's going on here?”

Rarity gently set her cup and saucer on the tray and stood. “Your brother is quite the gentleman.  Are you ready?”

I grabbed my schoolbag from the hook by the door. “Bye, Spike.  We're leaving.”

As I closed the front door, Rarity spoke, “You and your brother seem nothing alike.”

“That's because we aren't.  Spike was adopted.”

“You don't say.”

“I do.  We adopted him when I was about four.  My parents wanted another child but Mom didn't want to go through the trial of another pregnancy at her age.  They decided to adopt and asked Celeste to choose who they would adopt.  When we went to the orphanage, she passed the decision on to me.

“I don't know if it was the color of the crib or that cute baby-dragon onesie he was wearing or his little face but I knew that he was my new little brother.” Twilight paused, “Now that I think about it, Celeste may have had more in mind when she let me choose who we would adopt.  I think she knew I would choose Spike.”

“Who is Celeste?”

I slapped my forehead in dismay. “Sorry, I never told you that I wasn't an only child.  Celeste is my oldest sister.  She's an archaeologist, traveling all over the world.”

“How exciting.  I take it she was that positively lovely woman I saw in the photo above the television?  The one with the multi-hued hair?”

“Yes.”

“And, who was that absolutely delicious looking man in the uniform?”

I rolled my eyes.  “My brother, Shining.  He's in the army.”

“Yummy.  I've always wanted a big, strong, army man to protect me.”

She was laying it on thick. “The only thing you need protection from is all of that melodrama.  Besides, he has a girlfriend.”

“Boo,” Rarity pouted. “Does Spike know he's adopted?”

“Of course.  My parents told him years ago.  It doesn't change the way we feel about him.  He gives me grief and I give him a hard time but I still love him very much.  Don't tell him I said that.”

“Oh, don't worry.  I have a little sister about his age.  We fight constantly but we love each other.”

“It's the elders job to annoy the younger siblings.”

x----x

Neither girl noticed Spike quietly open the door and watch them leave.

“Rarity will certainly take Twi over to her place.  If I follow them, I can find out where she lives, then I'll be able to visit her whenever I want.”

Grabbing his school bag, he followed them down the hall and out to the street.

x----x

Since it was still very early, Rarity and I still had a good bit of time to get to school.  We decided to go to the park so that I could do as I promised the night before and explain everything Celeste told me about the Elements of Harmony.

“And this gem is one of those Elements.  Do I have that right?” Rarity asked.

“Yes.  The Element of Generosity, to be exact.  The reason it's glowing is because it finally found its true owner.”

She gave the jewel an appraising eye, “Okay.  What do I do with it?”

“That's a little complicated,” I admitted. “You see; you, Pinkie, and I are all members of a group chosen to protect the world from a threat.”

“A threat?  Don't you think that there are others a little more qualified to deal with this threat than a trio of teenagers?”

“That's what I said!” I hoped I was finally getting through to her. “My sister is completely convinced that we are the ones to do this.  Frankly, after our past few battles, I'm starting to agree with her.”

“Is this some kind of a joke?”

“Huh?” I deflated. “I don't understand.”

“I'm sixteen years old.  I'm far too old for such childish games.”

“Rarity, I'm not joking.  We're all the reincarnations of ponies that lived in a magical kingdom and-”

“ENOUGH!”

I took an unconscious step back as Rarity spun to face me.  I expected anger from her tone but her expression spoke of sadness, regret, and pain.

“I thought we could be friends but you only wanted to play games.” She turned and began to trudge towards the school, “You certainly made a fool of me.”

She didn't believe me.  I couldn't say I hadn't expected it.  In fact, I expected that the other Elements wouldn't be as trusting as Pinkie.  I had a plan for this.

The glow of my transformation caught Rarity's eye and she slowly turned to face me.  Her mouth fell open in shock as she stared at me, her eyes wide and her pupils were pinpricks.  Slowly, she raised a shaky hand to cover her mouth.

“Do you see now,” I asked, meeting her gaze. “Do you see that this is no joke?  I would never lie to you.  I value your friendship as much as you value mine.”

“T-Twilight?”

Spike stood just behind Rarity, his expression a mirror-image of hers.

“Spike?  What are you doing here?  You weren't supposed to see this.  You can't tell anybody, do you hear me?  This is important.”

We were doused as the water behind me exploded.  I turned and saw something, a massive sea serpent with a flowing red mane and a huge mustache.

No. Not now.  Why did this have to happen now?

“What is that thing?” Rarity screamed.

“It's a dragon,” Spike cried.

I turned to them with a hard look in my eyes. “You two, stay back!  Rarity, take care of Spike.  Make sure he stays safe.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I'm going to stop it!”

If I was going to defeat this creature, I was going to need help.  Since we had last been together, Celeste had been working feverishly to translate the book.  She had sent me pages full of spells.  One of which would summon one of the most powerful creatures in Equestria.

“I hope this works,” I muttered. “Ego evocant Architectus Equestria.  Faust, evocationem meam custodieris.”

There was a flash beside me, announcing the arrival of the fabled Architect of Equestria, the most powerful Alicorn in existance...

...had to be the tiniest pony I had ever seen.

I stared at the tiny pony, it's miniscule wings fluttering hard to keep it aloft.  It's soft alabaster coat contrasted its ginger mane and tail.

“You certainly don't look like Faust, the great sage of Equestria,” I muttered through the side of my mouth.

Faust's ear gave an annoyed twitch, “And your magic level is far too low to summon me in my actual form but, over time, as your magic grows, my appearance will be more worthy of me.  I'll even be able to help you fight.”

“All I need, right now, is information.”

Faust looked the sea serpent over and took a moment to think before speaking, “My advice is to-” her eyes sprang wide, “-RUN!”

I wondered what had terrified Faust.  I turned to see the serpent lunging at me.  I tucked my legs beneath me, tensed my muscles, and leaped.

Apparently, my transformation had some additional abilities other than magic.  I launched into the air, easily achieving a hieght far beyond what I could normally do.  The serpent's mouth slammed down where I had been only a moment before.

I hit the ground and tumbled back to my feet, tensing as the serpent rose again and prepared to strike.

“Girl, this is an extremely powerful beast, far beyond anything that you are capable of,” Faust said, reappearing at my side.  “If you fall into the water, you're done for.  Also, he's very sensitive about his mustache, which is why-”

“I got it!  That's his weak point.”  I leaped into the air, using my magic to channel an aura around my arm.  The edges of the aura grew paper-thin, resembling a blade.

I swung my arm down, cutting half of the serpent's precious mustache clean off.

Time seemed to stop as the serpent stared at his severed mustache.  Its eyes darted between me and the fallen locks of hair that were roughly the same length as me.  Finally, those same eyes took on a reddish tint and he let out a mighty roar.

“Uh-oh.  Faust, what did I just do?”

Faust's hoof connected with the back of my head.  Even though she was tiny, the blow still hurt. “Stupid, stupid, stupid girl,” she raged. “Why do you ask for advice and not listen to all of it?  I was going to tell you not to cut the mustache.  That would only anger him but you're very much aware of that now.”

I rubbed the spot where she had struck me. “You could have spoken a little faster.”

She delivered another blow. “Don't sass me, girl!  Children these days have no respect for their elders!”

The serpent turned, locking its gaze onto Rarity and Spike, who stood frozen in terror.  It opened its mouth and began to build for a magical blast.

“No!  Faust, it's going to attack them!  They'll be killed!  I have to stop it.”

“You're mad!  Your magic is nothing compared to its.  A direct hit will kill you!”

“I have no choice.” I brought my hands up, touching the tip of my horn and speaking one of the new incantations I had learned.  The three of us flickered for a moment before we changed positions.  I turned and saw that my brother and friend were standing with Faust, well out of harm's way, while I stood where they had.

I threw up my hands and cast my shield spell.

The blast of magic broke through the spell as if it didn't even exist.