I Love to Singa

There were only a few minutes left in the school day, meaning Miss Cheerilee still had time to talk. It was a lesson about the Equestrian monarchy she began once her students returned from lunch and recess. Most of the children drifted away from reality, eagerly watching the clock until the hour hand struck at three.

One of the children, Sweetie Belle, had her attention drawn to a piece of paper with a pencil in her hooves. Not because she was writing notes. Sweetie was busy writing poetry. For some reason that she couldn’t fathom, she recently had the sudden urge to write poems whenever she had the time. However, she never realized how difficult it was to find words that rhyme with each other. One line in her poem had the word daffodil, but she didn’t know what word rhymes with daffodil, and she knew she just couldn’t make up words. Finally, it was nearly three o’clock, and Miss Cheerilee decided to let her class go. The children were quick to jump from their seats. At long last they were free for the weekend until the cycle begins again on Monday. Sweetie didn’t mind, though. A weekend was more than enough time to spend with her best friends while also working on her poetry skills.

“Class, before you go I have something to tell all of you,” Miss Cheerilee said. The students stood in place and listened to what she had to say. “Two weeks from this Friday will be the night of the annual Ponyville Spring Talent Show. If you have any talent you’d like to show off, there is a signup sheet at the door. You can perform by yourself or in a group.”

It was the most interesting news the children had heard all day. They blocked the doorway to sign their names on the sheet, and as Miss Cheerilee said, many wanted to performed their talents along with their good friends, and only a few others wanted to show off their skills as an individual. Sweetie Belle and her friends were excited for the news of the talent show as well. They didn’t know what they were going to do, but all three of them signed their names on the list.

Sweetie Belle and her two friends, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, called themselves collectively The Cutie Mark Crusaders. They were formed during the autumn of their second grade year. Originally, their club was meant to help them find out what their special talents were so they could have their cutie marks appear on their flanks. Now that they’ve finally got their marks, their new mission is to help others figure out what their special talents are. The day Sweetie Belle recieved her cutie mark was the most important day of her life. During that time she was so excited that she tried to figure out a way to express her feelings. She thought it was the reason why she turned to poetry.

As per usual every Friday afternoon, the Cutie Mark Crusaders made a stop at Sugarcube Corner for a pastry snack before they went home. The owners of the shop regarded them as their favorite customers, only because they always leave with smiles on their smeared faces. Pinkie Pie, the owners’ apprentice, gave them the usual: three tall glasses of strawberry and banana milkshakes.

While Apple Bloom and Scootaloo talked about the day’s events, Sweetie Belle laid her notebook on the table and continued to write more poetry. She disregarded trying to find a rhyme for daffodil and began to write a poem about drinking her favorite milkshake with her best friends. It’s the easiest subject to a poem out of, she thought to herself. She wrote one line, then two, then the third line, and read it back to herself.

Strawberry milkshakes

Is fun to drink with best friends

After school is done.

It was at this moment that Sweetie realized she wrote a haiku. There was nothing wrong with haikus, but she was disappointed that it didn’t rhyme. She drew a huge X through the three lined poem and start over. She was so drawn into her attempts at creating poetry that she didn’t notice that her friends were calling her name. Sweetie looked up to see that Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were staring at her.

“Oh… hi. What are we talking about?” she asked.

“We were talking about the talent show,” Apple Bloom answered. “Weren’t you listening?”

“Sorry, I was kind of busy with something.” Sweetie hid away her notebook while catching a glimpse of Apple Bloom shaking her head and Scootaloo giggling.

“Working on your poetry again?” said Scootaloo.

“There’s nothing wrong with doing something creative with your time,” Sweetie answered.

“Anyway, getting back on the subject, are any of y’all excited for the talent show?” Apple Bloom asked.

Sweetie jumped in seat excitedly. “I’m sure am! Maybe the three of us can do a rock performance together, just like last time! I can come up with a song this weekend!”

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked at each other while Sweetie hummed the Cutie Mark Crusaders theme song. She smiled at them and waited for their reaction. Sweetie was very sure that they would like to sing as a trio again. Her bright smile diminished when there was no response from them. “We are doing something together, right?”

“You see, for this year Scootaloo and I thought we should show off our talents on our own,” Apple Bloom said, trying to sound as polite as she can. She gave Sweetie a good-natured grin, but the unicorn still frowned. “What I’m trying to say is from all the times we’ve been trying to get our cutie mark, we discovered a little something about ourselves that we want to show to everyone.”

Sweetie looked away from her friends. She used one hoof to twirl the milkshake with the straw and used the other to hold her head. “What are you going to do?” she asked.

“I’m going to ride my scooter across the stage while wearing a cape with bright lights on it! Oh, and little ramps and stuff for me to jump over, with techno music!”

“Wow,” Sweetie answered deadpan.

“And I’m going to tap dance,” said Apple Bloom. “Ever since I became friends with Tender Taps, he’s been teaching me all kinds of cool dancing stuff!”

“I hope it goes well,” Sweetie said sardonically.

“I think you’re getting the wrong about this,” said Apple Bloom. “It’s not like we don’t want to do anything with you. We’ve figured that the talent show can be a great way for the three of us to show ourselves off as individuals.”

“And besides, we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders! There’s lots of other things we can do as a team!” Scootaloo added. “I’m pretty sure you got something planned, do you?”

“... I did. For the three of us. But now that’s thrown out the window,” Sweetie replied.

Not once had she made eye contact with her friends during their conversation. She sucked what remained of her milkshake through the red and white striped straw until the glass was empty. Then she grabbed her notebook and left the table. “I hope you guys have fun without me,” she said as she exited Sugarcube Corner. The door already closed behind her just as Scootaloo and Apple Bloom tried to speak out.

Sweetie sat down in front of the piano. Her hooves randomly pressed the keys with no attempt to make a melody. It was mostly the lower keys she was targeting. The conversation with her friends left a sour taste in her mouth. On her way home she grumbled and mumbled, but in time she felt more disappointed than angry.

She couldn’t understand why Scootaloo and Apple Bloom didn’t want to perform with her on the talent show. From the first day they became true companions, doing things together as a trio was the most important thing to her. It could have been a really bad show like the talent show from last year, and Sweetie wouldn’t care. She kept pressing the piano keys, but when each moment passed when she thought about her two friends the more frustrated she became.

An older pony descended the stairway. The voice was feminine, and was humming. A white mare with gorgeous blue hair levitated two dresses, which looked to be Sweetie’s size.

“Sweetie, could you be a dear and do me a favor?” Rarity asked.

The little filly slowly retreated from the piano and approached her older sister. “What is it?” Sweetie asked.

“I made these dresses for a birthday party that is to happen in a couple of days, and I want your opinion on them. Which one do you believe is perfect for a seven-year-old filly?”

Rarity held a pink and white dress to her left and a dress with a blue blouse and yellow skirt with a red bow to her right. Sweetie only took a short moment to examine both of them, but Rarity couldn’t see the uninterested look on her face. Sweetie pointed to the dress on the left. “The pink one, I guess,” she said lowly.

“Really? You don’t think it’s… too girly, as one might say?”

Sweetie shrugged.

“Sweetie, is something the matter?”

She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it. Sweetie turned around and sat on the couch, looking straight into nothing. Rarity hung the dresses somewhere and joined her young sister. “I know that look anywhere. Something happened, and I know it. Tell me, what’s on your mind?” Rarity asked in a soothing voice.

“I had a… disagreement with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.”

“Really?” Rarity asked, surprised. “Oh goodness. Did you have an argument?”

“No, but… well, next Friday is the Spring Talent Show, and I wanted to sing a song with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, but they wanted to do something on their own.”

“Oh. Any reason why?”

“They said wanted to show-off their talents as individuals, whatever that means.” Sweetie hung her head and sighed.

“Sweetie, I don’t think they’re doing it out of spite. You know, sometimes good friends don’t have to do everything together. I don’t always go bird watching with Fluttershy, or play sports with Rainbow Dash, and sometimes they are not interested in the activities I enjoy.”

“But I really wanted us to be together for this one,” said Sweetie. “I wanted to write a song for us to sing together. It was going to be better than last time. Without them… “

Sweetie paused. As much as she really wanted to be in the talent show, she knew she couldn’t perform without her friends present. An obvious scenario played in her head. Her pupils shrunk and her bottom lip twitched. Sweetie heard mocking laughter. Rarity grabbed her and pulled her from her trance.

“Sweetie, if it’s that difficult for you, maybe you don’t have to be in the talent show,” said Rarity.

“No, I want to do it. I… I just have to find someone else, that’s all.”

“Just remember, Sweetie. If you feel uncomfortable, you don’t have to force yourself. There’s always next time.”

Rarity kissed Sweetie’s cheek and went elsewhere. The little filly didn’t know what to think. The song she wanted to sing with her friends was no use to her now. The moment Apple Bloom and Scootaloo wanted to showcase their talents without her was when all inspiration was gone from Sweetie. With nothing left to do or say, she resumed pressing the keys on the piano.