To Make a Pearl Shine

The next day at lunch hour, five friends sat together at their usual table. Rainbow Dash was the last one to arrive at the table, but much to the girls’ surprise, she strolled right past them, not even making her way toward the lunch line. Sunset waves her hand at her. “Rainbow Dash, we’re over here!”

The athlete mentioned turned her head around to look at her. “Oh, uh, sorry, guys. I’m not gonna be eating with you today.”

Everyone looked surprised at that news. “No? Why not” Applejack asked her.

“I’m eating lunch with Pearly and Trixie today.”

If the girls didn’t look shocked before, their faces certainly showed it now. “Wait, Trixie? As in Trixie Lulamoon?” Rarity asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

“And who’s Pearly?” Pinkie asked before gasping. “Is she a new student?! How come nobody told me?! I never got to meet them or plan a ‘Welcome to Canterlot High’ party!”

Dash chuckled, dismissing her rambling with a shake of her hand. “No, no. Pearly is a new friend of mine. I met her during detention yesterday, and she was super sweet. She said Trixie was gonna take her out to lunch today, so I figured I’d tag along.”

Fluttershy gave her a concerned look. “You met her in… detention? I’m not sure that’s the best place to meet new friends…”

“No, she wasn’t actually in detention. She just stopped by to visit. Trust me, she made my hour a lot less boring.”

The girls looked at each other and shrug. Just then, Rainbow’s face lighted up with delight when she saw someone walking toward her. “There they are now!” She quickly made her way over, a small squeal of delight filling the room once Dash lifted her new buddy up and twirled her around. There was a mixed reaction of confusion and adoration that came from the surrounding tables. Carrying the child on her shoulders, Rainbow walked over to her usual table. “Girls, I’d like to introduce you to my new pal Crystal Pearl, aka Pearly!”

The girls were once again met with a surprise, but they couldn’t help but ‘d’aww’ and giggle at the little girl smiling and waving down at them, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie especially. Applejack arched her eyebrow with an amused grin. “Wait a minute, Dash. Yer tellin’ us that yer new buddy is this little cutie right here? Whut happened to the Rainbow Dash who would much rather be workin’ on her sports scholarships than look after kiddos?”

“Hold it right there, this is different,” Dash smirked, bouncing Pearly a bit to elicit a giggle out of her. “Hanging out is totally not the same as looking after someone. Sorry, wish I could chat more, but we only got thirty minutes for lunch, so we’d better get our butts over to the Hoagie Queen right away. See ya, guys! Come on, Trixie, let’s head out.” The athlete, magician, and kindergartener made their way out, leaving a table of both amused and slightly confused girls behind them.

Trixie looked up at Crystal Pearl and let out a huff in Rainbow Dash’s direction. “When we finish lunch, Trixie gets to carry Pearly back to the elementary building.”

“But I don’ wanna go dewe,” Pearly says, looking down at her, “I wanna stay wif yoo guys.”

Dash let out a short laugh. “Same here, kid, but we got class to go to, including you.”

Pearly shook her head. “No, I don’.”

“We’ll get to hang out again soon, Pearly. I promise.” Dash smiled as the three entered the nearby Hoagie Queen. Luckily for them, the line was pretty short for lunch hour. Trixie and Rainbow Dash ordered their own meals while Pearly was ordered a kid’s meal. Once their sandwiches were made, the older girls let Pearly choose where to sit. She eagerly pointed over to the tables with the long-legged chairs. She swung her legs over the edge of her seat.

“Look! I’m big now too, just like you guys!” Pearly grins, now eye-level with the girls before they also took their seats.

“I remember wanting to sit on these kinds of seats too when I was little,” Dash smiles, taking a bite of her sandwich.

“Trixie prefers a booth… but she always makes special exceptions for Pearly.” She smiles as well.

The three of them continued to eat in silence until a question popped up in Dash’s mind. “Hey, Pearly. Just what were you doing wandering around the high school?”

“I was wookin’ foh my cousins,” she replied, sipping on an apple juice box.

“Oh. Did you find them?”

“No…” She looked down at the table, “but I will! Dey gotta be hewe.”

“I can help you find them after school,” Dash said, but then her grin morphs into a frown, “Oh right, I have swimming lessons then…”

“Yoo swim?” Pearly asked, her curiosity suddenly peaked.

“Yep, sure do! And you might not know this, but…” Dash leaned in closer as if she was going to reveal a huge secret, “...I’m actually the captain of every sports team at Canterlot High.”

Pearly looked up at her with sparkling eyes while Trixie simply scoffed. “So you’re good at playing games. Big deal. Meanwhile, the Great and Powerful Trrrrixie has a much more interesting and unique talent.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a deck of cards. “Pick a card, Pearly.”

Crystal Pearl examined the cards presented to her before taking one and looking at it. “Excellent!” Trixie smiled “Now put it back in the deck with the symbols facing down.” Heading her instructions, Pearly puts it back and watches with fascination as Trixie shows off her fancy shuffling display, causing Rainbow to roll her eyes. “And now!” Trixie wiggles her fingers over the deck of cards. “Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trrrrixie effortlessly reveals your card!” Gently shaking the deck of cards, the two watched as a single card began sliding out of the pile. Trixie flipped it over to reveal an ace.

“Hey! Dat’s it!” Pearly gasped with a huge smile, clapping as Trixie took a small bow with a proud smirk on her face. Even Rainbow had to admit that it was a pretty neat trick.

“Thank you, thank you!” Trixie turned back to Rainbow with a smug look on her face. “See, Rainbow Dash? My magic is just as, if not even more impressive than your silly sports.”

Pearly gave Trixie an odd look. “Dat wasn’t magic.”

Trixie snapped her head back toward her with a dumbfounded expression. “Wh- of course it was! I just made your card magically appear from the deck!”

Dash gave a snort of laughter. “She’s got a point, Trixie. That was a pretty cool trick, but it wasn’t actually magic. You should know that, especially with what happened this weekend.”

Trixie replied with a snarl. “What is your deal with trying to one-up Trixie?! So what if you get pony ears and tail when you play your guitar? It’s not that great!”

“Woah there, easy, Trix! I’m not trying to one-up you,” She sipped on her soda, “I’m just saying that we got real magic now. I may still be a little salty about you helping the Dazzlings trap us under the stage, but I’m trying to make it water under the bridge.”

“Trixie cannot be blamed for that!” She turned her head away indignantly. “She was not herself that day! Those stupid Siren-whatevers messed with her head!”

“Siwens?” The one-sided squabble was interrupted by little Pearly. The two instantly composed themselves.

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Dash nodded, “you know what happened last weekend, right?”

She nodded back. “What about Siwens?’

“Well, you see…” Dash leaned back, trying to think of a gentle way to explain the determined world-conquerer mind controllers from another world to the young girl. “You see, they’re these three girls who… wanted everyone to like them, so they…”

“Yuh huh, yuh huh, whewe awe dey?” Pearly asked, causing Rainbow and Trixie to raise their eyebrows at her.

“Uhh.. we don’t know. After the girls and I beat them, they just sorta… ran off. Why do you ask?” Rainbow asked her.

Pearly gave them the sweetest smile. “Dey my cousins!”

A long silence lingered at the table, Trixie and Rainbow Dash looking at each other in disbelief. They leaned in closer to each other to talk quietly in private.

“She can’t be serious, right? Her cousins can’t be those… those monsters!” Trixie said, glancing back at Pearly.

“She’s only a little kid, Trix. My best guess is that she’s got them mixed up for some other girls.”

“Other girls she recognizes as Sirens?!”

Dash looked down in thought before something reached both of their ears. Out of the blue, Pearly began singing her favorite melody, idly kicking her feet as sung out loud and proud. Everyone in the building stopped what they were doing to watch and listen to the child’s beautiful music. Rainbow Dash and Trixie stopped their conversation to listen as well, smiles crossing their faces. People began gathering around their table to adore the little sweetheart. Once she was finished with her song, everyone clapped and expressed their admiration for the musical prodigy. Pearly happily soaked up the compliments, feeling a satisfying energy flow through her veins. The manager even came over and gave the three girls coupons for a free meal. Dash thanked him before noticing the time on her phone. “Oh! Time to head back, guys.”

Trixie quickly took her chance to carry Pearly back to the school. Pearly grinned and waved at the workers and customers as they leave, a pink mist following her until none remained. With her two happy high schooler friends with her, she had never felt better.

“Oh! I decided you can totally come back to Canterlot High with us, Pearly,” Dash said with a huge smile on her face. “Stay as long as you want! And you can come watch me at swimming practice so I can help you find your cousins afterward.”

“Trixie will keep an eye out for your cousins too, dearie!” Trixie added with a little bow. “If you ever need help, the Great and Powerful Trrrrrixie will be at your beck and call!”

“Yoo guys are da bestest!” Pearly beamed as the trio walked back inside Canterlot High just as the bell rang.