Equestrian Reflections: A True, True Friend

The Treaty of Versailles, or maybe the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, or maybe even the Hawley-Smoot Tariff, established long ago that accepted practice for an internet post was to first make your point, then use a song from a children’s show to drive your point straight into the eyes and hearts of your readers.

But I’m going to flip that convention around.  So, first, watch this video.  Then, read what I’ve written below, in which I unleash the goopiest of my emotions.

All right, so brief background for non-Bronies: Every pony has a cutie mark, the symbol that appears on their flanks. They get it when they first discover their special purpose in life, or the thing they were born to do, and it represents that to the world. In this episode, though, a misbegotten spell has caused Twilight’s five friends to get their cutie marks switched around, and with that, have their destinies altered.  They can’t remember their special purpose or talents, and as far as they know, they’ve always been doing what’s suggested by their new cutie mark. So Applejack has forgotten her love of farming and thinks she was put on this earth to sew dresses.

But they’re miserable. They’re still the same people they were before.  Fluttershy is still an introvert, Rarity has no knack with weather, Pinkie Pie is a partier, not a worker.  And Twilight can’t figure out how to restore their memories and their true selves.

But she remembers that they’re still friends, and the one thing they haven’t lost is their love for each other.  So, in the song linked above, she goes around to each of her friends and asks them to help another friend with a task theythink they know nothing about. Fluttershy thinks she’s never touched an animal in her life.  Rarity thinks she doesn’t know the needle from the bobbin.

Despite that, a plea of “Applejack needs your help” or“Pinkie Pie is in trouble” is enough to pull them outside what they believe they know.  Why?  Because friendship.  It is, after all, magic.

After all, we might ask, what is it that makes a true friendship?  Obviously, it’s not mere shared interests or activities for the ponies. Part of the show’s enduring beauty is that our six heroines don’t seem like people who would normally be friends. Their vocations and personalities could hardly be a wider spread.  If their personalities were mapped out as a Venn diagram, there’d be little in the center besides “Is an adorable cartoon pony”.

They are friends, though. Good friends.  They enjoy each other’s company, share fun times together, climb mountains and fight the hordes of evil together.  Together they’re a veritable juggernaut of girl power, a twenty-ton wrecking ball of equine femininity.

The show portrays their friendship solidifying as they learn to love one another for their unique selves. Almost any episode demonstrates this. Rainbow Dash learns the love of books and thus gains a fresh appreciation for Twilight.  Rainbow Dash learns that Fluttershy is, well, shy, but that with a gentle touch and enough encouragement, she can do incredible things—and Fluttershy learns that Rainbow can push her to do things she never imagined she could.  Rarity learns that, while Applejack is a touch uncouth, she has plenty to teach about the value of family.

A true, true friend isn’t just someone who’s fun to party with.  It’s someone you can learn from, whose strengths support you in your weaknesses, and who, when you’re in a tight spot, won’t hesitate you offer you the help only they can give.  That’s really what’s going on in the song above.  None of these ponies is replaceable or interchangeable.  Each of them has something unique and valuable to give the others, and something to receive in the return.  Rarity can’t become Rainbow Dash any more than Fluttershy can take Pinkie Pie’s place.

Friendship. Love.  In the end, it’s all the same thing, and it’s beautiful to behold. Especially when it comes packaged with upbeat songs.