Jeremy hung up the call after saying he’d see everyone later. Rarity made her way to Sweet Apple Acres, where she found Applejack tending to the orchard. “Hey, Rarity! What’s goin’ on?” Applejack called, wiping her brow. “Did you hear about the tea party Discord is putting together to make amends for what he did to those humans from the Starship Enterprise?” Rarity asked her tone a mix of excitement and concern. “Yeah, but I wasn’t gonna go… unless you think I should. What he did to those people was more than a little overboard,” Applejack replied, crossing her arms.
“I would concur,” Rarity said. “But it’s not just Discord. One of the Starfleet admirals is helping. He’s got quite a delicious spread planned, including ham and Havarti sandwiches, and he mentioned teas from four different countries on Earth, as well as something called blooming tea. He specifically asked me to ask you and your brother, Big Macintosh, if you could bring seven bushels of apples for the party tomorrow.” “Shoot, we can bring more than that!” Applejack exclaimed. “It would be an honor for Sweet Apple Acres to partner with this Admiral Dillahay fella.” Rarity smiled, feeling a sense of relief. “That’s wonderful! Oh, and I almost forgot. He showed me something I was going to share with you. Not this, but it’s a smartphone, a device from their world he is letting me use to contact him until they get here.”
She pulled out the phone and pressed a button, showing Applejack the video of the opening to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. “Applejack, that has all of our friend groups! What the heck is this?” Applejack exclaimed, her eyes wide. “It’s from something called a cartoon they show to children in their world,” Rarity explained. “It’s used to sell figurines of all of us. I was upset about it, and I kind of still am. But if little girls see us as an inspiration, I can’t be too mad. Still, using our adventures for profit is irksome.” “Yeah, it is,” Applejack agreed, crossing her arms thoughtfully. “But if we’re benefiting young girls’ lives, what does it matter? You gotta pick your battles, I guess.” Rarity nodded, her heart warming at Applejack’s perspective. “You’re right. I suppose we should focus on the good we can do.”
Rarity looked thoughtfully at Applejack. “Do you think I should show the others?” Applejack nodded, a little cautiously. “It’s the right thing to do, but I just hope they don’t take it the wrong way.” As Rarity made her way through the market, she spotted Twilight Sparkle hanging out with Counselor Deanna Troi. She approached them quickly. “Excuse me, Twilight, you need to see something,” Rarity said, holding up the smartphone. “It’s something from the human world called a smartphone.” Before Twilight could respond, Deanna interjected, her voice surprised. “I know whose phone that is—that’s Rose Michaels’s smartphone!”
Rarity nodded. “Yes, but Rose just got a new one that’s more accessible for her needs. Jeremy told me, and he let him have her old phone. I’m using it now to keep in contact with him until they arrive.” Deanna’s expression softened. “Oh, I wasn’t aware Rear Admiral Michaels had gotten a new phone. The Smart Vision 3, right? She was telling me about it recently. I apologize for assuming you’d stolen it, Rarity. Go ahead, I’ll just be over here looking at candles.” Rarity smiled gratefully and turned to Twilight, showing her the video. “Look at this.”
Twilight’s eyes widened as the video played. “What the heck!? So they know about us in 21st-century Earth thanks to a kids’ show?” Rarity nodded. “Yes. And they sell merchandise of us from the show to little children. But there’s one good thing about it—little girls see us as role models, at least until they’re old enough to understand the difference between our world and theirs.” Twilight seemed to relax a bit. “I guess I can’t be too mad if girls are looking up to us.”
Just then, Pinkie Pie bounced over. “What are you guys talking about?” Rarity showed her the video, and Pinkie’s face lit up. “Oh cool! That’s awesome! They made a show about us!” Fluttershy appeared next, hearing the conversation. She peered at the screen and whispered, “Well, if what you say is true, and girls look up to us, we don’t have a reason to be mad.”
Jeremy took a deep breath before adding, “There’s even something in anime and cartoons called shipping. It’s when fans pair up two characters, romantically. For example, they’ve taken characters like Spike and Ember and called them Spember." Rarity’s eyes widened. "Spember? What in Equestria does that mean?" Jeremy nodded. "Yeah, there’s a lot of Spember fan art and fanfiction out there. Fans create stories and pictures of the two characters in a relationship."
Twilight’s ears flattened in disbelief. "Wait... so they just make up romantic stories about us without even knowing us?" Jeremy shrugged. "That’s how fandoms work sometimes. They get creative, for better or worse." Rainbow Dash groaned, rubbing her forehead. "Ugh, that’s... weird. People have way too much free time." Fluttershy blushed, whispering, "I’m not sure I’d like to see what they’ve done with us…" Jeremy chuckled awkwardly. "Trust me, you don’t." The ponies exchanged uneasy glances, processing the odd reality of their newfound fame in human fandoms.
Jeremy nodded, trying to keep things light. "Yeah, there’s a lot more Sparity fan art and fanfiction out there than September."
Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Sparity? Spike... plus me? Oh, wonderful. That’s something I could have certainly gone without hearing." She paused, sighing, then added with a soft smile, "But it’s not like it matters much. I still love my cute little Spikey-Wikey."Twilight smirked, glancing at Rarity. "You do realize that just encourages the fans, right?" Rarity waved a hoof dismissively. "Let them speculate all they want, darling. As long as Spike isn’t reading those silly stories, I’ll be just fine." Jeremy shook his head. "All that sexual stuff people write and draw? It's just their lack of creativity shining through."
Rose nodded in agreement. "You aren't lying. They're probably compensating for a lack of their own... well, sex life." Zack chimed in with a smirk. "Exactly. That's what it boils down to." Terry added, "You guys don't need to worry about what your fans do. Let them be weird." Dave, with a reassuring tone, said, "Yeah, it's okay to just be yourselves. Don't let the fans' strange behavior get to you." Jeremy nodded, looking at the group. "Exactly. You all should just keep doing you, fans be damned." anyway back to party planning.
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