Rarity's birthday party wasn't just a party, it was an event. It was held at her house. There were horses to ride (something Twilight felt guilty about), magicians, jugglers, and caricature artists. There were tables over flowing with food and drink. Nearly all the school was there. Being so far away; none of Rarity's extended family showed up. But then, considering they never approved of her parents marriage in the first place; even if they just lived down the road she doubted if they would have shown up.

The girls had set-up in the back yard and played all their songs. Each one putting all they had into it knowing this was the last they were going to play together for almost two months. At least that's what they told themselves. But deep inside they all knew this could be the last time period. Especially Twilight and Sunset; who being almost a generation older than the others, knew how fast time slipped by and how things changed overnight forever.

After they were done, Rarity's father called everyone to sit down. He had prepared a speech for this day and now he was going to give it. All the guests went to a table and sat down. Rarity and Sweetie Belle sat at the head table with their parents. Rarity's father stood up and started speaking.

"I tried my best to learn that fancy talk that Rarity uses as not to embarrass her too much. So hopefully I do good," he said, doing his best to cover his mid-western accent.

"Well. It's well pa-pa," Rarity corrected playfully.

"Oh, sorry. Anyway; I had always thought if I had a daughter; I'd be giving this speech at her bat mitzvah. But instead of marrying a nice Jewish girl like my parents wanted; I ended up marrying a wonderful Lutheran woman, so that was out of the question. But a sweet sixteen serves the same purpose; to mark the transition from childhood to adulthood.

"Rarity Janette Geisel was born sixteen years ago today. I had no idea what I was in for. Her mother and I were barely making it own our own and now we had another mouth to feed. We didn't know what we were going to do. What we did know, was we loved her from the first moment we knew she was on her way.

"The first time I saw her, held her in my arms; I knew I was forever changed. Changed for the better. She brought out things in me I never knew were there. And as I watched her grow; those feelings only became stronger. Through our darkest times, she never complained. Not openly. I would hear her cry at night sometimes; but she never blamed me or accused me of not being a good provider. In fact she was my biggest cheerleader.

"And after our fortunes changed, she never let it go to her head. The spirit of generosity she has, the way she does whatever she can to help others; well as the vice president said, if a parent is judged on their children, than I am a success."

Mr. Geisel then turned to look at Rarity. "Rarity Janette Geisel, sixteen years ago you changed my world for the better. I love you more than you could ever know, than I could ever say. Happy birthday sweet heart." He then went over and hugged Rarity.

Next, Sweetie Belle got up. "Rarity is my big sister. We fight and bicker. Mostly because I'm jealous of her beauty and talent. But I love my big sister and I know she loves me. Um, that's all I got. Love you sis." She walked back to her seat. sat down and hugged Rarity.

Fluttershy then got up to speak. "Rarity, you saved my life. For those who don't know; my mother is an abusive alcoholic. If Rarity and her family wouldn't have taken me in, I wouldn't be here right now. I'd be dead. Now, I'm not only alive physically, but spiritually as well; and it's all thanks to you Rarity. I can never repay you for that." Fluttershy was now in tears as she went and hugged Rarity.

"You don't have to," Rarity whispered.

As Rarity's mother got up to speak, Flash whispered to Twilight, "I never knew Rarity and I had so much in common." He was referring to both of them being from mixed backgrounds. He was bi-racial and she was of mixed religious faith.

Rainbow looked on in a mixture of sadness and anger. How could Fluttershy forget her? She had been after Fluttershy for years to report her mother. Her family would have taken her in. She was Fluttershy's oldest friend. For years, her only friend. Now she felt discarded and forgotten. All she could do was look down at the ground and try to will the pain away.

After Mrs. Geisel was done speaking, her husband stood up again and said, "And now, if you all will follow me, I believe Rarity's present has arrived."

Everyone got up and followed Mr. Geisel to the front lawn where Rarity gasped at the "car" her dad had bought her. It was a big, brown van. Not a new van, but a used one. It looked like it was from the mid to late seventies. Mr. Geisel turned to Rarity. "What do you think? That'll be good for your band, huh?"

Rarity looked at the van in shock for a few more minutes, turned to her father, and then ran off crying. No one knew what to say or do. Mr. Geisel calmed everyone down and went after Rarity; followed by Mrs. Geisel, and Sweetie Belle. They found her lying on her bed, crying.

Mrs. Geisel was furious. She marched into Rarity's room and started yelling. "What is wrong with you? After all the nice things we said, you run off crying like a spoiled brat! What were you expecting? - a Ferrier? Mercedes?"

"Mother, please," Mr. Geisel said calmly. He sat down beside Rarity on her bed and put his hand on her shoulder. "What is it sweetie?"

Rarity looked up, make-up, mixed with tears, running down her face. "It's gonna start all over again! Do you know what those kids drive at school? You know what will happen to me when I show up in that? It'll be like it was. They'll laugh and point at me. They'll say, 'Hey Rarity, what's the matter? Where's all that Jew money of yours? What's wrong? Can't your parents afford anything other than second hand crap?' They'll call me rag girl again, like where we used to live. 'Rag girl, rag girl, there goes the rag girl'." Rarity busted out crying again.

Mr. Geisel patted his daughter's shoulder and just let her cry for a while. He then gently spoke, "Honey, those days existed. I can't take them away from you. And I'm not going to lie to you and say what other people think of you doesn't matter; because you're old enough to know better. What college you get into, what job you get, whether you're promoted or not; it's all dependent on what others think of you.

"I will say this though; no matter what people think of you, you'll always be the 'rag girl' as long as that's how you continue to see yourself." He then got up and took everyone out so she could have some alone time.

The party went on for another half a hour (although in a much more subdued manner) before Rarity came back out. Everyone looked at her. She had fixed her make-up and hair. She walked up to everyone and started to speak. "I am sorry everyone. I let my emotions get the better of me. First, let me thank you all for coming. Second, I just want to say thank you to my parents for buying such a wonderful gift. Pa-pa, Ma-ma, thank you. It will do well for the band, and for carrying supplies for my clothing. Thank you for everything. I . . . I love you both." She then ran over and gave them both a hug. She wiped a fresh set of tears away and turned to the rest of party. "Anyway, let's party!" she shouted and everyone went back to having a wonderful time. Everyone but Rainbow Dash.

Author's Notes:

To clarify, under Jewish law, a child is considered to be the religion of the mother, but the tribe of the father. So in a mixed marriage where the mother is Jewish, but the father is not; the child is considered Jewish but not belonging to any tribe. If the mother isn't Jewish, then the child isn't considered Jewish either.

Also in these next few chapters, I'll be concentrating on certain characters. For instance, this was Rarity's chapter. Next will be Rainbow's. Then that will go until I hit everyone of the main characters. After that, I'll start the finale. And yes; there will be a big, magical brawl. So please stay tuned.