Might be a cruel take, but I like to think that Emily and Molly can never become friends. Not in the toxic yuri kind of way (I find that term derivative in describing relationships anyhow), more of just as coworkers who actively distance from each other.
Emily is someone who seems to befriend many other engines- she’s someone I find really compatible w/others as friends and in ships and that’s in large part thanks to her outgoing, caring and assertive personality. However, I also really like to note the engines that she doesn’t please- such as Molly.
Why Molly of all engines? Molly, although generally regarded as a nice engine, notably has had moments of snarking at big engines- Gordon (Molly’s Special Special) and Emily (Emily’s Rubbish- in which Molly is part of the group of engines that laugh at her when she’s ashamed). I think Emily’s previous behavior towards Molly in MSS and Molly’s nature of throwing it back in one’s face makes it plausible for them to be at odds.
Emily is far from perfect- and I point to her strained relationship w/Molly as a consequence of Emily trying to fit into the big engines mold like Gordon and James. Although she won’t always be like this, esp moving past these traits in the CGI era, I keep this animosity in my HCs as a faint reminder that Emily may not able to befriend everyone and that Molly’s nature is a large part of what makes it that way.
