Rainbow descended the stairs into the Boutique, where Rarity was picking up the loose paperwork.
"Is uh," Rainbow started, "is everything going to be all right?"
"First Tempo and now you," Rarity muttered. "Yes, Rainbow," she said louder, "I will sort this all out. It will take many meetings, many apologies, and some rather expensive concessions I am sure."
With a sigh, Rarity said, "I snapped at Tempo earlier. I really shouldn't have; it's not her fault."
"Oh..." Rainbow paused to think. "I guess that explains why she asked me if she was a bad pony."
Rarity dropped the paperwork. "Now that on top of everything else."
Rainbow pressed herself against Rarity's side and put her wing across her wife's back. "It's all right, we'll figure this out."
"We don't have a choice." Rarity's magic picked up a few pages again. "How was this easier when we still had to change her diapers and wake up three times a night to feed her?"
"I had to wake up three times a night to feed her," Rainbow answered with a smile. "You just had diaper duty." Taking a moment to look around at the scattered pages, she said, "I guess Operation Friendship is on hold."
Once again, Rarity set down the pages. "No, no, we must help her find a friend. Tempo's well-being is much more important than any of this." She magically fished out a large envelope.
A page emerged. Rarity explained, "Information on many children that Tempo has not met, curated by the Princess of Friendship herself. Guaranteed to be free of any megalomaniacal urges. Tempo is sure to find somepony or two she can connect with."
Rainbow glanced at the young pony on the page before it slid back into the envelope. "A big list and friendship. That's from Twilight all right. So, she knows about the time thing?"
Rarity set herself back to picking up her business paperwork. "She has been informed of Tempo's unusual ability, yes. However..."
Taking care not to step on any pages, Rainbow made her way in front of her wife. "Let me guess, she doesn't believe you."
"Twilight has a real talent for asking questions I don't know the answer to. How am I supposed to know how Tempo breathes or what happens to the air around her when she moves?"
"Magic?" Rainbow shrugged.
"You would think she'd accept that as an answer." Rarity put some pages back in the briefcase. "Perhaps we should ask Tempo to give her a demonstration someday. Until then, getting her a friend will have to be enough to prevent any villainy she may someday plan."
Rainbow smiled. "The power of friendship saves Equestria again. Just like old times." Her smile faded. "Think it'll work?"
Putting away some pages, Rarity answered, "This is not one of the challenges I expected to face when I asked you for a foal."
"You know foals," Rainbow said, eyeing the envelope of friends, "always full of surprises. Tempo just gave us a really big one."
Rarity gave the envelope a quick wave. "Let's hope that she takes our own surprise well."
---
The next afternoon, Rainbow eased open the door to Tempo's room. Inside, she saw her daughter hunched over her workbench, peering through her eyepiece. A tiny knife was attached to a harness on her hoof, and she busily poked at something out of Rainbow's view.
Tempo didn't notice Rainbow leaning against the doorway. Her focus was entirely on her sculpture. It was destined to be Daring Do wearing a cape in an action pose if Rainbow remembered right. Tempo shifted her weight. Her cutie mark, a statue and paintbrush, warped with her thigh. She'd earned that mark five months ago.
Rainbow smiled. It was good to see that Tempo had gotten back to her sculpting, even if it meant that she probably hadn't done her homework yet.
The dull knife moved away from the sculpture. Tempo turned the base of the model back and forth, checking her work.
Stepping forward, Rainbow softly called, "Tempo."
Tempo's ears perked up. She turned to her side in her chair and looked behind her. "Yeah?"
"Can you take a break? Rarity and I have somepony we'd like you to meet."
Rainbow saw her daughter's eyes drift between her, the sculptures on her shelf, and the floor. "Um," Tempo said. "Sure."
Tempo climbed off the chair.
"Whoa!" Rainbow darted forward. She swept Tempo's right forehoof up just before the knife strapped to it hit the ground. "Hey, you forgot something. Don't want to break another one of these."
Tempo pulled the offending hoof back towards her chest. "Sorry, Rainbow." She carefully unstrapped the little harness and set it on the bench.
"It's all right, kid, just be more careful with your stuff. Now c'mon."
After checking to make sure her daughter was following, Rainbow made her way into the hallway, opened her wings, and glided downstairs. Touching down, she turned around to see Tempo at the top. Next to Rainbow, Rarity closed her briefcase. Unlike the one she had the day before, this briefcase was blue and studded with amethysts. Rarity liked that one. Levitating in front of her was a clipboard and her glasses were perched on her snout.
"Got all the business stuff taken care of, babe?" Rainbow asked.
Rarity sighed. "Not even close."
Rainbow glanced at Tempo, who was making her way down. "I can watch Tempo for the friendship stuff by myself, then."
"Absolutely not," Rarity replied calmly. "I need to be there for her as much as I can, even if that means bringing my work with me."
Tempo, who had reached her parents, looked up at them. "Who did you want me to meet?"
Walking towards the door, Rainbow said, "They're outside. Let's go make a new friend."
She paused and whispered to Rarity, "Where are we going again?"
---
Rainbow Dash stood at the edge of the small, grassy, field. It was near the edge of town, and the treeline of the Everfree stood in the near distance. A lone but sizable house stood somewhat nearby, set apart from the buildings composing the rest of the town. Next to Rainbow was Tempo, trying her best to stay close, and Rarity, already nose-deep in her paperwork.
"Why hello there," a voice called. Rainbow turned to see a light pink unicorn mare approach, a green unicorn filly in tow. "You're Rainbow Dash and Rarity, of course. All of Equestria knows you two. And that must be Tempo Reprise."
Tempo made eye contact with the mare, then the filly. "H-hi."
The mare nodded to Tempo's parents. "I'm Orchid Berry, and this is my little pride and joy, Emerald Snow."
Rarity looked over the top of her clipboard. "Charmed. Tempo, be a dear and go play with Emerald."
Cautiously, Tempo walked into the field, followed by Emerald. "Um, I'm Tempo Reprise."
"Emerald Snow. Mom didn't tell me you were a unicorn." Emerald looked at Tempo's horn.
"Oh." Tempo looked at Emerald’s horn. "Me neither."
"I can do lots of magic. Mom says I'm going to be really good at it." Emerald's horn lit up and a nearby rock hovered into the air. "See? What magic can you do?"
Rainbow grimaced just as Tempo looked at her. Tempo paused, then looked back at Emerald. "Oh! I can do one!"
Closing her eyes, Tempo strained. Her horn sputtered sparks for a few seconds, then glowed. It was faint against the light of the sun, but in Rainbow's opinion Tempo's spell was good at night. "A light spell!" Tempo announced.
"That's it?"
Tempo's spell flickered out. "That's... that's all I know how to do."
"Ugh!" Emerald marched past her mother. "Mom, this one's lame! I don't want to be friends with a unicorn who can't do magic!"
Rainbow could only stare. Orchid hurried after her daughter. "Now young mare, that's no way to behave..."
Rarity turned to Rainbow. "Perhaps her next friend will be less of, ah..."
"A total jerk," Rainbow finished her sentence.
---
"You must be..." Rarity started.
"Spring Breeze," the muscular pegasus mare answered. "And this little hooffull is my son, Gable."
Spring motioned to the dark turquoise griffin with the light brown head.
"Tempo," Rainbow said. "How about you two introduce yourselves to each—"
Gable grabbed Tempo by the hoof and darted out into the field. Letting her go, he jumped into the air. "Hi! Hi! Hi! I'm Gable!" Tempo barely had time to stagger before Gable swooped down. "I love meeting griffons and ponies and everyone!" He landed and did a backflip. "And you're Tempo!"
"Wha—"
At Tempo's side, he said, "Is that a cutie mark? Do you make statues? There aren't many statues around here! What about the one in the middle of town? Did you make that one?"
At her front, he said, "What do you like to do? I like to fly!" He took off, causing Tempo to fall over backwards. Rainbow could see her chest heave.
Gable landed directly on top of Tempo, standing over her, his face inches from hers. "I can't wait to get to know everything about you!"
Tempo took two deep breaths, then vanished.
Gable looked around. "Huh? Where'd you go?"
Rainbow felt something brush her belly. She looked at her side to see Tempo peeking up from underneath her.
"Sorry."
---
Tempo and the blue earth filly looked at each other.
"So," Aqua Twirl said, "what do you like to do for fun?"
"Well," Tempo replied, "I make little figurines. I sculpt them out of clay and paint them. I got a bunch at home."
"That's neat. I like to run on the track. I'm going to be the fastest pony ever."
"Well, Rainbow's the fastest pony ever, but maybe you can run good, too. But... I'm not really into running... or sports."
"Oh." Aqua looked down. "I'm... not really that interested in little toys or figurines. I don't think there's much we can do together."
"Yeah. Was nice to meet you though."
"You, too."
Tempo walked away, towards Rainbow and Rarity. "She was nice, at least."
"Yeah," Rainbow said. "We'll find you somepony you can hang out with in no time." She looked at Rarity. "Who's next on the list, babe?"
---
Rainbow lay on the bed, hooves and wings splayed out. "Twenty. Twenty friends and not one worked."
Rarity removed her hoof from her own forehead. "I swear foals were nicer when I was her age. But let us go down the checklist, shall we? First of all, Tempo has a power not meant for mortal ponies, one that may or may not become more potent as she gets older."
"Check."
"Her parents abandoned her on her tenth birthday."
"Check."
"She has been told, by her own mother, that she is the savior of the world."
"Ugh, check."
"She has no friends."
"Make sure you add to the list that friendship's gone badly for her."
"What are we going to do?"
Rainbow rolled onto her back. "We can move to Canterlot."
Moving to look out the window, Rarity said, "There would be more ponies her age there."
With a wave of her hoof, Rainbow added, "And when she decides to overthrow the princesses, it'll be convenient for all of us. You can sew Empress Tempo's gown while I lick her horseshoes clean and dance for her amusement."
Rarity climbed onto the bed and laid her head across Rainbow's chest. "Would that really make her happy?" She sighed. "I wish there was something we could do."
Rainbow wrapped her hooves around her wife. "It's all right. We'll think of something, okay? We can't give up on her."
"We won't," Rarity said. "We won't."