Rainbow Dash paced back and forth next to the entrance of her house, thinking to herself. She took a bite of the apple in her hand, then groaned and threw it away. It landed perfectly in the bin. "Okay, Rainbow, calm down," she said for the five-millionth time. "Ugh, but I can't! This isn't just hanging, this officially counts as a date. I don't know if I can—"
Rainbow's words were cut off at the sound of the doorbell ringing. She froze, then turned to the door, slowly reaching her hand out to the handle.
"I've got this." Rainbow opened the door… then immediately slammed it shut when she saw the familiar overload of curly orange hair, and the streak of yellow, along with the purple and blue outfit which would catch everyone's attention in the middle of a fricking Wonderbolts tournament. "What the hell are you doing here?!" she unexpectedly yelled, leaning against the door, heart pounding.
"Charmed to see you too, Rainbow Dash," came a voice through the wooden door. "And what am I doing here? I heard from Cloudy Kicks that you might have a spare ticket to the Wonderbolts tournament." She paused for a moment. "Are we really going to have to conduct this entire conversation through a door. I mean, I know my voice is delicious, but isn't the whole package even better?"
Rainbow scoffed. "You… Wonderbolts?" She turned around and opened the door. "And you know that's not what I meant. You. Adagio! You think you can just waltz up, and expect to go with me to the Wonderbolts tournament? Fat chance. I'm waiting for Cloudy Kicks." She went to shut the door again.
"You can wait all you like," Adagio said, "but she's not coming. Haven't you checked your messages lately? Her brother was in an accident. In Trottingham. Her parents have taken the whole family there to be with him. Why else do you think she was offering her ticket to all and sundry?"
Rainbow Dash stopped and opened the door again. She frowned at Adagio, then pulled her phone out of her pocket and scrolled through till she found the messages. She took a minute or so to read, then closed the phone and turned back to Adagio. "You really wanna come?"
Adagio had her reasons but for now, preferred to stay aloof. She pushed past Rainbow Dash, striding into the building like she owned it. "Of course. I was told the tickets were already paid for, and there would be free food. Thanks to you and your… friends… I can no longer consume my usual source of sustenance. However, your human food has proven itself adequate."
"Okay. So, do you have any interest in the Wonderbolts at all, or do you just wanna eat?" Rainbow sighed. "Fine. Whatever. You can come. Just, please, get out of my house. And if you tell anyone about this, I, um…" — she bit her lip — "never mind! Let's go, or we'll be late!" She marched outside.
Adagio spun on her heel and followed Rainbow out of the house, pointedly ignoring Rainbow's question about the Wonderbolts. Sheesh, she thought, what is with this girl's attitude? It was her and her friends that destroyed my amulet… the way she's acting, it's almost as if she thinks I owe her an apology!
She followed Rainbow to the gate at the front of the house and they both turned left out of it.
Rainbow walked over to the shelves hanging on the wall outside and picked up two helmets, throwing one to Adagio. "Heads up!" she joked, still with an annoyed tone. She walked off around the corner, out of Adagio's sight.
Adagio looked at the helmet she had been passed. "Surely she doesn't expect me to be able to fit all my hair into… that?!" she muttered under her breath.
She reached up and removed the spiky hair grip from her hair, not wanting that to be pressed up against her skull, then with a bit of effort, pushed the helmet down over her head, putting the hair grip around her wrist so she wouldn't lose it.
She waited for Rainbow Dash to return.
Rainbow Dash gripped the handles and slightly struggled to push the heavy motorbike out of the back and towards the road. "I can't believe I'm riding this with you."
Adagio raised her eyebrows and looked at the machine. "Not yet, you're not." She circled the motorbike. "Are you sure this machine is safe? What qualifications do you have to operate it?"
"Puh-leaze! I've ridden this thing like, a thousand times!" Rainbow Dash said. "Besides, we won't get to the tournament on time if we walk. Fastest way." She said, climbing on. "Hurry up then!"
Adagio huffed. "Fine, but if we come off this thing and die, then…" She realized she didn't have any appropriate threat to add to the end of that sentence. She climbed on behind Rainbow Dash and not seeing any handles to clasp, clung onto the girl in front of her.
Rainbow Dash bit her lip, a slight blush crawling to her cheeks. She shook her head lightly and started the engine, before heading off onto the road.
The wind rushing past whipped the ends of Adagio's hair, making it fly around behind her like a slinky that had been possessed by the devil. She clung on tighter, her hands beginning to sweat. "Is it much further?!" she shouted, trying to make herself heard over the roar of the motor.
"I'm sorry!" Rainbow Dash called. "I can't hear you over the sounds of my awesome driving!" She swerved around the corner, looking ahead. "Not far!"
"Okay," Adagio muttered to herself, "not much further… you can do this."
"Pfft!" she spat out some of Rainbow's hair that had gotten in her mouth.
"Pfft—" Rainbow held back a laugh. "Blame the wind!" She smirked and speed up, just before she raced into the parking lot and straight into a slot, slamming on the brakes. "Sweet, broke my record!" She jumped off, fist pumping the air.
Adagio climbed off the bike, her knees trembling slightly. "I… I think I'm walking home afterwards."
She took her helmet off and bent down to inspect her hair in the rear view mirror. "Arghhh!" she shrieked.
Rainbow turned around when Adagio screamed, then finally lost it. She burst out laughing, placing her hands around her stomach as she doubled over. "You… look… ridiculous!" She called and continued laughing, hard enough for tears to form in her eyes.
"Pfft! At least with me, it's only temporary." She hadn't meant that to come out loud, but somehow it did. Adagio balanced her helmet on the handlebars of the bike. “So where do we go?”
Rainbow Dash did the same, shaking her hair a little to get it back in it's normal position. "This way." She walked down the parking lot and around the corner.
Adagio followed Rainbow, struggling to keep up as she still felt a little unsteady on her feet after the journey. "Hey, wait up!"
Rainbow rolled her eyes and stopped, turning around. "Gees, Adagio. Thought you could handle it."
"Shut it! Sonata has a car… okay? A car. I'm not used to motorbikes." She caught up with Rainbow, and started walking a few paces ahead to prove a point.
"Okay, I get it. But seriously. You haven't even ridden a bike before?" Rainbow asked, walking towards the entrance.
"Bicycles… non-motorized ones, of course. I used to own a penny-farthing, back when those were fashionable," Adagio called over her shoulder.
"What the hell are they?" Rainbow asked as they neared the entrance. She held out the tickets.
"They're a type of bicycle. It doesn't matter though." Adagio watched as the man at the gate checked their tickets and waved them through.
"Seats 13A and 13B," he called out as they went past.
"What?!" said Adagio. "Reserved seating?! We can't just sit where we like? I actually need to sit next to you?!"
"Yep. Can't do anything about it, sadly," Rainbow Dash said as she waved her hand, walking past the seated people in row thirteen.
From their seats there was a good view of the velodrome. Almost as soon as they sat down, loud rock music started playing. The crowd started chanting the names of various Wonderbolts —Soarin, Spitfire, Misty, etc. Adagio wasn't familiar with all of them, but recognized a couple of the more famous names.
Rainbow Dash leaned forward on her seat, head in her hands as she grinned widely. "He's almost here! Oh my gosh!" She called out happily, watching closely.
At the climax of the song, five of the Wonderbolts zoomed out on their motorbikes, in a triangular formation. Their bikes blazed smoke trails in all the colours of the rainbow, or five colours of the rainbow anyway.
"Hey, look, Rainbow Dash… they're doing a tribute to your hair," Adagio quipped sarcastically.
Rainbow continued to stare forward, love hearts in her eyes. "It's him! Soarin!" she said, pointing forward. "Isn't he just sooo cute?"
"Pfft! If you like pretty boys. I'm more interested in… that one." Adagio pointed at the leader of the Wonderbolts — Spitfire.
"Yeah, well, they're all awesome! But I've always liked Soarin the best." Rainbow said, continuing to watch with wide eyes.
Adagio reached into her hair and pulled out a pair of binoculars. She put them to her eyes and zoomed in on Spitfire's chest, twisting them to get them into focus. "Perfect," she muttered.
Rainbow looked to her side and blinked. "Hey, give me those," she said, snatching them out of Adagio's hands and peering at Soarin as he raced around. "Oh my gosh, look! He's gonna do a jump!" she squealed, shaking Adagio's shoulder.
Adagio huffed. "I didn't bring them here to fuel your fangirl crush, you know?" She squinted to make out Spitfire as she raced past. Adagio was pretty sure that the Wonderbolt was wearing it. But how to get hold of it? "I wonder how we could get backstage, Rainbow? I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you? You hear about that sort of thing, don't you? Famous people inviting groupies back after the show."
Rainbow gasped, turning to face Adagio. "Yes! We could try when the show is finished! I'm sure Soarin will let us in, he's really nice!" she said, turning back to the show.
Adagio snatched back her binoculars and stashed them in her hair. "'Nice'… 'nice'… we can't rely on 'nice'. We need to make use of 'sexy'." She looked at Rainbow… she was cute, but her whole style was kind of boyish. If they hoped to get back stage, she might need to do something drastic.
"Sexy?" Rainbow Dash said, staring at her. "What are you thinking?"
"Stand up," Adagio said. She looked behind them at the people in the seats in the next row. "Don't worry… they'll still be able to see."
"Uh, okay," Rainbow said, standing up. "Why?"
Adagio appraised her outfit. She yanked Rainbow's skirt up a few inches to make it look shorter. But then noticed Rainbow was wearing something underneath her skirt. "Those cycling shorts… you're not 'going commando' under them, are you?"
"Of course not," Rainbow said, "but what are you doing?!" She blushed and looked around.
"Okay then, lose them. Let's see some thigh!"
"But why?" Rainbow asked, biting her lip.
"Because the Wonderbolts are only going to invite us back if they want to sleep with us," Adagio explained. "Don't look so shocked. It's how this world works. It doesn't mean we have to go through with it… believe me, I have no intention of that… but they have to want us."
"Uhhh, o–okay…" Rainbow blushed deeper and pulled off her shorts. "This okay?"
"It would be better if we could do something with your hair… maybe add some more volume and curls to it, but I haven't brought my equipment." She looked Rainbow up and down. Fitted top, sorry skirt, nice legs… yes, she'd do nicely. "Passable."
She fiddled with her own hair a little, trying to restore some of its springiness.
She looked at Rainbow still standing there. "Sit down. I mean I'm sure the people in the row behind are enjoying the view, but stop being such an exhibitionist! Save it for the Wonderbolts." She turned her attention back to the show.
"Uh, right," Rainbow said, and sat down, going back to watching the Wonderbolts.
After some time, the Wonderbolts began the display that Adagio thought would probably be the grand finale. "Come on, Rainbow Dash. Let's find the stage door before the crowds start to move."
"Okay, okay." Rainbow held her hands down in front of her skirt and followed Adagio, still keeping her head turned to watch the ending.
Adagio guided the girl through the venue, trying to prevent her from crashing into anything because she clearly wasn't looking where she was going. "That looks like the right place, don't you think, Rainbow?… Rainbow?!"
Rainbow turned her head to face Adagio. "Huh? What were you saying?"
Adagio rolled her eyes. "This… it looks like the way backstage doesn't it?" It was an unmarked, unguarded door. Adagio tried the handle… locked.
"Oh yeah!" Rainbow said. "But, of course it's locked."
Spitfire wiped the sweat off her forehead and walked towards the door, stopping when she saw the two girls. "Excuse me, what are you two doing here?"
Rainbow Dash tensed, but Adagio jumped in before she had a chance to blow it. "We were talking to Soarin’ before the show and he asked if we wanted to come back stage." She couldn't believe it. There it was, around Spitfire's neck. She could almost reach out and grab it. But that would never do. She needed all three.
"Hmmm…" Spitfire said. “I'll have to have a talk with that idiot later.” She walked in between them and opened the door.
"Soarin's busy right now. You can wait for him in here," she said, walking inside.
"Sweet!" Rainbow said happily.
"Thank you," Adagio said, stepping inside and holding the door open for Rainbow Dash.
The corridor on the other side had dozens of doors leading off it.
"Thanks!" Rainbow said and went in, following behind the two.
Spitfire stopped in front of Soarin's room. "Since he so kindly invited you in… you two can wait in here. I have stuff to do," she said, walking off down the hall.
"Sweet! Soarin's room!" Rainbow said, opening the door.
Adagio and Rainbow went into the room. Adagio looked around. It was possible Soarin had one of the three, but it seemed more likely that they'd all be worn by the female Wonderbolts. She shut the door behind them, and started looking through drawers, under cushions and so on.
Rainbow watched Adagio. "Uh… what are you doing?"
"I'm… a…" — Adagio tried to think of an excuse — "really big Soarin fan. Aren't you? I'm just trying to find something to take as a souvenir." This made her sound like a thief — not that she wasn't — but still. "Something he won't miss, like an old candy wrapper or something."
Rainbow let out a laugh. "Haha, sure," she said sarcastically and walked up to Adagio. "Seriously, what are you looking for?" She placed a hand on her hip.
"It doesn't matter. I don't think it's going to be here anyway," Adagio sighed and sat on the large red sofa.
"Right…" Rainbow said, sitting down next to her. She was still curious, but she would let it slide… for now. "So, um… how… have you been, I guess?"
"Awful," Adagio said, letting her usual guard down. "Since that Shimmer girl destroyed our amulets, we've felt nothing but hunger. It won't kill us. Barely even causes pain. It's just an intense… well… hunger. And now we have no way of satisfying it."
"I see," Rainbow said sadly. Despite being part of the battle, she was starting to feel… sorry. Of course, Rainbow Dash didn't want another bad element at the school, but she knew what it was like to be unsatisfied. But, she couldn't think of anything to do about it. Too bad they fed off negative energy.
"No way, that is, until we can find a way back to our home." Adagio stopped. She'd said too much.
"Back home? Is… is that all you really want? To just collect negative energy and go home and do the same thing? What will you do then? Think about it, what's better: going back home with ultimate power and then doing nothing but being feared for the rest of your immortal lives, or staying here, going to school, getting jobs and settling down… actually living your life? You don't have to be evil, and you never had to," Rainbow said seriously, before hiding her face and turning a deep shade of red. Goddammit, that was embarrassing. Oh crap.
"You really think we were being evil, taking what we needed to feed? You eat meat… does your little pink-haired hippie friend call you evil for that? Is that country girl you always hang out with evil for eating all those apples? Apple trees are alive too." Adagio crossed her legs. "Besides which… we know we're not welcome in this world. We've been here a thousand years, and… settling down? marriage? Nobody's ever wanted to do that."
N–Nobody?" Rainbow Dash stuttered, looking down, knotting her fingers together. "I–I…"
"Well. I have married in the past a few times, but that was always strategic, and not since seventeenth century anyway. They were never for love… only for power. And there was never any question of having children… I don't even know if that would work with a siren and a human."
"So, only men then. What would you do if, say, a female, um, l–loved you…?" Rainbow asked. "I–I mean, I'm just curious, since gay marriage is legal now and all, haha…"
"Well, I'm not saying it was fair, but it tended to be the men who held the power anyway, so that question didn't often come up. Though there was a certain concubine in the court of Louis XIV who… I did some favours for in exchange for a few favours of a different kind from the king." She didn't know why she was telling Rainbow Dash all this. "This goes no further than these walls, right?"
"Yes, of course! Uh, cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" Rainbow said quickly. "But, um, you didn't answer my question. What would you do if a female loved you?"
"Well, I suppose that would depend on who it was. But really, it's quite a hypothetical question. As I said, no human has ever loved us. They just used us to… satisfy their urges… just as we've used them to get what we need. That's not love though."
"So… I would be the first…" Rainbow Dash whispered, then shook her head. No, no, no! What in the world is wrong with me? "I… see," she said simply, thinking. If only…
"So that is why we need to find a way back to Equestria. There are other hippocampi there for… companionship. And enough magic to feed without our amulets. Here in this world, there is nothing for us. Aria feels it even more than I. She says she could never love a human. I… I don't know…" Adagio shook her head. "… Given how long we've been stuck in these bodies, I almost feel like I'm one of them myself. I… don't think I'd have any theoretical objection. I… I even came close once."
"Came close to what?" Rainbow asked, curious again.
"Close to falling in love… I think."
"Really? Who with?" Rainbow asked, then leaned back against the couch. "Oh, uh, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to…"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Adagio said, shaking her head. "She's kind of famous. But it… it didn't end well."
"Famous?" Rainbow asked, her voice wavering a bit. Yeah… thought not. "Please, I've heard crazier stuff. I'll believe this."
"Joan of Arc. I met her when she was about your age. Never met anyone with more fight and more spirit than her. Two years later, she was dead. That's the trouble with being an immortal being… you can't love someone… they'll only slip away from you. But still, I never expected her to be taken away so soon." A single tear rolled down Adagio's cheek.
Rainbow's face held a sad expression, and she lifted up a hand to wipe the tear of Adagio's face. "I… I'm so sorry…"
"It's okay. It was a long time ago. I've barely even thought about her in years." Adagio sniffed.
"You know… in a way you remind me of her."
"H–Huh?" Rainbow said, blushing lightly again. "I-I do?"
"Yes, she never knew how to dress to show off her best assets either," Adagio laughed.
"H–Hey!" Rainbow called out, blushing harder. "I'm not THAT bad! I just never really liked that kind of stuff! I never even wore skirts when I was young!"
"Seriously… you play sports ALL THE TIME. Of course you're going to have legs that people are going to want to look at."
"Well, I wore short shorts. Skirts were way of the question! Then, I met Fluttershy. But, I never really thought about that," Rainbow said, then thought for a minute. "Say… would you be one of those people?"
Adagio leaned forward slightly so her hair hung down and covered her blush. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm so above that sort of thing."
Rainbow raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Uh huh. You totally weren't the one who made me dress like this in the first place," she said sarcastically.
"That wasn't for my benefit," Adagio scoffed, recovering her composure and leaning back on the sofa. "Well, I suppose it was to get us in here, so indirectly for my benefit. But just because I know what will make you look better, does not mean I have a crush on you. And if Aria told you I did, she was… I was… I was just joking with her."
"Oh. Well, no, I haven't spoke with Aria. I–It's fine, really," Rainbow said.
"Good. Because she's lying anyway. I never said anything." Adagio blushed again.
Rainbow looked away and nodded. "Okay. I understand."
"But… theoretically… if I did—" Adagio cut herself off. "No, never mind."
Rainbow squinted her eyes shut and sniffed. "Yeah, I get it…"
Adagio took the hair tie that was still around her wrist and absent-mindedly used it to fix her hair. She stood up and walked to the dressing table, looking at it in the mirror to check it was straight. She went back to the sofa, sitting a little closer to Rainbow. "So, this Soarin'… you have a crush on him or something?" she asked.
"I used to, when I was younger. Now, he's just awesome. Besides, th–there's someone else I have feelings for." Rainbow looked up and faced Adagio.
"Oh, right… of course. You were meant to be coming here with Cloudy Kicks, right."
"Y–yeah? Well, now I came with you! A–And sometimes things change… so… there! I mean, uh, hopefully that won't make this weird or anything… gah! No, no, it's not okay. It's not alright." Rainbow Dash placed her hands on Adagio;s shoulders. "Sorry about this."
Adagio listened to Rainbow blathering on nonsensically about something being weird or not weird and not knowing what she was talking about. She was slightly startled when Rainbow suddenly put her hands on her shoulders. She saw Rainbow lick her lips quickly. Was she… was she really going to…?
Adagio felt her lips were moist too and realized she'd been licking hers. She closed her eyes, but then opened them again because she didn't want to miss this.
Rainbow was leaning forward, her face coming closer to Adagio. Adagio felt their lips make contact and drew a quick breath through her nose.
Rainbow Dash placed a hand on Adagio's cheek as she tasted the sweet siren's lips against her own. She was full of mixed feelings. Her stomach buzzed with a new, exciting feeling of pleasure; something she'd never felt during all her time with Cloudy. On the other hand, her mind was full of worry. What if she didn't like it? What would happen next? Along with this, she had slight feelings of regret stored. For goodness sake, she was a kissing Adagio. The leader of the three sirens who tried to take over the school. But more importantly, Rainbow's heart held love, and hope. She hoped that this wasn't the first and last time. She hoped that somewhere, deep down, they could be together, no matter what.
Soarin marched down the hallway happily, swinging his arms. Fleetfoot rolled her eyes and turned to his room, opening the door… and quickly shut it again. Soarin blinked.
"What? What's going on?" he asked, confused.
"You really, really don't want to know. Uh, just… come to mine instead," Fleetfoot said and turned away, walking down the hall. Soarin shrugged and followed after.
Adagio thought she heard a sound from the door and broke off the kiss to look. The door still seemed closed but she could hear muffled voices outside. She held up her finger to her lips indicating for Rainbow to stay quiet. After a moment, she could hear footstep receding from the door. That was close.
Adagio looked back at Rainbow and almost pounced on her, pushing her back on the sofa into a waiting pile of cushions, their lips meeting in another kiss.
Rainbow moaned out in delight as she placed her hands on Adagio's back, moving them down slowly with every second. Her heart pounded with excitement, all other thoughts rushing away. Rainbow wanted this. She wanted it so bad.
Adagio leaned over Rainbow, her hair forming a curtain around their faces. Her tongue slipped into the human girl's mouth and hungrily sought out its counterpart. She felt Rainbow's hands on her back, and leaned into her in response, pressing her body hard against her.
Rainbow moaned silently at the feeling, her blue coloured cheeks as bright as a strawberry. Oh yeah, she could live with this.
One of Adagio's hands slid up Rainbow's leg, resting on her upper thigh. She broke off from kissing the girl's lips to lay a trail of kisses over her cheek before nuzzling into her neck.
Rainbow Dash let out a small gasp, whispering to the leader of the sirens. "A–Adagio…" A rush of pleasure went through her, but was quickly replaced with more regret and worry. Despite how good it felt, she… "Stop. Please, stop."
Adagio paused, lifted her hand from Rainbow's thigh and caressed Rainbow's cheek instead. She looked into Rainbow's eyes. "Why? You want this as much as I do. You need this." She closed her eyes. "I need this," she muttered.
"I just… I do, but that still doesn't make it right… I–I'm just worried, that's all…" Rainbow said, looking away. "I still have feelings for you, but I just don't know if we should do this now."
"If not now, then when?" Adagio kissed Rainbow on the cheek and looked at her pleadingly, showing a rare moment of vulnerability.
"I–I don't know, but… just not now. I think it might be a good time to, um, leave," Rainbow said, sitting up. Rainbow Dash stood up and led the way out first. "So, do you have a home or… cause I can take you if you want."
Adagio stood up, still looking flustered. "Yeah… well, Sonata and Aria and I share a place. It's not much… in the last few centuries our fortunes have dwindled. But it's a place of our own."
"Really? Well, you just tell me where to go then," Rainbow said, walking down the hall. They left the building and went towards Rainbow's bike.
Adagio grabbed her helmet… or rather the helmet Rainbow had lent to her… and put it on, this time without hesitation. "Sure, I'll give you directions… if you can hear me over that… thing." She waited for Rainbow to get onto the bike.
Rainbow placed on her own helmet, mounting the bike. "I'm sure it'll be fine."
Adagio climbed onto the bike behind Rainbow, knowing to cling onto her tight. Unlike the last time, when she wrapped her arms around the girl in front, she felt a certain… comfort… a certain happiness. She didn't feel apprehensive about the ride at all… she felt that Rainbow would keep her safe.
Rainbow smiled a little and started up, racing back onto the road. "Okay, so which way are we going from here?"
"Head back to town and take the second left once you're past the school," Adagio explained into Rainbow's ear.
"Got it!" Rainbow said, continuing on straight. As she rode, she thought to herself about the previous events.
Rainbow's hair whipped in Adagio's face, but this time she didn't really mind. Trees and buildings rushed past them in a blur, and soon they were on Adagio's street. She pointed at a white-painted detached house with a small, somewhat overgrown front garden and a brown brick wall at the front.
Rainbow halted in front of the house. "Well. Your house is, um, nice," she said.
"Yeah, I know, it looks a bit… run down," Adagio said. "I really wish Sonata or Aria would get off their lazy butts and tidy the place up a bit."
She pushed open the gate and stood aside for Rainbow. "You are coming in, yes?"
"Well, if it's okay, sure!" Rainbow said and jumped off her bike, dragging it inside the backyard with her.
Adagio walked up the garden path, fishing around in her hair and pulling out her house keys. "No, it's fine. Sonata and Aria have gone to some conference on investment. Trying to make the most out of our remaining savings. I don't know why Aria went… she really doesn't have a head for that sort of thing."
Since when would Sonata be into that sort of thing? Rainbow thought, then nodded and followed her inside. "Well, the inside's not that bad," she said, looking around. "It looks pretty normal."
"Living room's over there," Adagio said, pointing to the left. "Make yourself at home." She turned towards the kitchen. "Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee? I don't think there's much to eat."
"It's fine, I'm not hungry. Coffee would be great though, thanks!" Rainbow said, making her way onto the living room. She sat down on the couch.
Adagio emerged from the kitchen a few minutes later, carrying two mugs of coffee. She passed one to Rainbow, and flicked on the TV, turning down the volume to a low murmur. "You don't mind do you… it's just I'm so used to those two idiots arguing all the time, I feel uncomfortable if it's too quiet."
"Not at all," Rainbow said, curling up her legs as she held the mug in her hands. She blew on it for a bit, before taking a sip. "Hm, this is really good!"
Adagio went to sit beside her on the couch, but then thought otherwise. She crossed the room to sit on the armchair. "Yes, well I've had years of practice… years."
"Of course," Rainbow said, sipping the rest slowly. "I… I wish I could have lived as long as that."
"Meh. After the first couple of hundred years, there aren't really many big new experiences to try out. So you find yourself getting excited about stupid new things instead — like when those shoes with the wheels on them first came out."
"Oh yeah! Those are sick! But, I was talking about the past. I bet I could pass my history tests so easily if I knew all of that!" Rainbow laughed.
"History? I can barely remember what I ate for breakfast this morning." She took a sip of her drink and put the cup down on a coffee table. "You tend to remember the events that are important to your life. I can't remember the battles of the Napoleonic wars or any of that stuff that would come up in tests."
"Oh, true. But, if you experienced it, you might remember it better when it actually comes up in a test than anyone else. And if you studied it, you would also remember it, and easily fix the memory in your mind. You never really forget anything, you just have trouble remembering," Rainbow said, finishing the last of her coffee.
"Forget… have trouble remembering… might as well be the same thing." Adagio picked up her cup and drank some more. "So, how long have you been riding that bike of yours?"
"Ever since I found about the Wonderbolts, I've always dreamed of it. My dad gave me one for my birthday just recently. But before then, I practiced with him a lot." Rainbow said, placing down the mug. She looked up at the time. "Speaking of my bike, I should get home before it's too late."
"Don't feel the need to leave on my account," Adagio said. "I'd love it if you could stay for a while… without those two here… it can be a bit boring. And there's nothing good on TV tonight." She gestured at the TV.
"Dad’s coming home tonight, I gotta get back before seven." Rainbow stood up. "Sorry. I–I guess I'll see you another time." She started to walk away, but then turned back to Adagio and lightly pecked her on the lips. “See ya," she said, exiting the house.
Rainbow walked outside, cheeks flushed red, as she placed her helmet and climbed on her bike, speeding off down the road. Her thoughts were focused deeply on today. So deep, in fact, that she was hardly watching where she was going.
Adagio's heart fluttered at Rainbow's kiss. She was sad to see her leave. She sighed and collected up the coffee cups, taking them to the kitchen and washing them. She hunted for some food. There was no real point. Human food didn't satisfy the kind of hunger she had. But it was something to do. She managed to scrape together the ingredients for a cheese sandwich.
She sat down on the sofa, where Rainbow had been sitting, the seat still slightly warm from its previous occupant, and turned up the volume on the TV. Some drama was just ending.
Adagio dozed off to sleep. She didn't know for how long — perhaps minutes, perhaps hours — but the next thing she knew, she was waking up to the opening music of the TV news. "Welcome to this night’s news headlines. Starting us off, an incident has been reported on Starswirl Street, involving a teenage girl on a motorcycle. We believe the cause was…"
Starswirl Street? Adagio thought. Why, that's not two blocks from here. She sat up and watched intently.
The news switched to an ambulance scene, as the reporter kept speaking. For about a second or two, the rainbow colours in the victim's hair stood out amongst the almost dark night.
Adagio jumped to her feet, recognizing the girl from the report — it was Rainbow Dash. She ran out to the garage, clutching the car keys. Officially speaking, she'd been banned from driving about 30 years ago, but this was an emergency.
She pulled out of the driveway and headed straight for Canterlot Central Hospital. Despite the name, it was in fact Canterlot's only hospital, so she could be certain that Rainbow Dash had been taken there.
Having parked her car, she found her way to reception. She pushed to the front of the queue. "Where's Rainbow Dash?! Is she okay?!"