Adagio slid a fourth pancake onto the stack on the plate, and put the plate on the tray, before switching off the stove. She put a bottle of maple syrup on the tray too, and the mug of coffee she'd just prepared and carefully started carrying it up the stairs. Going up and down the stairs would be hard on Rainbow's legs, so she thought breakfast in bed might be a nice treat.
As she climbed the stairs, she briefly wondered where the hell her two idiot housemates had gone, but reflected that for now, it might be better they stayed away. All thoughts of Aria and Sonata evaporated when she pushed open the bedroom door to see a naked Rainbow Dash sleeping in her bed. The sheets were only half covering her, leaving a buttock and one of Rainbow's gloriously firm (but injured) legs. Rainbow was breathing heavily, not quite a snore, and a small rivulet of dribble had run down her cheek, which on anybody else Adagio would find disgusting, but on Rainbow she found rather endearing. She sat beside her on the bed, and gently shook her by the shoulder to wake her.
Rainbow stirred lightly and blinked her eyes open. Normally, she would've objected getting up, but the smell of pancakes hit her long before anything else, and she quickly sat up, wiping the drool off her chin.
"Mornin'," she said, yawning a little. "They look delicious!"
"Good morning, beautiful. They should be. I followed a recipe and everything," Adagio said, actually rather proud of herself. She put the tray down on Rainbow's lap.
Rainbow moved around a bit to get comfortable, then picked up the knife and fork and cut herself a piece dripping with golden syrup. She placed it in her mouth and nodded as she chewed.
"Ish is really goo'!" she said with her mouth full.
Adagio sat down on the bed beside Rainbow. "I'm glad. I tested a couple downstairs, but I tend not to really eat breakfast. It… doesn't satisfy the kind of hunger we sirens have." She kissed the top of Rainbow's head.
Rainbow nodded and continued eating, thinking to herself. The Wonderbolts pendants… I wonder if they actually would've worked…
"Eat up," Adagio said, looking at the alarm clock. "We need to get you dressed and ready for school. Assuming you still want to go, that is. There's a blizzard forecast later today, so I insist on dropping you off and picking you up in the car."
Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, I do. But the car sounds good, thanks," she said, eating a little faster.
"Say, have you even told your dad you've been discharged from hospital?" Adagio asked, detecting a plot hole.
Rainbow shook her head. "No… I haven't actually. But, um, he'll find out anyway."
"Won't he be worried about where you've been?"
Rainbow shrugged and popped the last piece in her mouth. Of course he will. Worried that he won't get his— okay, stop. "Yeah, I'll call him later," she said, moving the tray off her legs.
"Okay, just make sure you do. I don't want him thinking I've kidnapped you or something," Adagio chuckled.
She took the tray from Rainbow. "Those clothes of Aria's are probably still in the bathroom. I'll go and fetch them for you," she said, heading towards the door.
"Thanks," Rainbow said, smiling a little.
Adagio took the tray out of the room and carried it downstairs. She put it on the kitchen counter then hurried up to the bathroom to fetch the clothes as promised. Returning to the room, she asked Rainbow, "do you need any help getting them on, or are you okay?"
"I'll be fine," she said truthfully, holding them up. "I never really got a good look at these. Aria has good taste in clothing!" Rainbow said as she pulled on the pants.
"Well, purple looks good on anyone," Adagio mused. She busied herself making the bed.
Rainbow finished dressing and looked at the time. "Just in time!" She stood up and looked around. "Oh yeah. My crutches are still against the bathroom sink, heh."
"Don't worry, I'll get them for you," Adagio offered, walking out of the room and across to the bathroom. She picked up the crutches, as well as Rainbow Dash's clothes from the day before and returned to her room. She gave Rainbow the crutches and put the dirty clothes in the washing basket.
"Thanks again." Rainbow took them and walked towards the door. "Okay, all ready!"
Adagio led Rainbow downstairs. She grabbed her keys off the small side table beside the front door and opened it for Rainbow, standing to the side of the door.
Rainbow walked outside, brushing past Adagio yet again as she made her way towards the car.
As Rainbow brushed past Adagio the memories of last night flooded back vividly. She blushed, but turned away to hide it, busying herself with closing the door and making sure it was properly locked. She led the way down to the car, opening the passenger door for Rainbow.
Rainbow removed her crutches from under her arms and leaned forward to slide them in the back of the car before sitting inside.
Adagio put the crutches in the boot of the car, and went around to the driver's seat, letting herself in. She checked the rearview mirror and reversed out of the driveway.
Rainbow once again stared out the window as the car raced down the streets. Thoughts about last night flooded into her mind and she blushed slightly. No, it wasn't a dream, it was all real. And now she was heading off to school, and she certainly wasn't looking forward to facing Applejack. But she had to do it anyway.
Minutes later, Adagio pulled up in front of the school. She helped Rainbow out of the car and gave her her crutches. Snow had begun to fall, and a few snowflakes settled in Rainbow's hair.
Adagio stood in front of Rainbow awkwardly for a few moments, not knowing whether to shake her hand, pat her back, or kiss her with tongues. She settled on giving her a friendly kiss on the cheek. "I'll pick you up again at 3.30, right?" she checked.
Rainbow nodded. "See ya!" she said cheerfully, walking off down the path.
Applejack pulled her coat around her tighter and picked up the pace, trying to get to school and out of this cold. This unseasonably bad weather would play havoc on their next harvest.
Up ahead she saw a car pull up — an unfamiliar one — with a very familiar person stepping out. She stopped in the street and watched as Adagio and Rainbow spoke for a moment and Adagio kissed Rainbow.
Once she saw Adagio pull away in the car, Applejack hurried to catch up with Rainbow Dash, which was much easier than usual as the latter was walking with crutches. "Hey, Rainbow! Was that Adagio I saw you with again?!"
Rainbow gripped her crutches tightly as she walked. "Yes. Yes, it was." Problem?
Applejack followed a pace or two behind Rainbow. "I'm… I'm sorry about yesterday… on the phone… ranting at you like that. But you can't have forgotten what they were like when they came to this school? What they tried to do?"
"But you can't have forgotten what Sunset was like when she came to this school? What she tried to do?" Rainbow sighed. "You can say whatever you want, Applejack, but I'm not going to listen," she said simply, walking up the steps to the door.
Applejack helped her with the door. "But Sunset apologized. She tried to make good on her past mistakes. Sunset's…" — Applejack tried to search for the right word… special? better? sexy? — "Sunset's different."
"Because it was easier for her!" Rainbow snapped. "Sure, she had to get on friendly terms with the whole school, but she was pretty much accepted into our group the night of the fall formal. She got glares from other students, but at least she had you guys to help her. But since you guys clearly won't give Adagio a chance — apology or not — she's never going to learn about the magic of friendship or anything that Sunset Shimmer did! Sometimes, the good guys have to show a little kindness first. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a class to get to," Rainbow said, walking inside.
Pinkie blinked; suddenly her and the rest of the group were standing behind Applejack. "Wow. Intense," she said.
Applejack shrugged and looked around at the rest of the girls. "You guys see the difference, don't you? Adagio is… she's irredeemable. Isn’t she?"
Pinkie shrugged as well. "Sonata's nice! I have her phone number!"
"Is she? Rainbow does have a point, darling. I mean, you may think she's irredeemable, but Rainbow does not," Rarity said. "What I'm saying is… not a book by it's cover but… you're judging a story by it's beginning. I mean, I can't see myself being friends with any of those three, but that doesn't necessarily mean we can't be friends with them. Not that I want to get between you two or anything, I just thought I'd say that," Rarity said awkwardly. "We should get to class, anyway."
"I think Aria can be really sweet," Fluttershy said. "I met her yesterday at the shopping center and she helped me with my shopping bags because they were too heavy. Oh, um, not that I'm going against what you say, Applejack…"
Applejack sighed. Should couldn't understand why her friends were being so damned stubborn and refusing to see her point. "Yeah, I suppose we'd better get to class."
Rainbow sighed as she sat down at one of the empty cafeteria tables, placing her crutches on the ground next to her, staring out the snow covered window next to her. It was getting pretty heavy out there, and she was glad for the ride. Rainbow turned back to the empty spot in front of her, and, unluckily for her, Cloudy Kicks walked by. She tensed.
"There you are Rainbow! Sorry I couldn't be there on Saturday. How have you been?" she asked.
"Uh, Cloudy? There's something I have to tell you," Rainbow started.
"Sure," Cloudy said, diving into the unoccupied seat. "Fire away!"
Rainbow knotted her fingers together. "I… I'm… we have to break up, Cloudy. You see, Adagio showed up to go to the Wonderbolts show instead of you, and…" Rainbow continued to tell the whole story again from the beginning, lacking any sort of guilty feeling during so. "And that's what happened. I'm sorry, but… I love Adagio."
Cloudy stared at her open-mouthed. "I… I… probably didn't need all those details about what you did last night, Rainbow. Kind of explicit and personal. Too much information, as they say. Especially the bit with your tongue and her… yeah… but… I get the picture. It's fine… it's okay. We were never really ever going to get that serious anyway, were we? It was just a bit of fun. I hope you're really happy with her, but if you ever need a bit of fun in the meantime, then you know where I am!"
Rainbow blushed lightly. "Right, sorry. O-Oh okay, see ya."
"Sure thing." Cloudy picked up her football, and walked towards the queue for food, bouncing it on her knee the whole way.
Rainbow once again stared outside at the ravaging blizzard. A few students could be seen rushing inside as it got worse.
Applejack came up behind Rainbow and put her hand on her shoulder. "Listen, Rainbow… about earlier… I just wanted to say—"
She was interrupted by the crackle of the speakers of the school's announcement system. Both girls looked up to see what was going on.
"Students. As you may all have noticed, the blizzard outside is getting worse as we speak. Due to the severe weather, we have agreed to allow you all to head home early for today. If you need us to call your parents, or you cannot make it home for any reason, please come to the front office. That is all."
Rainbow bit her lip. It made sense, but… Adagio wasn't coming until 3:30, and stupidly she’d never asked for her number. There were probably plenty of people crowded in the office already. It'll be okay. I'll just walk. It isn’t that far away. She stood up and turned around to face Applejack. "Oh, hey," she said, bending down to pick up her crutches.
"Rainbow, you weren't planning on walking home, were you? I can call your dad. I have my phone. He'll come an pick you up. Or if he can't make it, I'm sure Big Mac will give you a lift to your house. I'm getting him to pick me up anyway"
"Uh, no, of course not. Adagio's coming to get me," Rainbow lied. "It's cool." I honestly don't know if I'll be able to stand being with you for much longer today, she thought, walking away down the hall.
Applejack sighed in frustration and walked the opposite direction.
Rainbow sighed as well and continued down the hall, opening the door to outside. A huge gust of wind blew in her face, but she ignored it and pushed herself outside. No one else was around. Good.
+
Adagio was bored at home with nobody to talk to. She flipped on the radio to listen to some music. The Humantones were playing. At the end of the song, the news announcer came on. Adagio was only half paying attention but her ears pricked up at the announcement that Canterlot High School was closing early because of snow.
"Yes! It means I can pick up Rainbow early," she said, pulling on her coat and rushing out to the car. She turned the key in the ignition, but the engine just made a choking sound.
Rainbow Dash continued to walk through, the cold not affecting her just yet. Eventually, she found herself shivering, but couldn't wrap her arms around herself with her crutches. She kept going, squinting to see ahead of her.
"Crap!" Adagio muttered. She got out of the car, pulled her gloves on, and swept the built-up snow off the bonnet of the car, hoping the engine might warm up a little. She went inside to get a bucket of hot water.
Rainbow stopped and looked around, holding herself up against the strong gusts of snow. She had no idea where she was.
"O–Okay, t–this is harder th–than i–it sounded…" she stuttered, a nervous feeling forming in her stomach. She kept walking through the thick layer of snow which continued to build up around her.
Adagio poured the hot water over the car bonnet. "I have no idea if this will work," she said to herself.
She sat back in the car and tried the ignition again. Still nothing.
"School, home, I–I don't care…" Rainbow whispered. "G–gotta get out of here…" She stepped forward again, but the scratches, along with the cold and the constant brush of snowflakes made every step as extremely painful.
"Come on, goddamnit!" Adagio screeched, trying the ignition again. At last the engine sprung to life, surprising her. She cautiously pulled out of the driveway, going slowly to avoid skidding on the ice.
Every step Rainbow took, she got slower and slower, her legs shaking. She subconsciously wrapped her arms around her body, but this only caused her crutches to fall down into the white snow. Combine the matching colours of her crutches and the falling snow and Rainbow's slightly blurred vision, she couldn't see them at all. Still, she crouched down to the ground and tried to find them.
Nothing.
Adagio pulled up outside the school and scanned the faces of the few remaining students. She couldn't see Rainbow anywhere, and with her hair… well, she'd be hard to miss. She did see one familiar face though — Applejack looked like she was waiting for someone.
Rainbow sighed, her breath clearly visible in the cold air, and tried to push herself off the ground again. She had to make it back, she just had to. However, she was a fool to come out here in the first place. Rainbow Dash squinted, tears forming as she pressured her sore legs to rise up off the ground.
Applejack looked around constantly in search of her brother. When she turned and spotted Adagio at the school — without Rainbow — she frowned. She was pretty sure Rainbow already left.
Adagio reluctantly approached Applejack. "Hello, Applejack," she said through gritted teeth. "Have you seen Rainbow Dash anywhere? I was supposed to be picking her up after school."
Applejack's hands turned into fists. "She… told me you were picking her up. Then she left. Ah came out here later and… assumed she was already with ya."
Rainbow only just managed to stand up, but it was all for naught when another gust of wind blew and her knees buckled; she fell to the ground and winced, trying not to scream as she once again tried to get up. But with every movement, she could feel her energy leaving her as the cold intensified. She had to get back, but she couldn't stop herself from feeling tired…
"Well, I was picking her up, but I only found out the school was closing early half an hour ago," Adagio explained. She looked around some more but couldn't spot her face. "Well, thanks Applejack."
She hurried back to the car and turned the key in the ignition. The engine was still warm from before so it started first time. But which way to go? She didn't know whether Rainbow would have headed back to her dad's house, or gone to hers. She wanted to believe that Rainbow would come to her, but sighed, realizing that the other possibility was more likely. She drove straight forwards, heading for Rainbow's house.
Rainbow breathed heavily, her eyelids half closed, the cold, scared feeling in her stomach returning. If she wasn't found, she would… die. She would collapse, and be lying on the ground, eventually covered the by the thick mounds of white snow in the middle of the huge blizzard.
As much as she wanted to get up, any energy she had left to do was gone.
Adagio drove slowly towards Rainbow's house. It was funny — it had only been three days since she'd last been here, but it felt like more than a week. Her eyes scanned for that familiar mop of rainbow hair on the way, but most people she saw were wearing hooded jackets, so could have been anyone. She pulled up in front of the house. Though she didn't relish another encounter for Rainbow's father, she needed to make sure Rainbow had gotten home safely, so she knocked on the front door.
Rainbow Blitz looked up from the newspaper. Who would be visiting at a time like this? He walked up and opened the door, a huge gust of wind coming through. "You, um, Adagio. What can I do for you?"
"Is Rainbow home?" Adagio asked, looking around for signs that she might have returned — crutches for instance.
Rainbow Blitz shook his head. "I haven't heard anything from her, so she isn't here. She didn't even call me — I'm not sure if she's even out of the hospital yet."
"Yeah, she discharged herself yesterday afternoon," Adagio said casually. "She went to school this morning, but what with the snow, they closed early. I just wanted to check she'd made it back okay."
Rainbow Blitz shook his head again. "Like I said, she isn't here. Maybe she went back with one of her friends… Pinkie or Fluttershy or the Apple girl."
Rainbow curled up into a ball and cried, her tears freezing to her cheeks as she shivered. This was it. She was going to die.
"No, I checked with Applejack. I suppose the others are a possibility, but I think if she wasn't coming here, she'd probably go back to mine. Anyway, you stay here and wait for her." She saw a pen on a nearby table, and used it to scribble her phone number on the back of an old receipt she found in her pocket. "And tell her to give me a call and let me know she's okay when she comes back."
She walked towards the door. "I'm going to go out and look for her again."
Adagio rushed back to the car and made a U-turn in the street, driving back towards the school faster than was probably safe in this weather.
Rainbow blinked a couple of times, the slightest bit of vision returning to her. Her hands curled into fists and she pushed herself up, using whatever energy she had to stand up. She definitely wouldn't be able to go anywhere, but if just one person saw her…
Adagio drove past the school, slowing down. Applejack seemed to have gone now. There were hardly any people still around. She slowly drove towards her own house, looking for Rainbow along the way, hoping that when she got back, Rainbow would be there on the doorstep looking grumpy at Adagio for not being in to answer the door.
Adagio suddenly spotted a distinctive flash of rainbow colours on the ground. She stopped the car and got out, running over to where she'd seen it. It was Rainbow Dash. She'd collapsed in the snow. Adagio shook Rainbow's shoulder. "Rainbow!"
Rainbow barely stirred; her breathing was getting shorter and shorter by the minute. Even so, the warm feeling on her shoulder made her feel like she was going to be okay, even in the slightest. Even if she was unresponsive. The only sense she held was feel.
She felt it was getting too cold to even do that.
Rainbow didn't seem to be responding, so Adagio dug her out of the snow and lifted her in her arms. For such a slim girl, she was heavier than she looked. She carried her back to the car and laid her across the back seats. She leaned in to turn the heating on in the car and shut the doors with Rainbow safey inside and then returned to the pavement to look for Rainbow's crutches.
Adagio felt around in the snow and soon found one crutch and then the other. She stashed them in the boot of the car and got into the driver's seat. It was now pretty warm — virtually tropical in fact — in the car, and Adagio drove home.
Pulling into the driveway, she looked over her shoulder to see how Rainbow was.
Rainbow stirred lightly and the first thing she did when she was partially awake was sneeze, rubbing her nose.
She… she was alive.
She still felt the slightest bit cold, but she was awake, and that was good.
Unless heaven existed. Was she in heaven?
She blinked her eyes open and looked around.
Oh, good. Adagio's car.
Oh, dammit. She's gonna kill me if she finds out.
Oh, but she's probably gonna ask anyway. It's definite. I'm dead.
But alive too.
"A–A–Adagio… s–sorry…" she said, not too loud, but loud enough for her to hear.
"Rainbow, thank goodness you're okay," Adagio gushed then sighed with relief. She hadn't been sure whether to take Rainbow here or back to the hospital, but here was closer, and it seemed to have been the right choice.
Adagio switched off the heating and got out of the car. She helped Rainbow out, supporting her as they walked up the path to the front door. She fished out her keys and let them inside.
She noticed the light on the answering machine was blinking, but didn't bother checking her messages just yet. She sat Rainbow down on the couch and rushed upstairs to get some blankets.
Rainbow Dash stared up at the ceiling. 'Thank goodness you're okay' she said. That was it. Adagio isn’t angry.
Rainbow felt terrible, and the sickly feeling in her stomach returned for an entirely different reason. She could've died, and it would've been her fault. All because she tried to make her own way home. She wiped her eyes and tried to pull herself together. She wasn't the one who should be crying.
Adagio returned with a couple of thick blankets. The house's heating was controlled by themostat, so had been running as soon as it started getting cold outside in the morning, but Adagio still thought Rainbow could do with an extra something to keep her warm. She draped one blanket around Rainbow's shoulders and put the other over her lap. "Let me get you a cup of hot chocolate," Adagio insisted.
Rainbow wrapped her arms around, keeping the blankets close to her. She was still tired. Rainbow would've refused Adagio's offer, but she was gone before she could think. She leaned her head back against the arm of the couch, wrapped in the blankets, she couldn't fight the waves of sleep.
Adagio returned minutes later, but Rainbow was asleep. She sat beside Rainbow, pulling one of the blankets over so that they were both under it, and snuggled up to Rainbow's side to help her keep warm.
Rainbow blinked her eyes open to the sun shining in her eyes. She honestly didn't really want to think about the time or day today, but since it was still snowing outside, school would probably be off anyway.
Rainbow didn't move when she saw Adagio sleeping next to her. Huh, I actually woke up first for once.
Adagio dozed peacefully. She was dreaming about a fluffy pink pony. It was dancing on a rainbow. The colours of the rainbow were so vivid. Rainbow… Rainbow… Rainbow Dash! She suddenly opened her eyes, but still all she could see was a rainbow. She sat up straight and pulled a long blue hair out of her mouth. "Ergh! Your hair was in my face," she complained. She had not slept comfortably, and her mood this morning was reflecting that.
"S–Sorry," Rainbow apologized, sitting up. "You can continue sleeping if you want." As much as she tried to get it out of her mind, her thoughts were still on what happened last night. She was still worried about it, but most of all, she felt like an idiot.
"Don't be silly," Adagio said, hugging Rainbow and kissing her cheek. She looked at the table beside the couch and the two mugs there. "Want a cup of… cold chocolate?"
Rainbow let out a small laugh. "Sure, I guess. It can't be that bad." She picked up one of the mugs and took a sip.
Adagio picked up the other and drank some. It was just like drinking chocolate milk. She briefly wondered whether it was advisable to drink something that had been lying around out in the open overnight, but dismissed such worries. "I think I prefer it hot, but this will do."
She looked out of the window. It was still snowing. She snuggled closer to Rainbow, put an arm around her, and pulled the blankets tighter around them.
Rainbow smiled a little, then felt a wave of regret staring at the snow outside. She just couldn't let this feeling stay inside of her. She placed down her cup and sighed. "L–Look, I'm sorry about last night…"
"What are you apologizing for?" Adagio asked. "You're the one who almost… almost…" The thought was too horrible to put into words. "I'm the one who should be sorry, for not getting to you sooner. It's just I was talking to your dad—" Her jaw dropped and she put her hand over her mouth. "Oh shit! You need to phone your dad! He must be worried sick!"
Rainbow sighed, slightly annoyed that she still couldn't tell her. "Yeah… I–I guess I'll do that then…"
"You'll do it right now!" Adagio got up and fetched the phone. "I'll go make some breakfast while you're on the phone."
"O–Okay." Rainbow said. It was probably for the best…
She punched in her dad's number and held the phone to her ear.
Adagio thought something hot would be best. She poured some oats and water into a pot, preparing to make porridge. She was sure that there was some kind of ratio she was supposed to use, but just guessed.
"Hello, Rainbow Blitz speaking?" came the voice on the other end of the phone.
"Hey dad," Rainbow said awkwardly. "It's, um, Rainbow."
"Oh, Rainbow, I'd been wondering where you'd gotten too. Did you stay over at Flitter and Cloudchaser's house again?"
"Uh no," Rainbow said. "I'm at Adagio's house. Things happened… and yeah."
"But you're okay?" Blitz asked.
"Yeah, I'm okay." Rainbow replied. I think.
"Listen, honey, I've had some bad news… you might want to sit down."
Rainbow's forehead creased and she did so. "Okay… what is it?"
Rainbow heard a sigh come over the phone, followed by her father's voice again. "It's… I don't know how to tell you this, but… I've been talking to our lawyer, and to some eyewitnesses, and… I don't think we're going to be able to sue."
"And…? I told you; it's my fault!" Rainbow said. "And that's the truth. I don't want anyone sued for something they didn't do."
"Well, it's not going to happen now anyway," Blitz said. "Listen, are you coming home soon? I'm going to be away for a few days, so I just wanted to check you've still got your house keys."
"Uh, yeah, sure. I'll come back in a bit." Rainbow said. "See ya."
Adagio came back carrying a tray with two bowls of very lumpy-looking porridge.
Rainbow placed the phone down and turned to Adagio. The first thing she saw was the two bowls of, um… "What's that?" Rainbow asked, staring down at the mixture in the bowls.
"It's porridge!" Adagio said, proud of herself. "Only, some of it isn't fully cooked," she admitted, "and some other bits might be burnt." She put the bowls down. "Still, I put lots of sugar on it, so you won't be able to taste anything else anyway."
"Uh… thanks, I guess," Rainbow said, biting her lip. She shrugged and took a bite, but already she could taste the mildness of it, even through all the sugar. And honestly, she didn't really like sugar on her porridge. Oh, how do I say it…? I don't want to anger her… "Uh, I don't want to sound rude, since you look like you tried your hardest… but, do you want me to teach you?" Rainbow looked up at Adagio, awkwardly grinning.
Adagio shrugged. "Umm… I guess."
She stood up, then looked at Rainbow. "I should probably go fetch those crutches; they're still in the car."
"Okay!" Rainbow said, standing up.
Adagio was still wearing her boots from the afternoon before, having fallen asleep on the sofa accidentally. So she just threw on her coat to head out to the car. The snow was thick now: half way up to her knees. She crunched through it to the rear of the car, retrieved the crutches then went back inside, stomping her feet on the doormat to shake off as much snow as she could.
She noticed the light still blinking on the answering machine. Really need to check that, she thought to herself, then went into the living room to give Rainbow the crutches.
Rainbow took them from her. "Thanks," she said, making her way into the kitchen. She looked forward at the dirty pan, which, as she thought, had a fair few oats stuck to the bottom. "Rule number one: never forget to regularly stir."
"Stir?" Adagio asked. "What's the point? It just moves oats from one part of the pan to another part of the pan. They're all still in the pan."
Rainbow held back a laugh. "Well, if you don't stir, all of the oats stick to the bottom of the pan and cook faster than the others. That's why some of them were burnt. You scraped them all off the bottom of the pan."
She grabbed the pan and filled it up with water, and refilling it with oats, placing it on the stove and turning up the heat. She handed Adagio a wooden spoon. "Go on," she said, moving out of the way to let Adagio stand in front of the stove.
Adagio did as instructed, stirring with oats with a visible lack of enthusiasm.
"See? It may be boring, but if you want the porridge to turn out right, that's what you have to do. For the next… five minutes or som" Rainbow said. "Oh. Do you have any salt?"
"Five minutes?! Can’t I turn up the heat and do it in two and a half? Oh well. Yes, there should be some in that cupboard I think."
"Five minutes," Rainbow said as she peered into the cupboard. She pulled out the salt and sprinkled it into the pan.
Adagio kept stirring. She yawned.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Patience is step number two. That's a really big part of cooking."
"That sounds a bit cheesy," Adagio observed. "Did you read that in a magazine or something?"
"Nope. It was in a really basic cooking book I read when I was like five. And yes, I have been cooking since then," Rainbow said as she leaned on the kitchen counter. "Dad can't cook. I mean, when I was a baby, he didn't have to, obviously. Aside from the stories I remember about how he failed with the milk powder." She laughed. "But yeah, until I could cook, it was basically all take-away or canned food. I haven't gone near a tin since."
"Okay, makes sense. I've never really had to cook. Usually been able to find people to do it for me. And when there were no people available, then Aria," Adagio chuckled. "And of course Sonata can do tacos. And nachos. And that's about it."
"Yeah." Rainbow looked into the pan. "You're done. It looks great!" she said, turning off the stove.
"Yes," Adagio said, "better than earlier, I suppose."
"Well, you still made it," Rainbow said. "Really, it was just a matter of stirring." She grabbed the bowls from before and emptied them into the bin, refilling them with the recently made porridge. “Stirring and patience.”
Adagio sat on a stool at the kitchen bench and started eating. "Well, I admit it is better this way. Though I do think you need sugar. You humans need it for energy. And after your accident… and the… yesterday afternoon… I think you need to eat well."
"Uh, well, I don't really like sugar on my porridge. You wouldn't happen to have any juice, would you?" Rainbow asked, eating a spoonful.
Adagio hopped down off her stool and opened the fridge. There was milk, some kind of medical sample pots containing… Adagio didn't even want to think about it… and… yes, some juice. "Is orange juice okay?" she asked, looking at the print on the side of the carton and surprised to see it was still in date.
"Sure!" Rainbow replied with her mouth full, and kept eating.
Adagio poured a glass of orange juice for Rainbow and put the carton in the fridge before returning to her stool and finishing her breakfast.
Rainbow swallowed her previous spoonful and started drinking. Now she was thirsty.
"So, what are your plans for the day?" Adagio asked a little hesitantly. She knew Rainbow would probably have things to do, but hoped there might be a little free time they could spend together. "I imagine your school will be closed. Have you seen how deep the snow is now?"
Rainbow shook her head. "And I don't think I want to. Oh, I have to get home soon, dad's leaving and he's expecting me to be there when he goes. Um, by the way. I was just wondering if you're going to check your voicemail."
"Yeah, I keep meaning to do that," Adagio said and hopped back off the stool and went to the hallway. She returned a few minutes later. "You're not going to believe this… Aria and Sonata are in jail."
"Eh?" Rainbow said, her eyes widening. "What'd they do? Did the person say?"
"Well, it was Aria on the phone. They apparently get one phone call each. Sonata phoned some phone sex hotline or something." Adagio facepalmed. "They were apparently arrested on suspicion of planning a bank robbery. Aria doesn't think they'll make the charges stick, but she's worried that if they dig too deep into her record… they might see that it goes back a long way… like centuries."
"Oh, that's not good. So, what will you do if they find out? What do you think will happen?" Rainbow asked.
"I don't know. Best case scenario, they'll dismiss it as a random computer error. Like Y2K bug or something. But anyway, I need to go down there and bail those idiots out. Again. Do you want a lift to your house? I'll have to go past that area anyway."
"Sure," Rainbow said, standing up and grabbing her crutches again. "Thanks."
Adagio grabbed her coat and handed Rainbow hers from the hook by the door. She opened the door and they stepped into the cold heading towards the car. "You okay out here? It's a bit icy in places."
"It's fine. I'll just have to watch where I put my crutches," Rainbow said, heading up to the passenger side of the car.
Adagio pulled open the passenger door for Rainbow and went around to let herself in. She shut the door and shivered. She put the heating on. "Let's just wait a few minutes for it to warm up," she suggested.
Rainbow nodded, and still the thoughts from last night rushed through her.
"Adagio, yesterday, I… I walked out myself. I don't really know what I was thinking. This was my fault, and I don't know why I did it."
"It's… it's okay… really, you had no way of knowing I was coming to get you. I mean… it was stupid, with your legs, but… I suppose maybe you've always felt so invincible, you didn't want to admit to yourself that right now… you're a little vulnerable." Adagio leaned over and put her arms around Rainbow to let her know that everything was alright.
"Yeah… I guess," Rainbow said, smiling. "Thanks, Adagio."
Adagio broke away from the hug and looked Rainbow in the eye. "While we're talking… I wanted to say about the night before that… I… we haven't spoken about it since. I know it was all so crazy and hectic, but what does it mean? Are you my… g-girlfriend now?"
Rainbow pecked her on the lips. "If you want me to be," she said with a smile. Suddenly, she felt a heat wave and moved back. "Phew. Is it just me, or is it getting hot in here?"
"I… yes, of course I do!" Adagio said, trying to suppress the idiotic-looking grin that had suddenly come to her face. "And yeah, I think the heating is kicking in now. We should probably get going soon. But… do you think… maybe we could… go on a date? Not now, I mean… but soon?"
"Sure! I won't be doing much for the next few days anyway," Rainbow said with a grin.
"Maybe I could pick you up tomorrow night then? We could go out for dinner?" Adagio offered, starting the engine. "That should give me plenty of time to deal with the idiots." And get the idiots used to the idea of Rainbow and me dating.
"Sure!" Rainbow said, converting to a smile. "Can't wait."
Adagio backed out of the driveway and started towards Rainbow's house. "Should we say seven o'clock?"
"Yep! I'll be ready!" Rainbow grabbed her crutches and climbed out of the car. "See ya!" She watched as Adagio rode off, before heading inside.
+
Adagio looked in her bedroom mirror and adjusted her hair. She took out some shockingly red lipstick and applied it. She took a glance at her bed, with the sheets she still hadn't changed… couldn't bring herself to change since Rainbow had spent the night in them. Then she left her room.
She walked past Aria's bedroom where Aria was bickering with Sonata over some trivial matter. "Bye, girls," she called out to them. If she hadn't had to blow half their savings on their bail money, she might actually be able to afford to take Rainbow out to a fancy restaurant. Instead she'd have to take Rainbow to a more affordable establishment.
She grabbed Sonata's car keys off the small table by the front door, and headed for the car.
Most of the snow had melted by now, but there were still icy patches on the roads, so she had to drive slowly. She arrived just a few minutes after seven and knocked on the door.
"Coming!" Rainbow Dash called from upstairs, sticking the last earring in before heading down the stairs, opening the door. Her hair was braided and hung over one side of her shoulder, which stood out against the black and blue dress, but which also stood in against her skin. On her feet, she sported small white heels with bows. And on her face, she applied a slightly darker shade of blue eyeshadow then her skin, and a small amount of blush. "S–So, what do you think?" she asked, slightly embarrassed.
Adagio was speechless, and wished she'd made more of an effort herself. "Wow! Umm… very… unlike what you'd normally wear but… umm… WOW! Are you ready to go straight away? I have the car outside."
"Yeah, I'm ready." Rainbow said with a smile, walking outside.
Adagio led her to the car. Although she seemed to be walking fine now, even in heels, Adagio still opened the passenger door for her out of habit. "Your carriage awaits," she joked.
Rainbow laughed a little. "Thanks," she said and sat down inside.
Adagio shut the door and walked around to the driver's side. She sat down, closed the door and started the engine. She was wearing flat pumps for driving, but had a pair of heels in a bag on the back seat to change into when she got to the restaurant. She was just about to pull out from the kerb but decided first to lean over and kiss Rainbow on the cheek.
Rainbow blushed lightly and smiled at her.
"Let's go then." Adagio drove off.
Minutes later she pulled up in front of a Spanish tapas restaurant. "I think you'll enjoy it here," she said. Rainbow climbed out of the car and walked around to the other side. It already smelt delicious. "I've been here before with Aria and Sonata," Adagio explained. She held open the restaurant door for Rainbow. Rainbow stepped inside and took a moment to look around, keeping an eye out for an empty table.
The restaurant seemed very busy. The only unoccupied tables had "RESERVED" signs on them. Adagio snapped her fingers and a dark-haired waiter turned his attention to them. "Booking for Dazzle?" Adagio asked.
The waiter consulted a clipboard hanging on a hook near the door. "Right this way," he said in an accent, "your table is ready."
"Oh, right," Rainbow said, following behind.
The two were soon seated at a table. There was a small vase of flowers — carnations, Adagio thought — and a single candle. Rainbow looked beautiful as the reflections of the flames sparkled in her eyes.
Adagio nervously smoothed down her long dark purple dress. "So have you eaten much Spanish food before?" she asked.
"Much? I haven't eaten any," Rainbow admitted, "but it all smells really delicious! I'm sure I'll like it."
"Would you like me to order for the both of us? I've spent many years in Europe." Several hundred, actually.
"Sure, I don't mind!" Rainbow said. "It's always fun to try new things."
The waiter came and Adagio ordered Patatas Bravas, Chorizo al Vino, Albondigas, Calamares, Croquetas, Gambas al Ajillo, and Bacalao along with a salad, some bread, and bottle of Rioja.
"I hope you don't mind me ordering so much seafood," Adagio said. "It's just that back home, we used to live by the sea, and I've never really lost the taste for it."
"Totally fine. It all sounds delicious," Rainbow said truthfully. "You must come here a lot."
"We've been here a few times. We did live in Spain for many years though. That's how Sonata acquired a treat for Spanish food, and later Mexican food when we decided to head to the colonies," Adagio reminisced. She reached out and held hands with Rainbow across the table.
"I wish I was there. I mean, there were some tough times in the past, but being immortal you wouldn't have to worry about it," Rainbow said. "It sounds like it might be a nice experience."
"It wasn't all fun and games. There were wars, bloodshed… sometimes not even caused by us. I'm much happier now in here… with you."
A couple of waiters brought out several plates of food and arranged them on the table, along with two empty plates with they put in front of Adagio and Rainbow.
Rainbow looked around at the selection of foods. "It looks delicious!" she said, suddenly unsure about which one she should try first.
"Just help yourself to whichever things you like the look of," Adagio suggested. She put a potato croquette, a few prawns and some salad on her plate and started eating them with her fork.
Rainbow grinned and placed one of everything on her plate. She picked up the meatball and popped it into her mouth.
"So, what's been happening at school since the girls and I left?" Adagio asked. "Have they put in place that screening policy for new students that they were talking about?"
"Well, we haven't had any new students, so I don't really know. I'm sure the next new student or students won't immediately go up to the principal and put them under a spell that then means they don't believe that we think the new students are evil… uh, no offense. But we're having the Friendship Games soon. Guess it doesn't matter to me since I really don't think I want to participate anymore."
"Why is that?" Adagio asked. "I mean, I know you've been injured, but if you're fully fit, you still want to, right?"
"Well, uh, I signed up with motorbike riding and I really don't think I wanna do that anymore… the games are only a few days away and everything else is full," Rainbow said. "So yeah." She took a bite out of the prawn.
"They provide the bikes though, right? So you would still have something to ride." Adagio finished what was on her plate and helped herself to chorizo and bread.
"Yeah, but…" Rainbow trailed off and kept eating.
"… but you're afraid that what happened before will happen again," Adagio said, completing Rainbow's thought.
Rainbow nodded and swallowed, looking down at her plate. "Hm."
"What are the chances of lightning striking in the same place twice?" Adagio asked.
"Smaller then the chances of crashing on a motorbike twice," Rainbow said, not convinced. "I get your point, but I'm still scared." She continued eating.
Adagio made a little sandwich from the chorizo, salad and bread on her plate. "Do you remember that first time you gave me a ride on your bike? I was pretty scared then, but you being there made me feel better. Do you think riding a bike with someone you trust would help?" She bit into the sandwich.
"I-I suppose so…" Rainbow smiled a little bit. "Thanks. But I wouldn't think it would be allowed." she said.
Adagio finished chewing. "I don't mean in the games! But during practice."
"Oh, I guess," Rainbow said, finishing the food on her plate and filling it up again.
"You're not… nervous about being seen with me… around school, are you?"
"Of course not! I'm worried about what people will think about you being there, with me or not. But, um, I think it'd be best if I spoke to Celestia on Monday first…"
"But let's not worry about this now!" she said and finished her food again. "Do you think you can stay over at my place tonight?"
"Yes, Celestia. She and I didn't exactly leave things on the best of terms. I don't think she likes me very much… understandably." Adagio pushed the food around on her plate with her fork.
"And yes, I'd like that. It must be lonely in that house all by yourself."
"It's not that bad. Well, maybe it is. I stay up late playing video games and skyping PInkie." Rainbow said. "But all of my single player video games; I've finished them about 10 times. Each."
"Ah," Adagio said, finishing her plate, "I've never been much of one for games. Perhaps you could show me?" She reached out and grabbed the dish of prawns from the middle of the table. "Did you want any more of these?"
"Nah, I'm good," Rainbow said. "And sure, I'd love to show you!" She grinned.
Adagio tipped the rest of the prawns onto her plate. "Damn, I love seafood," she said. Noticing that they were nearly out of tapas, she asked, "so you want to order a dessert, or should we just get out of here?"
"It depends on what they have. I have ice=cream at home, though, and it'll be cheaper." Rainbow said.
"Lots of chocolate things, oh, and they make their own lemon sorbet — it's really good. And don't worry about the money," Adagio said. "I'm paying."
"Well, yeah, that's why I'm worrying about," Rainbow Dash said. "It's fine."
Adagio beckoned the waiter over. Even without her pendant she held a certain power over the opposite sex. "Could we see the dessert menu?" she asked and he went off to get it.
The waiter brought over two menus. "So, what do you think looks good, Rainbow?" Adagio asked.
"Hm…" Rainbow scrolled through. "I don't really know. To be honest, I'd be fine with anything." She placed down the menu. "How about you choose something for me?"
"I'm not really that hungry," Adagio said. "How about we get a bowl of that sorbet I told you about to share?"
"Sure!" Rainbow said. "I'm cool with that."
Adagio called the waiter over and gave him the menus back. "Can we just have a bowl of your famous sorbet, please? And… err… two spoons?" The waiter nodded and left.
"Okay!" Rainbow said. "Sounds delicious, I'm hungry again!"
"Well then," Adagio chuckled, "I guess I'd better eat quick before you get it all."
"Hey!" Rainbow said, folding her arms. "You better not. But then again, you'll be the one with the sore stomach."
Just then the waiter returned with a large bowl of lemon sorbet, and the requested two spoons. "You're in for a real treat here, Rainbow. They make it themselves here, out of actual Spanish lemons… imported… from Spain!"
"Nah shit, Sherlock," Rainbow said with a grin, picking up her spoon. "Just kidding. Sounds really cool! And looks really good."
Adagio picked up a spoon too and took a scoop of the sorbet. She held it out to Rainbow's mouth. "Try it."
Rainbow's cheeks flushed and she bit down on the spoon, swallowing the icecream. "It's really good!" She took a spoonful herself and ate it.
Adagio helped herself to a spoonful. "I tried making some at home once, but… I might have… burnt it."
Rainbow almost choked on her ice-cream, swallowing. "How can you burn ice-cream? Isn't it just ingredients blended together and frozen?"
"I… I did tell you I wasn't really much of a cook," Adagio said, blushing.
"Yes, but I didn't really think making ice-cream counted as 'cooking'… more like making. I'm just curious how you pulled that off," Rainbow said, continuing to eat.
"Look, I've had people to cook for me almost my whole life. I've been 'de-skilled' now." Adagio took another spoonful.
"I get it, I get it." Rainbow said. "Well, if you ever need help, I'll be glad to!" She said, continuing to eat.
"Thanks," Adagio said, grinning.
Briefly in her mind she saw a vision of the future — a possible future — she was unloading a washing machine, a couple of kids, maybe 3 or 4 years old were running around screaming and playing, and Rainbow was cooking dinner for them all. She shook her head and the vision faded. It was far too early to start daydreaming about things like that.
Rainbow stared into the ice-cream bowl, which was already half empty. She was a little bit full now though, so she placed down her spoon.
Adagio finished the sorbet and summoned the waiter over again. "Can we have the bill, please?" she asked.
Rainbow placed her fork into the bowl and waited.
The waiter brought the bill and Adagio paid it by debit card, adding on a tip. "Should we get going then?" she asked.
"Yep!" Rainbow said and stood up, waiting for Adagio before walking out the door.
Adagio opened the car door for Rainbow and then walked around to the driver's side. She got in and fastened her seat belt. "So, we're going back to yours, right?"
"Yep!" Rainbow said, buckling up.
Adagio started the car and drove towards Rainbow's house. "Mind if I put the radio on?" she asked.
Rainbow shook her head. "Go for it."
Adagio turned on the radio. A song was just beginning: Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. "Oh, I love this song!" she said, smiling.
"Never heard it before," Rainbow said. "Sounds… a bit lame."
"Well, you'll just have to grin and bear it," Adagio said. "We're nearly there anyway."
"Yeah, yeah," Rainbow said and leaned back against the chair, staring at the roof.
"Scaramouch, scaramouch, will you do the fandango?" Adagio sang. "Thunderbolts and lightning, very very—" She pulled over and stopped the car. "Damn, it was just getting to the best bit. Oh well."
Rainbow thought about it for a bit, like she was jotting down notes in her mind. Likes Queen… an old band, no doubt. I'll have to ask Dad. She stepped out of the car and waited for Adagio.
Adagio got out of the car and pressed the button on the car key to lock it, the lights blinking to indicate success. "After you," she gestured towards Rainbow's house.
Rainbow nodded and walked up the path, unlocking the house and entering. She held open the door for Adagio, grabbing her crutches in the meantime.
Adagio walked into the house. The two times she'd been before — once before the Wonderbolts show, and again on Monday afternoon — she hadn't seen any further than the hallway. She glanced around, waiting for Rainbow to show her where to go.
Rainbow blinked, then got the message. "Oh, right. Uh, the lounge room's this way." She said, leading her.
Adagio followed Rainbow to the lounge. She glanced at her phone — it was only 9.30 — still too early for bed. "So, we were talking about you showing me some of your games…" she reminded Rainbow.
"Oh yeah!" Rainbow placed her crutches on the ground and opened one of the cupboards below the TV. It was full of video games. She pulled out a select few, and stared at them, before remembering something. She dug to the back of the cupboard and pulled out two DJ turntables; and a game to go with it.
"I don't know if you'll want to play or not, but I've redone every single player level in this game loads of times, and I've been dying to do a battle." She grabbed two of the Wii controllers on the charger and plugged them into the hole in the turntables, handing one to Adagio. She waited for the console to turn on, then slipped the game in, turning on the TV.
"You can watch first if you want."
"Ummm… sure," Adagio said. "I'll watch." She sat on the couch and waited for Rainbow to start doing whatever she was meant to be watching.
Rainbow entered the game with the turntable controls and waited for it to load up. When it did, she selected the "free play" option, and chose a song. She then placed her left hand on the three buttons coloured red, green and blue on the record player looking thing, and her other hand on a silver stick thing which looked like it twirled. She chose a character, selected the difficulty of medium and hit start.
Adagio watched, taking it all in, trying to remember where you were supposed to put your hands. "Medium? Can we put it on easy when I play?" she asked.
"You can choose your own separate difficulty when you join." Rainbow said, as the music started, she began to press the buttons; occasionally twisting the knob or moving the flat stick side to side, all the while keeping her eyes on the screen.
"That's good, because what you're doing looks really tricky," Adagio said.
"Eh, loads of practice," Rainbow said, continuing the song. In a few minutes, she finished, and with a pretty decent score too.
"You wanna try now? You can choose the song."
"Okay, it looks like fun," Adagio said, standing up. "How do I get the list of songs?"
"Just spin the record to scroll; not too fast, or use the other knob - the darker one - to move up and down. The green button is used for selection," Rainbow explained. "Click on free play."
Adagio didn't recognize any of the song titles, so just picked one at random. She tried emulating what Rainbow Dash had been doing, but failed miserably, the TV emitting horrible sounds.
Rainbow Dash bit her lip and scratched the back of her neck. What you'd expect from a newcomer…
Adagio kept moving the wheel thing, eventually settling on moving it up an inch, then down an inch, in time with the beat of the music. It didn't sound too awful, but was nowhere near as good as Rainbow's performance. Finally the song drew to an end, and she let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
Rainbow smiled. "You did great for your first try! Well, better than most other people, anyway. But you'll get there!" She placed the turntable on her lap. "Then we'll battle."
"I get another practice first though, yeah?" Adagio asked.
"Of course," Rainbow said. "Take as long as you need!"
Adagio thought for a moment. "Can you talk me through it?"
"Oh, of course!" Rainbow sat a bit closer to Adagio.
Adagio held the control in her lap and confidently selected yet another song she had no idea about. The song started playing and she started turning the wheel thing more or less at random.
"What do I do with these buttons then?" Adagio asked after some time.
"You… you press them. In time with the notes on the screen," Rainbow said simply. "You also have to spin the record when it gets to the scratches. You hold down the button and move it back and forth for as long as you have to. Or, sometimes, you just hold it down."
"Oh, I wondered what those things on the screen were supposed to be for," Adagio said, things dropping into place in her head. She tried to follow the instructions, and started to get things mostly right, albeit a little out of time.
"That's it! You're getting it!" Rainbow said, constantly looking between her movements and the screen.
By the end of the song, Adagio was mostly managing to play the game in time with the on-screen prompts, with only a few mistakes.
"Now you've got it!" Rainbow said, grinning. "Nice one."
Adagio grinned. "It's easy when you know how!"
"Think you're ready to have a battle?" Rainbow asked.
"Me and you? You and me? You want to see who is better?" Adagio asked. She thought about Rainbow's proposition for a few moments. "Yeah, I suppose so. What's so wrong with a little competition?"
Rainbow bit her lip. "Interesting choice of words there," she said and scrolled to the battle section. "Any song you want in particular?"
"I don't know any of them. Just pick a good one," Adagio answered.
"Okay!" Rainbow scrolled through and selected one she barely played. Just to make it a bit fairer.
Adagio set the controller squarely in the middle of her lap and braced herself waiting for the music to start.
Rainbow smirked at Adagio, and — somehow — idiotically forgot to hit the first note. Great.
Adagio did what Rainbow had shown her, pressing the buttons on time with the display on the TV. The scores on the screen showed that Rainbow was in the lead so far, but it was still close.
Rainbow smiled, continuing as her score rose fast. Unexpected by Adagio, Rainbow earned herself a rewind and spun her record, freezing Adagio.
Adagio's jaw dropped as Rainbow's score shot ahead of hers. "Hey! No fair!" she laughed.
Rainbow grinned. "All part of the game," she said, focusing on the screen.
Adagio now had barely half of Rainbow's score and the song seemed to be coming to an end. She gritted her teeth and did her best, but by the time the song finished, Rainbow still had a comfortable lead.
Rainbow folded her arms and leaned back against the couch, grin still on her face. "That's game!" She turned to Adagio. You did pretty good!"
"You think it's over, Rainbow?!" Adagio said, turning to face her. "I'm not done yet. Best of three!"
"Woah! Serious competitor!" Rainbow said, laughing. "Alright, you're on!" she said, heading to the song menu again.
"Can we do one of the songs I did before at least?" Adagio asked.
"Yeah, yeah," Rainbow said and chose one she remembered her doing. "But I've done all of these songs about 20 times each! Doesn't bother me!"
Adagio held onto her controller. "Okay, here goes." The song started, and she followed the coloured prompts on screen, doing slightly better than last time.
Rainbow frowned slightly as she stared at the screen; Adagio's score was tie with hers, and it stayed that way for the whole first minute of the song. Sweat formed on Rainbow's forehead as she felt herself close to losing.
Adagio kept concentrating on the screen but shifted a little closer to Rainbow. She put the controller on her knees so she could keep playing one-handed. Her other hand she put on Rainbow's thigh, and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"Ah!" Rainbow said, blushing lightly as she turned to Adagio. "What was that— ah, crap!" She quickly turned back to the game, her cheeks burning.
Adagio was in the lead now, but suddenly the song jumped back about 30 seconds. She was confused, but kept playing through it, racking up more points. She knew she'd distracted Rainbow a little, but couldn't understand why Rainbow had suddenly stopped playing. It was like her controller had frozen up for a while.
Rainbow bit her lip as Adagio's score rose higher. Dammit…
Adagio kept going and soon noticed Rainbow had started playing again. Rainbow was catching up, but if she remembered the song rightly, there wasn't much time to go.
Rainbow kept shooting over the other side of the screen, fumbling on the buttons and missing a far amount of notes towards the end.
At the end of the song, Adagio jumped out of her seat, almost sending the controller flying across the room. "Yes! Yes! In your FACE, Rainbow Dash!" she shouted.
"Ugh!" Rainbow fell back against the couch. "Fine. Last one wins all! And I guarantee, I won't lose this time! You choose the song."
Adagio sat down but was on still such a high from winning that she just spun the wheel and pressed the button without even looking what she'd chosen.
Rainbow grinned. "You were kinda asking to lose there. Best song ever!"
Adagio shrugged. If she had won last time, she didn't see why she shouldn't be able to win again. She waited for the music to start.
Rainbow smirked and glued her eyes to the screen, hitting every note so far.
Adagio tried to keep up, but the music was fast, and she missed a lot of the notes. Rainbow was getting way ahead of her, and she decided to play dirty. She leaned in towards Rainbow and whispered into her ear, "you know, this whole evening, I've not been wearing any panties."
A slight blush crept onto Rainbow's face, but disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared, and she kept going.
Dammit! Adagio thought. I was sure that would get to her. The fact that it hadn't gotten to Rainbow got to Adagio. Am I really losing my touch? Distracted, she fell way behind.
Soon, the song was finished, and Rainbow fist pumped the air. "Told ya I'd win!" She looked at Adagio's score. "Hm? I was sure you were doing better than that before. What happened?"
"Oh… I…" Adagio trailed off, a little unsure of herself. Normally a line like she'd used earlier would be enough to get any guy (or girl) hot under the collar. It wasn't even a lie.
Rainbow smirked and leaned closer to Adagio, pulling up her skirt.
"Woah, seriously? You weren't kidding when you said that!"
"I… yes, I was serious," she said, flattening her skirt and blushing. "Of course, I had intended it to be a surprise for later."
She paused a moment. "You know the whole time at the restaurant, I was hoping you might drop something under the table and have to bend down and pick it up. I… I was even tempted to push something off the table myself."
"Seriously? And you didn't. Why?" Rainbow asked.
"Frankly I thought you'd probably just make me pick it up," Adagio answered. "After all, you are injured."
"Oh, well, it depended on who it was closer too. But I would've," Rainbow said.
"And… would you have… enjoyed that experience?" Adagio asked a little hesitantly.
"Of course! But I wasn't going to be thrown off in the middle of the competition. If only you could've read my mind during that moment," Rainbow said.
"Oh, really?" Adagio said, smirking. "Interesting reading, was it?"
Rainbow blushed and scratched the back of her neck. "Fantasies are always an option."
Adagio shifted closer to Rainbow and put her hand on Rainbow's cheek. "It doesn't have to be just fantasy, you know?"
Rainbow blushed lightly and kissed Adagio's forehead. "W-Well, it does now. I just don't know if I'm ready to do it again for a while… last time kinda hurt. N-Not that it was your fault or anything, but…yeah," Rainbow said.
Adagio looked up and gazed into Rainbow's magenta eyes. "Don't worry, we can go as slow as you like." She kissed Rainbow lightly on the lips.
Rainbow smiled a little, then let out a yawn. She looked up at the clock. "Wow, I didn't even realise how late it was!"
"Yeah, we were playing for a while," Adagio said. "Am I going to be sleeping with you? I mean… I don't mean… gah!" She turned bright red. "I mean where am I going to be sleeping?"
"I have a spare bed under mine. It shouldn't take long to set up," Rainbow said, grabbing her crutches and walking towards the stairs.
"Okay," Adagio said, following her, "but you just point out where everything is. I don't want you doing any heavy lifting or anything."
"Oh, uh, okay." Rainbow slowly made her way up the stairs and towards her room, pointing under the bed. "There."
Adagio tugged the bed out hard, not expecting it to be on wheels, and it came rolling out quickly, bashing into her shin. "Ow!" She sucked in her breath. "Don't worry, I'm okay."
She wheeled it over to an clear space in the room, not far from Rainbow's bed.
"Where should I get blankets and stuff," she asked.
"Oh, there should be a few in the cupboard next to the bathroom," Rainbow said, pointing down the hall.
Adagio went out to fetch some sheets and blankets and returned moments later clutching a whole armful.
"Damn, I didn't think we had that many," Rainbow commented, hopping onto her bed.
"Well, it's cold," Adagio answered. "Plus I don't have any pyjamas."
"Oh, yeah," Rainbow said. "Sorry about that. I don't think I'd have anything that'd fit." She said, lying back against the pillow.
"It's no problem," Adagio answered, reaching back to unzip herself. "I don't normally wear them anyway."
Rainbow's face turned bright red and she rolled over. "Well… night."
Adagio finished taking her clothes off and slipped into bed. She sheets felt cold, but after a few moments her body heat had warmed them up and she snuggled down. "Goodnight, Rainbow."