Second Chance

by Bolt Blazer

Chapter 3

We arrived at my home with some light in the evening skies, then again it was around 6:00 so it wasn’t that dark. I opened the door and walked into the living room to see my mom who seemed to be very deep in a book. I figured I’d see Midnight or my dad somewhere, but they weren’t there. Then again, my dad is probably doing some work and Midnight could be God knows where (she’s a shifty one.)

“Hey mom,” I said.

She heard my voice and a smile broke across her face. “Welcome home Bol-.” She stopped when she saw Adagio standing next to me and was pretty surprised. “Bolt? Who is this?” She asked.

“This is my friend Adagio. We met a while ago, but didn’t get off on the right foot but she’s been riding on some tough times right now. She’s been roaming the streets for some time now and needs a place to stay. I know it seems weird for me to be asking this when you just met her, but I just want to help her out,” I explained.

Mom pondered about what I said for what seemed like forever. Adagio and I were just standing there, anxiously anticipating her answer. We looked at each other nervously, hoping for the response we were hoping for. Eventually, she stood up from her seat and spoke.

“Bolt, you’re going be a senior in high school soon and it is a big step forward in your life. Your father and I are so very proud of you because of it. You’ve made friends that will last a life time because of your kindness and maturity. You’ve proven to your father and me what kind of great young man you’re becoming.”

I’ve probably heard that saying about a thousand times now, however, it was still nice to hear her say that to give me a little bit of a confidence boost.

“You helping out your friend is just more proof of who you are. So I will say yes to allow her to stay. It’ll be tough having another mouth to feed, but it should be a fun experience for everyone,” she said with a bright smile.

I hugged my mom tight. She may drive me nuts sometimes, but I mean, it’s a mother’s job am I right? As we pulled away, she drew her attention to Adagio, who was on the verge of tears and had a very wide smile plastered on her face. Mom walked over to her with a warm smile and put a hand on her shoulder.

It’s okay sweetie. You can let it out,” she said warmly. Adagio did and hugged my mom tight. Her tears of joy flowed onto my mom’s shoulder. My heart melted just seeing it. It was great to see Adagio smile and that her worries seemed to have been lifted off her shoulders. Her sobbing lasted about five minutes before she pulled away from my mom’s embrace.

“I can’t thank you enough Mrs.….um....I’m sorry, what is your name?” Adagio asked.

“Oh! Where are my manners? My name is Sunflower,” she said somewhat embarrassed. “I apologize but, what is your name again sweetie?”

“Adagio,” she replied with a smile.

“My my, what a beautiful name,” Mom replied. Adagio’s face turned a little red at this compliment. “I guess Bolt finally found the right girl.”

Wait, what? Did not see that coming. Mine and Adagio’s faces went as red as an apple. “Mom, Adagio is not my-. “

Mom started to giggle. “Oh settle down Bolt, I’m just kidding. You make it too easy sometimes,” she said with a wink towards me.

I should’ve known she’d do that. She loves to mess with me and Midnight like this all the time. Midnight said one time that if mom didn’t hold down a job as manager of the local gardening store, she could be a damn good entertainer. Pretty good idea, but I’m sure she wouldn’t.

Speaking of Midnight, “Where’s Midnight?” I asked.

“Oh, she left a few minutes ago to go to Pinkie’s house for a party celebrating the new school year. Are you asking me if you can go?” she asked.

“It’s a possib- yes,” I replied.

With a chuckle, she said, “Yes, you can go. But, I want you and Midnight back by 10:00 because you two have to get ready for school tomorrow and I don’t want to deal with two groggy kids in the morning. I don’t want you two to start the new school year on the wrong foot.”

“Alright, I understand. Thanks mom,” I said. As I opened the door, I looked back at Adagio and gave her a friendly smile and wave, to which she returned while mouthing “thank you.” Then, I set off to Pinkie’s for the party.

Her house wasn’t too far from where I lived, but when I arrived at her house, the sun was gone and the moon shone in the pitch-black skies. I knocked on the front door and within five seconds, the door was flung open and there stood Pinkie Pie.

“Oh goodie you made it! Come on in! The party is just getting started!” she said with her usual bouncy voice chock-full of energy.

I walked inside, made my way to the living room and saw the girls were having fun times of their own. Rainbow and Applejack had just finished a cupcake eating contest (Applejack won), Rarity and Fluttershy were looking at new clothes to wear for the school year in a magazine and Sunset and Twilight were talking about Equestrian magic, as usual. The first person to see me from the group was Rainbow dash, who walked over with a smile on her face.

“Well, look who it is,” Rainbow said happily. “What took ya so long?”

Oh this was going to be odd. I had to think of something to say. I mean, what are they going to say if I told them that I was helping out Adagio? Yeah, I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t go over too well with them. So I came up with something. “I had to discuss something with my mom about the school year really.” It wasn’t really a lie, but at the same time, it was. I was just wondering how long it’d take for someone to figure it out. Thankfully, Rainbow bought it.

“Ah, gotcha. Family does come first,” Rainbow replied with a chuckle. “Well, c’mon, we’ve still got a lot of time left to party.”

I grabbed a cupcake and a cookie and sat down on the couch and observed the party. I’m not really someone who’s always active in a party, but I’m still there. Not too long after I sat down, I saw Midnight and when she saw me, she gave a little smile and wave, to which I returned. She was in a game of Card’s Against Humanity with Rainbow, Pinkie and Rarity (oh lord, that’s not going to end well.) They we’re having a lot of fun with the game, despite Rarity being disgusted by some of the results (then again, that’s expected.) However, there were smiles all around and it was great to see them on their faces. It made me happy to know that people were enjoying their lives at that moment. There were a few things going through my mind at the time, music from my favorite bands, predictions of what would happen during the school year and who would pull the fire alarm first. Then, out of nowhere, something, or rather, someone popped into my mind; Adagio. I have no idea why she came to mind, but for whatever reason, she did and I could not stop thinking about her. It made me a little concerned, but then my train of thought was derailed when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to find Applejack looking at me with a concerned look.

“Hey, whatcha thinkin’ about partner?” she asked with a hint of concern in her voice.

“Nothing,” I replied.

Applejack didn’t buy it. That girl could see through a lie no matter how good it was covered up. She knew I was thinking about something pretty deeply and she wanted to know just what it was and why. “You think I could talk to you in private for a minute?” she asked.

I was concerned, but I accepted. We went into Pinkie’s kitchen (thankfully no one was there) and the first thing I really saw was Applejack giving me a rather stern look.

“What’s on your mind sugarcube?” she asked, “It looks pretty important from the looks of it.”

“Applejack, it’s nothing. Really,” I said.

She didn’t buy it.

“Bolt you don’t have to lie to me, you can tell me, I’m your friend,” she assured with a soothing tone. She was one of my best friends and we talked about almost everything and I knew I couldn’t keep secrets from her because one way or another, she’d find out the truth.

I sighed and said, “Alright I’ll tell you. But promise me this; regardless of what I say, you’ll still be my friend?”

She gave a little smile and said, “Of course sugarcube. You’re one of my best friends. So, what’s on your mind?”

I took a deep breath and told her everything. I told her about Adagio, how I found her, what she told me and how I offered her a place to live. While she was surprised, she was all ears. When I had finished my explanation, I awaited an angry response, maybe even a slap to the face. Instead, I was given a hug. It last for about a minute or two and after that, Applejack looked at me with a compassionate smile.

“Bolt, you’re doing a good deed. I’m sure if I found her like that, I’d probably do the same thing. From what you described, she seemed to be going through Hell and you pulled her out of it. This just shows what kind of person you are. You should be proud of that, “she said with her trademark smile.

I smiled like an idiot but I didn’t care. I was just so thankful that I had a great friend who understood. Then, we heard a collective “Aww” coming from behind me. The girls were eavesdropping on our conversation and from the looks of it, they had heard everything.

“How long have you guys been standing there?” I asked.

“Long enough,” Sunset replied. She, of all people, knows first-hand what it’s like to go through Hell, but she was able to pull herself out of it and now she’s one of the nicest people at school. “Don’t worry Bolt, We’re all behind you. We’ll help out Adagio in any way possible.”

My smile went wide again, so wide, in fact, I thought I’d turn into The Joker. Wiping away a small tear, I said, “Thank you all. I couldn't ask for better friends, I’m truly lucky to know you guys.” We were then pulled into a group hug by Pinkie. It lasted for about two minutes before Pinkie broke it.

Applejack chimed in my saying; “Friends stay together ‘til the end, no matter what.” A mutual nod came from everyone.

Soon, the party was in full swing again. Unfortunately, it went by way too fast and before we knew it, it was over and we had to go home. We all said our good-byes and went our separate ways for now. Midnight and I arrived about ten minutes earlier than we had promised and we knew we’d have some time to get ready for tomorrow. We then noticed the kitchen light was on as we entered the house. We suspected that it was mom making some lunches for tomorrow. When we walked into the kitchen, however, we didn’t see mom making lunches, it was Adagio.

“Adagio?” I asked.

She jumped a little bit when I spoke, guess she didn’t hear us come in. “Oh my goodness, you two scared me, “she said startled.

“Sorry about that. What are you doing in here?” I asked.

“I volunteered to make lunches for you guys, but I don’t know what to do and how to prepare it,” she said with a defeated tone.

Midnight and I looked at each other for about ten seconds, but we knew what we were thinking the same thing and nodded. Midnight walked over to Adagio and said with a warm smile, “We can help you Adagio.”

“Really?” She asked with some joy and relief in her voice.

“Absolutely,” Midnight replied. “Now, let’s get started.”

Good ol’ Midnight.

It took about a half hour, but soon the lunches were made and put in the fridge so they could remain fresh for tomorrow. We were all tired after that and were ready to go to sleep.

“I’m gonna hit the hay. I’ll see you guys in the morning,” Midnight said slightly yawning.

“Alright Midnight, see ya tomorrow,” I replied.

She went upstairs and left me and Adagio alone, but we were both pretty tired after a long, yet pretty eventful day.

“I think I’m gonna call it a day too, I’ll see you tomorrow Adagio,” I said.

“Right. Big day tomorrow,” she said with a slight chuckle.

I chuckled a little bit and walked towards the stairs. As I was about to start walking up them, something grabbed hold of my hand. I turned to see that Adagio was holding onto it. She then pulled me into a soft hug and I returned her embrace.

“Thank you again Bolt. You’ve really helped me out in my time of need. I don’t how I’ll be able to repay you for what you’ve done for me,” she said with her voice cracking every now and then.

“Your friendship is good enough for me, “I replied softly.

She then looked at me with a small smile and her pink eyes staring deep into mine. God, it looked cute. After that, she let me go, said goodnight and went to the couch to sleep. I walked up the stairs to my room, got dressed for bed, brushed my teeth and climbed into bed. Needless to say, I had a good night’s sleep.

This was going to be a school year to remember.

Author's Note:

Wow, I had a lot of fun writing this. Hopefully, I can write more chapters with this many words in it.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy and as always, constructive criticism is welcomed.

Comments

[Gear Works]

Doing a good job. Just one error.

Wiping away a small tear, I said, “Thank you all. I could ask for better friends, I’m truly lucky to know you guys.”

It should be "I couldn't". What you're saying in that sentence is that he want better friends. If you change it, he would be saying that they were the best friends he ever have.

[Bolt Blazer]

6903522

Whoops, guess I didn't catch that.

I'll fix that. Thank's for pointing that out.

[Gear Works]

6904072 no prob

[Texus]

Applejack didn’t buy it. That girl could see through a lie no matter how good it was covered up.

yeah I agree with others, while she may can read a bit body language, I wouldn't believe her being something like a lie detector, not even with magic as the explanation.

They would actually suprise me, if they would think about something intelligent like : "sorry I don't want to lie, but I'm not sure if I can tell you right now, it is a personal matter.

“Don’t worry Bolt, We’re all behind you. We’ll help out Adagio in any way possible.”

I'm not sure why I have a bad feeling about this, i don't exactly like it if they just tell something such personal to anyone. I think even if they did the right thing, that it may would be difficult for Adagio to just meet them, maybe she would actually have a rather bad respond to them, just.... well huddle up to her and trying to help her. (not sure if I used the right word there)

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy and as always, constructive criticism is welcomed.

I try to explain it as good as I can, but it will probably end up in personal preferences,Anyway good job so far.