A Dazzling World

by Spyder27

Hello Again, Adagio

Author's Note:

Adagio has finally convinced herself to talk with Sunset Shimmer, ready to ask for a friendship that shouldn't work by all accounts. Despite Adagio's nervous feelings, Sunset is ready to talk with her. Things finally seem to be going right in Adagio's life, but now she can only wonder when it will all change again.

DISCLAIMER: This story does contain mentions of alcohol, slight violence, the feelings that life isn't worth it and/or suicidal thoughts, fire, profanity, mentions of a gun, suicidal thoughts and attempts, and mentions of a snake. Overall, this is supposed to be a romance fiction, but if these things are not to your liking, I would urge you to click off this story.

This chapter is also not fully edited, so I do apologize if it has errors, but I did put my heart into this and I hope some of you will enjoy.

Chapter VII: Hello Again, Adagio

The door shuts behind us before Sunset makes sure to turn the bolt lock on her door. Huh. She only has one lock? Shaking my hair a little as I walk further into the living room, I can instantly tell she has a couple more rooms than my apartment. All fully functional with the heater on and the lights lit. Slowly, I take a deep breath and look to Sunset as kindly as I can. I guess I’m trying my best to be as polite and respectful as possible here.

“Nice place you got here,” I say nodding to the furniture that must cost three times the stuff I have at my apartment. Then again, that’s not saying much.

“Thanks. It took a while to be able to afford this place, but with a little luck and wise investments, it all fit together, you know?” Sunset says as calmly as she can, walking past me to go to the kitchen. She looks back at me and her eyes seem to look at my coat for a bit. “You know you can take off your coat, right? I don’t mind.” Sighing, I slide my coat off my body and hold it in my arms as I follow her to the kitchen. Before I can say anything though, she holds a cup in her hand and shakes it slightly with a warm smile to me. “Care for a drink? I’ve got some coffee I could make.” With a slight nod, I stand by the counter and I can’t help but feel awkward about this. I thought I needed to do this, but now, my mind is screaming for me to leave and avoid the awkward conversation that’s about to ensue. Slowly, I walk out of the kitchen to hang up my coat on the coat rack, sighing to myself.

“Do you live here by yourself?” I ask in a louder tone, trying to get her attention from the living room. Slowly, my hand rubs the pink hat to the left of my coat. The hat seems to be made from wool with balloon patterns on it, the smell of cupcakes still lingering… If she doesn’t live alone, that’s none of my concern, but… for some reason, a weird feeling builds up in me.

“Yeah, I live alone here. But you’ll probably find a lot of belongings from my friends. They tend to throw sleepovers here a lot,” Sunset says cheerfully from the other room. Despite my weird request, it seems Sunset is completely willing to listen and talk with me. By the time I turn around, Sunset walks out of the kitchen with two cups of coffee in her hands, slowly handing me one. “Be careful, it’s hot. I didn’t quite know what you liked, so I just made us both some black coffee if it’s alright?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. I like most kinds of coffee anyway,” I say with a smile. Sunset sits down on the sofa before saying anything else, gently ushering me to sit by her by patting her hand down on the furniture, an offer I accept. Sitting down beside her, Sunset’s hand slowly lifts up to my neck and feels the scarf around it.

“I see you got my gift, huh?” she chuckles slightly, but an apologetic look comes across her face. “Is this talk about the gift…? I’m sorry if the note wasn’t to your liking.”

“Please… Don’t apologize,” I say slowly, putting the cup down. Hesitantly, my eyes connect with Sunset’s and I try my best to bring a smile to my face, though that goal seems hard to achieve at the moment. Maybe it’s because my nerves are on the fritz. “That’s the reason I wanted to talk… Well, kind of… Look,” I say, turning my body to her. “I… I wanted to tell you personally that you were… right a few weeks ago. Remember when we saw each other?”

“And I told you that you could be happy…?” Sunset asks, more to pique both of our memories rather than genuine curiosity.

“Yeah… You were… right about that,” I say in a quiet whisper. Bringing my hand to my chest, a small breath exits my lips before I continue. “You apologized to me when you didn’t need to. You were right about what you told me and I… I brushed you off. If anyone needs to apologize, it’s me… I’m… I’m really sorry for how I treated you back then.” Sunset’s eyes are wider than I’ve possibly ever seen them at this point, but I don’t stop to let her respond. “I was really selfish and I admit that now. I’ve helped out at a local homeless shelter recently and I’ve been trying to turn my life around. I guess I just wanted to thank you for helping me realize that I can be happy too…” Quickly, I avert my gaze and my hands bunch together on top of my lap, trying to decide what to do but feeling too awkward to do so. Gently, Sunset’s hand grabs a hold of mine, a gesture that surprises me quite a bit, making me unsure of what to do.

“That’s… the best thing I’ve heard in a long time,” Sunset says happily as she turns my face to look into her eyes. “You’ve gone through a lot this month, haven’t you?” she asks with a smile on her face. For a second, my heart wants me to open up this pot of emotions and to possibly hug this former enemy of mine, but I restrain myself, knowing that it is too rude for me to do. “Great job, Adagio. It’s really nice to hear that you’re turning your life around. Have you quit your job at the nightclub?” she asks, just as cheery as her previous question.

“No, I haven’t. It’s kind of hard to find a job either way. But… there’s one more thing I came over here to do,” I say in an equally nervous and awkward tone. Sunset’s eyebrow raises and she takes a sip of her cup, maintaining eye contact.

“Okay? What is on your mind, Adagio?” she asks, bringing her hand away from my own and resting it back on her lap. Inhaling a big breath and clutching my hands together, I slowly turn my body to hers and give her one of my best smiles that I can. One that is genuine and not fake like the last time I saw her.

“Well, I realized I can be happy in this life and… that came with another realization. Sunset, I know this is going to be a weird request for you, being the siren who almost destroyed your school, but…” Slowly, I grab Sunset’s hand and look into her eyes. “Could we be friends…?”

===============================================

Walking down the sidewalk, a big smile is plastered on my face as the sun shines down on me. I quickly got ready and practically ran out the door today, so the cold doesn’t seem to be a problem. If anything, I can feel a slight sweat on my face as I pass by Halo Bakery. Even the premise of a cherry cheesecake didn’t seem to hold a candle to the excitement in my body. Today is the day. Today is when we agreed to hang out, right? Feeling my scarf again, I close my eyes and dodge around the lamp post in front of me, still holding my smile. “Sunset said we could hang out in two days on the 26th,” I say to myself quietly. “It’s now the 28th, right?” Before I can let my train of thought run away from me, I pull my phone out and check the time, seeing the date right next to it. Yeah, it’s the 28th. No need to worry myself over this.

The nerves throughout my body are all on high alert at this point, mostly due to my thoughts worrying about how to make a good impression and how to be a… good friend. It’s funny. I’ve never thought about that before, not even when I was friends with Sonata and Aria. I never had to think about being a good friend, so it’s awfully ironic that it’s now one of my biggest concerns of the day. A small look of irritation appears on my face as I think about past events. I really was stupid, wasn’t I…? I pushed away the only two friends I had and now I realize why that was such a bad idea. Maybe it’s life’s way of punishing me when I found out they were moving away from the city. I could have followed them and at least tried to make it better, but I decided to believe they were the ones at fault, not me. Bringing my free hand to my forehead, I sigh quietly. Now I have a chance to be friends with Sunset Shimmer, though a previous version of me would laugh at this. Being friends with my previous enemy? Give me a break, right? That’s my reality now, being friends with my ex rival to be happy. To be honest, it excites me to think about what Sunset and I could do together. Every time we can hangout together just gives me another excuse to see her smile and feel happy with her… I guess that’s why this is a good idea. I can’t let myself drown in my anger again. I just need to accept that this is a good idea and hopefully… it’ll bring me happiness once more.

Walking down the sidewalk, I start to enter the better parts of town where you can walk down the sidewalk without being afraid you’ll be robbed at gunpoint. You can buy nice things in this part of town and expect to keep them, but I try to not let myself get distracted by those things. Honestly, I didn’t quite remember the nice colors in this part of town, nor the rest of the walk. Did my eyes change perhaps…? No, it’s just this different part of town. It’s always been the attraction and center point for happy families and friends. Huh, friends… It’s funny that the sole reason I’m entering this part of town is to hang out with a friend. A possible friend. Still, the prospect of potential friendship with Sunset Shimmer seems to keep a smile on my face this whole journey.

Eventually, I begin to walk past a clothing shop, looking in the window briefly. At first, I notice the clothes that Sunset would enjoy, but then my eyes are drawn to the woman running the counter at the front of the store. For a brief moment, that all too familiar pit of rage tries to light again, but I can’t seem to find the will to keep the spark ablaze. It’s hard to stay angry at someone now and I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because I find it easier to be angry at myself or maybe it’s because I feel… sympathy for them. Sympathy for others? That’s an emotion I never expected to feel, but to hell with it all. This whole month has been unexpected, so the more new and unique emotions I feel, the better.

The woman herself has purple hair and white skin, delicately pushing the buttons of a cash register while handling the products customers chose to buy. Occasionally, she would shake her head and pull the customer off to a different section of the store to show them a better product, probably to try and match their fashion style. As she brings a customer with tan skin and light blue hair to the hat section, she looks out the window at me, her mouth opening slightly and her eyes widening. Quickly, I try to dodge out of sight and keep walking toward the coffee shop. The last thing I need is for Rarity to stop me from meeting with Sunset.

For a second, I hear the sound of a door opening behind me, but no footsteps follow me down the sidewalk. Presumably, her eyes trace every one of my moves, but I don’t look back to check. Slowly pulling up my hood, I sigh and walk faster down the street. Hopefully, Sunset hasn’t told her friends about this meetup… As quickly as my mind begins to think about the bad outcomes, I find myself at the door of the shop. Thankfully, Rarity didn’t seem to be outside, watching me. I try to shake the negative thoughts from my head as I walk inside the building. This has to be perfect. I want to be her friend, right?

Taking my first few steps inside, the overwhelming smell of brewed coffee hits my nostrils, making me almost want to gag. I don’t necessarily hate the smell, but this much buildup of it tends to make me sick. Nonetheless, I put a small smile on my face and inspect the room around me, noticing the main counter and the many small tables where people consume their drinks and chat about their days. I feel my hopes come crashing down as I can’t find Sunset in the shop. Again, my mind tells me this is a bad idea and that’s probably why I can’t find her, but I try to calm my nerves by feeling the scarf. Brushing my hair with my hand, I nod slightly, taking a seat at the counter. Sunset isn’t the type of person to just lie, so I doubt she would miss this. She’s probably making her way here now, so again, my worries are invalid. I take a deep breath and close my eyes slowly, resting my head on the counter.

A slow tap presses against my shoulder, switching to rubbing it slightly after a few seconds. Quickly, I push the hand away and sigh quietly. “I’m waiting for someone,” I try to say to the waiter, presumably wanting my order. The night’s lack of sleep is starting to catch up to me, but I notice that the hand I swatted away felt decently soft.

In a soft tone, a familiar voice whispers to me, “Had a rough night last night?” The distinct voice instantly catches me off guard as my eyes dart open and look beside me. On the stool to my left, Sunset Shimmer sits with a smile on her face, seemingly amused by my reaction. Instantly, my cheeks flush and I can’t help but sit straight up in my seat as fast as I can, my hands sliding down to my thighs.

“S-Sunset!” I exclaim, a bit surprised at her being here, but I try to calm myself down as quietly as possible. The nerves throughout my body race and it feels like my whole spine is electrified. “I mean, I was waiting for you,” I say quietly, bringing my hand to my mouth to try and hide my embarrassed look. “How are you doing?” is the only thing that can seem to crawl out of my mouth, my mind blank with conversation ideas, now that I’m actually sitting here. It’s funny that I couldn’t sleep most of last night due to my thoughts about today, what to say, wear, and do.

Sunset smiles and lets out a small giggle as she looks into my eyes. “Well, the question is, how are you? There are dark circles under your eyes and you’re so tired that you don’t even know it’s me beside you.” A shameful smile comes across my face for a few seconds as I think about what kept me up last night, but I want this to go perfectly, so I need to just be kind and honest, right?

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I say slowly, rubbing my eyes and finally turning my stool to look at her better. Okay, being honest is thrown out the window. Thanks, Adagio… “Honestly, it was a bit difficult to find this place, despite my knowledge of the city. You said you found this place with Pinkie Pie?” I ask with a small smile, looking at Sunset, but feeling a bit disappointed when I see Sunset’s attention is placed somewhere else. She gently looks at the menu board above us and then looks at me.

“Yeah, I found this place with Pinkie Pie. It was an odd story, but you probably wouldn’t like to hear it.” A nervous giggle comes out of her mouth after she says this, but I don’t laugh myself.

“I’d love to hear it,” I say gently, looking into her eyes and seeing Sunset’s surprise. I suppose she didn’t expect to hear that kind of response? Her hand swiftly raises to her hair and brushes it out of her face. For a second, I feel like I saw a blush form on her orange cheeks. I can almost swear I did.

“Would you like a drink?” Sunset asks, catching me off guard for a moment. I suppose I was ready to hear her story rather than a proposal for a drink. Before I can accept her request though, I remember that one factor that always seems to be in the way. A nervous grin comes across my face as I put my hands on my lap.

“No, I’m fine. Besides, I don’t really… have any money on me.” Sunset’s eyes instantly become pitiful and an apologetic look is plastered across her face. I hate it when people do that, feeling sorry for me. The general thought is… It’s just annoying, but I understand why they do it. “I left it at home, I mean,” I say, trying to get rid of that sorrowful gaze. Again, that is a lie. I don’t have any more money at home, but… it’s better than making Sunset think I’m pathetic or that I’m not worthy to be her friend. I mean, I already know I’m not worthy, but still…

“Don’t worry. I’ll pay,” Sunset says with a caring smile before looking at the server and asking for two black coffees, the same as a couple nights before. It’s… nice to have coffee with her. Shaking my head lightly, I look into Sunset’s eyes again before she opens her mouth. “Now, to that story, I suppose. If you really want to hear it?” Her mouth hesitates to form more words, but that feeling seems to be put at ease as I nod in acceptance and reassurance. “Okay. Um… I’m not quite sure how it started, but Pinkie Pie and I needed to plan a birthday party last minute for Rarity. Usually, Pinkie is on top of the ball with that sort of stuff, but her sister just visited a week ago…”

=========================================

A laugh comes from Sunset’s lips as she holds her drink in both hands, trying to not spill it. “Wait wait wait. You’re telling me that Apple Bloom dragged you that far?” she says as she tries to stifle her laughter, but continually fails at it. My hand holds in my own laughs as my cheeks flush slightly. I didn’t expect to feel this comfortable around Sunset, nor enjoy her company this much, but this was our third cup of coffee already and we couldn’t seem to stop talking. Perhaps it’s the caffeine, but I really like talking with her…

“Yeah, she did. She pulled me from Taco Pony all the way to Sweet Apple Acres. As if the ride wasn’t bumpy enough, she accidentally pulled me into multiple branches that she was too short to hit.” With this remark, Sunset laughs even harder, one hand gently holding her stomach.

“You have to expect that from the Apple Family. They’re quite resilient, if you get what I mean. Applejack seems to be freakishly unaware of her own strength.” For a brief moment, Sunset’s cup reflects the bright light of the sun from outside the window and I’m forced to close my eyes. As both of our laughs slowly come to a silent pause, our eyes break away from each other and I can’t help but look down at the floor, fully realizing how much time had been taken up by our conversation. Did I really waste so much of her time…? A part of me hopes she enjoyed this time together as much as I have, but another part of me seems to doubt that fact.

Sunset’s eyes look toward her namesake outside the window, before finishing her cup of coffee and looking back to me. “I hate to say this, Adagio, but I think I need to go now. I have class in the morning and homework to finish tonight.” Slowly, she stands up and pulls on her coat and some cotton gloves. The cotton gloves I gave her, but she didn’t know that.

“Yeah, I understand. But um… thank you. For taking me seriously,” I say as I slowly stand up as well. For a moment, Sunset’s eyes are drawn to the scarf I wrap around my neck once more and a smile appears on her face.

“It’s no problem. I did kind of… worry that you weren’t going to show up, but I’m really glad we got to spend time together today.” Before I can hold my hand out for a handshake, Sunset slowly wraps her arms around my body, surprising me in the process. Why… Why does she do this? I-I don’t need a hug, but… Slowly, I return the gesture, not sure what this necessarily means, but that familiar feeling of happiness comes back to me. It feels… nice, but Sunset lets go of the embrace just as quickly as it happened. “I’m sure we can hang out again sometime. Are you free on New Year’s? I was thinking of doing something, but my friends are pretty busy,” Sunset says in a quiet tone, laying down enough bills to cover our drinks for the evening.

“Yeah, I am,” I lie again, thinking about my work schedule. I can probably convince my boss I’m sick then, but I’m never sure what may happen.

“Well, I’ll see you then,” Sunset’s happy voice tells me just as we leave through the doors of the coffee shop. “Until then, stay safe, okay?” Her hands briefly grip my shoulders gently and her smile yet again warms me up inside.

As Sunset begins to walk away from me, I can’t help but look back and open my mouth. “Hey, Sunset?” I ask softly, looking at her fiery hair. Her body gently turns around to look at me and I can see the sun’s light shine through her hair, causing it to look like it’s glowing.

“Yes, Adagio?” she asks as kindly as she can, her eyes trying to peel away at my soul for what is bothering me. Are we really friends now, Sunset…? Gently, I shake my head, bringing my hand to my scarf and rubbing the soft material.

“I-I’m sorry. It was nothing. Just have a good day, okay?”

=====================================

Perhaps it’s just the fact that it had to end, but my heart feels heavy for some reason on this particular walk home. I suppose I had a lot of fun with Sunset, but… I’m still not sure why I did. In all honesty, I should still hate Sunset Shimmer because of what happened a little over a year ago, but I know that was my fault now. Honestly, I keep making things about myself, but I know I don’t deserve much of anything. Now that I’ve gone through this lousy month, my whole perception of my life has seemed to change and I have no control over it.

One can easily turn to blaming others for this, but… I think it’s all my fault, down to the letter. This outcome of events happened because of my actions and I have to sleep in the bed I made. It’s not like it’s bad, though. I felt… genuinely happy when I talked with Sunset earlier. She actually listened to what I said and it felt like I could finally talk about everything that’s happened. I suppose I got what I wished for, huh? I found a source of happiness, but yet again, my mind seems to find a problem with it.

Slowly, I halt in my tracks, looking toward the ground before I finally close my eyes and sigh. Bringing my hands to my head, I slowly walk towards one of the many benches scattered throughout the city's sidewalks, at least in the better parts of town. Sitting down, I bring both of my hands to the scarf once more. The new problem that presents itself is of course in the form of questions. Will this last? Is she even my friend yet? Each question my mind asks is repeated a couple times every second and I can’t help but frown. It never ceases to amaze me that I can find the bad in even the good situations. It’s a skill I’ve developed over the years of constant lashback from life, but whenever something good happens to me, I can’t seem to enjoy it for long. Sighing heavily into my hands, I finally look up to inspect the area around me. Standing up, I tighten the coat I have on to brace for the cold better. It’s funny that it always seems coldest right after Christmas.

As much as the cold seems to preoccupy my mind, I still hear a squeak behind me. It’s subtle, but still noticeable by all accounts. Nothing is there when I’ve looked behind me for the past few minutes, but it’s been following me ever since I left the coffee shop. Breathing into my hands, I flex my fingers back and forth for a moment. Walking past the same lamp post for the second time, I chuckle, wondering how many times I could keep going in circles before the squeak stops. As much as this walk has been thought provoking, I suppose it’s time to stop playing around. Slowly, I finally take a right and walk across the road, turning the corner of a building.

After walking about fifteen feet away from the corner, I turn around quickly and look behind me. For a minute, there seems to be nothing coming from the direction I walked in, but finally, I see the tip of a periscope come around the edge of the building as well as two magenta ends of a bow. As soon as the periscope is aimed at me, it zooms back around the corner, as if it is hiding from me. I can’t help but chuckle at this scene. Slowly, I grab onto my coat and walk towards the corner, pressing my back against the wall.

“Oh, boy. It’s too bad I’m alone. I could really use some help with this friendship thing, especially since I have no idea what I’m doing,” I say satirically, even though I truly didn’t know what I was doing by trying to be friends with Sunset. “If only I could ask for help. Now that I think about it, Apple Bloom offered to help me, but I don’t know her phone number and I forgot where her clubhouse is. Oh well. I guess I’m stuck,” I say even louder than before, sighing for dramatic effect. For a second, there isn’t a sound, but it isn’t long until I hear that familiar squeak of wheels as the young girl rounds the corner with her wagon, an embarrassed look on her face.

“I-I guess ya saw me, huh?” she says weakly, presumably a little ashamed of herself for following me. Apple Bloom’s eyes look up into mine with an apologetic look. Before she can say another word, I slowly lower myself to her level.

“I’m only really wondering why you are following me,” I state with a small smile. “Especially after walking around that block a couple times back there.”

“R-really? You were doing that on purpose?” she asks with an irritated and confused look on her face. It doesn’t take long before we both giggle at her reaction. “I-I was wondering if ya lost your way or such since we had to go in circles a couple times, but I suppose ya knew I was there, huh?” Her embarrassed smile shows her nervous feelings as she puts the periscope back down into the wagon.

“The whole time,” I say with a slight wink, putting my hand on her shoulder. “But you never answered my question.” Her nervous grin widens as her back slowly slumps and she slightly kicks her feet at the rocks on the ground.

“W-well, I… I saw ya at the coffee shop earlier with Sunset and all. I couldn’t help but notice you two were laughing and smiling together, so I assumed everything went alright.” For a second, her hands grip onto her jeans tighter and her eyes finally make contact with mine again. “But I wanted to make sure. M-maybe you need help and all, right? I just wanted everything to go alright with ya, ya know?” she asks nervously. To her surprise, I laugh slightly, standing upright again and looking down at her.

“Actually, everything did go alright. It went better than alright. I had a lot of fun talking with her and she even asked me to hang out with her again on New Year’s.” Apple Bloom’s eyes beam for a moment, but before she can speak, I smile and shrug my shoulders. “I could always use help to be a better friend though and I mean that,” I say with a wink to Apple Bloom. Her eyes brighten like there’s no tomorrow and she instantly hugs me, knocking the breath out of my lungs again.

“I can help with that! Just leave it to me!” For some reason, a part of me is afraid I will regret this, but another part of me hopes she knows what she’s doing.

Comments

[Daybreaker218]

Very nice

[Spyder27]

11108791
Thank you~! I'm glad you like the story so far! I hope to hear what you think of future chapters when they come~

[Snowdrifter]

“I can help with that! Just leave it to me!”

And that's how the world ended.

I just wonder if Adagio has explosion insurance.

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

“No, I haven’t. It’s kind of hard to find a job either way. But… there’s one more thing I came over here to do,” I say in an equally nervous and awkward tone. Sunset’s eyebrow raises and she takes a sip of her cup, maintaining eye contact.

Imo, she should at some point.

“I-I guess ya saw me, huh?” she says weakly, presumably a little ashamed of herself for following me. Apple Bloom’s eyes look up into mine with an apologetic look. Before she can say another word, I slowly lower myself to her level.

The bow was obvious. Your the only G4 character that wears one all the time.

[Spyder27]

11426977
True, but in the context of the universe, it isn't like Apple Bloom would know that. If it was realistic, there are probably other kids who wear bows too. She just happens to be the only one we know of~

[whiteroseforever]

love adagio getting better but that was super gay of her getting her best outfit that sunset would like

[Spyder27]

11612663
I mean, one of the biggest points of this series is her gayness~ Really wanted to lay it on that her fascination with Sunset's smile isn't normal behavior for friendships in this chapter~ XD