Welcome

Adagio started the day just fine. Having a heart to heart with Sonata did her spirit as much good as it did her little sister's. She rose, heard her siblings chatting, and lost herself in a pleasant tune while making breakfast.

Then she got that phone call.

Adagio was certain, that by the end of school, she would think of something. She was a resourceful girl, everyone said so. Heck, even Sunset at one point sat back and said nothing when the two of them and three other students had only 15 minutes to finish up two hours worth of a group project. Her cunning, quick wit, and ability to think outside the box were the only things she allowed herself to get a bit prideful over at times.

She was walking to the hospital, and she had absolutely no idea what she was going to do.

With the incident involving Aria and Sonata, Adagio decided it would be wise to take the rest of the day off and visit Grandpa early. She would probably want to walk her sisters home after school, and she couldn't afford to start tending the fields late today if she was doing them with only Sonata, or by herself.

250,000 dollars.

That's not impossible.

She had been telling herself that all day, every time she did she believed it less and less. Getting a loan of some kind was not ideal. Literally anything else except letting Grandpa die seemed better in her head. Adagio shivered and swore that it wouldn't come to that. Getting a job is out of the question. She doubted that even if she were to quit school and get two full time jobs that it would cover the payments needed. She wasn't even sure if they could pay the treatments needed if all three of them were to get two jobs each.

She felt she didn't have enough info to go off of. Are there payment plans made in mind for those who aren't wealthy, like her family? How long will it take to cure him? What are his odds? How did he even get it in the first place?

...

How did her grandpa get drug resistant tuberculosis?

Adagio wasn't an expert on the matter, but she was pretty sure drug resistant illnesses come from an already existing illness the person had. Grandpa was never sick with tuberculosis before... so how?

Adagio shook her head and sighed. She was getting so frustrated and overwhelmed that she stopped actually trying to work things out.

Logically, you get an illness by either eating, breathing, drinking, or touching something you shouldn't. Grandpa just got back on a trip relating to personal business, so, whatever he did it got him sick. He didn't want to talk about it; possibly someone he was close to had the illness and was dying?

Grandpa knew far too many people for her to guess who. Whenever their family got into a pinch, he'd pull out a little black book full of names and numbers and call up an old friend...

"You can never have too many friends Addy!" Starswirl laughed, "trust me, there's a very magical quality when it comes to friendsh-"

"The little black book!" Adagio exclaimed.

A couple townsfolk passing by backed away from her outburst. Blushing, Adagio quickened her pace.

How could I forget? The little black book! Even if no one can help pay the atrocious amount of money needed, someone might have an idea on how to proceed...

It wasn't anything solid, but it was taking a step towards solving the problem. Feeling slightly better, Adagio took a deep breath and tried to relax.

Grandpa is feeling ill, try to have a positive attitude for him.

"-Can I help you?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Adagio flinched.

"How can I help you?" The nurse asked again.

Adagio didn't notice she entered the hospital.

She collected herself. "...I'm here to see the patient Starswirl."

"Relation to patient?" The nurse asked.

"Sunny Smile, I fixed your broken chair last week, you should know who I am."

"Yes, but there's a professional procedure to uphold." Sunny beamed.

Adagio repressed a sigh.

"I'm his granddaughter," she managed to say with a straight face.

"One second please." Sunny typed away on her computer.

Adagio resisted tapping her foot, frowning, creasing her eyebrows, and everything else that would give the impression she was antsy. If she could resist sweating, she'd do that too.

"...Alright, your grandfather is on the third floor, room 324~!" Sunny winked.

"Thank you Sunny." Adagio turned to leave.

"Adagio dear," Sunny called out, stopping her, "I know this all seems very intimidating, but out of everyone this could happen to, your grandfather is the one man I'm certain can pull through this."

"Are you and my grandfather close?"

"Everybody in this town knows that man! He's lived here for over 30 years. Why, I knew him since I was 20 years old... I remember back when he shattered a rib. I was assisting the doctor, and it was the first time I've ever been present during a surgery."

"I never knew Grandfather shattered his rib." Adagio frowned.

"Oh yes," Sunny nodded, "The man waltzed right in with a smile on his face. When the nurse asked him what he was here for, he calmly puked blood all over the floor and pointed at it!"

"Yes," Adagio sighed, "yes, that sounds like Grandfather."

Sunny giggled. "After working out what was wrong, we took him to the emergency room. As it turns out, poor Starswirl was allergic to morphine, and had to undergo the surgery without any drugs. The whole time he was laughing and making jokes as the doctor poked around in his chest with his scalpel. He made what would have been a nerve wracking situation a funny one. We were expecting him to scream and moan from the amount of pain he was in, and he never even flinched once.

"Adagio, I know with your grandfather's age that this looks bad, but anyone can see from simply looking in that man's eyes that he's still full of life. He's lived his whole life as if he was on a mission, I doubt he's going to give up now."

Adagio didn't know what to say.

"Don't worry dear," Sunny continued, "Things are going to be okay, one way or another."

I'll make sure of that.

"Once again, thank you Sunny..."

Adagio was instructed upon reaching the third floor that she had to wear a face mask at all times in grandfather's room. readjusting her mask for the third time, she quietly opened the door and walked in.

He was smiling.

On his lap was an open sports magazine, something Adagio knew he never cared for. He wasn't reading, but instead staring out the window. The sunlight hit his beard at just the right angle making it glow. Whether it was intentional or not her grandfather always had this mystical air around him. Adagio knocked gently on the door to signal her arrival.

"Well if it isn't my favorite granddaughter." Starswirl rasped.

"Aria and Sonata would cry if they heard that." Adagio smiled.

"Why? You're all my favorite granddaughters." He grinned.

Adagio pulled up a chair next to him.

"How are you feeling?" she said gently.

"Fit as a fiddle!"

Adagio stared at him.

"... Just a little under the weather."

Starswirl started to sweat as her granddaughter was as still as stone, unblinking.

"... How is it that you never met your great grandmother and yet you both give me the exact same glare when you're upset?"

"You met up with someone who had drug resistant tuberculosis, did not take safety precautions, and brought it home to your granddaughters."

"Yep," Starswirl sighed, "That about sums it up. How'd you know?"

"You were healthy, you left, you came back sick."

"It never took you long to work things out Addy."

"I'm flattered, but really Grandpa, what were you thinking?" Adagio shoved her right palm into her face.

"I wasn't Adagio, I'm sorry." Starswirl said gently.

"How did you get it?"

The room was silent. Adagio watched in concern as her grandfather had trouble finding the right words.

"It's complicated," he finally said, "it's also something I'd want to tell all three of you at once, if I could."

"Alright." Adagio was willing to accept that.

"Do me a favor Addy."

"Yes grandfather?"

"There's a small wooden chest in my closet, it's locked. The left wall of the closet is actually fake, knock on it seven times and say the words 'Loving Frost.' The wall will open up and you'll see a key hanging off a nail in the wall. Could you bring that key, the box, and your sisters here tomorrow?"

"That's a lot of trouble to keep a box locked."

"It's a very important box." Starswirl shrugged.

"Grandfather, you have a habit of downplaying extremely serious matters. Just to make sure, this box doesn't hold something like your will, does it?"

Adagio started rubbing her temples as her Grandfather looked away.

"Grandfather, I know that expression, what could be worse than your will?"

"I'll explain it to the three of you tomorrow." Starswirl said, sounding a little more somber. "If you could not open it before that, I would appreciate it. I left a note in there just in case... Well, in case I wouldn't be around to speak to you three. That note isn't a very nice though, I wrote it when you three were just babies, and I use to be a very cranky old man before you three brightened up my life."

Adagio had a hard time imagining her Grandfather as unsociable.

"One last thing, just in case." Starswirl spoke up.

"Hmm?" Adagio snapped to.

"That note says to destroy the contents inside, but I have changed my mind since then."

Adagio's grandfather stared at her. It was a look full of love, pride, and oddly enough, concern.

"Adagio, your sisters are wonderful girls, bless their hearts, but they're are a little too impulsive for me to fully trust them. I watched you grow to be a responsible young lady who's watched over her own sisters like a mother. I deem you worthy of wearing the necklace inside that box."