Author's Note

The day isn't over yet for Adagio Dazzle, but little does she know this new adventure is just beginning. Hopefully, she can befriend a familiar fashionista and save face in front of others. Luckily, a burrito can always lighten the mood.

Disclaimer: This story is a sequel to A Dazzling World which was a story that touched upon some heavy topics. These topics may be mentioned in future chapters, but I will warn you ahead of time when those chapters come out. There isn't really anything in this chapter to worry about yet though~

Also, this chapter was beta read by Mon668 on AO3! She's a good friend of mine, so shout out to her for helping make this story the best it can be!

Starting Over

Chapter II: Starting Over

Apparently, Rainbow Dash’s plan to hang out with both of us is to watch colorful moving platforms of cardboard and confetti. I can’t complain, though. They do have some nice treats and even music, so it made me wish Sunset was here, but she needed more sleep today. I’ll have to remember to save some of the candy they threw out for her, especially the chocolate mermaids. It’s funny that Sunset likes mermaids, considering Sirens have a somewhat aquatic origin, but I don’t know if she knows that.

Taking a bite out of the cotton candy Rainbow gave me, I nod slightly to myself, enjoying the taste. “Fine, you’re right. It is pretty good, but you didn’t have to force me to try it,” I say with a small chuckle escaping my lips.

“Oh, darling. She does that to everyone. Just go with the flow,” Rarity giggles to herself, taking a dainty little bite out of her cotton candy. Rainbow Dash’s jaw drops slightly after hearing Rarity’s statement, but she wipes it away with a big grin.

“Well, cotton candy is one of the best treats in the world! Pinkie Pie introduced it to me back in the day. It’s almost as awesome as me! Almost though,” Rainbow says with a snicker, striking a pose and pretending like she’s the best person in the world.

“Sure, Rainbow,” I say with the same humorous tone that Sunset would have if she was here. “If you’re so awesome, then prove it~” My taunt seems to intrigue Rainbow Dash as she instantly looks at me with confusion in her eyes.

A smirk comes across her face as she laughs loudly. “Oh, yeah! What do you want me to do? It better be a challenge because I hate sissy proposals,” Rainbow says as she pokes me with her index finger. For a second, multiple thoughts pass through my mind about possibly hard challenges, but nothing seems hard enough for Rainbow Dash… Unless…

“You know how these wrappers can be collected and traded?” I ask Rainbow Dash, showing her one of the cotton candy wrappers. It’s funny that most people haven’t really paid attention to it, but as a measure to try and avoid more littering, the parade made the wrappers worth 25 cents. The best part about it? You could collect as many as you want and exchange them for the money they’re worth, and since most people don’t think to cash in the reward, there’s a surprising amount of them on the sidewalks and around the food trucks and parade floats. Rainbow’s eyes look at the wrapper in my hand and smirks at me.

“Oh? You want me to get us some of our money back, huh? That’s child’s play!” she states in a confident tone.

“Not exactly,” I say with my own smirk, narrowing my eyes as I look into hers. “See, there are two things I want a lot right now. The first being Sunset, but since she isn’t here, I’ll happily take a burrito from Taco Pony. If you can collect enough tickets and get me that burrito within, say, ten minutes? Then you’ll officially be the ‘awesomest’ person in the whole world,” I tease Rainbow, holding out my wrapper with a wink. “Think you can handle that, Dashie?”

Confidently grabbing my wrapper, she chuckles to herself, looking around the crowded street. “Oh, yeah. I can do that in five minutes~” Rainbow states, instantly running around the crowd, picking up different wrappers on the ground or in other people’s hands. A laugh is shared between Rarity and I for a second, both of us finding it humorous to see Rainbow take on such a silly challenge just to prove herself. The loud music seems to be the only thing shared between the two of us for a few moments, Rarity just watching Rainbow dart in and out of the crowd, taking small bites as she waits. Rarity still wears those sunglasses despite the sky being close to dark, streetlights already ablaze and the pastel colored sky being the only light offered otherwise. Slowly, Rarity pulls off a piece of her pink treat and hands it to me, smiling as she does so.

“So, Adagio. It seems we have a moment alone now,” Rarity sighs, still maintaining her smile and kind look. Despite her clear awkward feelings, the fashionista wants to bridge the gap seemingly. Grabbing the piece from Rarity, I slowly put it in my mouth and nod to her statement. “Tell me, dear. Judging off of your clothing choices a couple years back, I would assume you like fashion?” Rarity questions me, looking at the clothes I have on right now.

“I do actually. Well, I did. I… had to get rid of the more fancy clothes I owned a while back, but I still have some things that look decent on me. I guess I just have to gather up the confidence to wear them.” Looking up at the early rising moon, I lean against the building we decided to stand beside. The white girl leans back with me and sighs to herself, pushing her sunglasses back up to her eyes.

“I understand that feeling all too well. There are many times I don’t feel confident enough to go out, but AJ has a way of always convincing me that I’m… worth it, if you will.”

“Yeah, Sunset has the same effect on me… It’s like no matter how broken I feel, she knows exactly what to say or what to do.”

A simple nod comes from Rarity as a response, looking down at her feet with a frown. “AJ can always tell when I’m lying about my feelings and she’s always there to lift me up again like the darling she is.”

Nodding, I smile for a moment, closing my eyes as I imagine her happy expression once more. “It’s like no matter what trouble you’re going through, Sunset can always tell and she’s always willing to drop everything to be there for you. It’s like she-”

“Can read your mind…” Rarity sighs to herself, her hand gently clutching a locket around her neck, gently smiling at the feeling. “You really love Sunset, don’t you?” Rarity asks me as she looks at me again, our eyes locking once more. Honestly, I’m not quite sure what to say to the question at first, feeling my words get caught in my throat. Of course I love Sunset, but I suppose it’s hard to say that to someone else other than her. Hell, it’s hard to say it to Sunset herself…

“Yeah, I do,” I slowly let out, nodding to her query. No matter what happens, that fact has been cemented in my mind ever since January… “It’s funny… I fell in love with her so fast and… it felt like I couldn’t control it.”

Rarity’s head nods up and down slowly, her eyes looking at the locket around her neck for a moment. “It does feel like that sometimes… When AJ asked me out that first time, I… I froze. I wasn’t sure what to do, especially since I had pined over her for a year at that point. I even remember exactly what the rugged cowgirl said to me. ‘Rarity. I um… You’re really kind and I always have thought you’re pretty and all, so um… Would you like to maybe go out sometime?’” For a moment, both of us laugh at her impersonation of the cowgirl, Rarity’s smile genuine and innocent. “Despite her simple nature, she means the world to me and I’m not sure what I would do without her,” she states slowly, looking at me with a giggle. A silent moment is shared between the two of us as we look into each other’s eyes, eventually giggling at the awkward lack of words. “Tell me, Adagio. Why do you keep touching that scarf of yours?” she asks me with an inquisitive look, looking at my hand.

For a moment, I feel surprised, realizing that my hand had been feeling my scarf the entire time we’ve been talking, the action happening without me knowing it. A sheepish grin comes to my face as a blush overtakes me, my hand instantly moving away from my scarf. “I um… It’s a gift. Sunset gave it to me for Christmas and all. Back when I… Well, let’s just say I wasn’t the best person last Christmas.” Averting my eyes, I look around at the crowd around us, biting my lip. I really wish Sunset was here… If I could, I would hold her hand just to calm down my beating heart and to avoid my embarrassment from growing anymore than it already has. I guess I do feel the scarf a lot just to… facilitate some sort of connection with her, even when we’re apart.

“I suppose this locket is similar to your scarf in a way. When my darling gave me this locket, I couldn’t stop feeling it, wishing she was nearer to me. I even do it now, as foolish as it may seem,” Rarity chuckles to herself, smiling to me. “But I suppose we would both be fools in that case, huh?”

With a shared giggle, I nod, rubbing Rarity’s shoulder slightly. “Only fools for the ones we love, Rarity.”

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“Really, that is quite a romantic sounding gesture~” Rarity lovingly sighs, thinking to herself. Rainbow, who is sitting next to Rarity with her own burrito, has a frown written across her face, taking a bite of her food.

“That’s it? You two walked on a beach after watching a weird love movie?” she asks with a weird look, glancing past Rarity at me. Despite the size of the park bench, it easily fit all three of us, with Rarity insisting on sitting in the middle due to the cool feeling of the night breeze. A small chuckle comes from my lips, taking a bite out of my burrito as I look up at the moon.

“You’d be surprised at the power simple things have over you, Dashie. Like a Ferris wheel.” Before I can say anything more, Rarity’s hand quickly grabs onto my arm, her eyes staring at me with fantasy in them. Being the hopeless romantic she is, Rarity always seems to gravitate to any term I say that has any semblance with love.

“Did you… say a Ferris wheel? Darling, please… please tell me something happened on a Ferris wheel…” Her eyes plead for me to spill any details I have behind this story, wanting to know if one of her own romantic fantasies were fulfilled by someone else. A small chuckle escapes my lips as I pat her shoulder, nodding slowly to her inquiry.

“Something did happen on a Ferris wheel, though it was back in February.”

“Are we only going to talk about love stuff?” Rainbow asks, standing up and walking a few steps away from the bench. Even if Rainbow’s usual attitude is daring, humorous and challenging, her tone now displays a more irritated and exhausted feeling.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Rainbow,” Rarity says quietly. “I know what… happened and all. We could talk about something else if you would like?” Rainbow Dash, thinking for a moment, nods slowly and sits back down with us, taking a bite out of her burrito.

“Fine. Could we talk about Sunset’s birthday? I assume we all know it’s coming up, right?” Rainbow states, looking at the both of us with an inquisitive tone in her voice.

A proud smile comes across my lips as we both nod, taking a deep breath. “Yeah, I do. I even got her a gift and such. It’s something I’ve saved up for weeks to buy for her.” Rarity’s eyes turn from Rainbow and stare at me with an eager expression, her smile telling me her thoughts easily.

“Ooh~! What did you get? Is it something expensive?” Rarity excitedly asks me, aiming her body towards mine.

“Well, not necessarily. It is expensive given my pay, but I suppose it wouldn’t be for others. It’s just a leather jacket I saw at the store and all. It’s red with flames on it and it even has matching gloves, so I figured Sunset would like it to keep her warm and all.” Rainbow’s eyes widen quickly upon hearing my explanation, staring at me for a bit.

“Wait, really? Dagi, you need to show me this jacket! It sounds freaking awesome!” she states excitedly, practically jumping in her seat. “To think I only got her a pair of roller skates. Your gift sounds way cooler.”

“Well, I can’t really show you it. It’s kinda wrapped. And hidden in our apartment…” Nervously, I scratch my head and chuckle, feeling quite awkward that I can’t show the gift to the two girls.

“Rainbow, I’m sure Sunset will still enjoy your gift~” Rarity reassures her with a smile, patting Rainbow Dash’s shoulder lightly. “And your gift sounds lovely, Adagio~ I’m sure she will love it too~ Sunset loves most gifts she gets after all~” Nodding to Rarity, a memory comes to my mind easily, making me think of the gift I made for her all that time ago. It didn’t necessarily scream Sunset’s personality, but she still loved the blanket and gloves I got for her nonetheless. Sunset is never really picky about what she receives, loving whatever she gets and she tries to make sure everyone feels special.

“Hey, what do you gals think of throwing Sunset a birthday party?” Rainbow asks us with a big bite of her burrito, looking excited at the prospect she suggested.

“Ooh~! That’s a terrific idea!” Rarity exclaims, instantly bringing her hand to her chin. “I could design the decorations too! Of course, Pinkie would need to be consulted.” Despite the girls’ excited conversation, a confused expression comes across me as I look at the both of them, feeling a little left out due to my lack of knowledge.

“Um… what exactly is a birthday party…?”