A Shimmering Heartbreak

Chapter II: Starting Over

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!

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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.