It has been a few hours since Fluttershy left. In that time, Rainbow Dash and Adorabella played checkers and chess. Rainbow Dash was better at checkers while Adorabella was better at chess. After some time, they ate lunch, and now they're just chilling.
Rainbow Dash is reading a Daring Do book. Adorabella is laying across the sofa, she is comfortable. She blankly stares at the table next to the sofa, now contemplating life. Life for her was always about fear, worries and caution. But now, she isn't sure what she's supposed to do. For the first time in her life, Adorabella genuinely felt safe, but bored at the same time. She never knew what being bored felt like until now. Before, she was too busy living in fear to feel bored.
"Oh I forgot to let you know Adorabella about this, my bad- We're gonna be having three fillies over later on. Will that okay with you, having them over?" Rainbow Dash asked. Adorabella nods, because they're only fillies.
"Rainbow... I need to have fresh air... I'm still... shaken," Said Adorabella. She never expected to see Rock or Catch again.
"Yeah no problem," Rainbow Dash responded whilst reading her book. Adorabella puts on her cloak and heads out into the foyer, walking to the door, then opening it, walking out, and then shutting it. Rainbow Dash meanwhile continues reading her book.
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Adorabella looks all around her. She sees nopony else, and pulls down her hood. She breathes in deeply, extending her wings as she did. Then, she breathes out, and her wings drops down. She continues repeating, breathes in and wings extend, breathes out and wings drop. She relaxes as she lays on her stomach, staring blankly at the rest of Cloudsdale. There is a perfect view of the city from the Cloudominium.
"Hey." A male voice startles Adorabella. But she remembers the voice. A good few metres in front of her is Ralph. The stallion steps a few hooves back, away from the white pegasus.
"H- h- h- hi..." Adorabella shyly and sheepishly responded. Her whole body tenses up.
"Sorry if I was too close... you do like your space," Ralph apologizes while smiling. Adorabella gets up onto her hooves, extending her wings, preparing to take off if needed.
"I uh- um... I..." Adorabella shyly stammered. He is much bigger. If he grabs her, she's not escaping, no questions asked.
"Are you okay? What's wrong?" Ralph asked, taking a few more steps back. He may be to close for Adorabella's comfort.
"Y- y- yeah..." Adorabella shyly stuttered, hiding her left eye behind her mane.
"So... so..." Ralph stammered. He was just saying hi, and everything immediately became awkward.
"W- what are y- you doing?" Adorabella asked. She's somewhat wondering what is Ralph here for.
"Well I've just finished off the repairs of Dash's home. My mates are elsewhere doing another task as the bit I finished I was able to do myself, thanks to my gifted strength. Then as I was about to leave, I saw you outside alone," Ralph explained.
"That's n- nice..." Adorabella shakily nodded.
"What do you do as a job?" Ralph asked. He's curious, he wants to know more about the mare.
"I... don't... have one..." Adorabella slowly answered. She starts to worry that Ralph will suddenly lunge.
"Ah, well, I'm sure you'll find something," Ralph reassured.
"I... I'm going back inside..." Adorabella said as she opens the door and quickly gets back inside, shutting it behind her. She walks through the foyer and back into the living room. Ralph brought up one thing, jobs. Getting one may be the only way to help Rainbow Dash, by paying her. Adorabella is desperate to find some way to show she's grateful. She feels she hasn't shown any sign of being grateful. She feels like she's being more of a burden.
"Hey," Rainbow Dash greeted, still engrossed in the Daring Do book.
"Is... is there any way... any way I can do something for you?" Adorabella asked. She has to do something in return. Even if it's just something little.
"Adorabella, I don't ask of anything in return-"
"No. I want to do something in return. After what you've done for me... I want to do what I can to help you," Adorabella interrupted, sounding stern. A stern voice coming from Adorabella definitely caught Rainbow Dash off guard. The light blue pegasus knows the white pegasus is serious. Rainbow Dash puts a bookmark on the page she's on and closes the Daring Do book, putting it down next to her.
"But... I don't know how..." Adorabella sighed.
"I wanna help by getting a job and pay for things to help you. I feel like I haven't done enough to help you in return. I want to show you truly how grateful I am."
"I understand, I totally respect that. I think being a mailmare may suit you. All you have to do is deliver letters from point A to B. Plus, you could wear your cloak. So you won't have to do much interaction," Rainbow Dash suggested.
"Plus, you'd probably get a good wage off the bat, because you'd be delivering them letters really quick," Rainbow Dash added.
"But I'm scared if I have an encounter with somepony who'll do something to me."
Rainbow Dash lightly sighs and looks down. She then looks back up, at Adorabella.
"That's what you gotta stop thinking will happen. Not everypony is gonna wanna harm you. Sure, there's unfortunately bad ponies out there, but don't let your fear of bad ponies stop you, because you may end up missing out on meeting good ponies, like me or my friends," Rainbow Dash gently said, putting her left forehoof on Adorabella's right shoulder.
"B- but how? I tried talking to Ralph earlier and I could barely talk to him. I was worried he'd do something. I don't know how to not panic all the time. I fear everything will be like school and home where I was always being hurt in different ways," Adorabella shared her exact worries, her fears. Rainbow Dash thought carefully how to answer.
"Well..." Rainbow Dash starts off, while still thinking how to respond.
"You gotta face that fear head on. Punch that fear on it's nose. Show your fear that you won't let it control you anymore," Rainbow Dash said firmly, while hovering and punches her right forehoof with her left.
"It sounds hard, and it will be at first..." Rainbow Dash hovers back down.
"...but it will get easier, and soon enough it'll not be so hard."
"So... w- what do I do?" Adorabella asked for advice.
"Go and try talking to Ralph as he's still out there. Now, I'm gonna stay inside. My test for you is for you to create a friendship with somepony on your own," Rainbow Dash instructed. She's going to start pushing Adorabella. Rainbow Dash doesn't want to push Adorabella too far out her comfort zone or she'll completely break down. But Rainbow Dash sees this as a first step in the right direction, making Adorabella more confident.
"O- okay..." Adorabella shakily walks out of the foyer and opens the door, walking outside, then shutting it.
Adorabella looks up, and Ralph is hovering a few metres above the door, replacing dark clouds with lighter clouds. She walks away to get distance before hovering up to his level. Adorabella thinks of what to say, how to approach him.
"H- h- h- h- hey... how a- a- are you g- g- getting on?"
"Oh I'm almost finished. Everything's coming along nicely. What about yourself?" Ralph responded as he turns around.
"I uh um... I um... I..." Adorabella stammered.
"Is something wrong?" Ralph asked.
"Something is on m- my mind uh- s- something hap- happened yesterday a- and all my m- memories of m- my f- fillyhood j- just came crashing in..." Adorabella stuttered.
"Well I hope it ain't anything too serious," Said Ralph.
"It- it i- is ser- serious..." Adorabella sighed while stuttering. Ralph knows by the tone in Adorabella's voice, she doesn't want to talk about it.
"I'm sure whatever happened will get dealt with," Ralph confidently reassured. He just hopes it isn't anything major.
"So... how old are you?" Ralph asked.
"T- tw- twenty... two... w- what ab- about y- you?"
"Ah, I'm slightly older, I'm twenty four," Ralph shared his age back.
"Well... what's your name again?" Ralph asked, feeling disappointed in himself for forgetting a mare's name.
"Ad- Adora- Adorabella..." Adorabella shyly cringes as she introduces herself, hovering backwards.
"Oh yeah, I remember. It's a beautiful name," Ralph complimented.
"A beautiful name for a beautiful mare," Ralph privately thought. There's no lying to himself. This mare is beautiful.
"W- what... is y- your t- talent?" Adorabella quickly asks something, to keep the conversation going.
"Well... I earned my cutie mark at a later age compared to the average age ponies earn cutie marks. I was good at many things, I was really gifted while I was in education. As I was really gifted in many areas, I had trouble defining my true special talent. I only earned mine at fifteen. I happened to be naturally great at art, but I didn't see myself being an artist, although I do draw in my spare time. But my special talent is useful for when I need to draw blueprints for any projects I'm working on," Ralph shared his story on how he earned his cutie mark. He turns slightly to show his cutie mark, which is a few sheets of paper and a pencil.
"So, how did you earn yours? What's your special talent?" Ralph asked.
"Well... it w- wasn't like anything c- crazy. It w- was after I l- left school f- for the last time b- before f- f- fleeing h- home. M- my teacher said we were g- going on a trip... I r- rem- remembered where we w- were going to go... and I w- was able to work out w- where I was j- just by the p- position of the moon. M- my c- cutie mark is around m- my ability to retain memories a- and perfectly work out my w- whereabouts," Adorabella explained her story of how she earned your cutie mark.
"Oh, how interesting... can I see what your cutie mark looks like?" Ralph asked. He can't see it because of Adorabella's cloak. The white pegasus looks down. She doesn't feel comfortable letting ponies see her her cutie mark, because sometimes, some ponies like to see a bit more than just the cutie mark. So she turns right slightly and lifts the left side of her cloak up with her left forehoof for a few seconds before dropping it back down.
On the side of Adorabella's flank is a pink-coloured map. In the pink map is a purple symbol that looks like a Z. At the top of this Z-looking symbol on the end is a circle. On the bottom of the Z is a line with another 2 circles on the top and on the bottom. On the end at the bottom of the Z is a curve.
"Oh, that's an interesting-looking cutie mark," Ralph stated.
"Th- thanks," Adorabella nodded.
"Well I wish I could stay here and chat with you, but I need to go now. I really do hope I see you again Adorabella. You seem really friendly and likable," Ralph smiled. Adorabella looks down, thinking what to say.
"I... I h- hope to see you again t- too..." Adorabella stuttered as she looks back at Ralph. Ralph appears to be nice, chill and friendly, like Rainbow Dash said he was.
"D- do you w- want me to let R- Rainbow know y- you left?" Adorabella asked.
"Oh if you don't mind, please. I need to go and quickly get back to see my boss to check who else needs what done. Being a construction slash maintenance worker is hard work... unless you're me of course, who finds hard work, easy work," Ralph requested, and lowkey brags towards the end.
"D- don't forget y- your box this time," Adorabella shyly and lightly chuckled. Ralph nods as he lands down on the cloud to grab the black toolbox with a red clip-on lid. He looks down and very quietly squeals. That soft chuckle is undeniably cute. He then hovers back up.
"If you wanna come see me... I normally pop down to Sugarcube Corner on the weekends. I'll see you around," Ralph said as he flies off, both pegasuses waving at each other.
Adorabella is disappointed and looks down, because Sugarcube Corner is in Ponyville, and although she's been to Ponyville before, she hasn't been seen in Ponyville before. Going into Ponyville at day and especially going to Sugarcube Corner means encountering Pinkie Pie. When somepony encounters Pinkie Pie in Ponyville for the first time, she throws a party out of nowhere. Adorabella's knows that means dozens of strangers will know about her very quickly, and that thought terrifies her. Adorabella isn't as intimidated by the pink earth pony nearly as much previously as she met her already, but she doesn't want to meet her in Ponyville.
She lands back down in front of the door and opens it. She walks in, into the foyer, and into the living room. While Adorabella was outside, Rainbow Dash continued reading the book. Seeing the white pegasus has come back, the light blue pegasus places a bookmark on the current page and closes it. Rainbow Dash gets off the sofa and walks over to Adorabella.
"So how did it go?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"N- n- n- not too b- bad," Adorabella stammered.
"See I told you it wouldn't be all doom and gloom. I knew you could do it," Rainbow Dash smiled. She is proud of Adorabella.
"Th- thank you," Adorabella nodded.
"It's just- it's just the stress of everything. The past few days have been overwhelming... and the recent events that gone on, with Rock and Catch, the others going in to file the report... and the thought of a trial... it's been overwhelming," Adorabella explained.
"I totally get that, and don't forget you can just write a statement that'll be read out in court. So you don't necessarily have to attend if you don't want to," Rainbow Dash reminded, not as if Adorabella need reminding anyways.
"Now... you know when you said you wanted help me by getting a job? Is that so you can help pay things like bills and all that?" Rainbow Dash inquired. Adorabella nods.
"I see... well, as I said earlier, you'd be a pretty good mailmare as you could fly to many homes and deliver many letters in under a minute. You also wouldn't need to interact all too much, and you can wear your cloak. I think being a mailmare would suit you well," Rainbow Dash stated. Adorabella nods in agreement.
"Although... I think you'd really shine as a Wonderbolt. Plus, I have many friends in the Wonderbolts- speaking of... I gotta do and be in a show in a few days. Anyway... I do think you'd be a great Wonderbolt. You may not be strong at all, but you're definitely quick," Rainbow Dash also proposed. She tries talking Adorabella into joining the Wonderbolts.
"I- I'm okay..." Adorabella politely declined.
"Fair enough, it's just... you're a great flyer. But knowing your past, I understand why you're a bit hesitant," Rainbow Dash nodded, being understanding.
"I appreciate you admiring me though. I appreciate everything you've done for me. You helped me get out of my shell," Adorabella nodded, smiling. Rainbow Dash nods, smiling back. Seeing Adorabella smile made Rainbow Dash happy.
"But it feels... it feels wrong that I don't do something in return for you," Adorabella added.
"Yeah I get how you feel. I do respect that you wanting to do something in return and not take things for granted. It shows you're loyal," Rainbow Dash smiled.
Knock knock knock...
Adorabella flinches as she hears the door go. Rainbow Dash trots into the foyer, then to the door. She opens it and outside is Spitfire.
"Hey Crash, sorry to bother you, but the next show has been moved a day closer than originally planned, going from three days time to two. So the practice run we were going to do tomorrow we gotta do today," Spitfire notified.
"Oh I can't I'm gonna be looking over the CMC later- what do I do what do I do?" Rainbow Dash panics, thinking of what to do.
"M- m- maybe I c- could look over?" Adorabella sheepishly offered, walking over to Rainbow Dash.
"Huh, who's that?" Spitfire asked, pointing to the white pegasus.
"Oh, she's my new friend and roommate," Rainbow Dash replied.
"Ah, a roommate, I see," Spitfire nodded.
"M- maybe I c- could look over them w- while you go?" Adorabella repeated herself to Rainbow Dash. The light blue pegasus starts stressing less.
"But... will you be okay with them on your own?" Rainbow Dash double checked.
"After what y- you've done for me... I want t- to return the favour," Adorabella nodded.
"Only if you're sure," Rainbow Dash responded.
"Yes," Adorabella again nodded.
"Thank you so much, that's put much less pressure on me," Rainbow Dash pats Adorabella on the back.
"So, who's your roommate?" Spitfire asked.
"H- h- hi," Adorabella stuttered.
"Hello, Hi, I'm Spitfire," The bright yellow pegasus slightly sniggered.
"Oh, Spitfire, this is Adorabella. Adorabella, this is Spitfire, the mare in charge of the Wonderbolts," Rainbow Dash greeted the 2 pegasuses to each other.
"Nice to meet you," Spitfire politely said, before looking back to Rainbow Dash.
"Well, if you can come Crash, I need you to be there by ten o'clock later tonight. Don't stress if you can't as... you do have your hooves full," Said Spitfire.
"No, I'll come, it's no problem. It's no excuse to not come," Rainbow Dash responded firmly.
"That's the spirit Crash. I'll see you later," Spitfire smiled as she turns around and flies off. Rainbow Dash closes the door.
"Are you sure you'll manage? I can try and see if Fluttershy can look after the CMC," Rainbow Dash asked.
"N- no, it's fine," Adorabella reassured.
"Well if it's okay with you, it's okay with me too. I really appreciate it," Rainbow Dash nodded. She walks up the stairs, followed by Adorabella, who's going to help Rainbow Dash pack things she will need to take.