Adorabella is already back in Ponyville from Fillydelphia. She slows herself down, coming to a steady halt as she reaches Sugarcube Corner. She pulls her hood up as she descends, slowly landing down. She looks up at the sky, waiting for Rainbow Dash to eventually catch up and eventually come here. Even though Adorabella doesn't feel so scared, it still feels odd being in Ponyville in the day.
"Maybe I'll just fly instead of taking trains," Adorabella said to herself. She got to Ponyville from Fillydelphia in under 10 seconds, and that's not even going at her top speed. Not only is flying far quicker for her, she doesn't have to deal with the societal stress of train queues and being around a big group of ponies.
Adorabella looks up and at last, Rainbow Dash has caught up. She is still wearing her Wonderbolt uniform. She dives down and halts a few metres aware from Adorabella, definitely making her flinch. She takes a few steps back.
"There you are slow coach!" Adorabella chuckled, now even having the courage to boast. Rainbow Dash chuckles, and smiles. She loves seeing that level of confidence coming from Adorabella.
"Now that's the kind of confidence I wanna see in you from now on," Rainbow Dash commended and smiles. Adorabella smiles back.
"Will you be okay?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I'll be alright... when Ralph gets here," Adorabella reassured. Rainbow Dash pats Adorabella on the back.
"Alright, I'll see you back home soon," Rainbow Dash nodded, flapping her wings and takes off. Adorabella turns around and sees Ralph has arrived, and is walking up to her. She pulls her hood down and waves to Ralph, who waves back.
"Hey!" Adorabella greeted aloud.
"Hi, I just fixed up Derpy's house. Turned out I there was a lot more than one window to fix. Bless her, poor mare," Ralph responded back. He did feel bad for Derpy, as she couldn't help inevitably keep breaking her house.
"Who's... Derpy?" Adorabella asked.
"She's loved by literally everypony in Ponyville, despite her accidents. She's Ponyville's most well-known mailmare," Ralph replied. Adorabella nods.
"Now, let's get something to eat shall we? Sugarcube Corner has the best 'after work' food," Ralph hinted, walking to the door.
"I- I'll wait out here," Said Adorabella. She didn't feel too comfortable going into Sugarcube Corner.
"Yeah alright, that's fine. What do you want me to get you?" Ralph asked as he pushes the door open.
"Um... maybe some cashews, please," Adorabella requested. She did quite like the packet of cashews on the train.
"Is that it? I can get more things as well," Ralph double checked, raising an eyebrow. Usually ponies like to get a lot more than just cashews from Sugarcube Corner. Maybe Adorabella just isn't a big eater. Knowing what to get, Ralph goes into Sugarcube Corner. Adorabella waits for a few minutes, anxiously tapping her hooves. Luckily, Ralph comes out, with a bag of cashews and a paper bag of 5 chocolate chip cookies, both of which are held by his mouth. Ralph with his left forehoof, points behind Adorabella, who flinches, thinking something is behind her. But he's only pointing to a metal bench that's roughly 10 metres away from Sugarcube Corner. The 2 pegasuses heads over to that bench, and then sits on it. Adorabella shuffles to the end. Ralph does the same, to give Adorabella some space. Ralph drops the bag of cashews by Adorabella.
"C- c- can you open them, p- please?" Adorabella requested. Ralph nods and opens them for Adorabella. She starts nibbling away at the cashews.
"So, how was the show?" Ralph asked, grabbing a cookie from his brown paper bag and eating it. Adorabella stops eating the cashews for a moment.
"It was really good, I actually really enjoyed it... apart from the noise the crowd made. I uh, um I... I had a breakdown," Adorabella replied. Adorabella continues eating the cashews.
"Fair. I do also have a spare set of ear defenders I use when I go to work on busy sights. Maybe I could lend you a pair," Said Ralph. Adorabella finishes eating the cashews.
"R- really?" Adorabella stammered. A pair of ear defenders would be very nice. If she ever finds any noise to be overwhelming, she can slide them on.
"Well not now, they're at home and I can't take you with me. It'd be outright weird of me taking somepony I just met to my house, don't you think?" Ralph shook his head. Adorabella never thought of it like that. Adorabella can tell that Ralph is doing his absolute best at respecting boundaries. This made Adorabella trust Ralph more.
"Do you have any plans or anything for later?" Ralph asked.
"Well... I- I was thinking of looking f- for a job tomorrow. I was thinking of b- being a m- mailmare," Adorabella replied.
"Fair enough. I mean, being a mailpony seems easy, especially in Equestria. The more letters you deliver, the more bits you earn. If you're a fast flyer, you'll earn lots of bits really quickly. Even better, working at the Ponyville Post Office, the pay is weekly," Ralph stated.
"A- and... I wouldn't r- really have to talk much..." Adorabella sheepishly added.
"That as well, and you don't seem to the talkative type... no offence. What I mean is that being a mailmare would really suit you," Ralph supported Adorabella's decision. Adorabella nods in agreement.
"H- how was today, for you?" Adorabella asked.
"It was alright... except I couldn't watch the show in Fillydelphia," Ralph replied.
"Speaking of the show... the advice you gave me yesterday... on how to deal with large groups... it really helped. Thank you," Adorabella gratefully said.
"Oh yeah, good," Ralph nodded.
"Th- thanks for the cashews... I really like those," Adorabella smiled.
"Glad you did," Ralph nodded.
"M- maybe we can meet a- again here? L- like... a- a weekly thing? I- I feel pretty safe around you... like how I feel safe when I'm with Rainbow or Flutters..." Adorabella put forward the idea.
"Sounds like an idea I like," Ralph nodded. He couldn't object the idea of a weekly meet up. He likes Adorabella, and Ralph wasn't going to say no to weekly meet ups.
"I'm gonna go now... I wanna go back to Rainbow, if- if that's okay," Adorabella requested. She trust Ralph, but it still feels awkward. Same with meeting Rainbow Dash for the first time as well as petrifying. Maybe the awkwardness is common when meeting and making new friends.
"I haven't done anything to make you uncomfortable did I?" Ralph asked, wondering why Adorabella is leaving this quickly. He is worried he accidentally done something to unsettle Adorabella.
"No of course not! If anything... I feel safe around you. It's just... today was a lot... and I just wanna go back to Rainbow. M- maybe we can hang out longer next week," Adorabella explained, saying she's happy to meet up again next week, next time, same day.
"Fair, fair," Ralph nodded. He sees Adorabella waving as she flies off. He waves to her back.
Adorabella is back at the Cloudominium. She went to knock on the door, but he accidentally opens it. The door has been left unlocked. She walks in, then closes it behind her.
"Rainbow?" Adorabella called out for her friend.
"In here," Rainbow Dash replied aloud from the living room. Adorabella walks through the foyer and then into the living room. Rainbow Dash has taken her Wonderbolt uniform. She is just putting a plate of hay sandwiches on a white plate on top of the round glass table in the middle.
"I thought I'd get lunch ready-"
Adorabella takes no notice of the sandwiches and runs to Rainbow Dash, then clings onto her with both forehooves. She didn't want to let go.
"Hey I'm happy to see you too," Rainbow Dash smiled, patting Adorabella on the back with her left forehoof and hugging back. The amount of trust Adorabella has in her added with the clinginess feels so wholesome.
"How are you?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Great! I... I feel- I feel... I feel... I feel great," Adorabella replied while stammering, but has a smile on her face.
"Awesome!" Rainbow Dash nodded. She tries to break apart from the hug, and she does, only for Adorabella to reattach to her.
"Alright alright," Rainbow Dash chuckled. Adorabella may not the strength to cling on, but she sure does have the adorable audacity to reattach to Rainbow Dash and continuing hugging her.
"I don't wanna let go, best friend. You'll always be my best friend," Adorabella warmly said. She sees Rainbow Dash as her best friend. Fluttershy comes in at a fairly close second.
"I see you as a close friend too. Now uh... do you mind if we can uh... let go for a bit?" Rainbow Dash requested while having a slightly more forced smile. Adorabella finally let's go, and her smile weakens.
"I've uh... I've been thinking about jobs... and I talked about it a little with Ralph. I think being a mailmare would be a good place to start, for me at least," Said Adorabella.
"Oh yeah definitely, because you'd be delivering all of Equestria's letters pretty... pretty quick let's say. Plus, it isn't... too socially intensive," Rainbow Dash agreed.
"Now, let's eat," Rainbow Dash said as she grabs her sandwich and munches on eat. Adorabella picks the sandwich up and nibbles at it.
"Rainbow... if I ever got my own house... you wouldn't forget about me... would you?" Adorabella sheepishly and shyly asked.
"No of course not!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, stopping munching on her sandwich.
"What makes you think that?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I'm... I... since we've met... and since I've trusted everypony a bit more... I've never been as happy as I am right now... I'm scared to be alone again..." Adorabella explained, almost weeping. Rainbow Dash pulls Adorabella closer to her.
"Listen, I'll never forget about you alright. No matter what, you'll always be my friend Adorabella. You'll never go back to your old life, I promise you," Rainbow Dash gently reassured, letting go of Adorabella.
"The show was amazing, I can't stop saying it," Adorabella again stated. Rainbow Dash still can't believe the transformation Adorabella made. Adorabella was absolutely petrified of her at the beginning, and now the 2 are friends, if not, best friends.
"Speaking of..."
"Yeah?" Rainbow Dash inquired.
"I saw Miss Bl- well, Mrs Blossom... at the show. When she brought up about her being married... I suddenly started questioning what ponies I'm into... I never thought about it until then..." Adorabella sheepishly started off.
"As in... preferences?" Rainbow Dash asked, raising an eyebrow. Adorabella weakly nods.
"I can totally relate to you. I too am still questioning myself. I thought I was into just stallions at first... but then I thought I was into just mares... but... but- I don't know. I'm fluctuating between the two. I completely understand how you feel in that regard," Rainbow Dash smiled, relating to Adorabella on a more personal level.
"If I was to get a special somepony, I would expect them to be loyal for starters. I don't think I'd care if they're a a male or female at the end of the day, as long as we're loyal to one another and care for one another," Rainbow Dash stated.
"I don't know for myself... because... I don't feel any... feelings feelings, for anypony... yet," Adorabella said sheepishly.
"At the moment, I wouldn't let it bother you too much. It takes a while for those sorts of feelings to develop. You'll know when the time comes Adorabella. No matter who you're into... it's the same, you just don't know until... until it clicks," Rainbow Dash reassured.
The 2 continues eating their sandwiches. Once finished, Adorabella gets up walks to the sofa, and her hooves almost gave way, making her wobble. Rainbow Dash immediately gets up and helps Adorabella to the sofa, where she lays down on comfortably. Rainbow Dash gets concerned for Adorabella. Rainbow Dash has started to notice Adorabella's subtle wobbles when walking sometimes. But never has she seen Adorabella wobble that much. Rainbow Dash says nothing so she doesn't panic Adorabella into thinking she may have to go to the hospital. But she is going to have to keep an eye on Adorabella's hooves.
Adorabella yawns as she drops her head, laying it on it's right side, facing away from the back of the sofa.
"You feeling tired already?" Rainbow Dash inquired. The wobbling could just be Adorabella happening to be tired. But Adorabella wobbles time to time anyway. Still, Rainbow Dash is going to keep an eye on that.
"I usually get very little sleep... but now I don't feel so scared where I feel the need to stay up *yawns*... I've been gettingamoremsleepy..."Adorabella's voice got quieter as she starts blinking and yawns yet again. Rainbow Dash picks Adorabella up and carries her like a little foal as she hovers. When lifting Adorabella, Rainbow Dash is surprised how light the white pegasus actually is. Adorabella doesn't quite feel underweight, but she definitely weighs less than the average pegasus mare.
Rainbow Dash took Adorabella to the bedroom. Adorabella is still awake, albeit, half awake. She is taking the white pegasus to the bed. The bed has new blue blanket sheets with the Wonderbolt symbol on it, a lightning bolt and 2 wings. It also has 2 very fluffy white pillows.
"Thought you may want to have my bed for a bit." Rainbow Dash thought that Adorabella may like the bed better than that relatively hard sofa.
"The sofamwas way comfiermthan the bedain my shack... which wasewhy I likemresting on it," Adorabella tiredly said as Rainbow Dash lets go and Adorabella gets on the bed. Adorabella gasps and immediately drops down and flails her hooves about in shock of the extremely soft, cushiony bed. It felt so soft, it felt so unreal, it felt so comfortable. Eventually, Adorabella settles down and gets her body under the blankets.
"Out ofmcuriosity... what's therbook you read? Daring Do?" Adorabella inquired.
"Oh, yeah, the books are awesome! Maybe you like reading some of them," Rainbow Dash suggested, as the topic was brought up.
"M- maybe... how didayou geteinto it?" Adorabella asked. Rainbow Dash bit her lip as her thoughts go back to the day she got into reading the books.
"Ah ha... short story... I got into an accident and had to go to the hospital and stay for a few days. It was really interesting, so interesting that after getting discharged I tried stealing the book to finish it. Before then, I used to hate reading, but now I actually like reading in some of my spare time," Rainbow Dash explained the story, nervously chuckling. Adorabella chuckles at the story too.
"Whatewas the booketitle exactly?" Adorabella tiredly asked.
"I think it was... Daring Do and the quest for the Sapphire stone. I'm pretty sure that was my first book. I have the whole collection now, of course," Rainbow Dash replied.
"Andethe one you weremreading two days agoewas... Daring Do andethe Ring of Destiny, right? The oneawith you onmthe cover?" Adorabella tiredly stated. Rainbow Dash is surprised. She knew Adorabella's cutie mark revolves around maintaining memories and that, but she didn't think Adorabella's memory was that good, being able to remember the title even if she had just a glimpse at the book for only a split second.
"Yeah... I was re-reading that book. It's just so awesome because I'm in it!" Rainbow Dash said gleefully while grinning.
"MaybemI'll readathem later afterahavingasomemsleep..." Adorabella nods as she slowly closes her eyes, drifting to sleep. Rainbow Dash nods and she leaves her bedroom, letting Adorabella sleep in peace. She walks out the door and gently closes it.
Rainbow Dash is feeling really good. Not only did the show go perfectly, Adorabella saw it too. Adorabella is getting stronger and more confident each day, pushing aside her worries to one side more and more. Adorabella is still crawling out of her very large shell, and while she's still got many obstacles to overcome, she's doing far better than she was a week ago. So far, Adorabella is making lots of progress, and Rainbow Dash is happy with that, and herself of course in helping with that.
(Dozens of hours later)
Adorabella is walking back to the Everfree Forest. She has her cloak and necklace on. As she predicted she is once again, alone. Then, she felt somepony tap on her.
"AAHHHH!" Adorabella screamed as she immediately tries getting up, but is forced down by the blankets on her. Luckily, what she was seeing was just a nightmare.
"Adorabella are you okay? You slept for the rest of yesterday! It is now the next day!"
Adorabella looks right and sees Rainbow Dash. Adorabella shuffles out from under the blankets and hugs Rainbow Dash.
"Did you have a nightmare? Don't worry, even I have them time to time," Rainbow Dash gently reassured, hugging Adorabella back, who nodded. The 2 pegasuses then let go.
"It was all going well. That was literally the best sleep I ever had, I'm not exaggerating. But then in the dream... then I was alone... and then something touched me it- it... you get it. I'm sorry. I keep fearing the worst-case scenarios," Adorabella sighed, looking away. Adorabella trusts Rainbow Dash of course. But Adorabella feels ashamed that even after what her friend has done for her, she still fears of being ditched by Rainbow Dash.
"You don't have to apologize Adorabella. I understand that, after what you went through. Just know that I'll always be there and that you're awesome," Rainbow Dash reassured, patting Adorabella on the back. Adorabella wholesomely smiles.
"Now, let's have some breakfast and after that we'll head down to the post office." Rainbow Dash opens the door and walks out of the bedroom, with Adorabella closely following by.
Adorabella for the first time feels excited. But she is also worried if the worst-case scenario plays out. Adorabella quickly remembers Rainbow Dash saying she needs to stop worrying about worst-case scenarios as they're very unlikely to happen. Adorabella feels a mixture of fear and excitement. Even though there's still that fear, the excitement is alluring. All of this is still new to her. But she is confident and hopeful that all will go well, confident and hopeful being a feeling Adorabella never experienced until now. But that confidence and hopefulness is so great that Adorabella knows she will get through today. She did it once, she'll do it again.