View source for A Short Break from Prom (Bow)

{{Cutscene Header
|Date of Scene=2024/04/06
|Location=Sports Pavilion
|Synopsis=Backstage between acts of Prom, Crystal Hope decides to press some of Bow's buttons on those that aren't around.
|Cast of Characters=226
|Tinyplot=Princes and Princesses Prom
}}
After his violin performance - and as Ikuto took over with his own mini-concerto, Bow slipped backstage again. He needed some water and a few moments to collect himself. As he sat amongst the stage props and decorations, he heard a chime in his ear. "Bow?" 

"It's safe, you can come out." Bow responded, glancing up as Crystal Hope appeared before him, looking like a hologram of one of the students of the school, dressed in a flowing prom dress. "What was the purpose of all this?" she asked. 

"The purpose?" Bow thought about that for a moment, and then spoke. "The purpose was to introduce a bit of home to everyone. To show everyone that as much as we have talked about the Horde, the Rebellion, of war... that we are a peaceful people. That we just want to be free to share events like this with others. To set the stage so we can ask for help." 

"Yet the one you want to ask the most hasn't arrived." Hope pointed out. "Have you considered that?" 

"I know she hasn't." Bow draws in a breath. "I was hoping Adora would come - to at least unwind a little. To try to put what happened with the dark energy behind her." he admitted. "I guess it's still too soon. But it's okay. I sent her some food and a note and I will be sure to check on her later." he promises. "She needs to get back on her feet at some point, and I'll be more than happy to help her back on them." 

"That's not who I meant and you know it." Hope responded. Before Bow's eyes, Crystal's hologram changed, forming into the shape of Sayaka Miki. "Of course I'll go to prom with you!" she said in a close approximation of her voice. 

"Not funny." Bow frowned. "I'm sure there's something that has kept her busy. She'll show." He flicked a piece of a petit for through the hologram as she shifted back into her usual form. 

"It was not meant to be humorous. I'm surprised you're not out looking for her." Crystal Hope admitted. "What if something happened?" came her gentle inquiry. "You can ask someone else to take over and just check." 

Shaking his head, Bow corrected her. "Madoka was right about that. Sayaka'd texted both of us if she was in real danger. So it's not that." he responded, though that answer didn't exactly make him feel better. All of Sayaka's texts so far were 'she'd be there soon' and he just hadn't found the time to follow up on it. 

"What if it's someone... I mean something else." Crystal Hope suggested, "It wouldn't be the first time you were left behind for unknown reasons." 

Bow's expression darkened for a moment. "I'm not sure I appreciate what you're saying, Crystal Hope. Adora didn't abandon me, she vanished... and Glimmer..." he paused. And there is a breath he let out as he clenched his fists, pulling on the fabric of his pants. Glimmer ignored him. Glimmer got taken. Was that her abandoning him, though? No, he had assumed all this time that he let her down. That he should have listened to her. Or at least been with her, and then maybe she wouldn't have been...

"Bow?" Another voice pipes up. It was a student checking up on him, and telling him. "Wako-san said that she's about ready to take the stage." 

Turning his attention to the student, Bow waved at the student and forced a smile onto his face. "Alright, be there in just a moment!" he called back as he turned his attention back to Crystal Hope. "She'll be here." he reiterated. 

"And if she's not going to show, will you finally give up on this whole friends and allies thing and get back on the mission?" she asked him bluntly. 

"If she doesn't show? That's a whole other talk." Bow grunted, standing back on his feet. "For now, we have one last act to focus on, and it's gone really well so far, and it's going to end perfectly!" With that, he turns his attention to checking his appearance in the mirror one last time, before straightening himself up to make his way back to the stage.