%%%
Two months later...
%%%
"-open!"
On cue, Adagio cut the red ribbon with the oversized scissors, flashing the crowd a smile and a cute pose. Distantly, she worried that everyone was going to assume she must have used those massive shears when trimming her own hair instead of just to open new locations of the Eezy-Cheezy. How that had happened, she wasn't sure.
It had all gone kind of fast, but she knew it had something to do with that song-commercial being caught on a local (and famous) web personality's channel while commenting on the latest episode of some cartoon or video game or something, the video-maker dancing along to the tune, gifs being made, the song exploding across forums and video sites over the course of about a day, and a massive influx of patrons at the Eezy Cheezy in the following weeks.
She was sure many of those new customers recognized her, but there were only two, maybe three stray comments regarding her actions at the Battle. At least, that was all she heard, business having been very busy and more than a little frantic at times, but at least Gouda Will was able to hire more workers. Strangely, Aria and Sonata declined to join her at the Eezy-Cheezy while there were still openings, having claimed they were looking into jobs elsewhere. Adagio hadn't had time to really investigate between her usual job as a waitress and the added (if not unpleasant) workload of performing the song (dubbed 'Cheezy-Love') twice a week, posing for photos with kids (and teenagers... and a few adults... and one elderly couple), and even signing autographs!
It amazed her just how much people had grown to like her Poofy act, but she had to admit it was a fun part to play. Always peppy, smiling, bright-eyed and optimistic as she winked and made cutesy gestures at people for no reason, wishing them well whether her nearly endless, cheesy chatter actually convinced them to buy more food or not, merrily bouncing around the restaurant from order to order, barely time for a thought in her head beyond smiling and selling people cheesy food. Maybe this was why Sonata seemed so cheerful all the time.
With all the eyes on her lately, she wasn't even embarrassed about the outfit anymore!
...Well, maybe just a little, but she was getting used to it. The closest thing she actually got to the scorn she'd anticipated was a couple of disapproving looks from the Rainbooms when she snubbed their table in favor of letting one of the new-hires take their order. They only dropped in once in the last few months, but damned if she was going to let them dent her good mood for so much as an instant.
Speaking of good moods, once Gouda Will had finished his little speech about hoping everyone in the central city area of Canterlot would enjoy their cheesy meals, it was time to sing again...
%%%
No matter how quietly she closed the door, Sonata always seemed to hear it.
"Welcome home, Cheese-head."
Adagio wasn't sure if the replacement of mocking cheer by bitter envy was an improvement as she walked to the living room. "Still no luck in getting your own voices back?"
"No," Aria growled through tightly-clenched teeth, refusing to look at her.
They all knew that it wasn't for lack of trying, but no amount of screechy, ill-tuned effort won Aria or Sonata the angelic mastery of song that Adagio had regained. It wasn't as if she'd paraded it in front of them day after day (just the first two or three), even if she felt that they mostly deserved it after months of tormenting her, but perhaps the near-constant reminders on more than a few commercials and websites had the same effect. It probably didn't help that she did make liberal use of the words "Don't get so cheesed off, girls" for quite some time, but they absolutely deserved that one.
"There are still openings at the new location," she said neutrally, "since those jobs you were looking into didn't work out." Even if they couldn't so much as name the business they'd supposedly applied at, Adagio did her best to say that last part without a note of accusation. Not that the response was any less vitriolic for it.
"Pfft, what, working in a fast food place? Dead-end minimum wage? No thanks, I'll hold onto my dignity. Have fun prancing around in that stupid outfit."
Though annoyed, Adagio did her best to keep a level tone. "It would be something until a better offer came along, if only so we'd have a little more money saved up."
"Maybe," Sonata chimed in, "but the work would still suck!"
"Perhaps, but even so, we don't have the luxury of-"
"Yea, yea, easy for you to say, Miss Happy Meals," Sonata's usual aptitude for nicknames did nothing to diminish the dismissiveness of the statement, "you at least get to have a little fun at work, but we'd still be stuck with the total suck-fest parts."
Right, nevermind the months of that I endured, you two should get everything right off the bat.
Saying that out loud, she knew, would only lead to another argument. She also knew that they didn't have the easiest time either while hopping from job to job over those many weeks, but even if each of them had picked up an... unflattering job or two in that time, at least they weren't mocked mercilessly for the duration. By those they were helping to keep housed and fed, at that.
Well, maybe if I gave them a little hint... "You could dance with me, you know. Even without your voices, I'm sure the three of us could-"
Aria scoffed. "Humiliate ourselves in the dumbest-looking get-ups we'd ever wear together? No thanks, that one's aaaall you. Congrats on looking like a doofus all over the internet, by the way."
And that was the last straw, Adagio stomping to her room without another word.
Maybe it wasn't fair that she wouldn't outright tell them how she got her own voice back even while knowing how much it would mean to them, to keep them locked out of what she felt when her magic returned (at a fraction of the gems' strength, as she learned when she could barely get a squirrel to eat out of her hand at the park, but still), but frankly? So was making her their punching bag while she alone consistently brought home income of any kind.
So was acting like she was a terrible leader even when her plans (most of which she formed and adapted on the fly, mind) worked virtually without a hitch right up until being cheated at the last second.
So was the fact that her two losses consisted of her enemies either having unbelievably good luck (she had since heard about the involvement of Vinyl Scratch and her preposterous, shape-shifting car) or pulling a portal to another dimension out of nowhere.
So was said enemies being completely, collectively immune to her group's magic for no apparent reason in the first place.
So was the way all of her victories, her every successful manipulation, every split-second analysis, and every stroke of brilliance, went utterly ignored, as though they'd never happened, where her shortcomings (whether they were actually her fault or not...) were brought up and rubbed in over and over again.
So was her being the only one who had to continue to degrade herself on a daily basis (granted, the job grew on her recently) so the three of them could get by.
As far as Adagio was concerned, those ingrates could keep waiting.
...She'd share what she knew and do her best to help them too at some point, of course, but after months of putting up with those two at their worst, letting them try to work it out for themselves didn't feel unfair to her.
%%%
Another month later...
%%%
"You're sure I can't change your minds? There'd be-" Adagio flinched at the impact of a TV guide against the wall near her head, the magazine hitting the floor in such a way as to show an image of her own work looking back up at her.
"Just go already!"
Huffing at Aria's shouted command, Adagio turned and went out the door without another word. Not even about how she was kind of impressed that Aria had made that throw so well even while lying on the couch.
Seeing her walk down the driveway through the living room window, Sonata turned to Aria with a frown. "Should we really be staying here?" Aria's I-will-strangle-you-with-your-own-kidneys look made her re-word that thought. "I mean, yea, screw her for getting her voice back when we don't, but-"
"But nothing," growled Aria, wishing she had another TV guide to throw, "if that sellout wants to go parading across the country to open more of those cheese joints and make even more commercials, let her, we don't need her."
Raising a fist, Sonata made a confident face as she cried "Yea!"
They really didn't need her, they had each other! They kinda had each other and her too before, but whatever, now they had each other and all that money she left in the new hiding place. It was SUPER easy to spot, too, especially with that sticky note on it!
If you don't spend frivolously, this should last you two until I get back, but you should keep looking for work anyway.
No gambling!!
Silly Adagio, leaving such an obvious marker for a hiding place. Even Sonata knew it was best to use something subtle to help her remember where her stashes of things were, like a candy wrapper sticking out, or something pointing to it from elsewhere in the room, or even just a quick swipe with an actual marker to make it look like it had been drawn there by total accident!
So, she and Aria would stay home while Adagio went on her surprisingly-successful-now-that-it-had-gotten-really-popular-cheese-biz trip, but... She frowned at Aria again.
"What are we gonna do now, though? Just live in her blocks-out-the-sun-with-all-that-hair shadow forever, or what?"
Still lying on the couch, Aria only responded with a devious, Adagio-worthy smirk.
%%%
Watching her luggage be loaded into the trailer... bus... thing... the big, fancy house-car she'd apparently be travelling in for the next few months, Adagio quietly marveled at the task she was given to aid in that process: Nothing at all.
It was such a little thing, having people that did things for her again, but it was a little thing she would appreciate for however long this Poofy gig lasted.
Completely missing the point of such graces was Cheese Sandwich, who helped things along with this own hands. Shutting a freshly-packed storage compartment on the exterior of the vehicle, he smiled at Gouda Will, who stood next to Adagio as they waited. "Thanks for lettin' me onboard for the trip, Mr. Will!"
He smiled brightly. "No praaahb'lem, Cheese-a Sandwich," just as Adagio feared, he rested a hand on her shoulder. "It was-a her idee-ya to bring you along to-a help me see to it that-a the new chefs knew juuust-a what to do in-a the Eezy-Cheezy style!"
She smiled rigidly, hoping to cut him off before he could get the wrong idea. "I-"
Cheese darted towards her in an instant, seizing and quickly bending her arm up and down in what she realized was a really, really enthusiastic hand-shake. "Thanks a million, 'Dagi-O," he said with his usual grin, "riding around on the Eezy-livin' party bus sounds like a riot! And not the kind with flipped cars and tear-gas!"
Not looking directly at him, Adagio invested the bare minimum amount of energy in the handshake that he would be able to feel her shaking back. "Don't mention it."
"Hahaha, Too late!" He laughed a little more before bouncing away and onto the vehicle they'd probably be spending a lot of time in over the next few months.
Internally, Adagio sighed. Seeing to it that he got to come along for the ride while she and Gouda Will toured the country was the nicest thing she could think to do for Cheese Sandwich (given the way he spoke when the subject came up), but he didn't need to know it was her idea. He was probably going to spend half the trip bugging her now, but at least when she got back, Aria and Sonata would be that much easier to deal with by comparis-
Wait, what did he say? 'Riot'?
They had caused one of those once, just to see how much extra power they pulled in. The answer was "Not enough to risk our lives in that terrifying mess again by being close enough to feed on it," but did it mean he knew who/what she really was?
Of course he knows, who did you think you were fooling? He lives in Canterlot too, he must have heard something by now.
Maybe she could just stay away from him. While they were in the trailer-bus-thing together. For months. Even the places they were due to visit would never see them that far apart.
Good thing he was invited along. Whose idea was that again? Ugh...
Glancing around, she noticed that she was standing outside the vehicle by herself, and hastily got on-board. Inside, she found it to be a surprisingly luxurious thing, with soft, felt carpets, big (for bus seats, at least), cushy chairs with cup-holders, and a little television screen within perfect viewing distance from where she sat.
She wondered if it was too soon to go sending pictures of this to Aria and Sonata so they could see what they were missing.
When the vehicle started moving, Cheese looked to Gouda, both seated nearby.
"So how's that toy-per-kids'-meal thing comin' along?"
Gouda smiled. "Merchan-dice-ing is-a goin' forward fine, Cheese-a Sandwich, and-a most of the Eezy-Cheezy line isn't-a even out yet!" He shot Adagio a particularly proud look. "The Poofy dolls are-a preet-ty high demand already with-a the girls."
She smiled too, trying not to let the idea of her tiny, somewhat distorted likeness being sold en masse go straight to her head.
%%%
Meanwhile, at Canterlot High...
Eezy, Cheezy, Eezy-Eezy-Cheezy!
Eezy, Cheezy, Eezy-Eezy-Cheezy!
Sitting at the lunch table, the Rainbooms looked down at the phone in the center of the table as Adagio's music video ended. The human Twilight Sparkle, now over her hang-ups about Midnight Sparkle since their adventure at Camp Everfree, scratched her head. "So, that's one of the sirens? The girls that threw the school into chaos with singing?"
"That's them," Applejack confirmed while adjusting her hat, "we gonna do anything 'bout this, Sunset?"
Sunset had barely opened her mouth when Rainbow answered. "We kick her ass, duh! The other two have gotta be backing her up offscreen or something, maybe they've got a-"
"It doesn't matter," interrupted Sunset, "whatever they're doing has nothing to do with us." She shrugged. "As evil and exploitative as advertising can be, she isn't up to anything illegal as far as I can tell and Aria and Sonata haven't even been seen doing anything suspicious. That was why we stopped by the Eezy-Cheezy, remember? Nobody there acted remotely like they were bewitched and there was no sign of anything we'd be justified in interfering with. I might not like the sirens, and it is weird that she apparently has her voice back, but until we can prove that she's actually using some sort of magic, we have no reason to go after them."
"Uh, we're super heroes?" Rainbow gestured to her amulet in lieu of the unseen the powers it bestowed. "Power and responsibility and all that jazz, right?"
Rarity rolled her eyes. "Fond though I am of the included wardrobe, we're not responsible if no one is at risk. Well, at risk of anything worse than serious weight-gain from too many cheeseburgers."
Rainbow pouted. "...But, if they do get up to something, we can swoop in and save the day?"
"Yes, Rainbow," Sunset said with an amused grin, "if they do something that clearly crosses a line, then we can do something about it, but until then? Life as usual."
Looking at Fluttershy, Rainbow's eyes narrowed. "I'm pretty sure a line's been crossed already..."
The rest of the table shared uncomfortable expressions as they again took in the sight of their mousiest friend; wearing an Eezy-Cheezy t-shirt and sky-blue sailor cap with a trailing, red ribbon much like the one on Adagio's mascot suit, grinning and bobbing along to the tune of the music video she must have seen a hundred times by now. Sensing that she was being stared at, she looked up. "...What?"
Pinkie sneezed confetti.
%%%
Alone in a dimly-lit room, a man in a security uniform eyed the monitors in front of him. All was clear, but he barely allowed himself to blink, his jaw clenched and one hand hovering over the buttons to the security doors.
It was quiet.
His eyes flicked from one screen to the next, finding each to be blank.
Listening carefully, he checked the halls immediately adjacent to his tiny room, sharply inhaled when he looked back at the screens, then slammed the doors shut.
After a long moment of silence, he checked the screens again to find all areas, at least those remotely near him, vacant.
He opened the doors again.
He listened.
He waited.
He checked the monitors.
He checked the hal-
"Hiya!"
He shrieked, falling out of his chair as Poofy smiled and held up a freshly-baked, still-steaming cheese pizza.
"Working late? The Extra-Eezy-Cheezy Deep-Dish Pizza might be just what you need, good for long nights on the job, parties," she lifted a slice just enough to show off the strands of melted cheese glistening in the light, "or just any old time you want some of the tastiest pizza you'll ever have with friends!" She let out a girlish giggle, winking at the camera. "Or by yourself, we won't tell anyone."
Eezy-
Cheezy!
Her sales pitch delivered, Poofy leaned over to look at the fallen security guard. "...You okay?"
%%%
"Why are we dressed like this again? I feel like I'm gonna catch librarianism or something!"
Walking towards the local studio, the one at which most of Adagio's early ad work had been done, Aria shook her head. She knew that Sonata was stupid, but she had no words for her thinking that wearing mature, professional clothing, such as the suits they were wearing now (a combination of blazers, blouses, pantyhose, black heels, and knee-length skirts), was a symptom of some kind of intellectual disease. Or something like that. Best not to think about Sonata logic.
"I told you, we're going to go in there and pose as Adagio's parents, which they'll buy because nobody asks questions when they're given a sob story about how the two-mommies stigma made life hard for Adagio growing up and we're just so proud of her for making it this far. Then, we'll talk to the big-wigs, with everyone thinking that, since we're her legal guardians, we own her, we take over everything she does; we get all the money she makes, and maybe stick her in something even more embarrassing while we're at it."
Silence. She had to stop and turn around to see Sonata standing there with a vacant, wide-eyed look on her face, but Sonata jumped back into awareness with a big smile as the whole plan finished processing in her head. "Sounds great!"
Aria actually smiled, and not just because she didn't have to explain her explanation again. When they reached the lobby, a tall, thin man with a long, pointy nose sat behind a desk, narrowed eyes peering out of his gaunt face to stare at the two visitors as though they were kids playing on his yard.
"Can I help you ladies?"
Eesh, thought Aria, creepy accent. He sounds like one of the officers on the bad guys' side from those World War 2 movies.
Anyway, she cleared her throat. "Good evening," she said in a soft, sweet voice, "we are Adagio's mothers, and we'd like to speak to those in charge about her career prospects. Might you know where we could find her agent?"
His small, beady eyes somehow narrowed just a little further. "You have identification?"
"Haha, of course, I-" Reaching through her purse to find nothing reminded her that Sonata must have brought them. "...Oh, dear me, I must have... Sonata, dear, the IDs, please?"
And then Sonata gave her that look. That stupid, stupid, I-messed-up-but-I'm-hoping-it'll-go-away-if-I-stare-at-you-Deer-In-Headlights-style look.
"You brought them... right?"
"I thought you did!"
"I didn't because you were suppo-"
They stopped when they heard the skinny guy stand up, towering over them at his full height. He reached out to press a button on an intercom-looking thing.
"Release ze hounds."
%%%
Many miles away, Adagio leaned back into the cozy chair of a fancier hotel room than any she'd been in since before the gems were destroyed, letting out a contented sigh as she finished her dinner. She wasn't sure that Gouda Will would have reacted badly had he known she chose to eat an ordinary, cheese-free meal, but this room was private, it had been too long since her last juicy steak, the evidence was neatly disposed of, and what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.
It wasn't even paid room service, either! She hadn't really thought the hotel staff would give her a meal of her choosing if she asked, but apparently 'Poofy' batting her eyes and making a cute smile had roughly the same effect as her old spells did. Well, that, and throwing 'Cheezy-Pleezy?' on the end of it, for which she was still cringing at herself hours later.
Ugh... 'Cheezy-Pleezy'? What is wrong with me?! I don't know what's worse; that I said that out loud in front of several witnesses, or that it came so naturally!
In hindsight, following it up with 'thank you dairy much' when she got her wish wasn't much better. She sighed.
At least it means I have a good handle on the character now, right? If nothing else, maybe it'll make for a funny story when I get home. It should be safe, they won't have much to mock me for when I come back successful, famous, and richer than we've ever been, and giving them a freebie like that should ease things a little if they're bitter about their own stupid, stubborn choice of staying home. Aria will probably cringe too, but Sonata might tease me anyway.
Cheezy-teas-
Bringing both hands to her head, she lightly pulled at her own hair. "Ugh, stop!!"
Anyway, she had this little space; a room with a desk and mirror surrounded by lights, a cabinet for the clothes she'd be wearing on-stage and off, her own bathroom with a spacious tub, an especially soft bed, and the promise of a similar arrangement at future stops. Not that the trailer-bus-thing was unpleasant, really, but she had no complaints about not outright living in it until they'd dropped by all the Eezy-Cheezy locations.
Hm. If I were to find a boy-toy, could I bring him back here to-
Startled by her phone ringing, she snatched it up in an instant to find that it wasn't Mr. Will calling at exactly that moment to scold her, either for not eating cheese or for her last thought, but it was just the studio back in Canterlot. Feeling a little silly for worrying, Adagio didn't let her blush creep into her voice.
"Hello? I- what? No, I don't have two mothers, why would- What did Herman say? I don't know anyone like- The hounds? Hm. And, you said they looked young? Y-what? Um... Thank you for sharing, that's, very interesting, but, no, they weren't my parents. Okay, thank you, goodbye."
She set the phone down, baffled.
What kind of...? Who would even...? I, suppose Aria and Sonata are the only two I know that might-... but, no, it couldn't be them. Impossible. Why would they pretend to be my non-existent, lesbian parents when they could just introduce themselves as my friends? Not even they would do something so stupid.
And then she needed to think about something else, especially something not related to the time in which Aria was in command. Or when Sonata went out gambling. Or that time they went to the circus and-
Oh, look at that, they have little stars stuck to the ceiling in this room! How nice.
She looked around.
One, two, three, four. Four lightbulbs wired to this vanity. Illumination from every angle.
Adagio never did find out what happened during Aria's solo mall trip. Maybe it wasn't even her fault? Maybe a Rainboom or six showed up, heckled her, and Aria alone took the blame for what followed on account of not being a local hero, incapable of doing wrong as far as that entire town was concerned? It almost felt feasible, until Adagio tried to picture Aria passing up a chance to complain about her primary hate figures again.
Rrgh. Need to distract myself, but without them around, I have no one to talk to. Ooh, wait!
A faint blush warmed her cheeks as her lips curved into a smirk.
What about that idea from before? Bringing a boy back here?
The smirk vanished as the door flung open. "Hey, 'Dagi-O!"
Not that one!!
She turned to look at him with as straight a smile as she could manage. "Hello, Mr. Sandwich." Lacking a way to say 'I could have been dressing, you know' without risk of it sounding flirtatious, she stuck with the simple greeting.
"Gouda Will told me to tell you that Cuttin' Dry told him that the editing guys told him that they got the newest commercial put together and it's lookin' great! We're done for today, but we'll be headin' out tomorrow to open the new Eezy-Cheezy a few towns over!"
"I, see. Thank you."
"Also," he produced a little bag from behind his back, "these came in for you, a fan that said he heard you'd be in town swung by the studio and dropped it off!"
"Huh? I-" Perplexed, she took the bag as it was handed to her. It was full of small, powdered donuts. "...That's, nice. How does anyone know where we are?"
"Our schedule's on the website!"
"Ah."
They looked at one another in silence for a moment, Adagio not confident that thanking him for what someone else wanted to give her would make much sense. Or make the feeling in the air any time he was around any less uncomfortable.
Should I just ask if he knows? I mean, he probably does, but he doesn't act like he does. Even when I started this job, he never gave me any of those looks like nearly everyone else has, but it could just be a very firm poker face.
It was as she tried to think of a subtle way to test him that he gave her a crisp salute, give or take the unchanged grin on his face.
"Welp, seeya tomorrow, 'Dagi-O!"
And away he went, presumably to put together a new (and hopefully less irritating) song to sing on and off during tomorrow's tour-bus ride. Adagio was alone again, but determined that it was probably best that way; she didn't want to picture the scene if Cheese came by while she was entertaining a guest. Or the guest entertaining her. Even with the door locked, knowing that he, and perhaps others, had listened in would make the rest of this trip unbearably awkward.
Hm... Could I, maybe, borrow a recording room some time? Pretty sure those are sound-proofed, so if I just blocked up the window and-
No, no, she thought as she reached into the baggie Cheese had dropped off, I'd definitely get fired for that, and I'm not ready to drop this job just yet.
There was no cheese in the donuts either, but she wasn't sure if that was what made them extra sweet.