All around Adagio, the world hummed and buzzed with strange machinery. She heard some mechanism play tinny-sounding music behind her. Adagio spun around, to see an apelike creature.
She screamed.
Adagio's eyes opened. She was lying in a bed, in a bedroom.
A land creature bedroom. Gravity pinned her down against the mattress. She couldn't swim!
She screamed again.
***
Adagio's knife moved faster than Sunset's eyes could follow, cutting and slicing fresh fish into fillets and chunks and tidbits. She picked up her cutting board and swept the pieces into several different glass containers, sorted by size and type.
"Wow," Sunset said. "You're really good at that."
The orange-haired girl snorted. "I should be. I know practically everything about fish."
"Oh?"
"I lived in the oceans of Equestria for more years than I can count."
"Girls!" a green-haired woman scolded. "Less talk, more work! Sunset, front!"
"Sorry, Mrs. Sour!" Sunset and Adagio chorused.
***
Out behind the restaurant, Adagio leaned against the building's back wall, gazing wearily into the night.
An old, dented metal door opened beside her. "Hay," Sunset said. "Mind if I join you?"
Adagio shrugged. "It's a free country. Or so they say." She pulled a loose cigarette and lighter from an apron pocket. A moment later, she took a long drag. "So if you don't like my smoking, you can go kiss Princess Celestia's ass."
Sunset chuckled. "Celestia and I never had that kind of relationship, fish butt."
"I wish," Adagio said.
Sunset waited for more. After a minute, she said, "You wish what?"
Adagio sighed. "Do you have any idea what it's like to swim?"
"I went to the beach with a bunch of friends, just last weekend."
"Ha."
Adagio took another drag. She held the smoke in her lungs for a moment, and slowly exhaled, sending smoke up towards the sky. "You don't know the first thing about swimming."
Sunset watched the cloud drift away. "Ok. So tell me."
"Have you ever seen a fish on land, just flopping around in a ridiculous way and hardly getting anywhere?"
"I guess?"
"That's how you land creatures are in the water. Real swimming...I don't know if you've ever seen it. Or if you have, maybe you didn't pay attention to it.
"Real swimming...is faster than thought. A fish barely moves its body, so subtle YOU probably can't even see what it did. And almost instantly, it's a foot away from where it was before. You probably can't even imagine."
"I can...try to imagine it?"
"But you...'people.' You jump into the water, SPLOOSH! Splashing like...I don't even know anything else as bad as you are. You fill the water with bubbles and noise all around you, and struggle like a drowning yak. Even a blind, deaf creature would know you're there. It's absurd."
"What should I say? I'm sorry I can't swim well enough to meet your standards?"
"Apologies won't fix it."
Sunset smiled. "So...teach me how I SHOULD swim?"
"I can't. I still have siren instincts, from Equestria. When I get into the water, my HUMAN body's all wrong for how I'm supposed to move. If I fall into the ocean, I'm an even worse swimmer than YOU creatures." Adagio bared her teeth in a grimace. "It's the worst thing EVER, having been born a siren but not being able to swim anymore."
"That's...I'm sorry."
"Why are YOU sorry? It's not YOUR fault I'm stuck here. And you'd think I'd be used to it by now. Starswirl banished us here hundreds of years ago. But I'm still NOT used to it, not really. I don't know if I ever will be."
The door opened again. "Girls? We just got three tables. Move your lazy asses."
Adagio stubbed out her cigarette on the wall, and followed Sunset inside.
***
"I am SO tired," Adagio complained. She and Sunset walked away from the restaurant's back door. "I can't BELIEVE Mrs. Sour made me wash the back wall without pay!"
"I can. Because you're the one who's been rubbing your cigarettes out all over it for the last three months."
"Whatever. I just want to go home and collapse."
"Ok, go."
Adagio put her hands on her hips. "You LET that woman exploit me. You owe me a ride home on your motorcycle."
Sunset was carrying a helmet in each hand. She held one out to Adagio. "Here you go. The one you already stank up before."
"I do NOT stink!"
"People who smoke generally can't smell very well."
"I can smell YOU."
Sunset put on her own helmet, and straddled her bike. "The stinky fish bus leaves in ten seconds. Nine, eight..."
Adagio jammed the helmet on her head, and straddled the bike behind Sunset. "Mmm," she said, putting her arms around Sunset. "Doesn't this feel good? All nice and friendly?"
"Sure." Sunset's foot worked the starter. "Let's go."
Sunset and Adagio rode away into the night.
***
On their high school's front lawn the next day, Sunset and her closest CHS friends sat around chatting.
"I can't believe you even put up with her!" Rainbow Dash said. "After what she and the other Dazzlings did!"
Sunset rubbed her forehead. "I know what they did was wrong. More importantly, Adagio seems to understand what she did was wrong."
Rarity sniffed haughtily. "She can say she understands, but what is she DOING about it?"
"Well, for starters...she's gotten an honest job. She's really good with a knife. Gutting, boning, filleting..."
Rarity tittered. "I can well believe she's good with a knife. I imagine she's best at putting the knife in someone else's back."
"She's been working at Canterlot Sushi for three months, and she hasn't backstabbed me even once."
"That you know of," Applejack said.
"I think I would know. Mrs. Sour likes me. She knows me and trusts me. If Adagio tried to cause trouble for me there, Sweet Sour would tell me.
"And now that Adagio's magic gem is broken...I don't think she would even know HOW to stab people in the back the way PEOPLE people would. For Adagio's whole life, she was always able to rely on evil magic, when she wanted to do something wrong."
Twilight shrugged. "Until earlier this year. But now if she wants to do evil, she would have to learn different evil methods. Does she seem like a fast learner?"
"I don't know. She told me she already learned how to make sushi hundreds of years ago, in Neighpone."
Rainbow Dash snorted. "But do you believe her? She doesn't look a day older than any spoiled teenage brat."
"She says Starswirl the Bearded exiled her to this world many centuries ago. And Princess Twilight said so too, right?"
"Hmmph," the human world's Twilight said.
"And you know what's really sad about that?"
"That our world has to put up with her?" Rainbow asked.
"She's been in this world for a long time, and she still can't swim. Or at least that's what she says."
"But wasn't she a seapony, originally?" Fluttershy asked. "How can a seapony not know how to swim?"
"That's the exact problem. She says she still has seapony instincts, so she instinctively tries to swim the way a seapony would, not how a human body can."
Fluttershy winced. "Don't seaponies have gills? If she tries to swim, and she thinks she's a seapony, does she just put her head under and drown?"
"I don't know. She didn't tell me the details. But she seems to really miss it." Sunset turned towards Rainbow Dash. "Hey, Rainbow, you're a good athlete, right?"
"You know it!"
"Are you a good coach, too?"
"I like to think so. Why?"
"Are you up for a challenge?"
***
Adagio wore a modest tanksuit to the beach, because she hadn't wanted to spring for anything fancier. She stood about waist-deep in the water.
Rainbow said, "Now the first thing you do is, you float on your stomach with your face in the water. Then--"
"But if I put my face in the water, I'll drown! I can't breathe water!"
"The plan is, when you want to breathe in, you turn your head so your face sticks out of the water. Then when you're breathing out, you close your mouth and slowly blow out your nose."
Adagio tried to float on her front, and immediately panicked, thrashing and struggling until she was on her knees with her head above water. "Aaaaa!" she screamed. "I almost drowned!"
"I don't get it," Rainbow said. "How can you be so good at singing, and so bad at controlling your breath for swimming?"
"I can't sing either! Not anymore. You girls broke my gem, and now I can't do ANYTHING!"
"I'm glad you can make sushi," Sunset observed from the shore. "So you CAN do some things."
"Sure," Adagio replied.
A few thrashing, panicked attempts later, Rainbow said, "New plan! Let's go to where the water is up to our chests, and ONLY up to our chests. Ok, this is a good spot. Now move your arms like me."
A few minutes later, Rainbow had Adagio dogpaddling back and forth along the shore.
"I'm swimming!" Adagio said. "I'm swimming! Like a disgusting land creature does it, but it's better than just drowning!"
Twilight whispered to Fluttershy, "Should we tell her most humans learn a better way of swimming than that?"
Sunset elbowed Twilight. "No. We should be proud of her. It's hard for her to learn to use a human body."
Rarity whispered, "Back when she could sing, she didn't seem to have much trouble moving her hips like a--I mean, she could dance."
"Well, now she CAN'T sing!" Sunset said. "Can't you just be happy for her? Do we have to completely crush her spirit?"
"Of course we don't, darling. I'm sorry if I gave the wrong impression."
Pinkie jumped and cheered. "Hooray for Adagio! She learned to dogpaddle in just a few minutes! Soon she'll be able to swim for real!"
Out in the water, Adagio started to struggle and sputter. "Swim for real?" she said. She stuck her face in the water, and immediately went under, her arms thrashing.
Rainbow ran over and grabbed Adagio, lifting her up until she stood on her own two feet with her neck and head above the surface. "Are you ok, Adagio?"
"Sure. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be fine? I used to swim beautifully, like a fish, and now I'm...like a mutt, I guess."
"Hey!" Fluttershy said.
"What?" Adagio asked.
"Some of my best friends are mutts. Mutts are wonderful creatures. We shouldn't look down on mutts!"
Adagio sighed. "Ok, Fluttershy. I'm sorry if I was mean to mutts. They're stupid and pathetic, but they aren't as pathetic in the water as I am now."
Fluttershy put her hands over her face and ran away sobbing.
"I'm sorry, Fluttershy! I didn't mean it! It wasn't your fault!" Adagio shouted after her. "Now look at what I'm reduced to. Apologizing for not wanting to be a dog."
Twilight sighed. "I'm just glad we didn't bring Spike along today. At least we didn't hurt HIS feelings too. But don't feel bad, Adagio. I know you didn't mean to insult dogs. And now you can swim! Even a little swimming is better than none, right?"
"Yeah," Adagio said. She walked towards the beach, and out of the water. "If Spike hears about this, tell him I'm sorry." She kept walking, heading away between some sand dunes.
"Buck!" Sunset said. "I'm going after her." She started running, but stopped to look back for a moment. "Thanks, Rainbow. You really are a good coach...and a good friend."
Rainbow sighed. "Thanks, Sunset. You too. And tell Adagio I'm proud of her." She smirked. "Adagio already swims SO MUCH BETTER than Princess Twilight dances."
Sunset ran towards the dunes.
When she got to the gap between the dunes, Adagio was already gone.
***
Sunset walked across the beach parking lot. "Hay."
Adagio leaned back against an old car with faded paint. "I should have thanked her."
"Rainbow? You still can." Sunset smiled. "She said she was proud of you. She even said something negative about Princess Twilight."
Adagio's eyes widened. "No! I don't want to cause more trouble! I just want to..."
Sunset nodded. After a moment she said, "Want to what?"
"I just want to learn how to...how to live. As a land creature without magic powers. Is that so much to ask?"
Sunset stepped closer to Adagio, facing her. She reached out and put her hands on Adagio's shoulders. "Sometimes I feel like that's what we ALL want."
"For me to learn how I should live?"
"No! I think all of us feel we're getting it partly wrong. That we're not good enough. At least sometimes."
"Oh," Adagio said. "So at least it's not just me. Being a land creature kind of sucks for everyone."
"Sure. And another thing." Sunset pulled gently on Adagio's shoulders, until the orange haired girl stepped away from the old car, towards Sunset.
"What?"
"Nothing. I mean, when we're all salty from the ocean, we shouldn't lean on other people's cars, but it's no big deal."
"I really CAN'T do anything right." Adagio put her head on Sunset's shoulder.
"No one can do everything right." Sunset blinked. "When you were a siren, with the magic gem and all, did you feel you DID know how to do everything right? That you were perfect?"
Adagio shook her head without lifting it. Her forehead rubbed on Sunset's shoulder. "Equestrian magic...you know how it can intoxicate a creature who doesn't know how to handle it, right? You must have been warned about it in school."
Sunset remembered the time she herself had stolen a magical tiara from Equestria, put it on, and gone completely nuts. She patted Adagio's head. "I think I know what you mean. I know it can really happen that way."
Adagio said, "Me and Aria and Sonata...ever since our gems grew in when we were little spratlings, we'd never known anything else. We just thought we were perfect in every way."
Sunset laughed. "That must feel kind of good, except for the collateral damage all around you."
"Being full of siren magic felt wonderful. It seemed like the best thing ever. But now that I've felt the crash of losing that, and finding out how wrong I was...even if I could somehow get my gem back again, I think maybe I'd be too scared. Scared of hurting people I've learned to care about."
"You think you might hurt Aria and Sonata?"
Adagio lifted her face. "Not just them, silly. You." She kissed Sunset on the lips.
Sunset went stiff.
Adagio stepped back. "You look like you've seen a ghost, Sunset."
"I just...I was surprised, that's all."
"Don't lie, Sunset."
"I wasn't expecting it! I'd never even thought...about..."
"That means you don't really want it." Adagio turned and walked away. She called out over her shoulder, "I'm taking the bus back. So you don't have to let me put my arms around you and hold you tightly, just to give me a ride home."
Sunset stood there, not knowing what to think...or how to feel. She said, "I just...I need a chance to think. To figure out how I feel about this."
Adagio kept walking.
***
Sunset said, "When I think about her...I have to admit, she does have a sexy body."
Rainbow kicked a soccer ball at the side of the school. "So why are you talking to ME about this?"
"I guess....you seem least likely to be judgmental about this. You always seem like you can just go with your feelings, instead of getting all tangled up."
Rainbow leapt sideways to intercept the ball rolling back, and kicked it again. She kept playing with it as she and Sunset talked. "So how DO you feel?"
"Well...I guess she was always sexy. She was very attractive even when I first gave her a tour of CHS, back when she was evil as...well, evil as anything. When I first met her, I didn't know she was evil, but I felt there was something wrong about her. Something I didn't want to trust."
"Ok, so you didn't want to trust her. That sounds like a feeling right there."
"And I was RIGHT to feel that way. At the time. But now I realize, months later, things have changed. I mean, REALLY changed. I've spent a lot of time with her since her gem broke. And I really believe she's a different person."
"You really believe? What KIND of belief?"
"What do you mean, what kind?"
"People believe things for a lot of different reasons. Sometimes we believe things based on...the truth. Because we know from experience. But sometimes we believe something because we've been told we should. Or because we think someone who doesn't believe that thing is a bad person, is doing something wrong by not believing it. And sometimes people get us all excited, or put in a lot of work to get us down about something. There are athletes who work so hard to psych out their opponent, to make their opponent feel something that isn't true."
"Hmm. Rainbow, have you ever heard of something called "emotional intelligence?"
"Nah. I'm no egghead. Whatever that is, I wouldn't have it."
Sunset chuckled. "You might be surprised."
"So anyway...what kinds of feelings do you have about her now, Sunny? And do you have any idea why you feel that way?"
"I think...maybe it would be good. I think after a bad first start with the whole magically taking over the world thing...we've gotten to a different place. Maybe we could be good together. Or maybe we COULD have been good together, before I rejected her."
"Did you really reject her? You told me you said you were surprised. If she can't handle that, you two really have no hope for...romance? I guess that's what she wants?"
"I stiffened up like a board, Dash. What do they say, the body doesn't lie?"
"Ok, maybe that's a problem. I don't know for sure. Maybe it is, and maybe it isn't. You have to figure that out for yourself.
"But even if you can't be that for each other, maybe you can still be friends. I hope you can. Because you two seem to be good friends. I just don't know about the other stuff." Rainbow lifted her foot to stop the ball. "You know?"
Sunset smiled. "You know...I think I do know."
"That's good. When you're ready to tell me about it, let me know too."
***
Sunset knocked on the door of a shabby, run-down apartment. "Hey," she said. "I have to talk to you. WE need to talk."
From inside, a muffled voice said, "I HATE relationship talks. That's what people do when it isn't working. And by the way, I'm not here."
"Adagio...you're a very different person from who you used to be, when we first met."
"Buck you."
"We still need to work together."
"That's ok. We can't talk about our FEELINGS on the clock, Sunset. That would be slacking. And when we're taking our breaks, I can just walk farther away so you don't have to see me."
"Why are you acting like this?"
"Because I don't want your pity."
"It isn't PITY. It's just...I have to adjust to how much you've changed. How you used to be someone who I would never want to be anywhere near, not in a million years...and now you're not like that. You're the exact OPPOSITE of that. I really like the time we spend together, Adagio."
"Do you mean that? I mean, relationship talks STILL SUCK."
"I just...I thought about it. I mean, I didn't think about it before, but I realized, I really like when you ride on the back of my bike, and you put your arms around me, and hold me close. It feels good. I miss that."
"You do?"
"Yeah."
The door opened. Adagio came out, her eyes puffy and rimmed with red. She hugged Sunset. "I miss you too. But if you need to take things slow, I guess I understand. Maybe taking it slow is what I need too."
Sunset said, "I guess we might need to work through some issues..."
"No!" Adagio said. "Don't make me miss when I had my gem, and I could just TELL someone they loved me. If I wanted a shrink...well, I don't want one. Thank you for finding me a swimming teacher, though. That was the best. No, that was better than best." She sniffled. "When I wasn't speaking to you, I snuck around behind your back and thanked Rainbow for the lessons."
"You snuck around behind my back?"
"Only in a totally Platonic way. Or is it a Socratic way? Because let me tell you, Socrates was a cool guy, but Plato had a stick up his ass. Socrates definitely would have snuck around behind your back and thanked Rainbow, just like I did."
"You knew Socrates and Plato?"
"Mostly Socrates. Socrates would talk to ANYONE. Even 'scandalous women' and sea monsters. Socrates could always ask the BEST questions to make a conversation interesting. That made a lot of people angry, but I always liked how fearless he was."
"Yeah? He was fearless?"
"Yup. You kind of remind me of him."
"Aww. You say the sweetest things."
"Only to the sweetest girls."
"You're good at this."
"Thousands of years of practice, babe."
The two girls laughed.
"You know what?" Adagio said. "We should celebrate, by doing something that isn't sushi."
"Sounds good to me. Any ideas?"
"I have SO MANY ideas, babe." Adagio looked beyond Sunset. "How about we start by going somewhere on your bike."
***
Dear Princess Twilight,
Do you remember the Dazzlings? Of course you must. You've defeated a lot of villains and monsters, but you've only fought a few at Canterlot High. At least, only a few that I know of (and I think I should know! No offense, ha ha!)
Ever since the night we stopped the Dazzlings and destroyed their magic gems, I've been keeping tabs on those three girls. Mostly on Adagio, really. She's been working at the same sushi restaurant as me for more than three months now, and I believe she's changed. I really believe she isn't evil anymore. Living like a normal, non-magical 'land creature' is hard for her sometimes, but she's really trying, and doing a pretty good job of it.
Also, she and I are kind of dating now. I don't know if we're special someponies yet. I don't think that's a siren custom.
I had to tell you that, to help you judge if my next request is terrible favoritism. I hope I'm not being TOO biased.
Adagio misses swimming as a seapony, a whole lot. She's learning how to swim as a human, but it isn't the same at all. Now that her mind control gem is broken and she's been trying so hard to not be evil, I would like you to let her come through the Mirror Portal and visit Equestria. I guess you could set up the mirror next to a pond or lake. That is, if you think it's a good idea.
I understand if you don't want to take the risk. Obviously we can't ever let her have her old magic powers back, but I thought it would be nice if she could do this one thing that shouldn't hurt anycreature.
If you say no, I completely understand. You have to protect entire worlds full of creatures, and sometimes you can't take a risk on letting one creature do what it wants to.
OOO,
Sunset
***
Dear Sunset Shimmer,
What day and time would work well for you? Would Saturday at eight am be good?
HRH
Princess Twilight Sparkle
P.S. I can hardly wait to see you again!
***
"You really didn't have to come see us off," Sunset said.
"Nonsense!" Rarity's hand seemed to wave the idea aside. "I wouldn't miss it for the world. You and Adagio going on a little adventure together. How romantic!" She smiled.
Rainbow Dash added, "Plus, we have to see if the portal blows up or something. Which I hope it doesn't, but if it does, if there's anything we can do..."
"Thank you," Sunset said dryly. Adagio held her hand, looking nervously at the Wondercolt statue's large pedestal.
"We're here to help!" Twilight agreed cheerfully. "And I'm glad you decided to trust me to take care of this." She held up Sunset's two-way friendship journal, the one that communicated with Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria.
Fluttershy and Applejack nodded.
Sunset said, "I guess I should go through first, to make sure everything's ready. Now you all be nice to Adagio while I'm gone."
"Sure thing!" Dash replied. "I can't let anything bad happen to my favorite swimming student!" Everyone else smiled and agreed too.
Sunset released her hold on Adagio's hand.
Adagio let go too, and gently pushed her towards the statue. "Say hi to everypony for me."
Sunset stepped closer to the plinth, and pushed her way inside as the surface rippled and glowed around her.
***
An amber-colored pony with a red and yellow striped mane and tail emerged from a large mirror. She stood by the edge of a large pond, or a small lake. She stepped sideways. "This looks good!" she said.
"Sunset!" a purple alicorn trotted up and hugged her. "It's so nice to see you. And I look forward to getting to know Adagio better, under...less evil circumstances, we might say."
Sunset snorted. "Yes. She's really turned her life around. Speaking of meeting her, I should go back and tell her you're all set up for her arrival. That is, if you ARE all set up?"
"Yes, yes, she can come through now." Twilight patted Sunset with a forehoof, and smiled. "Go get her!"
"I thought we'd use the book. Our two-way journal."
"Oh, yes. Spike?"
The little purple dragon held up Princess Twilight's copy of the book. "Got it." He held it out to the princess, who wrote a brief note in it.
"Everycreature stand away from the mirror," Twilight ordered. A moment later the mirror glowed, and a creature emerged, flopping onto the pond's shore.
A few nearby ponies stared. "What a weird creature. What IS it?" a foal asked.
Another pony hissed in a half-whisper, "Don't talk that way. It isn't nice."
Somepony else said, "Besides, what if it gets angry and bites you?"
Next to the mirror, on the shore of the pond, an orange-haired human bawled. On her hands and knees, she was about as tall as an Equestrian pony. "I should have known that somehow, this would never work!" Tears dripped from her face onto the sand.
"Adagio!" Sunset said. "How...why...?"
The princess said, "I was afraid this might happen."
Twilight!" Sunset shouted. "What are you saying?"
Twilight took a deep breath. "Adagio's gem is broken. She's always had it, since before she was hatched. In her siren seahorse form, it's a part of her body. If the mirror had turned her into a siren whose gem is broken..maybe she would have died? I suppose this was the only way the mirror could keep her alive."
Sunset scowled. "That Starswirl really was a tricky bastard. I guess he gimmicked the mirror to make sure that even if Adagio returned to Equestria someday...she'd wish she hadn't."
"It's not like that!" Twilight said. "It's only to keep her from getting hurt. I'm sure of that!"
Adagio struggled to her feet. She said, "I probably deserve it. When I was a siren, I really did hurt a lot of people. People died because of me."
Sunset ran to Adagio, and stood up on her hindlegs to hug her. "But you're done with that! It's all in the past! Right?"
Adagio looked her girlfriend in the eye. "It happened, and I can't fix it." She sighed. "At least Equestria still looks nice. It's really a very pretty place." Adagio reached into a jacket pocket. "Damn. I didn't bring them."
"I hope you can keep from smoking for one day."
Adagio grimaced. "You'd like to think. But it's easier said than done. What was it Mark Twain said?"
"No idea."
"'Quitting smoking is easy. I've done it a thousand times.'"
Sunset shook her head. "I'm sorry, 'Dagy. I know it's not easy."
Adagio sighed. "I'll be back in a few minutes." She stepped into the mirror, and vanished.
Princess Twilight looked worried. "She's coming back, right?"
"Sure," Sunset said. "I think so. If I wait here for her, I'm sure she'll come back for me."
***
The mirror glowed, and a naked human girl popped through. "Damn," she said.
"What the buck?" Sunset asked.
"I thought maybe if I wasn't wearing human clothes...well, it was worth a try." She started pulling clothes out of a small backpack, and putting them on. "I just wanted it SO MUCH, you know? I would do anything."
Sunset nodded. "I get it. I mean, I know what it's like to want something so much you'll go to another world and do things that might seem crazy, to try to get it."
Still half-dressed, Adagio hugged Sunset. "I knew you'd understand."
When Adagio was fully clothed, she grabbed one of Sunset's forehooves. "Come on. Let's go for a walk."
Sunset followed her uphill, away from the pondlake.
***
On a hilltop, Adagio released Sunset's shoulder, and slowly spun around. "This looks like a nice spot," she said.
"It does," Sunset agreed. She sat down on the grass, facing away from the lake.
Adagio threw herself down on the ground, and rolled until her head was in Sunset's lap. "One thing about looking up. No matter where you are, sometimes the sky doesn't look all THAT different."
Sunset put her forehooves on Adagio's head, and gently stroked the siren girl's hair.
"I can almost pretend that I'm--" Adagio sobbed. "I--I--"
Sunset nodded, looking down at her girlfriend.
Adagio curled up into a ball, now facing her special pony's stomach. "I still can't BELIEVE--"
"I know, Dagy. I know." Sunset cradled Adagio's head in her arms.
After a minute, Adagio said, "Sorry, Sunny. I'm getting you wet."
Sunset patted her. "Don't worry. I don't mind."
Adagio pulled away from Sunset, rolling until she faced down towards the pondlake. "Huh," she said. "I'll be a clownfish with two left forefins."
"What?"
"I guess I can understand Twilight not knowing, and you not knowing. But I should have seen it. I really don't have any excuse." Adagio stood up. "Come on, pony! We've got to go talk to Twilight."
"Um, ok. Let's go."
Adagio pulled on Sunset's shoulder. "The sooner the better!" She ran down the hill towards Ponyville.
***
Adagio shouted, "Twilight! Get your butt out here!"
A minute later, the front door of Twilight's somewhat garish crystal castle opened. "What is it, Adagio?"
"I borrowed a tape from Rarity and measured the mirror, just to make sure. If I'm a siren thousands of years old, I should be...a little wider than that mirror of yours."
Twilight glanced towards the pond. "But Starswirl's records were very clear--OH!" Twilight grimaced sheepishly. "Of course. Your siren form would have grown. I should have thought to ask you."
Adagio said, "Fortunately, Rarity has a mirror big enough for a siren my size to come out of. She's setting it up by the lake right now. It's just a question of...can you make her mirror work the way the other one does?"
Twilight nodded, walking towards the lake as Adagio and Sunset followed. "I've already transferred the spell between mirrors once, to use a mirror big enough for the siren you USED to be. It should be foal's play to transfer the spell again."
Soon the trio reached the lake, where Rarity was using her horn's levitation magic to adjust the exact position of a very large mirror and the stand supporting it. "This looks about right," she said. "Close enough to the lake to wriggle into it, but far enough that the supports won't sink into wet mud." She asked, "What do you three think?"
Twilight and Adagio looked at the mirror and the ground underneath it, glanced at each other's expressions, and nodded.
"I like it," Adagio said. "Thank you so much."
Twilight's horn lit up, and a swirl of glowing magical energy connected her to the two mirrors. A moment later, she said, "Transfer complete! I just hope this fixes the problem. But to test it, Adagio, now all you have to do is go into the mirror, go out the CHS end of the portal, and then come right back." She pursed her lips.
Adagio hugged Twilight, Sunset, and Rarity in turn. "I'll be right back. I mean, in a minute or two." She walked into the rippling mirror and vanished.
The three ponies watched the mirror intently.
Twilight said, "All I can say is...if this doesn't turn her into a proper siren form, I'm so sorry."
Sunset put a foreleg on Twilight's shoulder. "You've done the best you could. I just appreciate that you're willing to do so much to help a former enemy."
Twilight smiled. "A lot of my friends are former enemies! So both of you are welcome!" She frowned. "Assuming Adagio survives this."
The mirror's surface rippled, and an enormous, scaly muzzle stuck out. A moment later, the nose was followed by the other parts of a seahorse who was at least eight or ten times larger than a pony. The seahorse flopped onto the grass and dirt, and wriggled down into the lake.
"I can swim! I can swim!" Adagio shouted. She was orange with purple eyes, matching the coloring of her human form's hair and irises. She swam around in circles, and grinned a huge, toothy grin. "I'm a siren again!"
She raised her head high, and screeched a few mistuned notes. She frowned. "But I still can't sing. Baked horseapples. Well, swimming is a lot better than nothing." She smiled at the ponies on the shore. "Anypony want to go swimming with me?"
"Um," Twilight said.
Pony Rarity quirked her eyebrows. "Darlings, I think this might be a good time for Sunset and Adagio to...spend some time together. Without the rest of us."
Twilight nodded. "Shoo, shoo!" she called out at the random onlookers. "I'm sure everypony has other things to do. Let the two...lovecreatures be alone together!"
Sunset walked out into the water, where she swam until her muzzle bumped up against Adagio's side. "Hey, fishbutt. I missed you. It's been at least a minute or two since I saw you last."
Adagio dove under the surface. She rose beneath Sunset, until Adagio's back lifted the pony high out of the water. Adagio bent her long neck around until her muzzle gently rubbed Sunset's. "Let me show you what a siren body can do." Adagio's tail wriggled back and forth, rocketing the siren forward.
"Wheeee!" Sunset shouted. "This is great!"
Adagio smirked. "I know."
The two lovers swam and played and laughed all day. Sunset even remembered a spell that created a bubble of fresh air around her head, and used it to play underwater tag with Adagio. Because she was a lot smaller than a full grown siren, Sunset was better at hide and seek than the more experienced swimmer, at least when she could talk Adagio into counting high enough before looking for the pony.
"No fair!" Adagio said when her muzzle finally bumped into Sunset in the shallows. "Using a camouflage spell to look like water weeds is cheating!"
Sunset stood up straight, lifting her head out of the water. "So maybe it WAS unfair. What are you going to do about it, huh?"
Adagio sucked a few dozen gallons of water into her mouth, and sprayed them at Sunset.
Sunset's air bubble spell kept the spray out of the pony's face. She stuck her tongue out at Adagio. "Pppfffbbbfft!" She laughed.
Adagio sighed. "I guess I can't win." She curled her body, bending her tail around behind Sunset. The tail whipped around Sunset's flank, pushing her towards the siren. "Got you!" Adagio crowed, wrapping herself around Sunset. "You're my prisoner!"
Sunset beat her forehooves against the siren's side, but not too hard. "Oh no! But don't worry, I can pay a ransom!"
"Hmmph. What kind of ransom?"
"I can pay a ransom...in KISSES!" Sunset nuzzled Adagio's shoulder. "Lift me up higher so I can reach your face, you big scaly monster!"
Adagio bent her neck downwards. "You owe me a ransom, you naughty pony...and I've come to collect."
Barely within sight of the pond, Spike said to himself, "Eww!"
***
As the sun set, and the evening cooled, Sunset came ashore. She kissed Adagio's muzzle again, before she walked to Twilight's castle, where she knocked on the door. "Twilight!"
Twilight opened the door. "How'd it go?"
"It was great. I finally got to see Adagio in her element! Without her doing anything terribly evil, even."
Twilight snorted. "I'm so glad." She started walking towards the little lake, as Sunset accompanied her. "So did you two have fun?"
"We had SO MUCH fun!"
"Mmm. I don't know if I should mention this..."
"Mention WHAT?"
"I haven't been to see it myself, but according to legend, there's supposed to be a sort of magic pearl that hippogriffs can use to turn themselves into seaponies. Maybe we could find a way to use similar magic to turn a pony into a seapony. Then you and Adagio could go swimming together, both of you in some kind of mermare form."
"Wow. You could do that for me?"
Twilight smiled. "I could HELP you with it. But you're a very smart pony. Doing the research project mostly by yourself would be good for you."
Sunset grimaced. "I guess that might mean going to the Canterlot Archives?"
"It might," Twilight said in a neutral tone.
"I don't think I'm ready to face Princess Celestia. I mean...I was kind of afraid to even visit Ponyville for one day. I don't think I...I don't know."
Twilight nodded. "It's up to you. I just thought maybe you should know there might be a way to do it."
The two ponies had neared the pondlake. Adagio lifted her head and neck high out of the water. "Do what?" she asked.
Twilight said sheepishly, "I don't know if it's even possible. I just thought, with enough research...MAYBE I could help Sunset find a way that she could switch back and forth between being a mare and a seapony. Maybe. No guarantees. I don't know if it would even work for a full-blooded mare like her."
Adagio smiled, but when she looked at Sunset, her smile weakened a little.
"There's no rush!" Twilight added. "You two can take as long as you like to decide."
Adagio nodded.
Sunset complained, "I'm cold. And I have to go to work tomorrow. I think it's time for me and Adagio to go back to the human world."
"Ok, babe." Adagio grinned toothily. "Whatever you say. Let's go back and warm you up."
Sunset and Twilight hugged goodbye. A moment later, with only a little flinching, Twilight hugged Adagio too.
"Now I'm all wet," Twilight said.
"Don't worry," Adagio said. "I hear ponies have invented these things called towels. A fancy castle like yours probably even has warm showers." With one foreleg she very gently poked Twilight. "You'll be fine." Adagio wriggled up onto the lake's shore, and towards the mirror. A moment later, she was gone.
"Wow," Sunset said. "It's amazing how it just sucks her in like that."
"Yeah," Twilight agreed. "Her siren form IS pretty huge."
As Sunset stepped up to the mirror, she grinned. "Don't be a stranger. And thanks again. Thank you so much!"
"Aww. It was my pleasure. See you soon."
"I wouldn't miss it." Sunset looked back and waved, even as she touched the mirror and it began to suck her in.
***
In front of Canterlot High, a tall, somewhat enchanted statue plinth ejected Sunset onto the grass. Standing off to one side, Adagio smirked. She sniffed the air. "Sunset, you smell like old lake water."
"Yeah?" Sunset said. "Well, you smell like a magic fish that's thousands of years old."
Adagio shrugged. "It's one of my special talents. Smelling like the best thing in the world." She grinned. "Let's get on your bike and go someplace we can warm up properly."
"Race you to the bike." Sunset sprang up onto her feet, and the two girls ran to the motorcycle.
***
After they showered and dried off, Sunset and Adagio sat side by side on Sunset's couch. Sunset had dressed in a pair of pyjamas. Adagio just wore a long, oversize T-shirt from Sunset's closet. It came down almost to her knees.
Without thinking about it, Adagio reached for her hip where, if she was wearing her regular clothes, she would usually have a lighter and a few cigarettes in her pocket.
"Adagio! If you really love me--no, that's not fair. I'm sorry."
Adagio sighed. "Maybe I SHOULD try to quit. But I'm sure at least I shouldn't smoke in your apartment." She gently poked Sunset. "After all, only one of us here is an immortal fated to look young and beautiful forever. So I should try to make you last as long as you can."
Sunset snorted. "Love you too."
Adagio put her arms around Sunset. "I was really afraid for a while."
Sunset asked, "Afraid of what? A big, tough siren like you?"
Adagio shook her head. "After I lost my singing powers...I thought maybe all my siren magic was gone. I thought maybe I was just like a regular old human." She shuddered. "So when I went through the mirror portal and I was STILL in human form, I was terrified."
Sunset squeezed Adagio back. "But you figured out what was wrong, and you solved it. You aren't just a magical immortal, you're SMART too."
"Yes," Adagio agreed. "That's true. And it turns out, I really am still a siren. That's SO good to know."
"Yup. But please don't sit on any rocks by the ocean and wave to the sailors to make them crash their ships."
Adagio took a deep breath, and sighed. "If you insist. It's an old siren tradition, to sit on a rock and look irresistibly beautiful to tease the sailors. But because you helped me prove I really am still a siren, I guess you're a little bit of an honorary siren yourself. So guess what you get to do?"
"I have no idea."
"Go to the bathroom and get a comb. You have the honor of getting to comb my hair."
"Ok. Let go, 'Dagy."
When Sunset returned, and sat down again next to Adagio, Adagio stood up. The siren sat on the floor with her back against the couch, directly in front of her girlfriend. "Serve me, mortal." She giggled.
Sunset scooted forward a little, and started combing Adagio's hair. It was a slow, careful process, working the comb through any tangles without pulling on them by mistake.
Adagio sighed with contentment. "That feels good." A few minutes later, she asked, "Do you think you might want to become a seapony in Equestria someday? And maybe we could swim in the ocean together, not just some little pond?"
Sunset asked, "How long would you want to stay?"
Adagio sighed again. "I really do miss living in Equestria's oceans. But would I want to go back forever, someday? I'm not sure."
"Visiting as a seapony sounds fun, for a little while. But I have a lot of friends on land. A lot of friends in the human world. I hope they're becoming your friends too."
Adagio shrugged. "It's not like there's any hurry. If I don't want to decide quite yet, I can wait as long as I like. No matter how many centuries it takes me to think about it."
"Hold still a sec, 'Dagy. There's something in your hair. Probably from the lake." Sunset bent closer over Adagio's head.
Sunset's fingers parted Adagio's orange hair, moving hairs around to get a better view of whatever tiny thing was stuck between them.
"Mmm. That feels nice."
Sunset gripped the thing between two fingers, and pulled. It seemed to be stuck. Sunset pulled harder.
"Ouch! Sunset, what are you doing?"
It still hadn't come out. Sunset rolled the slim object between her fingers. It was almost like one of Adagio's hairs, but it seemed coarser, and it glinted a different color. Also, it was very short, only an inch or two long.
Sunset gently moved more of the orange hairs surrounding the object. She carefully followed it all the way to Adagio's scalp.
No doubt. It was a gray hair. Sunset searched Adagio's scalp nearby, and found another.
"Adagio," Sunset said.
"What is it, land creature?"
"I--I'll love you for the rest of your life."
Adagio laughed. "You got that backwards. You mean IF I let you, YOU'LL love ME for the rest of YOUR life."
"Yes," Sunset said. "Of course that's what I meant. I just got confused." Sunset pushed forward against Adagio's upper back and shoulders. "Let me come down and hug you."
"You don't want to comb my hair?"
"I...I just want to hold you. Is that ok?"
Adagio scooted far enough forward to let Sunset slide down off the couch and sit directly behind the siren. "Of course it's ok. I'll comb my own hair, if it's too hard for you."
Sunset said, "I think maybe it IS too hard for me."
Adagio sighed. "Don't talk. Just hold me. I wish you could just hold me for a thousand years."
Sunset pressed her face into Adagio's hair. "Me too, 'Dagy. Me too."