//------------------------------// // dazzling // Story: 'tis the season // by sunnybun //------------------------------// The first thing she noticed was the smell. Crisp, cold air filtered into her nostrils as her consciousness came to reluctantly. The next sensation that came to her was the feeling of frigid yet still air surrounding her entire being, penetrating her thin hoodie. Then, two sensations at once: the nearby shuffling against pavement and the sight of black boots just ahead of her. "Come on, get up. It snowed last night." Spoke a rough yet familiar female voice. "Seriously, I don't have all day. Sonata's waiting by the bus stop, we have to find somewhere to sleep tonight." If Adagio's mood was soured before she had opened her eyes, she was downright livid now. Her posture remained calm, though, as she stood up with the grace of someone who hadn't just slept with nothing more for cover than some dismantled cardboard boxes. Adagio wordlessly walked past Aria, her mannerisms meticulously crafted to show no weakness. As former sirens and known criminals, she couldn't afford to have those. As lead siren, she could afford it even less. Their ten minute walk to the bus stop dragged on, the wind providing no backing track for the silence that pulsed in her ears. Or maybe that was a headache. It was hard to tell anymore. Adagio remained emotionless and pristine even after she sat on the metal bench that had been freezing since the snow. Sonata shivered constantly and audibly to her left, while Aria opted to stand. Adagio reminisced the events that lead her here. It all started in one place, really; the Rainbow Rocks concert. Sunset Shimmer was where it all started. While she wished to be able to say that name haunted her some days, really, it didn't. On the contrary, it slipped her mind on most. What haunted her was the voice. Sunset's tones reverberated in her head whenever it got too quiet, filling any comfortable silence with lyrics. Adagio supposed this was a side effect of that wretched "friendship magic" that came from her home world. She wished it had picked one of the other six to obsess over, though. Somebody less distinguishable from the rest. It was like torture hearing that voice fill in every gap between her thoughts, anywhere it could fit. "So, we're thinking about a homeless shelter." Aria said, very matter-of-factly. It sounded reasonable, even, when she said it. Adagio scowled. "And give up our independence?" "We sleep in a cardboard box like stray animals," Aria hissed, narrowing her eyes. "What independence?" "Our image, too. Imagine if Starswirl the Bearded saw us now, groveling at the feet of those who are lesser than us." "Our image was destroyed when we got hit by that dumbass laser beam from Princess Frilly and her friends." Adagio fumed at the ground. It seemed that was the only emotion she was capable of conveying lately. It felt good to be angry. "It'll only be for a little while, 'Dagi. Just until the snow lets up." Sonata said timidly, tiredly. She sounded much like Adagio felt, lifeless and hopeless. Adagio supposed this was her idea, she simply couldn't imagine Aria coming up with something like that. "Don't use that stupid nickname." She spat, standing abruptly from the bench. She walked off without a word, not even sparing the girls she left behind so much as a glance. She didn't need them, she would prove she could get by. In fact, it would be immensely easier without the extra baggage. After a failed attempt at sleep on a pathetic park bench, Adagio actually found that she missed their odd cardboard roof. But she knew she couldn't go back there in case Aria and Sonata went to look for her. She thought that the time away might make her anger dissipate, but it did rather the opposite. She still couldn't believe their audacity, to suggest something as demeaning as going to a homeless shelter for humans... It was like they had no sense of pride anymore. That friendship magic really had stripped them of more than just their voices. Adagio cursed her sisters, the cardboard, and most of all, Sunset Shimmer, for putting her in this position. The cold bit at her body through the thin fabric of her clothing, unforgiving. As if to add insult to injury, snow started falling, and she realized she couldn't pretend to be comfortable on this bench for much longer. Adagio had made herself quite the reputation in most local stores due to her tendencies to snatch items while no one was looking, so there wasn't much hope of them letting her duck inside for a bit of shelter from the cold. Plus, it looked to be far past closing time for most stores, anyway. She mulled over her limited choices for shelter in her head. Adagio distantly registered that someone was coming nearer to her, but she assumed they'd simply walk past. When they stopped in front of her, she snapped her head up and she swore she must have been having a hallucination that could be credited to her poor mental and physical condition. She had no such luck as her "delusion" spoke. "Adagio?" It wasn't a question, really. Adagio actually found she didn't quite like how reasonable that tone was. She was expecting anger, or disbelief, or something in that vein. Not complete level-headedness. Adagio's mood caught up with her fast enough once she realized that Sunset Shimmer was indeed standing in front of her. "What do you want?" Adagio scowled, trying to look as powerful and imposing as she had once felt. She knew that the bags under her eyes and obvious decline in health couldn't have been helping her case, though. "What are you doing out here in the snow?" Sunset's cluelessness might have been endearing on anyone else, but Adagio just hated her more for it. "Like it isn't obvious." Adagio said impatiently. She hoped her attitude would scare Sunset off well enough to be left alone. "And where are Aria and Sonata?" Of course it wouldn't. "I don't know why you think that's any of your business?" Adagio wished there was somewhere she could go to get out of this conversation. Sunset clearly wanted to inquire further, and for a moment, it seemed like she would. "Do you... need someplace to stay?" Adagio hesitated, and then immediately chastised herself for it. No, of course she wouldn't accept help from Sunset. "No. Leave me alone." All Adagio could do was hope that she would take the hint, and quickly. At the thought of a building with central heating, her resolve was faltering. She hadn't been able to feel her fingers for more than an hour now. "Alright," Sunset said, and Adagio breathed a sigh of relief. "Let me know if you need anything, okay?" She said, passing the orange-haired girl a piece of paper which presumably had her number on it. Adagio regarded the paper with a glare. She took it from Sunset's hands then threw it into some snow nearby, discarding it right in front of her. There. That should get the idea across. Sunset raised an eyebrow, but relented, thankfully. "Alright, have it your way." She shrugged, then walked back in the direction she came from. Adagio, for some reason, found herself digging for the slip of paper immediately after Sunset was out of sight. Not that she was considering Sunset's help, of course, but... Maybe it wouldn't hurt to have a backup plan. Sunset shouldn't have been surprised when she saw Adagio like that. Her once curly hair had lost all of its luster, laying flat and lifeless, and the bags under her eyes suggested weeks of poor sleep, if any. She also appeared to be extremely malnourished. Sunset wasn't blind, she knew what a homeless person looked like in winter -- after all, she had been one before. So it left her with a bad taste in her mouth to just leave her when she so clearly needed help, but it was obvious that Adagio wouldn't accept help unless it was on her own terms. She might've been even more headstrong than Sunset had been. She figured Adagio didn't have many other places to go, considering her reaction to the mention of her sisters' names and her current residence on the park bench, which meant she had plenty of time to wait for her to reach out. When Sunset woke the following morning, Adagio was the first thing on her mind. She coasted through her day on autopilot, her only brain activity consisted of considering what she could do for Adagio when she reached out. The sound of her own name out of a friend's mouth brought her out of her reverie. "Sunset?" She blinked, looking for the source; and she didn't have to look very far, either. Fluttershy stood in front of her, eyebrows knit in concern. "Are you okay?" For the first time that day, Sunset realized she hadn't been paying any attention to what was going on around her. It seemed she was in the middle of a lunch break with her friends. "Sorry, I was just..." She trailed off. She knew already that her friends hadn't forgiven the Dazzlings yet, so she kept quiet about Adagio, but only for now. "I was just thinking about something I need to deal with when I get home." She said, not untruthfully. "Well, whatever you're thinkin' about is taking up a lot of your attention," Applejack commented kindly, "Do you wanna talk 'bout it?" "Thanks, but it's nothing serious." Okay, that wasn't truthful, but she found comfort in the fact that she'd get to tell them about it... later. "Sorry about that." Her friends moved on quickly afterwards, resuming their conversation as normal. She paid a bit more attention and commented when appropriate to avoid any more suspicion, but her mind was still almost wholly on Adagio. I just... I think she deserves a second chance. They all do. I was in their position before, after all. Sunset's thoughts strayed towards the other two, Aria and Sonata. She wondered what could've happened to separate the girls, but she knew she had to wait for Adagio to open up to her for her to know anything about that. Sunset faintly registered her phone vibrating in her pocket, and she let it sit for a few seconds before realizing who it could be. She whipped out her phone more urgently than any normal person, and her breath caught when she saw it was a number she'd never seen before. "I need help." A normal person might've been cautious, given it some thought, but Sunset was on her feet in an instant, much to her friends' confusion. She mumbled some half hearted excuse and apology and quickly left the building, texting the anonymous number back. "Where?" She received a store name and a brief descriptor relative to the building, and Sunset was on her way. She could've taken the bus, maybe she should've, but she didn't think it'd be fast enough. She'd broken into a sprint by the time she was on the sidewalk outside of Canterlot High, too quick to even acknowledge she was definitely not wearing the right shoes for this kind of physical activity. When she arrived at the shop Adagio had named, her heart was racing, but she wasn't sure it was from her sprint or something else. She peered in a nearby alley, and saw a crumpled figure barely visible behind a trash can. She'd hidden from view very easily. Sunset made her presence known as gently as she could so as not to startle the hooded girl, but she jumped nonetheless. "Hey," Sunset said, and as Adagio looked up at her she couldn't hold back her gasp. "What happened?" She demanded, immediately kneeling to come eye-level with the former siren. Adagio's lip was bleeding, her eye was swollen and she seemed to be having trouble keeping it open. Her hand clutched her side, as if in pain. "I got mugged, but he got mad when he found out I didn't have anything to give him." Sunset pursed her lips, and knew asking any more questions wouldn't help anyone right now. She just needed to get Adagio to safety. Adagio felt pathetic, needing Sunset's support just to get up and walk around. She hated feeling pathetic, and she hated needing help, and most of all, she hated Sunset Shimmer and her obnoxious do-good attitude. This entire situation had been her fault, anyway. Adagio should've refused her help and wrestled herself out of the other girl's grip. That's what she wanted to do, anyway, but she knew she couldn't. Her attacker from earlier had already rid her of the admittedly very little strength she had, so all she could do was trudge along with her arm slung around Sunset's shoulder. They arrived at Sunset's apartment what felt like hours later, but Adagio would later come to find it was more like ten minutes. She collapsed on the first cushioned piece of furniture she saw, immediately losing consciousness. - "Adagio." That voice, she knew that voice very well. It had been the same one to haunt her these past few months, always reminding her of how she'd failed. And now it even sounded like it pitied her. She scowled before even opening her eyes. Well, eye. Her other eye, now that she had regained most of her consciousness, she found hurt like a bitch. She groaned involuntarily, a string of expletives leaving her lips. Sunset didn't seem to acknowledge it. "I have painkillers, but you can't take them laying down." Adagio then realized that the voice she hated so much was coming from right next to her. Why is she sitting on the bed with me? Has she no sense of personal space? Then came the realization that she didn't recognize this room at all. Suddenly, every painful memory came rushing back to her, along with a stabbing pain in her side. "Fuck," she hissed. Adagio sat up despite the immense pain it brought her, and pointedly avoided Sunset's gaze, instead focusing on the painkillers and water on the bedside table next to her. She took them greedily, eager to get relief from the way her body was screaming at her. "It's about ten in the morning." Sunset said helpfully, perhaps for the first time ever. Adagio let that register in her brain as she did the math. She'd gotten about eight hours of sleep, which was more than she'd gotten in months. It was then she realized, while she was physically sore and spent, at least she wasn't mentally as sluggish. She had come to realize her brain was up and running much quicker than it had been lately. She still refused to thank Sunset, though she knew the girl had been extremely hospitable towards her for what seemed to be no reason at all. Adagio dared to look at the girl beside her and immediately regretted it. Her expression shone with concern and questions that Adagio so desperately hoped wouldn't come tumbling out of her mouth. "You've been... accommodating," Adagio commented carefully, doing her best not to be too friendly. "But, I should get going now." She tried to get up rather quickly, but a sharp pain from her side hindered her. "Oh no you don't!" Sunset said, assisting Adagio as she reluctantly settled back down into her sitting position. "Your ribs aren't broken or anything, but you must've taken a pretty bad blow to your side. You'll be in pain for another few days as it heals." Her expression was soft, her tone entirely reasonable and Adagio hated it. "And what, you expect me to believe you're a doctor now?" She scoffed, rolling her eyes. Sunset chuckled at that, much to Adagio's dismay. "No, but I wasn't always a good kid. I've been in a fight or two and ended up with injuries like this." With that, she got up and walked towards the doorway. "Stay there, I'll get you some food." Food. Adagio hadn't had a proper meal in what felt like forever. Being homeless and financially strapped, she and her sisters had usually resorted to picking food out of grocery store dumpsters. It wasn't always the most convenient or nutritious, but it kept them alive. What Sunset came back with wasn't all that impressive, per se, but to Adagio it looked and smelled like heaven. A tray with tomato soup and grilled cheese was handed to her, and she dropped her act of antagonistic bitch just to enjoy this meal. She never knew when she'd be able to get another meal, after all. She dug in eagerly and consciously avoided looking Sunset's way. She already knew what she'd see on that face. As she was finishing her meal, something happened that surprised her. "So, what do you mean you weren't always a good kid?" Came her own voice, as if she couldn't control it. "Well, you know about my past at Canterlot High and stuff..." Sunset trailed awkwardly. Oh, so it seemed she didn't want to talk about this. Adagio decided she'd push some of Sunset's boundaries a little, now that she'd gotten herself into this conversation. "You got into physical fights at Canterlot High? You don't seem the type." Sunset seemed to go through some internal debate that Adagio pretended not to see, feigning focus on her soup. "No, before that. I was an orphan." Adagio couldn't help herself from looking up at the girl in front of her after that. When had she sat down on the bed...? And now she was admitting to something like that so freely, something Adagio could and would exploit? "Oh," she responded dumbly, at a loss for words for the first time in a while. She couldn't bring herself to probe anymore, and Sunset didn't seem too keen on saying anything else about it, either. "Enjoy your meal. There's a TV in the living room if you feel like getting up, feel free to make yourself at home. I'm... going to run some errands." Sunset left very abruptly, and Adagio kicked herself. She was a master at manipulating people, even without her voice, and it seemed like a missed opportunity to not get something more out of Sunset, but something about this felt... wrong. Adagio never would've claimed to be the most morally sound person, in fact she'd sooner say she was on the opposite end of that spectrum. Yet, she still found herself thinking about why she couldn't bring herself to betray Sunset's trust. It feels nice, she realized, to be trusted with something so wholly. However, she decided, that wouldn't stop her from doing some well-deserved snooping. She wouldn't steal anything, though it might benefit her in the future. Sunset would be a good ally to have for now, she would justify to herself. I'll just take a look around once I hear her leave, nothing more. There really wasn't anything of interest. From what Adagio could tell, despite the guest bedroom, the state of the apartment heavily implied that Sunset had never lived here with anybody else but herself. That's not to say it was messy, but moreover, it was certainly lived-in; just by one single person. She rifled through the living room, kitchen and bathroom all without finding anything of note, but eventually she came to the last door: Sunset's room. She opened the door without any shame or trepidation, immediately looking around to find anything of interest. She scanned the room, finding a few pictures of her with her friends here and there, but true to her story, no family photos. So, she had not only been an orphan, but an orphan who never met their parents or never had a relationship with them, even well into her teenage years. How interesting,Adagio thought. Absentmindedly, she looked under the bed and saw a bag with an odd outline. She pulled it out and opened it up, taking out the bottle inside. It was just alcohol, but still it surprised Adagio, despite knowing Sunset's past. She briefly wondered if Sunset's friends knew that she drank alcohol. Most teens did, she supposed, but her friends seemed a little goody-two-shoes for something like that. That reminded her... what did Sunset's friends really know about her? Had they been told that she was staying at Sunset's place? That Sunset was trying to make friends with her? That Adagio was actually thinking about being friends with her? The sound of the front door from the other side of the apartment shocked Adagio out of her thoughts. Shit, how long have I been in here? She realized it must have been either Sunset returning, or worse, one of her friends letting themselves in. She rushed to put the bottle back inside the bag and shove it under the bed, but her rushed actions sent jolts of pain to her bruised side. She grimaced and ignored it while trying to return everything to its rightful spot. By the time she'd gotten all the evidence of her snooping straightened up, footsteps were coming down the hall right to the bedroom door. She held her breath and stood rigidly as the door opened and revealed... Sunset Shimmer. She stared at Adagio, expression unreadable, and tone much the same. "What are you doing in here?" Peculiarly, Adagio had the feeling to apologize, but she actively stamped it down. "Just... looking around. You did say to make myself at home." Sunset cracked a smile, and the former siren felt oddly relieved. "That's true, I did say that. Not much to see in here anyway." Sunset's expression faltered briefly, but Adagio caught it; they were probably both thinking about that unassuming bag underneath the bed frame. They both seemed to also decide not to say anything about it. "Feeling better?" Adagio blinked. She could hardly remember the last time anybody asked her that. "More functional, at the least." She said, suddenly feeling odd about this situation. She still didn't know Sunset's motives or why she was pretending to care so much. She chastised herself silently for letting her guard down so much around this girl. It's with that revelation that Adagio finally noticed the bag in Sunset's hands. Sunset must have noticed her attention moving, handing the bag to Adagio. "It's just personal hygiene stuff, toothbrush, antiperspirant, pads... I don't know how long you plan to stay, but... You'll need to use some of this stuff, anyways, and I assume it's probably been a while." Adagio suddenly felt very conscious of her appearance, and despite her best effort, she felt heat rising to her cheeks. Stunned, all she could say was, "Thanks." When Adagio got into the bathroom, her reflection was the first thing she saw, grimacing back at her. She looked awful. Her eye was bruising in a terrible fashion, her hair was dry and brittle, but it seemed the cut on her lip had been cleaned at some point. When had she done that...? It also occurred to her then that she had originally fallen asleep on a couch, but somehow ended up in a bed, so Sunset must have taken care of her while she was sleeping. She felt a rush of some emotion she couldn't put her finger on, and then quickly tried to move past it. She decided to take a bath instead of a shower while she had access to facilities like this. Needless to say, she spent quite some time in there. Afterwards, she changed into a pair of pajamas that Sunset had given her. They were loose on her gaunt figure, but she was used to clothes being like that, and they were more comfortable than her thin hoodie and worn jeans, anyway. She exited the bathroom feeling refreshed and honestly, content. Until she heard the voice coming from the living room, that is. She lingered in the hallway and listened in. "What the hell were you thinking? I mean, Adagio? Are you serious?" "I know what you guys probably think of her, but I was in her place once. You should have seen her, Dash. She's homeless for fuck's sake. I couldn't just leave her there." Adagio was all too eager to learn about Sunset's motives, and she was quickly finding that the girl was even more well-intentioned than she had originally thought. The feeling from earlier welled up in her again, and she stamped it down again. She heard Rainbow Dash sigh in exasperation. "Fine. Are you gonna tell our friends?" She imagined Sunset smiling somewhat sheepishly. "Not yet. She's still recovering from her injuries and stuff, she got beat up pretty bad. I just... don't think it's the right time yet." There was a short silence, then, "Alright, I'll keep your house guest a secret for now. But just so you know, I'm still not totally on board with this." Sunset chuckled in the way that she did, "I guess I wouldn't expect you to be. Thanks. Oh, and here's your guitar pick." "Yeah, see you tomorrow." The sound of the door to Sunset's apartment opening and closing reminded Adagio of where she was. "So, you heard it all, huh?" Adagio jumped at how close Sunset sounded. She realized that she was standing right in front of her. "Most of it, yes. You haven't told your friends you're harboring a criminal, hm?" "It's not exactly something that came up in conversation, no," Sunset said, clearly amused. "How's your side feeling? Any better? Adagio, not for the first time, still somehow found herself unsettled by how much this girl seemed to genuinely care. "As well as it can be. The painkillers have helped." She paused before switching the subject. "Your friends don't seem too keen on me, which I find is rather odd considering how you became their friend." Sunset winced at the reminder of her past. "Yeah, they'll come around to you, though. I can tell just based off Rainbow's reaction." "Who said I needed their approval? Honestly, I hardly even care for yours," A lie, she knew deep down, but she couldn't admit that to herself just yet. Besides, Sunset hardly seemed offended by that. She shrugged. "I didn't really expect you to." Sunset walked back into the living room. "I don't cook much, so I was just gonna order food if you have any preferences." Adagio just stood there awkwardly, not saying anything. She couldn't think of a single fast food place she might've liked because it had been so long since she'd been to one. "Right, burgers it is, then." Unfortunately Adagio got full rather quickly. Her body wasn't used to eating more than one meal a day, much less an actually filling one, so Sunset had put her leftovers away in the fridge. As the time to sleep approached, Adagio found herself thinking about how quickly she'd gotten comfortable in Sunset's home. She knew she needed to start thinking of alternatives, and fast. The very last thing she wanted was to become dependent on someone who only days ago she had sworn was her mortal enemy. But she knew the only other option for her was the homeless shelter, with Aria and Sonata. Now that she had gotten some sleep and eaten a proper meal, she realized just how foolish she had been with them. No, she didn't think she could face them just yet. Then, where did that leave her? She groaned into the pillow in frustration. Just one more day, she told herself, I'll figure something out. She fell into a restless sleep, fiery hair and ocean eyes filling her dreams.