//------------------------------// // Sunset Over the Beach // Story: A Dazzling World // by Spyder27 //------------------------------// Chapter IX: Sunset Over the Beach Fancy Pants closes his eyes and takes a breath, seemingly in deep thought. Our interview has already lasted for close to two hours, filled with questions that were either expected or questions I didn’t think anyone would ever ask me, not to mention an employer. Strangely enough, he asked me to answer in the most honest way I could, shutting me down if I didn’t. One of the weirdest questions came around when he asked me if I believed music was an inherent talent or something to be taught. I could only answer by telling him what I truly believed, that music is a talent that can be taught or learned, but some will naturally be better than others.  Finally, his posture straightens and he nods to himself, looking down at the notebook he scribbled notes in this whole interview. “Okay, Ms. Dazzle. I will take a chance in hiring you, but I expect you to give the children we teach here a chance as well, not throwing them to the side if they don’t show much talent at first,” he says, slowly standing up and going to a file cabinet and looking through a bunch of papers. In a few moments, he pulls out a piece of paper and puts it on the desk in front of my seat. I can tell it seems to be an employee contract of sorts, giving off the usual rules and guidelines and telling the employee what kind of benefits they could expect. Before I can read much of it, he puts his hand on the document and looks down at me. “I expect you to give each child a chance. Is this understood?” he asks me with a serious tone in his eye. Slowly, I nod, pulling out a pen from a cup on his desk. “I understand, Mr. Pants.” I maintain eye contact the full time as he releases the paper and steps back around to the other side of his desk. “Then I assume you will do just that if you sign that document,” he expresses, watching my hand hold the pen. For a moment, I hesitate to write my name down, partly reading the whole document and partly because I’m not quite sure if I believe in myself enough to do this. Slowly, I press the pen down on the paper, writing my own name in cursive and watching the ink dry before giving the document back to Fancy. A smile comes across his face as he extends his hand out to me. “It will be a pleasure to work with you, Ms. Dazzle.” “Just call me Adagio~” =========================================== Working under Fancy Pants at one of his establishments wasn’t difficult by any means, but I learned that Fancy Pants wasn’t actually at the office that much of the time. He owned multiple other stores in town, not to mention clothing lines and his business, so it’s hardly a surprise that I don’t see him all that often. For the first week, there was little business, but now that school is starting to ramp up again, kids are starting to be enrolled for choir, instrument, and singing lessons. The choir teacher is a kind older man who acts as a volunteer to help these children learn how to sing together. It is an honorable thing to do, I suppose. I believe his name is Mr. Cake…? I can’t remember, with the few times we’ve actually seen each other. The instrument teacher isn’t necessarily someone I haven’t met before. She’s a hot head, rough, always looking for a challenge, and loves to play guitar. Honestly, I was quite surprised to find out that Rainbow Dash also worked here. She was surprised too, but loves to hit me up for conversations during lunch time, so I suppose it isn’t an unpleasant coincidence.  That then leaves me, the singing teacher. I take kids one on one each day and help them increase their vocal range or to learn how to sing new songs. It’s a challenging feat, I’ll admit, but the payment is better than my job at the nightclub and the children are usually pretty nice. One kid even drew a picture of me a while back and gave it to me the next time he came in. Besides, this job allows me to finally break free from the neon light hell that was the nightclub. I will miss the free whiskey though… I even get to hangout with Sunset more often, since I have the money to pay for things. I’m even supposed to meet with her tonight. Apparently, she wants to watch one of her favorite movies with me and I would never pass up the opportunity to see her cute giggle. I sigh happily as I put my phone away, looking around the rooftop for Rainbow Dash. Just when I think she isn’t going to show, I hear the door to the roof open and there Rainbow is, panting like a dog.  “Hey, Dagi! Sorry for being late. This one kid I’m teaching couldn’t understand what root notes are, so I had to stay a bit longer than usual,” she says, walking over to me calmly and sitting down on the bench. Honestly, it’s surprising that there’s even a bench up here, but I suppose it makes some sense, considering there isn’t a lounge area in the studio. With no care in the world, Rainbow plops down her Daring Do lunch box that looks like it’s already seen its fair share of battles and I can’t help but giggle. “What? It’s just a lunch box,” she says before opening it to grab her messy sandwich. “Yeah, I know, but it looks like you threw it down the Grand Canyon and expected it to be fine afterward,” I chuckle, gently pointing at the scraped paint and tape holding some of it together.  “W-well, yeah, but I did order a new one online, so it should be here soon! It even has a buy one get one free deal! So, I got another lunchbox with a different design! How cool is that?!” she exclaims with another giddy look coming across her face, biting into her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Opening my brown paper bag and looking inside, I see the small sandwich and bag of potato chips inside. Before I can even try to eat my own food, Rainbow Dash hands me a bottle of grape soda with a smirk on her face. “Here ya go, Dagi. Sunset told me to give you this before I came to work. It’s not cold anymore and it may have been juggled around in my lunchbox. Sorry about that,” she says with a nervous look on her face.  “It’s alright, I come to expect it from you,” I jest with a smirk written across my face, taking the bottle gently. “Eh? What’s that supposed to mean?” I simply shake my head with a smile to her question. Looking at the bottle, a sticky note is attached to it with the message, “Stay safe and do well~ Don’t forget about movie night!” written on it. I can’t help but chuckle to myself. Sunset is really too kind. “What’s with that silly look?” Rainbow says in a teasing way. “What’s going on? Is there something I should know about here?” she asks with a smirk. A startled look adorns my face as I look at her with a surprised expression. To be honest, even I am not sure why I’m smiling so stupidly at the small note.  “W-what? Something you should know about?” I say in an embarrassed and nervous tone, trying to hide my flushed cheeks with one of my hands. Rainbow Dash simply just laughs at me, holding her gut again. “God, your reactions are priceless! I knew it was going to be fun working with ya,” she says with a smirk, taking another messy bite of her sandwich. For a second, I wonder why such a reaction came out of me and what Rainbow meant… I shake my head and gently open the drink, taking a few sips as we sit here. The cool air brushes past us, but at least it isn’t as cold as a month prior. Looking around, I see birds flying up above us and tree branches swaying to the wind’s power. Rainbow, who is already done with her sandwich, stretches and closes her lunchbox. “Hey, Dagi? What do you think about when teaching these kids?” she asks in an unusually quiet tone, holding her stomach and looking up to the sky. “What do you mean?” I ask slowly, looking at her with a confused expression. “I don’t know, I guess I mean is there any weird thought that comes across your mind when you’re in the middle of a lesson?” Rainbow’s usually confident exterior is now one that shows a concerned look. Her hand slowly reaches up to the sky and a sigh comes from her lips. “I’m not sure…? What do you think about?” My query seems to open a floodgate, as she sits up and looks down at the gravel rooftop we are on top of.  “I guess I just think about… my own childhood? Like what if this kid is just like me? Do their parents support every dream they have and go way too hard when it comes to being there for them?” Rainbow Dash’s face looks defeated for a moment before adorning her usual smile. “Like a kid should have some freedom and restraint on them, right?” she asks in a hopeful tone, looking into my eyes, wanting some form of validation. For a moment, I look away and ponder the question. “I’m not sure…” My response seems to confuse Rainbow as her eyes stare at me weirdly. “You’re not sure? How? Every kid needs some sort of leash on them, but they also need some freedoms. It’s a tough balance, you know?” she states confidently, standing up and watching my expression. “I never had a ‘leash’ on me. I didn’t really… have parents,” I say slowly, taking a bite out of the stale sandwich I made at my apartment. Rainbow Dash’s eyes tell me she feels confused and shocked at first, but she could also understand the feeling.  “Hey, I’m sorry-” “Don’t be. I didn’t need them. I had Sonata and Aria, so that was enough,” I smile gently, standing up after I finish the sandwich in a few bites. Looking at my phone, I smirk when I see the time and notice it's the end of my schedule. Looking up to Rainbow Dash, I gently pat her shoulder. “I’m fine. Really. But to answer your question, I often think about cherries.” “You think about something sweet?” she asks with a disturbed look across her face. “You’d be surprised how often it helps with some of the bad times~” ========================================= Walking down the sidewalk, I hold the half empty bottle of soda, reading the note over and over again. Unfortunately, my new job is quite far from my apartment, but it’s also pretty close to Sunset’s complex. My legs would be thankful for the break in-between. I chuckle to myself as I think about Sunset’s plans for today. She’s like a pretty sunbeam when it comes to talking about something she is passionate about, so the prospect of watching movies she likes makes me excited to see her laugh and smile again. It’s always nice to joke with her and it’s nice to know that she enjoys our meetings. Clearly, she enjoys them enough to ask me to come watch movies with her at her apartment, though the last time I was inside there, we weren’t friends yet.  It still… makes me feel conflicted to think that we’re friends. Sunset Shimmer and Adagio Dazzle… The thought makes me feel odd because I love the feeling of being her friend, but the old part of my mind still thinks about my life as a siren. My previous life… She was my enemy, but now I can’t imagine my life without her. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here… I would have taken that second shot. Slowly, I bring my left hand out of my pocket and look at my fingers, extending and contracting. I owe a lot to the person who foiled my plan… The person who both ruined and saved this useless life. Hopefully, I can try to prove to her and myself that my life is worth something.  Gripping the scarf around my neck, I feel the phone in my pocket buzz, alerting me to some sort of notification. Slowly, I grab the phone and flip it open, looking at the new message displayed on my screen.  ----------------------------------------------------------- 1 NEW MESSAGE FROM: Shimm Shimm ----------------------------------------------------------- Hey, sorry about this, but I need to run to the store. Do you want to come meet me at General Saddles? It’s alright if not, the key is under the large rock beside the bedroom window, behind the AC unit. ---------------------------------------------------------- The message confuses me at first, as I type in a response. Honestly, the thought of sitting in Sunset’s apartment alone makes me feel nervous and awkward, opting to tell her I will meet her in a few minutes. It makes me feel curious to think about what Sunset could need from the general store. I sigh a little heavily as I turn around and walk in the opposite direction of Sunset’s apartment, going in the general direction of the store from what I remembered. Bringing my hand to my scarf and feeling the soft material, I walk quickly down the sidewalk, not wanting to miss Sunset. I’m… really lucky to be her friend. =========================================== Unlocking the door to her apartment, Sunset ushers me in, giggling from the cold as we both quickly walk in. Slowly, I set down the bag of groceries I have in my hand and grab the milk. “Sweet Celestia, it’s cold out there~” Sunset remarks, closing the blinds and blocking the light of the afternoon. A giggle falls from my lips as I place the milk in the refrigerator, briefly looking at the other contents before closing it. Sunset then grabs the box of microwave popcorn she bought and opens it, grabbing two bags. “I assume you’d like one?” she asks, getting a nod in return. “I forget exactly, what movie are we watching first?” I ask with a smirk as I slide myself up on the counter to the amusement of Sunset. Her giggle makes her look even cuter than usual, but I’m not even sure how cute she is normally. I haven’t really paid attention to that sort of thing until lately. “The Godfather or Romeo and Juliet?” My question makes Sunset laugh again as she plops one bag of popcorn into the microwave, setting the timer and starting it.  “I don’t even have The Godfather on disc, as much as I wish I did,” she states, looking up at me slightly and punching my shoulder gently. “I mean, we could if I had one of the streaming services, but I haven’t been able to pay for one yet.” Her statement brings a nervous look to her face as she chuckles. “I will someday, though, but we’ll watch Romeo and Juliet for today. In fact, could you maybe go put the disc in? It should be in my DVD box,” she says with a wink, patting my shoulder as I slide off the counter.  “Just leave it up to Cadet Adagio~” My remark makes Sunset laugh quite a bit as I walk into the living room and look around for a box. Finding a box near the DVD player, I look in and see dozens of movies piled on top of each other. This is going to be quite the task… Looking through the stacks of movies, I find some that I saw parts of in doctor’s offices and some I watched back in Canterlot High. One movie that caught my eye particularly has a blank cover, just simply marked as CH 1 in red sharpie. This is peculiar… Compared to all the other discs, this is the only one that doesn’t have a cover or any sort of description on it. Even the title was vague and didn’t make sense. For a moment, I consider pushing it into the DVD player, but I shake my head to myself, not wanting to invade Sunset’s privacy. “Oh, that one~” Sunset’s voice says from behind me, startling me for a moment and making me turn my head to her. “That’s the recording of the band battle~ Some good songs were created that day,” she says with a nod, setting the bowl of popcorn down on the table and sitting down beside me. Looking at the DVD again, I can’t help but feel my heart sink, thinking about the contents of the recording. It had one of the last performances I sang with Sonata and Aria… and showed the worst parts of myself. Putting the DVD back down, I look through the remainder of the movies, finally finding Romeo and Juliet. It had to be on the bottom, huh? Quickly walking over to the DVD player, I insert the disc and grab the remote, sitting down next to Sunset. “I can’t wait to see your reaction to this~” she simply states, scooting over and putting the bowl on our legs. Gently, she grabs the remote from my hand and I can’t help but smile at how soft her hand feels.  Looking to the screen, I say, “Neither can I~” ====================================== Watching the screen, I try to pay attention to the movie, but the contents don’t exactly entertain me most of the time. Instead, my mind can only seem to focus on the snoring Sunset Shimmer, resting her head on my shoulder and sharing a blanket with me. It was Sunset’s idea to share the blanket, due to the cold, but it seems the warmth just makes her fall asleep faster. The empty bowl of popcorn long since discarded to the table in front of us. Honestly, I can see why Sunset likes the movie, but I suppose I can’t help but notice her sleeping face more than the show itself. I don’t know why, but a stupid smile paints my face at the sight of Sunset leaning on me. She’s a really kind person who’s been there for me whenever I’ve needed her, and now she’s the one leaning on me. I suppose it’s a nice bit of irony for once. Slowly pulling my phone out of my pocket so as to not disturb her, I gently flip it open and set the brightness of the screen to the lowest possible setting. Turning on the camera application, I aim the phone towards us and quietly take a picture without the flash on. A small smile adorns my face in the image, my eyes making it look like I’m happier than I actually am. Sunset’s serene look as her face is nuzzled into my shoulder makes me want to giggle.  Much to my dismay, it seems my constant movement makes Sunset’s body stir in her sleep, eventually groaning and rubbing her eyes gently. Sunset’s mouth lets out a long yawn as she begins to stretch and open her eyes to inspect her current environment. Seeing the TV on and a movie playing, a bright pink blush comes to her cheeks as she finally understands what happened. Looking at me quickly, an apologetic look comes across her face as she blinks her eyes quicker to try and wake herself up. “Adagio? I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep like that… How long have I been asleep?” she asks with a guilty expression written on her face.  A small chuckle comes from my lips as I look at my phone again, seeing the time. “Around three hours,” I say quietly with a smile adorning my lips. Her eyes widen at my statement as she looks at the screen and realizes the end credits of Romeo and Juliet are playing.  “I’m sorry, Adagio. I didn’t mean to fall asleep while we watched the movie. You could have woken me up at any time,” she states with a guilt-ridden face, averting her gaze from me. I can’t help but laugh slightly at her statement, stretching my own back slowly.  “Don’t be, it’s alright. I figured you needed the sleep anyway, so it’s alright. Besides, you were warm.” Sunset’s face turns to a humorous one as she chuckles at my remark, slowly whacking the back of my head.  “So, you were using me for warmth, huh?” she jests as she pulls the blanket off her and stands up, wobbling at first like she was dizzy. A smile is still stuck on my face as I put the remote down on the table. “Are we going to watch another movie or are you going to bed?” I ask quietly. The idea of leaving Sunset’s apartment so quickly after only talking with her a little bit makes me feel a bit sad, but I also don’t want her to be deprived of any more sleep she can get tonight. To my surprise, Sunset just shakes her head, walking back over to her boots and slipping them on.  “No, I was thinking about doing something different,” she says with a smile. My curiosity rises in me as I stand up and pull my boots on as well, following Sunset’s example. “Do you want to walk with me?” ============================================ Sunset walks by my side as the sand shifts under my feet, making our walk quite slow. The cold winds of winter and the ocean brush past our bodies as I look at the waves to my right, seeing the water go up the sand and slowly receding back into the ocean. Slowly, I take a sip from the coffee Sunset made before we left her apartment. Sunset naturally grabs my hand and walks with me, like she usually does. I would feel awkward if this was someone else, but it’s a normal thing for Sunset to do at this point, replacing any awkward feeling with a permanent blush encompassing my cheeks as we walk.  Sunset’s eyes are focused on the pastel sky from the setting sun and a quiet chuckle comes from her lips. “You know that movie we just watched?” she asks me with a curious tone to her voice.  “You mean the movie I watched?” I jest, slowly poking her shoulder. After a bit of silence, I nod and look up to the sky she’s watching. “Yeah, what about it?” “Well, the movie was all about love and it made me wonder something. What would be your ideal partner?” Honestly, her question surprises me and makes me do a double take. “What do you mean?” “Like what would your ideal romantic partner be? Maybe some sort of lucky male siren?” she asks with a wink to me. Slowly, I look back to the ocean and think about the question. Honestly, I haven’t really been that interested in someone romantically, but I guess I could answer her question in terms of attractiveness…?  “I’m not really interested in sirens. At least, not anymore. I guess that’s a side effect of being in this world for so long.” Gazing back to Sunset, I see a look of understanding meet mine and she gently rubs my shoulder. “Honestly? I’ve felt the same. I used to be attracted to the stallions of Equestria, but not anymore. It’s probably normal~” Slowly she lets go of my hand and walks in front of me before turning back to me and holding her hand out towards me. “Then what is your ideal human partner, Adagio? Someone who’s rough and rugged? Or is it someone who’s gentle and kind?” she asks with a humorous smirk on her lips. I can’t help but shake my head with a chuckle, walking up beside her again.  “Is this something that friends often talk about?” I ask satirically, taking another sip of my drink and looking up to the stars as we walk along the sand. “Actually, yeah. Sometimes. Pinkie Pie asks me a lot about my interests and who I would date in a given scenario. To be honest, I’m not quite sure who I would be interested in,” she says gently, kicking a stone down the beach by a few feet. “What kind of guy has caught your eye?” Thinking about her question for a moment, I try to remember if any guy has attracted my attention before, but I fail to come up with any image.  With a slow sigh, I take another sip of my drink and shake my head. “I haven’t actually been interested in any guy before,” I say with a small smile, looking around the beach.  “Oh? Do you like girls?” She quickly responds to my statement, but I just shake my head slowly.  “Not really. I haven’t really been interested in anyone since I’ve gotten to this world,” I state with a shrug of my shoulders, simply walking along beside her. “So, like me, huh? That’s alright though~ You’re never in a rush to find someone. Maybe you never will if that’s your choice.” Slowly, her arm wraps around me warmly and she hums to herself. “I’m really glad you agreed to hang out with me today, though. It’s been a really nice time~” Rounding a corner and going down a sidewalk away from the beach, we start to walk back in the direction of Sunset’s apartment. The thought of this meeting ending makes my heart feel heavy for a moment, but I nod to her statement and try to give her a warm smile. “It’s been a lot of fun, Sunset. Thank you… for being my friend,” I slowly say, an insecure expression taking hold of my face for a second, but Sunset just chuckles and rubs my head gently to my statement. “And thank you for being mine~” =============================================== The hard ice often makes me slip on my walks during the winter. I didn’t expect there to be any tonight, but it’s no different on this walk to the studio. Usually, I would be walking home right now, looking forward to a good night’s sleep, but unfortunately, I forgot my wallet in the studio, so now I just feel annoyed at the inconvenience. Honestly, it’s the perfect way to end off an otherwise perfect night, right? Having to walk more through the cold air and on top of the iced over sidewalks. A heavy breath comes from my lips as I feel the scarf around my neck again, walking through an alleyway. The sound of stray animals scares me at first and causes every nerve in my body to go into alert, but it subsides after a few moments.  Walking past a couple of dumpsters, I sigh to myself, feeling my warm breath reflected back on my face from the scarf. Tonight was… such a good night. I loved hanging out with Sunset again and honestly, it was one of the best times we’ve had together so far. Sunset was right all that time ago… about being happy without power. I’ve finally found happiness and life is going well. I never thought friendship would fill the hole that was left when my gemstone broke all that time ago, but here I am, enjoying my friendship with a previous enemy much more than the power I had over Canterlot High students or even ponies for that matter. I never expected for Sunset Shimmer to be right back then, only expecting power to make a siren happy. I suppose that’s a part of me that died that day. I wouldn’t have ever condoned myself to have friends or associate myself with “worms”, but now I know I was wrong. I was a cruel and evil person… I looked down on everyone else and wanted to dominate more than anything else in this world. But everything that’s happened has been my fault. I ruined my own life and I deserved the outcomes for it… Now, I finally have the chance to turn my life around. Everything has flipped and now my life is going in a much better direction. I get to see Sunset almost every week and I’m starting to save money, rather than spend it all on rent and a loaf of bread. Maybe I’ll even have enough to buy myself some new clothes or that jacket for Sunset. Or even a slice of cheesecake… Slowly, I breathe into my scarf to feel the momentary warmth again and walk forward, shaking my head. Again, I see the familiar metal staircase as I walk behind the bakery. Taking the hand rail steadily, I place my foot on the first step, feeling the thin layer of ice that’s frosted over it. Sighing, I start to walk up the steps and look around the small parking lot next to the staircase. I wonder if Sunset came here herself to give the soda to Rainbow… Even if she didn’t it was a nice gesture, one that I enjoyed quite a bit. Honestly, Sunset keeps surprising me with her gestures, no matter what I try to expect. Maybe an unpredictable friend is the exact thing I need? Bringing my life into unexpected directions and giving me new reasons to smile. I chuckle slightly to myself, nodding and humming. I suppose she rubs off on me quite a bit.  Just as I start to hum, my left foot suddenly slips on the ice, throwing my body backward, only caught by my hands on the railing. My breath instantly becomes hurried and I can’t help but look all around me. I… I’m really glad I thought of using the railing… Looking behind me, I see the concrete at the bottom of the stairs and sigh quietly, relieved that I didn’t fall. Shaking my head, I try to catch my footing slowly… Suddenly, my right foot slips from under me, kicking my left leg away. My body is instantly thrown back, feeling my hands let go of the railing… Please don’t tell me this is happening. Instantly, an overwhelming amount of pain strikes through the back of my torso and my head, causing my vision to go black.