The coffee shop was little different than any of the others scattered throughout Crystal City. People gathered at the little tables, huddling around their steaming cups to chase away the deepening chill as autumn became winter. Some had a book, some had a phone, some had another person.
Adagio Dazzle had nothing more than a latte and the ratty old purple hoodie she'd planned on burning after her triumphant rise to power. Strictly speaking, she shouldn't have even blown four bucks on the former, but she wasn't willing to admit that level of weakness.
Not yet.
The scrape of a chair pulled her out of her brooding, and she couldn't completely hide her surprise at seeing who sat in the other seat, her own coffee in hand. “You actually came.”
“You sound surprised,” Sunset Shimmer said as she set down her own drink.
“After a lifetime of telling people what to think, it’s odd seeing them do what I want on their own.”
“Well, when you actually try to make friends—“
Adagio held up a hand. “None of that. I didn’t call you because I wanted lessons on pony ethics.”
Shimmer leaned back and crossed her arms. “Then why did you call me?”
“Because you helped kill me.”
That nearly made the girl fall over completely. It definitely knocked out any trace of smugness. “What?”
“What else do you call taking away my immortality? After centuries of life, here and in Equestria, you and your band of loyal apes have left me with a scant six decades to put my affairs in order. Seven at most." Adagio tugged at a lock of her hair. No gray. Yet. "Xubidu knows my looks will last for only a fraction of that time, to say nothing of what you did to my voice.”
Shimmer's look of shock had cooled to something thoroughly unsympathetic as Adagio had gone on. “I’m sorry for refusing to let you become immortal god-queen of this world.”
“Help me out and I may accept that apology.”
The scornful expression that answered her was comparable to one of Aria's more affectionate glares. “Really?”
Adagio rolled her eyes. “I know you were being sarcastic. I’m not Sonata. But you still owe me." She shrugged. "Arguably, you owe me a life debt, but those are for fools and dragons.”
“You know what? Fine." Shimmer rested her head on a fist. "What do you want help with? I should warn you, I’m out of the world conquest game.”
“So am I. You made sure of that." Adagio shook her head. "Given the sheer amount of post-processing we need to make our songs remotely tolerable, I might as well be out of the music game as well.”
“Really?" A more naive creature might have mistaken Shimmer's tone for genuine surprise. "I heard you at the Star Swirled Music Festival. You sounded great.”
“Save it. I have no patience for your equine sympathy. The three of us are exceptionally lucky that Aria knows her away around Insta-Tune, and she reminds us every day. Usually after six hours of gritted teeth and white knuckles around her headphones.
“We, to put it bluntly, suck. After three years of practice with what's left of our throats, we’ve eked out enough improvement that Aria doesn’t audibly weep when she listens to the raw footage." Adagio's gaze fell to her hands. Sure, the skin was smooth now, but she could already picture the liver spots. "And even if we were singing at our peak, we’re still mortal and aging. Best case scenario, Mixed Jigger’s recipe for pharmaceutical lichdom works on us and we keep going until our livers-turned-phylacteries give out.”
“Wait, what?”
“Far more likely, we get out a few notable songs, fade into obscurity, and try to live off the dwindling royalties until oldies stations and TV commercials start milking us for nostalgia. And given the state of the music industry, even that's a long shot. No matter how you look at it, a scant hundred years from now, no one will remember us. The world will forget Adagio Dazzle." Adagio finally tore herself away from images of her own decrepitude and slammed a fist onto the table. "I can not accept that.”
Shimmer looked too dazed to appreciate the dramatic gesture. Fillystine. “Can we go back to Mixed Jigger being a lich?”
“Oh, like you didn’t suspect it.”
It took a shake of her head and a sip of her drink for Shimmer to collect herself. “What exactly do you expect me to do about this? I don’t think anything can restore your siren magic.”
“It can’t. No matter how much magic you bring into this world, there’s no mending a broken heartstone." It hurt to say, but as amusing as it would be to send Shimmer and her lackeys on a wild tuna chase, time was of the essence. "Instead, you are going to help me write my autobiography.”
Shimmer blinked. After a few false starts, she got out, “I… wasn’t expecting that.”
“It wasn't an easy decision for me, but I can’t ask Aria or Sonata to help. They mostly just remember the fights, the food, and the parts that might embarrass me. So I might as well make sure you don’t completely obliterate me." Adagio shook her head, but with a smile. As far as intrusive thoughts went, she much preferred old memories to obsessing over her newly acquired mortality. "I still can’t believe the historians wiped all trace of that fish cult we had in the 14th century.”
Oh, if only she had a camera ready to capture the look on Shimmer's face. “Hang on, you had a fish cult?”
Adagio permitted herself just a touch of smugness. “I’ve had a lot of things over the centuries, Sunset Shimmer.”
That actually got a grin. “You know what? Sure. It’ll be interesting to get history from a primary source. Mind if I bring a few more friends on board?”
“I figured you’d ask that." Typical ponies. Why do it alone when you can bring half a dozen others along? "Go ahead. Just don’t expect me to play nice with them.”
“Just don’t be a complete bitch to the people who are helping you with this. Deal?” Shimmer held out her hand.
Adagio made a show of looking at the limb like it had been dipped in sewage, but Shimmer persisted. She did shake it in the end. “I suppose it’s the least I can do. Just don’t try to push your syrupy pony nonsense on me. We’re collaborators, not friends.”
Shimmer gave a grin Adagio couldn't quite read. “I’ll do what I can.”
It would have to do.