It was a cold, crisp morning in Canterlot. The opposite of a cliche setting for a horror story, though Sunset Shimmer seemed to have found herself in the middle of one. All she had wanted to do was stop by Sugar Cube Corner, get a coffee, and leave. That was it.
But, of course, that's not what happened, and she found herself face-to-face with the leader of the sirens, a group of exiled girls who had tried to overtake the school and, ultimately, the world. The similarity between her and Adagio was not unnoticed, but that didn't stop Sunset from fearing for her life (or at least her sanity.)
"What are you doing here?" She tried to keep her tone calm, though a bit of disgust seeped through. She wasn't trying to be stand-off-ish, but the sirens hadn't been seen in the week since the battle. She had no idea what this girl's intention were and--
Wait, weren't there three of them?
"Drinking coffee." The orange-haired girl said dryly, bringing her steaming cup to her lips and taking a sip.
"Oh. Right." Sunset blushed and shifted on her feet. Adagio gave her a strange look before motioning with her drink to the seat across from her.
"Care to join me?"
At first believing it to be an offer made only out of politeness, Sunset declined. Adagio's face, however, made it clear that it wasn't a choice. So she sat.
"How have you been?" Sunset winced at her own words.
"Oh, you know, besides living on the streets and being unable to keep a job, we've been peachy."
"Right... Where are the others?"
Adagio sighed, leaning back and taking another sip of her coffee. "Sonata got a job at Taco Hell--oh, I mean Bell... And I only see Aria in the early morning. I honestly don't know what she's up to."
Sunset wasn't sure how to respond to that, so she took a sip of her own drink. It was strange to see Adagio like this. She still seemed angry, but now she had an undertone of... Sadness. Like she was angry without someone to actually be angry at.
Or maybe she's angry at herself. Sunset suddenly felt empathetic. Of course, she knew exactly the situation Adagio was in. The failed plans, the lost feeling that came after the defeat, she even knew what it was like to be hit with the magic of friendship. She suddenly saw herself in Adagio's place--the place she had been in a month before.
Had it really only been a month? It felt like so much longer to her. She had changed so much in such a short period of time that many people claimed she was a different person altogether.
Sunset understood all of this, but she was unsure how to tell the siren. Tentatively, she tried to start a conversation.
"We looked for you guys. After the concert. We wanted to see if you were okay."
"We ran." Adagio set her cup on the table, looking up at Sunset, "We went back to the apartment we had, gathered our things, and left. We had only been staying there because we had the landlord, Filthy Rich, under out spell. Without our charms..." She passed a hand over her neck, which Sunset now noticed was bare. "Well, Filthy didn't want us there anymore."
She was quiet for a moment before she continued, "Dropping out of school was the dangerous part. Without a way to excuse ourselves, and with no magic... The law could come after us. The last thing we want is to be put in foster care--we're over a thousand years old--but if we're caught..."
The sigh that came from Adagio made Sunset's heart break. She herself was only going to school because CHS had a 'Homeless and Runaways' policy that made it possible for students to attend without having a registered home. This gave Sunset free breakfasts and lunches, and she didn't have to worry about renting an apartment to stay in school.
Her friends didn't know about this situation. She lied to them the first time they asked, said she had a crappy apartment but it was okay. They probably caught onto her lie fairly quickly, since an offer for a sleep over made her a bit too excited. Homeless shelters didn't like parent-less youth. Parent-less, teen aged, bossy, lesbian Sunset had practically no chance.
More things her friends didn't need to know about.
"Y'know, CHS has a policy for homeless kids. If you tell them upfront that you live in one of the shelters around here, they just give you some paperwork to do. You'd have to go to school again, but you won't get in trouble for truancy."
Adagio's eyes widened as she considered this. "I didn't know that. That's a pretty good idea, though."
Sunset smiled at the slight praise. The fact that Adagio was being peaceable was strange, but not unwelcome.
"I wouldn't recommend actually staying at the homes around here, though. Bunch of cranky people."
"Oh, I knew that." Adagio rolled her eyes, "We tried one of them once. But then Aria went and blabbed about the girl she was dating at the time, and we were kicked out like," --She snapped her fingers-- "That!"
Sunset winced, "Yeah, that's what I meant. They want to help, but only people whose lifestyles they approve of..."
"Hypocrites." Adagio snorted, and Sunset could imagine a siren sitting in the place of the girl in front of her. "Aria felt guilty after that one, but we assured her it was their fault."
Sunset shook her head. "Humans are so weird." She went to take another sip of her drink, only to find it empty. She sighed and looked up at the girl across from her, only to find Adagio staring back. They stared into each others eyes for a few seconds, and Sunset couldn't help but be captivated by Adagio's beautifully pink eyes. Little did she know, the siren was equally captivated by Sunset's blue eyes.
They both looked away at the same moment, heat rising to their cheeks. Wait, what? Both girls thought, I... I can't like her!
"So," Adagio cleared her throat, "Where are your friends?"
"Oh, uh," Sunset gulped, "They went to the mall today. I didn't feel like shopping."
Adagio nodded in understanding, "Yeah, Sonata tries to drag me and Aria around all the time, but we have... Different interests."
"You three all seem so different." Sunset commented, "How do you get along?"
"Years of being together." Adagio said simply. "We've learned to compromise. They may be idiots, but they're the only friends I have."
Sunset nodded, smiling a bit as Adagio sounded once again like the bossy girl that had tried to tear her and her friends down. It was strange, but Sunset liked that Adagio. Confident, in charge, bossy...
She frowned slightly. Sure, the plan was to rehabilitate the sirens, but... Falling in love with one?
"So your friends left you alone to deal with big bad me?" Adagio smirked.
"Well, to be fair, I don't think anyone expected you to be here." Sunset shrugged.
"Hmm, all the same, I think I like you better alone." Okay, Adagio had to be flirting--right?
"O-oh really?" Sunset raised a brow, "And why's that?"
Adagio shrugged, "I like talking to you one on one. You're kinda cute."
Error, can not compute. Sunset's face flushed as her brain tried to comprehend what was going on. Was Adagio really flirting with her? Why? Some kind of prank? Revenge? Ughhh...
"Wish I could say the same to you, but 'cute' is far from the first thing that comes to mind."
"Oh?" Adagio looked confused and offended, "And what does come to mind?"
"Gorgeous." Sunset almost slapped herself. Really? She gulped, Well, I suppose this game was meant for two...
Adagio leaned forward, leaning on the table. A smug smile crossed her face and her eyes lit up; Sunset had her attention. "Anything else?"
The way to her heart is through her ego. Sunset barely had time to process the fact that she had just switched into full-on flirting mode before she opened her mouth again. "Confident. Sexy. That wild hair is pretty cool." She kept her tone nonchalant, and she narrowed her eyes a bit.
"You're too cute."
"You already said cute."
"Fine then, you're adorable. Beautiful. If only a bit naive."
Sunset shrugged. Naive was not the worst thing she had been called, especially not by this particular girl. With a smile she said, "Are you an interior decorator? Because when I saw you, the entire room became beautiful."
Adagio threw her head back as a surprise laugh seized her. "You do not want to do this!"
"Oh, but I do."
"I was feeling a little off today, but you definitely turned me on."
Sunset blushed, "I seem to have lost my phone number. Can I have yours?"
"You look cold. Want to use me as a blanket?" Adagio's eyebrows wiggled to punctuate this line.
Sunset fluttered her eye lashes. "You're so beautiful that you made me forget my pickup line."
"I'm not staring at your boobs. I'm staring at your heart." Sunset raised a hand to her chest self consciously while Adagio grinned.
"You shouldn't wear makeup. It's messing with perfection!" At this point Sunset glanced over and saw people staring at them from other tables. This was getting weird...
"If being sexy was a crime, you'd be guilty as charged." Adagio noticed the other people as well, but her main focus was the blushing girl in front of her.
"There isn't a word in the dictionary for how good you look."
"Do you work at Dick's? Cause you're sporting the goods."
Both of them looked at each other for a moment before laughing out loud. Adagio was bright red, unable to believe she said it. Sunset was bright red, unable to believe it was directed at her.
"This is insane." Sunset whispered, leaning her elbows on the table and resting her head in her hands. Adagio crossed her arms and set them on the table as well.
"This turned out better than expected."
"You meant for this to happen?"
"Well, hitting on you wasn't an accident."
"Good point." They made eye contact again, and they both blushed a bit as they shared a smile. Sunset thought, I could get used to this Adagio... She shook her head before glancing out the window. She paled as she recognized several people, looking in the window... Right at her and Adagio.
"Crap." She leaned back away from the siren, fiddling with her hair. Rainbow, Rarity, and Applejack were not people she wanted to talk to about this... At least, not at the moment.
"Well, that's awkward." Sunset looked up with wide eyes as Adagio saw them, too. They seemed shocked, and Rainbow and Applejack began to argue about something while pointing at them.
"Well, I think we should cut this meeting short." Sunset sighed.
"Mh. Want to meet here at lunch tomorrow?"
Sunset considered this. "Like, what?"
"Like a date, duh." The siren rolled her eyes "I didn't waste all of my pickup lines in one day for nothing."
Sunset grinned. "Alright. It's a date." She glanced outside, "If I survive that long."
"Good luck."
They parted ways after that, Sunset heading towards her friends and Adagio getting more coffee. Sunset considered pretending she hadn't seen her friends, but that wouldn't work out in the long run.
Thank God the Fates have a sense of humor. What would my life be like without it?