//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3: Old Symptoms 
// Story: Fluffy Fever 
// by Eyeswirl the Weirded 
//------------------------------//

When she got back, Adagio was holding a little jar of pills and a glass of water, which Sunset was happy to take. When Sunset had swallowed the medicine, it was time to take her mind off how long it might take to kick in.

"So, how was school for you guys? I never heard anything about harrassment or hallways of kids laying unconscious, so I'm guessing Aria did okay."

Adagio chuckled, taking her seat on the edge of the bed again. "There were no difficulties, just as you said." 

Well, there was Trixie, who loudly made her intentions to ignore the trio, Adagio in particular, clear to all. Quite a few times through the week, actually. Luckily, ignoring her right back was easy and convenient, so there was no conflict.

Nodding once, Sunset smiled. "I heard you guys did pretty good with the classwork, too. Even Mr. Donkey was impressed!"

Adagio rolled her eyes. "We may not have been able to get glamorous jobs, but that doesn't make us idiots."

"What? No, I just meant that, y'know, since you guys are from Equestria, I was worried you all might have a little trouble. History class had to be a little tricky, right?" There was another tiny dose of that feeling Sunset got when Adagio first showed up today as the siren shot her a triumphant smirk.

"Ohh, don't worry about us, Sunset Shimmer, this world's educational system isn't exactly demanding."

"What do you m- well, I know what you mean, but, it's still-"

"It's still reasonable to think we aliens wouldn't have a good grasp of what we're expected to understand here?" Adagio chuckled, haughtily bobbing her hair once. "Let's just say the three of us had some... advantages."

Sunset stared, dumbstruck. "You seduced Luna and Celestia into giving you an easy time in class."

Adagio nearly face-faulted. "What?! No!! Where would you even get that ide-..." As the memory of one of her earlier conversations with Sunset sunk in, she sighed, delivering her answer in a tired deadpan. "No, we did not seduce the women in charge into giving us an easy time in class." 

Sunset felt just a little smaller at that moment, but maybe she could pass off her blush as part of the fever. "Sorry."

"It's fine," she said quietly, folding her arms and looking away. "Not like that's worked for me lately anyway."

"Huh?" 

Adagio turned back to face her, but at least she didn't look annoyed. "Nothing. The advantages I was referring to are... complicated, but long story short? Most of the material is just 'memorize this,' which proves very simple when we compose the information into short melodies in our heads." 

"You can do that?"

Adagio spent the next half hour reciting rhymes she'd composed during the week she, Aria, and Sonata had attended CHS, and even a few by those two. The first few examples had been for demonstration purposes, the next dozen or so for Sunset's entertainment when she asked to hear more with a delighted smile.

"Do you have one for music class too?" Sunset got only a perplexed stare for that one. "Err, right, guess that would be kinda redundant. So, that's just like an inborne ability for you guys? Putting lyrics together at the drop of a hat?"

"You can't? Because the impression I got from the Battle was that there wasn't initially a part written for you in your group's song."

Sunset smiled sheepishly. "I, kinda adlibbed the parts I sung alone, picking up with what I'd seen of the original lyrics when the others joined in, but I can't just throw together songs in a snap." Adagio gave her a dubious look for this, which made her the tiniest bit defensive. "W-what? It's true!"

"Mmhm... Well, at any rate, we survived our week without difficulty. Even Aria found little to complain about."

Nodding once, Sunset grinned brightly. "Good to hear!" And now for a gamble... "So, any chance you guys might like to come back some time? If you're not having any problems, I mean...?" Adagio adopting a thoughtful hand-on-chin pose made her hopeful.

"Well... The free meals are a small help, and some of it is actually higher quality than what we're used to."

Sunset wasn't sure if she wanted to smile about that.

"That virtual heist paid well," continued Adagio, "but it's not as though we're set for life. Rarity still doesn't have much to offer me right now and Aria and Sonata are still on minimum wage, though I hear their management was very understanding when they asked for shifts compliant with school schedules."

"Minimum wage? I thought Sonata earned a raise back on Rarity's birthday."

Adagio chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "Is that when it started?" Sunset looked confused. "I suppose you never heard, but, well, you recall how I was nearly running the place when the three of us applied there?"

"Yea. And?"

"It appears that without his ex-wife around to keep the fool in check, the man in charge was a little more unscrupulous about how he treated the girls working there. Sonata was the one he approached and, long story short, he doesn't work there anymore."

"Shooting Star?"

The only surprising thing about Adagio's thinly-veiled denial of that incident at this point was that she was still doing it, turning her head away. "I don't see what that has to do with anything. When he came onto her, Sonata ran away and reported it to the authorities like a sensible girl, believe it or not. I'm told it was an ugly scene, but with our history of now-defunct magical manipulation weighed against his history of conduct toward young ladies, you can probably imagine that I didn't even need to call Flim and Flam for that one."

Sunset frowned. She may not have run into many of them in her life, but she knew that dealing with that kind of person couldn't have been pleasant. "Is Sonata okay? And, Aria?"

Smiling amicably, Adagio nodded. "They're fine. The higher-ups of the restaurant chain only held him responsible, fully sympathetic to the plight of the two teenage girls that desperately needed the job. Don't ask her to demonstrate it for you, but Aria is every bit as proficient in puppy eyes as Sonata." Sunset just giggled. "No, really, the way I hear it, that was part of how she got promoted from full-time mascot duty to taking orders in the restaraunt when things are busy."

"Guess that motivates her to put some effort into drawing people in, huh?"

Still smiling, Adagio shrugged. "Speaking of work, how do you maintain-" she gestured to the room around them, "-this place?"

Sunset nodded to the closed laptop on her bedside table. "They have an electric, global network in this world. Have you seen it?" 

"For better or worse."

"Heh, right. I spent my first few months here mostly figuring out what that was about." She grimaced. "Learned some things. But, some of it was useful, like how they set webpages up, and now I pay for stuff with money from code-work I do after school. It doesn't quite pay as well as robbing virtual banks, but it definitely keeps me going."

"Then you're not opposed to another job?"

"I'd rather not get shotgunned in the stomach again, but... did they make you an offer?"

"Sort of. I'm due to meet with the one who organized the project within the next few days to hammer out specifics." The look Sunset was giving her got an eye-roll in response. "Don't worry, I won't be trying anything this time."

Not having realized she'd been making a face, Sunset shook her head a little. "R-right, right, uh... glad you learned your lesson on that one." It came out a little more chiding than Sunset meant it to, but Adagio didn't seem to offer any argument as she let out a quiet sigh and looked away. 

"You could say that."

This drew a worried frown. "...Are you okay? Did something happen?"

Chuckling, Adagio shook her head once. "I'd say I'm doing great, actually. Minor injuries aside, Aria and Sonata are both excited at the prospect of a new job for Dis-Corp, and that on top of the money we earned have morale and happiness at record highs of late."

Sunset raised a single inquisive eyebrow. "And you measure those things, how?"

"I can tell, alright?"

"Uh, huh..."

"Really, those two were my minions for years! You think I'd have been able to control them as long as I did without learning to read them?"

Now there was a smile. "Do you think that's helped you get along with them any better in recent weeks?"

Adagio's mouth opened, but no immediate reply came as she chewed on the thought. "...That... I, that could... Hm..." Then she smiled too. "Has that been the secret all along? Understand how they're feeling?"

Sunset grinned a little wider. "It's definitely a start."

Orange fluff bobbed with her head as she nodded. "That fits, actually. I've been minding their behavior since Rarity's birthday, and for a while, they seemed almost happy to have me back."

Sunset's grin vanished. "Almost?"

There was an uncertain little shrug. "Well, I mean, for the first day or two, they didn't make fun of me at all, barely even snapped at each other all that much, which was unheard of before that day."

Oh! 

With an inkling as to what had happened, Sunset started to smile again. "Maybe it's just that they were worried about you? You don't know what you have until it's gone, so maybe the experience taught them something too?" She wasn't sure if she really should have been happy about it or not, but the contemplative look on Adagio's face said she was really thinking hard about this.

"I... suppose it might have..." She frowned. "But I didn't mean to worry them like that, and if I had known they were looking for me to start, I might have left much sooner."

"'Might have'?"

"Well, Rarity was remarkably hospitable once she released me." Adagio raised a curious eyebrow. "Why were you so worried when you learned I was with her?"

"Uh-" Because Rarity + Unique Hair = Pain for the attached head? Part of her was surprised that Adagio could still feel her scalp by the time they arrived, but sharing such a thought while said siren still regularly visited her fashionista friend would probably just scare her. "I-I wasn't!"

There was a doubting stare.

Sunset dismissively waved a hand. "Really, I knew you'd be fine the whole time, just wanted to reassure the others, is all."

Adagio tilted her head a little as a faint tinge of pink colored her cheeks. "Really? You thought the girl that shrieks in terror every time she so much as thinks one of the big, bad mascots is coming to get her would be fine in a hostage situation?" She recalled their recent experience in the VR project. "On the receiving end, I mean?"

"Uh, w-well, you're not-"

Reaching out to lightly ruffle Sunset's hair, Adagio smiled. "I'm flattered, but you're a terrible liar."

"Hey," Sunset said with a half-hearted scowl, "I'm a great liar, it's just this fever!"

Adagio giggled. "I'm sure."

Ha, thought Sunset, still got it! "So, wait, you didn't think they'd care enough to look for you to begin with?"

Crossing her arms and frowning, Adagio sighed a little. "I, I would have guessed that they'd assume I was just 'being moody' again."

"Why?"

She blushed. "Because sometimes I just get moody?"

Now Sunset giggled. "Everyone gets moody sometimes, it's usually called being a pony."

Blink.

"I mean, crud, being human. Being alive." She stretched out a hand in a theatrical gesture. "BEING!!"

Gently pushing Sunset back against the bundled quilt, Adagio smiled at her. "Calm down, silly girl, you'll get sicker if you don't rest."

Sunset furrowed her eyebrows. "Mm'not silly."

"So I see," she replied in a tone that rang of 'are too silly,' "but I'm serious about the resting part. Are you comfortable?"

Briefly soaking in the sensation of her soft, warm cocoon of quilts, pillows, and covers, Sunset smiled. "I'm about as cozy as I can be without booking a spa day, thanks."

Adagio blinked twice. "...Spa? The place where they administer the relaxing muscle-rubs?"

"You mean massages? And, yea, it's one of Rarity's favorite places. Why?"

"It's funny you should mention it," she said while absent-mindedly scratching her head, "she invited me to go with her and Fluttershy."

Eyes widening, Sunset sat up. "Rarity asked you to go to the spa with her and Fluttershy?" It was possible her reaction worried Adagio, because her doctor for the day was now giving her an uncertain little frown.

"Is, that bad, or...?"

Sunset shook her head, pleased to find that doing so only hurt a little bit. Aspirin's kicking in! "No, no, not at all, it's just the 'with Fluttershy' part that surprised me. Don't take this the wrong way, but she's still scared of you guys, y'know?"

This earned a nod. "That's partly what I was afraid of." Blink. "The irony is noted, thank you."

"I wasn't gonna say anything."

"Oh." She tried to carry on with the conversation before she could turn any pinker. "Well, at any rate, it's kind of a difficult situation. To start, I'm pretty sure that-" she started counting off on her fingers, "-it would be rude to refuse her offer, doing so wouldn't paint a flattering picture of us for the rest of your group either, I don't know whether or not I'm supposed to invite Aria and Sonata along too, and, honestly? I'm not entirely sure how to behave around Rarity sometimes, let alone 'Squeaky.'"

"'Squeaky'?"

The answer came with a quick nod. "Squeaky. I might have memorized your friends' names by now (Rarity mentions all of you often), but Aria has a bizarre love of aliases."

"Yea, I noticed."

"What?"

Sunset forced a smile. "Nothing!" That nickname list is probably one more thing they'll have to resolve between themselves... Hope that goes over well.

"Right, well," Adagio wore an increasingly uncertain expression, "those are just the first few problems that come to mind, so..." Even her sheepish smiles were nice, Sunset noticed. "I mean, you know them better than I and you're more or less the expert in Friendship™ around here, right? Your thoughts?"

In that instant, something in the back of Sunset's mind jumped for joy, whooping and squealing and getting on the rest of her brain's nerves. That part of her told the rest of her brain to can it, because the moment had finally come! 

That part of Sunset knew, since the moment the Dazzlings fled at the end of the Battle, that there would come a time in which those three needed help. Not just assistance of any old kind, but an ambiguity of action that risked putting the happiness of themselves and whoever may have been close to them in jeopardy.

They would need friendship advice.

And now, after months of gathering data and experience in that field, it was time; time to pass on what she had learned! Being called a 'Friendship Expert' made her all weirdly tingly, too. Or maybe that was the pain meds from a little bit ago. Either way, she smiled.

"Well, I don't know about 'expert,' but going in order; I'm not sure if it's a question of being rude or not if you're being invited to something you genuinely don't want to do, but Rarity might be sad if you turn her down. Whatever you decide, my friends should understand, because there's nothing remotely friendly about expecting people to go along with your every whim." She earnestly regretted her word choice. "Err... N-no offense?" 

"None taken."

Ouch. There was no sign of hurt in Adagio's face, but still... "Right, well... Anyway, Rainbow and Applejack might even stand up for you if you really didn't want to go to the spa, but I don't think you'd hate the experience."

"I've been to a spa before, yes."

Sunset smiled. "Oh?"

Adagio nodded. "It's where I learned to administer soothing muscle-rubs myself."

"You're a masseuse now?"

"Well... This was before we lost our magic. I had some time to kill alone (as we often did) and elected to wander the town for a while when I saw the sign out front. Curious, I went in, and didn't like that there was a school of seduction, a way to make someone feel that good just by touching them, that I didn't know about." Adagio had started to blush as she muttered. "Let alone that it worked on me... So, the next day, I went back and politely asked them to show me the method. It took me the better part of the afternoon, but I'd say I learned all I needed to."

"...You learned to give massages out of boredom and some kind of spite?"

Crossing her arms, Adagio made a scrunchy face. "I didn't hear you objecting when you learned that Sonata took things apart for no concrete reason!"

Giggling, Sunset raised her palms placatingly. "Okay, okay, just asking." Now was probably a bad time to prod Adagio further, hilarious faces or not, so she opted to resume the sharing of friendship advice. "Anyway, you probably don't have to worry about inviting anyone, because more people would probably mean Rarity has to pay for more spa treatments. Though, knowing her, she'd do it without even being asked, but-"

"But I shouldn't take advantage of her generous nature?" She chuckled. "Don't worry, I wouldn't be here if I was content to take whatever I could and walk." Blinking, she scratched her head, again making an apologetic little grin. "W-well, not these days, at least..."

Sunset just smiled. They grow up so fast!

...Did Twilight think the same thing about me, back when...?

Nevermind that, focus!

"So, unless it's specifically suggested that you bring someone along, I don't think anyone'll mind if you don't ask Aria and Sonata to join in." It touched something in Sunset's chest that Adagio's next question was delivered with a worried eyebrow.

"Not even Aria and Sonata themselves? Being left out of- well, I don't know how they'd feel about a spa day, so I can't be sure they'd even mind, but won't they feel slighted for not having been included?"

"Possibly, but if so, you'll just have to explain that Rarity only asked you and Fluttershy. Not everyone can come along for everything everyone does, y'know? Pinkie helped me understand that."

Her face contemplative, Adagio nodded. "Can't bring everyone every time... Come to think of it, she didn't mention bringing the rest of you, either, so that might fit. Still...?"

Sunset giggled, addressing the last point on her own. "Spoiler alert? If my experience was anything to go by, she invited you because she wants to be there to supervise while helping Fluttershy get more comfortable with you in a safe, relaxing environment."

Adagio stared at her for a moment. "...It almost sounds like your group has a formal plan for people like us."

The implications clicking in her head, Sunset stopped smiling. "I was never kidnapped, that was not supposed to happen, not even as part of the craziest friend-making ritual they'd throw at us."

"I wasn't sure if I should ask..."

"No, no, it's a valid concern. Or, it is now, anyway."

The two held one anothers' gazes in silence for a long moment before both began to giggle, which gradually escalated to laughing uproariously at the absurdity of their post-magical-megalomaniac lives.

Wiping a tear from her eye, there was one thing Adagio had to know. "Just so I'm not caught off-guard when it happens; what's the craziest friend-making ritual they'd throw at us?"

"I'd say camping. You hike out into the woods with a bunch of big backpacks, simulate being slightly better-off than a homeless person by sleeping in a tent right after sharing ghost stories around a fire, then hike back the next morning." She interpreted Adagio's slow blink to mean 'Why?', which drew a little smile. "It's kind of fun, but there are so many hazards to watch out for, it makes you wonder how they could have come up with such an idea in the first place."

"...You people work to pay for a house... and then pretend you don't have one?"

"Craziest. Ritual."

"Clearly so!"

"Yes, but if you do ever go camping, Fluttershy is actually someone you might want to take with you. She's... got a gift with nature, y'know?"

"I'll have to take your word on that. So, what did you do to keep her from sprinting in the opposite direction the moment you arrived?"

As it was, fittingly, the first thing Sunset learned to do when her first one-on-one interaction with Fluttershy came, she smiled. "Just keep cool and calm and she'll do the same. She'll pretty much always be more scared of you than you are of her, so-" she blinked, stammering out an amendment before the poor word choice could sink in, "a-and I mean that for everyone, not saying anything about, er, s-she'd be afraid at first even if you weren't- no, I mean-"

Making a slightly sour face, Adagio rolled her eyes. "I get it, Sunset, thank you."

"Sorry."

"...You still haven't told anyone, right?"

"No, but-"

The siren gave her a tiny grin. "Then it's fine. The rest of your advice, please?"

Taking a deep breath, Sunset chose to let the slip-up pass. "Right, so... Basically, just don't do anything that might relate to intimidation. Scowling and glaring were a problem for me until I consciously reminded myself not to make those faces around her, but talking to her was a lot easier after that. In your case, uhh-" she hated to say something like this so soon after all but calling Adagio a coward, but she was sure it would prevent damage later, "w-well, remember how I got completely the wrong idea when you first showed up today?"

If Adagio took any offense to that one, she didn't show it as she brushed a hand along her chin. "Mmhm... So what you're saying is that I need to watch my mouth around the sensitive soul?"

Snorting, Sunset burst into long, loud gigglefits, Adagio just smiling at her. At least until Sunset started coughing, but it quickly passed. "Nice one. But in all seriousness, you probably should be careful with words, too. She really is pretty sensitive, I've seen her flinch even when people swear without a hint of irritation."

Adagio remembered something Rarity had said to her on the latter's birthday. 'Beastly behavior makes us uglier inside.' I guess that includes swearing? "Noted."

"Actually, she generally likes to take care of people as much as she does animals, so you might be able to break the ice with her just by mentioning today. She might even offer to compare notes!"

Her face again contemplative, Adagio looked away, absent-mindedly twirling a lock of orange around a finger. "I, guess I could...? Something to consider, if there's a lull in conversation. Speaking of, I know I've asked this before, but how are you feeling? Comfortable? Need anything?"

Sunset gave her a cheeky little grin. "Can I order a massage?" She snickered as Adagio got a wide-eyed 'Huh?' kind of look, but it stopped when her caretaker averted her eyes.

"Wellll... If you really want one, I guess I-"

Oh, crap!! 

Tinting pink, Sunset quickly held up a hand. "N-no, no, I was just kidding, I'm fine where I am, no need for touching, thank you!" 

I forgot to shower last night! After laying in bed all morning, I've gotta be rank!

Unfortunately, Adagio seemed to sense that Sunset had been teasing her, because she wore a smirk as her eyes glinted with mischief. "You're sure? I really can do it, you know, and not just the basics." 

Trying to retreat further into her toasty coccoon as Adagio leaned closer, Sunset started to sweat. Which probably wasn't helping the smell. "Uh-"

"I didn't just copy what they showed me," she whispered in increasingly sultry tones, pressing a hand into the mattress to lean closer, "with the two of them under my spell, I was allowed to... improve on their methods." She waited until Sunset was juuuust about the same shade of red as her hair before pulling back and flashing a bright, innocent smile. "Really, the girls at the spa said it was the most soothing back-rub they'd gotten in years, they even told me I was a natural!"

Sunset blinked slowly. "...Back-rub?"

"Mmhm. Why," she said with a renewal of her usual grin, "were you hoping for something more?"

Flushed, Sunset could only sputter helplessly before muttering in defeat about the unfairness of picking on a sick person. 

Adagio chuckled. "You started it."

"Yea," concurred Sunset with an irritable sigh, "guess I did. Any chance we can end it here?"

"Done."

"Thank you."

"No problem." She waved a hand in the air. "With the scent in here, it probably wouldn't have been pleasant for either of us."

Sunset lit up like molten iron. "If you could s-smell it, why didn't you say anything?!"

Gaining a contrite little frown, Adagio shrugged before pointing to a corner of the room. "I don't know, what is there to say about dirty laundry in someone's room? I know you can't get to the cleaners all the time."

Her head whipping to the guilty, grody corner, Sunset gaped in mortified silence at the pile of unwashed clothes she'd allowed to accumulate over the last week or two. Rarity would have had some words. All things considered, she supposed this wasn't that bad, but she kind of wished she'd known there'd be company today to have a chance to hide her dirty laundry. And then her mouth betrayed her.

"Oh, that. I thought you meant me."

"What?"

Gah! "I-I mean-"

Adagio's smile could only be called 'amused' as she lifted a scandalous hand to partly cover it. "Wait, it's coming from-"

"I, sh-shu-"

"What, did you run a marathon before bed last night? Is that why you're sick now?"

Sunset wrapped herself tightly in her quilt cocoon like a living burrito. "Teasing!"

The mirth slipped from the siren's face in an instant. "Right, sorry." There was a long, tired sigh from her patient before she heard another slightly-muffled word.

"Okay. Need you to do something for me."

"Uh... Yes?"

"Pick up the nearest pillow. Smother me to death with it."

Getting up, Adagio giggled. "You're starting to sound like Aria. If you're not set on asphyxiation, I think I'll just run you a bath instead, alright?" There was a long silence. "Sunset?"

"I'm weighing my options!"

"Then I'm picking for you; bath. Wait here." She turned to get started, but Sunset quietly called out to her when she reached the door. 

"Adagio?"

She turned to see Sunset looking a bit like some kind of puffy, blanket-caterpillar, her eyes peering out from behind covers that otherwise obscured her whole face. 

"Thanks. For not laughing at me."

Adagio gave her an apologetic grin. "A little too late for that, don't you think?"

"Well, maybe a bit, but like, for not really rubbing it in." Her eyes were cast downward as she recalled their night at Fatbear's Pizza. "Like I would have."

Staring at the Shimmer-pillar in silence for a moment, Adagio touched a hand to her chin. "You told me once that your friends teased each other all the time, that there was friendly ribbing far below the level I'd gotten to know?" 

Sunset looked up at her, so she at least had her attention. 

Adagio smiled. "Think of it like this; you know that I'm here to repay everything you've done for me, right?" The sight of a nodding Shimmer-pillar was a surprisingly cute one. "Then you can trust me when I say that if you really do push me, I'll push right back," In a near-perfect imitation of her pose from just a week and a half before, she put one hand on her hip while pointing a finger of the opposite hand at Sunset, "so stay on guard, Sunset Shimmer!" There was a distinct difference from last time in that the sentiment was delivered with a friendly wink, drawing giggles from the mighty Shimmer-pillar as it shed most of its outer layers.

"Well, thanks for the warning. Come get me when the bath is ready?" Turning back toward the door, Adagio set off with a nod, leaving Sunset alone in her small, slightly smelly room. She looked at her laundry pile.

And now we see if I can stuff all of that into the closet before she gets back...