You!” the resort staff member exclaimed once she had gotten close enough to the hot tub to recognize the occupants. She almost dropped the server's tray she was holding upright. Her expression was similar to that of someone who had just bitten into a sour lemon thinking it was an innocent apple.
“You!” Rainbow echoed back, her own look of surprise plastered on her face. She nearly slipped off the tub's bench into the deep center.
Twilight looked back and forth between the server and the others. Judging by the strained posture Sunset now had, she guessed this girl was another past acquaintance. It didn't take long for Sunset to turn her initial apprehension into curiosity.
“What are you doing here, Adagio?” Sunset asked bluntly but not rudely. The wheels in her mind were still turning with a plan.
“Note the uniform,” Adagio growled as politely as she could. If such a thing were possible.
The orange-haired girl was sporting a colorful resort vest over a white tank top clearly designed for skin exposure. It was typical for the outside staff to be dressed in a “beach-like” fashion that put the customers at ease with the resort's theme and mood. Her white shorts were tight and cropped, keeping just a few inches past the point where they might have been bikini bottoms.
In reality, Adagio's uniform was not much different than any other female staffer. However, the young woman's goddess-like form did more for the look than any other employee the Shimmer group had yet seen. Adagio's hips were wide, her rear packed, her waist thin, and her bust bountiful. There was little doubt she had filled out nicely since CHS and likely had put in extra work for those dimensions as well. Her curves were as good as they could be without being extreme or absurd.
The silence between them proceeded for an uncomfortable moment.
Until Rainbow broke it.
“So what now?”
Adagio turned as neutral as she could. “I can take your order, ma'am.”
“Oh, I'm no ma'am,” Rainbow stuck her noise up in pride.
“We know,” Twilight and Sunset said in unison.
“The special today is-” Adagio began in monotone.
“-washed-up Dazzlings?” Rainbow snickered.
The tray almost hit the ground again. Steam could be seen blowing out of Adagio's ears. The girl trembled with rage.
“Rainbow,” Twilight glared at her friend.
Sunset rubbed her wife's shoulder and nodded to herself. She indeed had a plan now. “Maybe it would be best to clear the air out first. Rainbow Dash.”
“Yeah, what?”
“Apologize.”
“It's okay,” Adagio lied in a mumble. “This is just a job.”
“No,” Twilight caught the glint in her wife's eye and played along. “Being rude is never excusable. Rainbow.”
The athlete glared back at her friends but capitulated with a roll of her eyes and a dramatic sigh. “Fine. I'm sorry. There.”
“Please excuse her,” Sunset added. “She's been frustrated lately because she has no girlfriend.”
“What?!” Rainbow's jaw dropped.
Adagio took her turn to sigh, though for a different reason. She collected herself and repeated. “I can take your order. I can get you a menu if you'd like to see all of the options.”
“Two small lemon ice and one iced fruit punch. Thank you,” Twilight quickly ordered. She had guessed as to the eligible menu items but apparently won out because there was no surprise from Adagio. Twilight ordered the safe options, though not necessarily their favorites, and had the former Dazzling back out of earshot in no time.
“I'm not complaining,” Rainbow said with her arms crossed, “but did you have to order for me? Fruit punch is nice and all but I-”
“You better play your cards right, Rainbow,” Sunset smirked. “That wasn't a very good start.”
Rainbow's mouth open and closed a few times until she began to understand. “You...you're not...are you....?”
Twilight had caught on to her wife's idea and couldn't help feeling giddy over it. “Sunny's right,” she agreed while snuggling into Sunset's side. “You like them stacked, Dashie. You know you do.”
Rainbow's jaw dropped open. She was supposed to be the one playing her friends, not the other way around!
“You're lucky that Twilight's brother gave us the VIP island,” Sunset continued. “Since we know Oxygen Rush personally, we can get Adagio to take a little break with us. Really get to know her, what her life's been like...a perfect opportunity for you two to bond.”
“You're insane. Both of you!” Rainbow grimaced. Though she pretended to be put off, her heart was racing. Adagio? As crazy as the suggestion was, Rainbow's mind whirled with what-ifs. What would it be like to have her own girlfriend? Especially with a body like that! But no. There was just no way. This was Adagio!
Rainbow wanted to say more but she started to feel nervous. She temporarily lifted herself out of the hot tub and sat at the edge with her legs dangling in the bubbles. Her body had really heated up for some reason and she craved the cool breeze. The married couple said some things about her relaxing, opening up her heart and mind or something. She was too flustered to pay attention. She was also uneasy that she was uneasy. Nobody was supposed to unnerve her this easy, dang it!
Adagio walked back with a tray full of the group's order. She looked more uncertain this time. She clearly had been thinking things over as well, though for different reasons no doubt. She handed over the two cups to the couple and then the glass to Rainbow. As professionally as she could, she asked for anything else before backing away to leave.
“Just a minute,” Sunset smiled kindly. “I think we need to talk. It's been a long time, Adagio. I'd like to know how you're doing. Maybe get us a fresh start.”
“I'm on shift,” Adagio began to show more of her uncomfortable attitude. It was almost like she would have preferred to have kept her anger from earlier. Heck, even professional indifference would have been preferable to having a sit-down chat with these people.
Sunset whispered to her wife, who then got up out of the hot tub and took a towel on her way to her bag she left at the table. She got her phone out to make a special call, holding her hand against her other ear to mute the sound of the waves and wind coming up from the bay. Their ambiance had seemed minimal until she was trying to listen to her phone's speaker.
The redhead then explained to Adagio. “We've got you covered. You just got the day off. Paid for, of course.”
Adagio stood there dumbstruck.
“We're VIPs,” Sunset further detailed, “so we have some influence. Anyways, I think there's a nice relaxing spot right here for you.”
Adagio looked to the spot Sunset patted at between her and Rainbow Dash. She was apprehensive to say the least. Her earlier rage had not exactly been calmed by a simple - if possibly superficial - apology from Rainbow Dash. Only her professionalism had kept her neutral enough not to explode. On the other hand, how could she refuse the people who just got her a paid day off? Besides, it was just a brief chat, right?
The poofy-haired girl set her empty tray on the nearby table in resignation. A double-take on the hot tub and a new shiver from the latest waft of cool air made her thankful all over again. Although she worked at the resort all day, she rarely had the opportunity to enjoy any of it. On such temperamental days as this, a warm dip in a hot tub was more than welcome. She removed her vest and shirt, revealing the purple-striped bikini top underneath.
Rainbow Dash meant only to glance at the girl, but the glance turned into a heated stare. Though skimpy overall, Adagio's upper garments had done a remarkable job at holding back her considerable assets. What had been a well-endowed young woman before was now a very well-endowed young woman sitting down at the edge of the hot tub, dangling her legs in the bubbling water beside Rainbow.
“Do you always drool?” Adagio's lip twitched in disgust.
Rainbow shook her head to get out of her daze.
Sunset winced inside, but Twilight had to stifle a quiet giggle. The well-read girl adjusted her glasses as she settled in against the smooth warm stone siding of the tub again, call finished.
“You guys going to ask me questions or something?”
“Sure. We can also have you ask us questions to be fair,” Sunset decided. “How about you give the first one, Rainbow.”
The athlete's mouth was still a little open. “What cup size is that?”
Sunset facepalmed. She was going to have red marks on her face if Rainbow kept this up. Meanwhile, Twilight just sat in awe of Rainbow's complete lack of self-awareness. The fit girl hadn't even drawn her eyes up from their guest's chest.
“Bigger than yours,” Adagio said with the hint of a smirk at the edge of her mouth. She had clearly enjoyed that remark.
“Alright, alright,” Twilight tried to interject. “I'll start us off. Adagio, what happened with you after CHS?”
The raspberry-eyed girl switched her faint amusement for a pinch of depression. Her lips turned downwards. “Nothing good. I'd rather not talk about it.”
Sensitive to the change in mood, Twilight redirected the conversation. “That's okay. How about now then. Are you doing alright?”
Sunset gave her wife a sideways look, enough to congratulate her on a good save. Adagio clearly lightened up because of it.
“How am I doing?” she parroted back, as if the question was unclear.
“Yes,” Twilight confirmed as kindly as she could. “Do you have a good place to stay? Are you stressed any?”
That seemed to make Adagio mull over for a bit. Rainbow was uncomfortable with the pause and only a hard look from Sunset kept her mouth shut. The sound of the bubble jets and waves of the nearby ocean made for a soothing ambiance in the meantime.
“I guess,” Adagio finally responded, though it was full of doubt. “I have lodging here at the resort. Room and board is pretty good at this place even for employees. The pay is good. I wouldn't say I'm exactly stressed...”
“But?” Sunset tactfully prompted.
“I don't know if I want to talk about personal issues with some people who used to be my enemies back in high school.”
“Touche,” Rainbow couldn't help but blurt.
“The past is behind us,” Sunset stated. “That's why we wanted to talk to you. We really do want a fresh start. I think we can be friends.”
Sunset's optimism was worth something because it lit a spark in Adagio's eye. “Friends?” she parroted again, this time with a mix of skepticism and hope.
“Yeah,” Rainbow nodded almost to herself. “They're what makes life interesting. Unless you marry them.”
“Hey,” Sunset grumbled.
“I know,” Adagio said unexpectedly, making Sunset look back to the orange-haired girl. “There are times when I look back at CHS and before and...and I wish we were still together. The Dazzlings, I mean.”
“Don't you have new friends here, though?” Twilight asked the obvious. She should have seen the answer coming.
“No.”
It was flat. Devoid of life. Clearly the end of the sentence she had trailed before. She had no friends and, even in a resort packed with people, she was alone. Twilight knew that feeling. She could see it in her own past and, for whatever reason, it frightened her more in hindsight than it ever had when she had been at CPA.
Sunset smiled, though not out of any kind of spiteful feeling. She saw an opportunity for friendship – something she had learned much about. Perhaps she could even spark something more than friendship for Rainbow's sake. Even if it did nothing more than open up Rainbow's heart for future relationships. That girl needed help trusting others just as much as Adagio apparently did.
“What about you bunch?” Adagio slipped down into the tub so her lower body could warm. “Am I safe assuming the two of you are married?”
“So obvious?” Sunset chuckled, the question completely rhetorical.
“Sunset and Twilight Shimmer,” Twilight proudly confirmed. “And Rainbow Dash over there has been our housemate for a little while now.”
Dash shrugged.
Adagio looked between them and then took an interest with the bubbles forming and popping against her body. The bubble jets were already doing a fine job of relaxing her body. She only wished the same were true of her mind.
“Sunny has told me a bit about what happened between you,” Twilight went on. “I didn't know who you were at first, though. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not the same Twilight you fought against.”
“I know,” Adagio looked straight at her. Something in her deep raspberry eyes unnerved Twilight. It was her next statement that revealed the reason. “I lost my siren's song back then but not the fact that I'm a siren. I still have my perception. I'm curious, though. What happened to her? The other Twilight.”
“She's in Equestria,” Sunset quickly answered.
“But she didn't take that world's magic back with her,” Adagio observed.
“Nope,” Rainbow confirmed with a less certain expression than before. She was pondering what it meant for the girl to still be a siren - less the magical manipulation.
Adagio mulled over the information for a moment and spoke up just before Sunset could break the short silence. “It just doesn't matter anymore,” the semi-former siren gave up with a strange mix of resignation and reflection. “Not to me, anyway. Nothing really does. Sometimes I wonder what I'm even doing here. Why work at all? There's nothing waiting for me tomorrow or next year. I felt angry after CHS but now I just feel empty.”
Twilight was about to give some form of encouragement, but Sunset held her back. She nodded to Rainbow, who got the hint. Adagio was opening up. The ease with how it came about was testament to how lonely and pent up she had become over the years. She had been waiting to talk to someone for a long time even if it wouldn't change anything.
“Sometimes I feel confused,” Adagio continued. “I get angry again for a day or two. I look back and think about what life would have been like if I hadn't lost. But then I eventually move on. I know it's stupid to keep dwelling on the past, so I try to work for the present. And then I start asking myself what that is. What is the point?”
Sunset glanced to the others and then spoke. “It's whatever you want it to be, Adagio. Personally, I've found the most fulfilling and enjoyable things are what I do with others. It's not the actions that are so important, but it's the relationships. That's what makes my life and the things I do meaningful.”
Adagio looked to the redhead. She looked into her eyes and saw the love and happiness that burned inside. “You're lucky then,” she said. “Not everyone gets married and lives happily ever after.”
“I don't know about the marriage part,” Twilight admitted, “but anyone can live happily ever after. Every day is a chance to start a new life. You just have to want it and then go after it.”
“What's that supposed to mean?”
“It means you give friendship a shot even if it doesn't lead to romance or marriage,” Sunset slid off the seat and waded over to Adagio and Rainbow. She took Rainbow's hand and Adagio's, putting them together. “You two are going to have an awesome time today. Go out, get food and snacks, go on rides, go swimming, talk to each other, learn about each other, and figure out what it means to trust somebody who just wants a little happiness in their life.”
“Are you sure about this?” Twilight half frowned.
“I know, I know. It's not going to be easy,” Sunset admitted readily. She held her hand out above her face after she got under the covers of their bed. Her wedding ring sparkled with as much radiance as it had a year ago. “Nothing worthwhile ever is.”
Twilight faintly smiled at her wife, glancing down at her own ring as she put her hairtie on the nightstand and slipped into her purple star-patterned nightwear. “But does Dashie know that?”
Sunset's gaze dropped only a bit. The fire in the gem of her ring blazed just as strong. “She knows that already. If only a little. She'll learn just how much it's true.”
Twilight sat down on the bed, eying her wife suspiciously before slipping beneath the sheets. “There you go again.”
“What?”
“Talking as if you have some hidden wisdom,” Twilight stuck her tongue out.
Sunset grinned, rolled over in the sheets and bear-hugged her wife. “I try not to take you for granted, honey. I'm never going to let go of you.”
Twilight would have laughed if Sunset wasn't strong enough to squeeze her so hard. “Whoa, tight!”
Sunset let up, but her grin turned into a smirk. “That's what she said.”
The blue-haired girl groaned and then took off her glasses so she could settle in for sleep. “If only your humor was better than Dashie's.”