//------------------------------// // The Morning After // Story: The Worst // by SquiggelSquirrel //------------------------------// Adagio Dazzle dreamed of Equestria. In her dream, she stood on stage before an endless crowd of ponies, the princesses among them. She held a microphone in her hand, and her voice was the very embodiment of rapturous beauty. Everypony was under her control, waiting, needing her command. After centuries of toil, she finally had everything she had ever worked for. She had made it. She was home. Only one thing spoiled the moment. One sound, out of place. She turned to the rest of her band. Sure enough, there they were — Fluttershy, voice of an angel and subtle tambourine to back her vocals, Sunset Shimmer, guitar in hand and hair blazing like flames, Rainbow Dash… Why was Rainbow Dash attempting to turn “sawing through a drainpipe” into a musical accompaniment? Didn't she realise this was their big night, the greatest performance of their lives? Why wasn't she following orders? The horrible, deep, rasping noise was ruining their song. It was an important song — Twilight Sparkle had written it herself, with profound lyrics about the magic of friendship, which could brainwash anyone, no matter how strong their will. The noise was so infuriating, it even woke her up. In a groggy half-sleep, she drove a vicious kick into Rainbow's ribs. Two layers of sleeping bags cushioned the blow, but the rainbow-haired girl stopped snoring, murmured, and rolled over, settling back into a quiet sleep. Then Adagio lay awake in her bag, staring into the ceiling while she slowly separated dreams from reality, and reflected on the peculiar workings of her own subconscious. She hadn't dreamt of Equestria in a long time. The dream itself hadn't been sad, but now she felt melancholic, almost wishing she could go back there. As for the rest of it, having the Rainbooms as her own band… She smiled wanly. It was too bad these girls weren't evil, and would never follow her orders. If nothing else, she'd been forced to admit that they were a strong team. If she'd had support from them, instead of… other people, she'd probably be home by now. There was no point dwelling on such things, though. Barely moving, she turned her attention to the clock. She watched the minutes tick past while trying to make sense of the time it showed. It took a while for her to accept how late it was in the morning — though it would explain why only she and Rainbow Dash were still in bed. Reluctantly, she began to extricate herself from her bedding. Adagio knew well enough the power music had to enthral people, even without the aid of magic. She'd also heard stories of creatures with enrapturing beauty, who could mesmerise anyone foolish enough to stare at them. Until she descended the steps to the kitchen that morning, it hadn't occurred to her that maybe the sense of smell could also be used to control the mind. Having replaced two meals yesterday with cookies and ice cream may also have been a factor. She had to stop herself from drooling on entering the kitchen. There were pancakes. There were waffles. There was bacon and there were sausages and eggs and porridge and oh, yes, there was coffee. There was a lot more besides. There was even hot sticky apple pie, glistening on the counter, resting there while slowly cooling. Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer were sat at the table, talking and giggling when Adagio walked in. They turned and smiled at her entrance, Sunset even waved. Adagio frowned, and pulled up a chair as far from them as possible. At some point, she would need to have a “talk” with the Rainbooms, though it would probably be easier to wait until they were all together. She needed to make it absolutely clear that last night had been a one-time thing, just a casual convenience in a moment of weakness, and that she had absolutely no desire to turn it into anything more. In the meantime, she picked up a plate, and began piling it high with everything she could reach, slowing just enough to cram half a slice of toast in her mouth. Applejack walked walked past, depositing a plate full of mushrooms on the table. “Mornin' Adagio. Y'missed the start of breakfast, on account of me and Pinkie being up so early, but we figured by the time Rainbow was up, some of us'd be wanting lunch, an', well, ah reckon ah got a li'l carried away with the cooking.” Adagio grunted a response through a mouthful of sausage, while pouring herself a mug of coffee. Applejack headed back towards the grill, continuing to talk over her shoulder as she went. “The other girls are out shoppin' groceries, 'cause we kinda emptied the pantry. Ah reckon they'll be back shortly, though.” Adagio took a break from her mastication in order to gulp down her liquid caffeine. She allowed herself a contented sigh, and resolved to slow down a little, in order to enjoy the meal. “Um, Adagio?” It was Twilight Sparkle — this world's Twilight, Adagio reminded herself (though the resemblance to Princess Twilight was uncanny) — who had spoken. “I was wondering if I could talk to you.” Adagio considered the question, while constructing a waffle, bacon, and pancake sandwich, with maple syrup. Eventually, she turned to Twilight, narrowed her eyes, and growled her slow reply. “Yeah…” “Actually, I had a question I wanted to ask you.” Adagio's narrowed eyes became an annoyed glare. Sunset attempted to gesture to Twilight that maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Twilight's bright, innocent smile seemed oblivious to both. “It's about what you said last night, about your sisters.” Looks could kill. Adagio knew this for a fact — ask any cockatrice. Fortunately for Twilight, Adagio's glare had no supernatural power behind it. Still, Sunset Shimmer politely left the table, carrying a stack of two empty plates to the sink. Applejack left the room, muttering something about checking on Rainbow Dash. “What. About. Them.” “Well, I was just curious — you said that you hate them, but you've stayed with them for centuries. Why didn't you just leave?” In the silence that followed, Adagio slowly raised one eyebrow.­ Her annoyance mixed with confusion and disbelief. “They're my sisters,” enunciated Adagio, as if this were all the answer that was needed. When this didn't seem to satisfy Twilight, Adagio attempted to expand on it further. “I mean, what would people say about a siren who couldn't even look after her own sisters?” “Oh.” Twilight's face fell, but she seemed to accept this answer. Adagio turned back to her meal, but paused when Twilight continued. “I see.” Something about the way she said this made Adagio look up. Had she imagined it, or… no, one look at Twilight's face told her there had indeed been an edge to those words. The girl was staring down through her plate with a look of — Adagio searched for the right word. Anger, maybe? Close, but not quite right. Whatever it was, it didn't seem to fit her face. “You mean it's all about your reputation.” Twilight practically spat the last word, and Adagio found the description she was looking for — cold fury. Not the righteous anger she would expect from Princess Twilight, but something altogether darker, and crueler. Adagio knew that somehow, she'd touched a nerve. Adagio smiled, then shrugged. “Well,” she replied, “no. I could care less what other people think.” Twilight looked up, guarded but quizzical. “But you just said…” “Yeah, I know, but I don't care. It only matters because they'd be right, because I care what I think, of myself. Those two might be the most useless lackeys a girl could ask for, but they're my lackeys. It's like they say, about a bad workman blaming her tools. A real leader makes the most with the followers she has, she doesn't waste time whining about how much easier things would be if her minions were perfect. “Those two have their faults, but they're loyal.” She paused, reconsidering this last statement. “Well, Aria's always trying to take over, but neither of them would ever try to quit the band, or kick me out. We…” Adagio hesitated, and turned back to her food. It didn't seem quite so appealing any more. “We're sisters. We stick together.” “I'm sorry,” Twilight said, “I may not completely understand, but… well, I think you've lost something important to you. Maybe you don't 'love' them, exactly, but you don't want them getting hurt, do you?” “Not unless it's me hurting them,” muttered Adagio, just loud enough for Twilight to hear. A thought struck her. “And I don't mean that in a sexual way. “But you're right. I don't want them hurt. Keeping them safe, finding food for them, keeping them happy,” Adagio snarled at the word, “that's my job as a leader. It's how I measure my success. It's how everyone else knows if I'm strong, or… “Well, I've done a wonderful job of that, haven't I? I can just imagine what our parents would say, if they were here. Heh, they'd probably want to banish us all over again. Maybe to a world run by squirrels, or something.” Twilight frowned. “I don't think you've done anything wrong, Adagio. Um, at least, not in the way you're thinking.” Adagio raised one her eyebrow again. “Um, I mean, you did try to take over the world. That's generally regarded as a bad thing.” “OK, I get it.” Adagio hurriedly stacked a few more items on her plate. “I challenged the great Twilight Sparkle and her friends, and I lost. No hard feelings, well fought, nothing I did wrong, I'm just not as strong as your little gang.” Adagio stood up, pushing the chair aside. “Oh, no, that's not what I —” “You know what?” Adagio interrupted, picking up her plate. “I've changed my mind. I don't feel like talking to you. Enjoy your breakfast.” With this, she turned, and took one step towards the door, doubled back to pick up her mug of coffee, then strode out of the room. Applejack reached the bottom of the stairs ahead of Rainbow Dash, and caught a glimpse of orange hair through the front room door. She decided to check on Adagio while Rainbow lurched her way into the kitchen. Adagio was sat on the sofa, angrily munching her way through a plateful of food, staring out the window. “Uh, hey there, Adagio. You okay?” Adagio shot her a withering glare, before returning her stare to the street outside. She swallowed, and spoke. “I'm fine. None of your business. Just leave me —” Whatever she had been about to say was cut short, when she dropped her plate onto the coffee table and threw herself to the floor. Applejack stared in astonishment, as the siren twisted around to look up at her and hissed: “What are they doing here?” It took Applejack a moment to track Adagio's hand gesture, and to glance out the window. After that, she caught on fast. Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk were standing on the sidewalk, gesturing towards Fluttershy's front door. Adagio began crawling towards the wall. “I can't believe this! You called them? I thought you were meant to be on my side!” “Now hold on there. I didn' call 'em, ah don' even have their number.” “You could have found it! Or maybe one of your friends did!” Adagio had reached the wall, and was now pressed into the corner between the wall and a chair. “Adagio, Ah don't reckon anyone in this house called 'em. Maybe they just figured it out some other way.” The doorbell rang. Barely a moment later, someone started rapping on the door. Aria Blaze's voice called out, loudly enough to be heard throughout the house. “Adagio! We know you're in there! We need to talk!”