Chapter 3
A Dazzling Sunset
Chapter 3
“So...then what happened?” Rainbow Dash leaned back in the passenger seat of Sunset’s car and interlaced her fingers behind her head while Sunset navigated out of her neighborhood.
In the backseat, Applejack tipped her hat up and whistled quietly. “You mean, the leader of them Dazzlings shows up and just hangs out with ya at the horse park, like it ain’t nothing?”
Sunset shrugged. “Pretty much. I mean, nothing really happened. It was weird, like I said.”
“So, darling, this Adagio girl just...watched you care of the horses and then left?”
Sunset glanced in her rearview mirror at Rarity. “Well, she stuck around to watch me ride too. She was quiet most of the time, asked me a few questions here and there. But every time I checked on her, she was just watching, her hands stuffed in her pockets. Sometimes, she even seemed genuinely interested.
Rarity raised an eyebrow. “My, that is odd. Though...I suppose that after their defeat, the Dazzlings are going through much the same thing that you did, Sunset. They are from Equestria too, after all.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t trust it.” Rainbow snorted. “No offense, Sunset, but people, or pony mermaids-”
“Sirens.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Dash shook her head. “They don’t change overnight or after a single event. Either she’s lying, or something else is up. They might be trying to get some sort of dirt on us for blackmail, or maybe they're trying to learn about us so they can beat us at another battle of the bands.”
“I dunno, Dash,” Sunset pursed her lips and turned out of the neighborhood toward Fluttershy’s home, “something was definitely off about her. Adagio didn’t seem to want to see the other Dazzlings and she had a fresh bruise on the side of her face.”
Rainbow grunted, unimpressed. She sat up in her seat a little and pulled her cell phone from her pocket and hit the quick dial for their pink haired animal-loving friend. The phone made a few muted beeps before a quiet voice picked up the other end.
“Hey ya, Fluttershy, I told you I would call when we were on the way to get you for the slumber party slash band practice at Pinkie’s.” Rainbow nodded and then frowned. “Chaperone? Why would we need a chaperone? There won’t be any boys there. It’s a sleepover, Fluttershy, not a lesbian orgy!”
Sunset Shimmer’s eye twitched and her knuckles started to turn white from her grip on the steering wheel. Rainbow Dash continued to talk to Fluttershy as she drove, oblivious to anything other than the conversation and her smart phone. The wheel under her fingers creaked when suddenly Rarity appeared between the seats and put her hand on Sunset’s arm.
“Sunset! Did I not mention to you that I found the most fabulous ring just the other day with center piece that was just the same shade of red as your hair?”
“Huh?” Sunset blinked and looked at Rarity, her grip relaxing slightly, which caused the car’s path to weave a little.
“Hey, Rarity! Fashion can wait, sugar! Sunset’s tryin’a drive here.” AJ grabbed Rarity by the shoulder and pulled her gently back. “No need to go cause her to lose control, ok?”
“Um...yes. Sorry.” Rarity sat back but kept her eyes on Sunset.
Sunset sighed and smiled weakly into the mirror at Rarity. “Uh, thanks Rarity. You can...uh...show me later.”
The rest of the ride was uneventful as they picked up Fluttershy from the end of her long driveway. The girls took turns filling her in of Sunset’s encounter with Adagio at the horse park while Sunset drove them to Pinkie Pie’s. Once they arrived, Sunset parked her car in the grass besides the huge converted farm house and everyone spilled out with backpacks and instrument cases in hand.
The girls thundered up the stairs to Pinkie’s room as soon as they were inside, but Sunset paused and waved at Pinkie’s parents and sister, Maud, who were having dinner at their dining room table. “Thanks again for letting us stay the night and practice too.”
Maud looked up and swallowed. “At least it will drown out Boulder’s snoring.”
“Uhh…” Sunset raised an eyebrow. Maud’s parents nodded in agreement and kept eating. “Ooookay…”
“Sunset!”
Sunset jerked her head up as her name was called and she saw Pinkie Pie leaning ridiculously over the banister at the top of the stairs, her bouncy curls swaying wildly. “Quick, get up here! This is important!” She disappeared suddenly when Pinkie yanked herself back from the edge.
Sunset blinked at the empty space for a moment and shook her head. “Now I’m not sure if Pinkie is the odd one, or the normal one in her family.” She hefted her backpack over one shoulder and climbed the stairs to the second level and Pinkie’s bedroom over the garage.
When she reached the room, she was surprised again when the door opened just as she reached it. Pinkie grinned at her from the other side and she could see that the others had wasted no time getting comfortable and dropping their bags and instruments on the bed.
“Um, Pinkie? Is that Gummy, on your head?” Sunset pointed at the green, reptilian tail that hung out of the girl’s hair.
“Is it?” Pinkie looked up and gasped. “Oh gosh! Good eyes, Sunset! I’ve been looking for him since I got home from Sugarcube Corner. Gummy is awesome at Hide & Seek!”
The girl giggled and pulled her pet alligator down from her head and hugged him close. “Anyway, get in here! The girls were just telling me about Rainbow’s awesome idea for a party game!”
“It wasn’t an idea for a party game, Pinks.” Dash rolled her eyes and plopped down on a beanbag. “I was making a joke.”
“It was kind of funny, I think.” Fluttershy pointed out. “I smiled when Rainbow said it over the phone.”
“What joke?” Sunset closed the door behind her and set her own gear down on the bed. “Am I missing something again?”
“The only thing you are missing is Pinkie’s sometimes questionable taste in what counts as a ‘good idea.’” Rarity made air-quotes with her fingers.
“It is a good idea!” Pinkie smiled and jumped into the center of the room and held out Gummy like a baton as she turned and regarded each of them. “It’s like Truth or Dare, only there isn’t a Dare part! Just a Truth part. I’m thinking of calling it ‘Slumber Party Confessions,’ unless that name is already taken—in which case I’m calling it ‘Pinkie Pie’s Version of Slumber Party Confessions!’”
“Confessions?” Sunset folded her arms. “What sort of confessions?”
“That’s where Rainbow Dash’s idea comes in!” Pinkie snapped her Gummy baton up and pointed at the ceiling. When she did all the lights in the room, except the one directly above her, went dark. “She told Fluttershy that this isn’t a lesbian orgy, so that got ol’ Pinkie thinking: How do her friends—that’s you gals—feel about lesbians? And—possibly more importantly—have any lesbians ever hit on you? Inquiring minds want to know!”
The chorus of groans around the room drowned out Sunset’s quiet gasp and she took an unsteady step backwards. She turned and let her back thud into the wall before sliding down into a seated position. Maybe if I curl up into a tight enough ball, Pinkie won’t notice me. She could feel a blush heating her cheeks already. No, that won’t work. Maybe I can just will myself dead? Certainly Pinkie wouldn’t question a corpse about its sexual preferences, right?
“Well, I for one, think this is a dreadfully inappropriate game.” Rarity held up her hands in exasperation. “What if you offend someone, Pinkie?”
“Um…” Pinkie scratched her head with Gummy’s back. “Isn’t that the point of ‘Truth or Dare Except There isn’t a Dare Part?’ Teasing your friends about stuff that’s not really important but we never talk about for some reason?”
“Yeah, Rarity, it isn’t like secret Social Justice ninjas are going to attack us suddenly for voicing our opinions.” Rainbow Dash blew a raspberry at Rarity. “It’s harmless fun.”
Rarity frowned and flipped her hair back regally. “I beg to differ!”
“What are ya, chicken?” Applejack smirked at Rarity from her own beanbag seat. “I gotta say I’m with Dash and Pinkie on this. It’s harmless fun and we’re all friends here. What’s a little squirming under the spotlight gonna do that a hug and some good natured ribbin’ won’t fix?”
Rarity returned Applejack’s smirk with a haughty stare for a moment before huffing and dropping onto the couch next to Fluttershy and crossing her arms. “I’m not a chicken, I merely wanted to avoid embarrassing...er...anyone. Some people are sensitive about these sorts of topics.”
“Oh Rarity, you don’t have to do that for me.” Fluttershy leaned over and put her hand on Rarity’s shoulder. “I appreciate the thought, but after performing in front of the whole school, I think I’ve become a little more brave about this stuff. Thank you, though.”
The pale skinned girl blinked in wide eyed surprise, but quickly regained her composure. “Um...yes, of course, Fluttershy. You’re quite welcome. I was merely trying to protect my friend’s feelings. Besides, I highly doubt any of us have strong negative feelings towards people that like their own genders or any stories worth telling concerning it.”
The room was silent for a moment and then all the lights came back on. Pinkie Pie deflated slightly and Gummy went limp in her hands, so she tucked the pet alligator back into her curly hair. “Aw man, I thought I had a good game with that. Sorry girls.”
Sunset sighed and shot Rarity a grateful glance before she shrugged off her jacket and tossed it up to join the pile of backpacks and musical instruments. She leaned back and enjoyed the sensation of the tension leaving her back and shoulders. One more day without everyone knowing. Still, that was a close one. I should really think about how I want to eventually tell my friends I like other mares.
Sunset grinned at that and let her head fall back against the wall. She stared at the ceiling without really looking at it. Maybe I should talk to someone about this before I get into a situation where it comes out accidentally. Maybe I could write Princess…
“Twilight Sparkle!”
Sunset blinked as she was jolted from her thoughts. She looked over at the others, at Pinkie Pie specifically, as the girl again commanded the attention of everyone in the bedroom.
“What about her, sugarcube?” Applejack raised an eyebrow.
“I bet she likes girls!” Pinkie grinned. “Or mares or whatever.”
“She did blush a lot at our last slumber party whenever we mentioned Vice Principal Luna.” Fluttershy offered. “I wonder if she has a crush on her?”
“But Princess Twilight is a pony, remember? Wouldn’t that be weird?” Rainbow Dash shrugged and turned to look at Sunset. “Hey, would that be weird?”
Sunset grimaced and scratched her head. “Uh, maybe? Would it be weird for a human to like a non-human?” She shook her head. “I don’t know, Dash. I thought all of you looked freaky when I first came here. Pretty hard to feel an attraction to something alien to you so quickly. It’s more likely Twilight has a crush on, or a relationship with, Princess Luna.”
“I think it’s weird our school principles are princesses in another world.” Rainbow Dash pantomimed having her mind blown. “And that they think it’s ok to send their world’s bad guys here to our world.”
Sunset chuckled uneasily and rubbed the goose bumps that had risen on her arms. “Yeah, Princess Celestia is kinda...well, let’s say she has a history of overreacting to things. And from what I’ve read about Starswirl, he was a fan of taking care of problems in...er…permanent terms.”
“Speaking of those ‘problems,’ what are you going to do about that Adagio girl?” Applejack fixed Sunset with a hard look. “Do you think she’s dangerous? I could always take Friday off and come out to the park with ya.”
“Yeah! Me too!” Rainbow Dash slammed her fist into her palm and sneered. “They got away pretty clean at the battle. There’s a more than a few things they still deserve some lumps for.”
Sunset grinned at her friends’ offers. “No...I don’t think Adagio is dangerous or anything. I think she’s confused and is trying to figure out what she wants to do now that she’s lost all her powers.”
“Are...are you sure she’s lost her powers?” Fluttershy shrank deeper in the corner of the couch and pulled one of the throw pillows into her lap. “What if it’s a trick?”
“Well,” Sunset tapped her lips with a finger, “I don’t know much about Equestrian Sirens, but I think they need those gems to do their magic.”
“Like a wand!” Pinkie Pie bounced on her heels and flopped down on the floor next to her bookshelves. “I have a book about wizards that use wands to cast spells while yelling a bunch of silly words at each other.”
“I guess it’s like that?” Sunset raised an eyebrow. She smiled a moment later and grabbed her backpack off the bed. “Speaking of books though…” She pulled the old leather bound tome that connected to an exact replica that was once owned by Princess Celestia. “I was thinking about asking Princess Twilight for more information on Sirens. Anyone else want to say hi while I’m at it?”
Sunset looked up in surprise when the room erupted into a chorus of squeals and a wave of giggling human girls descend on her. “Um...I take that as a ‘yes?’”
***
“So...then…*uf*...what happened?” Sonata huffed as she tilted the milk crate of Adagio’s hair care products out the window.
Just outside the small trailer and below the window, Adagio Dazzling caught the edge of the crate in her hands. “Ugh...nothing happened, Sonata. I just watched her ride on the stupid horse and then I left.”
“Why?”
“What was I supposed to do, hang around in an empty barn?” Adagio grunted under the full weight of her hygiene regimen. She set the crate on the ground, and looked back up at the blue siren. “Sunset left at about...sunset, actually. The park was a little creepy in the dark.”
Sonata giggled at Adagio’s tone. “Oh. That makes sense, I guess. But why are we cleaning out your room? I don’t think rent is due for another week or so, Gio. Are we going to move again?”
“We’re not moving, Sonata, I just don’t want another black eye from Aria. So I’m getting some space.” Adagio sighed, and slumped against the trailer’s pitted vinyl siding. She looked up when she heard Sonata’s breath catch. “I’ll be back.”
“Why don’t you fight her, Gio? You two always fight and you always win.” Sonata frowned and grabbed another plastic garbage bag filled with the few things her cousin called her own. “Why is it any different this time?”
The yellow skinned girl scowled, but shrugged almost helplessly. “Aria thinks she can lead. So I’m going to let her, but I’m not sticking around to be her punching bag while she goes down in flames, Sonny. Plus, she’s got a mean right hook.” She gently touched the now dull purple bruise that maked half of her jaw and cheek. “Aria will get hers once I get our magic back. Sunset is the key to that, I just know it. While I’m gone, don’t listen to her, Sonata.”
Adagio sighed and took the last of the bags from her fellow siren. “Stay safe, ok? Even if she is a total bitch about it, don’t let Aria talk you into anything dangerous.”
Sonata nodded sadly, and looked over her shoulder toward the front of the trailer where Aria was in the living area. She balled up her fists and took a deep breath before turning back toward her cousin. “Adagio, do what you have to, but you stay safe too. We’re all we’ve got in this world.”
“I’ll try.” Adagio stood up and took a step backward. “I’ll contact you soon.”
***
The week passed slowly. Each day, Sunset found herself looking at the clock and counting the minutes until the final bell rung on Friday and she could go to the park. The volunteer work with the horses was enjoyable in its own right, but the anticipation of another visit from Adagio had her on edge.
Sunset set her car in park, sitting there in silence in the parking lot, and chewed her lip. She hadn’t taken the other girls home after school, instead opting to go straight to the horse park from school. That gave her an extra forty or so minutes until her volunteer period technically started, another forty minutes before Adagio showed up.
Might show up. Sunset reminded herself. Why have I been so focused on seeing her here again? I know we share some things in common, but she’s still an evil monster, right?
She slumped in her seat, gazing out the window and over at the pasture. The letters she had exchanged with Princess Twilight at the slumber party, and then throughout the week, had been eye opening. Equestrian Sirens and the legends humans had about their own type of Sirens were similar on the surface. They both lived in the oceans and could breathe both air and underwater. Both types of Sirens used magic with their voices but that was where the two types started to deviate from each other.
Human Sirens used their voices to tempt and manipulate sailors into jumping off their ships or otherwise causing shipwrecks. Equestrian Sirens could perform magic pretty much like a unicorn could, except they used their voices rather than a horn. They appeared like ponies, if more aquiline, from the waist up while their lower bodies were long, legless and tapered into a tail that they used to swim with. Siren were covered in extremely fine scales from snout to tail. In the water, with their fins hidden, they could pass for normal ponies, though the stronger ones were rumored to be able to take pony form and walk on land.
That explained the forms she had seen at the battle of the bands when the Dazzlings had been at peak power. The odd thing about it was, all the books Princess Twilight had on Sirens never mentioned any gems, or Sirens even being more than a nuisance at best. They just weren’t that powerful. It wasn’t until Twilight had unearthed some of Starswirl the Bearded’s personal notes—possibly notes he made on the Dazzlings themselves—that any mention of the gems was found.
Sirens seemed to have the unique ability to combine their magical abilities with others, and unlike a group of unicorns working on the same spell at once, the Sirens effectively doubled their power in every way without needing to work in concert. Starswirl called binded groups of Sirens, ‘covens’ and he noted that three seemed to be the limit of their combined power ability. When a coven was formed, the excess magic crystallized and the Sirens would use the crystals as focusing lenses or extra magical batteries.
And now they don’t have those. I really hope we weren’t mistaken about them losing their power. Sunset chewed her lip thoughtfully. If those notes Princess Twilight found were on the Dazzlings, I’ll have to ask Adagio what Starswirl was like.
Sunset sighed, unbuckling herself from her seat. There wasn’t much point in hanging out in the parking lot. She locked her car after she got out and headed for the main building across the gravel lot. It usually wasn’t a problem with the other staff if she signed in early, but Sunset decided she would spend the time checking in on the other horses. Clyde was a cool horse, but seeing the others together still made her feel like she could be back in Canterlot for a moment.
The park was almost empty and when Sunset poked her head into the main stable barn, she only saw a few volunteers milling about as they got hay and feed ready. The horses were being quiet and a few of them seemed to be sleeping. Sunset loitered at the door for a minute before turning away with a frown.
Well, that didn’t pan out. She looked over at the administration building but she still didn’t quite feel like signing in. Sunset turned, walking the paved path that lead to the satellite barn where Clyde was housed. Maybe if I go the barn now, I can scope where Adagio is coming from?
She shook her head and stuffed her hands in her pants. This is dumb. I should not be this focused on this girl. It was probably a one off thing, right? Why would she keep coming back? Her showing up twice could simply be a coincidence. Right?
Sunset blew a loose strand of hair out of her eyes as she neared the barn. The lights were off and no one else was about. She looked around hopefully for a moment, but no one, human or otherwise, suddenly showed up. She waved at the motion detection lights until they turned on and washed the interior shadows away. She stepped inside and smiled as the horse there nickered softly at her presence.
“Hey Clyde.” Sunset waved at the animal, stepping up to the stall. She held out her hand, palm up to let Clyde get a good scent off her. “Say, you haven’t seen anyone else out here, have you?” The horse didn’t say anything, instead he playfully nipped at her jacket sleeve. “Whoa there! I’ll feed you as soon as I’m officially on the clock, ok?”
Sunset chuckled, patting the stallion between the ears, and scratched him there for a moment. She then moved to the rear door of the barn, the one that lead to the small corral where she practiced riding, and opened it to let in as much a cross breeze as she could. She stood there for a moment and soaked up the sunlight and the smells of the hay and grass, dirt and horses. She was just about to turn back when she spotted a flash of yellow amid the green of the trees that lined the edges of the pasture.
“Wait, was that…” Sunset squinted. The blob of yellow moved after a moment and vanished deeper into the treeline. Was that Adagio? It looked like her hair. Sunset raised an eyebrow and then looked back into the stable. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to check on something.”
The stallion nickered at her from his stall, swatting his tail in mild annoyance. Sunset didn’t stick around to see if he had anything else to add to the conversation and took off for the edge of the park where she had seen the bit of yellow.
***
Adagio held up the compact higher, trying to get a better angle to see her hair from. It felt extra wild after a couple of days without a proper shower and if she was going to go into the horse park, she wanted to have it combed and ready. At least she was otherwise clean.
“Damnit, this was easier with a full length mirror.” She grunted with the effort of standing on her tiptoes and securing the compact in the crook of a tree branch. “And with a bathroom. And with magic.”
Adagio clapped her hands together to clear off the make-up powder from her fingers and grabbed her battle-worn hair brush from the fallen log that was serving as her table and chair. She ran the brush through her curly mass of golden bangs. The brush caught on a tangle in the first pass and she winced when she heard the hair break. She wasn’t proud of much with her human body, but Adagio treasured her hair almost as much as her voice. It stood out. It made her unique and drew attention.
She sighed and dropped down to sit on the fallen log. She started again with the brush on her locks and looked around at her small campsite. Her few possessions were still packed in the trash bags and flimsy plastic crates. She had put up a tarp she’d stolen, from the backyard of one of the houses over the hill, to protect her from rain. So far the weather had been kind, thankfully.
Adagio winced again when her brush caught on another tangle. She worked at it for a moment and the unruly hair started to obey, if slowly. A few more passes smoothed things out in her bangs and she reached back to feel at the bulk of her hair. She had just pulled the brush through to the end when she heard the loud snap of a twig. Adagio spun and raised her fists in defense, but the strike she was expecting didn’t come. Instead, a familiar redhead appeared from behind a tree at the edge of the camp.
Sunset Shimmer stood a few feet away, her hand resting on a tree, a surprised look on her face. “A-Adagio? Why are you hiding out here in the woods?”
“I’m not hiding! What are you doing here?” Adagio frowned and glanced around. “Did you and your friends come here to laugh at me?”
‘Uh, no.” Sunset shook her head. “It’s just me, I promise.” She looked at the camp around Adagio for a moment. “How long have you been out here?”
“What business of yours is it?” She pointed her brush at Sunset like a club. “How did you find me anyway?”
Sunset smirked and laughed quietly. “I saw your hair through the trees from the barn.”
“The barn?” Adagio blinked and looked up through the canopy at the sky. “You’re early.” She groaned and let her arms fall to her sides. “I thought you didn’t start for almost an hour?”
“Normally. I decided to come in early.” Sunset folded her arms and frowned at Adagio. “Are you stalking me? I thought you were going through a weird period, but if you’re looking for trouble, I can bring you a world of hurt, Adagio. Rainbow Dash and Applejack are a text away from showing up to hand you your butt on a platter.”
Adagio raised her arms and held her one empty hand open. “No! No...not stalking you. I was...I was being honest when I told you that. I’m not looking for trouble, Sunset.”
“Then why are you out here?”
She shrugged. “I...uh...I left. Needed a place to crash and I saw this spot when I chased after you two weeks…” Adagio faded out as she saw Sunset pull a cell phone from her jacket pocket and heard it chirp. “No! Nononono! Seriously, I’m not stalking you! I mean, maybe the first time, but not now, I swear!”
Sunset fixed her with a firm look, but her thumb didn’t move over the phone’s screen. Adagio took a step back and her voice fell to a whisper. “Please...believe me.”
“Ok, but any funny stuff and I send the word out.” Sunset slipped her phone back into the pocket it came from. She stood there quietly and then looked pointedly at the brush in Adagio’s hand. “Need any help with that?”
“What? No. No!” Adagio raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “I can comb my own hair. Obviously.”
Sunset looked the other Equestrian up and down with a critical eye. “Yeah, I guess. Your hair just looks extra wild, and I don’t mind helping.”
“Why?” Adagio took another half-step back away from Sunset. “Why help me?”
Sunset looked down at the ground, scuffing the toe of her boot into the carpet of pine needles. “Because...I know what it’s like. I know the...weird...place you’re in, Adagio. I’ve been there.” She looked back up, taking a step forward into the camp proper. “I might still be there, if it weren’t for the help that was offered to me. I know your pride tells you not to accept it, that you don’t need any help. I...understand if you can’t accept my offer. But even if you can’t, I still hope you come watch me ride and take care of the rescue horse again. In a weird way, I enjoyed your company.”
Adagio narrowed her eyes, her hand with the brush dropping to her side. She regarded Sunset for a moment, then sighed. “I never said I was going to do that again. I’m not trying to be your friend.”
Sunset gestured at the camp around them. “From where I stand, Adagio, it looks like you could use a friend. If you want to stay out here and wrestle with that bird’s nest you call hair, fine by me. I have a horse to feed and groom.”
Sunset was turning to leave when Adagio held up her hand again. “Wait! Wait...please. If it’s ok...I could use some help with it. Without my magic, it’s hard to deal with this much hair.” She swallowed nervously and flipped the brush around in her grip, holding it out handle first to Sunset.
The former pony paused, and looked back over her shoulder at the offering. “Ok. Sit. I’ll do what I can.”
A minute later, Sunset found herself standing behind Adagio Dazzle. The siren hunched forward, sitting on the fallen log, elbows on her knees. Sunset tuned the thick, designer brush over in her hands, testing its weight and balance.
“Huh.” Sunset ran her thumb over the brush bristles. “This is better than the one I have at home.”
“I use only the best.” Adagio snorted dismissively. “Are we going to do this, or are you just going to stand there admiring the thing?”
“Sorry.” Sunset took a handful of curly orange hair, running the brush through it. Wow...I knew she had big hair, but this is crazy. It must weigh a ton when wet! She pulled it down to the end of the strands, returning to the top and starting again. She began to work faster as the hair started to obey. She was making her third pass, pushing deeper into the locks when she hit the first tangle and tore through it.
“Ow!” Adagio turned, snarling at Sunset. “Hey, that hurt! Be careful!”
“Sorry!” Sunset glared back at the other girl. “Maybe if you hadn’t been sleeping in the woods, your hair wouldn’t be in such a mess.” She pointed at the crate of hair care products. “If it takes all this to care for your hair, why the heck did you leave wherever you were staying at?”
“That’s none of your damn business, you stupid pony!” Adagio grabbed her hair, pulling it around in front to inspect it. “If my hair is damaged, so help me.”
“You’ll do what?” Sunset crossed her arms. “You aren’t really in a position to threaten me.”
The yellow girl growled in a way that seemed impossible for a small human female to do. Sunset leaned back at the sound. Be careful! She might be in human form, but you are still in the presence of a sea monster, Sunset. Pissing her off would not be the smart thing to do to.
“Hey,” Sunset put up her hands, “I’ll go slower. I’m sorry I hurt you.”
The siren narrowed her eyes, and turned forward again. She grumbled under her breath, supporting her head in her palms. “Just take it easy.” She huffed, leaning slightly as the brushing pulled her to the left. “Sorry I barked at you like that, I guess. It’s been a hard week for me. Harder than most, anyway.”
“I know how that goes.”
Adagio snorted, rolling her eyes. Yeah right. Like you’d know anything about running from the human authorities when rent comes due and you don’t have any money because you can’t control these monkeys anymore.
“Really, Adagio, I do.” Sunset worked slowly, doing shorter passes with the brush. She hit another large tangle and this time she started to work at it with a softer touch. “I’ve been in this world for about five years at this point. I know that’s a blink of the eye compared to you, but in that time I’ve gone from the freaked out, suddenly magic-less alien to independent with friends. Our situations may be different, but there is a lot we have in common.”
Adagio remained quiet, staring forward into the trees.
“I was being honest, earlier, when I said I enjoyed your company last friday. It weirded me out a lot. I’ve been thinking about it all week, trying to figure out what you wanted. I think—and I could be wrong—that you are looking for stability. That you’re searching for something to hold onto after the rug got yanked out from under you at the battle of the bands.” Sunset moved lower, getting down where the curls were long and loose. She has really pretty hair, now that I see it up close. It must look absolutely stunning as a pony mane.
The siren shifted on the log. When she spoke, her voice was low and soft. “So what if I am? What is there to hold on to? Is that why I felt better when I watched you riding?” She looked back over her shoulder, though the loose halo of her own hair, her red eyes searching. “I thought that maybe I could find a way to restore our magic. Now, I think I’m no closer to that than I’ve ever been.”
“The adjustment is hard, huh?” Sunset smiled ruefully. “I used to be the most powerful student ever to walk the halls of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. I could summon fire so hot, it could burn a dragon’s backside. I could transform frogs into bananas. I used to be able to move whole houses with a thought. Then I came here.”
“Learning to walk all over again was a pain.” Adagio reached back, tugging her hair behind her ear. “I’d just gotten used to walking like a pony, then that blasted mage, Starswirl sends us here and I have to learn how to do it on half as many legs. My voice helped, in those early days. I had to hum constantly just to keep from falling down.”
“I nearly broke my nose the first five minutes I was here.” Sunset chuckled. “At least the language was mostly the same. The writing was totally different.”
“Maybe for you that was a blessing, but for me and the others, we were still fresh to Equestrian. It took me years to learn how to read the chickenscratch these humans call writing.”
“How...how long have you been here?” Sunset lifted the very ends of Adagio’s locks, running the brush through them idly. “Starswirl the Bearded died more than two hundred years ago.”
“I don’t know if time works the same way across the worlds, but it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long. At the same time…” Adagio sighed. “It feels like an eternity. I’ve had to keep us together, Aria, Sonata, and I. I’ve always been the leader, the most powerful. Now look at me.”
Adagio touched the bruise on her cheek and winched. “I can barely take a hit.”
“Who did that?”
“Aria.” Adagio slumped forward. “She’s had it in for me for a long time. She blames our defeat and banishment on me. Refuses to see that I’ve kept us out of trouble, kept us fed, free, and with a roof over our heads.”
“Why stay together if she hates you so much?” Sunset took a step back to admire her handy work. With her efforts, Adagios mane of golden curls bounced and floated around the siren like a fluffy cloud.
“We are all we had. Sonata is family, so I kind of had to keep an eye on her. Aria was a friend...but things went sour between us when I…uh...when—ah, forget it.” Adagio sighed again and shrugged. “It’s not important now.”
“I’m done.”
“Huh?” The yellow girl looked back and blinked at Sunset, who stood there holding the brush in her hands. She reached back, her fingers slipping through her hair with little resistance. “Well...um...thanks for that.”
She stood, turning to face Sunset Shimmer. “Hand me that.”
“What?” Sunset blinked at Adagio, suddenly aware that the other girl stood a few inches taller than her. With her hair free and untangled, she looked more like a lion than a sea creature, powerful and prone to strike without warning. She isn’t even wearing any of the spiked clothing this time and she somehow looks more imposing.
Adagio tightened her lips, pointing at the crate next to Sunset’s feet. “My hair band. Hand it to me.”
Sunset looked down and fetched the hairband. It looked more like some sort of belt than something to hold back hair, but with hair like Adagio’s, it seemed oddly appropriate. She tossed it to the other girl, and then dropped the brush into the crate. She folded her arms, watching Adagio pull back her personal cloud into something manageable.
“There. That’s better.” Adagio smirked and reached up to grab her compact from the branches overhead. She checked herself in its tiny mirror, clicking it closed after a moment and tucked it away in the pocket of her jeans. “Isn’t it about time you got back to your horse?”
Sunset looked up at the sky through the canopy. The sky was visibly starting to take on a yellowish tone as the afternoon approached evening. She took out her phone, glancing at the time. “Yeah. I think I’ve let Clyde go long enough without dinner. But I don’t think I’ll do any riding today.”
Adagio gaped at the redhead. “What? Why not?”
Sunset smirked. “I think I’ll feed him and give him a quick rub down, then leave early.” The siren across from her frowned, confusion plain on her face as Sunset continued. “I think we’re due some dinner too. Come on, I’m buying.”
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When they went to Pinkie's place, where were
Inkie and BlinkieLimestone and Marble? I only saw mention of her parents and Maud.Anywho, Sunset's talk with Adagio felt... really awkward, more in terms of the flow of the dialogue than its content, but I guess that kinda fits. Nice of Sunset to offer her a meal, too!
6687499
Maybe they went to the store for rock-related snacks?
Or, more likely, they didn't have names I knew of when I wrote that scene several months ago.
6687520
Ahh, I know that feel. It's weird to actually be grateful for long hiatuses if they mean you won't have to re-write anything when publishing time comes around.
Wait, why did Sunset say Starswirl was dead for more than two hundred years? He was dead for more than a thousand! Clover the clever was his apprentice, and she lived during the time Equestria was founded, which was definitely before all the Nightmare Moon stuff, if not before Celestia and Luna altogether!
6687892
Well, technically we don't know when he died, right? And according to the Journal of the Two Sisters, Starswirl was able to reverse his own age, at least once, and he seemed to have fore-knowledge of Twilight Sparkle.
It's quite possible he did die only a few hundred years earlier, or in my crazy head canon, is still kicking around as some kind of weird time traveller.
I will admit, that particular number did stand out as a little weird to me too.
Commence read.
Random shenanigans.
Glad that things at Pinkie's wasn't a bust.
Onwards, for food.
Ho boy, this needs to be real! Can you imagine? You are sitting comfy at hone with your friends, make a somewhat offensive joke, and then suddenly BAM, social justice ninjas out of nowhere, "That is highly politically incorrect you sexist pig!"
Missing a period between these two sentences.
Who needs magic if you have make-up power?
6690600
pffft
Nice catches, btw. I re-read this chapter like a dozen times and I missed those every time.
6759851
6759861
Well, I should point out that the first chapter was written, mostly, before Rainbow Rocks had come out. The siren's true forms hadn't been revealed at the time, and on the official doll for Adagio, there is a picture of her as a pony. I later incorporated that into my headcanon - that sirens of sufficient skill could take pony form. Which is why Adagio refers to both forms and at one point makes mention of learning to walk as a pony shortly before getting banished to the EQG world.
Double space after the period after 'pants' and I'm assuming you forgot an 'is' between those two words.
Sunset chuckled uneasily and rubbed the goose bumps that had risen on her arms. “Yeah, Princess Celestia is kinda...well, let’s say she has a history of overreacting to things. And from what I’ve read about Starswirl, he was a fan of taking care of problems in...er…permanent terms.”
Overreacting is NOT the word I would've used in some of those cases, but still- dead on.