Chapter 2 - Webflix and Chill
It was the second day of Adagio and Sunset’s art class. After their encounter on Monday, Adagio decided she would stick in the class and work with Sunset throughout the semester.
Sitting next to Sunset, Adagio remained silent, listening to the instructor’s lecture on artists from the middle ages. Sunset did the same. She would occasionally look over at Adagio during the lecture, giving her a smile but Adagio only returned a raised eyebrow and placed her full attention back on the instructor.
Once class was over, they walked out together and leaned up against a bare spot between note boards in the hall.
“I hope our class isn’t this boring throughout the semester, I was hoping we would have more hands-on activities than lecture,” Sunset said, stretching her arms.
“I really don’t know why I chose this elective over my other choices,” Adagio said, placing her hand over her forehead.
“For someone who was talented at singing, I am surprised you don’t have an interest in the arts,” Sunset said.
“I do have an interest in art, just not a 101 class on history and terminology. As for singing…” Adagio paused. “I’m past those days. I practice, but my vocal talent is just… gone.”
Sunset frowned. Even though she admitted the day before that she regretted taking away Adagio’s powers, she couldn’t fathom what it must have felt like for the former siren.
“Sorry to hear that,” Sunset said.
“Are you going to keep saying sorry for things I’ve lost due to you?” Adagio snapped at Sunset, making her flinch. At first, it was kind of nice that she had apologized—more than anyone else had bothered to give her over the past year, anyway—but it was quickly becoming annoying and she didn’t want this to become routine. Those large, glassy eyes brimming with pity made her sick.
“I just don’t know what else to say,” Sunset said. She rubbed her arm and shrugged. “What am I supposed to say?”
Adagio sighed.
“We made our choices and faced the consequences. Some part of me misses having control over everyone, but even if I did gain the power, I am not sure what there would be left for me afterwards.”
“Really?” Sunset raised an eyebrow. “So, you don’t mind where you are at now?”
“I didn’t say that; I just know there are not many choices for me and being here is the best one I have at the moment.”
There was silence between the two as they stood there up against the wall next to each other. Breaking the silence, Sunset decided to move to another topic.
“So, what are you studying?” Sunset asked.
Adagio took a deep breath.
“Business,” she replied.
“Really?” Sunset tilted her head.
“It’s not like being a goddess.” Adagio grinned. “But I can still control those under me if I become a manager. Besides, my first instructors here said I would do well in a business environment.”
“Why’s that?” Sunset asked, tilting her head curiously.
“Because I’m so charming and pleasant, of course!” Adagio winked, giving Sunset a confident thumbs-up. “Aaand possibly because I’m cool, constantly calculating, and have”—she stiffened her posture, squaring her shoulders and pantomiming adjusting glasses—“‘an emotional detachment and willingness to deceive usually found in dangerous sociopaths,’ or so I’m told.” She shrugged.
“Let me get this straight.” Sunset laid out her hands to the left. “In one year you were a two-thousand year old Siren controlling her subjects and feeding on their negative energy.”—she then placed her hands to the right—“And now you are a student majoring in business at a local community college?”
“Pretty much.” Adagio shrugged. “Why do you ask?”
“That’s just… quite a jump.”
“It’s better to utilize my remaining skills then have them go to waste. I may have lost my powers, but I’m still the same me. I’m still going to find a way to come out on top; it’s all I’ve ever done.” Adagio checked her phone for the time. “I need to go to my next class.”
“How long is it?” Sunset asked.
“Nearly two hours. Why?” Adagio stretched her arms, straightening herself out.
“Can we meet up afterwards?”
“For what?”
“To hang out; it’s what friends do, isn’t it?” Sunset asked quietly, fidgeting with her hands and scuffing her on the ground.
“I didn’t say we were friends.”
“Well, we can still hang out, can’t we?”
Adagio drummed her fingers against the wall behind her and didn’t respond, so Sunset continued on.
“I have another art class in about fifteen minutes, but it’ll get out before your class ends.” Sunset checked her phone. “I have to get some gas for my bike, but that won’t take long since the gas station isn’t far.”
“Where can I meet you?” Adagio asked.
“I’ll be at the bike lot by the time you get out and we can meet there, sound good?”
“Sure, I guess,” Adagio said, grabbing her bag. “I’ll see you there, then.”
“Awesome! Later, Adagio!” Sunset waved at Adagio as she walked off to the exit at the end of the hall. Adagio turned back and raised her hand a bit and waved back at Sunset, though not as enthusiastically as her.
As soon as Adagio left the art building, the first thing that came to her mind was, Adagio, what are you doing talking to her? Much less hanging around with her?
Sunset was the reason she’d lost everything, the reason she was stuck at this college. Yes, she was smart and a bit similar to her in terms of past evil intentions, but why was she sticking with her? Surely there were other people she could be around?
Thinking about it again, it had been three years since she had lost her powers. Since that day no one else had given her any attention like Sunset had in the past three days. She had only started talking to her this week. She could decide later on if she should be friends with her or not.
Adagio left the classroom and the building that held most of the business classes, heading to the motorcycle lot Sunset said she would meet her at. Arriving soon after, she found Sunset sitting on top of her bike, yelling at it.
“Goddesses damn it, start!” Sunset yelled, repeatedly turning the key in the ignition, the engine only giving a slight whine before going dead.
Sunset threw her arms into the air, frustrated, and yelling. “Shit!”
“Goddesses? You some kind of polytheist?” Adagio asked, raising her eyebrow. She had honestly never seen Sunset angry like this before. It was like she was almost a different person for those few seconds.
“Oh!” Sunset only noticed Adagio now. “S-sorry. Just my bike not being cooperative.”
“No reason to apologize.” Adagio smiled. She was actually entertained seeing Sunset being angry for once, it was not something she would want to see every day, but it was a side of her she rarely saw.
“Adagio?” Sunset said, seeing Adagio staring at her.
“Oh, Um, I like your bike. What is it exactly?” Adagio asked, wanting to refocus the conversation on Sunset’s bike, rather than… her.
“My bike? I’ve been building her up since high school.” She smiled.
Adagio looked at the bike. It seemed like it was made more for performance rather than comfort. Devoid of any real branding, the main engine, wheels, and frame were all painted matte black, while the outer shell was a bright matte orange.
“It was just a scrap heap when I found it. I used whatever parts I could find at the local scrap yard. I had it painted only recently and the guy said it looked well over 25 years old.”
“It looks like a lot of hard work went into it.”
“It was worth it.” Sunset turned the key one last time, the bike still refusing to start. “Well, it’s going to take me forever to walk the bike back to my place. I know I had enough gas to get to the station, just hope it’s nothing serious.”
She stepped off the bike and pulled out her phone. “I think we may have to cut our plans today. I am going to call my friend Applejack and see if she can give me a lift.”
Adagio only nodded, looking up at the sky, noticing the change from sunny to cloudy.
“Hey Applejack, it’s Sunset. Can you come pick me up? The bike broke down again.”
Sunset nodded her head, listening to Applejack on the other end. Then her eyes widened.
“Wait—you're out of town? When are you going to be back?”
Adagio crossed her arms, seeing Sunset was frustrated again.
“Tomorrow morning, right… All right, I guess I’ll just push the bike downtown. It’s going to take me all afternoon at this point—No it’s not your fault, look I’ll give you a call if something changes, bye.”
“So?” Adagio said.
“My friend is not going to be in town until tomorrow morning. I’m going to have to spend most of the day pushing this thing back now.”
Sunset sighed and looked up, noticing the cloudy sky. Rain droplets sprinkled over her face, streaking down her cheeks and neck. Adagio looked up at the sky as well; the forecast did say there was a possible chance of rain later in the afternoon. Though not this early.
“I thought it wasn’t going to rain until this evening.” Adagio placed her hand out, feeling a few water droplets land in her palm. “Guess the forecast was wrong.”
“You have got to be kidding me.” Sunset’s face fell.
Adagio looked back at Sunset. Her hair was already going to be ruined by the rain, and she knew this weather wasn’t going to help Sunset pushing her bike back.
“How long would it take to get back to your place?” Adagio asked.
“On foot? Nearly two hours, but pushing the bike will take over twice as long.”
Adagio placed her hand over her chin. She did not exactly plan on hanging out with Sunset that long today, but she couldn’t just leave her out here by herself in the rain.
“Adagio?”
“Sorry,” Adagio said, refocusing on Sunset. “I live in an apartment complex near the campus. If you want we can take your bike there and have whoever pick it up tomorrow.”
“You are letting me stay over at your place?” Sunset said.
“I guess so. Better than walking home in the rain, right?”
Sunset rushed up to Adagio and hugged her.
“Thank you so much, Adagio.” She smiled.
Adagio was taken by surprise and flinched instinctively. Normally if someone ever touched her, much less hugged her, she would have given them a good punch. This however, it felt… Warming. She stood there while Sunset kept herself wrapped around her before letting go.
“So, are we going to need to push this thing?” Adagio asked.
“Yeah.” Sunset walked over to one side of the bike, placing one hand on the seat and another on the handlebar on her side. “Can you get on the other side? This bike is pretty heavy to push by myself.”
“Sure.” Adagio walked to the other side of the bike and placed her hand next to Sunset’s on the seat, and her other hand on the other handlebar. “I think we can push this across campus. I also know a few shortcuts along the way to my place.”
“Just let me know if we need to turn in a certain direction. We can’t be fighting over these handlebars, nor do I want to drop my bike.”
“Right.”
“All right. On the count of three.” Sunset pushed the bike back and fourth in small motions, with Adagio mimicking her actions. “One, two… Three!” The two then began pushing the bike forward with force slowly across campus, then onto Adagio’s regular route.
The rain had gone from a small sprinkle to a downpour.
Normally it would have taken Adagio about twenty-five minutes to get from campus to her place. Pushing a heavy bike along her route, however, took about twice the time.
Pushing the bike up a hill, Adagio began breathing heavily in irregular patterns and was hurting in several places. Sunset looked over at Adagio, worried over her health.
“Hey, you all right Adagio?” Sunset asked.
“Yeah, sure.” She huffed in-between sentences. “We’re almost there once we get up this hill.”
Pushing it up along the sidewalk, they finally made it to Adagio’s apartment complex, where they placed the bike underneath the stairwell that lead up to Adagio’s apartment. Sunset locked the bike up against the stairs’ railing to make sure no one would make off with it.
“Thanks a bunch for helping…” Sunset looked at Adagio, who was up against a wall, exhausted. “You sure you are all right?”
“Just out of shape,” Adagio said, standing up straight again. “If you couldn’t tell.”
“I didn’t want to say anything, honestly,” Sunset said.
“Yeah, that makes me feel better, getting judged silently.” Adagio rolled her eyes.
“Sorry.” Sunset frowned, looking down at the ground.
Adagio frowned as well. She was the kind of person to make people feel bad for the slightest of actions, but Sunset was probably upset already over her bike, no reason to make her feel worse.
“Well, you can make it up to me by buying us pizza for tonight. Also, you owe me one for me helping you out.”
Sunset looked back up at Adagio, smiling.
“Fair enough; deal.”
“Good.” Adagio smirked. “Now, let’s get inside. I need a hot shower after walking in this rain.”
Adagio led Sunset up the stairs to the second level of the apartment complex. Digging out the keys from her bag, she inserted it into the lock and twisted a few times until it went in all the way and unlocked the door. Opening the door, she stepped over to the side.
“Ladies first,” Adagio said, motioning with her hand and allowing Sunset in first.
Sunset only nodded, and walked inside with Adagio following and closing the door behind her. It was a bit messy, with a few dishes stacked in the sink, a few articles of clothing hanging on chairs, small bits of clutter and dust here and there. For the most part however, it was an average and decently maintained apartment. Not the worst she’d been to.
Taking another glance, she did notice that this place was small. From the front door she could see the entirety of the living room and kitchen that were connected to one another, and a door to another room on the right.
“You have a cozy place here, though. How big is it?”
“Enough for me. It’s just your standard living space, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom.”
“Do you just live here by yourself?” Sunset asked, standing in the living room.
“Yeah, I moved here after the Battle of the Bands.” Adagio dropped her bag in the kitchen and went straight to her bedroom. “I have plenty of money in the bank to support myself, I decided to just attend the college and get my GED during the past two years, and now am working towards the business associates.”
“That’s good to hear. Any future plans?” Sunset took off her leather jacket and placed it on a kitchen chair.
“Find a good job more or less.”
Sunset nodded and went over to the fridge, and looked over at Adagio inside her room. “Hey, is it okay if I raid your fridge—” Sunset then saw Adagio clearly, mostly undressed. Her back was facing Sunset while she took off her bra.
“Sure, go ahead,” Adagio said. “Also don’t look in here. I am going to take a quick shower.”
“R-right, not looking!” Sunset quickly darted her eyes away, refocusing on the fridge. Her face was bright red.
She opened the fridge and looked inside. There was some orange juice, milk, a small carton of eggs and various pre-cooked meat dinners. Her eyes were locked on the packages, frozen. She quickly focused her attention on something else in the fridge and found a few beers in the back and grabbed one for herself, quickly shutting the fridge door.
Walking back into the living room, her eyes caught a large painting hanging on the wall. She went up to it and examined it.
It was a scene of a woman falling into a dark void. Tears fell out of her eyes. She was screaming and looking terrified. Her hand was stretched out, reaching towards Sunset, as if she was looking to hold on to someone to keep her from falling.
Sunset took a sip of her beer, focusing on the painting. It was terrifying to look at, yet it only brought her in closer.
“Like that piece?” Adagio said, stepping out in dry pajamas, her hair wrapped in a towel.
“Oh.” Sunset was caught by surprise, coming back into reality. “It’s very unsettling, really. Who painted it?”
“Local starving artist.” Adagio stood next to Sunset. “He was a skilled painter, graduated straight from high school and wanted to only do art. He had a lot of talent. Unfortunately, most of his pieces were like this.”
Adagio stared into the painting.
“Most people in this town weren’t interested in his work. He was selling this for only a hundred dollars when other artists at the same studio sold their pieces for over three-hundred.” She smiled. “I gave him five-hundred for the painting and told him to find another place to settle, that there was nothing here for him. Needless to say, I visited his studio a week later and he was gone.”
“That’s very generous of you, Adagio,” Sunset said.
“He deserved more. Most of the artists in his studio painted nothing but shit.” She looked at Sunset and back at the picture. “This piece… I feel like it’s me sometimes. I got myself into a bad situation, and since then I’ve been stuck in this continuous void.”
Sunset frowned, focusing on Adagio, who only stared into the painting.
“I felt the same before, when I lost my power.” Sunset said.
“Losing everything, and having no one to turn to?” Adagio said.
“At first, yeah, but then my friends helped me back up on my feet, and if anything, I’ve grown more powerful than I was before.”
Adagio raised an eyebrow and shrugged. She walked away from the painting and sat on the sofa behind Sunset. “Power means nothing to me now. Whatever I had, it’s all lost. This endless void is my only path now; either I stick on this path, or end it entirely.”
“Perhaps not,” Sunset said. “Maybe you just have to find an alternate route along your current path.”
“Hmm, maybe.” Adagio shrugged and turned on the TV. “Can you get me a beer as well? I could use one after all that pushing.”
“Sure.” Sunset went over to the fridge and grabbed another beer, popping off the top for Adagio and walking back into the living room, handing the beer to her.
“Thanks.” Adagio held the beer in her left hand while she held the TV remote in her right. “You watch anything on Webflix?”
“I hear a lot about it, but I don’t have a subscription.”
“Ah, good. Now I have to a reason to marathon Sensation8 for the fourth time.”
“Sense what?” Sunset asked, a bit puzzled by the title of the show.
“Just sit back and relax. It’s a good science fiction drama.”
“Oh, okay.”
Sunset remained on the other end of the sofa, tightly gripping a pillow, making herself comfy while Adagio clicked the remote a few times, navigating a few minutes before starting the episode.
Watching three episodes of the show, Sunset was confused at first, but was soon glued to the television, only wanting more.
Instead of starting the next episode however, Adagio picked up the remote and went back to the main menu for the show.
“H-hey! I thought we were going to watch some more?” Sunset said.
“We are, but you still have to order that pizza for us,” Adagio said, getting up and stretching her arms and legs after sitting down for nearly three hours.
“Oh, right, about that,” Sunset said, twiddling her fingers.
“What?” Adagio focused her attention on Sunset. “Something wrong?”
“Well…” She paused, scratching the back of her head. “Before I order a pizza, I should tell you I am a vegetarian.”
Adagio raised her eyebrow.
“Seriously?”
“In Equestria, ponies don’t eat meat, nor do their stomachs take that kind of protein well. Even though I am a human now, I still can’t wrap my head around eating meat.”
“So, you don’t eat meat, yet you wear a leather jacket? You do know that leather comes from a cow’s skin, right?”
Sunset made a small laugh and shook her head.
“It’s made of polyester, and I’m just a vegetarian, not a vegan. In Equestria, there are ponies that do own farms and have livestock to produce eggs and milk; we just don’t slaughter animals endlessly like people here do.
“Must have been a bit of a culture shock, seeing how we treat animals like a commodity more than anything else.”
“Quite a few things, really, but it’s not hard to adjust. It’s kind of like visiting the Gryphon lands for the first time.”
“Wait, wait.” Adagio raised her hands. “Gryphons are an actual thing in Equestria? Not here, but you know, your original home?”
“Yeah.” Sunset nodded.
Adagio was only silent, processing the information. A little bit came back from her distant memory, but not enough to get the big picture.
“Sorry, it’s just hard process stuff like this, I remember faint memories, but the human brain can only hold so much before forgetting other things.” Adagio said.
“You must have forgotten a lot if you can’t remember species like ponies or gryphons living in Equestria. Do you even know who Celestia is?” Sunset asked.
“Um, well she was a principal at that high school. I guess she was sort of the same in Equestria? Maybe for an academy or something?”
“Actually, she is the leader of Equestria. She has been for the past…” Sunset paused, trying to recall. “Thousands of years.”
Adagio was silent.
“Unbelievable.”
“Must be a shock for you now, huh?”
“It is, but I know I will never be let back into Equestria. I don’t remember too much about it other than Sonata, Aria, and I getting banished and being stuck here for… To be honest, I don’t know how long now.”
Sunset bit her lip, her expression glum. “How old are you, Adagio?” she asked.
“Depends, I know i’ve been around for over two thousand years, and throughout that time I never aged. Since I lost my power however…” she rubbed her arm. “I’ve begun to age like anyone else, so, technically I am in my mid twenties by now. I was the oldest of us anyway.”
“That’s gotta be a weird change.”
“One of the many,” Adagio sighed. “Anyways, magical pony land, fuzzy past and aging aside.” Adagio fell back down onto the sofa. “Order something good, veggie girl.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Sunset rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone. “There are plenty of good veggie pizzas at Dice.” Sunset then began making an order. “How does tomato, mushroom, spinach, black olives, green peppers and onion sound?”
“I'm not use to having a salad on my pizza.”
“Trust me, it’s good.” Sunset smiled.
The two remained on the sofa throughout the afternoon and into the late evening. The only things giving them company were a pizza box and few empty beer bottles on the coffee table. In the center was a large veggie pizza that surprisingly was one of the best pizzas Adagio had eaten in a long while.
With both of them bloated, Adagio laid on one end of the sofa while Sunset laid on the other side. Adagio took up most of the sofa while Sunset had her feet off to the side. She was wanting to get a more comfortable position however and began shifting to Adagio’s side, resting her head on Adagio’s stomach.
“Um, Sunset. What are you doing?” Adagio asked, tilting her head, confused as to why Sunset decided to lay on her like a pillow.
“Getting comfortable. Is this a bit much?” Sunset asked.
Adagio was ready to tell Sunset to get off of her, but having Sunset lay on her felt… welcoming. She refocused her attention instead on the TV.
“It’s fine.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.”
The two were laying on the sofa. Adagio laid up against the sofa, tilting her head to the side. Sunset rested her head on Adagio’s stomach with her arms laying beside Adagio’s torso, while Adagio rested her hands on Sunset’s back.
While Sunset was focused on the TV, Adagio began to snooze and fell asleep, snoring lightly. Sunset could only smile as she rested her head on Adagio’s chest, falling asleep herself.
Opening her eyes, Adagio sat up from the sofa and looked around. She had drunk a bit more than she should have and had a headache.
“Sunset?” she called groggily. No one answered.
She sighed. Looking at the coffee table, she saw a small hand-written note next to her phone and picked it up, then began reading.
‘Hey Adagio. You were out and I didn’t want to bother you while you were sleeping. My friend called early this morning and said she was able to pick me up. I’m about to head out, but I just wanted say thanks for everything yesterday. We should do this again and finish watching Sensation8 sometime.
Give me a call when you are available. My number is: (101) 903-5768
—Sunset
P.S. I left the pizza in the fridge. I knew you would like it.’
At the end of the note, Sunset also drew a quick doodle of herself smiling. Adagio smiled back at the small gesture.
She picked up her phone off the coffee table and began recording Sunset’s number into her contacts. She wished she could have said bye to her before she left. She liked having her around yesterday. If anything… She missed her.
Getting up from the sofa, she decided to take a shower. She was hungover and had missed a majority of her class for the day already. It was going to be a pain to catch up, but the time she’d had yesterday was worth it.
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I love it so much!
She should've tried to show Sunset Bojack Horseman.
Shout they be a bit more concerned about this memory loss?
7082773 is Sensation8 even a real show? I tried looking it up but got nothing
7082773
7084456
It's a reference to the series Sense8 on Netflix, like Adagio said, it's a good show.
Maximum cozy.
7084842
Adagio gaining weight does have some positives for once, she makes a great pillow!
Yay! Also, curious if there ever will be hearing of Sonata or Aria.
I hope Adagio starts exercising and eating better, but I'm hoping she doesn't go back to full skinny mode. I always thought her larger than life attitude and the massive floof that is her hair matched with a more voluptuous build in fan art.
If she's a veggie, order two pizzas!
Also, liking the story, interested to see where it goes.
This is an interesting pairing. Let's see what happens!
Um, no one mentioned it so I'mma ask. You do know what Netflix and chill means right? I didn't know for the first few months it was a thing (cause I never was around the term much) so was it just a joking title?
Technically yes but there would be no reason for her to say yes or even be tempted to. That's like the cop that locked you up and called you evil not months ago asking you to lunch
I hope she doesn't convert to a friendship slave. All I'm saying is that just cause they lost doesnt mean they have to conform like sunset. To be fair that was part of the elements fault