Sunburn

by The 24th Pegasus

Hook, Line, and Sink Her

What would I do to the girl that ruined my life?

I asked myself that question a lot after the Battle of the Bands. I would lie awake in bed, staring out the window at the night sky, and plot the ways I’d destroy that wretched whelp. I may not have had my magic voice anymore, leaving me as powerless as the rest of the monkeys in this horrid, magic-starved world, but there were ways. But that was the problem; everything I thought of was too mundane. A girl like her deserved something crueler, something harsher. Something that would break her in two and ruin her life.

But of course, without magic, I knew anything I tried to do to physically harm her would unravel all too quickly. I couldn’t simply sing police into submission, and besides, that would be too easy. Too boring. I wanted her to suffer, and to live with that suffering for the rest of her life. It was the only thing that felt right. And so I would ask myself that question over and over again, every night until I passed out from exhaustion:

What would I do to the girl that ruined my life?

My sisters let the flames of vengeance die so quickly and pitifully. Sonata, of course, struggled to stay angry and focused for any amount of time; hers was a carefree nature that wasn’t good at plotting revenge. Aria, too, abandoned any thoughts of getting revenge on those girls from Canterlot High, to my infinite surprise. She was always so violent, so proud and haughty, that slights stuck with her longer than the rest of us. But our defeat had cut her pride low, and she fell the hardest. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been much of a surprise that she wanted to forget about the whole ordeal as quickly as possible and find another purpose in life.

But not me. I only had one purpose left in this miserable world, and that was getting even. No matter how it happened.

It may have been a full two or three months later before an idea finally entered my mind. An idea so strange and unexpected, it had to work. And the more I thought about it, the more perfect it seemed. I remember hopping off of my bed, turning on the light, and staring at my reflection in the mirror. My hands ran over my supple curves and eternally youthful body. Even without my songs, I was beautiful. And after a thousand years living in this world, I learned that the most potent weapon a woman has is her body.

It was a simple plan, really. Simple yet brutal: I would seduce and then abandon Sunset Shimmer, driving her away from her friends in the process and shattering her self-esteem. By the time I was through with her, she would be friendless, alone, and a miserable wretch of a human being.

The perfect punishment for the girl that stole everything from me.

So I began to plan my vengeance accordingly. I carefully figured out the places she was most likely to frequent without her friends and started to find opportunities to cross her sight. Once I was sure she’d started to notice me, then I began to bump into her, ‘accidentally’. She was surprised and distrusting, and I could tell she didn’t want to talk to me—just as I expected. But a siren is so much more than a sea dragon with a magic voice; a siren is an actress, a thespian in every sense of the word. I convinced her that I was over what had happened, though not ready to forgive. That would have been too obvious a clue that I was lying. Tempering my lies with a little bit of truth hid the farce from the idiot girl, and it wasn’t long before she approached me one day to get a coffee. The plan was working, and the fish had swallowed the hook.

I kept our interactions at arm’s reach for the better part of a month, all while never straying from my plan. I made sure to cross paths with her just enough to slowly build a rapport as hollow as a conch shell without letting myself slip too far from the forefront of Sunset’s mind. After that coffee, we got lunch together once. Another time, we went shoe shopping. I managed to get her phone number, and she invited me over for a bad movie night with the rest of her friends. It made me sick to my stomach to share a room with them all after what they did to me, but I hid those feelings from them and made it appear like I was having a good time.

But that last part strangely wasn't too hard. I realized I did have a good time, and I tried to push those thoughts away. There was something about Sunset that toyed with me, made my thoughts stray. I found myself enjoying our time together, and I had to remind myself what I was doing. This wasn't to become Sunset's friend. This was to destroy her, and I couldn't allow myself to get close. Yet I remember being in a miserable mood for a week when she went on a camping trip with her friends and she didn't have cell service until she came back, and I couldn't explain why.

And then summer came, and I put the last part of my plan in motion. It was time to make Sunset Shimmer fall for the most beautiful woman in the world.

I didn’t even mind this part of the plan that much; it meant I could spend all my time at the beach while I waited for the perfect opportunity. Even without my scales and fins, the sand and surf under the golden sun made me feel right at home. I spent so many days lying on a beach blanket, letting the sun warm my body, and earning the smitten looks of dumb boys and the envious glares of uglier girls as I waded through the water. I joined Sunset and her friends when they went down to the beach, and I spent the entire day waiting for the perfect opportunity, like a great white stalking a seal from the murky depths below. I made sure I had my most alluring swimwear on for that day, and I certainly didn’t miss the looks Sunset occasionally sent in my direction when she thought I wasn’t looking.

It was time to reel in the line.

I announced I was going to jog along the beach, and invited Sunset to join me. Though obviously flustered and nervous, she joined anyway when I kicked my hip out, slender fingers resting perilously around the ring on my bottom. For some reason that put an unplanned smile on my face, though I quickly wrote it off as my body faking it automatically without any need for me to tell it to do so. And then we were off, toes digging through the sand with every step, my breasts bouncing well within Sunset’s vision. I could practically feel her trying to keep her eyes off of them, but I pretended not to notice. I needed to choose my moment carefully if I wanted to pull this off.

It finally came when we made it to the stone pier. Big black stones jutted out from the sand a good fifty feet into the waves, creating a stretch of land isolated from the rest of the beach. Usually, fishermen would be working the waves from the end, but there were none there today. I considered that a sign that my plan was working, and I grabbed Sunset’s hand and led her onto the pier. She stiffened at the contact and her face turned red, but she nevertheless followed my lead as I hopped from rock to rock and out to the end.

And soon there we were, two women alone on the pier, staring out into the waves crashing against the rocks. Gulls squeaked overhead, and one plunged straight into the depths before emerging a second later with a wriggling minnow clamped in its beak. I smirked as I watched the bird swallow its prey and squawk in triumph, and turned to Sunset. Her eyes darted away from my chest, and I leaned against her, sweaty and lightly panting from our jog. “What’s the matter, Sunny?” I asked her, voice sultry and sweet. “Something catch your eye?”

“I… Uhhh…” Her face burned red, and it wasn’t the sun’s doing. Her fingers curled as she tried to figure out what to do with them, and I took a step closer. I glanced down at her own breasts, wrapped up as they were in her top, and placed my right foot within an inch of her left. A simple swing of my hips brought my hair in contact with her ass, and suddenly she was looking down, looking at me, and unable to tear her eyes away.

And I didn't want her to.

I lifted a finger and brought it to her chin, watching that red on her face deepen. She was frozen like a fish caught in an angler’s lure, unable to back away, unable to resist. I leaned in closer, ready to sink the final nail into my plan and trap her for good, and fluttered my eyelashes. “It’s okay,” I said, the words low and husky. “You don’t have anything to hide from me, Sunny…”

I placed my foot over hers, as if by that one simple action, I’d pinned her to the pier. Her hands raised from her sides, and when her eyes met mine, I winked at her. I could see my prey struggling at the surface of the water, just a few turns of the reel away from her doom. My thumb slid up to her lower lip, pulling it away from her teeth ever so slightly as I parted my lips.

“I… I-I just…” she stammered, and I slid a little closer. Our hips were touching now, and I felt her hand gravitating toward my beautiful ass. I just needed one more tug, one more pull…

Her right hand flew up to my cheek. Before I realized what she was doing, she pulled my face toward her own. Then our lips met, and I could feel her hanging on for dear life. I could taste the sweat and the balm on her lips, and her tongue cautiously poked my teeth. I opened my mouth and retaliated in kind, and my eyes fluttered shut as I put my other hand to the back of her head. Her hair wrapped around my fingers like a net, and I was caught, trapped, tangled in it as her weight slammed up against my own like a wave breaking on the rocks.

She pulled her face back for breath, and when I opened my eyes, we were simply staring at each other, panting off the high of lust. Her small, angular face was like a lure, and I couldn’t look away. Sweat beaded along her brow, glistening in the sun like diamonds, and I saw the tip of her tongue flick over her teeth as she tasted what was left of me. Without even realizing it, I did the same, and I shuddered as I tasted ecstasy. Her fingers twitched around my ass, and this time I was the one who pulled her back in to kiss again.

There was no plan anymore. There was no reason behind it. There was just… just bliss. Bliss and excitement. It was like lightning running through my veins. I couldn’t control myself as I held her close, my right hand sliding down the curve of her back. I dug my fingers into the wrap around her waist, trapping them between fabric and warm, sweaty skin. She placed her hand over my breast, and shivers shot up and down my spine. It was then, and only then, that I realized what I’d done. My time spent with her up until this moment hadn't only been warming her up to me, but it had reciprocated my own feelings. Too late I realized that she had become my friend just as I became hers, and revenge was how I had justified it. Now, I was caught in my own trap, and no matter how much I tried to will it, I simply couldn’t pull out. The net closed around me, and soon the fish on my line was pulling me into the water with her.

But you know what? I didn’t care. I didn't care, and it was amazing. I simply pressed forward with everything I had, clinging onto Sunset as tightly as I could as our bodies became glued together on the empty pier, with only the warm sun above and the sounds of the ocean for company. It didn’t matter what the plan was anymore. I just wanted to kiss this girl and not let her go. I could tell she only wanted the same.

And that was how I fell in love with the girl who ruined my life.

Comments

[NaiadSagaIotaOar]

This... didn't quite work for me. I'm not downvoting, 'cause I'm sure at least part of that is conflicting headcanon when it comes to Adagio's character, but the ending just didn't feel earned to me, I think mostly because of how sudden it is. I could've bought it if the story had shown Adagio more gradually finding her motives shifting from getting revenge to just enjoying Sunset's company, but as it is it's like her view of Sunset changes on a dime all because of a kiss, and when the first half of the story takes the time to set up how fixated she is on vengeance, I just don't see the ending being true to her character here.

This is where headcanon comes in, but especially after how she ruminates on her body being a potent weapon, one imagines this isn't her first seduction attempt or bout of physical intimacy, so I'm left wondering how Sunset is so mind-blowingly amazing that someone with a thousand years of experience is smitten at first kiss--the description says 'she gave something back to me,' but I don't have a clear image, reading this story, what exactly that something is and why it's such a big deal.

So, sorry, I like the concept of this story, and I might've liked it more had it been given a bit more space and time to develop, but as it is this just felt rushed and flat for it.

[Dr Mysterious Shade]

I found this to be well done. How Adagio originally wanted revenge so badly that she didn't notice she was falling for Sunset. How she had to keep reminding herself it was all for revenge, displayed the struggle she didn't even realize she was having well.

In the end when she gave up on what she thought she wanted and accepted what she didn't know she needed by 'getting caught in her own trap' was also well portrayed.

All in all, a well written SunDagio ship.

[Ice Star]

I'd like to see a follow-up to this, maybe a first date? Some light drama to showcase some of a couple dynamic? Redemption hints?

[MixMassBasher]

Guess no plans survives contact here in this ship fic

[Quillamore]

9597791

I’m not as experienced of a Siren writer as Naiad is, but by and large, I agree. The issue I had with it that made it seem a bit more rushed for me was the relative lack of dialogue.

You know that Elvis lyric, “a little less conversation, a little more action?” I find that structure works well in some stories, especially when we’re really delving into one character’s psyche. Pre-reformation Starlight is a character I can see having a huge narrative rant in a fanfiction, bragging about how she’s going to get revenge on Twilight a ton before actually doing it, but Adagio isn’t for me. Adagio revenge stories like yours are written to be sexy, seductive, yet redeeming, but I don’t get that feel from this. Largely, the narration bogged it down and made it so that it told a lot more than it showed.

I know this isn’t something writers typically want to hear, but it’s something that improves with time and practice. I tried writing a story in college based off a reality show confessional format, with next to no dialogue, and it bombed hard. It was then that I realized that I was genuinely scared of writing realistic dialogue, and that was why I fell into narration so much. It’s a tough balance that plagues a lot of writers (hell, I still have some older fics still up on the site with this exact problem), which is why I can’t fault you or downvote you for it. It’s not even just a newbie mistake. It’s a struggle, and I hope you’ll take my words to heart and use them to improve your writing even more.

[fanreader999999]

Mmm

[Vaguely Demented]

Interesting. Could stand to be a bit more drawn out but the internal logic of Adagio was amusing.

[aceina]

needxs more than just 1 chapter

[YellowHornBrony]

And that's how I met your mother

[thegreatandpowerfull]

9601664
I agree with aceina, it needs a little more than that.

[djthomp]

Probably not the most healthy way to begin a relationship, but then again expecting Adagio to do anything in a particularly mentally healthy way is probably a bit much to ask for.

[Web of Hope]

Weird Stockholm flex but ok

[Aurora7Borealis]

I loved this. At first I didn't like that the story was playing out in first person by Adagio, but it turns out it only made the emotions more intense. I like the choice of words and how smoothly the scene evolves, not too fast and not too slow. I don't like most of this ship's stories cause usually Adagio appears out of character, too emotional or too shallow, but this one is just right. Would love to read more like this.

[DavisSentoV5]

I want to see a sequel to this so badly that it hurts!

[Bookwurm666]

rapport as hollow as a conch shell

A conch shell maybe hollow but it is also very solid. The conch feed on sea urchin after all.

[hypervelocity]

Plan failed successfully!

Ah, young hate love.

[Bryan Luna]

Congratulations Dagi, you just played yourself.