The Third Wheel
Chapter XV: The Third Wheel
My body moves against my will, holding me hostage in my own mind. My legs move towards Sunset, walking as confidently as ever. I try my best to hold my body in place, but it doesn’t work at all. I just keep moving despite my best intentions. Sunset’s eyes widen, seeing me walk towards her.
“Hey, Alligator~ Did you find anything you’d like to buy here?” she asks me in the same gentle voice as always. Despite the fact that she asked me a question, my mouth doesn’t move at all. Instead, my hand moves to the side of her face, making my heart race quickly. Please don’t hurt her…
She pulls Sunset’s face closer to mine, planting my lips against hers in a passionate embrace. Everything about her movements projects a sense of confidence and gives me an aura of cockiness. Why is she… kissing MY fiancée?
“Other than you? Nothing,” she whispers in a sultry voice, kissing her again. Her hand slides around Sunset’s waist, holding her close to my body. I can’t fathom why I’m being forced to watch this… “You were in there for quite a while, Sunny. Why did you keep me waiting?” she asks, using my nickname for her in the sentence prior… Sunset’s face looks really embarrassed with all this attention centered on her. If I was the one giving it to her, I would enjoy her blushes, but right now? I can’t help but feel a pit of fire open inside of me…
“Oh? Did I really keep you waiting that long?” Sunset innocently asks me just as my body drags the back of my hand down her cheek. My finger twirls a strand of her hair seductively, keeping my eyes on hers.
“Every second apart from you is unbearable,” she whispers in a very low tone, kissing Sunset again to bite her lip. I… Did she just… Why am I being forced to watch every second of this? The pit of anger and hatred inside me isn’t exactly a new feeling, but… god, she makes me want to… kill.
“W-what is with all this attention, Adagio?” Sunset asks me in a flustered voice, pushing me off of her. Sunset’s palm presses against my chest, her eyes looking into my own carefully. Concern is written on her face, making me feel slightly better that she realizes something is off. I give her a lot of attention just like this when we’re alone, but in public…?
“Do you not like it, Shimmer?” she whispers with a chuckle, making Sunset blush even more. She barely has the chance to shake her head before she’s given another kiss, my arm dipping her slightly. Despite her previous reservations, Sunset seems to give into the kiss fully. Finally, my body lets go of her, pulling away with a smirk. “Could you possibly get us a couple of drinks, love? I would enjoy something for the road,” she whispers in the same low voice, forcing my own hand to cup her cheek. Sunset looks as surprised as ever, gently nodding her head with the brightest blush I have ever seen on her face. Against my consent, my body turns around to face Twilight again just as Sunset moves away from us. “Sparkle. Do you remember when you put my gem together?” she asks my friend, making my heart race once again. Please don’t do it, Twi. Don’t put it back together again for this… monster.
“U-um, yeah?” Twilight remarks in surprise, clearly still confused about the display of affection that she made Sunset go through.
“I was wondering how difficult that was for you. I know you have your own magic necklace, but how difficult was it for you to press the pieces so close together that it was practically whole again?” She makes my body take another step towards Twilight, my friend seemingly thinking about how to respond to this situation. I can’t help but pray that Twilight keeps this conversation brief.
“Honestly? It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. I was expecting a lot more resistance or such, but that kind of force never came. Right until you passed out though… Then the gem forced itself apart. That was the strangest part of that whole ordeal.” Twilight looks puzzled, as if she is trying to figure something out. My hand slowly reaches out to her and gives her back the bottle of melatonin.
“Strangest part? Do you mean when it forced itself apart?” my mouth asks her instantly. I can’t control my own lips, nor any other muscle in my body. As frustrating as this experience is, it frightens me more than anything else. She moves my body to stand beside Twilight once more.
“Yeah, that was pretty strange, honestly. It was like something else was pulling it apart while I was trying to keep it together. I can’t imagine what that is though.” Twilight shrugs her shoulders lightly, taking a bite of her beef jerky.
My arm moves into my bag, pulling out the container holding the red gem fragments. Oh no… Don’t do this. “Could you try to put them together again? We may need my magic again and if you can’t do it, I’d rather know it right now,” she whispers in a gentle tone, using my own lips and voice. Twilight is none the wiser, assuming every word that demon utters is from me… Her eyes look at me with a tone of confusion.
“Now? Um… Couldn’t we wait until after we get to a hotel or such?” Twilight asks me awkwardly.
“Sparkl- I mean, Twilight. Please. There’s a distinct possibility I may need to use my magic again once we get to Nevada or Louisiana. If… If you can’t put these pieces together again, I’d rather know now so that we can come up with a backup plan,” she tells Twilight quietly with the same peaceful tone I would use when trying to sound empathetic. My friend looks at the container quietly before observing our surroundings. Slowly, she nods before taking the container from me, pouring out the contents into her hand. The necklace she has on begins to glow very slightly just as the pieces float into the air. Twilight forces the pieces together with ease, a surge of power flowing through my body once more. No… No no no. I’m not in control this time. I can’t do anything to stop this! Twilight, please. Take the gem apart now.
“That feels so good,” she whispers through my lips, making Twilight raise her eyebrow. “Sorry. It is just the effects of the magic again. It got rid of the pain in my back,” she lies straight to her face, making my blood boil. Before Twilight can respond, the sound of a crash makes my head turn, both of us looking towards the source of the sound.
On the other side of the store, Pinkie Pie sits down on the ground as if she fell, candy bars and all kinds of sweets spilled out around her. Applejack stands beside her with an annoyed look on her face, visibly sighing. Rarity stands beside them with Fluttershy, looking at the mess.
“Oops! Sorry! I’ll buy all of these, don’t worry!” Pinkie Pie reassures the cashier, making Applejack jump in surprise.
“Uh, she doesn't mean that. Pinkie, we can’t bring along all of these sweets,” Applejack tells Pinkie Pie with a very uncomfortable look on her face.
“Nonsense! I’ll buy them, don’t worry!” Pinkie Pie tells Applejack with a smile, causing the cowgirl to grab her shoulder.
“Pinkie, I’m serious. I don’t think-” before she can finish her statement, Applejack almost loses her footing, a green mist surrounding the magical necklace around her neck. I was so distracted by Pinkie Pie that I didn’t even notice that the siren hummed the smallest tune. No… Don’t do this to Applejack. Leave them alone! Applejack’s face is full of exhaustion and no one seems to notice the mist other than me.
“Applejack, darling. Are you alright?” Rarity asks her, catching the attention of Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.
“Yeah. I guess I just… stayed out in the heat for too long. Just give me-” Applejack’s foot gives out from under her, causing her to fall to the ground. Rarity quickly rushes to her side, pulling the cowgirl to a sitting position.
“Darling! You’re burning up. I knew you should have taken a break from driving before now,” Rarity scolds Applejack, trying to act mad at her lover while a worried look overcomes her. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy try to help Applejack as well, but Rarity shakes her head, making them back up.
“Just… buy what ya want,” Applejack tells the two of them, catching her breath. “I’ll be fine. Just give me a minute.” The green mist dissipates from the air, finally letting me feel a moment of relief. She turns our gaze back to Twilight, the scientist still worried about our friend. Twilight finally notices our gaze, breaking the gem apart again.
“Gosh. I hope we can make more pit stops for Applejack’s sake,” Twilight mentions quietly, looking down at the gem. Twilight raises her eyebrow, holding the pieces closer to her face with an observant look in her eyes.
“Is something wrong?” my lips move to ask her that question, a kind tone coming out of my mouth despite what just happened to Applejack.
“I don’t know. For some reason, it almost feels like there were more pieces here before.” Twilight’s skeptical eyes inspect the gem fragments for a moment before finally giving them back to me. “Sorry, I’m probably just thinking things.” Twilight’s excuse isn’t as crazy as she thinks it is… As my hand moves to put the pieces back in the container, I notice the same thing that Twilight did. There are less pieces than before… specifically one is unaccounted for. Or rather, one of the pieces is bigger than before…
“It’s bound to happen. We’ve been on the road for a while now. How about you head towards the RV and we’ll meet you there in a minute,” my lips mutter with a sweet tone, playfully manipulating Twilight. I can’t do a thing to stop it… Twilight nods with a smile, patting my shoulder before turning towards the door. As soon as Twilight walks past the door and her purple ponytail is no longer in sight, my head looks towards the ground, a sinister chuckle escaping my lips, just quiet enough to make sure no one else can hear it. I can’t help but wonder what she’s doing now… All she’s doing is standing here, chuckling to herself while forcing me to watch every second of it.
She moves my head upwards to look at the rest of the store, seeing Sunset move towards the counter with Rarity still holding onto Applejack. Another low chuckle resonates through my vocal chords just as Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy leave through the other entrance on the opposite side of the building. My hand moves up to brush hair out of my face, my body trying to withhold laughter. Why is she chuckling so much…?
“Poor little Adagio. You must be furious with me right about now,” she whispers through my lips, still trying to hold back her own laughter. “How did it make you feel to see Applejack collapse to the ground? I can’t imagine you liked it at all. But didn’t it feel great to have your magic back for those few moments?” she asks with a tone that sends chills through me. She focuses my eyes on the pendant that Applejack wears, humming to herself. “Sunny still hasn’t worn hers yet, huh? Everyone else has, but she is still afraid of what the magic might have in store for her. Your lover really is… boring.” Everyone agreed to wear their necklaces in case they would need to use their magic just like me. It was Rarity’s idea… She thought that if I’m sticking my neck out to use magic to find Sonata and Aria, then maybe everyone else should do the same… “But I have found something interesting you might want to know, Adagio. So, listen up. A Nexus of magic is extremely hard to find in this world, but I already know where seven of them are.”
Her words instantly make my heart stop. A part of her plan was to find one of them. How does she know where seven of them are…? Where are they? She… What does she want with a Nexus?
“Come on, Adagio. Use that intelligent brain of yours. Surely you can find out what I mean by that,” she tells me through a quiet laugh, watching everyone at the counter. She forces my eyes to focus on Sunset, then Applejack, the necklaces… I’ve been given so many clues as to what she’s trying to do, but I can’t seem to put them together. Magic. Power. A Nexus. This trip… All to find Aria and Sonata. What does it all-
Seven. She said she found seven of them. Looking at my friends, a concerning thought comes to my mind. One that makes my stomach churn… Twilight. One. Fluttershy. Two. Rainbow Dash. Three.
My eyes look over at the fashionista, hoping that I possibly misheard the number.
Rarity. Four.
Applejack. Five.
Pinkie Pie. Six.
Looking at the one I love, I see her bright smile from all the way over here, cheerfully buying the drinks she picked out for us. Her hair shines in the light…
Sunset… Seven…
One less piece of gem fragments wasn’t a coincidence at all.
“Ah, there we go,” she whispers with a sinister smile, once more trying to hold in laughter. “You finally got it. I was beginning to think you were an imbecile, but here you are, finally putting together the pieces. You’re finally using your brain, Adagio. You’ll see soon enough. You’ll see that I’m doing what is best for you.” With that, she forces my hand to open the door, quickly walking out of the establishment.
===================================================
The door of the hotel opens in front of us, thankfully making it easy to carry our luggage in. The sun is setting on the horizon, yet Rarity barely convinced Applejack to stop the RV for the night. Pinkie Pie is the first one inside the hotel, leading Fluttershy with her. I would follow them, but… I can’t exactly move my legs… She can…
“Well, I guess we’ll pick up where we left off tomorrow,” Rainbow Dash mentions quietly, picking up her bag. Her tone of voice and attitude don’t match her at all. Dash simply shrugs to herself and as soon as she walks inside the building, she ignores Pinkie Pie’s excitement and walks straight to the counter. Sunset looks towards me with a concerned expression, nodding towards Dash.
“Do you think we should be worried?” Sunset asks me quietly, the worry on her face making me want to answer her immediately. Try as I might, I can’t make any words come out…
“Don’t worry about her. I’ll talk to her later,” the siren responds to her with a soothing tone, mascotting as me. She moves my hand to Sunset’s cheek, reassuring her. I can’t feel a thing, making this touch hurt that much more.
Twilight walks past us giving the two of us a smile. Rarity stays as close to Applejack as possible ever since the situation at the gas station. Even as Applejack locks up the RV, Rarity insists on holding onto Applejack’s arm. The cowgirl looks like she’s a little annoyed by this, but she never tells Rarity to let go. She probably knows just how much her falling on the ground scared Rarity.
“Alright, y’all. Let’s go get some shut eye,” Applejack tells us with a nod, walking towards Sunset and I. Sunset grabs my hand, leading me towards the hotel lobby. This time, a numb feeling comes to me… Can I… feel her hand?
My feet drag on the ground for a moment before stopping completely. The numb feeling overcomes my whole body, making me feel dizzy. My fingers twitch at the sensation, not under my control. I can’t help but feel nauseous, wanting to vomit. She’s not breathing for me… my hand begins to move according to how I want it to move. The world won’t stop spinning.
Inhaling as much air as possible, I drop my bag on the ground, stumbling backward. It’s only due to the rough sidewalk’s friction against the bottom of my boots that I don’t fall down. Sunset looks at me with a surprised expression, my stumble catching the eyes of Applejack and Rarity as well.
“Adagio? Are you alright?” Sunset asks me in the sweetest voice I have ever heard. My lips finally move when I want them to…
“I… I’m just dizzy,” I respond quietly, trying to use my words effectively. It’s been nearly half a day since I’ve been able to control my mouth… Or my body… She’s finally let go. “I forgot something in the RV. I… I will be back,” I tell them with a slight cough, looking back at the RV.
“Um, alright. Just make sure to lock it back up once you’re done, Sugarcube,” Applejack tells me before tossing the keys towards me. I just barely catch the keys, my numb hands fumbling it slightly. Sunset looks at me with concern, but I try to give her my best smile despite how much I want to tell her what happened.
“Don’t worry, Sunny~ I’ll be there in just a second,” I tell her with a nod, picking up my purse. “Get us checked in, alright?” I ask her, giving her the handle to my suitcase. Before she can respond, I turn towards the RV, walking to the vehicle in the best way I can. My numb legs make it hard to walk normally, but I force myself to do it anyway.
Unlocking the RV, I try my best to not look back at Sunset, knowing that if I do, I might end up crying. Getting inside the vehicle, I close the door, taking another deep breath inside this dark interior. My knees feel weak as I press my back against the door, feeling my stomach churn once more. As much as I try to hold it back, I end up gagging on my own saliva, falling down to my knees. The sudden pain flashes through my legs, making me gag even worse. I can’t avoid it any longer… Grabbing the trash bin by the couch, I quickly push my face inside. The contents of my stomach are forced out through my mouth, giving me the most god awful taste imaginable. The pain and disgust all but amplify my vomit, tears sliding down my cheeks.
God damn it… I… ugh… I felt so dizzy upon getting control of my body again that I ended up making myself sick. God, I hate this… I hated not being able to control my body… I hated seeing her kiss my girlfriend. I hated seeing her use my magic against Applejack. If I didn’t have any hope, I would almost consider using the gun in my bag against myself… It’s not fun living like this. But it wouldn’t be fun for Sunset to find my body either…
Sliding the trash bin to the side, I close my eyes and rest my head against the door. My body feels exhausted, despite the fact I just got control back. It’s probably due to me emptying my stomach just a few seconds ago… When I had my magic, I usually never got sick. As a human? God, I hate feeling ill… I wish I could tell Sunset the truth. About all of this. However, she promised to hurt Sunset if I said a thing. I hate living a lie…
Not only do I have to deal with this siren, but I also have to help Rainbow Dash somehow AND find my two oldest friends. I don’t know how I’m going to do it… How am I going to make it through this trip?
The cold ground of the RV is barely tolerable… The cold works well with the overwhelming silence of the vehicle. The darkness makes the silence sound a hundred times quieter… Despite every object being still and at peace, I can’t help but find the opposite of peace here. I was never afraid of the dark before I lost my magic… Now, it’s hard to not get lost in it… Only the small glimmer of lights from the outside world shine in through the windows. The cold and dark surrounds me even though my mind is still on fire.
A loud knock shakes me from my thoughts, the door vibrating slightly. Trying to swallow my pride, I force myself to my feet, still a little dizzy from before. Opening the door, my eyes focus on beautiful cyan eyes looking right back at me. Sunset gives me a kind smile, standing a foot lower than me due to how far off the ground the door is.
“Hi, Alligator. Mind if I come in?” she asks me quietly. She doesn’t have any of our luggage with her, so it looks like she either checked us in or left our bags with the others. Trying my best to compose myself, I nod and step out of the way, letting her get inside. The door closes behind her and she looks around the dark RV with a nod. “I guess someone had an upset stomach,” she mentions with a nod towards the trash bin, making me realize the faint smell.
“I was just-” before I can finish my sentence, Sunset places her hand on my cheek, rubbing away the previous tears. Without saying a word, her eyes tell me that she’s not looking for excuses or even a conversation. Instead, she slowly pulls me in for a hug, wrapping her arms around me.
“I knew there was probably a reason behind all the extra attention earlier,” Sunset whispers into my ear, holding me tightly. “You’re scared. I understand that.” Sunset runs her fingers through my hair, her voice sinking into my mind. “But I hope you know I’m always here for you. Always,” Sunset tells me with a cheerful tone to her voice, trying to make me feel better. The silence gives us a moment of privacy, yet I still feel anxious. No matter how she tries to comfort me, I can’t help but worry…
Worry about what is going to happen next…
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Riveting, should tie me over until your return. I wish you well!
What does she have planned if she's taken control of Adagio's body?
Welp, they're screwed.
Aaaand it just got worse!
She's gonna pay for what she's got up her sleeve!
More like what tragedy is coming her way!
Thank goodness she's gain control, I was getting real worried there she wouldn't gain control again.
If only they had a splitamitter so Adagio and the siren didn't have to deal with this crap. That way, Adagio wouldn't have to worry about her body being taken over. Though something like that would likely never happen as the device I mention is just something that only existed from power rangers.