Twilight and Adagio are very different people. In fact they have almost nothing in common. Except one, very important person: Sunset Shimmer. And despite her best efforts, Sunset has no clue how to make their relationship work out.
Sunset Shimmer's relationship with Twilight Sparkle and Adagio is everything she could wish for. Both girls make her happy beyond words... except when they're all together. Something goes wrong as Sunset tries to spend time with the two of them and despite her best efforts, the chasm only grows wider.
It was a nice summer night. The kind that people generally refer to when they think of the camping trips of their childhood or their first kiss after school. The temperature was in that comfortable middle ground between sweating hot and deviously chill. The cloudless sky smiled a thin, slanted smile and watched the world below with a myriad of shining eyes. And as the abyss stared at the people of Everton, a few of them stared back, peering into the cosmos’ beauty.
Among these peoples, two showed unparalleled enthusiasm. These two were among the few, select people who had been given the chance to see a whole different sky.
The first one was Sunset Shimmer, born unicorn in a different world. The second one was Twilight Sparkle, who had – because of a device of her creation – peered through the veil separating her world from Sunset’s. Both of them were what was usually referred to as “nerds”. They were the kind of people who would extensively study the differences between the heavens in their free time and thoroughly enjoy the experience. However, even nerds needed a break sometimes. And so, their telescope had been set aside while they lay side by side, on the grass of Twilight’s garden.
“This one’s called Monoceros, the unicorn,” Twilight declared, pointing at a collection of stars.
“Okay, now I know you’re pulling my leg,” Sunset answered with a laugh.
“No no! I swear!” the purple girl said, laughing in turn. “I’m surprised you don’t know it.”
“I was more interested in how they work than where they’re placed on the sky…”
Twilight laughed at the admission. There wasn’t a lot of topics Sunset had not explored during her time on Earth, and Twilight was the only person she knew who always had that head start. She just seemed to have at least some knowledge on every topic Sunset knew… and also on all the topics she didn’t. And Sunset loved it. “Look, see the lower half of Orion? Well, just a bit to the left…”
“I see nothing that might look like a unicorn...”
“Heh. It’s hard to make an accurate description of a mythical creature with only a few lines.”
“Hey! Who are you calling a mythical creature?” Sunset asked with mock indignation.
“I don’t know… some of the things you do are pretty uncommon.”
“Would a mythical creature travel through worlds and harness the power of friendship?”
“If my external sources and personal, anecdotal evidence are to be trusted… Yes.”
“Oh… Well… Would a mythical creature do… this?” On these words, Sunset jumped on Twilight and relentlessly tickled her favourite dork. Twilight’s feeble defences quickly crumbled and soon she found herself at the mercy of the unicorn. Sunset was a merciful victor though, and soon the one-sided tickle fight devolved into a mutual, giggly hug.
“Is something wrong?” Twilight asked after some time, noticing that Sunset was staring at her.
“No, nothing’s wrong,” Sunset said, her smile widening slightly. “I was just thinking that the stars are not the only beautiful thing that sparkle tonight.”
It was corny, Sunset knew it but it still worked. Despite the obscurity, she could see the blush quickly blossoming on Twilight’s face. Such a sight was worth even the corniest comments. Sunset watched her fumbling with her words, completely disarmed by the compliment. There was something irresistible about it. And Sunset didn’t want to resist.
“Can I kiss you?” she asked softly.
Twilight turned an even deeper shade of purple, nodded, closed her eyes and then blushed some more. Sunset passed her hand into Twilight’s hair, pushing aside messy strands of hair from her face. Her skin was smooth and Sunset enjoyed the contact as much as Twilight. She finally settled her hand on her cheek, cupping it, using it as an anchor as she got closer. The kiss was soft and warm. Sunset’s lips aptly captured Twilight’s with patience and delicateness that betrayed their eagerness.
Twilight reciprocated, slowly, hesitantly. This wasn’t their first kiss, but there was still this innocence, this almost childish scare that she could kiss Sunset so wrong that their whole relationship would shatter. Sunset was well aware of the fact and she was determined to show Twilight that she enjoyed every contact with her lips, no matter how slow or simple they might be.
The kiss ended, and as always, it felt both too short and breathtakingly long. They stayed on the grass, staring at each other for a while, a whim away from a repeat. A whim Sunset was very tempted to indulge... Unfortunately, Fate had decided otherwise. In that case, Fate had chosen to manifest itself in the form of a purple talking dog, whose mealtime had been skipped. The emissary of Fate cleared his throat soundly, making the two girls jump.
“Are you going home soon? I’m hungry…” Spike said sheepishly, not even trying to come up with an excuse. “You said one hour…”
“Oops! I’m so sorry Spike I forgot about your food! I was so caught in the stargazing.”
“Yeah... ‘stargazing’,” the dog mocked.
Twilight blushed again and Sunset jumped to her rescue. “Sorry, little guy. We didn’t realise an hour had already passed…”
“It’s been at least two!” he protested.
“What? No, you’re exaggerating...” she said while checking her watch, trying to confound the dog with her superior technology. Unfortunately, as always in time of need, technology betrayed her as her watch agreed with the canine, revealing that two hours and a half had passed. “You… were not exaggerating.” She sent an apologizing look to the purple dog. “Sorry, Spike...”
“It’s alright,” he said in that specific tone that tried to make the situation seem alright but ultimately made it seem worse and guilt-inducing. “I took a nap anyway...”
Twilight finally got up, taking her furry friend into her arms. “Let’s get you some food. And a few treats.”
“Treats?” Spike said, his heads, ears and mood perking up.
Sunset laughed at his reaction. She was about to tease him about his appetite when her phone rang. The first notes of Arctic Donkeys’ Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re Down? echoed into the night, breaking the ambience. Sunset didn’t need to check who it was. Only one person deserved this ringtone. “Why don’t you two go and eat. I’ll take this and bring back the telescope.”
“Yes! Yes! Let’s go!” the purple dog barked enthusiastically.
“Okay,” Twilight agreed with a laugh. “Don’t take too long,” she added in direction of Sunset before leaving.
Sunset watched her girlfriend go for a few seconds before she finally took the call. “Sup’ Dagi?”
Adagio Dazzle spoke slowly, emphasising each word. “Sunset, the night was terrible.”
Adagio sounded exhausted. Sunset was sure at least part of it was just for show, but she had learned to discern the truth hidden behind the dramatic reenactment. It didn’t mean she wouldn’t tease her though. “Aren’t all the nights terrible?” she retorted as she unscrewed the telescope’s stand.
“This one was worse.”
“How worse?”
“At least 2 Bobs.”
Sunset whistled, impressed. A night worth two Battles of the Bands was usually, bad. However, considering her tone she was probably just being dramatic. Sunset chose to play along. “Wow... that much?”
“Stary had to quit early because her girlfriend was delivering their baby, so I had to deal with the entrance alone, right when a pack of douchebroes decided that they wanted to celebrate their bachelor party at the club.”
“Ouch…” The last screw of the stand finally relented, freeing the telescope from its elevated restraints. Sunset folded it carefully and put it in its case. “How did you deal with it?”
“I lured them inside and...”
“You lured them?”
“I promised them a lapdance and they accepted.”
“I’m not sure what’s worse... The fact that it worked or the fact that I’m immensely jealous right now...”
“Maybe you’ll get one... if you beg nicely...”
Adagio’s words were the vocal equivalent to having someone slowly stripping you off your clothes while promising you a very wild night. Which, Sunset hoped, was exactly what was ahead of her. Sunset bit her lip as if she could somehow purge the frustration out this way. It didn’t work. In fact, it made things slightly worse. A slightly aroused silence arose between them that Sunset killed before it got her. “So you said you lured them inside?”
“Yep. Easy as fuck.”
“And what happened to them?”
“Oh... Let’s say they got what was coming to them?”
“Dagi...”
“Calm your perky tits, Sunny. I just locked them in the meeting room.”
“And?”
“Why do you assume there’s more?”
“Because I know you, Dagi. What did you do?”
Adagio sighed. “You know me too well... Now I have to eliminate you.”
“You can’t get rid of me, you’ll get bored.”
“Bold of you to assume you’re irreplaceable.”
“I’m right though,” Sunset affirmed with a confident smirk.
“Still bold,” the siren admitted.
“So what did you do?”
“I put Take a Hint in a loop. Hopefully loud enough to deliver the message through their thick skull.”
Sunset tried not to laugh. Her good, virtuous side fought bravely to empathise for the poor souls, trapped by their lust and hubris. It was defeated after roughly 0.35 seconds of an arduous battle against every other part of Sunset. “You’re terrible!” she simply said between two giggles.
“You love me that way,” Adagio bragged.
Sunset laughed some more at her girlfriend’s boasting. “Yeah,” she simply admitted. She looked around. The telescope and its stand were safely in their case. Spike likely had been served his food and it was probably already gone. Meaning that Twilight was waiting for her. Still, it didn’t feel right to dismiss Adagio. She weighed the situation for a few seconds, then chose to bet on Twilight’s patience.
“So what happened next?”
“They managed to break the lock and get out. They were pretty pissed for some reason…”
“Wow… Is everything alright?”
“Yeah,” the siren said with proud dispassion. “They threatened to call the cops on me, but Zalea got everything under control, she told them she’d forgive them for the broken lock if they never came back, and I was ’punished’ for my action with two days of paid leave.”
Sunset laughed again. “I’m dating a terrible girl!”
“I’m simply the best at what I do.”
"The best, huh?" Sunset asked with a grin that showed as clearly in her voice as it did on her face. "You sure about that?"
"Positive," Adagio retorted with a sultry tone. "Does someone need a little reminder?"
“Now that you mention it, my memory is a bit fuzzy…”
“Well, if you’re quick enough, I might find a way or two to jog up your memory.”
Once again, Sunset found herself at the centre of an epic battle between two sides of her. This time, however, her more principled parts prevailed. “Damnit Dagi, don’t tease me like that… you know I’m with Twi tonight…”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” she said with a sigh. “I wasn’t one hundred per cent serious.” There was another silence, more awkward this time. “So when do you come back? The house’s lonely without you…”
“Probably tomorrow night… You know Twilight leaves to her dad’s tomorrow so I won’t see her for weeks after that…”
Adagio hesitated a moment. That pause was different for it was not part of Adagio’s masterful speechcraft. There was genuine uncertainty. These were very rare and Sunset had learned to pay a great deal of attention to them. “Can’t you come back sooner? I… I don’t want to stay alone.”
For Adagio Dazzle to ask her to come back early, something had to be wrong. However, she couldn’t just leave Twilight like that. Sunset racked her brain to find a solution. That was what she did. She made things work. “What about we meet at the amusement park tomorrow afternoon? That way we can spend some time outside and come back home together?”
“It’s been a while since I’ve been to an amusement park,” the siren admitted after some time. “Okay then. Around two?”
“Perfect,” Sunset confirmed. “See you tomorrow then.”
“See you then, Sunny. I’ll leave you to Magical Girl. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“That doesn’t cover a lot of things…”
Adagio paused audibly and it felt as if she was leaning to whisper in her ear. “You should see what I’m wearing right now.”
“Okayloveyoubye!” she said as she hung up.
She took a long calming breath, the telescope case and slowly went to join Twilight.
Twilight’s house was in the image of its owner. Purple and nerdy themed. A few hints of orange had started popping up here and there in the last few weeks, however, to Sunset’s delight. She carefully put the case next to the door and joined Twilight in the dining room. “Sorry I took so long. Dagi was telling me about her night…”
“It’s okay,” Twilight said with a smile as she finished dressing the table. “How is she?”
“She’s fine. She says hi.”
“Really?”
“In her own way.”
Twilight smiled at that. “The dinner’s ready if you want to eat.”
“Gladly! I’m starving!”
The dinner was filled with laughter and happy conversations. Twilight and Sunset were rarely out of topics to discuss, but tonight one particular topic was monopolised. The next day date at the amusement park.
“So what do you want to do after the mirror gallery?” Sunset asked with a smile.
“Anything but the rollercoaster.”
“Aw! They’re half of the fun,” Sunset teased.
“I’m afraid of heights and speeds our bodies weren’t made to handle,” Twilight stated.
“But the infrastructure has been made with that information in mind!”
“I know but…” She hesitated a moment, visibly embarrassed about the reason. “Okay, don’t laugh but… when I was very young and I still lived with Shining I…I snuck up and tried watching the scary movie he was watching, and since then I’ve been afraid of them…”
“Which movie?”
“The Ultimate Stop 3,” she admitted sheepishly.
Sunset nodded with a smile. “I see. Okay, no rollercoaster nor mention of it during our date.”
“Thank you for understanding,” Twilight said, visibly relieved.
“Besides, there are other rides I wanna do with you…”
“Oh? Which one?”
Sunset sent a long, loving, meaningful look to Twilight. “The love tunnel of course.”
Twilight blushed again. “I’d like this too,” she finally let out.
“Urgh… Please! I just ate…” Spike complained.
The two girls laughed at the dog’s “misery”. The night was perfect. They were happy. And the next day would be even better.
Sunset contemplated her life and wondered if things could get any better.
✶𝄞☀𝄞✶
Sunset contemplated her life and wondered if things could get any worse.
The day had started to well… The morning at Twilight’s had been delightful. The call to Adagio had been extremely pleasant. The trip to the amusement park had been a blast. The first hour, a pure bliss. They had raided the prize booths, and while they had barely won anything worthwhile – a keychain and free tickets for other attractions – Sunset loved trying to show off in front of Twilight. And judging by the happy grin on her face at the time, Twilight loved it too. And that was only the beginning of the day. They had eaten their fill of unhealthy but delicious food, they had watched the parades and run like children as the water displays started.
It had been perfect.
And then, Adagio had called.
And then, things had crumbled away around Sunset.
“Adagio is coming? Now?” Twilight had said with shock and badly hidden horror in her voice. “Why?”
“Because I invited her…” Sunset had said dumbfounded.
“But… why?”
Why? Sunset couldn’t find a reason why. She didn’t think she’d had to justify it. She never considered “why?” as a question before this exact moment.
She never got to find an answer, however. Before she could, a young woman, born siren in the same world Sunset had been born a unicorn, had tackled and hugged tightly from behind. For a shining instant, Sunset hoped she’d been mistaken for someone else, for the awkward discussion would be way more preferable than the other scenario.
She was not so lucky.
“Hey, Sunny!” Adagio said, tightening her hug. “Fuck I mi– what is she doing here?”
At this point, Sunset’s intellect melted into a puddle, evaporated then condensated in cold sweat that rolled from the back of her neck.
“Sunset?”
One of her girls was calling her. This woke her up. Whatever she was doing now was not helping. She could do it.
“Twilight, I invited Dagi yesterday so we could all spend time together,” she said to her purple girlfriend with a smile that she hoped was reassuring. She then turned toward the yellow one. “Dagi, Twilight’s here because we had already planned on going to the park before. I told you about it, remember?”
She looked at both, hoping that she’d have cleared the misunderstanding. And the good news was that she did. The bad news was that what had appeared in its place was worse. Twilight was getting uneasy. Adagio was pissed. The mood was getting cold enough to force windigos into coats.
But Sunset could still save it. “So girls what do you want to do?” she tried.
There was an awkward silence. It settled in the trio, growing louder by the second until Adagio finally broke it. “What about the rollercoasters?”
If she had to choose one point, one fateful turning point where the date had gone from bad to terrible, Sunset Shimmer would have chosen that one. The moment where Adagio Dazzle had proposed the rollercoaster. In that exact moment, the date had become unsalvageable. No amount of cotton candy, no amount of prize booths successfully raided, no sweet talk or negotiation would improve things enough to make it a good night. Sunset knew this. She felt it like a metaphorical blade in her metaphorical heart and like a slightly less metaphorical weight on her not-metaphorical chest.
But she still tried to save it.
“Come on, Dagi,” Sunset ‘I Can Salvage This Mess’ Shimmer chuckled, trying to pass the proposition as a joke.
“What? What’s wrong with the rollercoaster?” the siren let out with an exasperated sigh.
If the initial proposition had been the turning point, this was the part where whatever had turned at that point had sped up in the opposite direction and chose never to look back. Sunset sent a reassuring glance at Twilight which never reached her as her eyes were fixed on the ground.
Another weight set on Sunset’s chest.
She tried to take her hand, send her some comfort, but Twilight chose to cross her arms instead, denying her even that.
“I think it’s time for me to go home…” she whispered.
“What? Already? I thought we had at least–”
“I think I should go,” she said, turning away from Sunset.
The unicorn turned human sent a look at Adagio – who was busy watching her perfectly done nails and practising her annoyed look – then at Twilight – who was busy getting further and further from her. She quickly signed at Adagio to wait for her and ran behind the purple girl. Adagio rolled her eyes, took the most disdainful pose she could muster and went back to watching her nails.
The few metres separating her from Twilight felt like kilometres. The distance from her hand to her shoulders even more so… But she finally reached it.
Twilight stopped but didn’t turn. “I can’t… I don’t know…”
“I’m sorry, Twi, I know I messed up, but I–”
“Yes, I know Sunset, ‘you can fix it’.” Her voice cracked up, torn between a chuckle and a sob. “I know.”
Sunset’s hand started to feel awkward, so she removed it and instead tried to face her. “Hey! I can do it. I swear.”
“Maybe you can’t…”
Sunset didn’t think there was enough place for another blade in her heart, but today was the day everything she knew was proven wrong. “Come on, Twi… I helped save the world a few times, remember?” she said with a laugh she wished looked encouraging. “I can do… whatever it takes to save our date?”
Twilight finally turned. She was done crying, but some tears were still rolling down her cheeks. Sunset tried to come closer, but Twilight took a step back as she did so. “I’m afraid all the evidence shows otherwise. Maybe this is finally the one thing that you can’t do…” She tried to laugh, but failed and sobbed miserably.
“Listen, Twi, I’m really sorry… This was supposed to be our day and I ruined it. I know. I’m sorry. How can I make it work?”
“I don’t know, Sunset… I don’t know.” They stood together in silence, facing each other for a time that felt infinitely longer to them than the rest of the world. Sunset was racking her brain, trying to find something good to say, something to comfort Twilight. But nothing came.
Finally, it was the purple girl who spoke first. “I think it’s time for me to go home.”
Sunset didn’t answer. Instead, she opened her mouth and closed it.
“I’ll see you next week.”
Once again, Sunset opened her mouth for a few second, then closed it. This time, however, she opened it again to let out an “okay” that expressed that everything was not okay like only an “okay” could.
She watched Twilight leave until she was swallowed by the crowd. Then she watched the crowd until it lost any meaning whatsoever. Then she turned back. Her other girlfriend was waiting for her.
Adagio had not moved at all. She looked like an antique statue of a pissed off goddess whose gaze would turn mortals into columns of salt she would then use on the wounds of her enemies. It softened, however, when it fell on Sunset. “You’re back,” she simply stated.
“I’m back.”
“Magical Girl’s not here?”
“Twilight didn’t feel well, so she went back home…”
“Shame,” Adagio said in the same tone one would use to discuss the traffic. “Well since she’s not here anymore, what about we try those rollercoasters?” She left her position and went closer to Sunset, deep into her personal zone. “I know where all the cameras are. What about we make a show for the staff?”
“Sorry, Dagi… I’m–”
“Yeah, I know. ‘Not in the mood’ or something.” The ex-siren returned to her previous position. “I freaking know. Looks like the purple prude doesn’t only suck the magic out of people. She’s sucking all the fun out of you.”
“Dagi, please, not now…”
“Hey, I’m not the one who started this.”
“Adagio, please stop. If you have a problem with–”
“If I have a problem? If I have a problem? You’re telling me you don’t already know that I have a problem‽ Well, I guess that explains why you’re doing jack shit about it. I thought you were supposed to be good at this sort of thing.”
At this point, Sunset’s heart was more pain than flesh and this severely impaired her ability to talk. The only word that managed to leave her mouth was the most pitiful and sad “Dagi,” that was ever spoken.
Adagio either didn’t notice or didn’t care. She stood up again and turned away from her partner. “I won’t be home tonight. Sonata will need my help with babysitting.”
There is an odd and terrible thing about amusement parks: once you take the amusement out of them, they become surprisingly hostile. Sunset was learning it the hard way. It was as if all the good had been sucked out of the place as if all the joy and happiness had been weaponized and turned against her. Every stimulus was now an assault on her senses… The laughs were too loud, the colours too bright, the smells nauseating, the crowds too thick, the children too rough, the lovers mocking, the parents judging… And yet another part of herself felt none of it. It was as if happiness rejected her inside and out.
It was only the beginning of her trial. The only thing worse than standing in a stupor in the aggressive fun was walking out of it. Despite its clear rejection of Sunset, the park was doing a poor job at helping her leave, seemingly enjoying her misery. The distances stretched out and the shortest path shifted in her memory, forcing her to step back on numerous occasions and to pass through lines of happy people, taunting her further with yet more of that unaccessible bliss. Everything, absolutely everything, was conspiring to make the experience shamingly unending and unendingly shaming. Even reaching the exit was a chore, for crowds of people were still flowing in rather than out.
She swam against the current of people for what felt like hours and then… nothing. She was out. Out of the crowd, out of the noise and the festive flavours… out of everything. The park had spat her out like a flavourless gum. The parking lot was less hostile, but the experience was only marginally better. Now free of the constant aggression, her brain had more time to wonder about the recent fiasco.
This happened more and more often, to the point that the good moments became the exceptions rather than the rule… And no matter how much Sunset tried – and by Celestia’s mane, did she try – it didn’t seem to make things better. It seemed that the more she tried, the bigger it backfired… Maybe this is finally the one thing that you can’t do… I thought you were supposed to be good at this sort of thing. The memories jumbled through her head unbidden, each sharp word mingling with the others to form piercing sentences that cut deep into her soul.
What am I doing wrong? she wondered bitterly as she walk-of-shamed to the bus stop. What am I doing wrong…?
The bus trip was just as lonely and depressing as her escape from the park.
It had been a long time since she’d felt like that. Miserable and helpless. The misery she knew. She had befriended it. Since even before her self-imposed exile, she had travelled with it. She had used it as fuel to drive her forward until its fire consumed her and everything around her. It had been quite some time but misery was nothing new to her.
The helplessness, however… It gnawed at her resolve and will, foiled her plans and tempted her with resignation. And once upon a time, Sunset would have just let it go. She would have abandoned Twilight and Adagio, considered the experiment a failure and moved on. But that was another Sunset. A lesser Sunset. This time… this time she had more to lose than her reputation or power. There was more than her at play… She had to find a solution.
If only I could find what to do… she thought painfully. I’m not even sure what I’m doing wrong…
She reached her home without any more insight. Taking her keys from the bag didn’t help either. Neither did opening the door, roaming toward the bedroom or crashing on the bed. That helped least of all.
She buried her heads in the covers and pulled a pillow over her it. It smelled like Adagio.
The whole house was filled with her presence. Despite being too small for the both of them, it now felt unbearingly empty.
I need to get out of here, she decided.
Electing to do something was the first step. What and where was next. Many options were available, but only one made sense. The phone was in her hand before the thought had pierced the veil of consciousness.
She watched the device with a hint of sadness. She wondered what would happen if she called Adagio or Twilight… She dismissed the thought with a resigned sigh. What use was there to call them when she didn't even know what was wrong? Even if they answered her call, there was nothing she could do or say that could fix things right now.
She ignored the numbers of her girlfriends to focus on another one.
She pressed the green button and waited for Applejack to answer.
✶𝄞☀𝄞✶
Applejack’s couch had grown familiar to Sunset in the past few weeks. She knew most of its irregularities by name now and she was starting to uncover the support under the ruggedness of the mattress. In that aspect, Applejack’s couch was a bit like its owner. After the little fiasco of the Fall Formal, Sunset had gotten the chance to be more formally acquainted with the farm girl’s softest side. And just as the couch, she had discovered that their friendship was nothing if not supportive and reliable.
Sunset, Applejack and her couch were all participating in the making of the dinner. Sunset peeled of the vegetables while Applejack sliced and cooked them. The couch simply offered support.
It was nice and warm. Almost enough for Sunset to forget about her concerns. Almost. But as long as she kept peeling and kept the discussion off of the topic of her girlfriends she would be fine.
“So, what did you do this time?” Applejack asked all of a sudden.
Of course, that was easier said than done with Applejack. Sunset could play dumb. It would probably not work, but she could still try. “What are you talking about?”
Applejack raised an eyebrow at Sunset’s weak rebuttal. “Did you fight with Twi and Adagio again?”
“How did you–”
The eyebrow rose even more, and a knowing smirk came to accompany it. “You’ve got two girls for yourself and you decide to spend your Saturday night with lil’ ol’ me? You either coming onto me or you’ve done goofed up. Besides, you barely talked about them all night.”
“Can I still pretend I’m trying to flirt with you?” Sunset sighed and changed position on the couch. “You’re right. I fucked up today.”
“Happens to you a lot these days,” Applejack poked. “What did you do this time?”
“I’m not sure.” Sunset slouched on the furniture and took another potato to peel letting the skin fell apart on her shirt. “These days things just don’t work and I’m not sure why. Both Twi and Dagi were mad at me and I just… I don’t know what I was supposed to do...”
“What happened today then? I don’t know for Adagio, but Twi’s not the kind of girl who would just get mad over nothing.”
“I know, I know! It’s just…” Sunset deflated into her seat. “Okay here’s the thing. I had a date with Twilight at the amusement park. Everything was fine. It was just perfect. But when Adagio arrived, Twilight suddenly became… cold? angry? I don’t know… but it instantly killed the mood. And Adagio… she didn’t help.” Sunset paused, contemplating the peeled vegetable as if it holds answers or clues about what she’d missed. It had none, so she gave it to Applejack and took another one. “I tried to salvage things... to make it work. And I was hoping they’d help me, you know? But nope. In the end they just both bailed on me…”
Applejack didn’t answer at first, seemingly focused on the cooking. Sunset didn’t press her. Instead, she took another potato and peeled it in silence. “Sunset, you’re sure Twilight is okay with this whole deal with Adagio?”
“Of course she is!”
“Are you sure?”
“Wha–? Yes, I’m sure! What do you mean by that?”
“I don’t know… Maybe Twilight isn’t aware she’s sharing you with her...”
Sunset sprung upward, sending potato skins flying. A flurry of words, each angrier than the last, begged her for a chance to be said. And for an instant, she was tempted to let them out.
Then the instant passed. The anger faded as soon as it had appeared. Sunset took a deep breath. It was a legitimate question, especially considering today’s fiasco. Sunset sunk back into the chair and looked deeply into Applejack’s eyes. There was concern in them. Neither judgement nor malice. Applejack is Twilight’s friend too… she admonished herself. You’d do the same if you were in her shoes. Sunset took a second, deeper breath and slowly answered, without breaking eye contact.
“When Twilight asked me out, the first thing I told her was that I was already in a relationship. I told her it was open. I told her exactly what dating me would entail. I didn’t mislead her. I wouldn’t do that to her.” Memories flooded her. The mix of confusion and hope on Twilight’s face, the way she’d hugged her as if she was her lifeline. “I told her to think about it for a few days and then, if she was still sure we could try to make it work.” Twilight had done so. A week later, she was back and reaffirming her wish to be with her. They had shared their first kiss that night.
“I did the same with Dagi,” Sunset continued. “I told her everything.” Adagio had been surprised, but supportive. In fact, she’d been even more sure about it that Sunset herself. She had helped her so much to make sure this double dating worked... “I made sure she was okay with it before I fully committed to it.” Sunset’s gaze regained its focus, boring deep into Applejack’s eyes, daring her to doubt of her resolve. “I love them, damn it.”
Applejack simply smiled. A simple reassuring smiled that spelt “I trust you” better than words could. “Good then. Sorry for asking you that… sometimes you’re a bit dense when it comes to love stuff.”
“Ouch,” Sunset said, trying to hide her nascent smile. “I know it’s true, but it hurts when it comes from you.”
“Effe you,” she laughed. “My girlfriend is the happiest girl in the whole country.”
“Dating Shy is cheating.”
“Excuses, excuses.” And just like that, the tension was gone. Both girls laughed as the freshly peeled and diced vegetables cooked. “Still, there’s something fishy. Did Twilight say anything when you told her Adagio was coming?”
“Yeah… she asked me why I invited her.”
“That’s a good question, I guess… so what did you tell her?”
“I couldn’t answer. Adagio was already there.”
“Wait wait wait… Wait… When did you tell her exactly?”
“When Adagio called me at the par–”
“You didn’t tell Twilight until you were already there?”
The question took her by surprise. Just like Twilight’s had taken her by surprise earlier. The question refused to stick in her mind, and she didn’t know why. “Well… yeah…”
The farmer’s face and palm met with a resounding “smack”. “When I said you were dense, I was partly joking, I didn’t think you were that bad. Darnit, Sunset! You’re supposed to be the clever one!”
I thought you were supposed to be good at this. The joking words of Applejack hit hard. This time, Sunset didn’t laugh. “What was I supposed to do? I know I fucked up! But what else was I supposed to do? Adagio needed me! Was I supposed to say no? I did whatever I could to be there for them both! I didn’t expect them to react like that! They didn’t even give me a chance to salvage this! I just don’t know what I was supposed to do!”
“I’m sorry,” Applejack simply said as she put her hand on her friend’s shoulder. “I didn’t mean anything by it… Maybe you’re trying to do too much? You can’t harvest the Jonagolds and the Galas at the same time, you know?
“You can’t ask me to choose between them, A.J.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what?”
“I’m saying maybe you want to do too much at the same time. Maybe you’d get better results if you didn’t try to be there for both of them at once.” Sunset wanted to argue, to find something clever to retort… But nothing came. “I know you’re trying, and I’m sure Twilight and Adagio know it too, but for once just use that big brain of yours. We’ve already got Rainbow to jump into the action without thinking.”
“It would help if I knew what I’m doing wrong.”
“Come on Sunset… Don’t make me flatter you. You’re a clever girl. You’ve always got a knack for reading people. Even before the Everfree.”
“Hasn’t helped me much these days.”
“Maybe you’re not looking in the right place. Or from the right place.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Sunset said with barely enough conviction to satisfy Applejack.
The rest of the dinner making and the dinner eating itself were spent on lighter topics, which Sunset was grateful for.
As long as she kept busy and careful, she was safe from her thoughts.
✶𝄞☀𝄞✶
Sunset ran.
The empty orchard distorted the sound of her steps, multiplying them, giving her the illusion of company where there was none. She ran as fast as she could, creating as much distance as possible between her and the Apples’ house. The wind blew unnaturally around her, carrying the lung-grating smell of smoke and ashes. The world burned around Sunset. Applejack’s world, her world and everything in between.
Tears flowed through her eyes, born of shame and irritation.
She caused this. It was her fault. And now all she could do was keep running and hope the destruction would follow her and ignore her friends.
So Sunset ran.
The lines of trees stretched infinitely in front of her, rows and rows of them with neither beginning nor end. They passed by her as fast as her legs could carry her, hurling toward the fiery doom that followed. There was nothing more she could do about it but pray this would suffice.
So Sunset ran.
And she ran.
And ran.
She ran until time lost meaning until trees and fire and smoke melded into a single, blurry mess surrounding her. She ran until the end. She ran until she passed the very last tree until there was nothing else to burn.
She passed the wooden arch and the world changed around her. There were no more orchard, no more trees, only her, Adagio, Twilight and the fire that followed.
Her two girlfriends stood in front of her. Both of them stared at her intensely, their gaze filled with pain and accusations. Sunset tried to apologize to them, to comfort them, to speak any word that could make things better, but words wouldn’t leave her mouth. They gathered and filled it, crawling and dying in her throat, suffocating her as the two girls starred. She tried to come closer, but her legs wouldn’t let her. They were too weak to carry her but too stubborn to let her fall and crawl toward them.
“I thought you were good at this,” Adagio spat harshly, “but you’re not. You’ve done nothing but make us miserable!”
“You can’t solve the problem in our relationship because you are the problem,” Twilight added with hurt and disappointment.
The voice of Applejack rose from behind her, echoing from the blazing inferno that followed her. “I told you to pick one, Sunset. You tried to have the Jonagold and the Gala and now everyone will suffer. Because of you.”
“This is your fault, Sunset,” Adagio judged as she burst into flamme.
“You did this to us,” Twilight cried as she was set aflame too.
“You cannot save anyone,” Applejack said, her voice growing more and more distant.
Fire quickly consumed the girls as they judged Sunset silently. Sunset jumped forward, finally free of her non-existent restraints. She plunged her hands in the burning ashes as if the pain could somehow bring them back… But they were gone… Sunset took her burned hands out of the remains, only to recoil in terror at their sight.
They were claws. Oversized, red claws.
Sunset watched in terror as the hue slowly progressed from her hand to her wrist, her forearm… soon it would join her heart and she’d revert to the monster she’d always been inside. “Please tell me it’s a nightmare! Please! Please! Please!”
A voice, distant, distorted and weak, yet carrying a strange sense of strength and power rose from everywhere around her. It came as a breeze of fresh air, soothing the heat of the brazier. “It is, indeed, a nightmare. You are safe, Sunset Shimmer.”
“Who…?”
The wind coalesced into a luminous fog, making the fire recoil in fear. It gathered and took form, shaping four hazy legs supporting a blurry barrel on which sat two almost indistinct wings and a fuzzy horned equine head. “I would have never envisioned caring for your dreams, Sunset Shimmer.”
She instantly recognised the figure but could not believe her eyes. “Princess Luna?” Questions swirled in her mind. “It can’t… How? When? Why?”
“I do not know the specifics of it myself… Maybe we share a connection because you are from Equestria? Maybe our worlds are growing closer and closer because of the recent events? In truth, it matters little. I felt your call in the dreamscape, weak and distant but distressing nonetheless, and it is my duty and pleasure to help you.”
There was too much for Sunset’s inquisitive mind to grasp, but at that moment, it mattered little. “Thank you, princess.”
“Please,” she said with a smile Sunset had to guess rather than see, “call me Luna. Would you mind putting out the fire? I do not know about you but it’s rather incommodious to me.”
“I’m… I'm not sure how…” Sunset admitted, remembering the scenery. “Can’t you do it? Aren’t you the ruler of dreams?”
“I sense that my powers in such a foreign dream are limited. Besides, I am still unsure of the impact of my presence on this world. I do not want to mess with its rules more than I already did.”
“Oh! You’re right. You’re way more careful than me and Twilight,” she joked, thinking about their various experiment with their respective magic. Thinking about Twilight sent a jolt of emotional pain through her heart. She tried to focus on the fire instead, trying to reduce its intensity somehow to no avail. “I’m sorry it’s not working…”
“It is okay, Sunset Shimmer, we will find other ways to care for this problem.”
“Please, call me Sunset.”
“Very well, Sunset.” The ghostly mare laid on the ground, seemingly unbothered by the scenery. “So, what plagues your mind and lit your thought ablaze like so?”
“I’m not sure… I guess I’m having a hard time with my girlfriends…”
Luna nodded calmly. “Did you fight?”
“No… I mean… maybe? It wasn’t a fight but it wasn’t good…”
“Indeed. To have triggered such an emotional response it must have been something quite unpleasant.”
“No! I–”
The voices of Adagio and Twilight rose from the fire fused into a single burning accusation. “I thought you were good at it! You can’t help! You’re not good enough! You’re not good at all!”
“No!” The flames rose higher, hotter, more threatening. “I’m trying! I don’t know how to–”
“Sunset! Focus! This is as real as you want it to be!” Luna’s voice whipped Sunset out of it. Slowly, painfully, she detached herself from the thoughts and the voices disappeared just as suddenly as they had manifested. “Maybe the argument is not what’s gnawing at you right now. Maybe it was just the tipping point. What is wrong, Sunset?”
What was she doing wrong? That was the question which answer had eluded her so far. What did she do wrong? What could have she done better? “I don’t know. I don’t fucking know… I tried my best, I don’t know what I could have d–”
“Sunset. I did not ask about your eventual past mistakes. I asked about you. What is wrong with you? What is troubling your thoughts and mind? What is bothering you? Stop looking outside and look inside. What is wrong?”
The question took her by surprise. And the fact it took her by surprise took her by surprise. “I’m okay,” she let out without thinking.
“Is that so?” the apparition asked, her head turning toward the flames.
Sunset tried to repeat her lie, put more convictions in it, maybe even delude herself a bit longer… but she couldn’t. She opened her mouth, closed it, and stayed silent. How was she feeling was a question she didn’t want to ask herself. She would find answers. She was the kind of girl who found answers. Even she wasn’t good enough to hide them from herself. And she knew she might not like what she uncovered.
Sunset looked at the ashes in her talons, then at the fire and ultimately at Luna. She took a deep breath and finally allowed herself to ponder the question. Luna waited in silence while Sunset faced her demons. Even considering the relative flow of time of dreams, it didn’t take long. “Do you know about my past, Luna?” Sunset finally asked.
“Only what my sister and Twilight told me. I did not press for more, for I did not want to intrude.”
Sunset nodded slowly. “After Princess Twilight showed me the road to friendship, she tasked me with making amends and learning from her friends.” She sighed at the thought, memories from that night washing over her. “One could say I got off easy, and I guess it’s true, but what I went through was not easy. It was not only getting back into the good graces of people who despised me… that part I was expecting, and honestly? Fair. No, the worst part was helping people whose lives I’ve been fucking up for years and untangle the web I’ve been trapping them in. It was trying to get close to people who had all the reasons to file a restraining order against me just because it was what I had to do. It was fighting myself, years of hateful actions… And I couldn’t blame anyone but myself. Not Celestia, not Princess Twilight, just me…”
Sunset contemplated her hand. The claws where gone, the red hue, however, was still noticeable. “It was hard but I did it. That’s what I do. That why Celestia chose me… Whatever I have to do, I do it, whether it’s being terrible or helpful.” She laughed bitterly at that. “Little by little I undid years of selfishness. I buried the monster deep under my good deeds. And I guess, it was nice to build something positive for once… but I think the main reason why I did it was it was the only thing that made sense. My whole life had been me sabotaging everyone, including myself, again and again. It was either becoming a saviour nobody wanted or just face that.”
“You are surprisingly self-aware,” Luna noted admiratively. “I wish I had your insight when I was your age… and even after.” She looked around, glaring at the receding flames. “Though I guess it does not solve everything.”
“When Adagio's calling me and telling me she's feeling lonely or anxious... or when Twilight's feeling down or struggling with a scientific problem, I can't just ignore it." Sunset sobbed lightly. "What am I if I can’t even solve my girlfriends’ problem? If I can’t even take care of them? What am I if I’m hurting them?”
A wing gently enveloped her. It felt like a ray of sun in the dead of winter and like a cool breeze in the hottest day of summer. “You’re being too hard on yourself, Sunset. You remind me of a couple of ponies I know. One who tries to carry the weight of the world on her shoulder, no matter the cost, and another who would punish herself relentlessly for her past sins.”
“An interesting pair…” Sunset leaned back into the wing, enjoying the contact and the comfort it provided. “Did they ever solve their problem?”
“Well, the first one learned to delegate. And also that you cannot solve problems for people. You need to solve them with them.”
“I see… What about the second?”
“She learned that sometimes, to go forward, you need to stop looking backwards. No amount of self-castigation will ever change the past. However, you can build a better path for your future. Now.”
“That’s good advice.” Sunset simply said after a few seconds.
“I hope it proves helpful, Sunset.”
Sunset hugged the equine apparition. It felt like hugging a refreshing summer rain. “I think they will… Thank you, Luna.”
✶𝄞☀𝄞✶
Sunset woke up in a daze, the memories of her dream clinging to her mind as reality settled in again. She was tempted to believe it was all a dream – a comforting, soothing, fascinating dream, but a dream nonetheless – if not for the way Luna’s words stuck in her mind. The dreamscape was slowly fading, as it always did when they got out of focus, but the words stayed.
“How are you feeling?” said an annoyingly energetic voice for such an early hour.
Sunset stretched and yawned. “Like shit,” she said as she got out of the couch. “But in a good way… You see what I mean?”
“Truthfully speaking, I’ve got no idea what that means. Is that what you youngsters call ‘that good shit?’ ”
Sunset’s lips twitched, trying to form a smile despite their owner best efforts. She still won the fight, but she was disappointed in the traitorous way her body had reacted to such a joke. “Damn it, at least give some time to wake up or something.”
“I gave you plenty of time. Not my fault you chose to sleep during it.”
“Urgh…” She shook her head in mock defeat and went to her friend’s kitchen for some well-deserved coffee. A freshly brewed pot of the precious liquid waited for her on the table, its bittersweet smell cajoling her, beckoning her. “This should help me tolerate you a bit more.”
Applejack simply smiled and poured some coffee in Sunset’s mug. “Sugar?” she asked by reflex more than need. She waited for Sunset to refuse and put the mug in front of her. Sunset greeted the coffee as a long lost friend and drank it burning hot.
Applejack waited for her to finish drinking before asking, “So, are you gonna tell me what you meant by feeling like shit but good?”
Sunset didn’t answer at first, fighting the urge to dismiss it as a joke. “I thought a lot last night... and made interesting dreams. I realised… I realised how stupid I’ve been and how I’ve hurt my girls… It doesn’t feel good.” She looked into her mug, thinking.
Applejack opened her mouth, ready to reassure Sunset, but the pony-in-depressed-girl form was not done. “But I realised that now that I know the problem I can actually help. And I do not have to do it alone. I shouldn’t have to do it alone. It’s something we can work on as a trouple. It’s something we should work on as a trouple.”
“Wow,” Applejack let out after some time. “Either I’m smarter than I thought or you’re having mighty wise dreams. I thought you’d need at least a couple more days to figure this out.”
Sunset winced. “Am I really that bad?”
“Let’s just say you might've overshot it a bit when you decided to stop being the biggest bitch around. These days you act like ya gotta save everyone by yourself, no matter the cost.”
“Oh my god!” Sunset let out, hiding her face in her free hand. “I can’t believe I’m that transparent.”
“Me neither,” Applejack laughed.
Her laugh was contagious and quickly infected Sunset. “Things were easy when I was Queen Bitch, you know?” Sunset sighed after a time. “Whenever things didn’t turn the way I wanted I could just scream at someone.”
Applejack watched Sunset with a deadpan expression. “Do we need to zap you again?”
“Nah, I’m good,” she dismissed with a wave of the hand. “I mean, things were simple, but I was a disaster.” Applejack’s stare intensified. “Okay, I’m still a disaster. But I thought being good would at least makes things simple after a while, you know?”
“Nope. Life’s basically going from one disaster to another.”
“Gee, that’s encouraging.”
“I know right? But at least now you’re trying to make other people’s life simpler. And they do the same for you. I think that’s not a bad way to go from disaster to disaster.”
Sunset couldn’t help but smile. “You spend too much time with Shy.”
“Maybe you should spend more time with her too.”
“Are you playing matchmaker for me and Shy?”
“Maybe you should get rid of the woodworms before you set the scarecrow.”
“What?”
“Solve your relationship problems before you add more people into it,” she explained with a smirk.
Sunset answered in kind. Her first genuine, worry-free smile since the date. “Fair.”
“So…” Applejack asked after a while. “What’re you gonna do?”
“Talk to Twi and Dagi. Set things straight.”
Applejack smiled and nodded. “Good luck,” she simply said.
Sunset had braved quite a lot of ordeals in her life. She had fled her mother figure to a whole different world, she had faced magical beings with nothing but songs, she had harnessed magic in its raw form to save her friends... This had done this and many other acts that would be deemed brave, bold or reckless depending on who you would ask. Sunset was used to put her life on the line. For better or for worse, that’s something she was willing to do. But this time… she had found her match. She had found a foe so great, so threatening that she didn’t dare face it head-on: Night Light’s doorbell.
It glared at her with its unblinking, metallic eye, daring her to make a move. It had been minutes now and Sunset still wasn’t sure about the right way of proceeding. For the fifteenth time in a minute, she raised her hand to its level, inched her finger closer to the button... then aborted the operation as quickly as possible.
“It doesn’t bite,” said a startling voice coming from behind her. She turned quickly to see Night Light carrying a bagful of groceries in his arms and an amicable look on his face. “Well, I assume so. At least last time I checked it was still a normal doorbell.” Concern settled on his face. “Did something magic happen again?”
Sunset took a deep breath to fight the waves of panic suddenly crashing on her. She tried to smile with as much confidence she could muster before answering. “No, nothing magic happened…” She stopped and thought about it before adding: “Well nothing that I know of.”
“Then,” he said, passing right next to her to open the door, “I guess you’re here for Twilight?”
“Yeah,” she admitted.
He looked at her, an inscrutable look on his face. “By the look of things, I’d wage it’s a bit complicated right now, right?”
“Yeah...” Sunset repeated lamely.
“It’s okay, Sunset.” His tone was calm and soothing without the smallest hint of judgement. Sunset felt her tension dissipate a bit. He put the groceries on the floor next to the door and then started looking for his keys. “Do you want me to ‘check if Twilight’s here’,” he said, with a heavy emphasis on the last words and air quotes for good measure.
“I’d like that a lot, sir,” she let out with relief.
Night Light smiled as he finally managed to get his keys out. “Wait here for a minute, it shouldn’t take long.”
Sunset simply nodded, watching him open the door and go inside. She waited, alone with the previously dreaded doorbell, glaring at it victoriously. Until she realised that now she would have to face the root of her anxieties. Questions, fears, hypothetical cataclysmic scenarios came and went through her mind. I hope Twilight’s okay… What if she doesn’t want to see me? Oh my god, I should have taken a shower.
Fortunately for her, she didn’t have to simmer for long. She felt her hope rise as she heard the footsteps coming from inside and closing in on the door and it crashed just as fast when she saw Twilight’s father come back, alone.
“She’s not here, I presume?” Sunset let out, wrapping her arms around herself.
“She’s here,” Night Light reassured. “She just needs a bit of time to get ready.”
Sunset perked up immediately, hope rising like a phoenix from the ashes of disappointment. “Oh! Good!”
Night Light nodded. “What if we used that time to talk a bit? We never really got to know each other.”
She slowly nodded. Suddenly the doorbell didn't seem as scary as before, but at least Night Light she could reason with. That thing on their front wall was inflexible.
“Don’t worry, Sunset!” Twilight’s dad said with a reassuring laugh. “I’m not here to intimidate you or anything. Twily's a smart kid. If she decided to date you, that’s enough for me to know you’re a good girl. If half what she told me about you is true, you’ve got all the approval I need.”
“Thank you, sir,” she said, letting out a breath of relief.
There was a moment of awkward silence between the two as they tried to find a good conversation topic. Sunset’s mouth filled the gap before her brain could stop her.
“Did she tell you about Adagio?” Internally, she facepalmed.
He hesitated for just a moment. He hid it well and caught himself immediately, but Sunset was used to it by now. That moment of tension when she discussed her other girlfriend. “She mentioned it,” he admitted with an uneasy grin. “I didn’t understand everything, and I would lie if I was to say this didn’t worry me, but as I said I trust my girl and she trusts you.”
“But you’re still concerned aren’t you?” She wasn’t sure why she was pushing the subject. If anything it would probably increase the chance of Night Light hating her. But she couldn’t help it. Maybe it was the fact that her relationships were on the verge of collapsing and she needed to defend them, maybe she just wanted to be honest with him... Maybe she was just sabotaging herself.
“Of course I am,” he simply said. “Twily’s my little girl. I don’t want her to be hurt and this is just... I never once imagined... She was so lonely... I was shocked when she announced me she was dating Timber so imagine my shock when she announced me she would date a girl and become polygamous!”
“Polyamorous,” Sunset corrected softly, “though technically I am polyamorous, I’m not sure Twilight wants to date anyone else.”
“How does that work?”
“Right now? Poorly,” Sunset begrudgingly admitted. “I’ve not been a great girlfriend for Twilight nor Adagio... I hope I can salvage things. That’s why I’m here.”
He thought for a moment, looking at her with concern. “Did you ever think of making a choice?”
“I did,” she retorted without hesitation, facing his gaze without faltering. “I love them both.”
For better or worse, that was one thing Sunset was not willing to budge on. She loved Twilight, and she loved Adagio. That was her choice, the only choice she knew she could stand by one hundred per cent.
She held Night Light’s eyes, unwilling to back down. She was prepared for him to disagree. Hell, she was prepared for him to yell at her about how his daughter deserved better. She was prepared to defend her choice from whatever came next.
She was not prepared for what came next. Night Light smiled. Not a small smile, but a real grin at Sunset’s words. He chuckled, and he shook his head, and Sunset did not know how to respond.
“I can see why Twilight likes you so much,” he said approvingly. “I’m not sure why but the fact you would stand for them both in front of me makes me confident she made the right choice.”
She blinked in surprise, not saying anything for a moment as her mind tried to catch up with the conversation. When she did speak, all she could manage was an awkward, "Thank you, sir."
“So Sunset," Night Light segued, dropping the heavy topic for something more classic, "what are you doing with your life?”
Finally, that was a conversation Sunset could manage. “Well, I’m working at Fast Break’s Emporium right now, but I hope to open my own garage soon. I’ve been saving for two years now. I have a location, and Fast Break promised he would help me set things up when I start.”
“Really?”
“I know it’s a bit underwhelming... Twilight’s destined for great things and her girlfriend is just a mechanic, but I just love to fix things. I took it as a hobby once I left Canterlot High and it quickly became my passion.”
“I see,” he said with a smile. “I don’t think less of you for being a mechanic. Work is work. At least you’re providing a useful service to society. You could’ve been a trader or something. That would have been disappointing” he stated with an amused wink. “Besides, you’re no mere mechanic. Twilight told me you were working on your own engine? That’s quite an ambitious plan!”
“Well, it’s just a wishful project...”
“Is it a secret?”
“Not really, it’s just very early into its conception, and Twilight and I still have a lot to work on. There are many ways we could go and we need to be careful not to invest too much time and energy into a dead-end.”
“I see. I didn’t know Twilight was assisting. She always talks about it as your project...”
“It’s hers as much as mine. I wouldn’t even have started without her impulsion, and while I’m good with the practical side of the project, I’m nowhere near as good as her when it comes to the theoretical side. I wouldn’t even know where to start without her...”
“It sounds like you two work well together.”
“Yeah," she whispered, "I'm pretty lucky to have found her. I hope that when I get more money, I’ll be able to support her and fund her research just as she supported me all these years.”
“You don’t have to do that!” Twilight intervened out of the blue.
Sunset's mind screeched to a halt. Twilight was there. She turned awkwardly. She was facing her for the first time in days. It had only been a few days. Twilight had not changed, but seeing her again after the amusement park debacle reminded Sunset how beautiful she was. And it didn't help her one bit.
“You should use that money to build your business,” she insisted.
“Ma–making sure you can do your research in peace is a long-term investment,” Sunset fumbled. Then the situation reminded itself to her and her brain froze again.
“Oh! I almost forgot to put away the groceries.” Night Light announced unsubtly. “Twilight, would you mind staying with our guest while I do that?”
Twilight rolled her eyes and smiled as her father promptly retreated inside the house. Once she was alone with her girlfriend, however, her attitude shifted. She didn't look Sunset in the eyes, frowning at the floor as an awkward silence built between the two. Sunset had rehearsed this moment quite a few times in her head and there were so many things she wanted to say, but right now she was stuck. Her thoughts fought for a place in the spotlight meshing into an incoherent mess of words begging to be said. Say something! she thought urgently. Anything!
“Hi,” she let out stiffly after several agonizing seconds. “You look beautiful today...”
Well done!
Twilight blushed slightly and briefly looked up before answering. “Thanks... You too.”
“How are you?”
“I’m okay. I’ve been keeping busy, helping dad with his novel idea, working on some research, that kind of thing...”
Sunset nodded. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” Twilight answered. She took a small step forward and finally looked Sunset in the eyes. The next thing Sunset knew, Twilight closed the gap and threw her arms around her, and Sunset answered in kind. They both clung to each other as if they were afraid of letting go.
“Can I kiss you?” Sunset asked after a time.
Twilight nodded. Sunset passed her hand into Twilight’s hair, pushing aside messy strands of hair from her face. Twilight's hand rose slowly, caressing Sunset's cheeks and slowly drifting toward the back of her neck. Sunset shivered in anticipation and slowly closed in. The kiss was eager to the point of flirting with clumsiness. Twilight's lips caught Sunset's before she could react and for once, the purple girl led the dance. It was new... it was good and Sunset didn't want it to end.
It did after way too short an eternity.
“I missed you,” the purple girl repeated in a breath.
“I missed you too.”
They stayed there, in each other’s arms, not daring to speak for fear of ruining the moment, but Sunset knew this couldn’t last. They had to address the elephant in the room sooner rather than later. She took a deep breath, trying to gather some coherent thoughts and remember the long apology she had planned.
“I’m sorry about what happened in the park...” Twilight said before she could even speak. “I shouldn’t have acted the way I did.”
It took a few seconds for Sunset to react. Out of the range of emotions she had imagined for her girlfriend, guilt was one of the least probable. “Twi, you did nothing wrong! I shouldn’t have invited Adagio on our date. It was inconsiderate of me and–”
“But she’s your girlfriend! I shouldn’t–”
“Twi, you’re my girlfriend too.”
“But Adagio was first!”
Sunset paused, flabbergasted. “Is that how you feel?”
Twilight didn’t answer. She didn’t even dare to look at Sunset but enough had been said. How long had she kept these feelings hidden from her? Had she even been hiding them? Sunset had been so caught in her quest for a redemption she hadn’t even noticed...
“Twilight... I love you. If anything, all the mistakes I made were because I refuse to choose between you and Dagi.”
“I know! I shouldn’t think like this! It’s not rational!”
Sunset instinctively moved in to hug her but was interrupted by a sudden, overwhelming wave of foreign emotions. Insecurities, doubts, inadequacies... jealousy. It hit her like a slap in the face... Like the first notes of a song by Arctic Donkeys.
“Sunset? Are you okay?”
The voice cut through the sea of sensations, leaving Sunset dizzy and confused.
“Twi–Twilight?”
“Sunset what’s wrong? You’re worrying me...”
“I just felt, well... I–I didn’t mean to, I just...”
“Wha– Oh...”
Sunset bit her lips before speaking. “Twilight,” she started hesitantly, “why didn’t you tell me you were feeling like this?”
Twilight watched her feet intensely, refusing to meet Sunset’s gaze. “It’s... I... When we’re together it usually passes, and so I feel like there’s no need to bring it out and the rest of the time... It–it’s hard to even think about it. I wouldn’t know how to talk about it and you already... know.”
The ex-unicorn gently wrapped her arms around her girlfriend, keeping her powers in check to make sure not to invade her mind again. “Let’s sit,” she proposed gently, pointing toward a nearby bench. Twilight faintly nodded and followed Sunset.
They sat there in silence for a while, while Sunset gently stroked Twilight’s hair. Twilight still wouldn’t meet Sunset’s eyes but at least she responded to her affection.
“Sunset?” Twilight finally said.
“Yes?”
“I... Would you mind using your power? To see what I see?”
Sunset sat upright, unsure of how to react. It was one thing to accidentally see superficial thoughts, but to actively look into one’s mind felt like a huge breach of privacy, even with their express request. “Are you certain?”
“Honestly? No. But I can’t keep it inside any longer and I can’t find the courage to speak about it.”
Sunset slowly nodded. She passed a reassuring hand in Twilight’s hair, cupped her face in her hands and whispered: “It’s going to be okay. I’m here. I love you.” She solemnly lowered her forehead until it gently bumped on her lover’s and let the cold and dark flow of feelings submerge her.
✶𝄞☀𝄞✶
Shapes formed in her mind, figures, tall yet distant, familiar yet hostile... Adagio and herself. Sunset felt strange looking at herself from Twilight’s eyes, especially in this manner. She looked different. More beautiful, almost intimidatingly so. The tenderness in her traits was gone, replaced by something else, something attractive yet hard and unfriendly. Adagio added to the feeling like a weapon in the arm of a killer. She too was threateningly beautiful and she was clinging to Sunset, possessively, lovingly... lustfully. Like she was reclaiming what she was due. They were both grinning at an unsaid joke. Twilight, she realised. Twilight was the joke.
Sunset tried to move but couldn’t... she couldn’t talk either. She was stuck, on the ground, just as Twilight was in her mind. Forced to watch as Sunset and Adagio judged her.
She focused back on them, trying to understand the situation. They were talking to Twilight. She concentrated to gather the words and immediately wished she had not.
“– was fun for a while, but now...”
Adagio laughed. The sound cut like blades and the words that came after were somewhat worse. “You thought Sunset would stay interested in someone like you? You wouldn’t even sleep with her.”
Sunset jokingly squeezed Adagio, the smirk never fading from her face. “Dagi! Not while she’s right in front of us!”
“Come on, she should have known,” the ex-siren said, clinging even closer to Sunset.
“Yeah, you’re right, but you know... tact and all. Anyway, you understand, right Twi?”
No answer came to her. She stayed frozen in horror as they turned their back on her and started to slide in the distance as they passionately kissed.
Soon there were no traces of them. Only solitude, crushed hopes and the sobbings of Twilight.
✶𝄞☀𝄞✶
When Sunset opened her tear-filled eyes she was almost blinded by the light. It felt as if she had been trapped into the darkness for days without hope of ever going out.
“Twilight... I’m so sorry...” Words failed her. She had no idea where to begin. How could she have missed that? How many times did she make things worse?
You can’t solve the problem in our relationship because you are the problem. The memory caught up to her trying to drag her back to the familiar spiral of self-loathing. But it wasn’t about her... it was about Twilight. She needed her. She would think about how she had screwed everything up after she had comforted her nerdy girl. She took a deep breath and looked at the crying purple girl in front of her. She loved her, she had no doubts about it. Sunset just had to convince her of that.
“Twilight, I love you. Sex has nothing to do with it. You told me you weren’t ready and that was fine by me.”
“But what is it that stops from being fine? What if I’m never ready?”
“If you’re never ready, we’ll never have sex and I would still be the luckiest girl in two worlds.”
Twilight laughed sadly. “You’re just saying that.”
Sunset gently caught her face between her hands and forced her to look at her in the eyes. “I swear to Celestia that I would still love you even if you never wanted to have sex with me ever. You’re not a distraction to me and Adagio fooling around.” Despite her reassurance, her words couldn’t reach Twilight. She stubbornly refused to meet her gaze, tears now freely falling from her eyes. “Twilight is there something you’re not telling me?”
“Sunset I–” she sobbed loudly “I just... I just don’t want to do it... I’m supposed to love you! This is just like Timber. What does that say about me? About us? We’re a couple! I should be able to–”
“Twilight,” Sunset gently interrupted, tenderly turning her girlfriend’s head to make her face her at last, “it’s okay. You don’t have to sleep with me. Not now, not ever. That means we’ll have more time to stargaze!” This elicited a short, sob-drowned laugh. “I’m not kidding. There are many things we do that are just as meaningful as sleeping together. Some of them are more meaningful than that.”
“Like what?”
Sunset thought about it for a second. As she started speaking, she lovingly started to wipe Twilight’s tears. “Like how we teach each other on the secrets of our worlds and the hours we spend studying our magic and its impact on your world.” She gently pressed her forehead on Twilight’s and kept going. “Or the way we can spend hours in each other’s arms, without talking and feel at complete ease with each other like we’re two pieces of a jigsaw. Like stargazing on a summer night and making corny jokes about how beautiful you are. Like how we decided to build a future together...”
The more she talked about it, the truer and more obvious it became in her mind. She would love Twilight just as much without any prospect of sex. In fact, she had never even considered it in the equation.
“I love you, Twilight Sparkle. I love you, soul, body and mind and will for as long as you’ll allow me.”
New tears flowed, of joy this time. “I love you too!”
They cuddled until dusk, barely saying a word. There was no need for them anymore. They simply enjoyed their renewed bond as the sun set.
✶𝄞☀𝄞✶
“Are you sure you don’t want to spend the night with us?” Night Light asked as he accompanied Sunset toward her vehicle. “You’re not bothering us at all.”
“I appreciate it, but I really can’t. Applejack needs her truck early in the morning, and I can’t betray her trust.”
“Be careful on the road okay?” Twilight said timidly.
“I always am!” Sunset boasted.
Twilight looked at her wholly unconvinced.
“I am!” she declared with an exaggerated look of indignation on her face. “But I swear I will be extra careful.”
“Fluttershy careful?” Twilight insisted.
“I need to be there before tomorrow, you know?” She was about to point out how safe the road is and how low the risks of an accident statistically were, but she was stopped by Twilight’s puppy dog’s eyes. She knew when she was beaten. “Fine. I’ll be Fluttershy careful.” Twilight rewarded her girlfriend with a grateful hug, which Sunset eagerly reciprocated. “But if I am late, you’ll be the one explaining it to Applejack!”
Night Light laughed at the display and bid his goodbye, leaving the two lovebirds alone once again.
“Thanks for coming,” Twilight whispered. “Thanks for everything.”
“Anytime. Sorry I didn’t notice earlier.”
Twilight reluctantly broke the hug. “I should let you go before I get too tempted to have you stay.”
Sunset slowly nodded. “See you soon?”
“See you soon,” Twilight said with a smile, before turning back and hurriedly going back to her dad’s house.
Sunset watched until her girlfriend disappeared inside. So many things had happened in just a few hours, she still had not processed them all. As she settled into the driver’s seat, she felt an odd mix of happiness, relief and guilt wash over her. She wasn’t sure what to make of it, but at least she knew had helped Twilight. She had found something wrong in their relationship and she had corrected it.
Now she just needed to do it again.
She unlocked her phones and selected the first number on her contact list. She pressed on it decisively. It rang twice before Adagio picked up but she didn’t say anything.
“Hello? Are you there?”
A single word came out of the phone, cold like a blade wielded in anger. “Sunset.”
"Hey, Dagi." Sunset took a deep breath and braced herself before asking "Is it okay if I see you tomorrow?"
Sunset loved driving. Having to focus on the cars and roads allowed her to put her mind at ease, to forget about anything else. Once she was behind the wheel, she was an object in motion and would keep going forward until she had reached her destination.
Sadly, not even her driving-induced zen was a match for her anxious thoughts. While it had gone very well in the end, talking to Twilight had made her realise how much she had fucked up so far. And she was pretty sure Adagio would let her know how many more mistakes she had basked in.
Despite these worries, however, Sunset was eager to see her siren. Even when they were not together, Adagio was a constant presence at her side, always one phone call or text away. Even when they could not or would not talk to each other, she always seemed to be somewhere in Sunset’s mind, teasing her by just being there. The ideation of a bare-skin hug. Sunset sometimes wondered if the former Dazzling had not kept some of her powers and used it to bewitch her… and she always realised that she did not care. When they argued, however, the presence grew as cold as Adagio’s mood. All of a sudden she was alone and passive-aggressively reminded of it.
Let’s hope I didn’t fuck things up too much this time, Sunset thought bitterly.
She arrived at Sweet Apple Acres right before midnight but even so she was not surprised to see Applejack up and waiting for her.
“Sup’,” Sunset let out tiredly through the window as she parked the car.
“Sup’,” Applejack answered in kind. “Looks like everything went well.”
Sunset left the car and stretched a bit before she threw the keys to her friend. “How do you know?”
“You’ve got that goofy, lovey-dovey grin on your face,” Applejack mocked while expertly catching the keys.
“It’s not goofy,” Sunset retorted grumpily.
The farmer grinned knowingly. “If you say so” was marked all over her face. Sunset tried to pout, to no avail. She was just too happy to pretend. And Applejack’s smile was extremely contagious.
Today had been a good day, good enough to make her optimistic about the morrow.
✶𝄞☀𝄞✶
Sunset munched on her toast absent-mindedly, barely registering what the human tornado formerly known as Applejack was telling her. It was six in the morning. Six. And Applejack had been up for an hour. How she could be up and about before seven no matter how late she went to sleep still baffled Sunset. She sometimes wondered if the Apple family had somehow developed a special kind of apples filled with a cocktail of experimental drugs. If that was the case, however, Sunset was immune to it.
She took another bite of her toast and apple marmalade slowly dripped from the bitten area to fall limply on the plate underneath. She had not slept enough, not even remotely. She had had no trouble sleeping per se; falling asleep in the first place had been a challenge, however. Sunset had been lying awake for way too long, thinking about what she would say to Adagio and how the conversation would be going. Even now, multiple scenarios were playing in the background of her thoughts. But no matter how tired she was, she could not stay asleep while her friend was so busy. It felt impolite.
“Will you be okay, Sunset?” Applejack inquired as she slowed down at last.
“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry about me,” she said with a tired smile and a dismissive hand wave. “I survived worse.”
“Sorry for waking you up,” she said while putting some coffee in Sunset’s mug, “I tried to be quiet but…”
“Not your fault,” Sunset let out, between two sips of the hot, bitter ambrosia. “It’s my horse genes acting up.”
Applejack stopped for a second, opened her mouth but seemed to reconsider. After a few seconds, she finally asked, “So what’s your plan for today?”
“Aria is driving me to Sonata’s family’s house later today. I have to talk with Dagi… There’s a lot to discuss.”
“She knows you’re here?”
Sunset nodded. “Yeah, I told her last night. I hope you don’t mind?”
“Nah, it’s alright,” Applejack said dismissing the concern. “You think it’ll go well?”
Sunset pensively played with her mug, making the coffee turn in it. “Honestly? I’m not sure. She sounded very pissed off when I called, but she might want me to stew in my mistakes a bit…“
“Heh, you knew what you were going into when you started dating her,” Applejack said, finally sitting down to eat her breakfast.
“Yeah,” Sunset admitted sheepishly. “She’s kind of a whole deal package. She’s worth it though.”
Applejack pondered it while she put some marmalade on her toasts. “Yeah… I guess she appeals to bitchy Sunset, the same way Twi appeals to your kinder side.”
“Dagi is more than that you know? A bitch, I mean.”
“Yeah, I know, I’m just teasing.” Applejack hungrily bit into her crisp slice of bread and helped it go down with half a cup of coffee, seemingly unfazed by the heat. “Though she seems to work very hard to let people think that’s all she is.”
“Yeah,” Sunset admitted. “That’s how she's dealt with the world so far… it’s hard to let go of a façade you took decades to build.”
“Sure sounds like it.”
“Deep down, though?” Sunset continued pensively, “she’s still that siren that got exiled a thousand years ago. Lost, pissed off, and lonely.”
Applejack simply nodded.
“It doesn’t excuse her past misdeeds, but she’s more than just a bitch.”
“Reminds me of someone, somehow,” Applejack taunted.
“Pegasi of a feather and so on,” the former unicorn retorted wryly.
“Come on, you know we say ‘birds’ here.”
“Pegasi is fancier. Also, she and I are both ponies. More or less. It feels appropriate.”
“If you say so,” Applejack said, rolling her eyes.
Mindless Debauchery’s Lock Me Up erupted all of a sudden, disturbing the relative peace of the house. Sunset scrambled around, looking for her phone, panic and sleep-deprivation making her clumsy as Aria’s favourite song dared her to shut it up. She managed to catch it before the second verse and picked up the call hurriedly.
“Aria?”
“Did I wake you up?”
“You wish! Wait a minute… Did you call me just to wake me up early?”
“Maybe. I didn’t want to wait while you got ready.”
“You bi–“
“See you in ten minutes,” Aria interrupted before hanging up.
Sunset stood there in silence for a moment, her phone uselessly pressed against her ear.
“Aria’s coming,” she finally stated.
Applejack shrugged. “You said it yourself. Adagio’s a package deal.”
She certainly was, and Sonata and Aria were part of this package. Sunset was still unsure of the exact relation between the sirens, but they were inseparable. And while getting close to Sonata had been easy, learning to know Aria and befriend her had been incredibly frustrating at first, but all in all she was glad she had.
Even now.
Aria arrived precisely ten minutes later. She drove her car decisively in front of the Apples’ house and stopped right in front of the door. Applejack and Aria stared at each other without a word then nodded in silent agreement. “I see you, you see me, we’re not friends, we’re not enemies,” they seemed to convey.
“See you around, A.J.,” Sunset said, suddenly hugging Applejack. “Thanks for everything.”
“Good luck and success, Sunset,” Applejack answered while reciprocating the unexpected burst of affection.
“I’ll need it,” Sunset whispered as she finally let her friend go.
Without any further delay, Sunset went into the car.
“Took your sweet ass time,” Aria greeted.
“Glad to see you too,” Sunset impassively retorted as she attached her seatbelt.
They drove out of the farm without speaking a word. Sunset did not try to engage in conversation with her driver. Aria would talk when she felt like it. Any attempt to force her out of her silence would be fruitless or worse.
She, fortunately, did not have to wait for long.
“Sonata told me you’re in trouble with Adagio.”
“Depends what you mean by trouble. We argued and I’m trying to make things better.”
“Ain’t nothing little when you deal with Ada. You’re in big troubles.”
Sunset felt her anxiety spike all of a sudden. Her veneer of confidence cracked as she let out a worried “Really?”
“Nah, I’m just pulling your leg.”
“You’re a bitch, you know that?”
Aria smiled as Sunset sulked into her seat. The former unicorn didn’t pay too much mind to it, however. That was how almost all her discussions with Aria went. She would get a rise out of her and then start to talk casually as if nothing had happened. “So what’s happened exactly?” Aria said, right on cue. “You and Ada got a few arguments but rarely to the point she’d go to see the children.”
“I fucked up and accidentally invited her to my date with Twilight.”
Aria let out a long, admirative whistle. “Wow. And I thought I was bad with that whole dating stuff. How did you manage that?”
“It’s complicated…”
“Right, keep your self-sabotage tricks to yourself. I’ll find my own.”
“Speaking of disaster, how’s Rainbow?”
“We broke up.”
“Oh…” Sunset finally let out as she removed her foot from her mouth.
“Yup.”
“What happened?”
“It’s complicated.”
Many questions danced in Sunset’s mind. She picked one at random. “Do you still plan on climbing the K2 together or…”
“Yup.”
“How’s she taking it?”
Aria paused. Sunset immediately realised her mistake. Aria was not good at reading people. It was not that she did not care. She simply did not know how to do it the way other people instinctively did. Maybe the question had been in her mind all along. Perhaps Sunset had just conjured it. It didn’t matter in the end: the answer would still be frustratingly out of reach for Aria.
“How are you taking it?” Sunset asked, trying to distract her friend.
“We didn’t make sense. It was better that we broke up.” Aria paused. Sunset patiently waited for more. “But I miss her…”
Sunset nodded. “It will be fine. You and Rainbow are still friends, and if it makes more sense for you to break up, then it will only make your bond stronger.”
“If you say so,” Aria let out unconvincingly.
Silence rose again in the car. Sunset could not help but wonder if she had managed to comfort Aria properly. She had always been the hardest to reach of all the sirens, despite everyone’s best efforts.
“Hey,” Aria let out, interrupting Sunset’s introspection. “Adagio’s not used to dating people either. Take good care of her okay?”
“I will.”
“Good. Or I’ll break both your knees.”
“But I need them!”
“Then you know what to do.”
Sometimes I wonder, she thought wistfully.
✶𝄞☀𝄞✶
Sonata and her daughter didn't live in in a regular household. They shared it with at least six other families who called it their home and three or four lived it on a quasi-permanent basis.
Ever since the siren had lost her powers, she had spent more and more time with her daughter and grandchildren, pretending to be a distant aunt not to freak everyone out. This life fit her well. Contrarily to her sisters, she had had no trouble getting used to mortality and normalcy. She was already living her life day to days before the battle of the band. Without the burden of manipulation, she was simply an exuberantly happy woman. And she was satisfied with that.
“Sunny!” Sonata said, jumping in the arms of Sunset as soon as she left the car. “I missed you! Why don’t you ever come to visit?”
“Sorry,” Sunset said sheepishly. “It’s a bit far away, and I don’t have a car yet…”
“Oh… I guess that’s a good reason.” She acknowledged while tapping her chin pensively. “Well, you’re here now! Come in! The children will be super happy to see you!” She turned toward Aria, a wide, hopeful grin on her face. “Aria! Will you stay a bit today? I’ve made your favourite!”
Aria pondered about it for a few seconds before answering. “I guess I can stay a bit. But tell your army of spawns to keep away from me.”
“Yay!”
As always when she came in, Sunset marvelled at how huge the house was. She intellectually knew it was a given if it was to shelter that many people. But still… it was impressive. They met several of the other family members as they passed. All of them greeted the newcomers happily and exchanged pleasantries with Sonata. The lively siren was visibly beloved in the household. Finally, after some time, they reached a small living room in which two kids were playing.
“Antaria! Sunny!” a bubbly, juvenile voice called as soon as they entered. Sunset watched in awe as a small child ran clumsily toward her.
“Firefly‽” She knew that this fiery blond hair and green skin could only belong to one of Sonata’s grandchildren yet she could barely believe it. The last time she had seen her, she was still a baby who had yet to master the delicate art of crawling. She picked up the child and raised them above her head to their absolute delight. “Oh my… You’ve grown up so much!”
“Hey,” Aria simply said, raising her hand in greeting.
Sunset put the child down and stared at her incredulously. “Last time I saw you you were just a baby… How big are you now?”
“One,” she articulated, raising one, proud finger to illustrate.
“Do they always grow that fast?” she asked Sonata with awe.
“Even faster than you realise,” Sonata whispered, her smile wavering slightly. “But you get used to it.”
“Hi, Sunset! Hello, aunt Aria,” the other child said. This kid had grown too since the last time Sunset had seen her. Not as much as her sibling, however, to Sunset’s relief. Full Wish was probably in her early teens now and you could see the hints of the adult she would one day become. Even more than before, she looked a lot like her grandmother. She had the same eyes and their skins shared very similar hues. The deep blue stripes in her braided, corn-yellow hair added to the resemblance even more. However, it was her smile that was the most strikingly similar. She and Sonata had the same roguish side-grin, full of joyful innocence.
“Hey, Wish,” Sunset greeted in return. “Been a while! How are you?”
“I’m fine. Aunt Adagio has made my hair.” She turned toward Aria with an expectant look on her face. “You like it?”
Aria nodded approvingly. “Not bad.”
Full Wish beamed at the compliment.
“Flow’s not here today?” Aria asked, looking around for the last grandchild.
“He’s in his room,” Full Wish answered immediately. “He said he was busy and he would come down later.”
Aria simply nodded.
Sunset, however, wasn’t paying attention to the rest of the family’s whereabouts. “Is Adagio still here?”
“Yes! She’s in her room, but she said she doesn’t want to be disturbed.”
“I’m just going to say hi,” Sunset absentmindedly said. “It should be fine.”
Sonata smiled understandingly at Sunset and Aria gave her an encouraging thumb up, but she barely noticed. Sunset followed her muscle memory toward Adagio’s room. Pass the living room, up to the first floor, after the children’s room, right to the attic. There it was. The door was closed, but the ladder was out. She climbed and knocked.
“Dagi? It’s me. Can I come in?”
There were no answers. Sunset slightly pushed the trapdoor and it moved without any resistance. She pushed further and went in. The room was dimly illuminated as the sunlight barely passed the closed curtain. It took a few seconds for Sunset’s eyes to adapt. Adagio’s lair was small and crowded but still managed to look cosy. She looked around, trying to find her lover. The sound of still water being disturbed made her turn. There she was. Naked in a bathtub, her head hanging on the edge, facing away from Sunset. She stared for what felt like an eternity. There she was.
“What’s the point of asking if you can come in if you do it anyway?” the siren asked, not moving from her exposed position.
“Sorry, I–” There were so many ways she had envisioned this conversation, so many things she wanted to say... none of them seemed appropriate anymore. “I wanted to see you.”
“I got the idea,” she said, raising her head and finally looking at Sunset. “What do you want?”
“I want to apologise and to talk about what happened in the park.”
Adagio left the bathtub in one elegant motion. She didn’t try to hide her nudity, quite the contrary: she basked in it with grace and pride. If anything, Sunset almost felt like she was the naked one in the room. Adagio took a towel in her cupboard and started drying herself. “Yeah, I don’t want to do that.”
“But–”
“Listen,” she said, throwing the towel on the ground and stepping toward Sunset. “Since you screwed up our date, I have spent my days with children, forced to be nice and polite. I couldn’t even vent my frustration at work because I’m on paid leave and my next shift is next week. I had no news for two whole days and you weren’t home either. If you wanted to talk so much, why didn’t you do it immediately?”
“I’m sorry… I–”
“I don’t care,” Adagio sentenced while coming closer. Sunset could feel her heat, smell the mix of perfume and soap emanating from her. She could almost touch her. She just had to move her hand to feel her smooth skin under her fingers. “I’ve been lonely for three days now!”
Before Sunset could apologise again, Adagio leaned in. It was sudden, needy, predatory. Her lips captured Sunset immediately followed by small teasing bites. Sunset quickly came back to her sense and pressed the siren against her. The kiss deepened, got more intense, involving more than just their lips, but their tongue, mouth, hands and soon whole body.
“Three fucking days… ” Adagio let out breathlessly.
“Sorry,” Sunset breathed back.
“I don’t care.” Adagio’s hands were slowly crawling under Sunset’s shirt, sending jolts of tingly pleasure through her skin. “Fuck me or fuck off.”
Sunset almost hesitated. Almost. The siren’s gaze gave off a sense of danger and she was powerless before it. Adagio was the hunter and Sunset, her prey. “First one…” she whispered.
“Good girl.”
✶𝄞☀𝄞✶
Sunset let out a sigh of delight.
She felt good. Really good. It was hard to be worried with Adagio in her arms. They had been cuddling under the sheets for an hour now, yet they showed no sign of lassitude. The siren purred a song as she caressed her hair, interrupting herself from time to time to kiss whatever part of Sunset took her fancy. Everything was good.
Sunset preemptively felt guilty for having to ruin it.
“Dagi?”
“Hm?”
“Could we talk? About what happened in the park?”
Adagio froze in her arms. She could feel her frustration rising a notch. “Way to ruin the mood,” she grumbled.
“I know, but we have to talk about it…”
“No, we don’t.”
“Come on Dagi…” she said as she caressed her hair soothingly. “Something was wrong that day. Something is wrong in our relationship. Something I didn’t notice. You told me so yourself…”
“Urgh.” The siren turned away from her using her hair as a barrier between Sunset and her. “Why couldn’t I pick someone less reasonable?”
“Because you love me. And I have a nice ass.”
The joke hit and Sunset could feel Adagio relax slightly in her arms. “Smartass.”
“That too.” They lay in silence for a bit. Sunset tried to find a way to help her lover open up to her. “I’ve thought a lot about what happened, you know? I never stopped thinking about it. I’ve been thinking about you, me, Twilight… And I realised that…” She hesitated. It was still hard for her to admit it to herself, let alone to Adagio. “Well, I realised that I was a bit… well, I don’t know how to say it. I was so sure I was screwing you over that I didn’t pay attention to you or what was happening to us. ”
“Yeah.” Adagio mocked, rolling her eyes. “You tend to do that. It’s cute sometimes, but you stay stuck in that saviour mode and it can get kinda annoying.”
“Damn… Was I the only one who didn’t notice I was doing that?”
Adagio turned back toward Sunset, looking incredulous. “Wait… you really weren’t aware of that?”
“No! I had to”– She hesitated for an instant. Mentioning princess Luna was a sure way to derail the conversation, potentially into very awkward territories. She needed to be careful about it –“talk to Applejack about it and make weird dreams.”
“You are the most intelligent dumbass I ever met,” Adagio teased laughing at her girlfriend’s obliviousness. “Listen. I don’t need saving from any white knight nor that you’d sabotage yourself for my sake. I can get that at any time with a little cleavage. Besides, I’m the alpha mess here. I don’t need any competition,” she affirmed.
Sunset facepalmed, playing along with her lover’s gentle teasing. That was good. The tension had partially dissipated, which meant there was an opportunity to discuss the issue.
“You know, I learned some things during these days. I talked to Twilight, and I realised that she was worried about our relationship and that she was afraid I would grow tired of her. It was obvious, yet I didn’t pay attention because I was too busy doing whatever the fuck I was doing so far. And this made me realise that I probably did the same to you. You told me you had a problem that I didn’t notice… And I still don’t know what it is. And I would like to know?”
Adagio cowered in her arms. “Why?”
“Because I care about you. I care about us. I love you, Dagi. Isn’t that obvious?”
Adagio didn’t answer. And Sunset wasn’t sure if she should add more. Before any of them could have a chance to break the silence, a series of knocks made them jump, quickly followed by the noise of the trapdoor opening. Sonata’s head emerged all of a sudden and smiled brightly at them.
“Sorry to interrupt!” She paused, looking at the two naked women. “Unless you’ve already finished, in which case, hope you had fun! We’re having a movie night tonight! With pizza! I was wondering if you wanted in?”
“Hey!” Sunset answered awkwardly. “Uh… Well–”
“Sorry, Sony,” Adagio said calmly, “we’re going to the beach tonight.”
“Uh, yeah!” Sunset followed. “The beach.”
“Oh!” Sonata gasped enthusiastically. “Good idea! We’ll keep you some pizza then!”
Sonata left and closed the door, only to reopen it and pop out again. “Oh and don’t worry Sunset! They’re vegan!” She did the same again to add, “And don’t forget to stay hydrated!”
“Are you done?” Adagio asked patiently.
Sonata tapped her chin before answering. “I think I am.”
“Then leave us a bit of privacy, please?”
“Of course!” she said, disappearing for good this time.
The two women looked at the trap door suspiciously for a time, unsure whether or not their host was truly done. Once Sunset was sure they were alone again, she turned Adagio. “The beach?”
“It’s been a while since we went there.”
“It has,” she said, nodding slowly. It had been more than a year. That night they had broken up and come back together. Both had happened at that very same place. This was more than a beach, it was an integral part of their relationship.
Sunset wasn’t sure whether it was a good thing this time.
✶𝄞☀𝄞✶
The beach was a secluded place, hidden from sight and attention by tight, tortuous roads and a sinister reputation. Sunset was pretty sure the last part was entirely due to the sirens’ influence over the ages which they had never confirmed nor denied. Sunset was glad for it however, for it meant they would not be disturbed. This place had a special meaning for the sirens and for Sunset and Adagio specifically. There was magic here. Not the same kind as the Everfree, but something powerful and ancient connection to the three exiles in some unknown way.
They walked its narrow paths hand in hand, communicating only when necessary and mostly by small gestures rather than words. By the time they arrived, the sun was already below the horizon. Its light was slowly being eclipsed by the moon and stars. No artificial light shone on the place but rather than make it dark and threatening it added to its eerie, magical ambience. This was a place out of time, untouched by civilisation, a place of isolation and reflection: a nature-made temple.
Adagio didn’t lose herself in contemplation as Sunset did. She let go of her hand and went to the water, getting undressed as she went. Sunset followed from afar, unsure whether she should join. It had been like that every other time they had come here. She could feel the ritualistic meaning of going to this place but had no clue on her exact place in it. So she sat in the sand, her feet bathing in the salty water.
Adagio plunged under the waves and started swimming. No, swimming was the wrong word. She was dancing with the tide and currents. Sunset admired her graceful moves with a hint of sadness. She knew the sirens loved the ocean. It was easy to grasp why, but Adagio needed it to an extent the other two didn’t. Under the moonlight, it was as if she had returned to her original body: a gracile, serpentine form barely emerging to catch some air before it dived again. Seeing it reminded Sunset how much Adagio had lost when she had been exiled, not only in this world but in a body made to live on land. And how much more she had lost since they had met.
After some time, Adagio finally stopped and turned toward Sunset. Sunset took it as an invitation to join her. She put her clothes into a pile and slowly walked into the water. It was freezing, but she bore with it and kept walking toward her lover. By the time she finally reached Adagio, she was shivering, but her lover’s warmth immediately made her feel better.
They clung to each other, enjoying their proximity and the soothing sound of the sea. Adagio felt so small now in her arms. It was as if her armour of confident bitchiness melted into the brine, leaving only the woman behind.
“I am jealous,” Adagio simply said, her voice barely rising above the ambient noise.
“What?”
“I am jealous. Of her. Magical Girl.”
“Why?”
Adagio let out a bitter laugh. It was soft, quiet and sad. “Why indeed… She’s the spitting image of the other Twilight, which means she’s not only beautiful, she’s a constant reminder of the powers I lost. And you’re dating her.”
“She’s not Twilight,” Sunset said instinctively, before realising how futile that line of argument was. Adagio knew that. She was not stupid. But it didn’t change the optic of her relationship. Twilight and Princess Twilight looked alike and they shared enough traits to know there was a link between them. It didn’t matter that she was not the princess. She was too much like her.
“Every time I see the two of you together I see how much you make sense together in ways we don’t. She knows more about this world and ours than I do, for fuck sake… Every time you speak about her, about your projects, your plans for the future, I’m reminded of how fucked up I am.” Adagio crossed her arms as if to protect herself. “And now you two have magical powers. And I’m still deprived of mine. It’s as if life was telling me to go fuck myself. It hurts.”
Sunset hugged Adagio tighter. “I’m sorry. I should have–” She caught herself before she said it. “Why didn’t you tell me? I would have listened…”
“I’m not the kind of girl you present to your parents. I’m not the kind of girl that a girl like you keeps around them.” She let out a pathetic laugh. “Twilight is.”
“I don’t care,” Sunset answered. “Adagio, you can be a bitch and you’re done some pretty messed up things in your past. I already knew all that when we started dating. I know that now. I haven’t forgotten who you were and I know who you are. I balanced it out and I thought you were worth it then and I still do. I love you. I meant it the first time we came here, and I mean it just as much if not more now. I love you Adagio. I want to build a life with Twilight and you. Maybe adopt a child or two, grow old together and wonder how you keep growing more beautiful as time passes. I know it’s selfish of me but I want to stay with you for as long as possible.”
Adagio pressed her arms against Sunset’s. “I love you too.”
They stood there for a while, enjoying each other’s presence before the water finally proved too cold.
“Let’s go home,” Sunset proposed.
“Yeah,” Adagio replied.
They left the water, dried themselves and left the beach in silence. Sunset wasn't sure what to make of the night, but as they were walking, Adagio’s hand found hers, fingers tangling together.
Sunset smiled. They loved each other, and things would work out. They had some problems, but she could fix them. All that she needed was right in her hand.
From the moment Sunset got out of the car, she had a smile on her face. There was just something about the air so far away from the city, and she breathed it in deep. It seemed to cleanse her of all the negativity she’d been through over the past few weeks. Between that, the singing of the birds, and the morning sun filtering through the trees, life just felt good.
Best of all, of course, was the company. Sunset turned to smile at her girlfriends, who were also exiting the car. Twilight shielded her eyes from the light, but she smiled back at Sunset. And ever the practical one, Adagio was already unpacking. More so because she didn’t want Adagio to do all the work than because she was in a hurry, Sunset joined her in unloading their car.
“It’s really nice out here,” Twilight said with a bit of hesitation as she looked around. She turned back to the others, seemingly noticing for the first time that they were busying themselves. “Oh, sorry.”
Sunset grinned and picked up a bag from the trunk of the car. “Hey, no sweat. We’re on vacation, take it easy. Adagio and I have this.”
“Sunset, you can help me set up the tent,” Adagio said. She addressed Twilight with the briefest of glances. “Twilight can finish unloading the car.”
“Sure, Dagi,” Sunset complied. “Don’t worry Twi, we already took care of the camping stuff, you can take your time.”
“Oh… Okay then.”
Sunset watched Twilight for a few seconds. There was something surreal about being in the presence of her two girlfriends at the same time without things exploding. She finally turned toward Adagio and kneeled next to her. “So… do you know how to set up a tent?”
“It’s been a while since I’ve done this,” Adagio admitted, gathering the scattered parts of their tent, “but I spent a few months in one of these at one point. It should be easy.”
Since Adagio clearly had more experience, Sunset deferred to her. Adagio would examine the pieces, then she’d give Sunset instructions on how to set them up. It was slow going, but considering how long it had been since Adagio had lived out of a tent, that was to be expected. Still, little by little they managed.
And really, Sunset couldn’t complain. She had both her girlfriends with her, and things were looking up. This camping trip was the perfect chance for her to spend time with both of them and smooth out any issues they still had.
That’s what this trip was all about. Sunset had messed up at the fair, but they’d had some important conversations and she’d learned from her mistakes. Now it was time to try again under different circumstances.
She glanced over to Twilight, who was finishing with the unloading, then Adagio gave her another task to do. She smiled as she set herself to do it. “Right away, boss!”
✶𝄞☀𝄞✶
It had come to Sunset in a flash of inspiration. She wanted to do something that would bring her girlfriends together. Sunset was not blind, she knew that even after their talks, there was a lot of ground to cover on getting Adagio and Twilight to be friends. She just had to figure out how to make that happen, and she had an idea.
Camp Everfree had brought Twilight and Sunset closer when they first went there. It had been shortly after they had met, and Twilight was still reserved around her new friends. But something about the camp had changed that… facing the elements together had a way of bringing people closer, and Sunset was sure it could do the same thing for Twilight and Adagio.
She just needed to sell it to them. First, Twilight. She was the easier one of the two. Sunset had just brought it up as a possible thing they’d do someday, and the seed was planted.
“I was thinking, wouldn’t it be fun to go back to Everfree for another camping trip some time?”
Twilight had smiled at the thought. “Sure, that sounds like it could be fun.”
Of course, that had been the easy part. The real question followed. “And… I was thinking maybe we could go with Adagio? All three of us.”
“Oh. Really?” Twilight had hesitated. “Does she even like camping?”
“Well, she can always say no if she doesn’t want to.”
“I guess we could do that someday.”
And that had been that. Things with Twilight were mostly settled, Sunset just had to follow up on them after getting Adagio on board.
That was admittedly more of a challenge. When Adagio didn’t like something, she made it known. All it would take was Sunset bringing it up at the wrong time, and Adagio would cut into her for even just having the idea.
So she brought it up from time to time, first just as a hypothetical, then eventually bringing it up as something they might actually do.
“It’s been ages since I’ve gone camping. It was a lot of fun last time I went.”
“Hey, have you ever been to Everfree?”
“Maybe we should get away from everything for a little bit.”
“So I was talking to Twilight, and we had this idea…”
“About that camping trip…”
Eventually, Sunset did push a little too much. Adagio had screamed, then snatched up her phone. She sent a text to Twilight, saying that Sunset wouldn’t shut up about the camping trip unless they did it, and asking if Twilight was on board. Twilight agreed, and that had been that.
✶𝄞☀𝄞✶
The voice of Adagio snapped her out of her reverie. “Sunset, please slide that support inside the fabric, my arms are tiring!”
The siren was holding the tent straight so Sunset would have an easier time sliding the last armature inside. The tent was not heavy by any stretch of the term, but the position it forced Adagio into was uncomfortable.
“Sorry, Dagi. It’s just that it doesn’t go in smoothly.”
“Don’t rush and be gentle,” Adagio sighed. “Treat her like a virgin–”
“Touched for the very first time,” Sunset sang in response.
A smile finally graced Adagio's face. “I taught you well. Now prove me that you're as good with your fingers as you are with your throat and maybe I’ll give you a reward.”
“Is that a promise?”
The sound of footsteps approaching cut the flirting short.
“S–sorry.” They looked up to see Twilight, who was holding back a good distance away. She had the last bag in her hand but seemed to forget to put it down. “I didn’t mean to interrupt…”
“Nah,” Sunset said sheepishly. “Dagi was just telling me how to put the armature in.”
“Sunset kinda sucks at it.” Adagio didn’t look at Sunset, but the frown was clear in her voice.
“Hey!”
“I’m sure she’s doing her best,” Twilight said encouragingly.
“Yeah! I’ll show you!” Sunset shifted to a cocky grin and got back to work. How hard could put up one little tent be?
Unfortunately, Sunset’s bravado was not only fruitless but counter-productive. After a few minutes of fumbling, she finally managed to dislodge the tent from Adagio’s grip, ruining everything managed so far.
“And this,” Adagio sighed, “is why you should be patient.”
“Sorry, Dagi,” Sunset said looking sadly at the mess she had made. “Care to help us, Twilight?”
There was no answer and, at first, she simply thought that Twilight was silently coming to assist them. But as the seconds passed, it became more and more obvious that the purple woman was not coming.
“Twilight?” Sunset called, realising that her girlfriend wasn’t there. “Where are you?”
Adagio looked around, genuinely confused as to how Twilight could have disappeared in such a short time. “Maybe she had to go to the bathroom?”
Sunset nodded, more curious than concerned. “Yeah probably. It’s just weird that she left like that.”
“I just hope she comes back soon because I’m fed up with this tent and another pair of arms would help a lot actually.”
Although she didn’t say so out loud, Sunset was hoping the same thing. But the more time passed, the more clear it became that wherever Twilight was, she was staying there. And so little by little – and with no shortage of snide remarks at one another – Sunset and Adagio managed to get the tent together themselves.
“Are you sure it’s meant to look like that?” Sunset asked.
“Do you want to take it down and try again?” Adagio shot back.
Sunset’s eye twitched. “No, it’ll be fine. Now, where’d Twilight get off to?”
Adagio shrugged and walked over to their cooler. “Don’t ask me, I was too busy making sure you didn’t knock the damn tent over to keep an eye out for her.” She got out two bottles of water, tossing one to Sunset.
Sunset opened hers and took a long drink. Putting up the tent was frustrating, but it wasn’t exactly tiring work. Still, it was a hot day and she’d worked up a sweat, and the cool water hit the spot. She drank about a third of the bottle in one go, then let out a satisfied, “Ah.”
“Help me set up these chairs. That can’t be too hard, at least.”
“Actually…” Sunset scratched at the back of her neck. “I think we should look around for Twilight. It isn’t like her to go off on her own.
Adagio scowled. “Fine, let’s go find the slacker.”
Although she clearly wasn’t thrilled with the idea, Sunset was glad to have Adagio with her. She wasn’t worried, not really. Well, not much, anyway. Twilight could handle herself, it was just… Sunset thought about what could happen to someone alone in the woods, and she was very glad to have Adagio with her.
They walked along the path back to the car first. Thankfully, that was as far as they had to go, as they found her sitting in the back seat with the door open, legs dangling out of the car and a manual of some sort in her hands. She didn’t seem to notice them approaching.
“Getting caught up on a bit of reading?” Adagio asked with a frown.
Twilight jumped in place. “Oh! Sorry, I was just reading the instruction manual for the tent.”
“Oh, yeah. Guess that might’ve helped.” Sunset grinned sheepishly.
“We didn’t need a manual, I knew what I was doing,” Adagio snapped. “All we needed was another pair of hands to help us out.”
“I’m sorry…” Twilight muttered.
“Hey, it’s fine,” Sunset insisted, hoping that saying so would make it true. “The tent got put up, and now we can finally relax!”
“Two of us can,” Adagio grumbled. “One of us already got a head start on that.”
Twilight blushed and looked ashamedly at the ground, and an awkward silence rose between the three. Determined to make the trip be a success, Sunset immediately jumped in.
“How about we go dip our toes in the lake? Make us forget this whole tent thing and get a fresh start?”
No matter how grumpy she was, Adagio could never turn down the chance to take a swim. She smiled at the idea, just like Sunset knew she would. . “I’m in.”
“Yes,” Twilight said with relief. “Good idea.”
It was the perfect plan. Adagio changed in the water, she lost her aggressive edge, becoming a softer, more approachable person. If Twilight could see that side of her, things would work out for them. And all it had taken was a little suggestion.
They locked up the car and left for the lake. It was close enough to their camping site to be able to swim in whenever they felt like it, but far enough that the insects and amphibians from the lake wouldn’t bother them when they were in their tent. It was the perfect spot, and Sunset planned to make good use of that during their stay.
Unfortunately, the walk over to the lake was another matter. The insects were out in full force as they made their way towards the lake, and while Sunset and Adagio didn’t have too much trouble, the same couldn’t be said for Twilight; her relative enthusiasm was progressively sucked out of her by an invisible, yet very determined, swarm of mosquitoes.
“Why me?” she complained, swatting yet another pest.
“That’s nature’s punishment for slacking off.”
“Dagi!”
The siren sighed. “Sorry, Twilight. We’ve got some spray in the bags back in the tent. Want us to go back?” She was clearly reluctant but was clearly trying to be nice to her metamour.
“Thanks, Adagio, but I can bear it for a little while,” she answered, shaking her head.
“Are you sure?” Sunset asked with concern in her voice. “I can go fetch it while you go to the lake.”
Twilight and Adagio looked at each other for a second, then Sunset.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Sunny,” Adagio said, taking her girlfriend’s arm.
“Let’s go see the lake,” Twilight confirmed, taking Sunset’s hand.
Sunset was too surprised and happy about this turn of events to protest anymore. She got closer to her girlfriends and the three of them walked in content silence to the lake. For a moment, everything was fine and peaceful. Everything was going according to plan.
But Sunset could not be so lucky. Of course she could not.
The lake was barred. So close yet out of their reach, trapped behind some yellow tape and a signpost.
“Swimming is forbidden until further notice,” Twilight read out loud. “Due to a few cases of infections with parasites, Camp Everfree is forced to limit the access to its lake until it is decontaminated. We thank you for your understanding and apologise for the inconvenience.”
“What the fuck?” Adagio said with anger and bafflement. “Why didn’t they tell us?”
“It’s been put there today,” Twilight said, leaning in on the post. “Look at the date.”
Sunset was not convinced. “Yeah but they must’ve known about it for longer didn’t they?”
“Maybe…” Twilight conceded. “I'm sorry, Adagio.”
“Urgh. Never mind. Let’s go back to the tent. I don’t want to think about it.”
While the walk to the lake had been made unpleasant by the mosquitos, the walk back was a particularly shameful and awkward experience. No word was exchanged as they rejoined their camping slot. Sunset was already thinking of ways to save the trip, find a way to make it work somehow.
But it seemed life had one more spoonful of salt to throw at her wounds.
The tent had collapsed. Where it stood before was now a pile of fabric and armature. It was gone. Bewilderment followed by anger and frustration rose in the girls. Adagio let out a “fuck” of anger while Sunset groaned all of her misery. Somehow deep down, she knew it was better it had collapsed now rather than in the middle of the night, but she could not think rationally. Not now.
“All I wanted was a peaceful camping trip with my girlfriends!” she lamented. “I didn’t ask for much!”
Twilight hugged Sunset. Sunset didn’t react. She was too mentally exhausted. “I can fix it,” she assured softly. “Just leave it to me.”
Sunset wanted to ask her what she meant by that. It had taken half an hour for Adagio and her to mount the tent and while she had read the manual, mounting it herself was not such a simple thing.
She didn’t have to wonder for long. Around Twilight, the camping material started to float and seamlessly organise themselves to make their tent. It was fast, effective, gracious even. It took her less than a minute to finish.
“Maybe reading the manual wasn’t that useless after all,” she boasted while catching her breath. She turned toward Sunset and Adagio, beaming with pride. “What do you think?”
Sunset didn’t move. She didn’t dare make a single move. She could see the happiness in Twilight’s eyes and it broke her heart, but more importantly, she could feel Adagio’s anger and stupefaction and she did not dare face it. Not now. Not right now.
“What the fuck? I can’t believe… I can’t…”
“Wha– what? What’s wrong? I thought you knew about magic?”
“Of course I fucking do!” Adagio screamed.
“Then what’s wrong?” Twilight shouted back. “You can’t be mad because I did a good job, can you?”
“You… you don’t know do you?” Adagio turned toward Sunset, who was still avoiding her glare. “You didn’t tell her, did you?”
“Tell me what?” She turned toward Sunset with a curious and accusatory look in her face. It hurt. Sunset could almost see Twilight’s brain working overtime to understand what was happening. “Tell me what, Sunset?”
“Go on,” Adagio demanded. “Tell her.”
For a time, Sunset said nothing. She just stood there, like prey caught between a cliff and a predator. There was no good answer. Not now. Not right now. This is something that should have been solved months ago. You’re not good at this, said the nasty voice in her head. You are the problem in your relationship.
She wanted to flee, to jump that cliff and let everything fade, but she couldn’t. This would be even worse than facing their justified anger.
She started talking and her voice sounded like somebody was talking through her. “Adagio lost–” she started. Adagio’s scowl dissuaded her to keep up that way. She took a deep breath and started again. “Me and the girls... with Princess Twilight... you know we defeated Adagio when she tried to steal Equestrian magic? Well, we did more than stop them…”
“We broke the source of their power. The thing they used to stay young.”
Twilight didn’t say a word as a slow realisation crept to her face. She didn’t have to. The shock and the disappointment were as visible as if she had shouted them. Sunset almost wished she did, she couldn’t stand the silence.
“We didn’t know at the time…” Sunset said, eager to try and justify herself. “We didn’t even choose to do it. It just… happened. But since then, magic is a sensitive subject.
“Why the effe didn't you tell me?” Twilight finally yelled.
“I don’t know,” Sunset admitted. “I don’t know…” She turned toward Adagio and looked at her with distress. “I’m sorry, Dagi. I fucked up.”
“No kidding,” Adagio answered. Then she turned around and left.
✶☀𝄞☀✶
Adagio was furious. What the hell was wrong with her girlfriend? How fucking hard was it to tell someone not to use magic around her?
Predictably, the sound of footsteps crept up on her. Here she was, ready to try and fix every god damn thing again, as if caring was enough to solve any problem. “Fuck off, Sunset. I’m pissed right now.”
“I–I understand,” said a voice that wasn’t Sunset’s.
The siren turned, surprised to see her metamour instead of her girlfriend. “Twilight?”
“I wanted to apologise. Just because I didn’t know doesn’t make my actions any–”
“Save your excuses. I’m not mad at you.”
Twilight gingerly stepped forward, looking like a mouse approaching a cat. “B–but…”
“The only butt here is Sunset.”
“She was trying to do the right thing…”
“That’s the fucking problem!” Adagio threw her hands out as she spoke. “She’s always trying to do the right thing, and she can’t keep up with it. Do you know the number of times she left me in the middle of the night to help you? How many times has she done the same thing to you?”
Twilight didn’t answer, but Adagio knew that Sunset would just drop everything for her on a whim. Adagio sighed. Sunset’s will to change the world for the better had always been one of her better qualities so far, but since Twilight had come in the picture, things had become way too complex for Sunset to deal with it on her own. Now they were at a breaking point and neither of them knew how to deal with it.
“She’s driving me crazy with her fucking messiah complex.”
“I just wish she just… I don’t know. I just wish she took her time and worked with us?”
“Yeah, I guess,” Adagio said softly. “She's lucky she's got a great ass.”
“A–Adagio!”
Adagio smiled wickedly. “What? You're ace, not blind as far as I know. Her ass is top tier.”
Twilight didn’t answer immediately. “She’s also a great kisser.”
“RIght? And damn that girl is intelligent. Yet so foolish... A head full of idea and an ass full of dumb.”
Twilight giggled despite herself. “She can get a bit carried away.”
They kept going, mocking and praising Sunset until they ran out of things to talk about.
"Adagio?" Twilight prompted eventually.
"Yeah?"
Twilight hesitated for a moment, then she looked up at Adagio with uncertainty showing in her face. "What now?"
Adagio sighed and shook her head, folding her arms and looking away from Twilight. "I don't know..."
Neither of them did. And judging from the day, neither did Sunset. They needed a change if they were going to save their relationship, but change was the problem with their relationship.
Eventually Adagio grew tired of the silence. “Go back to Sunset. I’ll catch up.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, just go.”
It took a moment of hesitation, but eventually Twilight did just that. Once she was gone, Adagio kneeled down and looked up at the sky.
Adagio looked at her virgin mojito intently, as if the mint leaves could reveal some secrets to her, some hidden knowledge that would maybe solve her issues. They wouldn't help. They never did. Even when they bathed in rum, the mint leaves stayed silent and useless. The alcohol would have been appreciated. It always sounded wiser than the mint leaves, but it only whispered disappointing lies that ended in sex and hangovers.
Adagio and her virgin mojito were moping at the bar of the Airhead, ignoring the loud music and the drunk dancing happening around them. Her shift had been long and tiring, but ultimately uneventful, as it often was. All things considered, the Airhead was a calm place – or at least as calm as a night club could be. It had been a spot of comfort, relaxation and sometimes debauchery for queer people all around Everton for more than a decade. It was also one of the few places willing to look past Adagio's misdeed and give her a job. It helped that the siren had avoided it for long, not wishing to bring chaos to people who already faced it every day. She might have been selfish, but she was not a monster.
Zalea, the club's owner, had given her a chance and Adagio had grasped it with both hands. Being a bouncer was the ideal job for her. She liked the power dynamic, and she secretly enjoyed the fact that she was protecting a safe space instead of actively ruining it. It felt right. Also, the drinks were on the house. Which was always a bonus.
However, tonight, all of this felt hollow and unsatisfying, and the mint leaves refused to tell her why.
"You know it's better to drink it before the ice has melted?" a familiar voice came declared from behind her. "When it melts, the flavours are unevenly diluted, and it messes with the experience."
"Maybe I like it that way," Adagio deadpanned without looking at the person. Sometimes disinterest was a good deterrent.
"You're allowed to have bad tastes," Zalea said, pulling the chair next to Sunset and sitting on it. She raised her hand towards the barmaid and made a complex hand signal for her drink before turning toward Adagio. "But that's not your usual style."
The siren didn't say anything and kept looking at her glass. The ice was almost entirely melted, and she realised that Zala was right. She sighed inwardly.
"Come on, Dagi, look at me at least. I didn't go to the trouble of putting clothes to be ignored."
"You know it usually goes the other way around, right?" Adagio said, smiling despite herself.
"Depends on the clothes," Zalea whispered while leaning on the bar.
"Fine," she said, finally looking up.
Zalea was gorgeous. As always. But it seems that she redefined what the word meant every day. Her look, her makeup, her hair, her clothes, her style, even her gait changed every day to suit a new aesthetic. The pick of the night was soft goth, and she rocked it.
She wore a beautiful black shirt whose top and sleeves were see-through, revealing both her beautifully muscular arms and the ample content of her cleavage. She also wore a very fitting long, black skirt with complex blue motifs and some boots. Her dark makeup complemented it perfectly and blended with her brown eyes and dark hair.
The woman smiled at the appreciative look of her friend and sipped from her glass. "So will you tell what's on your mind?"
"You want the graphic details and the sex positions?" Adagio let out, taking a sip from her own drink.
"I mean, apart from that," Zalea laughed. "You've always got something indecent in mind, Dagi. But it's pretty obvious that you've got something else bothering you."
"How do you know?"
"You really want the whole schtick?"
"Yeah. So I can hide it better next time."
Zalea recoiled in mock shock. "Is my presence such a nuisance? I'm hurt, Dagi. Hurt! I even put my favourite bra just for you to look at it."
"You're cheating, and I hate you," Adagio said, trying to hide her smile and her sideways look at Zalea's cleavage.
"Of course you do," the temptress in black said mockingly. For a fleeting moment, they just stood there, smiling and enjoying their drink and complicity. "You've been aloof all week," Zalea finally said. "And tonight had been worse than usual. Also, you're here, at the bar, an hour after the end of your shift."
"Not the first time."
"No. But usually, that either means that Sunset has the car or that you've been into a fight. Your car is in the parking lot."
Adagio sighed. This is why she didn't like opening up to people. They learned things about you and used it against you to care about you and shit like that. There are some perks though, she thought while sending another glance at the hints of bras that Zalea's top revealed.
"Come on, Dagi. Speak to me."
"We didn't fight," the siren finally admitted while playing with her glass. "It's a bit of a fucking mess."
Zalea nodded silently and waited for her friend to continue.
"Since the camping fiasco, things have been weird. Sunset's acting as if everything was fine, but there's something's off." Adagio played with her glass for a moment. A leaf of mint was trying to stay afloat on the last remaining ice cube. Its seconds were numbered. "She's spending more and more time at the garage, and she's been working a lot on her whole engine thing. And I mean, it's nice that she's not trying to fix our relationship like before but..."
"You got used to being pampered."
"Can you blame me?"
Zalea smiled mischievously. "I can, but that would be hypocritical of me."
"Is it too late to join your harem?" Adagio sighed, laying on the bar.
"Don't ask for more than you can chew," Zalea laughed heartily. "Also you would have to find another job because I don't date my colleagues and employees. Business and fun must stay separated."
"You're no fun," Adagio let out with a pout.
Zalea emptied her glass and put her hand on Adagio's shoulder. "Don't be like that, Dagi. You know you can't run from your problems forever. Talk to your girl."
"To tell her what?" she let out with frustration. The glass swung wildly in her hand, spilling a bit of its content on the bar.
"I don't know," Zalea said, producing a tissue and cleaning up Adagio's mess. "She's your girl, not mine."
Adagio groaned. "This is why I didn't want to get serious in the first place. It's so much simpler to just fuck and leave the emotions out of it."
"Sometimes, yeah. But you got to admit that sometimes that's not enough."
"I hate this crap."
Zalea sighed and looked intently at Adagio. "Why don't you ask Sonata? Didn't you tell me she was the romantic of your trio? She might have advice for you."
"I can't fucking ask Sonata!" Adagio let out with both indignation and amusement.
"Why?"
"Because... she's Sonata!" Adagio wasn’t sure what else needed to be said, really.
Zalea sighed and shook her head in mock desperation. "You're hopeless, you know that?"
"I've been told."
"Just promise me you'll talk to Sunset about what's on your mind okay?"
"Yeah," Adagio relented.
Satisfied, Zalea stood up and kissed Adagio on the cheek. "Say hi to Sunset for me," she said, before leaving.
The siren didn't answer. She simply watched her friend leave, her attention fixated on Zalea's swaying ass. She stayed there for a while, procrastinating as much as she could until the boredom became untenable.
She emptied her glass, swallowing the ruined mojito and its silent mint leaves, stood up, and left.
✶☀𝄞☀✶
Adagio had always been very territorial. A tendency that had only grown with time. Maybe it was her siren heritage and the predator in her talking, maybe it was the urban life affecting her. Whatever the case, she didn't like people invading her space. And this extended to her parking spot. Unfortunately, some asshole had decided that it was a perfect spot for their bike. The old Adagio would have used her power for some petty vengeance on them. But present Adagio simply rage-parked her car further away and kicked the offending vehicle as she passed next to it.
She unlocked the door of her and Sunset's flat as silently as she could, cautious not to wake up her girlfriend. She expected a quick trip to the kitchen, a shower and hopefully some sleepy hugs under the sheets. She certainly didn't expect Sunset cooking at 2AM.
"Sunset?" she tried as she came closer. "You're still up? Wh–" the smell made her stop immediately. It had been so long since she'd smell it... fish. Cooked fish. She could feel herself salivate despite herself. "Sunset?"
Sunset turned toward Adagio, visibly surprised to see her. "Dagi?" She quickly fiddled with the stove and came to greet her. "Sorry, I didn't hear you coming. How was your night?"
Adagio wasn't sure how to deal with the situation. Sunset was cooking fish. At 2AM. How could she act so... casual? "It was... fine." The answer fell flat. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't shake the incongruity of the situation. "Sunset, what's going on?"
"Well I couldn't sleep," Sunset said, returning to the stove, "and you were late, so I figured I'd cook you something good."
"Okay, stop." She leaned on the wall and rubbed her temples in exasperation. "I need to wrap my head around everything."
"Take your time," she said with a bright smile.
"Okay. First." She pointed at the pan and its delicious-smelling treat cooking on it. "Fish? What the fuck?"
"It's vegan! I found it in one of the stores next to the garage! I wanted to try it for some time and today I was feeling bold so..." She shrugged as if it explained everything.
"Vegan fish?"
She shrugged. "Vegan fish. I think it's supposed to taste like mackerel?"
"How does it work?"
"Dunno. I started to look it up on the internet, but I got distracted."
"Okay fine." She wouldn't dispute it. If it meant she could eat fish again, even if it was fake, she would accept whatever bullshit Sunset could come up with. "Next question. Why are you still up?"
"Got the day off tomorrow –" she turned toward Adagio, the pan in hand and pointed behind her "– could you get me the plate please?" Adagio obeyed, still confused by the calm and banal demeanour of her girlfriend. Sunset put the fake mackerel on the plate, napped it in its sauce and winked at Adagio. "Dinner's ready!"
"Sunset, you're freaking me out right now..."
"Sorry, babe," she said before kissing her softly. It was short and clumsy because of the hot plate between them, but it was reassuring nonetheless. "Good things happened today, and I'm still super excited."
The situation immediately lost its weirdness. Adagio let out a sigh of relief. "Really?"
"Yep!" She rose the plate, right next to Adagio's face. The smell was almost arousing. "Let's talk about it while we taste this."
Adagio didn't need to be asked twice.
The dinner was excellent. Adagio couldn't remember the last time they had such an intimate moment. The camping trip had created a barrier between them, one that only vegan mackerel could break apparently. It was not nearly as good as what she remembered, but it was close enough for her not to care.
"I missed it, you know?"
"I know," Sunset said as she cleared the table. "That's why I bought it. I know what it meant to you... I'm grateful that you went vegan for me, you know?"
"T'was not for you," Adagio denied categorically. "T'was for the animals."
Sunset faked a pout and put her hand on her hip in a seductive manner. "Not even a little bit for me?"
"Fine," Adagio said as she got up and slowly came toward her lover, "maybe just a little. But just so I could get in your pants."
"Seems like a win for me," Sunset purred while closing the distance.
Adagio put her arms around Sunset and brought her closer still. Her blue eyes were focused on her, and she could feel her girl's breath tickling her lips. She resisted the urge to close the final gap.
"Yeah?" the siren said.
"Yeah..." Sunset panted before kissing her.
✶☀𝄞☀✶
In Adagio's experience, sex was great. There were exceptions of course, but as long as you did it with somebody who knew what they were doing, it was great. Having a regular sex buddy was one way to enhance the experience. Somebody who knew what made you tick and what didn't, someone you knew how to please... Someone familiar.
But a lover, that was something relatively new for Adagio. Even after years of relationship, she was still a bit overwhelmed by it sometimes. The affection, the shared space and time, the falling asleep spooning and waking up together... Everything about it was unfamiliar. It was strange and comforting, yet it made her feel vulnerable. And tonight particularly so.
She scooped closer to her girlfriend, pressing herself against her back. "Sunset?"
"Dagi?" Sunset mumbled, half-asleep.
"Do you love me?"
Sunset caressed Adagio's arm clumsily. "Of course I do,"
"Okay."
"Is everything alright?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "I should feel fine, but..."
Sunset turned in her arms carefully, trying not to pull her hair or crush her arms under her weight. She was clearly fighting off sleep to comfort her, and this made the ambivalent feeling soar to new highs.
"What's wrong?" She stifled a yawn and tried to focus on Adagio. "Talk to me..."
"I don't know... Everything is weird since Everfree. We don’t fight, but something's changed, and now... everything is back to normal. I'm not sure what's happening..."
"Babe... everything is fine, I swear." Sunset's eyes stayed closed longer and longer as she spoke, but she was obviously trying to power through her sleepiness. "I know... I fucked up... I'm trying to do... better. I love you... and Twi... I won't... let you go..."
"I know you won't," Adagio whispered, for herself more than her sleeping beauty. "I know you won't..."
✶☀𝄞☀✶
Adagio looked at her mojito with unfocused eyes. It danced on the bar's counter no matter how hard she gripped it. Maybe drinking it would make it stop taunting her with its wobbling. With an unsteady hand, she rose the glass and aimed for her mouth. The glass reached its target slightly too fast, clinging on her teeth. She winced at the feeling, but it was soon drowned by the cold and sweet beverage. Soon the warmth of the rum hit her core and spread to her whole body. She could feel her thoughts – and all the misery they carried – melt away, consumed by the sweet cocktail.
Her hand reflexively went to her neck, and she winced when it touched her bare skin. She'd been doing that all week, ever since that disastrous turn of events at that damned high school, ever since... Memories emerged like a bubble rising from the depth of an ocean of rum. Her gem was no more. Her powers were no more. Her band was no more. She was alone. She was weak. She was... human.
The glass hit the table a bit too hard. It clanged loudly on the bar, making the other patrons jump and turn toward her. She ignored them. They meant nothing to her, less than nothing.
"Hey," she slurred, raising her glass in the general direction of the bartender. "Gimme another one. Less ice this time."
"I think it's time for you to go," he said coldly. "And not to come back."
"What? My money's not good enough for you?"
"You owe us money, you–" he pinched the bridge of his, clearly trying to keep his composure and avoid a scene. "We don't want you or your kind here. Leave, before I make you leave."
"Do you know who I am?" she said, raising her voice.
"Yeah. That's why I'm asking you to get the hell out of here."
She turned toward the rest of the bar, hoping that someone would notice. "Are y'all let him talk to me like that?"
"Fuck off!" someone shouted in the back.
Another voice rose, closer this time. "Yeah, get lost!"
"Who said that?" She turned to face those who would dare speak to her like that, but the room spun faster than her body, making her dizzy. She felt like puking. She rose her hand to her neck again. The warm feeling of her gemless skin hurt and only made her feel sicker.
"Hey!" The bartender intervened. He grabbed her arm before she could stand up. She was grateful for that, for she wasn't sure she would have managed it. "You're not welcome here, okay? Get out before it turns ugly."
"Are you threatening me‽" she hissed.
"I'm trying to keep you in one piece, you drunk idiot. If you want to get lynched so badly do it outside of my bar!"
She looked around her, hoping that things would turn in her favour as they had always done. All the attention was on her, but this time there was no love, adoration or even lust... only anger and disgust.
"Fine," she whispered.
She stood up clumsily, fighting her struggling body and the whirling room as she reached for the door. She could feel the looks on her, shining spotlights on her shame. She fumbled outside, facing the sudden cold of the fall night. The door slammed behind her as she stumbled on the street. She had no idea how to get back home, but walking made more sense than staying in front of the bar.
What had her life become? Every day started with the hangover of the previous night, and Adagio would tell herself it was time to get her shit together. She was so much more than this, she was a siren, she was above all these petty little people with their petty little problems.
But then, she had problems of her own now. And as the day went on, those problems would become unbearable. And so every day ended back at another bar, and the cycle would go on unbroken.
"Fuck that shit," she spat.
Streetlights passed by, blurry, hurtful, angry stars, as she erred. How long did she walk? She had no idea, and she didn't care at this point. No one else would, so why should she? She was alone.
"Adagio?"
The voice pierced the fog of her thought with surprising clarity. Something about it made her feel something. Something more intense and powerful than the constant self-loathing.
"Adagio? Is that you? What happened to you?"
Adagio pivoted, slowly and the whole world followed. It was her. It was unmistakably her. The cause of her suffering. Sunset Shimmer. Anger and fear rose inside her, filling her numb body with new strengths.
"Sunset Shimmer," she hissed.
"Adagio are you okay?"
She took an unsteady step towards her tormentor, jabbing a finger at her in an exaggerated motion. "Came here to gloat? To savour your victory‽ Wanna take more from me maybe‽"
"Wh– Adagio, are you drunk? What happened to you?"
"You happened to me, you bitch!" she screamed. "You took everything from me!"
She tried to step further, but something inside her churned and turned angrily. It was too much for her in her state. She tipped over as the content of her stomach suddenly filled her mouth. On instinct, she turned away from Sunset as it left her mouth. She vomited onto a nearby patch of grass, and it crossed her mind that she could have aimed it right at the bitch. It would hardly be a fitting revenge, but it might be momentarily satisfying.
But unaware of the animosity that flowed out of Adagio along with the night’s drinks, Sunset was instantly at her side. She made sure Adagio didn't fall and gently caressed her back, soothing the pain.
"Leave me alone!" she croaked between two gags.
"Adagio, you have every right to hate me, but right now you need help."
"Fuck of–" her words trailed off into an undignified noise as more alcohol-soaked food rising to the surface.
"Here, here," Sunset said, while gently assisting her. Adagio was puking all over her helper's shoes. It should feel like a victory, but it felt strangely hollow.
"Leave me alone, just leave me alone," she sobbed.
"You're not okay right now... You need help. I won't let you go until I'm sure you're okay."
Adagio couldn't bear it anymore. She was tired of everything and everyone. She just wanted everything to stop hurting. She looked at Sunset. She seemed genuinely concerned. Why was she? Why about her? It had been a while since no one had cared. Not even Adagio cared.
She needed to know. She opened her mouth and–
✶☀𝄞☀✶
Adagio woke up with a start.
Dreaming about the past wasn't new to her, but she rarely ever thought about this part of her life for pretty obvious reasons. How long had it been? Two years? Maybe three? She turned and looked on Sunset's side of the bed. Her lover was still sleeping, with not a worry on her face. Adagio watched her for a long time.
How did this happen? Adagio wondered. How did I go from instigating the Battle of the Bands to having one of my former sworn enemies in my bed? In our bed? In our room, in our home? When did I reach a point where I don't care anymore?
If Sunset was awake, she would probably tell her that she was overthinking it. To be fair, she probably was, but she still marvelled at life's twisty paths. Despite everything, she and Sunset were dating. They were living together, and despite all the odds and struggles on the way, they had stayed together.
The thoughts grew until they became unbearable. Adagio couldn't fathom the way life had brought them together, and thinking about it only served to make her more upset. At the same time, it was all she could think about. In that bed, the thoughts had made themselves at home, lying somewhere between herself and her lover, an unwelcome guest she could not be rid of. Adagio rose slowly and quietly, not wanting to wake Sunset. Not wanting to speak with her, not just yet. She could not fathom what had happened, and so she would focus on what she could understand. She understood that despite her tiredness, she was not getting any more sleep. And that meant something else she understood – it was time to make coffee.
She knew it was the right call as soon as the smell of fresh coffee filled the kitchen. Even just the smell helped wake her up and chase some of those thoughts away. She savoured it as she poured herself a cup of the dark beverage. She added sugar, then took a seat at the kitchen table to drink her coffee in silence.
As she did, she thought a little more about the circumstances that followed that drunken meeting with Sunset. There had been coffee then, too. The exact events were lost in a drunken blur, but Adagio did remember that she had wound up inside Sunset’s apartment with her sworn enemy serving her coffee.
From there, Sunset gave Adagio her phone number in case she ever needed someone. Adagio, naturally, had told her to go fuck herself. But a few days later she was drunk again, and she’d given in and called the number. They had coffee that time, too.
"Babe?" Sunset called weakly from the bedroom, snapping Adagio from her thoughts.
"In the kitchen, sweet ass."
Sunset dragged herself to the kitchen, visibly still waking up. Adagio poured her a cup of coffee.
"Couldn't sleep?" Sunset asked as she sat next to the siren.
"I was thinking."
"Don't worry, babe, it hurts less after some time. You'll get used to it."
"Sorry, sorry," Sunset laughed. She put her hands around the cup, enjoying the warmth in the chill of the morning. "What were you thinking about?"
"Us, I guess."
"Oh... Good thoughts?"
Adagio looked at Sunset intently. She still didn't understand why life had thrown them at each other. But she obviously liked it. And that was the most important. "Yeah. I guess you're not too bad after all."
"Good enough!" Sunset declared. She leaned in for a kiss, and Adagio closed the gap for a quick kiss.
"That's all you get for now," Adagio let out with a smirk.
"Can I bribe you for more?"
Adagio tapped her chin in mock reflection. "Maybe... What are you proposing?"
"What about a sweet bike ride?"
Adagio laughed. "I didn't know my kisses were worth stealing a bike. Fuck, I should have asked way more for all those years!"
"Steal? What about my bike?"
"Your bike?"
"Oh, fuck... I forgot to tell you didn't I?"
"Sunset? You have a bike? What the fuck? When?"
"I completely forgot!" She laughed and winked at Adagio. "Someone was being very distracting last night, and I kind of got lost in the moment. Yeah I got a bike. Fast Break found a damaged one two days ago and he and the crew got together to repair it and give it to me."
"Wow..." Adagio sipped her coffee as she reflected on the development. They clearly cared a lot for her, and she should be glad about that, but something nagged at her about it.
Oblivious to her girlfriend's mixed feelings, Sunset just grinned. "Yeah! I couldn't believe it. I couldn't stop smiling for hours."
Adagio found something else to focus on. "Wait... Are you the one who parked on my spot?"
"Uh... yeah..." Sunset said, before realising the issue. "Oh, fuck! Sorry, the force of habit... I'll find another place for it, don't worry."
"I guess I should apologise for kicking it too..."
Sunset laughed. "That's fair, I guess. I should feel lucky you didn't do anything worse."
"Hey! What do you take me for?"
"For the baddest bitch in the neighborhood."
"Damn right I am!"
"See?"
"Okay fair." Adagio leaned back in her chair and decided that she was being selfish. This was good news for Sunset, and she should be happy, even if she was a little jealous that things like this never seemed to happen to her. "So that was the good news you were talking about yesterday."
"Well that's only the half of it but yeah."
"Only half? What's next, you won the lottery?"
"Nah I already did," she replied with a wink. "Twice. But that's not it. I'm going back to Equestria next month!"
Adagio pursed her lips. Sunset was happy, and Adagio knew she should be happy for her, but the part of her that knew that was smaller than the part of her that wanted to scream. "I see."
"Yeah!" Sunset didn’t seem to notice Adagio's unhappiness. "Something came up recently, a potential link between our worlds other than the mirror, so we're going to investigate it. Maybe we'll learn about a totally new form of magic!"
"Oh..."
"Hey Dagi, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she said, standing up. She wasn't fine. She felt sick all of a sudden, but she did not know why. She knew she was supposed to be happy, but she wasn't. "I'm fine," she repeated. "I'm going to take a shower, I'll be back."
"Dagi?"
"I'll be back."
She didn't realise she had walked into the bathroom before she heard the door close behind her. The two of them rarely closed the bathroom door when they showered, making this a clear sign that she didn’t want to be disturbed. "I'm going to Equestria," Sunset had said. Even just thinking of Sunset saying those words caused Adagio's muscles to tense up.
It hurt to hear. Adagio didn’t know why it did, but it did. For reasons she couldn’t quite place, she wanted to throw a fit. She wanted to scream at Sunset, to make her feel guilty for leaving Adagio behind. She wanted Sunset to hurt over this choice.
That was the old Adagio, though. That was when she had fire and didn’t care who it burned. The new Adagio? She sighed, and she turned on the shower. She took off her clothes and stepped into the water, sitting down and just letting it run over her. She held her head in her hands, and she asked herself what was wrong with her. And, as always, she had no answers.
