The café was seeing about the usual level of Saturday business for itself, with barely a moment going by without somebody entering or leaving the place. Sitting in her usual booth, Sunset was, at this very moment, sitting opposite Adagio, and seemed to be, for the most part, content with just nursing down the warm cup of tea she held in her hands. As for the eldest Siren sister, she focused her attention on all those just beyond the window, her eyes drifting from one to the other as they passed the place by. This came to an end soon, however, as the waitress of the place swiftly made her way over, bringing a frothy-looking cup of coffee. Adagio, turning to her, gave her a small smile and a nod, which the waitress returned, before promptly taking her drink from her. Now alone together, the two Equestrians jointly took a sip of their respective drinks, and once they had done that, Adagio let out a sigh of contentment, breaking the silence between them.
"Ah! A pleasant day, as usual."
Sunset nodded.
"I'm glad you're enjoying it. It's nice to get some peace and quiet every once in a while."
Adagio nodded back, clearly agreeing with that sentiment, but for the time being, she did not respond. Instead, and after taking another brief sip of her coffee, she turned and looked over to a nearby menu, her eyes trailing over all the potential options of food she could have. Seeing her do this, Sunset smiled.
"Anything catching your interest?"
The Siren sighed.
"Difficult. I've tried all these meals at one point or another, and I like them all. So hard to choose sometimes."
Sunset giggled to this, getting back to her own drink as Adagio continued to speak.
"Mind you, flavours like this couldn't really compare to the feeling of...well...you know."
At first, Sunset hadn't quite understood her companion's words, but after bringing her attention back to her, and seeing that she was using her free hand to slightly caress the recently-reconstructed red jewel on her necklace, understanding came to the former unicorn. She nodded to this, and was initially looking as though she wouldn't comment further on the matter. But, as time went on, and she thought more and more on Adagio's words, a new notion came to her. Curiosity took hold in her expression, and after a moment of hesitancy, she opened her mouth to speak. Unfortunately, she was kept from doing so when Adagio spoke up yet again.
"You want to know how it felt, yes?"
Sunset looked to her with surprise.
"But...how did you know?"
Adagio, finally turning her eyes from the menu, looked to her fellow Equestrian with one of her typical smirks.
"Sunset, my dear, we've done this dance enough times now for me to see one of your questions coming a mile away."
A blush crept onto Sunset's face at that, and she nervously scratched the back of her head for a time. But, when that was done, she looked to her with her prior curiosity once more evident in her expression.
"So...what was it like?"
Leaning back into her side of the booth, Adagio placed a single finger upon her chin, looking away from Sunset and considering the question.
"I would call it...really...really....good."
Sunset frowned, her tone one of disappointment.
"Wow, how very...descriptive."
Adagio frowned right back.
"Well pardon me. Please keep in mind, my sisters and I have been the only ones to actually be able to do something like this. We've never had to put it into words."
Her expression softened as she started staring out of the window again.
"Now that I think on it...I'm not sure I can put it into words."
Hearing that, Sunset sighed.
"Well...guess that's that then."
Adagio nodded, then, all of a sudden, looked as if she had an idea pop into her head. An idea that, frankly, made her look about as mischievous as ever.
"Although...I may not need to use words."
Sunset raised an eyebrow, showing her confusion over that remark, which prompted Adagio to explain further.
"You recently gained the ability to read people's minds, yes?"
Sunset nodded in agreement, only to stop as realisation now took hold in her eyes.
"Wait...you want me to read your mind?"
Adagio nodded.
"Indeed. It's probably the best answer you could ever get."
Hearing that, Sunset considered the offer.
"Well...I suppose I could do that."
She looked back to Adagio.
"I'd need you to have a clear image in your mind of some past time when you did it though."
To that, Adagio raised a hand.
"Say no more. I already have a moment in mind."
Sunset paused, then sighed, nodding in agreement to this plan. She reached down to her nearby schoolbag, which had been carefully placed on the floor next to where she'd been sitting this whole time. Once it was open, she began to rummage around in it for a few moments, before, finally, pulling out the magical necklace that she had acquired back at Camp Everfree. Meanwhile, on Adagio's side of things, she had been slowly slipping off one of her fingerless gloves, an amorous smile on her face as she did so. When it was off, she glanced upwards, seeing that Sunset had placed her necklace onto her neck. So, the Siren reached out her bare and open hand to her, and while Sunset did reach for it, she stopped for a moment and hesitated, much to Adagio's amusement.
"Come now, Sunset...you know you want to."
And with that, she finally crossed the threshold and took hold of Adagio's hand. Instantly, her magic took effect, with Sunset's eyes shining bright white, as it had done for every such encounter with this magic thus far. Her vision became distorted, twisted, until her immediate surroundings were no longer what she was seeing. Instead, she started to see what she knew had to be the memories of Adagio herself. It was night, with the starry sky above her. Curtains rise, and hundreds of people are on the other side, just on the far-end of the stage. Sunset knew what this was; the Battle of the Bands. She watched as Adagio strutted forward, an ethereal green mist all around her. Sonata and Aria were on either side of her, and together, they began to let out their enchanted singing. The green mist swirled around them, drawn to them, and within moments of them opening their mouths to let out those notes, the Equestrian magic finally reached them.
Here, Sunset felt it. That surge of magic. The power of it. It was unlike anything she'd encountered before. At once overwhelming, dangerous, and yet somehow warm and inviting. The more she felt being drawn into her, the greater the feeling. It was, as Adagio had said, hard to put into towards, as she'd never felt anything like this before, even during her own times of experiencing strong magic. And yet, nestled amongst it all, there was another feeling. A pleasantness. A tingling that coursed all the way through her. It was as if she was being enchanted by this power just as much as she was enchanting others. She wanted more of it, she needed more of it. The greater the magic that was drawn to her, the greater that warmth felt. It was utterly intoxicating, and had she been left to her own devices, she would have most likely just stayed in this memory, ready to feel it all the way to its conclusion.
But end it did, as Adagio, by her actions, drew her hand away from Sunset. The ex-unicorn, for her part, shook her head, getting herself out of her trance-like state. Her cheeks were flushed red right now, and she found that she was even sweating a great deal. Her heartbeat was heavy, as was her breathing. Leaning back into her chair, she stayed silent, simply listening to her constant panting, all while Adagio watched with that same smirk of hers.
"Don't worry, dearie, everyone gets overwhelmed on their first time."
Sunset knew well the joke behind that, and so tried to give a disapproving frown, only to find that all she could to was stare aimlessly with her mouth hanging open. Adagio, naturally, found a great deal of amusement in all of this, but said nothing when the sound of the cafe's door opening could be heard. Turning, the Siren gained a look of surprise, prompting Sunset to see where she was looking. There, entering the café and heading right for them, was Flash. The boy was oblivious to Sunset's situation right now, and so, when he reached their booth, all he did was smile as he rummaged around in his jacket.
"Hey there, Sunset. I managed to find the name of that store that has that book you and Twilight were looking for, so maybe we could..."
But he stopped when he finally saw her, his expression becoming one of concern.
"Sunset? Are you okay?"
Sunset looked him over, her eyes filled with, for lack of a better word, hunger. Then, after swiftly licking her lips, she stood tall, took a step right towards Flash, and stared right into his eyes before speaking in a low and somewhat husky tone.
"You. Me. My apartment. Now."
And with that, she was off, hoisting her schoolbag over one shoulder and darting out of the café as fast as her legs could carry her. Flash, now left behind, had confusion plastered all over his face, leading to him looking to Adagio for at least some clarification. Instead, all he got from the Siren was a knowing chuckle as she focused on him.
"Don't worry, Flash my boy. You're quite welcome."
