No matter who you were or what your life was like, you could always recognise the face of someone who had just come over from a long and difficult day at work. Such was the face Adagio now wore, as she walked along the main street of Canterlot. With a few stray hairs out of place, as well as some dark circles under her eyes, the eldest Siren sister was looking more than a little exhausted right now. Clad in a long coat, she approached her destination; the local milkshake bar. The day was waning, and already the sun could be seen setting beyond the horizon. All anyone would want to do right now is relax, and that was exactly what Adagio intended to do. But, once she reached the doors of that bar, she found that she was not alone in this. For through the glass of the thing, she could spot her sisters, Aria and Sonata, already within, and having chosen a booth for themselves. Letting out a dry chuckle, Adagio finally entered the place in earnest, and as she did so, Sonata was the first to spot her.
"Oooh! Dagi! Over here!"
Adagio took some small measure of amusement in her sister's reaction, before then heading over. Aria gave her a small nod as she approached, while Sonata's smile was, naturally, much wider. Their elder sister chose a spot for herself, and promptly sat down, letting out a contented sigh as she did so.
"Oh! Ah! I’d almost forgotten what sitting down felt like!"
Aria chuckled.
"Tough day at work?"
Adagio raised an eyebrow to that.
"You could say that."
A look of discomfort came to her, and her eyes drifted down to the heels she'd been wearing all day. Reaching down, she slid them off, setting her shoes aside for the time being and taking a brief moment to give one foot a brief massage.
"I swear...all the services I give people at that spa, and all I can think is how much I want one myself at the end of it all."
Sonata looked to her, confused.
"Wait, doesn't your boyfriend do that kind of stuff for you?"
Leaning back into her side of the booth, Adagio let out a long exhale.
"Indeed he does. And believe me, when next I see Andante, I am seriously getting him to do every...single...inch of me!"
Then, at that moment, the waitress came over and, as it turned out, the younger Sirens had already ordered, as there were three large milkshakes upon her tray. She set them down, with Sonata especially giving her a wide grin over it, before making her way off. Adagio, after staring at her beverage for a time, took a quick slurp of it, as indeed did her sisters. When that was done, all three of them let out sounds of satisfaction, Aria especially.
"Oh yeah, that's what I need right now!"
Adagio looked to her with curiosity.
"Bad day too?"
Aria let out another chuckle, but it was dry and humourless.
"Yeah...pretty safe to say it was. It was all the usual stuff. Customers arguing over what the prices were supposed to be, that one old lady who can never find anything even after being given directions about a million times. You know the kind of day."
Sonata looked to her, giving an understanding nod.
"Tell me about it. I have this one guy who keeps coming over to Sugar Cube Corner, and me and Pinkie just can't stand him. He keeps going on about how he can't eat anything sweet or sugary because of some condition or something."
Adagio raised an eyebrow.
"Sonata...sweet and sugary things are all Sugar Cube Corner does. It's in the name."
Sonata turned to her, eyes wide.
"I know, right?! Why does he keep coming over?!"
Aria looked to her.
"Best guess? He has the hots for you."
Turning to her, Sonata grimaced a little.
"Ugh! No thanks! The guy's a total Jerk! Besides..."
She folded her arms, trying to look and sound as dignified as possible.
"...you all know I'm saving myself right now."
Aria rolled her eyes.
"Not that again! Don't tell me you're still hoping Sentry will get you knocked up?"
Sonata regarded her sister with a frown.
"Hey, you never know. He and Sunset broke up once, remember? It might happen again."
This time, Adagio was the one to respond to that.
"I'm with Aria on this one, Nata. Remember, this is Mr Goody-Two-Shoes we're talking about. He's not gonna go for you while he’s with Sunset, for reasons I think we well established last time. Besides, I've seen the way those two look at each other. Trust me, there's no breakup in their future."
Sonata seemed almost insulted by that.
"Say what you will, but my oven is reserved for his bun and his bun alone."
Aria grumbled.
"Well, there goes me having any dessert tonight."
Adagio looked opt her, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh? Since when do you go for dessert?"
Hearing that, Aria leaned back into her chair, a small smirk creeping onto her lips, all while she started to look more than a little pleased with herself.
"Well, I didn't want to make a big deal of it, but today's kind of a big day for me."
Naturally, both of her sisters looked to her with interest, prompting her to continue.
"As of today, I've finally paid off our debt to my Boss for those outfits of ours."
Adagio seemed pleased by that, while Sonata seemed confused.
"Er...what debt?"
Aria looked to her, annoyed.
"You know, from when we used our magic to swindle her out of those clothes? Just before we went over to CHS? The reason I’ve been working for her this whole time?"
Finally, Sonata understood.
"Oh! I get it! Neat."
Then, confusion came to her again.
"But...wait...you've been working there for ages. How much were those outfits?"
Reaching into her pocket, Aria pulled out a slip of paper.
"I wondered that myself, so I went through some of the old pricing books to find just how much they would have been."
She placed the paper on the table, and both Adagio and Sonata leaned forward so they could get a better look at it. That proved to be a mistake, however, as both of them gained wide eyes, shrinking away from the paper soon afterwards.
"Holy moly!" Sonata remarked.
"Indeed," Adagio added, sounding almost breathless.
Folding her arms, Aria nodded.
"Yep, that was my reaction too."
In the silence that followed, the three sisters took simultaneous gulps of their milkshakes, as if doing so would wash away the somewhat unpleasant taste of having learned what they'd just learned. When they had done this, however, Sonata regarded both of her siblings, before gaining a somewhat smug look about herself.
"Well...bet you're pretty happy I made mine."
Chucking, Aria nodded.
"Yeah, guess I am."
Adagio regarded her youngest sister.
"That reminds me, how is your sewing coming along?"
Sonata's smile widened.
"Oh, it's going great! Rarity's taught me so much about making clothes and stuff. Oh, and next week, after school, we're going to be trying some of them out when some of her friends come over."
Aria raised an eyebrow.
"What, Twilight and the others?"
Sonata shook her head.
"Nope! A bunch of girls and guys from some fashion school. You know, the kind of people who pose with those outfits on for photos and stuff?"
Taking another sip of her shake, Adagio nodded, understanding.
"Well, here's hoping they're impressed by your work."
Then, her eyes narrowed.
"Although...be wary if any of those male models show up with hairy shoulders. Trust me, having to put clothes on them is always a hassle."
Aria looked to Adagio with slight amusement.
"Let me guess...that one old guy showed up at the spa for his...usual treatment?"
A shiver passed through Adagio.
"Don't remind me! I swear, that man must have been a bear in a previous life! And it's always the shoulders he wants me to work on!"
Both Sonata and Aria laughed to this, and while Adagio was indeed a little annoyed by this display by her siblings, even she couldn't help but crack a smile at it all.
"So...here we are. Once all-powerful Sirens...now we're talking about how hard our days were at work."
Sonata nodded, then shrugged her shoulders.
"Hey...life's still good, right?"
Adagio and Aria looked to one another, and the latter soon broke out into another smirk.
"Hey, when she's right, she's right."
Sighing, Adagio smiled again, and in silence, she raised her glass. The other two, catching her unspoken meaning, did the same with their own glasses, and together, they gently clinked them against each other. After once more taking gulps of their drinks, to the point of outright finishing them off, Adagio sighed, before yet again looking to her sisters.
"Well...here's to life then."
