Chapter Seven

9 Hours 10 Minutes Until Execution

My decision to keep Princess in suspense by not revealing how Shimmer and I ended up no longer being friends and how I ended up putting holes in her at first seemed like an amusing one, a decision that I could use to annoy the princess endlessly, but after only a few minutes, she was beginning to annoy me more than I was capable of annoying her.

Question after question hit me until I finally shouted to get her to stop. “Fuck! How about you just let me tell the story, huh?”

Twilight raised a brow in confusion. “Why are you getting so upset?”

“Because you’re fucking annoying!” I hissed.

Twilight squinted as she thought about it. “Sounds more like you’re getting emotional… Is that it? Are you getting emotional?”

“Don’t be stupid… I don’t do that…” I looked away with a blush on my face.

Twilight smiled as she crossed her hooves. “I see… So you really did become friends with Shimmer then? You cared about her… I guess I can see why you’d get emotional now then… I mean you’ve been convicted of killing her and by your account, she was your first friend.”

I rolled my eyes. “Twilight… You don’t know anything, do you?”

“Well… By technical standards, I actually know quite a bit…” She placed a hoof on her chin in thought.

Blinking, I questioned how a mare could be so clueless. “I meant about my situation… You’re incredibly dense sometimes, you know that?”

“I… Have been told that a few times before…”

“And you’ll likely be called such many more times, I’m sure…” I grinned, somehow cooling off from Twilight’s pestering. Admittedly it was difficult to stay mad at her for very long, she was a little too dorky and plucky to be truly angry at. It reminded me a bit of an adorable dog, even if they got into the garbage, you wanted to forgive them right away because they are just so cute, even in their guilt.

Perhaps comparing Princess Twilight Sparkle to a dog wasn’t the fairest of things to do, but it was the aptest analogy that I could think of.

“That’s likely an accurate assessment…” Twilight admitted with a goofy grin.

It was like it was impossible to truly insult Twilight Sparkle it seemed. Eventually, with enough time she would grow immune to your attempts to down talk her. She was a nerd at heart, after all. Part of me wondered if she was in the chess club or if she got picked on for it when she was growing up.

“What’re some names you’ve been called, Adagio?” Twilight asked, changing the subject.

My ears twitched at the question but fell flat against my head as I thought it over, knowing a single insult that always stuck with me. I’d been called a bitch, a cunt, a complete succubus, but nothing like a certain word that always stung every time I heard it. A word that made my hands clench into fists, and made my heart beat faster as I felt my blood boil. The same word they called my mother before burning her alive. The same word they used to justify every terrible thing they did to my kind.

“Monster…” I growled under my breath, not wanting to even look at her as I admitted it.

“Come again?” Twilight leaned in.

“Monster!” I yelled, banging my hooves on the table.

Twilight blinked but didn’t even flinch when she saw my outburst. Instead, she kept her composure and raised a brow. “Is there some reason that the word ‘monster’ bothers you so much?”

“Is there? Yeah, there are dozens of reasons… Your kind uses that word to justify murdering my kind, to justify treating us like we’re nothing but vermin to be extinguished… And… To demonize us… To make us out to be horrible creatures that have no right to exist…” I replied, my tongue sharp and vicious, my voice filled with venom as I squinted at her.

“Do you think you’re a monster, Adagio?” Twilight asked, her tone plain and neutral.

“What kind of fucking question is that!?” I screamed, banging the table again. “I suppose you’re going to say my anger makes me more of a monster too, right?”

Twilight remained frustratingly calm. “Anger is perfectly normal. Given what you’ve been through? I’d day say even anger as explosive as yours is right now is also normal. Everypony gets angry, it’s a matter of how we deal with that anger…”

“What’re you getting at?” I hissed.

Twilight shrugged once more. “Again… It’s up to you… If you feel you’re a monster, then maybe that’s why the word bothers you so much… Though it’s understandable to be angry at a branding that you don’t agree with as well…”

I wanted to slap her something fierce. I wanted to knock some of her teeth out for even suggesting such a thing, but somehow I controlled myself. I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes, taking in a few breaths and releasing them as I tried to find what little zen that I had.

“Can we… Please just get back to the story now?” I asked after opening my eyes again.

Miraculously, I had calmed down enough to think straight once more.

Twilight nodded and smiled. “Alright, I suppose I’ve pushed your buttons enough… So, Shimmer was holding you in a tight embrace showing sympathy toward your rather terrible circumstances… What happened then?”

I placed a hoof on my chin as I thought it over, trying to figure out the best place to pick back up. “Well, given that nothing really substantial happened after that hug shy of me just heading home afterward, we should probably skip ahead to a few days from then…”

“An efficient story is a good one after all… Though I’m a big fan of knowing all the gritty details that most don’t care for… It helps me learn the creative process of the storyteller…” Twilight admitted.

I grunted and cocked an eyebrow. “Twilight, we have only a little over nine hours and there’s a lot more story to tell… So let’s move this along, okay?”

She frowned but nodded. “Alright… It’s your story after all… So what happened after your night with your new redheaded friend?”

Pretty soon after that night, I would find out that Shimmer snuck her number into my phone the first time I had come to hang out with her. I wasn’t exactly great with technology at the time, so I asked her if she could teach me a thing or two about computers or smartphones. Yes, Twilight those are the ones with the touchscreens. Anyway, it was a pretty good deal, I’d drop by now and then to learn a thing or two, and before I knew it, in only a few days I was beginning to understand the items that once mystified me.

This, of course, meant that Shimmer had access to my phone number and would start to use it to message me about virtually anything in an ongoing effort to get to know the girl who got her hooked up with pot on occasion.

Sunset: So, what do you like better: peanut butter or Nutella?
Adagio: I’m pretty big on chocolate, and Nutella is like chocolate… So I am going to go with that.
Sunset: So are your feelings toward peanut butter of the negative variety then?
Adagio: I can take it or leave it. Why do you care?
Sunset: I’m trying to bond with yooooooou!
Adagio: Trust me on this, you don’t want to bond with me.
Sunset: Why not?
Adagio: I’m a bad person.
Sunset: Nonsense! You seem like a sweetie to me.
Adagio: …
Sunset: You act all tough and strong, but I am pretty sure you’re a softie deep down.
Adagio: You’re a strange girl, you know that?
Sunset: I’m well aware, so are we still on to hang out later?
Adagio: Yeah, sure…
Sunset: See you then!

This was the typical kind of text I’d receive from the girl on a regular basis at this point. She regularly was probing me to reveal more about myself. What? I just don’t care too much for peanut butter, I mean I could eat it if I had to but… Wait… Why am I bothering to explain this! Shush, Twilight!

Rolling my eyes, I decided it was time to leave my bedroom and give my fellow sirens a visit since they were home.

Stepping into the living room, the first thing I noticed right away is that they were both wearing clothing that I had bought for them, Sonata’s charm bracelet standing out the most to me.

Both of them looked over the couch and armchair they were resting in and gave an approving nod before returning to what they were doing. Aria sitting there reading a book she had gotten from the library and Sonata painting her nails.

Wandering into the room, I sat across from Sonata on the small loveseat that surrounded the third side of the coffee table. The couch was on the south side, the armchair on the west side and the loveseat on the north side since I knew you were about to ask, Twilight.

Looking at the coffee table, I reached forward and snagged a package of cigarettes and drew one out of the container with my mouth before setting the package back on the table. “We running low on cigarettes?”

Aria nodded. “Yeah… I think we’re down to that and just another pack…”

I nodded in return. “I’ll pick up some more when I get back from going out… What kind do you want? Smooths again?”

Aria grinned and nodded. “That’d be cool, thanks.”

“No problem…”I replied as I flicked a lighter and ignited the cancer stick.

I’ve been over this, Twilight. Sirens can’t get diseases or sick, so we can smoke as much as we like and we’ll never catch lung cancer or anything like that. It’s truly remarkable if you think about it.

I took a few drags and exhaled as I leaned over the coffee table to reach the ashtray. Aria peeked over at me from her book. I raised a brow. “What?”

“You’ve been surprisingly more pleasant than usual lately…” Aria commented, her voice hinting at that she was mildly suspicious of me.

“What of it?” I scowled.

“What’re you up to…?” Aria asked.

I sighed and took another drag of the cigarette. “Just once in this fucking apartment, would I like to be able to do something without being accused of having ulterior motives…”

Aria’s expression dipped toward one of sadness as she nodded. “You’re right… Sorry… I didn’t mean anything by it.”

I wanted to gloat and rub her nose in the fact that she was supposed to submit to me, but somehow I just didn’t feel like it at the time. The fact that Aria was starting to back off at all was good enough for me.

“So work is going alright then?” Aria asked, her eyes glued to her book.

I nodded. “Yeah, things are working out. Maybe I can get us into a better apartment if this keeps up…”

“That’d be cool… Though I won’t like any since I have grown somewhat attached to this place and all its… quirks…” Aria admitted.

She was right there. As much as I felt the apartment was a rundown mess most of the time, there was no denying that my room had become “mine” over time. It was my little sanctuary away from the world, a place where I didn’t have to worry about anyone bothering me. I could turn my phone off, lock the door and do what I wanted. Usually consisting of sitting in my underwear and smoking while I sat on the bed trying to forget how much I hated my life. Shut up, don’t judge me!

This little building on the first floor wasn’t much, but it was more of a home than we were usually offered. In Equestria, we were mostly moving from place to place a lot and spent many nights sleeping in caves. It was at least nice not having to carry everything we owned on our backs because we had no place to keep them.

For the first time in centuries, I slept on a bed that was actually my own and that was definitely a pretty great feeling.

“Yeah… I feel you there… As much as this place is a shit hole… It’s our shit hole…” I grinned.

“I would prefer the air conditioner worked in the Summer though…” Sonata chimed in as she examined her fingernails. Satisfied with her work, she closed off her bottle of nail polish and allowed her fingers to air dry.

“I’ll nag the landlord about that soon…” I replied.

“So Adagio… I’m going to guess you have a plan to get our magic back still, right? You said you’d work on one when the battle of the bands was over… Yet I haven’t heard a word about that…” Aria raised a brow.

I knew pleasantness between her and I couldn’t last long. She always found ways to dig into me and rub my nose in every failure or thing that I had forgotten.

“It’s still on the back burner… I haven’t got any ideas yet, but I know something will come to me…” I grinned.

Aria shrugged and returned to her book. I already knew that she had resigned herself to accepting that we may be mortal forever. That we would eventually run out of energy and age and die like the rest of the mortals around us. Somehow she was okay with that outcome, but not me. I was determined to find another way.

Magic was far too important to me.

As I finished my cigarette I blinked as I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. Retrieving the device, I checked who was messaging me, and sure enough, it was Shimmer.

Hey you should come over! I just got a new filter installed for the indoor swimming pool and it adds all kinds of cool light effects. It’s pretty sweet!

I sighed and rolled my eyes at how childish she could be.

I don’t even own a bathing suit…

Her response made it seem like I had committed some kind of crime.

What!? For real? Well, that changes everything! Meet me at the mall! We have to find one for you!

Rolling my eyes once more, I replied.

I’ve never had a need for one… I don’t exactly go swimming very often… Or ever…

Naturally, my answer was not sufficient enough.

Nonsense! I will not allow this crime to continue! A girl as cute as you needs to be seen in a bathing suit! It’s unacceptable!

Shimmer was perhaps the most fashion-obsessed person I knew since I didn’t exactly know Rarity that well anyway. I’m not aware that she is far more fashion obsessed, but Shimmer was a close second. She couldn’t let crimes against “cuteness” go unchecked, that was sort of her thing.

Naturally, I had very little interest in swimming though the appeal of tons of men gawking at me and wishing they could have even a little taste was definitely something that I enjoyed the thought of.

Alright, well I could at least use it to flirt with guys into giving me shit. I do enjoy doing that.

It was like I was throwing the metaphorical dog the metaphorical bone.

I’ll meet you in like two hours by the food court! We’re doing this thing!

I rolled my eyes as I responded.

Hopefully, I don’t regret this.

It was at that moment that I noticed Aria was sneaking a few more looks at me when I was distracted by my phone. I raised an eyebrow at her. “Can I help you?”

“You’re getting a lot of texts for someone with no friends…” Aria commented.

“It’s my co-worker, he’s being a moron…” I lied.

“Seems like you’re smiling a lot for him being a moron…” Aria pointed out.

Damn, she was observant. Part of me wondered if she spent the majority of her time studying me so she could call me out on any bullshit that I fed her. Too bad for her, I always have some kind of lie either ready, or I could make one up extremely fast.

“I enjoy seeing him fuck up, is that not normal?” I grinned as I tried to sell the lie further.

Aria squinted but nodded as he suspicion subsided. “Yeah… That does sound like you, I suppose…”

Grinning, I was pleased with myself that I managed to lie my way out of another situation that would otherwise prove annoying to explain.

Coming to a stand, I stretched and looked toward my bedroom door. “Well… I’m going to go get ready… I’m going to go out for a bit before I head to work, alright?”

“Stay safe, Dagi!” Sonata grinned.

I scoffed and looked away. “I told you that I hate that nickname…”

Sonata frowned at my disapproval and scolding. “But I think it’s cute…”

“I don’t care. It’s not cute. Knock it off.” I commanded with a pointing finger.

She meekly nodded and looked down at the floor. I just rolled my eyes as I walked past her and into my bedroom to get ready to leave.

A change of clothes, a shower, and a bus ride later and I was at the mall standing there waiting for Shimmer to arrive. It had dawned on me that I was patiently waiting for the human counterpart of perhaps my worst enemy in the universe. I had a moment where I realized how pathetic my life had become, I was actually waiting for someone who was the replica of my enemy and actually not even remotely upset about it.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say I was excited to spend the day with Shimmer, but the thought of picking out a bathing suit that made men stare at me with desire definitely was a positive feeling. I’m a siren, Princess Twilight, I love being wanted, it’s almost written into our DNA. You won’t meet a single siren that doesn’t love being adored by strangers. That doesn’t mean I like dealing with the random nonsense and bullshit of strangers, but I will gladly take their admiration.

Sure enough, I could see a familiar head of bouncing red hair with yellow streaks approaching me. There she was in a rather form-fitting black dress with teal ribbons tied around the sides, making it look more like a corset dress that hugged her center and showed off her impressive cleavage. By just a glance, I would guess that the girl was likely a DD cup.

Breast size is measured in letters, Twilight. DD is basically what we’d consider big… I don’t know why humans are obsessed with breasts, Twilight! It has something to do with ancient times I think.

Anyway, she sashayed over in her heels and smiled at me as she came without a foot or two away. “Hey, Dagi!”

Acting casual, I nodded. “Hey.”

“So, are you absolutely ready to get the hottest swimsuit ever? We are going to make you turn heads, leave men breathless, and maybe even break a few hearts…” She spoke with an overly dramatic tone.

I grinned and nodded. “Yes, yes and yes. All of that sounds like good stuff.”

“What a tease, you are!” Shimmer giggled.

“It’s fun to trick boys into doing shit for you by using sexual appeal.” I shrugged.

“Scandalous!” Shimmer smirked and covered her mouth to contain her laughter. “A regular bad girl if I do say so myself.”

“I thought that was evident… I mean I am a drug dealer after all…” I replied.

Shimmer rolled her eyes and places her hands on her hips. “Whatever, so are you ready or not?”

“Definitely.” I nodded.

She nodded back and offered her hand. I blinked when I looked down at it and then met her eyes once more. She fluttered her eyes playfully as she gestured back toward her hand. “Are you not going to take a lady by the hand when you are being guided by her? It’s only polite.”

“First I get computer lessons from you… Now proper social ettiequte? Are you trying to groom me into one of those sissy high-class girls?” I asked.

“Not at all, I just prefer to be treated like the lady that I am,” she said with an innocent sounding tone.

I shrugged, figuring it was a decent enough explanation, and I didn’t exactly have anything to counter it with. “Alright, fair enough.”

With those words, I took her hand in mine and held it as she walked with me. My mind at first was telling me how absolutely stupid it was to hold hands, but also noting how warm Shimmer’s palms were.

As we wandered toward the store, she came closer and used her other hand to grip my arm as she walked closer to me. I could feel the warmth of her body on my own, but I kept my eyes forward, focusing on our destination.

Shimmer, however, decided she had more on her mind and began to speak. “You know… You still haven’t told me much about yourself…”

I already regretted letting her get that close. I composed myself and shot her a reply without looking at her. “What do you want to know?”

“Are you just a drug dealer? Or is there something else you’ve always wanted to be?” She asked.

“What do you mean by that?” I raised a brow, finally looking over at her.

Her eyes were filled with innocence so I could tell it wasn’t a trick question. “I mean, what did you want to be when you grew up? Surely it wasn’t a drug dealer…”

Once I understood her question, I returned my gaze directly ahead of me as we walked. “Honestly? I don’t know. I know I wanted to be accepted though…”

“Accepted? Were you picked on a lot as a child?” She questioned.

“You could say that…” I replied quietly, not wanting to go much further into the subject.

“What did you do for fun?” She quickly changed the subject, either detecting I was uncomfortable or just wanting to hit me with as many lightning fast questions as she could before we got to the store.

“Sing, I guess…” I shrugged. It wasn’t a total lie, I did enjoy singing even though I couldn’t anymore.

She smiled. “Really? I can actually imagine your voice singing! Let’s hear a song!”

I waved my hand at her as I shook my head. “Nah… I haven’t sung in a long time now, and I’ve sort of lost all my abilities…”

“I doubt that!” Shimmer grumbled and frowned.

“I just… I don’t know if I’m ever going to sing again…” I responded.

Shimmer frowned but didn’t pry any further. Instead, she found another smile and got closer to me. “Hey… Wanna hear a secret?”

“Uh… Sure… Why not?” I shrugged.

She leaned in and whispered into my ear. “I think that guy behind us is checking us out. Probably thinks we’re a couple.”

Blinking, I tried to shoot a quick look behind us only for her to force me to keep looking ahead. “Don’t make it obvious that you noticed!” She whispered.

“What a stupid guy…” I rolled my eyes.

“Why’s that? We’d be a pretty hot couple, don’t you think?” She smiled.

I sighed and looked away, a small blush on my face as I thought about such a ridiculous notion. Couples were dumb. Romance was dumb. The entire idea of preposterous.

“No comment…” I said plainly.

She stuck out her tongue and looked away. “You’re such a party pooper, you know that?”

“Let’s just get to this store..” I sighed.

She pointed ahead. “Here it is.”

Blinking, I stepped inside with her, and she finally released my arm as she ran ahead into the store proper. I was captivated by all the expensive looking clothing articles around me. The shopping addict in me was drooling, ready to make some purchases, ready to buy up the whole store if I could.

There were walls upon walls of amazing looking outfits. So much that I wanted for myself, but I had to focus myself and follow Shimmer deeper into the store, trying to resist snatching up everything that we passed.

Reaching the back, we arrived at the swimsuit department where Shimmer began to examine what was available. “Okay… We need something that shows off your figure, but also accents you well… You’ve got smaller breasts, so something that sort of hides that a little…”

I crossed my arms in annoyance. “Are you saying my tits are too small?” I was half only pretending to be offended.

She shook her head. “I think they’re cute, but everything is about dressing for your body. Smaller breasts mean you can rock a lot of different looks that busty girls have trouble with. I don’t really feel anyone has flaws, just features that they need to dress differently for.”

Somehow her explanation made sense. I knew what looked good on me and what didn’t, but I wasn’t as knowledgeable as she was, that was for sure. Shimmer was a regular expert.

Searching about for the perfect suit, she picked up a few and looked them over. Occasionally holding one up and standing back as she compared it to my body and mentally questioned if it looked good on me.

I sighed and leaned against the wall while I waited for her to decide. It was clear that she wanted to do it all herself, so I wasn’t about to stand in the way and ruin her good time.

“So… Do you go shopping a lot?” I asked.

She blinked as she poked her head out of a rack of clothing. “Oh… Well, a decent amount but not as much as you’d think… I sort of suck at being a millionaire in that I don’t go out shopping every week… I spend a lot of time at home and most of my shopping is done from my bedroom with an iPad in my hands.”

“Online shopping then?” I raised a brow.

“Amazon customer service knows my address by memory…” She blushed.

“Nice sounds like you have them wrapped around your finger then.” I grinned.

“Every girl’s dream, isn’t it?” She winked.

Truthfully, I had never used Amazon, but I knew it was an online storefront that allowed people to buy virtually anything. I had heard stories of people ordering the most ludicrous things from it. I think I recall Sonata saying that she once found a 55-gallon drum of lubricant on there. No, Twilight, I didn’t buy it.

“What about you, Dagi? Do you shop a lot?” Shimmer returned the question as her eyes returned to the racks of bathing suits.

“I’m addicted…” I admitted.

She giggled at my honesty. “Well, we all have our vices, don’t we?”

I shrugged. “I guess… I have that and smoking…”

“Yeah, you smoke a lot, for sure.” She giggled once more.

“Wish they let you do it in more places… Seems like you can’t even smoke in your own house anymore…” I grunted.

Nodding, Shimmer kept her attention on the bathing suits in front of her. “Unfortunately there were many laws passed after people had some mass hysteria over second-hand smoke…”

“It’s bullshit…” I crossed my arms.

“Aha! I think I found it! This is perfect for you!” She exclaimed as she snagged a specific suit off the rack and held it in the air. After examining it for a few seconds she nodded approvingly as she offered it to me. “Go try it on!”

I blinked as I took the fabric in my hands. “Do I have to do it right now?”

“We need to see if it has the desired effect! We can’t just buy it and assume it looks perfect on you! We need to see for ourselves!” Shimmer insisted as she stomped her foot in a pout.

Sighing, I nodded and began to head toward the changing room, noting that Shimmer was following close behind me. She wasn’t about to let me off too easily until she was certain that she had found the most flawless bathing suit for me. A part of me wondered if she did this kind of thing with all of her friends.

Once she shooed me into the changing room, I shut the door behind me and began to unbutton my pants. Sliding them off, I tossed them onto the only seat in the room while I worked on my shirt. Before I knew it, I had stripped completely naked and glanced at myself in the mirror.

I had to admit, I had a fairly attractive figure. I could see why guys would stare at me from time to time. I wasn’t some big titty bimbo like Sonata was, but I definitely knew I was hot. I admired myself for a moment before remembering why I was there, and then I began to hastily slide the suit on and look it over in the mirror.

It was black, with a ruffled top and a bikini bottom. What was most interesting though was the top was held on by only one shoulder and left my other shoulder exposed. Somehow, I actually liked it, it showed my body off in all the right ways. It was safe to say that I approved of it.

“How do you like it?” Shimmer asked from outside the changing booth.

“I have to say… This is pretty good…” I replied, still staring at myself with a smile on my face.

“Let me see!” She commanded.

Sighing, I rolled my eyes and reached for the door. “Alright, hold your horses…”

When that door opened, Shimmer was in awe as she looked at me. Her eyes traveled up and down my body as a whistle came out of her. “Damn girl… You’re a sexy beast right now!”

Blushing, I looked away. “Y-you think so?”

“I know so! Oh fuck, we definitely have to go to the beach together now!” Shimmer insisted.

“Maybe sometime…” I submitted.

That answer seemed good enough for her, as she nodded and pointed back into the changing room. “Alright, go slip back into your clothes, I’ll pay for that and then we can get back to my place and hang out.”

I paused as I heard her say she would pay for the suit, and I immediately took objection. “I’m not a charity case, I can pay for it myself…”

She smiled and shook her head. “It’s not like that, I want to.”

Blinking, I crossed my arms. “What’s the catch?”

“Catch?” She tilted her head.

“Yeah, what’s in it for you?” I asked suspiciously.

“There isn’t one… We’re friends, so I want to get that for you as your friend,” she stated plainly.

“Huh… That’s it?” I raised a brow.

“Yup.”

Not having anything to really respond to that statement with, I shrugged and headed back into the booth to return to my normal attire, my mind hanging on a single word: friend.

8 Hours 32 Minutes Until Execution

Twilight was smirking at me. Her smirk was so large that it looked almost unnatural. She leaned in with interest, her smirk not shrinking even a bit.

“What?” I complained as I felt her getting a bit too close for my liking.

“You made a friend…” She said smugly.

“What of it?” I looked away with a blush.

“You go on and on about how you’re this tough girl and that you don’t know anything about friendship, but you made a friend in Shimmer didn’t you?” Twilight asked, her face showing that she already believed she knew the answer, and as much as I didn’t want to say she was right, I was in a position where there was no point in denying it. Not because I was ashamed of my friendship with Shimmer, but because I didn’t want Princess Twilight to be right about something.

I crossed my hooves and looked away. “So what? Who cares?”

“It’s cute that you’re so embarrassed by it…” Twilight found herself giggling at my expense.

“I’m not embarrassed!” I defended.

“Oh? Then why are you trying to downplay it so much? Just say it, Shimmer became your friend and you were fond of her yourself,” Twilight said.

I bit my lip and diverted my eyes once more. “Because it wasn’t like that… It was… Well, it was more complicated than that…”

“How so?” Twilight tilted her head.

“Just… Listen to the rest of the story, okay? I promise it’ll all make sense eventually, but you have to be patient…” I replied with an annoyed tone.

Twilight adjusted herself in her seat and nodded as she prepared to hear more of my tale. “Alright, so what happened next then?”

“Well, when got back to Shimmer’s place… Let’s just say… Something unexpected happened…” I started up once again.

Arriving back at Shimmer’s home, we found ourselves on a familiar couch in her living room as I smoked a cigarette. Shimmer by my side sighing contently as she leaned back on the couch. “Man, you sure get some great pot… My compliments to your supplier…”

“Heh, if you want to compliment him, you could go on a date with him, he’s kind of a horndog to be honest…” I shook my head as I remembered how many times Striker had attempted to convince me to go on a date with him. At least he wasn’t one for making lewd suggestions such as telling me that I’d look good with him on top of me or something.

“Sounds like a real charmer.” Shimmer giggled.

“Well… I may be misrepresenting him, he’s actually a pretty cool guy…” I rubbed my neck as I corrected the impression I had given of Striker. Truthfully he was a pretty tolerable individual and one who had gone out of his way for me more than he needed to. In reality, I’d say that Striker was always looking out for me, maybe even more than the two sirens that I took shelter with.

“Oh?” Shimmer asked curiously.

“Yeah, Striker is actually pretty good to me. Like, I can’t really complain, he’s done a lot for me and he’s given me a lot more opportunity than most people would… He doesn’t judge what I am or expect me to justify my existence…” I replied, the light tinge of memories past hitting me.

Shimmer smiled and scooted a bit closer. “He sounds like a great guy actually… He’s not the only one that doesn’t judge you or expect you to justify your existence though…” She spoke quietly.

“Hm?” I asked before placing the cigarette I had back in my mouth.

“Well… I don’t judge you… And you’ll never have to justify your existence to me, Dagi…” She was practically whispering as she came closer and closer. A part of me was growing concerned, but that part seemed to lose out to the part of me that was intrigued enough to let it play out and see what happened.

“You hardly know me…” I looked away.

“I’d love to get to know you better… From what I do know, I can tell you’re someone who hasn’t been given a proper chance in life…” Shimmer said.

She had hit the nail on the head there. “You… Might be more right there than you realize… Most of my life is just people treating me a certain way before they even get to know me… I’ve spent my entire life being judged by what others perceive me to be, so I guess I never really wondered what I could be…”

Shimmer reached over and took my hand. “You never wanted to be a drug dealer did you?”

I shook my head. “No… Not really… No one ever asked me what I wanted to be…”

Shimmer squeezed my hand affectionately and spoke once more. “What do you want, Adagio? It’s high time someone asked…”

“I…” I paused and thought about it. Beyond my powers and the ability to control others, it had never occurred to me what I actually wanted from life. I never considered what I wanted to do with myself.

My entire life, I had spent avoiding difficult questions like this, and yet Shimmer could see right through my facade, she could see I was hiding from something, she could see that I wanted more from my existence, but I didn’t know what that was.

“I…” I tried to think of something to finish that sentence with, I tried to think of anything at all to get the subject to go away so I didn’t have to think about it any longer, but nothing came to mind. Eventually, I finished it the way I wished to avoid. “I… I don’t know…”

She frowned and shook her head. “That’s okay… I’m here to help you find out… Do you know what I want though?”

I shrugged. “A new bracelet from Tiffany’s?”

She giggled and shook her head. “Not quite.”

She placed a hand on my cheek and forced me to look at her, she met her eyes with mine. It was the first time that I had truly realized how powerful Shimmer’s stare was. She had a stare that would make many men freeze. It wasn’t until then that I also noticed… How beautiful her eyes were. They shined in the low lighting of the room, and their color was something truly special.

“What then…?” I dared to ask, my own voice getting a bit softer as I spoke.

“I want… to kiss you…” Her voice soothed me as it came into my ear.

Her request was absolutely ridiculous, ludicrous even. There was no way I could allow it, yet my body didn’t seem to resist. Instead, I shrugged lightly and spoke softly. “Do whatever you want…”

My words betrayed me because she reached over and pinched the cigarette in my mouth between her two fingers and set it aside on the ashtray on the table. Shimmer placed a hand on my cheek and locked eyes with me for a solid ten seconds, though they felt like ten minutes for sure.

Her eyes closed slowly as she leaned in, climbing over me to do so. At first, I didn’t know what to do, should I shove her off and say I was just kidding? Or should I turn away so she got my cheek? In the end, though, all I did was mimic her and close my own eyes. She would close the distance between us and land her lips on my own. They were soft, and she quickly became forceful as her free hand gripped my shirt and pulled me in for more.

Naturally, I had no idea what I was doing, so I sort of just let her lead. It was… Oddly intoxicating. Her lips and mine locked together, her tongue playing along with my own, and a few nips of my lower lip, the entire thing was more exciting that I thought it would be. Before I knew it I found my hands resting around her while she led the kiss.

It would end eventually, her breaking away with a small saliva trail as she did. Her eyes opened slowly as she smiled at me.

It had then occurred to me. I had just done one of the dumbest things I had ever done in my entire life. I kissed Sunset Shimmer.

Author's Note

The big kiss.

For those who have been reading Shadows and are up to date... This is no surprise. To everyone else... SURPRISE.