Chapter Eight

8 Hours 10 Minutes Until Execution

Princess Twilight Sparkle was flabbergasted, awestruck, dumbfounded, and virtually any other word you could think of that implied she was shocked beyond words. The revelation of what I had revealed with my story rendering her speechless for a long few moments as she sat there stuttering, trying to think of something to reply with. I, however, merely sat there soaking up how surprised I had made her. A part of me was taking pleasure in how much I had blown her away with such a shocking reveal.

I sat back with my hooves crossed as I watched her try to make sense of what she had just been told.

Twilight struggled to articulate for a few more minutes before she finally was able to form coherent sentences. “Okay… Let me get this right… You… kissed Shimmer!?”

I rolled my eyes at her stating the obvious. “I just said that, didn’t I? And that it was probably the dumbest thing I ever did…”

“But why though!? Why would you do that!? I don’t get it!” Twilight groaned, probably hoping I was pulling her leg and that I would soon reveal it was all merely a clever prank and that none of what I said actually happened, her next words making that apparent.

“You’re kidding? Right? You are throwing in made up parts to mess with me, right?” Twilight blinked.

I shook my head. “I’m afraid not… The reality is… This really happened, I really did kiss that girl, and it’s still pretty vivid in my memories even… She was actually a pretty great kisser… Me… Eh, I was mediocre…”

“Forgive me if I don’t believe you, but you expect me to believe that the girl that you murdered…” Twilight began, I cut her off with a sneer.

“Easy there…” I said.

Twilight coughed and corrected herself. “Err… That you were convicted of… Ending… Actually kissed you at one point?”

“I am still trying to understand it myself… I’m trying to understand how I allowed myself to get so weak as to give into the temptation of a mortal… Maybe it was because I had lost my magic, maybe I just didn’t have much further to go down, or maybe I’m just out of my damn mind… Either way, the fact remains that I kissed Shimmer…” I spoke with a serious tone.

Twilight merely stared as she placed a hoof on her temple trying to think of what to say probably.

“I just… This changes everything…” Twilight shook her head.

I merely rolled my eyes. “It’s not that game-changing is it?”

Twilight leaned in with interest. “You have to tell me more! What happened next!? What did you do!? How did you feel!?”

I leaned back to try and put some more distance between us. “Twilight, please… One question at a time… Anyway… You’re going to find out what happened anyway if you just keep listening, alright?”

Blinking, Twilight blushed and retreated back to her seat. “Yes… Of course… Go on with your story then…”

“Right… So there I was… I just finished locking lips with Shimmer…”

Shimmer and I opened our eyes slowly, keeping locked in a stare as she smiled lightly. Finally, she spoke and broke the awkward silence between us. “You’re not very good at kissing…” She smirked.

I shrugged. “It’s never been a skill that I needed… Or that I really wanted…”

“So you’re telling me that was your first kiss then?” Shimmer smiled.

Looking away with a blush, I just shrugged, trying to play it off. Oh shut up, Twilight you wouldn’t have known what to do either!

“Don’t go spreading it around, okay?” I replied quietly.

Shimmer giggled and gripped my chin with her hand, forcing me to face her as she did with a smile on her face. “Well, then we should make sure it’s one to remember… Let me teach you, okay?”

“Why the hell would I need to be taught something like that?” I growled.

She winked as she responded. “So the next time you kiss me you won’t be so lame at it.”

Next time? It had occurred to me that despite her criticism of my abilities when it came to swapping saliva, she was actually willing and eager to do that with me again? At a later date? The entire thing was baffling, but I just shrugged and decided to go along with it; I have no idea why considering how insanely stupid the entire thing is.

“Fine…” I shrugged.

She nodded and took my hand and placed it on her own cheek. “It helps to put your hands on your partner… The neck is fine too, a little hair pulling is nice now and then as well…”

Moving my hand across her face, contouring her features as I reached her neck and eventually entwined my hand into her hair, giving it a gentle tug. She yelped a little as I stopped. “Shit… Sorry… I’m not good at this…”

“No no, it’s fine… I actually like that…” Shimmer blushed.

I rolled my eyes but placed my hand back into her hair. “Like this?”

Shimmer nodded. “Yeah… Then you kind of lean in slowly… And open your mouth a bit, you know? You want to be… inviting so to speak…” Shimmer instructed carefully as she began to lean in herself.

I slowly closed my eyes and parted my lips as I followed her lesson. “So we just… Do it… Like this?” I said.

“Yeah…” Shimmer said as she closed the distance, our lips meeting once more, this time, however, it was far more interesting than the last. I listened to her advice and opened my mouth and gripped her hair. She let out a soft moan which surprisingly was… exciting to me. Locking lips with the girl and the sound of them smacking together all culminating to a very amazing experience.

Her tongue eventually came into play, tangling with my own, her moans only growing as the kiss continued to increase in intensity. I felt my body slowly warm up as I leaned in more, Shimmer’s hand reaching forward and gripping the front of my shirt to keep me pulled in as close as she could while she opened and closed her mouth with my own, fiercely attacking my tongue with her own.

The lip-smacking, the feelings of her hands gripping me, the sound of her moans, it was all so… heavenly. It was an odd feeling like I was somehow lost in bliss while she kissed me. I was enjoying every second and yet a part of me knew what I was doing was beyond wrong.

All good things always come to an end though, as the kiss finally broke, another trail of saliva connecting the two of us finally breaking as Shimmer panted lightly. She rested her forehead on my own as our eyes stayed locked in the most intense staredown I have ever taken part in. We spent a good few moments just examining each other’s eyes, finally, she broke the silence and spoke. “Now… that… is an improvement…”

“You think so?” I asked with a light blush on my face.

She nodded lightly. “Very much so… In good time… You’ll be a fantastic kisser, Dagi…”

Shimmer had too much faith in me, I think. Well, you see, Twilight… She probably had a lot more lessons in kissing than I did, so that was natural to assume. How was she? Well, I’m not an expert, far from it, but in my incredibly novice opinion… She was incredible.

It was all so wrong, I kissed Sunset Shimmer, and what’s worse is that I kissed her again. What was worse still though is that I liked it. What was wrong with me, I wondered. I questioned if I had lost any bit of sanity I had left. Perhaps when my magic was taken, I also lost a bit of my brain in the process. To do something so insanely stupid wasn’t like me. No, I’m not exaggerating, Twilight!

“Maybe you’re overestimating me…” I looked away.

“Nonsense…” Shimmer shifted to force me to meet her eyes once more.

“I guess I never considered why anyone would even want to kiss me…” I shrugged.

“Why… Anyone would want to?” Shimmer blinked.

I nodded. “Yeah, I mean… I’m a pretty terrible person… I lie, I treat people like trash… I’m selfish…”

“You don’t seem that way to me…” Shimmer smiled.

“You hardly know me…” I reminded.

“I’d like to get to know you better… And everything I do know, I have no problems with…” She smiled.

There was a short pause between us.

“So… What’re you saying?” I asked.

“I want us to hang out more… If that’s alright with you? I mean hopefully, it’s not weird now…” She leaned back, removing her forehead from my own as she rubbed her neck.

“You mean after you just swapped saliva with me?” I smirked at her, trying to make light of the situation.

“I was going to use the term, ‘rocked your world and ruined you for boys forever’, but your crude choice of words works as well, I suppose…” She replied with a wink.

“You’re starting to sound a little egotistical…” I replied with a similar grin to the one she was wearing.

She shrugged. “I’m sure you’ll be remembering that kiss for a long time…”

She had me there.

“I guess… That’s not entirely untrue…” I admitted.

“So… Do you want to get something to eat? Maybe hit up a McDonald’s or something?” She asked.

I blinked. “You are a millionaire, and you want to go to McDonalds?”

She giggled. “We all sometimes like to be lazy. I don’t go often, but every now and then when I don’t want to cook or bring in a chef I go to McDonald's… Maybe… Once a month at best.”

I looked her over, her slender figure definitely implied such. She was far from anorexic, but she was definitely on the slim side. She had a good figure… Not that I was looking, Twilight… You can stop snickering now.

I shrugged, seeing no harm in it. “Alright… I guess we can grab a bite…”

7 Hours 58 Minutes Until Execution

Twilight and I had put the story on pause for a moment so we could both use the bathroom. Sadly I had to be accompanied the entire time due to “security reasons”. Two guards escorted me upstairs because Twilight didn’t feel comfortable using the toilet in the cell with me just sitting there. Needless to say, it was awkward having two guards staring at me the entire time while I tried to take a piss, but somehow, I managed it.

When we returned to the cell, Twilight stretched a bit and frowned as I came back with the two guards ushering me into the cell. Grumbling, I smirked at that. “What? No dinner? You guys skip right to the good stuff first… Usually, I’ve had a few dinners with someone before they watch me piss.”

The guard grunted angrily, and his partner rolled his eyes before the two of them took off, leaving me there with Twilight.

“I guess they aren’t much for comedy…” I said to Twilight with a smirk.

Twilight giggled and shook her head. “No, they’re usually all serious, all the time. Though I never took you for a comedian…”

“I’m not… I just like giving them a hard time…” I replied, my demeanor returning back to a neutral one. “I have to do something to keep my sanity in here after all…”

“I guess… I never really considered what imprisonment would do to one’s psyche…” Twilight frowned.

I shrugged. “It is what it is… There isn’t anything I can do about it anyway…”

“I just need to know something…” Twilight asked.

Sitting back down across from her, I raised a brow curiously. “Hm?”

“How did you…” She paused, trying to think of a way to word it so that it likely didn’t annoy me. “Pull the trigger…?”

“What do you mean? How does a gun work?” I blinked.

“No no, I understand that… Mostly. Twilight was pretty extensive in her explanations of how human weapons work, quite scary actually… What I mean is… How did you find the ability? I mean… You knew pulling that trigger would end someone’s life… How could you do that?” Twilight asked.

Her question didn’t come off as accusatory, but sincere instead. Like she legitimately could not understand the concept of ending someone’s life. I suppose it made sense that she didn’t though.

“Well… You sentenced me to death… How is that much different?” I shrugged.

“That’s… Not the same…” Twilight shook her head.

“Explain how,” I challenged.

Twilight closed her eyes. “It took a lot out of me to do that… You had caused so much trouble in the past, and you ended the life of a young girl who never got a chance to grow up… Everyone expected a stern judgment out of me… Don’t mistake me, I didn’t just decide what I did on a whim… It took a lot of personal reflection…”

I leaned back in my seat and nodded. Her answer was about what I expected, mortals always had some way to excuse themselves of the same guilt that they shunned others for. What was bad for us was always just fine for them, typical.

“To be honest with you… I don’t know… I wasn’t exactly myself when I pulled that trigger… I felt like someone different… I didn’t feel entirely in control of myself…” I admitted with a frown.

That probably wasn’t the answer she was looking for, as it likely sounded like a cop-out.

“I… See…” She said quietly, deciding to refrain from further comment, though I could already sense her judging me internally.

“Why are you so interested, anyway?” I raised a brow.

“I guess it’s because I have a desire to understand the minds of those who commit crimes like this… See… I try not to believe ponies can’t be reformed…” She said.

“Yet you’re putting me to death?” I smirked.

“Even I have my limits, Adagio; that and others do not always agree with my views. If I had decided to try and put you in some kind of reform program it would have been an insult to those affected by your crimes. I had to decide who was more deserving… Either you deserved a second chance, or they deserved justice…” Twilight stated.

I already knew where she was going with that line of reasoning. “And I lost.”

She nodded. “Sorry, Adagio, but you had done so much that it was difficult to side with you. I had to choose what made the most sense and was the fairest…”

“I would say I understand… But I never understand you mortals…” I shrugged.

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.

I leaned over the table with a serious expression. “Your kind killed all the time. Mass murders of anything you didn’t agree with…”

“That was hundreds of years ago, we’ve since-“ Twilight began, but I cut her off.

“Yeah, yeah, you’ve changed. Spare me the sob story, I’ve heard it before. Where is the justice for my kind that you murdered? Where is the apology for that? When is your kind going to put yourself in prison to atone for that? No one ever came to show any sympathy for us, but one girl dies and you decide that you simply can’t allow that, can you!” I hissed as my hoof banged on the table.

Twilight blinked, but didn’t even flinch. “You’re asking me to take responsibility for the actions of our ancestors…”

“And why is that so bad? Your kind do the same to us! We’re expected to be treated like the same garbage just because of our ancestors! You look down on us for not letting go of the past, yet you do the same thing…” I sneered.

Twilight remained silent. Instead of replying, she sat there and chewed her thoughts before finally sighed and nodding. “Yes… You are correct…”

“Say what?” I blinked.

“What happened to sirens throughout history… It was… It was wrong. Please understand though that my ruling had nothing to do with you being a siren or the history of sirens… It had to do with your personal history and your personal history alone…” Twilight stated.

Strangely, I could feel a sincerity to her once again. Twilight Sparkle didn’t seem one for deceit after all, though I still couldn’t pinpoint what she was thinking most of the time, or at least when it came to thoughts that counted. From my examination of the mare, she seemed to be pretty easy to read when it came to things that were non-essential, but when it came to complex matters, she was an enigma.

“Well… At least someone said it… Too bad it won’t change anything…” I sighed as I calmed down and leaned back in my seat, removing my hooves from the table.

Twilight offered me a little smile. “We’ve wasted enough time on this subject… How about you go on with your story? We still have a little under eight hours before we’re out of time…”

Sighing once more, I nodded. Continuing my tale would at least get my mind off of my inevitable fate in the next eight hours. It was odd to think that the remainder of my life was the equivalent of a full work shift for most. To us sirens, we never really have a deep concept of time, due to how long we live, so the concept of our lives ending in only a matter of hours seemed so… odd.

“I suppose you’re right… There’s no sense in wasting more time bitching about something that’ll never change…” I replied.

She said nothing and just let me continue.

“Let’s see… So we were heading to McDonald's, oh… That’s a fast food place in the human world…” I pointed out.

Twilight smiled a bit at my comment. “I actually was going to ask…”

I nodded. “I know you were… Anyway, we were heading to McDonald's, and when we got there…”

So we went through the drive-thru to eat. Oh, the drive-thru is sort of like a way you can get food right from your car without having to get out. I know it sounds ridiculous, but humans live busy lives so sometimes it’s a necessity to them.

Anyway, I believe I got a cheeseburger and she got a salad with crispy chicken in it. Yes, I’m aware that humans don’t eat vegetarian. I get that it sounds morbid to you, but that’s just how they live, you can’t judge their culture so easily. Why did I eat meat? We sirens are capable of being omnivores too, though we don’t need to eat when we feed on energy, we can eat as a substitute to sustain ourselves. I’m not about to give you a biology lesson, Twilight.

Anyway, there I was sitting in the passenger seat of Shimmer’s expensive car taking a bite out of a cheap burger when I noticed her looking at me with a smile.

“What?” I raised a brow after I swallowed the bite of food in my mouth. “Do I have something in my teeth?”

She shook her head and giggled. “No, it’s just… It’s almost like a date, isn’t it?”

I rolled my eyes at the notion, how absurd. “Yeah… Whatever… As if I’d do something so stupid…”

She giggled again and took a bite of her salad before speaking again, naturally swallowing first. “How come you’re so standoffish?”

“Because people annoy the hell out of me…” I grunted and looked away, stealing another bite of my sandwich as I did.

She blinked and tilted her head. “So… you said you’ve never kissed anyone before… is it safe to assume that you’ve never been on a date either?”

I kept my gaze away from her as I answered. “You would be correct in assuming that… I don’t date. What a stupid idea…”

“Seems a shame to me… A cute thing like you? The world is missing out… Such beauty going to waste…” Shimmer sighed.

“The world can bite me…” I replied, still refusing to look at her.

“You have a lot of animosities built up…” Shimmer stated.

It was like the girl was analyzing me. First, she kisses me, then she tells me we’re on a date, then she analyzes me, what a strange girl.

“Are you writing a report on me?” I asked.

“No.” She shrugged.

“Then stop trying to analyze me…” I growled, finally looking back at her.

“I’m just trying to get to know you.” She raised a finger as she pointed out.

“Well don’t. You’re better off not knowing me. Everyone is.” I barked.

She blinked and tilted her head. “You really feel that way?”

I nodded. “Yeah… I’m nothing but trouble… Anyone who knows me… Trouble seems to follow them around too. All you need to know is that I’m a bad person.”

“I try to judge those kinds of things for myself…” Shimmer replied.

“Then you’re dumber than you look… Why bother seeing if something is terrible when you already know it is?” I raised a brow.

She sighed and looked out the window. “I guess… Maybe because in many ways… I know that I’m trouble as well… I don’t have many friends if any… I’ve been by myself for so long that I guess I’ve sort of been hoping there was someone out there who understands what it’s like to be an outcast, you know?”

Her words resonated with me. Especially a specific word: outcast. That was what I was, wasn’t it? An outcast. Someone who was tossed aside and treated like I didn’t belong; a creature if you will. Just a useless thing wanted by no one, except this girl. For some odd reason, she found herself desiring my company, she wanted to be by my side and even befriend me, despite all the warning I had given her that I was bad news.

“I… I know what it feels like to be an outcast for sure…” I replied.

She nodded and smiled. “I know… I could tell some time ago that you understood. That’s sort of why I went out of my way to break past some of the barriers that you put up…”

“I don’t put up barriers…” I crossed my arms and gave a snarl.

She shook her head. “You do though, you put them up because you’re afraid that if someone gets inside they’ll have the chance to hurt you again… I’m recognizing that I’ll have to be patient, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we met. We have more in common than you realize. We’ve both been through things that make us not trust, but for some reason… I trust you… Do you feel what’s happening between us?”

I paused and thought about what she said. The reality was, she was on point, as much as I hated to admit it. I had spent so much of my life trying to keep other out, trying to not open up for fear that anything I revealed could be used against me. This girl, however, she could sense that I was the kind of person that caused trouble and yet she still wanted to be around me. That had to count for something.

“I… I think so… I mean… We definitely have a few things in common… And maybe… it was wrong of me to call you stupid… Sorry…” I looked away, a blush on my face.

She smiled and nodded, placing her salad down as she looked in my direction. I caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of my eye and raised my brow.

“What?” I asked as she stared at me.

A giggle escaped her. “This is supposed to be the part where you kiss me.”

The blush on my face grew deeper as I tried to compose myself. “Yeah… Well… Don’t expect this kind of shit all the time, okay?”

“Noted…” Shimmer nodded.

With a sigh, I placed my sandwich down and leaned over to bring myself closer to her in the driver’s seat. Our lips met, and almost instinctually, I followed the lessons she had given me only a short while ago. Our mouths opened allowing for a more sensual kiss, but this time only lasting a few seconds and not nearly as intense as the previous one, still pleasant nonetheless.

Shimmer pulled back into her seat and leaned back with a smile. “I’ll make a good kisser out of you yet, Dagi.”

“Am I some kind of pet project?” I raised a brow.

The redhead just shook her head and smiled. “No… You’re so much more than that… So much more…”

7 Hours 32 Minutes Until Execution

“You were growing closer to her weren’t you?” Twilight asked.

I wanted to tell her she was wrong, that she thought she had it figured out, but she was mistaken, but after a few hours with the Princess, my willpower to deceive her was waning. Instead, I went with the truth.

“Yeah… It was strange, for the first time in I didn’t even know how long… Someone was at least pretending to give a damn about me… I guess I was drawn to that. A feeling that I had not experienced for so long… I wouldn’t even know how to describe it…” I replied.

“Being wanted, maybe?” Twilight raised a brow as she proposed the suggestion.

“Yeah… That’s it… Being wanted… It was a weird feeling at first, but somehow it was filling a hole in my life that I didn’t even know was there, and I had this redheaded girl to thank for it…” I smiled.

Twilight smiled back and nodded. “One of the first seeds of friendship. Though it’s clear you two were closer than normal friends.”

“Yeah…” I looked away, a bit disgusted in myself for a brief moment as I remembered where the story would eventually end up, me pulling that trigger and killing Shimmer. I knew that was how it ended, Twilight knew it too, but somehow I think we both were hoping it ended differently.

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of, Adagio… We all want to feel wanted, and by the sound of your story… You were long past due…” Twilight reassured.

“Yeah, but looking back… I doubt I deserved it…” I closed my eyes and sighed.

Twilight reached forward and gripped my hoof, only this time, I didn’t stop her, I didn’t swat her away and demand she not touch me. I allowed her to hold my hoof and give it a gentle squeeze, my eyes still closed as I calmed myself listening to her voice.

“Adagio… While what you eventually did was a terrible thing… If Shimmer wanted to make you feel that way, then you deserved it. She wanted to make you happy, and at the time… I’d say you deserved it,” Twilight said.

I didn’t know if I could believe her or not, but I wanted to. I wanted to believe she was telling the truth and that somehow despite what I had done, I still deserved any affection that Shimmer had shown me.

“Thank you, Princess…” I replied with a nod.

She released my hoof and smiled at me as I opened my eyes.

“It’s no problem…” She nodded back at me.

There was a short pause before she broke the silence. “So, why not tell me what happened next?”

“Well, let’s skip ahead a bit to about a week later…” I said.

I was collecting my wares for the week from Striker. Occasionally to save time, I’d just get a week’s worth of stuff to sell. Given my reputation with his group, I had the authority to carry as much as I’d like because he knew I was good for it. There were a few perks to being the top earner for sure. With my mind set on not having to set foot in the warehouse for a while, I walked up to our warehouse guy, a big brute named Stock.

He eyed me up as I stood there with my arms crossed. Finally, he opened his mouth and his low pitched voice asked me what I was waiting to hear. “How much you need?”

“Give me ten pounds…” I said firmly.

“Ten? That’s a lot to sell…” He blinked.

“I need a week’s supply…” I shrugged.

“Ten is pretty tough to sell in even a week…” He said.

“How about you mind your own business, Stock? Your job is to hand over the goods when I need them, got it?” I growled.

Striker must have overheard our little confrontation as before I knew it he had come to the scene from another part of the warehouse and tapped Stock on the back of the head. It was amusing to see such a small guy hitting someone as burly as Stock, but I tried not to laugh out loud about it.

“Stock, if Dagi wants ten, give her ten, fuck…” He shook his head.

Grumbling the bit lug nodded and reached into a crate in front of himself and began counting out bags until he had the correct amount. Briefly, he placed them on a scale to weigh them and then passed them off to me when he was certain the weight was correct.

“Thank you…” I sneered as I took them and stuffed them into my bag, crossing my arms afterward.

Striker found a smile on his own face as he stepped forward and placed an arm around my shoulder which I was tempted to swat away. “Dagi, how do you do it? What’s your secret for making riches so quickly?”

I shrugged. “I find people who love to get high?”

He laughed and nodded. “That is the name of the business, isn’t it…? Seriously though, you have a talent for salesmanship. One day… I can see you running this operation…”

“Yeah well… Let’s just focus on today, shall we?” I grinned at him.

He nodded and released me from his grip. “Well, good luck out there!”

“Thanks, Striker,” I replied, but felt a buzzing in my pocket. Within seconds I knew it was my phone and I was getting a text message.

I expected it to be Shimmer, but right away I could tell it was Sonata due to the poor grammar and stupid looking emojis attached to the text.

Dagi u promized u wuld com watch a movie with us!!! Where r u!?!?!!?!?!!!!??? :( :( :( :(

I swear, I wanted to punch her face so badly. She was so insufferably stupid that there were no words to describe it, but she was right. I had stupidly promised I’d hang out with them that night because Sonata was whining that I was never around anymore and to shut her up, I agreed to spend some time with the two sirens that I had taken shelter with.

A part of me could already tell it was going to be a miserable night. Trust me, Twilight… You haven’t seen how Sonata watches a movie… She commentates the entire thing. It’s really insufferable.

Sighing, I quickly typed up a response.

Calm your tits, I’m on my way.

I didn’t even bother looking at what insanely stupid overly excited reply she offered as I stuffed my phone back in my pocket and nodded at Striker.

“I have to go… Some bullshit with my roommates…” I said.

He nodded and took a step backward. “Well, I eagerly await your return, likely with a fist full of dead presidents…”

“Always.” I winked before taking my leave.

After a short bus ride home, I was back at the apartment ready to endure whatever stupidity that Sonata was going to subject me to. Before stepping in, I already knew I would need a cigarette. Withdrawing one, I lit it up and inhaled before opening the door to the apartment and entering, tossing my keys into a bowl next to the door.

Naturally, the moment Sonata saw me she stood up from the couch and rushed over with open arms, preparing to pull me into a hug until I held my hand out to stop her. “No hugs…” I groaned.

She frowned and made her way back to the couch and nodded, sitting down. Aria, of course, was there too, sitting in the armchair flipping through a magazine while Sonata patted the spot next to herself for me to take a seat. I let out a sigh and did as I was instructed and sat down next to the bouncy siren and leaned back, placing an arm around the back of the couch while I smoked my cigarette.

Sonata stood up and walked over to the small flat screen television in the room and flipped it on before coming back to sit next to me. She hugged a stuffed animal as a movie she had selected started to play.

Naturally, I wasn’t particularly interested in the film, movies generally bored me. Most of the ones I had seen up to that point were things playing in the background at Shimmer’s estate, and I was high while watching those. Still, I remained quiet so that Sonata would at least believe I was somewhat enjoying it (even though the stupid pain in the ass never shut up the entire movie).

I couldn’t tell you what it was about, Twilight, I was mostly chain smoking and zoning out through the entire thing until I eventually started to get texts from Shimmer, which became my primary focus.

Sunset: Hey, whatcha’ doin’?
Adagio: Just sitting at home watching a stupid movie with my roommates.
Sunset: Ah yes, your mysterious roommates… Which one are you watching the movie with? The “stupid” one or the “frustrating” one?
Adagio: Technically they are both stupid and frustrating, but the stupid one picked the movie out and the frustrating one is here.
Sunset: What are their real names?
Adagio: Sonata and Aria, respectively.
Sunset: What movie are you watching?
Adagio: I don’t even fucking know, I’m not really paying attention. I only said I’d do this with Sonata so she’d shut the fuck up. She is insanely annoying when she starts whining.
Sunset: You should come over then! We can get high and watch something.
Adagio: While being high would definitely make this entire ordeal far more tolerable, I am afraid I’ll have to decline. I’m stuck here tonight, if I leave early, I’ll never hear the end of Sonata’s bitching.
Sunset: Invite them along!
Adagio: And the award for the mother of all bad ideas goes to you… That’s a terrible idea.
Sunset: Are they not pot smokers?
Adagio: No, but why would I subject myself to more of them when I didn’t have to?
Sunset: They can’t be that bad!
Adagio: You’ve never met them.

I looked back at the television and then around the room to see that Sonata was still glued to the TV with excitement as she hugged her stuffed animal tightly. To my surprise, Aria was watching too, albeit with a glazed and inattentive look in her eye.

My eyes returned to my phone.

Adagio: So… What’re you up to?
Sunset: I’m in my lab.
Adagio: Fun. Some kind of experiment or something?
Sunset: You could say that.
Adagio: Now look who’s being all mysterious…
Sunset: Sorry, it’s sort of a secret project, I can’t tell anyone about it yet. It may win a Nobel prize one day.
Adagio: Don’t forget about the rest of us when you’re famous.
Sunset: I could never forget about you, Dagi. You’re one of a kind.
Adagio: I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing… Coming from you, I’ll assume it’s a compliment.
Sunset: It is a compliment!
Adagio: So maybe we can meet up later?
Sunset: Yeah, call me when you get done with your movie, I’ll come to pick you up!
Adagio: That’s okay, I’ll just take a bus there.
Sunset: You are so against me meeting your roommates aren’t you?
Adagio: I like taking the bus.
Sunset: Oh don’t give me that.
Adagio: It’s just… It’s a bit awkward, that’s all…
Sunset: It can’t be that bad…
Adagio: You have no idea…

At that moment, Sonata noticed me tapping away at my phone. “Hey, who you texting?”

Her tone suggested her inquiry was innocent, but I still didn’t feel the need to divulge the information to her.

“None of your business…” I rolled my eyes.

“Pffft, you’re mean!” Sonata complained.

Aria looked over in my direction, and I could already tell she had something to add, which no doubt was going to annoy me. “You’ve been on your phone this whole time… Who are you talking to?”

“Allow me to repeat myself… None of your business…” I grunted.

“It’s just weird… You don’t have any friends and I doubt you’re spending that much time texting a co-worker…” Aria squinted.

I was in quite a bit of a pickle. I would find it hard to create a convincing lie to get my way out of that one, but I couldn’t tell them the truth. Somehow just saying “oh yeah, I’m talking to the human version of Sunset Shimmer, oh by the way we made out a few times!” didn’t seem like a wise option.

“Don’t worry about it, okay? Jeez, can’t you two mind your own fucking business?” I growled.

“You’re supposedly the leader of our group, and yet you keep secrets from us, how is that not our business?” Aria raised her brow.

I groaned and came to a stand. “Fuck, I don’t have to take this horse shit… You, two idiots, are questioning me like I’m some kind of fucking criminal. Listen to yourselves, you’re worse than the mortals right now!”

“How so?” Sonata blinked.

“Questioning your own kind, acting like I’m up to no good just because I’m supposedly acting differently!?” I pointed out.

“This is different…” Aria stated.

“Bite me!” I hissed before storming toward the door, scooping up my set of keys.

“Where are you going!?” Sonata blinked.

“Out, don’t wait up… I don’t know what I was thinking agreeing to spend time with you, two idiots… All you ever do is drive me fucking crazy!” I shook my head.

“You’re not exactly the easiest to get along with either…” Aria rolled her eyes.

“Shut the fuck up!” I pointed at her with an accusing finger.

“Whatever…” Aria shrugged before looking back at the TV.

I didn’t even bother waiting to see a response, instead, I slammed the door behind me and made my way out, sending a text to Shimmer.

I’m on my way now.

With that, I made my trek toward the bus stop.

Author's Note

What is to come? Who knows.