Feather Boas and Statuettes
Adagio rolled her eyes as she sat on her throne. Honestly, it had been a hard day. From looking over documents to keeping her fellow sirens out of trouble to just… having to deal with humans, she just wanted to relax. No humans to control, no bickering to interrupt, just her, some music, and-
A knock at the door made Adagio’s eyes narrow. “Enter,” she called.
Aria poked her head in. Her gravelly voice sounded a bit hesitant, as if she knew the mood her leader was in. “Hey, Adagio, you’ve got, uh…” She glanced back for a moment. “A visitor.”
Adagio’s eye twitched. She just had to tempt the universe. Very well. “Alright, send them in.” Whoever it was better have a good reason for interrupting her peace or she’d feed them to her familiar.
A perfectly plucked ginger eyebrow raised when a band made their way into the throne room. She didn’t order a band. However, considering her affinity for music, she would let them play. If it pleased her, she would let them leave alive. If not… well, Encore hadn’t had a feast in a long time.
The band gulped, but without hesitation they began to play. A soft, slow melody, her favorite. Adagio took a deep breath, feeling the music restore some of her energy and dissipate a bit of the fatigue plaguing her. At least they understood her tastes, unlike the last band.
Adagio’s eyes flicked to the doors when they opened. A long bare leg slipped inside, followed easily by the rest of the person it belonged to. Adagio licked her lips. Clad in only her usual golden bikini, Shimmy swayed her way closer. Her movements were calculated, precise, but they flowed into one another effortlessly. Like water.
Sunset took measured breaths as her eyes lifted to her empress’, only for a second, though. Prolonged eye contact was against the rules without permission. Instead, Sunset turned her eyes to the ground as she began her dance. Her movements were practiced, so practiced she could do them in her sleep if asked. She would do anything if her dear empress wished it.
Adagio felt pressure rising in her chest. Her eyes surveyed Shimmy, following the flutter of the pink skirt. She leaned back in her throne, content to watch the show. After all, her favorite had decided to put it on just for her. Far be it for Adagio not to appreciate such a wonderful gift.
As Shimmy moved over the plush red carpet and polished marble flooring, Adagio took the time to admire her. She always was a fan of Shimmy’s legs, toned and strong. Adagio knew just what those legs could do. She sometimes watched Shimmy do her exercises, using her legs to juggle two of her friends like beach balls. Adagio’s breath caught as one long, honey-colored leg lifted into the air, followed by the other in a series of high kicks.
Sunset knew how much her empress loved her legs. Really, her entire body, but her legs and arms especially. She’d caught her empress watching some of her training exercises. It took all of her training not to let a smirk cross her lips as she caught sight of her empress’ gaze, solely focused on her and nothing else. Sunset loved this, those beautiful rose eyes on her, nothing else mattering but the movements she did for her beloved empress.
It was a slow dance. Her favorite kind of dance. Usually, it made Adagio relaxed, but any time it was Shimmy dancing, relaxing was impossible. Adagio’s grip tightened around her armrest as Shimmy removed the feather boa around her neck, twisting it around her body. Adagio’s eyes followed it like a magnetic attraction. Around her back, up over her chest, back down to her hips, sliding up her leg, curling around her hair. Adagio had Shimmy’s whole body mapped out just from how often she watched that boa.
Sunset could feel it. The heat rising in the air was unmistakable, centering around her empress. Or perhaps just from how long she’d been dancing. Still, she could dance longer, if necessary, for hours if her empress wished. Sunset could do it. She would do it. For her dear empress.
Sweat glistened on Shimmy’s body as she continued her dance. By now, her steps had brought her a pace or two from the stairs leading up to Adagio’s throne. By now, Adagio was leaning forward, her eyes trained completely on Shimmy as one hand stroked one of the golden siren statuettes at her side. Feeling the cool metal beneath her fingertips brought some semblance of control to Adagio’s mind. Everything was always so much more difficult to control with Shimmy around.
“Look at me,” she ordered.
As soon as the order left her lips, turquoise eyes connected to her own, but Shimmy didn’t dare stop. No, she didn’t stop unless given the order, or unless the dance ended. Adagio had trained her well. Shimmy knew every order, every signal, every reaction. Adagio had taught her, so she was nothing short of perfect at reading Adagio’s every movement.
Sunset continued her dance, keeping her gaze on her empress when she could. It was like this every time. Once she reached the stairs, her darling empress wanted her eyes on her and her only. Sunset could navigate the throne steps in her sleep, but she knows what she’s supposed to be doing. A careful misstep here, a small stutter step there, all part of the number. She knows, she’s trained for this, it came as easily as breathing.
The tension in the room was reaching breaking point. Sunset made her way up the throne stairs, keeping her eyes on the ruler she revered so much. Adagio held Shimmy’s gaze with all the power a siren ruler could possess, waiting for a single mistake, a single imperfection in the dance they did so often. Like two sirens, raising their voices to the heavens in perfect harmony, one did her part perfectly, the other waited for even the slightest fail.
It never came, of course.
On the final step, Sunset purposefully moved her foot as she was supposed to, causing her to slip, so fall, to drop to her knees. At the same time, Adagio reached forward for her darling Shimmy, but not to catch her, not to help her up, no. That was not this dance. A single, perfectly manicured fingernail was only a scant few centimeters from Sunset’s throat, forcing her gaze up, forcing her to look into the eyes of her ruler, her owner, her beloved.
Their gazes held, intense and unblinking. Dark pink and bright blue swam into each other, reflecting the two souls having a dance of their own. Adagio’s eyes, still unblinking, still just as strong as always, narrowed just slightly. Sunset, just as trained, just as devoted, gave a slow blink.
“Dismissed.”
The band hurried to get themselves out the throne room door. Once it shut, Adagio leaned closer, her lips only a breath away from her darling dancer. “Shall we have a dance of our own, Shimmy?”
“Anything for you, My Empress,” Sunset responded.
A dark sensuous chuckle filled the air before one pair of lips crashed against another, beginning their dance anew.
Outside of the ‘throne room’, Aria leaned against the wall. When the Rainbooms hurried out, she glanced at them. “So, they gettin’ it on?” she asked.
“More or less,” Rarity grumbled, taking a deep breath. “Is it really healthy to allow Adagio to indulge in these… delusions?”
“It’s called roleplay,” Aria explained in a bored tone. It wasn’t the first time they were having this conversation. Probably wouldn't be the last. “And it makes her feel powerful.”
“Must this be how she does it, though,” Rarity huffed.
“You wanna give’er the pendant back?” All of the Rainbooms were silent. “Didn’t think so. Besides, last time she went too long without this, remember what happened?”
Applejack snorted as she used her hat to fan herself. Hey! Playin’ bass was a lotta work when Sunset had the stamina of a farmhorse (no pun intended). “Yeah, took us two hours ta get Rainbow outta that mass’a hair.”
“Exactly.” Aria checked her watch. “They’ve got another hour in there before the janitor’s gotta clean the place. I’ll handle gettin’ the props back to the closet. You can take a breather.”
“Much appreciated,” Applejack responded, hefting Fluttershy and a complaining Rarity underarm. Rainbow cracked her neck as she followed along and Pinkie bounced behind with all of her drumming equipment. Aria watched them go and shook her head. If it kept Adagio happy, Aria would arrange this little session every month for the rest of eternity. Better than dealing with Adagio’s temper, that’s for sure.
Author's Note
@SFB, where'd you get your profile icon. Asking for a friend. 
(It's been too long since I've been on this site. I've missed these emojis so badly.)
Anyway, hope you liked it! The rating wasn't specified, so I just kinda... went with whatever came to mind.
I do my best writing when I'm super sleepy and it's actually been a long while since I last wrote any Sundagio, so I had to wait until I got a free day to just not sleep. I stayed up all night so I could be sleep-deprived enough to get this right. Sorry it took forever, but thanks so much for the request. 
And I appreciate your worry! I just kinda... disappear for a while, but I'm alive and well, promise. 
