Getting Fired was the Easy Part

Chapters

One: Suffering Indignity
Two: Facing a Feeling
Three: Embracing the Change

One: Suffering Indignity

“Step forward!”

It wasn’t her usual MO to listen to someone else, much less actually obey. Being the one more accustomed to giving commands over her long life didn’t particularly help. She stood there for a time and wondered if it would be worth it to disregard the order simply out of one last vestige of resistance she could give. After all, they were ruining her life.

Rough hands, given strength by displeasure, took hold of her cuffed wrists and forced her forward into open space, forcibly turning her as she took a position before a white wall. A Snap! Of a camera shutter, then more hands turning her to face the accusing machine that seemed to have no other purpose in life save to be witness to her anger and humiliation.

The officer behind her gave a sigh as she continued her effort of noncompliance, forcing her to walk down the hall as though she were a marionette on a string. “You’re one of a dozen who got arrested, lady. Can’t you try to have some dignity and not make me push you around like you’re a child having a tantrum? I don’t wanna be doing this all night.” he said in a voice that sounded weary.

Adagio said nothing in return, letting the scowl on her face appear permanent. She had nothing to say to him, or any reason to give his night relief. She hadn’t asked for this.

A door came up on the right and she was pressed into its clutches, the handcuffs that had been on her since before she had arrived to the facility suddenly being relinquished of their grasp. “Wait here,” she was commanded. “Would you like anything to drink? We’ve got some water and coffee if you need any of it.”

She remained silent, though perhaps allowing her scowl to deepen.

The officer gave a low grumble and closed the door behind him as he left, leaving Adagio alone in what she knew full well was an interrogation room. What did they need her in here for? It’s not like what she’d been up to was any sort of mystery. Engaging in Prostitution: open and shut, just like that. What sort of questions did she need to answer in regards to this? “Useless assholes,” she muttered- then assuring her silence as she spied the camera in the top corner of the wall. She was under watch, to say much else likely wouldn’t be the wisest of options.

She wasn’t sure how long she waited in solitude, allowing herself to stretch out in leisure across the chairs that dwelt in the room alongside. It was late, yes, but she was used to later. It was the inactivity, the lack of anything to do that was set to drive her up the wall. She needed some level of taskwork to engage in and keep herself focused on the now- or what would be next. Lest her mind turn to what had come before.

How did I let myself get here..?

At last the door opened and Adagio made the mistake of actually paying attention to her visitor: a middle-aged man in a collared shirt, a small clipboard with some papers attached to it. Without saying a word he reached down and pulled the chair out from beneath her lounging feet and brought it for his own dwelling space. “Push back to the wall,” he said calmly. “I’m Detective Watts, I’m in charge of this investigation.”

She wanted to not respond. Not an ounce of compliance was in her at all-

“This is gonna happen anyway whether you like it or not,” he said before she could even really begin to make up her mind. “If you want this to get over and done with and it screws you too, do nothing. Want to save yourself from the shitstorm? Then sit up like an adult and listen to me.”

She gave a growl and sat erect, eyes fiery as she continued to keep her sights locked upon him. Adagio had so much better things to be doing than this.

“Do you know why you’re here in the first place?” he asked of her.

“I was doing your mother?” she fired back.

“It wouldn’t be the first time someone has,” Watts countered. “You were brought here alongside another male, a Mr. Sandalwood, aged 23, who had hired you for BDSM-based prostitution, is that correct?”

“Whatever his name is. Is that all?”

“It would be if we were actually here for you,” Watts answered. “Your case is easy. What I’m investigating is a double-homicide that happen two days ago, and your pimp is the one being charged.”

It was the first thing she had heard that made Adagio want to pay attention at all. News to her, for one thing- and this might be the start of something that would save her butt from a worse fate. She leaned in as she made effort to focus on the conversation at hand.

“Right now what we’re looking for is some supporting evidence to strengthen the case. We’ve got reasonable evidence to go to trial, but we want to make it more airtight. Since we know you were one of Slick’s top escorts, we’re willing to offer you a deal.”

“What kind?” she asked.

“A deal for no jail time, if you give us enough,” Watts replied coolly. “I want you to look at a couple of photos…”

Adagio took the printed pictures in hand and regarded them: two adult men, about a decade or so older than she. Greasy hair, overlarge, and familiar enough to her eyes that she could almost smell them through the picture itself.

“Recognize these two men?”

It was time to play ball. “Yeah… one on the left is a guy named Blake. Other one is Roan. They were regulars.”

“How regular?”

Adagio shrugged. “I wouldn’t help them. Saw them around a lot though.”

“Why would they be around?” Watts inquired. “Isn’t the point of your job for you to show up to them?”

“They’d come to Slick for other stuff. Drugs, I guess. They’d all argue a lot,” Adagio answered. “It wasn’t my job, and I didn’t care.”

“Their bank records indicate almost bi-weekly withdrawals, which we assume were for payment. Those withdrawals stopped about a month ago.” Watts looked at her. “Was there some kind of fallout?”

Adagio shrugged again, though this time she possessed the knowledge to still answer. “They got blacklisted. One of the girls complained about something.”

“Did Slick ban them from contacting any of you?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you ever see them after that?”

“I never messed with them,” Adagio answered. “I was pickier with my clients.”

“You didn’t trust them?” Watts surmised.

“They were weird. And the others said they always stank.”

“So they were blacklisted from calling you up. Did they keep coming around anyway?”

“I only know of one time,” Adagio said. “Got tossed out when I happened to be by. They and Slick were all shouting at each other about something.”

“Did Slick threaten to kill them in any of their conversation?”

“He threatens to kill everybody,” Adagio said. “It’s not remarkable. He never means it.”

“It looks like he did this time,” Watts said, looking over his clipboard of materials. “Give me a minute, be right back.”

Adagio watched as he left, her mind no trying to fill in the void rather than let insubordinate thoughts. What was going to happen to her now? What kind of deal were they going to offer her in return for this?

Who am I going to be when all of this is done?

She snapped that book shut before it could begin to seep out further. Not again. She would never let those thoughts gain any sort of strength, not while she could still prevent their escape.

A few minutes passed and Watts returned alongside a uniformed officer. “Alright, here’s the deal. You’re to be detained here overnight until I can get in contact with the district attorney, after that I’ll speak to him and see if he’ll sign off on a probation deal for your cooperation,” he said all rather rapidly. “I’ll be with you tomorrow and you’ll be told more then. Understand?”

“Crystal,” Adagio said as she felt the metallic claws of the handcuffs on her wrists yet again, and she knew it was not to be a pleasant night.

Two days passed before she saw the sun again. Another interview before she could go, and a meeting with some official she didn’t know and didn’t care to know. When Adagio was released late the next night, she was told to appear before court in two weeks, or else her plea deal would be forfeit and it would instead be true jail time.

“Remember, just because you gave us information doesn’t mean you’re off scot-free,” Watts told her before she left. “Show up, speak with the judge, that’s all there is to it. Should be easy.”

“Fine.” Adagio had said little to anyone during her time in detainment, deciding that the less was said the better. She’d been offered a phone call and had declined, deciding it wasn’t enough of a concern for anyone to know where she was. It’s not like she hadn’t been absent for days at a time before.

“Is anyone coming to pick you up?”

“No.” She was already on her phone and bringing up ride-shares for her journey home, trying to ignore the aged detective.

“Figured as much. Come on, save your money. I’ll give you a ride home,” he said, extracting a small pair of keys from his pocket and walking towards the lot. “Come on, offer’s only good once.”

Adagio was cheap- frugal, even. It would be too difficult to pass up. Sighing so as to make her attitude toward him still known, she made to follow him where a faded, white sedan awaited the arrival of its master. I’ll just sit in the back and ignore him.

“Alright… where am I going?” Watts asked, settling in his seat.

“Weylan Heights.”

“The apartment complex? Not a bad place to be. Shouldn’t take too long, either.”

The ride was a quiet one, for the most part. Beyond the radio that helped keep the awkward silence at bay, not a word was spoken for some time. Adagio had taken the seat directly behind the detective, trying to keep herself as much out of eyesight as she could manage in such a small place. An illuminated world outside passed by as she watched the scenery shuffle and change with each turn, each minute that passed.

“You’re not from here, are you?” Watts asked. A quick glance in reaction and Adagio cursed herself- he’d caught her paying attention. “You don’t sound from here, for sure. Where’d you come from?”

It would be worthless to even try to describe it to him, and she had no desire for this snooping animal to know a single thing about her travels here. Adagio kept her mouth shut.

“Any family here with you? Friends?”

The former was far more truthful than the latter, and the former may not last for much longer. “A sister.” An answer that had slipped past her tongue, unbidden.

“She younger than you, or older?”

You had to say something. “Younger.”

Watts glanced up at his rearview mirror to appraise her with tired eyes that she couldn’t read. “How’d you end up in a mess like this, anyway?” he asked. “Doesn’t seem like it fits you.”

She said nothing and let her gaze return to the passing scenery, which became more and more familiar with each passing moment. It wasn’t long before the banner for her apartment complex came into view.

“Where am I taking you in here?”

“Here’s fine,” she said swiftly, no desire for this intrusive character to know anything else about her life.

“Leasing center’s fine?”
“Yeah.”

“OK.” He pulled into an open space and placed the vehicle into park-

“Don’t follow me.”

“I won’t, I promise,” Watts said. “Just a couple of things before you go.”

“Let me out,” she said forcefully, wishing she could lean up and unlatch the door locks.

“Hear me out first. Remember, be in court on the right day, at the right time. Otherwise your whole deal falls through- and it’s a damn good one,” he reminded her. “Secondly… kid, you’ve got a chance to get away from that life. I suggest staying away from it. After your court appearance, I never wanna see you again, not ever. Keep clean, get a normal life and do normal things. You’ll be better for it.”

“Whatever.” Preaching to me like he’s my father- probably is a father himself, actually. Can’t even help himself.

“I get it. You don’t want me preaching to you. But try, alright? Otherwise we’ll see each other again, and I won’t be able to help you dig your way out.”

“Fine. Can I go now?” she demanded.

Watts looked at her with the doleful gaze of a basset hound and knew his words had likely fallen on deaf ears. “Yeah, you can go-”

The moment he had unlocked the doors she was gone, Adagio rushing out of the vehicle with that infuriatingly caring individual and doing what she could to leave it behind.

It was something of a surprise to Adagio when she opened the apartment door to hear activity within, the clock reading such a late hour that she was surprised anyone would still be awake when she entered. As the door went from a crack to a wide expanse, the sound of laughter and warm conversation came to greet her as she walked in.

“Oh- hey, you’re home!” Sonata rose from her place at the kitchen table to meet her and gave an enthusiastic hug of greeting that was more than unwelcome. “I was wondering where you’ve been, you didn’t tell anyone you’d be gone for so long this time! I was getting worried!”

“I was busy. What are you doing up so late?” Adagio asked her sister.

“Just me and Pinkie hanging out, that’s all!” the overly cheerful girl answered. “We’ve got a catering job to start preparing for tomorrow so we’re making sure that we’ve got everything we need before going to the bakery. Otherwise it’s shopping time!”

Great. It didn’t surprise her in the least when she looked past the form of her sister and saw that head of puffy, bubblegum-pink hair sitting at her table as though it were the most relaxed place in the world to be, her expression just as cheerful and unwanted as the one that was so prevalent on her sister’s. “Pinkie Pie.”

“Hiya, Dagi!” Pinkie’s natural exuberance had been a great match for Sonata’s, and the combination of the two energetic natures had driven Adagio up the wall ever since the youngest siren had tried to branch out in the hopes of a normal life. “It’s great to see you even though you never like seeing me! Sonata was getting worried about you so I’m glad you’re back!”

Absolutely undefeatable. The bubbly woman’s positivity wasn’t something she knew how to deal with, and certainly not one she could overcome. “Well don’t let me keep you,” she eventually proclaimed before turning to her bedroom down the hall.

“Wait- Dagi, hold on!” Sonata followed closely behind and pushed through the closing door before it could be locked shut. “You’ve been gone a long time, aren’t you even gonna tell me where you were? No one tried to kidnap you, did they?”

“No, Sonata. No one tried to kidnap me.” She’d done her best to keep the intimate details of her career away from her younger sister’s life. It shouldn’t have been a sticky subject, she using other people for her own gain, but whatever changes Sonata had endured had suddenly made the discussion a dangerous one. “I’m tired and I want to go to bed. Leave me alone.”

“Well aren’t you gonna at least tell me what you did?” Sonata pushed. “I was worried and I’m your sister so-”

“So I should tell you,” Adagio guessed. “I got arrested, Sonata. I’m fine, I’ll have to go to court in a few weeks and I’ll be on probation. Nothing happened.”

Sonata, though not the smartest of the former trio, allowed the information to process before giving any sort of reaction. “Are… are you gonna be in trouble for long?”

“Do you even listen- no, Sonata, I’m just going to be under watch for a while. I’ll be fine. I just don’t have a job anymore.” Infuriating. She just HAD to want to be a nice person.

“Well then why don’t you come help us at the bakery for a few days?” Sonata suggested, either ignoring her sister’s hostility or was oblivious to it. “We’ll have lots of stuff to pack up tomorrow and it’d be great to have an extra hand moving stuff to the van! Please?”

It would be easier to just relent. “Fine. Now go away, Sonata. I want a shower.”

“OK! See you in the morning, Dagi!” Sonata rushed out of the bedroom just as quickly as she had entered, leaving a weary, stale-feeling older sister atop the bed.

Sonata had changed. She actually cared about other people, whether it be by her own volition or the influence of others- Adagio didn’t know nor care. Aria had… she remembered the parting words and wondered if they were as true now as they had been on that day. And now, just a few years later, here she was: criminal, powerless, alone.

It was time for a shower and a distraction.

The morning was as dull and grey as it had been for most of the week, late fall unwilling to let sunlight soften its grip. Adagio found herself in far less revealing clothing than she was used to wearing during hours of work and in company she found just about as ideal.

She didn’t actually hate her sister- or Pinkie Pie, for that matter. She just found their cheerfulness unbearable.

“Come on, Dagi, we can’t be slowpokes!” Sonata called to her as they hefted their surplus of catering supplies to the awaiting van. “Scoot your butt into gear and help us, silly goose!”

The reckless abandonment into which Sonata chose to be cheerful would be something that would grate her for the rest of her days, even as she took a couple of plates in her arms and brought them outside. I just had to agree to help. I had to choose to be around this. Why, of all things? Can you just not take being-

Adagio didn’t let that sentence see its finish. Nor would she ever.

“I’ll be coming back home late tonight, Pinkie Pie will drop me off,” Sonata said when they finished. “Thanks for the help, that made it way easier!”

“Whatever.”

“Whatever? Oh come, you can be happy too, you know!” her sister said, giving her a gentle nudge in the ribs. “Stop trying to be such a sourpuss- welcome, be with you in a moment!”

“It’s alright, Sonata, just came by to give Pinkie back her cookbook I borrowed.”

Oh come on-

Around the corner came a horrifyingly familiar sight of red-and-yellow hair that she wished to never see again, Sunset’s eyes widening at the sight of Adagio standing there beside the two sweet-hearted women. “Oh, Adagio! I actually didn’t expect to see you.”

“Oh for God’s sake-”

“What? What? I don’t wanna fight!” she cried, hands up in a show of peace. “Relax, we’re both adults here! I just was surprised to see you, that’s all. Sonata says you usually work nights.”

“She got some bad luck yesterday- her mean ol’ boss made her quit,” Sonata said, her voice suddenly one of a tragedian. “That big brute went and fired everybody, can you believe that? So I asked her to come down and help me out for a bit today so she wouldn’t be able to sit there and mope all day!” It was an extraordinarily generous way of explaining things, though Adagio had no desire for any of that knowledge to be known to anyone, particularly someone who had caused her humiliation years prior.

“That’s awful! I’m so sorry, I wish there was something I could do to help,” Sunset said, displaying genuine sympathy after such a lie.

“It’s fine. I’ll find something.”

“Actually… Adagio, I know it isn’t much, but I might be able to help you stay on your feet.” Sunset’s expression grew brighter as the idea formed in her head. “You remember Rarity? Really pretty fashion designer, friend of mine?”

Perhaps Sunset thought Adagio had turned just as much a new leaf as her sister had, and that such a memory wouldn’t hold some level of anger. “Dimly.”

“Well, she’s been pretty busy at her boutique the past couple weeks, her former assistant got married and had to move. She’s been looking to get someone to help pick up the slack so she can go back to focusing on her designs.” Sunset was clearly delighted she could do something to rectify troubles for two people at once. “Why don’t I give her a call and let her know you’d be willing to take the job? It’s not much, but it’ll be a huge help for Rarity, and maybe for you, too!”

“Yeah! It’s a great idea!” Sonata practically burst out of her skin at the suggestion and tackled her sister with the excess enthusiasm. “Come on, Dagi, take the job! Take it- take it- take it- take it- take it- take it- take it-”

“Alright! I’ll do it, stop!” Adagio snapped, eager for her sister’s loud voice to be anywhere but directly next to hear ear. “Yes, tell Rarity that I’ll take it. OK?”
“Great! Head by there sometime today if you can, she’ll know to expect you,” Sunset said, “you’ll have a good time, she’s a great person to work for!”

It was worse than a punch to the gut.

OK, maybe it wasn’t.

The tumultuous emotions Adagio was feeling weren’t allowing for much resolution, or really much clarity at all. She didn’t even know if she was ecstatic at what was before her or utterly horrified, the rational and emotional sides of her mind going to war with such propensity for violence that any hopes of making sense of it was about as clear as mud.

It was one thing for her to be in the employ of a person who had aided in the destruction of her life. It was something else entirely to now meet that person again years later and find them monumentally attractive.

“Again, I want to thank you for being so willing to come by- and on such short notice!” Rarity said, showing her new assistant around the boutique that was to be her workplace. “When Sunset called and let me know you were coming by, I must admit I was a bit surprised. But it’ll be such a big help to me to have you around, it’s been woefully difficult to keep up all by myself.”

“Sure.” Adagio kept her words to a minimum yet again, this time out of uncertainty as to how to deal with this sudden, unexpected internal conflict. She tried to pay attention to what Rarity was telling her, something to focus on, though her eyes kept trailing back to the woman’s beautiful body and stirring up feelings of lust at the sight of it. Oh fuck…

“It’ll be a bit of a roller coaster to get you used to the ins and outs of this place, but I’m sure you’ll pick it up in no time at all!” Rarity said. “After all, Pinkie said dear Sonata was a quick study, I’ve no doubt you’ll be the same.”

“I hope.” A quick glance, small so as to go unnoticed. Her tits are fucking amazing. And that waistline-

Rarity regarded her new companion and mistook the terseness of her responses for nerves. “Oh, you don’t need to be anxious about any of this, darling. You’ll be fine,” she said warmly. “And any scuffle we had years ago as a bunch of girls is water under the bridge. No need to fret!”

Adagio half-wondered if Rarity simply was too simple-minded to hold a grudge, walking just a bit behind the woman to soak in her glorious form for a little longer. The things I would do to her- fuck that, WILL do to her. I want this woman!

“Well, any questions so far, dear? I don’t want to overwhelm you, so I tried to stick to the basics. Whenever something new comes up I’ll be there to help you get familiarized. Anything you’re unsure of and you can feel free to ask me! How’s that sound?” Rarity’s face was bright like so many Adagio had seen, but in such a different way that she couldn’t put a finger on describing it adequately.

“Not that I can think of,” Adagio said in a much more confident tone. Her mind was decided, and she’d make sure she left satisfied today.

“Excellent! Now, we’re not expecting anyone to come in for a fitting on Thursdays, so I usually spend the day sorting through what deliveries have come in over the week. It’ll be much easier with you here, so let’s get started!” Rarity beamed as she led her new assistant into the back rooms where a surprising multitude of packages in various shapes and sizes now lay waiting for their owner to unwrap. “It’ll be slow going, but at least we’ll have good company.”

Adagio laughed, the lovely fashionista unaware of just how good the company was going to be. “Let’s get started,” she said in a sultry voice that had once been reserved for her prized customers.

“So tell me, darling,” Rarity began as they set to work opening and sorting the mess of deliveries. “What have you been doing for work these past few years? Sonata mentioned that you were usually working late into the night.”

Adagio pondered saying the truth for a moment before quickly deciding to cover up a good portion of it. “A lot of nightclubs would hire me,” she said- a partial truth, if only lacking detail. “If they had an event or needed promotors… photoshoots, things like that.”

“And they’d just…have you be there?”

“It was an aesthetic sort of thing, I guess,” Adagio continued. “If you want to attract the right sort of clientele, then you’d hire someone to act as a patron for your place. Hire…” Shit, why am I suddenly gun-shy? “Hire, uh, beautiful people, then. Well, guess who shows up?”

“More beautiful people?” Rarity surmised.

“Beautiful people with money. It’s a racket,” she said. “And I was good at making it work.”

“I’ve no doubt. I’m surprised modeling agencies never reached out to you, darling. You’ve certainly got a beautiful figure for it!”

Adagio grinned. “No, not really. Just never seemed to happen.”

“Goodness, what a tragedy! If you’d ever have been given the chance, you would have been a household name for certain.”

“I just- never happened,” she answered lamely. “Never bothered me.”

“Well, hopefully they’ll wise up and take that chance someday!” Rarity declared. “You’re certainly capable of more, working as a simple assistant. I’ve no doubts that you possess the talent.”

“I certainly have the talent,” Adagio remarked, shuffling closer to the beautiful woman and reaching out to feel those splendid curves for herself. “And I’d hate for you to miss them.”

Rarity took pause. “Beg pardon, darling?”

“Wouldn’t you like to see them, Rarity?” Adagio whispered, pulling in close to the gorgeous fashionista. Her hand slowly, gently, reached out to feel one of those pert breasts that lay covered behind such fashionable clothing. “I’ve got such sights to show you… let’s explore together-”

The hand that was eagerly reaching out was suddenly held tight, unable to move an inch. A pressure came against her shoulder in the form of a bracing hand that pushed back the distance between the two-

“Hey-”

“Not. Another. Inch,” Rarity said fiercely, that warm glow in her eyes disappearing in an instant and suddenly replaced by a fierce cold. “I was fooled by a pretty face once, and that was one time too many. You will not be able to try such a thing here.”

“What in the fu-”

“I had misgivings when Sunset called me about you, but I was willing to let them slide because she vouched on your behalf,” the designer cut through. “However, that small trust I gave you was something you broke very, very swiftly. Did you actually think I wouldn’t see through your stories? I am not so foolish as that.”

Adagio wasn’t certain whether the humiliation or the anger would win out in the end, the two likely battling it out upon her face. Whatever arousal she’d had was long gone, slain by the iron grip of this woman who knew her far too well already

“The only reason I do not throw you out now is because dear Sunset told me to give you a chance. A real chance, not something with strings attached. But make no mistake,” Rarity said coldly, “ever try such a shameful thing again and I will throw you out of this establishment, and make sure a harassment suit falls right on top of you. Do we understand one another?”

Adagio couldn’t find the words to speak. The command, the authority, or maybe something about being so perfectly called out had left her speechless. What was she supposed to say when her favorite weapon had been tossed aside like a used napkin?

“Well? Do we understand each other, Ms. Dazzle?” Rarity’s tone was icy.

“Perfectly,” Adagio at last sputtered out.

“Excellent.” The grip on her hand was released, though she was given an extra push away so as to keep the distance. “Now, I must go and recompose myself. Please remain here and continue sorting through the deliveries. When you are done, you will come and let me know.” Without another word Rarity departed from sight, leaving a stunned Adagio roiling in a miasma of feeling and sensation she didn’t quite know how to comprehend.

She could leave. Simply walk out the door right now and leave. It would be an extremely easy thing to do. Yet she remained where she was and continued her work instead.

Author's Note

Part One of Three. One day at a time. Should be fun, right?

A suggestion by Buckethead because apparently great minds think alike.

Two: Facing a Feeling

“You’re letting your hair grow out again!” Sonata said brightly, half-muffled by the surplus of pancakes that were stuffed inside her mouth.

“I am,” Adagio said carelessly, though she gave a small shiver so as to let the returning length take a wave in recognition. “What of it?”

“Well it means you’re wanting to act like your old self again! You’ve kept it shorter ever since Aria ran-”

“And that’s enough, Sonata!” Adagio said dangerously, very much tempted by the thought of throwing the hot oatmeal she was eating into her sister’s yapping face. “Jeez, why do you insist on continuing to talk so much?”

“Because I’m happy and I like talking. You know that!”

“Yes, and you like doing all of that very loudly,” Adagio muttered. Why do you care what I do with my hair, anyway?”

“Because you’re my sister and I love you, so of course I’m gonna care,” Sonata replied, not an ounce of her over-bubbly personality quelled by her sister’s sour mood. “You’ve actually been making a friend these past couple months since you started working at Rarity’s boutique and I’m really happy because even though you’re on probation for the next four months you’re still trying and-”

“Yes, I get it! Ease off. And…” Adagio bit her tongue, wondering if she was even sure of what she was about to say. “She’s not my friend. Not at all.”

Rather than be perturbed, the words seemed to spur Sonata to a sudden gasp and she cried out, “Oh, you like her don’t you? That’s so cute, I love it!”

“Sonata!” Adagio hoped her face wasn’t red, or that at least it would be misinterpreted as anger. “I don’t like her, she’s not my friend, and I am about to throw my breakfast in your face. Why are you doing this?”

“Because it’s so sweet and I’m glad you found somebody even if you still wanna be a sourpuss all the time. You’re even making an effort to look pretty to impress her, that’s just ado-”

“Finish that sentence and you’re wearing this bowl, Sonata.”

The young Siren giggled and return to her pancakes, finding that more syrup was necessary for her complete and total satisfaction. But she kept glancing up at her elder sister with a knowing smile that was sure to drive her sister mad.

“What else do you have to do today but work?” Adagio asked, trying to steer the conversation away from more dangerous waters. “Will you be out with Pinkie and Sunset tonight, or just coming home straight from work?”

“I dunno, we haven’t decided. Why, are you wanting to bring Rarity back here tonight? She’s pretty formal nowadays, Dagi, I don’t think she’ll sleep with you that quickly.”

The sensuous Siren looked down at her bowl and wondered if she would really miss its contents all that much if she did indeed throw it in her sister’s face.

Adagio was used to stares as she went about her business. The form she beheld now was not an unattractive one, curvaceous and lovely to the eye. More than once she would catch people gawking, and it was not unusual to find one that didn’t want to look away even after being spotted. It wasn’t quite the strength and sustenance of magic from older days, but the feeling of power that came with such control had been one that she enjoyed. Her career path hadn’t been any sort of accident; she wanted people to notice, like bait on a hook to a fish.

Nowadays, Adagio had an issue she hadn’t found herself certain of how to deal with: the one and only person she wanted to notice unequivocally refused to! Every day she spent at the boutique was torturous, constantly spent in the presence of the one thing she couldn’t touch, couldn’t have, and yet so desperately needed. To see that beautiful fashionista awakened a hunger in her bones; to be close and let the scent of that resplendent perfume fill her nostrils turned her skin to gooseflesh; to gaze into those deep, soft eyes for as long as she could made her ache… perhaps in places she wished to keep unnamed.

To the sullen Adagio, it was little more the torture of a denied pleasantry and little else. She refused for it to be seen as anything but, even in her own mind. Yet…

“Ms. Dazzle?” Rarity’s voice came from her office and immediately the Siren felt something flutter in her stomach. Still so formal, even after months of work.

“I’m here,” Adagio said in a voice of forced calm.

“Do you mind helping me sort through these invoices? I’ve let myself run behind on them, I need to see which have been paid or not.”

“And leave the floor unmanned?” It wasn’t like Rarity to allow such a thing.

“I believe we’ll manage, so long as we make sure to listen. Come back here, and we’ll get started.”

Adagio left her place at the desk and turned to the back rooms where Rarity’s office was, entering and seeing that elegance now encased in a more business-forward adornment, a professional top and skirt that gave Rarity the look of a premiere businesswoman. How does she always look like this, just- just-

“Is something wrong, Ms. Dazzle?” Rarity’s gaze was searching, though her voice remained polite.

“Yes, sorry. Just drifted off for a moment,” Adagio answered, forcing her gaze to look elsewhere. “Where do I start?”

The two women worked in silence, save for a few spare words related to their work that meandered through the shuffling of papers and staples that crunched sheets together. Adagio found herself glancing up at her gorgeous companion, wishing she could let her gaze linger longer. She doesn’t even want to talk to me if she can help it. The thought wasn’t a comfortable one, eliciting an emotion that the Siren couldn’t quite name or perhaps just didn’t want to. She didn’t want it there, but the knowledge of how it would be alleviated wasn’t much easier to bear. But if it keeps going on…

Adagio gave a small sigh and tried to prepare herself for the most unpleasant choice she had ever made in her life. “Miss- Rarity?” It was a voice so quiet she hardly recognized it as her own.

“Mm? Yes, Ms. Dazzle?” Rarity hardly glanced up from her work to look at her assistant, one so fully in control of this world.

“I’m-” Adagio’s voice died as she tried to swallow back down the bitter pill before stiffening her nerve to try again. “I’m sorry.”

Rarity’s efforts to concentrate on her work were set aside and she gave her fullest attention to the Siren. “Sorry for what, dear?” she asked.

“For… for the first day I was here,” Adagio continued. “And what- what I did. I was, I… damn… I didn’t mean- I am sorry, OK? I don’t want you to be mad at me.” It was a terrible effort and she knew it. Futile and stupid, hardly a coherent sentence strung together in the mishmash of awfulness, but it was all she could manage.

“I know, dear,” Rarity said calmly. “And thank you for saying so. I do appreciate it. And if it helps, I do forgive you.”

“I should say something better.”

“One step at a time, darling. We’ll see you get there, in time.”

“Then can-” Adagio faltered, knowing that now she would truly be asking too much. “Then can you not call me ‘Ms. Dazzle’ anymore?”

“Does it bother you when I call you that?” Rarity’s gaze flickered and became tinged with something different.

Adagio gave a small, nervous laugh. “Well, I… can you just call me Adagio instead? Like we’re actually friends instead of whatever this is and-” she could have slapped herself for letting her mouth run off like that, saying things that she didn’t and so deeply meant all at once, even if it were only the tip of the iceberg. Goddamn you.

Rarity appraised the Siren, not a hint of disdain or mockery there to be seen upon her lovely features. It wasn’t as though the embarrassment was completely obvious. “Adagio, darling,” she said slowly, “do you want to be friends?”

Adagio saw herself in a mental mirror and couldn’t believe what she was doing. It was a transgression against everything she had ever believed in for years upon years, what she had clashed over with Sonata and what had caused the end-all, be-all of fights with Aria. But now she was here faced with the next step to take, and she wondered if she was always going to end up here anyway. “Well, I mean, I…” Adagio hoped she wasn’t actually going red in the midst of all of this. “Umm… yes. I’d- I’d like to be friends. With you.”

To call her rusty would have been kind. Yet Rarity, true to her nature, hardly even gave a sign of a mocking giggle, instead letting her full lips blossom into a smile that caused a sunbeam in the Siren’s heart. “I’d be delighted to, darling.”

“Oh- OK, then.” Adagio returned back to her stack of papers and felt herself glowing, a curving of her features speaking to an unbidden smile taking shape. She’s my friend. I don’t even believe myself.

“Why, I do believe you’re smiling, Adagio,” Rarity teased, a jeweled beam on her own glorious features. “That’s the first one I’ve ever seen you wear.”

“Umm- I wasn’t- is it bad or-”

“It looks lovely on you, you should know,” Rarity added. “Truly compliments you wonderfully.”

It looks lovely on me, she said. She even went and said something nice about me. Adagio doubted that her beaming grin would disappear anytime soon.

The transformation was not an instantaneous thing, some switch flipped within the beautiful Siren’s mind and kept righted forevermore. Rather, it was a long and winding path upwards to a faraway mountaintop, each new step forward and further up beset with stones and small things to bring her stumbling. Such things hindered faster progress, slowed her from a run to a weary walk, but the newfound determination was not to be easily swayed, given true staying power as Adagio found herself, unexpectedly, a desire to have Rarity’s approval- and hopefully more than that. It was the strangest thing and not at all a juggling act she knew how to master.

A friend. She’s a friend, Adagio told herself over and over again every day as she continued on in her work at the boutique. You just got your first friend, so don’t try to push things too fast. You don’t want to ruin it. Yet she would find herself watching the young, beautiful, endlessly generous woman with every spare second she was given to do so. So many people would enter into the boutique and, in Adagio’s mind, be nothing close to the kind of customer that suited the place: too snobbish, too poor, too rude or too shy. Yet there would be Rarity, treating the whole lot with the same eager smile and polite demeanor that seemed so unshakeable.

It was something that the wayward Siren marveled at, and in the depths of night where she found no way to escape her thoughts, there she would find herself wondering: why did she find Rarity, someone who had once brought her down so low, now someone so wonderful? There was beauty about her, yes, but that was hardly something new. Adagio had seen plenty of that in her years. Thousands of pairs of eyes, and in Rarity’s she saw a lively grace tempered with hard-forged wisdom. A voice as smooth as honey to the ear, made all the sweeter by the words of affirmation and kindness that it spoke. Hands so soft and delicate that were so willing to be dirtied in service of others, to reach out in the hopes of giving. It was remarkable, leaving Adagio feeling giddy and yet so ashamed of herself. Thought of older days would tell her to manipulate and coerce, find that semblance of control yet again, only to be battered back down by the growing desire to do otherwise. She didn’t want to control her at all; she wanted Rarity to really like her.

A late night came and she parted from her first friend and crush she had in the world, Adagio taking her time to drive through the night as she went homeward bound, thoughts and memory filled with the sound and feel of Rarity. It had swiftly become her favorite subject, keeping her to such distractions that she walked right into her darkened apartment and onto her room before taking notice that Sonata’s door was still open and the young woman wasn’t present within it. “Sonata?” Adagio tossed her bag on her bed and peered into the cheerfully decorated, though very much dark room and assured herself that it was empty. “Odd, I thought she wasn’t going anywhere tonight.”

The jolt of fear that came from the silhouette in the living room was a fierce one, taking her breath from her lungs in a shortened gasp that was stoppered by recognition as she saw the ponytail of her younger sister- the fear promptly disappearing as unease took its place. Her hyperactive sibling was not one who was easily stilled even when sleepy.

“Sonata? Are… are you OK?” Adagio settled down at the opposite end of the couch, making sure the woman wasn’t asleep, or worse. “What are you doing out here? It’s late.”

“I know. I’m not OK,” Sonata answered, her voice thick and clueing her sister into the tears she had been shedding. “I didn’t want to go to bed yet.”

It was not territory Adagio was used to being in, and no prior experience was going to be of much use in dealing with any of what came next. “Umm… OK. Why?”

“I tried calling Aria again. She still doesn’t answer.” The ponytail drooped even further and a small shudder coursed across small shoulders.

Oh. Adagio sighed. “Sonata, don’t try again. If she wanted to talk to either of us, she’d have done so already,” she counseled. “You’re only making yourself feel bad at this point.”

“Aria didn’t want to talk to you. She wasn’t mad at me,” Sonata said, her misery turning her naiveté to a vicious bluntness. “I thought maybe if I called alone she might pick up.”

Adagio wanted to reach out and- and do something to close the gap. Sonata may as well have been a thousand miles away, having moved so far ahead that the only thing tying her to her older sister was her older sister herself. The young Siren needed someone far better at this sort of thing than she was. “You tried. Sonata, I don’t think… I know… she’s not coming back. Ever.”

Sonata gave a real sniff at that one. “I know. I was hoping maybe I’d be wrong and she might miss me enough to try it.”

The intentional exclusion hurt, even if it was completely justified. “Would you rather I have gone instead, Sonata?”

“No. I wish both of you were here instead of just one of you.” Sonata paused, turning to look at her sister from the great distance. “Did you mean everything you said to her? Did you want her to leave?”

It was her turn to be painful, though it was not something she relished in doing. “I did when I said it,” Adagio admitted. “But I wouldn’t say all that now. I guess it doesn’t matter though, does it?”

“It doesn’t.” Sonata’s voice trembled as she spoke, “Everything she said about you was right, too.”

“It was.”

Silence, then more of it. “I’m… I’m going to go to bed now,” Sonata said. She rose to her feet and left Adagio there in the dark, looking out into the depths of it all and wondering if she would one day be able to see such a sight and not feel so terribly alone.

She could hear Rarity rummaging about in the back room, searching for what Adagio couldn’t quite fathom. She tried to let her eyes stay closed, even if it was the last thing she was supposed to do while on shift. It wasn’t like she had been able to manage any sleep last night. Another sound of frustration and she cracked open a solitary eye to peer out at the world, finding it damp and unwelcoming outside as the world fell under threat of a late fall rain. She desperately wanted to ignore the sounds and sights of the world around her, but couldn’t find the strength to focus on much of anything else.

“Rarity, what are you doing?” she at last called, turning from the desk to call back into the rooms behind her. “I swear, you’ve been scrambling through something back there for like an hour now.”

“I’ve been going through some…” a grunt of effort and her words dissipated like sunlight in a storm. “I’ve only just received my designs back.”

“Your designs?” Adagio began to walk back to where the sound of her desire continued to exert her effort. “I thought you made all your items yourself.”

“I do, darling, when I make the preliminary design,” Rarity said, appearing in view amidst a throng of boxes. “When I need a large number of them, however, it is more… cost effective! To have them made by another company. So here we are.”

“Do you… do you need my help, or anything?” the Siren asked.

“Oh no, I don’t think so,” Rarity replied. “I do appreciate the offer, but all I need now is for my models to arrive so I can get some promotional photographs done to sell the line.”

“You know models?” She couldn’t help but feel a tinge jealous. Of course she knew other beautiful people.

“Well, a few small-time models in town. And a friend of mine, who’s been willing to help me out now and then,” Rarity admitted. “Perhaps not true professionals, but always so willing to give me a hand. Now if I can just…” she turned from Adagio and set to her phone, dialing up a number as quickly as she could.

Adagio wanted to ignore her and move back to the front desk, but found herself beset by an emotion that somehow made her feel worse than she had before. Rarity’s attentions had no reason to focus on her, and still here she stood desperately wanting them. It was the stupidest thing that she felt, and couldn’t shake the slightest drop of it away. She wanted that eye for beauty, that fixation held in the loveliness of form, to focus only on her- even if it was for something as harmless and pointless as this. Idiot. Go back to the desk.

Adagio tried to ignore the words she heard filtering from the back room. She ignored the tone, the sound, every aspect that she could manage to dispel. She even managed to drown out the sound of footsteps that came from behind her until the sensation of physical touch came upon her shoulder in the form of gentle, prodding fingers. She jumped at the feel-

“I’m sorry! Goodness, darling, I didn’t mean to scare you so badly!” Rarity cried, stepping back in her own fright of Adagio’s sudden jump. “I’m sorry, are- are you alright, dear? You seem ever so distracted!”

“I’m fine!” Adagio gasped, now mildly distracted by the beautiful creature before her. “What do you need?”

“Well, I have an…” she paused. “An awkward request, darling.”

Adagio wasn’t quite sure how to react to that. “What do you mean?”

“Well…” Rarity looked away from her subject, clearly embarrassed. “So it would seem that one of my models- a girl named Fleur, very polite and charming, really- she’s been so useful to me over the years and now she’s not- not here. At all.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Of course you don’t! Goodness, I’m explaining myself horribly,” Rarity replied. “So she’s out of- out of town right now, and I’d like to have these pictures done as soon as possible. So they can be made for sale sooner. And if I have a model, it would be… easier. Would- would you mind helping me, dear?”

The exquisite Siren wasn’t sure she had actually heard her employer correctly. “You want me to… Um- you want me to do what?”

“I’d like- if you would be so kind as to model a few outfits for me, dear,” Rarity said hesitantly, “I would be most appreciative. You have such an elegant- graceful sort of figure. Fleur is something of the same, just maybe not- I would be extremely grateful. It won’t take long.”

Graceful. Elegant. Adagio was taken aback. Yes, she’d been dressing more casually, less sensuality in everything she did. Her figure was considered something admirable.

She just hadn’t thought Rarity had noticed.

“I mean, I… I’ll do it,” she answered, in a voice so very small.

“You mean it?”

“Yeah, I will. Sure,” Adagio said. “What’s the worst that can happen-”

Her next words were immediately thrown aside as she herself was thrown aside, Rarity pulling her along and into the changing rooms, the now not-so-elegant woman practically tossing her into a dressing room in a feverish excitement. “Just hold on a moment, darling, I’ll have the first outfit on your door soon! Oh, I could just kiss you for this! Thank you so much, we’ll be sure to sell dozens!”

Adagio focused only on one word and hardly paid any attention as she adorned herself with the first outfit, walking out in a daze that wouldn’t even allow her to notice what she was even wearing. It was something Rarity had created, so she knew it was beautiful, at the very least.

“Oh good heavens, that’s simply wonderful, darling!” Rarity exclaimed, her voice sounding rapturous now. “Just hold still and pose as I tell you to, I’ll try to make this as quick as I can- I know this isn’t something your particularly enjoy very much.”

On the contrary. Adagio wanted to revel in the fact that such a beautiful woman was so singularly focused upon her, even if it was something out of pure professionalism and not anything particularly special. That was enough for now, even if every ounce of her spirit craved more. It was spectacular, wondrous, heavenly- if only Aria could see it now! She’d be so deeply wrong, and it wouldn’t- wouldn’t…

Adagio tried to keep her spirits up as they went further along. The thought didn’t leave her be. It grew more and more, gaining strength with each passing outfit, taking power from each opposing thought that could not prevail against it. She was beginning to struggle now- openly.

“Adagio… darling?” Rarity let her camera fall from before her lovely visage, able to clearly see Adagio’s growing distress even through the view. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine! Come on, we’ve got other stuff to do than this, right?” It was not much of a reply.

Rarity look at her assistant and friend with a look that seemed to pierce her soul and suddenly left the room for a moment, returning back in a flash and saying, “so now we’re closed for the day.”

“We’re closed-”

“What’s on your mind, dear?” Rarity asked plainly. “You’re upset. It’s the first time I’ve seen you this way.”

“I’m fine,” Adagio said swiftly. “What does it matter, anyway?”

“Because you’re my friend. And I want to care about you.”

Adagio began to actually take in her surroundings this time. She was wearing a dark-purple gown that fell to the floor in an elegant train. It was a beautiful thing, really. So contradictory to the ugliness she felt inside.

“Adagio? Darling?”

“Just- just thinking. That’s all,” she said. “Nothing special.”

“Oh.” A pause. “Thinking about what?”

“Nothing special,” Adagio said again. “Just Aria.” Oh damn you. “She’d be laughing herself to pieces, seeing me like this. With a friend, looking pretty. On purpose. She’d have been able to have the last laugh after all.”

The memory was so clear in her mind that it was sharp enough to turn to daggers and pierce her heart in a way it had never been able to before. It was torture, pain, agonizing feeling that she could not find a means to get away from. There had to be something, anything she could do to free herself from this. She had done it alone once before, hadn’t she? Now she would try again-

“Adagio? Darling, please look at me.” Rarity’s voice cut through the miasma and Adagio was flung away from the thousands of memories and emotions that were so inseparably tied into that fateful day, looking instead into the face of a beautiful woman who truly seemed to care. “Adagio, where is Aria?”

So she knew. “Why?”

“Sonata never mentions her without crying. Pinkie and Sunset told me that once. She never says a thing.”

“Because she doesn’t know where Aria is,” Adagio said flatly. “So of course she can’t.”

“Do you know where she is, then?”

“No. And I don’t think I ever will,” Adagio said, her voice whimpering away into a weak-willed sigh. “She’s not dead, if that’s what you’re asking. At least not that I’m aware of.”

“What happened? Please tell me.”

“Nothing special. Just me making a mess of it.” Adagio’s words were so cold, so detached from the person that spoke them, free of the weight of emotion they bore. It was something she had to marvel at.

“Do you want to tell me?”

“No.”

“Will you please tell me anyway?” A feeling against her hand and Adagio felt warmth that she knew wasn’t her own.

“I- I guess.” She took a slow breath of air. “It wasn’t long after you and… and the others- had thrown us out. We were struggling. I’d started working for a pimp, Sonata wanted to try something different, and so did Aria. I acted like the parent and told them no.”

“Was this when Sonata started being friends with Pinkie Pie?” Rarity inquired. “When she first started working at the Cake’s bakery…”

“Yeah. I told her not to. Aria was on her side. She said we needed to have a way to survive that was actually going to work. After all, I hadn’t actually been able to guide them both to something safe after all those years.” Adagio’s vision was misty now and she wondered where that stinging was coming from. “So we both got angry. I told her to leave, she yelled at me and said she never wanted to see me again. And- and other things.”

“Oh… what- what other things, darling?”

“Nothing special. She told Sonata to run away from me. That I deserved to be alone. Things like that.” Adagio took a shuddering breath. “I would always be alone because it’s all I could manage. I lead people wrong and don’t do what it takes to actually be… safe.” Her vision was well and truly clouded now. “What I did worked in home. It doesn’t work here. So Aria said I tried to get them all killed.”

“And of course you didn’t mean for that, darling.” Another warm presence on her flesh.

“I don’t think I did. But it happened anyway. So I messed it up, anyway. I said worse things to her before she left,” Adagio admitted. “And now she’s gone, so I can’t take it back.”

“I’m sure you didn’t mean them, my darling…”

“I did when I said them. Now I just can’t take them back,” Adagio whispered, finding herself struggling to speak. It was coming now, and she didn’t know quite what it was that she was so desperately fighting against. Her eyes stung, Rarity held her all the tighter, and she couldn’t find a way to relieve herself of it all.

So she just let it happen. Maybe Rarity’s warmth would help it go away faster.

Author's Note

Part Three tomorrow. Trust.

Three: Embracing the Change

She felt better. Yes, all the misery, unhappiness, all the vicious aches and sorrow that had lain upon her bones for years were not quite ready to relinquish their grasp on her heart, but the weight of them felt bearable, even if only for a moment. Adagio didn’t know how long she and Rarity stood there together, she held in the arms of this beautiful thing that she called her friend. When the stinging in her eyes finally began to fade and the wetness that had taken its place had dried, she was able to find her voice.

“I’ll be fine.” Unbelievable. After all that.

“And you’re sure, darling?” Rarity’s voice remained soft, gentle like a caress on her skin.

“I think so.” She felt poisoned, slow and sickly. But Adagio still somehow knew it would fade in due time. “Thank you.”

“I’m happy to help.” Rarity released Adagio from her arms but did not fully let her free, tending to her hands and bringing the Siren to her gaze. “Please, if you… ever need a listening ear. I’ll be there for as long as you want me to be. I’d be glad to.”

“You’re sure? I don’t want to be a bother.” Adagio wanted to take the offer so swiftly, but wondered if she should even dare.

“Of course! It’s what friends are for, isn’t it?” Rarity beamed proudly at the thought.

“Yeah. Yeah, I guess they are.”

The last few photos that had been required were set aside for another day. Rarity examined a few other outfits that had been left untouched and dubbed them to be “more Fluttershy’s style than yours” before placing them on a separate rack in the back office. The two then worked peacefully in what little else needed to be done, hardly a word said between them that could be deemed unnecessary- yet each squeeze of a shoulder, each touch of a hand, and every smile somehow became critical. Especially to Adagio, who suddenly possessed a great need to display them.

“How about… Adagio, would you like to spend some time together this weekend?” Rarity asked her as they closed up shop some time later. “The night is still young now, if you feel like it.”

It was a delightful idea and she wanted to accept, but the weariness that had come from her emotional outburst wasn’t so easily cast aside. “I’d like to just get home for the day, honestly,” she admitted. “Thanks, though. I’ll take you up on that offer for this weekend.”

“Wonderful! I’ll be looking forward to it, darling!” Rarity cried, reaching out her arms and offering her friend a hug.

Adagio tried not to appear too eager in her acceptance, but her heart delighted in the warmth of the beautiful woman that embraced her. It was comfortable, and so very soft- enough that when they made to break apart, Adagio acted on instinct and kissed her on the cheek.

“Oh, my stars!”

Adagio’s heart sunk. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean- it just crept out!” She could feel herself blushing and wished she could evaporate into the dampness that permeated the air.

“It’s- it’s alright, darling! Just a little unexpected, that’s all!” Rarity remained gracious, smiling as she herself turned a faint pink. A moment of hesitation before she turned and placed her lips on Adagio’s cheek in return. “There! Now we’re even, aren’t we? I’ll see you tomorrow, dear!”

Adagio simply stood there in stunned silence, amazed that such a thing had even happened at all. She could still feel those soft lips on her skin.

“Ohmygosh, you’re going on a date!” Sonata’s delight at the sight of her sister dressing up for an evening out that didn’t evolve money was enough to set the young woman to squealing.

“No, I’m not, Sonata,” Adagio answered, very much wishing she was able to say the opposite. “Just me and Rarity going out for the night. Nothing special.”

“But are you going to try and make it special? I know you really like her, it’s super obvious whenever you talk about her!”

Adagio’s immediate inclination was to be angry, heaven knows it was the habit. Yet this time she let her blush play itself out, instead saying, “I don’t think so. I’d like to just relax. What about you? Are you going out with Pinkie and Sunset again?”

“Yeah! I think Pinkie wanted to meet up with you and Rarity for dinner sometime tonight, but I don’t know if she ever decided,” Sonata answered. “Hope to see you with your girlfriend before the night’s over!”

“She’s not my girlfriend, Sonata! Please, don’t say anything like that in front of her, OK?”

“Aw, now I know you really like her! You should kiss her and tell her how you feel before too long!” Sonata was gone in a flash before anything could be said in reply. She’s Pinkie Pie, but a thousand times more emotional. I don’t know how she doesn’t burst.

Adagio had struggled to find something decent to wear for the night. Rarity had suggested a visit to a local art gallery auction, a fitting thing for a young, up-and-coming socialite. Perhaps not so fitting for a former prostitute, whose best outfits typically were not ones that could be worn in decent company. She had been forced to rifle through nearly everything she owned before finding something that could be considered halfway suitable, and even it was questionable: a fairly skin-tight dress with an open back that was beautiful to behold, but likely not the perfect candidate for such a night among more formal company. Hope Rarity is gracious about it.

“Here, darling, and- and good heavens, aren’t you lovely tonight!” Rarity marveled at the sight of her friend’s appearance, the expression of surprise leaving Adagio not sure whether or not she had made the proper choice.

“I know it’s a bit much. I don’t really have a lot, of…” Adagio looked away from her resplendent face. “Truly appropriate attire.”

“And I thought I was wonderfully dressed! It looks marvelous on you, dear!” Rarity replied. “Why, I can hardly take my eyes off of you!” It was a gracious thing to say, Adagio regarding Rarity’s own outfit highly herself; a velvety red frock, the skirt falling to the knee and topped off by a pair of black heels that added to the fashionable appeal. Formal, yet flattering in all the ways it should be- and far more appropriate attire for the night!

“I- thanks.” Adagio took in her surroundings, finding herself surrounded by extreme wealth the likes of which she hadn’t seen in months upon months. More than one face, both man and woman, she recognized- and might have recognized her! “Are- are you sure I should be here?”

“What? Oh pish-posh, darling! No need to feel nervous!” Rarity said, taking the Siren by the arm and guiding her through the gallery without a care of who saw. “You belong here as much as I do, and don’t you forget it! Now come, there’s a particularly interesting part of the wing I think we’ll enjoy…”

Rarity wasn’t a fool, nor was she one to disregard a person’s emotions. Their journey to a less-populated portion of the exhibit had been a purposeful one, letting Adagio take some measure of ease in the night’s activities while also having a chance to enjoy herself. The art was quite nice, even if Adagio wasn’t quite sure what the whole point of the affair was. Rarity had more to say of value than she did, more thoughts and education in such matters. Adagio spent more time listening than she could have hoped to say in return.

“And here… why goodness, Adagio! I believe this one looks a great deal like you!”

The wavy-haired woman gave a start at the sight of the painting, realizing quite clearly that it indeed was her that had been depicted, albeit in a much more… sensuous form. The dress she wore in the painting was one that now hung gathering dust in her closet, she having worn it during a night spent entertaining some of the city elite. The work was well-made, though the whole thing left her feeling somewhat violated. The curves were exaggerated, her figure pushed to the far reaches of human beauty. She looked more like some creature of ethereal realms rather than anything human; the only part of the piece that seemed to truly be her was the crimson gleam in her gaze. She knew that feeling well.

“Adagio, it’s quite uncanny,” Rarity mused. “It’s lovely, and looks like you to a T- well, almost. The hair is shorter, and perhaps more embellished- I like the real you much better, far lovelier. Still, this is…”

“Can we go, please?” Adagio whispered hurriedly, she knowing a hammerfall was soon to come if they remained much longer. She wasn’t sure of who had made it but she had always tried to avoid allowing word of her work to be spread openly. If they had found the gall to make a painting of her, she would certainly be recognized her.

“Why, whatever- oh.” Rarity didn’t need any explanation for the discomfort that had spread like wildfire on her companion’s face, the coincidence not truly much of a coincidence at all. “Yes, of course we can, dear. Let me think… we’re well truly in downtown, why not we try and seek out something to eat? I know a lovely place we can dine- some jazz, a cocktail or some wine-”

“Yes, it sounds great, can we go now?” Adagio pressed, trying to stress her desire for a sudden departure just as a face that rung in her mind as something familiar- and was clearly extremely familiar in theirs. “Oh shit-”

“We can…” Rarity’s agreement came to a halt as she heard the sound of footsteps coming closer. Adagio felt a stir as she watched those graceful features take a hardened stance and the socialite turned from her friend to greet the newcomers who were clearly walking towards them with purpose in mind. “Yes! Are you the artist of this piece? It’s fantastic, my friend and I were just discussing it between ourselves.”

“Ma’am, I am sorry, but we must ask you and your- companion- to vacate the premises,” said the oldest of the group, a woman with a stony jaw and lidded eyes. “This is a distinguished gallery and we would not like the reputations of our honored guests to be tarnished by such company mingling in between them.”

“Why, what a thing to say!” Rarity cried, as though taken aback. “Why, she is my assistant and dear friend who has been of great help to me in my work! What on earth could you have against a designer and her friend, such as we are?”

“Ma’am, we do not wish to make a scene,” said one of the younger gentlemen, a middle-aged man with a thick moustache and sweat on his brow. “We will of course refund you for any purchases you may have made here, and then we will escort you-”

“Off the premises? As though we are a disruption?” Rarity’s tone was cordial, but growing ever icier with each word she spoke. “Your hopes not to make a scene have already failed. Trying to insult your patrons so brazenly!”

“Ma’am, your companion is- surely you must know she’s a prostitute! Such company here is not becoming of anyone- you look like you have some sense about you!”

“Oh, is that so?” Every word they had said to the young fashionista was having little impact on ending the conflict, and Adagio watched in growing desire as Rarity continued to fight back. “I wouldn’t have even thought such a thing if it were not for your remarks. She has been a dear friend and associate for many months now, so I find your remarks an insult to both her and myself! You should be ashamed of yourself, saying such slanderous things!”

“We’re not lying-”

“Is that so? And how would you be so certain as to the validity of your testimony?” Rarity challenged.

An opened mouth that was eager to explain suddenly went cold and snapped shut; eyes that had been blazing suddenly wanting to look everywhere but at the person who opposed them. Rarity had known full well what she was doing and had allowed the group of socialites to indict themselves.

“I see. Come, darling,” Rarity declared, taking Adagio by the hand and leading her off. “I believe such company is beneath us. We shall find other places to spend our time!”

Adagio could hardly hold back her thoughts and emotions at the scene, the feeling of Rarity’s hand in hers sending thrills though her body. It was a struggle not to leave another kiss on her cheek, if not do more.

The two women didn’t say a word as they exited the gallery and headed onwards, hailing a ride to their awaiting destination. Rarity remained polite in what little she had to say, but her voice seemed still eager to snap, the frostiness in her gaze nowhere closed to thawed. Adagio wasn’t sure whether or not to speak because she wasn’t certain if Rarity wasn’t the teensiest bit mad at her.

When they were at last seated, Adagio dared to break the silence. “Umm, Rarity, are you-”

“Not yet, darling!” Rarity said fiercely, hailing a passing waiter and saying, “Sazerac, please. As strong as you can make it!”

Adagio’s immediate inclination was torn between laughter and shock. It wasn’t a weak cocktail that Rarity had ordered at all. When the waiter turned to face her, she swiftly mumbled, “Uh- negroni, please.” Might as well join the party. “Rarity, can-”

“Just a minute, dear!” Rarity’s face was fiery, kept fueled by the intensity of her emotions. When at last she had her drink in hand, the elegant woman drained half its contents in what seemed like only a second. “Oh God help me, that’s better. Now… those inconsiderate, pompous, condemning gaggle of cockroaches!”

“Rarity, are you alright?” Adagio asked.

“I am furious, Adagio! How dare they come crawling up to us and act like that, and to insult you like that! Absolutely dreadful manners, I can hardly believe them!” Rarity was fuming, eyeing her glass with clear intent. “No manners, insulting, foul little people! How dare they!”

Adagio wished she could have been able to say anything else in reply, but the discomfort that lay on her shoulders wasn’t willing to let the moment slide and not be spoken of. “Rarity, they… Umm- look, they weren’t exactly wrong-”

“Oh yes they were, and don’t you forget it, darling!” Rarity fired back, still seething. “Maybe you were at one point, but you are most certainly not now! Not since you’ve been with me, and I will not allow you to see it any other way! I will not discuss this again, am I clear?”

Adagio could have crawled across the table and ravished Rarity right then and there. It was final, complete, and she wouldn’t see it any other way. She had, in a way that only Rarity could have found the means to manage, given Adagio a whole new identity to embrace and call her own.

“I’m sorry if I ruined the night’s fun,” Adagio muttered. “I promise I didn’t know.”

“Of course you couldn’t have, dearest! And you did no such thing, those- people are the ones who tried to demean you and they’re the only ones responsible. I am more than glad to be in the presence of such beautiful company, and-” Rarity seemed like she could have said more but instead promptly shut her mouth, a sudden flush overtaking her cheeks. When she had been able to compose herself, a small breath came to help her find control. “I am glad to be here with you, Adagio. Please do not forget it.”

Adagio smiled, taking a sip of her own drink as the rest of their night began as something else altogether, she grateful and glowing in the presence of such a wonderful friend who she wished was so much more.

Winter’s bane was fading. The cold months had done their worst and the sunshine was starting to become the norm once again, and along with it a chance for Adagio to chart a new course in life.

Her probation was over. She was actually free- it was just now the sort of freedom that she didn’t quite know what to do with. She had become extremely close with Rarity, her relationship with Sonata had been mended, and now there was nothing to tie her down to the life of old that she had left behind. Now the question was just what to do next.

“Well, what do you feel like doing, dear?” Rarity asked of her, the subject coming up as they worked together going over the pile of bills for the boutique. “I’d be more than happy to take you on as a partner here, if that’s something you’d like to try.”

“I could. I just…” Adagio frowned. She really didn’t want to rebuff Rarity’s offer, but wasn’t certain of it all the same. “I don’t know. I don’t want to hold you down!”

Rarity laughed at her words. “Darling, if I wanted you to hold me down, I wouldn’t ask nicely-”

She hadn’t actually heard that. “Wait, what?”

“You’re not an unintelligent woman,” Rarity said swiftly, “you certainly have been of great benefit to me here as an assistant.”

“Yes, but I haven’t done a thing as a business partner,” Adagio countered, guessing that she had indeed heard incorrectly. “I’m not really great with money or, you know, things like that. I know how people work and I… look pretty. It’s about all I’ve got.”

“Now don’t you try and sell yourself short,” Rarity admonished, “I will not have a lady such as you lie to yourself and your best friend. We know you have talent, it is just a matter of discerning where.”

“Yeah, but-” Adagio wasn’t certain what to say in return. “I don’t want to make it more difficult for you here. You’re successful, and you’ve done fine without me trying to give my input.”

“Hmm…” Rarity regarded her friend, her gaze piercing through just above the rims of her work glasses. “It’s certainly an idea… Adagio, have you ever tried any modeling?”

Adagio could have laughed aloud. “Not ever. I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

“I know where to start,” Rarity replied, her face suddenly becoming aglow with the burning spark of an idea. “Goodness, why didn’t I think of this sooner? Come on, darling, to the dressing rooms!”

“Rarity-” Adagio sputtered in her protests as the desirous woman took her by the hand, practically dragging her away from their work to the awaiting dressing rooms. “It’s not a big deal, we can-”

“Never leave anything for later what you can do today!” Rarity was in a fever, whatever idea she had in her head not willing to let a single moment go to waste. “Oh, this will be wonderful! Take off your clothes, now!”

“What, like right now?”

“Yes, of course- oh, I mean in the dressing rooms!” Rarity added. “Now, wait there and I’ll bring you some things to wear! Trust me on this, my darling!”

Adagio had some mixed feelings about the whole thing that she couldn’t quite name, but when the first outfit was flung over the door, she merely complied and began to dress herself. It was a casual spring outfit, comfortable and bright-colored. When she let it lie on her skin, the lightness of it felt almost as though she was wearing nothing at all.

“Excellent, you look wonderful!” Rarity cried, rapturous at the sight of her friend. “Ooh, this will be so much fun! Now, we’re going to take a few photos of you in each outfit- build a portfolio, so to speak. Just pose as I say and we’ll be grand!”

“Rarity, I…” Who was she to pour cold water on such a fervent fire? “OK. I’ll trust you.”

Rarity beamed, and the two women set to work. Adagio couldn’t keep track of how many outfits she went through, or the number of poses the fashionista made her perform. It was strangely exhausting work, Adagio guessing it was the amount of time she had to spend standing up rather than being able to be at rest. She would have stopped far earlier, but she had no desire to spoil Rarity’s delighted mood, nor dim that smile. So she kept on.

“It’s a wonderful set, Adagio, don’t doubt that for a moment!” Rarity said. “Now, maybe just… one mo- hmm…”

“What is it?” Please be done, please just say we’re done. I’m tired here.

“Well, just one more, I think, darling. One more a bit different, than we’ll be done for the day. Can you stand one more?”

Adagio sighed. “Alright, one more.” She walked back to the dressing room and peeled away the dress that clung to her skin and looked down at her own clothing longingly-

A sudden lightweight sensation that fell on her shoulders-

“Hey!” she recoiled and let the clothing fall to the floor, and wasn’t quite sure he believed her senses when she took them in her grasp. “Uh, Rarity?”

“Yes, Adagio?” Her voice sounded a bit different.

“This is lingerie.” Very lacy lingerie, an intimate thing that seemed so out of character for the elegance of Rarity that Adagio wondered what was going on.

“I know. And it’s just an idea, you see,” Rarity explained. “Something a bit more intimate for- well, just in case. You never know, darling. Some companies wish to see people who can be comfortable in their skin.”

Adagio wasn’t quite sure of that, but what else was there to do but acquiesce? She was naked and then soon adorned in the most comfortable lingerie she had ever worn in her life, the feeling of silk on her skin something heavenly. It’s amazing.

“Oh my- you look- darling Adagio!” Rarity was quick to take what pictures she could, giving swift commands after each shutter. “A bit that way, dear. Lift your right leg up just a tinge- take a seat, now. Lift your arms, now! Blow a kiss, for the finale!”

When the last Click! had come, Adagio was exhausted. She wanted no more and would gladly put her foot down if it came to that. “I think we’re good now, Rarity.”

“Yes, yes of course,” Rarity said idly. “Darling, if you could only… you’re beautiful, Adagio. Simply breathtaking. You’ll be famous in no time.”

Adagio wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but the piercing gaze that Rarity beheld her with was something so very- well, different. There was struggle, and something else. She didn’t know what it was, not in Rarity’s eyes.

A day passed. Then more. The enjoyment Adagio had found in Rarity’s company had gone, a strange awkwardness between them that now permeated everything they did. Something had been altered that day, and she was not one to easily know what. She waited, hoping for this murkiness that had fallen on the boutique would fade, dissipate like mist in the morning, but still- nothing. Day were passing by now, and Adagio was beginning to wonder how long she could manage it.

Talk to her. Tell her how you feel. You think she’s kind, beautiful, and intelligent- in that order. Ask her if she’ll go out on a date with you, and see what happens from there. If no, then leave. If yes… Adagio didn’t have a plan for if she said yes.

She strode toward the boutique with a sense of purpose that morning, determined to end this misery once and for all. And at the very moment she entered through the door and caused the bell to ring, Rarity was there with an expression of absolute delight etched into every inch of her face. “Adagio, someone wants you!”

“What-”

“Look, dear! I sent off some of your photos to some modeling agencies, and here- one in Manehatten wants to sign you!” Rarity shook the letter in her friend’s face, taken hold of by her enthusiasm. “I told you, darling, I knew it wouldn’t be long! Oh, you’ll be on every front cover, you’ll be the poster girl for beauty the world over!”

Adagio took the letter from the overjoyed woman and took in its contents. Rarity hadn’t been kidding: the agency wanted her to come up to Manehatten by the end of the week to sign the contract and perform a professional shoot. It would be intensive, and last a few weeks. Then from there, who knew? She could only guess.

“See? You should have known, dear, I just knew it!” Rarity said, bouncing up and down in her enthused demeanor. “Now you’ll be famous and loved, and- and… Adagio, what’s wrong?”

She looked down at the letter some more, then turned to Rarity- then back to the letter again. “I don’t want to go,” she said in a soft voice.

Rarity’s eyes looked ready to bulge out of her skull. “What- what, but why? This is incredible, a dream come true! You’ll be famous, adored and loved-”

“But I’ll be alone again.”

“Don’t you worry, my darling, you’ll be able to make friends again! I’ve no doubts, you’re sure to be-”

“But they won’t be you,” Adagio said fiercely, a sudden thought coming into her mind and refusing to be ignored. “Rarity, come with me.”

“Adagio…”

“Come with me, or I won’t go. I don’t want to be anywhere without you,” Adagio insisted. She was struggling to hold back tears, desperate to keep this beautiful, patient women beside her. “Please, we’ll- I’ll only model your designs, whenever you want me to. I’ll be there whenever you ask, I’ll give you anything- I need you with me, Rarity, even if it’s just for a-”

Rarity took Adagio and didn’t let the next words fall, the Siren’s sentence crushed beneath the weight of a fervent, fierce kiss. The lips that pressed against her own were soft unlike anything she had felt before, the smoothness accented with a sweet taste that made her think of cherries, Rarity pressing against Adagio with such ferocity that she was swept up in the passion of the moment and took the fashionista deep into her arms.

Rarity broke away slowly, cradling the Siren’s beautiful face in her hands, their gazes meeting and allowing a smile to form. “I’ll be with you, darling,” Rarity whispered. “How could I resist for long?”

Adagio wanted to cry. She pushed away the overflowing emotion with a kiss of her own, unwilling to let Rarity move away as she kissed the beautiful women she had desired for months upon months over and over-

Rarity did not relent, reciprocating each kiss and twirl with a movement of her own, her own embrace about the woman tightening as each meeting of lips slowly intensified. The hunger couldn’t be sated in either of them, their fiery longing unquenchable, unable and unwilling to let any other moment satisfy when now at last they held each other. Rarity giggled, the sound muffled by Adagio’s lips finding hers endlessly-

Adagio wanted to melt away into the dreaminess of Rarity’s kiss. She pressed the woman against the front desk and held her there, her tongue slithering through the woman’s perfect lips and finding its pair, the two women allowing themselves to become entangled from within as they dealt blow after blow against one another as tongue caressed tongue-

Adagio could not be satisfied. She kissed deeper, she drew Rarity’s tongue out into the open and sucked upon it madly, delighting in the slickness and flavor that came with it. Rarity sighed aloud as her beautiful lover tended to her, the two women so deeply intertwined that one was hardly distinguishable from the other, hands stroking and feeling along curves and breasts and hems of clothing-

Rarity pulled herself away from the insatiable Siren at last, strings of saliva hanging between them from their ravenous kissing. Adagio gasped at the sudden withdrawal, wondering what she had done wrong-

“To my office!” Rarity hissed. She slid out from beneath Adagio’s grasp and went to lock the front doors in a rush before racing back and taking Adagio by the hand and leading her to the darkened office that awaited them both. With little hesitation she pushed aside all her papers and trappings and then threw Adagio atop it, falling upon her form and lavishing on the desperate Siren a cascade of kisses the likes of which she had never known before. Each press of lips was extraordinary; their meeting of tongues was magnificent. It was delight beyond all of Adagio’s hopes and dreams, and she hoped that the moment would never end.

“Undress yourself, darling,” Rarity whispered, pulling herself away from the lovestruck Siren’s magnificent tongue to whisper in her ear. “I want to see you…”

Adagio wasted no time in answering, throwing aside her blouse and revealing her bra-less chest, where beautiful breasts awaited their new lover. So soft, so lovely to behold, and Rarity knew it: pleasant kisses upon her nipples and set Adagio to squirming. She wanted, needed more of Rarity’s touch, everywhere she could manage. The sensations, intensified by longing, would not let her be-

Perhaps Rarity knew it, able to sense the woman’s growing fervor. Delicately she stripped Adagio free of any further clothing and pushed her legs gently open-

Adagio gave a gasp at the first touch; just there, a hint, a trace. Then a little more, growing ever stronger and going ever deeper. Rarity had started delicately, letting her work first be gentle as she plied away with perfectly placed lips and tonguework. A small nibble there, a deep swipe of tongue there, all of it putting Adagio into raptures. It was the satisfaction she had desired for so long now, delicately placed and sweetly given by this incredible woman for whom she had longed. She knew she was dribbling, struggling to hold back further- but why should she hold back? This was wanted, desired by both, a mutual lust. She allowed herself to relax and let Rarity’s intensifying gestures earn their reward with ease. The delight that coursed through her exquisite form was beautiful, and the fashionista did not hesitate to drink from the flow, lapping at the fluids that poured out from the Siren’s thoroughly ravished sex.

She lay there gasping, hardly daring to believe that any of what had transpired was little more than a dream. It was too perfect, too wonderful, too deeply wanted for it to be real. Yet when she saw Rarity’s face coming back to meet her own, she embraced the beautiful woman in a terrifically passionate kiss, sucking at her with a wild, unrelenting fierceness. They held each other for a time, letting Adagio’s gasps for air be covered by kisses and caresses, the two beautiful women content to rest there in each other’s embrace.

“Don’t ever leave me,” Adagio whispered. “If I’m ever alone again, I want to be alone with you. Please, Rarity…”

“Always, my darling Adagio,” Rarity said, sealing the promise with a kiss. “Do you really want me to go with you to Manehatten?”

“Yes! Please, come with me. We’ll spend every night together, like- like now, if you want to.”

“And how could I say no to that?” Rarity said with a giggle. “It’ll be our adventure.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive, my dear,” and another kiss as assurance. Adagio felt her wrist in the woman’s grasp, being gently led downwards. “Now don’t leave your lady waiting, Adagio. One good turn deserves another.”

Adagio gave a wicked grin and swiftly obliged, nimble fingers diving through clothing and into soaked panties, finding the object of her desire awaiting her presence. Her fingerwork was extraordinary, and before she had even pinned Rarity to the wall the poor fashionista was struggling to hold back the cries of her pleasure. Her eyes spoke to Adagio, beckoning the wild woman to go further, faster, to give her everything she could.

Adagio smiled, planting one last kiss on Rarity’s lips in the hopes that she would understand. It was only the first moment of what would be many, and the once-wayward Siren would be eagerly awaiting each and every one of them. Coming to her knees, she tore off Rarity’s skirt and set to work with magnificent skill, licking away at folds that were hers for the taking, knowing she wouldn’t stop until she set the beautiful woman that she now called her girlfriend to screaming.

Author's Note

Last Part. Didn't do as well as I'd hoped. Oh well. Shit happens.

Still taking suggestions from the crowd.

Gonna be a bit till a new story crops up. I'm tired.