Mistress (Adagio's Big Comeback)

You've performed heavy calculations during the shouting matches your parents used to have before they split. Back in school, during lunch, you once finished your homework while everyone joined in singing some stupid school pride or promotion song for the fall formal, involving horse ear and tail ornaments back when that weird 'other' Twilight first appeared. When you get in the zone, you react to distractions the same way cardanol based epoxy reacts to temperature deviations; it's gotta be hardcore to break you, is what you're saying.

But then your crush, a smoking hot singer freshly ramped up to a tall fitness instructor level of glorious curves is in the next room, having 'a private five-finger jam session?' It's impossible to focus. Especially when you can tell she's a singer with an impressive voice, because you can feel her latest outburst reverberate through the floor.

If you had a change of pants or access to any other room, you'd probably be having a 'jam session' of your own. Instead, like any good musically inept, crowd-anxious geek at a music festival, you're pitching a tent and listening to a lot of action, but can't get involved.

She pants and calms down from that last climax, and you hear the bathroom door open, then the running of a shower.

You suddenly realise she was moments from pulverising you before a wave of arousal struck and you've barely been able to work, so you doubt she's going to be sunshine and rainbows. You briefly wonder if you should flee, then realise you're stuck here to face the music.

The door opens and the new and improved Adagio steps out, wearing looser clothes and with her hair down. Damn, even without the glorious curls in shape, bed-hair Adagio is all kinds of hot. It's only compounded with the subtle swell of her biceps, the ridging of her abdomen and generously thicker hips and thighs. She had presence before, even if it has still seemed diminished from her days as a siren, but now she dominates the room in a whole other way.

She gives you a funny look, rolls her eyes, then and walks up to you while acting coy, despite the subtle flush to her cheeks.

You seize up and lean back but she raises a hand to calm you down, then folds her arms.

“Relax. I've had some time to process...well, this,” she says and gestures to herself. “It's kinda nice, actually. Nostalgic even.” She laughs softly as she looks you up and down. “Radian, stand up a second.”

You obey, and her smug grin any lingering fears you had and notice you're eye level with her luscious lips. She then puts a hand on top of your head and brings it level with her nose.

After she satisfies her curiosity, she asks, “so what happened, exactly? Why did your device make me bigger but not give me my siren powers? As well as that... weird feeling I got afterwards.”

You scratch your head. “Beats me. After your body responded as anticipated to the siren-waveform, collecting it and harnessing-” You pre-emptively tut and simplify rather than anger the abnormally strong, bigger Adagio, “the type of energy your body responds to was clearly absorbed, as expected, but for some reason you couldn't process it. Now, since energy can't be destroyed, nor created, merely converted, it seems to have transformed somehow. Like you couldn't use that energy, so you responded in an alternative way.”

Her brow twitches and she leans down to you. “Are you blaming me!?”

You raise your arms in defence. “Whoa, now! Nothing like that. Obviously we just need to refine the method. As great as my phone is,” you say and wave the jury-rigged thing around, “it's not very accurate. Once we get the spectrograph wired up to the handheld or the laptop for the sensors on the main device, I can take very precise readings. There could be all sorts of minutia that stopped you recovering your powers.”

Adagio huffs, but nods. “Alright, I guess we wait for more parts.” She looks down and flexes an arm, admiring the swell of her bicep. “I never really thought I'd look good buff but this I like. I may not be a siren yet, but I'd make a pretty good earth pony.”

You blink. “A what?”

“You know what I mean,” she says, waves her hand at you then feels her body in a deeply distracting way, then checks your confused expression. “I'm bigger and stronger, like earth ponies? Of the three main species of Equestria?”

You give a little shrug and shake your head.

Adagio double-checks your confused expression. “Wait, you've mastered collecting magic from another world, can refine and transform it with a fancy megaphone, and even know about the two worlds having duplicate people, but you don't even know what lives over there?” Adagio facepalms and mumbles, “why am I always doomed to be surrounded by idiots?”

“I can only go by details I can uncover or prove by myself! Just because I want to go there to study the place doesn't mean I really know that much about Equestria.”

Adagio raises a pointed finger to shut you up, then gestures to the couch. “Sit. Let's get you up to speed before we take another step on this weird road together.”

You both sit down, and you pick up the notepad and pen.

Adagio takes a deep breath, and explains...

*-*-*

The lands of Equestria are home to a great many pitiful and weak species. Griffons, who are part bird and part great cat, or dragons, which range from the classical beasts famous in human media to smaller, bipedal sorts, yet they all seem to be able to breathe fire. Manticores, cockatrices, the list goes on... if humans have a legendary beast in films, books and old fairy-tales, Equestria likely has it, and it can probably talk or is at least sentient. Few are as great as the sirens, as our threat to the land was truly something to be feared, but that's a story for another time.

We're here to discuss the main inhabitants of Equestria; the earth ponies, the unicorns and the pegasi. All four legged, hoofed, vegetarian and insufferably compliant with one another, but they are distinct, and not just because of their cutie marks, the symbol that appears on their flanks that depicts a pony's strongest, most unique talent.

The unicorns are the easiest to explain, as they are the most obviously powerful, possessing a horn that is the focus of their magic. While they seem have a certain weakness to simple problems, leading to them overthinking or overreacting, their grasp of Equestrian magic is broad and esoteric. Their powers range from the mainstay of telekinesis that all but the most feeble possess, all the way to the truly dangerous, able to bend reality to their will with practice, talent and determination. Teleportation, transfiguration of objects from one thing into another and more. They are often scholars and so-called intellectuals.

Then we have the winged pegasi. Flight being their most obvious trait, they can also manipulate the weather, touch clouds as if they're solid, and often bring about changes to the seasons, ushering in storms and the like as needed. Some are capable of tremendous speeds and feats of agility, and are able to use their wings in almost hand-like ways at times. They're also commonly militaristic and prideful.

Lastly, we have the earth ponies. They have a connection to the land like none other and are the lynchpin of Equestrian agriculture, but they also tend to present as tougher and more rugged than their more magically capable cousins. They also seem to possess a greater concentration of idiots than the other species. Of course, having to manipulate the world with their mouths and clumsy hooves, they're not exactly seen as 'high society' in most circles.

Ruling over all of these stand the alicorns, like their high-and-mighty Princess Celestia. Winged and horned, possessing the strengths of all three, but they are few in number, but they are always powerful. Relatively, anyway.

As far as I can tell, everyone here, in this human world, has a reflection, a pony in the other world, barring perhaps a few exceptions like myself and my fellow sirens.

*-*-*

“That about covers it...”

That's amazing! You've got to note all this down.

“...so you see, my changes reminded me of...”

New data points! Varied signals from these three species! This could change everything!

“...the human version of an earth pony... Radian? Hey, are you listening to me?”

Each could be a resonant hotspot! Possibly even influencing Adagio's transformation if she's truly now-

“Ray!”

“Gah!” You accidentally bite your tongue. “Ow! Whah? Whah's wong!?”

Adagio's staring at you. “Were you even listening to me!?”

You wince and let the sting die down before continuing, “of course I was! I was taking notes!”

“And waggling your tongue.” She looks a little grossed out. “You looked like a child writing a hearths-warming list. It was kind of adorable, in a deeply pathetic way.”

“Sorry, I get excited for new data and-” Wait, what did she say a second ago? “Adagio?”

She tilts her head.

“Did... you just call me Ray?”

She blinks and stares at you for a few seconds. Her eyes go wide for a second as she realises what she said. “Ugh!” She rolls her eyes, stands and heads into the kitchen.

Okay, also, that was definitely a blush.

The doorbell goes and you go and collect your new parts.

Adagio prepares dinner, although every little thing she does seems to take a bit more concentration. You suspect her new size is throwing her off, but despite almost tripping a couple of times, you're soon eating cheap bacon, ramen and vegetables. You thank her and she gives the tiniest smirk, which feels like a lot of progress in your relationship.

The rest of the evening is uneventful; you work on the main machine and Adagio bounces between asking what you're doing, how certain parts work and listening to the radio. It's increasingly obvious she's picking up what you're doing, and quickly. It's... pretty hot, actually. You knew she was smart, but the fact you're not having to explain the same thing twice when it comes up again even hours later is a really strong sign that she's not just devious or cunning, but legitimately brilliant.

On the flip side, you get into a bit of banter about Canterlot High School and how much it sucked. The overall sickly levels of friendliness, the cliques and such. You're bonding!

All the while, you're plugging cables, tightening screws and triple checking the little wires of the big device. The handheld device was a lot of fiddly work, but it was small and similar to how you jury-rigged your phone, so it's not going to take too long to put it together when the other parts turn up.

This larger energy collector's a bastard for the sheer amount of stuff you're having to put into it, and that's ignoring the amount of power it's going to have to deal with and the prayer you keep whispering under your breath that it doesn't explode when you power this monster up, though you've installed a cheap laptop as the controller and know of a few programs from less reputable sites that should help prevent any miscalculations. It's a prototype after all, like your phone was to your handheld emitter. It just needs to work and not set the apartment complex on fire.

That's something for another day, though. It becomes clear this is going to take longer than you anticipated, but you can probably get the basic functions working now, so it's just a really big version of your handheld.

Before you know it, it's pretty late, and you stop before you start making sloppy mistakes. Adagio yawns and stretches her arms over her head, compressing her curly hair, and she can't help but grin when her eyes open and she looks at the ropey cords of her muscles, then sighs and stands up. “I'm going to bed.”

You finish packing away your tools as she heads for her room, and you say, “sure. Have a good night, Adagio.”

She turns and looks at you for a second. “... you too.”

It's a better night than last time, albeit dreamless. It's one of those 'blink and it's daytime' sort of sleeps and you feel refreshed.

You catch a waft of something unpleasant as you sit up, but focus on rubbing the sleep from your eyes, get up and dig through the replenished cupboards and refrigerator. This morning it's gonna be leftover bacon and eggs, but you decide to wait until you hear Adagio wake up before you get started, and instead quadruple checking your notes.

There's that scent again; it's you. It's been a couple of days since you showered, and while not hard work exactly, you've certainly worked up a sweat while putting together the big machine.

Another parcel, and you finally have everything you need to complete the handheld! A spectrograph and the the computerised control unit. It takes all of half an hour to put the emitter together in full, and you spend another hour calibrating the thing until it's as accurate as it can be.

It's a beautiful piece of technology and you can't help but feel smug. Running some tests and numbers, it's far above and beyond what you thought it could generate thanks to some amazing efficiency at energy conversion. It's even designed to warn you if sudden, strong signals come within range of its energy receiving arrays. The ultimate test comes when you scan Adagio through the wall. It's not the cleanest reading, but it penetrates the wall to reveal two high peaks, one in the siren signal format, and a stronger one in what you theorise could be the 'earth pony' range.

Naturally you scan yourself with it and see a clean, hiss-free signal. It's completely distinct from Adagio's, though with a much lower peak. You have some theories bouncing around your head already and begin writing up a few hypotheses to get back to later. Again, gotta love those lists.

Adagio catches you off guard when stumbles out of her bedroom in what was probably once an oversized nightshirt, but it fits her nicely and doesn't quite cover her lacy pink panties. She lets out a gigantic yawn and, just to tickle your heart, she offers a tiny wave of greetings as she stumbles over to the couch and plants herself on it with a thump.

You cook breakfast and hand her a plate, then finish yours and brew some cheap coffee before asking, “say, Adagio? I don't suppose there's somewhere I can wash my clothes?” You tug on your shirt. “And anything I can wear while I get them cleaned? I'm also going to conduct some scans with the completed emitter, to see if I can't figure something out with the whole 'three pony types' theory. Also, I don't suppose you've got, I dunno, a satchel or a bag so I can hide the device?”

“I'll have to get some hand washing soap so we can clean your stuff in the sink, but you can hit the laundromat down the street for now, near downtown. It's near a cafe, you can't miss it.” Adagio suddenly smirks as she eats, then says, “and sure, I've got something in your size you can wear while you're there.” She takes the plate with her as she re-enters her bedroom.

“Fantastic. I really didn't have much in the way of- what the hell is that?”

Adagio exits and holds out her huge, thick, fluffy pink bathrobe. She also gives you a Dazzlings merch backpack that's fractionally less girly than the robe.

You blink a few times and say, “you're messing with me.”

Her grin broadens. “Take it or go naked, Ray.”

You sigh and take it. “Son of a bitch...” you mumble.

* *

“Son of a bitch...” you mumble.

Go in the morning once you had a shower, you figured.

There'll be nobody there, you guessed.

You're an idiot, you realise.

Two old couples fight off grins as you keep a newspaper low enough to cover your lack of underwear, which is also currently on the drying-cycle. Also a mom with a snot nosed kid who keeps staring at you and flaring up your old social anxiety something fierce.

On the positive side, you've had a chance to roam before changing in the laundromat bathroom, so you bought some soap, a toothbrush and some other essentials with your now largely depleted funds. At least you'll never have to do this again.

Your other solace is that you've been able to take some readings with your scanner, and you're getting some excellent information. Three distinct signals, some stronger than others but none as strong as Adagio's. Some signals corroborate with yours, whatever that is out of the pegasi or unicorn types you can't currently say, and a few with Adagio's second, earth pony waveform.

Even better, while it's not a great sample size, there does seem to be a push towards taller, fitter types fitting in that earth pony waveform, as well as a couple of people watering some window-ledge growing pots with the very same. Big, strong gardeners! Heck yeah, consistent data!

Okay, calm down Radian, you're a weirdo wearing a pink bathrobe in the middle of a public space taking scans with a magic powered energy emitter. Keep. It. Together!

As soon as the dryer finishes, you head into the laundromat bathroom, get dressed, stow the bathrobe into the bag, and see about continuing your scans.

That cafe looks like a nice place, so you get a cheap black coffee, sit down outside and expand the sample size by scanning passers-by through your newspaper.

A trend starts forming; just as the earth types are typically larger, the two other groups are starting to pair up into smaller, generally fitter types and you seem to get put into the same class as many of the intellectuals. It's no proof, but you suspect you might be a unicorn in the other world. It's otherwise a bit vague, more a subtle trend than anything concrete. You assume there's plenty of big, powerful unicorns, small and meek earth ponies and sluggish, clumsy pegasi.

Just to muddy the waters more, a huge spike in the theoretical unicorn field catches you off guard. You narrow down the signal to a female jogger with her hood up as she enters the cafe. It throws off your ability to get a clean reading with the other customers inside and you don't have a great view.

Patiently, you wait until she emerges again and the (theoretical) unicorn signal spikes about as high as Adagio's earth signal. You actually look at who it is as she slurps an iced coffee between heavy breaths, dressed in sweaty jogging attire. You freeze as she pulls down her hood. Fiery red hair with yellow streaks, and brilliant turquoise eyes.

Oh shit. It's Sunset Shimmer.

You try to make yourself inconspicuous. It's been years. There's no way she'll recognise-

“Wait, I know you... Radian Wave? Oh wow, it is you!”

Oh. Oh hell.

* * *