The trip to the parking lot was quick. Adagio hated to linger in the cold. There were a great many aspects of terrestrial life she detested, but the way the freezing air made her nose get all prickly inside ranked quite high among them. Anything that made her miss living underwater did.

Shimmer didn’t say anything the entire time; just sobbed into her sleeve. Probably for the best; if she had to split her focus between walking and talking, she’d probably take a tumble into the slush.

There was one thing worth noting in the lot: another familiar car, belonging to Sonata.

Now, Adagio couldn't rule out the possibility that Sonata and Pie happened to be at the mall, too, but during the phone-call, it didn’t sound like it. Other than the crying, there wasn’t the noise of shoppers bustling about, and her sister’s voice was reverberating off of carpet, not tile.

Furthermore, the fact it was her personal car and not the Dazzlings’ tour van made it all the more likely that it wasn't Sonata who drove it here.

The simple fact of the matter was, Sonata was the one who went out and did all the household shopping, for which she took the tour van and its cargo space. If she was here to shop (or, say, to drag five or six weeping college students here in a frankly implausible timeframe), she would have taken the van.

So perhaps it was Aria Blaze who’d driven Sonata’s car here, instead.

Perhaps she was shopping for anniversary presents, too. She didn’t, usually, but five years was a milestone.

On the other hoof, though, Aria was more the type to order anything she needed online. Losing her sirenic powers turned her lazy and reclusive, withdrawing from everything. Her laziness could have cut the other way, too, though; she might have procrastinated until now, one day prior, to get something at all.

As to why she would take Sonata’s car when she had her own vehicle…

You could say Aria was the family mechanic.

She was not a very good mechanic.

Her own motorcycle spent more time out of commission, half-pulled-apart in the garage, than it did on the road. Speaking of, there were also the road conditions to consider: all that slush, cold wind, and rock salt wouldn’t be good for Blaze’s beast. Better to risk her sister's ride.

In any case, Adagio ought to keep her eyes out for either of her sisters.

When they got back indoors, Adagio ushered Shimmer into the empty Astradoes by the entrance, where she placed an order for a caramel soy macchiato. She was going to need the caffeine.

To keep things simple (and somewhat indebt Shimmer to her), she also covered her enemy’s cinnamon latte and chocolate croissant.

Fortunately, it was late enough in the day that the only people who were going to overhear their conversation were the disinterested wage-slaves winding down the last hours of their shifts.

Satisfied that Shimmer’s croissant would soak up her tears, Adagio launched into her inquiry. “What is it that you were doing when this began?”

“I was just getting off work at the– at the–”

“At the Fugu Bowl, yes.” Adagio whipped her stirring-straw through the milk until the original heart shape warped into a treble clef. “I used to frequent the place, before I spotted you behind the counter. You make for a charming food-servant, but you must understand: I'd prefer my rice balls without spit in them.”

“I wouldn't do that–!”

“Perhaps not.” And perhaps it would be disappointing if she didn't. It would mean this nemesis-ship wasn’t so apparently one-sided.

“So you were clocking out,” Adagio restated, to get back to the point. “Give me something more specific, would you?”

“I was– going to eat dinner. I get an employee discount, so… –I always… yeah.” Shimmer shook her head, straining against the inarticulacy of immiseration. “I was on my way to a table when– when I took a sip of my– and–” As she got closer and closer to the moment, her heart knotted and twisted in her chest. Adagio could just about hear her heart quickening and weakening.

Adagio leaned forward. “It happened right then?”

Through a new torrent of tears, all Shimmer could do was nod.

“Perhaps you were poisoned.”

“I… I don’t know. I wasn’t the best at… alchemy when I was a foal…”

Shimmer sloppily neglected to keep such matters hushed. The barista’s dishrag stopped squeaking against the pastry display case quite so rapidly.

“…But,” she continued, “where would you even get ingredients for a potion on this side…? –Besides, I poured my drink myself… –from the soda fountain.”

Adagio tapped her fingers on her chin. “And yet, there weren’t any other diners driven to tears. Then, did you let your soda-pop out of sight at all, even for a second?”

Realization hit Shimmer like a wave. “I… –For just a minute. I left it on the counter, I mean– Just for a minute–!”

Adagio tutted. “Careless, careless. That’s plenty of time for someone who has it out for you to slip something in your drink. You’re very fortunate that I’ve been watching over this one.”

Shimmer glanced at her latte. She’d barely even touched it.

“Drink,” Adagio urged. “It’s the least you could do after I paid for it.”

“I’m… not thirsty…”

“Please, Shimmer, if you’re going to let a lady down, at least tell a better lie. You’ve cried enough to fill a swimming pool. You don’t think those tears came from thin air, do you?”

“…Caffeine’s a diuretic, though…”

“Oh, now she’s an expert on alchemy… Tch. Next time, I’ll just get you the water-hose.”

“…Next… time?”

Adagio had no idea where that came from. There wasn’t going to be a next time if she could help it. “…Drink your coffee, Shimmer.”

Begrudgingly, Sunset Shimmer complied. Sip by sip, it seemed to soothe her nerves, the hysterics and shakes settling into a semi-stable depression.

Adagio took this opportunity to study her adversary.

Mostly, how she was dressed. For someone who, every time Adagio had the misfortune of noticing her. rocked the bad-girl black-leather look (better, frankly, than even Aria), it was downright shameful to see Shimmer in her work attire.

See, if it were Adagio behind the counter, the uniform would actually match her complexion. The dull blue of Shimmer’s kimono would have made Adagio’s golden skin and coppery hair pop even more than they already did.

On Shimmer, though? It looked atrocious next to her ketchup-and-mustard hair. She should’ve gotten a job at Burger Princess.

And what was that in her hair? On a whim, Adagio reached over and plucked a garish green ornament out of a yellow strand, turning it over in her hands. It was an oversized plastic barrette, in the image of a pufferfish.

She thought to drop it in Shimmer’s coffee, just to be mean, but then she met its exed-out gaze. The oversized bauble stared blankly up at her like… well, the dead fish that it was supposed to be.

Shimmer sniffled. “Do you like it?”

“…Do I like it?”

“…If you want it…–”

“Shimmer, are you offering a dead fish to a siren you depowered? Will you commission for me a painting of my sisters and I slain at your feet, next?”

The “Oh…” Shimmer let out in response was hollower than any bell. So she wasn’t even trying to insult Adagio with a symbol of her defeat. What a shame.

“Besides, sea-green is Aria’s color; not mine, and most certainly not yours.”

“I’m sorryy…”

Adagio put the unsightly thing out of sight. “Moving on… Do any of your lackeys work here, too?”

A spark of that incense lit up again. “They’re my friends.”

“Of course, of course. Answer the question.”

“…There’s Rainbow Dash. She works at the Shoe Boxer. She isn’t off ‘til eight…”

With a tut and a sip of her coffee, Adagio remarked, “Two years into university and you’re all still working high-schooler jobs.”

“It’s…the– the economy…”

“Isn’t it, dearie?”, interjected the nosy barista, with a flick of her purple bob.

Sunset seemed to recognize the woman and gave a wave. Thankfully, a customer came to order and prevented her from joining the conversation in any material capacity.

That said, it was time to move on before the staff tried to intrude on their private discussion any further. “Well,” declared Adagio, over the last dregs of her macchiato, “I still haven’t heard back from Sonata, but I think we should check in on that airheaded egotist you tolerate so well.”

“She’s more than just– that…! She’s brave, and confident, and… and…”

Author's Note

With all this costume criticism, you might accuse me of writing Adagio as "What if Rarity was a bitch, instead of being Best (Mane 6) Pony?"

I ask you this, in turn: do you really think Sonata "Taco Dress" Dusk or Aria "Whatever The Hell She Was Wearing During 'Find The Magic'" Blaze are the Dazzlings with an eye for fashion?