As everyone settled around the table, four plates of potato salad and sides of onion rings left a pleasant aroma in the air, which helped Adagio to conceal her nervousness. It wasn't just that having Fluttershy here made it feel more like that 'family dinner' thing they'd heard about (their first, at that!) as opposed to just the three of them eating like always, but that now it was Adagio's turn to share food, and something she'd prepared herself! She kept these thoughts entirely off her face and tried to push them from her mind with idle conversation.

"So, what was all the screaming about?" Fluttershy blushed, but Aria and Sonata both paled. Adagio raised an eyebrow. "Girls? Were you picking on our lovely guest?" It was with a hint of delight that she watched Fluttershy flush brighter, drawing a chuckle. "I mean, not that I of all people can realistically blame you if you were, but still."

Sonata smiled guiltily. "She is pretty fun to play with... Can we keep her?"

Adagio gave Fluttershy a half-lidded look. "Well, I'd certainly like to, but..." She giggled with impish delight as their guest squirmed in her seat, at least until Aria won her attention with a clap.

"Okay, okay, let her eat in peace." To her dismay, Sonata proved to have a longer memory than that of a goldfish.

"You were the one who picked on her the most! In fact, it was pretty much just you!"

"Thanks, traitor," Aria whispered through gritted teeth. The table was silent as sweat formed on her brow. Gulping, she turned her head just enough to look at Adagio, but only got a little smile back. Their suspiciously forgiving leader shrugged and wagged a finger at her, speaking in her faux-motherly tone.

"Aria, don't pick on guests-" she looked at Fluttershy out of the corner of her eye and smirked, "-unless they're into that." Fluttershy squeaked.

When Adagio didn't follow that up with more than a giggle before taking a bite of potato salad, Aria and Sonata shared an incredulous, almost worried look. Frowning, Sonata asked first.

"Dagi? We've been meaning to ask; are you feeling okay?"

Both she and Fluttershy stopped eating to look at Sonata in surprise. The latter alternated between her and Adagio, who asked before she could.

"What? I'm perfectly fine, why do you ask?"

"C'mon, Dagi," said Aria with a tone that suggested she knew she'd regret this, "not only have you pretty much backed off messing with anyone at school, but you barely rile us up anymore. What's gotten into you?"

The way Adagio glanced back and forth at her oldest friends reminded Fluttershy of a child that was being scolded, the awareness that it was her fault sending a little twinge through her chest. Once again, she found her mouth moving almost by itself.

"It's because of me, I asked her not to tease anyone else because it makes me j-jealous!"

Dead silence. Now all three sirens were staring in surprise, only Sonata managing to work her jaw. Kind of. "Whuh... what?"

Feeling warmer than the onion rings she'd been chewing just seconds ago, Fluttershy nodded. "I-it was me, weeks ago, I, she, w-with Trixie, and some other people, but mostly her, um, and..." She momentarily stopped not out of that people-are-looking-at-me fear this time, but for the realization that she knew she could do better than this. She cleared her throat. "I mean, I noticed the way she teased other people, and I know it was selfish of me, but I got jealous, and asked her to tease only me from now on, and..." She glanced at Adagio with a happy-nervous little smile, getting one right back. "She agreed!"

There was another silence, broken when Sonata looked squarely at Fluttershy, raised both hands to her head in dramatic fashion, and shouted. "YOU FOOL!!"

Fluttershy blinked twice. "Wh-what?"

"She's right," Aria added with a little nod and her crossed-arms pose, "even if she doesn't tear you to shreds, wanting to be the only one she messes with is like asking her to marry you." It was a shame that she was still too much in shock to relish the sight of the two lovebirds turning beet red, most of all for this next part. "And... she said 'yes'?"

"She asked very nicely," Adagio quietly confirmed, her eyes downward, "and, she even gave me free reign during the school day, but you can probably imagine why I haven't capitalized on that offer."

Mouthing the words 'gave me free reign' with clear incredulity, Aria turned to Sonata, as if to confirm the implications of what they'd just heard. She got a nod back before Sonata asked her question. "So, that's why you hardly even poke us anymore?"

There was a twitch in Adagio's lips, a split-second in which they nearly formed a vicious smirk, but she turned away almost immediately, making no comment on anyone's word choices or the implied desires therein. Aria let out an impressed whistle.

"Man," she chuckled. "Twenty-eight years in our world, three or four in this one, and that's gotta be the most amazing thing I've ever seen."

Sonata grinned. "For realzies!"

Adagio hadn't been sure Fluttershy would be comfortable revealing that deal of theirs, so she'd been hesitant to share details even with Aria and Sonata. Now that it was out in the open, however, she smiled too. "I do hope you two can forgive my neglect, but my poor Sweetie is just insatiable." Her mirth vanished when Fluttershy nearly choked on an onion ring. "Sorry, Sweetie."

Flushed and coughing, Fluttershy managed to clear her throat enough to reply with a little smile. "I-it's okay. The food is really good, Adagio!" Now it was the chef wearing a demure blush, the others again marveling at the effect Fluttershy had on her. Sonata, however, wasn't quite satisfied. Clearing her throat, she put on a blank face and internally braced herself for what she was about to do.

"H-hey, Dagi. I'm wearing a thong right now." She ignored Aria's jaw dropping and Fluttershy's hilarious spit-take as both of them turned burning red, instead focusing on the girl that wore only a calm smile.

"That's nice, Sonata."

She tried to keep a neutral expression. "And I was thinking that I should show Rarity!"

That won another lip-twitch out of Adagio, but she didn't take the bait. "And... I wish you luck in that venture?"

Sonata was blushing too now, but she'd already come too far to stop. "I might just drop my skirt and shake it, right in her face! Got any tips for what I should say?!"

Her mouth twisting into a crooked smile, Adagio lightly shook with the effort of containing herself. "N-no, none."

Aware that she was really doing worse to herself than anything Adagio likely would have done by this point, Sonata sprinted to the goal-post. "AndIwasthinkingImightbringacanofwhippedcreamdoyouknowwhatIshoulddowithit?!"

Snorting, Adagio slapped a hand to her mouth, her eyes tearing up as she fought to keep her thoughts, and wild cackling, down. She visibly struggled, her whole torso shaking as she clenched her jaw hard enough that it brought to mind one of the Joyful Rangers she'd shared with Fluttershy, splintering and shattering into pieces between her teeth. Thinking about moments they'd shared on the bench helped to regain her composure and take a long, slow breath, capped off with a serene smile. "Whatever you decide to do together, I hope the two of you enjoy yourselves."

She resisted the urge to wink and add "And each other!"

Fluttershy, for her part, felt a lump in her throat as she fully realized just how much she had to mean to Adagio for her to restrain herself like this every day. Still, something wasn't quite right here. The table was quiet for a long moment while she tried to work out what it was and Aria and Sonata processed their new situation. Aria smirked. "So, you won't make fun of us anymore, no matter what we do...?"

Her eyes widening, Adagio visibly tensed. "Umm... W-well-"

"Because, if that's how it'll be from now on," her grin turned wicked, "there's a thing or two we've been dying to tell you."

Looking back and forth at her former henchmen and their increasingly fiendish smiles, Adagio gulped. Well, I suppose this is karmic. "Alright," she said calmly, "go ahead."

Sonata fired the first shot. "Your hair looks like a big, fluffy creampuff and I wanna pour sugar on you!!"

There was no time for a reply before Aria chimed in. "I agree with what they said at school; the bow totally makes you look like a cute little doll!"

A-Doll-gio Fluffle blushed. "Th-that's-"

Beaming, Sonata pressed both hands to her cheeks. "A soft, huggy dolly that needs to be picked up and squeezed!"

"And dressed up in ribbons and frills," added Aria, "with a big, poofy skirt and a bonnet!"

"W-WHAT?!"

Watching in silence, Fluttershy was conflicted. On one hand, her beautiful, sometimes-adorable girlfriend was hearing all about how cute she could really be from someone other than Fluttershy herself. On the other? She looked bothered by the teasing, the twitching of her lips as she fought to keep herself from letting out a searing retort for either or both of her tormentors a clue that she wasn't enjoying this at all. The mental image of Adagio in a bonnet was something else entirely, but something Fluttershy would think more on later. It was rude to interrupt, but as the others weren't letting up for a single second, she felt there was no choice.

"A-actually, when I said-"

Sonata didn't seem to hear her. "And when Christmastime rolls around, we can totally use you as the tree!"

"Uhm, e-excuse me, but-"

"Yeah-hah," guffawed Aria, "we could stick a star to your usual hairband and everything!"

The sight of Adagio squirming helplessly, fully able to defend herself, but not allowed to, was all Fluttershy needed to see to find her voice.

"HEY!"

Of course, all three sirens jumping with a start before turning to look at her was all she needed to see to mostly lose it again, smiling sheepishly. "Er, s-sorry, I, uh..."

Focus!

"Ahem. When I said I was jealous of Adagio teasing other people, I meant other people." This won three perplexed looks. "I mean, I-I watched that last time with Trixie, and it made me feel horrible, but, well," she glanced at Aria, "the time I saw you in the hallway with the fireballs? That didn't bother me at all." Well, it kind of had, but for very different reasons that didn't really matter to her anymore.

Aria scratched her head. "Time with the...? What-" Eyes widening in recollection, she turned redder than the candies in question. "Oh. Ohh. Wait," she demanded while snapping her fingers at Adagio, "that 'good friend' you mentioned back then, it was-"

"I bring this up," Fluttershy continued somewhat forcefully, "because, w-well, I know that I asked you not to tease anyone but me, Adagio, but at the time, I hadn't really thought about where Aria and Sonata fit in there." She frowned. "I'm sorry I wasn't clearer, but the whole reason it made me jealous was because I saw anyone else you teased as practically being your g-g-..." Saying it out loud was a little harder. "g-girlfriend!" She felt herself warm up as the Dazzlings stared at her, Aria and Sonata doing so with growing anxiety, but she pressed on. "S-so, I mean, I kind of see you three as being more like sisters, and siblings pick on each other all the time, so...?"

Adagio's expression was carefully neutral. "Sweetie? I haven't had too much trouble keeping my pants on in school, so to speak," now was probably a bad time to enjoy Fluttershy's shocked, crimson face, or elaborate further on not wanting to wear pants in school, "but are you saying you don't mind if I pick up where I left off with these two?"

Paling, Adagio's two oldest victims could only watch helplessly as Fluttershy nodded. Aria resisted the compulsion to look at Adagio, but Sonata had no such willpower. The smile chilled her blood.

"Girlllsss...? I have a few things I'd like to say to you too..."

There were multiple times throughout the sirens' history together in which Adagio had been impressed with just how well Aria and Sonata could synchronize. That wasn't what she was going to say, but the thought sprang up as the two almost instantly shot up and nearly shouted in unison.

"GreatmealDagigottagobye!!"

And the two sped away, but did so while bringing their plates to the kitchen like good girls. Part of Adagio wanted to brag about that, but as her only company was Fluttershy, she instead chuckled, flashing her a grateful grin across the table. "For the record, I have been meaning to go easier on those two, so your proposal was actually in good timing."

Fluttershy tilted her head a little. "Why is that?"

Adagio looked away, casting a short silence over the room as she decided on the best way to explain. "Do you remember the day I found you in the library?"

"Uh-huh."

"And just the day before, when I went overboard and scared you off?"

Fluttershy's mouth popped open to object, but she was silenced with the memory of how she had run off at the time, and even tried to hide from Adagio the next day.

"When you ran from me, Sweetie," she said with a rueful smile, "I was surprised to find that it hurt. At the time, I was almost offended. 'How dare she walk away from me?!' But, really, what did I expect? I realized then that I couldn't just do whatever I wanted and think you, or anyone, would stick around, so I had to tone things down a little."

Frowning, Fluttershy connected the dots herself. "You're afraid that the others will leave you too?"

There was an almost flippant shrug. "Everyone has their limit, Sweetie, and if I never let up, I'm going to hit theirs."

As much as she wanted to reassure Adagio, Fluttershy of all people had very little to argue with there.

"Before, back when we had our gems, our shared goal of being lavished with praise and adoration kept us together no matter how much we annoyed each other, but now...?" Eye-contact was re-established. "We might be closer than before, but it won't last if I do to them what I've done to pretty much everyone else."

Fluttershy couldn't hold it in anymore. "I'm sorry!" She answered before Adagio could ask. "That you lost your gems, lost your voices, was my fault, I'm the one who wrote the song we used at the Battle!"

Silence. The two stared at each other for at least a full minute without either moving a muscle. Then Adagio raised an eyebrow.

"And?"

Fluttershy nearly fell out of her chair. "I-I made the song that destroyed your gems, d-doesn't that-"

"And if you didn't?"

There was a slow blink. "...What?"

The siren's face was very calm, almost utterly passive as she nodded. "Imagine if your group had used another song to stop us. Do you think the effect would have been any different? Your magic was triggered by your friendship, right? If so, you could have sang Ring Around the Rosie and it still would have crippled us." Still calm, she idly scratched her head. "How such supposedly friendly magic can be destructive, however, I have no idea."

Another long, quiet moment followed, with Adagio as the one waiting for a reply this time. Fluttershy didn't really know how the magic worked either, so she couldn't be sure her lyrics were even related to the loss of the gems, or (most of) the sirens' voices. Still, the song had cost them those things, and possibly more, so she had to ask.

"Do... d-do you hate us?"

There was another pause, but only a short one. This was a subject Adagio had thought long and hard about, one she'd discussed with the others just hours ago, and she'd determined almost exactly what she wanted to say. Resting her elbows on the table and her chin on a bridge of her folded fingers, she kept a calm expression. "Do we; the songless sirens, hate you; the triumphant Rainbooms that destroyed everything we'd worked toward and left us to languish? Yes."

With a hint of a (slightly forced) smile, she continued before Fluttershy could do more than make a heart-wrenchingly hurt expression. "At the same time, do we; Adagio, Aria, and Sonata, three silly girls at Canterlot High, hate you; Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Sunset Shimmer, the six who have been as welcoming as reasonably possible even when we pushed you away? Three of whom accepted us as friends, or more, and one that never stopped trying? No. Do you see the difference?"

It was, once again, a good thing Adagio had adopted this patience thing, because Fluttershy needed a long time to process this one. Adagio noted to herself that maybe she wasn't being entirely honest regarding Sunset Shimmer, but she wasn't completely certain how the others felt about her.

"Then," Fluttershy eventually managed, her face uncertain, "it's not that you hate us, exactly, just that what happened between us?"

"That," she answered with a rueful nod, "and what we discussed earlier today. I know you're good people, I know that you've all done what you can to make us feel welcome while respecting our limits, I know that all things considered, we're lucky to have met you, but-"

"But it still doesn't change what we took from you?"

Some part of Adagio was equally surprised and strangely proud every time Fluttershy interrupted her, but that wasn't quite why she smiled. "Right. And, don't think for a minute that we're not grateful for what you showed us just tonight, but-"

"But it's still a painful loss," Fluttershy said with a frown, "and letting go of something that meant so much to you just isn't that easy? Let alone having to see those responsible on a daily basis?" The smile she was getting told her that Adagio was glad she could see things from their side, at least. "Um... I noticed that you didn't mention Twilight a minute ago, how do you feel about her?"

Shifting to an unamused face, Adagio raised an eyebrow. "The pony princess who came in, ruined us, and left without a second thought? Three guesses, Sweetie."

Fluttershy nodded. She might have tried to argue that Twilight was a very nice girl too, but if she wasn't around to feel the sirens' resentment anyway, it probably wasn't a battle worth fighting.

Glancing at a sideways-hanging clock (left as such because Aria was the one to change it the last time Daylight Savings came around) on a nearby wall, Adagio frowned a little. "It's getting late, do you need to be home soon?"

Realization hit Fluttershy like a dodgeball to the side of the head as she remembered nothing about having told her mother where she would be today. She quickly stood up, trying not to panic. "Yes, yes I should! ThankyouforthemealI'dlovetocomebackagainsometi-" She tripped and fell when her foot caught on the leg of a chair, which was how she learned that the Dazzlings kept a big box labeled 'Firecrackers!' under their kitchen table. When she looked up, Adagio was offering her a hand.

"Will you be alright alone, or would you like me to walk you home?" Fluttershy's look of surprise made her chuckle as Adagio helped her to her feet. "I've been doing a bit of research and that comes standard for couples. So?"

As Adagio was already holding her hand, Fluttershy lit up. "I-I'd like that!"

The trip was not quite as romantic as Fluttershy had been hoping, what with Adagio having quickly switched into her 'incognito' disguise of the hoodie and sweatpants just in case anyone saw them. Fluttershy couldn't rest easy, however, because Adagio had convinced her to do the swingy walk all the way home!

In public!

Outside!!

...After dark and without another soul on the streets save for the occasional passing car (the walk stopped for a few seconds every time that happened), but still! Thanks to Adagio's running commentary, she spent most of the trip increasingly flustered, and by the time they got to her doorstep, her heart was pounding! Most frightening of all was that part of her wanted more.

The escort complete, Adagio took a step back. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow, Swee-"

Not thinking, Fluttershy grabbed her wrist with one hand and hooked the other around the small of Adagio's back to pull her closer, winning a startled squeak as she dipped her and forcefully (but not roughly) planted her lips on Adagio's. Surprised, but not unwilling, Adagio melted into the embrace, brushing the fingers of her free hand through Fluttershy's hair and along the back of her neck until breathing through their noses wasn't quite enough anymore. Even through the dim lighting and Adagio's hood, Fluttershy could still see her flushed, smiling face.

"My, my," she all but panted, "a little bolder by night, hm? I may exploit that later."

As holding Adagio up proved slightly more straining than Fluttershy might have hoped, she couldn't do more than giggle before letting her secret girlfriend return to a fully upright position. Still, that she'd held her even that long, that she'd grabbed her for a kiss in the first place, was definitely something to be proud of!

"One last thing," Adagio leaned in to whisper, "do you have a habit of showing people your phone? Of leaving it around where anyone might pick it up?" She got one of those cute little head-shakes back, drawing a smirk. "Then no one but your friends is ever likely to see it?"

Fluttershy connected the dots immediately, drawing a bright smile. "M-my number is-" She was stopped by a yellow finger pressed to her lips.

"Ah, ah, ah," Adagio tutted in quiet, sultry tones, "I had something else in mind. You already have my number, so find it, send me a message before morning, and..." She winked. "There'll be a special reward for you." The rosy glow she got for this drew fiendish chuckles as she started toward the street. "See you tomorrow, Sweetie."

Watching Adagio go (and go) as she hummed a cheerful little tune, Fluttershy eventually pulled herself together.

I already have her number? Where? How? Should I check my textbooks?

She briefly probed around in her own mouth with her tongue, but didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. Just as well, if Adagio had snuck her something through a spontaneous kiss that she didn't start, Fluttershy wasn't sure what she'd have done to cope with the sheer scariness factor. She went inside, closed the door, took two steps, and was startled by one of those mini confetti-cannon things going off.

"Good job, Fluttershy, ya finally made it!"

Paling, Fluttershy turned to see her similarly-colored mother, a tall, weighty woman in bright, cheerful clothes and light-pink hair down to her shoulders. She was currently holding the spent party implement and positively beaming as she stepped forward to wrap Fluttershy in a firm, but gentle hug.

"Uhm... M-made it home? I'm sorry I didn't call you, i-it kind of slipped my mind b-because-"

"Ohh, no, not that," she giggled, lightly shaking Fluttershy as she did so, "I knew you'd be okay with your friends, but staying out without calling me, coming home at night, and smooching that hoodie girl on our doorstep? Honestly, I thought you'd be halfway through college before your first nookie!"

Fluttershy flushed hotter than during most mornings on the bench. "MOM!!"

"No need to be embarrassed, Honey! I think you might've surprised her just a minute ago, but it looked like she was digging it!"

There was another chilling realization. "...M-Mom...? H-how do you know about...?"

"I was watching through the peephole!"

"..."

"Fluttershy? You oka-oop, gone all catatonic again. Must'a been good!"

Adagio had barely closed the door when she heard Sonata behind her.

"You're back! Where'dya go?"

"Just walking Fluttershy home," she said while turning to her with a little smirk, pulling her hood down, "can you imagine what might happen if some twisted, depraved deviant were to get their hands on such a sweet, innocent girl?"

Her eyes drifting to the ceiling, Sonata smiled. "Yes."

The two of them giggled together as Aria stepped into sight. "Yeesh, surprised you haven't broken her yet."

"Or scared her off," chirped Sonata.

Adagio opened her mouth to reply, but something in the tone of that last part gave her pause. The looks she was getting from her two oldest friends were equally unsettling. "...Girls? Is s-something wrong?"

They frowned, with Aria crossing her arms. "We heard you. While you were talking to Squeaky?" She could tell by the look on Adagio's face that her heart had probably just stopped, if only for a second. She'd remember to feel bad about eavesdropping again later. "You really think we'd just up and leave you over a little teasing?"

Pressing her back against the door, Adagio looked down at the floor in the hope it might hide her lip trembling. "...Everyone else does." With one obvious exception, of course.

Sonata stepped forward to hug her, which was a little hard with her back to the door. "We don't hate you, Dagi. Teasing you back might be pretty hard, but you've never gone too far on us."

"Haven't I? You never wish I'd let up a little?"

"Aw, can it," Aria said without venom as she stepped forward to put a comforting hand on Adagio's shoulder, "you remember what you did to the guy who made fun of our voices? The one that said our mouths would only be good for 'one thing' now? He deserved it, but that would be going too far."

He had deserved it. Hell, Adagio wasn't sure she cared if he didn't. Still, she knew she couldn't justify being a quarter as nasty with anyone that hadn't earned it, which brought her to today. Then she remembered what she'd told Sunset Shimmer.

"If... if you wanted me to tone it down, would you tell me?"

"Of course," answered Sonata while nuzzling the shoulder Aria wasn't touching, "ya big silly."

There was a quiet, huggy moment between the three of them, with Aria and Sonata giving Adagio some room to breathe a second later. When she looked back at them, she wasn't the only one smiling.

"Okay. I... Thanks. I don't mind if you two take shots of your own, by the way, but not being able to respond is a little... straining."

Aria looked away somewhat guiltily. "What we did earlier was kinda unfair. But Hell, so's going up against you in the first place."

"For realzies!"

Adagio wore an apologetic grin. "Maybe it won't kill me to ease up just a little. I didn't get around to dessert before you left, are you two still hungry?"

Sonata smiled much wider. "Heck yea!!"

Aria and Adagio giggled again. "Alright," replied the latter, "I'll see what I can put together. Maybe a pie, tons of whipped cream?" It had been a challenge keeping a smirk off her face while asking that question, and Sonata's jaw going slack as she flushed crimson wasn't making it easier, but she wanted to try her hand at friendly teasing. "I'm sure I can procure a cherry or two on my own, but thanks anyway. Or, maybe you're channeling those spicy fireballs?" Aria froze up right on cue, drawing a giggle. "To answer your earlier question, yes, I did get those from Fluttershy. We even shared them in the same way!"

In stark contrast to Sonata, Aria paled. "...Did... did you- was the one you gave me the same one that...?"

Grinning coyly, Adagio turned away and started pacing toward the kitchen. "Maaaaybe~!" She couldn't quite hear all of Aria's reaction over her own barely-contained snickering, but it sounded like she was as flustered by the idea of sharing food with Fluttershy as Fluttershy herself had been that day. It was funny, because the one she'd shared with Aria had been an entirely different piece of candy, the first two having long since melted, but why spoil Aria's fantasies? She was just about to pass through a doorway when Sonata shouted from behind her.

"W-wait! I'd like, f-for dessert, um... how about a creampuff?!"

She stopped and turned around, but couldn't hide her giggles, delighted to see Sonata smiling too even if she hadn't fully recovered yet. Playfully touching a fingertip to her lips, Adagio batted her eyelashes. "You want to eat my creampuff?" She practically heard the DING-DING! of a boxing ring's bell as Sonata again burst into redness, stumbled where she stood, and slumped against Aria, who was still standing there in a daze, for support. Chuckling, she stepped over to wrap them both in a hug. "You two are so cute."

Aria managed to pull herself together a little more as she hesitantly grinned. "Cute as a sleeping sketch model?"

Still blushing furiously, Sonata backed her up. "With a pretty bow in her hair?"

Not losing her smile as she tinted pink, Adagio giggled. "Yes!" As much as she'd have liked to remind them that they too would be dressing up in cute outfits for everyone to see sooner or later, it was probably best to let them have this little victory for now.

A little later, she found herself in the kitchen to get started on dessert in earnest.

Now, do I want to make a pie, creampuffs, or a creampuff pie with some fireballs mixed in? Do we have any whipped cream left?

She hadn't made her mind up when her phone beeped at her. Answering, she found it to be a text from an unknown number, but it wasn't hard to guess the identity anyway.

[How did you get that paper into my bra?!]

Adagio giggled.

Silly Sweetie, what fun would it be if I just told you?

Before she could send that special reward she'd mentioned, she got another message.

[I'm sorry, that was a really weird first text. Hi! :)]

Adagio giggled like she had a squirrel in her shirt.

Sitting on her bed in her pajamas, Fluttershy breathed out a quiet sigh. She'd managed to clear up the misunderstanding with her mother, at least, but even if she agreed when Fluttershy begged her not to tell anyone (begging probably wasn't necessary, but she wanted to be extra sure), she probably wasn't going to be safe at home anymore. Her mother never meant to embarrass her like that, but she'd always just get so excited on Fluttershy's behalf. This wasn't even accounting for the fact that Adagio, beyond the shadow of a doubt, now knew where she lived! She was just about to get started on what would be a long, long diary entry for today when Adagio texted her back.

When she opened the message, she burned red again, nearly slamming her phone face-down on the bed out of fear of someone seeing it. Awareness that she was alone with her stuffed animals and that they'd never betray her helped her to pick it up and look again. It was Adagio's full behind this time, covered only by a light pair of panties with the word 'Sweetie' stitched across the rear in pink cursive.

[I'll leave THIS one to your imagination. Keep in touch, Sweetie! ;)]

Fluttershy felt a nervous grin slowly spread across her face as she realized exactly what Adagio having her number could mean.

"Haha... Oh, dear."

Author's Notes:

Find self with heavy workload for the next few weeks. Find surprise gap in busy-ness. Pony.

Longer and longer, these things go. Can you believe I was initially planning to have a few chapters of pure candy-on-the-bench fluff just to space things out more after this? Hoping to cut that down to one chapter (for real this time!) before the next thing happens. Stay tuned!

It seems like I almost never write Aria and Sonata apart. This isn't deliberate, because though they are delightful to work with together, I feel they shine a little brighter when they're separated. If nothing else, it helps avoid the feeling that they're one person with two voices, which I wholeheartedly try to stay away from. I should get back to Changing Tune some time.

Yes, I'm aware that Fluttershy's mother seems awfully unfazed by her only child returning late on a school night after not even calling to let her know where she'd be, but I think it'll make sense later.