Adagio and Rarity stood in the bathroom, which proved to be quite spacious, as the latter rambled on with a look of delight on her face. Adagio was unable to get a word in edge-wise to suggest that maybe showers were best taken only by the person who intended to get clean. She wouldn't disrobe until she was alone in here. Luckily, Rarity eventually stopped talking. Unluckily, Adagio hadn't caught the last thing she said as the seamstress produced a roll of measuring tape and stretched it out in front of her.

"Now please be still, this'll only take a moment." She stepped forward to wrap the yellow band tightly around Adagio's arm, leaning in close to read where the little markings met.

Adagio raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

Rarity didn't look up from her task. "Taking measurements, remember? This'll just take a second." She then wrapped the tape around a different area of her arm and repeated the process. Then on her leg. Then her thigh.

Adagio started to blush, getting a bad feeling about where this was going. "Uh-"

"And next is-" Rarity didn't take her eyes off the tape, quickly measuring increasingly invasive areas. "Mmhm."

"H-hey!"

"And then there's your-"

"Gah!"

"I'm sure something will fit."

"S-stop tha-"

"And just for good measure-"

"Yeek!"

Drawing back, Rarity smiled at her innocently, as if she plain didn't notice Adagio's knock-kneed stance or crimson face. "All done! Now let's see about getting you clea-"

The moment Rarity's fingertips touched her vest, Adagio drew back, quickly circled around Rarity, and started pushing her out of the bathroom. "I'm perfectly capable of washing myself, thank you!"

Not resisting, Rarity giggled. "Oop! My apologies, I'll just leave you to-" The door wasn't slammed behind her, but it definitely closed with more force than was strictly necessary. Had she done it again? Rarity had practically been forced to go through something like sensitivity training conducted by her friends after the time she'd done something similar with Fluttershy. Some girls were just bashful about touching and nudity, she supposed, even around other girls. Well, no matter, she thought with a grin, heading toward the dressing room, this will give me some time to determine the best-fitting options!

Leaning up against the bathroom door, Adagio briefly pondered a window escape. Unfortunately, that would completely undermine her earlier sentiment that she wasn't afraid of anyone when Rarity came back and realized that she had fled after all. Still, yellow-tape TSA aside, this was going smoother than what she'd initially thought would happen when she awoke tied up in a box.

Turning off the hair-dryer and saluting it's nobility in the line of duty, Adagio sighed a little with relief. Not just that she managed to dry off in good time, but that Rarity hadn't decided to do something to humiliate her while she was in the shower after all. Though her... touchiness just before might have counted for something.

Still, she hadn't been surprised with something messy thrown over the shower curtain while she was in, or stepped out to find her clothes missing. It almost made her feel bad about locking the door. Redressing, she stepped out of the bathroom, Rarity swooping in and leading her away by the wrist almost the moment she emerged.

Her smile was no weaker than before Adagio's shower. "Right this way, darling, I've got the first dozen outfits all lined up!"

"Dozen?"

"Well, technically it's closer to eighty-four if you don't mind mixing applicable tops, bottoms, and shoes around, but I think the colors may clash that way."

She led Adagio to a large room full of curtained little areas, several clothes racks waiting near the center. Tracing a finger over the hooks of several hangars, she picked out two and handed them and the attached clothes to Adagio. "Try these on, any of the changing areas should do."

Stepping behind one of the curtains, Adagio started to change as Rarity stood outside and picked up where she'd left off.

"I know it's the reason you were brought here against your will, but I really would love to style your hair if you'd permit it! The sheer bulk allows for so many possibilities, from braids, to hanging loops, to an intricate mixture of many kinds! Really, I'm a little surprised you keep it as is, not that it doesn't look good with the spiked hairband." She stuck her head through the curtain. "Speaking of which, do you think you could-" There was a shriek of surprise from Adagio, Rarity immediately stepped back with a hint of a blush. "Ooh, right, you prefer privacy. Sorry!"

Adagio sighed a little and things were quiet apart from the sound of moving cloth.

Rarity smiled. "Very cute selection, by the way."

"What?!"

"With your usual demeanor, I really wouldn't have guessed you'd wear-"

Adagio's blush was almost audible. "D-do you mind?!"

Rarity giggled.

Once she was dressed, Adagio stepped out. She wasn't exactly impressed by the loose, purple shirt and ruffled skirt with thick shoes, but before she could do more than open her mouth, Rarity cut her off, looking her over carefully.

"You're right, the shoes are the wrong shade and the ribbon does nothing for your hair. Shall we try another?"

"I'm not sure the accents in that top are your color..."

"Black leather pants with a turquoise frilled shirt? What was I thinking?"

"Hm. You're a little more curvaceous than I first thought, Miss Dazzle."

She noticed Rarity was eyeing her lower body when she said that. "Just 'Adagio' is fine."

Rarity nodded, not taking her eyes off Adagio's figure, but not leering at her like some drooling lecher, either. The gaze was purely analytical, which had to be a first for any of the Dazzlings. "Very well. Perhaps we could try something that played to your strengths..."

Adagio stood in an asymmetric red-velvet dress that went down to one knee, covering down to the middle of the thigh of the opposite leg. The section covering her torso only stretched over the front, a small window between the straps holding the dress up exposing the upper portion of her modest chest.

Rarity paced around her, one hand on her chin, that arm propped up by the other as she kept the contemplative stare from every angle. "It's... I think the color is right, but it feels... off. What do you think?"

Adagio looked in the full-length mirror set up nearby, turning to her left and right to see herself from as wide a range as possible. She didn't look bad, she almost never did, but something about her current look did feel a little strange. "It looks..." She studied her mostly-bare legs, down the the black, high-heeled sandals on her feet. Her arms were uncovered too. She knew what the problem was. "Party-girl."

Rarity looked her over again. The light, flowy dress and the amount of skin shown on her limbs was more of a girlish look while Adagio had something of a lady-like vibe, and it was generally advised to match a look to a feeling. She grinned. "I-dee-yaa!"

Now Adagio wore a different dress, red-velvet like the last one, but very different in style. It was long, the thin cloth stopping down near her ankles, parted with a single slit on her left side that ran almost up to her hip. The upper portion was tight-fitting and stopped on her chest at roughly the same place as her purple jumpsuit, bound in the middle with a thin, black sash. Covering most of her arms were black gloves similar to the pink ones she normally wore, obscuring her wrists and most of her hand, but not the fingers. Combined with shiny, black, high-heeled boots much thinner (and less pointy!) than her usual choice, the overall effect was formal, but still flirty, svelte, but still sultry, something a young lady might wear to a ball or an opera or some other formal outing.

Judging by a pleased-looking smirk as she turned back and forth to admire herself in the mirror, Adagio approved. "You might make a better clothier than you do a musician."

It was said haughtily and with an ounce of challenge, but considering it, Rarity smiled genuinely. "Thank you! I may be able to magnify the look, if you don't mind sticking around a while."

Tearing her gaze from her reflection, Adagio blinked twice. She had expected something a little more venomous in reply, but if Birthday Girl was offering... "I, y-yes, very well. What did you have in mind?"

Rarity beamed, stepping closer while pointedly looking at Adagio's hair. "Well now, it depends. There's such a range to cover, so many options to consider..." She tilted her head, visibly projecting possibilities onto the fluffy canvas. "The things I could do with this hair if, well..." She gave a look not unlike a child asking for one more cookie from the jar. "I dare ask, would you mind, if...?" Adagio only responded with a raised eyebrow. "Could I, do you think, straighten it?"

There was an ominous chuckle. "If you're up to it."

Rarity frowned. "You would rather I didn't?"

She shook her head, orange curls bobbing tauntingly. "No, I mean that if you're feeling brave, then by all means, try. I won't stop you, good luck."

Rarity felt like Pinkie with her head stuck in a birthday cake again, though that hadn't actually happened today. Strangely. And Happy Birthday to me, indeed!

Rarity looked back and forth between the flat iron in one hand, a comb in the other, and the still-very-curly hair hanging in front of her. Something had gone wrong. "I... W-why isn't it working?"

Sitting on a cushioned stool, Adagio shrugged, replying in a casual tone as she thumbed through the magazine Rarity had offered for the wait. "To this day, I do not know."

Turning up the heat settings, Rarity tried again, slowly running the iron along the orange strands. When she stopped, it still didn't look like anything had changed. "How is this possible?!"

Page flip. "I've wondered the same thing."

Rarity grit her teeth, turning the heat up to maximum settings. She'd once (Once.) straightened Pinkie Pie's hair this way, and today would be no different! She took hold of the locks with the comb, clamped down with the iron, and slowly, carefully, meticulously dragged it along, certain every hair was feeling her burning vengeance, but no matter how many times she did it, she couldn't spot a single hair that looked even a little less curly than before. Her eye twitched.

Hearing Rarity stand up, Adagio turned to look at her. "Is something wrong?"

"Ohh, not at all," she replied as she calmly walked out of the room, "could you excuse me for just a moment?" The door shut before Adagio had time to reply. Moments later, it flew open, Rarity appearing armed to the teeth (there was a fine-toothed comb in her mouth) with hair-management products. She carried a much larger flat iron in one hand, a massive brush in the other, and had a band of chemicals in little bottles tied across her chest like an ammo belt. The most eye-catching detail of all, however, was the near-manic look on her face as she spoke through the comb. "It. is. ON!!"

Paying no mind to the wide-eyed fright of her target's owner, Rarity dove into battle.

Dropping the iron as it had finally grown too hot to continue holding, Rarity fell to her knees in defeat, breathing in ragged gasps. On the floor with her were the spent spray-cans, the empty bottles, and the brush so thick with orange hair she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to use it again. Not that she used the silly thing in ordinary circumstances, it was supposed to be a novelty item anyway, but still! Not even able to remember when the comb was lost, she hesitantly looked up to see Adagio once more admiring her reflection.

"Not bad," she said with a genuine smile, "not bad at all." Running a hand through that defiant mass of orange, she turned to Rarity looking quite pleased. "I've never seen it this straight in my life! You're nothing short of a miracle worker, Rarity."

Carefully looking them over again, Rarity determined that Adagio's curls were actually hanging a few inches lower, looking more wavy than puffy. Smiling a little, she stood up, extended her arms victoriously to the skies, and fell backward on her fainting couch.

Adagio blinked twice. Was that couch there before...?

"So," Rarity said, audibly fatigued, "how would you say your day has been, compared to waking up in a box?"

The former captive chuckled. "Compared to waking up in a box? Outstanding." Retaking her seat on the cushioned stool, she shrugged a little. "And, you?"

Rarity grinned brightly for one so tired. "I'm having a marvelous time!" She looked over the fruits of her labor; Adagio in a long, elegant evening gown, her much-less-puffy hair hanging down like a wavy, orange cloak stopping about halfway down her thighs. She smiled. "You really are beautiful, darling."

Adagio idly posed as her voice took on a nostalgic tone. "I know, but you should have seen me as a hippocampus! My scales had such luster that I would gleam in even dim lighting."

Rarity's mind boggled trying to imagine how the flying fish-horrors she'd seen at the Battle of the Bands could be called 'beautiful.' Maybe that wasn't the form she was referring to? A change of subject felt in order. "What kind of make-up do you wear? And, how did you keep from ruining it in the shower?"

Adagio looked at her in earnest confusion. "Make-up?"

The young seamstress's eyes widened. "Oh, my, stars..."

Brushing a lock of hair aside, Adagio smirked a little. "None of us have ever needed to artificially enhance our appearances with-" She stopped, her pupils shrinking to pin-pricks as she looked back at Rarity. A person who probably dealt in, and personally wore, make-up. "I, uh... I-I mean," Her face took on similar hues to her dress as she started to sweat. Rarity was just staring at her, expressionless. "n-not that there's anything wrong with, I mean, i-it's as valid as any other kind of seductio-err, unless that wasn't what you have in mind when you, n-not that I mean to say you do, um, m-make-up is perfectly fine, I'm sure, it's just that, I mean-"

Rarity started giggling, Adagio sitting in uncomfortable silence as it grew to loud laughter. "H-honestly, darling," she eventually managed, "it's fine. I can't very well begrudge you your beauty," her smile took on a modicum of sadness, "but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little jealous."

Adagio felt strange, in that someone was envious of her and she drew no satisfaction from it at all. Not looking directly at Rarity, she scratched her head. "W-well, technically..."

Rarity sat up slowly, piqued interest clear in her expression.

Only glancing at her for a split-second, Adagio spoke quietly. "This isn't my body. Aria, Sonata, and I, none of us are 'naturally beautiful' because none of us are natural. The day we arrived in this world, this was how we looked." Never mind what being sirens in the first place meant... By the look on Rarity's face, she didn't seem to understand. "As these aren't even our bodies, we're all fake. It isn't our beauty, it's this world's answer to what we were before, and will never be again." Frowning, she held out a lock of hair in front of her face, speaking a little louder. "No idea what this is about, though." She lowered her head, looking toward the floor. "A-and, going that route? I don't know if our voices are our own, either. The gems, w-well, you remember, but..."

For the melancholic, dejected look on Adagio's face, Rarity felt like she should have said something comforting, but couldn't begin to think what it would be in this situation.

The other girl went on, closing her eyes. "The three of us still sing together sometimes, and while none of us sound quite like we did before," her breath hitched, "I c-can't be sure even that much is truly our own, independent of the gems! I have no idea how much of me is even mine, what kind of claim I have to-"

Rarity jumped up from where she sat, quickly moved to where Adagio was seated, and wrapped her in a hug, which only startled her a little.

Realizing what she had been doing, Adagio reddened faintly, took a deep breath, and cleared the lump that had been forming in her throat. She was not going to cry again. "Sorry."

Still hugging her, Rarity replied gently. "You have nothing to apolog-" She stopped, wishing she'd chosen her words more carefully. "Err, I-I mean, in terms of, uh-"

Adagio smiled a little. "So, anyway, yes, don't worry too much about make-up." The smile faded. "You could look like a clown and still be more 'natural' than my followers and I."

Frowning, Rarity backed away enough to look her in the eye. "I dedicate a lot of my time to aesthetics, Adagio, but even I know that how you look isn't truly important. Frankly? It doesn't matter how pretty someone is when they act, well..." She looked away for a second, not sure if this next statement would do more to make a point or just reopen what might have been not-so-old wounds. "Sunset Shimmer has always been a looker, but it's only in the last half year or so that she hasn't looked like a monster. Do you know what I'm trying to say?"

There was just the faintest glimmer of anger in Adagio's eyes, but it was watered down with a kind of browbeaten acceptance, like she'd already heard what she was no-doubt thinking now a hundred times before.

As just making Adagio think she was a terrible person was far from what Rarity meant to do, she tried a different approach. Resting both hands on Adagio's shoulders, she spoke gently. "You aren't a monster either, or we wouldn't be sitting here now. I can't be sure what you've been through since our confrontation, but I know something must have changed in that time, else you'd have done much more than demanded recompense for your abduction." Maybe Rarity was on to something, maybe Adagio just wasn't used to people talking to her like this, but there had to be a reason for the reserved, vulnerable look on her face. "You'd have never indulged my little episode with your hair, you'd have never calmly accepted my attempts to make up for your miserable situation this morning, and you'd have never joined us at school two weeks ago, even if you did leave right after lunch."

Sunset had said that Adagio ran into her on the way to school and the latter just had nothing better to do than tag along after her first and only shift at Flippy Fatbear's Pizza. Dubious looks were passed around at the time, but no one rightly asked.

"Beastly behavior may make us uglier inside," Rarity went on, "but the worst I've heard about any of your group since the battle is that Aria Blaze may have stood up for herself a little more aggressively than was strictly called for." Seeing Adagio smile a little at this, she returned it warmly. "You are not a monster, and I'm sure the other two aren't either." Adagio quickly turned away, her back to Rarity as she sat in silence. Rarity waited, not sure if she'd just made it worse.

"You were going to style my hair, right?"

She blinked twice.

Adagio still wasn't facing her, but she didn't sound upset. "I still certainly have time, if you're-"

Rarity hopped to her feet, beaming. "I'll get my tool-kit!"

As the young fashionista ran to get her equipment, (hopefully the sort to be used in normal circumstances this time) Adagio had some time to think. She tried to focus primarily on Aria and Sonata. They must have noticed she was gone by now, would they think she just forgot to leave them a note this time? She didn't want to up and leave just yet, but asking to use Rarity's phone wouldn't do much good, as she still didn't know Sonata's number. Did Aria have a phone yet? She would need to sort a few things out after today.

Then again, she wasn't looking forward to their comments about her getting captured like some helpless damsel when they heard that that was exactly what had happened.

Author's Notes:

If you're wondering, I picture Adagio's hair looking like the way Jack-A-Lynn tends to draw it post Rarity-goes-bonkers, more wavy than the big ol' cotton ball she has in the movie.

On that note, I know 'Adagio has wacky hair lol' is pretty much on par with taco jokes as far as low-hanging comedic fruit goes for the Dazzlings, but that's because Adagio might just have the most ridiculous hair in the entire franchise. Including ethereal manes, including Rainbow Power hair-extensions, including the Mane-iac, because hers was at least functional and served to make her more fearsome. Adagio is just super fluffy, which serves to make her more huggable.