The sun had set some time ago, and the sky was both clear and filled with brilliant stars. Sunset Shimmer looked out amongst them and sighed contentedly. Much had happened in her recent life, and while there was no doubt that she had been through some unpleasant moments, here she was, at last happy with the life she was leading. A smile crept onto her face as she pondered this, thought it was short-lived as a loud groan of annoyance could be heard behind her. Spinning, she looked on with some amusement as she saw that it was none other than Rainbow and Applejack, who were once again competing against one another on some sort of video game. And much like last time, the farm girl was giving the sports champ a run for her money.
Although it had not been long since their last such gathering, they had, largely at Pinkie's urging, chosen to have yet another slumber party. And so, the Rainbooms were all gathered once again in Pinkie's home, going about their usual activities in such surroundings. But what set this one apart from the last one they had, aside from the notable absence of Twilight Sparkle of course, was that they had been joined by ones they had once called their enemies. The Dazzlings. Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk. It had been a long and fairly tense transition, but the three girls had, for the most part, accepted being around the Rainbooms. And while they had yet to call them friends, the fact that they were willing to be here for a gathering such as this was a far cry from how they used to feel towards them.
Much like Twilight when she last visited, the Dazzlings had been loaned sets of pyjamas by Pinkie Pie from her wardrobe. It still astonished Sunset that the pink-haired girl had so many at her disposal, but when she'd asked about it the only response she got was "in case of pyjama emergencies". It wasn't much of an answer, but even so, Sunset had long ago learned to not even try and understand Pinkie's thinking. Aria, who was sitting next to Applejack and Rainbow, was watching the two of them play their game, showing only a mild interest. She was wearing a full-body set of pyjamas, not unlike the set Twilight had worn, save for it's colouring, which was the same green as her usual jacket. As for Adagio, she was currently being mildly harassed by Rarity, who was trying to get her to read some big fashion magazine. The Dazzling leader was wearing a nightie, not unlike Rarity’s, expect a much darker purple colour.
Sunset smiled and shook her head at the scene before her, both happy and surprised that a peaceful moment like this could occur between them and their former enemies. Looking around, she saw Pinkie pie, who was busy writing in her diary, which she seemed to do a lot of recently. As the former unicorn stepped forward to meet with her, her attention was then diverted to the door of the bedroom, beyond which she could hear the distinct sound of singing. She stopped for a while and listened to it, upon which she knew that it was, in fact, two singers out there. It was nice to listen to, but soon it stopped, prompting Sunset to keep an eye on the door. Eventually, it opened, revealing that the signers had been none other than Fluttershy and Sonata. The latter was wearing yet another nightie, a pink one.
As the two girls entered the room, with Fluttershy closing the door behind them, Sonata looked at her with a big smile on her face.
"Thank you so much for helping me practice, Fluttershy!"
Before the timid girl could reply, she was taken aback as Sonata embraced her in a big hug. Although surprised at first, her expression softened quickly and she soon returned the hug to the enthusiastic girl.
"Oh, it's fine, Sonata. Really, I was happy to help."
Sunset smiled as she saw the look on Sonata's face. The girl loved her singing, and since their two groups had started hanging out, she'd been practising with Fluttershy, since she too enjoyed letting out a song here and there. As the two girls moved away from the door and sat upon the large bed in the middle of the room, Sonata looked upon her two friends, Adagio and Aria, before addressing them.
"You guys should totally join us! My voice is getting better and better these days."
Adagio looked at her friend, her expression far less harsh than it used to be in the past.
"I've been practising, Sonata. I just prefer to do it without an audience."
Aria then looked upon the other two and held her hand up to her throat before speaking.
"Same here. My throat doesn't ache like it used to these days."
Sonata seemed a little down at their rejection of her offer, but a swift shrug of her shoulders made it clear that it didn't really bother her all that much. Rarity, who had been listening in on the three of them, looked up at Sonata before speaking to her.
"I caught a moment of your song earlier, my dear. It sounds lovely. I'll bet Randy will just adore it."
The blue-haired girl raised an eyebrow at that.
"Who?"
Rarity, looking a little surprised, replied to her.
"Um...your boyfriend?"
Sonata's eyes then widened as a smile appeared on her face.
"Oh right! Him! Yeah, I'm, really looking forward to being able to sing for him like before."
Applejack, who had long ago beaten Rainbow Dash at the game, much to the latter's chagrin, looked up at the girl before entering into the conversation herself.
"How's the fella doin anyway? He weren't lookin too good last time we saw him."
Sonata, still smiling, looked down at the farm girl before answering.
"He’s' doing great! Full recovery! The doctors say he doesn't even need his heart medication anymore!"
The girls seemed rather oblivious to the fact that her boyfriend had been through something of an ordeal in all this, as evidenced by the happy look on her face. The rest of the girls merely looked at each other with worried looks before finally just shrugging their shoulders at each other and affording themselves a hearty chuckle at it all. However, after this was done, Sonata was surprised to see Adagio stand up before making her way over to her and sitting beside her on the bed.
"Well, that's all well and good, Sonata, but now that your guy has recovered, you know what comes next, right?"
The look on her face was it's usual mischievous expression, though Sonata was merely nonplussed about the whole thing, which became clear to Adagio as she tilted her head. The Dazzling leader let out a groan of annoyance as she looked at her more seriously.
"I mean, now that he's fit and healthy again, it's time for you to really stake a claim on your male."
The now-amorous look on Adagio's face, as well as the tone of voice she employed while speaking, made it clear to everyone there, even Sonata, what she was talking about. Many of the girls there, Sonata included, couldn't help but blush at this suggestion. Rainbow, on the other hand, merely looked at her as if she'd just suggested walking off a cliff.
"Are you crazy?! After what happened with him last time, having Sonata do that would probably make his head explode or something!"
Rarity, although not sharing Rainbow's exact over-dramatic sentiment, nevertheless felt the need to speak up about this.
"Well, what I think Rainbow is trying to say is, well, don't you think it's a bit early for that sort of thing? I mean, it isn't exactly smiled upon for girls our age to do that sort of thing."
Adagio looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"In case you'd forgotten, Rarity, we Sirens are over a thousand years old. I think that puts us above any age concerns, wouldn't you?"
Rarity looked at the others, not really able to counter an argument like that, nor was she given any help by the others, who merely shrugged their shoulders at her. However, help did indeed come in the form of Pinkie, who spoke up towards Adagio.
"Wait a second! Didn't you say before that you'd never even THINK of getting together with a human?"
None of them could believe it, but Pinkie had a point. When Sonata had first started dating Randy, Adagio had commented on her distaste for relationships between themselves and humans. Now, here she was, advocating even further intimacy between the two. However, the Dazzling leader didn't really seem worried by this, as evidenced by the chuckle she let out.
"True enough. But that just meant I was unwilling to go into all that lovey-dovey stuff. However, well...a girl does have needs after all."
The meaning behind those words was clear, not helped by the still-seductive look on Adagio's face as she'd said it. The girls all cast nervous glances at one another before, finally, Sunset spoke up.
"So...you've...been with others?"
Adagio looked at her as if she'd just said the most ridiculous thing possible.
"Like I said, over a thousand years old. Did you really think I was going to stay celibate that whole time?"
Once again, they couldn't really argue with that, and so chose not to question her further on that particular matter. However, a thought then came to Sunset as her expression became somewhat more serious, before she spoke to Adagio once more.
"Did you...use your powers?"
The mood became instantly tense with those words, as all of them knew exactly what Sunset was implying by saying that. After all, it was known by everyone that the Dazzlings once had the power to manipulate people's behaviour. And while that magic was no longer available to them, it did raise the question regarding past flirtations with humans. Adagio, rather than looking offended by the suggestion that she did what Sunset clearly seemed to think, merely chuckled at that.
"If it'll soothe your worries, Sunset, no, I didn't use my magic to get them to do that. I mean, look at me. Would I NEED magic to get people to be interested?"
Once again, Adagio had a point. Although there were those amongst the Rainbooms who would never openly admit it, there was no debating the fact that the three former Sirens were, in fact, quite beautiful. And like Adagio said, it wouldn't have taken much prompting on the part of her or the other two for people to take them up on such an offer. Still, the fact that magical manipulation was not involved in that regard was a weight off Sunset's mind, as shown by the sigh she let out. Aria meanwhile had been listening to this with a look of disdain on her face.
"Well I say you two are still nuts! Letting humans touch you like that? Sick!"
Sonata looked at her companion with confusion in her expression.
"Wait. What about that one time you enchanted that spa worker to give you a free full-body massage and foot rub?"
All eyes soon turned on the purple-haired girl, whose face was now becoming one of clear embarrassment and having been ousted like that. Adagio in particular had a rather smug look on her face, as indeed did Applejack and Rainbow. Arai merely looked at each of them in turn before folding her arms, with a massive blush upon her face.
"Well...it's not as if I liked em or anything!"
Adagio chuckled a little before speaking up.
"Oh? Then I suppose all those screams of "take me now" that we heard was just you pretending?"
Aria's face was bright crimsons as she replied to that.
"Sh...SHUT UP!!!"
Rarity was sorely tempted to say something along the lines of "the lady doth protest too much", but instead tried to bring matters back to the start of this despute by taking a seat next to Sonata, opposite of where Adagio was sitting. The fashionista then looked at her new friend and spoke in a soothing tone.
"Sonata, dear. What Adagio suggests you do is something you have to do when you feel is right. It's not something that can be forced."
The blue girl looked at her for a moment before a small smile crept onto her face.
"I know. And I'm not gonna rush this. I want it to be...special."
Adagio rolled her eyes at that comment but, after a few moments, sighed before placing a hand on her friend's shoulder, gaining her attention. As the Dazzling leader looked at her, her expression one of understanding, Sonata's smile widened further as she wrapped her arms around Adagio in a bug hug. The Siren leader was, needless to say, taken aback by this affectionate display, but nevertheless reciprocated soon afterwards. Aria merely scoffed at it however and got back to keeping herself occupied with a discarded magazine. After breaking away from each other, Adagio and Sonata kept smiling at each other for a bit before the former's attention was drawn to the clear sound of someone clearing their throats. Turning, she saw that it was Pinkie, who had a look that made her appear not unlike some schoolchild, waving their hand about and wanting the teacher to notice them.
"So...was it weird getting together with a human?"
Rarity looked aghast at her friend's question.
"Pinkie Pie!"
But Adagio merely chuckled before speaking up again.
"It's fine really. Truth be told, it was strange at first. Having been so used to being with ponies all those centuries ago, changing to humans was a difficult thing to come to terms with. I will say though, they were...something of a downgrade. At least at first."
That remark prompted looks of curiosity from all of the Rainbooms, to which Adagio merely replied with a mischievous look on her face as she spoke.
"Trust me on this, girls. After having known stallions, human males didn't exactly...measure up."
One by one, a look of understanding, as well as a fierce blush, appeared on all the Rainbooms' faces, which led to no end of amusement for Adagio. It was clear that many of them regretted having heard her answer to that, and so, wanting to try and cut the air of discomfort that was going around, Sunset cleared her throat before speaking to the Dazzling leader.
"Well...Flash and me never got that intimate when we were together, so I never found out anything about that."
Adagio observed the former unicorn girl carefully before speaking to her, her voice calm and thoughtful.
"You were quite young when you arrived here, yes? Too young to have been with a stallion back in Equestria?"
Sunset was rather taken aback by a question as personal as that, but as the eyes of all the other girls soon fell upon her, she slowly, albeit reluctantly, nodded her head. Adagio nodded a little in response to that before letting out a sigh.
"Trust me, my dear, you'll get a chance, one day at least."
Sunset looked up at her, surprised at the understanding remark, before replying to it with a soft smile, making it clear that she appreciated what Adagio was saying to her. However, that mood was interrupted by Rainbow, who then spoke to all of the Dazzlings at once.
"Uh, no offense to you girls or anything, but we saw what you Sirens used to look like, back during the battle of the bands. I'm, no expert on this kinda stiff, but wouldn't that look not sit well with ponies? How'd you get together with any of em?"
Adagio looked at Rainbow with a frown.
"I'll have you know, Rainbow, that we Sirens were considered quite beautiful in our original forms. I doubt human sensibilities would appreciate things like that, but take my word for it..."
A smirk then appeared on her face as she continued.
"...the stallions never complained."
Rainbow offered a smirk in return, a kind of salute to her rival in this dispute. However, after Adagio had responded to her, the Dazzling looked away from Rainbow and the others, instead gaining a look of nostalgia on her face, as if recalling old memories. And as she began to speak, the other girls knew that was exactly what she was doing.
"I remember those days like it was yesterday. Me, sitting upon some rocky outcrop by the sea, my tail swaying in the waters. I'd sing my song and catch the attention of some strong stallion, who’d come looking for where that beautiful voice was coming from. And then, he'd see me. Our eyes would meet, and he'd take a few steps further, bringing himself closer to me. I'd raise my hooves to his face drawing him in, and when I planted my lips upon his...I knew he was mine."
Letting out a contented sigh, Adagio looked around to see that she had gained the undivided attention of all the girls, many of whom had fairly crimson faces at this point, having been clearly enraptured by her story. It caused the Dazzling to let out a chuckle at that before speaking up again.
"Of course, being long-lived as we are, I've known many mates over the centuries, pony and human alike. There were times when I felt more for some than others, but even so...I suppose it was just my occasional needs that led me to draw them to me."
Her face then morphed into it's usual, amorous one as she carried on.
"Oh, and what fine stallions I had indeed! Those rippling muscles and those tight little flanks. Oh! It makes me quiver just thinking about it!"
Applejack let out a cough that made it clear that she only did so to gain people's attention. Turning, all of the girls looked at her to see that she was clearly uncomfortable about something.
"Do ah really need ta hear this? I mean, no offense to y'all from Equestria, but ah work with ponies down on the farm. Ah don't really want to be thinkin about them stallions we have in...that way."
The whole group chuckled at that, much to Applejack's chagrin. But, after a few moments, she realised what a silly thing it was to say and joined in on the laughter. After it had settled however, Sunset looked up at Adagio, seeing the look of nostalgia on her face remain, when a sense of curiosity began to grip her. She didn't want to pry too much, but felt that she would be remiss as a former student of Celestia if she did not learn as much as she could about these ancient Sirens.
"Tell me something, Adagio. You and your friends have been humans far longer than I have. What would you say was the biggest change between your formers selves and your human lives regarding...that kind of thing?"
Adagio looked over to her two friends, who both had looks as though this was the first time they'd ever thought of such a thing. They spent a few moments in silence for a while, trying to think of a good answer to Sunset's question, when Aria spoke up first.
"Well, for one thing, it was weird seeing so many people into monogamy."
Many of the Rainbooms seemed either shocked or confused by that statement, but they turned their heads and looked over to Sunset, who snapped her fingers as if an idea had just popped into her head.
"Of course! I'd heard that in the old days many relationships would be polygamous. Mares always outnumbered the males, even as recently as my time, so I guess it was expected back then for them to take as many females as they could."
Rarity seemed aghast by that explanation.
"I say! I don't think I could ever be a part of something like that. I mean no offense to your people, Sunset, but it sounds rather...well..."
She didn't finish those words, but Sunset finished them for her.
"I know. I don't think I could have gone through with it either."
The girls' attention was then drawn to Adagio, who scoffed at their conversation.
"Well, I can't say we really dabbled in that sort of thing either. Having to be just one of many like that? I think not. Though it was occasionally fun seeing some of the younger males try and escape a whole herd of horny mares."
As Adagio chuckled at that memory, Sonata let out a happy squeal, gaining everyone's attention. She looked at both Adagio and Aria before speaking.
"That gives me an idea! Why don't the three of us share Randy?"
To say that everyone was taken aback by those words would have been a massive understatement, as all of them stared at her with great bewilderment upon their faces. Adagio and Aria both cast nervous glances at each other, before the former spoke up.
"Um...I appreciate the offer, Sonata. But I don't think that would be entirely appropriate."
Sonata tilted her head in confusion over that.
"Come on! It'll be great! We do everything else together! I mean, I don't think he'd mind or anything."
Aria let out a dry laugh at that.
"Ha! I'll bet he wouldn't!"
Ignoring her friend's comment, Adagio moved closer to Sonata before speaking softly to her.
"Sonata...think about it. If you being cute sent that boy into a coma, making an offer like this would more-or-less be you signing his execution order."
The girls took a while to really understand that, but when she did, she looked a little embarrassed. However, that look soon faded as Sunset cleared her throat to gain their attention once more.
"Yes, well, is there anything else about being humans that took some getting used to?"
To everyone's surprise, it was Sonata who spoke up and gave her response.
"Well...I think having no heat periods was a pretty big change."
Sunset nodded at that, understanding exactly what she meant by that. However, before she could speak further on the matter, Rarity spoke up.
"Heat? As in...?"
She didn't finish her question, but it was clear to all what she would have asked. As one might expect, it was Applejack, the girl who had the most experience of this sort of thing, from among the Rainbooms at least, who gave her answer to the fashionista.
"Eyup. Matin season. Lasts about a week or two every year. During that, mares an stallions gotta get together an...well...cool each other off."
Rarity, understandably, looked as though she was about to faint at the idea of that, but was stopped from doing so by Sunset putting a hand on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile as she did so. The former student of Celestia then turned to look upon the Dazzlings before speaking.
"I guess that makes sense. I didn't notice at first, but after about a year here, I realised I wasn't having my heats anymore. It was quite a shock, to say the least."
Adagio nodded in agreement at that, having clearly been through the same experience with her cohorts at one point. Sunset afforded herself a brief chuckle, realising that it had been a long time since she'd been able to speak to other native Equestrians about this sort of thing. However, her attention was then drawn to Rainbow, who seemed curious about something.
"Guess you must be relieved, not having to spend a whole two weeks every year obsessed with finding some guy, right?"
Adagio raised an eyebrow at the rainbow-haired girl before answering her.
"Actually, believe it or not, being humans actually feels worse!"
Rainbow, as well as most of the other Rainbooms, all looked completely confused by that declaration. Inevitably, they all turned to Sunset, hoping she'd have an answer for them. Sighing, Sunset nodded before speaking.
"It's true. When we were ponies, or Sirens in their case, heat was the one time when intimacy like that was prevalent on our minds, where we felt it as a compulsion. Every other day we could keep those desires to a minimum. Oh sure we might have been attracted to others, but that never led to really serious physical feelings like it did during heat."
She then raised a hand and gestured to herself, most likely meaning her human body.
"But humans? From what I've experienced, it's like you guys are always feeling that way. Not as intense as during a pony's heat exactly, but the urges do tend to pop up whenever you guys are close together, or even when you're thinking about them."
The girls all looked at each other, surprised that this is how those from beyond their world would think of them. Their attention was drawn once more to Adagio as she let out a murmur of agreement towards Sunset before chiming in with her own thoughts on the matter.
"Quite. It's especially bad for you teenagers. Aria, Sonata and I have been trapped in teenage bodies for centuries now, and I cannot even begin to tell you how annoying it is to have those kinds of compulsions just not let up!"
Rarity then let out a huff at that statement before replying to it.
"Well, maybe some of us do, but you can't paint all of us with the same brush, Adagio. You wouldn't catch any of US succumbing to such thoughts!"
Adagio then raised an eyebrow at Rarity, before a mischievous smile appeared on her face. Rarity, as well as the rest of the girls, seemed a little nervous that she was looking that way, and many of them got the distinct impression that what Rarity had just done was issue a challenge to the girl. They looked on as Adagio scoured the room, looking at each of them in turn before finally setting her sights on Fluttershy, who had been keeping fairly quiet throughout this whole thing. Raising one hand, Adagio pointed at her before speaking.
"You!"
Fluttershy inched backwards a bit.
"Eep! I mean...yes?"
Adagio smiled a little at that before hopping off the bed, walking over to where Fluttershy was sitting and taking a seat behind her.
"You know that boy who works out in the field just outside of town. Muscly guy? Doesn’t' talk much?"
Everyone there knew what she was talking about, especially Applejack, who replied to Adagio with a frown on her face.
"Ya mean mah brother, Mac?"
Adagio cast a quick glance to Applejack before focusing her attention on Fluttershy once more.
"Right, him. He's quite a handsome lad, isn't he?"
Fluttershy began to look a little nervous upon hearing that.
"Well...I suppose he is, yes."
Adagio's smile started to look a little bit more devious as she continued.
"Well, I can imagine you'd wouldn't mind getting to know the boy a bit better, right?"
Fluttershy was starting to blush quite a bit now, but it was Applejack who spoke up next as she placed her hands over her ears.
"Ah ain't listenin to this!
The pink-haired girl however was fumbling her words at this point.
"Well...um...I mean...as a friend...maybe..."
Adagio shook her head at that.
"No, dear. I mean spending some "quality time" with him. Just imagine it. You and he in a secluded spot, maybe by the river, your eyes meeting each other."
Fluttershy's blush was becoming ever redder as Adagio continued.
"His arms wrapped around your body, holding you close..."
As Adagio continued, she mimicked the actions she was describing, raising her arms and wrapping them around Fluttershy, holding her close enough so that their faces were barely an inch away from each other. Adagio's eyes bore a seductive look whilst Fluttershy's was one of terror.
"His strong hands gently caressing your cheek, bringing your two faces closer and closer, until finally..."
Like before, the Dazzling mimicked her words, bringing her own face closer to Fluttershy's ever so slowly. Unfortunately for Adagio, she never got the chance to finish what she was saying, or doing for that matter, as Fluttershy suddenly wrestled free of her, leapt to her feet, her face now a bright crimson, before pretty much screaming out her next words.
"I GOTTA GO!"
Before anyone could react, she darted for the closet and slammed the door shut, no doubt to wait until at least her normal face colour came back. Pinkie Pie scratched her head as she looked at the now-locked door.
"Wow. It's weird how many people hide in closets these days."
Nobody really wanted to ask why she'd said that, but instead, Sunset shook her head a little before speaking to the Dazzlings again.
"Well, after that I think it's safe to say that we should probably bring this conversation to a close."
There was a general murmur of agreement amongst the other girls, as well as a chuckle of amusement from Adagio over her little moment with Fluttershy. However, Sonata scratched her head a little before speaking up.
"Wait. Isn't there more we could have talked about?"
Out of all of them, it was Pinkie who answered her, speaking in her usual bubbly tone.
"Doubt it. It would have been talked about already if that was true."
"So...that's it?" Sonata replied.
"Yes, that's the end," Pinkie answered back with a smile and a nod.
"The end?" Sonata asked back.
"Yep, the end," Pinkie answered happily.
Sonata paused for a moment before shrugging her shoulders.
"Alright then...the end...I guess."
