Some time passed noon, Granny Smith had just finished laying out a few sandwiches and a few bottles of apple juice as her grandchildren-and some other ponies the princess had dropped off-had come back to the house.

Adagio and Aria were both uncomfortably sweaty, and covered in dirt. Sonata and the others though didn't seem to mind. If anything, they looked as though they liked it.

"Nice work out there, girls, ya work a lot harder than Ah thought ya would" Applejack complimented as she wiped away some sweat from her brow.

"We've got a bit more work experience than you think. What did you think we were doing before Discord came to us?" Adagio rhetorically asked. Applejack said nothing and smiled, thinking that words would probably just-

"Ah thought ya'd just be bumming around someplace" Applebloom deadpanned with a small glimmer in her eye.

...Oh, the innocence of youth.

"Applebloom, you know that ain't no way ta treat a helping hoof" Applejack feigned a smiled and reprimanded the filly through clenched teeth. She always knew that honesty was best, but there was a difference between being honest and blunt, and poor Applebloom was about as blunt as a bowling ball.

"But didn't you say they were just here on a work release program from jail?"

"I said that Princess Twilight wanted to...Ya know what, just drink yer juice"

Applebloom merely shrugged her shoulders and did as was told, especially considering how everything made on the farm was to die for. The former sirens soon joined in, Adagio trying her best to keep her frizzy pom-pom of a mane from getting in her eyes. The fact that they didn't have immediate access to hair spray was just appalling, and the fact that she never got the chance to bring it up was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Then again, she really had more problems to deal with, such as finding a way to restore her powers and get back her cronies. Then again, maybe she was simply better off without them from the start. She was always the pretty one, always the only one thinking, pretty much the only one who ever actually made any actual effort when it came to everything...

"Adagio, was it? You doing alright there?" Saying that the Dazzling leader looked mad was an understatement. There were fighting, snarling bears that looked happier than she did at this moment

"It's probably just the heat, or the sweat from her hair finally getting down to the roots" Aria snidely commented as she sipped her juice in peace. Not having to hear constant plan after plan was a serious perk, and not having to hear Sonata's gibberish was a bonus on top of it.

Adagio merely scowled and looked away, not wanting to make a scene in front of so many others. Sonata wanted to try and help them out somehow, but she didn't want to become the new target of their frustrations. If there was anything that she could do, she would definitely do it.

*Light bulb*

"Hey, didn't you say there was a lesson we had to learn here?" Sonata beamed up right away and looked towards Applejack with a big grin on her face and a gleam in her eyes.

"Oh yeah, Ah almost fergot about that" Applejack got up and smiled at the others, clearing her throat slightly before continuing.

"In order to build a proper bond, everything starts with a little trust. The best way ta get somepony else's trust is to be honest with 'em. Ah noticed you two had some real sparks between ya when ya got here, and Ah can only see things have gotten worse since then. If something's buggin' ya, then go ahead and let 'er rip" she told the feuding sirens with a sensitive grin.

Naturally, Aria and Adagio simply scoffed and looked elsewhere. Applejack slanted her eyes and leaned a little closer to them.

"Yer not going back to the castle unless ya tell each other how ya feel" the farmer ordered, not wanting to take any of their nonsense. The other two looked at her as though she were crazy, then Aria sighed and turned to face Adagio.

"Being honest, I really don't like how you're so pushy or demanding" the pink-and-purple mare deadpanned. "You bark out orders that either don't make sense or are based on your thinking you're some kind of invincible goddess" she added with a small grin if you looked at her just right. Adagio just took a deep breath and hen looked her former-subordinate in the eye.

"Well, I really don't like how you also have to doubt everything that I say and do, since it gives me a massive migraine and takes away from my work" the Dazzling leader stated matter-of-factly. Now it was Aria's turn to scowl.

"Well, I really hate how you think your plans are perfect and never do anything to really stop them from the beginning"

"And I hate how you never do what I tell you"

"Well, I-" Aria stated before Sonata suddenly shoved a rolled-up sandwich into her and Adagio's mouths. The two looked at her, both glaring. The looks that they got from the Apples though were more confused than anything else.

"Not what Ah would've done ta stop 'em, but Ah guess it works" Applejack chuckled as she scratched the back of her head. Aria and Adagio simply took one last glare at each other before calming down and trying to chew down the rest of the food lodged in their muzzles. Secretly though, they plotted to get Sonata back later on during that evening.

"Ah don't really think they got out what they needed to" Applebloom wondered with a slight tilt in her head and a small chuckle she had been holding back.

"Trust me, they got what they needed out of the way" Applejack commented dryly, barely able to keep much of an open mind about them. They just fumed all kinds of negativity towards another, it made it seem really unlikely they'd be able to get passed it.

"Well, what does being honest have to really do with anything anyway?" Aria inquired after finally taking a hard swallow.

"It's all about trust between ya. Like Ah said earlier, there ain't no better way ta get somepony's trust than bein' honest with 'em. If ya hold something back, then they won't trust ya, and it puts pressure between everypony. Really, the point Ah'm tryin ta make is that if ya wanna get passed this and be friends, then ya have to get your anger outta the way and open up your heart a little" Applejack explained, taking a moment to catch her breath a moment later.

Adagio certainly didn't think much of being friends with others, much less did Aria for that matter. Sonata, however, took in a lot of the information and really started to get into it. For the first time since yesterday, she was able to smile genuinely and not feel any worries on her shoulders. The former-siren took in a deep breath and felt sighed with a wide smile going from ear to ear.

"Wow, this feels great. Come on girls, you try it too!" she practically cheered, clapping her fore-hooves together happily. Her fellow sirens merely raised their eyebrows at her, thinking she had been huffing paint fumes or something. Still, she just continued to beam at them, the purity in her eyes practically blinding them both. Sensing there was no other way they could get out of this, they simply closed their eyes and did a deep sigh together. It worked, in a way. They both felt slightly better, slightly more calm about things. Still, one good glance at one another, and there was still some tension in the air.

A few minutes of awkward silence and a shadow passing overhead later, and Princess Twilight descended down right away, carrying a quill and a clipboard in her aura.

"Status report on the Dazzlings?" she asked bluntly, shifting into her study mode with a small glisten in her eyes.

""Well, Ah think they're doin' better than this morning. Still really tense though, even with Sonata tryin' ta break it up" Applejack answered with a whisper. The Dazzlings themselves simply looked at them plainly. Aria sighed and glanced up at the sky while Adagio leered at them from her seat. Sonata just kept a happy grin to herself and breathed in the fresh scent of the nearby apples.

"Fascinating. So, what is their problem exactly?" Twilight asked, not taking her eyes off of her report paper.

"Well, it looks like Aria and Adagio are practically at each other's throats over something. Ah dunno if we can find a way ta resolve it without one of 'em ending up six-feet-under" Applejack told her with a worried expression.

"Hmm..." Twilight placed the tip of her quill against her chin and thought about it for a moment. "I guess we can always just save that for Pinkie, she's good at problems like this one" she thought aloud as she finished scribbling down something or other on the clipboard.

"You mean we get to spend a whole day with Pinkie?" Sonata gasped, bounding up to the purple pony princess with a grin that could make The Joker jealous.

"Well, yes" Twilight answered, taking a half-step back as Sonata got in her face even more.

"For realsies?" she squeaked, Winona whining from a good distance away. Twilight simply nodded and then backed away slowly as Sonata simply to transform into a happy, giggling, jumping blur.

Aria sighed again and planted a hoof onto her forehead. "Great, now we've got that to deal with all day" she groaned.

"And all night" Adagio groaned a moment later.

"Well, I guess I should leave you to your bucking then" Twilight stated as she just took off right there, leaving Applejack stunned at how she could just do such a thing. The Dazzlings got up at the same time as the other Apples, then headed out towards the orchard again. Adagio glared one good time at Aria, whom in turn glared back. Adagio wasn't all that certain that she could trust Aria, and everything she practically spat at her earlier only made her seem even more distant. It also made her feel a lot angrier with how it reminded her of last night as well. Without even thinking about it, Adagio turned to a nearby tree and revved up her body, getting ready to buck it.

"Adagio, wait, don't!" Applejack practically yelled as she tried to warn the former-siren, but it was too late; her hooves made contact and knocked the tree around a little, a small buzzing noise appearing just above her as her pupils shrank. The next thing she knew, something fell down and got stuck on top of her head, and several angry buzzes filled her ears quickly as pain started shooting all throughout her body. Adagio screamed and flailed her body around, galloping full-speed into tree, after, tree, after tree.

Aria was practically rolling on the ground, laughter filling the entire orchard as tears started to form in her eyes. Applejack just gave her a worried look as the latter just kept on laughing and laughing. A couple of minutes later, and she stopped, getting up with a smug grin across her face.

"Oh-ho-ho, you can't pay to get something this good" Aria said scornfully as Sonata and Applejack ran off after Adagio.

Author's Note

God, this took forever to write. I mean, I've been suffering from the single worst block for practically a month straight, and this was pretty much the best that I could come up with.