Sonata Dusk walked down the empty halls of Canterlot High with all the trepidation of a freshman. She was in fact a freshman this year, but that didn't have anything to do with her current worries. She was worried of the quiet halls, and what dangers they possessed. Feeling this way was not founded falsely, as she had never traveled alone. Her fellow sirens were not by her side, or rather, her by their sides. If she had her way, the former Dazzling would be with her friends. However, the fates of the School Board did find favor in her destiny.
After the most recent fiasco of the school year, she along with Adagio and Aria found themselves at the mercy of Celestia and Luna. Because Celestia and Luna could not find any history of them attending any school previously, and since the could not reproduce any overnight, the Dazzlings were forced to take an evaluation of health and mind. She remembered Adagio getting really upset, and explained it but still could not et it. Despite not understanding, Sonata woud follow Adagio's plan no matter what it was. That's the way their life worked. Adagio would be the planner, Aria would be the do-er and Sonata was the... pretty one who was told to sit still and shut up, and sing on cue. Brain, brawn, and beauty. That's how life worked for the past few years. Now though, things were different. Without their voices, they could not be able to feed themselves. Maybe that's why Adagio was angry. Sonata hated seeing her angry, and tried cheering her up. At first, that only seemed to make her angrier, until a familiar look crossed Adagio's face. She had a plan.
Apparently, the plan mainly involved Sonata. That was a plus for the girl as it probably meant that Adagio could finally see her as a productive member of the team. Being pretty had it's perks, but it hardly made her be appreciated by her friends. Aria and Adagio always seemed so hard-working, and Sonata knew she could be like that too. Sadly, her attempts at helping ended with an angry Adagio. "Follow the plan," she would shout. "You just sit there and do nothing!" Sonata's role in this plan was bigger though. It had to be. After all, she was told to write Adagio's name on the test. The plan was called "Scapegoat." It was a funny word, but Sonata didn't know the meaning to it. After taking the test and following the plan, the siren found her compatriots to be distant- more distant than usual. They sometimes whispered to each other, and, when Sonata found herself with a classroom change ignored her. Sonata knew exactly what to do: follow the plan.
With a shiver of fright and cold, the siren finally approached her new homeroom. Room 9 & 3/4. Sonata quickly sounded out the teachers name in an attempt to remember his name. With a deep breath, she opened the room to find it somewhat empty... and quiet. It was a small room with round tables instead of the normal desks she was used to. There also only appeared to be three students. That was good. Fewer names to remember. She approached the desk where a symphony snores escaped from beneath a local newspaper.
"Um... Mr. Discord?" she asked apprehensively. "Um... sir?"
"Eh?! Whadda?!" The teacher scrambled in his seat before his eyes found the student at his desk. He was a slender man, with a white goatee and sloppy, side-shaped hairstyle. His eyes were a sickly yellow which clashed with his sleek frame. his feet were adorned with a pair of teacher shoes with a rubber sole seemingly higher than the other and a pair of mismatching socks. He wore agreyish, cuffed shirt with a sweater vest worn over top and an absolutely horrendous bowtie. "Yes, what is it?"
"I... I was told to come here..." Sonata replied meekly, feeling very small under the teachers gaze.
"Oh?" Mr. Discord replied before turning to face a monitor. After wiggling the mouse, the screen came to life, bringing up a very short attendance list. "Seems you've recently joined my class, Miss Dusk."
Sonata only stood with a nervous expression.
"Well..." the gangly teacher yawned while stretching. "Take a seat, and... we'll begin." With a quick nod, Sonata turned to face her few remaining classmates. She could hear the teacher grumbling about being as stiff as a statue.
The choosing of a seat was slim. There was only one table everyone was seated at. Relieved at the simplicity, Sonata took the one seat available while observing her fellow students. The first she noticed was a girl wearing nothing but fuzzy things- even her hair seemed poofy. It was more poofy than that drummer in the battle of the bands. She currently was drawing something, but it was with her mouth...? Weird... it was even weirder to find that it was a crayon. The one sitting next to her seemed a lot more diabolical for lack of a better word. Her hair was long and was a dark teal color and skin was a very, very dark shade of green. Her dress seemed to follow that trend as did her long boots. Either she didn't seem to notice Sonata or just not care about anything in general. She was currently scrawling something n a journal before her.
"If I may have your attention," the teacher said as he slowly rose from his desk. "Today, we have a new student. Please welcome her and accept her, blah, blah, blah..." The teacher seemed less than thrilled to be teaching. In fact, he seemed more bored than anything. "Now, if you'll look to the board for assignment, I'll begin roll call..." the teacher grumbled before slowly trudging to the desk. "Miss Chrysalis?"
"Ugh..." the green girl replied with a sigh. "Here..."
"Good, and..." the teacher looked up from the computer as if to make a head check. "Still no sign of that Sombra boy... Anyways, continue with your assignments while I... take a little nap..." With that, Mr. Discord fell asleep in his office chair.
Sonata looked at the other students with apprehension. Looking to the board, she found today's agenda. "Be Creative," it stated. Realizing that the students before her seemed to have a head start, she quickly got to work... However, one fatal flaw prevented her from completing the project.
She had forgotten her supplies.
Seeing that the student, Chrysalis, has an entire notebook of paper, Sonata formulates a plan that cannot backfire. It would take all her cunning, skill, and charm. With a deep breath, Sonata asked, "Could I borrow some paper please?"
The girl looked up at her with a gaze of irritation as well as something else... Within those unique pupils, Sonata found something that she knew all too well: frustration. The anger within the girl before her was not dissimilar to the anger created between the students during the concerts. Up until now, she only thought it was possible to find this sort of angst as a byproduct of manipulation. She had encountered anger from other students, but it was not the same. The anger had to be with others, herself not included. It was weird magic casted by an even weirder unicorn that trapped her here and even weirder. With this girl, she found not only for frustration with herself but for everything around her. It was... surprising to say the least. She should keep tabs on this girl in case Adagio ever found a way to obtain magic again.
Sonata was so concerned with her discovery that she seemed to forget about the paper. Her attention, however, was distracted by a hand sliding towards her with a blue crayon in it's grasp. It belonged none other than to the fluffy girl. The girl's red crayon sat upon the table while she held a completely unreadable gaze. With caution, Sonata took the wax writing tool and smiled sincerely. The fluffle-puff girl, however, did not seem to care.
"Please?" Sonata whispered pleadingly. "I won't bother you again."
Chrysalis stared harshly at the pony-tailed girl. With a sigh, she relented a sheet of paper. She grimaced at Sonata's joy, and quickly went back to her own work.
After a while of silence, Sonata looked up t her new classmates. She had been thinking. She knew that she shouldn't be, but Adagio didn't need to know. The former siren thought that maybe being a close friend, she could mooch off of some of the excess angst pouring from the student before her. With confidence in her thinking, Sonata scooted over to sit right next to Chrysalis before continuing.
This development did not go unnoticed. With Casual glances, Sonata noticed something off. It was as though something were boring into her, and with a scared look around she found the fluffy girl's gaze firmly planted upon her. They were not happy, and Sonata did not like it. She grinned sheepishly only to earn a sharp hiss in return.
Getting the message, Sonata scooted back to her original spot. The fluffy one calmed almost automatically. The former Dazzling sighed. Perhaps making friends would be harder than expected.
Lunch came early, or, as Mr. Discord put it, whenever he decided it to be. Sonata was grateful, but found it a little unnecessary. The siren found herself without an appetite, and, with much regret, found the "Throwback Wednesday" of yesterday's tacos to be very unnecessary.
She sat with the only company that would accept her presence. She sat with the fluffy girl and Chrysalis, and looked cautiously around the cafeteria. Nobody was giving her dirty looks as far as she could tell, but that could change in an instant. Sonata looked over to her companions with a distant look. Chrysalis seemed to be toying with the leftovers while the fluffy girl... Well, the only way she could think to describe it was a ravenous hunger for tacos. Her face and hair seemed to be covered in the stuff. Upon her finally finishing, the fluffy girl looked over to Chrysalis. She then, without arising any sort of angst from the green girl, slid her lunch over to herself before devouring it. Sonata sighed and began too to play with her food. She wondered idly what Adagio and Aria were doing...
When the sounds of sloppy eating had died, she looked over to the fluffle puff. The girl wore a look of sadness. It was as if a kid's ice cream had fallen to the ground. Sonata searched for the cause of it and found that the trays of food were empty. Barely thinking, Sonata relinquished her platter of tacos.
A small gasp was heard as she was pulled into a messy hug. It was soft, but very squishy and messy. Sonata attempted to escape it, but quickly found that her struggles only made it tighter. She looked to Chrysalis for assistance, but strangely found a look of anger and... jealousy? Apparently, the puff noticed this as well and quickly embraced the girl in a similar sloppy hug. With a sheepish grin from Sonata, and a groan from Chrysalis, lunch ended.
The rest of the day was spent in the quiet classroom, but it wasn't an uncomfortable one. Sonata sat close to her new comrades without feeling unwelcome. More importantly, she didn't feel exposed to the world. She just felt accepted. However, the school bell rung, signaling the end of the day. Her mind clicked. Aria, and Adagio! She could see them again. Sonata quickly handed in her work for the day before leaving the classroom. She rushed to the doorway to find the halls of the school crowded. Not being deterred from her intended goal, the former siren sought her fellow band mates. She didn't go very far before finding them. She approached with a smile and was about to call out to them with a warm greeting. Suddenly, she found her footing slip. She had unknowingly stepped upon a pencil. Within seconds, Sonata fell flat on her back.
She sat up, rubbing her sore head haring a pair of familiar giggles before her. Her eyes looked up to meet the gaze of her fellow Dazzlings. They seemed different to her. Their smiles weren't ones of friendship or happiness. They were... mocking smiles. Confusion swelled in Sonata's chest as she began to feel very exposed.
"Look here, Aria," Adagio began. "Looks like Sonata still thinks she can hang out with us."
"What a moron," Aria commented with a harsh chuckle. With that, the two turned their backs to the other siren, and walked away.
Sonata was very confused. She had followed the plan, right? Why would they be so mean to her. They should be praising her. She hadn't done anything wrong, so... why would they be treating her like this. Something in her mind told her to go after them, but her heart knew that would be futile. Without Adagio and Aria, Sonata had nowhere to go. The three were always together. Never once had they been apart. Sonata finally understood the plan. She was the weakest link. You didn't have to have a pretty one in the group. She had no friends. She had no purpose. Tears streamed down the girls cheeks. The world around her faded. She was all alone, and exposed.
Suddenly, a dark hand appeared before her. She looked up to find Chrysalis with a sympathetic smile. Beside her stood the fluffy one who stared with a blank expression. Sonata's sadness seemed to subside for the moment as she accepted the help. She stood back up and blushed in embarrassment. Her eyes looked downward, but her attention was once more redirected from her self pity. A small envelope with a heart on it was presented to her. She looked up to find the fluffy one smiling at her. She accepted the envelope and opened it. Within it was an invitation of sorts.
You are cordially invited to a Taco party.
It was written in crayon and decorated with strange doodles. Nonetheless, Sonata found herself without sadness. She looked over to the two strange friends and nodded. Perhaps, she didn't need Adagio and Aria. After all, they never invited her to a party. They never did appreciate her. With her shattered heart now fixed, she nodded and joined her newfound friends.
