Another Dazzlings Redemption story

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7

Chapter 1

5 months after the events of the battle of the bands...

Friday

12:15 p.m.

Canterlot High.

The students spend their lunch hour either roaming around the school grounds with their friends, or in the cafeteria, enjoying whatever lunches they had brought, or had been prepared by the cafeteria staff.

Sunset Shimmer carried her lunch tray as she walked toward the table her friends were sitting at. She smiled as she reached the table, and sat down beside Applejack.

Rainbow Dash was currently kicking a grape across the table, using the tips of her fingers as if they were miniature soccer players.

“Practicing for something?” Sunset asked Rainbow.

“Soccer seasons coming up, gotta sharpen my skills” Rainbow replied.

Sunset watched as Rainbow's right hand kicked the grape past her left hand “That's seems like a good idea. But shouldn't' you practice with, ya know... actual practice” said Sunset.

“Pfft... I don't think I need to go that far” Rainbow said.

The girls all turned away from Rainbow Dash to roll their eyes without offending her.

Sunset took a quick glance around the table and noticed that one member of their group was missing. “Where's Pinkie Pie?” she asked.

“Oh, the poor dear, she's caught a bit of a cold from when she locked herself in a walk in freezer” Rarity explained.

“She probably wouldn't have gotten so sick if she had just huddled up and tried to stay warm instead of eating ice cream. I swear, with all the sweets she eats she outta be as big as a house” said Applejack.

“I'm worried about her” said Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy, she's got a cold, not the plague” Rainbow said, showing no concern.

“Did they ever have anything like the plague in Equestria, Sunset?” Rarity asked.

Sunset swallowed the mouth full of food she had, then replied “Not really, the problems in my world were mostly magic and friendship related”

“Sounds nice” Fluttershy said.

“Sounds boring” Rainbow interjected.

Fluttershy quickly looked up from her lunch tray and glanced at something behind, Sunset, then immediately looked back down at her tray.

Sunset noticed the motion “What are you looking at?” she asked.

“Nothing” Fluttershy replied. Fluttershy repeated the same motion, and looked back down at her lunch with a worried look on her face.

“Okay, for real, what are you looking at, do I have something on my face?” Sunset asked, before casually brushing her mouth with her hand.

Fluttershy squirmed in her chair and replied “It's not you... it's who's behind you”

Sunset turned around and scanned the cafeteria. She quickly saw who had caught Fluttershy's attention.

Assembled near the entrance to the cafeteria, the Dazzlings quietly made their presence known. Adagio sneered at the girls from afar. Aria leaned on the wall closest to the entrance and shot annoyed glares at anyone going in or out of the cafeteria. Sonata awkwardly smiled at anyone who passed by, but was usually met with angry glares, causing her to momentarily lose her cheery expression, only to instantly perk back up when someone else walked by.

“Oh... them. Haven't any of you, like, tried to reform them?” Sunset asked.

The girls all looked away from Sunset, as each of them tried to come up with an appropriate reply.

Applejack eventually spoke first “Well, Sunset, you do realize we're not social workers, right? We made friends with you because ya apologized and tried to be a better person. Those girls have just hung around the school, causing trouble for everybody”

“I haven't noticed them doing anything bad since they lost their gems, have you?” Sunset asked. She looked around at her friends and waited for a response.

Rarity looked up and placed her index finger on her chin as she attempted to recall such a misdeed “Well... other than occasionally hang around and give dirty looks, I don't think we've seen them doing anything particularly bad”

Rainbow looked up from her finger soccer game “The key word there is, 'seen'” she said, obviously trying to squash the idea.

Sunset looked back over to the three sirens. Sunset noticed some of the students passing by them returning the glares that Aria was giving out. One student sneered at Aria, causing the siren to raise her fist as if she was about to punch them, only to be stopped by Adagio, who grabbed her arm and held her back. Aria shot and angry stare at Adagio, then harshly pulled her arm from Adagio's grasp and returned to her leaning position, now looking more miserable than before.

Sunset rubbed her chin as she thought “Ya know... maybe reforming them could be be more of a precaution than an act of charity” she said.

“What do you mean?” Rarity asked.

“Maybe if we could become friends with them now, it could save us from some major headaches later on” Sunset explained.

“Oh, I get it, because if we're friends with them, then whatever plans they come up with, we know we won't be targets” Applejack said.

“Not quite, I was thinking more along the lines of reform them so we don't need to worry about them being evil overall” said Sunset.

“No offense, but that idea's sort of dumb” Rainbow interrupted.

Applejack crossed her arms and raised an annoyed eye brow in response to Rainbow's comment “Ya know, saying 'no offense' doesn't really make it any less offensive”

Rainbow leaned back in her chair and smiled as she said “Well, no offense, but I'm not going to take etiquette advice from someone who brags that she can beat anyone in a spitting contest”

Applejack stood up and pounded her hands on the table “Is that a spit challenge!” she yelled.

The entirety of the cafeteria's occupants stopped and stared at Applejack.

Applejack looked around, immediately realizing how loud she had actually yelled. She quickly sat down and pulled her hat down to try and hide her embarrassment.

A tall, mustached, dark haired student wearing a white cowboy hat, a black vest over a white shirt, blue jeans and black sun glasses, stepped up to the girls table. He placed a hand down on the table and leaned in toward Applejack.

“Outside... spit contest... 6 minutes” the student said with a deep British accent.

The student tipped his hat towards the girls. He walked backward toward the exit, simply pushing aside any tables or students in his path.

A tense silence replaced the awkward silence from before.

“That was rather odd” Rarity said, breaking the silence.

“Does that guy even go to this school?” asked Sunset.

“I'm not sure, it seems they let just about anyone in” said Applejack. The farm girl then stood “Now if you'll excuse me, I have a chump to out spit” Applejack said proudly. She straightened her hat and walked after the mysterious mustached stranger.

The only sound that could be heard was the sound of Applejack's boots clicking along the ground. Suddenly, as if a starting pistol had been fired, nearly the entirety of the students in the cafeteria ran out to see the epic spit show down that was about to take place.

The only ones who remained in the cafeteria were the Dazzlings and the four remaining girls.

“I-I don't... what just happened?” Rainbow stammered.

“This really is a strange world” said Sunset.

“Don't random things like this happen in Equestria?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yes, but there's always a sense of order, and direction to that craziness, this is just bizarre” Sunset replied.

“Well, anyway, I guess since almost half our group is down, we might as well wait till later to try your little reformation plan” said Rarity.

“I have a...” Fluttershy caught herself before finishing her statement “On second thought, no, I don't think it's a good idea”

“What is it Fluttershy?” asked Sunset.

“It's nothing” Fluttershy said quietly.

“Fluttershy, just suggesting an idea couldn't possibly hurt” said Rarity.

“Well... maybe if we talked to them as a smaller group they might not be intimidated by us” Fluttershy suggested.

“Are we intimidating?” Rarity asked.

“I think she meant intimidation by numbers” said Rainbow.

“That might not be a bad idea, if we approach them as a mob then they might react... let's just say, negatively” said Sunset.

“Alright, so when do we start, sometime next week perhaps?” Rarity asked.

Sunset glanced back toward the Dazzlings “Well, right now seems like a good enough time to me”

“Seriously, you just came up with this plan, like, a minute ago” Rainbow said, showing no restraint of her bewilderment.

“Well, it just so happens that we have the smaller group ready to go right now, and any innocent bystanders are outside, so really this is the perfect time” said Sunset.

“Well maybe a group of three would work better... so I could just...” Rainbow began to say as she stood up from the table.

Sunset cut off Rainbow before she could finish “No, it's nice to be less intimidating but I'd still prefer to outnumber them in case they try to start something”

Fluttershy trembled and covered her mouth “I suddenly really don't want to do this”

Rarity placed her hand on Fluttershy's shoulder in an attempt to calm her down “Don't be so nervous, darling, they're just girls... from another dimension”

Fluttershy looked back toward the sirens “I guess they don't really seem all that scary” Fluttershy said.

Aria noticed Fluttershy's stare and shot a hate filled glare at her.

Fluttershy gasped and slumped lower in her seat.

Rainbow looked down at Fluttershy, and rolled her eyes. She then grabbed Fluttershy's arm and gently tugged her up from her hiding spot.

“So we're all together on this?” Sunset asked.

Rainbow shrugged her shoulders “Eh... I guess so” she mumbled.

Rarity pulled Fluttershy up from her seat “We're ready” said Rarity.

“Okay, lets go” Sunset said as she turned, only to be caught off guard by the Sirens walking towards them “Umm...or maybe we'll just wait for them to come to us”

The three sirens shoes clicked along the ground in sync, whether intentional or not, it made them seem more intimidating. The sirens stopped only slightly out of sync, and struck ever so subtle stances. Aria crossed her arms and shifted her weight to her left leg, and she sneered at the girls. Adagio placed a hand on her hip and smiled a half nice, half creepy smile. Sonata stood as straight as she could with her arms crossed behind her back, and smiled widely, although her eyes suggested that the expression was not there willingly.

Sunset cleared her throat, then asked “Can we help you?”

“Oh yes” answered Adagio “We all just feel so bad about what we did...”

“More like tried to do” Aria interrupted.

Adagio's smiled vanished and she quickly turned to Aria, and lightly punched her in the arm. The two exchanged a tense stare before Adagio directed her attention back to the girls.

“As I was saying, we're just so repentant” Adagio said in the most innocent voice she could muster “I think of all the things we would have done if we'd succeeded, and it just makes me sick to my stomach”

Sonata smiled even wider, and nodded in agreement. Her eyes darted over to Aria, who still had a sour look on her face. Sonata leaned over to Aria and nudged her with her elbow. Aria glared at Sonata for a moment before forcing herself to smile.

“So we were wondering if you could show us this whole Magic of Friendship thing you're all so crazy about. So what do you say?” Adagio asked.

“Uhh...” Sunset uttered out “Can you give us a minute?” she asked.

“Of course” Adagio replied in a sickeningly sweet voice “Take all the time you need”

Adagio turned and led the sirens away to a group of vending machines along the wall.

“Okay, we all know we can't go through with this, right?” Rainbow asked.

Rarity nodded her head in agreement “I must agree with Rainbow, they seem to be doing a very bad job of acting like they're sorry”

“Yeah, I hear you, and I know it's pretty obvious that this is some sort of scheme” said Sunset.

“Wait a minute” Fluttershy interrupted.

Rarity, Rainbow, and Sunset all shared a moment of surprise that Fluttershy had spoken up.

“I'm not saying I trust them, I mean it seems pretty obvious that they're pretending. But what if they're not, and they actually want to be friends. What kind of message would we be sending if we rejected them based on factually supported worries... I suddenly realize that made more sense in my head”

“No, Fluttershy's right” said Sunset. “We don't get to pick and choose who gets a shot at turning their lives around, and even if we fail we can at least say we tried”

“Or we could not and say we did” said Rainbow.

“Did you take an attitude pill this morning?” Rarity asked Rainbow.

“I'm just saying that it's really not our problem” Rainbow replied.

“Technically it is our problem” said Sunset “It was our song that broke their gems and left them stuck as regular girls. So in the grand scheme of things, if we let them be bad for the rest of their lives it could send them down a path to ruin and misery”

“Pfft...They're just three girls, how much trouble could they possibly get into”

The group heard then sound of a soda can falling out of vending machine. They looked to see Aria now holding a soda can with one hand and a pocket knife with the other. Aria stabbed the knife into the top of the can and wriggled it around to make a hole large enough to drink out of.

Sunset gasped and ran over to the Sirens.

“WHY THE...” Sunset restrained her voice before continuing “Why the heck do you have that?”

“It's a soda... I was thirsty” Aria replied

Sunset smacked her forehead with her palm, and groaned “No, why do have a knife?”

“To open the soda, to quench before mentioned thirst” Aria said before taking a small sip from the can.

“Don't you know that you could get suspended, or more likely expelled if you were caught with a weapon on school grounds?”

“I don't really care” Aria replied.

Adagio then stepped in front of Aria, and said “You'll have to excuse, Aria, heh, heh, she's taken the loss of our gems very hard, and it's left her very irritable and... stupid. But now don't you see just how desperate we are for reformation?”

Sunset furrowed her brow and took in a deep breath “Just to be clear, if we decide to help you, the first sign you're trying to concoct some sort of scheme, we will drop you like a scolding hot chocolate, and you'll be left to clean up the mess”

“Wha...?” Aria said as she tried to make sense of what Sunset had said.

Sunset sighed, then explained “The hot chocolate being you, and the mess being the rest of your lives”

“I like hot chocolate” Sonata chimed.

“Us, scheme, don't be silly” Adagio said with a chuckle.

“See that's what I'm talking about, that does not inspire confidence” said Sunset.

“Sorry, I'll try to keep the smiles and general displays of happiness to a minimum” Adagio replied while holding back a smile.

“You won't see as much as smirk from me” Aria said before taking another sip from her soda.

“What about you?” Sunset asked Sonata.

“But laughing manically at other peoples misfortune is soooo much fun” Sonata said with a giggle.

Adagio looked over her shoulder, and shot Sonata a quick, cold stare.

Sonata's happy expression disappeared and slunk down into a aggravated frown. She then leaned against one of the various drink machines.

“So it's agreed, you'll give us a chance to make things right” Adagio said as she held out her hand.

Sunset looked down at the sirens hand, and replied “Maybe, just give us until the end of the day to talk it over a little more”

“Of course, we wouldn't want to get ahead of ourselves now, would we?” Adagio asked as her facial muscles strained to produce the sweetest smile she could produce.

An uncomfortable, crawly feeling came over Sunset's body as the siren continued to stare at her with big doe eyes. “Okay... meet us at the front of the school at the end of the day”

“How about back behind the dumpsters so no on can h...” Aria began to say before Sonata flicked her in the back of the head. Aria turned and crushed her soda can as she glared at Sonata, only for Sonata to retaliate by sticking her tongue out at her.

Adagio continued to smile, either unaware of the tension behind her, or just ignoring it altogether.

“Well, I guess I'll see you later” Sunset said in an awkward tone. She quickly walked back to rejoin her friends.

Adagio's smile vanished as she turned toward her companions. Adagio sighed and placed her hand on her forehead as she saw Aria holding Sonata in a headlock.

“Dagi, tell her she has to let me go” Sonata whined “I think I'm starting to turn blue”

“You're already blue, you...” Aria caught herself before calling Sonata something the impressionable Siren would most likely cheerily spout in inappropriate situations, like a child who just learned a new word.

“If you two don't enjoy being dragged by the neck, I suggest you follow me” Adagio said as she walked past the two.

Aria loosened her grip on Sonata's neck enough that she could pull herself free.

“Owy” Sonata said pitifully as she rubbed her neck.

“Oh please, how could that possibly have hurt?” Aria asked harshly.

“Girls, come on!” yelled Adagio.

Aria groaned before heeding of the call of the already departed Siren, punching a candy machine as she went.

Sonata stood still for a moment with a slight frown on her face. She then immediately perked up when she saw that a candy bar had fallen out of the machine that Aria had punched. Sonata quickly grabbed the treat, then excitedly ran to catch up to her group.

Meanwhile, outside on the schools track...

The bright afternoon sun shown down on the school as imposing, dark clouds slowly approached from the south, most likely bringing foul weather with it; however, the weather that was brewing was no deterrence to the large crowd. Nearly the entire student body of Canterlot high watched in suspense as the two hat bearing competitors prepared for the spit show of the decade.

The mustached student smelled the brisk spring air, then licked his left pinky finger, and held it up in the air to test the wind. He then began to slosh his saliva around in his mouth, in final preparation for his spit.

Snips and Snails stood with measuring tapes in their hands, ready to measure how far the majestic bits of saliva would travel before meeting ground, and deciding who was the best spitter in the whole school.

The challenged party, Applejack watched impatiently as the odd student continued his preparation.

“We've been out here for five minutes, now are ya gonna spit, or what?” asked Applejack.

The odd student ceased his preparation. He slowly turned his head toward Applejack, his blank stare was surely meant to intimidate, but the farm girl simply tapped her toe against the ground impatiently.

Suddenly, the student threw is head back, then thrust his head forward, and finally... he spat.

The saliva flew through the air like a majestic eagle... if eagles were made of spit, then as quickly as it had began it's journey into the sky it descended like an albatross..., again, if albatrosses were made of spit. The wet projectile hit the ground a remarkable distance away from the mouth that birthed it.

Snips quickly stretched his measuring tape out and recorded the distance “21 feet, 3 inches” Snips yelled for all to hear.

The students all murmured to themselves, each giving their opinion on the distance, the technique that was used, and the whether Applejack could top it.

All eyes were now on Applejack, as the students eagerly awaited to find out whether Applejack's rain of spit fame would be squashed by this complete and utter weirdo.

Applejack smirked and lightly tugged on her cap to show her readiness.

She threw her head back, puffed her chest out, then reversed that process. The spit escaped from her lips and flew through the air. The initial speed and height showed promise, but the saliva began to fall quicker than the other had. Applejack's confident expression quickly faded as it became obvious that her spit would not triumph. The spit landed, only a note worthy distance away.

The result was obvious, but Snails still felt it necessary to take the measurement “20 feet, 9 inches” Snails yelled out “That means... uh, that guy's the winner”

The students all stared at the mustached student and waited for some kind of reaction.

“Spear... you're new spit hero is, Spear” the student said quietly.

Snips and Snails began to chant “Spear! Spear! Spear!” They quickly stopped as they realized no one else was joining in.

The crowd quickly dispersed as the sudden realization of the contest's completely idiotic nature took hold. A few students stayed for a few minutes more, but they only stayed in the hopes that Applejack may try to start a fight, but the expectation was not met.

Applejack stood still with her mouth hanging open slightly, frozen in disbelief that she had not been able to best the strange student.

The student also stood oddly still, as if waiting for the last few onlookers to disperse. Once the crowd was gone, the mustached student tipped his hat toward Applejack, then began to walk away.

“Hey, stop!” Applejack called to the mysterious student.

Spear stopped and turned his head slightly back toward Applejack.

“So you're just gonna beat me in a spit contest and then walk away without saying anything”

“Their will be more words...soon. But now I will only say this” Spear turned back toward Applejack “Our lives are like sub-plots...”

Applejack raised an eye brow “...and?” she said as she motioned for Spear to finish his statement.

“Nope, that's it, life's like a sub-plot, it's all your getting” Spear said before walking away into the distance.

Applejack removed her hat and scratched her head as she attempted to apply some kind of logic to what had just happened.

This had certainly been an odd day for her, and it wasn't even half over yet.

The school bell rang, signaling that the lunch hour was nearly over and classes would resume shortly.

Applejack felt a few rain drops of rain fall onto her head. She then watched as the two drops of spit were quickly lost in a sea of water droplets. Applejack sighed, and placed her hat back onto her head, then quickly walked back to the school.

3:46 p.m.

Sunset Shimmer and her friends waited for the Dazzlings at the front steps of Canterlot high. Flutterhy and Sunset sat next to each other on the steps, both staring at Flutterhy's cell phone as they awaited a test message response from Pinkie Pie, while Rarity and Rainbow Dash tried to explain the situation to Applejack.

“I leave you ya'll alone for one lunch hour, and ya decide to play social workers with the three girls who tried to...” Applejack paused for a moment “What were they trying to do?” she asked Sunset.

Sunset looked up from Fluttershy's phone, and replied “I think they were trying to make everyone adore them so they could take over the world”

“Yeah, that, girls who were trying to do that” Applejack said, making no attempt to hide her disdain for the situation.

“Oh come on, Applejack, they don't even have their magic anymore, what's the worst they could do?” asked Rarity.

“They could take a swing at us” Rainbow commented, still showing her disapproval for the whole situation.

Fluttershy looked up from her phone for a moment, and said “Could we please try to be a bit more positive”

“Don't worry, Flutters, judging by the looks of them, they couldn't even knock a tooth loose” Rainbow said in a miserable attempt at being reassuring.

Fluttershy rolled her as eyes as she looked back down at her phone, annoyed that Rainbow had missed her point. Fluttershy's phone then began to emit small chirping sounds as it received Pinkie's reply. Fluttershy read the message aloud “Sounds super, totes looking forward to it. It'll be like making friends with Sunset all over again. P.S. Still sick, it's driving me crazy”

“Well, that's four to two for reforming them” said Sunset.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack shared disapproving looks, both knowing that the process would be no where near as simple as the others were letting on.

“So now I suppose we wait for them to show up?” Rainbow said.

“Getting impatient, are we?” Adagio chimed from behind the group.

The girls looked up, to the front doors of the school, where Adagio stood with one hand holding the door open and her other hand on her hip. Sonata could be seen through the window of the door next to Adagio, struggling to pull the door open. Aria hung back inside the school, out of view of the girls outside.

“Nope, impatience would imply I want this to start sooner” said Rainbow.

Adagio chuckled at Rainbow's obvious, and well placed hesitance.

“Uh... Dagi” Sonata squeaked out “This door won't work”

Adagio grumbled for a moment, then forced a smile onto her face as she pushed on the door, showing Sonata her error.

“Oh, they should put signs on these things” she said as she pushed the door open and stepped outside. Sonata looked down at the girls “Are we pretending to be nice, or being mean to them?” she whispered to Adagio

“So are we all set to get started?” Adagio said, completely disregarding Sonata's question.

Sunset stood up and glanced around at her friends “Well?” she asked.

Rainbow Dash, and Applejack both begrudgingly nodded, Fluttershy and Rarity both did the same, albeit without the attitude.

“Yeah, I guess so” said Sunset.

Adagio clasped her hands together as a subtle grin crept onto her face “Excellent”

Chapter 2

Friday 4:58 p.m

The late afternoon sun was hidden away behind large dark clouds leaving the world below unsaturated and grey, like an old faded photograph. The clouds promise of an impending rain fall left the city streets nearly bare, except for two girls who walked along a long stretch of cracked sidewalk next to a string of small stores and the occasional restaurant.

“Looks like we're going to be late again” Aria said to Adagio.

They both wore matching uniforms consisting of grey pants with a red stripe going up the side of the leg, and black shirts with a logo sprawled across the chest, along with small name tags shaped like military dog tags around their necks.

“Like I care” Adagio scoffed “Besides, I'm too excited to worry right now. I can already taste sweet revenge”

“Yeah, good for you, but if we keep showing up late for work we're going to end up getting fired” Aria said with a hint of legitimate concern.

“Oh please, don't make me think of the days when we could just sing a tune and convince strangers that their wallets would rather be with us” said Adagio.

“Also because we'd have to find another place that pays us in straight cash. What's with these humans and constantly needing info from us just to live. No, you can't work here without some dumb account thing. No, you can't buy that because you can't prove you're a certain age. No, you can't come in here without an I.D!”

“But alas, now we march to the ever filthy doors of...” Adagio stopped to shudder “Sargent Pain's B.B.Q and more”

“It's the 'and more' part that bothers me” Aria said as she looked up at a restaurant marked by a neon sign with a roasted yet happy looking pig sitting on a table.

“Well, at least it won't get us arrested, unlike some other things we could do ” said Adagio.

“I just wish we didn't have to wear these stupid uniforms” Aria said as she gave a small tug on her shirt

“Don't be such a child, the opinions of these people shouldn't matter to you anyway” Adagio said as they walked up to the restaurant's entrance “Once more unto the breach?” Adagio asked as she grabbed the door handle.

Aria cleared her throat and made a slight gesture toward the door.

Adagio turned to see the manager of the establishment standing inside the building, wtih a dissatisfied frown on his face.

The man glared at them through the glass door as he dangled a pair of keys in his hand. The man wore blue jeans and a white buttoned shirt, as was policy for managerial staff at the restaurant. He then pointed at his slicked back blonde hair.

Adagio groaned “Come on Johnny, don't make us where those” she pleaded.

“That's Corporal Duke to you, private” the man said in an authoritative tone as he furrowed his brow, and intensified his annoyed glare.

Adagio let out an exasperated sigh as she reached into her pants pocket and pulled out her hair net. Adagio turned to Aria and saw her fellow siren already attempting to stuff her massive amount of hair into the confines of the net.

Adagio looked back to Johnny “Happy?” she asked.

Johnny's expression lightened and he gave the girls an affirmative nod “Delighted, now get yourselves in here on the double” he said as he unlocked the door.

Adagio grumbled as Johnny walked further back into the restaurant.

Adagio looked at her hair net, then down at her dog tags “Private, Adagio Dazzle” she said in a sickened tone.

“Adagio, help me get this stupid thing on!” Aria grumbled as she wrestled with her hair net.

“Ugh, sometimes you're as helpless as Sonata” Adagio said as she went to assist Aria.

Adagio grabbed Aria's hair and began to tie it up into a large, bulky braided ponytail.

Aria stood with a dissatisfied scowl on her face.

Aria looked down at the ground “So, what do ya suppose Sonata does when we're not at the apartment?”

“As long as we go back and it's not burnt to the ground, I don't care” Adagio replied.

“Probably just sits and watches those stupid cartoons of hers” Aria said as she shook her head disapprovingly.

“She should be out here working like us, not lazing around and watching T.V” Adagio said as she finished with Aria's hair.

Aria stretched her hair net over her head, yet still strained slightly to fit her condensed hair inside it “Well, she nearly had a panic attack at the job interview for this place, so if she was here she'd probably end up getting us fired”

“Too true” Adagio agreed as she began work on her own massive bulk of hair.

Aria and Adagio both looked up at the restaurant's sign with silent disgust for the establishment that if they had not found, they would likely be living on the streets.

“Adagio, do you ever get the feeling like... we're being punished” Aria said in a barely audible tone.

“For what!?” Adagio yelled “Doing what we were meant to do, using the talents we honed to perfection! Having to live in this world and rely on such a place just to live is far more punishment than we ever could have deserved” she said as she glared at Aria “We may not be able to change our fate, but we can drag those girls down with us”

A sinister smile came to Adagio's face as she stretched her hair net over her head. She straightened her back and held her head high as she entered the restaurant; perhaps in an attempt to recapture some of her former grace and dignity.

Aria stayed outside for a moment, silently detesting her fellow siren. But her disdain for Adagio's leadership was only barely overshadowed by her burning hatred for those girls. The thought of even having to pretend to be nice to them sickened her, but such disgust could be temporarily stomached if it meant revenge... and that burning need for revenge allowed Aria to once again avoid the question that had been festering in the back of her mind since she lost her gem.

What's next?

Elsewhere in a small apartment. Sonata laid on her side with her arms and legs sprawled across a couch that was once bright red, but over months of use had been stained, broke, and burnt enough that barely any red remained.

Sonata held a remote in her hand as she absentmindedly flicked between channels on the television set that sat on a box against the wall across from her. She had spent enough time watching the box that she had managed to memorize every one of the 283 channels it picked up. Channel 2 was a shopping channel that Sonata pretended to order things from occasionally. Channel 8 was the news that told Sonata about all the atrocities that this world had to deal with on a regular basis. Channel 30 was the kids show network. Sonata had spent countless hours watching the happy creatures smile and sing their problems away. She had always compared her life to the colorful programs up until the destruction of her gem, and the loss of her singing voice; suddenly her life seemed inferior to the happy lives of the colorful creatures on the screen... this thought eventually soured her tasted for the programs. Usually the presence of Aria and Adagio had always lightened this sag in her perkiness, but since they had been forced to get jobs, Sonata barely ever saw the two when they weren't tired, or grumpy from working.

She stopped on a channel with a man playing a sad tune on a saxophone. Sonata attempted to harmonize with the music, but her voice came out scratchy and off key. Her face scrunched up into a frown as she was reminded of her loss. She placed her hand where her gem once rested as the saxophonist's tune continued on without her.

Sonata had always seen her life as a bit of a fairy tale. But this was no happily ever after, it was just lonely and grey. Adagio had told her that it was entirely the fault of those girls unjustly taking away their powers. In Sonata's mind those girls were the villains of her fairy tale... only, she didn't feel like the good guy either.

Chapter 3

Saturday 11:56

Fluttershy stood outside a large building with a faded pink exterior. She reached into her book bag and pulled out her cell phone, then dialed and anxiously waited as it rang.

“Helloo” Rarity chimed through the speakers.

“Hi Rarity, what was the name of the apartment complex the sirens said they're living in?” Fluttershy asked, trying to disguise her worry.

“Um... I believe it was, Sunny Shades” Rarity replied.

Fluttershy looked up at the decrepit looking three story building. The complex's name, Sunny Shades was sprawled across the side of the building with a red smiley face logo instead of a period.

“I was afraid of that” Fluttershy whispered.

“Don't worry, Fluttershy, it's Sonata you're going to see, she's the easy one” Rarity said encouragingly “Oookay... well, I have some final preparation for my fashion meet tomorrow. Talk to you later, good luck”

The phone made a small beep, signaling the end of the call.

“Bye” Fluttershy squeaked out.

Fluttershy took in a deep breath, then quickly walked toward the entrance. She slowed her pace as she neared the buildings cracked glass doors. She entered the building, and looked around inside.

The inside of the building looked much tidier than the outside. The walls were a warm orange color, and the carpet was dark red.

Fluttershy looked around and saw what seemed to be the closest the building had to a lobby. Hallways stretched out to Fluttershy's left and right, but were blocked by glass doors. Directly ahead of Fluttershy was what appeared to be the buildings front desk.

Fluttershy walked up to the desk and rang a rusted silver bell on it. She jumped a little as she heard a loud thud come from behind the desk.

“Ay!” a man yipped from underneath the desk.

Flutterhy looked over the desk and saw a man with short black hair, and tan complexion, sitting on the ground and rubbing the back of his head.

The man looked up and met Fluttershy's stare. He smiled through his pain and stood up.

“Greetings and welcome to Sunny Shades. Were you looking to book a room or rent an apartment?” the man asked in a cheery tone.

“Umm... neither. I'm here to see Sonata” said Fluttershy.

“Oh, so one of the girls finally made a friend, eh?” the man asked.

“Well, not exactly” Fluttershy replied.

“You're not here for... un-pleasantries are you?” he asked worriedly.

“Oh no” Fluttershy replied “Reformation”

“Oh, religious type, I got ya” the man said with a wink.

“No, well... it's complicated”

The man sighed “It always is, isn't it? She's in room number 2 on the third floor, the stairs are behind the eighth door. Just let me unlock the security door for ya” the man said as he pushed a button under his desk.

The door to Fluttershy's right slowly began to open.

“Thank you” Fluttershy said as she walked toward the hall.

“If ya need any help just ask for Jimmy” The man cheerily called as she left.

Fluttershy stood before a brown door with a two on it. She reached her hand out to knock on the door, but before she made contact, it opened.

Sonata stood in the doorway, wearing a grey hoody and sweat pants. She glared at Fluttershy, making no secret of her disdain for her reformer.

“Hello” greeted Fluttershy.

“Hello, Guttershy” Sonata said with spite in her voice.

“It's Fluttershy” she corrected.

“I know” replied Sonata.

Fluttershy let out a small groan and looked away from Sonata for a moment. She then reached into her book bag and pulled out a small blue note book and held it out for Sonata to see.

“So... I made a day plan on what we could do to get started with your reformation” Fluttershy paused and looked at Sonata, who was still glaring at her “Could you stop looking at me like that, please?”

“Nope” Sonata replied.

A bead of sweat ran down Fluttershy's forehead as she felt the tension slowly increasing.

“Okay... I thought first we could go to the park and look at how happy everybody is living their non-brain washed lives”

Sonata resisted becoming excited over the idea of going to a park without ill intentions.

“and then I figured you could help me down at the animal shelter so you could see how nice it feels to help all of the cute little creatures this world has to offer”

“Will there be bunnies there?” Sonata asked while trying to restrain her enthusiasm.

“Well, it's more things like dogs and cats” Fluttershy replied.

“Oh” Sonata uttered out, quickly losing her enthusiasm due to the lack of bunnies.

Fluttershy placed her book back into her bag “But if you really want to see a bunny, I could show you my...” A look of confusion came to Fluttershy's face as she felt around in her bag. She then looked down into the bag “Uh-oh”

“What's wrong, is there a poisonous snake in there?” Sonata asked.

“No, why would you assume... never mind. I forgot to give my friend her homework assignment. Do you mind if we stop by her house before we get started?” Fluttershy asked.

Sonata shrugged and replied with a bored “Eh”

“Okay, come one, let's go” Fluttershy said as she grabbed Sonata's hand and pulled her down the hall.

Sonata awkwardly hopped along on one foot as she attempted to regain her balance after the unexpected tug.

The two walked next to each other along a sidewalk next to a string of houses.

Sonata's grumpy expression hid her nervousness of venturing outside without Adagio or Aria to guide her, as well as being led somewhere by one of her mortal enemies.

“She could be leading me into a trap” Sonata thought to herself “Maybe this has all just been an elaborate scheme to get me alone, and all of them will gang up on me and beat me up with sharp sticks, and cut off my hair with rusty scissors, leaving me bald and splintered!” Sonata whimpered at the thought.

“Here's her house” Fluttershy said as she stopped in front of a large white building.

“One person lives in that?!” Sonata exclaimed.

Fluttershy chuckled “Oh no, Pinkie Pie's whole family lives in there. I just hope someone other than Pinkie is at home, I'd hate to have her answer the door when she's sick”

“Germ Warfare!” Sonata yelled “I knew you were up to something!”

Fluttershy looked at Sonata with a confused expression “What?”

“You can't fool me” Sonata yelled accusingly “Adagio told me about how you'd try to infect my head with all your lies and empty promises. But I have seen through your plan, and I will now leave in a buff”

“I think you mean, a huff” Fluttershy corrected.

“Don't give me any guff, you fluff!” Sonata retorted.

Fluttershy shook her head and let out an annoyed sigh “Look, if you're that concerned, you can just stay out here while I give Pinkie her homework”

“I... don't have to go in?” Sonata asked with genuine surprise.

“Of course not, I'm not going to force you to do something you're not comfortable doing”

“R-r-really?” Sonata asked. Sonata began to think on the option offered to her “Well, that's nice... but maybe it's another trick. Yes! Adagio said to find things to tear them apart, and she's trying to deny me that opportunity” Sonata looked back to Fluttershy and responded in a dignified manner “Yes, I will join you” she said aloud.

“Good” Fluttershy said with a smile “Pinkie was really looking forward to getting a chance to meet you”

“Pinkie is the one with pink hair that's not you, right?” Sonata asked as they approached the front door.

“Yes” Fluttershy replied as she knocked on the door.

“So it's Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Sun Shine, Colors, one with the purple hair, and Apples?”

“That's almost right... in a weird way” Fluttershy replied.

The front door opened, and in the door way stood Pinkie's mother. Mrs. Pie looked down at the girls with a dull look in her eyes. She adjusted her glasses as she inspected the faces of the visitors.

“Fluttershy, how nice to see you again” Mrs. Pie said in a tone that seemed too dry to be called friendly. Her gaze shifted to Sonata, and a small smile came to her face as she examined the siren's attire “Ah, now there's a look, grey, baggy, everything left to the imagination... but, I feel the massive amount of loose hair ruins it”

“What the heck are you talking about? Sonata asked.

Mrs. Pie chose to ignore the question, and directed her attention back to Fluttershy “So what brings you by Fluttershy?”

“I'm just here to give Pinkie her homework” Fluttershy replied.

“Oh good, she's been cooped up in her room since Wednesday. She'll be happy to see her friends stop by” she said in an almost cheery tone.

“Oh, I'm not her friend” said Sonata.

Fluttershy let out a nervous chuckle.

“Oh” Mrs. Pie said as she raised an eye brow “Then whom are you?”

“I'm a siren from another dimension who tried to take over your world” Sonata said, oblivious to how ridiculous her words sounded.

Mrs. Pie stood with a dumbfounded expression “I just can't keep up with the strange lingo you kids use nowadays” She said as she stepped to the side, allowing the girls to enter.

Meanwhile, upstairs, under a pile of blankets that she would have preferred to be about 2 layers lighter; Pinkie Pie laid as an unwilling prisoner of her illness. She let out a bored sigh before blowing her nose for what seemed like the thousandth time. She sat up and crumpled up the snot soaked tissue, then tossed it toward a trash can next to her door. She let out an an annoyed sigh as the tissue bounced off the rim of the trash can. She flopped down onto her back and began to once again count the seconds as they slowly ticked by.

She had became so lost in her boredom that she barely noticed the tiny sound of someone knocking on her door.

Pinkie looked toward the door, and smiled as she quickly broke free from her bored state “Come in Fluttershy” Pinkie called.

Fluttershy opened the door slightly and peeked in “How did you know it was me?” she asked.

“Nobody else knocks as quietly as you” Pinkie replied “So, why are you making Sonata wait in in the hall?” she asked.

“Umm... how did you know she was here?” asked Fluttershy.

“Would ya believe that it was a complete and total guess” Pinkie replied before coughing into her hand.

“Why do I have to stay in the hall?” Sonata asked as she pushed Fluttershy out of her way, opening the door completely as she did. Sonata's eyes went wide with awe as she looked around the overwhelmingly bright colored room.

Fluttershy looked at Sonata for a moment, taking note of her odd reaction. She then redirected her attention back to the task she had came to complete. Fluttershy pulled out the text book she had meant to give to Pinkie Pie the day before.

“We're supposed to read chapters 2 to 4 before Monday” Fluttershy said as she handed the text book to her friend.

“Well, at least that can fill a half hour or so” said Pinkie.

“You say that like you're bored” Sonata interrupted “How can you be bored when you have this much stuff. I mean come on, you have like a dozen stuffed animals, a computer and your own T.V that you don't even have to share. How could you possibly be bored?”

“Well, all this stuff is fun when there's other people around to use it with, but when you're alone they all get boring way faster” Pinkie said before she shifted her attention to Fluttershy “Speaking of which, you two wouldn't want to stay for a little while, would you?”

“Shouldn't we leave you to rest?” Fluttershy asked.

Pinkie looked at Fluttershy with a serious stare as she said “Fluttershy, I am not the kind of person who does well being stuck in one place for days”

Sonata's eyes lit up as she overheard the two's conversation “Hey” Sonata interrupted “Maybe I could stay here with her stuff... I mean, with her... and her stuff”

“But... I had a whole day planned, and they're expecting me down at the shelter” said Fluttershy.

“Please, Fluttershy, and remember, I'm sick so you can't say no” Pinkie said as she looked to Fluttershy with an exaggeratedly pitiful expression.

Fluttershy let out an annoyed grunt as she looked away from Pinkie for a moment.

Pinkie let out a small whimpering noise.

A tiny smile slowly found it's way through Fluttershy's frown which quickly gave way to a large grin “That's not fair” Fluttershy said as she restrained herself from giggling

“Everything's fair in the war against boredom” Pinkie cheered.

“So, I can stay?” Sonata asked with all the anticipation of an excited young child.

“Well, if that's what you want to do?” asked Fluttershy.

“There's no other outcome I would have accepted” said Sonata. The siren almost immediately began looking over Pinkie's possessions as she tried to decide what she would play with first.

“You sure you'll be alright with her?” Fluttershy asked Pinkie as she placed her hand on the door “I mean, you are sick”

“That just makes it an even playing field” Pinkie said as she placed her hands behind her head.

“Call me if anything happens” Flutterhy said as she stepped into the doorway.

“What could possibly go wrong?” Pinkie said before looking over to Sonata. Pinkie stared at her visitor for a few moments “That girl does not know how to take a cue”

Fluttershy shook her head slightly as she walked out of Pinkie's room “See ya, Pinkie”

“Bye Fluttershy, don't worry I have it completely under control” Pinkie quickly looked back to Sonata, who was currently in awe of Pinkie Pie's personal computer “Once again, I am denied pay off for my set up”

“I've seen these things before but I've never actually gotten to touch one” Sonata said as she picked up Pinkie's lap top and flipped up it's cover.

“You've never touched a computer before?” Pinkie asked before letting out a loud gasp “That means you've never seen a cat video, or an internet meme, or a cat meme, or read bad fan fiction, or played computer games, or went on social media, or commented on things, or watched an 8 part series on the wonders of erosion” Pinkie stopped and took note of Sonata's confused expression.

“Erosion?” Sonata asked.

“I-I was bored, I had a lot of time on my hands... never mind that”

“Oops” Sonata squeaked out.

“Oops as in... oops that sure is great”

“I think I broke it” Sonata said as a despaired expression quickly appeared on her face.

“What?” Pinkie asked before letting out a harsh cough “Let me see”

Sonata walked over to Pinkie's bed and handed her the laptop.

Pinkie scooted herself over on her bed and patted her hand on the spot next to her, signaling Sonata to sit.

Sonata awkwardly wrung her hands together before she hesitantly sat down just on the edge of the bed. She watched as Pinkie pushed the start button and waited as fifteen seconds or so went by before the screen finally showed the computer's main menu.

Several files and program short cuts quickly appeared in the menu as well as a small arrow that sat in the middle of the screen.

“Most computers have mouses but this one just has this little touch pad” Pinkie said as she moved her index finger around on a small pad below the key board.

“Isn't it pronounced mice?” asked Sonata.

“Different thing same name” Pinkie replied.

“Oh” Sonata watched in quiet awe as the computer read Pinkie's fingers movement and moved the arrow accordingly.

“You try” Pinkie said as she placed the computer in the space between her and Sonata.

Sonata poked the pad, unintentionally clicking on one of the shortcuts. Immediately a page appeared and a long box with a magnifying glass symbol on the end loaded onto the center of the screen.

“You found the internet” Pinkie said excitedly.

“What's that?” Sonata asked.

“It's like a collection of everything people have ever known”

Pinkie quickly typed a few words into the search box then pressed enter. The screen instantly switched to a page with a list of internet sites. Pinkie quickly clicked on the site at the top of the page and the screen once again switched to a different page, this time with a small black square with a red line running along the bottom.

Pinkie nudged Sonata's arm “This will blow your mind” Pinkie said as she attempted to restrain her excitement.

Sonata looked at the small screen and waited for whatever was about to appear.

The seconds ticked by with nothing but a small point of light spinning in a circle.

“Is this it?” Sonata asked.

“No, it's just taking awhile to load” Pinkie said as she attempted to maintain her enthusiasm, however, Sonata obviously did not have that level of patience.

“Bored” she stated bluntly before getting up and walking over to Pinkie's television set.

“But it'll just take a few more seconds” said Pinkie.

Sonata ignored Pinkie as she knelt to the ground and turned the television on. Sonata pushed the channel button, quickly flipping through the few channels that the television could pick up.

“This thing doesn't get many channels” said Sonata.

“I mostly have it to watch movies or play games on when my friends come over” said Pinkie.

“Oh...” Sonata looked down at the small game console in front of the television “Can you use it by yourself?” she asked.

“Yeah, but like I said, it's funner with other people” Pinkie replied.

Sonata rolled her eyes as she attempted to turn on the small console. A small blue light replaced a red light on the front of the console as she pushed the power button. Sonata directed her attention back to television, expecting something to happen.

“Oh wait, you need to set it to a different input, just push the buttons on the front until you see the...”

Sonata quickly pushed a button, only managing to change the channel from two to three.

“Umm... that's the channel button” said Pinkie.

Sonata pushed another button and held it for a few moments as a green bar lit up across the bottom of the screen

“That's...” Pinkie was cut off as Sonata pushed the channel button again only to turn to a different channel with an incredibly loud game show on it. Pinkie covered her ears and yelled “Turn it down!”

Sonata frantically pushed more buttons in an attempt to silence the deafening noise, eventually finding the power button and shutting down the television altogether. Sonata fell back and took a moment to let the ringing sound go out of her ears. As the ringing left, Sonata heard an equally annoying sound. She turned and saw Pinkie Pie trying to restrain her laughter. Sonata growled at Pinkie as she quickly shot up to her feet.

“Listen you jerk, I can take Adagio and Aria laughing at me, but you don't get to laugh at me, none of you get to laugh at me! I'm not stupid, this world's just too complicated!” she shrieked.

“I'm not laughing at you” Pinkie struggled to say through her snickering. She turned her computer to show Sonata the video that had been loading.

Sonata's face went blank as she looked at a small cat wearing sunglasses walking around on a piano as as another cat jumped up, accidentally striking the keys as it did, coincidentally creating an appealing tune.

Sonata's cheeks turned red and her lips quivered as she struggled with her embarrassment and the sickeningly sweet idiocy in front of her.

Sonata threw her head back and yelled “You win!”

“W-what do I win?” Pinkie asked.

“Whatever you're trying to do! Whatever all this reformation stuff is, or what this pointless video means, whatever you want, you win!” she cried out.

“Sonata, I'm not trying to do anything but make you feel comfortable” Pinkie said as she sat the computer beside her “This is nothing I wouldn't do with my friends”

“But I'm not your friend, I'm your mortal enemy, I hate you” Sonata said, meeting Pinkie's friendly smile with a hate filled glare.

Pinkie's smile slowly faded away “Who calls you stupid?” she asked.

Sonata pointed accusingly at Pinkie “You and all your friends”

“I've never called you stupid, and I've never heard any of my friends say it... we don't really know you... so again, who calls you stupid?” Pinkie asked in a sterner tone than before.

Sonata's glare melted away into a hurt expression. She rubbed her left arm and whispered “Aria and Adagio... and me”

Pinkie softly patted on the side of the bed. Sonata sat down once again; her drooped shoulders and low hung head made her emotional state obvious.

“Are they good to you?” Pinkie asked.

“Yeah...” she replied “They always make sure we have what we need. They just get annoyed that I can't help more... before, I could always help when we sang, but now I can't do anything”

Pinkie felt guilt take a small tug at her mind “I never thought about it like that. I'm sorry... but I'm also not sorry. I'm not sorry for helping take away your gems. But I am sorry for taking away something that made you happy”

“You still don't understand; you didn't just take away my gem, you took away the one thing I could do with my friends that I was actually good at, the only thing that kept us together. Even after we got banished to this stupid place we still had our music... and it wasn't always for making people angry... sometimes we'd just sing for fun, and it made me feel like I was still at home” a warm smile slowly stretched across Sonata's face as she thought back to the music filled memories.

“Well, why can't this world be home?” Pinkie asked.

“But I'm too dumb to do anything here”

“Sonata, you've got being dumb confused with not knowing things. It's okay to mess up if you don't know what you're doing. I used to be terrible at baking until I practiced a bit”

“But how can I...”

“Shh... Remember, we've got the internet. Everything people have ever known is on here” Pinkie said as she pushed her computer toward Sonata “All you need to do is figure out where to start”

Sonata's eyes went wide as she thought of all the possible things she had yet to learn about the world around her “Um... maybe cooking, or how to drive a car, or how to balance a budget”

“Or we could watch some more cat videos” Pinkie said with a smile.

“That's the next thing I was going to say” said Sonata.

The two shared a laugh that quickly ended with Pinkie breaking out into a loud cough.

5:53 pm.

Sonata quietly opened the door to the Dazzlings apartment. She peeked in and saw Adagio sprawled across the couch, watching television.

Sonata entered the apartment and let out a cheerful “Hey”

“Shhhh!!” Adagio hissed. She then pointed at the bedroom door “Little Ms. can't keep orders straight is taking a nap” she said as she sat up on the couch.

“Oh, okay” Sonata said quietly. She carefully stepped toward the couch, making sure she didn't make a sound.

Adagio glanced at Sonata and rolled her eyes, then let out a sigh in reaction to Sonata's strangely large steps.

Sonata sat down on the end of couch opposite to Adagio and looked toward the television.

“What are we watching?” Sonata asked.

Adagio grabbed the remote and turned the television off “Nothing” she replied “So, how did you're little visit go?”

“Well, first I thought they were going to kill me with germs but then the one with the pink hair left me with other one with the pink hair, and then I found the internet and that took up an hour or two, then we played some games, then the first one with the pink hair... Fluttershy, yeah that's her name. She came back and took me to this nice little restaurant and I got a meal with a little toy, and she got a salad because she's a vegetable”

Adagio squinted and rested her fingertips on her forehead as she tried to take in what Sonata had said “What?”

“I got a toy” Sonata said as she reached into her back pocket, pulling out a small blue figure with grey pants, a black shirt and sunglasses “I'm going to call him, Blue” Sonata said excitedly.

Adagio swiped the toy out of Sonata's hand and tossed it away toward the television “Tell me what you learned?”

Sonata looked toward her toy; it's bottom half had snapped off from the impact. Adagio snapped her fingers in front of Sonata's face and shot her an impatient glare.

Sonata snapped herself out of her disappointment, then replied “Ooh, I learned about cats and alligators, and what happens when you put mints into pop and...”

Adagio muffled a shriek “No, you dolt, what did you find out about those girls!? Don't tell me you forget about the plan!”

Aggravated, Sonata quickly shot up to her feet “No, I did not forget about the plan!” Sonata retorted in a mocking tone “I talked to that one for hours and all I found out is that they actually feel bad about what they did to us!?”

“SHUT UP!!!” Aria shrieked from the other room.

“Way to go, you woke up the drama queen” Adagio said in an annoyed tone.

“You messed up that order, not me! That old fool should have been yelling at you!” Aria yelled through the walls.

Sonata stopped herself before yelling again. She then quickly gathered up the pieces of her toy and walked to the bed room door “By the way, it's your turn on the couch tonight”

Adagio responded with an unconcerned shrug before kicking her feet up onto the couch and stretching out.

Sonata opened the door and entered the bed room. To her left, against the wall was a dresser with three long drawers, one for each of the Sirens. In front of her was a large bed with purple covers and an identical bed to the left with a small night stand between the two. The room was barely lit by the light that came through a small space in the curtains on the window; but the small light and memory was enough for Sonata to find her way to the bed.

Sonata took off her shoes and quickly slipped under the covers. She then turned herself to face the night stand and looked at the small digital alarm clock. Her face lit up in embarrassment as she realized she was trying to go to sleep at 6:05. Sonata grumbled as she knew the only alternative would be going back out and being forced to hear Adagio make some smug joke about going to bed early.

Sonata broke from her own aggravation for a moment as she heard a small sniffling sound coming from the other bed.

“Aria, are you crying?” Sonata asked quietly. A few seconds passed and she received no response “Aria, are you...”

“I'm not crying” she replied harshly “I'm just really mad”

“Why?”

“Adagio was in charge of taking the orders today and she didn't pay attention to what some idiot wanted. I made the wrong thing and took it out to him, then he got mad, said I was “incompetent” and went off on some rant. Adagio didn't say anything, she just stood there and watched like it was entertaining”

Hearing Aria's story only made Sonata's aggravation toward Adagio intensify.

“And you know what the worst part was? That stupid manager didn't even get mad. He gave the guy his lunch for free and gave me some sickeningly encouraging words”

“I don't understand”said Sonata.

“One of those stupid humans took pity on me. I never felt so weak in my entire life”

Sonata nodded, pretending to understand how Aria felt. She had always seen their new forms as an unwelcome improvement; after all, hands were incredibly useful. Sonata looked back over to Aria, and despite her fellow sirens denial, it was fairly obvious that at least a few tears were slipping out. Sonata then pulled a small, worn, pink book out of a drawer in the night stand. She flipped the book open and looked at the first page. She smiled as she looked at the childlike drawings she had made of herself and her fellow sirens not long after being banished. All three had smiles drawn across their faces, a far cry from Aria or Adagio's current expressions.

She spent the next hour or so flipping through the pages and reading the messy notes she had made recounting their adventures in Equestria and a few interesting stories prior to being banished.

She glanced back at the clock, now showing that it was 7:10 pm. She looked over to Aria, who seemed to have slipped off to sleep.

“How did we become this?” she thought to herself. She let out a sigh as she put the book back in its place. She laid her head down on the pillow and closed her eyes, waiting for the veil of sleep to take hold, allowing her to increase the length of time between the present and this dreary moment in time.

Meanwhile in the other room...

Adagio laid on the couch with her arms behind her head and a smirk on her face; waiting as the minutes ticked by, bringing herself closer to the moment of revenge she had been waiting for. The thoughts of picking her enemies apart were only sweetened with the knowledge of a new weapons at her disposal... guilt.

Chapter 4

Saturday 9:15 pm.

The mustached spit champion, Spear stood on the sidewalk as he stared at the home of the Apple family. He glared intensely at the house despite the wind and rain.

“Soon” he muttered to himself. A bright flash of lightning lit up the sky, followed by an enormous
boom of thunder. Spear quickly began to walk away as he muttered to himself “Oh what the heck am I doing in the rain, this isn't cool it's just irresponsible”

Sunday 12:23 pm.

Wake up, get out of bed, eat something breakfasty, go to work, come home, eat something dinner-ish and sleep. That was Aria's usual routine most days of the week, unless she had a day off, on which she replaced work with the task of trying to avoid interaction with her fellow sirens as much as possible. The simple solution would most likely be to go outside and walk around the city; but Aria's general disgust for the world around her only left her feeling more frustrated the see saw of it.

Perhaps frustration would be a better sum of her routine. Constant frustration over the situation Adagio's leadership had left them in, frustration over being stuck in some world devoid of opportunities for someone who was practically an extra terrestrial, frustration over having to suffer through everyday knowing that everyday would be just like the last one... frustrating.

So why on the one day when something was actually different would she choose to sleep in.

Aria slept with her covers over her head, trying to drown out the sound of Sonata and Adagio's television show, an obnoxiously loud game show involving contestants going through a series of obstacles with the goal to get to the end with out messing up, contrary to the audiences hopes that they fail miserably on every single one. Needless to say the two enjoyed it for entirely different reasons.

Aria grumbled at the sound of loud footsteps approaching the bed room door, quickly followed by an even louder knock.

“Aria, what time were you supposed to meet those girls toady?” Adagio asked in a less than pleasant tone.

Aria groaned and mumbled out a response that would not have been understood even if someone was sitting right beside her.

“Was that a response or a growl?” Adagio asked, losing what little patience she had.

Aria peaked her head out from the covers and looked at the digital clock next on the night stand.

“About a half hour ago” Aria replied. She covered her ears as she waited for the inevitable screech from a furious Adagio. Several seconds went by but their was no such reaction. Aria peeked over the covers and saw that the door remained remained closed. A small smile came to Aria's face as she closed her eyes and prepared to drift back off to sleep.

“Adagio don't!” Sonata suddenly pleaded from the other room.

Aria's eyes shot open as she heard someone enter. Before she could react, she suddenly felt the covers being torn off of her, followed by a splash of ice cold water. The previous warm cozy feeling only made the sudden wet and cold more unbearable. Aria looked up to see Adagio standing next to the bed with a bucket in her hand.

“Get up... now” Adagio said, emphasizing the words to an intimidating extent.

Aria clenched her hands into fists as she resisted the enormous urge to punch Adagio right in her little she-devil face; but the act would do nothing but make living with Adagio more miserable. Her comfort gone, her personal space invaded, and her dignity dealt another blow, Aria slowly got up off the bed. She stood up and began to move towards the siren's dresser, only to be stopped by Adagio.

“I'm up, okay. I just need to get some dry clothes” said Aria.

Adagio smiled and said “It's hot and sunny outside, you'll dry off before you get to the school”

“Like you're going to stop me” Aria said as she glared at Adagio.

Sonata peaked her head through the doorway “Come on girls, don't fight” she pleaded.

“We're not fighting, Aria's just being difficult” Adagio said to Sonata before directing her attention back to Aria “Let me put it this way, you either go right now and dry off before you get there, or I'll make it rain on the rest of your clothes”

“Ugh... Fine, whatever, have fun being a psycho” Aria said as she quickly made her way to the door.

“And don't think you're coming back here in a half hour or something. I don't want you back until you've learned something about those girls. That should take up the entire day for someone as anti-social as you”

Aria flung the door open then hurriedly walked down the hall, hoping to get away before Adagio could take another emotional jab at her.

“Well, that's another problem solved by cold water” Adagio said as she returned to the couch. She noticed Sonata shooting her an annoyed glare “What? If I didn't get her out there we could be missing out on vital information”

Sonata rolled her eyes, having given up on arguing with Adagio's reasoning a long time ago.

Aria cursed under her breath as she slowly walked towards the school. She wondered why she was actually doing what Adagio had told her when she could have easily just gone anywhere else until enough time passed for the others to buy that she'd actually done as instructed. Maybe it had just become a force of habit to follow Adagio's orders, either that or the fact that she knew that she would be as welcome anywhere else as she would be with those girls.

She looked up from the sidewalk and saw the ever irritating Canterlot High gleaming in the sun light. Every time she saw that building she was thrust back into the memory of being brought down by seven girls and a giant astral projection of a unicorn shooting rainbows. Such an absurd end to their near return to glory was too much of an injustice. Too much of a stupid, ridiculous, unfair end to an already unlucky series of events.

In the distance, Aria saw the two girls out by the schools track and field. The rainbow haired girl was currently performing various tricks with a soccer ball, and the farm girl was... spitting. Aria groaned as she walked towards the two girls.

Rainbow's attention was taken away from her tricks as she saw Aria out of the corner of her eye, breaking her concentration long enough for the airborne soccer ball to striker her forehead embarrassingly.

“Hey, Applejack” Rainbow called.

Applejack quickly turned, messing up her spit in the process, causing it to misfire, leaving a strand of saliva hanging from her slips. Applejack brushed the spit away with the back of her hand, then walked toward Rainbow.

Aria approached the girls and stopped with more than enough distance between her and them.

The three girls awkwardly waited for someone to speak.

After nearly a minute of silence, Rainbow finally filled the void

“So... Aria, that's your name, right?” Rainbow asked in a sad attempt to make conversation.

Aria nodded in response.

“Does that stand for something?... or is it just a horse world thing?” Rainbow asked.

“It's a music thing, like a solo song or something” Aria replied “And seeing as how every person or pony I've ever encountered has a weirdly fitting name, I'm going to assume you are, Rainbow... something... possibly just Rainbow” Aria said to the rainbow haired girl before turning her attention to Applejack “And you're... farm... hay...apples... Applejack”

“We haven't really met before, right?” Applejack asked.

“No; what, are you saying I was right?” said Aria.

“Yeah, usually the completely random correct answers are Pinkie's thing” Applejack replied.

“I don't know who you're taking about” said Aria.

“Oh, yeah, I guess this the first time we've actually had a real conversation” said Applejack.

The three girls all nodded, concurring with the statement. Once again the three girls fell into an awkward silence. Applejack and Rainbow awkwardly smiled as Aria's expression remained blank.

“So...” Rainbow uttered out “Do ya want to kick the ball around?”

Aria did not reply, she simply continued to stare at the two girls, slowly shifting her gaze from one to the other.

Rainbow and Applejack's awkwardness soon turned to concern as the siren's blank stare turned to an annoyed grimace. Without warning, Aria let out an aggravated huff before turning away from the girls and storming toward the bleachers.

The two girls looked at the siren, perplexed at the sudden action.

“I'll take that as a no” Rainbow said before walking back to the field to resume her soccer practice.

Applejack remained on the track, looking back and forth between Rainbow and Aria, trying to decide whether to convince Rainbow to try again, or to talk to Aria by herself; but before she could decide, she heard a familiar sound approaching. She turned in the direction of the sound and an angry glare appeared on her face as she saw the strange student from before ascending the bleachers.

Spear's boots clonked against the wooden bleachers as he stepped up to the top row. He then turned and looked out over the field. A few tense moments passed before he sat down, looming over Applejack like a hunter waiting for it's prey to make a move.

Applejack continued to stare the stranger down, keeping the tense showdown for going over half a minute.

As if he had somehow triumphed, Spear smiled and kicked his feet up onto the seat then stretched out as he laid down and stared up at the sky.

Applejack let out a huff, aggravated that the stare down was mere amusement for the odd student. She slowly turned back to the track. She suddenly reared herself back, then flung her entire body forward, letting out a magnificent watery projectile. The wad of spit flew through the air and landed an undeniably impressive distance away.

Applejack placed her hands on her hips as she smiled, pleased with her performance. She then looked over to Spear who had not even bothered to acknowledge her spit.

Without warning, Spear casually spat upwards. The airborne saliva ascended to heights never before seen by ground originated spit, and descended just as quickly. To Applejack's amazement and the non-concern of everyone else, the spit landed perfectly on top of Applejack's previous spit. Spear's aim was uncanny, his mastery of the spitting art unimaginable, and the smug grin hiding under his mustache was the sugar coated cherry on top of a sundae of boastfulness.

But Applejack knew that this was not just boastfulness, it was a statement plain as a brick wall. Her spitting skills were no where near that of Spear's. Had it been one of her friends she may have just shrugged it off, bit her lip and forgotten about the whole thing only to bring it up during a therapy session if she ever went nuts. But this was not a friendly spit competition, it wasn't even fair, she was so incredibly outclassed that she stood know chance at her current level. It was one thing to have her spit champion title taken away by some random student, but it was a much worse feeling for her skills to be swept aside as though she was the champion of novices.

The farm girl took in a series of long deep breaths as she attempted to calm herself. Her pulse began to slow and the tenseness of her muscles lessened, she could feel herself slipping back to a calm state. But her heart skipped a beat when she felt something like a raindrop strike the top of her hat. She knew what had struck her, but force of habit forced her to reach up on top of her hat. She lowered her hand and saw the moisture of saliva on the tips of her fingers... Spear had just spat on her.

She glowered at Spear who laid whistling as though he had done nothing.

Applejack chuckled as she lost control of her senses for a moment. In an moment of blind rage, she quickly, inelegantly spat a lengthy wad of saliva up towards Spear, landing short by an embarrassingly large distance... but not necessarily missing a target.

Aria did not know what was coming as she sat scratching dirty words into the bleachers with her pocket knife. She instantly stopped as she felt the wad of saliva strike her eye. A disgusted look came to Aria's face as her mind processed the situation. She looked up at Applejack who had not quite taken in the situation herself, still glaring like a mad woman.

“You... spat on me” Aria said in a quietly angry tone.

Applejack began to shake herself out of her own rage and started to stammer “Uh... wha... I what?”

“YOU SPAT ON ME!!!!” Aria screamed before leaping off the bleachers and charging towards Applejack.

The loud scream caught Rainbow's attention and she quickly picked up her ball and ran towards her friend.

Rainbow's speed matched against Aria's lack thereof allowed Rainbow to meet Aria before she reached Applejack. Rainbow grabbed Aria around her waist and held her back as Aria struggled against her, flailing her arms at Applejack in a vain attempt to strike her. As she realized her swings were meaningless, she began to spit at Applejack, missing more shots than she landed.

Applejack simply stood there, taking the spits, making no attempt to defend herself. She knew full well it was herself to blame for her inappropriate behavior.

“Settle down!” Rainbow yelled.

After Aria ran out of curse words and saliva to throw at Applejack, she finally ceased her aggression and was released by Rainbow.

“Yeesh, you girls need to knock it off with this spit nonsense, it's making it way too hard to concentrate on my practice” said Rainbow.

“Practice?” Aria asked in a mocking tone “You mean practice for this” Aria quickly grabbed the soccer ball away from Rainbow then threw it to the ground. She reared her left leg back and kicked the ball as hard as she could toward the fields goal post.

A loud ping sound rang out as the ball struck the post and ricocheted right back at Aria, striking her in the face with tremendous impact. Aria's arms dropped to her side and her expression turned blank as her face slowly began to turn red either from embarrassment or just from the impact.

“Uh... you okay?” Applejack asked.

Aria's world went black and she limply fell backwards into unconsciousness.

“She's not okay” said Rainbow.

Chapter 5

Many, many years ago...

The quiet flow of a small river mixed with the sounds of nearby wildlife and leaves rustling in the warm summer breeze filled the air of the forest that the sirens were traveling through.

Aria looked down at the softly flowing water and smiled at her reflection. She reached her front hooves into the river and splashed her face. She let out a calm sigh and listened to the sounds of the forest around her and the steadily increasing sound of giggling. Aria looked to the middle of the river and saw her companion swimming against the current.

“Look, Aria, I'm a salmon” Sonata joked.

Aria let out a chuckle, thoroughly entertained by Sonata's antics.

“I think you're a little big to be a salmon” said Aria.

“Then I'm a super salmon!” she cheered before bursting out from the water “So, where are we heading to next?” Sonata asked as she hovered over the river.

“There's a few other little towns out here that are just ripe for the picking, and far too long of a distance from any sort of unwanted attention” Aria replied.

“Isn't attention a good thing?” asked Sonata.

“I mean the kind of attention that gets word out to the empire's guard and sends them after us” replied Aria “As long as we stick to these little backwater towns, we'll never go hungry and we'll never end up in a dungeon”

“Well, I don't know about that last town. It seemed like we didn't get as much energy as we usually do” Sonata said as she dipped her hoof into the water.

Aria nodded in agreement “I noticed that too, I guess that they were a little off put by you going too sharp on those high notes”

“Did not!” Sonata shouted.

“Don't worry, I'm just teasing you. The next town will be better, I promise” Aria said reassuringly.

“Okay, but I get to do lead next time” said Sonata.

“Fine, just don't go too wild” Aria said before stretching herself out “Lets hit the road”

A sudden rustle in the bushes attracted Aria's attention. A quick look over of the bushes revealed no source for the noise. Aria remained vigilant, it wouldn't have been the first time some hunter had tried to make trophies of her and Sonata.

“What do you see?” Sonata asked as she hovered towards her companion.

“I heard something, but I...” Aria stopped as she looked to Sonata and noticed her companions gaze fixated on a single point. Aria followed Sonata's stare to a large bush.

A faint, strained breathing sound came from the bush.

“Hey!” Aria called out.

Before either of them could react, a streak of yellow bolted out from the bush and quickly darted away.

The two siren's remained still, both perplexed by the odd occurrence.

Sonata gave Aria a small shove on the shoulder “Why'd you yell, you scared it away” she said.

“Excuse me if I'm not keen on making friends with things that lurk in bushes” Aria said without a hint of concern as she began to hover away.

Sonata looked in the direction the creature had gone for a brief moment before joining Aria on her path.

“I think I would have named it, Cinnamon” Sonata said cheerfully.

The two sirens didn't realize it at the moment, but they had both encountered Adagio Dazzle for the very first time.

Sunday 1:21

“Do you think we should go get a nurse?” Rainbow Dash asked Applejack.

“I don't think she's here on weekends” Applejack replied.

“Well, should we... do C.P.R?” asked Rainbow.

“Didn't Spear already try that?” replied Applejack.

“I don't think jumping off the bleachers, doing mouth to mouth, then running away yelling “sniped” really counts” said Rainbow.

“Hmm... Maybe we shouldn't tell her that happened when she wakes up” said Applejack.

Aria eyes fluttered open as she regained consciousness. The world was blurry as her eyes looked to a large multicolored blur looming over her. Aria's vision quickly cleared, revealing the blur to be, Rainbow Dash.

She let out a groan as she began to feel a light throbbing in her forehead.

“Easy there” Applejack cautioned “You may have a concussion”

“I got hit by a ball, not a brick. I'm pretty sure I'll survive” Aria said as she slowly got to her feet “Well, congratulations” she said as she dusted the grass off her back.

“For what?” Applejack asked.

“You two succeeded in making me hate you more than I already did” said Aria “What with the hick spitting on me, and her demon ball hitting me in the face”

“Hey!” Rainbow interjected “The thing with the ball was your own fault... and don't call Applejack a hick”

Rainbow glanced over to Applejack for a moment, but quickly turned away as she saw Applejack shooting her an annoyed stare.

“When you kick a soccer ball, you kick it with the top of your foot, or the side, not with your toe” Rainbow said before dropping the ball to the ground. She gave it a small kick and the ball rolled toward, Aria.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” she asked.

“Give it another try, but kick it like I told you to” Rainbow replied.

“As if” Aria said, rolling her eyes as she turned to walk away from the two.

“So you won't even try, what's up with you Sirens, was singing seriously all you could do, you can't even kick a ball?” asked Rainbow.

Aria let out a frustrated growl “Shut Up!” she yelled.

“Well, why don't you prove me wrong?” Rainbow asked.

Aria stopped in her tracks and after a few moments, she turned back towards the pair. She wore a more defined scowl on her face than before. She approached the ball, stopping a few feet away from it.

“Just kick the ball into that net, but hit it like I told you” Rainbow said encouragingly.

“Rainbow, are you sure this is...” Applejack began.

“I just want to see her do it” Rainbow interrupted as she stepped out of the path between Aria and the net.

Aria looked down at the ball as if it was some age old enemy. She reared her leg back and swung it at the ball, only for it to be abruptly taken out of her path by Rainbow Dash. Aria glared at the rainbow haired girl.

“You said you wanted me to kick the stupid ball!” Aria yelled at Rainbow Dash.

“No, I said I wanted you to kick the ball the way I told you” Rainbow replied “I could tell by the way you had your foot pointed that you were gonna make the same mistake as before... or do you just like being unconscious? Now, try it again, but kick it the way I told you” Rainbow said as she gently kicked the ball back toward Aria.

Aria clenched her hands into fists as she let out a muffled shriek “How could you devote so much time to something as simple as kicking a ball?”

“I don't appreciate people mocking something they know nothing about” Rainbow replied “Plus, I honestly want to see you do it right, so you can at least walk away from this with some sort of positive memory” she said with a smirk.

“Oh yeah like me going like this” Aria said as she reared her foot back “is going to make me feel better!” Aria let loose a powerful kick and the ball rocketed through the air, curving nicely to land right into the top left corner of the net. Aria stared at the ball, surprised she had actually made a goal.

“That was one darn fine kick. That's exactly where ya want it to end up too” Applejack said encouragingly.

“I told ya, it's all in the foot. Either that or it was a fluke” Rainbow said as she began to walk over to the net.

Aria rolled her eyes and began to walk away, but to her surprise the farm girl followed her.

“Wait a second, ya still look mad. Didn't ya see what ya did?” Applejack asked.

“It's like your friend said, I probably just got lucky” Aria replied.

“Now you quit that” Applejack said as she reached out and placed her hand on Aria's shoulder.

Aria looked at the farm girls hand, then glared at Applejack before brushing her hand off.

“Rainbow didn't mean that, it's just her way of complimenting ya. Fluke or not, I'd say that was a mighty good kick for someone who's never hit a soccer ball before. Ya know, if ya wanted, Rainbow could teach ya how to make a shot like that on purpose”

“Don't waste your time on me” Aria mumbled.

“Hey, don't put yourself down like that” Applejack said with more annoyance than concern.

“Then stop acting like such an annoying little saint. I didn't come here to give you another notch in your magic of friendship belt!” yelled Aria.

“Then why in the heck did you come here?” Applejack asked, quickly growing annoyed with the siren.

“Why do you keep pretending like you care, ya hick” Aria replied, also growing extremely aggravated by Applejack's pestering presence.

“Ya want me to be honest, fine! I don't care, and you know why? Because you sirens haven't done anything with yourselves since we beat you. I figured that you'd be like Sunset, that you'd change after you got knocked down a peg, but ya haven't, and it seems like you don't want to either”

“Oh praise be with the perfect farm girl” Aria said in a mocking tone before flicking Applejack in the nose “I wonder where her perfection comes from, maybe it comes from her stupid hat!” Aria yelled before swiping the hat off Applejack's head. She then threw it to the ground and stomped on it repeatedly. Aria then looked Applejack dead in the eye “What ya gonna do now, go running to your dumb hick fam...”

Before Aria could finish, Applejack grabbed her by her hoody and tugged her closer.

“Don't you ever call my family hicks!!!” Applejack yelled.

Aria froze, she could tell by the girls pull that she was far stronger than her. Aria had always envisioned the moment she could tussle with the girls who ruined her life, but this wasn't how she had imagined it. The farm girl looked ready to tear her pig tails off and beat her to a bloody pulp, far from the sniveling and helpless person she had imagined to face. Her lips quivered and she shut her eyes as she awaited what was coming... but nothing did. She suddenly felt Applejack's grip loosen.

“I'm sorry” Appejack said as she released, Aria.

Aria opened her eyes and she stepped back. She observed the look of remorse on Applejack's face, an expression that she had not seen much of in her very long life.

“What's going on?” Rainbow called as she quickly ran over to the two.

Before Aria could think about what she was doing, she suddenly began to sprint away as fast as her legs could carry her.

“What happened, did she take a swing at you or something?' Rainbow asked Applejack.

Applejack let out a disappointed sigh “No, I just overreacted a bit... well, more like a whole lot”

“Don't feel bad, maybe a good shock of reality is what she needed” Rainbow said as she grabbed Applejack's hat off the ground “Plus, she did wreck your hat”

“I just got so mad that she didn't seem to care about anything. They're just throwing their lives away with pointless hate” Applejack said as she took her hat from Rainbow and began to dust it off.

“I hear ya, but contrary to popular belief, we're not miracle workers”

Back at the Dazzling's apartment...

Sonata laid asleep on the couch, clutching a throw pillow as though it were a stuffed animal.

A sudden loud slam instantly roused her from her sleep. She quickly shot up and looked at the door to see Aria looking like she had just been chased by an axe murderer.

“Why are you so sweaty looking?” asked Sonata.

Aria was too caught up in her own situation to deliver an insulting response. She placed her back against the wall and slid down to the floor.

“What happened?” Sonata asked, quickly growing more concerned.

Aria's fearful expression eventually turned into a confused look of despair.

“Aria, are you okay?” Sonata asked as she approached her fellow siren.

“I'm fine” Aria replied in a harsh tone.

Sonata let out an aggravated huff and rolled her eyes at the all too typical behavior “Fine, don't tell me what's wrong, just go ahead and be that way” Sonata said as she turned away from Aria.

“Sonata...” Aria said in a uncharacteristically soft voice “Do you think I'm still a siren?”

“What kind of a question is that, of course we're still sirens, we just don't sing anymore” Sonata replied, clearly not understanding the depth of the question.

“But... wasn't that what being a siren was all about, singing, and being in control” said Aria.

“What do you mean?” Sonata asked.

Aria looked up at Sonata, revealing the tears streaming down her face “You know how I thought I could just beat up those stupid girls? I always thought I could handle anything this stupid world could throw at me... but today I realized that among these humans I'm just a weakling... I've never wanted to go back home so bad”

Sonata quickly rushed to her despairing friend and knelt down beside her “Hey, don't be so sad, try to think of the positives, positive number one, fingers are very useful”

“No!” Aria shrieked “What's wrong with you, don't you ever stop being so stupidly cheerful”

A blank expression came to Sonata's face as she looked at the floor “Well, I'm not happy all the time. Like when you guys are at work, or when I try to hum along to a tune and it comes out all scratchy, and when I forget I can't hover and fall on the floor... and I miss home sometimes, too”

Aria felt guilt tug at her throat for her insensitivity. It was an odd sight to see Sonata so down; in an odd way it put her own situation into perspective.

The two sat quietly for several minutes wallowing in self pity

“Well, this is about the time that I get up and watch something dumb and funny on T.V” Sonata said as she stood up “You want to come, or do you need a few more minutes?”

Aria was still noticeably upset by her past encounter, but it seemed the moment had met it's climax and she would much rather spend the wind down on the couch than sitting on the floor.

“Okay” Aria replied as she stood up and walked over to the couch “You know, I missed this” she said as she sat down.

“Missed what?” Sonata asked as she flipped through the channels.

“You know, this, you and me just hanging out, no Adagio hanging over our heads and ripping apart everything we say” Aria said as she wiped the water from her eyes.

“It's not always like... yeah, yeah you're right” replied Sonata.

“Remember when we first found her and she was so nervous she could hardly move” Aria said as she chuckled at the memory.

“Yeah, whatever happened to that? After the first few times she performed with us she couldn't wait to get out in front of a crowd”

“I guess we created a monster” Aria said jokingly.

“Come to think of it, I don't think Adagio ever performed without us since we met her. I hope she doesn't lose it on those girls” said Sonata.

“Don't worry, Adagio talks big but she couldn't punch through a marshmallow” said Aria.

“That's not what I meant”

Canterlot High Gymnasium

2:05 pm.

Adagio, the self proclaimed leader of the sirens, once a legendary creature known for absolute control and dominance over her victims... stood motionless just off center of the gymnasium stage. She stood alone, in a red dress, looking out at the small crowd of fashion forwards students staring back up at her. There was no sound other than the distant buzzing of an air conditioning unit. All eyes were on Adagio, all the attention was on Adagio, many would think this would be a dream come true for the siren. But for a moment, the cruel Adagio was gone, replaced by a version of herself she thought she had long forgotten. The scared creature that hid in the bushes so long ago had returned and she had no idea why.

Chapter 6

Sunday 1:47 pm.

Adagio looked up at the school that had been the sight of her downfall from magic creature among insects to one of the very insects she despised.

She was still a siren by definition. If she ever managed to leave this world, she would most likely come out on the other side with fins and scales rather than a mane or four hooves. But, the feeling of being a siren, the feeling of dominance over ones prey was gone and a massive blow to her ego had been dealt.

Her two companions could never understand what it was like to once again have her dream snatched away just when it was coming to fruition. Twice now she had been burned by some magical fools refusal to submit. First that Starswirl the bearded, and more recently those disgustingly perky little brats. A being like her should never have been limited by some pathetic do gooders.

But she would endure, just like she always had. With her head held high and a plan festering in her head, Adagio walked to the doors of the oddly horse themed school. She grabbed hold of the door handles and flung them open to make for a dramatic entrance... only to realize a second later that the halls were completely empty.

“Oh yeah... weekend” Adagio said to herself as she walked inside. The only sound within earshot was the sound of Adagio's shoes clicking against the floor “This place is kind of creepy when no one's around” she said as she made her way toward the school's gym.

The sound of muffled voices became apparent as Adagio stepped up to the gym door. She opened it and peeked inside.

“What the heck is this?” she said to herself as she looked out at the few dozen students seated before the stage “Why would they want me to come here?” she thought as stepped out from behind the door; she half expected the group to suddenly turn into an angry mob at the sight of her arrival.

A few moments passed by and nothing happened. Everyone seemed too caught up in talking among themselves or setting up for event to notice her.

She looked around for either of the two girls she was supposed to meet, but there was no sign of them. She slowly stepped towards the few rows of chairs set up in front of the stage and sat down on the edge of one of the rows, a few seats away from a pair of eccentrically dressed students.

“What's this all about?” she asked the pair, interrupting their conversation.

The two students looked over to Adagio. They remained silent, unsure of how to respond to someone who had tried to take over the world. After a moment of silence, the two students quickly moved to the opposite end of the row.

Adagio still had no idea what was going on and she wasn't about to go up and ask anymore of these students if that was the response she was going to get. After all, it was only a matter of time before the answer would present itself.

Just as Adagio finished that thought, a rather frazzled looking Rarity walked on stage with a microphone on her hand.

“Welcome” Rarity began “We're just about ready to get our little fashion show underway. Designers be sure to have your models ready, and if there are complications with an outfit please be sure to let us know beforehand. We don't want any wardrobe malfunctions like last time. Also if everyone picks up their chair on the way out then we can get this place cleaned up before the basketball team arrives for practice” Rarity then quickly walked off stage.

“A fashion show... this is their reformation plan. What is wrong with these people!” she said aloud, attracting the attention of a few nearby students “If these girls were going to waste my time they could have at least had the decency to do something that makes sense” Adagio quickly got up from her seat and walked to the stage.

Just as she prepared to climb onto the stage, she heard a familiar voice ask “Adagio, what are you doing?”

Adagio looked to see Sunset Shimmer approaching her. She turned away from Sunset for a moment and took a deep breath, then put on a false smile.

She turned to face Sunset “I was just looking for you.” she said cheerily “You did ask for me to take time out my busy life to come here”

“Actually, you were supposed to be here to help set up over half an hour ago” Sunset replied. We figured you weren't going to show up”

“Why would I want to miss this...” Adagio began before she quickly glanced around “Fashion contest... it is a fashion contest, right?”

“It's more of a show case” Sunset replied “No winners or losers, just a good opportunity for people to show their stuff”

“So, it's one of those noncompetitive feel good things where no one is allowed to lose because it might scar them for life” Adagio said smugly.

“Well... kind of.” Sunset replied “Even though there's no clear winner, everyone can tell who gets the most applause. But putting a number along with it just takes away from the fun”

“And why did you think this was a good place to start this little reformation process of yours?” asked Adagio.

“Well, if you would have came on time, you could have mingled with everyone while we set up, but it's safe to say you've missed that opportunity”

“If you ask me it seems you still have some setting up to do” Adagio said as she looked around at the relatively unchanged gymnasium.

Sunset shrugged off the subtle jab “Some people couldn't make it, so we did all we could with the time we had”

“Hmm... yes” Adagio agreed “The fashion types tend to be better at be being the show rather than setting it up”

“Yeah, I asked them to set up these chairs while I got a spot light from the electronics room and when I came back they all looked like they had just ran a ten mile marathon. I don't know whether it's that they're out of shape, lazy, or both...” Sunset metaphorically bit her tongue as the last few words escaped her mouth “... don't tell them I said that”

“Pfft... what are they gonna do, make you a tacky outfit” Adagio joked.

The two shared a laugh that quickly fizzled out to an awkward chuckle, then stopped altogether.

“Well... as it stands now, the show is really the only part left” said Sunset “So if you wanted to duck out and try this again another time that would be fine”

“Oh, I wouldn't dream of leaving” she said as she forced her smile wider “After all, I'd like the chance to get to know you and your friends better. After all, me and you do come from the same world, and I would assume suffer some similar pitfalls, right?”

“I guess so” Sunset replied “But admittedly, you may have it a bit better than me”

“How so?” Adagio asked.

“Well, I came here alone, and you got sent here with your friends.” Sunset replied.

“Friends is really too generous of a word for the other two” said Adagio “I just seem to be perpetually stuck with them. Back in Equestria I needed them as back up singers, and here I need their help to pay rent. I can scarcely remember the last time I did anything without them hanging on my coat tails. Speaking of followers, where did Little Ms. Fashion go running off to?”

“I'm not sure. I'm supposed to model her dress, but I've barely seen her all day. I thought by now she'd be getting me ready to go on stage... unless” Sunset let out a small groan. “I need to go deal with something. Just stay here and enjoy the show” she said to Adagio before quickly walking to the exit.

The lights in the gym suddenly dimmed.

Adagio clasped her hands together and let out a happy sigh “Beautiful tension”

Meanwhile in the music room...

Rarity stood before a mannequin displaying her latest and not so greatest creation. A dark red velvet dress... just a dark red strapless dress, no sequins or patterns, just a perfectly functional dark red dress. The blandness of the outfit disgusted her slightly.

How could this have happened, how could she have brought such a flare-less garment into existence? Well, the answer was a simple as a few too many errands to run, a few too many tests to study for and a weekend trip to the lake that ripped her away from her work.

Now, Rarity tried desperately to find some way to add a little bit of pzazz to the dress. But times was limited, actually it was gone. The show would be starting without her and their was no time in the schedule to allow for an extra ten or twelve minutes to complete a garment.

“Why is it that when a fashion show requires more time it's an utter inconvenience, but when a sporting event run long it's just over time” she said before muffling a shriek.

A knock on the door frame, followed by a familiar “Ahem” caught Rarity off guard. She quickly turned around to see Sunset Shimmer standing in the door way with her arms crossed and an annoyed expression on her face.

“You don't look happy” Rarity said.

“Not particularly” Sunset said as she closed the door behind her.

Unbeknownst to the two, just a little ways down the hall, Adagio crept towards the music room. She stopped at the door and listened to the the girls talking. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but Adagio assumed the conversation would be heated... or at least unpleasant. A conversation that would be even more unpleasant if she was a part of it. Perhaps this was the opportunity she'd been looking for to start placing wedges between them. It was time to bring out those old Siren skills for causing disorder.

Adagio's mind teemed with ideas of how she would begin dismantling them. Perhaps she would pull at their patience with each other, or lure one of them into insulting the other. The possibilities seemed endless and deliciously satisfying. Her body tingled as she placed her hand on the door knob.

“Here we go” she said to herself as she slowly turned the knob, then thrust the door open for a dramatic entrance.

However, instead of seeing the surprised faces of the two girls, she was met with a loud thump and a shocked gasp from Rarity. She quickly looked around for Sunset. Adagios' eyes widened and her face turned red as she looked down to see Sunset sitting on the ground, holding her head.

“Uhh... oops” Adagio uttered out as she stood over Sunset, dumbstruck by what she had just done.

Sunset glared up at Adagio, but her reactionary anger lessened as she saw something she hadn't seen before. A look of genuine emotion on Adagios' face.

“Sunset, are you alright?” Rarity asked as she quickly moved to Sunset's side.

“I'm fine” Sunset replied as she struggled to her get to her feet.

“You don't look fine” said Adagio.

Rarity shot Adagio an annoyed glare in response “I do not think this is the time for you to be talking”

“Rarity, it's okay” said Sunset “It was an accident... right, Adagio?” she asked.

“You say that like it may not have been” Adagio replied.

Rarity let out a dismissive “Hmph”.

“Now can we please get ready for the...” Sunset stopped mid sentence, as she placed her hand against the quickly growing red spot on the side of head.

“Oh, you poor dear, you might have a concussion” said Rarity.

“I'm... fine” Sunset strained to say “I just need some ice or something and I'll be okay”

“Well... alright” Rarity hesitantly agreed “But you're not risking going on stage like that”

“But your dress...” Sunset began.

“No buts” Rarity said “We're going to get you some ice and sit you down somewhere to rest. The dress can wait for another time”

The friendly concern the two had for each other sickened Adagio, but she was in no position to try make a move, lest the two's patience with her come to an end. Adagio rolled her eyes, the tense moment was gone anyway.

“Just wait here for a moment while I go get some ice” Rarity said before quickly walking out of the room.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” Adagio asked in her falsely sweet tone.

Sunset ignored Adagio's question as she leaned against the wall, holding her hands on the side of her head.

“Um...” Adagio uttered as she looked around for a distraction from the awkward situation “... is that the dress your buddy was working on?” Adagio asked as she walked over to the outfit “So you were going to model this? Uh... I bet you would have looked great in it”

“You can stop now” Sunset grumbled.

“I haven't the slightest clue what you're talking about, Sunny” Adagio responded.

“You can stop the whole little Ms. Perfect routine... and Sunny, really?” Sunset asked, her patience growing thinner and thinner with each word Adagio spoke.

“I'm trying to be nice” said Adagio.

“You're not acting like yourself” Sunset retorted.

“So you're saying I'm not a nice person” Adagio said with mock out rage.

Sunset paused as she carefully considered her next words. But before anything else could be said by either; Rarity returned with a bag of ice in hand. Rarity gently placed the bag of ice on Sunsets head.

“Thanks” Sunset said as she took the bag from Rarity.

“Well, I should go back to the gym and tell them we've had... a little...” Rarity trailed off as she looked over to Adagio.

Adagio took offense to Rarity's odd stare “Oh come on! It was an accident, you don't have to look at me like I'm from another planet”

“No it's not that...” Rarity began as her eyes moved back and forth between Adagio and the dress “Adagio, have you ever modeled anything before?”

“What the heck are you talking about?” Adagio asked.

“Well, from an aesthetic point of view, your, height, figure and skin tone is almost identical to Sunsets, whom I had originally designed the dress for” Rarity explained “Also, you did just whack Sunset with a door”

“Hey, that means I owe her one, I didn't hit you with anything” Adagio retorted “And I must say I think it's insensitive to Sunny”

“It's not a big issue for me... and stop calling me Sunny” Sunny said flatly.

“Think about it for a moment, Adagio” Rarity said as she quickly walked over to Adagio and placed her arm around her shoulders “Just imagine, the lights, the crowd, and you at the center of it all”

Adagio caught herself before making a snappy remark. Despite all her best attempts to shoot the idea down in her mind, Adagio couldn't help but be intrigued by the idea. She had missed the stage and the attention it brought; plus this act of goodwill could put her in a better position for the next phase of her plan. The only issue was to not seem too desperate... scratch that, desperate is exactly how she wanted to seem.

“That sounds lovely” Adagio exclaimed as she clasped her hands together in feigned excitement.

“That's the spirit” Rarity said encouragingly “But we mustn't tarry any longer. The shows just about to get started. Come on” she said before she grabbed the dress, and Adagio's wrist.

Rarity quickly darted out of the room and down the hall, with Adagio in tow.

A few minutes later...

The stage was set, the lights were dimmed, and the spot lights were on. The show was underway. But as the student models walked across the stage, Rarity waited impatiently outside the girls change room for Adagio. She nervously looked back and forth between the change room door and the stage, counting down the models left before her her dress was meant to take the stage.

“Adagio, are you almost ready?” Rarity asked.

“You just asked me that 20 seconds ago” Adagio replied.

“I take it from that response you're still not ready” Rarity said as she turned to see another student walking out onto the stage.

“Alright, I'm ready” Adagio said as she exited the change room and stood before Rarity.

Rarity looked Adagio over, but something still wasn't quite right. The dress fit Adagio to a tee, the deep crimson eye shadow matched perfectly with the outfit, and even though Adagio's shoes didn't match anything else, they were covered by the dress enough that no one would be able to notice.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Adagio asked “I knew it, I probably look ridiculous”

“No, no... There's just no pop, no sizzle, no...” Rarity began.

Adagio chuckled “Allow me to supply the Dazzle. You go sit down, I'll take it from here” she said as she walked toward the stage.

Rarity let out a worried moan, unsure of what would happen next. She walked to an empty seat beside Sunset and flopped down.

“Problem?” Sunset asked.

“Just a little worried” Rarity replied.

“I wouldn't be too worried, she's in suck up mode” said Sunset “If anything she'll try too hard”

“That sounds more troubling than her not trying at all” Rarity said as the last model before Adagio walked off the stage.

The room fell silent as the audience waited for the next model to take the stage. The spotlight rested at the edge of the curtain. Adagio reached her arm out from behind the curtain and pulled it back to reveal herself.

She stood with her head held high and a dignified look on her face. She slowly stepped out onto the stage, but the silence endured. Adagio looked out at the crowd as she walked toward center stage; some of the students weren't even paying attention to her, a few others were gawking at their phones and everyone else wore blank expressions. Distracted by the audience, Adagio stepped beyond the X marking the center of the stage. Her cheeks became red from embarrassment and she awkwardly shuffled back to the X.

In the crowd, Sunset and Rarity sat perplexed by what they were seeing. What happened to the confident girl they had just spoken to minutes before. Adagio had seemed perfectly at home on stage back during the battle of the bands, but now she looked awkward and scared.

Dozens of questions rattled around in Adagio's mind. “Why aren't they looking at me? Why hasn't anyone clapped yet? Am on the stupid X now? Why is that air conditioner so loud? Shouldn't there be some music or something? Why would they rather look at those stupid phones than me? I just want go home?”

Adagio smiled a bit too wide as she began to turn and move off stage. Just as she began to make her exit, the applause began. Adagio's face lit up with genuine joy and she looked back at the crowd as she walked away. Without looking where she was going, Adagio found herself walking straight into the curtain. She quickly corrected her mistake, but it was too late. All but Rarity burst into an abrupt fit of laughter.

“Oh the poor dear” Rarity said concernedly.

“What are you talking about? That was hilarious... she did mean for it to be funny, right?” Sunset asked as her laughter dissipated.

“I don't think Adagio is much of a comedian. She's probably run off somewhere to throw a fit. I'd better go look for her” Rarity said as she stood.

Sunset then looked past Rarity “I don't think finding her is going to be a problem” she said before pointing towards a frustrated looking Adagio stomping towards the female change room.

“I should probably go check on her” Rarity said.

“Wait a second” Sunset said as she grabbed Rarity's wrist “Maybe just watch the storm for a minute before you run into it”

The two observed Adagio as she stormed into the change room. A little over a minute passed by and Adagio exited the change room wearing her usual outfit, with Rarity's dress draped over her forearm. She glanced over to Rarity to see the fashionista giving her a thumbs up. Adagio scowled at Rarity before she tossed the dress to the ground, then headed for the nearest exit.

“Well that was a tad dramatic” said Rarity “I suppose I should be glad the dress is still in one piece”

“That was weird; she started out so confident, then she just fell apart” said Sunset

“I know, I didn't really take her for the stage fright type... do you think we should go talk to her about it?” Rarity asked.

“Maybe when my head stops throbbing” Sunset said as she rubbed the sides of her head.

A long, long time ago...

The rain hid the tears of Adagio as she frantically hovered threw a wheat field. She looked back in the direction of the village she had failed to coax negative energy out of. It had been the same story as dozens of times before; a few too many ponies caused her nerves to get the get the best of her and her song turned into a quivering whimper. The crowd then turned into an angry mob upon the realization of Adagio's intent.

She began to calm down as she saw that nonpony was following. She then stopped and hid among the tall wheat.

She wiped the tears from her eyes but they were quickly replaced. Her tears were not from anger, or fear. There was a more essential cause for her sorrow... hunger.

3:02 pm.

Adagio stomped down the halls of Sunny Shades. Her eyes brimmed with frustration, not only over her embarrassing turn on stage, but also for the fact that she had not acquired any useful information to tear apart the the perpetually peppy group. There was always the slight hope that Aria may had been able to procure something useful, but she wouldn't be half surprised if her grumpy companion had simply skipped the meet up entirely.

In the end it seemed that the entire day would prove as pointless as her own attempts to be civil with the annoyingly posh designer and the weak headed outcast.

Adagio stopped in front of the door to the sirens apartment. She retraced her thoughts and thought back to her conversation with Sunset.

“She's an outsider just like us” Adagio thought to herself as a sinister smile came to her face.

The first bits of a plan began to bubble up in Adagio's mind. She should have realized this weakness from the moment she first heard of Sunset being from Equestria.

“The same pitfalls” she said to herself as she placed a hand on the door knob.

She gripped the knob tightly and flung the door open to find her two cohorts sitting on the couch. Neither of them reacted immediately, having grown accustomed to Adagio's over emphasized entrances.

“What's with you?” Aria asked.

Adagio began to chuckle maniacally “I've finally got a plan to rip those little brats apart... but first we'll need a phone”

Adagio ignored the confused looks of her fellow sirens. Nothing could bring her down from how she was feeling. She finally felt like she was close to a position of dominance, like she was in control of her own fate and the fates of those around her... plus for first time that day, her dramatic entrance hadn't backfired.

Chapter 7

Monday 12:05 pm.

The six friends were seated in the school cafeteria to discuss their progress with the Dazzlings.

“And then Applejack grabbed her. You should have seen it, she looked like she was about to sock Aria right in the nose” Rainbow said, enthusiastically recalling the previous days events.

“Applejack is that true?” asked Fluttershy.

“Huh... oh yeah, whatever ya say” Applejack replied absentmindedly as she looked out the window next to their table. Her attention had been ensnared by her spit rival, Spear.

The strange student who had bested Applejack twice now stood outside, staring out at the schools track with a lunch pale by his feet. He bent down and took an apple out of the pale, then tossed it high up into the air. Spear pointed his head upward and effortlessly sent a magnificent wad of spit up into the air. The liquid met with the apple as it descended. He then turned toward the school, meeting Applejack's stare. He held his hand out and the apple fell perfectly into his grasp, with the none of the spit touching his hand. Spear then took a bite out of the apple, silently taunting Applejack.

Applejack raised an eye brow “Okay this is just getting weird” she said as she looked away from her rival.

“Applejack!” said Sunset “We have more important things to worry about than your weird rivalry with this spit guy”

“This is important, my honor is at stake... well, my spit honor that is” the farm girl replied.

“Spit honor or no spit honor, we've got to figure out where we stand with these sirens so we can plan our next move” said Sunset “So lets just recap how things went”

“Well, Adagio was generally abrasive and sarcastic, but not in a funny way, like in a, I'm so above everything else kind of way” said Rarity

“Applejack almost punched Aria” said Rainbow.

Applejack shot Rainbow Dash a warning glare.

“She messed with my hat” Applejack said as she crossed her arm and slunk back into her seat. The group gave a collective nod of understanding.

“Nothing went wrong with Sonata, she just seems a bit depressed about losing her powers” said Pinkie.

“I would imagine that's how they all feel, they're just working through it in different ways” said Fluttershy.

“But how are we supposed to help with that? We don't even really understand what they lost when their gems broke” said Rainbow.

“I think Rainbow Dash is right” Fluttershy concurred “We need to get a better understanding of what they're going through, or else we don't actually know what we should be doing”

“Maybe we could just get them replacements” said Rarity. Rarity looked around at the unenthusiastic faces “Well it would make me feel better”

“You ever notice we never talk about school stuff?” Pinkie asked.

“Little off topic, Pinkie” said Sunset.

“I know, I just haven't gotten to say much in the chapter of our lives that is today” Pinkie replied.

“Okay... but back to the matter at hand” said Sunset “So we're all pretty confident we need a bit more time with them before we can come up with a plan?”

“I think that's the general consensus” said Rarity.

“Whatever gets the whole thing done faster” said Rainbow.

“Actually, I don't think me and Pinkie would mind hanging out with Sonata again” said Fluttershy.

Pinkie nodded in agreement.

“I'm not sure how Aria will react the next time she sees me” said Applejack.

“Hmm... maybe it would be better if you didn't” said Rainbow.

“You got a point. I'd most likely just rile her up just by being there. Besides it'll give me time to focus on... other things” she said as she looked back out the window to see Spear still staring inside.

He pointed his face to the sky and let out mighty spit. He then removed his hat and tossed it behind him like a Frisbee. The wad of spit landed in the hat before it gently fell to the ground. Spear walked backwards, holding his stare with Applejack. He picked up his hat and placed it back onto his head, taunting the farm girl. Spear then shot a come and get me gesture before confidently strutting away.

“Did he just he just put on a hat he spat in, how uncouth” said Rarity.

“I hate that guy” Applejack said through gritted teeth.

Inside the city mall, the three sirens stood peering through the window of a small electronics store as people walked by, unaware of their other wordly presence. Adagio chuckled and wrung her hands together.

“So explain it to me again why we need a cell phone all of a sudden” Sonata asked.

“I already explained that to you” Adagio snapped.

“No you didn't, you just woke both of us up and said 'hey girls I've finally gotta plan'” Aria said mockingly “Why do you even need us for this anyway, we don't know anymore about this human technology than you do”

“I need you two to stand out here and watch for anyone from that school while I'm inside. I don't want anyone blabbing about what we're doing to those girls”

“Won't they be in school, ya know learning stuff?” asked Sonata.

“This place is only a short walk away from the school and from my understanding, high school students are allowed to leave the school during lunch hours or free periods, and the mall is the stereotypical hang out for students with nothing better to do”

“Maybe you could have just worn a disguise” Sonata suggested.

Adagio scoffed at the notion “Don't make stupid suggestions” she shot back.

Sonata crossed her arms and let out a defiant, humph.

“Now, you two understand your task?” asked Adagio. The two nodded in response “Good” she said as she walked away and entered the store.

The two stood in silence for a moment or two.

“Hey” said Aria “You know why she shot down your idea?” she asked.

Sonata shrugged her shoulders in response.

“Because she'd never be able to hide all that hair” Aria said with a smile.

Sonata's sour expression melted away as she let out a chuckle, which Aria quickly joined her in.

“You want to ditch her?” asked Aria.

“Sure, we'd probably just get yelled at for not standing in the right spot good enough anyway” said Sonata

“I saw you two blink 40 times while I was in the, do you realize what can go wrong in that time!” Aria said mockingly, as she attempted to mimic Adagio's voice.

The two laughed as they walked away from the store.

Inside the store, Adagio walked up to an employee and asked “Could you help me find a phone that can record videos?”