The Sound of Silence
Twilight Sparkle had never really sat and listened to many holiday songs before. She really didn't bother now, either. But the soft strings that accompanied most of them were a nice backdrop as she marched down the sidewalk through the downtown area of Canterlot city. The snow was coming down light and fluffy, the best kind of snow, but it brought with it the soft chilly bite of the wind that blew her hair back out of her face. She didn't mind the cold that much though, she was snug in her thick winter coat, and she was too busy listening to her friend to pay it much heed.
"There are six types of ponies that I know of aside from the princesses..." Sunset Shimmer continued their conversation, lifting one gloved finger as she made her list. "Earth ponies, pegasus ponies, unicorns, crystal ponies, sea ponies, and bat ponies."
"Bat ponies?" Twilight lifted her eyebrow with a light scoff. "I think you just made up those last few."
"No, for real!" Sunset lifted her arms. "They all totally exist! Bat ponies are pretty rare, but I could show you one any time!"
"Oh really? So tell me a bit about them. For my scientific curiosity."
"Well, bat ponies eat flies, obviously." Sunset shimmer nodded with authority.
"What? No way! Ponies that eat flies?"
"Yep. And crystal ponies eat rocks."
Twilight Sparkle narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she pulled off her glasses to wipe some of the forming fog from her lenses. "And how does their metabolism digest these things?"
"Metabo..." Sunset trailed off and shook her head. "How should I know? They don't have that kind of medical science there."
"That sounds pretty convenient."
"It sure does."
Twilight finally chuckled as she slipped her glasses back into place. "Alright, anything else you can tell me about Equestria?"
"Well, the sun and moon don't move on their own, ponies move them."
"Oh come on, you expect me to believe that!?"
Sunset laughed. "You'll believe that ponies eat rocks but you won't believe something that's totally true?"
Twilight stopped in her tracks to press a finger to her friend's chest. "Aha! You admit you were lying!"
Sunset folded her arms across her chest stubbornly and looked away. "I admit no such thing." Her playful smile faded as her eyes settled on a small alleyway leading away from the main sidewalk. Twilight followed her gaze to see a faint orange glow flickering against the wall. "Is something on fire over there? Someone could be in trouble!" Without waiting for a response, Sunset Shimmer took off running towards the alley.
"Sunset, wait!" Twilight rushed after her, but couldn't hope to catch up to the more athletic nerd. She tailed her friend into the alley, only catching up with her at the far end of the alley, where Sunset had stopped to peer down an offshoot between buildings. There were three blanketed forms surrounding a steel drum set up in the center of the alley, with a bright orange fire lighting up the growing evening gloom.
"Who are they?" Sunset turned toward Twilight, speaking in a soft voice.
"Probably homeless..." Twilight hugged her jacket around her a bit tighter.
"There are homeless people in this world? How come I've never seen them before?"
"It's not that surprising, you live out in the suburb. They tend to gather in the city center where there's a lot of shelter, and spare food and clothing." Twilight turned to look at the three huddled forms again. One had turned its head towards them, but she still couldn't see a face under the hood of a dirty, ratty sweater worn underneath the thick blanket. "We should get out of here, they can be dangerous and desperate."
"It's freezing out here, Twilight, and only getting colder." Sunset turned toward her. "Isn't there anywhere they can go?"
"There's a homeless shelter a couple of blocks from here, but maybe they just don't want to go..."
"Or maybe they just need someone to show them the way." Sunset Shimmer took Twilight's hand in a firm grip. Twilight bit her lip nervously, but found herself unable to do anything but nod acceptance.
Sunset Shimmer took a few steps towards the figures, raising her voice to be heard. "Excuse me, are you three lost?" The figure looking at them just jerked a hand dismissively in their direction and turned back to the fire. Sunset Shimmer took a few more steps forward. "It's really cold out here, I think it'd be good for you to get inside. My friend knows where there's a shelter for you. You could come with us and we'll show you where it is."
The figure on the far side of the fire raised its head now under its hood, but the nearer one waved a sharp hand and it lowered its head again. "Hey, don't be afraid, we want to help you. You don't even have to talk to me if you don't want to, just come with us."
The nearer figure jerked another dismissive hand at them over its shoulder, but the far one raised its hooded head again and slowly climbed to its feet. "Yeah, we'll show you right where it is. We can be there before nightfall easily." Sunset Shimmer held her hand out to what was now clearly a smaller figure under the blanket. The figure moved toward them, but the nearer one shot out a hand to stop it before it could pass, grabbing hold of the figure's left hand.
Sunset Shimmer rushed forward now, taking the figure's other hand and tugging at it. "Hey, leave... her...?" Sunset Shimmer trailed off slowly, staring into the hood of the standing figure. Now that it was standing and held tight near the fire, the orange light was casting its glow into the dark hood, revealing the shockingly young-looking face of a teenage girl. "Sonata Dusk?"
The nearer figure leapt to its feet suddenly, jerking around and shoving Sunset Shimmer back with both palms on her shoulders. Twilight yelped and grabbing Sunset's jacket, tugging her away from the aggressive girl whose hood had fallen from her head with her furious motions. She too looked very young, but also very angry, her eyes fixed on Sunset's. The third figure stood more slowly and moved to join its companions, also revealed to be a girl when she lowered her own hood.
Twilight's heart was pounding as she tugged at Sunset's arm to try to get her to retreat, but Sunset just put a calming hand on Twilight's, gave her a comforting smile, then turned back to the three girls.
Sunset took another step forward with her back straight, looking at each girl in turn. "Adagio. Sonata. Aria. I don't know what you three are doing out here, and I don't care. I just want you to get out of the cold." Adagio scoffed and rolled her eyes, pointing a finger at Sunset, then turning her finger back towards the alley entrance. "What happened to you? I know you can talk, why aren't you talking?" Sonata's cheeks flushed crimson, but Aria and Adagio only looked more angry, both of them pointing at the alley entrance again.
Sunset shook her head. "Why are you being so stubborn? I'm trying to help you! Whatever you did before, you don't deserve this!"
Adagio scowled and just waved dismissively at them again, turning to move back towards the flaming steel drum. Aria followed suit, but Sonata just watched the other two move, then turned back toward Sunset with big, wet eyes.
Twilight Sparkle stepped forward now, feeling slightly more comfortable dealing with teenage girls as opposed to creepy men far older than her, especially ones Sunset seemed to know. "If you won't let us take you to a shelter... at least... at least let us get you some dinner. A warm dinner." Sonata's face lit up like the sun itself and she whirled back to the other two, but they were just glaring daggers at Twilight's face. Twilight cleared her throat and tugged on the bottom of her jacket. "Um... please?"
Sunset stepped between them suddenly. "This isn't who you think it is. This is the native Twilight, she hasn't done anything to you." Adagio sneered and pointed an accusing finger at Sunset. "Yes, I did something to you... but I just want to help you now. I had no idea you were out here living like this. Like Twilight said, at least let us get you some dinner. We can hash this out, no obligations."
Sonata danced closer to them with a happy grin, turning to look back at her two companions. They were both glaring sharply at the three of them until Aria just let out a soft sigh, shrugged, and moved towards them. Adagio's hand snapped out to grab her wrist, but Aria just slapped it away with one careless gesture and moved out of her reach, joining Sonata's side. Adagio's fists clenched at her sides and her lip curled in a vicious snarl.
"Come on Adagio, what's dinner gonna hurt?" Sunset asked in a soft tone. "Your friends have obviously voted, and it doesn't look like you have anything to lose. Just have something decent to eat... it looks like you need it."
Adagio's cheeks went crimson when a grumbling sound suddenly echoed out from her stomach. Her hands clutched her body to silence it, but it was too late. With the other four girls watching her expectantly, she finally let her hang against her chest for a moment before straightening up with pride and marching toward the crowd. Sonata jumped and clapped enthusiastically, then turned to join the others as Twilight led the way down the sidewalk.
As they walked slightly ahead of the three girls, Twilight leaned close to Sunset to whisper softly. "How do you know these girls?"
"It's a long story." Sunset shook her head. "Let's just say you and I weren't the only girls who had a lesson to learn at CHS, recently... and I'm not the only one here from Equestria."
"Are they friends of yours, at least?"
Sunset chuckled. "Not even a little bit..."
"I see..." Twilight looked up as they approached the restaurant she and Sunset had been walking towards in the first place. "You're a good person, Sunset Shimmer."
"I'm doing my best..." Sunset trailed off, then turned back to their entourage. "Come on, we were gonna have a good Hearth's Warming dinner as friends here. Table's definitely big enough for five, and I've got the bill, so order whatever you want."
Sonata licked her lips as she stared up at the sign, Aria shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest, and Adagio still looked suspicious, but her rumbling stomach seemed to get the better of her caution, and the five girls made their way into the warm interior of the restaurant.
The waitress showed them to their booth towards the back wall of the restaurant promptly. Sunset sat against the wall with Adagio and Aria filling in the rest of her bench, while Twilight took the wall seat on the opposite side, and Sonata happily let herself fill out the remainder of their bench. A strangely awkward silence fell over the table as the girls waited for their menus, selected their entrees, and sat back to wait for them to be delivered.
"Are you going to say anything at all?" Sunset Shimmer finally asked in a low voice. The three strange girls just stared at her for a moment before each shaking their heads. "I just don't get why. Have you lost the ability to talk?" Adagio shook her head. "You just refuse to." Adagio nodded. "Any particular reason for that?" Adagio just glared at her, crossing her arms over her chest with a look that said what she thought of Sunset's question. "Yeah, I guess that was kind of a dumb question."
"Hey, you can still communicate with us." Twilight's hands dug through her pockets for a moment, producing a pen and a small notepad. "I like to carry around some things in case thoughts hit me while I'm out. It tends to happen a lot. Here you go." She passed the writing implements over to Adagio, who took them with a bit of a scowl, but her expression softened as she scribbled quickly on the top page. Twilight noted that her handwriting was surprisingly neat, actually.
We won't talk because we hate our ugly disgusting voices.
"Ugly voices?" Sunset Shimmer blinked in surprise.
We always had ugly voices back before we found our talismans. Without our magic we're back to shaming ourselves with every word. So we don't talk.
"That sounds so sad." Twilight managed to read Adagio's writing upside down. It wasn't difficult, really. It was very neat handwriting. "Your voices can't be that bad, can they? I mean, you're pretty girls, how bad could they be?"
Bad enough to replace them for good and thank you for not asking us about it anymore!
"Okay, okay." Sunset Shimmer raised her hands defensively and moved away from her, closer to the wall. "I'll drop it."
An uncomfortable silence settled over the girls as they waited for the waitress to return with their meal. Twilight stared across the table at Adagio's flushed, rosey face, only eventually becoming aware that the girl seated beside her was staring at her. Twilight cast Sonata a cautious look to see the girl smiling. She raised her hand and wiggled her fingers in greeting. Twilight wiggled her fingers back with a sheepish smile.
Sonata scooted closer with a curious look in her eyes. She lifted one finger to tap her nail on the edge of Twilight's glasses, her eyes narrowing. Twilight reached up to gently lift her glasses off and hold them out to the curious girl. A light squeak of delight came from the aqua blur's throat as she plucked the glasses out of Twilight's fingers to examine them closer. She turned them around in her hands slowly, poking at the lenses with her fingertip.
Her fingers turned the glasses curiously and pulled them onto her nose. Her eyes twitched and she suddenly leaned backwards clear out of the booth, landing on the carpet with a solid thunk. There were two solid slaps as Aria and Adagio facepalmed on the other side of the booth, but Sonata was back on her feet quickly with a sheepish grin on her lips. She slid back into the booth and handed Twilight her glasses back quickly, which she put back on.
"Heh, yeah, they're kind of a strong prescription." Twilight explained as the world around her became clear again.
Sonata turned toward the table again just as the waitress arrived with their food. Three tuna burgers were placed in front of each of their guests, while Twilight and Sunset each set their bowls of salad in front of them. Their meal began in the same silence that had dominated while they waited, with each girl remaining largely focused on the plate in front of them.
Twilight Sparkle couldn't resist glancing around the table at the others, her eyes settling on Adagio, who looked the most upset out of them all. She was putting up a tough angry front... but Twilight could see in her eyes that she was hurting the most. Especially now that she thought nobody was looking. The entire reason Twilight invited them here was to get them to relax and listen, that wasn't going to happen by letting this silence continue.
Twilight raised her napkin to wipe off her lips before speaking. "You said something about replacing your voices. How did you do that?"
Adagio waved her off, shoving the pen and paper pointedly away from her and picking up her tuna burger again. Sonata looked down for a moment, then reached across the table to pull the pad towards her. Her own handwriting was a lot messier than Adagio's, but still legible.
We found the magic stones.
"Magic stones?" Sunset's interest was piqued immediately.
The Siren Stones. We looked all over Equestria for them because we wanted to be singers.
Sunset Shimmer leaned forward across the table, giving Sonata an intense look. "Siren Stones? You mean those pendants were something you found?"
Yep. We really wanted to be singers, but our voices were not so good.
"If you didn't like the way your voices sounded, why did you want to be singers?" Twilight asked curiously. "You could have been anything, right?"
Sonata pursed her lips for a moment before turning to a fresh page to continue. Yeah, but we came to the surface and heard some ponies putting on a concert.
Twilight put a hand on Sonata's to pause her writing. "Surface?"
We lived in the water. I don't know what land ponies call us, don't care. Maybe Adagio or Aria would know? Sonata looked over at her two friends, reaching over to tap each of their arms. Adagio continued pointedly glaring at her food and Aria simply seemed not to care about the conversation, so she continued. Anyway, they were so pretty that we sat all day and just listened to them perform one after the other. A wistful smile lit up her features as she wrote. When the concert ended we decided we wanted to do that. We wanted to be singers and make such pretty songs!
"Awww..." Twilight couldn't stifle a smile. "That's really sweet, actually."
Sonata smiled wider as she continued writing. We practiced for months! We were gonna do it! We were gonna be singers! We were gonna be the ones on a stage making so many ponies love us and adore us! We were gonna wear super cute makeup!
"So what happened? How did you go from that to... well, what happened at CHS?" Sunset Shimmer asked curiously.
We signed up for the festival the next year. But Sonata hesitated for a moment, then let out a soft sigh under her breath and finished her sentence. we were laughed off the stage. They said our songs were the worst they ever heard, and our voices should stay in the water where nopony can hear them.
"That's awful!" Twilight put a hand on her shoulder. "What a terrible thing to say."
Sonata moved the pen to the paper again, but Adagio suddenly ripped the notepad away from her and slammed it down on the table, giving her a sharp glare. Sonata shrunk back on her bench and slid the pen back across the table, where Adagio snapped it up.
We don't want your pity. Adagio scribbled quickly before she slammed the pen back down on the notepad.
"It's not pity, it's sympathy." Sunset Shimmer kept her voice calm, despite the glint in her eye.
Same thing. Adagio scribbled.
Twilight spoke up now, hoping to diffuse the argument. "Adagio, we're not trying to make fun of you. We'd just like to understand you a little better, that's all." Adagio shot her a sharp glare, but she didn't respond. "I mean... you seem like a smart girl... you know what you're doing... why are you sleeping in the alley and avoiding the shelters? Why didn't you want to come get the dinner we offered you? It's like you're intentionally avoiding things that can make life better for you."
Adagio's fist clenched as Sonata and Aria turned to watch her at that, their eyes wide in realization. Adagio's eyes bore into Twilight's, then flitted back and forth between her two friends.
"Adagio?" Sunset asked. "Are you doing that?"
Adagio tried to storm out of the booth, but Aria put a hand on her chest and shoved her back roughly to the bench, pushing her down and slapping the notepad into her chest with a glare. Sonata's eyes widened, looking back and forth between her two friends.
Red-faced, Adagio picked up the pen and held it to the paper, her words less rigid than before as her fingers shook. Yeah, maybe I am. Maybe I'm the one who realizes that the Siren Stones didn't corrupt us. Maybe I'm the one who realizes that we did all of it on our own. It was easy to figure out that the Siren Stones had side-effects. We all knew about the mind-control magic, we loved it, we loved being adored. But we weren't controlled, we were-
"Guilty." Sunset Shimmer finished before Adagio could write down the last word. "You're intentionally punishing yourself, aren't you? And you didn't tell either of them."
Adagio looked back and forth between her friends, then looked down at the table again, the pen scratching at the notepad. What are we supposed to do? Go crawling back? Ask forgiveness? I'm not even sorry. The power, the adoration, it was all amazing! I still want it!
Sonata reached out a more gentle hand, pulling the notepad softly out of Adagio's grasp and plucking the pen from her shaking fingers so she could write. But I'm sorry. I wanna be okay, Adagio. Even if we can't go home, I wanna be okay.
Aria nodded, still glaring at Adagio with her hands firmly on her hips.
"Adagio, I don't care what you did. You deserve to be warm and happy." Twilight spoke in as firm a voice as she could muster. She still wasn't very good at this. "If you want to go to the shelter, we can show you the way. If you want to get a job, we can help you look."
"I could put in a good word for you at my work." Sunset smiled over at the former siren. "It's not the most dignified job in the world, but it could help you girls get on your feet." Adagio huffed, then lifted a hand to her throat.
"You won't have to talk," Twilight assured her. "There are plenty of girls with disabilities around. They'll understand."
Adagio shook her head furiously again, but Aria finally snatched the notepad off of the table to scribble in a hasty scrawl. If you won't I will. I'm not eating scraps and sleeping in the snow anymore Adagio. It's stupid, and I'm finished feeling sorry for myself. She hefted the notepad and slapped it roughly against Adagio's chest, suddenly climbing out of the booth and planting her hands on her hips. Adagio stared down at the notepad for a moment, looking like she was reading the message several times.
Adagio's eye twitched when Sonata climbed up from the booth to stand beside Aria, looking less confident, but unwavering in her stance.
"Adagio..." Sunset put her comforting hands on Adagio's shoulders from behind. "You don't have to take all of the burden by yourself. Even if you think of yourself as the leader, they made their own choices, and they can help you make yours now. You'll be fine as long as you have each other." She squeezed her shoulders comfortingly. "You were inseparable no matter how much you argued. I know you knew real friendship... and that means you can trust them to show you the way, even if you don't trust us." Sonata smiled brightly, and Aria's expression didn't change, but her eyes did soften just a smidge.
Sonata opened her arms toward Adagio expectantly, but Aria slapped her arms grumpily shut again. Adagio just stared up at the two girls, then glanced back at Sunset Shimmer over her shoulder. Sunset gave her a smile and a shallow nod, pushing on her shoulders to get her started moving towards her friends.
Adagio slid out of the booth into the arms of Sonata, whose arms slung out before Aria could slap them back down and wrapped around her in a tight hug. Adagio stared at the top of her head, then rolled her eyes and petted her with one hand. Aria's expression didn't change, but she did move just slightly closer to the other two.
Their meals finished, Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle slid out of the booth beside the three girls.
Twilight had a smile on her lips as she spoke. "Should we lead you girls to the shelter, now?"
Adagio nodded and pried Sonata off of her. She reached back across the table to pluck Twilight's notepad off of the polished wood and hold it out to her, but Twilight raised her hands in refusal. "You keep it. You might need it, and I have so many of those at home my big brother says I might have a problem."
Adagio looked down at the notepad, then nodded and held it against her chest. Twilight moved past her. "Come on, the shelter isn't even a block from here."
After gathering up their leftovers, which they handed over to the three friends, Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer led the way outside and down the snow-covered sidewalk to the homeless shelter around the corner. Twilight approached the door with her hands in her jacket pockets, then turned back to the girls. "This is it. They can take care of you here."
"And I'll keep in touch too," Sunset Shimmer insisted. "I know we got off to a pretty bad start at CHS... but I think, at the very least, you deserve the second chance I got."
Adagio nodded, glanced back at each of her friends over her shoulders, then gestured to the door. She and Aria moved to head inside, but Sonata bolted away from the other two, running up to Sunset Shimmer and taking her hand. Twilight's heart skipped a beat when she pulled Sunset Shimmer's face close to her own, but her lips veered away from the face to her ear, and Twilight could hear something barely audible pass between them.
Sunset Shimmer blinked in surprise, but gave Sonata a warm smile when she pulled back. "You're welcome."
Sonata smiled with a light squeak and turned to rejoin her friends. They both slapped the back of her head with admonishing glares, hurrying her inside with bright blushes on their cheeks.
Twilight looked up at the slightly taller girl once they were gone. "You're amazing, Sunset Shimmer."
Sunset shrugged. "Hey, I wasn't lying. I was probably as bad as they were, or worse. At the very least they should get the same opportunity I had."
"So..." Twilight glanced back at the door conspiratorially to make sure the girls were really gone. "What did she sound like? Was she as bad as they said?"
"Honestly?" Sunset Shimmer scratched the side of her head in confusion. "Her voice hasn't changed. It's the same as it was when they invaded CHS."
"Oh..." Twilight looked back at the door worriedly again. "Do you think they'll ever realize...?"
"I hope so. I can try to convince them, but it's really up to them if they ever accept that their voices are perfectly fine." Sunset pulled her jacket tighter around herself with a light shiver. "Come on, we should get out of the cold too. I'll walk you home."
"Okay, that sounds good." Twilight nodded and turned to walk with Sunset down the sidewalk, her hand snaking out to find the fiery-haired girl's. However, there was still one more thing bothering her. "You've never told me where you work."
Sunset Shimmer smirked wryly. "No, I haven't."
"Are you going to tell me where you work?"
"Nope."
Twilight blinked. "Why not?"
"Nope," was Sunset Shimmer's only response as she quickened her pace slightly.
"Hmph..." Twilight hurried to keep up with her. "You're lucky you're amazing or I would be so mad at you right now."
Sunset chuckled and slipped an arm comfortably around her shoulders. "Some questions are better left unanswered, Twi. Let's just enjoy the evening..."
