The slums. Home of the vicious Night Drake gang. Not a safe place to be after sundown. Sonata and her friends frequented there often, as it was a good source of negative emotions. Whenever they got into trouble with the locals, they could simply sing their problems away. But know that Sonata lacked that ability, she was playing with danger, and her number was about to come up.

As Sonata walked down the street, two young men drove up beside her in a white van. One was tall and had a red and orange striped hoodie. His shorter and fatter cohort had a simple brown jacket and was skulked over in the driver’s seat. “Well, well. What’s a nice piece of ass like you doing in this part of town?” said the one in the red hoodie.

“I’m just going home.” Sonata said earnestly. “Today’s been a big day for me.”

“Oh yeah?" He asked. “You need a lift?”

Sonata smiled. “Okay.” She naively stepped into the stranger’s van. It made her happy when humans showed kindness to one another. She could feel Rainbow Dash yelling something in the back of her mind, but dismissed it as her as still freaking out from her recent assimilation. Sonata sat down and buckled her seatbelt. “Thank you, Mister.”

“Name’s Garble.” said the man with in the red hoodie. “So what’s happening with you, big lady?”

“My friends are going to be so proud of me! I did something right for once. I’m so excited!”

“I’m really excited as well. A big bundle of opportunity just walked up on me.” said Garble “Say, you a street walker?”

Sonata looked at him cluelessly. “Yeah, I walk on the street. But what does that have to do with anything?”

The driver spoke in a deep voice. “Man, did this hoe step off the short bus, or what? He wants to sleep with you! Garble’s got a thing fo’ bigger chicks!” He grinned facetiously.

“Shut up, Gronkle!” snipped Garble. “But yeah, basically what he said. So howza bout it?”

“Oh, I do enjoy a good diddling!” said Sonata. “But I really need to get home.”

“Well maybe I could persuade you to open up your schedule!” Garble smirked. He pulled a gun out of his jacket and pointed at Sonata.

Sonata gasped. She was being kidnapped! "What are-?" Sonata started.

"Shut up!" Garble shouted.

“What’re you doing, man!?” Gronkle gasped .

“Shut up, Gronkle!” snipped Garble. "I'm not gonna shoot her! I've got everything under control!"

“We had her, man! You didn’t gots to pull your piece out! What wrong with you?”Grongle looked at Garble wearily.

“The bitch talked back to me!” Garble snarled. “I hate it when they talk back to me!”

“I know, but you can’t just go pulling your piece in public!” said Grongle. “I’m not going back to prison! I get arrested one more time, they gonna throw the book at me!”

"We’re not gonna get caught.” Garble assured “Nobody saw nothing, and no one’s gonna miss some stupid street walker! Now pull up to the crib, will ya?”

“Shouldn’t we just deliver her to the boss? You know he gets mad when you sample the goods.”

“Look, just pull up to the crib! We’ll deliver her later. Make sure to go in through the back so no one sees us. I wanna have some fun with her first.” Garble said with an evil grin.

“Okay…” Gronkle pulled the van up to a run-down house. “We selling this one? Or are you gonna keep her in your basement like the other bitch?” He asked.

“Depends on how good a job she does.” Garble pulled Sonata out of the van. “Now let’s move it!” He gestured with his pistol.

Sonata entered the decrepit house. Her sense of fear was gone, and in its place was anger. They had taken advantage of her naivety, her assumption that deep down, everyone was a good person at heart. There was none of that in these two. These two were kidnappers, human traffickers, slavers. She fully intended to consume them first opportunity she got. But for now, she had a gun pointed at her.

“Get in my basement!” Garble pushed Sonata down a flight creaky wooden stairs.

Sonata landed on the floor in a heap. She grunted and pulled herself up off the floor. The basement was dark and musty. In the corner was a stained mattress that appeared to have been well-used, in the other was a cage with a naked girl chained up and gagged. She looked at Sonata with teary eyes. Sonata looked back at Garble. “You’re making a big mistake.”

“Sure.” Gargle casually pointed his gun at her as he skipped down the stairs. ”Now why don’t you shut up and take your damn clothes off?”

Sonata removed her clothing. She didn’t mind, as she didn’t have a problem with nudity, plus it also gave her a tactical advantage, as it would make it a lot easier for her to absorb him without her clothes being in the way.

“Uh, Garb. You gonna be alright down there? She’s a lot bigger than you. What if she gets your gun?” Grongle yelled down the stairs.

"I’ll be fine. I’m putting my piece away, where she can’t get it.” Garble walked over to a safe and placed his gun inside of it. “If you hear me yelling, come check on me, kay?”

“Okay.” Said Grongle nervously “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me…”

Sonata smirked. Now that he had no gun, he had nothing to threaten her with. She should easily be able to absorb him. She was holding all the cards now.

Gargle turned his attention back to Sonata. “Lie down on the mattress.” He said.

“That girl over there…” She gestured towards the weeping girl in the cage.

“That’s Lyra. Isn’t she cute?” Grongle looked over at his prisoner. Maybe you two can become friends if you’re half as good as she is. Girl can suck a dick like a-”

Sonata’s anger flared “I’ll make sure I’m the last person you ever kidnap, you big bully!” She charged at Garble.

With lightning reflexes Garble pulled a switchblade from his jacket and lunged at her. “You think I’m afraid of you, bitch!? The Night Drakes aint afraid of nothing! Looks like I’ll need to teach you some manners!” A quick slash of his knife across Sonata’s stomach sent a splatter of blood flying against the wall. Sonata staggered backwards, Only for Garble to slam her onto the ground. Despite being a foot shorter than her, he proved remarkably strong. He raised his blade for another attack as Sonata lay helpless on the ground.

Sonata clenched her eyes shut as the sharp blade entered her abdomen. Garble shoved the knife in all the way up to the hilt, causing Sonata to spasm in pain. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Sonata cried. “I’ll do whatever you say, just please don’t hurt me…” Her stomach clenched up in pain. She was in complete agony, as if she were dying. It was the most pain she had felt in her entire life. She could hear Garble saying something, but it was difficult to make out.

“Could you let go?” asked Garble.

“What…?” Sonata opened her eyes. She looked down and saw that Garble’s hand was stuck in the folds of her belly fat. Sonata gasped in astonishment. Her skin was completely wrapped around Garble’s wrist and seemed to have fused with it. Now that she had a moment to think about it, she could barely feel the pain anymore.

“Seriously, bitch.” Garble tugged hard “What’s wrong with your stomach!? I can’t get my hand out of it!”

Sonata grinned evilly. She inhaled deeply and sucked Garble’s arm in even further, pulling the blade from his grasp. She could feel the sharp metal object passing through her body. But it slid through her with no discomfort whatsoever, as if her internal organs had turned to jelly.

“Gah! What are you doing?” Garble gasped “You’ll bleed out! My knife will be stuck inside your gut!”

The blade slid out from Sonata’s skin and appeared in her hand, leaving no damage whatsoever. “You mean this knife?” Sonata dangled it in front of Garble’s face.

Garble stared in disbelief. “How…? How did you do that?”

“I don’t entirely know.” Sonata said. “Somehow, I can absorb things into my body, and it looks like I can take them out just as easily. It’s like I’m make out of pudding or something.”

“A-a-absorb things? You mean like, you’re going to eat me!?” Garble started sweating. It wasn’t supposed to turn out like this. He tugged even harder against her sticky, hungry flesh, but it did him little good. Already, he could feel his fingers melting into jelly.

Sonata licked her lips. “You messed with the wrong ‘street-walker.’” She inhaled and sucked him in up to his shoulder.

Garble started panicking. “You can’t do this! GRONGLE!!! GRONGLE!!! HELP ME! HEL-MMPHH! gurgle!” He shouted, but his cries were silenced as Sonata sucked his entire torso into her belly. Sonata forced his screaming face to swallow large amount of her gelatinous body, allowing her to absorb him from both inside and out.

Sonata started drooling. She hadn’t realized how good it felt when she absorbed something. Maybe because the last time she did she was still savoring a the post-coatis glow between her and Rainbow Dash, but now she realized just how nice it felt to feed of her first male victim’s flesh. She could feel him struggling inside her gelatinous stomach. Lyra watched in horror as Sonata’s skin wrapped itself around Garble and started to suck him in with a slurping noise.

Grongle ran down the stairs as fast as he could. “Garble, you okay? I thought I heard you ye– HOLY SHIT!” He made it downstairs just in time to watch Sonata finish sucking Garble’s flailing legs into her body, completely engulfing him. She now stood almost nine feet tall, towering over him, a look of predatory hunger on her face.

Grongle pulled his gun and pointed it at Sonata. “Y-y-you let Garble go right now…” He trembled.

Sonata wasn’t afraid. The cuts from the knife had healed completely. She doubted a bullet would be any more dangerous. “Hmmm, how about no? How about you let Lyra out of her cage before I decide I'm hungry for seconds?” she threatened.

Grongle gulped. “I’m warning you, let him go… I’ll do it! I’ll shoot, I swear…”

“Then do it.” Sonata licked her lips. “Shoot me. I dare you. I'm not scared of you! I want to see what'll happen.” She put her head directly up to the gun barrel. "Do it!"

Grongle closed his eyes. A loud bang out followed by a heavy thump. Grongle started breathing heavily. He timidly opened his eyes to Sonata’s body lay outstretched on the ground before hom. Grongle let out a sigh of relief. He didn’t think that would actually work. He crouched over to Sonata’s body to see where he had shot her, but he didn’t see any sort of wound.

“SURPRISE!” Sonata sat up and grabbed Grongle’s legs and merged her hands with his feet.

“What the!?” Grongle turned to run, but his feet had become part of Sonata’s arms. He violently fell to the floor.

“I can’t believe you fell for that!” Sonata laughed. “I didn’t even feel it!” She spat the bullet out of her mouth.

Grongle gasped. He raised his pistol and sprayed his entire clip into Sonata, but the bullets harmlessly wedged themselves into Sonata’s gelatinous skin. Sonata then relaxed her skin, allowing all the bullets to clatter harmlessly onto the floor.

“W-what are you?” asked Grongle.

“I’m usually a pretty nice girl. But you two have made me really mad! So I’m gonna eat you!” She started assimilating Grongle’s body into her own, absorbing him up to his waist.

“No! Please! I’m sorry!” Grongle pleaded.

“Liar!” Sonata growled “I can see into your memories! I know about all the terrible things you’ve done! I know about all the people you’ve hurt, including that poor girl over there. And I know you felt absolutely no remorse for it!”

“Y-y-you can read my thoughts!?” Grongle sputtered.

“Yes. But I wish I couldn’t. There’s no place for scum like you in my body. Goodbye, Grongle. You were tastier than your friend if nothing else.” Grongle’s body completely disappeared into Sonata’s chest. Her stomach churned in protest as she assimilated his mass into her body. Once inside, Sonata stripped their souls to their most basic elements of thought. The very essence of their consciousness was disfigured. The two thug’s memories, hopes and dreams were dwindled into nothingness. They were stripped of their individuality, their agency, and were dwindled away into nothing more than a pair of blank slates.

Sonata chuckled. She felt so confident. So powerful. Nothing could stop her powerful new body. She felt invincible. She stood up, only to bump her head on the ceiling with a crack. “Ouch!” She cried, rubbing her head. She now stood ten feet tall, almost double her original height. She walked over towards Lyra’s cage and knelt down so she could see inside.

Lyra had curled herself up into a ball as far away from the bars as possible. She was whimpering like a frightened puppy. “D-don’t eat me!” she pleaded.

“Why not?” Sonata licked her lips. “You’ll be safe inside of me. You won’t have to worry about anyone hurting you ever again.”

Lyra’s eyes started tearing up as Sonata reached a sticky arm towards her. “I-I don’t want to die!”

“You won’t die.” Sonata said as reassuringly as possible. “You’ll be safe and sound inside my tummy.” She ran her fingers across Lyra’s face.

“Please! I just want to go home!” Lyra broke down crying.

Sonata stomach dropped. She couldn’t blame Lyra for being afraid. The prospect of being absorbed would be terrifying for anyone, let alone someone as traumatized as her. Sonata sighed and pulled her arm away from Lyra. “Okay, I promise I won’t eat you.” Sonata said gently. “I just want to help you.”

Lyra continued to sob uncontrollably. Sonata gasped, it was hard to see them in the dark, but Lyra had scars all over her body, especially on her back. “How did you get those scars?” Sonata asked. Lyra continued weeping. She didn’t say anything, but Sonata already knew the answer. “They hurt badly, don’t they?” Sonata asked. Once again, Lyra didn’t answer.

Sonata reached a hand into the cage and slowly ran it across Lyra’s back, eliciting a wince of pain from her. Sonata could feel the fear and the pain emanating from her soul. In the past, these emotions would have been a feast to her, now she was revolted by them. No one should have to suffer like this.

Sonata started to feel Lyra’s emotions with more intensity. She started to feel the pleasurable sensation that she felt before she absorbed Rainbow Dash and the two kidnappers. Sonata licked her lips hungrily. Lyra was so tasty. She really wanted to absorb her. And why shouldn’t she? Lyra would be safer inside of her. Who cared what she promised her? Who cared what Lyra wanted? Sonata was going to force her to be safe! She reached her arm towards Lyra.

“You promised her wouldn’t eat her!” Sonata heard Rainbow Dash in the back of her mind.

Sonata stopped. “Aw, come on. I only said that to calm her down. Why shouldn’t I absorb her? She’ll be safe in me!” Sonata thought back.

“If lying to a traumatized kidnapping victim makes you feel like a big hero, then by all means. Don’t let me stop you.” Rainbow Dash chided her.

“Darn it!” said Sonata “As if I didn’t have my own conscience to deal with…”

Lyra looked up at the massive blue girl towering above her as if she had lost her mind.

Sonata sighed. “Don’t panic. I’m going to get you out of there, okay?” said Sonata.

“Okay…” Lyra whimpered. “Just don’t hurt me…”

Sonata ripped the cage’s door off with her bare hands and approached Lyra. “I’m going to fix your back now, okay?"

"What?" said Lyra.

"Don’t move please.” Sonata put her hand on Lyra’s back and slowly melted it into ooze that started to spread over Lyra’s body and working it into Lyra’s individual cells. She started completely reforming the damaged cells, melting Lyra’s soft skin into a squishy bio-matter.

“No!” Lyra wailed. “Please! You promised!” She started squirming.

Sonata lurched. Lyra’s struggling was like trying to avoid swallowing something that was at the edge of the throat. “I’m not absorbing you, I’m healing you! Hold still!” said Sonata.

“H-h-how do I know you’re not lying?”

“You’re just going to have to trust me!” Sonata strained.

Sonata continued regenerating Lyra’s skin. There was a ton of work to be done. Lyra’s body had taken a serious amount of abuse. She absorbed the entirety of Lyra’s form, covering it with a thin layer of ooze, melting down her entire body into slime. She could feel Lyra emotionally screaming.

“Just a few more seconds…” Sonata sweated as she finished reconstructing Lyra. She slid the layer off slime away, revealing a smooth patch of aquamarine skin that was completely free of scars and bruises.

Lyra gasped for air and opened her eyes. She at herself in shock as she admired her freshly repaired skin. It was a smooth as a newborn baby. “I-I Don’t believe it…” said Lyra, she stood up and embraced Sonata's leg in a tight hug. “Thank you…”

Sonata returned the embrace, although she had to be careful to avoid absorbing her. She could feel Lyra’s soul. She saw her recent memories and found Lyra had been kidnapped about a week ago, and although she seemed happier, she would probably be scarred for life by the experience. Sonata had to do something to help Lyra. She wondered if she could manipulate memories as easily as she did organic material. After all, she had dwindled Grongle and Garble down into nothingness, it shouldn’t much more difficult to remove only selected memories. She leaned her mouth up to Lyra’s ear. “You were never here.” She whispered, spitting forth a tiny blue drop of herself into Lyra’s ear canal.

“What?” said Lyra, as her eyes formed into pinpricks and her face went completely limp.

“You went on vacation to the Bahamas.” said Sonata. “You needed a little time off and went on vacation without telling anyone, remember?”

Lyra nodded. “Uh-huh…” She said in an entranced voice.

Sonata imagined herself relaxing on a warm beach, sunbathing while drinking pina colada and transmited those thoughts to Lyra. “You had a wonderful week there, and it was definitely was not traumatic in the slightest.”

Lyra’s face went back to normal and the lights returned to her eyes. She blinked a few times and looked around the room. “Who are you? And where am I? Last thing I remember I was on the beach, and…”

Sonata placed her finger over Lyra’s lips. “Shhh.” She whispered. “It’s time to sleep…” Sonata waved her hand across Lyra’s face, causing her to slip into unconsciousness.

Lyra fell to the floor in a gentle sleep.

Sonata crouched down and placed a hand on Lyra’s forehead. “Poor thing…” She mumbled. “What am I going to do with her?”

“Don’t even think about assimilating her.” thought Rainbow Dash.

Sonata sighed. “Okay, mom. I’ll see if I can find where she lives.” Sonata started sifting through Lyra’s memories in an attempt to figure out where find where she lived. She started seeing a few basic memories, and was able to glean that Lyra lived on the other side of town, with someone named Bon Bon. Sonata thought about probing her memories to see how deep this relationship went, but Rainbow Dash convinced her to respect Lyra’s privacy.

Sonata exited the cage and picked up her clothes. There was no way they would fit her now, she had just gained a lot of bulk. She looked over at Lyra’s naked body. “She could probably use these more than I could…” She thought. Sonata dressed Lyra up in her old clothes as if she were a child. Lyra was so small compared to her. She cradled Lyra in her arms as she walked up the stairs and exited the house.

Sonata was absolutely brimming with confidence. She was amazed at the host of superpowers her new body had. The ability to absorb anything into her body, to regenerate from debilitating injury, and to alter the memories of anyone her amorphous body touched.

Sonata walked out to Garble’s van without fear, knowing that anyone who harassed her would ultimately end up as her part of her ever-growing body. She placed Lyra in the back seat and entered the front, before realizing she had no idea how to drive. “Gah, that’s just great!” Sonata slumped against the side of the van. “It’ll take me forever to carry her across town.” Sonata leaned back in the seat. She didn’t know what to do. Then she had an idea. “Rainbow, will you drive for me?” She asked Rainbow Dash’s consciousness.

Rainbow Dash was indignant. “Why should I help you!? You ate me, remember?”

“This isn’t for me. This is for Lyra. We need to get her home.”

“We?” asked Rainbow Dash. “I don’t exist in the ‘real world.’ She’s your problem, not mine.”

“I could just absorb her, you know? Is that what you want, Rainbow Dash? A roommate?”

“Fine, I’ll help you get her home.” Rainbow conceded. “But how the heck am I going to do that without a body?”

“Hold on” said Sonata. “Let me try something.” Sonata tried isolating Rainbow’s essence into her bloated stomach. A pair of teal arms sprouted from out of her stomach, and then a torso, and finally a pair of legs. The mass of sticky ooze separated itself from Sonata and rapidly hardened to the consistency of flesh, leaving the body of Rainbow lay naked on the drive-way.

Rainbow Dash stood up and looked at herself. It was weird being inside a physical body again, instead of being a passenger inside of Sonata. Rainbow ran her hands on her face, just to make sure she was really there. “Man, I’ve missed you.” She said to her body.

“Remember, that this is only temporary. You’re still my prisoner.” said Sonata, who stood almost two whole feet taller than Rainbow Dash. Her large breasts were about on the same level as Rainbow's head.

"Yeah, sure." said Rainbow as she ran her hands over her arms.

“Oh, and just in case you had any plans of running away.” Sonata held up an arm and Rainbow’s arm involuntarily mimicked it perfectly.

“Are you kidding me?" Rainbow whined. "I don’t even get full control of my own body!?”

“I just said you were my prisoner, didn’t I?” said Sonata. “The only reason you’re being allowed to borrow your old body is because I need you to drive Lyra home.”

Rainbow Dash held out her arms and scoffed. “Well, we can’t drive around naked. We’ll get arrested!”

Sonata rolled her eyes. “I swear you humans and your clothes.” She held out her hand and Rainbow’s skin started to shift and bubble. Simple clothing manifested itself on the surface of her skin. In actuality, it was still her skin, but because her body consisted entirely of ooze as, it could be molded in a way that gave the appearance of clothing. Sonata did the same to herself and appeared to be wearing a pair of large jeans and a T-shirt.

Rainbow Dash hung her head. It was weird appearing clothed, but feeling naked. Nevertheless, she had a job to do. “Alright. Where are the keys?” she asked.

“Oh.” said Sonata. “Hold on.” She started moving the liquid insides of her body around. Several tiny metal objects appeared. Sonata guessed they were the teeth of Garble and Grongle's zippers. She continued shifting her insides around until the grooved metal objects slid out of her body onto her hand. “These?”

Rainbow Dash took the keys and sat down in the driver’s seat with her eyes half-lidded. Sonata sat down next to her. “So what’s your game, Sonata?” asked Rainbow Dash as she started the van.

“I’ve always liked go fish!” said Sonata. “But checkers is fun too! Oh, and karaoke! But I'm not sure if that counts...”

“I mean, what are you planning to do?” Rainbow Dash rubbed her temples. “Honestly, it’s an idiom. You've lived here for centuries, how can you be so uneducated on human culture?”

“Usually my friends and I would just take what we needed from your kind without giving it much thought. I've always been an outsider looking in.” said Sonata. “I mean, I like humans. I think you’re fascinating. But to tell you the truth, you’re the first one I’ve actually gotten to know that well.”

“Aw, I’m flattered.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “You know what my favorite part of our relationship was?”

“What?” Sonata asked enthusiastically.

“The part where you pretended to repent so you could absorb me!” Rainbow said sarcastically. “That was real fun!”

“I’m sorry, Rainbow.” said Sonata. “But I couldn’t have you foiling our plans again. We needed you out of the way.”

“And what are these plans?” asked Rainbow “World domination I assume?”

“Sort of…” Sonata fidgeted with her fingers. “You see, I want everyone to be safe. And as far as I know, my body is indestructible.”

“So you want to absorb everyone in the world?” Rainbow Dash grinned.

Sonata nodded. “I’m doing that for the benefit of humanity,” said Sonata “You’re not smart enough to take care of yourselves.”

“And you are!?” laughed Rainbow Dash. “You’re a simpleton!”

Sonata frowned. “Maybe… But it doesn’t matter. If I’m powerful enough to absorb everyone, why shouldn’t I?”

“Because people have the right to make their own decisions!” Rainbow Dash scoffed. “For you to absorb them against their will is wrong!”

“It’s wrong to make people do things they don’t want to do?” Sonata scratched her head.

“You assume that just because you could hypnotize people that it’s an okay thing to do?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“No. I assumed it because humans make others do things they don’t want to do all the time.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Do people like paying taxes? Or going to work? Or getting sent off to wars?”

“That’s different. People have agreed to respect a governing authority. Otherwise people like those thugs you dissolved would have no one to stop them.”

“So if it’s okay for the government to take your stuff, and sent you to die, and put you in prison without permission, why isn’t it okay for me to absorb people?” asked Sonata.

“Because people have agreed to pay taxes and respect the government's authority.”

“What if someone didn’t agree?" Sonata asked. "Would the government be okay with that?”

“No. They’d send them to prison for tax evasion…”Rainbow hung her head. “But that’s not the point!”

Sonata placed her hand on Rainbow’s shoulder. “I’m not doing this because I want power, Rainbow. I’m doing this because I like your kind. I want the humans to be free and happy. I know every human has desires, dreams and goals. All of those can come true inside me. Imagine, living in a perfect world, without the responsibilities of the real life. Existing in a reality made only of your own wishes.”

“Sounds too good to be true.”

“But it is true. Right now, the hamsters inside of me are imagining themselves eating a giant peach right now. And in their minds, it’s actually happening.”

“So you want to trap everyone on the planet in your hive-mind ‘paradise’?” Rainbow Dash chuckled. “And I thought I had delusions of grandeur.”

“C’mon, Dashie…” Sonata started.

“Don’t call me that!” Rainbow snapped. “Only my friends get to call me that! You’re not my friend, Sonata! You’re a villain, and my friends are going to stop you, one way or another.”

“I’m not a bad person, Rainbow.” Sonata pouted. “Why would I save Lyra if I was a bad person?”

“I don’t know. To absolve some of your guilt? Because deep down you know what you’re doing is wrong? Don’t forget, you were going to eat her without a second thought if I hadn’t said anything.”

"Well, what do you think I should do with my powers?”

Rainbow Dash sighed. She looked back at Lyra, who was unconscious in the back seat. “Try to do the right thing.” She said. “Try to help people like her. You can help people without taking over the world.” Rainbow pulled up to Lyra’s home and put the van in park.

“I don't know. I'll think about it, but we're here.” said Sonata. “Now carry Lyra please.”

“What if I don’t want to carry her?” asked Rainbow Dash. "Besides, you're bigger than me. why don't you do it?"

Sonata waved her hand, causing Rainbow’s false clothing to disappear back into her body.

Rainbow quickly covered herself up.“Eep! Alright, I’ll do it!” She whined.

Sonata grinned, waved her hand and the clothes returned.

Rainbow snorted. She picked Lyra up from the back seat and carried her to the door.

Sonata skipped up to the front door and gave a happy series of knocks.

A short, cream-colored woman with opened the door. Sonata assumed she was Bon Bon. “Hi, uh, Bon Bon?” Sonata waved. “Does Lyra live here?”

“She’s okay!” Bon Bon smiled at the sight of Rainbow carrying Lyra's unconscious form.

“Safe and sound.” Sonata said proudly. “Uh! Not that she was ever in any danger, of course.”

“Oh, thank goodness she’s home.” Bon Bon helped Rainbow carry Lyra inside. “Do you have any idea where she went?”

“The Bahamas.” Sonata lied.

“The Bahamas? Really?” Bon Bon raised an eyebrow.

“Yup!” said Sonata. “Just ask her when she wakes up and she’ll tell you just that.”

“That’s odd. ” said Bon Bon as she helped Rainbow Dash set Lyra the couch. “She always said she hated going to the beach.”

“Uh…” Sonata started. "Maybe she changed her mind?"

“It doesn’t matter.” Bon Bon looked up at her. “I'm just glad she's home. I was sure she‘d been kidnapped. The news says that human trafficking is on the rise.”

“I know. More humans are driving cars this century.” said Sonata.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Human trafficking means kidnapping, Sonata.”

"Oh..." said Sonata.

“It’s not safe to go out at night anymore.” said Bon Bon. “People are disappearing all over the place. It’s the Night Drake gang. Canterlot has never seen criminals of their caliber before. People taken by them are usually never seen again.”

“Heh, well, it’s a good thing she was just on vacation, and not kidnapped, am I right?” Sonata shrugged.

Bon Bon lunged forward and hugged Sonata. “Thank you so much for bringing her back. I was worried I would never see her again!”

It was all Sonata could do to not absorb Bon Bon right there. She was simply overflowing with happiness. It felt so good. Sonata started drooling. “Ah, you’re welcome.” Sonata quickly pulled herself out of Bon Bon’s grasp.

Bon Bon looked confused. "Are you all right?"

“I mean, uh. No need to thank me.” said Sonata. “It was nothing, really.”

“Nonsense.” said Bon Bon. “You brought Lyra back to me. The least I can do is treat you to dinner. Come on, Let’s get you something to eat.”

Sonata licked her lips. “Okay. Food is better than no food.”

“There’s cornbread on the stove. Fresh from the oven.” said Bon Bon. “Help yourselves, I’m going to go check on Lyra.”

“Oooh, Cornbread.” Rainbow Dash picked up a piece and took a bite.

“Be careful. It’s hot.” Bon Bon finished.

Rainbow’s eyes widened. Hot was an understatement, she was amazed it wasn’t on fire. Her mouth burned and she spat out the bread and ran her fingers across her tongue, it felt sticky, like it was melting.

Sonata was busy rummaging around in the refrigerator. “Please have tortillas…” she mumbled to herself.

“Thanata…?” said Rainbow Dash as her tongue turned dark blue.

“What is it, Rainbow?” Sonata looked away from the fridge and saw Rainbow Dash’s tongue had melted into a blackened ooze.

“Mah tung eth elted.” Rainbow struggled to say as her tongue started to ooze out of her mouth.

"Oh, I see." Sonata winced. "I guess my body doesn't like hot temperatures too much."

"Wha em ah gun duh nah?"

“Ah, don’t worry, Rainbow. I’ll just make you a new one.” Sonata held a finger up to Rainbow’s face and shot a squirt of her teal fluid into her mouth, which quickly reformed itself into a tongue.

Rainbow ran her fingers across her new tongue.
“There we go. Good as new.” said Sonata. “Now let’s get this cleaned up.” She picked up a cloth and wiped Rainbow’s melted tongue off the kitchen floor.

“Thanks…” said Rainbow Dash.

"You've got to cool your food off before you eat it." Sonata said cheerfully. "Now let me get you some ice water."

Rainbow Dash smacked her new tongue against the roof of her mouth. She slumped against the countertop. “Sonata, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" Sonata handed Rainbow a glass of ice water.

Rainbow Dash took the glass and took a sip. "How come you’re so…nice?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you don’t strike me as villain material. The only reason you want to take over the world is to keep people safe and happy? Really!? How did you end up with those other two miscreants?”

“It was mostly because we were all sirens. It was more efficient for us to hunt in groups.” said Sonata “It made it easier to stir up conflict for us to feed off of. It’s not that I wanted to make the humans fight, But I was a siren. It’s my nature.”

Rainbow Dash didn’t say anything. She just stared at her. "I don't know what to think, Sonata..." she said. "You had the desire to help people, and enough magic to do plenty of good help them ... and you used it for yourself for hundreds of years. I don't know if your a hypocrite, or just an idiot..."

Sonata was hurt. She put her hand on Rainbow’s shoulder. “Dashie, please, I…”

“Don't call me that.” Rainbow pushed her away. “You’re not my friend! You kidnapped me!”

“But I’m trying to do the right thing.” Sonata pouted. "I just want to help."

"Then let me go!” Rainbow waved her arms in the air. “You know kidnapping is wrong! Heck, you just ate a pair of kidnappers yourself! You want to do the right thing? Release me!"

Sonata ran that through her mind. She knew that Adagio would be livid if she showed up without Rainbow. Plus, she had gotten to like Rainbow Dash, and the thought of her being taken by the Night Drakes was just to much for Sonata to bear. She had to keep Dashie safe! “I...I…I just can’t.” Sonata sighed.

Rainbow rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “Sure...”

Sonata looked at the floor. “I’m sorry, Rainbow…”

Rainbow looked at her flatly. "Yes, you are..."

The two of them just stared at each other for over a minute when Bon Bon broke the tension by walking into the kitchen “Did you two take Lyra to a cosmetic surgeon or something?”

“No. Why?” asked Sonata.

“Because she’s missing the scar on her right elbow that she got when she was a baby.” said Bon Bon. “If fact, I didn't see any of her blemishes. Even, her birthmark is gone. I swear she’s a perfect model of health.”

“Maybe the sea air was good for her.” Rainbow Dash said facetiously. She then turned to Sonata “Speaking of which, you still plan on bringing anyone else to ‘Paradise’, Sonata?”

Sonata didn’t say anything.

Lyra walked into the kitchen and rubbed her eyes. “Bon Bon?” she asked.

“Lyra!” Bon Bon practically jumped on her. “I’m so glad you’re awake.”

Lyra grinned at her. “I’m glad so happy to be back. I'm so sorry for leaving without telling you. I don’t even remember why I thought going to the Bahamas would be good idea in the first place. Or why I would consider going without you.” she rubbed her nose against Bon Bon’s. "I guess I wasn't thinking."

Bon Bon chuckled. “You hungry, sweetie?” she asked.

“I'm starved. I feel like I haven eaten properly in over a week. I guess all that island food went right through me. Hey, when we're done with dinner, do you want to go upstairs and..."

Bon Bon cut her off. “Lyra!” she gasped. “We have guests over!”

Rainbow Dash blushed. She knew when to take the hint. She put up her hand. “ Don’t worry. I was just going to go wait in the van anyway. I won’t leave without you, Sonata. I fully aware it’s a ‘rental vehicle.’”

Lyra kissed Bon Bon on the cheek before she went off to the kitchen . “I'll meet you upstairs whenever you’re ready.”

Bon Bon turned to Sonata and just stared at her.

Despite being almost one-and-a-half Bon Bon's size, Sonata was sort of intimidated by the look she was giving her. "Y-yes?" she asked.

“You want to tell me what’s up?” Bon Bon said sternly.

“What do you mean?” asked Sonata.

“I'm not stupid. I know Lyra would never go to the Bahamas without me. Who are you? What’s really going on?”

Sonata sat down. At the end of the couch was a newspaper with the headline ‘Night Drakes strike again! Police astonished by gang’s viciousness.' It pained Sonata to know there was an entire gang full of people like Garble and Grongle. They were probably harassing innocent people right now. “Can I ask you something?” said Sonata.

“About what?” asked Bon Bon.

Sonata held up the newspaper headline. “About them.”

“The Night Drakes?” Bon Bon looked puzzled. “What do they have to do with anything?"

“They’re bad people, right? They go out and hurt others, right?”

“Yes. But again, what does this have to do with you and Lyra?”

“I feel like I need to do something about them.”

“Are you talking about vigilantism?”

“I don’t know what that means.”

Bon Bon laughed. “I wouldn’t tangle with them. Yeah, you're a big girl, sure. But they’re a real nasty bunch. They threw the leader of the last gang that tried to push into their turf off a bridge. You’d just end up getting yourself killed, or worse. Besides, why do you care so much about a bunch of street thugs? And what does any of this have to do with you and Lyra?"

“They kidnapped Lyra…” mumbled Sonata.

“What!?” gasped Bon Bon.

“I didn’t want to tell you.” Sonata teared up. “They did horrible things to her... So I took care of her. I fixed her injuries. She had amnesia... and I told her she had been on vacation because I didn’t want her to worry and... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lied to you...”

Bon Bon just stared at her. “You saved Lyra from the Night Drakes?”

“Yes.” Sonata sniffled.

“How?" asked Bon Bon " And Why?”

“I was kidnapped by them as well. And I saw her, and I knew I had to do something."

"Thank you..." said Bon Bon solemnly. “But that blind altruism will get you killed.”

“But what do you think? Do you think I did the right thing, saving her from the Night Drakes?”

“Yes. You absolutely did the right thing.” said Bon Bon. “If the Drakes had taken her away, I don’t know what I’d do…”

“So, If I could protect people like Lyra from the Night Drakes. Do you think I should? Or is it wrong for me to take the world's problems into my own hands?”

Bon Bon looked at a picture of Lyra, and then back to Sonata, and then back to the picture. She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "I can’t tell you what to do. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be responsible for getting you killed."

"It's okay..." said Sonata as she stood up and turned to leave.. "I'll be going now."

"All I can say is make your own decisions. Think for yourself.”

“Thank you, Bon Bon.” Sonata stood up and walked to the door. “You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

“Hey!” Bon Bon stopped Sonata as she stepped outside. “You never told me your name, or who you were."

Sonata pointed towards the newspaper in the den. “Look for me in there.” She closed the door and walked outside into the night.

Rainbow Dash was waiting in the van with her eyes close and her feet on the dashboard. She didn't respond in the slightest as Sonata sat down in the passenger seat next to her. Sonata looked over at her. "Rainbow?" she asked.

“I’m not driving you home.” Rainbow Dash sulked. “I only drove you here because you threatened to assimilate Lyra. Now that she's safe, your can get blisters on your feet for all I care.”

Sonata should have been angry. But she wasn’t. She just exited the van without a word.

“Wait? You’re not going to force me take you home?” asked Rainbow Dash. "No blackmail or anything?"

“I’m not letting you leave, Rainbow.” said Sonata. “But you’re my prisoner, not my slave. I was wrong coerce you earlier."

Rainbow Dash was shocked. “Seriously?” she asked as Sonata started down the street. "I mean, I would have saved Lyra anyway, but seriously?

“For realzies." said Sonata "It’s fine. I need time to think anyway. I’ll walk. It’s up to whether you come in my body or your own.”

Rainbow Dash groaned and sprinted up to Sonata. “Okay, seriously. Come back. I’ll drive you home.”

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I am." Rainbow blushed. "It's no problem at all..."

“Thank you, Rainbow.” Sonata and Rainbow got entered the van and looked out the window, deep in thought.

“Man, what did she say to you?” asked Rainbow. "I've never seen you like this."

“She said I should think for myself and make my own decisions.” said Sonata."That's why I let you tell me off. It would be 'hippocratical' for me to force you."

“Think for yourself? I’m guessing you let your cohorts do most of the thinking for you?” asked Rainbow.

Sonata nodded. “I was never the smart one. I just followed what Adagio said. She was the one with all the ideas. I didn't really know how to think for myself, still don't. I'm pretty dependent on my friends to tell me what to do!”

“Sonata. They’re not your friends.” said Rainbow Dash.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“You've seen me and my friends.” said Rainbow. “I’m not the brightest bulb in the box, but they don’t go around telling me what to think. I am my own person, and they respect me for who I am. It sounds to me like your ‘friends’ are just using you. Especially now that you've gained all these freaky powers.”

Sonata frowned and fidgeted with her fingers. “Well, they are rather mean to me. And they don’t like humans nearly as much as I do.”

“So why don’t you leave them and do what you want?”

"Because I'm not smart." said Sonata. "And I'm worried that I'll screw up. Especially now that I have all this power."

Thunder boomed in the distance. Rainbow Dash looked up at the clouds. “Looks like a storms coming in.” She commented.

“Yup.” Sonata just kept looking forward.

“What’s wrong, Sonata? You’re usually so carefree.”

Sonata looked around at the slums around her. A homeless family in an alleyway was huddled inside an overturned dumpster. Delinquent teenagers stood by a street corner, listening to loud music and smoking cigarettes. A crazed prophet stood in front of a failed electronics store waving a sigh saying ‘the day of 'jugement' is coming.’

Sonata frowned. “They’re all so miserable. I never noticed when I fed off of it, but now… It’s awful. And the worst part is I know I could fix it. I could take them all under my embrace and make them happy.”

“But you know it’s wrong?” asked Rainbow Dash.

Sonata rubbed her temples. “I don’t know what to think. Like I said, Adagio always did that for me. I really want to, but I don't know if I should. And if I tell my friends about my powers, they'll tell me to hurt people! I just don’t know what to do...”

There was a long silence. Heavy raindrops started falling from the sky, causing a pitter-patter noise on the roof of the van. Rainbow Dash pulled up to the Dazzling's house. “Why don’t you come with us?” asked Rainbow Dash. “My friends and I could help you. Maybe we could find out why your body is acting strange and help you fix it.”

“I don’t really want to be fixed.” said Sonata. “I like my new powers. I just don’t know what to do with them.”

Rainbow Dash stepped out of the car into the rain. “Well, if you never need any advice, I'm here for you. It’s not like I’ll be going anywhere else.” She grinned.

Sonata smiled. “Thanks, Dashie.”

"Don’t-“ Rainbow Dash started, but then she stopped and sighed. “You’re welcome, Sonata.” She smiled.

Sonata’s face lit up. “Does this mean we’re friends?”

“I guess it does.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I guess it does...”

"EEEeee!" Sonata squealed. "Thank you, Rainbow!" She grabbed Rainbow Dash and held in her in a tight hug.

"Heh, no problem, Sonata." Rainbow Dash blushed.“I don’t suppose you’ll let me keep my body?” she asked, knowing the answer.

Sonata smiled. “No, sorry. Adagio and Aria will be angry if they think you're still alive. Plus, I don’t want them to know the extent of my powers just yet.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think so.” Rainbow Dash leaned her face into Sonata's chest. "I guess I understand."

“Sorry, Dashie. I’ll try to make you as happy as possible while you’re inside of me.” She leaned forward to kiss Rainbow’s lips, which stuck fast with her own. Rainbow didn't fight against her re-assimilation. She just accepted it. As Sonata pressed her face into Rainbow’s their faces merged into a singular blob. Her torso started to bulk up as she sucked Rainbow’s body back into her own. Sonata leaned back and licked her lips. She could feel Rainbow safe and sound inside of herself.

Sonata walked up to the front door. It was late, and she didn’t want to wake Adagio and risk being questioned on why she was out so long. Sonata looked at the door and frowned. The darn thing had never been oiled, it always squeaked, and was sure to make a ton of noise when she opened it. Sonata rubbed her chin. Maybe she could…

Sonata focused on the structure of her amorphous body and melted herself down into a large pool of blue jelly. A thin pseudopod whipped out from the mass and slid itself into the tiny crack between the door and the frame. She pushed herself through like a stream of sticky toothpaste being squeezed through a tube and formed into puddle on the other side of the door. She continued doing this until the entirety of her mass had made it through before morphing back into her humanoid form. Leaving a small collection of inorganic material she had collected outside the front door.

Wow. That felt weird. She thought, before sneaking into the kitchen, which was alight in a soft glow from the TV set. Aria was asleep on the couch. She must have fallen asleep while watching the news.

Sonata started to head upstairs, but glanced at the TV. The reporter on the late night news had a sad look on her face. “More people have been victimized by the criminal gang known as the Night Drakes, who have been robbing, murdering and kidnapping the citizens of Canterlot over the last few months.”

Sonata froze and stared at the TV. These people… They had been doing this for months. Sonata could have done something about it when she could hypnotize people. But she turned a blind eye to it. After all, it didn’t affect her. The reporter continued. “Their most recent crime was with the kidnapping of Lightning Dust, a star athlete for Crystal High University. Lightning has been missing for over a month, despite her family paying the ransom. Police are completely baffled at the lack of leads…”

That poor girl. To be at the mercy of those thugs, those brutes; for so long. Sonata could no longer stand idly by. She had to do something. She now had new powers that she had only started to comprehend. She wasn’t going to waste them like she had her hypnotizing voice. Sonata was going to hunt down the Night Drakes, and make them pay for everything they had done to mankind.

"Sonata?" Sonata heard a voice behind her.

"Gah!" Sonata jumped. She crashed into a bookshelf in the corner, breaking it in half, and causing books to tumble all over her.

“Sonata, it’s just me, you clumsy oaf.” Aria rubbed her eyes groggily “You were staring at the TV. Are you alright?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.” Sonata panted and brushed the books off of herself. "You just scared me, is all."

Aria glanced at Sonata’s nearly ten foot frame and smirked. “Hmm. Looks like you absorbed what’s-her-name. Nice job.” She said in a deadpan voice.

Footsteps came from upstairs. All the noise seemed to have woken up Adagio. She looked over at Sonata and smiled evilly. “You did it didn’t you?” she said. “You got Rainbow Dash.”

Sonata nodded. "Yup."

“Excellent.” said Adagio “I see you are sporting the girth of your victory.” She ran her fingers over Sonata’s gluttonous stomach.

“You look like a friggin’ whale.” said Aria. "No offense."

Adagio gave a maniacal laugh. “With Rainbow Dash gone, the Rainboom’s magic will be useless, and there will be nothing stopping us from taking over the world!”

“So what’s your big, master plan?” asked Aria, cleaning her fingernails. “Have Sonata eat a buncha people till she's the size of a pregnant aircraft carrier? Then have her terrorize the humans until they surrender?”

“That’s the basic version.” said Adagio. “The long version is just a little more complicated.”

“What did you want me to do?” asked Sonata, hoping she wouldn’t ask her to hurt anyone.

“I want you to have an opportunity to absorb a massive number of people at once. To do this, we’ll need a location where thousands of morons will all be packed together like tasty, little sardines.”

“So, like the Canterlot stadium or something?” asked Aria.

“Bingo” said Adagio “There’s a big football game coming to town next week. Over 100,000 people can fit in that stadium. And Sonata’s gonna give them a half-time show they’ll never forget.”

“But I can’t sing that well anymore.” said Sonata.

“No.” Adagio rubbed her forehead. “I mean you’re going to eat everyone there.”

“Ohhhh…” said Sonata. “That makes more sense.”

Adagio looked up a Sonata. “Next week, we’ll head to the city. Those saps won’t know what hit them. Once Sonata assimilates the mass of 100,000 humans, she’ll be invincible! Humanity's leaders will surrender to us, or we will show the world what happens to those all those who dare defy us.”

“Okay...” said Sonata. “As long as nobody gets hurt.”

Adagio and Aria stared at Sonata as if she were crazy.

"What?" asked Sonata.

“Sonata. You know that people die when you eat them, right?” asked Aria.

Sonata’s stomach growled. “Uh, of course I do. I must not be thinking straight. Of course, people die when you eat them..."

“This will be our ultimate triumph. We will succeed with brute force where we failed with magic! The age of humans will finally come to an end! and this pathetic, little world will be ours!” Adagio cackled as lighting roared outside.

Sonata had drowned Adagio out. She had learned to ignore her whenever she started ranting. That siren could spend hours just talking to herself about how evil and brilliant she was. Instead, Sonata's attention was brought back to the TV set. A commercial for a summer blockbuster was playing. It showed a costumed girl fighting off hordes of robots. Sonata stared at the advertisement, and a smile found it's way across her face.

"Sonata!" Aria broke her out of trance.

Sonata shook her head back and forth. "Sorry, Wha-?"

"You know what you need to do, right?"

"Yes. Yes I do." she said as she picked up the remote.

"That's good." said Aria. "Get some sleep, Tubby. You've got to be prepped for your big debut next week."

Sonata nodded and looked back at the TV. The news come back on with a breaking weather segment. The weatherman had a look of concern on his face. "Massive storm, about to hit Canterlot. Be on the lookout, as there is a now a high chance of massive flooding..." Sonata turned the off the TV and gave a massive stretch, her arms easily reaching the ceiling. She let out a soft yawn, before quietly walked upstairs.

Author's Note

Feedback is appreciated.