A Flood of Blueberry Jam

Sonata awoke to the sound of a doorbell. She glanced over at the clock and saw it was almost eleven in the morning. She could feel Rainbow Dash next to her, her breathing, her pulse, she even felt like she was sharing the same dreams with her vibrant-haired partner. Yet despite her comforting, almost intimate closeness with Rainbow, she felt weird, like something was a little bit off about their closeness. She looked to her side and saw that she had fused half-way into Rainbow Dash’s body.

Sonata bolted up in surprise. The alarm generated a small burst of adrenaline in her blood stream, which Rainbow obviously felt, as they were sharing the same body. She sat up as well. "Gah! What's going on!?" Rainbow gasped.

"I think we snuggled a little to closely last night!" Sonata gritted her teeth as she tried to untangle the sticky mess that was their bodies. "Who knocks on the door this early in the morning?"

"It's my friends. They're probably worried about me." said Rainbow "I was supposed to meet up with them yesterday, but you kinda ate me..."

"Oh" Sonata blushed as she finished untangling herself from Rainbow. "Sorry about that."

Rainbow shrugged. "It's fine, but I better go talk to them. Pinkie's probably this close to filing a missing person report."

"I'm sure your police force must love her." Sonata smiled.

"I'm pretty sure she's on some sort of watchlist at this point." Rainbow grinned. She quickly threw on some real clothes before stepping out to the front door.

"Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie dove into Rainbow with so much force that she struggled to keep her solid form. "Thank goodness you're okay! I thought I would never see you again!" Pinkie sobbed.

"She was only gone for eighteen hours." Applejack rolled her eyes. "Ya gotta be missing for 48 hours before they can even be called a missing person."

"Maybe for the police." Pinkie hugged Rainbow tightly. "But for me, It's closer to 48 minutes! I heard about that Crystal High girl who was kidnapped by the Night Drakes, and I was so afraid they'd gotten you too!"

"Heh! I'd love to see them try!" Rainbow smirked.

"I'm never letting you out of my sight again!" Pinkie sobbed. "I can't believe I let this happen!"

"We're all glad you're all right." said Rarity. "But, why did you miss our meeting yesterday?"

Rainbow Dash sighed. "Why don't you all come in?" She led them to her bedroom. "The reason I didn't show up yesterday was because...I was with her."

She opened the door, revealing Sonata trying on one of Rainbow's gray tank tops. "Dang, these thingies are tight, Dashie." Sonata forced it over her breasts. "I don't know how you can stand wearing them."

"They're three sizes too small for you," Rainbow rolled her eyes. "but keep it on, we've got company over."

Sonata smiled and waved. "Hello, Rainbow Dash's friends!" She said enthusiastically.

“Are you serious?” Applejack protested. “You’ve been hanging’ out with her? After what she did to us?”

Sonata directed her gaze to the floor. She knew it. She just knew Rainbow Dash’s friends wouldn’t want anything to do with her. Not that she could blame them.

Rarity sat on the bed next to Sonata. "I'm inclined to agree with Applejack. How do we know we can trust this one?"

“Aw, come on, guys!” Rainbow scoffed. “You’re going to dismiss her just like that?”

Applejack sighed. “It’s not that I’m unwillin’ to extend the olive branch to her. It’s just that I don’t trust her. How do we really know she’s turned over a new leaf? How do we know that she aint' got something planned with her two cohorts? We don’t know what these Sirens are capable of, even without their magic.”

“Speaking as someone who has memorized the Monster Manual of Equestria,” Sunset leaned in. “A Siren that is stripped of its ability to use its mind-affecting powers is no more powerful than any other sea-pony. Assuming this, we can only conclude that she’s no more dangerous than any normal human being.”

“Yep. That’s me.” Sonata grinned. “Sonata, the normal human. No freaky powers here. No, sir.”

“But what about Adagio and Aria?” asked Pinkie Pie. "Have they turned over new leafs?"

“Eh, those girls are jerks.” said Rainbow. “They’re still trying to take over the world. But without their magic, they’re basically harmless.”

“I think we should give her a chance.” Sunset Shimmer smiled. “After all, you helped me reform, I’m certain we could do the same for Sonata.”

“How did you two even meet?” asked Fluttershy. “If you don’t mind me asking...”

“It was right after sports practice.” said Rainbow. “I was skeptical to talk to her at first, but once we started interacting, I was completely absorbed by her, right Sonata!?” Rainbow laughed.

“Rainbow!” Sonata’s face turned red before she recognized the wordplay. “Oh, I mean… yeah. She just couldn’t get away from me.” She grinned. "I've got quite the...um... personality."

“Ya fucked her didn’t ya?” Applejack said bluntly.

"Oh god!" Rarity immediately stood up from the bed. A look of horror and disgust in her eyes.

“Uh…” Rainbow stammered. “Well…uh...not here, anyways. You see, I was...”

“She’s really good!” Sonata blurted, seemingly unfazed by the intimate subject matter. “I’m surprised none of you have had sex with her! You don’t know what you’re missing! She does this thing with her tongue, where she starts licking your breasts and then slides it down to your belly button, and then the-”

Rainbow placed her hand over Sonata’s mouth. “Okay. I think they’ve got the picture.” She looked back to her friends, who were all flush with embarrassment. Except for Pinkie Pie, who seemed disappointed Sonata hadn’t gotten to finish. “So what do you think?” Rainbow grinned. “Can we at least give her a chance?”

The group was quiet for a minute. Fluttershy cleared her throat “I think if we could forgive Sunset for what she did, then we shouldn’t have a problem with Sonata. Everyone deserves a second chance, right?”

The group all clamored in agreement.

Applejack shrugged. “Ah’ what the heck? I guess so.” She extended a hand to Sonata.

Sonata took her hand and happily shook it. “Thank you, Applejack.” She smiled. “Does this mean we’re friends now?”

“Aw shucks, Ah' guess so. Don’t see no reason not to trust ya now that ya can’t take over the world no longer.”

Sonata froze.

“No offense.” Applejack grinned.

“Don’t worry.” said Sunset. “I get that one a lot. You get used to it.”

“Oh, It’s fine” said Sonata. “I’m just a little new to this whole 'friends' thing.”

“Don’t worry.” Sunset smiled. “If I could get the hang of it, I’m certain you can as well.”

“Rainbow Dash?” Pinkie called from another room.

“What is it, Pinkie?” asked Rainbow.

“What’s this stuff in your bathtub?” Pinkie asked.

Rainbow and Sonata ran to the bathroom. Sonata had completely forgotten. The bathtub was filled almost up to the rim with gallons of blue slime. Pinkie was staring at it with a look of innocent curiosity.

“Oh, that.” Rainbow gulped. “Umm. that’s just… It’s… It’s blueberry jam!” She blurted out.

“OOOoooh.” Pinkie nodded. “That makes sense.” Pinkie started poking the slime’s surface.

“Rainbow?” Rarity gave her a puzzled look. “Why do you have a bathtub full of blueberry jam?”

“Ummm because…Uh. It’s Sonata’s favorite food.”

“No it’s not.” said Sonata. “That’s tacos.”

“Right. It's her second favorite!” said Rainbow.

“That’s chimichangas.” said Sonata. “In fact, blueberry jam probably isn’t even on my top 100.”

Rarity put a hand on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. “Look, if this is a fetish that you and your new ’girlfriend’ have, just say nothing. I don’t want to know about it, but don’t insult our intelligence, okay?”

“Okay…” Rainbow grinned sheepishly. “I’m not going to say anything- Pinkie, NO!”

Pinkie brought a finger-full of the slime up to her mouth and swallowed it. She smacked her lips as it went down. Sonata quickly stimulated the sensors of Pinkie’s taste buds to give her the sensation of blueberries.

“Mmmm.” Pinkie smiled. “It’s good. I can see why Sonata likes it so much.”

“That won’t hurt her will it?” Sunset looked in concern.

“No.” Sonata winced as she felt Pinkie swallow a chunk of her. “But it’ll probably feel really weird. For everyone involved.”

“What was that jam used for?” asked Fluttershy.

“Was it the tongue thing!?” asked Pinkie.

“It was involved with the tongue thing.” said Rainbow “Let’s just leave it at that.”

“That would be preferable.” Rarity huffed.

“We get it.” Sunset said “What happens between you two is a personal matter. We won’t push the issue, right girls?”

They all nodded in agreement.

Pinkie crept up to Sonata. “But I still really want to know what Rainbow does with her tongue.”

Sunset grabbed Pinkie’s collar. “Let’s go, Pinkie.” The group of friends exited Rainbow’s house.

“So what do y’all think?” asked Applejack “Ya think she’s sincere about changing her ways?”

“I hope so.” said Rarity “I’d hate for her to be sleeping with Rainbow Dash if she wasn’t.”

“I know right?” said Sunset. “It’s hard to believe someone so innocent and carefree would try to take over the world.”

“Innocent? You did hear the part about the tongue, yes?” asked Rarity.

“She’s a Siren. Of course she likes sex." said Sunset. "Their kind are used to doing that sort of thing whenever they feel like it.”

“I just wish there was somthin’ we could do to see if she really has changed.” said Applejack.

“I have an idea.” said Fluttershy.

“What did you have in mind?” asked Sunset.

“Well, two days ago, the pet store I work at sold a trio of hamsters to Adagio. I was so worried that she would do terrible things to them! But if Sonata has them, or at least access to them, then maybe they’re okay!”

“That’s a great idea!” said Sunset. “If she’s been taking good care of them, that would show she's sincere about her desire to reform.”

“Either way, I think we should be compassionate, but with a healthy dose of salt and skepticism.” said Rarity.

“And blueberry jam!” Pinkie cheered.

Sonata slithered back to the Dazzling's house. She had allowed Rainbow Dash to keep her own body so she could hang out with her friends, but only on the condition that she not use her powers while in public. These were terms that Rainbow found more than agreeable. Sonata wished she could spend time with them, but decided she needed to return home to at least give lip service to Aria and Adagio. She needed to get up at the very least, as getting up at noon was pushing it, even for a lethargic slime creature.

Sonata slithered in through her window and back into her 'original' body, which was still resting on her creaking bed. Sonata regained control of her ten foot tall form, yawned and stepped out of bed. Adagio and Aria were in the kitchen making peanut, butter and jelly sandwiches.

"These things are awful!" Adagio moaned. "How do humans eat this crap!?"

"I don't know." Aria grumbled as she placed the peanuts in the salty, yellow glaze. "I'm doing what the directions call for, and it's still coming out far worse than a lot of the other human food we try to make."

"Can I have one of those?" Sonata asked sweetly.

Adagio looked up at Sonata. "Help yourself." She handed her the half-eaten sandwich. "I swear... I'll never get this human food thing. This is supposed to be a staple of the human diet, and it tastes like a sweet and salty mess."

Sonata happily took a bite out of the sandwich and froze.

"What do you think?" asked Adagio. "If anyone's gonna like them it's probably you."

"I don't think you made it right. I've had these before, it doesn't taste anything like it's supposed to." Sonata grinned before shoving the rest of the sandwich into her mouth and swallowing. "It's still good though."

Aria handed Sonata her sandwich as well, which she happily consumed. "You were asleep for a long time, Sonata. We were this close to calling the morgue." Aria joked. "Is there any particular reason you needed so much sleep? Maybe talking to yourself too much?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, don't be silly!" Sonata smiled. "My new body just needs a lot of rest and energy to keep itself going." She reached over to the counter and picked up a stick of butter. "After all, I'm lot bigger than you two." She began sucking on the butter as if it were a popsicle.

"That's disgusting, Sonata." Sneered Adagio.

"Hey, you're the one who told her to eat those hamsters alive, remember?" Aria glanced over at her.

"Point taken." said Adagio.

"Yup." said Sonata "My body doesn't seem to discriminate between organic and not-organic material. As long as it was once alive."

Aria rolled her eyes. "That's kind of the definition of organic."

Before Sonata could respond, there was a quiet knock of the door.

Aria looked up and eyed the door with suspicion. "Are either of you expecting company?"

"No." said Adagio.

"Nuh-uh." gulped Sonata. "What if it's the authorities? What if they know what I can do?"

"Then you'll have to eat them." said Adagio.

"Go to your room, Sonata." Aria gestured. "Adagio and I will handle this."

"Okay..." Sonata slinked upstairs as quietly as a ten foot tall slime girl could, but she was curious as to who would possibly be interested in talking to them. She extended a tendril with a tiny eyeball mounted on it into the hallway, so she could see what was going on.

Aria opened the door and saw a timid yellow girl with pink hair on the other side. It was Fluttershy. One of the Rainbooms! "You!" Aria growled.

"Eep!" Fluttershy gasped. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to bother you. I'll just be going now!"

"Not so fast!" Aria grabbed her shoulder. "What the heck are you doing here!? Aren't you aware of how much we hate your guts?"

"Uh. I just wanted to talk to you about th-the hamsters you bought a few days ago..." Fluttershy stuttered. "I wanted to make sure they're alright..."

"Oh, sure," Adagio grinned "Sonata took good care of them. You want to come inside and see?"

"Not really..." Fluttershy gulped. "But, um... If they are alright, could you ask her to please bring them over to Rainbow's house the next time she's over?"

"Next time she's at Rainbow's house!?" Growled Adagio "As in Rainbow Dash? Your stupid vomit-haired friend?"

"If she could come by his evening, that would be best." Fluttershy said timidly. "Because Rainbow won't be home until six."

"This evening?" asked Aria.

"Yes. This evening." said Fluttershy.

"I think we need to have a little chat with Sonata..." said Adagio.

"Indeed we do." said Aria, closing the door.

"But what about my- my hamsters?" Fluttershy gulped.

Aria opened the door and smirked cruelly. "Sonata ate them. They're dead. Now go away!" She hissed before slamming the door back in Fluttershy's devastated face.

Sonata braced herself for the torrent of verbal abuse she was going about to receive. She just sat down on her bed and psyched herself up for it. Aria and Adagio burst into her room "Sonata!" Adagio roared "Why is Rainbow Dash still alive!?"

"Because my body doesn't kill people when it absorb them." Sonata said calmly. "Their consciousness is stored inside me."

"What!?" Aria snarled "You mean everyone you eat is still...?"

"Alive?" Sonata held out her hand and formed the tiny body of Mr. Whiskers out of her ooze. He began sniffing around, looking for food. "Yes. Everything I absorb survives within me, and I can alter it as I see fit. Rainbow Dash is walking freely, but she is still a part of my body."

"You ignorant, taco-obsessed imbecile!" Adagio shouted "She's our enemy! Why in the seven circles of hell would you let her walk around in her own body!?"

"Because she didn't like being trapped inside of me." said Sonata. "She needed her freedom."

"Oh my God..." Said Aria "You developed sympathy for your fucking lunch!"

"Dammit, Sonata!" Adagio raged. "You had one job! One. Job. And that job was the one thing you were actually good at. Eating! You would think you'd be able to handle it! But no, you were too stupid to even get that right!" She raised her fist and slammed it right into Sonata's stomach. Sonata hardened her slime around the fist and held it firm with her body. "That bitch is gonna go right to the authorities! All our plans are going to be ruined if they capture you before you have a chance to grow!"

Sonata was shocked. She wasn't surprised that Adagio had gotten angry enough to attack her, but she couldn't believe that she was foolish enough to attack someone almost three times her size. Sonata just looked down at Adagio with a stern look on her face. All those years of abuse, of being told she was holding the team back, of being blamed for every shortcoming, came to Sonata's mind. Sonata knew that Adagio had never respected her, but for her to act like this when she was relying on Sonata to carry out her plans of world domination, was beyond delusional. "You're not the boss of me..." Sonata said firmly.

"What did you say!?" Adagio roared.

"I'm not letting you tell me what to do anymore! " Sonata yelled "I'm done with you and your schemes! You can go ahead and put your plans for world domination on hold."

"You traitorous bitch..." Adagio seethed. "After all this time we've spent together, you're going to put these monkeys before your own kind!" She continued slamming her fists into Sonata.

"Calm down." Sonata ordered.

Adagio just ignored her. She kept kicking against Sonata. "Of all of us who could have developed super-natural powers it had to be you, the bubble-headed, soft-hearted moron! You're by far the most annoying person I've ever had the displeasure of associating with! Damn you! Damn you to the lowest circle of hell!"

"It's funny because that's where traitors go." Aria smirked. "It seems appropriate."

Sonata re-assimilated the hamster into her mass. "I'm leaving." She said evenly. "Fluttershy has the right to know that her hamsters are unharmed."

Adagio stood in front of the doorway. "If you go out there, I'll tell the entire world about your powers and what you're capable of!" She threatened.

"Is that right?" Sonata smiled at her.

"That's right!" said Adagio "You're not going anywhere without my say-so!"

"Yeah?" Sonata walked through the door anyways, and swallowed Adagio in the process.

Aria gasped. Sonata had never defended herself from one of Adagio's rampages before, let alone something like this. "D-did you just eat her?" She gasped.

"No." said Sonata, as she walked to the bathroom. She turned her body transparent, revealing Adagio's body was still intact and unassimilated. "I'm just holding her until she calms down." Adagio's body flailed around inside of her. "She needed a time out."

"Sonata. Please, will you just think about what you're doing?" Aria chased after her. "After all we've been through together, you're just going to abandon your dreams?"

"I never had a say in anything we did." Sonata said calmly. "I was always following you or Adagio's orders. No more! I'm the one with supernatural powers, not you! I can make my own decisions now!" She liquified her midsection, allowing Adagio to fall to the bathroom floor, covered in ooze.

"But what about our plans...?" Adagio looked up, attempting to milk sympathy out of her fellow Siren. "Don't you want us to take over so the humans will be safe?"

"You don't care about the humans. You've never cared about the humans! You just care about gathering as much power for yourselves as possible! You've been taking advantage of me for too long!" said Sonata. "I'm the only one here who's powerful enough to take over the world. That means I set my own rules, and I want nothing to do with you or your plans!"

"So you're just going to leave us?" asked Adagio. "Is that it?"

"No." said Sonata. "I'll make sure you are taken care of, but you will never rule over humanity. Ever!"

Adagio sighed. She walked dejectedly to her room and slowly closed the door. There was a quiet silence throughout the house.

"So what are you going to do this weekend?" Aria sulked. "Now that we're not taking over the world and all."

"I'm going to spend some time with my new friends." Sonata smiled. "You are welcome to join us. Who knows? You might like it."

"The Rainbooms!?" Aria gagged. "Ugh. I'd rather make love to a cheese grater."

"Fine." said Sonata, shedding the majority of her slime in the bathtub until she was back to her normal size. "I'll leave the offer open, though. You two deserve a second chance as much as I do."

"Uh-huh..." Aria rolled her eyes.

"Oh and keep in mind, if I catch either of you plotting against me or humanity, I have no qualms about absorbing you." Sonata said sweetly as she manipulated her body to give the appearance of clothing. "Just a little warning."

Aria just glared as Sonata hopped down the stairs and ran outside after Fluttershy. "Whatever..." She mumbled darkly.

Night fell over the city of Canterlot. Sonata and Rainbow Dash shapeshifted into their superhero personas, Goo Girl and Jam. They headed downtown, using their sticky arms as rope-like strands to swing from rooftop to rooftop. They latched onto the side of a high-rise skyscraper, clung to the side and climbed up to the roof, giving them a fantastic view of the city. Sonata modified her eyes to be similar to the owl's she had assimilated the previous day. Using her enchanted vision she scanned the city below.

“See anything?” asked Rainbow.

“No.” Sonata said. “The Night Drakes aren’t out this evening. They must have noticed a good number of them went missing last night. They'll be laying low tonight.”

“They’re probably in their hideouts.” said Rainbow.

“Exactly.” said Sonata. “And that’s what we’re going to attack. I’ve learned the location of several Drake hideouts from the thugs I absorbed yesterday, which one do you think we should hit up?”

"The docks.” said Rainbow “It’s more important than any of their other hideouts. Without them, there’s no way for them to easily smuggle their ‘merchandise’ out of the country. We take out the docks, we stop the flow of human trafficking.”

“We can’t just go in and start eating people, though.” said Sonata. “It’s likely they’ll use their prisoners as hostages. I don't want a repeat of what happened last night.”

“You’re right. We need to make sure all the prisoners are safe first.” said Rainbow. “But how are we going to get in?”

Sonata smiled. "I think I have an idea."

Two Night Drakes stood guarding the entrance to a warehouse. Inside were hundreds of crates full of drugs, weapons, body parts and slaves. Security was extra tight tonight, as several important buyers were here, negotiating prices.

One of the guards turned to his cohort, who was slightly shivering. “Whatsa matter. You cold?” He blew a puff of cigarette smoke in his face.

“No.” he replied. “I’m just a little nervous. There's enough paraphernalia in there to get us thrown away for life. Are you absolutely sure the cops aint' coming?”

“Dude. Relax. If they were coming, Captain Flask would’ve let us know. We don’t pay him to misdirect his department for nothing.”

“I’m just worried because of that big bust that happened last night. They arrested Pierce and a whole buncha others without warning.”

“That wasn’t the fuzz.” said the guard. “Flask says they don’t know who done did it. But it wasn’t them.”

“W-what!? But then where did they go!?” The paranoid gangster gulped. "D-do you think we've got a rival gang in town!?"

“Don’t know. They just up and disappeared.” The guard shrugged. “It’s weird. Never thought I’d say this, but I’m glad the cops are looking into it. The worst part is, that bastard Pierce owed me me money.”

“Shhh!” The paranoid guard whispered “Do you hear something?”

They heard a faint giggling coming from behind a shipping crate outside the warehouse.

“What do you suppose that is?” asked the paranoid guard.

“I don’t know. But I’m going to find out.” the guard pulled out his handgun and prowled over to the container. The guard’s eyes lit up. It was two naked girls making out and giggling like schoolchildren.

“Are you crazy?” the paranoid guard whispered. “That’s bait! It couldn’t be more obvious!”

“If the cops were doing a sting, they’d send SWAT, not nudes. You need to learn to appreciate things that just fall into your lap.” He holstered his pistol and casually walked towards the two girls. “Ladies, what are two magnificent slabs of beef like yourselves doing out here this late?”

“Aw…” Sonata pouted. “I thought you said there wasn’t going to be anyone out here this late.”

“I guess I was wrong.” Rainbow pouted. “Not that their arrival is necessarily a bad thing…” She grinned up at the confident guard's crotch.

"Heh!" the guard smiled. "Where are your clothes at, ladies?”

“Where we left them. Duh…” Sonata giggled.

“They’re obviously just drunk lovers.” the guard rolled his eyes. “I say we take them inside with the others.”

“But what about the-?” The paranoid guard started to speak.

Suddenly dozens of tentacles sprouted out of the girls and pulled the two guards into their bodies with a quiet gurgling noise. They then quickly assumed the forms of the two Night Drakes they had devoured and walked back to the doors.

Rainbow Dash assumed the form of the paranoid guard. “I thought for a second this guy was going to see through us.”

“Naw.” Sonata grinned. “Men are easy to manipulate. I used to be a siren, and if I played your cards right, i didn't even need to use magic to get them to do what you wanted.”

Rainbow chuckled. “Heh! I imagine not. Especially with a body as nice as yours.”

"Thanks!" Sonata smiled as she and Rainbow Dash entered the warehouse. Most of the Night Drakes were in the back offices, meaning the storage area was relatively clear. A particularly mean-looking Night Drake walked up to them “Aren’t you two supposed to be on lookout duty?” He growled.

“We were just checking to make sure all the slaves were present.” said Sonata “We have reason to think some of them might have snuck off.”

“Are you telling me my prisoners aren’t secure?” the angry Drake grabbed her jacket.

“Well?” Sonata smirked. “Do you know where they all are?”

“They’re all in the green shipping container behind me." The Drake gestured. "That thing hasn’t been opened since this morning. All twenty of them were present then, and they're present now!”

“Are you absolutely sure that's all the prisoners you have?” Sonata chided him. “They’re all in there? In that crate?”

“Are you telling me I can’t do my job right!?” He yelled. “Because you two seem to be doing a really piss-poor job of being the fucking lookouts!”

“So that is all of them?” Sonata pointed. “In that crate?”

“Yes. That’s all of them! We have twenty prisoners, and they're all in that crate!" He growled as he rolled up his sleeves. "Is there anything else you want to ask before I kick your asses!?”

“No, thank you.” Sonata smiled. She raised her hand up to the Drake’s face and completely engulfed it with her ooze. She then slammed his half-melted head against the shipping container, completely melting it in the process and splattering it all over the walls. His slowly dissolving body slumped against the container. “Well, he certainly wasn’t very friendly.” Sonata turned towards Rainbow.

“I'm going to look through what’s left of him for the keys to this crate.” said Rainbow, sifting through the mass of blue putty for inorganic materials.

“Okay." said Sonata. "I’m going to make sure everyone in there is okay.” She felt around the container until she found a tiny hole caused by a missing rivet and slowly oozed her way into the shipping container. She adapted her eyes once again to allow her to see in low-light conditions, and saw twenty young people chained to the walls of the shipping container with handcuffs.

Sonata’s eyes teared up a little. These poor people were in terrible condition. They were gagged, blind-folded, half-starved and badly beaten. But there was no time to dwell on that. Sonata knew she had to be stoic if she wanted to fight people who could do things like this. She regained her human form and removed the gag from a young green woman. “Are you okay?” Sonata asked softly.

“Please don’t hurt me!” the woman yelped in surprise. “I’m sorry!” Sonata barely recognized the poor girl from the news. It was Lightning Dust, the athlete from Crystal High. She was barely recognizable in this state.

“Shhh!” Sonata tried to calm her down. “It's okay, Lightning. I’m here to get you out of here, to get you all out of here.”

“You don’t know who you're messing with...” Lightning gulped. “The Night Drakes, If they catch you, they’ll…”

“I’m not worried about the Drakes catching me, I’m worried about them catching you.” said Sonata. “Can you run?”

“I could…” Lightning cried. “I was a great athlete... But they knew it, so they banged up my shins, and they…”

Lightning didn’t finish her sentence, but Sonata could see what she was talking about. The Drakes had cut off the two smallest toes on each of her feet. “Those bastards…” Sonata growled. Lightning started sobbing, tears dripped through her blindfold.

Sonata knelt down. “I’ve never done this before, so I don't know if this will work.” Sonata liquefied her hands and placed them over Lightning’s feet, half-melting them.

“What are you doing?” Lightning gulped. "My feet feel weird..."

“Please be quiet.” Sonata said calmly. “I need to concentrate.” She focused on the memory of what a human foot was supposed to look like. Her slime slowly started forming itself into a foot, complete with bone, blood and nerve endings. “Okay…” Sonata sweated. “Now for the hard part.” She started merging Lightning’s feet with her slime. Not enough to assimilate her, but enough that she could feel what Lightning felt. She focused on the surrogate toes, and tried to match them with Lightning’s biorhythms.

Lightning Dust gulped as Sonata slowly fused her nerves into the new feet. Sonata relinquished control of the digits to Lightning. They acted sort of as a combination between a prosthetic and a parasite. They were separate living entities and required nutrients from Lightning’s body to survive, and were a part of both Sonata and Lightning simultaneously. “There we are.” Sonata gave a sight of relief. “Good as new. But I don’t think you’ll be able to grow toenails from now on.”

Lightning wiggled her toes as Sonata began repairing her other injuries. “How did you…? Who are you?” Lightning gasped.

“A friend.” Sonata said simply, as she finished repairing the bruises on Lightning’s legs. “Hmmm. Your body is severely lacking in protein.”

“They haven’t fed us for over two days…” Lightning whimpered.

Sonata stood up. “Open your mouth, please.”

Lightning was hesitant, but figured if whoever was in the room with her had been kind enough to repair her legs, they could be probably be trusted.

Sonata placed a large amount of her body’s stored protein and placed in a blob of ooze approximately the size of a pea. She placed the drop in Lightning's mouth, giving her tongue a slight blueberry flavor sensation as she swallowed. Sonata knew her body was safe for human consumption thanks to Pinkie mistaking her ooze for jelly. “That should give you enough energy to get out of here.” said Sonata “Once you’re clear of the docks, go to the authorities, but not Officer Flask. He’s in on all of this.” Sonata started making her way around to the other prisoners, making sure they were in good enough conditions to run.

“But what about the Night Drakes?” asked a prisoner. “Won’t they come after us once they realize we're escaping?”

“Don’t worry about them.” said Sonata “Tonight, I’m taking care of them once and for all.”

“But then who will keep us safe while we run?” asked Lightning

“My friend will escort all of you out of here.” said Sonata. “I'll stay behind and deal with the Drakes. That should be a big enough distraction to make sure you aren’t followed.” Sonata knocked on the door to the container. “You ready, Jam?”

Rainbow Dash, still disguised as a night Drake, opened the crate. “Took you long enough.” she said factiously.

“They’re all ready to go.” said Sonata, absorbing what was left of the Drake she had melted earlier. “Just help me unlock them.”

Rainbow started going from prisoner to prisoner and unchaining them from the walls. The prisoners were very relieved to be rid of their restraints, and quickly removed their gags and blindfolds. Lightning went to the edge of the container to keep watch.

“So, did you tell them what you can do?” asked Rainbow.

“No.” said Sonata. “That’s none of their business. I’d rather keep my powers a secret for as long as possible.”

“So does that mean you’re not going to go with your friends' plan?”

“With the stadium?” Sonata asked. “No. You’ve shown me that people need to be free to make their own decisions. Even if those decisions aren’t the best choice.”

“We’ve got incoming…” Lightning whispered. “And they definitely know somethings up!”

“Hey!” A Drake yelled, running up to the shipping container, gun drawn. “What the hell is going on here?”

Sonata immediately shot forth a pseudopod the size of a bowling ball into him with such force that it melted clean through his body. Exploding him into chunks of slime.

“Holy shit!” The Drake that was with him cried. He ran for the back offices, but Sonata extended her arm, easily caught him and dragged him into the shipping container.

“So much for subtle…” said Rainbow.

Sonata held the terrified gang member off the ground with a single arm. “How many of you are back there?” She glared.

“W-what?” he asked.

Sonata slammed him against the wall. “How many people are in the back offices?”

“Ah! I don’t know!” he wailed. “Like, at least thirty or so!”

“Any prisoners back there?” The Drake just looked at her with a face of absolute terror. “Well!?” Sonata barked

“No…" He trembled.

That was all Sonata needed to hear. She instantly melted him down and added his body mass to herself. Sonata turned back to the prisoners. They seemed to be having mixed reactions to her brutal absorptions. Many stared dumb-struck, as if they couldn’t fully comprehend what they had just seen, a few shivered in absolute fear, and a couple watched with a look of vengeful glee. "W-what are you?" Lightning asked.

"I told you," Sonata smiled as she headed towards the back offices. "A friend."

"Where are you going?” asked Lightning.

“I’m going to take care of the Night Drakes. Once and for all.” She looked back. "I'm going to make sure what happened to all of you never happens to anyone else."

The prisoners started running out of the warehouses. Rainbow followed them, just in case they ran into any Night Drakes patrolling the docks. "Be safe..." Rainbow yelled to Sonata.

"You don't need to worry about me." said Sonata. "There's no way they'll be able to stop me."

She stepped into the hallway to the back office. A trio of three Night Drakes waited inside. "We've got company!" One of them yelled, drawing his gun.

"Who the hell are you!?" another yelled. "Don't move, or we'll blow your fucking brains out!"

“What’s wrong?” Sonata smirked “Let’s go!”

The Drakes yelled, and immediately began firing. Sonata didn’t even attempt to dodge, simply absorbing all of their gunfire before doing the same to them. Within seconds, she was a swirling vortex of sticky tentacles, by the time she regained her human form, the guards were nothing but piles of blue sludge.

Sonata then shed her extra mass and headed into the back offices. A lone guard was waiting for her. “Hey! You can’t come back here!” he yelled.

Sonata didn’t even give him a chance to react. She instantly punched through the door, leaving just enough of her slime on his unconscious body to assimilate him. Dozens of human traffickers looked up in shock as the melting body slid into the center of the room.

Sonata slowly entered the smoke filled-room, cigarette butts lay everywhere. Inside was a colorful cast of around thirty people, just like the Drake said. They were the lowest scum of the Earth. Drug dealers. Kidnappers. Crooked cops. Rapists. Their clothing varied from the studded leather of the Night Drakes to the well-made three piece suits of corrupt public officials, but it didn’t matter to Sonata. They were all about to be equal inside of her. Sonata said nothing, letting the gangsters soak in the horror of the unfortunate thug slowly melting in the middle of their office.

“What the hell is this!?” yelled a man in a yellow suit, dropping a suitcase full of money in surprise. He spoke with an east European accent.

Sonata looked down as the green federal reserve notes scattered all over the floor. “What the hell is wrong with you!?” She roared. “The world isn’t messed up enough as it is? You need to sell your own kind to get ahead in life!? Is that it!?”

“Oh my god! What the fuck did you do to Gravedigga?” One of the Night Drakes gasped at the sight of his melting comrade, who was still twitching and moaning as Sonata continued to dissolve his body.

"All of you are a disease, plaguing this planet…” Sonata inhaled slowly. “And I’m the immune system!” She growled.

Suddenly, the man in the yellow suit whipped out his pistol and fired, hitting Sonata directly between the eyes. She didn’t even flinch.

Sonata responded by letting out an inhuman roar, before charging directly towards him. Complete chaos erupted within the room. Dozens of bullets ripped through Sonata's body as more and more mobsters started to open fire. Yet she didn’t stop, she instantly melted anyone or anything organic between her and the man in the yellow suit. The man screamed and hid behind his desk, but Sonata simply absorbed the wooden desk and loomed over him.

“You can’t do this!” he screamed “I’m a foreign emissary! That means I have diplomatic imm-“ Sonata wrapped a pseudopod around his head and slammed it into a desk, melting both him and the furniture in the process. She then flung a mass of what was left of him into another gangster, melting him as well. Sonata then jumped into a trio of terrified Night Drakes and instantly dissolved them with a flurry of pseudopods. Her blue slime flew everywhere, melting anything organic it came into contact with.

The room erupted into a chorus of yells as Sonata absorbed dozens of people within seconds. It was as if a sentient, acidic bomb had gone off. Sonata heard an aggressive yell behind her. She turned around just in time to see a Night Drake wielding a combat shotgun fire into her face at point blank, blowing her head clean off her body. The Drake let out massive sigh of relief as the headless body slumped over. "Glad that's over..."

Sonata's body stood back up and she formed a face onto one of her breasts. “Hi!” she said cheerfully, before punching through the Drake's stomach, instantly melting him. Another Drake with a shotgun tried to move in for a similar attack, but Sonata didn't even give him the opportunity. She raised the half-melted body of the first Drake to act as a shield against his gunfire, before slamming into him and melting him as well.

The remaining gangsters stared at Sonata in terror, seemingly unsure if they should fight or flee. Sonata oozed the face on her breast up to where her head should be, she cricked her neck back into place and reformed her breast. “There we go.” she smiled. “Good as new!” At this point Sonata had acquired a staggering amount of body mass, easily two thousand pounds, she was almost the size of a small car.

“Our weapons are useless!” screamed a gunman. “Let’s get the hell out of here!” A dozen or so gangsters broke for the exit and ran.

“Cowards.” Sonata teased them “It’s not so much fun now, is it?” Sonata slid down the hallway and rolled over five of them like a tank, instantly absorbing them. A sixth was caught by a pseudopod and slowly pulled into Sonata's stomach.

“No! Please!” he garbled before being absorbed. The warehouse was in pure chaos. Criminals were running everywhere. Sonata figured she wasn’t going to be able absorb them all at this point, but so far she wasn’t looking bad. It occurred to her that she should probably be targeting businessmen over the common street thugs. The thugs might be more physically strong, but the power and influence of the elites would make them a lot more dangerous in the long run.

One such businessman in a sparkly blue suit bolted down the hallway, shoving a Night Drake in his path to the floor. Sonata pursued him, simply absorbing the fallen thug as she did. The business man reached into his coat and pulled out a cell phone. “Code red! Come red!” he yelled “Get me out of here and torch the whole place!”

Sonata zoomed closer to the fleeing businessman, when a bodyguard with a long tube-shaped weapon appeared at the end of the hallway. “Down!” he yelled before firing the RPG.

The explosive round hit Sonata directly in the face. The entire building shook. To Sonata’s surprise, it actually hurt a little bit. Not so much the shrapnel or the shockwave, but the fiery explosion. A thin layer of blackened slime peeled off her body. Dang. "My body does not like hot temperatures." Sonata coughed.

The businessman continued running, but Sonata wasn’t going to let him get away that easily. She quickly reformed her body and lunged at the man with the bazooka, melting him before he had a chance to reload. The man in the blue suit was heading towards the fire escape, but he was climbing to the roof instead of the ground. Sonata had him now. He was trapped on the roof with nowhere to go.

A few shotgun blasts peppered Sonata’s membrane, but they did nothing to stop her. She saw a pair of Night Drakes on top of a storage container were the source of the gunfire. One of them pulled out a fragmentation grenade and tossed it at Sonata. “Eat this!” he yelled.

Sonata’s body absorbed the grenade and held it firm, the explosion blew out a large chunk of her stomach, which almost immediately reformed.

Sonata slithered up to the container. “It wasn’t a very good meal.” she teased, poking the tiny human. “Maybe you’ll taste better.” She grabbed the duo with her psudodopod, shoved them into her salivating maw and swallowed them whole.

Sonata heard the whirl of an approaching helicopter. “Oh no you don't! You're not getting away that easily!” She quickly slimed her way up to the to the roof. She arrived just in time to see two men in silver body suits rappelling down from a helicopter, armed with flamethrowers.

“Not a step closer there, Missy!” said the businessman. “I saw how bad a number that rocket did on you. Imagine how bad it’d be if Flamer and Burnie got their hands on ya.” The two men held up their flamethrowers menacingly. "Let's just talk, okay?"

“What do you want?” Sonata growled. “Who are you?”

“I go by Gladmane, and I wanna know why you had to go and ruin a good thing.” he scowled. “ What even are you? Some of sort science fair project gone wrong?" He shrugged. "I guess it don't really matter none. What I really want to know is, why'd you come after me and my people?”

“You kidnap people and sell them as sex slaves!” yelled Sonata. “A pair of your thugs tried to do it to me!”

“Ah, the Night Drakes.” the businessman brushed his suit. “I figured those undisciplined thugs would attract trouble. But I guessed it'd something along the lines of a P.I. with a death wish. I never imagined it’d be anything like you.” Gladmane chuckled. “Look, there really aint' no reason for us to be enemies. I have little love for the Night Drakes, and human trafficking makes me little more than pocket change. Mayhap’s we could team up?”

“Team up?” Sonata frowned.

“Look, I'm rich, okay. I'm offering to hire you and your... unique talents." Gladmane gestured towards her. "You'd be quite the asset to my little business empire."

“Why would I ever agree to work for scum like you!?” Sonata snapped, causing the two bodyguards to raise their flamethrowers.

Gladmane gestured for them to stand down. "What is it you desire?” he asked. “Whatever it is, I can get it for you. Trust me, I have the money.”

“I want people to be safe.” Sonata said flatly.

“Safe?” Gladmane laughed. “Safety is an illusion. I thought I was going to be safe tonight! I took every precaution to preserve my own life, bodyguards, body armor under the suit, backup plan to torch the entire warehouse to the ground... And look at what happened! You quite nearly ate me like a jelly baby! 'Safe' does not exist."

"The world would be a lot safer without trash like you!" Sonata growled.

Gladmane smiled again. "Don't try and act like you're so much better than I am." said Gladmane. "I know who you actually are, Sonata Dusk."

"What!?" Sonata looked at him in shock. "H-how do you...?"

"When you have the types of connections I do, you tend to pick up on things your average dullard might miss. That stunt you botched at that high school, subtle as a chainsaw." Gladmane grinned. "From what I've gathered, you and your cohorts feed on other's happiness to survive. So you're in no position to scold me about exploiting others to get ahead."

"I was manipulating their emotions!" Sonata snarled. "Not snatching people off the streets! We are not the same!"

"What is the purpose of life?" asked Gladmane.

"What?" asked Sonata.

"That is kind of a non sequitur, boss." One of the bodyguards chuckled.

"Shut up, Burnie." Gladmane said without emotion. "I ask you, Sonata Dusk. Why are we here?"

"I Don't know..." said Sonata.

"I do. And it's a simple answer." said Gladmane "Pleasure."

"Pleasure!?" Sonata gasped.

"Think about it." said Gladmane "You could live life as an absolute saint. Giving money to the poor, food to the orphans, all that crap. And guess what ya get for it?"

"Uhh..." Sonata started.

"You don't get jack fucking shit!" Gladmane yelled. "You only get a century or so on this rock before you die! Good or evil, they all lead to the same fucking place!"

"You're afraid of dying?" asked Sonata.

"That's the one thing that separates you and me." said Gladmane. "You've never had to face the prospect of dying! You're some immortal being, who feeds off the pleasure of others, the one thing in life that matters, and you steal it from others without a thought! I'd rather be dead than miserable! Now tell me again how were so different."

"Easy." Sonata smirked "I don't kill people."

"You just ate dozens my men." said Gladmane. "Many of whom were just dumb kids off the street, and ya seemed pretty happy bout' doin' it."

“The people inside of me are still alive.” said Sonata. "I assimilate then, I don't consume them."

“So the minds of those you consume is kept preserved in your own consciousness?” Gladmane raised his eyebrow. “How interesting, and also…counterproductive.”

“Wha? What do you mean!?” Sonata was taken aback.

“You want the world to be safe, and you have a immortal, nigh-indestructible body. And who do you fill it with? The dying? cancer patients? Ha!" He laughed. "No, you fill it with drug dealers, murderers, rapists. The underbelly of humanity. You’re not a sanctuary, you’re a prison.”

“SHUT UP!” Sonata lunged at him, eliciting a stream of fire from Gladmane’s bodyguards. The fiery napalm seeped into Sonata’s body. She fell to the ground, half-melted and sobbing in pain. It felt like her insides were on fire. Sonata could barely keep her body in a coherent form as her own slime boiled within her.

“You may be powerful, but you aint invincible. Everyone has their Achille's heel” Gladmane chuckled “If you continue on your own path, It will only be a matter of time before the world governments learn of your existence. And then what? Will they capture you and try to weaponize you? Or will they simply bomb you into oblivion? You’re not safe at all. You're a walking target, waiting for an arrow. And when a good archer comes along to finish you, all those poor souls within you you will die as well.”

“No!” Sonata wrapped a pseudopod around one of Gladmane’s bodyguards, but his fire-retardant suit was made of an inorganic rubber material. She couldn’t melt through it. The guards responded by flaming the elongated extremity with napalm, melting it into sticky, blackened putty. Sonata cried out in pain.

“Look, kid.” Gladmane gloated. “I don’t know how you managed to delude yourself into believing that the entire world is your responsibility. But let me tell ya, the only thing that matters in life is milking as much pleasure out of it as you can, because one day, no matter how much of a goody-two shoes you are, you die. Others are just tools to be exploited in your pursuit of that pleasure."

Sonata continued sobbing on the ground as basketball-sized goblets of dead slime leaked from her stomach.

"So, what do you say?" Gladmane walked towards her. "Are you willing to work with me? With you're talents, you could make me enough money that I wouldn't even need to consider kidnaping people. I can protect you from the government. I have that kind of influence. Please! For your own good, accept my offer!”

"Maybe you're right..." Sonata gulped in pain. "Maybe we are a lot alike..."

"Join me!" Gladmane smiled "It would benefit us both."

"I fed on the happiness of others... with no consideration for how it would affect them." Sonata shook. "And I feel awful about it. So I'm asking you, Mr. Gladmane. Please don't walk down the same path I did. You're rich. Put your wealth and power into helping others... That's how you'll find real happiness..."

Gladmane frowned “Well, I guess we won’t be working together.” Gladmane climbed back into the helicopter. "Torch her!" He ordered.

The two bodyguards emptied their flamethrowers into Sonata's writhing body, lighting the entire roof on fire in the process. Dozens of gallons of melted slime dripped from Sonata's body as the two pyros mercilessly sprayed flaming napalm into her body.

"Scum!" Sonata screamed in agony as her body turned to jelly.

"It's not exactly a title I try to keep secret." Gladmane chuckled as his two bodyguards climbed aboard the helicopter. “If it makes you feel any better, knowyou cost me a whole lot of money tonight. That’ll give you something nice to think about as you burn!”

Sonata glared as the helicopter took off. It turned around a fired a massive barrage of hellfire missiles into the warehouse roof. Sonata's body was able to absorb bullets without consequence, but it couldn't stand up to a direct hit from a missile. She tried to stand up and run, but her body was far to limp to get very far. The helicopter was already upon her and unleashed a barrage of devastating explosions.

All of the missiles hit Sonata dead on. She could feel her body being completely torn apart by the blasts. Great chunks of her blackened slime erupted, her limbs were severed, she looked back only for a helicopter to launch a missile directly into her eye. Her limp body fell through the roof of the warehouse, leaving a massive crater in the concrete floor below.

“I can’t die…" Sonata cried. "I’ve got to take care of everyone…” Sonata cried. She was afraid. Not only for herself, but for the dozens of souls inside of her. She had to try to reform her body, assuming there was anything left to reform. She focused on having a cohesive form. She imagined the sensation of having fingers, then eyes and a torso, and was able to regain a legless slug-like form. Not much of her slime had survived. She estimated she was no bigger than three inches tall and had lost 99 percent of her original mass.

The warehouse was completely engulfed in flames. The inferno was causing Sonata's precious remaining skin to flake off and turn purple. Sonata slimed towards the relief of an automatic fire sprinkler. The cooling water cascaded over her slimy body. It was the only thing keeping her from melting into nothingness. Sonata could see a tall humanoid form approaching her. “R-r-rainbow Dash….” Sonata whimpered over the roaring fire.

It wasn’t Rainbow Dash. It was Gladmane’s bodyguards. “ Hey! There’s a big chunk of it over there.” one pointed towards a still-living chunk of slime clinging to a shipping container.

“I got it.” said the other bodyguard. He raised his flamethrower towards the chunk and fried it until it was a blackened husk. Sonata winced. She could feel her connection to the ooze fade away.

“This is nuts, man.” Flamer shook his head. “We’re hunting slime monsters now!? What kind of shit has Gladmane gotten himself into this time?”

"I know right?" Burnie laughed "I aint got no trouble with burnin' drugs, arson or even a little cremation here and there. But this? Hunting down a supernatural slime monster? What the fuck is this?"

"Hey, at least she's weak against the fire, and these suits protect us from her." said Flamer "Count your blessings."

"Yeah." Burnie sighed. "I guess you're right."

"You got cleanup handled in here?" asked Flamer. "I'm gonna check the offices to make sure all the paperwork goes up. Don't want the fuzz finding any receipts now do we?"

Burnie shrugged. "I guess so. Besides, I think we killed her with the missiles. I shouldn't be in an danger."

"Okay, but be careful." Flamer headed to the back offices. "I'll meet you at the back entrance in two minutes. Don't hang around too long afterwards. Cops'll probably be on their way about now."

Sonata watched as Burnie went around the room, incinerating globs of Sonata's body as he went. Sonata could feel each and every one of them. It hurt. It hurt a lot. She looked at her dissolving body, it was starting to turn purple due to the heat. Sonata cried. She was aware now that she was very close to dying. It wasn't supposed to end like this. She was so confident that her powers had made her untouchable that she hadn't even considered the possibility of death.

Burnie looked directly at Sonata. Had he seen her? Sonata assumed she was too small to be easily seen. But then she realized her body had melted as she crawled towards the water, and in doing so, it had left a trail of melted slime that led the pyromaniac right to her. Burnie spotted her pathetic form in the cascade of cooling water. "Ooo, whats this?" He chuckled. "Using the water to keep yourself alive?"

Sonata just looked up at his gargantuan form with tears in her eyes.

"Clever girl..." Burnie raised his flamethrower.

Suddenly, there was a honking noise as a semi-truck burst into the warehouse, completely engulfed in flames. Burnie had to leap out of the way as the truck crashed into a pile of rubble next to him.

"What the hell!?" Burnie sprayed the truck's carriage with a jet of napalm. Shattering the window and causing the gas tank to explode.

As the blackened truck slowly smoldered, a violet ooze poured out from its undercarriage and formed into Rainbow Dash's half-melted form. She had obviously gained more mass, presumably from a few unlucky criminals, but it wasn't going to last long in the fire. Already she was flaking off skin and was literally sweating bullets, as chunks of inorganic debris she had picked up popped out of her body.

Burnie raised his flamethrower towards Rainbow, but found he had expended his napalm reserves on the truck. Rainbow ripped it away from him with a quick swipe of her pseudopod-like arm before he could even think about reloading. She them slammed him into a wall with her slime and slithered on top of him, but found she couldn't melt through his hazard suit. Already she had lost half her mass, and was rapidly melting down even more.

"Stupid slime!" Burnie gloated. "Running in here without protection from the heat? You'll be little more than a pile of sludge in a few moments, and there's nothing you can do to hurt me! This suit protects me from both the fire, and your ability to melt me!"

Rainbow pointed a finger at his stomach. "Is it bulletproof?" she asked as a bullet erupted out of her finger.

Burnie cried out in pain as the bullet tore through both his suit and his intestines. He screamed in agony.

"I guess that's a no." Rainbow frowned as she shoved a tendril into the wound, numbing the pain as his body melted. She transferred her consciousness to the organic material she had assimilated inside the suit just as her old body collapsed into a pile of bubbling, purple sludge. Now offered a degree of protection by the hazard suit, Rainbow Dash began to search for Sonata.

"Sonata! Sonata!?" she yelled, her cries muffled by the suits filtration system and the roaring inferno.

"R...rainbow..." Sonata said weakly. She raised a hand outside the water, only for it to instantly melt into putty.

"I know you're here, Sonata!" Rainbow cried. "I can sense your presence! If you're okay, please give me a sign!"

Sonata raised her other arm and fired an explosive burst of her own slime into Rainbow Dash's gas mask, which instantly blackened into sludge.

"Sonata!" Rainbow rushed over to the leaking water and spotted the diminutive Siren. "Are you okay!?"

Sonata looked down at the hole in the hazard suit. Blackened sludge was oozing out of it. "It's too late, Dashie..." Sonata moaned. "Save yourself. Be a better person than I was."

"No way!" Rainbow growled. "I'm going to save you!" She mimicked Sonata's word's to Faithful Servant.

"You can't save me." said Sonata. "It's too hot! The moment you take me out of this water, I'll melt!"

Rainbow Dash pulled one of the fire-proof gloves off of her hazard suit. Her unprotected arm immediately began to blacken and flake due to the heat. "I can carry you in this!" Rainbow grunted through the pain." She scooped up Sonata's frail body and as much water as she could into the thick glove.

As Rainbow turned to leave, she heard a groaning noise coming from above. "Oh crap!" She yelped just before half of the ceiling collapsed. Rainbow dove beneath a shipping container, placing the glove below her body for protection as a wave of fire swept through the room.

"What's going on?" Sonata cried.

Rainbow surveyed the flaming warehouse. Fire was everywhere. "We're not getting out the way we came in." Rainbow gulped. "There's only one option left. We go further in, and try to find another way out."

"Don't go to the offices!" Gasped Sonata "That's where the other..."

Flamer stepped out of the smoldering hallway to the office spaces. "Alright. I got all the documents. Now let's get the hell out of here. This is getting to intense even for..." He looked up at his partner's hazard suit, and saw the hole in the chest oozing black fluid and the melting arm. Flamer shook his head. "You had one job, Burnie. One job! Don't get eaten by the slime monster!" He raised his flamethrower towards Rainbow. "And you fucked it up!"

Rainbow reacted by flinging her desiccated arm into Flamer's visor, effectively blinding him.

"Run!" Sonata gasped.

Flamer started spraying fire in every direction, a stream of which grazed Rainbow's leg, causing a great deal of her slime to boil away. She quickly charged at the blinded pyromaniac, but instead of attacking him, she melted down her form to the point where she was effectively liquid and slid the hazard suit in between his legs like a limp rag. She then reconstituted herself on the other side and began running.

Flamer wiped his visor free of slime just in time to see Rainbow Dash disappear down the hallway behind him. "Slippery little bitch!" He growled and began pursuing her.

Rainbow Dash burst into the men's restroom, which didn't seem to be on fire, yet. She quickly made her way over to one of the stalls and slammed the door shut behind her.

Flamer didn't waste any time. He was determined not to let them escape. He kicked open the door to the restroom and started spraying fire indiscriminately into the room. "Take this you oversized slug!" He cackled.

"R-rainbow... What are we doing?" Sonata moaned weakly as the room caught fire.

"Escaping." said Rainbow. She dumped Sonata into the toilet and flushed her down.

Sonata nearly vomited as she swirled down the disorienting network of pipes. She could barely manage to hold a coherent form as she splashed into a reservoir full of waste water. Sonata floated limply on the surface of the foul liquid. She was so weak. So fragile. So tired. She wanted to close her eyes and rest for a bit, but she knew if she did she was likely to dissolve into nothingness. She just had to stay awake. She had to keep focused. For the sake of all of the souls inside of her, she had to survive!

Rainbow Dash splashed into the reservoir next to her, shedding huge chunks of burnt slime as she did. Rainbow had lost so much mass she was around the size of a house cat, which still put her above Sonata, who was barely the size of a bottle cap . Rainbow swam over to Sonata and picked her up. Sonata wasn't in good shape. Her facial features were melting off of her, and half her body seemed to have been singed by the flames "Sonata! Wake up!" Rainbow extended a pseudopod and pulled them out of the reservoir and onto a concrete maintenance area.

Sonata was laying perfectly still. She had stopped breathing.

"No, please!" Rainbow gasped. "Don't die on me, Sonata! Please! You're tougher than this!" She extended a pair of tentacles into Sonata's chest and started manually reforming her organs. The first thing to do was to start her 'blood' steam, which was achieved easily enough by linking it up with Rainbow's own heartbeat. Next was the lungs. Rainbow quickly created new air sacs for Sonata and linked them up with her own respiratory system before jettisoning her old lungs, which were half-flooded with wastewater and melted slime.

The only thing left to do was to restart Sonata's brain, which was only emitting a faint amount of activity. Rainbow Dash tried jolting it with a slight shock from her body's electric field, but that failed to achieve any kind of response. "C'mon Sonata. Please..." Rainbow cried. "You need to come back!" She gulped. "I fixed you... I fixed everything..."

There was still no response. It was as if Sonata was in a coma.

Rainbow started sobbing. Her tears of slime slowly started to merge into Sonata's chest, which gave out only the tiniest of shallow breaths. Rainbow opened her eyes and saw the drops melting into her friend's tiny body. Rainbow gulped. She only saw one option left. She was going to have to go inside Sonata's mind. She took a deep breath and plunged her head into Sonata's, merging their minds.

Rainbow awoke in a soft blue void. Everything around her seemed to sparkle with an ethereal glow. She was inside Sonata's subconscious mind, and appeared as an astral projection of her humanoid form. She was naked, but she didn't feel any of the cold or shame that normally came with nudity. "Hello!?" Rainbow shouted. "Sonata? Are you there?"

"Yes. I'm here." Rainbow Dash heard a high pitched voice. She turned around and saw a tiny blue creature standing in front of her. It looked like a strange cross between a pony, a fish and a snake. It looked up at her with large, unmistakable pink eyes. Rainbow recognized it as a Siren.

"Sonata?" Rainbow asked softly.

"That's me!" The tiny creature chirped happily. She looked up a Rainbow Dash with her big beady eyes. "What's your name?"

"Uh, Rainbow Dash." She sat down so she could look at her face-to-face. "Is this what you normally look like, Sonata? As a Siren?"

The tiny creature looked confused. "You're silly, Rainbow. I've always looked like this." She squeaked.

Rainbow realized this wasn't the Sonata she knew, but a fragment of her childhood memories. "You're still a child, aren't you?"

"Nah-uh!" She laughed. "I just turned twenty-one yesterday, which means I'm a big Siren now. Even if I still can't eat emotions right yet."

"You can't eat emotions?" Rainbow looked confused. "I thought that was your thing."

"Well, most of us can when we get old enough, but my tummy doesn't seem to like them very much. I look at the ponies, and I try to feed off of them, but it just makes me feel sick." Sonata looked at the ground with shame. "But it's okay, I like eating fishes a lot more. But Aria says if you can't feed of emotions, you're not a real Siren. They say we can hang out once I've finished growing up though!"

"Adagio and Aria?" asked Rainbow. "The purple and orange Sirens?"

"Yeah!" Sonata chirped. "How'd you know? Are you friends with them?"

"No." Rainbow said flatly. "And it doesn't sound like you are either."

"What do you mean?" Sonata wailed. "T-they're my friends!"

"A real friend accepts you for who you are." said Rainbow. "They don't expect you to change just so you can be friends. It seems to me like they're just using you."

"No! That's not true! They accept me for who I am!" yelled Sonata. "They're my friends! They just... want me to... be better, so I'll fit in! Just leave me alone!" The tiny Siren ran off.

"You're lonely aren't you?" Rainbow said softly "You've fed off of love your whole life. But you've never really had any for yourself. So you tried to find it in them. And desperately tried to convince yourself that's what it was you were missing..."

Another vision appeared about thirty feet before her. It was two pegasus wearing what appeared to be Roman togas, cuddling under a fig tree together. One male and one female. The two were clearly deeply in love.

"That's what Twilight's people look like?" Rainbow rubbed her chin. "Huh. I figured they'd be taller."

An older version of Sonata appeared next to her, just staring wistfully at the young couple.

"What are you doing?" Rainbow asked her.

"Hunting." Sonata said flatly. "I'm stalking out my prey."

"They look happy, don't they?" Rainbow smiled.

"Yes..." Sonata licked her lips. "I can almost taste if from here!"

"Then why haven't you gone in?" asked Rainbow "What are you waiting for?"

"I'm just waiting for the right moment to strike." Sonata squinted her eyes. "A predator can't allow her prey a chance to escape."

"Really?" Rainbow smirked. "Because it looks to me like you're jealous."

"What!?" Sonata sputtered. "I am not! I am a fearsome predator, and they are my prey! I'm a Siren, the terror of the sea! Those soft, weak ponies could only dream of being as powerful as I am! They're the one's who should be jealous!"

"Okay." said Rainbow. "I'll take your word for it."

Sonata went back to watching the ponies and sighed. "Maybe I am just a little... jealous." she hung her head. "I taste how happy they are, and I have to ask. Why can't I have that for myself? Why do I need to take it from others? I have friends..., but no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to find the emotion those two are feeling inside myself. It's like I outhave an empty hole in my soul that desperately needs to be filled."

Suddenly, two other Sirens appeared put of nowhere and descended on the two ponies, easily overpowering them. The Sirens quickly started sucking a green mist out of the terrified ponies mouth.

"Your friends?" asked Rainbow.

Sonata shook her head. "I like to think so. But I know in the back of my mind, I'm just their hunting partner. Siren magic amplifies itself when used in groups, especially in a trio. We stick together because it is in our best interests to do so, not because we like each other."

"But you'd like real friends, wouldn't you?"

Sonata sighed. "Yes. But I can't. Look at me! I'm a monster to them. I feed on their very happiness! Even if some pony were to befriend me, I'd likely to devour their love for me, even if by accident. Besides, my hunting parters wouldn't be happy about it. It's best if I just don't think about it."

The two Sirens in the distant waved Sonata over. "Sonata! What in Tartarus are you doing!?" Yelled the memory of Adagio. "Get your ick-ridden ass over her or we're gonna suck em dry without you!"

Sonata sighed. "I need to go. It was nice talking with you. Whatever you are..."

The memory disappeared. Only for another one to reappear with a blinding flash, It was three nude, human female forms. Rainbow instantly recognized them as the Dazzlings. They were wearing nothing but simple red pendants, and hadn't appeared to have aged at all in the hundreds of years between whenever this memory took place and when Rainbow had met them.

"What the!?" Aria gasped. "Where the Hades are we!?"

Sonata held up her hands and gasped. "What happened to my hooves! And what are these!?" She gasped, crawling in panic away from her own legs.

"It's Starswirl!" Growled Adagio "That miserable bastard has sent us to a different dimension! He couldn't beat us, so he figured he'd just sweep us under the rug like a lazy schoolchild!"

"My magic!" Aria gasped. "I can't feel my magic! This world doesn't have magic!"

"No!" Sonata wailed. "Without magic they'll be nothing for us to eat! We're going to starve!"

"Shhh!" Adagio hushed them "I can sense something. Something magical. It's not much. But it's something." She looked towards the source and saw it was coming from a man dressed in a bright blue cloak with what appeared to be a bucket on his head. Rainbow Dash recognized him as a Crusader.

"That's the source of magic?" Aria scratched her head. "Is there even anything alive under all that?"

"It's alone." Adagio grinned. "We may as well find out."

The trio approached the strange being, who looked up at them. "Ye foul harlets!" He cried. "What business have ye wandering around in God's light uncovered and unashamed?" Cried the Crusader. "Think ye that the soldier's of God will be tempted by your sinful bodies? Give me strength, If God willed it, I'd..."

"You talk to much." Adagio waved her hand past his face. A green mist poured out of his helmet and into Adagio's pendant. The man moaned before falling feebly to the ground.

"Is it magic?" Aria asked franticly.

Adagio smacked her lips. "Barely. But, yes. We could definitely sustain ourselves off of this if we had to. And possibly charm a handful of... whatever these things are."

"Thank goodness..." Aria sighed. "I was afraid we'd starve."

Sonata was still on the ground, freaking out over the concept of having feet.

Adagio gestured towards the shaking knight. "Eat up!" She ordered. "We've got a long journey ahead of us if we're going to figure out how this world operates, let alone find a way back home."

"Why bother?" Aria smirked as she drained the crusader's essence. "Equestria has magic, yes. But they know how to use it. This fool isn't even resisting. I don't think these bipeds even have a clue how it works."

"Yes..." Adagio grinned. "We can't take over Equestria, sure. But Starswirl has send us to a plane full of sheep, and we're the wolves. Maybe this place won't be so bad after all."

"Adagio! What are these!?" Sonata franticly waved her fingers in Adagio's face.

"Those are digits, you moron!" Adagio snapped. "Lots of creatures who can't use magic have them, Dogs, Griffons, Minotaurs. Stop freaking out."

"The spell transformed us into one of these bipeds." Aria slurped down the Crusader's hopes and dreams. "Quit being stupid and get yourself fed up! We don't know when our next meal may come along."

"We also might want to find these bodies some coverings." Adagio suggested. "This one seemed quite disturbed by our nakedness."

"Whatever." Aria shrugged as the two walked out of the memory, leaving Sonata alone with the knight.

"Are you okay?" Sonata asked him. "You're not going to die, are you?"

The knight grunted. "God's grace will protect me from your foul magic, hag!"

Sonata knew she should get straight to the point and eat his last remaining scraps of joy, but her curiosity about these creatures was stuck at the forefront of her mind. "What are you called? Do you have names?" she asked.

"I am Odo of Genoa..." He moaned, and removed his helmet, revealing a handsome Italian man with long brown hair underneath. "and I do not fear death..."

"I don't want to kill you." Sonata knelt down to him. "I just want to go home."

"I understand that sentiment, witch." said Odo. "I miss my wife, and my country."

"Then why don't you go back?" asked Sonata "Were you banished as well?"

The knight shook his head. "I fight in penance for my sins. I have committed deeds most foul before the Lord. The Pope has offered annulments to those who gave their swords to fight for this noble cause."

"You are here because you were a bad person?" asked Sonata.

"Yes. I needed a way to redeem myself. I only hope if I die, I can see my wife in heaven. So go on, enchantress. If you are to feed on my soul, I beg of ye, leave a little of me for the angels. "

"I am really hungry." Sonata gulped. But she knelt down and helped the fatigued man to his feet. "But you'll need your strength before you go into battle. I can find someone else to feed off of."

"Thank you..." The knight looked her right in the eyes. "My creed tells me that I should not suffer a witch to live." He picked up his sword.

Sonata gulped in fear. He wasn't going to kill her, was he?

The knight sheathed his sword into his scabbard. "Guess that's another thing I'll need forgiveness for." He smiled.

Sonata gave a sigh of relief. She hugged Odo.

"Alright, alright, that's enough." He chuckled, putting his helmet back on. "I've probably gotten at least six more months in purgatory just for this."

"You're welcome!" Sonata said sweetly.

Odo chuckled. "Take care of yourself, and for God's sake, put some clothes on!" He waved before disappearing out of the memory.

Sonata turned around and looked directly at Rainbow Dash. "It's rude to go poking around in other people's heads." She said.

"I had to do something." said Rainbow. "You were dying out there, and I couldn't seem to revive you. This was my only option."

Sonata sat quietly, looking at the space where Odo had once been.

"What happened to him?" asked Rainbow.

"He died." Sonata said sadly. "He was killed during the Siege of Jerusalem. Him and countless others. He was the first human I ever talked to, and he died a thankless death on a pointless battlefield."

"That's why you don't never grew too attached to people." Rainbow realized. "You're afraid of losing people you care about."

"As far as I know, Sirens don't age. Barring violence or starvation, I could potentially live forever." Sonata sighed. "I've seen millions of humans succumb to old age around me. It's so sad. A few decades isn't enough time."

"But it's the time we're given." said Rainbow. "That's just what the real world is like."

"Why would I want to go back out there?" asked Sonata's subconsciousness. Dozens of jubilant souls surrounded her. "Out there, finding comfort and happiness was nigh impossible. But in here, I am surrounded by the souls of people who love me. Who's only focus is to praise me for freeing them from the torment of reality."

"Because this isn't life. This isn't living." said Rainbow "This is just a manifestation of what you've always wanted. To be unconditionally loved, despite all the terrible things you've done."

"That's right." said Sonata "And now that I have it, why would I ever want to go back to reality? People are jerks there!"

"Because it isn't real." Rainbow walked up to Sonata "None of this is real."

"So what if it's fake love!?" said Sonata. "At least I have it now!"

"But Sonata..." said Rainbow "You have it in real life too."

Sonata's eyes widened. "W-what are you talking about? Aria and Adagio hate me."

"This isn't about them." said Rainbow "This is about me. You ate me, Sonata. You took away my ability to be truly independent. But I want you to know, I forgive you. If there was any person I'd have to be trapped with, It would be you."

"F-for realzies?" Sonata gulped. Tears started welling up in her eyes.

"You've treated me not like an enemy, but like a friend. I haven't met many with a heart as compassionate as yours." Rainbow floated closer to her. "I don't know if you meant to, but you offered your friendship to me. And I'd like to offer you mine in return."

"Yes..." said Sonata. "Yes. I want to be your friend..." She sniffed, running forward into Rainbow's arms. "I love you, Dashie!"

"I love you too." Rainbow held her tight. "I didn't think... When we met in that shower... that you'd mean anything to me... I thought you'd just be... a tool to help me get off." Rainbow gulped. "But now that I've spent time with you... I think you're the most wonderful person I've ever met. All you've been through to try to find someone who genuinely loves you, and you found it by complete accident."

"I didn't think anyone could." Sonata nuzzled her "I was a monster who didn't deserve a second chance. Let alone some one who really loves me!"

"Don't worry about the past." said Rainbow. "Worry about the future. There's still so much good you can do." She looked Sonata right in the eye. "I forgive you for what you've done. The question is, can you forgive yourself?"

Sonata thought for a moment, then she gently nodded. "Yes... I want to help people. I want to make the world a better place. But how do I get out of here?" She gestured around her. "I'm trapped in a prison of my own mind."

"I think I need to deliver some sort of shock." said Rainbow.

"You mean like electricity or something?" Sonata scratched her head.

"Or something..." Rainbow smiled before leaning in and planted her lips directly against Sonata's.

Sonata's eyes widened, but quickly closed as she basked in Rainbow's embrace. It was a lot like the time they had met in the showers, but this was different. That time they had both agreed to it because they had ulterior motives, this time, it was purely genuine. She could feel Rainbow kissing her with a loving passion that wasn't there before. The two fell to the ground as the reality of Sonata's mind began to swirl away, and the fell back into the real world. The two formed intertwining bodies out of the blue slime, tenderly kissing and merging in and out of one another as they reformed their bodies.

A tiny rat stared in confusion at the sight of the two girls appearing seemingly out of nowhere, before scampering of down the pipes. At last, their bodies finished reconstituting themselves. Sonata looked directly into Rainbow's sparkling eyes. "I love you, Sonata..." Rainbow said softly.

"You saved me, Dashie..." Sonata smiled. "Even though you would have gotten your freedom if I had died."

"Oh yeah." Rainbow grinned. "I didn't even think about that. I was too focused on keeping you safe."

"You put saving me over your own freedom..." Sonata hugged her. "You really are a good friend, Rainbow."

"You are too, Sonata." Rainbow hugged her back. "For realzies..."