Phoenix

“So are you gonna tell us about your meeting with Cinch, or are you going to keep moping around all day?” Aria asked as she sat down at the group’s usual lunch table, setting her tray down in front of her as she continued to watch Fireside. “Hel-looooo, Gaia to Fireside, do you copy?”

“Hmm…? What…? Oh, sorry Aria, what were you asking?” Fireside’s head shot up from her own tray, were she had spent the last minute just lazily digging at her salad without taking a bite.

“What’s up, Fireside? I’ve never seen you like this before.” Twilight said, a worried look on her face as she reached towards the girl.

“Yeah!” came Sonata’s muffled voice, crumbs from her taco spilling from her mouth. “You were, like, totally out of it in Home Ec today!”

“Oh… Sorry… just a little… preoccupied, that’s all.” Fireside gave a small smile before she started to shovel forkfuls of salad into her mouth, Adagio narrowing her eyes as she studied the girl.

***

“So, Red, I got a question for ya!” Fireside turned around to look at the goggle wearing girl in the other shower stall.

“As long as it’s not about my day, then sure.” the girl shrugged as she continued to massage her scalp, lathering the shampoo into her short mane of hair.

“I was thinking you could join me ‘n Aria at the gym! We could use a third.”

“You mean I could use someone that would challenge me!” Aria shouted from the stall on the far side of Indigo.

“Shut up ya pretentious bitch!” Indigo spun around to playfully toss her wash cloth at her friend, the pair laughing as they bantered back and forth.

“That’s a pretty big word, Zap! How many hours did it take ya to learn it?”

“About as many hours as it took ya to shave that massive bush of yours, Toker!”

Fireside let out a low sigh as she returned to scrubbing away the sweat that still lingered from the exertion that was Gym. Ever since the meeting with Principal Cinch this morning, Fireside had been distracted by her thoughts of what the woman had brought up. Normally she wouldn’t even give the woman’s chatter a second pass, but things were just seeming to… click.

The video that those other girls showed, of the amber skinned girl with fiery red and yellow hair, made more sense now. That must have been Sunset Shimmer. But that raised concerns about Octavia and the others, as they said that she called herself Sunset Shimmer while she studied at CHS. But they also said that she left before the start of this school year, and that video was dated for October, when she would have been gone from the school already.

But why was she doubting it so much?

***

The rest of the day had passed without much of a change in Fireside, the girl seeming extremely uninterested in her classes, her face constantly scrunched up in fervent concentration, almost ignoring the teachers on accident.

“So, Cinch.” Adagio said as the four finished setting the table for dinner. “What did she want from you?”

“You aren’t in trouble for saving me, are you!?” Sonata gasped, tears starting to stream from her eyes at the thought of Fireside being expelled for saving her.

“No, everything is fine! Really!” Fireside sighed with exhaustion as she shook her head, slowly setting her fork back onto the table. “Could the three of you just drop it? Please?”

“Okay, seriously, Glow, that isn’t helping your case.” Aria as as she let her fork and knife clatter tro her plate. “Whatever it was that that bitch said to you? It’s really gotten to you, so why don’t you share it with us? We’re your family.”

“I… I know that…” Fireside said softly, yet found herself unable to look at her sisters, instead opting to keep her gaze focused on her plate.

“Then why aren’t you telling us about it, Fireside?” it was Adagio’s turn to talk again, the girl reaching over and doing her best to try and grab Fireside’s hand, despite the half length of table still left barren. “Don’t you trust us?”

“Of course I trust you three!” Fireside shot to her feet, yelling as she finally found the ability to look at her sisters. “You are my goddamned family for fuck’s sake!”

Fireside could feel the hot breath exiting her mouth as she stared around the table, her eyebrows threatening to blind her as she glowered at her sisters, only to realize what she had just done, taking a step in shame.

“S-sorry… I… I’ll be in my room…”

The three Sirens watched as Fireside hurried away from the kitchen table, leaving her meal entirely untouched as she rushed to retreat to her room. Looks of shock covered there collective features as they listened to their sister stomp up the stairs and down the hall.

“What the hell just happened.” Aria muttered, unsure of what to do now as she looked to Adagio.

“I… Don’t know.” Adagio said as she looked back at her fellow Sirens. “I’m really curious about what happened with Cinch now, though.”

“Do you think we should go and… ask her?” Aria made sure to put emphasis on ask, knowing Adagio would catch the hint.

“Even if we did, what good would it do?” Sonata said glumly, resting her chin on the edge of the table. “I don’t think that she would be happy to learn that we went around behind her back to figure out what was going on…”

“Agreed…” Adagio sighed, rubbing her temples delicately. “We’re just gonna have to trust in her to tell us… When she is ready…”

***

Fireside flipped over and looked towards the door of her room, the air still reverberating slightly from the trio of knocks that just rang from the heavy wooden barrier. She sighed, pausing for a moment before getting up and sitting on the side of her bed. Why had she just snapped at her sisters like that? They didn’t deserve such treatment, especially after all that they had done for her so far!

“You can come in…” She muttered humorlessly, slowly watching the door open and admit Sonata, the girl delicately balancing a tray with some dishes on it. It was probably her supper that she hadn't touched, the girl obviously worried enough about Fireside to bring it up to her.

“Hey, can I come in?” Sonata asked, refusing to move past the entryway of Fireside’s room, a sad smile on her face.

“I just said you could, Sonata.” Fireside said, instantly regretting the biting tone that had started to sneak in to her voice. “Haaa… Sorry, Sonata. Yes, you can come in. Feel free to leave my food over on my desk.”

Sonata nodded, making her way across the room and to Fireside’s work desk, gently depositing the tray laden with food onto it before starting towards her sister, the girl remaining seated on her bed the whole while.

“So, uh…” Sonata stopped as she came to stand at the foot of Fireside’s bed, reaching over to close the door as she fumbled about for the right words to say. “Sorry… I, uh… I’m not really the one who’s good with words…”

“It’s fine, Sonata.” Fireside said, smiling slightly as she patted the side of her bed. “Come sit down.”

“So…” Sonata sat down on the bed close to Fireside, lazily swinging her legs as she looked around the room. “Um… Please don’t beat yourself up about what you said at supper, Fireside. It’s obvious you are on edge, and we probably shouldn’t have pushed you so hard.”

“No, it’s fine… I… Graaaah!” Fireside’s hands shot up to her head, grasping and pulling at her hair as she shook her head back and forth. “Why can’t I remember anything!?”

“Is that what this is all about?” Sonata asked softly, reaching over and grabbing Fireside into a close hug.

“I know you girl’s don’t remember anything since I was studying abroad, and Octavia and the other girls have said that I wasn’t really anything special while I was at CHS, but I still haven’t remembered a damn thing!”

“And then Cinch tries to sell me this conspiracy theory that I’m this Sunset Shimmer girl that’s behind this Anon-A-Miss thing that’s hitting CHS, and I wouldn’t have listened to a damn thing she said, except that the girl looks exactly like me and the girls from CHS call me Sunset Shimmer!” Fireside had rounded about to look at Sonata, her eyes as wild as her hair as she shook the girl back and forth.

“And throughout the whole thing I don’t remember a damn thing! I’m beyond fed up about this whole fucking thing, Sonata! I just want to know about my past! Is that too much to ask!?”

Fireside’s pushing and pulling of Sonata had rapidly decelerated , leaving Sonata shaking from the rapid movements, trying to focus on the triplet’s of Fireside that swam through her vision, only to notice that the normally resolute girl was starting to sob gently.

“Shh…” Sonata whispered as she pulled Fireside in close to her, gently rubbing the girl’s back as she started to comfort her crying sister. “Shh… It’s okay, Fireside, it’s okay… We’re here for you, regardless of if you remember or not. We’re not going to abandon you…”

***

“Hey.”

Aria looked away from the bike that she continued to work on, setting down the wrench she had in her hands down on her nearby work table. She nodded at Fireside who leaned against the door frame leading into the garage as she reached for the oil rag to wipe up her hands.

“Hey, Glow. How was supper?” a warm smirk graced Aria’s face as she stood up slowly, watching as Fireside gave a small chuckle.

“T’was good.” Fireside muttered, her eyes staring at the floor for a moment. “I just wanted to-”

“Ya don’t have to apologize, Glow.” Aria said as she walked over to the girl, resting her firm hands on the girl’s shoulders. “I know what it’s like to deal with Cinch. That woman’s image should be in the dictionary under bitch with what she tries to pull.”

“Yeah, but-”

“Shut up, Fireside.” Aria chuckled as she playfully slapped the amber girl’s cheeks, smearing some of the oily fluid remnants from her hands onto her sister’s face. “Just accept that fact that we understand and forgive ya, alright?”

Fireside grumbled into Aria’s shoulder as the purple girl pulled her into a rough embrace, causing Aria to chuckle as she tightened her embrace of the taller girl.

“So are you up to going to the gym with me and Indigo still?” Aria asked as she pulled away, reaching out and dobbing another dollop of oil onto the girl’s nose, causing Fireside to give a Sonata level pout in response.

“Will you stop bullying me if I go?” she asked, playful annoyance flitting on her voice.

“No promises, Glow.”

***

“Who is it?” Adagio asked as she set her book down onto her lap, shifting her reading glasses so she could look at the door.

“It’s, uh… Fireside.” came the girl’s voice from the other side of the door. Adagio smiled as she shifted her nightgown around, trying to appear more presentable for the girl waiting on the other side.

“You may come in, dear.” the lead Siren said, watching as the door opened and revealing Fireside who remained timidly standing there. “Come on over here, Fireside. It will be easier to talk.”

Fireside nodded before starting to slowly traverse through Adagio’s cavernous room, the size of it making Fireside’s seem like a sardine can. There was a massive bed against the wall that Adagio lounged upon, looking like it could fit all four sister’s, as well as Twilight Sparkle’s family and still have room to spare.

“How are you feeling dear?” she asked as the girl approached, a warm smile on her face even though she knew what to expect as Fireside’s answer, thanks to Sonata and Aria alerting her in their own ways to their personal meetings with the girl. “Better, I hope?”

“Mhm…” Fireside nodded as she stopped in front of Adagio, before turning around and sitting down so her back was against the side of the titanic set of mattresses. “I guess I just wanted to say I was sorry for my earlier outburst…”

“You know we would never hold it against you, Fireside.” Adagio said softly, watching as Fireside laid her head back and study the ceiling of Adagio’s room.

“I know… But… I still feel bad about it…” Adagio noticed Fireside swallow harshly, the girl’s body giving a suppressed shiver as she sat there. “You three have done so much for me… And if you girl’s hadn't have found me…”

“Well you just be happy that we did.” Adagio gave a pleasant smile, amazed at just how much things had changed in the house as a result of Fireside joining them. “But I can tell that you wanted to do more just come in here and say you were sorry, dear.”

Adagio gave a small internal chuckle as she watched Fireside give a small jolt of shock, the Siren humming happily about her ability to read others so well. Fireside took a deep breath, obviously trying to steady herself as she sat there, pulling up her leg and wrapping her arms around it as her chin came to rest on its knee.

“...” Adagio couldn’t hear what Fireside muttered, the girl’s voice unable to be heard even though she made the motions of talking.

“Come again?” Adagio leaned forward as she softly beckoned to Fireside. Again, Adagio could not make out what her sister was saying, so with a soft sigh she shimmied her way towards the edge of the bed, sliding down to sit beside Fireside.

“She showed me some things that… were a little convincing…” Fireside said, her gaze remaining ceiling bound. “I mean, I know I shouldn’t listen to her, but… All of those images…”

“What sort of images?” Fireside turned to look at Adagio, a warm look reflecting back at her from her sister.

“There were portraits… It was a girl that looked like me, and I mean she looks exactly like me! The same hair, same eyes… She was me! And her name! Sunset Shimmer! The exact same name that the girls from CHS call me! Oh! And the students at CHS believe that she is the one behind Anon-A-Miss! And to top the whole thing off, the last time she was seen was a day that we should all know well!”

“Thursday, December Eighteenth…” Adagio said softly, observing the tears that had started to build in the corners of her sister’s eyes. “But the Orchestra girls said that you were last seen at CHS at the end of the last school year, right?”

“Well, yes, but…”

“And don’t you trust them?”

“Of course I do! But all this not remembering anything is putting me at wit’s end!” Fireside started to slam the back of her head against Adagio’s back in a mad frenzy. “I just want to know my past already! I’m tired of not knowing!”

Adagio stayed silent as she watched Fireside continue her fit of anger, her mind buzzing with concern for the girl’s state, and fear of what might happen if the truth would come out. Fireside continued her mad babbling, causing Adagio to reach out and gently lay a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“I can’t say that I know how it feels, Fireside… Not knowing your past is something that I could never understand, and I am unable to help you remember your past because you were not with us. But I like to think that we have made good memories while you were with us, and I hope that we continue to do so, because no matter what you think, we’re your sisters, Fireside. Remember that, no matter what.”

***

“So, feeling better, Red?” Indigo slapped the back of Fireside firmly, laughing as the girl looked around in mock annoyance.

“Yeah, I guess.” Fireside chuckled as she looked up at the girl. “Just had to let some things out with the family.”

“Well that’s good! Cause there’s this big dodge ball game in Gym today, and I need a good challenge!” the girl gave a knowing smirk, waggling her eyebrows for added effect.

“Ya right!” Aria chortled. “I doubt a class of kindergartners would find you a challenge!”

“Whatever, Toker. Anyways, don’t forget about Gym! Sombra does dodge ball as version of exams! You get graded on how many people you hit, how many balls you catch-”

“You should get top marks for catching balls, Indigo!” Aria snarked, perhaps a bit too loudly as Dean Cadance had just entered the room.

“Aria? I think you are going to have to see me after we are done here… Again.” Cadance gave a tired sigh as she watched Aria give a shameless shrug, only to catch Indigo’s response to Aria’s comment. “You too as well, Miss Zap! That sort of gesture is not welcomed here!”

“Aww, come on! She started it!”

“And Dean Cadance will end it.” Fireside said, turning and looking at the two girls, a smile brewing on her face.

***

The shrill whistle ripped through the air.

“Trenderhoof! Out!” Mr. Sombra yelled out whilst he jerked a thumb over his shoulder.

The dodge ball game had been going fast and furious, the two teams slowly whittling one another down over time. Fireside took a moment to rebalance herself after striking out the blonde haired teen, who was now leaving the playing field dejectedly, enabling her to start scanning over the remnants of the enemy team before her. Sombra had done his best to separate the class evenly as far as members were concerned, though with Fireside entering in he now had thirteen on one side, twelve on the other, and Fireside was feeling the tiredness of playing a person down.

Indigo had looked incredibly pleased at the start of the match, Fireside had been placed on the other team allowing the two of them to gaze at each other from across the pitch. Aria on the other hand complained when she was put on Indigo’s team, bitter that she had to try and knock out her sister.

The game had started out incredibly fast with a blitzkrieg of small foam balls pelting the weakest members of each team, though the weakest of them could easily pass as athletes on an average day. Indigo looked like a woman on a mission, pelting member after member of Fireside’s squad with amazing accuracy, whilst simultaneously being impossible to hit. Aria meanwhile carried herself with an air of indifference, slugging teens with deadly force and catching anything near her with an air of boredom.

Fireside grinned grimly, finally coming to realize the plan of Indigo.

“Come on, Red,” the goggles over the indigo haired teen’s eyes glinting and reflecting the light of the gym. “Make it easy on yourself!”

“Two versus one!” Fireside chuckled before she yelled back, her short hair feeling matted to her head. “I feel bad for your odds.”

“Don’t make us have to hurt you, Fireside!” Aria called back, a pair of the foam balls gripped by her side. “Let us hit you with an easy one and we can all get out of here together.”

“Nah, I’d rather see you two leave in body bags!”

The one sided Mexicoltian standoff drew silent, all three teens stopping to recover their breaths. Fireside was grimacing internally, not only did the other two have all of the balls stockpiled on their side but she had twisted her leg painfully with the last throw, making it hard to move at her previous speed. Her two opponents watch her carefully, taking a moment to strategize it looked like, before nodding and starting to pile the balls around them.

“You’ve given us no choice, newbie!” Indigo said, fake sad smile flitting across her face. “Guess we have to do this the hard way.”

“The only thing that is hard, is how you will hit the floor!” Fireside replied, dangerous glint in her eyes. “Now shut up and hit me, if you think you can with those lousy arms of yours!”

Fireside had mere moments to come up with a plan, before the two teens across from her started to level deadly volleys at her, pushing her to her limit as she dodged, ducked, dipped, and dove through the storm of foam. They were being smart about it, keeping balls back and doing their best to throw with enough to ricochet back to them when they missed the amber teen.

Fireside felt her twisted leg scream at her, demanding she stop and end this, but she grit her teeth. She had to find some way to get back at them, but they were making it impossible to find any sort of ammunition without risk of being pelted. Eventually the other teens had ran short on their first wave of projectiles, leaving Indigo staring down Fireside while Aria went foraging. Indigo had slid her goggles down around her neck, their fogging having started to blind her.

Fireside took stock of the floor, noticing a few balls close to the line of scrimmage, though Indigo stood over them, ready to pelt her should she risk it. Taking a deep breath, Fireside prepared for her hail mary. Getting down into a sprinting stance, she looked at the teen before her.

“I win.” She stated calmly, before leaping up and towards the precious balls.

“Not today, Red!” Indigo shouted, launching her projectile with blazing speed.

Fireside grimaced as she fell down, sliding painfully on her sweatpants encased knees as she passed under the ball of defeat, reaching out and picking up the first ball to come within range, torquing her shoulder and releasing the ball at the shocked girl. Only for it to spin past her knees harmlessly.

“You missed!?” Indigo shouted, before feeling something contact her back, Mr. Sombra’s shrill whistle calling out.

“Aria! Indigo! Your out!” He jerked both ebony grey thumbs across his shoulders. “Good throw, super girl.”

Indigo slowly turned around, noticing in shock that Aria was laying down on her back, arms splayed out and surrounded by balls she had been carrying. She had been directly in front of the Siren, screening Fireside from the girl’s view and allowing the amber teen to ricochet a ball off her purple legs and into Indigo’s back.

“Woo!” Fireside breathed heavily, adopting a stance similar to Aria’s though her hands were held up, forefingers declaring her rank.

Indigo could only start laughing, though she was overcome by the noise the rest of the class was making at the amazing play of Fireside. She slowly walked over to Aria and helped the beaten girl up, and the two of them headed over to their still motionless friend.

“What the shit was that, Glow?” Aria asked in pure shock, “By Adagio’s bush! I don’t know how the hell you pulled that stunt off!”

Fireside grinned in joy as she was slowly picked up off her back, the other two teens slinging her arms around their shoulders as they walked over to the gathering of students in front of Mr. Sombra. Fireside’s team made sure to all give the girl a firm pat on the back, everyone present still reeling from the display.

“Fireside,” rumbled Mr. Sombra, “Never in my days have I seen anyone, let alone a student, attempt such a stunt. And never would I have assumed that it would have worked!” He let out an uncharacteristic bark of laughter, before returning to his traditional grim state. “For that, you get a perfect score for today’s class. Now all of you, go get changed and hit the showers. Super girl here just saved you all from doing laps for the last ten minutes of class.”

Fireside grinned as cheers rang throughout the class.