Phoenix

Octavia nodded towards Lyra and Bon Bon as the pair got out of the back of Vinyl’s car, the girl resting an arm on the hood as she stood studying the cafe in front of them. It was the kind of place that even Octavia might call a little too highbrow, and judging by the looks the teens were getting from the individuals leaving, it was probably justified. A man in an extremely expensive looking suit even scoffed audibly at them as he past, turning his nose up along the way.

“Vinyl Scratch!” Octavia hissed softly as she watched the girl deliver a very uncouth gesture. “There is no need to be so uncivilized!”

“Well I think he deserved it.” Lyra grumbled as she came to stand beside her friend. “Now can we just get in there? This place just doesn’t sit well with me. Too… snobbish.”

The four girls nodded to one another as they made their way towards the entrance, walking up the large flight of stairs that lead to the top floor, which seemed to be the main way in and out of the building. They paused and glanced at Octavia once they reached the ornate door blocking their way.

“So, uh… You’re gonna be the one doing the talking in there, right, Octo-babe?” Vinyl said softly, fishing around and quieting down the music that blared from her headphones.

“I guess so…” Octavia sighed, before turning around and looking at the girl. “Though you have just as much experience dealing with these sort of people as well, Vinyl.”

“And what about me?” Lyra grumbled. “I’ve been to a few soirees myself you know!”

“Only because Octavia literally drug you with her to get your name and lyre playing skills out there.” Bon Bon chuckled as she patted the girl on the arm. “And you still haven’t thanked her for it.”

“Shush!” Lyra glared playfully at her girlfriend, ruffling the girl’s head with her hand. “I don’t need to be owing a favour to Octavia of all people!”

“Oh that’s nice!” Octavia said as she spun about and stared at Lyra with a stony visage. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Wait, I didn’t mean it like that!” Lyra reached out towards the girl who had turned back around and was now opening the door and stepping inside.

“Yes, excuse me?” Octavia’s posture was ramrod stiff, her shoulders squared and her head held high as she addressed one of the the young women standing before the four of them, the pair clad in tuxedos as they seemed to be struggling not to scoff at the appearances of the four teenagers that just walked into their place of business. “We are here to join Miss Adagio Dazzle and her two sisters.”

“I must not lie, as I find that incredibly hard to believe.” said the one on the right, rolling her eyes with forced exhaustion. “Miss Dazzle would never be seen with someone the likes of you, let alone your- guh!- friends. Why don’t you run along back to mommy?”

“Ah, Octavia. A pleasure to see you again, love.” all six women turned to look at the voice coming from somehow above them, Octavia just now noticing the floor was divided to go both upwards, as well as down to the main floor. On ground level. “And I see you brought your friends as I requested.”

The orange haired Siren was literally breathtaking, as evidenced of the gasps from Lyra and Bon Bon, while Vinyl resorted to giving a long wolf whistle instead. The Equestrian was wearing a sky blue gown that looked to be woven from the gossamer tears of angels, its fabric hugging the curves of the young woman like a second skin, a slit along the side allowing a peek of the wide hips of the head Siren. Her hair was tied back, before exploding into its normal mass of orange curls, the colour exploding in contrast to the dress, a single blue strand connecting the front to the back, allowing all to gaze upon the unblemished chest, covering just enough to keep one wanting more and to draw one’s eyes to the single strand of jewelry resting upon its swells.

“Of course, Adagio. You asked to see us, after all.” Octavia smiled as she made her way up the stairs, reaching out and embracing the Siren in a close embrace, before whispering softly in the girl’s ear. “What the hell is going on right now?”

“Keep calm, and follow me.” Adagio whispered back softly before releasing the girl and smiling down at the other three girls still staring at her. “Vinyl, Lyra, Bon Bon, come along. We have much that we must discuss.”

The five girls on the reception floor stared slack jawed at Adagio, before Bon Bon shook her head and nodded, guiding her two friends along and up the stairs, the four members of their group following Adagio down the hall.

“You know, normally I charge to be stared at so.” the Siren laughed as she paused and turned around to look at the girls, an extravagant door with even more unworldly adornments to her side. “But we are here for a different business. Come! My sisters and I’s private room. We shall only be bothered when we ask for service.”

The door creaked open and the four girls entered slowly, freezing in shock as they took in the room around them. A large, four post bed looking cushion sat in front of them, Aria lazing upon it in silence as she watched the girls enter the room, peering at them through the draping, silken sheets. To the side sat a table, an incredibly immaculate china set sat spread across it, the steaming fluids within noting that they were as of yet unfinished.

All around the four Canterlot High students were what looked like ancient statues, appearing like mermaids, gods and goddesses, even the Sirens themselves stared back, knowing smirks on the marble replicas. And yet, for all that, the most mind boggling piece of the enormous room was the sound of the running water flowing into what could only be described as an ancient Roaman bath house, complete with dark marble columns and and indescribable murals decorating the walls.

“Oh! Hi girls!” Sonata waved as she exited the steaming waters, the clear liquid running down her nude form in long rivulets. “Glad to see you made it! I hope the girls at the front weren’t too rude to you!”

“Er… Not… really?” Octavia said, blush spreading across her face as she watched Sonata towel herself down slightly, and then leave the towel on a rack and walk over to the table and sit down, seeming to completely ignore the fact that she was indeed naked at the present moment. “Are you going to, er…”

“To what?” Sonata tilted her head as she looked at the girl, noticing the similar blushes spreading across the faces of the girl’s friends, though Vinyl seemed to have a grin on it instead of a look of awe.

“I believe they are just in awe at the fact that you are naked, Sonata.” Aria laughed crudely, a smile spreading across her face. “Don’t know why they would want to complain, though.”

“We are in public!” Octavia managed to stutter out, looking back at her friends, frowning at Vinyl’s expression.

“You mean we are in a private room.” Aria said, making her way off the bed and walking towards the four human girls. Her own gown was no less fantastical, the piece seeming to to cur impossibly down her form, revealing her firm abdomen in addition to the Siren’s noticeable bust. The yellow and orange piece covered with thin interconnecting and swirling lines, making the dress look more like a piece of filigree artifice as it flowed down her body, a silken sash resting around her hips and dangling down towards her legs. Her hands peeked out of the trailing sleeves, the back of them close to running along the floor with the rest of the dress’ train.

“Relax, girls. It’s not like you don’t see it every day.” Adagio smiled a knowing smile as she appeared around the girls, standing to join her sisters at the table. “Though I must agree that Sonata is indeed something of a different level. The ballads sung for her attentions in those ancient days were quite the treat.”

“Oh! Remember when that crazy artist guy cut off his ear for Sonata?” Aria grinned darkly as she nudged her cyan sister in the arm.

“Oh my god! Please stop bringing that up!” Sonata hid her face in her hands as she shook her head. “That was so disgusting!”

“Or how about the fact that she caused that genocide, and thusly that war, about seventy-ish years ago,” Adagio’s smile grew dark as she looked at Sonata. “All because she chose a man of a different religion.”

“Staaaahp!” Sonata flailed her hands uselessly at her sisters, a blush of embarrassment spreading across her body in a steady wave.

“Wait, go over those again?” Lyra’s face was still flush from Sonata’s nudity, but a look of disbelief had replaced the previous look of awe.

“Oh, right.” Adagio turned around, a malicious look to rival that of what she had worn at CHS during the Battle of the Bands etched across her face. “To keep it simple, the three of us are the cause of almost every single conflict that your world has recorded.”

“...Wat?” Vinyl’s simple word described the emotions of each of the Canterlot High girls as they stood there staring at the Equestrian beings.

“We had to feed somehow.” Aria said, the girl now holding Sonata’s head under her arm. “At least the conflicts here were more filling than back in Equestria.”

“Tell me about it.” Adagio sighed, a sad smile coming to her face. “You humans are quite the destructive species. Mind you, some of the atrocities that those Ponies did… Remember how they sunk the entire western seaboard to the bottom of the ocean with magic?”

Adagio looked back at her sisters, only to groan and face palm when she saw what Aria was doing to Sonata.

“Would you grow up already, Aria? Your over six thousand years old and yet you still act like a child.”

“Okay, stop.” Bon Bon waved her hands in front of her, trying to cut Adagio off. “I thought the three of you were reformed because of Sunset?”

“Reformed? Us?” Adagio rested her fingertips against her sternum. “Dearies, no, no, no. We don’t regret a single thing we did. We are merely playing nice for our dear sister.”

“And what if she found out what you have done?” Lyra walked forward, the blush of embarrassment replaced with budding anger. “Do you think she would want to be sisters with people who-”

“Look, Heartstrings, you can chill, alright?” Aria let go of Sonata’s head, the cyan girl flailing about as she got back to her feet, sticking her tongue out at her retreating sister. “Man, I can’t believe that I’m the one who has to explain things here. As it sits, yes, we did horrible shit, we admit it! What we have done cannot be easily forgiven, if at all, but we are trying to turn over a new leaf here, so to say. Just like Sunset tried to. She’s our sister now, and even if she finds out about what we did and abandons us, we will still care for her. She’s an outcast, kinda like us. Kindred spirits I could say.”

Silence washed over the room as the Gaians tried to compute what they had just listened to, each of them looking at one and talking with bodily motions instead of words. Sonata slowly walked up to stand with her sisters, slowly tying her hair back into a ponytail while the three of them watched the human girls.

“Fine. As completely absurd as it is, and as different as yours and Sunset’s cases are, I guess we can turn the other cheek.” Lyra grumbled, crossing her arms as she took in the Sirens surprisingly relief filled looks.

“Good. Then we can get to business.” Adagio nodded her head, motioning around the room with a swaying arm. “Feel free to take a seat. It is time we talk about Sunset. As equals.”

“And what is it you wanted to talk about?” Octavia said as she moved over and sat on the edge of the bed, almost gasping in surprise as she sunk into it faster than she expected. “Sonata had made it sound pretty important.”

“Fireside has just found out about Anon-A-Miss, thanks to Principal Cinch.” Adagio explained, taking her seat at the sisters table and delicately wrapping her slender digits around her tea cup. “And is now having concerns about it. We have done all that we could to calm her down, but she still worries about it, even though she denies it.”

“Cinch showed her the Anon-A-Miss page, and the comments were of course people thinking it was Sunset behind it.” Aria continued on with a small nod. “There was also the photographs of Sunset when she won the Fall Formal in the past, which didn’t help in dissuading her fears.”

“Then Cinch went and said that Sunset Shimmer was last seen on Thursday December eighteenth!” Sonata grumbled loudly, crossing her arms across her generous bust. “So now she’s thinking that she’s Sunset Shimmer, and is complaining about how she doesn’t remember anything from her past!”

“Well, I mean… She is Sunset Shimmer.” Vinyl chuckled as she leaned back on the bed. “But I can see how this can be a bit of an issue.”

“Well to top it off, Dean Cadance informed us of Cinch’s intent of getting Fireside to captain the CPA team for the Friendship Games.” Adagio said, her voice low and bubbling with anger. “That is the last thing that she needs, to go back to that school.”

“The students would eat her alive, and she wouldn’t know why!” Sonata whined, tears starting to come to her eyes.

“And that doesn’t include the chance that something would happen there to her.” Aria said, crossing her arms as she stared at the CHS students. “She was obviously attacked before, so what’s stopping it from happening again when she returns as the captain of CPA’s Friendship Games team?”

“Well what are you thinking we should do then?” Octavia asked, looking around at the three sisters. “I doubt you could convince her to not go?”

“No dice. That would seem fishy to her.” Aria shook her head, pigtails waving around behind her.

“Can’t you magic Cinch into not making her go?” Lyra asked, smirk on her face. “I mean, that’s what you did to CHS. More or less.”

“We could only persuade her so much.” Adagio replied, setting down her teacup after a small sip. “She would still have to go as part of the student delegation.”

“Well what’s your plan then?” Vinyl asked, sitting back up and staring at Adagio intently. “You’re the one here with thousands of years of experience after all.”

“That’s why we called for you.” Adagio responded eventually, sighing tiredly as she looked at the four girls. “We don’t know what to do, without drawing the suspicion of Fireside…”

“Well… What if we bodyguard her?” Bon Bon spoke up, everyone’s heads shooting towards her and causing her to give a small, panicked scream before continuing. “A-a-all of us, t-together, I mean. T-t-that way we can make sure she’s safe and we can help her understand the situation, even if it means lying to her.”

“Lying, huh?” Aria scratched her chin before leveling a grin at the girl. “You’re more devious than I thought, and that’s after I overheard you wanting to throw knives at the Rain-tards.”

“I guess that will have to suffice.” Adagio said as she polished off her tea, setting it down on the table and steepling her fingers, staring at the girls. “We will have to work together to come up with some stories to tell her if the need arises. But what about yourselves? Wouldn’t you raise suspicions of yourselves if you are seen helping us?”

“Eh, we already are outcasts.” Lyra shrugged. “Well, ‘cept for Octavia. She was the popular one.”

“Title and fame means nothing if you don’t help those that are in need.” Octavia said grimly, a dark look on her steely face.

“Noblesse Oblige? And here I thought chivalry was dead.” Aria chuckled, smiling at the group. “Works for me. Dagi, Sonny? What do you think?”

“Okies!” Sonata juggled her head up and down in rapid movements, smile on her face. “I’ll do my best to make sure Fireside thinks of CHS as little as possible! I mean, not down putting! I don’t want her-”

“I agree. We shall continue to dissuade Fireside of thinking about CHS, and deal with Cinch if the needs arise. You four would do best to start thinking up what can be done once we reach the school.” Adagio nodded, before a malicious smile came to her face. “Now since you four are here, why don’t we have some… fun?”