Day one of the festival...

Armonia was more lively this morning than it had been previously, marking the start of the academy's fall festival which would continue over the next three days. From the entrance of the academy towards the front gate and leading around to the track field, several booths are set up selling a variety of things from food to clothing to carnival games. At one stall in particular, halfway down the left side was a bright red coloured stall which was making various tinted muffins and candy floss. Swaying her hips slightly, Derpy is mixing the batter in a large bowl happily. Aqua Streak is idly swirling a stick around in the pink candyfloss machine, while her sister on the opposite side of the stall is eagerly producing blue candyfloss sticks with flare. Veronica stretches back in the chair behind the cloth-covered desk at the front of the stand.

"Hmm~ Least it's a beautiful day out and we've had decent sales," Veronica states, checking their sheet.

"Hey, has anyone seen Amore this morning?" Aqua Streak asks, leaning against a pole on her side of the stalls.

"She's taking some time to get ready; the last few days haven't been easy on her," Veronica states with a deep sigh.

Turning to her side, Aqua Streak gives Derpy a weird look as she pulls a tray of blue and pink muffins out of the oven. "Derpy. Why cotton candy flavoured muffins?" Aqua Streak asks, looking confused.

The mare in question puts the tray down and picks up one to show Aqua Streak, hopping on the spot slightly. "Muffins!~" She exclaims happily.

"'Nuff said, I think," Amore comments as she steps into the stall from the right side, looking a little rough.

Veronica stands up so Amore can take over the seat, leaning against a pole to the left of the stall instead.

"You look like shit." Veronica chuckles.

Amore groans and buries her head in her crossed arms on the table. The group look at each other with worry, even Derpy who was happy a moment ago.

"Umm, excuse me?" A mid-range male voice asks, the group looking in front of the stall to see a male Griffin normal student.

The Griffon has crimson red feathers on his neck and a silver coat, his talons being a dull gold. His oddly kind eyes are an ever so slightly shiny silver as he turns to his companion for a short conversation. Other than being a normal student, he wears a beautiful silver chain around his neck, however, what it's attached to is hidden within his blazer. His partner appears to be a female Bat Pony with a lavender coat, her fuchsia mane and tail have light burgundy streaks within, reaching halfway down her back. Her turquoise eyes smiling back at the Gryphon's as her bat-like wings flutter every now and then against her supernatural uniform. As the two converse, all the group can hear is adorable squeaks which come from the Bat Pony, which is seemingly understood by the Griffon.

"I'd like one of each of the candyfloss, please?" He asks placing the bits in front of Amore.

Blinking, Scarlet Orange quickly rushes to provide the previously prepared treat as she passes them to the pair with a smile. Smiling back, he takes them before passing one to the Bat Pony who takes a small nibble to sample it, giving the happiest and most adorable squeak the group has ever heard. Content with their purchase, the two depart towards more stalls, their free hands entwined.

"That was..." Veronica tries to find the words.

"Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cuuuuuuuuuuuuuttttttttttttteeeeeeeeeeeee!~" Derpy squeaks as she shivers slightly.

Veronica nods before noticing Amore staring at the obvious couple who had just visited them, but before she could say anything the mare stood up and turned to leave.

"You guys should be fine for an hour or two, I need to go for a walk." Amore sighs as she leaves the stall.

Aqua Streak checks to make sure Amore is gone before rubbing the back of her neck, "It seriously pains me to see her like this..."

"I know what you mean..." Scarlet Orange adds, rubbing her left arm.

Veronica sits back down, sighing deeply as she ponders a little, unsure how to cheer up her recently acquired friend.

Standing in the hallway on the second floor, left side of the main academy building, Amore was hovering in front of a door with a plaque which reads, 'Teacher's Lounge'. Eventually, she takes a deep breath and knocks loudly on the door.

"Auntie! I badly need help!" Amore pulls back her hand to look at it before idly placing it by her heart, "Fluttershy said you'd be in here and... I didn't know who else to go to, yet..." Amore states sounding extremely sad.

Aurora opens the door and ushers Amore in before locking it behind them. Aurora walks back over and sits on the arm of the sofa before asking a single word. "Sugar?"

Amore nods and sits down on the sofa, the opposite end to Aurora. The teacher's lounge is about what you'd expect, with two sofa's in an L shape next to a decently sized coffee table, a small kitchen area with a microwave, coffee machine, kettle and sink with cupboards above it. At the back of the room are windows which allow a view down into the back courtyard of the building.

"I don't know if it's me this time... I haven't seen Sugar in a few days and she hasn't even come back to the dorm room from what I'm told. I've been staying with Veronica up until now..." Amore sighs, her eyes looking tired and worn out.

"What exactly happened to split you two?" Aurora asks, curiously.

"I was... Approached, by an odd mare who said she could tell me more about my potential. I took Sugar Fizz with me to the old crypt, where the mare said she was... She took this crimson thread out of me and showed us things using her ball." Amore holds her left arm and squeezes lightly, "Then I guess she shifted when she learned my house name... She... Showed images of me and Selene, my ex... Said I'd been thinking of her recently."

"True? Or false?" Aurora inquires, bluntly.

"I have been, but not in any sense she was implying... I was thinking about how things were left. How... Immaturely I dealt with what I saw. When Midnight kissed Selene, I used it as an excuse to leave CPA... I was scared of getting attached to somewhere or someone before I'd completed what I set out to do..." Amore brings her legs onto the sofa, holding them in a curled up position, her head on her knees.

"You're telling me Sugar left without allowing you to explain? That seems unlike her." Aurora states, confused as to her motive.

Amore nods, not looking sure about it herself. "Yeah... She said she had heard enough, gave Shintaku a glance then gave me the same chilling look before leaving. I tried to follow her but she'd vanished by the time I got outside... Then I spent the entire day on the tack field just running. Didn't eat, didn't care about the burn, I just... Ran..."

"Do you have any idea where she might have gone?" Aurora asks, crossing her legs.

"None. I checked the library, Valentine's, even asked Symphony... All turned up nothing. She hasn't even returned my countless texts and missed calls... I don't know what to do Auntie, I'm at a loss here..." Amore sighs deeply, burying her face against her legs.

"I can see about calling your mother to get into contact with Lyra. I wouldn't worry too much, though. After all, the festival started today. The games are soon to follow. I don't think she'd miss it, whether she wanted to or not." Aurora states in a comforting attempt.

"It just bugs me how she vanished so suddenly and without letting me explain, it's weird and frustrating... Which makes me realise that I was an asshole when I left CPA without talking to Selene... I'm a horrible pony." Amore grumbles and lays on her side, curling up into a ball.

Aurora lightly shakes her head. "Mmm... I don't think so. See, there's a few things wrong with that thought process." Aurora walks over and crouches in front of Amore, so she's at eye level. "First problem. If you call yourself a horrible pony for that, you're calling Sugar a horrible pony for doing what she has. And I think we both know that isn't the case."

"No... But I don't know what I did wrong, I don't know what to fix... I'm at a loss of what to do. She hasn't left my side since I came here, then things developed and now suddenly she just vanishes. It hurts and I don't know how to deal with it... I've not been this attached before and it scares me." Amore states curling tighter into her ball.

"That much was made clear in Manehattan. You hospitalized yourself in order to keep her alive..." Aurora pauses. "You want to know what to do? Just go spend time with your friends. I can send Frozen over to the factory and I can get see if her parents know anything. That way you can have ponies out looking and you can be right here when she gets back, whether we find her or she returns of her own volition. Okay?"

Amore nods, sniffling. "Yeah... Can I lay here for a bit?"

"On the condition that I don't find you here when I come back," Aurora replies.

"Okay... I have the concert to play in the evening anyway... If I play." Amore groans and sighs.

"If you aren't up for it, try and find someone to stand in for you. Don't push yourself." Aurora replies, brushing Amore's hair out of her face. "I need to go let Fluttershy know where I'm going, but then I'll head out. I'll be back either with or after Sugar comes back."

"Okay... Sorry to be a burden." Amore tries to smile weakly, silently thankful for Aurora's comfort.

Aurora shakes her head, looking Amore in the eyes. "Far from it; it's what I'm here for." Aurora ruffles Amore's hair lightly before getting up and heading for the door. "Be back soon, hun."

Amore nods as Aurora leaves, sighing deeply to herself before trying to get a nap so she can rest till the early evening.

Sitting up to stretch, Amore glances towards the clock above the lounge door to see it's nearing the evening hours close to when her club is meant to perform for the festival like she promised Sugar Fizz. Sighing deeply, Amore checks her phone noticing the many missed calls and texts from her friends which makes her rub the back of her neck awkwardly. She stands up, putting the phone in her skirt pocket before walking out the lounge door heading towards Veronica's room.

"Taking a nap in the lecturer's lounge, the one place we didn't think you'd be..." Veronica's voice is heard from behind, making the mare turn around.

Approaching her are the twins, Veronica and Derpy, the middle mare looking less than impressed at their elusive friend.

"Hey, guys... Sorry about vanishing before, I just needed to be alone for a bit and ask someone for help." Amore looks to the side and rubs her arm, "Hey, umm... I was wondering if I could skip this evenings performance?"

The girls look at each other with a mixture of confused, concerned and puzzled expressions before glancing back towards Amore. Shaking their heads in unison, Veronica and Aqua Streak move either side of the mare, holding her arms as they begin to drag her in the direction of the main hall, where Amore had dance lessons. She struggles against her captives and tries to plead with them.

"Come on! Please, I'm not feeling it tonight!" Amore begs as Scarlet Orange is left to lift and carry the mare's legs.

"This is an intervention. I let you work it out in silence since that night, but... Music is you. It's your song choice tonight and we're not cancelling, we won't let you." Veronica states bluntly.

"Bloody Love isn't the same without the love part, right? You need a proper outlet for your emotions and music is emotion so deal with it." Aqua Streak comments as they use a back entrance to the hall.

Once they reach backstage they let Amore down and Derpy directs her to the mare's silver case nearby.

"Wait, who carried it here?" Amore looks over her friends who glance around, stopping on Scarlet Orange.

"You need to play... We need you to play." Scarlet Orange states with a slight smile.

Amore feels guilty about the circumstances, causing one of her supernatural friends to get hurt because of her state.

"We don't want an apology, just that our friend feels better." Aqua Streak states, adjusting her own guitar.

Amore groans and bites her lip, conflicted, but nods at her friends as she picks up her guitar taking several deep breaths.

"I don't deserve friends like you, but... I'll try my best." Amore smiles as her mood allows as they all take their places behind the curtain.

As the audience outside settles, the curtain is drawn back to reveal the band minus Veronica who is in the back. Amore looks around trying to find one particular face, believing if nothing else she wouldn't miss the music portion of the festival. After a couple of seconds, she glances back towards the girls, signs of doubt flashing across her face. Not backing down their support, Scarlet Orange begins the beat with her drums accompanied by foot stomps from Aqua Streak and Derpy. Flashing the girls a thankful smile, Amore turns around to begin the vocals, the song chosen, being one she had glanced at before. After several seconds she leads in the guitars pouring as much of what she feels into her music, picking the only outlet which makes sense to her in which to voice her emotions. The guitar tempo picks up and Amore continues to sing passionately, hoping that wherever Sugar Fizz is she can hear how she feels. The crowd is ecstatic to hear the group play, not confined to their seats as they cheer loudly. By the time of Amore's guitar solo, Valentine is seen hanging around by the open doors, peeking in on the performance.

"You could go in," Valentine comments to his left where Sugar Fizz stands against the wall fighting with her composure.

"I... I didn't realise... She made me so angry..." Sugar Fizz listens to every word and sound coming from the hall.

"Amore?" Valentine raises an eyebrow.

"Shintaku... I've never felt such anger, such defensive and protective inclinations towards somepony before... Then when I got back to the room I saw Amore had two bottles left so I took off for Manehattan to get away a little... I forgot to leave a note." Sugar Fizz grips her chest feeling such an unknown level of pain.

"You are courting my dear. She tried to break you two away and your emotions replied to that threat. Amore is clearly passionate about how she feels." Valentine comments as the solo ends.

"Amy is passion... That's all she knows to be, fragile and strong somehow at the same time. The song is catered towards her ex and her desire to move on with me... Because of what she showed us..." Sugar Fizz sighs deeply and closes her eyes.

Valentine wears a sombre expression before turning back to the performance as it moves towards its climax. Amore and the girls finishing up their lyrics and remaining parts before Amore's guitar fades out as they come to the end. The crowd get louder as they cheer, Amore panting from how much effort she just sunk into her performance. The club all gather on the stage to bow together, as Amore looks up she can see Sugar Fizz out in the hallway past the entrance to the main hall, Valentine nowhere to be seen. Quickly taking her guitar off, Amore hands it to Aqua Streak before jumping off the stage, suddenly sprouting her vampire wings for the second time as she glides over the audience. Sugar Fizz has already turned away and started walking towards the left corridor. Just barely sticking a dodgy landing, she sprints after Sugar Fizz through the door as it is pushed fully open to simply swing closed after.

"Amore, wait-" Symphony pops out from behind the corner of the left corridor in an attempt to block Amore.

The mare, in her determination, slid underneath the presidents skirt catching her off guard as she continued after Sugar Fizz. Frowning, the mare in question looked behind her at the rushing footsteps and is surprised with a gripping hug which hits her hard, but nothing her vampiric strength couldn't stop from barely balling them over.

"A-more, I-" Before she is allowed to utter more, Amore closes Sugar Fizz's mouth with her own in a passionate kiss.

Smiling to herself and not wishing to interrupt the reunion, Symphony simply left for the main hall where the music continued for the evening.

Author's Note

Finally back and publishing again! My proofreader managed to get a basic laptop with which we are now able to continue working on stuff and publishing. For those who do enjoy this fic, you can look forward to its progression again!