Chapter 18 - Romantic Development

Adagio > Trixie, dear, I was thinking about the magic experimentation we have scheduled for tomorrow

Trixie > owo

Adagio > … Anyways

Adagio > You once mentioned that you play an instrument, correct? I was thinking, maybe it would be possible for you to use music in the same way that Sunset and the Rainbooms can

Adagio > The Rainbooms may be the Elements of Harmony in this world, but they were still just human before

Trixie > woah so by that logic i could use music as an adaptor as well

Trixie > damn thats absolutely worth a shot

Trixie > great idea!!!

Adagio smirked down at her phone triumphantly from her place on the couch. “Perfect,” she thought, locking the device. Sonata hadn’t even made breakfast yet, and already the plan was being put into effect. Waiting a week had been difficult- mostly for Sonata- but Adagio wanted to make sure the timing was perfect.

A pair of arms wrapped around Adagio’s shoulders as an excited Sonata squealed in her ear. “This is going to be so great!”

Adagio snorted and removed Sonata’s arms from around her figure just as a bleary-eyed Sunset stumbled into the living room.

“What’s gonna be great?” The tired teen plopped herself down on the ottoman next to the couch.

Sonata froze, clasping her hands behind her back. “Nothing!” The girl squeaked. Sunset raised an eyebrow.

“She never was a good liar,” Adagio thought, face palming heavily. “Sonata, why don’t you go start breakfast,” the elder sister said before Sonata could sick her foot further into her mouth.

“No prob, bob!” Sonata rushed out, escaping off towards the kitchen.

Adagio turned to Sunset, who still had a confused look on her face. “She’s just excited for her gourmet foods class today, something about learning a new recipe,” Adagio casually lied.

Sunset still looked a little skeptical- she was no stranger to deceit, after all- but Adagio’s feigned nonchalance was enough for the red-head to shrug off the odd occurrence.

Soon enough, Sonata had waffles for everyone served on the table. Even after living with the sister for a week, breakfast with a family was a new, but not unwelcome experience for Sunset. Watching Aria and Sonata quibble over who got to use the syrup first, laughing when Adagio stole it for herself, and digging into a homemade meal with people she loved made her heart swell with happiness.

***

The bell rang, signalling the beginning of lunch. Sunset arose from her seat and started making her way to the cafeteria, as usual. And, as usual, she tried to ignore the pitiful looks and apologetic glances of her peers.

“They don’t actually feel bad about what they did to me,” she thought as she shoved her way past Micro Chips, avoiding his attempt at conversation. “They only want me to validate their useless words so they can pretend they didn’t do anything wrong.”

Suddenly, two figures appeared on each side of her, each grabbing an arm.

“Hey pony girl,” Aria said from Sunset’s right side. Adagio offered a smirk from Sunset’s left.

Sunset laughed, fully linking her arms in Adagio’s and Aria’s. “Hey, girls, what’s up?”

“Oh nothing, we just thought we’d walk you to lunch,” Adagio said, flipping her hair and putting on charming smile.

Sunset quirked an eyebrow. “C’mon, Adagio,” she said. “I’m not an idiot.”

Adagio snickered. “Well, we may have a tiny bit of an ulterior motive.”

“You need to ask Trixie out.”

Sunset stopped dead in her tracks, making her friends stumble beside her. She didn’t speak, as the two sisters guided her to a side of the hallway where they wouldn’t be in the way.

Adagio glared at Aria, who only shrugged. “What?” She asked. “No use beating around the bush.”

“You could be a little more tactful, you-!” The elder sister pinched the bridge of her nose with one hand and sighed, keeping her other arm linked with Sunset’s. She turned to face Sunset. “Aria is an idiot, but she’s right,” she said gently. “You two obviously have it bad for each other.”

Sunset bit her lip. She could feel the anxiety rising in her chest.

Adagio and Aria exchanged a look. Aria linked her left hand with Sunset’s right, and Adagio began rubbing comforting circles into Sunset’s bicep with the hand that wasn’t already linked with the panicked girl’s left arm.

“Hey, Sunset, talk to us,” Aria prodded lightly.

Sunset took a deep breath and melted into the grounding touch of her friends. The hallways were nearly empty now, leaving the three girls in relative silence. “I… I don’t deserve someone like her,” she started. “Things with the depression have been getting a little better, but it’s still so hard some days. I feel like...”

She took another breath. Sunset felt slightly more comfortable with asking for help, something she stoutly refused to do when she was friends with the Rainbooms. It was nice being able to talk to her friends, but it was still rather difficult for the healing girl.

The red-head tried to focus on Adagio fingers drawing soft shapes into her arm and Aria’s fingers clasped in her own.

“I feel like I’ll ruin her if she gets too close.”

Aria’s grip tightened. Adagio swallowed thickly.

Sunset’s gaze remained solidly on the ground. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes.

She felt two pairs of arms wrapped closely around her as she cried. Sunset buried her face into Adagio’s shoulder, allowing herself to take comfort in the embrace of her friends.

After a few minutes in which the only sound was Sunset’s quiet sobs, the red-head finally dried her eyes. She felt gross, and a little bit foolish, but…

“Celestia above, I feel better.”

Sunset smiled and pulled away from the group hug. Adagio and Aria met her eyes. Adagio was the first to speak.

“She’d be lucky to have someone as wonderful as you for a girlfriend, Sunset.”

Aria playfully nudged her friend. “Adagio’s right, Sunny. You two are perfect for each other.” The trio started walking again, still arm-in-arm. “Now let’s go get some lunch.”

***

The school week had been largely uneventful. Trixie’s classes dragged on, as most Fridays did for the girl.

“Especially now that we have magic stuff on Saturdays,” Trixie thought with a huff. Little doodles of moons and constellations decorated her completed math worksheet, a way to pass the time until the bell rang for lunch.

“Orion: the hunter. Fought the scorpion, Scorpius. Ursa Major: the big bear. The mother Callisto, turned into a bear by Hera. Ursa Minor: the small bear. Son of Callisto, turned into a bear by Zeus.”

Trixie went over the myth behind each constellation she drew in her head. Her pen glided across the paper, creating a sky full of stars between each correctly solved calculus problem.

“Cygnus: the swan. The grieving brother, Cycnus, was transformed into a swan when-”

The shrill whine of the bell broke Trixie out of her thoughts. She smiled as she rushed to put away her things.

“Hey Trix!”

Trixie turned as she walked out the door. Sonata gave a bright smile and waved.

“Hey Sonata,” Trixie greeted as Sonata fell into step beside her. “What were you doing outside my class so early? You usually meet Sunset and I in the library.”

Sonata looked like a deer in the headlights for a brief moment before she schooled her features back into a smile. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about Sunset for a second.”

“Oh, okay,” Trixie blinked, a small frown on her face. “Is she alright?”

“Oh, yeah, she’s okay! Adagio and Aria are walking her to lunch,” she chirped. “I just wanted to talk about your massive crush on her!”

Trixie tripped over nothing, stumbling for a moment before regaining her balance. A massive blush was alight on her cheeks. “W-what?!”

Sonata suppressed a giggle behind her hand. “Don’t worry, Adagio didn’t rat you out! I figured it out myself,” she said.

“Well, shit.” Trixie sighed, running a hand through her long hair. “Is it that obvious?”

Sonata nodded. Trixie groaned.

The former siren gave her a comforting pat on the back as they continued their walk. “Hey, don’t worry, she totally likes you back!” At Trixie’s disbelieving look, Sonata blew a raspberry. “I’m serious! I wanted to tell you that you should ask her out.”

“I...” Trixie moved her gaze to the tiled floor. “Trixie doesn’t know, Sonata. She’s way out of Trixie’s league.”

Sonata knitted her eyebrows together. “I know you aren’t really good with the whole ‘subtext’ thing- I’m not either- but she really does like you.”

Trixie met her friends eyes, only to find complete sincerity. The two pushed open the doors to the library, where Adagio, Aria, and Sunset were already seated. As soon as Sunset saw Trixie, her eyes lit up. She waved, offering a small half-smile.

Trixie felt a flutter in her stomach. She gave a goofy grin and waved back.

“Maybe Sonata’s right...”

***

Once again, it was time for a magical experimentation. Sunset found herself alone in the old factory; the sisters had told her to go ahead, opting instead to let Aria continue her nap.

“They’ve been acting weird lately. Something’s definitely up,” the red-head thought. “Does it have something to do with our conversation before lunch?”

Making her way to sit on the decrepit conveyor belts, Sunset pulled out her phone. She fiddled around on the device for a few moments before it lit up with an oncoming message to the groupchat.

Aria > hey nerds we wont be able to make it to todays lesson

Aria > ur on ur own lol

Adagio > … What Aria means to say is that Sonata was feeling sick, so we’re staying home to take care of her

Aria > yeet whatever

Aria > have fun ;)

Sunset lifted an eyebrow. “Yeah, they’re definitely up to something.” She sent out a quick ‘alright then’ and pocketed her phone just as the factory’s doors swung open.

Trixie walked in, this time without her usual backpack. “Hey there, Sunny!”

“Hey, Trix. Did you get Aria and Adagio’s message?”

“Yeah,” the blue-haired girl rolled her eyes, moving to sit next to Sunset on the conveyor belt. “Classic Sonata. Guess it’s just you and me,” Trixie smirked, nudging Sunset with her elbow.

Sunset laughed and nudged her friend back. “Let’s get started then.” She pushed herself off the broken equipment.

Trixie beamed, reaching for a black case that Sunset only just took notice of. “What’s that?” She wondered aloud.

“Oh, did Adagio not tell you?” The budding magician grinned, unhooking the metal clamps and opening the case. “She thought it might be possible for me to pony-up, too!”

Sunset blinked, mouth slightly agape as Trixie pulled out a beautiful, polished viola. The blue-haired girl was practically radiating excitement. “So, I guess Adagio didn’t tell you, but I play a lot of instruments and we were thinking that maybe since the Rainbooms were human before magic came here then I would be able to wield magic using the same adaptor and since I’m already pretty good at magic and pretty good at music so it might actually work I mean it just makes sense and-”

Sunset laid a hand on Trixie’s, cutting off her rambling. Trixie blushed. “Sorry,” she smiled sheepishly. “I’m a little bit excited.”

“I could tell,” Sunset laughed. She pulled her hand away. Trixie hadn’t even noticed they had subconsciously tangled their fingers together.

“Well, let’s see what happens!” Sunset said, moving to give Trixie some space.

Trixie beamed and lifted her viola from its resting spot, getting into position. She closed her eyes. The instrument fit underneath her chin like a puzzle piece falling into place. She looked perfectly at home with how the polished wood fit in her grip, and as she raised her bow to play, Sunset’s heart skipped a beat.

A hauntingly beautiful melody floated from Trixie’s instrument. It started soft, delicate, as though fearful of itself before dipping and growing louder.

“No way...”

Sunset didn’t know what she expected to happen, but she was still shocked when a bright blue light began to emanate from Trixie.

The music continued, the tone climbing higher and higher before tumbling back down, graceful and almost tragic.

Light. Pure, blue light shone brighter than Sunset thought possible, enveloping Trixie entirely.

The violist preformed complicated finger patterns across the neck of her instrument like it was nothing, and the sound subsequently trilled and swelled and painted invisible stars across an invisible sky.

The heavenly glow radiating from Trixie lifted her off the ground, her hair suspended around her as though she was under water.

Harmonies created themselves out of what looked like nothing, one instrument playing an entire orchestra, it seemed. The room fell away as the girl brought the music to an especially high pitch.

Pony ears and a long ponytail not dissimilar to Sunset’s appeared in a flash.

The low, quiet melody returned, gracing Sunset’s ears with its eerie sounds.

A horn made of that incredible light grew from Trixie’s forehead, then solidified itself as though it had always been there.

Trixie brought the song to its cadence, dipping and rising and trilling in impossibly fantastic ways. Just as her bow ceased its movement and the song came to an end- as the whole world held its breath for a moment- the blue light made one last alteration to Trixie’s form.

Sunset gasped.

“Wings?!”

Brilliant blue wings, the same colours as Trixie’s hair, unfurled from her back. They kept Trixie afloat with strong flaps, sending dust flying beneath her feet.

Trixie hovered in the air for a moment as she lowered her instrument to her side, opening her eyes. Their purple hue appeared deeper than before, and her pupils were blown. She let out a shaky breath. Her wings flapped subconsciously, but she could feel every odd movement from the foreign limbs.

“Holy fuck, Trixie,”

Trixie didn’t react to Sunset’s words. The red-head’s neck was craned slightly in attempt to make eye contact with the still-floating girl. The magician still hadn’t spoken, and her gaze was unfocused.

She could feel everything.

Every thread of her clothing. Every shift of her bones and muscles. The blood pumping through her veins, the thump of her heart. Dirt under her fingernails, plaque on her teeth, sweat on her skin. But most of all, she could feel magic. It thrummed throughout her body, a strong, pulsating sensation, simultaneously giving her life and taking her breath; overwhelming in the best possible way.

And now, she could feel a warm hand gripping her own.

Trixie’s eyes refocused, and she looked down. She saw Sunset with a look of concern on her face. She saw her viola resting on the ground by Sunset’s feet. She saw her hand clasped in Sunset’s.

The girl sucked in a breath as, all of a sudden, her pony extremities dissipated in a flash. Trixie prepared herself for a rough landing, but was surprised when strong arms caught her, belonging to the worried girl that was still clutching her hand.

“Trixie!” Sunset lowered them to the floor, still holding on to her friend tightly.

Trixie collapsed against Sunset, leaning into her warm touch. The magician was panting slightly. “S-Sunset?” She stammered. “Sunset, what just happened?”

The only sound was Trixie’s laboured breathing as she lay curled in Sunset’s embrace, eyes closed. Sunset drew comforting shapes on Trixie’s hand with her thumb, searching for an answer.

“I-I think you’re an alicorn,” she finally said.

Trixie snorted. “That’s a little dumb,” she joked, making Sunset laugh.

The two lay there on the dingy factory floor, cuddled in each others arms as Trixie recovered from the magical experience. As her breathing finally started to even out, Trixie looked up at Sunset. Her fiery hair seemed to shine in the low light of the facility, and dust motes swirled around her in a makeshift halo.

Suddenly, Trixie’s vision was filled with teal as Sunset met her eyes. For a moment, the two just looked at each other, taking in the others appearance.

And then, Trixie leaned in.

The kiss was soft, barely a touch. Sunset gasped lightly at the gentle feeling of Trixie’s lips against her own.

Trixie started to lean back, but Sunset pulled her back in.

Their second kiss was fierce, almost desperate as Trixie grasped Sunset’s shirt and Sunset tangled her fingers in Trixie’s hair. The two pulled each other closer.

Eternities seemed to pass as the two melted in eachothers arms.

When they finally separated for air, Sunset and Trixie had matching smiles on their faces.

Their faces still close, Sunset laughed. Her breath tickled Trixie’s reddened cheeks lightly.

“Took us long enough, huh?”

Author's Note

Now KISS!!!

Trixie's song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDK-k-2Au80

Uhhh also please ignore the fact that the 'plan' was essentially Step 1: gently prod them, Step 2: wow trixie can play music, Step 3: profit

Sonata doesn't lead for a reason she's definitely not the 'planning' type

~Bitty Bug