Chapter 8 - Getting Closer

Sunset walked through the empty halls aimlessly. She was close to the class she should’ve been in fifteen minutes ago, but she had no intention of arriving any time soon. “I was going to be late anyways, may as well take my time.” The red-head needed a break from the week she was having. The scars on her arms itched, reminding her of the oh-so-tempting release that her knife provided.

The girl entered the nearest restroom, checking underneath the stalls to make sure she was alone. After confirming that no one else was there, Sunset rolled her sleeves up so she could scratch at the gashes that lay in varying stages of the healing process.

The enervated girl stared at herself in the dingy bathroom mirror as she continued to claw at the healing cuts. Some of the more sensitive marks started to bleed, torn open by Sunset’s uneven fingernails. The pain provided a sick sort of comfort for Sunset. She slowed her attack on her arms slightly and simply looked at herself in the mirror. Exhausted eyes gazed back. “Why is it never easy?” Sunset wondered as the staring contest with her reflection remained unbroken.

The sound of the bathroom door bursting open broke Sunset out of her daze. She darted into the nearest stall as quickly and quietly as she could, anxiously hoping that whoever had entered the restroom hadn’t seen her.

Sunset held her breath as footsteps rang throughout the silent room, stopping in front of the stall she was hiding in.

“Alright Sunset, come on out,” a familiar voice ordered.

“Aria?” Sunset said nervously. “Dammit! I should’ve known she’d notice I wasn’t in the one class we have together.”

“The one and only. Now get your ass out here,” Aria Blaze tapped her foot impatiently as Sunset unlocked the door and stepped out to meet her friend. “You weren’t in Latin so I figured something must have happened and- oh, Sunset...”

Sunset’s eyes widened as she followed Aria’s gaze to her exposed arms. She hurriedly shoved her sleeves down over the slightly bloody wounds, mortification donning her face. “Great going, idiot. Now she probably thinks you’re a freak,” Sunset berated herself as she avoided Aria’s stunned look. “Pay more fucking attention next time, dumbass!”

She bit her lip as she waited for the inevitable disgusted outcry, but it never came. Sunset chanced a look up at her friend to find that she was just looking at Sunset with a painful understanding in her eyes. “Aria...?” Sunset had never seen the punk with this sort of gentleness on display. Aria was all sarcastic comments, crass attitude, and annoyed eye rolls; to see her with such a soft look on her face was shocking, to say the least.

The former siren’s voice was quiet when she spoke. “I kinda figured that was the case, but it’s worse than I thought it’d be,” she gestured to Sunsets arms. “I, uh…” Aria paused, obviously unused to showing others any kind of vulnerability. After a short lapse of silence in which Sunset only stared at her, Aria sighed and began rolling up her own sleeves.

Sunset gave a soft gasp upon seeing the faded scars that criss crossed around her friend’s arms. “I get it,” Aria said with a sad, empathetic smile as she pushed her sleeves back down. “You’re not alone.” Her voice was heavy with emotion.

Sunset met Aria’s eyes. There were no tears, no hugs, no more words. The two only silently shared a connection that Adagio, Sonata, and Trixie could not comprehend in the same way.

Sunset gave her friend a warm smile, which was quickly returned. The duo left the restroom, returning to their class blanketed by a new, comforting kinship. For the first time in their lives, Aria and Sunset had found someone who could relate.

***

Sunset and her friends sat in the front of Canterlot High, the biting, early-March wind nipping at their cheeks and noses. They chatted like any normal friend group does afterschool, ignoring the hateful glares of their classmates. Sunset and Aria kept the morning’s heart-to-heart to themselves.

“So, do you guys want to come over? We don’t have to worry about homework just yet since it’s Friday.” Trixie offered, looking expectantly at the group.

“Sorry Trix, I gotta head home,” Sunset said. “I promised Ray I’d spend some time with him.”

Adagio and Sonata raised their eyebrows at the red-head, while Trixie covered a giggle behind her hand. Aria didn’t bother hiding her smirk. Sunset narrowed her eyes at her friends. “What? He gets lonely while I’m at school!”

“No worries, pony girl.” Sunset groaned at the nickname and Trixie chuckled. The group found endless humour in how Sunset babied Ray, poking fun at her motherly instincts towards the reptile.

Trixie turned to the Dazzlings. The friendship was still fresh and they hadn’t hung out together without Sunset before, so the magician expected them to back out.

Sure enough, Adagio sighed. “Unfortunately, Aria and I have work. Sorry Trixie,” the frizzy haired girl gave an apologetic smile. She genuinely wanted to get to know Sunset’s friend better, but today was not the day.

Sonata, however, grinned at Trixie. “I’m free!” She informed her cheerfully.

Trixie blinked. “Huh. Guess I’m hanging out with Sonata today.”

The group split up, making their way to their respective destinations. Sonata, seemingly unphased by the slightly awkward air that fell around them, tried to strike up a friendly conversation with Trixie. Trixie tuned most of it out, only adding small nods and “uh huh’s” when Sonata stopped to breathe.

As the duo arrived at Trixie’s house, empty for the day as her parents had late shifts on Fridays, a phrase from Sonata’s ramblings caught the blue-haired girl’s attention.

“Wait, you met Julia Child!?”

Sonata stopped her rambling at Trixie’s ecstatic outburst. “Yeah! She was super nice, I got a signed copy of her cookbook.”

Trixie’s eyes brightened while she unlocked the door and led Sonata into her house. “I love her, I grew up watching reruns of her cooking shows! She’s part of the reason I like baking so much.”

It was Sonata’s turn to get excited. “I’m the cook of the family. I learned a while back for fun but it really came in handy when we lost our pendants,” the former siren explained, dropping her school bag next to where Trixie had lain her own.

Having found a common ground, Trixie and Sonata’s passionate and excitable sides revealed themselves full force. The awkwardness from earlier evaporated as the two sat on the living room couch, rambling about recipes, cookbooks, and kitchen accidents to each other with newfound jovial camaraderie.

The happy conversation never broke as the twin souls discovered their similarities beyond that of cooking. Despite being a real magical being, Sonata was fascinated by the show magic that Trixie could perform; Trixie was enraptured by Sonata’s tales of the past, of the people that Sonata had met in her lifetime and the events she had witnessed.

They exchanged stories and laughs as the minutes trickled into hours. Finally, the two girls were interrupted by a rumble from Sonata’s stomach.

Grrrrrllw

Sonata looked at Trixie sheepishly as her stomach complained noisily. The magician laughed. “I guess we should eat something,” she teased, moving to get up from the couch. “Is pasta okay? I think we have the ingredients for that alfredo sauce you mentioned.”

Sonata followed Trixie into the kitchen with a bounce in her step. “That sounds great! But only if we can make those killer brownies you keep bragging about,” the bubbly girl joked.

Trixie smirked in response. “It’s not bragging if it’s true!”

The two continued their playful banter as they danced about the kitchen, finding a smooth flow within each other’s cooking expertise. Sonata offered tips for making the sauce more flavourful, and Trixie advised that extra chocolate for the brownies was the way to go. Finally, the food was complete, and the girls sat down for their meal.

“Sonata, this pasta is incredible!” Trixie gasped as she dug into her food. Sonata beamed at her friend.

“Not as good as these brownies,” the former siren maundered through a mouthful of gooey chocolate delight.

Trixie chuckled at the girl’s chocolate covered face. “Of course she’d be the type to eat dessert first.”

The two finished the rest of their food with amicable chatter. Just as Trixie got up to clean her empty plates, Sonata’s phone started buzzing. Sonata pulled the device out of her pocket, resting it between her ear and shoulder as she answered the call and grabbed her own dirty dishes. The girl moved to put them in the sink with Trixie’s.

“Hey, Adagio! Yeah, I’m fine. I’m still at Trixie’s house. Oh, is it that late already?!”

At those words, Trixie paused the task of cleaning her plate and glanced at the kitchen’s clock. “Woah, it’s already 7:30?”

“Alrighty, I’ll be home in a jiffy!” Sonata’s voice chirped. She pocketed the device and finished cleaning her plate. She dried her hands on the dish towel that Trixie offered her and gave her a grin.

“It’s been really fun hanging out with you, Trixie!” Sonata pulled her friend into a crushing hug. Trixie was stunned for a moment, but found herself returning the hug with just as much enthusiasm.

“Likewise,” Trixie giggled. “We should do this again sometime.”

Sonata pulled away from the embrace with shining magenta eyes and a somehow bigger smile on her face. “That would be great, Trixie.”

***

Saturday brought with it a sense of lighthearted fun. The group was at Trixie’s house, a movie playing and cookies in the oven. Trixie and Sonata had sprawled themselves across the couch, Sunset and Aria comfortably resting on several blankets on the floor in front of the sofa. Adagio was regally draped across the recliner in the corner of the room.

As more time was spent together, the ragtag group started gelling together surprisingly well. Their personalities just clicked together, like pieces of a puzzle. Sonata and Trixie’s excitability, Aria and Sunset’s sarcasm, Adagio’s general sass and commentary; each person brought something to the group that made the dynamic easygoing yet caring as they rapidly became inseparable.

Trixie wasn’t paying much attention to the movie. Sunset and Aria were engaged in a heated conversation about motorcycles- which was flying completely over her head- and the magician found herself enraptured by the passionate, delighted voice of Sunset Shimmer. Trixie didn’t notice she was staring, taking in each beautiful detail. Sunset’s smile, which was just slightly lopsided. The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes that deepened with her grin. Messy locks of red and gold that draped across her face.

Trixie felt a small smile form on her face as Sunset playfully punched Aria on the arm, the former siren returning the assault with a shove. “She’s such a dork.” Trixie’s affectionate thoughts had been coming in less inhibited ever since the previous week’s revelation at the pet store. The blue-haired girl still didn’t like thinking about the pesky crush, but she found her mind to be occupied by a certain red-head more often than not.

Most of the room was oblivious to Trixie’s outright fawning over the girl in front of her. Most of the room.

Adagio gazed curiously at Trixie from her vantage point in the chair diagonal from the couch. The eldest sister had seen that look on many people in her day; this was quite the… interesting development.

Trixie felt someone spectating her. She looked up, breaking out of the warmhearted daze her heart had cast. Shocked purple eyes met amused magenta ones from across the room.

Adagio cocked her eyebrows and smirked, pointedly glancing to Sunset, then back to Trixie.

Trixie felt a blush flood her cheeks. “Shit, fuck, shit,” she slammed her eyes to the television and tried to pretend she hadn’t just been caught swooning over the girl sitting in front of her. Trixie saw Adagio’s smirk deepen out of the corner of her eyes. “Crap! She knows!”

“Hey Trixie, can you accompany me to the kitchen?” Adagio’s smug voice interrupted Trixie’s frantic thoughts. The group turned its attention to her. “I’d like to start some tea, but I’m still a little new to your house,” the girl beguiled as she rose from her seat.

Trixie fumbled to find an excuse not to join her. “Uh, Sonata knows where stuff is, she can show you,” she weakly tried to save herself.

Sonata looked up at the mention of her name. Her eyes flickered from Adagio to Trixie. Adagio gave her a look, and Sonata sighed. She didn’t know what Adagio was up to, but she did know that it was usually best to stay out of her sister’s way.

“I’m watching the movie,” she finally piped up, burrowing deeper into the couch. Trixie let out a quiet, defeated sigh and rose from her spot next to Sonata.

The rest of the group went back to watching the movie and idly chatting as Trixie and Adagio made their way into the kitchen. Trixie avoided Adagio’s eyes and opened the pantry, reaching for a box of tea and shoving it into Adagio’s hands.

“Well, here’s the tea, the kettle’s on the counter, anyways bye-” Trixie rushed her words and moved to leave, but a hand grabbed her sleeve before she could make her escape.

“Ah ah ah, not so fast, Trixie,” Adagio’s grin was downright predatory. “I’ve seen that look before, I know what it means. Spill,” the curly-haired girl demanded.

Trixie shuffled on her feet, eyes darting around nervously. Finally, she let out a defeated huff, blowing a strand of blue hair from her face. “Fine,” she started. “I may have a tiny, little insignificant bit of a crush on Sunset.” Trixie’s blush deepened and she continued avoiding eye contact. She prepared herself for the teasing that was sure to follow, only to be shocked when all she heard was a lighthearted chuckle.

Adagio lay her hand on Trixie’s shoulder, prompting the girl to meet her eyes. “Don’t worry. As much as I’d love to tease you endlessly for this, I can tell you aren’t super comfortable with it.” The frizzy-haired girl offered a surprisingly warm smile. “Like I said, I’ve seen that kind of affection on a lot of people. I know it can be… a lot,” she said sympathetically.

Trixie blinked as Adagio continued. “I’m here if you ever want to talk about it, even if you just need to rant.” Adagio gave Trixie a pat on her shoulder and turned to the countertop.

“Now, let’s get started on that tea, shall we?”

Trixie, slightly bewildered but with new, happy spirits started pouring the water into the kettle while Adagio prepared the tea bags. She spared a glance into the living room, the object of her affection sparking a familiar- though now not entirely uncomfortable- affection in her chest.

“Thanks, Adagio.”

Author's Note

The Dazzlings finally get their chapter! Sorry this one was a little slower paced; next chapter is when everything comes to a boil, though, I promise it will be worth the wait!

~Bitty Bug