Chapters Adagio Dazzle - Apple Bloom
The Rockhoof Carnival had come to Other-Questria, and among the populace heading to enjoy what it had to offer, Adagio Dazzle looked at the scenery with a look of sheer awe.
I can't believe I'm actually here! I mean yeah, it's named after one of my mortal enemies and I shouldn't be happy about that, but I'm finally in a carnival!
Adagio turned to a popcorn machine that was popping some corn. Popcorn!
Then she turned to a couple of games: a test-your-strength game, a claw game, a water shooting game, and so on. Games!
Adagio walked closer to a rollercoaster, and sniffed just in time to hear people's screams of joy, although Adagio didn't seem to notice. The screams of people!
Adagio walked to the middle of the carnival, and took one more look around as she smiled wide with joy. This is certainly going to be the best time ever! Nothing could ruin this for me!
And then, someone stomped past Adagio, kicking her foot in the process.
"Ouch! Hey, watch where you're going, you-!" Adagio quickly hopped to a nearby bench, sat down, and calmed down as she talked to herself. "Wait, Adagio, don't get angry yet. Whoever that was must've been an unhappy jerk on a bad day."
Once her foot was no longer sore, Adagio walked to the ticket counter, bought some tickets, and took a quick look at them before she put a hand on her hip and raised her arm victoriously. "Time to make this carnival the best experience ever!"
"Who are you talking to?" the man at the counter asked.
"Myself!" Adagio answered proudly.
Adagio's first stop to make the experience unforgettable was to go to the test-your-strength game: Someone grabs a hammer, smacks the button, and see how high the object goes before it drops down.
Adagio grabbed the hammer, easily lift it, and slammed it down, the resulting force allowing the object to hit the bell before dropping down.
However, Adagio didn't get to shower in the spectators' praise for long as another contestant, a small girl with red hair and a pink ribbon, stepped up, lightly pushing Adagio aside before she grabbed the hammer and slammed it down.
The resulting force was so strong, the object hit the bell hard enough to send it flying, causing the spectators to clap and cheer in sheer amazement.
Adagio, not wanting to stand out as a buzzkill, clapped alongside the rest of the impressed carnivalgoers, until the bell hit her head... and snapped in half while Adagio only got a light headache.
The next thing Adagio chose to do was the water shooting game: grab a water gun, aim it at the clown figures, and try to fill them with enough water to make their balloon pop, before the water gun ran out of water of course.
Normally Adagio would avoid such childish games, but she was so angry about the strength game thing, she needed some stress relief. So, she grabbed a water gun, filled a clown until the balloon popped... and felt immediate disappointment when the clown didn't scream in return, though she did gain a little toy prize at least.
As she walked away from the game, the girl with the pink bow returned, paid the prize to play, and promptly blew the rest of the clown's balloon on a single water gun, gaining three prizes as a result. Adagio, however, was left even more disappointed.
After all, one clown not screaming was disappointing, but none of the clowns screaming when their balloons were popped? What a rip-off!
Third time's the charm, at least that's what Adagio always told herself when Aria or Sonata messed up one of her plans. She was now at the claw game, hoping to grab a plushed toy she could take back home with her to give to Sonata.
Anything to keep her occupied and happy, she didn't seem to mess up as often when she was happy.
Sadly, Adagio failed to snag the toy after three tries, and not having enough money to waste, Adagio sadly walked away... and was pushed aside by the pink bow girl once again, who walked up to the machine and easily won the toy Adagio wanted.
However, when Adagio smiled and reached to get the toy, the kid avoided her and left without even giving her a look, further souring Adagio's mood.
Now decidedly upset and furious, Adagio stomped as she looked around the carnival to see if there was anything else she could that hadn't yet been ruined, the sight of the pink bow girl sitting on a bench, still angry after everything that she won, Adagio finally snapped and stomped straight to her.
"Hey!" she yelled.
The girl flinched, turned to see Adagio, and it wasn't long before she recognized her.
"Wait a minute, ah know who ya are!" the girl said, before pointing at Adagio with a stern look. "Ye're one of those sirens ma sister told me about!"
"And you're the younger sister of one of the girls who beat us in the battle of the bands, going by what you say," Adagio rubbed her forehead. "Now, if you don't mind me asking, why are you still upset after ruining my vacation?!"
Apple Bloom folded her arms and looked away. "Ah don't have t' tell ya anythin'!"
Adagio narrowed her eyes, grabbed Apple Bloom by the neck of her shirt, and lifted her. "If you know what's good for you, then you will!"
Suddenly, Adagio was punched in the face hard enough to make her drop the girl and go back a couple feet. The one who punched her was none other than Applejack, who went up to the girl soon after.
"Apple Bloom, are ya awrith?"
"Yeah, but ah don't know what's up with her," Apple Bloom said, clinging to Applejack as Adagio walked back to the sisters. "She walked up t' me and yelled at me!"
"So ya go from controlling people with music t' bullying children?" Applejack growled. "Ya'd really go dat far?"
"You and your friends are the reason I fell so hard and you know it!" Adagio folded her arms. "And besides, I have a reason to be mad: this little brat here has been spoiling my fun not only by upstaging me repeatedly, but also by looking angrier than Sonata when she doesn't get her taco fill, and I want to know what the heck happened that made her turn out like that!"
Applejack took a deep breath and brushed Apple Bloom's hair. "Tell 'er what 'appened, Apple Bloom."
Apple Bloom frowned. "Should ah?"
"Ya know what a say: Honesty's ta best policy."
Adagio fought back a chuckle as Apple Bloom took a deep breath and explained the reason for her anger.
"A little while ago, Sweetie Belle called our house and told me... dat she wanted nothin' t' do with me anymore. She said, after ta Anon-A-Miss fiasco, she wanted nothin' t' do with me or Scootaloo, saying we weren't 'er real friends."
Adagio folded her arms, and with a smug smile, said, "Good for her."
Applejack gasped. "How could ya say dat?!"
"How could I not? Those three got into trouble, they paid a pretty heavy price for it, and most importantly," Adagio slowly turned to look at Apple Bloom. "We both know who to blame for starting that whole mess in the first place."
Apple Bloom lowered her head, expecting Adagio to begin a rant about how it was all the young girl's fault, only for her to turn to Applejack and finished with a venomous tone:
"You."
Applejack flinched. "Me?!"
"You just said it yourself: honesty is the best policy. And keeping secrets from people, is quite the opposite of being honest," Adagio walked past the sisters as she continued her explanation. "Anon-A-Miss was created as a response to their jealousy of Sunset Shimmer, that we all know, but they could've taken any other kind of retribution besides spreading secrets."
Adagio stopped, turned around, and narrowed her eyes. "However, your sister was the one who started the username, and you were the one who put it on her mind that "honesty is the best policy." So of course, she'd focus on doing something that fit that idea, maybe to have an excuse, maybe to try claim some moral high ground to Sunset: since we all know she's been quite dishonest herself for a while."
Applejack glanced at Apple Bloom as Adagio finished. "Point is, because you gave her such a toxic ideology, she chose to do something that fit it as Anon-A-Miss, and thus, you're partially responsible for it."
Applejack lowered her eyelids, but just as she thought about the siren's words, she remembered that messing with everybody's emotion was her modus operandi, so she shook her head in denial.
"No... no, no, no, that can't be true! Ya must be-!"
However, when Applejack turned back to snap at Adagio, the siren was nowhere to be seen, leaving both sisters alone in the carnival.
"Apple Bloom..."
Apple Bloom's bow lowered as she grabbed her arm. "Y-Yes, Applejack?"
"Is what she said true?" Applejack turned to Apple Bloom and frowned. "Did ya create Anon-A-Miss, using "honesty" as a base?"
Apple Bloom fell silent, looking away as she rubbed her arm...
Adagio walked away from the carnival, hands saved on her pockets and her head
Man, talk about a real bummer. Who would've thought I've seen another member of Anon-A-Miss today? Not to mention have to break it up to her and her sister how she's at fault for everything?
She rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes, trying to relax.
I just hope this time-
*bonk*
Adagio backed away before she realized she had hit yet another lamppost.
"Who keeps putting all these lampposts everywhere?!"
Adagio took a deep breath, walked past the lamppost, and faced the carnival one last time.
Whatever, I just hope those girls learned their lesson. Especially the small one; whoever convinced her friend to break off their friendship did a good thing in the long run.
Adagio continued to walk... and it took Adagio a couple seconds to realize something.
Wait a minute, I'm the one who told Sweetie Belle to end their friendship!
Author's Note
This was originally a separate one-shot titled Apple Buzzkill, but after forbloodysummer suggested me to merge what would've been a bunch of one-shot stories into one big story from the get-go, it became the second chapter of this story.
And yeah, seems like Sweetie Belle took Adagio's advice to heart. I wonder how badly that'll blow up on her face.
Draxonos135, flying away.
Adagio Dazzle - Scootaloo
Adagio walked along the streets, rubbing her forehead as she processed what had happened so far: she babysat a girl named Sweetie Belle who was part of an Anon-A-Miss fiasco along with two other girls, which she told her to ditch.
Then, during the Rockhoof festival, she met and spoke with one of those friends: Apple Bloom, who came with her sister Applejack, who wound up on the receiving end of a few blunt words from Adagio.
Now, she could only dread what would happen with the third, remaining member of the trio, and how she would deal with the breakup.
"So, Sweetie Belle broke her friendship with the girl called Apple Bloom, who got the idea of Anon-A-Miss from her sister's messed up honesty policy," Adagio recapped to herself, rubbing her forehead. "There's still one more member, if I remember correctly, so-"
Suddenly, Adagio remembered something that happened to her for a while now, and she opened her eyes, saw she was about to hit a lamppost, and swiftly dodged it, spinning once before she stopped.
"Haha! Take that, lamppost!" Adagio exclaimed victoriously. "You may have hit me in the face before, but not this time!"
Adagio saved her hands on her pockets, laughed some more at her perceived victory... and then a girl on her scooter hit her, sending her bumping straight into the lamppost.
As soon as Adagio separated from the object, she snapped, "That doesn't count, okay!?"
Adagio turned to the person who hit her with the scooter, and saw it was an orange-skinned, purpleheaded girl, who was scratching her head as she stood up, and turned to look at her. "Sorry, miss, I wasn't looking where I was-" and then she recognized her. "Hey wait a minute, you're one of the sirens!"
"Yeah, I am, what a shock, right?" Adagio rolled her eyes and stood up. "Now, can we focus on the fact that you somehow crashed into me despite me being in plain sight?!"
Scootaloo took a deep breath. "I guess I should apologize for that regardless. I'm sorry, okay? My-My mind's been all over the place lately: Sweetie Belle told me she didn't want anything to do with me anymore, and-"
"Your other friend, Apple Bloom, became extremely upset over it," Adagio interjected. "I know because she ruined my visit to the Rockhoof carnival yesterday."
Scootalo snickered. "Good for her."
"Anyway, I was Sweetie Belle's babysitter a week ago, and she told me everything about this thing called Anon-A-Miss, and how you and Apple Bloom specifically chose to keep it going," Adagio added, narrowing her eyes as she folded her arms. "Care to explain what was your reasoning for that?"
"Wait, you were Sweetie's babysitter?" Scootaloo stomped the ground. "You tricked her into breaking ties with us, didn't you!?"
"I didn't need to; you and your friends did a decent job doing that," Adagio smugly pointed out. "Now, back to my question: why did you think keeping Anon-A-Miss going "just to be sure" was a good idea?"
Scootaloo flinched, realizing that if Adagio knew that was her reason, then Sweetie really did tell her everything. So, she grabbed her arm and looked away as she responded. "I didn't know if the secrets we had leaked were secrets that would matter, and, I don't know, I just felt that, if we didn't keep Anon-A-Miss going, Sunset... wouldn't... learn... her... lesson..."
"So, in order to make sure Sunset learned a lesson you didn't even know she hadn't learned already, you chose to keep it going?" Adagio raised an eyebrow. "And besides, you realize that by hesitating right at the end, you're admitting that only now you realize how bad that idea was?"
Scootaloo took a deep breath and lowered her head. "I've never been someone who thinks things through before doing them."
"I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and say that's the fault of the blue girl with rainbow hair," Adagio crouched down, put her hand on Scootaloo's chin, and made her look at her. "However, what I can't do is let your other friends know that you've realized your mistake, you'll have to do that yourself."
Scootaloo frowned. "We talked with Sweetie Belle to meet up at the park, talk things out, see if we can save our friendship."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go to the park," Adagio got up, grabbed Scootaloo's hand, and once the girl grabbed her scooter, the duo walked to the park. "And on the way there, I'll use you as my lamppost shield, just in case."
Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. "Lamppost shield?"
Adagio winced. "I've had the bad luck of hitting lampposts lately."
Adagio and Scootaloo peeked from behind a bush to see Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle waiting for her to arrive at the fountain. The former looked at the scenery before she faced the latter, who shot her a stern look that convinced her to go back to watching the scenery.
"There they are," Scootaloo sighed. "I'm really worried about what's going to happen next."
"Don't get chicken feet before you've done anything," Adagio narrowed her eyes. "Swallow your concerns and go make up with them."
Adagio pushed Scootaloo forward, and the girl hesitantly walked up to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, who looked at her sternly until she arrived.
From there, the girl began talking with each other, though Adagio was a bit far away to hear what they were saying. This didn't stop her from seeing the girls snapping and yelling at each other, a sight that Adagio found decently entertaining.
In fact, if she still had her gem, she probably would've tried to feed off the negativity coming from them.
But then, something unexpected happened: Adagio saw a younger version of herself, Aria, and Sonata in place of Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo, a sight that was only further confirmed when Adagio brushed her eyes, but continued to see her bandmates in place of the girls.
Adagio chose to ignore this, and kept looking at the sight, feeling a bit nostalgic when she saw the little dispute between the younger version of the sirens. They fought, they bickered, all the good stuff, but all that ended with the younger sirens making up and deciding to go deal with their next problem.
Also probably find the fountain of youth to try age themselves up.
However, a certain line snapped Adagio back to reality:
"I don't want anything to do with you anymore!"
Adagio flinched and saw as Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked shocked at Sweetie Belle, who folded her arms as she continued: "I don't want anything to do with someone who started something they should've known would've got us in trouble, and someone who chose to keep it going for no reason!"
"I had a reason!" Scootaloo snapped.
"And besides, ya never showed any problem going along with t' plan!" Apple Bloom stated. "Ya just gathered the secrets, like Scootaloo and ah did!"
Sweetie lowered her eyelids, looking regretful while never denying the statement. However, she quickly grew angry when Apple Bloom asked:
"In fact, when did ya get a problem with the plan?"
Upon hearing that, Sweetie Belle sternly glared at her friends as she bluntly gave her answer. "When we chose to keep it going after already ruining Sunset's life."
Scootaloo flinched and took a step back, feeling a chill as Sweetie Belle threw a sharp look at the girl.
"And if neither of you felt like stopping then... well, that just proves we shouldn't be friends anymore."
Sweetie Belle turned around and began to walk away, prompting a reaction from Apple Bloom.
"Sweetie Belle, think 'bout this! Yer babysitter was one of ta sirens!"
Sweetie Belle stopped, keeping her head low.
"Trickin' and manipulatin' people to drive 'em apart is what they do! Maybe she's doin' ta same thin' to ya!"
She went silent for a moment. "Yes, a siren was my babysitter, and yes, she might be trying to manipulate me."
Sweetie Belle shot a glare at the duo. "But ending our friendship... is my decision."
Slack-jawed, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked at each other as Sweetie Belle walked away, walking past a shocked Adagio as the siren sat down and put a hand on her head, and another on her chest.
The latter as a reflexive reaction towards an unpleasent, unexpected, mysterious feeling.
What is this feeling? But most importantly...
Adagio looked at Sweetie Belle, who paused for a moment and lowered her head before she shook it, and kept walking away.
What just happened?
Author's Note
And now, Anon-A-Miss has finally done what should've been done when it overstayed its welcome: soured the relationship between Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom, and also caused Adagio to feel something inside of her. Something she's never felt before.
I wonder if it'll take a certain flare-haired teenager in order to fix things. We can only hope for now.
Next chapter will be a little different, though: Adagio will get some comfort from... unexpected sources.
Draxonos135, flying away.
Adagio Dazzle - Mysterious Feeling
Adagio Dazzle sat on a bench at the museum, one that was positioned in front of the prehistoric cavemen exhibit. Being quite old herself, she was tempted to make a joke about how she was still much younger compared to the ancient humans.
But there was no use. She just knew there was no point. A single touch in her chest reminded her that no matter what she did, she wouldn't be able to get this heavy feeling out of it so easily.
And what's worse, she had no idea what this feeling even meant, or if it was safe or dangerous. All she knew, was that she didn't like it one bit.
The other thing she knew? It appeared as soon as she saw the CMC breaking their friendship, an even that she had a hand in. It wasn't her intention to make them break their friendship like that.
After all, she could've made it much worse if she tried.
But that wasn't what mattered: the girls were no longer friends, Adagio had a hand in that, and this strange, uncomfortable feeling on her chest had come to pester her.
"I don't get it, every other time I caused relationships to break apart, I didn't feel like this," Adagio lowered her eyes. "So why is that seeing those girls become enemies made me feel so... bad?"
"Maybe you're feeling regret?"
Adagio flinched and turned around, seeing a pair of girls standing nearby: one with pink skin and a tiara, while the other had grey skin and glasses.
"W-Who are you?!" Adagio snapped, getting on the defensive. "How long have you been there?!"
"We actually just arrived," the girl with grey skin said. "We saw you looking rather upset for some reason, so we thought we could go up to you and see what was going on."
Adagio narrowed her eyes. "This isn't some kind of trick, is it?"
"Oh please, there are many lines we won't cross: trying to take advantage of someone while they're feeling bad about something is one of them," the pink girl said as she and the grey girl sat at Adagio's sides. "We just wanted to, I don't know, see if we could talk with you and find out what's bothering you."
Adagio took a deep breath, and let out a giggle. "Sounds like something I could learn from you. But, I don't think there's much you can help me with... um..."
"I'm Diamond Tiara," the pink girl said. "The girl with glasses is my friend, Silver Spoon."
"Hi."
"Friend, huh?" Adagio raised an eyebrow. "What kind of friend?"
"The bestest of friends!" Silver Spoon eagerly answered. "We became friends when were in kindergarten, and from there, we've been inseparable!"
"Inseparable... for some reason, I wish these group of girls had the same bond you do," Adagio sighed. "You see, I may have had a hand in ending a group of girls' friendship."
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon exchanged looks. "Go on."
"The girls were a trio called Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, the last one being the girl I babysat last week," Adagio took a deep breath. "While I was at her house, she told me about something she and her friends did: they crated an account named "Anon-A-Miss," where they gathered and spread secrets about people while making it seem like Sunset Shimmer did it-"
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon groaned, startling the siren. "Right, that thing," Diamond Tiara growled. "We were among the people whose secrets got out."
"Oh, well, you have my condolences, I guess," Adagio rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I talked with her for a bit, and I chose to give her some advice: cut ties with the girls that got the idea and decided to keep Anon-A-Miss running. She did, and I got a taste of the consequences at the Rockhoof Carnival when I met Apple Bloom."
"She ruined your enjoyment at the carnival too?" Diamond Tiara asked, earning a nod from Adagio. "She did the same to us: pushing aside to grab popcorn
"Yeah, she seemed pretty upset, and we were wondering why," Silver Spoon folded her arms. "But if what you're saying is true and that's the reason, then she deserved it."
Diamond Tiara scratched her chin. "Come to think of it, we didn't see her after she bothered us..."
"I snapped at both her and her sister when I got tired of her nonsense," Adagio took a deep breath. "Anyway, just yesterday, I met the remaining Anon-A-Miss member Scootaloo, guided her to the park where she and the other two were going to talk things out, and... Sweetie Belle broke ties with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo."
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon blinked twice. "That's it?"
"Well, I started feeling something I haven't felt before once I saw them stop being friends," Adagio put a hand over her chest. "But besides that, yeah, that's it."
"Anon-A-Miss was a disaster waiting to happen, and a mess that nobody walked out of unscathed," Diamond Tiara said, folding her arms. "Even if you pushed one of them to end their friendship with the other two, they put themselves on thin ice in the first place."
"Diamond's right," Silver Spoon said as she put a hand on Adagio's shoulder. "You can't really say it's your fault alone that their friendship ended: you did convince Sweetie to break up with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, but that's it, right?"
"Yeah, but if it isn't only my fault, then what is this feeling that's been bothering me?" Adagio asked, putting a hand on her chest once again. "I've had it since I saw those girls end their friendship, and no matter what I do, it won't go away!"
"I'm pretty sure that's guilt over giving Sweetie Belle the idea to stop being friends with those two," Diamond Tiara answered with a shrug, Silver Spoon nodding in agreement. "I mean, she probably would've ended it anyway, but you giving her the idea does make you responsible to an extent."
Adagio rolled her eyes and lowered her head, prompting the bespectacled girl to hastily add, "But, if you want to deal with that feeling, we can help you help the Canterlot Movie Club reconcile!"
Adagio looked at Silver Spoon. "Do you really think there's a chance to make them reconcile?"
"Yeah, that might be possible," Diamond Tiara said with a smile. "It might take a while, though."
Feeling slightly better from the pep talk, Adagio stood up, dusted herself, and said to herself, "Alright then, I'm going to need your help with that."
"We'd rather let the Canterlot Movie Club keep paying for what they did for a little bit longer," Diamond Tiara said as she and Silver Spoon stood up. "But, I guess it would be better in the long run to have them owe us a favor, so sure, let's fix their friendship."
Adagio nodded with the girls, and they walked out of the
"By the way, you do know I'm a siren, right? You know, part of the trio that controlled everyone's mind with their music?"
"Yeah, but that's so last semester," Diamond Tiara answered with a dismissive wave of her hand. "You've kinda been forgotten since other magical phenomenons have happened, like lampposts coming out of nowhere."
Adagio scratched her head. "So that's why I've been crashing into those lately."
"And there's also Twilight Sparkle turning into a winged, horned evil entity that threatened to tear the fabric of reality!" Silver Spoon cheerfully added.
"Oh really?" Adagio cracked her knuckles. "I should remember that to give her a well-deserved beating for upstaging us."
And as the siren kept talking with the two girls, the mysterious feeling of guilt lessened slightly, though it would still be present until one thing was done: reconcile the Canterlot Movie Club.
Sunset Shimmer - Realization
Sunset Shimmer, the most noteworthy victim of Anon-A-Miss's secret spreading spree, walked down the streets with her bag over her arm, taking a look around the scenery as she headed to a particular building: the Sugarcube Corner.
Along her way, she walked past Adagio Dazzle as she talked about something with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, a sight she failed to process at first. Once she did, though, Adagio and the girls got up and left the scene before Sunset saw them, convincing her she was just seeing things.
Once she took a step inside the building, Sunset walked to the table that was the closest to the door, where Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were sitting at.
"Hi girls," Sunset greeted as she sat down. "Where's Rainbow, Rarity, and Applejack?"
"They're coming a little bit later," Pinkie Pie answered. "Apparently, they need to talk about something in private first."
"As for Twilight, she said she was going to see if she could find them, see if she could help them with the discussion," Fluttershy added. "She should be coming back soon-"
Suddenly, Twilight herself barged into the building, sat on the table, and rubbed her forehead as she took a couple deep breaths, apparently failing to notice Sunset's presence.
"Um, hi, Twilight," Sunset greeted, lightly waving her hand.
"Oh, hi Sunset," Twilight scratched the back of her head. "Sorry, I'm just not in the best mood to talk right now."
"You went to check on Applejack, Rainbow, and Rarity, right?" Sunset asked, earing a nod from the bespectacled girl. "Was their discussion that heated?"
"Discussion?! That implies they're bothering to be civil!" Twilight rolled her eyes. "They're not talking to each other, Sunset! They're fighting !"
Sunset's eyes widened. "They're what ?!"
Twilight guided Sunset, Pinkie, and Fluttershy to the spot where Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash were having their "discussion", where they saw that the trio were not only in the middle of a heated argument, like Twilight said, but that they were in their ponified states.
"At least I didn't give her any intentionally bad advice!" Rainbow Dash snapped, pointing right at Applejacks nose. "Not unlike a certain Applejack!"
"Hey, all ah told Apple Bloom was dat honesty was ta best policy!" Applejack snapped in return, slapping Rainbow Dash's hand away so hard, the winged human grabbed it and winced. "'Er usin' it as a base t' make Anon-A-Miss was not intentional!"
"What matters is not whether it was intentional or not!" Rarity stated, slamming her hand on the table. "What matters is that she got the idea in the first place!"
"Geez, I didn't think it'd be this bad," Sunset took a couple steps forward. "I'll go see what's up with them-"
Suddenly, Twilight grabbed Sunset's arm and pulled her back. "Think things through first, Sunset! In their ponified state, their legs gain strength that's double their enhanced upper body strength!"
"And how do you know that?" Sunset asked, only to realize upon a closer look that Twilight's glasses had their lens partially cracked. "Nevermind, I just answered my own question."
Sunset freed herself from Twilight's grasp and called, "Why are you girls yelling at each other?!"
The trio stopped their bickering
"Well, some of us are unwilling to accept their part in creating Anon-A-Miss," Rarity stated, folding her arms and looking away. "Mostly Rainbow Dash and Applejack."
"You have some fault too!" Rainbow Dash and Applejack yelled in unison.
"What? Me? Puh-lease!" Rarity folded her arms and looked away from the duo. "You were the ones who, directly or not, gave the girls bad advice that brought that handle into existence!"
"But you're responsible for getting those three to break off their friendship!" Rainbow Dash pointed out. "Not to mention having the brilliant idea to have one of the Dazzlings be her babysitter!"
Sunset's eyes widened. "You did what, Rarity?!"
"I had to go to work for an unexpected night shift, and I had to get the first babysitter I could find!" Rarity responded sternly. "If I hadn't been in such a hurry, I'd have looked a little bit longer for a different babysitter!"
"But ya didn't get a different babysitter, and now we're havin' this argument!" Applejack stated, Rainbow nodding in agreement. "Ya should've known that leavin' your sister alone with a siren was bad news!"
"Actually, now that you bring her up, where's Sweetie Belle right now?" Sunset asked, scratching her head. "In fact, where are her friends?"
Applejack tipped her hat and frowned. "Apple Bloom's back at home, tryin' t' deal with ta fact the three of them ain't no longer friends."
"Scootaloo's at the library reading Daring Do to cheer herself up," Rainbow Dash said as she hit the ground and folded her arms. "She's so upset about what happened she doesn't even want to go out and play."
"And I don't know where Sweetie Belle is, but she said she-" Rarity paused, growing incresingly angry as she resumed. "Was going to see a friend..."
Rarity clenched her fist and slammed it down, surrounding herself in light blue magic before she disappeared from the spot, leaving behind a burnt mark.
"Wow, she got so angry she exploded!" Rainbow Dash remarked, both shocked and amused.
"That's not it, she must've teleported to Sweetie Belle's location," Sunset said, her eyes as wide as dinner plates as she looked around, trying to get an idea. "Does anybody know where Sweetie is?"
Suddenly, screams came from the spot the girls came from, and once they went back, they saw people running away as Rarity confronted Adagio and Sweetie Belle, the latter clinging to Adagio's arm.
"Wait, Adagio was around here?" Sunset raised an eyebrow. "So I didn't just imagine things?"
"So this is the friend you were talking about, Sweetie Belle!?" Rarity snapped, narrowing her eyes.
"No! I mean, yes! I mean, uh, maybe?!" Sweetie asked, clinging Adagio's arm harder.
"H-Hey, lady, you might want to lower your voice a bit, you're scaring the kid!" Adagio said, trying to free herself from Sweetie Belle's surprisingly tight grasp. "Otherwise I might lose my arm!"
"You stay quiet!" Rarity yelled at Adagio, before turning back to Sweetie Belle. "Listen up: I know you would never hang out with someone like a siren, Sweetie Belle. But whatever she's doing to trick you into following her, you don't have to listen to her!"
Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow and released Adagio's arm, the siren quickly taking several deep breaths as she rubbed it, and Sweetie Belle took a couple steps forward. "Do you really understand what's going on?"
"Of course I do! That siren took the chance of my babysitting blunder to manipulate you into joining her side!" Rarity responded, shooting a glare at Adagio as she added, "I mean, manipulating people to do what they want is what the sirens do!"
"Can't argue with that!" Adagio said in the middle of her breathing.
"Now come on, Sweetie Belle," Rarity said, giving her sister a stern look. "While she can't mess with your mind, come back to me."
Sweetie Belle frowned, and glanced between her sister, who spread her arms to welcome her with a smile, and then Adagio, who was still breathing heavily from her tightly held arm. Sweetie Belle lowered her head and took a step towards Rarity...
And then she lifted her head, threw a furious look at the fashionista, and ran back to Adagio, hugging her stomach while keeping the glare at Rarity.
Everybody gasped, especially Adagio, who began sweating bullets.
"B-B-But, Sweetie, that's a siren! And not just any siren, but the leader of them!" Rarity stated, clenching her fists. "Why would you want to stand by her side?!"
Sweetie Belle narrowed her eyes. "Because where you yelled at me without giving me a chance to explain myself, she remained calm as she heard me out! Because where you left me to figure out what to do by myself, she at least gave me some advice and an idea!"
"O-Okay, look, kid, I'll admit I did talk with you and heard you out, but I was just doing my job as your babysitter, I didn't expect you to take the advice to heart," Adagio said, looking nervously at the furious Rarity. "Now, please, take back everything you said before you put us in even thinner ice-"
"I don't care! Let the ice thin until it shatters beneath us!" Sweetie Belle proclaimed, snapping a shot at Rarity. "If I'm never going to be forgiven for the Anon-A-Miss fiasco, I might as well hang out with another person who'll never be forgiven!"
The jaw of everybody present fell down, Adagio in particular losing all color on her face as one thought crossed her mind:
I'm so dead right now.
And Rarity was going to make sure that thought became reality as she charged her magic, aimed it right at Adagio, and shot a diamond-shaped magic blast at her, Sweetie Belle pushing Adagio away before Sunset ran and got in the blast's direction, receiving the blast directly.
The blast caused Sunset to jump a couple feet and roll a bit once she hit the ground, but she didn't seem to have any significant bruises.
"Darling!" Rarity exclaimed as she and the rest of Sunset's friends ran to her side. "W-W-Why did you take the blast right there?!"
"Rarity, we're in public! We can't just use our magic like that, we could cause a panic!" Sunset said as she stood up. "Even if we weren't in public, you can't just lose your cool and attack like that!"
"But she stole my sister!" Rarity snapped, throwing the pointer finger at the Adagio-Sweetie duo. "She-!"
However, once everybody turned around, they saw Adagio and Sweetie Belle were nowhere to be seen. "She vanished!"
"Actually, ah think Sweetie Belle used ta same teleportation spell ya did," Applejack answered. "We saw both of them be surrounded by a light blue aura while Sunset was being struck by the attack, an' they vanished seconds later."
Rarity took a deep breath, and stood up, dusting herself as she spoke. "Guess I'll go look for the-"
Suddenly, Sunset put a hand on Rarity's shoulder and shook her head. "Leave it here for the moment, Rarity."
"B-But, that siren, Adagio was her name right? She did something to my sister!" Rarity stated, narrowing her eyes as she reached for her pocket. "I mean, just look at the drawing she made when she was done babysitting her!"
Rarity revealed the drawing, and most of the girls weren't sure how to take it... except for Pinkie, who smiled. "Sweetie's quite good at drawing."
"That's besides the point, Pinkie! That siren did something to Sweetie Belle and I need to do something about it!"
"Okay, but before you do anything, shouldn't you come up with a plan first?" Twilight suggested. "I mean, if you just barge in without a plan, you're not going to get anywhere."
Rarity rubbed her forehead for a moment, then took another breath. "You're right, Twilight: I was being reckless, and we all know that's Rainbow Dash's thing."
Rainbow folded her arms. "And for everyone's sake, I think it's better if it keeps being just my thing."
"For now, let's go back home and think of something to do," Sunset winced. "And if somebody could take me to a medical center, that'd be great."
And so, Sunset and her friends walked away from the spot, Sunset looking at the sky as she hoped that whatever was happening between Sweetie Belle and Adagio, that it wouldn't make things worsen before they got better.
Speaking of Sweetie and Adagio, the girls sat on a bench at the park, Sweetie twiddling her fingers nervously while Adagio leaned back and sighed wearily.
"I don't know what you did, but it certainly saved us from having to deal with your sister," Adagio remarked, taking a deep breath as she bemused. "And, I never thought I'd say this, but, my life has been both saved and endangered by someone other than my fellow sirens for once."
Sweetie Belle lowered her eyelids. "Are you angry with me too?"
"No, Sweetie, I'm more angry at myself than anything," Adagio took a deep breath. "I mean, this week just hasn't been the best one for me. I gave you advice I didn't think twice about, you and your friends broke up and I started feeling guilty about it, and now you sister's more than likely going to hunt me down until she finds a way to get you back."
"Well, she's going to be wasting her time," Sweetie Belle folded her arms and looked away. "I'm not going back with her anytime soon!"
"That only makes me worry even more, kid!" Adagio stated. "Seriously though, you just put me on some very thin ice right now: it was already difficult to live while the battle of the bands is still fresh in everyone's mind, now we're going to have to worry about your sister coming for you too!"
"Speaking of my sister, I don't think it's necessary to say this, but after what I just did I don't think I can go back home," Sweetie Belle rubbed her arm. "Could I stay with you for the meantime?"
Adagio felt a chill go down her spine. If this wasn't the clear point of no return, then she didn't know what was: after convincing Sweetie to break off her friendship with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, and getting on Rarity's bad side, letting the girl stay with her was probably going to be the final nail in Adagio's coffin.
But then again, Sweetie was right. She couldn't go back home after what she told Rarity; if she did, she'd be grounded potentially forever and some charges would be put on Adagio. But if she didn't stay, then all it would need was for the wrong person to see the girl in her house, and believe she had been kidnapped, putting some charges on the siren.
It was a lose-lose situation, though it was clear which one was the lesser lose.
"Alright, Sweetie Belle, you can stay with me and my bandmates," Adagio answered, scratching her hair as Sweetie looked at her with hope. "But, it's not a permanent home: you'll just stay with us until this whole situation with your sister cools down, okay?"
Sweetie chirped "Okay!" as she hugged Adagio, the siren flinching before she lowered her arms, calmed down, and brushed Sweetie Belle's hair with a light smile. A smile that turned into a frown as she looked at the sky, and hoped that things didn't get any worse before they got better.
For the love of Celestia's cousin, please don't get worse.
Author's Note
Okay so, the first Sunset chapter in this story... with not much Sunset for some reason. What? XD
Anyway, let's recap: Rarity learned to teleport, Sweetie Belle chose to stay with Adagio, Rarity went super pony 2 and Sunset tanked her attack, and now Sweetie will be living with Adagio and her bandmates.
This can only end well.
Also, I now know how to use the pony emotes!
Also, this is the last Adagio-centric chapter in this story. Next chapter will begin a new collection of chapters centered on another siren. Can you guess who?
Draxonos135, flying away!
Sonata Dusk - Apple Bloom
Sonata Dusk, the most carefree of the Dazzlings, spun around the wheeled chair on the sirens' living room, giggling while Adagio and Sweetie Belle looked at her.
"Okay, so let me see if I got this," Sonata said before she stopped spinning around. "This girl got into some trouble with other girls for using an internet name to spread the secrets of everyone in their campus, she broke off her friendship with the other two girls, and she doesn't want to return to her sister's house?"
"You forgot the part where we suddenly teleported to the park, away from the scene," Sweetie Belle added. "I don't even know how I did that either, I just... did."
"Regardless, she'll be staying here for a while," Adagio added. "At least until the whole situation between her and her sister cools down."
Sonata leaned down and extended her hand towards the girl. "Nice to meet you then! My name's Sonata Dusk!"
"And I'm Sweetie Belle," she answered as she shook hands with the siren. "I hope you don't mind me staying here for a while."
"Not at all! It'll be so much fun having another person around here!" Sonata chirped before she began spinning again. "And who knows, this might last shorter than we expect, so we enjoy it as much as we can!"
"Okay, but first of all, why don't you go buy something for dinner?" Adagio asked, stopping Sonata's spinning with her hand. "You know, go out and do something other than spin yourself silly."
"That sounds like a plan!" Sonata giggled as she stood up and wobbled to the door. "I'll be back in a bit!"
Once she clashed with the door, Sonata opened it and walked out, closing it afterwards.
"Is she going to be okay?" Sweetie Belle inquired.
Adagio shook her head. "Don't worry, kid, this isn't even Sonata at her most clumsy."
Sonata walked out of a restaurant holding a bag, with some steam coming out of it. "And that should be enough for everyone! I sure hope Adagio's friend likes fried rice and chicken!"
Just as she began walking back home, however, Sonata caught a glimpse of something: Apple Bloom, sitting on a log and looking at the ground with a saddened look. Curious, she approached the girl and sat down, startling her.
"Who are ya?!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, backing away from the blue girl. "What do ya want with me?!"
"Oh, sorry, I just saw you were looking a little down," Sonata scratched her head. "And I wanted to know what was going on-"
"Wait a minute, ye're one of ta sirens! Ta blue one!" Apple Bloom stated, taking a couple steps back. "Yer leader might've managed to hit me and ma sister where it hurt, but I ain't lettin' you do that!"
"What are you talking about? I'm just worried about-" Sonata quickly connected the dots. "Oh, wait, Adagio told me that she met a girl named Apple Bloom at the Rockhoof Carnival. Are you that girl?"
"Yeah, ah am!" Apple Bloom clenched her fist and took a battle stance. "And ah'm not gonna let ya further upset me!"
Sonata waved her hand. "Again, all I want to do is see what's bothering you so much, although after what I said I think it's pretty clear: you and your sister are upset because Adagio snapped at you, right?"
Apple Bloom frowned and lowered her fists. "That's only half of ta story: Mah sister always told me that "honesty is the best policy", an idea ah used as basis for Anon-A-Miss."
"Right, Adagio told me about that too," Sonata scratched her chin and looked at the sky. "Something about you and your friends choosing to make the account to spread secrets to blame Sunset Shimmer about it, and then you and the orange friend choosing to keep it going for a little bit longer."
"The orange friend's name is Scootaloo," Apple Bloom sternly added. "And... yeah. The reason ah chose to keep it going was because ah thought Sunset needed to learn 'er lesson, but from what your leader said... ah'm thinkin' dat was just rude of mah part."
"Well, if an anonymous user started spreading secrets and made it so you'd be blamed for them, you'd probably think they're a little rude, too," Sonata remarked, completely oblivious to Apple Bloom's disheartened stare. "Anyway, you're upset because this Anon-A-Miss thing costed you your friendship with the orange friend and Sweetie Belle, right?"
Apple Bloom nodded. "It also made me reconsider how much ah could trust ma sister; she told me the idiom dat'd be used t' make Anon-A-Miss."
"Well, don't you think you're getting a bit ahead of yourself?"
Apple Bloom lifted her head and looked at Sonata as she gave her a reassuring look. "What do ya mean?"
"You're acting as if all hope was lost to reconcile with your friends, but it's really only been a couple days since you broke off, right? This happens all the time! Friends get angry at each other, they break up for a little while, and then they eventually make up and become friends again!"
"But Sweetie Belle made it clear she wanted nothin' t' do with me nor Scootaloo!"
"She was upset and saying that at the heat of the moment," Sonata rolled her eyes. "Trust me, she's going to eventually regret ending your friendship just as much as you're regretting it now."
The idea of Sweetie Belle being saddened by the end of their friendship, unsurprisingly, didn't cheer up Apple Bloom in the slightest. As she lowered both her head and her bow, though, Sonata spoke once more:
"Of course, it wouldn't hurt if you did your part, too."
Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow.
"Listen, if there's anything I've learned as a Dazzling, is that if you're going to be a leader, you gotta be proactive. That means that rather than wait for your friend to make it up with you, take the first step in convincing her you're sorry!"
"But she don' wanna talk t' me anymore!" Apple Bloom whined. "How am ah supposed t' convince 'er to forgive me, if they won't even hear me out?!"
"Again, you have to be proactive about showing them that you're sorry," Sonata stood up and began walking away. "If you just sit on the ground and wait for things to fix themselves, nothing will ever change. So get up, and do something about it."
"But-"
Sonata stopped on her tracks, turned to Apple Bloom and narrowed her eyes. "Do you want to be friends with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo again?"
"A-Ah do-"
"Do you want to show you're sorry for starting Anon-A-Miss?"
"Ah do-"
"Then stop feeling sorry for yourself, and actually work into proving you're sorry for what happened! Instead of beating yourself up for something that's already happened, work to fix your mistakes!"
With that said, Sonata Dusk walked back home as Apple Bloom looked at her, gaining a determined expression before she nodded, and walked back to her family's farm.
Sonata kicked open the door, put the food down, and closed it with a big sigh. "I'm back!"
"About time you arrived," Adagio said as she and Sweetie Belle walked to the kitchen. "What took you so long?"
"Well, when I was walking back, I saw somebody being sad and I couldn't ignore them," Sonata answered, resting her chin on the table. "So I talked with them for a bit, realized I needed to get going, and now I'm here."
"You watched what you were saying, right?" Adagio asked as she stopped Sweetie Belle from eagerly grabbing some of the food. "I already got us into deep trouble by talking without thinking things through, we don't need any more trouble."
"Don't worry, I made sure only to say things they needed to hear," Sonata reached inside the bag, and took out a taco. "Anyway, let's eat."
So, the trio began eating their dinner, Sonata pausing a little to contemplate whatever would happen next.
The next day, Adagio and Sonata sat on a bench at the park, Sweetie Belle having fun nearby while the sirens looked at their surroundings.
"This is the place where we're supposed to meet your strategists, right?" Sonata asked.
"It better be," Adagio answered, rubbing her forehead. "The original plan to get those girls back together was derailed straight out of the tracks when Sweetie Belle convinced me to let her stay. We need to try and come up with a better plan, this time with a backup in case something goes wrong."
Sonata looked back at Sweetie Belle, and her eyes widened. "Does her meeting one of her former friends count as something going wrong?"
Adagio snapped back at Sweetie Belle and saw Apple Bloom approaching her... while carrying a pie. "Normally I'd say yes, but this time, let's see how she reacts..."
The sirens looked intently at Sweetie Belle, who folded her arms. "What do you want, Apple Bloom? Want to try convince me to join another one of your crazy ideas?"
"No, ah'm not gonna do dat. Not now, nor ever again," Apple Bloom shook her head and "Ah just wanted to give ya an apology gift, for what ah made us do."
Sweetie Belle grabbed the apple pie, and looked at it before she glanced back at Apple Bloom, who was giving her a hopeful and regret full look. The girls promptly walked to a table nearby, put the pie in the middle, and sat down. "Did you bring a knife, or-"
"Actually, ah cut it up into pieces before ah came here," Apple Bloom replied.
Sweetie Belle moved the pie around a bit to reveal that yes, it had already been cut. With that shown, Sweetie grabbed a piece of piece, took a bite... and found herself moaning in delight. "It's good," she took another bite, and gave another moan. "Like... really, really good! Did your sister make it?"
"No, ah made it mahself," Apple Bloom replied. "Mah sister helped me in the process, but everythin' else was done by me."
Sweetie Belle slowed down a little, and narrowed her eyes as she swallowed and put the piece down. "Apple Bloom, I know you must be sorry for the Anon-A-Miss fiasco. But a simple apple pie, for as delicious as it is, won't convince me to forgive you."
Apple Bloom shook her head. "Ah don't want t' force ya to forgive me. Ah just wanted t' show ya I'm sorry, and that ah want t' move on."
Sweetie Belle lowered her head, while Apple Bloom smiled a little, a sight that gave hope to the sirens and Applejack nearby...
Wait, Applejack?!
"Heya."
Adagio and Sonata jumped off the seat. "How long have you been there?!"
"Ah was here as soon Apple Bloom handed ta pie t' Sweetie Belle," Applejack answered, tipping her hat as she walked towards the sirens. "Ah mean, ya expect me t' let ma younger sister walk around unsupervised? After what happened?"
"Yeah, I guess you have a point there," Adagio nodded in agreement before she took a defensive tone. "But still, there has to be another reason for you being here, next to us."
"And there is," Applejack nodded. "Ah wanted to thank ya. Both of ya."
The sirens' eyes widened as they took a step back, Sonata almost collapsing from her failure to process what was happening: Applejack, thanking the sirens?
"Ah don't trust either of ye, not by a long shot, dat's clear. But I can't deny that ye've helped me: Adagio made me realize that mah policy might not be ta best, and ya Sonata helped Apple Bloom cheer up, and start takin' steps t' become Sweetie's friend again."
Applejack turned back to Apple Bloom, who briefly looked at her before she looked away, looking slightly upset.
"Now, it's up t' me to try fix mah relationship with mah sister," Applejack sighed. "Got any advice for me?"
"We're gonna leave you two to your own devices," Adagio said, Sonata nodding in agreement. "I already got in the bad side of one of the elements of harmony, I don't want to risk getting on another element's bad side."
And then, Sonata realized something. "Wait, if you're here, then-"
"Don't worry, Rarity ain't here, ah came with Apple Bloom alone. And I'll keep quiet about our meeting too, so ya don't have t' worry about that," Applejack saved her hands on her pockets. "All ah ask from ya is... it's not easy t' say this-"
"You want us to try and get Sweetie and her friends back together?" Sonata finished, raising an eyebrow.
Applejack nodded a little, then finished with one big nod and shrug. Adagio and Sonata exchanged looks, smiled, and gave Applejack nods in unison, bringing a smile to the country girl's face. "Ya know, maybe ya ain't so bad after all."
"Oh don't fool yourself, we're totally worst," Adagio replied, shaking her head. "You just had the luck of seeing us in a good mood."
"Ah see..." Applejack sighed. "Well, ah gotta go pick up Apple Bloom. Whatever you're doing with Sweetie Belle, don't try to turn her into a smaller version of you."
"What? You're kidding right?" Adagio scoffed. "There are very few people who are on the same stand as us!"
"Hehe, yeah right."
With that said, Applejack walked towards Apple Bloom just as a pair of voices called "Adagio!" in unison. This prompted the sirens to turn around and see Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon at a table, waving their hands at them.
"It's them: they're the contacts we're supposed to meet," Adagio remarked before she grabbed Sonata's arm. "Come on, let's go see them."
Sonata looked back at Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, and gaining a hopeful smile, she nodded and joined the group.
Author's Note
Yup, it was Sonata Dusk! Those who guessed her, good work, those who didn't, don't worry it happens.
Anyway, it seems Apple Bloom has taken the first step to amend her relationship with Sweetie Belle, and Applejack chose not to pull a Rarity on the sirens. That's good, right?
Also, is it me, or are the chapters getting longer? XD
Draxonos135, flying away!
The next day, at the Sirens' home, Adagio and Sonata set up an apple at the couch in living room, before they walked to Sweetie Belle, who was all the way back to the kitchen.
"Okay, let's try to see if you can consciously repeat what you did when your sister attacked us," Adagio told the girl. "We just put an apple on the couch at the living room. Try to teleport to it."
Sweetie Belle nodded, closed her eyes and clenched her fists as she focused on trying to teleport, mostly by chanting "go to the apple" repeatedly to herself... which she did for a minute before she realized nothing was happening.
"Then that confirms it: what you did was done unconsciously out of desperation," Adagio scratched her chin. "It could take a while before you can do it willingly, assuming you'd like to train it in the first place."
Suddenly, the door was knocked, and the trio walked to and opened it to see Applejack and Apple Bloom outside, the former looking fairly calm while the latter sported a nervous smile.
And once Sweetie Belle glared at her, that smile turned into a frown. "What's she doing here?"
"I invited her and her sister to come play with you, since I need to go help someone else today," Sonata answered, before throwing a wink at Adagio's direction. "And also because I think it would be nice if she and Adagio could patch things up properly."
"Me? Patch things up with her?" Adagio scoffed, letting out a chuckle before she turned anger. "She's the one who ruined my fun at the carnival!"
"Who ruined whose fun doesn't matter: what matters is that you make up with each other so we can close that chapter and move on to more important things," Sonata leaned closer to Adagio and whispered. "Besides, Sweetie Belle is watching. Are you going to give her the impression that it's okay not to patch things up with Apple Bloom? Especially considering she and her friends' current situation?"
Adagio flinched and glanced at Sweetie Belle, who avoided eye contact with Apple Bloom
"I'll try to patch things up with her and her sister, but I can't promise it'll work."
Sonata brushed Adagio's hair. "Better to try and fail than to never try. Anyway, I'm off, see you soon!"
Sonata strolled off and closed the door, leaving the girls to look each other awkwardly...
"So, I guess we should patch things up now, but since talking's the reason things are tense right now, I don't think that's an option," Adagio folded her arms. "Is there anything else we can do?"
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle glanced at some pillows in the living room, and got an idea...
Meanwhile, with Sonata, the siren walked cheerfully across the park, looking for the person she was seeking: a certain orange girl named Scootaloo. It wasn't long before she found her, orange would be quite notable among the green of the park of course, and she walked to her before she was confronted by a certain winged humanoid.
This humanoid being, of course, Fluttershy... wait, what?!
"Oh, you're the one who spoke to me about the kid, right?" Sonata chirped, clasping her hands.
"Yes, and although I'm happy you could show up, you showed up at a bad time," Fluttershy frowned. "It won't be long before-"
"Fluttershy!"
Rainbow Dash came down soon after, landing right next to Fluttershy and startling her into going to the siren's side. "Oh man, she arrived earlier than expected."
"What are you doing here, siren!?" Rainbow Dash spat, narrowing her eyes as she walked closer to the smiling entity. "Trying to make things worse between Scootaloo and her friends?"
"I came to check up on the "Sad kid" your friend told me about," Sonata answered with an oblivious smile. "You know: orange skin, purple hair, called Scootaloo?"
"This is the person you were talking about, Fluttershy!?" Rainbow snapped, earning a nod from the nervous girl soon afterwards, before following it by slapping herself. "Dang it, I tried to be more careful by asking you to get help, yet we end up pulling a "Rarity" anyway!"
"Look, I know you're angry I didn't tell you who I got, but listen to me," Fluttershy said. "This siren helped Apple Bloom cheer up when she was feeling down. Maybe she can do the same thing with Scootaloo."
"And what if she doesn't?" Rainbow folded her arms. "What if she instead decides to trick her into doing something that'll make things even worse?"
Sonata raised an eyebrow. "Why would I want to do that?"
"Because you're a siren and that's what you do!" Rainbow snapped, giving Sonata the pointer finger as she walked closer to her. "Doing a couple of nice things isn't going to change what you did back at the battle of the bands: we have no reason to think you're planning anything good!"
"Rainbow, please, we don't have any other options," Fluttershy pleaded, clasping her hands as she walked towards her. "Sunset's still resting, Rarity's still processing what happened with Sweetie Belle, and the rest of the group isn't sure if they can help Scootaloo as much as you could help her. And you already tried and failed to cheer her up"
"But asking a siren for help?!" Rainbow stomped the ground. "That should be an absolutely last resort! There has to be someone else we can call!"
"If there is, we can't call them now."
"Why not!?"
"'Cause she's already speaking with her."
Rainbow turned around to see Sonata approaching Scootaloo, and just before she flew over to them, Fluttershy grabbed her and hid them both behind a bush, peeking out in order to hear the duo's conversation.
"Hello there, I'm Sonata Dusk-"
"One of the sirens!?" Scootaloo panicked and backed away. "G-Go away! I'm not letting you mess with my mind this time!"
"You know, your friend Apple Bloom acted the same way when I tried talking to her," Sonata sighed and shook her head. "I wonder if this is going to be a repeat of what happened there."
Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"
"We talked, she distrusted me of course, but after a while I gave her some advice and she took a step in convincing Sweetie belle to forgive her," Sonata took a deep breath. "And now, it seems that because this "Rainbow Dash" couldn't help you, her friend asked me to try and cheer you up..." she frowned and raised an eyebrow. "Speaking of which, how did Rainbow Dash fail to help you?"
Scootaloo sat down. "Rainbow Dash tried to give me advice on how to mend my friendship with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, but... I couldn't agree to do anything she said. I just couldn't. Rainbow Dash is someone who doesn't think things through: she attacks first, and asks questions later... and that kind of attitude is the reason why I'm on bad terms with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom."
"Then I can work with this, by being blunt with you," Sonata smiled. "Take the initiative-"
"That's exactly what Rainbow said!"
"You didn't let me finish: take the initiative, after you've figured out what you could do to get on Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom's good side again. Don't jump in without a plan: think about what you used to enjoy doing with them when you were still friends, and once you have an idea, do it with tact. Don't do it because you want Sweetie Belle to forgive you, do it because you want to show you're sorry."
Scootaloo lowered her head. "So, think of something that could remind Sweetie of the good times we had, make it clear I don't want to force her to forgive me, and hope for the best. Is that what you mean?"
Sonata smiled and put a hand on Scootaloo's head. "You're a fast learner. That's a good thing."
Too angry to be held back by Fluttershy any longer, Rainbow Dash jumped out of the bush and flew over to the pair, ready to pull a dropkick right on Sonata's face. However, the siren easily saw her coming, and ducked long enough to get Rainbow on top of her, taking the chance to clench her fist and punch Rainbow right in the stomach, sending her flying right through some trees and back to Fluttershy.
"What was that?!" Scootaloo exclaimed.
"A signal that my time with you is over," Sonata casually answered. "Anyway, think of what I've told you, and don't hesitate: it's better if you try and fail than to never try."
With that said, Sonata stood up and walked away, leaving Scootaloo behind to think of what to do.
Sonata opened the door, but before she could inform everybody she was back, she was struck by a pillow, which fell just in time for Sonata to open her eyes and witness Adagio, Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle with pillows on hand, and feathers flying everywhere.
"So, were you having fun while I was gone?"
"Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle got ta idea t' settle our differences with a pillow fight," Applejack explained, taking the time to puff her pillow. "It'll both help us patch up, and also let ta girls have some fun!"
"Anyway, how did it go for you?" Adagio asked.
"Well, she didn't trust me at first, like everybody else, but eventually she heard me out," Sonata explained as she crouched down and grabbed the pillow. "Anyway, would you mind if I joined you for a bit?"
Sweetie Belle gestured Sonata to join them, and the siren eagerly did, beginning a five-way pillow fight between everyone.
Meanwhile, with Scootaloo, she was joined by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon as she hummed to herself, trying to think of something she could do to get back on Sweetie Belle's good side.
"Hello there, Scootaloo," Diamond Tiara greeted. "You're not usually one to be lost in thought. Is something wrong?"
"Ugh, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon," Scootaloo took a deep breath. "I'm trying to think of something I could do to get on Sweetie Belle's good side again, so could you please go away before you distract me?"
"Distract you?" Silver Spoon inquired. "Why would we want to do that? If anything, we'd like to see if we could lend you a hand."
"Why? We've never gotten along before, and you were part of the victims of Anon-A-Miss," Scootaloo folded her arms. "Why would you want to help us get back together?"
"We got our reasons," Diamond Tiara shrugged. "And besides, it's not like you're getting anywhere on your own, are you?"
Scootaloo's angry look slowly turned into a somber one before she begrudgingly nodded. "I can't think of anything right now. If you can give me an idea or two, I'd appreciate it."
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon exchanged looks, nodded, and sat on Scootaloo's side. "How about this..."
Author's Note
And now Sonata has spoken with Scootaloo, and it seems Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are going to give her a little hand. But is the second part really part of the plan?
It's likely that it is, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Draxonos135, flying away!
Sunset Shimmer - An Offer
Sunset Shimmer slowly woke up, her blurry vision not letting her see clearly who was around her, and where she was.
"Oh, you finally woke up."
Sunset slowly turned around and saw her friends, except Rarity, standing nearby, all looking concerned at the teenager.
"Girls, you're here..." Sunset smiled a little. "How long have I been resting?"
"You've been resting here for a couple of days," Fluttershy answered. "Rarity would've come with us to see you, but after thinking about it a bit more herself, she couldn't just face you after she attacked you like that. Her words, not mine."
"It was really sad talking to her to see if she wanted to come with us," Pinkie Pie added, lowering her head. "She seemed... really dismotivated, as if she had lost the will to live or something. I mean, it wasn't that extreme, but it was still pretty bad."
"She's probably like that because she doesn't know how Sweetie Belle's doing," Sunset took a deep breath. "After what happened at the streets, I wouldn't be surprised if Sweetie Belle didn't return home."
"She didn't."
Everybody turned around and saw Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon entering the room with slight hesitation. And as they sat down, Sunset slowly but surely recognized them: "Hey, I remember you two! You were talking with Adagio when
"So you're her lackies, aren't you?!" Rainbow Dash asked, pounding her fists as she narrowed her eyes. "What did you come here to do? Try to make Sunset stay here for a bit longer!?"
Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. "If by that you mean hoping she gets better, then yeah, that's what we're here to do."
"What we're actually here to do is let her, and all of you, know how Sweetie Belle's doing," Silver Spoone answered as she adjusted her glasses. "We've been hanging with the sirens for a bit to keep track on how Sweetie Belle's doing, and we're happy to say that things seem to be getting a bit more hopeful."
"Apple Bloom already attempted to get Sweetie Belle to forgive her," Diamond Tiara spoke. "And though she hasn't done it yet, Scootaloo already has an idea on what she could do to get Sweetie Belle to forgive her."
"Ah can confirm the first part," Applejack stated, tipping her hat. "We spent a while bakin' an apple pie so she could gift it t' Sweetie Belle. Ah don't think it was 'nough t' convince Sweetie Belle, though."
"I'm not surprised: if I was in the same situation as her, it would definitely take a lot more than just one gift to convince me to forgive her," Sunset answered, seemingly oblivious to how this statement made her friends lower their heads in shame as she turned to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. "Anyway, you two have been working with the sirens, right? You're helping them try to get Sweetie and her friends to make up... why?"
"Because it never hurts to get a couple of people to owe you a favor," Diamond Tiara answered proudly, Silver Spoon nodding in agreement. "Besides, can you imagine the look on their faces when they realize they got back together thanks to the efforts of the people who brainwashed them and two of the people they cyberbullied?"
"It'll be hysterical!" Silver Spoon answered, holding back a chuckle. "Of course, we can't do it alone... and we were wondering if you'd be willing to help us."
"Help you!?" Rainbow snapped, stomping her way to the duo. "Sunset was the main victim of the entire fiasco! Why would she want to help those three get back together?!"
"The same reason she chose to remain friends with you, I guess?" Silver Spoon inquired, shrugging. "I mean, you were among the first to think she was Anon-A-Miss, from what Sweetie told Adagio."
Rainbow Dash flinched, but before she could snap at the girls, Sunset beat her to the punch: "You're lying!"
"W-We're not lying! We're just telling you what Adagio told us!" Silver Spoon replied. "If you want to get real technical: Sweetie Belle's the one who's lying."
"But why would Sweetie Belle lie about Anon-A-Miss?" Twilight asked, scratching her head. "She's a sweet girl: she wouldn't just lie about the incident so casually, right?"
"Maybe there's something she wants to keep a secret?" Diamond Tiara shrugged. "Besides, considering where she stands, if she can lie to make sure she can stay with the sirens and not go back to her sister, I don't think it's farfetched to think she would do it."
"If that's the case, then we need to find out more about it," Sunset stated. "And that will be our condition: we will help you and the sirens, but only if you setup a moment where we can talk with Sweetie Belle in private, and ask her why she's lying."
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, exchanged sneaky little smiles, and shook hands with Sunset.
"Consider it done."
Author's Note
Yeah, rather short chapter, but there wasn't really much to cover here that couldn't be covered in the next chapter.
Anyway, Sunset is still in bed, and with a condition established, she and her friends are going to help the sirens. Now only one question remains:
How honest has Sweetie Belle been recently?
Draxonos135, flying away!
Another day, another feeling of isolation was felt by Rarity's person. She leaned against a wall at the public park, looking at the clear skies as she tried to think about how her current situation made any sense whatsoever.
"I just don't understand: the sirens brainwashed everyone with their music to feed on their negativity, and that's not something one can just forgive and forget." Rarity lowered her head and frowned. "Why would Sweetie Belle choose to stay with those monsters?"
"Yeah, I wonder why."
Rarity flinched and turned around to see the one who spoke was none other than Aria Blaze, who took a bite out of a golden apple she held. "It truly is the question of the century."
"You're the third siren," Rarity remarked, lowering her eyelids. "The purple one who's always frowning."
"The name's Aria Blaze, genius," Aria responded sternly. "Although, after this encounter, you'll probably want to forget you ever met me."
Rarity narrowed her eyes, but calmed down as she saw the apple she was holding. "That's a funny-looking apple you got there. Where did you get it?"
"From a funny-looking apple tree, perhaps?" Aria responded with a hint of sarcastic condescendence in her tone. "Look, if you're going to ask questions, skip the "Sonata levels of dumb" questions and ask something that actually matters."
Rarity clenched her fist, honestly wanting to punch the siren in the face. However, that would not only be unladylike, but once she thought about it, maybe Aria's presence was a hidden blessing? "The other sirens gave advice to my sister and her friends. Are you here to do the same thing with me?"
Aria shook her head and smirked. "Not in the slightest, no. I'm just here to bask in the glorious sight of you being so lost in the aftermath of being in your sister's shoes, a position you put yourself in by your own hand, by the way."
"Stuck in Sweetie Belle's shoes?" Rarity asked. "What are you talking about?"
"Yelled at by your own sister, denied a chance to explain yourself, and left behind to feel abandoned by one of your own siblings," Aria grinned smugly. "Do you see the similarities now?"
Rarity clenched her fists. "I didn't abandon Sweetie Belle!"
Aria threw the apple high up in the sky, and with her freed hand she pinned Rarity against the wall, looking at her sternly, and strictly at her eyes as she explained:
"When you lashed out at her, when you scolded her for the cyberbullying fiasco, you didn't see her as your sister. In that moment, who you saw was not your sister, but a piece of Anon-A-Miss who had lived under your roof, and played you like a fool while she was playing a part in a scheme to undermine Sunset Shimmer! To make everyone think she was back to her old ways!"
Aria tightly held Rarity's wrist and leaned closer.
"A scheme you only helped further by joining with your friends in accepting Sunset was Anon-A-Miss, despite no evidence to support it! You and her "friends" condemned her for no reason at all, and once your sister and her friends came out to you, they were forgiven, while Sunset had to on to live with the thought her friends had conmed Aria smirked maliciously. "And you know what's the worst part?"
Aria leaned closer to Rarity's ear, and with a sadistic smile, she whispered:
"You. Did it. Willingly."
Rarity dropped to her knees and Aria released her just as the apple came down from the sky, landing right back at her hand, allowing Aria to take a bite out of it as she took a couple steps back and enjoyed the sight.
"Yeah, this feels good," Aria snickered. "I'll be nice enough and apologize for breaking you like that, but I'm forced to be all nice and cheerful when I work at the music store, and being so nice to such musically blind people makes me sick. Still, thank you for giving me the wonderful medicine of verbal humilliation!"
Aria curtsied, throwing a smug look at Rarity when the girl briefly glanced at her. As she began walking away, though, Rarity stood up and sighed.
"You're angry at me, aren't you?"
Aria stopped on her tracks and turned around, raising an eyebrow as Rarity explained:
"From what you said, Sweetie Belle told you about what I told her when I got angry at her. And considering your relationship with your bandmates seems to be like sisters, you probably saw yourself in Sweetie Belle, and Adagio as me. So, you snapped at me and told me all that... to make me see how Sweetie Belle felt in that moment. To make me truly realize how much I had hurt her. That was your intention, Right?"
Aria paused, and burst out laughing at the ridiculous motion, only for her to slow down once she saw Rarity looking confused at her. "You were serious?"
Rarity nodded, causing Aria to shake her head and chuckle. "Adagio can be rough around the edges, but act nice when the time calls for it. Sonata has no problem being friendly with other people as long as they don't get on her bad side. Me? I'm a prick who enjoys watching people squirm and cry, bonus points if their misery was brought by their own mistakes."
Aria took another bite out of her apple. "I didn't snap at you because I wanted you to know how much you hurt your sister. I snapped at you because I felt like ruining your day. That's it."
Aria kept walking, and Rarity stood still as she processed what she heard, culminating in her extending her hand forward and shouting, "W-Wait!"
Aria shook her head in disgust and turned back to the fashionista. "You still think I'm here to give you advice, don't you? I just told you, I came here to ruin your day, nothing more, nothing less. And now that I'm done with you, I'm going home-"
"Please, just this once, I need some advice on how to get Sweetie Belle back to my side," Rarity pleaded, clasping her hands. "Is there something I can do?"
"Not at all, at least, there's nothing you can do that would help the situation," Aria took a deep breath. "If you try talking to her, she's not going to listen. If you try to send her an apology gift, she'll think you're bribing her. And if you're dumb enough to promise her you won't do it if she comes back to you, she'll just see that statement for what it is: a hollow, desperate plead for a victim to return to the one who victimized them."
Rarity lowered her head, and Aria shook her head. "The best thing I can tell you is, get ready to fight for her forgiveness. Because out of you and her friends, I believe you'll be the one she'll have the hardest time forgiving."
With her words spoken, Aria resumed her walking once more, leaving Rarity to take a deep breath and calm down before she told the siren two simple words:
"Thank you."
This caused Aria to stop once again, this time blinking and looking at the ground as she processed what she had just heard... a process she chose to ignore as she resumed walking soon after, finishing her apple and throwing it away afterwards.
Later, at the sirens' house, Aria found herself standing in front of a sleeping Sweetie Belle, scowling at her while she talked to herself.
So here you are, sleeping like a baby, despite knowing what kind of damage you've done. It feels good, doesn't it? To get the "affection" and "friendship" with Adagio. I bet that makes you think you're safe, that things won't get worse while you're here.
Aria narrowed her eyes and crouched down, meeting face-to-face with the sleeping girl.
But you're wrong: you broke your friendship with your friends. You broke your relationship with your sister. Now I wonder, what else will you break? How many more bridges will you burn before you finally tell the truth?
Aria stood up and took a deep breath.
I will deal with your friends first, just as Sonata and Adagio have done. If they prove to be liars just like you, good, if not... well...
Aria leaned towards Sweetie Belle's whispered, "You can't lie forever, especially to a siren. The lie will eventually come out, and when it does, not even Adagio will remain by your side."
Aria walked out of the room, and closed the door. A few seconds after her footsteps could no longer be heard, Sweetie Belle opened her eyes, and rolling up to face the ceiling, she clutched her chest and took several deep breaths.
If Aria was being honest at all, and the intensity of their encounter was a sign of things to come... Sweetie Belle could only pray the siren was bluffing...
Author's Note
And Aria has made her debut, and seen both Belle sisters... why do I feel like she's slightly OOC in both interactions? XD
Anyway, next chapter we'll have the lesson team up most people probably expected from this story: Aria Blaze and Scootaloo. Considering what Aria acted like this chapter, I wonder how she's going to "help" Scootaloo learn her lesson?
Draxonos135, flying away!
At the park, Aria Blaze relaxed on a bench, trying to enjoy her break from work as much as possible. Now, she wasn't completely out of the store's view, so she still had to be nice to an extent, but she didn't have to force a smile and be all polite either, so this worked out.
Unfortunately, her peace was soon disturbed when Sunset's friends, as well as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, approached her, instantly putting a frown on her face. "Do you need something?"
Rainbow Dash was gently pushed forward by Applejack, the jock throwing a look at her before she sat next to a disapproving Aria. "We're here to... help you give advice to Sweetie and her friends.
Aria paused for a second, then stood up, put her finger on her mouth, and lifted the wet finger on to the sky. After a few seconds, Aria lowered her finger and shrugged. "Yep, there's no sign that cats and dogs will be raining today."
"I'm not surprised you were checking for that," Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and stood up. "Listen, I know us wanting to help you sounds like a massive stretch, but this isn't about us. It's about Sweetie Belle, her friends, and helping them patch things up so they can properly apologize for everything that happened thanks to Anon-A-Miss' fault."
"Well, it's quite noble of you to swallow your pride and accept to help people who were once your enemies, get your friend's sister and her friends back together," Aria replied as she walked towards Rainbow Dash. "But I sure hope you understand what you're getting yourself into: the other sirens already did their part, so the one you'll have to deal with is me. And I'm not particularly easy to deal with."
"Doesn't matter, as long as we help the girls get back together, it'll be worth it," Rainbow Dash stood up and folded her arms. "Now, how do we get Scootaloo to learn her lesson?"
"Tartarus if I know," Aria raised an eyebrow. "You're the one who chose to approach me, you give me an idea."
Rainbow Dash wanted to punch the siren, but making an enemy out of someone she was trying to help was probably not the best idea. So she calmed down. "Well, I didn't come with a plan in mind-"
"At least you're honest," Aria shrugged.
"But I do know a couple things that Scootaloo wouldn't mind doing, like sports-"
"Listen, Blue Girl, I don't think you're understanding what I'm asking from you," Aria sternly said, keeping her smile as she poked Rainbow Dash's forehead. "I'm not asking you to tell me what you know, I'm asking you to give, me, a, plan!"
"I can't just give you a plan without thinking things first!" Rainbow Dash snapped, slapping Aria's hand away. "I mean, what do you expect me to suggest? A race that spans miles?!"
Aria, Sunset's friends, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon sat at the tables of Sugarcube Corner's, a starting line drawn across the street which could be seen from the window, signaling the start of the race.
"A toast to Blue Girl's big mouth!" Aria exclaimed, lifting her juice box. "May her mouth continue to blurt out nonsense and screams of sheer frustration! All hail the rainbow loudmouth!"
"Okay, Aria, we get it," Fluttershy glanced at the starting line. "What we don't get is how this race is going to help."
"Well, let me tell you something I've learned from my stay in the human world: people are better actors when they don't know what's going on," Aria replied, taking a sip of her drink. "If I were to tell you what's the plan, you would put effort into acting your part, and that would make it clear this is a setup."
"And if Scootaloo figures out it's a setup..." Pinkie Pie blurted, getting everyone's attention. "She'll figure out something's going on, and probably back away before we get a chance to teach her a lesson."
"If the pink one's the one who understands the plan first, then I'm not surprised you need my help," Aria took another sip of her drink. "Anyway, did any of you call the girl here?"
"We did," Diamond Tiara answered. "She should be here soon."
"Well then," Aria stood up and clasped her hands. "I think Blue and I should go out to welcome Scootaloo to the race. Come on, Blue, let's go."
"I got it, calm your horses," Rainbow Dash growled as she stood up. "Just a word of advice: if you do anything to hurt Scootaloo, or if this ends up hurting her worse than expected, I'm going to make you pay for it."
"Sonata told me that when you tried to do that to her, she sent you flying with a punch to the gut," Aria scoffed as she and Dash walked out of the establishment. "I don't know about you, but that makes your warning seem as hollow as Sonata's head."
Rainbow grumbled, once again wanting to punch the siren in the face. But since Scootaloo would come any minute now, she needed to stay calm to be able to help her.
Scootaloo arrived after a couple minutes, reaching Sugarcube Corner to see Rainbow Dash and Aria exchanging stern looks, Rainbow scowling while Aria grinned.
"Um, hi?" Scootaloo blurted, getting the pair's attention. "What's going on?"
"So this is the kid called Scootaloo?" Aria asked, before raising an amused eyebrow to Rainbow Dash. "What's she supposed to be to you? A sister? A friend? Your daughter?"
"I'm just friends with her!" Scootaloo exclaimed, only to quickly blush and twiddle her fingers. "Not a sister, or daughter, her friend!"
"Wow, we just met her and she already put you in the friend zone!" Aria patted Rainbow Dash's back with a smug smirk. "You have my condolences. Anyway, how about you explain what she's doing here?"
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Scootaloo, we're going to have a little race: you, me, and the siren here."
"We're going to race?" Scootaloo glanced at the sky for a moment. "You would obviously win, Rainbow Dash, so what's the point?"
"Beats me; purple fish over here refuses to explain herself," Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. "But, she says that this race will help you learn your lesson... whatever that means."
Scootaloo narrowed her eyes. "And you believe her?"
"Adagio may have given you the push to cause your friendship with your friends to end, but Sonata gave you advice on how to fix things: you have both a good and a bad experience with the sirens, so I'm not surprised you would distrust me," Aria replied as she walked towards the starting line. "However, you need to remember that you still haven't been forgiven by Sweetie Belle; she still lives with me, Sonata, and Adagio, even if I myself don't like the idea; and one way or another, she's become a target of Adagio's affection."
"Well, that sounds like something Sweetie Belle would do," Scootaloo remarked as she walked to the starting line with Rainbow Dash. "She can be so nice and kind, just about anybody who has a heart would become close to her."
"Nice and kind, right, and yet she still let herself be blinded by jealousy?" Aria scoffed.
"Jealousy affects everyone no matter how nice or mean they are," Rainbow Dash replied, lowering her head a little. "I'm speaking from experience."
"That, I can believe," Aria snickered. "Anyway, are you ready?"
Scootaloo winced. "Well, I-"
"Sorry, not letting you say otherwise," Aria interjected. "Ready, set, go!"
With that said, Aria bolted out of the starting line and ran as fast as she could, before Rainbow Dash caught up and chased after her, Scootaloo being the last person to come out with an uneasy trottle.
"Hey, what's the big idea!?" Rainbow Dash snapped once she reached Aria. "Scootaloo was about to say something!"
"She was probably going to spit out an excuse to not do the race, save herself the shame of her inevitable loss," Aria replied. "After all, losing to your idol is one thing. Losing to your idol and someone like a siren? That would be the worst. Especially since she was already convinced she wouldn't win."
"That... well, yeah, she said she knew I would win, and I'm not saying that's not true..." Rainbow Dash lowered her head. "Maybe we should backpedal a bit?"
"Right, and I bet that's not going to make her feel worse: losing to her idol and a siren, even when that idol held back in order to give her a slim chance," Aria narrowed her eyes. "Believe me, Blue, just keep doing what we're doing and let her play along."
Seeing no other choice, or at least, no other choice that Aria wouldn't point out would make things worse, Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and begrudgingly kept running.
Minutes had passed since the race started, and the end goal was already in sight: Canterlot High School.
"This doesn't seem too bad, actually. It takes longer than I'd like, but it doesn't feel too bad regardless" Rainbow Dash remarked. "Are you sure this activity will help Scootaloo learn her lesson, whatever that is?"
"Not everybody's as athletic as you are," Aria responded with a little shrug. "You're a teenager; she's a kid. She's not nearly as fit as you are, not by a long shot. She'll eventually grow tired, and then, we can see if she's willing to learn her lesson or not."
Rainbow Dash looked back at Scootaloo, who hung her head low and slowed down a bit, taking heavy breaths every once in a while. "I don't know, she looks like she's already exhausted."
"You're just saying that because you're worried for her as her friend," Aria replied, focusing solely on the road ahead. "You can't let your relationship with her let you go soft on her: if you do, then she won't-"
*thud*
Aria stopped, and Rainbow Dash immediately ran back, while the siren stopped and her eyes widened as she processed what she just heard. "W-What was that?"
Aria slowly turned around, and saw Rainbow Dash right next to Scootaloo, who had collapsed on the ground. Immediately panicking, Aria ran up to the girl and helped Rainbow Dash carry her.
Once back at Sugarcube Corner, Scootaloo eagerly ate some cupcakes and took a big slurp out of her drink, surrounded by Rainbow Dash and the rest of her friends while Aria confronted Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon outside. And from the looks it, she was quite ticked off.
"Why didn't you tell me she lived a couple apples away from Canterlot High School, and that she hadn't eaten or drank anything before coming here!?" Aria yelled at the duo, putting a hand on her hip while she rubbed her forehead with the other. "And while I could understand those things as honest mistakes, why did you also tell her to come here on foot !?"
"W-Well, since the idea was a race, w-we thought having her already a little exhausted would help her get the message across!" Diamond Tiara stammered. "B-Besides, you didn't tell us anything about the race, where it would start or where it would end!"
"How did that stop you from telling me about it and convincing me to go easy on her!?" Aria yelled back, stomping the ground. "It took a couple minutes to set the race and you came and went in car, so you had more than enough breath to spare a word or two with me!"
"Uuuummm..."
"Just, stay out here while I go talk with everybody else," Aria rubbed her forehead with both hands. "If I'm lucky, they're not going to throw food at me and kick me out as soon as I step forward."
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon exchanged concerned looks as Aria walked into the establishment, being met with looks from Sunset's friends... but nothing else. Not even a single food projectile.
"So?" Aria growled, putting her hands on her hips. "I'm waiting to be bombarded by stuff right now!"
"We're not angry enough to do something like that," Fluttershy replied, before she pointed at Pinkie Pie. "And besides, Pinkie Pie convinced the owners to set up a "non-food throwing in the establishment" rule."
"It's right there in the rules next to you." Pinkie added.
Aria glanced at the rules, and once she spotted the rule in question, she rolled her eyes in disappointment. "Well, talk about a buzzkill. If you can't throw stuff at me, how else are you supposed to show your anger at me for making a kid collapse?"
Rainbow Dash stood up and took a deep breath. "Your name's Aria, right?"
"Yes, Aria Blaze," the siren saved her hands in her pockets. "And before you ask, yes, I know your name's Rainbow Dash. I was just calling you "Blue" to annoy you."
"I know; you weren't subtle about that," Rainbow Dash walked up to the siren. "Listen, we're angry that things got bad enough that Scootaloo collapsed, especially me. But we already went through this before."
"When Anon-A-Miss spread our secrets, we got so angry that we didn't let Sunset tell her side of the story," Pinkie Pie spoke. "Just like everybody else, we began to think Sunset was Anon-A-Miss, and... well, things got worse from there."
"If throwing the blame at someone without evidence of their guilt didn't work once, what reason do we have to believe this time it will?" Fluttershy added. "As far as we know, you had no idea Scootaloo was that tired. If anything, the ones at fault are the girls that brought her here, and trust us, we're going to talk to them."
"Besides that, Scootaloo wants to talk to you," Rainbow Dash spoke, pushing Aria towards the table. "Even if we were angry enough to yell expletives at you, I think it's fair to let her talk with you first."
With that said, Rainbow Dash and the girls left the building to talk
"Can you believe their audacity?" Aria snickered. "Not one of them stayed behind to keep an eye on me, they left you alone with the person who made you collapse; nobody in their right mind would do something like that! Especially if the other person is a siren!"
"I asked them to leave us alone," Scootaloo confessed. "I wanted to talk with you on private, because I get the feeling I know what that race was all about."
Aria quit the quipping and took a deep breath, before she adopted a sincere, regretful tone. "I'm sorry for what happened, alright? I wasn't informed you had neither eaten before going here, or that you lived miles away from the starting point. Or the ending point, for that matter. If I had known about those previous things, I wouldn't have gone as harsh on you, I swear-"
"Don't, you did all of this to teach me a lesson, Rainbow Dash told me. And I think I know what the lesson was," Scootaloo replied. "The girls and I felt bad about Anon-A-Miss eventually, but it's not hard to imagine one of us would feel worse first. Sweetie Belle must've felt bad first, and when Apple Bloom and I wanted to keep Anon-A-Miss, she must've put on an act that she wanted it to continue too, in fear that something bad would happen otherwise."
Aria's eyes widened, noticing a peculiar bit in Scootaloo's statement. "She acted? So, she was faking wanting it to continue?"
"Yeah, she's a pretty good actress," Scootaloo rested her chin. "She once told me she was taking acting lessons, and how she was the top student of her class. I guess she was so good, we couldn't tell when she was acting and when she was being honest."
"So, she's a good actress... interesting..." Aria clutched her chest. "By the way, the moment I saw you collapsed, I felt something bad. Something... unpleasant... that made me feel that doing this was probably a bad idea. Do you know what it could be?"
Scootaloo scratched her chin and hummed. "It must be guilt. It's what someone feels when they've done something that they've come to regret. The more intense it feels, the more likely the person will do anything to get rid of it."
Aria's eyes widened and she stood up, gaining a little smile. "So, you're saying that the more powerful a person's guilt feels, the more that person will do anything to try and redeem it?"
"Yeah, and I think it also makes them a bit more desperate in general," Scootaloo scratched her head as she looked at the ceiling. "I've read stories of people doing things they wouldn't do otherwise, or outright changing their personality in order to free themselves from their guilt."
"So they could get desperate enough to, say, fall for a good actor, right?" Aria raised an eyebrow. "Tell me, you've met Adagio, right? When did you meet her?"
"I bumped into her by accident while I was still upset about Sweetie ending our friendship," Scootaloo twiddled her fingers and lowered her head slightly. "Then, with her pushing me a bit, I spoke with my friends, things got heated, and she ended our friendship for real. I think she was still around when it happened."
Aria scratched her chin and looked elsewhere, her smile widening in delight. "Which means that Adagio must've felt guilt when she saw them end their friendship. Whatever her reason, she would feel bad for kinda-sorta having a hand in ending it, meaning she's not treating Sweetie Belle better than usual because she's going soft, but because she's trying to free herself from her own guilt!"
Aria narrowed her eyes, her smile unfaltering. "And that also means Sweetie Belle could be taking advantage of it..."
Aria laughed joyously as she grabbed Scootaloo by her arm, lifted her, and began spinning around the place in bliss. "Now it makes sense! Why would Adagio treat Sweetie Belle different, why the kid would be lying through her teeth without being caught, it all makes sense now!"
She stopped spinning and lowered the girl until they met face-to-face. "And I have to thank you for that."
Aria put Scootaloo on the ground, and strolled up to the door, only stopping when Scootaloo shouted "wait!"
"Yes?"
"Thanks..." Scootaloo smiled. "For helping me understand better how Sweetie felt back then."
"And..." Aria paused, smiled, and continued. "Thank you too. For helping me figure out how things made sense once again."
Aria bid farewell, and threw an envelope to the counter before she left the establishment, the envelope holding enough money to pay for everything the girls bought.
Author's Note
So, thanks to Scootaloo, Aria has not only experienced guilt as well, but also figured out the reason behind Adagio treating Sweetie Belle more... well, sweetly, than she expected.
Scootaloo, however, will take a while to rest, so the movie night with Sweetie Belle will have to wait for a little bit longer. Granted, this is probably something Aria would like... especially considering what she has in mind...
Also, yeah, these chapters are definitely getting longer than expected.
Draxonos135, flying away.
It was a calm early morning at the siren's house, and a lone girl by the name of Sweetie Belle walked across the hallways lit by the rising sunlight. She let out a little yawn, trying not to wake up anybody else at the house.
She went to the kitchen and up to the fridge, which she opened with half-open eyes that sprung open at what was present on the lower set: an apple pie, a cut piece ready to be grabbed and eaten.
Sweetie looked around her surroundings before she grabbed a plate, put the piece of pie on it, and closed the fridge before she took a big bite out of it.
"Good morning, Sweetie Belle."
The girl nearly choked on the pie as she turned around and saw, thankfully not Adagio, but Sonata leaning against the doorframe, arms folded behind her back and her face showing an expression of disapproval.
"Care to tell me what are you doing?"
Sweetie Belle looked everywhere until she looked at the plate, and shrugged with a sheepish smile. "Having an early snack?"
"Yeah, and that snack just so happens to be a piece of the apple pie that Applejack and Apple Bloom gave me yesterday!" Sonata snapped as she walked to the girl. "Why would you grab a piece of a pie that's not yours!? I mean seriously, you didn't even ask me if you could grab it!"
Sweetie Belle leaned the pie closer. "Can I?"
Sonata grabbed the plate. "No! Give it back!"
The girls struggled to try overpower each other, until the lights turned on, causing them to stop as they turned to see an exasperated Adagio entering the kitchen. "Again fighting for a piece of apple pie?"
"She started!" Sonata and Sweetie Belle snapped at each other, pointing at each other while not breaking away contact with Adagio.
She, on her part, took a deep breath and walked up to the duo calmly. "Sonata, I know it's upsetting that someone tries to eat your stuff without your permission, but you were the one who got the idea of leaving it right there, unprotected and without being hidden whatsoever; you should've known someone would be tempted to eat it."
Adagio quickly turned to Sweetie Belle, her tone remaining calm. "And Sweetie Belle, we've been through this before; you're living in a house with three other girls, you can't just grab whatever you want, you should ask first. And besides, it's far too early for you to eat something sweet! You should eat breakfast first!"
"We could decide to have the apple pie as breakfast, right?" Sweetie Belle suggested with a sheepish smile.
"That doesn't change the fact you grabbed the piece before giving the suggestion and before figuring out if it belonged to someone else," Adagio folded her arms sternly. "Now, hand that pie back, and apologize."
Sweetie Belle frowned, grumbled and returned the slice of pie, folding her arms as she begrudgingly said, "I'm sorry."
Suddenly, they heard someone clap, in short, downplayed intervals. Sonata saved the slice of pie back in the fridge before joining Adagio and Sweetie Belle in looking at the doorframe, where they saw Aria clapping with a smug expression. So, nothing out of the ordinary for her, really.
"Nice to see you haven't quite forgotten how to put your hoof down, Adagio," Aria replied as she walked towards the group. "Or maybe I should say hand instead? Heh, we've been stuck in this dimension for over a thousand years, and yet I always seem to slip into the Equestrian language once in a while. Crazy, right?!"
"Not at all, Aria," Sonata replied, shaking her head as she went to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "We've been alive for several milleniums, a single millenium in another world isn't going to change the fact we speak Equestrian first and foremost, even if we've managed to quickly adapt to this world's language."
Aria immediately frowned. "You're supposed to respond negatively."
Sonata raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure I did?"
"Regardless, you should go brush your teeth, Sweetie Belle," Adagio said, gently pushing Sweetie Belle towards the door. "I'll talk with Aria in the meantime."
"And what do I do?" Sonata asked, pointing at herself.
Adagio sighed. "Go along with Sweetie Belle too? I honestly don't care."
Sonata chirped and Sweetie Belle groaned as the duo left the kitchen, leaving Aria-still smug as ever-to be confronted by the irritated Adagio. "Okay, tell me what's up with you."
"You mean, besides the usual?" Aria scoffed, quitting the smug tone once Adagio silently nodded. "I finally understand what's wrong with you, after being completely lost for the last couple of days! And I have to thank the kid named Scootaloo for it!"
"Do tell," Adagio lowered her eyelids. "What's wrong with me, exactly?"
"At first I thought you were growing soft; that living on this ordinary dimension, in an ordinary city, filled with ordinary people, where the extraordinary phenomena only happens once in a while, and even then only to a group of people, had finally broken you," Aria responded, walking around Adagio as she continued. "But then, one thing she told me gave me all the pieces required to complete the puzzle."
Adagio raised an eyebrow. "And that piece was?"
Aria snapped at Adagio with a sadistic smirk. "Guilt."
Adagio flinched and looked away. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."
"Of course you do: ever since convincing her to end her friendship with her friends, you've been feeling guilty about it, and that guilt has caused you to do everything in your power to try and fix things," Aria accused as she walked to Adagio's side. "In doing so, you began treating Sweetie Belle differently, and you chose to work with those two girls you met at the museum to fix her friendship with her friends, when you could've just as easily walked away!"
"Speaking of those girls, they told me they were grounded by their parents thanks to "implicitly" getting Scootaloo to collapse on the street," Adagio threw a stern look at Aria. "They helped you recently, didn't they?"
Aria waved her hand. "That's besides the point."
"Actually it's pretty much part of the point," Adagio folded her arms. "Those two were my main helpers in making a plan to try and get Sweetie Belle and her friends back together-"
"And have you even wondered, for even a second, why should Sweetie Belle and her friends get back together, outside of because it'll help curb your guilt?" Aria pointed out, trying to regain her momentum. "They already got her into trouble once, and I'm saying this assuming Sweetie Belle wasn't up to it at first. Why should they get back together?"
"Apple Bloom has already taken a few steps to convince Sweetie Belle to forgive her, and while Scootaloo will take a little longer to show up, I can see she's also trying to convince Sweetie Belle to forgive her!" Adagio responded sternly, pointing at Aria as she moved forward, making Aria back away until she hit a wall. "There's also the matter that as long as this bad blood between them remains, they will never move on from the Anon-A-Miss fiasco, which means we will never forget about that fiasco either, and nobody will. move. on!"
"Alright, I get it, I get it!" Aria gently put Adagio's finger down. "How about I convince you that keeping them apart might be for the best, then? Does Sonata know the phone number of Apple Bloom's house? I think she's been hanging out with her recently, right?"
Adagio narrowed her eyes. "They have, but after what happened between you and Scootaloo, I'm not willing to trust you with Apple Bloom!"
"You have no proof that I had anything to do with Scootaloo collapsing!" Adagio raised an eyebrow, immediately piercing Aria's defenses. "Okay, so she did collapse while I was teaching her a lesson, but it was an accident! The two girls were the ones who got the idea to drive her to exhaustion!" Aria took a deep breath. "Listen, just give me a chance to show you that the little apple pie Apple Bloom gave Sweetie Belle wasn't enough to convince her to forgive her!"
Adagio sighed and looked elsewhere. "Now that you mention it, Sweetie Belle hasn't mentioned Apple Bloom or talked with her since then. But she could still be thinking about whether to forgive Apple Bloom or not!"
"Over a week after the fact? I mean come on, Adagio, even your slow burning mind should be able to catch on that there's something more to this!" Aria snapped. "If she hasn't mentioned Apple Bloom since then, how can you be so sure she's been thinking about her?! Let me bring her here so they can see each other again, and help Sweetie Belle decide what to do already!"
After she thought about the idea for a couple of seconds, Adagio took a deep breath and walked over to the phone in the kitchen. She wordlessly marked a number, and leaned the phone closer to Aria as it rang.
Just as Aria reached for it, however, Adagio pulled it back. "If you don't honestly believe you can help Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle, don't bother picking it up."
Aria lowered her hand, and Adagio offered the ringing phone to Aria once more, the sirens exchanged stern glares at each other as they waited for something to happen, the ringing noise further aggravating the duo.
Eventually, Aria grabbed the phone, and answered the call.
Somebody knocked the door three times, and Sweetie Belle walked up to and opened it, meeting the surprising sight of Apple Bloom and Applejack standing outside.
"Heya!" Apple Bloom chirped.
Sweetie Belle took a step back. "W-W-What are you doing here?!"
Apple Bloom, oblivious to Sweetie Belle's discomfort, chirped once more. "Ah came 'ere for a sleepover!"
"Aria over there gave us ta invitation, sayin' it would help Apple Bloom learn 'er lesson," Applejack brushed Apple Bloom's hair. "An' considerin' 'er jealousy began 'cause ah didn't invite 'er to Sunset's sleepover, ah think it's just fitting."
Apple Bloom giggled and Sweetie Belle briefly narrowed her eyes before Sonata's sudden arrival caught her off-guard. "Applejack! Apple Bloom! What are you doing here?!"
"They're here for a sleepover," Sweetie Belle muttered under her breath, throwing a furious look at a strolling Aria. "They were invited by Aria over there."
"Is somethin' ta matter, Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom inquired, getting her attention. "Ya look a bit angry."
"Of course I'm a little bit angry! Not at you, but at Aria!" Sweetie Belle folded her arms and looked away. "She knows I'm trying to hide from everyone until the situation cools down, and yet she invited people here without telling me first!"
"Yeah, Aria's kind of a odd like that; she likes to do things that seemingly make no sense, only for them to be part of some grand plan," Sonata replied, scratching the back of her head. "I think it's supposed to be a coping mechanism, but she always dodges the question when I ask her why she does it."
"Anyway, I guess it's too late to tell you to go back home," Sweetie Belle sighed. "So, yeah, let's have a sleepover."
Apple Bloom chirped and ran into the house, while Applejack crouched down and brushed Sweetie Belle's hair, promising her "we'll make it worth it, and nobody will find out where you are right now" before she followed Sonata inside.
With that done, Apple Bloom was gestured to come towards Aria, and with Applejack's hesitant permission, she walked towards the siren and complained, "Ya told me Sweetie Belle was okay with ta sleepover, but she said ya didn't tell 'er anythin' 'bout it!"
"Maybe I forgot to tell her, maybe I meant to say something else, a simple mistake like that," Aria replied with a half-hearted shrug. "You can't expect me to be as smart as Adagio, or even be smart once in a while like Sonata: I got a few screws loose, that should be obvious by now."
"But-"
Aria put a finger on Apple Bloom's mouth. "But ta idea is ta same; ya wanted t' go t' a sleepover when Applejack made one for Sunset, and now ya get t' go t' a sleepover with Sweetie Belle!"
Apple Bloom took off the finger and scratched her chin. "Ya know, that wasn't a bad impression of mah accent. Maybe if ya spent some time with us, ya could perfect it-"
"You're not supposed to be impressed by it!" Aria snapped, quickly calming down before she lost control. "Anyway, now that you're here, there's one more thing I want to tell you, which is very important: have fun no matter what."
Apple Bloom blinked twice. "Ah think dat's pretty obvious-"
"At face value, it is, but what I mean, is have fun no matter what other people think," Aria explained, putting a hand on Apple Bloom's shoulder. "Even if Adagio gets angry, even if someone gets upset you're taking their spotlight, and even if Sweetie Belle looks uncomfortable with what's happening, just focus on having fun yourself."
"But-"
Aria leaned closer to Apple Bloom. "You wanted to go to a sleepover to have fun, right? Now's your chance to do just that. Don't get cold feet right now just because you're worried about the consequences; you didn't think about that when Sunset had her sleepover, why think about it now?"
Apple Bloom's eyes widened, but before she could ask what the siren meant, Aria turned her around and pushed her towards the group as she stated, with a malicious smile:
"Now go have fun!"
The first game played was a simple karaoke sing-along. For obvious reasons, the sirens remained behind and watched as the Apple sisters and Sweetie Belle sang some songs together. In particular, when Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle sang together, the latter focused exclusively on the words without giving a glance at Apple Bloom, who quickly noticed this.
But as Aria said, she just focused on having fun.
Then, everybody engaged in a pillow fight, which the sirens again skipped because they thought the girls and Applejack deserved to have some fun. And besides, they would obviously win that fight.
While swinging her pillow all over the place, Apple Bloom hesitated when she saw Sweetie Belle flinch and cover herself with her own pillow, prompting Apple Bloom to hesitate as well, and give Applejack the chance to hit them both.
Again, Apple Bloom focused on having fun.
Finally, the last game for the sleepover came: truth or dare. Rather durimentary by the sirens' redundant standards, but it could work in the lesson's favor regardless, especially once Aria's turn came to spin the bottle.
It landed right on Adagio.
"Okay, Adagio," Aria smirked. "Truth or Dare?"
Adagio glanced at Sweetie Belle, then answered confidently, "Dare."
"I dare you to tell everybody the real reason you started working on getting Sweetie Belle and her friends back together."
Adagio flinched as Sweetie Belle added, "Now that she says it, I have been curious about that too: I could maybe understand why Sonata would try fix our friendship, but you gave me the idea to end it in the first place."
"Yeah, it's quite perplexing, don't you think?" Aria tilted her head. "So, Adagio, what's the reason?"
"...It's guilt," Adagio rubbed her arm and lowered her head. "When I pushed Scootaloo to go see you and Apple Bloom, I stayed behind in order to see if things would fix themselves. They didn't, and then the feeling of guilt hit me like a truck."
"So ever since then, you've been feeling guilty about it?" Sweetie Belle asked, frowning as she leaned closer to Adagio. "Is that the reason why you've been so kind to me since then? Why you let me stay here with you?"
Aria slightly lowered her eyelids as she read Sweetie Belle's movements... and failed to see any. Sure, Scootaloo told her she was a good actress, but even a the best of actors couldn't escape a siren's keen eye for trickery and dishonesty.
And yet Aria couldn't sense anything like that.
"Yeah, that's the reason," Adagio answered as she rubbed her forehead. "Anyway, who's turn is it now?"
Apple Bloom raised her arm, and promptly spun the bottle... which stopped at Sweetie Belle. "Okay, Sweetie Belle, Truth or Dare?"
Sweetie Belle leaned back a little. "Um, truth?"
Apple Bloom took a deep breath, and clasping her hands, she asked, "Have ya finally decided whether t' forgive me and Scootaloo for Anon-A-Miss?"
A chill went down Sweetie Belle spine, prompting her to stand up and walk away. "I, uh, need to go do something. Come with me, Aria."
Sensing concern from the girl, Aria nodded and followed Sweetie Belle deeper into the house, leaving everybody to continue the game without them, after agreeing to let Apple Bloom continue her turn once Sweetie came back of course.
"I did not expect Apple Bloom to go there!" Sweetie Belle snapped, walking back and forth in her room. "I did think the questions would go a bit further than usual, but not like that!"
"Well what did you expect, kid? That she wouldn't bring it up ever again?" Aria shook her head. "If you haven't forgiven your friends yet, of course they're going to want to know if you forgive them now! Since she got her turn and you picked truth, it was only logical that she was going to pop the question!"
That statement caught Sweetie belle's attention, prompting her to stop, scratch her chin and hum. "Aria, by any chance, did you set up a sleepover between me and the Apple sisters because you wanted me to talk with Apple Bloom?"
Aria nodded without hesitation. "Yeah, the point of the sleepover is to get you and Apple Bloom to talk things out. Sonata told me you haven't spoken with each other since she gave you the pie, and you didn't forgive her then either. Now's the chance to tell her."
"But I need more time-!"
Aria crouched down and forced Sweetie Belle to look at her strictly face-to-face. "It's been over a week since she handed you the pie, you've had nothing but time to think about whether to forgive her or not. Now, you either forgive her right now, or you don't. There's no middle ground or third option you can use to escape this situation."
Aria released Sweetie Belle's chin and stood up before she walked out of the room, gesturing the girl to follow her back to the living room to continue the sleepover. And, now knowing the point of the sleepover, Sweetie Belle was a bit less hesitant to follow Aria.
Once back at the living room, Sweetie Belle sat down between Applejack and Apple Bloom, taking a deep breath as she put her hands down. "Okay, so, what were we doing again?"
"Ma turn came, and ah picked ya for truth or dare," Apple Bloom explained, scratching the back of her head. "And ah picked truth, and asked ya... if ya were willin' t' forgive me for the Anon-A-Miss incident."
"In hindsight, dat probably wasn't ta best thing t' use for truth," Applejack remarked. "We talked with ta sirens for a bit, and they'll allow ya to pick somethin' else if that question's too much for ya-"
"No, I picked truth, and it's about time I be honest with you," Sweetie Belle stated as she sat next to Adagio. "With Apple Bloom more than anything. And..."
Sweetie Belle paused as she thought about what to say, and how to get the message perfectly across. A single look at Apple Bloom's expecting face convinced Sweetie Belle to say what came first:
"I'm scared... I'm scared of what'll happen if I don't give you an answer, of what'll happen if I do forgive you, and what'll happen if I don't forgive you. No matter what I think, I end up paralyzed by fear before I can figure out just what to do."
Apple Bloom frowned. "But, why are ya afraid t' make a choice?"
"Because I don't know what's the right choice!" Sweetie Belle twiddled her fingers. "If I do forgive you, there's always the chance we'll end up stuck in this situation all over again. If I don't forgive you, I end up losing the best friends I've ever had in my life. And I don't ever give you an answer... I don't think I'd be able to sleep if that were to happen..."
Sweetie Belle clutched her chest. "Apple Bloom, I miss you, and Scootaloo too, I miss you both. The things we used to do, the fun we used to have, I miss all of that stuff... but I can't become friends with you again until I become absolutely sure that what happened before, won't happen again."
Apple Bloom lowered her head, and with her bow drooping down, she asked, "So dat's a no?"
"No," Sweetie Belle shook her head. "I'm not saying I won't forgive you and Scootaloo for the Anon-A-Miss fiasco-"
"You're not saying you'll forgive us either, so," Apple Bloom slightly lifted her head. "What is it?"
Both girls wind up silent moments later, and the game continued between Applejack and the sirens, with neither Sweetie Belle nor Apple Bloom getting another turn.
Then again, they probably preferred it that anyway.
The sleepover was over before anybody knew it, and the Apple sisters were back outside, saying goodbye to Sonata and Aria.
"Well, that was certainly an... interesting sleepover," Sonata remarked, scratching the back of her head. "I'm sorry if the ending of it soured your enjoyment of it."
"It was necessary, especially ta part with truth or dare," Applejack looked down to her sister. "Isn't dat right, Apple Bloom?"
With all eyes on her person, Apple Bloom slowly lowered her head and confessed: "Ta event dat made me jealous enough t' create Anon-A-Miss was because Applejack wasn't paying attention t' me. Ta breaking point was when she didn't invite me to a sleepover, which was meant for Sunset. After dat was done, ah wanted t' make Sunset pay for taking Applejack away from me, and ah gathered ma friends t' create Anon-A-Miss and... well, ya know what happened next."
"Who, me? Nah, you're sorely mistaken, I know nothing about it," Aria shook her head. "I mean, hearing about what happened over a dozen times, from the mouth of Sweetie Belle even, didn't quite get the message across to me. Could you tell me once more what happened?"
Sonata nudged Aria in the shoulder, throwing a disapproving look at her as she rubbed her shoulder and responded with a stern glare.
"Anyway, now dat ah've been to a sleepover dat meant for me, ah can understand why Applejack didn't invite me," Apple Bloom turned her head. "This sleepover was meant t' let Sweetie Belle, me, and Applejack have fun, but everythin' felt awkward instead."
"Especially for Sweetie Belle," Applejack added with a nod. "She looked like she wanted t' get outta there as fast as possible."
"But even if she had enjoyed ta sleepover, ta fact it happened while we were still in bad terms due t' her breakin' our friendship was... well, uncomfortable," Apple Bloom folded her arms. "It felt like, whether it was she or me, it was too soon for us to try and have the normal fun we used to have."
"And you got to hear, from Sweetie Belle's little mouth, how she's feeling utterly horrible for ending your friendship together, yet is feeling too worried to consider becoming friends with you again," Aria scoffed, her grin growing more smug and condescending as she leaned down to Apple Bloom's height. "I bet that makes you feel even worse about starting the whole Anon-A-Miss schtik, huh?"
"Ya bet," Apple Bloom smiled and lifted her head. "But thanks to ya and dat sleepover, ah now know what ah did wrong, and will try t' never do again!"
Aria flinched and stood up. "Thanks!? You're thanking me!?"
"Of course she's thanking ya; both she and ah, actually," Applejack replied, getting Aria's attention. "Ya helped us spend some time together, get Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle t' talk again after several days of nothin', and also help Apple Bloom learn why ah didn't invite 'er t' Sunset's sleepover. Dat was pretty nice of ya."
"Take that back, you fiend!" Aria snapped, giving Applejack the pointer finger. "How dare you give me a compliment and a thanks at the same time!?"
The Apple sisters laughed at Aria's response, and bid farewell to Sonata before they walked back home, leaving the flabbergasted siren alone with her fellow roommate.
"First Rarity, and now Applejack and her sister," Sonata patted Aria's back with a proud look. "Looks like more and more people are slowly but surely seeing the good in you, Aria."
"Don't say that like it's a good thing!" Aria slapped Sonata's hand away. "I'm supposed to be the kind of jerk that makes people happy when they have the rug pulled under them!"
"But nobody's pulling the rug under you now, right, Aria?" Sonata pointed out with a smile, as if she expected this to be a revealing bit of information. "I mean, I don't think anybody could pull the rug anyway: we don't have one outside here-"
"It's a figure of speech, Sonata!"
Aria walked past Sonata and went inside, the blue siren following her before she closed the door. "Whatever, it seems my suspicions about Sweetie Belle were somewhat wrong after all," Aria scratched her chin and looked at the ground. "She is a good actress, but she wasn't taking advantage. At least, I don't think you can take advantage of something you're not aware of-"
Sonata pulled Aria back before she crashed into a wall. "Aria, if you're going to think about something, at least do it after you've sat down."
Aria groaned and obliged; sitting down the couch with her legs crossed as she continued to talk. "As I was saying: Sweetie Belle's an actress? Yes. Is Adagio guilty for somewhat ending her friendship with her friends? Yes. Was Sweetie Belle taking advantage of said guilt? No, in fact, she wasn't even aware of it."
"And since you've helped both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom at this point, the only member of Anon-A-Miss left to help is Sweetie Belle herself," Sonata pointed out as she sat next to an annoyed Aria. "And since Sweetie Belle has told Apple Bloom how she feels about the situation, and she's also apologized to Adagio for not realizing she was feeling guilty about something sooner, maybe she'll be more willing to talk with you?"
Aria was quick to point out a little flaw in Sonata's logic: "How do those two things correlate with her spending any time together with me, the siren she likes the least?"
"Sweetie Belle doesn't like you the least!" Sonata snapped. "She's annoyed by your antics, yeah, but so's everybody! That doesn't mean she doesn't like you!"
Aria paused. "Anyway: it's good that she told Apple Bloom what she said, and yes, it's also good that she apologized to Adagio for not realizing she was feeling guilty, but that has nothing to do with me! And besides, if I have to help her with he problems, then what am I supposed to do?"
Sonata moved closer to Aria and wrapped her arm around her shoulder, oblivious to Aria's discomfort. "She's this close to becoming willing enough to try talk with her friends and patch things up with them. I'm sure anything you do, as long as it's nothing too outrageous or exasperating, will do just fine."
Aria wanted to tell Sonata how she was so wrong right then and there, but suddenly, an idea sparked inside Aria. An idea that involved a certain girl she hadn't met in a while. And with this idea, a wide smile appeared on Aria's face as she stood up and clenched her fists.
"I think I got it!"
Author's Note
Well, this was definitely a bloated chapter, if I do say so myself. Don't worry, from this point on, the chapters will go back to mostly being just over a thousand words. There's only so much stuff that can happen in the next few chapters, after all.
Anyway, only person Aria has left to help is Sweetie Belle. Celestia help her, or since she's not an equestrian, maybe it would be Grogar help her?
Draxonos135, flying away!
Aria Blaze - Sweetie Belle
At Twilight's bedroom, the bespectacled girl entered the room alongside a concerned Rarity. "Don't worry, Rarity, I know just the book that will help you feel a little better about what happened with Sweetie Belle."
"Thanks a lot, Twilight," Rarity replied, grabbing Twilight's arm. "You're really just as dependable as Sunset said you were."
As soon as Twilight turned on the lights however, she was greeted by Aria, sporting a pair of beings covering her forehead, making her resemble a certain pony Princess Twilight faced a long time ago. Of course, this being the human Twilight, all she saw was a siren with a new haircut.
"Welcome home, Twilight!" then Aria noticed Rarity. "And it seems you brought just the friend I was going to ask you to get, perfect!"
"Aria Blaze," Twilight remarked with a hint of exasperation. "What are you doing in my room?"
"And what's that hairstyle you got going?" Rarity asked, scratching her chin as she approached the siren.
Aria turned to Twilight. "I came here to ask you for a pair of favors, but since Rarity's already here, I only have one favor to ask," Aria then turned to Rarity. "As for the hairstyle, I just felt like changing my image a little. Does it look good on me?"
"It looks fine enough," Rarity squinted her eyes. "But I feel like there's something missing."
"We can discuss what would make Aria's hairstyle look better later," Twilight walked up to Aria and sat next to her. "What's this favor you want to ask me?"
"The favor I wanted to ask you was if you could go get Rarity for me," Aria immediately pushed Twilight aside and leaned closer to Rarity. "Adagio brought up an interesting item Sweetie Belle made after she finished babysitting her, and I would appreciate it if you could go fetch it for me."
"An interesting item?" Rarity quickly connected the dots. "Oh... I think I know what you mean..."
Later, at the sirens' guest room, Sweetie Belle entered the room only to find Aria just... standing in there, looking at the streets through the window. Sweetie Belle was only partially startled by this, since being the last person Aria needed to help, she expected her to appear at her room.
"Okay, Aria, let's not mess around. I know you're here to try convince me to forgive my friends so we can move on from this Anon-A-Miss fiasco," Sweetie Belle spoke as she took a couple steps forward. "So, what are you planning to do to teach me a lesson?"
Aria took a deep breath, and looked around the scenery with a deadpan look as she tried to think of something. The look remained on her face, and even bled into her tone as she finally gave her answer:
"Nothing."
Sweetie Belle blinked twice and leaned closer. "Nothing as in something, or nothing as in "something-disguised-as-nothing"? Because after what you did with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, I cannot believe you'd ever genuinely do nothing!"
"When I helped Scootaloo, I had an idea of what to do, and things went wrong anyway. When I helped Apple Bloom, I had an idea of what to do, and thankfully things went just fine," Aria responded, taking a deep breath before she finished. "But after the sleepover yesterday, and how you told the truth to Apple Bloom and especially how you reacted when Adagio came clean about her guilt, I was left stumped. I honestly don't know what to do with you anymore."
Aria sat on the bed, followed by Sweetie Belle sitting right next to her with a concerned look. "I don't believe you: there has to be something, anything you've thought about that could help me learn my lesson, whatever that is!"
Aria scratched her chin and reached for her pocket. "Well, there's one thing that's been bugging me, but it's less about teaching you a lesson, and more about figuring out what you were thinking off at the time."
Sweetie Belle frowned. "Is it what I think it is?"
Aria took out a certain picture from her pocket; the picture depicting Sweetie Belle jumping away just as Scootaloo and Apple Bloom rode off a cliff into an abyss of "consequences."
"It is what I thought it was," Sweetie Belle lowered her head. "Look, I can explain-"
"Please do," Aria stated as she put the picture down. "I mean, I'm not surprised someone who's been with Adagio would draw something like this, but a little bit more context wouldn't hurt."
"I was... feeling inspired, although that might not the best word to use," Sweetie Belle grabbed the drawing and looked at it with regret. "What Adagio told me, to cut ties with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, and find a way to get some steam out of my system, to try and take out my anger on something. So... I drew the picture, and since I was focused on finishing it and how good it felt, I didn't really care when Rarity walked up to me and saw the picture herself."
"I bet that was a lovely conversation," Aria rolled her eyes. "Anyway, why didn't you get rid of the drawing once you were done with it?"
"I did! Or at least, I was going to do it!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. "Once I calmed down enough to know what I had done, I ran back to try and get the drawing before someone else took it, but it was gone. And when I talked to Rarity about the missing drawing, she said she knew nothing about it-"
"Rarity was the one who handed it to me."
"I never said I didn't think she had hidden it herself, did I?" Sweetie Belle took a deep breath and clasped her hands together. "Please, whatever you think of me right now, don't show that drawing to Apple Bloom or Scootaloo!"
"I'm not going to do that; you drew this thing in order to vent your emotions, now that that's done with, this is basically nothing more than trash," Aria stood up. "I'm going to give it to you, and I'll let you decide what to do with it."
Sweetie Belle looked back at the drawing. "What do you think I should do with it?"
Aria raised an eyebrow. "You seriously want my opinion?"
"I heard what Adagio had to say, and I also spoke and listened to Sonata," Sweetie Belle folded her arms. "I don't think it would be fair if I didn't give you the benefit of doubt too."
Aria rubbed her forehead, then answered with a casual tone, "I would convince you and your friends to try what's on the drawing. Not to the extent that you would throw them away at the last minute, but do something a test of trust."
"A trust test?" Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think that would work?"
"It's worth a shot at least," Aria shrugged. "I mean, you don't know if you can trust those girls anymore after what happened, right? What better way to confirm your concerns than by putting that same trust to the test?"
"But if we do end up doing this, the consequences could be... fatal..." Sweetie Belle lowered her eyelids and shivered a little. "Do we really have to do this?"
"I'm giving you the choice to do it, I'm not forcing you to do anything," Aria hastily said, waving her hand. "What you do with the drawing is up to you: crumble that drawing and throw it into the trash, put it on the fridge, I honestly don't care what you do with it."
"And Apple Bloom and Scootaloo?"
"Whatever you plan to do with them, you better do it now, or at least very soon. Because the longer you take in giving them a proper answer, the more anxious everybody is going to get."
With that said, Aria left the room and closed the door, leaving Sweetie Belle behind to think about what to do, giving one last, long look at the drawing... before she realized she missed something:
Wait, did Aria have a new haircut?
Author's Note
And now, the final siren and Anon-A-Piece story has been completed. The only things left to do is get the CMC to reconcile, and a bit of denoument with Sunset and Rarity.
Maybe also an epilogue, just for funsies.
Draxonos135, flying away!
Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo.
The girls who were once the Canterlot Movie Club, who were once the infamous Anon-A-Miss, and who were once separated as a consequence from the username, now found themselves at the library, along with the Dazzlings and Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
"Of all places to reunite with them, why did you pick the library?" Sweetie Belle inquired.
"Being quiet is mandatory in the library, so that'll motivate you not to snap into a temper tantrum, in case things get too heated," Adagio explained, glancing at the librarian with a concerned look. "Also, the librarian's very scary when she's angry, so there's another reason."
With that said, the sirens lead the girls to an empty table in the middle of the room, and promptly walked away and sat on another table, far enough so that the trio wouldn't be distracted by their appearance.
With the girls now alone, a long, awkward silence formed between the three as they looked around the scenery, trying their hardest to come up with something to say.
"So, um," Scootaloo blurted, getting Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle's attention. "I had this idea about something we could do, maybe after this whole thing is finished, all things concerned."
Scootaloo reached for her back and took out the movie she showed Adagio a long time ago. "I was thinking we could have a movie night, you know, like we used to have?"
"Dat sounds like a fine idea, Scootaloo," Apple Bloom spoke as Sweetie Belle looked at the movie. "Of course, though, we need t' hear Sweetie Belle's thoughts first."
After scanning the cover in silence, Sweetie Belle put the movie down and took a deep breath. "I think the movie night is a good idea, but we should do it after we do something to determine whether we can trust each other or not."
Sweetie Belle reached for her pocket. "And I just so happen to have an idea of what we could make the test about."
Sweetie Belle took out her drawing and put it on the table for Apple Bloom and Scootaloo to behold. "This is a drawing I drew when Adagio left after babysitting me. Rarity looked at it, and kept it hidden until now."
"Huh, ya got some decent drawing skills, Sweetie Belle," Apple Bloom took a closer look at the drawing. "Anyway, if ah understand, ya want us t' go down a ramp or a hill, headin' straight to the ground, in order t' see if ya can trust us?"
"But the drawing does bring up a good point," Scootaloo said as she grabbed the drawing and took a closer look at it. "What if you jump out of the wagon-"
Sweetie Belle lowered her eyelids. "It's a cart."
"Whatever," Scootaloo showed the drawing to Sweetie Belle and pointed at her drawn self. "What if you jump out of it first before we do?"
"I won't," Sweetie Belle stated as she took the drawing back. "If any of us jump out of it first, and we don't do it together nor being anybody else with us, then there might as well be no trust in each other. At least, I think that's how it would go anyway."
"Sweetie Belle, you're asking us to potentially risk our lives, if not cripple us, in order to prove if we can trust each other," Scootaloo pointed out, lowering her eyelids and frowning as she added, "You do know what could happen if one thing goes wrong?"
"Sweetie Belle, is this really what ya wanna do?" Apple Bloom inquired. "Isn't there anythin' else we could do t' prove ya can trust us?"
"In fact, now that Apple Bloom brings it up," Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. "Can we trust you , Sweetie Belle?"
Sweetie Belle took a deep breath. "There's only one way to find out. And unless you can think of something else, we may need to go through with the drawing."
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom exchanged looks before they hummed to themselves, trying to think of an alternative to Sweetie Belle's idea. And once the three came to an unified conclusion, they stood up and walked to the sirens.
"Have you girls decided what to do yet?" Aria asked.
"Yes, we did," Sweetie Belle stated as the trio nodded. "And we need your help with it."
"Sure, we'll help you however we can," Sonata replied. "What did you pick for a trust test?"
Sweetie Belle showed the drawing to the sirens, and while all three of them looked shocked at it, Adagio was the only one who spoke:
"Oh, horseapples."
At a hill far away from the city, Sonata and Pinkie Pie brought a large wagon-sorry, cart-to the start of a long ramp down, with the rest of the group standing at the end of the ramp. Including Rarity.
"I still don't understand why the "consequences" bit of the drawing have to be represented by Sunset's friends," Aria remarked, taking one more look at the drawing before she looked back at the group. "But I'm assuming this has some sort of symbolic or hidden meaning, right?"
"We can't endanger the girls' lives, we're already on thin ice as it is, but we can give them the choice to face the consequences of their actions," Adagio explained. "If they jump out before they reach the girls, they'll prove they're unwilling to face the consequences. But the opposite will be proven if they stay all the way until they reach them."
"So we're stuck in a Morton's Fork kind of situation?" Scootaloo asked.
"How is this situation a fork, exactly?" Sonata glanced at the ramp. "It looks more like a ramp leading directly to some people."
"No, "Morton's Fork" is something used to describe a situation where both outcomes are considered equally bad," Pinkie Pie explained. "Like, for example, imagine you have to wait in line to get a taco, and there's another stand nearby that sells something that's not tacos, and both stands will close in ten minutes, not to mention you have to leave in ten minutes too. Having to choose between risking staying in line to buy a taco, or go ahead and buy something else, makes it a Morton's Fork."
"That sounds like a win-win situation to me," Aria scoffed. "Anyway, now that you're done explaining, could you go reunite with the rest of your friends?"
Pinkie Pie put her hands on her hips and smiled. "Who says I wasn't with them the whole time?"
The sirens and CMC turned around to see Pinkie Pie waving at them from the spot of the girls, and once they turned back to the Pinkie nearby them, she turned out to be a balloon replica that blew up soon after.
"Okay, let's ignore that," Adagio said as she guided the girls into the cart-wagon. "Get up here and we'll push you when you're ready."
Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom silently walked into the cart, each giving the sirens a look before they came in and braced themselves as the sirens prepared to launch them.
"Okay, three... two... one... go!"
The sirens pushed the wagon-cart forward, and the CMC hugged themselves as they rode closer and closer to Sunset's angry friends. As they hugged, they also crouched down, ready to jump out of it as soon as they could...
But they didn't.
And they only realized this once the cart-wagon stopped by Applejack's hand, giving the trio a reassuring look before she, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity helped the girl get out... only to follow this by scolding them along with the rest of the group.
But the girls, rather than try to run away from the scolding, held hands and took it head-on, while the sirens looked from afar.
"So, I guess this means it worked, right?" Aria squinted her eyes and leaned forward. "It's kinda hard to see what's happening from here."
"Well, what I can gather is that the girls are taking the scolding head-on rather than run away," Sonata explained. "I'm sure that counts as a win, right, Adagio?"
Adagio lowered her eyelids, and gaining a little smile said, "Yeah, that's a win in my book.
Author's Note
So, the trust test was a success... I guess? I mean, it was better than them running away and learning nothing. XD
Now, there's only one, or more accurately two, things left for the girls to do, and then this story will reach its conclusion.
Draxonos135, flying away!
Sunset Shimmer and Rarity - Denoument
Far in the horizon, sitting on a table at the Sugarcube Corner were Rarity and Sunset Shimmer, both looking far happier than they were in the past few days.
"No way, did they really do that?" Sunset asked with an amused smile.
"Yeah, I was mortified of Sweetie Belle going through with the plan, but once I saw her and her friends stay on the wagon all the way until they reached, and took the time to listen to our complaints, I knew they were finally going to patch things up, that they were ready to take responsibility for the cyberbullying fiasco," Rarity replied, taking a sip of her tea. "Now, the only thing they really have left to do is... well..."
"Us, right?" Sunset Shimmer inquired. "Me for being the primary victim, and you for attacking Adagio and Sweetie Belle when you thought she had taken your sister?"
Rarity lowered her eyelids and frowned. "Yeah, that."
Just then, the sirens and the CMC walked towards the building, each member of the CMC holding hands with a siren. At this sight, while Rarity and Sunset were shocked, the former quickly calmed down and the latter forced a little, concerned smile.
Once the team had arrived, the sirens released the girls' hands and began walking away...
"Adagio, wait!"
The siren in question stopped on her tracks and turned around to see Rarity get up and walk to her, catching a glimpse of Sweetie Belle walking past her as the Canterlot Movie Club went to Sunset.
"L-Look, Adagio, I... wanted to apologize for how I acted towards you since you babysat Sweetie Belle," Rarity twiddled her fingers as she looked at the ground. "I was angry at Sweetie Belle for what she and her friends did, and I took it out on you at first. And then, I got the brilliant idea to assume you "stole" my siste from me and attack you."
"It's okay, Rarity, at first you were too angry, and if I had a sister who did something bad, and who chose her babysitter over me while I was so angry coherent thought kinda slipped my mind, I probably would've reacted the same way," Adagio took a deep breath. "And I have to apologize too."
Rarity lifted her head. "You do?"
"You do?!" Aria exclaimed, stomping the ground as she went to Adagio's side. "What do you mean you have to apologize too!?"
Adagio pushed Aria away. "Sweetie Belle's a smart kid; she probably would've come to a different, far better conclusion about what to do with her friends if I hadn't had the brilliant idea to shove my nose where it wasn't needed."
"Well, ending their friendship temporarily was a good call, considering where they are right now," Rarity turned around and saw the CMC sitting with Sunset Shimmer. "I just hope what happened last Christmas doesn't get repeated again."
Adagio put a hand on Rarity's shoulder. "Don't worry, your sister and her friends are smart kids. I'm pretty sure they won't make the mistake ever again."
Rarity and Adagio exchanged relieved smiles, ignoring as Aria growled, "Okay, who are you, and what did you do with Adagio!?"
As for the girls and Sunset, the latter listened carefully as the girls spoke to her. Sunset's expression showed neither anger, disgust, or fear of seeing the girls again... in fact, it was as stone faced as Maud Pie, or at least very close to it.
"Sunset, what we did during the holidays is something we can never take back," Sweetie Belle spoke. "We can never forget it, never truly amend for it, but we can try to move on from it and continue with our lives."
"Now, don't get us wrong: we're not saying we're going to ignore that Anon-A-Miss happened, because that's basically impossible at this point," Scootaloo added.
"What we're tryin' t' say is dat, we've learned our lessons, we already went through what it felt like t' lose friendships because of our actions, and we're never goin' t' do it again," Apple Bloom added.
"The only thing we have left to do is apologize for what happened, or at least, try to," Sweetie Belle sighed. "I'll talk with Rarity once we're done, but first, we need to ask for your forgiveness, Sunset."
Sunset remained silent as the girls became silent as well, signaling to Sunset that they were waiting for an answer. Fortunately, Sunset didn't take too long to come up with an answer:
"No."
Sweetie Belle's eyes widened. "What do you mean no?"
"Girls, you created an internet persona that made me an scapegoat for all the secrets they spread, after I had already worked my flank off to convince everyone I had changed, and continued to do it even after the original goal was accomplished. And even though you eventually confessed to being the ones behind Anon-A-Miss, you were still forgiven after destroying my social life," Sunset calmly explained. "Does that sound like something you'd forgive after the people responsible for it said they were sorry?"
The girls exchanged shocked looks, but quickly calmed down before they silently shook their heads, and lowered them in regret. Sunset, seeing the girls really were sorry for it, and keeping in mind everything they had gone through, smiled as she gave a suggestion:
"Tell you what, how about you try not to ruin the next holiday party, and maybe then I'll consider forgiving you?"
"Sounds fair to me," Scootaloo remarked, lifting her head.
"We already ruined yer holiday fun once," Apple Bloom added with a nod. "We should prove t' ya that we won't do it again."
"No matter what happens, Sunset, we're not going to interfere with the holidays this year," Sweetie Belle stated with a little smile. "We promise."
Sunset, however, wasn't quite satisfied with just a simple promise. They needed something even greater than a promise, they had to make a...
"Pinkie Promise."
The girls gasped in shock. "You're pulling all the stops!"
"Of course I am!" Sunset exclaimed with a smile, though she seemed to be mostly joking. "You got the entire school to turn against me and then continued to torment me for several days, it would be foolish not to pull all the stops here!"
The girls exchanged looks, and in next to no time, they shook their heads and stated "Deal!" in unison. Then, in almost no seconds flat, Pinkie Pie popped out of the table, showed her pinky to the girls, and they promptly made the promise at the same time, with Pinkie Pie sliding back into the table.
And once they looked down to see if she was still there... she wasn't.
"How does Pinkie Pie do that?" Sweetie Belle inquired.
"It's Pinkie Pie," Sunset answered with a bemused shrug. "That's all the reason you need."
Sweetie Belle promptly stood up. "Okay, now, if you excuse me, I have to talk with my sister now... I just hope she'll forgive me..."
Sunset nodded, and Scootaloo and Apple Bloom bid farewell as Sweetie Belle walked up to Rarity, who was maintaining a stern look as the girl spoke:
"Rarity... I... I-I'm sorry-"
Suddenly, Rarity crouched down and hugged Sweetie Belle, who blinked twice before she turned to look at the sirens, who were just as shocked as her.
"I'm sorry too, for not keeping a close eye on you from the start," Rarity said as she separated from Sweetie Belle. "Maybe if I had paid a bit more attention to you when the Anon-A-Miss incident happened, or, I don't know, tried to do something about it when the incident started, maybe things would've have gone as far as they did."
"Well, we made sure to hide our connection to Anon-A-Miss to the best of our ability," "So I guess there's that to think about too?"
"Oh really?" Rarity put a hand on Sweetie Belle's shoulder, and with an unfazing smile, she bluntly stated, "Then I'm going to step up my game from now on. As soon as I feel you're doing anything suspicious, I'm going to keep an eye on you 24/7, starting as soon as we get home."
"S-Sounds fair enough," Sweetie Belle stammered, only to remember something. "But before we go back home, I need to thank a couple more people."
Sweetie Belle separated from Rarity and walked up to the sirens. "Thank you, Adagio, Sonata, and-"
Aria immdiately grabbed Sonata and placed her in front of her. "Aria?"
"Sonata's my personal "thanks" shield from now on," Aria bluntly stated. "I cannot stand positive feedback, I just can't!"
"Don't worry, she'll get used to it eventually," Sonata spoke.
"No I won't!"
Adagio turned to Sweetie Belle and crouched down as she put a hand on her head. "You don't have to thank us for anything, kid. You probably would've come to the conclusion you needed anyway."
"Maybe," Sweetie Belle hugged Adagio. "But I certainly wouldn't have reached it any faster if it wasn't for you."
Though shocked for a moment, Adagio smiled with a leisurely feeling of satisfaction as she returned the hug, patted Sweetie Belle's back, and separated from her, all while Aria tried her hardest not to gag at the sight, while Sonata tried her hardest not to "aw!" at the sight.
Once that was done, Adagio and Sweetie Belle, returned to their respective groups, and walked back home, feeling satisfied at the conclusion of their little journey together.
Author's Note
And it's a happy ending for everyone involved. Of course, Sunset still has to see if the CMC won't ruin the next holiday party, but until then, everything seems to be fine so far.
Now all that's left is a little epilogue, and this story will be finished: the actual arc is finished, but the epilogue marks the end of the actual story.
Does that make sense? Probably not, and I don't care. XD
Draxonos135, flying away!
A long time had passed since the Dazzlings had helped the Canterlot Movie Club not only forgive each other, but face the consequences of their actions, and move on from the Anon-A-Miss incident.
Now, they had returned to their usual style of life: doing what they could to survive in the human world.
"Okay, there's an ad here talking about something called a loop," Aria said as she and Sonata read the newspaper. "If we can gather enough money, we could but this thing and get a second chance at singing!"
"Yay! That would be wonderful!" Sonata chirped, clapping cheerfully. "I mean, it's not the same without the ability to mind control people and eat their negativity, but hey, it's better than nothing!"
Aria turned to Adagio, who was cleaning the dishes at the kitchen. "What do you think, Adagio?"
"It depends on how expensive this looper is," Adagio answered without hesitation. "We can't exactly afford to set goals on expensive stuff anymore, after all."
Just then, somebody knocked the door three times, prompting Sonata to stand up and open it. Outside was Apple Bloom, who walked in as she said "heya!" with a cheerful tone.
"Oh great, the funny-talking one is here," Aria said as she stood up and went to Sonata's side.
Sonata then walked to Apple Bloom's side as Sweetie Belle came in next, bowing to Aria before she walked away, and just in time to miss Aria sneering.
"She brought the corrupter with her? Fantastic."
Finally, Scootaloo came in. "And I came too."
"Hey, Scootaloo!" Aria said as she allowed the girl to come in, then closed the door. "It's nice to see you again after so long!"
Sonata smirked and let out a chuckle. "I find it hilarious how you reacted with disgust when you saw Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, and yet reacted happily when Scootaloo arrived."
"Yeah, but the main difference between the three is that Scootaloo neither talks funny, nor did she corrupt anybody," Aria crouched down and wrapped her arm around Scootaloo's shoulder. "She's a pure, ordinary little child, and one that I hope explains what's she and her friends doing here right now."
"Aria has a point there," Adagio said as she walked up to Sweetie Belle. "What are you girls doing here? Especially you, Sweetie Belle; isn't Rarity supposed to be keeping an eye on you 24/7?"
"Rarity quickly took down that rule since she has a new job at an amusement park to take care of," Sweetie Belle sighed, sounding slightly disappointed. "She'll keep tabs on me whenever we're at home and she isn't busy, but for now, she gave us permission to go to your house while she was away."
"Okay, that explains why you're here," Sonata glanced at Apple Bloom. "But what's Apple Bloom doing here? She doesn't live with you, does she?"
"Applejack had t' go t' ta amusement park with Rarity," Apple Bloom replied, then pointed at Scootaloo. "Same deal with Rainbow Dash, hence why Scootaloo's 'ere."
"And we came here prepared," Scootaloo reached for her back and took out a familiar movie case. "With a little something that's been long overdue."
"Oh right, you were planning to do a movie night once everything was said and done," Adagio raised an eyebrow. "It's been quite a while since you got that idea, though."
"Hehe, while we agreed to do it here, we haven't had the time until now," Sweetie Belle sheepishly smiled. "Anyway, I know it's still pretty early, but do you mind if we start watching this movie now?"
The sirens exchanged looks, and nodded, with Aria going, "Sure, we weren't doing anything important today."
"Thanks a lot!" Apple Bloom chirped as she sat at the couch. "Trust us, this might be just a B movie, but ye're gonna love it!"
The sirens nodded twice. "What's a B Movie?"
"Seriously?" Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow. "You don't know what a B Movie is?"
"We're kinda older than the concept of cinema itself," Adagio sheepishly confessed. "And besides, we've been focused mostly on music ever since we arrived."
"After all, music's kind of our thing," Sonata added.
"Okay, do you know what a music video is?" Scootaloo asked, earning nods from the sirens. "Okay, now imagine it stretched over an hour long on average, has an actual story tied to it, and one song isn't playing during the entirety of the video."
Aria frowned. "That barely sounds like a music video, Scootaloo."
"Of course it barely sounds like one: a movie isn't a music video!" Scootaloo walked up to the DVD player. "You know what? Let me just put the movie, and you can see what I mean."
Scootaloo inserted the movie, and everybody went to their positions as it started a few seconds later.
The beginning of the movie showed a "Canter Zoom Productions" title card, followed by dramatic music as the title card of the movie appeared, showing a pair of bird women flying around past a "Rise of the Sirens" sentence in bold letters.
"Whoa, Rise of the Sirens?" Sonata inquired, leaning a bit forward. "Did they make a movie about us without our knowledge?"
"Well, of course they'd make a movie out of us," Adagio responded, swaying her hair as her ego surged. "We're the best!"
"We should sue this "Canter Zoom Productions" regardless of how good the movie actually is," Aria suggested with a devious smile.
"Actually, the movie isn't about you three specifically," Scootaloo explained. "It's about the sirens of this world, from our mythology."
"Then my interest in this movie has plummeted," Adagio folded her arms sternly. "It will
"So, wait a minute, in this world, the sirens are a race of bird women rather than horse-fishes?" Sonata inquired with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, it definitely fits the fact that Adagio's a harpy-"
Aria and Apple Bloom burst out laughing as Adagio threw an angry look at Sonata, who remained silent as everybody turned back to watch the movie.
Twenty minutes into the movie, the sirens and girls had droned out of the majority of the video, until Adagio noticed a pair of peculiar extras.
"Hey, those two girls look like the pink girl and the grey girl who helped us with the kids, don't they? Does anybody know what happened to them since then?"
"I believe they're still grounded for their implicit role in making me collapse," Scootaloo remarked with a shrug. "But it shouldn't be long before they're allowed to go out again."
"And when they do, they'll want something from us," Sweetie Belle sighed. "That's just how they work: they do something nice for you, and they expect some kind of payment for whatever they do."
"We'll help you if it becomes necessary," Sonata added. "For now, we should continue to watch this movie, hope it gets any better any time soon."
Over fifty minutes into the movie, the sirens finally reacted to a scene: this being the scene of one of the sirens being shot down, and falling into a lake, right next to her supposed best human friend.
Madeline! No!
"She's returned to the background she came from!" Adagio exclaimed melodramatically. "I mean, seriously, did she ever do anything important besides... you know, screech and fly?"
"Well, she's the main character's best friend, so I guess their connection is supposed to make it mean something," Scootaloo said. "At least, that's what I think."
"And it failed on that part, especially the human's reaction," Sonata sighed. "Honestly, I think Adagio would've been actress."
"Of course I would've," Adagio scoffed proudly.
All eyes immediately fell on Adagio, who returned the looks as Aria snickered, "Oh really? Well, if you're so confident about it, how about you give it a shot? Anybody want to act with Adagio?"
"Oh, me!" Sweetie Belle chirped. "I'm going to be the best dying siren I can be!"
Adagio got off her seat and walked up to Sweetie Belle, who promptly got on a pose that screamed "just because you're dying doesn't mean you shouldn't pose for the camera," tongue sticking out included.
Trying her hardest to hold her laughter, Adagio took a deep breath, crouched down, and frowned as she grabbed and lifted Sweetie Belle bridal style.
"Sweetie Belle, no! You can't leave me yet!" she spoke in a melodramatic tone once more. "You're still so young, so full of potential, and... so heavy too-"
"Hey, I'm dead, I can't help it, okay?" Sweetie Belle briefly complained before going back to being dead.
At this point, everybody involved burst out laughing, Adagio nearly dropping Sweetie Belle as Aria and Sonata clapped to their limit.
"I don't know what's sadder," Aria said. "The fact that Sweetie Belle didn't last a second before she ruined the scene, or the fact it was better than the movie itself!"
"Can we just act out the rest of the movie instead?" Sonata asked in the middle of her laughter.
"We would, if there was more movie to act out," Scootaloo answered, walking and taking out the movie from the DVD player. "While you were acting like that, the movie already reached the credits."
"And now that I remember, we have to get going to the amusement park," Sweetie Belle said, checking her watch. "There's going to be a parade and Rarity asked us to be there."
"Aw man!" Aria pouted. "Just when things were starting to get good, too!"
The girls stood up and walked to the door, followed by the sirens. "We're sorry if the movie wasn't as good as you hoped it would be."
"It's okay, Sweetie Belle," Adagio crouched down and brushed Sweetie Belle's hair. "We had a good time with you regardless."
"And besides, just because the movie wasn't all that good doesn't mean we didn't enjoy it," Sonata added. "Although granted, what we enjoyed was the fact it was so easy to make fun of it."
"I know, right? The books of Equestria had better production values than that movie!" Aria chuckled. "And movies don't even exist in Equestria!"
The girls laughed once more, and once the laughter died down, the sirens bid farewell as the Canterlot Movie Club cheerfully ran to the amusement park, Adagio and Sweetie Belle sharing one final look before the siren closed the door.
Author's Note
And the story is officially over! Not with the cheerful reunion between the CMC and sirens, but with a silly little movie not-night.
Anyway, thank you all so much for sticking with this story to the end. I gotta be honest, when I started this story, I was bit concerned about how it would be received: Anon-A-Miss is one of the most controversial aspects of the Equestria Girls stories bar none, and the Dazzlings are one of the more well-received aspects of those same stories, also bar none.
So, I was fearing something truly bad would come from putting the well-received and the controversial together, but in the end, it seems like it worked out.
Again, thanks so much for reading the story. I truly, greatly appreciate it.
Draxonos135, flying away!
Adagio Dazzle, leader of the band The Dazzlings, walked with her hands saved on her pockets, a stern expression plastered across her face as she took a deep breath.
Of all the things I could've agreed to do in order to get some money, why did it have to be babysitting? I already got a handful enough with Sonata, I don't need any other kids to look after!
Adagio looked at the sky with a concerned look.
And besides, the music groups that interviewed us have yet to tell us if they're going to employ us or not. Any longer, and I'll feel like they just sca-
*bonk!*
A lamppost was the first thing Adagio saw as she rubbed her head, followed by the house of the girl she was supposed to be babysitting today. Adagio walked to the door, but stopped just before knocking it, catching an interesting sight on the window.
A pair of girls, one significantly older than the other, spoke with each other... well, the older one was talking to the younger, her body language suggesting she was pretty ticked off at the younger girl.
Huh, sounds like there's some family drama going on in this house. Better add that to my reasons for not to get involved and just focus on getting my money
Adagio knocked twice, but before she could knock a third time, the older girl opened the door, revealing herself to be a pretty furious-looking Rarity, startling the siren hard enough to make her jump back.
"Are you the babysitter?" she asked, with a tone perfectly matching her expression.
"Y-Yeah..." Adagio said as she stood up and dusted herself, visibly trembling and sweating bullets. "T-T-That's me..."
Wait, what's going on? Why am I acting like this? I faced the Pillars of Equestria in the distant past, there's no way a very angry girl could scare me this much!
"Okay, I know it's weird I asked you to babysit my sister, but I have no other option. Anyway, she's inside, and I have to get going," Rarity sighed. "I'll be back in an hour or two, until then, be sure she doesn't do anything that could cause an scandal," Rarity took a couple stomps, before she snapped "And don't let her anywhere near the computer!"
With the terrifying fashionista now out of sight, Adagio stumbled into the house and closed the door, nearly falling to her knees afterwards.
In my thousands of years of life, she has to be one of the most terrifying girls I've ever met! I just hope the other girl is nowhere near as scary...
Adagio took several deep breaths until she managed to calm herself down, and sat on the couch, right next to the younger girl in question. It took her a couple seconds to notice she was there, though.
"O-Oh, hey there! Sorry, I didn't notice you were there."
"It's okay," the girl replied. "Nice to meet you, Miss..."
"Adagio Dazzle, but you can just call me Adagio. What's your name?"
"Sweetie Belle."
"Okay, Sweetie Belle, whether you like it or not, I'm going to be your babysitter for today, so-"
*sniff*
Adagio flinched and turned to face the source of the sniffing, who turned out to be Sweetie Belle, holding back tears.
"Are... Are you crying?"
Sweetie Belle flinched and hastily wiped the tears off her face, and stuttered, "N-No..."
"I-I'm sorry, was it something I said?" Adagio leaned closer to the crying child. "Did I say something that upset you?"
"N-No.... i-it's not you miss..." Sweetie Belle continued wiping off her tears. "It's... it's... it's something I... and my friends did..."
And as Sweetie Belle fell silent, Adagio couldn't help but frown, feeling sorry for the little creature.
Adagio. Feeling legitimately sorry for someone other than herself. Cats and dogs could very well be falling from the sky right now. Then again, being a babysitter meant she had to care about whether the girl was happy or not, so maybe she was just being pragmatic.
What the heck happened in this house that made this kid act like this?
Adagio let out a cough, getting Sweetie Belle to calm down and turn to her.
"Okay, Sweetie Belle, was it?" Adagio asked, earning a nod from the girl. "Okay, listen up; it's quite clear that something happened before I arrived, and I just can't let the fact you're on the verge of tears fly by."
Adagio wiped off some of Sweetie Belle's tears.
"So, I want you to tell me what happened."
"A-And... that's what happened."
Adagio, now sitting on a chair with a cup of tea, hummed as she took a sip of it, looking at the ceiling in contemplation as she gave her answer. "So, from what you told me: you and your friends decided to create an internet persona by the name of Anon-A-Miss. By the way, nice name, rather creative."
Sweetie Belle scratched the back of her head and blushed. "I wasn't the one who came up with the name-"
"Then it's terrible and very lacking in originality, but that's besides the point," Adagio took another sip of her tea. "The point is, you and your friends spread secrets using this Anon-A-Miss persona, and in doing so you more or less ruined the lives of several people, Sunset Shimmer included. You went on to continue spreading secrets long after Sunset's life had been ruined, and once you were inevitably caught, you were suspended for six months."
"Yeah, but the fact that we did all those things remained in everybody's mind for the rest of the year," Sweetie Belle added. "Even after we were given our punishment, most of our classmates still refuse to talk to us, and our sisters have made it very clear they're not going to forgive us anytime soon."
So the snapping I saw at the window must've been her sister scolding her over the incident. And judging by her words, it wouldn't be the first time that happened.
Adagio took one more sip of her drink, set it on the table, and crossed her legs as she folded her arms. "Sweetie Belle, stand up."
The girl obliged, and listened intently as Adagio continued. "For what reason in particular did you and your friends continue with your secret-spree? What was the point of that?"
Sweetie Belle opened her mouth, only to find herself unable to come up with an answer. Or at least, an answer she herself could think of. So, after a shrug, Adagio changed the question:
"Who was the one who got the idea for Anon-A-Miss in the first place? I would prefer if you didn't lie to me."
"Apple Bloom did," Sweetie Belle answered. "She said something about how her sister always said that "honesty is the best policy" when we asked her how she got the idea."
"So we can blame the creation of it to Apple Bloom's sister, got it," Adagio raised an eyebrow. "And which one of you insisted on continuing to spread the secrets?"
"Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle frowned. "Her reasoning was a bit more flimsy, all she said was that we needed to make sure all the secrets came out to light, but we thought it was valid to an extent."
"We can blame her idea on the blue girl she hangs out with: if people ask you why we're blaming her, just make something up," Adagio took a deep breath. "Now, the reason I wanted you to tell me this stuff, is because I wanted to know the full story before I gave you some advice."
Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow. "Advice?"
"Yeah, cut ties with those girls."
Sweetie Belle flinched and took a step back. "B-B-But, they're my best friends!"
"Best friends? After what they dragged you into doing, they don't even count as just friends!" Adagio got off the chair and crouched down to Sweetie Belle's height. "You three decided to create an internet name to spread secrets, which sucks, but of the three, you seem to have had the least desire to get involved with this."
"I... I did?"
"Apple Bloom was the one who came up with the idea, Scootaloo was the one who convinced you, somehow, to continue spreading the secrets. Therefore, those two are the ones responsible for both creating Anon-A-Miss and keeping it running too long."
"B-But I gathered some secrets to spread them!"
"So did your friends, but unlike them, you stopped at gathering secrets," Adagio narrowed her eyes. "And if they were willing to get you three stuck in a situation where everybody would inevitably hate you, then maybe it's better for you to stop being friends with them, and forget you three were ever friends."
Sweetie Belle lowered her head, giving Adagio's words some thought, while the siren brushed her hair and sighed that, "It's for the best for you to think about it long and hard, you got it?"
Sweetie Belle looked at Adagio, and nodded.
The time came and went and Rarity returned home just in time for Adagio to leave. "Thanks a lot for babysitting my little sister," Rarity said as she handed the siren a couple of bucks. "I sure hope she wasn't a handful to deal with."
"A handful? Compared to the kids I'm used to deal with, she was an angel," Adagio replied. "Anyway, I'll take my leave, Aria and Sonata are probably wondering where I am right now."
Adagio took her leave, and as soon as she closed the door, Rarity walked to the living room, where Sweetie Belle was drawing a picture.
"Sweetie Belle, I'm back."
"Welcome back, Rarity."
Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Were you a nice girl while I was out?"
"Yes."
"Did you stay as far away from the computer like I told you?"
"Yes."
Rarity folded her arms. "You're not lying to me are you?"
"No."
Rarity walked up to Sweetie belle, and with a stern look on her face, repeated the question. "You're not lying to me, are you?"
"Nope," Sweetie answered casually.
Well, I guess I can count this as an improvement, then. Rarity thought, gaining a smile before she looked at Sweetie's drawing. "What are you drawing, Swee-"
Rarity flinched at the contents of the drawing: Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo were riding a wagon down like a rollercoaster towards a big jump over a cliff, with "consequences" written on the chasm, only for Sweetie Belle to jump out in time while Apple Bloom and Scootaloo remained behind.
Sweetie's attitude improvement might need an improvement.
Meanwhile, with Adagio, she counted the money she got with a smile as she walked back home.
Ten, eleven, twelve... fifteen dollars. It's not much, but it should be enough to buy something for dinner. And now that I bring that up, I wonder what I should buy-
*bonk!*
Another lamppost served to remind Adagio to look where she was going while walking. So she stopped to think about one more thing. I just hope that kid thinks about what I told her. If she knows what's good for her, she'll ditch those jerks ASAP.
With that done, Adagio continued to walk back home, feeling as if her babysitting duty, while not something she was enthusiastic about at first, still made itself worth its time.
Author's Note
Combining one of The Dazzlings, along with the infamousness that is Anon-A-Miss? That sounds like a recipe for disaster!
Speaking seriously, I wanted to try write something with Adagio and Sweetie Belle for the Uncommon Dazzling Ships' pairing prompt for July: Something with The Dazzlings and the CMC together.
And what better pairing than Adagio, the meanest of The Dazzlings, and Sweetie Belle, possibly the nicest of the CMC? Add a little spice with Anon-A-Miss, and we got ourselves a story!
Regardless, I hope you enjoyed the story, and I invite you to write your own CMC/Dazzlings story too. Let's try to overflow their folder in the group, okay? XD
Draxonos135, flying off!
Sonata Dusk - Sweetie Belle
Sonata Dusk was feeling good with herself: With her help, Apple Bloom had taken the first in convincing Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to forgive her, or at least, Scootaloo was in the process of getting Sweetie belle to forgive her. She hadn't heard from her in a while, but she had hope that once she got an idea on how to get Sweetie to forgive her, she'd take it.
Now, the only member of the Canterlot Movie Club left to convince was Sweetie Belle... who was sitting right by Adagio Dazzle's side, watching TV along with the sirens while Adagio brushed her hair.
Somehow, despite the girl being right next to her sister, Sonata felt the girl was far more away than that. She also thought
"Hey, Adagio-"
"Where's Aria, right?" Adagio interjected, looking strictly at the TV. "She's working at the music shop right now, she'll be back by night."
"No, I mean, do you think I could spend a little time with Sweetie Belle?" Sonata inquired, tilting her head. "You know, one-on-one?"
Sweetie Belle glared at her and hugged Adagio harder. "I don't think she's up for it."
"Of course, I should've expected that," Sonata looked back at the TV and leaned back. "She's close to you the most, Adagio. I don't know why, but she is."
Adagio frowned and looked at Sweetie Belle, who was paying attention to the TV as she grabbed the final cookie from the table. Seeing the empty table, Adagio got an idea. "Oh, look, we're out of snacks. And we didn't buy any new ones yesterday."
Adagio separated from Sweetie Belle, even after the girl tried resisting the separation, and stood up. "Sonata, could we talk for a bit?"
Sonata nodded and stood up before she followed Adagio to the kitchen, leaving Sweetie Belle to watch the TV show alone. Once at the kitchen, Adagio pulled Sonata down, and whispered to her ear. "Okay, Sonata, before you ask anything: I'll be the one to go get some more snacks. The thing I want to talk to you about is Sweetie Belle: something's bothering her."
"Oh really? Something's bothering her? I'm shaken," Sonata replied, a hint of sarcasm in her tone. "No, really, after breaking up with her friends and getting on bad terms with her sister, I never thought there'd be something bothering her right now."
"Okay, if you're going to keep talking like that, I'll ask you to stop hanging around with Aria," Adagio sternly stated, going back to a concerned tone as she continued. "Anyway, I'll go get the snacks, and while I'm gone, I want you to try and get Sweetie Belle to tell you what's eating at her mind."
Sonata raised an eyebrow. "And I have to do this because... why? I mean, you're pretty smart Adagio, can't you figure out what's bothering on your own?"
"Just because I figure it out doesn't mean Sweetie Belle will stop being bothered by it," Adagio frowned and took a deep breath. "If she doesn't get it out of her system, the weight it carries could get heavier and heavier until it starts affecting her mind. And for some reason, I don't think she'll be willing to tell me about it."
That statement only further confused Sonata. "Why wouldn't she tell you about it? She trusts you, Adagio. Certainly more than she trusts me."
"Sonata, I'm the one who gave her the idea to break up with her friends. If what's bothering her is related to that, or worse, her having second thoughts about it, of course she's not going to tell me!" Adagio lowered her head. "She probably thinks I'm going to get angry at her and yell at her like her sister did when I went to babysit her."
Sonata smiled and nodded. "Well, I've lived with you long enough to confirm that that's what you'd do."
"Which is why I need you to talk to her," Adagio narrowed her eyes. "She's more likely to tell you about it, since you two aren't nearly as close."
Sonata stood up, and saw Sweetie Belle looking worried at the television, convincing her to do as Adagio said. Then again, she was probably going to do it anyway. "Okay, Adagio, I'll do it."
Adagio stood up, and grabbed Sonata's hand before she could walk to Sweetie Belle. "Sonata, whatever you do, don't be too rough on Sweetie Belle. There's something bothering her, that much is clear, but if you press her too far you're just going to end up with no information and even more bad blood from her."
Sonata took a deep breath and smiled. "Don't worry, Adagio, I know what I need to do."
With that said, Adagio left the house, and Sonata walked back to Sweetie Belle, sitting right next to the girl as she glared at her. "So, Adagio's going to go get the snacks, meaning we're both alone for the time being."
"Fantastic," Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. "Just what I needed."
Off to a great start, apparently. "So-"
"Look, I know what you've been doing: you were there when Apple Bloom gave me the apple pie, and you said yesterday you said you spoke with Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle folded her arms as she narrowed her glare. "While I haven't heard from Scootaloo yet, the fact you saw me and Apple Bloom with a smile made it clear: you had something to do with her giving me the pie."
Sonata raised her arms and shook her head. "All I did was give her advice, everything else was done by her-"
"If she needed someone else to tell her what to do, then she did nothing! Same thing with Scootaloo; we probably haven't heard from her yet's because she's wasting her time trying to think of a way to trick me into forgiving her!" Sweetie Belle spat. "What you told them... what Adagio told them... it means nothing! They just want me to forgive them and become friends again so they can rope me into another one of their schemes, like always!"
Sonata lowered her eyelids. "You don't believe that."
"Oh really?" Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. "What gives you that impression?"
"Because you don't speak like you believe it," Sonata leaned closer to Sweetie Belle, and whispered right next to her ear. "In fact, with the way you're speaking, it sounds like you're lying to yourself. That you're desperately trying to convince yourself that they really haven't learned anything."
Sweetie Belle's eyes widened as Sonata leaned back, the siren sporting a smile as the girl looked at her notwith scorn, but with shock. "Did I hit the bullseye?"
Sweetie Belle lowered her head and frowned. "If I tell you what I really think, do you promise not to tell Adagio? I feel like she'd get angry at me if she knew."
"Of course, kid. My lips are sealed and your secret is safe," Sonata answered with a little smile. At least, until Adagio figures it out on her own.
Sweetie Belle lowered her head and twiddled her fingers, avoiding eye contact with Sonata. "I don't know what to think. About Apple Bloom, about Scootaloo, about... my decision to end our friendship. I mean, Apple Bloom's pie was delicious and I felt her words were sincere. And Scootaloo taking so long? That's definitely an improvement; before, she would've gone with the first thing on her mind, no questions asked. The fact she's taking her time... if she's taking her time... shows she's not willing to rush this."
"Ending your friendship with them was the right choice: it opened their eyes, and with a little buging, they began to try make up with you," Sonata answered, lowering her head as she took a deep breath. "But you don't know whether to forgive them and become friends again, or just forgive them, right?"
"I miss them. I really do: walking together around the streets, sitting down and watching a movie together, and yes, even participating in a scheme or two to become popular, I miss those things," Sweetie Belle paused, and shook her head. "But Anon-A-Miss... they chose to keep it going, while I wanted it to end."
Sonata looked at the ceiling. "Huh, I wonder why."
Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. "Apple Bloom said she wanted to make good on her sister's honesty policy, and Scootaloo... she winged it, I guess. I know I should've quit right then and there, but-"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to finish my sentence: what I meant to say was, why did you want it to stop?" Sonata replied, lowering her head to meet Sweetie Belle's shocked expression. "From what Adagio told me, you and your friends started Anon-A-Miss out of jealousy towards Sunset Shimmer. Jealousy doesn't just vanish into thin air like that, as proven when Anon-A-Miss kept going for a little while longer. But you suddenly wanting it to stop... well, I can't buy that." Sonata leaned closer to Sweetie Belle. "So, what made you want to stop Anon-A-Miss?"
Sweetie Belle leaned back, avoiding eye contact with Sonata as she gave her answer. "I caught a glimpse of Sunset Shimmer crying while everybody was angry at her. And that sight... I just didn't want Anon-A-Miss to continue if that was the end result."
She's not being honest. Not completely honest, at least. Sonata lowered her eyelids. But even I can see that this is all she'll willingly tell me. If I try to press harder, she's just going to come up with more and more ridiculous answers that will lead nowhere.
"A-Anyway!" Sweetie Belle blurted, returning Sonata to reality. "I'm having second thoughts about ending my friendship with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, that's what I'm trying to say. Please don't tell Adagio about this: she told me to end it in the first place... I don't want to think about how she'd react if she knew I was getting second thoughts-"
Sonata put a hand on Sweetie Belle's, and brushed it as the girl flinched and looked at the ground, trying to process what was happening. "Didn't I tell you already? Your secret's safe with me."
Sweetie Belle raised her head, and saw Sonata sporting a look more serious than she'd expected, given the siren's cheerful attitude a moment ago. "But I can't lie to you: Adagio will ask you what's bothering you eventually. When that time comes, you'll need to get ready to tell her the truth. Understand?"
Sweetie Belle wordlessly lowered her head, then her eyelids and nodded, before the pair went back to watching the television.
Meanwhile, with Adagio, she walked out of a store with a pair of bags at hand. Okay, I bought enough snacks and food for today and tomorrow... at least, I hope it's enough for Sonata and Sweetie Belle.
Adagio frowned at the thought of them together. I just hope they're getting along; I'm not in the mood to find them fighting each other once I get home.
"Adagio!"
She stopped on her tracks and turned around to see Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Scootaloo approaching her. Of particular notice was Scootaloo, who was holding a movie on her hands.
"Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon... and Scootaloo, right?" Adagio raised an eyebrow. "What do you need?"
Scootaloo handed Adagio the movie, the siren growing even more confused. "What's this? I mean I know it's a movie, but why do you give it to me?"
"Scootaloo wants to know if Sweetie Belle would be willing to have a movie night together with her and Apple Bloom," Silver Spoon explained, pushing Scootaloo slightly forward. "That was one of the most enjoyable things they did when they were together, and she-."
Adagio quickly grew enraged at the orange girl and glared at her. "Wanted me to ask Sweetie Belle if she'd like to go, right? What, do you really think that's going to make her happy? Do you think that getting someone else to ask a question you should be asking her yourself is going to help her forgive you?"
Scootaloo returned the glare. "I want to know if you think this movie's acceptable, and if you'd be willing to have the movie night on your house."
Adagio fell silent, flinching and taking a step back as the girl continued. "Sweetie Belle's living with you right now, I doubt she'll consider going anywhere else while things are still a bit tense. I'll ask her if she wants to do it myself... but I can't do anything without your permission."
Adagio took one more glance at the movie, and nodded as she handed it back. "Sure, this movie's acceptable. You can have the movie night at my house."
Scootaloo smiled as she took the movie back. "Thank you. I really appreciate it."
"Don't tell me you appreciate it, show me you appreciate it," Adagio sternly responded. "Show Sweetie Belle you're really honest about wanting her forgiveness, that's all you have to do."
Scootaloo nodded, and left with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who looked at Adagio with a relieved look before they left. With them gone, she took a deep breath and began walking back home, hoping this "movie night" idea wouldn't make things worse in the long run.
Author's Note
And now Sonata has spoken with Sweetie Belle. She's still not ready to forgive her friends, but she's having second thoughts at least, and coming out to one person who'll guard her secret will certainly help her sleep better at night.
And again, Adagio will more than likely figure out Sweetie's secret in due time.
Next chapter we'll see how Sunset's doing, and then a chapter based on a different character before we head to the final siren interactions.
Draxonos135, flying away!
