Rules of Hospitality

I left the Last Note in a daze with my jaw throbbing and my head pounding. I think I remember walking past some of the employees and I think some of them even said something to me. I ignored them, clutching my glasses in my shaking hands, every so often fumbling and fidgeting with them as I stared at the cracked left lens.

I think a couple people asked me if I was alright, but I wasn’t really paying attention.

If I thought my odds at reconciling with Sunset were poor before, then they were practically nonexistent now. Before she had taken a swing at me because we’d been in an argument, tensions had been high, and things had gotten out of hand.

This time though…

I had only rarely seen Sunset truly angry.

She was passionate, sure, and she had a temper, but she also had control of it nine times out of ten. The time she’d slapped me was the one time out of ten she’d been pushed too far.

This had not been an example of Sunset losing her temper.

This had been Sunset, in no uncertain terms, threatening me for trying to hurt Aria, because the one thing Sunset had in spades was a fierce protective streak.

One that, once upon a time, extended to me.

I was at least passingly certain that was no longer the case.

The winter night felt especially cold as I stepped outside, and my jaw hurt like the dickens. I moved my tongue around inside my mouth, carefully feeling for anything loose, and was a little relieved to find nothing out of sorts.

“You okay, ma’am?”

I looked up and the bouncer, Backstage I think was his name, was giving me a concerned look.

“Uhm… no, not really,” I answered, too emotionally worn out to pretend. “I’m just gonna go home, I think.”

My parents home.

I can’t exactly go back to the dorm.

Even if Sunset does spend most of her time with Aria, I have no idea when she’ll be back there and I can’t… I can’t face her. Not anymore, not after what just happened.

With a pang of gut-wrenching anxiety, I realise I’m not just upset or angry.

I’m scared.

I was scared of Sunset.

“Hey.”

I let out a sharp, strangled squeak of alarm and staggered back from my little Civic that I’d been absentmindedly pulling out the keys for which dropped from my fear-numbed fingers down into the slush beneath me.

Pinkie Pie was standing just across from me wearing a fluffy blue and pink striped parka, thick blue winter pants, and heavy-treaded boots. Her hands were shoved in the front pockets to keep them warm, and her eyes were… sad.

“P-Pinkie?” I stared at her for a moment in shock, then looked down in a panic for my keys.

Without even looking, Pinkie knelted, pulled one hand from her pocket, made a quick twirling motion with her index finger, then darted her hand down into the slush and pulled out my keys.

“Here ya go, silly,” she said brightly as she stood up and held them out. “Gotta keep your keys on a chain or something.”

“Yeah, I… I guess I do,” I stared down at the keys, then looked back up at Pinkie who was still giving me that sad smile. “Why are you here, Pinkie?”

“Because I need to be,” Pinkie replied in a manner that reminded me strangely of Sonata. “Because you need me to be.”

“How do you know what I need?” I asked a more bitterly than she deserved.

She didn’t rise to my admittedly childish bait, though, and shuffled a little closer as she opened her arms. “C’mere.”

I sniffled, lifted a hand to my stinging jaw, then nodded and stepped forward into Pinkie’s arms. Say what you will about her slightly tenuous grip on reality, but Pinkamena Diane Pie gives the best hugs. Every second that it lasts, you can feel the warmth coming from her, and not just the physical warmth, but the emotional warmth.

The spiritual warmth.

It’s that feeling of nearness to another human being turned up to eleven, and Pinkie just exudes it like an aura.

“S-She hit me, Pinkie,” I sobbed, burying my face in her chest, and Pinkie just hugged me harder. “She r-really hit me!”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Pinkie said quietly, making gentle cooing sounds that, although patronizing, did actually make me feel a little better. “She shouldn’t have done that.”

“Shouldn’t she have?” I moaned, gripping Pinkie’s parka harder. “I lost my temper and tried to hurt Aria! If I wasn’t so inept I actually might have!”

“Friends shouldn’t fight,” Pinkie said firmly. “Friends talk, even if that talk… even if it ends with them not being friends anymore, they owe each other a talk, even if it’s a last talk.”

It felt like my heart was casing over in granite, thick and heavy and painful in my chest.

I didn’t want to have a ‘last talk’ with Sunset, that was part of why I had avoided talking to her even though I’d gone to the Last Note multiple times and had every opportunity to. I could have just asked any of the employees to page her, I could have taken Sonata up on her offer to call Sunset up directly.

Hell, even Aria had offered to help me talk to her in her own stiff, awkward way, I realised.

But I was too stinking scared.

“Come on, let’s go get some cocoa,” Pinkie said with a warm smile, linking her arm with mine and dragging me towards her still idling car.

Pinkie’s car was a beat-up little Volkswagon Bug from the eighties that was painted garishly bright pink, and whenever Pinkie turned it on it always sounded like it trying to decide if this was going to be the day it died for good but, for one reason or another, the old engine always turned over.

I thought about resisting as Pinkie tugged me over to the passenger side door, but I decided I’d alienated quite enough of my friends today, and honestly hot chocolate sounded kind of good. Call me stereotypical, but some primal part of my brain was demanding that I drown my sorrows in chocolate.

Kicking the clutch open and shifting gears, Pinkie pulled out of the Last Note parking lot and got on the freeway heading south, out of the ritzy end of Canterlot and into the Commons.

The drive was silent, with me leaning against the door, the sore spot on my face pressed to the icy chill of the window as I stared at the lines upon lines of christmas lights festooning all the various places of business in expectation of the holidays.

Once we were out of the North End and into the Ponyville Commons the decorations became a lot less extravagant, but no less enthusiastic. Strings of cheap christmas lights lined apartment windows and little decals of Santa and his Reindeer could be seen on the glass. Here and there was a small lawn decoration set to the side of a porch or awning, and it occurred to me that everyone else in the world seemed to be getting along just fine.

I found myself mildly offended by that.

A few minutes later Pinkie pulled us into the parking lot of her workplace, a friendly little cafe called Sugarcube Corner, and a place that had a lot of happy memories for all of us as friends even after high school.

I couldn’t move for several moments, my guilt and anxiety hitting me hard as I remembered all the times I’d spent there with Sunset. All the times that were gone now and might never happen again because I’d done something stupid.

The car door creaked open sullenly, and I started in surprise before realizing it was just Pinkie opening it up.

“C’mon, lets get warm,” Pinkie helped me out of the car, which was always just a little too low to comfortably move out of without Pinkie’s natural hopping gait.

The door to the Corner jingled merrily as we entered, and my nose was suddenly filled with the smell of various chocolates, pastries, and other sugary confections.

“Two emergency hot chocolates! Stat!” Pinkie demanded in mock severity as she tromped up to the cash register.

Missus Cake smiled good-naturedly and started working on the drinks.

One of the things I loved most about Sugarcube Corner was how genuine their food and drink was. I watched the matronly proprietor break up several thick bars of dark chocolate while the milk was steaming. The chunks went into large mugs, followed by the milk, a thick dollop of homemade whipped cream each.

Pinkie dropped several bills on the counter to pay and scooped up the mugs. As she turned, Missus Cake shot me a wink, swept up the bills, and dropped them in the tip jar.

Most of those tips went to Pinkie, I knew. She was their main employee and half the reason that the Corner was so popular. Pinkie Pie was probably more of a fixture at the little cafe than any of the actual fixtures.

I smiled back at her as I turned to follow Pinkie to our table. There was a large booth near the back that the lot of us had been using as our regular hangout spot for near on a decade now, and we still showed up here now and again.

Less often than we used to, maybe, we all had work and lives after all, but… we never lost touch.

Until now.

I took a seat across from Pinkie and rested my hands on the warm ceramic mug. The smell of chocolate and rich cream rolled up from the beverage and, as miserable as the night had been going, it still made me feel a little better.

“I guess you know what happened?” I asked although it was mostly a statement.

For one reason or other that none of us have ever been able to parse, Pinkie always seemed to have an uncommonly firm grasp of events that happened despite being nowhere near them at the time. The Princess, my Equestrian doppelgänger, theorized that Pinkie might be one of the rare humans who are naturally able to channel magic, even if only in minute amounts, but it was never proven.

“I dunno,” Pinkie said quietly, “what did happen?”

I scowled, then raised the mug to my lips and took a slow sip of the piping hot drink. It was delicious, just like it always was, and the thick, creamy chocolate warmed me up from the inside out.

“I don’t know,” the words came out after a long pause, and I stared at my drink in dismay as I realised it was true. “I just… I’m so angry, Pinkie… I thought I was angry at Aria, but I know that’s irrational, so… I guess I’m just angry for no reason.”

“Nah,” Pinkie shook her head, then took a large bite out of the whipped cream that was topping her drink before washing it down with some chocolate. “You’re our friend, Twi’! You don’t do stuff for no reason, heck… no one does stuff for no reason, sometimes the reason is just silly or weird, but there’s always a reason.”

“Except I didn’t have a reason!” I snapped, gripping my mug tighter. “There was nothing rational behind my actions. I just lost my temper and attacked Aria!”

“See, you do have a reason!” Pinkie said brightly, ignoring my irritation. “You lost your temper! That’s the reason.”

“That’s not a reason, Pinkie, that’s just a loss of control,” I grumbled as I took another drink. “And it never should have happened… and then Sunset slugged me for attacking her girlfriend, which I guess I don’t blame her for.”

“Hmm…” Pinkie mumbled thoughtfully into her hot chocolate, blowing little bubbles into it as she did, before looking back up at me with those startlingly blue eyes of hers. “You remember when we all went and saw the new Halloween movie together? At the old Multiplex?”

“Uh, y~eah?” I raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out where this non sequitur came from. “Still not a big horror movie fan…”

“Yeah, neither was Sunnybuns, even though she tried to hide it,” Pinkie giggled and I couldn’t help but smile at the memory.

Sunset had tried to put on a brave face, but the movie had clearly freaked her out. A part of that, I had always theorized, was because her culture just didn’t have any kind of equivalent to horror movies. Movies themselves were a nascent production in Equestria, according to the Princess, and back when Sunset had crossed over they hadn’t even been in circulation, and violence of the kind shown in classic slashers was grotesquely visceral even by human standards.

Equestrians probably would have balked at even the tamer movies, to say nothing of one of the brutal classics like the Shape.

“She tried really hard to act cool, but she was jumping at shadows,” I agreed, laughing a little. “Even I hadn’t gotten that scared by the movie, I mean, it was gory, but it wasn’t that bad.”

“Right? But Sunnybuns was just wired!” Pinkie giggled and leaned back in the booth. “And she was still dating Rainbow at the time, remember? And Rainbow thought it would be funny to-”

“-prank her girlfriend,” I finished, nodding as I recalled the little misadventure that followed. “I’m pretty sure we all remember how that went, I’m still surprised Sunset didn’t break Rainbow’s nose when she popped out of the bush wearing that mask.”

“Mhm,” Pinkie chuckled again, taking another sip. “Yeah… that’s why I never pulled any scary pranks on her, Sunset never did react very well to getting scared.”

“Right? No kidd-,” I stopped, my mind suddenly catching up with the weird side-route that Pinkie had just taken. “Wait, Pinkie, are you saying…”

Pinkie lifted her mug and took another drink, her sharp blue eyes staring at me over the rim.

“You should get that,” Pinkie said, suddenly perking up from her chocolate.

“Get what?”

As if on cue, my phone began ringing.

“That,” Pinkie nodded to my hip pocket where I kept my phone. “You should get it.”

I pulled out my phone at looked at it. The number was local but I didn’t recognise it, and that usually meant it was a scam.

“Pinkie, I don’t like answering calls if I don’t know who’s calling me,” I replied, lowering the phone a little to look at her.

“Don’t let her go to voicemail, Twi’,” Pinkie said in a much quieter voice.

Something in Pinkie’s tone pushed me past my mild neurosis over answering the phone. Moreover, something about the way she said ‘her’ gave me the fleeting premonition of a certain bartender, and I instantly hit the ‘accept call’ button and lifted the phone to my ear.

“H-hello?” I answered shakily, and the voice on the line took a sharp breath.

//Twilight?!// Sonata’s voice was shrill and panicky as it came out. //Twilight are you okay?!//

A stone of guilt settled into my stomach.

I’d told her I would come back to the bar, that I would stay until the end of her shift, but after my encounter with Sunset I hadn’t been able to bear being in the same building and I’d just… left her.

“I… I’m fine, ‘Nata,” I replied quickly, standing up and scooting out from the booth to move to the back of the cafe. “I’m really sorry I left, I…”

//What happened?!//

Sonata sounded terrified, and the pain in my chest redoubled.

“I… kinda ran into Sunset and…” the pain of Sunset’s blow to my jaw came back like a harsh memory and I grimaced, “it didn’t go very well and I kinda lost it and so I… I ran… I’m sorry.”

//I-its okay, Twi’,// Sonata said shakily.// I was just… kind of freaking out when you never came back, and I was asking around, and some people thought they’d seen you running out of the VIP area, and…// her voice cracked badly, and the rest of the words came out wet and shaky, //and I asked B-Backstage, and he said he saw you leave and that you said you weren’t okay and I just… I got really scared, okay?//

I could hear the tears on the other end of the line and the sound made me tear up along with her.

“O-oh, Sonata, please don’t cry!” my voice came out in a slightly cracked sob. “I’ll… I’ll come back right now, okay?! I ran into a friend and we talked and I’m okay, alright? I promise! I’ll be right back, alright?”

Sonata’s voice was a blubbering mess but I got a vague affirmative from her, so I said my goodbyes, which were about as graceful as hers, and came running back out to the main area of the cafe.

Pinkie was gone.

Total panic started to well up in my chest, but before it could build up a real head of steam I heard a shrill honk from outside the cafe. Sitting at the curb right near the entrance to the Corner was Pinkie’s faithful little Bug with Pinkie in the driver's seat gesturing for me to come out.

Letting out a breath of relief, I thanked Missus Cake for the hot chocolate, which Pinkie had already cleaned up I noted, and went running out to get into the passenger seat.

“Thanks, Pinkie,” my voice was a little raw, but Pinkie didn’t comment on it. Instead, she just smiled, nodded, and opened up the throttle.

Or at least, whatever throttle the old vehicle still had.

Pinkie pulled into the parking lot of the Lounge, which was significantly more packed than when we had left. The night was in full swing and, although it was definitely less rowdy than last night, I was starting to suspect that the Last Note didn’t really have slow nights.

“Thanks for the ride, Pinkie,” I said as I leaned over and hugged her, and she gave way better than she got. “And for the chocolate, and the advice.”

“I just left a seat open for ya,” Pinkie said happily as I got out of the car. “Talk to ya later!”

“Drive safe,” I waved as she pulled out of the packed lot with significantly more speed and confidence than I would have dared.

I turned and made my way towards the brightly lit doors of the Lounge, and I barely got within eyeshot of the bouncer before he flagged me down.

“Miss Twilight?” Backstage gestured for me to approach, and he had an odd look on his face. “Miss Dusk is waiting near the bar for ya, she was in a pretty bad state.”

“I know, I’m so sorry,” I said sheepishly. “I ran into… well, I guess it doesn’t matter… is Sonata okay?”

“Better after she called ya,” Backstage confirmed with a nod. “Still pretty rough, though.”

“How did she even get my number?” I asked, furrowing my brow, and Backstage raised an eyebrow.

“Ya didn’t give it to her?”

I shook my head. “We only just met last night, and I hadn’t thought about it until now.”

“Last night?” Backstage looked surprised. “From the way she was acting, I thought you two’d been together for a while.”

“T-TOGETHER?!” I managed to choke the word out before devolving into a coughing fit. “I… we just met! And I… I mean sure she’s really pretty, and she’s kind and sweet, and she’s really nice to kiss, b-but…”

Backstage was giving me a carefully neutral, level look as my babbling tapered off and I fell silent while my face slowly heated to supernova temperatures.

“I’m… I’m just gonna go inside now,” I said after a few moments of silence.

Backstage gave a nod and a smile, then gestured for me to pass him.

I slipped into the Lounge, wincing at the wall of noise that struck me as I opened the double-doors and began moving through the crowds. They were noticeably thinner than last night, but that wasn’t a difficult bar to reach, and all it really meant was that I could move without being stepped on more than three times on my way to the bar.

The two junior bartenders, Mixer and Highball I remembered Sonata calling them, were moving with the practiced professionalism of people who knew their craft, but even I could see the slight strain on them as they tried to keep up with the flow of orders without making any mistakes.

That was odd, the few other times I’d been here they’d been doing fine and, with fewer customers, I would think they’d be doing even better.

Then I realised who was missing.

“Miss Twilight Sparkle,” an imperious voice called my name, and I froze.

I’ve never had the opportunity to have any kind of conversation with the eldest sister of the Siren trio, but Adagio had always scared the hell out of me conceptually. The way Sunset spoke of her before our falling out painted her as some kind of master manipulator, a sort of high femme queen with the mein of an empress.

As I turned around to face her, I had this vain hope that maybe, just maybe, Sunset had been exaggerating.

She hadn’t been.

Adagio stood a full head taller than me with striking eyes the color of garnets backlit by an odd sort of light. She was clad, ankle-to-neck, in a dark, seastorm green dress accented with shades of gold that matched both her hair and complexion, and her hair was a wild, waterfall-tangle of vibrant curls that fell over her surprisingly broad shoulders.

“Y-yes?” I shrank back from her as I answered.

I couldn’t help it, Adagio Dazzle was like the living embodiment of the sun-in-glory. She was so bright and imposing that it was almost painful to be looked at by her, especially since it was clear that I wasn’t her favorite person at the moment.

“We’ve never had the opportunity to be properly introduced,” Adagio said primly, extending a hand as she did. “My name is Adagio, as I’m sure you’re aware, and you have had my baby sister in quite a state these past few hours.”

“Where is she?!” I surged forward with enough speed that even Adagio backed up a step, blinking in surprise. “P-Please, I just-”

She set her hand against my shoulder, stopping my momentum cold. I felt a slight chill as I realized quite suddenly how strong she was, strong enough that I couldn’t even budge against her.

“Before you do anything, I need to know that you’ll be gentle with her,” Adagio said stiffly. “Nodens knows she could use a few more friends, but Sonata is… special, she’s sensitive, she cries easily, and I won’t have someone spending time around her who’s careless with her feelings.”

“I’m really sorry,” I said quietly, “I don’t have an excuse.”

I really didn’t have an excuse.

Seriously, what was I supposed to say?

‘Sorry, I ran out in a panicked depression after my ex-best friend slugged me because I attacked her girlfriend in a fit of rage who, by the way, is also your other sister, SORRY ABOUT THAT.’

I had a strong feeling that wouldn’t fly, and since Adagio hadn’t brought up my little indiscretion against Aria I could only assume neither she nor Sonata had mentioned it.

Well, that was fine by me.

Although that meant I probably owed Aria an apology.

“I’m not asking for an excuse,” Adagio said in a tone of voice that grew grave as she stepped forward to tower over me. “I’m asking for your care with Sonata, because if you harm my baby sister I will not hesitate to break you in half, are we clear?”

I swallowed hard and nodded. For reasons I couldn’t quite place, I felt like I was being talked to by a mob boss or someone else equally terrifying. Maybe I was, actually… the Sirens were millennia old and who knew how many hats they’d worn over the years. I could definitely picture Adagio acting as some cold-as-ice Mafia don.

“W-We’re clear,” I agreed and, like magic, the deathly stillness of her features schooled out to a cordial friendliness.

“Excellent,” Adagio said happily, reaching up with one hand to brush some hair from my face. “As I said, Sonata could use a few more friends… your glasses are cracked, by the way.”

“I… I’m aware,” I replied a little sullenly.

“I see,” Adagio raised an eyebrow but didn’t pursue the topic any further, for which I was grateful. “Well, wait here while I’ll call Sonata over, she was making a bit of a mess of things in her panic so I benched her, which I’ve never had to do before.”

“Y-Yeah, sorry,” I repeated, grimacing.

“Nodens Oath, girl, have a spine,” Adagio’s lips curled into a smirk, “I’m not blaming you, Sonata’s a big girl, she ought to have a little more self-control.”

From a pocket I couldn’t identify the location of on her dress, Adagio drew out a slim device that looked like a small black recorder and spoke quietly into it. After a few moments I saw the crowd shifting and parting a little ways away coming towards us and, a moment later, Sonata Dusk stepped out of the crowds looking around sharply with a worried expression.

The moment her eyes landed on me her face blossomed into the most radiant smile I’d ever seen, and I’d been on the receiving end of Pinkie’s full beam before, and she all but tackled me in a hug. I bit back an oath as she pressed against the nascent bruise on my jaw, choosing to hug her back instead.

“Twi’!” Sonata hugged me tight, burying her face against my shoulder, and I watched Adagio’s eyebrow raise another quarter-inch from over Sonata’s shoulder at the display of affection. “I was so worried! Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m sure, ‘Nata,” I said quietly as her hug became a little softer but no less insistent.

When she pulled away, I felt my heart lurch as I realised she had tears in her eyes, and it… it actually hurt. Seeing her hurting over me actually hurt me and completely by reflex I reached out brushed the tears from her eyes.

Sonata sniffled a little, then leaned into my touch, and I stood there for a moment just holding on to her. Her cheek was warm against the palm of my hand, and it was soft like nearly everything else about her.

“Ahem.”

Sonata and I both blushed brilliantly at the noise before to face Adagio who had moved alongside us and was looking between back and forth between us.

“Well, I left Octavia in the back, so I’ll be moving along,” Adagio said, giving both us a pointed glance, but saying nothing about our behaviour. “I trust there won’t be any more mishaps behind the bar?”

“Uhm, nope, I’m fine now,” Sonata answered with a bright smile.

“Good,” then Adagio turned to me, gave me one last hard look, then sashayed away towards the VIP area.

“S-So, you’re sure you’re okay?” Sonata asked again, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yes, ‘Nata, I promise, I’m fine,” I reply, shaking my head a little as we started walking back towards the bar. “You worry too much.”

“I can’t help it!” Sonata whined quietly. “I really like you, okay?!”

“That’s…” I blushed again and tightened my grip, only then noticing that Sonata and I had managed to hold hands all the way back to the bar without either of us realising it. “I mean… I really like you too, ‘Nata.”

She giggled and my heart danced, even knowing Pinkie I’m not sure I’ve ever met someone who was just so unabashedly pure. Maybe I’m just not being objective about it, though. Maybe I just like Sonata Dusk that much.

“So uhm… what nights are you free?” I asked as Sonata into her usual place behind the bar, much to the relief of Mixer and Highball. “Like, what days do you have off?”

“Off?” Sonata asked with a quirked smile. “I have every day off, I only work at night!”

I sighed and chuckled. “N-no I mean-”

“I know what you meant silly,” she waved a hand playfully at me. “I… I don’t really have days or nights off, actually. I don’t really know what I would do with myself if I did, but… I can ask ‘Dagi for a night off some time, why?”

“W-Well, I uh…” the sudden flop sweat and panic response were not helping my anxiety, but I forced myself to remember that Sonata ‘really liked me’. “So… I’ve never done this before, but I was w-wondering if maybe you want to go out on a date sometime?”

Sonata stared for several moments, her eyes widening slowly. I braced myself for a Pinkie-like outburst of glee, but it never came, instead, Sonata’s hands just flew to her mouth and she started giggling and blushing like a schoolgirl.

Oh, my heart.

Apparently unable to speak, Sonata nodded rapidly as she giggled and wiggled in place. She looked like she was about to pop, actually, and on instinct I reached out and took one of her hands, and suddenly Sonata was gripping my hand incredibly tight.

“You okay?” I asked softly, leaning in a little.

She just nodded several times, her mouth seemingly glued shut.

“Still want me to stay?” I continued, sliding onto a barstool.

Sonata nodded vigorously again.

“Okay,” I gave her hand another squeeze, then pulled back. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Sonata pulled out a piece of paper from behind the bar and scribbled down a note before passing it to me. She still looked like she was fit to vibrate right out of existence, and it made me feel like I’d done something wrong.

I picked up the note and scanned it.

‘Sorry, I promise I’m fine, I’m just really excited and I can’t ‘words’ right now.’

Adjusting my broken glasses, I nodded and sat the note down. “Alright well… h-how about you make me a drink?”

If anything that made Sonata light up more, but where before it was like she had ten thousand volts of pent up energy and nothing to do with it, now a peculiar focus ignited behind her eyes, and her smile turned practically thermonuclear.

She really just had such a pretty smile. It was the kind of expression where Sonata’s whole face was involved in the production, her cheeks dimpled adorably and her eyes crinkled just a little when they lit up. Every time she smiled strongly she did a little shoulder-wiggle that was just precious, and…

Ooh, wow, I… might have it kinda bad.

Sonata’s hands moved with her usual calm surety, with none of her prior wild energy evident in her actions.

There were three small burners on the back, and Sonata had a pan on one of them, the heat cranked high to get it warmed quickly. She swept her hand back and forth over it as the minutes passed and, once it reached a temperature she was satisfied with, she poured in a few spoonfuls of sugar into it along with what looked like about a cup of water.

With one hand, Sonata stirred the sugar and water mixture as it hissed and bubbled, and with the other, she reached beneath the bar and pulled out a wooden box with a sliding panel on the top. She set the box down, hooked a finger on the depression in the panel, and pulled it free, then snatched out a small bundle of what looked like loose-leaf tea.

From the fragrant aroma, I suspected it was some kind of rose tea.

Still stirring, Sonata scattered the loose tea leaves into the mixture, then turned the heat down significantly to let the tea infuse slowly into the syrup she was making.

Another minute or so passed, and the scent of rosehip tea was filling the bar, and once more a small crowd was gathering around to watch the master at work.

A champagne flute glass pulled out from amongst the dishes as Sonata continued to stir the infusion, and a moment later she pulled it off and held the pan aloft, slowly circling her wrist to keep the mixture moving while letting it cool off naturally. With one hand keeping the pan up, the other set up a jar and pulled out a small metal hoop with a fine wire mesh inside it, and she strained the rosy mixture of the leaves.

Clearing away all the tools and bits she had used during the preparation, Sonata lifted a bottle of champagne that read Dom Perignon across the label. Slowly, she poured a measure of the now cooled syrup into the flute, and followed it quickly with a slow pour of champagne, letting the syrup mix naturally with the bubbly, sparkling wine.

The result was a lovely, wild-rose colored drink that sparkled in the light, and after setting down her tools, Sonata lifted the glass to her lips and gave it a small, warm kiss. Just like before, I saw a faint luminance flow into the drink, then she passed to me with a radiant smile.

“Please drink it,” Sonata said, her voice finally returned, although it was small and hesitant.

“Uhm, well, I did ask for one,” I said with a nervous laugh before raising the glass in a mimic of a toast I’d seen my father do a few times at parties. “Bottoms up!”

Before I even started to drink I could smell it. The cocktail was lovely and smelled like a rose garden as I brought it to my lips. I tipped it back, took a single drink and-

-HEARTS-

-it was the flavor of the first time I blushed, the soft, gentle warmth in my heart that rose up through my throat, tightening it with apprehension and delight only to sink into my cheeks and turn them rosy red. It tasted like meeting eyes with someone you wished you could never stop looking at from the moment you saw them.

I kept drinking, I couldn’t stop, and far too soon the drink was gone and I was still smiling.

“Whatever happens,” Sonata said softly, turning the little jar of syrup around and around in her hands as she spoke, “I’ll only ever make that drink for you, Twi’, I promise.”

“Why?” I asked, my heart was still racing and my cheeks were still warm.

“Because it’s how you make me feel,” Sonata said shyly, wrapping her arms around herself and smiling, her shoulders wiggled a little. “And because of its name.”

Sonata really was impossibly adorable.

I leaned in, reached out, and she took the offering gladly, giving my hand a little squeeze as she did.

“What’s it called?”

Sonata blushed vibrantly, giving a nervous little giggle as she did.

“I don’t… I don’t wanna say,” Sonata said with a laugh. “It’s kind of embarrassing and makes me look sort of… lame.”

I squeezed her hand again. “Okay, now you have to tell me!”

Her blush deepened, but after a moment she nodded.

“O-Okay,” Sonata took a breath. “It’s called: Twilight Rose Romance.”

Oh… oh yeah, I definitely had it bad, but on the upside, apparently so did she, so maybe... maybe for now I'd keep what happened between Sunset and I to myself. The last thing I wanted was to force Sonata to choose between me and her sister... I wasn't worth that.

Yeah. Everything would be fine.