Life at Canterlot High

A long road ahead of them, and a long road behind them. Rows of trees on either side as they drove towards their destination. Of course, having driven for so long, they would have to go further before they actually saw said destination, but after having been through many such journeys the three of them were used to this sort of waiting by now. Aria, sitting at the wheel, looked about as bored as one could get, only occasionally letting her eyes stray from the road in front of her when there was some animal jumping out of the way some distance ahead of them. That was the level of excitement she had to deal with right now, and it prompted the expected sigh on her part. "This...sucks."

"Well, you volunteered to drive this time, so no complaining," called a voice from behind.

Aria frowned, looking up to her rear-view mirror to see the rest of the inside of the van. There, she could easily spot Adagio, doing her usual lounging on the place's one sofa, quietly reading to herself. Sonata was kneeling on the floor, a handheld game currently holding her focus, her tongue sticking out as she played. Having looked to them both, Aria once more looked to the reflection of Adagio before again returning her gaze to the road. "I only volunteered because I couldn't stand to have one more trip like this of just sitting down doing nothing for hours on end!"

Looking up from her book, the eldest Siren smirked, as was her way. "Well, now you can do nothing at the wheel instead. How fun, yes?"

Aria grumbled of course, much to Adagio's delight, but it was at this point when Sonata finally spoke, having set her game aside for the time being in favor of her phone. "Ooooh! Check this out! Looks like people are pretty chatty about our performance at the Post-Crush festival!"

Adagio chuckled. "As well they should be! It is us after all."

Sonata swiped photo after photo of the event in question, then tilted her head slightly. "Huh...didn't know they were there."

Aria briefly glanced into the mirror to look at her. "Who?"

Sonata smiled obliviously, holding up her phone for the two of them to see. "The Rainbooms."

Instantly, both Adagio and Aria's heads snapped in her direction. "What?!" They both shouted simultaneously. Unfortunately, Sonata didn't get the chance to reply, as there was a sudden bursting sound from somewhere underneath the van, and Aria gripped the wheel tighter than ever before. There was a few moments of violent swerving for the vehicle, during which time the three on-board let out yelps of distress. Thankfully, Aria managed to get control of the van, guiding it into the side of the road and slowing it down to a stop. In the relative calm that followed, all three of them panted and breathed heavily, definitely shocked from the ordeal. Aria, in a rare moment of concern, looked back to the other two. "Everyone okay?"

Adagio looked over to Sonata, then back to Aria. "Y...yes, I think so."

Slowly, Sonata got herself up, glancing around before settling on Aria also. "What happened?"

Aria sighed. "I think I know." She got up, reaching over and opening the door before stepping outside. Adagio and Sonata were quick to follow her, and before long all three were outside. It was pretty chilly tonight, and with the sun having set mere moments ago that chill was all the more noticeable, as evidenced when Sonata started shivering. Aria, not noticing this about her, walked around the van and got to one knee as she inspected the rear-right wheel. Sure enough, the thing was busted, with a gaping hole in the side. Seeing this now-deflated tyre, Aria frowned. "Thought so."

Adagio placed one hand upon her hip as she too looked to their newest problem. "What was it? Glass in the road?"

Aria shook her head as she stood up again. "Nah. The thing's just old. This vain ain't exactly a spring chicken, Adagio."

Adagio rubbed the bridge of her nose, taking a deep breath. "Right...and let me guess, we have no spare?"

Again, Aria shook her head. "We used up our last getting to the festival. We'll need to call in some help."

Adagio stared at her for a time, clearly irritated at all this, but also knowing it wasn't exactly Aria's fault. Turning, she whipped out her own phone and, after looking through her contacts, selected one in particular. The others watched silently as she waited and waited for a response, sounding as calm as possible when she finally got one. "Hello? Yes, I'm afraid our tyre burst while we were driving and we have no spare. We're rather stranded right now, so we'd be grateful if you could maybe send someone out to help?" A pause. "Where are we? Hold on." She took a step closer to the van, reaching inside the still-open door and pulling out a road-map. Looking to it in the dim light, she spoke slower than before. "I'd say...about a mile south of New Manesville. Yes? Y...yes, that's right. An hour?" She sighed. "Sure, I'm pretty sure we can wait that long. Thank you." Pressing the off-button, she exhaled finally. "They'll be here as soon as they can."

Aria folded her arms, shaking her head. "I'm betting this won't be cheap."

Adagio rolled her eyes. "We made enough during our last performance to cover it...but no, it won't be."

Sonata looked from one, then to the other, before placing a finger on her chin. "Um...should I go and make some tea?"

A long sigh from Adagio. "Yes, Sonata, that would be good right now."

As the other Siren hopped back into the van to make the promised drinks, Aria looked over to her, then narrowed her eyes slightly. "So they were there? The Rainbooms?" She watched Sonata look over her shoulder, giving a quick nod before getting back to her work. Her phone, however, was left on the side, with the pictures she'd been showing still on display. Stepping into the van herself, Aria took hold of the device, with Sonata seemingly having no issue with her doing so, before stepping outside again. As Aria looked through the pictures, she saw that Sonata had the right of it. The Rainbooms had indeed been there, as there were pictures of Pinkie, Rarity and everyone else from that group doing various things across the festival. As Aria looked through them, she started to appear worried. "Think they saw us there?"

Adagio shrugged. "I'd imagine so. Those girls have a nasty habit of getting involved in our business."

Switching the phone off, Aria folded her arms again. "If they did, why didn't they try to do anything with us? I mean, us three, doing public singing? They'd probably guess we were up to no good again."

Looking around, Adagio saw a nearby large rock only a few feet away from where they'd stopped, which she casually walked over to before sitting on, legs crossed. "Oh, who knows? The less we have to do with them, the better."

As before, Aria looked through the pictures on the phone, then stopped at one in particular. "Huh...looks like that pony Princess is back with them."

"Oh, really?" Adagio remarked, uninterested.

Slowly, Aria tilted her head. "Guess her eyes aren't as good as they used to be, if those glasses are anything to go by."

Adagio's eyes flickered towards her for a moment, then she turned away, looking up at the starry sky instead. "Well, time changes all of us, doesn't it?"

Aria cocked an eyebrow, surprised by the out-of-nowhere philosophical moment from her fellow Siren. But before she had the chance to respond, Sonata came out, holding a tray with three tea-cups. The bubbly Dazzling looked pleased as punch as she offered the cups to her cohorts, and despite their usual grouchy attitude towards one another, they accepted and smiled to her in gratitude. There was silence for a long while, during which time the three each found their own place to sit. Sonata upon the grass, Adagio on her rock and Aria sitting on the edge of the still-open van door. Aside from the occasional light breeze, the only sounds right now was that of the three of them drinking their tea. But there came a point where Sonata finally ended that quiet. "So I was thinking..."

"Will wonders never cease?" Aria remarked with a smirk.

Sonata frowned, but ignored her. "Maybe, if we get ourselves a computer or something, we can make some kind of music video for our songs?"

Adagio gave one of her customary arched eyebrows. "Music video?"

Sonata nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! You know, get the song out there online, make people interested, that sort of thing? Might make us more popular, you know?"

A pause, and Adagio eventually offered her a small smile. "A fine idea, but the three of us aren't exactly big movie-makers."

Sonata tapped the end of her chin. "Well...maybe we could think of some new lyrics? New costumes while we're singing? You know, shake things up a bit?"

Aria looked to her inquisitively. "Why do you care about our music all of a sudden?"

Sonata didn't look to her, instead staring down at the warm cup of tea, now held carefully in both hands. "I dunno...I guess it's just...all we've got, right?"

As anyone who knew these three could tell you, a remark like that was not expected from the most upbeat of their number, and for a while Adagio and Aria just looked to each other, unsure of how to respond. Adagio, after a moment or two, took a sip of her tea, then looked up to the sight of the moon, only half-full tonight. "Well...I suppose a few flourishes here and there wouldn't be entirely unwarranted."

Sonata perked up immediately, smiling widely to those words. "Really?"

Adagio smiled. "Quite. We can't just keep doing the same thing over and over after all."

Aria chortled. "No argument there. It'd get boring real fast. I mean who wants to spend the rest of their lives doing the same thing?"

They shared a laugh, doing much to make them feel better about their situation. Though even that didn't really distract them too long from just how cold it was out here, as shown when Sonata shivered again. "So...can we head back in?"

Adagio, finishing off her tea, gave a firm nod. "Agreed. Now's not really the time of year to be out too long."

Unfortunately for the two of them, Aria stood between them and the door of the van, holding her hand out to stop them. "Hold up..." She stepped inside, and as the other two gave confused glances to one another, they could hear her rummaging around in there for something. When she finally re-emerged, she was holding a jack. "The job will go much easier for the guy if the old wheel's off by the time he gets here. And the sooner he's done, the sooner we can get on the move again."

Adagio grimaced, but gave a reluctant nod, acknowledging the wisdom in her colleague's words. Aria nodded back, walking along to the damaged wheel, and as she got onto her knees, getting the jack into place, Sonata started to look contemplative again. She looked again to Adagio, hesitating to speak for a time, before finally just poking her in the side of the arm. As the eldest Siren looked back to her, eyebrow raised, Sonata spoke to her, her voice tinted with nervousness. "I...I know we're not supposed to talk about it, but...do you think we'll ever get all that stuff back for ourselves?"

Adagio paused, then spoke with a flat tone. "That stuff?"

Sonata nodded. "Yeah...magic, popularity...Equestria maybe?"

Adagio restrained herself from wincing at those thoughts, but after a few seconds, she just sighed, reaching out and giving her fellow Siren a quick pat on the shoulder. "Word of advice, Nata? Focus on the lives we've got...rather than what we know we'll never get back." As she saw Sonata start to look a little disheartened, Adagio looked away, staring at the road they'd just driven down. "It's...better that way."