Many hours pass along the suburban neighborhood outside Canterlot City. All is quiet in the tiny corner of the world… with a few exceptions. All the firetrucks left shortly after putting out the fire, except there is remains hardly anything to salvage. The smoldering of what remains of the house, scorched to the point nothing remains of the former household. The pacing of the young officer’s shoes, as Anon walks back and forth going over his notes. A pen is held in one hand, which he clicks repeatedly over and over.
Sitting on the curb the whole time are the former occupants of the burnt down house: Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk collectively known as the Dazzlings. As Anon walks back and forth, his eyes occasionally turn to the three girls. All three of the girls are visibly upset in their own way. Aria of course is irritated by the constant clicking of the man’s pen. The officer catches her eyes and immediately puts an end to it, sticking the pen back in his pocket.
“So… let me get this straight,” The Officer spoke, breaking the silence. “You three were putting together a ‘stream’ that involved cooking a turkey… ‘somehow’ you set the temperature wrong, the oven short-circuited, set fire to the house, add to the fact throwing a fire-extinguisher only made it worse, and now you girls have nowhere to go?”
“We were lucky we even got this place,” Adagio replied. “We spent years living in a van before we got the house.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope…” Aria muttered.
“I see…” Anon nodded.
“I feel like a terrible friend letting this happen,” Sonata sighed. “And all because I set the oven to 400 degrees Celsius…”
“Fahrenheit…” Adagio spoke, facing Sonata. “I said ‘Fahrenheit’, Sonata! It’s bad enough you set the degrees too high, but you seriously set it to Celsius?”
“I didn’t think there was a difference…”
“Urgh!!!”
The whole time, Anon looks at the girls and slowly shakes his head at the sad display. Among the three of them, Sonata is the saddest of them all. While Adagio and Sonata argue, Aria doesn’t bother looking at them… much less toward Anon generally. Giving up on Sonata, she turns toward her phone replaying the same incident over and over wondering what everyone else is thinking.
For a moment, Anon does not say a word to the Dazzlings. Based according to his notes, he has more than enough to place them a serious charge for damages, possible endangerment, and given how many people witness the scenario they can instantly be in jail for even ‘one’ reason. And yet… and yet he feels bad for them despite the fact the fire being their… well, rather Sonata’s fault. A sigh escapes his lips before he finally makes the decision.
“If you girls have nowhere to go,” Anon spoke gently. “You… you have my permission to stay with me. If you’d like.”
All three girls look right toward him, almost surprised to even hear such an offer.
“Really?” Sonata asked wide-eyed.
“Technically… I do owe you three after what happened at the bank,” Anon answered.
“You got ‘fired’ or else you wouldn’t be a cop,” Aria stated bluntly.
“True… but it’s been a long time since then and I believe in starting from scratch. Besides, the last people who stayed at my place… they just up and left without a word. There’s plenty of rooms open and we can discuss rental fees when we get you settled.”
Still, out of all three of them, Aria remains the most skeptical.
“… I don’t trust it. You barely know ‘any’ of us, and you happen to have a place open? What’s your endgame?”
“I only want to help,” Anon answered honestly. “That’s all.”
Amongst the Dazzlings, Adagio thinks long and hard over the over. Only then does Adagio realize the aim he’s going for. She slowly stands up from the sidewalk, slowly approaches a cautious Anon, and she brushes her hand across the chest of his uniform.
“That’s sweet Anon, but are you sure there isn’t an alternative motive behind it?” Adagio asked seductively. “Think about it: Three girls living under the same roof with one man? What will the neighbors think?”
Anon gently removes her hand from his suit, displaying a great deal of patience.
“My motivations are pure,” Anon stated.
Aira pulls Adagio aside, whistling intently in her ear.
“Why are you so willing to accept his offer? For all we know, he could be saying that just to put us in jail. Have you forgotten that he’s a cop now?”
“Maybe he’s taking us to jail… maybe he’s not,” Adagio replied. “But in case you forget Aria… I can easily seduce him to letting us out. We did it once to him at the bank, it’ll be no different now. Besides, unless you have better plans, he’s our only option right now.”
Aria scoffs over the remark. If there is one thing Aria hates with a passion is when Adagio is right. But if that is not enough, she hates the fact that even going along with Adagio plan only gives her the satisfaction that she’s ‘always’ right.
“Fine… but he tries anything, and I mean anything, I’ll kill him in his sleep,” Aria threatened.
“No objections…” Adagio smirked.
And just like that, they return to Anon who waits for their final decision.
“Mr. Anon…” Adagio began.
“’Officer’ Anon…” Anon corrected.
“Whatever… it seems we’ve reached an agreement. However, without ‘clothing’, we’re very limited on our appearance.”
“We can go shopping later,” Anon assured. “But it’ll have to wait till you three settle in. Technically, I’m supposed to be back at the office to have this report filed. I’ll drop you off at my house, leave you the key, and you three can decide which rooms you want. Sound fair?”
"If there's no other options to make..."
"Would you rather spend your days in a jail cell? I can still book you girls for arson."
"Nope... I prefer the 'Stay at your place' option."
"Then that's settled. Starting today, you girls can spend a few nights at my house... just till your back on your feet."
Sonata’s smile grows to the point it stretches all across her face. She wraps her arms around Anon, her actions saying, ‘Thank you’. Anon, while flattered, struggles to breathe due to her hugging so tightly.
“Sonata… thanks aren’t necessary. Just doing what’s right…” Anon gasped. “C-Could one of you please help me?”
“Alright Sonata, that’s enough,” Adagio said, pulling her off. “We can’t go killing him now.”
To say Sonata is confused by Adagio’s choice of wording is an understatement.
“Sorry Anon,” Sonata apologized. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“It’s fine… no harm, no foul,” Anon sighed, stretching his back. “That reminds me—the fire force found a suitcase that manages to survive the fire. You girls can have a look at it.”
The girls nod their head simultaneously before approaching the suitcase. Sure enough, it sits a few feet away from them after the fire team apparently recovered it. Adagio proceeds to open the case and the girls peer inside. All they can see is a few pairs of their clothing (Their everyday attire and concert outfits). There’s also a set of phone chargers for each of them… and that’s about it.
“Hey what gives?!” Aria asked, digging around. “Where the hell’s the rest of my stuff?!”
“Oh, that…” Adagio chuckled, looking away. “I may have sold that stuff to buy some… fun junk.”
Aria Blaze turns her neck so slowly, the people around her can hear her neck bone cracking. She glares toward Adagio with fire in her eyes.
“YOU SOLD MY STUFF FOR ‘SEXUAL’ MATERIAL?!?!”
“To be fair… some of your stuff was outdated,” Adagio defended.
“I’ll bucking kill you!”
Aria lunges toward Adagio, reaching her arms out toward her neck to strangle the life out of her. Under normal circumstances, Anon has the option to jump in and break up the fight. But… ‘normal’ does not describe any of the Dazzlings. Except perhaps…
Anon instead turns to the side and sees Sonata just standing there, not even paying attention to the fight. She looks sadly toward what used to be their house, now nothing but a pile of rubble and burnt wood. He can imagine the guilt she is carrying for what she did, proving she has some awareness of her own actions. Anon approaches Sonata, who releases a heavy sigh from her lips.
“It’s going to be alright Sonata,” Anon assured. “It only gets easier from here.”
“How long do we get to stay before we must find another place?” Sonata asked softly.
“You girls are welcome to stay with me as long as you want. But I should warn you rent’s not cheap, we’re going to have to considering finding you girls some jobs too.”
“So ‘singing’ for millions of people is not a job?”
“… I’ll recommend some job links, for ‘extra’ work.”
Sonata nods her head only because she knows Anon is just being helpful. Another question comes to mind though.
“Are there any rules we need to know while living with you?” Sonata asked curiously.
“I just have ‘one’ rule,” Anon emphasized. “Please make sure those two don’t destroy my house.”
“Only if you make sure I never go near an oven… ever again.”
“Agreed…”
Sonata smiles, as she and Anon turns back toward the fight. Suffice to say, there’s not much of a fight left to see as the girls now lay upon the lawn all tired out. Sonata and Anon proceed to work together to lift the two into Anon’s car one by one. And soon, the drive to Anon’s house proceeds as Sonata sits beside Anon while the two girls rest in the back.
But unbeknownst to Anon, who’s eyes remain focused on the road, Aria face looks out toward the window and is completely awake. She glares out toward the passing streets, angry over the whole ordeal Adagio set the girls up for. Whether it’s the idea of being around a new surrounding that pisses her off or the fact they are made to live with a cop, to Aria it feels worse than going to prison.
Little do either of the girls realize, this is only the beginning…
