It's Far Beyond the Stars
The Dazzling household stood silent, though all three sisters sat at the dining room table. It was Tuesday dinner, and no one seemed especially eager to be there. Aria wore as sour an expression as always. Adagio's lips were pinched into a thin line that warned for cautious treading to anyone who knew her, and Sonata fidgeted between swapping to her phone every other minute.
Three plates were set out, each holding a porkchop, a scoop of mashed potatoes, and a side of mixed greens. Adagio had been the one to put it together using what they had available. Sonata hadn't been very happy when her Taco Tuesday plans had to be thrown out, but she'd taken it surprisingly well all things considered.
Each sibling had their own choice of drink for the occasion. Adagio took intermittent sips of aged red wine from her glass, and Aria could only have rolled her eyes harder if she'd put out candles and a tablecloth. It was almost pitiable how desperate she was to make this dinner feel classy. Gone were the days of gold and goblets indeed.
Sonata had nabbed one of the last Cokes in the fridge, and Aria had opted for the beer she'd stolen from some inattentive dope earlier that day. It took the edge off, and that was all she could ask for.
Aria absentmindedly chewed on a mouthful of porkchop and did her best to avoid eye contact with either sister. The tink of silverware against porcelain and the tick-tock-tick of the clock only heightened the lack of sound.
Just as with any other family, they'd shared tense moments before, but nothing like this. They hadn't had a normal day since the Battle of the Bands, and that was ultimately what everything revolved around. Adagio refused to acknowledge it except when she ranted and swore revenge on the Rainbooms. Fat chance, Aria thought, and she had to bear that on top of these 'family meals' Adagio insisted upon.
Her best guess was it was Adagio's sad attempt at getting them to feel 'normal' again. It was a farce, and they all knew it. But like most things Adagio tried and failed at, she persisted no matter how obvious of a failure it was. The last thing she would do was admit she was wrong.
"So..." said Adagio. Aria tried not to groan. "What do you two think?"
"Think of what?" Aria replied.
Irritation briefly flashed across Adagio's features before she gestured at her plate. "Dinner, of course."
Aria shrugged, pointed as ever with a noncommittal 'Eh'. Adagio nodded and maintained her false demeanor, but she couldn't hide the subtle twitch of her right eye. Aria paid it no mind, because she hadn't bothered to notice it.
"And you Sonata?" she continued, leveraging her fork in the girl's direction. Sonata fumbled with her phone and ended up dropping it.
"Oh, uhm. It's okay I guess," came the reply, unenthused, evidently not the one Adagio had been hoping for. Her shoulders slumped, arm lowered, and the smile waned. Sonata scooped her device back up and resumed tapping away at the screen before mumbling: "I still don't get why we couldn't have ordered in.”
Adagio's jaw set. "We've been over this," she explained. "I can't afford to spend on any old whim of yours. Do you have any idea how expensive those extra fees are?"
Sonata huffed, too quiet to be heard. Aria recognized it from when she was tired of listening to something, but wasn't confident or dumb enough to speak up. Adagio, fortunately, didn't pick up on it.
Aria wasn't so lucky. When she muttered something snarky under her breath, Adagio's gaze narrowed and trained on her.
"What did you say?" she asked. Her voice was low and level, but when that came to Adagio it signalled danger.
"Nothing," Aria lied. She glared back at Adagio with equal force, smoldering the space between them. Across the table Sonata dared not to move, raspberry pools wide in fearful anticipation. Her phone rested in her hands, the display shutting off without any input. Seconds passed and stretched thin, like a cello string pulled too taut, ready to snap the instant the bow applied pressure.
"Bullshit," shot Adagio. "I know you said something. I heard it. You've been mumbling whatever it is to yourself at me for weeks now, so why don't you spit it out already? You clearly want to say something."
Adagio was correct — she'd been keeping things to herself for a long time. She always had, but much more so after CHS. She considered her words carefully, then decided.
She was going to let that string snap.
"You know what Adagio? I do have something to say," she said. Adagio's eyes narrowed, and Sonata instinctively leaned back. "It's your fault."
"Excuse me?" asked Adagio. A snarl began to form at the corner of her lip.
"You heard me — it's your fault."
"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"
"What do you think it means, dumbass? It means it's your fault we're in this god damn mess to begin with! It was your genius fucking plan in the first place, remember?" Her voice gradually rose in volume as she went on. "Your idea, not mine. I had some of my own, but did you ever bother listening to them? No! Did you ever let me lead even once? No! Because god forbid you let anyone challenge you on anything!"
"Because you're an entitled brat!" snapped Adagio.
"Because your ego's fatter than your ass!" Aria returned fire, jabbing a finger at her. "You're so fucking smart and soooo fucking cunning. That's why you'll never give the reins up, right? Because you're so self a-fucking-ssured in your shitty ass schemes?"
"Oh spare me. This coming from the team meathead of all people. The only things you're good for are breaking arms and looking like a dyke. Stay in your lane. If you were our leader we'd be in prison right now!"
"At least we'd still be fucking sirens!" Aria yelled. She shoved herself up from the table, pushing her silverware aside and making Sonata flinch. "Now we can't even fucking sing! You broke our pendants, not me!"
Aria whirled around and stormed out the kitchen, snatching up her beer bottle as she went. Before she disappeared into the hallway, she flashed Adagio the middle finger. "Fuck you. I'm outta here. You can drink your prissy ass wine by yourself!" she called out, the slam of the front door echoing behind her.
Outside, Aria leaned against the doorframe. Her body was rigid, heart thumping in her chest hard enough she could hear it. She clenched her fists, and only stopped when hair nails felt like hot needles digging into her palm, then repeated the action. The pain grounded her. It reminded her that whatever life threw at her, she'd survive, eventually. It was why she'd spoiled for a good fight ever since her first day in the hatchery. The fight at dinner was not the kind she sought after, however.
Slowly, the adrenaline faded from her system. She let out a long sigh that left her deflated, breath fogging in the crisp December air. She stood up, inhaled the scent of night, and opened her eyes,
The dim glow of the indoor lights bled through the windows, illuminating the darkness around her in a pallid yellow. At any other time it may have been inviting with its relative warmth, but at present it was exposed for the pale imitation that it was. She wasn't welcome here right now — not that she'd want to be around after that argument.
Aria made her way to the car, rooting around for the keys she'd grabbed on the way out. She unlocked it and threw herself into the driver's side with a grunt, wondering where she might go tonight.
She looked at her half-finished bottle, then the steering wheel. With a shrug, she took a swig for safe travels. She'd been fined for DUIs plenty of times; she might've gotten away with it too if she was a better drunk singer. Besides, one beer didn't even meet the bar for getting her tipsy.
Just as she was ready to kick the vehicle into gear and see where the night took her, she heard a knock at the window. She glanced over and saw Sonata there, rubbing at her bare arms.
Aria rolled the window down and raised an eyebrow at her. "You should've put on a sweater, stupid."
"I-I know. G-guess I just, like, forgot," Sonata offered weakly, teeth chattering.
Aria scoffed and jammed the bottle into the cup holster. "So what is it? Come to tell me Adagio's pissed and doesn't want my ass in the house? I was already planning on screwing off."
Sonata shook her head. "No, I wanted to see if you were doing okay."
Aria's face scrunched up." "'Scuse me? I'm fine. Just gotta blow off some steam's all."
Sonata shook her head again. "No you're not. I can tell when something's bothering you," she said, brrring as a second chill ran up her spine.
Aria rolled her eyes. "Well then why'd you ask me in the first place? Ugh, whatever. Just get in the damn car, you look pathetic like that."
'Might as well if we're gonna have this fuckin' conversation...' she thought to herself.
Sonata nodded and quickly scampered over to the passenger's side. She popped it open and slid in, shutting the door before pulling her arms into her shirt. Aria took the hint and reached over to turn on the heat.
"So why are you asking how I'm doing anyway? Why not ask Adagio?"
"'Cause, like... you know how she gets."
"Mph," Aria grunted. She certainly did. "Still kinda weird though. You never ask me how I'm doing."
"Because I never thought you needed it," Sonata admitted. "You're always, like... the super strong meanie tough guy! I've never seen you sad before, just grumpy."
"Do I seem sad to you right now?"
"Well no, but..." Sonata grasped for words, bumping her fingers together. "I dunno. You just seem... off."
"Off how?" Aria said.
"I dunno, okay! Jeez..." said Sonata, pouting her lips and puffing out her cheeks. Aria didn't respond, and an uneasy quiet settled in.
Finally, Aria gave in. She polished off the last of her booze and gripped the steering wheel tight, staring ahead at the shuttered garage door. She'd always been a physical person, not an emotional one, and had an easier time dealing with a black eye or bloody nose than she did opening up about her feelings. Just thinking about it made her feel ill.
"Fine." She relented, taking in a breath to steady herself. "You wanna know what's wrong with me?"
"Yeah-huh."
"I... ugh. Fuck!" Aria slammed her fist against the car door. She would rather have done it against the horn, but in the driveway was not the place to do it. "You're a little sea witch, you know that 'Nata? God damn."
Sonata just giggled. Aria rolled her shoulders and cracked her knuckles like she was preparing for a street brawl. If it were up to her, she would've preferred that be the case.
"Do you remember the conversation we had about a month ago?" said Aria.
Sonata looked up, sliding a hand out of her shirt's neck hole to tap her chin. "Uhm, which one?"
"The one about home."
"Oh! Ohhhhh... oh." Understanding what Aria had meant, Sonata’s chin went back to her chest, eyes pointed at the floor.
"Yeah," said Aria simply. She wasn't going to say the words 'I miss home' directly, but she had gotten her point across. "I guess I didn't realize how much I was banking on the plan working until it failed. I coulda dealt with it if that was all but..."
"But our magic?"
"Yup."
Aria was busy boring holes into the garage, so she didn't notice when Sonata freed her arms and came in for a hug. Aria froze, but she didn't protest. As the seconds wore on, she eventually went slack and let it happen.
Sonata pulled back with a big goofy grin and trilled, "You're welcome!"
Aria couldn't help but smile a little herself, although it came out as more of a half smirk.
"You wanna know what usually cheers me up when I feel that way?” asked Sonata.
Aria made a general noise for her to continue.
"The aquarium. I dunno if they're, like, still open this late, but we can try!"
"Sure," Aria said. "Beats nothin'."
They hit the road as soon as Aria plugged the location into her GPS. It was a thankfully short drive away, sparing them the additional worry of extended travel time.
When they arrived, most of the lights were off and a spare few cars populated the otherwise deserted parking lot. Sonata appeared crestfallen, but Aria — for once — tried to remain optimistic. She attempted to soften the blow by offering to take her out for tacos if they were closed, and that seemed to cheer her up somewhat.
To their luck and Sonata's great joy, they were open. The attendant let them know they were half an hour from closing and asked if they were okay with that, and Aria merely jerked her head to the eagerly nodding girl beside her.
"Yowch, twenty bucks each to look at some fish?" Although Aria reeled at the price, she was willing to pay up for Sonata's sake if not her own. Moments of levity had been scarce since November, and she was starving for a genuine smile. "Better be some damn good fish," she grumbled.
They were, in fact, some pretty damn good fish. Being so close to the ocean afforded the aquarium the opportunity to house a more varied selection of sea creatures. There was the standard fare of jellyfish and tuna, but there were also more interesting specimens like squids and sharks. The rooms were all dark save for the tanks, which were lit by a bright and familiar blue that put Aria at ease.
Many of the tanks were also huge, towering over both sisters and often surrounding them on all sides but below with glass. Aria had never been a particularly sentimental person, but she found herself looking forward to each new passage or chamber that Sonata led her to. It was almost like she was back in the seas of Equestria again, under the waves.
Almost, but not quite. The initial charm wore off before long, and a creeping sense of homesickness had begun to curl up in her thoughts like an unwelcomed guest. Sonata was beaming as wide as she had when they'd started, so she didn't say anything, but her patience was quickly running dry.
Stopping as Sonata 'ooh'ed and 'ah'ed at a manta ray flying overhead, Aria pulled out her phone and checked on the time. "You brat. We've been here for twenty minutes. Chop chop," she said, clapping for emphasis.
Sonata looked over and nodded. "Before we go, there's just one more place I wanna see. Or, uhm, take you to actually! I want you to meet my friend, if he's still awake I mean."
"Friend?" Aria asked, folding her arms with a skeptical expression. "Kay, I'll humor you. Just make it quick."
Sonata cheered and held out her pinkie. "Promise!"
She proceeded to lead on as if she was skipping through a sunflower patch, and Aria made a barely suppressed gagging noise in response. Sonata was almost a bit too girly at times she thought. Then again, maybe that was just her butch side talking. There was always room for a mix of both she supposed.
They stopped at a small hallway, flanked on either side by glass. Aria watched in amusement as Sonata squealed and ran over to the rightmost wall, crouching down with an ear-to-ear smile as big as she'd ever seen her with.
"Hiiiiii, Mr. Bubbles! Wow you're up late today, huh? I brought my big sis with me tonight. Well, one of them anyway!" she bubbled. Her attention flicked briefly to Aria as she beckoned her over before returning to the tank, as if whatever she was looking at might disappear if her eyes strayed for too long.
Aria's gaze fell, curious to see what it was that had captured her younger sister's imagination all these months. She hadn't been much aware of it, but she'd heard enough of Adagio's bitching over having to buy her a ticket every two weeks to know what she needed to. She approached, and Sonata stepped aside to let her take her place.
It was a little pink and purple seahorse. It almost looked like her even, in her siren form at least. She wondered if they'd even be sirens if they somehow managed to return to Equestria, now that their pendants were gone. Her throat tightened.
"You named him?" She asked, masking her true emotions with a thin veneer of incredulousness. It wasn't difficult — she'd done it for centuries.
"Mhm! I don't actually know if he's a he though. I thought about naming him after you since he kinda looks like you do, but I thought that might be a bit weird."
"Yeah," Aria whispered. She sighed and put her hand to the glass, idly tracing the curvature of the seahorse with her finger. Oh what she'd give to feel the water on her scales again, even for a moment, even if it meant confinement. She didn't say anything for a while.
Eventually, she stood back up. Her softer expression hardened again.
"Let's go," she croaked.
"Huh?"
"I said let's go."
"But —"
"We're going!" Aria shouted, whipping around to face Sonata. Sonata winced and took a step back, lower lip quivering. Aria's posture slouched, and she gave her an apologetic look. "Shit. I'm sorry. Let's just leave, okay? This isn't helping."
"Oh," Sonata said, looking down towards her feet. "Okay."
"Do you still wanna go out for tacos?" she tried. Sonata shook her head. "Alright."
They drove home without saying another word to each other. Aria apologized again when they pulled into the driveway, and received only a tiny shrug in response. She let Sonata get out of the car and waited until she was back inside, then pulled back out onto the street. She needed some space to think, and figured an evening drive might do her some good.
She had no clear destination in mind as she drove. She just knew she needed to get away from the house and her sisters. She'd already caused enough damage as it was.
She flicked through the radio for something to listen to, but nothing struck her fancy. Her favorite music to put on was usually rock or metal, but her current mood wasn't parsed for that. She decided peace and quiet might be the better option anyhow, and cracked the windows just a peek to let in a mild breeze.
There weren't many cars out tonight, and for that she was grateful. She got onto the freeway as soon as possible, and from there she could pass any other vehicles without a second thought.
Far enough out from the city, the light pollution died down and allowed for the stars to shine through the evening sky. They twinkled high above, so familiar to the ones she'd known back where she'd come, but so different. It was a comforting sight either way.
She continued on like that for a time. For how long exactly she couldn't say. She also didn't much care. On the route from the city to a town further south, she wound up alongside the coast, moonlit ocean visible not far off.
Without really thinking about it, she pulled off at the nearest exit. After about a quarter hour of winding around twisty cliffside roads she came to a wide beach. A single long pier stretched out several yards from the shore, and she took note of the small fishing boat hitched at the dock.
It could have been private property, but she didn't feel like expending the effort to turn back and search for another path to reach the coast. She parked her car and shut off the headlights, stepping out onto the sandy ground.
The smell hit her first. The sea winds were fair tonight, but strong enough she could easily pick up on the telltale scent of brine. A subtle pang wracked her chest, but unlike the aquarium this didn't feel like an empty gesture to her. This was real. This was genuine.
Hands stuffed in her pockets, she trudged ahead to the pier, growling in annoyance at the treacherous shifting of the sands beneath her boots. She was glad when she finally hit wood. Her clothes weren't exactly designed for dune traversal.
She got to the end of the dock and paused, scanning the ocean horizon. It stretched on for as far as she could see. The light of the moon fluttered across the gentle surface, distortions of silver like beckoning fingers. Were it not for that, the line between sky and sea would have been nearly impossible to make out. Taking out her phone, she noted the time: midnight.
She wondered where it had all gone wrong. The Battle of the Bands was certainly a close contender, but that wasn't it. They'd taken a wrong turn a very, very long time ago. Adagio may have been the one to lead them where they were now, but was she really the sole figure to blame? She herself had gone along with it in the end. Had she truly not had the power to act? Would she have actually done any different in Adagio's shoes?
Perhaps their hubris had doomed them from the start. Adagio wasn't the only one responsible for what had happened. None of them had seen their defeat coming, her included.
Aria looked down to the waves below, calmly lapping at the supports of the dock. They seemed to urge her forward, inviting her to fall into their welcoming embrace, like the open arms of a friend she hadn't seen in years.
Swimming had always been so liberating back then, before they were banished to this place. The surface world was nothing compared to the one beneath the blue. There was so much variety, so much color, so much to see and do. It was freeing; she could go in nearly any direction and nothing could stop her.
That wasn't the case now that she was a human. Their gems had given them indefinite breathing time underwater, but they didn't have those anymore. Regardless, their bodies simply weren't built for surviving the sorts of depths and conditions they were used to back in the seas of Equestria.
But maybe they didn't have to be.
She took her hands out of her jeans and unzipped her jacket, pulling it off to expose the tank top underneath. That came off too, and she shivered as her bare skin was exposed to the chilly night air. It didn't faze her, and off came her pants and boots until she was left in only the bare essentials.
She took a seat at the pier's edge, feet dangling inches above the surface. Tentatively, she dipped her toes into the cool water. It was a shock to the system, but she adjusted before long. What others may have found repellent, she found welcoming.
Satisfied, she withdrew and got to her feet. She cast one last glance towards the shore to check that nobody was around, then back towards the ocean. She limbered up, stretching her arms high above her head, sucked in a deep breath...
...and dove in.
Author's Note
Figured I would publish this on the first year anniversary of my first fic/proper short story, Requiem for Sonata. Check back in another year and I'll have, like... three new stories out by then.
