A Grand Performanceby PinkamenaPicturesChaptersChapter IChapter IIChapter IIIChapter IThe student body of Canterlot High School had not been very welcoming to the Dazzlings when they decided to return to the school after the Battle of the Bands. Which was to say that no student was happy about their return, many thought that they were planning some elaborate revenge, and a few had taken it upon themselves to discourage the Dazzlings from staying. To Adagio it seemed quite unfair that the Dazzlings were suspected of scheming, what would be the point? They lost their magic, and they were never getting it back. Even if she had wanted some sort of retribution, she had no leverage to get it with. The students of Canterlot High had ripped the magic out of the Dazzlings’ chests, and for her that was the end of it. In the entire school, the only person that had reached out to the Dazzlings in their first weeks back, in a positive manner anyway, was Sunset Shimmer. The conductor of their defeat and humiliation. Sonata and Aria seemed to understand that she was not someone that Adagio was eager to befriend. The real reason for the Dazzlings return was not revenge. In fact it was quite simple: Adagio was bored. The only thing that she had cared about after Starswirl banished them was making a comfortable place for herself and her sisters in a world they did not belong to, which had meant using their magic to bend people to their will for sustenance and wealth. Without magic they were left with riches beyond what most would dare dream of, but lacked anything to do with it. Sure, Sonata wanted to buy a food truck and Aria wanted to invest in an art studio, but they had been talking about those ideas for a long time without ever bothering to follow through. In the end, beyond making the transition from magical siren to mortal human a little easier, the money just did not mean much to the Dazzlings. It was their magic that had kept them from boredom. It was with that in mind that Sonata had suggested they return to Canterlot High, they had fabricated identities and legally enrolled after all. And it would help keep them from being too bored. Required classes tended to be boring in their own way, but they did help to fill Adagio in on the parts of the world she had never needed to bother with before. Maths and Economics mostly. The Dazzlings had always kept a close eye on politics for use in sowing discord, and had lived through a large amount of what a history class might cover. With most of history and social studies effectively covered, the Dazzlings focused mostly on classes they found interesting. For Aria the most interesting classes were unsurprisingly Physical Education, which mostly amounted to playing a variety of sports, and Art, more specifically painting. Neither Adagio nor Aria had expected Sonata to enjoy working with numbers, but her favourite classes were Calculus and Advanced Economics. Apparently she had been handling all of the Dazzlings’ financial matters for some time, and those classes were a serious influence on her suggesting they return. As for Adagio, her favourite class was Home Economics. The class was a bit old fashioned, and the teacher more so, but it was very useful in teaching Adagio the minutiae of living day to day as a human. Beyond that Adagio found herself enjoying the simple household tasks that the Dazzlings had never paid any attention to before. The Dazzlings did not do many extracurricular activities, most of the school hated them and they could not be bothered to prove that they were no longer a threat to anyone. However, they each had something they wanted to do regardless. Sonata thought it would be fun to volunteer at the cafeteria, but Granny Smith refused her offer the one time she tried. Aria was trying to get into the wrestling club, but they would not have her. When they were sirens, music was the Dazzlings’ entire life. And it was not something that Adagio could let go of. She was no longer able to sing, but that did not mean she had to lose music altogether. Unfortunately, Vice-Principal Luna told the Dazzlings that they could return to Canterlot High under the condition that she never sees any of them in a music class or extracurricular. Still, Adagio wished that she could take part in a performance again. It was that desire that found Adagio Dazzle taking the long way out of Canterlot High after classes ended so that she could pass by the music room. As she got close, she heard something playing through the door. Once she was beside the door she recognised that the song was electronic, lacking any of the character or soul of true music. Even the girls who stole the Dazzlings’ magic had put in the time and effort to learn instruments, and they had played with passion. Adagio also realised that the sound she was hearing was recorded, not live. Adagio was not certain why she felt so personally slighted when she realised that the song was not being performed, but she knew that there was someone she could release her frustrations onto just on the other side of the door. Adagio swung the door open with enough force for it to strike the wall with a loud bang. At the sound of the door, a girl with electric blue hair and strange purple-tinted glasses jumped and turned towards Adagio. She looked familiar to Adagio, but she could not quite place her. Adagio wanted the first word so that she could control the situation, and thus spoke before the girl had a chance. “Hello,” Adagio said sweetly, as though she had not just barged in. “I wonder if you could help me with something.” Adagio knew that she could not be openly aggressive or she would be in trouble with Vice-Principal Luna, so she opted for a more deliberate approach. “I hate to bother you, but I was wondering who wrote this delightful music?” Adagio tried to make her question sound as genuine as she could, knowing full well the girl would be suspicious of her. Rather than respond, the girl turned the music off by flicking a switch on the speakers and then made a series of odd motions with her hands. Seeming to realise that Adagio had no idea what she was trying to do, the girl reached into her pocket and pulled out a small card that she held towards Adagio. Adagio felt the situation slipping away from her, but there wasn't much she could do if the girl refused to engage in conversation. Adagio took the card and read the printed text. I am mute. I can hear and know sign language, but cannot verbally speak to you. Kindly return this card. When Adagio looked up from the card, the girl was holding up a scrap of paper that she had written on. ‘The song is by a friend of mine. But I know you do not really care, do you?’ “Why wouldn't I care? Music is everything to me.” Adagio knew that it was foolish to keep pushing someone who so clearly was not biting, but she felt a strange compulsion to see the conversation through. The girl wrote on the paper with impressive speed and turned it back towards Adagio. ‘I am sure it is, you are a siren after all. I do not think you care because the song, and all his other work, was created under a stage name.’ Not many people in the school knew that the Dazzlings were sirens, which meant that the Rainbooms must have told her. Which in turn meant that if Adagio did anything to her, she would end up staring down the Equestrian princess again. Adagio laughed. “How would that make any diff-” Right then Adagio realised who the girl was, why she was familiar. She didn't know her name and they had never directly interacted, but this girl was the one who gave the Rainbooms the tools to be heard over the Dazzlings’ performance. She was the only person in the entire school that did not fall under their spell. Even the Rainbooms, with Equestrian magic and a princess on their side, could not resist for long. But somehow this girl did. Suppressing her reaction to her realisation by clearing her throat, Adagio continued. “Difference? Music does not care who wrote it, only that it is heard.” ‘I agree, but do you? Every song you sang was for the sake of getting power or fame. Do you actually care about music, or just what it can do for you?’ “How dare you?” Adagio hissed, her composure breaking. “You accuse me when you play artless sound that can barely be called music written with no purpose other than making money?” Rather than immediately give Adagio her written response, the girl folded it and collected her things into her backpack before starting towards the door. As she passed Adagio, she handed the paper she had been writing on to her. However, even as she left, she did not seem altogether that upset by Adagio’s words. “Do not walk away from me!” Adagio called, but the girl simply put on her earbuds and kept walking. Still seething, but aware of how little power she held, Adagio had no choice but to let the girl leave. She looked down at the paper and saw that it was a flyer for a sweets shop called Sugarcube Corner that the girl had been writing on the back of. Adagio flipped it open and read the last line. ‘I would make more money with a conventional job.’ “So I have to stay after school for Miss Cheerilee’s Tolerance in Language class,” Aria Blaze concluded with a scoff. “How was I even supposed to know that queer doesn't mean queer anymore?” “That's how language works, it evolves,” Adagio said with a laughing smile. “Maybe the class will help you evolve too!” Sonata Dusk said cheerfully through her food. She was eating some sort of wrap, and while Adagio could not say what kind, she was confident that it was vegetarian simply because Sonata didn't like how the school prepared meat. Aria grumbled and took another bite of her cheeseburger. It was lunch hour and the Dazzlings were sitting where they always did, being social pariahs did have the advantage of them always having the same table and rarely being interrupted during their meal. Although there was some backlash at the beginning of their return, Vice-Principal Luna dealt with it quickly and no one had tried anything serious since. The one good thing about losing their magic, not that Adagio would ever admit it, was that the Dazzlings got along much better than they had since their exile. Perhaps it was the shared loss of their very being or just that they had spent so much time together, but their fights and insults had mostly become good-natured jokes rather than genuine conflict. It made Adagio wonder what their lives would have been like if they hadn't stopped being sisters in all but blood after the destruction of Coltlantis. While Aria and Sonata argued what it meant to be evolved, Sonata having made sure the subject caught on, Adagio's attention was caught by a commotion behind her. She looked behind her to see the mute girl helping pick up an electric guitar for Flash Sentry, the front man for Flash Drive. A middling alternative rock band, but still among the best talents in the school. It had been a few days since Adagio met the girl, and she had been trying to decide how she wanted to deal with her. However, with no magic or violent approach available, she was forced to concede that she was idealess. “What's up, Adagio?” Aria asked, noticing her distraction. Adagio took a moment before turning back around, both to see where the girl sat down and to decide if she wanted to tell the others. “Do you know who that blue-haired girl is?” Leaning over, Aria tried to look around Adagio. Sonata simply took another bite of her wrap before answering. “You mean Vinyl? I share Computer Class with her.” “If you're talking about Vinyl Scratch, she's in my Gym class. She's not very good at dodgeball,” Aria said with a shake of her head before eating a couple fries. “What is she like?” Adagio asked. “Bad at dodgeball, mediocre at most sports,” Aria was a bit annoyed just remembering when they were paired together in the tennis segment of Gym. “But she isn't one of the bad ones, and knows when to keep her mouth shut.” “You know she's mute, right?” Sonata said between the final bites of her wrap. Aria ate a few fries rather than respond, clearly embarrassed to have not realised that. “So what do you think of her?” Adagio asked Sonata. “Mmm…” Sonata stared at Adagio for a moment. “She’s smart, but not a genius. She's a senior. She loves music, and she’ll be performing under the stage name DJ Pon-3 tonight.” “How do you know that?” Adagio asked, just barely beating Aria to the punch. Sonata pulled a paper out of her pocket and set it on the table after unfolding it. It was an advertisement for a show in a nightclub, which Adagio thought was a type of place that didn't let teenagers in. The flyer had writing on the back, but it looked nonsensical at a glance. Probably some kind of code to keep the content secret, which Adagio could certainly solve given time, but didn't really think it was worth the effort. “It fell out of her backpack this morning, I was going to give it back at the end of lunch.” Sonata said cheerfully. “But now I'm wondering why you want to learn about her. Could it be that you have a crush?” Sonata leaned over with a smile that most people would not have realised was her attempt at looking sly. “Who do you think I am?” Adagio asked rhetorically, pushing Sonata back. “I want to learn about her because I want to know how she resisted our magic. Nothing else.” Aria picked up the advertisement and studied it for a few seconds. “Maybe we should go to this show. Might give us some idea who she is outside of Canterlot High.” “That's not a bad idea. Sonata?” Adagio turned to the girl in question who, having finished her wrap, was eating chocolate that Adagio would swear was not there before. “Sounds good!” Sonata said between bites. “We'll head to the club around seven, seven-thirty,” Adagio said, folding up the flyer and putting it into her pocket. “For now, let's just get to class.” The Dazzlings were often among the first to leave the cafeteria, it gave them time to reach their lockers and prepare for class without being bothered. Strangely, Vice-Principal Luna had never called them out on it despite having caught them before. Adagio's locker was near the library while Aria's and Sonata's were both near the chemistry rooms, so she split off from them with a quick wave. They didn't share anymore classes that day, so they likely wouldn't meet again until the end of the school day. After school ended the Dazzlings went back to their house, a large building in Upper Canterlot. It was not a manor nor was it meant for nobility, but it was more than enough for three people. Also, they bought it when they were still sirens and they could no longer charm their way into a different free house. One of the main reasons they chose it was because it was within walking distance from the school. The Dazzlings simply wasted time until they could leave for the girl's performance, although Adagio did make sure to look up the nightclub and time a route to it from their house. They left just after seven and were standing in a short line outside of Midnight Star, the nightclub, by about eight. Adagio really needed to learn to drive and buy a car. The nightclub was not a massive building, but it appeared to have two stories and was decently sized. The building was painted deep blue, but wear and tear revealed small bits of white brick. Which actually made it look more like the night sky. The name on the front was done in blue neon with a white eight point star dividing the words. It only occurred to Adagio that there had been a chance of them not being able to get tickets at the door when she bought them and the boy in the window remarked on them ‘cutting it close’. It was an unfortunate side effect of having been sirens that the Dazzlings had never needed to worry about how to get things done. The inside of Midnight Star was about what Adagio would have expected of a nightclub, too bright, too loud, and much too crowded. There were tables and booths, but there was no clear place to get food or drinks. The majority of the building was taken up by a large dance floor in front of the raised stage. Despite having gone to the nightclub to more or less spy on a classmate, they chose to wear their normal style of clothing. Of course, their somewhat distinctive attire was overshadowed by the incomprehensible neon and reflective patterns the other patrons were wearing. They only had a few minutes before ‘DJ Pon-3’ was supposed to take the stage, so the Dazzlings sat down at a table near the dance floor that had a clear line to the stage. Mostly clear anyway, dancers would block their view for a second or two more frequently than Adagio would have liked. After some time of listening to overly loud, screeching noises that could only be considered to be music to the tone deaf, an announcer on stage began preparing the crowd for the performer of the night. He said all the usual things, but Adagio really only cared about the conclusion. “Welcome to the stage, DJ Pon-3!” The announcer stepped off the side of the stage as the girl walked up to what Adagio believed were called turntables from behind. The performance started slow, but steadily grew. Until it reached a peak and suddenly stopped for not even a second before coming back. It was louder, it was heavier, but mostly Adagio noticed that it was much more complicated. The crowd loved it, dancing and cheering. The surprising part was that Adagio found herself enjoying it, not the way she loved listening to a beautiful opera, but it had a beat that she had to keep herself from tapping along to. Turning towards the stage, Adagio saw something that she could hardly believe. Adagio stood up and walked closer to the stage until she was just inside the dance floor, and she watched the girl perform. Because she was performing. It was not a prerecorded song that she was making slight changes to and calling live music, it was a collection of basic sounds that she was actively working with to create her song. She was dancing to the beat while her hands were constantly moving across the turntable, she was sweating and clearly focused on her work, but she was also in her element. Adagio had no doubt that the girl was enjoying every second of her performance. Seeing her playing her instrument, Adagio came to the conclusion that she had misjudged the girl. Vinyl Scratch was a real musician, and a skilled one at that. Chapter IIIt was the Monday after the Dazzlings went to Midnight Star, and they were sitting down for lunch in the cafeteria. Adagio Dazzle had spent most of the weekend thinking about Vinyl Scratch's performance, and she was clearly having difficulty understanding how she felt. Aria and Sonata were kind enough to accept her dismissal when they asked about her odd behaviour in the club, but were curious all the same. Aria and Sonata watched as Adagio used her food to spell out rudimentary sheet music. While it was not uncommon for Adagio to be preoccupied with music, the fact that she was so distracted that she bought a burger and a salad dressed with ranch was concerning. A lot of people liked ranch dressing, but Adagio had hated it since its inception. While Adagio hummed along and tried to complete her sheet music, Aria and Sonata exchanged glances. “So Adagio,” Aria started. “What are you doing?” Blunt, but effective. Aria's favourite style. The direct question worked to catch Adagio's attention, and she was embarrassed to realise what she was doing. “Sorry about this,” She used a napkin to wipe up some of the mess. “I guess I'm a bit more distracted than I thought I was.” After Adagio cleaned up most of her salad, she saw what she bought for lunch. She had a burger, the aforementioned salad, and a bag of potato chips. The salad and chips were mostly ruined by her distraction, and the burger was simply not her sort of food. Adagio did not eat meat, she ate fish and eggs, but never actual meat. “Hey Sonata, would you mind… ?” Adagio's question trailed off when Sonata held out one of her burritos. “Thank you.” They ate quietly for some time after that. Adagio was obviously still half lost in thought, but was actually eating now which Aria thought was a notable improvement. Aria was about to finish her chips when Sonata lightly kicked her. Aria turned to her to respond, but was cut off by Sonata gesturing with her head to someone behind Adagio. In an effort to keep Adagio from being surprised, Sonata spoke up. “Hey, Vinyl! If you want help with the programming assignment, I'm not supposed to but I can give you my notes anyway.” Adagio turned around to see Vinyl Scratch smile and make a short series of motions with her hands. She looked about the same as she normally did, her headphones were around her neck and she was wearing her fingerless pink gloves. “Well the offer is there if you change your mind,” Sonata said before finishing her burrito. Adagio made a note to ask Sonata how she knew what Vinyl wanted to say later, but mostly focused on the girl herself. Vinyl took a small piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to Adagio. ‘Did you three enjoy my show Friday? Or have I mistaken someone else for you?’ After reading it, Adagio read it aloud. She did it to give herself time to find a response, but also because Aria and Sonata deserved to know about the question being posed to them. Vinyl did not seem to be trying to mock them, in fact Adagio thought that she seemed fairly genuine with her question despite its odd wording. Still, the Dazzlings had been through enough to know better than to trust without good reason. “It was better than I had expected,” Adagio said slowly, but honestly. Everyone watched her, waiting for her to follow up with an insult. “I don't like music that can only be performed electrically,” Aria said after a moment. “Sorry.” Vinyl wrote her response in a small notebook from her pocket. ‘Do not worry about it, I was just surprised to see you there after what happened last time Adagio and I met.’ “Wait,” Sonata said after reading Vinyl's message. “When did you two meet? You said you didn't know who she was!” “I didn't know who she was, I still don't really,” Adagio said, setting her half-eaten burrito aside. “Although I am starting to wonder…” Adagio heard something behind her and looked over to see a group of students whispering and glancing at the Dazzlings’ table. More specifically, at Vinyl. She turned back to Vinyl, who was writing in her notebook, evidently taking her time choosing words, and Adagio noticed that she seemed unconcerned with being seen around the three most hated people in Canterlot High. Once she was done, Vinyl showed them what she wrote. ‘Honestly, I am beginning to wonder about you as well. What are you like outside of this school?’ Perhaps it was Vinyl’s wording, that Vinyl had given her the first written note, or maybe she simply misinterpreted the message in front of her, but Adagio could not help but think that she specifically was being spoken to. “Why don’t we meet over the weekend? Then we can both learn more about each other,” Adagio said before she could gather her thoughts properly. Vinyl’s eyes were covered by her shades, but it was still clear that she was caught off guard. It took her longer than normal to write a response, as she needed to make a decision first. Vinyl stopped for a beat after finishing her message, and then turned it towards Adagio. ‘I am free Saturday. What did you have in mind?’ “We could have lunch, but I don’t know of any good places,” Adagio admitted. ‘The Sweet Snacks Café has great deserts, and they have vegetarian meals as well.’ “I’ll meet you there around eleven if that works for you.” Rather than write a new response, Vinyl simply smiled and nodded. She then waved farewell and walked back to her table. Adagio turned back to her table and thought about what she had done. For a few seconds, Aria and Sonata were silent, also trying to figure out what they just saw. Then Sonata smiled. “So, Adagio,” Sonata started. “You just want to know how she resisted our magic, was that what you said?” Adagio responded by staring into Sonata’s eyes, daring her to continue. Unfortunately, Sonata was never very good at interpreting Adagio's looks. “Why do you need to have lunch with her for that? You could have just asked her,” Sonata shrugged and swiped Aria’s last chip as she stood to leave. “Well, enjoy your date.” Sonata left the cafeteria, leaving without a care for Adagio’s burning glare. Aria also glared at Sonata for her theft, but did not yet stand to leave. “It is a bit strange that you asked her out,” Aria said carefully. Unlike Sonata, she was not trying to tease Adagio and wanted a response. “I thought that you hated everyone involved in taking our magic.” Adagio sighed. “I hate Sunset Shimmer, and I dislike the Princess. But the others were just trying to protect their home. I might not like them, but I don’t blame them for what they did. We did worse trying to save our home.” “Alright, I can understand that. I still don’t understand why you want to go out with her though,” Aria said, not knowing that a few tables over Octavia Melody was saying something very similar to Vinyl Scratch. Saturday came slowly for Adagio, but it had finally arrived. She had not spoken with Vinyl since making their plans, and could only hope that she had not decided not to come. Aria and Sonata had largely let Adagio go through the week without teasing, but Sonata could not resist the occasional comment. After some debate, Adagio had decided to wear her usual outfit. It seemed like the safest option as she did not want to appear as though she had over thought it. She grabbed her phone and left her room. At the front door Adagio found that Aria and Sonata were waiting for her. Adagio took a breath and walked up to them. “I know you’ve got something for me, but I have to get going. So make it fast,” Adagio said, stopping just in front of them. Sonata opened her mouth to say something, but Aria put a hand on her shoulder to cut her off and surprised Adagio less with what she said than how sincerely she said it. “I don’t know if this is a date in your eyes or not, but have fun.” Aria stepped out of the way and pulled Sonata with her. Adagio didn’t quite know how to react, and decided to simply leave. She opened the door and walked out. In order to reach the Sweet Snacks Café by eleven, Adagio had to leave around nine because she couldn’t drive. Adagio had quite the walk in front of her. Still, she didn’t mind, walking was a good exercise and one of the few things she liked about her human form. It was not uncommon for Adagio to miss her siren form, especially after having had a facsimile of it during the Battle of the Bands, but she could also admit that legs were kind of nice to have. They were less convenient than being able to float in the air, but perhaps that was why she liked them. As a siren she rarely touched the ground, but as a human she felt it beneath her constantly. It was oddly reassuring. As Adagio walked, she thought about what she was about to do. Even to her it was hard to call it anything but what it was; she had asked Vinyl out on a date. Adagio was not a teenager, despite appearances, and she should have had control over her emotions, it was not like her to act without thinking. But even stranger than any of that was that Vinyl had accepted. When she saw Canterlot City Park, Adagio knew that she was getting close to the café. Once she saw the café itself Adagio stopped to take a moment to calm her nerves. She resolved to not let her emotions control her, and took a deep breath to steady herself. Adagio entered the Sweet Snacks Café and looked around. The café’s theme was the eighties, and they did an alright job making it feel like a different era. It seemed odd to Adagio that people would want to visit the past, but as long as they followed modern health practices then it did not matter that much to Adagio. The café was not particularly crowded, so it did not take Adagio long to find Vinyl. After taking another steadying breath, she walked over to her. “Hello Vinyl, good to see you,” Adagio said. “May I sit down?” Vinyl removed her headphones when she noticed Adagio and nodded in response to her question. While Adagio sat down, Vinyl quickly typed a message on her phone. ‘It is good to see you as well. I only got here a minute or two ago, I have not even been given a menu yet.’ “Alright,” Adagio said, still not quite sure how to interact with someone that does not speak verbally. They sat without saying anything for a few moments, and would likely have stayed that way for longer had a waitress not rolled up to their table. It was weird that the waitresses of Sweet Snacks Café wore roller blades, but Adagio supposed it was meant to emulate a drive up restaurant. “Hello Vinyl, welcome back!” The waitress said cheerfully. Then, noticing Adagio, she turned her smile towards her. “And you’ve brought a new face! My name’s Sunny.” “Adagio Dazzle.” “Alrighty. Here are your menus, can I get you started with something to drink?” Vinyl held up her menu and pointed to one of the drink options, and Adagio asked for a soda. “I'll be back with those for you in a minute,” Sunny said before rolling over to the next table. Adagio looked over her menu, it was about what she was expecting: it was mostly just standard fare, but also included an impressive vegetarian selection. She was debating between a bean patty burger and an egg salad sandwich when Vinyl tapped Adagio's menu to get her attention. She set her menu down and Vinyl held up her phone. ‘Will it bother you if I eat meat? I noticed that you do not eat meat and I just want to make sure that it would not be a problem for you.’ To Adagio it was a very strange question, one that she had never considered before. Meat was food, there was no point in looking away simply because it was not to her taste. People would still be eating it. Even so, she was oddly touched that Vinyl had thought to ask her. “No,” Adagio said after a second. “I don't mind at all. Thank you.” Vinyl nodded but did not pick her menu back up. Having decided, Adagio set her menu down as well. Just in time it seemed, as Sunny returned with their drinks soon after. They made their orders, egg salad sandwich for Adagio and a BLT for Vinyl, and Sunny rolled away to put them in. With their orders taken, Adagio decided to keep them from falling into silence again. Her intention in meeting with Vinyl Scratch was to learn about her, she was not going to let the opportunity slip away. “We went to your show on Friday, and I was wondering about your stage name: Pon-3?” Adagio asked. ‘It is pronounced pon-three, not pony, and it does not really mean anything. I used to like horses, and I first “performed” when I was a child.’ Vinyl wrote, soon adding to it. ‘When I got my first real show I was told not to use my real name, and that was the first thing that came to mind.’ “So you’ve always liked music?” ‘Pretty much. I saw someone sing a rock song for some school election at a polo competition my father took me to, and I fell in love with the art of performance and music. What about you?’ “You said it when we first met: I’m a siren. I’ve never lived a minute without music being a part of me.” Adagio said with a shrug. “Until a few months ago anyway.” Adagio’s hand went up to her throat, reaching for a gem no longer there. Vinyl looked like she wanted to say something and picked up her phone to start typing, but it was then that Sunny returned to their table with their lunch. “Here you are,” Sunny said after she set their meals in front of them. “Is there anything else I can get for you?” Both Adagio and Vinyl shook their heads so Sunny smiled at them and rolled away. They ate quietly for a few minutes, both enjoying their meals. Adagio was surprised to find that they served their egg salad sandwiches warm with a melted slice of cheese. Not bad. After finishing the first half of her BLT, Vinyl picked up her phone in one hand and started typing. ‘You asked me a question, may I ask you one?’ “Of course,” Adagio took another bite of her sandwich. ‘Was music important to you because you enjoy it, or just because you were a siren?’ “Music is important to me, not because I was a siren, but because I love it,” Adagio said without hesitation. “I started with music because I'm a siren, but I knew sirens who hated music and saw it as nothing but a tool.” Vinyl seemed to appreciate the answer, although Adagio's slip of the tongue did not go unnoticed. Vinyl nodded in understanding after thinking about it for a moment. The rest of their meal was spent mostly quietly, but both of them were a bit more comfortable after learning about the other. A short time after they finished eating, Sunny came back to their table. “Can I get you anything else? Our flavour of ice cream for the day is chocolate orange.” Sunny asked while picking up their plates. Adagio looked over at Vinyl, who quickly held up her phone for her to see. ‘Maybe to go? We could eat in the park.’ “Alright, we'll have dessert to go. I'll have a brownie,” Adagio said before gesturing for Vinyl to order. Vinyl showed her phone to Sunny, and Adagio couldn't quite see what she ordered. “Sounds good. One or two checks?” “I'll pay,” Adagio said, quickly checking Vinyl's reaction to make sure she wasn't committing some sort of faux pas. Once confident in her course of action, she handed Sunny her credit card. “I'll get this back to you in a minute, and your desserts will be ready soon after,” Sunny said before leaving them alone. Soon enough, Sunny brought the check, which Adagio signed and handed back. ‘How was your meal?’ Vinyl asked. “Better than I expected,” Adagio said honestly. “I had expected them to use cheap ingredients, but it was pretty good.” ‘Then you should enjoy your dessert as well; they take a lot of pride in it.’ “Have you ever had a brownie here?” ‘Yes I have, I liked it well enough. Although I am generally more of a cold dessert person.’ Adagio nodded in understanding before standing up. “Speaking of, we should probably go get our desserts before they melt and cool down respectively.” It seemed like a safe guess to assume that Vinyl had gotten something that could melt after what she said, but Adagio would know soon enough. Vinyl smiled at Adagio's words as she stood up. She did not start going for the counter though, letting Adagio lead them. They reached it just in time for Vinyl's vanilla flurry mixed with bits of colourful candy to be ready. They thanked Sunny as they took their desserts and left the café. It was a short walk to the Canterlot City Park, and in almost no time they were at one of its entrances. Here Vinyl took the lead, walking into the park a ways. Adagio had never been to the park before, and simply followed her. It did not take long for Vinyl to find a bench to sit on. The bench itself was just a simple wooden bench, well-maintained but unremarkable. The bench was just inside a wooded section of the park, and in front of the trees was an open field. The trees were tall and green through and there were some flowers, but it was hardly an impressive view. Still, it was clear to Adagio that Vinyl was familiar with that particular spot. She sat down next to Vinyl and they both started with their desserts. The brownie was surprisingly good, it was just a simple brownie with no special or clever additions, but it did not need anything. It was warm and also a larger portion than Adagio would have expected. She liked it quite a bit. Looking over it was evident that Vinyl was also enjoying her dessert. She was not eating very fast and it would definitely be more of a drink by the end, but she was clearly savouring the taste. They ate their desserts without much conversation, simply enjoying the food and scenery. It took her a moment, but Adagio felt that she understood why Vinyl chose the spot she did even while the park was mostly empty. Adagio could see other people in the field, playing and eating, but she couldn’t hear them. It was not the most scenic place in the park, that much was obvious, but Adagio might have bet that it was the calmest. Even after they finished their desserts, neither of them started a conversation immediately. For a few minutes they sat there, not really doing anything but enjoying themselves regardless. “Vinyl, I’ve been wondering,” Adagio started. “When you came to our table Monday, you said something to Sonata just with hand motions. How does that work? I didn’t get the impression that the two of you were close enough to have an entire code for talking to one another.” Vinyl looked at Adagio with a slight tilt to her head, appearing to be confused by her question. Soon though, she typed a response on her phone. ‘It is sign language. It helps people who cannot speak or those who cannot hear communicate more effectively. Have you never heard of it before?’ Adagio shook her head. “Don't think so. But Sonata knows it?” Vinyl seemed to let Adagio’s ignorance on the subject drop, and simply answered her question instead. ‘She is not fluent, but she knows more than a lot of people.’ “I see,” Adagio said. It was strange to Adagio that she had not realised that people who cannot speak would still need a way to talk to others. It felt like one of the things that being a siren kept her from considering, as the thought of life without a voice was unfathomable to her before her song was stolen from her. “Could you teach me?” Vinyl stared at Adagio, not just confused but surprised. She was not certain she had heard right. “Not all of it obviously, just some important words and phrases,” Adagio clarified, not realising what had confused Vinyl. Still, it was enough to snap Vinyl back to the present. ‘I can try, but remember that it is a language. It is not something that you will be a master of immediately. Once you are ready, I will teach you how to say hello.’ Once Adagio nodded, Vinyl set her phone down and demonstrated the sign. It was a simple motion, and Adagio mimicked it easily enough. ‘Good. Now I will show you “see you later”, I tend to use it just as goodbye.’ They continued like that for quite awhile, Vinyl demonstrating signs and correcting Adagio’s mistakes. Adagio found it to be surprisingly fun, and kept asking to learn more. Eventually, it got late enough that Vinyl had to leave, and they bid each other goodbye for the day. When Adagio got back to her house, she was still smiling from her time with Vinyl. Chapter IIIAfter a long day of school, made longer by a resurgence of students trying to get the Dazzlings to leave Canterlot High for good, Adagio Dazzle decided to get a snack on her way to her house since she was unable to eat her lunch. Aria was still in Cheerilee’s after school class, which served a simple meal, and Sonata simply went straight back to the house. That left Adagio alone to find something to eat. It took Adagio some time to determine where to go, but she did eventually remember that there was a sweet shop near Canterlot High. It took her about an hour to reach the shop, which was decorated to look like a gingerbread house or something similar. The store was called Sugarcube Corner, which sounded familiar but she couldn't quite place it. She could have gotten to Sugarcube Corner faster, but chose to delay in the hopes of missing the crowd of students. Her plan seemed to be largely successful as when she entered the building the line was fairly short and was made mostly of people that Adagio did not recognise. It did cross Adagio’s mind as she took her place at the back of the line that she would probably already have eaten if she had just followed Sonata back to their house, but it was far too late for it to matter much anymore. She was more concerned about getting back before the rain started. The line slowly thinned, slow enough that Adagio guessed that they were either short staffed or sold out of things people were ordering and getting backed up because of it. Regardless, it was taking much longer than Adagio had hoped to spend in the store at all. After longer than she would have liked, Adagio was the only person in the line. However, despite that, the man behind the counter walked over to the pickup side first. Adagio did not really care who it was that had arrived, she was just vaguely annoyed that the first customer for pickup while she was in the store had come in just when she reached the counter. She had been perfectly content to simply ignore them and wait a minute or two, until she heard the customer’s name. “Hey Vinyl, where’s Octavia?” The man behind the counter asked as he walked over to her. Vinyl Scratch took her headphones off and put them around her neck before writing a message on her notebook and turned it towards him, and while Adagio could not guess what it said she was more concerned with the person writing it. The man, who’s name tag identified him as Carrot Cake, nodded after reading what Vinyl wrote and then walked into the kitchen. After their lunch the week before, Adagio had not really interacted with Vinyl. She was not avoiding Vinyl, she had simply not met with her since then. “Hello Vinyl,” Adagio said, not knowing if she should follow her greeting with anything. For her part, Vinyl noticed Adagio and smiled cheerfully before signing ‘hello’ and ‘how are you’ to her. Mr. Cake came back to the counter carrying a small box before Adagio had a chance to respond. “Here you are Vinyl, two chocolate muffins and two blueberry,” Mr. Cake said as he set the box in front of Vinyl. “If you're sure you still want all four, we’ll call it five dollars.” Vinyl gave him the money and also made a sign that Adagio recognised as ‘thank you’. Then Vinyl turned to Adagio and held out her notebook. ‘Would you like to join me? I have more than I need.’ “Sure,” Adagio said after a moment. “Thank you.” Vinyl went over to a table under one of the front windows and Adagio followed her over. They sat on opposite sides of the table and Vinyl opened her box and set it down in the centre of the table, taking a chocolate muffin from it. She paused to decide which flavour to choose, but soon enough Adagio took a blueberry muffin. “So Octavia was supposed to be here with you?” Responding with a nod, Vinyl took a bite from her muffin. She soon set it down for a few seconds to type out a more complete answer on her phone. Once she was done, she set her phone down between them, facing Adagio. ‘We come here every week after music practise. She was just busy because she has an audition today.’ It was a side effect of having spent the majority of her life manipulating everyone around her that Adagio paid very close attention to word choice, and since Vinyl was writing it was even easier for her to notice. If Octavia had scheduled an audition, then she would have told her best friend that she would not make their usual weekly plans and Vinyl would then not have ordered enough food for both of them. Which in turn meant that either Adagio was looking too deeply into Vinyl's words, or that Octavia had not known that she would be busy. “Fair enough,” Adagio said, taking a bite of her muffin. She realised while chewing that she was probably supposed to ask about Octavia's audition, it struck her as the friendly thing to do. “What’s Octavia auditioning for?” Adagio asked Vinyl after finishing her mouthful. ‘It is a secret.’ Vinyl turned her phone back towards Adagio once she had typed out another sentence. ‘Anyway, it is bad luck to talk about an audition before it is decided one way or another.’ Adagio laughed a bit at Vinyl's superstition, but immediately regretted it when she realised that Vinyl was probably being serious. Thankfully, she looked to see Vinyl smiling good-naturedly at her. Adagio had never put much stock in luck, good or bad. Things happen as a result of actions, chance holds little weight in the equation. “Alright, what would you normally work on with Octavia, or would that be bad luck to talk about as well?” Rather than type her answer, Vinyl signed it. ‘Music’ and then a sign Adagio didn’t know, but guessed meant ‘practise’. Vinyl was confident that Adagio would guess her meaning, but was less so that her intention of it being a joke would be understood. “I mean, what sort of music? I've heard you both perform and there does not seem to be much crossover in your styles or even instruments,” Adagio clarified, not concerned by Vinyl's half-answer. Vinyl finished her muffin before giving her answer. ‘There is not much, no. But we can both enjoy more than just our favourite style, and it is not like we only know one instrument each.’ “What other instrument do you play?” Adagio asked. ‘I could play the piano before I could walk.’ Vinyl turned her phone back towards herself to add a bit more. ‘I also play the drums, but not much. What about you?’ “If you'll excuse the phrase, sirens are one trick ponies. We spend our lives singing, anything else is a distraction,” Adagio said the words easily, she had thought similar ones often enough, without her voice a siren is worthless. For a minute or two, Vinyl watched Adagio. She ate her blueberry muffin slowly and did not seem to particularly enjoy it, but Vinyl mostly noticed how lost Adagio was in her last sentence. Maybe she had moved past in her head, but Vinyl doubted it. Her doubt was supported by Adagio reaching for where her gemstone was before it broke. ‘You could join us sometime, if you want to try an instrument.’ Vinyl added to her words after Adagio read them. ‘Not every week and you would have to give me time to convince Octavia, but if you want to learn then I would be happy to help.’ “I won't lie, learning an instrument does sound like it could be a good use of time,” Adagio said, taking a bite from her muffin. “But it doesn't matter. Vice-Principal Luna made it very clear that I am not to be involved with music.” ‘Then we could meet after school, or on the weekend. Vice-Principal Luna cannot reach you outside of Canterlot High School.’ Vinyl suggested. “Couldn't it cause trouble for you if people found out that you were trying to help a siren in a musical pursuit? Just spending time with me has sparked quite a few rumours about you.” ‘It could. But all that I would be doing is helping my friend rekindle her passion. No one in Canterlot High can reasonably be upset with me for following the Princess’ advice of trying to be a better friend.’ “Flawless logic. Except for one thing,” Adagio said, finishing her muffin. “People are rarely very reasonable about the things they hate. A concept that keeps sirens fed.” Vinyl shrugged as an immediate response, but also began typing. ‘People have been talking about me behind my back for as long as I can remember, I would be worried if they stopped. Besides, I would not let a few rumours stop me from spending time with my friends.’ Now that Vinyl had typed it twice, it was impossible for Adagio to ignore that Vinyl considered her a friend. It was not really a surprise, Vinyl had accepted what could only be called a date with her, but it still threw Adagio a bit to see it so plainly. It was not a foreign concept to have a friend, but it was also not something that she had ever truly cared about before. It struck Adagio that she wanted to be close to Vinyl, she wanted to be her friend, to spend time together. “If you’re serious, then I accept,” Adagio said, looking into Vinyl’s eyes as best she could through the girl’s coloured glasses. “I think I would enjoy learning an instrument.” Vinyl smiled happily at that, signing ‘wonderful’ before picking her phone up. She was about to turn it back towards Adagio, but seemed to realise something and stopped to retype. ‘Do you have a phone?’ Vinyl looked questioningly at Adagio. “Yeah, of course I do,” Adagio took the device out of her pocket and held it up. “I just don’t use it much. Why?” ‘We should exchange numbers. It would make it much easier to plan a meeting for your first lesson. If you give me your phone I can add them.’ Adagio unlocked her phone and gave it to Vinyl, trusting her. After a few seconds, Vinyl gave Adagio’s phone back. Just in time for it to receive a text from Sonata. Adagio read it and looked at the store’s clock. “It's later than I thought, I need to get going,” Adagio stood up. “Sorry to leave so abruptly, but I really meant to be at my house by half an hour ago at the latest.” And her walk back was not likely to be great given that the rain decided to start. ‘No problem. See you later.’ Vinyl signed. Adagio smiled before signing back. ‘See you later.’ From the outside, Vinyl Scratch's house was about the same as every other house on the street. It had the same two story shape, the same lawn, and the same single tree to the left of the driveway. The only notable differences on the outside were the door and the windows. The windows had the standard planters but the flowers were much more varied between each window. They also had shutters, which were unique and were deep blue. Adagio approached the door, which was the same deep blue as the shutters, and knocked. After exchanging numbers with Vinyl, it only took a few days for Vinyl to set up a day for them to meet. That day was about two weeks after their meeting, but Adagio had been looking forward to trying an instrument and was willing to wait. Walking to Vinyl's house was not the best experience Adagio had ever had, but even a two and a half hour walk before noon did little to temper her excitement. Although learning an instrument had initially just seemed like an especially fun way to defeat boredom, once Adagio had put serious thought into it, it started to seem like it could be more than that. She had not been dramatising when she said that music was a part of a siren, and she felt the loss even more deeply since seeing Vinyl perform. Perhaps being able to create music once more could lessen the pain. The door opened to reveal Vinyl, who signed hello before gesturing to invite Adagio in. The inside of Vinyl's house was not what Adagio had expected. The first thing that jumped out at her was that it was very clean, and the second was that it was a bit boring. The walls were a light tan, the floors were covered with grey carpet, and there was not much adding any colour. Adagio guessed that Octavia did the decorating. They were in what appeared to be a dining room, and from it she could see into a living room and a kitchen. There was also a set of stairs, which Vinyl was standing next to. ‘Our music room is upstairs. We can go straight there or have an early lunch first, whichever you prefer.’ “Let's start with the music,” Adagio said. “I'm looking forward to learning to play.” ‘Just do not expect to be great immediately, it takes time.’ Once Adagio read her warning, Vinyl led her to the music room. The inside of the music room felt much more like it was Vinyl’s to Adagio. It was a large room and the walls were white but also painted with a vibrant, flowing pattern mixed with music notes. The walls themselves appeared to be sound proofed. One side of the room was dominated by electronic instruments, such as Vinyl's turntables, while the other had more traditional instruments such as a cello. Set up in a corner was a drum kit, the instrument that Adagio was there to learn. ‘First I will teach you the fundamentals, and then if we have time then we can start with simple songs.’ Vinyl paused so that Adagio could read, and then put her phone into her pocket. Adagio walked towards the drums while Vinyl grabbed something from off a shelf near her turntables. Vinyl tapped Adagio's shoulder and gestured for her to sit. Once Adagio had done so, Vinyl started putting sticky-notes on the various parts of the drums. “What's this?” Adagio asked, leaning forward to read the notes. In response, Vinyl handed her another sticky-note. ‘The fundamentals. The first step is knowing what it is and how you are meant to use it.’ “So you want me to memorise these names?” Vinyl wrote something on her pocket notebook and showed it to Adagio. ‘Eventually, but the names are the least important part of knowing them. Before you can start actually performing songs, you need to know how each part of the drums sounds and what they feel like. But first, posture.’ “Posture?” Vinyl nodded. ‘Drums are a very active instrument, it is not hard to hurt yourself if you learn to play with an improper stance or grip. Ask me how I know.’ She had not considered the physical issues with learning an instrument, but it made sense to Adagio that it would take some practise to be able to start learning the drums in earnest. Not unlike learning to dance. Adagio let Vinyl lead her through a series of stretches and then they began to work on Adagio’s posture and her grip on the drumsticks. Vinyl would demonstrate her preferred option as well as an alternative, and then Adagio would attempt to copy them. Once Adagio found a seating position and grip that worked for her, Vinyl corrected them until they would serve her well. It would take Adagio some time to learn her stance to the point of it feeling perfectly natural, but she was adapting quickly. After a fair amount of time focused on posture, Vinyl instructed Adagio to see how it felt to play each part of the drums individually. It all sounded about like what Adagio had expected, but just one sound at a time did not feel much like music. Vinyl assured her that it was better to learn what sound is produced by striking any given part of the drums, that it would make her a better player in the long run. They practised in such a manner for hours, losing track of time. By the time that they took a break for lunch, Adagio felt that she might be able to perform music again some day. It would take a lot of serious effort, by it was within her reach, it was no longer lost to her forever. It had been a deliberate choice by both Vinyl and Octavia to not put a clock in their music room because they did not want the distraction, but sometimes it did result in them losing track of time when they did not want to. At around two o’clock, Adagio and Vinyl decided to break for lunch. Vinyl had made sure to buy ingredients for a vegetarian meal, and they each made and ate their sandwiches. They were nothing special, but were also much better than anything Canterlot High would offer them. After their meal, they returned to the music room. Rather than return to practise, they simply talked to each other about music. They spoke for a while before Adagio decided that it was time to ask the question she had wanted an answer for a long time. "I wanted to ask, but I don't want you to think that you have to answer," Adagio stumbled a bit over her words, but was more worried about making sure Vinyl understood her than she was about how she sounded. "I have been wondering about it since before we spoke, but I'm not sure if I should ask." Vinyl smiled reassuringly and showed Adagio her phone. 'I trust you. Ask me whatever you need to.' Adagio took a breath to steady herself. "Why were you unaffected by our magic?" Vinyl tilted her head, but soon smiled in understanding. She turned to her turntable and messed with it for a few seconds before connecting her headphones to it, then she faced Adagio again and held out her headphones without touching the volume switch on their side. Adagio took the offered headphones and put them on. Vinyl pressed the play button. "By the sun and moon!" Adagio cried as she ripped the headphones off. "How do you wear these things all d-" Vinyl Scratch always wore either her headphones or her earbuds, and anyone that sat next to her in class or even just passed her in the hall could testify that they were not just for show. Adagio remembered seeing Vinyl in the cafeteria when the Dazzlings first came to Canterlot High, she remembered her wearing headphones and bobbing along to something that -in retrospect -was clearly not the Dazzlings' song. While Adagio was realising the implications of what she was saying, Vinyl took the headphones back and turned off the music. She also prepared a message for Adagio. "You... you never fell under our spell, because you never heard us sing?" Adagio could hardly believe that the answer was so simple. ‘In the cafeteria I was listening to a live performance and did not want to miss it, and it was pretty easy to see that something was wrong after that. I just figured I would not support your competition, so I kept not listening when you sang.’ Adagio stared at Vinyl for a few seconds before breaking into laughter. It was a genuine laugh born from her realisation of just how silly it was that she had been expecting some grand magical answer, but the truth was as simple as it was obvious. As Vinyl watched Adagio laugh, she found herself in the familiar position of wishing she could join in. However, her usual desire was overshadowed by the realisation that Adagio had never looked more beautiful. Knowing that Adagio would not know what it meant, Vinyl signed to her while she was distracted. ‘I think I might be falling for you.’ Adagio regained her composure enough to ask about Vinyl's signing. “What's that one mean?” Vinyl smiled and quickly typed a response. ‘Do not worry about it.’
Chapter IThe student body of Canterlot High School had not been very welcoming to the Dazzlings when they decided to return to the school after the Battle of the Bands. Which was to say that no student was happy about their return, many thought that they were planning some elaborate revenge, and a few had taken it upon themselves to discourage the Dazzlings from staying. To Adagio it seemed quite unfair that the Dazzlings were suspected of scheming, what would be the point? They lost their magic, and they were never getting it back. Even if she had wanted some sort of retribution, she had no leverage to get it with. The students of Canterlot High had ripped the magic out of the Dazzlings’ chests, and for her that was the end of it. In the entire school, the only person that had reached out to the Dazzlings in their first weeks back, in a positive manner anyway, was Sunset Shimmer. The conductor of their defeat and humiliation. Sonata and Aria seemed to understand that she was not someone that Adagio was eager to befriend. The real reason for the Dazzlings return was not revenge. In fact it was quite simple: Adagio was bored. The only thing that she had cared about after Starswirl banished them was making a comfortable place for herself and her sisters in a world they did not belong to, which had meant using their magic to bend people to their will for sustenance and wealth. Without magic they were left with riches beyond what most would dare dream of, but lacked anything to do with it. Sure, Sonata wanted to buy a food truck and Aria wanted to invest in an art studio, but they had been talking about those ideas for a long time without ever bothering to follow through. In the end, beyond making the transition from magical siren to mortal human a little easier, the money just did not mean much to the Dazzlings. It was their magic that had kept them from boredom. It was with that in mind that Sonata had suggested they return to Canterlot High, they had fabricated identities and legally enrolled after all. And it would help keep them from being too bored. Required classes tended to be boring in their own way, but they did help to fill Adagio in on the parts of the world she had never needed to bother with before. Maths and Economics mostly. The Dazzlings had always kept a close eye on politics for use in sowing discord, and had lived through a large amount of what a history class might cover. With most of history and social studies effectively covered, the Dazzlings focused mostly on classes they found interesting. For Aria the most interesting classes were unsurprisingly Physical Education, which mostly amounted to playing a variety of sports, and Art, more specifically painting. Neither Adagio nor Aria had expected Sonata to enjoy working with numbers, but her favourite classes were Calculus and Advanced Economics. Apparently she had been handling all of the Dazzlings’ financial matters for some time, and those classes were a serious influence on her suggesting they return. As for Adagio, her favourite class was Home Economics. The class was a bit old fashioned, and the teacher more so, but it was very useful in teaching Adagio the minutiae of living day to day as a human. Beyond that Adagio found herself enjoying the simple household tasks that the Dazzlings had never paid any attention to before. The Dazzlings did not do many extracurricular activities, most of the school hated them and they could not be bothered to prove that they were no longer a threat to anyone. However, they each had something they wanted to do regardless. Sonata thought it would be fun to volunteer at the cafeteria, but Granny Smith refused her offer the one time she tried. Aria was trying to get into the wrestling club, but they would not have her. When they were sirens, music was the Dazzlings’ entire life. And it was not something that Adagio could let go of. She was no longer able to sing, but that did not mean she had to lose music altogether. Unfortunately, Vice-Principal Luna told the Dazzlings that they could return to Canterlot High under the condition that she never sees any of them in a music class or extracurricular. Still, Adagio wished that she could take part in a performance again. It was that desire that found Adagio Dazzle taking the long way out of Canterlot High after classes ended so that she could pass by the music room. As she got close, she heard something playing through the door. Once she was beside the door she recognised that the song was electronic, lacking any of the character or soul of true music. Even the girls who stole the Dazzlings’ magic had put in the time and effort to learn instruments, and they had played with passion. Adagio also realised that the sound she was hearing was recorded, not live. Adagio was not certain why she felt so personally slighted when she realised that the song was not being performed, but she knew that there was someone she could release her frustrations onto just on the other side of the door. Adagio swung the door open with enough force for it to strike the wall with a loud bang. At the sound of the door, a girl with electric blue hair and strange purple-tinted glasses jumped and turned towards Adagio. She looked familiar to Adagio, but she could not quite place her. Adagio wanted the first word so that she could control the situation, and thus spoke before the girl had a chance. “Hello,” Adagio said sweetly, as though she had not just barged in. “I wonder if you could help me with something.” Adagio knew that she could not be openly aggressive or she would be in trouble with Vice-Principal Luna, so she opted for a more deliberate approach. “I hate to bother you, but I was wondering who wrote this delightful music?” Adagio tried to make her question sound as genuine as she could, knowing full well the girl would be suspicious of her. Rather than respond, the girl turned the music off by flicking a switch on the speakers and then made a series of odd motions with her hands. Seeming to realise that Adagio had no idea what she was trying to do, the girl reached into her pocket and pulled out a small card that she held towards Adagio. Adagio felt the situation slipping away from her, but there wasn't much she could do if the girl refused to engage in conversation. Adagio took the card and read the printed text. I am mute. I can hear and know sign language, but cannot verbally speak to you. Kindly return this card. When Adagio looked up from the card, the girl was holding up a scrap of paper that she had written on. ‘The song is by a friend of mine. But I know you do not really care, do you?’ “Why wouldn't I care? Music is everything to me.” Adagio knew that it was foolish to keep pushing someone who so clearly was not biting, but she felt a strange compulsion to see the conversation through. The girl wrote on the paper with impressive speed and turned it back towards Adagio. ‘I am sure it is, you are a siren after all. I do not think you care because the song, and all his other work, was created under a stage name.’ Not many people in the school knew that the Dazzlings were sirens, which meant that the Rainbooms must have told her. Which in turn meant that if Adagio did anything to her, she would end up staring down the Equestrian princess again. Adagio laughed. “How would that make any diff-” Right then Adagio realised who the girl was, why she was familiar. She didn't know her name and they had never directly interacted, but this girl was the one who gave the Rainbooms the tools to be heard over the Dazzlings’ performance. She was the only person in the entire school that did not fall under their spell. Even the Rainbooms, with Equestrian magic and a princess on their side, could not resist for long. But somehow this girl did. Suppressing her reaction to her realisation by clearing her throat, Adagio continued. “Difference? Music does not care who wrote it, only that it is heard.” ‘I agree, but do you? Every song you sang was for the sake of getting power or fame. Do you actually care about music, or just what it can do for you?’ “How dare you?” Adagio hissed, her composure breaking. “You accuse me when you play artless sound that can barely be called music written with no purpose other than making money?” Rather than immediately give Adagio her written response, the girl folded it and collected her things into her backpack before starting towards the door. As she passed Adagio, she handed the paper she had been writing on to her. However, even as she left, she did not seem altogether that upset by Adagio’s words. “Do not walk away from me!” Adagio called, but the girl simply put on her earbuds and kept walking. Still seething, but aware of how little power she held, Adagio had no choice but to let the girl leave. She looked down at the paper and saw that it was a flyer for a sweets shop called Sugarcube Corner that the girl had been writing on the back of. Adagio flipped it open and read the last line. ‘I would make more money with a conventional job.’ “So I have to stay after school for Miss Cheerilee’s Tolerance in Language class,” Aria Blaze concluded with a scoff. “How was I even supposed to know that queer doesn't mean queer anymore?” “That's how language works, it evolves,” Adagio said with a laughing smile. “Maybe the class will help you evolve too!” Sonata Dusk said cheerfully through her food. She was eating some sort of wrap, and while Adagio could not say what kind, she was confident that it was vegetarian simply because Sonata didn't like how the school prepared meat. Aria grumbled and took another bite of her cheeseburger. It was lunch hour and the Dazzlings were sitting where they always did, being social pariahs did have the advantage of them always having the same table and rarely being interrupted during their meal. Although there was some backlash at the beginning of their return, Vice-Principal Luna dealt with it quickly and no one had tried anything serious since. The one good thing about losing their magic, not that Adagio would ever admit it, was that the Dazzlings got along much better than they had since their exile. Perhaps it was the shared loss of their very being or just that they had spent so much time together, but their fights and insults had mostly become good-natured jokes rather than genuine conflict. It made Adagio wonder what their lives would have been like if they hadn't stopped being sisters in all but blood after the destruction of Coltlantis. While Aria and Sonata argued what it meant to be evolved, Sonata having made sure the subject caught on, Adagio's attention was caught by a commotion behind her. She looked behind her to see the mute girl helping pick up an electric guitar for Flash Sentry, the front man for Flash Drive. A middling alternative rock band, but still among the best talents in the school. It had been a few days since Adagio met the girl, and she had been trying to decide how she wanted to deal with her. However, with no magic or violent approach available, she was forced to concede that she was idealess. “What's up, Adagio?” Aria asked, noticing her distraction. Adagio took a moment before turning back around, both to see where the girl sat down and to decide if she wanted to tell the others. “Do you know who that blue-haired girl is?” Leaning over, Aria tried to look around Adagio. Sonata simply took another bite of her wrap before answering. “You mean Vinyl? I share Computer Class with her.” “If you're talking about Vinyl Scratch, she's in my Gym class. She's not very good at dodgeball,” Aria said with a shake of her head before eating a couple fries. “What is she like?” Adagio asked. “Bad at dodgeball, mediocre at most sports,” Aria was a bit annoyed just remembering when they were paired together in the tennis segment of Gym. “But she isn't one of the bad ones, and knows when to keep her mouth shut.” “You know she's mute, right?” Sonata said between the final bites of her wrap. Aria ate a few fries rather than respond, clearly embarrassed to have not realised that. “So what do you think of her?” Adagio asked Sonata. “Mmm…” Sonata stared at Adagio for a moment. “She’s smart, but not a genius. She's a senior. She loves music, and she’ll be performing under the stage name DJ Pon-3 tonight.” “How do you know that?” Adagio asked, just barely beating Aria to the punch. Sonata pulled a paper out of her pocket and set it on the table after unfolding it. It was an advertisement for a show in a nightclub, which Adagio thought was a type of place that didn't let teenagers in. The flyer had writing on the back, but it looked nonsensical at a glance. Probably some kind of code to keep the content secret, which Adagio could certainly solve given time, but didn't really think it was worth the effort. “It fell out of her backpack this morning, I was going to give it back at the end of lunch.” Sonata said cheerfully. “But now I'm wondering why you want to learn about her. Could it be that you have a crush?” Sonata leaned over with a smile that most people would not have realised was her attempt at looking sly. “Who do you think I am?” Adagio asked rhetorically, pushing Sonata back. “I want to learn about her because I want to know how she resisted our magic. Nothing else.” Aria picked up the advertisement and studied it for a few seconds. “Maybe we should go to this show. Might give us some idea who she is outside of Canterlot High.” “That's not a bad idea. Sonata?” Adagio turned to the girl in question who, having finished her wrap, was eating chocolate that Adagio would swear was not there before. “Sounds good!” Sonata said between bites. “We'll head to the club around seven, seven-thirty,” Adagio said, folding up the flyer and putting it into her pocket. “For now, let's just get to class.” The Dazzlings were often among the first to leave the cafeteria, it gave them time to reach their lockers and prepare for class without being bothered. Strangely, Vice-Principal Luna had never called them out on it despite having caught them before. Adagio's locker was near the library while Aria's and Sonata's were both near the chemistry rooms, so she split off from them with a quick wave. They didn't share anymore classes that day, so they likely wouldn't meet again until the end of the school day. After school ended the Dazzlings went back to their house, a large building in Upper Canterlot. It was not a manor nor was it meant for nobility, but it was more than enough for three people. Also, they bought it when they were still sirens and they could no longer charm their way into a different free house. One of the main reasons they chose it was because it was within walking distance from the school. The Dazzlings simply wasted time until they could leave for the girl's performance, although Adagio did make sure to look up the nightclub and time a route to it from their house. They left just after seven and were standing in a short line outside of Midnight Star, the nightclub, by about eight. Adagio really needed to learn to drive and buy a car. The nightclub was not a massive building, but it appeared to have two stories and was decently sized. The building was painted deep blue, but wear and tear revealed small bits of white brick. Which actually made it look more like the night sky. The name on the front was done in blue neon with a white eight point star dividing the words. It only occurred to Adagio that there had been a chance of them not being able to get tickets at the door when she bought them and the boy in the window remarked on them ‘cutting it close’. It was an unfortunate side effect of having been sirens that the Dazzlings had never needed to worry about how to get things done. The inside of Midnight Star was about what Adagio would have expected of a nightclub, too bright, too loud, and much too crowded. There were tables and booths, but there was no clear place to get food or drinks. The majority of the building was taken up by a large dance floor in front of the raised stage. Despite having gone to the nightclub to more or less spy on a classmate, they chose to wear their normal style of clothing. Of course, their somewhat distinctive attire was overshadowed by the incomprehensible neon and reflective patterns the other patrons were wearing. They only had a few minutes before ‘DJ Pon-3’ was supposed to take the stage, so the Dazzlings sat down at a table near the dance floor that had a clear line to the stage. Mostly clear anyway, dancers would block their view for a second or two more frequently than Adagio would have liked. After some time of listening to overly loud, screeching noises that could only be considered to be music to the tone deaf, an announcer on stage began preparing the crowd for the performer of the night. He said all the usual things, but Adagio really only cared about the conclusion. “Welcome to the stage, DJ Pon-3!” The announcer stepped off the side of the stage as the girl walked up to what Adagio believed were called turntables from behind. The performance started slow, but steadily grew. Until it reached a peak and suddenly stopped for not even a second before coming back. It was louder, it was heavier, but mostly Adagio noticed that it was much more complicated. The crowd loved it, dancing and cheering. The surprising part was that Adagio found herself enjoying it, not the way she loved listening to a beautiful opera, but it had a beat that she had to keep herself from tapping along to. Turning towards the stage, Adagio saw something that she could hardly believe. Adagio stood up and walked closer to the stage until she was just inside the dance floor, and she watched the girl perform. Because she was performing. It was not a prerecorded song that she was making slight changes to and calling live music, it was a collection of basic sounds that she was actively working with to create her song. She was dancing to the beat while her hands were constantly moving across the turntable, she was sweating and clearly focused on her work, but she was also in her element. Adagio had no doubt that the girl was enjoying every second of her performance. Seeing her playing her instrument, Adagio came to the conclusion that she had misjudged the girl. Vinyl Scratch was a real musician, and a skilled one at that.
Chapter IIIt was the Monday after the Dazzlings went to Midnight Star, and they were sitting down for lunch in the cafeteria. Adagio Dazzle had spent most of the weekend thinking about Vinyl Scratch's performance, and she was clearly having difficulty understanding how she felt. Aria and Sonata were kind enough to accept her dismissal when they asked about her odd behaviour in the club, but were curious all the same. Aria and Sonata watched as Adagio used her food to spell out rudimentary sheet music. While it was not uncommon for Adagio to be preoccupied with music, the fact that she was so distracted that she bought a burger and a salad dressed with ranch was concerning. A lot of people liked ranch dressing, but Adagio had hated it since its inception. While Adagio hummed along and tried to complete her sheet music, Aria and Sonata exchanged glances. “So Adagio,” Aria started. “What are you doing?” Blunt, but effective. Aria's favourite style. The direct question worked to catch Adagio's attention, and she was embarrassed to realise what she was doing. “Sorry about this,” She used a napkin to wipe up some of the mess. “I guess I'm a bit more distracted than I thought I was.” After Adagio cleaned up most of her salad, she saw what she bought for lunch. She had a burger, the aforementioned salad, and a bag of potato chips. The salad and chips were mostly ruined by her distraction, and the burger was simply not her sort of food. Adagio did not eat meat, she ate fish and eggs, but never actual meat. “Hey Sonata, would you mind… ?” Adagio's question trailed off when Sonata held out one of her burritos. “Thank you.” They ate quietly for some time after that. Adagio was obviously still half lost in thought, but was actually eating now which Aria thought was a notable improvement. Aria was about to finish her chips when Sonata lightly kicked her. Aria turned to her to respond, but was cut off by Sonata gesturing with her head to someone behind Adagio. In an effort to keep Adagio from being surprised, Sonata spoke up. “Hey, Vinyl! If you want help with the programming assignment, I'm not supposed to but I can give you my notes anyway.” Adagio turned around to see Vinyl Scratch smile and make a short series of motions with her hands. She looked about the same as she normally did, her headphones were around her neck and she was wearing her fingerless pink gloves. “Well the offer is there if you change your mind,” Sonata said before finishing her burrito. Adagio made a note to ask Sonata how she knew what Vinyl wanted to say later, but mostly focused on the girl herself. Vinyl took a small piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to Adagio. ‘Did you three enjoy my show Friday? Or have I mistaken someone else for you?’ After reading it, Adagio read it aloud. She did it to give herself time to find a response, but also because Aria and Sonata deserved to know about the question being posed to them. Vinyl did not seem to be trying to mock them, in fact Adagio thought that she seemed fairly genuine with her question despite its odd wording. Still, the Dazzlings had been through enough to know better than to trust without good reason. “It was better than I had expected,” Adagio said slowly, but honestly. Everyone watched her, waiting for her to follow up with an insult. “I don't like music that can only be performed electrically,” Aria said after a moment. “Sorry.” Vinyl wrote her response in a small notebook from her pocket. ‘Do not worry about it, I was just surprised to see you there after what happened last time Adagio and I met.’ “Wait,” Sonata said after reading Vinyl's message. “When did you two meet? You said you didn't know who she was!” “I didn't know who she was, I still don't really,” Adagio said, setting her half-eaten burrito aside. “Although I am starting to wonder…” Adagio heard something behind her and looked over to see a group of students whispering and glancing at the Dazzlings’ table. More specifically, at Vinyl. She turned back to Vinyl, who was writing in her notebook, evidently taking her time choosing words, and Adagio noticed that she seemed unconcerned with being seen around the three most hated people in Canterlot High. Once she was done, Vinyl showed them what she wrote. ‘Honestly, I am beginning to wonder about you as well. What are you like outside of this school?’ Perhaps it was Vinyl’s wording, that Vinyl had given her the first written note, or maybe she simply misinterpreted the message in front of her, but Adagio could not help but think that she specifically was being spoken to. “Why don’t we meet over the weekend? Then we can both learn more about each other,” Adagio said before she could gather her thoughts properly. Vinyl’s eyes were covered by her shades, but it was still clear that she was caught off guard. It took her longer than normal to write a response, as she needed to make a decision first. Vinyl stopped for a beat after finishing her message, and then turned it towards Adagio. ‘I am free Saturday. What did you have in mind?’ “We could have lunch, but I don’t know of any good places,” Adagio admitted. ‘The Sweet Snacks Café has great deserts, and they have vegetarian meals as well.’ “I’ll meet you there around eleven if that works for you.” Rather than write a new response, Vinyl simply smiled and nodded. She then waved farewell and walked back to her table. Adagio turned back to her table and thought about what she had done. For a few seconds, Aria and Sonata were silent, also trying to figure out what they just saw. Then Sonata smiled. “So, Adagio,” Sonata started. “You just want to know how she resisted our magic, was that what you said?” Adagio responded by staring into Sonata’s eyes, daring her to continue. Unfortunately, Sonata was never very good at interpreting Adagio's looks. “Why do you need to have lunch with her for that? You could have just asked her,” Sonata shrugged and swiped Aria’s last chip as she stood to leave. “Well, enjoy your date.” Sonata left the cafeteria, leaving without a care for Adagio’s burning glare. Aria also glared at Sonata for her theft, but did not yet stand to leave. “It is a bit strange that you asked her out,” Aria said carefully. Unlike Sonata, she was not trying to tease Adagio and wanted a response. “I thought that you hated everyone involved in taking our magic.” Adagio sighed. “I hate Sunset Shimmer, and I dislike the Princess. But the others were just trying to protect their home. I might not like them, but I don’t blame them for what they did. We did worse trying to save our home.” “Alright, I can understand that. I still don’t understand why you want to go out with her though,” Aria said, not knowing that a few tables over Octavia Melody was saying something very similar to Vinyl Scratch. Saturday came slowly for Adagio, but it had finally arrived. She had not spoken with Vinyl since making their plans, and could only hope that she had not decided not to come. Aria and Sonata had largely let Adagio go through the week without teasing, but Sonata could not resist the occasional comment. After some debate, Adagio had decided to wear her usual outfit. It seemed like the safest option as she did not want to appear as though she had over thought it. She grabbed her phone and left her room. At the front door Adagio found that Aria and Sonata were waiting for her. Adagio took a breath and walked up to them. “I know you’ve got something for me, but I have to get going. So make it fast,” Adagio said, stopping just in front of them. Sonata opened her mouth to say something, but Aria put a hand on her shoulder to cut her off and surprised Adagio less with what she said than how sincerely she said it. “I don’t know if this is a date in your eyes or not, but have fun.” Aria stepped out of the way and pulled Sonata with her. Adagio didn’t quite know how to react, and decided to simply leave. She opened the door and walked out. In order to reach the Sweet Snacks Café by eleven, Adagio had to leave around nine because she couldn’t drive. Adagio had quite the walk in front of her. Still, she didn’t mind, walking was a good exercise and one of the few things she liked about her human form. It was not uncommon for Adagio to miss her siren form, especially after having had a facsimile of it during the Battle of the Bands, but she could also admit that legs were kind of nice to have. They were less convenient than being able to float in the air, but perhaps that was why she liked them. As a siren she rarely touched the ground, but as a human she felt it beneath her constantly. It was oddly reassuring. As Adagio walked, she thought about what she was about to do. Even to her it was hard to call it anything but what it was; she had asked Vinyl out on a date. Adagio was not a teenager, despite appearances, and she should have had control over her emotions, it was not like her to act without thinking. But even stranger than any of that was that Vinyl had accepted. When she saw Canterlot City Park, Adagio knew that she was getting close to the café. Once she saw the café itself Adagio stopped to take a moment to calm her nerves. She resolved to not let her emotions control her, and took a deep breath to steady herself. Adagio entered the Sweet Snacks Café and looked around. The café’s theme was the eighties, and they did an alright job making it feel like a different era. It seemed odd to Adagio that people would want to visit the past, but as long as they followed modern health practices then it did not matter that much to Adagio. The café was not particularly crowded, so it did not take Adagio long to find Vinyl. After taking another steadying breath, she walked over to her. “Hello Vinyl, good to see you,” Adagio said. “May I sit down?” Vinyl removed her headphones when she noticed Adagio and nodded in response to her question. While Adagio sat down, Vinyl quickly typed a message on her phone. ‘It is good to see you as well. I only got here a minute or two ago, I have not even been given a menu yet.’ “Alright,” Adagio said, still not quite sure how to interact with someone that does not speak verbally. They sat without saying anything for a few moments, and would likely have stayed that way for longer had a waitress not rolled up to their table. It was weird that the waitresses of Sweet Snacks Café wore roller blades, but Adagio supposed it was meant to emulate a drive up restaurant. “Hello Vinyl, welcome back!” The waitress said cheerfully. Then, noticing Adagio, she turned her smile towards her. “And you’ve brought a new face! My name’s Sunny.” “Adagio Dazzle.” “Alrighty. Here are your menus, can I get you started with something to drink?” Vinyl held up her menu and pointed to one of the drink options, and Adagio asked for a soda. “I'll be back with those for you in a minute,” Sunny said before rolling over to the next table. Adagio looked over her menu, it was about what she was expecting: it was mostly just standard fare, but also included an impressive vegetarian selection. She was debating between a bean patty burger and an egg salad sandwich when Vinyl tapped Adagio's menu to get her attention. She set her menu down and Vinyl held up her phone. ‘Will it bother you if I eat meat? I noticed that you do not eat meat and I just want to make sure that it would not be a problem for you.’ To Adagio it was a very strange question, one that she had never considered before. Meat was food, there was no point in looking away simply because it was not to her taste. People would still be eating it. Even so, she was oddly touched that Vinyl had thought to ask her. “No,” Adagio said after a second. “I don't mind at all. Thank you.” Vinyl nodded but did not pick her menu back up. Having decided, Adagio set her menu down as well. Just in time it seemed, as Sunny returned with their drinks soon after. They made their orders, egg salad sandwich for Adagio and a BLT for Vinyl, and Sunny rolled away to put them in. With their orders taken, Adagio decided to keep them from falling into silence again. Her intention in meeting with Vinyl Scratch was to learn about her, she was not going to let the opportunity slip away. “We went to your show on Friday, and I was wondering about your stage name: Pon-3?” Adagio asked. ‘It is pronounced pon-three, not pony, and it does not really mean anything. I used to like horses, and I first “performed” when I was a child.’ Vinyl wrote, soon adding to it. ‘When I got my first real show I was told not to use my real name, and that was the first thing that came to mind.’ “So you’ve always liked music?” ‘Pretty much. I saw someone sing a rock song for some school election at a polo competition my father took me to, and I fell in love with the art of performance and music. What about you?’ “You said it when we first met: I’m a siren. I’ve never lived a minute without music being a part of me.” Adagio said with a shrug. “Until a few months ago anyway.” Adagio’s hand went up to her throat, reaching for a gem no longer there. Vinyl looked like she wanted to say something and picked up her phone to start typing, but it was then that Sunny returned to their table with their lunch. “Here you are,” Sunny said after she set their meals in front of them. “Is there anything else I can get for you?” Both Adagio and Vinyl shook their heads so Sunny smiled at them and rolled away. They ate quietly for a few minutes, both enjoying their meals. Adagio was surprised to find that they served their egg salad sandwiches warm with a melted slice of cheese. Not bad. After finishing the first half of her BLT, Vinyl picked up her phone in one hand and started typing. ‘You asked me a question, may I ask you one?’ “Of course,” Adagio took another bite of her sandwich. ‘Was music important to you because you enjoy it, or just because you were a siren?’ “Music is important to me, not because I was a siren, but because I love it,” Adagio said without hesitation. “I started with music because I'm a siren, but I knew sirens who hated music and saw it as nothing but a tool.” Vinyl seemed to appreciate the answer, although Adagio's slip of the tongue did not go unnoticed. Vinyl nodded in understanding after thinking about it for a moment. The rest of their meal was spent mostly quietly, but both of them were a bit more comfortable after learning about the other. A short time after they finished eating, Sunny came back to their table. “Can I get you anything else? Our flavour of ice cream for the day is chocolate orange.” Sunny asked while picking up their plates. Adagio looked over at Vinyl, who quickly held up her phone for her to see. ‘Maybe to go? We could eat in the park.’ “Alright, we'll have dessert to go. I'll have a brownie,” Adagio said before gesturing for Vinyl to order. Vinyl showed her phone to Sunny, and Adagio couldn't quite see what she ordered. “Sounds good. One or two checks?” “I'll pay,” Adagio said, quickly checking Vinyl's reaction to make sure she wasn't committing some sort of faux pas. Once confident in her course of action, she handed Sunny her credit card. “I'll get this back to you in a minute, and your desserts will be ready soon after,” Sunny said before leaving them alone. Soon enough, Sunny brought the check, which Adagio signed and handed back. ‘How was your meal?’ Vinyl asked. “Better than I expected,” Adagio said honestly. “I had expected them to use cheap ingredients, but it was pretty good.” ‘Then you should enjoy your dessert as well; they take a lot of pride in it.’ “Have you ever had a brownie here?” ‘Yes I have, I liked it well enough. Although I am generally more of a cold dessert person.’ Adagio nodded in understanding before standing up. “Speaking of, we should probably go get our desserts before they melt and cool down respectively.” It seemed like a safe guess to assume that Vinyl had gotten something that could melt after what she said, but Adagio would know soon enough. Vinyl smiled at Adagio's words as she stood up. She did not start going for the counter though, letting Adagio lead them. They reached it just in time for Vinyl's vanilla flurry mixed with bits of colourful candy to be ready. They thanked Sunny as they took their desserts and left the café. It was a short walk to the Canterlot City Park, and in almost no time they were at one of its entrances. Here Vinyl took the lead, walking into the park a ways. Adagio had never been to the park before, and simply followed her. It did not take long for Vinyl to find a bench to sit on. The bench itself was just a simple wooden bench, well-maintained but unremarkable. The bench was just inside a wooded section of the park, and in front of the trees was an open field. The trees were tall and green through and there were some flowers, but it was hardly an impressive view. Still, it was clear to Adagio that Vinyl was familiar with that particular spot. She sat down next to Vinyl and they both started with their desserts. The brownie was surprisingly good, it was just a simple brownie with no special or clever additions, but it did not need anything. It was warm and also a larger portion than Adagio would have expected. She liked it quite a bit. Looking over it was evident that Vinyl was also enjoying her dessert. She was not eating very fast and it would definitely be more of a drink by the end, but she was clearly savouring the taste. They ate their desserts without much conversation, simply enjoying the food and scenery. It took her a moment, but Adagio felt that she understood why Vinyl chose the spot she did even while the park was mostly empty. Adagio could see other people in the field, playing and eating, but she couldn’t hear them. It was not the most scenic place in the park, that much was obvious, but Adagio might have bet that it was the calmest. Even after they finished their desserts, neither of them started a conversation immediately. For a few minutes they sat there, not really doing anything but enjoying themselves regardless. “Vinyl, I’ve been wondering,” Adagio started. “When you came to our table Monday, you said something to Sonata just with hand motions. How does that work? I didn’t get the impression that the two of you were close enough to have an entire code for talking to one another.” Vinyl looked at Adagio with a slight tilt to her head, appearing to be confused by her question. Soon though, she typed a response on her phone. ‘It is sign language. It helps people who cannot speak or those who cannot hear communicate more effectively. Have you never heard of it before?’ Adagio shook her head. “Don't think so. But Sonata knows it?” Vinyl seemed to let Adagio’s ignorance on the subject drop, and simply answered her question instead. ‘She is not fluent, but she knows more than a lot of people.’ “I see,” Adagio said. It was strange to Adagio that she had not realised that people who cannot speak would still need a way to talk to others. It felt like one of the things that being a siren kept her from considering, as the thought of life without a voice was unfathomable to her before her song was stolen from her. “Could you teach me?” Vinyl stared at Adagio, not just confused but surprised. She was not certain she had heard right. “Not all of it obviously, just some important words and phrases,” Adagio clarified, not realising what had confused Vinyl. Still, it was enough to snap Vinyl back to the present. ‘I can try, but remember that it is a language. It is not something that you will be a master of immediately. Once you are ready, I will teach you how to say hello.’ Once Adagio nodded, Vinyl set her phone down and demonstrated the sign. It was a simple motion, and Adagio mimicked it easily enough. ‘Good. Now I will show you “see you later”, I tend to use it just as goodbye.’ They continued like that for quite awhile, Vinyl demonstrating signs and correcting Adagio’s mistakes. Adagio found it to be surprisingly fun, and kept asking to learn more. Eventually, it got late enough that Vinyl had to leave, and they bid each other goodbye for the day. When Adagio got back to her house, she was still smiling from her time with Vinyl.
Chapter IIIAfter a long day of school, made longer by a resurgence of students trying to get the Dazzlings to leave Canterlot High for good, Adagio Dazzle decided to get a snack on her way to her house since she was unable to eat her lunch. Aria was still in Cheerilee’s after school class, which served a simple meal, and Sonata simply went straight back to the house. That left Adagio alone to find something to eat. It took Adagio some time to determine where to go, but she did eventually remember that there was a sweet shop near Canterlot High. It took her about an hour to reach the shop, which was decorated to look like a gingerbread house or something similar. The store was called Sugarcube Corner, which sounded familiar but she couldn't quite place it. She could have gotten to Sugarcube Corner faster, but chose to delay in the hopes of missing the crowd of students. Her plan seemed to be largely successful as when she entered the building the line was fairly short and was made mostly of people that Adagio did not recognise. It did cross Adagio’s mind as she took her place at the back of the line that she would probably already have eaten if she had just followed Sonata back to their house, but it was far too late for it to matter much anymore. She was more concerned about getting back before the rain started. The line slowly thinned, slow enough that Adagio guessed that they were either short staffed or sold out of things people were ordering and getting backed up because of it. Regardless, it was taking much longer than Adagio had hoped to spend in the store at all. After longer than she would have liked, Adagio was the only person in the line. However, despite that, the man behind the counter walked over to the pickup side first. Adagio did not really care who it was that had arrived, she was just vaguely annoyed that the first customer for pickup while she was in the store had come in just when she reached the counter. She had been perfectly content to simply ignore them and wait a minute or two, until she heard the customer’s name. “Hey Vinyl, where’s Octavia?” The man behind the counter asked as he walked over to her. Vinyl Scratch took her headphones off and put them around her neck before writing a message on her notebook and turned it towards him, and while Adagio could not guess what it said she was more concerned with the person writing it. The man, who’s name tag identified him as Carrot Cake, nodded after reading what Vinyl wrote and then walked into the kitchen. After their lunch the week before, Adagio had not really interacted with Vinyl. She was not avoiding Vinyl, she had simply not met with her since then. “Hello Vinyl,” Adagio said, not knowing if she should follow her greeting with anything. For her part, Vinyl noticed Adagio and smiled cheerfully before signing ‘hello’ and ‘how are you’ to her. Mr. Cake came back to the counter carrying a small box before Adagio had a chance to respond. “Here you are Vinyl, two chocolate muffins and two blueberry,” Mr. Cake said as he set the box in front of Vinyl. “If you're sure you still want all four, we’ll call it five dollars.” Vinyl gave him the money and also made a sign that Adagio recognised as ‘thank you’. Then Vinyl turned to Adagio and held out her notebook. ‘Would you like to join me? I have more than I need.’ “Sure,” Adagio said after a moment. “Thank you.” Vinyl went over to a table under one of the front windows and Adagio followed her over. They sat on opposite sides of the table and Vinyl opened her box and set it down in the centre of the table, taking a chocolate muffin from it. She paused to decide which flavour to choose, but soon enough Adagio took a blueberry muffin. “So Octavia was supposed to be here with you?” Responding with a nod, Vinyl took a bite from her muffin. She soon set it down for a few seconds to type out a more complete answer on her phone. Once she was done, she set her phone down between them, facing Adagio. ‘We come here every week after music practise. She was just busy because she has an audition today.’ It was a side effect of having spent the majority of her life manipulating everyone around her that Adagio paid very close attention to word choice, and since Vinyl was writing it was even easier for her to notice. If Octavia had scheduled an audition, then she would have told her best friend that she would not make their usual weekly plans and Vinyl would then not have ordered enough food for both of them. Which in turn meant that either Adagio was looking too deeply into Vinyl's words, or that Octavia had not known that she would be busy. “Fair enough,” Adagio said, taking a bite of her muffin. She realised while chewing that she was probably supposed to ask about Octavia's audition, it struck her as the friendly thing to do. “What’s Octavia auditioning for?” Adagio asked Vinyl after finishing her mouthful. ‘It is a secret.’ Vinyl turned her phone back towards Adagio once she had typed out another sentence. ‘Anyway, it is bad luck to talk about an audition before it is decided one way or another.’ Adagio laughed a bit at Vinyl's superstition, but immediately regretted it when she realised that Vinyl was probably being serious. Thankfully, she looked to see Vinyl smiling good-naturedly at her. Adagio had never put much stock in luck, good or bad. Things happen as a result of actions, chance holds little weight in the equation. “Alright, what would you normally work on with Octavia, or would that be bad luck to talk about as well?” Rather than type her answer, Vinyl signed it. ‘Music’ and then a sign Adagio didn’t know, but guessed meant ‘practise’. Vinyl was confident that Adagio would guess her meaning, but was less so that her intention of it being a joke would be understood. “I mean, what sort of music? I've heard you both perform and there does not seem to be much crossover in your styles or even instruments,” Adagio clarified, not concerned by Vinyl's half-answer. Vinyl finished her muffin before giving her answer. ‘There is not much, no. But we can both enjoy more than just our favourite style, and it is not like we only know one instrument each.’ “What other instrument do you play?” Adagio asked. ‘I could play the piano before I could walk.’ Vinyl turned her phone back towards herself to add a bit more. ‘I also play the drums, but not much. What about you?’ “If you'll excuse the phrase, sirens are one trick ponies. We spend our lives singing, anything else is a distraction,” Adagio said the words easily, she had thought similar ones often enough, without her voice a siren is worthless. For a minute or two, Vinyl watched Adagio. She ate her blueberry muffin slowly and did not seem to particularly enjoy it, but Vinyl mostly noticed how lost Adagio was in her last sentence. Maybe she had moved past in her head, but Vinyl doubted it. Her doubt was supported by Adagio reaching for where her gemstone was before it broke. ‘You could join us sometime, if you want to try an instrument.’ Vinyl added to her words after Adagio read them. ‘Not every week and you would have to give me time to convince Octavia, but if you want to learn then I would be happy to help.’ “I won't lie, learning an instrument does sound like it could be a good use of time,” Adagio said, taking a bite from her muffin. “But it doesn't matter. Vice-Principal Luna made it very clear that I am not to be involved with music.” ‘Then we could meet after school, or on the weekend. Vice-Principal Luna cannot reach you outside of Canterlot High School.’ Vinyl suggested. “Couldn't it cause trouble for you if people found out that you were trying to help a siren in a musical pursuit? Just spending time with me has sparked quite a few rumours about you.” ‘It could. But all that I would be doing is helping my friend rekindle her passion. No one in Canterlot High can reasonably be upset with me for following the Princess’ advice of trying to be a better friend.’ “Flawless logic. Except for one thing,” Adagio said, finishing her muffin. “People are rarely very reasonable about the things they hate. A concept that keeps sirens fed.” Vinyl shrugged as an immediate response, but also began typing. ‘People have been talking about me behind my back for as long as I can remember, I would be worried if they stopped. Besides, I would not let a few rumours stop me from spending time with my friends.’ Now that Vinyl had typed it twice, it was impossible for Adagio to ignore that Vinyl considered her a friend. It was not really a surprise, Vinyl had accepted what could only be called a date with her, but it still threw Adagio a bit to see it so plainly. It was not a foreign concept to have a friend, but it was also not something that she had ever truly cared about before. It struck Adagio that she wanted to be close to Vinyl, she wanted to be her friend, to spend time together. “If you’re serious, then I accept,” Adagio said, looking into Vinyl’s eyes as best she could through the girl’s coloured glasses. “I think I would enjoy learning an instrument.” Vinyl smiled happily at that, signing ‘wonderful’ before picking her phone up. She was about to turn it back towards Adagio, but seemed to realise something and stopped to retype. ‘Do you have a phone?’ Vinyl looked questioningly at Adagio. “Yeah, of course I do,” Adagio took the device out of her pocket and held it up. “I just don’t use it much. Why?” ‘We should exchange numbers. It would make it much easier to plan a meeting for your first lesson. If you give me your phone I can add them.’ Adagio unlocked her phone and gave it to Vinyl, trusting her. After a few seconds, Vinyl gave Adagio’s phone back. Just in time for it to receive a text from Sonata. Adagio read it and looked at the store’s clock. “It's later than I thought, I need to get going,” Adagio stood up. “Sorry to leave so abruptly, but I really meant to be at my house by half an hour ago at the latest.” And her walk back was not likely to be great given that the rain decided to start. ‘No problem. See you later.’ Vinyl signed. Adagio smiled before signing back. ‘See you later.’ From the outside, Vinyl Scratch's house was about the same as every other house on the street. It had the same two story shape, the same lawn, and the same single tree to the left of the driveway. The only notable differences on the outside were the door and the windows. The windows had the standard planters but the flowers were much more varied between each window. They also had shutters, which were unique and were deep blue. Adagio approached the door, which was the same deep blue as the shutters, and knocked. After exchanging numbers with Vinyl, it only took a few days for Vinyl to set up a day for them to meet. That day was about two weeks after their meeting, but Adagio had been looking forward to trying an instrument and was willing to wait. Walking to Vinyl's house was not the best experience Adagio had ever had, but even a two and a half hour walk before noon did little to temper her excitement. Although learning an instrument had initially just seemed like an especially fun way to defeat boredom, once Adagio had put serious thought into it, it started to seem like it could be more than that. She had not been dramatising when she said that music was a part of a siren, and she felt the loss even more deeply since seeing Vinyl perform. Perhaps being able to create music once more could lessen the pain. The door opened to reveal Vinyl, who signed hello before gesturing to invite Adagio in. The inside of Vinyl's house was not what Adagio had expected. The first thing that jumped out at her was that it was very clean, and the second was that it was a bit boring. The walls were a light tan, the floors were covered with grey carpet, and there was not much adding any colour. Adagio guessed that Octavia did the decorating. They were in what appeared to be a dining room, and from it she could see into a living room and a kitchen. There was also a set of stairs, which Vinyl was standing next to. ‘Our music room is upstairs. We can go straight there or have an early lunch first, whichever you prefer.’ “Let's start with the music,” Adagio said. “I'm looking forward to learning to play.” ‘Just do not expect to be great immediately, it takes time.’ Once Adagio read her warning, Vinyl led her to the music room. The inside of the music room felt much more like it was Vinyl’s to Adagio. It was a large room and the walls were white but also painted with a vibrant, flowing pattern mixed with music notes. The walls themselves appeared to be sound proofed. One side of the room was dominated by electronic instruments, such as Vinyl's turntables, while the other had more traditional instruments such as a cello. Set up in a corner was a drum kit, the instrument that Adagio was there to learn. ‘First I will teach you the fundamentals, and then if we have time then we can start with simple songs.’ Vinyl paused so that Adagio could read, and then put her phone into her pocket. Adagio walked towards the drums while Vinyl grabbed something from off a shelf near her turntables. Vinyl tapped Adagio's shoulder and gestured for her to sit. Once Adagio had done so, Vinyl started putting sticky-notes on the various parts of the drums. “What's this?” Adagio asked, leaning forward to read the notes. In response, Vinyl handed her another sticky-note. ‘The fundamentals. The first step is knowing what it is and how you are meant to use it.’ “So you want me to memorise these names?” Vinyl wrote something on her pocket notebook and showed it to Adagio. ‘Eventually, but the names are the least important part of knowing them. Before you can start actually performing songs, you need to know how each part of the drums sounds and what they feel like. But first, posture.’ “Posture?” Vinyl nodded. ‘Drums are a very active instrument, it is not hard to hurt yourself if you learn to play with an improper stance or grip. Ask me how I know.’ She had not considered the physical issues with learning an instrument, but it made sense to Adagio that it would take some practise to be able to start learning the drums in earnest. Not unlike learning to dance. Adagio let Vinyl lead her through a series of stretches and then they began to work on Adagio’s posture and her grip on the drumsticks. Vinyl would demonstrate her preferred option as well as an alternative, and then Adagio would attempt to copy them. Once Adagio found a seating position and grip that worked for her, Vinyl corrected them until they would serve her well. It would take Adagio some time to learn her stance to the point of it feeling perfectly natural, but she was adapting quickly. After a fair amount of time focused on posture, Vinyl instructed Adagio to see how it felt to play each part of the drums individually. It all sounded about like what Adagio had expected, but just one sound at a time did not feel much like music. Vinyl assured her that it was better to learn what sound is produced by striking any given part of the drums, that it would make her a better player in the long run. They practised in such a manner for hours, losing track of time. By the time that they took a break for lunch, Adagio felt that she might be able to perform music again some day. It would take a lot of serious effort, by it was within her reach, it was no longer lost to her forever. It had been a deliberate choice by both Vinyl and Octavia to not put a clock in their music room because they did not want the distraction, but sometimes it did result in them losing track of time when they did not want to. At around two o’clock, Adagio and Vinyl decided to break for lunch. Vinyl had made sure to buy ingredients for a vegetarian meal, and they each made and ate their sandwiches. They were nothing special, but were also much better than anything Canterlot High would offer them. After their meal, they returned to the music room. Rather than return to practise, they simply talked to each other about music. They spoke for a while before Adagio decided that it was time to ask the question she had wanted an answer for a long time. "I wanted to ask, but I don't want you to think that you have to answer," Adagio stumbled a bit over her words, but was more worried about making sure Vinyl understood her than she was about how she sounded. "I have been wondering about it since before we spoke, but I'm not sure if I should ask." Vinyl smiled reassuringly and showed Adagio her phone. 'I trust you. Ask me whatever you need to.' Adagio took a breath to steady herself. "Why were you unaffected by our magic?" Vinyl tilted her head, but soon smiled in understanding. She turned to her turntable and messed with it for a few seconds before connecting her headphones to it, then she faced Adagio again and held out her headphones without touching the volume switch on their side. Adagio took the offered headphones and put them on. Vinyl pressed the play button. "By the sun and moon!" Adagio cried as she ripped the headphones off. "How do you wear these things all d-" Vinyl Scratch always wore either her headphones or her earbuds, and anyone that sat next to her in class or even just passed her in the hall could testify that they were not just for show. Adagio remembered seeing Vinyl in the cafeteria when the Dazzlings first came to Canterlot High, she remembered her wearing headphones and bobbing along to something that -in retrospect -was clearly not the Dazzlings' song. While Adagio was realising the implications of what she was saying, Vinyl took the headphones back and turned off the music. She also prepared a message for Adagio. "You... you never fell under our spell, because you never heard us sing?" Adagio could hardly believe that the answer was so simple. ‘In the cafeteria I was listening to a live performance and did not want to miss it, and it was pretty easy to see that something was wrong after that. I just figured I would not support your competition, so I kept not listening when you sang.’ Adagio stared at Vinyl for a few seconds before breaking into laughter. It was a genuine laugh born from her realisation of just how silly it was that she had been expecting some grand magical answer, but the truth was as simple as it was obvious. As Vinyl watched Adagio laugh, she found herself in the familiar position of wishing she could join in. However, her usual desire was overshadowed by the realisation that Adagio had never looked more beautiful. Knowing that Adagio would not know what it meant, Vinyl signed to her while she was distracted. ‘I think I might be falling for you.’ Adagio regained her composure enough to ask about Vinyl's signing. “What's that one mean?” Vinyl smiled and quickly typed a response. ‘Do not worry about it.’
