Home is Where the Hearth Is

Scrunching and crunching chunks of snow compressed under Sonata's boots as she wandered the streets of Canterlot City. Around her, the bustle of the city echoed and hooted, rattling her enough that she shivered more out of instinct than out of true chill. Although there were not many people out on the sidewalks, the roads were currently still filled with cars. They weren't bumper to bumper, but given it was only a few more days until Christmas, she presumed they were all last-minute shoppers searching for the right gifts.

From the sickly yellow sky, snowflakes occasionally floated down, to rest either on the brown piles of dirty, mushy snow before melting into them, or to gently descend onto Sonata's nose. When they became too numerous, she sneezed and wiped at her nostrils, only for the process to eventually repeat.

The section of sidewalk that she was on transitioned from beaten down, unshoveled snow, to more recently cleared, albeit still untended cement and slushy gunk. With each footfall, her boots gave disgusting squelches or squishes, which only made her already downcast demeanor fall further. Thankfully, she had thus far avoided being splashed by any of the passing cars, although she had come close once or twice to getting a free shower in the salty wastewater.

By now, the sun had set well past the horizon, as Pinkie had later texted her, somehow, despite not being given her number, that the time to meet would be later in the evening. Apparently the cafe was only being given to her after closing hours, which was well into the night. Granted, that didn't really bother her, since she did have a shift that day, but when she'd normally be in the apartment, either sleeping or eating, and otherwise doing her best to stay out of her sisters' way, she was out in the cold.

Underneath her deep purple winter jacket, she still wore the uniform of her employer. The Sizzler, to be specific. Whether it was a blessing that she worked at a Mexican restaurant, and thereby knew the ins and outs of the cuisine, or a curse, given that she couldn't partake of the food while on the clock, she couldn't be sure. Regardless, it was her part in keeping the Dazzlings out of living on the streets.

She even got an employee discount.

Broken from her reverie, she yelped as a car went careening by, and she jumped out of the way in the nick of time. A wall of brown water went flying from the puddle that the driver had dashed through, and Sonata tsked as she felt some droplets splash on her. There was one dark splotch left on her jacket, and she groaned.

Given that it was one of their coats that the Dazzlings had had for a number of years, Adagio was probably going to throttle Sonata if she saw the stains that had been left by the passing vehicle. As she desperately patted her coat down to try and get the snow off, she whimpered and shook her head.

With the overcast sky, all she could see was light pollution bouncing off the clouds. No stars were visible, even through cracks in the cover, and the only bright light was a plane that had to have been passing overhead. Just like her, the weather was about as dreary as it could be.

Kicking at some of the hardened snow on the curb, Sonata grumbled under her breath at the car, which was now well and truly gone, and spun back down her path. At the moment, she was just off one of the main streets, so the majority of her peripheral vision was filled with lighted signs, the occasional neon bulb, and stores—which were open, anyway—advertising their best deals to drag in more shoppers.

Since she had only gotten off work, she figured that probably Pinkie was the same way. It was, by her guess, another five minutes to the cafe, and from there, however long she'd be made to work away for Pinkie.

As her mind wandered to the cafe and meeting with Pinkie again, her heart started to pound in her chest. Adagio and Aria had been cross already when they complained that she had spent half the night getting the Christmas tree up. Sure enough, the tree had been covered with ornaments, tinsel, and lights, but it was not her doing. Unless she had become a sleep decorator instead of a sleep taco eater.

Although it didn't appear her sister did, she had investigated a bit further and found a couple of candies had been snuck into some of the branches of the tree. While she couldn't prove it, if it was somehow Pinkie who had set it up...

Sonata growled and shook her head. "Just Pinkie things," as the students at CHS said. Time and again.

Momentarily pausing to stare into a store that was still open, Sonata sighed as she caught a number of younger teens happily chatting with one of the people working behind the counter. It might have been just a simple candy shop, but even seeing a functional group around Christmas pricked a spear tip into her heart.

She swallowed. For a few more seconds, she observed the group, then closed her eyes, inhaled, and moved on. There was little point thinking about it, not when it was unlikely to happen for her.

As much as the other sirens claimed she was stupid, it wasn't like she didn't know what was going on. Just because she sometimes had trouble following, didn't mean that she wasn't just as capable. After all, she had been the one to suggest a hundred years ago to cause a panic around the stock market. Maybe it backfired a bit, but all that emotion was a treat to feast on and was more than enough power to get a few of the survivors of the market crash to do what they needed to do.

Granted, Adagio still whined about what they had to sell to stay afloat. It really was only within recent memory they had to lay lower, what with the advent of the internet and phones and all.

As she thought about that, her own phone buzzed, and she sighed. Pinkie text, more than likely. When she pulled it out, she caught an image of Pinkie in the notification header, and she nodded. Not surprising at this point.

Although it was innocently asking when she would be over and if she was on her way, Sonata furrowed her brow for a moment before she answered an affirmative. Was Pinkie trying to fish for more info from her? Considering she basically seemed to have free rein of the Dazzlings' apartment and knew far too much about her, what could Pinkie gain?

Sonata shrugged. She wasn't far off, anyway.

Pulling her jacket closer to her chest, she shuddered as a gust of wind carried down one of the side streets which she had chosen. Some of the flakes that had fallen from the sky were shot directly into her face, and one up her nose, too. At that, she hitched, her breath stuttered a couple of times, and then she sneezed. As she did, she heard a small scraping, looked up, and caught a loose eavestrough shaking a bit looser.

Before she could react, the snow that had accumulated inside of it slid out, and she gave a small squeak before it landed squarely on her head. It scattered in a brilliant cloud of white, and she coughed and gagged a couple of times before she managed to wipe herself off.

Pinpricks of icy cold poked into her cheeks from the snow, and she held back a couple of shivers. After making sure that her hair wasn't completely soaked, she grunted and marched off. Each footstep cracked loudly on the pavement of the sidewalk, muffled only slightly by the mushy snow underneath. Infrequently, she'd hit a piece of salt or ice melter, and it'd crackle or snap as it shattered under her beat.

She grimaced. If either of her sisters knew what she was up to, they'd at best decry it if not keep her away from it. In her mind's eye, she could see Adagio practically dragging her away, yet also in that imagined scenario, she saw Pinkie doing what she could to try and keep her there.

At that, she gulped. Maybe it was still just nerves, but could it possibly be that Pinkie was being truthful about wanting to make her a friend? Did she even want to be friends with the Rainbooms?

Halting and looking at her reflection in a nearby puddle, she bit her lip and brushed back some of her hair. Since it was rather cold, she had undone her ponytail so she could have a bit more insulation from the elements. She pushed aside a bang or two, and frowned, looking deep into her magenta eyes. As a siren, she'd have laughed at the idea, even if it might have led to a few fun adventures.

Now? What point was there to fight it? Was she going to get her magic back or something and do what she could to get her revenge on the Rainbooms? Was there even much reason to do that, if they, or at least Pinkie, were willing to bury the hatchet?

Clenching and unclenching her fist a couple of times, she finally slumped her shoulders. Her mind felt fuzzy. Swirling feelings between loyalty to her sisters and ending the frustration and anger she still harbored to an extent with the Rainbooms left her head throbbing. A couple of veins pulsed painfully near her temples, which she gently caressed before looking up and down the street.

If her memory of the city was correct, turning the corner would get her to Pinkie's cafe. As if to confirm her thoughts, a rusty pickup truck moseyed by, and she caught a glimpse of another Rainboom, the one who played backup guitar to that rainbow-haired one.

Sonata smirked. Watching that one take the lead and almost end up disqualifying her band was rather amusing. Although it was a stand-out solo, she had to admit.

The jalopy of a truck wound around the corner that she had noticed, and a minute or two later, she heard the slam of a door and the girl call out for Pinkie. Her voice was distant, but still audible enough.

As the realization that she was near and had to make a final decision sunk in, Sonata swallowed and gave a small shudder. Would Pinkie's friends be as welcoming as Pinkie? Was it simply a plan for her to be seen in her sorry state and made fun of?

Squeezing her eyes shut, Sonata shook her head and gingerly took one step forward. Same with the next. And the next. Soon, she was back to her normal pace, with the streetlights guiding her toward the cafe, as well as casting long shadows in their yellowish hue.

She pulled out her phone again and quickly checked the time. It wasn't too late that her sisters would start wondering. When she had late shifts at the Sizzler, she sometimes was there for a while past when she thought she'd return. After all, sometimes she did what her colleagues described as something special. Like that time she managed to ignite water. Without any oil or grease floating on top of it.

Regardless, there was at least some leeway before Adagio and Aria would have gotten suspicious. If she was questioned, she'd probably just say she had to put a grease fire out or something.

As she rounded the bend, she stopped as she took in the cafe. Although there were no patrons left there, it was lit up as brightly as could be. Shafts of golden rays from the restaurant's dining room gleamed on the wet pavement. While it was a flat, box-like rectangle, it still managed to have a bit of charm, given the giant gingerbread man that had been set up by the entrance.

In the parking lot, there were a total of four vehicles. The truck; a prim, clean, and white sedan; a muddy and older SUV; and a pink scooter. At the latter, Sonata arched a brow. Even in her transportation choices, Pinkie was noticeable. The other two vehicles she had no clue about.

When she switched her attention back to the cafe, though, she could see some movement in the kitchen. Although most of it was hidden behind a door and wall, there was one open section for passing orders to and from the back. Every so often, Pinkie or another one of the Rainbooms would pass in front of the gap, and she could see that they were all chatting and laughing about something said.

She stepped a few paces closer, then stopped at the edge of the parking lot. For a second, she inwardly asked what they had that her sisters didn't, and she bit her lip. Did they tolerate each other well, or did they actually enjoy their company?

She pushed the thought from her mind. Instead, she stared at Gummy, who had appeared in one of the windows and was peering back at her. Even though he was small at her distance, she could still see him individually blink his eyes. They seemed to dig right through her soul.

Shuddering, she drew herself straighter and strode forward, her boots slapping on the wet pavement of the parking lot. Every inch took her closer to the peering, empty eyes of Gummy, who, as she got close, slowly smacked part of his tongue over one of them and slowly drew it down.

Sonata forced back her reaction of gagging and went up to the door. However, in the dimmer lighting conditions, she missed a patch of ice, and as soon as her booted foot stepped on it, she staggered forward. With a yelp, she wheeled her arms a couple of times, then impacted against the glass door of the cafe.

She groaned. Within seconds, it clicked open, and she heard Pinkie exclaim, "Hey, new bestie! You know you're supposed to pull on the door, not push, right?" At that, Sonata moaned again and peeled herself off the glass. There was a large, smudgy imprint from where she hit.

"Gummy was just saying he spotted you, so I thought I'd welcome you in!" Pinkie chirped. As Sonata's vision cleared, she saw Pinkie reaching out a hand, and Sonata cautiously took it. With firm strength, but not excessive force, Pinkie pulled Sonata forward and through the open door. Instantly, Sonata's nose was hit with the aroma of baking, the sweet scents dancing through the air and making her mouth water.

A knowing smile crossed Pinkie's lips. With a smug wink, she stated, "If you help out enough, you can try someone else's treats." Sonata arched a brow. Hissing under her breath, Pinkie muttered, "Because the goodies are supposed to be a surprise for the party. No-one else should know what they taste like!" Furtively shooting a glance behind her, she added, "But I'll make an exception for you."

Before Sonata could answer Pinkie, Pinkie perked up and bellowed, "Hey everybody! Sonata's here!" There wasn't an immediate response, and she frowned before barking, "So you can take five in there!"

"Do you think she's done yelling?" a soft voice inquired. The speaker was behind the wall to the kitchen and Sonata couldn't spot her.

"Well, she probably wants us all to meet that new friend of hers," another stated in a southern drawl. "Truth be told, she was already having us work harder than a herd of pigs getting to the nearest mud bath, so I ain't against it."

"That name sounds familiar, if it's one of the—" a third speaker began before Sonata saw a snugly-dressed girl poke her head around. Despite working in a kitchen, she seemed to be a bit on the obsessed side with flashy, jewel-encrusted fashion. Her face fell flat. "Oh. Pinkie, darling, might we have a word about your choice of—"

"Gee, Rarity, I thought you'd want an extra set of hands to keep yours from getting dirty with baking," Pinkie quipped, which made Rarity blink before blushing slightly. Scratching her head, Rarity mumbled, "Well, possibly. Um—" She sighed. "Sonata, was it? Um, nice to, uh, meet you? Again?"

Twisting a lock of her hair around an index finger, Sonata shot a look between Pinkie, and then the other two teens who popped their heads through the doorway on the left to the kitchen. One was the bassist for the Rainbooms, the other the percussionist. Sonata focused. Names were not her strongest suit, but her mind had a ninety-five percent confidence it was Shutterfly and Crappleback, or something. However, she didn't have a chance to even wave to say hi before Pinkie grabbed her.

"Hi Applejack, hi Fluttershy! Sonata and me are gonna just do a teensy-weensy tour of this place, and then it'll be right back to baking for all of you!" Despite the cheery declaration, Pinkie's face darkened, and she snarled, "Understand?" When her friends nervously shuffled on their feet, she added, "Those confections aren't going to cook themselves, are they?"

After a couple of awkward mumbles of agreement, Pinkie repeated, just as harshly, "Are they?!"

"No!" all three exclaimed in unison, and Pinkie's countenance brightened.

"Right! So take five, and then it's back to work, work, work!" At that, Pinkie pushed Sonata, who had not even had a chance to take off her jacket or other winter gear, past the bar in front of the kitchen. As she led Sonata to one end of the cafe, she explained, "So this is where I normally work! I take everyone's order, and get them the best version of it they could possibly hope for!" She gestured to one of the booths near the windows. "Isn't it exciting, new friend? Can I call you 'Nata?"

"Uh..." Sonata mumbled as she pushed herself away from Pinkie. "I guess?" Glancing around the booth area, she murmured, "Don't you do what anyone else would?" She shrugged. "I don't know, it's what I do at the Sizzler." With a sigh, she shook her head and started to doff her winter clothing.

As her frown deepened, Pinkie quipped, "Hey, don't look like you put out a grease fire with your face. We can still make everything better!" Motioning back to the kitchen, she shuffled forward and leaned near to Sonata. "I kept you coming here a secret. We're going to work on some baked goods together! Because it'll be fun as friends!"

Biting her lip, Sonata hung her head and nodded. When she looked up, she felt an itching sensation in the side of her head and switched her attention to the window. Gummy was still gazing at her. Every second she met his stare, she felt as if she were descending deeper into the pits of her own soul. Were those two black slits only pupils, or windows into the next plane of existence? Did Gummy know things that no-one else did? Did—

"Hey," she heard Pinkie say as there was a sudden snapping of fingers in front of her face, "no time to snooze! It's time to groove! Get into a baking groove, that is." Grinning from ear to ear, Pinkie hauled Sonata back into the kitchen, where she was assaulted by an even stronger smell of sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and other confectionery goods that would combine together into something delicious.

Not as perfect as a taco or enchilada or something, but still, pretty good.

So far, the kitchen appeared to be mostly orderly. A single table in the center of it was stacked to the brim with recipe books, bulk ingredients like flour or sugar, and also pans for making the baked goods. Mostly transparent wisps of flour drifted up from one of the mixing bowls as Fluttershy gingerly mixed together some ingredients that Sonata couldn't see.

When Fluttershy spotted Sonata glancing at her, she shrunk back behind some of her hair and continued stirring things. Sonata grimaced, then switched her attention away, as a tiny, vice-like grip on her throat appeared practically out of thin air. She rubbed her throat. Was that the thing that Adagio had warned about not having when they used magic to get their way? Guilt?

She shook her head. Following Pinkie's suggestion to toss her winter clothes into the same pile as the others, she followed Pinkie toward the table. She caught a clang to her left, and saw Applejack bending down to grab something from the tray underneath an oven. When Applejack had pulled out a glass dish, she sauntered over to the table as well and plopped it down next to a page.

Rarity was in a corner, where there was a micro counter on which she was gingerly adding large sprinkles to something garnished in melted chocolate. Looked like balls.

For the kitchen itself, it was tidy enough that Sonata didn't have to worry about tripping on anything, although as the minutes dragged on while Pinkie prepared her own baking, it grew to be more disheveled. Not unlike the Sizzler's, the more she thought about it.

As Pinkie reached down for a couple of spoons and a fork, revealing Gummy in the cupboard, somehow, Sonata asked, "Shouldn't I be helping, or baking, or whatever?" Pinkie spun around and shook her head.

"Just watch and learn! We'll get to your stuff last!" proclaimed Pinkie in a sing-song manner. At that, she twirled back and removed Gummy from the cupboard. The alligator snarled and growled. As she placed him down, Pinkie exclaimed with a gasp, "No! Fluttershy! Don't ruin it! You have to include this much butter, and—"

Blinking in surprise, Sonata watched as Pinkie yanked the bowl out of Fluttershy's grasp and began to vigorously mix. With a hasty swipe at a nearby stick of butter, she managed to slice it in half while still stirring and then threw in a dash of cinnamon and brown sugar. "This is the best way to make gingerbread!" At that, Fluttershy cringed back, but she nodded.

"O-Okay, please calm down," she muttered.

"I'm entirely calm! The whole baking process is calm! I AM CALM ITSELF!" screamed Pinkie as she gave one, final, harsh whip on the batter and then passed it back to Fluttershy. Her demeanor instantly changing from anger to serenity, Pinkie stated, "There, now it'll be just right."

Fluttering her eyelids a few times, Fluttershy simply swapped from looking at Pinkie, then back to the batter, then back to Pinkie. Dipping a finger into it, she gave a quick taste of the dough, and what twinges of fear she still had vanished. She blushed faintly. A grateful nod was all Pinkie received, but it was enough for her to spin around and focus on Applejack for a moment.

As she started to correct Applejack on some of her baking technique, Rarity piped up from her corner, "Sonata, um, how is, well, life?" Sonata looked over, her gaze withering. When Rarity met it, she wilted with a soft titter and scratched the back of her head. "Aside from other extenuating circumstances, of course."

"What I think Rarity means to say is, 'sorry for—'" Before Fluttershy could finish, Sonata held up a hand, and Fluttershy let out a soft "meep."

"Could be better. Could be worse, I guess," grumbled Sonata as she moved to lean back against one of the ovens. There was a thin layer of flour on some of the elements of the stove top, but she didn't bother to brush them away. All she did was watch the baking process unfold. Applejack was taking Pinkie's rather forceful suggestions in stride, while Fluttershy finished kneading the gingerbread batter out and started to cut it into various shapes.

"Yes, yes, of course," Rarity replied as she finished putting on the last of her dessert's decorations. "Um, you seem like a dear, but, well, when you—"

"I get it," Sonata interjected. For a second or two, her chest tightened as she mentally finished the sentence. Was it really the Rainbooms' right to say that they were acting in an evil way? They were sirens, they were trying to survive. But there wasn't a point of exploding at Rarity. Not without a way to get her magic back.

"What was it like there?" Tilting her head up, Sonata gave a soft hum of confusion at Fluttershy's question. Fluttershy cut up a couple more cookies. Working her jaw, Fluttershy rolled the remaining batter into one last ball, and as she got one more sweet out of it, she added, "In Equestria. Through the portal. Sunset hasn't talked about it much, and Princess Twilight wasn't really focused on it when she was here."

"Yes, it is a rather mystical place, to us, anyway," Rarity agreed. Waltzing over to the center table, she slid her tray of chocolate balls next to another finished dessert, a gumdrop cake, and she moved closer to Sonata. "Surely you would have some memories of it?"

Hanging her head to ponder, Sonata nodded and crossed her arms over her chest. She moved into a slightly different position and propped one of her feet against the door of the oven. Although Pinkie didn't say anything, one glare from her left Sonata feeling like ice was trickling down her back, and she hastily withdrew the offending limb.

She licked her lips. Why did they have to be so nosy about her? Were they trying to get some information to stop her and her sisters? Maybe find a way to send them back to Equestria to face whatever crimes Star Swirl would dredge up for them?

However, peering at their sincere expressions, she couldn't really conclude a reason other than pure curiosity. Mentally resigning herself, she stated, "Well, sure, I guess." Scratching her chin, she muttered, "So, before we, like, tried taking over Canterlot, Dagi and Ari had to rescue me." At the blank looks the two girls gave her, rolled her shoulders. "What? I liked exploring.

"Anyway, the deep ocean was so dark but pretty, and I wanted to see if I could find something that we could use in our performance there in Canterlot." Pawing at her hair for a second, Sonata lolled her head from one side and then the other before she stated, "But, uh, I might have been duped. A bit. I thought I saw a really cool gem, which I thought would go well with Dagi's fins, but it kept moving on me. So, I kept diving and diving, until I could barely see, and, well, uh, it might have been a Trapper Gorgon."

"A what?" Fluttershy inquired, although she bit her lip like she knew whatever it was, it was bad news. As Sonata opened her mouth to reply, there was a small explosion of flour as Pinkie helped Applejack pour in some to the dough she was making, and Sonata held back a couple of coughs.

As the air cleared, leaving all the girls dusted in a small layer of white, Sonata gestured wide with her arms, miming the basic shape of a fish. "They're basically these huge fish that could swallow a grown-up siren whole! Big teeth as big as me, and little, tiny lights that they use to lure in anything that is attracted to it."

"Like angler fish, you mean?" quipped Fluttershy, who had begun to brush off the various caked layers of flour from her clothes and hair. When she earned a nod from Sonata, she rubbed her hands together and mumbled, "But wasn't it dangerous to go off alone?"

"Oh, yeah, totally," Sonata concurred as she dismissively waved a hand. Cracking her neck, she added, "Like, Dagi put me on bass harmonies because of that, which used to be Ari's job, but she said that I pulled a boneheaded move out of all boneheaded moves, or something. If it weren't for Ari noticing me wandering off, they would have lost track of me and I would have been fish food." At that, Sonata sighed and looked off. "Ari was pretty cool as she ripped out one of that Trapper's teeth and—"

Fluttershy paled. Although Sonata didn't notice, she did stop when a hand was placed over her mouth and Rarity shushed her. Without a word, she pointed out Fluttershy, who was taking a few deep breaths and shakily shot the pair a smile. After a few seconds, Sonata gave a small "oh" of realization, and she stammered, "She... uh, said it was really mean and should go back home and think about what it had done?" She tittered and darted a sheepish glance at Pinkie, who was finishing up with Applejack.

"And this was your life, in the sea, before coming here?" Rarity inquired with a shudder. She tightened the stylish, purple and blue frock that she was wearing and added, "It sounds absolutely dreadful!" She paused. "Well, I suppose that does explain why you were so, um..." Rotating a hand as she thought, she arched a brow and then looked at Sonata with a slightly apologetic smile, "Testy? Aggressive?"

"Oh, what sounds absolutely, positively, super-duperly bad?" While she had only been with Applejack a second or two ago, Pinkie reappeared in between Sonata and Rarity, Gummy currently residing on her head. Although she couldn't quite catch all of it, Sonata swore that Gummy's eyes independently went to stare at both her and Rarity.

"Just... how Sonata was almost fish food," Rarity stammered, then turned her attention to the table instead. "Perhaps she can tell you. I definitely have lots of... scrumptious finger foods to prepare!"

"Aw, I think I heard a bit of it. I thought it was really sweet how her sisters stood up for her." Pinkie patted Sonata on the head, which made Sonata wince. When Pinkie withdrew the offending hand, Sonata gingerly rubbed her head.

"Yes, I'm sure that you would think that, when you apparently believe that alligators and other reptiles are acceptable pets. Why you decided to exchange your stuffed toy for a real one is beyond me." As soon as the words had left Rarity's mouth, Fluttershy cringed and Pinkie Pie gasped in shock. Placing both hands over Gummy's head, probably to stifle his hearing, Pinkie stomped up to Rarity. For a moment, they merely glared at each other, and at last Rarity reached out and pushed Pinkie back.

All the while, Gummy still hung out on top of Pinkie's hair. When she turned to confront Rarity, he still managed to keep his head in the same position, almost like an owl able to rotate its neck to an absurd degree.

"Just what are you getting at, Rares?" demanded Pinkie. Thrusting a finger toward Rarity, she hissed, "Alligators are perfectly good pets and just as good a plushy of one!"

"Of course, darling, and cooking ants with magnifying glasses is also a completely acceptable and normal past-time." Rolling her eyes, Rarity checked her nails momentarily and then rubbed them along her chest. She folded her arms together. With raised brows, she pursed her lips and stated, "They are, in fact, not."

Gasping again, Pinkie's jaw almost slammed into the floor, and she exclaimed, "It is, too! Someone has to—" Before she could finish, Fluttershy cleared her throat and Pinkie whipped her head, bones possibly cracking and snapping from the twist she had to perform, and she stared at her friend.

Fluttershy rubbed an arm. Awkwardly, she stated, "Well, I will have to agree with Rarity on the second point. That is pretty mean. How would you feel if Gummy had the same thing done to him?"

"He'd think it was a nice sauna and thank whoever was warming him up, duh." Like she was explaining things to a young child, Pinkie snorted and raised her head defiantly. "Like, he's coldblooded and all that."

In unison, both Rarity and Fluttershy gave exhausted sighs, and Rarity pinched the bridge of her nose. By that point, Sonata began to tune them out, since Rarity then went on about how alligators probably carried all manner of diseases in their scales, and Fluttershy chipped in regarding the ants. Sonata was on Pinkie's side regarding the ants. They were everywhere, and it was neat how the magnifying glass made them all smoky and stuff.

Drifting her eyes toward some of the other parts of the kitchen, she spotted a tray that had nothing on it, as well as a number of bowls, a couple of eggs, and a bag of sugar near it. Before she could investigate the recipe that was resting next to the cookie trays, she felt a tug on her arm by someone and glanced to her right. Applejack smirked and gave a small wave.

Silently thumbing back toward whatever she was baking, Applejack led Sonata over to the table, while Pinkie and her friends locked into the philosophical debate on what constituted an acceptable pet. "They'll be like that for a tad while, I reckon," Applejack drawled candidly. Pushing her cowboy hat back, she wiped her hands on her jeans and chuckled, "This ain't the first time Pinkie's had a discussion about the ants." She scratched her head. "Can't remember her having a pet gator, though."

In a nonchalant manner, she gave a grunt and then tossed Sonata a couple of measuring cups. "How 'bout you make yourself at home here, and help me with finishing up Great-Great-Granny Fuji's homemade shortbread?" Giggling again, she added, "With extra apples, of course."

Consternated, Sonata inspected the cups momentarily and then peered back up at Applejack. Not any kind of condemnation or the like? She always seemed like she would be one of the most ardent defenders of Pinkie's group of friends, yet it was like there wasn't a single drop of bad blood between them.

Sonata hesitated. Mind rushing through conflicting feelings, her heart throbbed like it had been stabbed straight through. Sniffing back a couple of tears, she nodded when Applejack pointed out a couple of drawers from where she could grab a cutting knife. From there, she could chop up some apples into the cups and then add them to the batter.

However, she didn't move immediately after her instructions, and she carefully wiped her eyes. As she cleared off the wetness, they stung and smarted, which instantly brought the tears back. Although she managed to keep them from rolling down her cheeks, she could feel her eyes reddening and growing puffy.

Applejack frowned, and her forehead wrinkled in concern. Smiling as reassuringly as she could, she asked, "Hey now, what's going on?"

Rubbing at her eyes again, Sonata rested the two cups on the table and sighed, "Just, like, no-one has really treated me like this before." She gestured to Pinkie and the others, who, while still arguing, weren't really raising their voices that much, and certainly weren't as belligerent as her sisters could be. "The three of us pretty much tried to conquer the world, and you beat us, and now you're just, like, okay with it all?" She threw her hands in the air. With a grunt, she whined, "It's making my head hurt!"

Holding back another chortle, Applejack scratched the back of her neck and stated, "Well, I reckon that I oughta do what I can to be nice. Pinkie says that you're all right, so I'll give you a fair shake." At that, she held out her hand and Sonata limply took it. For a second or two, Sonata forced back a couple more sniffs, and then she shook herself. With a weak smile, she wiped at her cheeks and Applejack added, "Ya don't seem too bad to me, and, well, we have a bit of experience with making buddies with people who hated us."

She coughed. "Not that she's here right now, mind you."

For a second, Sonata blinked as she tried to process Applejack's words. Rushing back through all the faces that she and the other Dazzlings saw while at the school, she paused as she cringed internally. A few memories rushed back. A dark hall. Stalking a single, fiery-haired girl.

Adagio had done her homework more than she or Aria, so they just followed her lead on the taunting. The phrase, "Too bad, so sad!" popped into her mind momentarily, as well as Adagio forcing her to shut her mouth.

How many times had she almost spilled the beans for her sisters' plans? Probably more than once.

Either way, she finally placed who Applejack was referring to, and she gave a sheepish nod as she mumbled, "Oh, yeah, I guess that's right." At that, she inhaled and no longer felt the stinging of tears threatening to trickle down, although her chest was still tight and probably a couple dozen kaleidoscopes of butterflies were flapping around in her stomach.

With a sigh, she reached down for the cutting knife and grabbed a couple of apples from Applejack as the two of them started to chop up enough fruit for the shortbread. Absentmindedly, she allowed herself to be absorbed in the rhythmic clunking of the knife blade onto the cutting board that Applejack had gotten. Soon, her nose was assaulted not only by the sweet scent of sugar and spiciness of cinnamon, but also the tangy aroma of the apples in question.

In the back of her mind, she couldn't help but chuckle a bit at how Applejack seemed to be obsessed with everything apple. Probably would have enjoyed an apple taco recipe, or something.

Regardless, they continued their synchronized slicing, and eventually filled both measuring cups. With a wordless smile, Applejack grabbed the one that Sonata held and then poured both into the batter. Already, the dough for the shortbread was looking thick and gooey, but after she kneaded it in briefly, it was a bit softer.

Sonata gazed at it for a moment, as her mind wandered to what they could possibly taste like once done. Mouth watering, she could practically taste the butter and sugar within the dessert. When she caught Applejack laughing softly, she blushed and then wiped her mouth. Drooling in front of new acquaintances was probably not the wisest of ideas.

After a few seconds of kneading the dough, Applejack paused and then shook her head. Dodging a gesticulating Pinkie, who was still going on about alligators, and now also about how magnifying glasses were useful tools at stopping an ant takeover, she grabbed a shaker of some icing sugar and trundled back over. She shot a glance at Pinkie, rolled her eyes, and stated, "Now, this here recipe will also need some c—"

"Spice?" Sonata interjected as she cleared her head. One of the blessed c-words that she knew. The epitome of flavor itself. Before Applejack could protest, she darted over to her winter jacket, rummaged around, and returned with a spice bottle of a reddish powder, unlabeled. However, it was unmistakable enough that Applejack raised an eyebrow. It was unlabeled, but the reddish relish was unmistakable. Applejack arched a brow.

"Cinnamon, not cayenne spice," Applejack finished. To accent her unamused demeanor, a few hairs flopped in front of her face. Blowing them aside, she declared, "Why in the devil do you have that?" Although she was calm, a couple of veins started to visibly throb along her neck, and she sputtered a couple more times before she exhaled. "Nope. Never mind. I don't want to know."

"Well, since you asked, I usually keep one around in case I have some Mexican food and I don't find it spicy enough." With a playful raspberry, Sonata waved a hand disdainfully and tittered, "It's like, how hard is it to make me sweat a bit? Hello! Tacos are supposed to be hot!" When she received a blank stare from Applejack, Sonata tittered and muttered, "I-I'll get the cinnamon."

As Applejack continued to watch her, Sonata traipsed over to the indicated spice cupboard by the consternated teen and dug through it. "No," she mumbled as she grabbed one container and chucked it aside. It sprayed thyme in a cloud of green. After snatching a second, she shook her head again. "Nada." As she tossed the container of paprika, it sprayed its contents across the floor.

"Let's see," she muttered softly as she pulled out a fifth, after dumping more seasonings and spices onto the floor. Dipping a finger into the shaker, she pressed a dab of the powder onto her tongue. Immediately she gagged, and the minuscule amount of spice she had in her mouth expanded into a faint mist of crimson bronze. Eyes watering, she flashed Applejack a thumbs up and coughed and stumbled her way back to the table. With a groan, she fell forward and slammed the shaker onto the tabletop, before she held on for dear life as her mouth continued to sting and smart.

"Thanks," quipped Applejack as she rested the shaker of cinnamon near the one of cayenne and fastened her grip on the table. Reaching out a hand, she hauled Sonata up. After pulling Sonata to her feet, Applejack snickered. "You might be a pert adventurous, but maybe you should straighten that head on your shoulders, too." She patted Sonata warmly.

Thumbing a finger back at the still arguing friends, who were now deep into whether ants were or were not the bringer of destruction to kitchens everywhere, she stated, "They look mighty busy, don't you think?" Without waiting for Sonata's response, she added, "Don't worry. They won't stay upset at each other for long." She shrugged. "Just Pinkie—"

"—being Pinkie. I get it," finished Sonata, who forced back a couple of giggles of her own. Exchanging a grin with Applejack, Sonata held back a quiet gasp as her chest tightened. However, it wasn't a sickening or worrying feeling, more like her heart was being hugged. Warmth imbued into her, and she fought back a couple of tears as she looked away to wipe at her eyes.

Was this what friendship, proper friendship, felt like? When was the last time she laughed with her sisters rather than either at them or someone who was misfortunate enough to suffer their ire. Racking her brain, she wasn't entirely sure. When was the Shakespearian era again? They all had such amusing accents, and people there found theirs the same.

Regardless, Applejack went back to the dough and looked back at Sonata. "Say, while I finish this, how about you tell me a bit about your childhood, er, fryhood?" She rubbed her head while frowning. Working her jaw for a second, she muttered, "Or whatever you call it." She pointed at the batter. "Don't need too many hands throwing feed to the hogs, you know?"

With a small start, Sonata shook her head at Applejack's perplexing countryism, and Applejack sighed, although she did her best to hide an infinitesimally weak smile from her lips. Aside from the slightly raised corners, she appeared more bored than amused.

"Ah, well, forget about that. Either way—" Applejack started to dig into the dough with her fingers "—what was it like as a young Sonata Dusk?" With a heavy slap, she folded the shortbread batter over a couple of times, doled out a small amount of flour onto the tabletop, and then repeated. All the while, she earnestly stared into Sonata's eyes, and her own flickered with curiosity.

That, or it was just the lights flashing as Pinkie bellowed about how ants leave kitchens wasted and desolate of desserts. Jerking both their attentions to the outburst, Sonata and Applejack exchanged bemused shrugs. Fluttershy winced while Rarity merely twisted some of her hair around a finger. Awkwardly giggling, Pinkie quickly defused from her tirade and then went back to the slightly less loud, insistent speech about the difference between alligators and ants, and how one was a loyal companion, the other ate food humans should eat.

Thinking for a moment and tapping her chin, Sonata finally mumbled, "Eh, I don't think it'd be very interesting." At Applejack's prodding grin and reassuring nod, she wriggled uncomfortably where she stood and she gave an uncomfortable smile. "Well... I guess all the other sirens thought I was weird? Like, I'd rather go out exploring than be stuck in Sirenelia all day thinking of ways to get more thralls. Like, don't get me wrong, being waited on hoof and fin is fun and all, but where's the excitement?

"I don't know. Dagi and Ari are like, half a century older than me, and they always treated me like a baby there." Furrowing her brow, she grumbled, "Just because I might not clue in as quickly doesn't make me stupid!" With a humph, she crossed her forearms and grunted, "It's not like my plans were any less crazy than some of Dagi's!"

"You said that ya'll were separated by fifty years?!" inquired Applejack, her eyes going wide at Sonata's statement. After she pounded the dough a couple more times, she sprinkled a bit of icing sugar on it, followed by dumping a few pieces of sliced apples into the batter. Lastly, she reached over to where the two shakers were and grabbed one and shook a light dusting onto the pastry.

Slowly nodding, Sonata sighed as she moved to take the other shaker. After all, wouldn't want Applejack taking the wrong one. As she did, she heard a faint rattling from Pinkie, whose hair was twitching a few times, and her left leg gyrated once. With a final jerk, Pinkie stumbled back and then paused. Sonata arched a brow.

With only a pensive "hmmmm," Pinkie pondered for a moment, glanced at Sonata, then looked back at her friends. She held up a finger and dove in on one final point, as she said herself.

"What was that all about?" Sonata asked, pointing at Pinkie before peering back at Applejack. Applejack responded with a shrug.

"Pinkie sense. She gets them sometimes." Pursing her lips momentarily, she then stole a furtive peek at Pinkie before she briefly leaned in and muttered, "It's a bit wacky, and some days I think it's nothing but hooey, but it always seems to come true." At that, she pulled back and quipped, "But you didn't hear that comment about the hooey stuff from me." She winked.

"Right..." Sonata mumbled. Blinking a few times, she blankly peered off and attempted to ingest the information about Pinkie. Even though it had only been a day, she already had a list of things to categorize as "just Pinkie." She shuddered and switched her attention back to Applejack.

"A-Anyway, yeah, I think like, Dagi's fifty-three years older than me? Ari's a bit closer." Hemming and hawing and leaning her head to one side, she grudgingly admitted, "Like, we fed off magic, you know? That stuff kept us young basically forever." She shrugged. "At least, that's what I was told."

With a whistle, Applejack nodded her head and chuckled, "Wonder how Apple Bloom would feel being that much younger than me and Mac?" At that, she brushed back her hat, sighed, grabbed the spice shaker again, and continued on with the dough. Sonata merely smiled.

"Swimming through ocean currents always felt so fun!" she exhaled with a wistful moan. Shortly thereafter, she frowned and hung her head. "But never went that far from home. Wasn't really encouraged." Applejack gave Sonata an interested look, but continued on with her work.

As a few distant memories rushed back to her mind, Sonata added, "And the sirens sang. Like, all the time." She shrugged. "I mean, yeah, part of it was because we preyed on hippogriff society, dragged off a bunch of seaponies, and used them all as thralls to do our work, but that's no biggie, right? There was still a lot of pretty singing." When she finished, Applejack raised both her eyebrows and paused for a second. Sonata grinned uncomfortably. "What?"

"You ever, uh, enthrall people over here?" Applejack worked her jaw a bit as she asked that. "Well, aside from, uh, I guess everyone at the school."

"Eh, they weren't really enthralled. Not fully, anyway," replied Sonata with a nonchalant wave of a hand. Tapping her fingers a couple of times on her chin, she added, "Don't think we really did that after all those witch hunts in the fifties..." For a second, Applejack gave her a blank look, then her eyes sparked with recognition, but before she could interject, Sonata merely huffed, "Eh, no biggie, like, for realsies."

"Right, well, uh, sounds like you have a few hundred tales that you could tell, but, what do ya know? Shortbread's ready to bake!" Twisting quickly to the side, Applejack pounded down the batter into a tray and then hastily grabbed it. While she kept her back to Sonata, she fiddled with a couple of the instruments on the oven, then slid it in.

"Gonna have to watch it closely. Don't want it to burn!" After that, she sniffed at the air. Inhaling deeply a couple more times, she hummed and muttered, "Is someone cooking some of that spicy, eastern food?"

Sonata shrugged.

Opening her mouth, Sonata was cut off as Pinkie exclaimed, "...and that's why ants have secretly infiltrated all levels of government and need to be carefully controlled, or they'll turn us all into food-making machines for their evil queens!" With a small bow, she remained oblivious to the perplexed gazes that were watching her by the rest of the kitchen, and she rose while smirking. "Thanks for coming to my TED Talk."

Although her friends remained confused, with Fluttershy especially mouthing a few words to herself as she traced a finger through the air, like she was visualizing a math problem, Sonata merely blinked for a second or two. She hadn't heard much of the speech. Then again, her new friend did just finish something important, probably, so what was something she should do in return?

After pondering, she began to clap, which echoed throughout the silent kitchen, and she winced when the others turned to look in her direction. A couple more claps gave way to an awkward gulp and a cessation of activity, and she gave a weak wave. Rarity and Fluttershy gawked further. Finally, Rarity shook her head and merely shot Pinkie a glare as the latter moved toward Sonata.

As she slid in next to Sonata, Pinkie wrapped an arm around her and declared, "How's about you and me work on your special sweets to make your sisters..." She scrunched her nose. Humming softly to herself for a moment while she thought, she inquired with a small titter, "Dance on their feets?"

Rolling her shoulders, she grunted in a noncommittal way and then let Sonata go. Straightening, she stiffened and whipped her head to glance at Rarity, who was about to taste one of the chocolate balls that she had made earlier. Rarity and Pinkie stared at each other. As she was frozen halfway reaching for the chocolate, Rarity blushed and then slowly retracted her offending arm.

Pinkie motioned with her fingers that she was watching Rarity, and then did the same to Fluttershy, although the latter was starting to bundle back up. While she dug through the pile of clothes for all her things, she stated, "I have to go. I have another shift at the animal shelter tomorrow, and I don't want to be sleepy." She shuddered. "I'd be a bad example to the sloths there."

"Hmmm, yes, and I should be going shortly, too," Rarity interjected as she waved Fluttershy a goodbye. After a minute or so, their friend had departed, and Rarity glanced back at Pinkie, "But I suppose I can stay for a smidgen longer. I should ensure that all of my confections are ready for the party."

"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie exclaimed as she gave one curious glance at Applejack, who was still observing the shortbread baking away. In her sweep back to look at Sonata, she paused and furrowed her brow at the shaker of spice that was on the table. She grunted in thought. However, she finished her circle and then grinned from ear to ear when her eyes landed back on the former siren.

Poking Sonata in the chest, she proclaimed, "You and I are going to make some of the best sugar cookies around, and you're going to be in charge of making it all up!" When Sonata pressed a hand to her chest, her face growing paler and her eyes dilating, Pinkie vigorously nodded her head and then tittered. "You'll be fine. What's the worst that could happen? No-one could be silly enough to start a fire just by turning the oven too high, could they?"

As her face grew warm, Sonata twisted one of her fingers through her hair and mumbled, "Yeah, I totally would never do that." In the back of her mind, she winced as she heard the desperate voice of Adagio clammer for all of them to flee one of their previous apartments. After deciding to learn how to make classic fish and chips, Sonata had somehow managed to set alight a soaking wet sponge which she had used to clean up some of the flour and crumbs that she had sprayed across the kitchen while covering the fish strips in them.

It wasn't a grease fire. It was a wet sponge. Drenched in water.

Swallowing loudly as the memory faded from her mind, she chortled and pressed a hand over her mouth whilst glancing away from Pinkie. "Totally crazy. Like, for realsies. Nuts." Pinkie beamed. As she snatched Sonata's hand, she dragged Sonata over to another counter, where a bowl and a bag of sugar and flour had already been set up.

Before Sonata could react, Pinkie pulled an apron and chef's hat from a drawer that appeared far too small to hold articles of clothing without wrinkling them. In one fell swoop, she tied the apron around Sonata and shoved the hat onto Sonata's head. Sonata's various loose hairs shot out in all directions as they were flattened down, and she frowned before ripping the hat off.

Pinkie petulantly pouted for all of five seconds before she shrugged and muttered, "Guess you don't need that." She huffed and pranced over to one of the fridges along the far wall, opposite the entrance to the kitchen. As she pulled out a tray of eggs, Sonata stared dumbfoundedly at the recipe that had been set up against the bowl. Although it was simple, with less than a dozen ingredients, her breathing started to ramp up.

Flashbacks to the last time she attempted baking roared back with a vengeance, but before she could relive the great Pie Horror of 1893, Pinkie waved a hand across her vision. With a start, Sonata stepped back and matched Pinkie's concerned stare, before she shook her head and grabbed one of the measuring cups.

It couldn't be that hard, could it?

As Pinkie swiped a couple more things from cupboards for the desserts, Sonata heard Rarity inquire, "So... Sonata, you've, erm, enlightened us a tad on Equestria, but what of your time on Earth?" Sonata glanced back and caught Rarity snatching one chocolate ball while Pinkie was still buried in a cupboard, but before she could eat it, a pink hand popped out of a nearby container of baking powder and slapped it out of Rarity's grip.

Blinking a couple of times, Rarity barely registered when the hand withdrew, but she looked over to Pinkie, who was now giving Rarity a glower. When Pinkie returned to digging in the cupboard while muttering where she put the vanilla, Rarity coughed. "What I mean to ask is, dear, what do you do around Christmas? Surely, for beings who have been here for years, you must have developed some traditions."

Sonata hummed. As she scrunched her forehead and glanced up at the ceiling, she continued pouring the flour, which she had opened to fill the measuring cup. Within only the few second span of her distraction, the cup overflowed and spilled flour across the counter, while kicking up a cloud of powdered flour. She hacked a couple of times and grimaced at the mess.

Pinkie hopped back from the cupboard, then quickly grabbed a dry towel with which she soon wiped up the majority of the flour into a single pile. While she was doing that, Sonata sighed and answered in a monotone voice, "Nothing, really." She shrugged. "Well, I kinda got them to go along with a gift exchange, but I don't think they ever really cared for it." Sticking out her tongue and blowing a short raspberry in disgust, she grunted, "I always got them something nice like a new earring or necklace or maybe a new book, once that Gutenberg guy's printing press took off, but they only got me boring things."

Blowing a derisive blast of air between her lips, she griped with a growl, "I got stupid things like paintings from museums or 'nuclear football codes'." She mimed retching. "Like, one year, I was hoping I'd get one of those new SportGirl console things, and they got me a big ol' briefcase with some weird dials on it." Huffing, she used a hand puppet to be "Adagio" as she forced her voice to sound sultrier and deeper, and mumbled, "'Oh, Sonata, you're getting this because you'll forget where you put it in a few days. Be a dear, and if anyone asks you where it is, just say you don't know. Because you won't.' Blegh!"

While there had been a bit of noise from Applejack and Pinkie in their cooking, the kitchen's hum completely died as she went on with the information about her and her sisters' minor Christmas tradition. Sonata barely noticed. In a way, she was looking right through Rarity, as she imagined Adagio sitting down on a couch, in her pajamas, staring at Sonata as she said those exact words.

And she was technically right. Where those "nuclear football codes" went was completely lost on Sonata. One moment, they were in her room, next, they had disappeared, with her recollection of them suspect.

With the kitchen silent, Sonata started to feel the searing sensation of eyes boring into her, and she shook her head to regain her senses. All three remaining girls were gaping at her, with Rarity's jaw practically dislocated, given how far it had fallen. Rarity only blinked in shock, while Applejack exchanged glances between Pinkie and Sonata.

At last, Rarity managed to regain her composure with a shiver, and she calmly and collectedly worked a couple of her fingers. She flicked away whatever grime on them was and prodded, "Pinkie, darling, did you have any idea that we are interacting with a girl who could have the FBI and CIA on us?"

"You bet! But I already returned those codes with my patented 'Sorry for Almost Causing World War Three' balloons!" With a small "squee," Pinkie unscrewed a cap on the vial that contained vanilla extract, and she held back a giggle. "They don't even know it was stolen by her. It's fine!"

Sputtering a couple of times, Rarity threw up her hands and grunted, her irateness clearly audible from the grating "ugh" that escaped her lips. Glaring daggers at both Sonata and Pinkie, Rarity huffed and crossed her forearms. She remained silent. After assessing Sonata again, she muttered, "Of course you did. Is there anything else you would deign to let us know?"

"Gee, have you been studying with Sci-Twi, Twiggles, Human Twi, or—" When Pinkie met Rarity's unamused frown, with her forehead crinkling in extreme frustration, she hastily threw in, "Nope, nada, nothing, zilch!" A few beads of sweat trickled down the back of her neck. She tittered as Rarity scrutinized her.

"I mean, that's not as bad as our Hearth's Warming 'traditions,'" Sonata broke in, emphasizing the last word with air quotes. Forcing back a shudder, she drew her arms close to her chest and worked her right heel into the floor as she thought. She breathed deeply. Going a wee bit pale, she shakily stated, "Because we needed to survive off creatures' negative energy, we always had to be careful. Windigos gobble down major places of bad feelings, and we caused a lot of it with our songs.

"So, our grandma and grandpa were alive when Equestria was made, and fought back the Windigos. They knew how to keep it from getting too bad." Sonata grimaced as she pushed down a small sniffle. "But... well, the hippogriffs worked at imprisoning, or depowering us, or banishing us." She swallowed. Despite her efforts, her eyes started to smart, and she could sense a couple of warm trickles make their way down her cheeks.

"Dagi, Ari, and me never really got declared old enough to hunt for thralls. We were kinda forced to." Biting her lip, Sonata avoided the gaze of the three teens there, and she snorted as she failed to stave off the emotions, breaking down at the memory. "So, every Hearth's Warming, since everywhere was too happy to be preyed on, we went to the Mareianas Trench and just thought. Remembered." She wiped a tear or two away. "There's a reef there that glows so prettily, and we'd just talk about how we were all that we had. Sure, Dagi and Ari are annoyed by me sometimes, but we still all look out for each other."

She coughed. "We have to." Sighing and staring into the overfilled bowl of flour, she muttered, "We did, anyway."

When she finished, her chest heaved a couple of times, as she failed to suppress the heaviness of her heart. It was supposed to be a pleasant time of year, and dumping all of the ancient memories and experiences she had was probably not the best way to win over anyone there.

If she still had her magic—the thought of that sent a shiver of frustration up her spine—she'd have probably been feeding off the empathetic sadness that the group appeared to be reflecting. Pinkie had stopped her mixing of batter, Applejack was no longer paying attention to her shortbread, and Rarity had frozen halfway into putting on her jacket. All three's faces were plastered with concern.

"Ya'll being ornerier than a barn full of hogs in heat makes sense now," Applejack muttered before she was shot a look that very clearly demanded what the point of that metaphor was from Rarity. With a shrug, she asked, "What? Am I wrong?"

"No..." Rarity exhaled. Slipping the rest of her jacket on, she walked over to Sonata and gently stated while placing a hand on her shoulder, "Sonata, darling, that was an awful upbringing, and I wish that you could have had something better. But..." She winced. "You know, you still, ehm, enthralled people? And wanted to do so to us?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," huffed Sonata. Jerking her shoulder so Rarity lost her loose grip, she grumbled, "Probably would be in the same shoes if I were you." Rarity blinked and then nodded.

"Not quite the right analogy, dear, but I understand what you mean." At that, Rarity worked her jaw and muttered, "I believe." Switching her attention to Pinkie, she declared, "Then I shall be off, Pinkie. Applejack. Do take care of—" she broke concentration to longingly stare at the chocolate balls for a moment. After shaking herself, she repeated with a small titter, "Do make sure these aren't frozen. It's only a couple of days to the party, after all."

"Like I would commit such heresy, Rarity!" Pinkie quipped back. For one second, her expression carried abject horror, then she frowned and pointed at Rarity with her mixing spoon. "Unless you're joking. You're joking, right?"

Only giggling, Rarity daintily waved to the others and then slipped through the door. Briefly yelping, she stumbled into view out the opening to the bar and then glanced down at her feet, where there was a faint growl and slapping of gum against gum as Gummy rolled a couple of feet from where she accidentally knocked him. She huffed and rolled her eyes before marching out the exit.

As she did, the oven that Applejack was watching dinged, and the teen swiftly grabbed a couple of oven mitts, slipped them on, and removed the shortbread from it. After setting it on an unused cutting board, she inhaled a deep whiff of the shortbread and let out a long, satisfied sigh.

She smacked her lips. "Hmmm," she mumbled as she pursed her mouth into a focused frown. "Smells a bit tangier than usual." Glancing over at the bag of apples that she had used for the shortbread, she grinned. "Ah, it's just a tarter batch, I guess!" With that, she pushed back her hat and wiped at her brow.

"Well, I reckon that I oughta be going, too. Unless you got some other tale there, Sonata." Her eyes shrunk. With a hasty, panicked wave of her hands, she tittered, "Just so long as it ain't another one that makes us all get all philosophical like, you hear?"

"Nah, not really." Racking her brain for a brief moment as she removed the excess flour from her measuring cup, Sonata poured the flour into her own bowl, since Pinkie had grabbed another to make her own batter, and stated, "Well, I guess we usually pigged out on the fish that were by the reef. Didn't really keep us full, but they sure were tasty!" She beamed, then shrugged. "I guess we just had a day where we didn't actively try and hate each other."

"Well, golly, that's just... swell that ya'll dedicate one day to not strangling each other. Real spirit of Christmas, if ya ask me," Applejack mumbled. Switching her gaze from one girl to the next, she finally trotted over to the bundle of clothes near the door to the cafe floor. While she donned her gear, she added, "I'll, uh, see you around, I guess. Pinkie invited you to the party, right?"

"Duh!" Pinkie interjected. "What do you think I am? A pony, who totally isn't pretending to be a human, who forgets her human counterparts' plans? Like, wow, AJ, that's funny!"

"Uh, that's not at all what I said, but I'll take that as a 'yes.'" Wincing, Applejack massaged one of her temples. She simply gave a nod and friendly wave before leaving. She also shrieked when she stumbled near the door. Almost banging into it, she grouched, "Pinkie! Get your pet gator out the way! One of ya'll are going to trip on it when you pack everything away!"

"Gummy! Stop trying to put your plans of world conquest into motion so soon! You'll make it no fun!" Sonata whipped her head up so she could gawk at Pinkie, who merely shrugged. Arching a brow, she went back to her batter as Pinkie handed her an egg to crack.

Already, she had mixed in the flour and sugar, and it was just a matter of adding in the wet ingredients. For once, she deftly broke the egg on the rim of the bowl, and the yolk settled in perfectly. After tossing the shell into a nearby garbage, her heart skipped a beat at something not going horribly wrong with baking for once.

As soon as she thought that, she jumped when Pinkie jerked, and her elbows banged on the counter a couple of times. When her spastic movements stopped, she hummed and muttered, "Jiggly elbows. Weird..." She peered at Sonata for a second, then the mixing bowl, and then Sonata. "Very weird. The Pinkie Sense says you need to be careful."

"Uh... Okay," replied Sonata. Bemused, she frowned for a moment before grabbing the recipe and checking the next steps. Butter and vanilla extract. Wouldn't be much more to get things ready. As she grabbed the extract, she inquired, "Why are you making it, too? Thought you said that it was my dessert to make?"

"Yepperoni! That's right! Just have a feeling that we may need... uh, more?" Sealing her lips with a zipping motion—and sound—Pinkie clammed up and went back to her own mixing. From where she was standing, the smell of the vanilla extract drifted to Sonata, and the sweet, heady scent of the plant left Sonata's mouth watering.

As she returned her focus to her batch, she gulped when she noticed about a sixth of the bottle of extract had poured out into the small teaspoon measure she was using. Overflowing to the brim, it had spilled into the mix, although it wasn't too much extra. Probably would just leave a strong taste of vanilla behind.

After assessing the situation for a few seconds, she mentally resigned herself, and then tipped the measure over. At first, it splashed into the rest of the extract and did nothing. However, when she was about to head to the butter, she caught a scant scent of smoke, then she saw a spark in the mix. Instantly, it burst into a tower of fire, and she simply stared at it, her mind reeling and left empty.

She hadn't even put in that much extract, all things considered!

A shrieking fire alarm ripped through her only thought of "why me", and Pinkie sprang into action beside her. Stretching almost to an impossible degree, she snatched a fire extinguisher and unleashed the torrent of suppressive gasses into the inferno. Almost immediately, the roar died down, and after half a minute, every last tongue of fire had disappeared.

Sonata, still standing in the same place, as her brain processed the last minute, finally moaned, and her posture slumped. Slouching and whacking her head onto the counter top, she simply groaned, whimpered, and whined with each hit. The scorched smell of burnt flour and sugar assaulted her nostrils, although she barely cared. Was there much point when she had failed, again, at basic cooking? If this was going to be part of her attempt to get Adagio and Aria into better Christmas moods, she was doing a bang-up job.

As she was about to go in for a third round of face-desks, she felt Pinkie rest a hand on her shoulder, and Sonata stopped. Dully looking up from the counter, Sonata merely stared at Pinkie, who stated, "Hey, it's all good. Mistakes happen." She peered at the bowl. "Usually."

"Egh," Sonata groused. Instead of whacking her head on the counter again, she just rested her chin on it. "Whatever."

As her throat welled up and a pit seemed to swallow whatever enthusiasm she had had for the baking, she caught Pinkie traipse off somewhere and open a door. Pinkie cheered and her voice seemed to carry off somewhere. For how long she was away, Sonata didn't know, nor did she particularly care. Maybe Pinkie was leaving her to wallow, or Pinkie had completely abandoned her to see how far badly she had failed.

How does that even catch fire without a match?! she demanded internally, not that she expected an answer. If Aria was there, she'd probably be calling Sonata the worst baker of all time. Which, granted, was probably not far from the truth.

Before she could gripe to herself much further, there was the sound of someone coming in from outside the cafe, and a moment later, Pinkie was back. Sonata glanced behind her. With a coy smile, Pinkie grasped something behind her back, and she buoyantly bounced over to Sonata.

"Guess which hand," she drawled with a cheeky grin, and Sonata rolled her eyes before pointing to Pinkie's right.

"That's right!" Pinkie chirped, and she whipped out an envelope and revealed she was holding two more. "Normally I'd keep it for the party, but it's so exciting, and you're looking extra mopey right now, so I thought I'd give yours early." She tittered as Sonata took it, and she quipped, "Besides, this way the story can wrap up all nice and clean and you can have those warm, fuzzy feelings of spreading good cheer to all those you care about during Christmastime!. Besides wouldn't it be totally weird for you to just have this at the party to give to your sisters with no explanation at all kinda like you had something else you did before this but didn't because there wasn't time and things were getting suuuuuper long already?" When she finished, she inhaled deeply to catch her breath.

"'Story?' 'Wrap up?' What're you—" Sonata cut herself off as her mind smarted from such a nonsensical statement.

"You'll see," teased Pinkie with another giggle. She slipped the two other cards next to her winter jacket, and she bobbed excitedly on her feet while waiting for Sonata to open her envelope.

Perplexed, Sonata ripped open the tab and revealed a simple card with a bright blue star on it. Flipping it open after checking with Pinkie, she gaped when she read the brief message. "Hey, new bestie!" it began. "The music store in Canterlot Mall had discounted singing lessons that could be bought for the first three months of next year! I thought that since you and your sisters were all grumpy and mopey from not being able to sing anymore, I'd get you all lessons! That way, you can all sing absolutely, positively superfabutastic again! Oh! We could all then form some supergroup! Call it the Rainlings or the Dazzbooms or the Razzliooms! Oh! Or the Baddies-turned-Goodies-and-Friends-Fantastic-Group-of-Harmony-and-Friendship! Doesn't that roll off the tongue?! I can't wait! I'll have to remind myself to plan a party for it! I'm so nervocitied! "

Teary-eyed, she barely noticed the signature of three balloons and a P underneath or registered the rambling at the end of the letter. Quiveringly, she smiled and shot Pinkie a shocked stare. In her chest, glee and anger wrestled for control. In one vein, how dare Pinkie remind her of what she had lost. It was likely impossible to get her voice back, and even if she could, it wasn't the same. Simultaneously, she also could envision herself performing again, with her sisters, and maybe they could be adored in a different way. Because they actually were good and not brainwashing everyone.

Shifting her gaze back to the letter, she folded it again, and sniffed, "T-Thanks." Before she could really think further, hot tears trickled down her face, and she forced back some whimpers and snorts. As she shook, she was suddenly wrapped in a warm, tight hug from Pinkie, and unlike the previous night, her ribs didn't crack.

"Don't mention it, new bestie!" Pinkie cheered, although Sonata could catch the slight quiver in her voice. After a few seconds of silence, while the two remained locked in an embrace, Pinkie finally muttered, "Like, really, don't, because it's supposed to be a surprise to your sisters."

Sonata chuckled, then pulled back. "Sure," she mumbled with a nod.

When she brushed herself down, she glanced over at the burnt mix, and she whimpered, "But my—"

"Ah, ah! I said I was making mine in case we needed more, and we need more!" Beaming and resting an arm on Sonata's shoulder, Pinkie quipped, "Don't worry! It'll still be whatever shape you want for the cookies! That's close enough to making it, right?" When Sonata remained silent, she added, "Eh, it'll be good enough."

"Can we make them into little sombreros?" Sonata inquired as she checked the dough Pinkie had made. It was already rolled up into a large ball. All it'd need to have done to it was cutting it up. Before Pinkie could break in, she blushed and muttered, "Because, you know, they know I like Mexican food."

Pinkie smirked. "Sure thing, 'Nata! Let's just—" She paused and peered at the shaker of reddish spice that was on the table in the middle of the kitchen. Walking over to it, she hummed, "Say, who left this shaker of cayenne out here? Was someone wanting to play a prank?"

As Pinkie took it back to a different spice cupboard, Sonata winced, and she softly hissed, "D'oh!"