"Oh, where are they?" Her mind racing with possibilities, Sonata trotted in a circle, pacing and stomping nervously on the tiled floor of the gymnasium of CHS. In her ears, the bubbling and burbling of conversation as groups of teens, dressed in appropriately light winter colors, slowly drifted in from the cold and found their cliques with which to speak. Even in the dim conditions, only broken by the sparkling display on the stage of an icy landscape, with lights to simulate the shimmering of sunlight, she could see that her sisters had yet to arrive.

Apart from when some early arrivals came while Sonata, Pinkie, and some of Pinkie's friends were finishing setup, Sonata had been ignored. Whether it was because people recognized her and did what they could to veer as far away from her as possible, or if she was simply not that interesting, she wasn't sure.

Probably didn't matter much, anyway.

She was partly hidden behind the bleachers, which had been moved back, but not taken apart, and she only occasionally saw glimpses of the main entrance to the party. However, she was moving frequently enough that she knew she would have seen Adagio and Aria if they were there, since she had a zoomed out view of the entire event.

In the center of the gym, a large table had been set up with various pastries that some others had brought, and the goods that Sonata and Pinkie's friends had made. Stringed across the rafters of the ceiling, banners with decorations of snow, icicles, and Christmas tree lights danced as the lights on the stage twinkled. Outside, through the windows that allowed small bits of illumination from the street in, she could see flakes of snow hitting the glass. They quickly melted, leaving streaks along the transparent surface.

Whenever she glanced at the crowds, she wrung her hands and felt her heart twist and turn, along with a couple of stabs in her gut. While she wasn't really averse to attention, normally, returning to the place where she had tried to enthrall them all, along with her sisters, and doing it so blatantly surely didn't do much for popular opinion of any of the Dazzlings.

She could only shudder at some of the thoughts they most likely had toward her.

Around a tree that had been set up near the entrance to the gym, various boxes, which could only be presents, or at least fake presents, were being arranged by Pinkie. She darted to and fro, and while not every student who entered provided her with another container, a plurality did. At the rate that Pinkie was stacking them, it'd be enough for the entire party. Or, that's what she could determine by mental headcount alone.

With a sigh, she paused her frantic pacing and leaned against the bleachers, watching the rest of the party. Over the next minute or so, the stream of students entering slowed, and eventually, as she spotted the clock over the entrance hit ten after, nearly ceased entirely.

Any attempt at picking out a single conversation was impossible, given the din of yakking, plus the low croon of various Christmas tunes that Pinkie had hooked into the speaker system of the gym. She caught some of the jocks laughing about something related to hockey, and then a number of the geeky students huddled in a different corner, faffing with a robot that Micro Chips had brought with him.

For the briefest moment, he looked up when she started watching them, glanced around, and then noticed her. Her heart skipped again, and her cheeks grew hot as she stepped back. However, before she did, he gave a single wave, and she uncomfortably waved back.

When he went back to the robot, she slunk back a bit further and caught herself pulling an index finger out of her hair, which she had twisted around it. With a nervous titter, she started tapping her fingers together as she counted down the seconds. As she did, her mind drifted further into what could have been delaying her sisters.

Had she been abandoned? Had they gotten into some kind of accident? It was rather snowy out there, and Aria was the one in charge of getting her and Adagio there.

As soon as she recalled that it was Aria who was doing the chauffeuring, she winced. If she wasn't going at least twenty miles above the speed limit, she was running lights. Among other things. If there was any kind of police presence along the way...

Squeezing her eyes shut, she shook her head. They were probably just late. Adagio did like taking her time occasionally. Mostly. Almost always. Every time.

Sonata scratched her head. In fact, was there a time where Adagio didn't want to be over-prepared? Even when they were getting ready for the last song of the band battle, she had almost made them be late because she was fixing something with her outfit.

With a snort, she replayed the invitation that she gave her siblings. While not completely obvious, she did imply that it was something for them. Providing only directions and not a location might have been coy, but would they have returned to CHS if they knew it was going to be there?

Breaking from her reverie, she was suddenly jostled by Pinkie, who appeared next to her, and Pinkie gave her a quick side hug. When she released Sonata, Pinkie inquired, "What's wrong, 'Nata?" She gestured to the party. "Not in the party mood?"

"I guess. Just thought that Dagi and Ari would be here by now," Sonata answered with a tired sigh. Hanging her head, she slowly broke free of Pinkie and began to pace again. Every time she passed Pinkie, the girl's frown deepened, and Sonata's brain continued to spin and wheel as she attempted to settle her nerves.

Between the worry about her sisters and the anxiety regarding how they'd react, her stomach felt like it was in a million twists and turns, before being swirled around in a whirlpool. As her breath continued to come in short bursts, she glanced up at Pinkie and demanded, "Do you think they'll come?"

Pinkie smirked. Taking Sonata back toward the party, she proclaimed, "It'll be fine. This is a happy Christmas story, after all." She shrugged. "Eh, maybe a bit bittersweet, but still." When she finished, she pulled Gummy out of her hair and handed him to Sonata. "Gummy thinks it'll be okay, too. You can hold him if you want. He is a great comfort gator." At that, Gummy opened his jowls and clamped them shut again.

As he sprayed Sonata with some flecks of spittle, Sonata tilted her head, wiped her nose and cheeks, and asked, "What're you talking about?" She pushed Gummy out of her vision. When she did, the alligator growled and squirmed, and Pinkie shrugged before putting him back in her hair.

"Spoilers," she quipped with a bit of a singsong warble to her declaration. She coyly brought up a finger to her lips and made a shushing motion. Before she could add anything else, she was tapped on the shoulder by someone in the party, and she quickly dove back into the crowd. "Party emergency! Someone drank all the punch!"

"But, what spoilers?" Sonata called, raising her voice as Pinkie disappeared. Left alone, she gave a begrudging glance around the gym. Whenever she laid eyes on someone, they either focused more intently on whomever they were speaking with, or they simply avoided her gaze altogether, even if they initially had looked at her.

With a small whimper, she reached both her hands into the small pockets of her blouse, the same one that she wore to the final band performance, and she whined plaintively. It wasn't like she could really get any other nice outfits than that one, but that more than certainly identified her as one of the girls who almost enslaved the school.

"Don't worry about whatever Pinkie says. It's just, well, Pinkie," she heard a laid-back voice say from behind her. Glancing back, she frowned deeper when she saw Sunset Shimmer approaching her. While wearing her usual leather jacket, she wore a light cyan dress. She held two cups of punch. "Want it? I got it for you."

For a moment, Sonata eyed the drink, then grunted, "Yeah, sure, why not?" She huffed. "Seems like everyone is fine with Pinkie just being, well, weird." When she heard a snicker from Sunset, she snorted and grumbled, "Yeah, I know. Coming from me? 'Taco Girl' Sonata Dusk?" Faintly grinning at her statement, she hung her head and let out a single, sad laugh. "Funny, isn't it?"

"Well, about as funny as talking to someone who wanted to take over the world." At that, she punched Sonata lightly in the arm, which made Sonata rub it. However, there was a self-assured, and reassuring, half-cocked smirk on Sunset's face. "I may or may not be talking about myself there, too." When Sonata's expression fell, she added, "And, really, if I can make a turnaround, who's to say that you girls can't, too?"

"Dagi, I guess," Sonata replied with a shrug.

"Sonata Alto Dusk!" As soon as the words reached her ears, Sonata's blood turned as frigid as the temperatures outside the school. Sunset craned her neck to look around Sonata, before she turned her attention back to the siren. Silently, she nodded and Sonata breathed out a couple of times before she turned around.

While there had been a crowd around the entrance of the gym, as students who were friends with each other stalled and stopped to chat before moving elsewhere, that mass of teens had quickly retreated to reveal two other girls, both covered in snow. Sonata gulped. Adagio's head was caked in white and occasionally dripped more thoroughly melted sections onto the squeaky clean tile of the gym.

Aria was behind her, with her pigtails also highlighted in ice. Both of the other Dazzlings were glowering and shooting figurative daggers at Sonata. If looks could kill, not only would she have been torn into her constituent atoms, she'd probably have defied physics and somehow had her matter completely erased.

With each heaving breath, Adagio's snarl grew larger, and Sonata could catch a couple of veins pulsing in her neck. As Adagio continued to glare at Sonata, Pinkie slipped up and silently reached out to take Adagio's jacket to put with the others. Uncannily noticing the motion, Adagio shot a single, side-eyed frown at Pinkie. When she realized she was noticed and not appreciated, Pinkie smiled widely and slipped back into the now gawking crowd.

Sonata merely stared back at her sisters, her heart thrashing against her chest. While she had prepared, at least somewhat, for the probable confrontation, actually putting all those theories into practice was something else. She could only stammer a couple of times before Adagio held up a finger to silence Sonata. As she did, Aria adjusted her pigtails, and then crossed her forearms over her heavily stuffed, black jacket.

Slowly, the music that had ground to a halt when Adagio had her outburst started playing again, and at least the fringes of the party resumed. However, those that were close to the Dazzlings continued to gawk, at least until Adagio met their gazes with her own fire, and they started to inch away, before breaking into other groups.

"H-Hi, Dagi, Ari," Sonata finally managed to gulp out. It was enough that Adagio whipped her head back to glower at Sonata. Her motion was fast enough that a mushy chunk of melting snow slopped off the side of her hair and splattered on the floor. If she were any angrier, she'd probably be steaming and evaporating what was left on her.

"What. In. Mother's. Name. Is. This?!" Adagio demanded. Spreading both her arms wide, she indicated the entirety of the party, and Sonata stammered again. "We followed your directions. To. The. Letter. You lead us right into the heart of the Rainbooms' lair?!" Sonata caught Sunset snicker at the name. Finally marching forward, she stalked toward Sonata, who remained stock still, and eventually seemed to tower over her sister. "Speak, Sonata."

"If you're smart, 'Nata, you'll suck up to Adagio now and she might not turn you into paste," Aria quipped from the entrance. With a grunt, she leaned back against the doorframe, and she shot a student a grimace. "What're you looking at, idiot?" When the student, who was a tad younger than the rest, bolted, she grinned and started to fiddle with one of the stars in her pigtails.

"You're really straining the whole 'we have to stick together' crap that Adagio wants us to follow." She snorted and after making sure that her star was on tightly, added, "You know how many lights I had to run because of Little Miss Perfect needing to have her outfit impeccable? She took two, bloody, hours!"

"Ah, a woman of culture," Sonata caught Rarity state from somewhere in the crowd at Aria's statement. While she did, Adagio switched her attention to Aria and swiped a hand across her neck. Aria merely snorted.

With her distractions removed, Adagio redirected her focus to Sonata. Despite not really having much power any more, she still managed to appear like she was capable of destroying Sonata's entire world. Laser beams not required.

Pushing her face closer to Sonata's, she growled, "Well? Have anything to say for yourself?" Impatiently, she tapped one of her feet against the floor as Sonata stuttered and sputtered. Despite having words in her mind, Sonata could barely get them out, as her tongue practically fought against her to remain uncontrollable.

Sweat breaking out on her forehead, Sonata nervously wiped at her brow and glanced around. Anywhere other than the two infernos of fury that were currently raging in Adagio's eyes. On top of that, she also felt like she was going to melt into the floor, as she started to fan herself and start and stop with, "Well, I, uh, that is, uh—"

"Cut to the chase," interjected Adagio. Furrowing her brow and glowering again at any student who was staring at them, she snarled, "I despise being around all these humans." Fixating her gaze on Sunset, she narrowed her eyes further and hissed, "Especially her."

"I'm hurt, Adagio," Sunset snarked back.

Tapping her index fingers together, Sonata glanced above her at the banner, which Pinkie had designed herself. It was meant to be noticed as one entered, but probably her sisters were so irate that they didn't spot it. While she strained to even point up toward, Pinkie popped up beside her and gave a couple of reassuring nudges.

At the new arrival, Adagio's forehead wrinkled, and she snarled, much like an animal of some description. Eyeing up Pinkie, she hissed, "What do you want, Rainboom?"

"Well, I just wanted to say that this was partly Sonata's idea, because she wanted to invite you to the annual Christmas party—which has never had spiked punch—because you were being a bunch of Scrooges!" When she finished, she cracked a massive grin, and she poked Sonata again in the ribs. "See?" she whispered. "Easy peasy, lemon squeezy."

Perking up a bit further, Pinkie held up a finger and proclaimed, "Oh yeah! This is also a surprise for you guys!" She jabbed upward a couple of times, and Adagio sighed, her eyelids half-furrowed, and she followed Pinkie's indication. With a small start and a growl, her eyes shrunk a tad when she more than likely read the name of the banner.

Sonata followed Adagio's gaze. As much as she had argued against it during its creation, the banner had spelled out on it, in garishly Christmas-y reds, yellows, and greens, "'Sorry We Took Your Powers but You Were being kinda Evil but do You Want to be Friends' Christmas Party Extravaganza!" For what seemed like an eternity, Adagio continued to peer at it, but eventually she looked back at Sonata, and she appeared to be slightly—infinitesimally—less frustrated. Instead of five veins pulsing across her neck and face, she only had four. A marked improvement.

"You got this," came a whispered comment from Sunset. Although it was probably meant as encouragement, it only made Sonata's knees clack further together.

"Ugh. Deal with the idiot how you want, Adagio, I'm getting punch." With that grumble, Aria hauled herself off the doorframe and swaggered her way toward the punch bowl. As she did, the entire crowd parted for her, and she gave a condescending sneer toward anyone who held her gaze for more than a second or two. Although it was faint, Sonata could hear as Aria passed close by, "Stupid humans."

Swiping a plastic cup, she filled it with punch, took one sip, and spat it back out. "I thought you said this punch was spiked?!" she barked at Pinkie.

"I said it wasn't!" retorted Pinkie with a wide smile. "Cross my heart. Hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye!" From her blouse, she pulled a cupcake and slammed it into one of her eyes. Blinking happily, she wiped it off and tittered, "See? Pinkie Promise!"

Wordlessly, Aria gazed at Adagio and pointed her thumb at Pinkie. Arching a brow, she opened her mouth, as if to say, "what the heck," but otherwise remained mute. Adagio simply shook her head and flicked a finger to motion Aria back over to Sonata and her.

Still dripping with cupcake icing and batter, Pinkie poked Sonata in the ribs, and Sonata felt two cards being slipped into her fingers. She gripped them, and she stole a quick glance at Pinkie, with a silent thanks passing between them. When Pinkie met her gaze, she beamed and repeatedly shot her a thumbs up before slipping away from the group. She did manage to hiss, "It'll all make sense now!"

Sunset's presence was still felt. Although she had not interjected with much, Sonata could sense that she was watching, and more than likely prepared to act if Adagio and Aria did anything. Given that Adagio was occasionally switching her attention to behind Sonata, she could only assume that Sunset was enough of a deterrent.

Clearing her throat and feeling her face flush deeply, Sonata brought the cards that she had been given by Pinkie up and checked them. The only indication of to whom they belonged were stickers of her sisters' musical pins. A treble clef and golden diamond for Adagio, a purple star and Segno notation for Aria.

With a quick sigh and a nervous gulp, she held out Adagio's and calmly stated, "Here." Although she controlled her voice, her heart was fluttering at a mile a minute. Everything inside felt like it was being twisted and ready to be wrung out, squished out of her and leaving her empty. As long as she held the letter out for Adagio, her forehead grew sweatier and sweatier.

Without a word, Aria waltzed by and swiped hers, while Adagio continued to simply gawk at what was being proffered to her by Sonata. As the seconds dragged on, she started to regain some of her composure, and shifted her gaze around to spy that she was being observed by the majority of the party members.

For possibly the first time in her working memory, Sonata noticed Adagio's cheeks turn a bright shade of crimson, and Adagio growled. Slumping her shoulders slightly, she shot most of the teens there another practiced glare that had been leveled at Sonata dozens of times in the past few months alone. More blobs of snow fell off her hair and plopped onto the floor with a splash.

As the cold droplets of water wet her legs, Sonata pushed the card a bit closer to Adagio and repeated her encouragement. Adagio finally sized up the letter and then snatched it with a huff. Taking one second to look at the sticker, which Sonata had to admit she wasn't even sure how Pinkie got, she ripped open the seal.

With each tear, a few snippets of paper fell to the floor, and soon she had withdrawn the card. Her eyes skimmed its contents momentarily, and then she twirled it around and jabbed a finger at the short message, stating that it was a few vocal lessons for the start of the year, and that maybe she'd not be as evil as before if she knew how to sing without magic.

Sonata had to force back a smirk at Pinkie's candid writing, and she stated, "I got one, too." She pointed at Aria. "And Ari's is the same." Scratching the back of her neck, she tittered and mumbled, "Uh, these last few days have kinda opened up my eyes."

"I heard that one before!" Pinkie quipped from somewhere in the crowd.

"You. Spent. Time. With. Them?!" Adagio hissed, her eyes shrinking to mere pinpricks and her animalistic scowl forcing Sonata to cringe back as it felt like a freezing hand gripped her heart. Taking one look at the card, Adagio issued a guttural growl, and she tossed it to the floor. She thrust a finger at Sonata. "That's where you were all week, wasn't it?!" Furiously jabbing a thumb back at her chest, she snapped, "You decided to betray the two of us, just to work with them instead?!"

"No, no, no!" Sonata hastily declared as she waved her hands defensively. "I-I wanted to be angry with them, but they were just... nice." For a second, she scanned the crowd and spotted Applejack, who gave her a nod. She smiled back. Pinkie poked her head up through a different spot in the party and waved. For the most part, the other students were doing their best to ignore the drama. The few that were paying attention recorded it with their phones.

As that realization sunk in, Sonata gulped, but she forced it from her mind and continued, "We're just normal girls now, Dagi. What can we do to get back at them? Like, for realsies, what?"

Chewing on her lip for a few seconds, Adagio furrowed her brow and then grabbed Sonata's hand. Sonata yelped. With a huff, "You're just pitying me! I don't need it! I led a serenade of sirens for over a thousand years. I don't need any—"

"And what do you think you're going to do, Adagio?" Sunset interjected, which made Adagio twirl back to face the girl behind their downfall. Spitting and stammering, Adagio's eyes darted left and right before she stepped back and crossed her forearms. With a couple of stutters and spurts, she instead grabbed Sonata's hand again and started moving.

"I-I don't have to explain anything to you, Sunset Shimmer! Just know that—" She snarled when Sunset interrupted.

"Your pendants are shattered, you know," quipped Sunset. When Adagio halted entirely, she grinned. For a second, Adagio clasped her hand to her neck and then whipped around to glower at Sunset. Sonata could practically taste the tension. It was about as thick and soupy as a London fog.

Nonchalantly leaning to one side, Sunset matched Adagio's haughty and defiant stance and added, "Sonata's right. Why are you wanting to hold onto all that anger, especially right around Christmas? It's almost a new year. Shouldn't you think of a way to move forward?"

"Yeah, Dagi," Sonata broke in with a nod. "Can we just act like a normal family, even for Christmas?" With a whimper, she brought her hands together and practically fell to her knees, a begging pout forming on her face. As her pupils dilated, she forced a couple of tears to trickle down, and she saw Adagio roll her eyes in disgust.

For a second or two, the party grew quiet, as if expecting Adagio to answer. In the light from the streetlights outside, as well as the soft glow from the Christmas tree, Adagio appeared like she was painted in a pastel palette. Some of the reds and greens from the lights glittered off her wet hair.

As the seconds dragged on, Sonata's expression grew more plaintive, and she caught Aria tapping a foot impatiently by the door. A couple of whispers about getting someone to show the Dazzlings out made its way to her ears, but she heard Pinkie instantly silence it with a loud shushing noise.

"You said it was partly your idea?" Adagio finally asked, her voice a bit calmer than earlier. Likewise, some of the frustration evaporated from her, but she still kept a wary eye on Sunset.

"Y-Yeah, somewhat. I wanted to get gifts, but then Pinkie, uh, well, beat me to it." With a titter, Sonata scratched the back of her head.

"You know, it was kinda thoughtful of Sonata to get us to come out here. Was going to be a boring Christmas, otherwise," Aria chipped in from the rear. When Adagio shot her a glare, she simply shrugged and added, "Besides, I'm getting tired of all this, Adagio."

Staggering once, Adagio grimaced like she had been slapped. She gaped at Aria. "Aria Treble—"

"Don't give me the middle name treatment, Adagio, I'm not a hundred anymore." At that, Aria brushed aside some of her hair and strained out a bit more melted snow. With a small smirk sent Sonata's way, she stated with a small chuckle, "Besides, this is kinda like the old gift exchanges we used to do. Guess it's just better gifts for all of us."

Switching her gaze between Sonata and Aria for a moment, then taking in the room, Adagio went silent. She licked her lips. After furrowing her brow, she kicked one of her heels against the ground momentarily, and then stared up at the ceiling, toward the banner. Although it was faint, especially in the dimmer light, Sonata caught a couple of tears slip down Adagio's cheeks, which she quickly wiped away before she even sniffed.

Adagio coughed. Fixing her gaze on Sunset, she finally huffed, "Well, I guess that maybe I can honor my sister's request. This once." She started to shoulder off her jacket, and then snapped, "That doesn't mean we're friends, Shimmer!" All she got in return was a snarky snicker.

After slipping off her woolen, purple winter coat, she tossed it toward one of the younger geeks, who was tapping on his phone with someone. When he looked up, his face blanched as could be, she simply snarled, "Hang it up." She paused for a second. "Please, I guess."

"Wow. Adagio Bass Dazzle actually being polite," shot Aria, who earned a single, small growl from her sister. As she caught Adagio's ire, she laughed and undid her own jacket, which she just hung up on one of the hangers that were on one of the bleachers. It was little more than a makeshift coat rack, but it worked. Sonata spotted Aria put it next to her own. A rarity.

With a bit of warmth rushing through her body, she went in to give Adagio a hug, but Adagio held up a hand. "Don't. Touch." She primped her hair briefly, and she huffed. "Need to fix this when I get home." As she started to fiddle with it to at least straighten it out, she turned her back on Sonata, who grinned and went in anyway.

Yelping in surprise, Adagio glanced down at the arms wrapped around her waist, and she sighed. Aria chortled as she approached, and Sonata simply stated with a wistful sigh, "Merry Christmas, Dagi. Merry Christmas, Ari." Adagio's posture slumped further.

"Ugh, do I have to?" Adagio began before she dragged a hand down her face. Gingerly, she patted one of Sonata's arms, and then she mumbled, "Yeah, Merry Christmas, 'Nata."

Giggling at the nickname, Sonata pulled back when she heard some feet trot up, and Pinkie exclaimed, "Oh! Don't forget to give them these!" Before Sonata could thank Pinkie, Pinkie had shoved a couple of cookies for each siren into her fists, as well as a couple of shortbread. Sonata blinked. She hadn't even tried the shortbread that Applejack had made yet! The sugar cookies she made her sisters would have to wait. Applejack's recipe looked like it was to die for, and she was going to experience it with Adagio and Aria.

As she divvied the spoils with her sisters, she proclaimed, "Gotta try these apple shortbread pieces first! They're making my tummy rumbly!"

"Ugh, do you have to talk like you're thirty?" Aria huffed. However, she eyed the shortbread for a second and asked, "Is it supposed to look like it's been run through a grater with a million apples?" When Sonata shrugged, she simply huffed, "Whatever. On three?"

With a shared nod, the three sirens counted down. As they reached two, Sonata heard Pinkie exclaim, "Oh, so that's what that twitchy hair and arm meant! Extended ending with a Season One twist, but the twist is actually a twist! What a twist!"

Curious, Sonata popped the shortbread in her mouth as she mentally resolved to ask Pinkie what the heck she meant after. Almost instantly, the pastry started to melt in her mouth, exploding into a burst of sweetness, soon complemented by the tanginess of the tiny apple chunks throughout it. With a small moan, Sonata peeked at Adagio, who inspected it, before shrugging and taking a bite. Adagio's eyes shrunk, and she stopped chewing to peer at the dessert.

Frowning and holding back a whimper, Sonata inquired, "Gee, Dagi, don't you like it?" She sniffed at the spice on the top of the tray of shortbread. "Seems all right to me."

"It's not 'all right,'" Adagio began with a snarl. Momentarily glaring at Sonata, she perked up, "It's to die for!" At that, she snatched the piece that Aria still held and swiped a couple more from the tray.

Sonata arched a brow curiously. As she opened her mouth to comment on Adagio's reaction, she screamed when Pinkie popped up to Sonata's right and whispered, "Psst, you almost forgot this." Stuffing a hand into her hair, Pinkie retrieved Sonata's shaker of cayenne pepper, and Sonata gasped.

She snatched it from Pinkie. "For realsies?! I can't believe I was such an airhead and forgot this!" As Sonata spun to bounce over to her jacket, Pinkie's right arm jerked, and she spasmed a couple of times. Pinkie yelped.

"Jerky arm and twitchy ma—hair!" Before Sonata could react, the convulsing Pinkie swiped and bumped into Aria, who had wandered closer, her face alight with confusion. Aria staggered and stumbled back into Sonata, who was knocked to the ground. As she collapsed, Sonata's grip loosened on the shaker, and it went soaring through the air. The cap, not quite sealed tight, undid itself with the force of the launch.

Heart sinking, Sonata reached out a hand before impacting the ground, and she screamed, "'Dagi!" Her world seemed to slow to a crawl as Adagio, who was just finishing her third piece of shortbread, looked up. Crumbs dotted her cheeks. Then her eyes shrunk to mere pinpricks as she tracked the shaker of cayenne through the air. She brought up an arm and started to close her eyes, but it was too late.

In a cloud of red, the shaker dumped itself over Adagio. Sonata meekly stared at her. Adagio gazed back, eyes reddened. Tears streamed down her face.

"Oooooh, so that's what all those jerks and twitches meant! A twisty, twist, twistery, twist!" Pinkie beamed brightly. "How twisted! I wonder if this'll help her practice for those singing lessons?"

Adagio shrieked."

Author's Note

Well, as usual, I think I went a bit above and beyond for my recipient's request, but now they have a massive story gift to look back on during future Christmases! I'm glad that I had the opportunity to write this, as I've not done this character duo before, and I like excuses to write the Dazzlings in any capacity. Penning Pinkie's personality was also entertaining (and you have no idea how hard it was to not just make a fourth wall breaking joke with Pinkie jumping in and declaring no personality was written, because it's just her). In the end, hopefully the warm fuzzies were provided, and a Merry Christmas is had by all.

Like I always do, I want to thank EverfreePony for their help editing, because it feels like these last few times I've dropped stories on them in short order and they've always come through. They're the real hero of the show! Likewise, I thank December Breeze for the cover art, as the work helps add to the coziness of the fic.

Finally, thanks rpglover for the seed that planted this story idea. I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and that this monster of a story has kept you entertained!

Until next fic!
T4E