//------------------------------// // Alien // Story: The Dazzlings Watch Monster Movies // by CGPH //------------------------------// “No! No way Sonata!” Aria pushed her younger sister off her. “Awwww please Aria!” Sonata dropped to her knees in a begging motion. The two were pacing back and forth in the living room, and seemed to be in a heated debate. “No!” Aria put her hands up. “Not after you two cry-babies cried at the last one!” “Pleeeeaassseee, I promise we won’t cry at this one!” Sonata begged. Aria tried to move past her sister, to which Sonata responded to by wrapping herself around Aria’s leg. As she tried to push past her, Sonata remained firmly planted on the ground. “No! Get off me loser!” Aria tried wiggling herself free from Sonata’s grip. “Ariaaaaaa!” Sonata pleaded. “I picked a better one for us to watch tonight! It won’t be sad in the littlest bit I promise!” “Ugghh.” Aria grunted. “Sonata, get up. You’re seriously peeving me off!” Sonata released Aria’s legs and stood up, still giving her older sister puppy dog eyes. “B-but you enjoyed the last few ones.” “I did not! I just watched them to make you happy, they were garbage!” Aria spat. Sonata gasped. “You don’t mean that! You liked King Kong Versus Godzilla!” Aria crossed her arms. “Huh, hardly.” “And you thought Gamera was funny! And you even liked the plot twist in Rodan!” “Sonata, no.” Aria put her foot down. “I’m not watching another one of your stupid old movies, now move out of my way!” Aria pushed herself past Sonata and made her way to exit the living room. “But this one isn’t an old movie.” Sonata insisted. “It’s a modern one!” Aria let out a loud groan and turned around. “What’s it called?” “Alien!” Sonata smiled. Aria stopped. She turned around, a grin quickly forming on her lips. “Alien huh?” Aria mused. “That’s a horror film isn’t it?” “I dunno,” Sonata shrugged. “But it sounded really cool.” Aria thought for a minute. “If you couldn’t handle that clown movie I doubt you’ll be able to watch a serious horror movie.” “I will Aria I promise!” Sonata beamed. “I won’t even get nightmares or wet the bed or anything!” “Hmmm...” Aria thought. Sonata had been getting increasingly annoying with her monster movies recently. Three days in a row now Aria had been forced into watching them with her. Maybe if the little dweeb got really scared watching one she’d lose interest in watching anymore? Aria smiled. “Okay, fine. If you can convince Adagio into letting you watch it, I’ll watch it with you.” Sonata leaped across the room and engulfed her sister. “Oh thank you Aria! This is going to be so much fun!” Aria pushed herself off Sonata. “You might want to call her soon though.” She said, looking at the clock. “I will Aria, I’ll do it right away! Thank you!” Sonata skipped over to the sofa. Aria shook her head at the blue girl’s enthusiasm and left the living room, returning to her bedroom. Sonata sat down on the sofa and pulled her legs up beneath her. She picked up the house phone off the coffee table and began to dial. Smiling, she started twirling the phones cord between her fingers and listened to the tone. Ring ring Ring ring Ring ring Rin-“Hello?” “Dagiiii!” Sonata cheered. “Sonata!? What have I told you about using the phone?!” Adagio snapped at her. “Aria let me use it!” Sonata defended. “Oh, she did now, did she?” Adagio growled. “Yep!” Sonata smiled enthusiastically. “She wants to know if we can watch a horror film.” She heard Adagio grunt. “What horror film is it Sonata?” “It’s called Alien.” “You know you’re not allowed to watch scary films.” “I knooowwww Dagi but it was a long time ago since I last got scared, I’ve grown up since then!” “You got in bed with me after watching Gamera!” Adagio snapped. “Oh, yeah...” Sonata said blankly. “Well I won’t do it this time! I promise promise promise I’ll be a grown up!” “Do you mean that?” “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a taco in my eye!” “Ugh… fine. But wait for me to get home. My shift finishes in two hours.” “You want to watch it with us!?” Sonata’s face light up. “Ugh, yes Sonata. Now, go bother Aria or something till I get home.” “Okay!” Sonata beamed. “Bye Dagi, love you!” Another sigh. “Love you too Sonata.” Adagio hung up. Adagio pushed her front door open and was met with the familiar scent of their apartment. It wasn’t a particularly bad smell, or a pleasant one, but it was a smell that was definitely present. As for what it smelled like… She couldn’t say. It was pretty generic, if she had to guess she’d say it was mixture of her and her sister’s perfume, hair spray, washing up power and whatever it was that they last had for dinner. It was a smell that calmed Adagio. She knew when that smell was around, she was safe. She was surrounded by her sisters, and although they didn’t exactly get on, she’d take her sisters over anyone else any day. They had traveled all across this world over hundreds of years, yet whenever she this small graced her senses, she knew she was home. Smiling, she closed the door behind her and lifted its handle, clicking the lock into place. Using the wall for support, she gently kicked both her boots off. She was more than used to wearing highheels, even long before she took her job as a barmaid, but that didn’t make them any easier on her feet. “Aria, Sonata, I’m home.” She gently called. After a moment of silence, there was a crash, a bang, and Sonata came bounding out of the living room. “Daggiiiiii!” She threw herself at her sister. The force of Sonata’s hug sent her stumbling backwards. She grabbed her younger sister’s waist to stable herself. Rolling her eyes, Adagio gently pushed her Sonata off her. “How was work?” Sonata asked giddily. Adagio gave a slight smirk. She always secretly found it pretty refreshing how Sonata always managed to be in a good mood. Though… it was mostly due to her ignorance, she thought. When the three Sirens were born Sonata was the runt of the litter. Technically by this worlds standards the three of them were actually triplets, rather than sisters. But back in Equestria that wasn’t how the Siren’s birth circle worked, and as a result there was a significant age difference between the three. Adagio was the oldest, and the brains of their little operation. Aria was the middle child, and the groups muscle. And Sonata was… well she was the comic relief. But Adagio preferred to think of her more as their moral support, her innocence reminded she and Aria why they needed to stick together. “It was… okay.” Adagio sighed. “Tiring.” The job she’d taken was far from glamorous. She had to actually work for money. But, it paid the bills, and she knew she wouldn’t be there forever. All she needed was a few more months there then her plan would b- “Yo.” Aria opened the door to her bedroom. She exited the room and sauntered over to Adagio. “About time, we’ve been waiting for you.” Adagio rose an eyebrow. “For what?” “To watch Alien!” Sonata squealed. “Ugh.” Adagio put her hand to her head. She’d forgotten all about promising to watch the movie with Sonata and Aria. She had been so looking forward to getting in and heading straight to bed. Sonata’s face deflated and she turned to Aria. Aria frowned. “What?” She asked. “I’d forgotten all about it. I was really looking forward to heading straight to bed, sorry Sonata.” Adagio said apologetically. Aria continued to stare at her, while Sonata’s head dropped down. “It’s… okay… we can watch it tomorrow.” Sonata said, rubbing her arm. Adagio rolled her eyes. Both she and Aria’s biggest weakness was the sight of an upset Sonata. And they were positive that Sonata had caught onto this. “Fineee.” Adagio sighed. “Go put it on, I’ll get changed.” Sonata’s face light up and she pulled Adagio into another hug. “Thank you, thank you!” Aria smirked at the two. Adagio growled at her. “So you said this was a modern one?” Aria asked Sonata. The three sirens had resumed their setup from the previous night, with Aria on the recliner chair and Adagio and Sonata on the couch, with the latter both tucked under Sonata’s duvet. They each had a bowl of snacks to themselves, with Sonata’s already half gone. “Kinda.” Sonata said. “It came out in the seventies.” Adagio laughed. “All these films are modern compared to us.” The three shared a laugh. “But still,” Aria began. “I’m just happy we’re watching one with some good effects. I’ll be happy if I never have to see a man in a rubber suit ever again.” “Damn... Well there goes my plans for your Christmas Present.” Adagio purred. That earned her another laugh off Sonata and a glare from Aria. Still smirking, Adagio turned to Sonata. “Go ahead, put it on.” Smiling in response, Sonata snatched the remote up off the coffee table and pressed play. As the movie began, the three girls settled down for the night ahead of them. “Well this is boring.” Aria stated. “It’s the title sequence!” Sonata snapped. “Yeah and it’s boring.” “What were you expecting? Explosions?!” “I was expecting something.” “Okay, no.” Adagio interrupted them. “We are going to watch this movie in silence.” Aria and Sonata both frowned. “But that will be boring, Adagio.” “How are you guys gonna know if I like it or not?” Sonata whined. “You both always talk during movies! You can tell us if you like it at the end, Sonata. And suck it up Aria.” Adagio refused to budge. Aria ‘hmph’ed and crossed her arms. Sonata deflated a little and returned her attention to the screen. They got a fully thirty minutes into the movie before Adagio’s command was broken, by herself no less. “Oh my gosh.” Adagio broke the silence. “Is that Susan?” Aria and Sonata both turned to her. “What?” Aria frowned. “That actress. That is Susan.” Adagio pointed to the poofy haired actress. “That’s… Sigourney Weaver?” Aria asked. “Who’s Susan?” Sonata frowned. “No, it’s Susan. Don’t you remember her?” Adagio lifted herself up and turned to Aria. “When we lived in Connecticut, she was the tall girl from up the street.” Aria returned to looking at the screen. “Holy crap you’re right.” “Of course I’m right, she was like one of my best friends.” “I don’t remember her.” Sonata perked in. “You went to the same school as her.” Aria told the girl. She turned to Adagio. “What was its name again?” “The all-girls school. I don’t remember it well, but Sonata you definitely went there.” Sonata turned back to the screen. “I really don’t recognize her.” “She matured very well.” Adagio smirked. “I can’t believe she became famous.” Aria said, still looking at the screen. “Hehehe, if we wanted to be adored we should have just followed her lead instead of Adagio’s, amiright?” Sonata giggled to Aria. Her joke was met by frowns from both her sisters. She shrank beneath the duvet. “I wonder how many other famous people we know…” Adagio mumbled. “There’s that one guy from Queens,” Sonata chipped in. “The one who’s running for President?” “We do not talk about him in this house, Sonata.” Adagio told her sternly. Sonata pointed a harsh finger at Aria. “Aria voted for him!” Adagio sighed. “I know, and we agreed that we also do not discuss Aria’ political affiliations in this house.” Aria threw her hands up in defense. “Hey, I have stock in the NBC, you know that’s my only reason.” “Was that your reason for voting for the nasty man in Germany too?” Sonata spat. “You leave mein schatz out of this…. You have no idea what we had.” Aria spat. “We did get a lot of magical energy out of him. Such a shame when he passed… Sonata you should really show more respect.” Adagio nodded. Sonata threw her arms up in frustration. “Fine, whatever.” Aria smirked. It was only on extremely rare occasions that they managed to get Sonata annoyed, and she cherished every moment of it. Though her attention had been turned back to the TV, from the corner of her eye she was sure she could see Adagio smirking as well. “I wonder if she’d still recognize me?” Adagio asked herself. “Who, Susan?” Aria asked. Adagio nodded. “Probably, I mean we look exactly the same. Minus the old timey outfits.” “Hmmm…. I wonder…” Adagio fell quiet. “Uh oh.” Sonata chipped in. “That’s her plotting face.” “I know. What are you thinking Adagio?” Aria asked cautiously. “Well back when I knew Susa-Sorry, Sigourney. When I knew her I was one of her closest friends. I knew her mother and then became a bit of a… parental figure to her. I wonder if maybe we could pull some old strings.” Aria frowned. “And do what?” Adagio smiled. “Maybe she could get us in with the high cats. If we can’t make the world love us for our singing voices… maybe we can give acting a try.” “But we can’t act?” Sonata asked. “Aria can.” Adagio turned to her with a knowing smile. “Back in the fifteen hundreds, you studied acting when we went England. You were even in all those plays.” “What, the Shakespeare ones?” Aria asked. “I just did that as a hobby, I was no good. Besides you’re missing a big flaw in your plan.” “Oh?” Adagio rose an eyebrow. “I already said, we look exactly the same as we used to. Don’t you think she’d be a bit suspicious, given that she must be in what, her eighties by now, and we haven’t aged a day?” Adagio collapsed back into the sofa and folded her arms. “Right, I forgot about that. Damn.” “So is Susan the main character in this?” Sonata asked. “Yes.” Adagio nodded. “No, the guy with the beard is.” Aria corrected her. “But Susan’s name was the first in the credits.” Adagio pointed to the screen. “But they’re spending the most time with the beard guy.” Aria interjected. “Actually I think they’re spending the most time with the spacesu-EEEEKK!” “Gah!" “Sweet Celestia!” Sonata’s snack bowl shot into the air and showered the three in popcorn. Adagio grasped her heart and Aria flinched so hard she nearly took herself onto the floor. On the screen, the man in the spacesuit whom Sonata had just been talking about had been attacked by… something. And when that something attacked, it caused a very loud noise. “Sonata! That went all in my hair!” Adagio shouted. “Sorry! Sorry! That really scared me!” Sonata shouted apologetically. The two’s panic was interpreted by laughter from Aria. “That was great, finally a jump scare!” The girl laughed. Adagio scowled at her, and then set about picking the popcorn from her hair. “What the hell was that anyway?” She asked. “I dunno, but it looked gross.” Sonata sneered. “I’m starting to get into this movie.” Aria sat forward. “Sonata.” She began. “Help me get all this out of my hair.” Sonata wiggled closer to her older sister and set about picking through her hair. She was going to be here for a while. Adagio’s hair was infamous between the Dazzlings. It had been the source of hundreds of nicknames over the years, including Cheese Puff, Pillow Head and “The Poof”. With the combined effort of the three of them, they actually managed to straighten it all once. That was when she took on the unauthorized nickname (and inspired the legend) of Rapunzel. Unlike Aria’s and Sonata’s, Adagios hair style had remained near enough constant throughout the years she’d spent on this planet, for the simple reason that it was almost impossible to do anything with it. Even on the rare occasions she’d have it cut, the hair dressers would often have to call for back up in the form of hedge trimmers or a chainsaw. Her thick golden locks managed to be as strong as steel, but as bouncy as a trampoline. On one particularly windy day The Poof even managed to cause a car crash. Which gets a lot worse when you find out that Adagio wasn’t even in the car, rather she’d been walking on the sidewalk and a gust of wind had blown her hair into a car’s windshield. “Hold still Dagi.” She told her sister. As Sonata searched elbow-deep through her sister’s hair she came across the loose bits of popcorn and quickly removed them (no doubt to be consumed at a later date.) She giggled over some the memories The Poof had brought them. One Halloween night Sonata hid inside it and spoke to Adagio pretending that she was her inner demon. And she fell for it as well! She convinced her she was going crazy, and that Sonata’s recent disappearance was because Adagio had murdered her in her sleep. Only when Adagio was stood there, knife in hand over a begging Aria did Sonata finally reveal herself. Oh how they all cried with laughter. Oh the tickle fights they had. “Okay done.” Sonata smiled, scooting away from her sister. “Really…?” Adagio asked, taking her hair in her hands. “Mostly.” She shrugged. “There’s some that’s never coming out.” She giggled. Adagio frowned and turned her attention back to the TV. “It’s got boring again, Sonata.” Aria droned. “You just said that you liked it!” Sonata spat. “Because stuff was finally kicking off! Now they’re just talking about it. It’s like nothing remotely exciting can happen in this without them spending half an hour just talking about it.” “It’s called intelligent horror.” Sonata defended. “The idea of what’s going on is meant to be scarier than what’s actually going on.” “Well it’s not.” Aria sneered. “What do you think Adagio?” Adagio shrugged. “It’s okay I guess.” “See? Adagio likes it.” “She didn’t say that, she says she thinks it okay.” “Okay means good!” “It does not! It means okay. As in average. As in better than you.” “Are you calling me the worst?” Sonata frowned. “Maybe I am!” Aria growled. “Girls.” Adagio stopped them. “I’m just gonna go to bed if you keep arguing like this.” Aria and Sonata both crossed their arms and returned to the movie. Adagio rolled her eyes. They were sisters, and they did love each other. But… damn did they clash. Aria had a very short temper, and Sonata needed patience. Adagio was a very well-rounded person, normally she could deal with either of them separately. But together? Let’s just say, over a thousand years of bickering knows how the get to a girl. “Wait where’s the thing gone?” Aria asked. “It fell off, they literally just said that.” Sonata shot back. “Alright calm down,” Aria rolled her eyes. “Jeez, just a question.” “Adagio told us to stop arguing!” “We weren’t arguing, I asked you a question.” “And whenever we talk we end up arguing!” “Oh yeah? I wonder why that is…” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “If you open your mouths again,” Adagio said through her teeth. “I swear I will not be held responsible for my actions.” The two both looked from each other, to the ever annoyed Adagio, back to each other, before finally resting their attention back on the TV. Time began to pass. Aria was not enjoying the movie. She found the whole thing to be just… boring. At least with the previous films she had the goof of how unrealistic everything that was going on to keep her entertained. This movie was… ridiculously realistic. To the point of where she swore one scene was just a guy sat on his computer in complete silence for two minutes. That was it! Sonata on the other hand, found the film to be brilliant. The realism gave her a sense of real danger that none of the previous films had. When something happened, she felt like it actually happened, and not that she was just watching a movie. Sure while not a lot was actually happening… the idea that anything could at any moment kept her on the edge of her seat. She suppressed an inner squeal and eagerly kept watching. And Adagio… Adagio stood on the middle ground. She found the film to be… intriguing. It was unlike any other film she’d seen before, in that it didn’t even really seem like a film. It flowed so naturally, it seemed almost like they were observing actual people. Which yes, did definitely add an extra sense of danger to what they were seeing. But the fact of the matter was, there was not an awful lot actually happening. Just people sat around, talking. Talking. Talking. More Talking. Snoring. Snoring. Loud snoring. “Adagio?” Aria giggled. “Is she…?” Sonata pointed at their oldest. “Sonata, go get me a pen.” Aria smirked. Adagio awoke with a jolt. She scanned the room and found the source of her sudden awakening to be the Television, where it appeared somebody had just been killed. Her sisters stared at her, grinning. “Sleep well, Adagio?” Aria asked. “Mmmm.” Adagio rubbed her eyes. “Sorry, I must have nodded off.” “Oh no, we’re sorry.” Sonata beamed. Adagio frowned. “What’re you-“ “Sorry that you fell asleep, she means.” Aria interrupted. “The loser should have picked a more exciting movie.” “It’s not that, I’ve just had a long day is all.” Adagio finished with a yawn. “So what’s going on?” “Well,” Sonata sat forward on her seat. “The thing that was on the guys face fell off, and everything was fine. But then everything was not fine. The man gave birth to a baby snake alien, which then ran off and grew big, and now it’s eating people.” Adagio blinked. “Guess I.... missed a lot, then.” Aria snorted. “Hardly, it was mega boring.” “And now the alien just killed the guy with the beard.” Sonata told her. “Told you he wasn’t the main character.” Adagio sneered. “Rigghhtt… I’d hate to make a fool of myself.” Aria laughed. Both she and Sonata shared a giggle. “W-what’s so funny?” Adagio asked, missing out on the joke. “Inside joke, you wouldn’t understand it.” Aria waved her off. “It was really weird when the spacesuit guy had the alien baby.” Sonata remarked. “Almost as weird as how regular humans have babies.” Adagio frowned. “Sonata… We have babies the same way as them?” She said slowly. “I know, we’re from a different universe and yet that stays the same? What did I tell ya, weeeeird.” She nodded. Adagio thought for a second and then nodded. Sonata wasn’t wrong. “Is Susan okay?” She asked, returning to the screen. “Yeah she’s fine. Looks like she’s the main character now.” Aria said. “Is that guy sweating milk?” Sonata piped up. Adagio squinted. “That… doesn’t look like milk.” “Wait what’s he doing with that magazine?” Aria frowned. The trio watched the TV in confusion. Then suddenly… “Oh fudge!” Sonata yelped. “Jesus!” Aria’s eyebrows hit her hairline. “What the heck?” Adagio sputtered out. “He’s a robot!” Sonata yelled, pointing at the screen. “Duh, genius. Thanks for the news flash, no way could we have figured that out on our own.” Aria sneered. “Why’s he a robot?” Adagio asked, confused. “Are there robots in this film? Did this happen when I was asleep? You didn’t mention robots.” “Hey there’s been no robots!” Aria held her hands up in defense. “This is the first I’ve seen of them.” “They can’t just have somebody turn out to be a robot out of nowhere… can they?” Sonata asked. “I mean it was a pretty good plot twist.” Adagio defended. “Yeah but Sonata’s right that just came out of nowhere. They could do that in any movie.” Aria folded her arms. “Well no, they have spaceships and advanced technology in this, why can’t they have robots?” Adagio shrugged. “But still that’s like, they should have mentioned it earlier or something. It just came out of nowhere.” Aria didn’t budge. Adagio rolled her eyes and continued watching the movie. “Why does the robot bleed milk?” Sonata asked. “I remember you asking me a similar question once about teenage boys.” Adagio said under her breath. “I guess that’s just what they use for blood.” Sonata frowned. “You can use milk for blood?” “Woah.” Aria laughed. “That must have really stunk trying to film.” “I’ll have to ask Susan if it really was milk, next time I see her.” Adagio smiled. “Shut up.” Aria flicked a snack at her. It went unnoticed by both Adagio and Sonata, and landed within The Poof. Aria let out a silent gasp and returned to the TV, hoping neither of them had noticed. “That’s actually really creepy.” Adagio held herself in her arms. “Having the head detached but still talking like that.” “Eh, I’ve seen worse.” Sonata waved it off. Both Aria and Adagio frowned and turned to her. “Where?” Adagio asked. “Aria’s laptop.” Sonata said cheerfully. Adagios gaze turned to Aria, who looked furious. “What did I tell you about using MY laptop?” She asked through her teeth. Sonata recoiled slightly. Adagio rolled her eyes. “Aria.” She told her sister sternly. Aria looked from Sonata, back to Adagio, back to Sonata, before giving a “humph” and turning back to the screen. “Is this nearly over yet? I’m bored.” Aria continued to complain. “No one’s making you watch it.” Adagio shot back. “Yes they are! Sonata will go off on one if I don’t.” Aria pointed at her younger sister. “I thought you wanted to watch it?” Sonata asked. “I did when I thought it was a horror movie. This isn’t scary, this is boring.” Aria droned. “You know what’s boring!?” Adagio sat up. “Hearing you complain about everything, all the damn time. Get a sense of humour Aria, not everything is as depressing as you make it out to be.” Aria laughed. “Yeah it’s called Depression for a reason, Dagi.” Adagio growled. “I am so sick of you using that as an excuse! What do you actually do these days? You sit in your room and complain about everything, and that’s it. Have you ever considered maybe if you actually put the effort in to improving that you wouldn’t be so depressed all the time?” “Try and be happier? That’s your advice?” Aria scoffed. “Well you clearly don’t seem to be trying, so yeah.” “Oh piss off Adagio.” Adagio stood up. “Don’t swear at me.” “Then don’t say stupid things.” Aria spat. Sonata begin to retreat beneath her duvet. “ARGH!” Adagio snapped. “You know we’re in the same situation as you don’t you -me and Sonata? Except I’m on my feet working all day to try and provide for us while you just-” “Sonata doesn’t do anything either.” Aria shrugged. “-No but she doesn’t use what happened as an excuse to sit around on her ass all day complaining!” “Pfftt please,” Aria kept her cool. “She only isn’t doing that because she’s too stupid to understand what’s going on.” Sonata shrank further beneath her blanket. “And why am I not doing that Aria?” Adagio stressed. Aria shrugged again. “Because I have my priorities set straight. I know there’s no use dwelling on it, and I know that sitting around crying about it won’t do anything!” “That explains why you sat around crying about it for the first few days!” “Oh my god you are impossible!” Adagio turned around. “And I thought you were bad before what happened.” “Whatever.” Aria stood, scaling herself up to Adagio. “I’m going to bed.” “Good.” Adagio spat. And with that Aria left the room, closing the door with a slam. Adagio turned to Sonata, only to see her whimpering beneath the duvet. She rolled her eyes and sighed. “Sonata.” Sonata remained under cover (literally). “Sonata come out.” Slowly, the blue hair began to rise up from beneath the quilt. As her eyes appeared over the duvet, Adagio noticed they were watering. Her heart dropped, and she let out a sympathetic sigh. She joined Sonata back down on the couch. “I’m sorry about that.” Adagio tried. Sonata still didn’t come out from her hiding spot. “Y-You're,” She began. “Y-You’re not supposed to t-talk about t-the incident.” “I know Sonata, I’m sorry.” Adagio placed her hand on Sonata’s shoulder, which made her flinch. Sonata sniffed. “I’m s-sorry you guys didn’t like the m-movie.” Adagio sighed and waved her off. “It wasn’t the movie Sonny… Aria’s just not been in the best of moods recently. And it was my fault, I pushed her… I’m sorry I ruined your movie night.” Upon hearing her rarely used affectionate nickname, Sonata took that as her cue to fully emerge from her hiding spot. She dabbed her eyes with the sleeve of her pyjama top and smiled. Happy at seeing her sister’s smile, Adagio turned back to the TV screen. “Looks like your movies over though… don’t suppose you caught how it ended?” Sonata shook her head. “Well then… Looks like we have an excuse to watch it again another night, eh?” Adagio winked at her. Sonata smiled. “Why don’t you take all this back into your room now?” Adagio gestured to the duvet. “If you do it all quickly, I might have time to do us some hot choco.” Sonata’s eyes light up in excitement, and she leaped up from the couch. After giving Adagio a quick hug, she scooped up all of her belongings (which was impressive, considering the size of her) and left the room in a hurry. Adagio sighed again. She couldn’t deny it, Aria was getting worse. Her sister had been on a slow downward spiral ever since the incident. She hoped that her little encounter with the toaster last month had been a one off, but there had been no signs of improvement since then. Adagio had been hoping she was taking a little longer than her and Sonata to get over it, but it was that long ago now and and with no improvement at all she was beginning to lose that hope. To be fair, it was Adagio who had started on her this time. But being so constantly on the edge of mentally breakdown was not a position healthy for Aria to be in, nor was it ethical for Adagio to be spending her life walking on eggshells around her. But what could Adagio do to help? Aria was never the talkative type, nor did Adagio know the first thing about being a shoulder to cry on. Standing up, Adagio straightened her pyjamas and looked around. There was still a few curdles of popcorn left littered about the place, but nothing that couldn’t be left for tomorrow. For now, all she wanted to do was curl up in bed with her hot choco. “Hot choco.” She said to herself, remembering her promise to Sonata. Turning to the door, she briefly spied her reflection in the Television glass. She stopped. Frowning, approached the TV. She bent down, getting a closer look at her reflection. Suddenly bed and hot choco were the last thing on her mind. “I’M GOING TO MAKE YOU TWO WISH I WAS AN ONLY CHILD!”