//------------------------------// // Absolution // Story: Resplendence Revoked // by NaiadSagaIotaOar //------------------------------// Adagio, sitting at her dining table with her legs crossed, fidgeted. On her left hand, four immaculate fingernails drummed on the table and produced an incessant rythmic clacking sound. Outside the window, rain poured down from the sky, bombarding the ground with innumerous drops of clear, pure water. A gloomy haze of murky grey clouds covered the sky above. In her right hand, Adagio held a single fragment of crimson ruby, idly running her fingers over it in a mockery of the way she used to caress it when it was whole and dangled from her neck. What a strange relation she had with that gem, she mused. There had been a time when it had been her proudest feature, when it lay embedded in her chest and spread her impossibly majestic song across the land. Then she remembered the shock she had felt when first she felt it severed from her flesh, despoiled and grotesquely bound to her by a simple strap of black fabric. Eventually, she had grown accustomed to it, accepting it as being one more facet of the unearthly beauty her human body possessed that had been so delightfully useful. She supposed that she never gave much thought to how much she relied on it. And then, in the present day, looking at it brought nothing but wistful melancholy. How tragic it seemed to her, that an artifact of such immense power had been reduced to little more than a bauble that she played with to distract herself and to stop herself from trembling. For though it pained her to look at the remnants of the gem, it was a trifling pain in comparison to the way her face paled just at the thought of confessing her decision to her sisters. Left to her own devices, she would happily have tucked herself away into a warm bed with a bottle of wine and an endearingly romantic novel, but she had willingly confined herself to the downstairs so that she might avoid doing exactly that. Because luxury wasn’t worth running away. She hadn’t noticed the precise moment she was no longer alone, but a cough made her look to the side and nearly fall out of her chair when she saw Aria standing at the bottom of the stairs, arms folded and wearing a torturously inscrutable expression. They locked eyes for a moment, more than enough time for Adagio’s heart to start pounding. Her silver tongue failed her, producing not a single word. Fortunately, Aria eventually spoke up. “Adagio. If I had known a flute was all it’d take, I’d have chucked one through your window.” Swallowing the lump in her throat, Adagio adopted an expression of feigned confidence, slipping the gem into her pocket and primly resting her hands in her lap. “Good morning, Aria. You’re… well, I hope?” Aria’s eyes narrowed, but she kept whatever suspicions she might have had to herself. “I’m fine,” she stated. “What’ve you been up to, Adagio?” Right to the point, I see. Whether or not it was intended or even present, Adagio couldn’t help but hear an accusatory tone in Aria’s voice. She bit her lip, hoping that her nerves remained concealed by her deep breaths as she deflected the question. “Perhaps it would be better to wait until Sonata’s here,” she said. “We need to talk. All three of us.” She neglected to mention that the very idea of talking to Aria alone terrified her. Sonata, at least, she hoped to be the more amicable of the two. It took all of her will to not wilt under Aria’s scrutinizing eye, but she endured until Aria broke away and slunk past her into the kitchen. A few moments later, she heard the distinct sound of a coffee machine. While Aria operated the contraption, Adagio took some time to try and calm herself. She’s fine so far, she told herself. No different than any other day. Of course she is. I haven’t told her yet. A clattering sound almost made her leap out of her chair, but a sideways look revealed it to be nothing more than Aria rummaging through the cupboards for her favorite mug. Letting out a heavy sigh, Adagio looked down at her shaking hands and willed them to stop. You’re better than this, Adagio. She lifted her eyes in time to see Aria dump the scalding contents of her mug right down her throat, pausing only briefly to swallow and draining the mug in scarcely thirty seconds. Then, she went right back to fill it up again and drag herself over to the table, where she sat down across from Adagio without a word. Say something. Ease her into it. Adagio weakly cleared her throat, inadvertently attracting Aria’s eye. Fixed with an expectant look, she had no choice but to speak. “Aria… there’s something I wanted to say. You see, I-” “Can it.” Bewildered, Adagio promptly complied, shutting her mouth and sealing her lips. Aria's curtness promptly crushed whatever bravado she had mustered. “I don’t want to hear a word from you,” Aria muttered. “Not until you apologize.” Frowning, Adagio ventured a murmur. “I’m sorry?” “Not to me, dumbass.” Aria flicked her head towards the stairs. “You have no idea how much trouble she’s been. Whatever you were doing, it better be worth putting her through that.” Adagio shrank back in her seat, stifling a wince as a feeling of dread crept up on her. She’s angry at me. Of course she is. I would be too, were our roles reversed. And she’s right. “I’m sorry.” Aria took a gulp of coffee and grumbled. “Whatever.” “Is she coming? Sonata, I mean.” “She was awake, last time I checked.” Aria scoffed. “Took ten minutes to get her to let me go.” The accompanying image brought a hint of a smile to Adagio’s face, but Aria’s dour expression reminded her of her plight straight away. A somber silence fell, charged with palpable tension. Though neither Adagio nor Aria spoke, they both eyed each other warily, trying to surmise what the other one was thinking. Despite Adagio's best efforts, Aria's unblinking eyes bored into her, seemingly mocking her by remaining as maddeningly unreadable as ever. Mercifully, it couldn’t have been more than a minute before the sound of footfalls coming down the stairs stole Adagio’s attention. A moment or two later, she saw Sonata shuffling down the stairs, her hair disheveled as she let out an adorable yawn that Adagio would gladly have fawned over any other day. “Morning, Aria,” Sonata mumbled, rubbing her forehead and squinting. “Morning, Dagi.” She waddled right past them into the kitchen. Adagio looked at Aria. “Is she…” “Give her a moment.” Sonata poked her head around the corner and squinted at Adagio. “Dagi?” “Good morning, So-” “Dagi!” With barely any warning, Sonata leapt right at Adagio, very nearly bowling her over right out of her chair. As it was, she merely had to contend with a warm, cuddle-seeking pile of squirming excitement hurling itself into her lap. Aria could not have missed how Adagio’s face paled and her eyes went wide with shock. Moving awkwardly, Adagio carefully took hold of Sonata, pushing her back and giving them some breathing room. “J- just a minute, Sonata. We… need to talk. All three of us.” Sonata pouted, but obediently pulled up a chair and perched on it, looking at Adagio and eagerly anticipating a response. “‘Kay. So what’s the plan?” A lump formed in Adagio’s throat. She gasped, stammering and struggling to speak. “You do have a plan, right? That’s what you wanna talk about, right?” Sonata frowned, turning to Aria for confirmation. Aria folded her arms and glowered. “Maybe,” she muttered, locking eyes with Adagio. “But you got something to say first, don’t you?” “I’m sorry,” Adagio blurted, hating how stale and vacuous the words sounded. “I’m so, so sorry. I shouldn’t have…” “It’s alright, Adagio,” Sonata replied, hesitantly reaching out to lay a reassuring hand on Adagio’s shoulder. “You’re here now, right? You can tell us what to do, can’t you?” Two words. That’s all she had to say, but those two words sent butterflies through Adagio’s stomach and made her tremble just thinking of them. Finally, she forced them out. “I… I can’t.” Sonata tilted her head, brow furrowing. “Dagi? Did… you just say-” “I don’t know!” Adagio blurted, tearing her eyes away. “I have no idea what we’re going to do next!” Silence. Agonizing silence fell whilst she dreaded an inevitable response. “But… you always have a plan.” Sonata’s voice lowered, both in tone and in volume. “Are you saying…” “Not this time,” Adagio murmured, head hanging and voice plummeting. “I’d only make things worse if I did. That’s all I’ve done so far. Maybe you’d be better off without me.” Sonata looked at her, fidgeting anxiously and eyes flitting back and forth between Aria, who remained silent and judging, and Adagio. “Are you saying…” Sonata cut herself off, perhaps deciding that her thought was too dire to complete. For a moment, tense silence reigned. Adagio said nothing, taking the shock on Sonata’s face and the grim anger on Aria’s as a sign that she had made a grave mistake. Perhaps things would have been better if she had simply vanished into the night. At least then she could have pretended that they had parted on good terms. “I should go,” Adagio whispered, barely audible as she stood up. “You don’t need me dragging you down anymore.” Pausing momentarily, Adagio lifted her head, forcing herself to see what response her actions would elicit. Sonata was petrified. Whether it was fear, grief or anger, Adagio couldn’t say. Aria, on the other hand, maintained a dour frown as she stood up and walked over to stand right in front of Adagio. On flat ground and bare feet, she had to look up slightly to meet Adagio’s eyes. They stared at each other for several long seconds. Time seemed to slow as Aria’s open hand lashed out. Adagio’s knees buckled even before it struck her, her resolve shattered by the anger on Aria’s scowling face. She collapsed. Clutching her burning cheek, she looked up from the ground at Aria with wide, panicked eyes. “Two weeks,” Aria snarled. “Two weeks you wasted our time and now you’re just going to walk away? What the hell’s wrong with you, Adagio?” “No, please. I didn’t-” “Oh yes you did.” Dropping to a crouch, Aria seized Adagio’s collar and yanked her up off the ground to her knees. “I don’t know what your problem is, but you better suck it up and fix it.” “Aria, leave her alone!” Sonata protested, stepping forward until a baleful glare sent her shrinking back. “You see her, Adagio?” Aria leveled a finger at Sonata and turned her fury back towards an increasingly panicked Adagio. “Even she did something. Maybe it didn’t go anywhere, but at least she tried. Even had the guts to admit it when she screwed up, unlike somebody.” Adagio’s eyes went wide, her face paling and her body tensing. She fell backwards when Aria released her grip, collapsing a second time. At first her mouth opened, ready to beg and plead. She looked up and was vaguely aware of the motions of Aria’s mouth, but wholly fixated on the furious violet eyes above it. Those eyes bored into her as easily as a knife, stabbing into her and igniting a scorching pain in her gut. Whatever it was that Aria said, it went unheard, masked by the anger with which she spoke. To Adagio’s eyes, that livid face resembled nothing less than a living nightmare, plucked right from the darkest depths of her mind and given a form more vivid than she would ever have imagined. Turning herself over and around, she stumbled towards the door, crawling until she could clamber to her feet, fling it open and bolt out into the rain. Aria watched the door fly open, giving it a vacant stare. The room went silent, save for Sonata’s gasp. Slowly, Aria moved over to the door, glancing outwards as if hoping she would merely see Adagio taking a breather outside. Instead, she saw that mass of curly yellow hair moving away down the sidewalk with no hints of stopping or changing direction. There was a pause while both girls reeled and processed what had just happened, both their hearts racing. “She actually…” The thought went unfinished. Aria muttered a curse under her breath. Shortly after, she slammed the door shut and moved to stomp up the stairs while wearing a stony stare. “But… I thought she was better now. She wouldn’t have come out if she wasn’t, would she?” Blinking twice slowly, Sonata looked to Aria. “Aria? She’s… coming back, right? You said she wouldn’t leave us, didn't you?” The desperation in Sonata’s voice might as well have been a punch to her stomach, but Aria pressed on. “Guess I was wrong, then,” she snorted. “Wouldn’t be the first time.” “But… what are we gonna do now?” “I’m not the boss of you, Sonata. Do whatever you want. Doesn’t much matter to me.” “Isn’t there something you can do?” Aria stopped halfway up the stairs. “What, you want me to chase her down and talk to her? You can see how well that went. If she wants to leave, that’s her choice.” “Aria…” She knew that tone. If she turned around, she knew for certain exactly what kind of tragic pout she would see, the kind of face that just screamed ‘I’m helpless, please take care of me.’ After so many years of practice, Sonata had made an art form out of her sympathy-inducing expressions. And damn her luck, they usually worked. Don’t make eye contact. Once you do, it’ll be too late. Sonata sniffled. Fuck. Just a glance over her shoulder. That’s all it took before her free will was thrown out the window and her choice was no longer in her own hands. No wonder Sonata had no initiative when it was so trivially easy for her to get other people to help her. I just can’t say no to you, can I? Aria sighed. "Wait here." Gritting her teeth, Aria ran up the stairs. A minute later, she came back down, one jacket draped loosely over her shoulders and a second one dangling from her hand. She paused at the door, jabbing a finger into Sonata’s chest. “I’m not gonna talk to her,” Aria snarled. “Talking’s not gonna do a damn thing right now.” With that, she flung the door open and forcefully marched off into the rain. Putting her head down, Adagio hugged her shoulders tightly, unable to stop herself from shivering. Rain poured down around her, soaking her clothing and chilling her to the bone. How fitting, that her preferred element came in vast quantities of its most troublesome form just at the time when her spirits were lowest. She hadn’t stopped moving, not since she flung the door open and rushed out into the rain. There was a park not far from her home, a calm little meadow with a few sparse trees that did nothing to shelter from the rain. Presently, it was isolated, no doubt due to the weather. Adagio found a bench and sat down, hanging her head. Her cheeks were damp, but somehow she knew that they were wet with only rainwater. She didn’t feel like crying. Maybe it was because she had known all along what would happen, or maybe she simply didn’t have any tears left to shed. Hesitantly, she reached into her pocket and took out the shards of her gem, cradling them in her palms as water splashed down on them. Her voice had been taken. Her gem had been shattered. Her string of failures had finally pushed her sisters into driving her away. What is there left for me? What do I cherish that I have not been stripped of? Perhaps, in some way, she deserved it all. Perhaps she was simply paying the price for her mistakes. She had spent many hours before planning what she might do, where she might go, but all thoughts of the future faded and blurred, for it felt like none of it mattered in the slightest. A part of her wanted nothing more than to find a bed and lay down, hoping that she would awake and find that it had all been a nightmare. Another part of her knew for a fact that what she was feeling was real. In her mind, she imagined turning through the pages of her diary, fondly recalling moments of her past. Happiness felt like an ancient memory, one that time had dulled and reduced to only a vague notion in her mind that she was certain she would never re-experience. She heard a clattering sound below, and looked down to see that the shards of her gem laid on the ground. They must have slipped out of her grasp at some point. But what would it matter, if they stayed where they laid forever? Their power was gone. They were broken. Shattered. Pretty, but ultimately worthless. Just like their owner. She hung her head, finding that she lacked the energy to even stand and keep walking. Rain poured down around her, battering her ears with an incessant droning that seemed to go on forever and ever. For a little while, it all seemed to blur together. She didn’t move. The shards didn’t move. The rain kept pouring. Surely, the scene could have remained unchanged for decades and she would barely have noticed. Until suddenly, another sound reached her ears, sending a chill up her spine and demanding her undivided attention. She abruptly lifted her head, fearing at first that she was simply imagining things, but the sound endured. Somewhere behind her, against all odds, a single voice sliced through the gloom and made the whole world brighten. Singing. The voice was singing. She heard a voice that she knew all too well, scratchy and tarnished yet carrying fleeting memories of a former quality of resplendence revoked by cruel fate. It sang a soft, soothing piece with a gentle tranquility hardly befitting of its creator. The voice went on, drawing nearer and nearer. It missed a note or two here and there, barely managing the high pitch it once struck so flawlessly, and it cracked once or twice, but in the moment, Adagio could not have imagined a more beautiful sound. And of course, when she lifted her head and saw the one from whose lips the song flowed, she beheld a visage just as beautiful, only ever so slightly less perfect than she fancied her own to be. Aria’s melody trailed off eventually, replaced by a fit of hacking as she cleared her throat and sat down beside Adagio. Soaked hair clung tightly to her back and face, but even amidst the miserable weather, there was an unmistakable shine in her eyes. “Can’t hold it for very long,” Aria explained as she draped a coat over Adagio’s shoulders. “Voice is still recovering, I guess. ” Adagio slowly reached up to the lapels of the jacket, drawing it more tightly around herself. Then she turned to the side, reaching out to lay a shaking hand on Aria’s cheek. Only when she felt the warmth and softness that she remembered did her lips part into a smile. “Aria. You… you can sing.” “Not very well,” Aria scoffed. “I sound like a rutting koala.” “But you can sing,” Adagio repeated, lovingly stroking Aria’s cheek. “How?” “We never lost our voices, Adagio. We just forgot how to use them.” Aria pulled Adagio’s hand off of her face, holding it tightly in her hand while she locked eyes with Adagio. “Two weeks isn’t a long time, but I guess it was long enough to get started. Music's in my blood, Adagio. I'm not gonna give it up just 'cause some scrawny little brats try and make me.” “You taught yourself, didn’t you?” When Aria nodded, Adagio’s smile broadened slightly and took on a warm, almost maternal glow. “I’m so… so proud of you. Can Sonata…” “I haven’t told her yet. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and I’ve got a couple ideas, but they’re just theories. I didn’t want to get her hopes up over nothing if I was wrong and… I guess I was putting it off until you had something to say. Seemed like you'd have just gotten farther than me anyway. You've got a better eye for the magic stuff than I do.” Adagio’s expression faltered. She turned and looked away. “And I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I let you down again.” Her expression clearly showed her pain as she looked up at Aria. “You’ll take care of her. I know you will.” There was a long pause where both of them said nothing, but finally Aria spoke. “I didn’t come out here to apologize, Adagio. I don’t apologize. You know that. What’s done is done, no matter what I say now. And you’re the boss. You always have been. If you think it’s best that you leave, then I’m not gonna try and stop you, no matter how much I disagree with you. But I didn’t come out here to say goodbye, either.” “You… don’t want me to go? Then why- why did you…” “We waited for you, Adagio. Two whole weeks we waited for you. I think Sonata was standing outside your door every single day, hoping that you’d come out and talk to us. Because that’s what bothered her the most. Not that we lost our gems, not that we couldn’t sing anymore, but that you shut us out. She misses you, Adagio. I don't know if you realize how much it's been bothering her. I think she'd like us to spend some more time together.” Aria’s eyes turned to the ground, taking on a somber tone. “And as for me... I think I knew, the moment I found out you never came and got her that first morning, that you didn’t have a plan, but I kept telling myself that you did. Because you always do, don’t you? I convinced myself that there was a reason you were doing all that, that it’d all make sense in the end. So when I found out that you hadn’t done anything…” “You were angry,” Adagio said, finishing Aria’s thought. “Of course you were angry. And you’re right. I should have told you earlier. But I was afraid of what you would do when you found out I didn’t have anything to say.” Adagio sighed heavily, lowering her head so the rain didn’t get into her eyes. “I guess all this is just one more mistake.” “Maybe, but don’t act like it was all your fault.” Aria lifted Adagio’s face until their eyes met, separated only by a few inches. “Sonata was right, wasn’t she?” “About what?” “About you.” Adagio, momentarily confused, paused. Then, heightening her confusion further, she felt a pair of lean, muscular arms wrapping around her, drawing her in for a hug. “C’mon back with me,” Aria whispered. “We’ll try and sort this out. If you still want to leave, then go, but let's not make this any worse than it has to be. And if you don't want to...” It took a minute for Aria’s words to sink in. I can stay with them. They haven’t spurned me. But… I failed. Twice now, I’ve failed. They don’t need me. I’ll just hold them back. They don’t- She remembered the day before, when Sonata’s flute had temporarily roused her from her despair. Already she felt her spirits lifting, her lips shaping into a smile. Oh, who am I kidding? Of course I want this. “Make up your mind, would you? I’m freezing my ass off in this rain.” Smiling, Adagio swatted Aria on the arm. “Watch your language,” she whispered into Aria’s ear. When she got a grumble in response, she giggled and gave Aria a quick peck on the cheek. “I love you, Aria. Don’t you ever forget that.” “I know you do,” Aria replied, calmly pulling back and glancing towards the path home. She started to stand, but a hand grabbing her wrist and a reproachful glare held her in place. Giving Adagio a roll of her eyes, Aria grumbled. “What, you want to stay out here and freeze to death?” “I,” Adagio stated, tapping her foot impatiently, “am not moving an inch until I hear you say it.” “Y’know, I thought I’d like you more when you were done with the brooding stuff and back to being a prissy skank, but now I'm remembering why we never got along.” Adagio scoffed derisively. “Skank? Don’t act like you never brought a friend home and didn’t tell us until morning.” “I offered to share.” “And I have standards. Are you going to say it, or shall we catch our deaths of cold? I’d prefer the former, but you’re leaving me with little choice.” Aria muttered and swore under her breath, but the rain did wonders to bring her around and she eventually resigned herself. “I love you,” she stated in a cold, flat tone. “Smug diva,” she added under her breath. “Can we go now? I don’t want to punch you for once and it’s making me uncomfortable.” Adagio stifled a giggle and stood to her feet, composing herself despite the rain and assuming her classic smug smirk. “I suppose, you vulgar troglodyte.” “It’s bad form to answer an insult with a compliment.” Aria leapt to her feet, pausing to scoop up Adagio’s shards and hold them out. “C’mon. You know how Sonata gets when we keep her waiting.” Smirking, Adagio took the shards, thinking for a moment that she saw them faintly glimmering. “Indeed,” she said, setting off down the sidewalk with Aria trailing behind her, just like things used to be. The sky was still murky, but she thought that she saw a faint rising sun shining through a slowly easing curtain of rain and gloom. No sooner than Adagio first set foot in the warmth of her dry, familiar home, she felt another warmth as two blue arms wrapped around her and Sonata buried her head into her chest. This time, though she reeled slightly from the suddenness of it all, her expression quickly turned to a tender smile and she replied by affectionately stroking Sonata’s hair. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m so, so, sorry.” “I don’t want you to be sad,” Sonata said between sobs. “If- if that means you have to l-leave, then-” “Shh…” Adagio pulled Sonata closer, continuing to stroke her hair and sooth her. “Don’t worry. We’ll talk this over.” Aria silently slipped past them, making her way over to the table while Adagio swayed in place, gently rocking Sonata. A minute later, Adagio lowered her hand to cup Sonata’s cheek. “Feeling better?” Wiping the tears from her eyes, Sonata nodded and smiled back. “Good. Now, come along. We’ve got a lot of things to talk about.” Adagio walked over to her chair and sat down, gesturing for Sonata to do the same. Once all three of them were seated, she turned to Aria. “Now, you said you had a few ideas? About our gems?” Aria looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? We’re going off of my ideas now?” Adagio gave a nonchalant shrug. “Whatever you’ve got is more than I have, as we established.” Muttering under her breath, Aria sighed and folded her arms. “Fine. Our magic isn’t gone.” Sonata’s jaw dropped, while Adagio smirked and nodded. “Interesting,” she remarked, waving her hand. “Carry on.” “These gems…” Aria emptied the shards of Adagio’s gem onto the table. “I don’t think they were the source of our magic. I don’t know if we’ll be able to put them back together, but maybe we don’t need to.” Sonata cocked her head. “But if they weren’t where our magic came from, why can’t we sing anymore?” Aria held up and index finger. “The gems were like… amplifiers, I guess. They didn’t do much of their own, they just made our own magic stronger.” A second finger went up. “Also, you haven’t tried hard enough.” “Wait, what?” “More on that later.” Aria waved her hand dismissively. “The point is, we’ve still got some magic. Just not very much, and I'm betting we can't invoke it without singing. Well, I mean.” “Are you saying we might be able to sing again?” “Lots of people can sing, and their voices aren’t half as good as ours are.” Aria chuckled dryly, assuming a confident smirk. “There’s no reason we can’t learn. Whether we’ll still be able to bend mortals to our will… I don’t know. Maybe we can figure it out, but maybe we’re just not strong enough here without our gems. We've always been weaker here than back in Equestria.” Sonata’s eyes lit up with excitement as a wide smile formed on her face. “You think we can learn to sing? For realsies?!” Aria rolled her eyes. “Duh. What do you think I’ve been doing all this time?” Ignoring Sonata for the moment, she looked to Adagio. “You’ve been quiet,” she remarked. “Got anything to say?” Adagio nodded, raising a quizzical eyebrow. “How do you know all this, exactly?” “I don’t. I’m no wizard, Adagio. It’s all just a theory.” “A theory that you must have a reason to believe.” Aria clenched her teeth, eyes flitting to the side. Despite her inscrutable demeanor, her hesitation made it abundantly clear that she was reluctant to speak. “I won’t bore you with the details,” she muttered. Adagio glared at her, speaking more forcefully as she repeated her question. “How do you know all this, Aria?” “I just do, alright?” Aria snapped, scowling. “What do you care where the answer comes from?” Sonata frowned. “Is that why you had a bandage the other day?” Aria froze in place as the conversation came to a screeching halt. Adagio gave her a stern look, wordlessly demanding an explanation. Snorting with disgust, Aria locked eyes with Adagio. “We’re still immortal,” she stated, flatly. “Magic’s kept us alive all this time. It’s gotta be what’s keeping us from keeling over. And since we don't have the gems, it must be internal.” Sonata let out a sigh of relief. “So we’re not dying, then?” “Nope. Now, like I was saying-” “How do you know?” Adagio repeated. “How do you think?” Aria spat, glowering and throwing her jacket off to expose her bare arms. She roughly gripped her bicep. “Cut myself right about there and now it’s as good as new.” The sound of the slap went through the entire room, but Aria barely flinched. “Heh,” she snarked. “You hit like a girl.” Adagio, rubbing at her now stinging wrist, shot Aria a stern glare. “What were you thinking?” she spoke in a low, seething hiss. “That we needed to know, Adagio.” “And how would we know? How far would you have gone? And what if your guess was wrong?” “Fuck,” Aria muttered. “It’s just a few cuts. I wasn’t gonna die.” “That’s not the point, Aria! You could have hurt yourself! You could have-” “Girls!” Sonata leapt in between them, pushing them away from each other. “Don’t start fighting again,” she pleaded, forcing an upbeat smile. “We can work this out. I know we can.” Aria and Adagio glared daggers at each other, prompting Sonata to quickly look back and forth between them. “Why don’t we take a break?” she suggested, as calmly as she could manage. "Just calm down and think about stuff, okay?" Adagio kept her eyes locked on Aria, both girls practically smoldering, but eventually relented and looked down at her soaked clothing. Conceding that Sonata had a point, she backed off. “I need a change of clothes,” she murmured. "And a bath." She moved to stand and paused to point a finger at Aria. “Once I’m done, we are going to keep talking about this.” Turning swiftly on her heel, Adagio left her sisters without another word and stormed up the stairs. Scarcely more than a minute later, Adagio pulled the bathroom door closed behind her, still grimacing. That reckless idiot. What in the world was she thinking? Sighing, she rubbed her forehead and remembered what Sonata had said. Best not to get into another fight so soon. Calm down. Think this through. Once she was inside, she paused to look at herself in a mirror, curling her lip in disgust at her haggard, obviously distraught appearance and making a mental note to give herself the pampering of a lifetime once things had been sorted out between her and her sisters. And she had come to relax, not to brood. Pushing thoughts of her troubles aside as best as she could, she moved over to her tub. A few moments later, an ornately carved faucet dispensed hot water, filling the room with a pleasant, steamy aroma. Adagio tapped her foot impatiently while the tub filled, occasionally glancing back towards the door and glowering, unable to take her thoughts off of Aria. Once the tub was almost filled, she knelt down and stuck her finger in the water. Satisfying herself that it was adequately hot, she switched the faucet off. She stood up, quickly discarded her soaked clothing, and stepped into the water, taking her time to get used to the heat as she laid down. Once she was fully lowered into the warm, relaxing water, Adagio couldn’t help but sigh, her eyes closed and a blissful expression on her face. She would be lying if she said she would take a bath over a swim in the ocean, of course. The heat did wonders to help her relax and there was something to be said for remaining in the comparative comfort of her home, but a part of her longed for the tides, for the sensation of lazily drifting out in the water and letting the waves carry her where they pleased. Perhaps we’re due for a vacation, she mused. After all that’s happened, I think we could use some time to ourselves. Emptying her mind of troublesome thoughts, she laid her head back and enjoyed the soak to its fullest, feeling rejuvenated after only a few minutes. In her state of euphoria, she nearly forgot what troubles still vexed her. Somewhere down the line, her thoughts drifted back to what Aria had said and suddenly she thought she saw streaks of crimson amidst the clear waters. A blink and a start revealed that the sight was simply her mind playing tricks on her, but still she felt a dull, nagging ache as she imagined Aria slicing into her own flesh with a knife just to see what would happen. She’ll be fine, she told herself. She can be sensible, when there’s nobody around to goad her. It was just a one-time thing, and I'm sure she was careful. In some way, it may have merely been the context of it all that had gotten to her. She had just been reunited with them, after all. Surely the flurry of events had simply frazzled her into speaking rashly. She sighed again, though this time out of exasperation. No sense putting it off any longer, she supposed. May as well bite the bullet and get it over with. Reluctantly forcing herself to stand, she pulled the plug and let her tub start to drain. She stopped to snatch a fluffy lilac bathrobe off a hanger and then pushed the door open. Her bedroom, as she would have expected, was more or less as she had left it. Except that Aria was lounging on her bed, hands clasped behind her back and legs propped up. Adagio cleared her throat. “What are you doing here, Aria?” Aria glanced over and, noting Adagio’s conspicuous lack of attire, smirked. “Well, I’m already in bed and you’re already naked. Halfway to a fun night, if I’m not mistaken.” Scoffing, Adagio wrapped her robe around herself and tied it loosely, just enough to be technically modest as long as she didn’t make any sudden movements. “We've been over this, Aria. There are certain things sisters shouldn't do, and I don't find it any more entertaining this time than the first.” Putting a hand on her hip, she glared at Aria. “Besides, I expect you to knock first. You know that.” “Meh. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.” “That’s not the point. I’d think a recluse like you would appreciate the value of privacy.” “Penny or two, maybe.” Aria swung her legs over the side of the bed, sitting upright and facing Adagio. “But you wanted to talk, so I figured I’d spare you the walk. It’s a long way down the hall. Wouldn’t want your delicate soles getting callused, would we?” “You’re not making this any easier for yourself, you know.” Adagio folded her arms over her chest, piercing Aria with a stern stare. “Why did you do it?” “Do what?” “You know what I mean.” Rolling her eyes, Aria leapt up to her feet. “It worked out, didn’t it? Thanks to that knife, we know that we’ve still got some magic. Would you prefer to keep on thinking that we didn’t?” “You could have hurt yourself, Aria. If your guess had been wrong…” “What do you want me to say, Adagio? That it was a stupid idea? That I should have just sat on my scrawny ass and twiddled my thumbs until you deigned to grace me with your presence?” Aria jabbed a finger at Adagio. “You weren’t giving me any answers, so I went and found them myself.” “Look…” Adagio pressed a palm into her forehead, clenching her teeth and sighing. “There’s no point in arguing. I don’t like it, but you did it. And I suppose you might have a point.” Letting out a heavy breath, her expression changed to one of concern. “But I want you to promise me you’ll never try anything like that again. Not without talking to me first.” “A promise? From me?” Aria cackled to herself. “Fine, whatever. You know it’s not worth a damn, but if it makes you feel better, I’ll make that promise.” “I’m holding you to it, you realize.” Adagio sauntered over to her desk, where she picked up one of the fragments of her gem and held it up to her eye. “And if there’s a way for us to be strong again, with or without these gems, I intend to find it. I suppose you’ve made a good start in that regard.” Aria went silent for a moment. “Listen, Adagio…” There was a distinct tremor of hesitation in Aria’s voice, a hint of unease that made Adagio turn to regard her. “There’s something I wanted to ask you about.” Without a word, Adagio set the gem and walked over to her bed, where she sat down and motioned for Aria to sit beside her. Reluctantly, Aria complied. “Ask me, then.” There was another pause until Aria finally spoke up. “Why did you shut us out like that?” Adagio froze, wincing and hanging her head. “I was afraid,” she said. “I was afraid that you would… I don’t know what I was thinking, exactly. Blame me for my failure, I suppose. Resent me for my weakness. That sort of thing.” Aria nodded slowly, a grave look etched onto her face. “Look, I don’t want to get all sappy on you, but… there’s a reason I’m still here, Adagio. There’s a reason I’ve stuck with you all this time, and it’s not just ‘cause you have a nice rack.” Tilting her head, Adagio gave Aria a reproachful glare. "What have I told you, Aria?" “What? It’s true. That’s not one of them, but I’ve told a lot of lies. Everybody who ever tried to get close to me, I had to lie to. Even the ones I liked. It was the only way for us to be safe. Too many people have tried to hurt us, Adagio.” “You’re not saying anything I don’t already know. Where are you going with this?” “My point? My point is… I trust you, Adagio. You and Sonata, and nobody else.” Aria reached over and weaved her fingers into Adagio’s. “All this time, whenever things got rough, all we had was each other.” Aria closed her eyes, breathing deeply. “But you don’t trust us, do you?” Those simple words struck Adagio as harshly as a hammer. When she found that she couldn’t bring herself to deny them, her shoulders slumped and she looked away. “You wanted to keep us thinking that you were always in control, didn’t you?” Aria forced a chuckle. “I don’t have a problem with that. I’d like everyone else to think of me as some kind of sexy badass or something. What I do have a problem with… is that you were afraid of us knowing the truth.” “The truth?” Aria nodded. “You like to think that we can’t change, don’t you? That you’re whoever you are, whatever you are and that you can’t change your nature and all that. You wanted us to think that you were Adagio Dazzle, the most perfect siren to ever walk the earth and that there was nothing that you couldn't do. Or something like that.” Lifting her eyes to meet Adagio’s, Aria’s face took on an exceedingly uncommon softness. “But then you went and changed, didn't you? The Adagio I know? From back in Equestria? There was never a problem she couldn't handle herself. She wouldn’t run away and cry in a corner, no matter what anybody did to her. And she certainly wouldn’t give up on her sisters.” Trembling, Adagio fought back tears. “What would she have done, then?” “If they took your magic? You’d claw your way right back up to the top where you belong. You’d do it all over again, but this time without your magic, just to show that you could.” “But I can’t,” Adagio murmured. “Twice now, with more power than I thought I could even dream of, I’ve failed when it mattered most. Now I can't even sing.” "Didn't stop me. I'm ahead of you now 'cause I've had two weeks. Give it an hour or two and you'll be schooling me." "But still... I failed. How can you just..." “Bullshit.” Frowning, Adagio cocked her head. “Yeah, we lost. We lost because some dumbass we didn’t even know existed had some kind of transforming car. Who the fuck would’ve seen that coming?” Aria reached out with her other hand, resting it over Adagio’s heart. “Your plan? It worked right up until some deus ex machina bullshit screwed us over. The good stuff was all you and nobody in their right mind would ever have planned for the bad stuff. Those girls? They're lucky. Stupid lucky. Put you and them on a level playing field and you'd run circles around them. You did, for awhile.” Pausing to chortle, Aria smirked. “And you don’t really think me and Sonata could have pulled it off as well as you did, do you? Fuck, they'd have tried to burn us at the stake again if you had let me do the talking.” A moment or two passed, but then Adagio found herself slowly smiling. “You really mean all that?” “Every word. You’re not a failure, Adagio. Step back and take a look at yourself. Not at what you're not, but at what you are. There's a lot of things I can respect about you, Adagio. Might even admire one or two. You're not perfect, but you don't need to be.” Adagio’s eyes closed. When they opened again, they glistened, welling up with tears that she no longer had to hide. She sprang forward, sweeping Aria up in a loving embrace. “I’m sorry,” she said, already sobbing. “I’m so, so sorry.” “Don’t be. This kind of stuff's been bothering you for awhile, hasn't it? Maybe I should've have caught on earlier, but..." Aria trailed off, an affectionate nuzzle convincing her that words were neither needed nor wanted. Neither of them heard the door opening when Sonata came in, but neither one shied away when she enthusiastically joined in, snuggling in between them and sighing softly. Joyous tears fell freely from Adagio’s eyes, but for once she felt nothing but joy as she realized that it was alright to shed them. She didn't have any plans for once, but she knew that they would figure something out. Together, exactly the way they were supposed to be. For the first time since the Battle, she thought of the future and smiled. And as she sat there with the two girls she treasured above all else, smothering each other in affection, she felt a strange sensation. A tingling touch of bliss, a faint reminder of the ecstasy that came with using her magic. If only for a moment, she even felt a song on the tip of her tongue, as if all she had to do was open her mouth and beautiful music would flow from her lips. I can’t sing. Not anymore. But I will. One day, I will sing with them again. Right now? I don't think I need to.