“So, are you ready for this?” Twilight asked.
“I have no idea,” Fluttershy admitted. At the moment, she was wearing a large white-and-salmon French Navy-style shirt, Bermuda shorts, and a pair of salmon-colored espadrilles. The look was meant to be breezy, casual and very much in line with the look of the resort and Fluttershy had no idea how Rarity, Pinkie and Twilight were able to come up with a set of these in less than twenty minutes, much less two.
“Oh, you look wonderful, darlings,” Rarity said, tying a huge baby-blue bow to the end of Octavia’s jet-black hair. She wore a baby-blue version of Fluttershy’s ensemble, and if that wasn’t enough, somehow Pinkie had managed to come up with a white, blue and salmon guitar strap for her bass – “for guitar strap emergencies,” she explained, though Sunset advised that Octavia write it off as Pinkie being Pinkie. “We are so very looking forward to your performance tonight.”
“Yeah, no pressure,” Octavia replied, thrumming a string, then tuning it. Tweaking it, she felt both elation and guilt while doing so; the former due to the chance to play a musical instrument again, but the latter knowing what she’d done in her brief bout of madness. She hadn’t had much chance to play music since then, and she had to admit that regardless of the situation, she was looking forward to the performance.
“No pressure at all,” Sunset told the soon-to-perform duo; she and the others not directly involved were standing on the far side of the dressing room, trying to stay out of the way of Rarity’s gentle ministrations. “During the prep, something about those names struck me and I don’t mean just because they’re pop stars. I called Cloud Kicker – she says hi, by the way – and it turns out those three attend the same high school that Vinyl and Kicky do.”
“One,” the raven-haired teen counted off her fingers, “what made you call them? And two, I still think Vinyl’s a stupid cunt for what she did to me.”
“You don’t have to like her, cuz,” Sunset said. “You just need to wipe the floor with them. From what I got, Vinyl and Kicky spent the rest of the past school year protecting their friends from these three who are essentially power bullies. And if they’re doing it to them, they’ll do it to Flutters. You can’t let that happen.”
“Indeed,” Rarity agreed. “We’re all proud of you for standing up against those bullies, no matter what happens.”
“Yeah, but we want to beat them, not just stand up to them,” Octavia replied. “And I’m sure we’ll wipe the floor with them. You ready, Fluttershy?”
“Oh, I’m ready,” Fluttershy said with absolute confidence, looking briefly at Sunset before giving herself a confident smile. “We’ll hit them so hard, it’ll be like magic.”
The manager stood up on stage, looking at the crowd tonight. “Ladies and gentlemen, have I got something for you: a special performance of not just one, not just two, but three of today’s rising young stars! Tonight, you’ll be serenaded by musical stars, ladies and gents. First, I give you the current reigning queen of pop, Tequila Sunrise, and her lovely young friends, the gorgeous and talented singer Windsong and Stagecraft on piano! And after that, I give you rising rock star Fluttershy, and her friend, the classically-trained musician, Octavia Melody, on bass! It’s going to be a humdinger of a show tonight, folks! Enjoy tonight’s entertainment, courtesy of the Club Tropicana!”
The girls, at their assigned tables near the front, looked at one another. Rainbow sipped on a Grenadine and Coke. “Wow, for only thirty minutes, they really got the stage ready!”
“I’m hoping that’s part of the pre-set design,” Rarity worriedly said. “I would hate to think the deck’s stacked in the advantage of those three.”
“Ah think she’ll do fine,” Applejack announced. “Besides, look who she’s up against.”
“Yeah, two of the hottest teen popstars out there right now,” Twilight said, worriedly. “And they have star power compared to what she has.”
“Oh, I dunno: I can think of one thing our side has that they don’t.”
Twilight couldn’t help but look at her sister. “And that is?”
Sunset gave a smile. “Magic.”
The spotlight began shining on Tequila Sunrise and Windsong as they took the stage. From the moment they had stepped into their prearranged location, Stagecraft started playing a song on the piano, and after a few seconds, the two girls started singing along, their voices like siren’s calls on the wind:
“Oh, I’m running out of air….”
“Love you, need you,
Got me close to
Fading, ‘cause I’m
Livin’ on you…
“I’ve been wondering:
Do you need every
Little piece of me?
Am I like the air you breathe?”
The two moved through the lyrics, point and counterpoint, singing like a beautiful melody twinned within the soul. Their outfits sparkled and shimmered, giving them an ethereal look and proving why, at their young ages, they had conquered the music world. Their songs just seemed to grab onto your soul and demand the response their musical question begged an answer for: Am I like the air you breathe?
Even the girls, seated at their table, felt the sway of the music, being in the presence of masters of their craft. Even those who didn’t care much for pop songstresses couldn’t deny the elemental pull of the song. Though Sunset didn’t exactly have the time to check it out, she wondered if these girls had magic. If so, they’d harnessed it in some small measure when they sang, which meant they had to be related to a human magical bloodline somehow, but she worried what would happen if either of those girls ever came to that realization.
And if not, then they had charisma, which was almost as bad. Sunset had recalled reading about WWII and the man who had started it all. They had called him charismatic as well – but it was just as possible that he’d been possessed of magic. And the world had burned, regardless.
Nearly four minutes later, the last tones of the piano stopped, the girls bowed gracefully before the room and the audience exploded into applause, those seated at the table before the stage knew that their friends would have one hell of a fight before them.
“That was beautiful,” Twilight said in a voice filled with both wonder and shame. The former, because she loved the song; the latter, because she felt it was a betrayal of those around her.
“I’ll reluctantly agree,” Rarity said in much the same tone. “Still, I hope that Fluttershy and Octavia can better them.”
“They will, okay?” Rainbow defended. “Sure, those other girls were cool an’ all, but our gals? Got them beat, no sweat.”
“Could go either way, Ah reckon,” Applejack admitted. “What’s your take on it, Pinks?”
“Our girls’ll win,” Pinkie said. “Just gotta have faith in them, right, Sunny?”
Sunset leaned back in her chair. “I don’t need faith,” she said, a smug smile on her face. “Why have faith when you know what’s going to happen?”
From where they stood just off-stage, both Fluttershy and Octavia sized up their competition. “Wow, they’re better than I thought,” Octavia said.
“No they’re not,” Fluttershy corrected. “If you’ll note, Windsong is flubbing her cues, and Tequila isn’t used to singing in the register she is, plus, both of them clearly aren’t used to singing with someone else. Stagecraft seems to be a competent piano player, though.”
Now it was Octavia’s turn to correct. “I heard at least two sour notes, which means she’s not practiced at the song or the piano’s not tuned enough. Given that this place has a regular band, it likely is, which means she’s not all that.”
Both girls looked at each other and giggled. “We’re two peas in a pod if there ever was one,” Octavia said, hugging her friend. “We’re going to win this.”
“No kidding,” Fluttershy said with a smile.
“Awww, isn’t that cute? The two little lesbos are in foreplay,” Tequila Sunrise said as she walked off the stage, basking in the adulation that was still going on. “If you two can hold off on doing each other long enough, I can get a camera and film it for a porn site.”
“Yeah, I can see it now,” Windsong taunted. “Two rock starlets with the guitar going down on them,” she said, posing her hands as if filming. “Should get you guys quick careers with Brazzers or something.”
“Funny, you seem to know what that is,” Octavia snarked back. “Lifetime subscription?”
Windsong reeled her hand back as if to slap Octavia, but Stagecraft held her back. “Not worth it, Windy. Besides, we get to watch them fail – what could be better?”
“Watching us beat you,” Fluttershy said in cool tones. “C’mon, Tavi. Let’s go make magic.”
The two walked out onto stage, mixed feelings in the air. For Octavia, she was used to it a billion times over, having done this since she was six. But for Fluttershy, she had only been on stage a handful of times and she was still learning to get over her stage fright. The former had music in her blood for generations and knew what she wanted to be in life. The latter felt the pull of her love for animals and the pull of her love for music, and really wasn’t sure which one was going to win. And right now, both were sure that for the latter, this challenge, this mere tiny performance in front of a bunch of people who hadn’t expected this impromptu concert, would be the deciding point for the latter.
As Octavia slung on her bass guitar, she had to wonder: would this make Fluttershy into what she knew she could be, or would it break her into hiding so far within herself no one could find her? And would it be the fault of those obnoxious teens, their own group or herself? There was no way to really know. Fluttershy slipped the USB key into the keyboard, hit the first key, and for better or worse, they were off.
As Octavia let her fingers fly along the cobalt strings of the borrowed bass, she let herself slide into the music. She hadn’t really performed in front of a crowd with this instrument, and popular music was far out of the range of what she was accustomed to. Still, Fluttershy’s reputation was on the line, and that wasn’t something that the raven-haired teen was going to stand for. Granted, there really wasn’t much that she could do in the way of direct action, but one thing she knew was her music.
Someone had tried to bully Fluttershy when it came to music. That was Octavia’s balliwick – it was her way of fighting back.
And she knew this was where she was going to throw her punch.
Then, Fluttershy, letting the music wrap around her, easily danced over to the crowd, smiled to them, then brought the microphone before her lips and sang.
And conquered the room.
“Let me take you to a place
Where membership’s a smiling face;
Brush shoulders with the stars
Where strangers take you by the hand
And welcome you to wonderland
From beneath their Panamas…”
From the first note, from the first word, she had their rapt attention in a way that the other three couldn’t have. Maybe it was the rock starlet singing an impromptu disco song. Maybe it was the fact that the song Octavia suggested was the defacto theme song for the resort’s parent chain, written three decades back. Or maybe it was even just the crowd, having been wowed by the constellation of sirens earlier, now eager to see what a new face could do.
It didn’t matter. Along with Octavia, this stage, this moment, this all, was Fluttershy’s. The chiffon-haired chanteuse declared this stage her realm and now she held court.
“Club Tropicana, drinks are free –
Fun and sunshine, there’s enough for everyone!
All that’s missing is the sea –
But don’t worry, you can suntan!”
Laughter rang out a couple of hours later at a beachside bonfire ring, where the stars twinkled over the Pacific and a group of girls sat around the blazing flames, armed with s’mores. “Tired, sugarcube?” Applejack asked Fluttershy.
“But in a good way,” the chiffon-haired girl said, a pleased smile on her face. “I honestly didn’t think they’d like me.”
“Yeah, says the girl who only meant to sing a single song, then ended up doing an hour’s worth of a miniconcert, and then another thirty minutes signing autographs!” Rainbow pointed out. “And did you see those other girls? They bailed out of here like they were yesterday’s news!”
“I hope they didn’t leave the resort. I didn’t want that; I just wanted them to stop acting the way they did,” Fluttershy stated.
“Don’t worry about it, darling. They’re pop stars, so they have to get used to the concept that someone out there is simply better than they,” Rarity insisted.
“Yeah, Fluttershy. They had their star power, but you had something more out there, like…like it was magic!” Twilight said.
“Oh, so now you believe in magic?” Pinkie accused before popping down three toasted marshmallows as if they were air.
“What, you don’t get metaphor?” Twilight retorted. “But seriously, Flutters, if you haven’t considered a career in music, you really, really should. And when you do, can I have lifetime backstage passes to all your concerts?”
Fluttershy giggled. “As if you really had to ask?” She then looked at Sunset. “But speaking of magic…Sunny, what did you think of my performance?”
Sunset caught the question: Fluttershy was worried about how much was really her and how much had been Sunset using her own abilities. She could see those in the know give her the briefest of glances, all asking the same thing. And the truth was, there was nothing Sunset had done; it had been all Fluttershy and Octavia’s talents. She wouldn’t rob them of their victory, nor cheapen it in any way. Sure, if magic had been truly involved on anything more than the most passive of levels then she would’ve stepped in, but Fluttershy fought fire with starfire and won.
“It was a stellar performance, and aside from Tavi’s playing, there was nothing out there that could’ve made it better, believe me,” Sunset said, and from the soft smile Fluttershy gave her, the message was received. The others did as well, and they relaxed.
“Tavi,” Fluttershy asked, “if I started a band, would you be interested in playing bass?”
“Me?” Octavia looked up from the fire. “I’m not exactly rock star material, Flutters,” she said. “I’ve always been more of a classical musician.”
“Most rock stars have classical backgrounds,” Fluttershy explained. “For example, Frankenstrat made his name as a teenage classical pianist before he picked up a guitar. Loose Nut from Black Flag? Sure, he’s known for being a punk rocker, but before that, he was a jazz performer – and he actually played the contrabass. Prince? His father was a jazz musician as well, and that’s who taught him the piano and guitar. Even my own father’s classically trained. I could go on and on, but I don’t think I need to, because what I heard tonight? If I go professional, I know who I’d want performing with me.”
Octavia blushed. “Are you sure? I’ve got issues, Flutters. And if you’re really thinking about starting a band, won’t we need a guitarist and a drummer, unless you were going to do guitar?”
“I’d probably be better at rhythm, not lead,” Fluttershy told her. “And your issues just make it all the more critical that you should. You could be a powerful spokeswoman for that, and even if not, you would have a way of contributing and showing you’re more than what the pills say you are. I already know you are.”
“Then if you’ll have me, I’m in,” Octavia replied, though she later admitted, “just as soon as I can replace all my instruments. Remember that I broke them when I….” She fell silent, not knowing what else to say, before she was hugged by Sunset.
“You’re stronger than this, Tavi,” Sunset told her, “and you’ll move beyond all this. And we’ll be there, watching you – both of you – every step of the way, okay?”
“Yeah! I get to design the album covers!” Pinkie chirped.
“Just as long as I get to design your fashions for the stage and photoshoots!” Rarity equally gushed.
Rainbow looked them both and grinned. “So, what’re you gonna call yourselves? Because I know this gre—”
“We are not calling ourselves ‘The Rainbooms’,” both told her at once.
“We are going to need a drummer and a lead guitarist,” Fluttershy mused. “Like Dad, I think I’d be better suited for rhythm guitar and keyboards. Plus, the lead singer of any group has got to be mobile to address the audience. And though it scares the hell out of me, I have to do it.”
“Awww, our little Fluttershy’s done grown up some!” Applejack said in a half-teasing, half-proud tone. “Next thing you know, years from now you two’ll have buckets of Grammies or whatever they’re called all at your fancy Malibu homes!”
Rarity was suddenly disquieted. “You just reminded me all of something I didn’t want to think of,” she said out of the blue. “We only have a couple of years left with each other, before we go our separate ways.” She reached over and grabbed four of Pinkie’s campfire marshmallows, consuming them in short order. “And we’ll all be alone in our adult worlds! Just even thinking about it is unbearable! It is the. Worst. Possible, Th—”
“Warning, Drama Queen alert,” Twilight joked.
“Rares, could we not talk about that right now?” Rainbow growled in annoyance. “We’re supposed to be here for something great – celebrating summer and Sunny’s upcoming adoption, not the fact that we’ll all be headed off to different universities.”
“Besides,” Applejack added, “Ah’m pretty sure we’re all gonna be friends for life.”
“But everyone always says that before they drift away!” Rarity whined, and instinctively, it made Pinkie think as well. She gave a look at Sunset, the girl she loved, and Rarity’s words echoed in her mind.
And then Twilight spoke, looking at them all. “We can’t – we won’t. I just made friends with you all…real friends, friends I’ve never had before.” She looked at them all, with sincerity in her eyes. “I used to wonder what friendship could be, until you all shared that magic with me.”
“Twily, leave the songwriting to me, okay?” Octavia drolled. “I swear that last line sounds like it’s from a children’s cartoon.”
“Tavi….”
“Fine, fine. Continue.”
“Look, maybe it doesn’t seem as though I’m making a lot of sense right now; I’m actually thinking off the cuff. And frankly…that’s not anything I would’ve done a year ago. Not even with Tavi’s influence. I’ve learned a lot about being myself and about being with others. And…it really hasn’t been easy, but it’s been worthwhile.” She looked at the others and, illuminated by the firelight. “And I know I’m probably going to make a lot more mistakes. But I wouldn’t be the person I am without you – without all of you.”
Sunset blinked at that. It was the closest she’d had to having her sister back since this all began.
And then the moment was ruined by Rainbow uttering a huge yawn. “Well, it’s late enough, girls. Maybe we should consider calling it a night?”
The yawn was infectious. “Yeah, maybe we should think about it,” Applejack drowsed. “Got more of the same tomorrow, anyway.”
“Yeah, if we are going to start a band, Flutters, we probably should think about things tomorrow with a fresh mind,” Octavia agreed.
One by one, starting with Pinkie (who said a good night’s sleep was vitally important for having fun), they started to file away from the campfire while Sunset volunteered to make sure that it was put out. One by one they moved on, saying their goodnights, leaving Sunset to watch the flickering, dying flames of the bonfire ring. She gave herself a private smile; fire was a part of her, the strongest part of her magic. At one time, she’d wielded it as a blunt instrument and had been reprimanded for it by Princess Celestia. Since then, she’d learned to control it, fine tune it and it no longer burned within the warm hues of red, orange and yellow, but within the deceptively cool tones of blues and whites.
She was by far the strongest archmagus that had ever existed, when it came to raw power; a contrast compared to Princess Twilight’s super-granular finesse. Twilight could thread a proverbial needle with her magic, while Sunset had to shove it through. But to extend the metaphor, Sunset could shove a tree through said needle with her power, while Twilight had to settle for something smaller. In the end, it didn’t matter; Twilight had those extra parts, beyond that of normal magic, which had put her on her destiny to royalty and ascension. Sunset, on the other hand, took a more painful, circuitous path that did not lead towards either of those things, but those were destinies Sunset no longer wanted. She had the love of her family: both that at home and that here on Earth. And to her, that was worth more than any crown and wings.
“Sis?”
Sunset was jolted out of her thoughts from that one word. She looked up at the flames to make sure she hadn’t slipped into a dream. The flames themselves were almost out and more of the glowing embers from charred wood, as small tendrils of smoke escaped into the sky. But the smoke was clear enough that Sunset could see across to the other side of the concrete ring, and on that other side, was a plum-haired girl with locks of magenta and violet, looking right at her.
Sunset said nothing. She wasn’t sure what she could say anymore.
Twilight looked at her. “I really don’t know what to think anymore, I really don’t. So I’m going to say what’s on my mind – and I don’t want you to say a single thing. I just want you to listen.” Sunset merely nodded, waiting for Twilight to continue. “I don’t know what’s going on with you and the others – and I don’t care. What I care about is our relationship. You’re supposed to be my sister. You’re supposed to be there for me when I need you…and I’m supposed to be there for you when you need me.
“Tavi thinks you’re running from something, something so bad that it makes you refuse to talk about your past, because you’re so frightened that you refuse to even accept that it exists, much less tell us. And I have to wonder: are we in danger? Are you? Are you putting us in danger?” Sunset gazed up at Twilight, a horrified look on her face. She was about to say something when Twilight said, “Don’t. Talk.”
Twilight moved over next to Sunset and sat down. “This is the part I hate most about you, Sunset Shimmer. You’re supposed to be my sister. Sisters rely on each other. Tavi and I have been there for each other through thick and thin, you know that. And we’ve fought before – usually my fault, because I’m probably not the most mature person on the planet when it comes to my emotions. And you and I should be the same way.
“You saved my life – literally, and nearly at the cost of yours. And now there’s something you’re afraid of, but you’re not turning to the family that loves you, that’s there for you.” Twilight got back up and dusted off her shorts. “I have to wonder: should we be afraid as well? And if the girl who was brave enough to throw herself in front of a speeding truck in order to save my life is afraid of something? We should probably be afraid, too.”
Twilight took a step away from Sunset, her back to the flame-haired girl. “Please, if I’m wrong, tell me. If you love this family enough to protect it from whatever you’re afraid of, then you’ll say something. Because I have a family that I love, and that I have to protect as well.” Nothing more to say and not even sure her words made sense, Twilight walked back to the bungalow where they were all staying.
Sunset sat there, continuing to watch the embers until the last one went out and she was bathed in moonlight. She looked up at the moon, seeing that it was nearly full, and in the past, she would’ve been trying to absorb all the ambient magic she could from it – something she no longer needed. But the moon and its melodies, the moonlight that illuminated the beach, showed the footsteps of the last person to leave the ring and the chaos and confusion she’d left in her wake – a confusion that Sunset didn’t quite understand.
I’m a child of two worlds, she thought to herself. I know so little about my dam. And I just made up with my “real” mother. And now I’m about to be adopted by another mother, one I love just as much as I do the one I left behind. And yet I’m afraid of both sides finding out. I’m like a superhero in the comics trying to balance two identities. She sighed and leaned once more against the beach chair. But this isn’t the comics and life isn’t really a story. For one, it’s far messier.
As the last ember died, Sunset felt as if a part of her soul went with it. She felt drained and not in a good way. She stood up, took a look around and when she was sure that no one else was around, she snapped her fingers. A tendril of ocean water rose from the nearby beach and flew over to her hand, becoming a ball of water in her outstretched palm. She then dumped the water onto the wood, the brief sizzle being the final death knell of the fire. Feeling a bit melancholy about that, she went off towards the room she was going to share with Pinkie for the next two weeks.
Giving a brief yawn, Sunset moved up the stairs towards the second-floor bedroom that Pinkie insisted the both of them take. The moment she did, she noticed the lights were out and Pinkie was likely already asleep. So she slipped into the door, then gently closed it.
That’s when the lights came back on…reflected a million times over by the disco balls attached to the ceiling. And in the center of the room, was a weighted and well-polished metal pole. The sounds of a soft romantic ballad by Fastlove emanated from the speakers of the pink boombox on the other side of the room.
“Oh, Sun~ny,” a voice breathed, and Sunset froze as she turned to see the speaker. There, the scent of jasmine oil filled the air and in the center of the aroma storm was a breathlessly beautiful girl, so much so that even Sunset could tell. She dressed in pink leather panties, boots, gloves and brassiere; a soft red corset, fishnet stockings, and choker; and topped off with red gold necklace and arm band. She moved sensually, sultrily and like Aphrodite calling to a supplicant.
Sunset had known Pinkie was a dancer; all cheerleaders were, to some degree or other. But this rhythmic motion, the swinging around the pole, and dancing around the flame-haired girl made it clear that this wasn’t just entertainment for a friend. This was a mating dance that one would try to woo their chosen with, and the former unicorn already had a general notion of who the cotton-candy-haired girl had her mind set on…
…which made it even more embarrassing once Pinkie started her striptease. First came off the brassiere, and Sunset got an uncomfortable reminder why out of her circle of friends, she had the third largest chest. A few minutes later, she found out that Pinkie was in amazing shape, probably as much as Rainbow, if she wanted to make a comparison based on Rainbow’s slight six-pack. It didn’t help any more the moment that Pinkie shimmied around her, wearing nothing but the choker, the gloves, the stockings and the boots, pressing a little too close for comfort, sliding her arms around Sunset’s shoulders.
Sunset finally had enough. Gently, she cast a spell, and Pinkie found that she couldn’t move. Sunset gently extricated herself from Pinkie’s embrace, then went over to the bed, grabbed the comforter, and wrapped it around her friend. “Pinkie, please don’t tell me you got a Brazilian for my sake,” Sunset replied, trying for levity in which she knew was about to be a very bad situation.
Sunset released the stasis spell, and Pinkie fell to the ground, ignoring the closing strains of “Careless Whisper”. “Yes, I did,” she said in a broken voice. “Because I’d hoped….”
Sunset sat down next to Pinkie and held her. “Because you’d hoped I’d change my mind?”
Pinkie nodded; Sunset could see the tears start to come. “Is it so wrong that I want the girl that I love to touch me? To love me? So that I can feel like I’m worthwhile?” Pinkie looked at Sunset. “I’m damaged goods, Sunny—”
“No. Stop there. Stop right the fuck there, Pinkie. I’m not going to let you do this to yourself, understand?” Sunset told her. “You are a special girl and I already told you: if I even had that inclination, I would. But I don’t – and that’s not a bad thing. It just means that we are who we are: dear friends.” Sunset took Pinkie’s hands in her own and said, “Somewhere out there is the girl or guy who’s right for you, and will love you the way you deserve to be loved. You are not damaged goods, Pinkie, any more than I am a monster – you told me that.” Sunset hugged Pinkie close. “You’re my dearest friend, and I love you, okay? I can’t love you the way you want, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t at all.”
“You can’t mean that.”
“I do. Besides, out of the two girls who have thrown themselves at me while naked, I’m saying that you would win if I leaned that way, okay?” Sunset laughed. “Take a compliment, would you?”
“Wait – someone’s already done this?”
“Yeah, it was Compass Rose, but she was a bit stressed and—” Pinkie got off the ground, sloughing off the quilt and walking over to her phone. “Pinkie, please don’t. It’s nearly one in the morning.”
Pinkie ignored her, went over and picked up her phone, dialing a number on automatic. The phone dialed for a few seconds, before a groggy voice answered: “This is Rose.”
“Rose, this is Pinkie,” Pinkie said in a surprisingly stern voice.
“Pinkie, it’s one in the morning! Why are you calling me?”
“Because I officially hate you, you know that? Who gave you the right to throw your naked body at Sunny before I could?”
“Wait, what?”
“We are soooooooo going to talk about this when I get back from vacation, buster, got that?” Pinkie hung up the phone. “I’m going to bed now, Sunny. Night!”
Sunset groaned. “Aren’t you going to get dressed?”
“Nope! May as well show you what you’re missing,” she said as she plopped right on the bed where Sunset was going to sleep. “Now get over here, will you?”
“Pinkie, you’re creeping me out right now.”
“I don’t snore, you know that.”
“Doesn’t make it any less creepy.”
“Will you die for me?”
Sunset sat up again. There was that damn dream, the one she’d had a lot recently. The one she’d sent a letter to Princess Luna about and the night alicorn had informed her that it was just a matter of jitters – too many jitters, probably due to the impending adoption. The night princess had also chewed out her niece for waiting so long between returns to Equestria and that she should come to see her mother soon.
“You’re breaking your mother’s heart by not seeing her again.” The words from the letter, nearly a counterpart to Sunset’s own statement from earlier in the day had come back to haunt her. The Princess…who am I kidding? She is my mother, the only mother I ever knew until I was taken in by Twilight’s family. And I really haven’t thought much about what this is doing to her.
Sunset eased herself out of the bed and away from Pinkie’s grasp. That in itself was a whole different concern: Pinkie was deeply in love with her, and she didn’t want to break her friend’s heart, but at the same time, Sunset knew that Pinkie needed someone worthy of her. This was all but confirmed when she heard Pinkie mutter in her sleep, “Yes, Sunny, I would love to have your baby.”
I need to take a walk. Quietly, she threw on a t-shirt, shorts and sandals, then wandered out of the room, and then out of the bungalow.
She walked down perfectly tended brick walkways, past pristinely-tended grass fields, making her way to the beach. A few couples were there from earlier, seated by the dying light of bonfires, and those she steered clear of both for their privacy and hers. She headed a little more way down the beach, southbound, past the pier and right to the point where the property line of the resort ended and where Harmony Headlands State Park began. It was here, down by the palm trees, where she saw wonder.
Seated on the beach, all by herself, was a girl, seemingly around Sunset’s (physical) age, and with Asian features. She had mid-length chestnut brown hair with a neon-blue stripe, and what looked like sea-green eyes. In her hand she held a small glowing ball, and she sang a song in the moonlight, in words Sunset wasn’t familiar with:
“Win chent a lotica
En val turi
Silota
Fin dein a loluca
Si katigura neuver
Floreria for chesti
Si entina”
Sunset couldn’t help herself. “That is beautiful.” The girl turned around in surprise, looking at her with grave concern. “Hey, easy, not going to hurt you, just here for a walk and overheard your singing.”
The girl immediately recomposed herself. “Ah, alright then,” the girl said in an accent Sunset couldn’t identify. “Was right stuffed there, luv. Shouldn’t give a girl a scare like that. Not bloody good for the heart at all, you know?”
“Sorry,” Sunset replied.
“Eh, it’s alright. Probably my fault, getting tied up with memories of where I grew up.” She laughed. “The old gaffer dragged me here to the States when I was sixteen and he’s surprised I’ve never lost my accent.”
“Which was?”
“Wow, and usually I get bombarded with all sorts of questions because people figure that out. I’m originally from Cairns, Australia – well, technically I’m originally from Despansar, Indonesia, but Da raised me in Australia before he wanted to move back to America.” The girl shook her head. “Well, I’m being a right bloody jerk, not introducing myself.” She offered her hand. “Areca Palm.”
Sunset sat down next to her and shook. “Sunset Shimmer. So what was that song you were singing? And the thing in your hand?”
Areca laughed. “The song’s from some old anime show, and the lyrics are just nonsense, far as I know; it just happens to be my favorite song. As for the glow?” The girl reached in her hand and brought out a palm-sized drone. She tapped it on the top of the chassis and it began to glow a soft blue while it hovered off the top of her palm. “Just a microdrone Da asked me to test for him, while I’m on my sojourns. He’s an inventor, the kind that’s always mucking about with one thing or another, and since I’m on the way to Japan next week, he asked me to take it to a manufacturer he knows.” She grinned. “The Japanese and their toys, you know – they’ll buy them like they were going out of style.”
“Ah.” Sunset put it out of her mind; she originally thought it was magic, but now that she saw it had a mundane reality to it, she gave it not much more thought. Still, there was something unusual about the girl – maybe she was a latent magic user and didn’t know it. After all, Sunset knew five girls she was around every day that fit that criteria. “So, you travel a lot, but you’re still a kid?”
“Kid? Still a girl, I suppose – you Americans are so in love with that term. I’m twenty-five and have been out of school for years. Homeschooled, so I was in university by the time I was ten. Attended the Royal Queensland University, graduated summa cum laude and right well racked off every person a decade older than me. Probably part of the reason why Da moved us up to Seattle.” She looked at Sunset. “What about you?”
“Oh, here with friends. I’m just seventeen.”
“Really? You look older than that.”
“Nope, just seventeen,” Sunset insisted. “The father of one of my friends arranged it for us to take a summer vacation. You?”
“Just wanted to get a small holiday between my studies – was meeting with some business partners in Tulsa – and then on the way to Yokohama. As for me, well, given that the old gaffer owns half of the resort, we have accommodations whenever we need. It’s nice to get away from your problems.”
“What problems?” Sunset asked, figuring she could help.
Areca laughed again. “I hardly think we know each other long enough to discuss personal issues. Besides, I’m not the one with the problem – Da is.” She rolled her eyes and commented. “Love the old man, but he’s such a perve. Constantly dating younger women and…well, you can imagine how it goes betwixt an older chap and a younger lass. Anyway, Da’s currently dating someone around my age, and let’s just say it got me right gobsmacked. He’ll probably get over it and dump her for my sake, but….” She shrugged. “Maybe I’m just being unfair to that girl, but someone’s got to be pristine to even look at him, far as I’m concerned, you know?”
“Maybe,” Sunset said, remembering her own less than appropriate thoughts at first meeting Trixie’s father earlier in the year. It wasn’t something she wanted to revisit. “I’ve known some people at my school who have found their friends’ parents to be attractive,” she said diplomatically.
“So what’s eating at you?”
“Me?” Sunset asked, and Areca nodded. “Thought you didn’t want to discuss personal issues?”
“And yet I told you mine, being a jealous daddy’s girl and all,” she said lightly. “Surely yours can’t be too hard. Boyfriend left you for another? Parents being too hard on you? Or something else?” Areca looked at the younger girl with a sincere face, one that was genuinely interested in helping.
“A bit more complex than that,” Sunset explained.
“Oh, but don’t I know that in my life,” Areca replied with a smile. “Still, nothing’s so complex that you can’t express it in words.”
Sunset looked at the stranger – emphasis on stranger. It’s not as though she feared for her life; if the girl tried anything, Sunset knew they were alone and Sunset could easily protect herself magically. But emotionally? That was something else – the girl was asking her to reveal what had been gnawing at her for the past few weeks.
What have I got to lose? Sunset asked. It wasn’t like she was ever going to see this girl again, she was sure.
Sunset was silent for a few more seconds, before speaking: “In two weeks, I’m about to be adopted by a family. I love them – a mother and father, two brothers and a sister who I love dearly. I’ve been pretty much an orphan for the past few years, so it means the world to me.”
“Except?” Areca asked.
Sunset sighed. “Except…my mother. My, um, biological mother. I’ve met with her in the past year, and she wants me back. And I still love her, I always have, even when I ran away. That’s the truth: I’m not orphaned, I ran away. I ran away because I wanted what my mother had, because I wanted her affection – which I had, but I was too stupid to realize it.” The sorrow and guilt came easily to Sunset; recently, it was always under the surface. “But I like living here, and I love my new family. But I don’t know how they’d react if they found out that I’m not what I said I was.”
“That you’re not really an orphan and that you came from a good home with a loving parent and that you caused this all because you ran away?” Areca parroted.
“Well, it’s more complex than that, but…yeah, that’s the gist of it,” Sunset sighed.
“Anything else?”
“Yeah, just found out that one of my best friends is in love with me, but I don’t swing that way. I’ll manage.”
Areca grinned. “Damn right you will. After all, you’re here, are you not? You’ve made it through a year learning about yourself and moving in with a new group that loves you. You’ve wormed yourself in right good, did ya not? But you still have the past to deal with. Good or bad, it’s the past: It’s a part of you and it’s not going to let go.”
“No, you’re right, it’s not.” Sunset pulled her knees to her chest in a scrunched-up position. “And I don’t want to let it go. I love my mother. I love the mother who’s going to adopt me now. And I honestly don’t know what to do. I really don’t! I’m here for good, and yet if I tell my new family the truth…they’ll hate me. They’ll hate me forever. And I don’t want that.”
“Perhaps you should tell them the truth?” Areca suggested. “You see the situation not saying anything has gotten you in. Heh, reminds me of a time when I got into something that the old gaffer didn’t want me to. An och, I did hear it from Da, let me tell you! But he was right: hiding something isn’t how it’s meant to be. Sooner or later, things’ll get into the light, they will. And it’s better than they get there with your hands, than without – because otherwise, it’s a right mess.”
“But what if they spurn me?”
“Remember the old saying: if you love something, set it free. If it doesn’t come back, it was never yours to begin with,” the other girl said. “I, of course, like the joke version: If it doesn’t come back, hunt it down with extreme prejudice,” she added with a chuckle. She then stood up. “Well, I shall be here for at least a week, so I hope to run into you again. You can tell me more about how it went.”
“My family’s not here…well, not most of them. My sister is.”
“Then you can tell me how that went so far and I can offer some advice,” Areca said, giving Sunset a smile. “Be seeing you around, Sunset.”
Sunset nodded as well. “Same to you, actually.”
Sunset watched as the older girl walked away, then looked at the moon again. This was the second time in the past few hours she’d found herself in this situation, and if she was the kind of person who believed in signs, it wouldn’t have been a good one. And having grown up with her mother, the literal goddess-ruler of a nation and extensively trained in the mystical arts herself, she would’ve been insane not to see the signs. Believing in them, however, was an entirely different matter.
She got off the sand and walked back to the bungalow. Chances were, she just needed some sleep and they could get back to the fun and sun. She could mend ties with Twilight, and they could leave here as the sisters they were meant to be. Sunset used her keycard to open the door to the bungalow, and walked in, yawning.
The yawn ended a second later as she was hit hard across the face, followed immediately by a punch. Her vision swam; she was still sensitive towards headblows after what she’d been through. She felt another hit across her face and she lashed out with her own punch, drawing an “Ouch!”
Sunset immediately hit the lights, only to find… “Twily? What the fuck?”
“You lying bitch,” Twilight snarled, and the hatred in her eyes was clear. “You lying, swindling bitch. It was all an act, wasn’t it? IT WAS ALL JUST A FUCKING ACT!”
“What are you talking abou—”
The look in Twilight’s violet eyes was one of pain and betrayal. “And to think I was so stupid to trust you – to think you were my sister! What’s your plan? To steal Dad’s emerald statue? Or to kidnap us?” Twilight gasped. “Or was it just to drive Tavi mad, you—”
Sunset clamped her hands on Twilight’s arms to prevent her from throwing more punches. “What has gotten into you, sis? And why would I steal Dad’s paperweight?”
Twilight shook Sunset off. “I heard everything you told that other girl! About your real mother and how she’s still alive – and how you went to go see her!”
Sunset staggered as she’d been hit even harder than before. She…heard? “What?”
“I saw you take a walk outside.” The tone of Twilight’s voice was broken and that cut deeper than any knife. “I went, because I wanted to make up with you. Because I thought we were sisters.” Twilight hugged herself and looked at Sunset with a shattered visage. “Was any of it real? Was it just an act?”
“Twily, please! Listen to me, I can explain!” Sunset cried, just in time to hear footsteps from the bedrooms upstairs. Great, just what I need.
“WHY SHOULD I LISTEN TO YOU! FOR FUCK’S SAKE, YOU ARE AN EXPERT AT MANIPULATING PEOPLE! MY BROTHER BELIEVED IN YOU!” Twilight screamed. “I BELIEVED IN YOU!”
“Girls, what’s going on?” Rarity asked as she came downstairs. She wore an elegant sleepgown and her eyemask was propped over her hair.
Twilight didn’t stop. “Is that what you were so afraid to share? That you’ve been a fucking liar to our faces this whole time? ANSWER ME!” The look on Sunset’s face was one of heartbreak and someone about to shatter – but also one that Twilight was right. “We trusted you. We loved you and all this time it was nothing more than a sham?”
“Twily…please, let me explain.” The look on Sunset’s face was one of pleading, asking for mercy.
Twilight met it with the hardest punch she’d ever thrown…and for a girl not inclined to violence or martial arts, it was painful indeed. “GET THE FUCK OUT! I never want to see your face again, you lying bitch!”
Sunset took the blow right across the face without moving, but looking at the girl she called her sister, her eyes soaked from crying. And a second later, she wildly ran, tears streaming down her face.
Twilight was about to yell something else at the other girl’s retreating form when she felt herself rudely slammed against the wall. “DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU JUST DID?” Pinkie roared at Twilight with the fury of the Royal Canterlot Voice. “YOU BITCH!” Pinkie cocked a fist back and swung—
—only for it to be caught, inches from Twilight’s face, by Rainbow. “Not now, Pinkie,” Rainbow said gently. “Go after her. She needs you.” Rainbow looked at Octavia. “You too. She needs her family.” Octavia and Pinkie looked at each other and raced out the door.
Rainbow looked at Twilight. “You okay?”
“No, not really. I just found out my family’s been housing and feeding a fraudst—”
“You call her that again and Ah’ll hit you, Twily,” Applejack said angrily. “And Ah won’t be as nice as the girl that’s in love with your sister.”
“She’s not my sister! And why—”
“Twily, shut up!” Fluttershy shouted at her. “Did you ever think of why we would put our necks on the line for the girl that tormented us for years? Did you?” The chiffon-haired girl got right in the other girl’s face. “I would trust Sunny with my life. I would put the Goddamn gun in her hand, hold it to my head and tell her to pull the trigger, knowing she wouldn’t. Because she means the world to me – to us.”
“Yes, Sunny lied about some things,” Applejack told her, “but she never lied about how you are her family. And you just stabbed your own sister in the back.”
“But she said her mother is still alive!” Twilight gasped. “And that she’s seen her and still loves her! She’s not an orphan!”
“No, you’re right,” Rainbow commented. “But you know what? It means she’s a foundling, just my sister was. And Rose has admitted to Scoots that she still remembers the good times with their mother before everything went bad – it takes a lot to make someone hate their parents, you know.” Rainbow plopped down onto the sofa and said, “But you know what? At the end of the day, Scoot’s biological mom dumped her – and then her real parents came in. Sunny ran from her home life – so what the hell does that say, egghead? C’mon, you can put two and two together, so figure it out.”
“Twilight, Sunset loves you. She saved your life not because she had to or even because it was the right thing to do…she did it because you are her sister. She has risked herself more times than you know – even when we’ve told her that it was a danger to her – she still went the extra mile. And she’d do it again for any of us. And quite frankly, I am tired of having to explain this.” Rarity stood there, arms crossed, her blue eyes radiating both disappointment and anger. “And do you know who is out there solving your problem? Your cousin and the girl who so desperately wishes Sunset would pay attention to her as more than just a friend. And you’re here. Lying in your own metaphorical pool of shit.”
Before Twilight could say anything, Pinkie frantically raced upstairs at a speed that Rainbow would find impressive. A second later, Octavia walked in, a heartbroken look on her face. “Pinkie?” she called out.
Pinkie jotted back downstairs, holding two familiar items in her hand: Sunset’s phone and purse. “She doesn’t have either!” Pinkie sobbed. “She could be hurt or injured or….” She slipped down to the floor, ungracefully, holding the objects close to her like precious totems.
“I’ll get her to bed,” Fluttershy told Rarity. “She’s not going to be any good to anyone like this.”
“Good thinking, darling,” Rarity replied. Looking at the others, she said, “I think we should go get dressed. We need to get looking, now.” Rarity then turned to look at Twilight. “Except for you. I think you’ve done enough damage for the day.”
“No, she hasn’t,” Octavia said, glaring at her cousin, “but that’s only because it’s four in the morning. Now if you’ll excuse me, Rarity, I need to call my aunt and uncle. Someone needs to let them know their daughter is missing.” As one, the other girls rushed upstairs to change, leaving Fluttershy holding Pinkie, insisting everything would be alright…and Twilight, standing by the door, wondering if that was actually true.
Divine Right, soon to be Emperor of All, sat up, his eyes wide. They briefly flickered with an intense light before reverting to their normal golden color, and clarity washed over his features.
“It’s time,” he said to himself, before hopping out of bed, pausing only to shake Cantata. “It’s time! The veil has lifted and destiny herself calls to me, smiling and offering her bountiful wares!”
Cantata stretched and yawned. “It’s nearly four in the morning, Divine. I don’t care who’s offering you their bountiful wares, I’ll kill them if they do. Now shut up and let’s go back to sleep, okay?”
“No!” he said, giddily. “We are on the verge of success! Dame Fortuna’s wheel spins in our favor – this is not the time to spend it shut-eyed and laid low!”
“What are you talking about?”
“The last two victims – I know who they are!” he chirped. “And,” he said, plopping back on the bed next to her, “One of them is a thorn in your side that you’ve been aching to get rid of.”
That caught her attention. Running her hands through her flame-colored hair, she gave him a smile and said, “Tell me more.”
He grinned. “You see, last night, as the fog lifted, I discovered who the Hanging Man is, or at least the names on that list. While there are three names at the top of the list, given the urgency, I think you’ll agree we can settle for number four.” He moved over and whispered a name in her ear.
She looked at him with malicious glee. “And you wonder why I said I’d marry you. You give me the nicest presents.”
Thirty minutes later, the pair were downstairs in the intelligence facility. As the SIRENs in the room came to attention, Cantata looked at them all and asked, “Okay, what’s the status of Project SIGEL?” She then looked around the room. “Also, where’s Lt. Storm?”
The chief petty officer in the room addressed Cantata. “It’s the lieutenant’s liberty day, ma’am. Did you need her immediately?”
“No, but I’ll need to talk to her sometime today, Chief. Anyway, what’ve we got on Project SIGEL?”
“With all due respect, Captain? I’m at a loss why we’re doing this,” the chief commented. “It seems like a waste of personnel.”
“I can explain, if you’d like,” Divine told her. Cantata briefly looked at him and nodded nearly imperceptibly. “My cousin and her daughter are in town. I have reason to believe that CSIS may attempt something against her, and so I asked Captain Blast if she would be willing to ensure the safety of two princesses.” Seeing the look on the enlisted woman’s face, he added, “And this was well before we got, ahem, ‘involved’, so it has nothing to do with that, I assure you.”
“No skin off my back, your highness,” the chief replied. “I just take orders around here. Though I still think this is a waste of time, Captain. We have several people missing, and no thoughts being given to them. Plus, don’t those princesses have their own set of guards?”
“We have reason to believe that assassins may be amongst them, Chief,” Cantata told her. “Which is why Prince Divine has asked us to watch over his family. The assassins might be good – but no one is better than a SIREN, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Certainly, ma’am, but we still run the risk of exposing our forces unnecessarily, an—” She suddenly noticed that Cantata was looking directly at her, examining her, eyes probing like scalpels on a dissection table. “Is there something wrong, ma’am?”
A thoughtful look came over the face of the captain. “Chief, have you taken your inoculations?”
The chief waved it off as Cantata pulled a small, thin pipe from one of her pockets. “Eh, save them for the junior woodchucks, Skipper. Us old salts like you and I don’t need that kinda crap, do we?”
“Let’s find out,” Cantata said, blowing on the boatswain’s call. No sound uttered from the nautical whistle, but the rest of the girls in the room reacted as one, all eerily turning to look at Cantata with a blank look. All, save for one, who looked at the other SIRENs in the room before turning to Cantata with a glance of confusion.
“Captain, wha—” The chief never finished her statement as a bullethole suddenly appeared in her head. She fell down instantly, dead.
She looked at two of them. “Take the body to another room and dispose of it…cleanly,” she ordered. The two immediately nodded before transforming into the monstrous forms the serum had imbued them with. “The rest of you, I want all the information you have on Project SIGEL. Now who’s the ranking SIREN present?”
As if a switch was triggered, a dark-skinned woman with saffron-yellow hair, green eyes and wearing the rank of a petty officer 1st class looked at Cantata. “That would be me, Captain. Petty Officer Trombone Shatter, ma’am.”
“Okay. I want all information available within the next five minutes: every little detail of who the princesses been seen with, places they’ve been, everything. Even if it sounds out of place, I want it. Are we clear, Chief Shatter?”
The newly-promoted chief got the message entirely. “I can get you everything you need, Captain. Send it up to your office?”
Divine intervened. “Please send it down to the Operations Office, Chief,” he told her. “We’ll be there, taking care of some other business.”
“Understood, sir,” she told him, before turning to the others. “Okay, you heard them, let’s get a move on! Chop-chop!” she shouted, clapping her hands loudly to get their attention.
“What was that all about?” Cantata barked at him angrily. “What did I tell you about countermanding my orders?”
“Relax,” he assured her. “We are on the cusp of victory, my dear. And I was hardly overriding your instructions, only making it easier. There’s a petty officer in the Operations Office that I arranged to give a special audition. We need a voice capable of the range to sing the summoning song, and when I heard her speak the last time we were in there, I overheard her sing and thought she might be of use. This way, we can make sure.”
“You should’ve told me sooner,” Cantata argued. “I could’ve checked this out.”
“The military may be your forte, my dear, but not magic,” he reminded her, “and even just now it has cleared and all has become so that I may see to the horizons beyond. Within forty-eight hours, our march to take the world as its rightful rulers will begin and there will be nothing to stop us.” He stopped in the middle of the hall, took her in his arms and kissed her. “We will be as gods, and seven billion knees will bend to us.”
“Let’s lower that number when we get around to it,” she told him, giving her lover a smile. “Never did care for large crowds, anyways.”
As they continued down the hall, they passed Contralto, who looked as though she was about to murder someone; additionally, her right hand looked bruised. However, she knew her place, stopped and saluted, wincing slightly as she did. “Good morning, Captain, your highness,” she said to both.
“You’re up early, Petty Officer Rush.”
“Yeah, well, unfortunately, thanks to Med, we’re going to be two SIRENs short, ma’am,” Contralto grimaced. “She was bored and you know how she gets when that happens. However, I wasn’t expecting her to take two SIRENs without their consent.”
“Who was it?”
“Sublieutenant Slam and Petty Officer Break from Team Five,” the junior SIREN explained. “Unfortunately, Med was a little too eager and she practically snapped Lt. Slam in half during their, ahem, ‘fun.’ Whatever was going on, it snapped Break’s mind and she went after Med, and given that she’s a huge, steroid-sucking bodybuilder, for a second I was worried that Med wasn’t going to make it, especially when I saw her getting choked by Break.”
“And your hand?”
“Had to respond, ma’am. Sure, Med’s a self-centered, idiotic whore, but she’s my teammate, my subordinate and a part of the Black Team. So I punched Petty Officer Break to stop her.”
Divine went over, took Contralto’s hand in his and cast a healing spell. “This is some severe damage, Petty Officer. Where did you hit her?”
“Let’s just say that I’ve never thought Bassoon Break had much of a head on her shoulders,” Contralto replied drily. “Now, I’m certain she doesn’t.”
“Are you sure this is going to work, Maddie?” Sonata asked as she sat down at the keyboard, her fingers dancing across the keys. “You’re taking a huge risk.”
“No kidding,” Madrigal Storm told her petite sœur. “If they find that microtransmitter, it’s not going to be hard for them to trace it back to us,” she said aloud. “We’ll be sitting ducks, for sure.”
“That’s why we need this information,” Vesper reminded her. “If we’re going to stop Cantata before she lets loose those monsters, then we’ve got to put them down and soon – even if it means we die or get caught by the American authorities.” She groaned. “As stupid as this sounds, the fate of the world may be at stake.”
Sunny Side chuckled. “Always wanted be on a ‘mission from God’, eh, sis?”
Evergreen Pine laughed. “I swear, you must’ve memorized every line from The Blues Brothers,” didn’t you?
Side tapped Pine in the shoulder. “Classic movie, sis, you know that.”
“Look, that’s all well and good, but we need to leave in a few minutes to arrange for the extra weapons we’re going to need,” Intermezzo reminded them. “And you need to get back soon enough, Maddie, before Cantata knows you’re gone.”
“Told them I was taking a day off,” Madrigal shrugged. “With all that’s going on and all the intelligence I’ve had to dig up, it’d only be natural. Trust me, there’s no way that I’m going to do anything that would jeopardize our situation here. Things are already tense with Cantata and Guitarron believing that Pine and Sides are dead and that the triplets are considered AWOL by this point. Don’t want them to even remotely think otherwise, or else we’re as good as dead.”
Aria called out, “Personally, Maddie, I prefer to live.” At the moment, the middle triplet was at the table, restringing her bow; several of her arrows were on the table as well, in various states of disassembly.
“You still using those, Ari?”
“A sniper has many forms of performing her mission,” Aria said with a smile. “Sometimes it’s just good to have an appreciation for the classics.”
“Yeah, well, we need to get going,” Mezzo replied. “Soni, you keep working that intel angle. The rest of us need to head out. Maddie, you going to be okay?”
“Yeah, I’ve got to go as well. Head back to the hotel room I rented in Bella Vista for some plausible deniability,” Maddie admitted. “Just because I think I’m in the clear doesn’t mean that I am. After all, if they sent that assassin after you, I might just have one on my trail as well. You all take care and I’ll see you in a few days.” She went over and hugged Sonata, then the rest before heading out.
“That’s our cue,” Pine said. “If we don’t leave now, we’re going to miss our shot. As it is, we’re going to have to hustle.”
Mezzo grabbed a duffel bag. “Sounds like a plan to me.” Vesper, Side and Pine all grabbed their bags, quickly doublechecked their gear and headed out the door towards their mission, leaving the three juniormost personnel alone.
A few minutes later, Adagio woke up, stretched and got up. “Hey, how’s my favorite sisters doing?” she yawned.
“Well, given that we’re your only sisters, I’d say we’re doing good,” Aria said, “unless our parents shat out some other kids they abandoned.”
“Ari, that’s not fair,” Sonata argued. “We didn’t know them – hell, if I remember they got buried as unknowns.”
“Personally, given that they were druggies, I’m glad we didn’t get to know them, or we might be hopped up on shit, too,” Adagio reminded her youngest sister. “You never saw Sunny complaining about the fact that she was an orphan, did you? She looks like she’s happy to be in the family she is. And I think we’re happy in the family that we have.” She looked at the clock. “Anyone want to tell me why we’re up at four in the morning?”
Sonata turned her attention back to the computer. “The transmitter widget that Maddie installed is designed to signal us whenever significant data in the INTEL office’s computers are being used, and right now they are. They’re looking up something called Project SIGEL.”
“SIGEL? That sounds like some Norse Viking crap,” Aria muttered.
“You’re close – it’s Old English. Basically, it’s what the Saxons used to call the Sun,” Sonata said, still not taking her eyes from the screen. “I Googled it out of curiosity.”
“Project SIGEL?” Adagio asked, getting dressed. “First Project ANTHEMUSA, now Project SIGEL. Is it something we should worry about?”
“We found out that the Captain authorized the serial killings that our friends have worried about. Then she and that Prince turned the Sisterhood into a collection of monsters and now they want to take over the world,” Aria replied. “What makes you think we shouldn’t be concerned?”
“Well, I’m a fan of cheese being the solution,” Sonata replied, “but I suspect you wouldn’t get that joke.”
“Is this another one of those inside jokes you made with Pinkie?”
“Hell yes,” Sonata said as a nostalgic smile briefly ghosted on her face before she went back to concentrating on her work again. “Okay, copying over the documentation we have for Project SIGEL. They were stupid and didn’t encrypt it, so we should be able to read the documents the moment we finish the download.”
“Any chance of them catching us?” Adagio asked.
“Only if we’re not careful,” Sonata said. “The girls in INTEL might be damn good at gathering and analysis, but they don’t know a damn thing about INFOSEC. Trust me, I could break into their systems with a Nintendo and two floppy discs.”
“Cocky bitch, much, Soni?”
“I’m your baby sister. I have to have something to make up for my crippling self-doubt by constantly being outclassed by my two superior older sisters,” Sonata said glibly.
“Brava. That almost sounded sincere,” Aria laughed.
A few minutes later, Sonata sat back in her chair and relaxed. “Okay, we got what we needed,” she announced. “Give me a few seconds to print out the executive summary and we should be fine.”
“No, put it on the big screen,” Adagio insisted. “We can read from a PDF, and if it’s something serious, we don’t need to waste precious seconds for the printer to bitch that it’s out of paper again.”
“Point,” she said, reaching for the remote and turning on the TV that served as a monitor. “Okay, it’s up.”
The trio read the executive summary on the screen and it made their skin crawl to see the level of information that was being presented to Cantata Blast. The Sisterhood had been compromised for far longer than anyone had suspected. A look of horror came over Adagio’s face as she realized that the Canadian government – their former masters – may not have been the one to assassinate Adm. Poutine, the SIRENs’ beloved commander and father figure.
“This…what the hell is this?” Aria gasped.
“Girls, you’d better shut up and read page seven!” Sonata, who was reading on her own screen and tended to be the speedreader of the trio, looked at her sisters with horror. “Fuck all and go to page seven!”
Adagio picked up the 3D mouse and maneuvered the document to page seven, reading the first few lines of the document. The lines expanded into the first two paragraphs, and by the time she got to the third, she’d dropped the mouse in a panic.
“Is this real?” Adagio yelled at Sonata.
“I don’t know, but if we’re going to do something about it, we don’t have time! They left for Modesto yesterday, and we need to get down there, double-time!”
“Okay, command decision: get your gear ready. If this is correct, then we need to get down there and end this before it’s too late. I want us out the door in five. Move, ladies, move!” Adagio barked, then tore off her civvies in favor of grabbing her CADPATs. Time was no longer a luxury they could afford, not in the least.
Not when the document said that the last girl who would be killed would be Sunset.