Spike sat on the floor and stared blankly into Sonata's hot-pink eyes. She was laying on her belly with her head propped up by one of her hands, whimsically kicking her feet in the air. She was just staring at him and smiling blissfully. Oh, well. At least she stopped hugging him. Spike usually liked being hugged, but Sonata clearly didn't know her own strength.
"So, what's it like being a talking dog?" Sonata asked.
"Well, it's the same as being a regular dog except that I can talk."
"Can you still meow like a dog?"
"... Uh... Dogs don't meow. We bark."
"Oh, right. Sorry. I forgot, meowing is for bunnies."
Spike facepalmed. "No, Sonata. Meowing is for cats." He twitched a bit from thinking about the fluffy little devils.
"Oh, yeah. That's right. Wait, so what sound do bunnies make?"
"They... Um... I don't know. I don't think they even make a sound."
"Oh." Sonata drew circles on the floor with her finger. "How long 'til school's over?"
"A couple of hours. It only got started an hour ago and you already asked me that thirty minutes ago."
"Oh, really?"
Spike sighed. This was going to be a long day.
Sonata rolled onto her back and frowned. "I'm bored... Hey!" Her smiled returned and she got to her knees, scooping up Spike as she did. "Dogs know how to have fun! What do you usually do while you wait for school to end?"
"Well... I usually just take a nap."
"Got it!" Sonata put Spike down and immediately curled up on her side, resting her head on her hands and closing her eyes.
Spike sat confused for a few seconds before shrugging and curling into a little ball on the floor.
...
...
"I can't sleep." Sonata said after about ten seconds.
Spike groaned.
There was a knock at the door.
"Uhhh, no one's here." Sonata answered.
Twilight entered, closing the door behind her, and took a moment to process what was going on in front of her.
Sonata was tangled in streamers (she must have found one of Pinkie's stashes), her hoodie was on backwards, and there was a smiley face sticker on her left cheek. Spike had a little pink bow around his right ear and looked frustrated. The room was a mess and looked like a bunch of little kids had been in it... or one big kid.
"Why did you say that no one was here?" Spike asked in a defeated tone.
"Because no one is supposed to know we're here, remember?" Sonata answered confidently.
Spike facepalmed and sighed. "Yeah, but if you answer them, they'll know someone's here."
Sonata gave Spike a confused look.
Spike took a deep breath. "Sonata... Can an empty room answer someone?"
"No," It took a moment before it hit Sonata. "Oh... I'm sorry." She looked genuinely sad.
Twilight wiped her glasses with a handkerchief she kept for such occasions and put them back to make sure she was seeing everything correctly. "Um, what happened here?"
"It's a long story." Spike answered in a tone that made it clear he didn't feel like explaining.
"Right, sorry I asked. Anyway, I brought you both lunch."
Sonata perked up at the mention of lunch.
"For you, Spike, I got a steak." She laid down a plate with said slab of meat.
"Alright!" Spike immediately dug in.
"And for you, Sonata... Well, I didn't know what you would like, but it's Taco Tuesday so-"
"TACOS!" Sonata leap into the air and body slammed into Twilight, knocking her down. She grabbed the tacos and rolled about three feet away before starting on them.
"Yep. Tacos." Twilight sat up and adjusted her glasses. She sat her knees and smiled at Spike. "So, how has everything gone?" She asked as she removed the bow on his ear.
Spike groaned. "Sonata is harder to take care of than a puppy." He kept his voice low so that Sonata wouldn't hear him.
"Oh, come on, Spike. She can't be that bad."
"You're right. She's worse! This girl is an idiot!"
Twilight frowned. "That's not a very nice thing to say, Spike."
"You don't understand, Twilight. She..." Spike looked over at Sonata and stopped talking
Twilight followed his gaze and saw that Sonata had stopped eating. She was sitting still and had a hurt expression on her face. She had heard them.
Twilight walked over and put her hand on Sonata's shoulder. "He didn't mean that, Sonata."
"No, I uh... I was just thinking about something." Sonata answered. "It's not important, I don't think."
Twilight wanted to try to get Sonata to talk, but knew that she was on a timed schedule. "Okay. I need to get back to the others, but if you want to talk about it later, we can."
Sonata gave a confused look to Twilight. "...Okay."
Twilight nodded and left, wondering why Sonata looked so confused.
Spike walked over to Sonata and sat at her side. "Hey, Sonata, I'm... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
"No, no. It's fine." Sonata peeled the sticker off her cheek. "I know I'm stupid. Adagio and Aria never let me forget it."
Spike gave Sonata a sympathetic look and nuzzled against her side. "They were awful to you, Sonata."
The two sat in silence for a few minutes. Sonata slowly ate her tacos and Spike finished his steak. After a few more minutes, Sonata spoke. "I never thought they were awful. We argued and fought a lot, but I didn't really think... Spike?"
"Yeah."
"When I hurt myself and Sunset asked if I was okay... Why did she ask?"
Spike raised an eyebrow, confused by the question. "Because she cares about you."
"... Is that why Twilight wants to know what I was thinking about?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm." Sonata looked thoughtful.
Spike may not have been the smartest dog, but even he could figure Sonata out. "They never cared about you, did they? Adagio and Aria?"
"I-It's not there fault." Sonata defended. "I-I always messed up. They didn't need to care. Adagio keeping me around was more than I deserved."
"Is that you talking? Or them?"
Sonata didn't answer.
Spike put his paw on her leg. "Sonata, Adagio and Aria were with you for hundreds or even thousands of years. Twilight and her friends barely know you and they still care about you more than your sisters ever did. I think you'll like being with them better than your sisters."
Sonata still didn't answer. In fact, she didn't talk at all until school was over.
Meanwhile, at Crystal Prep High School...
Aria waited in a dark corner as her fellow students exited the school. There was no need for her to wait, but she preferred to keep her distance from everyone. She always hated social interaction, even if it was only with two other people. No. No, she wasn't thinking about that. She didn't care about those two losers. She was doing fine on her own and intended to keep it that way.
Once the last of the students had left, she stepped out and look through the door windows. No one on the steps this time. She exited through the doors and made her way to the side of the school, preferring to keep out of routes that would have others in them. She tugged at the collar of her uniform. "Ugh, this clothes are a pain in the neck." She muttered as she passed the edge of the school.
"Oh, that's too bad. They really suit you."
Aria froze in place. A small part of her wanted to keep walking, but she knew better. She turned to the figure leaning against the school with her arms crossed and a nasty little smirk on her face. "Adagio?"
"Surprised to see me?" Adagio took a few steps towards her sister. "How long has it been since we last left off? A couple of months?"
"What do you want, Adagio?" Aria was not in the mood for games. Plus she was still very peeved about Adagio leaving.
Adagio's smirk grew in size. "I need your help, Aria. I think it's time we had some well-deserved payback regarding a certain group of meddling kids."
Aria raised an eyebrow.
Adagio stepped closer, causing Aria to take a reflexive step back. "Those fools from Canterlot High who put us in this predicament. Not only do they need to be taught a lesson, but they still have Equestrian magic. And I think we still have a chance at getting it. Maybe we can even get our lives back."
"And how exactly do we do that?" Aria asked skeptically, wondering if Adagio had lost her mind.
Suddenly, Adagio stepped right up to Aria and put her hands on her shoulder, slightly digging her fingers into them. "That's where Sonata comes in!"
"Sonata?"
"This morning, I saw that bacon head leading her to Canterlot High. I watched that little knucklehead get acquainted with the seven of them. It looks like she's their new friend." She got right in Aria's face, making her very uncomfortable. "Don't you get it? We can use Sonata to get information on them. How they got their magic? Where they live? Their strengths and weaknesses? It's all laid out like a buffet!"
"Uh-huh, and how is Sonata gonna do that? She's an idiot, remember? If we tell her that she needs to spy on them, she'll screw up like she always does."
"Simple. We don't tell her a thing. We won't even let her know that we're watching. She'll be our little unwitting pawn. As for the rest of the plan, I'll figure out that bridge once we cross it. So, are you in? Oh, what am I saying?" Adagio chuckled and turned away.
Aria narrowed her eyes. "What does that supposed to mean? Maybe I don't want to help you! Maybe I like it here!"
Adagio stood as still as a statue for a few seconds. She wiggled her fingers and cracked her neck before turning and looking Aria in the eye. "Really?"
Aria gulped. That look in Adagio's eye... It was the same as that night.
Adagio stepped forward. "Well, tell me about it, Aria. Tell why this pathetic, worthless mortal life is better." Her voice was like ice. "Tell me how you're just going to refuse to help me." She grabbed Aria by the collar and brought her in close. "Did you forget who pulls the strings?"
Aria looked into Adagio's crazed eyes, sweating nervously. Adagio was right. This wasn't a life. While she hated to admit it, Aria was nothing without Adagio. This was her chance and she nearly blew it. "I...I'm sorry. I was... being stupid. I'm with you."
Adagio stared into Aria's eyes for a good long moment before nodding. "That's what I thought." She smoothed out Aria's uniform and smiled. "Now, let's get you dressed into something less... eww."
"Huh? But said it suited..." She narrowed eyes.
Adagio just smiled smugly at her.