//------------------------------//
// Rainbow Dash and the Siren 
// Story: Saving the Siren 
// by King of Madness 
//------------------------------//

"I can't believe they cancelled soccer practice because of a little rain!" Rainbow Dash ranted as she bounced her soccer ball off her knees, keeping it off the ground. It had started raining a little over an hour before the final bell. While it wasn't particularly heavy, it was enough for soccer practice to be cancelled, which Rainbow Dash was not too happy about.

Sunset, Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Applejack trailed behind Rainbow while she ranted. Rarity had to get back to working on the play costumes.

Sunset and Twilight stuck beside each other. "I just hope that everything worked out with Spike and Sonata." Twilight said with a worried tone. "Sonata looked really upset when I left them at lunch."

Twilight had told Sunset what had happened once she had came back from bringing Spike and Sonata lunch. "I'm sure everything is fine." Sunset assured. "So, Sonata got a little upset. I'm sure she's better now." Once they arrived at the door to their practice room, she looked over at Rainbow Dash. "Dash, you passed the door!" She called over.

Rainbow looked back, causing the ball to hit the floor. She caught the ball when it bounced back up and walked over while rubbing the back of her head. "Oops."

Sunset rolled her eyes and opened the door. The first thing she noticed was that the room was a mess. Obviously, Twilight hadn't been exaggerating. However, her attention was quickly taken by the sight on the floor. Namely, Spike and Sonata curled up on the floor together sleeping.

"Awww." All six of them cooed, even Rainbow Dash.

Sunset quickly took a picture on her phone before walking over and kneeling at the two. Her smile faded when she saw the expression on Sonata's face. Sonata was sleeping of course, but she looked... upset. Sunset put her hand on Sonata's shoulder and gently shook her. "Sonata?"

Sonata awoke with a jolt. She breathed heavily and her eyes darted in each direction. Clearly, she'd had a nightmare.

Sunset took notice immediantly and returned her hand to Sonata's shoulder. "Hey, hey! It's okay. It was just dream."

Sonata looked from Sunset to the floor. "Oh."

Sunset helped Sonata up while Twilight picked up a now awake Spike. "You okay? You looked like you were having a nightmare."

Sonata scratched her head. "Well... yeah. But it's over now, right?"

Sunset smiled and nodded. "Right." She turned to face the rest of her friends. "So, is anything on the agenda today?"

"What does fruit have to do with anything?" Sonata asked earnestly.

Sunset was glad that she was faced away from Sonata, otherwise she would have seen her roll her eyes. Then again, she probably wouldn't have noticed anyway. "Agenda is not a fruit, Sonata. It's the plan for what we're doing today."

"Oh."

Rainbow Dash got right back to kneeing her soccer ball in the air. "Well, I would if not for the stupid rain!"

Applejack groaned. "Alright, we get it, Dash! Ya don't gotta say it a million times."

"Well, it still sucks." Rainbow Dash shot back.

"Sucks what?" Sonata asked. Again, totally earnest.

The soccer ball hit the floor when Dash heard the question. "Uhhh, It just... sucks."

"Yeah, sucks what?"

"...Lemons."

"Oh."

Sunset tapped her finger against her chin in thought. "Why don't you get back to working on your song?"

Rainbow Dash glanced away and rubbed the back of her head. "Uhhh, why? I mean, there's need to rush brilliance. I'll, uh, I'll get back on it later."

Sunset rolled her eyes (she was doing that a lot lately) and looked back to find Sonata was no longer behind her. Instead, she was at the window, looking out at the rain. Sunset stared at the siren for a moment before it hit her: When she had looked into Sonata's memories, she had seen Adagio and Aria abandoning Sonata. It had been raining. She looked at the poor girl in sympathy. The rain must have reminded her of that night.

The prospect that Sonata would return to Adagio if the afro-headed fiend simply asked haunted Sunset. She had to show Sonata that there was a better way. Her mind went into overdrive as she tried to think of the best way to show Sonata what true friendship is. If Sonata just got to know each of them...

Sunset's eyes widened. She smiled and snapped her fingers. She turned to face the others. "Group huddle." She turned to face Sonata. "You stay there."

Sonata nodded. "Okay."

Sunset took Spike from Twilight and sat him on the floor. "Make sure she doesn't stick her head into anything." She whispered to the dog.

Spike nodded.

With that taken care of, Sunset completed the huddle. "Alright, girls. I've got an idea of how to show Sonata that we're her friends."

"Throw her a party?!" Pinkie excitedly suggested.

"Umm... Later."

"How later? A little later? Alotta later? A in-the-middle later?"

"Later later."

"Okie-dokie-lokie! I'll schedule it on my later later party list!"

Somehow, Sunset wasn't surprise that Pinkie had a schedule for that. "Here's the deal: As long as we all stay together, Sonata is going to feel left out and that isn't going to help anyone."

"So, what's the plan?" Rainbow asked.

"Each of us will spend time with her individually." Sunset answered.

"That sounds like a good idea." Twilight inquired. "By bonding with each of us alone instead of in a group, she has a better chance of acknowledging us as her friends."

Applejack nodded. "Sounds good'ta me."

"I think so too." Fluttershy agreed. "But, um, shouldn't one of us tell Rarity?"

"I'll tell her." Rainbow offered. "I'll be there in a flash."

"Actually, Rainbow," Sunset smirked. "I'm gonna need you to stay here."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

Sunset broke the huddle. "Sonata?"

"Yeah."

Sunset jumped back in surprise when she found that Sonata had been right behind her. She brought a hand to her chest and took a deep breath before continuing. "I have a job for you to do."

Sonata's eyes widened in surprise. "A job for me?"

Sunset smiled. "Yes. You see, Rainbow Dash is having trouble writing a song and I thought maybe you could help her."

"What?" Both Rainbow and Sonata blurted out.

Sunset nodded. "Yep."

Sonata rubbed the back of her head. "Gee, I, uh, I don't know. I mean, I can't even sing anymore. And I've never even wrotten a song before."

"Written." Twilight corrected under her breath.

"You don't have to." Sunset put her hands on Sonata's shoulders. "All you have to do is help Rainbow think."

"But I can't even think for myself." Sonata countered. "How am I supposed to think for someone else?"

"You can think for yourself, Sonata. You just... think differently. And I know you can help Rainbow. I believe in you."

Sonata stared at Sunset with a funny look on her face. She looked confused... but also touched. After a moment, she smiled. "Okay. I'll try."

Sunset nodded and turned to the rest of the group. "Me, Fluttershy, Applejack, Twilight, and Pinkie need to go and-"

"Plan a party?!" Pinkie asked.

"-Talk to Rarity about something." Sunset finished.

"Oh, right." Pinkie chuckled.

As Sunset and the others started to leave, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to face Rainbow Dash.

"I don't know about this, Sunset." Rainbow whispered. "I mean, I wanna to help her out and all, but I don't think this is a good time to..."

"Don't worry, Rainbow." Sunset assured. "If Spike could handle her for six hours, you can definitely handle her for, say, one hour."She patted her friend on the shoulder and left.

Rainbow watched as the door shut and looked beside her to find Sonata giving her a smile.

"Hi." Sonata greeted as if she had just met Rainbow.

Rainbow sighed.





"Why, I think that is a marvelous idea!" Rarity stated as she made adjustments to a fancy-looking dress. She needed to make sure everything was perfect. "But I'm afraid I'm going to be dreadfully busy for the time being."

"That's fine." Sunset shrugged. "Maybe Sonata could help you with the preparations?"

Rarity took off her work glasses and turned to face Sunset. "Oh, darling, you know I would love to. But, um, I'm not quite sure how Sonata would be able to assist. I still have many dresses to make and I still need to find someone to play Blaze Heart. Sorry to say, I highly doubt that Sonata would be able to assist me in either category."

Sunset understood Rarity's concern. The play itself had actually been co-written by Rarity and most of the ideas in it were hers. When she had heard that Principal Celestia and Princess Luna were taking suggestions for what the play would be of, the fashionista had offered to do something more original than a classic that's been done countless times before. Sunset remembered how thrilled Rarity had been when her offer had been excepted. She had been dancing around and hugging everyone she passed by.

Applejack looked around at the set up when she noticed something. Or rather someone. "Uh, what exactly is Derpy doin'?"

The rest of the group looked over to see Derpy jumping around the stage like a buffoon.

"She's testing the stage to make sure it's sturdy," Rarity answered. "And after that, I'm going to have her count the number of seats in the auditorium."

Pinkie suddenly zipped away.

"And why is she doin' that?" Apple pressed.

Rarity sighed. "The poor dear wanted to help, but she always causes a disaster with her clumsiness. I didn't have the heart to turn her down, so I've been giving her some... unique jobs to keep her busy."

"Um, why don't you do that with Sonata?" Fluttershy offered.

"Because the purpose of this is for each of us to bond with Sonata. Rarity can't bond with her by giving her irrelevant tasks." Sunset answered.

"Oh, okay, I'm sorry."

Sunset rubbed her head, trying to figure out a way for Sonata to help Rarity.

"Oh, don't worry, darling." Rarity assured. "I'll figure something out. After all, multitasking is one of my talents. I just need some time." Rarity said as she put the finishing touches on the dress. "Perfect."

Sunset smiled and nodded. "Alright."

Just then, the girls heard the sound of a conversion between some younger girls. They turned to see Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle a little ways off.

"Okay, okay. How's this?" Sweetie Belle cleared her throat. "You know not what you DOOO, Blaze Heart! I am simply not WORTH the RISK! How was that?"

Apple Bloom scratched her head. "Sounds overdramatic to me."

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, you keep over doing it. It sounds silly."

Sweetie Belle sighed. "I just wanna do good. This is my first step to becoming a superstar! The lead actress of my own sister's first play! I have to nail this down!"

"Well, try again an' this time don't sound so..." Apple Bloom tried to think of a word.

"Over the top?" Scootaloo offered.

"Yeah, that's it."

Applejack raised an eyebrow at Rarity. "Ya gave Sweetie Belle the lead role?"

"It wasn't out of bias, Applejack." Rarity defended. "She had the best audition. She's perfect for the role."

Applejack gave her a look.

"...Alright, there was a tiny bit of bias." Rarity admitted. "Don't pretend that It would have been different if it were you and Apple Bloom."

"Point taken."

Suddenly, Pinkie reappeared. "Two thousand, five-hundred and eighty-four!"

The others looked at her in confusion. "Um, pardon me?" Was all Rarity could get out.

"That's how many seats there are in the auditorium!" Pinkie confirmed with a big smile on her face.

Rarity stared at her blankly for a few seconds. "...Ah, right. Well, I'll have Derpy recheck that."

"I'll do it!" Pinkie started to zoom away, but was caught by the rem of her skirt by Applejack.

"I think your missin' the point, Pinkie." She said with a deadpanned look.

Sunset looked from Pinkie to Rarity. "Well, I guess that's our que to leave. We'll go check on Rainbow and Sonata and let you get back to work." With that, Sunset and the others left.

"Ta ta." Rarity waved bye to them before setting her mind on other matters. "Now, who can I get to play Blaze Heart?" She placed a hand on her hip and tapped a finger against her chin as she thought. However, her thoughts were interrupted by the nearby Crusaders.

"This Blaze Heart guy sounds so weird." Scootaloo chuckled as she read script. "I do not fear vile heathens such as you, Backstab!" She said in a fancy-ish voice. "I will be with Gold Rose and you will dance with death!"

"Wow! That was actually really good!" Sweetie Belle complimented.

"Yeah! Go on an' read another line." Apple Bloom cheered.

"Alright," Scootaloo looked through the script and found another line for Blaze Heart. "Even if I have to wait for a thousand years, I will never give up on you, my love!" She laughed once she finished.

Ding. "Ideaaa!" Rarity said in a sing-song voice.





Rainbow Dash stared at the blank piece of paper in front of her, having thrown out the drool stained one for a fresh piece, as her pencil failed to make any words. She had procrastinated by insisting that she and Sonata clean up the practice room first, but once that was done there was no excuse to keep her from her work. She stared down at the paper as if, if she concentrated hard enough, the words would magically appear. But that didn't happen.

Sonata looked over Rainbow's shoulder, waiting for something to happen. "...I think you have to move the pencil to make words."

"Oh, really. I didn't notice." Rainbow said sarcastically.

"Oh, don't worry." Sonata patted Rainbow's shoulder in sympathy. "I don't notice a lot of things either."

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "I never would have guessed."

"Oh, you'd be surprised." Sonata put her hands on the table and leaned against it. "Like, whenever Adagio and Aria were talking about something, I always felt like there was something I wasn't getting."

They must have been sarcastic. Rainbow thought to herself.

Sonata's demeanor started to become less cheerful. "Sometimes, I messed up and I... I never knew how, but they told me I did."

Rainbow looked to Sonata as the former siren's eyes started to water.

"L-Like that night..." Sonata sniffed. "They... They told me it was my fault, but I... I don't know w-what I d-did wrong." Tears started running down her cheeks. "They-They didn't t-tell me h-how I..."

Rainbow stood from her seat and brought a handkerchief out of her pocket. She put her hand on Sonata's shoulder and wiped the tears off her face. "Don't think about that, Sonata."

Sonata gave Rainbow a confused look.

Rainbow handed her the handkerchief so she could dry her eyes and put an arm around her shoulders. "Look, Sonata, I get that Adagio and Aria are your sisters, but I'm gonna say it. They're nothing but evil jerks and they don't deserve you!"

Sonata dried her eyes as she listened to Rainbow. "But they told me that I didn't deserve them."

"They lied!" Rainbow sighed. "Let me tell you a story, Sonata. I used to hang out with this chick named Lightning Dust."

"Why were you hanging out with a baby chicken?"

Rainbow resisted the urge to rolled her eyes. "Let me rephrase that: I used to hang out with this girl named Lightning Dust. She was a lot like me and we became friends, but she kept doing things that got other people hurt. She kept telling me that it was okay and said it in a way that made me believe her. It wasn't until she nearly got some people killed that I finally realized that she was a freaking psycho! My point is people like Lightning and Adagio make everyone else feel worthless to make themselves feel awesome. And you know something?" Rainbow looked Sonata right in the eyes. "I don't think it was your fault that you guys lost the Battle of the Bands."

Sonata's eyes widened. That couldn't have been right... Could it?

"Me and our friends think Adagio told you that garbage because it was her own fault."

A look of near realization appeared on Sonata's face. "Adagio... lied to me?"

"She's been lying to you your entire life!"

Sonata didn't know what to say... or even what to think. Adagio had been telling her what to think her entire life... and it could have all been a lie.

Rainbow thought for a moment before smiling. "Eh, let's forget about all that. After all, I need to get this song written and I need your help."

Sonata looked from the blank piece of paper to Rainbow. "You... really think I can help?"

Rainbow patted her newest friend on the back. "Of course, you can!" She retook her seat and grabbed her pencil. "My idea is for the song to be about triumph and beating the odds. I could hear the lyrics in my head, but when I started writing I just...blanked on it."

"Well, how am I suppose to help?" Sonata asked. "Even when I could sing, I did was: Ahhh ah ah, ahhh ahhh. And then I followed Adagio's lead."

"Well, try to do something different. Instead of copying Adagio, just listen to what's in here." She pointed the Sonata's chest with her pencil

"My utters?"

"No, your heart."

"Oh." Sonata took a stethoscope out of nowhere and used it on herself.

Rainbow facepalmed and grabbed the stethoscope before tossing it to the side. "Not like that! I mean, just listen to the feeling your heart gives you." Rainbow reached to the side and grabbed her guitar. She leaned back, putting her feet on the table, and tuned her instrument. "Here's what I've got so far." She started striking the guitar strings and bobbing her head to the beat, remembering what she had heard in her head.

"You really thought you keep us down.
That we wouldn't get ourselves up off of the ground.
You thought that you beat us, but you were wrong.
Now, listen to our song.
We were too strong for you, just look around.

We sing and we dance and we're stronger than you.
We play in our band because we're stronger than you
You couldn't keep us down forever,
Because now we're stronger than ever!"

Rainbow Dash continue to play while she looked to Sonata. "Any ideas?"

As Sonata listened to the beat of the song, she could feel something inside of her. Was it her heart? Was it talking to her? Rainbow Dash had told her to listen to her heart. "Um..." Without knowing what she was doing, she started to sing.

"You striked me down and left me in the rain.
You have no idea how much pain I was in.
But I got up and made it out on my own.
I was so very scared of being alone.

But now I'm better than ever.
I thought we'd be together forever
I don't know what I'm supposed to do.
But I think maybe I'm stronger than you!"

Rainbow gave Sonata a big smile. "Hey, those are some nice vocals, Sonata!"

Sonata smiled back. "Really?"

"Yeah! Let's keep it going!" "You couldn't keep me down because I'm stronger than you!"

"I got myself off the ground because I'm stronger than you!"

"You couldn't keep me out forever!"

"And now I'm stronger than ever!" Sonata didn't even know if she believed what she was singing, but it certainly felt good.

With a pair of excited smiles, Rainbow Dash and Sonata sung the next verse together.

"We stand here shrouded in victory!
Let this be put down in history!
You tried your best to keep us locked down!
But now we're gonna rock the town because we're stronger than you!"

Rainbow Dash jumped out of her chair and went on a guitar solo.

Meanwhile, Sonata danced around like she was having the time of her life. As Rainbow neared the end, Sonata grabbed a microphone and got next to her.

"We're gonna rock this town because we're stronger than you!
You're gonna listen to our sound because we're stronger than you!
You couldn't keep us down forever!
All you did was make us stronger than ever!"

Rainbow gave her guitar one last shred as they finished.

The two took deep breaths, but couldn't help laughing. That's when they heard the sound of applause. They looked and saw that their friends minus Rarity were all there clapping for them.

"Great job, you two!" Sunset complimented as she approached them.

"Heh, thanks. And I think I finally have the inspiration I needed." She patted Sonata on the back. "Thanks, Sonata."

"You're welcome." Sonata said as Rainbow Dash walked towards the others.

"See, I told you you could help Rainbow Dash." Sunset lightly punched Sonata on the arm.

Sonata smiled. "I did! I really did, didn't I?!"

Sunset nodded. She was so glad to see Sonata happy, but there was something she was wondering. "Sonata, those things you sang about, do you really believe that?"

Sonata's smile disappeared as she looked up in thought. "I don't know." Her smile returned as she returned her gaze to Sunset. "But I really had fun singing with Rainbow Dash!"

Three down including Spike. That leaves five to go. Sunset noted in her head. "Yeah, Rainbow Dash is cool girl when you get to know her."

Sonata gave Sunset a confused look. "Rainbow Dash is a girl?"

Sunset facepalmed.