"What are we doing here?" Sonata asked as she followed Sunset into a store.
Sunset looked to Sonata as they walked through the automatic doors, which distracted Sonata for a few seconds. "I figured you could use some new clothes, since you only have the ones your wearing right now." She told her.
Right behind them, Pinkie closed her abnormally large umbrella and shook it dry, accidentally getting Applejack, Twilight, and Fluttershy wet in the process. Rarity was still busy working on the play and Rainbow Dash had decided to keep writing her song and help Rarity later.
Sonata took down her hoodie and began looking around the store, showing obvious interest. "So, I can have any of these?"
Sunset shrugged. "As long as they fit."
With a big smile on her face, Sonata started running around the store, looking through practically everything they had.
Sunset watched Sonata for a moment before turning to the others. "Okay, while Sonata's busy, let's review the checklist. She's already spent time with Rainbow Dash and everything went well, so we can check her off. And we can probably check Spike off too."
Spike peeked out of Twilight's backpack. "Yeah, I think we got along pretty good."
"Spike! Someone might see you!" Twilight whispered to her dog.
"Oh, right. Sorry." Spike ducked back inside.
"Rarity needs time to figure something out," Sunset continued. "And Sonata's staying with me, so I'll have plenty of time. So, whose going to bond with her next?"
"Oh! Oh! Pick me! Pick me!" Pinkie jumped up and down and raised her hand like she was in class. "I can reintroduce Sonata to everyone else in the school! I'd be great at it! After all, I know everyone at the school!"
"That's true, Pinkie, but I don't think this is the right time to show Sonata to the rest of the school."
"Why not?" Pinkie asked. "Oh, is it because Sonata helped her sisters brainwash everyone and try to take over the world?"
"Actually, it's not that. They eventually forgave me and Twilight, so I'm not too concerned about that. But I feel it would be best for her get to know us as friends first before setting her loose on the the rest of the school."
"Oh, okay. Then me and her can just hang out after school! There are so many things we can do:"
"Tag, your it! Hide and seek! Make a surprise, so don't you peek!
Truth or dare! Comb our hair! What color is my underwear?!
Sail a boat into a fog! Dress in tutus and play leap frog!
Make a house inside a tree! Or we could play Monopoly!
Rhino riding! Penguin sledding! We could even crash wedding!
Read the stories of Daring Do! Travel to the Land of Ooo!
Go and hunt some jellyfish! Destroy someone's cabbages!
We could make a climb to fame! Catch the disk with a copyrighted name!
Disappear at the dead of night! Get into a bar fight!
Throwing parties! Cake baking! References and fourth-wall breaking!"
"Pinkie! Breath!"
Pinkie sucked in a deep breath and seemed to almost deflate as she let it out. "Or we could-"
"Okay, Pinkie!" Sunset didn't mean to shout, but she couldn't help it. She took a breath before continuing. "You can spend time with Sonata tomorrow after school. Now, I'm sure we would all love to hear you sing about your ideas all day... and something tells me you would go all day... but right now, I should probably go check on Sonata." With that, Sunset quickly stepped away.
"Okie-dokie-lokie!" Pinkie said as she followed Sunset.
"...Why would she destroy someones cabbages?" Twilight asked Applejack as they and Fluttershy followed behind. "Or ride a rhino? And what exactly is the Land of Ooo?"
"It's Pinkie." Applejack shrugged. "It doesn' need to make sense to us to make sense to her."
"Sonata?" Sunset called out as she search for the former siren. "Where are you?
"Sunset?" Sonata's voice called out. "Uhh, I need some help."
Sunset facepalmed. "Please tell me she didn't stick her head into something again." She prayed as she followed the sound of Sonata's voice. She found her, not with her head stuck but instead simply looking into a mirror, holding two dresses in her hands.
Sonata moved one of the dresses, a purple one, to her body. "Would I look better in this one?" She moved the away the purple dress to hold the other one, an orange one, to her body. "Or this one?"
Sunset was a bit taken back by the question. "Ummm... Well, I think you would look good in either one."
"Really? What about this one?" Sonata held a different dress to her body. "Or this one?" And another. "Or this one?" And another. "Or this one?" I think you get the point. "Or this one?"
Sunset rubbed the back of her neck. "Ehhh, well..." Sunset wasn't sure what to say. Fashion was Rarity's thing, not hers. Oh, why couldn't Rarity be here? "I think you would look good in all of them."
Sonata gave Sunset a confused look. "Wouldn't I look fat with all of them on?"
Sunset facepalmed. "I didn't mean all at once, Sonata."
"Um, excuse me." Fluttershy spoke up from behind Sunset. "Um, I think Rarity would probably have Sonata model outfits to see which ones would suit her the best."
Sunset thought for a second. "You know, that's a pretty good idea, Fluttershy."
"Oh, okay. I'm sorry... Wait, that's a good idea?"
"Yeah, sugar." Applejack gave Fluttershy a bump on the shoulder. "Rarity would be proud."
Fluttershy smiled and blushed.
Pinkie appeared at Sonata's side and put her arm around Sonata's shoulder. "It's time for a fashion show!"
"Where?" Sonata asked.
"Right here, silly! Come on!" Pinkie led Sonata away to the changing room.
"Are you sure about this, Sunset?" Twilight asked as they followed Pinkie and Sonata. "I mean, I've never actually been into... fashion."
"Ah, don't sweat it, Twi." Applejack assured. "It can't be that hard. Besides, ya an' Rarity both have OCD. Maybe ya have 'er eye for these things."
Twilight chuckled. "If you say so."
Sunset, Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Twilight, and Spike sat down in chairs that faced the dressing room where Sonata was. Each of them ready to give their opinion on whatever outfit Sonata would come out wearing.
Sonata stepped into sight wearing a dress that looked like it was made from peacocks, a thought that horrified Fluttershy. "How's this one?"
"You look like a peacock!" Pinkie answered, earning her a smack upside the head from Applejack. "What? It was a compliment."
Sunset scratched her head. "I think that would be more of a prom dress than... anything else."
"Good idea." Sonata said as she went back into the dressing room.
"Y-You don't think that was made from... real peacocks, do you?" Fluttershy asked nervously.
"...No." The others lied.
After a couple more tries, Sonata came out wearing an outfit that looked identical to the one she wore when she and her sisters first arrived at Canterlot High, though the colors were inverted and the skirt was replace by a pair of leather pants.
"Hey, you look pretty good in that." Sunset remarked.
"It really brings out your eyes." Twilight complimented.
"It does?" Sonata toyed with her eyelids and accidentally eye gouged herself. "Ow!"
"Oh! I have an idea on how to bring your eyes out even more!" Pinkie said as she hopped to her feet. "Mind if I borrow these for a second?" Pinkie asked Twilight, snatching her glasses off her face before she could even answer. Pinkie skipped over to Sonata's side. "Hold on, let me see if this would actually help." She held up four fingers. "How many fingers on that hand?"
"Um... three?"
Pinkie shook her head and put Twilight's glasses on Sonata's face. She held up four fingers again. "How many fingers on that hand?"
"What hand?"
"Never mind." Pinkie snatched back the glasses and returned them to Twilight.
"Well, ya look real good, Sonata." Applejack said.
"I agree." Fluttershy added.
Sonata smiled and turned her head to face the mirror behind her. "Yeah. I really like this one!" She commented. She then went through several other outfits, but nothing else was worth much comment except...
Sunset and the others shielded their eyes... except Spike, who just stared in confusion. "Sonata, go put that back and we'll pretend we didn't see that." Sunset demanded.
Sonata pouted and did as she was told.
Twilight turned to Sunset, trying to get her mind off of what she had just seen. "Hey, Sunset, are you sure you'll be able to pay for all this?"
Sunset nodded. "Yeah, I got it." She said nonchalantly.
Twilight adjusted her glasses and looked to Spike then back at Sunset. "Umm, random question: Where do you get all your money from? You have your own house that you take care of by yourself. You buy your own clothes, food, and supplies. And I've never even seen you working."
Sunset glanced away and rubbed the back of her neck. "Oooh, right. That." She gave a nervous chuckle. "Well, um, hehe, when I first came here from Equestria, I didn't exactly go empty handed."
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Go on?"
"Well... I kinda stole a bunch of bits, err, money and took it with me." Sunset refused to make eye contact.
"How much?" Twilight pressed.
"...Enough to buy the Rich estate. I swear, I tried to give it back, but Princess Celestia insisted that I keep it. Said that I needed it more than she did."
Twilight nodded in understanding.
"Besides, I do earn my own money now." Sunset added. "I just don't have a permanent job at the moment."
Twilight pursed her lips.
Sunset blushed. "...Shut up."
Dear Twilight,
Remember back when fought against those sirens? Well, I've actually befriended one of them! Her name is Sonata. Wow, how do I begin... I found her all alone and eating out of a trash can. She had been abandoned by her sisters, Adagio and Aria. I offered to help her and let her stay with me and she actually let me. Right now, she's downstairs, watching TV and eating all my chips. Hehe, it's like I've suddenly gotten myself a little sister...
"Hey, Sunset!" Sonata, decked out in her new black and pink pj's, appeared in the doorway of Sunset's bedroom. "My Little Robot is on! You wanna watch it with me?"
Sunset turned from her work desk to look at the former siren. "No thanks, Sonata. I'm about to hit the hay."
Sonata gave Sunset a confused look and looked around the room. "I don't see any hay."
Sunset facepalmed. At this rate, she would soon have a red hand print tattooed on her face. "It's an expression, Sonata. It's means about to go to bed."
"Oh, okay. But I'll save you a spot on the couch if you change your mind." Sonata said before the bolted downstairs, shutting the door behind her..
Sunset smiled and returned to writing in her magic book.
She's getting along great with our friends so far. It's only been a day and we've already made so much progress! But it's not in the bag yet. Her sisters really hurt her and she was with them for so long... It will take time for her to adjust to her new life. After all, this is like an all new world for her. But I know we can help her. I'll write to you again soon.
Your friend, Sunset Shimmer.
Sunset closed the book and stretched. "I'd better get to bed. This will be a long week." Sunset rose from her chair and walked to her bed, turning off her lamp. She slid under the covers and let her head hit the pillow. As she closed her eyes, she heard thunder roll.
Sunset didn't know how long she had been asleep, but she had awoken when she felt something land on the foot of her bed. She leaned upward and turned on the lamp on her nightstand, blinking away the sudden flash of light in order to see what was up.
"Oh, sorry. Did I wake you?"
Sunset rubbed her eyes and sat up to face her guest. "Sonata? What are you doing on my bed?"
Sonata was indeed at the foot of Sunset's bed, sitting with her legs crossed under her. She fiddled with her hair, which had been let down from her ponytail "Well, I uhhh..." She jumped a bit when the sound of thunder boomed through the air.
Sunset looked from her window to Sonata. "Are you... scared of storms?"
"Well, no. Not really." Sonata continued to fiddle with her hair. "It just... brings up bad memories."
Sunset's eyes widened when she realized that she knew exactly what memories Sonata meant. "Oh, right. I'm sorry. I kinda forgot about that."
"It's okay." Sonata tried to smile, but it faded. "Ever since that night, storms have... Well, I don't like them."
Sunset nodded in understanding and crossed her legs under herself like Sonata. "I understand. When I looked into your memories, I could sense the emotions you were feeling. I can't imagine what that must have been like." She looked at her friend with sympathy.
Sonata lowered her gaze to the mattress. She sniffed and rubbed her eyes, which were becoming watery. "Yeah. It... It hurt... really bad. I mean, me and Adagio and Aria... We've had been together since we were born. I... I never had anyone else. I had never been alone. And then..." Sonata wiped tears off of her face.
Sunset let Sonata continue, hoping that talking about it of her own volition would help her.
Sonata took a deep breath before continuing. "Spike and Rainbow Dash told me that... that they were horrible to me and... I think I believe them. But they were all I had for so long..." Sonata paused to let herself cry for a bit. Once she had let out what she had needed to let out, she continued. "I just... The world changed when they left... and it changed again when you found me." Sonata held her head between her hands. "Everything is changing so fast!"
Sunset nodded. "I understand." As she watched Sonata break down in front of her, she started to realize something. Sonata was only able to distract herself from her pain, but not push it away. It would take time for her to accept this new reality that she had been thrust into. However, a thought ran across Sunset's mind. One that could probably take Sonata's mind off of it all for the moment. "What about your parents? Were they ever around."
Sonata rubbed her nose and wiped the tears off her cheeks before shaking her head. "No. When you're a siren, your laid as an egg and left to fend for yourself with your siblings."
"I see."
Now, Sonata had a curious expression on her face. "What about you? Do you have parents?"
Sunset froze. Thunder roared outside as she stared off into blank space. After a moment of silence, she forced herself back into reality. "That's um... That's a good question." She rubbed the back of her head. "Well, um, I put a memory block spell on myself so that I wouldn't remember anything about them."
Sonata listened in interest.
"I couldn't remember why," Sunset continued. "I figured that I had done it so that I wouldn't feel any regret leaving Equestria. So, after I reformed, I decided to dig through some of my old spells to reverse the memory block and..." Sunset took a deep breath.
"Did something bad happen to them?" Sonata asked.
"No, not exactly." Sunset moved her hair out of her face and took another deep breath. "My father was a very... controlling and greedy pony. Me going to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns was just as much his decision as it was mine. He pushed me to be the very best and always insulted me when I didn't. I guess part of why I became evil was from me trying to prove myself to him. I figured, if I could become an Alicorn, then he wouldn't be able to hurt me ever again."
Sonata nodded to show she was listening.
"And my mother," Sunset continued with a bitter laugh. "She just sat back and did nothing. She would belittle me just like father did and never did anything to change what was happening. We got into a lot of fights, which annoyed father." She sighed. "Though, to tell you the truth, sometimes I feel kinda bad for her because she was being hurt by father too... But, needless to say, I have nothing to go back in Equestria."
Sonata looked at the covers in thought. "That sounds familiar." She said sadly. The two then sat in silence for a moment before Sonata spoke again. "Could you do a memory spell on me?"
Sunset shook her head. "No, and even if I could, I wouldn't. I know you're hurting, Sonata, but hiding from your problems isn't gonna make them go away. You have to face them eventually."
Sonata nodded in what Sunset assumed to be understanding.
Sunset sat in silence for another moment before yawning. "Well, I think that's all I can do for the night. Goodnight, Sonata."
"Goodnight, Sunset."
Sunset laid herself back down and gave Sonata a smile. "You know, you should really consider keeping your hair down. It looks really good."
Sonata smiled and blushed.
Satisfied that she at least made Sonata smile, Sunset turned off her lamp and rested her head back onto her pillow. She closed her eyes... and opened them back up when she heard someone lay down on the other side of the bed. It took a second for it to register in Sunset's mind that Sonata had decided to sleep next to her. She smirked and rolled her eyes. "Why not?"
Meanwhile, outside Sunset's house...
Two hooded figures stood several yards away from the house. One lowered a pair of binoculars, having seen the light go out. Though the blinds were down, she had seen the shadows of two girls. Adagio smirked. "This will be easier than I thought." She turned to Aria, who wasn't happy about standing in the pouring rain in the middle of a storm. "That little idiot is actually Sunset's roommate! She's closer to them than I thought. Makes everything so much easier."
"Right," Aria hugged herself to fight the cold. "Assuming she doesn't decide that she likes them more than us."
Adagio was silent for a moment before shaking your head. "Don't be ridiculous, Aria. Sonata would never betray us like that. Now, come on; we're getting drenched." With that, walked away
"That's what I said." Aria mumbled under her breath. She looked back at the window for a moment before following.
Sunset awoke to the sound of her alarm clock. Though this time, she didn't jump up in a karate motion. Instead, she simply punched the clock off the nightstand. She then realized that there was something on top of her, weighing her down. She blinked open her eyes and looked above her to find that Sonata had ended up on top of her, with her head resting on Sunset's. Sunset winced when she realized she would have to wash Sonata's saliva out of her hair. "Sonata?"
Sonata responded to her name being called... by cuddling Sunset.
Sunset sighed.