Contest of Rivals: Dealing with Loss Part 2
“I should have been here the first time she wrote to me…” Princess Twilight muttered, her lavender fingers spreading out over Sunset’s journal.
“No one blames ya, Sparks.” Aria said softly, resting an arm across the girl’s small frame. “She would probably say that wouldn’t have been able to help by that point.
Twilight gave a small chuckle, brushing a strand of hair back behind her ear. “Do you think I went to far with the demonstration?” She asked, watching as a small, cyan, winged pony rolled on her back as the Human Twilight scritched the beast’s belly.
“Nah, I have the feeling Sonata is enjoying that more than Specs is.” Aria said with a chuckle.
“You’re so fluffy!” Twilight yelled adorably as she ran her hands through the tuft of fur at the base of Sonata’s pony neck.
“And you are amazing at giving scritches!” The Pegasus complimented back, whickering happily. “Ooooh, yes! Right there, that’s the spot!”
“So could you give me a brief rundown of what happened?” Princess Twilight asked, looking back to the Siren beside her.
Aria sighed. “Sunset was blackmailed into participating in the Friendship Games by the ex-Principal of Crystal Prep Academy. At the event, said bitch paid four Canterlot High School students to attack Dean Cadence, and she would have died if Sunset hadn’t have stumbled upon the happenings. They shanked her, tartarus, must have been four times? That blade was big, like dragon tooth big!”
“Celestia…” Twilight uttered solemnly, nodding to Aria to continue.
“Anyways, the corruption of her magic brought her back long enough to take out the four students, save Specs and The Dean, before making Cinch prove her guilt in front of both schools. Blood loss must have been too much, cause she turned back and plummeted to the ground. Damn girl was heavier than she looked!” Aria grimaced as she rotated her shoulder.
“Sorry to interrupt, Princess, but could I ask a quick question?” Night Light had separated from watching his daughter and approached Twilight and Aria.
“You don’t need to call me Princess, Dad!” Twilight responded with giggles, before pausing and blushing. “Sorry! Force of habit…” She cleared her throat. “What would you like to know?”
“You said that the five of you were from another world, one in which very few know of ours. What is going to happen from here?” The man asked.
“Probably nothing, in all honesty.” Princess Twilight shrugged. “The portal will have to be moved of course, but Sonata, Aria, and Adagio want to stay here, at least for awhile longer.”
“Yeah! I gotta find some way to get the recipe for tacos back to Equestria!” Sonata shouted as she fluttered up into the air. Goofy smile on her muzzle.
“You know we don’t do meat back home, right?” Princess Twilight asked with a concerned smile.
“Well that’s true…” Sonata said, hanging her head before it shot back up again. “Mind you I usually don’t have meat in mine so that should be fine!”
Aria facepalmed as she shook her head, Princess Twilight chuckling as she noticed a girl with yellow stripes in her hair standing off to the side and excused herself.
“Give ya a bit for a thought.” She said as she nodded her head, the girl looking up in shock at the princess.
“... We could have done something…” Adagio said, her raspberry eyes welling with tears as she stared at the ground. “We could have helped her…”
Twilight rested a delicate hand on the Sirens shoulder, smiling in sad understanding at the plight the girl was in.
“She saved us, all three of us… And not only that she helped us return home, to somewhere we thought we would never see again…”
Adagio brought her weary eyes up to stare into the violet orbs of the alicorn.
“We owe her everything…” She quieted off, wiping away the tears that were starting to stream down her face.
“I know how you-”
“Don’t say you know how I feel, Twilight!” Adagio shouted as she cut the Princess off, silencing everyone in the room and drawing attention to her.
“You didn’t spend countless years doing nothing but living off negativity, forcing friends and family to fight or, even worse, kill one another! You didn’t have to make the choice to damn you and your sister’s all to try and save your race, only to find out later that there were other ponies still across the mountains!”
Adagio took a step forward, her arms coming to rest on the thin shoulders of Twilight.
“You didn’t have to watch your entire city, all your friends and family die! Drowning as land around you crumbled into the water! You didn’t spend thousands of years across two different worlds spreading strife and conflict just to survive, only to have a girl who had her own troubles in life save you, to purify you and your sisters of the dark magics that had consumed you!”
“And now I have to sit here… thinking about how I failed her… One of my first real friends…” She looked up with fresh tears streaming down her face. “Someone that you would give your life up for…”
Everybody looked down sadly, Adagio clearing her throat and making her way to the stairs up.
“Adagio, wait!” Princess Twilight called out, grabbing hold of the thin wrist of the orange and yellow striped hair girl.
“Let me see her…” She said solemnly.