Chapter Two: Signs in the Night
Rainbow wasn't sure how long she had been riding for. Truth be told, she had lost track of the minutes pretty much the moment she had left the diner. The only thoughts that coursed through her mind at the moment where of what had just transpired. Months of searching and one of the Sirens had practically fallen into their lap. They had both been hoping for and worrying about this moment for a long time. Dash knew that she had to tell the others when she got to Sweet Apple Acres, but a part of her couldn't help but worry. She knew that Fluttershy was more than willing to reach out. Pinkie Pie would want nothing more than to bake them a huge tray of sweets and throw them a shindig that they could only dream of; she never missed the opportunity to make a new friend. But what about the others? Sunset she knew would be thrilled, and Twilight was a wild card, but part of her worried about Rarity and Applejack. Sure they were more than friendly enough, but would they still be willing?
She shook those thoughts from her head. She would cross that bridge when she got to it, and the scent of ripe apples now beginning to waft into her nose told her the bridge was coming soon.
She gently applied to brake as she turned down the dirt road that led up to the Apple family's estate. She took a deep breath of the smell of freshly-baked apple pie as the farmhouse loomed into view before sliding expertly into place next to Big Macintosh's truck. Taking off her helmet, she spotted some familiar vehicles; Rarity's elegant looking luxury car, a cotton candy pink Vespa that could only belong to Pinkie Pie, a light blue Beetle she recognized as belonging to Photo Finish, and finally a red, yellow and orange cruiser motorcycle Sunset Shimmer often took around town.
"Gang's all here," she said. "Here it goes." It was a short walk to the barn where they said they would be holding practice, and sure enough the first thing she heard when she got down there was voices... and music? Curious, Dash opened the door gently.
The scene before her surprised even her. Sure enough, there were her friends, but all of them, with the exception of Twilight, were dressed in various fancy looking outfits that Rarity must have designed. The spectacled girl herself had seemingly been press-ganged into being Photo's assistant for the day, handing her film canisters for her SLR camera. A nearby boom box played a tune that wouldn't be out of place on a fashion show catwalk. All of her friends were striking various poses with smiles on their faces... with the except of Applejack, who was wearing a ridiculous looking pink and green ensemble and had her hair done up in the fanciest style Rainbow had ever seen on the girl. The scowl on the face of the aforementioned girl made it clear that she wished she was anywhere else but that barn right now.
"No, no no no no neiiiiiinnnn! Shouted Photo as she grabbed her hair and let loose a frustrated groan. "Applejack, you are not feeling it! You must feel it in your bones!" She ranted, causing Rainbow to snicker.
"Aww, go easy on her, cuz." A male voice sounded off to the side. A grin came to Rainbow's face when she turned to look. Loading a lens onto his DSLR was a male on the thinner side with cream-colored skin and scraggly black hair dressed in faded jeans ripped at the knee and a black hoodie with a camera aperture symbol on it. He stared at the world with bright orange eyes. Next to him, handing him camera gear from a messenger bag, was a young girl around seven or eight with straw blonde hair, green eyes and peach skin dressed in a yellow sundress and green sandals. Shutter Speed and his little sister Shutterbug, Photo's cousins and longtime photoshoot partners. Shutter slapped his trusty "nifty fifty" lens onto his camera and began snapping away, the shutter sounding for all intents and purposes like a very silent machine gun.
"Sup, Speedy?" Rainbow asked, finally drawing everyone's attention toward the new arrival. Shutter speed flashed her a thumbs up as the rest of her friends smiled and came over to greet her. Pinkie Pie, as was her custom, charged over and latched onto her friend with a fierce hug, causing Rarity to gasp in horror at the fancy dressed she had gotten her to wear got wrinkled from the sudden contact.
"Bout time you showed up." Applejack said in mock disapproval. Her grin gave her true feelings away. "Get lost, or forget your geode?" Rainbow rolled her eyes.
"Very funny." She said. "Actually, I need to talk to you guys." She took another look at Photo, Shutter, and Buggy, as they had come to know her. "Alone." She gave them a look that said no arguments were going to be heard. Both Photo and Shutter seemed to get the picture.
"Ah, Photo Finish was in need of a caffeine boost anyway." She said. "I go!" She posed dramatically with her finger pointed skyward before walking out, her cousins in tow. Once the coast was clear, Rainbow sighed.
"You seem bothered." Rarity said. "And if I may ask, where is Fluttershy."
"Did you find out that a new cake recipe you really, really wanted to try was really, really nasty?" Pinkie asked, her expression turning to horror. "What kind of monster would ruin caaaaake!" The other's winced at her sudden outburst.
"Why don't we let her explain." Applejack suggested. Rainbow sighed again. It was now or never.
"Cake has nothing to do with it." She explained. "But something big has come up. Fluttershy and I went to Tom's for lunch before coming here, and we... we found one of them." The others looked confused.
"One of who, exactly?" Sunset asked, taking off the fancy shawl that Rarity had gotten her to model.
"One of the Dazzlings." Rainbow said, deciding against using "siren". Sunset's eyes snapped wide open.
"Y-you did? Are they alright?" She put and hand on Rainbow's shoulder.
"Um, who are the Dazzlings?" Twilight asked. They forgot that she was still catching up on all their antics.
"Remember those singing sea critters from Equestria we told you about?" Applejack said. At Twilight's affirmative nod, Applejack nodded back.
"Ah." She said, her eyes wide.
"To answer Sunset's question, Sonata Dusk, that's her name, said they were, but..." She paused and then motioned for them to sit down. Rarity started to fuss when they went to sit on the nearby hay bales, but a "this is not the time" glare from Rainbow shut that down quickly, though the fashionista remained standing. "It was more like she found us, rather. She came in and sat by herself, and it was pretty clear something was bugging her."
"How do you know?" Twilight asked.
"Because she started crying after a while." Pinkie Pie gasped audibly at hearing that.
"Where is she!? I need to deliver a dozen 'cheer up it's gonna be OK' cupcakes!" She cried. Rainbow chuckled. Her friend didn't have an unforgiving bone in her body.
"Fluttershy went to take her home after we bought her lunch. That's why she's not here." She explained.
"You... reached out to her?" Sunset asked, her voice cracking, whether it was hearing that Sonata was in some kind of pain or simply from hearing that they had finally been found Rainbow couldn't tell.
"Duh, we made a promise, didn't we?" Rainbow said.
"And I will assume you wanted to see if we were still willing?" Rarity questioned. Rainbow nodded in response.
"Yeah." She explained. Pinkie Pie yipped in excitement.
"You can count me in!" She said, pumping her fist in the air. "Making friends out of meanies is my passion these days! Uh, no offense girls." She sheepishly looked at Twilight and Sunset.
"None taken." They both said with a giggle. The sudden sound of a throat clearing caught all their attention and led them to focus on Applejack, who bore a sheepish look.
"Something wrong, AJ?" Rainbow asked. Applejack shuffled her feet a bit before answering.
"It's just... this is gonna sound so wrong with Sunset and Twilight in here and all, but I can't help but wonder if all this is a good idea. I mean... sure Sunset was willing to turn over a new leaf, but them? The first thing they did after getting hit with the ol' Friendship Cannon was bolt for it. Sunset might have been willing to turn over a new leaf, but can we be so sure they will?" Sunset looked visibly hurt by this. Applejack was a paragon of honesty. Sunset couldn't believe that she seemed to be on the verge of breaking a promise.
"I do hate to agree, but from what you guys told me, it sounds like trying to befriend them might be a huge risk," Twilight added. "Can we trust them not to turn on us?" Pinkie's hair somehow managed to deflate like a balloon that had lost its air.
"But guys, we promised!" She whined. "And besides, how can we even know they'll accept our friendship if we don't even offer it! You can't expect someone to take a second chance if you don't even give it to them!" She sounded on the verge of tears, her baby blue eyes shimmering like water. Applejack sighed, guilt visible on her face.
"I know, but... I dunno, I just got a bad feeling about this, is all." She said. Sunset placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Believe me, I can understand." She explained. "Knowing what they did, it is hard to trust them. I'm honestly surprised that you managed to do so when the Princess wasn't around. But if you guys hadn't had trusted me, I wouldn't be where I am today. The friendship you guys shared with me changed me for the better. I think it can with them too if they're willing to accept it. And from what Rainbow told me, it seems at least one. Maybe she can bring the others around? Who knows?" She then flinched when Pinkie's hair suddenly exploded back into its usual cotton candy poof.
"Yeah! Like in that movie with the talking cabbages! Or was it talking carrots? Or potatoes?" Pinkie scratched her chin in thought. "You know, the one where the one vegetable guy got swallowed by some sea monster and had to learn a lesson about giving people second chances?" The others rolled their eyes.
"Only you would like a movie with talking food items in it, Pinks," Rainbow said. Pinkie huffed.
"Oh yeah? I seem to recall you seeing that movie with the talking hot dog that swore a lot and made really dirty jokes and..." Rainbow slapped a hand over her mouth and an angry look.
"Anyway!" Rarity called out. "I do believe Sunset is right, Applejack. Giving someone a second chance after doing something as awful as they did is a big risk, but it's the right thing to do. We were willing to do so with not only Sunset and Twilight but also Juniper and the entirety of Crystal Prep. As big a risk as it is, the rewards are even greater." Applejack smiled a bit.
"And it sure worked out, didn't it?" She asked. Her friends all answered in the affirmative. "Alright, I'll throw my chips in. But what are we gonna do? I don't think we can just waltz up to their house and just say 'hi wanna be friends?' They probably ain't too keen on seeing us."
"True enough," Sunset said. "We should probably plan this out when Fluttershy gets here." The others nodded. Sunset couldn't help but feel a warmth course through her being. She just prayed that it was all going to work out.
***
Sonata's eye slowly fluttered open, taking in the bubblegum pink walls of her bedroom. By now, the sun had started to fully set, leaving only what the photographers who lived next door would call the "blue hour", although she had no idea what they meant and never bothered to ask. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes and staggered out of her bed toward their shared bathroom. She ran some warm water and splashed it on her face to clean it. She grabbed a towel and dried it off, sighing in contentment before letting it drop to the floor. It was then that her ears were filled with the faint sound of a female voice humming. It was a tune she was very familiar with. The cafeteria when they first came to Canterlot High?
"Huh? Who is that?" She asked. "Ari? Dagi? Is that you?" The already soft singing faded away, leaving her looking around confused until her gaze fell back to the bathroom mirror.
Her reflection was still hunched over the sink.
Sonata suddenly felt something come over her. It was an icy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She felt her breath begin to quicken and her hands grip the edge of the sink tighter as she watched the image before slowly beginning to look up. "Her" bangs hung over her eyes, but there was no mistaking the sinister smile that spread out across her face as the image began to warp, a familiar pair of red fin-like wings sprouting from her back with a sickening crunching sound and her teeth twisting into shark-like forms. The eyes slowly opened, and Sonata felt her blood chill to ice at the sight of a sickly, blood-red glow, which made the already psychotic-looking smile look even more horrifying. She finally managed to scream at the sight and tried to turn and run, only for a hand to reach out from the mirror and grab her by the throat, cutting her off in the middle of her terrified cries. The figure laughed sadistically as she pulled Sonata toward the mirror, the siren desperately gripping the edge of the sink until her knuckles turned white.
"No! Let me go!" She managed to hoarsely cry out, but to no avail, as a second grabbed her and managed to pull her headfirst into the mirror, the sound of breaking glass echoing in her ears and a blinding flash of light filling her vision.
When she finally managed to open her eyes, she saw herself dressed as she was during the Battle of Bands, standing in the middle of the same auditorium, prepared for a concert. She felt the heat of the stage lights and heard the sound of angry shouting. She gazed out over the audience to see them jeering at some very familiar figures. The Rainbooms, wading off through the crowd, their bodies hunched over in defeat. The crowd hooted, jeered and hurled just about every ugly insult that had ever been conceived at them. Three of them, in particular, looked more outraged than the others; three freshman girls. She had seen them before. A couple of them were related to some of the Rainbooms. One of them, an orange girl with feather-like hair, charged out and angrily pointed at Rainbow Dash.
"Thanks a lot, Rainbow!" She shouted with pure venom. "Now my friends and I will never become famous rock stars like we were destined to be, and it's all your fault!"
"Y'all are the worst sisters who ever lived!" Shouted another yellow-skinned girl, her red hair seeming to stand on edge from pure rage.
"I hate you, Rarity!" A white-skinned girl screamed, stomping her foot in rage. Each word they shouted was like a dagger straight into Sonata's heart. Hearing it filled her eyes with stinging tears and caused her to cover her ears and shake barely repressed sobs.
"No! Please stop!" Sonata begged, shaking her head in a desperate but fruitless attempt to make the ugly words cease.
"What's the matter, Sonata?" An evil sounding voice sounded from the air around her. Isn't this what you wanted?" The last words were punctuated with a vicious laugh. Before Sonata's horrified eyes, the green fog began to swirl around and creep toward the blood-red pendant she wore. Gasping as the sickly-looking fog crept toward it, she started to slap and claw at it to try and stop it from seeping into the pendant, begging for it to end, but to no avail.
She remembered feeding on negative emotions before. She remembered the sweet taste that it left in her mouth, and the feeling of power it gave her. It was something she had come to crave as a siren, relishing the power boost it gave her. But here, as the sickly vapor pierced the pendant, she tasted only bile and bitterness and felt only nausea and weakness. Gagging, she collapsed to her knees, desperately fighting the urge to vomit.
"Please, make it stop." She gurgled as bile rushed up through her throat and spilled out onto the stage. It was by then that she noticed something.
The shouting was gone. She was seemingly alone on the stage, her only company being the inky blackness beyond and the stink of the vomit. Her eyes flooded with tears, she looked around.
"Dagi! Ari! Where are you!" She cried. The only reply was the echo of her voice. "Somebody, anybody! Please, answer me!" She started to sob even harder than before. "Please..."
CRACK
"Aaah!" She screamed. Before her eyes, the stage started to crack and split before splintering and breaking apart. "Oh no no no no!" She cried as the stage began to fall away and the earth shook violently. "Nooo!" She tried to run off the stage, only for it to fall away from under her feet into the earth below. Somehow, she managed to grab a nearby rock that jutted out from the dirt, and she felt something hot forming beneath her. Her eyes widened when she saw a pool of fire shooting up from the earth.
"Aaaaaaahhhh! Noooo!" The rock she held on to began to slowly slip out from the dirt. "No! Please, no! Somebody help me! Don't let me fall! Please!"
"Sonata!" She knew that voice! She looked up to see none other than Fluttershy looking down at her, reaching a hand out to her. "Take my hand! It's going to be OK! I've got you!" Sonata shivered with fear.
"I'm scared!" She cried. Fluttershy smiled reassuringly at her.
"I won't let you fall!" She called down to her. Sonata looked at her offered hand, torn between fear of falling and desperation to get out of her situation. She slowly reached up, pushing herself up on the rock to reach Fluttershy, only for it to slip some more. With a yelp of fear, she grabbed onto it.
"Just reach!" Fluttershy called down to her.
"You can do it!" Another voice called. Rainbow Dash came into view over the ledge, beckoning her to reach up. "You got this!"
"Come on, sugarcube!" The stetson wearing bass player came into, gripped her hat to keep it from falling into the flames. She too wore a warm smile.
"We've got you, darling!" Another Rainboom, with wavy purple hair, popped up behind the bass player. Sonata couldn't help but notice the twinkling of her diamond pendant.
"You gotta reach up, or I would have baked these cupcakes for nothing!" The wild-haired pink one cried, jumping up and down behind her friends with a tray of the aforementioned treats in her hands. "Sonata! Sonata! Sonata!" She cheered.
"Please, trust us!" Sonata knew that voice very well. She saw Sunset's visage, her red and yellow hair seemingly glowing in the light of the flames. "Please! Reach!" Sonata could swear she saw tears in her silently pleading eyes. She took a deep breath and steeled herself before giving a grunt and thrusting herself upon the rock, which finally slipped free of the dirt. But Fluttershy's hand reached her first, gripped as tight as she could before grunting and pulling the azure-haired siren up. Sonata's feet clawed at the dirt as Fluttershy was joined by her friends, and with one mighty pull, they brought her up the side and onto solid ground. Sonata was immediately brought into the Rainbooms' warm embrace. Sonata felt all the fear, horror and sadness leave her, and the world was finally peaceful.
***
Sonata's eye shot open. A quick gaze around revealed the sparse contents of their living room. The TV was off, but she could see a tiny amount of glow on it. Adagio must have finally gotten home and watched her nighttime shows before going to bed. The sight of the reclining chair moved over to give a better view of the TV showed this assumption to be true. She sat up on the couch to see that a blanket had been thrown over her, most likely Adagio's doing. She gently cast it aside and sat up, reflecting on what had happened.
It was like all the previous times she had had this dream, until the end, when she saw the smiling faces of the Rainbooms looking down at her, beckoning her to reach up to them. Why was it so this time? Because of her meeting with Fluttershy and Rainbow? Was this some sort of sign? Was her mind trying to tell her something?
A growl from her stomach interrupted her thoughts. It was almost nine o' clock. Her sisters must have let her sleep through dinner. She stood up and popped her back before heading into the kitchen. The first thing she noticed was a note taped to the fridge.
Sonata,
I brought dinner home. You were asleep so I left it in the fridge if you want it. The place was out of tacos, so I had to get a burrito instead. Sorry.
Aria
It was the characteristic Aria, blunt and to the point. Still, it was nice of her to bring dinner home for her. She opened the fridge and pulled out the foil-wrapped meal. Pulling off the foil revealed a burrito stuffed with all her favorites; brown rice, beans, shredded beef, cheese, lettuce, salsa and extra sour cream. She felt a small smile creep across her features.
"Thanks, Ari." She said, placing it on a plate and setting in the microwave to heat up. The machine whirred as the smell of food filled the kitchen. Sonata waited patiently before the timer went off and she pulled the now hot burrito from the fridge. Her first bite filled her mouth with all her favorite flavors. It was a temporary reprieve from her thoughts, and she soon wolfed down her food and cleaned her plate off.
The hallway leading to their bathroom was dark. Her sisters must have been asleep, as they usually were not long after they got home from work, and Sonata made sure to make as little noise as possible as she walked toward their bathroom for a much-needed shower to relax before she turned in herself. Despite a hot meal, tiredness still lingered, along with questions still swirling in her head from her latest dream. Was her mind trying to tell her that she needed to trust the Rainbooms? Sure, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash seemed willing... but the others? She felt an icy nervous feeling in her gut thinking about what might actually happen...
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard something coming from Aria's room. As per usual, her door was open; she never bothered to close it like Adagio did. Sonata deigned to peek in. The light from that evening's moon was just enough to shine on Aria's bed, onto the aforementioned siren's sleeping form. Her back was to the door and she was curled up in a fetal position, her long hair out of its pigtails and spilling out over the side of the bed like a violet waterfall. Her body fidgeted slightly and small moans or sighs escaped her lips. It would appear that Sonata would not be the only one dreaming tonight.
"I hope it's a good one," Sonata whispered, before turning to head to the bathroom and the waiting shower. But another sound stopped her before she could continue. Aria began to whimper, clutching the covers closer to her. Sonata, suddenly worried, peeked her head into the room. Aria began to shudder.
"M... m-mama... mama," She said, with a soft voice bordering on crying. "Please..." She began to stir as wakefulness started making its return. In a flash, Sonata was by her side, one hand on her sister's shoulder while the other began to rub her back gently. She had practiced this many times, and it wasn't long before the middle siren sister began to calm down, her breathing once again becoming soft. Soon, she was once again fast asleep, though now Sonata could see a small tear in the corner of her eye.
Sonata's heart ached. For as long as they had been banished to this world, neither she nor Aria had particularly gotten along, yet Aria was still her sister and the only family she had here, and possibly the only kin she had left. Despite her own sufferings, seeing her sister suffer felt even worse. If there was anything she still could honestly say she loved during that time, it was her sisters, and it still was. She gently rubbed her sister's shoulder, even gently humming an old song, off key as it was.
Then her thoughts came back to her dream, and on the events that had transpired that day. And in the darkness, it finally hit her.
She knew what she had to. They couldn't keep going like this, and Sonata was sure there was only one way to help them. She had never been a big believer in signs or omens, but the more she thought, the more sense it made. Gently giving her sister a peck on the head, she raced to the living room and checked her phone. She had just enough battery left for one call, and she knew who it had to be.
She opened her contacts app and scrolled through it until she found the number. She hovered her thumb over it, hesitation hitting her for just a second before she brought it down on the name. She didn't pay attention to how many rings it was before the other person picked up, but she didn't really care.
The time had come.
"Hello, Flutterhy?" She said. "It's Sonata. Listen, I know it's late but... I think I'm ready to talk now."