//------------------------------// // Sonata Pets the Kitty // Story: Sonata Can't Read // by sonicfan05 //------------------------------// It was several hours since the Rainbooms defended Sonata from Trixie to go through with Sonata’s part of the bargain of becoming the world’s dumbest person and wearing the most ridicules hat, which was made by Trixie and the Illusions. It was thanks to Sunset that Sonata was spared from accepting that terrible fate, but came with a price. In order for Sonata to continue to learn how to read the right way by the end of two weeks, the Rainbooms must include themselves as a price if Trixie won the bet. If Sonata wins, Trixie will finally leave them and Sonata alone for good. But if Sonata loses, the Rainbooms (along with the Dazzlings) careers as a band will be over and will end up become Trixie’s new permanent “assistants” for all of her magic shows. The girls were now sitting at their usual spots at Pinkie’s dinner for their weekly get together dinners. However, instead of their usual cheerful and fun demeanor, everyone had a mixture of worried and frustrated expressions on their faces except for Sonata, who looked like she was about to break down any second. Rainbow Dash, who was sitting across from Sunset, was glaring angrily at Sunset while the former unicorn had a semi-nervous expression on her face. With a snarl, Rainbow slammed the table with both of her fists. “Sunset, what were you thinking!?” She shouted. “If Sonata loses, we’ll end up being her slaves for the rest of our years in High School! Heck, possibly for the rest of our lives!” Sunset winced from Rainbow’s angry tone and then let out a sigh. “I’m sorry Rainbow, I know I should’ve have consulted with you guys first, but I couldn’t just stand there and let Trixie do that to Sonata!” “Oh I’m for saving Sonata from Trixie, except for using us as a wager of her stupid bet!” Rainbow screamed. “So you’re just gonna let Sonata suffer!?” Sunset retorted. “That’s not what I said! Don’t put words in my mouth!” “Then what would you have done then? I would love to hear it!” “How about not putting us as part of the bet!” “GIRLS THAT’S ENOUGH!” Fluttershy screamed loudly, catching the two arguing girls and the rest of the gang off guard from the normally shy girl. Fluttershy shot both of her two friends her very harsh glare. “You girls should be ashamed of yourselves! Can’t you see that you’re arguments are upsetting Sonata?” They both turned towards the youngest Siren in question, only to see poor Sonata softly sobbing into her hands with Adagio wrapping her arm around her for comfort. Both Sunset and Rainbow Dash looked at each other with guilt in their eyes before turning back to the sobbing Siren. “W-we’re so sorry Sonata,” Sunset said glumly. “Y-yeah. That’s was uncool of us,” Rainbow added, feeling lame for upsetting her friend. Sonata couldn’t speak up due to her sobbing fit, until she eventually calmed down and looked up at Sonata with tears running down her cheeks. “W-why? Why did you do that for me, after everything I did?” Sonata asked softly. “You’ll risk suffering the same fate as I do!” With a low sigh, Sunset placed her hand on Sonata’s shoulder. “Sonata, despite your flaws, you are a dear friend to us. No one deserved to be titled as the Dumbest Person in the World.” “Sunset’s right Darling,” Rarity spoke up. “While I preferred to not be added in as part of the bet,” Rarity gave her sheepish bacon-hair friend a quick stern look before continuing. “But we’ll always willing to put ourselves at risk just for the sake of our friends. Besides, that dreadful white cone that Trixie made for you does not go well with your outfit Darling.” Sonata chuckled somewhat from Rarity’s humor, despite the tears still leaking from her eyes. “My girlfriend’s impulsive aside,” Twilight added before giving her girlfriend her apologetic look. “At least you have more time to learn how to read properly for two more weeks before the end of this month.” “Yeah!” Pinkie said brightly. “And on the bright side, you won’t have to wear that hat now!” Unconvinced, Sonata looked down with her guilt expression. “Still, I didn’t want any of you guys to suffer from my mistakes when I lose the bet.” “If you lose the bet!” Rainbow corrected before giving Sonata her cocky grin. “I fact, I guarantee that you won’t lose Trixie’s stupid bet!” Sonata shook her head. “But—” “Listen partner, what’s done is done,” said Applejack. “The only thing you can do is to let us help you and focus on readin’ the best you can. Don’t worry about Trixie and don’t ever worry about us either, ya hear?” “But how can I?” Sonata argued. “It’s my fault that I got you girls into this mess! I should’ve just accepted the hat so that only I can suffer!” Before anyone else spoke up, Adagio held Sonata tighter, causing Sonata to look up to her. Adagio looked down on Sonata with her stern, yet soft expression. “Listen Sonata, while you made some mistakes, Trixie still orchestrated the whole thing. So in a way, the fault was mostly on Trixie. But even so, we’re not gonna let that wannabe magician take any more advantage to you. Just try to focus on your studies and do the best you can when the time comes. We’re all in this together and we’ll help you every step of the way, okay?” “Well not me,” Aria scoffed as she stood up from her seat and began to walk away. “I’m outta here!” As Aria was walking away, Rainbow slammed the table and stood up. “Hey, get back here Aria!” Rainbow shouted. “Aren’t going to help your sister?” Aria stopped in place but did not look back at Rainbow. “Why should I?” Aria growled. “It’s no thanks to her that we’re all dragged into this mess. Even if I’m stupid enough to help her, then what make you all so sure that she won’t stab us in the back again? As far as I’m concerned, she can just help herself!” Aria continued to walk until she reached the restaurant’s exit. Just as Aria opened the door, Rainbow called out to her again. “You know something Aria,” Rainbow spat in her near low volume. “I often heard you say to Sonata that she is the worse every time she made a mistake or say something weird. But the fact that you refuse to help because of your selfish wounded pride and your cold attitude to your sister, tells me that the one who is really the worse… is you!” Aria did not even look back or moved a muscle for a long minute. Shortly after that, she stepped out the door and letting it shut behind her. Everyone stared at the door with mixed emotions while Sonata looked down, distraught from Aria’s words and actions. Before she could cry again, Adagio gently rubbed Sonata’s back. “Don’t let her words bother you Sonata, Aria didn’t abandoned you.” Everyone including Rainbow Dash stared at Adagio with disbelief. Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Okay, where the heck were you been!? Didn’t you just see your sister berated your younger sister? If you ask me, I say that she just ditched us!” Adagio narrowed her eyes. “What she did and said was uncalled for, I’ll give you that. But you don’t know her like I do!” “What do you mean?” Rainbow demanded. Adagio sighed heavily. “Don’t tell her I said this, but whenever she’s worried or upset, she acts more aggressively than usual. While she’s worried about us being part of the bet, but I believe she’s more worried about Sonata.” Sonata widened her eyes in shock at the revelation. She felt a tiny glimmer of hope that Aria still cared about her. Sonata believed that Aria was too stubborn to let go of her anger and support her. She could only hope that Aria will come around soon. Rainbow on the other hand had a skeptic look on her face. “If she’s so worried, then why the mean tough girl act?” Rainbow asked. “Didn’t you like to act tough too without expressing your feelings?” Adagio countered. “…well okay, you got me there, but at least I didn’t act so harshly against my friends!” Pinkie titled her head in confusion. “Um Dashie, what about that time the way you were acting during the Battle of the—” “That didn’t count!” Before they could argue further, Sunset interrupted them. “We’ll talk about Dash’s obvious lie and deal with Aria later.” Ignoring Rainbow's indigent look, Sunset turned to Sonata. “I know you’re scared and felt so helpless, but we will help you guide along with your reading lessons… if you let us in that is.” Sunset extended her arm and reached her hand out to Sonata. Sonata stared at Sunset’s hand for a moment, still doubting with herself that she could be able to read and save her friends. However, the moment she looked up, she saw Sunset, along with the others, were giving her warm smiles and joined their hands with Sunset’s. With a gentle smile and a small tear leaking from her eyes, Sonata reached out and placed her hand on top of the hands of her friends. Many days had gone by and Sonata was working much harder than ever to learn how to read not only for herself, but for the sake of her friends too. Everyday was the same routine: surviving through school, visit Sunset or any of the girls for her reading lesson and than work on her homework with Adagio’s supervision. Unlike last time, Adagio was informed with Sunset’s plans and was only there to help guide Sonata along instead of doing the work for her. But Sonata doesn’t mind because she really wanted to prove to her friends that she is serious with her work this time and will not resort into cheating. Things weren’t always easy for her. Sonata would sometimes get stuck or doesn’t understand the question of her worksheet. When that happens, she would wait until the next day to show her work to Sunset and they would both go over it together. Sometimes Sonata would end up falling asleep in the middle of her work, only to be woken up by Adagio. Despite her efforts, Sonata hardly improved her reading at all and her first week was nearly over. It was now Friday on the early evening and Sonata was hoping that she and Sunset will spend more time together after school to come up with another strategy to help her learn to read. Unfortunately, life had a change of plans, as both girls were climbing up the stairs, which led to Canterlot’s local library. “But Sunset, you promised you’ll help me out with my reading today!” Sonata complained as they both reached the top of the stairs in front of the library’s entrance. Sunset, who was wearing her sushi uniform for work, gave Sonata her apologetic look. “I’m sorry Sonata, but my boss requested my help at work at the last minute and I can’t reschedule it. Luckily, my shift is only a few hours today, so you can do something else in the meantime until I’m done.” “But I don’t know what to do!” Sonata whined. “That is why I’m dropping you off here,” said Sunset. “You can practice reading many books in the library for the time being. Just give them a try!” She then waved at Sonata as she ran down the stairs. “I’ll see you after work Sonata!” As Sunset was on her way to her job, Sonata called after her. “But Sunset, the books in there are too hard!” When her friend was not responding to her or showed no signs of coming back, Sonata let out a distressed moan. Many hours had gone by since Sunset’s departure, Sonata spent her time in the library, picking out many random books she could find, and then sat down on one of the reading desks so she can practice her reading. Unfortunately, her efforts were fruitless as she went though each book of trying to read though the sentences, only it was too difficult for her to read because the book was filled with long and complicated vocabulary. Whenever that happens, she would just toss the book aside to a large pile and move on to the next one, hoping that the next book would be easier; rinse, lather, repeat. Sonata was now on her twenty-fifth book, trying to make out the first word of the page. “E…e…qu…est…tri—” Sonata threw the book down and let out a frustrated yell, only to receive several “shushes” from other readers. Not paying them any mind, Sonata face slammed on top of her book and groaned quietly. “I can’t do it!” Sonata whispered to herself. “These books are too hard! There’s no way I’ll learn to read at this rate, but I can’t let my friends down either! I don’t know what to do!” “Okay everyone, our next book is called: Pet the Kitty!” Sonata slightly looked up from the sound of a familiar soft voice. “Does anyone want to read Pet the Kitty? Don’t be shy.” Sonata then turned to her left to find the source of the voice and saw an open room, which was the children’s section of the library. From where she sat, Sonata saw a whole group of young kids, probably from grammar school, were sitting around a teenaged girl with her back towards her. What really stood out to her was the teen girl had a long, yet familiar pink hair. Curious, Sonata stood up from her desk and walked into the children’s section. Her eyes widened when she finally got a good look of who was in the room with a group of children. “Fluttershy?” Fluttershy yelped in surprise and turned towards Sonata. “O-Oh! Hi Sonata!” said Fluttershy, calming herself down from the sight of her friend. “What are you doing here? I thought Sunset is helping you today.” “Sunset had to go to work because of her boss requested her there at the last minute. So she sent me here to practice reading these books,” Sonata replied before raising her eyebrow in confusion. “What brings you here?” Fluttershy shyly played with her hair. “Um… well—” “Miss Fluttershy is reading a few stories to us!” said one boy. “Yeah, Miss Fluttershy is the best!” the young girl added. Sonata faced towards her friend with her surprised expression. “You read to these kids Fluttershy?” “Y-yes,” Fluttershy uttered. “I… I volunteered to come here every Friday and read a few stories to the kids.” Sonata beamed. “Aw, that’s so sweet! Why didn’t you tell us?” Fluttershy rubbed her arm. “I-It wasn’t a big deal.” Sonata stared back in disbelief. “Are you kidding? It’s a major big deal! What you’re doing is noble! I’m sure our friends will agree with me!” “Y-you think so?” Fluttershy asked quietly. “I know so! For realsies!” Sonata answered with a grin. Before Fluttershy could continue the conversation, she felt a small tug from the bottom of her dress. Fluttershy looked down to see that it was a little girl, who was trying to get her attention. “Yes little one?” Fluttershy said softly. “How about we let Miss Sonata read that book to us!” the little girl requested. While the kids voiced out in agreement, Sonata nervously held her hands up and shook her head. “Oh no no no. I can’t!” The little girl pouted. “Aw, why not?” Sonata looked slightly away from the girl’s sad eyes. “I… don’t think I’m a very good reader.” The little girl then had a confused expression on her face. “Well how do you know unless you try Miss Sonata?” Before Sonata could refuse further, Fluttershy spoke up. “Um… why not just give it a try Sonata? This is a children’s book, so it should be much easier than a regular book.” “Yeah, c’mon Miss Sonata, please?” said the little girl with pleading eyes. Many other children repeated the girl’s actions by pleading and displayed their sad eyes towards the Siren. Sonata felt a huge stab in her heart from the way the kids were giving her. “Noooooooo. Not the sad puppy eyes!” Sonata moaned, while trying to look away. Try as she might, she couldn’t resist the children’s pleas or the sad look from their faces. After a painful moment, Sonata sighed resignedly. “Alright, alright. I’ll do it!” Sonata conceded before added sternly, “But only one book!” The kids cheered excitedly at that. Sonata however, gulped nervously. Fluttershy gave Sonata her encouraging smile as she gave the book to Sonata. “Don’t worry Sonata, I think you can handle it.” “Easy for you to say,” Sonata whispered. “I couldn’t even read a pepper shaker.” Fluttershy then got up from her seat and directed her friend to take her spot. Sonata slowly sat down and looked towards the children, who were watching her expectedly. With another gulp, Sonata began to loudly, yet slowly read the title of the cover. “P…pet… the… Kit…ty. By… Cr… aig… Bart… let.” Sonata then opened up the book to the first page. She took a moment to observe the cute pictures of the kitty in various poses before she began to read the first page. “S…see the pre… ty kitty. Pet the pretty… kitty.” Sonata was surprised with herself that she easily read the two sentences for the first time in her life without any help. Feeling her self-confidence was building up somewhat, Sonata continued read the rest of the story. “Kitty kitty kitty! Do you want to pet the kitty? Yes, I want to pet the kitty!” Sonata concluded her fifteen-minute reading before she closed the book and then petted the picture of kitty from the cover of the book. “Pet pet pet! Look everybody! I’m petting the kitty!” Sonata joked with her huge smile. The kids giggled and cheered as they clapped at Sonata’s performance. Fluttershy beamed down at Sonata. “Wow! That was a very good reading Sonata!” Sonata stopped petting the book and looked up to Fluttershy with wide eyes. “R-really?” Fluttershy nodded. “Yes. You were nervous at first but then you had fun as you read along. The way you read even brought excitement to the kids, much more quickly than I ever could! It was impressive!” Sonata still looked up to her friend in awe as realization slowly came into her mind. “I... I did it!” Sonata said softly before letting out her huge smile. “I actually read something!” Fluttershy smiled proudly at her friend. “Yes sure did! Children’s books are a great place to start when learning how to read and you did wonderfully! Well done Sonata!” Sonata nearly wept in joy. Just fifteen minutes ago, she felt hopeless that she’ll ever learn to read at all. Yet here she was, reading a book to a group of kids like she was a pro. This may be just book made for kids, but she felt happy that she can read a book at all. If she can read this book no problem, then maybe she can read other books too! Her thoughts were soon interrupted when the same little girl spoke up. “Hey Miss Sonata, I had fun from the way you read that book!” she then looked down shyly. “I… I know you said that you only reading one book, but will you please read us another one?” “Yeah Miss Sonata, please!” said another kid. Many more kids joined in a begged Sonata to read another story. After a while, both Fluttershy and Sonata calmed them down before Sonata spoke with her stern expression. “Listen kids… I said earlier that I’ll only read one book!” As the kids looked down in disappointment, Sonata then had a teasing grin on her face. “Buuuuuuuut… since all of you were such a wonderful audience, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to read one more.” The children then cheered again, causing both Sonata and Fluttershy to chuckle at their enthusiasm. As Sonata picked out the next book to read to the children, neither Sonata nor Fluttershy had notice Sunset, who just showed up awhile ago, was watching them with a warm smile on her face.