As Sunset approached the drama studio, she spied Flash leaning against the wall, while Rainbow appeared to be talking to him, though she had a far more frustrated look on her face.
"I'm just wor- hey!" Noticing Sunset's approach, the girl called out to her. "Sunset! You seen Scoots around?"
"Nope. Actually, I saw her on the way to school with Flash, but not after that."
"Figures." Flash spoke up, a more subtle look of worry on his own face. "Same thing here. She went off to find someone, haven't seen her since. I asked the teachers, she turned up for the first lesson, but not after that."
"I went to Luna when I had the chance, and it seems she's overlooking any absenses for the first week back." Rainbow Dash added. "Seems too many people are still on holiday or sorting out family issues."
Discord's head popped out the door. "Sorry if I'm interrupting anything, but it's time to start lessons." He retreated back into the room, pushing the door further open. They filed in, the trio having thoughtful expressions. Everyone else slowly arrived, most looking exhausted from the presumably long day that was not yet over. The rest of the small drama class trickled in, and Sunset couldn't help but be reminded how much the principals had done for her. Perhaps she should get them a present, a sort of late Christmas gift, she mused.
The drama teacher began counting students, frowning when he finished. "It seems we are missing a student."
When he looked towards his students questionally, Octavia supplimented an answer. "I believe Sonata's the missing student. I think I saw her during lunch, no idea where she is now though." Shrugging, Discord rummaged through his drawers, the frown returning to his face.
"Talk amongst yourselves. I appear to be missing something. I'll be right back." He walked out, leaving the students to glance at each other.
Bon Bon and Lyra started up a conversation, prompting the others to do the same. Vinyl in particular sent a flurry of hand motions Sunset's way, leading the equestrian to raise her hands in defeat. "Woah, woah, woah. I'm versed in sign language, perhaps profficient, but I am not fluent."
Octavia quickly picked up on the conversation and quickly translated. "She wants to know what the deal with Sonata is. I am also wondering the same thing."
"Well, she's here because she needs educational records, which the other sirens already have. But I suspect that's not what you're asking. I think - think - that the reason that she's isn't trying to do anything... I dunno, bad, is because she genuinely feels remorse from her reactions. That, and she seemed to be really controlled with the other sirens. When she and Aria saw an oppotunity to live a more normal life, they completely bailed. Other than that? Dunno, have to ask her yourself."
Happy with the answer, Vinyl took out her phone, putting on some music, nodding her head to the beat immediately. Octavia, on the other hand, wanted to know more. "What happened with the other sister? What was her name... Adagio?"
"...That's not something I'm entirely sure I'm comfortable talking about." Sunset nervously glanced about, looking for a shift in topics. "Hey, what's taking Discord so long?"
Without any hesitation, she made her way to the door, intending to peek out of it. The girl almost stopped when she heard heavy footsteps, but continued when some sort of distressed humming reached her ears. The muffled sounds became louder, seemingly cracking on occasion, before dying down. Suspicious, Sunset gently put an ear against the door, while the rest of the room looked on curiously. A high pitching hummed, at high volume.
"What's-"
"Shh!" She put a hand up to halt any more interruptions. Focusing her hearing though the wooden door, Sunset made out words.
"Scream all you want, bitch, no-"
Eyes widening, the equestrian slammed the door open with a hard kick, similtaneously activating her magic, only to freeze up at what she saw.
Zephyr Breeze, with a crazed looked on his face, stood snarling in the middle of the hallway. In his right hand, he held Scootaloo's skull, his neglected nails leaving red trails across her face. In his other hand, a kitchen knife, dripping a red substance, was grasped, some of the green fingers twitching violently, much like both his eyes. His mouth, as twisted as it was, held the distinct look of a maniac, his frazzled hair only adding to the factor.
But on the ground, next to his bloodied bare feet, was a young looking girl, the streaked blue hair covering her face giving away her identity. There, Sonata Dusk lay, blood coming out of several openings in the flesh of her abdomen. Some of her now pale limbs faintly shivered, though that was all Sunset saw before she acted.
Horn and wings shining brighter than ever, she charged forward at immense speeds, cracks sounding as her fist made contact with Breeze's chest. She slammed him down magically, a pain filled groan escaping his lips as he went limp. Leaning over the bleeding girl, Sunset started barking out orders to the staring students. "Flash, call your mother and anyone else from the hospital. Dash, ensure that barstard isn't getting up. Twilight, get the police here. Someone check if Scootaloo is okay, then anyone who doesn't have any medical skills back off!"
When the stunned crowd remained still, she roared, "NOW!"
It had the desired effect, many students scrambling away. Surprisingly, Derpy came over, examining the wounds with skill. While Sunset wanted to know why the wall eyed girl seemed to be a medical expert, she acknowledged that this was not an appropriate situation to ask. Derpy looked up, both eyes straight staring into Sunset's own.
"Can you cauterise the wounds?"
Nodding, Sunset formed a solid magical pole in my mouth, clamping the ex-siren's jaw onto it. Her hand glowing with heat, she pressed down on the bleeding flesh. Sonata gave a muffled unconcsious scream, as the blood was trapped inside of her body once more. The ex-sirens's eyelids started to flutter in a weak attempt to open, though Derpy softly burshed them closed again, whispering in her ear to rest.
"Sonata, I'm gonna cast a sleep spell, alright?"
Instead of directly answering, the injured girl managed to choke out some words, which Sunset strained to hear. "...Sisters..."
Not willing to question it, the redhead magicked her phone to her ear, rapidly dialing Aria.
"Hel-"
"I don't give a crap if you bring Adagio or not, but get to CHS now." Not waiting for a response, Sunset hanged up, before levitating Sonata off the ground so she'd be at waist level. Casting the spell, she looked to Derpy for any sort of diagnosis, only to get a grim answer.
"Probably lost too much blood." She gestured to the large pool of blood around their feet. "Can't tell if there's any internal injuries either. I don't have th-"
A grunt cut her off. Looking up, she saw Sunset channeling a fire-like light into Sonata's body, most of the energy gathering in one particular place in one of the girl's skirt pockets. Slipping a hand in, the conscious equestrian pulled out an expensive looking box, and gazed at it questioningly. Carefully, she opened it, revealing many grey shards and a black band, the latter confirming to Sunset what it was. Before she could think on it, however, a rage filled shriek assaulted her ears.
"YOU!"
Aria stood there, eyes fulling of blazing anger, directed at Zephyr's sprawled body. "You αλάτι γλείψιμο, κώλο ψαριών, τρελό βράχ-"
"ARIA! You can insult him all you want later! Right now, answer me this:" Sunset held up the shattered pendant in her magic. "If I fix this, will she live?"
"I don't-"
"Will she?!"
"...Do it."
With a firm nod, the subtle glow around the shattered crystal carefully manuveured all the shards together, forming a solid, if very fractured, grey pendant. Placing it on Sonata's chest, she started to channel her magic into it. Aria, confused, panicky asked, "What's that meant to do?! Your magic isn't dark!"
"No. It's life." The white glow of the magic intensified at the words, and Sunset started to grunt, concentrating. "C'mon, c'mon, live dammit..."
Gradually, the grey gem started to regain its red hue, but the numerous cracks remained. Frowning in worry, Sunset cut the flow, before putting one bandaged hand on the injured girl's forehead and one on the stone. Magic rushed out of the appendages, flowing straight into the surfaces they were on. "Come on! Live!" She commanded, increasing the magic density, yelling out, "LIVE!"
The breaks in the gem started to seal, the fragmented look fading as the red colour seemed to become more pure, though some cracks remained. Feeling the magicless void in both Sonata's body and her gem become full, she stopped forcing magic into both of her targets. The crystal seemed to burn with some unknown fire, not too unlike the necklace Sunset now wore. "Come on..."
"She needs equestrian magic." Sunset looked to the new voice, finding Adagio held Sonata's hand, worry plastered on her face. A few surrounding students immediately cried out in alarm, and the ex-unicorn threw up a silencing bubble. "It's what we originally had, and we still need it."
"My magic isn't equestrian..." Seeing the other two siren's sad looks, Sunset fell back into deep thought, snapping her fingers after a few moments. A blinding flash enveloped her body, and when it cleared, the same armour Adagio had been attacked with before, this time without her trademark leatherjacket, as she had gone without it today. Quickly, Susnet started to shed the protective plates, both with magic and by hand. "Help me get this off!"
The conscious sirens obliged, but Aria still wasn't sure what was happening. "How is this gonna help?!"
"The armour was made by the portal." Sunset started to explain as the last of the protective clothing was removed, leaving Sunset back in her hoodie and jeans. "I figure it's got enough equestrian magic left on it. If that fails, we'll go to the portal."
"Well come on! We need to get it on-"
"No." Adagio interrupted, simply resting pieces of the armour on her sister. "We don't have time. Besides, we may need to heal her physical injuries manually."
'Good to see she actually cares.' Sunset thought, before returning to the task at hand. Already, most of the armour was touching Sonata, and soon, it seemed to melt into her body, bringing some colour into her face. Within a matter of moments, all the armour was gone, and her previously pale skin regained its natural blue colour. Sunset's gaze was brought back towards the gem, her eyes following the remaining fractures. Holding out a hand, the life magic started to flow from her fingers once more, funneling into the broken pendant, to no effect. Opening the metaphorical floodgates, Sunset pushed as much magical as possible outwards, starting to pant in exhaustion.
Hitting her limit, the ex-unicorn stumbled back, her magic retreating back into the crystal around her neck, while Sonata ceased to levitate. She looked to the fallen girl's own gem, and saw the glow that had erupted from within was starting to fade. When the red pendant was completely dim, it started to lose its colour once more, visually softening as it did so. Rushing over, Sunset ran her fingers over the gem, only for a dark grey dust to come off. "Oh, no no no..."
The pendant, which Sunset had pinned all her hopes on, was starting to disintergrate before her very eyes. It was rapidly becoming nothing but dust, threatening to fly off in the slightest breeze. Everyone stared on with wide eyes, fearful of what had just happened. Slowly, Sunset dropped down to the floor, the other ex-sirens looking on with tearful eyes.
"No..."
Sonata awoke in a great wind. Shooting upwards, she quickly made sense of her surroundings. Another dream, she quickly concluded. One she had control over. Normally, she would live out some fantasy, or just generally have fun. Right now though, she felt oddly... serious.
It was a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. Back before...
She shivered at the thoughts, swiftly banishing them to the very back of her mind. Right now, the siren decided to look around at her surroundings. She was on the side of a mountain, underneath a white arch, overlooking a vast sea. The waves crashed against rock just a dozen meters below her, creating a roar that could only belong to nature. She spotted something move under the surface, and almost on instinct, called out, "Κράκεν! Έχω την τροφή σου!"
It was a language she hasn't spoken for many years, and yet, it came to her tongue with ease. The wonders of both dreaming and being immortal, she supposed. She sat, awaiting for her words to be heard, breathing in the sort of air that she missed dearly. It was times like these that allowed her to fully think straight. She was always in control of her actions, of her mind, but that didn't mean she always acted how she felt she could.
Sighing, Sonata lowered herself to the ground, getting comfy, before looking to the stirring waters, tossing a large fish down into the darkening sea. Before it impacted the vast ocean, however, it seemed to rot, and disintergrate. Sonata couldn't place it, but the sight seemed familiar. Warily standing up, she gazed into the shadow in the water, which started to turn a hellish red.
Eye widening, she fled with as much speed as possible, away from the being that would surely follow her. And it did. Everywhere she looked, a blazing flame seemed to flourish, licking at whatever surface it could. Sonata moved in whatever direction she could, finding paths she didn't know was possible, all leading to the same destination, as the heated being behind her followed with a cry.
Her eyes snapped forward, seeing two blurred shapes nearby, one purple, one orange. Giving a gasp, muffled by her exhaustion, she rushed forwards, the colours get closer, almost forming recognisable objects.
Giving a finally burst of speed, Sonata shot towards her target, all for naught. A solid wisp of flame curled around her, pulling her back. She scream hoarsely, not out of fear but anger. She briefly contemplated fighting, but ended up sinking back into the tendril of fire, almost on instinct. It was warm, but not hot enough to cause any discomfort - the kind of heat one would want to cuddle in bed.
Without a second thought, she closed her eyes, curling up, as the life giving fire gently pulled her away.
Sonata awoke to a gentle beeping, the kind that while bearable at first, would start to become irritating if it went on for too long.
The siren internally slapped herself, setting her thoughts on priorities. Like finding out where she was, for one. Cracking open her eyes, she found herself looked at a dull, ever so slightly grey surface. The ceiling, she supposed. Sitting up slightly, she managed to turn her head on the uncomfortable pillow it was resting upon. Again, Sonata smacked these thoughts out of her head - she always took note of her surroundings more than others, but this was ridiculous even by her standards.
Regardless of her inner conflict, her gaze met a sleeping face, one she was glad to see. Sprawled awkwardly across three different plastic chairs, was Sunset Shimmer, shifting about as she attempted to find a nice position in her sleep. A small commotion rbought her attention to the door, where two siliouettes outside of the door appeared to be bickering about something, though the argument was too quiet for Sonata to make out words. She recognised the voices as her sisters, however, and couldn't help but smile a little. It was almost like old times, as Adagio would call it.
She opened her mouth to call out to them, but before she could, something felt like it was bubbling up inside of her. Like a geyser blocked by a boulder, just waiting to escape. Ignoring the sensation, she tried to speak.
Words did not come out, but instead, a very soft note of music. Sonata frowned at the unexpected result, as it was not what she had intended. Before she could try again, however, she realised what she had just done. Breathing in, she prepared to let more music flow out of her throat, but when she did, something inside her broke.
Sitting up, she clutched her chest, feeling something swell up from within her body, her very soul threatening to burst.
And it did.
A soothing, wordless melody came into existance, and Sonata became slightly aware that she was floating in place. The song wasn't anything special, not showing off, but the way the sound seemed to flow in the air captivated any who heard it.
Sunset, on the other hand, awoke with a start, frantically looking for the source of the sudden noise. Turning her gaze upwards, she saw Sonata floating, but with a few additions. She had the fin like wings like before, though they matched her skin colour this time, and were definitely bigger. Pony ears poked out from her blue hair, and small fins replaced her human ears similtaneously. Her eyes had a menacing blue gleam to them, and her teeth were visually sharpened. Her legs had taken on a scale like look, and her hands did seem to sport claws. The intimidating look, however, was almost destroyed by the calm, peaceful expression on her face. She closed her eyes, leaning her head back as the melody passed through the equestians' ears.
A whole minute later, and the soothing song tapered off, leaving the room in stunned silence. Sonata gave a friendly smile, looking from her gaping sisters to the half-asleep Sunset as she laid back down on the bed, and asked, "Anyone want t-"
She doubled over, grimacing in pain, as she clutched her midriff. "Sonata!" Sunset cried out, "You need to rest. You're lucky enough Fluttershy had some fish blood we could use in a transfusion."
"Wait, fish blood? We have human blood." Adagio asked, her voice clear of malice.
"You, maybe. But Sonata definitely doesn't. I wouldn't be suprised if I had K type blood when I transform, since that's what I am in Equestria." The ex-unicorn explained, turning her attention back to Sonata.
"Wh-what happened?"
"You got stabbed." Aria snarled out, Adagio putting a hand on her shoulder.
"I know that. I mean, y'know," Sonata gestured at her throat. "my voice."
Glancing at each other, Adagio nodded, and stepped towards reached to the collar of Sonata's shirt and pulling down. There, a few inches below her neck, was a red jewel embedded into her flesh, shining with a slightly blue fire within. As it's owner gasped, the flame flickered momentarily, earning a look of fascination from Sunset.
"From what I can work out, that thing is now your voice. Tartarus, for all I know, that could be your soul."
Sonata couldn't help but smile at the sight and feeling she had before her. Next to her were three beings from her homeland, all sympathic to what she had gone through, and if she looked towards the door, she saw a number of smiling faces, all of them helping her move on with her life.
She laid her head back on the pillow, the fire in her chest giving a warm feeling, and the siren let out a small giggle. Sunset looked at her fellow equestrian, knowing they were both thinking the same thing.
'Life just couldn't get better.'