Sonata was feeling happier than she had ever felt before in all of her really long life. She was happy things were going well for them. She was even happier they had Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle as friends too.
“Friends…” she thought.
Sonata had never realized how wonderful of a word that was until she heard Adagio call her and Aria such that one night. The trio had cried and even ended up cuddling together that night in Adagio’s bed. She knew her two best and longest friends had to be just as happy as she was. “Maybe even happier…” she thought with a smile as she looked over to Adagio.
She was excited and glad Adagio seemed to be the happiest, even if she didn’t always outwardly show it. “Always trying to keep her composure. No matter what, even though she has her moments,” she thought with a giggle.
Some might not fully understand just how happy Adagio was in general, but Sonata knew. She noticed she seemed to have a special understanding of other’s feelings. When it came to Aria and Adagio at least, “But that’s all that matters really,” Sonata thought with a smile.
While reflecting on her thoughts, she fully realized the emptiness she and they others felt was pretty much gone now. Last night after the three of them agreed to joining the unofficial catering team she remembered how all three of them were humming on the way back home. The moment gave her an idea and she was waiting for the right time to enact it.
Another reason Sonata was in a really good mood was because they made plans this Friday with Sunset and Twilight at a place called Fun Zone Plus. Saturday they were working the late shift, so they had no problems with going out Friday night. They were also working the opening shift Friday, so they would have the late afternoon and onward off. This gave them plenty of time to get ready for their night of fun.
{-} {-} {-}
As the week continued, Sonata noticed more humming from her friends, even if they didn’t really seem to notice it. Sonata was extra determined in her plan now. She could tell it was almost time. She only hoped when the time came both Aria and Adagio would be ready.
“Two Blue Hawaiians please,” a new customer asked Sonata at the bar.
The girl smiled and cheerfully said, “Coming right up!” She quickly mixed up the drinks and garnished them with pineapple wedges before passing them to the customer.
“That was fast…” he said a little impressed. Sonata smiled as the guy sampled his drink and let out a “mmm!” in response and nodded. His girlfriend tried her own drink and gave a similar reaction.
“I’m just that good,” Sonata said earning a chuckle from some of the regular patrons who saw her and the others the night all three of them bartended together. Now that they were no longer bothering to keep good but not too good, the girls didn’t really hold back anymore. They even helped some of the other staff members who wanted to get better as well. Though the girls didn’t know it, Johnston’s Bar and Grill was staring to gain in popularity lately in part thanks to their efforts.
{-} {-} {-}
“Hmmm…” a customer at a table expressed as Adagio waited to take his order. His friends rolled their eyes at him.
“Sorry about this. He’s always indecisive when it comes to ordering,” a girl in the group apologized to Adagio on his behalf.
“It’s perfectly fine,” Adagio said with an easy smile. She turned to the indecisive customer. “I can help you if you want,” she told him.
He gave a resigned sigh. He would ask for her help, though he’d bet she would just recommend the special. “I kind of want something a little crunchy and zesty and good and tasty,” he described very vaguely.
“Is there anything you can’t have?” she asked.
He blinked a little to that and shook his head. “Not that I saw on the menu,” he replied. He was caught off guard she hadn’t just recommended the special.
Adagio was in thought for a moment. “Well, I recommend the salmon burger.”
“Salmon burger…” the indecisive customer said in thought. He saw that on the menu but wrote it off.
One of his friends, someone who had come a few times before, gave a chuckle. “Do as the lady says. Trust me.” The others chuckled as the indecisive man placed his order finally.
When the meal later arrived, his mouth was watering at the sight of the Salmon burger. When he took his first bite, it was as if his taste buds were rejoicing at the wonder that was the salmon burger. He had tried them before and while they weren’t terrible, this one was something else.
The salmon meat was a good size and went past the bun without going too far past it. The bun itself was crunchy where it touched the meat and still soft for the most part otherwise. The zestiness of the special recipe spread mixed well with the tastiness of the salmon and the lettuce on the sandwich. It all added up to what he felt was perfection. The seasoned fries on the side also looked to be wonderful.
He let out a moan of pleasure at the taste. Adagio gave a knowing smile glad to have satisfied a customer. His friends were chuckling at his reaction. “I told you to listen to her,” the friend from earlier said earning a nod as the formerly indecisive customer took another bite eagerly.
“Good to see you like it,” Adagio said as she left to get refills for their drinks.
{-} {-} {-}
Aria gave a stretch as she finished up yet another order. She really liked cooking here at the restaurant. The kitchen staff were happy they actually kept up with the orders better than usual. It was in part thanks to Aria. Johnston’s wasn’t one of those places that had major problems with the kitchen keeping up, but when Aria worked in the back things seemed to flow even better.
Aria had shown a few more “tricks of the trade,” as she called them. Her tricks helped out the other cooks. She knew ways to easily improve the taste and cooking speed the others could learn as well. She knew when it came to restaurants the key was still, even in modern times, consistency. She could go all out if she wanted, but that would only be good for a short while and only she could produce those results. The methods she used improved the consistency overall and could be taught to future employees when needed.
She wasn’t the head chef, though she easily could be if she didn’t like the setup her and the other two had instead. Aria was still seen as an unofficial head chef by the kitchen staff when she was working with them. If she wasn’t too busy with her own cooking, you could usually go to her to save many mistakes on dishes without having to start over. Fortunately, those mistakes were becoming less and less of a concern in large part thanks to her and the others as well. All three of them were good at all of the jobs.
“Things really are very good for us,” Aria thought as she finished a steak one of the customers ordered. The three of them had things really rough at first, but they had fallen into the routine of things. More importantly than that, the three had each other and now they had at least two good friends in Sunset and Twilight.
“I still can’t get over how that turned out,” Aria thought as she placed the steak on the plate and added the side salad and extras. She rang the bell and called the order number letting the waitress know it was up. “To think, the two of them played the biggest role in defeating us, especially Sunset. Now, they're our friends,” she pondered as she took a short break. She wondered if maybe things would be good with the other Rainbooms as well, but it didn’t really matter to her much. She had Adagio and Sonata by her side no matter what.
Aria stretched again. “Well, back to work,” she said to herself with a smile. You couldn’t take too much of a breather when it was busy in the kitchen. She didn’t mind though. It was good things were going so well.
{-} {-} {-}
It was finally Friday and Sunset and Twilight were waiting for Aria, Adagio and Sonata in front of Fun Zone Plus. They didn’t have to wait long this time. Twilight waved as Sonata greeted them cheerfully with Adagio and Aria right behind her.
“Hello!” Sonata said with a wide happy grin.
“Hi!” Twilight returned as they all exchanged greetings.
“We aren’t too late, are we?” Sonata asked.
“We haven’t really been here that long. Maybe a few minutes at most,” Sunset answered.
“Luckily, traffic wasn’t as bad as we feared,” Aria stated.
Adagio sighed. “I really hate traffic, but I still at times can’t help but realize just how far humans have come over the many years. We never really thought much about it, but I guess being mortal has put it a little in perspective.”
“What was it like here 1000 years ago?” Twilight eagerly asked.
“A thousand years ago the High Middle Ages were just starting. Things were getting a little tougher for us. We couldn’t get as much energy as we previously did here,” Adagio started.
“We had to really figure things out some. We had been spending time with Vikings for a good while before then. Fighting both in bars and on the battlefield had been terrible, but kept us well fed,” Aria said.
“What happened to change that?” Twilight couldn’t help but ask.
“The Catholic Church was at its height of power in Europe and they were trying their best to limit violence between nobles and such. Good overall, but not so much when you literally feed off of negative energy. We were still sirens at that point. Though luckily enough at the time for us… the crusades were just around the corner,” Adagio answered as Sonata nodded and Aria looked to the ground with a frown.
“I’m pretty sure the crusades were bad…” Sunset said. “And bloody.”
“They were,” Sonata started. “But like Adagio said, at the time that was a good thing for us because we could only feed off of negative energy. There wasn’t even ambient magic here.” She looked to side and frowned, “We didn’t really have a choice but to feel nourished during all of that in those times. Our power was far from what it was when we first arrived. Our energy built up by our time with the vikings was running low. For better or worse, it was like finally having some food after starving for a long time.”
“But you three wouldn’t have been here that long by that point. I mean it has only been about 1000 years since Starswirl sent you all through to this world,” Twilight said.
“True enough, but we didn’t come here through a stable portal like you two did,” Aria explained.
“Starswirl was a gifted unicorn, but he had to act in haste even while his allies kept us briefly distracted. Otherwise our powers would have gotten to him as well,” Adagio said.
“But he was amazing! He could do pretty much anything,” Twilight couldn't help but feel she had to defend her favorite historical unicorn.
“He was, but even he couldn’t make a magical portal across time and space while taking into account time variance between the two points on the fly,” Adagio explained.
Twilight was in thought for a moment and then nodded. She sighed. “I guess I can see how that would be a problem, even for him.”
“How long have you three been here then?” Sunset asked. She was both really curious and also wanting to head off any possible arguments for the night regarding Starswirl's abilities by changing the subject.
The trio looked a little nervous about answering that question. Age had never really bothered them before in the past, but for some reason being mortal made them actually care about such things. Maybe it was because they knew their lives would end now, even if they fully intended to make these last decades of their lives mean the most.
Sonata sighed and gave a nervous giggle. “Ummm… Since Ancient Egypt’s Period of Reunification…” she gave a bit of a blush. Adagio and Aria joined Sonata in blushing as they noticed Twilight’s and Sunset’s awed expressions.
“Wow… Just wow…” Twilight eloquently proclaimed.
“That’s a really long time…” Sunset said. Both girls were trying to wrap their heads around this. “That’s like even before Ancient Greece…” she couldn’t help but add.
Aria sighed this time. “We were kind of the influence for the Ancient Greece myths about Sirens to an extent.”
“We were also the reason for the myths about the muses as well,” Sonata added. She really wanted their friends to realize they weren’t completely bad and evil. They were just kind of mostly evil at that time. It didn’t make too much of a difference, but it was still difference.
“Really?” Twilight asked. Sunset had told her some about ancient Greek myths. Muses helped inspire people while Sirens led to turmoil among people, usually sailors. It was strange realizing the three girls in front of her were responsible for both sides of those myths.
“Yep,” Sonata answered with a slightly uneasy smile.
“All of the political in-fighting with different empires vying for control and such helped sustain us. We also didn’t fully realize our magic was fading at the time. There isn’t natural magic here like there is in Equestria, but we were extraordinarily powerful when we first arrived,” Adagio said.
“Sometimes when we took a shine to someone, we would use our voices and power to help them find inspiration for their projects. Occasionally we would Siren it up and that would be more than enough to keep us healthy and going,” Aria added.
“Why didn’t you keep doing that?” Twilight asked. Her tone was one of genuine curiosity, so Adagio had no problems answering her question.
“It wasn’t sustainable for us. Again… It goes back to how there isn’t any natural magic here. That’s part of the reason why humans have a belief magic is simply technology they don’t yet fully understand. We would have starved to death long ago if we had kept being muses and using our powers in such a way. It wasn’t pretty or the nice thing for us to act how we did, but we wanted to survive. Unlike in Equestria where we kind of got drunk on the power our magic brought us. Here, it was mostly survival along with sometimes enjoying the rush consuming negative energy gave us which caused us to behave like we did,” Adagio explained.
Twilight might have asked more questions on that topic, but Sunset decided it was time they got to the fun of their night. The Sirens' past was a heavy topic and shouldn’t be discussed outside in public. They were pushing their luck as it was.
“Well. I think we should go ahead and get the night started! We’re starting with bowling,” Sunset said. She then gave a mischievous grin to Twilight as she added, “I want to see if Twilight can set a new record.” Twilight playfully rolled her eyes at the comment. She wanted to ask more questions, but it was time to get to the fun for the night.
“I bet I do better than you, Sunset,” Aria said with a playful smirk.
“HA! We’ll see about that,” Sunset said in reply. She then jokingly added, “You may have been around for the birth of bowling, but that doesn’t mean you’re any better at it than me.”
Adagio gave a loud laugh and Sonata joined her. Aria smirked and the two had a very brief stare down before they broke out into giggles and all five of them headed inside. They were ready for a night of fun and games. Sonata was also ready to put her plan into action and was hoping for the best as she looked over her friends.
{-} {-} {-}
Fun Zone Plus was filled with all kinds of games and plenty of other activities as well. Bo’s Pizza Palace was nice and all, but this was a much more fun oriented place. It had plenty of bowling lanes, Lazer tag, the revolving rock climbing wall and an arcade in a karaoke bar kind of area. It also had a pretty good dining part as well and the menu was diverse, even if some would consider the food standard fare. It was very much a great location for general fun.
The bowling shoes still left much to be desired looks wise for the most part though. “I’m pretty sure bowling shoes are someone’s idea of a joke,” Sunset said as Sonata and Twilight laughed at her unamused expression. She did exaggerate it for fun and effect.
“At least when it comes to the rentals. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these were from the bowling craze of the 50’s and 60’s,” Adagio said. Aria was looking at her rental pair and could have sworn she had indeed recognized them from back during Bowling’s modern hay day.
“At least the music is different now. Not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing though,” Sonata said with a thoughtful expression. She really did like music from the 1940s and 1950s. Adagio, Aria and she were part of some local scenes at that time. They kept it on the down low though. They could have gone big if they wanted thanks to the whole mind control aspects and events at the time, but they didn’t really like working too much in the public eye. It was annoying having to use their mind control too much to keep questions being asked about them.
The group of friends finally had their lane and were ready to get started. Twilight hoped she improved, but she was still looking forward to it. She gave a sigh, “I know I am not all that great at bowling, not even in Equestria, but for some reason I still enjoy it.”
Sonata smiled to her and placed a hand on her shoulder as she said, “There’s nothing wrong with that. Just don’t be like Aria and Sunset.” She gave a snicker as she looked forward.
Adagio gave a sigh. She was designated as personal marker for the first couple of rounds between Sunset and Aria. She was supposed to say if someone went too far before releasing their ball. Luckily, she only had to do this a couple of frames each, but it was still a bit embarrassing. She wanted to just enjoy the show while chatting with Twilight and Sonata.
“What kind of coffee drink does Adagio like?” Twilight whispered to Sonata.
Sonata smiled to that. “They did have that really cool machine, huh?” she asked rhetorically. Twilight nodded. Sonata whispered to Twilight, “It isn’t anything too fancy, but she loves an Iced Mocha with caramel and some whipped cream if possible.”
“Thanks,” Twilight said. “What do you want? Can you bowl a frame for me if needed while I place the order?”
“Just have them send one of those bottled iced caramel frappuccinos with the drinks you get for Adagio and yourself,” Sonata answered. “Of course, I will bowl for you,” she then gave a mischievous grin as she added, “I might gutter them on purpose. Wouldn’t want your record tarnished because I managed to bowl a good frame or two for you after all.”
Twilight gave a laugh. “Obviously,” she said in a matter-of-fact voice. She then gave a mischievous giggle as she looked towards Aria and Sunset. The two were carefully examining the lane and their bowling balls to make sure everything was fair. “I would ask if they wanted something to drink too, but I don’t want to interfere with their focus,” she said as Sonata chuckled in agreement.
{-} {-} {-}
When Twilight gave Adagio a friendly smile and offered her a cup of her favorite coffee drink, the ex-siren gave a relieved and pleasant sigh as she took a sip. She could just enjoy the rest of her bowling now. It was so ridiculous standing there as some kind of line judge in a bowling alley. There was a foul line sensor, but apparently both Aria and Sunset didn’t trust it. Once Sonata tripped it, possibly on purpose for Adagio’s sake, they started to trust it some and the other three were allowed to enjoy the game in peace.
{-} {-} {-}
Sonata laughed with the others as Twilight bowled her final frame and shouted, “Yeah! New Record!” She managed to get 95 this time. Twilight knew she wasn’t good at this game, but she still enjoyed it and the others did cheer her on as she went.
“Next time maybe you’ll make it into the triple digits,” Aria said with a smile before laughing. Some might think it was a rude comment, but she was actually genuine and the others knew this. It was still funny how bad Twilight was at bowling and even the pony princess herself knew this.
The group sat down at a table to finish their drinks before deciding what to do next. They weren’t just going to bowl the whole night. Sonata sneaked a couple of glances at the karaoke bar, but the others didn’t notice her actions.
Sunset gave a grin as she said loud enough for the people at a nearby table to hear, “I think we should play some Lazer Tag now!”
Twilight laughed and said, “You’ve really wanted to play that tonight, haven’t you?”
She turned to the others and jokingly stage whispered, “She was going on and on about it earlier today.” The other three giggled in response.
“After it was introduced to me, I kind of fell in love with it I guess,” Sunset said with a grin.
“Sounds fun. Just try not to be too upset when I completely beat you, Shimmer,” Aria said with a smirk and a laugh.
“Is that so? You seem to think highly of your skills, Blaze,” Sunset said with a matching smirk and laugh.
“I don’t just think highly of my skills at lazer tag. I know how awesome I am at the game,” Aria said as she looked Sunset in the eyes challenging her.
“How about we make a small wager then?” Sunset said getting more excited. She liked the idea of possibly having a bit of a friendly rivalry with Aria. She would admit the twin tailed girl was pretty good at most things sporty or had a certain level of competition to them.
“If you were a little kid, I would warn you not to get in over your head. But you aren’t. So, you’re on!” Aria said with equal excitement in her eyes.
Adagio shook her head as she smiled at their interaction. She then jokingly said to Sonata, “We might have to make extra sure to keep the collateral to a minimum. The fires of their competitive spirits might burn the place down.”
Sonata giggled, “I really don’t want that. We haven’t tried the tacos yet.”
Adagio laughed and said, “Exactly!”
Twilight overheard them and joined in their laughter and said, “Priorities, right?” Sonata grinned and nodded as the three shared a new round of giggles.
{-} {-} {-}
Aria and Sunset learned three things after their games of Lazer Tag. First, they learned they should always be careful when challenging the other. This was something they both liked doing, but they could get a little carried away in their fun rivalry. Fortunately, the others were there to keep them in check and find amusement in their interactions with each other. It was still a lesson.
They also learned to never underestimate Sonata. She was very much a wild card when it came to Lazer Tag. Her results were surprising with each round. Over all she was good and in the last round she got third behind one of the staff members.
The last thing they learned was something they would never forget. As much as she was bad at bowling when it came to Lazer Tag, Twilight utterly dominated them all. There was also the fact this was her first time even playing the game and she really liked it. Sunset was pretty sure even a rage induced Rarity called ugly wouldn’t be a match for Twilight Sparkle the Princess of Lazers.
“That was a lot of fun! I didn’t even know I was apparently that good. I thought I was losing the whole time each round,” Twilight said with a cheerful and friendly tone.
Twilight turned out to be so good that even when Aria and Sunset were on the same team working together against her, she still won. After the first couple of games, some of the others playing with their group picked up on who she was and decided it was ultimately a battle for second. Twilight's team was all but guaranteed to be first, even if she still found it surprising when she won.
She was not only scary good at the game, but also so completely innocent when it came to it. There wasn’t any way it was just beginner’s luck either. Half way through their matches, Twilight won all of them, several members of the staff joined in the game. It was a “Beat the pro night” it turned out and the staff here were known to be really good.
The five friends got a real good laugh at the staff’s expressions when they learned Twilight was ‘PrincessSparklePony4’. It was like they expected ‘PrincessSparklePony4’ to be some retired special forces bad ass using the name as a joke. They did not expect the name to belong to Twilight, a cute, beautiful, and friendly girl, despite the name being very apt for someone like her.
As the five friends picked up their printed score sheets for the last round, Sonata’s stomach growled shortly followed by Twilight’s. Sonata gave a small blush as she asked, “Think we can hit the diner next? I saw they have tacos!” The others agreed instantly. They knew not to get between Sonata and her tacos. Plus, they were all hungry after bowling and Lazer Tag.
{-} {-} {-}
“How are things going at work?” Twilight asked once they were all sitting down with their food. They ended up getting seats in the karaoke bar area.
“Really good actually,” Adagio said.
Sonata was excited and further explained, “We’re on the unofficial catering team!”
“That means when there is a catering event the managers will come to us first to ask if we're interested before opening it up to everyone else,” Aria added.
“That’s good to hear,” Sunset said. She knew that also meant more money for them.
“How did you all earn that privilege?” Twilight asked.
The trio actually blushed a little here. “We ummm… Kind of got a little carried away one night at work and showed what we could really do,” Sonata said.
“They were thinking of asking us about it anyways, but it was a little embarrassing when they called us into the office and told us to sit down before closing the door behind us. We thought we were in serious trouble,” Adagio said.
“Well its good that wasn’t the case,” Sunset replied. She knew all too well it was usually a bad sign when you were told to sit down and the door was closed behind you. It happened to her more times than she wished to count when she was the alpha bitch at CHS.
“I can imagine. There was one time when I turned in an assignment a couple of minutes late, I feared Princess Celestia would banish me into a dungeon and then banish my cell to a different dimension from Equestria after she called me to her room,” Twilight said. She then gave a nervous giggle, “I might have been over reacting a tiny bit at that time. It turned out she didn’t even know it was a couple of minutes late until I told her as I deeply apologized for the mistake.”
{-} {-} {-}
Once they finished their meal, Sonata gave the tacos a six out of ten on the Sonata scale of tacoy goodness. Zero meant they weren’t the best, but still good since they were tacos and ten meant they were the cream of the cream of the taco crop.
As they continued to sit there talking a little and enjoying their drinks, Sonata’s eyes wandered over to karaoke stage again. She saw it was free. You just had to sign up by selecting your song using the simple tablet at your table. She looked at the expansive list of songs on the screen and saw the one perfect for her plan.
It was a song she and the others had sung in the past to ease their settling in with a new community as they were again keeping a low profile after things had gotten a bit out of hand for them. The song also gained some popularity around the turn of the century after it was played in a movie. She guessed that was part of the reason it was on the list, even if the movie was several years ago.
The the three of them made a different arrangement of the song making use of their three voices at the time. She was going to sing that version of the song for the crowd here tonight. Rearranging the song was actually one of the few times in the past she could remember they enjoyed each other's company openly. She hoped it would be enough to get Aria and Adagio to join her. She could also improvise a little since she was singing it a capella, if needed. It was a fairly beautiful song, but it would sound odd with her voice alone using this version and she hoped that would further spur on the other two into joining her.
The blue haired girl felt something inside her as she looked over to Aria and Adagio. This further confirmed to her tonight was the night. She gave a smile and walked over to the Karaoke stage after picking the song. She had been planning this in a way for the whole week.
She was sure she could sing now. She was also sure Aria and Adagio could as well. She was a bit nervous they might not join her in the end, but she had faith in them. She might be embarrassed a little if they didn't join her, but she was taking this risk. If she didn't, she doubted either of them would and they might never sing again.
As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good old way
And who shall wear the starry crown
Good Lord, show me they way!
O sisters let's go down,
Let's go down, oh come on down
O sisters, let's go down
Down in the river to pray...
The people sitting at the tables in the area looked as Sonata started to sing. Sonata's voice sounded wonderful, but it felt like the song was off with the way she was singing. Some of them whispered to each other wondering if their friends might know what was up with the girl's singing.
Aria and Adagio knew better than most people there. They were surprised Sonata could sing again. They were also surprised she was purposely singing just her part of their arrangement of the song. They might have just stood there in awe at their friend singing again, but Twilight gave them each a light push which broke them from their musings.
The two looked to each other and came to an understanding. Twilight broke them from their awe and was encouraging them to join Sonata. It seemed she too had an idea what was happening. They weren't sure what the results would be, but they were going to join her. Worst case scenario they would be embarrassed with Sonata in front of the crowd, but they would still be by each other's side.
Sonata felt nervous while she sang, despite her determination in her plan. She just wasn’t sure if her gamble would pay off even though she knew it was time for them to sing again after everything they'd been through together after CHS.
Aria and Adagio came up and stood on either side of Sonata. Her heart skipped a beat. She felt very relieved once the others joined her and she even stopped singing mid-word.
She turned to her friends and instead of breaking down and hugging them like she wanted. She simply said, "I'm glad you two joined me... From the top."
The gathered people wondered what was going on now that her friends joined her. They were actually feeling a little anticipation as some realized what was going on after the other two joined her. A few people who happened to wander nearby stopped to also see what was going on. They were curious by the atmosphere they could feel from the karaoke bar.
(A/N: "Down to the River to Pray" Alison Krauss. O Brother Where Art Thou? OST Link if interested. Not exactly their version.)
As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good old way
And who shall wear the starry crown
Good Lord, show me they way!
O sisters let's go down,
Let's go down, oh come on down
O sisters, let's go down
Down in the river to pray
As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good old way
And who shall wear the robe and crown
Good Lord, show me the way!
O brothers, let's go down,
Let's go down, come on down
Come on, brothers, let's go down
Down in the river to pray
As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good old way
And who shall wear the starry crown
Good Lord, show me they way!
O fathers, lets go down,
Let's go down, come on down
O fathers, let's go down
Down in the river to pray
As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good old way
And who shall wear the robe and crown
Good Lord, show me the way!
O mothers, let's go down,
Let's go down; Don't you want to go down?
Come on, mothers, let's go down
Down in the river to pray
As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good old way
And who shall wear the starry crown
Good Lord, show me they way!
O sinners, let's go down,
Let's go down, come on down
O sinners, let's go down
Down in the river to pray
As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good old way
And who shall wear the robe and crown
Good Lord, show me the way!
When Aria and Adagio joined Sonata, they took their usual parts and sang together. When the three were singing together, the mutterings were immediately replaced with gasps and wide eyes of surprise at the difference. Soon there was just silence as everyone listened.
When the song came to an end, Sonata couldn’t help it as her eyes teared up in happiness. Adagio and Aria gave her a hug and soon they heard cheers and whistles from the impromptu audience. People stood up and clapped as well. Twilight and Sunset were trying to make the most noise while clapping to show their support.
The three girls couldn’t help but feel happy and excited at what just happened. They quickly made their way back to their table to enjoy their excitement and bask in the afterglow. They didn't want to hog the stage area and they wanted to relish the feeling of having finally sung once again and together.
“That was amazing you three!” Twilight said brightly as they sat down at the table.
“Yeah! That was really great singing. It’s nice to hear you actually sing without that and all,” Sunset said smiling brightly as well.
This caused the others to blush a little. It really made them feel even happier hearing Twilight and Sunset praise them. Their first audience and friends to hear them without using magic approved of their singing. “It was all Sonata really,” Adagio said and Aria nodded in agreement.
Aria then turned to Sonata and asked, “How did you know we would be able to sing again?”
Sonata blushed as she answered, “Well, I just kind of figured it out recently. I did gamble a little there though. I wasn’t sure if you two would join me. Considering how things happened in the past when I mentioned singing.”
Adagio and Aria frowned at themselves hearing this. “Sorry…. We just didn’t well, you know… Can you forgive us?” Aria and Adagio asked her as they stumbled over their words.
Sonata gave them smiles as more happy tears flowed from her eyes. “You two sillies… I already did a long time ago! I’m really happy you joined me. Not being able to sing really bothered me for so very long and you two joining me when I could finally sing again is the most I could ask for!”
The three hugged as Sunset and Twilight smiled fondly at the scene. Sonata looked to them and her eyes told them they had to join in on the hug as well as she said, “It’s thanks to you two I finally figured it out. All this time I figured we would have to sing again before we could ever be truly happy with each other. I finally figured out it was because we finally had friendship with each other and admitted it that we would be able to sing again.”
Aria made room for them to join in the hug and so they did with smiles. When they finished their group hug, Sonata spoke again, “We should all five sing a song together sometime before we leave.”
“I’m sure we can, but I’m also sure you three probably want to sing another song or two first,” Twilight said with a knowing smile as the three girls nodded in agreement.
Aria looked at the list and one song quickly caught her attention. She knew it might not be popular, but it would be fun to sing with the others. It was an older song and probably only known by some people, if any, because it was on a very popular 90's show about a high school girl killing vampires. She made her pick and showed it to Adagio and Sonata who nodded to her in understanding.
Sonata let out a giggle as she said, “I find it very fitting you chose that song, Aria.”
“She was a really big fan of the show,” Adagio said with a smile as Aria almost seemed a little embarrassed for some reason. Sunset and Twilight were lost in this conversation. They would have asked for clarification, but oddly enough the three were already up again almost immediately after Aria made her choice. Maybe the audience was still in a bit of stupor after the last song or something, so they didn't have to wait to go again. The three didn't complain and just quickly went back up to the stage.
The song started off with a very different than usual cello sound and soon the trio started singing rather quickly, but the words could still be made out. A couple of people in the audience seemed to recognize it shortly after the three started singing perfectly in sync with each other. It was almost as if they were one voice singing in three parts at the same time. It seemed as if singing still came naturally to the trio after they had found friendship with each other.
“What is this song?” Twilight asked Sunset who shrugged in response. She kind of liked it. The song was obviously about vampires.
Sunset picked up the karaoke tablet at their table and pointed to the song Aria picked still on the screen for Twilight. It was called “Transylvanian Concubine” by Rasputina. (A/N: Link if interested)
When the song came to an end, the crowd in the karaoke bar applauded them again and some even whistled. More people started to sing after that and Adagio looked over the song list for her song as they all sipped their drinks.
“That song Aria picked was kind of cool,” Twilight said.
“The song kind of became known a little after a tv show played it back in the late 1990s. I really liked watching the show,” Aria explained. She and Sonata started telling Sunset and Twilight all about the show. The two thought it sounded pretty cool.
Adagio kept looking for a song to sing. She wanted one she felt would fit everything from before finally admitting her feelings towards Aria and Sonata that night she encountered Sunset and Twilight at the restaurant. Something that also worked to describe how she felt when she admitted certain shames of her own to both Sonata and Aria. Something she felt described how she now saw her life as a Siren before truly seeing the others, now that they were all humans.
The other four were a little surprised by Adagio’s focus as she looked through the very expansive list of songs. They all decided not to bother her and continued their discussion. It was clear Adagio wanted the first song she picked to sing after finding her voice again to really mean something and be special to her.
Adagio started to look under different genres for something that stuck out to her and she recognized. There were a lot of good songs, but not one she felt fit just right. She was beginning to fear she might not find a good fit and would just have to pick something in the end.
Then her eyes caught a song title. She blinked a few times as she recalled the song. It would fit rather well. “But how is that song on this list…” she said just loud enough to get the attention of Aria and Sonata. She looked at the title pondering it, even if she had already made up her mind on selecting it.
The song was actually from an anime. A rather well known and fairly famous one as far as she knew, but it was still from an anime. It made sense finding a song from it here given the anime had a very good sound track that wasn't too... anime. Still, she did not expect to see it and thought it was too niche of a song. “Maybe the owner of this place was a big fan or something?” she finally thought to herself so she wouldn’t keep wondering about it. She was just glad it was on the list.
“I’ve decided,” she said so Aria and Sonata would look to her. She showed them the screen as she tapped the song selecting it.
“Oooo... that's a good one,” Sonata said.
“Another surprise find,” Aria added thinking of her own song choice.
“Are you three going to share with us?” Sunset asked playfully.
Adagio gave a small mischievous grin. “Not this time. You will just have to wait and listen like everyone else,” she said as Sunset shook her head with a playful expression. Adagio made a point of holding on to the karaoke tablet so Twilight and Sunset couldn’t cheat and look up the title.
{-} {-} {-}
Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait long for the Dazzlings to take another turn singing. As the three walked up, the rather large crowd was silent in anticipation having recognized them. The girls had only sung twice so far, but they had gotten a lot of attention. No magic required. There weren’t even enough seats in the karaoke bar for everyone listening.
“That’s them,” one guy whispered to his friends who he dragged over after they finished a round of bowling. The three girls were actually a little caught off guard by all of the attention, but they still kept their focus.
Adagio was ready to sing her heart out and so were Aria and Sonata.
The music started out a little low and had a guitar twang here and there before Sonata and Aria started to sing notes as they stood on either side of Adagio. The audience including Twilight and Sunset were already very interested. The clamor you usually heard in a bar even quieted down as the three started the song. It even seemed the noise from the bowling areas were quieting down waiting for them to sing.
Adagio started singing the song.
(A/N: “Gotta Knock a Little Harder” by the Seatbelts. Cowboy Bebop OST. Link if interested)
Happiness is word to me
And it might have meant a thing or two
If I had known the difference
Emptiness, a lonely parody
And my life, another smoking gun
A sing of my indifference
Always keepin’ safe inside
Where no one ever had a chance to
Penetrate a break in
Let me tell you some have tried
But I would slam door so tight
That they could never get in
Kept my cool under lock and key
And I never shed a tear
Another sign of my condition
The fear of Love or bitter vanity
That kept me on the run
The main events at my confession
I kept a chain upon my door
That would shake the shame of Cain
Into blind submission
The burning ghost without a name
Was still calling all the same
But I just wouldn’t listen
The longer I’d stall
The further I’d crawl
The further I’d crawl
The harder I’d fall
Was crawling into the fire
The more that I saw
The further I’d fall
The further I’d fall
The lower I’d crawl
Kept falling into to the fire
There was a bit of break in the lyrics as a guitar solo started even though the Dazzlings kept singing notes along with it and the song’s pace picked up. The audience were really getting into the song.
Suddenly it occurred to me
The reason for the run and hide
Had totaled my existence
Everything left on the other side
Could never be much worse than this
But could I go the distance?
I faced the door and all my shame
Tearin’ off each piece of chain
Until they all were broken
But no matter how I tried
The other side was locked so tight
The door it wouldn’t open
Gave it all that I got
And started to knock
Shouted for someone to open the lock
Just Gotta
Get through the door
And the more that I knocked
The hotter I got
The hotter I got
The harder I’d knock
Just gotta
Break through the door
Gotta knock a little harder
Gotta knock a little harder
Gotta knock a little harder
Break through the door…
After the trio sang the final chorus a few more times, the song slowed in pace again. Aria and Sonata started to sing the notes from the beginning of the song again.
Adagio then finished by singing, “Break down… the door…”
The song came to an end.
The karaoke bar at Fun Zone Plus was dead silent. The audience was stunned. Some of the people had tears in their eyes due to feeling the emotion of Adagio’s singing.
Adagio, Sonata and Aria were also stunned as they stood there breathing heavily in the silence.
Adagio had forgotten they were in a karaoke bar. She just sang her heart out as memories of the tough times she went through came to her and eventually left her. She felt cleansed in a way. She felt as if those dark memories would no longer hold any power over her ever again.
Sonata and Aria felt similar to Adagio as well. Adagio had really gone all out singing the song and they did as well, even if they were just singing backing vocals for Adagio.
The stunned silence continued for a little bit. It was Sunset who broke it up by finally clapping enthusiastically. She was followed soon by Twilight. The two clapping girls led to the whole bar cheering and shouting praise and whistling and doing all they could to show their support.
“That was amazing singing, Dagio!” Sonata said as she hugged her friend.
Aria joined in the hug and said, “That was a great song to pick, Adagio!” She was really happy and actually showing it instead of trying to play it cool.
“Thanks, you two,” Adagio said with a heartwarming smile.
She then turned to Sonata and said, “Thank you especially, Sonata. I wouldn’t have been able to sing like that if it wasn’t for you.”
“Awww… I love you guys!” Sonata said as she hugged them both tighter.
They held their hug a little bit before they finally went back to their table. People kept applauding them as they made their way back to their two friends. It still took some time for the people to settle down, even after the three girls sat down.
“That was amazing,” Twilight said to them once they came back.
“That’s what I said to her,” Sonata said grinning widely.
“Well, there isn’t a better way to say it,” Sunset said with a laugh. Sunset and Twilight then gave the trio a big hug again.
The girls took a little break as they picked out a song the five of them would sing together. There were a lot of people wanting to sing now, even if none of them were close in caliber to Adagio, Aria and Sonata. That didn't matter though. The people were having a good time and enjoying the night.
When the five finally went up together, the people were surprised that even the trio’s two friends were really good a singing. The five really enjoyed the whole night together and they all sang plenty, even if not all together each song. The friends were sad when they finally parted company as Twilight and Sunset went back to Sunset’s apartment and Adagio, Aria, Sonata went back to their place.
Twilight was fondly holding her final score card from Lazer Tag as they parted. Sonata had circled all of their names and even made little doodles representing each of them. Twilight's wore a crown labeled Lazer Princess and Sonata was giving her two thumbs up. The Aria and Sunset doodles looked playfully upset as they eyed the crown with envy. Adagio's doodle was off to the side giving an elegant laugh at the two of them. It was a really fun and exciting night. Twilight knew she would treasure the night, even if she wouldn't be able to treasure it as much as the Dazzlings would.
{-} {-} {-}
“We totally have to have a sleep over sometime soon with them both,” Sonata said as she stepped out of the car and they went to their door.
“I like the sound of that,” Aria agreed.
“We can call them up later and make plans then,” Adagio said as they finally called it a night. Once more, the three decided to all snuggle into Adagio’s bed for the night together. They were all really happy and exhausted because of how much more they sang the rest of the night. They knew this night would most likely be their most treasured memory and it was all thanks to their taco crazed friend. They all three had pleasant dreams that night.