A Dazzling Evening
“I cannot believe you all.” Nymph paced around the Dazzlings’ bedroom with her head locked onto two of its occupants no matter how often she turned her body. “I give you three a golden opportunity to finally achieve friendship, but you all blew it. Aria, not only am I upset about how you treated Applejack and Rainbow with such immense disrespect, I am disgusted with the language you dared to use right in front of royalty. You’re lucky I could wipe Spike’s mind of those wretched words or else Twilight or Celestia would have turned you into a pile of fish sticks.”
“SHUT UP!” Aria boomed from the bathroom.
“Keep up the attitude. It certainly takes you far.” Sighing, Nymph turned to her other two problems. “However, I’m most surprised at you, Sonata. Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Cherub are such wonderful ponies who showed you a good time and yet you threw back their offer right in their faces.”
“I didn’t do that! I just said no to them!” Sonata put her hoof on her chin. “Or were the cupcakes the offer? Wait, what were they an offer for, again?”
The queen’s eye twitched as she turned to the leader herself. “And Adagio, you...actually, this was exactly what I was expecting from the start.”
“You honestly think I would just bend over and make pals with the girl who left us begging on the streets?” Adagio asked, still admiring herself in the mirror. “If somepony got you booted off your throne, would you want to be their pal?”
“Chrysalis is a close friend of Twilight Sparkle, so it’s not impossible. Maybe if you could see the error of your ways, you wouldn’t be so against the idea.” She walked over to Adagio’s side, but the siren still gave her the cold shoulder. “If I were you, I would start taking things seriously. You are not helping yourself by continuing your defiance. Besides, being Twilight’s friend wouldn’t be nearly as bad as being homeless, now would it?” The siren said nothing in response, simply carrying on as if Nymph hadn’t spoken at all. “Despite your actions today, I still feel that there’s hope for you, Sonata.”
“Nope!” the siren countered happily.
“She’s got that right,” Aria commented.
“What’s that supposed to mean!?” Sonata dashed to the door and pounded her hoof against it. “Come out and say that to my face so I can laugh at yours!”
“Enough!” Nymph rubbed her forehead while heading out of the room. “Today was a disaster and I assure you that Celestia is not taking this lightly. I suggest you girls think about what you have done today because you are giving us less of a good reason to keep you around.” She opened the door and glanced back at them. “Maybe if I’m lucky tonight, you will realize how much better it was being with those ponies than it is to be stuck with each other.” She walked out of the room and slammed the door behind her.
“Is she gone?” Aria asked.
“It took her long enough,” Adagio replied. She glanced at the bathroom door as her underling stepped out with a towel around her waist and her face cleansed of art.
“What an awful day.” She gave her roommates a sideways glance. “So what did they make you two do?”
“Twilight treated me at a spa,” Adagio bragged, running a hoof across her gorgeous mane and taking in the faint aroma of her shampoo. “Or did you forget after being lost in my radiance?”
Aria stopped dead in her tracks. “Are you serious!? She took you to a spa!?”
“And she pampered me like a princess. It’s a shame her efforts of befriending me were for naught.” Adagio posed on the bed with one hoof on the bed and one behind her head with one of her hind legs sticking out. “They did a great job, didn’t they?”
The other siren quickly turned away. “Sure. Whatever.” Aria tossed her towel back into the bathroom and glanced at Sonata. “And what about you? Did they take you to a petting zoo or something?”
Sonata gasped while pressing her hooves against her cheeks. “How did you know? Are you psychic!?”
“What!? For real!?”
“Yep! And we got to make cupcakes!”
Aria kicked her bed and it flew a few inches from her. “What the heck!? They treated you two so well while I got stuck working at a stupid farm! What the heck did I do to deserve this!?”
Adagio deviously grinned as Aria sat on her bed to make her pigtails and looked toward Sonata. “Oh, poor, poor Aria. I think she’s had a bad day and feels all moody!”
“What makes you say that?” Sonata asked sweetly.
“It’s practically written all over her face!” The two broke out into fits of laughter with Adagio falling on her back and holding her sides. When she opened her eyes, she found Aria staring down at her, looking ready to commit murder.
“Keep laughing, Adagio,” she hissed. “It’s getting us nowhere when we’re still cleaning floors and serving food to ponies who should be serving us. The real joke here is your leadership.”
Right as Adagio sat up, Sonata got in between them. “Girls, no fighting! I’m sorry we laughed, Aria, but it was funny! It really was!” Adagio roughly jabbed her, watching carefully of the ticking bomb in front of her. “I just remembered! I made you each a gift! That should cheer you both up!” She hopped over her bed, wagging her tail as she reached under her bed, then held out two boxes wrapped in ribbons. “I hope you like them!”
“Gimme.” Aria swiftly snagged her gift from Sonata and tore it open. “What the heck is this?” Adagio peeked over her shoulder. Inside the box was a large chocolate cupcake with purple frosting piled on top with some streaks of green. There were also some some ribbons of similar colors, sitting on opposite ends. “Is this...is this supposed to be my hair?”
“Uh huh! What do you think?”
Aria looked at it again and then back at her, returning to her default expression. “Sonata, this is one of the corniest things you have ever done.”
“Oh.” The sad siren took the box. “I’m sorry it-”
Aria instantly took it back. “I didn’t say I don’t want it.” Placing it on her bed table, she flopped onto her bed and faced away from them.
Eager to see her gift, Adagio gently pulled off the ribbon and open it up, finding a white cupcake with frosting similar to her mane within. “Sonata, it’s adorable! I could just eat me up!” She leaned forward and hugged her. “At least someone here appreciates your efforts.”
“You know what I’d appreciate? You figuring out how we get out of this mess,” Aria called from her bed.
“Now, now. Let’s not start that again. Yes, I have been taking my time with this one, but everything must be perfectly thought out. The last two times were flukes, but I promise this time we will be victorious.” Adagio couldn’t help but chuckle. “Besides, Nymph is already leading us toward her downfall by allowing us to sing. I just need to find the right way to take advantage of the situation.”
“I’m so excited,” Aria remarked uncaringly.
Daring herself to fan the flames, Adagio replied, “It’s more than what you have at least.” Aria wasted no time to get up and face her directly.
Tension hung in the air as Adagio and Aria stared each other down. Adagio couldn’t help but feel proud for getting to Aria so easily and watch her struggle to say something in return. She was sure that within the next few months, Aria would learn who was in charge when this world was theirs. Before she could add salt to the wound, Sonata interrupted. “You girls wanna get some dinner? We can get beer. I’ll even pay.”
Both sirens looked at her and then each other. Shrugging, they both answered, “Sure.”
Compared to the other world, Adagio felt a lot safer being out in the city during the night, even if there were giant bugs walking about. In the other world, she dared not step out during the evening unless Aria was with her. This Canterlot, however, seemed to be far more civilized and had several guards patrolling the streets. On top of it all, she had her strength and magic back, so no pony here would come close to being a threat to her.
After wandering the streets, they found a bar called The Long Face and stepped inside to escape the chill night. Adagio found it to be strange that such a low class bar would be found in a city like this. While it did carry the pleasant aroma of polished wood and alcohol, it had dim lighting, a pool table on one side, and not exactly the fanciest looking customers dining. The name of the store hung over the bartender stallion with a image of a generic pony that looked more like a horse from the other world. It didn’t matter how it looked to Adagio as look as it had good food. Only a hoofful of waitresses were present, wearing their green and white striped shirts with black skirts. As Adagio requested a table from one, Sonata was drooling over one of the cheap candy dispensers near the entrance while Aria stood quietly. The pony lead them to an isolated booth in corner and they sat down.
“I miss the old restaurant,” Sonata sighed as the waitress left. “They had really good malts.”
“I miss nothing of that world,” Adagio growled while opening her menu. “It was a miserable prison.”
“What about the internet? Or fingers? Or TV?”
“Okay, there were a few good things, but I miss being my true self.” She turned toward the window, glancing at her reflection. “Although, I do like having this mane.” Adagio ran her hooves through it and savored how it felt.
“It looks so amazing!” Sonata squealed. “I wish I could go to the spa!”
“Stick with me and you will go the spa every day.”
“Weren’t we digging through dumpsters a while ago?” Aria asked without looking up.
Adagio snarled as she stared down her unloyal follower until Sonata suddenly leaned in between them. “Hey, let’s not fight! It wasn’t that bad of a day.”
“What do you mean?” snapped Aria before shoving Sonata back into her seat. “My day sucked. I’m probably going to get hammered and you two better get me home. And if either of you dare repeat what those ponies did to me or try some other prank, don’t be surprised when one day you wake up bald or worse.” She picked up her menu and hid her face behind it.
Adagio snickered, but then choked. Aria was not one to joke around, meaning her threat was clearly not an empty one. Rather than provoke Aria any further, she browsed the menu. There were many tempting choices, but as a siren, she craved fish and found one dish that piqued her interests. “Hey, girls. They’ve got some baked cod here.”
Sonata and Aria flipped to the same page. “Now that sounds good,” agreed Aria, showing some positivity. “Won’t be good as the ones I make, but I’ll take it.”
“You make the best food, Aria,” complimented Sonata while moving uncomfortably close to her. “Have I ever told you how great I think your food is? You should have your own cooking show!”
“Get out of my face.”
Sonata’s smile broke and she reluctantly got back to her spot. Right after, their waitress returned with their drinks and they all ordered the same dish. Unlike Aria, who was already downing her bottle, Adagio took her time to savor her drink. It was good beer and she considered visiting the bar again in the future as unlike the other world, she looked old enough to drink. “I know!” Sonata said suddenly. “We should have a toast to celebrate our victory over those losers! That would be fun!”
Adagio smirked. “Not a bad idea.” She raised her bottle, but noticed Aria had not done the same. “Won’t you join us?”
“‘Our victory?’” Aria stared at her in a rather unfriendly way. “Are you two forgetting what they did to me? How you both laughed your butts off at me?”
Embarrassed, Adagio put her bottle down on the table. “Let’s just forget about it then.” Sonata sadly did the same, looking defeated. Dinner hadn’t even arrived and the air between them was uncomfortable. Was it always like this when they went out to eat? Adagio recalled their evenings at their old home being more pleasant, but maybe she grew a bias after living off scraps for so long. Perhaps going out wasn’t exactly a good idea.
Against her will, her mind drifted to Twilight and her friends. She could just picture them all eating together right now, laughing and smiling despite being unsuccessful in swaying them. The mere image sickened Adagio to her core. She told herself it was because she simply despised the idea of her enemies being happy, but deep down she knew why. It hadn’t been until today had she realized it and she wish she had not met Twilight or Rarity today as they gave her the idea. It was so pathetic that the more she thought about it, the worse she felt.
Adagio was jealous.
With some effort, she forced herself to look at her two companions. Sonata looked to have something on her mind, but seemed a very hesitant to say it. Whatever it was, she doubted she or Aria would care very much. As for Aria, she looked like she’d rather be anywhere than here, but that was nothing new. Silence between them was usually a good thing as most of their conversations consisted of some form of argument, which she was in no mood for. Even though they were home at last, most of her days consisted of misery, anger, and stress over finally making her dream come true.
She made a quick glance at Aria and was relieved to see she wasn’t looking. She remembered Twilight asking her if this was what she thought Aria and Sonata wanted. Sonata had always tried to get closer to either of them, but they wouldn’t allow her. As for Aria, she was always rather distant, but she had been getting worse the last few days. Sometimes she wouldn’t come back to their room until late night, choosing to drink and play cards with Thorax rather than have their company. Aria almost left them a few days ago and if she didn’t act soon, Adagio felt she would go through with her threat. She needed to say something to smooth things over with her by tonight.
She took another swig of her beer and when she set the bottle down, there was one less siren in front of her. Adagio then sensed something and slowly turned her head, finding Sonata sitting right next to her with a gigantic grin.
For perhaps the first time ever, Adagio felt afraid of Sonata.
“Sooooo?” the blue siren asked sweetly.
“So what?”
“Aren’t you going to tell me how much of a good job I did for rejecting them?”
Aria raised an eyebrow. “You want her to praise you for not being friends with ponies you already hate?”
“They tried really hard to win me over!” Sonata argued, making gestures with her forelegs as she leaned over the table. “And then I threw a bunch of cupcakes at them and laughed! It was great! Don’t you think so, Adagio?” She moved her hoof to give a friendly pat to Adagio’s chest, but accidently knocked over the beer bottle onto her lap.
“Sonata!” Adagio shouted as she jumped out of her seat. “Look what you did!”
“It was an accident! I swear! We can get you another beer and it will be all okay, right?” Adagio grabbed her by the ponytail, holding Sonata’s head in front of hers. “R-right?”
“Clean this up and then stay in your seat. Now.” Once released, Sonata hastily grabbed some napkins to wipe off the seat and table. As Adagio looked over herself, she caught Aria letting out a smirk directed toward her and Adagio shot back a dirty look. Now all she could think about was going back to the palace and taking a bath to wash off the stench of cheap booze off herself before people got the wrong idea about her. It took only a minute for Sonata to finish and she went under the table to get back in her seat by the window. Adagio sat back down and took the drink menu so she didn’t need to look at either of them.
After several minutes of silence save for the other patrons, the waitress returned with their meals. Adagio placed her napkin on her lap and wasted no time to cut off a piece and eat it. When the cod touched her tongue, she moaned in satisfaction. “At least these ponies know how to cook.”
Aria shrugged as she sliced another big piece to shove in her mouth like the animal she was. “It’s alright. Could use some more butter.”
“It’s super delicious! We should come here all the time!” Adagio gave Sonata a nod before returning to her meal. “So do you girls wanna something fun tonight?”
“Nah,” Aria muttered, sounding slightly annoyed.
“Dagi?” Sonata asked, sounding rather timid.
“Sorry, Sonata, but I’m not in the mood.”
“Oh. How about tomorrow?” Both sirens shook their heads. “The day after?” she asked, quieter.
“Sonata, if you want to do something fun, then you can go do it. I think neither of us will have to babysit you in this world, so just do whatever.” Adagio mixed her next bite with some tartar sauce, her body tingling as the heavenly taste met her tongue. One of the many benefits to living in Equestria as opposed to Chantlantis was the many variety of foods available. Hopefully Aria would continue her interest in cooking soon as she could make some pretty amazing meals and with a whole royal kitchen, there were endless possibilities.
As Adagio made another cut into her fish, Sonata spoke up once again. “Do you girls have anything interesting to talk about?” None of them said anything. In Adagio’s mind, she screamed at Sonata to keep her mouth shut because her questions were making her extremely uncomfortable as they constantly reminded her how much their friendship stunk. “Do you girls want to do anything back home?” Aria loudly growled. Sonata’s final question was practically a whisper. “So did either of you learn anything about friendship?”
Aria banged the table, startling both of them. “Sonata! I am not in a good mood right now! All I want is some peace and quiet while I enjoy my dinner! But instead, you just keep yammering on about stupid stuff like always! Can you just keep your mouth shut for once!?”
Sonata backed against the wall of the booth, frightened. Adagio knew Aria had anger problems, but she should know better than to yell at Sonata like that, especially in public. She noticed the way Sonata looked at her, begging with her hurt and scared eyes for Adagio to help. However, she really did not feel like arguing anymore. Maybe it would be better to wait for tomorrow to try to talk with Aria. “Sonata. Please just eat your dinner.” The next few minutes passed in complete silence. Adagio looked up from her plate to glance at Aria, who had already devoured her dinner and sat boredly against the seat, forelegs crossed and looking wherever. If Sonata got the hint, it would be a quiet night for them, which was something Adagio always welcomed.
As Adagio came close to finishing her meal, her ears picked up something and it took her a few seconds to realize what it was. Aria had also noticed and they stared at the siren tucking herself against the corner, looking down with her forelegs crossed against her chest. “Sonata?” When she looked up, they could see tears running down her cheeks. “Nata?” Adagio asked in her sweetest tone despite feeling very alert. “Nata, what’s wrong?”
“Everything.”
It was a statement that caught Adagio completely off guard. She looked over to Aria, who looked back at her with the same confusion. Sonata cried from time to time, but something about this concerned Adagio. “Sonata, come here.” Sonata went under the table and practically threw herself at her. The poor siren buried her head into Adagio’s chest, weakly hugging her as the sobs continued. “Now tell me what’s wrong.”
“Y-y-you both hate me. You think that I a-a-a-a-am an idiot.”
“Sonata, that’s not true.” Adagio’s instincts kicked in and she unleashed a deathly glare at Aria, halting any attempt for her to make a rude remark. “We would never hate you.”
Sonata pulled herself up and blew her nose on one of the napkins. “You don’t like me at all. None of us like each other. We fight so much that I’m not even sure why we still hang out. I know you two hate each other more than anything.”
Aria defensively raised her hooves. “Hold on. I’m not crazy about Adagio, but I don’t exactly hate her guts either. She’s just hard to like.”
“That perfectly sums up my feelings towards you,” Adagio shot back through gritted teeth.
“And me too?” Sonata whimpered.
“No, never! Sonata, you know that we care about you.” She planted a kiss on Sonata’s forehead, but it did little to remedy the situation. “I really appreciated that gift you gave me. You’re not the sharpest siren, but you are the sweetest and that’s what I like about you.”
“You don’t like me. If you did, you wouldn’t yell at me or make fun of me with Aria. I’m just a joke to you that you only keep around because I can sing.”
“What? Don’t be-”
“You screamed at us so much when we lost.” The flow of tears coming out Sonata’s eyes doubled and she occasionally sniffled. “I tried to cheer you up, but you kept insulting me and treated me like an idiot. I thought you didn’t want to have me around anymore.”
Adagio couldn’t bare looking her in the eyes any longer. “That was different, Sonata. We just-”
“It’s always different!” Sonata snapped, forcing Adagio to look at her. “I’m never sure what you think of me because you keep changing how you act! Sometimes you like to hang out with me and be all nice and sometimes you just want me to leave you alone and even insult me! I can’t stand living like this anymore!”
“Where the heck is this all coming from?” asked Aria, nervous.
“When I was with Pinkie and Fluttershy, they were...they were...so happy and wonderful!” Sonata blew her nose. “I wanted to be friends with them so bad. I’ve wanted friends like them for all my life and when I finally had the chance, I acted like a jerk and pushed them away!” She blew her nose again and tossed the napkin onto the table. “Do you know why I said no to being their friend? It was because I kept hoping that you two would be happy with me that I did. I wanted to use what I learned about friendship so we could finally get along. I thought everything was going to be better now that we can sing again, but it’s just the same as the other world.” Her eyes drifted down to her lap. “I bet it will be still the same if we did conquer Equestria.”
Right now, Adagio wished somepony like Celestia, Nymph, or even Twilight would come by for whatever reason to get her out of this mess. However, she was not so fortunate and had no choice but to handle this herself. “I...I had no idea that you-”
“Adagio.” Sonata slowly looked at her. Her eyes had turned red at this point and the fur beneath them was drenched. Her trembling lips were a clear sign that she was at the verge of opening the floodgates. “Tell me the truth. Tell me what you really think of me.”
Adagio’s entire body went stiff. It was difficult to pull away from Sonata’s somber gaze to look at Aria, her eyes pleading for assistance. Sadly, Aria as well became a deer in headlights. It wasn’t as if she expected much help from her anyway, but Adagio just wanted time to think of how to answer Sonata. This was not the first time she had question their relationship with each other, but never before had Sonata been so emotional about it. She didn’t want to admit it, but Adagio was bothered by what she had said. What made it worse was remembering when Aria threatened to abandon them because she was fed up. It was no secret that things had not been always so great between them, she just never believed it was this bad.
Sonata’s sobbing had lowered in volume and Adagio knew she had to come up with something. With no time left to think things over, she decided the best solution would be to answer honestly. “Okay. Sonata, I admit I have not been a great leader, or friend, to either of you. Living together has been challenging and you’re right, we’re not close even though we work together. Truthfully I just hoped that once my plan fell into place, everything would take care of itself. So far, we haven’t been so lucky.” Adagio loudly sighed. “Like it or not, girls, we are stuck with each other. Perhaps it’s time we start treating each other a little better.” Adagio gently picked up Sonata’s hooves. “I’m willing to be your friend, Sonata.”
Sonata sniffed. “Do you mean it?”
“I do.” Adagio picked up one of the napkins and gently rubbed it against Sonata’s eyes. Sonata smiled and embraced her, nuzzling her chest. In return, Adagio held her and hummed a song to calm her down. Looking over to Aria, she saw something strange. The siren did not have her usual look or even seemed to be concerned. She actually appeared to be very cross, staring directly back at her with malice. Rather than question it, Adagio chose to focus on Sonata. She suddenly thought back to Twilight and what she was telling her about friendship.
Right now, she really wished she had paid attention to Celestia’s lessons.
Other than Adagio saying something to lift Sonata’s spirits, the rest of their dinner was rather quiet. Uncomfortable was an understatement of how Adagio felt about what happened, but she also felt irritated. Aria just kept giving her this look that really rubbed her the wrong way rather than do something to help come Sonata down. Adagio would make sure to have a word with her tomorrow once Sonata was dealt with.
Once they paid for their dinner and were outside, Adagio looked around and noticed an ice cream shop down the street. She didn’t always like to indulge herself with sweets (or least she kept telling herself that whenever she wasn’t spoiling herself), but she was in desperate need of stress relief and knew Sonata needed this as well. “How about a little dessert? My treat.”
Sonata’s ears perked up. “Really?”
“Sure. How about you, Aria?”
The other siren was already walking away. “Pass. I’m getting out of here. You two have fun or whatever.”
Adagio felt her patience hit zero from Aria’s act of pure defiance. After what just happened, Aria was still being an absolute pain in her rear. Something was up and she was going to do something about it. “Sonata, wait here.” She hurried to Aria, calling, “Hold it.” The siren turned around, looking uninterested. “Is there something going on with you?”
“Yeah, and it’s that you’re even worse than I thought.”
“Excuse me?”
Aria glanced behind her leader. “So how long you planning on taking Sonata for a ride? She ate up that manure you gave her and no doubt it will shut her up for a while.” She casually shrugged. “Well, at least until things fall back into regular routine.”
“Aria, I was being sincere. I really want to try to make things better between us.”
“I would have believed you, but I know you.” Aria scowled. “The real you. You don’t care about making friends. You just want to be in control and nothing else matters to you. If Sonata couldn’t sing, you would have laughed in her face.”
“Just because I’m mean doesn’t mean I don’t care about either of you,” defended Adagio.
“It’s hard to tell. After all this time, it took Sonata breaking down and crying before you decided to actually act like a decent person. Just admit you don’t care about her problems or about her at all. All I ask is that you at least have the decency to be honest.”
“Stop thinking I’m tricking her. Is it so hard for you to accept that maybe I don’t like us being at each other’s throats? I want things to be better.”
“I recall you taking a swing at me a few months ago. Was that you trying to make things better?”
Adagio flinched. “That was different. I was so angry about-”
“That’s the problem. You’re always angry. How long is it going to be until something sets you off and we’re right back where we started?”
Somehow, Adagio’s patience had dropped past empty. “It’d help if you weren’t such a pain to deal with.”
“And I always will be, because that’s how we really feel about each other, isn’t it?”
Adagio pointed behind herself. “Did you not see Sonata back there!? What was I supposed to say to her? Sorry, we can’t be friends so just get over it?”
“Nothing that blunt, but I would have said something like that. Better to be honest, right?”
Adagio roughly jabbed her hoof straight into Aria’s chest. “Listen! I have busted my back to keep us together and maybe I’m not the best at it, but I’m trying! You, however, are more set on dividing us because you want to feel smug about being right! You cause more problems between us than solve! You may blame me for our failures, but I have yet to see you provide with something worthwhile! Right now, you have just proven how worthless of a leader and a friend you would be, Aria!”
Aria then expressed some sort of emotion. Adagio’s words were a punch in her gut and the golden siren felt very satisfied with the results. She turned away from Aria’s stunned face and started heading back to Sonata. Behind her, she could hear Aria fuming, trying and failing to say something back to win the argument. It was a moment before she could hear hoofsteps rapidly head in the opposite direction.
Sonata had been standing by the window of the bar, watching worriedly as Adagio came up to her. “Is Aria alright?”
“She’s just being stupid again. It’s better if we don’t talk about it.”
“She doesn’t like me, does she?”
“That siren doesn’t like either of us, but that’s Aria for you.” Sonata’s gaze met the sidewalk, so Adagio patted her on the back. “Don’t worry about her. I’m sure we’ll find a way to turn her around.”
“Maybe we could get something to make her feel better?”
“Just give her some space and we’ll try talking to her in the morning. Now enough worrying about her. Let’s get some ice cream, okay?” Sonata nodded and they both stood in line together within the shop. Once they got their treats, they returned outside and sat on a bench together under a street lamp. Adagio licked her cone of cookie dough ice cream before noticing Sonata wasn’t eating. On closer inspection, she could see Sonata’s eyes becoming moist. “Nata?”
“This isn’t going to last, is it?”
“The ice cream?” Adagio asked in a way to hide that she knew something was wrong. “It will melt if you don’t eat it soon.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Sonata slumped on the bench.” We’re not really going to be friends. If weren’t friends before, then why start now? I just thought...maybe things could change.”
Adagio placed her hoof on her shoulder. “They will change. There’s no reason we should let things be the way they are. You’re not the only one who wants this.” She reached over to Sonata’s side and pulled her closer. “We just got to try to make it happen. Starting tomorrow, we’ll figure out how the two of us can get along?”
“Aria too?”
“Let’s worry about her later. I don’t know if that siren ever got along with anyone.” Adagio felt droplets of her ice cream drip onto her hoof and quickly licked them up. “Nata, I want to give this friendship thing a try. I think that if we’re going to work together, then we need to stop making each other miserable. I really hate to say it, which is an understatement, but I am almost certain that Twilight and her friendship was what gave them the edge over us.” She took Sonata’s hoof. “From now on, you and I are friends. Best friends, in fact.”
“R-really?” Sonata began crying again, but there was something happy about the way she did. “We’re...besties?”
“Besties.” Adagio caught herself just in time as Sonata practically threw herself onto her, hugging so tightly. Adagio felt rather welcome to the display of affection, although she was surprised to see no pony or changeling pay attention to them as they walked by. Perhaps such gestures were commonplace in Equestria. She slowly returned the hug and felt that this was one of the smartest ideas she had in awhile.
When they finally parted, they both realized their ice cream was almost gone, so they quickly devoured what was left. They then sat together on the bench, watching the people pass by with Sonata resting her head against Adagio. After a minute of silence, Sonata asked, “Dagi?”
Tapping her hooves together, Sonata nervously asked, “M-maybe we could try being friends with some ponies, too? More friends is always a good thing, right?”
Adagio looked perplexed by the question, but then she grinned. “You could try that. Or you could make them like you.” Sonata blinked. “Think about it, Sonata. If we break free of these pendants and lure those princesses and Nymph into trusting us, they won’t suspect us of taking control of them and then Equestria will be all ours! When that happens, you will have all the friends you could ever want.” Adagio playfully nudged her. “We just gotta stick together and our dreams will come true. I’ll do the planning while you...make sure we get along. I know I’ve said a lot of insulting to you before, but I want you to know that you’re the only one I can trust with something this important.” Suddenly, Sonata leaned forward and planted a smooch on Adagio’s cheek. She couldn’t recall the last time someone displayed such affection toward her, but it felt very pleasant. “You really are the sweetest, aren’t you?”
“Mhm!” Sonata pointed to her cheek and it took a moment for Adagio to get the hint. A quick peck on the cheek was more than enough to satisfy Sonata, who squealed happily while blushing. “This is easily one of the best days of my life.”
“Follow my lead and I promise you one even better will come.” Adagio got off the bench and looked toward the massive palace. “Now come on. I think we’ve been out long enough and I don’t want Nymph to send out the guards to find us.” Sonata nodded and once they were on their way, she laid her head against Adagio again. Maybe this would satisfy Celestia after what they did today and she would get off their backs for a while. Adagio wasn’t really sure what she and Sonata were going to do together from here, but she was used to playing by ear.
Just like with her plan, she always accounted for unexpected outcomes.
Aria ground her teeth together, huffing furiously as she descended down the halls of Canterlot Palace. Guards took notice of the raging pony, but all decided it would be better to simply look elsewhere and make it to retirement as her reputation had reached even them. She couldn’t go back to her room. It would be a matter of time before Adagio and Sonata returned and the last thing she wanted to do was speak with them. She just needed to lay low until they went to bed so she could slip in and sleep without risking any more drama for the night, so she went down one of the halls in search of somewhere private.
“One can only wonder what was going through that head of hers.” Luna’s voice immediately caught her attention. Up ahead were the two princesses, who were both friends with Nymph and formally with Starswirl. The thought of those two merely being near her was almost enough to make her explode, but she had to keep calm. After what Adagio dared to say to her, acting like an idiot and getting into trouble would only prove her right. “Perhaps her dreams could provide some insight.”
“It might be necessary at this point,” Celestia responded. “I thought this would have been easy, but they have not been very...oh.” Aria was close enough for them to finally notice her and she chose not make eye contact. “Good evening, Aria.”
“Hey.” She walked past them and would have to hope they didn’t need anything from her.
“Hey? That’s all you have to say to a princess?” questioned Luna. The siren gave her an answer in the form of no answer at all before she disappeared around the corner. “She is bold, I will give her that.”
“She’s nowhere near her room and isn’t with either of her companions. I swore she even looked ready to scream.” Celestia turned to her sister. “There’s something wrong.”
Aria sighed in relief when she was far enough. Now she just needed somewhere to stay out of sight. The castle was pretty big, so that shouldn’t be a problem. However, exiting from one of the rooms ahead was another unwelcome sight. “Hi, Aria! How was-”
“Not now. I am not in a good mood.”
“Huh?” Thorax turned his head as she walked by. “Aria, are you-” The siren whipped her head around and showed him just exactly how she was feeling right now. “O-o-o-okay then! H-have a good night!” Thorax took off and flew around the corner in a matter of seconds. Aria continued storming down the hall until she discovered a pair of double doors. She opened one door slowly, making sure no pony was inside to bother her. Luckily, it appeared to be completely deserted. She snuck in and quietly closed the door behind her.
The glass ceiling was the only source of illumination for the library. Bookshelves were spread all around the room, covered with a messy assortment of books and scrolls. Aria was no librarian, but she felt that this place was in need of serious work, although she refused to ever mention it as Nymph could very easily make her do it. At the center of the library was a giant hourglass, which Aria couldn’t even begin to guess about.
Looking around, she found a small wooden table with some chairs surrounding it at the end of one of the aisles. She felt a bit of relief as she sat down and rested her head against the table. It was nice to have some real peace and quiet for a change, but she wished she still at least had her phone. People of the other world always posted the weirdest stuff and none of it failed to amuse her. Maybe if she had a chance to go back to the other world, she could steal some songs that didn’t exist here and make a killing overnight.
She let one of her hooves dangle under her. She wasn’t even sure how long she had been here and already she felt bored. Aria doubted the princesses kept any good reading material here, but it wasn’t as if she liked reading all that much to begin with. As much as tried not to, she kept thinking about what Adagio and Sonata could be saying about her when she wasn’t around. Not she cared or anything. Aria merely despised being insulted behind her back because it was so cowardly. She preferred having things said directly to her face. She hated herself for letting Adagio get to her like that, but it was too late to do anything about it now.
A loud creak suddenly arose, almost causing to jump out of her seat. She took cover behind one of the shelves, daring not to make a sound. It was possible she was somewhere she wasn’t supposed to be and would face punishment for intruding. Peaking around the corner, she could see a sickly green light illuminating the room. It was obvious that Nymph had found her and would rant about something else Aria couldn’t care less about.
The light only came closer, as if she already knew where Aria was hiding. Realizing the jig was up, Aria sighed and stepped out. “Well you found me. Does that mean you’ll leave me alone now?” Surprisingly, it was not Nymph who stood before her.
“I could, but what good would that do for either of us?” Aria recognized her as Cherub. She only came by during the evening, which was when Aria had either retired to her room or went out to the city, so she didn’t see her much. She couldn’t put her hoof on it, but there was something about her that made Aria feel a bit on edge. “And besides, am I so much of a burden on you that you would rather sit in the dark than talk to me?”
“Yes.”
The unicorn chuckled. “It’s okay. I don’t blame you for being wrong.” Aria glared at her as her uninvited guest sat down. Aria stood up with her back against the shelf and kept her forelegs crossed, looking in the opposite direction. “Rough night, I presume?”
“One of the worst.”
“Had a fight with your friends and you’re here to blow off some steam all by yourself? I can’t imagine why else you would be hiding here.”
Rolling her eyes, Aria replied, “Yay. You figured it out all by yourself. Would you like a cookie? Maybe a shiny sticker?”
“My, aren’t you a feisty one.” Aria mumbled to herself, bracing herself for yet another lecture on friendship or something of the like. These ponies practically exhaled positive emotions. “Lulu was worried and asked me to come speak with you. She had to be very convincing after what I went through with Sonata.” Once more, Aria chose not to reply with the hope that ignoring her would make her leave. “Stop acting like a brat and get over losing.”
The siren snapped her head up. “What did you just say to me?”
“You heard me. Defeat can be very humiliating, but you would be better to pick yourself back up and move on than to wallow in your own misery. It’s not healthy for you to stay this way.”
Getting on her hooves, Aria walked over and fiercely gazed into her eyes. “So now you suddenly think you know everything about me?”
She was so enraged by the mare that she was completely caught off guard when Cherub tightly gripped her foreleg. “I guarantee that I know more about you than you do.” Cherub then pushed her, giving Aria an opportunity to back away. “I get it. You’ve been beaten into the dirt more than once and you’re mad at everything. I bet you blame the other two for ending up like this, constantly thinking about how much better everything would be if you were in charge. And now here you are, sitting all alone to wallow in your own misery.”
Aria sat back down across from Cherub, once more putting her hind legs on the table. “Probably because they’re just as annoying as you are,” she replied as uninterested as she could sound. “Save me the lecture. I think I’ll just crash here and forget everything you said in the morning.” She closed her eyes to emphasis her point.
“Why are you still with them?”
She squirmed a little in her seat. “Because as pathetic as it sounds, I need them.”
“For what? Your days of conquest are over because if they weren’t, we’d throw you back into that magicless world. So once again, why are you still hanging around them?”
Aria’s resolve began to waver. “Because...we’re a band. It’s our voices combined that allows us to succeed.”
“You know what I think?” Aria didn’t bother answering. “I think you should go solo.”
The siren’s eyes shot open. “What?”
“Go do things your way without either of them dragging you down. I can see so much potential in you, Aria Blaze. You could rise to stardom on your own and show them just how much better you are.” Cherub chuckled coldly. “Wouldn’t that be something?”
“Y-yeah. But...but I…”
“But what?” the pony interrupted. “It would be easy. All you have to do is tell Adagio is that you’re done being her little stooge and follow your own path. No need to let the lesser singers drag you down again. You can have all the fame and glory to yourself. Wouldn’t that really stick it them? Who knows? Maybe you’ll find better friends for you to boss around.”
Shifting in her chair, Aria sat up to look at her. “Hey, t-there’s no need for me to do all that.”
Cherub leaned closer. Looking deep into her eyes, Aria could read something sinister in them. There was just something off about this pony, but that had to have been all in her head. “It’s the most logical decision you can make. Give me one good reason why you would say no.”
Never before had Aria felt so helpless before somepony, but her ego would not stand for it. “Just shut up! Leave me alone!” She then headed for the exit until she felt herself being pulled back by green light.
“Forgive me, Aria. I seemed to have pushed things too far. I am not good at this little talks.”
“I am done talking,” Aria growled, fighting against the magical field.
“Please. I want to help you.” Cherub moved in front of her and lost all of her mischievous looks. “I know what it’s like to hurt and refusing to show it to anypony. You want to kick and scream about everything that has gone wrong, but you have to keep all that raw emotion bottled up. You’re just going to get worse and worse until there’s so much pain that you just explode and do something you will regret. It’s not a pleasant fate I want to befall you.”
“What’s your point?”
“Allow me to ease your burden. Just open up to me and allow me to guide you. After all, wouldn’t that be better than to handle all your problems alone? I promise our conversations will be kept only between us.”
“Are you like a therapist or something?”
“Let’s just say I am more than a simple matchmaker. Much more.” Aria turned away from the mare. “Talking to them must be like talking to a wall. When was the last time anypony actually listened to what you had to say? Who was the last person to give you any good advice? It must have been years since you had someone to confide in.” Aria looked at her. “I’m not like Twilight or Celestia. I have a different sort of approach. In fact, I’ll keep our whole conversation private from them.”
The temptation was overwhelming. Aria felt like telling her off, but what good had her attitude brought her all day? If there was any chance of stress relief, she was willing to take it. “You win.” Aria went back into the chair while Cherub took the other seat.
“So you must care about them deep down to refuse to leave them.”
Aria shrugged, choosing to look at the books next to her. All of them were old, dusty textbooks and spell books that did not interest her in the slightest. “It’s not like that. Adagio is the only one I can respect.”
“But you two argue all the time. How exactly do you respect her?”
“It was different back then.” Aria rested her head on hoof and then sighed. “Back when I first met her, she made me feel like I was somebody. Every siren could sing, so my voice wasn’t that special, but not only did she have an amazing voice, she had vision. It was crazy, but could you imagine making the world yours simply by doing something you were already good at? It was too good to pass up.”
“But that would require giving up everyone and everything you once knew.”
The siren snorted. “I wasn’t losing much.”
“Adagio was your only friend.” Aria unconsciously murmured something. “Was it that bad back home?”
“Everyone sucked,” she replied. “None of them could understand me and I couldn’t stand them. I liked doing things my way. Adagio, though, she was something else. She was cool and a lot of fun to be around. She didn’t let anyone else stop her from doing what she wanted and we were on just about the save wavelength. She was everything I dreamed of being. I never felt myself drawn to someone like that until I met her.” Right as the words come out of her mouth, she suddenly sat straight up as her face felt ablaze. “N-n-not like that! I mean that Adagio was the first siren I could really connect with, which was something I never expected from a golden siren. It was just an unreal experience.”
“I understand. She was like a comforting beam of moonlight in your cold, dark world.” The unicorn stared at her for a moment, not saying a word, and before Aria say something, Cherub said, “I didn’t realize there was a difference between your kind. Gold is considered special?”
“Golden sirens are rarely born, but they are the best singers of all. They look amazing too since their scales shine in the sunlight. They’re bigger than other sirens, too. We may look similar now, but Adagio dwarfs me as a siren. They’re treated like royalty back home, but I guess Adagio wanted more than that. You cannot imagine how much of an honor it was to be asked to sing alongside her. Just to have them acknowledge you makes you feel like somebody.”
“And yet she still chose Sonata as well.”
Aria scowled. “I’m pretty sure we took her by default. We weren’t exactly public with our plans and just about every siren Adagio did ask had no interest in leaving the sea to rule the land. Too far and too different for their tastes, I guess. Well, except for Sonata, but probably because she was too stupid to do anything else but sing. She got fired from her last job because she ended up burning the place down and Adagio still wanted her. Can you believe that?” She leaned back in her chair while Cherub looked dumbfounded.
“I think I can fit in the rest of the details. You all tried taking over Equestria, failed, and you and Adagio haven’t really been able to get along ever since.”
“Pretty much.” The scene of Adagio’s sudden transformation played in her mind like a bad dream. The once confident and mellow siren vanished and was replaced by the embodiment of fury and even without magic, her voice was enough to incapacitate Aria. “She’s gotten better lately since we’re able to sing again. Sometimes we get along, but it never lasts. When you’re at each other’s throats for so long, it’s kinda hard to let go.”
“How do you feel about her now?”
“She’s an egomaniac, always wanting things done her way and treating us like minions. I’m pretty sure that’s because everyone worshipped her back home for being golden, so she can’t accept having anyone placed above her. Just because she sings better doesn’t mean she plans better. Sometimes I want to tell her to pull her head from her rear and see that I’m capable, too.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I cannot imagine the pain of losing a friend the way you did. What about Sonata?”
Right before tossing out an insult about her, Aria’s mind flash to the restaurant. “She’s...she’s…”
“She’s what, Aria?”
As hard as she tried, she couldn’t come up with a quick excuse and groaned. “I messed up bad.”
“What?” Cherub picked up her chair and sat right next to her. “Aria, what happened?”
“We went out to eat at some bar and Sonata eventually just lost it. She was crying her eyes out about how we weren’t friends and act horribly to each other. Adagio said she wanted for us to start being friends, but I thought she was full of it and I just left them after insulting her.” Aria slowly planted a hoof on her face. “The first time Adagio actually tries to make things better and I chose to spit in her face. What the heck was I thinking?”
“Are you sure that’s what happened?” Cherub questioned. “Actually, are you even being honest with me? Today has taught me is that Sonata is extremely manipulative and unworthy of any trust.” Lifting up her foreleg, she ran her hoof across her fur. “I can still see little bits of frosting.”
Aria managed to hold back her snigger. She didn’t think much of Sonata, but she had to respect what she did to those ponies. However, her amusement didn’t last as she thought more on what happened earlier. “She really did like hanging out with you ponies. Only reason she attacked you was that she realized we wouldn’t have been happy with her making friends with the enemy.”
“She was that desperate for approval, wasn’t she?” Aria nodded uncomfortably. “I don’t blame you for not trusting Adagio given the history between you two, but you still screwed up.” Cherub roughly grabbed her shoulder. “What was your excuse for Sonata? The girl is in tears and you shoot her down. Didn’t you want things to be better?”
“I...I didn’t...I just thought it would work like that.” The more she pictured Sonata crying, the emptier Aria felt. “I almost always treated her like a moron. I spent years just insulting her without any remorse because I didn’t care that much about her. I mean, I kinda did, just not enough to be her friend. When she wanted us to be friends, I just didn’t think it would work out. You understand, right?”
“Certainly.” The way Cherub answered did not make Aria feel any more comfortable. “You complain about Adagio being hard to deal with, but when it's your turn to be the better siren, you don’t even try.” With every word, Aria sank lower and lower into her chair. “I know you’re not fond of Sonata, but are you really okay with just ignoring her as she’s crying and pouring her heart out? What did you say to her when she opened up? Were you too busy thinking about how awful of a friend Adagio is that you ended up doing the same to Sonata? You think Adagio is insufferable, but you are no better.”
“That’s not true!”
“No? So today you had several ponies wanting to be your friend, some of which who made the difficult decision of giving you three a second chance, and what did you give in return? Harsh words. Cold shoulders. Threats. To top it all off, you have a rotten personality that keeps people away. Is it any wonder why Adagio doesn’t want to be your friend?”
“I get it. I’m a jerk.” Aria loudly sighed and stood on hooves. “How the heck am I going to fix this?” she asked aloud.
“You could try being nicer,” Cherub joked, causing the siren to cast her a dirty look. “For one, don’t think of friendship as skipping through fields of lollipops and rainbows. Friendship is something that takes a lot of time and care. My advice is for you to stop picking fights, don’t make fun of either of them, and no matter what, control your temper. Compliment them now and then and if they’re upset about something, try to cheer them up. Basically, just be a decent siren for once.”
“Just that easy, huh?” She rested her forehead against one of the shelves. “I could have done that years ago and made it so much easier on myself.” She banged her head against the wood and the sound echoed through the library. “Maybe I was the biggest idiot all along.”
“Misery loves company and hatred is an addiction.” Cherub had gotten up and placed a hoof on Aria’s back. “Forget the past. Nothing good happens from holding on to it. Today, you start focusing on your future. Just remember that if you ever need advice, Celestia, Luna, and Nymph can help you.”
“Sure.” Aria lifted her head as she felt her energy running low. “It’s getting late and I’ve got work tomorrow, so I need to call it a night.” She turned away and headed for the entrance. “Thanks for the help. I...appreciate it.”
“I am delighted I could be of help. I’ll be sure to have Luna give you sweet dreams tonight.”
The thought of the princess going through her head gave her shivers. As Aria came closer to the exit, she quickly turned around. “And you’re keeping this whole conversation between us?”
“If that’s what you want.”
“I do. I’ll just tell Celestia I’ll take her lessons seriously or something.” When she put her hoof on the door knob, Aria turned around again. “One more thing.”
Cherub joined her by front of the door. “What is it you wish to ask me, Aria?”
It was a stupid question, but it had bothered her for a long time. The internet had proven to be of no help because of the many contradicting answers, so hopefully Cherub’s expertise could finally shed some light. “So...I keep hearing about this thing on TV shows all the time-”
“On what?”
Aria sighed. “Okay. So in movies involving romance or whatever, they say that sometimes when people act mean to someone, it’s because they have a crush on them or something. Is that true at all? I just found that to be really weird.”
Cherub had not spoken a word and yet Aria had her answer as the mare slowly turned her head and cocked an eyebrow at her. “Aria Blaze, what you just said to me is one of the most ridiculous things I have heard in my life. Is this what they teach people in the other world?”
“Sometimes. I knew it was dumb, but one time Adagio used that logic to really mess with Sonata’s head, probably to just get a kick out of it. I had no idea what was going on with her acting all weird around me, but it was a very awkward two weeks.”
“This other dimension sounds bizarre and disgusting.” Cherub opened the doors out of the library. “I pray I never end up setting hoof in there.”
“Trust me. It’s an awful place. You wouldn’t last a week.” When they stepped out, Cherub closed the doors and they walked together down the hall. “So why did Luna send you and not Celestia or herself?”
“Let’s just say I’m familiar with hiding away, brooding, and acting like a horrible pony to those who only want to help you.”
“Yeah? What the heck did you do?”
“I’m afraid that’s a private matter. Maybe one day I will share with you everything.” The matchmaker glanced down at her. “Remember that you aren’t alone anymore. I’m usually around in the castle during the evening, so if you ever feel like talking, do not be afraid to ask.” Eventually, they reached the fork in one of the halls where their paths diverged. “Good night, Aria.”
“Night, Cherub. Thanks for listening” As Aria headed for her room, she thought about what she was going to say to Adagio or Sonata. She as tired and wasn’t up for a lengthy apology tonight, she just decided to just be nice and go to sleep. If she was lucky, they would leave her be.
Upon opening the door to her room, her eyes aimed for the middle bed. To her dismay, Adagio was still awake and sitting against the bedpost with Sonata lying beside her as they were reading some magazine. The newcomer chose to avoid eye contact to ensure she could keep her cool. “Welcome back, Aria,” Adagio greeted coldly. “Was afraid you got lost.”
Aria casually shrugged. “I just needed some time to myself, but I feel a lot better now.” She climbed into bed and pulled the soft covers over herself. “Look, let’s just forget about what happened earlier.”
“That’s the first good idea you’ve had in awhile.”
She found herself already at wit’s end, but Aria held back her rage. Just looking at Sonata told her she was expecting a fight between them. However, she knew how to smooth things over with Adagio. “Well I happen to have another one.”
Adagio closed the magazine and placed it on the mattress. “And what would that be?”
“I’m going to follow your lead. I know I’ve always questioned you, but we’ve come so close to victory before because of you. I’m going do as you ask so that we can finally make this kingdom ours and make Twilight pay for what she did to us. All I ask in return is that you treat me and Sonata as equals.” Aria found immense amusement in both their faces as they looked as if they just saw ghosts, but she dared not laugh. “Anyway, good night, you two.”
“G-good night.” Aria turned away and closed her eyes. Minutes passed and she still had not fallen asleep yet, allowing her to hear something. “Did Aria really say what I think she said?” Adagio whispered loudly.
“I don’t know. What did you think she said?” There was a pause before Sonata followed up with, “Oh.”
“After how she acted, I don’t buy that she just suddenly wants to be nice. That’s not like her. If I knew any better, I would say that she’s up to something. Something nasty. ”
“L-like what?”
“I don’t know. We just need to keep an eye on her.”
“But what’s she gonna do? Is she gonna prank us like replace our shampoo with glue or something?”
“If she does anything to my hair, I will kill her!” A sudden gasp escaped from her and neither of them said a word. Aria did not move a single muscle until she heard Adagio whisper again. “Whatever she’s up to, she doesn’t know that we know. And when we find out her plan, we’ll prank her first.” An involuntary smile grew on Aria’s lips right before she stepped into Luna’s realm.
Aria never considered herself to be a morning person because sleeping in was always the best, but she felt wide awake today. She sat up and stretched, feeling like a new siren. Looking to her left, she found her two roommates still slumbering. Sonata silently slept as she hugged Adagio, who was wearing a facemask, cucumbers over her eyes, and hair curlers. Looking at the clock on the wall told Aria that it was past seven and decided with her new found vigor to do something.
She got onto her hooves and before heading to the door, she approached Adagio. Strangely, for one who wielded so much malice and pride, she looked adorable as she slept. Perhaps it was her form as a pony or sleep keeping her from expressing such emotions that made the sight pleasing to Aria. Her eyes darted around and once she was sure her leader was still asleep, she raised her hoof and lightly stroked her massive mane. How someone who normally didn’t have hair became blessed with such amazing hair was no doubt one the biggest mysteries of her life.
The feeling of it against her hoof was unreal. Whatever she was using for shampoo was doing wonders for her as Adagio’s mane was very soothing to touch. With every stroke, Aria prayed she didn’t end up waking either of them as this would be an awkward situation for her to explain herself. Once satisfied, she snuck out of the room.
It wasn’t long before she stepped into the dining room and, to her dismay, found Celestia, Luna, Nymph and Thorax eating pancakes at the large dining table. Now that she thought about it, she rarely saw them eat anything else for breakfast. After Nymph chewing her out last night and how she brushed off the two alicorns in a disrespectful manner, she couldn’t afford to be seen. Perhaps if she walked along with the other servants, they wouldn’t notice her. She still kicked herself for blowing up yesterday and one lecture from either of them would be enough to ruin her entire day. A maid carrying a tray on her back was heading toward the kitchen, so Aria walked alongside her out of their view. So far, it had been a success, she was already past Celestia’s chair and could take cover in the kitchen.
“And good morning to you, Aria Blaze.”
The siren halted dead in her tracks before turning to face the alicorn. “Good morning, Princess Celestia.”
“Did you sleep well?” Queen Nymph asked.
“Yeah,” she replied, doing her best to hide her disdain for the bug. On the subject of changelings, she caught Thorax shyly waving at her. “Morning, Thorax.”
“Feeling any better?”
She flinched. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
“We are relieved to hear that,” Celestia said warmly. “We won’t hold you up any longer. Enjoy your day off.”
Aria felt relieved and planned on making a quick exit. When she pressed her hoof against the kitchen door, she suddenly turned around. “Day off?”
“You and your associates have the day off,” Nymph answered. “Cherub said that she felt it would be best if you three had some quality time together today, although she didn’t say why. Are you three getting along?”
“Something like that.” Looking around, Aria finally noticed the absence of the unicorn. “Where is Cherub, anyway?”
“Sleeping the day away in my room,” Luna answered. “I’ll have to bring her breakfast and get her up before she has to open up her business. Did you need her for anything?”
“No. Just be sure to say thanks for me.”
“You girls stay out of trouble,” spoke Nymph. “And do some singing while you’re out there! Stardom never takes a day off!”
Once she turned away from them, Aria rolled her eyes. When she finally entered the kitchen, she was embraced by the soothing aroma of breakfast. Pancakes, oatmeal, eggs, just about everything she could think of was ready to be served. A table against one of the walls had several plates ready for the servants to take and Aria took her time looking over them. She took a nearby cart and loaded it with platters of food before heading back to her room. When she returned to the dining room, Luna and Thorax had left while Nymph and Celestia were chatting about something. Right before opening the doors out, they magically opened before her. “Allow me.” Turning around, Nymph was standing behind her with a smile as fake as a changeling could get.
“Thanks.” Aria pushed the cart down the hall and felt annoyed when she realized the queen was walking with her. “What do you want?”
“Cherub mentioned that you were giving friendship a chance and I thought I could provide you with some assistance.”
The siren harrumphed at her. “I don’t need your help.”
“Are you certain? I thought maybe I could-”
Stopping the cart in place, Aria looked at her. “Thought what? You could take advantage of the situation? Win us over to your side? I’m going to have to pass.”
Nymph acted to be hurt by her words. “Why would you think I am doing anything of the sort?”
Aria had the perfect answer she would have loved to use, but she would be here all day and breakfast would be cold by the time they were done talking. “Well you didn’t exactly bring us back because you were such a bleeding heart.”
For a moment, the Changeling Queen seemed unsure how to respond, shuffling her hooves and glancing out one of the windows. “You’re partially right, Aria. My plan was the priority and I heavily considered Equestria’s safety, but when I saw you girls, I couldn’t turn my back.” Nymph motioned her hoof down the hall and Aria continued pushing the cart. “I know I push you girls around quite a bit, but you cannot imagine the weight of responsibility I carry. Failure is not something I can afford again. Besides, sometimes I need to be harsh with you three because I can’t get you to listen to me otherwise.” She glanced down at her. “To be truthful, I thought when you stood up to Adagio, you were doing it for me. I see I was mistaken.”
“I did it for us, not you.”
“I see that now.” After sighing heavily, Nymph turned around. “Sorry for wasting your time.”
Aria was relieved when she was out of sight. Nymph’s arrogance was absolutely insufferable and the less time she was around her, the better. She could only imagine how much worse Chrysalis was if she was technically the evil one. Just the idea of being stuck in a room with her left so many questions she’d rather not get answers to.
When she returned to her bedroom, she found Adagio and Sonata still snuggled up together on the bed. Opening the window curtains, she announced, “Rise and shine.”
Sonata moaned as she sat up, rubbing one of her eyes. “Aria, it’s too early,” she whined.
“It’s past seven.”
She flopped back onto the bed. “But I’m still tired.”
“Both of you...keep it down,” Adagio murmured.
“Get your lazy butt out of bed. I brought breakfast.” Aria took one of the platters and then took the lid off. The sudden sight of what lied beneath instantly caused Sonata to jump right in front of her.
“Pancakes!”
“Can you two just give me five minutes of peace and quiet!?” Adagio pulled the cucumber slices off her eyes and stared at them. When her eyes adjusted, she stepped out of bed. “What’s all this?”
“Breakfast,” the pink siren answered.
Adagio stared at her before carefully examine each dish presented to her. “From who?”
“From me.” Aria set out a platter loaded with hashbrowns, toast, a glass of orange juice, and waffles onto Adagio’s bed. “This is exactly how I want to live every single day of my life.” Taking her own platter, she returned to her own bed and made herself comfortable. The only thing that would have made this moment complete would have been a television playing in the background, but she’d learn to make do. She ate some of her pancakes when she noticed that neither of her roommates had taken a single bite. “It’s called breakfast. You’re supposed to eat it.”
“What’s going on?” Adagio questioned suspiciously. “You never act like this.”
“I decided to change.”
“You’re suddenly nice now?”
“Would you want me to change back?”
“No, this is way better!” Sonata protested happily. “Wait. What if I’m dreaming? That would totally make much more sense!” She approached Adagio and touched her with her hoof, causing the leader to suddenly yelp.
“Why did you pinch me!?”
“I had to make sure I wasn’t dreaming!”
“You’re supposed to pinch yourself!”
“No way! That would hurt!”
Adagio shot Sonata a glare, prompting her to retreat back to her bed, before sticking an accusing hoof in Aria’s face. “You’re not fooling me! I know for a fact you are up to something! Just be warned that if you try anything, you are going to regret it for the rest of your life and afterlife!”
“Okay.”
“Okay!? That’s all you have to say!?”
“Well I’m not up to anything, so what do I need to really say?” Adagio kept watch of her as she went to inspect her food along with Sonata. This was easily one of the most entertaining moments of Aria’s life and she was certain it was going to be like this for quite a while. Eventually, they found the food safe for consumption and sat on the same bed to eat, often giving her weird glances.
When they finished eating, Aria took the dirty dishes and left them in the kitchen. When she got back, she could hear the shower running and saw Sonata sitting on her bed, never taking her eyes off her. “What?” Sonata slowly hid herself behind the covers. Ignoring her, Aria took the magazine they were reading the night before and skimmed through the pages. As she boredly played with her necklace, she came across a picture of a pony that somehow looked familiar. The name of this pony turned out to be Trixie and it took her a moment to recall who that was.
Even as a pony, her face looked just as punchable.
Adagio soon came out of the bathroom with her mane and tightly wound up in towels. The mare sat on the edge of her bed, brushing her mane while staring intensely at her. “Something happened last night,” she spoke accusingly.
“Maybe,” Aria replied casually, still flipping through the pages. She knew she was being kind of a jerk, but this was a once in a lifetime moment.
“It’s Nymph, isn’t it? She’s putting you up to this.”
“I’d never stoop that low.”
“Twilight put a spell on you.”
“Weren’t you the one who spent the day with her?”
“Somepony is paying you?” Sonata guessed.
“Have you two thought that maybe I’m choosing to be this way on my own? Just deal with it.”
“I’m still not buying it.”
“You don’t have to. I’m staying like this.” Before Adagio could say anything else, Aria turned to her. “Hey, Adagio.”
Adagio was caught off guard, but then suddenly grinned, no doubt expecting an end to what she thought was a charade. “Yes?”
“You look beautiful today.”
The hair brush clattered on the floor. Adagio couldn’t close her mouth as she made futile efforts to speak. It was difficult for Aria to hold back her laughter, but somehow she managed. “Ooooooh,” Sonata said. “Now it all makes sense! I know why Aria is acting totally crazy!”
“You do?” Adagio asked with immense intrigue. “Tell me!”
The blue siren strolled over to Aria, who looked at her curiously. “I wasn’t sure at first, but after what you just said, I know the truth.” In an instant, Sonata grabbed her tightly. “YOU’RE AN IMPOSTER!” She threw the siren onto the floor and sat on top of her. Taking hold of Aria, Sonata shook her intensely.
“Sonata, what are you doing!?” Adagio shouted.
“She’s not Aria! There’s no way in a million, billion years she would ever say something that nice to you!” Leaning in close for examination, Sonata said, “Her disguise is pretty good! She’s definitely a changeling or even a robot!”
“I’m not an imposter!” Aria roared as she kept fighting her. “Stop acting so crazy and get off of me!”
“You better tell me something only the real Aria would know!”
“We used to break into the public pool at night to skinny dip because we missed the feeling of being sirens and we’d just swim around! On our first Nightmare Night, you chased a bunch of kids away with a broom because you thought that were really monsters! Adagio liked to watch dating shows on the TV downstairs when she thought we were asleep!” Adagio loudly coughed into her hoof and glanced sideways as she blushed intensely. “I can go on and on, but can you get off of me now!?”
Sonata immediately hopped off and Aria got up, dusting herself off and loudly scowling. The airhead of a siren laughed nervously in response to the heated look she was receiving. “Uh...oopsie?”
A sudden fiery sensation filled Aria as she slowly approached her bandmate. Sonata backed away until her butt hit the wall. With nowhere else to run, she held up her hooves over eyes and shook, waiting for the explosive fury that not even Adagio could save her from “Sonata…” Aria growled.
“You’re the best.”
Sonata’s eyes shot open and she stared, mouth hung open. Behind Aria, Adagio was repeatedly pinching herself before checking if she even had a pulse.
“At being a complete idiot.”
With a sigh of relief, Sonata said, “Wow! I can’t believe you aren’t mad that I...hey!” She flew at Aria, unleashing a fury of punches.
Aria rolled her eyes as Sonata kept hitting the air while she was kept at bay with Aria’s hoof against her forehead. “Okay, Adagio,” Aria said as she turned away from her persistent attacker, “the truth is that I realized that I’m partly responsible for why we can’t get along. I should have listened to Sonata last night and did what you did. So…” She knew this was coming, but nothing in the world could prepare her for this. Just getting the words was like forcing out a massive lump from her throat. “I want us to be friends. No more fighting. Just the three of us having a good time together.”
When she blinked, Sonata’s face of weak rage suddenly transformed into something too cute to exist. Her pupils practically engulfed her eyes and her little smile could barely hold back the explosive joy rumbling within her. She tried to back away, Aria was caught into her roommate’s spine destroying hug. “Oh, Aria! Thank you so much! I promise to be a great friend!”
“I’m sure you will have wonderful things to say about Aria at her funeral,” Adagio laughed, taking amusement of the life draining from Aria’s face as her attempts of struggling ceased.
When Sonata released her, Aria flopped onto the rug, groaning quietly and remaining still. “Aria? You okay?”
“I...regret...everything…” the dying siren whimpered.
Chuckling, Adagio picked her up and gently laid her friend on her bed. “Never took you to be such a softie, Aria.” She sat beside her and looked to Sonata. “Why don’t you shower up? I need a moment with her.”
“Sure thing!” Sonata entered the bathroom and got the water running. Through the sound of water, they could barely make out her humming to herself some song.
Through sheer determination, Aria got up from the mattress and sat next to Adagio. “Aria, about last night.”
“Forget it. It was all on me. You were right to call me out.” Neither girl said anything as they uncomfortably sat together. “We’re really going to do this, aren’t we?”
“Unless you have a good reason why we shouldn’t.”
“Can’t think of anything.” Aria knew it would only be a moment before Sonata came out, so she needed to get the worst part out of the way. “Adagio?”
“Yes, Aria?”
“I’m sorry about...you know.” This was far harder than she had imagined it to be. Aria felt her own body shiver and yet it felt as if she was suffering from a severe favor. However, she was this far and she couldn’t turn back. “Threatening to leave and all that.”
“It’s...fine,” Adagio answered, looking away.
That sort of response was not what Aria was hoping for. “I know I don’t ever say it, but I do respect you. I just wish you could show me some now and then. It’s probably hard to tell, but I have feelings.” Adagio kept silent. “Hey.” Adagio turned to her, looking worried. “Are we cool?”
Adagio looked at her for a moment before smiling slightly. “Yes. Yes we are.”
Aria loudly sighed with relief as she flopped on the mattress. “Oh thank you!” She quickly felt embarrassed by her overactive response, so she sat back up, crossed her forelegs, and looked in the other direction. “I mean, great.” Adagio’s giggling drowned out the sound of the running water and Aria felt the best move was to just keep looking away and act as smoothly as she could.
Shortly after, Sonata came out of the bathroom and quickly did her hair. “So are you girls working today? Maybe we could meet up and have fun while cleaning?”
Hopping off the bed, Aria went by her bed and stood up, planting one hoof on the wall while pretending to look over the other. “Oh yeah. I forgot to mention we got the day off.”
Both of the other sirens whirled around. “We do?” Adagio questioned in shock. “How did that happen?”
“Oh, I just pulled a few strings and got real convincing. Nothing too hard.”
“Free day!” Sonata hopped off the stool from the dresser and bounced on her mattress. “You’re the best...second best, Aria! Work sucks way harder than you ever did!”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Aria opened the door. “Shall we?” Adagio and Sonata left the room and she closed the door behind them, taking a bag full of bits on the way out. “So any idea what we’re going to do out in the city?”
“I haven’t really given it much thought,” answered Adagio. “Maybe we could go see a movie or something?”
“Better idea,” said Aria. “We go shopping, eat some fancy food, and sing up some more cash. Better yet, why don’t we go singing first and see how much ponies are willing to spend for three lovely ladies?”
“I love the way you think,” Adagio replied, followed by an approving nod from Sonata. “Even without magic, it’s so simple to get ponies eating out of our hooves.”
“Will be a while until the princesses do too, but we can have plenty of fun until then.” Aria gently nudged the golden siren, grinning. “You know what’s the best part going to be when we finally run this place?”
“The irony that they tried teaching us friendship, only for us to use them right back at them! Even better, the irony that Nymph tried to control us and we will be the ones controlling her!” Adagio broke into laughter and was joined by her friends as they stepped outside of the palace and into the streets. Today looked like it was going to one of the best one Aria had in a while and she was looking forward to what the future would bring.