Trixie and her friends watched as Sonata happily waddled over to them with the potion still clutched with her. Thankfully she found a place to put it in a small satchel draped over her back. Not too far behind were Aria and Adagio who were no longer fighting, but visible with cuts and bruises. Even a soft black eye on Aria's face was still there.
"We got it! Thanks Princess, I didn't know it was going to be that quick," Sonata smiled.
"It's no problem, Sonata."
"Well... I guess it's good we got it either way. But what do we do now?" Aria asked.
"Welll... we were about to get some train tickets, cause we planned on taking Trixie out on our next stop for her birthday," Bon Bon said.
"Oh, right! You girls go, we should probably head back home" Sonata nodded.
"Wait, hold on, you just got here! You can't leave!"
"I agree!" Adagio raised a hand--er, hoof, up. "Listen, we've been banished from this place for a thousand years. I didn't plan on coming back here to waste time and interfere with other people's... ponies, sorry, I didn't come here to waste ponies time and interfere with their lives."
"Who said you were interfering?" Princess Trixie asked. "Adagio, would you and your sisters like to come with us? I would be more than happy to let you stay with me if you want. Besides, you're probably going to need some help, a lot has changed over a thousand years."
"Well..." Adagio said, unsure.
"Come on, Dagi! She said it was okay, pleaseeeeee?" Sonata begged, clutching her oldest sister's shoulder.
"You know she's not gonna stop until you say yes," Aria smirked.
"Well... I'd be happy to. Aria, Sonata, you want to come with?"
"Of course!" Sonata whinnied. "... Where did that come from?"
Trixie giggled. "Come on, follow us!"
Princess Trixie led the way as everyone trotted over to the train station. All the while, the three sirens just waddled right behind them, with some occasional bounces on their bellies, trying to catch up with them.
"It's been a while since we've done this. Ugh, how are they faster?" Aria complained.
"Come on..." Adagio rolled her eyes.
Soon they arrived at the station, and Trixie quickly paid for nine tickets. Just then, the train eventually came to the station. Once the doors opened up, Trixie's friends all galloped inside and found themselves their seats. But they were still waiting for the Dazzlings to come to the station.
"Ugh, that's it!" Aria lifted herself off the ground so she was hovering again, and like a bullet she shot herself right inside the car and found a seat, sitting across from Octavia and Vinyl. Sonata was next to follow and soon the last two to come on board was Adagio, and the princess herself. Adagio flopped her belly onto the seat, and rolled around until she managed to pull herself up just enough so she could sit up properly. And Trixie climbed into the seat next to her.
The doors closed and the train's whistle blew. With a whoosh, the train began to pull out of the station.
"I'm gonna be honest Princess, I am really excited, I cannot wait to see what Canterlot is like here," Adagio beamed.
"It's a big city, that's for sure. I actually got enrolled in Princess Luna's School For Gifted Unicorns there," Trixie smiled.
"Really? Is that what got you to earn your title of Princess then?"
"Well... not exactly. Honestly I kind of.. .dropped out," Princess Trixie blushed.
Aria snickered. "What? What'd you do, did you turn someone into another creature? Start a fire in a dorm room, what'cha do?"
Trixie blinked. "She's a little..."
"Aria can be scary in her own way, I know," Adagio said, patting her shoulder. "But most of the time she's only joking, I know from experience."
"Oh. Well, no. To be honest, I just wasn't... happy there. I couldn't keep up with the other unicorns, and most of them were so intimidating. I couldn't really approach them."
"Well, how did you become alicorn princess then?" Sonata asked, head tilting.
"That is a whoooole other story on it's own, it'd take about three seasons to explain that," she said shaking her head. The Sirens blinked in confusion. "... I was just repeating what Pinkie Pie said."
"Ahhh...", the three said in unison.
The Dazzlings looked around for a moment or two, looking at the train's interior.
"You know, this isn't so bad. Usually we do the driving," Sonata said, beaming a little, letting her tail kick back a bit like legs.
"Next stop, Canterlot!"
The doors opened up, and the Dazzlings hovered out of the train cars, still keeping low to the ground with the rest of Trixie and her friends.
"Here we are! Welcome to Canterlot!" Princess Trixie exclaimed, standing on her hind legs, and making a big wave with her front hooves.
The Dazzlings were in awe. The city, the kingdom it just looked so... so... gorgeous! Buildings that were as high as skyscrapers, so many ponies walking around that were incredibly well dressed and gussied up, and plenty of shops that looked like they had everything from clothes to jewelry and even food!
"Well, I must admit, this isn't anything like I had expected, but it's gorgeous..."
"Eh, it's alright. I prefer the Canterlot we live in," Aria shrugged.
"Oooh, donuts!"
"No, Sonata, remember we can't... eat. A lot," Adagio's hoof drooped.
"You wanted us to come here. Just let her have fun," Aria rolled her eyes, chuckling.
Adagio groaned and rubbed at her snout. "She better not fill up on donuts, or dinner's going to be wasted..."
"Actually, that's exactly where we're planning on going to! Come on," Bon Bon giggled. The ponies clopped their hooves down the sidewalk while Adagio and Aria hovered behind, following close. Now one of the things that they had concern about was of a few passer-byes looking at them questionably, since, well, they weren't a typical kind of animal that Equestria usually had seen. In fact, a ton of ponies who were just minding their own business looked at them like they were circus animals on display for a show.
"My dear, what are those things?"
"I swear, those are... sea ponies, could they be?"
"They look like ruffians, I swear..."
Aria snorted with a growl. "Can I?"
"Aria, no," Adagio said sternly. "Just ignore them, you pay attention to them, you're only going to make them aggravate you more. Need I remind you of the Cloudsdale incident?"
"Which wouldn't have started because of Click--"
"--I don't care who started it, I shouldn't have lashed out or responded to her, let's just focus."
Octavia's walking slowed down as she moved back to where Adagio and Aria were following. But instead of looking at them with disturbed looks like the others, she just gave soft smiles.
"Don't worry, mates. Just stay with us, it'll be okay. These ponies wouldn't do a thing to tarnish their precious reputation," Octavia said in a mocking tone of voice.
"Sounds like you know a thing or two about that," Aria asked, raising a brow.
"I do. Before I settled in Ponyville, I had the displeasure of being raised here by a father who wanted me to be a 'good little mare'," She said in disgust, sticking her tongue out. "And what do you know, soon he and mum argue over whether or not my happiness even matters and then... they divorced."
Aria and Adagio's faces drooped, and their pupils shrunk.
"Well... that's, um... less than pleasant," Adagio said, trying to find the right words.
"It's fine. Besides, that was honestly the push I needed," Octavia grinned. She turned herself around to face them. "I still feel bad for my dear mum for having to end things, and I admit, I do feel all the blame should have been on me. But Mum told me I should be happy being who I wanted to be, and that was just the push I needed! I took up music lessons, got my mane shaved, and I spun myself around into a completely new mare!"
Aria grinned. "And that's what I like about you," she winked. "Well, your biped self anyway, she's just like you!"
"Now come on girls, we're almost there at Donut Joe's!"
Donut Joe's was a relatively nice little cafe. Plenty of nice wallpaper, tiled floors and ceiling, kept the place very inviting. And the food, oh the food... if royalty food wasn't your cup of tea, the sweet taste of coffee, tea, milk, whatever drink you desired would be here, along with the delicious pastries. The most popular of course; were the donuts. Every kind, every flavor imaginable was available.
The girls got themselves a table, and the Dazzlings perched on stools like the others Though the only challenge was trying to tuck their tails close so that no one tripped over their fins. But on the positive side of things, Donut Joe, the manager, had no problem with these weird fish pony things coming into his shop and hanging out with the girls. He just simply gave them their orders and left them be while he attended to other customers and continued to bake more and more donuts and pastries.
At the table, Adagio had two donuts with soft baby blue glaze and colorful sprinkles, with the addition of some coffee next to her. Aria's had three caramel donuts, simply glazed with chocolate. And Sonata, was happily munching down on the offering of a delicious eclair with a glass of milk next to her. She had intent on getting some donuts, but after seeing the eclairs available? Score!
"So let me get this straight," Adagio asked, taking another sip of coffee. "This... unicorn, stole from you, and was trying to free Daybreaker from her statue of a prison?"
"Mmmhmm!"
"Mmm. Sounds like someone had a bit of a god complex going on.."
"Pfft. She was plain bonkers, that's what she was," Octavia spat. "Stealing from my friend, and almost destroyed the world."
"So what happened to her then?" Aria asked, nibbling on another piece of her donut.
"Well, I don't wanna say... if you don't mind, I really rather not talk about it," Trixie said, her ears flopping.
"Oh, well, that's alright. You don't have to if you don't want to," Adagio smiled, taking another bite of the donut. "Mmm... this is delicious. Compliments to Joe."
"Think that's good? Try some of Bon Bon's homemade eclairs," Lyra winked.
"Oh I've had them," Adagio smiled.
"Wait, really?"
"Mmmhmm. Your counterpart's eclairs, at least."
Bon Bon giggled.
"So what are our counterparts like, you said they were... hoo-mans, hu..."
"Humans," Aria corrected.
"Yes, that."
"Well, judging by your behaviors, I say they're just like you ponies," Adagio said.
"Except they walk on two legs and they don't walk around naked," Sonata grinned, nonchalantly.
"Um, we don't usually wear clothes," Vinyl said, raising a brow. "Except for when we're attending certain events like the Grand Galloping Gala, or somepony's wedding."
"So we are living in a nudist colony," Aria teased, sticking her tongue out.
"Ha. Ha." Bon Bon said with a deadpan expression.
"And here's your coffee," Donut Joe said, passing Sonata a mug.
"Oooh, coffee!"
"Wait, Sonata that might be a bit--"
Sonata didn't wait, she just started drinking from the mug... and her wide eyes clearly showed that she had made a horrible mistake. She dashed out of the donut shop, slamming several chairs to the ground on their backs and pushed right through the doors to back outside. And just in time, she spit up her drink into a nearby trashcan, coughing like she had just gotten sick.
"Blegh, ohhh... why'd they make it so hot?", she whimpered. Hoping her tongue was still okay, she turned back around ready to waddle back inside the donut shop when suddenly she felt somepony bump into her. "Ooof!" Sonata grunted. She shook her head violently like a dog from the bump and saw that she had slammed into a stallion in a suit who was just minding his own business. Blue mane in a fancy style, small blue mustache and monocole, and his cutie mark was in the shape of three gold crowns.
"I say, that's one way of making an introduction," the gentlepony said, brushing himself off.
"Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you like that," Sonata said bashfully, helping pick up some of his dropped bags with her mouth.
"Oh that's quite alright, miss," he said. He stopped to look at her again. "I dare say, I can't say I've ever seen you around before. Are you new here?"
Sonata blinked. "Sorta..."
"Mmm, a new pony in Canterlot I see. Though I cannot say I've ever seen a pony of this type before," the white unicorn next to her said, observing her. "A fish and pony hybrid..."
"Actually, I'm a..." Sonata looked over to Aria who looked over at the two unicorns with a glare that said 'you hurt her, I will hunt you down'. How she saw them from that far in the shop, she wasn't going to ask. "I'm actually a Siren."
The male unicorn blinked. "A Siren? Wait, I think I remember those from history, weren't they creatures with beautiful singing voices?"
"Mmmhmm! And uh, we unfortunately got banished from... Equestria as a whole," Sonata blushed.
The pair didn't quite know how to respond to that.
"Well then, that's rather unfortunate. But it's clear you made it back now, haven't you?"
Sonata's ears perked up and she smiled. "Mmmhmm!"
"Well then, I think proper introductions would have to be in order then. My name is Sir Fancy-Pants, this is my girlfriend, Fleur De Lis, might I ask who are you?"
"I'm Sonata Dusk. Nice to meet you," she smiled, shaking his hoof. "Again, sorry, I didn't mean to bump you," Sonata blushed.
"I'm not," he chuckled. "You are obviously somepony worth bumping into."
Sonata blushed even more, her ears cutely brushing against the sides of her head.
"Thanks."
"Say, I'm attending a little soiree later on today, perhaps you wish to join me and my companions?"
"Oh, really? I-I'd love to, but I'm actually attending a friend's birthday party later, I-I don't know... I-I mean, I'd love to but--"
"--Oh that's quite alright my dear," Fancy Pants nodded. "Actually... I do have another soiree to attend tomorrow, perhaps I can invite you tomorrow?"
"I'd love to!" Sonata smiled.
"Then it's settled. I'll be sure to send you the invitation, Miss Dusk. Have a lovely day," he smiled before leaving her to her business.
"See ya!"
Sonata waved her goodbyes, and then quickly waddled back to Princess Trixie and her friends who were now walking outside of the donut shop.
"... anyways, so where do you girls want to go next?"
"Well, I don't know, shouldn't we be going somewhere you'd want? I mean, it is your birthday after all," Adagio nodded.
"Oh, we've got time! Actually... you three want to see the Royal Sisters throne room?"
"And here is the throne room," Princess Trixie smiled, using her magic to open up the doors to the room. The three Dazzlings were in awe as they waddled inside. The place was huge, and for Canterlot's princess no less?
The room was tiled with massive white, a royal red carpet that was stretched all the way across to the thrones. Beautiful glass pane windows almost as tall as the ceiling, displaying colorful artwork for many victories and achievements, as well as small nods in history. Two of them were Luna and Celestia's of course, but there was also an inclusion of Daybreaker as well.
"This is a nice room and all, but what are you trying to show us?" Aria asked.
"Sonata wanted to see the throne room, I thought I'd show you girls!" Princess Trixie responded.
Just then, Adagio's attention was drawn to one of the displays on the left.
"Ohohoho! There you are," Adagio smiled.
A beautiful glass pane with light shined through, depicting her coronation as an alicorn princess, and with her closest friends standing by her side.
"That is so cool!" Sonata squeaked.
"That was made a few months after I was made into alicorn princess," Trixie explained. "Every time I look at it, I always see how far I've come since I came to Ponyville."
Adagio smiled. "You really have, haven't you?"
The princess smiled back. "Yeah. I guess I have."
"Wait a minute... what is that?" Aria snarled.
Adagio and Sonata tilted their heads and their pupils shrunk into diamonds. They didn't realize their eyes were glowing red, until they started snarling and growling with anger. Their tail fins sharpened and clicked as their bodies with anger, staring right at the pane. A single gray unicorn, a long gray beard, and in a blue wizard's robe and hat; only one pony they knew fit that description.
"Starswirl..."
"Why does he have a pane dedicated to him?" Sonata spat.
"Why does this exist?" Aria snarled, smoke puffing out of her nose.
"Oh, that's from our battle with the Pony of Shadows. We brought him and the rest of the Pillars back from a thousand years in limbo and, well... I really wish I had thought it through, but we also brought back the Pony of Shadows with them, but we defeated and saved him!" Trixie smiled.
Adagio's ears perked up, and she craned her head around to look at the princess, still not moving from where she was sitting. "What do you mean, defeat and save him?"
"The Pony of Shadows was a unicorn who was jealous of their strengths and powers, and he just wanted to be like them. He just wanted a friend."
"And Mr. Bearded Meanie here didn't take that well?" Sonata asked.
"Well not really. But when we brought him back and some incredibly long time later, we were able to confront the Pony of Shadows again and save the pony who had became him in the first place."
Adagio softly growled as she looked back up at the pane. "I see... and just--wait a minute." Her head turned back. "Are you saying, Starswirl is back? As in, here in the present?"
"Um, yeah...?"
Adagio's entire body slowly moved around, fully facing Trixie. And her ears twitched as she growled again. "Where... is he?"