After walking back to Ponyville, the Dazzlings and Princess Trixie found themselves a table at a restaurant. It was outdoors, but they didn't mind. The weather was nice and nopony was cold. And ponies were still galloping around town, minding their own business. Occasionally a few ponies said hi to the sirens just to say hi, while also waving at the princess. And for the most part, they were pretty friendly.
Sonata's eyes moved up and down, looking at the selection of foods on the menu. "Oooh, this place has ice cream! Can we--"
"--If you finish your food, Sonata," Adagio said, not letting her finish. She had gone over this with her dozens of times already. "I don't want you wasting food, only order as much as your stomach can handle, okay?"
Sonata rolled her eyes. "Yes, Dagi..." Her mood then switched back to happy in seconds. "Oooh, Sammich!"
Eventually their waiter came by and took their orders, and so the group sat and waited. While they sat there, the group turned to see some familiar ponies trotting by them. And judging by the medals around two of their necks, they could assume they were the winners of the Sisterhooves Social event they were talking about.
"Afternoon Applejack, Rarity," Adagio nodded, watching them trot on by.
"Howdy," Applejack said, casually.
"Wait up guys!"
"Hey Rainbow," Aria waved.
"Hi Aria bye Aria!" Rainbow said, speeding right by them in a dash.
"... It's nice to just be treated as if we've always been here," Sonata said nonchalantly.
That was a thought that Adagio had never thought before. Very quietly she spoke to herself, with a soft smile. "Yeah... it really is..."
Eventually the waiter came by and handed them their food. Like animals, the Dazzlings munched away, enjoying the deliciousness of the food that was offered.
"Mmm, mmm," Aria munched on her food. "We'll have to come back here, this is delicious."
"Mmmhmm!" Sonata said, happily.
"This is one of my favorite restaurants," the princess squeaked, taking a bite of her sandwich.
While the eldest Dazzling was eating away at her food, an epiphany came to her head. Looking back on the day they arrived and the hours spent here back in Equestria, it was actually really good. Surprisingly very few ponies looked at them strangely, and they were mostly accepted. They didn't approach them constantly with negativity and just looked at them with wonder. No fear, no hate, no worry. No negativity whatsoever! If she stayed a little longer, maybe these ponies could become even more used to her!
Maybe... just maybe...
Once the bill was paid, the princess and the sirens walked back to her castle. Though none of them noticed as they walked back, Adagio was too busy looking at everything around her, distracted by the calm atmosphere that was here in Ponyville. And when she waddled back into the castle doors, she frowned, seeing the wondrous sights now gone.
"Ah, well that was a nice lunch. Thanks again for taking us to eat, Princess. Especially for taking us around Ponyville," Adagio expressed with a smile.
"Oh it's no problem at all! I'm glad you sirens had a great time!" She opened the doors leading back into the room where the portal was resting. Just one cross through and they'd be back on Earth. It was a nice machine, with all types of coils and tubes connected together, it was like some industrial machine used in a factory. All to siimply provide power to a mirror, with a single book in place as the power source.
"Okay, all you need to do is just pass through and you should be back home."
Aria and Sonata both gave hugs to the pony princess, who in turn hugged them back.
"Thanks for letting us stay here and chill with you, Princess. We'll be sure to visit again," Aria smiled.
"Just send me a message if you want to come back here again. The quarters will always be available to you girls," the princess smiled. She gave a quick hug to Adagio as well, and was trotting out of the room, having said her goodbyes.
Sonata squeed like a little girl. "Come on, let's go!"
Aria nodded. "Adagio, come on, we should probably go now. Sonata's eager to go home, and so am I."
"O-Oh... um... j-just give me a second, okay, I... I think I need a moment," Adagio said, turning her back away from her sisters, looking right at the doors.
"... why are you talking like that?"
"Like what?"
"Whenever you talk quietly, it always means you have other thoughts."
"What other thoughts?" Sonata asked, waddling closer to her sister.
"Well, Aria, I guess I'm... I guess I'm just not ready to leave."
"What are you saying, Adagio?", Aria stopped for a moment, but her face scrunched up with a horrible thought. "You're not thinking about staying, are you?"
" ... maybe?"
Aria's fins sharpened up with the sound of a sword pulling out.
"... you aren't."
No reply was given.
Aria was appalled. "You have to be kidding me. You're actually thinking about staying here, throwing away what we came here to do, throwing away the home you have back on Earth?"
"I'm not throwing my home away!"
"Dagi!" Sonata pleaded. "Just come home with us, we know we can come back here now! We can come here and visit again!"
"And we're not throwing our home away, and by the way, last time I checked, Equestria wasn't our home. Not to mention, you made a promise, you made our friends a promise!"
"I know what I said!" Adagio yelled.
"What about our friends back home, hmm? What about Sunset Shimmer who's still locked up in human prison? What do you want me to tell Trixie, huh? That her girlfriend doesn't care enough about her to stay?" Aria yelled.
"Ponies like us again, Aria! Before we were just abominations of nature, inhuman creatures who needed to be wiped off the face of the planet! Things are different now, these ponies don't see us as monsters anymore! We can live among their kind like them, we can be free again! We no longer have to live in fear for the rest of our lives, and I think I would very much like that to stay!" Adagio growled.
Aria was appalled. "Oh, sure, sure, just stay here! Stay in Equestria like it's so perfect! You know what we got back on Earth? Legs, over a thousand years experience of history, skill, and strengths under our belts. And we have family; for the first time, we have a family Adagio. We're home. ... But I guess that's not enough for you. Come on, Sonata. We're going home. We'll have to tell Trixie that her girlfriend doesn't care enough about her to stay," Aria hissed, waddling away to the room where the portal was. "And tell the rest of our friends that she's not coming back..."
Sonata was about to leave, but she didn't. Instead, she looked at Adagio who still had her back turned. Adagio, even though she didn't show it, was hating every part of herself right now. She wished she could undo what she had said, but she knew the damage was done.
"You know... I know you miss it here, but I thought we already were home. And that's in Canterlot. On Earth."
The two of them left and slammed the doors behind her. Adagio felt someone had shot her right in the chest, only no one did. Her ears flopped and she whimpered. She didn't want her sisters to leave, but they were gone. They made their choice, and she made hers. She was finally home here, in Equestria again. But she felt more unhappy than she had before.
Her head slumped against a table, the rest of her body flopping onto the couch. A soft tear dripped down her face, wishing she could take back what she had said to her family.
"You know..." Princess Trixie began, making Adagio gasp. She didn't even see her come in. "I didn't get to be the Princess of Friendship for nothing." She sat next to the siren, scooting up next to her. "I think you should go talk to them."
"Princess." Adagio sighed. "I do, but... I just... Ugh! I can't. I've been cut off from this world for far too long. I only now found out that we made it back here yesterday. What if I can never come back here? What if this world is closed forever, and I will never be able to return to my roots?"
"Well, what if it doesn't happen? There is the portal that leads to the front of your school..." Princess Trixie said with a wink.
Adagio heard glass shatter. "... The portal's in the Wondercolt Statue, ugh!" She bashed her head into the floor. "I'm such an idiot!"
Trixie patted Adagio's shoulders. "But, do you mind if I say something?"
Adagio shook her head.
"I know the thought of not being able to return home is scary. But you should know you can come back here any time. But even if you can't, there's something else you're forgetting. You've made a home back in that other dimension, you've made friends, you have your family. Home is where your family and friends are... and I think you're already there."
Adagio turned her head back to the portal, frowning a little. "I guess I forgot I had already made a home there... how could I have been blind?"
"You're not blind, Adagio. I know what it's like, missing a home you've been so far away from for so long. I've had days where I missed my home in Canterlot. But tell you what," the princess stood in front of her. "Since the portal will be open for you girls any time, how about you just come visit me every now and then? I can still keep those guest wings available for you, and if I'm gone, I can leave you notes about where things are if you need to take care of yourselves."
The siren smiled. "I would like that." A second thought came to her mind which made her look at her like a little girl asking for ice cream. "Coooouuuld I possibly bring some friends from the human world over here sometime? Maybe?"
The princess giggled. "Of course. If they're okay with it. Any friends of yours is a friend of mine!"
"I... I don't know what to say," Adagio said.
"Don't. It's okay," the Princess smiled. But she did not expect Adagio to come towards her and yank her in a hug. She was was taken a-back for a moment, but she leaned in and hugged her back.
"So, what are you waiting for? Go home, you got a family and friends to talk to," the princess nudged.
"You're right. I need to apologize to them," Adagio turned around and waddled towards the portal, ready to leave--
"One more thing?" Trixie said.
Adagio turned back around to look at the princess once more, who was nothing short of happy. "Tell our counterparts we said hello. And maybe give my counterpart assistance in her magic shows if you can?"
The siren smiled. "I will. Thank you, Princess. For everything."
And with a content face, she waddled back through the portal, going home...
“… you didn’t tell us what happened," Bon Bon said, confused by the story that Aria told them.
“Yeah, I did. We crashed the plane. No, Adagio crashed the plane. Once again, that ramen-haired idiot doesn’t know why I keep offering to fly, but nooooooo, she just HAS to be the one to fly!” Aria said, almost hateful. “But… in the process, we were able to get this.” She reached behind her back and pulled out a small jar that was sealed tight, with glowing liquid within. “Whatever spell those three girls were put under by Sunset Shimmer, is about to be undone.”
“Alright!” The group cheered.
But one of them, looking at the two who were back, started to frown.
“Wait… where’s Adagio?” Trixie asked.
Sonata and Aria’s faces drooped, immediately dropping the joyful looks they had to see their friends. And they looked at the magician with disappointed expressions.
“Trixie… I’m not sure you want to know,” Sonata frowned.
“Wait… is she—”
“—No, she’s not dead!” Sonata yelled. “… sorry. I feel salty today."
“But… Okay. Trixie, I… this is gonna hurt, but Adagio, she—”
“—Is staying home.”
The two Sirens heads went up and looked back, now they were the ones in shock. Standing there was Adagio Dazzle. There was some guilt mixed with a little bit of joy on the siren's face, but she was beaming with more joy to see one particular girl.
“A-Adagio?” Trixie gasped, cupping her mouth.
Adagio smiled. She knew that it wouldn't be far away to go back through the portal and into Equestria now. But she did know this; she was in fact... home.
“Hi sweetie. I’m home.”
The End
Epilogue!
Trixie's friends were all gathered in a small room with a bunch of chairs surrounding a massive circular table. On each chair was a small graphic of their cutie marks, representing each and every one of them. They were just chilling out, relaxing, enjoying some quiet time. Nothing was happening today, but the girls had their plans set.
Everypony was working on getting their costumes ready for Nightmare Night which was coming in a few weeks. Everyone was excited, and it was a time of the year they always looked forward to. Well, that and Hearth's Warming Eve of course.
Bon Bon and Vinyl were engaged in a card game, while Octavia was flipping through a catalogue of costumes available for purchase; the rocker couldn't make up her mind unfortunately, at least not with the manestyle that was nothing but a mohawk. Lyra was levitating pieces of cloth, knitting them together to form a small piece of a costume she was prepping for herself.
"How's the helmet going Amethyst?" Lyra asked.
Covered in some splotches of paint, Amethyst had her eyes locked onto getting the bristles covered in paint to hit the right spots on the helmet she had assembled. She found some old helmets that were thrown away in a dumpster (admittedly she was not proud to admit that she was a dumpster diver) and with the extra pieces she found at a junkyard, she was putting together a sci-fi looking space helmet from a favorite comic book series.
And even though she wasn't looking, she could see hear everyone loud and clear. "Almost done with the helmet. Just need a last bit of yellow, and... we are done!" Amethyst used her magic and levitated the helmet in the air, showing it off to her friends who were grinning.
"Not bad."
"Very well done..."
"Nice work, mate," Octavia nodded.
"Helmet's done, now I gotta work on the rest of the body armor," she set the helmet back down on the newspapers which kept the paint from spilling on the table. "Lyra, have you picked your costume out yet?"
"Mmmhmm!" The ninja pony replied, sitting up right in her chair. "I got most of the gear for it already, but I was wondering if I could ask for your help in making something for me."
"Sure, what is it?"
Lyra's horn lit up, and a holographic projection of the image she had in her mind was in front of her. Amethyst squinted her eyes, and brushed her hoof against her chin. "Hmm... could take some time, but I think I could make something. I'll scrounge around in the junkyard, let you know what I find."
"Great, thanks!" Lyra squeaked.
Just then, the doors opened up revealing Princess Trixie levitating a book with her.
"Hey girls," Trixie greeted.
"Hey mate, you wanted to talk?" Octavia asked, looking away from her game.
"Yeah! If you girls don't mind, I brought something I wanted to show you. I just got a message from Adagio, she sent pictures of our human counterparts back at Canterlot High!"
The girls interest all turned to her, completely forgetting their activities within seconds.
"So we finally get to see what these 'hoo-mans' look like?" Bon Bon asked.
"Yeah!"
Everypony gathered around Trixie to take a closer look. She opened up the page, and the first photo she saw was a picture of the three Dazzlings, all standing as the same young women they always had been.
"Is that the Sirens?"
"Mmmhmm!" Trixie nodded. "Back in their world, they've taken on a name of a musical band. Everypony... er, everyone just refers to them as 'The Dazzlings'."
"I say that's rather fitting," Vinyl inquired. "Look at those outfits, they do have a certain... dazzling, effect to them."
"Look at all that hair," Octavia pointed. "How does she hold all of that?"
"Maybe she has some magic of her own. I mean, how does Princess Luna get her hair to wave in the air like she does?" Lyra asked, shrugging her shoulders.
"Magic conditioner?" Vinyl shrugged.
"Now as for us..." Princess Trixie flipped the page over to the first one; Lyra.
"Ooooh. Oh I like her," Lyra grinned. "Oh and she's got a kimono too, oh that looks so adorable on her! Oh and she's got a chopstick piece in her hair!" The other ponies looked at her with smirks, making her blush. "... hehe."
"Though according to Adagio, she doesn't really wear those that often. Apparently now she's only been seen wearing those on Fridays and a few holidays."
"Makes sense. Who would want to wear the same thing every day, that would get boring very quickly," Lyra nodded.
Then the Princess flipped over to the next page; this time showing Bon Bon, in her standard white dress she was always seen wearing.
"Oh now that's cute," Lyra smiled.
"Ehhh... she's alright, I mean, she's no pony," Bon Bon said, unsure. "That necklace is cute though."
Another page flip; Vinyl was next.
"Classy hoo-man," Vinyl grinned, admiring her counterpart's well dressed exterior. Nice pantsuit, white jacket over blue button up vest, and her hair looking all nice and clean.
"Very classy indeed," Amethyst agreed. "Who knew hoo-mans had style?"
"Well from what Adagio's explained, in their world, hoo-mans wear clothes, it's a requirement for walking around in public."
"But none of us wear any clothes," Octavia said, dumbfounded.
"Yes, but they do. They have laws written about these, so no one looks at their, erm... let's--let's just move on," Trixie blushed. Trying to change the subject, she just flipped the page to show Amethyst Star.
"Well helllooooo good lookin'," Amethyst giggled. "I am digging that hairstyle. Oooh, and I like her vest, that's cute, always loved denim. Oh and she's got little earrings too, aww. I like this girl's style!
Everyone chuckled, rolling their eyes in unison.
"Do hoo-mans wear retro stuff in that world?" Amethyst asked with excitement, her tail swishing.
"Well... back in the, what did Adagio say... oh, she said back in the '80s' they wore wacky stuff like this, but nowadays it's mostly seen as, um... goofy."
"Goofy's my wheelhouse," Amethyst shrugged, still smiling at the photo.
The princess flipped over to another page, this time showcasing Octavia.
"Oh yeah!" Octavia roared with excitement. "Rock on!"
Princess Trixie giggled. "I thought you'd like her."
"Looks pretty wild. I mean the black jacket, the purple shirt--"
"--Tank top, actually--"
"--Tank top, the black leggings with holes in them, the skirt, the heeled boots, she looks like a rocker right there," Bon Bon observed.
"If ever meet this counterpart of mine, I'll definitely need to have a conversation with her. I bet we'd all enjoy some nice talks with our hoo-man figures," Octavia giggled. "Say, Trix, what does yours look like?"
Trixie halted. "Oh, um, well, she's fine, just, uhhh..."
"Come on, what does she look like?"
"Well... she doesn't look exactly like me," the princess blushed.
"So this is another counterpart of yours, I'm sure it's nothing to be ashamed of," Vinyl said, brushing the thought aside.
"Come on, let us see!"
"But wait, it--"
Too late. Amethyst had already plucked the book and flipped to the next page, revealing Trixie's doppelganger. "Ja... whoa. Okay, I'll admit, that is not at all what I imagined you look like," Amethyst said, looking at her counterpart. "When did you wear glasses? I mean the vest is cute with the buttons, it's nice, but... I don't know, there's something about this look, I don't know, it's um..."
"Well, it's unique!" Vinyl said, trying to salvage the situation. "There's nothing wrong with that!"
"Heh... heheh... um, can we just, ignore this one?"