//------------------------------// // Coreana's New Home // Story: The Dazzlings and the Human // by evanim26 //------------------------------// After we had entered the school along with the principal and Sunset, we explained everything that happened from Coreana at the circus to now. And, surprisingly, she was completely understanding. At this point, I was starting to wonder if I was the only one in this town who didn't know about all of this magic nonsense and other worlds. Celestia nodded. “I see,” She smirked. “So it's just another normal day for you girls?” Sunset chuckled. “Seems like it.” She sighed. “I just wish we had an actual normal day without evil magical creatures from Equestria.” I raised a brow. “Gonna be honest, this “Equestria” place doesn't sound like a nice place if people like Coreana come from there.” Sunset turned to me. “Well, I'd say it's more of a place you have to visit yourself to understand it.” Just then, Applejack stepped into the office, which prompted everyone to look at her. Sunset spoke first. “Hey, Applejack. Where's Coreana?” “I tied her up an' threw her in a closet.” She sighed. “She was real loud about it too. Kept yammerin' on and on about how she wants revenge on you three.” She pointed to the girls who were sitting around me, while Sonata hung onto my arm in a hug. “Right. About her.” Luna brought back everyone's attention. “I was hoping you girls had a solution for her. We can't exactly keep her locked up here at a school. Think of how that would look.” “I agree,” Celestia spoke up. “Sunset, can you contact princess Twilight and have Coreana taken back? I fear if she remains here, then she'll just cause more problems.” I raised a hand. “Now, hang on-.” I went ignored. “I would, but...” Sunset trailed off as she rubbed the back of her neck. “Twilight hasn't written back yet since this whole thing started. I think she might be in the middle of something.” “Then, why don't you?” Sunset slouched in her seat. “I'm...still not ready to go back.” “Actually, I have a-.” I was cut off once again. “Then we must find another way to keep her from harming anyone.” Luna held her chin. “But how?” “I have an idea!” I made sure to say it loud enough for everyone to hear, and everyone turned to me. “Why doesn't she stay with me?” Everyone gasped. “Eric, are you crazy?” I turned to Adagio. “She almost killed you! She almost killed us! And you want her to live with us?!” Aria crossed her arms. “There is no way I'm letting her live under the same roof as us.” Sonata tugged on my arm, which almost pulls me out of my chair. “Eric, you can't let her stay with us! She is too dangerous, and I won't let you get hurt again.” Applejack tipped her hat. “I'd have to agree with em'. That Coreana is way too dangerous to be so close with.” “Hang on, everyone.” We all looked to Sunset. “I want to hear him out, maybe it's not such a bad idea.” Everyone remained silent, then looked at me. I sighed. “I know how dangerous Coreana is, but think about it. Her gem is broken, and you girls told me that was her source of power, which means she can't use her magic anymore. Right?” The girls slowly nodded. “Then as long as we keep a close eye on her, then she won't be able to hurt us anymore. Besides, it wouldn't sit right with me if we just throw her in jail.” Adagio raised a brow. “Why not?” I thought back to the moment right before our beam hit her and destroyed her gem. The face she made, and how sad she looked. After I saw that, there was no way I could just let her be thrown in some prison for the rest of her life. “Didn't you see how she looked before we blasted her? The look of pure sadness and betrayal. She even started crying.” The others then wore a look of sadness themselves. “I don't know about you guys, but it seems clear to me that Coreana isn't just looking for revenge. She is really hurting on the inside.” “Maybe...we should let her stay with us.” Aria and Sonata stared at Adagio in disbelief. Aria huffed. “You're not serious. Right, Adagio?” “I am. It's because of us that this whole mess started in the first place.” Adagio rubbed her temples. “We betrayed a siren whom we also called a sister just to save our own skins, and look where that got us. We have to show her how sorry we are.” Sonata spoke up as well. “I agree with Adagio.” She hugged my arm tighter. “When she and Eric put it that way, I can't help but feel bad for her.” I looked toward Aria. “Aria, please.” Aria turned away and huffed. “I understand how you feel, but we've got to do the right thing here.” I placed my other hand on her shoulder. “If not for that reason alone, then do it for me.” Aria shut her eyes tight and groaned. “Damn it. Fine.” She turned and pointed at me. “But, if she tries to hurt anyone in any way, I'll throw her out myself.” “Fair enough.” Celestia cleared her throat. “Well, since the question of what to do with Coreana has finally been answered, I believe it's time we discuss the broken front doors of the school.” Applejack hid behind her hat, which made Celestia narrow her eyes at her. “Applejack?” Applejack lifted her hat. “T-Twas' an emergency. We had to get to Sunset's journal to warn Princess Twilight.” “I understand that, but you still need to fix it.” Applejack nodded. “I'll get started right away.” She left the room. “Now that that's covered, I believe it's time we all went home.” Celestia stood up. “And Eric, I must warn you.” She stepped over to me and pat my shoulder. “You're going to be dealing with things like these a lot, so you might as well get used to it.” She then left the room with Luna. “I better get going too.” Sunset stood up and walked to the door. “Good luck with Coreana, I have a feeling you'll need it.” She left as well. “Well.” I stood up, but Sonata continued to hang on and came up with me. “Let's go say hi to our new house guest.” Aria groaned but stood up along with Adagio, and we all left the room. We all walked down the hallway together, with Sonata still clinging onto my arm. I had to admit, I didn't mind it at first, but now it's getting a little tiring. I turned to her. “Sonata, can you let go of my arm? I would like to be able to move it.” Sonata shook her head. “No, silly. I'm your girlfriend now, so I have to do this.” Now, I guarantee you, if I was drinking something I would've spat it out immediately. Leave it to Sonata to be so blunt about it. Before I could say anything, Adagio cut in. “Now, hold on just one moment, Sonata! You can't just declare you're his girlfriend like that.” “Why not?” Sonata thought for a moment. “I thought when two people confessed their love to each other, then they become girlfriend and boyfriend.” “T-That may be true, but you weren't the only one who did, remember?” She blushed. “But I said it first, so I'm his girlfriend.” Unexpectedly, Aria spoke up. “Shouldn't it be Eric who decides, since everyone confessed?” We all turned to her and she turned away. “Or, whatever?” Adagio turned back to me. “Aria is right, the decision is up to Eric. So choose.” Sonata stared at me with big eyes, while Adagio raised a brow and Aria crossed her arms. I looked between each of them as they waited for an answer. I sighed. “Listen, I love all of you girls just as much as you do me, but I can't just choose one of you.” Before any of them spoke up, I raised my hand. “Instead, why don't we just focus on Coreana and deal with this later, alright?” “Alright.” “Fine.” “Whatever.” We continued on our way with Sonata still holding onto me at the dissatisfaction of Adagio, but I'm pretty sure I saw Aria stare with a hint of jealousy. Eventually, we had to ask Applejack for directions as we discovered we didn't actually know where Coreana was being held, then we continued on our way. As we approached the closet, we could hear sounds of struggle and a lot of yelling, then we heard something heavy fall, so I ran to the door and opened it to find Coreana on the ground tied to a chair. I stepped towards her and got her upright. “Are you alright?” Coreana tsked. “What the hell do you care, human? Last I checked, I'm trying to get my revenge on all of you.” She turned and glared at the girls, then at me. “Why the hell are you here anyway?” “Well, I-.” “Wait! Don't tell me!” Coreana thought for a moment. “Let me guess, you and those girls are gonna use your Equestrian magic to send me to some other world like Starswirl did before. Am I right?” “No, I-.” Coreana huffed. “What am I thinking? Of course, I'm right. Figures, I get banished to yet another world, while those three traitors get to stay here where it's sunshine and rainbows. Typical.” “Will you listen to me please?!” “Why should I listen to some lowly human when I already know how this story ends?!” “Because if you did, then you would know that's not what we're doing.” “Oh, don't you lie to me! I see where this is going! At first, I'll just believe you, then you'll all just turn around and laugh at my face as you open a portal and send me away!” Coreana gave a loud fake laugh. “Let's all laugh at the fool who was betrayed twice!” She continued to laugh. I placed both hands on her shoulders. “Listen! You're staying with me!” Coreana suddenly stopped laughing and stared at me. “What?” “No one is gonna send you away.” I removed my hands. “From this day forward, you are gonna stay with me and the girls.” Coreana started at me for a few seconds, then burst out laughing. “Okay, now I know this is some sort of trick. Someone is gonna pop out any moment now and say “gotcha”. Where are they? Behind the wall over there? You can come out now!” When no one came out, and she looked at our faces, her smile dropped. “Oh, you're serious?” I nodded. “Of course I am. Now, let's get you out of here.” I began undoing the rope. “No.” Coreana shook her head. “No way. There is no way in hell I am going to stay under the same roof as those three traitors. I'd rather get sent to another world, hell I'd even take Tartarus over being anywhere near those three." "Too late." By the time she was done talking, I had already undone all of the rope. "Trust me, coming with us will be better than wandering the streets alone." Coreana shot forward and grabbed my shirt. "And what's stopping me from killing you right here and now?" Aria, Sonata, and Adagio all grabbed her arm. "Us." Coreana growled and let go, then I pushed the other girls away. "Listen, we won't treat you like some kind of prisoner while you're living with us. You'll be able to go and do whatever you want, with supervision of course, and we'll leave you alone at home. You won't even have to talk to us if you don't want to." "And if I refuse?" "Do you really want to go wandering all over the city all alone? With us, you'll have a place to stay and eat that will keep out the cold." Coreana remained silent and sighed. "Fine, I'll play your game, but don't try anything funny, human, or else I'm walking out that door and not coming back." Aria chuckled. "Shouldn't we be saying that to you?" "Who cares?" Coreana stepped past me and into the hallway. "Just hurry up and take me to the place I'm supposed to stay, human. "Eric." "Huh?" "My name is Eric." Coreana turned to me and smirked. "Oh, that's cute. The dog has a name." She looked at the girls "Did one of you name it? Did you give it a name so you can feel more attached? How adorable." I glanced at the girls to see they were glaring hard at her. I put my arm out and shook my head, so they turned away and huffed in annoyance. I stepped past Coreana. "Just follow me, we'll have to walk to my car first which is parked pretty far away from the school." "Fine." We walked to the doors to the school and passed by Applejack on the way out who waved us off but gave a glare at Coreana. When we got outside, Sunset and most of the others were there and they all looked toward us but none moved to question or stop Coreana. Sunset stepped close to me. "It's alright, I already explained everything to them." Rainbow shook her head. "I still don't like it. That girl is clearly an evil siren who definitely has no good in her whatsoever. She can't be trusted." "Don't worry. We'll keep a close eye on her so she doesn't try anything." "Yeah, but..." "Well, I personally believe Eric will have this under control." Rarity spoke up. "Besides, he was able to take care of three other former evil sirens, no offense. What's one more going to do?" "Alright, fine." Rainbow looked at me. "But if you need help, just come to us and we'll set her straight." I nodded. "I'll keep that in mind." I glanced back at Coreana who had picked something off the ground so I stepped over. "Hey, is something wrong?" I noticed Coreana quickly hid her hand. "It's nothing. Let's just get out of here. This place reeks goody-goody heroes, and I don't want the smell to get on my dress." She sped walked past me and I just rubbed my head. "Alright then." We all walked past them and continued on our way back to Sugarcube Corner where I parked my car last. Although, there was this nagging feeling that I was forgetting something. Someone important...I couldn't quite place it though. Back at the school, just when Eric left, the portal in the statue glowed and Twilight stepped through the other side prompting everyone present to stand up and run over. Except for Applejack. Everyone yelled. "Twilight!" As they wrapped her in a hug. "Hey, guys." Twilight was soon let go of. "I came as soon as I could, but a friendship mission came up and I wasn't available. I'm sorry for taking so long." Sunset waved her hand. "It's no problem. It was actually a good thing you didn't come through when you did. Coreana had control over the whole town." "Wait, "had"? Past-tense?" "It's a long story actually. You might want to sit down." "Before that." Twilight searched the area. "Where's the other me? Shouldn't she be here too?" "Oh, yeah!" Twilight turned to Pinkie. "She went on a trip with her brother and his wife. She said she probably wouldn't be back until next week." "Which is why I called you, Twilight. You were the only Twilight available." "I see. Well then, let's hear this story." Twilight and the others walked toward the stairs and sat down as Sunset, Rainbow, and Rarity began recounting what had happened before she arrived. After a few minutes of walking, we had eventually reached Sugarcube corner and my car. While the girls got in the back, I opened the door for Coreana who stood there and looked between the passenger seat and the girls. I raised a brow. "Is something wrong?" "I'm debating which is worse." She looked back at the girls. "Sitting next to them, or sitting next to you." Aria groaned. "Is all of this whining gonna be an everyday thing with you?" Coreana glared at her and Aria merely glared back. "What? You got something to say?" I stepped between them. "Aria, please, we're gonna be living with her, so stop antagonizing her." Aria turned away then I turned to Coreana who had already sat in the passenger seat. "I've made my choice. Dealing with you is a lot easier than having to deal with." She pointed behind her. "That. Just don't talk to me." She shut her door shortly after. I shrugged my shoulders and got into the driver's seat. I started the car and we were off back to our house with a new addition. While driving, I took a few glances at Coreana and noticed she kept staring at whatever was inside of her hand. She held it in a position so I couldn't see. "What's that in your hand?" Coreana clenched her hand and glared at me. "I told you not to talk to me, human, eyes forward! What I have in my hand is none of your business." "Hey!" Sonata leaned forward between the seats. "Eric was just asking a question. There's no reason to be rude." Coreana didn't look at her. "I'll do, and say, whatever I want." "Come on." Adagio leaned forward as well. "Eric is letting you stay with him out of the goodness of his heart. You can at least be grateful." Coreana rolled her eyes. "Oh, yes. Let me be grateful to the same disgusting human responsible for ruining everything I had built up, and for destroying the one thing that made this world bearable. Thank you so much." She turned to the girls. "By the way, I'm still not buying any of this. I'm just waiting for the moment someone appears and shouts "just kidding" as I'm sent through a portal." I sighed. "I told you, no one is gonna send you through any portal." Coreana looked at me and raised a brow. "You are really trying to sell me that lie, aren't you? What? Did all of you agree to only do it when I'm one hundred percent convinced?" "What makes you think it's a lie?" "Well, let's see." Coreana put a finger on her chin. "I tried to make you my slave, kicked you in the ribs, repeatedly, and tried to break your spirit by killing those three traitors back there. To be honest, you would probably trick me just to have it as my ultimate punishment for what I've done. It would even be poetic. My life in this world would have started and ended the same way, with me being betrayed by those closest." "Well, that's not what's happening. I swear to you, this isn't some kind of trick. No one is going to betray you, nor send you through any portals." Coreana merely stared at me, then rolled her eyes. "Keep repeating it over and over. Who knows? One day, I might actually believe those words. Wouldn't that be hilarious?" I shook my head and we continued the rest of the ride in silence. I glanced at the rearview mirror to see Adagio and Sonata with sad looks on their face. No doubt they probably blame themselves for Coreana's obvious trust issues. They shouldn't beat themselves up about it now though. All they can do now is hope Coreana accepts their apologies when the time comes. Once we had finally arrived home, we all exited the car, and I unlocked the door. As soon as they were in, the girls all sat down on the couch and let out exhausted sighs. "Eric, can you do us a favor?" I turned to Adagio. "The next time you want to take us to a circus, don't." I chuckled. "Oh, don't worry. I wasn't planning on going to any anytime soon." I then looked over my clothes. "I'm gonna go change. Please don't start any fights." Aria huffed and glared at Coreana who was simply standing next to the door. "It's not us you'll have to worry about starting fights." Coreana smirked. "Says the girl who got into the most fights with ponies who disrespected her back in Equestria. Hey, now that I remember. Wasn't it you who wanted to stay and fight Starswirl? Maybe we should be wary of you starting fights." Aria stood up. "Big talk for someone with no fighting skills or magic." "Try me. You might be surprised what you can learn in a few thousand years." Before Aria did anything, I stepped between them, again. "Alright, that's enough. Aria, go to your room and don't talk to Coreana anymore." "Fine." Aria walked away. I turned to Coreana. "Please don't antagonize them. We're supposed to be living together, remember?" Coreana glared at me. "You don't tell me what to do. Roommates or not, I'm not playing nice with you nor those traitors." She poked my chest hard. "Get that through your thick skull, human. The quicker you do, the quicker we can go back to hating each other's guts instead of...whatever this is." She walked past me and shoved my shoulder. "I need a shower." I sighed and pinched my nose. "This is getting us nowhere." I looked at the other two girls. "Can you two-." "Ask Aria to play nice with our new "guest"?" Adagio finished my sentence and stood up along with Sonata. "We'll try, but we all know how stubborn she can be." "Just, try your best. I need to throw this shirt away." I walked back to my room to change my clothes. Coreana easily found the bathroom, considering there were only three doors, and the human's door was already open, it wasn't really that hard. She stepped into the bathroom and made sure the door was locked and proceeded to open her hand and stare at a shard from her broken gem that she didn't throw away. She stared at it for a full minute then softly placed it on the sink and proceeded to remove her dress and step into the shower. 'What the hell am I doing?' She banged her head on the wall. 'I should've just said no and walked away from that disgusting human. Who cares if I wound up on the streets? At least I would be away from those three. But no, I just had to join them, didn't I?' She looked at her shard on the counter then grabbed at and sunk down but turned so the water was hitting her back. 'My gem. The one thing that was able to get me through so many hard times in this world, broken by the same people I'm now living with. What a joke.' She held the shard close to her chest. 'I should've just left.' Tears pricked her eyes but she refused to let them fall, instead, she wiped her eyes. Coreana took a deep breath and tried to sing a soft melody, but it was horribly off-key. Despite that, she kept trying over and over. She only stopped when a knock came on the door. "Hey? Are you alright in there? Sounds like you're in pain." She heard Eric's voice through the door and her mood immediately soured. "Why the hell should you care if I'm hurt?!" "So you are hurt? The medkit is in the closet if you-." "No I'm not hurt, you idiot! Just go away! Even if I was, I can take care of myself!" "Alright." She heard Eric's receding footsteps and sighed. 'God, I hope I get sent through a portal soon.' She rubbed her head in frustration. 'Maybe I'll get lucky and be sent back to Equestria. At least there aren't any humans there that can annoy me.' Once she was done with her shower, she dried herself off with the towel and was about to put her dress back on until she noticed just how dirty it was from everything that had happened today. Despite how much she loathed it, she knew she needed new clothes and the only ones available were the Dazzlings. She tied the towel around herself and hid the shard in her dress and carried it to the Dazzling's room where she found the three of them on their own respective beds. Adagio looked up from her phone. "Coreana? why are you-." "Clothes. Now." Adagio simply pointed at one of the two dressers in the room. "You can borrow some of mine, I guess." Coreana made her way to the dresser and laid her dress on it as she dug around for anything she might like. She settled for a pair of tight jeans with a green crop top and an open short-sleeved red overshirt. "Finally." "Don't ruin them. Those are some of my favorites." "Don't care." She snuck the shard into her pocket then walked out of their room. I had maned to find myself a normal brown T-shirt with some sweat shorts. I was enjoying my time relaxing on the couch after everything that had happened, but life felt it necessary to bother me as Coreana stepped into the living room with new clothes on. "I'm tired. Where the hell am I supposed to sleep?" I thought for a moment. "You can take my bed." "And have to deal with that disgusting human smell on my clothes. I'd rather die." "Well...you could-." "Don't even suggest it." I rubbed my neck. "Well, the only place left is the couch." "Couch it is. Now move." "Hang on, I'm watching something." She grabbed my shirt and pulled me off the couch. "Don't care, I'm tired. Watch when I'm gone. Should probably be by morning. Unless you and the others made other plans." She laid down on the couch and turned away from me as I stood up. "And no, I'm not getting into another debating match with you. Too tired to deal with you right now. Just wake me up when you're ready to open it." I shook my head and left the remote on the t.v. and returned to my own room. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tired. Maybe it's best to just sleep it off and hope things will be better in the morning. I had just made it to my room and was about to get into bed when a knock came on my door. I opened it to find Adagio standing there. "Hey, Eric, can we talk?" "Sure." Adagio stepped into my room and sat on my bed while I sat next to her. "I'm sure you know what's, or whom, it's about." "Coreana." "Yeah." Adagio nodded. "I just feel awful for what we did to her all those years ago. I just want to go and apologize, but..." "But, what?" "I just feel like she'll only end up hating us more." "You won't know unless you try." Adagio still looked unsure so I placed a hand on her shoulder. "Listen, I may not be that much help, but I know an apology can really help mend a broken relationship. I apologized to my sister every time I've done wrong by her, and yes she was a little angry, but she eventually forgave me. I'm sure if you tell her how sorry you are, then everything will be alright." "Right," Adagio smirked and nodded. "I guess it couldn't hurt to try." She gave me a peck on the cheek. "Thanks, Eric." "Uh, no problem." As she left the room I softly touched my cheek and shook my head. 'Those girls.' Without any more disruptions, I finally laid down on my bed, but my thoughts were slowly drifting back to my sister...and the circus...and Coreana. I shot up in my bed. 'Oh, crap! I forgot about my sister!' Emilia had ended up in a part of town she didn't know and was walking around aimlessly. "How on earth did I get here? Where is here? Where's the circus? Where Are Eric and the others? And why am I covered in twigs and leaves?!" She screamed out in frustration. "What is going on?!"