//------------------------------//
// A Dazzling Exit 
// Story: When Life Gives You Snow... 
// by TheGJ90 
//------------------------------//

It took the rest of the day and half of the next day for Sci-Twi to get a phone call from Sunset Shimmer, who told her that they had gotten the Sirens' RV fixed up. The scientist was about to ask if she needed any help with getting the vehicle's keys, only for Sunset to reveal that they had found them. Turns out, they were placed next to the toaster on a table in the RV's kitchen area. The Sirens themselves, who were standing in the living room along with the CMCs and their shared host, were bemused by the revelation. While Adagio settled for a quick facepalm, Sonata got a swift smack to the back of her head by a perturbed Aria while claiming with a frustrated groan;

"You were supposed to be on keys duty, Sonata!"

After taking a moment to ponder while expressing a look of sweet innocence mixed with confusion, Sonata replied;

"Hmmmm... I could have sworn I had picked them up before leaving..."

The CMCs did a fine job of holding themselves back from laughing at The Dazzlings' collective expense, although Apple Bloom did allow herself to shake her head a little. They knew better than to be mean to people. Aria gave her younger sister a piercing glare and thought to herself out of annoyance;

"That girl is the wor-!"

At that moment, the memory of seeing Sonata closing her eyes while laying in the snow played out in Aria's mind with a vividness that could not be ignored. This was enough to drive her to hold her usual insult behind her teeth, but only just. Keeping up her judgemental glare in silence would have to suffice... that time, at least. Adagio kept her eyes on each of her sisters. She was ready to break up yet another argument, but seeing Aria turn silent gave her reason enough to relax. She turned her attention to Sci-Twi, who had just finished her phone call with Sunset, and told her calmly;

"It was a stroke of good luck that the key was not stolen..."

She gave Sonata a quick side-eye before looking back at their host and finishing;

"By some lowly thieves in the night. When can we expect your friends to arrive with Rose Quartz?"

With a quick adjustment of her glasses, the young scientist took a deep breath and looked over at the Sirens, who were looking back at her expectantly. Sonata's face was filled with excitement, Aria showed her normal level of irritation, and Adagio kept up a veil of calm confidence on her face. Sci-Twi turned her focus over to the CMCs, their eyes practically bursting with hope as they looked at her happily with bated breath, Scootaloo almost bouncing in anticipation. With a bright smile, Sci-Twi she gave them her answer. A single word was all that was needed;

"Today."

Within an instant, the living room was absolutely flooded with cheer, relief, and a kind of pandemonium that only the CMCs could create! Apple Bloom belted out one of her family's innumerable songs while square dancing with well-practiced skill and playing air banjo at the same time, Sweetie Belle joined in on the singing while standing on top of the now cleared out living room table and pretending to brandish a mic, and Scootaloo straight up did a cartwheel over to the couch and leaped onto it face-first while exclaiming;

"AWESOME!"

As for the song that was being performed with roughly a hundred levels of youth-fueled sweet Apple gusto, it went something like this;

"Raise this barn!
Raise this barn!
One-two-three-four!

Together we can raise this barn!
One-two-three-four!"

As for the Sirens, Aria allowed herself to reveal a tiny smile over the good news for all of two seconds before having to cover her ears with an annoyed grimace. Adagio, having the tougher set of ears of the two, quietly watched the chaos unfold before her with the smallest hint of relief in her confident smirk while feeling quite calm, given the situation. Sonata, however, was so overcome with joy that she jumped into the impromptu performance to square dance, albeit poorly, with Apple Bloom, who was surprised but not at all upset by this sudden turn of events. She and Sweetie Belle kept singing in an energetic harmony;

"Up up up go the beams!
Hammer those joints work in team!
Turn 'em round quick by the right elbow!

Grab a partner!
Here we go!"

Scootaloo, by this point, was break-dancing to the rhythm of her friends' singing after jumping off of the couch. Aria could barely stand to watch the spectacle unfold, let alone listen to the unrelenting positivity being expressed through song, without feeling sick to her stomach. So, she instead opted to walk over to Adagio, who's eyes were fixed on said spectacle. She took a quick glance at Sci-Twi, who was too fixated on the kids' behavior while giggling and clapping over their jubilation to notice what the purple-haired Siren was doing. With a level of vocal volume that only her elder sister could hear underneath the cacophony of excitement, Aria told Adagio with absolute seriousness;

"You have our blessing, sea-sister."

Adagio nodded her head in confirmation of her sister's words, her gaze not moving an inch. Her smirk grew ever so slightly as she carefully exited the living room without making a single sound. It was sometimes difficult for her to tell what had been more useful to her and her sisters as a survival tool throughout the ages: their magic, their manipulation skills, or their stealth skills.

Upon entering the bedroom of Twilight Velvet and Night Light as quietly as a mouse on the hunt for the almighty cheese, she got down on one knee to reach under the large bed with her right hand. After feeling around for a few seconds, she found her target and pulled it out before standing back up to inspect it. It was Aria's purse, which had colors that matched her teal & purple hair. With care, Adagio unzipped the purse to dig through its contents. Buried underneath its owner's personal effects was a white piece of paper that was neatly folded several times over. It was just the right size for it be kept hidden within Adagio's hand, which was perfect for what she had in mind. After zipping the bag back up, she placed it on the bed and walked back out of the room, the paper held tightly and out of sight in her right hand.

By the time Adagio had returned to the living room, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had just finished singing 'Raise this Barn", with Scootaloo and Sonata having finished their dancing. Their combined performance had earned them a heartfelt applause and a bright smile from Sci-Twi, to which they responded by taking a respectful bow and expressing giant smiles. With her predatory grin on full display, Adagio made it a point to send the CMCs a choice comment;

"I will admit, your singing has somewhat improved."

The club members' smiles grew a little, but they had taken a most juicy bait;

"It's no longer headache-inducing."

Just like that, their smiles instantly turned into annoyed frowns, which pleased Adagio greatly as she expressed her satisfaction with one of her favorite venomous grins. Yes, she wasn't going to outright insult the kids in accordance with her earlier claim. But, she had no problems with finding, and exploiting, any verbal wiggle room she could find. Sensing danger, Sci-Twi stepped up to defend her young friends while choosing to ignore the back-handed nature of the Siren's compliment;

"I, for one, enjoyed your singing!", she declared with a bit more confidence than she thought she had at that moment.

Aria, with an annoyed grunt, spoke candidly with a glare that could break glass aimed perfectly at Sci-Twi's eye-wear of choice;

"Your taste in music clearly needs work."

Taking the diplomatic approach, Adagio stepped in to calmly keep heads from butting;

"Now now, Aria. Every has their own musical preferences."

"However wrong those preferences may be.", she thought to herself out of internalized annoyance as she went on;

"Besides, we haven't heard the kids sing the Davy Jones song yet and I'm still intrigued by the idea."

Sweetie Belle's eyes lit up like a Christmas Tree's star in the night upon hearing this, with her two friends reacting in a similar fashion. With excitement fueling every step, they lined themselves up to face The Dazzlings in the living room while standing in front of the table. The Sirens looked at them out of curiosity, with Adagio and Aria mentally readying themselves for what they were certain was going to be delicious ammunition for future verbal barbs. Sonata, being Sonata, was just excited to listen to good music, if her gleeful expression was anything to go by. Before the CMCs could begin to sing, however, Sweetie Belle raised her right index finger to the roof while exclaiming;

"Hold on!"

She pulled her smartphone out of her pants pocket, set it to silent with a few screen touches, and placed it back into her pocket before declaring happily;

"Now, I'm ready!"

After taking a deep breath to steady themselves, the trio of friends inhaled audibly, preparing to sing the first part of the song. Just before they could start to harmonize, however, the doorbell rang. This interruption, while stopping them in their tracks, did not annoy the girls in the slightest. In fact, it had made them feel hope and joy that they could not help but express through excited giggles as Sci-Twi ran up to the door. After unlocking it, she opened it up with the six girls behind her watching intently.

The mere sight of the young lady with blonde hair standing on the other side caused Apple Bloom to drop all pretense of politeness. Running up to her with the speed of a charging bull, she declared with absolute familial love and sparkles in her big orange eyes;

"APPLEJACK! APPLEJACK!"

She pounced on Applejack with all of her heart and soul, giving her as tight an Apple Hug as she could, a show of love that the elder farmhand happily reciprocated with a wide grin of her own after getting down on one knee. She was wearing full Winter gear, including a woolly light-blue hat with ear covers in place of her usual Stetson, winter coat, gloves, and so forth. This whole ensemble made the hug extra warm and snugly to her young sibling, who was giggling uncontrollably through happy tears at this point. With a bit of gentle silent encouragement, she carefully dislodged Apple Bloom from her person, allowing her to step into the house to make way for;

"RARITY!"

Sweetie Belle practically leaped into Rarity's arms as soon as she could reach her, much to her older sister's delight. She was wearing one of her more dignified winter outfits, including a rather tall and fluffy white and purple winter hat that nearly fell right off of her head when Sweetie had attacked. It took the two happy Belles a moment or two to separate so that Rarity could walk in as well. This allowed a certain prismatic streak to zoom through the doorway and directly into the waiting arms of Scootaloo, who knew exactly who was coming for her;

"RAINBOW DASH!"

The daredevil joyfully declared the name of her sister-in-heart as the girl herself stopped right in front of Scootaloo, got down on one knee and pulled her into a hug faster than the eye could blink, her own Winter gear as colorful as her hair. The two laughed out of relief and happiness along with the other pairs of siblings. Sci-Twi was also overjoyed to see her friends again as she greeted each of them while being careful not to ruin their familial reunion. But, there was more laughter to come as a certain pink party planner came bouncing into the house with boundless glee while making the room shine with her beaming grin;

"Twily, we're hoooooome!", declared Pinkie Pie, her Winter hat being as bouncy as her hair.

With a head-shake and a smile, Sci-Twi gave Pinkie a hug, not wanting to put a damper on things by correcting her. It was at that moment that a gentle barely audible voice came from the opened doorway;

"Um... may I come in?"

With some mania-inspired encouragement from Pinkie, Fluttershy came walking into the house as well, with her beloved pet bunny Angel Bunny sitting quietly in her coat's front pocket, his usual grumpiness on full display. She, too, got a hug from Sci-Twi. Whilst enjoying being in the presence of their elder sisters for the first time in days, the CMCs were happy to see their friends again. But, there was one Rainboom out of the seven who they wanted to see just as badly as they wanted to see their sisters. The one Rainboom they respected the most.

She was the last to walk in and the poor girl didn't stand in the house for longer than a second before all three CMCs cried out in pure unrelenting happiness;

"SUNSET!!!"

Like a trio of pastel bullets, they bolted over to Sunset before leaping onto her to give her a giant triple hug! The Human-Pony girl laughed her rear off as she wrapped her arms around her young friends while trying very hard to not fall flat on her back. Sensing the opportunity, the other Rainbooms joined in on this display of goodwill and love to form a group hug that warmed their spirits with ease. A single cough would stop the cheer in its tracks, however, causing their eyes to grow wide for a moment. They were all reminded of a less-than-stellar fact:

The Dazzlings were in the living room.

The Rainbooms and CMCs broke out of the hug to turn around to face the Sirens. Adagio, the one who coughed to get the other ladies' attention, gave the group a calm but piercing glare. Aria, true to form, expressed no end of silent grumpiness at the sight before her. Sonata showed a wide happy grin as she waved at them with her right arm. They had watched the reunion in silence, but not so much out of fear but out of a well-honed sense of caution. As much as the revoltingly positive sight annoyed Adagio and Aria, they didn't want to risk causing a major problem for the group. Sonata had no issues with the reunion whatsoever. In fact, she had to hold back her own happy tears over the sight of it. Besides, there was one good reason why The Dazzlings refused to cause trouble for the Rainbooms at that specific moment:

Six of them could use magic, while they themselves could not. Even without the Equestrian Princess around, the three Sirens were not in a position of power because of Sunset being there with her pals, and even Sonata, as ditzy as she was, knew that.

The stare-down between the two groups created tension that could be cut with a chef's knife. Most of the original five Rainbooms were not happy to see The Dazzlings, as shown by their frowns and defensive postures. Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash instinctively kept their sisters close to their sides. Fluttershy tried to hide behind her long flowing pink hair. Pinkie, being her incredibly positive self, waved back at Sonata while giving the trio before her a most welcoming smile with happiness sparkling in her eyes. It was all Aria and Adagio could do to keep their gagging internalized. The CMCs kept their eyes locked on the Sirens, waiting for any sign of trouble from them to appear. It was Sci-Twi who broke the tension by walking over to stand between the two groups and told them nervously;

"I-I suggest that we all go outside to show The Dazzlings their RV, okay?!"

After about two seconds of silent contemplation, the ladies in both groups nodded affirmatively in unison, much to the bookworm's relief.





It wasn't long before the Sirens were escorted out of the house by the Rainbooms after they had put on their cleaned up Winter clothing. Thankfully, it wasn't nearly as cold that day as it was when they had nearly bitten the dust. It took them all of ten seconds to be graced with a much-awaited sight that made Sonata gasp and promptly explode with joy;

"ROSE QUARTZ!", she yelled out to the high-heavens as she ran through the snow to give the newly repaired RV a hug and several quick kisses. It was clear to Adagio and Aria's eyes that, much to their surprise, it wasn't just given the bare-minimum repairs needed for it to be road-worthy: it was completely fixed up! The scratches it had accumulated through regular use were buffered out, the old tires were replaced with fresh ones, the windows were cleaned up, and the paint job was retouched where necessary. It wasn't just like new, but it was a fine sight prettier than it was when they left it, as far as the two sirens gazing upon their vehicle were concerned. As far as Sonata was concerned, by comparison, she had gotten a dear friend back, as made evident by the cute happy noises she was making with her eyes shut as she hugged the side of the RV where the main door was located, her mind filled with joy. Right then and there, her nose caught the whiff of a smell, a familiar smell that caused her eyes to shoot open. She sniffed twice to be certain of what she was smelling, only to gasp at she had discovered. This smelly smell, this wondrous aroma, could only come from...

"Give me the keys.", Sonata deadpanned out loud to no one in particular, her face as frighteningly neutral as her voice. Sunset, who carried the keys in her pants pocket, knew precisely what was up. With anticipation in her smile and every step, she walked over to Sonata, who's eyes were glued onto the door before her. She then carefully took the Siren's right hand, which was outstretched to hug the door, and placed the keys into it. Sonata instantly grasped the keys, stepped back a bit, aimed the keys at the door's lock, and used them to unlock it. With absolute gusto and more strength than her figure had suggested, she threw the door open by making it slide to her left with one swift motion, revealing the main area of the RV that contained, among other things, a toaster, a small kitchen table, the usual dressings and items fit for a mobile kitchen, some fancy purple carpeting underneath the table that had no place in a mobile home, and a large white bag sitting on the table that gave off a scent that called to Sonata's mind like a sweet melody guiding one to their happy place. With an adorable squeal and a brisk hop into the RV, she grabbed the bag and cried out in pure relief and absolute joy;

"TACOOOOOOOOS!!!"

It took Adagio, who watched Sonata's behavior from a distance alongside Aria, all of two seconds to figure out what had happened;

"By the tides, the Rainbooms bought her tacos...", she thought to herself out of annoyance. She was genuinely happy for her youngest sister, who had lamented over missing out on her favorite meal throughout much of their stay at Twilight's house. Adagio being Adagio, however, she would not admit this out loud. At least, not when the Rainbooms and the CMCs were within earshot of her. Aria's grumpiness nearly doubled in strength along with the intensity of her scowl as she complained with a groan;

"Ugh, we're not gonna hear the end of it from her, are we?"

They watched as Sonata bounced out of the RV while holding the bag of tacos in her right hand and danced with glee in the snow. She even started to sing taco-themed songs that she made up as she went. Poorly. Like a cat with a sore-throat trying to sing like a person. Everyone else present covered their ears to ease the pain while grimacing profusely. The dancing, Adagio could handle, but the singing was a flat-out no for her. She quickly walked over to the dancing Siren and, in a rare showing of sisterly gentleness, told her sweetly in a tone that could cut through the ear-splitting vocals;

"Sonata, how about you eat your tacos before they get cold?"

Hearing this stopped the taco-lover's singing and dancing entirely, prompting everyone else to uncover their ears in relief. She looked over at her older sister and, with a giant ear-to-ear grin that was normally seen on the face of a girl who just got the Christmas present she always wanted, exclaimed;

"That's a totes-wonderful idea!"

She then opened up the bag and rummaged through its contents with speed, excitement, and adorable giggles. After another gasp, she declared excitedly;

"There's enough tacos in here for the three of us and then some!"

"I swear, I can have the biggest mouth sometimes!", Adagio internally decried with a facepalm to her forehead as she remembered a certain suggestion she had made about her and Aria trying out tacos. She also reminded herself to be ready to defend herself from a surprise Aria ambush later. Right after making her comment, Sonata's eyes perked up along with her already large smile, which suggested that she had an idea. An idea that she quickly agonized over on the inside as she suddenly began to pace back and forth with a strained expression on her face. Sensing the short reprieve from her sister's taco-fueled mania, Adagio walked over to the Rainbooms, who were watching the situation unfold from afar, and asked them with a raised eyebrow and suspicion in her voice;

"What made you girls want to give even one of us anything at all?"

Rarity, with a touch of dignity in her smile and mannerisms, responded thusly;

"Consider the tacos a peace offering from us, darling. A long overdue one, I might add."

Applejack took the chance to add with a sigh as Rarity and the rest of their friends closely watched the conversation unfold;

"Ah won't lie to ya'll: we didn't even try to reach out to ya'll after the Battle of the Bands. We figured ya' wanted nothin' to do with us after what happened."

She then allowed herself to show Adagio an expression on her face that she didn't immediately expect to see from the farmhand: a frown born from a kind of regret that was not at all acted. Deciding in her head to clarify things, if nothing else but to avoid future annoyances, she responded with an equal amount of honesty;

"You guessed correctly and we take no offense. You wanted to move on from us and frankly, the feeling was mutual back then."

There was no frustration or agitation in Adagio's voice as she spoke. Whatever negative feelings she had over the Rainbooms and the Battle of the Bands, she kept them inside to keep up a polite appearance. She saw the regret slowly fading from Applejack's face whilst she gave her a courteous nod. What replaced the regret was a smile as strong as the happiness in her green eyes. Rarity's expression was similar, albeit with a layer of dignity added to the way she was standing in the snow. Rainbow Dash, in stark contrast, had her arms crossed with suspicion in her glare. But, a tiny smirk could be seen forming on her face regardless. Pinkie Pie was all cheer and no agitation, simple as that. In fact, she was even bouncing in place! Fluttershy was far more reserved. She gave Adagio a warm smile while trying to hide behind her long hair and Rainbow Dash. Sci-Twi expressed a most polite grin, a gulp from her betraying her persistent nervousness. Sunset, however, was more relaxed, as made evident by her confident, knowing smirk. The lead Siren used all of her experience with dealing with manipulators to catch so much as a single sign of trickery from the girls who stood before her. To her surprise, she found nothing of the sort. It was as if they were genuinely trying to be good to them, but experience was telling her to keep a sharp eye and ear out for a catch. Before she could look more closely, Applejack declared;

"Well, from what we've heard, the youngin's went and invited ya'll to one of their movie screenin's."

The farmer's smile got a hint of slyness added to it before she asked;

"Ya' wanna know what that means, missy?"

Adagio pondered the question for about three seconds, which was three seconds too long for Rainbow Dash, who told her with a slightly annoyed tone;

"Get your sisters over here, we want to show you something."

Oh, how the eldest sister hated being ordered around by some common Human with a hairdo more ridiculous than Aria's goth phase outfits! Still, she knew better than to poke a magical bear, let alone six of them, and she had no clue as to whether or not Sci-Twi had magic too. Besides, curiosity was overriding her anger that time anyway. With a shrug, Adagio called for her sisters to join her. Aria was watching Sonata's pacing closely, if nothing else but to be ready for whenever she decided to do something stupid. Once the call was made, she answered it by walking over to Sonata, firmly grabbing her shoulder for a moment to get her attention, and motioned her to go to Adagio with her. With a nod, she followed her elder sister to their leader while holding the bag of tacos tightly in her hands. Once all three Sirens were standing together in a row, with Adagio in the center, Aria to her left, and Sonata to her right, Rainbow Dash gave the other Rainbooms a quick glance, as if she were giving them a silent signal that only they could recognize. The group broke in two as the girls took several steps back away from each other, allowing the Sirens to witness a scene that was simply delightful.

They saw the CMCs, clad in full Winter gear, playing with Spike in the snow in front of Sci-Twi's house, with Twilight Velvet and Night Light watching from a short distance. The three young pals were happy as can be, giggling and smiling as they threw snowballs at one another without a consciously known care in the world. Spike, with little barks and yelps, tried to chomp on the snowballs as they flew over his furry head like cold round bottle rockets. At that moment, the free-for-fall was dead even and could go either way, with each club member dodging and throwing snowballs with skill and gusto while seeing no need to build up snow forts or defensive walls. For the Rainbooms, this sight was a treasure among many they held close to their hearts. For Aria and Adagio, it was a sight worthy of gag reflex. But, they kept the urge to gag in check to keep up appearances, settling for showing their shared annoyance on their faces and nothing more. Sonata, as those two expected, gushed over what they were seeing in a heartfelt manner;

"Awwww, they're having so much fun together!", she cooed with a beaming grin while attempting to hold her hands together for added effect before remembering she was holding a bag of tacos and promptly lowering them to her sides in a sheepish fashion. That would have gotten her a smack to the back of her head by Aria, if she wasn't just beyond striking distance. That fact alone made the purple-haired Siren groan audibly. Adagio was tempted to stop Sonata herself, but she figured she'd show her some mercy. This time. If the CMCs and Spike had heard the cooing, they didn't pay it any mind as they kept on playing. The Sirens heard footsteps to their right, which interrupted Sonata's gushing. They looked in that direction to notice Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity walking up to them to stand with them in a row. Applejack stood at Sonata's immediate right side, with Rarity to the right of Applejack and Rainbow Dash at the far-right. Adagio figured the other Rainbooms were not too far behind her and her sisters. Without further delay, Aria asked out of curiosity and annoyance;

"Ugh, what does this display of lameness have to do with your stupid question?"

After expressing an emphatic 'hmph' and stiff upper-lip, Rarity responded with surety while keeping her gaze locked on Sweetie Belle, who had just pelted a speeding snowball right onto the gut of a giggling Scootaloo;

"More than you think, Aria darling."

"Don't call me dar-!", was the grumpy Siren's attempt at an angry demand before she was interrupted by the fashionista, who waggled her right index finger at her while uttering abruptly;

"Save your comments for after our explanation, if you please?"

This got Aria to shut up, much to Adagio and Sonata's pleasure. The former allowed a devious smirk to grow on her face over this, while Sonata tried to hold back her giggles. All of this only added to the purple-haired Siren's agitation, but she figured that the end-result of her making a scene would be even more annoying, so she clammed up while crossing her arms to silently express her continued indignation. This prompted Applejack to elaborate on her point while keeping a firm watch on Apple Bloom, who helped Scootaloo avenge her gut by unleashing a flurry of snowballs upon Sweetie Belle alongside her;

"Ah was raised to be an honest gal, same for that there little sister of mine. So, Ah'm tellin' the honest truth when Ah say that ya' Sirens had gone and hurt us all when ya'll were in CHS, them youngin's included."

All three of The Dazzlings glared at Applejack, Adagio with a raised eyebrow.

"Why mention what we already know, Human?", she thought to herself as Rainbow Dash jumped in to add while keeping her eyes on Scootaloo as she tanked every snowball thrown at her without so much as flinching while making a neutral expression almost on the level of that of Maud Pie, much to Sweetie Belle's well-acted horror as Spike stood ready to defend her;

"The squirts ain't too happy with what you had them and the other students do back then and they've been scared ever since: scared of you coming back to get revenge on us all."

"Heh, I don't blame them for that.", Adagio admitted in her head before Rarity pointed out calmly;

"Yet, in spite of their understandable negative feelings over your past misdeeds, when they found you three freezing in the snow, they saw fit to save your lives. Not only that..."

Applejack saw her cue and promptly acted on it with a smile;

"But when they recognized how good ya' were behavin' compared to what they had imagined in their heads, they went and invited ya' to a movie screenin'."

Deciding to take a break from enjoying the snow-filled free-for-all that raged on before her, the farmhand turned her gaze back at the Sirens, gave them a sly grin, and told them truthfully;

"Normally, they only invite people they know to their screenins'. People they can trust to not be jerks to folks when watchin' a film."

Rarity chimed in again with her usual brand of dignity;

"Simply put, dears: they took a chance on you all."

Rainbow Dash, albeit reluctantly, hammered home the point;

"I hate to admit it, but... you Sirens didn't waste that chance."

The eyes of all three Siren sisters went wide, especially Adagio's, who couldn't help but feel more than a little frustrated. But, they all calmed down within moments as the eldest sister thought to herself with a quiet chuckle;

"Those little puddles of seabed mud were testing more than just our movie knowledge... not bad."

Before Aria could grumble aloud about being played for a fool by a bunch of children, Adagio noted to Rainbow Dash with a devious smirk;

"I wouldn't celebrate too soon, Human. We just might cause those brats trouble later on down the road."

Rainbow glared intensely at her while expressing a smirk that was filled with confidence that only she could bring to a situation;

"Or... you might not.", she responded with a chuckle of her own, surety shining brightly in her eyes as she took several steps closer to Adagio, who did the same as she asked while keeping her own smirk on point;

"What makes you think that we won't?"

At this point, both of the faces are within inches when Rainbow Dash replied;

"I don't know."

That got her a look of genuine confusion from Adagio, which was her signal to add while turning around move back over to where Applejack and Rarity were standing, her back facing the eldest Siren as she talked;

"Call it a feeling from the inside."

Hearing that drove the confusion right out of her as she chuckled internally before thinking to herself;

"A gut feeling... She's not one to play it safe, is she?"

Aria came to a similar conclusion, but she was more inclined to hide such a revelation through annoyed grunts and an angry expression than through quiet contemplation. They were so focused on their own reactions that they did not pay any mind to Sonata. Listening to the conversation was enough for her to make a decision in her head that, to her, could not have been more important at that moment in time. Without a word, Sonata walked over to the CMCs and Spike, who had just sat down on the snow to take a quick break from their dramatic battle for snow-based supremacy, with the taco bag held tightly in her right hand. The Rainbooms, Twilight Velvet, Night Light, and the remaining Dazzlings looked on with a mixture of curiosity, confusion, and (in the case of Aria) sheer annoyance. She was about to protest against what her youngest sister was doing when Adagio raised her hand up to Aria's face, silently telling her to back off and watch without moving her gaze away from Sonata. The angry Siren knew better than to go against Adagio whenever she did something like this, so she backed off and watched. Sonata stopped to stand close enough to the CMCs for them to notice her. The trio stood up to stand a few inches away from her, with Spike walking over to stand next to Apple Bloom while glaring at the Siren. The young Apple was the first to speak up with her head tilted to her right and her bow bouncing in the wind;

"What are ya' up to, missy?"

From the moment she started walking up till now, Sonata held up a look a utter seriousness on her face, something that was extremely rare to see from the normally care-free Siren. She got down on her right knee while using both hands to keep the taco bag from touching the snow as if it were as sacred to her as something akin to a family heirloom. She then opened up the bag, rummaged around in it with her right hand for a moment or two, and pulled a single wrapped taco out from it. Like the rest of the tacos, this one was given extra wrapping to account for the Winter weather, so it was still quite hot. But, after eating roughly more tacos than a fast-food place typically had in stock, Sonata's right hand could take the heat. Adagio and Aria expected her to eat the taco, while the Rainbooms, Spike, Twilight's parents, and the CMCs had no idea what to expect. What happened next surprised them all.

Sonata reached out to Apple Bloom with her taco-filled right hand, offering it to her in utter silence. The sight of this drew a rare gasp from Adagio, who covered her mouth with her left hand to keep herself from revealing anything out of shock, the note from earlier still held discreetly in her right hand. Aria's mouth was agape as she stared in awe of the scene before her. A single thought was in both of their heads;

"Sonata hasn't shared her food with a Human since..."

There it was again, that memory of theirs that was as old as Human history.

A place. A voice. A person. A reminder to them of a different time.


An olive branch can grant you new allies and keep your rivals guessing.


Right then and there, Adagio and Aria's shock was replaced with calm understanding and patience as they watched their sister with the utmost care. The Rainbooms were stunned to see any of The Dazzlings be this nice to the little ones, but they were far from unhappy about it. Applejack gave to Sonata a wink and an approving smile, Rarity placed her right hand on her heart while beaming to show her own heartfelt support, and Rainbow Dash crossed her arms while letting a good-natured smirk slip through her defenses. Pinkie Pie's was the most intense reaction, for she bounced up into the air repeatedly out of sheer joy while blowing into party horns that she had pulled out of her cotton-candy hair. Fluttershy's reaction, by stark contrast, was the most reserved. A simple smile and and a look of pure sweetness in her eyes had sufficed for her. Twilight Sparkle gave Sonata a cheerful nod of approval, while Sunset looked at each Siren with a satisfied smirk. Twilight Velvet and Night Light also showed their support while also keeping their eyes locked on the Sirens to be safe. The CMCs were surprised by Sonata's gesture at first, only for their giant-sized smiles to appear within seconds. Spike didn't show any signs of disapproval, but he sniffed a bit while keeping an eye and a nose out for any trouble. The young ladies looked at each other as if having a silent talk before nodding their heads. Apple Bloom looked back over at Sonata and asked her happily;

"Now, Ah wanna make sure Ah have this right: Ya' wanna share your tacos with us?"

The blue-haired Siren nodded her head, her serious look refusing to leave her face as she did so. Somehow, the CMCs' smiles grew even more gigantic as Apple Bloom happily declaring while slapping the right side of her right leg jovially;

"Well Ah'll be a monkey's uncle, that's mighty sweet of ya'!"

Without further ado, she graciously took the taco from Sonata's hand. Right when this happened, the seriousness on the Siren's face melted away in favor of a giant teeth-baring grin that was filled with relief and exuberance. With giggles aplenty, Sonata passed out two additional tacos, one for Scootaloo and one for Sweetie Belle, both of whom were happy to take. Without losing a step, she stood back up, skipped through the snow over to her elder sisters without a care in the world, and tried to tempt them with excitement in her voice;

"There's still three more taaacooos!"

She raised the taco bag up to her chin with both hands while giving them her best puppy dog eyes. Those eyes alone were enough to make Aria and even Adagio shake in their decorative boots, but it was rarely enough to break their combined resolve as they glared back at her not with anger, but with quiet determination that would, they hoped, give them enough time to think of a way out of this with their pride intact. Sadly for them, however, Sonata had gotten reinforcements from the CMCs, who ran up to stand at her sides, with Scootaloo on her left and Apple Bloom & Sweetie Belle on her right. They then unleashed upon the two Sirens their own puppy dog eyes. Spike, by this point, had run over to Twilight, having seen enough to know that, as of that moment, the Sirens were not a threat to his friends. The combined visual assault laced with severe adorabetes was enough to make Aria grumble inaudible obscenities out of frustration as she turned to show her back to Sonata as if retreating from a losing battle. Adagio, however, tried valiantly to keep her composure and glare from breaking apart while trying desperately to think of a solution to her current problem, even as she started to make all sorts of little noises with her mouth that gave away the building cracks in her willpower. Just hearing the noises was enough to make Rainbow Dash snort multiple times as she tried to hold back her laughter, if nothing else but to avoid getting another one of Applejack's many, many friendly jabs to her arm. Adagio knew exactly what giving in meant in this specific case;

"I DID say we would try out tacos, but that would mean eating with THEM!", she thought herself out of deep agitation whilst willing herself to not give the Rainbooms the satisfaction of a glare aimed at them. Just then, however, inspiration struck the lead Siren's mind, which pushed her to calm herself down enough to stop making those annoyingly cute noises. Sure, sharing a dinner table with the Rainbooms would be annoying to her, but doing so would give her an opportunity, one that involved a certain note she still kept safe on her person. So, with a significant amount of reluctance, Adagio Dazzle swallowed her pride;

"Fine... let's eat.", she declared with a barely contained groan. Sonata and the CMCs rewarded her with big hugs that were quickly given to a furious Aria as well whilst all four of them shouted in joyful unison;

"YAAAAY!"

Adagio and Aria were surprised that they were not dealing with headaches again.





By the time the dinner table was prepped for the food, the folks in the house were surprised to hear a knock on the front door. Sci-Twi opened it up to find a sight that nearly made her squeal out of pure delight. Before she could, however, the voice of Cadence happily said to her in a sing-song voice;

"Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake!"

Twilight knew the words of this short saying that was only said between them by heart as she and her old babysitter finished in well practiced unison;

"Clap your hands and do a little shake!"

Without hesitation, the two hugged it out while giggling like little kids, with Shining Armor hugging them both out of relief to be home with his family at last. It was enough to make Adagio gag on the inside as she looked on alongside her sisters. The Rainbooms and CMCs, however, gushed over the lovely sight before them, with Spike barking happily as he joined the group hug. Without further ado, it was time to eat! For real, this time!

The meal prepared by Twilight and her parents was chicken, cottage cheese, biscuits, and some blueberry pie. Left-overs, to be clear, but they were no less tasty. The CMCs and The Dazzlings, of course, had their tacos, but they saw no harm in partaking in the prepped meal. After everything that happened, they all could use some warm filling food by that point. It wasn't long before everyone was chowing down, with Aria and Adagio taking some bites out of their chicken before deciding to give their tacos a try while they were still warm. Sonata, who was scarfing down her meal like a hungry hippo, saw this and was quick to put her food down to cheer her sisters on with stars in her eyes;

"You got this, girls! Eat those tacos!"

Suddenly, much to both Sirens' surprise and nervousness, everyone else's eyes were on them as they made ready to bite. Sonata was positively giddy by now as they slowly moved their tacos up to their mouths, opened them, and took large bites into the assorted meats and veggies that filled their tortillas. Soon enough, they managed to chomp through their tortillas before starting to chew the food in the mouths while getting a good sense of the taste they were dealing with. All was silent as Sonata watched her sisters chew their food some more with bated breath. After a few seconds of chewing, they swallowed. No throwing up or nausea: a good sign to Adagio and Aria, who waited for a bit before the former declared with a quick flick of her puffy hair, her face and voice filled with her usual composure;

"Not bad... Not bad at all."

Aria looked away from the dinner table with a grunt before Sonata inhaled audibly and shouted out in glee;

"MY SISTERS LIKE TACOOOOOOS!"

The group cheered in celebration, while Aria and Adagio sat in silence whilst looking at their tacos as if they had just ingested poison into their systems. While, yes, the tacos were NOT terrible to their taste buds, they both shared the same dreadful thought;

"Now, we'll never hear the end of it from her!"

The dinner, mercifully, continued on from there. As the folks ate and chatted it up, The Dazzlings saw fit to talk movie-related stuff with the CMCs, as it was, to them, the one thing that the former could stomach to discuss with the latter. It wasn't long before the movie buffs saw a chance to actually sing the Davy Jones theme song, this time with a much larger audience. No Siren present, save for a tear-stricken Sonata, would dare to admit this aloud, but the Canterlot Movie Club genuinely impressed them with their singing that day, which expressed the multiple layers of emotions that the song was known for with skill and heart. Once the performance had ended and dinner was nearing its end, Adagio took the opportunity that presented itself before it could fade away. She was sitting to the left of Sci-Twi, which made her job easier. She took her note out of its secret location between her thighs with her right hand and stealthily slipped it onto the scientist's lap. Sci-Twi took notice of this while she ate. With curiosity in her eyes, she put her fork away to grab the note with both hands. Before she could unfold it, Adagio gently placed her right hand over the note, which prompted Sci-Twi to look at her with a hint of nervousness on her face. The Siren told her calmly while expressing a sly grin that strengthened the knowing look in her eyes;

"Don't open it... until you absolutely need us."

Sci-Twi couldn't decide what made her nerves shoot up more: Adagio's request, that sly grin, or the foreboding nature of that soft chuckle she had let out as she returned to her meal. Still, her logical side won out over her nerves: however nervous she made her feel, that Siren was offering a way to get help from her and her sisters. Twilight was not one to ignore or toss away a tool that she knew would have some use at some point. So, she stealthily placed the folded note in her pants pocket while mentally deciding to talk with her friends about it later. Adagio enjoyed her meal with a bit more gusto while maintaining her dignity and poise, a confident smirk taking its rightful place on her face as she chomped on her taco, which became tastier than it was beforehand.





Once the meals were gobbled up, The Dazzlings walked over to their RV to inspect it while the Rainbooms, the CMCs, and Spike watched them closely As they did this, Pinkie ask them while scratching her head out of confusion;

"For some reason, I remember you three having a van. What happened to it?"

Turns out, that confusion may have been an act, if the quick wink to Sunset was any indication. She responded to this with a quick wink of her own, none of which was noticed by the Sirens. Adagio, who was checking the front seats at the time, explained as she did her work;

"You probably saw it on our tour photos. We had Rose Quartz sent into a shop to be given a complete upgrade and overhaul after we saved up enough touring funds."

Aria was inspecting the kitchen area when she added;

"We needed the extra space."

Sonata, who was checking the back of the RV, sniffed while noting with happy tears like a loving parent;

"She grew up so fast on us..."

Eventually, Rose Quartz passed the inspection, which meant that it was time for the Sirens to make ready to depart. After working together to hold Sonata back from tackling the CMCs out of tear-filled sadness long enough to calm her down, Adagio and Aria gave the trio a glare that was more polite than what was expected from them. The eldest sister spoke to them first with dignity and some small hint of bite in her words;

"I will admit, sharing a roof with you three Wondercolts was..."

She took a deep breath to steady herself before finishing with barely restrained bite;

"Not unpleasant."

She then lowered her upper-body to give each CMC member a more up-close glare before declaring on behalf of her sisters and herself;

"You three brats are not too bad..."

Her predatory grin returned with a vengeance along with a little more bite in her voice;

"For Humans."

The CMCs gave The Dazzlings warm smiles that oozed with friendliness as Apple Bloom responded honestly;

"Ah'll admit, ya'll handled yourselves way better than we thought ya'll would."

Her two friends nodded in agreement as she angled her upper-body and angled her head to lean closer to Adagio face before making a declaration of her own;

"Ya'll ain't too bad yourselves..."

She then delivered a nigh-perfect imitation of Adagio's predatory grin and almost as much bite;

"For Sirens."

The lead Dazzling did not expect to see her trademark grin from the outside-in, especially not on Apple Bloom's face! But, this was not even close to being enough to break her composure as she responded with added venom and a larger smile;

"Careful now, little Apple. There is much you don't know about us Sirens."

Apple Bloom replied in kind;

"Well, there's much ya'll don't know about us Humans either."

Everyone else looked on, whether it be out of curiosity or concern. Feeling satisfied after having a little bit of verbal sparring fun, Adagio straightened her body back up, looked over at The Rainbooms, who were standing just behind the CMCs alongside Spike, Cadence, and Twilight's family at this point, and gave them a knowing smirk that made them wonder about her future moves. She then told them with calm anticipation;

"We'll see each other again soon..."

She looked back down at the confused CMCs while keeping her smile on point;

"Sooner than we may think..."

That got a raised right eyebrow from all three club members as all three Sirens looked at the group of perplexed Humans with confidence on their faces. It was clear to everyone present as to who knew exactly what was up and who was in the dark. With a right hand raised to the sky and one emphatic snap of her fingers, The Dazzlings turned around to walk into their RV, the keys having been given to Aria earlier. Without another word, Adagio stepped into the driver's seat and, when the other two sisters were seated, started the engine, pulled the vehicle out of the driveway, and drove off onto the road and made a left-hand turn out of sight. As the group of girls looked on in silence while standing in the snow, Sci-Twi pulled the folded note of her pants pocket and gazed down at it. As she did so, she couldn't help but think to herself;

"After much study during this unexpected turn of events, I can safely make this conclusion: The Dazzlings are a mystery that will take more than a couple of encounters to solve..."





As Adagio kept her eyes on the road while trying her best to ignore her sister's usual spat of bickering, she couldn't help but think back to her short stay with the CMCs;

"Terrible things can happen if we stop carin'.", was the thought that crossed her mind the most as she drove in silence. She recognized that those girls were being open with them when those words were uttered, perhaps more open than they would be with most people. A part of her wanted to tell them a little something about what she and her sea-kin had discovered while they had recovered in Sci-Twi's house. But, she thought better of revealing such an important detail. With a grin born from nostalgia, she thought of sound advice from somebody that she and her fellow Sirens used to know;


A lady has to have some secrets... until she wishes to reveal them.



The End