The room that Sonata occupied was the room she originally was in when she crossed the portal about a week ago. She had several little devices attached to her hooves and chest, scanning her and checking her systems. She felt uncomfortable, like someone was invading her own space. She also felt hungry, but not what a Siren with her normal pendant would want, but the actual need for material food. It was odd to her, to hear her stomach churning. Whenever she did eat, it was normally for fun. Her captors didn't give her food or water, and she would have not any time to take a nap or sit down. All she did was stand there. She has been standing motionlessly for about four hours.
"How long do I have to be here? Why are you doing this? Am I going to get something to eat?" Sonata would ask when ever Princess Twilight Sparkle passed by. She never got an answer. From time to time she would move from different dials and papers with waves on them. She kept at this study, not even eating or drinking herself. Occasionally writing something in a book, and something else in another book. She was unfazed from her research, trying to figure out what happened to her normal siren body. Sonata was surprised by how long the alicorn was sticking to this activity, thinking she must be as tired as herself.
Sonata would have moved if she didn't receive a sting to anywhere she was connected. She could move an inch without the feeling of a bee sting. She would only be able to move her hooves to her mouth, and her magic was disabled by a magic dispelling mini-shield. It was weird, being disconnected from something that had proved itself beyond simple use. Then again, she never really needed it in the hallow cage. She would occasionally yawn and stretch her legs, but she never moved an inch. Although it seemed staying still would keep the pain away, the inability to even lay down was tiring. She could barely stand on her hooves, and her eyes would dim, until the shock that came from movement came to her.
"Why are you doing this?" Sonata asked sleepily, not even if Twilight was in front of her.
"Because you're unnatural. I need to figure out why you are as a pony, and not a Siren." Twilight responded, answering a question that could have helped Sonata endure the hours of waiting.
"Are we almost done?"
"Close, I'd say about thirty to forty minutes."
"For realzies?" Sonata asked, a lazy smile crossing her face.
"Why do you say it like that?" questioned Twilight, confused on the previous Siren's language.
"I would tell, but I...am quiet tired." Sonata yawned, legs bending until the pain from relaxation came.
Twilight sighed,"I guess we can cut this short." She moved to turn off the systems, and began to stroll down the stairs.
Sonata, too tired from the constant experiment, lay down to the floor, and fell into a deep quiet sleep. Meanwhile, Twilight picked up some refreshments for her test subject, that being veggie-tacos and water. After finding the sleeping body of Sonata, Twilight set the food down next to her, and covered her in a blanket. She then began to trot away, wanting to quench her own thirst. As she took her food to her room, she yawned and stretched, and slipped into her bed.
"The observations are almost done, but I can't get anything right." Twilight thought to herself, drifting off into sleep.
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Adagio never ate anything. She didn't get food at lunch, she didn't drink water, she didn't need any of that. The only thing that mattered to her was her need for negativity and adoration. She only slightly cared about her co-stars if they were making mistakes and slipping up. Never did she enjoy their presence. She always found Aria's complaints repetitive and stupid, while Sonata's ditzy moments were annoying and threatening to them. She only kept them because she needed them to get what she wanted. She never considered letting the others get any more than she had. She would always get the biggest piece, as long as that thing mattered to her. Let Sonata have her tacos, they were something that didn't matter to her.
Now, she wanted her bandmates more than anything. She didn't know where they were, and she could only wander now. Something that came to her mind was tacos. Why does that stick? It was just a one-time thing Sonata did that was amusing to herself. It hit her then, that without their need for negativity, they would be as normal people, and normal people had needs like food and water. She decided that this should be something she needed to do, as she ignored the primal urge of hunger when she was with Fluttershy.
An hour later, Adagio had gotten food for herself, seeing why Sonata loved tacos so much. After her meal, she was now out on the street, with no where to go. She decided against going back to Canterlot High, as that was a hazard zone. The only thing on her mind besides from her bandmates and Canterlot High (and delicious tacos) was music. All her life she had been singing, not needing to replace it with anything. The only thing she could think of now was something else she could do. There was one thing that came to her mind: guitar. It was is a difficult instrument, but without singing she had no choice. Music was something she also craved. It was how people adored her. Why not start anew, and build a new path? Agadio was excited, as she could finally do something new that wasn't a need or had to do with her old self. She bought a relatively simple guitar and a booklet on learning to play guitar.
Now armed with guitar and confidence, Adagio began to expand her knowledge of the musical world.
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Her little Sonata doll was now in prime condition. It had the same turquoise and dark blue hair tied back in a pony tail, light blue skin, reddish-purple jacket held together with blue hooks, pink dress, and hot pink knee boots with white soles. It had a teal necklace, going against the blood red that their previous necklaces were. With magenta eyes, she smiled at her owner. She would smile back, wanting to see her again. Then there was one last thing. She gave the Sonata doll a taco, made for her size. It was a humorous and comforting thought, and it helped her deal with her stress.
She wondered what Sonata ever had a friend before. She never really showed the need for one. Aria, on the other hand, did have a friend once. His name was Discord. Often Discord let the Sirens feast on the helpless ponies, but this was mostly because Aria did him favors and kept him good with the Sirens.
"I wonder where he could be," said Aria, sitting against the outside wall of the school,"Probably stuck as a stone statue or something."
Aria got up from where she was sitting, and looked on towards the portal. It was still closed, denying entrance. Sunset said she knew a way, but it would only be available in the morning, meaning that Aria had to wait from midnight till then. Unfortunately for her, she was denied sleep by her anticipation.
It was almost dawn, and Aria would close her eyes and drift off, but she wanted to be awake for the moment. Sunset said that when the sun rose, she would find a way to open the portal. Aria did have something to take up her time of waiting, which was the doll in her hands. She smiled at it, it's adorable little smile keeping her happy through the night. Occasionally an animal would pass by, sniff at her toe, and skitter away after encountering her eyes. Once a cat rubbed it's head against her leg, and let her run her hand across it's soft black fur. It would purr under her touch, and then speed away into the night.
It was too long till the sun came up, shining across the horizon. It was almost like a beacon to her, signaling to her that she will be with Sonata again. Sunset was near the school, slightly messy. She didn't have her jacket on, as if she had shed of her old shell. She looked around, seeing Aria against the outside wall.
"Wow, you slept on the sidewalk?" Aria asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No, I didn't sleep." Aria responded, looking at Sunset with tiredness in her eyes.
"How did you manage?" Aria's only response was holding up her Sonata doll for Sunset to see.
"Huh, that's cute." Sunset commented, studying her face.
It looks just like her...
"I found it in the alley where we separated. I worked on her all night."
"Well, I can get this thing going for the portal. You must be hungry." Those words provoked Aria's stomach to churn.
"Heh, yeah. Can we get tacos?"