"This was such a wonderful holiday, Sunset," Twilight said, expressing her greatest gratitude to Sunset. She'd been taught the true meaning of Christmas, and all the wonders that it had offered her over the past couple of days. It truly warmed her heart to know that the Human World had such amazing holidays like this as well. "I never knew how wonderful Christmas could truly be..."
"Well now you do, Twilight," Sunset said, smiling at Twilight and her many presents. She could see that Twilight had had a wonderful Christmas with her and The Dazzlings. "I'm so glad that you were able to spend it with the four of us..."
"I guess there's nothing much more to say except thank you," Twilight smiled, putting a hand on Sunset's shoulder. "Thank you, for bringing me the magic of Christmas..."
"Well, you'll be even happier to know that we're not done yet..." Sunset pulled out a little envelope from her pocket, revealing what looked like an invitation to a special Christmas dinner at CHS. "Canterlot High's having a special Christmas dinner for all the students and alums. I thought that it would be a good idea to go to that for a special treat, as long as you're alright with that, Twilight."
"Hey, I'm up for that idea," Twilight smiled, thinking about all the friends they'd made back at CHS as well. All those faces to meet and all those people to reacquaint herself with. "I guess it wouldn't hurt seeing the old class again..."
"So, that's a yes to the dinner?" Sunset asked for clarification. She knew that Twilight was already on board with the idea, but she still wanted to hear a valid answer to the yes/no question that had been given to Twilight.
"Yes. I think that would be a wonderful way to close up our Christmas..." Twilight smiled, seeing that Sunset would like it as well. Ever since the recent events at CHS, she could see that Sunset had become more of a friend to all of the school, rather than a constant reminder of her dark past.
"Alright then, that's one yes," Sunset said, turning towards her children with a rather content look of satisfaction on her face. "So what about you, kids? Do you want to come with us?"
The three Dazzlings debated this little scenario to each other. They'd really wondered how Sunset's other friends would act if they saw them in the flesh. At first, they were all really nervous. However, each of the three of them pointed out small detail after small detail, easing the three of them at a rather quick pace.
Eventually, the three of them broke up from their little discussion huddle and looked back at Twilight and Sunset. Their smiles could tell them straight away that The Dazzlings were on board with the idea of a Christmas dinner as well.
"We've been thinking about it, Mommy," Adagio started. "And after quite some time of talking, I think that that would be a wonderful idea.
"Yeah! I mean we'll be able to see all of your other aunties and uncles as well!" Sonata beamed at that mere thought, being able to see all the rest of Sunset Shimmer's friends. "I can betcha it'll be so much fun seeing them all!"
"Also, we can show off our new presents them all," Aria said, looking at herself in the mirror. Her hair was once more tied up in two ponytails, just like before any of this had ever happened. She felt each of her elongated tails of hair with a smile on her face. She might not have remembered looking like this, but she certainly liked the fell of her new hairstyle. "Don't I look pretty?"
Sunset then worried at the possible reactions that the rest of CHS would have if they saw The Dazzlings like this. If all the other alums found out about The Dazzlings, there'd be hell to pay. Sure, The Snapshots would believe her, but she worried about the other students not accepting this as well. She looked at Adagio and Sonata seeing their new hairstyles in the mirror, and immediately called back to rather unpleasant memories of the Battle Of The Bands.
"Twilight, I'm actually getting a little worried..." Sunset said, whispering into Twilight's ear about what would happen at CHS if they found out about The Dazzlings in their current states. "What if the other graduates realize that my kids are the very same Furens who made all of us argue like the Houses of Parliament?"
"I... actually haven't thought about that part..." Twilight said, her face turning pale as the white snow outside. She could vaguely remember The Dazzlings being booed off stage when their secret was out. With that running through her mind, she worried whether or not the students would take kindly to this whole chain of events involving the Second Life Song.
"Even so, I can't take that risk..." Sunset said, walking over to The Dazzlings with a little desperate look on her face. She had an idea to make sure that they didn't look like the Furens that plagued CHS a while back. "Girls, I don't think that it'd be a good idea to show off your hair accessories right now."
"Why not, Mummy?" Adagio asked, seeing that Sunset was in a rather deep state of disarray.
"Because I think that they might get offended by them," she responded, seeing that it would be good enough to conceal The Dazzlings' true identity. She knew that if they were blissfully unaware that The Dazzlings were there, then she wouldn't have to worry about their secrets getting out. "I'll still keep them with me, in my pocket, but I think that your new aunties and uncles want to see you for who you truly are."
"Why should we?" Aria asked, in a rather neutral tone. She was unaware that this whole thing was rather serious for Sunset and Twilight.
"Because if your aunties and uncles see you with different hair than what you start with, then they'll think that you're someone else when you finally decide to take them off for them," Sunset finished. "And we can't have your aunties and uncles thinking that you're someone else now, can we?"
"No, Mommy." they said, finally agreeing with Sunset's logic. They now showed no resistance when Sunset came over to take their accessories off once again, letting their hair flow as long as usual.
"There we go," Sunset said, putting the accessories in her pocket for safekeeping. "Don't worry, you'll get them back before you go to bed."
"So, should we get going?" Twilight asked, walking over to the door once more. She showed some enthusiasm once Sunset and The Dazzlings walked over to her.
"Yes, I think now should be the perfect time to get going." Sunset said, picking up her keys and opening the door with them once more. She was rather unfazed by all the cold weather as she and The Dazzlings walked outside into the cold weather. She looked back, seeing that Twilight was close behind them, putting on a smile as she handed Sunset a scarf.
"Soon, it all ends..." Fortissimo said, standing on the roof of one of the snow-capped buildings once more. His face had a rather serious look on it as he watched Adagio, Aria and Sonata walking down the road with Sunset once again. "Soon my little sister will be back where she belongs..."
"Heh, that podgy old fool made a critical mistake in trying to kill us..." Allegro said, feeling his pendants heat his rather frigid hands up. He had revenge to make, and wanted to make sure that he was ready to fulfil it. "His actions might have cripped The Dazzlings, but that doesn't mean they didn't make a comeback..."
"What was his name again? Star something or whatever?" Orchestral said, making a little bit of his dark humour as he remembered that tragic day. "Whatever. His first mistake was assassinating Blissens. His second was attempting to kill the six of us, and his last mistake was banishing them to the Human World, so that his twisted little fate could run its' course..."
"Calm yourself, Orchestral. Starswirl the Bearded has finally learned not to mess with Sirens from Lyrica," Fortissimo said, throwing him the very hat that the famous unicorn wizard once wore. "We made sure of that, did we not?"
"Oh yeah... We made sure that he was punished for his crimes..." Orchestral said, rubbing his red pendant. He heard a little tortured scream from what sounded like a rather old man. He paid no mind to his suffering and merely yelled at the pendant. "Can it, Starswirl! You deserved what you got for banishing our little sisters!"
"Either way, our duties are done here..." Fortissimo smiled, remembering that CHS stood on the edge of Equestria. He grew a rather insidious smile as he remembered that Equestrian Magic provided him with more sustenance than the mere hatred of the Human World. "Now that the Balance of Lyrica is stable here, it's time we make sure to finish what The Dazzlings started back in Equestria..."
"Oh yeah! When those weak and infantile equines notice that the Magic of Friendship has turned against them, they'll all be fuming!" Orchestral showed another devious smirk as he envisioned all the furious ponies they would be controlling. "They'll start rioting, questioning Celestia and Luna, wondering why Twilight isn't coming to save them all. And all of that glorious conflict will enable us to amplify our newfound power..."
"Do not forget that we also need the positive energy of the Spirits of Harmony in the Human World as well, Orchestral," Allegro pointed out another point in their devious plan. "Our pendants, just like the Balance of Lyrica have to be the same. If Princess Twilight found that one of our pendants had less energy than usual, she and her foolish Human World friends would focus all their energy on that side of our power."
"Allegro is right, Orchestral," Fortissimo added on. "We cannot take any more risks. We've already lost our little sisters because they took a gamble at that miserable high-school..."
"They forgot one of the main rules of being tasked with a certain location in a mission," Allegro pointed out. "Overstaying your welcome at that mission location will ultimately end you and your power, one way or another..."
"Our little sisters made a massive mistake overstaying their welcome at Canterlot High," Fortissimo opened up a portal with his pendant and watched as five other sirens with black hair walked through it, not even responding to anything as they vanished away from existence. "We will not make that same mistake. Now come, brothers. We have work to do in Equestria..."
"Very well, Fortissimo, you lead the way." Allegro said, watching as Fortissimo walked through the portal and out of the Human World. Once he vanished, Allegro began to walk forward as well.
"Soon, Sonata..." Orchestral said as he was the last one to make his way towards the portal with a sinister smile on his face. "Soon we'll be reunited, singing the Song of Resurrection, and ending these ponies and humans once and for all..."
The portal vanished out of sight, leaving nothing but entrails of blue and red energy, streaking across the now empty street...
Meanwhile, Twilight, Sunset and The Dazzlings had finally arrived back at the front door of Canterlot High School. For Twilight and Sunset, it was a real pleasure to be back. They'd spent so much time away from this place that they'd almost forgotten how good it was to see the main doors once more.
They opened the doors and walked through them, seeing a rather wonderful sight draping the corridors. There was tinsel lining each of the lockers, stars hanging from the ceiling, special Christmas posters put on the nearby walls for other students to marvel at, and a wide variety of other decorations.
Twilight, Sunset and The Dazzlings were all awestruck with what they were looking at. It truly felt like Christmas had arrived to Canterlot High to the five of them. As they walked down the halls, they met a few familiar faces, as well as some completely new students.
At first, Sunset was worried whether or not the alums would remember The Dazzlings. However, she let out sighs of relief when the others merely smiled and waved as they walked past, happy to see Sunset was back with her new kids. She was surprised that none of them remembered The Dazzlings, but took what she could get at this moment in time.
"So, where are we supposed to be headed?" Twilight asked once they'd finally stopped in the middle of a hallway. She hadn't been in here for quite some time, so she wanted to see if Sunset knew where they were going.
"Think logically about this, Twilight," Sunset posed a question for Twilight, knowing that she'd get it right straight off of the bat. "This is a school, right? And if that's correct, then where do you think we'd be eating?"
"The cafeteria!" Twilight smiled, remembering that that was where the kids of CHS always ate after lessons. She then kicked herself mentally for forgetting that. Once she had finished scorning herself for forgetting where to eat at CHS, Twilight followed Sunset and The Dazzlings down another corridor to the cafeteria. "I can't believe I forgot that. I feel like such an idiot..."
It's alright, Twilight. We all tend to forget things over time," Sunset said, making Twilight feel more at ease with the situation she'd just undergone. "But as long as we have friends to remind you, then it's alright to forget the past..."
Finally, the five of them arrived back at the cafeteria, where everyone was sitting at the many tables that laced the room. All the tables were covered in a festive tablecloth and had Christmas crackers in front of each different plate. When a student or alum finished their food, they pulled their crackers with someone else, seeing what was inside when a loud POP! noise could be heard from the cracker.
Twilight and Sunset could instantly see that the Humane 5 were all sitting together at one table, so they decided to make their way over there. They walked past many faces and many friends, all saying their hellos and greetings to all their old friends.
"Hi, Twilight! Hi, Sunset!" the Humane 5 all said together, once Sunset and Twilight took their seats at the table they sat on. The five of them were all dressed in rather festive wear for the season. Applejack had reindeer antlers, Rainbow Dash had what looked like a elf costume, Rarity was garbed in what looked like a portable Christmas tree with lights on the ferns, Fluttershy had a light-up red nose and Pinkie Pie went full on Santa Claus.
"Hi, girls!" Twilight and Sunset both said back, smiling at all the rather Christmassy clothes and accessories that the Humane 5 all wore. They could see from their looks of glee that the five of them had had a wonderful Christmas as well.
"You're just in time, girls," Rainbow Dash said, smiling at the next sentence she was about to utter. "I was just about to tell you about the one time where Rarity ended up trying to make cookies one year..."
"Rainbow Dash, I keep telling you that that machine was clearly an outdated hack!" Rarity said, seeming rather distraught by what Rainbow Dash had said, "And besides, with all those new machines that made way for it, it kind of does make me feel rather relieved to know that that old dinosaur is in the scrap heap."
"So anyways, a few years ago, Rarity tried to make cookies with a special dough-rolling machine," Rainbow Dash started, pulling out one of her old festive anecdotes. "And then when she ended up making them, it turns out that they were already cooked to perfection!"
This got the other girls to laugh. Even Rarity forced out a few stifled chuckles.
"She should have seen how barbaric she went, Twilight," Rainbow Dash said, clutching her ribs with amusement. "She tried cutting them with an axe!"
"Haha, oh the things we get up to, here in the Human World..." Rarity said, thinking that that little event was rather silly-sounding to them all now. Even she admitted that her little incident back then would be quite idiotic.
"But anyways, how are our little Dazzlings doing?" Pinkie asked, immediately popping up behind the three of them and putting them all onto her lap, like Santa would in this situation. "Were you good little girls for Santa this year?"
"Yes, Auntie Pinkie." They all said, letting out little smiles. They could see now that Pinkie did make a good Santa, she was kind, considerate, and she was rather good at pretending.
"Well, that's good to know," Pinkie said, returning to her seat with little a thought. "It's good to know that the three of you know about the magic of Christmas..."
"So, should I go get something to eat?" Twilight asked, then immediately watched as all the other girls just shot deadpanned looks at her. "Oh, guess I don't need to ask, do I?"
"Nah, it's cool, Twilight," Rainbow Dash said, allowing Twilight to get up onto her feet once again. "We'll be waiting here for ya, K?"
"Alright then." Twilight got up from her chair and walked off.
She could see a wide variety of new students partaking in this little event as well, smiling as they shared in Christmas banter and told each other what they got for Christmas this year. As Twilight looked at all those happy faces, she was suddenly stopped in her tracks when she bumped into a very familiar figure that she knew all too well.
"Flash?" she asked, looking at the very man whom she'd had a secretive crush on throughout the few days she'd spent at CHS.
"Twilight?" he asked back, seeing that face he'd never be able to forget.
Once the two of them were back together, they let out a little hug and patted each other on the back whilst they did it. Their warm embraces warmed each others' hearts to know that they were back together for Christmas. Once their hug finally dispersed, Twilight and Flash finally gave each other some room, so they could talk to each other.
"So, Twilight," Flash began. "What brings you back here? Has a new enemy arisen from the shadows to try and end the Magic of Friendship?"
"Well, yes," Twilight began, explaining what she'd gone through. At first, she wondered if Flash would believe any of her words, but then she remembered that he paid witness to the defeat of The Dazzlings once he'd been freed from their insidious songs. "But it's not taking residue in Canterlot High this time. It's somewhere out there, waiting for the ten of us..."
"Ten of you?" Flash looked a little confused, he'd never realized that Twilight had gained some more closest friends during her travels. "When did you get three more friends, Twilight?"
"This might be a little hard for you to believe, Flash..." Twilight began, whispering in his ears about what had happened after the Battle Of The Bands had ended...
"WHAT?!" he outburst, shocked that all this information had been revealed to him. His little outburst caught the attention of all the other students and alums in the room, who now looked at him and Twilight with rather surprised looks on their faces.
"I told you that you'd find it hard to believe, Flash," Twilight stated once he'd calmed down. "But I had to tell someone that new, more powerful Sirens were waiting for when we'd try and fight back."
"No way..." Flash said, wondering who could possibly be a Siren now. He'd had some rather bad experiences with Sirens in the past and wanted to make sure that they all perished, the same way The Dazzlings did. "So, let me get this straight, Twilight... After they ran off, The Dazzlings sang a song from Equestria, shedding their memories and age. Once this was all done, they arrived at Sunset's place?"
"Yes. and since then, Sunset had been raising them the right way for over six years," Twilight said, telling the rest of the students in the room this new information. "The Dazzlings were once enemies, but now with the power of the Second Life Song, they've begun a new, fresh life. Their sins of the past are long gone by now, and they will provide us with help for when these new Sirens try and fight back.
"So, what you're saying is that The Dazzlings are with Sunset Shimmer right now?" an alum asked, hoping to get some confirmation on Twilight's story.
"Correct," Twilight said back to the alum. "They're sitting over with Sunset and my friends if you'd like to meet them."
The other alums didn't even need to respond verbally. They got up to their feet and walked over to the table where Sunset and the others sat, hoping to see if Twilight's story was true or not. Once they made it there, they let out a chorus of "Awww..."s when they saw The Dazzlings in their childish states.
"Students, faculty and alums of Canterlot High," Sunset began, letting each and every one of them see Adagio, Aria and Sonata for their new forms. "I'd like you to say hello to my children. Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk."
Each of the students took turns saying their equal hellos to each of the three Furen children, trying to contain their delight upon seeing how cute they all looked at their current ages. They could see now that The Dazzlings truly meant no harm to them now, especially not at this time of year. They only needed to look at their faces to know that The Dazzlings had been forgiven for what happened back a few years ago.
Adagio, Aria and Sonata smiled as they shook hands with each and every one of the alums who remembered them. Then they smiled and high-fived the new students who were still at CHS, or were just freshmen. Once that was all done, they smiled at Sunset, who had done her best to raise them into the sweet little girls that they were today.
"You know, as cute as the three of them look, I can't help but get the feeling that something's missing..." Flash said, looking at each of the three of them closely as possible. He remembered something about The Dazzlings back before the Second Life Song had been sung.
"I know exactly what you mean, Flash..." Sunset said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out The Dazzlings' hair accessories with a little smile on her face. She knew what had to be done now. "Get ready for a blast from the past, all you amazing alums..."
Sunset quickly put the accessories into the extensive hairs of Adagio, Aria and Sonata, shaping their hair to look like it did a few years ago. Before long, Adagio's hair was curled back into what looked like her old bun-like hairstyle. Then, she moved onto Aria, giving her her two ponytails back upon applying the hairclips, adorned with those beautiful silver stars. Then, she moved onto Sonata, making little effort as she made a pony tail out of Sonata' hair before applying the scrunchie.
"There we are," Sunset said, admiring the work she'd done for Adagio, Aria and Sonata. Once she was finished with her work, she showed each of the three childish Furens off to the alums and students. "Now they look like The Dazzlings, wouldn't you agree?"
"They certainly do, Sunset..." Pixel said, admiring how accurate The Dazzlings looked to their past selves. She could see now that after all these years, they really were harmless. She couldn't help but raise her camera, ready to take a picture. "The perfect picture for the perfect heartwarming story, wouldn't you agree?"
"Alright, Pixel," Sunset smiled, ready for the picture that awaited her and The Dazzlings. "Take the picture."
"Hold on, Sunset," Rainbow Dash said, as her friends came round to get in the picture as well. They could see that this was going to be a wonderful picture and wanted in on it. Once they were all in, they waited for Twilight to get in the shot as well. "Come on, Twilight. It wouldn't be a family picture without ya."
Twilight merely smiled at that remark and ran over to the rest of the girls, kneeling down with a rather large smile on her face as she got into the group picture that the ten of them made.
"Thank you, girls," Twilight smiled as she hugged every one of the Humane 5 with as much compassion as she could give the three of them. "You're really made this Christmas a wonderful one..."
"Say Cheese!" The Snapshots all said, lining up their cameras for a very heartwarming group shot.
"CHEESE!" Everyone said, smiling as the cameras all went off together, grabbing the perfect picture.
In the photo, Twilight and Sunset were seen hugging each other. Pinkie held up her hand in the shape of bunny ears behind Fluttershy, who was merely smiling for the shot. Rarity's Christmas tree shone brightly in the shot, whilst Applejack smiled and posed in her antlers. Rainbow Dash was a few feet closer to the camera, as if she was trying to get more of herself in the shot.
But at the bottom of the picture, The Dazzlings were all seen smiling happily as they waved for the camera. Their looks of pure joy were enough to tell anyone and everyone that they truly had changed over the years...
Once the picture was all well and done, The Dazzlings hugged Sunset tightly once more, thanking her for one of the best Christmases they could ever have gotten. They had had some wonderful times over the course of the past few days and were thanking Sunset for each and every one of those memories. Now that they'd been forgiven and were friends with all the old alums, there was only one thing everyone was thinking...
It truly HAD been the most DAZZLING Christmas of all...