The Sunset Sonata: Pt 8
Sonata Dusk
Sonata grinned as she entered the gallery. She couldn’t help herself. There was too much excitement and splendour and hype and food to—
“Hey look!” Sonata hissed to Sunset. “Food!”
“Yes,” Sunset agreed, trying not to smile. “Food.”
“Not yet, my dear artists,” Fancy called good naturedly. “We have much to do. There will be time later for the luncheon. Ah, and speaking of much to do, welcome mayor!”
After Fancy’s group and the artists had entered, the paparazzi had quickly followed on the tail of a small square of individuals. Prominent amongst them was a tall, kindly looking woman with grey hair and spectacles. She looked faintly out of breath, but raised a hand in friendly greeting.
“Do forgive my lateness,” the mayor said. “Not to bad mouth our wonderful aerial team, but the Wonderbolts do somehow always manage to keep one so busy.”
“Don’t they just,” Sonata heard Fleur comment quietly. Sonata didn’t understand why, but Fleur looked a little flushed as she said this.
“Not at all, not at all." Fancy bowed the mayor and her entourage ahead of him. “We were a little apprehensive of your not arriving. I hope you don’t mind we started without you.”
“You left it half an hour already,” the mayor waved him off amicably. “And between you and me, this speech was a little hastily written,” she whispered, flashing him a little pile of note cards. “So what’s first?”
“Well first of course, we have the first floor, so statuary and sculptures I should imagine.”
Meanwhile, Adagio’s friend, Jade Marble, was ogling Sunset and Sonata, who were holding hands as they walked.
“Real life lesbians!” she said in an excitable, carrying whisper to Adagio. Fortunately the talk going on all around partially meant that only those closest heard her. “Are you seeing this?”
“What, are you hoping they’ll invite you to a threesome?” Adagio asked, a little louder than was necessary. This had the desired effect of shutting Jade up, as her green-tinged face went scarlet. When Adagio turned to Aria and started up a conversation however, Jade absented herself from Adagio’s side and inserted herself onto Sunset’s.
“So, how’d you guys meet?”
“We met when Shimmy showed Ad, Ari, and me around school when we were planning to conquer the world,” Sonata replied, smiling.
Jade regarded her curiously for a moment or two, and then laughed. “That’s hilarious. You’re hilarious. I always hoped lesbians were like that.”
Sonata had to stop herself from laughing at this ridiculous interpretation. Sunset on the other hand looked annoyed.
“Haven’t you ever met lesbians before?” Sonata asked. She was sure that Applewood was practically notorious for a wash of celebrities coming out in a multitude of orientations.
“Well I know of them, but I’ve never actually met any before. I’m straight as a ruler, so it’s just never come up. I kind of thought one of you would be more... you know, manlier.”
“Huh?” Sonata asked, nonplussed.
“Excuse me, but could we not talk about this, please?” Sunset was directing a look of deep annoyance at Jade that made Sonata wary of saying more.
“What?” Jade asked seriously. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“That’s not what I—“ Sunset began angrily.
“Just as a matter of interest,” said a sleek voice. A bushy white beard preceded the appearance of Discord’s clever face as he leaned down into the conversation. “Is that your sculpture?” he pointed to a cobbled-looking image made of some sort of dark stone.
“Why yes, it is,” Jade said, puffing up her chest a little.
“I like it,” Discord commented, tugging his beard methodically. “I have no idea what it is. Perfect.”
Jade’s pleased expression cracked into a look of outrage. “What!?”
“Yes.” Discord raised both hands and made a square with his index fingers and thumbs, squinting at the sculpture. “See, from here it kind of looks like a woman holding a jar, but from here,” he said moving left, “it looks like a sort of tree.”
“Seriously?” Jade demanded. “How can you not tell that it’s meant to be Jeronimo Hessarian?”
“Ugh, how droll,” Discord sighed, letting his arms fall limp to his sides.
Disconcertingly, to Sonata at any rate, Fancy Pants seemed to be of Discord’s opinion. He gave the sculpture a somewhat thoughtful look, and then briefly glanced around at the other statues and figures around the room. His expression didn’t bode well. Jeronimo Hessarian was the name of the old war hero that Sonata had had such issues painting. In fact the very painting itself was on the wall just behind Fancy and his entourage. Once the party had finished looking at the statues, Fancy turned around and looked at the wall. Now that Sonata looked herself, she saw that very few weren’t of cityscapes, or portraits of Hessarian, or other similar looking people from his era. Fancy Pants frowned.
Hoity seemed to have noticed these ominous signs as well, for he leaned forward to address Fancy. “You’re not saying much.” Hoity’s tone was light and had a hint of laughter in it, but Sonata clearly saw a paleness coming over him, and an anxious look in his eye.
“It’s just,” Fancy paused here, apparently looking for the right words. “I didn’t expect to see so many familiar things,” he muttered, rubbing his chin absently. “I was rather hoping to see something of the local culture.”
“The local culture?” Hoity asked, his voice shooting up a few octaves.
Fancy, lost in his thoughts, didn’t seem to notice the faint hush that had come over the crowd of artists. “Yes. I was rather looking forward to it. I find it all charmingly rustic.” He moved on, down the paintings, leaving everyone else behind.
Hoity went chalk white, his glasses slipping down his nose. Sonata didn’t know what she herself looked like, but if it was anything people all around her, she didn’t look much better than Hoity. Even Sunset, who had also caught on to the implications of what Fancy had said, looked shocked.
“Oh shit,” Aria said succinctly. This just about summed up the situation if the sudden burst of panicked whispering was any further indication of the mood of the artists. Only a few of them looked unconcerned, amongst them, Discord. He was looking around in high approval, his grin as wide as the room.
“By the look on your face, old boy,” Trenderhoof said conspiratorially to Hoity. “It looks like you might have dropped the ball on this one.” He looked faintly amused by it, but Sonata caught Adagio looking anxiously in her direction.
“Oh, ho-ho,” Photo Shop intoned smugly, her eyes fixed upon Hoity’s quaking profile.
Hoity looked lost. It was clear that he hadn’t thought of any sort of plan to counter this situation. He didn’t even seem to have anything to say in response to the jibes or questions being put to him.
“It looks to me like he could use rescuing,” Discord whispered between Sunset and Sonata, indicating Hoity. “Why don’t you take him aside and figure things out a little?”
“What would that accomplish?” Sunset asked, evidently confused.
“Well, my dear,” Discord said, shrugging. “It’s none of my business of course. I made what I wanted to make, and that turned out to be a good thing it seems.”
Leaving them on that enigmatic note, he strode into the crowd. Sonata watched him go, a nagging feeling in the back of her mind. She got the feeling that he was hinting at something.
“He’s probably right,” Sunset said grudgingly. “We should probably save Hoity for a moment. If he gave all these guys the same advice he gave you, I’m pretty sure they’re going to turn on him any second now.”
“I agree,” Fleur put in, having apparently been standing near them. “Hoity’s done some unwise things in the past, but this could get messy.”
“What do we do?” Sonata asked, looking around. “Is that room unused, do you think?” She pointed to an unobtrusive white door.
“It’d better be,” Sunset sighed grimly. She turned to Adagio and Aria, who were both watching the proceedings with no little amusement after hurrying around the mass of people. “Could you guys possibly cover us? We need to go unseen if we can.”
“I think that weirdo over there already has you covered,” Aria observed.
Sonata peered around Sunset, and saw that Discord, through some unknown means, had done something to the sculptures in the centre of the room. Assuming they were his statues, Sonata watched as one of them, depicting a bizarre and oddly familiar looking dragon-like creature, shot its head off like a loose firework, whizzing around the room and emitting what sounded like canned laughter.
“That’ll do,” Fleur said grimly.
Extricating Hoity from the clutches of Photo Shop by yanking him away when she looked momentarily down at her tablet, Sunset and Fleur frog-marched Hoity towards the door, followed closely by Sonata, with Adagio and Aria bringing up the rear.
“In,” Adagio hissed to Sonata. “We’ll be out here.”
“We’ll keep the havoc going. Don’t you worry.” Aria smirked. Sonata gave them both brief, grateful smiles, and backed into the room.
The moment the door shut, the hissing din from outside was all but cut off. The door had led to what seemed to Sonata to be an art-work restoration room. Four large tables covered in lamps, frames, precision knives, and a variety of other small tools sat in the centre of the room, surrounded by cabinets and shelves, and hung over by two strip lights. Sequestered inside, Sunset and Fleur let go of Hoity, who began tugging at various parts of his attire in a thoroughly nervous way.
“Well way to go,” Sunset snapped. “Just what the heck was that?”
“Hoity, you knew that the fashionable world is looking for something new,” Fleur pointed out. “Why would you encourage these people to create what’s already popular?”
Hoity seemed to have no ready answer to this question. Having already realised the mistake, he could only stand there, uttering odd little sounds of confusion and embarrassment whilst plucking at every loose follicle of his suit and continuously tugging at his collar.
“Is there any chance Fancy will like the stuff we’ve done?” Sonata asked Fleur.
Fleur shrugged. “Probably. But that’s not the issue. The Capital demands new blood. It is the duty of the fashionable to supply it. Fancy can’t condone the old styles and fashions; it’d be social suicide. I’m shocked that Hoity didn’t see that.”
“I thought this was the safest route,” he said hoarsely. “I thought... a different take on what was popular already might...” He lapsed into silence again.
“We’re screwed,” Sonata said flatly. She looked at Sunset. So often in the past Sunset had been the one to pull an idea, a plan out of the air, to rescue their cause when it seemed all but lost. Sunset seemed deep in thought.
“Didn’t he say he wanted something of the local culture? Rustic, or something?”
“Oh yes,” Fleur smiled reminiscently. “He’s been quite enamoured by the countryside since coming here. One reason the news never found us out these past few weeks is because we’ve been touring the countryside most days.”
“Oh please, tell me you have an idea,” Sonata pleaded to Sunset.
“Maybe,” Sunset muttered slowly. “The only problem is...” she paused for so long that Sonata thought she must have forgotten that she was speaking. “You have a lot of paintings of country spots. Applejack’s family farm and the ones of Whitetail.”
“Yeah,” Sonata agreed. “Tons of them. So?”
“So, we need to get them here,” Sunset said quietly, staring intently into space. “Without anyone noticing of course.”
“Yes!” Hoity hissed, colour flooding back into his face. “Of course, that’s perfect!”
“You’d have to go home and get them first,” Fleur pointed out. “And bring them back, get them upstairs without anyone noticing, put them up without setting off the alarm system, all the while maintaining your presence here. You can’t just up and disappear.”
Sonata’s small, fragile little sense of hope that had inflated at Sunset’s words popped under the crushing weight of reality Fleur had just dropped on it. Hoity too looked as though someone had just killed his favourite pet.
“No, there has to be a way around this,” he said as though to himself. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his brow. As he did so, he accidentally dislodged a small, silver box, about the size of an Altoid tin, which fell out and crashed to the floor. For a second Sonata thought they were mints, until she remembered what they actually were. Her heart skipped a beat as Sunset bent down and picked one of them up.
“Honestly, Hoity,” Fleur said disparagingly. “I thought you’d given those up.”
“Oh, well,” Hoity mumbled, clearing his throat guiltily. “You know, I don’t take them nearly as often—“
He got no further. Sonata had watched Sunset’s face with bated breath as she picked up a pill from the floor and examined it. She had had some idea of saying something, but that idea vanished as Sunset’s face went red as her hair. Whilst Hoity mumbled and squirmed under Fleur’s cold stare, she looked slowly up from the pill to his face, a terrible look of realisation coming over her expression. Sonata braced herself for an explosion.
Without warning, Sunset’s hand balled into a quaking fist, and with a cry of rage, she punched Hoity square across the jaw. He toppled backwards into one of the tables, knocking over a row of clear bottles. He let out a somewhat feminine cry of shock, staring at Sunset. “Y-You struck me!” he cried, several octaves higher than usual.
Sunset advanced on him, shaking off Sonata’s restraining hand. “You rat-face son of a—“
“My dear, control yourself!” Fleur said, taking her by the shoulders. “What are you doing?“
“Get off!” Sunset grunted, twisting out of her grip. “This bastard gave Sonata those damn pills!”
Fleur’s eyes widened, and then narrowed as she turned to glare at Hoity. “Explain.”
“I-I...” Hoity looked between them all, a light of desperation in his eyes. “I, well, I admit that I...” he coughed a little and stood up properly. “I... may have, um, made an error of judgement, yes—“ He flinched as Sunset started forward again, her eye flashing. “Okay, yes, I gave her some!” he shrieked. “I’m sorry!”
Holding Sunset back again by the upper arm, Fleur gave Hoity a look of frosty disapproval. Sonata, still feeling guilty over the incident when she’d taken one of the pills, said nothing, but just looked at the floor. Sunset was breathing heavily, her teeth gritted in a snarl.
“Sorry!?” Sunset growled. But her anger seemed quite beyond words now, and was unable to say anything else.
“What possessed you to give her those pills?” Fleur demanded. “You know how dangerous they can be to people her age.”
“A-ah, well, I... I tried to take them back afterwards, it’s not as though I didn’t feel guilty about—“
“Shut your damn mouth!” Sunset roared, pulling against Fleur’s inflexible grip. Hoity took a step back, looking frightened. “Guilty? Do you have any idea how scared I was when I found someone had given her drugs? I thought she was going to be dead!”
There followed a period of relative silence. Sonata felt as uncomfortable as Hoity looked. Despite it being him who had given her the pills, she’d still elected to take them. It had been her choice. Fleur didn’t let go of Sunset until she had appeared enough in control of herself.
“It will harm Fancy if he can’t make something of this event,” she said quietly. “And you, Hoity.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t do anything then,” Sunset said, glaring at Hoity. Her insides squirming, Sonata tried to take her hand, but for whatever reason, Sunset folded her arms and wouldn’t look at her.
“That would harm Sonata too,” Fleur pointed out. “The primary buyers of art like this come from the Capital. It’s a point of common interest in the aristocracy to keep up with the current fashions, and to buy and sell as much as they can. If Fancy does not find a new thing for the old dogs to wet themselves about, you’ll find few people wanting to buy your work.”
Sunset said nothing for a while, but chewed on her lower lip as though undergoing some internal struggle. “Well, there’s no one we can ask,” she pointed out eventually. “No one can go and get them for us, even if we could set them up. All of our friends are in the crowd.”
“Why don’t we just ask Fancy to wait?” Sonata suggested, tentatively. “If it’s so important to him as well, surely he’ll wait. And the other Capital people will wait too if he does, right?”
“Bad idea,” Fleur said bluntly, which dulled Sonata’s glowing moment instantly. “As good a man as Fancy is, he has no talent for subterfuge. With Photo Shop around, I wouldn’t trust anyone outside this room with any plans we make.”
They all fell silent again until Sonata got yet another idea. “What about Rainbow Dash?” she asked, remembering. “She’ll still be at her house just down the road from ours.”
“She’s in the air show,” Sunset said dismissively. “She doesn’t have time to bring us the paintings.”
Sonata pursed her lips. She was right of course; Rainbow couldn’t just up and leave the air-show to bring the paintings to them.
“What about her dad? He could bring them if we call her.”
Sunset considered that one. “It might work,” Sunset murmured. “If he gets here quick. When will the tour go upstairs?” Sunset directed this question to Fleur.
Fleur shrugged. “After the luncheon. That gives you about two hours.”
“Well what do we have to lose?” Sunset sighed, pulling out her phone. “Of course,” she snorted in disgust. “No bars. I’m going to have to go outside to call.”
“We’ve already been gone for a good few minutes,” Fleur reminded them. “Photo Shop at the very least will have noticed our absence if we don’t get back soon. I’d try getting to the roof if you can. You won’t be seen up there.”
They all filed one by one out of the side-room, trying to look as unobtrusive as possible, only for two people to leap away from the door, trying to look as though they hadn’t been listening to the entire thing.
“Oh, ah, darlings!” Rarity trilled, her beret more askew than usual and a dull flush coming over her sparkling white cheeks.
“Yes,” Photo Finish said in as casual a voice as she could manage. “Zat is a very interesting door.”
Sonata looked down at her camera. The little red light switched off at that very moment, and she could have sworn that she heard the distinct electrical hum of the microphone attachment vanish too. Sonata didn’t know who the two of them thought they were fooling; certainly they didn’t fool Fleur or Hoity.
“Were you spying on us?” Hoity demanded, aghast, lunging for the camera.
“I only vant to photograph fashion,” Photo Finish lamented. “Vhy must you oppose me, mozzer?”
“Give me that camera!” Hoity hissed, power walking after her.
“Oh my...” Rarity mumbled, dithering on the spot. “What was all that about?”
“We’ve got troubles,” Sunset told her dully. “As usual.”
Sonata regarded Sunset miserably, feeling at least partially responsible for this bad mood of hers.
“I’ll say,” Rarity agreed. “That man with the odd clothes has been causing havoc. I don’t know how, but he somehow changed the mayor’s hair to bright pink. She was so mortified that she’s trying to leave.”
Sure enough, across the hall the small contingent of city hall officials were moving rapidly towards the vestibule, pushing through the eager paparazzi. Above their heads bobbed a neon pink explosion of hair moving rapidly towards the door.
“Good,” Fleur declared with a wicked smile. “Sunset, dear, you slip out with them and try to get to the roof. And make sure that you’re alone. If anyone gets wind of what we’re doing and these other artists find out, they might try to stop you. Hoity and I shall find Fancy and try to delay him. Sonata, you should rejoin your peers before they notice that you’ve been gone too long.”
No one argued. It was the best, and indeed only plan that they had. Sonata walked briskly over to the crowd of chattering artists, who seemed to be roundly abusing Discord for something involving an exploding papier-mâché pie. Sonata might have been interested in this, had she not been watching Sunset’s attempt to sneak away with the press. Holding up her phone as though eagerly taking pictures too, Sunset’s fiery hair vanished into the light of day.
Meanwhile Fancy Pants was standing at the foot of the main staircase, looking bemused. Ignoring his fellow artist’s vehement complaining, Discord had his arm around Fancy’s shoulder, and seemed to be elaborating on a lengthy story. Trenderhoof and Adagio, standing beside them, seemed unsure of what to do, whilst Aria was far in the back plainly trying not to laugh with her fist in her mouth.
“Oh, hey!”
Sonata jumped and looked around. Adagio’s friend, Jade Marble, stood next to her, covered in something that looked like slimy newspaper. Fortunately the glue had dried and was peeling off her arms and face quite easily, which in conjunction with her green dress, gave her the disturbing look of a moulting snake.
“Hello,” Sonata replied, trying not to feel repulsed by this sight of Jade peeling back a large patch of glue from her forearm.
“Where’d you go, lesbo?” Jade asked, tossing the peel of glue carelessly away. “I mean that nicely by the way,” she clarified hastily.
“Oh, um... bathroom,” Sonata lied.
Jade raised an eyebrow. “You’re not a very good liar,” she commented, slyly. “Go on, where’ve you been? You can tell me. Oh snap!” she exclaimed, suddenly looking excited. “You were totally off making out with your girlfriend, weren’t you? Bathroom.” She snickered, sketching quotation marks around the word with her fingers.
“No, really,” Sonata said with false good humour. “Bathroom. Big breakfast.” She gave a nervous laugh that did nothing to help her. She seriously didn’t get this girl and her strange fascination with her relationship.
Jade might have pressed further, but at that moment, Fancy called the room to order.
“Yes, well, thank you um... Discord. That was most entertaining.”
Discord gave a bow, which the room at large received by directing sour looks at him. Quite a few people were still covered in glue and newspaper, and the dragon-like head of the statue had crashed into a metal chandelier so that it looked as though it were wearing an absurdly large crown. Looking around, Sonata saw more evidence of chaos scattered around the room, and was torn between laughing at the utter absurdity going on, or trembling with fear over Fancy apparently beginning to trudge on.
Hoity had returned to Fancy’s side, his silver hair a little dishevelled and one of his collars hanging out from his shirt, but otherwise managed to recompose himself well. Sonata looked around for Photo Finish, but couldn’t see her. She supposed she had gotten away, given the slight look of annoyance on Hoity’s face.
“Come come, everyone,” Fancy called, clapping his hands. “Let us not get behind schedule.” He beamed and began to move on, eliciting more nervous mutterings from everyone around.
“One moment, Fancy,” Hoity said quickly. “I do believe we haven’t looked at that wall over there.” He indicated the west-facing wall.
Fancy Pants raised an eyebrow. “We’ve already viewed those paintings, Hoity old boy.” He frowned. “Where did you go off to?”
“Oh, um—“ Hoity began.
“Is that a bruise?” Fancy asked, gesturing at Hoity’s jaw line.
“I think we should go over it again,” Hoity interrupted as suavely as he could. “Don’t you think so, Trenderhoof?”
“If you like,” Trenderhoof replied with cheerful obliviousness. “This has been far more enjoyable than I thought it would be. Don’t you think so, dear?”
Adagio, who’d watched Hoity’s return with a suspicious look, had glanced questioningly at Sonata during the course of the conversation. Sonata tried desperately to make nonverbal indications that Adagio go along with the idea. She knew that Adagio’s usual response would be scathing; she waited with her heart feeling like icy shards were forming inside it for Adagio to respond.
Adagio shrugged in a noncommittal sort of way and smiled. “We can do whatever you like. Dear.”
Sonata could have hugged her. Whilst the general attention of everyone turned to the paintings and designs on the wall, Sonata did indeed give herself over to a brief daydream of squeezing the figurative life out of Adagio. When she came to, she found to her consternation that Jade Marble was giving her a thoroughly suspicious look. She didn’t say anything, but her penetrating gaze distracted Sonata from what was going on around her. In trying to move around the crowd, eyes locked with Jade, she careered into Aria walking quickly in the other direction.
“Hey,” Aria whispered. Then she noticed Jade glaring in their direction. “It’s rude to stare,” she snapped aggressively.
Jade narrowed her piercing eyes, but after a few more moments she looked slowly away.
“So what’s going on?” Aria muttered in Sonata’s ear.
“Sunset’s going to try and call Rainbow Dash and get her dad to bring some of my other stuff here. Try to put it up before Fancy and the rest get upstairs.”
“Sure you don’t want to just make some new paintings after reading some stories?”
Sonata gave her an ironic look as Aria grinned mischievously. The two of them laughed.
“It’s weird,” Sonata began. “We used to fight all the time. But I sort of remember us being really good friends. Like, way back.”
Aria looked blank for a moment, and then frowned thoughtfully. “I think I know what you mean,” she said quietly. “Like a distant memory.”
“Yeah,” Sonata agreed dreamily.
They were both caught up in their thoughts for a moment, until a thought seemed to strike Aria.
“Where’d that Fleur woman go, anyway?”
Sonata blinked. Then she looked around. She didn’t see any sign of Fleur anywhere. And it wasn’t like she wouldn’t be noticed in a crowd. Whatever Sonata’s feelings towards the filthy, girlfriend stealing skank were, she had to admit that she radiated beauty and grace like an ultraviolet light in a mine shaft. There was simply no excuse for not being able to see her if she was present.
“I don’t know. I thought she was going back to Fancy Pants.”
“I don’t see her there,” Aria observed, peering over the heads of the dispersed artists and news people. Indeed, the sophisticated locks of Fancy Pants’ blue hair were plainly visible next to the elaborate blonde hair of Trenderhoof, the silver tail of Hoity Toity, and the larger-than-life orange mane of Adagio. But Fleur’s pink and white coiffure was nowhere to be seen.
Sonata felt a coldness growing in her heart that she didn’t immediately understand until Aria asked her second question. Then her insides spasmed with lightning.
“Where did you say Sunset was?”
- To be Continued