"ADAAAAAAAAGIOOOOOOOO!"
Said siren only had seconds to glimpse a flash of pink before being tackle-hugged by an enthusiastic Pinkie Pie.
"I'm soooooo happy you could come today!"
Adagio gasped for breath, struggling to break free from the party planner's embrace. "Erk… thanks, Pinkie, but… OW! Too tight!"
"Whoops!" Pinkie finally let go. "Sorry! I'm just really, really nervouscited that you and Aria and Sonata came to help us with decorations for the social!" A frown crossed her face. "Hey, where are they?"
"They had to go to the bathroom," Adagio replied flatly. "They'll be back – which way to the gym, again?"
"This way!" Pinkie sang. "Yoink!"
Adagio was yanked away by the poofy-haired human, and in a matter of seconds, both of them had reached the doors to the gym. Happily, Pinkie pushed them open. Adagio couldn't help but gasp – the decorations, while not to her tastes, were amazing. Streamers and balloons filled the room. They mostly had similar color themes: pink, orange, yellow, white, cyan, red, and the occasional violet. At one end of the gym was an unbelievably long table of all sorts of treats, ranging from tarts to punch to kebabs. At the other end of the gym, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were busy hauling speakers onto the stage. Fluttershy was dusting the DJ's booth.
"Wow." Adagio couldn’t think of anything else to say for a while. "How did you guys set all of this up? I thought you arrived here only an hour before us."
"We just got together and worked it out!" Pinkie exclaimed. "The more people there are, the faster we get this done. And besides –" the girl pointed out the window towards the already darkening sky – "it's almost 9 PM. If we don't finish quickly, we can't have our slumber party!"
Shoot, Adagio thought. Totally forgot about that.
"Slumber party… right. Now, what can I –"
She was interrupted by a growl from her own stomach. Pinkie giggled while Adagio flushed with embarrassment.
"Oh, you silly siren-y. Did you skip dinner again?"
Adagio rolled her eyes. "Forgive us for actually getting part-time jobs, Pinkie!"
Pinkie grew slightly somber at that. The Dazzlings, being used to manipulating people with their singing, had had some difficulty adapting to the necessity to (actually) work for their pay. They were quite lucky to have found any part-time jobs; prior to their defeat, they had pretty much gone around to every shop in the neighborhood and had sang in each of them at least once. Fortunately for them, the shop owners hadn't seemed to recognize them when coming around for work.
Adagio's stomach grumbled again, and she clapped a hand to her face. "Ugh, you know what? I'm famished. Anything you could spare before I get started?"
"Sure!" Pinkie cheerily bounded over with a tray of multicolored cupcakes. "Which flavor do you want? Grape, cherry, blueberry, banana, strawberry, or green apple?"
"Um… how do you get all this stuff?
The answer was simply, "Courtesy of yours truly!"
Shrugging, Adagio took a cupcake covered with purple icing and took a bite. Almost instantly, she smiled. Pinkie's treats always tasted good, very good.
And they certainly tasted better than hate and conflict.
The doors slammed open, pulling her out of her thoughts.
"We're he-eeeeerrrrrrrrre!" a posh voice called out.
Adagio turned, and her eyes landed on Rarity, Sunset, and her fellow sirens. Each of them was carrying a heavy box filled with party props, that she couldn’t exactly make out.
"Now you're here?' Rainbow groaned from the stage. "You could've come earlier, y'know? We wasted enough time as it is!"
"Terribly sorry, darling," Rarity cooed. "But the shipment of glitter and paint took such a long while to get in, I had to wait at the boutique for hours!"
"Good thing we have them now," Sunset grunted, lifting the box onto a bleacher. The others followed suit. They all walked up to Adagio, who was still occupied with her cupcake.
Aria smirked and laid a hand on her side. "Without us, Adagio? Really?"
"What?" Adagio mumbled, her mouth full. Swallowing, she continued, "It's not like I'm taking any more. There's still a whole tray there." She gestured to the platter from which she had taken her meal.
"Well, good!" Sonata chirped. "I am starving!" Without further ado, she grabbed a pink cupcake and immediately gnawed away at it. Aria followed her, though at a slower pace. She picked herself a green one and started nibbling it.
Adagio was almost finished with hers. She was just about to get up to throw away the wrapping paper when she noticed someone sitting down next to her on the floor. Her eyes met those of Sunset Shimmer.
"So," Sunset asked, "ready to get working?"
"Yes," Adagio replied. "Best get started soon – or the school's gonna lock up on us, and we'll have to spend the night in here."
"With no sleeping bags or pillows."
"Or snacks."
"Or games."
"Or phone chargers."
Adagio and Sunset glanced at each other for a few moments before bursting into giggles.
"Seriously, though," Adagio chuckled. "We'd best get going. We didn't come all the way here to just sit around, did we?"
"Nope," Sunset agreed, standing up and smiling. "Let's get to opening those crates. Gonna have to put all that glitter and paint to use!"
Adagio followed her, opening up a crate filled with paint, while Sunset got her hands on some glitter and a blank banner. As they knelt beside the banner and began to paint it, Adagio said, "You know, I'd never have imagined five weeks ago that we'd be working alongside each other like this."
Sunset sighed. "Me too. I was afraid you three would stay mad at us forever. If it weren't for Miss Grumpy Siren, I don't think we'd even be friends now."
Adagio smiled a bit, remembering the past events. Five weeks had passed since that fateful night of their defeat, already.
When the Dazzlings' pendants had shattered, so had their only known purpose in life. They could no longer sing, they could no longer gain power--and they could no longer be adored. They quickly became reviled throughout the school. To comfort themselves when alone, they would try to sing as they always had, only for every attempt to end in miserable failure. So the first week after their defeat had been filled with despair.
As it drew to a close, though, something unexpected had happened.
The Dazzlings had just been eating lunch in the cafeteria, trying to ignore the glares coming from everyone around, when Adagio and Sonata had found Aria eyeing the Rainbooms, sitting at a table some distance from them. Suddenly, Aria had stood up with her tray and walked over to the six girls, much to her fellow sirens' astonishment. And everyone grew even more astonished when the Rainbooms actually invited Aria to sit with them.
That was where Aria would sit at lunch for the next few days.
In that time, the students of Canterlot began to warm up to her, little by little, although Adagio and Sonata received the same, hate-filled treatment. They had reckoned that somehow, Aria had managed to earn the Rainbooms' forgiveness. If the Rainbooms could forgive her, why not them? Even Sunset Shimmer, formerly a rampaging she-demon, was helping her out. But she had managed to redeem herself in the end. The students had figured that they could help Aria with that.
And help her it did. Aria had grown happier with every passing hour.
Simultaneously, relationships among the Dazzlings themselves had grown tense. Every time they returned "home", Adagio and Aria would break into a heated argument, and Sonata would be on the couch, crying and begging for them to stop. Eventually, Aria would scurry up to her room and sob – a behavior that the others knew was unlike herself. While Adagio would yell after her purple-haired companion that she was the worst, Sonata would race up to her own room, presumably to wallow in her own depression.
Later in the afternoons, Aria would come back downstairs, seconds before the doorbell would ring. Aria would open the door, the Rainbooms would be standing in front of her, and they would all head out together. They wouldn't show up back at the Dazzlings' doorstep until late at night. Aria would stroll back in with a smile, which would fade under the other sirens' greetings: a glare from Adagio accompanied by a wail from Sonata. Aria wouldn't talk to them. It was evident that they were fearing what was becoming of Aria. Adagio didn't want a worthless weakling living with her, and Sonata was terrified by the idea that Aria was coming home corrupted with the power of friendship. They would avoid her as if she had some contagious disease.
But near the end of the second week, Sonata joined Aria.
Adagio had sent Sonata out to shop for some groceries while Aria had already gone out with the Rainbooms. She had expected Sonata to return in half an hour, but somehow, it had taken her a whole three. Also, she had come home with Aria by her side. As if that wasn't enough, they were covered in bruises, yet had huge smiles on their faces – which quickly vanished upon seeing Adagio. After much prompting from the leader, the ditz finally confessed.
While she was bringing back the groceries, Sonata had discovered Aria and Fluttershy cornered by a street gang in an alleyway and had decided to help out. They were surprised they had actually lasted – and despite her relations with Aria in the past week, Sonata had realized how much she had missed her. And she had been determined to get her back. In the process of fighting, Sonata had managed to save both girls.
If Adagio hadn't been surprised then, she certainly was by what she was told next; Sonata had spent the next two hours with the Rainbooms.
The orange-haired siren had not been pleased with this, and had pretty much taken to isolating herself from everyone for the rest of the week. She would sit by herself at lunch, she would come home early by herself, and she would take care of all the household activities on her own until Aria and Sonata came back.
Then early on in the third week, the freak accident had happened.
Adagio could still remember bits and pieces of it. Waking up in the hospital. The other two crying by her cot. The Rainbooms gathered around her.
Her smile widened a bit as she remembered one more detail.
What would have become of her if Sunset hadn't found her?
"Now that I think about it," Adagio said, turning to the girl next to her, "I'm kinda glad that Aria had the guts to do that. I'm jealous."
"I know," Sunset sighed. "I'm glad we all came around, in the end."
"Mm-hmm."
The girls spent some more minutes in pleasant silence, painting the banner.
"AAAAAAALLLLL DONE!" Pinkie cheered thirty minutes later as the last streamer was taped in place. Everyone else also whooped or let out sighs of relief.
"Finally!" Rainbow Dash groaned, stretching out her arms. "I was getting sick of being cooped up in here with all that stuff!"
"Can we get out now?" Aria grumbled, flexing out her own limbs. "We need some fresh air!"
"Let's," Sunset chuckled. "I'm pretty beat myself."
The girls finally stepped out the gym, and soon after, the school, chatting noisily as they crossed the front lawn, approaching the street.
"So," Applejack said, turning to the group, "whad'ya all feel like doin' once we get t' Pinkie's?"
"Oh, oh, I know!" Sonata chirped. "We can all play Monopoly when we get there! And eat some ice cream!"
"I was honestly hoping to play Cat Mario on the TV console."
"Aria!"
"OK, fine, after Monopoly."
"Hey, Ari, wanna see who beats it first?" Rainbow Dash smirked.
Aria raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Challenge accepted."
"Mind if I try?" Adagio leered.
Just then, something suddenly bumped into her. Or rather, flew at her. So strong was the force that it immediately her knocked over, and everyone fell down as if they were screaming dominoes.
"What in tarnation?!" Applejack gasped as she reached for her Stetson hat, lying a few feet away.
Everyone turned to where the thing had landed after hitting the fluffy-haired siren. Sprawled out flat on the ground was…
"A girl?" Fluttershy gasped. "Another student?"
"What's she doing out this late?" Aria wondered aloud. "She wasn't helping us with the prom decor."
Everyone else simply stared at the newcomer. The darkness didn't allow them to see her features very well, but they were at least able to make out her outline. Her waist-long hair was somewhat disheveled, and her jacket sleeves were had several small rips and scratches in them. Dark splotches covered the exposed parts of her legs – the rest was hidden by her short skirt and her knee-high boots. Closed eyes showed that she was unconscious.
"Is… is she okay?" Sonata asked.
Just as she finished her sentence, the girl's eyes snapped open, revealing blue orbs shrunken in distraught. With a brief cry, she leapt onto her feet, facing them. Her eyes locked with Sonata's. Hyperventilating, the girl backed away.
"Woah, woah, it's alright!" Adagio said, stepping forward with Aria. "We're not going to –"
The girl simply let out another cry of fright, which turned into a scowl. "Stay back!" she grumbled. "Stay back, or I'll –"
"Calm down, darling," Rarity said, stepping up to the scene. "We're all here to help."
The girl froze as her eyes landed on Rarity. She glanced back to the Dazzlings. Then to Rarity. Then… fainted.
Fortunately, Fluttershy managed to rush forward and catch her this time. She turned back to the group with a puzzled expression, which all of them returned. Only then did Pinkie notice something.
"Look!" she cried. "The portal!"
Everyone turned to the Wondercolt statue. Indeed, there seemed to be something going on; a swirl of pinkish colors spiraled at one side of the base.
Applejack coughed. "So… does this mean Twilight's back?"
"Wait, that can't be right!" Sunset pointed towards the statue. "When Twilight comes through the portal, it doesn't show such a huge trace of magic! With her, it's as if she actually passes through the glass, not some colorful mass of sparkles!"
"It's not just that," Fluttershy whimpered. "Twilight's portal is on the opposite side of the statue base!"
They all looked back at the unconscious stranger.
"Then… then…" Rainbow stuttered, at a loss for words.
"… where did she come from?!"