//------------------------------// // Lies, secrets and more tacos // Story: Our New Life // by Arcane Archer //------------------------------// The bell signaling the end of the school day rung through the school, not a second later the classrooms and corridors were full of the voices of students, rushing to get away from their work and teachers. The corridor was crowded and people were shoved into each other and the walls during their escape. Sonata was ment to be meeting her new friends at the statue at the front of the school, but she was struggling to push her way through the crowded corridors to the door. She'd managed to squeeze herself past enough people to make it half way down the corridor before someone shoved her forwards into the person in front. "Ahhh!" Sonata tried to balance herself, but she couldn't prevent herself from falling forward, almost knocking over the person in front. "I am sooooo sorry, someone pushed m - Sunset? Ohmigosh I'm sorry." The person in front had turned around, revealing themselves as Sunset Shimmer. She looked up and saw Flash Sentry smirking at her and Sonata in a self-satisfied way, evil intent evident in his eyes. Two other boys with similar blue hair stood either side of him, supposedly trying to make themselves look more intimating. "What are you doing back here, Siren? Battle of the Bands gave me another opportunity to see Twilight again, but you and your sisters had to come along and ruin it didn't you?" Flash and his two sidekicks crossed their arms in almost perfect synchronization. "The whole time she was here I was a total jerk to her because of you, even when the spell was broken she barely spoke to me, I might not even get to see her ever again. And you, Sunset." He pointed for emphasis."You broke my heart, I cared about you, but you only wanted me so you could show me off to everyone like some kind of trophy boyfriend. You never even liked me, Twilight is the only one who ever loved me back, but now she's gone and the only memorys she'll have of me are of when I was a total jerk." Sunset was initially mad at Flash's actions, but his tone changed towards the end and she could tell he was more frustrated and sad than he was angry. Flash was normally cheerful and a bit goofy, but he hadn't quite been himself since Twilight left, nevertheless she knew he wouldn't go as far as to attack her and Sonata. "I know it won't fix things, but I'm sorry, Flash. If I could go back and change things I would, but you can't blame Sonata that you can't see Twilight again, if the sirens didn't use their magic then Twilight wouldn't have come back here in the first place, and I know you care about her a lot, but she's a Princess from another world, you have to face the truth that you could never be together as a couple." Sunset had been staring at her feet, unable to look Flash in the eye, she slowly looked up to see Flash looking depressed and also staring at the floor. "Twilight is very busy now that she's a princess, but I'm sure she misses you too. If you really want to speak to her then you could write her a letter, I have a book that I can use to write to her, maybe you could arrange a date for her to visit you." "You could really do that? Wow, thanks, and I'm sorry I pushed you, Sonata was it? I haven't really been myself lately, I guess everything that's happened has just left me down in the dumps," Flash apologized giving a sheepish grin, "Could I maybe meet you tomorrow at lunch to write to Twilight?" "What? You're apologizing to that fish demon after all that she's done?" The other blue-haired boys looked in disbelief and anger at Flash Sentry. "Sunset's right, and if you don't agree then don't get involved," Flash said to the other two, "Sunset, I'll see you at lunch tomorrow to write to Twilight, if that's alright with you of course." "Sure." Sunset gave a thumbs-up before continuing down the corridor towards the exit. "What's up with him?" asked Sonata. "I used to date him back when I ran the school, the old me was horrible and I just used him because a lot of the other girls had a crush on him. He's been a little weird since Twilight left, but he's a nice guy normally," Sunset replied. "You didn't ever even have a little bit of a crush on him? He is kinda cute in a goofy kind of way," asked Sonata. Sunset sighed. "Not really, I never really thought of him in that kind of way before, I was just using him. The old me was horrible, I'm lucky Twilight and her friends gave me a second chance." The two reformed villains continued down the corridor and out to the front of the school where four of their friends were waiting. Pinkie's hair seemed a bit deflated, Rarity was flustered, Applejack was tugging at her hat nervously and Fluttershy was quietly crying against the statue. Sunset went over to try and reassure Fluttershy, they were all worried about Rainbow Dash and Aria, but the nurse was wouldn't tell them what happened because of student confidentially or some such rule. Applejack, being as stubborn as she is, wouldn't leave until she knew more about what had happened, but in the end she had to be dragged out by Granny Smith who was called over when Applejack refused to leave. Sunset turned on her phone to check if Rainbow had text her anything, the screen lit up and she could see a number one displayed next to the text icon. She touched the screen to find that the text was indeed from Rainbow. "I got a text, hold on." Sunset touched the screen to show the new message and began to read it out loud. "Hey how r u doing. Sorry i just kinda left without saying anything aria got attacked by some jerks so i stepped in but we r at the hospital coz she needed stitches. shes okay now my dads picking us up ill call u l8r." "Ughh, I can't believe she texts like that, can she not even bother to send us a readable message?" Rarity groaned. "Shouldn't ya be more concerned about her welfare, Sugarcube?" Asked Applejack. "Is that all it says? What happened? What are stitches?" Sonata was panicking and looking worried. "Stitches are just something the hospital gives to people who have cuts to help them heal better and reduce scarring. If they're leaving now then there can't be any serious damage, so you should try not to worry." Sunset tried to give a reassuring smile, but it was hard to smile when Sonata looked so scared and upset. Sonata gave a small smile back. "Oh, but I don't remember the way back home from here without Aria." Sunset looked puzzled. "You don't remember where your house is? But didn't you always live there?" "We kinda may have mind washed some hotel staff into letting us stay there for free, but when our pendants broke they kicked us out," explained Sonata. Sunset looked a bit shocked and guilty about what happened. "Wait, so where do you live now?" "Oh, you know, just around." Sonata looked down towards her feet. Sunset narrowed her eyes, determined to find out where the siren was actually living. "Around where? I'll be worried unless I know you have somewhere to stay." "Well there's this vacant cottage on the outskirts of the city, and the house itself is still mostly standing, so it's as good a place as any, right?" Sonata spoke in her usual cheerful voice, but she didn't lift her gaze up from the ground. Everyone's jaws dropped at hearing this, even Rarity, although she closed her mouth as soon as she realised it was hanging open. Sunset almost expected Sonata to say something along those lines, but it still came as a shock. She couldn't let the naïve siren wander around alone and lost at night. "You can stay at my apartment tonight, my sofa converts into a bed," said Sunset, unprepared to let her new friend sleep in the street. "We can stop at the cottage on the way so that you can get your things." "Thank you, Sunny!" Sonata was suddenly very cheerful again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rainbow Dash helped Aria limp over to the car where her dad was waiting to pick them both up. Rainbow's dad was sat in a expensive looking blue sports car, a pair of oversized sunglasses perched upon his messy rainbow hair. Aria could see a huge resemblance between Rainbow and her dad, she wondered if Rainbow's mum shared as much resemblance with her daughter. Rainbow opened the passenger door and pulled the seat forwards to get in the back. Aria was greatful that she wouldn't have to climb in the back with her legs recently stitched. Once she got in and closed the door Rainbow's dad put on some loud music and drove quickly out of the car park. "So you're that girl from another world or something?" asked Rainbow's dad, "When my daughter started talking about demons and pony princess and things I thought she was starting to loose it. Wasn't until I saw her get those pony ears that I actually believed her, and despite the visable evidence it's still hard to believe." "Yeah, one of my sisters almost got dragged off to a funny farm when she tried explaining all that to a human," agreed Aria. "Aren't you a siren or something from greek mythology? I'm pretty sure Rainbow has a game on the computer with sirens on it." Rainbow's dad continued to drive very fast, but he seemed to be a pretty good driver. Aria looked into the back. "You play computer games?" "No way, I'm not a nerd or anything, just something to do if any of my sports get cancelled." Rainbow looked away as she said it. "I guess if you don't play it anymore I'll just have to cancel your subscription, no point in paying it if your not going to play the game." Rainbow's dad continued to engage in conversation while still skillfully navigating passed other cars. "What! No, I just got my character to level one hundred! I-I mean I still play it sometimes so there's no need to cancel it." Rainbow looked panicked at the thought of having her game subscription cancelled causing Aria to chuckle to herself quietly. "Your friends aren't gonna start hating you just 'cause you play a few computer games, just be honest and be yourself." Rainbow's dad turned down another street. "We're back near the school now, where should I drop you off?" "Just drop me off here, I can walk the rest of the way," said Aria. "I can't just drop you off here, it's getting dark, you can barely walk and I don't know how far you have to walk to get to your house." Rainbow's dad kept driving. "I live at number eleven, Pegasus Street," Aria lied, she had seen the sign for a road called Pegasus Street on the way to school, so it wasn't too far from the cottage. Aria was quiet for the ten minutes it took to arrive at Pegasus Street, she didn't want to lie, but she knew that she couldn't let anyone know where she lived. She assumed there was a number eleven on Pegasus Street, eleven wasn't to high a number, even for just a small street. The car turned on Pegasus Street and Aria could see a bunch of cars parked outside one of the houses, a few drunk people were staggering around outside and making lots of noise. Aria could only hope that that house wasn't number eleven. The car got closer and Aria could see a banner that read: "Happy Birthday Berry Punch." Upon further inspection it was indeed number eleven. "You live here?" Rainbow's dad raised an eyebrow. "Umm-" Aria was interrupted by a knocking on the car window. Rainbow's dad wound down the window and a young, obviously drunk woman with pink hair popped her head through the window. "Who're, hic, yooou?" "I'm here to drop off Aria, she does live here right?" asked Rainbow's dad. "I don't know who you're talkin' 'bout, but do ya wanna drink with me?" slurred the drunk woman. "Yeeeeah no, I'm good thanks," He replied "Ya sure? We have punch." The pink-haired drunk swayed back and forth, spilling the drink in her hand. "Positive." Rainbow's dad wound up the window and looked at Aria. "Where do you really live?" Rainbow could see Aria was a bit nervous. "You have had somewhere to live since battle of the bands, haven't you?" Aria glanced around, unsure of wether to tell them or not. It was dark, so there was still a chance they wouldn't notice the cottage was abandoned. "I live on a small cottage at the end of Cloudsdale Road." Rainbow's dad didn't say anything else before he did a U-turn for Cloudsdale Road. It only took about a minute to get there, but despite the darkness it still looked old and unstable. "Here? This is the truth this time? 'Cause I don't have time for jokes." Rainbow's dad stopped the car outside the small, old house. "Yes, here," replied Aria, "guess I'll see you tomorrow, Skittles." "You can't stay here, you're injured and it's winter, you'll freeze," argued Rainbow, "Dad doesn't mind if you stay at mine tonight for a sleep over or something, do you dad?" Rainbow's Dad sighed. "I can't let you stay here." "Thanks...I appreciate it. I'll just go grab my stuff." Aria got out of the car. Rainbow got out of after her. "I'll help you carry it back to the car then." The two girls entered the house through the busted, old door, Aria limped towards the bedroom and Rainbow followed close behind. Aria entered the bedroom and finding it empty she suddenly remembered that Sonata would be on her own if she went with Rainbow. She took out her phone and selected Sonata from her recent calls. The phone rang only a few times before Sonata answed it. "Ohmigosh, Aria, are you ok? Everyone is sooo worried. Where are you?" Aria could hear the barrage of questions coming from Sonata. While Aria was checking on Sonata, Rainbow looked around the room, she shivered as a draft blew through the house. She walked over to the sofa and found a a bag full of clothes and other belongings. "This yours?" She pointed at the bag. Aria nodded and locked her phone. "Yeah. Sonata staying at Sunset's tonight, apparently Sunset has been trying to get hold of you." "Oh, my phone must be flat, I'll charge it when we get back to mine." Rainbow picked up the bag and made for the door. "This all of it?" Aria nodded. "Yeah. Apparently Sunset already brought Sonata here so she could pick up her own stuff." "Okay then, lets go." Rainbow carried Aria's bag out the cottage and loaded it into the boot before getting into the car. When the door shut Rainbow's dad started the engine and raced down the road, music was blasting from the speakers again. He wound down the windows a bit and Aria could feel the cool air from outside blow through her hair. "Any song suggestions?" Rainbow's dad asked Aria. "Any music's fine, umm..." Aria tried to think of what his name was. "Rainbow Blaze, the name's Rainbow Blaze," Rainbow Blaze said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sonata and Sunset had arrived at a block of flats, Sonata followed Sunset up the stone steps and watched a she pulled out a key to open the door. Sunset lead the other girl up two flights of stairs before she stopped outside of a door with the number seven on it, she stuck a bronze key in the lock and turned it until it clicked and the door opened. Sonata followed Sunset inside and looked around the flat, it wasn't exactly messy, but it was less organized than Sonata imagined. Homework was spread out across the desk and coffee table and books were stacked up in every corner of the room. "Sorry about the mess, I was up late studying last night and didn't get round to putting everything away." Sunset shuffled her homework into a neat pile and moved it on to the desk. "It's okay, it's not that messy," replied Sonata, she took a seat on the sofa and her stomach growled. Sunset chuckled a little. "Guess it's time for dinner, I'll check what's in the cupboards." She rummaged through the cupboards and fridge then frowned. "I'm out of food, I'll have to go food shopping tomorrow. Any particular takeaway you want? "Hmmm, oh! Can we order tacos?" asked Sonata. Sunset laughed again. "Didn't we have tacos for lunch?" "Yeah, but it's taco tuesday and everyone loves tacos!" Exclaimed Sonata, in her usual cheery voice. "Okay then." Sunset got out her phone and ordered a some tacos to be delivered within half an hour. While the two waited for the food to arrive, Sunset setup the sofa-bed ready for Sonata and went to make them both a cup of tea. She placed the cups on two coasters on the coffee table in front of them, before she turned to face Sonata. "Can I ask you a weird question?" asked Sunset. "Sure, what is it?" Sonata replied. "It's to do with something Rarity mentioned earlyer," started Sunset, "I just wondered, because you and your sisters have lived for so long, have any of you ever dated anyone?" "I've had a few dates, nothing serious though, although Adagio has dated quite a few people and I think Aria had a secret crush on someone from an old school a few years back," answered Sonata, "Why the sudden interest?" "Well, it's just that Rarity noticed that Rainbow was acting a bit strange around Aria, so she came up with the idea that Rainbow might have a crush on her. I don't really know how, but Rarity is normally good at spotting secret crushes, all except Bulk Biceps' crush on her anyway," explained Sunset. "Oh, well I don't know, but Aria seems to have warmed up to Rainbow pretty quickly, she's normally ice cold towards everyone, even me sometimes." Sonata took a sip of her tea. "Sorry, it was kind of a weird question. Please don't tell Rainbow what I said, for all I know it could just be one of Rarity's crazy matchmaking schemes." Sunset looked down at the cup in front of her and lifted it up to her mouth to take sip. They both sat drinking their tea until they heared the buzzer for the door go. As suspected it was the taco delivery man and Sonata jumped up almost knocking the tea off the table. "It's the tacos!" "Yes, Sonata. It's the tacos."