Sonata frantically searched through her dresser, looking to see if she still had at least one nice outfit left. She had to get out of the apartment soon. She would be late for work, and she couldn't risk bumping into Adagio. She had plans for that night that she could not risk her housemate discovering. She had prepared a pot of noodles for dinner, and left them simmering on the stove. She quickly shoved her outfit, a pink tank top, purple skirt, and her flashiest pair of boots into a plastic bag, before grabbing her purse and sprinting out the door.
It had started yesterday. She had been sitting alone at lunch, again. The Sirens had stopped sitting together awhile ago, which left Sonata all by herself. No one at the school tried to associate with the three. It wasn't a problem for Adagio or Aria, they liked being alone. But to Sonata, it was torture.
She was starving. Adagio had advised against bringing lunches in order to save money for rent, and she didn't have any spare cash on hand to buy food. Nothing to eat and no one to talk to, she lamented, This SUUUUCKS.
As Sonata sulked, a boy from her gym class quietly approached her from behind. He cautiously balanced two trays in his hands as he stepped towards her. He sat down besides her, and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey. I never see you eating lunch. I thought you might like some food." He offered her a tray. Tacos. Her favorite.
She smiled, "Thank you so much! No one ever does anything nice for me."
He laughed awkwardly, "It's the least I could do. I can't have my star volleyball player working on an empty stomach, can I?"
Sonata giggled, "I guess not."
He took a deep breath before he spoke again. Sonata noticed his entire body was tensing up. Whatever he was getting ready to say, he was really nervous. "So, are you doing anything tomorrow night?"
She shook her head, "Nope. I get off from work at five, so I'm pretty much free."
He exhaled, "A friend of mine is throwing a party tomorrow night, and I wanted to know if you'd be interested in coming with me."
"What kind of party?" She asked.
"My buddy Big Macintosh throws a farm party every year. They play music, we dance, go on hay rides." He explained. He immediately blushed and started stammering, "I understand if you aren't interested."
Sonata shook her head, "No, that sounds like a lot of fun. So you want me to be your date?"
"Yeah..."
Sonata giggled. He might have bad nerves, but he seemed really nice. Most of the boys at CHS either scorned her after the Battle of the Bands, and those who didn't just gawked at her boobs all the time. He never did either. In fact, he was one of the few people who had ever treated Sonata nicely. He held doors for her, complimented her, and always took her on his team for gym, when everyone else would refuse to take her.
Sonata gleefully smiled. "Then it's a date!" She wrapped her arms around him, and gave him what humans called a "bear hug". She had never gotten to try one out before. Aria and Adagio didn't like her touching them.
"Uh, you're crushing my spine..." He gasped. Sonata released him and nervously laughed, "So, you want me to pick you up at your house tomorrow?"
Sonata deadpanned. There was no way in hell she could risk having him anywhere near her crappy apartment. She'd be mortally embarrassed if he saw it, and besides that, Adagio would surely scare him off. "Uh, would you mind meeting me where I work? We can go from there."
"Sure. Where do you work?"
"I work at that Mexican restaurant downtown, Juanito's." She answered.
He nodded, "Sure, I'll drive over at five."
"Sounds great!" She hugged him again, less forcefully this time, "Thanks again for the tacos, Shining Armor."
Sonata now waited patiently in front of the restaurant. Her shift had ended five minutes ago, prompting her to dash into the women's restroom, and change out of her uniform and into her nice clothes. She stumbled out of the stall, toilet paper stuck to one boot while she struggled with the buckles on the other. Finally, she got the thing strapped up, and waited patiently in the warm spring breeze.
Shining Armor pulled up in a white pickup truck. It was fairly old, but a lot of work had been put into fixing it up fairly recently, as was attested by the shiny new coat of paint and recently installed running boards beneath the seat. Shining stepped out. He was wearing a blue flannel shirt and jeans, and waved to Sonata, who excitedly ran over to him. "You ready to go?" Sonata nodded. He opened the passenger door for her, and helped hoist her inside. The step was comically high; the frame of the truck was at the same height as Sonata's waist, and the seat was nearly level with her neck.
Shining Armor climbed in, and started driving. Sonata looked around downtown as they drove through. Her seat was huge. She probably could have fit two of her in it comfortably. The drive was about ten minutes, most of which Shining spent talking to her while rock and roll came through the oversized speakers of his powered-up sound system. She giggled at the Hawaiian bobble head on his dash board. His taste might be terrible, but he was still really sweet to her.
"We're here," he announced as they pulled up to the farm. Sonata saw acres upon acres of apple trees, all covered in delicious red fruit. She drooled a little as they past them.
He parked alongside a bunch of other cars and trucks, along one side of the Apples' barn. Shining jumped down, and offered Sonata a hand to help her. He eased her down to the ground, and walked inside the barn. All the hay bales and farm equipment had been moved to the edge of the barn or put somewhere else for the night. The middle of the floor had tables and chairs set up all around, with a big empty space cleared for dancing in front of the raised platform that was being used as a stage. Sonata recognized a few people from school: She saw Vinyl Scratch trying to get her girlfriend Octavia to dance with her, but wasn't having much luck. Onstage, Sonata recognized Applejack shredding on her base, besides a mountain of a teenager who was playing acoustic guitar. She glared toward Sonata. If looks could kill, Sonata would have died a gruesome death. They wrapped up their song, and as their audience applauded, she whispered into the boy's ear. The boy, who Sonata assumed to be her brother, their host, Big Macintosh, jumped down from the stage, and walked up to Shining Armor. "Hey pardner, mind if'n Ah talk with y'all a minute?" He asked. He and Shining walked outside, around to the back of the barn. Sonata followed, trying her best to stay out of sight.
She hid behind a mountain of hay as the two talked. "Look, Ah got nothin' against you, but Ah think mah sister is right. That girl y'all brought is nothin' but trouble. Y'all heard what happened at the Battle of the Bands, dontcha? Ah know your family was on vacation that week, but still."
To Sonata's surprise, Shining Armor stood up for her. "I don't care what Applejack says. She's harmless. She's incredibly sweet. I think the other two were just stringing her along. She doesn't seem like the kind of person who goes and causes trouble."
Macintosh shrugged, "Y'all know her better'n ah do. To be honest, Ah don't care that y'all are bringin' her round fer the party. Applejack is just a mite concerned, is all."
"Screw Applejack." Shining Armor said. "If she wants Sonata to leave, then I'm leaving too."
"Cool yer jets pardner. No one's makin' anyone go anywhere. Applejack's old enough to be able to act mature 'round someone she don't like. She'll just have to act like a grown-up tonight."
Shining Armor was visibly relieved, "Thanks Mac." The two shared a manly hug before returning inside. Sonata slipped in ahead of them, and was waiting in a corner when Shining returned. "Sorry about that," he apologized, "Just had misunderstanding to clear up."
Sonata looked awkwardly at the ground, "Shining, if me being here is a problem, I'll leave." She sadly whimpered.
"No way. I want you here." He said. There was no questioning the integrity of his words. It was plain on his face. Sonata hugged Shining Armor tearfully. He returned the embrace, taking her in his strong but gentle hands, "You wanna dance?"
Macintosh had retaken the stage, and after what looked like a tense discussion with his sister, they seemed to reach an agreement and departed. In their place, their grandmother stepped onto the stage carrying a fiddle, and spoke out to the guests. "Alright y'all little varmits, this here's an old Apple family square dancin' song." She began to rub out a vigorous, upbeat tune, which got the entire party up and dancing.
Shining led Sonata onto the dance floor. He walked her through the steps, and she started mimicking them. Awkwardly at first, but she got the hang of it very quickly. Within a few minutes, she had flawlessly picked up Shining's lessons and the pair were going at it almost as well as any of the Apples. Sonata looked at the couples she could recognize. Vinyl had gotten her way with Octavia, and the two were going at it, extremely clumsily, but trying nonetheless. The cross-eyed girl in her gym class was dancing with her date, that muscle headed jock that played violin. What's her name again, is it Derpy or Ditzy? Sonata shrugged. She couldn't remember.
Applejack kept her distance with her friends, but they didn't say anything mean to her. That being said, she could feel a lot of bad energy directed towards her. The song finished, and the couples all sat down. Shining went to get them some food and cider from the buffet table, leaving Sonata by herself.
Sonata felt a buzzing in her skirt's pocket and felt around for her cell phone. Wait a minute, I don't have a phone. What was causing that vibration? She pulled out a piece of cloth, and gasped with recollection. She had forgotten about her broken pendant. This skirt was the same one she had worn to the Battle of the Bands, and she must have put the pieces in the pocket and forgot about them. She saw little green particles of mist, the unmistakable sign of malice, drifting into the pieces. Before Sonata's eyes, two of the smallest shards fused together, leaving a still tiny but definitely bigger one in their place. Sonata tried to find the source of the anger. It seemed to flow from Applejack. Wow. She really hates me. Then realization dawned on her. Ohmygosh! If this can put two pieces back, maybe more power could fix the rest! I have to tell Adagio and-
She couldn't. If she told Adagio, she would have to tell Adagio she was out with a boy at a party, and she would be furious with her. Sonata had no idea what kind of punishment she'd get, but she knew it would be unpleasant beyond words. Maybe I'll just keep this tiny secret to myself. She smiled. Having her amulet back would be a dream come true. If pissing Applejack off could help repair it, then piss her off she would.