The next morning, Sonata and Aria were eating breakfast when Adagio came out wearing her uniform. It looked a bit tight on her, giving emphasis on her body's curves as she took each step. Aria and Sonata couldn't help but stare at Adagio as she sat down at the table with them. "Looking to get some extra tips there, Adagio?" Aria asked after she finished eating her toast.
"Well, I thought this uniform looked good on me, but now, I think I'm gonna ask for a bigger sized uniform. One that doesn't show off the goods as much as this one does." Adagio replied before starting to eat her pancakes that Sonata made for her. "So when are you two leaving to go to that school?"
"In a few minutes." Aria replied. "I'm not as happy as Sonata is, but if it turns out to be better than the one we're in now, I'll send you a text."
"Good. If it is better, then I'll call that annoying principal and tell her we're gone."
"Sounds good to me." Aria replied before getting up. "Well Sonata, lets get this over with."
"Yay!" Sonata cried out as she jumped out of the chair. "See ya later Dagi!" She said before giving Adagio a quick hug. "Don't let the boys stare too much now."
"You don't have to worry about that." Adagio replied. Sonata quickly ran off to catch up with Aria, who was already sitting in the vehicle all three shared. As she got in, Aria was putting the address on the flier into the gps on the dashboard.
"Come on Aria!" Sonata exclaimed. "Lets get going!"
"Give me a minute!" Aria replied as the gps searched for a route to the address. "This thing is a piece of junk!" After waiting for a bit, a look of anger appeared on Aria's face. Just as she was about to hit the small device, the route popped up on the screen. "Thats more like it." Aria said while she put the car into reverse and backed out of the driveway. The distance between the Dazzling's house and the address on the flier was roughly 20 miles out in the middle of nowhere. "What kind of person builds their school out here?" Aria asked as she drove.
"Maybe its cheaper to build out here." Sonata replied. "Plus..." She rolled down her window and breathed in the fresh country air. "The air smells alot better out here than in the city."
"Yeah, if you like being around farm animals." Aria grunted as she paid close attention to the road. After roughly 15 minutes of driving, the gps started beeping.
"You have arrived at your destination." The automated voice of the gps said. Sonata stuck her head out of the window as the academy came into view.
"There it is!" She cried out in excitement. Aria's eyes widened at the sight of the school. The property was outlined by a massive wall made of solid concrete. As they pulled into a small parking lot, Aria noticed two students standing at the entrance gate, waving to them as they passed by. "Double Diamond was right. They really are happy here." She said as Aria pulled into a parking space.
"Now Sonata." Aria said as she got out of the car. "At least try to contain your excitement for this place. You know nothing about it, other than what that guy told you." She waited a few seconds for a response. "Are you listening?" She asked before turning around. Sonata had already rushed over to the pair of students in matching uniforms and was talking to the one with white hair. Aria groaned as she started walking towards them. "This is gonna be a long day." She thought to herself. As she got closer, she noticed how each smile was nearly identical. "Okay, thats a little creepy."
"Aria!" Sonata yelled. "I'd like you to meet my new friend, Double Diamond. DD, this is my longtime bestest friend ever, Aria."
"Its nice to meet you." Double Diamond said as he extended his hand out. Aria begrudgingly shook it as she couldn't stop staring at the identical smiles. "Well, seeing as how you two are the first to arrive, why don't we go introduce you to our Student Body President, Starlight Glimmer." He soon turned around to start leading the group into the campus. As the small group walked along, they passed by several people, each wearing the same uniform with the equal sign emblazoned cloth on their sleeves. Each one of them said "Welcome." as Aria and Sonata passed by.
"You sure about this place?" Aria whispered to Sonata, being careful not to let the people around them hear. "These people are creeping me out."
"Oh Aria, don't be such a stick in the mud." Sonata whispered back. "I'm sure these guys are just happy to see new people." Aria rolled her eyes in response as Double Diamond led the group past several housing areas. Each one looked like an exact copy of the other. "So DD, who is your friend here?" Sonata asked, trying to make conversation.
"Everyone here is a friend of mine." Double Diamond replied. "This is Party Favor." He said as he pointed towards a man with blue hair similar in style to Double Diamond's.
"Nice to meet you." Sonata said as she shook his hand. She looked over to see Aria holding her phone up in the air. "What are you doing?" She whispered.
"I can't get a damn signal here." Aria grunted as she extended her arm above her head, trying to get a signal. "I'm trying to text Adagio. I'm not so sure we'd like this place."
"But Ari..." Sonata said. "What other school is close by that is free to go to? Plus, we've only been here 5 minutes. Give it a chance, would ya?" As they were talking, Double Diamond led the group into a small building that was surprisingly different from the others. Sonata and Aria stopped walking as Double Diamond and Party Favor simultaneously knocked on a door on the other side of the room.
"Starlight?" Double Diamond said. "We have some new visitors." They backed away slowly as the door swung open. A woman with hair that had a strikingly similar color to Aria's walked into the room.
"Welcome." She said in a cheerful voice. "I'm so pleased to meet you."
"This is Sonata Dusk and her friend, Aria Blaze." Double Diamond said as he pointed to the two former sirens respectively. Starlight walked over and instantly looked at Aria's hair.
"Great minds must think alike." Starlight said as she motioned towards Aria's hair. She extended a hand out to her. Just like last time, Aria hesitated before shaking her hand. As Starlight turned toward Sonata, her hand was instantly crushed in the grip of the excited blue girl as it went up and down several dozen times in the span of seconds. "Wow." She said as she jerked her hand away. "Thats a... strong grip you have there."
"Yeah. I tend to do that whenever I'm super excited about something." Sonata replied. Starlight smiled as she turned her attention back towards Aria.
"So. How did you learn of O.U.R. Academy?" She asked.
"Well, I bumped into your friend yesterday at the grocery store when he was handing out fliers." Sonata replied.
"So you're the one who he was telling me about." Sonata's cheeks turned red after she heard that.
"Plus, we're seeing if this place is better than the school we're in right now." Aria added. "Trying to get away from our past and make a new life somewhere else."
"I see. Well, whatever happened in your past is in the past." Starlight said. "Here at O.U.R. Academy, we don't judge others based on what they've done or who they are. Here, we are all equal. There are no cool kids, jocks, popular kids, or nerds here. Only friends." Aria's facial expression changed when she heard that. "And as a token of my appreciation for you both coming here today..." Starlight said as she stepped back into her little room for a moment. "I'd like to give you these uniforms as a gift. There are some empty rooms down the hallway if you'd like to see if they fit you or not."
"Thank you!" Sonata cried out as she took one of the uniforms and rushed down the hall to one of the rooms. Aria slowly took hold of the other uniform before she walked down the hall.
"Something doesn't feel right. What kind of school gives out uniforms to people who might not even attend?" She thought as she walked into the other room to change. After several minutes, both Aria and Sonata walked out of the rooms in their matching uniforms. Sonata was grinning from ear to ear as she looked in a mirror.
"I look good in this." She said while striking a few different poses. Aria looked at how she looked and rolled her eyes at what she saw.
"Well now. How about I give you both a tour of the campus." Starlight said as she opened the door leading outside. Aria and Sonata followed her as Double Diamond and Party Favor followed close behind. "Over here, we have the student lounge." Starlight said as she pointed to a building with many large windows. "And over there is the Headmaster/Founder's office." She said while pointing at another small building. "If it wasn't for him, this school wouldn't exist at all."
"Wow!" Sonata said. "Can we meet him?"
"In due time, you will." Starlight replied. "But before I show you anything else, how about I show you two our school's most prized item."
"Sure. Why not." Aria replied. Starlight soon lead them onto a small pagoda in the middle of the campus. In the center of the pagoda, there was a glass case that contained a stick with two ends sticking out on one side that looked like an equal sign.
"Aria, Sonata, behold!" Starlight cried out as she pointed towards the case. "The Staff of Sameness."
"Looks just like a plain old stick to me." Aria said as Starlight opened the case and brought the staff into her possession. She turned back towards them while holding the staff.
"This "stick" as you call it is part of the tradition of welcoming new students into our small community of friends." Starlight said as she held the staff so that the end with the two protruding ends pointed towards Aria and Sonata. Aria's eyes widened as she watched Starlight's thumb flick a switch on the side of the staff. "So I just have one more question to ask you both." Starlight said in a calm, yet somewhat threatening voice. "Are you ready to join us here at O.U.R. Academy?" Aria started backing away slowly, but Sonata just stood still with a happy look on her face.
"Of course I am!" Sonata yelled. Starlight immediately pointed the staff towards her and pressed a hidden button on the side of the staff. Both protruding ends of the staff lit up in a bright red color before firing a beam of light towards Sonata. Immediately, she became engulfed in the light as Aria stood frozen in fear and horror. After several seconds, the light disappeared. Starlight's smile grew as Sonata slowly turned around towards Aria with her head tilted downwards.
"Sonata?" Aria asked hesitantly. "Are you... okay?"
"I've never felt better, Aria." Sonata replied slowly as she raised her head up, revealing a smile that matched both Double Diamond's and Party Favor's. "Now, I feel like the weight of my past has been lifted off of my shoulders. You should join me in this wonderful feeling as well." Aria's eyes widened in horror as Starlight turned her attention towards her.
"Well Aria..." She said. "Same question. Are you ready to join us?" The staff soon was pointing directly at her.
"Hmm... let me think about it." Aria replied as she put her hand up to her chin. "How about.... no!" She yelled before kicking the staff out of Starlight's hands. She then immediately jumped over the fence surrounding the pagoda and started running as fast as she could away from Starlight and the others.
Starlight's facial expression immediately turned into anger as she picked the staff up and tried firing at Aria. But the staff's ends only produced sparks whenever she pressed the button. "Sound the alarm!" Starlight yelled towards Double Diamond. "Put the campus on lockdown! We have a rebel on the loose!"