//------------------------------// // Dazzling Days and a Closing Net // Story: Rainbow Rocks: Unfinished Business // by Gadman85 //------------------------------// Adagio gave a contented sigh as she lay out on their apartment’s balcony sunbathing in a purple bikini. It was a nice day outside. It was sunny and it was just the right temperature. Many sunbathers would probably go to a pool or maybe the park somewhere to sunbath. Usually when it was the three of them together they did just that. Today they were again off from work and the three girls were each doing their own thing. They found they really enjoyed their time together, but they also liked having time to themselves every so often. Today was one of those days for the trio. Adagio touched her pendant again and smiled. It felt right to have one again and she rarely ever took it off. She did when she went to bed at night and when she showered. She also took it off when she had kitchen duty at Johnson’s Bar and Grill. However when they were off from work she almost immediately put it right back on her neck. Aria and Sonata did the same thing with their own pendants as well. “This really is the life here,” she said to herself as she continued to lay under the sun. She had never before noticed how wonderful it felt on her bare skin in the past. “I really don’t mind this whole human thing actually,” she thought. Sure some things were tougher than they were before, but it was as Aria said. The constant hunger was gone. This meant they could enjoy other things in their life now, even if they weren’t immortal, and sunbathing was one of the best things to do in Adagio's opinion. She again gave a contented sigh as she briefly stretched out her body on her lounge chair. It was a rather peaceful day outside. Sure there were the sounds of traffic nearby and kids playing, but Adagio didn’t really mind those sounds so much. Working at the restaurant, she was used to more ruckus than this. The place was peaceful compared to that. A child laughed out loud from somewhere nearby and that actually caused Adagio to think about what the other two were doing today. Sonata was quiet and clam today in her room looking into some festival she really wanted to go to soon. Aria was out running/jogging/walking. The twin-tailed girl loved to do such things and many times Sonata and Adagio joined her. Two more kids laughed out loud again. This caused Adagio to snicker. “I wonder if Aria will take any detours near the park again,” she thought. The curly haired girl snickered a little more. She really thought that change was one of the more entertaining ones to have taken place within her companions. Aria had surprisingly come too really like kids lately. She of coursed pretended to be ‘bothered’ by them many times, but she was always smiling a little when she claimed such things. Adagio supposed it made sense in a way. Most kids thought Aria was the coolest girl ever because of her attitude and style. This obviously fed Aria’s ego a good bit, but her ego was nowhere near as bad as it was in the past. This meant Adagio and Sonata found the whole situation not only bearable, but sometimes fun as their ‘tough girl’ companion pretended to not enjoy playing with the kids. She would almost always later fall to the kids’ insistence and join them in their games. Aria usually responded by saying, “Fine… geez…. Only for a little bit. And ONLY so you will leave me alone about it.” The kids would pretend to be ‘heartbroken’ but Sonata was under the impression the kids were merely playing along with Aria. Adagio wasn’t sure so she just went with Sonata on the subject. If any of the three of them knew something about kids it was the ever energetic and seemingly youngest, Sonata. Adagio stretched again, gave a yawn and turned over. It really was a restful day and the sun felt so wonderful on her skin. {-} {-} {-} Twilight had a very determined look on her face as she looked at the city map. There were hundreds of red circles on it. In fact there were so many red circles on the map, Sunset was glad she had somehow ended up with two city maps. This one was now too cluttered with red circles to be of much use normally. Sunset gave a sigh as she looked to her friend. “Glaring at the map won’t make any of the apartments disappear, Twilight.” The other girl gave a somewhat defeated sigh. “I know… But it's somehow a little therapeutic to do so...” Twilight then looked away from the map and sighed again. There were just so many apartments in Canterlot City. She thought hearing the Dazzlings were in large multiunit living quarters would make things easier. She had no idea just how many there were. In Equestria, while there were some apartments, there weren’t that many. Most ponies managed to find houses of some kind to live in, even if they built it out of clouds or lived together with another pony. “I know… There’s a lot of them… Humans are a lot more compact in their living arrangements,” Sunset said to Twilight. Twilight sat back in her chair at the table and folded her arms as she gave a half frown. Sunset wondered why she thought the expression so cute. Twilight finally said, “Well at least we know we can count out any of the really rich ones. It seems like they aren’t in the best shape financially from what Mr. Sinclair told us. I still can’t believe there are so many apartments.” Sunset gave a humorless laugh as she grabbed a drink from her refrigerator. “Why do you think I didn’t really tell you how many there were the past few days.” The two of them had already looked at a few places. Twilight had at first thought it wouldn’t take long. Then she realized there were more than she thought possibly, but stayed optimistic they would soon find the Dazzlings and then plan on how to approach them. By the fourth day, she finally had enough and asked Sunset to show her on the map just how many places they needed to look for in their search. Sunset had frowned, but conceded to her request. Twilight now knew why the fiery haired girl was a little nervous during their search. The pony princess at first thought her friend was feeling anxious like she was. Instead she was trying to hide just how large their search would have to be. Sunset sat down with her drink across from Twilight. She then crossed out several places on the map. She crossed out a few others after a moment of thought. “I think it’s safe to say they aren’t close to the school either.” “Yeah. I’m sure they want to be away from there, but the city is still so big!” Twilight said. She gave a thoughtful face, which Sunset found distracting a bit. It was another of Twilight’s faces Sunset had come to like seeing. “How the hell can she be that cute…? I mean princesses are supposed to be beautiful, graceful, and dignified… Not cute, a little vulnerable, and still somehow beautiful. Also… she has a better body than me… that shouldn’t be possible,” Sunset thought. She wasn’t jealous or anything now, these were just facts in her mind. She knew she had a damn fine body, Twilight’s was just unexpectedly better in her mind. “Ah!” Twilight said aloud, causing Sunset to snap out of her thoughts and almost fall out of her chair sideways from the surprise. “Are you okay, Sunset?” Twilight asked with deep warmth and concern. Sunset was sure Twilight could even befriend the whole of the Gryphon Kingdom if she wanted with just that voice sometimes. Sunset blushed and gave a nervous laugh. “Ha ha haaa.. Yeah. My mind wasn’t somewhere else or anything… don’t worry…” She then cleared her throat and continued to avoid further questions, “You were about to say something?” Twilight seemed to blush a little at Sunset’s actions, but the other girl didn’t notice. Twilight quickly continued and regained her composure. “I was about to ask you if you knew where a lot of the students lived from CHS? Did any of them live in apartments with families?” Sunset looked to the side and blushed again, but this time in shame. “Ummm… yeah… I kind of do... you know from then… I ummm kept tabs on who would be easy targets due to living arrangements… I was really very hor-“ Sunset would have continued, but to her shock her face turned forwards and a purple hand was placed on her mouth. Twilight was leaning across the table and with a very serious expression said, “Don’t say that… It was in the past. The past is not who you are today. We learn from it and it can be helpful still. Just mark them off on the map. Understand?” Sunset's body froze and she was finally starting to really feel like the burden of her past was lifting from her shoulders again. Plus Twilight’s actions really struck a chord in her heart. Sure the others had told her similar things, but never had they actually stopped her and said what Twilight did or in such a manner. They always said such things in a way that felt more like it was purely for her benefit and not what they felt was the truth. It took a couple of seconds, but Sunset nodded and focused on marking off the apartments so she wouldn’t let the tears of relief show. This wasn’t the time. Plus she wanted to keep up her cool image for Twilight. Well Sunset thought she still had a cool image needed to keep up at least. In the end, her ‘image’ didn’t matter to Twilight though. Twilight really liked her regardless of such things. Sunset finished and there were still a lot of places for their search to lead them, but there were also a good few less than at the start. Twilight and Sunset were starting to feel a good bit less intimidated by their task, even if it was still an impressive one. They looked over the map again and smiled encouragingly to each other as they came up with a plan. {-} {-} {-} Aria was out and about. She had more or less just finished her running and jogging, but she wanted to still be outside in the nice weather. Plus she had come to really love the park near where they lived. It was a nice place and it made part of her feel at home. She was used to the human world, but she really did wish there was more green around the place. She sometimes missed the forests of Europe during the middle ages. Sure there would be bandits and such, but with the power they had at the time that wasn’t a problem for them. It was actually an advantage. Bandits were easy for them to manipulate and feed off of. That was one of the few times they didn’t really have to worry about the hunger as much. It was still there like always though. The parks of Canterlot City weren’t of the same caliber, but not having that hunger allowed her to enjoy them more even if she missed the old forests of the past. “At least they do provide just the perfect distraction and change of scenery from the rest of the city at times,” she thought as she looked around the place. Plus there was also another reason she enjoyed these parks so much. Since she didn’t really have to worry too much about keeping her image up away from Adagio and Sonata it was even better. “Cool sis Aria!” a group of kids playing shouted while their parents watched from nearby. They all ran over to her as the parents looked up and gave her a wave. Aria smiled, but soon made sure it was small. She could let her image down a little, but she wasn’t about to give it up completely. She was soon tackled to the ground by a group of playful kids despite her being the ‘tough girl’. The twin tailed girl almost laughed out loud, but managed to keep it down. She then said, “Yeah yeah… I’m here. I was on my run and you all spotted me… like you always do.” One of the kids laughed as they climbed off her one by one. “So what are you kiddos up to today?” she asked. One of the kids gave a mischievous grin and said, “Playing tag! You have to play with us now and you're it!” The other kids gave cheers of agreement. Aria gave a laugh. “That’s not even fair. I just told you I was on my run and you ask me to play tag when I’m already a little tired…” She was met with big grins in response. She rolled her eyes “Fine… Fine…” she then gave a small smirk as she said, “I guess that will just make it a bit fairer for you guys.” They laughed as they all ran away from her and started the game. As the game finished, a very tired group including Aria plopped down on the grass. Aria wasn’t sure why she enjoyed this so much. She knew people her age… well apparent age… didn’t usually ever ‘enjoy’ being around kids. A part of her guessed it was some kind of way to actually experience being young herself or something. “Hey help me build a castle in the sand over there will you, Cool sis?” a kid asked her. Aria pretended to think it over before agreeing. “Alright. I guess.” a couple of kids cheered to this. Some others rolled their eyes and were secretly glad it was time they left. Aria was always serious about castles. You would almost believe she had actually lived in one a time or two. Some kids loved this about her and others didn’t, even if she wasn’t intentionally mean about their ‘needless’ additions. After a masterpiece of a castle was built, under Aria’s instruction, the older girl decided it was time to head back home. The kids were saddened but happy she played with them like she did. They also secretly knew she only pretended they forced her into playing as well. They weren’t about to do anything that might accidentally threaten their playtime with her so they left it alone and went with it. Aria gave a stretch and sigh of contentment as she walked home. She was looking forward to that shower and then whatever else she ended up doing today. She was very much pleased with this human business. Running and jogging felt good especially when doing so with Sonata and Adagio. Hanging out in the park, because she didn’t ‘play’ that’s what others did but not her, was also very enjoyable. Additionally she never got tired of the sensation of a nice shower after such a day. {-} {-} {-} Sunset sighed as she stepped outside of yet another apartment complex office. She was glad the staff was helpful with their questions. They had bought the story about looking to help their friends, the Dazzlings. She figured it helped that they were just asking if the trio lived there and not their actual address. Still Sunset felt kind of down that it was another dead end. After the way Twilight unknowingly helped her yet again this morning, she really wanted to find the girls even more. Even though she knew it was stupid, she felt like she was letting Twilight down and disappointing her more the longer they went without finding the trio. A purple hand rested on Sunset’s shoulder. “Don’t be so down, Sunset…” Twilight said with concern. She found it a bit interesting that she was the one saying such words this time, but she meant them wholeheartedly. “I know it’s just… well it feels like we really aren’t getting anywhere. You know,” the fiery haired girl responded. “I know what you mean. I feel the same way... But if it wasn’t for your help with the map it would be a lot worse,” Twilight told her. Sunset gave a nod and stretched up to the sky while taking in a deep breath. She didn’t notice a blushing Twilight trying not to look at her too intently. Twilight wasn’t sure why things seemed to be getting more awkward from time to time with Sunset. She kept wanting to look at Sunset whenever she could in ways she didn’t usually look at other ponies or people. “Anyways… It’s getting to be a bit late, Twilight. I think we should have ourselves something good tonight. What do you think? Sandwiches are getting a bit old, right?” Sunset asked. Twilight blushed as her tummy growled and she placed a hand on it. Sunset gave a musical giggle and the purple haired girl smiled to that. She liked the sound. Sunset looked to Twilight after a moment of silence and asked, “Well?” She was briefly met with silence until Twilight gave a small smile and asked, “Are you asking me or my stomach?” She couldn’t help but smile a little wider and even stick her tongue out slightly for a couple of seconds at Sunset. Sunset paused and blinked. She then laughed to cover up the fact she had found yet another cute Twilight expression. “Maybe I should call her the Princess of Cute Expressions instead of Friendship. She keeps pulling them out of nowhere,” Sunset thought. She next answered, “I’ll ask you this time, Twilight.” “Then the answer is. That sounds wonderful!” Twilight said happily. She was glad to try something different from sandwiches as well. Sunset raised an eyebrow and asked, “What would your stomach have said?” “Ask Twilight,” she replied quickly with a smile. The two shared a giggle as they headed to the car. “I have to say, Twilight. That was a pretty good joke,” Sunset said as she started the Mustang. “I know,” Twilight answered simply. “I’m sure you do. I know of a good place. It has some wonderful pizza,” Sunset replied. “Ooo! That sounds great. I really like human pizza for some reason,” Twilight said as she buckled up. {-} {-} {-} “I win!” cheered Sonata as she placed the controller down in front of their TV and did a little Sonata victory dance in her spot on the floor. “I’m still betting you somehow cheated…” Aria said in a ‘grumpy’ voice. Sonata rolled her eyes and said, “Oh please! You say that all of the time, Aria.” Aria pretended to be upset for a total of 2.3 seconds before she smiled and said, “Let’s go again! Just the two of us, since someone doesn’t want to ‘drink and drive’,” she said as she looked behind her to a laughing Adagio holding a glass of white wine. “You do know it’s because I find it too much fun watching Sonata beat you and your fits afterwards, right?” Adagio asked with a smile and a raised eyebrow. “Yeah yeah…” Aria replied as Sonata started up another round of Mario Kart. They got the game system awhile ago. They knew it didn’t have to best rep and it was ‘last gen’, but everyone also talked about how much fun it was with a group and friends. Since it was either the three of them or two of them playing they were perfectly fine with that alone. Adagio sometimes liked to just watch Aria and Sonata play while she occasionally enjoyed a drink. When she watched she would alternate between who she cheered for. She sometimes, just for fun, cheered for a computer racer, even if they were at the bottom of the rankings. Sonata and Aria usually thought it funny and really liked it when Adagio was relaxed and just enjoying herself like that. They were also both happy to notice it was happening more and more often lately. It had taken what felt like forever, but things finally seemed to be looking up for the trio. In addition to this, Sonata was kind of glad Adagio wasn’t playing right now. When she did play, Adagio was very much a wild card. She won just as often as she lost, but you never knew what would happen. Sometimes Adagio being in the game as well ended Sonata’s winning streak against Aria. Sure it was just a game, but Sonata liked being undeniably good at something a little bit. An hour later after many cheers, laughs, and boos the trio were about ready to hit bed. All in all they each felt it was a really good and fun day. Sonata noted how they each seemed to enjoy their evening together more than usual after spending most of the day apart. They had come to like each other’s company, but the little break every so often caused them to treasure their moments together even more. They just didn’t all really realize this yet. {-} {-} {-} Twilight and Sunset both gave contented sighs as they got ready for bed that night. They hadn’t made as much progress as they would like, but they had made some. Plus the pizza place they went to was really fun and the food good. Once her head hit the pillow, Twilight again fell asleep rather quickly and like every other night before, she made Sunset her body pillow. Sunset this time didn’t mind at all. In fact, she felt warm and happy to be Twilight’s body pillow. “I think I could really get used to this,” she thought to herself. She stayed up a little later just listening to the soft even rhythm of Twilight’s breathing. Sunset even shifted a little so that Twilight snuggled her even more than usual. Tomorrow would be another day of searching for the Dazzlings, but for right now that didn’t matter. Sunset turned her head to look at the sleeping princess next to her. She didn’t care how close their faces were this time. She could selfishly enjoy it without feeling like she was accidentally crossing some line or embarrassing herself in front of Twilight. Sunset gave a smile as she thought, “Sometime I’ll have to take her to Bo’s Pizza Palace. I bet she never experienced something like that before.” She gave a warm smile not sure why planning a side trip with Twilight filled her with so much excitement and happiness. She guessed it was because of how much Twilight enjoyed tonight’s pizza supper and she really liked how Twilight’s face lit up with happiness as they sat together and had their meal. She wanted to see more of that Twilight if she could. {-} {-} {-} “Order up! Table 3,” called Sonata’s upbeat and cheerful voice. She had a bright smile and wore a white hat on top of her head. “Got it!” answered Adagio in a happy voice as she picked up the tray. “So much better than it was,” Sonata thought with a very pleased smile as Adagio took the tray. If she wasn’t in her professional mode, she would have shed a happy tear. They had been here working and living together for a while now and the mood had really improved lately. "Things are really good," she thought as she went back to work. Adagio delivered Table 3 their order and was flagged down when a different customer called, “Hey, Adagio.” Adagio wore a genuine smile as she headed over to the lady who flagged her down. It wasn’t as big as a Sonata smile, but it wasn’t as small as Aria’s. Her smile was in between the two and it really fit her. “Yes? How may I help you, Miss Sherry?” she asked kindly. “I would like another Pink Lady please,” Sherry responded. “This is your second one right?” Adagio asked with a small amount of concern for the lady. “Yes… and last,” Sherry said with a small blush. She remembered what happened the time she had three. She returned the next day and apologized to the owner. She had become one of their regular customers and made sure to cut off at two drinks, since then. She really liked the food and the atmosphere of the restaurant and she didn't want to do something that might ruin it. Adagio gave a smile and said, “No problem. You’re the customer. I was just looking out for you liked you asked us to.” Sherry gave a smile and nodded in thanks. The curly haired waitress walked over to the bar. “Another Pink Lady for Sherry, please.” “Sure no problem, that’s number two, right?” Aria asked and made the drink after the Adagio’s nod. “Yep. And she says it’s her last one. She's been good about that since that time.” Adagio then gave a small laugh. “I would behave too if I was in her shoes. Mr. Johnson can be a bit intimidating sometimes even though he isn’t mean or anything.” Aria gave a laugh, “I hear you there. I bet that’s probably why we never really have many trouble makers. Also there’s Mr. Forrester.” Adagio gave a contented sigh as she gave a small stretch and looked over to where Sonata was working as she called another order up. “Sonata really did find us the perfect place to work. Most restaurants aren’t this fun to work at.” “Yep. And it really is the best seeing her happy,” Aria said with a small smile as she handed the drink over. Adagio gave a nod in reply as she took the drink. “Quick… Get me a piece of paper! I just know these numbers will work this time! Lady Luck is surely on our side this time!” said an excited customer at the bar nearby as his friend grabbed some paper and a pen quickly. Aria’s smile morphed into a frown as she looked over to the two guys and gave them a glare. “What was that?” Adagio giggled as she went to deliver the drink. “Aww… Dang… it didn’t last, Larry,” said the smaller man. “Ha! I wrote them down before she turned to us! So don’t worry, Jimmy,” Larry said with a smile. Aria glared at them a little more and the two gulped as they sheepishly hid the piece of paper. She sighed and shook her head before getting back to work with her trademark neutral expression. Aria couldn’t really blame them she guessed. One of their regular customers came in happily dazed one day as he sat at the bar. He had a goofy grin plastered on his face. When asked he told them he finally got lucky with the love of his life and just knew it was because he caught Aria smiling the day before. The guys congratulated him and the girls nearby rolled their eyes and shook their heads. That would have been the end of it, but three days later a young college student came in and cheered as he joined some of his friends. He had just received word he got the big internship he really wanted. He claimed it was because he had seen her smile from the corner of his eye as he passed the kitchens. A couple more similar stories of really good things happening to people after seeing her give a small smile and Aria had been dubbed ‘Lady Luck’. It was said her smile meant the heavens were favoring you. Most of the staff found it funny including the managers. Aria understandably hated this, but eventually she got used to it and just went with it. It did lead to some entertaining situations as people tried to get her to smile. She had at one time hoped her persistent frown she wore for a while on purpose would deter them, but instead it seemed to give credibility to the theory. She then tried fake smiling, but it was obvious she was faking it. When nothing happened as a result, there was just more evidence in the Lady Luck theory for those that believed in it. In the end, Aria just gave up and only even acknowledged it when it was put right in front of her face. She decided it didn’t matter if other people got lucky after seeing her smile. If she was happy enough to smile then she would smile damn it. Just don’t expect her to smile like Sonata. Right now she was happy enough to smile. Things were really working out for them now and Adagio’s good mood was further proof of that. As Aria started working again, she started to unknowingly hum a tune she heard over the radio. It wasn’t really her ‘kind of music’ but she liked it, even if it was kind of cheery. She didn’t notice the two guys’ jaws drop as they quickly got to work on making plans to place a few bets. The fact ‘Lady Luck’ was humming a happy tune had to be another sign. {-} {-} {-} Sunset and Twilight both gave a sigh and stretch together before they got into the car and started to head off to their next destination. They had struck out again. The two weren’t really surprised or very much fazed by this, but still it was a little disheartening even if they didn’t show the other they felt that way. They just took comfort in the fact they were at least working on this together. It was really surprising how much more bearable, if not better, things were when you weren’t alone. Still it was kind of unfortunate. “Do you think we could take a little break, Sunset?” Twilight asked wearily from her seat. Sunset looked to Twilight and said, “You’re the Princess here and it's your mission. If you want to take a break you can. You aren’t about to start slacking off because of a small break I'm pretty sure.” Twilight sighed again as she said, “I guess. It just feels wrong to not ask you first before taking a little break.” Sunset wasn’t sure what to make of this. She gave a suggestion regardless. “How about we take the rest of the afternoon off then? We’ve been at this for days now.” Twilight gave a smile of relief, “That sounds like a wonderful idea. Any ideas on what to do?” “Spa! Take her to the Spa! Then we’ll get to see more of her body and it will be completely normal!” A part of Sunset’s mind told her. Sunset quickly shoved those thoughts to the side and looked out her car window as she blushed at her thoughts. “Oh come on! You know you want to… You tried to sneak a little peak last night…” Sunset’s mind shouted at her. Sunset’s blush intensified and she quickly threw out the first suggestion on her mind. “Bowling?” Sunset flinched a little and nervously looked over to see Twilight’s response. She was surprised when Twilight gave a big smile and said, “That sounds like fun!” Sunset was surprised that Twilight liked the random suggestion. She went with it, but was still a little stunned when they arrived at the bowling alley. She shook her head as they headed inside and soon smiled. She didn’t really mind bowling and she was with Twilight. She even made sure to go to a bowling alley where the others wouldn’t see them. She nodded to her decision. This was for the best they shouldn’t be seen yet. It would ruin things she was sure. “You know you just want Twilight to yourself… don’t lie…” that part of her mind told her. Sunset knew it was right, but she wouldn’t admit it yet. {-} {-} {-} When they were finally leaving from the bowling alley, Twilight learned two really important things from the trip. The first thing she learned was that Sunset was really good at bowling. The second thing was Sunset looked really good when she leaned over to pick up her bowling ball and when she threw it as well, even with the ridiculous shoes. As they left the bowling alley, Sunset had learned two important things. The first was that Twilight was really horrible at bowling and that was saying something coming from Sunset. The second was she enjoyed watching Twilight lean over to pick up the bowling ball and when she threw it too much. She didn’t really care though and it seemed that part of her mind had suddenly decided bowling was the next best thing to spa and pool or beach trips. “Pool trip… hmmm…,” Sunset thought before shaking her head and focusing on getting into the car. She didn't need thoughts of Twilight in a swimsuit or diving into the water naked all together distracting her. Sunset also took note Twilight was already happily in her seat waiting to go and humming to herself. Sunset gave a smile as she sat down and started the car. {-} {-} {-} Sonata gave a sigh as she sat in her room. The three of them had the next three days off after all of the long shifts they pulled the past couple of the weeks. Sonata was usually happy about days off, but today was their first day off and there was this festival she really wanted to go to a couple of towns over, but it rained out and she wasn’t sure what to do instead. It was going to be the last day for the festival as well. Sonata finally decided to use her laptop. She was a little surprised her laptop wasn’t in really bad shape in all honesty. She got it used from a co-worker, who had before used it as a secondary computer for ‘stuff’. She figured the guy probably looked at a lot of porn with the laptop or something. After all, that’s what the internet was for really. At least, that’s what she thought at the time. Now that she had her own computer she found out there was actually a lot more to the internet than she first thought. There were cat videos… Lots and lots of cat videos. She was pretty sure the internet was now for cat videos and pictures instead of porn. Thankfully she soon found more than just that. Not that she was complaining about them, cat videos were lots of fun and cute. She found a side to the internet she never knew existed. She found out there was actually a lot of music out there on the internet from all over the world. It wasn’t all big time commercialized either. Some of it was music people made just because they wanted to make music… to sing… Something she wanted to do as well. Some of the videos were better than others obviously. Sonata mostly found people who could sing well when she just wanted to listen to some music. She would sometimes listen to the not as good ones who were singing just because they wanted and didn’t care about anything else. She had an odd respect for them. Other times she listened to those who were really trying to get better at singing, but not with much success. Many of the latter were terrible singers and brought tears to her eyes, but not because she hated them. In fact, when she shed tears it was because she knew what it was like to be in their shoes. Sonata could relate to them with the whole wanting to get better at singing thing. She also noticed how mean people were in the comments and that really made her sad. She realized she was like the people being mean in the past. Singing used to come naturally to her and she didn’t understand how someone couldn’t sing well instantly. She would even join Adagio and Aria in making fun of them. Now she knew just how bad it really was to have been that way towards others. This was probably why she did try to be supportive and even got into a flame war a few times in the comments on videos. Sometimes when she did this she would get responses from the singers thanking her for being supportive. There were still times this wasn’t the case. One time was really bad because she noticed how nervous the kid was to be singing in a video posted on the internet. The kid wasn’t the best, but he also wasn’t the worst by far. Still people would be mean in the comments and the kid seemed to really take it hard. She got involved in the comments section as well, but honestly tried to encourage the kid to not give up on his dreams. She even gave some tips that she knew were good. Unfortunately, it was the internet and so the kid took her words of help and support as her being sarcastic and making fun of him. He ended up lashing out at her. The kid went on about how if she was such ‘an expert’ why doesn’t she actually try singing herself and record it. Sonata didn’t respond to him. She instead shut down her computer and curled up on her bed after that. She knew the kid was just lashing out and she was just the unlucky one he locked on to in the comments section. However, his words had hurt deeper than he would ever know and probably deeper than he actually meant for them to hurt. She still tried to sing when she was alone and no one could hear her. It wasn’t any better than it was after the Battle of the Bands. There was just something missing in her voice. Being told off like that after trying to help really hurt her and she even cried that night. Singing had really meant that much to her. The only difference from before in her voice was that she could at least hum decently now, but that was far from what she wanted. She felt even worse that time because it seemed like she was the only one who wanted to sing again. That night in the past she probably felt the loneliest she had felt in a long while. Sonata hated how neither Aria nor Adagio really wanted to try to sing again. They claimed it was because they didn’t want to be tempted to return to old ways, but Sonata more often than not felt it was simply, “Cowardice!!! They’ve just given up”. She sometimes secretly feared they would next decide to just give up on them… on her. It didn’t matter how foolish the thought was it was there. She knew they had some kind of deeper connection they didn’t fully understand. She was sure it would always be there and they would always have each other. However, she felt they sometimes just tolerated her despite the fact they were all three working hard and supporting each other while enjoying each other’s company. Still each time they refused to try and sing together again it hurt her a little more. She never let it show though. She always had to be happy and cheerful. She was Sonata. It was expected of her. It even seemed to be the only thing expected of her. Sonata also felt they were giving up on an important part of their bond with their refusal to sing and just taking the easy route by not facing their past that way. To her, it felt like each time they refused to sing together they were drifting further and further away from finding out what it was and filling that hole and emptiness they felt in their hearts. It didn’t matter how close they seemed at times. This really frustrated her to no end at times, but she didn’t say anything. She would get better eventually because of something the others did for her. It still got to her because at times she felt they were so very close. She just knew they had to sing to fill it… She just knew it. She even knew a few times she probably came close to letting her sad feelings slip. What Sonata didn’t know was that when her feelings slipped, Adagio and Aria both thought of how to make things better for her in their own way. She also didn’t know when it was really bad her smile didn’t fool the others and sometimes Aria would snuggle with her in the night because she didn’t know what else to do to help. Adagio usually figured something out when these moments happened and the next day Sonata would be happy again because of the curly haired girl's actions. Sonata sighed as she watched and listened to another video and tried to push those thoughts and reflections of the past to the side. She looked through her Vocaloid playlist and picked another song. She knew the singers were programs and they many times sounded a little metallic, but there were so many songs that so many people made. She could always find one for her mood. There was also something about them that made her a little happy while listening. The blue ponytailed girl eventually had enough of watching videos and turned her laptop off. She laid down on her bed and looked to the ceiling wondering if she would ever sing again. “Maybe it’s like some kind of punishment…” she thought not for the first time. At times, she figured not being able to sing was a punishment for having taken something as wonderful as music and singing and using it as a weapon for so long. She wondered if maybe they didn’t deserve to sing. She still wanted to try never less. She lay there looking up to her ceiling and gave a yawn. Maybe she was thinking this way because she was so tired. Maybe it was because she felt so disappointed in not getting to go to that festival. It also didn’t help that both Aria and Adagio were doing their own thing and she didn’t want to disturb them. After a few more minutes of laying down, she got up and stretched as she heard Aria snicker from the living room. “It’s not funny… Aria…” Adagio said in a pouting voice. Aria just replied with another laugh. “Geez…” Adagio said. Sonata went to the living room wondering what was going on. The sight that met her was not something she would call funny really. Aria was standing in the kitchen with a glass of water in her hand and Adagio was by the door to the balcony. “What’s so funny?” Sonata asked with curiosity. Aria snickered and then said, “Adagio, you have to at least show her.” Adagio sighed as she turned around. Adagio’s back was sunburned while the front of her was perfectly fine. Sonata looked for a few seconds as Aria spoke again, “Adagio fell asleep face down while she was sunbathing again. This time it looks like she forgot to redo her sunscreen.” Adagio turned around with a pout and Aria laughed again. Sonata couldn’t help, but laugh as well. She soon started laughing louder than she really should have, but she couldn’t stop laughing. It was probably because of how she was feeling earlier that she laughed so much. She didn’t notice as Adagio and Aria exchanged looks with each other. After a few seconds Aria gave another laugh. “Geez really! It isn’t that funny. I couldn’t help it. It felt so nice outside and it was fairly quiet… It also kind of hurts a little…” Adagio finished with a frown. “Okay. Okay. I’m sorry… Ha Ha I won’t laugh,” Aria said while still laughing. Adagio rolled her eyes. “How about this then. I’ll help you with the Aloe Vera. I’m pretty sure you can’t get all of your back alone," Aria said. “I suppose that will do,” Adagio said with a sigh. “I’ll make us that punch we all like while you get that taken care of!” Sonata said with a smile after she finished laughing. The two gave her thankful looks and left. As Adagio and Aria made their way to the bathroom and out of earshot, Aria asked, “I wonder what was wrong with her. She doesn’t usually laugh that loud at anything. She laughs just not like that.” Adagio gave a nod. “It’s probably because she was feeling down since she couldn’t go to that festival today. We should go somewhere she’ll love tomorrow.” “How about that Arcade place? She loves it there and there’s plenty to do for fun,” Aria said as she pulled out the Aloe Vera from the cabinet. “That’s a good idea,” Adagio said as she moved her hair out of the way and undid her bikini straps. She hated how her massive hair didn’t protect her back from getting sunburned. You would think it would, but she was lying face down outside so her hair splayed out instead. {-} {-} {-} Sonata continued to smile as the other two went to Adagio’s bathroom. She had no reason to really be upset. Sure she missed that festival and really wanted to sing again, but worrying about it and letting it get her down wasn’t going to do anything. Besides, she had both Aria and Adagio and she knew truthfully, despite what her sad thoughts sometimes wanted to tell her, that they would never leave her alone. They would never give up each other either. Many people would want what the three of them seemed to have so it wasn’t right to be sad she figured. Sonata still wanted to sing and would keep trying, but she knew apart from that everything was wonderful. Adagio was no longer depressed and trying to do everything on her own and the three of them really got along well. As long as nothing too unexpected happened, they would all three be perfectly fine and happy she was sure. Now she needed to work on that punch for all three of them to enjoy. It was perfect for a day like today and it was so tasty it always made bad days into good ones. {-} {-} {-} Twilight gave another sigh. Their search net seemed to have too many holes in it and was too wide spread. She really wished they could find something to narrow it even more than they already had. She enjoyed bowling and was very patient, but she wanted to make some really good progress on this mission again. Sunset was in a similar mind to Twilight. She really thought they had done a fairly good job with it, but there was something missing from their search before they could finally move to another part of the city. “Where could they be…” she thought to herself as she thought over everything they knew so far again. It wasn’t much but maybe there was something they had missed. Sunset’s Cyan eyes looked over the map and wondered. The ex-sirens were really good at keeping out of sight it seemed. She stood up and went and grabbed a snack bar from her fridge. She sighed as she looked over her dwindling supplies of groceries. “It really is good I went on a big grocery run before Twilight arrived,” she thought. She usually went to a large grocery store near where she lived because there weren’t many smaller ones left in this part of Canterlot City anymore. There were still a lot of them over in the older part of town. She was also glad she didn’t have to make a run so far, because she always ran into someone she knew from school at any of the stores near her it seemed. This could have been really problematic because as far as the school was concerned she was on a cultural studies trip of some kind. She had worked it out with Principle Celestia after telling her Princess Twilight had a mission in their world and needed Sunset’s help. Still they did have to be a little careful so not to be caught. “It’s really a miracle the Dazzlings haven’t been spotted by someone from school now that I think about it. I mean they have to get food and would be… unless…” Sunset’s thought switched as an idea came to her head. She ran over to the map where Twilight was sighing over how much they still needed to do. Twilight was startled when Sunset frantically looked over the map and added some more marks, this time in purple, and started putting X’s on several places they haven’t even ruled out yet that she was aware of. “What’s going on?” Twilight asked. “I should have thought about this earlier. It makes so much sense. We’ve been looking in the completely wrong places,” Sunset said as she finished with a larger purple circle on the map. Twilight waited for further details, but knit her eyebrows as she looked at the map in question. Sunset finally gave more of an answer. “There’s a big rival school district in Canterlot City. Everyone who lives here knows about it. There’s even kind of a boundary line of sorts for most business. Wondercolts never go into Every Free Flyer territory and vice versa. It’s some unspoken agreement.” “Okay… So what are you saying exactly?” Twilight asked. Sunset was making more circles and some other marks as well. She continued, “The Dazzlings want to be away from CHS as much as possible. But don’t seem to actually be leaving the city too quickly as far as we know, right?” Twilight nodded to this. She was starting to maybe see what Sunset was saying. The fiery haired girl stood up and gave a smile to her work. There really was a lot you could do with Geography even without a fancy computer. “I’m thinking it’s safe to count out most of this side of the city completely. I know from experience they wouldn’t be able to get the things they need as humans from stores here without being spotted by students from CHS,” she said. Twilight was looking at the map and started to see the pattern and gasped. Sunset continued, “Whereas in Ever Free Academy territory they wouldn’t, and they could go to smaller grocery stores for their needs as well.” She then gave a smile as she said, “I guess you already see what the purple circles are.” “The general service areas for all of those grocery stores you were talking about,” Twilight answered. Sunset nodded. “Yep, I think we should forget about everywhere else for now and focus on those areas. I’m betting we can ask around at the grocery stores about Adagio, Aria and Sonata and get answers. I mean… no offense to her, but Adagio’s hair really stands out and since the stores are smaller the staff would remember them to an extent.” Sunset was shocked when she was suddenly wrapped into a very tight and pleasant hug from Twilight. She smiled and returned it. They hugged each other for longer than usual for friends, but neither of them cared. Twilight then blushed and quickly broke the hug. Sunset blushed as well at Twilight's blush. Twilight then gave a smile as she said, “Sunset! You’re the best! That’s amazing! I agree with you completely on this. You’ve cut our search time down significantly even if they aren’t in that part of the city. But I have a feeling you might be right about this.” The other girl had recovered from her blush and surprise at the hug. “Well we now have a plan for tomorrow. Now we just have to sleep the night and go.” Twilight gave a laugh. “Easier said than done, Sunset. I think I might be a little too excited and worked up to sleep now. This feels like a huge step in the right direction.” Sunset gave a laugh as well and said, “I think you’ll probably fall asleep as soon as you hit the bed. You have every night so far. I’ve seen so myself and been your pillow. Not that I mind being your pillow... So don’t worry about it.” Twilight blushed again. She was sure that just made it impossible for her to sleep easily tonight. The thought of Sunset watching her as she slept and not minding being a body pillow apparently made her body feel really warm along with other feelings and thoughts. “Regardless of such embarrassing thoughts. The truth is we have very likely finally closed the search net a good bit more. I can just feel we are getting closer to finding the Dazzlings,” Twilight thought to herself as they both went to find something to do together for the rest of the evening.