//------------------------------// // An Unexpected Turn in Events // Story: Rainbow Rocks: Unfinished Business // by Gadman85 //------------------------------// As excited as they both were last night after Sunset’s epiphany, Twilight was starting to feel a little nervous. She was very sure, with Sunset’s idea, they would find the Dazzlings soon enough. This caused her to start worrying about what would happen once they met them in person. Sure she knew this would happen and she was working towards making sure they would meet them finally. However now that it seemed like they were going to actually meet them, she was starting to worry about things. She wondered what kind of condition the trio would be in once they found them. She was also starting to think they would react very badly to seeing her and Sunset again. This made her to start to question her mission despite how adamant she was about finishing it. “So do you really think we’ll find them?” Twilight asked a little unsure. “I already told you this earlier this morning. I believe so. You were so happy and excited last night. What’s going on, Twilight?” Sunset asked with concern. “Nothing… Just getting a little nervous… Do you think we’ll be able to actually help them?” Twilight asked not bothering to mask her worry. “If anyone can, I think it’s us,” Sunset replied. She was nervous herself, but quickly figured out in this situation she would have to be the calm one. It didn’t matter that her mind was racing faster than normal because she was thinking the same things as Twilight. “Still… I wonder if we really will be able to help them out… Or if they'll even allow us to help them,” Twilight said. She frowned in thought as she said, “Maybe they don’t even need our help? What if we end up making things worse coming after them?! What if-” “Calm down, Twilight. You’re over thinking things again. We already said we're going to be careful in approaching them. We might even be able to watch them from afar some and find out what we can do to help them." Sunset interrupted the princess' ramblings. They were then silent as they went to their first stop for the new search plan. They had several grocery stores to try and it would take them more than one day with that alone. The only way it wouldn’t take more than one day would be if they somehow found the right grocery store today. Sunset wasn’t going to count on it. They had been a little lucky here and there, but never that lucky in their search. {-} {-} {-} Twilight and Sunset approached a local grocery store called “Ron and Ron’s”. The place looked fairly friendly. Sunset was wishing they had stores like this on her side of Canterlot City instead of the large chain stores. There was a certain charm to local stores. She would have started walking, but she heard a gasp from next to her, “What? Do you see them? Already?” She was thinking maybe they had somehow been super lucky. She just wasn't sure if it was the good kind or the bad kind of lucky. Twilight blushed and shook her head. “Sorry… It’s just this place looks interesting.” Sunset looked at Twilight for a minute and then asked, “You’ve never been to a grocery store before?" Twilight shook her head. “My mom usually did the shopping alone. She either had my brother or Cadance watch me. In rare cases, she left me alone when I was stuck so deep in a book studying I wouldn't notice her absence. When I was at the castle the staff usually prepared my meals. In Ponyville, most of the inhabitants were farmers so we had market stalls for everything.” Sunset thought this odd at first, but then remembered she really hadn’t seen a grocery store until after she came to the human world herself. In Canterlot, she was always studying and would send for the servants to get food if she needed it. Sometimes, but rarely, she would go out herself to eat somewhere alone because she thought being around other ponies was just a distraction. Sunset frowned at the memories of her lonely past. She shook her head and remembered the words that reached her heart not too long ago, which Twilight said to her. She gave a smile and said, “Well then it looks like we have to do more than just ask about the Dazzlings here.” Twilight gave a smile and said, “I guess that makes sense, we can’t be distracted by the surroundings. Best to just get them taken in before proceeding.” Sunset was perfectly happy with this. If she could share any of Twilight’s new experiences she gladly would. “Especially those kind of experiences…” that voice spoke again and Sunset was glad Twilight was too distracted to notice her blush as thoughts of a certain nature filled her mind. “How do they keep them this fresh…? Is that water?” Twilight asked as she looked at some of the vegetables. The fiery haired girl gave a chuckle, “Yes it is. They have a misting sprinkler system setup for some of the vegetables to keep them fresh longer.” “That’s pretty cool,” Twilight said with a smile. They continued their tour of the grocery store for a little while. Twilight’s eyes widened and mouth watered when she saw Ron and Ron's bakery section. It was like a mini Sugar Cube Corner. It wasn’t as large of a selection, but everything looked tasty to her. After Sunset pulled Twilight away from the sweets, they continued. She wondered if it was an Alicorn thing to really like sweets. She remembered Celestia was always partial to cake. Sunset liked sweets herself to an extent, but the look in Twilight’s eyes at the sight of the bakery was closer to that of Pinkie Pie than any other human. It didn't seem natural. {-} {-} {-} Sunset and Twilight left the store an hour later having no luck with the Dazzlings. They were now making their way to store number two. This store was called “Amy Ann’s” and Sunset was already getting prepared in case she would have to drag Twilight away from the bakery again. “I think we should start with the bakery. I’m sure if anyone in the store would know about Adagio and the others it would be the bakery staff,” Twilight said with an odd smile as they parked the car. It was actually a good idea, but Sunset was sure there were other reasons Twilight wanted to start there first. Sunset and Twilight were both looking at the gorgeous cakes and other confectionery delights on display. It seemed Amy Ann’s was also a local bakery as well. This meant they had a good sized baked goods section. Sunset wiped the drool from her mouth and blushed at her reaction to the treats as she asked the staff about their targets. It was with a sigh that Twilight left the store with Sunset a little later. To the Princess’ secret shame, the sigh wasn’t due to not finding anything out about the Dazzlings. She really wanted to try one of those amazing and wonderful looking cupcakes. They were so amazing and creative not to mention extra tasty looking. She had already decided to tell Pinkie Pie all about them in hopes the pony baker could do something similar. She was even planning on possibly bringing her pink friend through the portal on a secret sweet recon if need be. Twilight was sure the pink pony would be game and actually fairly focused on "The Sweets Mission". Pinkie loved to do anything she could to help the Cake’s business and finding more interesting and tasty sweets for them to bake would be a huge boon to the Ponyville bakers. {-} {-} {-} Sunset was hoping there wouldn’t be any problems at the next store’s bakery after Amy Ann’s. The next place was a store called “Food King Joe’s”. Sunset was even more certain it wouldn’t be as bad as the last one with that name. As they left the store, Sunset learned two things. She really wished they had a Food King Joe’s near her, the place was amazing and they had lots of food tasting stations with all kinds of wonderful scents in the air. She also learned to never make any assumptions about a store’s bakery based off of its name alone. Food King’s had a decent sized bakery, but more than that. It seemed the place was locally well known for their ice cream cakes. This concept was something surprisingly new to Twilight as well. The purple haired girl was completely fascinated by the idea of a cake made of ice cream. This was something Sunset found kind of cute. They didn’t really have much luck on the siren front, but Sunset wasn’t too surprised. The place looked really busy, even by chain grocery store standards. They both made a mental note to later check the apartments here separately after they tried the other stores first. Twilight’s stomach growled as she stood by Sunset’s car. The girl gave a cute blush as she nervously giggled and asked, “Think we can have an early supper today, Sunset?” Sunset’s stomach growled as well and she said, “Sure. I guess we should have figured this would happen. All of those wonderful smells and food everywhere. That’s why they say to never grocery shop while you’re hungry if you can avoid it. You’re likely to buy more food than you’ll need.” Twilight gave a little giggle and smiled as Sunset continued, “I know of a really good place not too far from here. It’s called Johnston’s Bar and Grill… Flash took me there once,” Sunset said a little wary at mentioning the boy’s name. She hated the effect he had on Twilight. She thought Twilight looked cute blushing and flustered like that, but she didn’t like Flash being the one that got that reaction from her, especially after her other thoughts kept getting more and more active in her brain. Sunset was pretty certain at this point she wanted something much more than just friendship with Twilight, but she wasn’t sure where the object of her many affections and thoughts stood on the subject. To Sunset’s surprise, Twilight just gave a nod of acknowledgement in response. She looked to Twilight with a raised eyebrow. “What?” asked Twilight quickly giving another small blush under Sunset’s gaze. She didn't really hate Sunset's gaze it just made her feel a little self-conscious. “I mentioned Flash’s name and you didn’t get all… well you know.” Sunset said with a puzzled expression. She doubted even this mission could keep the pony princess from going all girly like that at hearing his name. After all, Twilight acted that way when they had to protect the world from the same three girls they were now seeking out to help. “Yeah…. I don’t really know what caused me to act that way around him… I hated it after I thought about it. I finally decided I merely acted that way because he showed interest in me in that way and I hadn’t ever really experienced that before.” Twilight said with a sigh and blushed a little, this time in shame at her lack of experience in the subject of love. Sunset blinked a few times to this. She was a bit lost for words. Twilight continued as she leaned on the Mustang, “Besides I don’t really know him that well. I mean I know that Pony Flash at least is actually doing something with his life and is respectable. Still I don’t have that same reaction around him. I smiled a little the first time I saw him but that was it.” “What does pony Flash do anyways?” Sunset couldn’t help but ask as she came around and stood next to Twilight. “He’s a royal guard for my brother and Cadance at the Crystal Empire. Apparently, he helped my brother get the Crystal pony guards into ‘Equestrian shape’ as he calls it,” Twilight answered. Sunset gave a kind of nervous chuckle as she hid certain feelings of hope and said, “I’m surprised you haven’t had guys all over you, Twilight.” “Why is that?” The purple pony lifted an eyebrow in question. Sunset looked her up and down before blushing. “Well I mean you are really pretty. I’m sure you’re just as pretty if not more so as a mare. Plus you’re friendly and welcoming to others.” Twilight gave a smile hearing the beautiful Sunset Shimmer call her pretty. “Maybe... Then again if you think about it. It makes sense I haven’t experienced much in that regard. I wasn’t the friendliest pony growing up.” She gave a little laugh as she continued, “Plus when you’re the Princess’ personal student, your brother is a respected and well known Captain of the Guard, who became a Prince after marrying your very protective foal sitter and Princess of love. Ponies are a little intimidated to approach you.” Twilight gave a sigh as she concluded, “Add in the fact you were born into nobility and then became a princess yourself. Ponies are even more intimidated by your very presence for the most part. Unless they're wanting something from you for their benefit alone. Then they're magically the chummiest chum you ever met.” “I forgot you told me you were that connected." Sunset noticed Twilight's mood seemed to sink a little. She next added, "At least your friends and I see you as just Twilight Sparkle.” Sunset said with a smile and gave the other girl a hug to try to cheer her up. the hug seemed to work very well. “Thanks, Sunset,” Twilight said with a warm smile as she returned the hug. “It means a lot to hear you say that.” The two just stayed there in silence for a while before Twilight felt a little too warm and asked, “So where is this place?” Sunset gave a smile and opened the passenger door for Twilight. She then gave a teasing bow and said in a cheesy voice, “If your Highness would be so kind as to take a seat in her carriage we will be there soon enough.” Twilight gave a smile and stuck her nose straight up in the air as she took her seat. “On ward then Gwendolyn. You wouldn’t want to upset your Princess of Friendship now would you?” It was a total of five seconds before both girls started laughing together. Once their stomachs again reminded them of their current objective, Sunset spoke. “It’s not that far really and the place has a great menu.” {-} {-} {-} Sonata was standing behind the bar as Aria finished cleaning it up and getting it as ready as they could for the evening. Right now it was slow, but earlier there was a big game that brought in a lot of fans. The manager gave the bar extra help because of this game and called them into work early. Aria threw the dirty rag into the Rag Bag and got a clean one out to finish wiping down the bar. She looked to Sonata and saw the girl giving a rather sincere and reflective smile. “What’s got you looking like that, Sonata?” Sonata then pointed over to where Adagio was taking a break and genuinely laughing at a joke one of their fellow employees made. It was a welcoming sight. They had heard Adagio laugh many times, but not really seen her do so around other people. She was usually polite but not really much of a laugher. Even Sam, the guy she was talking to currently, couldn’t get an actual real laugh out of her and he was actually a pretty good stand-up comedian. The fact she was laughing now showed she was feeling even more comfortable with how their lives were now. “I just think it’s nice to see Dagio enjoying herself around others like that is all.” Sonata said with a smile. Aria gave a small smile as well, this time no customers were there to notice and carry on about Lady Luck. They both knew Adagio had done a lot to look after them and hadn’t told them much about it. There wasn’t much of a hint of worry around her now though. As nice as this moment was, they did need to get back to work and Aria took it upon herself to get them focused again. “It’s nice, but we need to be ready. We still have some time left in our shift, Sonata.” With that the blue haired girl gave a nod and checked on their liquor stores at the bar. It was a Friday, so the bar would be very busy this evening. Fortunately they didn’t have to work that shift as well since they came in early. However it was kind of understood the earlier shift got the stores ready for the weekend evening and night shift before they left for the day. “Looks like we need quite a bit from the back, Mike?” Sonata asked in a pleasant voice as she turned to their third bartender. The guy looked to her as she asked, “Mind watching while Aria and I get some supplies?” The guy nodded and the two girls walked into the back and towards the store room. As they started their way to the back, the music changed and Sonata couldn’t help but add a little dance to her step. Aria gave a laugh as they went and she joined a little bit as well. They both felt happy to have more or less finished their shift and have a Friday Night off. {-} {-} {-} Twilight and Sunset entered the restaurant as the music changed, since the place was sparsely populated right now they easily heard it over the speakers. Twilight thought it was kind of a nice place from her quick initial glance. She could only imagine how busy the place would be once it was actually supper time and people arrived for the evening. “Welcome to Johnston’s. Table for two?” The hostess asked the two girls as they entered. “Yep. Non-smoking please,” Sunset replied. The hostess nodded with a smile and motioned for them to follow her. “Your server will be with you in a minute.” The hostess said as she gave them menus and went to get them a waitress. Twilight and Sunset started looking over their menus and Twilight bobbed her head to the music a little while reading it. Sunset stifled a giggle, which Twilight didn’t notice. She had found another cute side of Twilight she liked. “We have guests at table 12, Adagio. I know your shift’s almost over, but. Feel like taking one more?” The hostess asked. The waitress in question nodded and smiled as the hostess went back to the front. Adagio gave a genuine smile to Sam. “Well work calls. I’ll try to make it to your next show with Aria and Sonata.” Sam gave a nod as he too got back to work. The curly haired girl smiled to herself as she went to help the table. She reflected on how things had really improved lately. She felt like her and the girls had actually moved on a good bit since that CHS business. They still had a good ways to go she was sure, but they were all three at least mostly content with their new life. She felt a little warm inside thinking about the other two and her smile grew a little. As she made her way to the table, she went over the specials again without paying too much attention to her surroundings. She had learned her way around the place and since it was fairly empty she was relaxed after the tough earlier shift. She didn’t even have to put on a convincing smile like many times in the past as she got to her table. She pulled out her note pad and flipped to an empty page without looking up and said in a surprisingly cheerful voice, “Welcome to Johnston’s! I’m your server, Adagio Dazzle. Our specials are…” She would have continued, but one of her customers interrupted her in surprise. “No way!? Really?!” Sunset asked in surprise as Twilight looked up with wide eyes. Right in front of them was one of the girls they were looking for. It was odd seeing Adagio in a waitress getup, but that didn’t matter. They had unexpectedly made contact with one of the three. The ex-siren recognized the voice and her spirits fell as she went into alert. She looked up and the last two people she ever wanted to see for the rest of her mortal life were sitting at the table in front of her. Twilight then said, “Does that mean…” She looked to the side as she heard another familiar voice. “Gah… Sonata… How are you so good at carrying these bottles?” Aria asked as she had crates of beer bottles for the front fridge in her hands. “I don’t know. I’ve just always been good at balancing and griping things.” A cheerful voice said with a bit of giggle. Adagio recovered from her momentary shock and soon stood in front of the table trying to block their view of the others. She didn’t know why these two were here, but she wasn’t about to let them do anything to Sonata and Aria if she could help it. Even if she didn’t have magic anymore and their presence just ruined the good mood she was in today. She would at least make sure Aria and Sonata didn’t have to see the unwanted guests as well. “I don’t know how or why you found us, but I don’t want you doing anything to them. I would prefer it if you two left now and forgot about us, but I have to put up with you since you are customers,” Adagio said in a low displeased voice. “Why are you three here?” Sunset couldn’t help but ask. She mostly was shocked they managed to just stumble upon them like this after all their searching. She was also re-evaluating her earlier thoughts on how much luck she and Twilight had in this search. She didn’t think they would ever find them working in a restaurant. “It doesn’t matter to you two… but we work here. Look you already took our magic and left us with little more than nothing. Isn’t that enough… Could you please leave us alone…? We can’t do anything anymore. We just want to get by and figure out what to do in our lives now,” Adagio said in an almost pleading tone. Adagio decided no matter how much she hated it she would plead to at least get Sonata and Aria left alone. “If you want revenge or something, than take it out on me only. I was the one that came up with the plan. They were just following me. Don't do anything to them.” Both Sunset and Twilight looked to each other. This wasn’t how they wanted things to go down at all. They guessed they should have figured this was possible, since they knew the girls were in the area and had to make a living somehow. Still it was off putting seeing Adagio, leader of the Dazzlings, pleading them to not do anything to her or more specifically the others. After a moment of silence, Twilight’s stomach growled again and Adagio blinked in surprise. The purple haired girl blushed as she scratched the back of her head. Sunset gave a quiet laugh to this causing the girl to blush further. Twilight soon laughed a little as well and Adagio dropped her guard. “We just came here because little Miss Princess here was hungry and we happened to be in the area,” Sunset said through a giggle. Twilight then gave Sunset a pout and said, "You were just as hungry too. It wasn't just me." Adagio blinked to their words. The ex-siren couldn’t really wrap her head around how they somehow ended up here and so she just did what came automatic to her while at work. “Okay… if you say so… Our specials are…” she then listed the specials and took their drink orders. She was surprised, but it seemed that Twilight and Sunset really were here just to eat and had no intention of starting any trouble. She was relieved, but wouldn’t drop her guard around them again. She was just thankful that Aria and Sonata probably wouldn’t even notice them. It looked like they were too busy getting the bar stocked and ready for the next rush in advance. Twilight looked to Sunset with a worried and slightly confused expression after Adagio took their orders and left. “Should we say something or just eat and go before coming back another time?” Sunset thought for a moment. “So you actually think you could get yourself ready for this? I mean we have the chance now and we don’t know what their schedule is. Plus it seems to be a slow time right now here... and I kind of want to get this started if you don't mind.” Twilight gulped as she took a sip of water. She took a deep breath, placed a hand on her chest and let out the breath while extending her hand and relaxing. Her purple eyes showed determination as she said, “I can do it. I'll ask her if we can talk and assure her we mean no harm or anything bad. If she has the time and agrees then we will talk.” Adagio sighed as she came back with their drinks. She tried to delay it as much as possible without causing problems. She gave Sunset a Root Beer and Twilight a Shirley Temple. She gave a mental laugh. She found Twilight’s drink fitting of the girl. Waitress Adagio then asked with a pleasant but obviously fake voice, “May I take your orders? Do you need to hear the specials again?” The voice was something she had never used before really. She usually was a rather pleasant enough waitress and never over did her business voice like this. “I’ll take the Chef’s Salad without the meat.” Twilight ordered. She felt it best to place their orders first. She thought it might reinforce that they weren’t here with any ill intentions. Sunset followed her lead. “I’ll take the Veggie Special Sandwich with fries.” “I’ll go ahead and get these orders placed.” Adagio then quickly dismissed herself. She still wasn’t sure what to make of this. She did feel a little more relieved they just placed their orders and nothing else. When Adagio returned later with their orders she asked, “Is there anything else you would like at this time?” “Adagio, can we talk?” Twilight asked with a serious face. Adagio wanted to scream “NO!!! Of course not!!! You ruined our lives, especially Aria’s and Sonata’s. I never want to see you again. I wish you never even showed your face here!” However the words that came out of her mouth were different as she looked over to Sonata and Aria briefly. “I don’t know why you want to talk, but if it will get you to leave us alone afterwards, okay... You two are just lucky you're my last table for the day. Let me speak to my manager first.” She then gave a defeated sigh as she left again. The ex-siren didn’t see why she should go along with this. She had nothing to say to them and she was sure it would only lead to problems, but she hoped maybe something good might come of it. “I seriously doubt it will,” she thought to herself in reply to those hopes. Adagio went to the back and told her manager she had a couple of girls from her old High school here wanting to talk to her. “Since it’s my last table for the day and I don’t know how long it will take, can I go ahead and clock out and talk to them? I’ll keep serving them until they leave.” It was a win win the way she saw it for the manager. He easily agreed. Her shift was only a few minuets longer anyways and if this meant she got a little less hourly pay and didn’t care this wasn’t really a problem. Adagio grabbed herself a drink and paid for it. She then sighed as she sat down across from her enemies. She wasn’t sure why she agreed to this after all, but she felt it was the right choice. Maybe she was thinking it would keep the focus off of the other two if nothing else. Maybe she was sort of okay with it because she could tell they weren’t going to start anything. Maybe it was because a part deep down inside of her wanted to talk to the two and prayed it would give a clean break from the past. She wasn’t sure, but took a seat at the table in a position to try and block the bar from sight. “What is it you want?” She asked in a less than pleasant tone. Twilight took a sip of her drink to buy some time as she collected her thoughts. She decided to just get right to it. She had a feeling Adagio would want it that way. “I’m not going to lie. While we didn’t count on running into you and the others like this, we were looking for you three, and it’s for fairly selfish reasons.” Adagio was a little surprised with Twilight’s tone. It was to the point and there was some natural power to it, but it wasn’t threatening. The girl wasn’t at all as timid as she appeared last time they met. “Just who are you, Twilight Sparkle?” She thought as she said, “That’s rather blunt. Why were you looking for us?” “I wanted to see how you three were doing.” Twilight said evenly as she took a bite of her salad. “I find that hard to believe,” Adagio scoffed. “Why would you care about us?” “I wanted to make sure you three weren’t causing any problems. Also I was a little concerned. I failed in my responsibilities as Princess of Friendship with you three after the battle.” Twilight said with a stern look. “Princess of Friendship? Isn’t that a little high and mighty of you to give yourself such a title?” Adagio asked with a raised eyebrow. “She is. That’s her official title in Equestria.” Sunset answered. Adagio’s raspberry colored eyes widened hearing those words. “Impossible… Equestrian princesses are Alicorns… They aren’t high school girls…” She managed to keep her voice low so no one would overhear their conversation, but she still showed her surprise nonetheless. “Besides there are only two Princesses in Equestria. One of them is banished on the moon.” Adagio added as she recovered from her shock and narrowed her eyes as she looked over Twilight. She couldn’t sense magic anymore, but she considered herself still good at reading people. She was surprised to find that Twilight and Sunset weren’t showing any signs of lying. They were either telling the truth or very good liars. Adagio doubted the latter. Well as far as Twilight was concerned at least. “Well there are four now. Twilight here is the newest one.” Sunset said before taking a bite of her sandwich. “My Sister-in-law is the other Princess. She’s the Princess of Love and ruler of the Crystal Empire. I ascended about a year ago and Celestia gave me the title Princess of Friendship. Also Princess Luna returned about four years ago now and was cleansed of her Nightmare Moon side.” Twilight said before taking another bite of her salad. Adagio took the information in as she took a sip of her drink in an effort to hide her surprise. “No wonder we were defeated if we were up against an Alicorn Princess. Even if she was in human form here,” Adagio thought as she sighed. It only made her feel a little better it wasn’t just seven random high schoolers who somehow called on Equestrian magic and defeated them. “That still doesn’t explain why you failed in your duty… You aren’t really here to finish us off or something are you?” Adagio asked a little concerned. If that was the case she would beg and plead again that she alone would be the one punished and Aria and Sonata left free no matter how much she would miss them. “No… I failed because I didn’t even try to talk to you three after everything. I just watched as you all ran off the stage. I should have met with you and talked to you three girls,” Twilight replied as she looked down at her food. “Why do you care?” Adagio started and sighed, this was surprisingly draining for her. “We did attack your school and try to manipulate all of the students into worshiping us and giving us their energy. In case you somehow forgot.” Twilight and Sunset gave each other a look and Sunset nodded before she spoke. “I don’t know what you actually know about what I did to the school at the Fall Formal. I don’t even know if you learned why I did it even.” Adagio shook her head, “We heard you tried to control the students and caused them to be divided amongst each other. You essentially ruled over the student population. There was also something about you getting some kind of power and turning into a supposed ‘Raging She Demon’. We didn’t get details, nor did we care. That last part sounded ridiculous to us at the time at least.” Sunset sighed as she shook her head at herself and frowned. Twilight placed a hand on Sunset’s arm and smiled at the fiery haired girl to reassure her she wasn’t alone. Sunset took in a deep breath and started her tale. “You see I was originally from Equestria as well. I was Princess Celestia’s personal student, but I felt she was holding me back because she feared I would become too powerful and replace her.” Sunset cringed inwardly at the memory. She really was a bad pony in the past. "The past is not who you are today…” The memory of Twilight’s words focused her and she quickly continued. “I got angry at her and discovered a portal between this world and Equestria. I went through and swore I would get her to regret treating me like she did. She simply said she already did as I walked through the portal.” Sunset sniffed at that. She was surprised that even now the memory hurt. It hurt because she now realized just how much those words pained Celestia and what they fully meant. Twilight gave her a hug before the former school bully continued. “I went back during the Fall Formal because I knew the portal was open. I also knew I could pass through it because I wasn’t actually banished to this world.” Sunset looked down to her plate here. “I went back and stole Twilight’s crown, the Element of Magic. I used the crown to more or less brain-jack the students. I was going to use them to march back and take over Equestria… Twilight… Stopped me and…” Sunset looked down and took a bite of her sandwich. She didn’t want to go on right now. It was too much for her to say what happened next because she felt she didn’t have the right to talk about it. Twilight took the cue and continued the tale. “After the others and I used the magic of Friendship and somehow channeled the Elements of Harmony, we defeated Sunset. When she was defeated I helped her out of the crater she landed in from the earlier battle. I dusted her off. Gave her a hug. I forgave her and even convinced the others to be her friends and help heal her heart with friendship. They did and well you saw them all. They were the rest of the Rainbooms.” Sunset was recovered now and continued the story. “I had spent my time splitting them apart and they forgave me and became my friends thanks to Princess Twilight here.” She then turned to Twilight and said quietly, “I owe you everything, Twilight.” Twilight smiled and patted Sunset’s arm to show it was okay. Adagio wouldn’t say it, but she actually felt a little jealous seeing the two being so close. The two were friends or something more without any manipulation or real need. They just liked each other as they were, despite everything it seemed. “The reason why I wanted you to hear Sunset’s story is to show that I made a huge mistake with you three. I should have done the same for you three. I shouldn’t have just let you all run away. Everyone deserves another chance if they want it.” Twilight finished. Adagio felt something stir inside her at those words. It was a mix of relief and hope. She didn’t let it get to her, because she had to focus. She couldn’t believe it anyways. It seemed too good to hear that from an Equestrian Princess and someone she had deeply wronged. “Sunset may have done what she did. But the three of us used our powers to control others for hundreds and hundreds of years… Even when we were in Equestria we caused all kinds of problems and manipulated ponies for our own power… Do you really think we deserve another chance?” The last part came out a lot more hopeful and pleading than Adagio wanted. Twilight nodded her head with a solemn expression. “Yes, I do. If Discord deserves another chance even with all he did and with his powers still intact. Then I believe you three do as well, especially without your old powers. I want to help if I can… If you’ll let me.” “Wait… Discord…? As in Discord, Discord?” Adagio asked momentarily shocked. Twilight and Sunset giggled a little before Twilight spoke calmly again, “Yes. Discord, Discord. He had some problems adjusting after he was reformed, but it was partly my fault along with my fellow Elements that it happened.” “Regardless…” Twilight started again. “It may seem odd and maybe a little selfish, but I wanted to help you three with friendship as well. I can't really forgive myself otherwise it seems.” “I don’t know if we can ever actually have that. We weren’t close like that you know… We are just together out of convenience really.” Adagio knew her words weren’t fully true, but she didn’t think what they had was friendship. She wasn’t sure if she could call it that. She didn’t really know much about what that was though. She never bothered to learn about friendship. She thought it was just something people and ponies made up because they were weak and needed to rely on others. It wasn’t something that just happened without a real reason in her mind. Sunset shook her head at Adagio. “No, you three already have something close to it. You three just need help learning about it and accepting it. I think.” Adagio gave her a disbelieving look. She was about to protest, but Twilight spoke up. “If you don’t believe us I can already prove it.” Adagio gave Twilight a look as if daring her to prove it. “When you first saw us, you wanted us to leave you three alone. You then tried to protect Aria and Sonata. If you say you only did so because you felt you had to. I will say yes that's true. You felt you had to protect them because they are special to you in a way and you see them as important,” Twilight told the ex-siren. “Friends do what they can to protect their friends. Friends also help each other out when they can. They want to be around their other friends,” Sunset said. “Tell me, Adagio. Do you want them out of your life? I doubt you do. And I doubt they want out of your life.” “That doesn’t mean… That isn’t how it is…” Adagio said weakly. She had all kinds of arguments in her head about that not being true, but she knew that wasn’t the case deep down. Each argument was shot down before it could be voiced and a feeling was growing inside her heart. “If you three didn’t want anything to do with each other and didn’t care for one another in some way, then you would have split up before now no matter what. If you three were really only together out of convenience, like you said earlier, then the second your plan fell apart like it did. They would have either left you then or blamed you for everything. Did they do that?” Twilight asked as she took a sip of her drink again hoping she was right to ask this question. Adagio contemplated her own drink as she thought things over. There was only one answer really. “No… They didn’t. I even told them they could just leave if they wanted at one time, but Sonata refused to go. Aria didn’t say anything, but she didn’t leave either. Neither of them blamed me for what happened despite having every right to do so. We had a little bit of a fight that night, but it didn’t last long and we didn’t continue it after that night.” Is friendship what she had felt seemingly hiding inside of her? Is that why from time to time she felt at least contented if not happy being around Aria and Sonata? Is that why they still kept spending time together and even talked about the things on their minds and made plans with each other? “Is this because of that rainbow light that hit us that we might have… friendship?” Adagio asked not aware that both Sonata and Aria were now making their way over to her and giving looks at both Twilight and Sunset. The two bar tenders had seen Adagio talking to them from the bar, despite Adagio's attempts to hide what was happening. They even saw the way Adagio was seemingly affected by The presence of Twilight and Sunset. “Is something wrong here, Adagio?” Aria asked in a firm tone. Sonata grabbed one of Adagio’s arms to show her support. “Girls?” Adagio asked as she looked up to them. Sonata squeezed her arm firmer to show she was there. Adagio looked to her and could tell the blue haired girl was a little scared of the two in front of them. It was understandable she was, but still Sonata was standing there by her side. “No… Nothing is wrong… They're just here to talk.” Adagio said as she looked to her two constant companions and thought, “friends?” She looked back to Twilight and saw the Princess smiling at the three of them. “See they are here for you even now. I don’t think you three have friendship just because of the magic that hit you all. I think it was there all along. Maybe buried deep and a little twisted, but still there.” “They might even have something more than just friendship,” Twilight thought to herself. “I think I have to agree with Twilight here. Sure you three seemed to bicker a little and get on each other’s nerves, but it didn’t really seem any worse, from the little I saw, than what friends sometimes experience. Also… you three weren’t that badly damaged physically by the magic. You lost your transformations and those pendants, but that was about it,” Sunset said to them. She looked at the pedants on their necks now, but she knew they weren't magical. If things went well she might ask about them, but that wasn’t important at the moment. Twilight spoke to them. “Sunset has a point. When she was hit by the Elements’ magic, she was a mess and slightly damaged. When Discord was hit by it, he turned into stone. When Nightmare Moon was hit by the magic, she shattered and Luna reverted to a smaller form. When Tirek was hit by magic, he was left little more than a barely living shell and zapped back to Tartus.” “You three just lost your pendants and siren powers. Nothing else. I’m sure it wasn’t easy losing just that, but it could have been a lot worse. I think this means you three already have some of the magic of friendship inside. It just needs to shine through is all.” Twilight said with a hint of a smile. “How?” Adagio asked with her eyes wide in question. “You have to admit it. You have to admit your feelings for each other before it can start to shine.” Sunset said with a serious face. Sonata and Aria looked a little confused and lost. They wondered what they had just walked in on. Adagio looked down to the table and felt her heart beat a little faster. Could she do this? Was it true? “Of course it is… Come on Adagio, you’re smart enough to realize what it is now,” a voice inside told her. She was a little scared. What if Aria and Sonata denied it? What if they hated her and left her after this? She looked up to Twilight and Sunset and felt a little reassured. She looked to Aria and Sonata who were both still there by her side. They seemed a little lost as to what was really going on, but Sonata’s eyes seemed to have widened in comprehension. Adagio took in a deep breath. “They are!” Sonata and Aria looked to her. “They are my friends. They might be even more. I don’t know….” She sniffed as tears started to leak from the corner of her eyes. “I may not have ever really shown it before, but they have always been important to me…” Adagio sniffed again. “I don’t want them to leave me. I want to be with them. I wasn’t sure at times, but I care deeply about them. After everything that happened…” She faltered here a little bit as she felt something inside seem to break free. “After everything that happened… The good and the bad… They mean…” She sniffed as more tears poured out. She hated this. She hated crying like this, but it felt right. It felt good. She found her voice again and spoke in her normally strong voice. “They mean everything to me. Even when the plan failed and we lost our powers.” She looked to Sonata and Aria in turn. “What hurt me the deepest was how I failed you two. How you two were also hurt because of my mistake. I didn’t want to see that.” She gave a weak smile to them. “I of course wanted to win and thought we would. But the last thing I wanted to see was you two hurt. I do care about you two. I don’t know if you girls care about me or what you think about me, but I do consider you friends… even if you two don’t. Even if I’m still not sure how friendship works…” Sonata spoke as she hugged Adagio as much as she could, “Of course I think of you two as friends. I’ve always cared about you two. Even when we fought and you two made fun of me. I still thought of you as friends of some sort. When we lost the battle, you two were even more important to me. I felt sad and defeated, but always deep down I thought. As long as we’re together, things will be okay and we can be happy.” Aria turned red a little and tried to hide her own tears. “I’m supposed to be the cool tough one… I can’t cry…” She tried to tell herself, but it was to no avail. The tears in her eyes leaked out regardless. “I’ve felt the same way. I never wanted to leave you two. I was actually glad we didn’t seem to be figuring out a ‘new plan’. I was scared it would cause us to split up if we did. I didn’t like losing, but I felt relieved in a way. I at least had you two with me and like I've said before, that hunger was gone. I felt a hole in my… heart sometimes. But it was because I felt like I was holding something back and trying to deny it,” Aria finished. The ‘cool tough’ girl felt something inside her burst free. It was like a light of some kind. It made her feel warm. The hole she sometimes felt instantly filled. She let more tears fall. She didn’t care anymore. She was with her friends. “Friends,” Aria said. The word made her feel warmer. She was happy about it. She had friends. Sonata and Adagio were there with her. To her, that was surprisingly all that mattered. She even joined in hugging Adagio. Twilight and Sunset smiled and went to the hostess. “Can you get us our check please? We would ask Adagio, but we just told her and her friends something they really needed to hear. They’ll be fine, so don’t worry.” The hostess looked over to the girls who were hugging each other. It was a heartwarming sight. She gave the two customers bright smiles. “Sure. It’s good to see them like this. They were a little gloomy when we first hired them. They were getting better and did their jobs no problem, but there was always something hanging over them it seemed. Thanks for saying whatever you two said to them.” The hostess then got their checks and Sunset insisted on paying. Twilight had already left a good tip on the table, even though she was sure Adagio didn’t care for one after everything that just happened. Twilight and Sunset watched the scene for a little bit, but soon left. It was a very personal moment between the three girls. They didn’t want to intrude on it and so they started walking back to the car. “Wait right there you two!” They heard a voice call to them shortly before they reached the Mustang. Twilight and Sunset turned to see the trio of girls standing right behind them. They could tell the girls hadn’t even bothered to wash their faces before coming out to get them. “Is something wrong?” Sunset asked not knowing what else to say. Twilight was hoping something hadn’t gone wrong after all. She was starting to panic thinking that maybe now that they admitted their feelings they might want to try something. “Can you two meet with us Sunday Night?” Adagio asked as Sonata and even Aria both smiled. “Sure we can. Where?” Twilight asked. She felt relieved that it seemed things were going well after all instead. “Bo’s Pizza Palace. Do you know where it is?” Sonata asked the two other girls. “Yes I do. What time?” Sunset answered. “Will 6:30 work?” Sonata asked them. “Yes. That will work. Right, Sunset?” Twilight asked with a smile. Sunset smiled and nodded as well. “I half expected you three wanted to go do something together right now the way you stopped us like that,” Sunset said to them. “We kind of want the next couple of days to ourselves. We have a lot of feelings and such to work out with each other,” Aria said as the other two nodded and gave a wave before the trio turned around to clock out and walk home together. Twilight and Sunset waved back and continued to the car. When they were a couple of blocks away Sunset gave a smile and said, “Well that worked out really well it seems. Don’t you agree?” Twilight let out a long breath in relief. She then gave a laugh. “I was honestly scared there a few times. I’m glad it worked out and we can spend a little time with them. I would like to see them a few times before I have to head back in case they need a little help still, so getting to meet them again is even better.” Sunset nodded in agreement. She too was a little scared, but she was also happy and relieved. She admitted some things that had been on her mind in the perfect way at the perfect time as well while talking to Adagio. Twilight gave Sunset a big hug as she said, “Thank you, Sunset. Thank you so much… I couldn’t have done this without you. You mean a lot to me you know. Hopefully now that the main objective of this trip is over I can spend the rest of the time really getting to know you even better.” Twilight hugged her tighter as she finished speaking. Sunset blushed to this. “I would like that, Twilight. I really meant what I said in there tonight. I owe you everything. Also I kind of hoped for us to get to know each other better somewhere along the way on this mission.” She wanted to say more, but she held her tongue. She felt it wasn’t the right time now. Besides Twilight looked like she was completely drained right, it wasn’t really that late yet, but it had been a very intense night for them both already. “Let’s go home, Sunset.” Twilight said with a warm smile. Sunset chuckled, “As you wish your Majesty. Princess Twilight Sparkle. Your carriage awaits,” Sunset said as she opened the passenger door to her car. Twilight giggled as she got in. Twilight felt so relieved and happy now. Her mission was almost finished and she was hoping to get to make some new friends in the Dazzlings. “Actually its Adagio, Aria and Sonata,” she corrected herself. She gave a sigh of contentment as she looked over to Sunset. She blushed as she looked the girl over more. There was also the chance she could focus some more on Sunset now as well. Sunset felt really good right now. She had helped Twilight with Aria, Sonata and Adagio. She got to be there when the trio of girls learned of friendship, which was a beautiful moment. She could even now plan things to do with Twilight instead of just the mission. There was also the fact she would get to be Twilight’s pillow again tonight. She had a feeling it would be extra nice this time. They could just take their time tomorrow “and maybe go to one of those bakeries! Twilight would love that and the possibilities…” The other part of Sunset’s mind finished her thoughts for her. It also briefly filled her mind with visions of all kinds. Most of them revolved around Twilight doing cute Twilight things. She gave a smile and turned the key to her car. She could think of more things after they got back to her place and settled in for the evening and night.