Saturday 11:56
Fluttershy stood outside a large building with a faded pink exterior. She reached into her book bag and pulled out her cell phone, then dialed and anxiously waited as it rang.
“Helloo” Rarity chimed through the speakers.
“Hi Rarity, what was the name of the apartment complex the sirens said they're living in?” Fluttershy asked, trying to disguise her worry.
“Um... I believe it was, Sunny Shades” Rarity replied.
Fluttershy looked up at the decrepit looking three story building. The complex's name, Sunny Shades was sprawled across the side of the building with a red smiley face logo instead of a period.
“I was afraid of that” Fluttershy whispered.
“Don't worry, Fluttershy, it's Sonata you're going to see, she's the easy one” Rarity said encouragingly “Oookay... well, I have some final preparation for my fashion meet tomorrow. Talk to you later, good luck”
The phone made a small beep, signaling the end of the call.
“Bye” Fluttershy squeaked out.
Fluttershy took in a deep breath, then quickly walked toward the entrance. She slowed her pace as she neared the buildings cracked glass doors. She entered the building, and looked around inside.
The inside of the building looked much tidier than the outside. The walls were a warm orange color, and the carpet was dark red.
Fluttershy looked around and saw what seemed to be the closest the building had to a lobby. Hallways stretched out to Fluttershy's left and right, but were blocked by glass doors. Directly ahead of Fluttershy was what appeared to be the buildings front desk.
Fluttershy walked up to the desk and rang a rusted silver bell on it. She jumped a little as she heard a loud thud come from behind the desk.
“Ay!” a man yipped from underneath the desk.
Flutterhy looked over the desk and saw a man with short black hair, and tan complexion, sitting on the ground and rubbing the back of his head.
The man looked up and met Fluttershy's stare. He smiled through his pain and stood up.
“Greetings and welcome to Sunny Shades. Were you looking to book a room or rent an apartment?” the man asked in a cheery tone.
“Umm... neither. I'm here to see Sonata” said Fluttershy.
“Oh, so one of the girls finally made a friend, eh?” the man asked.
“Well, not exactly” Fluttershy replied.
“You're not here for... un-pleasantries are you?” he asked worriedly.
“Oh no” Fluttershy replied “Reformation”
“Oh, religious type, I got ya” the man said with a wink.
“No, well... it's complicated”
The man sighed “It always is, isn't it? She's in room number 2 on the third floor, the stairs are behind the eighth door. Just let me unlock the security door for ya” the man said as he pushed a button under his desk.
The door to Fluttershy's right slowly began to open.
“Thank you” Fluttershy said as she walked toward the hall.
“If ya need any help just ask for Jimmy” The man cheerily called as she left.
Fluttershy stood before a brown door with a two on it. She reached her hand out to knock on the door, but before she made contact, it opened.
Sonata stood in the doorway, wearing a grey hoody and sweat pants. She glared at Fluttershy, making no secret of her disdain for her reformer.
“Hello” greeted Fluttershy.
“Hello, Guttershy” Sonata said with spite in her voice.
“It's Fluttershy” she corrected.
“I know” replied Sonata.
Fluttershy let out a small groan and looked away from Sonata for a moment. She then reached into her book bag and pulled out a small blue note book and held it out for Sonata to see.
“So... I made a day plan on what we could do to get started with your reformation” Fluttershy paused and looked at Sonata, who was still glaring at her “Could you stop looking at me like that, please?”
“Nope” Sonata replied.
A bead of sweat ran down Fluttershy's forehead as she felt the tension slowly increasing.
“Okay... I thought first we could go to the park and look at how happy everybody is living their non-brain washed lives”
Sonata resisted becoming excited over the idea of going to a park without ill intentions.
“and then I figured you could help me down at the animal shelter so you could see how nice it feels to help all of the cute little creatures this world has to offer”
“Will there be bunnies there?” Sonata asked while trying to restrain her enthusiasm.
“Well, it's more things like dogs and cats” Fluttershy replied.
“Oh” Sonata uttered out, quickly losing her enthusiasm due to the lack of bunnies.
Fluttershy placed her book back into her bag “But if you really want to see a bunny, I could show you my...” A look of confusion came to Fluttershy's face as she felt around in her bag. She then looked down into the bag “Uh-oh”
“What's wrong, is there a poisonous snake in there?” Sonata asked.
“No, why would you assume... never mind. I forgot to give my friend her homework assignment. Do you mind if we stop by her house before we get started?” Fluttershy asked.
Sonata shrugged and replied with a bored “Eh”
“Okay, come one, let's go” Fluttershy said as she grabbed Sonata's hand and pulled her down the hall.
Sonata awkwardly hopped along on one foot as she attempted to regain her balance after the unexpected tug.
The two walked next to each other along a sidewalk next to a string of houses.
Sonata's grumpy expression hid her nervousness of venturing outside without Adagio or Aria to guide her, as well as being led somewhere by one of her mortal enemies.
“She could be leading me into a trap” Sonata thought to herself “Maybe this has all just been an elaborate scheme to get me alone, and all of them will gang up on me and beat me up with sharp sticks, and cut off my hair with rusty scissors, leaving me bald and splintered!” Sonata whimpered at the thought.
“Here's her house” Fluttershy said as she stopped in front of a large white building.
“One person lives in that?!” Sonata exclaimed.
Fluttershy chuckled “Oh no, Pinkie Pie's whole family lives in there. I just hope someone other than Pinkie is at home, I'd hate to have her answer the door when she's sick”
“Germ Warfare!” Sonata yelled “I knew you were up to something!”
Fluttershy looked at Sonata with a confused expression “What?”
“You can't fool me” Sonata yelled accusingly “Adagio told me about how you'd try to infect my head with all your lies and empty promises. But I have seen through your plan, and I will now leave in a buff”
“I think you mean, a huff” Fluttershy corrected.
“Don't give me any guff, you fluff!” Sonata retorted.
Fluttershy shook her head and let out an annoyed sigh “Look, if you're that concerned, you can just stay out here while I give Pinkie her homework”
“I... don't have to go in?” Sonata asked with genuine surprise.
“Of course not, I'm not going to force you to do something you're not comfortable doing”
“R-r-really?” Sonata asked. Sonata began to think on the option offered to her “Well, that's nice... but maybe it's another trick. Yes! Adagio said to find things to tear them apart, and she's trying to deny me that opportunity” Sonata looked back to Fluttershy and responded in a dignified manner “Yes, I will join you” she said aloud.
“Good” Fluttershy said with a smile “Pinkie was really looking forward to getting a chance to meet you”
“Pinkie is the one with pink hair that's not you, right?” Sonata asked as they approached the front door.
“Yes” Fluttershy replied as she knocked on the door.
“So it's Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Sun Shine, Colors, one with the purple hair, and Apples?”
“That's almost right... in a weird way” Fluttershy replied.
The front door opened, and in the door way stood Pinkie's mother. Mrs. Pie looked down at the girls with a dull look in her eyes. She adjusted her glasses as she inspected the faces of the visitors.
“Fluttershy, how nice to see you again” Mrs. Pie said in a tone that seemed too dry to be called friendly. Her gaze shifted to Sonata, and a small smile came to her face as she examined the siren's attire “Ah, now there's a look, grey, baggy, everything left to the imagination... but, I feel the massive amount of loose hair ruins it”
“What the heck are you talking about? Sonata asked.
Mrs. Pie chose to ignore the question, and directed her attention back to Fluttershy “So what brings you by Fluttershy?”
“I'm just here to give Pinkie her homework” Fluttershy replied.
“Oh good, she's been cooped up in her room since Wednesday. She'll be happy to see her friends stop by” she said in an almost cheery tone.
“Oh, I'm not her friend” said Sonata.
Fluttershy let out a nervous chuckle.
“Oh” Mrs. Pie said as she raised an eye brow “Then whom are you?”
“I'm a siren from another dimension who tried to take over your world” Sonata said, oblivious to how ridiculous her words sounded.
Mrs. Pie stood with a dumbfounded expression “I just can't keep up with the strange lingo you kids use nowadays” She said as she stepped to the side, allowing the girls to enter.
Meanwhile, upstairs, under a pile of blankets that she would have preferred to be about 2 layers lighter; Pinkie Pie laid as an unwilling prisoner of her illness. She let out a bored sigh before blowing her nose for what seemed like the thousandth time. She sat up and crumpled up the snot soaked tissue, then tossed it toward a trash can next to her door. She let out an an annoyed sigh as the tissue bounced off the rim of the trash can. She flopped down onto her back and began to once again count the seconds as they slowly ticked by.
She had became so lost in her boredom that she barely noticed the tiny sound of someone knocking on her door.
Pinkie looked toward the door, and smiled as she quickly broke free from her bored state “Come in Fluttershy” Pinkie called.
Fluttershy opened the door slightly and peeked in “How did you know it was me?” she asked.
“Nobody else knocks as quietly as you” Pinkie replied “So, why are you making Sonata wait in in the hall?” she asked.
“Umm... how did you know she was here?” asked Fluttershy.
“Would ya believe that it was a complete and total guess” Pinkie replied before coughing into her hand.
“Why do I have to stay in the hall?” Sonata asked as she pushed Fluttershy out of her way, opening the door completely as she did. Sonata's eyes went wide with awe as she looked around the overwhelmingly bright colored room.
Fluttershy looked at Sonata for a moment, taking note of her odd reaction. She then redirected her attention back to the task she had came to complete. Fluttershy pulled out the text book she had meant to give to Pinkie Pie the day before.
“We're supposed to read chapters 2 to 4 before Monday” Fluttershy said as she handed the text book to her friend.
“Well, at least that can fill a half hour or so” said Pinkie.
“You say that like you're bored” Sonata interrupted “How can you be bored when you have this much stuff. I mean come on, you have like a dozen stuffed animals, a computer and your own T.V that you don't even have to share. How could you possibly be bored?”
“Well, all this stuff is fun when there's other people around to use it with, but when you're alone they all get boring way faster” Pinkie said before she shifted her attention to Fluttershy “Speaking of which, you two wouldn't want to stay for a little while, would you?”
“Shouldn't we leave you to rest?” Fluttershy asked.
Pinkie looked at Fluttershy with a serious stare as she said “Fluttershy, I am not the kind of person who does well being stuck in one place for days”
Sonata's eyes lit up as she overheard the two's conversation “Hey” Sonata interrupted “Maybe I could stay here with her stuff... I mean, with her... and her stuff”
“But... I had a whole day planned, and they're expecting me down at the shelter” said Fluttershy.
“Please, Fluttershy, and remember, I'm sick so you can't say no” Pinkie said as she looked to Fluttershy with an exaggeratedly pitiful expression.
Fluttershy let out an annoyed grunt as she looked away from Pinkie for a moment.
Pinkie let out a small whimpering noise.
A tiny smile slowly found it's way through Fluttershy's frown which quickly gave way to a large grin “That's not fair” Fluttershy said as she restrained herself from giggling
“Everything's fair in the war against boredom” Pinkie cheered.
“So, I can stay?” Sonata asked with all the anticipation of an excited young child.
“Well, if that's what you want to do?” asked Fluttershy.
“There's no other outcome I would have accepted” said Sonata. The siren almost immediately began looking over Pinkie's possessions as she tried to decide what she would play with first.
“You sure you'll be alright with her?” Fluttershy asked Pinkie as she placed her hand on the door “I mean, you are sick”
“That just makes it an even playing field” Pinkie said as she placed her hands behind her head.
“Call me if anything happens” Flutterhy said as she stepped into the doorway.
“What could possibly go wrong?” Pinkie said before looking over to Sonata. Pinkie stared at her visitor for a few moments “That girl does not know how to take a cue”
Fluttershy shook her head slightly as she walked out of Pinkie's room “See ya, Pinkie”
“Bye Fluttershy, don't worry I have it completely under control” Pinkie quickly looked back to Sonata, who was currently in awe of Pinkie Pie's personal computer “Once again, I am denied pay off for my set up”
“I've seen these things before but I've never actually gotten to touch one” Sonata said as she picked up Pinkie's lap top and flipped up it's cover.
“You've never touched a computer before?” Pinkie asked before letting out a loud gasp “That means you've never seen a cat video, or an internet meme, or a cat meme, or read bad fan fiction, or played computer games, or went on social media, or commented on things, or watched an 8 part series on the wonders of erosion” Pinkie stopped and took note of Sonata's confused expression.
“Erosion?” Sonata asked.
“I-I was bored, I had a lot of time on my hands... never mind that”
“Oops” Sonata squeaked out.
“Oops as in... oops that sure is great”
“I think I broke it” Sonata said as a despaired expression quickly appeared on her face.
“What?” Pinkie asked before letting out a harsh cough “Let me see”
Sonata walked over to Pinkie's bed and handed her the laptop.
Pinkie scooted herself over on her bed and patted her hand on the spot next to her, signaling Sonata to sit.
Sonata awkwardly wrung her hands together before she hesitantly sat down just on the edge of the bed. She watched as Pinkie pushed the start button and waited as fifteen seconds or so went by before the screen finally showed the computer's main menu.
Several files and program short cuts quickly appeared in the menu as well as a small arrow that sat in the middle of the screen.
“Most computers have mouses but this one just has this little touch pad” Pinkie said as she moved her index finger around on a small pad below the key board.
“Isn't it pronounced mice?” asked Sonata.
“Different thing same name” Pinkie replied.
“Oh” Sonata watched in quiet awe as the computer read Pinkie's fingers movement and moved the arrow accordingly.
“You try” Pinkie said as she placed the computer in the space between her and Sonata.
Sonata poked the pad, unintentionally clicking on one of the shortcuts. Immediately a page appeared and a long box with a magnifying glass symbol on the end loaded onto the center of the screen.
“You found the internet” Pinkie said excitedly.
“What's that?” Sonata asked.
“It's like a collection of everything people have ever known”
Pinkie quickly typed a few words into the search box then pressed enter. The screen instantly switched to a page with a list of internet sites. Pinkie quickly clicked on the site at the top of the page and the screen once again switched to a different page, this time with a small black square with a red line running along the bottom.
Pinkie nudged Sonata's arm “This will blow your mind” Pinkie said as she attempted to restrain her excitement.
Sonata looked at the small screen and waited for whatever was about to appear.
The seconds ticked by with nothing but a small point of light spinning in a circle.
“Is this it?” Sonata asked.
“No, it's just taking awhile to load” Pinkie said as she attempted to maintain her enthusiasm, however, Sonata obviously did not have that level of patience.
“Bored” she stated bluntly before getting up and walking over to Pinkie's television set.
“But it'll just take a few more seconds” said Pinkie.
Sonata ignored Pinkie as she knelt to the ground and turned the television on. Sonata pushed the channel button, quickly flipping through the few channels that the television could pick up.
“This thing doesn't get many channels” said Sonata.
“I mostly have it to watch movies or play games on when my friends come over” said Pinkie.
“Oh...” Sonata looked down at the small game console in front of the television “Can you use it by yourself?” she asked.
“Yeah, but like I said, it's funner with other people” Pinkie replied.
Sonata rolled her eyes as she attempted to turn on the small console. A small blue light replaced a red light on the front of the console as she pushed the power button. Sonata directed her attention back to television, expecting something to happen.
“Oh wait, you need to set it to a different input, just push the buttons on the front until you see the...”
Sonata quickly pushed a button, only managing to change the channel from two to three.
“Umm... that's the channel button” said Pinkie.
Sonata pushed another button and held it for a few moments as a green bar lit up across the bottom of the screen
“That's...” Pinkie was cut off as Sonata pushed the channel button again only to turn to a different channel with an incredibly loud game show on it. Pinkie covered her ears and yelled “Turn it down!”
Sonata frantically pushed more buttons in an attempt to silence the deafening noise, eventually finding the power button and shutting down the television altogether. Sonata fell back and took a moment to let the ringing sound go out of her ears. As the ringing left, Sonata heard an equally annoying sound. She turned and saw Pinkie Pie trying to restrain her laughter. Sonata growled at Pinkie as she quickly shot up to her feet.
“Listen you jerk, I can take Adagio and Aria laughing at me, but you don't get to laugh at me, none of you get to laugh at me! I'm not stupid, this world's just too complicated!” she shrieked.
“I'm not laughing at you” Pinkie struggled to say through her snickering. She turned her computer to show Sonata the video that had been loading.
Sonata's face went blank as she looked at a small cat wearing sunglasses walking around on a piano as as another cat jumped up, accidentally striking the keys as it did, coincidentally creating an appealing tune.
Sonata's cheeks turned red and her lips quivered as she struggled with her embarrassment and the sickeningly sweet idiocy in front of her.
Sonata threw her head back and yelled “You win!”
“W-what do I win?” Pinkie asked.
“Whatever you're trying to do! Whatever all this reformation stuff is, or what this pointless video means, whatever you want, you win!” she cried out.
“Sonata, I'm not trying to do anything but make you feel comfortable” Pinkie said as she sat the computer beside her “This is nothing I wouldn't do with my friends”
“But I'm not your friend, I'm your mortal enemy, I hate you” Sonata said, meeting Pinkie's friendly smile with a hate filled glare.
Pinkie's smile slowly faded away “Who calls you stupid?” she asked.
Sonata pointed accusingly at Pinkie “You and all your friends”
“I've never called you stupid, and I've never heard any of my friends say it... we don't really know you... so again, who calls you stupid?” Pinkie asked in a sterner tone than before.
Sonata's glare melted away into a hurt expression. She rubbed her left arm and whispered “Aria and Adagio... and me”
Pinkie softly patted on the side of the bed. Sonata sat down once again; her drooped shoulders and low hung head made her emotional state obvious.
“Are they good to you?” Pinkie asked.
“Yeah...” she replied “They always make sure we have what we need. They just get annoyed that I can't help more... before, I could always help when we sang, but now I can't do anything”
Pinkie felt guilt take a small tug at her mind “I never thought about it like that. I'm sorry... but I'm also not sorry. I'm not sorry for helping take away your gems. But I am sorry for taking away something that made you happy”
“You still don't understand; you didn't just take away my gem, you took away the one thing I could do with my friends that I was actually good at, the only thing that kept us together. Even after we got banished to this stupid place we still had our music... and it wasn't always for making people angry... sometimes we'd just sing for fun, and it made me feel like I was still at home” a warm smile slowly stretched across Sonata's face as she thought back to the music filled memories.
“Well, why can't this world be home?” Pinkie asked.
“But I'm too dumb to do anything here”
“Sonata, you've got being dumb confused with not knowing things. It's okay to mess up if you don't know what you're doing. I used to be terrible at baking until I practiced a bit”
“But how can I...”
“Shh... Remember, we've got the internet. Everything people have ever known is on here” Pinkie said as she pushed her computer toward Sonata “All you need to do is figure out where to start”
Sonata's eyes went wide as she thought of all the possible things she had yet to learn about the world around her “Um... maybe cooking, or how to drive a car, or how to balance a budget”
“Or we could watch some more cat videos” Pinkie said with a smile.
“That's the next thing I was going to say” said Sonata.
The two shared a laugh that quickly ended with Pinkie breaking out into a loud cough.
5:53 pm.
Sonata quietly opened the door to the Dazzlings apartment. She peeked in and saw Adagio sprawled across the couch, watching television.
Sonata entered the apartment and let out a cheerful “Hey”
“Shhhh!!” Adagio hissed. She then pointed at the bedroom door “Little Ms. can't keep orders straight is taking a nap” she said as she sat up on the couch.
“Oh, okay” Sonata said quietly. She carefully stepped toward the couch, making sure she didn't make a sound.
Adagio glanced at Sonata and rolled her eyes, then let out a sigh in reaction to Sonata's strangely large steps.
Sonata sat down on the end of couch opposite to Adagio and looked toward the television.
“What are we watching?” Sonata asked.
Adagio grabbed the remote and turned the television off “Nothing” she replied “So, how did you're little visit go?”
“Well, first I thought they were going to kill me with germs but then the one with the pink hair left me with other one with the pink hair, and then I found the internet and that took up an hour or two, then we played some games, then the first one with the pink hair... Fluttershy, yeah that's her name. She came back and took me to this nice little restaurant and I got a meal with a little toy, and she got a salad because she's a vegetable”
Adagio squinted and rested her fingertips on her forehead as she tried to take in what Sonata had said “What?”
“I got a toy” Sonata said as she reached into her back pocket, pulling out a small blue figure with grey pants, a black shirt and sunglasses “I'm going to call him, Blue” Sonata said excitedly.
Adagio swiped the toy out of Sonata's hand and tossed it away toward the television “Tell me what you learned?”
Sonata looked toward her toy; it's bottom half had snapped off from the impact. Adagio snapped her fingers in front of Sonata's face and shot her an impatient glare.
Sonata snapped herself out of her disappointment, then replied “Ooh, I learned about cats and alligators, and what happens when you put mints into pop and...”
Adagio muffled a shriek “No, you dolt, what did you find out about those girls!? Don't tell me you forget about the plan!”
Aggravated, Sonata quickly shot up to her feet “No, I did not forget about the plan!” Sonata retorted in a mocking tone “I talked to that one for hours and all I found out is that they actually feel bad about what they did to us!?”
“SHUT UP!!!” Aria shrieked from the other room.
“Way to go, you woke up the drama queen” Adagio said in an annoyed tone.
“You messed up that order, not me! That old fool should have been yelling at you!” Aria yelled through the walls.
Sonata stopped herself before yelling again. She then quickly gathered up the pieces of her toy and walked to the bed room door “By the way, it's your turn on the couch tonight”
Adagio responded with an unconcerned shrug before kicking her feet up onto the couch and stretching out.
Sonata opened the door and entered the bed room. To her left, against the wall was a dresser with three long drawers, one for each of the Sirens. In front of her was a large bed with purple covers and an identical bed to the left with a small night stand between the two. The room was barely lit by the light that came through a small space in the curtains on the window; but the small light and memory was enough for Sonata to find her way to the bed.
Sonata took off her shoes and quickly slipped under the covers. She then turned herself to face the night stand and looked at the small digital alarm clock. Her face lit up in embarrassment as she realized she was trying to go to sleep at 6:05. Sonata grumbled as she knew the only alternative would be going back out and being forced to hear Adagio make some smug joke about going to bed early.
Sonata broke from her own aggravation for a moment as she heard a small sniffling sound coming from the other bed.
“Aria, are you crying?” Sonata asked quietly. A few seconds passed and she received no response “Aria, are you...”
“I'm not crying” she replied harshly “I'm just really mad”
“Why?”
“Adagio was in charge of taking the orders today and she didn't pay attention to what some idiot wanted. I made the wrong thing and took it out to him, then he got mad, said I was “incompetent” and went off on some rant. Adagio didn't say anything, she just stood there and watched like it was entertaining”
Hearing Aria's story only made Sonata's aggravation toward Adagio intensify.
“And you know what the worst part was? That stupid manager didn't even get mad. He gave the guy his lunch for free and gave me some sickeningly encouraging words”
“I don't understand”said Sonata.
“One of those stupid humans took pity on me. I never felt so weak in my entire life”
Sonata nodded, pretending to understand how Aria felt. She had always seen their new forms as an unwelcome improvement; after all, hands were incredibly useful. Sonata looked back over to Aria, and despite her fellow sirens denial, it was fairly obvious that at least a few tears were slipping out. Sonata then pulled a small, worn, pink book out of a drawer in the night stand. She flipped the book open and looked at the first page. She smiled as she looked at the childlike drawings she had made of herself and her fellow sirens not long after being banished. All three had smiles drawn across their faces, a far cry from Aria or Adagio's current expressions.
She spent the next hour or so flipping through the pages and reading the messy notes she had made recounting their adventures in Equestria and a few interesting stories prior to being banished.
She glanced back at the clock, now showing that it was 7:10 pm. She looked over to Aria, who seemed to have slipped off to sleep.
“How did we become this?” she thought to herself. She let out a sigh as she put the book back in its place. She laid her head down on the pillow and closed her eyes, waiting for the veil of sleep to take hold, allowing her to increase the length of time between the present and this dreary moment in time.
Meanwhile in the other room...
Adagio laid on the couch with her arms behind her head and a smirk on her face; waiting as the minutes ticked by, bringing herself closer to the moment of revenge she had been waiting for. The thoughts of picking her enemies apart were only sweetened with the knowledge of a new weapons at her disposal... guilt.