//------------------------------// // Time To Grow Up! // Story: Sonata Gets A Tattoo // by Vesperia //------------------------------// Sonata was simply laying in her bed thinking, a task she had been doing for a while now and, aside from a rather intense headache, nothing has come up from it yet. The reason for thinking has plagued her mind for the past half hour. There was a sharp pain in her stomach, an intense desire to simply lay in bed and laze around all day, and an appetite for tacos. All of this added up to complete the conundrum she faced, one she had to match her immense wit with. "Should I lay in bed and try and forget this hunger or should I get up and get some of those sweet, sweet delicious tacos in the fridge?" She softly pondered, eyebrows furrowed, and mouth scrunched up. Laziness has become common for Sonata ever since the disaster that was the Battle of the Bands at Canterlot High. The same could be said for Adagio and Aria, but they seemed to be able to actually get up every once in a while and do something. To add to the laziness is the fact that the three Sirens don't need to work, they have all the money they could possibly need from the people they had hypnotized in the past. Sonata sighed and rolled to the edge of the bed. She sat up on the bed and slowly got off before going through the door to the hallway. Her walk was brief as she headed in the direction of the kitchen. "I'm just saying, I think Sonata really needs to grow up. At least a little bit." Sonata stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the voice of Adagio speak about her. "We're what? Three Sirens that are a few centuries old? Well... at least in Equestria we were, but still! I just think she should act her age for once. All this lazing about in her bed won't do any good for her figure either." "Uh huh." Said a clearly uninterested Aria as she played with a handheld game. She was laying flat on her back on the couch, feet crossed and propped up on the arm rest. Adagio didn't seem to notice Aria's disinterest as she continued to paint her nails, sitting with her legs crossed in the nearby love seat. "And what's worst is that the only things she eats now are greasy foods. She'll die of a heart attack in a few years if she keeps this up." Adagio held her hand out and inspected her nails for any flaws. "Uh huh." Said Aria before frowning, furrowing her brows in annoyance when the game blasted out a "Game Over" and said, "Blasted game... I'll beat you yet." Sonata wanted to cry, but she held fast. She would not let them see her weakness. She straightened up and walked stiffly into the kitchen, heading right for the fridge at a near robotic pace. She purposely refused to look at the two sitting in the living room as she rummaged around for that special treat of a shell, meat, lettuce, cheese and sour cream. Sonata grabbed one and drizzled a generous amount of hot sauce on it before quickly devouring it, she didn't mind that it was cold of course. A taco was still a taco. With her meal finished Sonata threw the balled up wrapper into the trash and, with her head held high and nose in the air, she strutted out the door. Not glancing at her sisters and not even noticing the two pairs of flabbergasted eyes following her every move as she left their shared home. When the door finally clicked shut Adagio turned to Aria with an incredulous look on her face. "She had sour cream all over her face. It looked like she left from an obnoxiously large orgy." Adagio said, pointing a thumb in the direction of the door. Aria just rolled her eyes before returning to her game and muttered to herself, "It's going to be one of those days isn't it..." Sonata continued to strut out of the rather expensive apartment. Quickly making a right she sauntered down the sidewalk, she idly noticed several weird reactions from some of the people around her. Mostly from the guys. They seemed to take one look at her and go completely red in the face like a tomato. One guy even walked into a telephone pole from staring too long... "He really seems like he needs to start paying attention to his surroundings." Sonata thought as she walked by the downed man that was clutching his face in pain. Sonata turned her head to face the front and muttered, "Weird..." Another guy was staring at Sonata as well, all red faced and bug eyed. His girlfriend noticed and smacked him on the cheek before storming off in a huff. The guy rushed off after her, apologizing for whatever reason, with a hand covering the red slap mark. "Dunno why he was apologizing, he only looked like he was a bit too hot. No need to get upset over that sheesh girl..." Sonata commented as she continued to trek down the street. Some of the girls around Sonata scoffed and rolled their eyes. And though Sonata didn't have any evidence, she thought that they were glaring at her too. She even heard some of them mutter a few of those obscene words Adagio said she should never say. It was a while ago but Sonata did once say one of those words in front of Adagio... she could never get that lingering taste of soap out of her mouth. "U-u-um. M-Miss..." A voiced shook Sonata out of her train of thought. She looked to where the voice came from and saw a guy standing there with a huge blush on his face. Sonata tilted her head like a dog in confusion, what could this guy want? He cleared his throat, "Um... Well you see. Um...." He seemed really nervous about something. Then something clicked in Sonata's mind. "Oh my gosh! He's totally asking me out! Yes! This will prove to the others that I'm grown up! After all, what child could possibly have a boyfriend?" Sonata thought, then put her hands on her hips and gave him a once over. "And he's pretty cute to boot." The guy seemed to finally gain his confidence, "You have some stuff on your face!" He half shouted, blush still being well worn on his face as he stood ramrod straight with his eyes closed. "I have something on my face?" Sonata turned to the nearest shop window and looked at her reflection. Sour cream was all over her face, some on her nose and a majority on her cheeks. Sonata giggled, "Silly me! I got creamed on my face!" The guy's eyes snapped wide open at near supersonic speeds. "Must've been from eating that taco!" A bit of blood trickled out his nose. "Well, waste not want not!" Sonata proceeded to scoop off some of the sour cream from her face with a finger and stuck it in her mouth. She continued to do so for every bit of sour cream and soon her face was cleaned. A thump was heard and Sonata turned around only to find that the new guy was on the floor and out cold. A line of blood was drizzling out his nose. Sonata shrugged and lifted him onto a bench, it was only polite after all. After he was settled she noticed he had a tattoo on his arm. And a new idea was soon born. "A tattoo! That's it! I don't need a boyfriend to show my more mature side, that's too much work anyway." Sonata said. "I need a tattoo! Only adults and grown ups have those! A perfect way to prove to them I act my age! Maybe I should get one with a dragon breathing fire! Or a snake! Now where can I find a tattoo shop..." Sonata pondered for a bit and tapped her chin with a finger. She looked down at the guy, "It's too bad you're knocked out. You could show me where you got yours. Oh well." Sonata shrugged. "I'll just go out and look for one the old fashion way." With that Sonata walked away from the passed out guy, who would wake up but a few minutes later just simply wondering what had happened. Sonata was back out on the street, now with a newly cleaned face. People were not acting weird around her now and so Sonata could pay more attention to figuring out the best way she can find a tattoo shop. For the life of her she could not seem to find one and she was beginning to get frustrated. Eventually, after an hour of fruitless searching, she stopped and asked a random stranger on the sidewalk. "Excuse me, but do you know where I can find a tattoo shop around here?" Sonata sweetly asked the stranger with a bright smile. "Eeyup." The tall guy beckoned Sonata to follow him and started walking down the sidewalk. Sonata had a brief moment of doubt in following him, Adagio had always said to never follow strangers. Even if they had chocolate or candy. But he didn't seem very threatening so Sonata just shrugged without concern and merrily skipped up to him in order to walk alongside the blonde stranger. "Thanks for helping me by the way!" Sonata said cheerfully. "So what's your name? Mine's Sonata!" "Welcome." The blonde stranger said. "And mah name is Big Macintosh. But y'all can call me Big Mac." The newly dubbed Big Mac nodded his head with a small smile. The two continued to walk in a comfortable silence. That was until Sonata saw an ice cream stand. She gasped and rushed over, looking at all of the different flavors. She started to drool, it gathering all over the glass. "Excuse me miss, but I'm gonna have to ask you to stop drooling over my stand." Said a slightly irritated voice, it came from the stall owner who was a small portly man with a soul patch. Sonata backed up from the glass, a blush and a sheepish smile on her face. "Now what can I get for ya?" The stall owner asked. Sonata put a finger to her chin and thought. "How about a blueberry cone!" She said cheerfully, pointing to the tub of blueberry ice cream. "One blueberry coming right up." The man scooped out the ice cream and handed it to Sonata. "Anything else?" "One chocolate please." Said Big Mac. The ice cream man got him his cone. Sonata was about to pay for the ice cream but Big Mac stopped her, shook his head, and handed the man his money. As they walked Sonata couldn't help but say, "I could have paid for it you know? You didn't have to do that." "Eeyup." Big Mac simply replied as he licked his cone. "So why did you?" Big Mac simply shrugged and the two continued to enjoy their ice cream. Eventually they came to a stop in front of a modest tattoo shop just as they finished off their cones. Sonata grinned widely and couldn't help but let out a squeal of joy. She was nearly done with showing those two she was a grown up! Sonata turned to Big Mac and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for your help! And the ice cream... Later!" Sonata waved goodbye at as she ran to the shop's door. Leaving a stunned Big Mac with a goofy smile in her wake. The door to the tattoo shop open with a soft ding. Sonata walked past the threshold and headed straight for the counter. A man covered in tattoos looked up from whatever he was doing and greeted Sonata. "Hello miss, how can I help you?" Sonata beamed, "Hi! I want to get a tattoo! One that really speaks about my grownupness!" The man blinked a bit. Then he shook off the weirdness of the phrasing and said, "Well. How about you take a look at the wall and see what you like." Sonata grinned and started skipping to the wall. But before she could get halfway there the man stopped her with a raised hand, "Hold on. I still need to see some ID, before you choose. It's required under law that I do that. Need to prove you're eighteen and all." The man shrugged. Sonata was bewildered, she never had to get an ID before. She and her sisters never needed them since they always sang to people to get what they wanted. She started to feel sad that her quest to prove to Adagio and Aria that she too was grown up would end in failure. Sonata bit her lower lip, looked at the man with watery eyes and said, "I uh. Don't own one. Can- Can I still get a tattoo?" Sonata sniffed. The tattoo artist shook his head and looked at her sadly. "Sorry little missy. I'd get in trouble if I did that, I don't want the law against me if someone found out." He seemed to be genuinely sad for Sonata, but he didn't give in to her puppy eyes. Sonata just hung her head in sadness. She sighed and started slowly walking out the door, hands in her pockets. Sonata kicked a tiny, broken piece of rock with her foot. She stuck her hands in her pockets and walked down the streets of the city with a perpetual frown on her face and a deep sigh. It takes a lot to get her depressed, utter destruction of her beloved Siren powers managed it. And now her inability to prove she was a grown up did it too. Sonata didn't even know how to get an ID. She sighed once more before she bumped into someone, a loud "Oof!" on her lips. "Sorry!" Sonata quickly said to the person she bumped into while taking a small step back. Noticing that the woman she bumped into was standing in a line with a bunch of other people. "It's alright." Said the woman as she turned back to waiting in line. Now Sonata was curious. "So... whatcha doing in this line? Some new phone or something?" Sonata held her hands behind her and tried to stand on her tiptoes to see over all the people. The woman turned and looked at Sonata like she was a weirdo. "Standing in line for the DMV." She simply stated. Sonata didn't want to seem dumb so she played along. "Oh, ok. Well have fun then!" Sonata smiled and quickly skipped off, completely missing the hateful grumbles everyone in line had for what their afternoon looked like it was going to be. She found herself next to a Walmart after some more walking. Shrugging to herself Sonata decided she needed some more ingredients to make even more greasy food with anyway. So she turned and headed through the automatic doors. She didn't get far though. Because as soon as she walked in she noticed the little turn machines that you put quarters into. One had those gross fruit candies, one had sticky hands, and the other had... The other had... Tattoos! One actually sold tattoos! Sonata's eyes widened in disbelief, she even started to cry a little bit. After the brief crying session, and waving off the concern of the people around her, Sonata ran to the machine. She stuffed her hand into her pockets and fished out two quarters. Quickly jamming them into the machine, she turned the knob and heard the satisfying clunk of a plastic container dropping down. She quickly grabbed the plastic and opened the container. She squealed in delight when her eyes feasted on the sight of the tattoo before her. "I can't believe they can just sell these to whoever has fifty cents! I didn't even need an ID! Hah! Suck it government!" Sonata continued to stare at the paper for a minute before saying, "Now.... how do I put this on? Are there instructions?" She flipped the paper over and took note of the instructions on the back. "Water! Of course!" Sonata sprinted to the woman's bathroom. She nearly flung the door off it's hinges when she burst into the bathroom. She skidded to a halt in front of a sink and mirror. Quickly taking a paper towel, Sonata wetted it and set it off to the side. Then she took the thin plastic off the tattoo paper and set the paper on her wrist. She picked the damp paper towel up and firmly pressed it onto the tattoo paper and held it there for a minute. When the minute was up she peeled the tattoo paper off and threw it into the trashcan. Sonata blew on the tattoo to get it to dry, making sure to not move too much until it was done. When it was completely dry Sonata held her wrist up and examined the tattoo with a happy grin. It was a mermaid that looked like it was sitting on a rock of some sort. She smiled, she can finally show those two who was the real grown up. She walked out of the bathroom with some real swagger in her gait. Making everyone seeing her wonder what had went on in that bathroom. Sonata paid them no mind however, she continued her strut right out of the store. And promptly walked right back in once she realized she forgot to buy her taco supplies. Adagio finally managed to get her nails painted just right. She smirked as she examined her perfect nails, holding her hand out this way and that, just trying to get that perfect angle. Satisfied Adagio closed the bottle of nail polish and hummed in delight. "Ugh, finally. The apartment smells like a salon, I'm gonna have a headache for the rest of the night now Adagio. Thanks." Aria sarcastically thanked Adagio. She was still laying on the couch, but this time Aria was watching TV. Adagio rolled her eyes then pointed a finger at Aria, "You know Aria, guys would actually ask you out if you put some effort into your appearance. Doom and gloom won't get you any boom you know..." Aria stuck a finger halfway in her mouth and fake gagged, "Oh bleh! 'Doom and gloom won't get you any boom'? that was the best you could come up with? Really? And besides, I don't need to find a guy since I can already do everything myself." Adagio turned up her nose, "Well excuse me for trying to keep things light! Also, that 'secret' stash of yours and all your 'helpers' aren't as good as the real thing. I should know... I tried a few myself." Aria's eyes shot open and she glared at Adagio, "Adagio, you-!" Before she could finish that sentence the door to the apartment was dramatically flung open. The afternoon light causing the newcomer to be shadowed dramatically, something clearly held in his or her hand. Slowly the unknown person began to step inside- "Stop with the theatrics Sonata, we know it's you." Adagio said as she preened herself in a pocket mirror, not even bothering to look in Sonata's direction. "Party pooper." Sonata mumbled. She closed the door behind her and went to put her taco supplies in the fridge. When she came back to the living room she walked in front of the TV and stood in front of it with he hands on her hips and a smirk on her face. "Move moron! You're blocking the TV!" Aria said while trying her best to look around Sonata. Sonata ignored Aria and didn't budge, "I have something to say!" Sonata shouted. Adagio and Aria looked at Sonata in confusion, then looked at each other with their eyebrows raised. Adagio was the first to speak, "Alright, what do you have to say?" Sonata took a deep breath, crossed her arms, and said, "Since you both seemed so set on me becoming an adult and acting my own age I have decided to rectify that! With this!" Sonata stretched her arm in front of herself and present that which laid upon her wrist. The tattoo of a mermaid sitting on a rock. The other two former Sirens blinked. "Is that a..." Adagio started to say. Sonata smirked, "Why yes, yes it is!" She held her head up high as Adagio continued to look at her wrist in shock. "It's fake." Sonata and Adagio looked at Aria, one confused, the other ashamed for even believing it in the first place. Sonata put her nontattooed hand on her hip, "Oh yeah? Well I'll have you know I bought this myself. So I'm pretty sure it's real." With that said Sonata stuck her nose in the air and closed her eyes. Unfortunately doing that made it so that she could not see Aria rush over to her. With a quick grab of Sonata's wrist Aria licked her thumb and yanked Sonata's arm to her. She swiped and rubbed on the tattoo on Sonata's wrist as hard as she could, Sonata struggled to get out of her grip but was unsuccessful. Aria suddenly stopped and released Sonata's arm, causing her to fall down to the ground. "There, told you it was fake. You're so the worst Sonata." Aria crossed her arms as she stared down at Sonata as the other former Siren sat on the floor. And without warning Sonata began to bawl her eyes out when she saw that her tattoo was smudged and ruined. Aria and Adagio grimaced when the horrible sound reached their ears. "Agh! Now look at what you did!" Adagio yelled to Aria, annoyance seeping into her voice. "What?! She was lying about the tattoo! Besides it's just one of those fake ones anyway! Why does she even care?!" Aria yelled back. "I don't know! Now fix it!" Adagio yelled to Aria, trying to make her hear her over the sounds of Sonata's constant sobbing. "What?! Why me?!" Aria looked indignant and it was clear in her voice s well. "Because you started... this!" Adagio waved her arm to Sonata at "this". Aria sighed, knowing that this situation won't end until someone takes care of Sonata. "It really is one of those days..." Muttered Aria before she moved to Sonata. She sat down next to her and asked, "Sonata you moron, why are you crying? It wasn't even a real tattoo. Get over it already." Aria was clearly out of her element. Sonata sniffed and rubbed her eyes, "I just wanted to show you two that I was" She hiccuped. "an adult. And I do act my" Sonata hiccuped again, "aaaaaggeee." Sonata stretched out the last word in a pitiful wail as she continued her crying session. Aria knew where this was going. "So I went out to do what Adagio wanted me to do, grow up." Sonata hiccuped and gave a rather long sniff and she continued to weep, though blissfully quieter now.. Aria glared at Adagio. "It was your fault after all!" Aria mouthed bitterly at the smug cheese puff. Adagio waved a hand in a "get on with it" gesture that made Aria grit her teeth in frustration as she attempted to make Adagio's hairspray soaked head burst into flames. Aria sighed, "Look Sonata, Adagio is an idiot who doesn't know when to shut up." Aria evilly smirked at the indignant screech that followed that sentence before continuing. "So don't you worry about what she said. She clearly has no idea about what she was talking about." Aria placed a hand on Sonata's shoulder. "That'll teach you to use my toys you little orange bitch." Aria thought. Sonata looked up into Aria's face and sniffed again, "For realzies?" Aria sighed, "Yeah, for realzies." Sonata jumped up and gave Aria a swift and painfully tight hug. "You're still the worst." Aria mumbled, refusing to let anyone know she enjoyed the hug she had with her sister when they broke apart. Sonata giggled, "No, you are." "Whatever." Aria crossed her arms before getting up and marching back to the couch. Sonata got up from the floor and joined her while Adagio went back to her spot on the love seat and sat back down in an angered huff. After a minute of TV Sonata sniffed the air and said, "Ew, why does it smell like nail polish?"