//------------------------------// // V. A Gym and An Alleyway // Story: If Sins Be Forgiven… // by Milliardo5 //------------------------------// Patiently, Adagio had been conceiving a plan to destroy the Rainbooms’ unity. She went through a number of scenarios in her mind, and it had occupied much of her time. So much, in fact, that she and the other Dazzlings didn’t even show up for either Tuesday or Wednesday classes, which was fine by Adagio. Though definitely it was irritating their newest member. “What is that plan again?” Clearly Crescenda was already annoyed. They had missed classes yesterday at Adagio’s insistence, and then today she asked them again to join her at their quarters. Adagio faced them as Crescenda and Aria sat at the sofa. “I have something in my mind—we send a fake text message to one of them and let it spread among them”, Adagio said with malicious glee. “So how are you going to do that?” Crescenda was asking the questions not out of any particular interest, but because she was still annoyed that she couldn’t go to class just because of Adagio’s obsession over the Rainbooms. “With this”, Adagio held up her own smart phone. “We just send out a text message to one of them…” “You do realize that they know each other’s numbers, right?” Crescenda cut her off. “And that’s why I’ll send that fake message saying I lost my phone and need her help”, explained Adagio calmly. “Now who would be dumb enough to fall for that?” followed up Crescenda, but Adagio merely gave her a wicked smile. “Ah, you mean her?” Crescenda answered her own question. “My, you catch on real fast”, said Adagio with a bit of sarcasm, though she was clearly proud of her as well for such a fast learner. “Don’t forget that I still have that twerp’s number with me!” “But wouldn’t she know it’s you?” Crescenda pressed on. “I’m way ahead on that”, countered Adagio as she took something out of her pocket, “with this!” She held up a new SIM card for them to see. Aria gave her usual blasé clap, complete with an expressionless face. Crescenda just sat there without much emotion. Adagio went on, ignoring their non-expressions. “Dual SIM phones are a wonder”, she said, half in admiration for the technology, and half grateful that such a thing existed. She took off the back cover, put in the new SIM into the other SIM slot, then replaced the cover. After a few taps on her smart phone, she triumphantly held the phone back up for them to see. “Now we’re in business!” she said, giving them again that evil grin. “So what happens next?” This time it was Aria who asked the question. “I’ll send that message to her, posing as one of her friends, and send her over to a secluded spot”, Adagio now began to reveal the rest of the plot. “There we will be waiting for her, and I’ll tell her some things about her so-called friends.” She looked at them, waiting for some reaction from any of them, but she noted that Crescenda was only irked. “That’s it?” Crescenda said, now greatly annoyed. “You had us absent for two days just to tell us of that silly plan of yours?” Adagio’s rage began to boil over at what she perceived to be a challenge to her. “Why, you have a better plan?” she snapped back at her. “I never did hear any of you give me suggestions while I am agonizing on what to do to them!” “You’re too obsessed about it”, Crescenda remarked. Now that really brought Adagio to the tipping point. “Listen, I will not let any of them take what should have been mine!” she now almost screamed. “We could have won if it weren’t for them! We were so close, and they have to get in the way! I want to see them break up, and one by one I will get them!” “Don’t forget, that little tramp will be the first”, Aria added quietly, though inwardly she was just as much relishing what would happen. “She will be the first”, vowed Adagio. “Mental torture would be much more fun than anything else! Casting doubts to sow the seeds of betrayal—now wouldn’t that be exciting?!” she asked, though she wasn’t actually waiting for them to answer a rhetorical question. “Wonderful and dramatic”, deadpanned Crescenda. “But I hope it will work.” “Oh it will”, Adagio now said, imagining how things will be. “So when will we make this happen?” Aria asked. “Very soon, this Friday in fact at the school’s first assembly in the gym”, Adagio replied. “While people are busy we will spring this plan into action…” She gave them a wicked grin after saying it, her eyes now glinting with much malice. The week went by quite fast, and already Friday came. Sunset was already at school early, but didn’t go in just yet as she waited for the others to arrive. She saw Rainbow Dash coming, hurrying up a bit as she approached school. “Glad to have found you”, she said when she reached her, panting a bit since she had hurried. With a questioning look, Sunset faced her. “What is it all about?” she asked her. “Well, I found out that they still haven’t left school. They’re..” before she could finish, both of them saw the three walking together in formation, their faces smug as they walked. “Looks like they’ve decided to show up”, Sunset said, eyeing them carefully. The two groups were silent as the Dazzlings passed them by, though with a glint in her eye Adagio eyed Sunset as she passed. Sunset didn’t react too much, though she was wary of them. “Creepy”, Rainbow Dash shivered when they were gone. “I don’t like what I felt when they passed, either”, admitted Sunset. Then she turned to walk in. “Come on, let’s check out what Pinkie and Sonata did to the gym”, she invited, to get the chilly feeling off. They walked towards the gym. It was still rather early, so there were few people. Sunset kept her guard though, just in case any of the Dazzlings, or even all of them, suddenly showed up, but they haven’t encountered any of them as they headed towards the gym. Finally they arrived. Sunset opened the doors and gasped with what she saw. Rainbow Dash as well marveled at the sight. The gym had balloons all over, plus brightly colored paper as well as other ornaments on display. The gym had been decorated in such a way as to give a real feeling of cheerfulness. The two can feel the personalities of the two at the sight—it was clearly the work of two lively, cheerful people. “So they did all these, just the two of them?” Rainbow Dash said, unable to stop being impressed. Even Sunset couldn’t stop smiling. It was truly a welcome sight, something that would cheer anyone coming in. “They really deserve congratulations”, she said as she took out her smart phone and began sending messages to them. “Real neat that they worked hard for this. No wonder they said they’d be late going home the past few days”, Sunset said after sending the messages. “I wonder if they had any help”, Rainbow Dash wondered, still gaping at the sight. “If ever that would be Rarity, but I doubt since the way it is decorated don’t seem like the way she would put it”, observed Sunset. “But certainly someone helped them do this”, she continued. “Well, it is still lovely”, Rainbow Dash said, and Sunset agreed. She looked at her watch. “Assembly here would be 2 hours before lunch”, she remarked, “so we only have about an hour for classes. Guess that’s enough time for lab.” “I can’t wait for it”, Rainbow Dash said as her excitement began to build up. “You must be looking forward to this year’s sports program”, Sunset looked at her, seeing how much excited her friend already was. Dash nodded. “It’s time to show them who’s the best!” she said with a yell. “The others must be outside by now”, Sunset said as she looked at her watch again. She looked around some more, then turned around to head out. “Let’s go and wait for them at the school entrance”, she said to Rainbow Dash. Dash nodded, then followed her to the entrance. The hour dragged by more slowly than she imagined it to be, observed Sunset as she was in lab. Normally she wouldn’t have minded it, as lab was her getaway, where she can go over the experiments and equipment and whatever else was inside it. Now though she can’t wait for the assembly to start, as it would kick off not only the school year, but the sports program as well. Dash would be very excited by now, she thought as she tried hard to get into what she had to do. It wasn’t working out, though she had to concentrate real hard just to make it work. While working though, her mind was as well already on her friends. She also thought of Pinkie and Sonata, who worked hard decorating the gym. And as well, Rarity would most likely be waiting for this, if only to look at how the decoration turned out. Mercifully, the time came for the students to go to the gym after a brief announcement from Principal Celestia. She followed the students who trooped toward the gym. She thought of waiting for any of the group to pass her class, but with the many students going there it was almost impossible to see any of them, so she simply went ahead. Or behind, as the case may be. She saw that most of the students were already inside when she arrived. Most of them were standing in the middle of the court, while others were seated on the bleachers. Too many people seated already, she figured as she scanned both for a seat and for her friends. She was tempted to take out her smart phone, but she thought that the others might have had their phones on silent mode. She then did what she had to: she steeled herself and waded into the crowd, going to a spot that she felt would be where they were. As the students gathered inside the gym, three figures quietly slipped away and went outside. Besides the gym was the soccer field, and the three stood there to map out their next move. Adagio quietly motioned that she would go to the top of the building adjacent to the gym, while the two went away to go outside the school to the designated place where they would meet. With the campus deserted, since most of the students and faculty were in the gym, it wasn’t hard for her to get into the building. Adagio climbed the stairs until she reached the topmost floor. It was an open space, which gave a very good view of the whole campus. She could see the gym just across, and spy whoever would go in or out of it. Quickly she put her plan into action. Taking out her phone, she began to tap and then send the fake message to Sonata. She then waited. A few minutes passed by and she was getting impatient. She kept looking at her phone for some message on it. That tramp probably has her phone on silent, she realized, and was about to go down and call it off when she saw Sonata’s reply. She exalted silently, then sent a message to the two Dazzlings now waiting at the alleyway to get ready. A few more seconds passed before she saw Sonata come out the gym. She hurriedly went down the building, careful not to let anyone see her, especially not Sonata. She went to a shortcut towards the alleyway so she could be there ahead of her. Before Sonata went out, she sent a message from her phone to Sunset, telling her that one of the group needed her help in looking for her phone, which she said must be around the alleyway near school. Luckily at that moment Sunset put her phone out to check if anyone has sent a message. She read it, and was about to put the phone back into her pocket when she realized something. Wait a minute, everyone should be here, she thought. Dreading the worst, she sent a group message to the others, asking them if anyone lost her phone. I hope they read it, she said to herself as she waited nervously for their replies. One after another they replied, all saying they have their phone, though she really didn’t need to know that the moment their replies came in. She then told them what transpired, and then said that she’d be going out to tail her. Hopefully I’m not too late, she thought glumly. She had to fight her way out the crush of people, which ate up precious minutes. She knew every second would count, especially in a case like this. Finally she got out. She stood for a second outside the gym, realizing she hadn’t the faintest idea where Sonata went. She checked again her phone to find out for a clue. She said something about an alley, she noted, reading again the message. She thought for a moment about it, then remembered about an alley just near the school, which was rather deserted and lonely. After firing off a quick message to the others, she ran as fast as she could toward the place. Sonata walked at a fast pace, almost sprinting, as she went to the place that the message said she should go to. Ever since she had met the group, that willingness to help, to really belong with them, came to her. It must be Pinkie, or Dashie, or anyone of them, she thought, trying to figure out who among them could’ve lost her smart phone. She didn’t recognize the number, though that wasn’t unusual, she thought, since the person must have used another one’s phone to send the message. At last she came to the place. She looked around. The alleyway was a narrow place between two buildings. It was just at the back of the school. Actually the fastest way to get there was to climb the wall at the campus’ end, at which that alley would then be directly at the other side of it. And there, standing and waiting for her, were the Dazzlings. When she saw them, she was shocked. She began to tremble, especially at the sight of Adagio. “Finally, it is nice to see you again, ‘sister’”, Adagio said with a snide. Sonata was rooted to the spot where she was standing, unable to get away, even though at that moment every fiber in her body was already screaming for her to flee. Somehow though, she couldn’t do it. But her eyes were wide with fear, for she knew what Adagio can do. Adagio sensed her fear, and she laughed evilly when she sensed it. “What’s the matter, aren’t you glad to see your ‘friends’ again?” she said, still taunting her. Beside her stood Aria and Crescenda, also giving out menacing grins. She took a step forward, just a small but calculated step, enough to see what would Sonata’s reaction be. She again gave out that menacing chuckle. “I am not here to frighten you, Sonata”, she declared as she took another step. “I have something to tell you; no, actually to show you”, she said as she now stood much nearer to her. Despite her fear, or maybe because of it, Sonata didn’t turn or run, but she stood there, even though she was trembling. “You really want to know your new friends?” Adagio said, more of a statement than a question really. “Well I have something to show you.” She stood, took out some photos, and threw them on the ground. They were the pictures of Sunset, before she met and befriended Twilight Sparkle and the Rainbooms. “That’s your friend right there”, she said, still tauntingly. “Charming, isn’t she? You want to know more?” Sonata just stood, her gaze partly at the pictures and partly at Adagio. She didn’t reply though to any of what she said. “What if I told you she’s every way just like me, that she’s just as bad as I am, or even worse?” She now laughed at that. “You’re thinking that I’m bad, right? For kicking you out of our group? But your new friends have no need for you anymore than we do. And you might even be better off with us.” She laughed again. In any other time Sonata might have run at that point. She might have gone as far as she could. She didn’t want to listen anymore to Adagio. But she stood there. And at that moment, she found her true self. Whatever it was, she found a resolve that she never knew she had. She stood her ground, her eyes suddenly taking on a determination it never had before. “No Adagio”, she said firmly. “You’re wrong about something: Sunset isn’t like that at all. She never showed herself to be like that.” That declaration stunned Adagio. She didn’t expected that. She had always tagged Sonata to be the dim one, to be easily manipulated. For so many years she made sure that she would play by her hand. But what was happening was all unexpected. Aria and Crescenda weren’t prepared for it as well. They looked at Adagio, unsure what to do. Crescenda spoke up. “Looks like your little plan failed”, she said to Adagio. “Guess we need to be more drastic.” Adagio nodded at her, then turned her attention again to Sonata. “What did you just say, you little tramp?” She could feel her grip on her loosening. Just a little perhaps, but she could feel a change. And slowly, she could feel panic rising. Just a little, but it was there. She stepped forward, but Sonata just stood there. She could see her stance wasn’t what she was accustomed to—it was a different Sonata that stood before her. “What was that again you said?” she repeated. “You now have the courage to defy me? I was hoping to have this settled in a more peaceful manner, maybe let you run away after shattering your spirit, but I see I now have to do it the hard way.” She made another step, and the other two at both her sides also began to step forward. Sonata saw this and began to back away. “Don’t you make another step”, a voice said, and Sonata turned to see Sunset standing behind her. Her eyes were like steel, hard and cold, fixed intently on Adagio. For a moment Adagio snapped out of her demeanor, shaken at the sight of Sunset before her. Her panic began to grow now. But she held on and got a grip of herself, locking her eyes with Sunset. “My, you arrived just in time”, she said, finding her rhythm once again. “I was just introducing you to your new friend here”. At the mention of the word ‘friend’, she spat it out with disgust. “Let her go”, Sunset said, her voice hard. “It’s me and the Rainbooms you’re after, not her.” She spoke with measured pace, just enough to keep the sound of a threat without actually saying one. While waiting for Adagio to say something, she addressed Sonata without turning around to her, keeping her gaze fixed at Adagio. “Back down, Sonata”, she said. Sonata nodded, stepping aside and going right behind her. “Brave”, Adagio said. “I’ll give you that. But let’s see if you’re a match for me.” She then took a different stance. Now she was ready to fight. “I never did want to do this”, she said to Sunset. “I could always do this if I wanted to, but I’d rather use my pendant to do the work for me. But you broke our pendants. Now thanks to you and your little friends, I might have to show you what I can do.” She lunged forward at a fast pace, her hands now clenched. She was fast, but Sunset was faster. She made a quick move, evading Adagio’s lunge. Adagio almost fell forward as her momentum got her off balanced. She grunted with rage for missing Sunset, then turned and charged again. And again Sunset made a quick sidestep to avoid her. Yet again Adagio almost fell down from her own move. She was now clenching her teeth, mad at Sunset for evading her so far. She tried to do it again, quickening her pace a little bit to keep Sunset off guard. But yet again she missed as Sunset stood aside to avoid her. While all of that was happening, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity arrived. They saw what was happening, and went over to Sonata’s side. They wanted to help out, but quickly saw that so far Sunset seemed to be holding her own very well. Adagio made several more lunges, but all of them failed. Each time she almost got Sunset, but not quite. And at each miss, she was getting more and more frustrated. This never happened to her before. Her rage, her anger, was slowly unbalancing her. Aria noticed it, too. She had never seen Adagio in so much rage. She saw that with each frustrated attempt, she was losing her balance and getting even more blinded with rage. Adagio was now more and more becoming a wreck. She was frightened for Adagio, frightened at what was happening. She could feel that at any moment she could snap. It was as if nothing else was fueling Adagio other than pure, blind rage. “Come here, you!” Adagio was now screaming. She was getting tired and frustrated, each swing, each lunge taking more and more of her energy. But what was tiring her was her anger, as she could not lash out at the person in front of her. She was tired, and she was at the breaking point. It went on for a few more minutes until she finally collapsed on her hands and knees, spent from both chasing around Sunset and he own rage. Sunset now just stood above her. She looked up, seeing her tower over her. She knew that she had her. “Come on, hit me!” she screamed at her, looking up at her. Now tears were falling down in her frustration. “Get it over with and hit me!” She began to sob and looked down, head bowed. “We were so close…we could have had it…” she said, sobbing. Sunset just stood there, looking down on her. Her eyes were still hard. She gazed at her like that while she spoke. “No, I don’t have to. You’re broken, Adagio. There’s no need for me to hit you.” She spoke with measured words, her voice cold and hard. The Rainbooms were transfixed with what they were witnessing, awed at the calmness of Sunset. Sonata looked at Adagio, still on her hands and knees and sobbing. She felt pity for her. She went over standing beside Sunset, then gently lowered herself until she was almost level to Adagio, at the same time stretching her hand to reach out to her. Adagio turned, her gaze still wild, her face twisted with rage. “You!” she screamed at her. “Get away from me! Don’t you ever touch me!” She then stood up, and still sobbing ran away. Aria and Crescenda looked at each other, looked at Sunset, then ran after Adagio. Sonata was still in that position, shocked from Adagio’s reaction. Pinkie went over and hugged her. Sonata wept, very much sad at what had happened. Sunset’s eyes softened. She looked at Sonata, reaching out for her. Sonata took her hand and stood up, hugging her. She let Sonata weep and let her emotions flow. Later they went back to school. Classes after all had not yet ended. Principal Celestia met them and wondered where they went since she wanted to thank Pinkie and Sonata about the decorations, but she decided to just do it some other time when she saw how they looked. She didn’t inquire anymore what happened, but let them go to their classes. Before the school day ended, Sunset was at the music room. She had taken out her guitar and now was strumming, her mind wandering to what just happened. She realized she had done something she hadn’t done in a long time: she stood up to someone. She let a part of her she thought had been gone come back. But she wasn’t frightened. Somehow, she realized that she could put that part of her do good, to help others if the situation called for it. It was an older part of herself, yet at the same time a new thing. She didn’t understand much of it yet, but perhaps in the coming days she will. She was still lost in the moment when the door opened. She looked up, and there was Sonata. She smiled when she saw her. Sonata went over to where she was. “I would just like to say, thank you for what you did”, she said, a little bit shyly. “That’s nothing”, she replied. “You’re our friend, and we’re here to help you out.” She then motioned for Sonata to sit. After sitting down, she continued talking to her. “I’ve been meaning to tell you this”, she began, “but I can see that you’re really a kind, brave, and intelligent girl.” Sonata looked at her and gave her a sheepish smile. “I think you’re just being silly because you don’t think anyone would like your serious side, that you’re afraid that people might take not see you for who you are.” Sonata didn’t speak at once, considering what Sunset just said. “I’m just being silly because I don’t want to get hurt”, she said. “I guess you could say that it’s my defense, my way of trying to shield myself.” Sunset nodded. “But”, Sonata went on, “that’s just between the two of us. Don’ tell anyone, not especially Pinkie.” Sunset smiled. “I won’t.” Sonata smiled, then got up. “Pinkie’s out waiting for me. She said that she’d treat me out.” She beamed. “I think we’ll hang out a lot, for realsies!” She waved then went out the room. Sunset just sat there for a moment, tucked away her guitar, and headed out. Adagio stumbled into their quarters, not bothering to turn on the lights. She went to the chair, flinging herself wildly. She was still sobbing, pounding the table in anger. She was beaten, much more so than what happened at the Battle of the Bands. She couldn’t accept her helplessness, her inability to just even as much as sneak a punch at Sunset. She was losing it, her mind now filled with nothing but hate and revenge. Then she began to laugh. A laugh that she never did before. Aria and Crescenda came to the door and heard it. They heard the laugh. Aria trembled with fright. She had never seen Adagio like that before. It was like she had lost all sanity. From within she could hear her talk. “Oh, I will get you, Sunset Shimmer! You just wait and see! I will have my revenge!” She raved like that. Aria and Crescenda backed away from the door, running far from the place. They knew something had changed in Adagio, and they weren’t in the least bit comfortable with it. That night, Sunset wrote again on her notebook. She described what happened, how things went. As she was closing it, she realized that, in a way, Sonata had forgiven herself and accepted who she was. She saw that she has grown in just a short time. But she also realized there was still much to do. Adagio was still out there, as well as Aria and their new member, Crescenda. Maybe she and the Rainbooms wouldn’t be able to reach out to them just yet, but sooner or later it might change. She’s not certain of anything yet, but at least the one thing that’s certain was that Sonata’s on her way to the path of redemption, and it was a path that leads to healing.