Nothing had really changed since Aria's last attempt, so again she sat with her back to Adagio's door, just saying whatever came to mind.
"So I guess that's why I kinda like wearing heels."
No questions, comments, or even a hint of mockery for the slightly embarrassing personal story. She sighed.
"Look, about what I almost said before, I really didn't mean to-... You can't help who your parents are, y'know? I think we both had that problem."
It might have been amazing how long I-can-monologue-for-hours Adagio had gone without uttering a single word if it weren't so unsettling.
"Did you ever tell Sonata where you came from?"
As much as she was telling Aria now, it seemed.
"You never told me either, but it wasn't hard to figure out. Nobody born outside the spires would'a known what you knew, knew how to do what you did, what you helped us do. Not like I blame you, spire-folks were always kind of-" She was startled by the doorbell, which knocked her off her train of thought. When it rang again, she stood up, looking over her shoulder to whisper to the door. "I'll get it. Don't go anywhere, 'kay?" She doubted that would be an issue, but felt like she had to say it anyway.
Answering the door, Aria immediately scowled at the blue girl before her. "I told you, you aren't welcome here anymore, we want nothing to do with you, and never to come back!!"
The door was slammed in Photo Finish's face. "Vell, I never!"
Aria hadn't even told Adagio she was back when the doorbell rang again, making her growl and stomp back to the front door in haste. She flung it open. "WHAT?!"
Sonata shrank back a little. "Uh... hi!"
Oh, yea, the deserter. Alive, I guess, despite all those band-aids. Not gonna ask. "What do you want, runt?"
Been a while since she called me that... Aria is NOT happy, but that's kinda normal for her. That's okay, I come bearing friendship! Sonata managed a smile. "How have you guys been doing?"
"Fine."
"What'cha been up to?"
Aria legitimately wanted to smack Sonata right then, and she doubted Adagio would yell at her for it this time. Unfortunately, something in her expression, a weird angle to her smile or a twinkle in her eye, made Aria more curious than mad. "Could ask you the same thing. What are you even doing here? Thought you said you'd be livin' it up with your new pals."
Sonata smiled wider. "I am! Or, I was, and, will be again, but, well..." The grin turned bashful as Sonata folded her arms behind her back. "I wanted to say I'm sorry. For the yelling, the name-calling, the always making a mess when I try to cook, for every time I ever ticked you guys off. I'm sorry, okay?"
Aria's mouth hung open as she gaped in silence.
Tilting her head a little to the side, Sonata looked into the house. "Can I say it to Adagio too? Is she home?"
There was a stab of panic as Aria considered the state their former leader the state their just-on-break leader was in; not one for visits. "No," she answered with a scowl, "no you can't, just go back to your new buddies so they can get sick of you too."
To Aria's immediate surprise, Sonata didn't whine, didn't pout, didn't puff out her cheeks, didn't even shoot back with something stupid, just started making a sad, pleading kind of smile. "Please? It's important."
For some twisted, back-of-your-head little reason, Aria actually kind of wanted to let her in, but she couldn't see Adagio the way she was. Literally. Door was in the way. "Look, she's busy, you can come back some other-"
"What's she doing?"
Sonata was still smiling at her, doing that unplaceable thing with her face that only she seemed capable of doing. It was like Adagio's Obey Me look, but with smiling! "I, she's..." The look persisted, something in the back of Aria's head bringing up tiny kittens playfully wiggling their tails as they stared up at her, eyes quietly begging for something in her hand. It was that look that had been used to recruit Aria for the gem heist all those years ago, and it was that look that made her spill the beans now.
Aria took a deep breath. "Nothing, okay? She's doing nothing. Just been crying in her room the last day or two, and I can't snap her out of it."
For a moment, the smile weakened as Sonata stared in wide-eyed disbelief. "...Like, nothing but crying? She never even went to the bathroom?"
Aria rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean, you little dumba-" Aria stopped dead, giving Sonata a pained look. Her mouth twitched a few times before she turned away. "She won't wanna talk to you, so just-"
"Let me try. Please?"
Even with her back to Sonata, she could still feel that look on the back of her head. Clenching her eyes and jaw, Aria tried to be angry, tried to focus on how Sonata ditched them with every intention of leaving them behind forever, but a number of recent thoughts cropped up in her mind. She's here now, right?
To her own surprise, Aria didn't have to force the words. "C-come on."
Sonata followed her inside. "Hey, Aria?" Her oldest frenemy stopped to look at her, getting a warm smile for it. "Thank you."
Not sure how to feel about the eels in her guts, Aria nodded and continued to Adagio's door, Sonata right behind her. She gently knocked once. "Hey, me again. Sonata came back, she wants to talk to you." Part of her would have been insanely annoyed if that were all it took to open the door, but within seconds, it was clear that there was no need to worry that Adagio just liked Sonata better. Looking at Sonata, Aria resisted saying anything about having told her she wouldn't want to talk, nodding to the door instead.
Just a little nervous about the prospect of confronting a very emotional Adagio, Sonata cleared her throat. "Hey, Adagio. Boss-lady. Fluffy-wuffy." She giggled. "Sorry, I know you don't like it when I call you that. Can I come in? There's something I want to talk to you about."
Aria held her breath, but there was no sound from Adagio's room.
Sonata stepped forward, leaning on the door as she pressed an ear to it. "Aria tells me you're in here, but you were always pretty good at hiding. Remember? The first time I tried to talk to you, you slipped away and I couldn't find you for two days. When I found you, though, you swam away."
She smiled again, letting it carry into her voice. "You weren't a very fast swimmer, huh? I'm glad, though, because it meant I could talk to you. If I couldn't, you'd have never told me what was wrong with my plan, maybe nobody would have, and I would have gotten myself, a marching band, and maybe a whole lot of other kelpies in a lot of trouble. You might not have meant to, but you kind of saved me back then, even if it was just in a tiny way. And then, you saved all three of us by helping us get the gems! They might be gone now, but look where they've brought us! I know we've spent a long time just wanting to go home, but when I think about it? Equestria stinks! It's full of monsters and million-year-old evil and snobby, rich jerks that don't care if you get eaten by scorpian-crabs in your sleep. Over here, they just have that last one!"
Listening in silence, she thought she might have heard a stirring. "But there are good things here too. I went out and found some! I came back because I wanted to share those things with you guys, but you have to open the door. Please? We might not be ruling the world any time soon, but that doesn't mean we can't be happy."
Silence... And then a thump. It was soft, but Sonata faintly detected feet shuffling across a carpet. She backed away from the door. To Aria, standing just behind her, the sound of the tumblers moving was like a lullaby.
The door cracked, then slowly swung open to reveal a messy, orange mass of perma-bedhead draped over a yellow girl in a fluffy, black bathrobe. The belt was tied haphazardly, but at least preserved her modesty by holding the robe shut, as this might have been all she was wearing. She stood at an angle to Aria and Sonata, leaning her head enough that her hair hung over her face. "What do you want?"
Sonata kept her smile. "First, I wanted to say I'm sorry about what I said when we were fighting." She had a stroke of brilliance and decided not to apologize for each specific insult. "Remember how I said I'd go make new friends? Well, I did, but I still wanna keep you two, if you'll let me." Adagio still wasn't looking at her. Maybe her face was burned by acid or something and she hadn't found a comfortable mask yet, so she was letting her hair hide it instead. "It's pretty nice, y'know, having friends. I don't know if that's what we were before so much as world-conquest buddies, but friendship is a lot easier!"
"They blasted you with their magic again, didn't they?"
Rainbow-laser-free, Sonata giggled. "Nah. Well, unless just spending time with them counts, then yes, and it wasn't too bad!" Give or take the parts where her plans for swiping stuff literally bit her in the butt, but still! "I learned some stuff from the Rainbooms, like gerbil philosophy and where to dodge-roll in a mall, but most importantly, I learned we might get our singing voices back!"
At last, Adagio looked her in the eye, her own wide and bloodshot. The others could see her face now; red around the eyes and stained with tears. It was at the same time that Adagio caught sight of Sonata for the first time since the argument, seeing the band-aids all over her face, arms, thighs, and presumably some other places. "Sonata, what are all these bandages?" She started to look almost angry. "What have you been doing? Are these from the Rai-"
Sonata held up a finger in an almost disapproving-mother kind of way. "Ohh, no you don't, Missy! We're talking about you crying first!"
"I wasn't-"
Aria winced, still looking away. "There's really no denying it at this point, Adagio."
Adagio's lower lip twitched and she hid her face again, letting out a low whimper. "...I'm a disgrace. You said, both of you, said this was all my fault, and... I t-tried to rationalize it, tried to find a way to blame you instead," her voice became a pitiful squeak, "but you were right. I thought I'd planned everything out, but that mute girl and her shape-shifting vehicle mean I must have missed something, so it is my fault. We've lost that which brought us together, solely because of me."
There was a pause as Sonata, and even Aria, tried to think of some sentiment beyond the plainest platitude to make her feel even a little better.
No such thing was uttered as Sonata smiled. "Yep, you sure goofed!"
Adagio looked back with shock and a twinge of hurt in her face. Aria's jaw had dropped, but Sonata went on, her smile unchanged.
"I mean, not accounting for the chance of a random yahoo who happened to be immune to our magic because she never heard our songs sure is an oversight, like not thinking that same near-deaf person would listen to the first purple dog she saw when it tried to lead her somewhere in the middle of the night! You probably didn't even think there could be someone that we weren't affecting at all that wasn't immediately working with the other girls, who at least had the cohesion to be immune for no reason at all, and that that same person could have a car that transforms into exactly what they needed to beat us!"
She giggled. "It's okay, though, your failure to account for that possibility coming straight outta nowhere at the last minute only left us outnumbered two to one, then three to seven, eight if you count the magic headphone chick, which aren't exactly sporting odds and I kinda thought good guys had rules about that stuff. But yea, you totally should have been able to fight off all of them once Aria and me got knocked down by butterflies to the face, and I think you almost did! Too bad you didn't know what to do when one extra person in their song suddenly turned their magic into a Godzilla-sized glass horsey with even more straight-outta-nowhere-power than we've ever had in our lives, huh?"
Sonata blinked, putting a finger to her chin in thought. "Huh. Y'know, maybe it isn't your fault."
Adagio blinked slowly.
Aria's mouth twitched, the other two immediately taking notice. Unable to stop herself, she snickered, which quickly transitioned to giggling like a dolt, but she still managed to speak. "Feel better, Adagio?"
"I..." She'd done everything she knew how to do before the Battle, taken care of every loose end she caught, and that they'd still failed made the last few weeks all the harder to bear. However, thinking about it, she almost felt cheated. Probably like everyone we've ever influenced might, when they found themselves doing things they wouldn't have if not for us? It seemed fitting somehow.
Adagio smiled a little. "I think I'll get over it." She looked at Sonata. "You said we could get our voices back?" Kelpies were supposed to have an affinity for song, and that she thought she'd permanently cost the three of them a piece of their identity hadn't helped things.
Sonata told them what Sunset had told her, that if nothing else, the very girls that had destroyed their voices would be willing to help get them back, so long as the trio behaved themselves.
When the explanation was over, Adagio started to smile. It wasn't quite her usual, wicked grin, but definitely going that way. "Girls? I think I have a plan."
A wide grin erupting across her face, Aria victoriously pumped a fist in the air. "About damn time!!"
Tickled as she was by the sight, along with Sonata giggling with glee, Adagio contained herself. "But first, a few more questions, Sonata. About these bandages...?"
---
The three of them had moved to the living room, sipping from soda cans as Sonata regaled them with her journey of discovery, of failed thefts and little bonds formed, of her valiant combat against a pack of toast-loving doggies, and her conversion of a lost soul from the dark side. That last part really perplexed her fellow former weilders of dark magic, but as ever, they shared a look, silently agreed not to say anything, and let the moment pass.
"So," Adagio surmised, "Sunset Shimmer told you that whether our voices come back on their own or not, her group will help us... because, they're willing to forget what happened? Already?"
"Pretty much! They even set up a party for us over at-" Sonata gasped, hopping out of her seat. "The party! I think they're waiting for us, we should go now!" In a blink, she was grabbing Adagio's wrist and pulling her toward the door, which drew some resistance.
"S-Sonata, let go of me!"
"No time! C'mon, Aria, we've gotta get to the big friendship shin-dig!"
Shrugging, Aria stood up to follow, but couldn't help wondering if they'd draw the wrong kind of attention with Adagio looking all-
"I'm not, I-I can't-" Adagio managed to brace against the rim of the front door to avoid being dragged outside as she turned pink. "At least let me get dressed first!!"
It was then that Sonata noticed Adagio was still wearing nothing but her bathrobe with messy hair and reddish eyes. She smiled sheepishly and let her go. "Haha, sorry."
Huffing, Adagio quickly walked back to her room to make herself presentable.
While they waited, Aria looked at Sonata, noticing a shiny little heart necklace
"Where'd you nab that thing?"
Sonata smiled. "Free loot from a friend."
A skeptical eyebrow was raised. "They just give you stuff for hanging around them?"
"One did! Well, that and being her pack mule."
Eyes widening, Aria turned red. "...They're into some kinky stuff, huh?"
"I mean carrying crud around for a while!"
"Oh." There was a short, awkward silence as Aria glanced in the direction of Adagio's bedroom. "Why'd she come out for you, and not me?"
The master of talking to crying people smiled a little. "When you say a lot of mean stuff to somebody you want to be nice to again, you're supposed to take it back, stupid." The last word was delivered without any venom, drawing a similar reply.
"I was just about to when you got here, knucklehead."
"Pfft, likely story."
Aria's eyebrow twitched. "You pickin' a fight? Because it looks like you already lost one today."
Now Sonata did the irritable, puff-out-cheeks thing. "I'd like to see you do better against-"
"Girls, please," said Adagio as she stepped into view, wearing her usual purple dance outfit, massive ponytail, and, somehow, perfectly clean face. "Can't we just agree that you're both idiots?"
Amused, Aria smirked. "Oh, yea? What does that make you?"
So did Adagio. "Very annoyed on a daily basis."
"Wha-? Hey!"
Sonata snrk'd before erupting into gigglefits, the others infected with laughter a moment later.
When it died down, Adagio smiled apologetically. "I heard that, Sonata, and... I'm sorry too."
"Yea," concurred Aria, "same, to both of you."
That wasn't exactly the heart-felt session of touchy-feeliness Sonata was expecting it to be, but baby steps. There were still gonna be hugs somewhere, darnit!
Examining Adagio, Aria cocked her head a little. "How'd you get your eyes all... Not-a-crying-wreck?"
"Well-applied make-up and special contacts."
Aria blinked twice. "You wear contacts?"
"I don't like wearing glasses."
"You wear glasses?"
"Mainly for reading."
Sonata giggled. "Alrighty, but don't start crying again or you'll get all melty-faced!"
Adagio rolled her deceptively clear eyes. "Thank you, Sonata, I'll keep that in mind."
Curious about just how many times Adagio had worn those concealing contacts before, Aria made a mental note to keep an eye on Adagio's in the future. She turned to Sonata. "So, there gonna be food at this thing? Because I'm pretty sure Fuzzy-Wuzzy over there hasn't eaten in the last couple days."
It was said almost affectionately, but Adagio still made a show of huffing and crossing her arms. "I came out to eat while you were sleeping, which is to say, in the early morning and for an hour or two in the middle of the afternoon."
Aria flushed lightly as Sonata giggled at her. "Big ol' lazybones!"
"It's not being lazy, it's, uh..." She knew there was a word for it, she just couldn't remember what it was. She looked at Adagio. "I never saw any new dirty dishes in the kitchen."
"Did you see recently-cleaned ones?"
Aria's mouth opened as she held up a finger, but no words came. She jogged over to the kitchen to play Spot the Difference and was a little surprised to find that someone had clearly cleaned the results of a meal or two. Turning as she heard the others follow her into the kitchen, Aria made an irritated expression. "Do you have to be sneaky in everything you do?"
"I'm not sneaky in everything I-" Adagio stopped, her attention now on the drawing board on the wall near the table. It was placed there so she could go over plans and not have to worry about anyone missing details if they wanted to grab a snack in the process, but the current display left her very confused. "...Aria? What kind of scheme were you putting together here?"
Slooowly turning her head, Aria realized she hadn't remembered to clean the board following her compulsion to draw dinosaurs on fire. "Um..."
Oh, I missed these weird little moments, thought Sonata as she giggled. "Looks like a bunch'a lizards having a rave party!"
Aria scowled a little. "It's not a rave, they're on fire!"
"Because that makes more sense!"
"Whatever you were planning," Adagio said as she moved toward the front door, "you can explain it on the way, I think we have a gathering to attend."
---
Predictably, Aria's 'plan' had not impressed the others, but its formulation was no less interesting. One short conversation about the possible benefits of drawing spiky, metal bears on fire later, Adagio explained her intention to play along with the Rainbooms for now. They would take the groundwork Sonata's efforts had laid out and build up from there, if only long enough to alleviate the ill will most of the town probably still felt toward them.
"On that note, Sonata, you take point when we get there."
Frowning, Sonata gingerly rubbed her hindquarters. "I think I took enough 'points,' thank you very much."
"No, I mean, walk in front of us, as though we're just following you." She wasn't surprised in the least that Aria and Sonata let out confused noises at the same time. "Remember, we're supposed to be your guests here. They most likely want to think you've completely turned us around, so we'll have to play nice with them. At least until we have our voices back."
Aria nodded a little. "And, from there?"
"Play it by ear, I suppose. As we've learned that outright thievery doesn't go over well," Sonata smiled sheepishly, "we'll have to be a little craftier to benefit from this in the long run."
Chuckling, Aria indicated Sonata's new necklace. "Well, we know they give out freebies themselves, every now and then. More-so if you do a little manual labor for them."
"I have no intention of being their-" She caught sight of Sonata's newest non-band-aid accessory and smiled with amusement. "My, my, a heart? You do work fast, Sonata..."
"Huh?"
Tinting pink, Aria stared at Sonata in shock. "W-wait, you really did get that thing by...?"
"Wha-? No!! They don't do that stuff with random people, I even asked!" Now both of her fellow sirens were staring at her in surprise.
Adagio looked intrigued. "...You specifically asked each and every one of them about their... proclivities?"
"Well, just Rarity, she's the one that gave me the necklace."
There was a smirk. "The pale one with purple curls? Good choice!"
Before Sonata could reply, Aria scratched her head. "Wait, wasn't Flower Girl the one you let see you with your skirt off?"
"I didn't let her, it got torn off when I was screaming and rolling around on the floor in a pile of dogs!"
Adagio flushed crimson, holding both hands to her mouth in wide-eyed shock. "S-Sonata!!"
Sonata blinked. "What?"
"Man," Aria said with a rueful shake of her head, "we leave you alone for a few days and you go all wild. Never knew you were so depraved, Sonata."
When it sunk in, Sonata was glowing red. "TH-THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT, YOU PERVERTS!!"
There was a short silence as they walked, eventually broken by Adagio. "So, does that mean you're not cheating on Rarity, or were you with the skittish one first?"
Sonata groaned.