Sonata ran as fast as she could down the slick, quiet halls of the hospital, despite the constant scolding of the nurses and various staff. She didn’t care how much flak she caught from the hospital. The only thing she cared about was getting to room 244, and getting there fast.
“Sonata! Slow down!” called Adagio. She was several feet behind Sonata by this point, with the gap between them growing. “Relax!”
“You relax!” snapped Sonata. She twisted and turned around corners and rushed down several corridors before sliding to a stop outside of her destination, room 244. She shoved open the door and burst in recklessly.
Sonata hardly processed that Sunset Shimmer was even there. She ignored her as she stood up, looking like a child who accidentally broke their mother’s good china. No, instead, Sonata focused all of her attention to Aria. She was laid out on the bed, and had certainly seen better days. Aria’s left arm was wrapped and in a sling, her head wrapped in bandages. There were bruises, cuts and scrapes all across her face. Sonata’s jaw dropped at the sight of her broken, battered, unconscious wife, and felt a wave of several emotions. She was heartbroken, for one. She was also terrified for Aria’s well-being.
But more than anything, she was pissed.
“What happened to her?” Sonata demanded through gritted teeth.
“Dude, I’m not even sure, everything happened so fast,” said Sunset nervously. “We were heading back to my place, and I was crossing the street when I hear this truck honk at me. Next thing I know, I’m on the ground a couple feet away and Aria is laid out on the floor. She… She saved me.”
“So you mean to tell me that my girl got herself hurt because you were being careless?” said Sonata angrily. “You couldn’t look both ways?! Look at her! She’s… Gah! I can’t believe you, Sunset!”
“I’m so, so, so sorry, Sony, I-”
“Don’t you dare ‘Sony’ me!” snapped Sonata. “This is beyond ‘Sony’! My wife was just run over and it was all your fault and you think you can just come in and drop nicknames like everything is okay?! I should-”
“Down, girl,” croaked Aria. She slowly sat herself up, wincing in pain as she did. “Christ on a crutch… Geez, Sony, take a chill pill.”
“Aria!” squealed Sonata, tears streaking down her face. She completely forgot about Sunset and rushed to Aria’s side, hugging her tightly. Aria tried to hold in the gasp of pain for as long as she could, but after several seconds, there was really no hiding it.
“Okay, okay, I love you too, now get the hell off of me! That hurts!” grumbled Aria. Sonata quickly released her, biting on her fingernails in frightened anticipation.
“How’re you doing?” asked Sunset.
“Decent. Hopped up on pain meds,” said Aria. She chuckled softly. “I haven’t been this high since 1985.”
“Not funny, Aria. Now is not the time for jokes!” said Sonata, though she was relieved to know that Aria was okay. “I was so scared! You gave me a heart attack!”
“Calm down. It’s just a couple of bruised ribs,” said Aria, with a fairly convincing amount of nonchalance. “And a sprained wrist. And multiple contusions, a fractured ulna, and a mild concussion. Also, my legs are basically shattered.”
“Sonata!” called Adagio from the hallway. She ran past the room, then, realizing where she was, ran back and inside. “You’re going to get us kicked out!”
“Sup,” said Aria, waving her good hand. Adagio moved her lips, but no words came out. Instead, tears began to roll down her face, and it took her several seconds to regain her composure.
“You’re okay?” asked Adagio. Aria nodded, which put Adagio at ease enough to laugh, despite her tears. “How was the underside of a sedan?”
“First of all, it was a taco truck,” said Aria. “Second, it was about how you’d expect.”
Sonata felt her heart snap in two, and then those two halves explode into a million little pieces.
“It was… It was a taco truck?” asked Sonata weakly.
“Yeah, that Carlos’ truck that rides around downtown,” said Aria. “I don’t know what he was doing all the way by Sunny’s, but there he was.”
“No… Not Carlos’... I love Carlos’ tacos,” whined Sonata. “The best tacos in town ran over my wife… How do I live with that?! This is… I’m gonna have a word with him! All the money I’ve spent at his place and he runs my wife over! I’ll never eat another Carlos taco ever again! Nay, I’ll never eat any taco ever again!”
“Well, Carlos felt really bad about the whole thing,” said Aria. She reached down and grabbed a big box labeled “Carlos’ Tacos”. “As an apology, he left us these, and offered to feed us for life.”
“I believe his exact words were ‘Siren money is no good at Carlos’ Tacos’,” said Sunset.
“In that case, pass the box,” said Sonata. Aria rolled her eyes, then passed the tacos to Sonata. She knew better than anyone that Sonata was a stress eater, and it would be a mistake to stand in the way of her favorite food.
“So, anyone know when they’re gonna let me out of here?” asked Aria.
“You’re an idiot,” said Adagio, with a small smirk. “You’re broken in half. You’re not leaving here anytime soon.”
“What?! Are you nuts?! I have work tomorrow, I-”
“I would like to reiterate.” Adagio shook her head in disappointment. “You are an absolute buffoon. You have two broken legs.”
“Well, broken legs don’t pay bills,” said Aria. “Unless you’re sitting on some lottery winnings, we’re about where we started a couple of months ago.”
“I’ll get a job,” offered Sonata. “Actually, I was looking into that trendy, hipster place that just opened up downtown. They’re looking for a hostess, and I thought I’d apply.”
“You? A hostess?” asked Aria.
“Well, she does have great people skills,” said Sunset.
“Smiling and saying ‘hello’ are two things that Sonata can do fairly well,” said Adagio. “Plus, she’s cute. I think she’d do just fine.”
Aria didn’t like this situation at all. It wasn’t fair that Sonata had to work because of her. This was the exact opposite of what she wanted. Aria bit down gently on her tongue, every fiber of her being resisting her decision to say what she was about to say.
“If they treat you bad, promise that you’ll let me know,” said Aria. Sonata nodded in agreement. “Seriously, Sony. I’m not too crippled to kick someone’s butt.” Sonata smirked, barely holding back a laugh. Honestly, Aria was amazing. Even when she was literally battered and broken, she would do anything to defend Sonata.
“Of course, babe,” said Sonata. “I’ll tell them that my injured, crippled, wheelchair-bound wife is gonna make them sorry they ever picked on me.”
It was only then that Aria realized how truly ridiculous her threat was.
“Hey, they can laugh if they want,” snickered Aria. “People in wheelchairs can kick ass, ya know.”
The Sirens shared a laugh that Sunset didn’t understand, but she figured she’d find out soon enough what the joke was. She was going to be the one to look after Aria while the others were at work, after all. The two would be spending even more time together than usual.
“Hey, Sonata, how about we head to your place real quick?” suggested Sunset. “To grab some stuff to make Aria more comfortable.”
“I’d kill for a bottle of hot sauce,” said Aria. “And maybe something to read.”
“Sure thing, babe. Anything you want, just call me and let me know,” said Sonata. Sunset ushered her out of the room, closing the door behind them. As they set off down the hall, Sonata thought now would be a good time to apologize for her behavior.
“Sunny?” she said. “Sorry for biting your head off like that. I was just really scared, and upset, and you were right there.”
“Don’t worry about it. I totally get it. If that was Twi in that bed, I’d be all over whoever was closest,” said Sunny. “I do feel really bad, though, and that’s why I wanted you to come with me.”
“Hm?”
“Is there anything you think Aria would need to get through the day?” Sonata tilted her head in confusion. “Well, you know, she’s normally working or hanging out with you, and now that she can’t do either of those at much… You think she might get bored?” As Sonata thought on it, she realized that it was foolish of her to expect Aria to stay home alone all day without going completely insane. Aria never spoke about why, but she seemed afraid to be alone. Something to keep her mind off of Sonata’s absence might do a world of good.
“Well, she likes to draw a lot,” said Sonata. “Maybe you could get her some good art supplies?” Sunset grinned, an idea forming in her head.
“I’ll do you one better, Sonata,” said Sunny. “I gotta make a stop before we head to your place.”
Aria never truly appreciated her legs until she couldn’t use them anymore. She was now almost entirely confined to her bedroom (although she was welcome to wheel herself over to Adagio’s room if she ever wanted to use her computer). She had only been home one night and she was already sick of sitting on her butt. She wanted so much to stretch out and go for a walk, or maybe visit Sonata at her new job. Aria just felt useless now. To make matters worse, she was all alone, and she didn’t like that very much. Before she could feel too sorry for herself, she heard the door open downstairs.
“Hey, I’m here!” called Sunset. “Sorry I’m late, Twi was explaining to me how she can bring magic through the mirror despite not having access to her horn or spellbooks. It was actually kinda fascinating.”
“Nerd,” snickered Aria. “You’re only a few minutes late, anyway. Come on up, maybe you can tell me about that magic crap.” Sunset snickered, then headed up the stairs.
“I’ll just speak English, for those of us who aren’t dating Stephen Hawking the Second, and spare you the astral physics lesson,” chuckled Sunset. “That twenty-minute lecture was essentially to say that the mirror has an effect on Equestrian magic that strips it down, like a spaceship re-entering the atmosphere.”
“So the spell burns out?”
“More or less. Easiest way to combat that is to add a bunch of shielding spells on top of the enchanted item to burn out first. Problem with that is they’re hard as all heck to put on, and they don’t always hold. Me and Twi are working on a way to get around that, so we can bring more magic into this place.”
Sunset climbed the final stair and crossed the hall to Aria’s room, holding a thin, wrapped package in her hands. Aria raised an eyebrow in confusion, but said nothing of it. Sunset stared at her, waiting patiently.
“Alright, fine. I’ll bite,” sighed Aria. “What’s in the box?”
“I thought you’d never ask. I felt really bad about what happened, so I got you a little something,” said Sunset. She handed the box to Aria. “Sadly, there’s no ‘Sorry you got run over by a taco truck’ card, I checked Hallmark three times.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” said Aria. She looked at the box sort of uneasily. “I’m not great at ‘thanks’, but thanks.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just open it up, okay?” Aria ripped at the paper, pulling it off to reveal a brand-new drawing tablet. She practically squealed in excitement.
“Sunny, I want you to understand that, if my ribs weren’t bruised right now, I’d be hugging the crap out of you,” said Aria. “You’re the greatest!”
“I’ll take a rain check on that hug,” chuckled Sunset. “I figured that you could use some sort of distraction while Sonata is away. Plus, if you really set your mind to it, you might even be able to make some money off of it.”
“Huh?”
“Ever hear of Patreon?”
Aria had not, so Sunset spent the next few minutes explaining it to her. Basically, if Aria could get people to like her art, she could eventually convince them to become her Patrons. For every piece of art she put out, her Patrons would pay her a set amount of money. Aria was a bit skeptical at first.
“Look, I just draw for fun. I’m not a pro or anything,” said Aria. “I doubt anyone would pay me for my art.”
“Well, RD has seen you draw, and she said that she would pay an inordinate amount of money for a good One-Punch Man pic,” said Sunset. “I think it’s worth a try.”
“Hm. I guess, maybe… I have been doodling a lot lately.” Aria considered it more. “Alright, let’s give this baby a try. Wheel me to the computer so I can try it out?”
“Sure,” said Sunset. She grabbed Aria’s wheelchair. “Let’s make some money.”