Aria stepped off the bus into the chilly evening and brought her hood up to ward off the night air, and to be harder to recognize. She blended into the crowd as they started to file into the Canterlot High School Amphitheater, where the finals of the Battle of the Bands was about to take place. No one was checking tickets; admission was free, but there were several vendors selling snacks and drinks. She bought a bottle of water then made her way into the seats, electing to take one of the seats in the back row.
Adagio hadn't accompanied her here. Aria had showed her the postcard that Sonata had almost certainly sent them, and she just scoffed, not saying another word about it. So when the night came, Aria told her that she had picked up an extra shift at work. She could sit there and stew in her worthless pride for all she cared. No matter what she did to try and fill the hole that Sonata had left in the functionality of the apartment, Adagio remained bitter and thankless. So here Aria was, taking a chance and seeing what this was all about. She wanted to see what Sonata had gotten herself kicked out over.
The two finalists this year were Flash Drive, headed by Flash Sentry, and Trixie and the Illusions, fronted by Trixie Lulamoon. Listening to both of them, they had marginally improved over last year. Flash Drive's set was twenty minutes, then it took a few minutes to set the stage up for Trixie and her band. Aria found herself surprised when Trixie's band wasn't performing the exact same songs that they did last year. After they were done, the staff, Principals Celestia and Luna included, briefly deliberated, before the two sisters took the stage, Celestia stepping up to the microphone.
"After two very spectacular performances, the staff judges panel has reached a decision. The winner of this year's Battle of the Bands is..."
Luna handed Celestia the envelope, and she quickly opened it and read the card.
"Trixie and the Illusions!"
The three members of the Illusions leaped up cheering in victory, as the crowd joined them. Flash Drive's members stood at the other end of the stage, gracious in defeat, also began to applaud. Trixie and her band mates stepped up to center stage, accepted the trophy, and collectively held it above their heads, before setting it down and taking a bow, before exiting on the right side of the stage, leaving Celestia and Luna up by the microphones as the applause began to die down.
"And now, performing a rather unexpected exhibition, Canterlot High School is proud to present, The Rainbooms!" Celestia announced, as the applause began again as the Rainbooms came out from the left side of the stage.
So there they were. Aria initially found it odd that they weren't competing. She saw the members of the Rainbooms quickly set up their equipment while Sunset stepped up to the lead microphone.
"Hello, CHS! We know that us not competing this year was a bit unexpected, and we'd like to congratulate Trixie and the Illusions on their victory tonight. Our exhibition performance tonight will probably be a bit unexpected to most of you, but we know you'll all love it. After all, we're about the magic of friendship here, and how anyone can seek it out. So without further ado, I'd like to introduce our guest vocalist tonight."
The applause began again, and then Aria saw her. Sonata stepped out from the left side of the stage, stepping up next to Sunset at the backup microphone, hands folded in front of her. Aria noticed the applause die down a bit, and she overheard hushed voices in the audience, such as "What's she doing here?" and "What's going on?"
Sunset nodded to Pinkie in the back, and she began counting off for the first song.
"One, two, three, four!"
Rainbow began strumming out a chord on her guitar, paired with Pinkie's bass drum.
"Once upon a time, you came into my life and made the stars align." Their bassist started off at her microphone.
"Now, I can see the signs. You pick me up when I get down so I can shine."
That was Sonata!
"Shine like rainbows... Shine like rainbows..."
Aria had no trouble picking her fellow former siren out from the group as they all joined in on the chorus.
"And the sound that we hear in our hearts, it's a crescendo. And the light that ignites in the dark, it makes us all glow, and shine like rainbows. We shine like rainbows... Shine like rainbows..."
Aria couldn't believe it, but she actually sounded better than she had in the Dazzlings at the competition last year. The two of them had always been backup to Adagio's lead singing, so maybe they hadn't realized their true potential. And if this was her true potential...
Sonata's heart ached with relief and joy. The applause overwhelmed her as she took in every detail of her shoes, taking a bow after their final song. Gone was her nervousness, as well as the uncertainty of the roaring crowd. Tears fell to the stage as she stayed bowed for ten, then fifteen seconds. She took a deep breath, then rose back to a standing position. When the crowd saw her smile, and her tears of joy, the applause only grew louder.
This... Was true adoration. The cheering students were giving her their applause willingly; it wasn't being taken by dark magic.
As the rest of the group began to bow, a chant began among the crowd, becoming more distinct as more and more students joined in.
"One more song! One more song! One more song!"
Sonata bit her lip as the crowd chanted for an encore. She couldn't break down now if they were going to go ahead with it.
"What do you say, Sonata? Up for one more?" Sunset asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.
Sonata looked into her friend's eyes, at her encouraging smile, then out to the crowd.
"Your song. Let's do it. Together." Sonata said, looking back to Sunset, knowing it would be the most appropriate way to wrap up the night. Sunset gave her a nod, then turned to the rest of the band, and shouted "Past is Not Today" away from the mic, but loud enough so they could hear her. She got nods from the others, and Pinkie started tapping her drumsticks.
Rainbow and Rarity performed the intro on their guitar and keytar, respectively, and Sunset and Sonata stepped up to their microphones.
"Power, was all I desired.
But all that grew inside of me, was a darkness I acquired."
The song was all too appropriate. Aria was now thoroughly convinced. Sonata had made the right choice. The magic of friendship was very real, and now she wanted nothing more than to be a part of it. She sat there in the back of the amphitheater, stunned at the sound of Sonata's voice.
"Ambition
Is what I believed
Would be the only way to set me free."
Aria noticed a faint aura begin to form around Sonata and Sunset Shimmer, and it got steadily brighter.
"Is... Is she...?"
"But when it disappeared
And I found myself alone
That's when you came and got me
And it felt like I was home."
She noticed that Sonata began to levitate as her ears glowed, shrunk, and moved to the top of her head, becoming pony ears, and her hair, as long as it was, became an even longer pony tail. Lastly, magnificent blue pegasus wings materialized on her back, instead of the fearsome red fin wings her siren-human hybrid had.
As the transformations progressed throughout the Rainbooms, the cheering of the crowd got louder, and nearly overtook the song, but Aria still heard the final chorus.
"Like a pheonix burning bright in the sky
I'll show there's another side to me you can't deny
I may not know what the future holds
But hear me when I say
That my past does not define me
'Cause my past is not today!"
Sonata had tears rolling down her cheeks again as the final words of the song left her lips, and Rainbow's last chords finished the song. She looked around, and saw that Sunset and the rest of the band had also transformed into their hybrid forms. As the crowd erupted in cheers again, Sonata leapt for joy towards Sunset, and nearly tackled her in a hug. Susnet stumbled, but stayed on her feet, and returned the hug in front of the crowd. They parted, and holding hands, bowed one last time before their audience.
When they came up from the final bow, their pony forms had dissipated, and the crowd began to file out of the amphitheater at the behest of Celestia and Luna, as their encore had made the show run just a tad long, and they wanted to get the students out onto the last buses of the evening.
"That... That was incredible!" Sonata exclaimed, wiping the tears from her eyes, "You have no idea what this means to me."
"I think we have some idea," Rainbow replied, "You've certainly proven yourself to us. We're glad to have you as an honorary member of the Rainbooms."
Sonata was beside herself, and as they started to have a small brief celebration on stage before packing up their equipment, Sunset put a hand on Sonata's shoulder to get her attention, and pointed to the stairs on the right side of the stage, where a familiar purple-and-teal-haired girl stood, a nervous, uncertain look on her face.
"Aria...?" Sonata said, taking a few steps towards the steps. Aria slowly ascended the trio of steps, looking at Sonata as they closed in on each other. She cleared her throat, and nervously fidgeted with her arms as she struggled with her averting gaze.
"You... You sounded... Beautiful. Absolutely amazing. I get why you didn't come back now. I'm sorry that I let Adagio kick you out. And I'm... I'm sorry for the way I treated you before."
Sonata gave her an understanding smile.
"I doubt you would've been able to stop her. She didn't come along, huh?" Sonata asked. Aria shook her head.
"I showed her the invitation, and she gave me a disgusted look, told me I had to be kidding. I figure I'll catch the last bus back, and pack my bags tonight. I'll take them to work with me tomorrow. I'll leave the key on the counter. Say, where are you staying? Do you have room for one more? Because... What you've done here... I want it. I want that magic. I want to be your friend."
Sonata bit her lip, came forward and embraced Aria, who found the hug unexpected, but eventually returned the embrace.
"Unfortunately, no, there isn't room for one more. Sunset's only allowed to have one guest." Sonata told Aria, whose gaze fell to the ground.
"Oh..." Aria said, saddened.
"I could suggest something," Sunset began. "If you two don't mind the bus rides to work, there are a couple single units available in my complex, probably cheaper than the city apartments too."
"That might work, but, what about Adagio?" Sonata asked.
"Sonata, there has to come a point when you have to let someone go." Sunset told her.
"She's right. I don't see her budging on this anytime soon, she's too stubborn. If absolutely anything is going to make her come around, it'll be the fact that she'll have to stop her hair appointments, nail appointments, and magazine subscriptions to keep the bills paid without us there."
Aria was right. It was time to cut Adagio loose. The next move would be hers, if it ever came.
Aria took one last look at the back bedroom she and Sonata had occupied in the city apartment. After a few moments, the lugged the two duffel bags out to the kitchen, leaving no trace of the bedroom ever being occupied. She dropped the duffel bags in front of the kitchen counter, and dug through her purse, coming out with her checkbook. She wrote out a check to Adagio and set it on the counter, before grabbing a sticky note and jotting down on it before setting it down beside the check:
'For the 12 days I stayed here this month.'
-Aria
With that, she put her checkbook and pen back in her purse, and dug out one last item.
The apartment key. She dangled it a few inches above the counter and dropped it, where it landed next to the check with a clink. She bent down, picked up the two duffel bags, and walked to the front door. She set one of the bags down one last time, opened the front door, made sure it would lock when she closed it, and exited the apartment for the last time, the door clicking shut behind her.