Sweet Atonement

by mouch30


Chapter 8

 Sonata held her breath, kneeling down on the grass. She frowned in frustration as the bunny sniffed her outstretched fingers and scurried away. She let out a heavy sigh and plopped onto her backside. “Why don’t they like me?” she whined, staring glumly at the untouched carrot in her hand.

 Fluttershy folded her legs underneath her and joined Sonata on the ground. “You just have to be a little more patient. They’ll warm up to you. Look, there’s another one!”

 Sonata thrust her hand out, the carrot flying from her grasp. It bounced near the rabbit, who hurriedly picked it up and ran back into the bushes.

 “Well, that’s one way to feed them,” giggled Fluttershy. She ceased when she spotted Sonata’s disappointed expression. “But, uhm, you can always try again. You’re welcome to accompany me to all my animal shelter visits, if you want.”

 Sonata grinned, and placed her hand on Fluttershy’s. “Thanks,” she said, her previous plight forgotten.

 “So, how are things with you and Adagio now?” Fluttershy asked, careful to keep her tone light and casual.

 “They’re great, now that we can both do magic,” Sonata replied. “She apologized to me and everything, and then she bought me a surprise taco! We spent all of yesterday together.” Her voice turned wistful. “I just wish Aria was here to enjoy our fun day...”

 “Well, I’ve gotten a few calls about her, thanks to those posters. But they weren’t giving me any actual information...just calling to say that, uh, if they find her, they’re gonna...yell at her.”

 Sonata groaned, stretching her arms above her head and settling back to lay on the grass. “I hope she’s not in any real trouble,” she grumbled. “She never stays put...she never wants to stay safe.”

 “I’m sure she’s doing okay,” Fluttershy comforted her. “She seemed very strong and capable when we were, you know, battling.”

 “Yeah,” Sonata sighed. “She’s a fighter. Hey, check out that cloud! It looks like a bunny!”

 Fluttershy rested her head near Sonata’s and gazed at the sky. “You’re right! Aw, look at its little tail!”

 They lay there in silence, occasionally pointing out funny shaped clouds. The wind, a light breeze, ruffled their clothes and hair, and the sun beamed down on them.
 
 “Fluttershy?” Sonata said quietly. She turned to look at her friend, her delicate features forming a gentle profile.

 “Mm?” Fluttershy’s eyes were closed.

 “Thank you for being so nice to me,” Sonata whispered, hesitantly placing her hand on Fluttershy’s.

 The pink haired girl smiled, and - with eyes still closed - weaved her fingers through Sonata’s. “That’s what friends are for.”

***

 “I just realized something,” Sunset said, putting down her knife and fork.

 Applejack had invited all the girls to dinner at her house, and they were in the middle of polishing off yet another apple pie. Adagio herself had about three slices, murmuring sweet nothings to the spicy filling.

 “Too much cinnamon, eh?” Applejack mumbled. “GRANNY!” she suddenly yelled. “You put too much cinnamon again!”

 “Shut your trap!” screamed a voice from the kitchen. “Adagio liked it!”

 “No, no, not that,” Sunset giggled. “Your pie is perfect!” she called to the kitchen. “Don’t listen to Applejack, she’s just jealous!”

 Ignoring Applejack’s angry sputtering, she continued. “Well, we’ve got Adagio, and we’ve got Sonata, but we don’t have Aria.”

 “I’m telling you, no one is giving me any actual information,” said Fluttershy, her voice tinged with annoyance. “I’m doing everything I can, trust me.”

 “We’re not blaming you, don’t worry,” Sunset said. “Maybe we should actually go look for her.”

 “We don’t know how far away she is,” Rainbow interjected. “She could have taken a bus to the next city, or even state!”

 “She wouldn’t stray so far from home,” Adagio piped. “If I know her well enough, I’d say she’s still close.”

 “Then that’s settled,” Sunset lightly slapped the table. “Tomorrow, we go on a search. You have work, right? Can you bunk?”

 Adagio shook her head. “Spirit’s got a huge stick up his ass ever since we had an argument. Plus, if I see Aria out on the streets, I’d probably scream and chase her away.”

 “I’ll come with you guys,” Sonata said. “She likes me.”

 “Just be careful,” Adagio warned. “She’s...a little unstable when she’s stressed out.”

 “Don’t you worry, dear,” Rarity said. “We’ll make sure to approach her carefully and peacefully.”

 “In the meantime,” Rainbow drawled. “Any chance there’s another pie coming out of the oven?”

***

 “Ugh,” Adagio groaned, staring at the staircase in front of her. She bent down and removed her heels, sighing in relief as the pain was replaced with a wave of pleasure. She curled her toes and rolled her ankles around, the pressure of the tight shoes no longer hurting her. She began the trek up the stairs, swinging her boots in one hand, and getting her key ready in the other.

 She stood at the door of her flat.

 There was something wrong, though.

 A sliver of light cut its way into the darkness of the flat, let in through the door - that was slightly ajar.

 Someone had been in her flat; or where they still there?

 Taking a deep breath, Adagio slowly pushed the door, open, cringing as the creak of the door echoed in the silence. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and she found herself staring at a dark figure. The slice of light grew as it fell into the room, illuminating the dark figure that was perched on the couch.

 There was Aria, dressed in black from head to toe. Her eyes had dark circles underneath, and she couldn’t stop fiddling with a loose thread from her jacket. She had a grim expression on, her black lips in a tight line.

 “Aria,” Adagio said, all the anger and frustration evaporating from her mind.

 “Adagio,” came the reply.

 Oh, how she missed that husky, sour voice.

 “Where have you been?” Adagio whispered, her usual snarkiness replaced with a tender voice. “W-we’ve been so worried about you…”

 “Then why didn’t you come after me?” Aria snapped, wrapping her arms around herself. “Why did you just let me leave?”

 “I-I was angry...I wasn’t thinking…”

 “You’re our leader,” Aria spat out. Literally. She spat on the floor after she said ‘leader’. “You’re our protector.”

 Sniffles pierced the air.

 “Y-you...you’re my sister…” Aria began to sob. “A-and you didn’t even care.”

 Adagio dropped her things and ran towards Aria, wrapping her arms around her shivering sister.

 “You don’t know what I’ve been through,” cried Aria, clenching fistfuls of Adagio’s hair. Memories of playing with the curls tumbled into her head, and she began to cry harder. “I-I’ve done horrible things…”

 “Sh,” Adagio murmured. “It’s okay. You’re here, you’re safe. I promise to keep you safe, Aria. Look at me. Look at me.”

 Deep purple eyes, swimming in tears and filled with regret, met with Adagio’s.

 “None of that matters now,” Adagio said, stroking Aria’s tangled hair. “Everything you’ve done, we’ve already forgiven you for.”

 Aria closed her eyes. “I’m so tired,” she whined. “I feel so awful.”

 “Then sleep,” Adagio said. She steeled herself and pressed Aria against her body, hooking one arm underneath her legs. The younger siren was so light.

 She carried Aria to the bedroom, and placed her on the bed. Pausing only to take off her boots, Adagio tucked Aria into bed. Without hesitation, she gave Aria a gentle kiss on the forehead. “You’re home,” she whispered to the already slumbering girl. “And you’ll always be with us.”

 ***

 Aria woke up the smell of something burning. She opened her eyes and rubbed them, smudging the eyeliner and mascara she had caked on. Her head hurt, and her eyes were stinging furiously, a sure sign she’d been crying. Where was she? Only one way to find out.

 She screamed.

 “Aria!” shouted Adagio’s voice. “What the fuck?”

 Aria smirked. She was home.

 She swung her stockinged feet over to the floor and adjusted her wrinkled clothes just in time for Adagio to storm in.

 “Why are you screaming?” she scolded, a wooden spoon in her hand. There was flour on her clothes.

 “Why do you look like Suzy homemaker?” Aria grumbled, standing up. “I’m taking a shower. You guys better not have thrown all my clothes away.”

 “Hurry up, then,” Adagio said. “I’m making breakfast and I don’t want my hard work to get cold.”

 After a very hot and very refreshing shower, Aria felt more like herself than she had these past few days. She stared at her reflection, at the bags underneath her eyes, at the scar on her lip, at the...well...she didn’t want to look at it. She dressed in a simple gray turtleneck and her comfiest sweatpants, and got ready to face her sisters.

 “Good morning,” she said, standing in the doorway.

 “Aria!” cried Sonata, jumping up from her perch on the couch. She threw her arms around Aria and squeezed tight. “I missed you so much!” she said, happy tears glistening on her cheeks. “Adagio wouldn’t let me see you when I came home last night because you were sleeping.”

 Aria bit her lip in an effort to stop herself from crying as well. “Y-yeah, well, I missed you too, squirt.”

 “Breakfast!” Adagio whirled around and placed a stack of pancakes on the table. They looked very crispy.

 “Oh great, I love charred pancakes,” Aria said, rolling her eyes and pulling a funny face at Sonata.

 Sonata tried to hold in her laughter, resulting in a loud snort.

 “Really, Aria,” Adagio sighed. “You leave without a second thought, you disappear for practically years, then you come back without warning and make fun of my cooking like nothing happened?” Her tone was laced with humor.

 Aria shrugged and took her seat. “When did you start cooking?” she asked. “And what’s with all the frilly curtains and flowers?” She looked around the clean, charmingly decorated room, so different from the gray walls she was used to.

 “I’ll tell you later. First, we want to know where you’ve been.”

 “I’ll tell you later. First, I want to know what happened here.”

 “I’ll tell you later. First, I want to know...hey!”

 Sonata erupted in a fit of giggles. “Can we all talk later? I’m starving!”

 They tucked into their breakfast, the acrid taste of burnt pancakes smoothed over by generous amounts of syrup. Aria ate ravenously, stuffing bite after bite into her mouth.

 “You must have been hungrier than me,” Sonata noted.

 Aria leaned back in her chair. She licked the last remnants of syrup off her lips. “Some days...I wouldn’t find anything to eat.” She looked at her plate, eyes glazed over, shoulders slumped.

 “You don’t have to worry about that anymore,” Sonata beamed. “Applejack said she’ll invite us over for dinner when we find you, and her granny makes the best apple pie ever!”

 “Applejack?” Aria’s eyes snapped back into focus. “Who the fuck is that?”

 “Language,” Adagio said, her tone gentle. “Sonata, you should have waited.”

 “Oops,” Sonata mumbled, stuffing a syrup-drenched bite into her mouth. “I’ll be quiet.”

 “Aria,” Adagio began. “Sonata and I were both suffering from starvation. We lost our magic. We had no other choice but to turn to Sunset Shimmer and her friends to help us.”

 She waited for a reaction. There was none.

 “They taught us how to use our magic to absorb positive energy,” Adagio went on. “It’s so much better than the negative energy we used to consume, and it doesn’t hurt anyone.”

 Aria scoffed. “Since when did we care about hurting anyone?”

 “Since we got friends, Aria. They helped us when we were lost.”

 “Whatever,” Aria said. “I don’t want to be a part of it. I’ve got my own magic.”

 “What magic?” Adagio asked. “Actually, why don’t you just tell us the whole story?”

 “What if I don’t want to?” Aria challenged, raising an eyebrow.

 Adagio sighed, and stood up. She began clearing the plates. “We’re going to Sunset’s house for lunch,” she said, placing the dirty plates in the sink. She grabbed a sponge and began to wash the dishes, something Aria had never seen her do. “In the meantime, Sonata has been dying for a worthy opponent to play cards with.”

 The time to leave arrived, and with much coaxing, Aria followed, hands stuffed in jacket pockets. They still haven’t seen it.

 “Remember, Aria,” Adagio said, knocking on the door. “Be nice.”

 The door opened, and Sunset’s head popped out. “Adagio! Hey Sonata, come on...oh my gosh.”

 “Surprise,” Aria yelled, pulling an exaggerated smile and giving Sunset jazz hands. “Look who’s back!”

 Sunset closed her mouth, feeling very awkward. “C-come on in, Aria.”

 Aria was greeted by smiling faces. She hated those faces.

 “Aria! It’s so nice to see you again,” Rarity said, the first to stand and draw Aria into a hug. “We were all wondering where you’d run off to.”

 “Why do you care?” Aria asked. “Why do any of you guys care about what happened to me?”

 “Well, duh, you’re our friend!” Pinkie took hold of Aria’s hand. “We wanted to know if you were safe.”

 She wrenched her hand out of Pinkie’s hand, and roughly pushed Rarity out of her way. “You’re not my friends,” she barked, assuming a hostile stance. “I can kill you all with my magic.”

 “Aria,” cried Adagio. “Stop it! They are our friends, and we do not threaten our friends. Girls, I’m so, so sorry...she’s…”

 “It’s okay,” Fluttershy said. She stood up as well, and made her way to stand near Aria. She placed a hand on Aria’s shoulder. “Aria. I understand that you’re feeling scared. You think that your sisters abandoned you, but they haven’t. They’ve been worried sick about you. I know you don’t like us, and we’re not asking you to like us. We’re asking you to calm down, and make the effort to listen to what we have to say. We want to help.”

 Aria’s breathing slowed, and she looked at her feet. “I...I just...I’m sorry.”

 “That’s the first time I’ve heard you say that,” Adagio huffed. “Now, would you calm down and shut up? We really need to talk.”

 “I don’t want to talk,” Aria hissed, turning her back on the girls in front of her.

 “Then you don’t have to,” Applejack said. “You don’t have to tell us about these past two weeks if you don’t wanna. We aren’t making you.”

 “Why are you guys even helping us?” Aria asked. “Hello? We almost took over the world.”

 “We’ve forgiven you,” Sunset stated, as if it was that simple. “We know it was the negative energy that turned you all into pretty awful people. You just need to let go of that part of you.”

 “This is bullshit. I don’t have to stay here and listen you tell me to give up my magic.”

 “That’s not what we’re saying! God, Aria, are you even listening to us at all?” Adagio sighed loudly. “Why won’t you just shut up while we explain what’s going on?”

 “Fine. Fine! I’ll shut up, since that’s the only thing you ever want me to do.” Aria threw her hands in the hair. “Tell me.”

 Aria stayed true to her word as Adagio told her everything. The shop, Penny, the book, the Maestro, and (leaving out a few private details) how they got their magic back. “And in order to prove that we’ve reformed,” she said, taking a sip of water. “We’re holding a concert for Canterlot High in a few days. We’ve been practicing original songs now.”

 “Sounds like a fucking waste of time,” Aria mumbled. She picked lazily at her plate of food, ignoring her grumbling stomach. “I don’t care about Canterlot High.”

 “Why are you being so awful?” Sonata suddenly exploded. “Stop swearing! And stop being so close-minded. You’re just being mean for the sake of being mean, and we’re all just trying to make things better.”

 “You don’t get to chastise me,” Aria replied. “None of you do. If you’ve seen half of the things I have, maybe you’d understand why I’m being such a bitch. There’s no such thing as positive energy, there’s no way we can use our magic for good, there’s no way!”

 “Yes, there is,” Sunset said quietly. “Adagio…”

 She nodded, and turned to face Sonata. “Let’s do it.”

 The two sirens stood up and walked to the center of the room. Sunset placed a chair next to them and sat down, guitar in hand. She began strumming…

 “Cold, it was so cold without you,
 Fingers trembling for someone to hold.
 Lost, we couldn’t find it inside of us,
 To try anymore…

 You were gone,
 A ship without a crew,
 One without two,
 Us without you.

 The stars, they ceased to shine,
 They were no longer ours,
 But yours and mine.
 The sun had lost its warmth,
 And the moon her lustrous gleam,
 We played a losing game,
 Without you on our team…

You were gone,
 A ship without a crew,
 One without two,
 Us without you.”

 Adagio’s alto and Sonata’s soprano melded together into a thick tone, rich and warm and full of emotion. They kept their gaze on their sister, truly meaning every word that floated out of their mouths. An oozing mist coiled its way out of Aria’s chest, sickly green and viscous. She gasped, and tried to grab it, only to watch her fingers fail.

 It reached Sonata first, seeping into her throat. She suddenly stopped singing and coughed.

 “Oh my gosh,” she gasped as she keeled over. Saliva dripped from her open mouth as she continued her coughing fit.

 “Sonata!” Fluttershy ran to her, placing a hand on her back. “Someone get me some water!”

 Adagio stopped singing as well, and turned to face her younger sister. “Sonata, can you breathe?”

 “Adagio, keep singing!” Sunset never stopped strumming her guitar, and gestured towards Aria. She was standing up now, tears pouring from her eyes as all the negative energy was being pulled out of her. “You have to keep singing!”

 Adagio refocused her attention and continued, but as soon as Aria’s magic touched her, she gagged violently.

 “That taste’s disgusting,” she whined, sticking her tongue out. “Aria, what in the world have you been up to?”

 Through some miracle, Adagio finished the song, drawing out the last little bit of dark magic that had been stewing in Aria for the past two weeks. When the last chord lingered in the air, Aria fell to her knees, shoulders sagging, tears freely falling down her cheeks.

 “T-thank you,” she whispered, pressing her face against Adagio’s chest. “I...ugh, I don’t know what came over me.”

 “You’re alright now,” Adagio assured her. “These girls, they really do want to help. They helped us write that song, you know? They want us to be happy.”

 “But...but we were so horrible.” Aria shook her head. “I don’t understand…”

 “Neither did I, but they’ll help you understand. Can I trust you to be on your best behavior around them?”

 Aria nodded, and shakily stood up.

 “Now, apologize.”

 “I’m sorry...for being really rude...and threatening to kill you. I didn’t mean it. Well, I did, but not killing you. Being able to, yeah, but, you get it. Also, Sunset, your cooking looked really good. I’m sorry I didn’t eat any of it. Can I have more?”

 Sunset let out a chuckle. “Sure, let me warm something up for you.”

 The atmosphere in the room turned into friendly chatter. Aria was content to listen, lost in the calmness of her new friends. Sweat prickled down her neck, and without realizing, she shrugged her jacket off, exposing her bare collarbones.

 “Aria. What. The. Fuck. Is. That.”

 “What? Oh…” Aria looked down, and froze in terror. There, for everyone to see, was her giant tattoo. “Uh, it’s...a tattoo.”

 “What is that?” shrieked Adagio, inspecting it closer. “Is….oh my god is that a…”

 “No, no! It looks like that, but it’s not...it was supposed to be a mermaid, but...they botched the tail.”

 “Aria Blaze, I am extremely disappointed in you,” Adagio scolded her. “Why would you even do that?!”

 “Well, you weren’t around to tell me it was a bad idea!”

 Adagio let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re going to be the death of me…” she murmured. “I have to go to work. This is stressing me out.”

 Closing the door behind her, she heard a faint voice.

 “That’s so cool, Aria! Can you take me to get one as well?

***

 “So how did you survive all that time?” Sunset asked, bringing Aria a can of soda. “Adagio and Sonata were pretty weak without their daily dose of energy.”

 “I found a way…” Aria said, nodding in thanks. She chugged the sweet liquid. “I don’t want to share it just yet...I’d rather wait until Adagio is back.”

 “Understood. In that case, I’d like to talk to you about your singing.”

 “What about it?” Aria set the can down. “Not good enough for you?”

 “N-no, not that...can you?”

 “Can I what?”

 “Sing. Didn’t you lose your voice when your pendants broke?”

 Her fingers lightly grazed the hollow of her throat. “For a little while. But then the Twins taught me how to sing again.”

 “The Twins?”

 She waved her hand. “I can sing, I can sing. But a few practice sessions wouldn’t hurt.”

 “We can arrange that,” Sunset said, grateful for Aria’s cooperation.

 They sat in comfortable silence.

 “Aria,” Sunset began. “I’m...thank you for trusting us. We really didn’t mean to have turned your lives upside down, and I’m sorry that you’ve been through some pretty bad times lately.”

 Aria moved her shoulders up and down in a listless shrug. “S’alright. It doesn’t matter to me anymore.”

 “It does to us,” Sunset insisted. “We want you and your sisters to have happy, healthy lives without the cost of your personalities being corrupted. It means a lot to us to have you accept our help.”

 Sunset smiled, and was rewarded with a tender embrace.

 “Thank you,” Aria whispered in Sunset’s ear. “It’s all I ever wanted.”