Heart Broken Siren
It was a familiar scenario at Canterlot High. Students were in the Gym preparing for a special event, setting up a stage, painting signs and most importantly, they were doing this together. Then, as a certain trio of middle school kids were painting their own sign. A familiar flame colored hair girl took up a paint brush and asked with a smile,
"Want some help?"
"Nah, were almost finished Sunset Shimmer, but thanks anyway," Applebloom replied.
"Oh, alright then," said Sunset, before she handed back the brush. Just then she heard a loud, familiar voice.
"SUNSET SHIMMER!"
Turning around, she saw her group of friends, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and the one who shouted her name, Pinkie Pie.
"OVER HERE!" Pinkie shouted as she waved her hand at Sunset.
Smiling at the party girl's antics, Sunset walked towards her friends while the students she passed by greeted her warmly.
"This sure is a nice change of pace from the last time we tried to do a Musical Showcase," Sunset commented, with the girls nodding in reply.
"Guess that's what happens when you help save the school," said Applejack.
"Indeed, between that and you escorting the new students that come to our school Sunset Shimmer, I think it's safe to say that everyone here has forgiven you for your past, ahem, boo-boos," explained Rarity.
"Thanks Rarity."
"Anytime dear."
"EEEEHHHH! I'm so excited. Fluttershy are you excited?"
"Um, yes?"
"Because I'm excited! This Musical Showcase is going to be the best Musical Showcase ever. WOO HOO!!" Pinkie said in her typical fast talk when she gets excited, finishing with confetti exploding around her from out of no where.
"Heck yeah! I can't wait to show off my awesome guitar shredding skills that will be so awesome, it will blow every one away," said Rainbow as she jammed on an air guitar.
"Uh Rainbow Dash, this is a Musical Showcase, not a Battle of the Bands," Applejack said sternly to Rainbow Dash, earning an eye roll and a groan from her.
"Yeah, yeah, I know but that doesn't mean I can't show off how cool my band is, I mean our band is."
Before Applejack could retort, Sunset interjected, "What's important is that no matter what happens, we don't start fights among the school. The last thing anyone wants is a repeat of the Battle of the Bands."
"Sunset Shimmer is right, especially now that The Dazzlings have come back."
After hearing Rarity say that name, the girls remembered back to when The Dazzlings, a.k.a. The Sirens, Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk, first arrived at CHS in search of their magic. How they managed to use their own magic to not only turn the original High School Musical Showcase into a Battle of the Bands, but also turn the students against each other in order to use the negative energy generated from the fighting to fuel their own power. They also remembered how they managed to stop them with the aid of their friend Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, by striping them of their power and their singing voices, making them sound like cats dying in a blender with nails and chalkboard thrown in whenever they tried to sing again.
After the Dazzlings spell was broken and having been booed off stage, no one had seen or heard from the Dazzlings since; until they showed up three weeks ago. Needless to say, the reception they got was not pleasant.
"I still don't get what those three are doing here or why they bothered to show their faces after what they did," said Rainbow.
"Yep, they got some nerve alright," said Applejack.
"Well it's not like they can sing again without their pendants," Rarity paused before asking, "Right Sunset?"
"I'm not so sure Rarity, when Twilight defeated me and took back her crown, some of it's magic was left behind. After all we did use it to break the Dazzlings spell. So it is possible that some of the magic in their pendants might still lie dormant in them."
"But didn't Twilight say that without those pendants, those three would be normal teenage girls?" asked Fluttershy.
"Like I said, I'm not sure."
"Speaking of the Dazzlings, here's one of them now," said Pinkie as she pointed a finger.
The girls looked to the direction of where Pinkie was pointing and sure enough, a familiar blur haired girl with a pony tail was walking in. She stopped and looked around for a bit with a smile on her face, but Pinkie could see that beneath her smile, she was both nervous and anxious, nervanxious she would call it.
The blue haired girl, known as Sonata Dusk, spotted the same group of kids that Sunset just talked to and walked over to them in order them aid in their poster.
"Hiya."
"Umm hey," Applebloom said awkwardly with Sweetie Belle and Sctootaloo giving her the same look.
"Neato poster you three have, want some help with it?" Sonata asked with a smile and hope in her eyes.
"Uh no thanks, were good," Applebloom responded, feeling a strange case of Deja vu.
Sonata, with a smile still on her face, replied, "Oh alrighty then."
With that, she turned around to try again with another group but was greeted by the whole gymnasium looking at her with scorn in their eyes as they whispered amongst each other. Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie shared those same looks where as Sunset and Fluttershy looked off to the side. Seeing this cause Sonata's smile to die and took on a saddened face as she hung her head low and walked out of the gym with a message burning in her mind. She was not welcomed here, and among those the students giving her dirty looks, one white skinned, red eyed, bald young man looked at her with complete hatred.
"I still can't believe she thought she could just waltz in and pretend that nothing happened," said Rainbow.
"Indeed darling, especially after she and her fellow sirens caused me and my dearest Clyde to break up over something so trivial. It still breaks my heart every time I think back to that time," said Rarity.
"Yep, those girls are a bunch of meanie mean pant's," Pinkie added while Applejack nodded in agreement.
"Um actually, it looked like she was sad and it makes my feel bad for her," Fluttershy said meekly, causing Rainbow to turn around and say, "Fluttershy are you serious?!" Causing Fluttershy to meep at the sudden reaction of her friend.
"Well, it's just......." Fluttershy said quietly, "I know that she and her friends did some bad things-"
"Like taking over the world or nearly forcing us apart!" said an annoyed Rainbow.
"Well, yes. But I still feel bad whenever I see her look so sad."
Rainbow continued to look at her in disbelief while Applejack sighed and said, "Look Shy, I get where your coming from. But Rainbow's right. Those girls did some mighty terrible things. This is them gettin their just desserts."
"Their getting desserts?! Where?" Pinkie randomly asked. The others just looked at her half-lid expressions either shook their heads, or face palming themselves. Pinkie was being Pinkie after all.
"But we gave Sunset a second chance right? Don't you think that maybe they deserve a second chance too?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah, but Sunset was sorry about what she did, those girls ain't. It's like what I told my cousin Soul, until those girls take responsibility for their actions, I won't have anything to do with them."
At this point, Sunset looked like she was about to say something, but kept quiet.
"I.... guess your right," Fluttershy said in a defeated tone.
"Speaking of Soul, isn't it time for you to welcome the new students Sunset?"
Hearing this, Sunset jolted a bit and looked at the clock and saw that she if she didn't leave now, she was going to be late showing the new students around.
"Oh my gosh, you're right. Thanks for reminding me Pinkie."
"No problamo."
"Sorry girls but I got to leave now."
"We understand dearie, go on now," said Rarity.
Sunset smiled and started to run to the school entrance when Rainbow shouted, "Don't forget about band practice today!"
Sonata continued on her march as she tried to smile and wave at the occasional student she passed by, only to be greeted with the same scorn she received from the gym. It has been like this since they first came back. Aria responded to them by giving off her own sour look and often at times got into fights with some of the students, winning no sympathy from anyone. Adagio tried to ignore them honestly and show that she wasn't affected by them, but that just gave off a sense of smugness to the students, earning her more of their ire. Of all of them, Sonata was the only one to try and make friends, only to be met with the same results like back at the gym.
The only one to actually show her care was her one and only friend, Soul Writer. Soul had come to CHS about two weeks ago, and saw that Sonata was feeling down in the dumps. Despite hearing about what she had done, Soul still showed her concern as he said that he didn't judge people for what they did in the past. He tried to convince his friends, Swift Justice, Clyde, and even his own cousin Applejack to let Sonata in, only to be shot down. Disappointed with his friends and family, Soul continued to be Sonata's friend; causing Sonata to see Soul as a potential boyfriend, unaware that he had feelings for Sunset Shimmer instead. In spite of all of this, it was just nice to have one friend to help ease the pain she felt every time she see's those disgusted looks, but it still hurt.
Finally, she reached her locker where Aria was arguing with Adagio...... again.
"I still don't see why we had to come back to this dump of a school," said Aria.
Adagio groaned and replied, "I've already explained this Aria, ever since we lost or pendants, we lost our magic, which means, we can't charm others into giving us their money, which means we need to find a new source of money when we eventually run out and the best way to do that is to get a job, and the best jobs are offered to those who complete high school. And since we are already enrolled here, it only makes sense for us to return, especially since the principal offered to take us back in. It also get's that truant officer off our case. So deal with it."
"Pft. We wouldn't be in this situation if your plan didn't back fire," challenged Aria.
"Don't you start that with me again Aria, it wasn't my fault," defended Adagio.
"Yeah it was. Seriously, the only thing worse than that plan is Sonata."
Turning around, Sonata rebottled, "Hey, I'm not worse than Adagio's plan, your worse than Adagio's plan!"
"Whatever you say, your still the worst,' Aria snipped.
This caused Sonata's face to go slightly red, "Well I think your the worsiest worse of all the worsest things in this worst world, you worst!"
"ENOUGH!!"
Both girls turned to see Adagio had reached her boiling point with them.
"Like it or not, were stuck here. This is the hand that we've been dealt and we need to help each other, because no one else will."
Aria scuffed and went to her own locker while Sonata blew a raspberry at her and opened her own. Inside, she was surprised to find something that wasn't their before.
"Hu, what's this?"
"What's what?" Adagio asked.
"This," Sonata answered, showing Adagio what she had found while Aria continued to rummage through her locker.
"Hmm..... looks like a letter from a student," Adagio guessed.
"A letter? What do you think it says?"
"Probably a letter telling you how much the students here hate us," said Aria in an uncaring tone.
Sonata looked sad after hearing that, but the brightened up and suggested, "Or maybe it's a letter from a secret admirer, like maybe it's Soul, telling me that he want's to be my boyfriend!"
"Pft. Don't hold your breath," Aria said.
Adagio gave her an evil eye look while Sonata ignored her as she opened the letter with a hopeful smile on her face. A smile that died into a shocked expression.
"Well don't keep us in suspense, what does it say?" Adagio asked.
Sonata didn't respond as Aria turned around and asked, "What, was I right? Does that letter come from one of our haters?"
Sonata's hands started to tremble as her eyes began to get watery as Adagio and Aria started to show some concern in their expressions. "Hey Sonata, what's wrong?" Adagio asked.
Sonata's breath began to quicken and she started to sniffle and two tears started to drop from her eyes.
"Umm, Sonata-" Aria started to say but before she finished, Sonata had dropped the note as more tears left her eyes. At this point, she put her hands over her eyes and started to sob. Before Adagio or Aria could do anything, Sonata turned around and ran, crying all the way. Both of them were confused by this and Adagio picked up the note to see what was written. The both of them let out quiet gasps as they looked to where Sonata had ran and felt something they haven't felt for a long time. Pity.
Sonata continued to run, not looking where she was going. As she was running, she didn't see that the boys bathroom door had opened and someone had stepped through. Before he could see Sonata, she collided into him, resulting in the both of them falling on the ground. Sonata was the first to get up, shaking her head and still crying as she tried to register just what had happened. before she could react, she heard muffled curses and looked to see that the person she ran into was someone she never saw before. He shook his head and opened his eyes and glared right at her with blood red eyes, coupled with an expression that screamed anger.
"Hey watch where........... you're......"
Sonata knew that whoever this person is, he was just someone who hated her like everyone else in this school, so she got up and ran, not hearing what he said after words. In her mind, it was probably more curses for her.
Eventually, she stopped running and sat down on the floor with her back against a wall as she continued to cry. She continued to keep her face buried and hugging her knees until she heard a familiar voice, "Miss Dusk?"
Sonata looked up to see Vice Principal Luna looking at her with a concerned look, "Why are you crying?"
Sonata was unable to respond as she just kept sniffling and having tears continue to pour out of her now red and puffy eyes.
Luna's expression grew more sympathetic as she offered Sonata her hand. Sonata looked at Luna's hand for a bit, but grabbed it and let Luna help her up to her feet.
"Please, come into my office Miss Dusk, I'll get some tissue's and some water for you," Luna offered. Sonata sniffled again, but nodded gratefully.
Half an hour had passed as Sonata sat in a chair opposite of Vice Principal Luna, as she waited patiently for Sonata to calm down. Finally, Sonata appeared to have stopped crying and her sniffling had decreased enough for her to speak.
"Now Miss Dusk, would you like to tell me what happened?"
Sonata hesitated, but Luna gave her a reassuring look. Taking a deep breath, Sonata explained that ever since she came back to CHS, she had been trying to make friends, but was being given nothing but grief for it. She also said that ever since the battle of the bands, She and Adagio and Aria had been more at each other throats than usual. Finally, she told Luna about the letter she got.
"Would you like to tell me what the letter said Miss Dusk?"
Sonata just shook her head as fresh tears began to form and she blew her nose into some tissue paper.
Luna sighed quietly and said, "Well whatever it said, I'm sure that it's not true. Do you have any idea who could have written such a letter?"
Sonata shook her head again.
"I see. Miss Dusk, would you like to know why my sister and I let you and the others back in?"
"*sniff* umm, sure?"
"Because my sister and I believe in second chances, just like the one she gave me."
"What do you mean?"
Luna closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She opened her eyes again and said to Sonata, "When Tia and I were your age, I tried to turn this very high school against her."
"Why?"
"Because ever since we were young, Celestia was always the favorite one, our parents showed her more affection for her achievements, which over shadowed my own. It was worse in High School when everyone praised her and not me. She was once called a rising sun that could outshine any one, and I hated her for it. Eventually, I tried to spread nasty rumors about her around in secret. I even created a secret identity to carry out my ill deeds against my sister. I called myself Nightmare Moon. If Celestia was going to be the sun that outshines everything, then I would be the moon to make her life a living nightmare."
Sonata listened as Luna continued her tale.
"It wasn't long before I turned the whole school against my sister, and she was left miserable for it. For a while she continued to suffer through the hate of the students as opposed to the love she once received, but eventually, I screwed up. Celestia caught me writing up the latest rumor about her and she demanded to know why I had done this. I told her that I was feeling left out, she got all the praise and love from everyone, while I got nothing. This shocked my sister as she had no idea about how I was feeling and then told me that she was sorry for not seeing this sooner, but I didn't listen. It wasn't long before the whole school found out, and the hatred that once had been thrown against my sister, was now being thrown against me. But then something happened that I didn't expect to happen."
"What happened Vice Principal Luna?"
Luna smiled and answered, "My sister stood up for me, she explained why I did what I did and that she was partly to blame. She then lectured the whole student body about not letting their hatred cloud their judgements and that we should give each other a second chance if we can, otherwise the world will be a miserable place. It took some time, but eventually I was able to make up my deeds to everyone I hurt, and I became closer to my sister as well."
"That's a good story Vice Principal Luna."
"Thank you Miss Dusk. Now I know that things are bad for you now, but what's important is that you don't give up hope that you can be accepted, and that you do deserve a second chance, and not let depression beat you down."
"But..... it's just so.... hard. I mean I know I did some bad things, but how can I ever make things better? How is it that what you said is true?"
"Because it's what my sister said to me, when I was trying to make things right."
"For realizes?" Sonata asked with some glimmer of hope in her eyes.
Luna chuckled and answered, "Yes Miss Dusk, for realizes."
That got Sonata to smile a little and join in on the laugh.
"Now, if I'm not mistaken, It's almost lunch time, and since today is Tuesday that means......."
Sonata's eyes began to widen and her smile began to grow as she said "Today is Taco Tuesday!"
"Well you better get going if you want to get some tacos."
"Your right! Thanks so much Vice Principal Luna!" said Sonata as she began to run out the door.
"And Sonata."
Sonata turned around to see Luna smiling at her encouragingly, "If you ever need to talk, my office and my sister's are always open."
Sonata continued to smile and nodded in acknowledgement, as she turned to run out the door to get her hands on some delicious tacos.
"And no running in the halls!" Luna said in amusement.
Sonata continued jogging at a brisk pace as she finally approached the cafeteria. She took a deep breath and remembered Vice Principal Luna's words and steeled herself for the same ill welcome she got every time she entered the cafeteria. As she opened the doors, she say that the room went quiet, as the students began to whisper amongst themselves. It was the gym all over again. But Sonata would not be deterred, she moved to where Granny Smith, the lunch lady and Applejack's grandma, was and picked up a tray. She then began to load it full of Tacos until the Taco stack was almost at a comically high elevation. To Granny Smith, this was the normal routine on every Tuesday, so she made sure to make extra Tacos.
Once Sonata got her precious Tacos, she proceeded to walk to where Adagio and Aria were. As she walked, she noticed that the student's dirty looks still hadn't left her face, and though she tried to stay strong, she couldn't help but feel a little hurt by them. All the while, she tried to remember Luna's story and it gave her some encouragement, but alas, she couldn't see the ball that was rolled unto her path.
You see, every time Sonata get's her Tacos, a group of students roll a ball in her path to try and get her to trip and fall. It was actually set up as a betting pool. So far Sonata had been lucky to avoid the ball, this time though, her luck ran out.
Her foot caught the ball underneath an allowed her to trip and fall with out having the time to scream, as she fell face first into her tacos causing everyone to turn to her and saw that she was face first in Tacos. This caused everyone to laugh out loud.
Sonata managed to lift her taco covered face enough to look at everyone laughing at her. She turned around and saw Rainbow laughing her head off and most of the other girls putting their hands on their mouths as the tried to control their laughter. Sonata even imagined Soul laughing at her and Adagio and Aria as well and tears began to form in her eyes again and was about to start crying. but then she noticed someone had walked up to her.
She looked up and saw that it was the same boy she ran into, and this was when she got a real first look at him. He had pale green skin and long, dark brown hair that covered his ears. He wore a pair of brown army combat boots and green cameo pants. He wore a black t shirt with a white, sleeveless shirt over it that showed a sword, shattering in the middle, with the fragments forming a bird, like a Hawk. He also had a rough beard on his face, which was rare around school. And of course, his blood red eyes. Only instead of showing hate like the last time, he had a look of concern, the same as Luna's. He then offered her his hand.
Sonata looked at this suspiciously, but the boy said in the most compassionate tone he could muster, "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you."