//------------------------------// // II - Hot Coffee // Story: Shackles Unseen // by TheApexSovereign //------------------------------// "This place is a mansion!" Sonata breathed in wonder. Her eyes glittered, whizzing this way and that as she and her friends were herded down a long portrait and silver-spangled corridor. Beside her, Aria grunted with her arms folded below her chest. "Not a mansion," she muttered, low enough for only Sonata to hear and not the three girls before or behind them. "'s just a big house. Don't be a dummy." "Isn't that what a mansion is?" For some reason, only sullen footsteps acknowledged Sonata's musings. Annoyed, she glanced at Aria, and found the grumpy siren had one heck of a thousand-yard-stare trained on the back of Sunset Shimmer's head. The intensity of her gaze made Sonata think Aria was trying to shoot lasers from her eyes. We probably could if we still had that Equestrian Magic, she thought. Sonata suddenly felt hollow in the tummy, not in the sense that she was hungry but rather a cavernous sphere where her stomach would be. Thinking about their failure, and where they were now, gave Sonata that vacant discomfort, and she gently rubbed where it hurt. Stupid Rainbooms, she half-fumed, half-mourned. I wanted eye-lasers, and Equestrian Magic, too. Though it was never hard to take Sonata's mind off things, something that was both a curse for her friends and an unsung blessing for herself. This time was no different, in spite of recent events, as Sonata's breath was taken away along with any mournful thoughts upon entering the kitchen. "Holy smokes, you could make, like, a gazillion meals in here!" she gushed in delight. A firm nudge in the ribs from Adagio silenced her, but Sonata was too swept up in her envy to take proper notice. A marble countertop of grainy blacks and grays ran the perimeter, broken up by a gas stove oven across from one of two doorways, the one they had entered from. Smooth, dark oaken cabinets lined the wall, stopping at a great monster of a refrigerator, the fancy kind that had an ice dispenser on the door. A white crystal bowl hung from the center of the ceiling, where light beamed all around. When she passed by the tilt-and-turn window overlooking a stainless sink, Sonata was met with green pastures that rolled into the horizon. She briefly pictured herself running through it in her bare feet, but dark clouds overhead put a damper on such fantasies, and a reminder of where she was and who she was with tied them down. Upon hearing her amazement, that pretty girl with the curled violet hair, Rarity, made a weird noise, almost like a wry laugh. "I suppose you could," she admitted, thoughtfully. "Though Daddy never cooked for more than four, us that is." She looked back at Sonata as they strolled through the kitchen, deep blue eyes glimmering with a hint of amusement. "'You never know,' was always his reasoning for making it this ridiculously, but may I say fabulously, extensive." Her words were only a buzz in the siren's ears, bees underneath a sheet of cloth, as Sonata was quickly filled with the desire to own a kitchen of this magnitude. We'll have to charm a rich guy once we get out of here. Hopefully Adagio wants another place as ginormous as this! She passed a hopeful glance to her leader, who sent it back her way with a pair of sharp daggers. Sonata could only give a rueful grin, which allowed Adagio something else to roll her eyes about. They're gonna roll out of your head if you keep doing that! she wanted to sing, as old Typhon always teased. But looking at Adagio brought forth that cavernous space in her tummy again and sucked her words straight into the void. She and her friends were seated in the far side of the kitchen, at a rather small wooden table that did not match the rest of the decor. Before long the Rainbooms were bustling about, some getting themselves fruit from the refrigerator and others fiddling with a coffee machine. The girls tried evoking a bit of small talk with the sirens, but none of them would say a word. At one point the colorful girl, Rainbow-something, approached the Dazzlings and offered them an orange or a suggestion of something else to eat. She was met with a cold stare from Aria, and a quiet waving off from Sonata, who eyed the orange suspiciously as Rainbow gestured it to Adagio. Sonata could see the cold acidity in Adagio's eyes as they dragged from the offered fruit to the teenager's disinterested expression. “I do hope there is an end to this monotony," she complained, loud and rudely enough to reach over the idle conversations the others girls were engaged in, and getting them to stop what they were doing. All eyes were on Adagio then, and her glare danced to each and every one of them before explaining. “We don't want to be here, and we don't want your company. If there is a point to all this, get to it now. Don’t fancy-up the inevitable with pleasantries.” The sounds of the coffee pot gurgling permeated in the background; the Rainbooms all shifted their attention towards the purple one, Twilight, who regarded Adagio with brows pushed together and a quirk in her lip. As the silence persisted, a clenching in Sonata's belly tightened. "Dagi, just take the stupid orange!" she pleaded. But Adagio continued to glare, straight ahead. Before much longer, Twilight finally collected her thoughts and found the soft, kindly voice to speak them. “We have no intention of wasting time, Miss,” she said; Adagio’s name was apparently a mystery to her. “Please, we’ll explain everything once you guys have something in your stomachs." She let out a soft giggle. "I know I’d feel the same if I’ve been living off just water and applesauce for the past couple of days.” Her ensuing laugh was light and childish. Sonata tittered herself, just to lighten her heart and some of the tension as well. The idea certainly sounded fun, at least to her; she liked food, it made her feel comfy and safe, two things she did not realize she so desperately wanted until that instant. With nothing else in the world existing beyond what she felt inside, Sonata rose her hand much like a schoolchild would, and asked in as similar a fashion, "Can I have that orange, actually?" The one who offered it previously, Rainbow, was in the middle of returning it to the fridge. Shrugging, she pitched it lightly at Sonata like a baseball, and the siren caught it with both hands and her bosom. After the exchange Adagio slipped back into her silence, having an impassioned look the whole time while Aria remained her usual grim-faced self. Sonata tried her best to look as fearsome as she ate the orange. But every time a Rainboom would walk behind her Sonata’s tummy tightened into a knot, and the feeling betrayed her efforts. She sensed the tickle of sweat rolling over her temples and down her cheeks. Please don't rainbow-blast me again! That really, really hurt! Sonata never knew such a pain existed in the world, the pure agony of her muscles twisting and throbbing and writhing beneath her skin; Oh, was the last thing she remembered thinking, as the fury of the alicorn in the sky fell upon her and her friends. Thinking about it made Sonata's arms itch, and she picked at them absentmindedly beneath the table, all while keeping her eyes staring listlessly at the empty space before her, devoid of any Rainbooms. She could not blame Aria for her hostility towards Adagio back at the bedroom; Sonata herself would not mind wandering the dangerous parts of Canterlot City in her jammies if it meant getting away from these girls. What were they going to do to her and her friends? Hundreds of possibilities ran through her mind, each worse than the last. The Dazzlings were the bad guys, she knew, and they were now at the complete mercy of the Rainbooms. But they’re good guys too, she realized. So they won’t be that horrible to us, right? They have to be nice! Maybe they’ll let us go with a warning. The thought made a big smile explode across her face. It drew a sidelong glare from her two buds, forcing Sonata to retract her enthusiasm a bit, especially from Aria's "What the Hell are you grinning about?" look. “So how long were we unconscious?" Adagio suddenly asked. "Must have been days ago.” She was looking at her nails. Applejack sifted through a cabinet and handed off three plain mugs to Rarity. “Just two, barely,” she replied with enthusiasm. She seemed thankful for the break in silence as Sonata felt. “We had you gals moved underneath the stage when y’all were passed out, and then we carried ya back here, to Rarity’s place. Quite the haul, I'd say.” She lost herself in the memory for a brief spell before a devilish grin appeared. Sonata wondered if that meant something funny happened on their way here. Rarity began pouring coffee into each mug. “It’s quite fortunate that my parents are gone this weekend to take my sister and her friends to a Sapphire Shores concert,” she said, grabbing a handful of sugarcubes from a black polyester jar. “Lord knows it would take quite a bit of explaining if they found us all filing in, carrying three unconscious girls into the guest bedroom.” Hearing that statement, Rainbow Dash clamped an open palm over her mouth and snickered into it. Rarity shot her a pointed look as she dropped a sugarcube into each mug. “There is no need to be so lewd, Rainbow Dash.” That only seemed to bring a new wave of laughter upon Rainbow Dash, as her eyes nearly bulged out of her head before squeezing shut again, and more snickering was smothered by her hand. Sonata had no idea what was going on. When she looked to Adagio and Aria for a clue, they both had their eyes on the ceiling. Sonata followed their gaze, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Sillies, she thought. Sunset Shimmer sauntered over with a mug of coffee in each hand. She set one down in front of Aria, then Sonata. Curious, the blue girl took a sniff. Her nose wrinkled. Smells like burnt water. Sonata hated coffee. She always preferred something yummy, like soda or grape juice. Leaning over, she watched Aria pick hers up and stare at it just as Adagio was given her own. The purple siren put it to her lips and blew on it a little before taking a sip. Her lips moved like she was smacking them, but Sonata heard no noise. “This coffee sucks." The whole table jumped and thudded, easily drowning out Aria's "Ow, dammit!" hissed in that instant. Her face twisted into a cringe as both hands moved beneath the table. Adagio must have kicked her in the shin, Sonata realized with a giggle. When she glanced over to the Rainbooms, they gave no indication that they heard her complaint, or even took notice of the scuffle that followed. “I noticed you hadn't taken our pendants off," Adagio noted suddenly. She sounded polite, but Sonata knew she was just faking it. That’s why she usually did the talking in these kinds of things. “Tell me, do you trust us enough to allow such a thing?” she inquired, batting her eyes in that "I’m being sarcastic and condescending" way Sonata always liked. “No,” Sunset Shimmer curtly replied. “We tried to, but the straps wouldn't break. We even resorted to using scissors, but whatever those straps are made of must be magic or something.” Sonata felt her stomach turn at the mention of scissors and their being so close to her neck, but what Sunset said about the straps quelled the fear and caught her intrigue in an instant. “Wow, really?” she cooed, fingering her pendant. “I had no idea they were like that!” Adagio subtly rubbed her chin. “My friend here is right. That is quite interesting.” For whatever reason, that drew some stares from Twilight and Sunset. “Wait,” Sunset rose a brow, “you have been here a thousand years, and not once you tried taking your pendants off?” Adagio lowered her eyelids. “Is that a serious question?” she dryly imposed. Even Sonata had to admit it was pretty silly of Sunset to ask. Why would they even try something like that? Adagio shook her head. "Tch. And you managed to beat us." Sonata nodded in agreement, but stopped herself short out of a sudden fear gripping her - the glare of Sunset Shimmer could melt glaciers. "Yeah," she said, "we beat you. Which is why you're over there, and we're over here." "Burned," Pinkie whispered. And Sonata had to agree; no one ever had the gall to talk to Dagi like that. Aria suddenly shot forward. "It's not the same, you idiots just cheated!" she snapped. "We had everything, we were the ones planning. Then you went and just got lucky!" Her fist struck the table, jangling the mugs slightly. Adagio lifted her's just in time so it wouldn't spill, all with a bemused expression. "You bet your ass we got lucky," Sunset replied coolly. "If it weren't for Spike or Vinyl, you'd be ruling the world right about now. Good thing they came along, right?" Sonata could see the hate in Aria's eyes, the clenching of Adagio's jaw. Herself? She hoped no one noticed the blush on her cheeks. With her own cup of coffee, Twilight pulled out a chair and joined the Dazzlings across the table. She smiled at them a kindly smile, fingers lacing around the steaming beverage. Everything about Princess Twilight was genuine, Sonata noticed, right down to that smile. There was nothing fake in the way she presented herself, which was a step up from what could be said about other humans Sonata had known over the centuries. Though Sonata never toted herself as some kind of a genius, she learned how to read people just by picking up subtle clues about how they held themselves. Twilight had an honest face, clean-cut hair, a humble posture with a fairly slim physique. She was also flat as a boy. A real good girl, Sonata observed. She caught herself staring, and quickly averted her gaze. “I think some proper introductions are in order. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, and the girl behind me is Sunset Shimmer.” The aforementioned teen was leaning against the counter with Rainbow and Applejack on either side. She did not smile like the princess, but she nodded her head towards them all the same. Twilight continued, "As you probably know by now, we’re both from Equestria. The rest here are locals: Pinkie Pie, Rarity—” “Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy,” Adagio cut in. The seven girls looked to one another, somewhat taken aback by her bluntness. “I know who you are, we all do. We were busy the day prior to the Battle of the Bands, you see. We didn’t waste our time with sleepovers and pizza.” Sonata could feel the air in the room suddenly becoming heavy and uncomfortable between the Rainbooms, as they looked to one another with uncertain glances. “How did they know that?” Fluttershy whispered. Adagio smirked, and her smirk made Sonata smirk too. They’re totally afraid of us, she thought with glee. Maybe we'll be in control here after all! Twilight Sparkle broke the tension with a light titter. She brought her mug up and blew in it a little before taking a quick sip. “Well,” she said, setting it back down, “you clearly know a lot about us, but I’m afraid we don’t know a thing about you! So...” Her smile was broad and toothy. Adagio opened her mouth to speak, but Sonata was a lot faster. “How do you not know anything about us? We’re from Equestria and we sing songs to feed on negative energy!” How could they not know this by now? Down the table, she heard Aria concur with a grunt. “And that’s all you need to know,” she added. There was an edge to her voice, moreso than usual. Sonata leaned over, finding Aria with her arms folded tight across her chest and scowling. She grinned. “Well Ari, they obviously need to know more, but we’re not gonna tell them anything.” Sometimes Aria could be such a silly goose. The siren rolled her eyes and focused her glare on something off to the side, away from Sonata. Uh-oh, I probably just said something dumb. Stupid, Sonata! Stupid! She tensely waited for Adagio to sigh, to cup her forehead and tell the two of them to shut up. Instead, in the rare instance of surprising chatterbox-Sonata Dusk into silence, Adagio simply leaned back in her chair and kept her mouth shut behind a face of indifference. Wow. I said something to the Rainbooms that didn't upset Dagi. Sonata felt a little flicker of pride flare in her chest. She returned her gaze to the seven gathered on the other side of the table, each displaying various looks of disappointment to their withholding of information. Her smile was wide and close-lipped. We’re not telling you bullies a thing. “We aren’t going to force you to share with us anything you’re not comfortable with,” said Twilight Sparkle. Her voice was heavy with disappointment. “But we’d at least like to know your names.” Sonata leaned over again. She looked to Adagio and Aria. Adagio looked to the two girls on either side of her, then leaned forward with her fingers laced in front of her. “Adagio Dazzle.” She shot a glance at Sonata. “Oh! Um, Sonata. Dusk. Sonata Dusk.” Both she and Adagio set their sights on Aria, expectantly. She was still glaring off to the side. “All of you can go to hell,” she snarled. The table jumped and thudded once more, this time giving Twilight Sparkle a small start. “OW! Blaze, Aria Blaze!” Her face twisted into a cringe, and her hand moved down below the table. Dagi must’ve kicked her in the shin again, Sonata realized. She giggled into her palm. Adagio clasped her fingers around the rim of her own mug and tipped it towards her lips. She didn’t even blow on it. “So what’s next? Are we going to make friendship bracelets and sing about how great it is to be frivolous lickspittles?” Twilight Sparkle’s lips held parted, but no words came. Applejack, whom was keeping to herself for most of the conversation, now stepped beside Twilight with a ferocious glint in her deep-green eyes. “Ya know, t’weren’t easy keepin’ y’all here. We coulda left ya fer the wolves. Instead, we gave ya food n’ drink, a warm bed and somethin’ comfortable to sleep in.” Sonata looked down at her purple tanktop; it was pretty comfy. “The least y’all could do is keep the rude comments to yerselves.” “Oh dang,” muttered Aria. “We just got told. Like, thank you for having common courtesy, I guess.” The apple farmer turned red as her namesake. Adagio gave an amused laugh. “Indeed. Now, if the wannabe cowgirl is done reminding us why we should be so grateful to be their prisoners…” her voice slowly began to rise, as her saccharine smile and pleasant voice dropped, “...I for one would like to know the point of all of this and why we’re still here!” The force of her fist slamming against the table sent their mugs quivering, and the contents inside to slosh about and dribble down their sides. Fluttershy and Rarity reeled back at her sudden outburst, the others reacted with hostile glares, all except Twilight, who remained in place with her brows defiantly furrowed. Yet Sonata couldn’t help but gaze in wonder at how quickly one’s face like that loudmouth Applejack’s can go from looking like a ripe tomato to curdled milk with just a few words. Such is the power of Adagio and her scariness, mused Sonata. Aria wishes she could be that scary. She’s not though, she’s just a dumb-butt. “Well, if you want to just cut to the chase, I can oblige,” Twilight sighed, hands folding over the table. The Rainbooms slowly gathered around her. Seeing all of them looming behind their friend, looking like a mob or something, Sonata started getting that squeezy-feeling in her tummy again. Do they need to look so menacing? she complained in disquiet. “I’ll be honest with you three: I had no idea what to do after the Battle of the Bands. Passed out, sick to your stomachs, and with an angry crowd at our backs? We had to act on the fly, and so we took you girls down below the stage while the faculty quelled the audience.” “You were getting kinda crazy there, Twi,” quipped Rainbow, lightly cuffing her friend in the shoulder. The princess blushed. “Hm, I suppose I did. But how couldn’t I? ‘Three evil creatures who may be older than Celestia,’ I thought. ‘How in the hoof am I supposed to handle this?’ And to add to this mountain of a problem, we noticed you girls still had your pendants, which Sunset Shimmer deduced as your source of power. You... know how hard we tried to remove them.” Hearing that, Sonata gently laid her hand against her throat, trying to imagine a pair of scissors and their cold, sharp metal sliding against her neck. A shiver went down her spine. She wondered if her friends were as frightened by the thought as she was. No they aren’t, she quickly decided. Dagi and Ari are tough as nails. I should be too. Sonata clenched her jaw tight and tuned-in to Twilight Sparkle’s rambling. “...amidst our debating, we finally agreed that we had no idea when you girls would wake up, or what you’d do when you did.” Twilight let that sink in for a moment. “So, with a small pool of options and an even smaller amount of time, we hastily carried you three into the car of our friend, Vinyl Scratch, and she drove us here. Since then, I’ve been writing with Princess Celestia after sending my assistant back to Equestria, to tell my friends at home everything that happened.” Adagio objected with a chuckle. “Very sloppy, Princess. Not knowing how to dispose of your enemies? I do hope this isn’t a frequent problem when fending off the evils that threaten your home.” To that, Twilight Sparkle let her head drop, and she sighed. She met their eyes again, this time with shame in her voice. “That may have seemed irresponsible of me, yes, and what I’m about to tell you even moreso. You see, back in Equestria I was recently crowned as the Princess of Friendship. Friendship Magic is... powerful, to put it mildly. It’s fueled by a sense of harmony that is, to my knowledge, only attainable by a special bond that multiple ponies share. Once, the only way to even control it was through the Elements of Harmony.” “Wait, those are real?” Sonata gasped. “Like, really real? As in, that’s-how-the-two-sisters-really-defeated-Discord real? I thought that was just an old ponytale!” Twilight smiled a little. “So did many others, myself once included. But they’re definitely real. I had to return them to their place of origin a while back, and not long after they granted my friends and I the ability to utilize Friendship Magic without them. That’s how we were able to defeat you." Adagio leaned back into her chair, arms folded. “Wow,” she breathed in faux amazement. “That is quite the tale, Princess. But, ah, I fail to see the ‘irresponsible’ part in all of this.” “I’ve told you of the power Friendship Magic contains. It’s powerful as it is unpredictable. For instance, it banished the evil and fear from Princess Luna’s heart, but then it goes to completely eradicate King Sombra, a unicorn whose dark powers fed off of the very fear his subjects had for him. How and why does it choose to do this to these ponies? It’s a question that’s always been on the back of my mind, and one I still don’t even have a hypothesis for.” “Then there’s the pivotal moment in Equestria’s founding, in which Clover the Clever was able to repel a herd of windigos with the help of Private Pansy and Smart Cookie. This is the earliest known casting of Friendship Magic, and it was used to defeat creatures that fed off of hatred and strife. Much like you girls. And with you three... nothing. Why?” Why? The room was quiet. Why? Why? Why? Even Sonata was at a loss on what to say; they were just sirens, that’s it. Nothing more to it, yet she pressed her temples and tried to think of some way they could be something more. This is so confusing. Why didn’t the Friendship Magic kill us or banish us or whatever? Why did we have to lose at all? Sonata wanted to leave. She had no desire to be here anymore, having this conversation with these people and their freaky big-scary-alicorn-god-summoning powers. And yet here they were, sitting and talking and drinking yucky hot drinks from porcelain mugs like civilized human beings. There was a word Sonata knew that fit this insanity perfectly, it sounded kind of like iron even though it had nothing to do with the actual metal. Being evil involves none of this dumb stuff. Being evil is simple, and fun, and I like it for that. Twilight’s voice broke the silence. “Regardless, now isn’t the time or place to question such things. Whatever the reason, we were able to expunge the Equestrian Magic you three had absorbed, but it did nothing to quell the immediate threat you impose on the people around you.” “I don’t suppose we can just pinkie promise that we won’t do bad things ever again,” Adagio said lightly, waggling her pinkie finger. Twilight shook her head. “No, we can’t let you do that. I leave you three here, and nothing would stop you girls from fleeing this city and continue to ruin other people’s lives in some far away corner of this world.” “I dunno, Twilight.” Pinkie Pie craned her head over the princess’s shoulder, eyeing the Dazzlings across the table. “Adagio did say she could Pinkie Promise, and nobody ever breaks a Pinkie Promise…” “Not if you do this!” said Sonata, holding up two fingers twisted around one another. “Oh, shoot! You're right!” the pink girl gasped. To that, Adagio cupped her forehead. “Can we please get to the climax of this song already?” “Very well," Twilight sighed, her voice suddenly gravely tired. The princess took a long, noisy sip from her coffee, then set it back down. She laced her fingers in front of her face, much like Adagio. “As I’ve said, Princess Celestia and I have been sending messages back and forth for, I dunno how long, two days? A day and a half? We've debated over what to do with you three, and tried deciding the safest course of action. We felt that Tartarus would be too extreme, not without allowing you girls a second chance to try and learn the Magic of Friendship.” “Barf.” Aria. Both Adagio and Sonata snickered into their hands. The Rainbooms looked less than pleased, especially Twilight. Even saints have a last nerve, Sonata recalled a saying from Typhon. “As I was saying," Twilight continued with a bit of a sharper edge to her voice, "the princesses and I agreed that teaching you girls the Magic of Friendship would be the ideal solution. If we could get Chaos Incarnate to see the value in such a thing, then I think you three can change too.” She smiled thinly. The three sirens each took turns rolling their eyes, but that only seemed to strengthen the Friendship Princess’s optimism and boost the width of her smile, as if she had been down this road before. Sonata herself felt yucky inside, visualizing it all in her mind. My girls and I, being nice and having tea parties? Her mind flashed over to the Battle of the Bands, and their Siren Familiars circling around the Rainbooms, huge and powerful and deadly. Are they seriously imagining us, the really-real us, flying around and helping ponies? When they know how powerful we can get and how much we enjoy it? Besides, Sonata always preferred the mind controlled masses screaming her name over the non-controlled ones. They were less... judgemental. “You honestly think you can change us with friendship,” Adagio mused aloud. “Your confidence is admirable, Princess. There’s no denying that, and it’s something I can personally respect. But you can’t tempt a man with food if he just ate, if you catch my drift.” With that, Adagio limply gestured a hand to the girls on either side of her. Sonata grinned at the princess. “I know what you mean. That was the first thing on my mind when the idea was initially pitched,” said Twilight. “But we believe that befriending a nicer crowd and learning humility will be quite beneficial.” The princess smiled all smug-like. Sonata wanted to take a cheese grater to her face. She basically just called us bitches. Bitches that should be friends with "better people." Suddenly, Sunset Shimmer stepped forward with one hand leaning against the table and the other on her hip. “Look,” she began softly, “you girls once said you knew all about me. Then that must mean you’re aware of how much better it is to be loved, genuinely loved, by people who actually care about you.” The she-demon smiled when Rarity put a hand over hers, and Rainbow Dash gave a hearty pat on the back. Sonata folded her arms, and regarded the display with a small frown. Why do they think we care about how real it is? In her mind, a whole nation of brainwashed subservients not only had more appeal, but also a lasting guarantee that the “genuine” love of seven fickle friends did not. Besides, what's the point of getting close to anybody if you were going to outlive them all? I don't need anybody else! I got my forever buds right here... “I can personally attest to how appealing the prospect of ultimate power is,” Sunset went on. “It feels good, it’s easy and worth the effort in the long run. And friendship? I won’t sugarcoat it: friendship is hard. But you just have to take my word for it and look right in front of you to see how much better it is. We know you girls are already friends—” “At least, we hope so!” Pinkie Pie cut in. “I mean, how can three people who hate their roomies live together for a thousand years?” There was some truth to that, Sonata knew. Sure, she and Aria may get into small quarrels, Adagio sometimes grew sick of their constant bickering, and more than once arguments between the three of them would get physical. But we’re still besties forever! Sonata thought with glee. Emphasis on the ‘forever’! “It seemed like we had a plan,” Twilight resumed. Her face suddenly turned disdained. “Until I realized… what would happen if you three were all in Equestria? At the same time? Surrounded by Equestrian Magic? We were nearly beaten when you girls had consumed just mere scraps of of that power. What would you be with even more? Who would stop you? Both Princesses Celestia and Luna said having you three there at the same time would be a great risk…” Sonata heard a sharp breath to her right. From the corner of her eye she saw Adagio’s gaze flare into a burning one. “I’d choose your next words carefully, little ponies,” she warned. Her eyes raked across the room. “I am not liking where this conversation is going.” "What?" Sonata asked. "What are they suggesting?" Not a voice spoke up, making Sonata's worry grow. Princess Twilight looked upon them one last time before squeezing her eyes shut; when they opened again, they shone with nothing but pity, but her voice was, for the first time that night, firm like that of a princess. “We have decided that it would be safer for everypony if one of you returned with me to Equestria, to live in Canterlot Castle, where you will learn the Magic of Friendship.” A nuke could have detonated in that instant and none of the Dazzlings would be roused. Twilight’s words remained unanswered for a long time. Sonata saw Adagio from the corner of her eye completely motionless, her face nigh unreadable, save for the subtle way her jaw clenched. She’s pissed, Sonata realized. She herself felt all yellow and green inside, like her innards were rotting away. We’re gonna be split up? For...how long? Sonata could scarce hear her own breathing. They were together for...for she did not even know how long; the very notion of such an idea seemed like a big joke. But jokes invoke laughter, and that was entirely nonexistent. She wondered how Aria felt. When she looked over, her friend seemed bored as ever, sipping her nasty coffee sharply with one arm slung lazily across her chest. It was the only sound in the room. “Just one of you has to come,” Twilight reminded them, like that would make the blow any softer. “I promise, it’s only temporary. I think if you girls really make the effort to change, you’ll see each other again in no time! Meanwhile, the other two will stay here, and with that we think both worlds’ safety will be assured if we split you guys up.” A sudden sound from her right gave Sonata a start; Adagio was inhaling. "Dagi?" Adagio Dazzle's eyes flashed open, burning quietly, as beautiful as they were terrifying. “A hostage,” she declared in an icy, flat, deadened tone. Then she leaned forward. “Not on my life.” The quiet that followed was more threatening than Aria’s brutish malevolence, or Applejack’s angry southern drawl. Her words lingered in the air, heavy, bloody, poisoned. The Rainbooms all exchanged a look, unease evident in their faces; they knew Adagio spoke the truth, she always does, but Sonata could not understand what she was trying to say this time. “Dagi,” she began gently, “I don’t think the Rainbooms are gonna chain us up in a dungeon or anything. They’re just going to take care of one of us until…” Until we change, she suddenly realized. Adagio never tore her gaze away from Princess Twilight when Sonata spoke to her. “Maybe not,” she said. “But the chain is there all the same. And if the two left behind so much as breathe in the wrong direction...then they’ll kill the hostage.” Sonata covered her mouth. She looked Twilight Sparkle in the eye, hoping to see something beyond the shock that still clouded her expression. "What if we can't? What if we can't change?" The siren covered her mouth again, fearing she'd cry out further. Sonata didn't care, she's not strong. She's scared of all this, of being split up, of changing for these weird ponies. Couldn't they just go back in time? Couldn't they be banished somewhere else!? The Rainbooms’ eyes widened in surprise to their assertions, and Adagio immediately lashed out before any of them could try and possibly object. “I know what this is, don’t pretend to be all shocked, unless Princess Twilight lied to you wretches. Griffon kings did it all the time in our day: they’d take a child of their lesser lords to assure loyalty. If they acted up, the hostage was killed. That’s exactly what they’re trying to do now. You groveling wretches, you think you have the power, the right, to threaten us?” Twilight Sparkle tried forcing herself to speak. “That’s, That’s not what I—” “Then what?” Adagio slammed both fists against the table. Sonata shrank into her chair; she had not seen her this angry in a long time. “Tell me! Educate me, you damned upstart!” Then Twilight Sparkle, who moments ago looked ready to break out into sweats, placed a hand to her chest and breathed deep. When she spoke, she sounded calm and collected as before. “We aren’t barbarians,” she said gently. “We would never think of executing anypony, for any reason. Tartarus, that is punishment for acting out of line.” Sonata felt her heart rise in relief at this revelation, that is until Aria said, “Oh, okay. Instead of snipping our necks, we'd spend the rest of existence rotting away in the most miserable place in existence. And do you have the guts to do that, Princess of Friendship?” There was mockery evident in her tone, but Twilight showed no reaction to it. “I don’t," she admitted. "But they do.” Sonata blinked. “‘They’ who?” “The Two Sisters, dummy,” answered Aria. All eyes were on her as she brought her mug to her lips and took a sip. “And you know what, I think it’s really nice of Sonata to volunteer going back to Equestria.” “Hey!” she cried. “I can’t go, because Dagi already said she would, since she’s the leader and all.” Adagio frowned. “You’re right, I’m the leader," she pointed out, a quiet burn edging her voice which was especially evident when she said, "and I say you two aren't taking this as seriously as you should be.” “Quiet, please!” Twilight cut in. The sirens all looked to her. “The princesses and I have already decided who we’d begin reforming. Now if you’ll just listen…” “And what’ll happen if we just run away?” Aria asked. “Aria…” Adagio said in a warning tone, but Twilight spoke over her, “Now if you’ll just listen… I can explain why I’ve picked you to be first, Aria.” Her face fell, as did the following silence. Though there was no noise, Sonata could hear the hammering of her own heart. It took a moment to find her voice. “Ari?” she squeaked. The purple siren brought her mug up to her face, and stared at it hard. She practically slammed the thing against her lips, getting most of it dribbling messily down the corners of her mouth, down her chin, neck, underneath her tank top. She smacked her lips a couple times. “You know,” she said thoughtfully, “this coffee really friggin’ sucks.” Aria looked up, each of the Rainbooms’ eyes fixed on her, their bodies all tense with uncertainty. In one fluid motion she flung the black liquid in their direction. Princess Twilight took most of the assault, her hands put to her wet, steaming face in the blink of an eye and a ragged cry echoing in her palms. Aria shot up with enough force to send her chair back, crashing into the wall behind her. Her pigtails whirled around as she turned for the doorway near Sonata. But she never even passed Sonata. Before the girl could even understand what was happening she found Aria pinned beneath Adagio, one arm twisted behind her back. “What did I tell you!?” snarled Adagio, eyes alight with fury. “What did I say to you back in the bedroom!?”