The two Dazzlings followed behind Sunset and Fluttershy as they walked to school. They all walked in silence after the small argument they had a half-hour before. Sunset and Fluttershy didn’t think that the Dazzlings should go to school due to the rumors and the Battle of the Bands; the students probably wouldn’t have the best reactions to them. Aria agreed that they should probably stay hidden at least for a while and tried to explain that to Sonata. Sonata, however, calmly explained to them that she didn’t care what the students thought and that if any of them tried to accuse her of killing Adagio she’d rip out their throats. Well, okay, it was calm until that last part, when she looked like she was about to snap like the night before. Thankfully, no glass was broken and no more bandages had to be put on the girl.
After that, they all agreed it’d be in their best interest to let Sonata and Aria go to school, albeit while keeping a close eye on the former. A couple of them had their minds on other things, however, namely Sunset and Aria.
Sunset barely got any sleep last night with all the thoughts going through her head. She tried to think about things logically, but just as that failed in the past, it quickly failed here. No matter how she approached it, she didn’t think she was worthy of being Fluttershy’s girlfriend. Yet Fluttershy was willing and even seemed like she wanted to be, but why? Did Fluttershy still see her as broken? Was she still broken? Probably. But is that why Fluttershy is caring for her and even wants to date? No, that can’t be; that’d be like Fluttershy dating one of her animal friends when they broke their leg, right? Ugh! Why can’t this be simple? She thought as her mind kept trying to understand.
Aria, on the other hand, was trying to figure out just what happened the other night. She couldn’t stop thinking about it. Whatever it was, it left her without a sister and Sonata a mess. She figured it had to be one of their former enemies; they made quite a few of over the years. None of them, however, were around anymore, she thought. Then, of course, there was the bigger issue: Sonata. Aria loved her and all, but Sonata was acting like… well, like she herself used to act. She honestly wished Sonata would just talk to her; she wanted to know what happened, if for no other reason than to help Sonata. Maybe I’ll try again later. She has to tell me at some point, she thought to herself as they neared the school.
Fluttershy glanced behind her to address the Dazzlings. “Now, girls, if anything happens, go to our friends. They’ll help you with whatever it is.”
“Don’t they hate us?” Aria asked. Sunset winced at the way she said it like she was both expecting it and fearing it at the same time.
"No, none of us hate you for what you girls did. They might not like you girls too much, but they don't hate you. I know as much as anyone that they'll give you a second chance. Though, it might take a bit," Sunset assured them.
"If you say so," Sonata said, shrugging. She really didn't want to go to school, but in her head, it was the safest place to be, considering who was after them. Chrysalis' thugs were all in college or older if she remembered correctly. She doubted they could get into the school unnoticed.
"Aria, you and I should have a talk with Principal Celestia. She should know the situation at least a bit," Sunset said, looking to the girl as they entered the school.
"Um, I don't want to leave Sonata alone, if that's okay."
"I'll wait outside with her. Don't worry," Fluttershy said, smiling. Aria looked to Sonata for some sort of response. She received a noncommittal shrug. Aria sighed and agreed to the terms. The hallways were, as always, filled with students. While it wasn't an all-out dead stop as the four girls entered the hallway, many glanced in their direction, and a few gave some glares, both at the Dazzlings and a very slight few at Sunset as well.
Sunset froze. While most of the glares she saw weren't directed at her, she just saw the eyes. Her heart rate quickened, and her breathing started to become erratic. She closed her eyes tightly as she felt the walls close in on her.
“Sunset, calm down, please. I’m here for you,” she heard Fluttershy say. She opened her eyes to see that the ‘walls’ that were closing in on her was Fluttershy pulling her into a hug. She slowly wrapped her arms around the pink-haired girl and sighed, her anxiety slowly drifting away.
“Is she okay?” Aria asked from behind them, sounding a bit concerned. Fluttershy looked over Sunset’s shoulder to the two and whispered her response, to hopefully avoid any listening ears.
“Sunset has panic attacks from time to time. It’s usually when a lot of people are looking at her.”
“I think they were glaring at us,” Sonata said. Aria sighed and looked at her sister.
“She’s between us and them. It would still feel the same.”
“I’m still here you know,” Sunset remarked.
“Heh, sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’m sorry about that,” Sunset said, sighing as she hesitantly let go of Fluttershy. Fluttershy gave her a little smile before looking to the two Dazzlings.
“We should probably get to the principal’s office; school is gonna be starting soon.”
With that, the group walked to the main office near the cafeteria. They received a couple more glares as they walked, but with Fluttershy there to support her, Sunset was able to keep her anxiety together for the most part. They knocked on the door and stepped back. Soon, the door opened for them.
“Yes?” Principal Celestia asked. She looked at the group of girls at her door and gave a little sigh, knowing it wasn’t going to be anything good, though she never lost her warm smile.
“Principal Celestia?” Sunset started, “Can we come in and talk to you about something. It’s kinda important.”
“Of course, Sunset. Please, come in.” Celestia motioned for them to come in as she went back into her office. Sunset and Aria walked into the office, while Sonata and Fluttershy sat down on the bench outside.
Aria closed the door after entering the office. She turned to sit down in the chair next to Sunset and across from Celestia. The older woman stacked some loose papers on her desk before looking to the girls.
“So what did you need to talk to me about, dears?”
“Well, Principal Celestia, we kind of have some bad news,” Sunset started. She looked to Aria to explain further. Aria took a deep breath and explained.
“A few days ago, right after the Battle of the Bands, Adagio and I got into a fight. She and Sonata left our apartment to go look for another place to live. Sonata came back an hour later c-covered in blood. A-Adagio is gone…” Aria choked out the last part of the explanation, it becoming ever so harder to relive the events of that night.
Celestia’s eyes widened and she put a hand to her mouth. “I’m so sorry to hear, sweetie, but why didn’t you call the police?”
“Because we’re from Sunset’s world remember? We don’t have any legal documents, and they’re already after us because someone saw Sonata with blood on her and thought she did it.”
“Oh, that’s right. Well… I’m sorry for your loss, but I’m not exactly sure what you want me to do.”
“We want you to let them keep going to school here and help us if anyone tries to confront Sonata about it. She’s been having a hard time mourning, and to be accused of murder…” Sunset trailed off, not needing to say more.
“I understand." Celestia looked to Aria. “How are you coping with this, dear?”
“I-I’m not, not yet… I don’t even know what happened; Sonata hasn’t told me anything about it yet.”
“I see. Well, if you need to talk to anyone, our doors are always open. But I think with the friends you’ve chosen, you might not need to come to us.” Celestia gave a little smile.
“Oh, Principal Celestia, one more thing,” Sunset chimed in.
“Yes, Sunset?”
“I’m not sure what their school schedules are like, but is there any way they can be adjusted to have at least one of my friends in their classes? That might be a lot to ask for, but we want to help them as much as we can, and we can’t exactly do that if we’re not in their classes.”
“Don’t worry, Sunset, I never had a chance to finalize their schedules when they first arrived due to the preparations for the Battle of the Bands. They can accompany you to all of your classes if you wish, or they can go with any of your other friends, or whatever situation works for now. You can let me know so I can finalize it.”
“Thank you, Principal Celestia. You don’t know how much this means to us,” Aria said to the older woman as she and Sunset stood up. Celestia got up and went around to open the door. Before they left the office, however, Celestia pulled Aria into a hug.
“I don’t know what it’s like, but I feel for you. I couldn’t imagine losing my sister.”
“Thank you. Hopefully, you never need to know how it feels.” Aria gave her a small smile. Usually, she didn’t like hugs, but with everything that’s happened, she welcomed it. The two girls left the office and made their ways towards the first class as Fluttershy and Sonata joined them. They all had a feeling that today wasn’t going to be a great day, but at least it started out okay.