A Shade of Blue, A Hint of Orange

by Saige McQuill

A Game - (Deleted Chapter)

"Yoo-hoo~! I'm home~! You girls stopped pouting yet?"

....

"Hello~? Anyone here? Did you girls happen to leave while I was at the cafe? Because you forgot to lock the door behind you!"

....

"Is anyone there? Hello-- Oh, Aria! Didn't see you there slouched on the couch like that. Heehee, that rhymed! So, are we doing okay now?"

....

"Ari? Aria~. Come on, I know you're awake. Can't say you're asleep when you're not snoring right now~"

....

"Aria Blaze~! Wakey wakey, or I'm gonna start shakey--"

"Go away, Sonata."

"....oh. Still in that mood, I see. Okay, then. I can still work with this. Aria, if you don't cheer up right this instant, I'm going to do something drastic!"

....

"Not even a twitch? All right, don't say I didn't warn you! Here comes the feather fingers~!"

"What the--?! Pffft, hahahahahaha! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STOP IT! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Gonna work you up real good, Ari! Gonna put a big ol' smile on that face! For realsies!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-- oof! I-- HAHAHAHAHAHAHA-- I said-- nngh-- STOP IT!!"

"OOF!"

....

"Ugh... you didn't have to kick me that hard, Ari."

"Yeah, well maybe you should've taken the hint the first time. Leave. Me. Alone."

....

"....fine, Ms. Grumpy Pants! I bet Dagi'll give me a better reception than you, and when she does, you're gonna be feeling pretty stupid!"

"Whatever."

....

"Dagi! Hey, Adagio~! I'm back! How is my glorious leader doing this fine eve--?"

"What do you want, Sonata?"

"...well, at least that's better than what Aria told me. I just came to check up on you, Dagi! Tried to do it with Ari, but she kicked me in the stomach and told me to go away. Also, do you know what time it is?"

"....just about time to get dinner started."

"Oh! Perfect! It's my turn to cook, right?"

"Well, actually, it's my-- wait, no, now that I think about it, it is your turn."

"...All right! I'll be down in the kitchen getting everything set up. Maybe you could tell Aria for me? I don't think she's in the mood to talk to me right now. You're free to come down at any time!"

"Actually, wait up a minute!"

"Hm?"

....

"There is something I wanted to talk to you about. We'll discuss it over the table."

"I don't think Aria wants to discuss any--"

"I'll deal with her. You just stay focused on the cooking."

"Aye aye, Captain! This sailor is heading out!"

....

....

....

"....what a naive little girl...."

---

"Just be patient with me a little longer, Aria."

"How much longer?"

"It should take no longer than a few minutes, and once I'm done, we'll be free to get back to planning our revenge on those Rainboom twerps."

"Hello, girls~! Chicken teriyaki, mashed potatoes, green beans with a side of barbeque sauce! A plate for you, dearest Aria--"

"Ugh."

"And a plate for you, Dagi~!"

"Thank you, Sonata."

"You're welcome! Now, to fetch mine! Whee~!"

....

"She really doesn't have a clue, does she?"

"Not one bit."

"This might be fun to watch."

....

"And I'm back with my plate! Goody goody! So, now that you two look like you're at least a little happier than when I came in, I'd like to ask how you're doing. Everything okay? You like the food?"

"The food's fine, Sonata. Thanks for making it."

"No problem, Dagi! And what about you, Aria?"

"Meh."

"Oh. Screw you, then. Before I tell you two about my day--"

"Here we go..."

"--I'd like to say that I've been doing some thinking--"

"Oh, Sonata doing some thinking? Now that is the most shocking news I've heard all day."

"Hey! At least I've been doing thinking! All you did was lay on the couch and... not... think! You.... non-thinker!"

"Ooooh. Real scathing. I better put some ice on that burn."

"Don't be rude, Aria."

"Whatever."

"Right! Anyway, I was thinking and I wanted to take it up with you, Dagi. Is it okay for me to have a ferret?"

"The heck is a ferret?"

....

"....seriously, Aria? Seriously."

"What?"

"We've been in this world for who knows how long and you don't know what a ferret is? I'd expect that from Sonata, not you."

"Hey!"

"Well, excuse me if I don't spend time trying to learn about the lesser life forms."

"Ugh, just... um... do you know what a rat is?"

"....yes?"

"Do you know what a raccoon is?"

"Uh... was that what those fat things poking around in our garbage called?"

"...yes, Aria. Those things."

"Friggin' rodents."

"Think of a ferret as a cross between them, except smaller and skinnier. That paint a picture for you?"

"...eugh! It does! Why would you want to get something like that, you doofus?"

"Well, I was talking about it earlier with Sunny, and she brought it up that--"

"Wait, wait. "Sunny"?"

"You know. Sunset Shimmer?"

....

"You. Were talking. To Sunset Shimmer."

"Ooooh, busted."

"W-well... yeah."

"And just what did you two happen to talk about? The weather? Your plans for this lovely day? What musicians are good and what musicians suck? Or maybe something that would've given those bunch of teenage hippie brats an excuse to keep us on a tighter leash? Tell me, what made you think that it was such a good idea to open your mouth to our sworn enemy?"

"...sworn...enemy?"

"Yes, sworn enemy! What, did you think that we were trying to be their friends or something? Did you think that all of this was nothing more than some sort of game to you?"

"...yes, actually."

....

"Wow, Sonata. Just when I thought you couldn't get anymore stupid, you--"

"And I'm a bit that neither of you saw it like that, too."

....

"....Maybe it's because that we saw it as something serious! Maybe it's because that, unlike you, we were actually trying to get our magic back! We - I - put so much into this plan! I had to work with limited resources, think up things just like that and hope that they worked as well as I wanted them to! We were so close to getting our power back and taking over this pitiful world, and it was ripped away just like that! Is that really so hard for you to comprehend, Sonata?! That we've lost everything that allowed us to keep our identity as Sirens?! Huh?! Is it?!"

....

"....wow."

"Wow?! Is that really all you have to say for yourself to excuse the exceeding amount of idiocy you're--"

"I... really thought you were better than that, Dagi."

"Excuse me?"

"You were doing so good up to this point. All in, chest out, strolling into every situation like nothing could touch you. Even when Star Swirl defeated us, you were so quick to bounce right back up. But right now, I can't see the difference between you and a six-year-old throwing a tantrum over a lost game of tag. Thought you'd have a lot more dignity than that-- whoa!"

"What the--!"

"How dare you speak to me that way, you little worm! Have you forgotten that I am the reason you're sitting right where you are right now?! I found you! I gave you a purpose! I'm the one that made this little team! If it weren't for me, you'd be nothing! I-- what are you laughing at?!"

"Hahahahahaha~! I-I'm sorry! I thought you were joking! I mean, that sounds like a really stupid thing to say, don't you think?"

"Stupid, huh? Well, why don't you explain it to me?"

"Well, for one, I think it'd be the other way around."

"Ahaha! You think I'd be nothing without you? I, the one who paved most of the way for you two, would be helpless without you morons to keep me company? Is that what you're saying right now?"

"Mhm!"

"Please amuse me."

"Well, you told us that you wanted to be a leader, right? You wanted to rule Equestria with an iron fist. You wanted millions of followers that admired you with each and every step you took. You wanted them to do anything for you. If you needed someone to fight for you, they would. If you needed someone to die for you, they would. They'd do all that and more, and so would we if we had the chance. Isn't that right, Ari? Would you die for the sake of our glorious leader?"

....

"Heh. She's being shy right now. Anyway, we were the first two that you chose. In the thousands upon thousands of years that passed, you kept us right at your side. And you were right to do so. When you gave the order, we gave you chaos, death and destruction absolute. In return, you gave us the best moments of our lives. You gave us a real reason to breathe, to keep living as opposed to... oh, I don't know, throwing ourselves off of a cliff or impaling ourselves on a dead tree. Each and every pony killed or building taken down was another drop of fuel for me. I don't think I could've gone any higher than the moment we faced down that old wizard. It was a give and take sort of thing, you know? We gave you a stepping stone to your goal, and you gave us a purpose. That never changed, even when we were banished. So I'm going to use this opportunity to say thank you. I'm really glad to have met you.

I will also say this. Right now, everyone hates us because of what we did. We don't have our powers anymore to protect us. We're just three little girls in a cruel world. But we're still here, breathing and thoughtful. We can find a way. I'm certainly going to try, now that I just simply can't take my eye off Sunny."

"Wh... what do you mean, Sonata?"

"She reminds me of Star Swirl, Adagio. That big wall that won't go down no matter how much we throw at it. I may not have the ability to sing anymore, but I'm still in the same place as she is. So I'm going to use my time and find another way. I'm going to break her, wear her down until she can't find the willpower to stand up anymore. Then when all of it's said and done, I'm going to drive my Cupid's arrow straight through the confines of her skull, just like I did with my very first kill. Or did the humans refer to the heart when they said that? I don't know, I'm trying to go for something that makes the most of a mess, you know?"

....

"Eh, screw it. I'm gonna Google it. I'll be in my room, girls! Enjoy your lunch! I'll clean the dishes when you're done, okay?"

....

....

....

....

"....oh, God."

"A...Adagio?"

"I'm... going to lie on the couch for a few hours. D... don't wake me."

Author's Note:

"Sonata, remember all the times I called you "the worst"? You know I was joking, right?"

Comments

[Vigriff]

This song plays during Sonata's tirade:

[Saige McQuill]

5516667 Eh. I would've thought of something a little less loud. But that works, too!

[Raistlin]

Kinda... rushed. It would have been better if Sonata would have played her innocent, ditzy persona for a little more , bringing Sunset to a sense of security, before springing the trap.
Also, I think canon Sonata is as evil as the other sirens; just (even) more incompetent. People use to confuse both terms regarding villains.

[Saige McQuill]

5516697 Well, I may be wrong here, but that'd be assuming Sonata is playing the role of the manipulator.

You may or may not have recognized this right off the bat, but the title of the story is a play on the trope "Blue and Orange Morality". The "innocent and ditzy" persona Sonata presents is interpreted by me as genuine. She genuinely feels comfortable talking to Sunset just as if she was talking to a friend. Any dip into more sensitive topics is little more than an Indy ploy, or as Heath Ledger's Joker would've put it "a dog chasing tires". At the same time, she's more than happy to end Sunset's life in the worst way possible. Basically, "Nothing personal, I just really want to kill you! "

Also, I think that description of canon Sonata would most likely apply.

[Vigriff]

5473475 Such a wasted plotline in my opinion.

[CuttlefishDreamer]

Interesting! I still love your interpretation of Sonata here. That playful personality of hers really makes her deadly; you can't ever truly tell what she's thinking... especially when she weaves from the mundane to dark and back again so smoothly and suddenly... love it!

[Csquared08]

What an odd followup. I'm not convinced all the ellipses were necessary, though. Was kinda weird to have so many in between lines of dialogue.

[1stChosenStar]

Damn, unpredictable sonata even scares both aria and adagio, and yet, I can't help but adore this version of sonata.

[Saige McQuill]

5629625 Glad to see you like her so much!

[Yet another time lord]

It really really reminds me of ledger's joker to the point where I can almost picture sonata's lines with his voice and that I think is the most disturbing and strange of this fanfiction,for some reason I can't really buy into sonata playing people like this(even her fellow sirens) withouth adagio noticing it,after all I can't imagine beeing the líder of such a trío of creatures could be posible for anything less than a ruthless master manipulator of the highest degree so It kinds of falls flat with my percepción of Adagio but other than that an excelnt story,It would be neet to see a serie out of this idea.

[ColdGoldLazarus]

I'm not sure how I feel about the 'dialogue-only' approach, but otherwise this is very good, and rather disturbing in the best possible way.

[seventeen]

"And I'm a bit that neither of you saw it like that, too."

disappointed?

I admit I don't feel this chapter was as strong as the previous one. The .... didn't all feel like they lined up properly, and I found myself double checking (of course it wasn't so necessary in the second act of this chapter), and that unfortunately pulled me out of the experience quite effectively. On that note, I liked the pauses between Sonata and Aria split up by .... rather than a giant run on paragraph
Fair stuff :D

[Lazruth]

Hm? What's that noise I hear? Oh, it's the Joker, applauding Sonata. Congrats mate, you just pleased one of the greatest villains ever and made me unable to sleep comfortably for the next week. Well done!

[jaroslav]

5516771
You realize that pretending in front of people you live with for thousand years would make from lie truth. After such a long time it would screw her brain and the one pretending would become the one she was pretending to be. That's how brain works. She would overwrite herself. That means the Sonata in the film is the real one. The pretending one killed herself hundreds years ago by her own stupidity by pretending being another person.
From that we can learn one thing. Never pretend for a long time or the other you will take over.
And the battle with Starswirl wasn't epic. The sneaky little unicorn backstabed them after he lost music battle. :D

[Grey Ghost]

7616876
And now that comic has been retconned out of existence!

[Bronyplier]

5629625
I know, right?! It's got that sick and twisted desire of a purpose, mixed with the ambitions of a killer. It's only then made more terrifying that it's in Sonata.

[Bronyplier]

Okay, review time!!! Spoilers beware!

Plot: the basic premise is that Sunset Shimmer finds Sonata in a coffee shop and decides to have a little talk with her. It starts out all innocent and cute-sy enough, but then thing take a turn. a turn so drastic, that by the time the story is 1/2 done, you're already facing 180 degrees. It moves on to philosophy, finding a purpose, identity, and then murder. The ending does give me quite some time to think about what happened, having this be a "dialogue-only" story. But it did give me some imaginative pictures to think on the situations, as well as the reactions and how they said it.

Setting: This takes place after "The Battle of the Bands," and they make sure to address that several times within the story, but at the same time, unless you haven't seen the 2nd EQG movie, I don't necessarily see the Dazzlings coming out to interact with any other character of the series in a DRASTIC way, like Timber from "Legend of Everfree." I guess this is more of a very minor complaint, but it's so small that a gust of wind could whisk this away.

Characters: They say "A Hero is only as good as their Villain." I feel as though this....didn't quite make that jump. In all fairness, this takes place after "Battle of the Bands," so not much character development will go toward Sunset Shimmer. As far as I could tell, the her character seemed to be the same as that of the show...if not..."mature." And I'm only saying that very loosely because her character from the show and here is about a step apart: enough to be different, but relatively the same. Not bad, but also not doing any great favors. No....this story belongs to Sonata, her character in this story was such a twist, that I was fully engrossed in this by the 1/4 mark. In the show, she is to be believed as this "air-headed," henchwoman, but in this story, she is a whole different beast! This still paints her as a villain, but one that see's herself trying to enjoy life by being given a higher purpose: which is finding a worthy opponent and killing them. That sounds bland on paper, but the way this story tells it makes you see Sonata as this methodical serial killer that enjoys the thrill of the hunt of only the best worthy prey; A killer with high standards in terms of purpose and prey. and that makes this version of Sonata more terrifying and enjoyable. it's only then made more shocking that at the end, Sonata basically tells Sunset that she "Re-kindled" her purpose, and is willing to enjoy another hunt.

Conclusion: Even thought this had a deleted story, I wanted to read more and loved that, but because it was "Deleted" I didn't add it to my review. All-in-all, I thought this story was great read, it was creepy, it was dark, had a great twist and had an awesome villain. Sure the hero didn't feel like she was "on-par," in terms of character, with Sonata, and it was mostly "dialogue-heavy," almost equal to anime standards, but that generally doesn't mean i "Liked it less." I would give this story: 4.5/5 Recommendation.

[Luna Aeterna Solutae]

5516771
I'm also choosing to interpret it as a crush, something that has never happened to Sonata before and she has no healthy response to, and with her rattling all this stuff out and the sudden realization that yes she is a thousand years old and yes she is completely evil... nobody really has the balls to point out to her.

[Sunset Awesomness17]

Damn!!!!! I’m going to choose that this was merely just a crush. DONT YOU BREAK MY INNOCENCE ON THIS!!! This fanfic is rather shocking. So I’m just going to choose what to believe. Other than that, if your goal was to make me uncomfortable, you have succeeded. Good read for a thrill to be honest.