• Member Since 1st Sep, 2013
  • offline last seen Dec 27th, 2020

Eyeswirl the Weirded


AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-hm?

T

Talent is a lot like ice cream. On the surface, it's hard to tell how long it'll be before it'll all melt and dribble all over your hand, but the part that sinks to the bottom of the cone is still-

Wait, wrong metaphor. Whatever.

Sonata Dusk has talents of her own, things Aria and Adagio couldn't do to save their lives, and she's going to prove it! With a brilliant plan backed up by her special skills, her old enemies won't know what hit them!

Chapters (9)
Comments ( 115 )

Yes, yet another Sonata-on-her-own fic, so you may very reasonably be wondering "Why should I read this? There's too many of these darn things already and adding more makes me want to whack you with a Twi-cane!"

There are very few of those that are actually good and even less that are positive and not depressing. Most of the time writers tend to either turn Adagio and Aria into horrible people, while making Sonata "the innocent one" who gets all the redemption, or are creating concentrated sob-stories about sirens meeting a cruel end.

So your take on these plots is like a breath of fresh air. Please don't stop, unless you want your readers to suffocate.

So it's kind of your answer to all these Suenata fics? (Though, i've only seen one)

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Glad you're interested! :pinkiehappy:


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Kind of, but please don't think that I don't like Sonata. It's just, when you have someone that clearly isn't all that bright and wasn't morally upstanding to start, I'm not sure I buy that she'd just be all sunshine and rainbows while generally succeeding at whatever she tries.

I can't say more without spoiling, but this one should be marked 'complete' before the weekend is over, hopefully. :raritywink:

I feel like it was a little bit too silly? I mean that thing when crowd tramples someone (in not a bad way) is kinda fun, but also kinda... Not?!? This joke is old as the world, not original at all. So In my opinion, it could be repeated only once, when you repeated it, like, five times?
I wonder what Adagio is doing. Fixing gems?

Sonata isn't going to last very long :rainbowlaugh:

Also, I want to see how she handles Angel Bunny :pinkiecrazy:

6436976 Dangit bznwow, I came here to say the exact same thing about all those other fics!

Yeah, if it was any other author I'd probably just pass on a Sonata-on-her-own fic, but ol' Eyeswirly understands the Sirens like nobody's business!

(Plus, there's an unofficial guarantee of at least one new hilarious name for Adagio's hair per chapter).

That grin quickly shifted to a bright, affable one as she heard someone coming to answer the door.

She has a point, Adagio can only put on one of her terrifying Slasher Smiles or a seductive one, Aria, I think smiled a bit during the songs, but they did NOT look like normal smiles. Sonata on the other hand...

That might not have been completely true, but it did what she'd wanted it to as Pinkie stared at her in silence, mouth just slightly open.
Sonata turned on a heel and started walking away, her tone every bit as bright and unfettered as when she began. "Welp, just thought I'd drop by, seeya around! Come visit my cardboard box some time! Sure hope I don't freeze to death by then."
"W-wait!!"
Facing away from Pinkie, Sonata let herself smirk evilly for just a second before turning back, looking happy and oblivious. "Yea?"

Sonata, you are magnificent. This is the perfect Sonata to me, YES, she's more innocent and light harted than the others, but she's also just as cunning in her own way.

She could see the pity in Pinkie's face, poking through the holes in the drummer's increasingly forced smile. Unlike Aria and Adagio, Sonata had nooooo problem letting people pity her, because it just meant they'd let their guard down all the sooner. Internally, Sonata was laughing with maniacal glee, but her face only showed the same cute smile she'd started with. "Sure!"

"Something sweet."

Not sour.

"A bit of salt?"
"Just a pinch!"

Oh you're enjoying this.

Sonata beamed. "Snuggly bunnies, hairless goats, naked old people, sour milk, fairies, balloons, tight pants, and tighter undies!"
Pinkie giggled. "And Adagio?"
"SUPER snuggly bunnies, tons of sand, slow elevators, squeaky doors, ugly hats, unicorns, hairy spiders, and her own big, fat butt!"

You are EVIL.

Sonata beamed. "It's Sonata problem!"

Corner. NOW.

Now Rarity turned red. "N...No. No, Darling." She shook her head to dislodge the thought entirely. "The other treasure is the look on a cashier's face when the considerable discount is sounded just as you reach the counter." Looking back into the store, she giggled coyly. "Couldn't have timed that better."

You're evil.

Bag-shields up, Rarity could only leave Sonata to her fate of feet.

That's gotta suck.

Innocent Rainbow is best Rainbow. It's practically right there in the name.

Let's just say I came up with a different reason why Rainbow didn't get the joke when I first read it :raritywink:.

Loved the way Rainbow and Sonata compared the other to Pinkie Pie (and I have to admit I'm with Rainbow on this one).

I love this story. It has brought nothing, but a constant smile to m face since I started reading it. It's done a great job cheering me up after having such a lousy week.

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Let's just say I came up with a different reason why Rainbow didn't get the joke when I first read it :raritywink:.

It took me a second to guess what you might have meant. That hadn't occurred to me, but darned if it doesn't kinda fit. :rainbowhuh:

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The silliness kind of peaks in this chapter, but I hope the rest is still enjoyable. :twilightsmile:

Best chapter yet! Headcanon accepted RE: your origin story of the sirens. I always thought the three of them were actually sisters, but other than that I love everything about this. Does that mean that every high-ranking Kelpie is a siren? (Well, was a Siren, because even though its only been a few years for the Dazzlings, its been over a millennium back in Equestria). I do agree with the general idea that life under the sea is pretty rough.

Also, Sonata: We all want a Flutterslave, and points for remembering you need to involve dogs to pull it off, but you forgot that you also need a signed first edition Daring Doo novel. Rookie Mistake! :rainbowdetermined2:

The journey beats the destination, huh, little guys? These are some deep gerbils.

Quite.

Nearly jumping out of her skin, Sonata whirled around to see Awesome As I Wanna Be girl, whatever her name was, looking all sweaty and out of breath.

Rainbow?

Letting go of her wrist, Rainbow narrowed her eyes. "'Take caution'? Are you threatening me?"

No, she's quoting your song.

Nodding, Rainbow crossed her arms in a casual pose. "That's what Pinkie said she called you, heard you stopped being a total, eh..." she smiled sheepishly, "well, heard you were okay now, so, I went looking for you." Counting off on her fingers, she looked just a little annoyed. "First thing today, I ran over to Pinkie's place and heard you spent the night at Rarity's, so I ran over there next, but Rarity said you guys went over grab breakfast with Fluttershy before going to the animal shelter and I just went there and that stupid buzzard was all 'dirty thief, dirty thief, I can't forget about one stupid cracker, bwaaaak,' so I texted Fluttershy and she said she had no idea where you were now so I been runnin' around at random!"
Rainbow took a deep breath, then smiled. "So, hi!"

Pinkie is supposed to be the motor mouth, RD.

Rainbow grinned with what might have been pride. "Yea! The way you charged in -you only beat me there because I started way behind you, by the way- and used your momentum as part of the kick? You missed, but doing a full spin in the air is pretty impressive!"

I can imagine.

SMACK!!
Sonata was lying on her back this time. Someone might have been shouting 'sorry', but she was more aware of the stingy impact of the ball on her face. "Owie." Rainbow was doing that how-many-fingers-am-I holding up thing, but Sonata got right up, her brain barely rattled at all!

The Schadenfreude is DELICIOUS!

They kept playing, Sonata trying not to do the flippy kick again in favor of many attempts at a hit-the-darn-ball kick. Few might have guessed it, but Sonata Dusk was no idiot, at least when it came to games! She could see that more often than not, just rushing in, like half the other players were doing, would only have the ball surrounded by shins, making sure it wouldn't go very far if kicked while everybody was closed in. It'd usually get broken out by the random, uncoordinated flailing of feet would send it up in the air and spinning in a random direction.

She's good.

She circle-strafed around the crowd the next time it circled ball, watching closely and waiting for her chance. She saw it! The ball started to rise after a lucky series of liberating kicks, it rose over someone's shoulder, Sonata darted forward, jumped on a big guy's back, leapt off, and did a flying drop-kick at the ball!

Impressive. Sounds like something out of Inazuma Eleven.

Her foot struck true, sending the ball hurdling toward the goal! Toward it, not straight into it. It smacked hard into side of the goal, then it seemed to get bigger for some rea-
SMACK!!
Thud.
"...Owie."

HEADSHOT! +50XP

"Uhh..." The reply came somewhat dizzily as Sonata noticed that this time, more people actually stopped kicking the ball around to see if she was okay. That made her feel warm. "Y'know, I've never really asked-wait, I have sisters?"
Rainbow shrugged. "Sisters, cohorts, whatever, Purple Sourpuss and Puffball Prime? More importantly, are you feeling alright?"

PURPLE SOURPUSS AND PUFFBALL PRIME! THIS IS THE GREATEST!

Heh, maybe she'll yell at me extra hard for shouting at her while she was having her moment. Her upwards-of-two-days moment. Yea, that'll do it, she hates being disturbed! She'll get so pissed, she'll run out, find Sonata in a blink in that scary way only she can, and we'll be on to the next plan. Everything'll be back to normal soon...

rIGHT.

"But I don't look like I have a soccer-ball pattern on my face?"
"Not yet."
"Cool! Let's get back to it!"

SMACK!!
Thud.
"Ouch."

I can't help but feel that you're doing this on purpose.

There was a time (early yesterday) when the idea of one of the sirens being repeatedly hit in the face with a soccer ball would have been comedy gold to her, but this... was only kind of funny. Less so as she realized her friends were probably gonna have her head if Sonata got completely turned off friendship or whatever because Rainbow had to pick soccer, (even deliberately playing with a team mostly comprised of total amateurs so Sonata wouldn't feel overwhelmed) but with how little Sunset had enjoyed dodge-ball (even if she'd won, brutally), she'd just figured soccer would go over better. She had no idea what, if anything, she was going to suggest if the other two ever turned things around.

Speak for yourself, I am enjoying the :yay: out of this.

SMACK!!
-and sent the ball straight upwards, immediately running into it face-first.
Thud.

I'm starting to think she has a masochistic streak.

She didn't even wait for Rainbow to come over all I-care-about-you-getting-hurt again (though that did make her feel all tingly inside), hopping straight back up and charging after the ball again! Getting smacked in the face hurt, sure, but it was WAY less painful than a bulldog on her butt! If the ball had teeth, though, that would be some nightmare stuff.

How do you, never mind.

"Great shot, Nata, you scored a perfect point for the other team."

I, wow. WOW.

"Headbutting the ball is allowed, but not really recommended, Nata..."

I've seen it work. Then again, not everyone lives in an anime world where conjuring the elements or energy in football is normal and not everyone can spawn a giant golden energy fist in front of their head to slam the football away form them.

"That was... creative, but doing a hand-stand doesn't mean you can touch the ball with your hands. Mostly just leaves your head at ball-level, actually."

Yikes.

Rainbow sighed. "Man, I swear your face is some kind of ball magnet." Several other players snickered, Rainbow furrowing her eyebrows in response. "Hey, I'd like to see any of you even touch the ball that often!"

I've seen such a thing before.

Sonata pumped a fist victoriously! "I practically suck them in! With my face!"

This would be funny if it weren't so painful.

The ball ricocheted off her helmet, flying harmlessly away from the goal and doing nothing to reintroduce Sonata to the ground! Rainbow called from elsewhere on the field.

That worked.

Ohoho, yes, she thought, when I chased the ball, I was but a learner. Now I am the master.

Darth Sonata. YES.

The ball came at her again, she rapidly stuck out an open palm to stop it!
"WOOPAH!!"
Ball deflected. Perimeter secure.

Considering the speed at which the ball was probably going, realistically speaking, that should have broken her wrist, but, seeing as MLP doesn't rely on realistic, never mind. Unless it was rather slow.

The other kids giggled at her and her kung-fu noises, but away sailed their ball, and its will to breach her defenses!

BreAch her defense. But, if ti works.

She jumped up in the air, sticking one leg straight out to send it packing!
"HO-AAAAAAAA!!"
She landed in a The Best Around pose, her arms and one leg still up. This actually earned her the rest of the players stopping what they were doing and clapping, Rainbow in particular.

Most impressive.

I am a goalie. Like my father before me.
Technically, he was a coral farmer, but details!

Quite.

The battle raged on, one brave ball-transporter of dark side descent making a direct assault, running closer with the Death Ball at her feet! Master Sonata would show this wayward soul the error of her ways!

This should be good.

Teal Sith frantically swung a foot, landing it straight between Sonata's legs.
Proton torpedo fired into Death Star.
Disturbance in the force.
Many nerves in Sonata's lower body cried out, and then suddenly continued to cry out as she fell over in terrible pain.

Oh dear... Did, she just kick Sonata where I think she did?

When she looked back, Rainbow found Lyra being hugged and patted on the back by Sonata. Whom she had just... Maybe it was better not to think about it. The two stood, shook hands, and did some kind of weird monk-style bow thing. Lyra walked away smiling, so Rainbow took that as her cue to ask. "Uh... What just happened?"
Popping her helmet off, Sonata was beaming. "I have purged a lost soul of the ways of the dark side!"

She acts as if that explains everything. Which, it, probably does to her.

...She really IS like Pinkie... "That's... cool. Why don't we head to AJ's for some lunch? If there's one thing they've usually got on a farm, it's plenty to eat."

I can imagine.

6440382 I had the same reaction. I was like "sure, Rainbow doesn't get the ball jokes, but she'd be doubled over guffawing if Sonata started talking about how much she loves tacos."

I really want to see what it would take for Aria to be forced into actually comforting Adagio.

Okay, sure, it was an apple farm, so they practically had the stuff growing on trees, but that was their whole arrangement; apple pies, apple fritters, apple slices, apple-this, or apple-that. Luckily, Sonata found she actually liked apples and their many mutilated incarnations! Some chips wouldn't have gone amiss, though.

Heh.

Once again, Sonata found herself drafted into a work force following a free meal, but this time it was actually part of her plan, and thus not a hiccup! She'd offered to replace the apples she'd helped munch and crunch for lunch with the super-secret goal of swiping some apples for herself when nobody was looking. Loot was loot and hunger was painful. Rainbow, however, bailed, her real name never uncovered because even Applejack had referred to her by the alias!

Has it ever occured to you that her name IS Rainbow?

"The job's pretty straightforward," she said as they stopped by a tree that no kite would ever get stuck in to begin her demonstration, "just reach out, grab an apple, twist it a little to break the stem, put it in the basket, and keep goin'."

Easy enough. Though seeing as how hard her head is, she might as well headbutt the tree.

Sonata watched Applejack's arms move in an almost rhythmic fashion, like some of the slow, bedroom-eyes dance moves Adagio had her practice. Arm out, grab apple, bend inward close to chest to drop apple in basket while doing it again with the other arm. Apple-picking is kind of sexy...

... That's a new one.

They headed to one of the big ol' washtub things, Applejack positioning herself so that her 'basket' was just past the rim before pulling two little straps on the side of the 'basket', which triggered some kind of alien farmer technology to make the bottom of the 'basket' fall open, depositing all the apples into the big ol' washtub. The washtub was actually a super-basket!

Alien farmer tech. Sonata, you amuse me a lot.

Sonata followed the leader, so to speak, partly because knowing a quick way to drop loot would be handy in the future and partly because there was no making a clean getaway with Applejack standing right there. Pulling the little straps on her own 'basket', she released the apples into the washtub with the others. Presumably, there was some kind of apple-collection fairy that came and got all these apples to bring them to the pie-making elves. Yum.

Apple collection fairy, pie making elves, you, aren't very familiar with reality, are you?

"Woooah, nelly, don't wanna go near them trees, Nata. C'mon, this way." She led them toward a row in the opposite direction, but Sonata's brain was working!

Wonder why?

Ohh, no you don't! I'll get that loot, and if I have to, I'll outlast you to do it! Sonata grinned her spunkiest grin. "Don't worry about me, I can go all day!"

Yeah, good luck with that.

The possible descendant of pie-making elves gave her an encouraging smile. "Hey, don't worry 'bout a thing. Way Ah hear it, you held up pretty darn good with all them bags, and ya can't go wrong with a can-do spirit."
"Even in going wrong?"

Uh, what?

Sonata's face showed only earnest curiosity. "You said you can't go wrong with a can-do spirit, so what if you put that can-do spirit to going wrong? Does that mean you can't can-do anymore because the can-do can't-do wrong?"

Applejack felt like she was just stabbed in the brain with a hot poker. Ow... My poor cognition... Not even Pinkie normally got her that confused that fast. This had to register as some kind of weapon, Applejack was sure. Smiling nervously, she wanted to get back to work before things got worse. "What's say we keep cleanin' these trees, huh?"

Stupidity as a weapon, not the first time I've seen such a thing.

Ohh, heavens, this is going to be one of those days, isn't it?

Eeyup.

Then she stopped the performance, listening in complete silence. Come on, don't tell me she slept through that. She pulled the puppets out from under the door, jumping with a start when she noticed some... changes had been made while they were poking into Adagio's room. The puppets had been scribbled on in pen to make it look like their eyes were gouged out, along with red marker to give the impression that they were both weeping blood. All done in surprisingly high detail.

Err...

The leprechauns were attacking! She opened her eyes, whipped around, and saw a big, white box thing. Surrounded by bees. Angry bees, which, according to that documentary she had to sit through one day when there was nothing else on, had probably marked her as 'Kill this' now that their pheromones had been released by those first few stings.

ANd this is why you shouldn't have done that.

Personal headcanon: in the human world, Zap Apple Jam is just a sweetened product.

Huh. Neat.

Another one: Applejack doesn't twang in her own head. In fact, I like to imagine the voice in her thoughts sounds very posh and elegant, Cutie Mark Chronicles style, but it's a secret she'll take to her grave. :pinkiehappy:

Oh that is HILARIOUS!

As Sonata hadn't eaten since the cupcake incident from the day before, free noms sounded pretty good. "Ehm, y-yea, sure!"

Free noms is always good.

hardy even looked

HardLy.

Smiling a little, Sunset pointed in a direction and they started walking. "When I first made friends with the others, something told me I'd be getting beaten up and kicked around mercilessly, so I planned ahead as best I could. Weirdly, I've used a lot more of those supplies treating them than I ever have myself."

Ironic, isn't it?

Bad Girl Jacket (That's a lousy nickname. You've lost your touch.) looked almost hurt. "I'm, s-sorry to hear that." Then she kind of smiled a little. "But, hey, trust me when I say it gets better. I know how hard it is adapting to life without magic, but believe me, it's not so bad." She'd be lying through her teeth if she said she didn't miss it, telekinesis in particular, but this world had other methods of doing things, at least.

Might I suggest the nickname Bacon Hair?

Careful not to put pressure on Sonata's stings, Sunset leaned forward to gently wrap her in a hug. "I'm sorry for your loss." Sonata didn't say anything, but she didn't try to break away, either. "You know, I've been keeping in contact with Twilight. She says she's dealt with dark, magical artifacts before, that last time, the wearer kinda lost their drive for evil a little after it was removed." She didn't want to probe too deeply, remembering her own agonizing ordeal. "I won't ask what those gems did to you, but, how long would you say you were wearing them?"

I swear I've read that line about the dark magical artifact thing before.

"I don't want to get your hopes up for nothing, Nata, but if your voices don't come back on their own, I'm sure Twilight can help me work something out."

Probably.

Sunset shrugged, a tinge of pink to her cheeks. "Just, you know, wanted to spread the love. I got off pretty easy after wrecking everyone's day, why shouldn't you guys? That, and what would it say if I was shown mercy, and even lasting friendship, and then denied anyone else the chance?" The look on her face, the shine in her eyes spoke of earnest regret. "I want to show that I learned something from what happened to me, and if I don't even make an effort with people going through the same thing, I don't think I can do that."

Fair enough.

There was one last, quick hug before the two headed out of Sunset's smokeless, boozeless, hooker-free lady-bachelor pad. Man, she doesn't do the bad girl thing AT ALL.

Yep. She just keeps the jacket and boots cause they look cool.

Nice story! Though, I didn't know you, I would have totally thought that you hate Sonata in first 5 chapters.
But personally, that's how I see Sonata's redemption story http://www.fimfiction.net/group/204373/adagio-dazzle-sonata-dusk-and-aria-blaze-are-amazing/thread/209172/i-think-this-video-is-perfect-for-possible-siren-story

She giggled. "It's okay, though, your failure to account for that possibility coming straight outta nowhere at the last minute only left us outnumbered two to one, then three to seven, eight if you count the magic headphone chick, which aren't exactly sporting odds and I kinda thought good guys had rules about that stuff. But yea, you totally should have been able to fight off all of them once Aria and me got knocked down by butterflies to the face, and I think you almost did! Too bad you didn't know what to do when one extra person in their song suddenly turned their magic into a Godzilla-sized glass horsey with even more straight-outta-nowhere-power we've ever had in our lives, huh?"

I affectionately refer to that "horsey" as Rainbow Horse Jesus, because it amuses me.

Eyes widening, Aria turned red. "...They're into some kinky stuff, huh?"

That sentence has no right to be as funny as it is.

"Girls, please," said Adagio as she stepped into view, wearing her usual purple dance outfit, massive ponytail, and, somehow, perfectly clean face. "Can't we just agree that you're both idiots?"
Amused, Aria smirked. "Oh, yea? What does that make you?"
So did Adagio. "Very annoyed on a daily basis."

This is the best ever.

"You wear glasses?"
"Mainly for reading."

Huh. Headcanon accepted.

Aria scowled a little. "It's not a rave, they're on fire!"
"Because that makes more sense!"

Give me the Pyro from Team Fortress 2, an arsenal of fire spells and a time machine to go back to the Jurassic and it will.

When it sunk in, Sonata was glowing red. "TH-THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT, YOU PERVERTS!!"
There was a short silence as they walked, eventually broken by Adagio. "So, does that mean you're not cheating on Rarity, or were you with the skittish one first?"
Sonata groaned.

I would normally think that this is the other way around, but this is too damn funny.

...No jokes about 'doggy style,' please.

Watching her go, Aria found herself wearing a tiny smirk. You didn't say "no."

Of course Adagio didn't say "no"; Since there was no plan that could go wrong, Aria was just being paranoid! (or was it?... :pinkiegasp:).

It was a funny little story that brought more than a few laughs out of me. Talk about a juggernaut, i didn't think Sonata would have made it off the soccer field with so many balls to the face.

Also, you deserve a break, you cranked out these chapters super quick. I'm not complaining at all, because it gave me the chance to move this to the complete pile. Then again my i have my suscipions you had this all wrote out and slowly released chapters.

"I second that thank-you," Sonata said while trying to contain her urge to shove her face straight into the snack table, "I love eating your pie!"

Hoo, boy, thought Aria, they ARE into some kinky stuff...

Raising a cautious eyebrow, Adagio leaned in a little to look at her. "...What kind of pony?"

Unicorn. Also a sunbutt.

"I'm sticking with 'Ria.'"
"'Ari!'"
"'Ria!'"
"'Ari!'"
"'Ria!'"
"'Ari!'"
"'Ria!'"

Oh just f:yay:ck already!

"HEY!!" She now had their attention, smirking a little. "Why don't we go with 'Aria'?"
Sharing a quick look, Rainbow and Pinkie beamed and answered in unison. "A compromise, that's perfect!"

:facehoof: Also, you double spaced between a and compromise.

Groaning, Sonata stomped a foot and stormed off. "You guys are THE WORST!!"
Aria and Adagio both laughed themselves silly.

Yes. Yes they are. And I'll admit, I'd laugh too.

"Hello, everyone!" It was more than just the Rainbooms that greeted her back. "You may recall that Aria, Sonata, and I once tried to take your school, your town, your world, and make them our playthings. Our efforts were thwarted, but that alone didn't show us what we were doing wrong, and for a time, we didn't know what to do anymore." She frowned. "Personally, I eventually fell into dispair, convinced that there was nothing left to do but lie down and die," a hesitant smile returned, "but my oldest friends had other ideas." She stopped long enough to look at Aria and Sonata, who smiled back at her. "Today, the three of us are here with you as friends, happier than we've ever been!"

DEspair. ALso, yay for friendship.

"The new plan is to conquer the world-" Sunset Shimmer popped up behind her to deliver the announcement at the same time. "-THROUGH FRIENDSHIP!!" Sunset and Adagio took up villainous poses (hands-on-hips and holding-two-grapefruits, respectively) to laugh maniacally, but Sunset's grin was too wide and cheerful to really pull it off.

Sonata moved her head backward to escape the Pinknese Finger-Trap. "It is?"

Pinknese Finger-Trap, that's a new one.

Pink Finger Word-Seal, Go! "No buts, I'm forgiving you whether you want me to or not!" Sonata couldn't argue, because Pink Finger Word-Seal was go. Genius! She sealed the sealing with words, of all things, giving Sonata a wink. "Because friends forgive each other, silly!"

Pinki Finger Word-Seal. Amusing.

"So," Pinkie asked, "how are things going with you and Fluttershy?"
Sonata choked on her cupcake for a minute. "Wh-WHAT?!"
"Ooh, bad guess? Sorry, are you and Rarity a thing?"
Blue turned red. "DOUBLE WHAT!"

Oh this is gonna be fun.

Sonata faceplanted on the kitchen counter.

HEH!

Crossing her arms, Adagio hoped to hide the color in her face by turning away. "S-Sunset asked me to wear it." The trade-off was that Sunset would keep her bad-girl jacket on through the night. Good deal.

Agreed.

Watching her go, Aria found herself wearing a tiny smirk. You didn't say "no."

True.

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Partially correct! I wrote most of the story out over the course of a month or so, went over the chapters once, started publishing Friday, then got the last few chapters done this weekend. :twilightsmile:

Thank you for realizing that as a (former) monster that feeds on misery and spite, Sonata is not any more innocent than her comrades just because she smiles a lot and seems a bit slow sometimes.

It's not like cheeriness or being slightly dim equal moral fiber.

Wow this story moved fast, I finished the last 5 chapters at once. I like the idea this story has for Adagio's character. If Fluttershy had never stopped listening to Iron Will, she probably would have ended up like Adagio. Similarly, a huge setback for Adagio is enough to at least temporarily reset her into her old shy mode.

This isn't actually part of the story, but I want to say how strongly I agree with the author's note last chapter. When I first watched the series pilot, the first two episodes were pretty good, but they didn't really stand out to me. What made me want to keep watching the show was the fact that Luna immediately gets her throne back and is welcomed back, full stop. Redemption is probably my single favorite theme in fantasy, and its what I think is at the core of the show. Like I said at the beginning, I almost didn't read this story because I've seen so many stories where one Dazzling gets redeemed and the other two go die in a ditch, and that just ruins the story for me. One of the ways I think the show has gotten better recently is it seems like they're remembering the ethos of "leave no villain behind" with Discord and Gilda so far, and hopefully others to come.

The only thing that ruins this story for me: Aria finally has a chance to come up with a brilliant plan, and she maps it out on the planning board, why didn't the Dazzling support her by sneaking into the local zoo's reptile house with kerosene and matches? :raritywink:

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"leave no villain behind," I like that. :twilightsmile:

Yes, the real win for any decent good guy isn't beating the other guy into paste, it's showing him why he's wrong and convincing him to stop before someone gets hurt. "The greatest victory is the battle not fought," they say, and our canon heroes have flubbed that a few times. Not sure Celestia ever got it right. Still, Gilda, Discord, and Trixie show us that even if they aren't shown the error of their ways the first time, there's generally hope in the future. The only antagonistic characters I can recall not having been reformed by their second appearance are Flim and Flam, and I'm sure they'll straighten out eventually.

Heck, I even have hope for Lord "It Is As Useless As He Is" Tirek and Starlight "I Created Harmony!" Glimmer! :raritystarry:

Queen "In My Heart, There Is No Room!" Chrysalis though, I'm a little worried about, given Cadence's approach to martial law. :fluttershysad:

why didn't the Dazzling support her by sneaking into the local zoo's reptile house with kerosene and matches? :raritywink:

I like to think dousing dinosaur mascot outfits with flame-retardant chemicals before putting them on, lighting them up, and running around like maniacs for a minute or two is as close as they could get without losing a lot of friendship points to pyromania. :twilightsheepish:

I call this caper: "Happy Birthday, Aria!"

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Yes, the real win for any decent good guy isn't beating the other guy into paste, it's showing him why he's wrong and convincing him to stop before someone gets hurt. "The greatest victory is the battle not fought," they say, and our canon heroes have flubbed that a few times.

It's why so many people loved "Keep Calm and Flutter On," a major villain was converted from a threat to an ally without violence.

The only antagonistic characters I can recall not having been reformed by their second appearance are Flim and Flam, and I'm sure they'll straighten out eventually.

They're the ones I want to see reformed most. Still annoyed they brought in Silver Shill instead of just having the brothers learn that lesson themselves.

Heck, I even have hope for Lord "It Is As Useless As He Is" Tirek and Starlight "I Created Harmony!" Glimmer! :raritystarry:

I've always looked for the glimmer of goodness in any villain. Admittedly its incredibly hard to find in Tirek, and I really doubt a stone plateau in the depths of hell is conducive to rehabilitation, but he kept that amulet of his brother for millennia... What I want to see for Starlight Glimmer more than any reform/befriending by the Mane 6 is her being welcomed back to Our Town. You know, the town she helped found, and poured her blood sweat and tears into building so that everyone there could have friends, even if it was Starlight's own twisted, distorted version of friendship?

Queen "In My Heart, There Is No Room!" Chrysalis though, I'm a little worried about, given Cadence's approach to martial law.

Yeah, of the possibly executed villains (ignoring comics here) Cadance is 2 for 2.

I like to think dousing dinosaur mascot outfits with flame-retardant chemicals before putting them on, lighting them up, and running around like maniacs for a minute or two is as close as they could get without losing a lot of friendship points to pyromania. :twilightsheepish:
I call this caper: "Happy Birthday, Aria!"

Most metal birthday ever!

The first 4 chapters were disturbingly making me both amused and horrified of Sonata’s misfortunes – the mental imagery of a teenage girl being stomped by a crowd, assaulted by a pack of dogs, getting food poisoning and getting beaten up was some kind of Looney Tunes/Tom and Jerry level of violence, which felt a bit too cruel. But at the same time every chapter was providing me with bits of sincerity and genuine emotions that by the chapter 6 went into the full overdrive and was able to kick especially hard in the “feelz” department, leaving me with a bunch of pleasant emotions even past the very end.

Once again you absolutely nailed the characterization. Sonata being evil felt exactly like her from RR movie and not like author was just having a grim-dark fetish. Vulnerable Adagio while being an unusual imagery for a character felt absolutely plausible, the same can be said about Aria dropping down her whole “tough” act. Them going from tears and depression to happy ending felt genuine and spot on and overall made for an incredibly enjoyable and, most importantly, deserving closure for the characters that haven’t received it officially (yet, If ever – Oct 13th will put all concerns to rest).

Overall – pure and fresh joy. Thank you.

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You are forgetting about Lightning Dust who got booted out Wonderbolt Academy for 1 mistake and wrong attitude regarding the matter – a pretty sad end of a life dream.

s6.postimg.org/dd47s96ap/Pirate_Approved.jpg

I think this one might need to replace 'Fluff & Kidnapping' in the Captain's Chest, :moustache:

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Cool. :pinkiesmile:

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The first 4 chapters were disturbingly making me both amused and horrified of Sonata’s misfortunes – the mental imagery of a teenage girl being stomped by a crowd, assaulted by a pack of dogs, getting food poisoning and getting beaten up was some kind of Looney Tunes/Tom and Jerry level of violence, which felt a bit too cruel. But at the same time every chapter was providing me with bits of sincerity and genuine emotions

All deliberate. :coolphoto:

Specifically, as most of those SoloNata stories tend to put the other two through Hell, I wanted to see how the shoe fit on the other foot, for once. At the same time, I didn't just want to do more of the same thing, or it would probably stop being funny pretty fast. Compromise! I had Sonata be the one to get slapped silly by karma and her own mistakes (and a possibly possessed soccer ball, though half the time that one was her fault anyway) while giving her enough bright, uplifting moments that she wouldn't just lose the will to continue before the epiphany could hit her.

That, and while Aria and Adagio are left out of the slapstick, they aren't exactly having a great time either. I don't picture any of the sirens really being happy without the others, at least not if they split up on ugly terms. :fluttershysad:

yet, If ever – Oct 13th will put all concerns to rest

Wai-huh? What happens on Oct 13th? Another siren comic? The start of the Equestria Girls series? :rainbowhuh:
If so, all news to me! I'm still planning to do that cheerleader story if our favorite divas (or, mine at least) don't make an appearance/get completely shafted in Friendship Games this Saturday. Whenever I'm able to catch the movie, I mean. :derpyderp2:

You are forgetting about Lightning Dust who got booted out Wonderbolt Academy for 1 mistake and wrong attitude regarding the matter – a pretty sad end of a life dream.

Eh, being a Wonderbolt isn't much of a dream, I hope Rainbow eventually drops those incompetent deadbeats like a rock. :applejackunsure: Let them keep their hollow prestige, their unearned hero status, their precious records, I just hope someone points out that they never seem to do anything but screw up until someone else steps in.

Context: Just in the most recent episode, Rainbow claimed she didn't have the stamina for long-distance flying. When she flies far enough that one of the Wonderbolts is sure she won't make it back in time to go get Spitfire, guess which one isn't even visibly winded when they return?

Other than that, though, it would be nice to see Lightning Dust (and Suri Polomare, and Ahuizotl,(Cabelaron and his goons got off scot-free as I recall) and Prince Blueblood, and Diamond Tiara+Silver Spoon, etc...) finding happiness too. :twilightsmile:

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yet, If ever – Oct 13th will put all concerns to rest

Wai-huh? What happens on Oct 13th? Another siren comic? The start of the Equestria Girls series? :rainbowhuh:
If so, all news to me! I'm still planning to do that cheerleader story if our favorite divas (or, mine at least) don't make an appearance/get completely shafted in Friendship Games this Saturday. Whenever I'm able to catch the movie, I mean. :derpyderp2:

While Friendship Games will indeed air this Saturday 20 pm EST only on Discovery ©, TV versions of previous movies tend to had certain scenes being cut, along with credits and, most importantly, post-credit scenes. Even if sirens won't make an appearance this Saturday, they could still be among scenes that were cut and put on DVDs and Blurays that will be available on Oct 13th. Also, one of the soundtrack songs is also exclusive to disks.

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Ah, phooey. Does that mean I should wait until the whole thing is available before publishing anything? I've got the first chapter ready to go, but not if there's no need. Other stories to invest that time in, and all. :trixieshiftright:

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I see absolutely no way how having more of your stories to enjoy would result in any negative impact on siren's "official" fate (or unfortunate official disregard).

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Thank you, but it would have a negative impact on all that other stuff I've kept hanging for months, in that the hanging would be extended further. :twilightsheepish:

Well, We'll just have to wait and see! Even if I do publish Cheerleader Sirens by next week, the movies tend not to have all that much happen in their run time, so (and these may prove to be my dying words) I'm sure the story won't be that long. More-so if I'm mainly covering things from the sirens' POV while the main cast is doing their thing in the background.

Ooooh, beneath all her silliness, smiles and general goofiness she's still a villain! That's good to know.

I mean, damn Sonata, you are evil! I would still hug her if given a chance, but this time I'll hide my wallet in harder to reach place before I do.

And then she realized she was outside without a skirt on, freezing in place. With a quick look around, she caught sight of several people standing, staring, snickering, and one holding up a cellphone at the sight of the siren covered in scratches and bitemarks, along with her blue-striped underpants.

Classy show. As expected of Sonata :raritywink:

"Oh, I think Pinkie Pie trained them to do that. Don't ask me how. Something about people being less likely to sue or have the dogs put down if the only times people were bitten were funny."

That... is actually brilliant. Some people won't be able to talk to their lawyers about "butt bitten by a dog" with a straight face.

Curse you, first Adagio/Fluttershy and now you've got me mildly interested in Sonata/Fluttershy.

I liked the way she stumbled onto Rainbow's name by accident without realizing it, here.

Vulnerable Adagio – best Adagio.

Aria being terrible at cheering people up is pretty amusing and sad simultaneously.

At least Aria put up a fight when Sonata annoyed her into leaving, usually to claim the remote to the TV. She wouldn't have to worry about that anymore, though.

Again, thanks for letting your Sonata retain an element of cunning, despite being a bit spacey and occasionally oblivious. These simple manipulations are all the more effective because people are inclined to underestimate her.

Only ten years? Given Starswirl was alive over a thousand years ago, that's a very large time-warping effect from moving across dimensions. I know it has to alter time to some extent, because the timelines with Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle don't line up otherwise, but I didn't realize it was that big.

Although... that would mean that from Equestria's perspective Twilight must have been gone months in the other world instead of a day or so.

Ok, ok, I'll add Rarity/Sonata to the list of things this has made me mildly interested in.


It's the little touches like Sonata and Adagio teasing Aria over her burning dinosaur drawings that make these characters feel like rounded people in your story, instead of having them just focused on the main thrust of things and only talking about plot relevant stuff (redemption and friends in this case), as I sometimes see authors do. A character who only talks about those things doesn't give the audience a real feel for their personality.

Predictable? Yes. But well-executed. And that's what matters.

Also, I do agree that it's absolutely bizarre how often one of the Dazzlings (Sonata in particular) gets redeemed and the others get left in the dust, for stories set in a universe that had an insane goddess shown the light in the first two episodes and later went on to reform Discord.

Lots of good little jokes in this chapter, I won't go into all of them, but I like the idea of world domination through friendship. It is, literally, magical power after all.

Pinkie Pie as a shipper? I can see it.

And of course Adagio won't outright deny it... even if she wasn't behind everything, her ego wouldn't let her say that. Or rather her insecurities. I like your idea of her being propped up by having two loyal minions all the time and bereft without their support. Because being on your own for the first time in decades/centuries must be a very frightening thing.

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That's a beautiful birthday plan.

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The contrast between World-Conquering Megalomaniac and Nervous, Uncertain Wallflower might be what made Sunset so popular the second time around. A walking, solidified wall of confidence suddenly needing a hug has that effect, I think. :derpyderp2:


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Only ten years? Given Starswirl was alive over a thousand years ago, that's a very large time-warping effect from moving across dimensions. I know it has to alter time to some extent, because the timelines with Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle don't line up otherwise, but I didn't realize it was that big.

I don't know if I conveyed it very well, but I meant to have Sonata say that they were together for roughly ten years before being banished, only floating around Canterlot City for a few months or so (as I feel makes more sense than centuries of little or no progress), if not some odd combination. Maybe they roamed Equestria for 6 and a half years before roaming the other world for the remaining 3 and a half, but my thinking is if Starswirl catapulted them forward, what difference does it make if it's a hundred years or a thousand? Most pony magic seems to lean toward the latter, so it feels pretty reasonable to me, with the flow of time being unaffected in both worlds.

Then again, I vaguely recall something about Rainbow Rocks taking place 5 months after the first movie, uncertain as to whether or not that applies to Equestria as well. :applejackunsure:

It's the little touches like Sonata and Adagio teasing Aria over her burning dinosaur drawings that make these characters feel like rounded people in your story, instead of having them just focused on the main thrust of things and only talking about plot relevant stuff (redemption and friends in this case), as I sometimes see authors do. A character who only talks about those things doesn't give the audience a real feel for their personality.

Glad they feel distinctly people-ish! :pinkiehappy:
If I ever write or have written any character that comes across as really flat, I apologize. :fluttershyouch:

Also, I do agree that it's absolutely bizarre how often one of the Dazzlings (Sonata in particular) gets redeemed and the others get left in the dust, for stories set in a universe that had an insane goddess shown the light in the first two episodes and later went on to reform Discord.

I've heard the theory that some think of Silver Spoon as 'the good one' between her and Diamond Tiara partly because Silver is a little bit more visually appealing with her pretty little braids and glasses, and people might unconsciously want the comparatively good-looking characters to be good.

Maybe Sonata's silly smiles and airhead moments are doing something similar, next to the slasher smiles and grumpiness next to her? I'm not sure, but even for a show about silly, big-eyed ponies, the notion that only the cute ones should be spared creeps me out a bit. On that note, I like to think that Fluttershy would even protect a hagfish. :scootangel:

Lots of good little jokes in this chapter, I won't go into all of them, but I like the idea of world domination through friendship. It is, literally, magical power after all.

Something in the back of my head said that two reformed megalomaniacs would probably think something like this, the power that stopped and eventually converted them clearly being something that part of them would want to seize for themselves. I can't say if they'll get far in trying to make the whole world get along, but making acquaintances from day to day seems like a good start. :pinkiesmile:

Pinkie Pie as a shipper? I can see it.

The more people falling in love, the more weddings, and thus, the more wedding cake! Remember who reunited Cranky and Matilda, after all. :raritywink:

And of course Adagio won't outright deny it... even if she wasn't behind everything, her ego wouldn't let her say that. Or rather her insecurities. I like your idea of her being propped up by having two loyal minions all the time and bereft without their support. Because being on your own for the first time in decades/centuries must be a very frightening thing.

In a few ways, she reminds me of Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender. I think Adagio took it a little better here, from some point of view, but Azula was at least still mostly functional during her breakdown, not a weeping wreck... Initially.

Sunset getting all shy and hesitant after losing her hold on the school kinda makes sense in that context too, I think.

That's a beautiful birthday plan.

Innit? They'd have to have a sizable body of water nearby to extinguish themselves with, but I can totally picture Pinkie setting up a Big, Burnin' Pyromania Party. Probably taking place at night, tiki torches everywhere, barbecue and sparklers for cake candles or something, ending with everyone flopping over on the grass to enjoy fireworks. :pinkiehappy:

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