Sunset Among Shadows

by RedPegasus

Song, Music, and Sirens

Author's Note:

Hello everyone.
As always, I regret the delay, I will not give excuses, here the chapter.
I tried to make it longer than usual to compensate, I hope everyone like it

It is still early in the morning, long before any normal student would even think about getting out of bed. But Twilight Sparkle is no normal student. She always made a point to get up early, early enough to get dressed, eat breakfast, pack her things, and enjoy a bit of extra time to relax or study before the bus arrived.

And today would be no different, if it were not for one little detail.

"Where is it?!" she exclaims almost in despair as she rummages through her closet and bookcase. "Ugh, I swear I kept it next to my science records."

The normally organized girl had completely messed up her room. Between notebooks, papers, clothes and several other things scattered on the floor, it was difficult to distinguish anything, especially her carpet.

"Spike!"

From under a pile of shirts, she can see something moving. Suddenly, the object underneath bursts out of the pile, revealing itself to be a small, purple dog. He gives a couple of barks and jumps from his bed, approaching the girl.

"Spike, have you seen my historical report about the history of great history reports?"

The puppy tilts his head and gives a confused whine.

"I swear I had it in my desk drawer." The girl locks at the clock. "The bus will be here any minute! I promised the teacher I’d turn it in today. I can't just not take it, but if I don't find it soon, I'll be late! And there goes my perfect attendance! Help me find it, Spike!"

The canine makes a gesture that seems almost like a salute and rushes to sniff everything in the room. His owner pulls several drawers out of her closet, leaving all the items scattered on the floor and sifting through them in search of her report.

After a few seconds, she hears Spike’s barking. She turns around and sees him leaning his front legs on her bookshelf, barking and looking above him.

"Did you find it, Spike?"

More barking is the answer as he still looks up the furniture, wagging his tail. The girl looks up, spotting a metal box.

"In my inconclusive investigations box?” Twilight asked, unsure. “Wait! That's right!"

Twilight rushes over and grabs the box. Taking it to her desk, she unlocks the box and opens it up to find a small folder.

"Here it is! I remember keeping it here after the hydrochloric acid incident. Good job, Spike!"

A smile and vigorous petting are the ecstatic canine's reward.

Twilight is about to close the box again when she sees something inside it: a newspaper clipping, with a photograph on it.

"Great show, Canterlot and the Battle of the Bands"

A familiar face is among the group in the photograph.

Memories erupted in Twilight’s mind.

The analysis of the anomalies of that night. Spending the following day in that open-air theater. The energy waves, magnetic activity, climatic phenomena.

All that added to the strange recordings of the past few weeks that she already had concerning the school, but after seeing that her research did not have any significant progress, she copied all the data from her computer onto a thumb drive and left it in the box next to the newspaper cutout.

She looks at the photograph, particularly at the young woman with the hair of fire.

"I... I'm sorry, but I don't know what's happening."

"I mean, I guess some things were weird, but... I really have no idea what happened."

"… She does know what happened…"

*S*A*S*

Sunset’s morning started very... musically.

Since she had arrived at school, Sonata had spent her time singing, usually softly, but from time to time, the volume increased.

The students certainly let their irritation known, but eventually, most of them began to ignore it and just focus on their own business, as did Sunset as she concentrated on getting books from her locker.

The singing gets louder again.

Or at least, she tried...

"Sonata…"

"Yes, Sunsite?"

"I know you're happy because of your voice and everything, but... do you think you could lower the volume a little?"

"I'm really sorry. I'm just so happy! I missed singing so much."

Sunset just sighs.

She could not really blame the girl; she would probably be the same if she could suddenly levitate things like in the past.

Her thoughts break off as she suddenly feels the blue-haired girl hugging her tightly. "Thanks so much, Sunset!"

The smile and the unexpected show of affection do nothing but confuse her. "What did I do?"

"You gave me back my voice!"

"What?! What makes you think I did that?"

The siren separates from her but keeps her big smile. "Well, duh! Since the band thing, I didn't have my voice, and since then, I wasn’t able to sing. It was like that all this time, but now, you show up, and bam! I can sing again! "

"That's just coincidence."

"Uh, what makes you say that?"

"Well, because I didn't do anything to get your magic back."

"Um, actually, I don’t have my magic back. I can sing, but I can't charm people."

"… You tried to charm people?" Sunset asks, surprised and somewhat disappointed.

Sonata clamps her mouth shut and looks away with a nervous smile. "Of course not, silly. Nope! Not at all."

Sunset looks at her reproachfully, but soon decides to drop it; she can’t change what happened, and it isn’t like Sonata can hypnotize anyone anymore. "Sonata, I did not return your voice."

"Then how come I can sing again?"

"How should I know? Maybe the effect of our magic wore off, and your voice restored itself."

"Um, but... Adagio and Aria still can't sing."

"Maybe they'll take more time. I don't know."

"Oooooor, maybe I have my voice again thanks to you!" she insists with joy.

"But I didn't do anything. I don't even have magic."

"And that thing about the giant rainbow horse?"

Sunset hesitates for a moment about how to respond. "... That’s different, and I no longer have that power." Sonata is about to talk, but Sunset interrupts her, frowning. "And it's not something I want to talk about."

Sonata feels the mood and decides to drop the conversation.

They separate shortly after, each one going to her respective class.

Suddenly, Sonata feels a hand on her shoulder. Stopping, she turns around to meet a girl with wild, green hair.

*S*A*S*

The first hour passes without incident. It was at the first break that Sunset saw a scene she had become very familiar with. Three girls surround Twilight, glaring at her, while Twilight just keeps her eyes down, silent. Sunset frowns, quietly approaching the group.

The one who seems the leader of the trio takes a step forward and says in a threatening tone, "You got a problem, Spankle?"

"It's Sparkle," Twilight corrects softly.

"Do you think I care?" the leader responds.

"What do you want?" Twilight asks. "I haven't done anything to you."

"You bumped into me."

"It was an accident... And besides, you weren’t looking where you were going."

"Oh, so it’s my fault?" the girl leader demands angrily, but before the conversation can continue, she feels a tap on the shoulder. She turns and finds herself staring into two angry, emerald eyes.

"Get lost," Sunset demands.

"Excuse me?!" The girl exclaims. "And who do you think you are?!”

"Get lost," repeats Sunset.

"I don't know who you think you are, but—"

"I said," interrupts Sunset with a cold voice, "get. Lost." Sunset takes a threatening step toward the girl, glaring at her with a cold, piercing gaze, which makes the leader step back, unnerved.

Sunset maintains that gaze, and the girl finally recoils, scurrying away with her companions.

Sunset watches them leave, and when she loses sight of them, she turns to Twilight, changing her glare to a worried look. "Are you okay, Twilight?"

Twilight takes a deep breath, as if calming her nerves, and responds, "Yes. Thank you, Sunset."

"Why were they bullying you?"

The scientist takes a moment to answer. "They rarely need a reason... The other students just like to pick on me," she responds sadly.

"Why do they treat like this?"

"I’m an easy target, but I guess… it’s also because I'm the best student here..."

"How does that make sense?"

"Crystal Prep is a school with great prestige. The students that study here usually have many job opportunities, and the number of opportunities just increases the better you are. They don’t like that I’m the best, so they take their frustration out on me."

"They're just a bunch of idiots," pronounces Sunset. "Don’t let them bother you, Twilight."

"It's okay. It's been like that for practically all high school. After a while, they get bored and leave, so I let it go."

The conversation would have continued, but to the surprise of both, a voice calls, "Suuuuuuunseeeeeeeet!"

They turn around and spot Sonata speeding toward them. "Sunset!" Sonata exclaims when she arrives, tired and out of breath. "I finally—” pant “—found you.” gasp “Ugh, I need water."

Sunset looks puzzled at the siren. "What's up, Sonata?"

"You can't run in the hallways," Twilight mumbles.

Sonata regains her breath and straightens up. "Sunset! Do you want to play in a band again?" she asks with a big smile.

"What?" Sunset asks, confused.

"A band is forming, and you know bands, " the siren announces excited. “Why don’t you join?”

Sunset’s face falls. "Sonata, look, I don’t—"

"Excellent idea!" Twilight exclaims, interrupting Sunset.

Both former Equestrians turn with surprise to their companion. "What?" Sunset questions.

Twilight smiles. "Bands help creativity and teamwork, as well as exercising both body and mind. Joining a band is an excellent idea."

Sunset blinks, perplexed. "… What?"

Sonata is encouraged by the support of the scientist. "Alright! Come on, we still have time before next class!"

"Lead the way, Sonata!"

Before realizing it, Sunset is being pushed by the young scientist in a direction guided by the singer.

"What?!"

But while the three retire, none notices the silhouette of someone hidden behind a nearby corner.

*S*A*S*

"Welcome to my sanctuary!"

The three of them watch a girl with long, wild, greenish hair spread her arms with a big smile towards the large room decorated with dozens of musical instruments of all kinds.

"... Um, this is the music room of the school," Twilight says.

"Details, details. I’m Lemon Zest, and music is my passion!"

There's no answer. The former equine has a look of doubt, the former siren a smile, and the former... nothing, a look of curiosity.

"... Um, I'm Sunset Shimmer."

"I’m Sonata Dusk!"

“And I’m Twilight Sparkle, but I’m sure you already knew that.”

"I know you three, but this is the first time we talked, except maybe for Sparks."

Twilight does not speak but does look away a little with uncertainty.

Sunset waits a few seconds, then asks her question. "... Um, and what are we doing here?"

Lemon immediately answers. "I'll get to the point. I want to form a school band, to rock these halls!”

"Um, the school already has a band," Twilight says.

"Pff, boring! That's what they are," says Lemon Zest indignantly. "Those guys don't know anything about music."

Sonata agrees with her. "I agree. I've heard them play, and they're more boring than Aria's telenovelas.” Sonata considers a moment. “Um, well, maybe not that boring."

"So, I decided to put together a band of my own," announces Lemon. "The problem is that everyone here is boring. I haven’t had any luck gathering people who want to play in it."

Sonata keeps smiling, while Sunset and Twilight look a little confused. "And we're here because...?" Sunset says in a questioning tone.

"Because I've decided that Sonata will be the lead singer!" announces Lemon Zest without hesitation.

"Yay!" exclaims the siren.

"But a band is not just a singer, and this little siren told me," Lemon Zest approaches and jabs her finger forward, poking Sunset’s nose as she exclaims, "you’ve been in a band!"

"Um... I..."

"Do you sing, too?"

Sonata eagerly replies, "And how! Her voice formed a magic bomb that exploded and became a giant magic horse!"

Silence…

"Nice," Lemon says finally. "Show me what you can do."

"… Horse?" Twilight asks confused.

Sunset ignores the horse thing and instead responds, "Yeah, look, about the band: I already left those things behind."

Lemon insists, "Oh, come on! Don't act like the rest of the boring people at this school."

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to be part of another band."

Sonata also tries. "Awwww, come on, Sunsite! It’ll be fun~!" she says in a sing-song voice.

"I said—"

"Come on, Sunset. Join the band," Twilight says.

That only surprises the former equine more. "You too, Twilight?"

"Well, you still haven't joined any club. It's important to have extracurricular activities to round out your resume and help you in the future."

"Yeah, I agree!" Sonata agrees with a smile. "I didn't understand what she said, but I agree that you gotta join!"

Sunset tries to remain calm. "Look, all that about the bands and the guitar already—"

"Stop!" orders Lemon. "You play guitar?"

"… No," Sunset tries.

"That decides it! You’ll be guitarist and second voice!" announces Lemon.

"But I didn't say yes!"

Twilight supports it. "Come on Sunset, you need an extracurricular activity. What better activity than one in which you already have experience?"

"Why are you all insistent about this?" Sunset protests, trying not to sound as annoyed as she feels.

Sonata responds in a particularly serious tone, "I just want to sing again. I haven't been on a stage since the Battle of the Bands, and it was a long time even before that." A tone of lament is audible in the voice of the singer, which wins the other three girls’ concern, although only Sunset truly understands the reason for Sonata’s sorrow. "I'm a siren. I love to sing, and I love that people listen to me. I just... I want to feel like myself again..."

Lemon remains silent, slightly surprised. "... Wow. That’s deep, Duskie."

Sunset isn’t sure how to respond. "... I... understand that... but, all of this band stuff..."

"Look, how about this?" Lemon says, obviously trying to speak calmly. "We have a trial period. Say, two weeks? Let's play a little music, and if the idea doesn't convince you, I’ll drop it. What do you think?"

"Pretty please, Sunsite, with sugar on top?" Sonata pleads with a damn adorable look on her face, forcing Sunset to look away to avoid falling into the trap.

It doesn’t work. "Ugh, fine! Two weeks, and if I don't like it, I leave."

"YAY! I LOVE YOU, SUNSET!" screams Sonata and she wraps her arms around Sunset in the tightest bear hug Sunset’s ever felt.

"Oxygen... please..."

Animated, Lemon says, "Okay, let's start playing!"

The school bell sounds, marking the beginning of the next period.

"Better do it after school," says Sunset, free of the mortal embrace.

"Yeah, I guess..."

*S*A*S*

Sunset doesn’t pay much attention in second class, as usual.

Compared to the other students, who seem to be machines writing down anything the teacher says. Sunset decides to do the same, though her notes are much shorter and much less detailed.

Her face reflects her boredom, just like the yawn she manages to hide.

A curious sound, a click, catches her attention and makes her turn slightly, but she only sees her classmates.

She looks a little more, but, not seeing anything out of the ordinary, she returns her eyes to the front, still bored.

*S*A*S*

At lunchtime, Sunset is alone at their customary table. Twilight and Sonata had not arrived yet.
With a particularly tired look, she takes a bite of her apple, distracting herself with chewing.

Again, she hears that clicking sound near her. But again, when she turns to look, she doesn't see anything out of the ordinary.

She swallows her piece of apple, and when her regular companions arrive, she just ignores the matter.

*S*A*S*

The day passes, and the school day finally comes to an end.

Sunset collects her things and prepares to leave, and that's when Sonata returns to make an appearance. "Sunsite!" she exclaims happily, approaching the fire-haired girl.

"Hey, Sonata."

"Hey, wanna come to my place?"

"Um, why?"

"Just to hang out, or do you have something to do?"

"I thought we were gonna meet Lemon to play."

"Oh, something came up, and she can’t make it, so we’re just gonna meet another day. So, can you come?" Sonata asks excitedly.

Sunset thought about it. It wasn’t like she had anything against going to the sirens' house. At least, not anymore. After all, they had not tried to kill her last time. Not only that, but Sunset had nothing to do, and Sonata had turned out to be a pleasant—or at least bearable—companion during her time at school.

"... Alright," Sunset finally responds.

Sonata jumps jubilantly as Sunset turns back to her locker. Finishing her business there, both head to the school exit.

"This’ll be super fun," Sonata says animatedly, giggling. "We'll watch cartoons, we'll eat chocolate, we'll put itching powder in Aria's underwear."

"What was that last one?"

"And you know what day it is today?"

Sunset thinks for a moment, then says, "Please don't say it."

"Taco Tuesday!"

"You said it..."

Sonata skipping as Sunset walks, the pair leave the school, where they run into Twilight, who is presumably on her own way home.

"Twi-Twi!" yells Sonata without losing her rhythm.

Twilight turns and sees them approaching. "Hi Sonata, Sunset."

"Hey, Twi."

"Twi-Twi, wanna come to my place? Sunsite and I are gonna have fun."

"Thanks for inviting me, but since Lemon cancelled, I want to go to the library and see if any new books arrived."

Sonata frowns, ceasing her skipping. "Pffff, boriiiiiing! You're always studying."

"Not always..." Twilight mumbles.

Sonata takes the scientist's hand and starts yanking her along. "Come on, you'll have way more fun with us than with those old books."

"Wait!"

Twilight tries to protest, but the siren does not listen, just pulling her along. Sunset decides to just shrug and follow them, enjoying the role reversal.

*S*A*S*

"I'm... I'm Twilight... Twilight Sparkle. A... A pleasure." Twilight’s soft voice trembles as she introduces herself to the two older sirens.

Adagio and Aria keep a neutral look as they watch the girl introduce herself. Aria is the first to speak, in a dismissive tone. "Great. It’s not enough that we have the rebel. Now we have the twin princess."

The comment gains a confused look from Twilight, who, still somewhat afraid, asks, "Pri... Princess...?"

"Don't listen to her," Adagio replies nonchalantly. "Nice to meet you, I suppose. Make yourself comfortable." With that, she retreats to another room, leaving Aria to tend to the two guests.

Sonata and Sunset are already sitting on the sofa in the living room, watching with no small amount of humor as Twilight awkwardly meets the other sirens.

"Anyway," says Aria, surrendering to the situation. "I'll get you something to drink. Don’t make a mess. That goes double for you, Sonata." As she turns to walk to the kitchen, she either doesn’t notice or simply ignores Sonata sticking her tongue out at her childishly.

Sunset chuckles a little, then pats the seat next to her, looking at Twilight. "Come on, Twilight, have a seat."

"Y-Yeah... Alright..." she responds nervously, sitting next to the former equine, but her rigid posture betrays her fear.

"Twi, calm down—"

"I am calm," she says instantly.

The answer is so fast that it startles Sunset a little bit. "You don't have to be nervous."

Twilight tries to laugh nonchalantly. "Nervous? Nervous! I'm not nervous! Why would I be nervous? I'm perfectly calm! Not at all nervous—"

"Boo!" Sonata says suddenly, lunging at Twilight.

A scream pierces the air as Twilight jumps straight into Sunset’s arms, soon following by Sonata’s cackling.

"Those are some good reflexes," Sonata struggles to say between breaths.

Sunset levels a chastising gaze at the siren and pries the scientist's arms from around her neck. "Twilight, what's wrong with you? Why are you so... so..."

"Terrified?" Sonata asks innocently.

"… Yeah, that."

"... I don't know, honestly," Twilight responds after calming down. "It’s just that... I've never been here, and... I've never been in the house of someone I don’t know..."

"You’re silly! We know each other, right?" Sonata asks in a chipper tone.

"Yes, but I don't know your... your..."

"Sisters."

"Your sisters! They didn't even know I was coming! I'm an intruder!"

"Nuh-uh, you're my guest."

"But I don't know how to talk to people. What if I say something bad, or I make them angry at me, or I make them angry at you? What if—"

Twilight’s tirade is interrupted when Sunset taps her on the nose. "Calm down, Twi. They’re just normal girls, like us." “Well, maybe not like you," she thinks to herself before continuing, "Just act natural. Nothing’s going to happen."

Twilight is not convinced. "What if something does happen?"

"It won’t."

"But—"

"It won’t."

"But—"

"Twi."

"But—"

Sunset puts a finger on Twilight's lips and shushes her. "Twi, take a deep breath." Twilight inhales deeply. "Now, let it out." Twilight quickly releases her breath. "There. Better?"

"... I think... I think so..."

"Great! Then we can start the fun!" the blue siren exclaims, and before either of them can ask, the young diva gets up and races up the stairs.

Aria soon brings in a large tray with five porcelain mugs, a matching teapot, and a plate of cookies. "I made cinnamon tea. If you don't like it, too bad," she says, leaving the tray on the table and pouring some tea into each mug.

Shortly after, Sonata runs back into the room holding a weird box. When she dashes to the television, Sunset and Twilight realize that the box is a video game console. "Let the fun begin!"

*S*A*S*

Sonata and Sunset wave around their remotes, competing in a motion-controlled tennis game. Sonata can’t seem to stop giggling and taunting Sunset, while Sunset keeps her emotions in check, concentrating on her movements.

Twilight sits behind them on the triple sofa, drinking her tea. Adagio watches disinterestedly from the single sofa, while Aria is leaning forward in her armchair, watching with a great deal of interest.

Twilight decides to start a conversation. "So, you’re sisters... Are you triplets?" When Adagio raises her eyebrow at Twilight, the scientist says hastily, "I mean, you three look like you’re the same age."

Adagio shakes her head. "No, Sonata is the youngest. I’m the oldest."

"Oh. Then—"

"Yes! I win!" shouts Sonata, jumping excitedly.

"Congratulations, Sonata," Sunset says.

"Oh, yeah! Who’s the best? Me! Twi-Twi, you're next! Get up here!"

"What? But I'm really not good at video games. Can’t I just—"

Her comment falls on deaf ears when Sunset pulls her up from the couch and give her the remote. She doesn’t have time to protest before Sonata starts the game again, and before she knows it, Twilight’s clumsily trying to play against the much more coordinated and fluid Sonata.

With her hands free, Sunset plops down on the couch and takes a mug of tea, smiling a little as the warmth and flavor flow through her.

Unbeknownst to Sunset, Aria catches Adagio gaze. Adagio raises on eyebrow questioningly, and Aria nods toward Sunset. Adagio’s gaze flashes over to Sunset briefly, then, closing her eyes, she nods.

"Summer Shimset," pronounces Aria.

Sunset turns to the pigtailed siren. "It's ‘Sunset Shimmer’."

"Whatever. Let's go to the kitchen." She says nothing else as she stands up and walks into the aforementioned room.

Confused, Sunset looks at Adagio, who only focuses on her tea. Since Sonata and Twilight weren’t paying attention, Sunset decides to just follow Aria. When she closes the door behind her, the sound distracts Sonata, who looks toward it with a touch of concern.

"Yes, I scored!" Twilight exclaims.

"What?!"

*S*A*S*

As Sunset enters the kitchen, the first thing she sees is Aria with her back to the door, leaning on the sink, her head down. Sunset cannot see her face, but she can almost distinguish a sorrow and frustration in her posture.

"Um... Aria?"

There's no answer. Sunset just waits, until the silence becomes uncomfortable.

"How…?" Aria finally says.

Sunset, a little startled by Aria’s sudden question, asks confusedly, "Um, what?"

"How?" Aria repeats.

"How... what?" Sunset asks, still confused.

Aria finally straightens up and turns to look at Sunset with a mixture of anger and regret. "How did you return Sonata’s voice?"

The question surprises Sunset, and it takes a while to respond. "Why do you think I had anything to do with that?"

"You’re from Equestria," Aria explains as if the answer were obvious. "You have magic. Your magic is what defeated us! You are the only one that could have done it."

"I had nothing to do with it. Maybe her voice was only restored with time and—"

"You don’t know anything about sirens!" Aria yells. "Our voices... Our voices come from the magic of our jewels, and without them... without them..." Aria's body and eyes begin to tremble. Sunset is unsure about the situation. "Our voices won’t just ‘return with time.’ You must have done something... You had to have used your magic on Sonata to give her back her voice!"

"I didn't do anything," repeats Sunset, already regretting following Aria.

"You’re lying! You did something! You have to do it to us, too!" Aria demands with equal parts anger, despair, and desperation.

"I'm telling you, I didn't do anything to Sonata, and I don't know how she recovered her voice."

"You’re lying. You’re lying! YOU’RE LYING! Tell me what you did! Tell me now, or I swear I’ll... I’ll…!"

Aria doesn’t finish the sentence, but her hand firmly grasps the handle of a nearby kitchen knife. Sunset watches with wide eyes, her body tense and ready to bolt at the first sign of movement.

The door of the kitchen opens, and Adagio enters. With a serious face and a calm voice, she says, "Aria, that's enough."

The pigtailed girl does not answer, but she looks at Adagio, and then at Sunset, clenching her teeth and the handle of the knife tightly.

"Aria, we talked about this. Ugh, I knew this was a bad idea,” Adagio said tiredly. “Sunset didn’t return Sonata’s voice."

Aria looks frustrated. "How do you know? How are you so sure about that?"

The older siren takes a few seconds before answering. "Because Sunset Shimmer would never do that for us."

Sunset looks curiously—and a little offendedly—at the leader of the sirens. Aria does not change her expression but looks toward the ground.

"We tried to kill her." Adagio speaks neutrally, but her eyes are closed. "We did terrible things to her and to her friends, and we tried and almost succeeded in taking over this world, not to mention what we did in Equestria."

With each word, Aria's gaze fills with sorrow, and although she does not release the knife, she loosens her grip on the handle.

Adagio opens her eyes to look at her younger sister. "There's no reason why Sunset would give us back our magic, even if she could."

Aria releases the knife, and her legs fail. She falls to her knees, with a lost look of sadness and pain.

There is silence. Sunset relaxes when there is no more threat, but now, her face reflects doubt and grief.

Aria does not say anything. For a while, she remains silent. "… I'm sorry…" Her soft voice is only audible because of the silence of the room. "... I... I didn’t... I'm sorry..." Sunset can her the sorrow and sincerity in Aria’s apology. At the same time, although she tries to hide it, tears begin to fall from Aria’s eyes. Adagio approaches and kneels to hug her sister. "It's not fair... It's not fair..."

Sunset is surprised at the tenderness in Adagio’s embrace, and even more so to see tears fill Adagio’s own eyes.

"I want to sing again... It's not fair... I'm a siren. What kind of siren can’t sing?"

Never, even in her strangest dreams, would Sunset have expected to see that scene.

These were her enemies, evil beings who almost took over the world that she adopted, who tried to kill her, and now, those same enemies were kneeling on the floor of their kitchen, one of them struggling and failing to keep herself from crying, the other holding her sister in a protective, almost motherly way in an effort to comfort her.

Once again, Sunset wondered if these really were the sirens she fought at the Battle of the Bands.

Adagio looked up to see a very confused and surprised Sunset. "I’m sorry."

Sunset is slow to react. "Wh-What?"

"I apologize for how this evening’s gone. Although, I know it's not worth much coming from me."

Sunset does not respond.

Aria, after having calmed down, separates herself from the hug and looks back at Sunset. "Sum—Sunset, I... I'm sorry... I didn't want to... well... do that... I..."

Sunset struggles to find her voice again. "I-It's okay. It's over, nothing happened. It’s fine, really."

Adagio stands up. "... I don't blame you if you want to leave now."

"Leave? No! It's okay. Seriously, I'm fine. Twilight’s having fun, and so is Sonata, and I was, too. Can we just, you know... go back to that?"

The three of them watch each other for a moment, then Adagio helps her sister get up.

"I'm sorry," the younger siren says again.

Sunset approaches and puts a hand on her shoulder and gives her a soft smile. "Relax, it's fine. It wasn’t the first time someone threatened to stab me," she says dismissively, trying to joke. It does not do much, but it does diffuse the tension enough to let the women return to the living room.

*S*A*S*

A couple of hours and a few tacos later, the sirens say goodbye to their two guests.

"Um, thank you for your hospitality," Twilight says with a slightly exaggerated bow. “I had fun.”

The three sisters give her a weird look. Adagio says, "Don't do that; you’ll hurt your back."

"I had tons of fun! " says Sonata, beaming. "We should do this more often!"

Sunset seems to hesitate, but she eventually smiles. "We’ll see."

Sunset’s answer surprises the blue siren, but Sonata quickly gets over it and gives a bright smile and small jump of excitement.

"Well, this evening was... interesting," says the former equine. "See you at school tomorrow, Sonata. And I’ll see you, um... sometime, Adagio and Aria."

Adagio nods and gives a very slight smile. Aria looks unsure, but Sunset gives her a soft smile, and soon, the pigtailed siren returns the smile.

Sunset turns around. "Come on, Twi. The bus will be here soon."

The scientist gives a final farewell and rushes to catch up to Sunset. The three Sirens watch them leave.

"... She's not bad, for a pony," the oldest one says.

"I think she's great!" announces the youngest.

"... I guess, yeah..." the last one answers.

Adagio turns to go back inside. "Anyway, Aria, wash the dishes, Sonata, do your homework, and I'll get ready for work."

"Ugh, I hate homework."

"I hate the dishes."

"And I hate when you complain, but that's life."

The three reenter their home and close the door.

*S*A*S*

A little later, Sunset and Twilight are sitting next to each other on the bus. Sunset looks through the window at the falling snow, while Twilight seems lost in her thoughts.

"... Hey, Sunset."

"Hm?"

"How did you meet Sonata?"

Sunset takes a bit to answer. "... It's... hard to explain."

"It was at... Canterlot High, right?"

"Well, yes. She and her sisters... arrived at school one day, and... to be honest, we had some friction."

"And... why did they leave?"

"Let's say... there was a bit of conflict, and they had no choice but to leave school."

Twilight remains silent but keeps her gaze on the fire-haired girl. "... You do that a lot..."

Sunset turns and gives Twilight a confused look, "… Do what?"

"That. You never explain anything. It's like... you’re afraid to talk about what happened."

Sunset is silent. She turns around, avoiding Twilight’s eyes, but she can still see them in Twilight’s almost transparent reflection in the window. "... My past is very complicated, Twilight, moreso than my present. There are things that, however much I want to leave them behind, seem to come back to haunt me."

Twilight hesitates a bit. "... Do you... want to talk about it?"

"… Not really."

Silence surrounds them.

Twilight sighs. "Well, I won’t force you, but if you want to, you know, talk to someone, I... Well, actually, I'm bad with these kinds of things, but... I could... help you… or at least, I would try."

Sunset turns her head and gives her a small smile. "Thanks, Twilight. You're... You're a good friend."

"Fr... Friend..." Twilight repeats breathlessly.

"You okay?” Sunset asks, concerned.

"No! I mean yes! I mean... you... you're also... a good friend."

Sunset keeps her smile, and they fall silent as Sunset returns her gaze to the window and Twilight takes out her cell phone.

Despite the cold winter outside, somehow, both manage to feel warm.

Sunset cannot help thinking about what her life has become.

A month ago, Sunset would not have seen herself so far from the school she almost called a home, far from the people she had all but adopted as family, far from the life that cost her so much to build.

Still, she couldn’t help but smile. She did not expect to be in this situation, but somehow, she felt at peace.

Twilight, Sonata, even Aria and Adagio. She would not have expected to find them, or that they would find her, but...

Smiling again, Sunset closes her eyes, allowing her head to rest.

“My past is not today. Today, things are looking up by the minute.”

Comments

[Twilight Chaos Sparkle]

Forgiven YES!!!!

[CSC]

Hey, things are looking up again.

[DavisSentoV5]

Goddamn Aria was at her breaking point right there, can't say I kinda blame her, but damn things got real for a sec...

[Shalifi]

I like Sunset being on the road to being friends with the Dazzlings. You never know what you have till its gone. Not just her mane friends but everyone i think will get that over time.

[Thule]

I'm just wondering why you change the gender pronoun so often?

So does Sunset while he exchanges books in his locker.

Sunset sees them leave, when he loses sight of them, he turns to Twilight, changing that look for a worried one."Are you okay Twilight?"

At lunchtime, Sunset is alone at a table. Twilight and Sonata had not arrived yet.
With a particularly tired gesture, he takes a bite of his lunch apple, filling his mouth.

These are filled throughout the whole story.

[RedPegasus]

8950866

because I speak Spanish and when I use the translator to pass the chapters to English all the characters are changed to masculine, and although I try to change them manually I can always miss some

[Arthor2017]

It's nice to see Sunset and the Sirens had reached into good terms. Things are improving pretty well.

[Larger Seagull]

8950870
If you need an editor, I'd like to help a bit. I have knowledge of Spanish if that would be useful.

[Edguy0009]

These were her enemies, evil beings who almost took over the world that she adopted, who tried to kill her , and now, those same enemies were kneeling on the floor of their kitchen, one of them struggling and failing to keep herself from crying, the other holding her sister in a protective, almost motherly way in an effort to comfort her.

And in ONE universe SHE'S their NEW QUEEN.

[Nightflight406]

9726435
Really?

[Edguy0009]

9831204
Yes really it's called Hell and High water.