13 – Playing Nice
Chapter Thirteen
Rocking the Status Quo
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It was so sickening. Rainbow hated watching the way Sonata clung to Fluttershy’s arm like that, the way they smiled at one another all the time, the way they just seemed so perfect together.
Because no matter how they looked, Sonata was not what she seemed to be. She wasn’t perfect for Fluttershy, and she wasn’t their friend. For fuck’s sake, she wasn’t even human!
“Remember, today’s a special day,” Fluttershy said to the thing hanging off her. “It’s very important to me.”
“Aww, every day’s special with you!” Sonata said. Rainbow had to suppress the urge to gag.
Fluttershy seemed to be immune to the sickeningly sweet Sonata, as she just giggled. “Well, today’s extra special. We haven’t seen Rarity in years.”
Rainbow resisted the urge to tell Sonata that meant she shouldn’t mess it up for them. She was trying to be nice to Fluttershy’s girlfr– her ‘friend’.
Still, she was afraid Sonata’s presence alone would be enough to mess things up. How would she react to the fact that the band hung out with a siren these days? She wondered if Fluttershy had even warned her about it.
It was important that this day be awesome, since they barely ever got to see Rarity. The last time they had was when they were still touring for their first album. They hoped to break into European touring soon to be able to visit her in her own city, but until then, they were limited to when she was able to take a trip to the States.
Not that there was anything Rainbow could do about it. Fluttershy was insistent on dragging Sonata around with them, even on the tour bus. And since Rainbow was trying to respect Fluttershy’s decisions, her hands were tied on the matter.
And even if she could think of some solution, it didn’t matter. The bus was pulling up to the venue to drop them off, so there was no time left to do anything. Ready or not, it was time.
“Rarity said she’d already be here, right?” Rainbow asked as the bus came to a stop.
“Yeah, she said she’d be waiting,” Fluttershy said. They normally liked to pick Rarity up at the airport, but her flight arrived sooner than they could arrive at the city, so they decided to meet up at the venue.
And now it was time to do just that. Everyone rose and filed out of the bus, Rainbow and Fluttershy leading the way. No sooner did they step outside than they heard a squeal that could only come from one person.
“Fluttershy, darling, what happened to your coiffure!?”
Rainbow couldn’t help but smile at the look of horror on Rarity’s face. She debated pulling out her phone to get a picture of it, but before she could act, Rarity was already running over towards them.
She ran right past Rainbow and buried her hands in what little remained of Fluttershy’s hair. Fluttershy just grinned good-naturedly. “I wanted a change. I think it looks –”
“Rainbow!” Rarity wheeled around to fix a glare on her. “Is this your doing!?”
“No!” Rainbow shot a dirty look at Gilda, who was watching the drama unfold with a wide grin. “Gilda was the one who –”
“Oh, my sweet little butterfly…” Rarity turned away from Rainbow and threw her arms protectively around Fluttershy’s head, pulling it close to her heart. “What did they do to you!?”
“Nothing!” Fluttershy insisted. “I wanted to do this!”
“Besides, it looks super cute!” Sonata said.
Rarity seemed to notice Sonata for the first time. It was clear she didn’t need any reminder of whom she was looking at, as she took a step back and her mouth fell open. Rainbow suspected if she didn’t already have snow-white skin she would’ve gone pale.
“Uhm, hello there.”
Ever the idiot, Sonata seemed to be completely oblivious to Rarity’s reaction. “Hi! I’m Sonata! Nice to meet you.” She held out her hand for Rarity to shake.
Rarity ignored her hand, which brought a smile to Rainbow’s face. In place of shaking Sonata’s hand, Rarity grabbed Fluttershy and Rainbow by the wrists and dragged them away. “Please excuse us for a moment.”
Sonata turned to Windfall. “Was it something I said?”
They didn’t hear Windfall’s reaction, since they were dragged away by Rarity. They walked a fair distance, then Rarity turned to look at the two of them. “What is a Dazzling doing here?”
Fluttershy smiled while Rainbow frowned. “She’s a friend now,” Fluttershy said.
Rainbow held her tongue.
“A friend?” Rarity looked at Sonata and frowned. “Are you sure that’s wise?”
Fluttershy lost her smile as she stared into Rarity’s eyes. “It’s no different than Sunset. People change.”
“Yes, well…” Rarity was still frowning, but she couldn’t seem to meet Fluttershy’s eyes. “I suppose people do change.”
“All of the Dazzlings are on the tour with us,” Rainbow said. They might as well not beat around the bush, Rarity would probably see them all at some point. “Sonata’s the only one that any of us are friends with, though.”
“They’re on the tour?” Rarity asked. “Certainly not as musicians?”
“No, as roadies,” Rainbow said. “Well, except Sonata. I don’t think she actually does much work these days.”
“That’s not fair.” Fluttershy turned her frown on Rainbow. “She still helps her visera at every show. Besides, they’re not here to help us. They’re tracking Equestrian magic.”
“Equestrian magic!?” Rarity threw her hand over her mouth. “But, darling, why didn’t you tell us?”
“Because you have your own lives now,” Fluttershy said. “And the sirens have it under control. I won’t say that they’re all nice people, but they’re not evil anymore. They’re trying to do good.”
“Tch, more like trying to save their asses,” Rainbow said. “Adagio told us she only cared about the magic because it was a threat to them as well.”
“It doesn’t matter why they’re doing it, the point is they’re the good guys this time.”
Rarity frowned, but she clearly picked up that this was a sensitive subject. “I suppose as long as you’re sure this is for the best…”
“I am.” Fluttershy found her smile again. “I’ve been looking forward to you getting the chance to get to know Sonata.”
Rarity hesitated for a moment, then she smiled as well. “Well then, let’s get back to the others then, shall we?”
Fluttershy’s smile grew as she turned around to lead the way back. Rainbow was concerned that Rarity was already buying into it after one little conversation, but then before following Fluttershy, Rarity turned to Rainbow with a worried expression.
But all Rainbow could do was roll her eyes and jerk her head in Fluttershy’s direction. At least Rarity seemed to get the message, because she nodded before walking back to the others.
If Rarity saw it too, maybe she could help Rainbow convince Fluttershy that something was going on. But that would have to wait. Right now, it was time to play nice with the enemy once more.
With some reluctance, Rainbow followed behind to join the group. Rarity was addressing Sonata. “Terribly sorry, that was very rude of me. I was just, er…”
“Aww, it’s okay.” Sonata shrugged. “I know we must not be your favorite people.”
Rarity’s smile was effortless. If it wasn’t for the look she had given Rainbow just a minute ago, it would be impossible to tell that she had any doubts at all. “Now now, as Fluttershy just reminded me, everyone deserves a second chance. I for one am looking forward to getting to know you.”
Sonata beamed. “Me too! Fluttershy told me a lot about you.”
“We always were quite close.” Rarity sighed. “It’s been hard being away from her and all of my other friends.”
“Fluttershy said you’re living in France, right? On a vécu là-bas!”
“Ah!” Rarity broke into a grin. “Quand exactement?”
“Oh… il y a deux cent ans plus ou moins?” Sonata grinned. “Mais au moins je me souviens de la langue!”
Rarity blinked in confusion at whatever Sonata had said. “Beg your pardon, but you lived in France two hundred years ago?”
As usual, Sonata didn’t seem to think anything of the weird things she said. “Yeah, but we kinda needed to get out of there fast. Then we went to England for a bit, but decided it might be best to get out of Europe completely.”
“You can’t be serious,” Rarity said.
“Remember, Sonata is an Equestrian,” Fluttershy said as she took Sonata’s hand. “She’s a siren. They live a lot longer than we do.”
“I see,” Rarity said simply.
Gilda laughed. “Yeah, we don’t really get it either. But she makes Shy happy, so whatever, right?”
“Oh, well, she’s not the first Equestrian I’ve met. It’s just that Sunset and Princess Twilight never said anything about living hundreds of years.”
“Hold on, Sunset like your ex?” Lemon Zest asked. “Oh shit, was she that crazy chick who got all super big and fought with… hold on, Twilight is not a princess. She’s not even an Equestrian!”
Fluttershy chuckled. “It was a different Twilight.”
“Oh, they probably didn’t say because they’re both ponies,” Sonata said. “Ponies live about as long as humans do. Well, most of them, anyway.”
“They’re… ponies…?” Gilda shook her head. “Fuck it, I’m going inside. Y’all can come and get me when you decide to make sense.”
“I wanna know,” Lemon Zest said. “I was at the Friendship Games, and that shit was insane. I want to understand it better, no matter how crazy it sounds.”
“Oh boy.” Rainbow put her hands behind her head. “We’re gonna be here for a while. Maybe we should knock out the soundcheck first?”
“Alright, but you’re not getting out of this!” Lemon Zest let the others lead the way inside, where they split into two groups. The band met up with Gilda and made their way to the stage to perform their soundcheck, while Fluttershy, Sonata, and Rarity all took seats in the audience and kept talking.
“So is all that stuff true?” Windfall asked while they got their instruments out. “About… whatever it’s called? The magic place?”
“Equestria,” Rainbow said, knowing full well how dumb the whole thing must sound to the others. “And yeah, it is. Well, I don’t know shit about Sonata and her story, but the stuff about Sunset coming from there is true. Rarity was there, she saw it all too.”
“Wow.”
Rainbow eyed Windfall uncertainly. “What, do you actually believe it now?”
“Well, I don’t know.” Windfall shrugged. “It’s just that more and more people keep talking about it. You, Zest, Shy, those three girls, now Rarity.”
“Next time we’re in Everton, I can show you a ton of people who saw magic with their own eyes. But for now, let’s get this soundcheck done.”
The band launched into one of their songs to test the venue sound system and set the levels they wanted for the show. They mostly played it straight until they got to the song’s solo, which was radically different. Instead of a straightforward solo played by Rainbow, she and Windfall alternated playing mini solos in their own styles.
She hated to admit it, but… it sounded good. And it was sounding better each day they worked on it. Windfall was a great guitarist, and Rainbow was forced to push herself to keep up with him. She couldn’t wait to be able to perform their guitar battle to the public.
After they were done, Rainbow had some feedback on their performance and they all had some thoughts on how to mix the volume for the show, but generally it was a smooth soundcheck. Within a few more songs, they settled things with the venue’s sound engineer, and they would be ready for the show when the time came.
They wrapped it up and made their way to the others. Upon hearing that they were going to be discussing Equestria and magic, Gilda excused herself, but both Lemon Zest and Windfall were interested in hearing more.
“Okay, but you need to understand that none of us are experts,” Rainbow said.
“Well, I’m from there so I know a lot about it,” Sonata said. “Except I haven’t been back in a really long time, so I don’t know what it’s like now.”
They gave the best possible explanation they could. They explained what happened with Sunset and the Fall Formal, which Rainbow worried might be hard for Fluttershy, though she seemed to be fine.
Then they talked about the Dazzlings and the Battle of the Bands which Sonata was able to give a firsthand account of as well. She seemed to look back on the whole thing with far too much cheer.
“Oh, that’s when we convinced that girl to trap you all beneath the stage!” Sonata said brightly.
Rainbow’s eye twitched. “Which… was bad.”
“Well, yeah.” Sonata shrugged. “Everything we did back then was bad.”
Rainbow really didn’t think she believed that, but it somehow seemed to be enough for Fluttershy. Once they finished explaining the Battle of the Bands, they recounted the Friendship Games, this time with Lemon Zest offering her input.
Lemon Zest was still left shaking her head at the end. “I can’t believe the Friendship Games was the third time you all dealt with something like that!”
“So… there are two versions of you all?” Windfall asked with a frown. “Does that mean there’s another me out there too?”
Rainbow shrugged. “No idea. Like I said, we’re not really experts.”
“And then nothing ever happened after the Friendship Games, right?” Lemon Zest asked.
Rainbow shrugged. “Nah, things got pretty quiet after that.”
Fluttershy smiled sheepishly. “I think three run-ins with magic is more than enough.”
“Well, I went to Equestria once,” Rarity said. Rainbow had almost forgotten about that. “It was Sunset’s birthday party. I didn’t get to leave Twilight’s castle, but it was quite the experience. I met the other Rarity, and we exchanged some design ideas. I was a unicorn and could do some magic, although I certainly never got the hang of it in my limited time.”
Sonata sighed. “I miss magic.”
Rainbow frowned. “Yeah, must have been pretty great back when you were getting people to fight and draining their energy.”
“Rainbow!” Fluttershy scowled at her. “That’s not what Sonata meant, and you know it. Why are you being so antagonistic?”
Sonata placed her hand on Fluttershy’s arm. “It’s okay, Shy.”
Since she was trying to play nice, Rainbow knew she couldn’t push any further. But that didn’t mean she had to sit around and listen to all the reasons why Sonata was just ‘misunderstood’ or how she was so much ‘better’ now.
So Rainbow rose to her feet and walked away. “Whatever.” Fluttershy would probably find some reason to be upset about that, but if she was going to be upset either way, might as well have it be when Rainbow was somewhere that Sonata was not.
Figuring she might as well try to find Gilda, Rainbow made her way backstage. She barely got past the stage, however, someone came after her. Not the someone she would have expected, though.
“Rainbow, wait!” Rarity called after her. “Darn it, Rainbow, I can’t run in these heels, slow down!”
Rainbow stopped and turned around. Rarity walked over as fast as her high heels would allow, and she didn’t bother to sugarcoat things with a smile. “Look, I know Shy’s not happy with me.”
“Well I should say not,” Rarity glanced behind them, but they were already out of sight of the others. She turned back to Rainbow wearing a hardened expression. “But I’m not convinced you’re wrong.”
“Yes!” Rainbow broke into a grin. “Finally, someone’s seeing reason. Everyone keeps talking about it as if nothing she did before matters.”
Rarity took a deep breath. “Yes, she does seem very nice on the surface now. And I don’t like to hold her past against her, it’s just… Dear Sunset was positively beside herself the night of the Fall Formal, and she made it abundantly clear time and again how much she regretted her actions. Sonata hardly seems as remorseful herself.”
“Yeah! And trust me, that goes double for the others.”
“Adagio and Aria?” Rarity asked. “I haven’t seen them around.”
“Yeah, they like to make themselves scarce when they’re not stirring trouble.”
“Oh?” Rarity frowned. “Are they brazen enough to start problems while you’re bringing them on tour?”
“Not so much Adagio, but Aria doesn’t seem to care if we do toss them out.” Rainbow sighed and looked around to make sure neither of them were hiding just out of sight. “Of course, Shy won’t see that in any of them…”
Rarity nodded. “Perhaps that means she can be used. If she cares the least, she’s the most likely to talk if you do confront her.”
“Talk to Aria Blaze? You make that sound easy.”
Rarity placed her hand on Rainbow’s shoulder and grinned. “I know it won’t be, but I do believe you are quite capable. Or we could be. The two of us together are sure to get to the bottom of this!”
Rainbow smiled. “Thanks, Rarity. I’m… not always the best at these kinds of conversations.”
“Think nothing of it. Now, where do we find Aria?”
That was a good question. She somehow helped with the road crew, although to be honest, Rainbow had never bothered to keep tabs on what the Dazzlings did, exactly. As far as she was concerned, the less she had to do with them, the better.
That outlook proved somewhat troublesome now that she actually wanted to find one of them. They searched around backstage and couldn’t find her, but eventually one of the other roadies was able to point them in the right direction.
The van that hauled their equipment was parked out behind the concert venue, near the tour bus that the band rode in. They found Aria leaning against it, which brought to mind the question of exactly what she did for the tour, but they had more pressing questions for her.
She was quick to notice them as well. As they walked up, Aria grimaced at the sight of Rarity. “Oh great, another of you is here now.”
“Aria,” Rarity said. “I don’t believe we were ever properly introduced. My name is Rarity.”
“And you, what, want to share the magic of friendship with me?” Aria asked skeptically.
“No, we want to ask you a few things.” Rainbow folded her arms. “What’s Sonata’s deal anyway?”
Aria shrugged. “She’s an idiot. I didn’t think you needed me to tell you that.”
“That’s not what I meant!”
As Rainbow felt her anger rise, Rarity placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke calmly. “We have doubts that Sonata’s relationship with Fluttershy is well intentioned. We were wondering what you have to say on the subject.”
“Their relationship?” Aria pushed herself off the van, but didn’t approach them. “Pretty sure they’re just fucking, princess. No need to get all lovey dovey with it.”
“You want us to believe it’s just mindless sex?” Rainbow asked skeptically.
“They do seem to be a good deal closer than that,” Rarity added.
That was an understatement… “Fluttershy practically parades Sonata around as if she’s the best thing that ever happened to her! The two of them are sickening to watch! They’re way more than just fucking!”
Aria snickered. “Yeah, Fluttershy’s really falling for it.”
“Falling for it!?” Rainbow crossed the distance between them and pushed Aria into the van. There was a satisfying thud as her body hit the metal van, and Rainbow held her in place. “What the fuck does that mean!?”
Aria outright laughed at that one. “God, I was beginning to think you were really all stupid enough to buy into it at face value! About time someone starts to question things.”
“Buy what!?” Rainbow narrowed her eyes.
Rarity placed her hand forcefully on Rainbow’s shoulder. “Rainbow, this isn’t –”
“Answer me!” Rainbow demanded.
“Look, it’s not hard to figure out. Sonata’s lying.”
“Why would she do that?” Rarity asked.
Aria pushed Rainbow off of her. She was stronger than she looked, because with one shove, Rainbow was backpedalling to avoid falling on her ass. Aria just straightened her jacket. “Because ever since she got together with Fluttershy, the rest of us haven’t had to do shit. All that big talk of kicking us off the tour stopped, and she even got us hotel rooms every night.”
“You little…”
“Rainbow, stop,” Rarity said forcefully. “If that is true, then why tell us? Wouldn’t this jeopardize your situation too?”
Aria shrugged. “Look, I don’t always like going along with Adagio’s little schemes. Oh, Adagio is behind it, if you couldn’t figure out. Sonata’s such a stupid little idiot, sleeping with one of you was pretty much the only way she could be useful to us.”
“That’s horrible.” Rarity glared at Aria. “How could you say something about one of your own teammates like that?”
“Uh, because we hate each other?” Aria shook her head. “We’re not humans, idiots. We don’t think like you losers do.”
“We have to tell Fluttershy,” Rainbow said. “This is ending today.”
“Good luck.” Aria was actually grinning, even in the face of getting tossed off the tour. “I’ll let you in on another little secret. The second reason I told you? Your girl’s hooked on a siren. We’re not easy to get over. She’ll fight logic at every turn to see Sonata as the perfect little girlfriend she wants her to be. Frankly, I’m looking forward to seeing what happens from here.”
“Fluttershy will believe me,” Rainbow said. She had to. Rainbow couldn’t let herself believe anything else could happen.
Aria gestured at herself. “Why, because I told you? What makes you so sure I’m not the one lying?”
“What?”
“Think about it. Me or Sonata, one of us is lying here. Wonder which of us Fluttershy will believe?”
“Come on, Rainbow,” Rarity said. “We got everything we needed.”
“Hey, one more thing,” Aria said as they started to walk away. “When we leave? Sonata won’t even say goodbye, you know.”
Although she wanted to reply, Rainbow held her tongue. With some reluctance, she followed Rarity back into the building and away from Aria Blaze.
As they walked, Rainbow’s head was spinning with all the things that Aria said. She didn’t seem to care if they believed her or not. She didn’t seem to care about anything, so sure that Fluttershy would choose Sonata over Rainbow.
Well, they would show her. Fluttershy would listen to what Rainbow had to say, and then the sirens would be off the tour.
Fluttershy and the others were right where Rainbow had left them. They were watching another act’s soundcheck, most likely because they were waiting on Rainbow and Rarity to come back. Fluttershy smiled as they walked up, and unfortunately, so did Sonata.
‘Your days are numbered here, bitch,’ Rainbow thought. She bit her tongue for what she hoped would be the last time, though. First she needed to talk to Fluttershy.
Rarity beat her to it. “Fluttershy, can we speak with you for a moment?”
Fluttershy’s smile fell away. “Again?”
It was obvious Fluttershy knew what was coming, or at least, she knew the general subject. Again, Rarity answered. “I’m afraid so.”
Fluttershy stood up and followed Rainbow and Rarity backstage. She didn’t mask her irritation as she asked, “Is this about Sonata again?”
“Yes, it is,” Rarity said. “The thing is, well… We’re just worried about you, Fluttershy.”
“I know, but I’m fine.” Fluttershy sighed. “Rarity, I see where you’re coming from, I do, but please just trust me. And Rainbow, I thought we were done with this.”
“Yeah, well, we just talked to Aria,” Rainbow said with a scowl.
“Yes, and she had some… interesting things to say,” Rarity said. She took a deep breath. “Now, Fluttershy, I imagine some of this will be hard to hear, so please believe me when I say we wish this were different.”
Flutter leaned her head against her hand. “Just tell me.”
Rarity tried the delicate approach, but didn’t seem to know how to go about it. “She said, well… er, that is to say…”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “She says Sonata is using you. She said Sonata’s lying, that she’s just trying to keep you from caring about the others so that they get a free ride with us.”
“I see,” Fluttershy said. “And did Aria say anything else?”
Rainbow recoiled backwards a bit. “Isn’t that enough?”
“I just want to be sure I hear everything you have to say first.”
“She doesn’t think you’ll believe us,” Rarity said. “She says that because Sonata is a siren, you’ll have a hard time breaking away from her spell.”
Fluttershy nodded. “Is that all?”
“Yeah, pretty much,” Rainbow said. “She was kinda a bitch about the whole thing, insulted us and stuff. But you know, that’s just Aria.”
“Yes, that is just Aria,” Fluttershy agreed. She folded her arms and shifted weight on her feet. “Which is just the point. She’s lying to cause drama between us. That’s what she does.”
Rainbow winced. “Come on, Shy, you can’t really believe that.”
“Look, I’m not stupid. I know Aria is just as bad as she always was. Maybe Adagio is too, I don’t know. But what I do know is that they’re not threats to anyone. They can stir as much shit as they want, but they can’t hurt us.”
Rainbow threw out her arms. “And you’re okay with them just stirring up shit?”
“Of course I’m not,” Fluttershy said, sounding more weary than upset. “But what can I do? Aria is as bad as ever, but she’s harmless. Adagio keeps to herself and doesn’t fuck with us. But Sonata’s good. She’s not perfect, and I know you want her to be more remorseful for how she used to be. But she’s a good person now, and she makes me happy. I can’t throw out her visera.”
“Her what now?” Rarity asked.
“Visera. It’s what they call themselves, a word from their culture. It’s sort of like an adopted family.”
“Some family,” Rainbow muttered.
“The point is that Sonata cares about them. I can’t kick them out without risking losing her too.”
“Shy, this is stupid!” Rainbow shook her head. “We know they’re a threat, we’ve seen it!”
“No, we know they were a threat! They’re not anymore, which also means that line about me being caught up in her spell is bullshit!” Fluttershy stamped her foot, causing both Rainbow and Rarity to flinch. “Did you even hear what I said? She makes me happy, Dash! Do you know when the last time I was happy was?”
Rainbow couldn’t find an answer for her. She never did when Fluttershy started talking like that.
“Fluttershy, darling…” Rarity was looking at Fluttershy as if she was injured. “What are you going to do when she leaves? You told me that she and the other Dazzlings have their own mission.”
Fluttershy turned away from them. “We’ll figure that out when the time comes. But right now, that’s just not something I need to worry about.”
Rarity sighed. “I really hope you’re right, darling. You know we’re just worried about you.”
“I know,” Fluttershy said. “But please, stop worrying so much about me. Or at least accept my decision.”
“No way.” Rainbow took a step closer to Fluttershy. Rarity placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her, but Rainbow brushed it off. “I can’t accept this, Shy.”
“You don’t have a choice!” Fluttershy wheeled around to look at Rainbow, and now she looked angry. “I’m the tour manager, so it’s my decision. If you can’t accept that, then just… learn to deal with the disappointment.”
Without waiting for a response, Fluttershy walked away. Not that Rainbow or Rarity knew what to say anyway. All they could do was watch as Fluttershy walked away.
Only after she left did Rarity find her words. “Dear God… I can hardly believe that was our dear little Fluttershy…”
“Yeah, tell me about it…”
“Well, that settles it then, doesn’t it?” Rarity steeled her expression. “Sonata is influencing her. Our Fluttershy would never act that way!”
As much as Rainbow wanted to believe that, she couldn’t. Not when Fluttershy had almost quit the tour over Gilda some six months ago. “Shy’s… changed, Rarity. You just haven’t seen it like I have.”
“Now I don’t believe that for a second! What could have done this to our sweet Fluttershy?”
“A car crash,” Rainbow said, causing Rarity to wince. “Or maybe it was Sunset ditching her for the horse version of herself. Or being a businesswoman in a cutthroat industry. Or touring around with a punk band, since we’re not known for being a soft bunch. So like, take your fucking pick.”
Rarity stared at the ground. “Can so much really have changed?” She looked up and moved her mouth to form words, but none came. It was only when she looked back down that she managed the words on her mind. “And… the part about not knowing when she was last happy? Is that true as well?”
Rainbow didn’t want to answer that one, didn’t want to admit that no matter what she tried, she failed to make Fluttershy happy. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s true.”
“I see. So then it seems we’re at a loss for options. Fluttershy has made it perfectly clear that we have no say in the matter, so it seems the best we can do at this point is simply hope.”
“You want to do nothing, you mean.”
“No, Rainbow, I very much do not want to do nothing. But as I don’t see any other options, well… I think it would be worse if we alienated Fluttershy by forcing the matter.”
“I can’t just do nothing!”
Rarity placed her hands on her hips. “Then what do you propose to do, Rainbow?”
“I…” Rainbow shoved her hands in her pockets and looked away. “I don’t know.”
“I thought as much. Now then, I’m going to go try and repair whatever damage our conversation may have done to Fluttershy.”
“Yeah, alright.” Rainbow started to follow Rarity until she realized that they weren’t heading towards the audience, because that’s not where Fluttershy went. “Actually, I’ll catch up with you in a minute.”
“What are you planning on doing?”
Rainbow shook her head. “Just… trust me. I’ll see you two soon. Take care of Shy for now.”
Rarity sighed. “Fine. But don’t you dare do anything to make this worse.”
Rainbow watched as Rarity walked off to go after Fluttershy, then she herself went out into the audience. Lemon Zest had left at some point, but Windfall was there talking to Sonata.
Perfect.
“Hey, Sonata, can we talk?” Rainbow asked.
Both Sonata and Windfall gave Rainbow an uncertain look, but after a moment, Sonata stood up. “Uh, okay.”
To make sure they weren’t followed, Rainbow brought Sonata into the venue’s foyer. It was relatively private, with a wall separating it from the rest of the venue, even if it did have large open doorways.
“What did you want to talk about?” Sonata asked. She seemed less upbeat than usual. Maybe she knew something bad was coming.
If Fluttershy wouldn’t take Aria’s word for it, then Rainbow would have to get Sonata’s. She just had to interrogate her, get a confession that she was up to no good, and then Fluttershy would have to believe her.
“What’s your angle with Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked.
Sonata cocked her head to the side. “Angle? What do you mean?”
“What are you after?”
Sonata shrugged and smiled innocently. “She’s my friend. I just like spending time with her.”
Rainbow didn’t buy it. Sonata was just going to hurt Fluttershy in the end, just like Sunset did.
Just like Sunset.
There were so many things Rainbow should’ve said to Sunset before she left. So many ways she should’ve made Sunset realize what it was she was leaving behind. So many…
Rainbow sighed. There was only one thing she should’ve said to Sunset. Only one thing she ever should’ve said to her. “Just… don’t hurt her.”
“Hurt her?” Sonata wore a weird sort of smile, like she couldn’t quite understand what Rainbow’s words meant. “Why would I do that?”
Rainbow thought of several answers, then she pushed them all down. It was just like Sunset. Rainbow was driving a wedge between Fluttershy and someone who made her happy, just like she always did.
“Because…” Rainbow searched for an answer that wouldn’t hurt Fluttershy, and only found one. “Because I know you’re leaving. You’ve got this whole Equestrian magic thing to track down, so…”
Sonata put her hand on Rainbow’s shoulder and smiled. “It’s sweet you care about her so much. But I like Shy a lot, I’m not going to hurt her.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
Rainbow took a deep breath. In the end, that was all there really was to say. “Okay. Let’s get back to the others then.”
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You really should warn people about these kinds of things, Shy.
The impressive thing is, I can see what Aria was talking about as going three different ways. One, she's telling the truth (that was completely plausible for them to have done), two she lied to rile people up, or three, what she said was true as far as that was what the plan WAS, but Sonata isn't actually playing fully by the script any more.
Also, that bit about Sunset was not entirely fair, Rainbow. the relationship was already over, by Fluttershy's choice primarily.
Another great chapter
10238567
I'm loving how uncertain everyone is about Sonata here, it was one of my goals when writing this.
Hehe I'll go ahead and say one of your theories is right, but that's not saying much since you covered pretty much all the bases there
10238577
Thank you
10238656
I actually thought of a fourth one that matches their canon personalities. It's sort of a mix of the first two and the reverse of the third. That being that there wasn't originally any plan at all. What happened caught Adagio and Aria as much by surprise as anyone in the band. But now they're trying to take advantage of it as best they can, while playing it off as being their idea all along. Because heaven forbid Sonata show either of them up in any way whatsoever.
10238912
That is very much in character for them tbh
Well now I feel silly for already saying one of your theories was correct
Interesting chapter it was a hard read,adding rarity was nice and it seems she's over sunset(which in my opinion is a little sad) still not sure about the dazzling yet but hey we will see.hopefully rainbow doesn't screw this up so make it worse,was a little shocked at she's attitude but not surprised.can't wait to read more👍👍
10238984
As for Shy being over Sunset, I think she is in some ways and not in others. I don't think it's as simple as a yes or no there, but I think being with Sonata helps her feel better about Sunset a lot. Next week finishes Act II, so be ready for the equivalent of a season finale! 
If I recall correctly, adding Rarity was my partner Gowak's idea, and one of the many ways they improved this story
I really was hoping one of them would make the point “using her for what?”
Shy’s not giving them anything. Sonata and Shy are sleeping together and... what? Sonata gets to ride in the bus...? And?
10239211
Aria explains exactly that. No huge dramatic plan, but they're lives have gotten better because of Sonashy.
The last time Fluttershy was happy? Sometime between the start of her relationship with Sunset and the crash is my guess
woah... was, Dash actually able to keep her cool and act like an adult this chapter..... weird. I like it.
10240425
That was definitely the longest stretch of happiness from her, though I would probably cite that Christmas with Sunset as the last time she was happy. They had just gotten back together and problems hadn't come up yet, and she was optimistic about their future.
10240853
Lol even Rainbow can grow up it seems, even if that change happens slowly.
So here I was wondering what the point of talking to Aria was. Then THAT happened!
Wow is Aria playing mind games on another level.
Then there was that line about not even saying goodbye when they all leave shy.
Now that stung, and it hasn't even, and might not even happen.
I wonder if Aria and the other sirens have some kind of super strength or is she just perpetually mad at reality in general and that makes her strong.
Just realised that the whole 'Aria seducing multiple people at a time' might be connected to the sirens are hard to get over thing, and Aria hates everyone thing. So a bunch of people have sex with her, she leaves them and she gets the satisfaction of knowing that they are hurt by this. That's super sadistic.
Maybe there is a support group out there for all people who have fallen for Aria?
10244763
Aria is quite the bitch. Whether she was telling the truth or making it up, clearly she's trying to get under their skin, and it's working. As for her having super strength, I honestly always liked the idea that the sirens are freakishly strong, but more likely with the loss of their powers she's just regular strong.
Lol a support group of any kind? In this universe??? Blasphemy.
I actually can't find anything on google about what language or culture this might be inspired by.
10470583
That's because I made it up. "Their culture" refers to the siren culture, and I don't know why that would be based on anything you can find via Google lol
Sunset isn't either and you treated her like a friend til she broke up with Fluttershy.
Good to know she's accepting this change.
So, Sonata is like the escape goat?
Fluttershy*
Had a feeling she wouldn't agree with this.
Still hard to believe in my eyes.
I don't think Sunset is at fault and that it might be because of the band.
I think she is.
Poor Rarity. 'Shy and everything else changing so much has got to be quite the shocker for her.
Good on Rainbow for not completely losing it when talking to Aria and Sonata.
Speaking of Aria, man it's hard to tell if a single statement she's made is a truth.
Rarity's reaction to seeing Fluttershy. :D
aw yeah, that's the good stuff :)
And actually, Fluttershy has a very good point when she says they were a threat. She really isn't stupid at all.
11663487
Honestly, I would not have guessed we'd travelled into OTP territory. :O Not a bad ship, anyway!