Chapter 3
The first stop in their visit to the mall was a store specialized in counterculture-related clothing and accessories, a mandatory stop for those interested in all things goth, rock or punk. Sunset glanced in Aria’s general direction, hoping to see if she had raised her interest, but she had the same “dead inside” look she maintained since the moment they met.
“Can’t be as bad as all the other places we passed by on the way here.” Aria remarked – it was actually the nicest thing Sunset had heard her say all day, so she took it as a good sign. “What are we doing here?”
“You seem like the kind of person that hates everything mainstream, so I thought you’d be interested in a place like this.”
“I don’t hate everything mainstream. But when everybody is talking about the same thing you eventually get sick of it and just want to hear about anything else.” Aria picked up a pair of long wristbands covered in spikes. “This looks cool, though.”
“I bet you wouldn’t pull me by the wrist if I wore those.” Sonata commented.
“No, then I would pull you by the ear.”
“And I would pull you back by the pigtails.”
“Yeah? Well, then I—”
“Sunset, check this out.” Adagio called, saving the newest Dazzling from having to deal with the bickering of the other two; she was holding a leather vest with golden spikes on the lapels. “This is just your size. Why don’t you try it on?”
“How do you know my size?”
“I have a good eye. Come on, try it!”
Shrugging, Sunset Shimmer did as she was told and handed her jacket to the leader of the group, picking up the vest in return. True to Adagio’s word, that vest fit her like a glove.
“Huh, I kind of like it!”
“Hm…” Adagio squinted while rubbing her chin with the side of her index finger. “No, it doesn’t work. I mean, it looks good on you, but it doesn’t work with the rest of the outfit. Your look will need a total makeover if you want to pull off that vest.”
“Well, what do you suggest?” She took off the vest so she could put her jacket back on.
“I have something in mind, but we most definitely won’t find it here.” She turned to look at the other two, whose argument had died down but they were still glaring at each other with gritted teeth. “Aria!”
“What?”
Adagio approached the other two and placed the vest on Aria’s arm. “We’re buying this.” She reached into a shelf to retrieve a studded leather belt. “This too.” She left them for a moment, returning soon after with a pair of black strapped boots. “And also these.”
“You know my shoe size too?” Sunset Shimmer asked.
“Like I said, a very good eye.” Adagio winked at her before also placing the boots on the purple-haired girl’s arms.
“I’m not a shopping cart, you know!” Aria complained.
“Sunset and I are leaving, can you handle the payment?”
Aria added the spiked wristbands to the pile. “Sure, whatever.”
Hooking her arm around the pony girl’s, the orange-haired siren led her out of the store with Sonata right behind them.
“Cash or credit?” The goth girl with black and teal hair standing behind the counter asked as Aria dumped everything in front of her.
Aria grinned. “Neither. Aaaaaah~ aaah~ aaah~! Aaaaaah~ aaah~!”
Their next stop was a large store that specialized in trendy and colorful clothing. Sonata immediately fell in love with it, rushing inside immediately and out of Adagio’s and Sunset’s sight.
“I thought she would like it.” Sunset Shimmer commented, trying to keep her eye on the bouncing blue ponytail beyond a sea of clothing racks.
“I think we can find what I’m looking for here.” Adagio, still with her arm hooked around Sunset’s, led her deeper inside.
The siren made the pony try on all kinds of tops: tank tops, halter tops, crop tops, one shoulder tops, cape tops, tube tops… They all looked acceptable on her in their own merits, but none of them embodied the look she had envisioned for Sunset when she tried on the leather vest. She was about to call it quits and move on to the next store when Sonata finally came back; on one hand she carried a grey pajama set with small fishes printed all over it – all of them either cyan, magenta or yellow – and on the other hand she carried an orange off-the-shoulders top.
“Adagio, check this out: I found something that is the exact same color as your hair!” Sonata announced, showing Adagio the top.
“Yes, this is perfect!” Adagio grabbed the top and handed it to Sunset, pushing her back into the fitting room.
When Sunset Shimmer stepped back outside, she struck a pose with one hand on her hip and the other behind her head.
“How do I look?”
“Like one of us already.” Adagio crossed her arms and smiled, proud of how well the outfit she had envisioned for their new member was coming together.
After changing back into her simple purple t-shirt and handing the top back to Sonata so she could hold onto it until they were ready to leave, she turned back to her friend with massive hair.
“What next? Jeans? Jeans go with everything.”
“No, and that is exactly why; jeans go with everything, they don’t stand out and it will ruin the new look I’m putting together for you. Luckily, I already came across the final piece of this stunning puzzle.” Adagio retrieved a purple wrap skirt held in place by black straps that she had picked up a few minutes prior and left it on the bench she sat on while waiting for Sunset to change. “Trust me, when you’re wearing the full set you will look absolutely ravishing.”
“Wait, I left my wallet in the bus!” Said Sonata as Adagio handed her the skirt.
“Just text Aria, she’ll take care of it.” She turned to address Sunset. “Come on, there are places to go and not enough time left in the day!”
“So uh, I’ve been thinking…” Sunset said as they left the store. “I noticed that the three of you have matching necklaces. I, um… I think those are pretty, so… Will I get a matching necklace too?”
Adagio lifted the red gemstone hanging from her neck with the palm of her hand to look directly at it. Sunset didn’t notice, but there was a very faint red light pulsating in the center like a beating heart. Adagio looked confused for a second, but her eyes widened once realization struck her. A smile appeared in the corner of her mouth – she knew what that glow meant, and it filled her with delight; she couldn’t wait to see how things would play out in the next few days. Squeezing the gem in her hand, she turned to look back at her companion.
“These necklaces aren’t just accessories, they have a… special meaning. I don’t know if you’re ready to know the story behind them yet.”
“Oh, I… I see. I’m, sorry, I didn’t—”
The siren placed her free hand under the girl’s chin, looking deeply into her eyes.
“I’ve known those two longer than we’ve known you and we’ve been through a lot together, even if we don’t exactly get along all the time. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t as much of a Dazzling as Aria or Sonata. And who knows?” Adagio winked. “Maybe someday you’ll get a necklace of your own, too.”
Sunset Shimmer, feeling reassured, returned the smile.
Mind controlling a large group of people in a massive store required a lot more magical power than they had available in comparison to mind controlling two people in the principal’s office back in Canterlot High, so Aria and Sonata cast the ambition spell to make customers argue with each other over articles of clothing, then using the confusion as a distraction to hypnotize the cashier, allowing them to walk away with their “purchases” without having to fork over a single dime for them. The four of them regrouped in the food court, where they continued to bond over fast food – Aria ate a plain cheeseburger with fries and Sonata bought tacos while Sunset and Adagio had a portion of chicken nuggets each; they paid actual money for the food, first because Sunset was there, second because if they bewitched the entire food court things would escalate pretty quickly and they wouldn’t be able to eat in peace, and third because they learned the hard way that thralls were terrible cooks.
“So, uh…” Sunset started, looking down at her nugget while dipping it in ketchup. “How was your day?”
“You were with us the entire time, you know how it was!” Sonata replied.
“She’s indirectly asking if we enjoyed this trip to the mall she took us in, you nitwit.” Aria scolded her.
“Ohhh, that’s what you meant!” It took a second for the name-calling to sink in. “Hey, who you calling a nitwit?”
“Girls please.” Adagio immediately put a stop to the argument before it got out of control. “I for one think it was delightful. Thank you for showing us around this place, we’ll definitely come around more often.”
“It’s not the worst place I’ve ever been in, I guess.” Aria said.
“Will you join us next time we come here?” Sonata asked.
“If you girls want to bring me along, I’d be happy to.”
“Oh my, look at the time.” Adagio said, looking down at her phone. “We should get going. Don’t want to undersleep on the night before the first round, do we?”
The Dazzlings finished eating before heading down to the parking lot and back to their minibus.
“So where do you live, Sunset? I’ll drop you off.”
Sunset’s blood ran cold; she did not want anyone to know about her living conditions, so she had to come up with an excuse on the fly.
“Oh, um, I… There’s a… termite infestation. Pest control is on the case, but I can’t come back for a while.”
“I see. Where are you staying then?”
“Ummm… That was today, actually. I was going to look for a cheap hotel or something, but it completely slipped my mind. Can I spend the night at your place? Just for tonight?”
“We already are at our place, actually.”
Sunset looked out of the window – they were still in the parking lot. After a moment she finally understood what Adagio meant.
“You live in the minibus?”
“We live on the road, never spending too much time in one place. We’ve been in this city for a couple of weeks now, and that’s the longest stop we’ve made in a long while.”
“Then why are you going to school? Isn’t that the opposite of living freely?”
“We felt… a need.”
Sunset Shimmer looked over her shoulder; the back of the bus had a single bed that was already occupied by Sonata – who had already changed into her new PJs – and a single couch where Aria was lying down while scrolling through her phone.
“And where do you sleep?”
“We take turns; one night I sleep on the bed, the next night I sleep on the couch, and tonight…” Adagio pointed her index finger at the driver’s seat, then moved it to point at the passenger’s seat. “I sleep here.”
“Oh… I guess I’m on the way, huh?”
“We can share if you want. It will be a tight fit, but I’m sure if we hug each other really tight…” Adagio winked at Sunset, causing the newest Dazzling to blush, which in turn caused the siren chuckled. “I’m just kidding. There has to be a hotel around here somewhere.”
Fortunately Adagio was right and they found one in a matter of minutes.
“I’ll go check if they have a room available.” She said after parking. Leaving Sunset and the others in the bus, she entered the building. After receiving confirmation that they had rooms available, she hypnotized the receptionist and made her hand over a key. Returning to the bus, she leaned on Sunset’s window. “Good news is, they still had a room.”
“Dibs!” Aria said.
“Bad news is, they only have two beds. Two of us will have to stay behind.”
“I already called dibs.” Aria said again to make sure she had been heard, reaching for a drawer under the bed where they all kept their pajamas.
No reply came from Sonata, who was already sound asleep.
“It’s ok, I can take the couch.” The unicorn said with a smile.
“Trust me, you don’t want that.” The purple siren advised. “Sleeping on the carpet is better than this bed of nails.”
“I said I was joking before, but the offer still stands.” Adagio spoke in a seductive tone. “We can share.”
Sunset Shimmer’s blush returned.
When she accepted the offer, she expected Adagio to say something flirty before revealing it was all a joke again. What she didn’t expect was for Adagio to let her borrow one of her nightgowns before leading her back to the hotel. The orange-haired girl was the first to use the shower, stepping out wearing her violet-colored nightgown. Aria was second, whose sleepwear was just a cream-colored t-shirt long enough to cover her thighs – she simply jumped in bed with a towel wrapped around her still wet hair.
“I actually want to sleep tonight.” She warned. “So if you two do something funny I’ll start throwing things.”
Sunset couldn’t blush any harder, completely aware of what kind of “something funny” Aria was referring to.
“I… Uh… I’m not… I mean, we’re not…” Without finishing any of the sentences she started, Sunset Shimmer rushed to the bathroom so she could take a shower.
“I actually changed my mind.” Aria said with a mischievous smirk. “I like having her around, she’s fun to tease – she’s like Sonata before she started fighting back.” She turned to look at Adagio, who was staring at the bathroom door with a serious look on her face. “What’s wrong?”
“Have you checked your gemstone recently?” She asked.
“Nope.” Aria reached into her shirt and pulled out her necklace. “I don’t see any—” She immediately went silent when she saw the same faint pulsating glow inside the gem. “What the…?!”
“Exactly.”
“How is this possible? This hasn’t happened since we left Equestria. Not that we came across many suitable humans, but not even that girl from Switzerland elicited a reaction from them. Why her?”
“Like you said, this hasn’t happened since our banishment.” Adagio tapped her gemstone with the tip of her finger. “Maybe there is more to Sunset Shimmer than meets the eye.”
“You think she’s…?”
“It’s a possibility.”
“Is this why you’re sharing a bed with her? What do you expect to find out?”
“I want to examine the magical energy emanating from her; if it’s just lingering from whatever artifact she had contact with, it will be flowing constantly regardless of state of consciousness. But if her body is the actual source, then her aura will diminish as she sleeps – and if that’s the case, we’ll have our answer.”
“Right, I see it now.” Aria took off the towel wrapped around her still damp hair and tossed in the corner of the room before wrapping the blanket around her body. “I any case, I meant it when I said I want to sleep. Don’t ‘inspect’ her too closely.”
“Oh, if I do in fact decide to ‘inspect’ her, I’ll make it extra loud just to spite you.”
They looked into each other’s eyes for a moment until Aria sighed in defeat and rested her head on the pillow. “Teasing you is not fun.”
“I taught you everything you know, you can’t use my tricks against me.”
When Sunset Shimmer stepped out of the shower, Adagio was already waiting for her in bed – unlike Aria, neither of them washed their hair that night; they could just go to sleep without any worries.
Sunset lied down with her back turned to Adagio who, in order to keep the façade of a flirty temptress, wrapped her arms around the girl’s midriff and pulled her close. The pony gasped; she had never shared a bed with someone before, not even back when she was dating Flash Sentry, and the closest she had gotten to spooning someone were the times when she was much younger and fell asleep in Princess Celestia’s hooves during their late night study sessions. The embarrassment she felt when Adagio’s body connected with hers was soon overwhelmed by homesickness, but something about the girl behind her helped mitigate the anguish – something about Adagio reminded Sunset of Equestria.
“Adagio?” She called.
“Hm?” Adagio replied, pretending to be on the verge of sleep.
“This was the best day of my life. Thank you.”
It was her turn to be caught by surprise.
“I… You’re welcome.”
It didn’t take long for Sunset to drift off to sleep. Adagio fell asleep soon after, her suspicions confirmed: the girl’s magical aura diminished while she was unconscious – she was definitely the source. But was she the only one? After all, the Rainbooms were just as immune to their magic as she was. Deciding to leave the speculation for the following day, she closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.
The next morning Sonata was brought into the room so she wouldn’t have to go to school without a shower. After the three original Dazzlings were finished, it was Sunset Shimmer’s turn. Before she could go into the bathroom, however, Adagio handed her a shopping bag from one of the stores they visited the day prior.
“Don’t forget, this is the day you will introduce your new look to the world.” She said.
“Don’t worry, I didn’t forget.” Sunset replied.
After a quick shower, she stepped out of the bathroom wearing her recently-purchased clothing: the black boots, the purple skirt, the studded belt, the orange top and the leather vest with golden spikes. Sonata gasped in joy, Aria’s eyes widened just a little and Adagio smiled.
“Does it look good on me?” She mimicked the same pose from the day prior, with one hand on her hip and the other behind her head.
Sonata furiously nodded while Aria shrugged before showing a faint smile and giving her a thumbs up.
“You look astonishing, Sunset Shimmer.” Adagio praised, circling the girl to take a better look at the outfit she crafted. “Still the same you, but with a nice twist.”
“Let’s go, let’s go, we have to show her new look to everybody!” Sonata urged them.
“Uh, everybody?” Suddenly the pony girl felt her newfound confidence slowly drain from her body.
“But of course!” Adagio said, once again standing behind her with her hands on her shoulders. “You have to show those people that, no matter how hard they try to knock you down, you’ll get back up again, stronger than before. Like a phoenix!”
“Like a phoenix, huh?” Sunset smiled, feeling reassured once again.
Once all four of them were inside the bus, Adagio drove them back to CHS. Students still glared at Sunset, but she didn’t let it get to her; instead she chose to focus on the ones that looked mesmerized by her new style, showing that no matter how much they wanted her to feel miserable, as long as she had friends to lean on, she wouldn’t stay down for long. She spent the rest of the school day filled with confidence and with a spring in her step. After classes were over for the day, all students that had signed up for the battle of the bands assembled in the gymnasium.
“Welcome to the first ever Canterlot High School Battle of the Bands!” Principal Celestia announced over the microphone, standing on top of a stage with Vice Principal. Students dispersed around the room turned to pay attention. “I believe I speak for everyone when I say it is by far the greatest thing we have ever done here at this school.” That statement was met with cheering from the crowd. “We are so glad our three newest students encouraged us to turn this event into something extra exciting.” She waved her hand in the general direction of the four Dazzlings, who reveled in the attention.
“But, as this is now a competition, we can only choose one winner.” Vice Principal Luna added as the microphone was passed on to her. “Who is it going to be?” The cheering died down as members of different bands began to argue with each other. While that was happening, the six members of the Rainbooms finally arrived.
“Today will be focused on the auditions, a.k.a. the first elimination round.” Celestia, once again in possession of the mic, explained. “Sixteen bands will be selected to take place in the first round of battle of the bands, which will be open to the public starting tomorrow.”
“Bring your A-game, because the both of us will be the judges.” Luna warned, taking the microphone from her sister’s hand. “And we will not be merciful.”
Leaving the stage and moving to their spots on the judges’ desk, Luna and Celestia began calling each musical group one by one so they could showcase their talent and hopefully earn a spot in the competition. Most of the presentations ranged from cringeworthy to ear-splitting – the ambition spell cast by the sirens was so effective that even students with no musical talent whatsoever managed to convince the principal to let them participate.
Since the only light sources in the gym were the spotlights focused on the stage, no one could see the Dazzlings feasting on the negative energy flowing freely, not even Sunset who was right next to them.
Due to the low quality of the bands playing, most students decided to leave and roam the hallways; it would take a while for their turn to play and the principal would announce every time a new band took the stage – there was no reason to wait around and get a headache from listening to bad performances.
Nature’s call forced Sunset Shimmer to leave halfway through the performance of her former lackeys, Snips and Snails. After washing her hands she took a moment to adjust her new looks in front of a mirror; she got a little too into it and started doing poses to see which one would better suit her new style, causing her to miss the performance of the Rainbooms and not witness how hard they were being sabotaged not only by other bands – Adagio’s twisting of Twilight’s words the day prior managed to turn the entire school against them in particular – but by each other as well, accidentally as it may have been.
When she finally stepped out of the bathroom she saw the five original band members arguing amongst themselves while the lead guitarist of the Flash Drive band said some very unkind things to Twilight Sparkle. Her bandmates were too distracted fighting each other to see how distressed the princess looked, so Sunset Shimmer decided to intervene.
“Alright, that’s enough.” She said, pushing Flash Sentry against the locker so she could stand between him and Twilight. “You got whatever that was out of your chest, now take a hike.”
“I bet you have no idea what you’re even doing!” He accused as he walked away with his two bandmates.
“I said take a hike!” She turned to look at the other pony girl with compassion in her eyes. “You ok, Twilight?”
She just nodded, drying her tears with the back of her hand. “I thought him and I were friends…”
Sunset wrapped an arm around Twilight’s shoulders, leading her away from the bickering of her friends so they could talk in a quieter place. She opened her locker and retrieved a box of tissues that she offered to the dark-haired girl.
“Th-Thank you.” She muttered while drying the tears in the corner of her eyes.
“Competition brings out the worst in some people, and they just go too far when they want to win.”
“This is all the sirens’ fault!”
“Oh come on Twilight, they—”
“Have you talked to them like you said you would?”
“Well, I was waiting for the right opportunity to—”
“I’m telling you, Sunset, they’re evil. If you truly believe you can get them to stop then you have to do it soon, or else we’ll stop them the same way we stopped you!”
Sunset Shimmer took a step back with a hand on her chest, taken aback by the sudden hostility from the only Rainboom she felt she could trust. Finally realizing what she just said, Twilight quickly backtracked:
“I-I-I’m sorry, Sunset, I didn’t mean to—”
“No, don’t worry about it.” Sunset interrupted. “Your friends are at each other’s throats, the guy you had a crush on just said some nasty things to you… I can see why you’d say that, you’re definitely not in your right mind.” Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted once again. “However I will not act like what you just said wasn’t hurtful. You want me to talk to them about your stupid theory? Fine! But royalty or not, I will not tolerate anyone threatening me or my friends.”
The Rainbooms finally stopped fighting and rushed to Twilight’s aid, standing between the two of them and glaring daggers at her.
“Don’t mess with our friend!” Rainbow Dash said.
“As long as you don’t mess with mine.” She looked over Dash’s shoulder to address Twilight one more time. “I’ll let it slide this time.” Sunset then turned around to walk away. “But if it happens again, I’ll pay you back in kind.”
She walked back to the gymnasium with her hands in the pockets of her leather vests. Her bandmates were waiting for her just outside with Sonata holding Sunset’s guitar in her hands.
“There you are!” Adagio said. “Trixie’s band just took the stage. We’re supposed to go in after them.”
“Thanks.” She said as Sonata handed her the orange and white electric guitar.
“You look a little down.” Aria noted, causing a faint smile to appear in Sunset’s features.
“Aria, you’re worried about me?” She asked. “That’s a little unusual. But I’m happy to know that you care.”
“Wh-Whatever!” She angrily said, crossing her arms and looking away while trying to hide her reddened cheeks behind her bangs, causing Sonata and Sunset to giggle in unison.
“Looks like she’s just as good at teasing as you are.” Adagio pointed out.
The two laughing girls went ahead, leaving the two oldest girls of the group behind.
“All of… that aside, what’s the plan for our performances? Are going to cast any spell?”
“For now, let’s just play along.” Adagio explained. “When we make it to the finals we’ll play before a much bigger crowd, it’s best to save the little magic we have left until then, and then go all out.”
“What about Sunset’s magic? And the Rainblossoms’, for that matter?”
“We’ll deal with the Rainbooms in due time. As for Sunset…” She looked down at her gemstone once again. “…I think there’s been a change of plans.”
“Remember that talk we had about not getting too attached? Because you’re doing the exact opposite of that, in case you didn’t notice.”
“It’s not me, it’s our magic.” She pointed at Aria’s gem. “Just a friendly reminder that yours is doing the same thing.”
“Can’t we just, I don’t know, ignore it?”
“You should know by now that ancient magic can’t be ‘ignored’ – it has a will of its own, we just mold it in ways that best suit our needs. If it’s acting up, there’s a reason for it.”
They looked into each other’s eyes for a moment until Aria sighed and uncrossed her arms.
“Whatever. You’re the boss, unfortunately.” Placing her hands on her hips, she followed the other two into the gymnasium. “But if this comes back to bite us, it’s all on you.”
“It won’t. Trust me.”
With that discussion over, the four of them walked on stage as soon as Trixie and her bandmates left. With the three sirens singing together on the center stage and Sunset a little to the side playing her guitar, their first performance started.
“Oh whoa oh~! Oh whoa oh~! You didn’t know that you fell~! Oh whoa oh~! Oh whoa oh~!”
“Now that you’re under our spell.”
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Ah, so Sunset for 4th Siren?
So Adagio is gonna inspire two songs for sunset, nice
Why do I have the feeling that Sunset will not talk to the Dazzlings about magic until they are in the Final round?
Anyway, great chapter as always
I am hoping Sunset will redeem them, in spite of the 7 doing everything in their power to make the sirens hate and fear the world
Do I smell some SunDagio in the wind?
And Twi, hooves do not go in mouths.
Honestly, I’d be fine with Sunset either reining the sirens in, or joining them in full knowledge given her apparent lack of an alternative support system. I’m not saying Twilight and the Humane Five deserve a bad end, mind you. Their actions here are not unreasonable. But if they’re not gonna properly work the friendship angle, then Sunset is allowed to move on to other ventures and relationships. Also Sundagio is one of the better ships of the fandom, so that’s automatically a vote towards team Dazzling. Excellent chapter!
Hey in the song “under our spell” there is a pretty sick guitar riff in the song, I’m just imagining Sunset really rocking out behind the sirens as they play. (Where they get the rest of the instruments is anyone guess.)
10208126
they had been asked by an alien princess that had just granted them magic powers. They'd also seen what happened if it was abused. They may not have felt they had a choice
10210984
Was originally going to post the music videos, but it quickly became apparent that the latter was the sort of thing for which viewer discretion would be advised. So, just the music with lyrics.
Anyway, was I right on both counts? The first I'mm confident I was, but for the second it was just the first to come to mind.
I wonder if Sunset might have to choose between Twilight or the Sirens, if the latter remain evil.
10211276
Actually, I was thinking of songs that sunset sings. Her part in the Rainbow Rocks finale and the separate song “My past is Not Today”.
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Oh, okay. That was kinda my first thought, but I don't know the words to that first song, and I'd forgotten until just now that 'like a phoenix' is an actual part of the song. The only phoenix-like part of the song I remembered was the symbolic imagery at the end of the video, so it didn't make sense to me at the time for that to be it. Thus I looked elsewhere.
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Five. Sunset is on their side, and for all that she keeps on saying they're evil, Twilight isn't so much against them as she is pro-world saving. The five have their unresolved issues with Sunset ratcheting things up, Twilight has her feelings toward Sunset ratcheting things down. She wants to be on the same side as Sunset, and she's trying to be nice to Sunset. Aside from her slip up here, she's succeeding on the second part.
Because of said-slip up, she's more likely to be apologetic than confrontational.
Then there's the fact she went from this:
to this:
in a very short time.
If Sunset talks the sirens into abandoning their evil scheme, Twilight's already said she's ok with that outcome. She's only planning on unleashing the weaponized rainbows if, as she fears, Sunset doesn't get the sirens to change their ways.
As the only non-Dazzling who's friendly with and welcoming to Sunset, she's the only one giving any of the four a reason to choose Team Good. For Sunset, that's pretty straight forward, for the Dazzlings it's a bii more indirect, to wit: Sunset is the best indication the Dazzlings have of what they'd be facing if they weren't using their magic to control people. Without Twilight, it would look like the choice was "Keep doing what we're doing, or have the entire world against us." With Twilight, it's more like, "Keep doing what we're doing, or have a real friend outside the four of us."
Twilight's not in the same pigeon hole as the five. She's like Sunset: part of the band, but not a member of the core group.
Aaaah! I just found this story and read it through. I'm absolutely loving it! I relate to this version of the story so much right now haha, and this dynamic between Sunset and the Dazzlines, while the intentions are grim from what I've seen thus far, the actual interactions are adorable and feel like such a dream come true for Sunset. I know you said some kinda self-deprecating stuff at the beginning of your previous entry for this story, but I think you've been doing really well with it. I for once am looking forward to more, and don't worry - I haven't forgotten that it's a part of the Slice of Life category. ^u^ I do understand feeling that kind of pressure, but I think you should learn to believe in yourself more <3 Or at least be nicer to yourself, since even that much can be challenging.
It's good that Dagi was the big spoon, if she was the little spoon Sunny would have suffocated in her hair.
I love this idea so much. Sunsets good and is being good. The rainbooms failed on their promise but are the “real good”. Sunset back up her friend? Twisting the ironic black and white of what FIM means. Tragic and interesting idea.
A bit too telly in the bathroom scene. Try going into a character's thoughts over their present circumstances if the outside world isn't important, it's a good way to fill a little of the empty space without being awkward.
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Friendship lesson; friends are friends.