Setting the Stage
Chapter XI: Setting the Stage
“Sweetheart. What in the sam hell are ya talking about?” Applejack asks me with a confused look on her face, clearly wondering what I meant. The sound of birds chirping accompanies the orange light of the dawn. Honestly, I feel a little bad for waking everyone up so early to meet at Garden Hooves Park, but at least Sunset supports this decision. Everyone is here except for Rainbow Dash… The last time any of us heard from her was back at the party at my music studio a couple weeks ago. Well, except for Fluttershy. She’s apparently still in touch with Dash and she tells us she is fine, but I still worry about her…
“I’ll tell you more once Dash gets here, but just know that Sunset and I will be gone for a little while,” I respond with a calm voice, knowing that Applejack is probably a little grumpy that she doesn’t know what is going on. Fluttershy said that Rainbow Dash would be here soon… By all means, I don’t want to push Dash if she is going through a rough time, but I don’t know how much longer I can prolong this.
“You can’t just expect me to wait quietly when ya say you’re leaving. I mean, it’s fine to go on a trip, but from the tone of your voice, this sounds serious. What is going on?” Applejack asks again, her arms crossed. Rarity gently brings her hand to Applejack’s chin, shushing her lover.
“Darling. I’m sure they have their reasons. We should hear them out at their own pace,” Rarity says quietly in an attempt to persuade the cowgirl. For now, Applejack seems to slow down, shaking her head.
“If something bad is going on, I really want to know about it here and now.” Applejack sits down on a bench that is pretty much in the center of the park. Everyone else opts to stand however.
“I don’t think it sounds bad~ A trip would be a lot of fun,” Pinkie Pie tells our friend with a bright smile, bouncing in place. “Every time I travel back home to the rock farm, I have such a blast! Traveling gives a lot of opportunities for adventure after all.” Without saying another word, Pinkie Pie pulls out a gummy shaped like a car from her hair, promptly driving it in the middle of the air before throwing it into her mouth. First off, how? Secondly, do I even want to know…? Wouldn’t the car get stuck in her hair? I… Wha…
“Well, it really depends on the context of the trip,” Fluttershy responds with a thoughtful expression, bringing her index finger to her chin. “If the trip is to go visit an ill family member, then you probably wouldn’t have a lot of time to enjoy the scenery, huh?”
Sunset smiles and nods at Fluttershy’s statement, leaning against me slightly. “Yeah, that would be sad. There are so many places in this world that I would like to go to. Places that have those breathtaking views.” Without wasting a second, Sunset presses her lips against my cheek, giggling to herself. “Besides this one right beside me~” Honestly, why am I surprised? She does this sort of thing all the time. If anything, I should be used to this, but the unprompted flattery still makes me blush.
“Actually, I’d argue that there’s only one real breathtaking view on this planet,” Twilight pitches in, putting her phone back into her pocket. “That one being the view from the bottom of the ocean~” After a moment of silence, Fluttershy begins to laugh, making me feel surprised. It’s not often that Fluttershy full on laughs at a joke. She usually just giggles.
“Because there’s no oxygen under the ocean?” Fluttershy asks Twilight in between laughs, making the scientist join in the laughter. Twilight seems happy that at least someone found her joke funny. Sunset also giggles at the joke, but for me? I… honestly find it a little depressing to think about. When I was a siren, I didn’t need to breathe outside of the water, so now that I can’t do that, it makes me feel a little nostalgic.
“Wouldn’t that also qualify outer space though?” Pinkie asks quietly, looking up at the sky.
“Notice how she said ‘on this planet,’” Sunset responds with a wink, looking up at the sky as well. “If you’re in space, you wouldn’t be on this planet.” Sunset’s quick wit has always made me feel a little jealous. I have a pretty quick mind to begin with, but Sunset almost seems a step ahead of me at some points. Though, there’s not much reason to be jealous of her now since we’re on the same side. Tilting my head over, I gently nuzzle Sunset’s cheek in response to her flirtatious advance earlier. A bright smile appears on her lips, accompanying a blush that only adds to her cuteness.
Just as it starts to get quiet between us, Pinkie Pie perks up with her eyes aimed towards the entrance to the park. “Hey! There’s Rainbow Dash! HI, RAINBOW DASH!” Pinkie yells with an enthusiastic wave. Turning my gaze to where Pinkie is looking, I see Rainbow Dash walking down the sidewalk slowly. Instead of her usual cocky demeanor, Dash doesn’t even acknowledge Pinkie’s yell. Instead, Dash just looks down towards the ground, wearing only a hoodie and some jeans. By the time Dash gets to us, she pulls out her earbuds and pushes them into her pocket, presumably where her phone is.
“Hey, guys. Sorry I’m late,” Dash tells us with a deflated tone, barely any spark of emotion in her voice. Ever since she stormed out of my studio, I knew something was wrong, but she never told us what it is that is bothering her. Looking up at me, Dash makes eye contact with me, only further cementing the fact that she isn’t going to smile. “What’s going on, Dagi? You asked for us to meet because you had something to tell us.” Dash simply puts her hands into her hoodie’s pockets, seemingly unenthusiastic about this meeting. Applejack seems to notice this as well. Her eyebrow raises to Dash’s off putting behavior. I’m glad I’m not the only one who sees this.
“Rainbow, are ya doing alright? We haven’t seen ya in a couple weeks and now you’re acting like-” Before Applejack can finish her sentence, Dash shoots her a glare without any hint of fear. Only a withdrawn stare comes from her, clearly not in the mood to talk.
“Not now, Applejack. Not now,” Dash mentions quietly, turning her gaze back to me. Despite her worrisome expression, Applejack obliges by Rainbow Dash’s request. Rarity opens her mouth for a second before Applejack grabs her hand, shaking her head gently. If Applejack had no luck getting Dash to talk, I doubt I would either… What is going on with her exactly?
“Alright. Now that everyone is here, Sunset and I have something to say,” I state after clearing my throat, breaking myself from Sunset’s side. My throat threatens to form a lump as everyone looks towards me with curious eyes. Honestly, I don’t know how I am going to approach this subject. It took them a long time to accept me, so how would they react to this? Technically, I should have more faith in my friends, but I don’t know what they will think of me trying to find them…
“So, I just want to say thank you to all of you for helping my fiancée apologize to mostly everyone from Canterlot High. It was a big step for her. I think the last month has been a lot of big steps for her, honestly,” Sunset tells our friends with a big smile, slightly bowing her head before taking my hand in hers. “The only people we couldn’t get in touch with were people out of town, so we should feel proud of how far we have come. That’s kind of why we wanted to talk to you today. We have one more big step we need to take before we get married~” Sunset turns her body to me, pressing her lips against my cheek. A small wink tells me that it is my turn to explain ourselves. Here we go…
“I should be happy with the amount of people I’ve apologized to, but I’m not. That’s simply because there are a couple of people I hurt more than everyone else.” Taking a deep breath, I can feel my fingers tremble slightly. It took them forever to forgive me. I just hope they don’t judge me for this decision… The whole reason I’m doing this is to prove I have changed. To prove that demon wrong. I’m not the same power-hungry siren as before… “For me to believe I’ve changed fully, I need to apologize to… Aria and Sonata.” Stopping myself, I let a small moment of silence pass us by. Nearly everyone’s eyes widen to my statement with Rarity looking the most surprised. Rainbow Dash’s expression barely changes at all. Pinkie Pie’s mouth opens with a curious expression before Applejack covers her mouth.
“Let her finish her statement, Sugarcube. We should hear her out before asking questions,” the cowgirl tells Pinkie Pie with a more calm tone than I expected. Nodding to Applejack, I take a small breath, parting my lips again.
“I’m sure you all have some questions, but let me explain so that you don’t have to waste your breath. Aria and Sonata were… my best friends. I wouldn’t have admitted it back then, but they were the closest thing I had to family. Ever since I was a child…” Lowering my gaze towards the sidewalk, I can’t help but sigh to myself. Memories of how I treated the two of them flood my mind, making me feel ashamed of myself. “I was not the best person to them. I treated them like filth and often talked down to them to keep them under my control. I did that for centuries… The last thing I want to do before I marry Sunset is to apologize to them. In no way will it make up for what I did to them, but… maybe it can help them heal.”
Looking up at my friends, I can see that their wide stares are now replaced with looks of confusion and curiosity. “We can answer any questions you have now,” Sunset tells them with a small nod, tightening her grip on my hand. That small gesture easily reassures me that she’s here for me, no matter what.
Rarity looks at everyone to make sure she can talk first, clearing her throat. “As admirable as that is, I am curious to know how you will find them. Do you know where they are? Do you know how you would get to them, considering you only have a motorcycle at your disposal?” Rarity’s question makes me feel taken aback. That is not the type of question I was expecting. If anything, I was expecting more judgment or ridicule. I guess I should not have worried so much over their reactions.
“Honestly, that is not what I was expecting you to say, but those are good questions. Currently, I do not know where they are, but I do have some old postcards from them that I was hoping would be of use. It’s a long shot, but yeah.” Looking towards Sunset, she gives me another nod of encouragement. “In terms of travel, we were thinking of renting a car if we actually track them down. It’s not exactly the most favorable outcome, but-”
“Tell me about your magical abilities again,” Twilight’s voice speaks up, interrupting me. Everyone looks at the nerdy woman, her hand holding onto her chin as her eyes look towards the ground. Seeing her so deep in thought makes me feel oddly worried, wondering what she could be thinking about. “I mean your old magic. Obviously you’re just a mortal now, but when it comes to your old magical abilities, was there any way you could contact them?”
“So, like a magical text message,” Rainbow Dash responds to Twilight with a quiet tone to her voice. Surprisingly, Twilight shakes her head at Dash's statement.
“I was meaning something like a radar signal of some kind. Something that would tell Adagio where they are in case they split up. A text message wouldn’t lead us to them.” A signal? Us? Where exactly is Twilight going with this?
“Actually, yeah. If we were separated, there was a spell I could use to tell where they were. But my magic is long gone. Also, what do you mean by us?” Twilight doesn’t answer my question immediately after, opting to walk a little bit away from the group. Her actions do nothing but make me feel more antsy… What are you thinking about, Twi?
“Do you still have the pieces of your gem?” she asks me quietly, looking down at the grass. That same thoughtful look is stuck to her face… Clearly she has an idea, but what it is exactly remains a mystery. The only hint I have alludes to my previous magical capabilities…
“Yes, I do. Why are you asking this, Twilight?” The tone of my question is probably more rude than I intended it to be, but it is so nerve wracking to not know what she is thinking about.
“I was thinking that maybe we could use that spell… It’s only a small chance, but if I could put your gem back together momentarily, then maybe it could work.” Twilight’s statement leave a chilling silence in the air. Rarity opens her mouth with a look of opposition in her eyes.
“Are we sure that’s the best idea? Darling, I know you weren’t there when Adagio had her magic, but it wasn’t exactly the most pleasant evening,” Rarity tells Twilight in an attempt to persuade her to change her mind. Honestly, I can’t blame her…
“Rares, I know that it wasn’t fun back then, but that was years ago. Three and a half to be exact,” Applejack interjects, standing up from the bench. Her eyes look towards me with an odd sense of understanding in them. Is she… agreeing with Twilight? I thought Applejack would be the one to disagree the most with this whole idea. She was the hardest one to become friends with, but here she is, saying that it isn’t the worst idea. “Besides. I trust her. If we can give Adagio her magic back, I am sure she would only use it for the best of intentions.”
“As grateful as I am for your trust, it’s not possible,” I interrupt with a sigh, causing everyone to look towards me. “I’ve tried putting the pieces back together. That was the first thing I did after the Battle of the Bands. It didn’t give back my magic. I’m pretty sure it is lost forever.” Despite what the demon in my mind says, I don’t have that magic anymore. I’m just me… “I’m human now. That siren part of me is gone.”
“That is incorrect,” Twilight responds as soon as the words finish leaving my mouth, turning to us with a smile. “Remember that blood sample you gave me a couple years ago? I guess I never told you, but you also have an anomaly in your blood. One that is pretty similar to the anomaly in Sunset’s sample.” Twilight walks towards us, taking her phone out. Within a few moments, she pulls something up on her phone, showing us all a picture of complex results that I honestly don’t understand. “Biologically speaking, you are not human. I can’t say for certain that you are still a ‘siren’, but it is clear that you aren’t fully human. As for you putting the pieces together, you can’t keep them together enough to actually say it wouldn’t work. Practically nothing on this Earth can keep those pieces close enough together to see if there’s any magic left in them.” Every word that comes out of Twilight’s mouth only seems to make me feel even more confused… What is she getting at?
“Are you saying there is something that can hold them close enough?” Sunset asks for me, seemingly taking the words straight out of my mouth. Over time, Sunset and I have been able to predict what the other will say. I guess that comes with the territory. She and I have been together for a couple years now.
“Well, theoretically…” Twilight slowly reaches into her pocket, pulling out a necklace with a round purple gem. In the center of it lies a violet star, resembling the icon she puts on a lot of her clothes. That… looks a lot like the necklaces Sunset and Rainbow Dash have.
“You… are going to use that too?” Sunset asks with a hesitant look in her eyes. Holding her hand tighter, Sunset looks towards me with a worried stare. Giving her the best smile I can, I try to reassure her that I’m here for her. Remember what we talked about… If anyone can master magic in this world, it’s you. Don’t be afraid.
“Yeah. I was thinking my magic could hold the pieces together down to the molecular level. That way, we could see if there’s any of Adagio’s magic left.”
“Ooh! Like magic duct tape!” Pinkie interrupts with a smile, seemingly excited by this idea.
“That is an oversimplified explanation, but yes. That is how it would work.” Twilight chuckles slightly to Pinkie’s answer, shaking her head before looking at me. “If you get me those pieces, we could see if it still works. If it does, then we can be on our way~”
“Speaking about that, what do you mean ‘we?’” I ask her quietly, raising my eyebrow. “From your statements, you make it sound like you’re coming with Sunset and I.”
“Wasn’t that obvious?” Twilight asks me with a confused and innocent tone. “I mean… I know how much this means to you. I figured you would like at least a couple of your friends to tag along as well.” Suddenly, a sheepish look overcomes Twilight’s face, her cheeks blushing a bright pink. “Oh, wait. You didn’t even ask for that. I just assumed what you would like of us…” For a second, Twilight seems to feel really embarrassed of herself, awkwardly smiling at us. Sunset gives her a smile, letting go of my hand.
“I understand why you assumed that. I wouldn’t mind if you all tagged along, but since we would be renting a car, I don’t think we can afford a big enough vehicle for all of us. So, Adagio and I assumed that it would be just the two of us.” Sunset places her hand on Twilight’s shoulder, opening her mouth to say something else, but no words come out. Sunset’s speechless behavior causes her nervously smile, rubbing Twilight’s shoulder with a nod.
“Well, I think I can speak for me and Rares when I say that we wouldn’t really want to stay here and leave you alone. Especially with something this important to ya,” Applejack speaks up, crossing her arms. “Ain’t no way in hell am I abandoning you in this part of your journey.” Applejack looks around at everyone else with an expectant stare, seemingly curious to see who else would speak. “Does anyone else want to come with us?” she asks them as well as inviting herself without asking Sunset and I. Honestly, I can’t help but feel conflicted about that. As rude as it may be to invite yourself on someone else’s trip, it’s also admirable to see how much she trusts me and wants to help me.
“I would,” Fluttershy says with a soft tone to her voice, still somehow sounding confident in its own right. Even though Fluttershy’s demeanor is usually shy and timid, her hand raised high in the air shows just how sure she is in her answer.
“Ooh! Me! Me! I would love to go!” Pinkie states with an excited tone to her voice. “Just think about all the goodies we can get on a trip! Even if it is just a small trip! I’ll have to take off work though. Should I bring-”
“I… We really need to go this soon?” Rainbow Dash interrupts Pinkie Pie, dragging her foot with a small sigh. Something about her behavior tells me she’s hesitant to even talk about this. “Don’t get me wrong. I would love to support you, Dagi. But I have classes, my job, and… family issues. It’s not exactly the prime time to go on a trip.” Dash’s voice is more lively right now than it has been this whole encounter. It is just unfortunate that her voice is so… solemn and clearly upset.
“Rainbow. I know you are going through your troubles and all, but all of us are going to try and help them with this. It’s no shame if ya can’t make it. I understand more than anyone how family troubles can influence things. Everything with Granny Smith and whatnot…” Applejack’s face momentarily displays a deeply saddened expression, looking towards the ground before she takes a deep breath and looks over to the rest of us. “I guess that just leaves transportation. My family’s van can’t really hold eight people though… We could use two vehicles, I suppose?”
“What if we got a RV?” Fluttershy speaks up, a small flustered expression on her face regardless of the sure tone in her voice. Applejack stumbles with her words, clearly confused by Fluttershy’s request. Straightening her back, the cowgirl clears her throat.
“Um… That could work, but I don’t necessarily have the money for that, Sugarcube. I don’t think Sunset or Adagio have that kind of money either so-” Applejack stops in the middle of her sentence as Fluttershy pulls out a debit card from her purse, holding it in view of everyone.
“I didn’t say they needed to pay for it,” Fluttershy replies with a small smile, putting her card back into her purse once she got her point across. She can’t be serious… Why would Fluttershy do that? Those have to cost a fortune…
“Fluttershy. I can’t let you do that.” Shaking my head from side to side, I can’t help but feel this tug of guilt on my heart. It was hard enough to let her pay us when we had that housewarming party. It’s too difficult to see her pay for a RV just to help me find Sonata and Aria. “You’ve already done so much for us. It would be too much of a debt to let you do this too.”
“Please. Don’t think of it as a debt,” Fluttershy tells me with a slightly annoyed tone, taking me aback. I… am not used to her using that tone… Her eyes look at me with an almost desperate plea for me to listen to her. “Both you and Sunset mean a lot to me. Everyone here is a good friend of mine. I am doing this because I want to. I’m not expecting anything in return. All I want to do is help.”
“Flutters, you help all the time. That’s all you do. When will you realize you’re worthy of help too? You’re not just supposed to throw everything you have at OUR problems,” Rainbow Dash speaks up, her tone filled with annoyance as an angry sigh leaves her lips. Fluttershy doesn’t even bother to look at Rainbow Dash, ignoring her.
“I don’t care,” she slowly responds, finally acknowledging our friend. “I’m not budging on this.” Rainbow Dash opens her mouth to protest again, but the words that I expected to hear don’t come out. Not a single word comes from Dash, but the look of anger remains on her face… To be honest, I feel exactly the same way she does…
“I guess… I guess that would work then. Someone would still need to learn to drive it,” Applejack speaks up, cutting the tension as well as she can. “Ah, buck it. I’ll do it.” Applejack raises her hand with a shake of her head. “It’ll take a bit to learn, but I can do it.” Rarity hugs Applejack’s arm in response, kissing the cowgirl’s cheek.
“I think that’s a very honorable thing for you to do, Darling~” Rarity says out loud, holding onto her girlfriend as if she is boasting about her partner’s volunteer time.
“Before any of that happens, I would still like to see if Adagio’s gem works,” Twilight interjects, walking into the middle of the group. “Before we go anywhere, we need to see if we can track them down after all. By using my necklace-”
“Magic duct tape~” Pinkie interrupts with a giddy smile, making Twilight chuckle again.
“Yes. By using my ‘magic duct tape,’ I’m hoping that we can use that spell Adagio is talking about. So, let’s plan on actually going on this trip a couple weeks after we find a way to track down Aria and Sonata. With or without magic.” Twilight looks around at everyone with a hopeful smile, Applejack nodding to her plan. As much as I didn’t really want to involve them in my pursuit for Aria and Sonata, I’m glad they’re willing to help. The idea of using my magic again, however… A chill runs up my spine as I remember her… Everything will turn out fine… Hopefully.
“I can learn how to drive a RV in the meantime. I guess that just leaves us with a headcount of who is going,” Applejack mentions before raising her hand, noticing everyone else following her same movement. Everyone except Rainbow Dash… “Rainbow? Are ya in or not?”
Dash looks at the group with a conflicted expression on her face, her body aimed away from us. A moment of silence speaks a thousand words as Rainbow Dash slowly takes her hand out of her pocket. Sighing to herself, she raises her hand in the air, looking towards the ground.
“Fine. I’ll see what I can do.”
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Not surprised Fash wouldn't be there.
Somethings are best left a mystery.
The joke just makes me confused and what makes it funny?
That is one red flag alright and it's sure taken its toll on Dash.
Sounds risky if you ask me.
A sign of how far they've come with their relationship and eventual marriage!
While what she's doing does seem a little selfish it's a true sign of how kind Fluttershy truly is.
Thanks Dash!
Very nice, excited to see where we go from here.
11545428
One thing I'd like to clear up is that Twilight's joke is supposed to confusing instead of funny~ Hence why only really Fluttershy and Sunset chuckled instead of everyone and why it confused Pinkie Pie. Basically, I was going for an awkward tension breaker here.
Also, I did sort of wonder whether or not I should make Fluttershy spend that kind of money, but the biggest mystery about her in this story is how she has so much money to begin with. So, I decided to keep going with that narrative. XD And yeah! Sometimes, kindness is not really for the other person. If anything, sometimes that kindness is a way for us to validate ourselves.
P.S. I don't know who disliked your comment, but I liked it to counter it out~
11545476
Since the next chapter is titled Power Restored, you can take a couple guesses as to what happens~ 
I'm definitely excited to write it~
11545638
I see and thx.
11545641
Adagio figures out the mystery of cell phone charging?
11600585
That legit made me chuckle
I found the joke funny.