And so about a year and a half passes since spring break, catch snippets of certain character's lives during this time!
Alrighty everypony! Grabbed your loved ones, tighten your lederhosen and drink beer until the music starts to sound good! Because it's Pony Polka Power time!!!
Basically, since there is going to be a considerable amount of in universe time between my Anon-A-Miss arc and the second arc, which I am officially naming the Pandora arc (because I'm a smarty), I'm going to make a whole bunch of one shots that basically fill the time in between.
Questions may be answered! Characters getting more depth! The start of more canon!
Tune in to see if your burning questions are answered or just for a laugh gentle readers!
Addendum: There is obviously going to be more than five characters featured in these one shots, I'm just listing the ones that are obviously the most popular/probably have the most inquiries as to their fate.
Added Addendum: Sex tag just to be on the safe side.
The last couple months leading up to summer certainly had been exciting. Reconciliations during spring break, a bit of drama and romance during Sunset Shimmer's senior prom at Los Pegasus High School, all wrapping up with the girl graduating and receiving her high school diploma. Her girlfriend and all of their friends had been there, the group ecstatically cheering her on as she crossed the stage and long after she stepped off to let the next graduate obtain their diploma. Bobby was of course as happy as the others, cheering, taking pictures at her request since her friends in Canterlot would want to see, and enjoying the party thrown in their apartment to celebrate the occasion.
What summer would mean for Bobby was basically a bit of time off before he delved headlong into another year of college in pursuit of his business degree, a chance to unwind and do something he'd been planning ever since the Friendship Games earlier that year.
"Soooo, you got everything? Keys to the apartment? Money? Wallet? Cell phone? Condoms?"
While he was putting the finishing touches on his packing, his roommate Jackie had been going over a check list for him. Although he saw and appreciated the guitarist's good intentions, Sunset still elbowed her girlfriend at the last item spoken.
"Jacks, I'm sure he's got everything covered."
"Hey, you never know. Don't want him to forget, do the deed and then bam! This Cinch lady hits him with a paternal suit or whatever and he's suddenly the baby daddy."
"Jackie..."
"Cause you know, even older ladies can pop 'em out. There was this story one time, sixty year old lady managed to have a kid. Dunno how, flipped the channel cause it's kinda ew, but-"
Sunset placed a hand firmly over her girlfriend's mouth, the guitarist's rambling muffled as she looked to Bobby.
"Call when you get there so we know you made it safe, and if you need any help you can call me or any of the girls in Canterlot, okay?"
"Yup, I got it Sunset."
"Good. And um, have a nice time."
Beaming at the two, the man moved forward and gave both of them a quick hug before turning to the door, picking up the suitcase with one hand and tossing the dufflebag over his shoulder.
"Thanks. I'll see you guys in about two weeks, have fun!"
Closing the door behind him, Jackie waited a couple of moments to make sure he wouldn't come back in before jumping back onto the couch and grabbing the remote off of the coffee table.
"Sweet! The living room is ours!"
With a smile and a shake of the head, Sunset moved over and sat down right on her girlfriend's stomach, careful not to knock the wind out of her but making sure this caught Jackie's attention.
"That. And we have the apartment all to ourselves."
The flirtatious grin from Sunset was returned with one from Jackie, the guitarist leaning up as Sunset leaned down, their lips connecting as they kicked off their alone time.
Being on a budget made it tough to save up for things, especially since the unexpected could happen. However since the Friendship Games, Bobby had started to scrimp and save for an idea that had come to mind. An idea that would require he take a bus to Canterlot and stay in a cheap motel during his time there. Ever since Abacus had given him her number after the Friendship Games, they'd been able to communicate with one another and he'd divulged his plan to come and visit for a bit during the summer!
Once he reached the bus station, he'd make his way to a nearby motel, but first...
Pulling out his phone, he dialed a very familiar number.
"Hello?"
"Hey Abacus. Just letting you know I'm almost at the bus station and I'll be checked into the motel soon. We still on for lunch tomorrow?"
"Of course."
"Alright. So I'll see you then?"
"Mm-hm. I'll see you then."
After hanging up, Bobby just had a smile on his face, feeling a bit jazzed about finally being here and finally getting to see Abacus Cinch again. While she had gotten a bit stiffer in their conversations recently, the twenty-three year old still enjoyed hearing her voice. When the bus finally pulled in, he practically sprang out of his seat and hurried off, collecting his luggage along the way before beginning his trek to the motel. It wasn't anything fancy of course, the college student couldn't afford much but it didn't matter! Tomorrow he'd have a lunch (maybe date?) with Abacus and then things could proceed from there! Where there was he wasn't exactly sure, but it seemed like a nice place to head towards.
After a good night's sleep, sans hearing a fight go on in the room next door and his own excitement making it hard to fall asleep, Bobby had arrived early to the coffee shop where they agreed to meet. He'd picked out his best slacks and a nice, black t-shirt. Casual but still clean and on the proper side, he was sure she would like that. He ran his fingers through his dark hair for yet the umpteenth time before checking the time on his phone. A little late, he wondered briefly why she wouldn't be on time but no worries!
It would be ten minutes later that he finally spotted the woman, his smile growing as she approached, not seeming to notice how distant Abacus seemed as he stood and pulled out the chair for her. A good look at her face had him feeling a bit concerned though, not even the hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Bobby slowly took his seat, confusion clear on his features as he stared at her stony expression.
"... Abacus, is something wrong?"
Opening her mouth to respond, she was stopped as she gazed at him. Admittedly Bobby did look cute with such an expression on his face, sweetly concerned and confused. Instead of words a sigh escaped the woman before her resolve came back, folding her hands on the table as she fixed the young man with a stare.
"Luca. What do you honestly expect to gain out of this?"
The use of his real, first name threw Bobby for a moment.
"... another date? Probably to the movies?"
"And beyond that? In the future?"
"... more dates?"
This caused Abacus to take off her glasses and pinch the bridge of her nose for a moment.
"Luca. You're still in college. You're still in college and you're trying to pursue a romantic relationship with a woman almost twice your age. Have you even thought about what that means? Such an age difference? What people would say?"
"So? I like you and I want to keep dating you. And I thought you got over that whole 'reputation' thing? None of this seemed to matter when we were talking over the phone for the last couple months."
"Well obviously I haven't. I.... I thought I could, but I can't..."
Stalling, Cinch began to clean her glasses, focused on the menial task so she didn't have to look up at the other just yet.
"When you suggested you come to visit me, that we go on an actual date. It all started to rear it's head again. What would people say about me dating a younger man, the difference in age if we got serious, what expectations you would have that I could not deliver. I... I just can't, Luca."
Putting her glasses back on, it took all she had not to react to seeing how crushed Bobby looked. Even if he hadn't thought far into the future, his feelings for her were sincere. That was what made this all the more difficult. Still, she stood up, smoothing out her skirt as she prepared to leave.
"There's no need to be upset. We only knew each other a short time."
"So?"
As grating as Cinch found that response, it still stopped her as she watched Bobby rise to his feet as well, a determined look on his face.
"We talked about your students. Ever since the whole Friendship Games thing you've started to actually care more about them since you didn't want to be like Chrysalis. You told me how you liked Ulysses by James Joyce, yeah I never read it but I liked hearing you talk about it and explain the themes in it to me since you sounded so invested and even excited talking about it. And I know I've told you stuff about me too."
"Luca."
As Bobby stepped forward, Cinch tried to pull away, but a gentle grasp was on her arm, heavier than any shackle.
"Abacus, I haven't thought about the future or reputation or age or all that because I don't need to. I honestly like you, a lot. You're an attractive, smart woman and I want to know more about you. I mean, you're a woman I could really lo-"
"STOP."
The sudden, sharp and slightly loud command drew some attention from the tables nearby but for now they did not exist. It was just Bobby, staring back at Abacus, the woman's composure slipping as she stared back until she tilted her head forward and rested it against his chest, the college student slowly raising his arms to embrace her.
"... dammit..."
She was a coward.
There was no better way to say it. Abacus knew she was weak in the face of her peers and always had been. Self conscious as to what they thought of her, striving to achieve excellence so that she was looked upon with respect. She knew it stopped her from many things in life just as it was doing now. But for a couple of months she had allowed herself a fantasy where she felt the thrill of being desired and secretive. Now that he was here though, reality had come crashing back. Age difference. The future. Him being saddled with an old woman before his own life truly began. And watching as she grew old, repulsed by her as the honeymoon phase disappeared as he had to take care of her. There was no dignity in becoming a burden.
But for one night she could ease her loneliness.
Abacus awoke that early morning, nestled against a warm chest with fit arms wrapped around her waist. There was the faintest scent of sandalwood and sweat which served to summon memories of the night before as they engaged on the motel bed. She was careful not to wake him as she reached for her glasses on the night stand, putting them on and brushing loose locks of hair away from her face as she noted the time. Glancing to Bobby's sleeping face, guilt began to build in her stomach and she slowly escaped his hold before heading to the bathroom, gathering her clothes along the way.
It had been selfish to use him like this. It would be best if she just left before he woke up.
Yet it seemed this would not be the case as she emerged fully dressed from the bathroom, stopping dead in her tracks as she saw Bobby sitting up on the bed, clad only in a sheet for modesty, staring at her. He didn't want her to go. Abacus squared her shoulders and walked past the bed, not sparing him another glance as she reached the door.
"Abacus. You know, you can call me whenever you like. Right?"
The silence between them was filled with tension, a crossroads reached and one waiting to see which road the other would take.
"... goodbye, Mister Bookkeeper."
After having spent the rest of the day moping, Bobby called off the rest of his vacation in Canterlot and took the next bus home. During the entire ride he was morose, glancing to his phone every now and then for a call that probably would never come again. Yet he couldn't delete her number, not when he still held the smallest hope that she might at least want to stay friends.
When he finally arrived back at the apartment, Bobby could not recall a time he felt lower as she climbed the stairs up to his apartment. Hopefully Sunset and Jackie weren't in, he hadn't called ahead to tell them he was coming home since he'd just hadn't had the will to do it. Although that pesky hindsight kicked in when he opened the door to their apartment... and saw Jackie with her hands behind her back, blind folded and in her underwear with Sunset straddling her waist in a similar state of undress! Of course hearing the door open caught both of their attention, the two young women looking towards him (well, Jackie looking towards the noise), Sunset's eyes going wide.
"That. And we have the apartment all to ourselves."
The flirtatious grin from Sunset was returned with one from Jackie, the guitarist leaning up as Sunset leaned down, their lips connecting as they kicked off their alone time.
With Bobby gone off to a romantic rendezvous with Cinch and Canterlot, both Jackie and Sunset were looking forward to a fun two weeks ahead of them. Don't get them wrong, Bobby was a good roommate, nice guy, didn't make a lot of noise, but now that his bedroom, i.e. the living room, was currently empty, they had a lot more freedom. Watching TV whenever they want, having a new space open to them, eating at the coffee table, making out on the couch... speaking of which.
Things were starting to really heat up as the two kept going, lips locked, Sunset's holding Jackie's face while the guitarist's hands were holding onto an entirely different set of cheeks. Jackie was just about ready to pause the action and take it to the bedroom because well, it would kind of be a dick move to do it where Bobby slept, when a knock came to the door. Both women let out a frustrated groan before Jackie slipped out from under Sunset and walked over to see who the hell was giving her... well, whatever the female version of blue balls was. A glance through the peep hole didn't reveal much, just someone with blue tinted skin with their hair hidden under a black cap. Their voice sounded a little high pitched at first before they cleared their throat.
"Pi-uh, hrm-hm! Pizza delivery. Pre-paid!"
FREE PIZZA-... wait a minute, could you pre-pay on a pizza delivery?
"Meat lovers deluxe with extra cheese!"
.... well, pizza places were trying new things these days. Still, as an added precaution, Jackie picked up the trusty wood bat by the door before slowly opening it.
Only to have to jump back when suddenly a familiar, light fuschia pink hand shot out and pushed the door open the rest of the way with great force. With the door wide open Jackie had a better look at the "pizza deliver person", showing it was none other than Sonata Dusk, her dressed as normally but with all her hair somehow tucked under that black baseball cap. She smiled and waved to Jackie while Aria Blaze appeared from the left and Adagio Dazzle appeared from the right.
"Oh god why!?"
Sunset seemed to share her girlfriend's sentiment, letting out a frustrated sigh as the three sirens invited themselves in, Aria bringing up the rear and closing the door behind them as she eyed the bat in Jackie's hand.
"You gonna swing that or what?"
"Why are you three here?"
Despite the powerless sirens making peace with everyone over spring break, Jackie was still wary of them. Well, mostly Adagio, but Aria could still break her in two now that she was ripped and Sonata well... admittedly she was okay but when paired with the other two it was still bad news. Usually for her. Adagio had taken the chair, Aria had gone over to sit on one side of the couch while Sonata had taken the other side and began flipping through the channels, each giving their answer.
"Today is my day off from work."
"Break from training at the gym."
"I still don't have a job!"
"... so you all decided to just come hang out at our apartment on your days off?"
This question came from Sunset, seated in between Aria and Sonata now as she shot a scowl at Adagio, fairly certain she was the one who had organized this. The orange haired beauty smiled sweetly in turn.
"I thought it had been far too long since we last paid a visit. Aren't you happy to see us? Or have we... interrupted something?"
The suggestive remark was successful in coercing a small blush from both Sunset and Jackie, which in turn conjured a small, triumphant smirk from Adagio. Then she leaned over to the coffee table and flipped open the pizza box, revealing the promised meat lovers deluxe with extra cheese.
"At least we came with an offering of free pizza."
"Adagio, I don't eat meat..."
Not to say that Sunset couldn't eat meat, coming to a whole new dimension with no money or source of income didn't allow for someone to be picky, but she preferred to avoid it whenever possible. Thankfully her girlfriend was already on the move, calling the nearby pizza place while getting her shoes on and get her keys and wallet. Although that would leave her alone with Adagio, Aria and Sonata...
"Alright, quick walk to the pizza place and I'll be back, Sunshine."
"How about I go with?"
The offer from Adagio was a bit of a surprise, the siren rising slowly to her feet, movements catlike as she lightly stretched her arms above her head. Provocative. Evil, but provocative. Of course Jackie's response was as expected.
"No!"
"I'll pay for the pizza, I'll even throw in soda and a garden salad."
".... ugh, fine. Let's go."
For the sake of more free food, she could put up with Adagio for about twenty to thirty minutes. Or at least she'd be more confident if the fluffy siren didn't shoot her that smirk as they walked out together. Whether it was by mercy or design, Adagio hadn't said anything as they walked down the stairs and a couple blocks, which caused Jackie's guard to be lowered.
"To quote an infamous movie, 'How's your sex life, Vibrato'?"
God dammit!
Fighting down another blush, Jackie crossed her arms and scowled to the siren with the teasing grin on her face.
"What's it to you? It's not like it's your business."
"Forgive me, but as a friend who cares, I am curious. Things are still going well?"
Eying the other with suspicion as they entered the pizza place, she gave her name for the order, adding on the sodas and salad to the order before answering Adagio.
"It's fine. We're happy Adagio and it's all good."
"I see. That's good to hear."
And it seemed that was that. Maybe Adagio really was just curious, maybe even just still inexperienced at boundaries. Either way Jackie was feeling her small ire start to leave, relaxing again as she was handed the food and Adagio handed money over to the cashier. As they exited, she handed over one the pizza and salad for the attractive woman to carry while she carried the sodas. With one two liter soda under arm, she unscrewed the other and held it up to waterfall, not wanting to wait until she was home or had a cup in hand. If she was more alert, she'd see that Adagio was subtly watching her, waiting for the right moment to say...
"I'm surprised you haven't tried any light bondage yet."
While the contents of the liter were safe, the same could not be said for what had been poured into Jackie's mouth. WHY DID IT STING SO MUCH WHEN IT CAME OUT HER NOSE?!
After changing between coughing up the soda that went down the wrong tube and sneezing out the tingling residue in her nostrils, Jackie wiped her mouth and nose before staring at Adagio.
"WHAT?"
"Oh yes. While I can't say I've ever heard her confirm this, I always had the feeling she'd like to have her or her partner tied up a bit."
"Oh that is such bullshit!"
"Is it?"
"... you're fucking with me."
"Tell me, has things ever heated up when she pinned you down or vice versa? Or that she's wanted to bring something up but hesitated?"
Immediately her mouth opened for a rebuttal but her brain stalled for a moment. There had been the one time she pinned Sunshine's arms above her head and the time her girlfriend pinned her by the wrists. The once. Twice. Okay on more than one occasion since they'd been having sex. Seeing the hesitation and gears turning, Adagio smirked, shifting the pizza and salad to one hand so that the other could gently close Jackie's mouth.
"How does the human saying go? You'll catch flies that way?"
The rest of the afternoon and early evening had gone well. Granted it wasn't how Sunset had pictured spending the day with her girlfriend but the Dazzling were tolerable enough outside of the random squabble between Sonata and Aria or the innuendo flung by Adagio to get under her skin. No what really bothered her was how odd Jackie was acting when she came back. She kept looking at her like she wanted to bring something up but then pulled it back. Even after their unexpected guests left Jackie was acting strange and especially seemed skittish when they were intimate later. To Sunset there was really only one culprit for this and she made the call after Jackie left the apartment for a bit to get some groceries.
"Good evening Sunset and how are you?"
"What did you do to my girlfriend, Dazzle?"
"Ooo, feisty this morning."
With a roll of the eyes, Sunset refused to be derailed as she continued her interrogation.
"Seriously, she's been acting weird since you both got back with the pizza and soda yesterday. What did you say to her?"
"Oh it's not so much what I said to her..."
".... go on."
"Well, after a bit of good-natured teasing, she opened up a bit to me. So very interesting."
"What did she say?"
Not wanting to sound agitated, but what in the world did her girlfriend tell Adagio that she couldn't tell her? Was it bad? Well out of the scenarios that ran through Sunset's head, she didn't expect the answer she was given.
"Well, to be honest she's been thinking of expanding your play in the bedroom."
"... what?"
"Oh yes, something in the vein of light bondage I believe, from what she described of hand cuffs and blindfolds..."
"If you're not going to tell me what was really said-"
"Why would I lie?"
"Uh, to get under my skin? As usual?"
"Oh, then I suppose she didn't act strangely when you tried to have sex? That she looks as if she wanted to bring something up?"
At that point Sunset's vocabulary had broken down, the red head spluttering how questions that didn't even make it past the first word.
"Really Shimmer, you should have this conversation with your girlfriend. It's not good to repress such things. Anyway, it's been fun but I must go, tah."
While Sunset was left speechless and thoughts abuzz, on the other side of town a certain fluffy haired siren was cackling softly to herself, quite pleased. All the while Sonata continued to watch her cartoons while Aria rolled her eyes from the opposite side of the couch she was on before pointing out the obvious.
"You know you're just begging for Shimmer to punch you in the throat one of these days."
The rest of the evening and most of next day were very awkward between the two women, both trying to bring up a certain topic but failing to do so. They'd never tried anything they thought the other wanted to do, it was a little scary to be tied up. Were they right in thinking Adagio was just trying to pull one over on them? But then why was the other acting so strange!?
By evening they were sitting on opposite ends of the couch, barely paying attention to what was on TV as they continued to stress over how to bring up the subject. Surprisingly it was Sunset who finally blurted something out.
"So. Bondage."
"..... yup."
At least it was a start? With the elephant in the room finally being broached, Jackie felt she had the nerve to go on.
"With ropes and stuff. What about it, Sunshine?"
"Um... yes. I've... heard about it. Seems a little scary I guess."
"Yeah. I mean, tying your hands behind your back and stuff."
"But it's not weird!"
"Huh? Uh, no! Of course not. If people like it then it's fine. And the people they're with are open minded enough to give it a shot."
"Right.... right. You have to trust the person you're with and why wouldn't you? No judgment, it'd all be fine."
"Yup."
Silence was starting to reign once more. But before the kibosh could be put on the topic, Jackie took a deep breath and turned to Sunset.
"Look, Sunshine, if you want to do it then I'm totally fine with that. If not then that's fine too, no pressure to do something like that."
"No! I mean. I wouldn't have a problem with this if you wanted to try it."
"... yeah?"
"Yeah."
By now they had scooted close enough that Sunset could reach out and take Jackie's hands in her own.
"I trust you. A lot. Enough that we could try this once and see if we like it."
They both shared a smile, a touching moment based on the fabrication of a total lie engineered by one mischievous siren. Although they were over one awkward hurdle, another one had presented itself that Jackie of course was the one to bring up.
"Sooooo... you wanna do it now?"
"I guess? I mean um, how would we-?"
"Well, we could try with t-shirts? I mean, the t-shirts would probably rip..."
"Umm, maybe we should go and actually get some things..."
"Y-Yeah, totally. And um... who would go first?"
"I-I could, if you want..."
"Sure."
Despite their nerves being worked up into a tizzy, they both smiled and headed out to try and discreetly buy proper supplies...
"Little tight today Susnhine."
"Well, I don't want you getting loose again~"
Although awkward at first, this new form of play had held appeal to the two women. It was like a whole new game they had discovered that added spice to something that was already fun! Neither had caught on that it had all started as a way for Adagio to mess with them but at this point it wasn't important. Not when Jackie, in her underwear, was currently being blindfolded and pushed down onto the couch by her girlfriend who was also in her underwear.
"You know we should take this to the bedroom..."
"Do you really want to stop?"
".... eh, Bobby won't be back for another week or so. We'll get it cleaned."
Despite the silk chaffing a bit, Jackie was fully into it as Sunset got on top of her, the fun really about to begin when they both heard the click of the door. Both froze before their heads snapped to the front door as Bobby came in, his dejected look turning to one of shock at what he was seeing.
This was it, the final confrontation of the final baddie. Hours of training up leading to this moment where she would fight this nefarious person for the final time and save everyone! First she'd send out Primarina, she'd use the move Sing to put the big baddies first pokemon to sleep and then-!
"Okay, that's enough."
Suddenly the fantastical world of pokemon Moon was snapped shut, the blue 3DS ripped so suddenly from blue hands that their owner rapidly blinked for a moment as her mind processed what just happened. When she was over the shock of being forcibly ejected from the battle, Sonata cried out and tried to leap off the couch, her legs feeling a bit shaky as they supported her weight while she tried grabbing her 3DS back form Adagio who held it high above her head and out of reach.
"But Dagiiiiiiii! I'm at the final battle with the evil villain! If I don't win then all of the islands in Alola are going to-!"
"No, no, no. Sonata, you haven't moved from this couch for hours. I'm cutting you off."
"Nuh-uh! I get up to pee and grab food from the fridge! And besides, I bought that game!"
Sonata's petulance and stamping of the foot was formidable, although the power of such an adorable glare was undermined by the bags under her eyes. Over all, Adagio was not at all moved, one hand on her hip as she quirked a brow at the younger siren's statement.
"Yes. With my hard earned cash. After you blew through your monthly allowance that I give you for doing chores around the house. Which you have been slacking on more and more, especially after you have gotten this new little game of yours."
It was hard to argue with that, mainly because Sonata couldn't normally think of a good retort even if she wasn't sleep deprived. Still, she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her shorts, gaze to the ground in a guilty fashion.
"I still get them done... and I can't help it if I play a game that's really good."
Despite outward appearances, Adagio was not completely unaffected when her sister looked so pitiful. With a soft sigh, Adagio reached out and gently placed her hand on Sonata's shoulder.
"I know these games can be addicting. It's one of the more insidious things these humans have created. But all you seem to do is hang out around the apartment and play video games, your sleep schedule is off and I worry you're going stir crazy."
"Nuh-uh! I'm... uh, fine!"
Of course Adagio was less than reassured as Sonata seemed to be nodding off, barely able to stand as she swayed a bit back and forth.
"Sonata, I want you to get to bed and catch up on sleep. Then when you've fully rested, perhaps it's about time you tried going out and finding a job again."
"But Dagiiiiii...."
"No buts. Now come on."
With a bit of coaxing, she guided Sonata to her room, where the blue haired siren promptly collapsed onto the mattress, conking out the instant her head hit the pillow. As she snored with mouth agape, Adagio lightly rolled her eyes, setting the 3DS down on the nightstand and pulling the blanket over Sonata's body before leaving the room.
When one went to bed at about four in the afternoon and slept for twelve hours straight, they would understandably need a bit of time to get ready before going out into the world to find a job. Or in Sonata's case, that would mean taking a shower so she wasn't so grungy, have breakfast with Adagio and Aria before they went off to their jobs, and use the internet to see who was possibly hiring before printing out copies of her resume and going out into the world to find a job!
.... right after she stopped by Jackie and Sunset's to see what they were having for lunch!
It seemed she had really good timing since as she approached the apartment, Sunset had stepped out! Sonata smiled broadly and skipped up to the other.
"Hiya Shimmy! What you up to?"
"Oh, hi Sonata. I'm heading out to get a bite-"
"Yay! Can I come? I'm hungry!"
"Sonata, I'm not going to buy you lunch."
"Pleeaaaaassseee?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Pretty please?"
"NO."
And so it continued on in this manner as Sonata followed Sunset all the way from Sunset's apartment to Papa Chayote's Taco Shack. While Sunset's patience had grown immensely in the months she had been around her girlfriend, it was quickly wearing thin as Sonata kept up the relentless begging. It finally came to a head as they were about ten feet away from Papa Chayote's, when Sunset stopped, fists clenched as she took in a deep breath before turning to confront the siren.
"NO! I will absolutely NOT buy you lunch Sonata! Don't you have anything better to do than to bug the shit out of me?!"
Instant regret as Sonata did a very good imitation of a kicked puppy.
"Well... I am trying to find a job. But I never get hired anyway... I'm not really good at anything, especially now that I can't sing anymore."
... dammit. With a weary sigh, Sunset rubbed her temple and mulled over her options. Which was futile since she already knew what she was going to do.
"Well, maybe I could spring for a taco or something..."
Immediately Sonata's demeanor brightened as she hopped forward and gave Sunset a hug.
"Thanks Shimmy! But can I get a burrito instead? That sounds super good right now!"
With a roll of the eyes, Sunset smiled a bit as she followed after Sonata, the two of them waiting in line to give Tino their order. Sunset decided to make small talk during the wait.
"So, you're having trouble getting a job, huh?"
"Mm-hm. I tried before when we moved here, sometimes I made it past the interviews but then I kinda messed up after that so I kept getting fired. I've tried stocking at a store, being one of those perfume ladies at the mall, I tried ubering, I even tried being a line cook. None of those worked out so well and I got fired before the first week was over..."
The way that was said, Sunset couldn't help but imagine a couple of scenarios that would get Sonata fired so quick, an accident or a poor choice of words were always the main culprit.
"Well, I'm sure there's something you'd be good at."
"I hope so. It sucks not having a lot of money and I think Dagi and Ari are annoyed I'm around the apartment too much."
When it was finally their turn, Tino greeted Sunset with a friendly smile and Sonata with a slightly flirtatious one.
"Hey Sunset. And hello Sonata! What can I get you fine ladies?"
"The usual for Jackie, I'll take some vegetarian tacos, and I need a nachos grande with extra cheese for Bobby. To go."
"Aw, he's still down about that Cinch lady, huh?"
"Mm-hm, and Sonata, what do you want?"
"A chicken burrito with extra sour cream please!"
After their orders were taken, they found an open table near the building that was open, yet sadly it didn't have an umbrella over it to shade them from the summer sun beating down on their heads. Not that it bothered Sunset much as her attention was not focused on trying to help out Sonata as she looked at a copy of the siren's resume.
"Anyway, if you'd like I could ask Jackie and the gang if they could put in a good word for you at the places they work at. I'm sure there's a place where you'd do just fine."
"Fore realzies? That'd be great! Oh! We could ask Tino right now!"
"I suppose..."
When the blonde came around to give them their to go orders, Sunset motioned for him to stick around.
"S'up Sunset?"
"Tino, you got any jobs around here that Sonata could do?"
"Eh, not really. Me and my cousins handle the cash and serving, my dad and aunts do all the cooking and cleaning is taken care of by us..."
Still, seeing the downcast look on Sonata's face made Tino feel bad, so after thinking and tapping his chin a moment, a thought came to him.
"Well, there might be something. Hang on and let me go talk to my dad about it."
It took about ten minutes before Tino was back, a small smile on his face as Sonata looked on hopefully.
"Well, good news and bad news. Good news is that I convinced my dad to create a job for you, bad news is that if it doesn't work out then he'll terminate it."
As expected, Sonata at first looked over joyed but then looked downcast while Sunset was more quizzical.
"What's the job?"
"Sign twirler. She'll stand on the corner and try to draw attention to the place. If it turns out we get more revenue because of her then she stays on."
"Alright, Sonata you think you can do it."
"Mmmm, I think so? I'll go home and google it."
The start of her new job was set to a week from that day, which left Sonata with plenty of time to look up what a 'sign twirler' did and try to get in some practice. Without an actual sign to practice on it was a little hard. That and practicing indoors made things very challenging. Especially when the broom she was using slipped from her grasp, went flying towards the front door and almost hit Aria in the head. Luckily the siren's reflexes were good enough that she ducked just in time before standing up straight and shoot a scowl to the other.
"What the hell Sonata?!"
"Er, hi Ari. You're home early."
"Yeah, I am. Now why the hell did you chuck a broom at my head?!"
"W-Well... I was practicing for my new job, it kinda got away from me..."
"Job? What job?"
"Sign twirler at the place Tino works."
Eyeing the older siren for a moment or two, Aria retrieved the broom from the hallway before heading in and tossing it back to Sonata.
"So you're serious about wanting to do it?"
"Well, yeah. I saw videos online and it looked like a lot of fun! Plus, they got competitions and seeing the people do all that stuff looks really awesome!"
"... they seriously have competitions for stuff like that?"
"Yup!"
".... oookay. Look, you're going to need more room than this to practice. How about you come to the gym with me? I'll be able to get you in for free and I'm sure you can get better practice in there than in here where you're bound to break something."
"Really?! Thanks Ari!"
The broom was dropped and the older siren had pounced, sweeping up Aria in a hug that seemed to annoy the muscular woman but she wasn't exactly struggling to break free.
"Yeah, yeah. Just don't embarrass me in front of the guys or I'll pound you. Now let go of me."
Between practice and no serious accidents in the first week, Sonata was proving to have a knack for sign twirling. After a month she was pulling off twirls and flips, tricks that weren't on the pro level just yet but were still impressive. She tended to draw people who cheered her on and were directed to Papa Chayote's at the same time. It brought in just enough more revenue that Tino's father kept Sonata on so that she could keep garnering attention.
"Dang, look at her go."
Jackie was munching on nachos from Chayote's as she watched the siren go, Sunset next to her with a to go bag in hand.
"Mm-hm. I'm happy to see this is working out for her."
"Yeah. I bet Tino is real happy too, he's got a cute chick for a co-worker."
Rolling her eyes as her girlfriend snickered, Sunset smiled as they headed back to their apartment, leaving Sonata to keep up the good work.
I'm sorry to leave without telling you about this but I have no idea what would happen if you followed me, if you would be okay going through the portal Princess Twilight set up here in Los Pegasus or if any number of other things could happen. But more than that, I feel like this is something I have to do on my own.
I've gone back to Equestria to finally talk to Princess Celestia and set things right. I don't know what will happen, I know I hurt my mentor very badly in the past but I have a feeling that everything will be alright. So please, don't worry. I left my journal behind so that we can still be in contact if necessary, but I promise I'll be back as soon as I can. It shouldn't take any more than a couple of hours.
Love,
Sunshine
Since the note had been discovered on the nightstand at about ten am in the morning when Jackie woke up alone in bed, it had been thirty hours, twenty-nine minutes and thirty seconds. And the only response from the journal had been from Spike who had said Twilight and Sunset were still in Canterlot and he had no idea how things were going. Naturally Jackie did the only sane, logical thing...
"LET GO! I'M GOING IN AFTER HER!"
She told Spike to open up the portal so she could go in and rescue her girlfriend! Of course it was hard to do when she had Bobby (having recovered enough from heartbreak to leave the apartment), Tino (having left his job early) and Poppy (who had called in an emergency break at her job) were holding her back while Sandy stood in front of the portal were all trying to stop her. The portal had been set up in the grand fountain found in Los Pegasus's Grand Park, where water flowed out over a wall and over the ground where more mini jets of water shot up into the air, great for children and others to frolic in on a hot summer day like today. Or at least they would, if Jackie and the other's weren't causing a scene. While the others were restraining Jackie, Sandy tried to be the voice of reason.
"Jackie, calm down! I know she said she would be back sooner, but no news doesn't mean Sunset is in trouble!"
"But I would've gotten a note by now saying what was up! What if that world's Celestia is like, mean?! What if she threw Sunset into a dungeon?! ON THE SUN!? I gotta' go see if she's okay!"
A sudden pop to the back of the head from Poppy silenced the panicking guitarist, allowing her to focus as Sandy grasped her face and made Jackie look at her.
"Jackie. You need to calm down. I'm sure Sunset is perfectly fine, we can wait a bit longer until we get word from them, okay?"
"... right. Right, okay, I'm calm. You're right Sandy, I should just wait. Maybe there's a reply in the journal back home by now."
Suspicious, Sandy never the less motioned for the others to let Jackie go, which they slowly did, ready to grab her again if she moved towards the portal. The guitarist was as calm as could be, smiling and showing no signs of making a move.
Until she made her move and bolted past Sandy to the portal.
"JACKIE-!"
However Sandy was cut off as Jackie went through, sound distorted as there was a bright light and colors swirled about Jackie. There was a strange sensation in her body, a sort of itch and an ache in her bones and her ligaments, sort of like when she had gone through growth spurts. She had to shut her eyes otherwise she was fairly certain she was going to spew inside the portal but as suddenly as it had all come on, Jackie hit a cold floor with a thud. With a groan, she reached up hand to rub her head, feeling an ache that went from top to bottom.
"Oooo, I feel like I got ass whiplash. Wait... what the hell?!"
Her eyes snapped open when she noticed a distinct lack of fingers. Only to freak out a bit more upon noticing a green hoof. She shot up to a sitting position, only to fall over onto her back as this new body confused and threw her balance off. But now she had a very good look at the rest of her body, hooves, tail, wings and all.
"Holy crap I'm a winged pony!"
"Pegasus, Jackie, you're a pegasus."
Leaning up as best as she could, Jackie soon saw Princess Twilight and Spike... as a horned, winged pony and little dragon respectively.
"Twilight! Where's Sunshine?! Is she okay?!"
"She's in the other room with Celestia, Jackie, didn't you get my-?"
Not waiting for the princess to finish, Jackie got up onto her hooves and made a dash for the door! Only to fall flat on her face. With a muffled groan, she pushed herself back up, partly pushing, partly crawling, and even slightly walking to the door.
"Wait, Jackie! After you demanded Spike open the portal, we came back and I-!"
"DAMN THESE FINGER-LESS HOOVES!"
Eventually she found she could just push the door open, the graceless green pegasus falling through into the other room. After blowing some of her blue mane out of the way, she saw only a tall, white pony that had the same mane color as ex-Principal Celestia... pony Celestia? Facing away from her in the room and no sign of her girlfriend!
"HEY CELESTIA!"
The princess paused, turning in place and raising a brow as she watched Jackie push herself back up onto her hooves. Princess Twilight and Spike were right behind her, Twilight looking close to panic as she tried to stop the pegasus.
"Jackie, wait-!"
There seemed to be no stopping Jackie though, Twilight could only look on in horror as the guitarist pointed a hoof towards the tall alicorn princess of the sun, trying to look as tough as possible while Celestia simply looked nonplussed.
"Okay Celestia! Where's Sunshine?"
"... I'm sorry?"
"Sunset Shimmer! She was supposed to be back in my world hours ago but she hasn't come back!"
"... and you are?"
"I'm Jackie Vibrato! Her girlfriend! And I swear to god if you've done something to her I'll-!"
"Is this true, Sunset?"
Pausing mid-rant, Jackie completely froze as she watched Celestia step aside, revealing her girlfriend who had her eyes shut and was face palming (face hoofing?) at the moment. After the unicorn ran her hoof over her mane, she shot an annoyed half-glare to Jackie, who was now smiling sheepishly.
"Uhhhh, hey Sunshine."
Bracing herself for a tongue lashing, all in the room were surprised when Celestia spoke up instead.
"Twilight, would it be alright if I used your dining hall? I would like to speak to Miss Vibrato privately. Over tea."
"Uh-um! Yes, of course! I-I'll go make the tea right away!"
As Twilight scurried off, Spike and Sunset were left to exchange worried glances as one of Celestia's wings wrapped around Jackie, guiding the nervous pegasus forward. Despite some stumbling, Jackie managed to keep up well enough as they headed down a hallway and turned to the right, entering a rather nice dining area with at table that would sit four comfortably. Despite protests, Celestia would continue to guide Jackie to her seat, making the guitarist sit before the princess herself took a seat across from her.
Minutes later, Twilight would teleport in with a tray of tea, her nerves noticeably fraying some as she smiled nervously to the both of them.
"Tea all set and ready! So um, would you like me to-?"
"Thank you Twilight, that will be all."
Her smile faltering, Twilight gave a hesitant nod before heading outside to join Spike and Sunset. Which left Jackie to try and serve herself tea and failing to do so. How could anyone do anything with these hooves?! Soon the teacup and kettle were enveloped in Celestia's magic, the alicorn pouring some tea for Jackie and setting it on the saucer in front of the pegasus. Looking up, Jackie's smile slipped upon being fixed under Celestia's scrutinizing stare, her hooves steepled in front of her, hiding her lower face.
"Um, thanks."
"You're welcome. Sugar? Cream?"
"Sure?"
After two sugars and a bit of cream was added to her tea, Jackie tried to pick it up, but she still wasn't getting used to the hoof thing. So instead, with a sheepish grin to a serious Celestia, she tilted her head down and lapped up some tea. As the silence stretched on, Jackie started to squirm a bit more under Celestia's gaze.
"So uh... yeah, I'm sorry about earlier. I was just worried about Sunshine, I hadn't heard back from her so I kinda thought something happened."
"I'm afraid she was kept longer than intended. Between my busy schedule and an unexpected hydra attack on Ponyville, we've been rather busy these past two and a half days."
"... two and a half days?"
"Yes. Your worry would be understandable. However, now that you are here, I have some... questions."
"... questions?"
"Yes. Sunset has mentioned you. But I think it would be best if we had a little chat. So that I can better know my former protege's partner."
Oh? .... ohhhhhhhh. Oh crap. Jackie tried to put on her best smile as she tried to straight out her messy mane some with her hoof.
"Um, sure! Why not? No problem!"
"Excellent. How far have you gone with Sunset?"
CRAP!
".... oh you know. Stuff."
"... what sort of "stuff" if I may ask?"
"Errrr, you know. Holding hands. Kissing. And eh-herm-herm sex hum!"
One of Celestia's ears flicked and her eyes narrowed, causing Jackie's smile to become toothy so as to perfectly reflect her discomfort.
"Is that so?"
"Yup. Stuff."
"I see. And I'm curious, what were you saying you were going to do just minutes before when you confronted me?"
DOUBLE CRAP.
"Uhhhhh, nothin'."
"Oh really."
"Yup."
It was obvious the other was not buying it, Jackie could tell that much. So she tried her best to keep calm as she lapped up some more tea. Celestia however, gave a soft sigh.
"Miss Vibrato. While things between Sunset and I ended badly, I have and still do care for my former pupil. And hearing of her recent exploits and from you barging in like this-"
"WAIT! No wait! Look I'm sorry for coming at you like a jackass okay? But I'm good! I swear I treat her with nothing but respect and I love her! And there ain't nothing that's gonna tear us apart! Not even you lady! Horse! Pony! Whatever!"
At that, Celestia tilted her head down slightly, her expression completely hidden behind her hooves now.
"And you think you can stop me if I so chose to interfere, Miss Vibrato?"
"I dunno, but I'd certainly try!"
By now Jackie was up on her haunches, fore hooves on the table as she prepared herself for whatever would come. What she did not expect was to see Celestia's shoulders start to shake slightly, then the small rumbling of giggling that could be heard. The pegasus was left utterly confused as the princess looked up, smiling mischievously.
"Gotcha'."
"... wha?"
Resting her hooves on the table now, Celestia floated her cup of tea up to her lips and took a sip before explaining.
"I already know of you Jackie. Twilight has told me how you helped Sunset during Anon-A-Miss and during the Friendship Games against your world's Chrysalis. You're quite remarkable for a human."
".... so you're okay with me dating Sunshine?"
"Jackie, when Sunset spoke of you, she was absolutely glowing, it's not hard to see that you make her happy. Between that and hearing about how kind, caring and even brave you were, I can overlook your brash and rude entrance."
"So you were just fucking with me then."
"Of course."
With a soft groan, Jackie leaned back in her seat, slumped and feeling highly relieved. Celestia simply chuckled as she rested her cheek against her hoof, satisfied that she got to play the role of the 'over protective parent'.
"You are an interesting mare, Jackie. And now I don't doubt how deeply you care for Sunset if you were ready to challenge an Alicorn."
"Hey, even if Sunset says alicorns are stupid powerful, I'm not just gonna step aside and let anything happen to her."
"Clearly."
Taking a sip of tea, Celestia's magic flared for a moment, opening the door and causing Twilight, Sunset and Spike to come toppling through, the trio clearly having been pressed against the door to try and hear the conversation. After sheepish smiles, fumbled excuses and scrambling to stand, Celestia raised her hoof and caused them to become silent.
"Please, all of you, why not come in and join us for tea?"
"Ugh, Celestia gives a good third degree grilling. Still, worth it to hear stories of you when you were her pupil. Like you teleporting into that bowl of punch and splashing those fancy ponies. We gotta' come back sometime so I can hear more!"
At the tease, Sunset groaned softly, lightly face hoofing as they headed to the room that contained the mirror back to Los Pegasus. Yet the unicorn was still smiling as she glanced over to her girlfriend (marefriend?).
"I can't believe she shared those stories. But I'm glad that ended well and you two got along."
"Yeah. I guess alls well that ends well, huh?"
".... I'm still not happy that you barged in like that. I told you things would be fine."
".... yeah, I'm sorry Sunshine."
Leaning in, Sunset kissed Jackie softly on the cheek before pulling back and giving the other a smile. Truthfully she felt touched that the other would brave coming to another world for her. But she wasn't ready to tell her girlfriend that just yet. Jumping into possibly dangerous magical portals was not a habit she wanted the other to cultivate.
It went without saying that a lot of things had gone down during and after the Anon-A-Miss incident. Not only had Sunset Shimmer fled to Los Pegasus to escape unjustified persecution and the Crusaders had been outed as the true culprits, but Celestia resigning had brought in Chrysalis, the meanest, scariest principal CHS had ever seen, her being overthrown by Sunset Shimmer in a climactic battle during the Friendship Games, and now Vice Principal Luna had become the principal in Chrysalis's place.
So much upheaval had happened in the last six months of the school year that the collective student body of Canterlot High had let out a sigh of relief when it finally ended. The seniors had finally graduated, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack had received their diplomas, celebrating with classmates, family and finally meeting up with the human Twilight Sparkle for a party between friends.
Of course the underclassmen were celebrating as well, a whole three months off to pursue their interests and simply take a breather from their crazy school. This was especially true of three freshmen who had been big players in the Anon-A-Miss incident, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. There had been a lot of friction up until Chrysalis had taken over as principal, after that some of the pressure had been taken off of them as the student body had been forced to come to terms that while the three freshman had started it all, ultimately a lot of the blame rested on their shoulders as well. So while the Crusaders were not given a pass, they weren't vilified either.
For the most part.
"Watch where you're going, clutz!"
A soft groan escaped Scootaloo as she sat up, thankful for the helmet but her jeans were totally torn up at the knees from the spill. She shot a dirty look to Diamond Tiara but said nothing as she pushed herself up onto her feet as she collected her scooter and began to walk away. Unfortunately the rich girl would not leave it at that and roughly shoved the tomboy from behind, causing Scootaloo to stumble but the purple haired girl managed to keep her balance, back still turned to the infuriating snob.
"Hey, I'm talking to you! Or are you as big a dumb jock as that dyke you look up to?"
That caused Scootaloo to stop dead in her tracks, knuckles turning white as she gripped the handles of her scooter tightly. Things hadn't been good between her and Rainbow Dash. Sure they were talking again, after the Anon-A-Miss incident, Scootaloo had been trying so hard to earn back the older girls' trust but it just wasn't the same. But she still looked up to Rainbow Dash and no one, no one was going to bad mouth her like that. Taking a deep breath, Scootaloo slowly turned to face Diamond Tiara, shooting her the best withering glare she could muster.
"Diamond... I'm sorry for what I did. I shouldn't of spread those secrets. But you shouldn't of told Silver Spoon's secrets either, I told the secrets but it's not my fault you lost your friendship with Silver Spoon, you did that to yourself."
As angry as she was, she couldn't help but pity Diamond Tiara some. The girl had lost the only friend she had in the world and now she was alone, she was bound to be hurting. Unfortunately for Scootaloo that hurt was often expressed through anger and by the look on Diamond's face, she could tell she was in for a doozy.
"You miserable little-!"
"Knock it off Diamond Tiara!"
Diamond's head snapped around to the newcomer, sneering when she saw it was none other than Sweetie Belle. Normally it wouldn't of been any big deal, but after the whole mess with Anon-A-Miss, the girl had gotten tougher, standing up for herself and her friends instead of just doing her usual bit of being passive aggressive. After shooting Scootaloo one final dirty look, Diamond Tiara skulked off down the pathway, after she left the park Sweetie Belle let out a sigh of relief before approaching Scootaloo, concern in her eyes as she looked the other over.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, just a trip and a shove, could've been worse."
"Yeah. C'mon, we still gotta' wait for Applebloom."
Walking over to a bench, the two friends took a seat and waited for the third member of their group, watching other people go by as they enjoyed their sunny, summer afternoon. All three of course had been punished by their families for the Anon-A-Miss incident and even after they were still monitored closely, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle especially so by their older siblings. While it wasn't fun to have a downgraded phone that could only talk and text or have to use the computer in the living rooms at home, ultimately they accepted it. Besides, it wasn't the worst thing that had come from all of this.
"Is Rainbow Dash still kind of distant with you, Scoots?"
"Mm-hm. Rarity still watching your internet history and not opening up to you anymore?"
"Kinda. I think she's stopped checking where I go on the internet but she's still guarded whenever we talk."
Both had fallen into a sort of melancholy then as they thought about how radically things had changed. They knew it wouldn't last forever but it still hurt, and deep down they knew things would never be the same again. Applebloom knew this as well, their friend had told them about Applejack's change in attitude around her. The farmer still loved her little sister, no doubt about that, but that same little sister she had helped raise from infancy had also hurt her, and that betrayal cut very deep.
Thinking about how bad things were, both the girls' shoulders sagged, the weight of their terrible mistake heavy upon them now, as it often was when they let the gravity of the situation fall upon them. It would be quite awhile until things were fine again, and at this rate they'd never hear from Sunset again since it had been months since their letter was delivered to her. At this rate Scootaloo changed the subject before the negativity totally crushed them.
"So, Rarity still going to that fashion institute in Manehattan?"
"Yeah. I'm... still wondering if I should go with her or move back in with my parents."
Grimacing as they stepped into another unhappy topic, Scootaloo reached over and wrapped an arm around Sweetie Belle's shoulders, pulling her in for a light hug since the pretty girl's mood seemed to be dipping even further. She wished there was some third option so that Sweetie Belle could stay, but as much as she wracked her brain, nothing came to mind. Before she could say anything though, Sweetie Belle gave a short, hollow laugh.
"It'd probably be better with Rarity. Even if she doesn't trust me anymore, at least I wouldn't be living in an empty house most of the time."
Now Scootaloo had both arms around the girl, holding her as Sweetie Belle wiped at her eyes for a moment. Moving in with Rarity had been great for her, she'd loved living in a home where someone was around and gave her attention. It was another instant where hindsight was a bitch and she should of rethought having a hand in Anon-A-Miss. Once she had calmed down enough, Sweetie Belle offered a shakey smile to Scootaloo and tried to get the conversation rolling again.
"I hear Rainbow Dash got the scholarship for college. And she's... going for some aero-whatsit degree?"
"Bachelor's in Aeronautical Engineering. Wants to be a test pilot."
"Doesn't she need like, to be good at science and stuff?"
"Yeah. I can tell she's already dreading it but she's awesome, she'll make it."
They shared a small chuckle over that, knowing she wasn't the most scholarly of people but she was, if anything, determined. Sweetie Belle pulled back some, causing Scootaloo to pull back as well, the two just sitting on the bench and gazing out over the park. Scootaloo would be the one to break the silence this time.
"It's crazy how fast this all sped by."
"Yeah. I'm going to miss you and Applebloom."
"... yeah."
Speaking of the devil, Applebloom was rushing down the path towards them, skidding to a halt before she reached the bench and completely breathless from her sprint. However, despite being double over and gasping for breath, she was excitedly trying to force out her words.
"Girls!... girls! L-Letter... Sunset wrote back!"
By now they had noticed the envelope clutched in her hand, both their eyes going wide as they sprang to their feet, Scootaloo immediately snatching it out of the other's hand and checking the return address. Sweetie Belle was completely nervous as she stared at it, hand to her mouth but fighting hard the urge to chew on her nails.
"W-What does it say?"
"D-Dunno.... wanted to... read it... together!"
Once Applebloom finally caught her breath, she and Sweetie Belle crowded next to Scootaloo, the tomboy's hands shaky as she opened one side of the envelope, blowing into it before tipping it over so that the letter fell into her hand. Just one page. The three held their breaths as Scootalo unfolded it, three pairs of eyes reading over the letter with a mixture of hope and dread.
Dear Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo,
It took me awhile to finally read your letter and a lot longer to write this one. It wasn't easy composing my thoughts because when I think of you three, I had this immediate, gut reaction. When it came to you three, I got angry. So very angry. I know I tortured your sisters (and in Scootaloo's case her honorary sister) in high school, I can't take back how terrible a person I was then but after everything I had done and for the reasons why you did what you did. I can't express how enraged it made me to even think about it. About everything that happened because of your actions.
At this point all three felt their stomachs drop. But this was what they deserved and so they carried on for the rest of their chewing out.
But I forgive you.
.... what?
Don't get me wrong, what you did still hurts. It's still going to hurt and I'm still going to be angry for awhile longer. But I'm trying to get over it, I'm trying to put Anon-A-Miss behind me. And as I had time to think it over and think about what happened to you three after you were found out, I started thinking about myself after the Fall Formal. How badly I wanted to be forgiven for what I had done and how lonely I felt being ostracized like that. At some point it just has to stop and grudges have to be let go. So I won't hold this over your heads.
I want you three to learn from your mistakes. And I want you to know that even if it seems bad now, things will get better. Just keep your heads up.
Take care,
Sunset Shimmer
The three stared at the letter for the longest time, then read it over again before looking between the three of them, their smiles tentatively hopeful. Sunset was still angry with them, but she kind of accepted their apologies.
At exactly six o'clock in the morning, a digital clock on a night stand went off but instead of in that monotonous 'beep' that was the usual default, it instead turned on the radio to the local music channel. The song that would greet the listeners at this moment was a decent pop song that recently made it's way up the charts, not an amazing song but certainly not as monotonous as some of what was being put on the air and touted as what would be the hit of the year. The rhythmic beats roused a figure in the bed next to the night stand, the person stirring and turning over onto her back before taking in a deep breath and raising her arms above her head, beginning to stretch in a slow, deliberate manner, much like a majestic jungle cat. When the stiffness was worked out and some pops elicited from her joints, she rolled out of her queen sized bed before heading to her dresser, brushing a lock of curly blonde hair out of her magenta eyes.
Adagio Dazzle, leader of the now de-powered sirens, looking as fabulous as ever despite just rolling out of bed dressed in only a pair of form fitting cotton shorts and an old t-shirt she had picked up from a concert years ago. Many would think that her nightwear would be something much more slinkier, sexier, or perhaps that she would even go without. But really, dressing in her finest nightwear every night without another to appreciate the sight made it lose it's charm, and sleeping naked was just so passe.
After picking out her outfit for work for the day, she turned off her radio and headed for the bathroom for a quick shower... only to find that it was occupied. With a soft huff, she knocked on the door, only to hear her sister Aria's voice come through, sounding ever so delightful as usual.
"Hang on already! Geez!"
With a roll of her eyes and with a newly acquired sense of patience, Adagio waited until the door finally opened and Aria stepped out, dressed in a black button up shirt with name tag and slacks, all set and ready for her job at an electronics store. The short haired siren scowled in turn to Adagio's grin, the older woman unable to help but poke a bit at her sibling.
"And a good morning to you too, sunshine."
"Yeah, yeah, it's all yours."
"Mm. Have a good day at work, try not to get caught goofing off and playing the demo games again."
Another roll of the eyes but Adagio had known Aria for so long it was easy enough to read that the other appreciated the sentiment. After the youngest siren bid her a good day as well, Adagio was in the bathroom, showering, fixing herself up and dressing. The main bulk of the process was spent with a hair dryer for her mass of hair to make sure it was all dry. When she was out, Aria had already left their apartment but Sonata was awake and spry, not having to go in to work until about late morning and thus preparing breakfast as she often did. It was a sweet gesture and the middle child of the siren siblings had gotten much better at cooking, but Adagio wished she would learn to not just set the dirty dishes in the sink and forget them. But it was something to gripe about later since Sonata met her with a big smile and served her up a plate of breakfast. Eggs sunny side up, a piece of toast with some jam on it, and two links of sausage.
"Morning Dagi! How'd ya' sleep?"
"Very well. And you?"
"Good! Though I had a dream that I was having a final battle against a boss and I tossed a pokeball. Except instead of summoning a pokemon I summoned Aria and she just kicked the main bad guy's butt."
"How interesting."
"Yeah, I kinda thought it was weird too. But like if Aria's MMA career really takes off then like, she'll be super strong right?"
While Sonata continued on, Adagio served herself a cup of coffee and enjoyed her breakfast. The younger siren could go on and on, in the past it had annoyed her and Adagio would be lying if she said it didn't slowly grate. But a lot of things had changed after the Battle of the Bands at CHS. Having their powers taken away had been a shock, none of them had known what would happen, the biggest fear being they would slowly and painfully starve to death. Then came the resentment and bitterness as they fled west to Los Pegasus, times had been hard. Then when it finally all came to a head in the.... incident, all three had started to pull themselves up out of the lurch and get on with their new human lives.
Once Adagio had finished her breakfast, she stood and delivered her dishes to the sink before giving her sister a quick hug, her voice betraying a hint of the pride she felt at her next works.
"Have a good day at work, Sonata."
"You too, Dagi!"
While being a sign twirler might not of seemed like much to others, Adagio was happy to see the other siren had a job, and one that she was good at to boot. From there it would be a quick drive to her job at a motorcycle dealership, a job that fit the fluffy haired siren like a glove. After all, the gems only helped them to sing and sow discord, having a silver tongue was a skill refined over the centuries that the siren had been alive. At this point she could sell Christmas cards in July and sand to the desert dwelling Appleloosians. With summer near it's end and starting into a warm fall, it was the perfect weather to sell to the usual crowd of men that would soon be parted with the large sum of money that was burning a hole in their pockets.
The day went by uneventfully for Adagio, the siren looking as sharp as ever in the dark, form fitting, button up, long sleeved shirt (with the top button undone to help show off that low cut, white undershirt of course), heeled leather boots, and black jeans. She was about ready to go on her lunch break when she noticed an interesting sight, the one of a certain blue haired guitarist checking out one of the motorcycles. With a sly smirk, Adagio quietly snuck up behind the other (not an easy feat in heels mind you) and slipped her arms around Jackie's shoulders, whispering into her ear and quite pleased when she felt the shiver going up the woman's spine.
"Is there anything I can do for you, Miss Vibrato?"
"GAH!"
A pleased chuckle sounded in Adagio's throat, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to one foot, a coy smile on her face after Jackie shot out of her arms and turned around.
"Geez! I'm pretty sure you don't do that kinda thing on the job!"
"Oh but you're a special case. Aren't you lucky?"
"Yeaahhhhhhh."
"Speaking of job, why aren't you at yours?"
"Hey, I'm not on call twenty four seven to uber, I get riders when I get riders."
"I see. And you chose to spend your down time here? Staring at this particular motorcycle?"
"Yeah. What about it?"
"Do you know that this particular brand of Kawasaki street bike will run you about seven thousand and five hundred dollars?"
Hearing the price made Jackie's face blanch slightly and it caused Adagio to smirk. The siren pulled the sleeve of her shirt back, checking her watch before moving to slip an arm around Jackie's shoulders and lead her to the front of the store.
"Uhhh, Adagio?"
"It's my lunch break, why don't you join me?"
While the sandwiches from the delicatessen down the street were normally delicious, it was even more so when there was a show going on. Jackie was squirming slightly every now and then in between big bites of the sandwich Adagio had bought for her. For her part, there was no need to say anything, just looks and a flirtatious smile could keep the entertainment going. It was almost a shame at how easy it was with the guitarist. When she felt she had let Jackie dangle enough was when Adagio spoke up.
"So, you have an interest in motorcycles?"
"Eh, kind of."
"Mainly because a certain girlfriend of yours would just love a red and black street bike such as the one you were looking at?"
".... yeah."
It was adorable how obvious Jackie could be, Adagio could see the appeal as the guitarist gave her a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of her neck after being pegged like that. Now that the ice was broken, the blue haired woman seemed to find it easier to talk and offered up more to the story.
"Sometimes she talks about her old bike that she used to have back in Canterlot. She always sounds like she misses being able to ride whenever she talks about it."
"I'm guessing she couldn't take it with her when she came out here?"
"Nope. Actually it got vandalized during that whole Anon-A-Miss crap by some students. She said the only way it was ever going to move was if she pushed it around."
Ah yes, that ugly incident that still seemed to rear it's head even though it had been about eight months since then. Honestly it had astounded Adagio how no one had figured out that Sunset was innocent. With a thoughtful hum, Adagio entwined her fingers and rested her chin upon them as she studied the other.
"How sweet of you to think of your girlfriend like that. But from what I can tell you hardly have enough scratch for a new bike."
"Well, my bands got a big gig lined up soon, I'll be able to start saving up."
"But it will still take you quite some time."
"... yeah."
Tapping her chin in thought, a mischievous grin came to Adagio's face as an idea came to mind.
"Well, I could help you attain such a fantastic present sooner. For a price."
The way Adagio said that last part with that particular smirk made Jackie lean as far back as the plastic booth seat would allow.
After a fantastic lunch and a satisfying day where she made a couple sales, Adagio had a slight skip in her step as she entered her apartment, not even bothered at the sight of Sonata on the couch, keeping the TV remote far out of Aria's reach as the short haired siren kept her older sister in a head lock.
"Give it!"
"Nooo! Thew new episode of Stephanie Galaxy is going to be on! I don't want to miss it!"
"Tough tits, it's my turn to watch what I want tonight!"
"Dagiiiiiii! Help!"
With a roll of her eyes, Adagio waltzed over to the couch and easily plucked the remote out of Sonata's hand. She fell back into her chair and flipped the channel, much to the protest of the two younger sirens.
"If you both can't agree then it's officially my turn to watch what I please. Oh! And good news."
"You saw the error of your ways and took a vow of chastity?"
Ignoring the snark from Aria and stepping in before Sonata could put in her two cents, she spoke up.
"No. Feel free to keep Vibrato's number on speed dial, I think you'll find she'll be quite the little helper in the upcoming months."
"... and Shimmer is cool with this?"
"Well, she's not going to find out any time soon."
Raising a brow at the pleased look on Adagio's face, Aria sighed and decided not to question it. When Adagio had that look on her face, that was usually the best course of action.
"Fine. So good day then for you I guess?"
"Fantastic actually. Who's up for Chinese for dinner? My treat."
It had been a couple of weeks since Jackie had made her deal with Adagio and it wasn't as bad as she had thought.
"And once you're done with the foot rub, you can start on painting the nails."
It was even worse.
Instead of doing the smart thing and say lying about working or being at band practice, Jackie had elected to follow through on her promise since she'd actually need to work for Adagio to help her with Sunset's gift. Thus here she was, sitting on the couch and rubbing Adagio's feet. While Jackie looked positively thrilled to be doing this, Adagio looked as content as a cat that had eaten a canary as she reclined on the couch. The siren lazily waved a hand to the coffee table where the drink Jackie had prepared for Adagio, Jackie's cell phone, and all the supplies were to have Adagio's toenails painted, going through the procedure since she had correctly guessed that Jackie would have no idea what she was doing.
"File the nails, and push back the cuticles, warm up the bottle then clear coat, first coat of paint, let it dry, then second coat, then another clear. "
"You know some people would think that this is a bit of abuse of power."
"Hmm, and they would be wrong. An abuse of power would be forcing you to wear that adorably revealing dog costume with matching collar and leash that Sonata picked up from that one delightful convention."
"... I'll be good."
"That's what I thought."
By the time Jackie was applying the second coat, Aria and Sonata strolled in, the former having come from training at the gym and the latter from her job. Seeing the guitarist on the couch and serving their older sister made Sonata start giggling and Aria start smirking, her snark rearing it's head.
"I'm impressed you're still at Adagio's beck and call, Vibrato. You must be really pussy whipped to put up with this for your girlfriend."
"Shut it!"
Glaring at the snickering siren, Jackie's attention was brought back to Adagio as she clicked her tongue.
"That's not very nice, Jackson. I think you owe her an apology."
"Grr... fine, I'm sorry Aria."
Many would be gracious/merciful enough to take the apology and leave it at that. Many people were not Aria.
"And do my laundry, it's really starting to pile up again."
"Oh! And then take my money and run down to the market so I can make my super chocolaty, sour gummy worm shake! And clean up the blender after I'm done!"
The guitarist could only glare at the two younger sirens as Sonata searched the pantry for a snack and Aria waltzed off to go take a shower. Adagio snickered softly as Jackie stewed in silence, going back to finish her work of painting nails. She had to admit it was quite lovely to have someone under her spell again, it wasn't as easy when she had been able to use magic but still wonderful. There was also a sense that she was possibly impressed with Jackie for sticking through this so that Adagio would stash away part of her monthly income to help Jackie get that gift for Sunset. So she reached over and fondly patted the blue haired woman's head, which earned her a scowl of course but Adagio's smile was still in place.
"Keep it up and that motorcycle will soon be yours."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah..."
"Oh yes, and don't worry about coming over until after Saturday."
".... why? What's going on?"
"Oh nothing, I just figure you'll want the rest of the week to prepare. Since while you were in the bathroom, Tino called saying that Sapphire Shore's opening act for her Los Pegasus stop cancelled on her. And she asked your band to take their place."
".... WHAT!??!?!?!?"
Needless to say the days up until Saturday found the Pony Breakers practicing like crazy. Further contact with Sapphire Shores's agent and they found they'd have exactly thirty minutes total so they also planned out the set up and the set of music they would use, mixing the usual favorites and some new songs to throw out there. With everything planned out the Pony Breakers were confident that they were Saturday! Although they wished their equipment wasn't crappy looking. And that they had more time to prepare. And that the crowd they'd be playing too wasn't solely into pop because they were going to be at the concert to see one of the giants of pop and...
Okay yeah they were nervous as fuck.
"Oh sweet candy coated zombie Jesus..."
Jackie's face blanched when she peaked out from the curtain on stage right, seeing that the Los Pegasus bowl was completely sold out. Sunset, Tino, and Poppy had all taken a peak as well, the three nervous in their own ways. Then again what could the group have expected? It was the Los Pegasus Bowl, it was the biggest outdoor amphitheater on the west coast and the biggest acts always performed at it, drawing huge crowds.
"Dios mio that's a lot of people!"
"We're going to die on stage..."
While Tino and Poppy were about as confident as could be at the moment, Sunset shook her head and clapped her hands to grab the rest of the band's attention.
"Come on guys! I know this is a bigger crowd than what we're used to, but we can do this! Think about how much more work we'll get after this! How much more known we'll get? We can do this!"
"S-Sunshine is right!"
At this point Jackie slapped her face and tried to get pumped.
"So what if this crowd is mainly here to see an icon of pop and we're rock? So what if it's a crowd that's bigger than what we're used to? So what if this is truly our make or break moment and that an opportunity like this might not come again in a long time if we blow it?! WE'RE HERE TO ROCK THEIR FACES OFF AND GET FAMOUS SO WE CAN GET PAID FOR BRINGING AWESOME ROCK INTO THE WORLD!"
It was a speech that would have possibly been more compelling... if Jackie's tell tale fear sign wasn't clearly visible. Seriously, this was probably the worst it had ever been, her right knee was shaking like a level nine earthquake! Still, despite the varying levels of anxiety they all felt, none of them were going anywhere. They were less than two minutes away from going on, Tino was taking deep breaths, Poppy was cracking her knuckles in preparation, and Sunset placed a hand on Jackie's shoulder, wanting to help ease the guitarist's nerves some.
"Jackie, you need to hurl before we go on?"
"No, no... Sunshine, you know I'll be okay when I start to play. You gonna be okay?"
"Yeah. Y-Yeah..."
"Alright... one last thing in case we get famous enough they make a documentary movie about us."
"Huh?"
All of a sudden Jackie grabbed Sunset, dipping the young woman slightly and passionately kissing her.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Pony Breakers!"
Standing up straight, Jackie and Sunset quickly fixed their hair before going out with Tino and Poppy. The cheering wasn't as big as it would of been if they were the main act, but it was still enough to give them a shot of confidence. Jackie was bombastic as she greeted the crowd, Poppy counted them off to start on three.
"One..."
Fame and money. Money that could be used for things. Better equipment. Paying off bills. Get a better apartment. Pay for Sunset's college.
"Two..."
Both Sunset and Jackie were primed and ready, Sunset to let loose her voice to bring the lyrics to the masses and Jackie ready to shred. They glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes, sharing a smile.
"Three!"
And it all fell away, anxiety, the intimidating presence of the crowd as they began. Poppy would start it off, setting the beats as Tino's bass joined the with smooth bass which paved the way for Jackie to begin her assault with riffs that that would crash the party and catch everyone's attention so that the sweet and powerful voice of Sunset Shimmer could deliver the lyrics that would pump up the crowd and get them psyched. For the full thirty minutes the Pony Breakers rocked harder than they ever had before, not stopping for even a second as their 'special effects' came into play and the crowd went wild.
It was thirty minutes of exhilaration where their passion reached out to the crowd and it was returned with roaring applause. When they finished with the final flourish, all were panting hard, the front of Jackie and Poppy's shirts drenched with sweat but all with smiles on their faces as they waved and left the stage. Jackie's dragon wings and tattoo went away seconds after leaving the stage, the same with Sunset's tattoo did as well. The forms of Poppy and Tino had changed as well, gaining tattoos that were unique unto themselves, but Tino's feathered wings were more that of a cicada's and Poppy's leathery like a bat. This certainly added to Sunset's hypothesis but it was for another time, right now they were feeling great and it was time to party!
A knock on the door called Adagio to the door, the siren opening it and surprised upon seeing who was on the other side.
"I didn't expect you to actually come, Jackson. Not after you made it big a couple weeks ago."
Stepping aside, she let Jackie head inside, the guitarist going over to the couch with a soft snort before replying verbally.
"We got paid good for that gig and we got a spike on selling our music online, yeah, but I can't just burn through cash, not yet."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Gotta' save up for the important stuff, like stuff for Sunshine and booze and stuff. And probably bills. So I still want to keep this deal going, alright?"
Smirking softly, Adagio moved to sit in her arm chair, working to take off her boots before tossing them to Jackie.
"I'm impressed with you being so frugal Jackie. Now shine my boots, make me a mojito and run me a bubble bath."
Catching the boots, Jackie grit her teeth before sighing and standing up to get to work.
"Oh and Jackson, it's rather too quiet in the apartment at the moment. Serenade me with some of Coloratura's old pop songs and some Britneigh Spurs."
While the initial Los Pegasus heat wave had subsided, it was still very warm at night, making it hard for residents who did not have or could not afford to leave the AC on very hot at night. While some could manage to sleep just fine, others had found it difficult to be comfortable enough to catch some proper shut eye. This was no exception to Jackie or Sunset Shimmer of course, despite their best efforts of kicking off the sheets, stripping down to underwear and forgoing their usual snuggling, the room was still far too uncomfortably stuffy.
Just when it seemed they were finally asleep however, the digital clock beside their bed began to sound, the sound growing louder the longer it was left unattended while the two young women were jolted from slumber.
"God dammit!"
The guitarist's hand slammed down on top of it, managing to press the button and silence the infernal device. Jackie's hand slid off as she squeezed her eyes shut, wishing for just a bit more sleep so that she wouldn't be a zombie for the rest of the day but her girlfriend had other plans. Sunset instead forced herself to rise, stretching her arms above her head in an attempt to further wake her body before standing and moving around the room. While she would of loved to sleep in, it was the first day of her college classes and she had no intention of being late. She glanced over to the bed and saw Jackie had successfully managed to roll over and fall back asleep. While she would of liked for her girlfriend to be awake and see her off on her first day, she instead quietly crept up to Jackie's side of the bed and planted a quick kiss on her cheek before exiting the bedroom.
After a cool, refreshing shower, dressing and having a quick breakfast, Sunset was out the door and ready to start her trek, keeping a written set of instructions on which buses to take to get to the college. If she caught all of these right, then she'd make it to the campus with plenty of time to spare...
"Where were you?"
Barely catching the whisper, Sunset placed her book bag on the desk and slowly sank into her seat, exhausted and a little frazzled. But she put on a smile as she glanced over to the human Twilight Sparkle.
"Nodded off on the bus, missed a stop."
That had cost her some time and running all the way to class hadn't changed the fact that she was late. The teacher was still on his roll, going over what the class entailed and the syllabus. She and Twilight had gone over what classes they would need for their majors and had found that they could take a good portion of them together if they could schedule it. Sunset was certain that her success in college would only increase if she had Twilight as a study buddy so to speak, but that wouldn't mean much if she couldn't master the bus routes she'd have to take.
Shaking off the tired feeling clawing at her, Sunset took a notebook and pencil out of her bag and began jotting down notes.
The next couple of days would prove challenging for Sunset. With the heat still keeping her up at night, she wasn't as sharp as she liked to be. This lead to her missing some questions directed at her by teachers or missing chances to ask questions that would have to wait until after the class was over. Quite honestly she hated that, she didn't want to come off as some airhead to her teachers, that was a first impression she wanted to avoid. On top of all that, she also had to try and stay sharp on the bus. The neighborhood she lived in still wasn't great and she had to make sure that no creeps tried to pull anything. By the end of the week it was all starting to get on her nerves.
"I'm home."
Sunset's call carried through the apartment. Bobby was out, the man nowhere to be seen in the living room, and no sound came from Jackie. With a soft sigh, Sunset headed to the back, figuring she'd find her girlfriend with her headphones on trying to make more songs, but found the bedroom was empty. What caught her eye was her swimsuit placed on the bed with a note.
Get into this, meet me on roof.
Raising a brow, Sunset had already recognized the hand writing as her girlfriend's and idly wondered what the guitarist was up to. Still, she set the note aside and changed into her bikini, putting on a t-shirt and shorts before slipping on a pair of sandals. Heading up to the roof, what she found brought a smile to her face.
Jackie had brought out the old lawn chairs and the cooler next to her, reclining in one with her bikini top and swim trunks on, a cold beer in hand as a very inviting looking kiddie pool, filled with water and some ice cubes was right next to her.
"Hey babe. 'Bout time you got home."
"Mm-hm, this explains why you wanted me to wear my bikini. You've been busy."
"Well you know, had a couple bucks in my pocket and this seemed like a good idea."
Reaching a hand in to test the water, Jackie then reached into the cooler and got some more melted ice to toss in.
"I keep missing you in the mornings when you go to catch the bus Sunshine. So you know... I figure we could celebrate the end of your first week in college. You survived!"
"Hooray."
While she tried to sound sarcastic, there was a big smile on Sunset's face, taking her time to strip off her t-shirt and shorts to give Jackie a little show. The whistle and woofs easily told her that her girlfriend appreciated it.
Stepping into the pool, Sunset found it chilled enough that it sent a small shiver up her spine. A happy sigh escaped her as she reclined, not caring that she probably seemed a bit silly since the pool was so small her limbs ended up sticking over the sides. Sunset made a motion to Jackie which caused the guitarist to get out of her seat and join her girlfriend, the two cuddling up and just enjoying the view of the skyline at sunset while Jackie added ice from the cooler every so often.
