> She Makes Me Smille
>  by Sun Aura
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sonata and her sisters could see everything so clearly the moment those girls, a band called ‘the Rainbooms’, had overloded their Gems. It disrupted their Magic Channel, shattered their Desire, and not knowing what to do, they ran.

It took a few days to come to terms with it all. The realization of the last three and a half years crashed down on them. It was strange, terrifying, and filled with guilt. Everything they’d done, and everything they had tried to do, wanted to do. Everything they would have done, with no regret on their Heart.

They tried not to argue on how to move forward. Of course, each had her own ideas of what they should do now, but none of them wanted any arguing anymore. The Desire may be gone, but some things were muscle memory. There were too many words, things that they never wanted to say again, when they argued. So they decided to start over.

Despite being mad with Desire, they had been smart. They’d used their Magic to fake paperwork, to secure a future here. After all, until the past few months, they’d never thought they’d be able to go back to Equestria.

According to the paperwork, they were the Calypso sisters, three girls orphaned by a fire a year and a half ago. Both the name and the fire were false, but it explained why three teens were without parents and paperwork. Adagio had turned eighteen then, and the law considered her Legal Guardian to her sisters, thankfully allowing them to side step the foster care system without using more Magic.

It only worked on people because of their Magic. They couldn’t make people believe them, but they could intensify their Desire. A Desire to believe the truth. Desire worked on their landlord to, playing into his generosity and Desire to help out a trio of what he believed were recent orphans. Only Magic could get a man to sign a contract where he gives them a large home for pretty much free and pay for utilities. Even with their spell now broken, the contract kept the house in their name and the bills in his.

Money had been similar, intensifying a Desire to give either free food or cash. And for other items, well, even if they hadn’t had the cash, some employees were already so desperate for a sale. Add a bit of Magic, and suddenly discounts are added too.

The most worrying thing, overall, was money itself. They had enough to last a while, more if they sold off things they’d bought a while back, but were now filed with disgust upon seeing. And they could get real jobs, if they tried. Though their voices would never be the same, they still had enough Musical talent to work elsewhere in the business.

That is, if any of them could bring themselves to sing.

Surprisingly, even after all that had happened, they were still registered at Canterlot High. They hadn’t realized until Adagio picked up her phone the Monday after. Sonata didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but she couldn’t help but hear them.

“Hello there, Miss Dazzle,” a voice she recognized as the school’s Principal greeted. “We are calling because it seems that you and your sisters have been marked absent. If you’re sick or had a family emergency, please send in a note as too many unexcused absences can result in detent-”

“You know damn well why we’re not there,” Adagio shouted. Well, she tried to shout, but her voice was still recovering.

“I assure you, I have no idea what you mean,” the Principal’s all too sweet voice rang out.

“Cut the crap,” she croaked out. “I know you know what we are. So why not leave us alone?”

“Many reasons,” she replied. “First off, as Principal, I have a duty to see why our students are not in class. Secondly, there are six other students who have asked about getting your address to check up on you. While that is obviously against the law, I’m supposed to call you anyway.”

“Why would any of them care,” she said. “And why would you? Why not just erase us from your records? You know what we are. We. Don’t. Exist. Here. We tore you apart, why try and see what happened to us?”

“True,” she answered. “Yet, you also know that we recently had an Interdimensional Unicorn turn into a Demon and destroy the school. Not to mention said Interdimensional Unicorn and an Interdimensional Alicorn Princess giving Magic to five of our Human students that has caused a fair amount of shenanigans since then.”

“What does that have to do with-” she began.

“You don’t have to leave,” she cut her off, her voice becoming a lot more serious. “You do have the option to come back, to fix things. That door is always open. Many doors are still open for you, even if you think they can’t be.”

Adagio worked her mouth for a moment, trying to come up with a proper response.

“Of course,” the Principal said, switching back to formally upbeat, “I understand that you might fear repercussions from your fellow students. If you wish, we could switch you and your siblings to our online courses. While they’re not as sociable as classes, you will still be able to finish your Senior Year as normal. Naturally you will have to come to campus for standardized tests, but otherwise you can keep from returning while also getting your education.”

Eventually, she had agreed to that deal.

It worked, for a while. Or at least, it gave them something to do other than dwell on all they’d destroyed. Even so, that dwelling was still there.

It took months for them to break. The thing that did it was feeling Equestiran Magic again. Not just those six and whatever grand powers they possessed, but normal Magics. Sonata had seen it first, a girl in the mall had grown pony ears and a Unicorn horn, deciding to levitate the many bags of her shopping spree. The others didn’t quite believe her until they saw a girl with Pony ears and Pegasus wings fly by their second story window.

They couldn’t ignore it, because they could no longer pretend to be Human. That’s what Sonata had been doing. She pretended it wasn’t real, that the lie of the Calypso Sisters was the truth. That they’d never let their Desire run wild.

But that only worked in a world without Magic. She could still feel every pulse of energy, every spell, and every spike of emotion. Yet that hurt the worst, as she felt so empty. It wasn’t a hunger, like Desire had been. It was hollow.

Every time she tried to sing she felt it. Her voice had healed, yet it held no Magic.  She was like a hornless Unicorn, or a Pegasai without wings. A part of her was locked away from her, and it made her throat feel as raw as it had the night her Soul Gem had shattered.

‘Many doors are still open for you.’

She wasn’t sure how the meeting was set up, but eventually Sonata found herself and her sisters at Canterlot High long after students should have gone home. Seven remained. Thankfully, they only sent one to talk, the rest hanging back in a clear ‘just in case you try something’ message.

Why did they send this one? Wouldn’t the Princess-no, that wasn’t her. It was a Counterpart, one they’d never met, never fought. Six humans, all looking to the Unicorn to lead.

The Unicorn, Sunset Shimmer she remembered, heard them out. She knew a little too much, or at least more about Sirens than most Unicorns should know. The questions she asked were just the kind that made her flinch, a combination of fear and guilt running though her as Adagio answered for them.

When asked why they wanted to go back, they all had the same answer. Despite everything else, the feeling of not belonging, the emptiness of their lost Soul Gems, and any other reason, they all had the same one. To fix what they did.

They had been sent home while Sunset went off to discuss this with the Equestrian Princesses. It took a while, almost like a court case. Even with Sunset giving them hopeful updates, they were sure they’d be imprisoned for their crimes, even factoring in their Desire. They’d accepted it too.

Yet, a few days later, they were told the verdict.

The three of them had been kids when they were last in Equestria. Even Adagio was still underage at the time, though just by a few days, and so they were tried as such. Naturally, all three protested. They’d done plenty in this world, where they were all adults under Equestrian Law.

But that was the thing. While they had done terrible things with Desire in this world, none was technically illegal. So for three underage Sirens, mad with Desire, had already more than served their punishment in the form of banishment.

All three Sirens protested, of course. Their ‘banishment’ had been Princess Celestia’s only option, and even though they were in another world, that world hadn’t been a prison, it had been near a paradise. They deserved at least something.

In the end, Sunset and the Princesses came to a compromise with them. Something called a ‘reformation program’. They could go back to Equestria, but under mild supervision. And part of that supervision was to report to both Sunset Shimmer and the ‘Princess of Friendship’.

They didn’t pack much. Clothes were unnecessary in Equestria, and most entertainment items needed to be plugged in. Even phones and hand-held games would run out of battery soon enough. Even small trinkets were hard to want, knowing what they’d done to get them.

Soon enough, they stood in front of a statue, it’s surface rippling, more like water than stone. The only items that had made it through packing were musical. There were a few instruments, ones they knew worked in Equestria. Some were CDs, songs they’d liked from other artists.

However, there were a few folders, shoved to the bottom of the bags, filled with Music. Their Music, songs they’d been writing. And part of Sonata felt sick reading through them, the Desire in them so strong she could feel it. Yet, as terrible as it was, it was a part of her. She couldn’t let go of it, just because she hated what she felt when she wrote it.

There were eight now, but only seven were saying goodbye. Sonata hadn’t expected anyone to be there to say goodbye, or at least not a goodbye that felt more like ‘Until next time’ and not ‘Good riddance’. Adagio told Sunset that their place, the house they owned in this world, was open to them if needed. They wouldn’t be needing it, but there was too much to not go to waste.

After that, they stepped through the portal. Sonata had forgotten what it was like, going through the Portal. It wasn’t something she’d ever do enough times to get used to the way her body twisted and pulled as the colors flew by.

The three Sirens sort of fell over on one another as they went from two legs to four. Untangling themselves, Sonata was all too aware of the insults on the tip of her tongue, the words Aria barely stopped herself from repeating once again.

Feeling the Magic in the air, it only made her remember what was missing. She brought her hoof to her chest, automatically trying to feel her Soul Gem, yet there was only blue fur.

Looking around, Sonata found a library. Five mares and a teenage Dragon sitting at a table, though none with books. They all greeted the Princess of Friendship, a tall purple Alicorn, before all looked to them.

Sonata was a little afraid of the rainbow-maned Pegasus. She looked somewhere between angry and skeptical, almost looking for a reason to fight. The Earth Pony in the hat looked similar, though a little more calm. She seemed less likely to come up and punch her.

The Dragon was an odd one out in the room, but he was between boredom and interested amusement, an odd combination, but it meant he was waiting for something to happen.

The white Unicorn was beautiful, and seemed to have an easier time looking welcoming. On the other hoof, she could see that the yellow Pegasus was trying, despite fear. Though that fear looked more natural than situational.

Then there was the Pink Earth Pony. Her color and energy nearly dominated the room, only kept in check by the Princess’s Aura of Power and Leadership. As the mare bounced in place, waiting to ask her own questions, and Sonata stared as the mare’s curls bounced even more than the mare herself. Stars, the fluff of that mane could rival Adagio’s.

“So what’s the plan?” Adagio spoke up. “You mentioned a place to stay and jobs. I doubt you looked far, so where are we going?”

“Nowhere,” the Princess said.

“Come again?” she raised an eyebrow.

“The ‘plan’, for now, is for you to stay in Ponyville,” she answered. “I asked around town for job openings, so you can all start that in the next few days.”

“And a place to live?” Aria asked.

“Here, again for now,” she answered. “The castle has a lot of empty bedrooms to stay in, and while I technically could do it, I’m not going to use my power as Princess to get you a free house. I told you we have some jobs lined up, so until you are back on your hooves and able to get a place of your own, you can stay here. The only catch is that some of your paycheck will involve contributing to groceries.”

“And that whole ‘supervision’ bit?” Adagio asked. “You mentioned-

“Twilight!” the pink mare had cut her off with something near loving exasperation. “There’s a lot of time tomorrow morning to explain things to them. We have more important things to do! How often do I get to throw a ‘Welcome to Ponyville and We’re Glad You’re Trying to be Better!’ party?”

“Very often,” the Princess, Twilight, answered, giving the mare a deadpan stare. “Luna, Discord, Trixie, Starlight, Sunset got two, all of the Changelings-”

“Okay....” she said, thinking of a new reason. “But never for Sirens!”

The princess let out a sigh, rubbing her temples. Judging by the others, this was a common occurrence. Soon enough, she relented, which sent the pink mare into a squeal of glee.

Now, Sonata was sure she had to have walked somewhere, or have had someone pull her down a hall, or even had someone teleport her into a different room. Yet, it seemed that without moving herself or even getting the flipping feeling of a teleport, she was in the middle of a party.

It looked like another room entirely, though the crystal walls still suggested she was in the castle. A large group of ponies was already enjoying the company and the music, as if the party had been in full swing before she arrived. If that were true, she’d have to congratulate the castle on its soundproofing, as she really should have been able to hear the music that blasted out of the speakers.

Unsure what to do, Sonata wandered through the crowd. The Ponies around her looked familiar, oddly unsurprisingly. They were all counterparts to those she’d seen in town, in that school. It didn’t matter much, as both would be strangers to her. Though the Ponies did have a little bit of an advantage, as they didn’t know what all she’d done.

Even so, Sonata felt lost. She didn’t know what to do at parties like this. In the past, before Desire, they’d be small parties. Birthday celebrations with friends or something, where it was basically just her and her sisters and a few friends hanging out like normal, except there was an excuse to eat a lot of sugary junk food.

Then Desire took her. After that, she’d been to parties like this. Yet, she was either the entertainment instead of a guest, or too focused on Desire and making the guests adore her to truly socialize with anyone.

Wandering mostly, she end up by a snack table, grabbing a few pastries. They were delicious, and doubly familiar. They had the familiarity of Equestrian food, though she still found it odd that even food tastes different between worlds. But it also tasted like the ones from a bakery she liked, back in the Human world.

She’d stopped going there after… after everything had happened. A lot of students went to that bakery too, and the idea of running into them kept her away, even with the occasional cravings. Perhaps this world had the same bakery. It’d be nice to be able to get real baked goods again.

“Hi!”

Sonata jumped, realizing she’d been so far in thought that she hadn’t noticed someone come up to her. It was the pink mare, the one with the mane she was really tempted to play with. Bright blue eyes stared at her with a lovely smile, and Sonata couldn’t put together a thought.

“Hi,” Sonta managed to say.

“I’m Pinkie Pie,” the mare introduced. “And don’t worry, I already know your name! So, how are you doing? Are you having fun? If you want food suggestions, I’d go with the Royal Element Cupcakes!”

“I’m good,” she said, trying to answer all her questions. “I’m not sure about the ‘fun’ part yet, but which cupcakes?”

“These ones!” she answered, pulling her over to a table with, well, cupcakes. “Mrs. Cake made the original one, the strawberry flavored one with the sugar tiara and sun, but they were called ‘Princess Cupcakes’ back then!”

“Because the cake and colors of the frosting look like Princess Celestia?” she wondered, looking where she pointed.

“That’s how she designed them!”she nodded. “We added a bunch more since, a few of my own recipes. Now there’s also blueberry, crystal berry, rosy lavender, blackberry, cotton candy with rock candy pieces, almond, applecake, butterscotch, lemon raspberry, and even rainbow flavor!”

“Rainbow as in multi-flavor?” she asked.

“Nope,” she shook her head, causing her mane to keep bouncing even after she stopped. “Rainbow as in the liquid rainbows they make in the weather factory in Cloudsdale! Be careful, they’re spicy.”

“That must’ve been hard to make,” she frowned, tilting her head.

“It was,” she said, despite giggling at the memory. “I couldn’t use actual rainbow since, you know, even though it’s technically edible it’s hard to bake with because as soon as you start mixing it you just get a kinda brown-ish color. So I had to find the right spices and still balance that and the sweet!

“Though that wasn’t the hardest,” she sighed in amused exasperation. “Of course, I had to be testing out a batch when Pumpkin and Pound walked in. It takes forever to calm down terrified toddlers, and even then I had to drag Rainbow Dash into the shop to prove to them that I didn’t kill my friend and turn her into a batch of cupcakes.”

As Sonata looked over the cupcakes again, she did notice that the one with rainbow-colored frosting had a blue color for the cake that resembled the Pegasus from before. In fact, most of the cupcakes here resembled a Pony she’d seen earlier.

Before she could pick a cupcake, Sonata felt Pinkie pulling her elsewhere.

“I have an idea!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Come dance with me!”

“What?” Sonata said, raising her voice as the music grew louder. “I’m not- I’m not the best dancer! I mean, I can dance if I know the choreography, but I can’t just make up anything and look good. If you want, Aria’s our choreographer, or Dagi’s better at improvising. They’d be-”

“Silly,” she rolled her eyes with a smile. “Dancing at a party isn’t about ‘looking good’, it’s about having fun! And you can’t be any worse than Twilight! Just one dance? Please?”

“O-okay,” she relented.

Despite her hesitation, she let herself be dragged closer to the speakers. They weaved between ponies, all too interested in their dance to notice the pair bumping into them. Sonata wasn’t sure how anyone could dance, with bodies so close, but Pinkie managed to find a small clearing for the two of them.

As the song started up, she tried a few moves she remembered. None felt ‘right’ for the moment, sometimes too off tempo, and other times just wrong for the emotion of the lyrics. It was awkward, and part of her wanted to quietly slip away.

“It’s okay!” Pinkie assured her, shouting over the speakers. “Listen to the rhythm and follow my lead! Don’t focus on how you look, just have fun!”

She tried, but like most dance party songs, the tempo was too fast. It amazed her how Pinkie kept up with the tempo while she struggled to match her speed. Every time Sonata could catch up to what Pinkie was doing, the mare was already on the next move.

At the end of the song, she realized something. Pinkie repeated her movements when the song did. She took the same steps for the chorus each time it appeared. The verses were less predictable, but that was memorable.

As the next song started up, Sonata kept with her original plan, being a move behind. But as the song’s chorus began, she focused on Pinkie’s new movements, memorizing them. The next verse was still a move behind, but the next chorus was different.

Each move matched in sync with the beat, not even a fraction of a second behind. It reminded her of Sight Reading, but for dancing. She only had one shot to memorize something she’d never seen before preforming it herself.

Somehow, even though the verses were still unpredictable, Sonata felt like she was getting closer at following her lead. And of course, each chorus matched one another perfectly.

She didn’t notice how many songs she danced to, but it was far more than she had expected to. In fact, she hadn’t really realized how much they’d been dancing until Pinkie dragged her away again. This time, she headed to a bar that had been set up at the side of the room.

“You shouldn’t overwork your fun,” Pinkie said before turning to the purple mare behind the bar. “Two glasses of water please!”

“Thanks,” Sonata sighed as the mare delivered the drinks.

It’s easy to forget how good an ice cold glass of water can be, but sometimes it comes rushing back. A good long while of nonstop dancing is one of those times.

With the glass nearly drained, she only now realized how sore her muscles were. How long had they been dancing? She wasn’t quite sure. It felt like minutes, but at the same time it felt like it had been more than a day since she stepped through the portal. At the very least, it should be night. Maybe even well into the night, since they’d left in the evening.

“Do you want something else?” Pinkie offered. “Usually I wouldn’t suggest alcohol, I don’t like being drunk or the aftertaste even if it’s Apple Family Hard Cider, but you probably haven’t gotten to try some. I mean, Twi let us help on the whole ‘legal case’ bit of you coming back, and the file said you were underage back then, and the other world has a different age for drinking, so you haven’t, right?”

“I never thought about that,” Sonata admitted. “We probably could’ve used our Magic to convince someone to let us buy some, and I know there were chances at some of the parties we went to, but I never did. Not sure if Aria or Dagi did, but I didn’t.”

“Do you want to try something?” she asked.

“I wouldn’t know what to choose,” she said.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “Berry’s good with this kind of thing. She’ll pick something perfect! Though probably with, like, half the alcohol than usual since it’s your first time.”

Pinkie flagged down the purple mare once more to order. The purple mare, Berry she guessed, nodded and whipped up a drink quickly. It was colorful, and smelled rather fruity.

Tentatively taking a sip, she found that it tasted as fruity as it smelled and decently sweet. Although, as she took a proper drink, she realized what Pinkie meant about the aftertaste. It sort of stayed in the back of her throat for a minute, kind of bitter and sour.

“So, how was it?” Pinkie asked.

“I don’t think I’d order more for just the taste,” Sonata answered.

Even so, she kept drinking it. Perhaps just because it was something else to do. Just moments ago she was excited, exhilarated, and wanting to talk more. Yet just a small sentence, and she fell quiet again.

“What’s wrong?” Pinkie asked.

“Nothing,” Sonata sighed, realizing she was out of drink to distract herself with. “Just… you said you read my file, right?”

“Well, yeah,” she nodded. “I mean, Twi and Sunny thought we might need a lot to go through hoops so that you three wouldn’t be really punished, and I have a tendency to, as Twilight puts it, ‘think so far outside the box it creates a new box’. So she brought me in to look for loopholes and stuff, and I pointed out the Underage thing and the fact that you were banished without trial, which kinda cancels everything out in a way. Well, not exactly, but Twi’s better at legal talk.”

“At least you didn’t have to cross-examine a parrot,” she mumbled. “But… are you okay with that? Just-just everything I did and tried to do. You’re not… scared or anything?”

There was a moment of pause, and she wondered if pointing it out had given her the realization of it wall.  Yet, somehow, Pinkie broke into giggles.

“I nearly forgot you’re new here!” Pinkie snorted with laughter. “I forgot you were new during your own ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party!”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Sonata demanded.

“Well, it’s just-,” she explained, stifling her giggles as much as she could. “Like, Princess Luna tried to bring Eternal Night Twice, Discord let his Chaos run wild and temporarily helped Tirek take over the world, Sunset stole the Element of Magic and became a Demon, Starlight accidentally started a cult and then used time travel to spite us and accidentally destroyed the world a dozen times, and the Changelings invaded Canterlot and then their second attack was to kidnap everyone important and replace them with a fake!

“And that’s just the world-wide disasters!” she went on. “Here in Ponyville we’ve had everything from Diamond and Silver bullying their classmates to Trixie using an ancient artefact to enslave the town! Even my friends have gone nuts! Twi used a Want It Need It spell to make the town tear itself apart just for a school assignment, Rarity spent the day making everything ‘more fabulous’ by encasing Ponies in crystal sculptures, Rainbow managed to crash the weather factory, Flutters infested the town with Parasprites, and that’s just what I can think of off the top of my head! Yet, everyone’s all forgiven and friends now.”

“That’s….” Sonata tried to find a word. “Insane. That’s insane.”

“That’s Ponyville for you,” Pinkie shrugged. “You kinda know everything’s going to blow up eventually, but you might as well enjoy the ride. That said, your situation is more like when Spike went Berserk with Greed and began destroying the town to start up his hoard.”

“Spike’s the Dragon, right?” she asked. “A Dragon’s Greed is a lot like a Siren’s Desire.”

“Well, greed and desire sound similar,” she nodded.

“They’re… connected, even just in definition,” she agreed. “Greed is more just wanting in general, while Desire is more specific. A Dragon’s Greed causes them to become monsters that ramps up their hoarding tendencies until they’re taking anything and everything they can.

“A Siren’s Desire…”, she continued. “Well, firstly it’s part of our Magic. Like-like how Changelings take in Love, we take in Desire to use our Magic. But if our own Desire goes too far, we go mad, Berserk, like Dragons. Although we’re more coherent. We don’t become monsters, at least not physically. We usually work toward our original Desire, but it's never enough.”

“Never enough?” she asked.

“Desire comes from somewhere,” she explained. “I can’t quite…. Everything from the past few years is a bit fuzzy, you know? I can’t remember exactly what it was that started it, but I remember something about wanting to be loved, or wanting to be able to love? I’m not sure, but with Desire, even if we got the love we originally wanted, it wouldn’t be enough. It just fed our Desire, and we ended up wanting to be loved and adored by everyone, which led us to try and replace the Pony who gets the most love and adoration.”

“Celestia,” Pinkie guessed. “And then she sent you to the other world, and then you kinda survived over there, and then all the stuff Twi told us about with the battle of the bands.”

“Yeah,” Sonata nodded. “Maybe I will take that second drink.”

“Bad idea,” she said. “Drinking because you’re upset is a very bad idea. I’m not going to stop you, but I’ll remind you that it’s better to talk out what you’re upset about. A lot healthier in body and mind, you know?”

“Yeah,” she took a breath. “I just keep thinking of everything I did. If… You read the files, you know more of the story. If anyone here heard what I did…”

“They wouldn’t care,” she shrugged. “I told you, this is Ponyville. They’re used to being the testing grounds for Ponies trying to change their lives for the better. It’s the town of second chances and Friendship. Sure, if we announced what exactly you all did, some of them would be a lot less open to friendliness. But this whole thing is a process. You’ve already gone through realization and wanting to fix things, so next is working toward fixing those you hurt.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to apologize to everyone,” she shook her head. “The three of us already… we weren’t good to each other under Desire, and we’ve worked on that. But there’s a lot of Ponies, Humans, and who knows what else that were in between.”

“Well, it’s probably not too bad,” she said. “Twi said your Magic doesn’t control others, just raises Desire. So technically they only did things they wanted to do.”

“It doesn’t work like that,” she said. “I mean, it does. We were heightening their Desire, but usually there are lines you don’t cross. Think about things you’ve wanted to do, but know it’s a bad idea. Maybe you’ll get hurt, maybe it’ll hurt someone else, so you don’t do it. But with your Desire up, that line becomes less of a limit and more like just a line.”

“Maybe,” she mused. “Maybe Desire could make you want to ignore that line. But there’s still the choice to ignore the line.”

“You haven’t seen it in action,” she shook her head.

“Well….” she trailed off.

She looked over Sonata’s shoulder, as if she were making sure no one could hear her. Sonata couldn’t imagine who. Maybe the Princess had warned her not to talk about something. Maybe Pinkie just liked being dramatic.

“I kinda did?” Pinkie said. “Not in the way you think, but, well, my Counterpart in the Human World and I are, like, extra connected or something and able to dream one another's memories, but I'm also a lucid Dreamer. So sometimes when I dream we can talk to each other and share memories. I got to see her memory of the Battle of the Bands thing.”

“Really?” Sonata wondered. “How does that even work?”

“Ask Twi and Luna,” she shrugged. “Anyway, you made the students Desire to win the competition, so they slipped past their ‘line’ into sabotage and jeering. But they didn’t slip past the line into things that could be long-term. Easiest way to take out a band is a wrist injury for the guitarist. Yet the worst that happened was Trixie locking my Counterpart’s band in a room. So the way I see it, there’s different lines, and Desire says to ignore them all, but they can keep to the line.”

“But it still makes them want to cross the line,” she mumbled.

“And so might something else,” she said. “What if, instead of Desire, some major record company was coming to the competition and the winner got a record deal that’d launch them to stardom? The stakes are raised, without Magic, and they’d cross those lines but not others just the same.”

“I guess,” she said. “I don’t think anyone else’ll see it like that.”

“Maybe not,” she said. “But it explains some things, right? And it helps you move forward, realizing that while you did some bad things, and caused some bad things to happen, you were never fully controlling them.”

“I guess,” she repeated, lowering her head to the table. “Do you really think I can fix things? I know I can’t find everyone I hurt, but those I do know-”

“Thinking of anyone in particular,” she guessed.

“Y-yeah,” she swallowed. “I don’t- I don’t even know if our parents know what happened to us. Desire is quick to take hold, and we just left without warning. They sent us to school, and we never came back. And even if they do know…. Will they forgive us? They’re Sirens, so they should understand what Desire can do to us, but it doesn’t mean they will.”

“Well, they’re your parents,” she said. “If they loved you before, they love you now. If I’ve learned anything in my time battling all-powerful beings that break the world because of family issues, it’s that real family will take you back.”

Sonata was quiet for a moment. She stared at the near-empty glass, looking at the little bit of drink that had dripped back down and collected into something less than a sip. Strange, how you could never truly drink all of something.

“And what counts as ‘real family’?” Sonata muttered.

“Well, your family of course,” Pinkie answered, as if it were that simple. “What are your parents like?”

“Technically, they’re Adagio’s parents,” she admitted. “They adopted Aria and I when I was two. If they’re supposed to forgive us because of ‘family’, the there’s no guarantee for me and her. Blood is thicker than water and all that.”

“Blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb,” she corrected. “I know a lot of Ponies who are adopted, or consider a friend to be a sibling. They love each other just like a Blood Family should. Some of them love their Chosen Family far more than their Blood Family.”

“Rationally, I know that,” she said. “But I can’t help but be scared. I wasn’t sure Adagio, Aria, and I would be able to fix things with each other, that I could forgive them for some of the things they said back then. We’re working on it, but I still sometimes… old habits die hard, you know?”

Now it was Pinkie’s turn to stop and think. She stared off, her tongue barely poking out of her mouth as she waved her hoof, almost as if she were still talking. The mare really seemed unable to keep still.

“I might know a solution,” Pinkie said carefully. “So, Twi wasn’t going to bring it up, but she was going to look into your parents anyway. She would’ve already done it, but she said something about how Dragon Flame messages don’t reach the Siren Kingdom so she had to send it by regular mail which is a lot slower.”

“Well, the Siren Kingdom is underwater,” Sonata said.

“So you can breathe underwater!” she exclaimed. “That’s so cool!”

“More than that,” she said, momentarily forgetting the problems and perking up. “We have some transformation Magic too. Like, I look like an Earth Pony right now, right?”

“A short one, but yeah,” she nodded.

“Exactly,” she said, ignoring the comment. “But Sirens have two forms. This one’s better on land, but in water we can change into another form so that we can swim. Like, my entire bottom half turns into a long fishtail, and there’s extra fins to help me swim faster and more, uh, accurate? I mean I can turn better. I think my favorite part are the fins that kind of look like wings!”

“That sounds beautiful!” she gasped. “Can you show me now, or do you have to be in water?”

“Well, I…” she trailed off.

Her mood dropped, and Pinkie seemed to have realized that she asked the wrong question, as she dropped too. It had to be a trick, but she could’ve sworn the mare’s mane turn a little straighter. Bringing her hoof up to her chest, Sonata was suddenly hit once more with all she’d lost.

“I need Magic to change,” Sonata admitted, keeping her hoof in place. “Usually there’s a gem, right here. It’s called a Soul Gem, and it’s how Siren’s conduct our Magic. Mine was-Mine was shattered when the Desire broke. I’m not even sure if it can be fixed.”

“Well, we can look into that,” Pinkie assured her. “I’m sure Twilight can find something on it. Though hopefully it’s better than her last search for info on Sirens. That one said that you three were Immortal beings made to be evil and got banished by Starswirl the Bearded, like, two thousand years ago.”

“The Starswirl story is used to warn kids about Desire,” she said. “Though there are a few different endings, and I’m not sure which are real. Mom- Mom usually told told the one where he snaps them out of Desire.”

“Oh, right, that’s the other thing I’d been talking about,” she said, snapping to attention. “Your parents. My idea was that Twilight could track them down and tell them first, then ask if they still want to see you. I think they will, but it’d probably calm your fears if you know, right?”

“I think it would help,” she yawned. “How soon can Princess Twilight contact them?”

“Not sure,” she said a little sheepishly. “But she’s working on it, and we’ll tell you as soon as we know! Also, if you’re getting tired, I can show you where your room is.”

“Nah, I’m not tired,” she insisted, yawning again. “You set up this whole party for us. We should dance again.”

“While I love dancing with you, the party’s calming anyway,” she smiled. “And I think it’d be best if you didn’t overdo it and pass out in the punch bowl. Spike did that once, and he was sticky for days!”

“So, the punch was ‘Spiked’?” she grinned.

“That’s the exact joke I made!” she snorted.

The two laughed some more, though Sonata probably only thought it was funnier than it was since she was falling asleep and slightly buzzed from the drink. Though she did relent and let her show her where the room was.

Pinkie easily made her way through the halls, though Sonata was sure she’d get lost on her own in the morning. When she asked if the castle had a map, Pinkie only giggled more. Somehow, she didn’t care that the question wasn’t answered. She had already refocused on Pinkie’s mane.

Earlier, she thought it was fluffy, like Adagio’s. But that wasn’t quite accurate. Pinkie’s mane was far thicker than Adagio’s. Not that her mane was ‘thin’, it was pretty average there, but it curled and fluffed out, appearing bigger. Pinkie’s mane was curly and fluffy too, but there was also a lot more of it overall. And it smelled like strawberries. Sonata wondered how long it took her to style it in the morning.

The room she had been led to was simple, almost like a hotel room. It had a bed, a couch, a dresser, a few lamps, a closet, and a private bathroom. And not just a small bathroom, but a full bath with a large tub. Or was the tub only large because it was meant for Ponies, not Humans? She’d have to get used to world differences again.

Despite wanting to test out the bath, Pinkie led her to the bed, insisting she sleep now and get a good shower in the morning. She reluctantly agreed, mostly because she was tired and didn’t want to see if she could still breathe underwater without Magic.

Somehow, Pinkie got another glass of ice water. She set it on the nightstand, just within reach, and assured her it would still be decently cold by the time she wakes up.

Mumbling goodnights into the pillow, Sonata listened to the sound of her hoofsteps as she left. As the door closed, some part of her wanted to ask her to stop, to stay a little longer, but she was already slipping into the Dreamworld.





The next morning, it took her a while to find the dining room. It was a little strange to have so many ponies just for breakfast. There was her and her sisters, of course, along with the Princess who insisted on just being called ‘Twilight’.

There was also the dragon from last night, Spike, she remembered. He seemed to be a young teen, still getting used to newly grown wings. Though out of all the extra guests, he was the one she couldn’t quite figure out why he was here.

The other group at the breakfast table was a small group called the Dawn Guard. It makes sense that a Princess has Guards, but this was a small and oddly diverse group. Their captain, Valor Knight, was a Unicorn, a Pegasus named Flash Sentry, a Changeling named Honeycomb, and something called a ‘Crystal Pony’ named Little Burst. They mentioned  fifth member, an Earth Pony named Iridescent Blade, who rarely ate breakfast with them because he lived out of the castle's barracks with his husband.

The sisters ate mostly in silence. Not out of anything negative, but just somewhat awkwardness. They had yet to know these ponies, and Dragon and Changeling, so they didn’t have the camaraderie that the others did. Or perhaps flirtiness, in the case of a specific two.

Soon enough, everyone finished eating. Twilight teleported the dishes to the kitchen sink while the Guards all went off to their duties.Spike began to leave too, though he was quickly stopped by Twilight.

“Where are you going?” Twilight asked with a voice of one who knew the answer.

“Out,” Spike answered, being purposely vague.

“Hm,” she smiled. “Just ‘out’? Just wandering town? No meeting anyone?”

“Well, I-” he stammered.

“I’m sure Diamond’s already waiting,” she smiled back.

Sonata had never seen a dragon blush, but apparently they could. Oddly enough, answered her question of why Spike was here. She’d know sibling teasing anywhere.

“So!” Twilight addressed the Sirens, summoning a short scroll. “As for getting jobs for you three, I asked around town to see what all was open or who needed what. There’s some openings, but I would’ve narrowed it down more if I knew your talents and such. And don’t worry, if a job doesn’t work for you, we can help you get another.”

Looking over the list, there were a good hoofful of options.  As she gave the first look through, she mentally crossed off Barnyard Bargains. That place had a counterpart in the Human world, and while the owner had been kind enough, his wife had been so horrible that all three Sirens had avoided her despite the Desire she radiated.

Adagio picked her job easily. The town’s Theatre needed help with its productions, and it was a perfect fit for her. Sirens had Special Talents, just like Ponies, though they were usually related to performance. And Adagio’s talent was performance itself, taking something that was good, or even bad, and making it Dazzle. Working at a theatre was good for her.

On the other hoof, Aria took a little more time choosing. A theatre job would be good for any of them, but they all could tell that Twilight wanted them to choose separate jobs. She ended up choosing the local bar. Odd, but the job description did mention that along with regular serving duties, one might occasionally have to be the bouncer. Despite being the smallest of the trio, she was definitely the hardest hitter.

Sonata stared at the list, waiting for something to pop out at her. Nothing quite fit her the same way it did for the others. After a moment, she saw a name she recalled from the other world.

“This one,” Sonata said, pointing to the list.

“Sugarcube Corner?” Adagio read. “A bakery?”

“Don’t you have to know how to cook to work at a bakery?” Aria said. “Wait-that- I mean you don’t have much kitchen experience.”

She was right about that. As a kid she hadn’t been that into helping mom and dad make dinner, and after they left they mostly got fast food, take-out, or used Desire on some teens to get a free meal at a restaurant. They’d obviously done some cooking before, but mostly simple things. Sonata could probably make breakfast, but she knew little about cookies and cupcakes. She made some with a ‘just add water’ package she bought at the store once, but they weren’t that good.

“Well, I…” Sonata said. “Okay, I’m not the best, but-”

“Don’t worry,” Twilight interrupted, putting her wing over Sonata as the scroll disappeared. “It’s okay to try something new. And I’m sure you can learn as you go.”

Without giving Sonata any more time to second guess herself, the group was herded out of the castle and into the town. Twilight walked with them, showing them the way to get to the place on their own next time. Other than that, she mostly just dropped them off and left, like a parent who overslept before taking her kids to school.

Sonata barely had time to see a building that looked like a gingerbread house with a cupcake on top before Twilight shoved her in, shouted to the back to tell them their new employee was here, and ran off. Thankfully, the bakery’s owners were used to Twilight’s shenanigans, and were more than helpful explaining the job actual job. As did the bakery’s other employee.

“Hiya, Sonata!” Pinkie chirped, hugging her tightly. “Glad to be working with you!”

“Glad to see you too,” Sonata replied, giving a small, maybe silly, grin.

“Settle down, Pinkie,” Mrs. Cake rolled her eyes. “As I was saying, some days you’ll work the counter, and other days you’ll be in the back doing the actual baking.”

“Uh, I won’t be alone for that, will I?” she wondered. “Just… I know I picked this job, but I don’t really have much baking experience. But out of what was offered it sounded best.”

“That’s alright,” Mr. Cake nodded. “Everything we make here are our own recipes, so we’d have to teach you anyway.”

“You know,” Mrs. Cake mused. “I think we should start you off with Pinkie in the kitchen. Easiest way to learn is to jump right in, after all!”

“Okay,” Sonata nodded. “So, just, follow what she says?”

“They,” all three ponies said.

Sonata recoiled and blinked. It sounded like they were correcting her? But of what?

“It’s ‘they’ today,” Pinkie said.

“I still think I’m missing something?” Sonata said.

“We’ll leave this to you two,” Mrs. Cake nodded, heading to the counter.

“Okay,” Pinkie nodded, leading Sonata to the kitchen. “So, you know how sometimes Ponies are born one gender, but they realized they’re another and start going by that gender and using those pronouns?”

“I know a decent amount about LGBT stuff,” she nodded. “Well, a lot about that stuff. But you said ‘they’?”

“Yeah,” they said. “Because there’s not just ‘mare’ and ‘stallion’, but also some stuff in between and neither. I’m Genderfluid, which means that sometimes I feel like a different gender on different days. Some days I’m a girl, some days a boy, sometimes I don’t fit into either category. Then there are the really weird days where even I don’t know what category I fit in!”

“So, if you don’t even know, how will I know?” she wondered.

“I’ll usually tell you, but you can always ask,” they answered.

Letting Pinkie take the lead, Sonata tried to follow her steps. Much like dancing last night, Pinkie was having a much easier time while she failed to follow their movements. But unlike the dancing, Sonata’s screwups were a bit bigger. Or, at least, more important.

Every time she cracked an egg, the part of shell ended up in the batter or dough. It took too long to fish out the fragment. The whole time she was all too aware of Pinkie waiting for her to do it, of how she was probably putting them behind schedule.

She wasn’t sure how Pinkie managed dough. They kneaded dough so easily, push and turn, push and turn. Yet, somehow, despite following the same directions they had, Sonata’s dough was too sticky. Half of the product was on her hooves.

At least when she broke the measuring cup it was on the floor. If that had broke on the counter, they’d have to restart the entire batch to make sure no shards were in it, but on the floor she just had to clean up the glass and vegetable oil. Once more, she was all too aware of how she was putting them behind schedule.

The final straw was a sack of flour. Pinkie had asked her to get more flour out of the supply room. On the way back, she managed to find the one spot of oil that hadn’t been cleaned up. Her hooves slipped, and the flour dropped.

In a puff, everything was covered in white. Sonata could feel it all over her, some still floating down and settling on her muzzle. The counter and floor were white too. Pinkie had barely managed to avoid getting covered, but there was still a bit of dusting that made her look just a little paler.

She felt tears before she knew she was crying. It combined with the flour, sticking even more to her fur. Pinkie had made their way to her quickly, but careful to not slip on the piles of flour. Placing their hooves on her shoulders, they took a breath.

“It’s alright,” Pinkie said.

“No it’s not!” Sonata cried.

“It’s alright,” they insisted. “You’re doing a lot better than I did when I started.”

“I doubt it,” she mumbled. “I’m the worst.”

“Did you know that I grew up on a rock farm?” they asked.

“A rock farm?” she wondered, confusion temporarily taking her out of her self-loathing.

“Yep!” they answered as if it was the most normal thing. “See, I was really used to rocks, especially tools made of rocks. It took me a while to really ‘get’ things like glass and plastic. Even the recipes. I’d made cakes before, but everything Ma, my sisters, and I made back home was, like, super dense. Ma’s cakes taste great, but one slice and you feel like, well, like a rock! And that’s not good when you’re learning to make light, fluffy, pastries.

“So what happened?” she asked, sniffing a little.

“Mr. and Mrs. Cake were very patient with me,” they replied. “They kept helping me learn, told me where I went wrong and even how to fix it when I did screw up. Nowadays, they’ve given me free reign to create my own recipes. Remember I told you about the Royal Element Cupcakes?”

“Yeah,” she nodded.

“While I did most of the work,” they said. “They still were the ones I went to for most of the trouble with proportions. And even when things literally blew up in my face they were patient. I still need to figure out how to make Poision Joke into a cupcake flavor without getting the effects of the flower. But my point is, that it’ll get better. You need time to learn. After all, as fun as improv is, you usually rehearse a song before the performance.”

“What if I don’t get better?” she asked. “I’ve always been the clumsy airhead. The only thing I was good at was singing, but now I can’t even do that. I really am the worst, aren’t I?”

“Sonata, listen to me,” They said, voice demanding her attention. “You’re not the worst. Not at anything. You’re amazing. So what if your clumsy and space out sometimes? You’re a good Pony, well, a good Siren. And sweet as sugar tiaras. I know you want to bring up your Desire, and every reason you can think of to prove me wrong. But I’m not wrong, because you don’t need to be perfect or to understand things quickly, you’re already great and important as you are. You really are the best.”

Sonata was honestly surprised at how calm their voice was. So far, Pinkie seemed like the type Pony who only talked in exclamation points. It was almost hypnotic, the way they talked, and Sonata knew a thing or two about hypnotic voices.

Pinkie’s words did have a Magic to them, but there was no hypnotism. It was warm Magic, feeling so similar to when their Counterpart had used the Magic of Friendship to blast away her Desire. These were the words of a pony who truly believed what they were saying. And for just that moment, it worked, and Sonata felt better enough to smile.

“There we go!” Pinkie grinned. “Now, how about this: I’m going to tell Mrs. Cake about the flour mess. Then you can go upstairs and take a shower so you look less like a ghost.”

“I probably do, don’t I?” Sonanta laughed. “There’s a shower upstairs?”

“An entire two story house, actually,” they nodded. “Well, technically they bought a three story house and turned the first floor into a shop. Mr. and Mrs. Cake live on the second floor with their kids. You’ll probably meet the twins later. Oh, and the third floor is my place.”

“Your place?” she wondered.

“Yeah, like, my room,” they said. “They hadn’t been using it, so they rented it out to me when I first came here. You can use the shower in my bathroom.”

“Are you sure you can handle it without me?” she asked. “I mean, you do have a lot of stuff to make.”

“Don’t worry about that,” they shook their head. “This place can function on two employees. They did it before I started working for them, and since the Twins are still too young for school Mr. and Mrs. Cake usually share a shift or alternate days so someone’s always watching them.”

“Oh,” she said. “Wait, if they wanted to hire someone to help the bakery, why not just hire a babysitter instead and have both of them work the bakery?”

“Firstly, because finding a baker is easier than a full-time babysitter,” they said. “Secondly, they wanted to be the ones to raise their kids. I mean, if Pumpkin and Pound only saw them after the bakery closed, they’d probably think of the babysitter as their parent more than them. So they really only get a babysitter for the days when they both need to work.”

“That makes more sense,” she said. “Kinda feel bad for suggesting it now.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” they assured, beginning to put their foreleg over her shoulders  in a comforting hug, but thinking better of it. “Logic and the Heart are two different things, and you don’t always see one because of the other, you know?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “I definitely know that bit.”

Unfortunately, Sonata didn’t get to meet Pumpkin and Pound, as Mr. Cake had taken them to the park. Pinkie had lead her up the stairs, apologizing to Mrs. Cake for the trail of flour they were leaving and promising to sweep it up on the way back down. They told Sonata that she could use anything she needed to wash up, but to hurry a little since she’s supposed to be working.

Pinkie’s bathroom was pretty normal for a bathroom, though the colors and decor fit everything else she knew about them. Except for one thing. A lack of mane products.

From the way Pinkie’s mane had been so curly and fluffy, despite how thick it was, she was sure that they spent a while styling it like that. Yet other than a hairbrush, shampoo, and conditioner, there wasn’t anything to style their mane with. The shampoo and conditioner wasn’t even ‘volumizing’, just strawberry scented.

The idea all of that hair was curly and fluffy on its own scared her a little.

By the time she was washed and dried, Pinkie had finished cleaning the kitchen and was back to baking. Perhaps it was just Sonata’s own inclination towards the subject, but Pinkie’s movements almost seemed like a dance. Just the way they spun between various bowls that Sonata couldn’t yet identify.

It didn’t help that they sang as they did. Their voice was wonderful, putting their all into it even though it was just something to do while baking. It was the kind of voice Sonata would have stood and listened to for hours.  She might have truly done so, if Pinkie hadn’t noticed her staring.

“Feeling better?” Pinkie asked, grinning widely.

“Yeah, a bit,” Sonata answered, unable to keep herself from smiling back.

“Good!” they said. “Because I asked Mrs. Cake for a few ideas to help you out.”

The ideas did actually help, in a way. Some of it was so simple. Like cracking an egg into a seperate bowl before putting it in the rest of the ingredients made getting the shell out so much easier. A little bit of oil on her hooves kept dough from sticking to her, though she did have to be sure to wash and dry them before picking anything up.

There wasn’t much either could do about the inevitable situation where Sonata would drop something. Even so, Pinkie was a lot more aware of her, aware of when she could drop something. And every time they were ready to catch it.

Though they chatted a bit, usually about what they’re supposed to be doing or which treat to make next, yet most of their work was done in silence. Well, not full silence. Pinkie kept singing while they worked, and the lyrics kept Sonata’s smile going, even when she screwed up.

Sonata kept working while Pinkie left to take a few trays of fresh treats out to the front. As she stirred a bowl she hummed along to fill the empty silence. And despite knowing it was a bad idea, she soon found herself singing out loud.


“It’s a long, long day but you’ve got to find your way



And the world won’t let you fall



So take the Light, the Magic, and the Love



And keep on standing proud and tall…”


“Your voice is really pretty.”

Sonata jumped, barely keeping herself from knocking the bowl off the counter in surprise. Over her shoulder, she saw Pinkie having come back in, grinning like usual.

“It’s… It’s really not,” Sonata said. “My Soul Gem’s broken. I can’t sing without it.”

“Then what were you just doing?” they wondered, smiling more as she tilted her head.

“Okay, I can sing, but not well,” she admitted, avoiding the smile. “It’s just a voice. It doesn’t sound the same anymore, no matter how much I practice or let it heal. Besides, there’s no Magic in it, nothing. Just noise.”

“Just because you can’t cast spells doesn’t mean your voice isn’t Magic,” they replied.

Sonata only raised an eyebrow. That was the definition of ‘no Magic’, and even Pinkie seemed to realize how little sense that made.

“So, I’m not a Magic Expert like Twilight,” Pinkie admitted. “But I picked up a few things from her rambling about her studies. And I might’ve read some of her notes when I couldn’t sleep during a sleepover.”

“Even she doesn’t know much about Siren Magic,” Sonata said.

“No, but she knows Magic,” they said. “And basically, Magic and the Soul are really connected. Each Pony has their own Magic, their own Soul, each one totally different from one another! It’s part of the Magic of Friendship, our Souls and Magic connecting and resonating. So if Friendship is Magic, than even the less literal versions are still Magic.

“When you sing, you put your Soul into it,” they said. “So sure, you’re not ‘spellcasting’, but you’re using your voice to share your Soul with anyone who hears it. Talking to someone you care about, or singing your heart out, it’s still Magic. Even a completely tone deaf pony could do it! Not that you’re tone deaf. Because your voice is really pretty on its own! Like, if this is what you sound like now, I wish I could hear your full voice!”

“I…” Sonata shook her head. “Thanks.”

She liked this, liked being around Pinkie. They were smiles and laughs and fun, all rolled up into a hyperactive pink pony. And Sonata liked the way Pinkie made her feel.

Some of her felt it was because of the past. Because even when she was happy before, Desire had always left her wanting more. She hadn’t been truly ‘happy’ in years.

And even so, this was a different happy. It was warm, and perhaps a bit jumpy. But just having Pinkie around made her smile.
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The three Sirens had fallen into a rhythm in Ponyville. Working in the day, and then spending the evening with either one another, or the friends they had made.

It wasn’t surprising that Adagio had made a few friends. She was sociable, and her job involves working with ponies that share an interest in performing. It was only natural that they’d get to talking. There was a group of three musicians she usually talked to most, and they were the strangest combination Sonata could’ve thought of; an Earth Pony Cellist, a Unicorn DJ, and another Unicorn with a lyre who seemed to know too much about them.

It wasn’t unusual for Adagio to join them, along with a candymaker that the lyre player seemed to like. They’d hang out, sometimes go to Ponyville’s spa, and who knows what.

However, the idea of Aria making friends was even stranger. One night, she hadn’t come home, even though not only should her shift have been over, but the bar was likely closing soon too. Sonata and Adagio had gone looking for her, only to find her still at the bar, locked in a drinking contest with the bar’s owner, Berry Punch, and two of Twilight’s Group, Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

They had to be fools to take on a pair of Earth Ponies in a drinking contest. Their Magic enhanced their strength and stamina, including alcohol tolerance. By the end of the contest, Berry went upstairs to her rooms with a slight stumble, Applejack pulled Rainbow onto her back to take her to sleep at the farm since the mare could barely walk straight, let lone fly home. It left Sonata and Adagio to hold up their sister as they all walked to the castle, the mare belting out a few drinking songs, too far gone to remember her voice wasn’t what it used to be. Or her volume control.

Sonata’s job didn’t let her be quite as sociable. She loved being with Pinkie, but her relationship with the Cakes was a bit more formal. Maybe it was because they were quite a few years older than her, and also just more mature in general, since they were a married couple with kids.

There was one other mare she’d had a few conversations with. It had started on her first day at the front counter, when the Pegasus said she was glad to see the new baker and was surprised she didn’t have a talent for muffins as they’d been a lot better lately. She was apparently a mare of many names, some called her ‘Derpy Hooves’, others called her ‘Ditzy Doo’, and a couple called her ‘Muffins’. No one knew which was her real name, and she’d never tell.

While Sonata liked her well enough, they mostly only got to talk when she was working the counter. She had yet to get to know her well enough to talk outside of work. Other than that, she did talk with those in the castle, and even Sunset Shimmer when she popped by. She was starting to know them better too.

However, when Sonata did have a day off, she decided to spend it for Pinkie Pie. Today, she waited at a small café in town. It was a bit early, but she was nervous.

Part of it was just general anticipation. She had fun with Pinkie, and couldn’t wait until she got here. But it was also because of how Pinkie had responded when she asked yesterday afternoon. She’d been far too excited to say yes. Not just ‘Pinkie’ excitement, but actual excitement.

Looking to the clocktower to check the time again, she saw a sight so confusing all she could do was stare open-mouthed.

Some kind of Chimera that she could only describe as a ‘winged noodle-horse’ was flying down from above, Pinkie Pie sitting on its back like it wasn’t completely insane. To be fair, from what she’d come to learn of Pinkie, ‘insane’ was her ‘normal’. Yet the truly insane part was that none of the ponies around her even turned their heads when the duo landed next to her table, giggling like mad.

“Thanks for the ride!” Pinkie said, sliding off its back.

“Anything for you my dear,” the probably male noodle-horse said. “That said, as much as I would love to meet your new friend, our dear miss Sunbutt needs my help this afternoon. Likely she needs someone a little taller to reach the top shelves of her library.”

“You sure?” she asked, pouting a little.

“Scout’s Honor!” he replied, somehow instantly in a Filly Scout uniform?

“Dissy, you were never a scout,” she laughed, nuzzling his cheek.

“I would be, if they gave a discount on cookies,” he said, uniform disappearing. “But I do have to go. Arrivederci, my dear!”

And then he just disappeared. Well, there was confetti falling from where he’d been, but other than that he seemed to pop out of existence. As Sonata stared at the spot, still bewildered, Pinkie bounced over and sat across from her.

“So that was…. Normal?” Sonata wondered, seeing as no other ponies had paid them any mind.

“Normal for him,” Pinkie giggled. “That was Discord. He usually gives a confusing first impression, but he’s a lot of fun!”

“When I was little, there was a storybook with a character named Discord,” she said. “I can’t remember all the little details, but he had been some kind of creature of Chaos that tried to take over the world.”

“Yep, that’s him!” she said, causing Sonata to choke on her drink. “I mean, he’s better now, but that sort of happened. He didn’t ‘take over’ so much as ‘let his Magic go nuts and turned the world upside down because Chaos’. I mentioned him back at your welcome party, but it might’ve been after you had that drink.”

“What does ‘better now’ mean?” she asked.

“Well,” she said, lowering her voice for once. “Kinda like how you’re better now. Except instead of ‘Desire-induced Berserker’, his thing was more of a psychotic breakdown making him stop feeling anything combined with a natural affinity for Chaos and pranks. We’ve worked with him for  while, and though he still has problems balancing the line between what’s hilarious, helpful, and hurtful when it comes to his shenanigans, he’s doing a lot better in the ‘feeling and connecting to others’ department.”

“Oh,” she mumbled.

Strange, how easy it is to forget. It had been just a few weeks in Ponyville, but it sometimes those few years seemed so long ago. Once in a while, she could almost believe that it had been a nightmare, that she was just some Earth Pony who had lived here forever.

But then it all came crashing back. Maybe she’d start singing and hear the wrong voice, maybe she’d look down and see the place where her Soul Gem should be. Sometimes, it’s a comment like that.

“So, uh,” Sonata said, wishing to change subjects. “Erm, is Discord your boyfriend?”

Pinkie stared for a second before breaking into a short fit of giggles. Sonata wondered what was wrong. Had she said something weird?

“It’s a little complicated,” Pinkie answered, still grinning a bit too much at her. “It’s kind of an open relationship thing. I’m dating him, Twilight, Rarity, Sunset, and occasionally a guy named Party Favor when we’re in the same town. And they all have their other partners too, and if we found someone new we could date them too. Have two others in mind for the future, but it doesn’t quite seem like the timing’s right.”

“You can do that?” Sonata wondered, tilting her head at the idea. “I thought you were supposed to pick one and only one.”

“It’s not everyone’s cup of hot chocolate,” she shrugged. “But as long as everyone involved knows and is okay with it going on, yeah. And with my dates, it’d be hypocritical if they weren’t okay with it, since as I said, they all have other partners too. Some of them overlap too. Like, Twi and Rares are also together and both are with Sunset, but Twi and Dissy have this…. They don’t go on actual ‘dates’, it’s more like Discord shows up and they have snarky flirt-off before making out or whatever.”

“Huh,” she said, as it was the only thing she could think to say.

Sonata wasn’t sure why this new fact made her feel… well, she wasn’t quite sure what she felt. Part of her felt upset, but another part felt better at the same time. And she didn’t quite get it.

“Are you okay?” Pinkie asked, leaning forward and putting her foreleg to Sonata’s face. “You feel a little warm. Are you getting sick?”

“I don’t think so,” Sonata shook her head. “It is a little hot today. I’m a Siren, so we’re kinda built to be in water, not really ‘hot summer’.”

“Are you going to be okay?” she asked, a bit more concerned. “We can go inside somewhere! Or I know a few good swimming spots! Water would help, right?”

“I’ll be fine,” she giggled a little. “Being out of water isn’t dangerous. I mean, Sirens have the ability to shift into a Pony form for a reason. I’m just a little more temperature sensitive than a normal Pony, but fixing it is the same thing you’d do for a Pony. I have a drink to keep me cool, and if it gets really bad I’ll go inside somewhere.”

“Okay,” she relented, before perking up again. “I almost forgot! I had something to tell you!”

She didn’t get the chance. In a literal blur of colors, there was a third pony at their table, making Sonata jump once again. She really needed to get used to Ponies that could appear and disappear at random.

“So, what’s up?” asked the less-blurred colors she now recognized as Rainbow Dash.

“Hi Dashie!” Pinkie greeted.

“Hi,” Sonata parroted.

“Not an answer, but I’ll take it,” Rainbow grinned.

“Weren’t you supposed to get your wing looked at his morning?” Pinkie asked.

“Did something happen?” Sonata wondered, leaning forward in concern.

“Nothing bad,” Rainbow assured. “Okay, it was a pretty painful crash, but I knew I was fine. Flutters was the one who insisted I go to the hospital and get it checked out. It’s just some minor bruising. I’m supposed rest for the day and come back if the pain gets worse.”

“But you flew over at top speed?” Pinkie asked, less with concern and more of an exasperated grin.

“Yeah,” she chuckled. “It doesn’t hurt more than earlier, but I’ve got about a two minute head start before Bright comes after me. While I’m here, can you go get me  a drink? I’ll buy yours next time.”

“Okie dokie lokie!” she said, before bouncing over to the café’s counter.

Sonata stayed quiet. Though the Pegasus seemed less hostile than their first encounter, she wasn’t quite sure how to interact with her. Really, the longest conversation she’d had with Rainbow had been that night when she had been too drunk to walk. And it wasn’t really a conversation, since she had also been a little too drunk to talk too. This time though, she seemed ready to talk.

“So,” Rainbow began, sliding into Pinkie’s seat. “Just wanted to say, I wasn’t sure what to think of you three. But hey, you’re pretty cool in my book.”

“Huh?” Was the only response Sonata could make.

“I gave you the benefit of the doubt,” she continued. “Because Twilight was sure you three were good. But, well, even with her Desire Magic explanation, you did try to hurt her. And even though I haven’t met all of the ‘Interdimensional Counterparts’, they’re my friends too, you know? Unlike someponies, I wasn’t quite ready to ‘forgive and forget’ without proof you were actually good.”

“You were testing us?” she asked.

“Not exactly,” she shrugged. “I wasn’t setting up situations for you to pass or fail, I just waited and watched. And hey, you’ve been doing good. Rarity had me deliver some costumes to the theatre, and I got to see Adagio restring a guitar at nearly my speed. And that night in the bar? Some wasted tourist tried to get a little too ‘hooves on’ with one of the other workers, and Aria flipped the guy over a table!"

“That sounds like Aria,” she nodded. “She’s the fighter of the group.”

“And you’ve done good too,” she pointed out. “You’re the one working with customers you can’t flip. Not to mention that you’re quick to catch onto Pinkie’s shenanigans, and you can handle watching Pumpkin and Pound for a bit. Don’t get me wrong, they’re great kids, but if you can handle them without ‘breaking character of pretending to be nice to enact your evil plan’, you’re probably actually nice.”

“Er… thanks?” she said, unsure of what else she could say.

“Here’s your drink, Dashie!” Pinkie said, popping back up at the table.

“Thanks,” Rainbow grinned before chugging the glass. Wiping her mouth, she looked over her shoulder. “And there’s my cue to leave! See you later!”

With a flap of her wings, Rainbow was in the air. Yet she didn’t leave. Instead, she waited for the stallion that was galloping up to her. He was an Earth Pony, with a sandy brown coat and a mane in a few shades of gray. He was also a bit out of breath, and his red glasses were askew.

“Miss Dash!” the stallion shouted up to her. “I told you to rest your wing! You should be carefully walking home, not flying at supersonic speeds!”

“How am I supposed to get home and ‘rest’ if I can’t fly?” Rainbow asked. “I live in a cloudhouse!”

“There are many options,” he answered, green eyes glaring as he adjusted his glasses. “If you weren’t too stubborn to use them, there are carriages specifically for injured Pegasai and visitors that need Cloudwalking Spells! And I’m sure one of your friends could have given you a lift as well!”

“Yeah, but I’m Rainbow Dash,” she retorted, lowering her hover to get in his face. “And you only told me to keep from strenuous activity. You haven’t even seen what I can do!”

With that, she sped off, the updraft from her wings nearly knocking the glasses off his face.

“Miss Dash! Get back here right this instant!” he shouted, before running after her.

The pair were out of sight within seconds. Had it not been for the dust clouds still in their places, Sonata wasn’t sure they had been there at all.

“So…” Sonata began, turning back to Pinkie. “That was normal too?”

“Yep!” Pinkie said, enjoying her own café order. “That was Bright Heart. He’s new to the town. Not as new as you, but new enough to not know that Ponyville probably isn’t the best place if you want hospital work that’s ‘quieter’ than Canterlot. He’s really into making sure his patients follow his orders though.”

“Including chasing them through town?” she raised an eyebrow.

“Only Dash,” she said. “But that’s more her wanting attention from him after the first time. Like her own flirting game. Stubborn as Dashie is, everypony knows she wouldn’t risk her Wonderbolt career. But Bright hasn’t figured it out yet. We have bets going on who will ask who and when. Aj thinks Bright’ll ask her next week, but Princess Cadence has her money on Dash asking him closer to a holiday. Probably dragging him under Hearth’s Warming misletoe!”

“And what do you think?” she wondered.

“Well, Cadence is rarely wrong with Love,” she mused. “Unless something comes completely out of left field. But I think they’ll end up asking one another at the exact same time.”

“I wonder what the betting pool on my love life is like,” she said.

“Well… I have a few ideas,” she smiled. “Oh, but Twilight wanted me to tell you! She was able to get some messages through to the Siren Kingdom!”

“Did they-” she began to ask.

“They found your parents pretty quickly!” she nodded. “According to the letter, they really want to see you three. Everyone needs to prepare some stuff, like making sure you three have some days off work, and Twi’s arranging an escort, but once you’re ready, you can go!”

Sonata couldn’t find the words. She tried, her mouth moving, but nothing came out.

She hadn’t expected anyone to be able to contact them so quickly. And the fact that their parents wanted to see them! She was so sure they’d hate her. Maybe they still do, and just want to see her to make sure she knows exactly what they think of-

Shaking her head, she pulled her thoughts together. She couldn’t let herself think like that. She wouldn’t let herself think like that. She couldn’t let herself think like that.

“That’s… that’s great,” Sonata finally said. “I can’t wait to go back. I wonder what’s changed.”

“Well,” Pinkie said. “Twi said one of your escorts is somepony who knows the area super well. I’m sure they’ll be helpful guiding you through it.”

“I, um, I do have one more question,” she said.

“Go ahead,” she nodded.

Sonata hesitated, breath caught in her throat. She wasn’t quite sure why she wanted to ask this, and she was even less sure why it scared her to ask. Taking a deep breath, she tried to think straight.

“Would you maybe-” Sonata began. “Do you think you’d be able to come with us? It’s alright if you don’t want to, or if Mr. and Mrs. Cake can’t give us both the vacation time, but I think I’d be more comfortable with you there. More-more brave, you know?”

“Of course I’ll come!” Pinkie grinned. “I’ll have to work out the details with Mr. and Mrs. Cake, but they’ll be cool with it. Though, isn’t the Siren Kingdom underwater? I can’t exactly breathe underwater. I tried once when I was a foal but it didn’t end well. Hmm… I could rent some scuba gear, but that might make talking a lot harder.”

“I-I’m sure there’s some kind of spell,” she said, only now thinking of that. “I mean, I’m not sure if I can still breathe underwater with my Soul Gem broken. Well, I haven’t tried since, well, if I can’t…”

“Twilight probably knows a spell,” she waved it off. “We’ll figure it out.”

“Thanks,” she sighed. “For being understanding about all this. And for agreeing to come.”

“You’re my friend,” she said, reaching across the table and taking her hoof. “I’ll help you through anything, if you ask.”
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sonata had never been on a train before. Oddly enough, she hadn’t even been in a car when she was in the other dimension. She wondered how similar they were.

Most of the ride, she spent her time talking with Pinkie, telling her about what she remembered from back before everything. Sure, some of it was probably nostalgia glasses, but everything seemed wonderful.

Adagio and Aria added in their own bits, when necessary. But Pinkie and Sonata had a sort of rapid-fire back and forth that they couldn’t quite keep up with. Eventually, they lapsed into silence and let the pair have their own conversation.

Sonata was so focused on their conversation, that she hadn’t even noticed they arrived until Aria poked her side.

This place was a little less familiar, but she still recognized it enough. It was a small seaside town, mostly a tourist place with beach houses Ponies could rent for vacations. It was also the town closest to the Siren Kingdom, and one of the few towns that regularly see Sirens coming ashore or even just breaching the surface of the water.

Stepping out into the train station, the scent of salt water hit her. Sonata practically melted into it. Though the station blocked her view of the ocean, every part of her was screaming at her to dive in. If she truly had no sense, she might have already done so.

“Hey there!” a Pegasus with a slight accent called to them. “You’re the group from Princess Twilight, right?”

“That’s us!” Pinkie answered for them, eagerly shaking the mare’s hoof. “I’m Pinkie Pie! This one with all the hair is Adagio Dazzle, the grumpy one is Aria Blaze, and this cutie is Sonata Dusk!”

As if for emphasis, she had pointed to each Siren in turn. First ruffling Adagio’s mane, then poking Aria’s shoulder, before nuzzling Sonata’s cheek. Naturally, she had felt her face heat up at the action and looked away.

She wondered why Aria didn’t complain about being called ‘the grumpy one’, but one glance told her that Aira was a little preoccupied with the Pegasus who had come to meet them. She couldn’t blame her, as the mare was pretty. She had a coat as blue as the ocean, and her brown mane tied back, letting waves and curls hang down. Strangely, her wings had a gradient to them, becoming white at the tips. Combined with the blue of her coat, it reminded her of sea foam.

“Glad to meet you all,” the Pegasus laughed. “I’m Princess Wave Chaser, though please don’t start in on the whole bowing and calling me ‘princess’ bit. Princess Twilight’s asked me to escort you all. Feel free to ask whatever you need.”

With that, Wave Chaser gestured for them to follow her. The group made their way out of the station, and towards the water. It was a breathtaking view; the sun shone on the sand, and the ocean seemed to go on forever and ever. Sonata could feel the softness of the sand beneath her hooves, and even from this far away she could see the clearness of the water. After so many years of the Human World’s beaches being the closest to home she could get, it was almost overwhelming to see Equestrian waters again.

After admiring the water, and letting it sink in how close to home they were, the group followed Wave Chaser across the sands. Sonata could see the expression in both of her sisters, how they were also holding back from running straight into the waves.

“So, Wave Chaser,” Aria began, nervously clearing her throat. “You said you were a Princess?”

“Yeah,” Wave Chaser answered, shrugging her wings. “You don’t need to make a big deal out of it. Never been much of the ‘ruling a kingdom’ type. I’d rather be out here in the sea than working with politics. But hey, I happen to be related to an Immortal, so I have to introduce myself as ‘princess’.”

“You can just do that?” she wondered. “What about royal responsibilities?”

“You see Blueblood taking up a kingdom anytime soon?” she smirked. “Nah. There’s enough Royals that I don’t have to.”

“How many Royals are there?” Adagio asked. “I only remember two when we left, but heard of five when we returned. And now you, along with someone named Blueblood?”

“There’s a good hoofful,” she said. “Most of us aren’t in mainland Equestria. Some are like me, and tend to be in other kingdoms. Even if we were here more often, the Alicorns get all the attention. Not that I’m complaining. I saw how crazy the paparazzi can be when I came over for Cadence’s wedding! I think I’ll take my chances with the literal sharks instead.”

“I remember you now!” Pinkie exclaimed. “I saw when the Zebra-Unicorn guy, what do I call him? Anyway, he turned the fountains into a whirlpool that sucked up a bunch of Changelings, and then you jumped in like a multi-hit torpedo, kicking them all out so hard they flew out still spinning!”

“That was fun,” she chuckled. “I remember you hosting the reception. That was a great party, by the way.”

“My specialty,” she said, giving a grin and a nod.

“And as for the ‘Zebra-Unicorn’,” she said, “Any hybrid between Ponies and Zebras is called a ‘Zony’. But that one was my brother Zircon.”

“Your brother?” Sonata wondered.

“Yeah, I look more like mom” she nodded. “She was the Equestrian Princess, and she went to Zebrica and fell in love with its King. So Zircon and I are sort of double royalty in a sense. But he’s King of Zebrica now that dad retired.”

“Double Royalty?” Adagio raised an eyebrow. “If you’re that important, why escort us? Regardless of your love of water.”

Wave Chaser stopped walking for a moment. Looking around, she waited as a vacationing family passed. And when she did speak again, it was with a bit more weight than her previous demeanor

“Technically,” Wave Chaser began, “You three are serving punishment under Equestrian Law. You would have needed an escort to go out of Ponyville, but out of Equestria’s Mainland? Usually that’d be a lot of complications, but Princess Twilight and I decided that two high-level escorts would be enough. She wanted to send her Guard Captain with you, but I know these waters better than any Guard.”

“Two high-level escorts?” Sonata repeated, tilting her head.

“Yes,” she nodded. “The Elements of Harmony are considered part of the Guard, but an Elite Team like the Wonderbolts. Any of them could have come, but I hear that Pinkie volunteered.”

“Well, Sonata asked me to come so why wouldn’t I?” Pinkie grinned, almost obliviously so.

“Oh,” Sonata said. “Right.”

It was weird. Pinkie was her friend. And adorable, hyperactive, party pony who lives in a bakery and goes out of her way to cheer others up and always made her smile. She was Pinkie. Just a, well, not a ‘normal’ Pony, but just Pinkie.

And she couldn’t stop thinking about how many times she’s saved the world, how she’s faced down threats much worse than a trio of Desire-mad Sirens with nothing but a smile on her face and friends by her side, how she wields one of the most powerful Magics to ever exist.

The realization of who and what Pinkie was seemed to hit her just then.

“Alright, I have a question,” Aria said, interrupting her thoughts. “We’re going underwater. Can we do that without our Soul Gems, or are we doing whatever you and Pinkie are?”

“Don’t worry,” Wave Chaser answered. “Your Soul Gem only affects your active Magic. You can’t spellcast, change forms, or do anything with Desire. But breathing underwater is a passive Magic, and works in either of your forms. Probably your body’s built-in failsafe in case you break it underwater so you don’t, you know, immediately drown.”

“Comforting thought,” Adagio mused.

“Yeah,” she said. “As for Pinkie and me, there’s spells for it. I just need to find Tidal Wave so he can cast it. Ugh. He promised to wait here, but knowing him there was probably some pretty pink mare-”

“Wave Chaser!” a voice shouted, annoyance obvious.

“Speaking of,” she grinned. “Hey, Tidal!”

The Unicorn that trotted over was a light golden brown, with a curly blue mane that had a streak of white. He also wore the bright red uniform of a lifeguard, which seemed odd for what Wave Chaser had implied about his attention span.

“So,” Tidal said, ignoring Wave Chaser in favor of grinning at Pinkie. “Wave Chaser says you need to breathe underwater?”

“Yeah,” Wave Chaser answered, exasperatedly trying to get his attention. “My spell still has a few days left on it, and these three are Sirens anyway. We just need the one for Pinkie Pie. Please keep focused when you do it?”

“I think I can guess which one is ‘Pinkie Pie’,” he said, taking Pinkie’s hoof. “Tell you what, cutie? How about we go to lunch, then we come back and I cast the spell?”

“Tidal, don’t even,” she groaned, while Sonata nodded in agreement. “Besides, I’m pretty sure she could kick your flank down the shoreline.”

“As much fun as lunch sounds,” Pinkie mused, as if not hearing that last comment, “I’m pretty sure stopping for lunch here wasn’t in our plans. So I hope confetti and a cupcake make up for it!”

“Wait, what?” Tidal asked.

Before he could think more about that statement, a small, blue canon seemed to pop into existence. Pinkie pulled it’s string, blasting a rainbow of confetti into the air with a squeak. As the confetti floated to the ground, a cupcake appeared in her hooves. The frosting was blue and matched Tidal’s mane, especially as it had ‘Sorry’ written in white frosting.

“Sorry about the flavor too,” Pinkie said, only mildly sad. “I didn’t have time to experiment with what flavor is best, so it’s just vanilla. But on the bright side, the confetti is completely biodegradable, so it’s fine if it doesn’t get cleaned up!”

“Where in the hay did you get-”Tidal Wave began. “Wait, where’d it go!?”

He and Wave Chaser looked around, trying to find the canon, but it had already disappeared to wherever it went when Pinkie wasn’t using it. The only evidence it had ever been there was the confetti still in their manes.

“I think you were right about her being able to kick my flank,” Tidal muttered, still wide-eyed.

“I didn’t even now she could do that,” Wave Chaser nodded, equally wide-eyed. “That’s something my uncle could pull off.”

“That’s Pinkie Pie for you!” the Sirens said, though one was laughing while the others were more exasperated.

Tidal seemed almost thankful that Pinkie had rejected him. Even so, he cast the spell while Wave Chaser collected herself. Sonata giggled a little as Tidal went back to his job with a little too brisk of a trot away from Pinkie.

“Hopefully that’ll keep him away from flirting for a while,” Wave Chaser said before turning to Pinkie. “Okay, so, breathing under water is going to feel weird at first.”

“How weird?” Pinkie asked.

“A weird I think you can handle,” she sighed. “But, well, you are breathing water. And the transition can be uncomfortable, but just keep taking deep breaths and remember that you’re not drowning. And don’t worry about things like the water pressure or darkness, because the spell helps you with that too. “

“Lead the way!” she grinned.

Odd. As Sonata followed her into the waves, she realized she’d never thought about the breathing transition. Perhaps because it was natural to her. The moment her head slipped under the water, she continued to breathe.

It did feel odd, but normal to her. The strange part was her instincts. Her Magic knew that it should be used, that she should switch forms, and was trying to do so. But without her Soul Gem, it wasn’t happening.

Even so, she knew how to move in water. While the fins of her other form helped her speed and agility, she still knew how to swim gracefully without them. Adagio and Aria seemed to be faring just as well, which was to be expected, and Wave Chaser seemed to be very experienced swimming underwater. She used her wings like fins to propel her forward or tightly turn. They weren’t as effective as the wing-like fins that Sirens had, but they worked very similarly.

Looking over to see how Pinkie was faring, Sonata couldn’t help but giggle. She was nowhere near as graceful in water as she was on the dance floor, which is to be expected for an Earth Pony unable to touch the ground. It likely didn’t help as her mane seemed to have ideas of its own, swirling with the currents and getting in her face.

“How are you handling breathing?” Sonata asked, swimming up next to her.

“It’s so weird!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Like, you know how you usually don’t think about breathing? Now when I’m not thinking about it I’m holding my breath because I’m just, like, ‘hey, I’m underwater, don’t breathe!’. So I’ll start focusing on breathing, but then I get focused on swimming and forget to breathe!”

“It’s easier in the city!” Wave Chaser called back to her. “When you’re surrounded by buildings and such it’s easy to forget you’re underwater!”

For a while, they just swam along the ocean floor. Sonata stayed near Pinkie, helping her get the hang of swimming through the water. Sometimes she’d get distracted, pointing out the different fish that went by. Or by Wave Chaser’s laugh.

Being a little behind the group, they weren’t sure what they were talking about, but whatever Aira was saying seemed to make Wave Chaser laugh a lot. Pinkie looked to Sonata for an answer, but she just gave her a small smile. It took only a few seconds for her to get it. Even from here, she could see Adagio give the same smile with an added eyeroll.

They saw the lights before they saw the city. There was an expanse of flatness before the sudden drop over the edge and into a wide trench, where the city sat. Swimming to the rim of the drop, they looked over the view.

“Welcome, to the city of Atlantis!” Wave Chaser announced.

It was beautiful. The buildings were made of white stones, and enchanted by old magics to never be worn down by the water’s currents. Even from here, they could see Sirens of every color swimming through the street.

The best part, however, was the lights. This deep under water was very dark, even with a Siren’s ability to see through it. So every street was lined with enchanted crystals, a rainbow of colors splashed across every building.

Sonata looked back at Pinkie, hoping to see her in awe of the city. Oh, she was in awe alright. Practically enraptured by its beauty, eyes lit with delight and an almost shocked grin on her face. Yet that was not what made her heart leap.

The lights shining on Pinkie made her glow. Combined with how her mane and tail were floating around her, she looked ethereal. Like some sort of goddess of legend, come to life from a storybook. Yet no storybook could capture how enthralling she looked just then.

She hadn’t realized she was staring until Adagio nudged her side, reminding her to follow Wave Chaser. The group made their way through the streets of he city, yet Sonata kept sneaking glances at Pinkie. The lights seemed to dance around her as she moved, only adding to the effect.

“So,” Sonata said, shaking her head and trying to pretend she wasn’t staring. “What do you think of the city?”

“It’s amazing!” Pinkie exclaimed, still trying to look at everything at once. “The lights are beautiful! Though the architecture reminds me of Cloudsdale!”

“Isn’t Cloudsdale made of clouds?” she wondered. “I thought only Pegasai could Cloudwalk.”

“They’re the only ones who can do it naturally!” she said. “But there are Cloudwalking spells which works pretty much like the whole ‘breathing underwater’ spell. And clouds are weird to walk on,  kinda like walking on something between a mattress and a bounce house!”

Oh, that… that makes sense,” she muttered to herself.

As they swam through the streets, bits and pieces looked familiar. Some shops were still there, tough a few had been remodeled. A few were new, yet it was all so familiar. It didn’t hit her until they passed the park. Just a small park with a playground that she remembered all too well. The slides and tubes were designed like a pirate ship, and she remembered spending hours playing inside.

Turning down a street, she could see the familiarity even more. It was this street, and it made her tremble with so many emotions she couldn’t quite explain them all if someone had asked.

Feeling a bump to her side, she looked over at Pinkie. As if she knew, she gave her a reassuring smile. It kept her together as they swam up to the house. Her house. Just as she remembered it, almost frozen in time.

Wave Chaser had no hesitations about going up and knocking on the door. Much like the house itself, Sonata felt frozen in time as she waited for the door to open. The moment seemed to drag on for so long, that she jumped in surprise when it actually opened.

The Siren Mare beyond the door was orange. She had a lot of hair, tied up in bun, and there were thin streaks of gray that hadn’t been there a few years ago. The Siren gave a squeak of surprise, and a yellow Siren came up behind her. He gasped, and Sonata gave a nervous smile.

Pinkie and Wave Chaser managed step out of the way just in time for the pair to rush forward and embrace their daughters in a tight hug. Sonata felt all the walls she’d built, everything she’d used to keep herself together, just break away as she smiled and cried.

There was a lot of that all around. Tears and gasping sobs, a chorus of apologies repeating over and over, only interjected by the occasional ‘I missed you so much’ and ‘it’s okay’. It felt like forever before they were broken out of it.

“I’m sorry,” the orange mare said, looking to Pinkie and Wave Chaser as she wiped her eyes. “Let’s- Let’s go inside. We can talk over dinner.”

Hesitant as she was to let her daughters go, she played the host and lead them inside. The kitchen was large enough to hold them all, so they gathered around the island counter. Both older Sirens picked up where they had left off on dinner preparations.

“We introduced ourselves to Wave Chaser last time, but you’re new,” the stallion said to Pinkie. “I’m Prelude, and my wife here is Requiem. I… Thank you. For bringing our daughters back. I can’t even think of how to show how much this means-”

“Don’t worry,” Pinkie grinned. “It was a group effort, and helping others is kind of our thing.”

“So what all happened?” Requiem asked the group. “We had…. We figured it was Desire, but still. Wave Chaser mentioned something having to do with the Princesses and some kind of banishment?”

“To be fair, that’s all I was told,” Wave Chaser defended. “I don’t know what stopped them, or even what started the Desire in the first place.”

“Oh stars!” Adagio blurted out. “Nocturne!”

“That girl from your class?” Prelude asked.

“She was- we had-,” she stammered, running a hoof through her hair as it came back to her. “We were… we were kind of dating? I know you would’ve been okay with it, but she knew her parents… it doesn’t matter. They found out anyway. They were sending her away, they said that time away from a ‘bad influence like me’ might ‘fix her’. I wanted her to stay, to-to be allowed to love me. I wanted her parents to love me in the way someone should love their daughter’s girlfriend. It just all… snowballed into wanting everyone to love me.”

It hit her too. Sonata couldn’t quite remember the exact detail, but she remembered enough. How Adagio would come to them, cry only with them, share with them. She remembered the feeling, when she realized what could happen, that she could go through the same thing. All she had wanted, all she had Desired, was for them to be loved, adored in a way. Even the most innocent of wants can turn dark if Desire makes you do anything to get it.

“I…” Adagio trailed off, staring ahead but not truly seeing anything. “I dragged you with me. It’s my-”

“Hey!” Aria cut her off, but softened her voice as she put a hoof on her shoulder. “It’s not your fault.”

“You can’t force Desire,” Sonata reminded her, pulling her into a hug. “As fuzzy as my memory of it all is, I know you can heighten Desire in others, but you can’t force another Siren to be taken by it. If you could, we all would be Berserk.”

“It still started with me,” Adagio said quietly. “I can’t remember everything from after that. Some things are just flashes, moments in time. I can remember them better if I focus, but it’s not something I want to focus on. The bigger things, the fights, I can remember clearly, down to the detail, but even then it’s dream-like. More nightmare-like.”

“I’ve heard that’s common of those who manage to break out of it,” Requiem said, embracing her once more. “If you knew you were mad with Desire, you’d likely snap out of it. So it fogs up your brain.”

“We remember everything fine after it cleared,” Aria muttered. “Or at least, noticed how we had changed. Three Sirens under Desire? We fought a lot, and it still seemed normal in that fog. I’m pretty sure the only reason we stayed together at all, was because we were sisters.”

Sonata stayed quiet at that. The fighting was one thing she remembered well. Too well. Things they’d said, or done, when it all got too much, or when their Desire got in the way. It all got even worse in the other world, because every argument always ended with fighting over who got them stuck in the other world.

It didn’t help that all of it was still there. The Desire might be gone, but they had gotten used to snarky comments and thinly veiled insults. An old joke between sisters turned into a repeated insult. And every time they talked, Sonata kept finding those words on the tip of her tongue.

She knew Adagio and Aria did it too. She noticed when they hesitated to answer her, and had heard the sentences they didn’t catch fall short as they realize. Even now, hearing Adagio admit to being the first to fall to Desire, her first thought had been a sarcastic ‘at least now we know who got us stuck in the Human World’.

All the Ponies she talked to seemed too understanding when one of them slipped. They’d say ‘it’s okay, we get it, you don’t actually mean it. You’re unlearning all that, but it takes time.’. Even so it didn’t quite make her feel better.

“You know,” Pinkie said, interrupting her thoughts. “I was one of the Ponies reviewing their cases. You know, because, ‘legality’ and all that. I mean, there’s a chunk of time we don’t have exact records of, but it’s pretty easy to fill in since it was likely ‘do what they can to absorb Desire and probably survive in general’, but we know the important things.”

“That might be easier,” Adagio admitted. “Between fuzzy memories and…”

“And the fact that you two look three seconds away from a breakdown?” Aria filled in, ignoring the fact that she looked like breaking down too.

“If it helps us get the story,” Prelude said, hugging Aria and letting her grumpily protest before melting into it.

“In that case, I’ll do my best to explain,” Pinkie said.

In what seemed like half a second, three small dolls appeared on the countertop in front of her. Oddly enough, they looked like replicas of each of the sisters. Sonata wondered when Pinkie had the time to make those.

“Wait,” Wave Chaser frowned at her. “Where’d the dolls come from?”

“Same place as the canon,” Pinkie answered, as if it made sense. “Anyway, they went Berserk and left. We could kinda track their movements for the next few months through reports from towns saying they were ‘cursed’. They absorbed a lot of power, confused a lot of ponies, and eventually made their way toward Canterlot. Three pretty young girls trying their best to feign innocence while enhancing any Guard’s ‘Desire’ to see them as not a threat? Easily made it to Princess Celestia’s throne room.”

“Oh my stars,” Requiem muttered.

“She’s the most loved and adored mare to exist,” Adagio said quietly. “Charm her, and you have the world in your hooves. It sounded less terrible at the time.”

“Go big or go home, am I right?” Pinkie said, waving around a Princess Celestia doll. “They tried to, as Adagio said, ‘charm her’, but she didn’t fall under their spell. Princess Celesia being, well, Princess Celestia, totally could’ve blasted them, but she knew they were kids who’d gone Berserk, so she did the next best thing. Which was use a convenient portal to another Dimension without Magic to banish them.”

She paused, the dolls disappearing and then reappearing as the Sirens’ ‘Human’ forms. At any other time, Sonata would be impressed with the small details on the outfits. Wave Chaser opened her mouth to ask, but seemed to have learned that questioning Pinkie’s abilities gets you nowhere. Requiem and Prelude were either too focused on the story to question it, or hadn’t realized that Pinkie was an Earth Pony.

“Another Dimension?” Prelude repeated, confusion clear.

“It’s a world that’s kinda like this one but also really different,” Pinkie answered. “Everyone has a ‘Counterpart’, someone who’s a lot like them but also different. Like, there’s another me, and another Princess Celestia and so on. But when a Pony, or a Siren, goes through the portal, it turns them into that world’s creatures called ‘Humans’.”

“Is that what the dolls are?” he asked, poking at them a little.

“Yep!” She said, waving the ‘Aria’ one around. “Celestia thought that world didn’t have Magic, but it’s just that Humans have no natural Magic Channels. A Pony turned Human could use Magic if they still had a way to conduct it. So Earth Ponies still have their strength on the other side, but since Humans don’t have horns or wings, Unicorns and Pegasai can’t spellcast or fly. Even Celestia couldn’t spellcast without her horn.

“But Sirens have Soul Gems,” she continued. “As Humans they were just necklaces, but they were still usable, so they were still in the whole ‘Berserk Desire Mode’ thing. And since their Magic works on an Emotion, it didn’t matter that Humans didn’t have a Magic Channel, so they could still use Desire to make others help them and give them things. But for a while they were spending more energy than they were getting.”

“What changed?” Requiem wondered.

“Heh, about that,” Pinkie gave a nervous chuckled. “There was this thing where the Elements of Harmony were used at a school over there. The Elements are connected to Emotion, but also Magic, so to be used it transformed the girls that used them, giving them a Magic Channel that mimicks their Counterpart back here. It also did the same to everyone their Magic touched, but the Magic was pretty unstable for a while so it took a few months for anyone else to Transfrom. But it had affected all of the students, staff, and chaperones at a school dance.”

“Wait,” Wave Chaser stopped her, putting up a hoof. “Are you telling me that the Elements of Harmony are able to give an entire Dimension the ability to use Magic?”

“Yes?” she answered. “I’m just repeating what Sunset Shimmer researched so…”

“I really should stop asking questions,” she groaned.

“Or at least ask the right Pony,” she said. “Anyway, now that those Humans had a Magic Channel, the girls could actually get Magic Energy from them. And it probably didn’t help that the school was holding a Music Festival just then. They showed up as a band called ‘the Dazzlings’ and convinced them to turn it from a festival into a competition, which already changed up the playing field to up their Desire without Magic. Once they added in the Magic, they just sat back and watched the fireworks as they collected enough energy to try and get back here and attempt that whole ‘charm Celestia’ thing again.”

“What stopped them?” Requiem asked, a bit of fear in her voice.

“A literal ‘Battle of the Bands’!” she answered, two more dolls appearing. “Sunset Shimmer- Oh! She’s a Unicorn who lives over there because of an even longer story, but she contacted Twilight, as in Princess Twilight, and the two of them along with the Counterparts to the other Elements of Harmony formed their own band called ‘the Rainbooms’ and used song to tap into the Elements of Harmony and, well, blast them with the Power of Friendship! It overloaded their Soul Gems and shattered them, which cut off their connection to Desire and now they’re back to normal!”

Pinkie finished the story, giving a giant grin and looking around expectantly. Almost as if she had just presented them a giant cake. Sonata could tell that she had expected more of a ‘happy’ reaction, but her parents and Wave Chaser just stared with shock.

“H-how…”Prelude stammered. “How are they still alive?”

“That much Magic into their Soul Gems,” Requiem agreed, her voice barely a whisper. “It should’ve vaporized them instantly.”

“Normally I’d be assuring, but I have no idea,” Wave Chaser said. “That Magic easily locked Nightmare in her own Magic and turned Discord to stone, despite them being Immortals. The only Mortal I know it was used on had absorbed the Magic of nearly everything in Equestria. Not to mention the fact that the Elements apparently changed the entire Magic Structure of a Dimension on accident! Even powered up on a school’s worth of Desire, they shouldn’t have made it!”

Sonata shrank back a little. Even though she knew she didn’t do anything ‘wrong’, it scared her. The idea of what could’ve happened scared her. If those girls had been less benevolent, would she be here right now?”

“That’s not how it works,” Pinkie stated. “As Twilight says, ‘you can’t expect a levitation spell to turn an orange into an apple’.”

“That goes without saying,” Aria retorted, unable to keep that sarcasm back.

Pinkie didn’t reply right away. Instead she thought. Sonata thought it was adorable, the way her eyebrows knit together as she stared down her muzzle. She frowned, tongue barely poking out as she mentally looked through her options. Her posture shifted suddenly, finding something that would work.

Closing her eyes, Pinkie took a deep breath. At first, it seemed like nothing happened. Then she felt a familiar shiver down her spine. The Magic in the room began to shift.

She watched as Pinkie’s eyes opened, a spark of something else in them. A luminous blue streak appeared in her mane and tail, but that wasn’t the only change. Blue lines of Magic appeared on her body. No, not just on her, but around her, around them. As if the Magic was connecting her to them, almost like a sort of hug.

If Sonata had thought she looked like some kind of goddess before, now, she thought she looked like Magic itself had come to life. Even without her Soul Gem, she could feel that Magic, radiating from Pinkie like the ocean’s most powerful waves. Yet, as powerful as it was, she wasn’t scared.

Pinkie’s Magic felt warm, comforting. It made her want to laugh out loud and burst into song. No, she could already hear the songs. Though Pinkie’s mouth didn’t move, she could hear her sing, she could hear her laugh as it resonated within her. The room smelled of strawberries and tasted like chocolate chip cookies. She couldn’t keep herself from smiling, and neither could anyone else.

“The Elements of Harmony are powered by Emotion as well,” Pinkie said. “If used correctly, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, Loyalty, and Kindness, all create Friendship, a form of Love. And the Elements can’t destroy, because Love cannot destroy. Does this feel capable of destruction?”

“No,” Requiem agreed, almost hypnotically. “It doesn’t. It can’t.”

“Exactly!” she chirped. “On that note, what do you eat underwater? Because honestly, usually I get really hungry after that.”

Her Magic shifted again, returning to normal. The blue disappeared from her mane, and the glowing lines faded. Though Sonata was almost sure she could still see them if she stared long enough. As if on cue, Pinkie’s stomach growled.

“What-what was that?” Prelude asked as everyone snapped back to attention. “How did you…?”

“Oh, I totally forgot to introduce myself, didn’t I?” Pinkie answered. “Sorry, I got all caught up in teary reunions and dramatic storytelling, I completely forgot! I’m already in your kitchen, and you don’t even know my name!

“I’m Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter,” she introduced. “And that’s what you just felt, Laughter. Normal assurances wouldn’t have kept you from worrying. So I figured I might as well show you the Magic they were up against. As for ‘how’, it’s the Element of Laughter! As long as I’m making a friend smile, I can use it!”

“A friend?” Requiem repeated, still bewildered. “We’ve just met, we didn’t even know you name until just now. Besides, you’re… important and all.”

“You make it sound so complicated,” she giggled. “Everyone I meet is a potential friend! The only question is whether or not they want to be friends with me!”

Sonata smiled as Pinkie and her parents continued to talk. Honestly, it was a relief to see them so happy. Until now, she’d been so sure that, despite the reassurances, her parents would hate her for all that happened. Instead they were worried about her, about what could’ve happened. The whole group was still bursting into happy tears at random, so she didn’t mind crying again as she thought about how much they loved her.

She was still in awe of Pinkie’s Magic. She could still feel it, or at least ghosts of it. Every time Pinkie smiled or laughed, Sonata felt a tingle run through her body, making her smile too. A small part of her was scared of that, because she felt the power that this Pony could summon forth, and heard of what it could do.

Yet, every time she looked at Pinkie, or felt the ghosts of that Magic, her fear melted away. Because as powerful as that was, Pinkie was right. Something that made her heart leap, while also letting her feel a type of calm she could only describe as ‘Home’, could never be dangerous.

Dinner and all that came after was spent catching up with one another. Well, it was more catching up with their parents and what had changed, asking about anyone they’d known before and what they were doing now. Adagio had tentatively asked about Nocturne, if they knew what happened to her, but neither Siren had known her well enough to have kept track of her.

Wave Chaser offered to track her down, while Pinkie assured her that she was probably fine. It was actually the only time either Pony spoke during that time, allowing the family to have time to themselves. While she appreciated the gesture, Sonata would’ve been fine if they joined in as well.

Eventually though, they had to go to sleep. While their parents offered the guest bedroom to Pinkie and Wave Chaser, the sisters were left to see their old room. They’d shared one room, though it was big enough for all three of them. Each had her own bed, and both it and the decor nearest them were in their respective colors.

Nothing had been touched since the day they left. Well, it wasn’t completely true. The place had been cleaned, kept nice for when they returned, if they returned. But neither parent could bring themselves to put things away properly. Not that there was a mess, but old toys and trinkets had been left out in a way that, usually, Requiem would have put away herself. Instead, everything was sitting right where they’d left it, as if someone still lived there.

As Sonata settled into her old bed, she noticed how small it was. Then again, it’d been a while since she was in it. She’d been thirteen back then, when they left. Now she was seventeen. She hadn’t really realized how small she’d been back then, how much she’d grown. Maybe it had to do with most of that growing happening in a different form.

Shaking those thoughts from her head, she focused back on her sisters. It had been a while since they all slept in the same room, despite once doing so all the time. It made the whole thing feel like a sleepover. The idea of that, and the memory of nights long ago where they’d stay up past bedtime talking, made her feel like sleep wasn’t going to come quite so easily.

“Hey, ‘Ria?” Sonata said, giving a curious but not quite innocent smile. “What were you and Wave Chaser talking about on the way here?”

“Nothing,” Aria answered, turning away. “Just-just asking if anything had changed while we were gone. Bigger things, like the city and all.”

“Are you sure?” Adagio wondered with a similar false innocence. “Because it looked like you were flirting.”

“What do you know?!” she defended, glaring despite her face turning a bit redder.

“I know what you look like when you like someone,” Sonata answered. “So, you going to ask her out or what?”

“No!” she protested, turning full on cherry colored. “Even if I did, she’s a princess. ‘Double Royalty’ as she called it. And I’m some kind of former criminal. I don’t think that kind of relationship would work out!”

“Seems to be working for Twilight,” Adagio shrugged. “A few of her romances include former terrors, some far worse than us.”

“See!” Sonata nodded. “You could go for it. Besides, she seems interested. I’m pretty sure Wave Chaser’s said a total of two sentences to me, but you two were talking all the way here!”

“Fine,” Aria glared. “I’ll ask her out when you ask Pinkie on a date!”

Myrth dropping slightly, she tilted her head and blinked.

“What are you talking about?” Sonata wondered.

“I said, when are you going to do something about your own love life?” Aria rolled her eyes.

Love life? With Pinkie? It wasn’t… a bad idea. Pinkie was pretty, and always made her laugh.  And made her heart race. Yet it was strange how being around her and feeling that felt so right, like ‘home’ in a way. Not to mention her Magic, the Element of Laughter reminding her of things that made her feel happy.

Things that made her happy, yet things she associated with Pinkie. The sound of her voice, of her songs, her laughter. That strawberry shampoo. And that night, after her first shift at Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie borrowed the oven to make a celebratory batch of chocolate chip cookies, still warm and gooey and absolutely delicious.

“That…” Sonata trailed off, perhaps too lost in thought. “That makes a lot of sense.”

“Did you just now come to the realization that you like her?” Adagio asked.

“Er, yes?” she answered somewhat sheepishly.

Both of her sisters stared at her for a moment, before turning to stare at one another. With another look to Sonata, they both dropped their heads into their hooves and gave exasperated sighs.

“How’d you know if I couldn’t even put it together?” Sonata asked.

“You are not the master of subtlety,” Aria said.

“Is there a Siren that is?” Sonata muttered.

“Honestly,” Adagio huffed. “I could tell from the first day that you liked her. Definitely kept me from asking her out, not to step on hooves and all that. Though I was quite tempted by the idea of how much hair would exist if the two of us had a kid.”

“Dagi, you’re both mares,” Aria pointed out, rolling her eyes.

“True,” she nodded. “But Sunset and Twilight have been trying to come up with a spell that would let two mares have a child. I have no idea what they’re talking about when it comes to Unicorn Magic, but I do love seeing them ramble back and forth to one another.”

As the two began to delve more into Adagio’s apparent love life, Sonata settled down and thought over her revelation.

She liked Pinkie Pie. Perhaps it was more than just ‘liked’ by this point. The natural thing to do would be to ask her out, tell her how she felt, but would that work? Well, she knew Pinkie was into mares, so that wasn’t a problem. And it couldn’t possibly ruin their friendship. Pinkie wasn’t the type to ruin a friendship over a one-sided love, while Sonata was sure that she wouldn’t ruin it herself even if her feelings weren’t returned.

The problem was Pinkie’s other partners. Sonata didn’t mind her having other partners, but it was just the fact of who they were, what they were like. Discord, an Immortal with the power to do anything, and a sense of humor that only she could get. Twilight Sparkle, a Princess and close friend who was ridiculously proficient in Magic and Spellcasting. Sunset, the only mare to match Twilight in Spellcasting, but also shared a love of theatre and arts. Rarity, another close friend and objectively one of the most beautiful mares Sonata had ever seen. And while Sonata had yet to meet ‘Party Favor’, just the name implied someone who knew a lot about parties. Not to mention the mystery two Pinkie had mentioned.

All of them were better than her. Better at a lot of things, in a lot of ways. And they all shared something with Pinkie, had much more in common with her than Sonata did. Maybe she was just imagining that part, as the only ones she knew decently well were Twilight and Sunset, but it felt like it was true. Even though Pinkie could give her a chance, would Sonata be compared to them? Could she measure up to those standards?

Still, Sonata wanted to try. Because as much as the idea scared her, that proved to her all the more that she should. Because even if she wasn’t like the others, she still liked Pinkie, still felt happy jut thinking about her, felt better being around her.

She wanted to try, because Pinkie made her smile in a way no one else could.