1. Razzle-Dazzled

“Well, girls, here we are: Canterlot High School.”

“Wow. And I thought our old school was big.”

“Yeah! This place is, like, extravagant!”

Three teenage girls stood on the sidewalk in front of Canterlot High School, gawking at it and taken aback by its sheer size and opulence. The majestic, three-story building dominated the environment, dwarfing the surrounding suburban neighborhood. A perfectly mowed soccer field and pristine track were attached to one wing of the grand structure, while what looked like a fenced-in resting area sat at the school’s other wing. The school was topped with a beautiful glass dome with a clocktower constructed to emulate a castle’s tower—complete with a flag, even—rising from the middle. Finally, the courtyard—for it could only be called a courtyard—was decorated with a perfectly sculpted, granite statue of a reared-back stallion overlooking the street on a base taller than the girls themselves. A gold-plated, horseshoe-shaped sign to its side proved that this was indeed Canterlot High School.

The trio kept taking in the school’s magnificence, until a cold gust of winter wind forced them back to the present.

“Ugh, it’s freezing out here! Can we go inside, already?”

“Yes, we’ll have plenty of time to sightsee later. Let’s go see the principal.”

With that, the trio began walking toward the front doors of the school. Nearby, a pair of boys—students, most likely—stood chatting with each other outside despite the cold weather. As the girls drew nearer, one of the boys looked in their direction. His eyes immediately widened as his jaw dropped. He nudged his friend and pointed at them, and when his friend turned to see them, his face mirrored the other boy’s expression.

The girl in front flashed them a flirty smile and waggled her fingers in greeting as the trio passed by them into the school. “Nice to know we still turn heads all the way out here, eh, girls?” she said as the doors closed.

Her sisters snickered in response as they entered the titanic atrium, which was decorated with plenty of banners showcasing the school’s sports team: the Wondercolts. Display cases lined the walls, and several staircases led up to a mezzanine overlooking it all.

Putting it all in the back of their mind for the time being, the girls quickly located the school office and walked in, noting that it, too, carried a feeling of eloquence despite maintaining a more professional atmosphere. As they walked up to the large desk, the secretary looked up from her computer, surprise and what seemed like fear flashing across her features as she beheld the girls in front of her.

“Is the principal in?” the leader asked, deciding to ignore the look on the woman’s face.

The secretary shakily put her finger on her intercom button and said, “P-Principal Celestia, you have visitors. I hope you’re sitting down.”

“Send them in. And, yes, I’m sitting,” came a mature voice from the speaker, a hint of laughter at the end.

The secretary pointed wordlessly at the door to her left, avoiding eye contact with the trio. Confused, the girls exchanged glances but decided to just write it off and enter the principal’s office.

The principal’s office was, unlike the rest of the school so far, very much like what one would expect in any other public school. It was a small room simply furnished with a desk, chairs, bookcases, and filing cabinets. Diplomas and a whiteboard decorated the walls, and a tall window let in sunlight. Behind the desk was an older woman with whitish-pink skin and pastel, multi-hued hair. As soon as she laid her heliotrope eyes on the trio, her eyes, like everyone else’s, widened in shock at first, but in a twist, this pair of eyes narrowed after the first second of surprise.

After closing the door behind them, the leader began politely, “Good afternoon, Principal Celestia. My name is Adagio Dazzle, and these are my sisters Aria Blaze and—”

“I know very well who you three are, thank you very much,” Celestia said coldly. As the trio recoiled from her tone and interruption, Celestia pressed a button on her own intercom and said, “Luna, would you step into my office, please.”

In the tense silence that followed, the confused and worried trio heard a door on another side of the waiting room open and shut, and soon, Celestia’s door opened.

“Yes, Celestia? How can I help—You!” Glaring down at the trio was a bluish-grey-skinned woman with opal eyes and wavy hair in two different hues of blue, who looked very much like she could be Celestia's sister despite the contrast in color. “You have quite the nerve showing your faces around here!” she spat as she went around to stand next to Celestia, arms crossed. “Do you think we’ve forgotten what you’ve done?”

The trio sat still, stunned by the hostility of the women. Adagio was the first to recover. “No, I don’t. And, frankly, I’m not surprised that you haven’t," she said, trying to calm the women. "I understand that Aria and Sonata can be a bit of a handful—”

“What!?” Aria protested.

“They started it!” Sonata exclaimed.

“Yeah, they started it!” Aria shouted.

“What have I told you two about retaliation?” Adagio asked calmly, looking back at them.

“Oh, come on, Adagio! We couldn’t just let them walk all over us!” Aria asserted. “And besides, you’re no angel, either!”

“Yeah!” Sonata said. “Remember the time when you—"

“Sonata!” Adagio snapped, glaring at Sonata as a blush exploded across her face, turning her yellow face orange. Regaining her cool, she calmly turned back to the women, absently fiddling with the hem of her purple skirt as she said, “Look, I understand we’re far from model students, but this is a chance for us to start over at a brand-new school in a brand-new city, and we ask that you give us a chance. We want to make this transfer as easy for you as possible, which is why we came after school on a Friday; that way, we wouldn’t disrupt class, and we’d be giving you the weekend to do whatever you need to do.”

Celestia and Luna exchanged glances, their anger giving way to confusion. Celestia looked back at the trio. “Transfer?”

Now, it was Adagio’s turn to be surprised. “Um, yes, transfer. We moved here from Manehatten a week ago. You even approved the transfer forms, remember?”

Once again, Celestia and Luna exchanged confused glances, until a proverbial light bulb lit up as a gleam of recognition lit their eyes. Celestia walked over to her filing cabinet and dug around for a few seconds before pulling out three forms. Clearing her throat, she sat back down and said, much more calmly, “Yes, I remember now. My apologies for forgetting.”

“Oh, it’s no problem,” Adagio said, relieved. “It’s been a few months. We weren’t exactly expecting you to wait for us on bated breath.”

“Of course,” Celestia said with a polite smile, though her eyes were scrutinizing. “Now, before we continue, what does the term ‘battle of the bands’ mean to you?”

Adagio looked curiously at her sisters, then said to the women, “It’s a competition among musical groups. Why?”

“Oh, is one coming up here? We’d love to join! We’re great singers,” Sonata piped up, her sisters nodding in agreement at her claim.

“I don’t doubt it,” Celestia said with a wry smile, “but no, there is no such competition coming up, though we did have one recently last semester.”

“Oh,” Sonata said, shoulders falling. “Darn.”

“Now, does the term ‘Rainbooms’ mean anything to you?” Luna asked.

“’Rainbooms’?” Aria repeated incredulously. “Is that some local slang? Back in Manehatten, we just called them thunderstorms.”

“The Rainbooms are a band formed by some of the students here,” Celestia clarified, “but that’s not important. Luna, would you step out with me for a moment?”

Nodding, Luna followed Celestia out of the room, leaving the trio in silence.

“Way to throw us under the bus, Adagio!” Aria hissed.

“Yeah, what the heck!” Sonata snapped.

“I’m sorry! I panicked!” Adagio whispered. “Did you see the way they were looking at us?”

“Yeesh! And I thought Principal Trenches was tough!” Sonata complained.

“At least they still have our forms,” Aria said. “So, they know we’re legit.”

“Yes, they seem to have calmed down now,” Adagio said. “That doesn’t explain why they were so hostile, though; they knew who we were already, didn’t they?”

“Seriously,” Aria replied. “We weren’t perfect, but we weren’t that bad. I don’t know what Trenches told them, but it couldn’t have been anything good.”

"Even so, why did they ease up only after finding our forms?" Adagio asked.

Suddenly, the door opened, and the trio immediately straightened up. The administrators moved back around the desk, and Celestia took her seat. “Well, girls, everything seems to be in order,” Celestia said calmly, a friendly smile on her face. “I appreciate that you came in when you did. It was very convenient for us. On that note, would you be willing to come in tomorrow to take a few placement exams so I can make your schedules?”

“That sounds wonderful, Principal Celestia,” Adagio said, desperate to keep the surely thin ice from breaking.

“Wonderful,” Celestia said. “I know it must be inconvenient to come in on a Saturday, but given the circumstances, we feel it’s for the best. We’ll give you each a temporary schedule for next week, and hopefully, we’ll have your real schedules by next Friday. Will that suffice?”

“Absolutely,” Adagio said, her sisters nodding quickly with nervous smiles. “We’re very much looking forward to starting over and making some new friends. And it means a lot that you’re working with us on this; it must be difficult to have three new students show up almost a month after the semester starts.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Celestia replied, “and it’s no problem. Now, please be here at eight a.m. for your exams. In the meantime, would you like a tour of the school before you head home?”

“That’s quite alright!” Adagio said hastily. Clearing her throat, she continued, “I’m sure you two are very busy. Would you mind if we took a look around by ourselves?”

The principals exchanged glances again, then Celestia said somewhat nervously, “Perhaps it would be best if you did so after your exams tomorrow. Wouldn’t want to disrupt the school clubs, would we?”

“Um, no, I suppose not,” Adagio said hesitantly. “In that case, if that’s all you need…?”

“Yes, that’s everything, girls,” Celestia said pleasantly. “We’ll give you each a copy of the student handbook to read over the weekend, and we’ll see you in the morning. We’re very much looking forward to giving you the warmest of welcomes here at CHS.”

The trio hastily gave their farewells and left, noticing that the secretary still wouldn’t look them in the eyes. They refrained from saying anything until they were a short distance away from school grounds.

“What the hell was that?” Aria said loudly. “’Warmest of welcomes’, my ass! If looks could kill, we’d be dead twice over!”

“Yeah, totally!” Sonata agreed. “I could practically feel myself turning to ice.”

“It’s alright, girls,” Adagio said, though her heavy breathing betrayed her previous nerves and current relief. “They must have been trying to set an example. They obviously take student conduct very seriously. We must be sure to be on our very, very best behavior. Understand?” she finished, giving her sisters a pointed look.

“Understood,” Aria and Sonata said in unison.

“But that goes for you, too, Adagio,” Aria said.

“I’m well aware,” Adagio said. “Now, let’s take a walk around the neighborhood before heading home. We have a big day tomorrow, and we want to be well-rested. And as for the principals’ behavior, let's look on the bright side: If they take student conduct that seriously, the students there must be the friendliest in the city, right?”

Her sisters couldn’t deny the logic, so, with renewed spirits, the girls set off to get a lay of the land, looking forward to their first day at Canterlot High School.

2. A Brilliant Start

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The alarm clock rang, and Adagio leapt to shut it off.

Truth be told, Adagio had already been up for half an hour already, too excited to sleep that last thirty minutes, and she had forgotten to turn her alarm clock off before jumping in the shower. The sudden alarm certainly gave her a fright, but her racing heart just brought a smile to her face as she walked to her closet to get dressed.

The weekend had gone surprisingly well despite their trepidations after Friday. Celestia and Luna were both very pleasant, and, perhaps to make up for scaring the trio the previous day, the two allowed the girls to tour the school on their own, which took another forty minutes given how large and grand the school is.

The girls spent the rest of the weekend shopping for new clothes to wear, sampling the Canterlot cuisine, and waiting anxiously for Monday.

The smell of bacon reached Adagio’s nose, bringing her back to the present. She quickly put on her underwear and pulled out a short-sleeved, purple, knee-length dress cinched with a pink sash. She pulled on white wool tights to keep her legs warm and donned her favorite purple winter boots.

Deciding to skip the nail polish, she quickly but expertly applied red lipstick and yellow eye-shadow a few shades darker than her skin, then rushed downstairs to the kitchen.

As she expected, Sonata stood at the stove, a pan of bacon and eggs sizzling in front of her, a tacky but cute apron protecting her green sweater and darker-green, knee-length skirt from flying grease. She tapped her booted foot to the rhythm of a song she was humming.

Sitting at the table, playing on her phone while she waited for breakfast, was Aria, wearing a tight, black t-shirt and grey jeans with sneakers, while next to her, their mother Melody Lights stared at her laptop, reading something on the screen intently.

“Morning, sweetie,” Melody said as Adagio rushed into the room. “You’re just in time for breakfast.”

“Good morning, Mother,” Adagio replied, walking over to see what her mother was reading. “The stock market again?”

“But, of course,” Melody sang, smirking proudly. Melody was a tall, beautiful woman with dark-pink skin and raspberry hair. Like her daughters, her hair was extremely long, so she kept it tied back in a loop bun, the rest of the tail flowing down to the small of her back. As usual, not a single hair was out of place. She spent much of her time in the stock market, taking some of the money her husband Soprano Nights earned as a fisherman and putting that money to further work. And judging by Melody’s business attire, she was planning on meeting a promising entrepreneur today. “A new city means new opportunities.”

“And I suppose Father’s already left?”

“Yes, he decided to head to the coast early to try to make a good first impression.” Melody’s brow furrowed. “I hope they don’t haze him too hard.”

Adagio scrunched up her nose as Aria snickered; their father’s clothes smelled like fish for a week after his first day at his old job in Manehatten.

“Order up!” Sonata cheered as she pulled the pan off the flame to keep the food from burning. She quickly pulled out and filled four plates, setting three of them before the rest of her family before finally sitting down with her own food and digging in.

“So, are my little divas excited for their first day at school?” Melody teased.

Adagio and Aria rolled their eyes good-naturedly as Sonata nodded vigorously, her mouth full. “Totally! It’s gonna be great!” Sonata replied after swallowing. “I just hope we don’t get lost; that place is massive!”

The trio had told their parents of their time at Canterlot High on Friday and Saturday and how well things went. They didn’t tell their parents of Celestia’s and Luna’s reception upon first meeting them, hoping that Adagio was right about it simply being a lesson.

“Is it really?” Melody asked. When her daughters all nodded, she continued, “Well, I’ve got time before my meeting. Would you mind if I went with you?” She smirked, already knowing the answer.

“Come on, Mom, you can’t embarrass us on our first day,” Aria said, though she grinned. “Save that for later.”

“If you say so,” Melody sang.

The conversation moved to other things, mainly thoughts and opinions about Canterlot so far and hopes for the near future. Soon, the girls finished breakfast, washed their plates, and, after giving their mother a kiss on the cheek, grabbed their coats and backpacks and left for school.

“Well, girls, it’s finally here: our first day at Canterlot High School.”

The three girls stared at the school, still taken aback by its size, though most of their surprise wore off during their tour over the weekend. They decided to stand off to the side this time, trying to calm the butterflies in their stomachs before anyone noticed them.

“I’m so excited!” Sonata cheered, bouncing on her heels. “We’re gonna make so many friends and have so much fun and join so many clubs and—”

“Sonata, it’s still a school,” Aria said. “Don’t go in expecting a carnival.”

“I know, but still,” Sonata said. Suddenly, she pointed toward the statue and said, “Ooh, ooh! Look, girls! I spy with my little eye our first new friend!”

Adagio and Aria followed Sonata’s finger, and sure enough, they spotted a student standing near the statue, a stack of papers in her hands. Her sweater and pants were seafoam green, and she had butter-yellow skin, though her light-pink hair covering half of her face made it hard to make out her skin color. Given how early it was—class wouldn’t start for another forty minutes—the girl was alone.

The trio approached the girl, ready to make a friend. “Good morning!” Adagio called from a distance as she approached, not wanting to startle the girl.

“Good morning,” the girl said softly as she turned around, a smile on her face and a sheet of paper in her outstretched hand. “Would you like to volunteer for—Ahh!” The quiet girl cut herself off with a scream as she jumped backward, falling on her rear and scattering her papers everywhere.

“Oh, gosh! Are you okay?” Adagio asked quickly, bending over to help pick up the papers, pausing as she got a good look at them while her sisters continued to gather them. They were fliers featuring a bunch of cute animals asking for help at a local animal shelter. She looked at the shivering girl in front of her. “Did you make these?”

The girl stared at her with eyes that belonged more on a cornered rabbit than a high school girl. Her lip trembling, she wordlessly nodded.

Adagio looked at her expression curiously, and after Aria and Sonata gave Adagio the stack of fliers, she handed them to the girl, smiling brightly and saying, “They’re adorable!”

The girl suddenly shoved the fliers into Adagio’s chest. “You can keep them!” she shouted as she ran away, sobbing.

There was a moment of surprised silence before Aria asked, “What was that?”

Adagio stared after the girl, still clutching the fliers. “Was it something I said?” she muttered.

“Maybe she was just really eager to give out the fliers?” Sonata suggested.

“Oh, come on,” Aria replied.

“Well, how would you explain it?” Sonata shot back.

“I don’t know!” Aria said. “Maybe she’s…cripplingly shy? But then, why would she be out here handing out fliers? Maybe she never got over the principals’ lesson and is afraid to break any rules.”

“Maybe,” Adagio mumbled. Raising her voice, she continued, “Well, it’s fine; if at first you don’t succeed, right?”

With that, the trio walked into the school to get ready for class.

Aria stood outside her first class, waiting for the teacher, a young woman named Miss Cheerilee, to introduce her to the class. Even though Aria was the first to arrive, Cheerilee asked her to stand outside out of sight and return soon after class started. It was inconvenient, but Aria wasn’t about to get on the teacher’s bad side on her first day.

Thankfully, Cheerilee was speaking loudly, allowing Aria to hear her. Oddly, though, Cheerilee seemed very nervous about the whole situation, something that Aria’s been seeing from literally everyone they’ve seen so far, and even though they haven’t seen many people so far, it was still weird.

“What’s the big deal?” she thought. “Are new students so rare that they freak people out?”

Aria tuned back in and noticed that her cue was coming up.

“—give her a warm, friendly, calm welcome.” Cheerilee turned to the door, waving Aria in.

Aria rolled her neck to ease the tension. “Showtime.” She opened the door boldly, striding into the room to a chorus of gasps and whirling to face the class when she reached the middle, a confident smirk on her face.

She was met with the same reaction as always: wide eyes and slack jaws. Looking around, Aria could see other things, too, like worry, fear, and most disturbingly, anger.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Cheerilee mime something frantically to the class, but when Aria looked at her, the teacher acted like she was doing nothing. “So, Aria, why don’t you tell us about yourself?” Cheerilee said.

Trying to ignore the looks—“Don’t let it get to you, Aria.”—Aria put on her smirk again as she said, “Hey, I’m Aria Blaze. I moved here a week ago from Manehatten. Pretty cool city you got here. Definitely better than Manehatten.” Aria ended her sentence with a playful roll of her eyes.

Aria gauged the crowed, hoping that she eased the tension some. Oddly, she noticed many students looking at each other confusedly, some even shooting her incredulous looks, as if they didn’t believe her or something.

“What the hell is going on in this school?”

Trying to act natural, Aria awkwardly walked down the rows until she reached the one empty desk, which only had students on three sides, fortunately. Unfortunately, one of those students was behind her, and Aria had a hard time feeling comfortable about that.

Thankfully, Cheerilee began teaching, and one by one, the students began to concentrate more on the lecture, except for the girl sitting right next to her, a pretty, snow-white girl with blue eyes and purple hair in a fancy style Aria couldn’t hope to name. The girl simply stared in surprise at Aria, and when Aria made eye contact and waved a silent greeting, mouthing, “Yo,” the girl turned to her friend, another girl with pink skin and dark-pink, fluffy hair. The two signed a silent conversation, but Aria couldn’t help but notice the suspicious glances the pair threw at her.

Swallowing nervously, Aria yanked out her notebook and started scribbling notes, suddenly feeling very, very uncomfortable.

“This school is really weird,” Aria whispered.

The trio met during first break at their lockers, which were blessedly right next to each other. Everyone around them gave them a wide berth, save for the students whose lockers were right next to the sisters’; those particular students rushed to switch out their things and sped off to their next classroom without making eye contact with the trio.

Despite everyone’s physical distance from them, they still spoke in hushed tones, not wanting to say aloud anything that might insult someone. Their whispering fit in quite well with the whispering of everyone else.

“Tell me about it,” Sonata said. “Not a single soul said hi to me. Even the teacher wasn’t all that happy to talk to me. They just seemed so mad.”

“What about you, Adagio?” Aria asked. “Did you fare any better?”

“I’m afraid not,” Adagio said. “My first class went about the same, save for the fact that my classmates seemed more afraid than angry.”

“What the hell’s going on?” Aria asked.

Adagio thought about it, then sighed. “I-I don’t know,” she finally said. “Maybe—"

“Hey, Dazzlings!”

The trio turned to the direction of the shout and saw a blue girl with rainbow-colored hair storming toward them, the shy girl from earlier on her tail.

“What did you do to Fluttershy?” she demanded, stopping threateningly close to Adagio.

“Rainbow, don’t!” the shy girl said.

“Fluttershy?” Adagio asked, stepping back.

“’Dazzlings’?” Aria repeated incredulously.

Ignoring Aria, Rainbow pointed to the shy girl, presumably named Fluttershy, while glaring at Adagio.

“I didn’t do anything to her,” Adagio said.

“Oh, yeah, right!” Rainbow snapped. “She ran to me crying after you got done scaring her half to death!”

Adagio paused, formulating her words. “I suppose that’s not untrue,” she finally said, “but—”

“I knew it!” Rainbow said, suddenly grabbing Adagio by the collar and yanking her closer, her enraged eyes meeting Adagio’s scared eyes. “You stay away from Fluttershy, or I’ll—”

“Hey, chill out, would you?” Aria snapped, forcing herself in between Rainbow and Adagio, breaking the former’s grip on the latter. Aria looked at Fluttershy and commanded, “Tell your girlfriend to back off!”

“Girlfriend!?” Rainbow yelled, surprised.

“Oh, and while you’re at it, you should find another one,” Sonata said, smirking as she held her arms behind her back innocently. “This one has a bit of a jealous streak.”

“Hey!”

“Come on, Adagio,” Aria said, pulling Adagio away from the fuming Rainbow. “We’re gonna be late for class.”

“Y-Yes, alright,” Adagio mumbled, turning around and walking with her sisters.

“Hey, get back here! I’m not done with you!” Rainbow shouted. Fluttershy said something to Rainbow, though the sisters were too far to hear it, and Rainbow growled, her growl growing even louder as she noticed exactly what Sonata was hiding behind her back: a single, raised finger in her direction. “This isn’t over, Dazzlings!” she yelled, stomping away and leaving the trio alone.

The trio sat together at an empty lunch table, surrounded by empty chairs. Thankfully, the other students were too preoccupied with their own lunches to do more than glare at the girls.

“You okay, Adagio?” Aria asked.

“After what, our run-in with that prismatic barbarian or our getting turned away from every table in this whole damn cafeteria?” Adagio asked, aggressively spearing her salad with her fork.

“Well, both, I guess, but especially the first.”

“Oh, I’m just peachy!” Adagio said sarcastically. “Honestly, the first thing I said when I woke up this morning was, ‘Gee, I can’t wait for some brute to punch my lights out for talking to her girl!’”

“Look on the bright side!” Sonata chirped. “You handled it way better than you usually do. I’m surprised you didn’t start…y’know,” she finished, whispering her last word.

“Honestly, I was too scared to flirt,” Adagio said. “Not even the best defense works if you’re taken by surprise, and boy, was I.”

“Yeah, it was like she thought you were a monster or something,” Aria said.

“I’ve been getting that vibe, too,” Sonata said. “You should’ve seen this wannabe cowgirl in second period. She looked at me like she thought I was gonna steal her cattle.”

“And what’s up with the ‘Dazzlings’ thing?”

“Oh, yeah, she did call us that, didn’t she?” Sonata said.

Adagio considered it. “Maybe…she just said ‘Dazzling’? Maybe you misheard the ‘s’.”

“Maybe…” Aria said, though she was visibly doubtful.

Adagio thought a bit more. “Still not a very good nickname, though. Or a very good insult.”

Her sisters snickered at that, and Adagio, a bit of her usual self back, said, “Well, let’s not let one aggressive student get the best of us. Obviously, the students here have an issue with new students. Hopefully, they’re just hazing us, and by this time next week, it’ll be as if we’ve always gone here. We just…” Adagio’s shoulders fell. “We just have to endure it.”

Somehow, the trio managed to make it through the second half of the day. It certainly helped that no one was openly hostile toward them throughout their last classes, and finally, the sisters met at their lockers to get ready to go home.

“Well, this sucked,” Aria said, not even bothering to keep her voice down.

“Totally! Who knew the students here would be so mean?” Sonata said, hefting her backpack and for once looking forward to just going home and doing homework.

“Well, it’s over now,” Adagio said, sighing as she closed her locker. “Let’s go home, girls.”

Adagio and her sisters made their way to the school’s exit, but as they approached, they were suddenly cut off by a group of six girls, blocking their path to the doors. Rainbow and Fluttershy were there, as were the white and pink girls Aria saw in first period and the orange-skinned, blonde cowgirl Sonata mentioned. There was another girl, amber with red-and-yellow hair, that Adagio recognized from her last period class. She didn’t give Adagio any problem in particular, but given that she was Rainbow’s friend, she likely meant bad news.

Adagio sighed. “Can I help you?” she asked, getting tired of the antagonism.

“You know why we’re here!” Rainbow barked.

Adagio sighed again. “Alright, alright,” she said. She turned to Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, I’m sorry for accidentally startling you this morning, but I do wish you would tell Rainbow that that’s all I did.”

“That’s not what this is about, and you know it!” Rainbow snapped.

“Then why don’t you stop beating around the bush and tell us what this is about!” Aria shot back.

“Like you don’t know!” Rainbow said. “The Musical Showcase? The Battle of the Bands?”

“…What?” Adagio said.

“Don’t play dumb! We haven’t forgotten what you’ve done to this school!” Rainbow yelled.

“But we weren’t here for that stuff,” Sonata said. “We just moved here a week ago.”

“Don’t even try the innocent act!” the cowgirl snapped. “Lie all you want, but we’ll see right through it. Y’all ain’t welcome here!”

Adagio stood her ground, but curiously, she noticed the amber girl in the back visibly wince after the cowgirl finished speaking. None of the others seemed to notice, and Adagio made sure not to show her surprise, putting it in the back of her mind for later. Looking back at Rainbow and the cowgirl, Adagio said, “Well, Principal Celestia certainly seems to think we’re welcome here, and last I checked, she’s the boss.”

“Of course, you went after the principal first!” Rainbow snapped, throwing her hands up. “Why am I even surprised?”

“’Went after’—What the hell are you on about?” Aria demanded.

“We don’t know what you’re after, but you’re not gonna get it!” the pink girl snapped, speaking for the first time.

“Honestly, what are you doing back here?” the white girl asked. “Your gems are gone. There’s nothing for you here.”

“We’re here because we have to go to school, duh. And this one’s closest to our place,” Sonata said. “And it has a good social reputation, somehow.”

“Hold on,” Adagio said. “What gems?”

“Your magic gems, duh!” Rainbow yelled. “The ones you used to absorb everyone’s energy after hypnotizing the whole school!”

The trio simply stood there, stunned. Suddenly, a snort erupted from Sonata as she started giggling, and Aria soon followed.

“Magic gems? Really?” Aria said. “Come on, what do you take us for?” Her snickering continued until she caught a glimpse of Adagio, who was most certainly not laughing.

Sonata stopped giggling as she, too, noticed Adagio’s expression. “Adagio?”

“How dare you?” Adagio growled. “How dare you slander us with these wild accusations! To think that you and your cowardly girlfriend would spread lies and tell everyone that we’re…evil witches! And to think that everyone believes you!”

“You leave Fluttershy—”

“Shut up!” Adagio shouted. Aria and Sonata exchanged worried glances, and even the girls aggressing them began to look uncomfortable. “I don’t know what we’ve done to you to deserve this, but frankly, I don’t care anymore. We’re going home. Get out of our way.”

Adagio immediately began stalking forward, pushing through the stunned group. Aria and Sonata nervously followed behind. Thankfully, Rainbow didn’t shoot any parting shots at them, likely too surprised at Adagio’s sudden outburst, and the trio left the premises unmolested.

“You okay, Adagio?” Aria asked again after the trio got away from the school.

“I’m fine!” Adagio snapped, but Aria and Sonata could hear Adagio’s voice cracking. Adagio took a deep breath and repeated more calmly, “I’m fine.”

“Do you, uh…Do you still think we’re just being hazed?” Sonata asked.

Adagio sighed. “I don’t know. I hope so.”

“Oh, come one, Adagio, that’s gotta be it,” Aria said, a smirk on her face. “I mean, really? Magic gems? Hypnotizing the school? Even if the school’s superstitious enough to believe in those things, saying that stuff about three girls who just showed up a week ago is too farfetched to be anything but a prank.”

Adagio allowed herself a small smile. “Well, I suppose it is quite silly.” Her smile fell. “Still, I let them get to me. There will be…consequences for that.”

“It’s no big deal,” Aria assured her. “If they keep teasing us, so what? We’ve been through worse. This time around, we’ll just make some friends to help us get through it.” Aria’s confidence rose as she saw Sonata emphatically nodding along.

Adagio smiled, regaining some of her regal posture. “You’re right, of course,” she said. “We’ll just have to try again tomorrow. First impressions are rarely accurate, after all.” The girls put some more pep in their step as they continued home. “I’m sure it’s all up from here.”

3. A Red-Hot Glow

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“’All up from here,’ huh?”

“Just…Just shut up, Aria.”

The trio stared at their lockers, once clean, now a canvas for a mosaic of anger, insults, and threats, and while some of the words confused the sisters—namely, the comments regarding fish and the sea—they were nevertheless hurt by and slightly afraid of the hostility of the vandalism.

“Okay, this has gone too far,” Aria said. “I don’t know if things are just different over here, but I don’t think we’re being hazed anymore. It’s only Tuesday, and already, we’ve been threatened by one person, ganged up on by that person’s friends, and now, people are putting threats on our lockers! This needs to stop. Now!”

Aria heard a noise behind her. Whirling around, she caught one of the students, a mint-green girl with similarly colored hair and golden eyes, opening one of the neighboring lockers, trying desperately to avoid being heard.

“Hey!” Aria snapped, startling the girl. “Do you know anything about this?” she demanded, pointing at the graffiti.

The girl froze for a second before taking off down the hallway.

“Hey! Get back here!” Aria said, beginning to give chase, before Adagio grabbed her arm.

“Aria, no. As much as you might want to, we can’t just beat the answers out of people.”

“But—”

“Should we maybe go to the principal?” Sonata piped up, interrupting Aria.

“No way,” Aria replied. “You know what they say: Snitches get stitches.”

Adagio thought a moment. “You know, normally, I’d say that we should work it out on our own. However, I believe Principal Celestia would appreciate knowing that her lockers have been vandalized. And, if she happens to do something about those threats and such, well, that’s her decision, not ours.”

Aria looked away, uncertainty written on her face. Adagio sighed and said, “Aria, if we don’t do something, then we will get stitches.”

Aria scowled and grumbled, “Fine. But I’m not happy about this.”

Adagio and Sonata exchanged glances with a nod, and the trio were off.

“Good morning, girls. Please take a seat.”

For a moment, the trio just stood there, basking in the relief of the principal’s warm welcome. They had almost forgotten what it felt like. Still, not wanting to keep her waiting, they each took a seat, Aria and Sonata pulling up two spare, smaller chairs while Adagio sat in the biggest center chair.

“We’re sorry to bother you while we should be in class,” Adagio began, “but when we arrived at school, we were met with a…concerning sight.” Celestia gave her a look of curiosity but said nothing, so Adagio continued, “Well, to put it simply, some lockers were vandalized.”

“Vandalized?” Celestia repeated, as aghast as she was angry. At Adagio’s nod, Celestia continued, “This is a very serious issue. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, girls. Rest assured that I will look into it. And don’t worry about being late; I’ll write some excuse slips for you three.”

“Thank you very much, Principal Celestia. I have no doubt you’ll take care of it.”

Celestia quickly pulled out and filled three excuse slips for the trio, who grabbed them as they stood up. However, when they were just at the door, Celestia said, “Oh, girls.” When the trio turned around to look at her, she said, “If I may ask, how was your first day at CHS?”

“It was great!” Aria said, too quickly and too loudly.

Celestia kept her patient smile, but she gave Aria a scrutinizing look. “Really?”

Aria paused for only a moment under Celestia’s gaze before saying, “W-Well, I mean, some people were jerks, but you’ll find those in every school. Other than that, it was great!”

Celestia looked at Aria’s sisters. Sonata was looking away sorrowfully, holding one of her arms self-consciously, and even Adagio was having a hard time making eye contact with the principal, and though it was hard to see, Celestia could swear she saw Adagio biting her lip ever so slightly.

“I’m glad to hear it, Aria,” Celestia finally said, “and I hope you three can make plenty of friends. But feel free to drop in if anyone starts giving you problems. I’d hate for three of my students to feel unwelcome at their own school.”

“Thanks, will do!” Aria said, hurrying out the office. Her sisters followed, closing the door behind them. It may have been her imagination, but Adagio thought she heard Celestia sigh as she closed the door.

Tuesday, thankfully, wasn’t too remarkable after their talk with the principal. No one was friendly to them—not that the trio were all that eager to chat with anyone, either—but no one made any hostile moves against them, either. Even so, the sisters couldn’t help but feel their tempers rising and confidence waning with every hour that went by.

And so, Adagio tried to just suffer through her first class on Wednesday, trying and mostly succeeded to ignore the one-off glare or scowl sent her way as she took notes.

At last, the bell sounded, and the students began packing their things to go to their lockers or straight to their next class, while the teacher stepped out to run an errand. Adagio was no different, closing her notebook and textbook and stacking them up, but just as she began lifting them, a blue hand planted itself on the books, slamming her stack back onto her desk.

Adagio glanced up at the intruder, finding a girl with purple eyes and silver hair scowling down at her. Adagio sighed. “Can I—"

“It appears that you haven’t been getting the message, siren,” the girl interrupted, “and I thought the blue one was the dumb one.”

Adagio bristled. “Excuse me?”

“But, no matter! Allow Trixie to clarify things for you.” Trixie thrust her finger in Adagio’s face. “You are not welcome here, Adagio Dazzle, and neither are your two flunkies!”

“They are my sisters!” Adagio growled, gritting her teeth.

“Semantics,” Trixie said dismissively, fueling Adagio’s rage. “The point is that you three are not wanted here. You are to leave as soon as possible and never bother us again, so declares the Great and Powerful Trixie!” she finished, closing her eyes with a haughty expression and pointing upward in a grandiose manner.

“D’awwww!” Adagio suddenly cooed. Trixie’s eyes snapped open as she looked down at Adagio, who was smirking as she looked at Trixie through half-lidded eyes. “Aren’t you just the cutest?”

“Wh-What?!” Trixie stammered as Adagio rose to her feet and circled around the desk to meet Trixie.

“’The Great and Powerful Trixie’? Oh, is there anything more precious than a cute, little puppy barking up a big tree?” Adagio taunted, gently stroking Trixie’s chin as she closed the distance.

“’Puppy’!” Trixie shouted, scandalized. “How dare you—” Trixie cut herself off with a gasp as Adagio placed a finger on her lips. By now, the few students left in the room were watching them intently.

“Now, now, puppy, I can’t play right now. Maybe later,” Adagio purred, leaning close to Trixie’s ear and saying softly, “But if you’re still interested in ‘playing’, meet me at my locker after school. I’m sure you’ll find it.”

Adagio punctuated her words with a soft pat on Trixie’s blushing cheek, then, in one fluid motion, grabbed her things and sauntered out of the room, noticing that the sneers had turned to snickers and one or two whistles. “Is that how we get on their good side?” Adagio asked herself, keeping her smug façade up. “Biting back? Doesn’t seem all that friendly, if you ask me.” Still, Adagio enjoyed the more positive reception for a change as she walked to her next class.

Sonata knocked softly on the door and waited, worry running through her veins.

“Come in,” the now-familiar voice called from within.

Sonata slowly walked into the room. “You wanted to see me, Principal Celestia?”

“Ah, Sonata, good to see you. Please, have a seat.” Celestia’s eyes were warm, as was her smile, and Sonata relaxed a little as she sat down. After she got comfortable, Celestia said, “I’m sorry to interrupt your break, Sonata, but I thought having Mrs. Meter ask you to come to my office would be less stressful than calling you over the intercom.

Sonata laughed nervously. “Yeah, that would’ve been awkward.”

The two women shared a chuckle, before Celestia sobered up and asked, “How have things been, Sonata?”

“Um, it’s good. That’s…That’s what Aria said, remember?”

“Yes, I remember, but I’m not blind, Sonata. I saw how you and Adagio were acting, and I’ve seen my fair share of students trying to act tough. I’m also not deaf to what’s been going on over the past few days, and finally, I read the graffiti on your lockers.” Celestia gave Sonata a sympathetic look. “Please, Sonata, talk to me.”

Sonata argued with herself, looking away as she scowled. “It’s just…Everyone’s so mean here,” she finally said, shoulders slumping. “No one’s ever even said hi to us. No one wants us here, and I don’t know why. What did we do?”

“Oh, Sonata,” Celestia said sadly, “I wish I could tell you.”

“Can’t you tell them to lay off?” Sonata asked. “Like, they don’t have to be nice to us, but can’t you get them to at least leave us alone?”

“Believe me, Sonata, I’ve been having words with the most…troublesome students, and while I can punish those who break school rules and accost you, I’m afraid some students simply aren’t afraid of the consequences. I’ll have the faculty stay vigilant, however, in the hopes that we can prevent at least some of the problems.”

Sonata sighed despondently. “It’s better than nothing, I guess. Thanks, Principal Celestia.”

“You’re very welcome, Sonata,” Celestia said with a tinge of regret, “and thank you for trusting me enough to talk to me about this, even if I had to pry a bit.”

“It’s alright. I wanted to say something earlier, but Aria can be stubborn sometimes.”

The two sat awkwardly for a few moments before Celestia said, “I won’t hold you any longer, Sonata. I wouldn’t want you to be late for class. Please, let me know if you’re having any more problems.”

“Thanks, Principal Celestia.”

“You told her?!”

“Yes, I told her! I’m sick of everyone being so mean!”

The trio sat at their now-customary empty table in the cafeteria, though none of them really had an appetite.

“Sonata, these sharks are gonna eat us alive now. What were you thinking?” Aria growled.

“I was thinking that these ‘sharks’ are already snapping at us, and I’m sick of it!” Sonata snapped. “I was thinking that I’d at least try to get someone in this stupid school on our side in all this!”

“Yeah, well, you made things worse.”

“Or maybe, I made things better!”

“Girls!” Adagio suddenly snapped. “What’s done is done. If things get better, great, but if the heat gets turned up, we’ll just have to find a way to deal with it.”

“Sounds like you already found a way,” Aria said, smirking. “I heard about what happened between you and Trixie.”

“Ugh…Just shut up, Aria,” Adagio groaned.

“Ooh, did the devil inside finally come out to play?” Sonata teased. “What’d you do?”

“…I treated her like a dog and told her to meet me after school…” Adagio muttered.

Aria snorted as Sonata asked, “Did it work?”

“Well, she stopped shouting at me, and everyone was too busy laughing at her to yell at me, so overall, I think so.” Adagio sighed. “Still, I’m going to try not to make a habit of it.”

“Yeah, the last thing we need is people getting actual dirt on us,” Aria said.

“Agreed,” Adagio said. “For now, though, let’s concentrate on getting through our last two classes.”

“You gonna wait for Trixie after school?” Sonata asked.

“Of course,” Adagio said, a hint of a smirk on her face. “I wouldn’t stand someone up like that. And who knows?” she continued with a hopeful smile. “Maybe we can look past what happened this morning and become friends.”

“I wouldn’t get my hopes up,” Aria said, “but I suppose anything’s possible.”

Adagio looked at her phone for the tenth time since she got to her locker. Three twenty-five. She sighed and tapped her foot impatiently, trying to stamp down the irritation she was feeling. Unfortunately, she had told her sisters to make themselves scarce in case Trixie was simply afraid to meet all three of them at once, but as the minutes dragged, she found herself wishing she had someone around to distract her from her thoughts.

“Honestly, why am I even surprised?” Adagio asked herself. “Did I really expect her to just show up after I treated her like that? She isn’t a dog, after all.”

Adagio leaned against the locker and slid down onto her rear. “I lost myself again. That’s twice this week,” she thought angrily. “How can I expect people to go easy on me if I keep showing weakness like that?”

Adagio checked her phone again. Three-thirty. She sighed and rested her forehead on her knees. Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching. Adagio snapped her head up, only to feel disappointment again as she saw Aria walking back to her.

“No luck, I’m guessing?” Aria said, looking down at Adagio. Adagio shook her head, planting her head back on her knees. She heard Aria call down the otherwise quiet hall, “Come on over, Sonata! She’s not coming.”

Adagio heard another pair of footsteps, presumably Sonata’s, approaching. “Sorry, Adagio,” Sonata said.

“No, I’m sorry,” Adagio said, sighing for the umpteenth time. “I should’ve expected she wouldn’t show up. I’m sorry I forced you to wait on me.”

“Hey, it’s fine, Adagio,” Aria said. “I’ll admit, I didn’t think she’d show, but like you said, she might’ve.” Sonata enthusiastically nodded in agreement.

“Well, I suppose I’d rather wait for her to not show up than just go straight home when she actually did show.” Adagio smiled slightly. “Thanks, girls.”

Adagio picked herself up and joined her sisters as they began their trip home.

Adagio walked into class the next morning and looked around the room, spotting the familiar blue girl at her desk, looking at something on her phone. Adagio sighed softly and approached her, noting that several other students started looking her way.

When Adagio reached Trixie, she cleared her throat softly. Trixie looked up, only to immediately look away blushing as she realized who was standing in front of her. “Wh-What do you want?” Trixie asked.

“You didn’t show up yesterday,” Adagio said quietly.

“Trixie doesn’t recall saying she’d actually show,” Trixie rebutted. “You just told Trixie to meet you and then left. Trixie isn’t your plaything anymore.”

Adagio was about to give a retort of her own but stopped herself. She sighed and said, “Trixie, I…apologize for my actions yesterday.”

Trixie’s head snapped to look at her, surprise written all over her face. “What?”

“I apologize,” Adagio repeated. “Don’t get me wrong, what you said was hurtful, but while I believe you shouldn’t have said them, the way I acted was out of line, too.”

Surprisingly, Trixie scoffed. “You think your apology means anything to Trixie? What you did yesterday was but the latest in a long line of the sins you’ve committed both against the school and against Trixie!”

Adagio pinched the bridge of her nose. This again? “Trixie, I have literally never spoken to you before yesterday. I didn’t do anything to you before then.”

“BS!” Trixie snapped. “You turned the school against itself! You manipulated Trixie into doing your dirty work!”

Incensed, Adagio was about to answer, but she could hear angry muttering from the students around the room, so instead, she hastily tore a slip of paper from her notebook and scribbled her phone number on it. Handing it to Trixie, she said, “Here. We can talk about this later. Or not. I’m having a hard time caring either way.”

Adagio stomped over to her desk and opened her books as the teacher walked into the room.

The sisters sat uncomfortably at lunch that day, becoming increasingly aware of a steadily rising tension among the student body throughout the week. The three hid their worry in different ways—Adagio tried her best to ignore it, Aria glared at whoever glared at her, and Sonata tried to avoid eye contact, scowling at whoever she couldn’t avoid—but they were worried all the same.

“Um…Hey.”

The trio looked toward the voice, surprised at the rather meek intrusion of their misery. Immediately, their surprised looks turned to scowls as they recognized Sunset…Something: a member of Rainbow’s clique.

“What do you want?” Aria sneered. “Rainbow send you to rough us up a bit?” She cracked her knuckles. “Go ahead and try.”

“Aria,” Adagio said warningly.

“No, no!” Sunset said quickly. “She didn’t send me to do anything.”

Adagio glanced over at Rainbow’s table. Sure enough, looks of surprise and anger dominated the group. “Very well. I believe you,” Adagio said, to Sunset’s visible relief. “So, who sent you, then? I daresay you haven’t exactly been chomping at the bit to be our friend these past few days.”

Sunset gulped, thinking a bit, before she sighed. “Principal Celestia sent me. She thought you could use someone to talk to.”

Aria glared at Sonata, who glared right back at Aria. Adagio, however, scoffed. “Oh, believe me, we’d love someone else to talk to,” she said sarcastically. “We’ve only been trying to make friends—or at least stay civil—for four days now, but it seems no one else around here shares that desire.” Nevertheless, after an awkward silence, Adagio scooted over to allow Sunset to sit down.

“So…What’s up?” Sunset asked awkwardly after sitting down.

In response, Adagio pointedly looked around the room, taking in the occasional angry glare sent her way, before looking back at Sunset and raising an eyebrow.

“…Right,” Sunset said, having the decency to at least look embarrassed by the question. “Well—”

“Why’d she send you?” Aria suddenly asked.

“What?”

“Why did Principal Celestia send you? What makes you any different than the rest?”

“Well…Because I’ve been where you are now,” Sunset answered.

The trio exchanged confused and skeptical glances. “And where are we, exactly?” Adagio asked.

“Pariahs of the school,” Sunset answered as sympathetically as she could. “I’ve been there. Twice. And only once did I really deserve it.”

“What about the other time?” Sonata asked.

Sunset looked away. “It’s…something that happened just before winter break last semester. I don’t really like talking about it.”

“Mhmm,” Adagio hummed. “Very well, then. Tell us, oh former pariah: How are we three supposed to get out of this most undeserved situation?”

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call it undeserved,” Sunset said.

“Oh, geez, not this again!” Aria said, groaning. “How many times do we have to tell you idiots? We didn’t do anything to you. We just moved here last week!”

Sunset sighed irritably. “Girls, look, you can drop the charade. None of us are buying it. If you just apologize to the school—”

“Apologize?!” Adagio snapped. “The school should be apologizing to us! ‘Drop the charade’, indeed!”

“But—”

“Think about this, genius,” Adagio interrupted. “Let’s pretend we are who you believe we are. Sounds like we were pretty bad, right?” Sunset opened her mouth to answer, but Adagio continued, “Shut up. Why would we keep up an act that’s so clearly not working? What would we possibly have to gain from coming back here and letting everyone push us around?”

That struck a surprising chord with Sunset, it seemed, as she immediately paled, her mouth gaping. “U-Uhhh…” was all she managed to utter.

“Well, it seems we got through to you a little. Come on, girls; we need to get ready for class. Let’s leave Sunset to her thoughts.”

With that, the trio got up and deposited their trays, leaving the cafeteria as Sunset’s friends crowded around her worriedly.

Adagio’s last class was awkward, to say the least. She noticed that Sunset looked distracted the whole time, constantly shooting glances at Adagio and looking away ashamedly when Adagio stole those glances. While it was nice to have attention on her that wasn’t fear or anger, she was still hoping for something better than “ashamed”.

It was a start, though.

Thankfully, Sunset didn’t try to talk to her after class ended, nor did Rainbow’s gang confront them in the hallway, allowing the trio to head home unmolested, thanking their lucky stars that they just had to get through one more day before they were home free for the weekend.

Friday morning was…worrisome for the trio. The tension in the school rose even further as the students’ inhibitions started slackening. Verbal threats and insults accompanied the glares almost constantly, and when any of the sisters found herself alone, people would bump into her, block her way to make her late to class, or slap the books from her hands and laugh as she scrambled to pick them up.

Aria couldn’t speak for her sisters, but she was fed up. She had been bumped around so much, she felt like a pinball, and as she knelt to pick up her books, slapped out of her grip again as she walked to her last class of the day, she was once again assailed with laughter and taunts from the group of teens around her.

“What’s wrong, siren? Can’t take the heat?” one boy said. “Shouldn’t have come to the fish fry, then!”

“Go back to the ocean, fish-face!” a girl snapped. “None of us want you here!”

Aria didn’t know why they kept referring to fish, but she did know that they were making her angry.

As she picked up her notebook, one boy used his foot to shove her book back out of her hand, kicking it away from her. “Oops. Butterfingers,” he said. “Maybe you’d have a better grip if you weren’t so slimy.”

That was it. Aria had enough. Springing back up, she shoved the boy away from her. “Leave me alone, would you! I didn’t do anything to you, so just get lost!”

“Ooh, the minnow’s picking a fight with the piranhas,” another boy said, shoving Aria. “What’re we gonna do about it, piranhas?”

Suddenly, Aria felt a shove from behind. She bumped into a girl in front of her, only for the girl to shove her to the side to another boy, who shoved her to someone else.

Aria couldn’t react. Every time she got within striking distance of someone, the teen would shove her away before she could do anything.

Gradually, the shoving got even harder as the mocking laughter took a more sinister tone. Some of the boys started using their fists to half-punch, half-shove the helpless girl toward someone else. Finally, as yet another girl shoved Aria, Aria suddenly came to a painful stop as the girl grabbed one of Aria’s ponytails and yanked downward, forcing Aria to her rear.

“Let go!” Aria snapped, using her hands to pull her hair in a tug of war with the other girl, squeezing her eyes shut so they wouldn’t see the tears welling up from the pain. Suddenly, Aria heard a snip, and she found herself falling painfully to her shoulder, her head feeling oddly…lopsided.

Slowly, she reached up to feel her right ponytail, feeling empty space where it should’ve been. Time slowed as she looked over and saw its remains in the hands of the girl who yanked her hair, a pair of scissors in her other hand. They all looked down at her and cackled.

“What’s wrong? Don’t like your haircut?” the girl taunted. “Don’t worry; once we get the other one, it’ll be nice and even.”

Aria snapped out of her stupor. Immediately, she barreled past her tormentors, taking off down the hallway. Thankfully, they didn’t follow her, but their laughter certainly did.

Aria crashed into the nearest restroom, pausing in front of the mirror. She stared in horror at her reflection. Her once-yard-long, perfectly maintained tail was reduced now to a mere six inches, while dark-purple bruises were already starting to form on her upper arms, and by the pain in her shoulders and back, her arms weren’t the only things bruised.

That was it. That was all she could take. Aria bowed her head, and her shoulders started quaking as she silently cried.

Adagio trudged through the hallway, ready for the day to be over.

“Just one more class,” she thought to herself. “Just one more, and we’re done for the weekend. First thing’s first, though,” she mentally finished as she felt nature’s call.

Adagio walked into the nearest bathroom, only to be startled when she saw someone dash into one of the stalls, as if she didn’t want to be seen. Adagio could hear soft sniffling from inside the stall.

Tentatively, Adagio walked over to the stall in question and hesitantly knocked on the door.

“Get lost!” the person inside snapped.

Adagio froze; she recognized that voice. “Aria?” she asked.

There was a pause from inside, until suddenly, Aria unlocked the door and quickly yanked Adagio inside, shoving the elder against the door as Aria hugged her tightly and began sobbing into her chest.

“Aria, what’s wrong?” Adagio asked, before she noticed Aria’s missing ponytail. “What happened to your hair?”

“Some people ganged up on me, and they shoved me around, and then one grabbed my hair and pulled, and I pulled, and she took out some scissors and cut it off!” Aria said as best as she could through her hiccups.

Adagio was, to say the least, floored. “These hooligans…came after my sister…with scissors?” she thought, white-hot rage boiling within her. “That is the last straw. This ends today! And I know just who to talk to.”

Adagio helped Aria calm down and wipe her face dry of tears, and soon enough, only Aria’s eyes—only slightly red and puffy—held any sign that she had been crying. Adagio decided to enact her plan after class, so, as Aria went off to the nurse’s office, Adagio tried her best to stay patient as she sat through her own class, though she couldn’t help but shoot pointed, angry looks at Sunset periodically, which visibly worried the amber girl.

Finally, the bell rang, and Adagio gathered her things and marched right over to Sunset, who look up at her, gulping. “What’s up, Adagio?” Sunset asked nervously.

“Come with me,” Adagio demanded, turning on her heel and walking away.

Sunset quickly grabbed her things and rushed after Adagio, struggling to keep up with the fast-walking girl.

“Adagio, wait up!” Sunset called. “What’s going on?”

Adagio didn’t answer. She just kept walking toward her sisters’ predetermined meeting spot: their usual table in the cafeteria. Thankfully, the only other person around was a custodian, who paid the girls no mind.

As soon as they heard the doors open, Adagio’s sisters look up at them. Once they saw Sunset, however, Aria look away, while Sonata wrapped her arm around Aria protectively, scowling at Sunset.

“What’s going on?” Sunset asked again as she and Adagio reached the seated girls. “What happened to your hair, Aria?”

“This school happened to her hair!” Adagio snapped.

Sunset looked at Adagio, worry and confusion lining her features. “What?” she hesitantly asked.

“Aria was ambushed in the hallway, and one of the thugs pulled some scissors out and cut off her ponytail!”

“No way,” Sunset said, shocked. “That’s terrible!”

“Yeah, it’s terrible!” Sonata snapped. “And it’s scary! What if they decide to cut more than our hair next time?”

“Principal Celestia sent you to look after us, right? Then tell us what’s going on at this school,” Adagio demanded. Sunset opened her mouth, but Adagio interrupted her. “And don’t you dare blame us for whatever the hell happened last semester!” she said threateningly.

“I wasn’t going to!” Sunset said defensively.

“Well, there’s a pleasant surprise!” Adagio said sarcastically. “Well, then, spill it.”

Sunset broke eye contact, holding her arm ashamedly. “I…I can’t,” she finally said.

Adagio glared at her. “What?” she spat.

“I can’t tell you,” Sunset repeated again as apologetically as she could.

“You can’t or you won’t?” Adagio asked.

“…Both,” Sunset said.

Adagio was silent, a disgusted look on her face. “You’re useless,” she finally growled.

“Hey!” Sunset retorted, but Adagio and her sisters were already on their feet and walking out of the cafeteria. “Adagio? Where are you going?”

“To the one person who actually cares about us here!” Adagio snapped.

“Adagio, don’t!” Sunset called. “She won’t tell you, either! Adagio!” Sunset began to rush after them, but a hateful glare from Sonata stopped her cold, forcing Sunset to watch as the trio left her behind.

Adagio stormed into the school office, her sisters behind her. Not paying the receptionist any mind, Adagio knocked as calmly as she could on Principal Celestia’s door. That is to say, it was just short of “pounding”.

“Come in,” came the calm voice from within.

Adagio stalked inside with her sisters.

“Adagio, how can I help—Aria!” Celestia said, cutting herself off when she noticed the state Aria was in. “What happened?”

“Long story short, some students ganged up on her and pulled some scissors on her. She’s lucky she only got some bruises and a haircut,” Adagio said. “Principal Celestia, why is this happening?”

Celestia’s expression turned nervous. “What do you mean?”

“All week, we’ve been treated like criminals. We’ve had our lockers graffitied, and we’ve been run from, glared at, scowled at, accosted, threatened, and finally, attacked. Even you were guilty of such behavior when we first met you. At first, we chalked it up to being a lesson on the importance of good behavior, one you give to every new student, but given our experiences this past week, that clearly wasn’t the case. And Sunset’s certainly no help. So, why is everyone here treating us like garbage?”

Celestia sighed deeply, looking conflicted. Finally, she closed her eyes and bowed her head. “I’m sorry, girls, but I can’t tell you.”

Adagio jumped as if shocked, speechless. Here was the principal of the school, someone who was supposed to look after all of her students, who knows why they’re being treated the way they’re being treated…and she won’t tell them? “Why not?” she finally blurted out, desperate for answers.

“Believe me, girls; if I could tell you, I would, but…I can’t,” Celestia replied sadly. “I’m sorry.”

Adagio paused, trying her best to stay calm. “No, I’m sorry, Principal Celestia.” When Celestia looked at her in confusion, Adagio continued, “I’m sorry we couldn’t quite live up to this school’s standards.” She abruptly stood. “Let’s go, girls. We need to get home before anyone else sees us.”

Adagio left the room, her sisters behind her. Celestia didn’t even try to stop them, presumably knowing that anything other than an explanation would fall on deaf ears. As she left the office, Adagio was startled to see Sunset waiting for them outside, but as Sunset opened her mouth, Adagio pushed past her as the trio stalked toward the front entrance.

“Adagio, wait!” Sunset called, hurrying to catch up. As she fell in step with them, she continued, “I’m sorry you couldn’t learn what you wanted.”

“Can it, Sunset!” Aria snapped. “Save the ‘I told you so’ for someone who cares.”

“But—”

“Sunset, do be a dear and get lost,” Adagio growled. “We’re going home, and we’d rather not see anyone from CHS any more than we have to. And I just know the feeling is mutual.”

Sunset reluctantly obeyed, slowing down and leaving them alone. She even had the nerve to look sad, as if they hurt her for just wanting to have some peace and quiet for a few days!

“So, what do we do now, Adagio?” Sonata asked as they walked down the street. “When Monday comes, I mean.”

“We go back to school,” Adagio said simply, reluctantly. “We just need to get our minds in the right place. We may have been wrong about Principal Celestia’s ‘lesson’, but she did teach us one thing, however inadvertently.”

“What’s that?” Aria asked.

“CHS is a school,” Adagio said gravely. “We go there to learn, not to make friends. We’re just going to have to remember that from now on.”

4. Dawning on Sunset

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“Why so glum, sugar cube?”

Sunset jumped slightly, startled at the sudden question and blushing at being caught staring. Across the cafeteria, at their usual table, Adagio Dazzle and her sisters sat alone, eating and talking without much animation. Sunset just couldn’t keep her eyes off them, particularly Aria, who had cut her other ponytail off over the weekend and now wore a sporty, shoulder-length cut. It looked good, in Sunset’s opinion, though she knew that if she were to say anything regarding Aria’s hair to the sisters, she’d likely find herself on the wrong side of a haymaker.

Sunset also couldn’t help but notice that the three were dressed far more plainly than they were last week, seemingly doing away with the showy clothes they were wearing in favor of clothes that attracted as little attention as possible.

Sighing, Sunset turned to Applejack, who was still waiting for an answer, as were the rest of her friends, who had joined them during Sunset’s musings. “It’s nothing,” Sunset answered. “Just…thinking about the sirens.”

“They didn’t do anything to ya, did they?” Applejack asked defensively.

“No, nothing like that,” Sunset said quickly. “They just look so…sad.”

“Yeah, well, serves them right,” Rainbow said sternly. “After everything they did, they deserve some revenge.” Suddenly, she started snickering. “I gotta say, I’m loving what they did to her hair. I just wish I knew their names so I could give my compliments to the barber.”

“I don’t know,” Rarity mused. “As much as I agree that they should be punished, I do wish they would leave their hair out of it.”

“Aw, come on, Rarity,” Rainbow said. “It’s just hair.”

“Perfectly maintained hair,” Rarity corrected. “And besides, taking scissors to them is just…” Rarity trailed off with a disgusted sound.

“Hair aside, what were ya thinkin’ about?” Applejack asked, bringing the conversation back to Sunset.

“Just…” Sunset said, trailing off as she thought about how best to say this. She took a deep breath as her friends waited for her to finish her sentence. Finally, she said, “Do you think we’re wrong about them?”

There was a surprised pause before anyone answered.

“Uh, no,” Rainbow said as if Sunset were stupid to even ask. “Of course, we’re not wrong.”

“B-But they haven’t done anything all last week. Or at least, they haven’t started anything,” Sunset argued. “And besides, Principal Celestia seems to be fine with them.”

“They’re just bidin’ their time,” Applejack said.

“And if you’ll recall, darling, the last time they were here, they hypnotized Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna and turned them against you,” Rarity added.

Suddenly, Pinkie gasped loudly. “Maybe they hypnotized Sunset!” she said loudly, drawing the attention of several nearby students, though thankfully, the sirens didn’t seem to notice.

“Pinkie!” Sunset snapped. “Be quiet. I’m not hypnotized.”

“That’s exactly what a hypnotized person would say!” Pinkie said, still a little too loud for Sunset’s liking.

“Pinkie!” Sunset snapped again. “Shut up!”

“Okay,” Pinkie said suspiciously, “but I’m watching you.”

Ignoring her hyperactive friend, Sunset continued, “Anyway, they haven’t done anything to me, but they did have some things to say to me last Friday.” Sunset gauged her friends’ reactions, which were mostly tense silence as they waited for her to continue. “Some of the things they said really hit me, and I’ve been giving it a lot of thought.

“Applejack, you said they were biding their time, but the Dazzlings I saw at the Battle of the Bands were proud. Very proud. Why would they let themselves be tormented so much, even to the point of losing their hair?”

“Revenge makes you do weird stuff,” Rainbow said simply. “You should know.”

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity chided.

“No, it’s fine,” Sunset said honestly, “but that’s the thing. I do know about revenge, but when I got revenge, there was a goal. What’s their goal here?”

“To get their magic back?” Applejack guessed.

“With what, the gems we destroyed?” Sunset rebutted.

“To get their gems back?” Rainbow tried.

“They left the shards behind. And besides, how would attending CHS accomplish that?” Sunset asked.

“To get us back?” Fluttershy asked softly.

“They could do that whenever they want,” Sunset said, “and a school is hardly the best place for that, anyway.”

“They could be wanting to ruin our reputations to get us back,” Rarity said.

“Maybe, but I didn’t get those vibes the few times I spoke to them. And I like to think I’m good at reading people.”

“No offense, Sunset,” Rainbow said, “but these girls have been hiding their nature for a thousand years. I think they might be a bit out of your league there.”

“Appearances can be deceiving,” Rarity agreed.

“Yeah, but so can preconceptions,” Sunset argued. “Remember Anon-a-Miss?”

Each girl visibly winced as a look of guilt overtook their features. “That’s low,” Pinkie said softly.

“Maybe, but it illustrates my point,” Sunset pressed. “You all thought I was Anon-a-Miss because I used to be a terror and a bully. Turns out, I wasn’t Anon-a-Miss. This could be the same thing!”

“Now, hold on, Sunset,” Applejack said. “I admit, we screwed up there, but remember that you went through a ton to prove to us ya changed, even going so far as to save us, the school, and maybe the world from the sirens. Yeah, we shoulda thought o’ that during the whole fiasco, but that’s beside the point. Those three have done nothin’ to prove that they ain’t bad news no more.”

“Other than go a full week without starting anything?” Sunset asked.

“You ‘n’ I both know it takes a lot more than a week o’ good behavior to undo what they did. And ya still didn’t give us any reason not to think they’re here to ruin our reputations.”

Sunset sighed irritably. “Okay, fine, I don’t have any arguments for that,” she said bitterly. “But will you at least hear me out?”

The others exchanged glances, then Applejack sighed and said, “Alright. We’re listenin’.”

“Thank you,” Sunset said, holding out three fingers. “So, the way I see it, there are three possibilities.” Sunset touched her index finger. “One, they really are here for revenge and are just trying to fool everyone. You already know why I don’t think that’s right, but I can’t rule it out.” She touched her middle finger. “Two, maybe their story about Manehatten is a lie, but it’s not out of malice. Maybe they lost their memories.”

“What?” Rainbow interrupted, incredulous.

“Think about it,” Sunset argued. “They’re at CHS despite everything they did here, they’re acting like they don’t know about the Battle of the Bands, and they seem genuinely hurt by all the bullying, as if they never expected people would be sore at them.”

“I don’t know,” Applejack said. “They sure seemed like they had their memories after we beat them.”

“Maybe they didn’t,” Sunset pressed. “Maybe all they remember is that they were singing, so they tried again, only to be surprised at how really, really bad they sounded. Then, people start throwing things at them, so they did the only thing they could do: run.

“And speaking of when we beat them, remember that the sirens used dark magic to feed. They might very well be beings made of dark magic. Which we purified with our friendship magic. Maybe we didn’t just destroy their gems. Maybe…Maybe we destroyed what made them them.”

A chill came over the table as shudders and flashes of guilt passed through the girls’ features at the potentially extreme consequences of their actions. After a few moments, Fluttershy asked softly, “What’s the third thing?”

Sunset sighed. “Three, those aren’t the actual sirens. They’re their human counterparts.”

“Oh, come on,” Rainbow said. “Don’t you think you’re reaching?”

“Not really,” Sunset said. “Again, their sadness seems so…genuine.”

“Still,” Rainbow continued, “what are the odds that the human versions of the sirens would show up only months after the Battle of the Bands?”

“I don’t know,” Sunset said. “What are the odds that our statue has a portal to another dimension of talking ponies? What are the odds that big, bad Sunset Shimmer was actually one of those ponies? What are the odds that two ponies would come over to fight it out for a magical crown? What are the odds that the sirens would be in Canterlot City on the very night that took place?”

Silence overtook the group again as the others thought about it. “I know that’s not proof that they are the human Dazzlings,” Sunset admitted, “but I think it’s evidence that we shouldn’t rule it out.”

After a time, Rarity said. “Okay, well, how do we figure out which possibility is correct?”

“Well, if the first is true, we’ll find out in time; either they drop the ruse and show their true colors or enact whatever revenge plot they have, in which case, we beat them again,” Sunset said. “As for the other two,” Sunset continued, taking a breath, “we have to hang out with them and get to know them.”

The other five girls were hesitant, as Sunset expected they’d be. Still, Sunset couldn’t stop her irritation from bubbling inside her. “Come on, girls, you’re better than that,” she thought. “Remember what Twilight said? The magic of friendship wins in the end.”

That said, Sunset just barely kept her irritation out of her voice as she said, “Fine, but I’m going over there. It’s for the best, anyway; they probably wouldn’t like it if all of us rushed over to them.”

Without waiting for a response, Sunset got up with her lunch tray and approached the lone girls. Or rather, she would’ve, had the bell not rung as soon as she stood, causing all the students to begin quickly finishing their food or depositing their trays. Adagio and her sisters were the first out the door.

Sunset sighed, cursing her bad luck. “Oh, well,” she thought. “I can still meet them after school. Talking to Adagio alone will probably be easier than talking to all three at once, anyway.”

At long last, the final bell rang, and the students in Sunset’s class began putting their things away. Just like at lunch, Adagio all but bolted out the door, but Sunset was prepared this time. Having pre-stacked her books to avoid wasting time, she rushed out after Adagio, quickly catching up to her.

“Hey, Adagio,” Sunset said. Adagio eyed her suspiciously as they walked but said nothing. Sunset continued awkwardly, “You, uh, going anywhere now that school’s out?”

“None of your business,” Adagio answered simply, saying nothing more.

“Oh,” Sunset answered. “Well, uh, I was wondering…Do you wanna hang out?”

Adagio stopped in her tracks, giving Sunset her full attention. Her suspicious gaze never left as she focused on Sunset’s face, as if Adagio were searching for any sign of ill intent. “Why?” she finally asked.

“Well, you know, I figured you could use some fun after last week,” Sunset replied, grinning nervously.

Adagio raised an eyebrow. “You do know you were part of ‘last week’, right?”

Sunset maintained her nervous grin. “Uh…y-yeah.”

“Will you, then, tell us exactly why everyone hates us?”

Sunset’s grin faltered. “Uh…n-no.”

Adagio immediately continued on her way with a faster pace, forcing Sunset to almost run after her to keep up. “Adagio, please,” Sunset begged. “I can’t tell you that, but I wanna do something to make you three feel welcome here! Just give me a chance.”

Adagio stopped walking and studied Sunset again, while Sunset tried to ignore the cold look in her eyes. Finally, after an eternity, Adagio asked cautiously, “What did you have in mind?”

Internally, Sunset jumped for joy, though she tried to keep her outward excitement to a polite minimum. “How about the mall? It’s a pretty popular place, and there’s tons of stuff to do there.”

“As fun as that sounds,” Adagio said sarcastically, “I don’t want to go to any ‘pretty popular’ places; the last thing we need is for any of these hooligans to find us in public.”

“Oh,” Sunset said, wilting a bit. “Well, where would you like to go?”

Adagio thought a bit. “Rustic Pasture Plaza,” she finally said. “It’s a strip mall.”

“Oh, hey, I know that place,” Sunset said. “I actually live pretty close by there.”

“How convenient,” Adagio said with a wry grin. “It’s quite the distance from our house, but so far, we’ve found no other students from CHS there, so we prefer to go there for our bigger shopping trips. Not that we’ve had many, but still.”

“Hey, it’s fine. Sounds like a great place to spend an afternoon with friends,” Sunset said, a hopeful edge in her voice on the last word.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Adagio snapped. “We’ve been meaning to pick up a few things anyway, and Rustic Pasture is the best place to go for them. Other than Canterlot City Mall, of course, but again, we don’t go there.”

“R-Right, sure,” Sunset said, disappointed.

Adagio continued walking, Sunset following behind, until the pair reached Adagio’s locker, where Aria and Sonata were just finishing putting their things away. Their relieved looks turned to scowls as they beheld their sister’s companion.

“What’s she doing here?” Aria said, glaring at Sunset.

Adagio sighed. “She’s…going to be spending some time with us.”

“What?!” Aria snapped.

“Why?!” Sonata demanded.

“She’s wants to ‘make us feel welcome,’” Adagio replied. “She’s asking us to ‘give her a chance.’”

“And why should we?” Aria demanded to Sunset.

“W-Well,” Sunset said, “because Adagio really got to me last week. I’m starting to think we’re all wrong about you—”

“Gee, there’s a surprise,” Aria interrupted sarcastically.

“—so I want to get to know you three better and be your friend,” Sunset continued, trying not to let Aria’s well-deserved sarcasm get to her.

Aria and Sonata gave Adagio a questioning glance. Adagio nodded subtly, and the two adopted a less hostile posture. “Fine,” Aria said, “but no funny business!” Sonata nodded her agreement with Aria, glowering. Aria turned to Adagio. “So, where are we going?”

“Rustic Pasture Plaza.”

Aria and Sonata stared suspiciously at Sunset for a few more seconds before Aria said, “Fine. We’ll be waiting at the statue.”

“Alright,” Adagio said. “I’ll text Mother and let her know we’ll be home late.”

That immediately got Sunset’s attention. “Mother?”

Adagio gave her a look. “Yes. We live with our parents. I don’t know how it works here, but back in Manehatten, we’re too young to live on our own.”

Sunset forced herself to remain calm. Inside, however, she was positively jubilant. “They have parents! That can only mean that they’re not the actual sirens!” Sunset opened her mouth, but stopped herself before she spoke. “Calm down, Sunset. You can’t just ask to go to their house so excitedly. They’ll think you’re weird. Besides, they wouldn’t say yes, anyway; they don’t just not know you, they don’t like you.” So, Sunset just said as calmly as she could, “Oh, yeah, that makes sense. It works the same here.”

That seemed to satisfy Adagio, and Sunset hurried off to her locker to get her backpack before running to meet the sisters at the statue, and one uncomfortably silent bus ride later, the quartet were at Rustic Pasture Plaza.

Rustic Pasture was by no means a fancy place. However, it made up for that with a wide variety of stores. A couple of restaurants, a bookstore, a grocery store, a general store, an arcade, a small sporting goods store, and a toy store all held business there, and the one big store—a high-end clothing store—kept the plaza on the map while a nearby, low-price gas station attracted business. The plaza was relatively out of the way from downtown Canterlot, so many of the stores kept their prices low to make up for the distance many would have to drive to reach it.

The only thing it was really missing was a café.

“So, where to first?” Sunset asked.

“We need to pick up some groceries first, then I’m going to buy a few books while Aria and Sonata go off to do their own shopping.”

Sunset nodded excitedly, and the four set off. As Adagio said, the group went to the grocery store first. The whole trip through the store was awkward, to say the least. Sunset tried several times to break the tension with some small talk, but the sisters’ resentment proved a solid wall. To make things even more awkward, Sonata seemed to make it her mission to keep Sunset away from Aria, always putting herself in between the two. Sunset didn’t notice at first, but it was certainly made clear when Sonata, on her way back from the restroom, literally shoved herself in between Sunset and Aria, making sure Sunset bore the brunt of the blow. Sunset seethed at the offense but did her best to keep herself calm. “You’ll get through to them in time,” she told herself.

Finally, the group left the store, and Sunset joined Adagio to the bookstore while Aria and Sonata went to the sporting goods store. Somewhat surprised, she commented as she walked into the bookstore, “Heh, I figured Aria was the sporty type, but I wouldn’t think Sonata was, too.”

“Oh, yes, because you know us so well,” Adagio said with a deadpan expression.

Sunset winced, trying to get the taste of her own foot out of her mouth. “Right, sorry.”

Adagio stared at her a second more, then sighed. “It’s fine, I suppose. Honestly, Sonata isn’t much of a sporty girl, but Aria’s really been out of it after her attack, so Sonata’s been joining her on her afternoon jogs to give her a bit of company. Today would be no different, but Aria busted the heel of her shoe yesterday, so she needs a new pair.”

“Wow,” Sunset said. “That’s really sweet of her.”

Adagio smiled softly. “Yes, it is. She’s always been like that. She can’t read people as well as I can, but she can feel people more than I ever could, and she’s always there if we need her.”

Sunset smiled with Adagio, relishing the friendly conversation. “Well, what does Sonata like to do?”

“She fancies herself a collector. She likes to find model sets, toy lines, or whatever and collect things from them, hoping that they’ll raise in price and make her some money in the future. She’s sort of like our mother, that way.”

Sunset nodded along before asking, “What about you?”

“Well, I like to read, but that may be no surprise, since we’re here. Other than that, I like puzzles, riddles, anything gives me a bit of mental exercise,” Adagio said, smiling with pride before blushing slightly and lowering her voice. “And between you and me, I have a soft spot for cheesy soap operas.” Adagio let out an unusually girly giggle before saying. “But, enough about us. Tell me about yourself.”

Slightly startled at the sudden question, Sunset took a moment to gather her thoughts. “Well, I’m kind of well-rounded, if I do say so myself. I can thank my friends for that. I like sports and movies, and while I’m not all that into fashion, I have an eye for detail and aesthetics. And I do love a good puzzle, and reading’s always been high on my list of favorites.”

“What’s your favorite kind of book?” Adagio asked.

“Well, is used to be drama with political intrigue, but now, it’s high fantasy; it gives me a sense of…nostalgia.”

Adagio looked at her with a curious smile. “Nostalgia? Did you like playing pretend when you were younger?”

Sunset nearly slapped herself for her gaffe. “Uh, yeah, I was always playing those sorts of games with my friends. I moved away a couple years ago, though, and I haven’t really kept in touch.”

“Really? Where from?”

Sunset mentally kicked herself again. She paused a bit, thinking of a place. “Trottingham,” she finally blurted out.

“Trottingham?” Adagio said, surprised. “But, your accent is so…subtle.”

“Heh, yeah. I don’t know why, but after a few years, it just kind of…disappeared. Now, I sound like I’ve been here all my life.”

Adagio gave an interested hum, and Sunset took the opportunity to change the subject. “What about you? What’s your favorite genre?”

Adagio’s proud smile returned. “Well, this may come as no surprise, but I’ve always loved a good mystery novel. I absolutely love trying to piece together the clues before the detective can.”

“What about trashy romance novels?” Sunset asked. “Are they a guilty pleasure, too?”

Adagio hummed in thought. “Not really,” she finally answered. “Romance is much more fun to watch than to read about.”

With that, the two fell into silence, but unlike before, the silence wasn’t uncomfortable, simply natural, and they decided to finally do some shopping. Sunset found a few fantasy series that piqued her interest, and she picked up the first books of each, while Adagio bought five mystery novels of her own.

The duo departed the store and met Aria, who was sitting outside the sports store with the groceries, wearing new black running shoes. “Breaking them in?” Adagio asked as they caught up to her.

“Yep,” Aria said simply. “I’ll be wearing these home.”

“Where’s Sonata?” Sunset asked.

“She’s buying figures,” Aria said, sticking a thumb in the toy store’s direction. “I decided to hang back. Toys just aren’t my thing.”

“That’s cool,” Sunset said. “So, sports, huh? I’m a fan, myself.”

Aria was silent for a bit, long enough that Sunset started to worry that Aria was ignoring her, until Aria finally said, “What kind?”

Relieved, Sunset answered, “Well, soccer, for one, thanks to Rainbow Dash.” Aria immediately scowled at the name, so Sunset quickly continued, “But I like dodgeball, too!”

Aria’s face returned to its neutral expression. “Yeah, dodgeball’s pretty fun. I’m more of a runner, though. Sprints, races, hurdles, you name it.”

“Well, there’s something for her and Rainbow to connect over, if they ever decide to be friendly with each other,” Sunset thought. Out loud, she said, “That’s pretty cool. Maybe I can join you on a run sometime?”

Aria paused. “Maybe,” she mumbled, looking away.

A nearby bell dinged, and the girls looked to see Sonata walking out of the store, a bag in her hand. “I can’t believe they still had the limited-edition holiday Kerry Berry doll!” she chirped. “And it was on sale! This is gonna be big in a few months!”

As before, she planted herself in between Sunset and Aria as the latter stood up, but it seemed less hostile this time, as if it was just habit, and Adagio said, “Well, Sunset, this has been…surprisingly pleasant, for the most part, but we must be going. We have to get these groceries home.”

A little sad that their outing came to an end, Sunset nevertheless said, “Yeah, no problem. Hopefully, we can do this again?” She nodded to Aria and Sonata. “I didn’t get to spend much time with you two, and I’d like to change that, if you’ll let me.”

Aria and Sonata exchanged glances before turning back to her. “Yeah, maybe,” they said in unison.

Undeterred by the noncommittal answer—“It’s a start,” she thought—she said, “Could I get your number, Adagio? I’d like to keep in touch.”

“I suppose,” Adagio said, pulling a pen from her purse. Grabbing Sunset’s hand, she wrote her phone number on the back before releasing it.

“Uh, thanks,” Sunset said, blushing at the gesture.

“Don’t mention it,” Adagio said. “Seriously. Don’t. Otherwise, the rest of your classmates will just think we’re controlling you or manipulating you or whatever, and we’d like to avoid that.”

“Uh, y-yeah,” Sunset said, startled by the sudden coldness in Adagio’s voice.

Adagio looked at the sky, noting that the sun was beginning to set. “You said you live nearby, right?” she asked Sunset. “Will you be alright on your own?”

“I’ll be fine,” Sunset said. “It’s actually a pretty safe neighborhood. I’ll hardly be the only one walking around this late.”

“Well, if you’re sure. See you tomorrow, Sunset,” Adagio said as the sisters began their trip to the bus stop.

“See ya later! Looking forward to next time!” Sunset called before walking away with her spirits high and a pep in her step. “This went great!” she thought. “I got a little on their good side, I got to know them a little better, and I found out about their parents! Wait until the girls hear this!”

“Well, that could’ve been worse,” Aria said once they reached the bus stop.

“Totally!” Sonata said. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was pretty serious about being our friend.”

“Don’t believe her?” Adagio asked.

“Well, it is pretty sudden,” Sonata said. “Like, last week, she thought we were just fakers, but now, she’s suddenly wanting to hang with us? Sounds fishy, if you ask me.”

Adagio considered that. “Aria, what do you think?”

Aria thought a bit before answering. “I mean, like I said, it could’ve been worse. She could just be leading us on, but she seemed pretty spooked last week after you told her off. Maybe she is coming around.”

“Maybe,” Adagio said. “I think we should give her a chance, honestly. We struck up a conversation at Batak Books, and she’s actually not all that bad. She just needs to work on her tact.”

The trio shared a chuckle as the bus rolled up. They boarded the bus and paid their fees before starting down the aisle as the bus began moving, where they stopped dead in their tracks, the color draining from their faces.

There, sitting near the back and staring at them with a face full of shock and terror, was Sonata Dusk.

5. Reflections

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Sonata had never been so terrified in all her sixteen years of life.

Sonata liked to think she knew about scary things. Ghosts are scary. The boogeyman is scary. Pop quizzes are scary. This? This was absolutely petrifying.

Of the trio, Sonata was the one with the dubious honor of sitting next to her doppelganger. Sonata wasn’t quite sure what her sisters’ logic was, but she did know one thing: If she survived this trip, she was going to have words with them.

For now, though, Sonata sat stock-still, keeping her eyes forward, watching her double out of the corner of her eye. The whole experience was surreal. The two would lick their lips nervously with the same motion at the same time, they would both gulp at the same time, and whenever one dared to sneak a glance at the other, the other returned in kind at the exact same time. Honestly, the double seemed as scared of Sonata as Sonata was of the double, and Sonata didn’t know what to think about that; should she be worried that it was even mirroring her fear or relieved it wasn’t wearing a more sinister look?

Suddenly, the double pulled out her phone, and Sonata gasped sharply at the sudden movement. Startled, the double gasped and resumed her rigid posture, which startled Adagio and Aria, who stared ahead, trying their best to see what was happening out of the corner of their own eyes.

Soon, the double relaxed and began frantically texting someone. It brought Sonata some relief to see that the phone was a different model than hers, but that relief was stamped out by the thought of who the double might be texting.

And Sonata had an inkling.

Ever so slowly, Sonata leaned over to get a glance at the screen. Sure enough, “Adagi-D” and “Ari-B” were at the top of the screen. Sonata would’ve giggled at the cute nicknames if she weren’t scared for her life.

Eventually, the double put her phone away, and the pair sat, waiting for their stop.

As they waited, someone sneezed up ahead. “Gesundheit,” Sonata and her double said at the exact same time, and Sonata’s world spun as she heard her own voice coming from the double. Was there anything different about her?

Finally, blessedly, the bus reached their stop. Adagio yanked the pull cord with more force than necessary, and the three began filing out of the bus. Against her better judgment, Sonata risked a glance back at the double, who was just staring at her. Sonata shivered and hurried off the bus.

The rest of the trip home was a blur for Sonata. She didn’t think her sisters said anything the whole time, not that she would be able to understand them if they had; every sound around her was muffled, as if she were hearing them through a tank of water.

She wasn’t paying attention to where she was going, either. The only reason she didn’t get lost was because her sisters had a firm hold on her hands.

Finally, they arrived home. And though Sonata couldn’t really see anything, she could feel the change in temperature and smell the familiar scent of the house. She was led over to their sofa, where she plopped down, the world tilting around her as a single mantra repeated itself in her mind.

“There’s another me. There’s another Adagio. There’s another Aria. There’s another me…”

“Sonata!”

Aria rushed over to her passed-out sister, shaking her to try to rouse her. Adagio sat nearby, her head in her hands, trying to process what they just went through.

Suddenly, their mother rushed into the room. “What’s going on?” she asked. Her eyes fell on her unconscious daughter. “Sonata! What happened?” she asked frantically. Her panic turned to anger. “Was it those punks at school again?”

“No,” Aria said. “The school had nothing to do with it this time.”

Melody was skeptical, but eventually, her anger faded, but her worry remained. “Then, what happened?”

Aria looked to Adagio, as did Melody. After a slight pause, Adagio said, “She was…almost hit by a truck. An eighteen-wheeler. We’re all kind of shaken up about it, Sonata most of all. I guess it finally caught up to her.”

“A truck?!” Melody shouted, looking at Aria, who nervously looked her mother in the eyes as she corroborated with a nod. “That’s even worse! Oh, my poor baby!”

Hurriedly, Adagio said, “Mother, don’t worry. We’re alright. She just had a fright. We’ll take her to her room.”

Slowly, Melody’s panic subsided, though she still looked extremely worried. “You do that,” Melody finally said after taking a deep breath. “I’ll make her something sweet to eat. Oh, wait till your father finds out about this. He’ll be worried sick.”

Melody marched into the kitchen to get to work, while Adagio and Aria worked together to get Sonata upstairs to her room.

The first sensation Sonata felt was something resting on the top of her head. Slowly, her other sensations returned to her; she smelled the familiar scent of her room, she heard the ticking of her clock and the birds outside, and she felt the warmth of the thing on her head. She groaned softly, and she felt the weight on her head remove itself. She opened her eyes, blinking away the blurriness, and saw Aria bending over her, looking at her worriedly.

“Aria?” Sonata said weakly. She suddenly heard something to the side, and Adagio’s worried visage joined Aria’s. “Adagio? What happened?”

Adagio and Aria exchanged glances. “You…fainted,” Aria finally said, “down in the living room.”

“Fainted?” Sonata asked. “Why—” Sonata cut herself off as she suddenly remembered the events on the bus. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” Aria said.

“H-How?” Sonata asked, sitting up and fighting off any remaining dizziness. “How is it possible? How can there be another us?”

“’Another us?’” Aria asked.

“Yeah,” Sonata replied. “She was texting some people. She was using nicknames, but the names were still really similar to yours.”

A shudder ran through her sisters as they processed that. “So, Adagio,” Aria said, turning to her older sister. “Anything?”

Adagio took a deep breath through her nose and settled down on Sonata’s desk chair. “I…have no idea,” she finally said, throwing her hands up in the air. “I don’t know if these are clones, robots, or even aliens! But I bet I know who does know.”

Aria and Sonata thought a bit. “Sunset?” Aria guessed.

“Not just Sunset,” Adagio said. “The whole school. It all makes sense now. The familiarity everyone had with us, the hatred everyone feels for us, and even the fact that no one’s telling us what the hell’s going on!” Adagio forced herself to quiet down. “Those three…whatever they are did something at that school, and now, everyone thinks we’re them, and Sunset and Principal Celestia, despite being on our side, won’t tell us because we wouldn’t believe them. And they’re right.”

Her sisters let that sink in. “So, what now?” Aria finally asked. “Can you call Sunset?”

Adagio sighed. “No. Unfortunately, she has my number, and she hasn’t texted me yet. It’ll have to wait until tomorrow, it seems.”

“Do you think they’ll come for us?” Sonata asked quietly. “They know we’re in the city now. What if they try to…get rid of us?”

Their blood froze, and they shared terrified looks, each silently agreeing to lock her door and close her curtains for the night. Even then, none of them would get very much sleep that night.

“They have parents!”

Sunset punctuated her exclamation by excitedly slamming her lunch tray onto the table, startling her friends. After taking a moment to recover, confusion overtook them.

“Uh…What?” Rainbow asked.

“The Dazzlings! I hung out with them yesterday, and—”

“You what?!” Rainbow demanded.

“I told you I was gonna get to know them, didn’t I?” Sunset replied. “Anyway, before we left, Adagio texted her mother to let her know they’d be home late! Do you know what this means?” Before her friends could reply, she answered herself. “It means that those aren’t the Dazzlings! They’re their human counterparts! Option three, it is!” Sunset ended her declaration with a happy little victory jig as her friends stared at her.

As usual, Rainbow was the first to speak up. “Or…they could have just hypnotized someone into pretending to be their mom.”

Sunset immediately stopped her jig and rounded on Rainbow. “Oh, come on! Do you really think they can still hypnotize people? Their gems are gone!”

Rainbow shrugged. “Maybe it wasn’t the gems that let them do that. Maybe it’s their voices.”

“But they can’t sing anymore!” Sunset argued.

“That you know of,” Rainbow corrected. “Maybe their voices got better.”

“Yeah,” Pinkie agreed. “And you still haven’t proven that you haven’t been hypnotized.”

“That’s because I’m not hypnotized!” Sunset snapped.

“That we know of,” Pinkie said, mimicking Rainbow.

As Sunset ground her teeth, Applejack spoke up. “Putting aside their mind control powers, did you actually see their mom? Like, a picture or somethin’?”

Sunset paused as her shoulders fell. “Well…no.”

“Maybe they didn’t hypnotize someone to be their mom. Maybe they just lied to you and texted someone else. Maybe they didn’t text anyone at all.”

Sunset’s mood soured instantly as disappointment set in. “I…guess it’s possible,” she growled. “They just seem so different, though.”

“Again, they’ve had to hide their act for a thousand years. What’s a few more weeks?” Rainbow said.

In response, Sunset just dropped her head onto the table, frustrated.

“I know it’s not really what ya wanna hear,” Applejack said, “but we’re just tryin’ to make absolutely sure that they’re on the up-and-up. The last thing we want is for them to do somethin’ to ya.” The rest of the girls nodded in agreement.

“It’s fine,” Sunset huffed. “I’ll get proof. I’ll go to their house and see her with my own eyes. Their dad, too.”

Sunset stood and turned to the sisters’ customary table, but curiously, they were nowhere in sight. Confused and embarrassed, Sunset dropped back into her seat and ate her lunch, avoiding eye contact with the others.

The sisters were nervous wrecks all throughout the school day. Try as they might, they just couldn’t relax. They even skipped lunch, hiding away in a corner of the library and watching the only entrance. In class, they would constantly shoot glances out any windows they could see, dreading the time they would finally see themselves outside looking in. Thankfully, they never saw such a sight, but that just meant they could be attacked on their way home, where there would be no one to help them.

Finally, the final bell rang, and Adagio immediately tore her gaze from the window and rushed over to Sunset, who was watching her in concern. Adagio bore down on Sunset and got very close to Sunset’s face as she muttered, “We saw them.”

Nervous, Sunset broke eye contact as she asked, “Saw what?”

Adagio forced Sunset to look back into her eyes as she replied, “Them.”

Recognition lit Sunset’s eyes, and she gulped. Quickly, she took Adagio’s hand and rushed her out of the room, ignoring the other students watching them. They quickly reached Aria and Sonata at their lockers, each looking as worried as Adagio.

“You saw them?” Sunset asked.

Wordlessly, Aria and Sonata nodded. Adagio said, “Sunset, what is going on? And no more deflections. We are scared to death and could really use an explanation before we all have a panic attack!”

To her relief, Sunset sighed in resignation. “I suppose there’s no use trying to hide it now. I’ll tell you. But not here. Maybe…at your place?”

“Yes!” Sonata shouted. Quieting down, she added hastily, “I mean, yeah, that sounds great.”

Aria nodded, as well. “I’ll ask Mom if it’s okay. Not that I think she’ll have a problem with it,” she said, smirking despite her worry.

Sunset looked confusedly at Adagio, who averted her eyes. “Mother and Father have been…worried about us,” she explained. “We tried to keep our bullying hidden from them, but after last Friday, that was no longer possible. I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to know that there’s someone at this school on our side, and, well, we really could use the escort home.” Adagio looked back at Sunset. “Still, you don’t seem too worried about this.”

Sunset chuckled and said, “Well, this wouldn’t be the first time I dealt with them.”

“So, you’ll keep us safe, then? If they do show up?” Adagio asked with uncharacteristic meekness.

Sunset coughed nervously, blushing a little at the scared and hopeful look Adagio was giving her. Shaking her head to clear it, Sunset puffed out her chest and said confidently, “No problem, girls. I won’t let them hurt you. You can count on it.”

The three shared an audible sigh of relief, and after following Sunset to her locker so Sunset could grab her things, the four were off.

The trip to the girls’ home was both tense and warm. Tense because the sisters and even Sunset were looking every which way for the Dazzlings, though Sunset was far less frantic and far more analytical in her search than her companions. Warm because the girls were clustered behind Sunset, pushing into her like pups seeking shelter with their mother, keeping her back warm and warding off the winter chill, even if it came with the price of the occasional bump and push as they walked.

“Still, I can’t really blame them,” Sunset reasoned. “They’re terrified, and they have every right to be. I’m sure I’d be doing the same, in their shoes.”

Finally, after not too long a walk, the group arrived at a two-story, upper-middle-class house in the middle of an ungated neighborhood. It was, like the other houses in the neighborhood, made of red brick and overlooked a small, freshly mowed lawn bordered on the street side by several well-trimmed bushes, which also lined the driveway. At the street-side corners of each house’s lawn stood a mature birch tree—with street lights regularly breaking the pattern—giving testament to the neighborhood’s age. Overall, the house had an elegant, albeit cookie-cutter, look to it.

“Nice place,” Sunset said as they walked up the driveway.

“Thank you,” Adagio said, having calmed down leagues since reaching the neighborhood, as had her sisters. “We’re planning on decorating a bit to give it a personal touch, but we haven’t gotten around to it, yet.”

The group walked into the house, where Sunset took in the flowery scent of the house, still slightly mixed with that “freshly moved-in” smell. She took in the foyer, which was still sparsely furnished, though several family photos lined the mantel of a clean fireplace and the walls, giving a warm, welcoming touch to the room.

“We’re home, Mom!” Sonata called.

Suddenly, Sunset was caught by surprise as a tall, elegant woman rushed over and grabbed her in an excited embrace.

“You must be Sunset!” she exclaimed, her voice musical. “It’s so wonderful to meet you. Thank you so much for coming!”

“Mom, come on!” Aria protested, blushing in embarrassment. “Don’t do that.”

The woman released Sunset, calming down. “I’m sorry, Sunset,” she said. “I just couldn’t contain myself. I’m so glad my girls finally made a friend. They’ve had such a terrible time at school last week.”

Sunset flashed a guilty look. “Yeah, I’ve, uh, heard the news.”

“But, at least they have a friend to help them out, now,” she said with relief as she reached out her hand. “I’m Melody Lights.”

Sunset took it. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Lights. I’m Sunset Shimmer, but I guess you already knew that.”

“I actually didn’t know about the ‘Shimmer’ part,” Melody said, grinning.

Sunset looked at the sisters, who looked away, embarrassed. “We…didn’t know, either,” Adagio said. “Until recently, we didn’t really care.”

“But we know now!” Sonata chirped. “Anyway, we’re gonna hang out upstairs. See ya, Mom!”

With that, Sonata rushed upstairs, and the others followed, Sunset smiling at Melody before going up herself.

The group gathered in Adagio’s room, and Sunset immediately noticed that the curtains were pulled shut, leaving the room lit only by the artificial light of the ceiling light and bedside lamp. Sonata was settled on the bed, which Aria also sat upon while Adagio sat at her desk. Sunset alone stayed standing.

All the light-heartedness of the last few minutes left, leaving only worry and grim curiosity. “Okay, Sunset,” Adagio said. “We’re ready.”

Sunset took a deep breath, and after a warning about its unbelievability, began her tale. She started with the portal to the other world in the statue, went into her own infernal transformation, and ended with the sirens and their subsequent defeat at the Battle of the Bands, when they ran off, powerless.

“So, the Sonata you saw wasn’t a changeling or a ghost or an alien—at least, not in the traditional sense. She’s an interdimensional exile. Same with her sisters. And, apparently, they’re still in Canterlot.”

There was a pregnant pause, before Aria said, “Well, Adagio was right; if we hadn’t seen the other Sonata with our own eyes, we wouldn’t have believed you.”

“I told you it would be hard to believe,” Sunset said, shrugging. “Luckily, we don’t have to go hunting for them to prove it. My friends and I still have magic in us. Maybe I can convince them to help me show you.”

“That’d be cool,” Sonata said, “but will they agree?”

“I don’t know,” Sunset admitted. “I’ve been trying to convince them that you’re not the sirens for a few days now, but they’re more stubborn than I thought they’d be.”

“We’ll give you whatever you need to prove that we’re not them,” Adagio said hastily, “but I think we have a bigger problem: They know we exist. They know we’re in the city. Will they come after us?”

Sunset sighed. “I don’t know,” she finally said. “It’s…possible, I guess. We can only hope not, but, if I’m honest…I can see why they would.”

The girls immediately tensed up, terrified looks on their faces, and Sunset quickly said, “But don’t worry! I’ll do what I can to make sure they don’t.”

Unfortunately, the girls didn’t look convinced. “How will you manage that?” Aria asked. “How will you even find them?”

Sunset paused again. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I can start searching along the bus route, but honestly, luck’s going to be a big part of it unless I get some more information.”

The girls paused to let it sink in, exchanging worried looks with each other. Finally, Sonata said quietly, “Can you…stay over?”

Sunset looked at her. “Like…overnight?”

“Y-Yeah,” Sonata said. “I know it’s sudden, but you’re our only friend here, and we’ve been kind of lonely. At least, I have. Plus, I don’t like the idea of walking to school tomorrow morning without you there to protect us.”

Aria and Adagio snapped their attention to Sunset, their curious gazes instantly turning to hopeful ones. Sunset looked between them, considering it. “It’s not like I have any plans tonight, and they have been looking lonely, lately. And they’re so scared.” Sunset came to a decision. “What kind of friend would I be if I left them alone and scared all night?”

“Sure, girls,” Sunset said resolutely. “I’ll stay over. Just clear it with your parents and point me to my room.”

“Yay! Slumber party!” Sonata squealed, rushing downstairs as the others hung back.

“Thank you, Sunset,” Adagio said. “This means a lot to us.”

“Hey, it’s no problem. It’s not like you asked for all this to happen. The least I can do is help you however I can,” Sunset said. “So, where’s the guest room?”

Aria chuckled. “Come on, Sunset. What’s a sleepover where everyone sleeps in separate rooms?”

“So, do you have any sleeping bags?” Sunset asked.

“No,” Adagio said simply with a smirk, “but that’s alright. I believe we were planning on sharing you tonight, anyway.”

Sunset paused, blushing. “Will we be wearing sleepwear?”

“Yes!” Adagio said loudly, a blush lighting her own face as Aria burst out laughing.

“Just asking!”

The evening at the sisters’ house—“I really need to think of a collective name for them,” Sunset thought—was a pleasant one. Sonata got the all-clear from their mother, and after working on their homework, the group spent the next few hours trading stories about Manehatten, Canterlot, and even one or two from Equestria, though Sunset was hesitant to talk about that, for fear of being overheard.

Eventually, Sunset got to meet their father Soprano Nights, a ruggedly handsome, well-built man with dark-blue skin and black hair. He was ecstatic upon meeting Sunset—“Any friend of my daughters’ is a friend of ours,” he had said—and after a somewhat stressful dinner where Sunset, to the sisters’ amusement, had to make things up to satisfy the parents’ endless questions, Sunset took a photo of herself with the family, and the girls went upstairs to Adagio’s room to get ready for bed.

Aria lent Sunset some of her sleepwear, which consisted of a loose t-shirt and shorts. Her build was slightly different from Aria’s, but they fit well enough. Sonata came in wearing a pink, knee-length nightgown, while Adagio…

“It’s the most modest thing I have!” Adagio stammered, blushing while wearing a lilac, mid-thigh-length, thankfully opaque nightie with violet, faux-fur trimming. The nightie exposed her neck and shoulders while showing off a good portion of cleavage. “I wasn’t really thinking of what I’d be wearing when I agreed to the sleepover.”

“Yeah, sure, you weren’t,” Aria snarked, snickering at Adagio’s glare as Sunset looked away, blushing.

“Let’s just go to bed,” Adagio said.

Sunset opened her eyes, seeing only Adagio’s ceiling, dimly lit by a night light in the corner of the silent room. She sighed. It was no use; she couldn’t sleep. Unlike her friends, who seemed to have taken enough comfort in her presence to actually fall asleep, she couldn’t stop thinking about the Dazzlings.

“They’re still in Canterlot,” she thought. “I would’ve thought they’d skip town, but they’re still out there.”

Sunset would be suspicious of them even in any other situation. But this was not just any other situation. The Dazzlings’ counterparts—“The Night-Lights, maybe?”—lived here now, and the Dazzlings knew it. And when Sunset said she could see why they’d come after her friends, she meant it. The Dazzlings obviously lived relatively close—they lived at least on this side of the city—and having two copies of each girl in town could draw unwanted attention to either group. Who knows what they’ll do to keep that kind of attention away from them?

Sunset looked to her new friends. Sonata clung to her tightly on her left, while Adagio clutched her right arm, her head buried in Sunset’s shoulder. Aria slept on the far right, her back to the trio. Things moved so fast with them. Yesterday, they finally agreed to hang out with her after she herself was cold to them all last week, and now, she was sleeping in the same bed with them.

“But what was I gonna do, say no?” she thought. “There were so hopeful. They…They need me.”

That made Sunset’s chest swell with pride again. Sunset couldn’t remember the last time she felt so needed. The closest time was, ironically, during the end of the Battle of the Bands, but even then, Sunset couldn’t deny that she was kind of a last-ditch effort. Sure, she was the deciding factor after the Dazzlings overpowered her friends, but the plan never included her to begin with.

This was different. These girls didn’t feel safe without her, and it would be downright cruel not to be there for them, even if sleeping with them might admittedly be going a bit far. After all, the Dazzlings didn’t know where they lived, did they?

…Did they?

Sunset looked over to the single window. They never opened the thick, purple curtains at any point throughout the evening. Earlier, Sunset found herself wishing they’d just open it up and let in some light. Now, however…it could be the one thing stopping any outsiders from confirming the girls lived there.

Sunset’s grim curiosity starting bubbling up, and she bit her lip, arguing with herself. Finally, she gently untangled herself from Sonata and removed her arm from Adagio’s grip. Slowly, very slowly, she got up from the bed. The sisters were thankfully fairly heavy sleepers, so besides a few minor stirs, the girls remained asleep.

Sunset tiptoed over to the window. Steeling her resolve, she opened the curtains ever so slightly, only enough to be able to peek outside.

The street outside was dark, dimly lit only by streetlights a couple houses down either side of the street. The birch trees blocked much of the light, leaving the bushes on both sides of the street in near-darkness.

Sunset squinted her eyes, but the only things out front were those bushes. Instead of relief, Sunset still felt suspicious. She looked back to the bed and squinted. In the dim light of the room, Adagio’s mass of curly hair did kind of look like a bush…

Sunset snapped her eyes back to the bushes outside. How many were there, again? Sunset hadn’t bothered counting when she first arrived. Now, she was kicking herself. For a full minute, she stared unblinkingly at the bushes, her eyes peeled for any sign of unnatural movement.

There was none.

Nothing moved that couldn’t be explained away by the wind. Quietly, Sunset released a breath she didn’t know she was holding and closed the curtain again. She carefully climbed back into bed between Adagio and Sonata, and finally, she, too, fell asleep.

6. An Expanding Aura

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“Okay, girls, it’s time to get serious.”

Sunset looked at the rest of the Rainbooms with as serious an expression as she could muster given her squirming insides. That morning had been a roller coaster. At first, the house had a warm, comforting atmosphere as the quartet relaxed and enjoyed a small breakfast with Melody Lights, Soprano Nights having already left early, as he apparently needed to do every workday morning.

However, as the four made their way to school—after Sunset confirmed that there were three bushes on each side of the street, just like she saw the night before—the warm atmosphere gradually diminished with each step away from the Night-Lights’ house, until the sisters were back to looking every which way for a sign of the sirens. Even Sunset found herself nervously glancing around, though she tried her best to look fearless for her new friends.

Thankfully, reaching school brought back that comfort; even if the sisters would have to endure some harsh glares and whispers, it was a far cry than what the doppelgangers might do. Still, Sunset vowed to try to get everyone to see the truth that the Night-Lights were not the infamous sirens.

“What do ya mean?” Applejack asked.

“Yeah, what’s up, Sunset?” Rainbow said.

Sunset took a deep breath. “They saw the Dazzlings.”

Expressions of surprise painted her friends’ faces, but none of them said anything, so Sunset continued, “They told me yesterday after school. They shared a bus with the siren Sonata. They were really scared, so I decided to walk them home. Which reminds me.” Sunset pulled out her phone and displayed the family photo she took the previous night. “I met their parents. Lovely people. Totally not at each other’s throats, and not a single flash of green in their eyes, which, if you’ll recall, are the telltale signs of the Dazzlings’ mind control, so no, they’re not hypnotized.”

Sunset put her phone away. “Anyway, I spent the night there and walked them to school this morning. And I can already tell they’re telling the truth; the fear I saw can’t be faked.”

Sunset’s friends paused as they let the story sink in. “Okay,” Applejack finally said, “let’s say that they’re telling the truth. And I ain’t sayin’ they’re not!” she corrected hastily when Sunset glared at her. “What do we do now?”

Sunset replied, “Eventually, I want to go out and find the Dazzlings. I don’t know if they’re planning anything, but they know their counterparts are in town, so they may try something. Before that, though, I want you girls to help me convince the school that these aren’t the Dazzlings.”

“How will we manage that?” Rarity asked.

“I’m not sure, honestly,” Sunset admitted. “Short of capturing the Dazzlings and dragging them through the halls, it’s not like we can definitively prove it. I think the best we can do is be their friends and be obvious about it. The students here put a lot of stock in us, so if they see that we’re friendly with the Night-Lights, they may follow suit.”

Rainbow snorted. “The Night-Lights?” she asked.

Sunset blushed. “Uh, yeah. Their parents are named Soprano Nights and Melody Lights. Night-Lights,” she sheepishly explained.

“That’s precious,” Rarity said, Fluttershy nodding in agreement while Pinkie giggled.

“Right,” Sunset said, taking a breath. “Back to the point. Let’s just get along with them, alright? I promise, they’re not the Dazzlings, and they’re much nicer than you think.”

The girls looked amongst themselves before looking back at Sunset. “Alright,” Applejack said reluctantly, sighing. “If you say they're on the up-and-up, we’ll give ‘em the benefit of the doubt.”

Sunset sighed in relief. “Thanks, girls. You won’t regret this.” She turned on her heel. “Let’s head on over, then!”

“Sunset, wait!” Applejack said hurriedly, stopping Sunset in her tracks. When Sunset looked at her questioningly, the farmer continued, “Don’t you think us all rushin’ over there would…overwhelm ‘em?”

Sunset paused, her blush returning. “Oh, yeah.”

“Don’t you worry, Sunset,” Applejack continued. “We’ll meet with ‘em when the time’s right; we share a few classes with ‘em, after all. You just sit on down and eat your lunch; you look like you can use the distraction.”

Sunset hesitated, giving the Night-Lights one last look, before acquiescing. “You’re right. I could use a breather.” With that, she dug in.

“Uh, howdy, girls.”

The sisters’ gazes immediately snapped toward the voice, finding Sunset’s…rural friend standing nearby, accompanied by Sunset’s pink, hyper friend. Applejack and Pinkie Pie, if memory of Sunset’s stories served.

“What do you want?” Aria said.

“If you’re gonna try to tell us not to hang out with Sunset anymore, think again!” Sonata snapped.

“We weren’t gonna!” Pinkie said quickly. “We just wanna be your friend.”

The incredulous sisters looked to the farmer, who sighed. “Sunset told us everything. We’re, uh, sorry we didn’t hear ya out last week.”

“Don’t mention it,” Adagio said through gritted teeth. “It’s not like we would’ve believed you, anyway. So, where to?”

“Wait, we’re actually hanging with them?” Aria asked Adagio angrily.

“Yes, we are. The less people we have on our backs, the better,” Adagio replied. She turned back to Applejack. “Now, where to?”

“How about the Sweet Shoppe?” Pinkie immediately asked excitedly.

“Uh, fun as that sounds,” Applejack began with a calming hand on Pinkie’s shoulder, “the Sweet Shoppe’s pretty popular with CHS students. I don’t think that’s a very good place to hang out right now.” Applejack ended her sentence with a questioning look at Adagio, who gave her a look that said that it was indeed not a very good place to hang out right now. “What about a movie?” she asked.

“I…don’t think that’s a very good idea,” Adagio said.

“Why?” Sonata asked. “We’ll be in a dark room where no one can see us.”

“Yes, but we wouldn’t be able to see anyone else, now would we?” Adagio rebutted.

Sonata and Aria exchanged glances. “Oh, yeah,” Sonata said, biting her lip.

“What about my place?” Pinkie said just shy of shouting.

The sisters exchanged glances again. “Your place?” Aria repeated.

“Yeah! We can watch movies, make cupcakes, eat cupcakes. It’ll be like a slumber party!”

“Do you have sleeping bags?” Aria asked with a smirk, causing her sisters to snicker.

“Well, duh! I’ve got enough for all of us!” Pinkie exclaimed.

Aria looked at Applejack. “Really?”

Applejack returned the look. “Really.”

Adagio looked at her sisters with a silent question. Aria and Sonata exchanged glances before giving Adagio a shrug and a nod. Nodding herself, Adagio turned back to Applejack and Pinkie. “Fine, but on one condition.”

“What’s that?” Applejack asked.

“You invite Sunset.”

“Deal!” Pinkie said. “The more the merrier!”

Aria went to work texting their mother while Pinkie texted Sunset. Only Adagio saw the subtle glare Applejack threw at Pinkie.

Curious.

Nevertheless, Adagio decided to think about it later; they still had one more class to get through, after all.

“This is gonna be so much fun!” Pinkie squealed as Adagio and Sunset met the other four girls at Adagio’s locker. “I already cleared it with Maud, and she agreed to spend the night at a friend’s house so we could have the whole house to ourselves!”

Adagio spared a glance at her sisters. Aria tried her best to keep a neutral expression, while Sonata seemed to be actually looking forward to the evening, though whether it’s because they were making new friends or because they wouldn’t be alone that night, Adagio couldn’t tell.

The others waited while Adagio got her backpack and packed what she’d need that night, and as soon as she closed her locker, Pinkie yelled, “Let’s go!” grabbing Adagio’s wrist and yanking her along as she sped down the hall.

After a speedy and chatty walk, the group arrived at Pinkie’s house, which was surprisingly austere in its decorations given its bombastic occupant. The two-story building was made of sturdy brick and had an oddly blocky appearance. Inside, the living room was simply decorated, with a sofa, a recliner, a television and stand, a coffee table, and a few family photos. The furniture were muted tans and browns in color.

“Not exactly what I expected,” Adagio mumbled as she took it all in.

“Yeah, Maud likes to keep things simple,” Pinkie said. “Trust me, if I had my way, there’d be a lot more color, but what can ya do?” she finished with a shrug.

“I’ll tell ya what we can do,” Applejack replied cheerfully. “We can get this shindig started! Y’all make yourselves at home. Let’s hit the kitchen, Pinkie!”

“Yeah!” Pinkie cheered, speeding off to the kitchen with Applejack. After a tentative second, Sonata decided to run after them.

Aria decided to flake out on the sofa, turning on the television and surfing the channels. Adagio, however, stayed in the entryway with Sunset.

“Thank you for coming, Sunset,” Adagio said quietly.

“No problem, but I have a question,” Sunset said. “Pinkie said you’d only stay over if I’m here. Why?”

Adagio bit her lip, looking away. “Well, to be honest, I still don’t trust them,” she finally said, an embarrassed blush starting to light up her face. “I was…afraid that they’d try to get rid of the big, scary sirens, and it certainly didn’t help that Applejack looked unhappy with inviting you. I-I know it’s silly, but we’ve got enemies on all sides, and just because you’re our friend doesn’t mean your friends are our friends, and we’ve got enough to worry about as it is, and—”

“Hey, hey,” Sunset said calmly, putting a hand on Adagio’s shoulder and stopping her words. “It’s alright. I talked with Applejack. She just didn’t want you to rely on my presence to be comfortable with my friends. I told her that it was understandable that you’d want me around for a while. I’d love for you three to be friends with my other friends, but baby steps, okay? If you need me, I’ll be there. Promise.”

Adagio stared into Sunset’s eyes, her vision filled with Sunset’s gaze and confident smile. Suddenly, tears began filling her eyes, and she threw her arms around Sunset’s body, resting her head on Sunset’s shoulder as she struggled to keep her emotions in check.

“Thank you, Sunset,” she said after calming down a bit. “You don’t know how much that means to us.”

Sunset just held Adagio, stroking the girl’s back and hair as she waited for Adagio to break the hug first. Eventually, Adagio did, and after drying her eyes, she walked over to the sofa, trying to act natural for Aria, who was trying, and failing, not to let on that she heard the whole thing.

Sonata stood off to the side as Pinkie mixed ingredients and Applejack peeled apples. After a small conversation, the girls decided that apple-cinnamon muffins would be a better late-night treat than cupcakes, and though Pinkie balked at the lack of cupcakes, she soon regained her enthusiasm as she worked.

“You sure you don’t wanna help?” Pinkie asked for the third time. “There’s plenty of stuff to do!”

“I’m fine,” Sonata said, looking at them half-askance, half-nervously. “I don’t want to get in the way.”

“You won’t be in the way, silly!” Pinkie chirped. “There’s plenty of room for all of us!”

For the third time, Sonata bit her lip, considering. Unlike the last two times, though, she finally relented, deciding to actually make herself useful, and Pinkie cheerfully moved aside to give her space to prepare the muffin trays, wrappings, and cinnamon and brown sugar for the toppings.

A few minutes went by as Sonata got more comfortable, finally getting into a rhythm. Soon, Pinkie began to sing a small ditty, making up lyrics about baking muffins as she worked. It was a catchy tune, and Sonata found herself bobbing her head to the melody, and as Pinkie finished one of her “verses”, Sonata decided to jump in.

She got maybe three lines of made-up lyrics in before she noticed the dead silence of her surroundings, and her singing trailed off. She looked over to her companions and found them both staring at her, confusion on their faces.

“Wh-What?” Sonata stammered.

“You’re singin’,” Applejack said.

“Uh…yeah,” Sonata replied, confused herself. “I like singing.”

Applejack and Pinkie exchanged glances, worry entering their expressions.

Suddenly, the pieces fell into place for Sonata. “Oh, come on!” she snapped. “Do you really still think we’re those sirens? I thought you were over that!”

“W-We are!” Applejack said quickly. “It’s just that, uh…it brings back bad memories, is all.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie added. “They were only around for a few days, but those days sucked!”

Sonata looked from one to the other, her glare never truly leaving. Finally, she said, “Fine, but don’t think I’ll let that stop me from singing!”

“Sure,” Pinkie said. “After all, even if you were the Dazzlings—” Pinkie was cut off by Applejack’s elbow in her side. “Ow! I’m just saying their magic doesn’t affect us! Ow!” she yelped again as Applejack elbowed her again.

Sonata’s shoulders fell, and she sighed. “Forget it. I’m not really in the mood to bake anymore, anyway. You girls keep going without me.” With that, she turned and walked from the kitchen as Applejack and Pinkie kicked themselves.

Sunset felt pretty good. Sure, the movie they decided to put on was cheesy—some stupid comedy movie they chose to try to keep their minds off everything—and sure, she was pretty hungry and couldn’t wait for whatever her friends were making, but she was at a sleepover with some of her old friends and all of her new friends. They were finally giving the Night-Lights a chance, even baking with one and letting them sleep at their house.

Yep, Sunset felt good.

Which is why she was startled when Sonata suddenly plopped down on the sofa with a grunt.

The three looked at her curiously. “Sonata, are you okay?” Adagio asked.

Sonata only grunted in response.

The three exchanged glances before Adagio tried again. “Sonata, come on. What’s wrong?”

Sonata sighed and, after a moment, said, “They still don’t trust us.”

Surprised looks adorned the others’ faces. “What do you mean?” Adagio asked. “They’re letting us spend the night at their house.”

“Yeah, but apparently, my singing ‘brings back bad memories.’ It was going so well until I decided to open my mouth.”

Aria and Adagio looked at Sunset, who sighed. “I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding. I’ll talk to them,” she said, standing up and heading to the kitchen.

She found her friends in the kitchen working on their snacks—muffins, it turned out—but they weren’t very animated.

“Oh, hey, Sunset,” Applejack said when she noticed Sunset. “We’re sorry ‘bout what happened with Sonata. We never meant to offend her. It’s just, when she started singin’…”

“We kinda just saw one the sirens who tried to kill us,” Pinkie finished somberly.

That gave Sunset pause, a surprised look adorning her face. She thought a bit, and finally, things clicked. “I…I’m sorry,” she finally said. “I’ve been so hung up on proving myself right that I never considered why you’re feeling what you’re feeling. You’re not just worried they’ll hurt me. You’re…scared of them, too, aren’t you?”

Applejack and Pinkie looked away with a tinge of shame, before Applejack said, “Well, kinda. Now, don’t get me wrong, I ain’t jumping at shadows or nothin’, but…we almost lost last time. It took all seven of us to beat ‘em, and Twilight’s not here now. What if we’re not so lucky next time?”

Sunset turned Applejack’s words over in her head. “I understand,” she said. “It must be hard letting go of that fear, especially when the Dazzlings truly are still out there, but remember, we destroyed their gems, and even if they got them back, the only reason they were so tough is because they absorbed your Equestrian magic. Our friendship is much stronger now, so I doubt they’ll be able to absorb it again. Without that magic, we probably won’t even need all of us to beat them.”

Fortunately, the girls brightened a bit. “Well, I can’t deny the logic there,” Applejack said, sighing in relief. “Thanks, Sunset. That makes me feel better. I’m not at a hundred percent, but I’m much better than I was.”

“Yeah, I guess it is a bit silly to worry about them getting their magic back,” Pinkie said with a light giggle. “So…what now?”

Sunset thought a bit. “Go ahead and get those muffins in the oven. We need to have a meeting.”

The six girls sat around Pinkie’s living room, though Sunset remained standing, as there wasn’t enough sitting room for six people.

Applejack decided to speak first. “First off, Sonata, we’re sorry ‘bout what happened in the kitchen. I guess we’re a bit jumpier than we thought we’d be about the Dazzlings, but that’s not fair to you. We said we’d give you a chance, and we shouldn’t be lettin’ our fears get in the way o’ that.”

The sisters exchanged glances before Sonata said, “It’s alright. I guess we’re all a bit worried about them, and we haven’t exactly been friendly, either.”

“With good reason,” Aria mumbled.

“Aria!” Sonata snapped.

“No, she’s right,” Applejack said. “We’ve given y’all no reason to play nice with us.” She sighed. “To be perfectly honest, if Sunset weren’t so adamant on provin’ us wrong, we’d probably still be treatin’ y’all like outcasts.”

Applejack flashed a hopeful smile. “But, we’re here now, and we’re still willin’ to give this a shot. So, what do ya say? Start over?”

The sisters looked at each other for a few seconds before Adagio and Sonata pointed their looks at Aria, giving her the final say. Aria thought a moment before shrugging. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Yay!” Pinkie squealed. “Group hug!”

“Baby steps, Pinkie!” Sunset yelled, but it was too late. Before the sisters could protest, Pinkie wrapped her arms around all three, giggling in delight. Sonata returned the hug, while Adagio and Aria just rolled their eyes and waited for it to end.

Eventually, a ding sounds front the kitchen, and Pinkie sped off, yelling, “Muffins are done!”

Sunset tried to hold back a grin at the surprised and irritated looks on Adagio and Aria. “You okay?” she asked.

“We’re fine,” Adagio said, “but all this talk of the sirens reminds me. Do they know where Pinkie lives?”

Sunset shook her head. “I don’t see how they’d know that, especially since this house looks nothing like you’d expect her house to look.”

That seemed to satisfy Adagio, and the sisters settled back into the sofa as Pinkie rushed back in with a platter of hot muffins and a jug of sweet tea. The group found their worries melting with the heat of the muffins as they enjoyed a few more movies before finally going up to Pinkie’s room—which looked exactly like one would expect from Pinkie—and turning in.

Sunset was the last to get in her sleeping bag. After brushing her teeth, she came in to the sound of her friends—all five of them—exchanging stories and jokes. She smiled at the sight as her eyes drifted to Pinkie’s window. Not really expecting anything but not wanting her curiosity to fester, Sunset took a glance out the window.

She saw nothing, as she expected. Still, she closed the curtains and settled into her sleeping bag, joining in the conversation before the group finally fell asleep.

7. Seeing Stars

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“Hell no!”

Aria’s voice resounded down the hallway, getting the attention of the few other students around so early in the morning. Adagio glared at Aria, who blushed, taking a deep breath to calm down as Sonata rubbed her shoulder. Across from them stood Rainbow Dash, slightly surprised at the outburst, and Applejack, who was not at all surprised at the outburst and counted her blessings for convincing Rainbow Dash to talk to the Night-Lights early in the morning rather than when the school was more crowded.

“But why not?” Rainbow blurted. “Sunset said you loved sports.”

“Uh, hello!” Aria snapped. “Because soccer’s a team sport, and everyone here hates me? Are we the only ones playing?”

“Well…no,” Rainbow mumbled, causing Aria to cross her arms with a glare. “But it’s not the whole team!” Rainbow rebutted. “Just a few.”

“Look, Aria,” Applejack said, “I know we’re the only ones here willin’ to give ya a chance so far, but completely avoidin’ everyone isn’t doin’ ya any favors, neither. I know it sounds weird, but maybe hangin’ out with Rainbow and her teammates will help show you’re on the up-and-up.” At Aria’s incredulous look, Applejack said, “Look, Rainbow’s the captain, and everyone on the team respects her enough to do what she says. If she tells ‘em to lay off, they’ll listen.”

“Yeah, but what if she doesn’t?”

“What!?” Rainbow snapped.

“How do I know you’re not gonna flip out on us over another misunderstanding like you did after we scared Fluttershy? Or worse, what if one of them cries wolf? How do I know you won’t jump to conclusions and take their side?”

Rainbow huffed. “You’re just gonna have to trust me!”

“But we don’t,” Aria said simply.

Rainbow grunted, looking toward Adagio.

“Don’t look at me,” Adagio said. “Aria’s a big girl. She can make her own decisions, but I can’t say I like the idea of her being surrounded by a bunch of athletes kicking balls at her and ‘accidentally’ knocking her around. Or just outright attacking her.”

“They’re not gonna attack you,” Rainbow said.

“Hello!” Aria snapped again, pointedly grabbing at the end of her now-shoulder-length hair.

Rainbow paused. “I won’t let them,” she finally said.

“What about the students surrounding us on the bleachers,” Sonata piped up. “Can’t say I’m comfortable with that.”

“There won’t be anyone on the bleachers,” Rainbow said. “They don’t even know you’re coming. I just asked them to hang out and practice a bit after school.”

“And before you ask,” Applejack said, “I talked to Sunset, and she’ll be there. She said that, for the record, she trusts Rainbow enough to know Rainbow can break up any problems, but she also knows y’all’re a mite wary of her. She’ll meet ya after school.”

Aria looked down, arguing with herself, before finally, she groaned. “Fine! But you’re paying my medical bills!”

“Yes!” Rainbow cheered. “You won’t regret it!” With that, Rainbow dashed off to her first class, Applejack giving the trio a grateful smile before departing herself.

When Applejack was out of earshot, Adagio turned to Aria. “Interesting decision.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Aria answered. “I don’t want to, but Sunset will be there, and she wants us to play nice with her friends. I owe her at least this much for putting up with us so much.”

“’Putting up with us’?” Sonata repeated. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know,” Aria said. “I kinda feel like we’re crowding her. Having her walk us home and to school, making her sleep over, not doing anything with her friends without her around.”

“Well, it’s not like we’re clingy for no reason,” Adagio rebutted.

“Oh, yeah, I know that,” Aria responded, “but still. Do you think it bothers her to have to babysit us so much? It’d probably bother me.”

“Maybe,” Adagio began slowly, “but it’s either stick near the only one in this school we truly trust or try to stay afloat alone. And I don’t think that’s an option.”

“Besides, she looks like she likes hanging out with us,” Sonata said.

“I guess,” Aria said uncertainly. “I just don’t want to overstay our welcome. We can’t exactly afford to scare her away.”

“Look, Aria,” Adagio said. “She seems to be taking this siren situation seriously, so I don’t think she’ll just abandon us for wanting to stay safe. And after she gets rid of them, we won’t need to spend all our time with her, especially if we can prove that we’re not the sirens. We just need to hold out until Sunset deals with them.”

“Yeah,” Aria mumbled. “I just wish we could do something about them ourselves.”

“I think this is a job best left to the experts,” Adagio said. “I, for one, would be happy if we never saw them again.”

“Ditto!” Sonata chirped.

“Yeah,” Aria said. “Yeah, same.”

The sisters fell to silence, and with nothing left to say, they awkwardly parted ways to get to class.

Aria slammed her locker closed, taking a deep breath. “It’s just an hour or so,” she tried telling herself. “You’re just meeting up for some soccer. They won’t like it, but they’ll get used to it.” Try as she might, though, she just couldn’t shake her nerves about the whole thing. It was as if—gasp!—surrounding herself with Rainbow Dash and a bunch of adrenaline-high athletes who hated her was a bad idea!

She was brought out of her musings by the sound of her sisters arriving. With them were Rainbow and Sunset, the former looking excited, the latter looking nervous. Rainbow was carrying a small duffel bag under her arm.

“You ready to play, Aria?” Rainbow half-shouted enthusiastically.

Aria sighed. “As I’ll ever be, I guess. You got a change of clothes?”

“Yup!” Rainbow chirped, patting the duffel bag. “Got a spare set of my gym clothes. Don’t worry; they’re clean.”

“Thanks,” Aria said tiredly. “Let’s get this over with.”

Twenty minutes later, the now-changed Rainbow and Aria walked onto the field, the other sisters and Sunset behind them. In the middle of the field stood six other students, just chatting and joking around, by the looks of it. Finally, one of them noticed Rainbow and Aria approaching, and he instantly scowled. He signaled to his friends, and they gave the newcomers their undivided, unhappy attention.

“What are they doing here?” one of the players, a yellow-skinned girl with short, fire-like hair, demanded to Rainbow.

“They’re gonna play some ball with us,” Rainbow said casually. “Well, Aria is. The other two are gonna watch. Aria, meet Soarin’, Spitfire, Flitter, Cloudchaser, Thunderlane, and Fleetfoot.”

“Woah, hold on! We didn’t agree to this!” said one of the guys. Soarin’, Aria guessed. The other players nodded their agreement.

“Oh, come on, guys!” Rainbow said. “She’s not the siren.”

“And how would you know?” challenges the other guy, who must be Thunderlane.

“Uh, I’m magic now. Duh,” Rainbow rebuts. “Don’t you think I’d know if they’re the sirens. Sunset can vouch for them, too, and she’s actually from Equestria.” Sunset nodded at the questioning looks the team gave her.

The team exchanged glances, then walked a few yards away and huddled up. After an anxious minute of waiting, the team broke huddle and approached.

“Okay,” the fire-haired girl, who must be Spitfire, began, “we talked about it. We think they’re full of it.” When Rainbow opened her mouth, the girl interrupted, “Hold on! We think they’re full of it. We think they’re just trying to trick all of us. But we came here to play soccer, and since someone made sure there’d only be seven of us, I guess we don’t really have a choice. But we don’t trust her.”

Rainbow paused for a moment before saying, “I’ll take it! Alright, team, let’s show the newbies that Canterlot Wondercolt spirit!”

Aria mumbled something around the wad of grass in her mouth as she once more lay face-down on the field, the result of the ball colliding with the back of her head.

“Uh, what?” Rainbow asked, standing over her.

Aria lifted her head up and spat out the grass. “I said I can really feel that Canterlot Wondercolt spirit,” she repeated angrily.

Rainbow chuckled nervously. “Yeah, I guess they, uh, really brought their A game.”

Aria sorely climbed to her feet, grumbling, “That’s one way to put it.” She looked back at the other players, who were snickering at her. “I told you this was a bad idea.”

“Ah, come on, Aria,” Rainbow said. “The longer we play, the more they’ll calm down and stop picking on you.”

“They shouldn’t be picking on me in the first place!” Aria snapped. “I didn’t do anything to them! If anything, I should be the one mad at them. And I am!”

“Alright, alright, I get ya,” Rainbow said, waving her arms placatingly. She started walking back to the others. “Come on, guys, this is practice. You can’t trip the opponents, so stop knocking her around. And Fleetfoot, either pass to her or just don’t kick the ball at her! This is soccer, not target practice.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Fleetfoot replied flippantly.

Rainbow sighed in irritation, but she didn’t snap back, and soon, Aria was back in the game. The next thirty minutes or so passed relatively quickly for Aria, and while almost no one passed to her except by accident, the others stopped tripping her as much while under Rainbow’s watchful eye. At least Applejack was right about that. Aria also managed a couple of trick shots that had a few of the others impressed, albeit begrudgingly.

“Alright, team, that’s enough. Let’s call it a day,” Rainbow said after Soarin’ made one last goal past Spitfire. “You did great, guys. Other than a few hang-ups, anyway.”

“Well, it’s not like we wanted to play with her!” Cloudchaser (or Flitter) snapped.

“Don’t do that again, Dash!” Flitter (or Cloudchaser) followed.

“Oh, come on, it didn’t kill you!” Rainbow fired back. “But fine. I’ll warn you next time.”

“We’d rather there not be a next time,” Spitfire replied.

“Fine by me,” Aria spat.

“Stay outta this, siren!” Spitfire snapped.

“I’m not a damn siren!” Aria shouted.

“Practice is over. Get lost,” Thunderlane spat. “And take the other two with you. Making the bleachers smell like fish.”

“Oh, that’s it!” Aria snapped, stomping toward Thunderlane, who accepted the challenge, stomping toward Aria. They got almost within arm’s length of each other before Rainbow and Sunset rushed in, Rainbow holding back her teammate and Sunset pushing back Aria.

“Settle down, you two!” Rainbow commanded.

“Tell them to lay off!” Aria snapped.

“Tell them to shove off!” Thunderlane fired back.

“Guys, they’re not the sirens,” Sunset said calmly.

“Prove it!” Flitter said.

“Yeah, prove it!” Cloudchaser repeated.

“How?” Sunset asked.

“Give us concrete evidence. A photo, a video, something!”

Sunset rolled her eyes, hastily saying, “You’re asking a lot, but I’ll see what I can do. Come on, girls.” With that, she and the Night-Lights stalked away from the field, hearing Rainbow trying to reason with her team in the distance.

“Never doing that again!” Aria snapped once they could no longer hear the students on the field.

“Well, you tried. That’s what matters,” Sunset said, sighing.

“Why are we even trying?” Aria said. “We should just transfer. CHS isn’t the only high school in town.”

“But it is the closest and one of the top-rated,” Adagio responded.

“I’ll walk the extra distance,” Aria said, shrugging.

“Yeah, but, like, what if we run into the sirens there? We won’t have Sunset or her friends around.”

Aria groaned. “Oh, yeah…” The group fell into an uncomfortable silence, until Aria finally says, “We gotta find them.”

There was a surprised pause before Adagio says, “Excuse me?”

“You heard them! We just gotta snap a photo or something. Hell, I’ll even let the other Aria kick me around for a bit if it means getting everyone else off our backs.”

“But what if they just say we edited the photo?” Sonata asked.

Aria thought for a moment. “Well, we could get a video instead. That’s much harder to fake. And if we find the other Aria, that should prove things even more since, as far as I know, she still has ponytails.”

Adagio shook her head. “That’s too dangerous. We don’t know how far their morals go.”

“Well, what else should we do?” Aria snapped.

“I don’t know!” Adagio yelled. “Sunset, have you found anything?”

Sunset shook her head. “Canterlot’s a big city. Like I said, unless I get lucky, I doubt I’ll find them.”

Aria growled. “So, we’re just gonna keep looking over our shoulder for the rest of our lives? No way! I say we find them before they find us.”

“And then what?” Adagio challenged.

“We kick their asses!” Aria snapped. “We drive them out of town!”

“And if we can’t?” Adagio asked.

“I don’t know, try to bargain with them?” Aria said. “Beg them to prove we’re not the sirens and then to leave us alone?”

“Why don’t we start with that?” Sonata asked. “They might be more willing to listen if we don’t just start trying to beat them up.”

“Fine, we’ll start with that,” Aria said. “I just wanna find them and get them and all of CHS off our backs!”

“Where would we start looking?” Sonata asked.

“Same place Sunset did: the bus route,” Aria replied, shrugging.

“I…suppose if we took the bus at around the same time we did when we saw the other Sonata, we’re more likely to run into one,” Adagio murmured.

Sunset listened to the sisters’ conversation, growing increasingly nervous as it went on. “Girls, let’s not do anything rash,” she said.

“I’d rather we do something rash than anyone else. Again,” Aria replied, pointing at her hair. “You’re already doing so much for us. Let us take a swing at this!”

“Girls, please,” Sunset practically begged. “Let me handle it. I’ll redouble my efforts. Promise. Just please keep going with plan A. They could still be dangerous, and I don’t want you three getting hurt.”

The sisters exchanged glances, mainly Adagio and Sonata silently telling Aria to agree with Sunset. Aria threw her hands up. “Fine!” she said. “I’ll give it a few more days.”

Sunset sighed in relief. “Thanks, Aria.”

“Whatever. Let’s just go home.”

The girls tried to change the subject to more pleasant things as they walked, but no matter what they talked about, they couldn’t shake the specter of worry that hung over them, and Sunset spent the time making mental plans on how to find the sirens tomorrow, vowing not to stop searching until the sun set if she had to.

Dazzling Doubles

by icecreammac

1. Razzle-Dazzled

2. A Brilliant Start

3. A Red-Hot Glow

4. Dawning on Sunset

5. Reflections

6. An Expanding Aura

7. Seeing Stars