To say that Randy had found himself in an unexpected situation would not be untrue. Here he was, walking alongside the very girl he wanted to spend time with, outside the cafeteria and heading to no destination in particular. Sonata was leading the way, still holding onto him arm quite firmly, and he just let her pull him along, doing his best to ignore the odd looks he and she were getting from the occasional students passing them by. Eventually, Sonata eventually stopped pulling and let him go, and so he looked at her as she found a nearby bench to sit upon. Watching her, Randy noted how she patted the spot next to where she was sitting, clearly inviting him to join her. Although hesitant, he nevertheless accepted her offer and sat down.

In this moment, the two simply sat in silence. Neither of them really seemed to know what to do right now, and so Randy simply looked around nervously, taking stock of all the various buildings, trees and even the occasional bush around them. It wasn't long however before Sonata let out a cough, gaining his attention. She looked down a little, keeping her clenched fists on her knees, before speaking to him.

"I'm...sorry about those two."

It didn't take a genius to figure out who she meant, as Randy spoke up in response.

"Oh, it's fine. Believe me, I've heard worse."

Sonata kept her eyes on the ground, her expression becoming more angry with every passing moment.

"I just...argh! Can't they just be happy about good things happening to us? Why do they always have to be so mean? I mean, yeah, things are bad right now, but they'll get better...eventually. They're just...just...the WORST!"

Randy got the distinct feeling that this was something she said a lot. Clearly there was a lot of bad feeling between this girls and her friends, though the boy felt it was probably wise not to get involved. However, though that was indeed what wisdom would have suggested, there were times when Randy just didn't listen to such feelings. This was one of them, as he nervously started to speak to her again.

"Well...they're your friends, right? I'm sure things between you will improve....possibly."

Sonata looked up at him for the first time in this conversation, her face bearing a small smile.

"If Aria were here, she'd probably say you sounded like a walking after-school special right now."

Rather than feeling insulted, Randy instead chuckled at that statement, prompting another smile from Sonata.

"You're so nice. Why can't Adagio and Aria be more like you?"

Randy coughed a bit before replying.

"Well, to be fair, we haven't really spoke than much. So you don't really know me that wall."

Sonata looked away and pondered that for a moment. In this brief moment, Randy got the distinct impression that this was a girl that took people at first impressions. He'd been nice during this first meeting, so that’s what she assumed he was. Not that he was saying that he wasn't nice of course, at least he certainly thought he was. It was an open and accepting way of thinking, if somewhat dangerous at times, though he hesitated to tell her, lest she be insulted. Instead, he simply opted to remain silent until she spoke again, which thankfully didn't take long.

"I've got it! Why don't we just ask stuff about each other right here?"

Randy raised an eyebrow.

"What...just like that?"

Sonata didn't reply, merely nodding her head enthusiastically in response. The boy didn't think this an unreasonable request exactly, but for someone to just say "let's ask really personal questions about each other and give honest answers" was not the kind of thing he was used to. Still, the happy expression on her face was rather persuasive, so, adjusting how he was sitting on the bench, he turned to face her once more.

"Okay then. Do you want to go first?"

After another frantic nodding of her head, Sonata looked as though she was thinking long and hard over what to ask. Eventually, she broke out into a look that would not have seemed out-of-place with a bright lightbulb hovering over her head.

"Okay then, where did you grow up?"

A fairly standard first question, but not unreasonable. Randy started wording it all in his mind before speaking.

"Well, I've been here in Canterlot my whole life. Grew up right next door to Rainbow and..."

He was stopped from saying that by Sonata, who suddenly gained a somewhat worried look on her face.

"You...you're friends with Rainbow Dash? Are you friends with the other Rainbooms too?"

Randy stopped dead in his tracks when she asked him that. It wasn't something he'd considered before, but now that he'd been asked the question, he felt foolish for not considering it earlier. Of course his friendship to the Rainbooms would be a problem for her! After everything that had gone on between them, how could she feel anything but bitter about it? As much as he didn't want to upset the girl, he felt he had no choice but to be honest about this. And so, slowly, he nodded his head. Sonata looked away from him, her expression difficult to read, and for a moment, the boy felt she would just leave him here and now. But that wasn't what happened. Instead, after letting out a sigh, she spoke again.

"...It's fine."

The boy Raised an eyebrow at that, unsure if he'd heard that right.

"You're...you're okay with that?"

Sonata gave a slow nod before speaking again.

"Yeah. I mean...they've tried being nice to me and the girls, even after everything we did. I guess...I can live with that."

Despite her words, Randy was sure that this whole matter had still brought up some bad experiences for her. So, desperate to try and bring the conversation back to something more pleasant, Randy considered his options carefully before coming up with something to ask her.

"So...you're from another world?"

Sonata looked up at him, her expression somewhat more perky than before.

"Yeah, Equestria. It was a great home. I haven't been there in such a long time."

His curiosity was piqued by that statement.

"How long ago did you last see it?"

The girl considered that for a while before answering.

"Oh...about a thousand years or so."

Randy's eyes widened at that, clearly not having expected that answer.

"A th...a thousand years? Well...erm...you look great for it."

Sonata looked away, blushing slightly. It was, as one might expect, an absolutely adorable look for her, though Randy was still trying to come to terms with the fact that he was on a date with a girl who had been around for many centuries before he was even born. Still, he'd managed to get at least something right with this date so far, so there was that to be happy about. As for right now, he knew he had his foot in the door with that question, and now he knew that, as demanded of his curiosity at least, he should learn more.

"So is there anything your like to do? When you're not at school I mean?"

The blue girl thought on that for a while before her expression changed to one of sadness, much to Randy's confusion. She looked as though she hesitated to speak her mind on this, but eventually she began to explain herself.

"Well...I did used to enjoy my singing."

And that explained everything Randy needed to know in an instant. It was well known that, when Sonata and the other Dazzlings first arrived at this school, all three of them had magnificent singing voices, magically enhanced by the amulets they wore, a keepsake from their homeland of Equestria. When the Rainbooms had defeated them, those amulets had been shattered and, as a result, their singing no longer had the impact it once was. While he was glad that these girls no longer had the power to control people, as he himself had been among them, he couldn't help but feel bad when he looked at Sonata. The way she seemed so depressed made it clear to him that singing had been something that she loved, and that skill had been taken away from her.

Thinking hard on this matter, Randy decided to come forward about something, though he was hesitant to do so.

"You know...you still sing well, Sonata."

The Dazzling looked up at him with a confused look on her face, prompting him to explain himself.

"Well, er...I was asked by one of the teachers during class to fetch a book from the library a few days ago. So there I was, walking down the hallway...when I heard singing."

Another blush started to appear on Sonata's face as she heard this story, and Randy figured that she'd understood where this was going. Even so, he continued.

"I looked around and...there your were. You were by your locker, all alone and...you were singing. And I...thought it was nice."

Sonata looked away from him, looking more than a little embarrassed.

"You weren't meant to see that."

Now it was Randy's turn to look confused.

"After everything you and the other girls went though, I'm surprised you'd have any problems singing with an audience."

Sonata shook her head before replying to that.

"It's not that. It's...Adagio. Ever since we lost our ability to feed off the magic of hate and strife, she just hasn't considered our singing worth doing anymore. I've been practising, when I've been on my own, and...I guess I just didn’t want her to find out in case she got angry with me."

Randy was, needless to say, rather taken aback by this. Here was a girl that, from the moment she and her friends entered this school, had given off a great sense of confidence in herself. Yet here she was, so unsure. Her two friends, though he used that term loosely, clearly had issues with the loss of their singing, much like Sonata did. But while Sonata at least tried to practise with what she had left, the other two just seems to try and ignore it, as if that would make things better. And there Sonata was, being told that what she loved doing was no longer seen as useful or "worth it" by those she spent her time with. No wonder she looked so down about all this, Randy thought to himself.

However, as he considered that, a new thought came to mind for him. Although, he was worried about how she might react to it.

"Could...could I hear it?"

Sonata looked at him, her face filled with confusion over that statement, leading to him elaborating.

"Erm...I meant your singing. Could I hear it?"

The girl's eyes widened with shock over that request, and she fumbled her words in response, leading to Randy becoming very worried that he might have offended her in some way.

"I'm sorry. If I've overstepped..."

But he was interrupted by Sonata, who raised one hand before speaking.

"No, it's fine. It's just...you're the first person that's ever asked me to sing before."

Given what they're singing did to others in the past, he had no doubt of that. However, he'd made his request, and he felt he should stick to it.

"Well, there's a first time for everything, right?"

Sonata considered that for a moment before breaking out into a smile, which Randy returned. The girl looked away from him, checking to make sure nobody else was around to hear her, before gently placing her hand on her throat, then clearing it a little. She opened her mouth and began to let out a melody. There were no words or lyrics coming out of her, merely her voice. And as Randy listened to it, he couldn't help but smile at how nice it sounded. True, when compared to how she and the other Dazzling used to sing when they were together and had their powers, this might not have sounded anything special. But it was nice to listen to, the voice of someone who clearly had some talent in singing and enjoyed doing it. Randy leaned back and watched her let out her tune, enjoying every moment of it.

And as she sang, she began to look happier and happier. Singing had been something that brought joy to her life, and while her voice no longer had the power to magically sway others, it was obviously something that still made her happy to do, even if she got nothing out of it. And here, in this moment, in this place, he'd given her an opportunity not to just sing, but to do it for someone who enjoyed listening to it. He'd given her this brief moment of happiness, which, perhaps more than anything else today, brought a smile to his face. As the minutes rolled by peacefully, Sonata's pleasant melody began to quiet down as she eventually stopped singing, turning to Randy with a smile and a blush on her face. Randy returned the expression, and then watched as Sonata leaned in closer, gently placing a hand upon his own.

A blush started to form on his own face at this moment as he watched Sonata close her eyes and lean her head against his shoulder. As she stayed there, he heard her speak to him n a rather hushed voice.

"Thank you."

Although somewhat taken aback by this behaviour, Randy nevertheless smiled at her, pacing one arm around her shoulders.

"You're, erm...you're welcome."

This one moment was, in Randy's mind, worth every single ounce of awkwardness and nerves he'd been through until this point. He'd wanted to spend time with this girl, and here he was, having a great time with her. Things were absolutely perfect. Or rather, it WOULD have been perfect, if it wasn't for the sudden and loud shouting of someone nearby.

"See! I told you things would be okay!"

The young couple leapt up from the bench together and spun around, only to find none other than Pinkie Pie, standing amidst some nearby bushes with her hands on her hips and a wide smile on her face. Looking down, the two saw that she was not alone, as Pinkie was but one of eight girls that had been hiding there. To the surprise of both of them, it was not only the Rainbooms, but also Adagio and Aria, all of whom were now looking very guilty and nervous. As the two looked upon them, Sonata in particular gaining a rather angry expression on her face, the girls all looked to each other, except Pinkie who was just oblivious to all this, as Sunset looked to the two and spoke.

"Okay...we can explain."