Sonata sniffed and hiccupped, her face hot and wet from her tears. She had already finished cleaning up the mess that she caused in the living room and had put her crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows away. Now she was at the kitchen sink running her bitten hand under the running water, shifting the temperature between cold to reduce the swelling, and hot to cancel out the stinging with warm water.

Eventually she had enough rinsing and raised her hand up to inspect it for the third time, but like the previous two, it easily reminded her of what happened earlier, and every time it did, she felt like crying again.

What felt was going to be a happy day filled with fun and fond memories turned into a disaster, and as much as she tried to deny it, the more she thought about what Aria said to her, the more she became convinced that it’s all her fault. She hated it whenever they fought, especially when he was picking on her and being mean to her, and wanted to always believe that she was innocent. But here, as much as she truly hated to admit, she couldn’t help but feel like the “bad guy” this time. He said before how angry he was that she turned him into a pony without his consent, but it was only now where she finally understood it, and it was after their… fight from earlier.

The more she looked at her hand, the more the scene of it gripping tightly around Aria’s throat would appear in her mind; she shut her eyes tight to block it out, biting her lower lip as her hand balled into a fist against her chest. Her eyes became watery again, her core aching with sorrow and remorse. She never meant to hurt him like that; it was just that, out of all the times he ever said mean things to her, this one just made her lose herself.

‘Now Aria hates me more than ever,’ Sonata remorsed. ‘What have I done?’

She turned the lever, shutting off the water from coming through the faucet. The burning seems to have stopped, so she grabbed the nearby towel on the counter to dry her hand off. She popped a painkiller into her mouth for good measure-there was always that risk of a lingering ache if left unattended and walked out of the kitchen with a bottle of water in hand.

Looking around the living room, Sonata felt her perspective had become jaded. Nothing felt the same anymore, as if her life had been turned upside down. Walking up the stairs felt almost like an eternity for the girl, dragging her feet along the way to the top and then down the hallway before stopping just outside of Aria’s bedroom. The door’s crack was visible, but she couldn’t see anything due to the darkness.

“Aria?” she asked out loud through the crack, her hand hesitating to knock on the door. She was met with dead silence, not even a whimper, and yet it ironically confirmed her worst fears; Aria wanted nothing more to do with her.

Sonata slowly stepped away; her head hung low and her hand tightening around her bottle of water, as she fought back the urge to cry again. It was probably the first time in a very long time that out of all of her antics and shenanigans, she had realized the full depth of the consequences of her actions.

‘I’m so sorry, Aria,’

That was what she wanted to say more than anything, but deep down she knew that it would be fruitless. Her tears won out in the end, and poured down her face again, but she otherwise remained silent all the way to her bedroom. After kicking off her shoes, she crawled into bed, setting the bottle on the nearby desk and then pulled the blankets over her. She silently whispered “I’m sorry,” over and over to herself as she cried herself to sleep, wishing to take it all back; wishing that Princess Luna would come to her in her dreams again to undo the wish.

-

Everything was lost.

Everything was numb.

Everything was dark.

Everything was cold-very, very cold.

Senses returning and conscious awaking, the miniature equine’s body was overwhelmed by the harsh, unpleasant feeling of cold and wetness. His eyes shot open, wiping away the darkness to a blurred mix of white and blue. It took seconds, yet it felt like an eternity, before his vision became clear and greeted with the site of snow. It was everywhere, smothering him like a thick blanket, until he slowly raised his head, emerging from the pile that covered him.

Aria Blaze held his head low, fixated on the snow around him, as his mind scoured through his memories to figure out where he was and how he got here.

‘The incident… Sonata!’ he remembered what happened earlier, the anger and fear slowly building up inside him again, but he shook himself to keep a hold of himself. As far he knew, there was no reason to be angry right now. ‘Come on, what else? I was running… the bathroom, and… come on… the window!’ raising his head up upon that last thought, he turned his gaze towards the upper level of the Dazzlings’ house till his eye laid upon the open bathroom window, now remembering himself falling out the window.

“I survived?” as grateful and fortunate he was to still be breathing, the bewildered colt couldn’t nonetheless fathom on how he could miraculously survive such fall in his current state. ‘Surely the snow alone couldn’t have been enough to break my fall.’

But as much he wanted answers, what matter now was getting back on his feet and getting back inside; it’s really cold outside. Aria gathered up his strength and after rolling onto his front, he attempt to raise himself up onto his hooves, which only made him more confused. ‘There’s not a single bone broken in my body! I mean, I’m grateful that I’m still in one piece, but how can I stand up and not feel any pain after just falling out of that window?’

The cold breeze again smacked him senseless, forcing a shiver to tingle through his small body. “R-R-Right, got to stop wondering and get going!” his teeth chattered in his little muzzle as he tried taking his first steps slowly, trying to make sure that he’s a hundred percent okay before he tries anything reckless.

Immediately, he hissed from the encroaching cold wetness as his legs sank into the thick sheet of snow. In fact, his whole body was shivering uncontrollably, and it only took him until now to realize why; his body was still partially wet from the water that Sonata accidentally spilt over him, as he could see from his fur sticking out nearly everywhere in ‘spikes’ of collectively stuck hairs. He shook his head frantically, trying to take his mind off the cold and focusing on getting back inside the house.

He exhaled a visible puff of breath before kicking up his hind legs and taking off down the side yard. Everywhere he was kicking up snow as he pushed his way through the thick blanket of soft frozen water, filling his ears with the crunching sounds of his hooves trampling through it all. He held his tongue, trying his best to resist the biting cold from both the snow and the breezing wind, and much to his luck, he made to the corner of the house with the front porch coming into view.

Aria pushed forward more, breathing heavily till he reached the front porch, galloping his way up the steps till he stood before the front door. “Sonata?” he tapped the door with his hoof and waited for that idiot to show up and let him back in. But to his surprise, there was no response, making him raise an eyebrow. He knocked of the door again with his hoof. “Sonata, open the door!”

His teeth chattered loudly as hid body shivered, the air becoming colder than it was before. The chill was making him lose his patience as he slammed his front hooves against the door. “Open the door, Sonata, right now!” he turned his gaze towards the knob prompting him to jump up to grasp it, but his hooves easily slip off, unable to hold onto. He kept going for a while even though every attempt ended in failure.

“I’m sorry for biting you, alright? Just open the door, I’m freezing!” he yelled, now slamming himself against the door out of frustration and desperation to make as much noise as possible that would catch Sonata’s attention. He tried over and over, but with the cold, the wetness, and self-harm, it was only in a matter of time till he inevitably tired himself out. But above it all, he was frightened and on the end of his rope.

“Sonata,” he asked softly, his voice sore from all of the yelling, as he laid his head against the door. “Please… please open the door. It’s cold,”

Aria rubbed his hooves over his body to warm up, but it was no use. He was still wet, and it’s getting colder by the minute. His breath was visible, his teeth still chattering, and his body won’t stop shivering. Feeling tired and sleepy, his eyelids getting heavy and his legs no longer able to hold him up, Aria saw no other choice but to lie down in front of the door and curl up into a ball.

‘Come on, Adagio, get home already!’

His eyelids beat once, twice, and then three times before fully closing shut.

‘Please come home. I'm so cold…’

-

Adagio let out an annoyed sigh as she drove down the street, front lights on to light her way. For a while everything was going fine on her day out, but it wasn’t until earlier this evening that there was news report of a possible snow storm coming in tonight, and with not wanting to have the car be stuck in snow and leave the two imbeciles at home wondering where she is, she can call off the rest of her date with Gentry and head on home.

Easily looking out the window she could see the snowflakes already coming down to warrant using her windshield wipers. The sky was now shrouded in the darkness of night, the sun fully set over the horizon.

‘Thanks, Old Man Winter. As always, you’ve been such a big help.’

She reached into her purse and pulled out her phone, dialing the house and then putting it up to her ear. It rang for a while, but no one was picking up, prompting another sigh from her mouth. Well, it wasn’t that much of a deal anyway; she was almost around the corner where their house would be. Steering to the right at the intersection, she pulled up onto their home street, being greeted by the lights of the homes of their neighbors, including some who haven’t taken down their holiday decorations yet.

The house was just up ahead, but the closer she came to it, a sense of dread quickly crept over her. All the lights in the house were out.

“Oh no…”

-

All the phones ringing inside the house woke Sonata up from her sleep. Her drowsiness made her too slow to answer them, and there was no voice messages left either. Suddenly her body tensed up from the extreme cold she was feeling throughout her room.

“Why is it so chilly in here?” she asked herself as she got out of bed. Walking into the hallway exposed her to the darkness that surrounded the house. Immediately, she flipped the switch on, relieved to now having light illuminating the second floor. That relief, however, was short-lived when Sonata realized how quiet it was, as if she was in the house all alone.

“Aria?” she asked out loud, opening her fellow siren’s bedroom door, not bothering to ask for permission first. It too was dark, but after switching the light on, she found the place to be empty, no little pony in site. “Aria?” she called again as she looked around the room, checking every corner and place she could think of, but her search was fruitless.

“Aria, where are you?” Sonata was now scared and worried for her little friend. She started checking the entire second floor, flipping all the lights on and searching every nook and cranny she can find, and yet Aria still couldn’t be found; and the less fruitless her search became, the more scared and worried she became.

The entire second floor was searched and she was completely empty handed. “Aria, answer me, please! Aria!” she started to panic, her breathing increasing and her eyes slowly starting to well up as if she could cry at any moment. Her ears caught the sound of a car pulling up into the driveway outside. “Oh no, Adagio is home! How long was I asleep for?”

There was no doubt in Sonata’s mind that she will certainly get in trouble for what happened earlier between her and Aria, but somehow it didn’t matter to her anymore; she needs to find her friend and she needs all the help she can get. Sonata made sure to double-check everything on the second floor before heading downstairs. Flipping the switches on in the living room and kitchen, the girl scoured her eyes throughout the place, hoping with all her might that they would find Aria somewhere. “Aria, where are you! Don’t do this to me! I need you to be okay! Aria!”

Adagio’s footsteps were heard just outside the front door. Swallowing her pride, if she ever had any to boast about, Sonata ran to the door and threw it open. “Adagio, Aria’s gone missing and I can’t find him anywhere! Please, you’ve got to help me! I… I…”

Seeing her leader’s face had left her speechless. Adagio stood still in the doorway, her face pale, eyes widened, and lips slightly parted; it was as if she had just seen a ghost, until Sonata’s eyes noticed that she was holding something in her arms. It was a small creature-no, she knew exactly who it was.

“No,” Sonata gasped, feeling as if the world has gone dark, all of their senses focusing on the small pony in Adagio’s arms. She slowly reached out to touch the familiar fuchsia-colored pony, feeling the cold, soaked fur against her fingers, and then gently pressed them against his little body.

His eyes were shut.

“No,” her head was slowly moving side to side, as if trying to deny the reality before her.

He wasn’t breathing.

“No, no, no…” Sonata’s lips quivered, her teeth gritting, and her head shaking faster and more frantically. Panic was setting in, her voice cracking up, and her eyes couldn’t hold back the tears.

He wasn’t moving.

“ARIA-!”

Author's Notes:

Finally back to this story now.
I'm sorry that this update took so long to make, stuff everywhere was taking up my time, and now I have a cramp in my hand. I'm also sorry that this chapter is shorter than the other ones, due to lack of material to work with.