Adagio stretched as she popped her spine, striding out into the kitchen in the dead of night to fetch herself some water. As she was digging through the fridge, she heard a sniffle and shot upright. Whirling around, she saw Aria sitting on her couch, curled up in a ball and quivering.

“Aria?” she asked softly as she approached, “Something wrong?”

“I’m fine… just,” Aria sat up a bit, sniffling and hugging herself, “I was having this dream, and it was making me think of my birth mother.”

“What happened?” Adagio asked softly as she sat down next to her and wrapped her arms around her.

Snuggling into her, Aria sniffled and let out a little sob, “I dreamt I saw her standing over me like a giant. Telling me all the horrible things she said to me since childhood. And I… I realized… she never loved me. When she first said it that time she was here, I didn’t think much about it. I was even satisfied because then I didn’t have to feel guilty about resenting her. But now, I… I realized… she never loved me. Never!”

Adagio gently squeezed her shoulders and ran her fingers down through her hair, “You poor thing… it’s horrible, I know. You deserved so much better than her. Me and Sona have had bad parents but… that woman is just… horrible.”

Aria wiped her eyes a bit, “I just… I always thought mother never knew how to love, maybe just didn’t know how to express it because it was illogical to her. But now that I see the truth... she doesn’t care about me at all. She treated having kids like… a job. Like raising plant life.”

Adagio made soft shushing sounds in Aria’s ear as she stroked her hair, “I know. I was here when she said it. Oh, that made me so mad. How could anybody treat you that way?”

“Apparently she gets away with it simply for being the woman who expelled me from the birth canal,” Aria muttered.

“Not anymore,” Adagio purred softly, “If she ever comes near you again, she’s going to have to deal with me.”

Looking up at her a little, Aria sniffled and snuggled more into her, “Thanks, Ma… I don’t ever want to see her again! Ever!”

“You won’t. I promise,” Adagio whispered softly, “She can never hurt you again.”

“Sounds good to me,” Aria wiped her eyes again, “Anyway… sorry I got out of bed like that. I didn’t want to end up bothering you with this.”

“Oh sweetie, you can bother me with this any time,” Adagio whispered, kissing Aria’s cheek, “That’s what Mommy’s here for.”

Aria smiled now, kissing her cheek, “You’re right… Next time, I’ll just tell you what’s going on. If I can muster it up, anyway.”

“That’s my girl,” Adagio smiled as she kissed Aria’s cheek, “Do you wanna go back to bed or do you wanna stay out here for a bit?”

“I’m good, we can go back to bed…” Aria yawned a bit, “Poor Sonata must be curled up all cold and lonely.”

Adagio snickered, hoisting Aria into her arms, bridal-style, “Mmhmm, probably. That girl is so skinny she doesn’t hold any heat on her own.”

Aria giggled and nuzzled her, “I could use a little cuddle bug…”

Adagio giggled and kissed her cheek as she carried her back into the bedroom, setting her down next to Sonata, “There we go…”

“Yay,” Aria snuggled Sonata like a teddy bear, giggling, “Aw, she snuggles up in her sleep. That’s adorable.”

“Mmhmm…” Adagio smiled as she snuggled up behind Aria, “Sonata’s like a big kitty most nights.”

“Mmmm… This is the life,” Aria closed her eyes, “Night, Ma….”

“Goodnight, sweetie,” Adagio smiled, kissing the back of her head, “Mommy loves you.”

“Love you too, Ma.”

“...And don’t come back!” Adagio snarled as she tossed a patron out of the club while two waitresses tended to the patron he had attempted to drug.

“Screw you and your little balls, too!” Sonata yelled after him.

Adagio returned to the bar and gave the patron a glass of water, “Here we go, sweetie. Just sit there and breathe deeply.”

“Th…” The woman managed a drink of water, taking a breath or two, “Thank you…”

“Hey, don’t worry! You’re safe here, especially from now on!” Sonata came into view, “I’m sorry that meanie pants was being such a giant douche! But you’ll be okay, now! Because you’ve got us!” She placed a clown nose onto her nose, “See?”

While the patron was a bit surprised by the display, she managed a tiny smile, “Thank you.”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. Nothing will actually hurt you inside these walls. I watch my patrons like a hawk,” Adagio ensured as she refilled her water.

“Nobody gets past Mommy Radar!” Sonata declared, “Not one Douchey McAsshole ever got away with it!”

“This has… happened before?” the patron asked.

“Thirteen attempts to date,” Adagio explained, “Zero successful. I always catch them.”

Sonata nodded, sitting down next to the patron and gently patting her shoulders, “Oh yes! So rest assured, my dear sweet lady! They may try, but Adagio always catches them! We’ve got a lot of security cameras set up, and a few hidden ones, especially around the bar.”

“This club is a safe place for everybody,” Adagio smiled as she kissed the patron on the top of the head.

The woman blushed a bit, sipping her water, “I… can’t thank you all enough for this. I felt scared, but, I’m glad I can back here. I love it… At least I won’t feel scared anymore.”

“That’s good!” Sonata gave her a hug, “We always want it to be a safe and fun place! So don’t you worry about a thing! It’s all gonna be okay!”

“Now, how about I get you something to eat?” Adagio asked, “On the house!”

“Oh, I-I couldn’t accept that! I’ll pay!” The woman said with surprise.

“Nonsense! It’s my treat. I insist!” Adagio smiled, patting her back.

The woman gave a smile, “Well, okay. If you insist.”

“Yay!” Sonata hugged her again, “Anything else we can do to help, just say the word!”

As Adagio moved behind the bar to fix the patron a plate of fries, Sunset snuck up behind her and whispered into her ear. “This is getting worse. That’s the fourth time this week that somebody’s almost been drugged.”

“I know,” Adagio whispered back, “If this happens again, I’m going to have to make an example of whatever poor sap tries it.”

“That’ll help,” Sunset agreed, giving her a nuzzle, “Anything we can do to heighten security?”

“I suppose I can keep a bouncer by the bar,” Adagio suggested, “Also I’m going to get you a taser.”

“A taser?” Sunset said with surprise, “Really? I’ve never used one before!”

“It’s just like a gun only less blood and murder,” Adagio shrugged as she set the plate in front of the patron, “Here you are, sweetie,” she turned back to Sunset Shimmer, “I swear, the next little twerp that tries this, I’m going to paint the bar with his face.”

“If I had my dad’s pepper ball gun, I’d use that, too!” Sunset giggled.

“Sounds fun,” Adagio smiled cheekily as she wrapped her arms around Sunset’s waist and nuzzled her.

“Mm-hmm,” Sunset nuzzled her back and smiled.

Adagio glanced back to see Sonata entertaining the patron and smiled, turning back to Sunset and kissing her cheek, “I swear I need a vacation. Just take my babies somewhere out of the city for a week or so.”

“Ooh, you definitely should!” Sunset brightened at this, “I think you mentioned that you wanted to take them to Canterlot?”

Adagio nodded, “Mmhmm. We have friends there and there’s all sorts of museums that Aria wants to visit.”

“That might just be your ticket! It’ll be nice for you guys to just go out of town together, like a nice family vacation.”

Adagio smiled and nibbled just under Sunset’s chin, “Think you can handle being in charge for a whole week?”

“Well, as the manager, I believe that I should be able to run the place if you’re gone,” Sunset smiled, “I think I can do it! No, I know I can. I’m ready for it!”

“Wonderful! I’m going to plan a vacation for next week, I’ll leave you in charge and you can stay upstairs while we’re gone,” Adagio grinned, kissing Sunset’s cheek.

“Great, then I’ll house-sit for you and make sure the place is clean when you girls come back!” Sunset hugged her.

Adagio mewled happily, turning back to the bar, “Sona-baby, we’re taking a vacation to Canterlot next week!”

“Yaaaaaay!” Sonata danced, clapping happily.

“Go find Aria and tell her,” Adagio smiled brightly, “Then you can go play with the patrons some more.”

“Yes! I will!” Sonata winked, and hurried upstairs.

“Did you really need to send her upstairs now?” Sunset asked in confusion.

Adagio pursed her lips and pointed toward the front door, where Sonata’s father and birth mother had just walked in.

“...You have got to be kidding me,” Sunset groaned.

“To be fair, we haven’t heard from them in two years,” Adagio shrugged as she waved them over with an exasperated sigh, “Frankly I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces when they hear Sonata call me Mommy.”

“You know what? I have to see this,” Sunset smiled, “I’d love to see them freak out.”

“Sona should be back down in about thirty seconds,” Adagio snickered as Sonata’s parents approached the bar, “Mr and Mrs Dusk,” she greeted.

“Miss Dazzle,” said Mr. Dusk.

“It has been a long time,” Mrs. Dusk murmured.

“About two years to be precise,” Adagio smirked as she heard the pattering of Sonata returning.

“We wanted to talk to our daughter,” Mrs. Dusk stated, “Perhaps the time apart and cooling down will have helped a bit.”

“Mommy! I just told Aria and she’s over the-” Sonata paused upon seeing that her parents were standing right there. Almost immediately, the colour drained from her face and she stood rigid, “What are you two doing here?!”

“Your parents came to visit. Wanted to talk to you,” Adagio said, a smirk directed toward the two of them as she drew Sonata behind the bar and sat her onto her lap.

“No!” Sonata shook her head, “I said what I wanted to and I don’t care!”

“Sonata, please,” her mother pleaded kindly, “Look… we were unfair and judgemental before. But we would like to talk about all of this like adults.”

“Mmph!” Sonata buried her face in Adagio’s neck, shaking her head.

“Why don’t we go upstairs?” Adagio suggested as she hoisted Sonata onto her hip and carried her toward the apartment door.

Both parents exchanged surprised glances as they followed.

“...How in the world are you able to carry her like that?” Mr. Dusk asked, not sure how to take it.

“Plenty of practise,” Adagio smiled, patting her rear, “Also these hips don’t hurt either.”

They reached the apartment, to which Aria looked up and froze from where she was.

“...What’s going on?”

“Sona’s parents are here,” Adagio remarked, “Could we have some privacy, Ari-baby?”

“Sure, I guess,” Aria frowned in skepticism, but otherwise gathered her books and went into the bedroom.

Adagio sat down on the sofa, cradling Sonata in her lap as she invited her parents to sit down, “Please, sit.”

The Dusks sat down, watching them with surprised eyes, and shifting a bit.

“So… how are things?” Mrs. Dusk managed to say.

“They’re alright. My girls are happy, the club is thriving, and I just hired a new manager,” Adagio said politely, “Yourself?”

“Quite well,” said Mr. Dusk.

“And Sonata?”

Sonata pursed her lips and looked away, crossing her arms, “No.”

“Sona, don’t be a cranky-pants,” Adagio cooed as she patted her back, “At least not until they’ve done something to warrant being a cranky-pants.”

“Sonata,” Mr. Dusk spoke up, his tone a bit cracked, “we’re sorry about what happened.”

“We truly are,” Mrs. Dusk chimed in, “We know that the next little while can’t make up for all the years of neglect. But we just want to talk to you. We know in our hearts that we do not want to cut you out of our lives. We love you, sweetheart.”

“I’m just sorry if you forgot that, we both are,” her father murmured with a sad sigh.

Sonata pursed her lips, showing signs of faltering in her resolve, “Well... I… ngh! Now you decide to care?!”

Adagio gently ran her fingers through Sonata’s hair as she held her close, “It’s okay sweetie, they just want to talk. Nothing can hurt you while Mommy’s here,” she whispered softly.

“...I beg your pardon, but, ‘Mommy’?” Mrs. Dusk said with a confused look.

“Yes, Mommy! Adagio is my Mommy!” Sonata clung to her with a pout, “More than you ever were!”

Mrs. Dusk’s eyes widened, but then she took a deep breath, “I see. Well, if you want to call her that, it’s fine.”

Adagio said nothing as she continued to stroke Sonata’s hair,  kissing her cheek. Glancing up at Mrs Dusk, she could see that the woman was fighting to hold back tears. Unlike Aria’s mother, hearing that her daughter saw someone else as a mother clearly hurt.

“Sonata,” her father spoke up then, his voice calm, “we understand that things won’t get better overnight. We don’t expect them to. I think we all, your mother and I especially, have said some things we regret.”

“That’s the nice way of putting it,” Sonata said sourly, “Okay, who’s putting you up to it? What PR director is telling you this? Hmm? What’s going on? What kind of image needs to be saved before-”

“Sonata, please,” Mrs. Dusk cut her off, her voice gentle, “There’s nothing like that. We just want to find a way to work this out with you. I can understand you not believing us…”

Sonata sniffled, looking away, “Whatever… Just… not now!”

“Mr and Mrs Dusk, you may not like it, you may not want to hear it, but what you did to Sonata was child abuse,” Adagio said firmly as she rocked Sonata in her lap, “And that could have ended very badly. When I met her, she was catching a bus over to the bridge to jump-”

Sonata jerked up in surprise, but Adagio patted her head back down to her shoulder.

“-so you can forgive her if she’s not feeling very forgiving right now,” she continued, “That sort of thing doesn’t simply go away. It’s going to be up to her if she wants you in her life or not.”

Both her parents looked stricken, her mother especially, before they then sighed. Standing up, Mr. Dusk gave a light nod as he helped his wife up.

“All right, then. We’ll leave you alone, Sonata,” he said, his voice cracking slightly.

“If you do truly do want to, we’ll… we’ll…” Her mother couldn’t finish and took a breath, “We’ll take this on your own terms.”

With a farewell, the both of them quietly left, closing the door behind them. Adagio hit the button by her couch that sealed the bottom door and stood up, opening the upper door and calling back down.

“Hold on, come back up here, I wasn’t finished,” she said, returning to the sofa, “Sonata, I want you to talk to them.”

Sonata mewled in protest.

“Sonata, I want you to talk to them today,” Adagio said, more firmly, “And when all is said and done they will not bother you again until you decide you’re ready to. Alright?”

“....Fine!” Sonata crossed her arms, “But I want to talk to them myself.”

“You want me to leave?” Adagio asked.

Sonata looked away, “No, but I think I should do it alone. You can… I don’t know, watch from nearby or something.”

“Okay, sweetie,” Adagio said softly as Mr and Mrs Dusk came back through the door. Adagio sat down in Aria’s armchair, just to the side of Sonata but leaving Sonata to sit by herself.

“Okay,” Sonata took a breath, “Mom, Dad, don’t talk, listen.”

Both her parents nodded, looking at her attentively.

“Adagio’s right. I did want to jump. I wanted to run away and be free for a while, but then, I just wanted to jump. So I could make my own choice about my life! Because I was sick of everything! Kids at school being asscracks and you guys ignoring me! And worst of all, I didn’t even know why! What did I ever do to anyone?! I get I can be annoying and a little loud, but who’s perfect? I’m not! And I’m sick of you guys pressuring me to be more ‘useful’! I made my choice and I wanted to be useful on my own terms!” Sonata half-yelled, tears in her eyes, “And now you come back! I thought… I thought I knew for sure that you didn’t care about me! And now here you are! I… just stop confusing me! I don’t know what you want from me!”

“Sonata, we…” Mrs Dusk sniffled as Adagio leaned forward and offered her a tissue. She took it and wiped her eyes, “We love you. You’re… you’re our baby girl. We just… we thought you were fine. That… that it was just normal high school drama and it would pass… but then you vanished… and we were worried sick and we couldn’t find a trace of you.”

She pressed her knuckles to her lips as she shivered and tried to keep from sobbing.

“We’re so sorry, sweetheart. We didn’t want to hurt you. And we didn’t want to lose you either. When Aria told us you were alive, we… we were just so happy we rushed out here as soon as we could…”

Sonata wiped her eyes, shaking a little bit.

“And yet, we behaved poorly,” her father sighed, placing a hand on his wife’s shoulder, “I can’t even believe what we said. Had my parents spoken to me in that manner, I would have cut the apron strings, as well.”

Adagio reached over and handed Sonata her handkerchief, gently patting her leg.

“...Why did you change your mind?” her father asked.

“What?”

“You said you wanted to jump… what changed your mind?”

Sniffling, Sonata looked down as she wiped her eyes with the handkerchief, “That same day, while I was waiting for the bus… that was when I met Adagio. She… She was… there for me, she helped me, listened to me, treated me like a person… And I… yeah, I did get really attached to her since I was vulnerable. But still, I really liked her company so much. It just… helped me a lot, and I felt… like I could make my life better.”

Mrs Dusk sniffled and wiped her eyes as she glanced at Adagio, “I… I suppose we owe you an apology too… you saved our daughter’s life… twice.”

Adagio smiled a little, reaching over and gently patting Sonata’s shoulder.

“Though running away was… reckless, I suppose I can understand a little more as to why you did,” Mr. Dusk murmured, “We sought counseling soon after we returned from our...disastrous encounters. You can say it was very much an eye-opener for both of us.”

Sonata looked at them with shock, “...You really did that? ...You always said you never needed counseling…”

“It turns out, we needed it more than ever,” Mr. Dusk admitted.

Mrs Dusk made a motion toward Sonata, but stopped herself when Adagio looked at her firmly, “Sonata… we almost lost you. We’ll do anything not to go through that again. We love you so much…”

Letting out a sniffle, Sonata shook as she wiped her eyes again, “I… I… I don’t know… what to do or think anymore…”

Adagio quietly leaned over and kissed Sonata’s cheek, briefly nuzzling her before she drew back.

“...Sweetheart, we… we want you back in our life,” her mother said softly, “We want to make up for what we’ve done to you…”

“But like we said,” Mr. Dusk murmured, “we won’t rush you. I can’t even imagine how hard this is for you. We’re sorry, bun.”

Looking downward as she wiped her eyes, Sonata sighed heavily, “... I wanna think about it. Then I’ll call you one day. I remember our home number. Don’t call me. I’ll call you.”

Mr and Mrs Dusk both nodded as they stood up.

“Can… can I have a hug, sweetie?” Mrs Dusk asked quietly.

Sonata looked up at them, shaking. After a moment or two, she remained still. But then she shot up and threw her arms around her mother, sobbing. Mrs Dusk broke down into tears as she wrapped her arms around her daughter, burying her face into Sonata’s shoulder and clinging tightly to her. Both Mr Dusk and Adagio backed away, giving the two of them some space.

For a little while, the two remained this way. Mr. Dusk came over to them, bringing his arms around both of them. Sonata didn’t flinch or recoil, but did sob a little more as she burrowed more into them. Adagio smiled as she watched from a few feet away as the family slowly slunk down to the floor, huddled together in a tight embrace. Mrs Dusk looked up at her, and extended her hand.

Adagio smiled and took it, moving to shake her hand when she was wrenched to the floor and into the group hug.

Aria smiled to herself as she closed the bedroom door very quietly.

Sonata’s sobs lessened after a while, becoming sniffles. She especially felt comforted upon feeling Adagio’s presence (and smelling her perfume) joining in on the moment. Adagio snaked her arms around Sonata’s waist and held tightly to her as she nuzzled into her hair and quietly whispered, “Mommy’s here…”

They soon all parted, no one speaking a word, but were sharing sad smiles. Sonata wiped her eyes, exhaling in a relaxed manner. She looked to Adagio gratefully and snuggled against her. Adagio happily accepted the snuggle and pulled her back onto the sofa and into her lap.

“Now… does everyone feel just a little bit better?” Adagio asked.

“...Yeah…” Sonata admitted.

“Very much so,” Mr. Dusk nodded, wiping a tear from his eye.

Adagio smiled as she kissed Sonata’s cheek, “Alright… it’s time for you two to go.”

Mr. and Mrs. Dusk respectfully nodded, offering farewells as they departed. Sonata waved, weakly, and then relaxed a little more as the door closed.

“That was…” Sonata leaned back a bit, unsure what to say.

Adagio tightened her grip on Sonata’s waist and kissed her cheek, “Unexpected?”

“...Yeah, that works,” Sonata nodded and snuggled against her.

Adagio squeezed her tighter and laid back on the couch, “Are you gonna be okay, sweetie?”

“I think so…” Sonata nodded again, exhaling, “I guess it’s just a lot to take in.”

“...They do love you,” Adagio whispered, kissing her forehead.

Sonata sniffled, “You really think so? I want to believe it, but I almost don’t know if I should.”

“I think they do,” Adagio whispered, “The way your mother was crying? I’ve only seen that once before.”

“You have? Where?”

Adagio was quiet for a minute, “...Me. When you got really sick and thought I was going to leave you, so you started calling me Adagio instead of Mommy… that actually really hurt.”

Looking incredibly sad, Sonata hugged her tighter and sniffled, “I’m still sorry, Mommy! I was being stupid! So stupid! I didn’t mean to make you so sad! Did I make you cry? Noooo! I’m sorry! I won’t make you cry ever again! I love you!”

“I love you too, sweetie,” Adagio smiled, deciding not to tell Sonata about the only other time she’d been brought to tears as she patted her back, “Mommy loves you so much.”

Sonata whimpered and nuzzled into her shoulder, shaking a little bit. Moments later, Aria peeked out of the bedroom.

“Can I come out now?”

“Yes, you can come out,” Adagio smiled, “Sorry about that, Ari-baby.”

Aria came out, closing the door behind her and joining them on the couch, “Eh, don’t be sorry. I eavesdropped on the entire thing.”

Sonata peeked at her, then giggled, “Really?”

“Yeah. You know, I was too curious.”

“That’s fine, we just needed the living room to ourselves,” Adagio smiled, reaching over and patting Aria’s leg.

“You’re really lucky, Sonata,” Aria pet her hair, “Your parents definitely love you. They just… yeah, made some sucky choices. Trust me, I know when a parent doesn’t love their kid.”

Adagio opened her other arm and beckoned Aria into the hug, “C’mere sweetie.”

“Wait, what?” Sonata blinked.

“Ohhh, right,” Aria snuggled up against Adagio, “I didn’t exactly tell you, did I?”

“Aria’s mother was here a few weeks ago and flat out said that she didn’t love her daughter,” Adagio said, her voice tainted with venom.

“What?!” Sonata shot up, “Oh HELL no! Where is she?! Does she still live in that boring house?! Lemme at her! I’ll go over there and slap her silly with her own medical magazine!”

“Sonata, calm down!” Adagio said firmly, “I already did all of that. She left this club with a broken nose.”

“Oh yeah?! Yay!” Sonata cheered, sitting back down.

“Thanks for the offer, though,” Aria nuzzled her, “Don’t worry. I’ll get over it. Besides, I got you guys. What more do I need?”

“There we go,” Adagio smiled, kissing Aria’s hair as her hand reached down to pat her rear.

“Oh yes! With us, you get all the love!” Sonata rhythmically patted her palms against Aria’s rear like bongos.

Adagio giggled and kissed Sonata’s cheek, “You’re adorable, sweetie.”

“And apparently my ass is drums,” Aria said dryly.

“You love it,” Adagio giggled, kissing Aria’s nose.

Aria snickered. Sonata giggled and lay over her, nuzzling her hair.

“Maybe,” Aria said with a smile.

“Mommy’ll have to take care of you later,” Adagio giggled as she squeezed Aria’s rear.

“And how, pray tell, are you going to do that, Ma?”

Adagio wriggled her fingers and smirked, “It’s been a while since I poked around in that cute little bum of yours.”

“Oh, is that so?” Aria quirked an eyebrow.

“Oooh, it has been a while!” Sonata grinned, “Might want to fix that!”

Adagio giggled as she squeezed Aria’s rear tighter and tugged her closer, kissing along the bridge of her nose, “I do.”

“Then let’s go!” Sonata immediately shot up and grinned widely.

Adagio grinned as she stood up, tugging Aria into the bedroom by her shirt collar, “Come on, sweetie. Mommy wants to play…” Next Chapter: Dysfunctional But Still Close Knit Family Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 15 Minutes