"That bad, huh?" Sunset leaned back against the coffee shop booth's upholstery, slinging her arm over the back, with Adagio sitting on a chair on the other side. The air around them was cold and acrid, and both of them could feel it dancing around them as they tried to get comfortable.

"Yeah." Adagio sighed, sliding her hand across the table. "Don't get me wrong, Aria and Sonata are valuable assets to the team, but they're really starting to lose it. Aria, I can understand because she's got Sonata's genes now, but as for Sonata, she's supposed to be me now. It's like she's just tossing my incredible wit and charm to the street in favor of being more like Pinkie Pie."

"Well, I kinda wish I could help you, but then I keep having memories of the Battle of the Bands, and that really wasn't the best of times for any of us." Sunset made jaws out of her fingers and lowered her eyes to the table. "See, Adagio, I'm a believer that everyone deserves a second chance, but you and the other Dazzlings have been less than willing to change ever since. And now, I get the feeling that trying to reform you ourselves isn't gonna be an option either, given how much the other girls seem to freak out whenever you're around."

"First impressions are a bitch, aren't they?" Adagio puffed air out of her nose.

"Yeah. They kinda are." Sunset Shimmer kicked up her feet and rolled her eyes. "I can relate, Adagio."

"When you first start out as a monster, no-one wants to help you change yourself right when you want to change the most." Adagio watched as a waitress served both her and Sunset hot chocolate. "Thank you, miss."

"Oh, it's no problem, dear," said the waitress before walking off.

"Anyways, as I was saying." Adagio put her fingertips on the mug and made circles around the rim. "I know we've not really been the best of girls and you and the Rainbooms do have every right to be angry at us for it, but right now, we're in some really deep shit here with Aria and Sonata." She sighed and peered into the frothy mixture. "I just want us to be back in our normal bodies so that we can just move on with our lives and get out of your hairs once and for all. But I've got no idea on how to change us back to normal or if we can survive without driving each other crazy. That's why I came to you, Sunset. You're the only one I can trust out of the Rainbooms to help us out."

Sunset let out a weary sigh and took a gulp of her hot chocolate. "Adagio, I appreciate the amount of thought that you're putting into this, but I need to know that you and the other sirens are gonna stay true to your words." She gently put the drink down and wiped away the froth on her upper lips. "I mean, we can't just put you back to normal and let you keep draining negative emotions like this. You're just gonna go back to your old ways if we do."

"I'll admit, you're right about that." Adagio slowly took a drink of her hot chocolate, feeling the tiny marshmallows bounce against her teeth and the whipped cream land on her mouth. Once she was done, she put it down and peaked out the window. "The snake can't be tamed, regardless of the owner. We're always gonna have to live off of conflicts and fury. That's just who we are, Sunset. We've made the bed and we must lie in it."

The girls just sat there in silence, listening to the pattering footsteps of other customers, the reverberations of their conversations echoing across the walls. Sounds from the machines in the back added to the small melody of background noise as Mr. and Mrs. Cake served more and more people.

"How long has it been since we've first met, Sunset?" Adagio put her hands on the table, feeling her hair pressing against her shoulders. "Half a year? Couple of months? Time really does fly."

"Adagio? Out of all the things in this world, why do you and your girls choose to be evil?" Sunset leaned forward. "You could've just as easily used your powers to help make the world a better place; to inspire people to be their best and push them to reaching their goals. But instead, you've taken your singing magic to a darker place, and use it to con people into throwing stupid little hissy fits over the smallest things."

"Sunset. If you know what it was like to live in Equestria, then you know exactly why we turned into evil seahorse creatures." Adagio twisted her wrist.

"I've been looking that up in history class, and the correct term is actually hippocampus," said Sunset Shimmer. "A hybrid of horse and seahorse, these creatures pulled Poseidon's chariot across the seas of—"

"I didn't ask for a fact-checking seminar, Sunset. I asked for help." Adagio grunted and crossed her arms. When she realized her brutish behaviour, she let out another groan and rubbed her forehead. "I'm sorry. This whole body-swap issue is getting to me too. I'm becoming pig-headed, angry, whatever term you wanna use. It's not like me at all to just burst out in fits like this."

"Maybe there's more to this whole thing than meets the eye..." Sunset stroked her chin with the fingers on her left hand, thinking about everything Adagio had said. "Where did you girls get these new pendants in the first place? Doesn't seem like that kind of magic can be replicated unless you go back home."

"Oh! Well, uh..." Adagio had been bogged down with so much stress before that it was a challenge for her to remember where she and the others had found their new gemstones. It took her a long time to find the answer, but once she retraced her steps mentally, she could envision the store she had bought it from. "Oh yeah! Now, I remember. It was that pawn shop down the road from the mexican restaurant."

"You mean Discord's Deviously Delightful Deals?" Sunset tilted her head. "Isn't that owned by the crazy old man who loves to cause mischief?"

"I don't know much about the guy who sold it to us, other than the fact that he had somehow managed to get perfect copies of our jewels without ever coming to CHS or any of our other little power trips." Adagio looked down at her pendant and held it out, letting it gleam in the light of the lamps above. "Actually, now that I think about it, it's very weird... Who was that guy? And why was he so eager to part with these crystals if he knew all about them?"

"Something's not right here." Sunset immediately stood up from the booth and took another drink of the hot chocolate. "Adagio, if we're gonna get to the bottom of this little mess, then we need to go to this little pawn shop and see if that gem's really all it's cracked up to be."

"Sunset, what if this was all some sort of cheap trick?" Adagio stood up as well and took another drink. "For all we know, this old man might've skipped town by now and took all of his junk with him."

"Still, we're not gonna get anywhere else unless we at least try it." Sunset gulped the rest of the drink and laid it down on the counter. "Plus, you wanna change back to normal, right? This is one of the best ways to go about it."

"I suppose it is." Adagio finished off her own drink, leaving behind all of the marshmallows and cream as she laid her mug down. "Come on, Sunset. Let's go find this crazy old coot."

Aria and Sonata both giggled as they skipped down the road, dressed in pink beanies, shirts, scarves, skirts, shoes, and even socks. Both of them had shopping bags hanging off of their arms, chocked to the brim with stuff that they had earned from the shopkeepers. Truly, it seemed like Aria had slipped so far into Sonata's body that she had lost herself once and for all, while Sonata was trying her hardest not to become like Adagio, despite her new form.

"O.M.G. Sonata, this was the greatest thing that ever happened to us!" Aria beamed from ear to ear. "I never thought that being stuck in your body would be so much fun!"

"Aw, I'm glad you're enjoying it, Aria." Sonata smiled and clutched her bags tighter. "I mean, I'm gonna turn into Dagi sooner or later, so we might as well have all the fun we can before I become a tougher girl."

"Speaking of which, where is she?" Aria looked around, but found no traces of her leader. "She kinda blew a gasket and I've got no clue where she is..."

"Oh, I'm sure she'll come back soon," said Sonata. "She's supposed to be our leader, and even though she gave the job to you for the week, then this thing happened and you're becoming me and she's becoming you and I'm becoming her..." She stopped and blinked for a few seconds. "Actually, that's a lot to take in when I put it like that."

"Hey, don't worry, Nata, I got it." Aria gave Sonata another goofy little grin and turned the corner. "Plus, I'm kinda glad that Dagi's getting my bad traits and you're getting her good ones. I bet you'll make a great leader some day."

"Thanks for that, Ari!" Sonata kissed into her hand and blew it to Aria, who leapt up and caught it, almost throwing everything out of the bags as she landed.

"Got it!" Aria giggled.

As both Aria and Sonata walked down the corner, they ended up bumping into the rest of the Rainbooms, who also had a lot of shopping in their own hands. From make-up to pet food and even sports equipment, it was all practically bulging out of the girls' bags.

"Oh, hey, girls." Sonata gave the girls a smile and waved at them. "How's it hangin'?"

"Wait... are you for real, girls?" Rainbow Dash lowered her brows and put her hands on her hip. "Why are you so happy about seeing us?"

"Something's not right, Rainbow." Applejack put her hand on Rainbow's shoulders. "Ah say we stay on guard. Ain't no tellin' what them two can do ta us."

"I dunno, girls. These two look pretty good to me." Pinkie Pie set down her shopping and came up to both Aria and Sonata with a smile of her own. "Lovin' the color co-ordination there, girls. Pink's always good this time of year."

"Pinkie!" Rarity fumed from the sidelines.

"What? I only said it as a compliment, Rares." Pinkie just shrugged at her and pulled out a pink headband from her hair. "Plus, c'mon, you've gotta try this out. It's super-duper snug and fluffy. Almost like wearing a pillow on your head." And with nothing else to say, she strapped a pink headband on Rarity's head.

"Ooh... I'd give Pinkie Pie a piece of my mind if not for the Dazzlings being here..." Rarity took the band off and tossed it to the street.

"Girls. I don't know these girls, so I think it's best that you let me handle this." Twilight pushed through the other Rainbooms and walked up to the two sirens. "I've seen the way you've all been acting and it's not healthy. You need to let this whole thing go. What could be so bad about these two girls?"

"Twilight, didn't we go over this, like, a thousand times already?" Rainbow Dash slapped her hand to her face and vigorously rubbed her forehead. "They. Are. The. Dazzlings. The. Sirens. That. Nearly. Ruined. Our. Friendship. And. Enslaved. Canterlot. HIGH!" She stomped forward and threw her hands down with every word, until she was right in Twilight's face, throwing her arms behind her as she screamed loudly.

"You especially, Rainbow." Twilight didn't move an inch, not even when Rainbow Dash's nose was practically touching her own. She booped Rainbow on the nose and made her stumble backwards before turning to face the two sirens. "I'm sorry about my friends, girls. They're still a bit sour over seeing you again."

"Oh, it's no biggie, Not-Twilight." Sonata chuckled.

"Yeah, Not-Twilight," added Aria. "We were just gonna find Dagi then head back home. No need to worry about us."

"Alright then. It's good to know that we ca—wait. Did you just call me Not-Twilight?" Twilight squinted and jabbed a finger at the two of them.

"Yeah. You're Twilight Sparkle, but you're not the Twilight from Equestria, so, you're Twilight, but at the same time, you're not Twilight, hence, we're gonna call you Not-Twilight." Sonata just held a toothy smile.

"Just because I'm not the same as a horse-me in another world doesn't mean that I'm not Twilight." Twilight put her hands to her hips. "In fact, I very much doubt the other me can work on phase-shifting technology, basic matter transportation, lithium-charged generators, and photo-electricity."

"They're just trying to get under your skin, Twilight." Rarity came up to Twilight and pulled her back. "Just like them. They don't care about anyone and so they just do all this nasty teasing to make you spit up an argument, just so they can profit off of your misery!" She slowly revolved her head to face the sirens and snarled, "What bottom feeders you are..."

Both Aria and Sonata gasped at the insult and dropped their bags on the ground. Everything that Rarity had said was true, but they had never really taken it as an insult until now. Their hands began to tremble.

"Girls! That was just uncalled for!" Twilight shouted, breaking free of Rarity's grab. "You're gonna make them cry!"

"Twilight, how many times do we have to say it?" Applejack punched her hand. "THE. DAZZLINGS. ARE. EVIL!"

"But they dress up pretty good." Pinkie Pie grinned, only to receive a swarm of vicious glares from the rest of the girls. "Oh, you all know it's true, girls!"

"Look, girls, you're all letting first impressions go to your head." Twilight crossed her arms. "I might not know about this whole friendship deal you girls have, but I'm pretty sure that first impressions aren't to be trusted. These two can change, I see it in their smiles. And you're still going out of your way to make it seem like they're worse than Cinch was."

"But—"

"No buts, Applejack!" Twilight stomped the ground. "These two are innocent. And if you keep trying to villify them, I'll have no choice but to call Sunset and have her straighten this whole thing out."

"Twilight, Sunset's gonna take our side of the argument, not yours." Rainbow cocked a brow. "You're not really comin' off strong in this argument, girl."

"But she does have a point." Fluttershy gently tapped Rainbow's back. "I mean, I know that they were pretty awful, but I don't think I've seen these two do or say anything mean to us yet."

"Fluttershy? Are you siding with Twilight? Even after all that we've been through together?" Rarity tilted her head. "Are you sure that you're feeling well, dear?"

"If even Fluttershy can see that there's something good in these two, then I say that we're more than willing to give these girls a chance." Twilight took Fluttershy's hand and slowly walked her up to the sirens. "Now, I know that the rest of you might not be as forgiving as the two of us are, but we're not gonna have this argument any longer. These two sirens are good. End of story. Bye-bye. See ya later." And without saying another word, Twilight turned her back to the girls and walked down the road with Fluttershy and the two sirens, taking the shopping with them.

"Wow..." Sonata's mouth hung wide open. "That was amazing, Not-Twilight!"

"Yeah!" Aria grinned and practically ran on the spot. "Where did you learn to get so assertive like that?"

"Oh, I've had some help." Twilight just gave the two sirens a little smirk as she held their hands. "Now, where did you say you lived again?"

"We've got this great place over by the edge of Canterlot up in the Clearsky area." Sonata held her hand out and painted the sky with her palms. "You've gotta see it. We've got the best stuff ever!"

"I can tell. The Clearsky area's only for the rich people these days. Usually Crystal Prep students and wealthy businessmen," said Fluttershy. "Oh, I'd love to see what one of those houses are like, even if it's for a day."

"Well, wish granted!" said Aria. "C'mon, girls. We've got such a big TV, we've got lots of TV channels,tons of food in the cupboards, and Dagi's not gonna get back for a while so we can do anything!"

"Well, let's go, then! Time's-a-wasting!" Twilight decided to smile as well as she and the others all began to skip together down the road.

Meanwhile, the other Rainbooms just stood there with their mouths open wide. They opened their hands, letting their goods drop and clatter down on the pavement. They had never seen Twilight act like that before, nor did they believe that any of their entourage would ever be able to find a shred of goodwill in the Dazzlings. But still, it had happened, and the whole thing had left them reeling. No-one was able to say anything; not even Rainbow and Applejack could muster up a single word.

"Well. That happened," Pinkie was the one to finally break the silence.